*A/N: Hello, my dear readers. Thanks, firstly, for all your positive feedback. Your reviews and your follows/favs mean the world to me! I'd like to say, secondly, that I will be going on a trip to London tomorrow, which means that I won't be updating for the next eight days or so. I will write more chapters as soon as I get back!
PS.: I couldn't pick a location, so the island mentioned underneath is of my creation.*
CHAPTER FIVE
As the days of May were soon coming to their end, Alfred's stress was coming to its peak. Although very few things were actually on him to do, he couldn't but feel responsible for everything. Bruce, Diana, the bridesmaids and the best men were all very much involved in everything to be ready for the wedding, but Alfred had a say in everything, out of his need for the ceremony to reach perfection.
They had chosen a small island near Themyscira as the wedding's location. It had the typical Aegean beauty they wanted, along with a nice five-star hotel, in which Bruce booked rooms for all the guests. The ceremony would take place at a small hill-like height, very near the island's coastline, with an amazing view at the sea and would contain aspects of a typical and a Greek marriage. As the tradition instructed, they had to give a small packet of a type of hard candies, nicely decorated, to the guests after the ceremony had ended. Alfred couldn't pronounce the word they were called, but had accompanied Diana along with Lois Lane to pick a design they liked. They agreed on a small, porcelain jar, which would contain the candy, wrapped at the top with a nice ecru ribbon with a golden lining. After the candy was consumed, the guests could keep the jar. That design was one of the most expensive in the store, but a Wayne soon-to-be groom would spare no expense for his wedding.
The classy, luxurious invitations were sent two months in advance, so that the guests could settle their schedules and be there. Naturally, the invitations were one of the first things they crossed out of their lists and one of the very few Alfred wouldn't stress over anymore.
Although Alfred insisted to make the meals for the post-ceremonial reception or the wedding cake himself, reason prevailed, as the guests were too many for one person to cook for, and since Alfred wanted perfection, they needed to hire a professional. Alfred was the one, though, to pick the professional and have control over the three-course meal. Bruce and Diana let him handle the cake too, provided he would order one with many levels. Alfred had the perfect cake in mind and soon, the meals and the cake were ordered for the big day under his strict guidelines for the cooks and the baker.
Diana took Dinah and Shayera at the florist's with her, to settle the flower arrangements. The wedding arc would be decorated with roses and small daisies and the aisle, according to Dinah's suggestion, would be paved with bouquets of white hyacinths and daisies. The bridal bouquet was to be picked by the groom.
The hardest part of the preparations was, to Diana's relief, coming to its end. They had picked a nice tuxedo for Bruce, which was specifically tailored for him and would be delivered to the Manor some days before the wedding, but the wedding dress' fittings seemed to have no end. Diana went to one of the best studios in Gotham for her dress. They showed her several dresses and designs, but only after one-too-many bridal catalogues did she finally find the one she was looking for. And so the studio had it ordered for her to start the fittings.
The dress featured into one of Zuhair Murad's runways and, for Diana, it was love at first sight. She had a dress that would resemble an ancient Greek tunic in mind, but that dress was even better than what she had imagined. It was a long white dress of rich fabric. Its long drapes grazed the floor, starting from just below her waist. The torso and the short sleeves were embroidered with gold and metallic details, forming several circles and patterns around the torso. The white fabric cupped the breasts, followed by the embroidery and forming a deep line between them, that dived down. The studio's tailor's session's goal was to make the dress follow her body perfectly, while leaving the amazing design intact, so the work had to be done slowly. Diana had lost count of how many times she had gone there, but every time she did, the dress fitted her better and better. They picked out a delicate pair of golden high-heeled sandals to match it, and so the basic outfit was complete. She and Lois had shopped for jewels together, coming down to a nice, gold bracelet and a gold tiara with small brilliants for her hair-do.
Today was the last fitting. Diana was very excited, not only because she would finally have her dress ready, but because she wouldn't have to bear one of those fittings again. She wasn't alone, though, as the bridesmaids had accompanied her, to get their ready dresses too. The bridesmaids' dresses followed the Grecian style she wanted, but were a little shorter than knee-high and kept quite simple. They had a golden lining at their end, and a small, embroidered golden belt underneath the breast area.
"And you said you're buying them?" Dinah asked. "Not just renting them?"
"Of course." Diana replied, from her large podium. "You get to keep the dresses."
"Sweet!" Lois said, examining herself in the mirror. "They're quite posh."
"A style that's never out of fashion." Dinah added.
"I have told you how John has a thing about white clothes, uh?" Shayera said, smiling playfully. "Just don't be surprised if we get to leave a little earlier…"
"Oh, stop it!" Dinah said, giggling.
"You're going to bring the kids along?" Lois asked.
"Yes. They're not that little anymore. John's mother will keep an eye on them for the ceremony."
"How's John liking his best man's tux?" Diana asked, sucking her belly inside for the tailor to stitch something.
"He's a bit lukewarm about it, really. Says gray isn't his color but I say he looks fine."
"Clark's loving it, though." Lois said.
"That's good."
"Bet Barry's going to get his tux all wrinkled up before the wedding." Dinah said, entering her fitting room.
"Running and flying are strictly forbidden on the day." Diana said. "Bruce has notified his best men."
"He has, but will they keep it?" Shayera said. "They're not that easy to tame, girl."
Diana shrugged. "Truth is, I don't really care if their suits are wrinkled up or not. Alfred's going to be the one going hysterical if the photos aren't flawless."
"Damn these perfectionists, eh?" Lois said, entering her fitting room too.
"Oh, now that I mentioned it, Shayera can you get me my phone please?"
"Sure thing." Shayera handed her the cell phone and went to get changed as well. Diana dialed a number.
"Hello, Princess." Alfred's voice came from the speaker.
"Hi, Alfred."
"Are you done with your fitting?"
"Almost. Have-"
"Oh, great. The… the porcelain jars arrived just some minutes ago. I'm waiting for Master Bruce to take them to the jet. I hope you don't mind the boxes being in the entrance for a while."
"I don't, Alfred. Now-"
"Good. I need to go check on the cooks in two hours. I'm praying they won't mess up the desserts. I didn't order a mere panacotta, you see, Princess. They need skill to pull out the dessert I ordered."
"Yes, Alfred, okay!" Diana said, rolling her eyes. "That's not what I wanted to ask."
"Oh, please, tell me."
"Is the photographer booked for the day?"
"Of course, Diana. We have him booked from a month ago."
"Perfect. Thank you."
"Don't mention it! Now, if you don't mind, the Manor desires some of my attention too."
"Yes, yes, go, of course."
"We will speak later again, Princess."
"Bye!" Diana said, hanging up.
"We're done, madam." The tailor said, passing a final needle through the end of the dress' skirt. "I will make these final modifications and send you your dress right away."
"Thank you, Michelle."
"My pleasure."
Diana went to her fitting room and very carefully removed the wedding dress, putting her own dress on. She handed the wedding dress to the tailor and the five of them left the studio.
"So, Diana…" Lois said when they exited the shop, looking playfully at Dinah. "Don't plan anything on Friday."
"Why not?" Diana asked.
"Well, we couldn't possibly leave you with no bachelorette party…"
"Oh, you don't have to!"
"But we want to…" Shayera said. "We've already booked our entertainers, so any resistance is futile, Princess."
"Oh, I wouldn't resist…" Diana said and they shard a laugh.
OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO
"Be serious." Bruce scolded. The preparations were tiring for him. He didn't know that a wedding could possibly have so many things to arrange. Luckily, Diana and Alfred took care of the majority of the things, but he was still the groom, and that meant that people's attention would be turned towards him as well, and he hated it.
"I am!" Barry said. "It's an ancient wedding tradition!"
"Come on, Bruce." Clark said, grinning. "It will be fun. Enjoying your last day of 'freedom'!"
"A freedom I willingly discarded. It's a pointless night."
"Quit being so damn grumpy!" John said, flying over them as they walked through the Base's corridors. "You will come, whether you want it or not."
"Yeah!" Barry exclaimed. "It's a party for your sake!"
"I don't like parties."
"You don't like anything!"
"I like my peace and quiet."
"You're getting married, my friend." Clark said, passing his hand over Bruce's shoulders. "And we all know what that means." He looked at John.
"Oh, yes." John said. "Say goodbye to your peace and quiet once and for all." Bruce sighed and rolled his eyes.
"You can't expect your best men not to throw you a bachelor party!" Barry said. "It'd be unacceptable!"
"He's right." Clark said. "If you wanted nothing of this, you should have picked J'onn, the Question and Doctor Fate."
"I had the misfortune of being closer to you, and I, now, regret picking you."
"Come on!" Barry whined. "We've booked the hottest place! You can't go back on this!"
"Hell he is." John said decisively. "I'll lock you in a lantern sphere and drag you there if I have to."
"No." Bruce insisted.
"You're pathetic!" Barry said.
"Bruce." Clark said. "Do you think your soon-to-be wife won't have a party like that for her too?"
"What?" Bruce said, arching an eyebrow.
"The girls have a party planned for her alright." John said.
"Lois has been calling Shayera and Dinah to plan it for a week now." Clark said.
"Shayera booked the entertainers." John said, meaningfully. "The girls are going to have a blast, and we're not?"
"I wasn't aware of that." Bruce said.
"Do it for our manly pride!" Barry said. "We can't let the ladies have all the fun!"
"Fine." Bruce said and Clark almost applauded in joy. "I'll come."
"I knew you'd come to your senses soon." John said.
OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO
"I heard you're busy on Friday…" Bruce said, once they were alone in their bedroom.
"I am indeed." Diana said, sitting on the side of the bed and bending down to untie her shoes.
"You're going out, I suppose?" Bruce asked, walking to his side of the bed.
"Bruce, you know where I'm going very well, as I know where you'll be too."
Bruce shrugged, lying back on his pillows. "The others insisted."
"You should go and have fun." Diana said, scooting next to him. "Although not too much fun."
"You too, missy. Don't get lost in their…sparkly underwear…"
"Is my man jealous of some strippers?" Diana said playfully, turning to hug him and lay on his chest. "Don't you trust me?"
"I do. I don't trust the others, though."
"Oh, relax! All three of them are married or engaged. We won't do anything else but watch and tip."
"You'd better."
Diana rolled her eyes. "I bet you're in better shape than most of them either way. And I should be the one warning you now!"
"You know I don't enjoy these things."
"Yeah, right. You won't enjoy a hunky girl in a skimpy outfit shaking her stuff in front of you…"
"I'd much rather spend the night with you. Maybe in a skimpy outfit as well…" Bruce said, half-smiling.
"After Sunday, you will."
"At last."
*So, as you can guess, the wedding is coming up next! In a week or so. Wait up, I will be brainstorming for that chapter! Thanks for reading so far, and please, leave me a small review!*