Author's note: I do not own Trinity Blood or its characters. This is set five years after the end of the anime.
In Which the Groom Considers Running Away
Abel was beginning to worry about Ion. The young man appeared to be getting cold feet. Not about marrying Esther, no it was clear that he was head over heels in love with the young queen. No, it was the wedding itself that was putting him off. Abel wasn't sure he blamed Ion. It was clear that his grandmother was more than just a little wedding crazy, and Abel knew that Seth was probably just as bad. It seemed like the more Ion heard about the wedding, the more nervous he was getting.
His nervousness was beginning to rub off on Esther. The couple didn't get to see that much of each other these days, and Abel doubted they had gotten any alone time since the treaty signing. It was clearly wearing on Ion. Someone needed to get him to relax, and the task had fallen upon him. To be fair, Caterina was the one who had suggested that they needed to get the happy couple some time alone before either of them had a nervous break down.
Now all he needed to do was track Ion down. That was proving harder than expected. The young man was in Milan for a fitting for his formal wear along with the rest of the groomsmen. Esther and Caterina were also in town, still searching for the perfect wedding dress. Everyone was supposed to meet for lunch. However, Ion had disappeared once the tailor was done with him, and Abel had left the group under Mirka's supervision to go find him. Truthfully, he'd rather find Ion than try to keep the four groomsmen at the tailor's for the rest of the fittings.
It took him nearly an hour, but Abel finally found Ion perched on the edge of the fountain in from of Castle Sforza. Abel gingerly took a seat next to him. They had spent enough time together in the past five years that it was easy enough for him to tell that something was bothering Ion.
"Want to talk about it?"
The younger man sighed. "My life is insane."
"No offense, my friend, but your life was insane before you were engaged."
That prompted another sigh. "True. I just…I just want to be married. Now rather than later. I mean, as it is I never get to see Esther. I thought it was going to be easy. I'd get back, we'd get married, and we'd live happily ever after."
"Ion, there's no such thing as an easy happily ever after."
"This whole thing has gone crazy. All anyone talks about is the wedding, and it's like I don't have any control over it at all. I never get to see Esther, and everything just keeps getting more complicated."
"Weddings are rarely about the groom." Abel grinned. "You just have to remember that there's only another four months to the ceremony. The only thing you really have to worry about is making sure you're not hung-over from the bachelor party. And as for seeing Esther, that's why I was trying to find you. Cardinal Sforza made lunch reservations for the two of you."
Ion's entire face lit up. "Really?"
"Yes. You're going to be late at this rate."
With that minor crisis averted, Abel shepherded the young man off to the restaurant. Esther was already there waiting for him, and it was clear that the couple was happy to see each other.
"I think they'll be fine, Abel." Caterina was waiting in for him in the restaurant's lobby. "We should probably find our own lunch. Knowing you, you're most likely starving."
Abel laughed. She did know him. The two of them had a very pleasant lunch at a nearby café. Caterina filled him in on the latest from the hunt for the perfect wedding dress.
"I think we've finally found it. The dress doesn't have sleeves, but there's a little jacket that goes with it. Esther and I are going back to look at it again later today, and if she makes a decision, we'll order it. I will be relieved when it's all over. The other dresses will be ready next month unless there's some sort of emergency."
"How is Esther doing?"
"She's doing better than Ion is, but that's mostly because she has a lot more control over the situation than he does." Caterina smiled. "She has been missing him however. I think it's going to be better for everyone involved if we make sure they're seeing each other on a regular basis. I think that will reduce all our stress levels."
"Shouldn't the best man be helping you with all this?"
She laughed. "I think that Mr. Walsh is having his own issues with being the best man. He seems just as tense as Ion. I have no idea what to do for him. I'm going to see if his sister can do anything about that."
The conversation turned to other things. Afterwards, they each collected their charges from the restaurant, and the two of them went their separate ways. Abel found Ion to be in a much more upbeat mood. They rejoined the others who were staying at Castle Sforza, and Abel had to admit that Caterina was right about Virgil Walsh. The young Methuselah was wound tighter than a spring. They really did need to do something about that before he hurt himself or someone else.
Abel sighed. It might as well be him. Caterina didn't need another headache right now. But that would have to wait. It seemed Mirka wanted to go over his duties for the wedding with him. Abel was hoping there would be an emergency that needed his attention. He would much rather have to deal with some obsessed psychopath than the grandmother of the groom.