One year later
KAI
"Well, that's my fourth paper cut. I think we're going to have to write up an incident report in case it gets infected."
Kai ran the packing tape over his latest box without even glancing at Thorne. "Good idea. Get HR involved."
He heard Thorne snort and resume stuffing his own box. "Technically, is that me or you? I don't remember."
That made Kai look up with a wry smile. "You think I'd put you in charge of HR?" He pushed off his knees and stood, wiping the dust off his hands. "Help me lift this one, will you?"
Together, they lifted the box to the top of the pile.
"Who would have thought that prepping materials for shipping was so much work?"
Kai gripped the Sharpie with precision and wrote out the address he'd long since memorized. "I know. It really makes me appreciate all the work Nainsi did at Rikan Corp."
"Not just at Rikan Corp. You remember when she helped you load all those ridiculous flowers you got for Cinder?"
Kai shuddered. "Don't remind me."
He helped Thorne finish his box and then they walked back to the supply closet for another round of mindless packing. Though it was tiring and time consuming, Kai felt a sting of pride every time he organized another pack of Eastern Commonwealth Financial promotional materials. It was satisfying to know that soon the microfinance application packets would be distributed to low-income families in South America.
Now they just had to make the FedEx deadline for international shipping in order for the boxes to arrive in Uruguay before they did. Maybe if their tour was successful, they would also be able to afford a full-time administrative assistant in the future. So far, the part-time workers had performed satisfactorily, but they weren't contracted to work on Saturday mornings at 9:00 a.m.
A blip that needed to be fixed immediately, according to Thorne. At the present time, Kai couldn't have agreed more.
Thorne checked his watch. "We gotta make sure we get out of here in time. I still need to shower."
"You and me both."
They continued working, eventually deciding that a two-person assembly line was more efficient than what they had been working on before. Thorne selected and sorted from the supply closet while Kai remained on the floor and packed everything in as tightly as possible. International shipping was the worst.
"Does Cress like her classes at Luna U so far?"
"Oh yeah, big time," said Thorne, dropping a set of promotional pens into the box. "She's making friends, getting a glimpse of college life. It's different than attending college full-time, and she's overwhelmed sometimes trying to balance work too, but she loves learning."
Kai smiled. "I bet. She does tend to be overly excited about almost anything new."
Thorne turned his head back over his shoulder just enough to give Kai an eye roll. "Believe me, I know."
"I'm happy for her."
"Thanks," said Thorne, then sighed. "I need a break."
He came back a few minutes later with two beers.
"You really think it's a good idea to pre-game before the ceremony? We already a bit too much last night and there's going to be a lot to drink at the reception."
Thorne shrugged and popped the cap off his beer. "It's going to be a long, happy day, Kai. So happy, in fact, that Cinder won't even notice."
"Mmhmm," he said, but he took the beer from Thorne anyway and sat back on his heels. When he'd taken a sip, though, he immediately changed his mind and decided he'd rather have coffee. Unfortunately, that would have to wait for later. "She's already texted me at least five times to remind me what time I need to arrive at the ceremony. She must think you're rubbing off on me."
"She's ridiculous. I have to be there too, obviously."
"She knows we're driving together."
"We're taking a taxi. Tell her not to worry. Cress has been texting me too."
Kai looked back at the unfinished boxes, dread filling him. "Let's get back to work. We've still got to leave with enough time to pick up the tuxes."
Thorne groaned. "And the bouquets."
"How did we end up on bouquet duty?"
"I think all the girls have their salon-spa extravaganza this morning so there was no one else to do it."
"No need to sound so bitter, Thorne," said Kai. "I'm sure the girls would have invited you if you'd only told them just how much you enjoy spas."
"Shut up."
"Does Cress even know?"
"Maybe."
"Does she know your first name is Carswell?"
Kai sniggered, but Thorne looked anything but amused. "She's hacker, Kai," he deadpanned.
THORNE
He looked fantastic in his tux, but that was no surprise. When he straightened in front of the mirror and held his chin high, it almost made him forget how sore his back and arms were from moving boxes all morning.
Almost.
He popped an Aleve, hoping it would kick in before it was time to dance at the reception, and headed downstairs to meet Kai. They made two trips from his apartment to the waiting taxi with the bouquets and then took off.
When they arrived at the hotel, an attendant helped them locate the changing rooms adjacent to the wedding hall. They knocked and waited until the door opened a crack.
"It's Thorne."
"Come in quickly!" squeaked a voice that he knew without a doubt belonged to Cress. "But close your eyes!"
Thorne smirked and stepped in, not bothering to close his eyes at all. Cress stood there in a slip and white bustier, hopping on one foot trying to pull up a pair of tights.
She screeched when she saw Kai and threw herself behind Thorne, using his body as a shield. "You didn't say Kai was coming in too!"
Kai's face was hidden by the three bouquets of flowers he held up in front of his eyes. "I'm not looking!"
"Sorry," said Thorne quickly, removing his coat and passing it to Cress. "I didn't realize you'd be practically naked."
"It's a changing room."
She fumbled around behind him and then announced that Kai could open his eyes. Thorne turned around and saw Cress looking like a cute, little, lady penguin in his tux jacket with the white slip peeking out beneath. He decided to keep his comments to himself, having learned that it was not always wise to make a smart remark despite how cute he thought his girlfriend looked.
"You look gorgeous," he said instead. "I love those curls in your hair."
This calmed her glares down enough to earn him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"We brought the bouquets," said Kai lamely, his face red. "Is Cinder here?"
"Cinder!" called Cress. "The boys are here!"
"Boys," huffed Thorne.
Cinder appeared shortly thereafter, thankfully already dressed in a flattering red gown, her hair also done up in loose curls. She grinned shyly at Kai.
"Wow," he said. "That dress. That hair." Taking her hand, he called out, "You can get married any time you want, Scarlet!"
"Have you seen Kesley yet?" asked Cinder, adjusting Kai's tie.
Cress's hand slipped into Thorne's and he squeezed.
"No," said Kai.
"We're off to see the poor shmuck next," Thorne added.
"He's going to burst into tears," said Cinder. "She looks that good."
Thorne tried to imagine a beast of a man like Kesley sobbing and bit his cheek to keep from laughing. He knew that at weddings it was generally a good thing if the groom cried. "I want to see her."
"It's bad luck!" said Cress scandalously.
"I'm not the groom."
"You'll get your chance later, Thorne," said Cinder. "You'll all get your chance."
"Yes, time to go," said Cress.
"I'll need my jacket back."
Cress scowled at him but he winked at her and she tried to hide her smile.
They shooed out Kai and when Thorne got his jacket he reluctantly left the room as well. They walked along the corridor to go find Kesley.
"Jacin and Winter are coming over tomorrow," said Kai nonchalantly.
He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how goes it with the in-laws?" Kai's ears reddened, making Thorne come to a halt. "Wait, what! No," he said dramatically.
Kai nodded. "I'm thinking about talking to Jacin tomorrow. I know it's not the same thing as talking to Cinder's dad, but I thought it would be a nice touch. Cinder didn't get a lot of tradition growing up, so…" he trailed off, avoiding Thorne's eyes.
"Wow," said Thorne. "I figured after the whole Levana thing you'd never get married. Ever."
"I've always liked the idea of marriage, just not of marriage to Levana. Cinder is…well, she's a different story." A slow smile crept up his face and he looked down at his feet.
"Hey, good for you. Congratulations, man."
He laughed nervously. "She hasn't said yes yet."
"She will."
"You think?" asked Kai. He played with his tie and then stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I want to wait at least another six months before I ask, but I don't want to get a ring until I'm sure her family likes me too."
"They've hung out with us a few times. I get the feeling Winter likes you as much as Iko."
"Oh stars, Iko...she's one of a kind."
"You gotta love her."
"Yeah."
Thorne began walking again but Kai stopped him. "What about you and Cress?"
He considered the question just as he had considered it a hundred times before in his mind. Cress had brought it up too, especially with Scarlet and Kesley announcing their nuptials in the recent months. They were mostly hints, but not subtle ones, as Cress had never been good at disguising her feelings.
"I don't think we're ready yet."
"That's okay," said Kai quickly. "I didn't mean to push."
"No, it's okay. I hope we'll get there someday. It's just been an intense year, you know? Lots of changes for both of us. We're still trying to figure out what love looks like between us and how to make that work." He shook his head. "I told you a little about Cress's background and you certainly know mine."
Kai nodded. "Scarlet and Kesley have been together since college. Everyone goes at their own pace."
"Cress is going to freak out when she hears about you and Cinder, though. She's obsessed with all things romantic and I'm sure I'll never be able to top whatever proposal you come up with. I'm going to thank you in advance for making your best friend look bad."
"Ha. I'm not so sure about that. You know Cinder. She's kind of low-maintenance and doesn't like big, showy things."
"Just don't have babies anytime soon. Future wedding discussions I could handle. Cress with baby fever I could not."
Kai grimaced and shook his head. "Make sure Kesley gets the same memo. The girls would all want to have kids at the same time, wouldn't they? They're those kinds of friends now."
"I blame you," said Thorne dryly.
"You introduced everyone," Kai shot back.
"Well then, let's go find Kesley and make sure he's ready to go. He might be a little tired after the bachelor party." He laughed at the memory, thinking that Kesley had probably needed his own bottle of Aleve this morning.
"You are such a terrible friend."
Thorne draped his arm around Kai's shoulder. "And yet I will still be in charge of your bachelor party despite everything you've seen."
"On second thought, I'm never getting married."
The End
Note: You've reached the end so you must have something to say! Please take a moment to let me know if you enjoyed the story! R&R is always appreciated and honestly what keeps me going.
On that note, thank you for all the love and support you've shown this story! It's definitely a favorite of the ones I've written so far. I hope you enjoyed its entirety.
- LLC
Fun fact: I wrote this just before Winter came out! I love that Wolflet got married first in canon too! There's a bonus chapter up in Wolf's POV up next and I'm working on more drabbles.