Operation Best Man
CS Genre: Deleted scene/Canon divergence (6x19)
A/N: I know that in canon Killian asks Henry to be his best man the night before the wedding, but for the purposes of this story I decided to expand the timeline to a week between the two events—thus this story is kind of a deleted scene/canon divergence hybrid.
Sunday, April 30
I can't believe it! Killian asked me to be his best man! It feels like this huge honor, and I just want to be the best Best Man out there. It feels weird to think he'll be my official stepdad in just a week, but I'm really glad he and mom are getting married. I've seen how happy mom is now that she's officially with Killian. (It's kind of disgusting, though. I've learned to stop and listen first before I walk into any room, because it seems like every time the two of them are alone they start kissing and stuff. That is sooooo something I don't want to walk in on—although that's nothing to the time I came home from school a little earlier than they expected, and I heard the two of them, um, taking a romantic bath or something. That's something I'll never unhear. I'm hoping after the wedding and honeymoon they'll stop being so lovey-dovey all the time. I might have to stay with my other mom until that happens.)
To be honest, though, I'm not happy just because Killian makes mom happy. I'm happy Killian will be a part of our family for myself, too. He's always been there for me, and ever since we worked together on Operation Light Swan, we've done all kinds of things together. He seems to really want my help and to do stuff together and all of that. Seems like most of the other grownups think I'm just a kid that needs to stay out of danger, but, I don't know. Killian values my help. I mean, there was definitely an adjustment period when he first moved in, but now I can't imagine our lives without him.
I think I'll do some research before I go to bed. I need to find out just what jobs a best man has to do. I also need to find a good hiding place for the rings—someplace they'll be safe and not get lost, but also someplace that Mom won't accidentally find them.
Monday, May 1
So today's the first official day of Operation Best Man. Mom's busy with Grandma trying to find the perfect wedding dress, and then they're going to go visit Mr. French's shop to pick out flowers. I thought today would be a good day to find Killian an outfit for the wedding, too. After breakfast (for some reason both Mom and Killian got all embarrassed when I asked if we could have pancakes this morning. Must be some sort of inside joke or something. I've stopped trying to figure out what's going on with them most of the time, because it normally involves gag-inducing mushiness), I asked Killian what he plans to wear for the wedding. He shrugged and looked confused. Said he didn't know; figured he'd just wear his pirate outfit with the red vest Mom likes so much.
That's when I had to play the Best Man card. I told him he needed to wear something more formal for a fancy wedding like Grandma was planning. I showed him pictures of tuxes online (or, as he still likes to put it, on the magic box), and then we went out to The Brave Little Tailor's Menswear shop, and he started trying things on. Oh my gosh! I thought girls were picky and took forever when it came to finding clothes. Killian was ten times worse. He didn't like the white shirts, he didn't like the material (not nearly soft enough on his skin, he said), he didn't like the buttoned up collar and bowtie. I finally convinced him he couldn't have all his chest hair hanging out on his wedding day, but he flat out refused to wear anything but an all-black, velvet tux. I guess whatever works.
Tuesday, May 2
Today after school I decided I needed to get started on the Best Man speech. I mean, that's a really big deal, probably the biggest job I have as the best man. Somehow I have to find a way to talk about all my feelings and stuff about Killian and about how happy he's made Mom. I'm really frustrated, though, because I just can't seem to write anything that doesn't sound stupid or sappy. I mean, I have so many memories of Killian already—him deciding to take my moms and grandparents to Neverland to save me, even though he barely knew me, him teaching me how to tie sailor's knots and use a sextant when he was keeping me safe from the Wicked Witch, him asking for my help breaking Zelena out of the mental hospital so she could help us get to Mom when she was the Dark One, Operation Light Swan, him sword fighting with me, going sailing together, that whole messed up situation with the Nautilus. There was even a time we had a really, really awkward conversation about girls and the birds and the bees and stuff. How am I supposed to wrap that all up into one short little speech?
I guess I have a little bit of time to figure it out, but the wedding is in only four days! I'm really hoping inspiration strikes soon.
Wednesday, May 3
This morning I kind of freaked out because I thought I'd lost the rings. I put them in the bottom drawer of the desk in my bedroom, and I check to make sure they're there like a million times a day, but when I went to look this morning, the box was gone. I think my stomach dropped to my toes. That was the one job Killian really wanted me to do, to keep the rings safe, and I'd already messed that up! Of course, I started tearing through the whole drawer all panicked and everything, and eventually I found it. It was in the drawer I thought it was; I just hadn't realized I put the storybook on top of it after I finished writing in it (thankfully not that weird hieroglyphics stuff. Just regular words about all the crazy stuff Mom and Grandma have been doing to get ready for the wedding.)
Looks like Isaac was wrong after all. There was no big, huge battle that hurt everyone in Storybrooke. Grandpa Rumple found a way to defeat the Black Fairy without all the mess and trouble. Still…something about the whole situation feels off. And, I guess we haven't technically gotten to the end of the book yet, so bad stuff could still happen, but for right now I'm not going to worry about it. Mom and Killian have decided to enjoy the happy moments (and that apparently involves never being more than an inch apart from each other whenever they're both in the same place. *eyeroll*), and I've decided that's what I'm going to do too. Whatever villains are still out there we'll deal with when they come.
I crossed one more item off my Best Man list today. I helped Killian make plans for the honeymoon. Now that my other mom found a way to take the curse off the town line, Mom and Killian are going to go exploring on their honeymoon. Killian wants to see what else is out there in the Land Without Magic, because really the only places he's been are New York and Storybrooke (and, I mean, the places in between when he rode in the car with Mom and me after he found us in New York). I helped him plan a sailing trip along the coast. He and Mom will mostly be on the Jolly Roger, but he did insist I help him find hotels with nice, comfortable beds each night. I really, really don't want to think about why Killian was so concerned about the beds on the honeymoon.
Anyway, it looks like they'll be gone for two weeks. Killian decided they needed a nice long vacation after all the craziness, but he didn't think he could convince Mom to be away much longer than that. After all, it seems like there's some new crisis in Storybrooke every five minutes, and being the savior and all, Mom would feel really bad if she was off on vacation while some Disney villain was busy cursing us again.
Thursday, May 4
Grandma and my other mom and a lot of the other ladies in town took mom out for her bachelorette party tonight. Don't know what all they were planning to do, but from what I've read online about bachelorette parties, I kind of think I don't want to know. I think they were going to start in the Rabbit Hole and then go from there.
Since Mom's having her bachelorette party, I thought it would be a good time to throw Killian a bachelor party. I had trouble figuring out what to do for it at first, because most of the things I found about bachelor parties online weren't really teen friendly. I mean, I can't exactly take Killian out drinking when I'm not even old enough to go into a bar, can I? It looks like strippers are also a popular bachelor party thing, but I think if I hired one of those both of my moms would kill me…and then Killian, and if they killed the groom, that might put a damper on the wedding day.
I finally came up with a plan. Not really a bachelor party, I guess. More of a guys' night. I had Gramps help me order a bunch of pizzas (and Gramps brought beer for the grownups), and we had most of the guys in town over. After we ate and had this, kind of, impromptu game of darts that ended up breaking one of Mom's favorite lamps (don't ask), we decided to have a movie night. I think Mom would have killed us if we watched the Star Wars movies without her, so we did a Pirates of the Caribbean marathon. Watching Killian's reaction to the pirates was priceless!
Friday, May 5
So the big day is tomorrow. I decided to hang out with Violet after school today until it was time for the rehearsal because it's nuts around the house. Grandma is going crazy trying to get last minute details together, and she's at the house all the time, trying to get Mom's approval. Gramps is following her around trying to keep her calm. "Now Snow, it doesn't matter if the roses are one shade darker than what you ordered. Everything is going to work out just fine. As long as Emma ends up married to her True Love, these little details don't matter."
That, of course, makes Grandma even crazier, and it's probably a good thing for Gramps she doesn't have magic. Mom doesn't seem to care too much about all the details, but she just realized she only has another twenty-four hours to write her vows, so she's all stressed out. And then my other mom and Zelena have been over quite a bit, and their snark has not gone over well at all. About the only one who's calm is Killian, and he seems to be making it his mission to keep Mom calm too. And, yeah, his method of keeping her calm involves lots and lots of kissing…and occasionally other things that I don't even want to think about, when he convinces her to go upstairs so they can "engage in stress relief" as he calls it. *gagging noises*
This evening at six, we had the wedding rehearsal. We booked the roof of the library for the ceremony tomorrow and Grandma had it decorated with bouquets of all kinds of flowers, along with a trellis covered in ivy and the closest Game of Thorns could come to Middlemist flowers, and folding chairs, and a red velvet runner down the aisle, and these big, white, poufy bows tied to the chairs along the aisle. It does look pretty good, and it'll be even better if we have a pretty sunset at the time of the wedding tomorrow.
The rehearsal dinner was a Granny's. Grandma and Grands thought about renting out the place, but then they decided they wouldn't bother. Most of the town showed up to the rehearsal dinner anyway, so what was the point of reserving it? My other mom made fun of Mom's choice of food being basically that of a child, but it didn't stop Mom from putting grilled cheese and onion rings on the menu. After we ate, Grandma made a speech about how happy she was that her daughter found True Love and how happy she was that she'd get to spend the rest of her life with Killian. (Then she told Killian if he ever even thought of dying again before he and Emma were old and gray, she'd personally hunt him down in the Underworld and beat him senseless.)
After the events of the evening were over, Mom and Killian took forever to say goodbye to each other. Killian insisted it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding, so he's going to spend the night on the Jolly Roger. Mom said something like "Are you sure, Killian? Shame. When we got home I was planning to…" and then she whispered something in his ear that made him groan, kiss her for a long time, and then promise that she could put her plans into motion tomorrow and have her way with his person at that time. I really, really don't want to know. Like, really.
Saturday, May 6
The wedding day is off to a good start! The sun rose bright and clear this morning, which was Grandma's last big concern. They hadn't booked an alternate place for the ceremony, so if it rained, everything was going to get ruined. Luckily it looks like Mother Nature is going to cooperate.
Mom and Grandma met my other mom and Zelena at the Three Bears Day spa about noon. Grandma insisted they needed that time to pamper and get ready. That's like six hours before the wedding! I know they have to do all their makeup and nails and hair and stuff, but how can girls possibly need that much time to get ready?
I've been busy with Best Man duties today. My big task has been to keep Killian calm. He's as excited as Neal on Christmas morning, and he can't seem to sit still. I think he's a little nervous about his vows, butI don't know why. He really should have been the writer of the family with his way with words. Besides. I think he could say anything, and Mom would just about swoon as in love and happy as she is.
It took all week, but I finally figured out what to do for my speech! It's been staring me in the face all week long. Why don't I let the storybook do the talking for me? Mom and Killian have their own story in the book now, ever since their adventure as Princess Leia and Prince Charles. I thought I could just read the highlights and, you know, talk about how obvious it is to anyone with eyes that they were made for each other. How obvious it is that he was meant to be a part of our family, and how it's finally complete now that he's officially a part of it. (My goal is to make at least half of the wedding guests cry.)
Gramps just called up the stairs and said it's time to get ready for the wedding. I'll have to leave it here for now. (Besides, I've reached the last page of this journal). Tomorrow I'll start a new journal—one where Operation Best Man is over and I have a new dad! I can't wait to see what adventures are instore for our family. As long as we're united by the bond of love, no villain or curse stands a chance against us. (Oh…that's good! I should put that in my speech.)
The End!
Notes
-Hi everyone! I'm back! Assuming things don't get crazy again, I should be back to weekly updates again from here on out. Is everyone ready for the big musical wedding this Sunday? I have loved every sneak peek and script tease and interview and spoiler article that's come out about it, and I think it's going to be an absolutely fabulous episode!
-I've been going through my email inbox, and I realize it has been forever since I sent out thank you notes for reviews and comments. I apologize for that!. I just fell so far behind that it seems impossible to catch up, so instead of responding individually, I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who's left feedback on my stories. I get excited every time I get notification of a new review or comment, and I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know what you think!
-Up next: I'm not sure exactly where I'm going to go from here; I've gotten lots of wonderful prompts. I guess I'll surprise you!