Wedding Chaos and Mushy Stuff

Techno's log:

I have decided I am relieved to have a computer for part of my brain. Having gone through a so called 'traditional' wedding, I have discovered that humans are by far too illogical otherwise, especially with alcohol in their systems.

I suppose I should explain from the beginning. Zarana and Mainframe decided to have their wedding on base. (Mistake #1) Which meant that all the Joes were there to party. Yes, there were dresses and suits all around, and Naomi managed to find some pants that gave the impression she was wearing a skirt, up until she round kicked Pietro into a pool fill with punch. Yes, you read right, a pool full of punch, I'm not sure how, nor do I want to know. I do know there was a kiddie pool full of champagne and someone got a fountain of chocolate- no, not one of those small fondue fountains, an actual fountain. Like something you'd find in Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory.

Not only where the Misfits there, but the X men as well. (Mistakes # 2 and 3 in my opinion) Anyway, the ceremony was led by Hawk, and Zarana wore a light pink with blue ribbons lacing up the back wedding dress. Someone (A greenshirt) commented that at least she didn't wear white, and I think Jinx managed to throw shuriken at them. She was Zarana's maid of Honor. Well, with Naomi still carrying her sword (though for some reason she put it at a 'traditional' spot on her waist instead of over her shoulder), Jinx with who knows what hidden in her red dress . . . no one dared to say any objection . . . well that's not true, Zandar shouted that if Mainframe broke her heart he'd break every bone in Mainframe's body . . . Oh, and he got enough strength to walk Zarana down the aisle! I forgot to type that first . . . I guess it took everything it had, but he did it, I couldn't tell if he was crying in happiness or pain when he sat down in his wheelchair, he was shaking pretty hard, so I'm guessing pain. Jess was the flower girl, and Junkyard was the ring bearer, since Vampyre refused to do it. I think he has feelings for Spyder and didn't want to look like a fool.

Now that I'm back on track, we had the reception outside. Which was where Naomi kicked Pietro into the pool, apparently, he had said something that ticked her off. Cake cutting went fine, as did throwing of the bouquet (I caught it, surprisingly.) and the garter throwing that was for the guys.

Okay, so not many people actually do this, (so of course we did it) but the catcher of the bouquet dances with whoever catches the garter. In this case, I had to dance with Storm Shadow. That was very awkward . . .

As the time progressed, everyone danced, drank and ate. Not nessecarily in that order, and Shipwreck had to go to the infirmary cause Storm electrocuted him. All the guys took turns dancing with all the girls (even those with girlfriends, I believe it was a matter of safety as those who were sitting out were, uh, busy with other things, and it was the only way to talk to someone) Surprisingly, Avalanche danced with Naomi several times, and Long Range danced with Rogue. (Remy had gotten roped into dancing with Jess. She really wanted to dance with someone and Rogue was a little miffed at him.)

Of course this was accompanied with chaos, drunken chaos, Polly and Lockheed setting something on fire and Barbecue putting out the flames, then some drunks going to the obstacle course (Scuttlebutt is they raced naked against each other. Again, I don't want to know) Oh, and Snake Eyes proposed to Scarlett, who accepted, and Duke then got drunk . . . Apparently Wolverine and Jinx got it on in the laundry room, and Low Light beat up a few greenshirts that tried to go for Covergirl.

Yeah, exactly what you'd think would happen at a G.I. Joe wedding. Zarana and Mainframe made a deal with Trinity to get the mass device and a private location for their honeymoon.

I hear Lady Jaye is going to give up on the sexual harassment paperwork because of this. I can't blame her.

Why did I decide to stick with Naomi?

End Entry

The night after the wedding, Naomi had fallen asleep on the couch. She'd been feeling off and had opted to sleep downstairs so she didn't get dizzy and fall down stairs. She'd heal, of course, but it still wasn't worth the pain. She wasn't that insane, or at least, wasn't that insane anymore.

However, the downside was that the room was dark, the couch was lumpy, and if she was startled awake she would claw whoever it was without thinking. She always had that problem if she fell asleep in an unfamiliar place . . . had clawed Long Range several times when they had first traveled together. He learned that he either had to share the bed with her, or throw something from across the room. Sometimes, in a humorous mood, he'd manage to find two metal trashcan lids and bang them together. Pretty much everyone, even Jess and Junkyard, knew that you didn't try to wake her up by shaking her. Over time, the clawing to bits faded to a quick swipe, but it was still advised not to wake her up . . .

"Let sleeping cats lie." Crash had joked. But it was a very accurate statement.

So when someone decided to touch her arm, her body reacted before her brain fully woke up. Claws hit cloth and skin, and to their credit the person didn't yelp or yell . . . they just gasped.

"Kamakura?" Naomi blinked, at his unmasked face, realizing she had just swiped at her friend's neck. It had been the side of his neck, not the front, but still, it could have been a kill. "What the hell were you thinking?" She managed to hiss, angry.

"You were having a nightmare. You were growling in your sleep. I, uh, forgot about your claws . . ." Kamakura blushed. "I uh, probably should get this fixed, though . . ." He had one hand holding pressure on his neck.

"Let me see? Sit here." It wasn't deep, almost superficial, but it was bleeding. "Close your eyes, I can fix this. Don't open until I'm done." Kamakura did so, but unlike Althea, who had kept her eyes closed, he opened his eyes in the middle. Panthera was licking his neck, and he automatically felt his face heat up. "I told you not to look." Panthera muttered, pulling away. She got up to rinse her mouth while Kamakura looked at the now healed part of his throat.

"How'd you do that?"

"Ironically, my spit can heal wounds." She shrugged. "I don't really use it all that often." She sat back down on the couch. "So don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay. Have you, healed anyone before?"

"Long Range a several times, techno and Marina a few, and Crash once. He'd fallen and gotten a gash on his head. I've also healed Althea and Greg . . . probably why he imprinted on me, now that I think about it." She settled back down.

"Thank you."

"You're pack, why wouldn't I help?"

"From the rumors, you didn't heal Leatherneck when you scratched him."

"At that point, he was a still a stranger and I wasn't going to lick his face." She made a face at the idea. "Honestly, it borders on inappropriate sometimes." Kamakura absently nodded. Then did the most classic move ever and yawned, stretched, and put one arm around Panthera. She blinked, and just chose to shift so she could lean against him.

"What are your nightmares about, if you don't mind me asking."

"The lab. They had competitions, where you pretty much had to kill someone you barely even knew, or they'd hurt you in some way. Me, they liked cutting me open while I was awake to punish me." She closed her eyes. "Killing got to be second nature real quick."

"did any of them, ever . . . uh . . . touch you?"

"Some tried to rape a few of us. I killed them before they could do anything to me." She opened her eyes. "I'm pretty sure that lab was exactly like hell."

"You got out."

"Yeah, but others didn't, Kamakura."

"Sean."

"Huh?"

"My name. It's Sean. You can call me that when we're alone."

"Okay, Sean. What are your nightmares about?"

"Nightmares? What makes you think-"

"I can hear you. Even with the soundproofing." She raised an eyebrow. "And I'm usually awake because of my own Nightmares, and I have a habit of double checking on everyone when I'm awake because of one."

" . . . When Ophelia died." Kamakura glanced away. "Well, Ophelia is her official name. I called her Hoshi. We were best friends . . . and because of me, she got killed."

"Why is it your fault?"

"Because I was the one who tripped the alarm that woke up the Cobra base." Kamakura closed his eyes. "It was such a stupid mistake, and she got killed because of it."

"Okay, so say it is your fault . . . did you pull the trigger of the gun that killed her?"

"No . . ."

"Then you didn't kill her, some idiot cobra bastard did." She absently snuggled closer. "Make sure you don't get that mixed up again. 'Kay?"

"Still feels like my fault."

"It will probably feel like that for a long time, Sean. Just don't worry too much about the past. It's the present you gotta be careful with, and the future you should worry about, okay?"

"Okay." The two lasped into a comfortable silence. "Naomi?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I kiss you?" She blinked up at him. Then shifted a bit.

"Sure."

The midnight kiss didn't go unnoticed. Long Range stood in the door way, feeling a mixture of emotion he couldn't identify. Silently, he slipped away.

After Kamakura had returned to his room, Naomi almost wound up clawing Long Range in the kitchen when he came up behind her.

"So, are we still an exclusive couple or are we inclusive now?"

"You saw that kiss didn't you." It wasn't really a question, and as Naomi leaned against the counter, Long Range just moved closer.

"Yeah, I did. So what are we?"

" . . . I have no clue, Range." Naomi closed her eyes. "I'm attracted to both you and Kamakura, and honestly, I couldn't chose between you two right now . . . but . . ." She opened her eyes to look at him. "You and I have been partners and somewhat lovers, I guess, since we met. That's a pretty long time, and I . . ."

"Was a kid looking for something to attach to, whether it was love or friendship, you didn't care as long as you had it." She ducked her head and nodded.

"Yeah . . . I mean, even if we're not together together, I think I'll still come to you for comfort, no, I know I will. But I don't want to string either of you along. That wouldn't be fair . . ."

"Then we're inclusive, if you want." Long Range wrapped her in a hug. "I don't want to lose you either, but . . . I don't think you really loved me the way I did you."

"I'm sorry . . . but I still can't feel that level of . . . attachment." She closed her eyes. "I never wanted to string anyone along, Alex . . . I didn't mean to mess with your head or emotions."

"I know. I did that to myself." He smiled and pulled back. "But if it falls through with that ninja wannabe, I'm still open."

"Tch. That means you're going to get all the complaints I have about him." The two laughed. "You know, my adopted mom said no guy would ever be interested in me 'cause I was so violent and independent . . . not to mention my warped past . . . but here I am with two great guys, and I'm having trouble figuring out what to do 'cause I never really learned." Naomi smiled. "So, I just hope you'll be patient with me . . . until I figure out what the heck I'm doing."

"I'll always be there." Long Range promised. "But you better give Kamakura the heads up. Poor guy's even more in love with you than I am, and he's sensitive."

"Yeah, but he sure doesn't know how to wake me up." Naomi kissed Long Range. "Great, now I really am awake." She muttered. "And sleeping pills don't even work." He smiled and kissed her forehead.

"I'm going back to sleep, Tiger. I suggest you put in a boring movie." As he walked up the stairs, he gave a small smile.

Parting was a sweet sorrow . . . even with the promise of a maybe.

"Hey, Range, we decided to be inclusive right?" Naomi was at the bottom of the stairs. "Does that mean the three of us can go on a date or what?" Long Range burst out laughing. "Hey, you never explained it!"

"I'll explain it tomorrow, Naomi." Long Range shook his head. "You're really are clueless, aren't you?"

"Uh, eleven when I was kidnapped from home, boys didn't even interest me at that point. And most of my teenage years have been filled with killing and surviving, so, no." Her gold eyes glowed a bit in the dark.

"Point. Okay, I'll explain it to you tomorrow . . . or you could ask Althea. That might be less awkward for you." He continued up the stairs, now highly amused. He'd forgotten how naïve she could be about the opposite sex.

Okay, so when I was in middle school, my family watched the movie Three Men and a Baby. Now, I had already had two boys who liked me, one who asked me to the dance and the other who apparently thought I was beautiful and dropped his books the first time he saw me (everyone else claims this is true. I think I would have remembered a kid dropping his books though.) So needless to say, I was pretty introverted and more interested in writing than I was in boys, (still am) so I had no idea I was being flirted with. My mom had to explain the fact about how girls and guys interact, several times to me, especially in highschool when I had about five guys vying for my attention and didn't even know it. My sisters had to tell me. (Yay Shiva and her inability to notice the opposite sex.) But I'm getting off topic. Anyway, in the movie, there is a party scene, and Tom Sellecks character is asked twice, once by a girl, and once by a guy, whether or not he and his girlfriend are exclusive.

I had my mom pause the movie to explain it. I was that clueless.

What? I'm not the only girl who decided school was more important than dating a guy, right? [Notes crickets chirping] Never mind . . . I'm tired and prone to typing nonsense . . . which is what half the next chapter is.