You can blame MIMitationBalance for this

It still hadn't quite registered, despite the new weight on my finger. Jamie had proposed, and I said yes.

It hadn't been big and grand, which I'm glad about, it was in fact just after practice. He'd fumbled in his pocket for a bit, dropped on one knee, and then I think he said something. I think my brain blue screened for a few minutes before I said anything.

I think then that Tina made noise so high pitched that my ears couldn't quite register it. It was an excited squeal/squeak and nearly made Taboo look around for a mouse.

Then the ring was on my finger and Jamie and I were walking home in a daze, Taboo silently grinning on my shoulder. I think he was still recovering from asking me. The fiancé going silent and stock still for several minutes I don't think is how it usually goes, and must have scared him silly.

We got back and sat on the couch in unison. Taboo jumped off and left the room to doze somewhere.

"So..." Jamie started.

"So." I wasn't really sure what to say.

"Have you recovered yet?"

"I don't know..." I leaned back and stared at the ring. It was a single band ring with silver and blue with a pale blue gem, not sticking out, just, in between where the two colours met.

"It's a sapphire."

"How did you even afford this?" probably not the best question to ask, but it was the first one in my head.

"A little money saved up, your parents insisted on chipping in, as did my mom."

"You actually asked permission?"

"Yeah." Jamie chuckled sheepishly. "Thought I'd better do it properly, I think I went overboard though."

"How?"

"He asked me." Taboo piped up from the hallway. I stared roughly at her position, then at Jamie, who nodded.

"Yeah, Taboo, your dad, Jack."

"You asked Jack? Why?"

"Well, I thought he'd want to know. And he's your great something uncle right? So, I thought it was good idea."

I just kept staring, asking myself the same questions I'd been asking myself all afternoon. Why, and how? How did I get this guy? Why did he fall in love with me? There was nothing logical about it, but I guess that's how it goes, logic doesn't fit into love.

"So, marriage huh?" I asked, the idea still not sinking in.

"Yep." Jamie said. "Let's leave it 'till tomorrow."

"Agreed." I leaned my head on his shoulder, and he rested his head on mine. We stayed like that until it got dark.

Next day wasn't quite so calm.

Tina called me over to hers, with Sally, and we sat down for a wedding talk.

"So, do you know who you're inviting yet?" she asked, her face lit up at the prospect of another wedding. This was probably the third in the Branch, Billy had his a year ago to Sophia, Tina a few years ago to Michael, and I'd already been to another recently, Mary, a fellow Descendant of Jack Frost.

"Um... Maybe-"

I was interrupted as Tina got talking.

"No! When it's going to be is the most important, and the venue, and the dress. Catering, can't forget food. Needs to be quite a few months from now so people can clear their calendars. The dress! That's a big one, and the bridesmaids. Best man and groomsmen can left to Jamie, it's his day as much as yours. Seating plan, last thing you want is an argument on your big day. The dress! The bridesmaids have to match as well, are you going to have a flowergirl?"

As she said all of this I started sinking further and further into my seat as what I'd just gotten myself into washed over my head. What the hell had I been thinking? There's so much to organise, and it all boiled down to one single piece of paper!

"What about a registry office?" I asked, and I could sense Taboo's approval.

"No! That will not do!" Tina reprimanded me. "You're a Head, it needs to be grand!"

"I can't afford grand."

"We'll help." Tina was staring at me. "This needs to be BIG!" she spread her arms to emphasise the point.

I swallowed.

"Tina, you're freaking her out." Sally said calmly. "It's her wedding, let her think about it. If she wants to have it at the registry office, then she can talk about it with Jamie."

Tina managed to calm herself down.

"Yes, of course, but, still! There's so much to plan, there are some things you can't skimp on!"

Oh moon help me. I thought, sinking further into the chair.

"I think you'll need more than the moon."

"Tina, she got engaged yesterday afternoon. She doesn't need to know every little detail now."

"No, but she needs to think about these things."

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Thank you for your help, I need to clear my head." I managed to get past them and out the door. Thankfully Sally didn't use her sand as I left. I strode towards the lake, hands shoved into my pockets and head spinning.

"Oh thank goodness, that was getting too much." Taboo mirrored my thoughts.

The early spring sunshine didn't raise the temperature much, so there was still some ice on the lake as I sat next to it. The calmness of the area settled my nerves. As Sally said, these things didn't have to happen at once, one step at a time.

I sat crosslegged on the shore and closed my eyes, focusing on breathing and the snow around me, feeling my awareness seep into it. I was greeted by the sudden burst of awareness as information from the snow flooded my mind. As always it was accompanied by a calmness, and the sensation of time slowing. Things happened when they happened, nothing needed to be rushed.

So, this had been a long time coming. There are actually two versions, one if 1st Person that's just HOGverse, and one that's in 3rd Person that's HOG/Mimpossibleverse. As you've probably guessed, this is the former. I decided to put this version on here because I don't have as much content referring to Mimpossible on here, whereas on DeviantArt I have a lot more related to Mimpossible, so it makes sense to put the Mimpossible version there.

I'd love to leave a link to the alternate version, because there will be some differences beyond the narrative POV, but we all know how is with links. So, if you type 'HOG/Mimpossible Wedding' into Deviantart search, you should find it. My username is the same there as it is here.

Final thing of note. Given the length of this mini series, I will be updating every Monday and Thursday.