Andrew is President of the United States, and has been invited to a royal wedding in the UK, but is unable to attend because it occurs in the middle of his re-election campaign. Emerald's parents have worked as diplomats for a long time, so she undergoes training to be a bodyguard and ends up being assigned to Ava as private security. Both women know the two people getting married, so they manage to secure wedding invites for themselves. They manage to secure invites for the Daemos, who are curious to learn about human courtship and marriage customs.

It's up to Ava and Emerald to keep the Daemos in check so they don't cause an international incident.

"So...what exactly are we doing again?"

Emerald looked up from the documents she'd been reviewing, cocking one eyebrow at Leif over the edge of her glasses. "Which part of this is confusing you? The event we're going to? The location? The traditions?"

"All of it!" He sat in a seat across the aisle, tapping his foot rapidly on the floor with barely-contained nervous energy. "We've been trapped in this 'air-plan' for way too long. Where are you taking us?!"

"We've already explained that, Leif!" Ava let out an annoyed huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "Seriously, how many times do we need to go over this?"

"Ava, chill. It's okay." Emerald returned her attention to Leif. "We've been invited to the wedding of Princess Alice and Tobias Doctant. Princess Alice is a cousin in the current royal family of England, so they're allowing her to have her wedding at St. George's Chapel and use Windsor Castle for the receptions. I know her because my mother was the ambassador to England when I was a kid and we met at boarding school."

"And I know Toby because his parents have always worked with mine on campaigns and stuff. In fact, I accidentally introduced him to Em a few years ago when he ran up and tried to give me a hug." Ava laughed. "She had him laid out on the floor before I could tell her he was an old friend and 'exuberant energy' is his usual mood."

"Hey, not my fault! You want me to be a proper bodyguard, that's the kind of reaction you're going to get when people run up on the only child of the President." She shook her head and resumed the explanation. "I ended up introducing him to Ally because she asked me if I knew, and I quote, 'any cool, non-threatening guys who can make me laugh'. I like to think I succeeded."

"So, you are the one who arranged this marriage?" Noi looked between the two humans, obviously trying to follow the trail of the story.

"Oh, definitely not. I just gave her Toby's contact info. The rest was entirely their own work."

"But then, why are we attending this marriage?"

"Ally invited us because we're friends. Also, because it's tradition for certain countries' leaders to attend such events, but Ava's parents are really busy with the current re-election stuff going on. So, we're going to represent them."

"Which is why it's super important you guys all behave yourselves!" Ava glared at the Daemos. "It took a lot of work to get five extra invitations to this thing, especially so close to the event. If you guys want to learn about human marriage, you absolutely cannot screw this up!"

"Oh, come on!" Leif scoffed. "I've snuck into plenty of parties and no one even bats an eye when someone gets assassinated!"

"How the fu-?!" Ava began, setting off a shouting match with the white-haired Daemos as Emerald began looking through the papers again. 'Thank God we convinced the pilots to close the cockpit door today,' she thought, focusing on the stack of invitations at the top of the paperwork. She read over them again, comparing the information to the timetable she'd worked up that morning when she sensed movement from the corner of her eye.

Rhys was near the Emergency Exit door, his hand centimeters from the handle as he twisted his head, apparently trying to see around the corner of the window. "RHYS!"

He startled, pulling his hand away as if burned. "W-what? I was curious about the outside. You said we are moving at incredibly high speeds, yet we barely seem to be moving from what I can feel."

"Didn't I also tell you that all of us would die if you opened that door while we were in the air?"

"Um...yes. Yes you did."

"So are you actively trying to kill everyone? Or is your curiosity just so overwhelming you just can't help yourself?"

"N-no! No..." The spectacled Daemos quickly returned himself to a seat, hands clasped firmly on top of his lap.

Without moving her gaze from Rhys, Emerald reached out and snagged the sleeve of Leif's shirt as he passed by. "And stop running around the plane before I find a way to hog-tie you into one of these seats! You tend to start 'phasing' around when you get worked up, and if you do that here, you will fall out and plummet to your death!"

Leif looked absolutely offended. "How dare you touch me! I'll - !"

"Leif!" Asch finally deigned to respond from his perch near the front. "Just listen to her. This 'air-plan' is a truly luxurious mode of transportation. I would dare say it is one of the most appropriate carriages we have ridden in yet."

The white-haired Daemos indignantly yanked his arm out of Emerald's grip, but stalked over and sat back down in his seat.

Noi, who'd taken the seat directly in front of Emerald across the table, looked worried. "I-is that t-true? C-could we actually...die if we're not careful?!"

She sent him a reassuring smile. "As long as you stay calm and just relax, everything will be fine. You're not doing anything wrong, Noi."

Ava came over, sitting next to the smallest Daemos. "You a bit nervous about flying, Noi?"

He nodded, visibly pale.

"You want to know a secret? I don't really like flying too much myself."

"Y-you don't?!"

Ava nodded, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "Yep. I'm okay when we're up in the air, but take-offs and landings always make me super anxious." She leaned against his shoulder a little, grinning. "How about we just sit here and be slightly worried together?"

Noi nodded, looking considerably calmer already. "I...would like that a lot."

Emerald watched the exchange, then turned her attention back to the paperwork. She got through a few more of the papers, but found her eyelid growing heavy. She put down the papers and stretched, feeling her back give a soft *pop* and letting out a groan as she glanced around to see what the others were doing.

Ava and Noi were still plastered side-by-side, the former showing the Daemos something on her phone to distract him from his fears. Leif had wandered over closer to them, trying to subtly look over her shoulder to watch as well. Rhys had moved over to Asch's side, the two of them discussing something quietly. The only one missing was...

"Where's Pierce?"

"Right here." Emerald jumped slightly, turning a little in her seat to see him standing just behind her. He cocked his head as he took the seat next to her. "You look tired."

She let out a humorless chuckle. "Yeah. I've been staring at all these security reports, wedding itineraries, diplomatic ceremonies, party plans..."

"It sounds tiring."

"It is!" Emerald let her head fall back against her seat. "There's so much planning that goes into these things and everyone expects it to look so effortless, but of course no one wants to contribute anything themselves, and - " She cut herself off, taking a deep breath and rubbing her eyes under her glasses. "Sorry, Pierce. Didn't mean to unload on you like that."

The large Daemos gave her an understanding smile. "Royal affairs can be quite stressful." He paused, looking thoughtful. "I have never done...well...in such situations."

"Not good at the diplomatic talking bits?"

He nodded. "Rhys is far better at this and usually handles these events."

Emerald gave a soft scoff as she straightened up. "Yeah, that sounds about right." She winced as she stretched her back again, retrieving the stack of documents from her lap. "You can hang out with me if you want. We still have a few hours until we land."

Pierce studied her profile as she looked over the papers. There were visible bags under her eyes, her hair slightly disheveled as she leaned her chin on one hand. Even as he watched, she suppressed a yawn and blinked heavily. "You should get some rest."

She shook her head. "There's so much work to do before we get there. I need to review these plans again and - "

Her objections were cut off as Pierce began to softly massage her back, taking special care to focus on the knots he could feel between her shoulders. "We can assist you later, if you will allow it," he whispered, deftly taking the documents from her hand and placing them carefully on the table. "For now, rest."

Emerald made a half-hearted attempt to recover the papers, but ended up leaning heavily against his shoulder instead. "No...fair..." she murmured, struggling to keep her eyes open as she reached out again.

Pierce took her hand, softly rubbing her knuckles with his thumb. "Rest," he repeated, carefully helping her lie down and guiding her head to rest on his leg. He put a little more pressure on a particularly stubborn spot, earning a satisfied grunt from the taller human. He felt her relax against him, eyes closing as she finally allowed herself to take a break.

"Aww!" Ava cooed softly, bringing her phone up to take a quick pic. "That's adorable!"

"Wondered when she was finally going to crack." Leif's expression was unreadable, but his focus was oddly unnerving.

"To be fair, she's been pretty busy taking care of all this wedding stuff for me." The shorter woman sighed, reaching over to retrieve the stack of documents. "With Dad's re-election campaign kicking up, I've been occupied with media appearances and junk like that, so she's had to make all the arrangements for us."

Rhys came up to join them, giving the former assassin a warning glare before reading over Ava's shoulder. "What is left to do?"

"From the looks of it...not much. Em's pretty much taken care of everything already." She shuffled through the pile, careful to keep them in the correct order. "Security measures at the chapel are all in place, the wedding itinerary is fairly straightforward - holy crap, she's even got everything time-stamped down to five-minute increments! - the ceremony notes look pretty simple..." Ava let out a small laugh. "She even has receipts and delivery confirmations for the gifts, right behind the reservation for our rooms at the hotel."

"Are all human weddings so complicated?" Noi looked worriedly at the papers.

"Royal weddings are a bit extra, but yeah. They can get pretty crazy." As she turned to the final page, the shorter woman let out a squeal of delight. "Oh my God, Em even scheduled the suit fittings for you guys!"

Rhys cocked his head curiously. "A...'soot' fitting?"

"Will it hurt?!" Noi visibly bristled like a cat, while Leif grinned maniacally.

"Is it dangerous?!"

"No!" Ava rushed to smooth things over. "You guys are going to have some people come and measure you for some clothes that fit you properly for the time we're here."

"What is wrong with the clothes we are wearing now?" At some point, Asch had come over as well, glaring down at her with a frown on his face. "Are you saying you have been keeping us in inferior garments this whole time?!"

"Prince Asch, please calm down. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for Ava's actions." Rhys looked back at her, his eyes sending a quiet warning that the answer better be a good one.

"It's simple: different events require different clothes. Haven't you noticed Em and I don't wear the same things every day? Humans have lots of different outfits for a variety of reasons." She paused as a thought occurred to her. "Don't you guys have different clothes you wear?"

Rather than answer her, Rhys leaned in closer to study the paper in her hand. "S-so...what sort of clothing will we be wearing?"

Happy for a way out of the conversation, Ava carefully put the pile down on the table and pulled out her laptop. "Prepare to have your minds blown."

Pierce watched the exchange disinterestedly, his hand still working on the knots in Emerald's back while she rested. The conversation lost him a few times, but he understood enough to realize the human on his lap had everything under control.

"They still arguing?" she murmured softly, eyes closed but eyebrows furrowed.

"No. Ava is showing them the 'soots' we will be wearing on her 'compooter'."

The taller human let out a soft huff of laughter. "As long as they're staying out of trouble, I'm fine with it." She sighed happily as Pierce's fingers sidled up her neck, gently massaging as they went.

"How long did all this take?"

"Mmm...about three months, give or take. The last month has been absolutely insane, though, since we had to get you guys added to the Guest List."

"I apologize. We did not mean to cause you any inconvenience." Pierce put his fingers at the base of her skull, carefully massaging the knot he found.

"Oh no, it's...fine." She gave another satisfied grunt as he worked it loose. "As long as you guys listen to me and follow the plan, everything should work out okay." A long yawn managed to escape, ending with her giving a little shudder. "Sorry about that: not sure why I'm so tired."

He placed one hand on her forehead. "Sleep. I will make sure you awaken before we arrive."

It was a suggestion Emerald gladly accepted.