Kira stared at her sister in shock, the cafe table between them seeming to be too great of a distance as she mentally went back over what she thought she heard. "You're getting married to Thomas?" Having to clarify, Kira felt dread when Tine nodded enthusiastically. She could understand why her sister was so excited, less than a year ago she thought she wouldn't live long enough to be married. And under other circumstances Kira would be ecstatic for her, but she still had one concern. Glancing at Mencheres to her right, they shared a look that spoke volumes. She wasn't the only one who felt like this situation was off, but the confirmation from her partner didn't bring her relief.
Seeing the worry Kira was refusing to voice and the shared glance, Tina reached across the table to grip her hand reassuringly. "I know I've only known him for a few months, but we really click. He's really nice to me and cares about me. I understand why you're worried and I appreciate it, but please just trust me on this okay?"
Kira bit her lip, something about this situation was setting all of her instincts off, but Tina didn't know about her feelings and she had no proof to back them up. Blowing out a sigh, she took the only route there was, "Alright, I will admit I'm a bit iffy about this but if this is what you want…"
Tina beamed, squeezing her sister's hands in excitement. "It is! I know you're uncomfortable with how quickly I'm moving with Thomas, but you and Mencheres have only been together a few months more than us. If he asked you, wouldn't you say yes?"
Kira stiffened in surprise at suddenly being put on the spot. She hadn't considered marriage since her divorce and what little she had heard of Mencheres ex-wife, she doubted he had either. Looking at him cautiously, their eyes met and Kira relaxed. There was no pressure in his stygian eyes, only a mild curiosity and internal consideration.
Seeing the look thrown between them, Tina's smile dropped. Realizing the sensitive subject she had accidentally brought up, she rushed to remedy the situation. "I'm sorry, I didn't even think. After your divorce and the situation with Pete it is completely understandable if you would never want to get married again. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that."
Waving her hand, Kira brushed off her sister's babble. "It's fine, we're all adults here. Besides, Mencheres is nothing like Pete and he never will be. Even if we did disagree on something or want different things we would sit down and talk about it." Mencheres gripped her hand on the table to show his support while Tina calmed down from her flustered state.
Kira put the words together in her head knowing that her answer would be more for Mencheres than Tina. "I never considered it, because it doesn't seem necessary. We already act like a married couple and thanks to both my history with Pete and some of Mencheres own past problems I never thought about it as something that needed to be talked about right now."
"However, to answer your question. If he asked me, I would say yes without a doubt." While she was speaking to both of them, her eyes never left his. The intensity in their locked gaze felt suffocating, before Mencheres smiled. Stroking their linked hands, he spoke.
"I too hadn't considered marriage, however the reason had nothing to do with my ex-wife. We have time so why should we rush things? While I have no aversion to the thought of marrying you, I also don't see the need to, as the say, plan a LasVegas wedding. Should you ever wish to be wed, I would want to plan it down to the last detail and make the day as special as possible for you. It is considerably less worrying, knowing your answer ahead of time."
Kira bit back her tears at the sudden slam of emotions into hers, the love and devotion wrapping around her like a blanket. Tina's sniff broke them out of their moment, she dabbed at her eyes with the napkins while apologizing. "I didn't mean to break the moment. The relationship you two have is beautiful and I'm hoping that eventually Thomas and I will have it too."
Kira untangled her fingers from Mencheres to squeeze her sisters hand. "Someday you will Tina, if you and him are both on the same page and communicate then you two can reach that point too." Kira didn't mention that she and Mencheres had been through more than most couples ever would in their short time together. Her sister wasn't aware of Kira's kidnapping and it was better to keep it that way. Besides, it was nice to see her sister so excited, even if Kira's instincts were rioting.
"So when's the wedding and do you want me to hogtie Rick into walking you down the isle?" Kira's question had the intended effect of breaking the tension and changing the subject. Mencheres gave her a knowing glance as her sister laughed at the statement, giving him a miniscule shrug in return she focused on Tina again.
"No, I wasn't planning on having him walk me down the isle. I was actually going to ask you to." Kira stared confusedly for the second time in less than an hour, Tina flushed at her sister's thunder struck look.
"Well, it's just that as far back as I can remember you were my parent more than my sister, so it seemed only right for you to walk me down the isle?" Hearing her hesitance, Kira snapped out of it and beamed.
"Of course, I'll walk you down the isle! Just watch anyone try to stop me." Tina's worried gaze slid into an elated smile.
"Thank you, I appreciate it. Tom's brother is going to be the ring bearer, if he wasn't I would've asked you Mencheres." She seemed almost sheepish about it, but he set her at ease with a smile. All things considered, their first meeting was going well considering the bomb Tina had dropped.
"I am happy to come as Kira's plus one, if neither of you have objections?" Kira snorted at the same time Tina shook her head.
"There isn't any other person who I'd prefer to have by my side." Mencheres sent pulses of warmth through the bond, happily watching as Kira melted into her seat from shared bliss. He would never get tired of hearing her say such things, and he had resolved to show his appreciation each time.
Tina backed her sister's words up, once again breaking the atmosphere. "Yeah and I doubt that Kira would allow me to not invite you. You two are a package deal as far as she's concerned. So even if I didn't like you, which isn't the case because you seem nice, you would still be welcome."
Kira felt relief at her sister's verbal approval of Mencheres. She didn't know what she would have done if Tina hadn't approved, but it would have been painful. She felt an echoing sense of relief from Mencheres to her surprise. Murmuring low enough to not be heard by human ears, Kira prodded him curiously. "You're relieved?"
Without looking away from Tina, who had already begun to talk about decorations for the wedding, Mencheres answered in an equally low tone. "Of course, your sister is someone you cherish deeply. It would have hurt you and put serious strain on our relationship if she hadn't approved."
Warmth that was solely her own bloomed in Kira's chest, it was so like him to be worried about her and her feelings. Squeezing their joined hands, Kira tuned back in to her sister's excited rambling. "I was thinking of planning it for sometime in a few months. Tom and I don't want a big wedding, just the basics with the people we care about there to see it."
Kira jerked in surprise, "If you seriously want to do it that quickly then we need to start planning. Weddings are a lot of work, even small ones." Mencheres pitched in before they could begin discussing decorations and such. "Should you need help financially, I will happily cover the event. You could consider it a wedding gift from me." He tacked on the last sentence when he saw Tina's immediate refusal on her face.
Chewing her lip, just as her sister had done not long ago, Tina slowly nodded. "I would greatly appreciate it, but only if you're sure." Mencheres reaffirmed his agreement before leaning back to listen as the sisters began to plan. Watching Kira's face light up as they talked about flowers, rings and dresses pulled on something in his chest.
Maybe he would be proposing sooner than he had thought…
_
Mencheres looked around at the small church, adjusting his tux absentmindedly as he took everything in. The room was decorated with simple but elegant displays, flowers spaced evenly throughout the room with swaths of white fabric connecting them and forming the center isle.
The carpet leading to the altar had a dusting of petals and glitter on it, giving the path an enchanted feeling and the pews were full of various friends and family of the groom. None of them seemed particularly enthused to be there, he noted. Maybe they disapproved of how quickly the relationship progressed? His musings were broken when Kira entered with Tina, and the music began to play.
Kira had been by her sister's side since the start of the morning, thus meaning he hadn't seen what dress she had chosen for the evening. Kira wore a light gold sheath that hugged her curves before flaring out at the legs, giving her extra mobility as well as looking ravishing. He briefly had to remind himself that they were in a public setting and he needed to control his blood flow away from where it wanted to go. Neither Bones or Vlad would let him live it down if he failed and became obviously aroused in front of a crowd…
Mencheres eyes locked with Kira's as the church seemed to fade to nothing. Dimly he acknowledged that Tina looked lovely, but all of his focus was on Kira. The sight of her walking toward him, despite it not being their wedding, sent waves of emotion pulsing through him. In that instant as Kira handed her sister off to the black haired man who would be her husband, he knew that he would definitely be proposing soon. If his emotions became anymore tremulous he may propose the instant they were alone, no need to steal Tina's light on this special day after all.
Kira joined him off to the side now that her part was done. Feeling his eyes on her, she looked up curiously only for him to shake his head. Later, he reminded himself, as the pastor spoke the famous line. "You may now kiss the bride."
As Tina and her new groom sealed their marriage with a kiss, Mencheres stared into Kira's eyes. They were both imagining the day that they would hear that statement directed to them, when it would be them on that podium binding their lives together. To his shock, Mencheres even found himself excited at the thought of proposing for a vampire marriage as well. After Patra he had thought the idea of marriage to be forever ruined to him and yet here they stood.
The sound of clapping brought them both to the present, Tina's cheeks flushed with happiness as she moved to take her bouquet from her sister. "Kira, come on. I don't care if you're not single, you're not married yet and that means you can participate. I want you to be in the bridal toss." Kira gave a token protest as her sister grabbed her arm and pulled her to stand with the other ladies, shooting a silent call for help to Mencheres that he simply smiled at.
Mencheres bit back a laugh as Kira caught the bouquet only to stare at it as if it were a new species. Her head jerked up to stare at him and he knew that if she was still human her face would be red. Seeing her question, he shook his head. He hadn't used his power to make the flowers go to her. Glancing at the slyly smiling Tina, he had a hunch that it was her doing.
Kira came to the same conclusion as she smiled exasperatedly, the sound of Rick whistling in the background making her roll her eyes. Before Mencheres could return to Kira, Tina strode up to him.
"Are you participating in the garter toss? Kira did the bridal one, so it's only right that you do." Her tone was imploring, to his amusement. In all his years he had never taken part in a garter toss, to be fair the last two millennia he was married and therefore not qualified, but it was still a new experience for him. Smiling down at her, he nodded. Briefly shooting Kira a glance as her sister pulled him by the arm to where the other males were. All of them seemed disgruntled, unlike their female counterparts previous excitement.
He watched as the garter came sailing through the air, half of the men present lunging away from it making him restrain a snort. Childish antics. He stretched his power out and guided it to his outstretched hand. It wouldn't have been obvious to anyone who was watching, but he saw Kira's raised eyebrow and smiled.
"This time it was me." Kira burst out laughing, the sides of her mouth pulling into a massive grin. Her joy was infectious as he wrapped his arms around her.
"The tradition is for those who catch the garter and bouquet to be the next to marry, correct?" Kira hummed against him as he pulled her into a dance, the music just beginning to play in the background.
"Well, we wouldn't want to disrespect such a tradition would we?" Kira's face snapped around to look at him in wonder. "I'll propose properly later, I have no wish to steal your sister's light. I don't have a ring and I didn't plan to do this now, but your sister seems to have opened the opportunity for me. It would be rude to waste such a kindness."
Kira shook off her shock and beamed at him, her smile brighter than he had ever seen. "You're right. We'll tell her later and it doesn't matter if you don't have a ring. It's nicer to go together to pick it out anyway. Besides, it's not like there was any chance I would say anything but yes."
Mencheres sealed their promise with a kiss, already yearning for the next promise they would make in such a way. Soon, he promised himself, very soon.