Disclaimer: I don't own Charmed.
BTW, Kate is played by (in my head) Lily Collins, Nico is portrayed by Diego Luna, but picture whomever you want. The handfasting ceremony is a genuine Wiccan ceremony.
Read, enjoy and review!
Published 15-3-2024
Chapter Two
The Handfasting
They didn't want to wait, so decided to get married in the nightclub the next day, without doing anything fancy. Even before regaining their memories, they weren't that type of people.
So Nico, after adding Kate to the WhatsApp group chat used by the former rebels (named, of course, the Resistance) told everyone to get to the Resistance (the nightclub) the next day so he and Kate could finally get married, informing Sandra that she would be performing the ceremony (Kate had burst out laughing when she discovered that the former Last Elder had a phone solely to contact the rebels and that she used it daily.
"Everyone has a phone these days!" She had cackled in amusement, grateful for the distraction from the memories that were crowding her mind. Considering Sandra was from the eleven hundreds and couldn't tell a probe from a drone in their previous timeline, it was pretty funny.
The rebels had begun showing up via orbing, shimmering and any other type of magical transport, thanks to the teleporters who were on 'collection duty' and took over Davos's club, preparing for the wedding. They all knew Kate and Nico well, and began decorating the club according to the couple's tastes under (former Colonel in the Resistance Army) Eleanor O'Neill's direction with the same brisk efficiency that she'd run Safehouse Alpha. They'd been fully expecting this to happen, and had prepared by buying the necessary supplies. It wouldn't be the major event that would be expected by the people of this timeline when it came to the wedding of Excalibur's Heir, but it would be what the couple wanted.
As Kate was descended on by her grinning rebel friends with makeup and an outfit, a part of her felt a jab of guilt as her phone buzzed for the millionth time. She'd put the Halliwells on mute, with the wards on the club keeping her from being summoned until she could put a spell on herself (she'd been too busy 'reuniting' with Nico and preparing for her wedding to do so yet).
She knew it was Wyatt trying to contact her. She could sense his shock and devastation leaking threw the thick mental shielding she'd put up, and knew he had been told everything. A part of her wanted him to be there, along with the rest of her family.
But she couldn't bring Wyatt here. For one thing, a part of her felt panicked at the mere thought of being around him, even knowing he was too good to hurt a fly (literally, he caught and released them, and scolded her and the cousins when they swatted them) in this timeline. Given she had an equal number of memories of him being good to combat those of him being evil, and she was still afraid, she knew she couldn't put a damper on the day by bringing him here and risking everyone freaking out.
So, her family wouldn't be present, not even Grandpa, who would definitely try and persuade her to get her family. It made a part of her ache, and, with practiced ease, she drew on the anger she felt to cover it. Then she shoved it all to the back of her mind and surrendered with a light-hearted laugh to her friends' administrations.
Nico stared in awe at the vision that made her way down the makeshift aisle, her face glowing with happiness in a way that he'd never seen before, in either timeline. There was always something disturbing her peace, either some attack that needed to be prepared for in the first timeline or another argument with her family about him in this one.
Now, though...she seemed at peace. He knew it wasn't perfect. She was definitely hurting over the new break with her family, and the whole club was full of people traumatized by the Dark Timeline (as a cheeky teenage witch, Stacey Pike, had labelled it). But it was the happiest he'd ever been.
His parents smiled softly in the front row. His mother, while she hadn't been enthusiastic about him being in love with the Halliwell Princess, had accepted it. She'd accepted all of his choices in this timeline and worked hard to ensure he didn't join the assassins of the Clan (not all Phoenixes were assassins, despite what the Halliwells thought), wanting to prevent him hating her the way she had seen when he travelled to '03. His father, a mortal, simply wanted him to be happy, and he'd seen how miserable Nico had been since he broke up with Kate.
Kate's long (longer than it had ever been in the Dark Timeline, but it suited her), brunette waves were done in a braided half-crown with a bouquet of forget-me-nots in her hands. She wore a simple dress (another difference from their first lives), the torso fitted with a wide skirt, but one designed for her to be able to move and fight in easily, with a slight up to the hip that taunted him with flashes of her thigh. Flat white pumps, and the smallest amount of makeup, just enough to enhance her beautiful features.
She was Nico's dream and salvation, all wrapped in one half-angel package.
She reached him and passed her bouquet to her Maid of Honour, Alison Carmichael, her best friend (other than Nico) in the Dark Timeline, and took his hands in her own, smaller ones. Nico lifted them up to kiss the tips of her fingers, keeping his eyes locked on hers.
She smirked at him, her green eyes glowing with delight and peace.
"Welcome friends, family, and loved ones," Sandra began, smiling at them warmly. "And all who come in piece to witness the union of Katharine Prudence Halliwell and Nicolas Parker Sanchéz. We are here today to celebrate with them and to share in their triumph as they proclaim their love for one another and the bond their souls have formed together."
The words the Elder said resonated in Nico's heart and soul, and he could see that same resonance in his love's expression, the smirk fading into a serious look.
"Kate and Nico have chosen to commit to one another today for the rest of their lives, but they understand that the love they commit to is dynamic and fluid, and what we celebrate is the eternal connection between their souls, no matter what physical form their love may take," Sandra continued, as she prepared the golden rope that would bind their souls together. "Having fought beside these two for years in the Dark Timeline, I've seen ample evidence of that connection shared by them. It's in the way Kate smile when she sees Nico enter the room, or when she lights up ever so slightly at the sound of his name.
It's the gleam in Nico's eye when he talks about her, or the way he always angles himself to guard her back, to protect her, even as he trusts her to guard his own.
It's the way they can relax around one another, trust each other in a way that nobody else can match.
There's no denying that these two souls are connected, having found each other in two worlds, and that is what we are gathered here to celebrate. The love that Katharine and Nicolas share between their spirits."
Her smile turned into a serious look.
"Katharine, Nicolas, let there be no mistake," Sandra warned them gravely. "While the tradition of handfasting recognizes and accepts love as dynamic in nature, it is not to be entered lightly, for it is a sacred vow.
The vows you make today signify that your souls are bound eternally, regardless of your bodies. You make these vows today with the understanding that you are committing to be a partner to one another, and to honour the connection your souls now share. These vows are sacred, witnessed by these people and the Goddess Herself, and cannot be easily broken.
Knowing this, is it your intent to enter into this commitment with one another?"
"It is," Kate and Nico chorused together, not even batting an eyelid. They wanted this, wanted to bind their souls together, so they would forever be bound to one another in this life and the next.
"Then let us begin," Sandra said, her smile returning.
She asked them if they would share in each other's pain, sharing it and easing their lover through it. She asked if they would share in each other's joys, and always seek the best in the other. She asked if they would share in each other's hardships and toils, and grow together. She asked if they would share each other's dreams, and help them fulfil them. She asked if they would work together to strengthen and temper the bond they shared. And finally she asked if they would honour and respect each other, treating the other as an equal.
Kate and Nico agreed unhesitatingly to each vow, feeling magic bind them together tighter with each loop of the golden rope around their entwined hands. Their ring hands were left free for the next part of the ceremony.
"Now that the binding ceremony is complete, it's time to seal your bond with the exchange of rings," Sandra stated. Nico's best man, Davos, stepped forward and handed her the two rings, grinning cheekily at the couple, who were too absorbed in each other to notice his expression. Both rings were heirlooms from Lynn and Nico's part of the Phoenix clan, but they were nothing fancy. Two matching bands of gold, with forever and always carved on the female and male bands respectively, and there was a small emerald to symbolize success in love on the lady's half of the pair. "The ring has a special significance within Wiccan, Pagan, and Celtic culture because it is a symbol of unbrokenness," Sandra told them, though of course they already knew. "It is also a symbol of completion - as the two of you are now complete.
"Katharine, please repeat after me," Sandra ordered, turning first to the General-turned-Queen. "Nicolas Parker Sanchéz, I promise on this day to share your pain, your joy, your burdens, and your dreams, and to help you navigate the maze of life together as our love grows with us."
Kate repeated the words softly, but firmly. Nico could feel her determination to fulfil the vows radiating from her. If he'd had any doubts that the memories of this life might be a threat to their newly repaired relationship, this settled it. The Halliwells wouldn't take her away from him.
Next it was Nico's turn, and he poured his love and devotion into his vows. "Katharine Patricia Halliwell, I promise on this day to share your pain, your joy, your burdens, and your dreams, and to help you navigate the maze of life together as our love grows with us," he said. Kate beamed at him, and he thought she'd never looked so beautiful.
She really was an angel. He didn't know what he'd done to deserve her, but it was a blessing he wasn't about to refuse. He was a selfish man at heart, selfish enough to once sacrifice the world for the woman he loved, and he would grab on to her and hold her close as she could come.
To think that only two days ago, he'd thought he would never see her again.
"Katharine and Nicolas, having proclaimed the bond of your souls in the sight of these witnesses, and based upon the strength of that bond, and by the power vested in me by the Goddess of the Earth and Magic, I now pronounce you married." Her kind smile turned mischievous as she added. "Please seal your bond with a kiss!"
Nico didn't usually follow orders from anyone except Kate (his General, his Queen), but this was one command he had no problems with following. He grabbed Kate by the waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him down to her level. Their lips connected, and for a moment Nico's world stopped moving. All that mattered was this moment, the feeling of her body heat warming his hands, the taste of her lips (which never changed, no matter what timeline they were in) against his own, the sound of her breathing through her nose.
Then Davos interrupted. He let out a loud cheer. "Finally!" He shouted. "Only took two lifetimes and a combined seven years of dating!"
The audience laughed as the couple broke apart, Kate snatching her athame from where she'd had it strapped to her thigh (the one on the side of the slit in the skirt) and waved it at the half-demon threateningly.
"Just you wait, Davos, just you wait!" She warned him, her harsh tone offset by her wide grin. "I'll get you back for that one!"
"Well, you can do that after we PARTY!" Davos exclaimed.
"Woo!" The audience called. "Party!"
Kate laughed and nodded. "Alright, you lazy assholes," she said affectionately. "Let's party!"
As the chairs were shoved to the side, Nico grabbed Kate and kissed her again, quicker this time. She still panted from the intensity of it, though.
"What was that for?"
"For coming back," he answered softly.
Guilt flashed across her face. "I promise you, Babe," she whispered. "I will never put you second to my family again. I know who's always really been there for me when the chips fall now."
"Come on," Nico ordered, changing the subject again so it didn't put a damper on their happiness. "Let's dance."
Nobody knew how to party like a bunch of rebels who knew what it was to have to live everyday expecting it to be their last, and any thoughts of the Halliwells disappeared in the thrill of celebrating his marriage to the love of his life with the people who knew them and what they'd gone through together and for each other better than anybody else.