Just some more fluffiness.
##
She had spotted a little chapel on their way in, and pulled Deacon in that direction making sure no one spotted them on the way.
When they got there a woman stood behind the counter looking at a snow globe with a little model of the strip in it. "Excuse me," Rayna interrupted. "We'd like to get married."
She could tell that the woman was a little startled when she looked up, not only because she hadn't heard them come in, but also because she recognized Rayna and knew she'd been engaged to Luke Wheeler earlier in the day. "Are you two sure?" she asked.
"Never more sure," Rayna replied looking at Deacon.
"Definitely sure," Deacon chimed in.
"What happened to your eye?" the woman asked.
"Oh this?" Deacon pointed at his swelling eye. "An old Claybourne tradition, you have to fight for your bride."
Rayna laughed and the woman looked nervous. "Alright, well fill this out. Do you want the ring package?"
"Oh, yeah. I guess we can use these for now. I wish I had the band with me, but it's back in Nashville."
"It's alright Ray, we can use that one later if you want. Or I could get you something nicer."
"No, I love that band. You're all that matters to me."
The woman smiled as Deacon and Rayna kissed. "I'll go get the man who marries you."
The woman went into the back room and Rayna turned to Deacon adjusting his shirt. "Are you sure you want to do this now Ray? Our wedding pictures are going to forever have me looking like this." Deacon pointed at his rather bruised eye.
"I don't know, seems kind of appropriate after all we've been through. Maybe I should get a black eye too. We can wear them like battle scars." Deacon leaned down and kissed Rayna again. "You know I love you right?"
"Uh huh. Love you too."
By then the man came out and placed them underneath a tacky gold and white arch in the background of the chapel. Deacon laughed again. "I can't believe we're doing this Ray."
"Well, believe it, cause it's happening."
"Do you want the quick version or the long version?" the man asked.
Deacon and Rayna both looked at each other for a moment then simultaneously said "Quick."
"Okay. Do you Deacon Claybourne take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward forsaking all others till death do you part?"
"I do." Deacon slipped the ring on Rayna's finger. It felt so good to do that. It had been a while since he'd slipped a ring on her finger, and the first time he barely remembered, but this, this felt permanent, and it felt right.
The man turned to Rayna. "Do you Rayna Wyatt take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward forsaking all others till death do you part?"
"I do," Rayna said as she wiped a tear away from Deacon's good eye and slipped the ring on his finger.
"Well then by the power invested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you husband and wife."
"Man, that was easy," Deacon said, letting out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding since they'd gotten there. "Seems like it should have been harder considering how long it took us to get here."
"Maybe we should have done the long version," Rayna smiled.
The minister raised his hand. "Um, I think it's time to kiss the bride."
Deacon pulled Rayna in for a kiss that would have definitely been inappropriate anywhere else besides a Vegas chapel. Neither one could really believe that they'd just done that and the passion they felt poured out through their lips and hands. "Oh my," the woman said. "I guess it's a good thing you didn't marry that Luke Wheeler instead."
When they finally pulled apart Rayna and Deacon thanked the woman and man and ran back upstairs to Deacon's hotel room. "I've got to get ready for the show. We should also call the girls before anyone else finds out."
"Good idea." Rayna pulled out her phone and put it on speaker as they dialed Maddie's cell. When she picked up they told her to go get Daphne and put it on speaker as well.
A minute later the girls were both there. "What is it mom?" Daphne asked. The girls were over the moon about the news. Rayna hadn't heard Maddie be that happy, maybe since she and Teddy had announced that they were divorcing.
"Does this mean that I should call you dad too?" Daphne asked.
"You can call me whatever you want." Deacon replied smile so big it made his black eye look even sadder. "Anyway, we've got to run, Deacon has a show in a few minutes, but we just wanted to let you know before you saw it on Twitter or Facebook, or whatever the kids are reading these days."
##
Twenty-minutes later Deacon was down in his dressing room and one of Luke's make-up women was trying her hardest to dab green concealer on his eye. Once she was done he turned around to look at Rayna. "How does it look?"
He could see by the look on her face that it hadn't improved it much. "Puffy," she replied. "Well, puffy is gonna have to do, cause I gotta be out on stage in 10. Hey, I have an idea."
"What's that?"
"You're going to be in the wings right?"
"Of course."
"Great, see you in a few."
##
Deacon had a five song set. It wasn't terribly long, which was dictated by Luke, but it was just enough to get the crowd moving and wondering when he was going to be in town again. Usually he started with "Playing Tricks" and ended with another upbeat number he'd written a couple of weeks ago, but tonight he felt like switching it up. Right before the fifth song he pulled his stool up to the front and grabbed another that his piano player had been sitting on. Then he told the band he didn't need them for the next song. It was uncommon for a singer to dismiss his band and go acoustic in a theater as big as this one, so the crowd perked up wondering what was going on. Deacon sat down on one of the stools and grabbed the microphone.
"This has been kind of a strange day as you could probably tell from the look of me." He pointed at his puffy eye and everyone laughed a little. "But this also happens to be one of the best days of my life. Today was the day that I married the woman that I have loved since I was nineteen years old. Come on out here baby, let's sing a duet for the crowd."
As Rayna walked out on stage the audience who had paid to come to a Luke Wheeler concert wasn't sure they were believing their eyes. As Rayna reached Deacon he put his hand out to grab hers and announced "My wife, Ms. Rayna Jaymes…Claybourne?" Rayna nodded her head and the hushed tones of the audience erupted in shocked whispers. Rayna took the other stool and someone brought her a mic. "We're going to go a little old school on this one and sing the first song we ever sang together at The Bluebird back in Nashville, I think it pretty much sums everything up. This is called "No One Will Ever Love You."
The audience settled down ready to soak in any amount of scandal and spectacle that was happening right now in front of them. Later there might be snarky comments in newspapers and outraged fans, but as of this moment the 25,000 people in the audience were entranced. As Rayna and Deacon launched into the first verse, Luke's manager ran from backstage to Luke's dressing room.
When he entered they were doing the finishing touches on his hair, which Rayna had always told him was pointless because he's wearing a cowboy hat anyway. "Luke we have a problem." Luke's mood hadn't improved much since Rayna handed him back the engagement ring earlier in the night, and he snapped at the manager. "Isn't it your job to solve problems?"
"Yeah, but this is going to be a PR problem. Deacon and Rayna are out on stage right now. They just announced to all your fans that they got married." Luke jumped up out of the chair and made a bee-line for the stage. When he got there he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the two of them there on stage, looking more in love than ever. "Get them off of there," he fumed.
"We can't they're mid-song. It will look even worse if you pull them off stage in the middle of their love song. It'll look like you didn't know."
"I didn't know!"
"Yes, but you don't want your fans to know that. You'll look like a fool. Be the bigger man. Go out there and congratulate them."
"Are you crazy! I'm not congratulating them. They can go to hell for all I care." Luke turned around and stormed off. Deacon saw the commotion going on at the side of the stage, but tried not to have it distract him as they sang. When the song closed he took Rayna's hand in his own and kissed the back of it. The crowd erupted, and Rayna gave his hand a little squeeze. This day had definitely taken a turn for the better.