"This is terrible! You looklike you're ready for a night of bar singing rather than a wedding!" Jean wailed, gazing at the green-skinned, silver dress cladadult that stood on top of a stool for their inspection. Her eyes almost bugged out as the dress rustled to the side to show a view of oversized combat style boots. "Tara Toynbee, what are those?"
Tara glanced down then shrugged. "My shoes. I hate those little high-heeled things with the spiked heels and criss-crossed straps; these are sensible shoes for a wedding," she explained, turning to the side to examine herself. "What do you think, Angel?"
"Tres beautiful, cherie," came the response from the next room. The words were followed by a yelp of pain and the sound of a cookie sheet hitting the counter. "I hate cookies!"
"Sugah, why are you making cookies in the first place?" Rogue's disembodied voice demanded from the next room, the kitchen. There was a second yelp of pain then the sound of a couple of swear words. "At least this batch isn't burned beyond recognition."
Tara shook her head. Best not to question, she thought, turning to the side to view the dress from different angles at Nanaki's urgings. Her brows rose then knitted together in concentration. Maybe the boots are too extreme. I'll ask Landon for his input later...maybe Logan, too...
"This is terrible. After all my planning, you're still going to manage to ruin this wedding," Jean wailed in anguish, staring at the mirror with such contempt that it cracked. It could have been caused by her telekenesis but the crack spiraled down the length of the mirror, running to it's very edges. "How can you do this to your wedding day? It should be a memorial day that you'll never forget!"
Nanaki rolled her eyes and adjusted her position against the door, yawning, briefly.
"How much about your wedding do you remember?" Angel asked a fter coming into the room. One of her hands was bandaged in white gauze and turning slightly blue at the tips. "I mean, besides the fact that it almost didn't happen..."
Jean sniffed, irritatedly. "I know you two monsters almost scared the preacher off and ruined my wedding," she said, emphasizing the my part. She took another drink from the glass of liquor that was resting on the nearby counter. "I'm simply trying to make sure that there isn't a repeat of events with the wedding. I'd hate for your wedding to be ruined, Tara..."
"Nice to see you realized that it was my wedding."
"Mom! Mom! MOM!" The single syllable word rang out from the garage then the door banged open and against the wall, chipping a little of the door paint. The noise and destruction were accompanied by Santiago Toynbee who held what looked like a bleeding squirrel up in one hand. "I brought a present for Aunt Tara. Where is she?" he demanded, holding the dead squirrel up for their inspection.
Tara shook her head, chuckling quietly. "Thanks, Santiago. I'll be sure and have Logan make a giant pot of squirrel for the wedding," she said with a straight face. She had the idea that squirrel might be a unique thing for the wedding especially since she'd already gotten a silver dress, combat boots, half a dozen mutants in attendance, and a wedding singer that suffered from a split personality.
Squirrel, indeed.
"No, there will be no serving squirrel at this wedding nor will Nanaki be playing the wedding singer...we're getting a professional." Jean downed the rest of her glass then filled it to the halfway mark once more, draining the glass again before focusing on Tara. Her eyes had lost most of their normality and gone into an almost wild-eyed insanity look. "Someone cheap and good."
"The description still fits Nanaki."
"Does anyone want cookies?" Angel asked from out of nowhere, beginning work on the baby blanket that she'd started making sometime in the last month. It was black and olive green with little boxes that met in the center to form a chain of dark colored links that made a circle. For once, something Angel made didn't look so bad.
Tara shook her head, using Nanaki's hand to get down from the stool then going into the next room. She changed quickly, trading the wedding dress for a pair of worn-in jeans and an over-sized black t-shirt that had once belonged to Landon before she'd confiscated it. The combat boots were replaced with a pair of scuffed up sneakers that were falling apart at the seams in several places.
"Nanaki, have you got any idea what you're planning to sing during the wedding? It has to be appropriate." The sound of Jean's voice greeted her upon her return to the somewhat packed living room. In the last couple of hours, the sound of Jean's voice had begun to grate on her nerves, giving her a headache that wouldn't stop. "Remember that there's a song dedicated to both the bride and the groom from each other."
"Jean, I had my own wedding. I think I know how they go, okay? You'll be lucky if Celesta doesn't make an appearance at the wedding or right now because of how much you're badgering me," came the response through a mouthful of cookie and alcohol. "Leave the songs to be sung at the wedding and receptionto Tara and myself. We'll figure it out....you're getting aggravating, Jean."
"I just want to make sure this wedding goes right. Is that too much to ask?"
"With you planning it? Yes." Landon came into the room, shielding his eyes for a minute then looked up. He blinked several times. "I had to make sure everyone was decent. Angel, Julius wants to have a talk outside when you're finished..."
"He'll have to wait. I'm making a blanket for Amy, aren't I, sweetie?" Angel asked, petting her stomache once more than returning her attention to the beginning to take shape blanket. For some reason or other, she began to hum, though it sounded more like the melody to a Black Sabbath song than a lullabye for a child. "Where is Julius at, Landon?"
Tara heard the audible sigh from her fiance and leaned over to kiss him. "Just answer her questions and she'll shut up," she advised after a minute going into the kitchen and starting on a mug of something or other. She poured some type of mixture into the steaming water then stuck it back into the microwave and pushed a couple of buttons.
"Outside. He has something to do for our employer but wanted to talk to you..."
Jean sniffed, disdainfully. "And is this the same employer from before?" she asked with another disdainful sniff.
"Yep. Apocalypse."
What does it matter who he works for? At least he never went evil unlike someone else... He never tried to kill his friends or the people that he always professed to care about, Tara thought, glaring down at the mug of cocoa she'd begun making. She stuck a spoon into the concoction and began to stir with a furious speed that sloshed some of it out of the mug.
Stop projecting before Jean picks up on it.
Shut up, Angel. I hope she does pick up on it. Why don't you go talk to Julius? I bet it's important...
Bet it's not.
Shut up and go talk to your baby Daddy.
Bite me, came Angel's reply but the funniest part was when she actually stood and walked out of the room, taking the half of her daughter's blanket that had been sewn with her. There was silence after the door slammed then the sound of arguing voices.
Tara shook her head and came back into the front room with her mug of cocoa. She added a couple of marshmallows from a rather large back of mini ones that had been sitting on the counter, closed with a twist tie, then walked to Landon.
"You have a reason for being here or else you wouldn't be within fifty feet of Jean," she pointed out, hearing the truth in her own words. She sipped from her cup then almost choked on it when Landon took her arm and all but yanked her into the next room, Angel and Julius' bedroom, and slammed the door in their wake. "Are you okay, honey? That was rather...abrupt.."
He placed his hand over her mouth and shook his head. "Just listen and don't think, okay?" He waited until she nodded then continued, keeping his hand pressed over her mouth, firmly. "We're eloping in Mexico and if Jean doesn't like it, well, she can just learn to get over it. I don't want to get married under hers or Logan's thumb. If you really want the real bit, we can take the neccessary ones with us, alright? That defines mostly just Angel, Julius, Natasha, Jax, Logan, if we must..."
She shook her head, furiously then pulled his hand away from her mouth, matching his quiet tone. "It won't work. There's some people here who can't be excluded from our wedding and number two, Nanaki would kill me for running off," she pointed out, taking another sip from her mug. She shook her head, smiling and almost laughing at him. "Why have you suddenly taken a real interest in my previous want to run off to Mexico and elope?"
"I got tired of everyone else planning this thing. Apocalypse expects and invitation and I don't think Angel and Julius can make the cermony without fighting or hurting one another," he said, leaning his full weight against the door behind him even though it had been locked.
Who could ask for better friends? I've got a fiance who finally took me serious about eloping in Mexico, one friend's pregnant, one friend's a stripper in her own club, and neither one shows signs of getting married or helping me pull off my wedding. Oh, how I love these people.
Landon frowned and straightened, unlocking the door but not opening it. "You really think we can live through this or should I spring for tickets to Mexico?" was his only spoken question.
She thought a minute then smiled and nodded. "How about you spring for the tickets and we'll spend a week or so there? The only stipulation is we've got to be back in time for Amy's birth... Is that workable?" Tara questioned him, putting her arms around his neck and hugging him.
"Yeah. Did they ever figure out the full name for that kid...?"
Tara nodded after opening the door then told him the name right before they entered the living. "Amethyst Miranda Kanteon. Cute, huh?"
"Those two should be shot. Poor girl."
"At least they're calling her Amy and giving her Julius' last name..."
"Yeah, I'd hate to see another minature angel," Landon mumbled with a shudder. In response, Tara smacked the back of his head, rather hard and glared.
"That's my best friend you're talking about."
"...It's true, though, isn't it?"
She was silent for a minute then nodded. "Yeah, it's true. Now, get out. The wedding's tomorrow and we have to finish some last minute reservations or whatever. Relax, this is work for Nanaki, not Jean...." She walked with him to the door then mumbled a curse word before darting back into one of the bedrooms. She returned with an envelope that said nothing except Mr. Apocalypse; the invitation to their wedding. "Give that to your employer. He can't ruin the wedding any worse than Jean had already..."
"Are you sure?"
"....bye, Landon."
The door slammed in his face, and he was left holding a letter in one hand and staring at the wooden door with a confused expression. He shook his head and opened the envelope reading over the information written there then shook his head again, sealing it up.
One day.
THE BIG DAY
"I'm having a problem with thinking right now. Would you leave my hair alone, Jean?!" Tara's voice split the almost silent, newly converted into a dressing room bedroom at the institute. She all but jumped down from the stool and began pacing the length of the room, barely avoiding tripping thanks to the oversized combat boots under her dress's hem.
Angel watched her from one of the chairs, adjusting her position so that her hands were resting more evenly against her stomache. She didn't move or seem even the slightest bit worried, unlike the others who were bouncing around like mother hens.
"He's not going to backout of marrying you, Tara. Sit down," she commanded, nodding toward another vacant chair.
Tara glared at her. "I never said he would, but he might decide to do the whole elope in Mexico thing and if I don't meet him at the airport, he'll get the wrong idea," she ranted, beginning to repeat quite a lot and mumbled to the point of being almost unhearable. She continued ranting and raving to herself but loud enough for them to hear. "Maybe if he'd taken me seriously at the first suggestion of Mexico..."
"Forget any plans to elope in Mexico," Jean said with a threatening look in their direction.
"Fine. We'll just honeymoon there."
"I forbid it! You're going to Alaska because I've already gotten the tickets, Tara Toynbee."
"Alaska?! I hate ---" The sentence never finished itself. Someone's fist hit the door a couple of times then there was a loud whistle. "What!"
Logan's voice echoed into the room. "It's time, kid. Everything's ready," Logan said through the door, knocking once more than walking away from the sound of his footsteps. His footsteps echoed down the hall then into the front room, stopping to wait for them.
"We'll see you in a few minutes, Tara. Remember, smile!" Jean pasted an overly large smile across her face then pranced out of the room with the others.
Tara stared after them a minute then hurried to the door. "Angel, can you come back here a minute? Please... it's really important."
"Alright. I'm not talking you out of marrying him or talking you into eloping in Mexico. You missed both of those chances already," Angel replied after entering the room. She blinked, slightly when the door was abruptly slammed shut behind her, slammed shut and held shut. "Hon, you don't look so good..."
"Is it okay to be nervous, Angel? I think there's army men having a drunken party in my stomache..."
There was shrug from Angel. "Never been married before or even tried. I wouldn't know, but it seems you want to marry him or you would have given in to Logan's pressure or stopped the wedding plans when Jean started planning, right?" she offered with a vague smile. "We're already twenty mintues late in starting the ceremony so let's go before the guests walk out..."
"Thanks, Angel. I don't think you helped me any but thanks..."
"What else am I good for? You can answer that honestly since I'm already aware of the answer. Now let's go already..."
Tara met Logan at the door that led to the re-done backyard of the institute. She noticed that despite the scowl and mumbled "about time" he offered, that there was something almost prideful in his expression especially when he caught sight of the oversized combat boots that ran up her ankle and were tied into a thick knot at the top.
Logan raised his eyebrows until they made little furrows in his forehead.
"I'd rather be prepared in case this thing doesn't go right...or something goes wrong..." She smiled as the wedding prescesion started then turned her head to the side to see her guardian of going on eighteen years. "I also had to keep some part of you around for the wedding... combat boots with a wedding dress fit right into your idea of thinking..."
He shook his head. "I always knew you were stupider than you played yourself off," he said, showing his usual self rather than the often unresponsive mute that had replaced him over the last few weeks. He even refused to discuss anything that dealt with her impending marriage.
The wedding march came next and she forgot what she was supposed to do until Logan took one of her arms. She jumped a minute then settled down and walked down the aisle beside him, scanning the different faces that had come for the wedding. Their 'kitty' had come for the wedding, Magneto had returned from his Sabbatical, and the Professor himself had returned from the almost permanent vacation on the beachers of Jamaica. Jean cringed every time one of her feet hit the floor; whether it was real or in her imagination, she heard the heavy thump of her boots against the stone steps that led to the self-created Gazebo.
"Breathe, kid, or you won't live through this."
"If you can't say anything helpful, Logan, shut up," came her quiet response before they reached the priest who would be marrying them, Landon, and the other members of their wedding party. She managed a half smile when Logan kissed her on the cheek, said his one line about giving her or whatever, and took his seat on the side of the chair set-up for the friends of the bride.
The entire side held significantly more people than the groom's, whose side held only Apocalypse, Julius, Landon, Jax, Angel, and Natasha, all of who seemed much too distracted. There was also a rather large, white cat curled up on Apocalypse's lap and head resting in the crook of his arm, though the tail twitched and the eyes darted back and forth between them, watching everything.
Tara didn't know much of what happened during the cermony except that they'd recieved a hissing objection that had been overruled by Landon and the priest. She'd glanced once toward her side of the wedding attenders and glared at Logan and Jean, seeing that both looked ready to stand up with a complaint or reason the wedding couldn't happen. Scott had a hankercheif up to his face and appeared to be on the verge of crying.
The worse part of the cermony came after they finished the ring exchanging, as the priest was finishing up their vows and starting the last passage of the cermony. "By the power vested in me by the state of New York, I now..."
That's when the rain started.
Huge, thundering drops that were accompanied by several rumbles and thunder. Several of the more normal people jumped up and hurried away from the scene and toward the institute; the priest looked ready to bolt at any minute, a bad sign.
Great, another omen. Rain and now this...
The priest continued despite the rain that was soaking everything and ruining Jean's carefully crafted decoractions. "...pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride," he finished then ran off, making it inside even before they'd officially kissed. There was brief applause but Tara didn't have to look to know who had stayed outside through the end of the wedding.
"Alright, Landon! It's about time!" Julius' voice carrired the furthest, though it was accompanied by Angel's laughter and the sound of scattered clapping.
"Tara finally got herself married and can finally get laid," Natasha announced, hurrying up to her and hugging her along with Angel. The hug was a somewhat tight fit especially with Angel's stomache creating a rather large bulge in the middle. "Do we get details later..?"
"Like hell."
"Are you idiots planning to get pnemonia and die or come in here and attend the wedding reception?" It was Nanaki who broke up the group hug and scattered applaused and whistles that continued to come from Landon's side. There was an amused hint to her voice, but it wasn't obvious to someone who didn't know her that well. "Your guests are starting to wonder if you've been struck by lightening..."
"Tell them yes," Landon said, coming over to take one of her hands, "Ready to go, Tara? Remember we have to visit Mexico after this..."
"Mexico? We're going to MEXICO?! Oh, I love you, I love you, I love you!" Tara threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, barely acknowleding things when their friends took off at a ran toward the mansion, skidding across the wet marble and almost falling. "I always wanted to go to Mexico."
"Yeah.... I forgot to tell you, Apocalypse is paying for the entire ordeal, including our hotel and any meals we'll have while there, no matter where we go."
"Does this come with a stipulation, Landon..?"
"Um...what do you mean?"
"Is there a job for you in Mexico...?"
Landon shrugged. "It's small one that'll only take one day, four hours at the most...." His words were cut off when the cluster of flowers that had been in Tara's arms hit him straight in the face then she stomped off. "It was a joke, Tara! Would you really have such a problem with my having a job on our honeymoon? Tara? Tara...? TARA!"