After half an hour of more of fussing, Sage making sure that Stanford had not inadvertently done more damage to his skull than was apparent, the young noble was finally let out of the infirmary. He had no idea where that bloody invitation had gotten to, and at the moment he didn't want to. All Stanford wanted now was a drink, preferably something harder than the sodas he and the rest of the team had been sticking to since taking up arms for the Sentients. Stanford was about to head up to the house in hopes of finding something when his phone cellphone rang. Stanford paused and checked the caller ID.

It was Simon.

Wonderful. A call he'd been dreading since the moment he'd read just whose wedding he'd been invited to. Stanford inwardly groaned and let it ring a few seconds more before finally bothering to answer it.

"Hello Simon."

'Hello Stanny, have you gotten your invitation yet?'

Stanford could suddenly feel his head throb. He was tempted to hang up claiming he was ill, but that would only delay the inevitable. H would have to talk to his brother sometime; whether he liked it or not.

As if there was anything to like in the first place.

"Yes Simon, I did. Tell me, when on Earth did you start seeing Genny?"

'Last year, and we're tying the knot in two weeks. You will be there right? Mummy is expecting you to be there after all.'

Of course she is, Stanford thought bitterly.

"Of course I'll be there, my only brother is getting married," Stanford drawled. "Why wouldn't I be there?"

'Great! I'll see you in next week for the bachelor party, yes?'

Stanford hummed his assent and let Simon prattle on for a minute before ending the call with a claim of needing to get back to work. Stanford wished it were true. Forget a drink, he wished a Stormshock would open right now so he could just throw himself into the heat of battle for a few hours. Maybe crack open a red sentient or two; that would be much nicer than the pounding in his head and the aching in his chest. A nice jolt to his sympathetic nervous system. For a moment, Stanford wondered if letting Krytus run him through would hurt less. Still, he made his way back to the main atrium to retrieve that damned invitation and his now warmed drink. He was met with a curious stares from the rest of the team. Stanford silently sighed and mentally began counting how long it would take before someone started asking questions. He made it to nine when Zoom spoke up.

"Who's Genevieve Elizabeth Atkinson?"

"Someone I used to know."

"Uh, Stanford, people don't usually faint because 'someone they used to know' is getting married," Vert said pointedly.

"We were close," Stanford said after a heavy sigh. "And that's all you're getting."

Stanford read and reread the card thoughtfully. He received an invitation to the wedding, was most certainly required to attend the rehearsal dinner, and had just been invited to the bachelor party. If Stanford didn't know any better, he'd have thought nothing of it.

Unfortunately, Stanford did know better.

Stanford had been invited to the wedding, yes. But he had quite obviously not been requested to be in the wedding party proper, or he'd have known about this months ago. He never expected to be Simon's best man. No, that honor was obviously going to their father, but he had thought he'd at least be one of the groomsmen. Clearly, that was a foolish notion. And since he wasn't in the wedding party to be paired off with one of the bridesmaids, that meant Stanford would have to bring a plus-one. How positively lovely. Stanford rolled his eyes and let out a huff. How on Earth was he going to get someone to accompany him all the way back to England in three days?

Stanford put his hand to his temple in an attempt to soothe his growing headache. Let it never be said that his brother wasn't capable of keeping him on his toes. Stanford couldn't not go to his own brother's wedding, no matter who he was getting married to. Besides, if he missed such an important social event his mother would never let him hear the end of it. …But he also couldn't attend it alone. That would only end in disaster. Moreover, if he had to be there without someone to actually keep him grounded… That was it. Taking a moment to gather his strength, Stanford walked over to where Agura was tinkering with the Tangler.

"Hey, Agura?"

"Yes Stanford?"

The woman came out from under the vehicle and looked at Stanford expectantly. Stanford tried his best not to back down. He and Agura had come to an understanding, but he really hoped what he was about to ask wouldn't put any undue strain on it.

"Would you mind accompanying me to the wedding?"

Agura blinked, as if she hadn't been expecting the question. Stanford waited for an answer, biting the inside of his cheek in nervous anticipation. If Agura said no, then Stanford was clean out of options.

"Sure, Stanford," Agura said finally.

Before Stanford could say anything else, Spinner had burst out laughing. The two looked over at him, Agura in annoyance and Stanford with mild confusion.

"Really? Ha-ha! I don't believe it!"

Spinner had laughed himself to the floor before anyone could question him. Sherman seemed thoroughly annoyed and rolled his eyes at his older twin's antics. Vert gave a long-suffering sigh before turning to the older Cortez.

"Care to share what's so funny with the rest of the class, Spinner?"

Spinner gasped and tried to collect himself. It took him about a minute before he could speak properly; at which point his chuckles had roused the attention of even Sage.

"You and Agura? At a wedding? I'd pay money to see that."

He went back to laughing and Stanford looked on in annoyance as well. The rest of the team seemed content to let him laugh himself silly and Stanford turned to Agura.

"Well I have to be there home in a few days for Simon's Bachelor Party, but I can arrange for you to join me next week?"

"No, it's fine. With AJ and Tezz holding down the fort, we should be able to stay the two weeks– barring any big emergencies, right?"

Agura looked over at Tezz who had been trying to explain something to Vert, but turned when his name was called.

"If I can keep a whole moon safe on my own, I think I can handle the bad guys with a whole team."

Agura rolled her eyes with a smile and Stanford looked on with a good-natured smirk. They had gotten used to his arrogance by now. Not that Stanford had room to talk.

"Alright. Guess I'll go book our flights, then?"

Agura nodded and Stanford made his way back towards the upper levels of the compound. There was far better cellular reception above ground than below it. It didn't take too long, booking round tickets and hotel rooms. He was tempted to stay at the estate, but given that his parents would be putting so much focus into Simon and Genny, he didn't want to distract the staff. Surely, they would be up to their eyes in carrying out mother's orders until at least a week after the wedding. In his own mind, Stanford promised himself he'd never let his mother take over wedding arrangements if he ever got married.

He loved his mother dearly, but she could be entirely too much sometimes.

He eyed his phone for a bit, wondering if he should make that call. It had been almost four months since they'd last spoken. Stanford couldn't help but think that he should've called. He was drawn from his thoughts by a tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Agura, still wearing her shocksuit with an inquisitive look.

"May I see the invitation? I need to know what to pack for the occasion."

Stanford wordlessly handed it to her and watched as she studied it; his gaze flicking between the card in her hand and her face. He hoped he didn't mind if he stared, but he really needed a distraction and watching her brows raise and relax as she read through the card. She finished and handed the invitation back.

"So we need to leave in three days. I don't know if I have anything that'll work for this."

"It's fine. Just pack your best and if worst comes to worst, we can get you something suitable when we get there."

"You sure about that?" Agura asked with a smirk.

"Absolutely," Stanford answered with a smirk of his own.

"Alright."

Agura shrugged and left, presumably to go pack. Stanford looked back down at the invitation and frowned. The next two weeks were doubtlessly going to be eventful.