Basilio POV:
Laying around the house was quickly becoming boring. He was in waiting mode ever since the Jesonsa pack sent a message saying that they would have a team of people coming this week to get his measurements and a few other things. It was well passed morning and his energy was slowly draining out and the anticipation he had this morning was dwindling.
Currently, however, he's lounging on his bed, going through Instagram reels. A notification pops at the top of his screen that someone requested to follow.
Confused, he clicks on the notification and then clicks on the profile. The picture was of a very pretty Asian girl in a baby pink dress in what seemed like a park. Her hair was long with layered bangs in the front, her ears pierced and adorned with flower earrings. She's cute, he admits, but is curious as to why she wants to follow him.
Thinking little of it, he accepts her follow request, then follows her back. Less than a minute passes and she messages.
Jia_Bean: hiii, sorry if this is random but is this Basilio?
Big_B87: yeah, what's up?
Jia_Bean: okay perfect, you're marrying my cousin apparently, so i wanted to say hi and get to know you since he tells me literally nothing
Big_B87: ???? you're Achilles' cousin? that's surprising
Jia_Bean: how?
Big_B87: you just seem way more normal compared to him
Jia_Bean: 😭😭😭you aint wrong about that. he's really weird when you get to know him. he has a stash of popcorn flavored jelly beans in his car at all times like he's a freak
Big_B87: 💀you're lyyyinggg
Jia_Bean: im beign serious. it's genuinely gut wrenching. but anyways i just wanted to see what kind of person you are and stuff. also send a selfie so i know who to save if this wedding goes to shit
Big_B87: *sent an image*
Jia_Bean: HOLY SHIT YOU'RE HOT??? You got a sister? 🫣🫣
Big_B87: thank you? also yes I do have a sister but like good luck with that, she is very good at saying no
Jia_Bean: i love a challenge💪💪 anywas it was nice meeting you-ish. good luck with him and can i give him your number? ya'll def need a better plan then marry then divorce later cause our family is genuinely crazy and if you leave, they will find out so yeah just, gimmie that and i'll leave you alone😊
Big_B87: i feel like im being threatened but okay *sends phone number* happy?
Jia_Bean: more than you could even imagine 😈 tootles
He closes out of Instagram. That's enough internet for today. Getting up from his bed, he stretches and walks down and over to the kitchen. It's around 12 in the afternoon and his stomach was almost sentient with hunger. Pulling out last nights leftovers, he places them in the microwave and waits around.
"Hey honey, how're you doing?" his mom asks as she comes over to the kitchen.
"I'm doing pretty alright. Bored mostly. Did they every say when they were coming? I've been waiting all day and yesterday and the day before that and I'm getting antsy. I can't just stay in waiting mode all week for them to show up. It's stressing me out more than I already am."
His mom comes and rubs his back in slow, soothing circles. "Hey, it's okay hun. I just messaged Achilles' mother and she says the design team just finished with him so they should be here either today or tomorrow to take measurements and get everything ready. That sound good?"
"Sounds perfect. After I eat this, I think I'm going to nap or something for a little bit. I haven't been sleeping well and its starting to catch up to me."
"Okay dear, just take it easy, okay? This is a big adjustment period for you so don't rush too much into it."
"Okay mama, I won't. Promise."
"Good." And with that she gave him one last rub on the arm and left to go do other things around the house.
The microwave beeped and Basilio retrieves a plate and puts all the food out on it, taking a seat at the island and digging into his meal. For once he didn't have to fight for his food as his siblings were over at their friends' house and thus unable to disturb his peace. He was grateful to not have to see them. All last week they asked him so many questions about everything that he could feel himself getting overwhelmed and scared all over again.
His parents understood and took pity on him, making sure to keep his siblings as occupied as possible so as to not keep prying him for answers.
But now, with the house down to mostly two people during the day, it was a bit lonely. Looking down at his plate, there wasn't much food left so he decided to just give the rest to the dogs as a treat.
Scrapping the food into their bowls, the two pitties came rushing into the kitchen, stumpy tails wagging behind them.
"Hi babies, this is all for you."
The dogs bark in appreciation and begin to stuff their faces into their respective food bowls. Basilio smiles down at them, giving each a pat to the head, and retreats to his room.
The full force of exhaustion begins to hit him as he flops onto his bed. He didn't like sleeping in his bed before bathing but today he would make an exception for himself.
He strips out of his jeans and t-shift, gets on top of his bed and under his many throw blankets, moving his stuffed animals and throw pillows to the wall as to not fling them out of the bed while he slept on accident.
Settling in, Basilio buries his head under the covers and closes his eyes, wiggling around to get as comfortable as he can, trying his best to keep the tingling of his anxiety at bay. Reaching into his bedside table, he rummaged around and pulls out his headphones and puts them on, trying to drown out the sound of his thoughts and the feelings of his beating heart. Slowly but surely, the music in his ears begins to gently lull him to sleep, keeping his thoughts and worries at bay for at least a few hours.
*Time Skip*
"Wake up." a voice says softly, as she jostles Basilio awake.
"They're here, wake up."
Basilio blinks away the sleep as he turns over, "Who's here?"
"The Jeonsa pack wedding planners. There here for your measurements."
He nods and moves, putting both feet on the ground. Wiping away the rest of the sleep on his face, he re-dresses and runs his fingers through his hair a few times before following his mother downstairs to their living room.
There he sees two of the Jeonsa pack attendants holding a clipboard and a box looking up at them expectantly.
They nod in acknowledgement as they make eye contact with each other.
"Hello and welcome to our pack", Basilio says clearly, trying his recently sleep-laden throat. "I apologize for the wait, and I hope your travel here was comfortable. Please have a seat, and I will cooperate with you both as much as possible."
The two attendants share a look and nod back at Basilio before taking a seat on the sofa.
He continues to make his way into the living room, taking the armchair to the left of the couch.
The attendant with the clipboard stands, "Please stand here", he says pointing to the center of the room, "and please tell me any sort of color or décor options you may prefer for the ceremony."
"Oh, um okay", he says, moving quickly, "I think dark or cool colors would be good since it's a winter ceremony, and maybe a few floral arrangements? Do you think having twin wolves present would be possible? It's somewhat of a custom in our pack to show a deep and unique connection between a bond of mates." Basilio rambles off. He could feel his nerves starting to get the best of him as he stood stiffly, letting the other attendant take his measurements.
"That all sounds doable. Now, which of these six do you prefer? You may choose two out of the six. Also, the twin wolves may be a tall order, do you perhaps think your pack could provide that?" he said, peering up from his notetaking, eyes peeking over the edges of his glasses.
"I don't believe that will be a problem, no. We can certainly take care of that."
"Perfect. Now hold still and tell me which are better."
Basilio straightens up and peers at the samples. The six colors fit in perfectly with the ideas he had in mind; cuts of browns and greens and whites, which made him smile slightly, knowing that Achilles still remembers his favorite colors. It's a bittersweet feeling but made him feel less apprehensive about the process. The colors of ash brown, phthalo green, dark pine green, walnut brown, bone white, and ivory.
The colors were gorgeous and Basilio could barely tell which ones he likes best as they all fit him well, but he knows he has a choice to make.
"Dark pine green and ivory."
"Excellent choices. And I think we're done here. I'll let the master know your desires for décor and see you at the wedding. Congratulations."
"Thank you", Basilio says nodding.
The two attendants nodded back then exchanged a few words which then caused the attendant with the clipboard to write down a few things before they both headed to the door.
His parents see them out as Basilio takes a seat back on the couch, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
"That was both so quick yet so long." he says, dragging his hands down his face, "I don't want to have to do anything else before the wedding."
"I know son, trust me. When me and your mother got married, I felt the same way. The planning is always the worst part but trust me, the results are always worth it, plus so was your mother." His father says walking up and sitting next to him on the couch.
"But trust me, it'll be worth it, and from what I can tell, they're loaded so the ceremony will at least be memorable, even if things don't go the way you plan."
Basilio snorted.
"Thanks dad, that made me feel 10 times better."
"What? I mean it's not like I'm wrong. You've seen their home. I wouldn't be surprised if they have an ice sculpture."
"It's Texas, I highly doubt the weather would allow for one even if we wanted one."
His dad turns to face his, "True but it wouldn't hurt to see how far you could take the ridiculous requests. I mean just imagine a massive ice swan dripping all over the floor making guests slip and slide. I would pay money to see Achilles' dad face plant from slipping."
Now Basilio outright laughs, "You and me both. He would've had it coming."
"Hmm, yeah."
The two settle into a comfortable silence as the weight of the situation washes right back over Basilio.
"Two weeks huh?"
"Two weeks son. You ready?"
"I have to be."
"You don't have to be ready. You just have to be prepared. And no one can truly prepare themselves for marriage, you just have to prepare your heart to be ready to love, whatever that type of love may be. I know this isn't ideal, but I want you to know that I understand if things don't work out in the end. I'll still be proud of you."
"Thank you, dad. I really really appreciate that and honestly, I needed to hear that. I don't every wanna let you or the pack or our family down."
His dad smiles, "You could never let us down mijo, never. And to try and make things easier and less awkward for everyone involved, I got you two one of the houses on the property. It's not super close to anyone, down near the creek towards the bluebonnet meadow. It's not super big so I figured it would be better since it's just the two of you and it gives you space from others. You know how nosey some people can be. And don't worry about the wolves, me and mom will make sure we have that for you. It's your wedding too, so we will do what we can to make it special for you too. You deserve to enjoy this as much as you can given the circumstances. And we will do everything to make that happen. We love you."
Basilio's eyes were welling with tears as his father's words soaked into him.
"I love you too dad, so so much. You and mom do so much to make me feel special and seen and I appreciate it. I appreciate everything you two do for me. And thank you for trying to make me feel like I have a choice in all of this. I know I made this choice, but it still feels so surreal at times and I feel so trapped, but I don't regret choosing this either, but at times I wish it were easier to accept that this will be my new life soon. I'm worried."
Estaban put his hands over his son's and brought Basilio's forehead to his, "There is nothing wrong with being worried. You are about to go through a big life change and that can be terrifying. But you're not alone. I accept that you chose this for yourself. You're a man and I know you can handle it in the end but know that me and your mother, sisters and brothers are all behind you. I don't want you to feel pressured to do this. If you ever feel like it's too much, we can go to the Jeonsa pack today and change our arrangements. Say the word and I swear we will. Never forget that you have us on your side. We will never abandon you no matter what. I love you."
Basilio takes a shuddery breath, "I love you too dad. I love you and my family and the pack. I don't regret this, it's not too much I promise. But just don't go anywhere. I still need my dad."
"And I still need my son. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."
Estaban grabs Basilio into a hug and strokes the back of his son's head, having pulled his face into the crook of his neck. It had been ages since he had been able to cradle his son like this. He knew that Basilio was a man and sometimes the don't want to be treated like a child, but he could feel that his son needed this, needed that affection, that warmth. And Estaban would always be here to give him what he needed.