Journey

Chapter 8

Early August 2015

Jennie quietly hovers at the threshold to their narrow, and frankly overcrowded, bedroom. There is a plate on her right hand paired with a fork on her dominant left and she scrapes along the porcelain for what seem like the remnants of what used to be scrambled eggs. Once she considers the plate sufficiently clean she skewers stray bits of bright red, sticky squares and 'hmmms' when she savors the morsel that lands on her tongue.

The twenty two year old scrutinizes the space they have grown to call theirs and reflects on how

this is the new reality of her life. Jennie's eyes land on the half built crib in the corner and her lips curl up when she reminisces on the journey it has taken over the last few weeks. Lisa was steadfast in her refusal to buy a crib online because she insisted furniture was known to be damaged or just outright destroyed during shipping and she would not put their baby on a crib that was less than faultlessly reliable and structurally sound. Jennie conceded and they embarked on the month long process to find a crib they both agreed on.

On a random Tuesday, while being dragged through endless baby shops after having had a particularly hard day at the gallery, Jennie decided she was done aimlessly walking around and decided to play the cards she'd been saving for an instance where she absolutely needed them. Soon after getting home Jennie "accidentally" wore a particularly revealing chemise and also just happened to walk around the apartment in it while Lisa punctiliously went over files for a case she was working. A few hours later, atop the mess of wrinkled papers that now stuck to their damp and spent bodies, Lisa happily agreed to go with the crib Jennie had fallen in love with about twenty stores ago. To Jennie's dismay, nothing was ever that simple with Lisa.

When they arrived and learned it would've been a few extra hundred dollars to have the crib delivered and assembled Lisa stoutly refused the additional cost. She swore the crib could fit in the back of Rose's truck and that between the two of them they could wrangle it to their third story walk-up. Just as Jennie suspected and warned, they couldn't. That next Saturday Rose and Lisa found themselves in the middle of the suffocating July heat, dripping sweat all over a scorching

New York sidewalk, and holding an oversized box that weighed almost as much as either of them. It took close to twenty failed attempts before they shamefully admitted it would require a skilled hand to get this up their awkwardly built stairs. Jennie figured an engineer would have solid ideas on how to solve their conundrum and, despite the fierce objection of the twosome, Jisoo and her delectably smug smirk walked up to Rose's truck about forty five minutes later. A significant amount of screaming and thousands of hurled insults later the crib made its way into Jennie and Lisa's apartment. Having made a career out of putting things together, Jisoo was confident she could build that crib in about twenty minutes but as soon as the offer left her lips Lisa declined it. Lisa assured everyone she didn't need the help. Twenty days and a half built crib later that statement was proven to be clearly false. The thing that vindicated Lisa was that she (probably) hadn't failed to put the crib together because she wasn't capable of doing it, but because she kept falling asleep while attempting to do it. Jennie had made it clear she could construct it herself but Lisa had vehemently disallowed that, so this is where they found themselves, chunks of built crib along with random pieces of it taking up what used to be the corner where Lisa's dresser stood. Jennie eyes some of the long pieces resting against the window to her left and distinctly remembers having sex on that particular sill more than once. That seemed like a distant version of them now.

Jennie wishes that was the end of her problems with the crib, but it wasn't. The crib made their room uncomfortably full which is why Jennie insisted it shouldn't have even been taking up space in there to begin with. They had cleared the studio to give the baby a perfectly good nursery but Lisa argued the baby should sleep with them. At least for the first few months. That's what she promised.

The crib wasn't where the baby's invasion of Jennie's space ended. As usual, Lisa had somehow managed to over prepare for their child's arrival. Jennie was still three months away from her due date but their bedroom had become what could pass as the subsidiary to any given baby depot. Lisa's failure to build any of the pieces of furniture they've started to amass for the nursery lead to everything, every onesie, every stuffed animal, every toy, every story book, and the dozens upon dozens of parenting books Lisa couldn't stop herself from buying, piling up in their room. As much as Jennie adores Lisa and her commitment to their child, the area's takeover lead to serious aggravation starting to bubble below the surface. If these were the last few months she had left of freedom and independence then Jennie would bask in having the ability to move around her room without being forced to push activity tables and baby gyms out of the way. The thing that irritated her the most was that the baby wouldn't even be able to use these for months on end even after it was born yet here they were, in her way, stubbing her toes in the middle of the night.

Jennie scans the room once more and tuts. She takes one final bite of her food, carefully places the plate down on the few inches of dresser that have yet to be claimed by newborn clothes, and looks down at her stomach.

"Yeah, you're right. I think we should do it."

Jennie seemingly agrees with the cauliflower sized human currently growing inside her. Jennie walks to the bed and plops on her side before sliding to Lisa and unceremoniously throwing her left arm over her sleeping girlfriend's torso.

"Lili" Jennie whispers into Lisa's ear before placing a gentle kiss just below the lobe. "Babe."

Jennie tries again. "Lisa." Nothing. "Manoban, I know you're awake." Lisa mewls and a deep groan reverberates in her throat.

"I wasn't two seconds ago." Lisa whinges and opens one eye to look at the dim clock on her nightstand. It reads 3:49 AM. Lisa's limbs flail up and down, bouncing from the mattress in a chaotic pattern, moving the way someone who has reached the breaking point of their patience would. When she has unleashed enough of her frustration, the twenty six year old sighs and sits upright on the bed. "At least tell me we don't have to get on the train. Why can't you ever crave something from down the block? Why does it always have to be on the other side of the city?"

Lisa seeks to hide the mild exasperation in her voice but miserably fails at it causing Jennie to chuckle.

"Are you done?"

Lisa's legs dangle off the side of the mattress and her feet blindly scour the floor in search for her slippers. She's well aware opening her eyes would tremendously help in her venture but she keeps them tightly shut as she tries to squeeze as much darkness as she can out of the night.

"Babe."

Jennie calls out again and Lisa pivots her head and the top half of her torso in response. She begrudgingly cracks her right eye open to look at the disheveled Jennie splayed on the bed with her hand tenderly placed atop her overgrown stomach.

"Jennie, I can't have tacos eight nights in a row. Please don't make me have tacos eight nights in a row. I'm over tacos."

Jennie's lips curve upward at the endearing display.

"I just made myself eggs, I'm not hungry."

"Did you put cherries in them? Do I need to explain how gross that is again?"

Jennie reaches out for Lisa's arm and pulls her body, forcing Lisa to lay down again.

"Seriously, are you done?"

Lisa huffs and whines once more, even more visibly this time, because there are only two reasons Jennie has woken her up in the middle of the night for in the past six months, one is food and the other one is sex.

"Honey, I love you, you know I do. You know I think you're the hottest, sexiest, prettiest, most stunning woman on the planet and that yes I'm still definitely attracted to you while you're pregnant so I promise you it's nothing or anything to do with you but..." The way Lisa preemptively squashed any and every possible stray thought Jennie might have had means that these are all things that have been points of discussion before. "...I'm so tired and so not in the mood right now. I can't do sex tonight, not tonight. Please don't make me tonight. Please just let me sleep."

"Okay, I'm offended..." Jennie ripostes jokingly. "...but I already took care of that before the eggs." A mischievous smile creeps on Jennie's face and Lisa huffs once again.

"If you don't need me for food or orgasms then why the hell am I up at three in the morning?"

"Because I want you to marry me."

Lisa scrunches her face in confusion and hums a 'huh?'.

"Marry me."

"Jennie... look at your finger. You got the ring already. Can I please sleep now?"

"Marry me."

"Yeah. Sure. Tomorrow. When the sun comes up. It's sleep time now."

"You're so grouchy when you have to wake up early."

"I don't have to be up! I shouldn't be up! And this isn't early, this is the middle of the night. You've fricking woken me up every single night for the past two weeks. I keep falling asleep at my desk and, I'm not going to lie, I've considered moving out more than once." Jennie chuckles and leans down to kiss her fiance.

"Marry me."

"Jennie... we already did this last year. Birthday, naked, ring, you said yes. It's a thing. Can I go to sleep now?"

Jennie stops to examine Lisa's vexed expression and leans down to kiss her again.

"Marry me."

"What is happening?"

"We said later then we said after the baby but I don't want to wait so just... marry me."

"Jennie..."

"Tomorrow, this weekend, next week, whenever. Let's just pick a date this month and get married."

"Unghhh..."

Lisa gives in to the inevitable because she knows this is a conversation they're really about to have at 3:52 in the morning and perhaps if she manages to wrap this up quickly she can still salvage her night. Lisa turns on her side to fully face her fiancé and instinctively joins Jennie in resting her hand on Jennie's six month pregnant belly.

"You deserve a princess wedding. We can't plan that in two days or a week."

"Fuck the princess wedding. That's great in theory but just... marry me. Let's elope or something. I don't care. Let me make you my wife already."

Jennie beams but that isn't enough to stop Lisa from rolling her eyes.

"We can't elope."

"Says who?"

"Everyone. People would kill us. Rose would call dibs on having the first go at it."

"They'd get over it."

"This is the hormones talking and we both know it. Can we sleep on it and talk about it tomorrow?"

"Are you trying to say I only want to marry you because I'm hormonal?"

Lisa instantly realizes she might have just gifted Jennie with a bomb that could very well detonate in her face if she doesn't choose her next words carefully.

"No. No, I'm just saying that we should think about this and sit down to figure it out when it's not sleep o'clock."

"So sleep is more important than our wedding?"

Lisa inhales deeply and quickly plans her next move. She's well aware this situation is one misplaced word away from devolving into her being confined to the couch for a few days... then again being sent to the living room might mean actually sleeping and she's not sure that sounds like a terrible idea.

"No. I..."

"Remember that first night, after you found out about the baby? What did you freak out about?"

"You being pregnant?"

"No. You were having very Southern concerns about having a baby before we were married. You insisted we should get married right away."

"Yeah and then you talked me out of those concerns."

"Changed my mind." Jennie grins, her cunning ways clearly showing. "Marry me. Pretend it's the forties and you have to make an honest woman out of me."

Jennie manages to finally elicit a good snicker out of Lisa.

"You're out of your mind."

"Probably."

"If it were the forties we couldn't get married."

"I said pretend. Why are you being difficult? That's my thing. Marry me."

"I'm not being difficult, I... you deserve the best wedding in the world. Every time we talk about the wedding you have these crazy, and expensive plans which is why we decided to wait. I want to give you what you want but we need to put money aside for that and then actually plan it. We can't do that in a week."

"Lili... fuck those plans. We could get married at the Starbucks on 4th, I don't care. I want you to be my wife now. I don't give a fuck how." Lisa runs her hand over her forehead then rubs her finger over her bloodshot, sagging eyes. "Who would pass up on a trashy shotgun wedding? Come on!"

"You really have a way of selling this..." Lisa appraises Jennie's intense, penetrating stare and thoroughly runs through possible scenarios before breaking the silence. "This month, but we don't elope. Your mom and my sister would actually never forgive us if they weren't there. Small, only the necessary people, but a real wedding and with the condition that we leave open the possibility of me giving you the wedding we've talked about in a few years."

Jennie's face lights afire and she closes the distance between them, bringing her forehead to gently press against Lisa's. Jennie leans in and tenderly kisses the lips she has grown to know as intimately as her own. The kiss was slow and comforting and full of gratitude Jennie wouldn't need to express beyond this gesture. Once she's been sated by Lisa's lips, Jennie pulls away and begins to pepper the entirety of Lisa's face with kisses. Lisa's rambunctious laughter catches Jennie off guard but it only serves to egg her on.

"My wife." Jennie bites her bottom lip as her eyes fly in every direction doing their best to take all of Lisa's face in at this moment. "You wife Jennie Manoban." Jennie kisses Lisa again. "I love the sound of that."

Lisa snakes her arms around Jennie's ever growing torso and with a measured tug eliminates the sliver of distance that remained between them up until that point.

"I guess it sounds okay. Maybe."

"You're going to be my wife."

"Apparently I am."

Jennie raises her head to look down at her stomach.

"Did you hear that? Your mom said yes." Jennie moves her gaze back up to Lisa and finds her face overtaken by a warm smile. "We discussed it while we were making eggs. Baby agreed it was a great idea. Did a back flip in there and everything."

Lisa sits up in bed and scoots down to be at the belly's level.

"Are you a bad influence on your mommy or is she one on you?" The baby hastily responds to the sound of Lisa's voice and delivers a firm kick from within Jennie. "That's what I thought. Wait 'til you hear the crazy things she's convinced me to do too." Jennie gasps in fake horror.

"Like what?!"

"Date the stranger who almost burned my place down..." Jennie immediately begins countering Lisa's points.

"That turned out alright."

"...jumping off a platform 900 feet in the air..."

"Did you die?"

"...having sex in my office..."

"Okay, you agree to that way too often to actually think it's a bad idea."

"You don't give me much of a choice."

"Oh please! You're a very willing participant."

"Sure."

"Is that it? Is that your whole list?"

"Agreeing to a wedding at four in the morning."

"Eh... could be worse."

"It could be."

"That's it? Your entire list is four things?"

"You know that's not it but I don't want to be here for the next three months listing the horrible things you've talked me into. Baby would be born and I'd still be going."

"Wow... anybody ever tell you you're rude?"

"Can I sleep now?"

"Not even planning on giving me engagement sex?"

"Jennie, you did get engagement sex. For like nine hours. Technically you've been getting engagement sex since."

"We're REALLY engaged now. I feel like that deserves a celebration."

"I thought you took care of it?"

"'It' could use a little more attention."

"You're not going to let me sleep again are you?"

"You're the only person I've met who complains about sex, you know that right?"

"I don't complain."

"You're complaining right now."

"If I fall asleep on you you can't even blame me."

"If you fall asleep there's something wrong with the sex and we should both be embarrassed."

"... or... I'm just sleep deprived."

"Glass half full Lili, it's practice for when the baby gets here. Babies like to be up at all hours."

"More reason for you to let me sleep now!"

"Are you really not going to take your clothes off for me?"

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me until I'm old and senile and can play hacky sack with my boobs."

"You give a girl a lot to look forward to."

"You'll love every wrinkle."

"I will."

"Wife."

"Wife."

"I'm going to call you that every chance I get after the wedding. All day long. Wife" Jennie marks the word with a kiss. "Wife." Kiss. "Wife."

"I'm okay with that."

---

Jennie and Lisa sit at the center of Rose's couch with their entwined hands resting on Lisa's bouncing thigh. Lisa incessantly fiddles with Jennie's thumb while her leg ricochets off the ground over and over and over again. It's been two days since they decided to get married and they're slowly attempting to get things off their "To Do" checklist which is why they're here tonight.

Jennie and Lisa had showed up at Rose's house unannounced about three minutes ago, essentially inviting themselves over for dinner. The moment they told Rose they had something they needed to discuss with her all Rose had to do was take a gander at Lisa's tense demeanor for her to deduce it was important. The older woman harrumphed and told them she needed a drink before dealing with whatever they were about to drop on her.

In the distance, Rose can be heard rustling through the fridge then closing it. When her footsteps grow more distinctive as she nears the living room Lisa's shoulders become rigid. Rose enters the room with a beer in each hand. She casually taps one on Lisa's shoulder as she walks past her on her way to the chair across from the couch.

"I'm good. Thanks."

"Take the fucking beer. You look like you ate bad shrimp." Lisa begrudgingly grabs the bottle but rather than drinking it, she places it on the coffee table untouched. "You're such a loser." Rose chaffs her sister while she sits. "Okay, spill it before this one throws up on my couch. She only gets this wound up when she's overthinking something."

"This is her calm, trust me. She's been a pain in my ass for the past couple of days."

Rose's eyes dart back and forth between her sister and her girlfriend when a stray thought abruptly crosses her brain.

"Oh... oh are you about to tell me you want me to take care of the thing..."

"Stop calling the baby a thing."

Lisa blurts out aggravated.

"...if you guys fucking kick the bucket or something? No. I don't do well with crying things. Why would you put either one of us through that?"

"You're not even in the top fifty on the list of people we would ever ask to do that." Lisa clarifies.

"Ok, good. Glad we agree. What is it then?"

Rose waits for one of them to answer but when it doesn't immediately come, the older woman looks at Jennie, purses her lips, and shakes her head in an attempt to exhort Jennie into speaking. "We're getting married."

"You're what now?"

"We're getting married." Jennie reiterates.

"Oh. Married. Right. I thought you said something completely different because for a second there you made it seem as if that's a secret and not something you've been talking about every fucking second of every damn day for a year. It's venues this and seasons that and color schemes this. It's boring to the point of numbness and I never want to hear about a wedding ever again in my life. Yes, that includes yours too."

"We don't talk about it all the time."

"You? You're not that bad or I would've killed you by now because that's my right as an older sister. Her? She's keeping the bride magazine business alive. They're everywhere. They're even in the bathroom now. It was the Times and the New Yorker at one point. Stuffy and total rich people crap but I could deal with them. At least I could pretend I was learning something. Now it's Premier Bride and Town & Country Weddings. You know how boring it is to take a shit while reading about 'the latest trends in wedding dress necklines and centerpiece designs'? It almost makes the turds go in reverse."

"Do you have to be gross all the time?"

"Do you have to have a stick and the entire tree it was made with up your ass all the time?"

"Am I going to have to put you in the 'Get Along' shirt?"

A few years back Jennie had seen a viral picture of siblings stuffed into a ridiculously oversized shirt and left to sit there until they solved whatever issue they had with each other. After a particularly contentious bickering session on a random December day Jennie decided to leave one for them under the tree. Ever since she got the shirt, Jennie threatened to use it all the time and was forced to break it out more than once.

They all knew the perpetual squabbling wasn't ill-intentioned, it was nothing more than clowning and typical sibling bickering... at least most of the time. As Lisa grew up, it was the dynamic they had fallen into and by now it was simply a habit to endlessly wisecrack each other. At this point none of them expected anything different.

"Okay, fine. Wedding. Yeah yeah. You're getting married. Shocker. Do you need me to gasp or something?"

"You're a dick, but no. We're getting married next Sunday." Rose scrunches her brow. "It's going to be simple."

"Last year I convinced Dante to donate the gallery for a charity event a party planner was putting together. She owed me and I'm cashing it in. She got one of her pals to give us his pop up space for a day. The terrace is right on the river facing downtown. It's just the important people, some food, some drinks. We really want to do it before the baby comes and we figured why not now?"

"Cool."

Obviously expecting a more effusive reaction from Rose had been a mistake.

"Okay, ask."

Jennie bumps Lisa's shoulder, encouraging her to take point on accomplishing the main reason they were here. Lisa sighs profoundly and turns from facing Jennie to her sister.

"I know this is an absolute mistake, one which I'm already regretting, but Jennie thinks it'll be 'great and also funny' so we wanted to see if you were interested in officiating the wedding."

"You want what?" Rose scoffs incredulous.

"We want you to marry us."

Jennie simplifies to prevent any misunderstandings.

"Okay, yeah I got that part. I just can't believe you'd ever give me permission to roast the fuck out of both of you in front of people we know." Rose lets out a belly laugh.

"See?!" Rose's response makes Lisa's head whip towards Jennie with 'I told you so' flashing on her face like a neon sign. Lisa then turns back to Rose and attempts to retract the offer. "Yeah, no. We take it back."

Jennie energetically nudges Lisa's shoulder.

"I want you to do it. We want you to. You guys love to fake argue since it's so much easier to bitch each other out than talk like adults but between the three of us it's because both of you are allergic to dealing with your feelings like normal human beings. You guys love each other in a way I'll never be able to understand because... only child and all... but despite how absolutely dysfunctional you are, you make me wish I had someone to mess around with the way you guys do. Technically, after the wedding I get my wish because you'll be my sister too which is why we want you to do it."

"Yeah, a sister marrying her sisters."

"Alright there Ivy League. I'm going to give you three whole seconds to think about what you just said."

"Wha... ohhh! Yeah, not like that." Lisa recants.

"Definitely not like that."

"I've never done a wedding. I don't think I've even been to one."

"It's easy. Vows, rings, kiss."

"No. No vows. We said no vows."

"She can talk to a court room full of people and stand in front of live television cameras but said 'I'd rather die.' when it came to sharing vows at our wedding. I'd be mad if I wasn't immune to it by now."

"I'm pretty sure there's a lot more shit than 'vows, ring, kiss'."

"No vows. Just rings and kiss. That's it."

"Li is going to take care of the boring legal stuff before. You just worry about those three."

"Two!"

"Sure. Two."

"I haven't... how would that even work?"

"It'd be a whole thing to get you properly registered as an officiant with the state but I'm great at my job and the clerks in all the right places love me so if we get you ordained then they're going to fast track the paperwork and can have it done in time for the wedding."

"Hang on, you want to make me a priest?"

"Minister. Reverend... technically. It doesn't matter. You can do it online in two minutes. It's all a sham that gives you permission to legally marry us and..."

Lisa tries to break it down as simply as she can to her sister but Rose's hearty cackling interrupts her.

"I'm Father Rose to you now."

"Never calling you that."

"Daddy Rose."

Rose continues to laugh while taking a sip of her beer.

"You haven't even done it yet. Also, that's disgusting. Don't need to know what weird stuff you're into."

"I've had to see your fucking traumatizing level of massive plastic dicks too many times because apparently neither of you knows what a drawer is. That shit just sits there in my brain and I can't get rid of it. If I'm scarred for life, you can deal with knowing that. Yours is worse than mine. And bigger... literally."

"It's not 'massive', it's completely within the average penile length. Shut up."

"Are you kidding me?! That thing could scare safari animals away if you swing it around fast enough."

"Okay, we're not having a dildo trashing session. Stan did nothing to either of you."

"Don't call it that."

Lisa grits through her teeth.

"Stan? It has a na... no, you know what? I don't need to know." Rose takes a prolonged gulp of her beer. "I hate both of you."

"Are you doing it or not? Next person on the list is Jisoo."

Jennie was well aware that there was nothing Rose wouldn't do to overcome Jisoo in any and all scenarios.

"No! No. I'm doing it. I'll do it."

Jennie seldomly uses the scheming side of her brain unless she's forced to. She makes it a point to save her manipulative ways only in occasions when she actually has no other choice, but when she does resort to them they never fail to get her what she wants.

"Perfect."

---

"You asked psycho bitch to run the wedding? Seriously?"

Jennie, Jisoo, Echo, and Octavia were scattered through Echo's cozy living room. Jennie sat on the couch with a plate holding an assortment of crackers and cheese balancing precariously on her stomach. Octavia sat next to Jennie, occasionally nibbling from the cheese that was served with the crackers while scrolling through shopping websites trying to find the perfect dress for the event. Echo was on the floor with one of Jennie's mildly swollen feet resting on her thighs while the other took its turn at receiving the foot rub Echo had offered to give her best friend. Jisoo was on the lounge chair across from the trio with her feet casually tucked underneath her.

"She's Lisa's sister. To be fair, if she said no we would've asked you. Apparently my two best choices were Psycho Bitch and Psycho Bitchier."

Jisoo flips Jennie off causing Octavia and Echo to laugh in response.

"How is this playing out?" Echo inquires.

"We went over the invite list last night just to make sure we weren't leaving anyone out. We agreed we wouldn't have anyone from work so it's just my mom and Kane plus everyone we hang out with. There's eighteen of us total. It's going to be super laid back."

"Okay, but what's happening? Can we help?" Octavia presses further.

"I think I have it covered. I think. I talked the manager from The Peasant into catering for us, got one of the wine companies we've hosted at the gallery before to donate three dozen bottles of wine, we'll buy some hard liquor because I know this one..." Jennie motions her head in Jisoo's direction. "...would kill me if we don't have vodka for her..."

"If you're going to make me go to a wedding, you at least have to promise to get me drunk. That's the bare minimum I expect."

Jisoo interrupts but Jennie carries on talking over her.

"...and that's pretty much it. It's only been three days so I'm sure we'll think of other things that need to happen but right now that's all I got."

"Flowers?" Echo inquires curiously.

"Oh, right. Hadn't thought of that. See? This is why I made you my Maids Of Honor. You're efficient."

"Can I reiterate how much of a cop out it is that you made all three of us Maid Of Honor? I want to know who the favorite is. You can't pull this shit Kim." Jisoo bemoans.

"You're all my favorite."

"Bullshit! You love one of us more than the others and everyone knows it's me so why are you letting them share my title?" Jisoo insists.

Jennie's soft dimples make an appearance when her lips arch upward. The other two women wryly chuckle.

"I don't think you're anyone's favorite for anything." Octavia jabs in jest.

"I bet Lincoln would disagree."

Octavia histrionically gasps in fake horror.

"You're who he's been sneaking out to see?"

"You're damn right."

The foursome laughs until Jennie moans and arches her back.

"Ugh... that feels so good Eck."

"That got a little graphic." Jisoo points out. "Walking in on you and Niylah like twice a week for four months straight was bad enough. I don't need any more Jennie sex sounds in my brain library."

"Speaking of..." Octavia jumps in. "...how's that going?"

"It's fine. She's great."

Jennie attempts to skirt around the topic.

"If the ex who broke my heart called me up one day and asked what you did I'd tell her to go fuck herself. But she gets to see you naked and shove her fingers inside you again so maybe that's why she's doing it."

"It's not like that Jisoo."

"She was in love with you." Jisoo unnecessarily reminds her as if Jennie isn't well aware of that fact.

"I know. It's why I know she'll take care of me and the baby."

"You realize how fucked up that is right?"

"The whole labor thing is fucking horrifying. I'm scared and I need someone I trust. I get that it's probably selfish but when there's a human coming out of you I think you get a pass on that. Don't make me feel worse about it."

"Has Lisa stopped being weird about it yet?" Echo probes.

"No. Her and mom are still being fucking obnoxious about the hospital thing. It's annoying the hell out of me. I'm trying so hard to not go off on Lisa because I get how she works and why she's freaking out but also... it's my vag that's about to get destroyed. We're doing it how I want. Leave me alone. Ugh..." Jennie readjust on the couch trying to find a new comfortable spot that won't hurt her lower back . "...we keep arguing about it. I don't like it."

"She'll drop it eventually." Octavia adds. Within about a second they all laugh. "Okay, probably not."

"BeeBee never lets anything go."

After Jennie and Lisa initially started dating Jennie did what best friends tend to do over a hot meal paired with copious amounts of alcohol and shared intimate details about their sex life. The instant Jisoo learned about the power dynamics in their bedroom she christened Lisa with the nickname "Bottom Bunk". Bottom Bunk eventually became "BB" but whenever Jisoo wrote it as she did in many of the Christmas and Birthday cards that Jennie forced her to write, she spelled it as 'BeeBee'. Every time Jisoo referred to Lisa as BeeBee Jennie could feel Lisa's blood pressure spike so, after much pleading to stop bringing it up, Jisoo has resorted to only using the epithet when she's making her best effort to get under Lisa's skin or when the four of them were alone.

"One day she's going to finally lose it and beat the shit out of you and I'm not going to stop her."

"She loves it."

"She doesn't."

"I can't believe you're marrying The Grinch."

Jennie's infectious giggle causes Octavia and Echo to laugh.

"She's definitely not The Grinch."

"Goody Two Boos is seriously who you want to spend the rest of your life with? Really?"

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"Out of all the people in New York you had to pick a Wraith. That seems like bad fucking luck to me."

Jennie's shoulders shake when a deep, rumbling laugh leaves her mouth. She throws a cracker at Jisoo who ducks out of the way, leaving it to land somewhere behind her.

"What was the thing you called her when we were in school?"

"You're going to have to be more specific than that because there's too many."

Octavia jumps in causing Jennie and Echo to laugh harder. Jennie squints her eyes trying to remember. Seconds later a thought buzzes up in her mind.

"Gollum?"

"Oh, a soulless golem."

"Yeah! That."

"She is."

"The more you trash talk someone the more you care about them. It's your thing. I'd be worried if I didn't already know you have it bad for the other Manoban."

"Will you fucking drop that? She's the biggest cunt I've ever met."

"Sounds exactly like your type." Jennie shrugs.

"It's never happening."

"Okay."

"Don't say it like that. I'm never sleeping with her."

"Sure."

"I'd rather eat glass than go anywhere near that human dingleberry."

"Totally believable."

"Just the fact that you make me see her all the time because 'she's family' is bad enough. Why would you think I want to spend any more of my fucking time with her than what's absolutely necessary?"

"Uhum."

"You might not make it to your wedding Kim"

"Every time Jisoo Kim blushes hell's temperature drops a degree." Octavia chimes in and that encourages Echo to join the teasing.

"We're doing all those poor souls a favor."

"Weren't we talking about the dumb fucking wedding? Can we get back to that?"

Jisoo falls back onto the chair and crosses her arms while the other three continue to laugh at her expense.

---

Lisa stands by the window looking out at the city skyline fastidiously ruminating on what lies ahead. In a few hours she was going to become someone's wife and in less than a handful of months someone's mother. The thought of both made her insides feel like waves colliding against the rocky shore. The turbulence of conflicting emotions ebbed and waned but it was relentless nonetheless. Her mind transposed between paralyzing panic and inordinate joy. What if she was awful at being a wife? Then again, Jennie wouldn't have agreed to marry her if she was a bad partner. What if she was terrible at being a mother? She doesn't know how to, she never really had one. On the other hand, she has read every book on parenting she's come across and feels she has a good grasp on the development of a child. She's also not doing it alone, Lisa has Jennie and if there is one thing Lisa is positive of is that her girlfriend is going to make a perfect mother. What if...? What if...? What if...? Despite how diligently Lisa was at aiming to talk herself out of her own cynicism the questions seemed to never stop coming.

Everything would be so much easier if Jennie was here, but she wasn't. Jennie had convinced them to stay at one of the boutique hotels near the venue which, according to her, would simplify the day by assuring they wouldn't have to trek far once they were ready. Not sleeping in her bed wasn't what was keeping Lisa awake though. It was the fact that what had started out as a joke between Jennie and her friends actually became reality and now she found herself on the night before her wedding alone. Lisa was unsure which one of Jennie's friends had suggested it, but Jennie came home one day last week with the proposal that they sleep in separate rooms the night before and not see each other until Jennie was walking down the aisle. Jennie insisted it's what "normal" couples do. Tonight Lisa has come to hate "normal" along with whoever had devised this silly idea.

Lisa hasn't made it through a single night without Jennie in her arms since the night they first had sex. One of them might fall asleep on the couch or stormed out of the apartment after a particularly serious argument but at some point during the night they'll both end up in bed together regardless of how the evening started. Even if Lisa couldn't find sleep, at least being in bed with Jennie would assuage the tempest inside her but Jennie isn't here so Lisa paces in instead. Paradoxically, the pacing unnerves her a well. It feels awkward moving around a foreign room. Out of nowhere a distressing thought surfaces in her mind. What if she's disturbing the guests below her with her ceaseless footsteps. Lisa grimaces and tiptoes to the bed mumbling a silent apology to the floor. Unbeknownst to her, the room below was unoccupied and she was free to do as much pacing as she wanted. Not knowing that confined Lisa to the bed which made her restlessness grow in intensity.

Lisa turns to look at the clock on the nightstand every few seconds in the hopes that the next time she turns it will let her know it's morning. At least then she will have things to accomplish which might slow down the billions of thoughts currently whizzing through her mind.

Lisa turns. 4:02 am.

She faces forward and stares at the television mounted on the wall. Perhaps she should turn it on and find something to pass the time.

Lisa turns. Still 4:02.

Lisa gapes at the television once again and attempts to figure out what could possibly be on at this time that might distract her enough. Infomercials? One of those sleazy judge show reruns where people go on national television to fight over the most petty things? Some comedy show reruns? Porn? That one might help. Lisa doesn't linger on the latter for too long before she turns to the clock once more.

Still 4:02.

Lisa releases a booming, gruff grunt and buries her face in her hands. Lisa feels like she's in that position for an eternity when a knock on the door yanks her out of her frustration. Lisa turns to the clock.

4:03.

Lisa knits her brow then scowls. She tramps to the door prepared to release some of her cantankerousness on whatever drunk idiot got lost and is now knocking on the wrong door in the middle of the night without zero regard for who may or may not be sleeping inside. Lisa yanks the door open but before a single word can leave her mouth she comes across her fiance. Jennie stands there in sleep shorts, a camisole with no bra underneath, a messy bun, and a desperate need for sleep in her eyes.

"I can't fall asleep without you."

Jennie takes a step towards Lisa and mindlessly kisses her before making her way inside the room and heading straight for the bed.

Lisa stands at the door, taking in the scene in front of her. Without saying much else Jennie has crept into her bed and slid under the covers. Lisa inhales deeply, taking her first real breath in what feels like hours, because every ounce of dread she had been feeling just moments ago has now evaporated into nothing. All Jennie had to do was walk into the room and Lisa felt serene.

"Are you coming or not?"

Jennie protests, peeved by the lack of warmth on the bed. Lisa grins and shakes her head while carefully closing the door because this, this is what her life is going to look like for as long as she lives and she is delighted by the mere thought of it.

Sunday August 16, 2015

Lisa is perched on one of the four modern, wire framed, slipper chairs upholstered with a line toss pattern that adorned the side rooms of the venue hosting their event. She continuously attempts to crack her knuckles but at this point there are no carbon dioxide bubbles left to pop. The calm Lisa felt until Jennie walked out of her room in the morning has vanished and her trepidation is back in full force. She stands then brings her body back down to the chair almost immediately. Within thirty seconds she stands once more. She trudges towards the window that exquisitely frames the river and the imposing New York skyline, but before she comes within five feet of it, she swivels and faces the opposite direction.

Rose takes Lisa's every antic in from where she sits. She huffs when she watches her sister lower and raise her shoulders before twisting her neck to either side for what seems like the ninetieth time in the last two minutes.

"You going to faint on me?"

"No, shut up."

"Just let me know so I can put some cushions on the floor."

"Shut the fuck up."

"Ooooh, you're cursing now. That's never good." Rose rises to her feet and confidently heads towards Lisa. "Come here."

"Leave me alone, Rose."

Rose tsks and moves closer.

"Come here."

Rose reaches for Lisa but Lisa pulls away. Rose only manages to yank her closer because she lands a firm grip on the edge of Lisa's jacket.

Lisa wore a three piece, powder blue, linen suit that matched Jennie's eyes paired with a raw edged, navy bowtie that sported an unfinished hem. Under the suit she wore a light blue shirt with slightly darker blue stripes running the vertical length of the fabric. Her shoes were cream suede oxfords with an azure outsole. Lisa's hair features a two-to-one french braid style. Lisa had braided the top section of each side of her part back to the middle of her head then combined the ends of the individual braids and braided those two together. Her natural hair flowed freely underneath and around the braids.

Rose's hands make their way to Lisa's bowtie and her limber fingers craftily undo it in one swift motion.

"What are you doing?!" Lisa does her best to back off but Rose keeps her in place with one arm while somehow managing to free the collar button from the eyelet. "Dude, what the fuck?"

Rose slacks her grip on Lisa's forearm and moves her hands to the lapels pushing them up and off Lisa's shoulder.

"You still got an hour. We can put this back on in two minutes."

"No. Stop."

Lisa wiggles her body in an attempt to get away but Rose somehow pushes the jacket further off her shoulders. Lisa obstinately curls up her fists around the cuffs and tenses her upper body preventing the blazer to slip any further.

"You need to get some air or she's going to be a widow before you even get married." When Lisa doesn't immediately release the vigorous grasp she had on the fabric Rose pulls anew.

"Lalisa, let go." Rose's dour tone isn't missed by Lisa. She allows her shoulders to drop then opens her palms releasing her clutch on the cuff and in turn offering Rose the opportunity to slip the jacket off her. "Remember what we did when the birther and whatever prick she was with at the time were screaming at each other over who did more of the heroin on the spoon or whatever dumb shit they argued about?" Lisa nods.

"You made up this game where we used to see who could remember more Rugrats quotes and whoever did won. You did it to keep me busy because if you did then I wouldn't cry and if I didn't cry she had no reason to hit me."

They both stand in silence enabling the somberness of the memory to hang over them.

"You babies are so dumb, I'm surprised you even know which end of the bottle to suck."

Rose breaks the tension and makes an effort to distance them from that time in their lives by sharing a sample of the show's dialogue as a way to urge Lisa to join her. Lisa instantly responds.

"Sometimes a baby's gotta do what a baby's gotta do."

"That's the final nail in the coffee."

"When life gives you lemons, make apple sauce."

"If you turn into a bug first, I'm gonna eat you."

"I think a diaper is all a baby ever needs."

Lisa pauses trying to remember what Chuckie's response was but when she fails to do it in what Rose considers a timely manner the older woman jumps in.

"I don't know, Tommy. Ever since I started taking a shit in the bathroom, a diaper just feels fucking weird."

Lisa finally laughs.

"Pretty sure that's not how that went."

"Same gist."

Lisa falls silent and her demeanor returns to what it was minutes ago.

"What if we get up there and she regrets it? What if she says no?"

"Seriously? That's what you're stressing about? Out of all things, that?"

"It's a valid concern."

Rose rolls her eyes as far back as they can go and puffs dramatically.

"That's about as 'valid' as me worrying that a lion is going to walk in here and eat me. It's not fucking happening."

"She could. She could realize she made a mistake and..." Rose interrupts her.

"I'm going to sock you right in the mouth if you keep being a fuckhead. Jennie thinks you're the jelly to her donut or some shit. Or are you the donut? Who goes inside who? Jennie definitely goes inside you so you're the donut."

"You're such a pig. That's also none of your business."

"Okay, donut. My fucking point is that if Jennie had to choose between saving all of us and letting you die or saving you but let everyone else die the rest of us would be so fucked. She's never going to say no. I bet she's going to say yes before I even ask. Stop being a dumbass and worrying about pointless shit." Rose halts and her eyes widen when an idea crosses her mind. "Do you need me to go get you some shots so you relax?" Before Lisa has a chance to respond Rose backs away from her and heads for the door. "I'm getting us shots."

"No. I..."

Lisa hasn't finished her statement when Rose is already gone.

---

Jennie sits on the corner cushion of the velvety couch with the back of her dress drapped over the armrest. Jennie had settled on a custom made, light ivory, silk dress. The top was lace and hand embroidered then beaded and the keyhole button closure exquisitely placed on the back. The skirt was chiffon with a light train. The dress's silhouette was free-fitted and high waisted. It was built to delicately flow with every step and movement... and in Jennie's case fit her pregnant midriff. The dress was sophisticated but also had an undercurrent of bohemian to it. It was very much Jennie. Jennie hadn't put too much effort into her hair, she wore it down as she had opted for a simple, tousled, easy going look that accentuated her natural waves. Much like her hair, her make-up ended up being an understated, subtle, and nude look.

Jennie had decided on a simple bouquet but one that delivered a visual punch. She would be carrying a dozen Schwartzwalder purple miniature Calla Lilies. Schwartzwalder Lilies are dramatic and enchanting with furling petals that are a shade of violet so deep, many often confuse them for black if seen in the right light.

Because the event was intended to be laid-back and carefree there was no real wedding party or particular dress code. As a result, and despite the fact of them being named "Maids Of Honor", Jennie's best friends wore whatever they saw fit to the wedding.

The foursome relaxes in a space almost identical to the one where Lisa and Rose sat in a few doors down. The main difference between both rooms is that while Lisa's was brimming with agitation, this one was mellow and high spirited. Once the laughter has died down following a decidedly off color remark by Jisoo, Jennie looks out the window and muses on the reality of what is about to happen. The moment her mind starts straying and she feels a hint of nerves, Jennie snaps herself out of it and focuses back on her friends.

"What time is it?"

Octavia presses the home button on her phone then responds.

"Quarter to six."

"Okay."

"Fifteen minutes."

Echo affirms as if Jennie has suddenly forgotten how to count.

"Yup."

"You okay?"

"I can feel both our heartbeats in my throat but besides that? Totally fine."

"Why are you stressing? You guys are basically married already. This actually feels kind of fucking pointless."

"Jisoo Kim, hopeless romantic."

Octavia adds with a hint of a chuckle from her chair and Jisoo turns to address her.

"It's a million degrees outside. All I'm saying is that instead of sitting in the heat for hours to watch those two make eyes at each we could all be spending the afternoon at a pool somewhere and drinking actual cocktails. That would be just as important as this but ten times more fun."

"Will you, for once, not be an asshole?" Echo chimes in from her place next to Jennie.

"Can't make any promises."

Echo rolls her eyes before tuning Jisoo out and focusing her attention back on the bride. "Anything we can do to help with the heart on throat thing?"

Jennie mulls the question over before responding about a minute later.

"Maybe go make sure things are okay outside and that Lisa's head hasn't exploded?"

"Sure. Of course. O, you go check on Lisa and I'll go to the deck and see where everything is."

Echo confidently delegates and nearly instantly both of them get on their feet and walk out to complete each task leaving Jisoo and Jennie alone in the room. Jisoo grimaces after taking a sizeable mouthful of her vodka neat. She shakes the taste off and once her throat feels like it's no longer on fire she dares to speak.

"Do you need anything?"

"Nah. I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Once we get it going I'll be fine. I think it's just the waiting that's getting to me."

"Okay."

Jisoo taps the nearly empty rock glass a few times and downs the remainder of its content then places it on the short table that lived within the cluster of chairs. She leans back on her chair and plays with her thumbs, pushing them back and forth as if they were battling each other. "She's not that bad."

"Hmmm?"

"The undead creature you're marrying."

"The undead has a name."

"Sure. Lisa. Her. She's not that bad."

"'That' bad."

"Look, she's boring and lame and more than a little stuck up but you're my best friend and I love you and for some goddamn mysterious reason you love her too so that makes her 'not that bad' in my book."

"Would it kill you to admit you love anyone besides me, O, and Ec?"

"Unsure, but not a risk I'm willing to take." It takes them a second, but they both finally crack a smile. "She's not that bad."

"I know." The fall in silence. "Thank you."

"For?"

"For 'she's not that bad'. It's some weird, cryptic code for 'I like her' in Jisoo language and that means a lot today, so thank you."

"You're pushing it. It's not even an 'I can tolerate her'. It's more of an 'I won't put the antifreeze I brought into her champagne because you sort of care about her.'" Jennie cackles.

"Thanks. I appreciate you not killing my wife on our wedding day."

"I was going to take care of them both but I might just double dose the other Manoban then. Fifty percent less Manoban on the planet is still a success."

"In the interest of maintaining the sanity of everyone around you two, could you please just tell her you have feelings for her and get it over with?"

"Every time you say that I consider murdering the reanimated corpse you're about to marry a little more seriously."

"We could go on double dates."

"Or... OR ... I could go outside and throw myself head first into the toxic wasteland that is the Hudson. Both sound just as fun."

"I know you Jisoo, better than anyone else. You like Rose and I'm pretty sure it's mutual."

"I like her in the same way I like being shot in the neck."

"Fine. I guess you're not admitting it today then."

"There's nothing to admit." Jisoo frowns, doubtlessly irked by the topic. "I think the paint fumes are starting to fuck with your brain because you're hallucinating shit now."

"I'll never get a better 'I told you so' than this one whenever you two get your shit together."

"I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you."

"Okay."

"Okay."

Jennie grins but drops the subject. Jisoo glowers, arms taut over her chest, with the demeanor of a child that has just been scolded. Jennie knows when to let Jisoo be and this is one of those moments so they both opt to sit in silence.

Octavia and Echo don't return for another five minutes and when they do, they enter the room together.

"Everything is good. Lisa and Rose are already out on the terrace. Lisa's head looked intact and still attached to her body. Kane's right outside. Seems like we're just waiting on you at this point."

"Oh, great. No pressure."

"I told them it might still be a few minutes because I wasn't sure if you needed a bit more time."

"I'm pretty ready."

"Ready to get married?"

"I am."

Jennie comes to her feet before Octavia and Echo walk up to and help get the dress off the side of couch and tussling it to fall on the floor as it should. Jennie takes a centering breath and makes for the door but Jisoo's voice interrupts.

"Hey Kim." Jennie turns and the moment she does a pair of arms snake around her neck and pull her into a tight, intimate hug. "I'm happy for you." Jisoo mumbles into Jennie's ear, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Within seconds Octavia is joining the embrace and Echo is only a blink behind her.

"One of us is getting married and having a baby. Is this real?" Echo mutters from within the circle.

"I love you guys."

Jennie manages to get out from between the six arms squishing her.

"Love you too."

"Personal space. Personal space!"

Jisoo wiggles away and out of the huddle.

Jennie radiates joy thanks to the moment shared and the outpouring of love from her ultimate support system. The bride inhales and exhales loudly before nodding. Without needing to verbalize a single word, they understand Jennie is now prepared to brave whatever would occur past that door. Echo hands Jennie the bouquet and Octavia pulls the door to reveal Kane casually resting his shoulder against the wall directly across from them. The moment he lays eyes on Jennie, Kane immediately straightens and smiles.

"We'll see you outside."

Echo declares and walks away. The other two follow her, leaving Kane and Jennie to share a quiet, private moment. He gives her a once over and emphatically nods the way one would when they were absolutely certain of something.

"Your dad would be crying right now."

"I know."

Jennie smiles trying to contain the tears that threaten to fall in order to not ruin her make-up. Kane bends his arm and brings his hand to his chest. Jennie loops her hand through the open space and interlocks her arm with his. Kane kisses the side of Jennie's head and lingers a second too long allowing him to whisper into her ear.

"He would've given and done anything to be here right now. I would too."

"I know."

Being aware that no further words were required, Kane takes a step forward and Jennie follows his lead.

Fifteen chairs are laid out on the terrace facing the arch where Jennie and Lisa are to be married under. Jennie loved the venue because of the view therefore when it came time to think about decorations she chose it to be minimal, allowing the city skyline to be as observable as possible. She debated on whether they even needed an arch given the backdrop but ultimately settled on the idea because it felt wrong not to have one.

Jennie collaborated with an artist friend who was known to make sculptures out of drift Manoban and together they created a rustic arch crafted out of Birch Manoban and Willow branches. Jennie asked the designer of her dress to provide her with twenty extra feet of the lace that made up her top. She took the lace to her studio and used brushes to splash paint on the fabric. Once finished and dried, the lace was used to partially swathe around the arch. Both the arch and the fabric were then covered in scattered posies of peonies. Jennie's loves for peonies ran deep so it only made sense that the decor on the arch would be a combination of her five favorite varieties of the flower Lily, Kopper Kettle, Bowl Of Beauty, Lady Orchid, and Mon Jules Elie. In order to break the shapes of the peonies up and create some different textures the florist and Jennie also agreed to incorporate white Stephanotis and Gardenias.

The sky is slowly transitioning from blue to orange to pink when Abby, Bellamy, and Harper find themselves deep in conversation to the left of the arch. Jisoo and Echo have joined the jovial circle made up by Miller, Monty, Lincoln, Murphy, and Emori. Jasper and Maya stood on the far side of the deck having a quiet argument. Bryan hovered over the DIY liquor bar preparing a pair of drinks for Miller and himself.

Rose and Lisa stand past the arch, propping themselves up with the paling that separated the deck from the river while quietly alternating turns in spitting out Rugrats lines.

Octavia could be seen through the glass door, continuously peering down the hallway that connects the inside of the venue with the terrace. Echo tasked her with staying behind and inform the group when the bride and her stepfather turned the corner. This was apparently happening now because Octavia speed walks onto the deck and beelines for the row of chairs.

"They're coming."

The scattered guests dash to their seats and Lisa rushes to land on her designated spot under the arch. Rose grabs her sister's forearm and tugs her back before whispering into her ear.

"Whatever you do, don't black out because I'm not picking you up from the floor."

Lisa harumphs and tramps away while grumbling unintelligibly but still loud enough for Rose to hear her muttering.

Lisa reaches her mark with Rose only steps behind her. Lisa takes shallow, rapid breaths and anticipates the moment when Jennie appears from behind the wall where the glass door ends.

"If you keep breathing like that you're going to black out."

Without taking her eye off the door, Lisa grits an answer through her teeth. The words are delivered in a low, gravelly and mildly threatening voice.

"I'm not going to black out."

Even though Lisa has been expecting it to happen, watching Jennie and Kane emerge somehow manages to catch her completely off guard. Lisa takes her first look at Jennie in her wedding dress, heading towards her with the intention of becoming her wife, and her breath catches in her throat.

"I might black out."

"Don't, lock your knees on your way down." Rose suggests and shakes her head while laughing.

Jennie moving closer to Lisa somehow feels like it's both happening in fast forward and in ultra slow motion. Lisa genuinely has no idea if time stopped or sped up, all she is aware is that things are happening around her but she can't really tell one from the other. Before she knows it, Jennie is close enough that Lisa can smell the familiar perfume and that's what ultimately snaps Lisa out of her stupor. Jennie is somehow standing two feet from her and Lisa wonders when the distance between the door and the altar was crossed. The only thing she can gather is that it hasn't been long because Kane is barely unhooking his arm from Jennie's. Kane steps away from Jennie and towards Lisa. He offers a warm, sturdy hug accompanied by a few pats on the back.

"Welcome to the family. Officially."

Kane kisses Lisa's cheek and turns back to Jennie. He kisses the cheek of the girl he has come to love as a daughter and wraps her in his arms.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

Kane steps away and towards the empty spot next to Abby leaving Jennie and Lisa behind. Jennie gazes at Octavia who instantly rushes from her place in the crowd, up to the arch, grabs the bouquet from Jennie's hand, and heads back to her chair. Without anything else to accomplish,

Jennie and Lisa are afforded the opportunity to, at long last, take each other in. Jennie reaches for Lisa's hand and holds both of them in hers. She runs her thumbs over Lisa's clammy skin and playfully smirks.

"I like the suit."

"Someone very smart picked it out for me."

For days Lisa debated what to wear. Should she be traditional and wear a dress like Jennie? Jennie talked her out of that pretty quickly because her main priority was for both of them to be comfortable and have a good time on their wedding day and she knew Lisa would do neither in a dress. Suit it was. What kind of suit? What color? What fabric? What style? After dozens of choices, Jennie had managed to get Lisa to dwindle the options down to three but that was apparently still too difficult. Three days ago, when the tailor informed them he really needed an answer or he wouldn't be able to do the alterations needed to make any of them fit Lisa properly, Jennie had no choice but to intervene or Lisa was going to get married in her boxers. They stood across of all three options perfectly laid out in front of them and Jennie requested Lisa make a choice. When Lisa began to make a case for each of the suits, Jennie simply walked up to the rack, pulled out the one she liked most, and made the choice for her.

"You look beautiful."

"So do you." Jennie begins to survey Lisa's face and notices the familiar flush of her cheeks. "Are you drunk?" Jennie mouths at Lisa.

"No!" Lisa aggressively mouths back.

"Your face only get this red when you've been drinking." Jennie whispers with a smile.

"I made her take a few shots. You'd be getting married in an ambulance if I hadn't." Jennie chuckles and squeezes Lisa's hand. "Can I start or do you have other things you need to hash out?"

"This was such a mistake." Lisa mumbles low enough that only Jennie and Rose can hear.

"I can leave if you want me to."

Jennie fails at holding back her laughter when Rose facetiously takes a step forward as if she was walking away and Lisa pushes her back with her shoulder.

"Cut it out." Lisa grits through her teeth. "Just start."

"Are you sure you want to marry this killjoy?" Rose questions Jennie.

"Positive."

Rose shakes her head and, much to Lisa's comfort, begins to address the small crowd.

"I've never seen two people fuck up more than these two." Lisa holds her breath because she has no idea where that sentence is going. "Not because of the getting married thing but because they put me in charge of doing the marrying thing." Laughter breaks out through the guests. "Worst decision I've ever seen. I've had to watch Lisa do some stupid shit over the years but this?" Rose stretches her arm as far as it can go over her head. "Up here. Top of the list." The crowd laughs once more. Rose looks at her sister and ponders. "I like to bust your balls, you know that."

"Sadly, I do."

Jennie joins in on the laughter that steadily pours from the attendees.

"Pushing all your little nerd buttons is probably my favorite thing in the world but Jennie did say something when you were asking me to do this that made me think. She basically said that we don't deal with feelings very well in this family, which... granted... fucking accurate but it made me realize something. I like pissing you off so much that I probably don't tell you how fucking great I think you are and how super fucking proud of you I am." Rose pauses for a noticeably long moment and her demeanor changes from jovial to serious. "I know where we came from. I know all the ways in which you could've fucked up because I did every single one of them. I checked off the whole list and added a few extra for bonus points. If there was a slideshow thingy behind me this is where I'd be bringing up my mug shot." Even Lisa can't help but laugh at that line. "This one... she didn't. She didn't. You didn't Lili. You've been through so much bullshit, some really fucked up bullshit that I wish I could've stopped, that I would've fought the entire world to stop, but you never once let it distract that brain of yours from the things you wanted. You could be like me. You could be pushing boxes in a warehouse but you're out there changing the world. You're here marrying this one and, I can't believe you're making me admit it in public, she's alright. I guess. Loud mouth, little bratty, REALLY bossy... but she's good for you. She's perfect for you actually. You did good kid. Not that I ever doubted you would but I'm just glad that I didn't fuck up bad enough that I get to miss it. It's fucking icky to still watch you drool over someone you've been having sex with for years." Rose, clearly distracted by the thought that just popped into her head, switches her attention from Lisa to the crowd. "It's super loud sex by the way, like... stopping by and hearing them through the front door loud..."

"Oh. My. God!"

Lisa mumbles under her breath.

"Okay, okay. No more wild sex stories. My point was that I'm glad I've gotten to see the version of you that the cat eyes squeezes out. You did fucking great. I know there's a few people you wish were here to see this but if heaven is real, which honestly, for my sake I hope it isn't because my eternity looks pretty fucking warm if any of that crap is true. But anyway... my toasty after life aside... if any of that is true then your dad, grandpa Nyk, and Costia are looking down on you right now and they're probably high fiving or something because I'm sure they'd be stoked about this too." Rose and Lisa focus their full attention on each other, sharing a silent moment only they could ever understand, and smile then nod. "In case you're wondering and before you get too comfortable, I'm definitely going back to fucking with you tomorrow. I'm already writing down things I can make fun of you for and the fact that you're a second away from crying is for sure one of them. But that's all tomorrow, today I'll take a day off and let you know that I'm fucking glad you're my baby sister. I love you Li. I really do. So you..." Rose turns to Jennie. "You. Jennie 'Blazing Saddles' Kim.... which, by the way... parenthesis..." Rose shifts her attention on the crowd once more. "...honestly has anyone ever heard a story more ridiculous than that?" Rose looks around and a few 'No' and laughs rip through the group. "The whole thing is fucking crazy and I don't fucking buy it. They probably met online or something and are too afraid to admit it so they had to come up with a fucking insane story to cover it up. Fireballs, expensive ass books being burned, trespassing, screaming? That doesn't happen to people. If you guys fess up now we'll give you a free pass." Rose looks back and forth between Lisa and Jennie and when neither bites she pushes again. "Who swiped right on who first?"

"Fireball definitely happened." Jennie responds and her grin grows.

"That's a load of shit!" Rose presses jokingly.

"More than one person here saw it." Jennie defends her point.

"All liars. They're in on it. I'll give a twenty to whoever breaks first."

The entire crowd is in stitches at this point but no one feeds into Rose's game.

"Fine. We can keep pretending if you insist. Anyway... back to you, Fireball." Rose seamlessly picks up where she had left off. "Don't fuck this up because I have a really impressive right hook and not afraid to use it. More importantly don't let her fuck it up."

"Not letting her. She's stuck with me."

"Good." Rose pauses to look back and forth between Lisa and Jennie. She settles on Lisa first. "I take care of you and you take care of me, right?" Lisa nods. "That's what we've been telling each other since I could remember. It's always been the two of us but now, I don't have to look after your scrawny ass by myself." Rose turns to Jennie. "You and me... we take care of her and she takes care of us. You're family now."

"There's nothing I've ever wanted more."

Jennie turns to Lisa and is taken aback by the fact that in the blink of an eye she has gone from mortified to having thick streams of tears running down her cheeks. Lisa fully loses the restraint she typically keeps on her emotions while in public and openly pules. Witnessing this causes Rose to almost follow suit but she swiftly reels it in and composes herself.

"Alright. That was enough emotions to last me ten years. I think we all came here to see a wedding go down not me having verbal diarrhea so let's get to it." Rose opens the leather portfolio she's been holding, the one which Lisa had dutifully prepared with instructions and the text she was meant to follow. Rose scans over it, slams it closed, and chucks it behind her. "I love how she thought I was going to read that."

"Oh, come on." Lisa complains.

"Shhhh! You said vows, rings, kiss and I was done. Vows. Go."

"No vows."

Lisa grits through her teeth.

"Actually..."

"No."

"Stop."

"Oh nooo..."

"I can see you overthinking already. Just listen. That's all I need you to do. Okay?" Lisa sighs in resignation.

"Okay."

"Great. Ever since you asked me to marry you I've been replaying one conversation in my head over and over again."

Jennie steals a glance to where her mother sits and finds Abby completely overcome with emotion. Abby cries both because her daughter is getting married to someone they both adore but also because her father is missing it. Jennie understands all that is hidden behind her mother's tears and nearly allows it to wreck her own composure but she locks those emotions away, at least for the time being, and faces Lisa once more.

"The night before my dad died I came home from a date and he caught us doing things no smart sixteen year old standing on her front porch while her parents are home would do. Once we got inside and he was done freaking out I asked him how anyone knew if they were in love. I wanted to know what it felt. I wanted to get what was so special about it. I've never forgotten what he said. He said, 'the day I realized I was in love with your mom I knew I had two options, I had to marry her or I had to marry her.'"

Jennie turns to look at Abby once more and this time she finds a smile to go along with the tears.

"When anyone walked into my dad's office at work the thing you'd notice almost right away was how there were pictures of mom everywhere he could squeeze one in. Obviously he had pictures of me too, but he probably had twice as many of mom and of the two of them scattered around. He was... he was so smitten that he couldn't make it through the day without seeing his wife no matter where he looked. That man knew what love was and I saw it every day in the way he looked at my mom so when he spoke that night I listened because I wanted to get it, I wanted to know how it worked, and I knew he would be the best person to explain it. I'm glad I did. It was the last big lesson he ever taught me and neither of us had any idea." Jennie takes a deep breath before continuing. "That night my dad told me that love was basically like a never ending puzzle and you had to keep building it no matter how hard the pieces got. If it's the real deal then even when they seem impossible you keep trying to make them fit until they do."

Jennie drops Lisa's hands and takes a moment to wipe tears from her eyes then brings her hands up to Lisa's cheeks and does the same.

"The night I met you I dream about my dad. I didn't put the two together back then but...hindsight, right? The first thing I thought about when I woke up the next morning was that conversation and hearing those words." Jennie runs her eyes over Lisa's face surveying every bit of it. "I've never told you this because I know it sounds absolutely fucking insane but I think my dad knew. He knew I'd meet the person who would make me believe that all the things he said that night were true. He knew what you would be in my life. I have a feeling we would've somehow found our way here anyway but I also want to believe dad brought us together. It's fun to imagine my dad can't be here today but he did his part by giving me the greatest thing I could've ever gotten, my forever puzzle buddy. If it was you then thank you dad. Awesome choice. She's rough around the edges and more than plenty neurotic but I love her so much that I like to think our puzzle is the biggest one ever made and that we'll just keep adding to it for the rest of our lives. I love her so much that I feel it here..." Jennie points to her head. "...and definitely here now..." Jennie runs her hand over her overgrown stomach and chuckles. "...and I never ever want to let her go just like you told me not to. I've known that for a long time." Jennie pauses to compose herself.

"I actually remember the exact moment I knew I wanted you to be in my life for as long as I could have you. You were studying for the LSAT. You'd sit on the floor for hours and not say a word so I'd come sit with you. We didn't need talk because knowing the other was there felt like enough. Almost always at least. After a few months of that I'd sometimes have to find other things to do because I would start to go stir crazy. The closer it got to the exam, the less chores were being done so one day, it was a Wednesday, I'll never forget it, that Wednesday I decided I should probably clean up."

Jennie turns her head to their guests and addresses them.

"Lisa usually does our laundry because, in case anyone has missed it, she's a walking nightmare and her stuff needs to be washed in a very particular way which I have no patience for so we both kind of agreed that was going to be her thing. Even though I was banned from putting her clothes and detergent within five feet of each other I decided to do it anyway... mostly because I was running out of sweatpants to steal but whatever. After I was done I started to put stuff away and I came across something. I'd never seen the bottom of her sleep clothes drawer before because not only did she normally do laundry a million times a week but she also started to keep all my favorite clothes near the top so that I wouldn't even need to try too hard to swipe them. She's amazing like that. Anyway... that day I found something in her drawer. We'd been officially living together for maybe a year or year and a half at that point but I'd never even seen it before. It was old and pretty beat up but just the way it was placed in the drawer let me know it was important." Jennie moves from simply holding Lisa's hand to intertwining their fingers.

"I knew I wanted you to be my puzzle when after a lot of nagging you finally admitted that it was the blanket you slept with when you were little. It's the only thing you had from back then and you kept it so that if you ever had a family of your own you could share it with them. You admitted you wanted to wrap your kids in it. You told me that you held on to it so you could rewrite its story. In a few months you get a chance to do just that and I'm so glad I get to give it to you. Our baby will sleep in that blanket, in your blanket. We'll change it's story and I'm going to make sure it's the best one ever told because I feel so so so lucky that you chose me as the person you want to write it with."

Jennie dries her eyes and a wet laugh escapes her.

"Sometimes I come very close to smothering you in your sleep because your insanity ends up driving me insane but you also make me so happy that I don't know what to do with myself most days. I don't think anyone has ever felt as loved as I do when I'm around you. I know you were worried about not giving me a fairy tale wedding but you already give me a fairy tale life. Aiming for the princess wedding might have actually been overkill." Jennie laughs and their friends do as well. "I love you Manoban. Always will."

"I love you Kim." Lisa whispers before wiping her eyes. Lisa looks around and grimaces, embarrassed by her emotional state. "We said no vows. Way to make me look bad. Now I have to wing it." The guests chuckle in response. "How do I even follow that? You made Rose cry. Odds of that are smaller than winning the powerball."

"I'm not crying." Rose retorts exasperated. Lisa scans Jennie's face and thinks. Everyone listens attentively.

"I can't think of anything that doesn't sound like the biggest cliche." Jennie offers a teary smile and with their fingers still entwined, she brings Lisa's hand to her lips and presses a gentle kiss. "You make me happy. I don't know that I can say much more than that right now but you just do. You make me happier than I ever thought I could be. You make me happier than I thought I ever deserved."

"You deserve the world, Lili." Jennie interjects. "All of it and then a chunk of another planet too."

"I didn't believe that, I still don't but I try to every day because you believe that and all I ever strive for is to see the world through your eyes because no one has seen it so perfectly before. You prove it every day in your art, in how you move, in the things you say, in what you do and in how you love me. The way you view everything is perfect because you're perfect Jennie Kim and I'll never, not for a second, believe I deserve someone like you. Never. I don't think I want to because the moment I do I might start to take you for granted and I never ever ever ever want to do that. You're the best thing that ever happened to me..."

"I'm standing right here." Rose interjects and both Jennie and their friends and family howl with laughter.

"I hate you. So much."

"Fine. Fine." Rose gripes. "Keep going."

Lisa shakes her head and exhales. "I told you we shouldn't have asked her to do this." Lisa glares at Jennie, addressing her directly.

"Pffft... you had no better options." Rose contends the insinuation.

"I wouldn't be interrupting the vows. Just saying." Jisoo chimes in from the audience.

"Yes, you would've." Lisa asserts instantly.

"You're interrupting right now, you idiot." Rose quickly jumps on board the Jisoo bashing train.

"Both of you can bite my brown ass."

"Can the three of you not do this right now? Not right now. Terrible timing." Jennie looks between the bickering women then back at Lisa. "My wife was talking."

"You're getting ahead of yourself. I haven't 'officiated' that yet."

"Shhh... you're not allowed to say another word until Lisa is done talking. And before you get any ideas..." Jennie turns to Jisoo. "...you're not allowed to talk at all." Jennie squeezes Lisa's hand letting her know she should continue.

"I don't even know where I was going with that. I don't think there was a point beyond 'you're the best thing that's ever happened to me'."

Rose coughs which triggers a fit of laughter in Lisa.

"You're the third best thing that's ever happened to me. Can your ego handle that?"

"What's number two?!" Lisa frowns in confusion and points at Jennie's stomach at the same time Jennie does.

"Oh... the thing. Right."

"Stop calling it a thing!"

"Stop talking in general."

"I told you it was a bad idea!"

"Yeah, starting to see that. Please finish talking before I have to gag your sister." Rose was just about to crack a sexually charged joke when Jennie turns to her. "If you say anything..."

Rose shrugs and abstains. Lisa peers into the fiery eyes that gleam whenever the light hits them the right way and she knew there was one more thing she needed to admit.

"Before you came I was... I was just scraping by. I'd made an art form out of it actually. I'd perfected it but I don't do it anymore. I haven't since that first day. I saw you and I knew there was more than whatever I thought was best up until that point but I tried to put it off for as long as I could because whatever you triggered was the scariest thing I've ever felt. It still kind of is but I'm glad I feel it. I'd never regret it and I'd never regret you."

Lisa takes a settling breath and smiles while wiping her tears. Neither of them say anything and the group remains completely silent for considerably longer than it should have.

"What are you doing?" Lisa looks at Rose.

"Oh, am I allowed to talk again?"

Rose says sarcastically forcing Lisa to roll her eyes.

"Yes, you're allowed to talk again."

"Vows, ring, kiss." Rose runs through the list out loud and counts with her fingers as she announces each of them. "Gag worthy back and forth between Hermione and Katniss? Done." She knocks one finger down from the three she had used to count and leaves two up. "Guess it's rings and 'I do's now."

Octavia and Echo stand, each one holding a box. Echo stands by Jennie and Octavia by Lisa.

"Grab the folder. What you need to say is in there." Lisa pleads, exasperation dripping from her voice.

"Nah. You..." Rose Looks at Lisa. "Do you want to put up with her bossing you around 'til the day one of you dies?"

"Go get the folder." Lisa implores her sister.

"No. Answer the question."

Lisa grunts and exhales. She faces Octavia and reaches out for the box she held, hands shaky and unstable, before pulling the ring from where it was snugly kept. If the ring wasn't made of platinum, the force of Lisa's grip might have snapped it in half. Lisa slides the ring embossed with her fingerprint on Jennie's finger and presses it snug up against the engagement band that already rested there. She timidly lifts her eyes from the ring to Jennie's radiating face and, for the first time in the fourteen days since Jennie talked her into doing this, Lisa speaks with irrefutable confidence.

"I do."

"Sweet. One down, one to go." Rose focuses her attention on Jennie now. "You... are you sure you have the patience to put up with her fucking cuckoo, crazy person shit 'til the day one of you dies?" Jennie hangs her head back while with a boisterous laugh before sliding the ring with her fingerprint on Lisa's finger.

"I definitely do."

"Well, then I guess all of us are now free to feel like our relationships are absolute shit by comparison for the rest of our miserable lives. You can make out now."

Jennie is the first to lean in, her face painted with an impossibly big smile. She places her hands at either side of Lisa's face and pulls her wife in for searing kiss. Jennie leans away a few millimeters but Lisa chases her lips and places another soft kiss on them before whispering.

"This is your fault."

Jennie's shoulders shake in silent laughter.

"Okay, wife."

Lisa's face lights up at the sound of that but Rose interrupts before she has a chance to savor the moment.

"There you go. I 'officiated' the hell out of you."

"Thanks." Lisa replies sarcastically.

"Cool. I'm open for the rest of the year in case any one else wants me to officiate them too."

"Do not recommend." Lisa turns to the guests while shaking her head and the group is taken over by roaring laughter.

"What? Why? It feels great to turn people into a huge paycheck for some divorce lawyer. It's like I'm doing charity."

"Jesus, can you wrap it up already?" Lisa huffs while glaring at her sister.

"What do you mean? I did all of the three things you told me I needed to do. You vowed, you ringed, you kissed. Go be married. I could use a drink."

Jennie reaches out for Lisa's hand and walks them between the hooting crowd. She stops then faces Lisa and plants a vigorous kiss on Lisa surrounded by all of their friends purposefully serving the photographer with the opportunity to snap a good picture of the moment. With their foreheads still touching, Jennie pauses and tunes out the world with the sole intention to take Lisa's eyes in.

"I love you wife."

"I love you too wife."

Jennie pecks Lisa's lips and drags the two of them towards the photographer while their friends stay behind to start celebrating and devouring the selection of hors d'ouvres Jennie has in store for them.

After a seemingly never ending loop of shots with the photographer, Jennie and Lisa make their way inside where their guests effusively chatted. As they approach the crowd whoops and hollers rambunctiously. Jennie leads both her and Lisa to the open spot in the center of the room.

"I know this was short notice so I'm really happy everyone was able to make it. You're here because we love you and because each of you is a super important part of our lives."

"Yeah, we love you guys. Thank you for being here."

"We love you too!" Lincoln screams from the makeshift bar.

"Thanks Linc." Jennie screams back and laughs. "Uhm, I know most couples have their first dance right after they walk in but since it's us of course we couldn't really agree on one song. To solve the problem I suggested we each pick a song but it had to be different from any of the ones we were debating over and we couldn't tell the other what we chose that way it wouldn't start anything again. So we have two songs and two "first" dances, one as equally as important as the other... unless she chose a horrible song in which case we're not counting it." Jennie turns to Lisa. "Are you going first or am I?"

"You go."

Jennie was right in assuming they wouldn't need a DJ for an intimate party totaling eighteen guests. This meant Octavia was currently on music duty and lingered over the sound system with Jennie's phone plugged in awaiting her signal.

"You ready Mrs. Kim."

"If you are Mrs. Manoban."

Jennie looks at Octavia and nods. Within seconds the enthralling beat for John Legend's "The Beginning" pours through the speakers. Jennie moves as close to Lisa as her stomach will allow and wraps her arms around her wife's neck before they begin to sway.

"Last night was the last night
You'll ever spend alone
Couldn't wait
Did it in the living room
Soon as I saw you, baby, I had plans
Plans to do it 'til we have a baby
Even if the world is crazy
Pick some names, boy or girl
Then we'll change, change the world
So after you change your clothes
Girl, if you change your mind
I'm ready, whatever time
It's the beginning of forever
You don't have to go
Sometimes you just know
It's the beginning of forever
It don't have to end
We'll keep doing it, and doing it again, oh We'll keep doing it, and doing it again, oh
Last time was the last time
I was one and done
You're the best, that's why I want another one
Soon as I saw you, baby, I had plans
Planned to take you to my elevator
And cook a little breakfast later
Pick a place we'll go there, girl
Then we'll change, change the world
So after you change your clothes
Girl, if you change your mind
I'm ready, whatever time
It's the beginning of forever
You don't have to go
Sometimes you just know
It's the beginning of forever
It don't have to end
We'll keep doing it, and doing it again, oh
We'll keep doing it, and doing it again, oh"

The final note of the song plays and Jennie joins their lips. The kiss is slow and tender but brief.

"See? Perfect song choice."

"Not a bad attempt, but mine is definitely better."

"You shouldn't sound so cocky, mine was pretty flawless."

Lisa smiles, the self satisfied and boastful kind. Rose has replaced Octavia at the speakers and when Lisa looks her way and nods she presses play. The first few notes for Jon McLaughlin's "My Girl Tonight" fill the air.

"I might be stupid to think I could
Buy you dinner when some better man should
But here goes my manhood
So we order food I can't afford
You look so perfect
Maybe I should talk more
I could probably talk more
And then I kiss you for the first time
Your lips fit between mine
The taste fills my mind
With the rest of our lives
You are my girl tonight
I follow blindly where you go
You know the me that
No one else on earth knows
And there goes my ego
We cannot sleep in separate beds
So I ask the question and it
Hasn't left my mouth yet
And I hear you say yes
And then I kissed you for the first time
As husband and as wife
The taste fills my mind
With the rest of our lives
You are my girl tonight
Some love is real and some is fake
I used to think my heart just healed to break
That was before our first date
And it's hard to say what true love is
All I know my dear is we define it
And in me you'll always find it
So I kiss you all the time
'Cause your lips fit between mine
The taste fills my mind with the rest of our lives
You are my girl tonight
You are my girl tonight"

When the song comes to an end, Jennie makeup is streaked with the paths through which her tears flowed down her face. Lisa is just as affected but her tears come hand in hand with a pompous expression.

"Say it." Jennie shakes her head no and laughs. "Say it."

"Yours was better than mine." Jennie mumbles and rolls her eyes while drying her face with the back of her hands.

"Married arguments. Lisa one, Jennie zero."

"Glad you got your one point because that's the last one you're ever going to get."

"I'm off to a pretty good start. Who knows?"

"Shhh... you know you're wrong. Stop pretending and let's go sit. Your baby has been hungry for the past hour and it's now practicing kickboxing with my lungs to let me know it's impatient. Apparently it gets just as hangry as you do."

Lisa chuckles and guides them to their seats at the center of the single, long dinner table.

Aside from the wedding arch, Jennie also had intimate involvement in decorating the dinner table seeing as everything except the actual dinnerware was handmade by Jennie. She bought enough white fabric to cover the length of the table then painted abstract designs on them that match the color palette of her bouquet and the wedding arch. Jennie hand painted the place cards designating the guest's seats. She also handcrafted the candle holders and napkin rings out of some of her sculpting clay. Every detail of this wedding was Jennie and Lisa because Jennie had personally ensured it be so.

The reception is at it's peak and the tight knit group drinks both cheerfully and plentifully. By now Lisa's top layers and the bowtie have been stripped off and she's left in just her shirt with the sleeves carefully rolled up. Jennie's heels were discarded somewhere at some point. Most of the guests have followed Jennie and Lisa's example and any semblance of formality that remained after the ceremony was all but erased.

Scraps of dinner litter every plate across the table, the food forgotten as a consequence of guests being too preoccupied with paying close attention to the series of speeches that have spontaneously cropped up to finish the food in front of them. At this point of the night nearly everyone has taken a turn and whether they shared deep thoughts in lengthy speeches or they offered basic, concise congratulations the words every individual spoke were priceless to both Jennie and Lisa.

Abby stood with her champagne flute in one hand and the napkin she was using to dry the tears she's begun to shed.

"I think over the years I've said all that is important to both of you. I don't know what else to add except that you were right Jennie. Your dad loved in a way that I've never see anyone else love and I thought no one else would ever be able to reach that level but today I realized I was wrong. You love the same way your dad did. He would be so happy to see you this happy and he would've loved Lisa. I know he would've. My wish is that you have a good, long, and healthy marriage and that I get to live many years so I can see it grow even more." Abby begins to take a seat but then stands back upright to add one more thing. "Oh, and a few more grand babies."

"Not happening." Jennie speedily shuts the idea down and the table bursts in laughter. Abby sits completely this time and the moment she does, Jisoo stands.

"Sit down." Lisa immediately tells her.

"Don't I get a toast?"

"No."

"Everyone else did."

"No one else planned on saying offensive things." Lisa argues.

"You let her do your wedding but you're worried about me ruining things? How do you even know what I was 'planning' on saying?"

"Lili..."

Jennie squeezes Lisa's thigh under the table and Lisa capitulates.

"Fine, say what you're going to say."

"No, you already killed the mood Ebenezer."

Lisa rolls her eyes. "Sit down then."

"Actually, I do have something..." Jisoo turns to Lisa. "...don't ask me to babysit."

"Wasn't planning to."

"Wake me up when she stops talking." Rose chimes in from Lisa's left.

"Mind your business Cruella." Jisoo plunks back onto her seat and leans over towards Jennie. "Are you not even a little worried that whatever genes turned those two into sentient sour milk is going to leak into the thing?"

"For the love of god, stop calling my baby a thing Jisoo."

"Ugh... whatever."

Echo scoots her chair back and stands, taking the attention away from Jisoo which immediately achieves half of her goal. "I think everyone else pretty much covered everything but I think I still have one more thing to add. Rose I love you..."

"No you don't. No one does." Rose interjects in jest.

"...I do, I'm just going to have to disagree with you."

"That sounds like a bad idea but if you 'have to'... go right ahead."

"Thank you. You said that we should feel bad because our relationships will fall short by comparison but I think that's not how we should see it at all. I would never feel bad that someone I love as much as I love my best friend found this. Maybe some or all of us will never get something as special as what they did, but we at least have the purest example of what the right kind of relationship should look like and we can try to come as close to the Jennie and Lisa standard possible. I love the love you have whether I find my own version of it or not because at least I know the stuff the songs and the books talk about are real and I think at the end of the day that's enough for me. That 'true love' thing they talk about isn't fake. You guys live it everyday and knowing something that great exists is comforting. At least for me. So cheers to my sister... and my new sister. I hope you keep living your love the same way I've gotten to witness so far."

Rose leans across the table to address Echo. "I guess we can agree to disagree."

They share a complicit smirk before Rose falls back on her chair and carries on drinking in silence as she has done for the majority of the night.

The entire group has moved from the dining room to the terrace. The ambiance is lively and laughter rings from every corner of the space. With the exception of Jennie and Lisa, the sixteen other people on this deck fell somewhere between more than mildly intoxicated to flat out drunk. The evening unfolded with the ease that was expected when a group of best friends celebrated one of the biggest occasions of their life. The only type of tears that were shed today were rooted in happiness and the one major issue they've had to deal with is running out of vodka because Jennie apparently underestimated how much alcohol Jisoo would be able to consume at her wedding.

Even that was solved within minutes by a quick run to the nearest liquor store.

Lisa rests her body on the railing at the end of the terrace with Jennie's back pressed against her chest. They quietly look on at the rowdy crowd acting drunk and foolish a few feet from them. Lisa's lips make soft contact with the exposed skin on Jennie's shoulder. She plants a series of consecutive kisses on the same spot then navigates her way over to Jennie's collarbone and places another handful of kisses on that patch of skin. A low moan rumbles through Jennie's chest and she instinctively curves her neck affording Lisa more skin to explore. The hand Lisa has been using to cradle the bottom of Jennie's stomach glides upwards, ultimately landing on the one Jennie had sprawled atop her abdomen. The moment their palms touch their fingers entwine.

Jennie leans her head back to lay it on her wife's shoulder and looks up at Lisa.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"The fairy tale wedding."

"That was about as far from a fairy tale as it could've been."

"It wasn't. It was perfect."

"Did you go to a different ceremony?"

Jennie head falls forward when she chortles. "Babe, that went exactly as I was expecting it to. I kind of knew something like that was going to happen. I was sort of looking forward to it. It's how our family works and I love our family."

"Yeah, me too."

Silence falls between them anew when their attention is captured by the screams of the group when Lincoln and Bellamy jokingly engage in what seems like a push up competition. Rose makes her way back out onto the terrace from the bathroom as Jisoo was heading inside to top of her drink. They were both equally distracted by what was happening a few feet away and unintentionally bump shoulders. Jisoo flips her off. Rose mimics her in response.

"We're stuck with them aren't we?"

"Yup. I feel like if we finally convinced them to sleep with each other then the tension would go away and there would be less bitching."

"Why do you insist on making that happen?"

"Because they obviously want to fuck."

"Please don't say that. If there's two people I never ever want to imagine having sex it's those two."

"I actually think they could be good for each other."

"I hate it."

"I know you do, but maybe it would make them happy."

"I hate it."

Jennie laughs and maneuvers her right arm behind Lisa's head, lovingly coercing her into bringing their lips together.

"What if they're like us? You hated me at the beginning too."

"I didn't hate you. I liked you but I just refused to admit it."

"Exactly."

"Ugh... I hate it."

"You work on your sister, I work on Jisoo."

"How do you ever want me to try to convince anyone to date Jisoo with a straight face? She's the worst person I've ever met."

"You love each other."

"We absolutely do not."

Jennie pushes Lisa down towards her lips once more.

"You take Rose, I take her. Yeah?"

"I hate it."

Jennie joins their lips anew.

"I love you wife."

"I love you too... except when you're trying to get my sister to sleep with who I'm starting to suspect is the actual devil. Then I love you a little less."

Lisa smiles and Jennie unwraps herself from where she was pulling Lisa with her.

"Dance with me."

"There's no music right now." Lisa states matter of factly.

"Who cares? Dance with me."

Jennie wraps one arm around Lisa's waist and the other around her neck. Lisa shakes her head but indulges Jennie nonetheless and they begin to sway in and out of the patch of blue light that the moonlight leaves the Manobanen floor. After a few seconds Lisa places both her hands on either side of Jennie's waist. Instants later Jennie begins to quietly hum and rests her head against Lisa's chest before pulling her impossibly close.

It's well past two in the morning when Lisa finds herself lazily carrying Jennie's shoes in her hand as they make their way down the hotel hallway. They're both exhausted but in the best way.

Despite being completely sober they both well-nigh stumble into the room and race to get undressed as quickly as possible, craving the idea of being in a warm bed and off their feet. In her haste, Lisa notices the big suitcase in the corner but doesn't think about it twice.

---

"Do you need help?"

"I'm good."

Jennie screams for the bathroom but seconds later she peeks her head out.

"Actually, can you put this on the thing?" Jennie points to the suitcase then at the luggage rack.

"I'm an idiot and I packed my toothbrush again this morning."

Lisa mindlessly heads for the suitcase and the weight of it takes her aback. The suitcase is not only heavy but evidently fully packed.

"What the hell is in there?"

Jennie walks up to the suitcase and flips it open in a completely blase manner. Lisa knits her brow when she immediately recognizes some of her own clothes and shoes in there.

"I figured one bag was easier than packing one for each of us."

"Packing? For what?"

Jennie walks up to Lisa, placing both her hands flat on her wife's chest, and looks up at her with a victorious smirk.

"Did you really think I wasn't going to plan a trip? I want to have married sex outside of New York."

"Jennie, I have work in a few hours."

Jennie places a kiss on her lips and coolly walks away and in the direction of the bathroom to finish getting ready for bed.

"Got you a week off."

"You did what?!"

"Don't worry, Indra is totally fine with it." Jennie's head pops out from the bathroom once more.

"She's not as intimidating as you make her sound. Loves the bottle of wine I got her."

"Indra?" Lisa rushes to the bathroom and looks at Jennie through the mirror. "Indra?! You're on a first name basis with the Manhattan DA?! How..."

Jennie shrugs and begins to brush her teeth, casually carrying on the conversation with it in her mouth.

"I'm good. Don't question it. We're going on a babymoon."

"We're going on a what?"

The question lingers until Jennie finishes and spits out the foam.

"A babymoon. Some couples go on a trip to have fun before the baby is born." Jennie pushes Lisa out the bathroom with her. "We also need a honeymoon so it's a two for one."

Jennie walks around the room wrapping up the last few things she needs to accomplish before being able to call it a night. Lisa closely follows.

"Jennie... we can't."

"Why?"

"I have work."

"I just told you you don't."

"Because you apparently talked my boss into it! And... by the way... don't think we're not revisiting that later, I'm only letting it be because I don't want to argue on our wedding night."

"Okay, so then it's all good. You don't have work and we're getting on a 9:20 AM plane. Amazing."

"Jennie..."

"You're either getting on the plane with me or you aren't but I'm going." Lisa huffs and lets herself fall down onto the bed.

"Why are you so difficult?"

"Should've thought about that before you gave me the ring. Now you have to deal with me forever."

"Where are we going?"

"We land in Charleston at 11:30."

"I'm really hoping you mean the Charleston in West Virginia."

"You know very well I mean the Charleston in South Carolina. Got us a rental too. It's only like an hour to Andrews. You never told me it was that close. You made it seem like it was super far."

"Absolutely not."

"Why not? Give me one good reason."

"Because I don't want to. Jennie, I haven't been there since we came to New York. We left for a reason."

"So let's go now. Show me around. I wanna see where that Southern Charm came from."

"You don't get it, do you? I didn't have fun there, Jennie. I don't have any great memories I can relive. There are no favorite spots I can take you to or friends to reunite with or nostalgic time capsules to dig up. Everything there was horrible."

"I know. I know that baby." Jennie crawls onto the bed and lands next to Lisa with her knees tucked under her body. "We're rewriting the story of the blanket, remember? This is how we start. We go to the place it came from and we have fun, we find favorite places, we laugh a lot, we make time capsules, we kiss soooo much, we have a ton of sex... it's our honeymoon so we definitely need to do that. Take me there and we make the good memories together. We go and we make it ours. That's the first new chapter."

"Andrews is the size of this hotel room. Not really much to see."

"Yeah, but you eventually moved to Charleston."

"They moved me. It wasn't exactly voluntary."

"Babe." Jennie legs begin to go numb so she moves from sitting to lying down. She places her head on Lisa's thighs and looks up at her. "Show me around. I wanna see the place that gave me my wife."

"I already told you, there's nothing to see."

"Fine, if you don't have anything to show me then I'll show you around."

"You've never been to South Carolina."

"I know but I'm very good at googling things. Got a whole list of places already."

"Of course you do. Why am I even surprised?"

"You say you have no good memories there but there's a few surprises packed somewhere in our bag that are guaranteed to make you at least one or two."

"Is that so?"

"Uhum."

"What kind of surprises?"

"Just things."

"Can I know what those things are?"

"Maybe a couple of silk and lace slips... amongst other stuff."

"How do you make terrible ideas sound great?"

"Talent."

"I guess so."

They look at each other seriously, trying not to be the first one to give in but when Lisa starts to crack Jennie isn't far behind and they both lose it at the same time. Lisa bends down to place a kiss on Jennie's lips. When Lisa begins to retreat, Jennie holds her face in place with her hands.

"You ready to go on our honeymoon, wife?"

"You haven't given me much of a choice, wife."

"I never really do, do I?"

"You don't."

"I love you, wife."

"Me too, wife."

"It's never going to get old is it?"

"Probably not."

"You're my wife."

"No, you're my wife."

"Baby... please." Jennie mocks Lisa, both knowing full well who was in charge.

"Yeah, I'm definitely your wife."

"That's sounds more realistic. You're my wife forever. And then a little longer after that."

Jennie sat up and brought her knees to either side of Lisa's thighs before resting her elbows on her shoulders. "I don't think we need to wait to get to Charleston to start making more good memories, do you?"

Lisa shakes her head no. "Definitely not."

Lisa ghosts her thumb over Jennie's bottom lips and they both lean in to meet halfway on what was about to spark their first sweaty and fatiguing night as a married couple.

Hours later they lay in bed, hand in hand and oozing both post-wedding and post-orgasm bliss. Lisa's eyes are closed nevertheless she smiles at the way Jennie whispers sweet nothings that mean everything into her ear. Jennie talks about their past, about their present, and about their future. She talks about both random and important things. She talks until they both fall asleep.

That night they both dream about their future together. They dream of healthychildren. They dream of laughter. They dream of a happy life. What those dreams failed to include was how at one point their entire puzzle was going tobe violently tossed into the air and they'd have no choice but to helplessly watch as the millions of pieces they'd accumulated rained down around them. The dreams never predicted that once their puzzle was torn apart they'd be spending the rest of their time together attempting to glue those pieces back in place.The dreams never warned them that some of the most crucial pieces would go missing forever and that those left behind were never going to fit quite the way they used to ever again. The dreams lied.

---