Congratulations Are In Order
~Tanith POV~
Tanith was sat at Ghastly's work bench, scribbling all over different pieces of paper. She'd spent the entire day, whilst Ghastly was at the sanctuary, sketching out ideas for her wedding dress. She knew exactly what she wanted; the lace arms, the lace neckline, a long trail, two slits up either side of the skirt. It was perfect. She wasn't a great artist, she knew that, but as terrible as her sketches were, they showed exactly what she wanted. Cups of coffee were scattered around the shop, and screwed up balls of paper were sprawled all over the floor. Tanith sat back in her chair, gazing at her awful art work. Her eyes glanced up at the clock and they widened. She jumped up from her seat, knocking over the empty mugs and scrambling for the stairs. The clock read 6 pm. The dead men, including Tanith, Valkyrie and China were going out to a restaurant a few towns over to celebrate Ghastly and Tanith's engagement. Ghastly had rung Tanith earlier in the day, and told her he'd send a car over for 7 pm.
Tanith's feet pounded up the stairs as she ripped off her clothes, throwing them into Ghastly's bedroom and rushing over to the bathroom. She showered quickly and ran back into the bedroom, rubbing a towel at her hair and pulling the towel around her off. She stood in Ghastly's bedroom stark naked, wondering what she would wear, until she remembered Ghastly had made her a dress specifically for the night. She went over to the wardrobe and scanned the hanging clothes, until her eyes fixed on a deep navy dress. She pulled it out and gasped. It was beautiful. The colour wasn't one she'd seen before and it was made of silk. An expensive silk. She thought. She slipped it on and examined herself in the mirror. It hung off one shoulder and the sleeve was long and fitted well. She turned slightly, letting the dress flow around with her. She grinned. She regretted the choice of not letting Ghastly make her wedding dress, but she also wanted to surprise him with the design she'd chosen. She sat down by the vanity dresser which Ghastly had bought her and her eyes caught sight of a large box. She reached over and took it, reading the note that was on top.
My mother would've only wanted me to give the love of my life the best. I hope it goes well.
Tanith grinned and opened the box. Inside, laid a large silver necklace, with crystals as black as night embedded into it. She picked it up and slid it around her neck, admiring it in the mirror.
The car was on time, but Tanith wasn't. She rushed down the stairs and told the driver she'd be a few minutes. Her hair had dried but she was just finishing with her make up. Tanith never usually wore make up, but only wore it on special occasions. She slipped on her black heels and picked up her leather coat from the floor. She pulled it on and looked into the mirror.
Yeah. She thought. This'll work.
She left Ghastly's a little past 7:20 pm, leaving the driver highly unimpressed.
~Ghastly POV~
Ghastly sat at the table with the dead men, Valkyrie and China. China of course, was the most beautiful woman in the restaurant, drawing all the attention from the other diners. She was wearing her silk red dress, and her black hair was whisked up into a bun. Ghastly and Skulduggery both had their facades up, not wanting to draw the attention to themselves. The chair in between Ghastly and Valkyrie was empty as they waited for Tanith to arrive. Ghastly noticed Valkyrie glancing at him from time to time, but he didn't worry. Erskine sat beside Ghastly, quietly taunting him about Tanith and how late she was. Saracen and Dexter were sat beside Erskine and China, bickering between themselves, Dexter still trying to guess Saracen's power. Skulduggery sat between Valkyrie and China, lightly hitting Valkyrie as she stared longingly at Dexter. Most people in the restaurant looked up as Tanith stumbled in, falling into a waiter and knocking over a stand.
"See this is why, I don't wear heels." she said, her voice echoing through the restaurant as she kicked off her shoes. Another waiter took her coat, revealing her bare arms that held the scars, her chest too. People still stared. Ghastly grinned and got up from his seat. He walked over to her and hugged her, before kissing her perfectly painted red lips, tapping his collar bone as his facade retracted.
"You look beautiful." he said and she grinned, her eyes scanning the restaurant.
"Everyone's staring." she said.
Ghastly shrugged. "I think after 400 years I'm pretty used to it." Her fingers slid around his as they walked back to the table, grinning as she watched the jaws drop from almost everyone in the restaurant. Ghastly pulled out the chair and Tanith slipped into it. Ghastly took a seat and waved his hand.
"You can all go back to eating now." he called out, as the other diners began turning back to their food. The others stared at him. "What?"
"You can't just take your facade down in the middle of a restaurant." Saracen said. Ghastly shrugged.
"Sure I can. I just did." he replied.
"Unbelievable." Erskine said, and turned his attention to Tanith. "You're looking beautiful this evening." Tanith smiled and Ghastly glared at him. Tanith grasped Ghastly's hand and looked at Erskine.
"Thank you. You're looking rather dashing yourself." Erskine grinned and Ghastly sighed heavily, glancing over at Valkyrie who was grinning at him. He glowered.
(..)
The conversation had been non stop since Tanith arrived, with new diners coming into the restaurant, staring at Ghastly as the light illuminated the scars embedded in his face and head. He didn't mind, he'd spent the past 400 years of his life being stared at. Dexter glanced around the table and picked up a spoon, tapping it against his empty wine glass. The restaurant fell silent as Dexter got to his feet.
"Oh good God." he murmured. He grinned as he watched Valkyrie stare at Vex as Skulduggery elbowed her to stop.
"I would just like to make a quick toast to my friend and my brother, Ghastly." Dexter faltered as whispers filled the room until he continued. "For many, many years, what seems like over 400, none of us ever imagined Ghastly would find himself hopelessly in love with someone. But alas, we were wrong. And for that, we have to thank our beautiful friend, Tanith. For the past six years we have watched the two of them fall in love with each other, even if they both didn't know it. And I can now finally say, that they are happily engaged. So I would like to raise a glass, to the future Mr and Mrs Bespoke, cheers." Vex raised his glass along with the others, whilst whistles and claps filled the room. He sat back down and Ghastly leaned over and kissed Tanith's cheek. Saracen patted Dexter on the back and Valkyrie grinned at him. Ghastly smiled at Vex and glanced around the table, at his friends, his brothers, his wife to be, smiling as he knew the dead men were once again, finally, complete.