Hi everyone, I've only got a few more chapters left of this mammoth and I might be able to finish this month! Hurray for me and camp nano!

Unfortunately, I've also written a few one shots to distract me. So let's see how this goes.

Here is another chapter detailing more of the wedding in the now timeline. Now, I'm British, and I went to a wedding rehearsal dinner last year. We don't have these in the UK and I have no idea about them, which is what this chapter basically was.

I also wrote this in a few days and didn't check it, so if you see a problem give me a shout.

TFG

Chapter 30

Despite everything that could have gone wrong the night of Phil's bachelor party, absolutely nothing did. They all had a rip-roaringly good time at the Birdcage, enjoying the cabaret. Then, they had bar crawled a few places, challenging each other to different drinking challenges, before making their way to strip clubs in Greater LA. They finished up their evening, or early morning, hopping from club to club, drinking more and dancing up a storm.

Well, dancing in the loosest sense. Wildwing looked up some of the photos and videos that they had taken, and he couldn't help but cringe in second hand embarrassment. They were all very drunk and were clearly 'dad dancing' at that point.

Luckily, those were the only embarrassing photos that made their way to the papers and gossip magazines. It seemed that Johner's pre-emptive strike to the media and the Ducks good faith with the people of the California had allowed them some privacy during their night out.

Wildwing was beyond thankful that no one found out about Duke and Roxie's tryst in the Birdcage. If someone had gotten a photo of that, then the media fallout would have been colossal. And, most likely, would have caused Phil and Diana's wedding to be postponed. Which they would have never forgiven Duke for.

But, the only photos that were published from the Birdcage were all the publicity shots that the cabaret clubs photographer took. Each looked fantastic and showed the group applauding or chatting to one of the performers.

The only downside about the night out was the raging hangovers that everyone was suffering from the next morning. Even Grin, who had double the body weight of everyone else, had drunk enough for a two day hangover. The poor drake spent those two days curled up on his bathroom floor being coaxed into drinking Gatorade by Nosedive and Roxie. When he didn't move, they threw a blanket over him and brought him a pillow.

The girls on the other hand had an easier few days. They had not partied as hard during the bachelorette party, they had mostly been pampered while drinking prosecco. Wildwing did hear from Roxie that Phil's ninety-eight year old grandmother had arranged a few male strippers to entertain and serve them the prosecco, but he was trying not to think about that too much.

"My god, she was wild! I hope that when I'm that old I'll still be able to party like that!" Roxie exclaimed over breakfast on Thursday morning.

"And Phil's mother looked horrified. Li...li...like she would rather be anywhere else or, you know, ack...acknowledge what her step-mother was doing," Tanya added as she made French toast. She too, looked awe-inspired by the tales of the little odd lady doing tequila shots of the body of a half-naked twenty-two year old.

None of the Ducks had really met any of Phil's family before, as most of Phil's family lived up the west coast with some in the Midwest. There had been a few occasions over the last six years when a few members had visited Anaheim to see Phil, the manager had introduced them to the Ducks. But those visits were few and far between.

It was very strange to suddenly have them all descend, and even stranger to have Phil actually pay for the hotel rooms they were staying in. It was true that Phil had not actually sprung for the best hotels, going for a local budget hotel instead. But, it was clean, had good reviews, was close by the Pond and had a nice breakfast. So far, none of Phil's family had complained.

And, as it was close by, it meant that several of Phil's family were hanging out at the Pond. Especially his young nephews and nieces, as well as his future step-children. There were several big rooms set up as play rooms or dens for the kids to use. But, they also spent a lot of time on the ice, either skating or playing games.

Except when the Ducks and their human team-mates were training. Then all the boys were suddenly very helpful. Running errands for both Ian and Wildwing while the older girls looked on with starry eyes.

It made their Thursday practice a little difficult, with so many children running around and no adults willing to curtail them. Most of adults had all gone to visit various places around Anaheim and LA, just dropping their kids off as if the Pond was a day care centre. Phil had let it slip that the Ducks lived under the Pond and there would always be someone around.

"Come on kids, we have to clear the ice and I don't want anyone to get hurt!" Wildwing exclaimed after the fifth time he had saved a young boy from getting hit in the face by a flying puck.

"Okay guys, everyone this way, let's get organised or your mom's will be on the warpath. And I don't want Nana to properly whoop us for spoiling Uncle Phil's wedding photos," came the commanding voice of the eldest of Phil's nieces who was signalling all the children to make their way to the home players' box.

"Thanks Amanda," called Wildwing with a smile. This was a slight mistake, as the girl then blushed furiously signalling another crush on the embarrassed goalie.

"Is that, like, all six of them now, plus one nephew?" Nosedive asked, trying to hide his snorts of amusement.

"Don't, I just can't anymore," Wildwing admonished his brother. So far, Wildwing had received the most fan mail out of all the Ducks. He also received the most provocative mail, especially as he was always in the top ten most attractive sportsmen lists of most women's magazines. And, it seemed, he had the same effect on most of Phil's nieces.

Once the ice had once again been cleared, with Amanda organising all the children's 'help', the practice ran a lot smoother. They were actually trying to play some mini games with the teams integrated with humans and ducks, to practice how the humans worked with the Ducks.

Ian and Wildwing were both on the side-lines, with his clipboard, making copious amounts of notes while Roxie was on her laptop updating all the telemetry that was being fed from the ice. She was still working on her new programme and was giving the feedback to Ian and Wildwing every ten minutes, which they would then used to update their training team rota.

It felt odd to Wildwing not to be kitted up and on the ice for game play, but this gave him a better view of how his players were working with each other and against each other. He could see that Chris and Nosedive worked well as an offensive duo, often playing off each other, with Duke coming up for support. Mallory seemed to be working well with another young man, Doug, and together, they had managed to get past the defensive line that Tanya had put up.

It seemed that Ryan actually worked better in defence with Grin, rather than on the offensive. So, both Ian and Wildwing decided that they might see if the young man would prefer to play that position.

"This suits you, you know," Roxie piped up, sitting on the barrier next to the two guys on the ice.

"What does?" Wildwing asked, barely taking his eyes off the players.

"This, being in charge. Commanding, judging, changing, moving, captaining, coaching, take your pick. You are a great player, but this suits you," Roxie expanded, turning over her lasted notes.

"I like playing."

"I know you do. You look so happy on the ice. But lately, you've been looking quite happy on the side-lines too," Roxie said, to which Ian agreed, saying that Wildwing would be a great coach when he decides to retire from playing.

He understood that they were trying to give him a compliment. That he understood the game so well that he was such a good coach as well as a great captain. But, it didn't feel that way to Wildwing. In his mind, it felt like they were telling him to make a life plan for being on Earth, as he was never going to leave.

The idea of never leaving Earth had occurred to him many times before. Usually when he was feeling really down and homesick, or when he was coming up to one of the many anniversaries that made his heart sick. But, while he was on the ice, he could normally focus on that.

Looking out onto the integrated teams of ducks and humans made the realisation hit him harder than it had ever before. He had really developed a life that was not on his home world, and it looked like everyone else had as well.

"Right, everyone, time to call practice quits, or else Phil might kill us," Ian called out, bringing Wildwing out of his melancholy thoughts.

"Hold back guys, we're going to need to talk to a few of you," Wildwing added, holding up a list before he started reeling off a few names.

The young men whose names had been read were told to get out of their practice gear as quickly as possible and make their way up to Ian's office upstairs. Everyone else had to make a quick trip to their HR department to fill in a few forms.

"So, what you gonna talk to them all about?" Duke asked, skating silently to stand next to Wildwing and Ian, while throwing a quick look over to Roxie as she made her exit. It took a lot to keep the smirk off his beak, knowing that she was on her way to his room.

"We're gonna offer some of them a place on the team for the next season, and offer a few others a reserve spot, so that they can be on the team for next year's season," Ian answered, showing Duke the list.

The older drake quickly scanned the list, making some comments under his breath in another language. Wildwing didn't need to understand to know exactly who those comments were being directed at. Duke had tripped Ryan twice that practice when the young man had yelled something obscene at Roxie again.

"Well, I'll let you two get to it, I'm gonna go and shower, wanna get spruced up for the rehearsal tonight," Duke said with a smile and a nod of his head.

The Ducks had been really confused when Phil had told them about the rehearsal dinner. There were a few wedding traditions that seemed to be consistent between Earth and Puckworld, but a rehearsal dinner was not one of them.

And then Phil had dropped the bombshell on Wildwing that he would like him to make a speech during both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding reception. It was phrased as if it was a great honour to be chosen to speak, and Wildwing knew that he should be honoured. But, he didn't feel very comfortable speaking at an event that he didn't understand.

Wildwing had attempted to find out more about rehearsal dinners, but he hadn't had much luck. He had tried to get Roxie to explain it to him, as she has a huge family and had been to dozens of weddings and rehearsal dinners. And, after several explanations he still didn't understand them.

From what he understood, all you were meant to do at a rehearsal dinner was eat and meet the other people who were going to the wedding. And, listen to speeches from the members of the bridal parties.

Wildwing was the only Duck who had been asked to be part of the bridal party, he was going to be one of Phil's groomsmen. Phil's brother, Ross, was his best man, with Diana's two youngest sons being the other groomsmen. Her eldest son was going to walk her down the aisle. The bridesmaids were mostly made up of Phil's nieces and Diana's friends.

They had had the wedding rehearsal the day before, which was why most of Phil's nieces had now developed a crush on Wildwing. They had been the ones to keep helping him through the rehearsal, and he had been very polite and thankful to them. The attention and gratitude of a sports star was very intoxicating for young girls and teens.

He had tried to write his speech a few times, which is why he might had been thinking more about Ella over the last days. He had tried to put in anecdotes about love and making a life together, but it was hard, when that was all that Wildwing wanted and everything he couldn't have.

After many failed attempts at trying to write a heartfelt speech, Roxie and Nosedive had convinced him to just put in funny stories about Phil. They did have many of those, and Roxie assured him that a roasting was perfectly acceptable in a wedding toast.

"Why are you doing it anyway? Shouldn't Phil's brother be doing it?" Roxie had asked as she helped Wildwing and Nosedive move around parts of the speech.

"Probably wanted to show off his prima duckie," Nosedive had answered, with a big grin on his beak.

Which was most likely true. What was even more likely was that Phil just wanted more things said about him, as he had become a complete 'Bridezilla'. This was going to be Phil's first and only wedding, as far as he was concerned, and he wanted it to be perfect.

The dinner that evening was just going to be thirty people. Most of the people who had already travelled into the city for the wedding would be there, so it was mostly Phil's and Diana's out of town family members. Plus the Ducks and a few of the other important people who worked in both the Mighty Ducks franchise and Diana's law office.

The meetings with the younger players went really well, each were very happy about the news that they were either starting that season or were being considered for the next season. And, Wildwing was surprised to find that he finished the meetings a lot earlier than he thought he would.

At least that would give him more time to practice his speech again. He made his way back to Duke's room, as the older drake always gave him decent feedback whenever he had to hear one of Wildwing's many speeches.

Pressing the buzzer on Duke's door, Wildwing was surprised to see Duke almost instantly answer it. The older drake was just wearing a towel and his eyepatch. It was usually the first thing that he put on when he got out of the shower.

"Hey Wing, what's up?" Duke asked, trying to towel dry his mane.

"Nothing really, just want to go through my speech again, if that's okay?" Wildwing replied, holding up his notecards.

And then he realised the shower had just turned on while Duke was in front of him. He didn't even need to ask to know who was in Duke's shower and why he probably wouldn't be willing to hear his speech again.

"Never mind, just don't be late," Wildwing sighed, before turning on his heel and leaving his team mate to his plans. He didn't plan to do anything with Roxie that evening. At least not before dinner, it just happens that the young woman was practically living in his room now. Most of her clothing was now sitting in his closets, along with her jewellery and accessories.

Now, once the door closed and was locked again, Duke began to get ready for the evening. He pulled on his suit pants and the black shirt that he then tucked into them, and did up his black leather belt. He pulled out the matching suit jacket and threw it on the bed and looked through his collection of silk ties. After a few moments of contemplation, he chose a deep plum patterned tie. He didn't know why he had decided to go almost all black, but he knew that he looked stylish.

Duke could see the dress that Roxie was planning to wear hanging on the back of the bathroom door. It was a beautiful, black, satin shift dress. It looked like it would hug every curve that she had, and show off her shapely legs. Especially with the tall silver heels she was planning to wear with them.

It was in moments like this, moments that were almost completely domestic, that Duke suddenly realised how happy he was. He knew that the others had prolonged periods of homesickness and melancholy, with Wildwing going through it almost annually.

But, Duke realised, that he didn't go through those phases. He had a lot more on Earth than he had on Puckworld. He had people that he trusted implicitly, respect and admiration, and someone who he felt so much for. Whereas on Puckworld, he had no family, expect for a sister who hated him. A sister whose life he probably ruined before the Saurians invaded. He had several people who would slit his throat at any given time and an immeasurable amount of warrants and cases against him.

Thinking back on his life, he felt like he didn't deserve the happiness he had now found. He didn't deserve to love someone when he had taken so many people's lives. He didn't deserve to have a life of joy and contentment when he had almost certainly destroyed his only sister's. He didn't deserve to have people he trusted when he betrayed everyone he had ever known.

That was when Roxie chose to walk out of the bathroom, already in the underwear that she had chosen to wear. A glorious set of black lace, with a plunging bra and thong. He could see that she was wearing a suspender belt as well, meaning that she was planning to wear stockings that evening.

"See something you like?" Roxie asked, sitting down on the bed to roll the seamed stockings up her legs and attach them to the suspender clips.

"I don't deserve you," Duke said solemnly after several moments of tense silence.

"Feeling introspective?"

"Yeah, I've done a lot of bad shit, Angel, and I don't deserve to have you in my life," Duke answered, coming to sit behind his lover.

"Is this really the time to start talking about this? I mean, I realise that you were a pretty bad guy before you came here, but you've changed. So, we don't need to get into it, especially not at the moment," Roxie said plainly, as she continued to roll up her stockings.

"We do need to talk about things, a lot of things, Angel."

With a deep sigh, Roxie turned to look at Duke but then turned back around and stood up. She walked over to where her make-up was stored and began to pull out various items. All the while, Duke sat and watched her get ready.

She looked fantastic; her bright rainbow hair was pinned back but still falling freely down her back. And her back was flawless, smooth creamy skin on full display to only him that evening. She had kept her eyes light, with only black mascara and eyeliner, with a slight shimmer of colour. She had applied a light blush across her cheekbones, but was applying a bright red lipstick.

Duke loved it when Roxie wore lipstick. Especially when she wrapped those painted lips around a specific part of his anatomy. The colour would always make them look fuller, and pouty. When he first arrived on Earth, all the Ducks had thought lips were weird, and colouring them with stains were even weirder. Now though, Duke had begun to greatly appreciate them.

Standing up, Duke opened the top drawer from the bedside table on his side of the bed. He took a quick glance at the matching table on the other side of the bed with a smile. He definitely didn't think that a girl, let alone an Earth girl, would have a side of his bed.

In the drawer, which Roxie never looked in, there were a few blue velvet boxes of various sizes. Each contained a piece of jewellery that Duke had commissioned from a local bespoke jewellery store. Over the last few years, he had spent an obscene amount of money there, but he was happy to do so. The jeweller put a lot of time and dedication to each piece, and, most importantly, he was very discreet.

Currently, the drawer contained two new necklaces, a few pairs of earrings, and a ring with a matching wristband. Roxie probably wouldn't understand what the wristband meant, as only Tanya had one and she didn't talk about it to anyone. But she would definitely understand what the ring meant.

He had commissioned both a few months ago, and had only picked them up a few days ago. They were both platinum, with a selection of different coloured diamonds and other precious gems forming a rainbow around a large diamond. Diamonds were not particularly coveted on Puckworld, as it was a planet of snow and ice, but he knew they were important on Earth. This way, both of their cultures were incorporated.

He didn't have plans yet for those two pieces of jewellery, he only knew that he wanted to use them. He reached instead for a long box, that was just in front of them. It contained a single strand of pearls that had taken months to make, as Duke was very specific.

Coming to stand behind his lover, with the box in hand, he rested his other hand on her hip and just watched her applying her make-up. It was comfortable and had now become so familiar.

"Got something on your mind there, Duke?" Roxie eventually asked, looking up into his reflection to see him smiling fondly.

"Got a present for you, Angel," Duke replied, placing the velvet box in front of her.

Putting down her make-up, Roxie picked up the box. Over the years Duke had given her many gifts, especially jewellery. She knew that Duke was once a jewel thief, so that explained his fondness towards jewellery and why he liked to express a lot of his feelings through giving jewellery.

She opened up the box to find a beautiful white pearl necklace. It had a silver clasp that looked a little bit like a lily. Each pearl looked absolutely perfect, and gleamed in the light with an almost snowy white sheen. It was obviously very expensive, which made Roxie feel slightly overwhelmed.

"I'm not really a pearl person," Roxie said with a small shrug, putting down the box.

"I know, but I thought it would look nice with that black dress. And with these black undies you're wearing. And look, I was right," Duke said as he pulled out the necklace and fastened it around Roxie's slim neck.

"It does look lovely, thank you," Roxie replied, her hand coming up to touch the smooth surfaces of the pearls.

"My mother had a set, this is an exact replica. I had it made for you. My sister was wearing them, the last time I saw her. She loved those pearls. I wanted you to have something, special," Duke said, slowly and meaningfully.

It wasn't very often that Roxie was lost for words, Duke knew this. The girl could out argue everyone he knew. She could even keep up with Nosedive's motor mouth, which was impressive.

He wanted to speak more, to tell her exactly how he felt but the girl clamped his beak shut with her hands. It was entirely frustrating, knowing that she knew what he wanted to say. And she refused to let him say it.

Instead, the girl dropped to her knees and did what she did when she didn't want to talk about her feelings. She distracted him with sex, to which he never complained. He just let her show how she was feeling instead of making her talk about it.

By the time six o'clock rolled around, all the Ducks plus Johner and Roxie were standing in the garage, dressed as nicely as they could. Johner had explained that even though the invitation had said 'semi-casual' everyone would most likely be dressed up.

Johner had been sent by Phil to make sure that all the Ducks got to the restaurant on time, despite the fact that they had not been late for a single event since they defeated Dragaunus. But, as Phil was being a total control freak, Johner had no problem escaping for a little while and organising a group of responsible adults into two cars.

Since they had defeated the last Saurian Overlord, the Ducks had not used the Migrator as often as they had before. There was no need to, as they would be unlikely to need the firepower. Instead, they two would offer to be the designated drivers. Each of the Ducks had their own car, or in Duke and Wildwing's case a car and a motorcycle. But no one had a car big enough to take all six Ducks, especially taking Grin into account.

"Okay, Grin and Tanya have volunteered to stay sober tonight, so let's pile in and get going," Wildwing said, gesturing towards the green SUV that belonged to Grin and the black BMW that belonged to Tanya.

Duke, Roxie, and Nosedive all piled into Grin's SUV while Wildwing, Johner and Mallory jumped into Tanya's BMW. The trip wasn't very long, only twenty minutes at the most, but the Ducks did not like to be outside during the summer. They had all come from a planet of snow and ice, so they didn't do well in the Californian summer heat.

The drive in Grin's car was actually quite pleasant, they were all playing a trivia game, which Grin enjoyed. Whereas, the ride in Tanya's car was quite tense, as Mallory had piled into the back next to Wildwing. Johner had taken the passengers seat to give Tanya directions, as she didn't do well driving to places that she was unfamiliar with. This left Mallory in the backseat with Wildwing, and the hen had once again signalled that she would like a little more from her team captain.

Wildwing tried to be as diplomatic as he could, as quietly as he could, in trying to move away from the forward duck. He didn't particularly want to talk about his beloved girlfriend with Mallory, as he felt that was private, but he didn't want her to continue either.

When they finally arrived at the restaurant, Wildwing the avoidance king, practically jumped out the car before it had fully stopped. His brother even commented that he looked like he was running from a Saurian that had been brought back from the dead.

The inside of the restaurant was very nicely decorated, which had been done by Johner and Diana's mother earlier that afternoon. There were streamers, fairly lights, balloons and a large banner that read 'Congratulations Phil and Di!'. And everything was colour coordinated, in purple, white and silver.

"Hey there Wildwing, good to see you again," Ross, Phil's brother and best man said as he grabbed the drakes hand for a handshake. The man seemed to love to shake his hand, so that he could gawk at the ducks four fingers and feathers.

All the Ducks had gotten used to this treatment, especially with new people. It was irritating though, with so many members of Phil and Diana's family doing it repeatedly. Though, Phil's grandmother had hit each of her grandsons for doing it repeatedly. The younger children knew not to do anything rude to the Ducks in her presence.

Before dinner there was a lot mingling, with drinks, to allow everyone to get to know each other. There were so many members of Phil's family that it was getting hard to keep track of everyone and how they were related. Luckily for Wildwing, Amanda, Phil's oldest niece and one of the bridesmaids, was keeping him informed.

"That's Aunt Jackie, she's the one my mom and grandma doesn't like. She's got a really good job, but she only sends really cheap presents. That's Great Uncle Rob, his dad died at the landing of Normandy, so he's got this really cool medal. And that's my second cousin, Tony, he's pre-med in Ohio," Amanda explained, pointing to each person she was talking about, making Wildwing wish he was taking notes on little cards.

The girl seemed to know everything that went on in the Palmfeather family. It reminded Wildwing of one of his aunts on his father's side. That hen knew everything and it was terrifying. But, it did help Wildwing keep track of everyone that he was being forced to speak to that week.

The rest of the Ducks didn't have to interact with as many of Phil's relatives as Wildwing did, as they were not part of the wedding party. Apparently, some of Wildwing's responsibilities was to take care of Phil's family members. And he was thankful that Amanda was there to help him, as he was the one walking her down the aisle, much to the young woman's delight and embarrassment.

"So, are you looking forward to the wedding?" Ross ask as they sat down at the extremely large table that they were all eating dinner.

The restaurant was a Chinese restaurant that was popular with the Ducks and Phil, the portly manager ordered from it multiply times a week. Or, he did when he was a bachelor, since he began his relationship with Diana he had been forced to cut back to it only being a fortnightly treat.

"Yes, I'm very happy for Phil," Wildwing replied, entirely sincere. He was happy that their portly manager had somehow managed to find a woman who loved him and a family that he adored, and not just because it meant they didn't need to do as many insane publicity stunts as they had done before.

They all gave Phil a hard time, as he has mostly acting through his own selfishness and greed. He had practically seen dollar signs as soon as he had seen the Ducks, but he has done a lot for them over the last six plus years. He managed to get them citizenship in the USA within months of their landing, as well as getting them into the NHL within weeks. He even put them up in his own home for the first few weeks before they managed to move into the player's lounge of the Pond when they were all sick from moving planets and dimensions.

"So, weddings much different on Puckworld?" Ross's wife, Rachel, asked him.

"A little bit, some of the customs are similar, but the specifics are a little different. We don't really do white, considering everything on our planet is white, so our weddings tend to be quite colourful instead. And, we don't have many flowers, its more ribbons or live plants," Wildwing explained.

"You ever think about getting married? Or, were you married, on, your planet?" Rachel asked.

It was an incredibly personal question, which Wildwing didn't want to answer, especially to this vapid woman who had complained six times about the size of the floral centrepieces. Luckily, he was saved from answering by the angel that was Roxie, who insisted that they needed his opinion on some wedding decision.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the human couple, Wildwing went to profusely thank his human ally, but stopped short. He couldn't help but stare at the young woman's neck, or, more precisely, what was wrapped around it.

After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, in which Roxie began to nervously finger the string of pearls around her neck, she finally asked what was wrong.

"Sorry, Roxie, um, I just, it's that necklace. My, um, my girlfriend used to have the exact same string," Wildwing explained.

"Really? How can you tell? They all look the same to me," Roxie dismissed, still fingering the necklace.

"No, I'm telling you, they are exactly the same. I saw her wear them every day for over three years," Wildwing said seriously, "Hey Dive! Do those look familiar to you?"

Upon hearing his name, Nosedive wandered up to his brother and friend, looking confused. Until he saw the necklace around Roxie's neck and agreed that Wildwing's girlfriend had the exact same set.

"Where'd you get them, Roxer-roo?" Nosedive asked, as he understood that perfect pearls would be very expensive. He had thought about getting Mallory a set for Christmas one year when she complained that she had nothing classy to wear for their awards and benefits.

"They were a gift," Roxie admitted quickly, trying not to look in the direction of Duke, who was holding up the bar with another one of Phil's brothers.

While Wildwing instantly knew who the gift-giver was and dropped it, Nosedive seemed a little more curious. It was again making Wildwing think that his brother might know more than he was letting on, and was just trying to make Roxie uncomfortable. Which she obviously was, as she escaped quickly to get a drink.

"You know who gave her those, right?" Nosedive asked, once his friend had left.

"I do, do you?" Wildwing questioned, his arms crossed over his chest trying to hide his own uncomfortableness.

"Her secret lover, Duke? Yeah, they're not exactly subtle, even I notice that they've been living together for the last six months," Nosedive admitted, taking a quick sip of his beer.

"If you know, why don't you talk to her about it?" Wildwing asked, his arms dropping to his sides in irritation. He really didn't want to deal with anymore childish antics or secrets.

"I want her to tell me, I mean, she's been keeping it a secret for so long, I kind of want to make her suffer through admitting it herself," Nosedive said with a cheeky smile and a wink towards his brother, before he ran off in the direction of his friend. But not before he told his brother not to tell Roxie that he knew.

"What was that about?" came Phil's voice all of a sudden, to which Wildwing replied that it was nothing. He definitely knew that Phil didn't know and he probably wouldn't want to know.

The talked for a few moments, with Phil letting him know that they were going to start dinner soon and that Wildwing would have his speech after the main course. The first person to speak would be his brother, and then it would be Wildwing's turn.

He had to hold back a groan, as it meant that Wildwing would have to sit back at the table with Ross and his wife, and the other members of the wedding party. He really wished that he could sit at the other end of the table with Roxie, Johner and the other Ducks. Especially since he knew that his brother knew about Roxie and Duke, and would probably be trying to make them both uncomfortable. It did put all their recent interactions in a new light, all the looks he threw at Duke when someone hit on Roxie or asked about her dating status.

He looked over to see Nosedive sitting next to Roxie, with Duke sitting on the other side of her and Johner sitting on the other side of Nosedive. Mallory was sitting next to Duke and Tanya sitting next to her. Grin was sitting next to Johner, as they liked to talk about meditation. It seemed working with Phil had made Johner appreciate the art of relaxation.

"Hey Dukester, what do you think of Roxie's pearls? You're a jewellery, connoisseur right?" Nosedive asked, throwing a sneaky glance over at Roxie which his brother caught all the way on the other side of the table.

"Yeah, they're really nice. My mother had a set just like that," Duke said, leaning over with a smile and causing both Mallory and Tanya to look at and comment on the strand of pearls.

"You know, Wing was saying his... friend, had a set like this too. Are they common on Puckworld?" Roxie asked, looking between all the Ducks and hoping that she didn't give away Wildwing's secret past.

"Not really, I think their more common in the Southern side of Rouen, where it's a little warmer, but over in Mallar they're quite expensive," Mallory answered.

"You're from Rouen, right Duke? Actually, so was she, so that might explain it," Nosedive realised, his mind suddenly coming back to all the Rouenin lessons Ella had given him.

This caused a huge debate about all fifteen unified languages that Duke could speak, with most of the other Ducks saying that there was no need to know so many languages. It was actually Nosedive who took Duke's side, saying that if they didn't learn the other languages of their planet, then they might die out.

"That's happened on Earth. I read a book about dying and dead languages, for fun. It said that Gaelic, a language in Scotland, I think, is almost entirely dead. And that another language in the same country, Welsh I think, they brought it back to life by making it mandatory in schools," Duke explained, subtly stroking his partner's leg while he spoke.

Roxie wanted to punch Duke, especially when he told everyone her pearls looked like his mother's strand. And now his hand had pushed up her hem so high that he could trace the lace of her stockings. She now really wished that she didn't wear them, or that she didn't show him what she was wearing. She couldn't even elbow him without everyone noticing, and he knew it. So, she just relaxed and tried not to draw attention to it.

Luckily, the food arrived, and they needed their hands to eat the many different dishes that were piled onto the table. There were lots of beef, pork, seafood and vegetables, with rice, noodles and dumpling. And, at last, no poultry, much to the dismay of most of Phil's family.

It was delicious, and everyone filled their bowls with lots of different things. Amanda kept on trying to get Wildwing to try some of the new things, even though he kept telling her that he didn't really eat much meat.

When the dishes were cleared, the wedding party stood up to give their speeches. The first one was from Phil, thanking everyone from travelling in for the wedding. The second speech was Diana, who reiterated what Phil had just said, but also thanked everyone for their help and understanding during this time.

The third speech was from Eric, Diana's eldest son, who would be walking his mother down the aisle and giving her away. The preteen boy thanked everyone for coming, and wished her mother a happy marriage and a great wedding. He also thanked Phil for all that he had done for his brothers and himself. Then all three boys ran up and hugged Phil and then their mother.

There was not a dry eye in the room once the boys had finished and sat down. And Nosedive heckled that no one could follow such a great speech, causing his brother to glare at him and Duke to hit him over the head.

Once Ross, the best man and Mary, the maid of honour had finished, it was time for Wildwing. The last speech would be given by Amanda, the other bridesmaid. Standing up, the drake noticed everyone had fallen into complete silence and that some of Phil's relatives were trying to sneakily take some photos.

"Hi, everyone, I'm Wildwing and I'm the captain of the hockey team that Phil manages," Wildwing began causing whoops and cheers from everyone assembled, "and I'm here to say a few things about Phil."

Wildwing began by telling everyone that he was happy to meet them, and was thankful that so many of Phil's relatives had turned up. He then explained how they had met and how quickly Phil had seen green, rather than feathers, causing a slight chuckle. He wanted to tell a few more embarrassing stories about Phil, as that was what everyone had told him to do, but Wildwing decided to take another track.

"I honestly never thought I'd be standing here, giving a speech before Phil's wedding. It's hard to imagine finding the one person in the universe that you're supposed to be with. But when you do, you just know and you never want to let them go. So, I happy to see that Phil has found the person who he's supposed to be with, and the family he is supposed to have. I'd like everyone to raise their glasses to Phil and Diana, and I hope that the wedding goes as smoothly as this dinner. To Phil and Diana."

While everyone raised their glasses in the toast, no one noticed that Duke had taken hold of Roxie's hand under the table. He squeezed it tightly, and was thrilled that the girl squeezed it back just as hard.

Starts: thanks for the read.

Palace girl: I blame the cops too, it's like asking a recovering alcoholic to pour you a drink.

TFG