Never Knew I Needed

Without You in It

"Ray!" Tyler called, looking for her everywhere at the Mardi Gras, ready to confess his feelings for her. He only found Ray. "Have you seen Y/n?"

"Look at you. Did she tell you yet?" he asked, trying to keep it cool.

"What are you talkin' about?"

Ray shook his head and looked away from him, saying firmly, "Well, if chérie didn' say nothin', I ain't goin' to say nothin' because ol' Ray's as tight as a drum. You ain't gettin' nothin' outta me, no!"

Tyler tapped his foot impatiently, the suspense more getting to him. "Ray..."

He broke easily, explaining at record speed, "Okay, chérie not gonna marry Charles because she love you! Soon as she get herself kissed an' y'all both turn human, she's gonna find a job and get you dat reasturant..." He looked at him guilty. "I said too much, didn' I?"

Tyler's face had brightened. He pulled Ray into a hug, reassuring him, "You said just enough!" He glanced at the sky with the same excited smile. "Thank you, Evangeline."

They ran through the parade as loud jazz music blared. "She was tryin' to confess! That's what all that fumblin' was about! And here I thought all she wanted was to marry a rich boy and only cared about Naveen's happiness!"

"Whoo! What are we lookin' fo' again?"

"You just keep your eyes out for the biggest, gaudiest float with a Mardi Gras prince about to kiss himself a..." He stopped when he found the float. Charlie was on it...

...along with a human Y/n.

"...frog."

"Dearly beloved," the pastor said, atop the float. "We are gathered here tonight in this fine celebration to join together this young man and the princess in holy matrimony."

Y/n clung onto Charlie's arm, looking up at him with love and snuggled up to him, a strange necklace around her neck. Tyler watched on, his eyes filling, in silence.

"Oh, no...dis can' be right, cher. And how you can still be a frog? Mama Odie, she..." Ray noticed that he was gone. Flying around, he found Tyler sitting by himself, holding back tears. He flew a little closer, trying to find the right words. "I know...what we seen wi' our eyes. But if we just go back dat way...we gonna find out your fairytale come true."

"Just because you wish for somethin', doesn't make it true..." he said bitterly, voice cracking.

"It's like my Evangeline always say to me -" he tried again, but Tyler raised his voice in anguish.

"Evangeline is a star, Ray! A big ball of hot air, a million miles from here!" He felt a little bad about what he had said, so he finished with, "Open your eyes...before you get hurt..."

Now Ray was the one to tear up, partly because of what Tyler had said about his star-girlfriend, but mostly because he knew how bad Tyler was hurting. "He just speaking out of a broken heart," he reminded himself. "Das all it is." Blinking away the tears, he turned away and looked up at the sky. "Come on, Evangeline. We gon'a show cher de truth!"

-

"If any of you objects to the union of these two people, speak now or forever hold your peace."

"Me! Me!" frog Y/n screamed, banging on the talisman that was on the necklace. "I object!"

She and Naveen felt it get whacked, sending them crashing into each other.

"Would you please just shut up?!" Naveen yelled at her, stressed out as all heck. "It is not like there is anything we can do!"