Choosing a date was the easy part. Figuring everything else out, while still fighting the Ministry, compiling her research into scientific journals, making time for friends and family, planning Christian and Willis' wedding, helping out at Lucrecia's, and occasionally still helping the Order of the Ministry with post-war strings kept everything pretty busy. Which, in Fae's opinion, was great. The busier they were, the faster time went, the sooner she could lock down Remus.
New Year's came and went with Fae dumping snow down her brothers' backs and gazing cheerfully at her engagement ring whenever she had more than 45 seconds to herself. She had actually almost snapped at Harry when he'd tried to yank it off her finger and play with it, which had been hugely embarrassing and a major wake-up call. That, and everybody was teasing both her and Remus for being so dazed out all the time and constantly having dopey smiles on their faces. But what could she say? They were getting married.
Still, they couldn't be too dazed and blissfully unaware. Life settled into a new routine. Waking up to enjoy her fiance, or vice versa, before they went on their morning run. Breakfast was a mad rush with Regulus darting out the door and dodging Sirius' playful attempts to trip him up. He usually darted out the door just as James, Lily, and Harry showed up. They were there most mornings for breakfast and so James could work in the lab while Fae watched Harry and then Lily left with Sirius to head to the Ministry, sometimes with Fae or Remus or both.
And then when there wasn't Harry to watch or ministry work, Fae was at the library compiling her research and Remus was at Lucrecia's helping out. Or vice versa. Or Fae was doing her studying and writing in her newly rebuilt corner booth while she sincerely did her best not to distract and tease her fiance too much while he worked.
Lunch was a toss up too. Fae and Remus sometimes met up with Lily, Christian, and Lyall for lunch to talk politics or Christian's wedding details, bringing Willis with them and leaving the cafe to Lucrecia and Martha for a bit. Or sometimes, Lily met them at home or at her house with James and Harry. Or all of them, plus Sirius and Severus, would eat in the ministry and just talk. And occasionally, Fae found herself heading to St. Mungos or the Med School to give Regulus the lunch he'd forgotten to bring and probably would've forgotten to eat.
After lunch, Remus and Fae usually went home for a little afternoon exercise. It should've been running or strength training, and it usually started that way at least, but they really were incorrigible and insatiable. Around mid-afternoon, it was back to the cafe or the library or helping Moody with the Order or checking in with the Brigade wolves, following up on any who needed help or had questions or requested advice or resources.
Dinner was louder than breakfast, mostly because they usually had at least a few guests over. Sometimes Lucrecia, Moody, and Martha. Sometimes Willis and Christian. Sometimes Severus. And once a week, Remus and Fae went to his parent's house too. Those were quieter nights, which was nice, but also Hope was a terror about how they were planning the wedding and it drove Fae nuts.
James and Lily were over for dinner a lot, mostly because Lily had decided to return the favor to Remus and act as their wedding planner. It was great too, because Regulus also wanted to plan the wedding and so he actually came home at a decent time, if for nothing else than to bicker with Lily. And while they bickered, Remus and Fae usually got to sneak away to the woods or collapse on the couch and just relax together before bed. Mostly. Sometimes Lily and Regulus actually got along and then directed their chaotic planning energy on the two werewolves, asking a million questions that Fae really just didn't give a shit about. All that mattered to her was that she'd get to marry Remus on June 24th.
Of course, her darling was a little fussier. Fae really knew nothing about weddings and didn't care to know all the details, it sounded like a lot of extra aesthetics and bits. A lot of work. Remus, on the other hand, had been wedding planner extraordinaire for Lily, who had at least higher class and taste than Fae. Remus was more detail oriented and had been raised by his mother to care about appearances and although Fae had happily gotten him to a place where the lycanthropy didn't bother him, he still cared to some degree about looking good and she was perfectly content to let him. As long as it made him happy.
What she hadn't realized during the first three weeks was that it actually didn't make him very happy at all. In fact, he got increasingly more stressed, which she had noticed. She just hadn't realized it was because of the wedding.
It was on one such night, unwinding after a crazy day, when Lily and James had gone home and Regulus had retreated to study and Sirius had left off to the garage. It was just them, leaned together on the couch, doing whatever while a movie played on the tv. Fae loved nights like these, loved that they could do whatever they wanted and just be next together.
"What do you think of maroon and gold? Or should we do teal and silver? And what do you think about a theme?" Remus asked.
"I don't mind, you pick darling," Fae answered idly, glued to her book. It was one of her favorites - Stardust.
Suddenly, Remus slammed his book shut, got off the couch, and stormed off to the porch. Fae frowned and went after him immediately, finding him pacing and grumbling to himself.
"Remus?"
He stopped his pacing and Fae grew worried in the silence before he turned around to frown at her. "Do you even care?"
"What do you mean? Of course I care," she responded quickly, startled and reaching for him to comfort him. He was distressed and that was not okay.
"Really? Because you seem dreadfully uninterested regarding anything about this wedding. Be honest with me Fae, do you really even want a wedding? Or to get married? Because-"
"Woah, woah, woah, Remus!" she cried, rushing to his side and framing his face with her hands.
"Slow down! Of course I want to marry you. And yes, I am increasingly impatient to officially be husband and wife, but my joking about running away to elope really is just joking. I want a wedding with you. I want to marry you with all of our friends and family and loved ones to see," she said.
He was quiet as her words settled in and his tension faded away slowly. "Yeah?"
"Yeah," she said. "What's all this about? Are Lily and Regulus stressing you out with all the planning talk?"
Because she was going to kill them if that was the case. A proper wedding planner was supposed to make things easier and divert stress, not cause it by being neurotic and badgering her sweet love to hell.
He sighed and they settled down onto the porch swing, rocking it as he thought it over and considered his answer. ""Well.. yes and no. I'm grateful for all their help, really, I just.."
"Wish they weren't so overbearing?" Fae suggested.
He shook his head and said, "Want to be able to make all these decisions with you."
She blinked at him. "Oh."
He sighed again. "I know you don't care much for appearances and grand parties, so I understand. It's just, I want you to be excited about the wedding and about silly things like choosing the invites or finding a photographer or making a million little give-away gifts for our guests with me," Remus explained, fiddling with his sweater sleeves.
Fae was kind of devastated. She hadn't realized at all. And she hated that she'd left him feeling lonely or stressed or unhappy when she could've fixed it. It was unacceptable.
Pulling his fingers away from his sleeves, she wrapped up his hands in hers and kissed them before leaning in to give his lips some kisses too. "Well I can't promise to become a bridezilla who demands every last thing down to the perfect little details, but I can definitely be more involved," she said, grinning confidently and assuredly.
He smiled a little. "Only if you want to, though. Not just for me."
"I want to for you, and I know we'll have tons of fun figuring this out together," Fae promised, determined to make things better. "You're right, we should both be involved in how the wedding will be. It's for us after all. I may not know much about cloth napkins or catering, but I'll do my best."
"Thank you," he said, proper beaming smile returning. "I love you."
Good Gods, she'd never tire of hearing that. It still sent her heart racing as fast as the first time she'd heard it. "I love you too," she crooned. They shared a few more kisses before she sought to make him laugh too.
"Now how about Dragons and Mountain Climbing for a theme?"
"Fae."
"What? It'd be hilarious."
So they made up. A few times. And then the next day, she got a brand new notebook for wedding stuff and sat down at lunch with Remus, Regulus, and Lily to talk checklists and plans. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. Her darling deserved it. Regulus and Lily had looked at her oddly at first, surprised that she was taking an interest in aesthetic busy-ness, but quickly got over it and started explaining in alarming synchronicity. Mostly just ranting about how much there was to do and how they only had five months to do it.
And okay. Uh. Wow. Fae could understand how Remus was getting stressed about this and how it was no fun to let Lily and Regulus pick everything, but it was even less fun to pick everything arbitrarily on your own. She felt so bad and decided to really get into this. At least it would keep her busy and it might even be fun. Well, with Remus, it would probably be really fun. He could make writing the weekly grocery list or folding the laundry fun.
Fae confined her werewolf and politic research to early mornings at the library after that and moved her afternoons at the cafe specifically to wedding planning. Lists and lists and lists. Magazines and references and a million choices and options. Good lord. She filled nearly half a notebook with everything, but it felt so much more manageable all spilled out into checkboxes. Unfortunately, Remus was a lot more distracted at work with that, but he seemed really happy to talk about everything with her and Lucrecia and Willis didn't seem to mind one bit, even when he sat down with her and accidentally burned the cookies.
Martha was thrilled - she thought it was all terribly romantic and loved looking at color palettes and wedding magazines and such with her. And maybe Fae got her started on coffee a little young, but eh. She'd be going to Hogwarts come September and would need it then for sure to get through exams.
For Remus' eyes, Fae chose slate blue. And because they wanted an outdoor venue, no questions asked, they decided pale green and platinum would be the other two colors, accented with wood textures. Neither were complex, hoity toity people. They wanted their guests to feel warm and enchanted and comfortable and dazed with happiness. So they'd be looking for venues in woods or parks or gardens, using decorations that were natural and handmade looking, and filling the space with warm lights and soft flowers and coffee-scented candles. That last one had been Remus' idea and she loved him so much for it. He still only ever drank tea, but she absolutely loved how much he indulged her obsession for coffee. Utter sweetheart.
However, shortly after picking a theme and colors, they realized they were going to need a huge venue. James, Sirius, and Regulus insisted on sparing no expense for the wedding, especially the venue, which turned out to be a godsend. They were definitely slacking on picking a guest list and it was actually a lot harder than she thought it was going to be. For a solid week, they kept thinking of names, and somehow ended up with something like 250 guests because they wanted so and so to be there and it'd be rude if they invited them and not them and oh, they'd be great to have at the reception.
Their families went without question. James and Lily and Harry.
Regulus and Sirius also wanted Uncle Alphard, who Fae was happy to include on account of his generous funding and good attitude. Their cousins Andromeda and Narcissa were invited too, because Sirius had this thing about wanting to rebuild the House of Black into a proper, good family. So then Romilly was going, obviously, and Fae absolutely had to have Newt and Tina, so then Romilly felt it was fair that her parents and her little brother's joined in which sounded great because Fae had been dying to meet them and found it hilarious how much her little brothers badgered her, but worshipped Regulus.
Remus' parents were coming, but he also was eager to see his Uncle who he hadn't seen since he was twelve and their parents had cut him off for almost figuring out Remus was a werewolf. Everybody knew now, obviously, and of course his Uncle and his family didn't care one bit. So Uncle Hunter Lupin, his wife Georgette, and their three kids, Remus' cousins, were coming.
Willis and Christian would be there and so would Lucrecia, Alastor, and Martha. And Severus, who was steadfastly bringing his newly-single mother as his date, fucking adorable.
And all the members from the Werewolf Brigade and the Order of the Phoenix, which meant all the werewolves currently in Maddy's Western Pack and Celeste's Northern Pack were invited too. This included Maddy's son who would be born by then, and had already basically been named Jimmy Jr., or just Jr.
From the Order, there were tons of people too, among them the Weasley Brood and the Longbottoms with Neville. Molly was pregnant with Ginny and Fae had gotten to Bellatrix before she got the Longbottoms so Neville was happy with his loving, sane parents. Dumbledore and McGonagall and Hagrid were in the Order too and they were definitely invited, but then Remus and Fae got to thinking about all their professors and how awesome they had been, especially Madam Pomfrey who healed them up constantly. Madam Pomfrey, Pomona Sprout, Kettleburn, and Cassandra Trewlawney were invited, and then they felt bad for leaving Slughorn and Flitwick out so they were invited too.
And on the note of education, Mr. Hammy was invited, as was Melanie Bludvist of Durmstrang.
Mrs. Dolores was invited and some of the most loyal regulars at Lucrecia's cafe were invited, because they all loved Remus and he was bad at saying no.
So that was everybody they could think of - it didn't even begin to cover all the people in London who wanted to go to the wedding between Werewolf Brigade Commander Lupin and the hero/anti-hero who killed Tom Riddle. Her official title in history was looking to be The Blood Fae and she was pretty happy with that. Less happy with the idea of strangers at her wedding, which Remus very much agreed with. Thankfully, Lily fielded those letters and requests, using the papers as target practice when she was feeling particularly frustrated at work. Regulus yelled at her when he found out - irritated because some of those people were important and shouldn't be offended, but more pissed that she wasn't sharing so he could dissolve some in acid because his brain was mush from work and school.
So yeah. Big venue. Lots of guests. It was going to be a massive party and that was when Fae started to get really hyped up about planning.
After beginning to work on a guest list, there was the matter of choosing who would be in their wedding parties too. Regulus and Romilly were fighting to be her Maid of Honor and James and Sirius were fighting to be Remus' Best Man. It took them an embarrassing amount of time for them to realize they could both just have two in the end. Two Maids of Honor and Two Best Men. James and Sirius would be giving her away, Martha and Theresa would be flower girls, and Severus would carry Harry, the ringbearer.
Of course, as soon as that was sorted, the Best Man Duo and the Maid of Honor Team immediately went to work, planning team speeches and getting downright competitive about their roles in the wedding. Like performances dedicated to their person of honor and funding as much extravagance as they could and being 'helpful' which was not very helpful, especially in Sirius' case. It was as funny as it was horrifying and Fae prayed that would not come back to bite her in the ass.
Remus and Fae went on little dates every Friday and Saturday night, checking out all the venues around London. They'd briefly thought about having a destination wedding, even jokingly-but-not-really-jokingly considered Hogwarts and the Forbidden Forest, but ultimately decided against it due to the amount of guests who resided in London already. There were some pretty gorgeous, flowery parks and some giant, grand ballrooms that Fae definitely enjoyed dancing with Remus in. They brought take-out food and imagined getting married and played little fantasy games about where the tables might be and where he'd be standing, waiting for her.
However, nothing really felt right until they decided to revisit the willow tree where they'd finally gotten together. It was a pretty cute pond and there was a sizeable wooded area with thin, tall trees off to one side. They could trim the field leading into the woods and fit plenty of people for the ceremony, and then move closer to the pond for the reception. Keep it close and keep it outdoors. It was simple, but it suited them. And that night, they sat on the hood of the Thunderbird for hours, imagining where each and every little detail of their wedding would go. They'd save tons of money on renting a venue and could happily redistribute that to setting up all the necessary tents and stages and tables and dance floors out here. It would be perfect, and they shared a mimicry of their first dance in the field where the obviously massive dance floor would go.
Then came figuring out Save-the-Dates and Invitations. They went to one shop to look at options before Fae got super inspired by all the pretty variations and decided to just design them herself. A wooden coaster-sized disk cut from cedar tree branches and etched with floral vines and all the necessary information worked well for the Save-The-Dates. As for the invitations, she spent a good few weeks, doodling late into the night at her desk before she settled on a design and a layout. It was really exciting, being able to share the graphic designer side of her with Remus and she preened at how impressed he was.
Finding a printer to handle her idea, and any other cards or stationary they might need, was less tricky than she thought. Fae had figured none would want to do jack shit for her since Pop Prints Plus, but as it turned out, many did. Including Pop Prints Plus, which was now run by the late owner's wife after Fae had helped rebuild it. It seemed fitting and the wife was committed to supporting her in whatever little way she could, just like her husband had.
They ended up with a three-panel card that opened up to shower glitter and flowers out, along with the distinct smell of Earl Grey Tea, which had been Remus' favorite for a few years now. The calligraphy was immaculate and wove with all the gold-leaf floral designs, some running alongside elaborate cut-outs to reveal wood-patterned paper underneath and wrapped in slate-blue ribbons. They were gorgeous, albeit complicated to make, but Fae trusted Pop Prints Plus to get it right. After all, they had at least a week or two to figure out how to produce them before Fae and Remus decided on a final guest list.
Then there was picking a caterer. Which, food. Both decided steak was the way to go. And since Regulus was paying, Remus wanted filet mignon and green beans and baked potatoes. Cabernet Sauvignon too, because Romilly and Professor McGonagall were going to be there. Since he picked dinner, Remus insisted Fae pick desserts. What Fae decided was a giant dessert buffet after dinner because she couldn't pick and wanted Remus to have some treats he liked too. They were going to import chocolates from Belgium and crepes from France and tiramisu from Italy, but the cake was definitely going to be done by Lucrecia, which was why Fae was a little surprised when Remus took her to a high-end bakery in London for cake sampling one weekend.
"Why are we here?" Fae whispered as the attendant sat them at a table and left to retrieve the samples. "I thought we decided Lucrecia was making the cake?"
"Well, yeah, but nobody knows that yet. So we're 'keeping our options open'," Remus answered, eyes sparkling with mischief.
"Keeping our options open." Fae arched an eyebrow and his grin got wider.
The attendant then came back with a giant tray of little cake bites. "Here you are!" he said. "15 of our best. May I suggest the red velvet and cream cheese?"
Fae gazed at the little treats and then abruptly turned to plant a big kiss on Remus' cheek. "I love you so much."
He laughed loudly and thanked the attendant, requesting that they have a moment to try them out and talk about it. Fae was already digging in, the red velvet was sublime. She smiled brightly and held a piece of chocolate cake out to Remus, only to gasp playfully as he ate the whole thing instead of taking a bite. She leaned in quickly to get a taste and giggled as he smeared another bite of cake on her cheek and licked it off after their kiss.
Her darling was so brilliant.
They dreamed of a wedding at the tail end of sunset and a reception in the night. Lights everywhere, like the string lights in the backyard or the fairy lights like fireflies that Fae loved to conjure around the room sometimes. Flowers everywhere, obviously.
"So what do you think?" Fae asked, jumping onto the couch beside him with her hands full of flowers.
"Of?" Remus asked, greeting her happily with a kiss.
"Of these for the wedding flowers, silly."
She'd thought about it for quite awhile, churning through all the meanings and what combinations looked nice together and would look good with their theme and colors. In the end, Fae had settled for White Roses, Yarrows, and Forget-Me-Nots.
"Beautiful," Remus said, taking the bouquet of flowers and tucking one of the Forget-Me-Nots behind Fae's ear. "We'll have to find a florist who can produce millions of these."
"A florist? Why don't I just do the flowers? It's my specialty after all."
He smiled wickedly. "Because they need to be fresh for our wedding day and you need to have all of your energy for our wedding night, my love."
Fae went bright red and dizzy with sudden arousal. So brilliant. Always thinking ahead. She really was marrying up. "Excellent point. Let's go find a florist."
Remus set the flowers aside and crawled over her, pushing her down into the couch cushions with his insistent hips and wandering lips and groping hands. "How about we do that later?"
Remus and Fae wanted a live band. A DJ would've been able to play Fae's secret tapes and some of her most favorite songs, but she and Remus both loved to dance to live music so much more. It reminded them of those nights at the fair. In the end, Remus found a solution and somehow managed both.
"Fae!" Remus shouted, getting her attention and smiling brightly as he joined her at the kitchen table where she was going over the budget. It was basically unlimited, thanks to her brothers, but she still wanted to be cool about it and take it easy on them where she could.
"Hello darling, what's up?" she asked, meeting his hello kiss happily and eager to leave the numbers behind for a bit.
He was very excited about something and Fae found herself equally excited, abandoning her chair to sit in his lap as he took a seat at the table. His arms wrapped around her securely and she sank into his warmth and solidness. His lovely vanilla and bookish smell.
"I found the most amazing band for the wedding!"
"Oh? Tell me more."
"They're not anybody hugely popular, so I'm sure Regulus will hate them and Sirius will love them and convince him otherwise."
"Uh-huh," she hummed, listening as she played with the hair at the nape of his neck and fantasized about adding some new marks to the chain of hickeys just beneath his shirt collar.
"But they are very good at cover music for Queen and Journey and The Police and even Michael Jackson. Very versatile group. The lead singer came into the cafe and we got to talking and they're very nice people and he was able to sing and play one of your favorite songs on the spot when I decided to test him."
Now that got her attention loud and clear. "Really?" she asked.
"Of course, I know how much you wanted to play some of the songs on your mystery tapes," he answered.
"Will they be loud?" she asked.
"Absolutely."
With every question, she leaned closer to his mouth. "Will they let me steal the microphone and sing a few songs?"
"Without question," he answered, voice going breathy and lusty.
"How many songs do you think they could learn, or would be willing to learn?"
"As many as we ask, I imagine, so long as we give them time," Remus said.
She hummed and nibbled his bottom lip. "So what's the catch?"
He grinned sheepishly and said, "They're based out of the United States so we'd have to fly them in and put them up for the week of, in addition to paying them for the gig. Plus, coordinating before the wedding might be tricky."
Fae snorted. "Oh that's it? Consider it done," she said, giving him a proper kiss. Or three.
Blinking at her, a smile stretched across his face. "Perfect."
"We have to fly Romilly's grandparents in from New York anyways," Fae added.
"We what?"
With a little over three months to go, they figured out a caterer, a team of light technicians, the band, the florist, the photographers, the videographers, and the venue. The guest list was almost decided, invitations were almost ready to be printed, and Fae was making headway on little give-away gifts for their guests as well as thank you cards. They were on a roll and having a blast - except for the paparazzi. They'd been seen at the cake shop asking after wedding cake options and London went into a frenzy, losing their collective minds over the 'wedding of the decade'.
Lily was an absolute doll, handling all the press and keeping them away. But then there was The Prophet and The Wizarding Broadcast Station. Fae owed them, for their help, for their bravery. So for the Wizarding Broadcast Station, which she was delighted to see up and running again and likely to continue running, she agreed to a televised interview. And gave Remus the out when he looked distinctly pale and nervous about being on TV.
For a 45 minute segment, Fae was asked a million questions. Mostly about her and Remus, thankfully, which she was happy to gush about, ranting about how they'd met and always been close friends and how she'd been in love with him basically forever because he was the most amazing person in existence and she sometimes couldn't believe he wanted to marry her.
It irritated her a bit when they shifted the focus to their lycanthropy, commenting on how it was lucky they were both werewolves. Fae made it very clear that them both being werewolves had nothing to do with it, although it sure helped bond them in other ways. She'd love Remus whether he was a werewolf or not, whether he was a Commander or not, whether he was a girl or severely crippled or whatever. She'd love him no matter what.
And on that note - had he heard about the latest werewolf initiatives going through the Ministry thanks to her sister-in-law and her dear friend, Christian?
Despite having wanted nothing to do with the tv interview, Remus was waiting for her off-set, having seen the show and apparated her instantly to swoop her up in his arms and kiss her madly. After that, they went together to the Daily Prophet. Marcus Bimms was a good man and promised fair coverage of their wedding should they grant it to him. They trusted him and decided to agree - the reporter was a small, endearing, freckly young man who reminded them of Peter and was starstruck by them and overly-eager to spin their love story. It would be just fine, and pretty cool to see the wedding photos and read about it in the news.
Of course, not every part of planning the wedding was fun and interesting. Like choosing all the rental decorations and such.
"Seriously? Why can't we just tell everyone to bring their own?" Fae whined, tossing all the catalogues onto the coffee table.
"Their own what? Plates? Silverware? Napkins? Chairs?" Remus asked as he flicked through a selection of paper types for the thank you cards.
"Yes."
"Fae."
"They could just stand or sit in the grass," she suggested petulantly.
He snickered. "You are incorrigible."
Fae sat up on her knees and started crawling towards him, flopping onto his chest, knocking his samples aside, and hoping she could tempt him into sampling something else. "Like that's not why you're marrying me."
"Well you're not wrong," he said, grinning and giving into her kisses eagerly. "Tell you what, you focus on getting the final guest list and getting invites printed. I'll handle all the decor details with Lily and Regulus."
"Deal," Fae said happily, placing a long, sucking kiss on his neck. "Just don't tell your mother."
"My mother?"
She pulled back a bit and huffed, mood slightly ruined because Hope was good at ruining lots of things for Fae. "That woman has been busting my balls like nobodies business about all this wedding stuff."
Legit. Fae was going to set her nice curtains on fire or break all her fine, antique china if Hope tried to shove one more wedding 'suggestion' down her throat or made a snide comment about how Fae, and her son, had decided to handle their own goddamn wedding.
"Oh has she?" Remus teased, tugging on her hair playfully. "Has the great, invincible Fae finally met her match?"
She batted his hands away and glared at him, failing after a few seconds and chuckling with him. "You laugh, but that woman is worse than Lily and Regulus combined after two all-nighters and a lighting technician who doesn't know the difference between navy and slate blue."
"You're amazing," he said.
"I am," she agreed. Then crept back over him and grinned against his sensitive ears. "And I'm also prepared to offer you blindfolds, chocolate sauce, silk ties, filthy lingerie, and a few hours of whatever you want if it means we don't have to have dinner with your parents this week."
"Deal!"
Instead of chocolate sauce or going to Remus' parents for dinner, they actually ended up getting their first batch of invitations in the mail. The design and presentation looked perfect and had Fae dancing around the house and shrieking with delight until Remus threw her over the shoulder and took them to their room to play with the hot wax meant for the invitation seals.
They decided to just have the rehearsal dinner here at home. The woods were a smaller version of where they'd be going and they really only wanted close relatives and the wedding parties there for that one. Nice and simple.
Then came the really, really exciting part. Planning the honeymoon. Fae had ideas and had pulled out all the stops for her husband-to-be. It was a rare morning off that just the two of them could share, once Regulus and Sirius left for work, of course. Instead of going running, Fae sucked him off and then bought him breakfast in bed. They sat, naked, drinking coffee and tea, feeding each other pancakes and getting messy with the syrup when Fae decided it was as good a time as any to bring it up.
"So I was thinking," she said idly, drawing hearts with her finger on his chest.
"About?" he asked, voice completely sated and blissful and dreamy. Perfect.
"Doing a little recon on our honeymoon," she said.
"Recon?" he hummed. "What do you mean?"
Adoring his content and lazy nature, she followed her finger with her tongue. "Well, we haven't exactly picked where we want to spend our honeymoon yet or how long we'll be there."
"Hence why we're having this conversation," he said. Then swatted her cheek away gently. "Or at least, trying. Quit it, you greedy thing."
"Yes darling," Fae hummed, kissing his lovely abs one last time before sitting up. "Anyways, as I was saying."
"As you were saying."
"How about we don't pick a place? And then pick a more permanent place?"
He gave her a fond and amused look. "I'm afraid I'm not following."
Woops. Fae's plan for Remus, as usual, had backfired on her a bit. She was far too dazed and happy herself to focus on the conversation so she decided to just show him instead by summoning all the mailed-in college brochures she'd been collecting. They spilled all over the bed, thankfully missing their pancakes and sticky, syrup-covered plates. Remus was in a really, really good mood, letting them eat breakfast in bed. Hopefully he stayed that way as she got her thoughts and words in order.
"How about we throw a couple darts, check them out, and maybe choose a place to live?" Fae suggested slowly, trying to gauge his reaction. "While you go to college? If that's still what you want?"
"Fae…. Are you serious?" Remus asked, running his hands over the brochure and blinking owlishly.
"I'm going to let that one slide," she said, snickering. "Yes, I mean it. I always promised you that we'd go to some crazy awesome college together and go on adventures every weekend while you slaved away at a degree or two during the week and I got to play happy housewife."
Remus suddenly sat up straight and followed the movement all the way through to kiss and nip her jaw. "I don't think you ever promised me that last bit before, but I am very interested," he purred.
Fae beamed. "Yeah? You want to? Go to school and move to another country with me and see the world?"
"I'd love to!"
However, his smile faded a bit as he took a closer look at all the papers. "But Fae… what if I don't get accepted anywhere?" he asked, biting his lip and sifting through all the options with growing interest.
It was a reasonable question, given what happened last time, which he still hadn't actually told her about, come to think of it. Still. He was so silly sometimes, for as smart as he was.
"Are you kidding me? Remus, you're a national hero. They'd be crazy not to accept you and then they'd be bombarded by all your fans," she declared.
"I don't have fans," he argued.
"You do," she said. He deserved them and it was cool and all, but they'd better know that he was taken.
He rolled his eyes. "Well then, so do you."
The smile on his face was growing bigger and she could see his brain working, his eyes gaining that thoughtful, intelligent gleam. "But I guess you're right. It wouldn't hurt to try. Check out a few campuses and learn about the programs there. Merlin, I haven't even thought of going back to school in at least two years. I have no clue what I'd study."
Judging from the sound of his voice, that wasn't entirely true. Or at least, he'd already come up with a few ideas in the minutes since she'd given him this idea.
"Well we have all the time in the world to figure it out. Try as many things as you want and get as many degrees as your heart desires," she crooned, kissing his cheek and gazing at him lovingly, so excited for him to be excited about this. She was so glad she'd made the right call and thought of this.
"And what will you be doing?" he asked, emerging from the colleges to smirk at her.
Fae answered him without hesitation and without even batting an eyelash or cracking a smile. "Working to support you, keeping our house clean, making sure dinner is always on the table of course."
"Be real," he said as they both started laughing. "You'd be bored."
Grinning, she shrugged and concealed a small, embarrassed blush. "Honestly, probably not that bored, being your little housewife," she admitted.
And then quickly continued speaking before he could tease her for wanting to be his little housewife. "I like a simple life. Nah, I probably will take classes of my own, get a part-time job or something, maybe get a degree or try a career path. Actually… there has been a little something in my mind lately that I thought I might give a try."
"I'm sure you'll do wonderfully."
They shared a kiss. "And I'm sure you'll have your pick of any college and any degree you want, wherever we want to go. So is that a yes? Honeymooning across Europe?" Fae asked cheerfully.
"I love you," he said, positively glowing. "Yes, absolutely."
"Yes?" she repeated, wanting to hear it one more time.
"Yes," he said, grinning and falling back onto the bed with a breathless laugh. "Ah! I can't believe we're doing this!"
"Anything for you, my darling. I love you."
With that, she straddled his hips and got them started on round two for the day, pausing only for a second to say, "Oh! But there is one place I wanted to show you first."
However, by then he was off to the races, cock growing hard and hot for her again as he ground up against her. Her mind blanked and they got lost in the sheets, thoroughly enjoying their morning off together.
The guest list was finalized, bless, and the invitations were cranked out at full speed which led to more fun nights with the hot wax. And messes.
And for funsies, they took dance classes. As the wedding came closer, their time available for each other was shrinking which was unacceptable. So even though they didn't need any practice or guidance for their first dance as man and wife, they took dance lessons anyways so Lily and Regulus would give them a moment of peace. Just to have some fun twirling together and ignoring their instructor.
With the guests figured out, it became time to figure out how they'd all get here and where they'd be staying. Thankfully, Regulus was happy to handle that. He knew all the best hotels and had deep connections and experience with the travel industry thanks to taking care of her and Romilly as Kent back during the war.
"Are you sure?" Remus asked for the millionth time as she dragged him through an antique store in London. They were ring shopping, finally. Actual, legit, forever, wedding rings. Fae was so excited and would probably have a lot more fun when Remus got over his deal with money. While their families were paying for most of the wedding, he'd insisted on buying her ring, which was very sweet.
"Are you sure?" she replied cheekily.
"Fae, come on. I can get you something much nicer, if you wanted."
"You mean bigger? Gaudier?" she teased. Then pinched his side. "Remus, honestly."
"Okay, I get it," he said, laughing and finally relaxing. "What do you want then?"
"Something with character and history. Something understated, but beautiful. And sturdy. Very sturdy," she answered, linking their hands together and fiddling with his engagement ring. She gave the metal a kiss and peeked up at him cutely from beneath his eyelashes, delighting in the way his expression melted.
"I have just the thing," the shop owner said, smiling fondly at the foolish pair.
Fae hadn't expected to find a perfect ring so fast, but that's exactly what this was. Sterling silver, twining decorative vines inlaid with tons of tiny diamonds with one decent-sized one in the center that wasn't so big it would stick out and get caught on stuff. Very shiny. The carving of the ring matched the inset decorations on what would be Remus' ring, which also had several smaller diamonds like flowers on the vine. The diamonds would shine whenever they thought of each other. They were perfect and Fae almost started crying, because fuck she was marrying Remus fucking Lupin.
The dinner and dessert menu was finalized and Lucrecia was pleased with all the 'research' they'd done to glean inspiration for the cake she'd make for them. They gave her a few of their favorite options and decided to let the rest be a surprise.
Fae made up a good six or seven new tapes with Remus, not showing him her phone, but picking out the songs with him for sure. They were sent off the band in America who had confirmed and were very excited and honored. And interested in her strange music. She'd thrown some funky ones in there - they'd have a fun time figuring out how to recreate those for sure.
In March, they took a week off for Christian and Willis' wedding in St. Ives. It was a small, beautiful, sweet thing. She'd always admired Christian's toughness and his steadfastness, and it honestly almost made her cry when he recited his completely soppy and sugary vows to Willis, who was sobbing so prettily. Remus looked so good in his suit and during the reception, she definitely almost ripped it up in her eagerness to have him. Something about being at a wedding just made her think of her upcoming wedding day and the anticipation was sizzling hot. Suddenly, she was glad that they'd made her wait to make it perfect and to let her excitement build.
Ironically, Remus was the opposite. After Christian and Willis took off for their honeymoon, Fae and Remus decided to take the weekend to hand out their wedding invitations to the Western Pack, most of which had attended the wedding, and to the Northern Pack, which meant hiking and exploring and adventuring. Even better, it was Remus' birthday that weekend. They didn't spend too much time with Celeste and her pack, Remus was still tetchy about her, but Fae was super pleased to have Celeste agree to not just come, but to be one of her bridesmaids.
They left after a day with the Northern Pack and then spent the rest of the weekend getting lost and discovering little towns.
"Gods, this place is so gorgeous," Fae said, tracing the mountains with her eyes as she and Remus ate dinner on the balcony of the little inn they'd chosen for the night. It was a small town at the base of a few mountains, cozy and cute and charming.
"Mmm. It is, isn't it? Very beautiful and romantic," Remus hummed, staring at her the entire time.
Fae grinned and leaned across the table to kiss him. "I think being here with you is what makes it romantic," she teased.
"I think you're right," he agreed, giving her another kiss back before she could pull too far away.
"I'm always right."
"That you are," he said besottedly. "And you know, I was thinking, you might have been right about one other thing."
"I was," Fae agreed instantly.
They shared a laugh before she asked, "What was I right about?"
Remus bit his lip and then smiled shyly. "Eloping?"
Startled, she nearly dropped her fork and bite of cake. "What? Are you for real right now?"
"Well," he mumbled, blushing. "I just. Ahem."
"Remuuuuss."
"Christian and Willis' wedding was so beautiful. And also so much simpler. And I just… want that with you. Now," he explained.
Laughing delightedly, Fae got up and moved around to sit on his lap, smothering his face with kisses. "I love you, you silly, impossible man."
"Is that a yes?" he asked hopefully.
She barked a laugh. "It's a resounding no. Lily and Regulus would kill us if we got married and cancelled all our plans. And besides, you told me no when I first suggested it, so ha."
"But don't you want to marry me?" he whined, switching tactics and kissing her neck, letting his hands smooth over her back and her ass sensually. "Don't you want to have me now? On the docks, telling our vows to the stars, running off to wherever together?"
"You're playing dirty, Remus Lupin," she said, squirming and warming up considerably.
"Still think I prefer Remus Potter," he replied.
At that, Fae was able to regain her mind a little bit. Enough to smirk at him. "No. Uh-uh. We're getting married in three months and then we'll be Mr. and Mrs. Remus Lupin."
"Do we have to?" he said, attempting to complain, but pretty smile betraying him.
"Yes. We already paid for the venue and I can't wait to see you waiting at the end of the aisle for me. All dressed up in a tux, surrounded by the woods with flowers and lights and all our loved ones everywhere to watch as I declare my everlasting love to you," she said, throwing his sweet words back at him.
Her perfect darling, he caught on and played along. "Alright, you've won me over."
"Good," she said, hopping off his lap and beginning to unbutton her dress. "Because now we can move onto better things."
"Like what?" His grin turned devilish and dinner was forgotten.
"Like your birthday present," she answered, slipping off her dress and revealing the absolutely indecent, slutty, dark red lacy bra, stockings, panties, and garter set she was wearing for him. He tackled her into bed.
They had so many guests and so the whole family was gathered at the Potter House one weekend to put together the goodie bags. Fae was still pleased as hell that Remus had broken his rule and got a tattoo for her, it was ridiculously sexy, and she decided to keep that little theme going. Alice in Wonderland. Thus, each of their guests would receive a little bottle and a little container. The container contained some of Remus' cleverly charmed chocolates that looked like flower petals and the bottle contained either tea or coffee, their favorite blends, depending on who would receive them. DRINK ME and EAT ME. She thought it was funny.
One of the details not listed typically on wedding to-do lists that they did need to take care of was security. While nobody had come after them yet, they couldn't risk it with all of their loved ones in one place. Thankfully, the Ministry, with Sirius' and Alastor's insistence, had lent them their best team of Aurors for the event. It was nice of them and made Fae and Remus feel a lot better. Although Fae still refused to invite the Minister for Magic unless he agreed to abolish the law restricting werewolves from attending magic schools like Hogwarts or Durmstrang.
Finally, there was only one month left, which meant Romilly was back in town and it was time for tux rentals and bridesmaids dresses and finding her wedding gown. It was a dramatically gorgeous thing, strapless and falling in waves of chiffon and flower embellishments to the floor. The pale green bridesmaids dresses were flowy, accounting for Lily being 7 months pregnant and Celeste disliking restricting clothes. Romilly still pulled it off like a model. And Regulus did not wear a dress, but his waistcoat and tie matched which was perfectly enough for her.
It felt good to have both Romilly and Regulus by her side, especially in that last month. Details starting getting really hectic and they kept her grounded and focused when all she wanted to do was hide in her room with Remus and fuck him senseless all day long. Regulus and Romilly knew her so well, pacing out all the make-up and hair and fittings so she wouldn't get too irritated. Making sure they had spa days together so they could catch up, just the three of them, unwinding over wine in a hot tub. Like good old times, but upgraded a bit. Fae had buried her head in her hands and leaned over the side of the tub, practically purring as Romilly conditioned and smoothed her hands through her hair, over and over.
"So you're really getting married," Romilly said, both dry and awed at the same time.
"Why do you sound surprised about that?" Fae asked, sighing a bit as her hair fell back down on her back, silky and warm and soft for once.
"I just thought that…" she trailed off, considering her words.
At that, Fae frowned and sat-up to glance at her suspiciously. "What? Is this about Remus still? You know he apologized for what happened when we were younger, and really, I can't see myself with anybody but him. I'm a little mad about him, in case you haven't noticed."
"Oh trust me, we noticed," Regulus said. "Three times a day and repeatedly all night, every night."
"What, seriously?" Romilly asked, gawking.
"Oh yeah, those two are disgusting. Always going at it and it does not matter where, let me tell you. And they're loud too," Regulus said, snickering.
"Guys!" Fae squeaked.
"I want details," Romilly said, grinning wolfishly. " Does he have a big-"
"Anyways!" Regulus practically shrieked. Then he cleared his throat and said, "What Romilly meant to say is that we weren't sure you'd want to get married at all on account of whatever traumatic experience you experienced when you were young that made you terrified of love."
Huh. Wow. He really just came right out. And said it. Fuck, fucking hells bells.
Fae thought about drowning herself in the tub, but discarded the idea quickly enough. These two were her best friends, for better or for worse. And it couldn't…. hurt to talk about her doubts, much as she wanted to deny even having any. "You guys figured out that much, huh?"
"We all have issues and even you can't hide them forever," Romilly said, resuming her work with Fae's hair to soothe her.
"Yeah," Fae said, taking a big, heavy breath. "I'm not going to lie. I'm so fucking scared, guys."
"Of what?" Regulus asked.
Fae buried her head in her arms again and mumbled, "Of it not working out."
Romilly, so shocked to hear that, accidentally tugged a little too hard on Fae's hair and she made an unhappy noise.
"But I thought you and Remus were blissfully in love and perfect for each other and completely happy together?" the blonde asked.
"We are!" Fae declared. She'd never been happier in her life. But her stupid head still worked against her, whether she liked it or not. Being in love didn't fix her past trauma. But confessing and talking about it might help, at least. "We are now, but what about in ten years from now? Or twenty? Time changes people and what if time changes us into people who resent each other?"
There was a beat of silent consideration before Regulus said, "Like your parents?"
AND WOW, he was just really aiming to be more blunt than Romilly today wasn't he? Normally he was the more sensitive and thoughtful of the two.
"Yeah… Although I don't even know if they were happy before me when they initially got together either. They were always fighting and unhappy with each other, but forcing it to work and look good as long as I could remember. It...it really sucked," Fae answered, doing her best not to get too worked up about this. It was literally almost a decade ago. It shouldn't still bother her and affect her so much. Pathetic.
"Maybe they just weren't meant to be and were shitty people," Romilly casually suggested.
Fae laughed. "Well my mom definitely was. She was pretty fucked up and probably shouldn't have been with anyone until she figured some things out and got some help, but that's an entirely different story. And besides, it wasn't just them that fucked me up."
"What, did you get your heart broken before Remus?"
"Not really," Fae said. "but all my friends did. And their parents. Divorces and messy break-ups because… because love fades and what's left behind just doesn't work. And I'm scared that what we have without love won't be enough to last forever. I don't know what I'd do if our love faded and Remus and I...didn't work anymore." And so much for not getting worked up. Just thinking about her and Remus ending up anything like her original parents had made her eyes well up with tears and her heart ache painfully.
"Oh get a grip!" Romilly huffed, purposely pulling on her hair that time. Fae yelped and growled at her.
"Yeah, what she said."
"Seriously, Fae, do you really think you and Remus will ever not be the world's most terrifying dynamic duo?"
"Ah - second most terrifying," Regulus stated. "I think we're the first, otherwise Fae never would've kept us," he said smugly.
"True. Second most terrifying!" Romilly agreed. "You and Remus have been close friends for seven years and you've only been lovers for, what, half a year?"
"Yeah.. so?" Fae questioned, wondering where they were going with this. When she put it that way, they really were getting married kind of fast.
"So," Regulus said, eyes rolling, "you guys already know how to make it work without romantic love and constant sex clouding your heads up. You already know each other's flaws, secrets, and fuck-ups, don't you?"
"Well.. yeah," Fae said, thoughtful and considering. "That's true." But then again, she'd always loved him, and therefore love had always blinded her and made her stupid. Surely that couldn't last forever right? Could she be in love forever?
"And teenage years and twenties are massive game changers for everybody right?" Romilly asked.
"Yes, absolutely awful," Fae agreed, bemoaning both times she went through her teens, although the second time had admittedly been much better, aside from the whole heartbreak thing.
"And you two survived them, and a war," Regulus pointed out.
Romilly backed him up. "So clearly, you two can survive anything. Your friendship will always last. And for what it's worth, I've never seen two people more in love with each other in all my travels. Except maybe my grandparents, and they've been married for like fifty years. In conclusion, I think you and Remus will be just fine."
"Yeah?" Fae asked, adoring the idea of her and Remus being like Newt and Tina or Fleamont and Euphemia rather than like Karen and Ray. "You really think so? You really think Remus and I can pull off forever?"
"Yeah. We do," Regulus said, smiling affectionately and confidently.
"But let's be honest. Even if you weren't sure, you still want to marry him anyways," Romilly stated sassily.
"Yeah," Fae said, smiling.
"Because you love him and want to be with him much more than the future could ever scare you," Regulus said.
She sighed happily and relaxed completely, feeling so relieved and light and blessed. They always knew what she needed, much better than she did. How did she ever get so lucky? "You guys are the best."
There was a moment of silence where she knew they were grinning at each other in that way they did. Then Romilly said, "But you like me more than Regulus right?"
He gasped indignantly and splashed her. "Bitch! Where were you when Fae and I had to interview six different photographers and meet with at least twelve officiators who wanted the honor of marrying those two?"
"Well, I look way better in a dress!" she argued.
There was a pause and then, "Hmph. I'm not saying you're right, but you're not wrong."
Fae grinned wickedly. "Although, Regulus looks real good in hooker heels, skinny jeans, and smoky eye make-up, especially with how long and silky his hair is getting, doesn't he?"
"Oh yeah he does," Romilly said appreciatively, both girls laughing as he went beet red.
Regulus insisted nobody would dare back out on the wedding of Fae Potter and Remus Lupin, but nonetheless, it was a relief to check off confirming all the vendors and services. In the final week leading up, Fae and Remus went out to help set up the venue and make sure everything looked great. It was a dream. Then they ran around like silly idiots, Remus putting place cards for guests at the proper tables and Fae switching them around when he wasn't looking. Not that she fooled him one bit.
Fae, Remus, and their wedding parties were enlisted to help paint the signage, which just turned into a huge paint fight in the backyard, dripping white splatters all over Harry and the programs and thank you cards, which then had to be reprinted. Lily had been pissed. Ooops.
In the final few days, there were a million little details and Fae had never been so busy in her life. Worse, she'd never been apart from Remus so long since they'd reunited after the war. Absolutely awful hours apart, as he did final fittings with his groomsmen or welcomed people coming into town while Fae was stuck adjusting the flowers because the florist got the right one's, but not the right vibe, although the lights were completely on point, except she wanted a few of them to be floating, not just in wild strings hanging off all the trees and criss-crossing across the sky.
And then their asshole friends decided they shouldn't see each other the night before, or the day of the wedding, until they were walking down the aisle. After the rehearsal dinner, which was a hilariously fun food fight that definitely pissed off Remus' mom, Fae had been whisked away by her bridesmaids for a bachelorette party and Remus likewise with the groomsmen. They both spent the whole night trying to sneak away to see each other. However, they had to give up trying when their friends threatened to get them wasted the night before the wedding so they'd have a little fun. At least there was karaoke and chocolate and Regulus drunkenly teaching Romilly how to pole dance.
At night, she was surrounded by her bridesmaids and practically charmed stuck to the couch bed at Lily's. She couldn't sleep at all, more excited than she'd ever been in her life, and all she wanted was to slip out the window and run around with Remus to burn off energy, like they had the night before the Athens Marathon. Of course, Remus thought of everything. They couldn't see each other, but they could write. So he conjured a little bird and sent her a charmed notebook so they could send each other little notes all night, laughing quietly about their respective parties and wishing that it was 24 hours later so it was just them, married, getting thoroughly wrecked in bed. Asshole, making her hot and bothered while she was stuck with her friends.
The day of the wedding passed in an electrified daze, like she was on drugs. As restless as the day of the full moon, but so dazed and caught up in her head while being batted around like a tennis ball to get everything done. Dress, check. Hair? Done. It was up in a pony-tail, tamed into soft waves with her bangs and a few side strands framing her perfectly made-up face, charmed expertly by Sirius not to run when she inevitably started crying.
Everybody was there, everything looked perfect, not a thing went wrong under Lily and Regulus' expert control. It was the most beautiful sunset the world had ever seen, the most brilliant wedding of all time. Of course, Fae could've been completely wrong about all of that. She just had no clue, because as soon as the wedding song began to play and the flower curtain was lifted away, all she saw was Remus, waiting at the end of the aisle for her. Her breathtaking, beautiful, perfect darling.
Sirius and James had looped an arm each through her elbows, with her hands wrapped around the bouquet in front of her. They laughed and had to adjust their grip when Fae immediately tried to run down the aisle and get to Remus as fast as she could. Merlin, so sweet, her darling, he was already crying and the way he was looking at her made the world tilt and spin and float all at once.
All she saw was him. She barely remembered to kiss her brothers' cheeks as they gave her away and she joined Remus at the altar, hands linked between them, watery eyes locked, smiles completely unstoppable and shining. Merlin, this was happening, she was marrying him. Fuck, fuck, fuck. There was a weird droning from the officiant, which was all the official marriage speak, she figured. All of it was entirely uninteresting to her, until she heard him request that Remus speak his vows. He took a deep breath and Fae hung on every word.
"From the first moment I saw you, I knew you'd upend my life and send me tumbling. In fact, that's exactly how our first interaction was, with you tackling me to the ground. You've had me sprinting, spinning, tripping, waltzing, and falling in love with you every single day for the past seven years and I vow to return that love to you every day for the rest of our lives and beyond."
Fae giggled at the memory and smiled sweetly at him, wishing she could tackle him to the ground right now. The connection she'd felt upon meeting him was unbelievably strong, a magnetic pull beyond understanding, and yet it felt so cute and small in comparison to the way she felt now.
Remus continued, taking measured breaths and clearly trying to keep himself from getting choked up which was just making Fae get choked up, the sentimental idiot.
"You've pushed me to become all that I am and then some and I only hope that I can do the same for you. You make me happier than my wildest dreams and I'm prepared to make as many coffee cakes, tell as many nerdy jokes, pull as many pranks, and happily go along with as many spontaneous dances as it takes to make you smile as often as possible," he said, making Fae grin and laugh again as she legitimately struggled to hold back tears of happiness at his beautiful words. His eyes were wetter than her's she bet. Those pretty grey-blue eyes. She could stare into them forever, and soon she'd have the chance and the right to do so.
Remus cleared his throat and sniffled a bit. Then he said, "Both of our lives have been full of trials and I know they will continue to be so, but I know that there is no trial, battle, or struggle which we cannot overcome together. You, my invincible, wild, perfect Fae, can do anything and when you smile at me, I know I can do anything too."
"I promise to always be honest with you and to support you through all that you do. I will be true and faithful as long as we shall live, for there is no one who holds my heart like you do. You are the wrench and the focal point in every plan I've ever made; my sun, moon, and stars; the love of my life; the one person I want to spend forever with, and I vow to prove it to you every moment we spend together from now until the end of our days."
And fuck, now Fae was crying too. They both were, although it was just a few happy tears as opposed to joyful gushing. Still. "How the hell am I supposed to follow that? You're the one who's good with words, I should've gone first!" she whined. He laughed and they both took a moment to compose themselves as Fae prepared herself to give her vows.
She'd spent a long time thinking about her vows. Truth be told, she had always feared they would get lodged in her throat when it came time to tell him. But here she was, and the words leapt out eagerly, vocal cords projecting practically on their own to proclaim her love for him. Fae wanted him to hear her vows, to hear her promises to him. Wanted them to resonate in his heart for years to come as much as his resonated in her's.
"For all that I am a planner, I never planned for you, and yet you've become the most important person in my life. The reason for everything I do. You are the reason that I get up every day, the reason I try to be a kinder person, and the reason I fight for a better future where you can have whatever your heart desires. Anything you want, my darling. Everything," she said.
Fae paused and looked at him, took in his entirety. And felt completely at peace, at home, in love, and unafraid of anything.
"When I look at you, I see everything," she breathed. "My past, my present, my future. I see love and endless happiness and bickering over leaving drink rings on the table and folding trousers properly. I see nights spent cooking dinner while I dance around the kitchen trying to distract you or mess you up. Days running through the woods and reading books. Mornings waking up to your beautiful face."
Her chest was on fire, her entire body tingled and trembled with joy as she felt the echoes of those moments on her skin and she basked in the knowledge that there'd be so, so many more. His laugh filled her ears, his smile was tattooed into her mind. He was ephemeral. Eternal in his loveliness.
"When I look at you, I see the strongest, smartest, sweetest, most wonderful person in existence. I love everything about you, from the way you get lost in books to the way your clever mind works when you're plotting revenge on my brothers for something they did. I love the way you fiddle with your sleeves when you're shy and the way you sing into my hairbrush in the shower and the way you only drink tea like a proper english man," she teased, having to almost bite her tongue to keep more and more things bursting from her lips.
Fae took a deep breath and reigned in her emerging tears again. She squeezed his hands tightly between them and gave him the most beautiful, sincere, loving smile she had. He returned it tenfold and she nearly melted then and there. How was this perfect being her's?
"The single greatest thing I could ever achieve or have in this world is your love. I vow to do whatever it takes to make you happy, to keep you safe and smiling. I promise to never stop trying to earn and deserve your love, nor will I ever let you forget how much I love you. I promise to share all my secrets, sorrows, joys, and jokes with you, to not get mad when you move my stuff without asking, and to always be there for you and trust you. I vow to never give up and never back down, no matter what life throws our way, and to love you openly, fully, and endlessly, for as long as we shall live," she promised, voice strong despite the tremors that shook both of them.
"And then we can do this whole falling-in-love-and-getting-married-thing again in the afterlife, because one lifetime with you will simply not be enough," she added a moment later, grinning Fae-like.
There was laughter from their guests that Fae finally remembered were there. Damn, that was a lot of people. And then the stupid officiator was finally asking them to say 'I do' which she said completely off the mark and too eagerly. Remus did the same thing, so whatever.
"I now pronounce you husband and wi-"
Fae and Remus had already collided, clinging to each other desperately and kissing like it was both the last and the most sensational kiss the world would ever witness.
Her stoned, electrified daze settled into a warm, intensely focused glow as Fae and Remus went back down the aisle and took photos and then had three minutes alone to see how fast they really could achieve orgasm before they had to be at the reception. Their first dance together was almost as thrilling. Almost.
It was only when the speeches started up that Fae kind of came back to reality and acknowledged anybody other than her… her husband, ah fucking hell. Her husband. She was positively giddy. As promised, Sirius and James did their best to upstage Romilly and Regulus in best man/maid of honor team speeches. They were clumsy and hilarious, but the actual speeches given individually by her favorite people were even funnier and sweet and perfect.
The food was delicious and Fae smashed cake in Remus' face and Remus thrust her hand in the chocolate fountain so he could lick it off, in front of everybody. And there were so many people, so many people to greet and thank for coming. It went by in a drag and a flash with Remus's arm firmly around her and his constant kisses and reminders that 'we're almost done love, just a bit longer'.
After seeing everybody, it was back to the dance floor because one dance was not enough. Ten dances were not enough, actually, but at that point, Sirius began to get whiny about 'Moony monopolizing his baby sister again'. So she danced with Sirius and James and Christian and Lyall and Celeste. Alastor and Newt and Dumbledore. Then Sirius again, because he felt that Regulus and Romilly were showing off too much. It was Fae's wedding, so of course there had to be a dance off.
Fae and Sirius were as on-point and wildly grand in their movements as ever, but Regulus and Romilly really did give them a run for their money. The two were perfect heights for each other and moved eerily and beautifully in sync. Being fake married clearly had done them some good. Romilly even let Regulus lead for the sake of beating her and Sirius - without her gloves on. And then all four of them were shocked to hell when Lyall and Hope joined the fray and beat all four of them.
Fae laughed wickedly and pulled Remus back to dancing with her, not really trying to upstage his parents, but playfully threatening to. Couldn't have the mother-in-law make her look bad, after all. Although, mother-in-law made her jaw almost unhinge in shock when she held out a hand for Fae and had her husband lead Remus away for a sentimental chat between father and son.
"May I have this dance?" Hope asked.
Fae blinked at her and then arched an eyebrow. "You want to dance with me? For real?"
The woman smiled, kindly and not snidely for once. "As long as I get to lead," she said.
"Uh. Okay, sure," Fae responded, taking her hand and settling into a surprisingly easy and comfortable waltz.
It wasn't long into the song before Hope said, "You'll look after him."
Fae laughed and smiled, happy to let Hope push her around for once. "Of course I will. He means the world to me. I would do anything for him."
They shared a smile, an understanding. Respect. And maybe, even some affection. "I know," Hope said. "And he feels the same way about you, so you'd better look after yourself too."
Fae was momentarily stunned by that, and then her cheeks were rosy red to match her contentedness. "I will," she promised.
Hope nodded once and spun her out expertly, so oddly similar to Remus. It was nice, though. Nicer still when Hope took a look around the reception and said, "I have to say, this wedding turned out decently after all."
"Well I know it's no grand ballroom and there's no champagne fountains, but I think we pulled off something good," Fae said, beaming proudly. It probably was good. Probably was beautiful. Fae would find out later from the photos and videos.
"No, you did. You've done well, Fae. Everything is lovely," she answered and Fae knew she wasn't just talking about the wedding. It was by far the nicest thing Fae had ever heard from her. It was more than approval. It was acceptance and support. Pride.
"Thank you. Mo-"
"Don't you dare."
She laughed devilishly. "Right. Thanks, Hope."
The night wore on, drifting between tables and the dance floor, always perfect with her husband right by her side, although both of them were wondering when they could finally run off. Fae was definitely glad she stuck around when she and Remus had settled back at their table for some more cake, coffee and vanilla buttercream, six tiers tall in uneven haphazard stacks and covered in flowers - Lucrecia had outdone herself. The happily married couple joined the easy chatting with Sirius, Regulus, Romilly, and Lily. And then witnessed something completely magical.
"So what do you think Romilly?" Regulus asked casually.
She hummed and took a sip of her wine, halfway to drunk most likely. "About?"
Regulus' casual tone didn't waver for a second as he said, "Getting married."
Fae's mouth dropped open as Romilly blinked and then grinned teasingly. "What? To you?"
They thought it was a joke. Both her and Romilly. It was not.
"Yeah. To me," Regulus said.
Romilly mulled that over and then set her wine glass down sharply as it occurred to her that he meant it. "Are you serious?" she asked, vice rising high and wobbly.
"Yes, I a-" Sirius tried to butt in, only for Regulus to tip his leaning chair all the way back and make his brother fall.
"No, I'm Regulus," he said, rolling his eyes and smirking. "Honestly, how many glasses have you had?"
Her face went beet red, a bright flush that matched fetchingly with her blonde curls. "I- Uh- Reg- That's-" she stuttered and Fae couldn't believe what she was seeing. And hearing. Holy hell.
He laughed. "Oh calm down. I don't mean now, or any time soon anyways. We've both got careers to think about. Far too many things to do before either of us even consider settling down."
"Okay?" Romilly answered slowly.
The smirk dropped and was replaced with a tender smile. "So let's say… five years? If we're both still single, then marry me," Regulus declared, a pretty red blush dusting his cheeks too despite the confidence in his tone.
Romilly didn't take too long to think about it before she smiled. "Yeah. Alright. I wouldn't mind marrying you," she said. They continued to smile at each other and then she snickered and winked. "If we're both still single."
"If we're both still single," he repeated, pleased and seemingly not the least bit concerned.
Fae wanted to say something to the effect of five years being way too long because they would be so gorgeous and magnificent together, how had she never seen it before, but Remus pulled her away before she could embarrass her best friends. Back to dancing. Dancing and swaying, unable to unstick their foreheads as they leaned into each other and gazed soppily at each other. They only really separated when Remus twirled her out, rarely tonight, and on one occasion, she caught sight of Celeste cooing over Jr. and praising Maddy for having become a mother and a successful pack leader all in one go. Maddy beamed proudly. So far, Jr. seemed completely normal and human. No signs of lycanthropy, but every sign of kind devotion and hope that she'd seen in Jim.
When Lily finally cleared them to go, Fae tossed her singing, kissing, glitter-spouting bouquet into Lucrecia's arms and then winked at Alastor. James, Sirius, Regulus, and Romilly shot off fireworks to send them off, but Fae and Remus' delighted laughter and excited shouting as they ran to the packed up Thunderbird was louder still. Even over the cacophony of goodbyes and well wishes from their closest friends and family.
Fae was driving first, taking him to Manchester to see the world's most beautiful and oldest library. They'd spend the night, or a few days, however long it took them to leave the inn and the library. Then it was off to Europe. Picking college brochures at random and adventuring around the continent as they pleased, together, man and wife.
"You ready to go, Mr. Lupin?" Fae said, practically shrieking with her giddiness, not that her husband was any better.
"I do believe I am, Mrs. Lupin," he answered, grinning and pressing kisses to their joined hands and her wedding ring.
Fae sighed. "Still sure about being with me forever?" she asked.
He locked gazes with her and then kissed her passionately. "Completely," he promised.
And she believed him. Believed completely in their forever. Fae gunned it down the road, laughing wildly at the sound of Remus whooping out the window and the cans clanging from the back of the car. They had an adventure to go on and a future to discover, together.
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading!