It was a beautiful day in London. It was slightly cool, but not chilly. The sun was out and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. There was a chance that might change in the afternoon, but by then, the day's festivities were to have already moved indoors, so everyone was optimistic that it wouldn't be an issue. That did nothing, however, to fully soothe Travis' nerves, however.
He was currently standing in a busy hotel suite, looking horrendously excited and horrendously nervous, with a little bit of nausea thrown in. Around him, a group of men were getting ready, themselves, fastening ties and ducking in and out of the suite for this reason and that. Occasionally, his mother, father, or both would pop in and help him while they all pit-crewed him into his suit.
"Where's my tie?" he asked, his eyes wide as his head rapidly whipped from side to side.
"Right here, Travis." Kristopherson replied, holding up the accessory. Stepping in front of the groom, he popped up Travis' shirt collar and began to fasten the tie around his neck. "A double Windsor."
"Right, right… That's good… Uh… Oh! My yarmulke!" Travis questioned, repeating the same gesture he did before. His movement prompted Kristopherson to grab the sides of his head and hold him still for a moment before resuming tying his necktie. "Where's my yarmulke?"
"On your head, sweetheart." his mother said from somewhere else in the room behind him.
Reaching up, the man confirmed it for himself. "Oh…" He let out a relieved sigh. "That's good… What's the time?"
"We still have plenty of time, don't worry about it." chimed in Jim, holding up the groom's arm and fastening his cufflinks for him, just as the knot around the man's neck was tightened, choking him slightly. "Just leave everything to us. We won't let you be late."
"Half of the bridal party is done with makeup and hair." Ciel announced as he came through the door. "The bride's is taking it a bit longer, it seems, but everything is on track."
"Is she at least having fun?" questioned the groom.
"Yes. She and the other ladies are all in good spirits. There are reports of at least one disgruntled catholic grandmother, but nothing that seems serious."
"Good… That's good…" Travis sighed, his shoulders slouching before he was forced into a vest by his compatriots, causing him to stiffen again.
"C'moooon~ What's got you so tense?" inquired the menace, slapping the poor man's back while he was trying to fasten a few buttons. "It's not like you at all."
"Yeah, the last time we saw you so out of it was during the proposal." Audrey added, staring at a mirror while trying to pin a flower to his own lapel. His brow furrowed as he seemed to be just off the mark with every attempt. "Actually, I think this might be worse. Women are scary powerful…"
"I haven't seen or heard from Patty in a week." the groom reminded. "I have no idea what's going on with her or how she's feeling about the whole thing…"
"I mean, she's here. She's having fun with her friends and seems to be fussing over getting ready on time as well." Ciel reminded in turn. "Don't tell me you're wondering as to whether or not she's changed her mind in that time…"
Travis slouched, looking down, prompting the others in the room to glare and hiss at Ciel, uttering a menagerie of "Ciel!" "Shut the fuck up!" and "Shh!" The Watchdog at least had the courtesy to look guilty over it, somewhat regretting hitting the nail on the head, so to speak. Clearing his throat, he acted to rectify the situation.
"I highly doubt that to be the case." he said, approaching the groom. "You know Patricia better than anyone else here. Do you think she is the sort of person who would go through the trouble of getting all dressed up, just to reject you?"
"No…" Travis replied. "No, that doesn't suit her."
"Well then, what could possibly go wrong?" Ciel asked. "Maybe the caterer will mess up, or it will rain sooner than expected… Maybe her relatives… Aren't the happiest about the fact that Patricia is getting married at a Jewish ceremony, and maybe yours aren't too happy about you marrying a Catholic. But are any of those ceremony-ruining things? Realistically, are those things that will absolutely get in the way of you and Patricia getting married and having a good time?"
"No… They aren't." the groom answered, lifting his head slightly. "Thinking about it… I don't think they would."
"Precisely." the demon said, placing his hands on his friend's shoulders. "Travis. You know my line of work. I have to think of every worst-case scenario that could possibly happen and weigh them with every action I take. I promise you, I have already run through them all long before today and I am certain that unless the universe throws you something so bizarre that there was absolutely no way that any of us could have seen it coming, there is no scenario I could think of where you leave this place without getting married. At the very most, you will have a humourous story to tell later."
"Yeah," added Ciel's beau, "There was legitimately a point before I went out there during our wedding, that I worried that Ciel was going to change his mind and want to call the whole thing off."
"Really? Why?" Travis asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Oh, y'know… 'Cause I'm a commoner, I've got no class, I had no titles… And, as you can see…" the menace continued, gesturing up and down his body. "I'm a bloke."
"Indeed, and I thought that he wouldn't want to marry me because I'm poncy, disfigured, have a serious aversion to fun, and, like Jim, am a bloke." Ciel nodded in response.
"You are fun! And I like those things about you!"
"And I like those things about you." the Watchdog replied before turning his attention back to Travis. Releasing his shoulders, he said: "And we've been happily married for a few years, now. Do you really think that Patricia would really go through the trouble of learning about all of the parts of a Jewish wedding ceremony and then decide to throw in the towel on the day?"
"No, no… Definitely not. You're right." Travis said. "You're right! I'm just…" He paused and erratically waved his hands about before sighing. "...Really nervous. You're right. As long as we hit all of the major notes, it'll be fine. I just need to relax…"
Taking a few deep breaths, he seemed to be coming around to the idea that maybe things were fine. That thought was immediately soiled, however, when the door swung open and Daniel urgently walked into the room. He had a suspicious look about him that said: "everything is not fine" without him making a peep. Travis' back was to him, luckily, so he had a bit of leeway. Silently, he made wide-eyed contact with Kristopherson and rapidly waved his hand, ushering his friend closer. Tentatively, Kristopherson complied.
"Why aren't you dressed?" whispered the wolfman, putting his head close to the brunet's.
"Yeah, uh… About that…" Daniel nervously chuckled, keeping his tone hushed. "I may or may not have a bit of a problem with my suit…"
"Well, just bring it to me and I'll fix it real quick? I have the big-ass sewing kit, today, so what's the problem?"
"Uhm… You wouldn't happen to be able to sew me up a tie really quick, would you?" sheepishly asked Mister Westley.
"What do you mean?" Kristopherson interrogated, narrowing his eyes. "You lost it?!"
"No! I mean… I thought it was packed, but, uh… Heh heh… I guess it wasn't?"
"Oh, for fuck's sake…" huffed the wolfman, introducing his palm to his forehead. "Okay… Here's what's gonna happen… We have a few hours, so what you're gonna do is take Audrey, right? And you're gonna have him drive you to the nearest shop that sells ties."
"Why Audrey?"
"Because he drives like a fucking maniac." With that, Kristopherson took pause and glanced around the room. "On second thought… Having a demon might be good in case you get pulled over."
"Demon, here." Jim announced, coming up from behind the wolfman, causing poor Kristopherson to nearly jump out of his skin. Matching the others' volume, he asked: "Why are we whispering?"
"Dan doesn't have a tie. I need Audrey and—Ciel's keeping Travis calm, so yes, you'll do perfectly, actually. You need to go buy one for him."
"Why me?" inquired the blonde.
"In case Audrey gets pulled over for driving too fast."
"Ah, corruption! I didn't expect to commit any crimes today, but I'm in." Rubbing his hands together, the menace grinned mischievously.
"Do I need to go with them, then?" asked Daniel.
"Uuuum… Hm… You… Stay here. It'll be weird if half of us disappear without explanation."
"Good thinking, good thinking." Jim nodded. "So, a black tie, right? Got it."
"Compare it to yours before you buy it, though." Kristopherson warned. "If it's too shiny, too matte, or otherwise looks weird when held up next to yours, then buy two of another colour. It should be fine as long as they go with the suits and the flowers."
"Why two, though?" questioned Mister Westley.
"So we can have someone else wear it." Looking behind him, the wolfman counted heads. "So in that case, it would be… Actually—Okay, I'll switch with Dan and Ciel will wear the other one. If there's two and it forms a logical pattern, then it looks like a choice instead of a mistake."
"Roger that. Oh, wait a minute…" Jim trailed off.
"NOW what?"
"Audrey's the best man, so… Wouldn't it be weird if he just… Vanished?"
"Ugh! Right! So you and Dan go!"
"Why me again?!" Daniel gawked.
"Because I have to be here in case anyone's outfits need any last minute tweaking and you're the one who left the damn tie at home!" Kristopherson hissed before turning his attention back to Jim. "Take Dan with you and turn on your flashy lights or whatever! Just get here and back quickly!"
"I love using the flashy lights…" Cackled the menace. In an instant, his hand shot out and grasped onto Mister Westley's bicep. "Got it. Mission received! C'mon, Danny-boy! Let's go!"
"Augh! Wait! You're going too fa-!"
In seconds, the door was shut behind them. With a groan, Kristopherson rubbed his temples, lamenting whatever horrors he had just unleashed by setting the dumbass duo upon the general populace—with encouragement to break the law, no less! "What have I done?" the wolfman murmured to himself. Just as he felt as though he had composed himself enough to present a good lie to Travis, the other demon felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Silently, he read the message to himself.
"Dan has no tie Gone 2 save wedding brb using the flashy lights on the benz" it said, followed by a flurry of hearts, kissy-face emojis, and a lion-face emoji. Immediately, the Watchdog turned his head towards Kristopherson's general direction and with an arched brow, he made eye-contact with the wide-eyed tailor. In response, all Kristopherson could do was shrug.
"What is it?" Travis piped up, noticing the bluenette's expression.
"Nothing. Just a text from Jim. He's downstairs." Ciel smoothly replied.
"What's he say?"
"You don't want to know." the demon said. Instantaneously, the groom lost interest. Placing his phone back into his pocket, Ciel clapped his hands together. "Now… You're almost ready. In two hours—plus the time it takes to complete the ceremony—you'll be a married man." Glancing at his watch, Ciel internally tried to calculate how long his own husband may be gone in case he needed to stall.
"Yeah! What're you looking forward to the most, Travis?" Audrey questioned, having finally pinned the flower to his jacket in a fashion that seemed borderline acceptable. "You're the second one to get married! If this keeps up, I'll have to work overtime in finding myself a girl!"
"Jim and I are both married." Ciel corrected.
"Married people get counted as a unit." the reaper stated while the groom thought.
"Ah… Well… I'm not really sure…" Travis answered while stroking his beard. "I'm just sort of excited to be a family with her."
"And starting a family, too?" sneakily slipped in his mother.
"Ah, well… There is that, but not right away, of course!"
"Whatever you say, sweetie~! As long as there are grandchildren, I don't mind waiting a little while."
"Mum..." the man groaned.
"And by 'a little while,' I mean a few months." his mother clarified.
"Mum!"
The exchange coaxed out a small chuckle from the Phantomhive, causing the men to look on in astonishment. "He has a point, Missus Sullivan. It would be nice if they could hold off until my husband and I start. It would be nice if they could be friends, wouldn't it?" The suggestion left the group flummoxed, but appeased Travis' mother.
"That's true!" she declared. "You had better start soon, too!"
"We're talking about it." Ciel smiled, finding an odd, bittersweetness to the situation. Was this normal? He didn't really have anyone to tell him that anymore and he sort of wondered if they would have if they were still around. "So, is there anything else we need to tend to while we wait?"
"Actually, if I can talk to you for a minute, that would be great." Travis replied, motioning toward the demon and leading him away by his shoulder. Specifically, he was leading Ciel away from Missus Sulivan, and after moving into another room in the suite, Travis shut the door behind him.
"What is it? Is something the matter?"
"No, no, I was just wondering about you and Jim." the groom replied in a hushed tone. "Are you sure you'll be alright during the ceremony? You won't burst into flames or anything, will you?"
"Probably not. We've set foot in churches with no trouble, so we won't be hurt by just being near something religious, I don't think." answered the Watchdog, matching his friend's volume. "Then again, I'm not exactly certain of the particulars. If you bless the food at the dinner, for example, I'm not sure if that will work."
"Right… Can you… Alright, maybe I should talk to the rabbi… Not sure what exactly I'm going to say, but I'll make something up."
"I'm fine with looking like the bad guy and appearing picky, so feel free. I'm terribly sorry about all of this… We don't need to eat to begin with and we'll be sitting with people who know, so it should be find if we just sit and talk, wouldn't it?"
"No, not at all! It's alright. It's just another dietary restriction, right? I'll try and make it happen… Ah… That reminds me, I need to check the cutlery for that table for silver…" the groom's chest swelled as he took a deep breath and let it back out again in a heavy sigh, his shoulders slouching. "There's still so much to do… We only have two hours left..."
"Leave it to one of us, Travis. You just do your best to relax and have fun." Ciel instructed. Somewhat awkwardly, he reached out and patted his friend's shoulder to comfort him, prompting Travis to look at him somewhat quizzically.
"Maybe…" he conceded. "But… Are you alright?"
"Yes, of course. Why?"
"So seem… 'different'." Travis informed, waving his hands for emphasis. "Are you sure you're alright with a religious ceremony?"
"I'm perfectly alright. You shouldn't change anything just to placate me. This is yours and Patricia's day, and I refuse to miss it. Despite having lived for a long time, this is my first time attending a friend's wedding." explained the Phantomhive before shaking his head. "No, there's nothing the matter with me at all. I'm just… still trying to acclimate to this whole… being a part of regular society, thing." he said, waving his hand in a rather posh fashion.
"Are you having another existential crisis?"
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" the Watchdog murmured, partially to himself. "No, that's over. I am simply here to support my friend and help him with whatever he needs on his big day. Although, I must admit that I do find it somewhat strange that you are so alright with having demons at at a sacred ceremony…"
"Well, you aren't here to be malicious or malevolent, are you? Besides, your cousin said it was fine, didn't she? If it is alright with the angels, it should be alright, I think."
"I do believe you may be a bit too trusting of demons…"
"I don't trust demons. I trust you. -And Jim, of course." Travis smiled. "I don't ever intend on signing any contracts-"
"And you shouldn't." Ciel chimed in.
"-And I still very much believe in G-d, if that could be made any more apparent, but you harbour no ill will and will make good on your promise to help, even without me offering anything in return. If you wanted to lead me astray, I don't think this would work very well."
"Interesting theory. However, I could think of several ways as to how to spin my generosity into something more malevolent, but you're right in that I truly have no interest in harvesting your soul."
"I was trying to praise you." the groom stated, arching his eyebrow. "Can't you just accept it normally?"
"So says the man who invited everyone except Dracula to be a groomsman." retorted the demon.
"Is Dracula even real?"
"He is and he's terrible, but enough about that… Let's finish getting you ready..."
A/N: This took a while for such a short thing... I'm trying to tread a little carefully, since I'm not Jewish and have never actually been to a Jewish wedding before. I'm not gonna wuss out and skip over it, though. "Nuuuh! It's too hard to put groups of people who are different than me in things!" I ain't no coward.
That said, while I have spent quite a bit of time trying to understand the ins and outs of a Jewish wedding ceremony... It's probably sort of an inevitability that I'm going to get things wrong. Doing a bit of Googling is way different than actually living it and that's all there is to it. (My youtube algorithm is ALL fucked up... Leave me alone, mommy vlog channels!) That said, I'm going to try my absolute best to do right by this.
I feel like I sound sort of severe, but even though this is 'just a fic,' I take it very seriously lmao (1,000+ chapters worth of "seriously" I'm not messing around) So if there is ANYTHING anybody thinks I NEED TO KNOW before publishing the next chapter, please tell me! Even if you think I might already know! I might not and it could be important!
Until the next chapter, my duckies~!
