October 9

The Big Day

"Rise and shine!" Chirped Sissi, waking up Aelita. "You've got a big day ahead of you!" Remembering what day it was the pink-haired woman grinned widely and sat up on the couch that she had slept on.

"So, Princess... you nervous?" Needled Odd from the kitchen doorway, mug of coffee in hand.

"Surprisingly, I'm not," she answered.

"That's good," chimed in Sissi. "Come on and get up. We just put some water on for tea, or hot chocolate if you rather, and croissants are almost ready to come out of the oven." Aelita beamed at her friend.

"Thanks!" She got up off the couch and headed over to her luggage to get her day clothes.

After changing in the bathroom she made her way to the apartment's small dining area, lured by the smell of the freshly baked croissants and found Odd pulling a kettle off the stove. He grinned when he noticed her arrival.

"which one?" Asked Odd, pointing at a box of tea and a tin of cocoa that were on the counter.

"I'll take the hot chocolate," she replied.

"You got it!" The short blond poured a mug-full of boiling water and started stirring in the chocolaty powder. A moment later he handed the drink and a small plate with a croissant on it to Aelita.

"Thank you." She sat down and dunked her croissant in the hot chocolate and took a bite. The delicious pastry brought a warm grin to her face.

"Aelita, can I ask you something?" Aelita nodded and looked at him expectantly. "You're... really not nervous?" He asked.

"Not really," she answered. "Why do you ask."

"I just remember the morning before my wedding, I was so nervous that couldn't even button my waistcoat properly!"

"Jeremy told me about that." Aelita replied with a giggle.

"Hmm," replied Odd with a shrug. "Maybe being nervous is just guy thing then."

"I don't think so, Sissi was pretty nervous too."

"Yeah, that's true."

"Your sisters did a pretty good job of distracting her though!" Odd snorted.

"Yeah, Sissi told me all about that!"

"All about what?" Asked Sissi, who had just walked into the room from the bedroom, having changed out of her pajamas.

"How obnoxious my sisters were on our wedding day." The tall woman scowled darkly before turning to Aelita.

"I said it then, and I'll say it again now: just be glad that Jeremy's an only child!" Odd and Aelita laughed.

"Ok, I'll have to take your word for it," Aelita turned back to Odd. "Maybe I'll be a little nervous when we get to the church, but right now I'm just happy that I get to be with my Jeremy."

"Did you hear that?" Asked Odd in a teasing voice, just before putting his arm around his wife to pull her close. "Her Jeremy, how sweet!"

"Don't tease too badly," replied Sissi with mock patronization, tilting his face up toward hers by the chin. "After all you're my Odd-Darling." The short blond grinned widely.

"You know it..." he pulled her in for a kiss which she readily accepted.

Ahem

Aelita cleared her throat before they could get too carried away, as the couple was known to do from time to time

"Sorry," they said in unison, though their matching smirks made it obvious they clearly weren't.

Jeremy took the last sip of the hot tea that Yumi had made for him. It was supposed to be made from a calming blend of spices, but they seemed to have little effect as he couldn't stop fidgeting!

"Relax Einstein! You're gonna be fine," encouraged Ulrich.

"I know. I've just been waiting for this for a long time."

"We get it," assured Yumi, "Our courtship was almost as long as yours, remember?"

"And rockier too," added Ulrich.

"But it still worked out in the end." Yumi finished, grinning down at her husband.

"Yeah, but I'm still nervous."

"Don't worry, it'll pass," encouraged Ulrich.

"I'm sure it will, but that doesn't help me now!"

"No, it doesn't, but it won't be much longer," reassured Yumi.

A few hours later, Jeremy, Yumi, and Ulrich were pulling into the church. Yumi left to meet up with the rest of the girls while Ulrich and Jeremy headed to the room set aside for the groomsmen. Shortly after, Odd arrived, and the trio changed into their tuxedos. Ulrich and Odd had black slacks and jackets, white shirts, and pink textured vests with matching bow ties and pocket squares. Jeremy was dressed similarly, but his vest was silver, though it had the same patterned texture as his groomsmen. Shortly after the trio had finished changing there was a knock at the door. Odd headed over, opening it to reveal Jeremy's dad and Aelita's grandfather.

"Hello, Mr. Belpois, Mr. Hopper, come on in," the short blond greeted with uncommon politeness. Jeremy's dad entered the room and grinned at their son.

"Don't you look dapper. Aelita is a lucky woman," Michael Belpois complimented as he shook his sons hand. "It might be a little early, but I think it's safe to say 'congratulations.'"

"Thanks Dad," replied Jeremy. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly to help his nerves. "Not much longer now."

"Nope, you've almost joined the club!" Exclaimed Ulrich.

"So, where's mom?" Jeremy asked his father.

"She went to talk to Aelita for a little bit, but she should be here soon."

"Ok then." The young genius turned to Neville. The elderly gentleman looked at Jeremy for a few seconds before transferring his cane to his left hand and slowly extending his right. Jeremy glanced down at the weathered appendage in slight reverence for a moment before taking it with his own grip. When he looked back up at his almost grandfather-in-law, there was a warm glow in his old, tired eyes.

"I'll take good care of her." The corners of the old man's lips turned up into a smile and he nodded slowly, conveying very clearly that he trusted the young man to do just that.

"Oh, don't you look lovely," gushed Eloise Belpois at Aelita when she walked into the bridal room with Beatrix Hopper following closely.

"Thanks Mrs. Belpois," replied Aelita, turning to her not-quite mother-in-law. She was dressed in pure white. The bodice of her strapless gown was beaded with lace, and the bottom of the dress flowed freely with minimal train. On her head was a beaded headband from which a translucent veil draped behind her to her waist.

"Hello Mrs. Belpois," greeted Yumi.

"Hello Yumi. You and Sissi look very nice as well," Jeremy's mother complimented the two bridesmaids in their shimmering blue dresses.

As Jeremy's mother exchanged pleasantries with Aelita's bridesmaids Beatrix and her granddaughter looked at each other with matching smiles. After a few moments the two hugged tightly.

"I'm so glad that you're here," whispered Aelita.

"For so long I though I'd never see you again, but here you are. It warms my heart to be able to see you get married," replied Beatrix. The two separated and Eloise walked up.

"Can I talk to you for just a moment?" She asked. Taking the hint, Beatrix headed over to make small talk with Yumi and Sissi leaving Aelita alone with the woman that had been her only mother figure for years.

"Are you nervous at all?" She asked and Aelita though for a second.

"A little bit, more than I was this morning. I'm still very happy though."

Eloise grinned widely. "That's good. It seems like only yesterday that Jeremy first stammeringly told us about 'the girl named Aelita with the pink hair.'" Aelita giggled slightly at the thought of a flustered Jeremy. "We thought it was cute that he had a crush on someone, and were very glad that he finally seemed to be coming out of his shell. Then you came home with for the him winter holiday and Michael and I saw quickly that there was something very special between you two, even though you were so young."

"Yeah, there was," replied Aelita with a slight blush.

"And I'd say there still is. We are so glad that he found someone as sweet as you. We all love you and are very happy and proud to have you become a part of our family."

"Thanks, Mrs. Belpois." The two of them hugged warmly.

"There's something else I've been thinking about for a while. If you want, you can call me 'mom.'" Aelita felt her eyes misting up.

"Hey, No waterworks, I just finished with the makeup!" Scolded Sissi from across the room though just shook her head and turned back to Yumi and Beatrix when she was ignored. After another couple seconds the hugging women let go.

"I should probably get back to Jeremy. The photographer should be here soon and I'll need to be there for pictures."

"I'll see you after the ceremony then," replied Aelita. "Thank you for everything... Mom." Eloise smiled and left, then Beatrix walked back over to her granddaughter.

"I heard everything," she said. "And I'm so glad that you're marrying into such a good family." Aelita grinned.

"Yeah, they really are wonderful people."

Not long after family pictures, it was time for the ceremony to start. From his position at the front of the sanctuary next to the minister, Jeremy looked out at the crowd. His parents were beaming up at him and Beatrix was smiling warmly. He spotted his cousin Patrick, who gave him a wave. Also in attendance was Jim, who surprisingly brought their old teacher Suzanne Hertz as his plus-one. The rest of the friends and relatives looked on with an appropriate level of interest.

Music started and the doors at the back of the church opened, revealing his friends who started walking down the aisle in pairs. Just before turning away and heading to her spot, Yumi gave the Jeremy an encouraging wink, while Ulrich held his hand tight to his stomach and flashed a discreet thumb's-up. Sissi and Odd grinned widely at him before they split off.

Once everyone was in place the music stopped for a moment to change songs to Pachebel's Canon. Jeremy took a deep breath and held it. The doors opened again revealing Aelita and her grandfather. The young groom let out his held breath with a gasp as he drank in the sight of the love of his life. Their eyes locked and they both sprouted equally wide grins. After the slow walk down the aisle, Neville kissed his granddaughter on the cheek, then Aelita walked over to right in front of Jeremy. Now that she was with him again, his nerves were a bit more manageable but his hands were still trembling slightly. He reached out and took her hands in his and felt that she was shaking a little bit too. They shared a silent giggle when they both tried to give reassuring squeezes to each other at the same time. Somehow, that made all the difference and they just grinned at each other happily. With that, the minister began the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..."

"The bride and groom have elected to write their own vows." The minister said when they were nearing the end of the ceremony. He turned to Jeremy and held out Aelita's wedding ring. The young groom took it and a breath to try to calm his nerves again reciting the lines that he'd prepared.

"Aelita. It was ten years ago today that we first met. Even though I had no idea that our meeting would eventually bring us here, I knew you were special from the first time that I saw you on the screen. Since then we have been partners in so much together and it seems like we have shared just about everything that two people can share. Joy and pain, success and failure, smooth sailing, hardships, good times, bad times, and everything in between. Through it all, you've been by my side, and I've done my best to be supportive at yours too. I love you Aelita, and from this day forth I vow to continue to support you, to be ever faithful, and to keep loving you to the very best of my ability, for as long as we both live." Jeremy breathed a small sigh of relief at not freezing up or forgetting his lines. Aelita beamed at him, and a couple tears fell down her face. Her grin grew wider yet and she looked almost giddy as he slid the ring up onto her finger.

"And now the bride," instructed the minister, handing her Jeremy's ring, a simple titanium band.

"Jeremy. I'd like to first say that I don't know what my life would be like if we had never met, but I know that it would look much different than it does now. You have always treated me special and always looked out for me. I love you for so many reasons. For teaching me about France before I ended up coming to boarding school with you." Aelita subtly winked at Jeremy. "For just wanting to be with me and keep me company when I was alone for so long, for encouraging me to live my life to the fullest, and for too many other things to mention. I know I said that my life would look much different if we hadn't met, but I know that my life is so much better because we did. I love you Jeremy, and I vow to do my best to be a good wife to you, as I know that you'll be a good husband to me." She slid the ring onto Jeremy's finger and his grin matched hers.

The minister looked up toward those gathered.

"By the power invested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride!"

Jeremy and Aelita leaned forward and kissed softly for just a few seconds and room cheered. For several moments after pulling back they just looked into each other's eyes and the crowd faded away. Suddenly, they closed the distance as if they pulled by magnets and embraced tightly. The cheers melted away into a resounding 'awwwww' as tears streamed down the newlywed couple's faces.

"I love you Jeremy, so much" whispered Aelita.

"I love you too, Aelita," Jeremy whispered back.

For nearly a minute the two of them gently rocked back and forth, holding one another tightly before separating and turned to the crowd. Taking one another's hands they rushed back up the aisle and outside, giggling in elation the whole way. Once they had gotten into the backseat of the luxury sedan that they'd rented, Aelita immediately planted herself firmly in her husband's arms, and in such a way that she could easily lean up to kiss him. Her and Jeremy happily did so for much of the ride.

Upon arriving at the banquet center, they entered in procession after their groomsmen and bridesmaids, and ate. After dinner, the newlywed couple took to the dance floor. The slow music that they selected for their first dance started playing, and it didn't take long for their dancing to turn into Aelita resting her head on Jeremy's chest while they simply rocked together in a slight shuffle. Murmurs of 'awww' reverberated through the room. A few minutes later the song finished and Neville was called up. The elderly gentleman hobbled to the the dance floor where Jeremy and Aelita met him at the edge. After the two of them helped him to the middle, Jeremy took the old man's cane and he leaned on his granddaughter for support. The music started and the two of them swayed gently. Despite his difficulty in moving, Neville had a look of joy on his face the whole time. When the dance was over, the two hugged gingerly and Jeremy brought the cane back out to his grandfather-in-law. The newlyweds helped the old man back to his seat before Jeremy went back out and met his mother on the dance floor. The two of them danced to Jeremy's chosen song, with Eloise crying happily the whole time.

Afterwards, the dance floor was opened up to everyone. The newlywed couple, however, went into the crowd and spent a good amount of time talking to friends and family. The two of them were enjoying catching up with Patrick for a bit before their attention was pulled away by Jim and Ms. Hertz.

"Congratulations, you two," commented Ms. Hertz.

"I always had a feeling that you two were gonna make it," added Jim. "You know, I almost got married once," he reminisced.

"Really?" Asked Aelita.

"Yep, but I'd rather not talk about it!"

"And I'd rather not hear about it!" Snapped Ms. Hertz before turning back to the newlyweds. "Good luck and best wishes for you." She took Jim by the arm and pulled him to the dance floor while Jeremy and Aelita chuckled.

"Now there's a bit of an odd couple," commented Jeremy, making Aelita laugh harder. He waved to the DJ to get his attention and gave him some kind of signal. Aelita looked at her husband quizzically. "Just watch."

Everyone, I'd like to welcome to the dance floor: Paco, KING OF DISCO!

As if on cue (which is probably was), Odd, Yumi, Sissi, and Ulrich started making a clearing on the floor for Jim who just stood dumbfounded as some old music from the 70's started playing over the loudspeaker. After a few seconds of confusion, he broke into a silly grin. The crowd cheered as he started breaking out the moves from his old movie.

"You planned this!" Aelita accused her husband

"Of course," replied Jeremy proudly. "Just look at him though, he's having the time of his life!"

"That's certainly true." The couple watched the older man eating up the attention for a minute before going back to their rounds.

Once they had finished thanking everyone for coming, Jeremy and Aelita made their way to the dance floor themselves. For the rest of the evening, they enjoyed dancing with each other, as well as with their friends. Eventually though, it was time for the reception to end. Most of the guests had already left, but the young couple said their goodbyes to those that remained. The last of which were their friends, Jeremy's parents, and Aelita's grandparents. Congratulations, hugs, and handshakes were exchanged between the friends and they parted ways.

"We are so happy for you," exclaimed Eloise, wrapping her son and daughter-in-law in a tearful big hug. When she let go, Michael shook his son's hand.

"Congratulations," he said to his son before turning to Aelita and giving her a hug, just like his wife had. Beatrix was next and hugged both Jeremy and Aelita in turn.

"May you have many happy years together. Hold tightly to each other, and always be grateful for one another," urged the elderly woman.

"We will," assured Aelita. Neville walked up and shook Jeremy's hand, beaming at his son-in-law with that familiar warmth. He let go and hugged his granddaughter closely. A minute later they separated.

"Have fun on your honeymoon," encouraged Michael. The parents and grandparents left the couple.

"Well." Jeremy and Aelita turned around at the sound of Yumi's voice and saw their friends still there. "It's probably about time for you two to get out of here." The newlywed couple grinned at the quartet.

"Yeah, I think you've got something to go take care of," insinuated Odd with a wink, earning him a light swat from his wife, though it did nothing to get rid of his smirk.

"Seriously though, have fun and enjoy your time together," encouraged Sissi. The friends shared one last round of hugs, then Jeremy and Aelita left.

A little while later, they found themselves walking into the honeymoon suite at the nearby hotel that would be home for the next couple nights. They dropped their luggage in a corner for the time being and just gazed at each other for a minute. Jeremy started blushing furiously, but still started to close the distance to kiss his new wife. Aelita grinned at his boldness and confidence, something that took a very long time to develop, but she held up her hands and stopped him. He took a step back and looked at her in confusion.

"Umm Jeremy, I want to take a shower before anything else. I'm really sweaty and feel kinda gross."

"Of course, Aelita," Jeremy said understandingly. The young woman looked down for a moment, her cheeks flushed.

"Would you..." her gaze slid shyly back up toward her husband. "Would you like to join me?" She asked. Though they'd had their 'teasers,' this was on a completely different level. Jeremy's own cheeks reddened but he grinned widely.

"Yes, Aelita," he replied. "I'd like that a lot."

The two of them made their way to the bathroom, stealing blushing glances at each other on the way as they both looked forward to the rest of their first night as a married couple.

A/N: YAAAAYYYY! Congratulations to our favorite geeks in love! I'd actually been worried about writing this chapter for a very long time. Considering the subject matter, I wanted to make it really special. I hope I succeeded, and I hope you liked it.