I can't believe we've gotten to the 200th chapter! I honestly never thought I would get this far with it. Also, I'm working to get things back on track, so just bear with me for a few more chapters. Anyway, hope you like it, and please review!
The next day, Mallory was back to work. It wasn't that she had gotten over everything that fast, or that she wanted to be there. She hadn't, and she didn't. In fact, the only thing that got her out of bed in the morning was her promise to Peter not check out again. No matter what, she had to keep her life together this time.
It went on like this for a few days, until one morning she woke up, ready to go to work, to find that Dick was in the kitchen cooking an actual breakfast of quiche and bacon. She rolled off the sofa and sat on the stool.
"What, you take the day off or something?" she asked.
He stared at her like she was crazy. "You're kidding, right?" he asked. She just gave him a blank stare, and he gasped dramatically. "Mallory! Don't tell me you forgot Raquel and Darius's wedding!"
Her eyes flew open, all lingering sleep leaving her body in an instant. "Oh, my gosh, no! How could I forget that?!"
Dick grinned and pushed a plate in front of her. "Relax, it's not till tonight, you have plenty of time to get ready and go find a gift."
"A gift! Oh, and I'm going to need a dress, and shoes, and–Oh, no!"
"What?"
"I didn't take off work! Oh, my gosh. Dick, how could I have forgotten Raquel's wedding?!"
He chuckled, and she glared at him through her panic attack. "Sorry, sorry, it's not funny. But, you did take off today. I heard you myself, a few weeks ago. And if you need some help with clothes, we can meet up with Z and she can give you whatever you need. Just calm down. Today's gonna be fine."
She took a breath and let it out slowly, smiling at her friend as she did. "Thanks, you're the best. Seriously, how are you still single? You're so good at this stuff."
He laughed and shoved a forkful of food in his mouth. "It helps to have a needy and potentially destructive roommate who barely pays any of the bills and refuses to go out and make new friends."
"Ouch," she said, grinning. "Ok, ok, I got the hint."
He raised his eyebrows. "That was a hint?"
They laughed, and she tilted her head. "Seriously, though," she said, looking at him. He looked at her expectantly. "I do pay some of the bills."
He rolled his eyes and tossed a strip of bacon at her head, which she promptly caught in her mouth and ate. In truth, she had enough money saved that she could probably start looking for apartments, but the last few months of living with Dick had been so freeing, having him there to talk to and to push her, and having someone to help. She didn't want to go back to living alone in an empty apartment. She pushed the thought away as she and Dick finished their food. Today was supposed to be happy, and she refused to let any of her gloomy thoughts get in the way of that.
Dick went with her to pick out a present, even though he'd gotten one the week he found out they had set the date. They went to five shops before she found the perfect gift for her friends, and then they went to the zeta tube. Dick was already dressed, so he went on to the hotel where Darius would be getting ready to meet up with the other heroes and wish the groom luck, and Mallory zetaed to New York to meet Zatanna at her house. The magician was waiting on the porch when the pyrokinetic rounded the corner.
"Mal! Hurry up! Raquel's having a crisis. I already sent Artemis and Megan over, but she's going to need all of us."
Mallory jogged into the house and Zatanna muttered a spell. A second later, they were both dressed, their hair and makeup done, and Mallory's gift was now wrapped at her side. They left the house and zetaed to Raquel's neighborhood, and up to her apartment.
"Got here as soon as we could," Zatanna announced when she opened the door. She was greeted by an older woman with gray hair and deep wrinkles in her mahogany skin.
"And who are you supposed to be?" she asked, narrowing her eyes dangerously. The girls backed up a step.
"Uh, we're just friends of the bride. She asked us to come and give her a hand with–"
"Well, you can just turn your tails right back outa here. We've got enough people coming and going through this apartment as it is, and–"
"Who's at the door?" Raquel called from the bedroom. She did not sound happy.
"Nobody important, just some little–"
Raquel came out of the room in her wedding dress, her expression anything but serene. "Mal, Z, finally!" she exclaimed, exasperated. "Get your butts in here, now!"
"Yes ma'am!" Zatanna replied, and the girls started to scoot past the clearly ticked off woman.
"Sorry, bride's orders," Mallory said sweetly, unable to keep herself from rubbing it in. As soon as they crossed the threshold, Raquel slammed the door closed with a bang.
"I'm about to lose it!" she growled.
"Who was that?" Mallory asked.
"That was the crisis. It's my great-aunt, and she's got me clinging to my last nerve!"
"Ok, what do you need us to do?" Zatanna asked.
Raquel took a breath, trying to calm herself down. "Well, ideally I would like you to get rid of her, but since that's off the table I'll settle for a scapegoat and a massage."
"I've got the massage!" Mallory volunteered quickly.
Zatanna shot her a playful glare. "Why do you get the easy job?" she grumbled.
"No, Mal's right, she's got heated hands and you've got the patience of a saint. Now, move out," Raquel said.
The magician nodded and gave a mock salute before slipping out of the room, shutting the door behind her. A second later they could hear the magician getting yelled at, and some very choice words being thrown around. Mallory let her powers come to the surface, heating her hands a bit, and she rubbed her friend's shoulders and neck.
"Z said she sent Artemis and Megan on ahead, where are they?" she asked when the older girl started to relax a little.
"They were here, but they left with my cousins to finish decorating the church. Well, I sent them with my cousins thinking that Auntie Nessie would go with them, but she thought I needed a guard. I honestly don't know if she's afraid I'll back out or let Darius in before we get to the church. I don't know how much more of this I can take. I swear, if she says one word to me during the ceremony or the reception, I'll–"
Malory rubbed out a knot, chuckling. "Don't worry, Raq. There'll be a whole team at the church and the reception to run interference. With our attack pattern, she'll never even get near you. Promise."
Raquel smiled, looking at Mallory over her shoulder. "I know." She was about to say something else when Megan's voice popped into their heads.
"Is everyone online?" she asked. There were yeses from Artemis, Zatanna, Raquel, and Mallory.
"Where are you guys?" Zatanna asked. "I could use some help with the aunt."
"Yeah, the woman's cursing up a storm in there," Mallory put in.
"Uh, yeah, not all of those were hers," the magician admitted sheepishly.
Mallory and Artemis laughed, and Raquel rolled her eyes. "So much for the patience," she said.
"Hey, even saints lose their patience when they're dealing with the devil," she shot back.
"Relax, we're on our way up with Raquel's bridal party. The church is ready, Darius is en route, and the guests are starting to find seats. We just need to get the bride there," Megan announced. Raquel looked at Mallory, and they went to the door. They walked into the living room at the same time that the entourage came in through the front door, and Zatanna took a breath and practically dove behind Raquel.
"Are you ready to get going?" one of the cousins asked.
Megan and Artemis walked over to stand with Zatanna and Mallory, and Raquel turned to them, her back to her family. "Do I look ok?" she asked, her nerves showing.
Her friends smiled at her, and it hit them all at the same time that this was happening. "You look beautiful," Megan assured her. "Now let's go."
"You're getting married, girl!" Zatanna said, and Raquel's face lit up.
"I know!" She leaned over and hugged the girls. "I'm sorry I couldn't ask you to be my bridesmaids," she said. "But believe me, if I had the choice, I would have married Darius in the Watchtower if I had to, and you would all be the ones at my side. I love you guys."
"We love you, too," Artemis said, smiling, then aloud she added, "now go get married!"
The girls left the apartment first and walked the three blocks to the church. When they went in, the boys ushered them over. Conner, Dick, Kaldur, Roy, and Garth were sitting in the second row back. They filed in and gave out their greetings.
"Donna's not going to miss this, is she?" Megan asked, looking between Garth and Zatanna, the two most likely to have talked to her.
The magician shook her head. "I haven't talked to her in a week," she admitted.
"She's been in a conference with the leaders of France and Germany," Garth whispered. "There's a chance that she couldn't get away."
They were quiet for a moment, then Zatanna grinned and turned to the others. "I can't believe Raquel's getting married."
"I can," Megan replied, wrapping an arm around Conner's arm. "She's been planning this since the day she met him."
They laughed, and Roy leaned back in the pew. "Honestly, I'm surprised she's getting married before Megan and Conner. I always thought they would be the first ones to tie the knot, not me."
"Yeah, that's actually a good point," Artemis said, looking pointedly at the couple in the middle of the group. "You have any announcements?"
Conner rolled his eyes and Megan shook her head. "No. Stop trying to compare things. We're here for Raquel. Oh, remember the time Darius got Dick to let him into the cave so he could surprise her on their anniversary?"
The others laughed, and Garth and Roy tilted their heads. "What happened?" the Atlantian asked.
"We were just coming back from a mission in Gotham, trying to get Clayface, wasn't it?"
"No, I believe it was Ragdoll," Kaldur corrected.
"Oh! Right. Well, I just remember that it was kind of creepy, and when we got back to the cave all of the lights were out."
"You guys didn't know what was going on?" Roy asked.
"No," Zatanna said, punching Dick in the arm. "He didn't think to let us know, and he turned the lights out while we were on the mission."
"So…?"
"Well, Darius was waiting in the living room for Raquel, but when we got in there, we could tell someone was there, and we attacked."
Mallory laughed, remembering the confusion well. "By the time Dick got the lights back on, I think everyone had gotten a hit in, and Raquel had him trapped in a bubble," she finished.
"Yeah, that wasn't my brightest moment," Dick admitted, grinning.
"No, it wasn't," Zatanna assured him. "But it was funny."
"Yeah, for you, maybe," Garth said, laughing. "I doubt Darius thought it was funny."
For some reason, that made them all laugh harder. "Man, I'll bet he never thought he would get saddled with people like us for "in-laws"," Mallory said.
"Actually, he said something about that while he was getting ready," Conner said.
The girls tilted their heads, waiting. "Yeah, he said that he was glad he got along with at least one of Raq's families, whatever that meant," Roy said.
Zatanna snorted. "Just good old Aunt Nessie, I'm sure."
"You don't think she'd try to do something to ruin the wedding, do you?" Megan asked.
They looked at each other. "Excuse me," Zatanna said, and she stood and went to where Raquel's family were gathered. Her aunt had taken her seat a few minutes ago, and the magician pulled the older woman to the side.
"What do you think she's saying?" Dick asked.
"Oh, just that she'll turn her into the Loch Ness Monster if she says anything, I'm sure," Artemis said boredly. "Hey, I didn't even ask, but how was Darius when you went to see him? Was he nervous?"
The boys chuckled. "Yeah, a little, but he's fine now. We handled it," Dick replied.
"What did you do?" Mallory asked suspiciously, recognizing the looks on their faces.
"We just reminded him that he loves her, and that he's spent a fortune on the wedding, and that he was going to be standing at the end of the aisle if we had to break his legs and prop him up with the coat rack," Roy replied.
They chuckled. "Good pep talk," Artemis complimented as Zatanna took her seat.
"Well?" Megan asked.
"Well, Aunt Nessie won't be giving us any trouble," she replied with a satisfied smile. "Hey, do you remember the first time we met Darius?" she asked, clearly trying to get the conversation away from whatever she had threatened Aunt Nessie with.
"What, the fair?" Artemis asked. The magician nodded, and the others smiled.
"Yeah, I remember. That was the day we jumped off the roller coaster, wasn't it?" Conner asked. They nodded.
"Yeah, and it was also the first time I saw Batman smile," Mallory admitted.
Dick raised an eyebrow at her. "You did?"
She nodded. "Well, unlike Wally, I wasn't just going to leave you there with him, so Brek and I were watching from around the corner," she explained.
Dick chuckled. "Oh, yeah, I forgot how he threw me under the bus. I never did get him back for that."
There was movement in the church as everyone found their seats and Darius and his groomsmen found their places in front of the pastor. Just as the doors were closing, Donna came rushing in. The team's faces lit up and Mallory waved their friend over.
"Oh, thank Hera. I thought I was going to miss it," the Amazon said as she slid into the end of the pew.
"We were starting to think so, too," Megan admitted.
The wedding march came on, and the group, along with the rest of the church, settled in and fell silent. The procession started coming down. The bridesmaids all had on long, deep purple sleeveless dresses and white flowers. They all took their places, and the music changed for the bride. A second passed, then the double doors opened, and everyone in the church caught their breath when Raquel stepped out into the aisle. Her dress was bright white and fitted with a train attached at the hip, and she had a large headpiece wrapped around half of her head. Icon walked beside her, an actual smile on his face as they approached the altar. As she passed them, Raquel gave the team a smile, her face lighting up even more when she saw Donna sitting with them.
They made it to the altar, and Icon gave her away, and the ceremony began. Mallory sat through the whole thing, a smile on her face. When the pastor asked if anyone objected to the union, she almost burst out laughing when Aunt Nessie looked over her shoulder at Zatanna, and the magician glared daggers at her. Then the groom kissed the bride, and the ceremony was over. The team joined everyone else at the reception, stayed together since they didn't know anyone else there. After all of the formalities like the first dance and the cake cutting, Raquel and Darius made their way over to the group.
"Donna! I'm so glad you made it!" the bride said, giving the Amazon a hug.
"I wouldn't have missed it for anything," Donna replied.
Raquel gave the others hugs as well. "Thanks for being here," she said, returning to her new husband's side. "It really means the world to me."
"That, and everything else you've done today to keep this wedding on the rails," Darius added, sharing a smile with the boys. He tilted his head, lacing his fingers through Raquel's almost unconsciously. "I am surprised, though. I half expected Raquel's aunt to do something to ruin the ceremony." He looked at each of them, his eyes dancing with amusement. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
They all looked at Zatanna, and she took a sip of her drink in a failed attempt to hide her smile.
"What did you do?" Raquel asked eagerly.
The magician laughed. "A magician never tells," was all she would say on the subject.
"Ok, well, we need to make a few more rounds before we leave." Raquel sighed, then grabbed the arms of the two people closest to her, Mallory and Dick. "I love you guys so much."
The couple walked over to a group a few feet away, and the team looked at each other.
"Well, I guess I should get going," Roy said. "I need to pick up Lian, and I've got to get to work in the morning. Boss'll kill me if I'm late."
"What are you talking about?" Artemis asked with a snort. "You just started a security business. You work out of your house, and you are the boss."
He grinned. "Yeah, and?"
Mallory rolled her eyes and propped her arm on Artemis's shoulder. "Don't even start. Let him think that this business is a real job. If not, he's just an old man with a kid and no job." The girls shook their heads. "Where did he go wrong?"
Roy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. I'm only a few years older than you, so if I'm an old man, what does that make you?"
"Young, single, and loving it," Artemis replied. As soon as she said it, they looked at each other and sobered quickly.
The group was quiet for a moment, then Megan chuckled, trying to save the moment. "Well, I guess that lets me out. Conner, are you ready?" He nodded, and they said their goodbyes and left with Roy. Zatanna, Dick, Kaldur, and Donna went to the refreshment table, leaving Garth, Mallory, and Artemis alone. They looked at each other, something unspoken passing between them.
"She's lucky, isn't she?" Artemis murmured. It took Mallory a moment to realize that they had all lost the person they loved. The person they thought they would have this day with.
Garth nodded. "Yes. Very. But, so are we."
Mallory tilted her head. She didn't have to try hard to picture Tula in a wedding dress, floating down the aisle in Atlantis with Garth waiting at the end, or to imagine the look on Wally's face when he saw Artemis in her dress for the first time. Or to picture Brek waiting at the altar for her. "Are we?"
"Yes," he said firmly. "At least we had the opportunity to know them. So many people never find their soulmate and they just settle for something less."
Mallory shrugged, looking over to where Raquel and Darius were saying their goodbyes, about to leave for their honeymoon to the Bahamas. She hated herself for it, but in that moment all she felt was her own loss, of Brek, but also of Cameron. She shook her head. She didn't want to do this, not here. "I'm going to head out," she said quietly. She forced a laugh and added, "unlike Roy, I actually have a job to get to in the morning, and a real boss that doesn't like for me to be late." Her friends smiled, and Mallory gave Garth a hug. "It was good to see you. I wish you and Donna would make a little more time for us."
He shrugged. "As do we, but the battle never ends, as I know you know, my friend."
She and Artemis nodded, and Mallory gave the archer a quick hug. "Call if you need anything," she murmured before she let go. "You, too," was the reply.
Mallory stopped by the others to say goodbye and tell Dick to take his time, then she left the reception hall and started walking. The night air was chilly, but not cold. With April just a few days away, the weather was starting to turn warmer. She didn't know the city as well as she knew Metropolis or Bludhaven, so it took her twenty minutes to find a zeta tube. By the time she got back to the apartment, she felt hollow. She looked around the empty apartment that wasn't hers, and suddenly she needed to feel something.
She went to the closet and dug through her things until she found the folded piece of paper. She opened it up, careful not to tear the charred corner, and she sank to the floor with her back pressed to the wall. She read it, even though she had every word memorized. She read the last line over and over, until they swam on the page and she had tears running silent trails down her cheeks.
"Just know that I love you, and I always will."