Her new clothes were so beautiful. The wedding outfit Brook's mother had made for Sage hadn't fallen short in a single detail. Each stitch in the blue fabric had been laid with care, the shift indulged with extra thread-wasting embellishments. She felt somewhat outside herself to have something so luxurious on her body. So used to standing out from shabbiness, she found she wasn't completely comfortable with the opposite reality.
Brooks' eyes glowed when he saw her dressed that way though, she'd caught a glimpse of them when she managed to raise her own eyes from his feet for a moment. Her own feet had sandals on them, of all things. She'd laughed when he gave them to her, how ridiculous to spend money - or time - covering one's feet in the summer! She'd only put them on today because of the occasion.
A small table had been set up in the street in front of their new doorstep, the completed house rising invitingly behind it. The garden was nothing but bare dirt as of yet, but everything else from the floorboards to the finishings was ready for its occupants. One final touch remained; the space above the door had been built with an indent like a shallow cupboard, the same size as the wooden mould full of wet clay that sat waiting for them on the table.
It was drying already, Sage could see the edges losing the gleam of moisture by the second. Anxiety over it drowned out all the nice things Brooks' father was currently saying about them.
Brooks took her hand, making her jump. She sidled a fraction closer to him so their entwined fingers tucked into a fold of her skirt. The crowd of people gathered around them to watch the ceremony made it feel impossible to look at him, even though she could feel his eyes on her face. In her mind's eye she could see the exact expression he would be wearing, it was a look she'd been able to return without flinching a few times, when they were alone. It made her heart swell almost to gasping when she really thought about it. Brooks would probably be indignant to know how much less love from him she still would have been happy with, how special she felt just to have a person outside her family think of her. He seemed to want her to accept every kind of generosity from him with a calmness bordering on nonchalance and entitlement that she hadn't yet been able to muster. All she'd managed over the summer was to mask her shock at all his purchases for their home together.
Finally, the speeches were over. The Chief took his position across the table from them, clearly delighted to be finally presiding over this ritual for his own son. Brooks let go of her hand and reached for his seal where it hung around her neck. He guided it up over her head, gently tugging it free from her loose hair. Sage forgot everything for a moment when he touched her, the lapse letting her raise her eyes to his face.
He smiled at her and tipped his head so she could retrieve her seal as well. Given something to do, her moment of courage lasted. She had the freedom to notice the colour of his skin and hair in the sunshine, even dared to let her fingertips brush against his neck more than was strictly necessary. Then they both turned to hand the seals to his father and she felt the eyes on her again.
The Chief pressed the seals side by side at the top of the clay, leaving most of the space in the mould empty. Then Brooks took her hand again, it was part of the ceremony this time. They stepped closer together and both reached their free hands out above the clay.
"These seals and markings, to be displayed above the doorway of this household, are a sign to all of the bond between these two," the Chief announced. "Strangers, friends, family alike will witness from this day forward that they are joined. In life, home, work, and rest they will continue together."
As he finished, he reached out as well and pressed their hands down into the clay. It was a harder pressure than Sage had expected. She squeezed Brooks' hand in reaction, letting out a breath of relief when it was over. His clay covered fingers reached for hers as the onlookers began their loud congratulations, and he pulled her closer for a kiss.
There was no further celebration after weddings. Family members left food they'd brought inside the house, hugged them goodbye, and went on about their days as usual. Sage and Brooks were left alone within twenty minutes with the rest of the afternoon ahead of them.
The rest of a fortnight, actually. They would be expected to stay more or less at home for the next two weeks.
Sage looked around in the increasing silence. Light came in through their one window onto their neatly swept floors. Simple prepared meals were laid out on the table, the hearth would sit clean and empty until they needed it for cooking. Her eyes moved over the room and finally settled on her husband.
"There's no work to do," she said helplessly. She'd even left her spinning behind.
Brooks laughed at her.
"You should have let me teach you how to rest before this. How are you going to get through the next two weeks?"
"Two weeks!" Sage moaned and sat down right on the floor. "I don't know why I didn't think of this."
He plopped himself down in front of her.
"I'm sure we'll find something to do."
"Can we plant the garden?"
"There's nothing that will grow this late in the season. We'll need to wait for spring, we did talk about this already."
"We could make plans though, let's go out there and do that now."
She started to scramble up but he caught her around the waist and pulled her back down, onto his lap this time.
"Absolutely not. We can't go outside right now with all of our nosey neighbours making excuses to walk by every five minutes. Can you please just take a second to breathe?"
"I need something for my hands to do! I can't talk to you with nothing to look at."
"Look at me!"
"I can't!"
He knocked his forehead gently against the side of her head, in her struggles to stand she'd ended up sitting sideways in his arms.
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because... You're too handsome?" she tried, letting her tone sound a little put upon.
"I have some work for you." he whispered it into her ear. "Take in a deep breath."
He waited for her to comply.
"Let it out. Now, look at me."
It was so much harder to turn her head towards him when the moment called for it than when it didn't. This felt like the time they'd been here before, when the house had been just a pit. With that memory she realised that it actually was easier to meet his gaze now than it had been then.
"The year went by so quickly." she said softly.
"Is that how you see it?"
His smile made her falter.
"A year should be enough time to get prepared for something, but I still feel so strange."
"I don't think marriage is the kind of thing people can get used to before they start. I still kind of feel like I'll have to walk home later."
She smiled a little, getting comfortable now that the first effort was over. For a few more moments she stayed as she was, studying his face.
"We still need to find something to pass the time until evening." she said eventually.
"Sage, are you playing dumb with me or did your parents forget to teach you something about marriage?" he demanded, a smile beginning on his face.
"I just said until evening! The sun will still be up for hours!" a hot flush on her face made her turn away and cover her face with one hand.
He only chuckled in response, and then pressed his lips against the part of her neck he could reach. She was feeling the same kind of panic she'd had the first time he'd taken her hand at the beach, like her heart was dramatically changing shape in her chest instead of just beating.
"It's just, I don't know -" it was hard to think of words with him smiling into her hair. "It's still so light out."
"There's no windows back there, you know." He tilted his head towards what they'd set up as the bedroom. "If we close the door we could pretend it's nighttime."
"...Oh." She genuinely hadn't considered that.
"It's probably a good idea to go look around at least, don't you think? Just to make sure everything's how you left it yesterday." he teased.
"Why aren't you nervous too?" she demanded. "I'm always the scared one."
"My Dad says to face fears head on. Don't let things wait that you can get done now." His hand rested just above her knee. "It's good advice, don't you agree?"
Sage hesitated, then laughed. Brooks really had never been one to procrastinate.
"I think I do." she said.
***
That's the end! :'(
Sorry no spice for you.
lol I hope you liked it though if you've made it this far! Please let me know what you think.
-Laura