A/N: Edit. I changed my timeline a bit and had to fix this chapter to do so.
Enjoy.
"I thought you might be over here," Rick chuckles, joining his son on a bench not far from the field where the younger man will be getting married in a few short minutes. Despite the gorgeous spring day, there was no one around, making the already intimate ceremony even more so.
"Yeah; just needed a minute," Austin shrugs, a hand slapping on his thigh. The boy clears his throat, and meets his father's eyes, trying desperately to keep the tears trying to fill his eyes at bay. "God!" he sighs, looking up and blinking hard as he fails.
Rick grips his son's shoulder, slapping down hard.
"Sorry; I told myself I wasn't going to cry," Austin confesses.
"You're allowed to cry," Castle answers. "Today is just as emotional for you as everyone else."
"Yeah," the groom nods. He stops, and looks at his dad, trying to decide if he wants to say the thought crossing his mind. "Do you think this was too fast? I mean we just got back together last summer."
After breaking up their sophomore year of college, after trying to make a long distance relationship work, Austin and his bride-to-be Christine, had rekindled their romance the previous summer after a chance meeting at a mutual friend's party. Their romance returned hot and heavy, and four months after getting back together Austin proposed, and four months after that, there they were: sitting in a park in DC waiting for their wedding to start.
"I think it was right for the two of you," Castle answers, staring out across the pond they were in front of, watching ducks swim by. "No two relationships; no two love stories are the same. Everyone's path is different. Yours and Christine's; Danielle and Ashely's; your mom and me. Don't think about too fast or too slow; too big or small. All that matters is love. You love her, right?"
"So much," Austin nods, coughing to clear his throat.
"Then that's all that should matter." Rick stands, pulling Austin with him. The father's arm wraps around his son's shoulders as they head back to their family and friends gathered to watch two people they love dearly become husband and wife. As they walk to the altar, Austin stops multiple times to say hello to friends and family, getting many hugs and kisses and praises of congratulations. His mother and siblings are in the front row, a spot left open for Rick.
"Are you alright, baby?" Kate asks her son, standing and wrapping him in a hug.
"Yeah, just needed a minute," He tells her when the two pull apart.
Kate cups his cheek, studying the man her son had become.
Dark brown hair that made his blue eyes pop, his father's strong jawline and cheeky, crooked grin that always gave him away when he got into mischief as a child. The soft grey suit with a butter yellow tie and vest, and a boutineer of a yellow rose bud and sprigs of white babies breathe clipped to his jacket lapel that coordinated perfectly with the pink cherry blossoms blooming all around them.
That was the only thing Christine wanted for their wedding: To get married under the cherry blossoms. And who was he not to make the woman he loves wish come true? The wedding had been planned around the event, every detail specifically arranged to work with the spring flower.
"Mom," Austin smiles, taking his mother's hand. "Don't cry! If you cry then everyone is gonna cry." The boy close to tears himself.
"I know," Kate sniffs. "I know; but I can't help it. I am just so happy for you two."
"Thank you, momma," Austin says, hugging her again.
"We're ready whenever you are," the minister says, coming up to the groom's side. He's tall, bald head, deep, dark skin, kind eyes, wearing a dark black suit, only broken up by the white clerical collar around his neck
"Go, go," Kate releases him, smoothing out the creases her hug had made in his jacket.
Austin follows the minister up the two steps to the altar, taking a deep breath before nodding to the minister who responds by waving one giant hand towards the back of the congregation to a coordinator handling the bridal party.
Music starts up, an instrumental version of Christina Perri's 'A Thousand Years', and after a moment, the procession starts.
The first to come down is the flower girl, Christine's god daughter, Sammy. Her dress is a miniature version of the bridesmaids, and she's added white fairy wings, and a yellow and white flower crown that match the girls' bouquets. As she walks, she sprinkles yellow and white flower petals from a white wicker basket.
When the flower girl gets halfway down the aisle, the next couple starts walking: Austin's best man, his brother Liam, and Christine's maid of honor, her best friend Aliya. The cycle continues: couples of bridesmaids and groomsmen, walking down the aisle, arm-in-arm, one right after the other. All the men wear the same suit as Austin, minus the jacket, and have similar boutineers pinned to their vests. The girls wear variations of the same long, yellow dress: strapless, one shouldered, two shouldered; each tailored to the specific body type and personality.
Once everyone is in their places by the altar: boys on the right, girls on the left, the wedding coordinator cues the bride.
Escorted by her father, Christine's face is alight with her smile; eyes only for her groom.
Her blonde hair is curled and pulled back off her face, a sheer veil is clipped into the updo. Strands of jewels cover her neck and wrist, and diamond studs glitter from her ears. Her dress is an ivory, strapless, sweetheart, mermaid, with a jeweled sash at her bust line. Her pastel pink high heels can just be seen under the skirt of her dress.
The music ends when Christine and her dad, Scott, reach the altar. And with one final kiss, he gives over his daughter to her new husband, and sits down next to his wife, across from Rick and Kate.
"Weddings are about love," The minister begins. "About turning two families into one. Today we gather to do both: celebrate love and bring these two families together. . ."