A/N - hello and welcome back. it's been a while! robbiepoo and I have both been insanely busy, what with LIFE and all. Victories and disappointments all around ,too. but you're not here for that. You're here to see what's UP with that second gen group of X-Men, Avengers, and X-Vengers. So, without further ado, let's start this off with some *gag* fluff. You are cordially invited to the intergalactic nuptials of a junior junior x-brat and the offspring of our favorite Accusor. Who'da thunk!
Chapter 1 - Empress of Hala
At the end of the summer, the X-Men were all invited out to Hala, this time for a celebration as E'tann and Melody officially tied the knot.
There was plenty of pomp and circumstance to be had all around. After all, this was the crown prince of Hala, and the ceremony was set to be not just a wedding but a coronation, now that Sinta was getting older. Obviously, Sinta would still be doing a lot of advising, but the whole idea was a celebration of a new age.
The entire group of X-Men had been invited, so a great mixture of Kree and Terrans had gathered at the palace. Even some of the Guardians of the Galaxy were there, since Melody's twin sister was on the team, and Celeste wasn't going to miss the ceremony for the world.
Noh was particularly pleased with the whole thing, because this was a lot more like the Hala he had known when he was younger. Since the Shi'ar had left, Hala had only been getting better, and the sharp, clean decorations and lavish celebrations felt a lot more like the proud people that he knew.
"Our little girl is going to be queen of Hala," he whispered to Jubilee as the group of X-Men mingled ahead of the wedding, taking in the sights of the alien decorations and the gardens where the reception would be held. "How wonderful is this?"
"I'm a little afraid that you're going to die of happiness on me, and then I'll have to find someone new. And I am not really in the mood to start looking for a replacement stud-muffin," Jubilee said with a smile on her face, not really looking his way.
Noh chuckled at that and ducked his head to steal a kiss. "Can you blame me?"
"I can. I absolutely can," she said, nodding her head, and then made a point of watching a much younger Kree guard walk past just to rile him.
"Jubilee, really," Noh said, shaking his head at her.
"Can you blame me?" she shot back with a laugh.
"Yes!" he said, throwing one hand up. "Besides, I'm much more handsome than he."
She shrugged up one shoulder. "I suppose."
"Must you do this to me on our daughter's wedding and coronation day?"
Jubilee started to laugh and simply threw her arms around his neck and kissed the sense out of him, ignoring any of the more accepted rules concerning such matters. "If you're going to be sensitive about it," she giggled.
Noh was grinning broadly by that time as he wrapped her up a little tighter. "Yes. Yes, I am," he said. "Especially if it gets such a response from my beautiful love."
She grinned up at him again. "Then do both of us a favor and be excited that she's happy. To hell with all the rest of it."
"I am," he promised. "I'm so pleased to see her smiling and happy on her wedding day. I'm simply also proud. Can't I be both?"
"As long as it's pride for her and not for your hometown, Space Dust."
Noh broke into a grin as he leaned in. "I'd say it's pride that our daughter has a title to match the worth we've always known she had. Haven't I always said you were worthy of all the stars? Our daughters are the same."
"No," she said before she stole another kiss and then rested her forehead on his. "They're worth so much more."
Noh nodded slowly against her forehead. "Yes," he said slowly. "There is no title in any universe that can match how much they are worth."
She rested the palm of her hand on his neck. "Now you get it."
He smiled at her and kissed her gently. "Of course," he said. "But I would also like to share a dance with you."
"Just one?" she asked, arching her eyebrow high.
"At the very least," he said. "But of course, I'd also like to steal our daughter away, and you must properly threaten the future king of Hala so he knows the score."
She smiled up at him and fluttered her eyelashes. "What makes you think I haven't already?"
He shook his head at her. "It bears repeating. She is our little girl."
Jubilee nodded and tapped her temple. "Yes. But I'm getting some creative help, too. And when it strikes me? I share."
Noh just laughed at that before he scooped her up off the ground. "Come on, Jubilee. I think I'd like to walk with you through the gardens until the wedding. And bask in your glow."
With that, the two of them headed off together, with Noh carrying her through the gardens as they talked and kissed and the rest of the group started to gather for the big wedding itself. Ariel was proudly showing some of the kids around, since she had been up to Hala before and thought it was the best, though Lily was turning her nose up at a lot of the food that there was to offer. After all, it was nothing like Annie's super sweet baking; this was more of a spicy kind of blend. The colors were beautiful, but the food was either hot or it was bland, and there wasn't anything sweet or in-between.
"My mama likes this one the best," Ariel said, showing Lily a bright blue little fruit that was incredibly spicy. "Don't eat it, though. It'll make you cry. It's really hot."
"I don't like hot," Lily said, scrunching up her nose. "Unless it's hot Cheetos. I like those."
"I like those too," Chelsea said with a grin as she rushed over to join her best friend.
"I don't like them," Ariel said, making a face. "They get all over my fur and I'm orange-y!"
"You gotta eat 'em with chopsticks," Lily told her. "It keeps the dust off."
"That's silly," Ariel giggled.
"But it's good practice for usin' chopsticks! My Wolvie said so."
"I do like chopsticks," Ariel said, looking around the table to see if there were any there — though, of course, there weren't. "There's no cake," she said, scrunching up her nose.
Lily let her whole body roll with the sound of disbelief. "I knooooow. I thought Noh said they were … civi … civil… good."
"They got lots of pretty flowers," Chelsea said diplomatically.
"Yeah, but they don't got no cookies," Lily said, her arms crossed as her hair barely kept out of her face.
"My grandpa keeps candy on the Marvel for my grandma," Ariel said. "We can steal some!"
"Oooh, yes, let's go raid the granny candy," Lily giggled.
"Race you!" Chelsea declared, rushing off at a run with the other two hot on her tail as they headed to grab some sweets to snack on ahead of the wedding.
The girls were sure to share some of their sweets with the other kids — if they were nice, like John was. And that meant that the youngest of the group were all set to go once the ceremony itself began.
It wasn't like any of the other weddings that had taken place in the group, simply because it was a full Kree ceremony, which Sinta officiated. The two soon-to-be newlyweds still looked absolutely stunning in full regalia, with stars in the designs of their clothes and set in the bands that rested on their foreheads. But it was a different kind of ceremony, with E'tann and Melody kneeling at the front of the garden as they pledged themselves to each other and to the Empire before they stood and shared a kiss.
Sinta replaced the bands around their heads with more elaborate crowns, then took a step back, presenting them as Emperor E'tann and Empress Melody — to the roar of approval from the crowd. After spending all that time on Hala, Melody had really won over the hearts of the Kree.
But obviously, that wasn't her focus. Instead, she couldn't stop beaming at E'tann, her hand in his. Can't we just skip all the official stuff and run off together? She projected to E'tann, who laughed and squeezed her hand in return.
I'm afraid not, he replied. I did warn you that there would be a lot of diplomats here along with all of the duties associated with … all of this.
She let out a sigh as she slid her arm through his. Well, it's a good thing I can tell you what I'm really thinking while I'm shaking hands and smiling and waving, she teased.
E'tann couldn't help but smile at that. I love listening to your commentary, Melody, he assured her. It makes it a easier to get through all of the empty pleasantries.
She laughed, squeezing his arm as the two of them moved off to receive the many, many officials that all needed a chance to greet the new emperor and empress.
It was a long line, but of course, Melody's family was sure to brave it so that they could say hello. Celeste was first in line and made sure to wrap up her sister as tightly as she could, beaming at her delightedly.
"I'm so glad you're so happy," she gushed, giving her sister one more squeeze.
"And look at you!" Melody shot back, taking a slight step back to look at Melody in her Guardian regalia: the 'official' kind of look that matched what Jayce was wearing. "You're totally running things, aren't you?"
"Oh, absolutely," Celeste said. "But we let Jayce think he's in charge."
"Fragile boys," Melody teased.
"Exactly," Celeste nodded.
And as soon as Celeste stepped aside, Ael was sure to give his big sister a hug as well, grinning at her. "So, this makes me a prince, right?" he asked, getting a laugh out of both of the newlyweds.
"Sure, Ael," Melody laughed.
"Oh, good," Ael said. "Because that's gonna be really helpful in the ocean."
Melody laughed and shoved him in the shoulder. "You're ridiculous."
"Hey, I've got to keep you on your toes," Ael said, then gave her a more serious hug. "Congratulations, Melody."
Sying hugged Melody with his whole family — and Phillip seemed to warm right up to his new uncle, if the little snuggle he gave E'tann was any indication. But it was Noh positively crying as he pulled Melody tight to his chest that really stole the show for the Lee-Varr family, since he simply wasn't even trying to stop the flood of emotion. No words were said between the two of them — at least not out loud — though Melody was sure to project to her dad just how much she loved him and to promise several dozen times that they would keep visiting each other.
So, Melody was still a little emotional when her grandparents showed up, and she positively launched herself into Logan's arms as soon as he got there, clearly in need of a solid snuggle.
"You causin' trouble yet?" Logan asked when he caught her and gave her a squeeze.
"Oh, loads," she promised into the hug, smiling to herself as she tightened her arms around him. "Everyone loves me more than him."
"This is entirely true," E'tann said with a smirk.
"So, how long before you tell 'em how it's gonna be?" Logan had to tease. "Or did I miss that part?"
She giggled and shook her head. "I'll leave that to E'tann. I've actually been working with Sinta on some things … he liked my ideas about schools here for orphans…"
"You tellin' me you traveled across the galaxy and married … this one … to be a school teacher?"
Melody giggled. "I guess so," she admitted. "I just… wanted to do something to make this world a better place!"
"Seems like the long way around, but … as long as you're happy," Logan said before he pulled her into a tight hug. "Congratulations, punkin'."
"Thanks, Grampa Wolvie," she said, burying her face in his shoulder. It's kind of overwhelming, but in a good way, you know? she projected to him.
Logan took a moment to concentrate, since it was a little harder to let down his defenses when he was that tense. That'll pass.
Melody broke into a little laugh, shocked that Logan had let her in, before she doubled down on the hug. Love you, Grandpa.
Love you too, kiddo.
The group of X-Men moved beyond the receiving line to the reception, leaving the newlyweds to deal with all of the diplomats, officials, and royals that all wanted to be a part of the day. There was still plenty of food and plenty of time to socialize, and of course, with Melody officially occupied, the group was sure to give their congratulations to the bride's family, especially Noh and Jubilee.
"She's dying of boredom," Celeste giggled as she leaned her head on Jayce's shoulder, listening to her sister's commentary — which she was sharing not only with E'tann but with Celeste.
"She's the one who married a politician," Jayce pointed out.
Celeste had to laugh at that. "Yeah. Poor thing."
"You, on the other hand, have much better taste," he teased.
"Oh yeah?" she said, picking up her head to grin at him.
"Yeah. Guardian trumps prince any day."
"Well, he's an emperor now…" Celeste pointed out, pretending to think about it with an impish sort of smile.
"Well, my dad's a lord if you want royalty…"
She laughed at that and kissed his cheek. "I really don't care about all that. I'd take Ghost Punk over Kree Emperor any day."
"Good. Then I'm okay to keep kissing you?" he teased.
She bit her lip and closed one eye as she considered him. "Yes, I think so."
When the line for official greetings was finally through — and even E'tann was losing his well-honed patience — the day came to a close with one last official bruhaha. The two of them came to the front of the gardens once more, hand in hand, before E'tann turned to address the gathered group.
"We're humbled by your support," he said, squeezing Melody's hand a bit tighter. "And we pledge ourselves, as one, to better the Empire." He let go of Melody's hand to give a salute, and the guards lined the path for the two of them to proceed to the palace itself, to bows and curtsies down the line as they passed.
With that, the ceremony was through, and the crowd started to disperse. The youngest of the group of X-Men were the first to rush back to the transportation waiting for them, running to the various ships with the promise of Earth foods waiting for them spurring them on.
But before they left, Noh made it a point to speak to Sinta, clasping his arms with a warm smile. "Please take care of her," he said. "My daughters are precious."
Sinta nodded. "I will always treat her like my own," he promised. "She has been wonderful for my son, and we all love her, truly."
"I'm glad to hear it," Noh said, nodding once before he stepped back and inclined his head in a bow. "Good luck. I know your son will do well."
"He has a good partner to keep him on the right track," Sinta said with a smile before the two of them parted ways, and Noh couldn't help but rush to Jubilee to sweep her up and kiss her; he was just in too good of a mood not to share it.