Author's note: Thank you to NotMarge, NicoleR85, partygirl98, Guest(s), ZabuzasGirl, kmj1989, OopieLu, and Torchwhovian. OopieLu, I'm not sure if I should "you're welcome" or apologize! Guest, Maeve is Maeve Rourke. She's Sean's wife in the comics, and eventually Siryn's mom. I can picture her becoming friends with Zoey, but she hasn't really gotten a chance to show up much in this story besides being mentioned as an aside. Maeve and Gwen (an OC mentioned in this chapter) will probably be more involved in the Zoey's POV one-shots.
But here it is, the wedding! If you want a visual of what Zoey's dress looks like, look up Candice Accola's wedding dress. That's pretty much it, though I added sleeves to make it more '60s era. There's a quote in here from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act 2, Scene 1. Hope you guys enjoy this one, I had a fun time writing it :-)
I Do
First came Maeve and then Zoey's friend Gwen, both wearing dark blue dresses and carrying bouquets of white roses and violets. It felt like they walked intolerably slow down the aisle. By the time Olivia came into view and began scattering flower petals I could barely stand still.
She smiled happily at me as she went to take her place next to Marceline. I gave her a nervous little wave in reply.
Olivia's parents sat in the row behind her, looking rather sullen about the festivities. It had been tempting to pretend the Greys' invitation had gotten lost in the mail, but Zoey's sense of family loyalty won out in the end. Just barely.
On cue, everyone stood in anticipation of the bride's arrival-
And then there she was, and I forgot to breathe.
Oh my stars and garters.
If you asked me to describe Zoey's dress in that moment, I wouldn't have been able to. My attention was too riveted on her exquisite face to pay attention to anything else. I just knew that my bride was the most beautiful woman on the planet and I could not stop smiling.
Her gorgeous emerald eyes sought me out as she took her first steps down the aisle, hanging on Billy's arm. A dazzling smile came to her perfect lips, a shy blush blooming on her cheeks as her gaze held mine. Neither of us could look away from each other. Zoey had forgone her usual cherry red lipstick shade for a more natural pink hue, keeping the rest of her makeup just as soft. Her natural beauty shown through, as fresh as a rose.
She was beyond the cliche "bridal glow" you read about so often in stories. With her firelight curls flowing down around her shoulders and the facets dancing from the twinkling canopy overhead, Zoey was radiant, incandescent, resplendent- a fire fairy come to walk among mortals, just for a night.
And she was mine.
"Who gives this woman in marriage?" the reverend asked, once they reached the top of the aisle.
It only seemed to take them forever to get there.
"I do," Billy replied.
I tore my gaze from Zoey to spare her godfather a glance when she leaned in to kiss his cheek. His tears flowed freely as he took Zoey's hand and placed it in mine.
It was only once she was touching me that I finally remembered how to breathe.
"Hi," I whispered, after Zoey passed her bouquet- blue primroses and violets, with a few white roses scattered in- to Gwen and turned back to me.
Her smile got even wider, if that was possible. Her eyes already shone with happy tears. "Hi."
Our guests re-took their seats, and the reverend began to speak. "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Henry Philip McCoy and Zoey Rose Dubois in matrimony, commended..."
I tuned him out, too busy looking at Zoey to pay attention. And with such a beauty to behold, who could blame me?
Her A-line dress was lace, with a sweetheart neckline and lace sleeves down to her elbows. It was tea-length in the front, revealing her simple white high-heeled pumps, but with a chapel-length train. The bodice had a slightly dropped waist that highlighted her tiny hourglass figure. Her hair was half-up, held back from her face with silver combs set with sapphires- a gift from Charles and Moira. The waltz-length veil she wore was trimmed in a thin lace border.
She was ethereally lovely, an angel here on earth. And yet she was willingly tying her life to mine. I had no idea what I'd done to earn such a gift, but I knew I would spend the rest of my days trying to prove myself worthy of her, to deserve the complete love and trust she freely gave to me.
When it was time to say the vows, my voice did not falter. In that moment we had no audience, and all thoughts of stage-fright faded away. I was just Hank McCoy, making an eternal promise to the woman who had had my heart from the second I first saw her.
"I, Henry, take you, Zoey, to be my wife. All that I am and all that I have, I offer to you in love and in joy," I told Zoey, looking straight into her eyes. "From this day forward I will love you and comfort you, hold you close, support you in your goals, and remain faithful to you all the days of our lives."
Zoey's voice was also strong and clear as she recited her own pledge, despite the rosy blush on her cheeks. Listening to her, I thought my heart would swell to bursting with emotion right out of my chest.
Despite my earlier fears, Alex didn't forget Zoey's ring and I didn't drop it. It slipped onto her finger perfectly, and then it was her turn.
"I, Zoey, give you, Henry, this ring as an eternal symbol of my love and commitment to you," she told me, while I looked on in awe.
The tears in her eyes were very much in danger of overflowing, but they stubbornly refused to fall as the reverend finished his speech.
"By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife," he proclaimed. "You may kiss the bride."
The euphoria I felt was surely reflected in Zoey's expression as I leaned down and tenderly pressed my lips to hers. I poured all of my joy and adoration into the kiss, and she matched my elation with her own.
"I love you," I murmured, gently pressing my forehead against hers. Shimmering green eyes filled my vision, making me feel both serene and exhilarated all at once.
"I love you," Zoey replied. She stole another kiss.
The reverend pointedly coughed, making both of us laugh as we pulled apart slightly. "I present to you Doctors Henry and Zoey McCoy," he announced, to the cheers of our guests.
We did it, I thought dreamily. My brain- and my heart- were somewhere up in the stratosphere. Thank heavens I didn't mess up.
Our reception took place in Moira's favorite part of the arboretum, an area she'd modeled after an English garden. The space was illuminated by antique lanterns hanging from the trees and set on the little tables scattered about the clearing. The flowers and topiary were perfect surroundings without any sort of embellishments needed to mar the natural beauty of the place. It felt like we'd just stepped into Titania's bower.
The thought made me chuckle out loud as we took our seats.
"What is it?" Zoey asked curiously.
I glanced down at her, my beautiful fire sprite, and the sensation that I'd fallen into a fairy story got even stronger. "I feel like we just walked onto the production set of A Midsummer Night's Dream," I explained, gesturing to the scenery.
Zoey laughed, a mischievous gleam coming to her eyes as she leaned in closer to whisper to me. If anything, her impish expression solidified her resemblance to some sort of ethereal fay creature in my mind. Titania in the flesh, as it were.
"Then I must by thy lady," she said softly, seductively. Her teeth grazed my ear.
It felt like I missed a step going downstairs as her words sunk in. Suddenly I wanted to skip the reception and go directly to our honeymoon.
I'll show you, my lady...
But I was good and patiently sat through the party in our honor, despite my eagerness to get away. A light dinner was served, unavoidably embarrassing speeches were made (thank you so much, Alex and Sean), and I acquitted myself well during the obligatory first dance, feeling beyond grateful that Moira had taken the time to teach me the steps.
I hadn't really danced since that night I'd hung from the ceiling at the CIA, so long ago. But once there were other people on the dance floor I let go of my dignity just a little and continued to twirl Zoey around rather than re-taking my seat. I simply enjoyed the way she was smiling too much to stop.
Eventually I caught sight of my parents speaking to Billy and Marceline and remembered my promise to introduce Zoey to them.
"My parents are here," I murmured during another slow dance.
Zoey was so surprised that she stopped moving. She pulled back so she could see my face. "How-?"
"Charles," I explained. "Do you want to meet them?"
She gave me wry smile. "Nothing says a party like estranged in-laws."
"Indeed," I agreed, thinking of the Grey's. They were currently surveying the gift table with sour expressions on their faces.
Zoey slipped her arm through mine, and together we went over to where my parents were still standing with Billy and Marceline.
"Mother, Dad," I said after excusing myself for interrupting. "This is my wife, Zoey."
My wife, yes. Isn't she wonderful?
"It's nice to meet you," Zoey said politely, offering her hand.
Dad returned the gesture warmly, but my mother surprised us all by pulling Zoey in for an enthusiastic hug.
"Aren't you just perfect?" Mother gushed. "So beautiful, and Mr. Rivers here was just telling us you've a doctorate in genetics. I couldn't think of a better match for Henry!"
"Um... thank you?" Zoey replied, looking at me with such evident confusion it was hard not to laugh. My mother's behavior certainly didn't match how I'd described her. I was still getting used to it, myself.
After a while Zoey got pulled into a dance with Billy, and then another with my father while I danced with Mother, and then Marceline. Olivia pleaded with me until I gave in and picked her up for a few songs, too.
But though I noticed other dancing couples- Charles, with a giddily laughing Moira in his lap, was spinning in circles, Maeve and Sean were on the verge of getting downright indecent on the dance floor, and Alex was chatting up Gwen- I couldn't bring myself to take my eyes off Zoey for long. She was so radiant and beautiful, it would be like asking a moth to look away from a candle flame.
Soon it was time for the bouquet toss.
"Is it just me, or do they look overly-competitive?" I muttered to Sean and Alex while the single ladies gathered in the middle of the dance floor. Some elbows were getting thrown already and Zoey wasn't even in place yet.
"It's definitely not just you," Sean replied, looking baffled. "Holy shit."
A scuffle broke out after the bouquet landed, but Maeve came up victorious. She cast a rather meaningful look at Sean.
"Told you so," Alex said, punching him in the arm.
And then, unable to help myself, I sling-shotted Zoey's garter right into Sean's face.
But only after making my new wife blush furiously as I knelt before her, our gazes locked, and sensuously trailed my hands up her leg, under her dress to her thigh. She stopped breathing and her eyes burned into mine, smoldering with promise in response to my touch.
Seriously. Let's cut the stupid cake and get out of here.
