Title: Waiting in The Wings, Again.
Rating: M (Language & Situations)
A/N: Dick Wolf owns LOCI characters, all others are mine.
WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS REFERENCES TO DISCRIMINATORY MINDSETS. NO OTHER LINKS BETWEEN IT AND REALITY ARE INTENDED.
The following Saturday…
Seated around their living room, Frank gazes across it, while regretting "You guys have no idea how horrible I feel, for being why so much of our agenda was put on hold. If I could turn back time to change it, Lord knows I would, in a heartbeat." "Believe it or not, I'm damn glad you can't. Liza told us yesterday, Willie needed time, to transfer his licensing from upstate. Apparently, the bureaucratic end of that's slow as hell, so really, our delay was fairest to him. The fact he's willin' to make our whole family legacy clients is pretty sweet, too. Hopefully, you all realize, if we take his offer and the call out comes from my line: I want the bill marked "Attention Tynie Vantman" for fair market rates. I'm not letting him lose cash flow, when he's just starting out with a new shop. I'll need one of you to tell the rest of our family, because I'm waiting on lawsuit updates, though." Tynie debunks. "I already got them, sis. Bill was able to join a class action, but when he heard it involved low income people, veterans and elders: he signed away our chunk of the restitution. He felt bad about doing it without warning us, until I told him, we would have called and asked him to, if we could use our phones in Dr. Perez's office. He'll get case updates by certified mail, so we'll have family meetings on it, at later dates." Anita recaps.
Just as Bobby's about to react, his text alert goes off. Answering it, he finds a message from Alice, which says she's already gotten the whole family on board with most of Tynie's idea. The only difference is, they've decided to make the "Attention" part depend on which main on insurance the call out involves. "I'll get Frank to go with that, if you let me arrange who cooks, cleans and handles drinks for the meetings Bill referenced." Bobby replies. Accepting the deal, Alice ends their chat by family norms, leaving Bobby to uphold his word. Looking at his spiritual brother, that prospect doesn't take long, yet it inspires Frank to call Willie. Invoking a brief silence, Tynie, Anita and Bobby sit back. Overhearing the conversation, Tynie soon objects "Our ethics clashed, brother. By our family's, your idea tiptoes on extortion, so we'd much rather ask you tell your men to have a cup of coffee with you, to celebrate your new business. You may be surprised by that, but since you might be called out by other clients at any time: it's an anti-DWI thing. Hell, if you'll text me your fax line, and give me half an hour, I'll draw up a notice you can use as evidence." "I didn't even know people could tiptoe on that charge, until now. Tynie, I'm not putting a deadline on your notice, because you're right about the call out risk. How you showed it, showed me a lot more heart than I got from old clients, too. I doubt you knew, but I'll still text you that line, so you can clear the rest." Willie refutes. "Alright. When I get the text, I'll get on the difference." Tynie submits. Exchanging well wishes, Willie hangs up, seconds ahead of Frank. Reholstering his phone, he gazes to his sister in law. "Forgive me, brother. I just, felt it was best for him to get written proof of our family's ethics, in case he needs it to shut a state bureaucrat up. Lord knows it's by His grace the executive order hasn't been contested by them in court, yet. Sadly, the core term is yet, so I'll cut you a deal. If you don't stop me from proving myself this time, I'll make replacing your fax ink and paper part of it." Tynie prays. "I'd rather have you act as my consultant on a new machine, sis. You didn't know yet, but you just explained one reason why. The other is, the warrantee's expired, and I'd much rather not use my homeowner's insurance for something we can buy with a credit card." Frank disapproves. "I don't blame you." Bobby defers. "None of us do, babe." Anita amends. "In that case, I'll make my deal with Willie the last time your current fax machine's used." Tynie surrenders.
Kissing her spouse's cheek, she heads to enforce that promise, which takes forty five minutes. As she reenters the living room, Tynie notifies "We timed our deal perfectly, brother. I just found out, your fax machine's too outdated to handle the newest batch of driver updates. I had to run supportive maintenance on your laptop, and set your fax machine for replacement because of that. So if you're wondering what took me so long, now you know." "That verifies the news story Jack sent me a few minutes ago." Anita ruminates. "Sweetheart, I'll look into the replacement. You'll be updated on how it'll be done, but as far as I can tell, you're on break until then." Bobby purports. "Not arguing." Tynie dubs.
Reclaiming her seat, Tynie's given a soft kiss on her cheek, before her husband departs to prove his word. A couple minutes later, Burt calls, with more unexpected news. An hour ago, he bumped into Kurt and Karrigan at Allwen's. Evidently, the first man was the second's client, and they became friends. As part of it, they chatted about their lives outside of work, only to discover a disheartening common bond. Essentially, at separate family events, where both men came out as gay: they were disavowed. Russell and Justin were by Kurt as it happened, and the last man used it as grounds to get a lawyer. Neil Jensmayer was happy to intervene, but it lead him to uncover Rusell and Justin's families plan to make the same decision. Apparently, they're all part of a religious group, that believes being gay, or associating with gays, redefines being Satanic. Of course, Neil let that be the basis of making sure the families he's opposing, understood the ramifications of bothering any of the guys he's representing again. Then, he called the feds, alleging the religious group's a front for an anti-gay terrorist organization. Upon learning they're already under investigation for that, Neil sent back Justin's payments, and called him to explain why.
Stunningly enough, all he wanted was written proof, sent by certified mail or courier. Neil obliged him, but it lead to a meeting being set, at Kurt's house tomorrow at three. "Damn. We've got to figure out.." Tynie initiates. "Sis, you'll be following our lead, when the times are right. You've given way more than enough, to deserve it." Burt intrudes. "Ok." Tynie slurs. Ending the call by family custom, she growls a breath. "Sis, we all hate the fact, those guys were disavowed over how they love who they do. Karrigan and Burt were right, about it being unfair to make you or my baby work on the retirement parties, though. I know it isn't what you want to hear, but I'll get Bobby to understand, in due time." Anita purports. "Ok." Tynie sighs. A few minutes later, Bobby reenters the room, and is met by his sister in law. Debriefing him, she learns Taia texted him, with even more news. Evidently, Karrigan was sent an eminent domain notice yesterday, that came with a three thousand dollar check. He's already secured it, but the disownments mean, he's moving in with Kurt. They were shopping to prepare for it when Burt met them, and needed advice. She told them to just get enough tubs to transport everything Karrigan can't replace, and call her when it's done. Karrigan agreed, on the condition Frank and Tynie don't work the parties, because those two were the core in how Kurt and Karrigan could retire.
Taia also found out, the fax machine issue Tynie found, is a common one right now. As a result, she's advising the entire family set those devices for replacement, but not do the replacement today. Bobby respected her logic, which means their day just got freed up, but there's a catch. Taia had to understand, if they need a family meeting, Bobby wants it done at their house. She took the deal, so now, Tynie, Bobby, Frank and Anita have to wait on word, about if his catch will happen. "Why'd I just get a sense, we'll get that "yes" within the hour?" Tynie repudiates. "I believe, it's because we suspect more bad news will come out. If we're right, you'll be lead on how it's fixed, so we don't risk an ER visit over it." Frank theorizes. "Fair enough." Tynie submits.
Breaking the split second silence, Anita's text alert goes off, her rushing to find out why. Felicia sent a message, which said she bumped into Derek a bit ago. He started a relationship with Sam, who moved him into her house, with Terri and Kendra. They know about the ordeals with Kurt and Karrigan's families, which inspired a fear, having more than one retirement party will be warped into a reason to be targeted. Understanding that concern, Felicia promised she'd let her family know, and see what they could do. "Sis, find out if Burt or Bill will let us use their land. Then, tell them my advice came out, so we don't risk issues with the fire marshal, on top of that fear coming true." Anita counsels. "Will do. I'll update you when I can." Felicia replies. Concluding that chat, like all other family texted ones, Anita runs her left hand through her hair. Gazing in Tynie's direction, Frank recaps the conversation he saw over his wife's shoulder, and gets a scowl. "I suspect Kendra's family disowned her, like Kurt and Karrigan's. We did hear it's driven by a potential terrorist front group, and they could be members, too. Even if I'm wrong, Derek, Felicia and Anita were right to cut our risks of those issues down." Bobby supposes. "Yeah. Sadly, I can see it spiking our chances of a code red family meeting." Frank garners. "So can I." Tynie admits. "If you guys are right, I'm making it the first time we use the restriction on you working." Anita cautions.
Approving it with nods, Tynie feels her husband embrace her, as Frank reverses the move. Encased in silence, the ladies in that house nestle up to their spouses, aiming to relax. Succeeding for a while, Frank's phone ringing changes that, him answering it right away. DaJuan called, to let them know Sam's offered to host the retirement party at her house, if the family agrees to carpool and contribute to the drinks. "I'm more comfortable with us helping her with security and food costs, on top of what she wants, brother. She didn't know, but if you can text me her number, I'll change that." Frank rebuts. "You'll have the text in a few minutes, brother. I'll let you know who's picking you guys up that day, later." DaJuan elicits. "Just text me when it's settled, brother." Frank instructs. "Will do." DaJuan retorts. Ending that call by kin trends, Frank keeps his promise about calling Sam. Chatting with her, he learns the only way she'll go with his idea is, if he and Tynie abide by the work restriction. "We'll only step in if card issues or gun ones arise. The last one's my turf, because Tynie doesn't own guns, for reasons she's asked me not to explain over the phone. Our family's had horrid luck with our speaker buttons being sensitive, which drove that decision." Frank amends. "I can respect that, Frank. If you're OK with me keeping your number, I'll let you know if your concerns affect me or my property." Sam accommodates. "As long as it's kept private, and you understand you can call me for anything, virtually anytime: you can have my number. If you get my voicemail, I'll call you back or have you called back, when I'm in a totally private location where my phone can be used. You can blame my restrictions on all the scammers in our world, and what I said about speaker buttons, too." Frank redetermines. "Do you mind making that mutual?" Sam worries. "I'm happy to, Sam." Frank defies. Wishing each other well, Frank saves the number he called, and puts his phone up. "Nicely done, brother." Tynie praises. "Thanks." Frank peeps. "Babe, you two have done enough. This may offend Bobby, but I'll need his help on drinks, meals, and fielding whatever comes across our phones, until our day's over." Anita reprimands. "I'm not offended, sis. You just didn't know, I'd prefer our phones get laid on my end table, unless we're using them. It's OK, because I know how to explain it, to anyone who asks." Bobby rebuffs. "I'm not cool with that, guys. You don't let me or Frank slave around, so why should we let you?" Tynie contests. "She's right, that's unfair and dangerous. We can take care of meals, drinks if you're on the phone, and cleaning up, unless a code red arises." Frank sustains. "Alright." Bobby and Anita concede, as one.
Delicately kissing her husband, Anita liberates herself of his hold, takes his phone, and heads for Bobby's endtable. Aligning their phones to it, she sees him follow suit, then leads him into the kitchen. Conversing in soft tones, they agree to make today center on simple meals, beers and coffee. Behind their backs, Frank and Tynie get the coffee table ready, as the surrounding are goes mostly silent. Assembling as they've been all day, Frank and Tynie are served first, but only by moments. True to their norm, all four of them enjoy brunch, right before gentle kisses cue up their clean up plan. As some irony would have it, Frank's phone rings, while he's taking his seat. Fielding the call, Bobby's informed, Derek's and Kendra's families just sent them written disownment letters. "I take it, they did that because of you guys's connection to Kurt or Karrigan." Bobby guesses. "As I understand it, both links are to blame. It's fine, because Derek and Kendra told us, their relatives barely acknowledged their existence anyway. I just, called because I wasn't sure if this fits the bill for Frank's security concern." Sam educates. "It does, but he's my backup. We discussed it after your last call, but he asked me not to explain our family's ways of dealing with those concerns, over the phone. He said, it qualifies for the call restrictions you got, when you exchanged numbers. I'll text you mine, if you agree to carry those over, and only give it to Kendra if you're in total privacy." Bobby abstains. "We have a deal, Bobby. I'll make sure they secure the letters that brought it out, too." Sam condones. "Ok. You'll have my number soon. I have to update the rest of my family, after you get that text, because of the security issue, though." Bobby obstructs. "That's fine." Sam allows. Ending that call like her prior one, he upholds his word, on the text and call out.
Growling another breath, Tynie hears her elder sister repeat it, before Frank loathes "I wish your reaction wasn't justified, ladies. Since it is, you can sit back, until we tell you how you can help." "Ok." Anita and Tynie reply, in perfect sync. Forty minutes later, Jeremiah lets their remaining relatives in, Liza locking up behind them. Enacting family trends for getting comfortable at each other's houses, Bill explains "Kiki advised we carpool here, because of the bridge related detours. We stayed home today, suspecting the news we've gotten so far would lead to this kind of meeting." "This is another time, I hate when shit's justified." Tynie begrudges. Clearing his throat, Bobby briefly meets eyes with his loved ones, while updating them. A matter of minutes after he's done, Mack discovers "Sam and Kurt are going to need our level of home security systems, to use our method of consolidating accounts, and armed guards at the retirement party." "I'm alright with them using my VIP status on the first one, guys." Tynie consents. "Sis, our preferences clashed. You didn't know they would, but by mine: it's better to pay Jeremiah to help them on the second part, then have them use my VIP status on the first, then make a deal on the last one." Jack rescinds. "I have a slightly different idea. If Jeremiah agrees to help, I'll pay La'Tario and Davin, to help me, Frank and Bobby cover the retirement party's security." Clint counteroffers. "You don't have to pay me, Jack. I'll be happy to do it, because those guys have always kicked ass for us." Jeremiah refutes. "Davin, what do you think?" La'Tario dares. "Jeremiah's right, this is a chance for us to show them, we genuinely care. I know Clint wasn't sure, because we barely know Sam, so it's OK." Davin answers. "I'm with him, and I'll bet Frank is, too." Bobby assumes. "I am, but I know why he put it that way. He wanted you to hear it from me, in case you're asked about it later. Jeremiah was right, in a respect he wasn't entirely clear on, too. Considering today's developments, we're safest, not letting money get any more involved than it is now." Frank ascertains. "Wouldn't it be better if we did a divide and conquer on most of that?" Tia wonders. "I believe so, sis." Annalise hinders. "Dean, will you help me split it so Jack and Jeremiah cover Sam's house?" Ted asks. "Sure." Dean replies.
As more irony would have it, Bobby's text alert sounds, seconds later. Grabbing his phone, he sees news from Sam, which nullifies most of his family's latest deal. Kendra already covered it for the people she lives with, and she plans to help Kurt, after Karrigan's move is done. "Tell her we owe her a couple favors for that. I'll update my family, after I tell you, I'll call you later, to set a meeting to discuss the plan for Frank's security concerns." Bobby replies. "Can we do it at my house, tomorrow at one?" Sam asks. "I need the address." Bobby hedges. "You'll have it in a few minutes." Sam promises. "Ok. Hopefully you guys have a good one." Bobby desires. Sending the regard in kind, and keeping her word in the same reply, Sam doesn't know it's being preserved as evidence. Laying their phones aside, Bobby notifies his family of the latest, receiving understanding nods. "He didn't know yet, guys. I'm going with him tomorrow, so I can cut a deal with Kendra on the favors he referenced. You'll be updated on it, the next time we're face to face." Tynie declares. "Frank, I'm curious. Would you consider it an abuse of my power of attorney if, I did your fax machine replacement while they're gone?" Mack inquires. "If you'll have Tynie doublecheck it's quality, and keep me posted: no." Frank quantifies. "Hell, that's fair." Alice reviews. "Definitely. I just hope it's understood, I don't want her relegated into doing that for all our fax machine replacements." Anita adjudicates. "She won't be, because my baby's and Daddy's are my turf. I'm pretty sure I can get Lori or Tia to do Jeremiah and Bill's." "Lori, are you OK with splitting that?" Tia poses. "I'd prefer it, and to have my honey help her, actually. She didn't know, but it's because of Bill's post in our lawsuit, and the bridge repair detours." Lori contradicts. "Clint, would you help me help those ladies?" Markus challenges. "It depends. Do you mind picking my baby up, so you two can do Jeremiah's, while me and Lori do Bill''s?" Clint impedes. "I'll be glad to, brother." Markus reclaims. "Guys, all that means is, La'Tario's fax machine replacement's on me and my baby." Davin decrees. "Flo, I have a confession. Had Markus not arranged for Clint to do your fax machine replacement, I'd have paid him ten grand to change that. You may hate my logic, but it's grounded in you and Ted's connections to our lawsuit." Alice conveys. "Guys, she's right. Since our fax machine replacements are technically linked to that case, and they involve special arrangements, we'd be safest making them gifts." Annalise realizes. "She took the words right from my mouth, guys." Flo affirms.
Settling it with nods, Flo and her relatives strive to relax, and gets another surprise. Cuddled up to Bobby, Tynie mumbles a prayer over everyone from Kurt to Kendra. "Did she just give Jimmy's post in her life, up for them?!" Alice panics. "No. She asked him to look out for them, because she fears, more shit will hit. Sadly, the disownments make that, very plausible. To tell you the truth, it's why I'm about to ask Bobby for permission to get Sam's number, and text her and Kurt. I'm telling them he forgot to arrange it, because he was justifiably upset by the news. Then, I'll pull a Bill, saying if anything comes up that warrants hell being raised: I want called, regardless of the hour." Jack intervenes. "Make me primary on that, brother. If they ask, say my decision came down, because we don't know if we'll need to use my retirement status on the hell raising aspect." Liza directs. "You got it, sis." Jack submits. "Spousal consent's a thing of the Gods." Tynie refers. After hearing that, Jack frees his wife from his embrace, kisses her cheek, and acts on the newest plan. "There's only one way I'll go with that, Jack. You need to make Bobby understand, it clears one of the favors he mentioned." Sam obstructs. "Will do. Tynie will discuss options for the other favor with you, tomorrow. She told us a bit ago, and asked me to let you know, before she gave me access to Bobby's phone." Jack absolves. Accepting that, and wishing them all well, Sam gets the wish returned. Ending the conversation, Jack lays Bobby's phone down, and looks to him. "You bumped the text to speech feature on, brother. It's fine, because I can use that, to prove Sam's condition was just covered." Bobby imparts.
Abruptly nodding, Jack retreats to his wife's side, as a new silence envelops the area. Finally getting some peace in their day, Tynie's family enjoys it, along with brief affections. Disbanding the last round, DaJuan leads his wife into the kitchen, to get everyone another drink. Trailing them, Mack and Alice begin working on the next meal, while Davin and Keisha arise to prep the coffee table. Serving all the people in Frank's living room, Felicia explains what she saw. "All that means is, cleanup is on me and my baby." Bill informs. "I'd prefer we split it four ways, brother. You didn't know, but you know our views on risking ER visits." Burt disputes. "That's why I'm taking my honey into the kitchen, to help Mack and Alice." Anita recuses. "Ok." Bill sighs. Acting on his wife's idea, Frank sees her approach Mack. "You know, you could've asked us for backup, right?" Anita dares. "Yeah. I just didn't know if Tynie would need Frank close, because of today's stress and his powers on your insurance." Mack rationalizes. "Bobby's got her covered, brother. He knows, all it'll take for us to stand by powers of attorney being used on that is, being told. I'll admit, you were slick and your motives were sweet, but next time: tell us you need help." Anita dissents. "Sure thing." Mack replies.
Resuming their work, those four don't really see see drink cleanup being done. Jeremiah does, and it inspires him to lean back and announce "Mack, Bobby just checked Tynie's heart rate. It's fine, but he doesn't want her doing any more work today, unless a dire emergency forces it. I don't blame him, but I promised him, I'd update the restriction so you guys don't work again during our meeting. You may not like it, but Burt was right, ER visits are the absolute last thing we need to risk today. Matter of fact, it's why I'm sharing the next round of cleanup with my baby, Kiki, and Ted." Conceding with nods, Mack, Alice, Frank and Anita soon deliver steaks with sautee'd onions and baked potatoes to their loved ones. Taking their shares to their seats, those four discover their family waited on that, to begin enjoying the meal. As it's done, Jeremiah's cleanup plan comes to fruition, while La'Tario restarts the chain of couples cuddling. Ending it, Alice mutters "I hope everyone in Sam and Kurt's households will be OK." "We all do, sis. Unfortunately, all we can do for now, is wait and see. You know, if I knew of an alternative, I'd explain it to you guys." Bill bemoans. Gently removing Bobby's arms from around herself, Tynie poses her left hand, as if she's about to snap her fingers. "We know that breaks your heart, too. It's in your tone, but that inspired a decision, you may not have expected. If any of y'all come up with an alternative, and you think for **snaps fingers** that long you'll need me to come off retirement; all you have to do is: call me. Yeah, I know it basically revokes Tia's deal. The thing is, my conscience would kick my ass to Kingdom Come if you were targeted by an asshole who figured out your connections to this and our lawsuit." Tynie adds. "Sis, my conscience would do the same thing to me, if we took your latest offer. Don't get me wrong, it was sweet and badass of you, but you're half the core of how we know the people who are directly affected. Frank's the other half, and he can probably vouch, letting you step in would spike your retaliation risks sky high." Liza confesses. "There's no "probably" about it, sis. I'm aware you claimed it that way, so you wouldn't risk lying on my name, so it's fine." Frank declines. "Tynie, we know you hate waiting in the wings. We all do, but they're right, it's way too dangerous for you or Frank to intervene. Hell, it may even be too risky for us to let you keep your deals with Sam on the retirement party." DaJuan implores. "Sadly, it is, for most of them. Bobby can keep the one that brought out their meeting tomorrow, but I'm taking lead on the other ones. I'll need one of you to join the armed guards, and may need help paying for the food and drinks, though." Dean amends. "I'll do both, brother." Markus insists.
Taking her back into his arms, Bobby feels his wife nestle up, and sees her eyes close. "We just broke her heart." Tianna gripes. "Sis, we only meant to keep you safe. Believe me, if shit was different, we'd have made your offer a contingency, and got you fifths of Jack Daniels either way." Taia pleads. "I'd have advised you only get one, sis. You could've blamed it on the bridge repair related detours and our fax machine situation, too." Anita alters. "Can't Bobby frame this, around finding out Frank's security concerns ran deeper than he or Tynie expected?" Kiki interferes. "I'd very strongly advise it. Of course, it'd mean he gets Sam's consent to give Dean and Markus her contact information." Bill vouches. "Consider it done, guys." Bobby eludes.
Aiming to adjourn today's business yet again, Tynie's family lets the area revert to being silent, then resumes trying to relax. By an injection of good luck, they succeed, until Taia restarts their restroom use pattern. Finishing it, Jeremiah's awaited, so his kin can enact their norms for ending meetings. Securing their house in the process, Frank walks up on his sister in law. "I need to apologize, for failing you again, sis. You've come to count on me keeping you safe, but Dean had to today. There's no excuse, but I hope you can forgive me." Frank apologizes. "Our perspectives clashed, brother. You didn't know they would, but by mine, Dean proved you and Bobby have backup. He had kickass timing, too. Anita explained how I can base that, when she reminded us about those fucking detours. Now, all I want you to do is: trust my word, hug me, and let me know if you need me to split the driving on any more code red call outs." Tynie disapproves. Slowly smiling, Frank obliges most of her request, then lines his lips with her left ear. "I'll let Bobby know, if the driving angle comes into play. You know how a lot of people use detours, especially late at night." Frank whispers through his teeth. "As long as you use my Mazda, so we don't have as high a risk of being assrammed by those nutstains in traffic, it's fine." Tynie restricts. "Deal." Frank softly elicits. Kissing her cheek, he disbands the embrace, and returns to Anita's side. "What'd we miss?" Anita goads. "Tynie and I making a deal, so your Gladiator's only used if her Mazda's in the shop or she gets called out between tonight and the retirement party. As part of it, I'll need Bobby ready to split the driving on any code red call outs we get in the same timeline. You can blame it on how traffic usually gets in detours, too." Frank explicates. "What about using our Harleys?" Anita probes. "We should only do it for call outs to separate locations, or to renew our licenses, between now and the end of that bridgework." Bobby refrains. "I'll let our family know, so they can carry our decision over." Frank offers. "Thanks, brother." Tynie ingratiates.
Flinching a nod, he grabs his phone, and learns Kiki already covered it. She did so, to give that household a break, since they hosted an urgent family meeting. Thanking her, Frank shares good night messages with everyone, and holsters his phone. "Our text to speech apps are sensitive as hell." Tynie curses. "Yeah, and we owe Kiki one." Bobby defers. "I'll make this a returnable favor, another time, guys." Anita volunteers.
As a change of pace, Bobby approves that with a hug, as his wife hugs Frank, again. Keeping it brief, Anita reverses the roles, before husband leads them across the house. Splitting off, both couples seclude in their areas, and live out their day ending routines. Enthralled in the sexual aspects of that, no one in Tynie's family's interrupted. Sweaty, satiated, and snuggled up, all those couples softly vow love. Awaiting slumber, they all concede to it, as a mutual annoyance returns to their minds. That being:
The fact they're stuck waiting in the wings, again.