Carmen AU

By: FuanhoMisaki

(A/N: I own nothing and read last chapter)

Given that Lee Galeeze was the one presiding the ceremony…most of the audience missed what he said until it came to the time for the vows.

"Carmen you want to go first?" Lee asked looking at his employer and hoping he didn't screw anything up. She would kill him if he did.

"…Ivy…My Karishma…I…I've been hurt by those I loved or trusted so much that I was beginning to think it was impossible for me to fall in love and for that person to love me back. I…I had given up all hope of finding someone to love who would love me in return…and then…then you were assigned to my case for whatever reason." Carmen began swallowing thickly as she stared in Ivy's eyes.

"The first time I saw you I couldn't talk for a minute because I was wondering who the hell sent an angel with hair like fire and eyes like emerald after me. I thought I was hallucinating slightly or going insane when I realized that someone had deciphered the clue faster than normal. At first I brushed it off, you deciphering my clue so fast, as beginners luck or that perhaps you were an intellectual genius but not able to keep up with my henchmen and I during a heist if we ran." Carmen grinned a bit sardonically here as more than a few henchmen snorted and tried to stifle it.

"I found out the hard way that you were more than just a beautiful face with a clever mind. You were also more than able to take down my henchmen even when they were at least twice your weight. You were able to run after me during a chase and actually catch up with me. Not just that but you had a sense of humor too." Carmen said with a slightly wider grin as she looked at Ivy.

"I was shocked that you managed to catch me the very first time you chased after me. I was shocked that what I thought was a sixteen year old rookie was able to catch up to me and actually get the cuffs on me. It wasn't until I was breaking free of the policemen's hold did I realize that it had actually happened and that finally I had found someone who was a match for me in most all categories. I got away from the police and you chased me again. You were catching up to me and I didn't pay much attention to where I was going." Carmen was outright grinning now, so wide that many were surprised her face wasn't splitting in half.

"I didn't even realize I had ran into a whore house until some man had grabbed me and tried feeling me up. I was about to open a can of hurt on him when you suddenly come flying out of nowhere and kicked him through a wall. You were yelling at him for daring try that with some random woman no matter where he was. You were assigned to catch me…to arrest me…and yet you ended up saving me from being assaulted by some creep without even batting an eyelash or raising the topic ever again. You let me go then. You told me I looked too shaken up for much of anything at the moment and told me to hurry home and to stay away from creeps and slime balls." Carmen said earning a sheepish shrug and smile from Ivy.

"You had such a huge heart…such a huge heart, a clever mind, and a great sense of humor to boot. I had finally met someone who could understand me emotionally, and keep up with me mentally and physically." Carmen said her voice softer as was her smile at this point.

"Don't need to hear about your sex life boss!" Lars called with a cackle, earning snickers and snorts from the rest of VILE as Carmen turned a brilliant shade of red and began spluttering.

"Dara do you mind handling him? I'll kick his ass myself later." Ivy asked without looking away from Carmen, causing the muscle woman to immediately bound over to her co-worker and slamming a thing of duct tape over his mouth. More than a few people broke down laughing at this.

"I-erm. That's not what I meant! I was talking about martial arts and-" Carmen was stuttering horribly by now until Ivy reached forward and placed a hand on the other womans arm, making Carmen relax immediately.

"It's alright Carmen. I know what you meant. Lars is just jealous because he can't get a girl that's sober." Ivy said making Carmen snort slightly and smile softly down at Ivy while more than a few of the VILE agents were outright cackling at the look on Lars face.

"I had believed that I could never be happy or in love again without ending up hurt…and then you came along and I started falling in love. I started falling in love and being happy and I was so scared it was going to end horribly that at first I tried pushing you away but I couldn't. Seeing the determined look in your eyes, the way the emerald green eyes that could cut diamonds with a glare would sparkle in amusement and humor when either of us would make a quip." Carmen took a deep breath as she continued, saying the words she had spoken to Ivy that first night they shared together a few months ago.

"Seeing the way you would smile and laugh openly, seeing how you cared so much about other people even when you just met them, watching you protect every and anyone near you at the time…watching you fight so hard to protect someone or uphold justice and then turn so gentle when dealing with children and animals and wounded or sick people…I had started falling in love with you and I thought I could never have you. I thought you were fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen when you chased me and I thought that not only would you never want me…but that the, what I thought, was eleven year age difference was too large." Carmen said staring softly at Ivy, her eyes and face open and vulnerable as she bared her heart to her lover and those there to witness their union.

"I know eleven years isn't that much in most countries but I thought it was an impossible gap between us…and even though I did my best to hide the feelings…they were still there. I just kept falling deeper and deeper in love during every chase, every heist, every time I saw you. Watching as you kicked a grown man more than twice your size and weight hard enough to knock him out one second and then turn around and make sure your brother or whoever else was with you was okay the very next because you took your eyes off of them for just a few seconds to take care of the threat. Seeing you make friends with everyone, civilian, military, ACME, even some of my VILE henchmen… I just fell deeper and deeper in love and for the longest time I tried so hard to hide it." Carmen had tears in her eyes now, as did most of the room as she stared into Ivy's teary green eyes.

"When you and Zack found out I had been an orphan…found out that the orphanage…my home was going to be torn down and found me there…you didn't go there to arrest me. The thought never even crossed your minds. You went there to make sure I was okay, to make sure I didn't feel alone. You…you more than anyone understood one of the parts of me I hid the most. You understood and accepted one of the deepest parts of me. That was when I realized I was head over heels in love for you. I would have done anything for you, still would and always will. Even before I realized that our ages weren't as far apart as I thought…I didn't care about the age difference anymore. I just cared about you." Carmen said her voice soft now as she stared at Ivy, her gaze never wavering even though her eyes were watering.

"I knew in my heart from that moment that I loved you so much that if anything happened to you it would kill me. I knew it in my heart but my brain took a while longer. That…that stupid test I rigged up and tried to stop to see if you loved me as much as I loved you…that's when my foolish brain realized what my heart had known all along. Seeing you nearly break apart a steel restraining chair and leather belt that even I have trouble escaping to try and save me…that's when my brain realized what my heart was telling it." Carmen whispered softly, so soft that most of the audience had to lean forward to hear her.

"That's when my brain realized that my heart was saying that I'm going to spend the rest of my life with this woman. This amazing woman with a sense of humor and wit, with a brain that is as clever as my own, able to take out my biggest henchmen with just her fists and feet and wits…" Carmen had to blink back her tears for a minute.

"That's when my brain finally registered that this beautiful woman with hair the color of fire, eyes like emeralds, and a smile that could make the sun look dim loved me so much and that love was nothing to be scared of. You taught me, showed me, that I didn't need to be scared of being in love or being happy." Carmen said her voice stronger now as she took a minute to compose herself.

"You showed me that being in love and being happy was something that shouldn't be feared but instead embraced…you showed me what it was like to be in love and be so happy that my heart could burst from it all. Now I want to show the world that you're mine. You're the only one I will ever love, the only one I can ever love, and that I'm not scared to show how much I love you and how happy I am with you." Carmen said reaching her hands up to Ivy's cheeks to brush away the tears with her thumbs.

"Oh don't cry. You're my Mohini Karishma. My most beautiful miracle…and I will always love and treasure you more than any jewel or historic piece or anything else. You matter more to me than anything and everything else in this universe. I love you Karishma." Carmen said and there wasn't a dry eye on the beach now.

Even the Chief somehow was crying oil tears, and Sara was trying to discreetly blame the tears on the sand.

"Damn Ives. How are you going to compete with that? Carmen's like the most romantic person ever." Zack was the one to voice that thought as he tried to rub away his own tears although he was smiling, happy for his sister.

Carmen just smiled as stared into Ivy's eyes, her words just as soft and sweet as the rest of her speech had been.

"She doesn't need to compete with it. As long as I have her, that is the greatest and most romantic thing she could ever give me."