𝘏𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 ~ 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘴

~ 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙁𝙤𝙪𝙧: 𝘿𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙇𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝘽𝙖𝙘𝙠 ~

"Why is it so important for you to be a Sparrow?" Sloane questioned. But rather than answer her, Ben turned on his heel and walked out. "Because I have nothing else," He muttered quietly.

~~~~~~~~~

As the wedding drew closer, Astrid got herself ready, with Lila helping her with her hair. "Listen, I'm not one for putting my hair in fancy styles, but I'll do my best for you," Lila said as she took a few strands of Astrid's locks and inserted a few bobby pins into the colossal amounts of hair. Astrid applied a few dabs of pink blush to her cheeks and added another soft layer of eyeshadow and mascara. "And... done!" Lila stood back and looked at her work, very proud of it. "What do you think?" She asked, handing a circular mirror to the bride. "I-I love it!" Astrid gasped when she saw the beautiful details of the simple but elegant braid. Lila even threw in a silver flower clip to hold it all together.

"You better like it, 'cause I ain't dealing with that nightmare again," Lila chuckled. "But seriously, I'm glad you like it," As the two women left the bathroom, they nearly bumped into Luther, who had changed into the black tuxedo Astrid helped him pick out. It was rather snug around the shoulders, and the ruffle of the undershirt tickled his stubble, but there weren't many options for men who had the torso of an ape, so it was better than nothing. "Wow, you look amazing, Trid," Luther's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. 

Astrid smiled and thanked him as they stepped out of the bathroom and into the hallway. "Is it almost time yet?" Astrid asked, feeling her legs begin to shake with anticipation at seeing her lovely wife-to-be. Luther looked up at the clock resting on the wall, only ten minutes before the walk down the aisle. "Shall we get going?" Luther asked, offering an arm to Astrid. With a nod and a tiny smile, Astrid wrapped her arm around Luther's, and they walked together into the elevator, Lila trailing right behind. And as the elevator came to a stop a few times, more and more of the Hargreeves siblings joined them.

Finally, the elevator slid open, revealing the large banquet hall. Each table was covered in white cloths, the dishes and cutlery already out, waiting to be used. The disco ball was rotating and shining bright, and the DJ Booth was already playing soft classical music on a vinyl record player. As they all stepped out of the elevator, the Hargreeves gasped in amazement. "Not sure this place is gonna be big enough," Klaus commented. "This place better have an open bar," Allison murmured, scooting past Viktor and Astrid without bothering to say, "Excuse me," 

"Ignore her, she's just jealous," Luther whispered. "I heard that, and I'm not!' Allison snapped. "Come on, it's for Trid and Slo. Let's perk up," Lila piped up before the glowing chandeliers and the few strobe lights turned on, lighting the banquet hall like a beacon. "Is my dress too wrinkled? Because I feel like the skirt wasn't as bunched when I tried it on," Astrid whispered to Luther. "Don't worry, you look like a princess," Luther assured. "Ah, I see you've gone for the oversized button-down. Original," Allison said with a sour look towards Viktor. Number Seven could only roll his eyes and reply with the same sourness. "You do realize that there's no paparazzi here, right?"

"What? Dang it!" As Astrid was about to break it up, Luther offered to handle it while Astrid waited for Sloane. "Listen to me, you two. This is Astrid's day, alright? So if you two can get along for a couple of hours, you can consider that her wedding gift," Luther warned. "Well, he started it, so-" "But you literally just started it!" Viktor insisted. "SHUSH!" The Apeman hissed, silencing them both again. "Astrid's day," He reminded. "Two hours. Do you think you can manage that?" Luther asked.