Okay, a few things before the story...
1. This is NOT fully Season 8 compliant, meaning Allura doesn't die.
2. I am a multishipper, so if you've read some of my other stories that are other ships, that is why.
3. This is partly based off of a headcanon I have about how Pidge got her nickname, Pidge, so...bear with me.
Enjoy~
.o0o.
"Do I look alright?" Keith asked, straightening his tie.
"You look fine." Shiro affirmed.
"Come on, Man, don't doubt yourself! This is the time of your life! You look amazing," Lance agreed, "You look better than I did on my wedding day."
"You're just making that up, Lance."
"No, I'm really not. The color scheme you two got going is absolutely amazing. AND it's not just red and green."
"It might as well be," Keith mumbled to himself.
"Keith, it's not even Christmas," Shiro joked.
"Don't crush my dreams," he scolded the older man playfully.
Indeed, Keith did look amazing. His well-tailored and black suit fit his well-toned form, with reminisces of Garrison authority. His long hair was brushed back from his eyes, pulled into a ponytail. He was not going to cut his hair, not even for his wedding.
The rest of the Paladins were dressed in a similar style, but they wore instead of black suits, a grey Jacket with peach colored vests underneath. Their corsages that pinned to their jackets matched the color of their original lions.
Allura came running into the room, closing the door behind her carefully. Her outfit almost identical to the other bridesmaids outside, which was a sleeveless peach dress, that flowed to the ground completely, layers of fabric adorning the sides with intricate designs on the edges. Her hair was cut down to the middle of her back and curled, a few strands pinned back from her eyes.
Everyone turned to the smiling woman who immediately walked to the center of the room, getting all of the boys' attention. Lance gasped when you saw her, walking over to his wife. "You look stunning, Darling."
Allura blushed at the compliment but quickly brushed it off as she said to him indirectly, "If you think I look good, you should see Pidge," Allura glanced over to Keith, who smiled, "She is absolutely beautiful. The perfect bride."
Shiro put a hand on his shoulder, sending an encouraging look to him.
Keith was speechless. Pidge wouldn't let him see the dress she was going to wear, he only knew what she had told him about it, and that was that he was going to love it.
That made him feel worse about everything.
How was he going to survive?
.o0o.
There was one final sweep over the checklist, then Keith went to stand by the minister, waiting in anticipation for his bride.
Keith may or may not have been late, so he rushed up to where he was supposed to stand before dusting himself off. Shiro helped straighten his jacket before standing to the side as his best man. The rest of his best men were waiting in the back for the music to start, then they would walk their partners down the aisle before Pidge came.
They had chosen to do an indoor wedding, but the reception would be outside, despite the Pidge's allergies to pollen; Keith told her that he loved to be outside in August, so that's what they (cough, cough, she) decided.
The minutes passed by like nothing before the grandfather clock chimed Four o'clock in the afternoon.
The song they chose for the aisle walk began to play. Keith and Shiro came to attention, standing up straight and tall.
Looking in your eyes and
See a paradise
This world that I found
Is too good to be true
The doors opened for Hunk and Shay to walk down, smiling.
Standing here bedside you
Want so much to give you
This love in my heart
That I'm feeling for you
They were soon followed by Matt and his fiancée, Matt glaring at Keith in a if-you-hurt-my-little-sister-in-any-way-shape-or-form-I-will-find-you-and-kill-you-in-your-sleep-before-you-can-even-say-mercy kind of way as they went to their assigned spots.
Let 'em say we're crazy
I don't care about that
Put your hand in my hand, baby
Don't ever look back
The next couple was Rolo and Nyma, Beezer following behind the two.
Let the world around us
Just fall apart
Maybe we can make it if we're heart to heart
Lance and Allura were the last to walk through as the maid of honor and her husband.
If we can build this dream together
Stand this stormy weather
Nothing's gonna stop us now
If this world runs out of lovers
Well still have eachother
Nothings gonna stop us,
Nothing's gonna stop us now.
Allura shot Lance a quick smile, Lance kissing her on the cheek as they walked to opposite sides of the altar.
Everyone stood, as they knew that it was Pidge's turn to walk the aisle.
Shiro nudged Keith teasingly. "There she is."
Sure enough, there stood Pidge in the doorway, Sam Holt standing next to her.
Keith's world came to a stop as she stepped out into the light of the walkway.
Pidge was so beautiful.
Her hair was short, so the only thing they were able to do, really, was curl it and pin it up into a high bun, a string of diamonds adorning it, holding a long veil that trailed down her back and over her face, shielding her eyes.
Her dress was white, with see-through sleeves made with the same material as her veil, intricate designs of leaves, feathers, and petals the only way of knowing she even was wearing sleeves. The dress itself fit her form until the waist, then it flowed out, layers of the same veil-like fabric as the bridesmaids layering the dress all around, elaborate patterns and golden threaded filigree around the edges of each piece of material. The train dragged behind her as she walked, the same gold arrays of swirls and ancient Altean language on the end.
Pidge smiled at Keith as she walked down to the altar, Keith barely able to smile back.
He was so drawn to her beauty, he barely heard the murmurs of the crowd.
"Beautiful."
"Stunning!"
"Magnificent!"
The music played in the background as she approached.
I'm so glad I found you
I'm not gonna lose you
Whatever it takes, I will stay here with you
Take you through the good times
See you through the bad times
Whatever it takes is what I'm gonna do
The music quieted as she reached the altar, Keith taking Pidge's hand as they turned toward the minister.
"You look amazing," he told her, still smiling.
Pidge blushed, looking down. She was glad her veil hid the majority of her face.
"You don't look too bad yourself, Hot-shot."
Keith smiled and chuckled at the nickname she had given him.
They stepped up to the minister, the music still playing in the background as the minister started speaking.
"Keith Akira Kogane, do you take thee, Katie Holt, to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto pledge thee my faith?"
"I do," he announced proudly.
The minister turned to Pidge, repeating the vows. "I do," she answered.
"I now pronounce thee, husband and wife."
Keith lifted the veil off of his (now) wife's face, kissing her passionately. Pidge wrapped her arms around her husband's neck, holding Keith as close as humanly possible at the moment.
The audience erupted into applause, both Sam and Colleen wiping away tears as well as Krolia herself.
The newlyweds broke apart and looked into the crowd, holding hands. The music blared at full volume once again as the bridesmaids and best men began throwing rice and spare rose petals at the new couple as they walked out of the church to the tent set up for them, Keith picking her up halfway, carrying her out. They were laughing all the way.
Their life together was off with a nice start.
.o0o.
The reception was about two hours in for the guests when Matt stood up. Pidge had danced with her Father and brother already, as well as Shiro, then with Keith himself. They had just begun serving hors d'oeuvres and drinks, waiting for the speeches before the cutting of the cake. The tables were set, no pavilion over them, tiki torches set up to illuminate the area once it got dark.
Tapping a spoon against his glass of champagne, Matt grabbed a microphone and once everyone quieted, he began to speak.
"Good evening everyone, and thank you for attending. I honestly didn't know that so many people actually liked Pidge and Keith so much as to come to their wedding," Matt deadpanned. Laughter rippled through the crowd.
"Anyway, I am Matt Holt, Katie's older brother. And I have a few words for her and her husband." Matt glared at Pidge.
Pidge smirked at her older brother but was secretly afraid of what he had to say.
"Before Pidge was born, I was the center of attention. Always. If you ask my mom, she would tell you that I was a real drama queen, always searching for an audience. I didn't care who it was, and I loved it, apparently.
"But when I was five, Little Katie joined our family, and the spotlight was turned to her. I admittedly was jealous of her a little bit, and I felt like I was forgotten, but Mom and Dad told me when she was born that she was sick. And she was. Katie was a preemie, small from the start. I didn't know a lot about her then, because I was only five, but I knew she was cute. And I loved her. I pushed away the jealousy when I realized that Katie wasn't normal, like some kids I played with at Day-Care. I played with her, I watched her, I did everything with her. When she cried, whatever the reason, it would always break my heart. Mom says that I was always frantic whenever she was hungry," Matt chuckled to himself, then looked to his sister, tears gathering in his eyes.
"I would later find out that Pidge was born with clubbed feet, so once every five years she would have to go into surgery to have her feet broken and reset. The braces they gave her to help with that hurt her so much…" Matt trailed off, wiping at his eyes. He felt a hand on his shoulder, recognizing it as his fiancée. He steadied his breath and smiled at her.
"Because of that, she was on constant watch with Mom and Dad. Pidge, you don't remember those times, and I am grateful. You had to wear those horrible shoes at least 12 hours a day, and you cried and cried… I couldn't bear to see my baby sister in so much pain.
"You turned three years old, and still couldn't walk, and it frustrated you like Hell." Laughter emitted from the crowd. "And you had mom's stubbornness in you, and Dad's brains and I knew because you used to think around the braces, around the obstacle, constantly trying and stand up with those braces on your feet, then you would fall, then get back up. Then fall again. Then get back up.
"Sooner than I knew it, you were waddling around in those braces. How you did it, I don't know even to this day, but you did it. I was reading in my room, I was eight years old, listening for Katie if she needed me, and I heard something on my door. The door opened on its own before I could go and open it for myself, And there was Pidge! Standing there, trying to regain her balance on those braces on her feet! I could not believe my eyes!" The guests all began laughing only because they knew that what Matt Holt was saying was true.
Matt laughed to himself in remembrance, the continued. "When you were older, I teased you for walking funny. I called you Pidge. I knew it was wrong, but I did it anyway," he chuckled, "You hated me for it, but you loved me because I taught you everything you wanted to know about technology. You took to science right away, always wanting to know more. When you didn't know the answer to something, you were so mad, you would not give up until you found what you wanted. I used to always tell you, 'Curiosity killed the cat,' and you would reply with a little glint in your eye, 'But satisfaction brought it back.' You were so much smarter than me, Pidgey, I was so proud.
"Then came Kerberos. Dad, Shiro and I were stranded in space, stuck with the Galra. I prayed every night that Earth would not be touched, because they had already gotten to the Milky Way, how much longer until home?
"Three years later, I met a little, green armored figure, trying to kill me. Then I heard their voice. I knew it was Pidge. In all reality, I was actually really happy that she was in space because I knew now that I wasn't alone in the fight against Zarkon. But I should have been so mad. And afterward, I was," Matt glared at his younger sister. Pidge only shrugged.
Matt smiled and continued. "When I met all the rest of the other paladins, I didn't miss the fondness in her tone and the ways they looked at each other when she introduced Keith to me. I had known him from the Garrison; Shiro knew him and talked about him a lot. But I was wondering why my little sister was crushing over a moody, broody, emo kid that got kicked out of the Garrison because he punched Iverson in the eye?"
Matt listed off Keith's traits slowly, letting his audience process it as they all began laughing, except for Keith who was pouting next to Pidge who was hugging him.
"Then I realized, she wouldn't love someone like that. She would like them okay if they left her alone, but she wouldn't crush over them. So there had to be something more to it. When she was eighteen, she was still head over heels for the guy, so I was still thinking what is her deal? Is she desperate? What is going on? If the face he puts up is the real him, even if she loved him, it would have to snow in August before they got married." Matt looked at Pidge who was giggling to herself.
"I asked her about it, and she told me that there was so much about him. He was smart, brave, and had lost everything, like she did. The one difference, she said, was that she got it all back. She had a home and a family to go to by the time everything was over and done with, and all he had no one. Of course, that changed after Krolia was found, and they got a dog, but nonetheless, I could see where she was coming from.
"Now I see why she chose you, Keith. And I'm still holding that 'snow in August' thing accountable, so if it doesn't snow anytime soon, you can't stay together." The two of them laughed as Keith put a protective arm around Pidge's waist.
"Katie Holt, you have grown up so much, It seems like yesterday I was holding you, telling you not to get married…oh yeah, that was yesterday.
"I guess what I'm trying to say, Katie, is, I wish that you could always stay my little sister, staying by my side, creating androids and drones for our own pleasure. But now, you have your own family."
He lifted his glass of champagne, "To the Bride and Groom!"
"To the Bride and Groom!" The crowd parroted.
Matt took a sip from his glass, looking up in confusion.
Were those…snowflakes?
.o0o.
This idea came to me a while ago, and I would have posted this like a while ago, but I was grounded from my laptop.
Don't ask.
But anyway, the song used it Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now by MYMP. I hope you enjoyed it, and Merry (Late) Christmas, Happy New Year everyone~