Part 39

In the small studio, Linda sat with Rosita and Eddie. "Good morning everyone and do we have some Hot News for you today. I'm with Mr. Eddie Moon-Suarez and Mrs. Rosita Suarez from the New Moon Theater to discuss their show Out of this World. Thank you both."

Rosita smiled. "Good morning, Linda. Thank you for having us." She nudged Eddie who was staring at the cameras in fear.

He nodded. "Yeah, yeah, thanks for having us." She patted his hand in comfort.

"So, with surprise proposals, serenades and just the amazing music and Clay Calloway, last night's performance was nothing short of spectacular!" Linda said.

They spent the next hour talking about the show. It started easy, talking about the numbers. "Now I would love to get Johnny and Ryan in here at some point to discuss it in depth but were either of you expecting Ryan to propose?"

Eddie and Rosita both laughed goodnaturedly. "We had reason to believe a proposal was imminent but we didn't know what he had planned." Rosita explained. "I'll tell Johnny that you'd like an interview. Now as for Alphonso's surprise, that was planned, with everyone but Meena herself."

Linda smiled. "That was equally surprising. I will certainly want to interview them too, if I can." A strange flashing made her look to the stage exit. Suki stood there in the shadows, holding her hand in a way that the lights from the stage hit the little diamond. "I'm sorry for asking, Mr. Moon… are you, in fact, related to Mr. Buster Moon?"

Eddie thought about the question. "He was my best friend. If we had been braver, we would have been much more. To honor him, the love we had for each other, I recently took his name posthumously, and the Suarez is because Rosita and Norman have been more like my parents then my donors were."

Linda nodded. "My deepest condolences for your loss. And for all of you."

Rosita held Eddie's hand. "Mr. Moon was a very dear friend to all of us. We all lost someone very special that night. Some of us lost a child of sorts, some of us lost a father, a brother. We adored him."

The mare nodded. "Well I want to publicly apologize for my role in the tragedy. I forgot that, as a journalist, part of my job includes knowing when not to share a story."

The sow shook her head. "We forgive you but please, we've spent the last six months trying to climb out of that pit. We did the show for him, because we knew that's what he would want. And we… look forward… to playing every night this week."

Linda pasted a smile back on her face. "Well, we are out of time. Thank you everybody for joining us for Hot News." She followed her guests off stage, bidding them farewell before turning to Suki. "Tell me everything!"

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Down in the wedding chapel, Johnny and Ryan sat with the planner. The planner went through a catalogue of options for flowers and the cake.

Ryan was very quiet. He felt bad for not telling Klaus, for not even giving him the chance to be there. The monkey had taken the place of his father after the bastard kicked him out. But he didn't want him trying to talk him out of it.

"Ryan?" Johnny asked, taking his hand. "Are you alright? You still want this, right?"

Ryan kissed his hand. "Of course I want this. I was just thinking about… never mind. Forget it. Which one of these cakes do you like best?"

The gorilla sighed. "It's not too late if you want to try and get him here. I understand."

Green eyes met with his and Ryan looked away. "I'm sorry. It just feels like I'm not being fair to him. He practically finished raising me. He might not approve but that's fine. He might not want to come. But…"

Johnny nodded. "Go call him and tell him to get his ass on the next bus." He chuckled.

Ryan kissed him. "Thank you. I won't let him stop us. No matter what." He ran off to make the call.

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Klaus slapped the wall in time with the music, counting the steps. He almost didn't hear his phone ring. "Keep practicing!" He ordered as he went into his office. "Well, Ryan, I wasn't sure if I was going to hear from you. Since you didn't even bother to tell me what you were planning!"

"How could I?" Ryan asked. "When you've been trying to sabotage us since you found out."

"Ryan, I was only trying to protect you," Klaus protested. "Don't you get it, happily ever after isn't for men like us! It always ends badly!"

"I don't agree but I'm calling to give you a chance. We're getting married tomorrow. At noon in the chapel," the Tiger explained. "I want you there but not unless you can be civil to my fiancé and accept that I love him and it's my life."

Klaus took a deep breath. He would have liked to be there. "Ryan, I'm sorry. I can't watch you throw your life away on something that's doomed to fail. I won't stop you but I can't be there." He hung up before Ryan could try and convince him.

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Ryan looked at his phone in dismay. It felt like his father kicking him out all over again. Why couldn't Klaus believe that Johnny loved him? Why couldn't he accept Johnny?

He went back to the chapel and sat down. He sighed, remembering this was supposed to be the happiest time of his life. "So… wedding cakes…" He forced himself to smile but Johnny wasn't stupid.

"At least you made the offer," Johnny pointed out. "I love you, no matter what." He hugged his husband-to-be.

Ryan nodded. "I just thought… that he'd at least want to be here for my big day." He stood up. "I'm going for a walk… Can you pick out the rest? I trust your judgment."

Johnny shut the book. "I don't want to pick out anything without you. I'll come too."

The planner opened the book back. "Actually we need these decisions so we're ready in time."

Ryan petted his hair. "Go ahead, I just need some air."

Johnny watched him and quickly began making the needed selections. He wasn't really paying attention. Finally, he was able to shut the book. "Thank you…" He took off after Ryan as fast as he could go.

Ryan walked outside to the plaza. He wasn't really paying attention to where he was going. He was just meandering about, needing time to think about his father figure. He didn't notice he was starting to cross the street and he didn't see the lights coming at him.

"Ryan, look out!" Johnny's voice got his attention right before a pair of hands shoved him hard to the other side of the street. Rubber screeched against pavement and he heard the sound of metal meeting flesh.

He rolled over off the ground and looked to the crosswalk. The car was speeding away and Johnny lay, sprawled on the ground. "Johnny!"

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Suki sat with Linda in her apartment, drinking coffee and letting the horse examine the ring. "Oh that is beautiful. So much better than those big, flashy rings that are all the rage."

Suki smiled. "I know. The more I got to thinking about it, the more I realized that I just needed to do it. I just needed to say yes. I want to be his wife."

Linda squealed gleefully. "And what sort of wedding are you thinking?"

"Well, Ryan and Johnny already booked the chapel's last opening for tomorrow but we were able to get in on Tuesday," she said. "We…" She jumped when her phone went off. She opened up the message. "Oh my gosh!" She jumped out of her chair. "I gotta go, Linda. Johnny's been hit by a car."

AN: Its short I know but for some reason my boss has moved me to day shift and it's messed up my rhythm. Please review and comment.