Setting a Date...

As the weekend of drama and revelation carried on in Princeton, things were going much more easily some miles to the south. It was a rare weekend for Trent and Rory, one in which they both had no commitments. They had no work to do, either for school or for Burt - he and Carole had taken a trip to visit her family, and he had left strict instructions that short of the apocalypse, he was not available. In the absence therefore of both war and zombies, the only thing that the young couple had to worry about was each other. They had spent the whole of Saturday morning in bed, eating a leisurely breakfast, and then catching up on all the things they had missed during the week when they were preoccupied with work. Eventually they had to get up, as they both wanted lunch - and they also had a Skype chat scheduled with Séamus and Becca from St Andrews. The moment that Rory's brother appeared on screen, the two boys could see that he was extremely happy - and it turned out that the letter that he was clutching in his hand was the reason. He had been given permission to emigrate to the United States, not just as the future husband of a U.S. citizen, but in his own right as an essential worker. It hadn't been strictly necessary for him to make the application, but he had wanted to ensure that he did everything legally and above board, and merited his place in the country in his own right. The fact that he had the backing of both his future employer (who just happened to be his future father-in-law) and a congressman had made the entire process much easier than it might otherwise have been.

"So, this is only part of the reason why I am so happy today. The other is that we have set a date for our wedding." said Séamus. "Please make a note to be free on Friday the 24th of July. It's all sorted - we will be getting married at Becca's parents country club in Maryland. I will E-mail you the details - it's between two tiny places called Bristol and Harwood."

Trent looked at Rory with an amused smile, and mouthed the word "Thad." Rory stifled a laugh, and turned back to his brother. "Well, what can I say big brother but that I am really pleased for you. I take it that you will still have a lot of things to arrange though…"

Séamus laughed. "Well, I actually do have two questions for you. Firstly little brother, I don't suppose that you would do me the honour of agreeing to be my best man?"

"Correct question! I would be absolutely delighted to be your best man, and as soon as you let me know exactly when you will be arriving in the States, I can organise your stag night…"

"I bet you will too - just remember, I like things to be quiet! Now, onto the second question. We have already had this discussion, and so now that I have set the date, you know what it means for the two of you. After all, Nana will be coming to my wedding, and she isn't getting any younger. The flight from Ireland is a longish one, and the weather will be much warmer than she is used to. Plus she will insist on paying for it all herself, and she isn't wealthy, like you two. So, my next question is, how soon after me will the two of you be getting married? I have mentioned it to Becca's dad, and they do same sex ceremonies at the club - and they have a free day on the 25th. We all agreed that Nana would want to see both of getting married, and we both know that it would be easier for her to only make the trip once. I mean there are other dates, and other venues - but, and please don't be angry with me - I might have provisionally booked your wedding for the day after mine…."

In Washington, there was a sudden stunned silence. Neither Trent or Rory had been in any great rush to get married - they were both still in college after all, and for them, just being engaged was more than enough. But, they had both seen how much married life suited Nick and Jeff, and they both knew that what Séamus was saying about Rory's Nana was true. Trent was eager to have the feisty woman at his wedding, and to introduce her to his family. On the other hand, it was rather short notice - at a rough calculation in his head, Trent put it as being in fifteen weeks. It wasn't long, but hadn't Kurt and Blaine put together what would have been a fabulous wedding, had fate not intervened, in even less time…? Trent turned to Rory, who was looking tense, and gave him a smile. "So, what do you think? Do you want to become Mr Rory Nixon in July? Because I would really like your Nana to be there on our big day…"

"So do I. She would want to come to our wedding too, but there is no way she would accept the gift of two flights to the States - I mean, it will be hard enough getting her to let us pay for this one… So, lets do it, but with a couple of conditions." Trent smiled happily, as Rory turned back to the screen. "Firstly, we need to check out the country club ourselves, and if we decide that we do not like it, then we will need to find somewhere else of our own. Secondly, I know that Nana will not let us pay for her flight, but we could insist that we pay for some people to come with her and keep her company - so she is looked after on the journey and whilst she is here."

"Ok, I agree with that," said Séamus, "but the question is who we ask?"

"Oh, that's an easy one," said Rory. "We ask Mrs Flynn, just because it will really upset mother at the same time, and there is a certain nun that I know who would probably jump at the opportunity…"

Séamus laughed at that, but he did so in the knowledge that his younger brother was totally serious, and that the nun in question would not have any problem whatsoever with attending the wedding of his brother to his boyfriend. In fact, from what he had been told, she would actually be quite supportive of both of them and their right to marry, as long as her Mother Superior didn't find out. He would leave the details of how she got to the States to Rory… If there was one tiny thing about the whole affair that made him slightly sad, it was the fact that his brother had elected to take Trent's surname when he married. He could understand why he would do that - their parents had hardly been the supportive and inspirational role models that they should have been - but it did feel that a little part of the thing that made them brothers was being taken away. They would still be bonded by so much else, but the fact that he was no longer going to be a Flanagan did make him sigh. His only consolation about the whole thing was that in just a few months time, they would be living within a few miles of each other again for the first time in over four years. Yes, it would no longer be so readily apparent that they were related, but that was a negative, and the positives outweighed it. He was gaining a brother-in-law that he liked; was getting a close tie to the Hummel family, who had been so supportive to his little brother in his time of need; and he would be gaining a connection to the strange gang of singing misfits that surrounded them.

Eventually, the call was ended, and finally alone, Trent turned to Rory, and said "We have just agreed to get married in fifteen weeks time! We are getting married in 105 days… We have so much to do…we need suits; we need a menu; we need a theme - do we need a theme? Plus we have a venue for the big day that we have never seen. On top of all that - we're getting married!"

Rory placed an arm around Trent, and smiled at him. He nodded and tried not to laugh at how panic stricken Trent seemed. "Firstly, we do have a name for the country club, and I also have a phone number for Becca's parents. So I am going to call them, and see if we can arrange to go and visit the venue tomorrow, just to see what we think. If we don't like it, or they don't like us, then we can panic because we will need to find somewhere else to go. We have one advantage if that is the case - Burt and his connections. I'm sure that we could have whatever venue we wished if we mentioned it was for a congressman's adopted son - except maybe the Oval Office…"

"That might be a bit small," said Trent with a laugh, "given that we will need to find a venue that can house my family and yours; Becca's immediate family; the Warblers and the New Directions; our college friends; and then there will be some of my parents friends, and Burt and Carole's - we have to compile a guest list too!"

"On a positive note, there is one thing that is simple - our best men. For me, it has to be Séamus, without a doubt."

"Simple for you, my love, but heck of a complex for me. I mean, my best friend at Dalton was Jeff, but I can't help but feel that if I ask him, then I am kind of excluding Nick in some way. There is Sebastian, but I am not as close to him as the two of them are. If Wes was still alive, it would be easier…"

"You know, there is someone from Dalton that you could ask, and if you actually think about it, they would be an obvious choice…" Rory stopped, and looked expectantly at Trent, but he still just looked confused. "Ah, I don't know, for someone so smart you can be so oblivious at times. You ask your other great friend from school Trent. You ask Mitch…"

Trent knew that Rory was right the moment that he uttered his name. Who else should he ask but his former roommate and mentor? It was true that in the immediate aftermath of the events at Dalton whilst the Warblers were being ruled by the iron fist of Hunter Clarington, Mitch had vanished from sight; but that was all in the past now. They had reconnected at Wes' memorial, and even though his old friend was now based in Boston, they had both made time to meet up since. They had visited each other at home; called each other and talked on the phone, or on Skype at least once a week; and had met in New York too, a convenient centre point. The other former Warblers had also allowed him back into their lives, and although he was not one of the exclusive inner circle that was able to see angels, he was back to being one of them. He knew Trent better than any of them, even Jeff. Roommates shared things that even best friends didn't - you couldn't share a room and not find out little secrets. Making a mental note to call him and formally ask him, the rest of the boys afternoon was spent in compiling an official guest list. It looked as if it was going to be a big wedding, and neither of them were really sure that they wanted that…