3 Years Later
3 years later…
"Baby, can you please stop pulling at your tie." AJ sighed, crouching down in front of her three year old son, adjusting his tie back up to his shirt collar as James rolled his eyes.
"It's annoying." James huffed.
"You can take it off after, just for the now. For pictures." AJ nodded.
"I don't want pictures." James shook his head.
"Pictures for mommy?" AJ frowned as James looked at her, "You look so good. We gotta get pictures." AJ nodded, looking on at her son in his little shirt and tie. He was a small, fierce little thing but so perfect and beautiful to AJ. He had long dark hair as he refused to let it be cut, bunching around his ears, making him look ten times more adorable. He also had AJ's caramel skin and height, whilst one hundred percent taking his father's attitude.
"How come daddy doesn't have to wear a tie?" James pointed over to Punk who was sitting on the hotel bed watching the sports highlights, "I'm not wearing one if he's not." He said, pulling the tie slack again as AJ looked over to Punk who was oblivious.
"Phil." AJ snapped as Punk turned around, "Isn't it true that if you wear a tie at the wedding, you get more cake." She said as Punk looked to James who folded his arms, trying to sniff out the lies.
"Uh yeah." Punk nodded, "Yeah, if you have a tie on they give you more cake."
"Why aren't we all wearing ties then? Don't you want more cake?" James asked his mother with confusion. "Why wouldn't you want more cake?"
"James, baby… just keep the tie on, ok?" AJ asked him, cupping his cheeks as James huffed.
"I better get more cake." James mumbled as AJ stood up straight.
"Mom, I hate wearing this dress." Nine year old Raimy emerged from the bathroom in a light blue dress.
"No, you look beautiful." AJ said, "The dress is so pretty."
"It's ugly." Raimy disagreed, "And it's itchy too."
"Where is it itchy?" AJ shook her head, walking over to her, fixing the dress a little better, "Baby, you look great. It's a beautiful dress." She nodded.
"I hate it." Raimy continued to argue.
"I love my dress." Vivian appeared from the door that lead into the kids bedroom, running in and jumping on the bed beside Punk who was still paying attention to the sports highlights on the TV, "I love it. I want to dance in it." Vivian exclaimed, lying on the bed and kicking her legs back and forth.
"Because you're annoying." Raimy kept her arms folded.
"You're annoying." James looked up at his eldest sister.
"Shut up, you have to wear an ugly tie." Raimy scoffed as James pushed her. Raimy pushed him back harder as he fell over.
"Hey." James moaned, getting back to his feet quickly and trying to tackle his sister to the ground. Raimy was always the sister he got into physical fights with, Vivian was more the one he would yell back and forth with. He never seemed to win either of the fights he had with them.
"Ok, cut it out." AJ broke them apart, "Phil, a little help here." AJ groaned as Punk turned around, switching the TV off and standing up.
"Ok, you…" He pointed to James, "Keep the tie on, you look smooth." He said, "You." He pointed to Raimy, "You look beautiful, the dress is perfect, I like your hair and why the hell do you have make-up on?" He questioned, looking more towards AJ.
"It's just a little bit." Raimy shrugged.
"Do you like my dress?" Vivian asked him.
"Yeah, you look pretty." Punk nodded to his six year old daughter, "Everyone in this room looks great, ok?" He looked at them all, "So can we get moving along?" He questioned as AJ smiled to herself.
"You look great too." AJ smiled, wrapping her arms around his neck, pecking his lips as he placed his hands on her waist.
"We all scrub up pretty well." Punk nodded, impressed, as AJ chuckled, "You look phenomenal." He smiled. She was in a grey silk dress with a slit down the leg looking extremely beautiful.
"I bought the slit one just for you." She whispered in his ear as Punk chuckled to himself and nodded.
"Well thank you." Punk smiled, "I'll be making my way up that slit later on." He smirked quietly as AJ chuckled.
"Ok, our children are still in the room." AJ laughed, kissing him again before pulling back, "Ok, are we all ready?" She asked them, taking her son's hand, being the little one of course.
Just as they were getting ready to go there was a frantic knock at the door. Punk walked over and opened it up to see a very frantic bride push by him and into the room.
"Wow." Vivian gasped as she looked at her aunt, "You look like a princess." She said in awe as Coleen smiled nervously.
"Why is the dress so long?" James asked, looking at the trail of the dress.
"I have a problem." Coleen nodded to AJ who looked at her sister.
"Uh…" AJ gulped, "Phil, take the kids down, yeah?" AJ nodded to him.
"Ok." Punk nodded, taking James and Vivian's hand whilst Raimy walked ahead, leaving the hotel room.
"What is it?" AJ shook her head, "You look amazing." AJ smiled.
"I uh… I totally forgot how weddings worked, you know… I uh… I have no one to walk me down the aisle." Coleen shook her head worriedly, "Who walked you at yours?"
"I walked myself." AJ shrugged.
"Oh." Coleen frowned, "That's kinda sad." She shook her head.
"Not really. I was the only person I could depend on my entire life so… it felt right." AJ shrugged as Coleen nodded.
"Will you walk me down?" Coleen asked as AJ looked across at her, "I know it's not how it usually goes but unfortunately our father was a piece of shit, and there's not really anyone else I trust like I trust you." She nodded as AJ smiled.
"Of course I will." AJ smiled.
"I'm so happy for them." AJ smiled, sitting on a long couch with her husband whilst the wedding celebrations took place in the small hotel function room. It was such a special day to see her sister get married to her long-term boyfriend. She'd been able to watch her sister go from her lowest point, to making herself happy and healthy, and that was beautiful.
"Yeah, me too." Punk smiled, his arm wrapped around her, "Little man didn't make it to the extra cake, did he?" He smiled, looking to the couch beside AJ where James was lying fast asleep, even over the loud music.
"He looked so adorable." AJ smiled as Punk nodded.
"I didn't know you were walking Coleen down the aisle." Punk said.
"Neither did I until 10 minutes before." AJ laughed, "I didn't mind. It was nice." AJ shrugged.
"How come their wedding is way bigger than ours?" Punk asked, looking around.
"Most of these people are Patrick's family." AJ nodded, "And Coleen has made a lot of friends." She said, "They're not loners like me and you were." She smiled up at him as he nodded.
"Fair enough." Punk smiled, "Thinking of who we can ship our kids off to so we can enjoy that hotel room to ourselves."
"They're in the room next to us." AJ laughed.
"Still too close." Punk said as AJ smiled, turning to James as he slept in the corner of the couch, "Where are the girls? Still with Dean?" He asked.
"Dean was playing outside with them." AJ nodded, "Why would Raimy hate her dress? She looked so cute." AJ shook her head.
"She's nine. She hates everything." Punk nodded, turning around as he saw Dean walk back into the hall with Vivian and Raimy, "Vivian has no shoes on." Punk noticed.
"She's probably lost them." AJ shook her head, watching as the girls came over to them.
"Mommy, I lost my shoes!" Vivian exclaimed as she ran over and jumped on Punk who groaned a little but caught her, "I don't know where they are." She giggled.
"Why did you take them off?" Punk shook his head.
"I don't know." Vivian shrugged.
"Why is he sleeping?" Raimy looked at her little brother.
"Because he's three." Punk laughed, "And it's like… 9pm." He said, "Hey, I think you secretly like that dress." He nodded as Raimy shook her head.
"No, I don't." Raimy said firmly.
"I think you do." Punk smiled, nudging her lightly.
"Stop it." Raimy smiled as Punk grabbed her onto the couch, tickling her as she wriggled and laughed whilst Vivian sat with AJ, "Stop." Raimy laughed as Punk smiled. He loved to see them laughing and smiling. It was his favourite part of being a parent.
"Ok, I'll stop." Punk chuckled as Raimy laughed to herself, turning to her brother and making sure she didn't disturb him.
"I can put him up to bed if you like. I'm getting pretty tired. I don't mind staying up with him." Dean nodded to AJ and Punk.
"Oh, he's fine there." AJ smiled. She would have preferred to keep her eyes on her son, "Here, sit down Dean. I want to dance with my husband anyway." She smiled, getting off the couch and pulling Punk up as he laughed to himself and followed her onto the dance floor.
"Hey." Dean sat down with Raimy and Vivian, "You two go steal some more cake over there." He nodded to them.
"We can't steal." Raimy said.
"Ok." Vivian nodded, jumping off the couch and running off to where the cake was cut up.
"You go with her. Be her partner in crime." Dean nodded to Raimy who rolled her eyes and chased after her sister.
Meanwhile Punk and AJ were enjoying a dance on the dancefloor, whispering things to one another, inappropriate jokes mostly whilst they danced. It had been a nice day and for AJ to see her sister get married was such a wonderful thing.
"You remember dancing at our wedding?" Punk asked her as she looked up at him, her arms around his neck.
"In the hotel room ourselves?" AJ smiled as Punk nodded, "Of course I do." She nodded, "So much of me was still… that confused, lonely little girl." She nodded, "We've come a long way." She smiled.
"Ten years." Punk gasped, "How have you not killed me yet?" He smiled as she laughed.
"Because you're always good to me." AJ smiled, "Always."
"I try." Punk nodded, twirling her around as she smiled, "You aren't gonna bother me for another baby, are you?" He asked, "Because they seem to come in three's." He nodded.
"Are you kidding?" AJ chuckled, "I almost had a breakdown this morning getting all three of them ready." She said as Punk smiled, "I hate that they're not my babies anymore." AJ frowned, looking over to her children.
"They're still babies." Punk nodded, looking over to them and smiling.
"Mommy's so pretty." Vivian sighed, sitting on the couch with her legs in a basket, eating more cake, sitting beside her sister, "Isn't she?" She turned to her sister who nodded, "She's like a princess. Like the Disney ones." She nodded, "But she's better than them." She said.
"You have cake everywhere." Raimy groaned, looking on at her sister who had cake all over her dress and around her face. She liked to mother her little sister and brother, sometimes more than AJ did. She had a lot of AJ's instincts, a lot of stubbornness, and a whole lot of Punk's short temper.
"Oops." Vivian laughed to herself, "It's ok it will wash." She shrugged.
"It probably won't." Raimy said as Vivian just ignored her, looking back at her parents.
"Oh, no. They're kissing." Vivian turned away, "Don't look." She warned her sister, "They always do that." She rolled her eyes, eating more of her cake as Raimy just shook her head.
"How much cake have they had today?" AJ smiled, continuing to dance with Punk, keeping her eyes on the kids, watching as Raimy and Vivian played together whilst James stayed fast asleep.
"Too much." Punk concluded as AJ nodded.
Later that night, after the night had come to an end, AJ and Punk headed up to their room with the kids. Punk carried James in his arms whilst holding Raimy's hand and AJ carried Vivian.
It didn't take long to put them into bed as they were all exhausted from a long, but wonderful day. They made a quick pyjama change and tucked them into bed. Raimy and Vivian shared the double bed whilst James slept on the single beside.
"Goodnight, babies." AJ smiled, leaning over and kissing Raimy and Vivian on the head, turning around and kissing her son on the head, making her way out of the room and through to her and Punk's bedroom, "They're all so sleepy." AJ smiled, closing the door over behind her, looking over to Punk who was sitting on the edge of the bed, "I'm not sleepy, are you?" She smirked, walking over to him, watching him look up at her as she realised something was wrong, "What's wrong?" She shook her head.
"This was left on our bed." Punk said, handing her over the envelope as AJ shook her head and took it from him.
She opened it up, looking at it closely as she looked across at him with confusion.