30. Something Blue
Beth POV
It's finally here. I never thought I'd live to see the day. Literally. Death is quite the real threat anymore.
Both Danse and Curie wanted to come to the wedding, but knew we wanted to keep it in the family. So, we just brought Duncan with us. Or so we thought.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Piper asks as we stroll around the marketplace. "I mean, you made me have to figure it out for myself!"
"Maybe that's how I wanted it?" I look to the reporter with a slightly annoyed expression.
"We'll be at Home Plate," Robert tells me as he and Duncan take off, not wanting to be in the middle of it.
"Nick didn't even know until a couple days ago," I tell her. "So, don't feel all left out, Piper."
"Kinda hard not to, Blue." I'm still not used to the nickname she gave me a while back. Shortly after saying this, she gasps. "That's cool!"
"What?"
"You know the wedding saying: 'Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.'" She giggles, "Looks like you're bringing both the old and blue aspects of that yourself."
"Oh, shut up," I chuckle. "I'm not that old."
"Yeah, sure. Just two hundred thirty-something, right?"
"Two thirty-six," I clarify. "Two thirty-seven come October twenty-third."
"Wait. Wasn't that the date the bombs fell?" she asks, her face shocked.
"And the day I came out of the vault, too. As well as my mother." I chuckle at her lack of words for once. "I know. Ironic, isn't it? Seems like the twenty-third of October is a big date for me. Big events always seem to happen on my birthday."
"Well, you have another five and a half months," she says. "Wonder what it'll be this year?"
As I'm walking into Home Plate, I see Robert kneeling and handing Duncan his ring. When he sees me, he stands up and smiles. "Thought we could use a ring bearer."
"And what a fine one you make," I tell Duncan.
"Sorry I didn't bring anything dressier," Robert says, looking down at his duster. "I didn't want to have to wear this… but, oh well. This will do, I suppose."
"Did you want to wear something fancier?" I ask him. He nods, his face showing a bit of shame. I chuckle. "Where'd you put that suitcase? Can you get it real quick?" He disappears upstairs while Duncan smiles at me. He saw me pack it last night—he knows what I brought with us.
"Here." He sets it on the table in the kitchen. "What's in it anyway? It's so light."
"Open it," I tell him.
He does as instructed, and the look on his face—priceless.
"What did you do?" He pulls a black blazer out of the luggage, followed by some black slacks and oxford shoes. His expression becomes even more incredulous as he lifts the black bowtie from it.
"One of the assistants at Fallon's thought that suit would go well with our clothing," I say, motioning to Duncan and I. Robert's eyebrows shift upward, as if he hadn't thought into what I'd be wearing. He turns back to the suitcase, only to get his hand slapped by me. "You'll see when you see." I hand Duncan his dress clothes we found yesterday and guide them into the big room. "You boys change in here. I'll be upstairs. No peeking!" I take my outfit and dash up the steps.
MacCready POV
Turning Page by Sleeping At Last
What is taking her so long?
Duncan and I sit at the kitchen table, waiting for Beth to get changed into whatever ensemble she has prepared.
"You knew?" I ask my son sitting to the left of me.
"Yup. I saw her pack this stuff last night." He smiles triumphantly at me.
"You cheeky boy." His grin just persists.
"You're not going to wear the tie?" he asks me.
"No," I sigh. "Couldn't figure out how to tie it. And I really wanted to."
"Here." Duncan grabs the tie off the table and stands in front of me. He signals me to duck so he can reach around my neck. And—both unpredictably and remarkably—ties the bowtie around the collar of my shirt like an old, seasoned pro.
"Wha—?" He sits down, smiling at how well he did it. "How do you know how to do that? I don't even know, and I'm seventeen years older than you."
"Butch taught me," he says, without skipping a beat. "He thought every boy needs to know how—so when he showed Ellis, he showed me, too." I need to thank him for that.
"Think you can show me one day?" I ask him.
"Of course, Dad." Duncan's enthusiasm exudes from his smile.
"I'm ready, guys," Beth calls from what I think is the top of the stairs. I take a deep breath and stand, along with my son. We walk around the corner, and I swear, I'm greeted with an angel.
Beth stands where I thought she was standing, and looks… beyond amazing—glorious, really. She's wearing a red dress, sparkly, and tight-fitting, black and white heels to go with it. Her hair is no longer shoulder length, like when I met her, but is now down around her shoulder blades—and at the moment, she has it set back into a small bun behind her head. She even managed to find a tube of lipstick—as her lips are now a light shade of a peachy-pink colour. She looks simply wonderful.
…Stunning. "Do I look okay? I hate not having any mirrors…" She grumbles while tugging at her dress.
"'Okay?'" I take a few steps toward her. "You have no idea how insulting that word is right now. …You look…" I think for a moment. "Perfect." So many words I could have used to describe her…
She smiles shyly. "You look pretty dashing yourself." I swear I see pink highlight her cheeks. "You, too," she tells Duncan.
"Well… Shall we?" I extend my arm as she descends the stairs.
She grabs Duncan's hand and takes my outstretched arm. "We shall."
"Hot date?" Arturo calls out with a grin.
"Yeah," Beth responds with a chuckle and a wave.
We're making our way to the chapel when one of the Diamond City guards says, "Woo. I'd like to do a homerun on those bases. You free later, sweetheart?" I let go of her arm and am about to kick this guy's teeth in, when Beth puts a hand on my chest and smiles at me. She then places Duncan against me—to keep my hands busy, or to keep him from getting hurt, I'm not sure what her plans are. However, she then turns to the man and, as Beth often does, surprises me yet again.
"No, unfortunately. I'm actually really expensive." She slowly makes her way toward the lowlife, walking rather seductively.
"Good thing I've been saving up caps for a good time. What's your price?"
"Well, see: you'd have to pay him off, too." She points to me. "I already had plans. You understand." She smiles at him like a vixen.
"I don't see why you can't go on with those plans," he continues as he glances in my direction. "Just add me in with the mix." I can hear the smile in his voice.
"Oh, I know why. What's your name?"
"Richard."
"Oh, what a fitting name." She leans closer into his ear—yet, I'm still able to make out what she says. "I know exactly why this idea of yours won't work, Richard. You see, he's mine, and I don't like to share. I can see the way you were looking at him as we came your way. It's a shame he's straight, darling—or should I call you Dick? Either from the way you treat residents, or just from your preferred taste of sex?"
"What? I'm not gay!" he yells.
"You keep telling yourself that, Richard. I'm sure your boyfriend will get off on it as he bums you tonight." Beth does an about face and grabs both Duncan and my hand. "Let's go, babe."
As we're walking, I'm sure I look like a dumbfounded idiot. Duncan is walking next to us, laughing at the insults his mom just produced. "Shame aloe doesn't grow anymore," she says as we stop in front of the chapel, "cause he just got burned." She takes a seat on the bench and pulls me forward to retie my loose shoestring.
"Where did that come from?" I finally find the words.
"What?" She looks up. "Oh, all that?" She giggles. "I thought it'd be better: you would have gotten all beat up, your suit would most likely be bloody, Duncan would have to see that, and the jerk would most likely pull a stunt like that again. This way, he probably won't—considering he just got snubbed by a girl he was 'hitting on.' Everybody wins. Except for him. He lost—big time." She stands up and smiles at me—not the vixen smile from before, but my smile, always reserved for me and me only.
"I have to hand it to you, Beth—I think that was the single most badass thing I've ever seen you do."
"Even including the time I killed that deathclaw?"
"Even the time you killed that deathclaw." I shake my head.
"There we are, folks," Clements says. "By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."
Although I'd practically been staring at Beth for the past few minutes, she looks different now. Technically, she looks the same as she always has—it's just in my head. She looks more beautiful, more alive. She looks like my wife.
At the same time, we meet in the middle and our faces virtually collide together in a fervent kiss. She shows just as much excitement and enthusiasm as I am. Far too soon, I hear Clements clear his throat. "Perhaps you two would want to find a more private place?" I pull my head back, and our lips nearly make a comical suction noise. We laugh, thank the man, take our son, and leave the chapel as a married couple.
"Now what?" she asks, gripping my hand.
"Who cares? The world is our oyster."
A/N: So, Dick is a... well, jerk. Bet you thought I was going to say something else, huh? lol