15 years ago
I was in my room, wanting to be by myself for my short bit of leisure time Mr. Hargreeves granted us. I had the radio on a station that plays ballads and was sitting at my desk drawing. I liked to draw sometimes because it calmed me. I wasn't that great of an artist but I wasn't horrible either. Right now, I was doing what a normal teenager would be doing at the age of fifteen. I was drawing what my future wedding dress would look like.
I've drawn many styles and kinds of clothes that I would like to own one day. I thought maybe a possible career path was fashion designer if I was ever to leave the Academy. Once I put the finishing touches on my dress, I stood up with my sketchbook and admired it. It was my best work yet.
I smiled as Frank Sinatra's 'All The Way' came on the radio next. I put my sketch down and pretended I was asked to dance. I put my hand on my chest delicately before taking the invisible man's hand. I began to dance around my room with my 'partner' with my eyes shut and a dreamy smile across my lips. I imagined I was older, wearing the dress I just designed, dancing with the man I just married.
I pictured marrying a ruggedly handsome man. Someone who was a little rough around the edges but wasn't afraid to show me their sweet side. He was taller than me of course because that was the natural order. He had dark features because I always found that to be more attractive than a preppy blond prince.
"What are you doing?"
I was broken out of my daydream and turned quickly toward my bedroom door. I forgot I left my door open, letting the last person I wanted to see, see me do something so embarrassing. I dropped my arms and dealt with my embarrassment the only way I knew how when it came to Diego. I glared at him in anger.
"What are you doing here? And why are you watching me?" I snapped.
"I was on my way to Luther's room when I noticed you horribly dancing to that awful song." He said distastefully.
"My dancing is superb. I've taken all the same lessons as you, you know." I said haughtily, "And for the record, Frank Sinatra is a fabulous musician but I wouldn't expect you to know that. Your musical taste is subpar compared to mine."
"Tell that to the Jonas Brothers poster on your wall." Diego said sarcastically.
I couldn't help being offended, "The Jonas Brothers are kind-hearted, charitable, and compassionate individuals. Unlike YOU. I'd be lucky to be able to marry any one of them." Or someone like them anyway.
"Marry them? Why would anyone want to marry you?" Diego sniggered, "I know I wouldn't, not even if you were the last girl on earth."
"Go away!" I screamed and picked up my hairbrush from my dresser. I threw it with all my might but he was already down the hall. My hairbrush hit the wall and thumped to the floor.
"You missed!" He called.
--*--
It's been three weeks. Three weeks since Diego helped me pack up all my clothes. Three weeks since Diego insisted, I move into his apartment (apparently, he had a two bedroom above his P.I office in this timeline). Three weeks since I left the cheating scumbag and started planning for the wedding I ACTUALLY wanted.
A wedding that was happening today. Diego and I didn't want to wait and have a long engagement. We just wanted to start our life together already. It was going to be a small ceremony that Mr. Hargreeves allowed us to have at the Academy. It seems that Mr. Hargreeves really HAD changed from the man we once knew... at least a little.
Allison, Vanya, and Klaus were upstairs getting ready with me. Claire was here as well and she was going to be the flower girl. She was a sweet girl. I asked Allison and Vanya to stand with me, since I knew Diego had asked Five and Luther to stand for him. Allison said yes, of course, and wore a beautiful lilac sequined dress. Vanya asked if she could play the violin as I walked down the aisle instead, so was wearing a tailored womans pantsuit. It suited her more than I think a dress would anyway.
I promised Klaus when he found out about the engagement that he could be a bridesmaid and when I didn't ask him, he seemed so sad. There was a reason I didn't ask him though, and I told him that. Two weeks ago, I pulled him off to the side to speak to him privately because I didn't want anyone else to hear.
"Klaus, I know you're disappointed but I actually have another role I'd like to offer you. One I think you'll appreciate and enjoy more." I said to him as we sat on the front steps of the Academy.
"Yeah?"
"I thought about asking Mr. Hargreeves to do it but it just didn't feel right, so I'd like you to walk me down the aisle instead. It just seems more... appropriate?"
Klaus clasped his hands together in front of his heart, touched, "You want ME to give you away? I'd be so honoured!"
"I'd also like to know if you'd officiate the ceremony too. I already got you ordained online."
Klaus pretended to ponder this request, "Can I have complete creative control?"
"Yes Klaus. You can have complete creative control."
"Then yes! I'm in! I'll do it!" Klaus exclaimed happily as if I was the one to ask HIM to marry ME. "I'm surprised Diego is okay with this."
Right, Diego... "We're just going to keep this between us until the day of. It will be a... surprise or sorts."
I still remember the evil giggle Klaus let free after I said that. I probably should have been worried but I wasn't in the least. I know Klaus is eccentric but he also cared for us, so I knew he would take this seriously. At least, I hoped he would. If he didn't, then this would be nothing short of entertaining.
"Alright. Your hair and make-up are done." Allison said, taking the curling iron away and setting it on her vanity. We were getting ready in her room. "Time to put on your dress."
I put on my dress and beamed as I saw myself in the mirror. I didn't want anything over the top because it just wasn't me. It wasn't the dress I designed when I was fifteen but it was as close too as I
remembered it being. It was a knee-length, A-line dress with capped sleeves. The front dipped into a modest 'V' and the back dipped into a lower 'V' that stopped below midback. The satin material was a light champagne colour but the lace and tulle overlay were pure white. It offset nicely and I felt beautiful.
My shoes were two-inch lacy pumps to match. My make-up was also natural tones to go with the champagne of my dress. My hair was curled and pinned to the side over my shoulder with a couple pearls placed strategically. I felt like a princess.
I turned to my two sisters and brother and held out my arms, "So? What do you think?"
"You look amazing." Vanya said and Allison nodded in agreement.
"You look like the princess mommy always described you as." Claire said and giggled when Allison tickled her. Claire was in a pink poufy dress.
"You're lovely Malia. You look almost as beautiful as me." Klaus said, wiping a fake tear away.
Klaus decided to wear a blue floral suit jacket with a coral scarf around his neck. His pants were made of black silk and fit him really well. Almost too well if anyone really looked closely but hopefully no one would. He was bare foot too, which was the norm but I wasn't judging.
"It's almost time, so I'm going to go down and see if the others are ready. When I begin playing, that will be your cue." Vanya said and left the room.
"Are you ready for this?" Allison asked me.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, it is Diego."
"She's got a point." Klaus said.
"What's wrong with Uncle Diego?" Claire asked.
"Oh, nothing sweetheart. We were just making fun." Allison said and when Vanya's violin could be heard through the floorboards, she took Claire's hand, "Come on, it's time for us to go."
We reached the top of the grand stair case and Allison handed Claire a basket of flower petals. She told Claire to wait a few moments before following her and then went down the stairs. After a moment or two, I told Claire she could follow her mother and she descended the stairs next.
"Ready?" Klaus asked, holding out his arm
"Abso-fucking-lutely." I said, more than ready as I linked my arm through his.
We descended the grand staircase and then turned left to walk down the 'aisle'. It wasn't really much of an aisle to be honest. There were four chairs set up to the left for 'my side' where Herb, Dot, and Claire were sitting. There were also four chairs set up to the right for 'his side' where Mr. Hargreeves, Grace, and Pogo were sitting. Diego stood before the entrance to the living room with Luther and Five to the right of him. Allison waited on the other side for me to take my place. Vanya was a little off to the side playing her violin magnificently.
Klaus walked me right up to where Diego was waiting, not taking his eyes from me, "You're gorgeous." He said quietly.
"She's a gem and if you hurt my baby girl. I'll hunt you down and kill you." Klaus said dramatically as Vanya stopped playing and sat beside Pogo.
I giggled, "That's enough Klaus."
Klaus rolled his eyes and then stepped past us. He turned around and held up his hands, "We are gathered here today-"
"Klaus? What are you doing? Go sit down." Diego demanded.
"Oh, didn't you know? I'm officiating this shindig." Klaus said smugly.
"No, you're not." Diego chuckled and then noticed the innocent look I was shooting him, "He is... him? Really?"
"Just roll with it love." I said with a wink.
"Now as I was saying before I was sooooooo rudely interrupted... We are gathered here today in celebration of one of life's greatest moments. A union between a kind and sometimes sadistic woman and an emotionally stunted man with a hero complex." Klaus began.
I grabbed both of Diego's hands before he could turn and throttle him. I gave Klaus creative freedom; I couldn't be angry. Besides, he's not entirely wrong. Klaus was about to continue but a knock at the front door made us all gaze at each other in confusion. Everyone we knew was already in this room.
"Who could that possibly be?" Mr. Hargreeves asked and stood to answer the door. "Who are you? Wait, it doesn't matter. We don't want any. Good day."
He tried to shut the door but it was pushed back open and the person who walked in shocked us all. It was Lila and she was wearing a plain black dress with the same red combat boots that I last saw her in. I really want to give her style tips.
"Lila." Diego whispered.
She rubbed her left arm with her right hand, "Sorry I'm late. I didn't mean to crash your ceremony."
"You're right on time." I said softly, "Why don't you have a seat beside Dot?" I suggested. Lila nodded and took her seat and I turned back to Klaus, "You may continue."
"I scoured the interwebs, looking for the right words to describe the relationship between these two and realized nothing quite fit. You're going to need a new computer by the way Malia." Klaus said, making my eye twitch slightly, "The relationship between these two was always rocky and tremulous, I mean come on, they practically hated each other since the moment they met. Who knew that whole time was just long drawn out foreplay? The sex must be AMAZING." Klaus sang the last word and then coughed into his hand at the glare both Diego and I sent him.
"What I mean is... this ceremony will not create a relationship that doesn't already exist. Instead, it is a symbol of how far you've come these past few years...months...uh days? You know what, this whole time-travel thing really messes with the brain." Klaus shook his head and tucked his hair behind his ear as he continued, "Anyway, as you join together as one, your hardships and successes become something you share and you will be stronger because of it. There is now only one thing left to do... vows and rings."
Five handed Diego my ring and Allison handed me Diego's. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest as I stared into Diego's eyes. He was wearing a well-tailored suit. It looked much better than the one he wore at the Mexican Consulate in 1963 and I thought he was handsome then.
"Okay!" Klaus exclaimed making us jump a little at the volume, "We'll start with the man. Diego, do you take Malia as your gorgeous, sexy, lawful wife, to have and to hold and yadda, yadda, yadda?"
"Hell yeah I do." Diego said with a smirk.
He placed the ring on my finger, trapping the engagement ring in place. I expected the wedding band to be a plain and simple white gold but what he actually placed on my finger had me shocked. It was still simple and tasteful but instead of a plain band, it had little diamonds imbedded the whole way round. I looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Turns out I make a little more in this timeline." He said smugly.
"Now Malia!" Klaus said loudly again and I once again jumped. He was making me regret my decision to ask him to do this. "Do you take Diego as your less sexy, somewhat dull, awful husband, to have and to hold and yadda, yadda, yadda?"
"It's lawful." Luther whispered to Klaus.
Klaus flapped his hand dismissively, "Like I said...do you?"
"Fuck yeah." I said and placed his simple white gold band on his left ring finger.
"That settles it! I now pronounce you man and wife!" Klaus shouted, "You may now kiss the bride but make it good. None of that chaste boring shit."
Diego didn't disappoint. He pulled me to him and dipped me to the left and laid a hard kiss upon my lips. It wasn't a long kiss but it wasn't short either and it definitely didn't lack passion. When he placed me back upright, everyone was clapping and cheering. Well, almost everyone. Pogo had a small proud smile and Mr. Hargreeves had a rare but genuine smirk across his lips.
"I think it's time for some celebratory drinks, don't you?" Klaus asked with a clap of his hands and turned to go to the bar. We all followed him in and he mixed and poured a few drinks for everyone. I took the gin martini he made me and pulled Diego over to Lila who was sipping at her own.
"I'm so glad you're here Lila." I said and gave her a hug.
"Me too but uh, why are you here?" Diego asked.
"I thought about what you guys said, about having a family that loves me for me and not what I can do. About being a part of something with no ulterior motives. I realized that I want that or at least I want to try." She said cautiously.
"We're happy to have you, Lila." I said warmly.
"All of us are." Five said, butting into the conversation, "But make no mistake. I will kill you if you give me a reason."
He smirked as he held his hand out for Lila to shake and she took it without hesitation. Herb then came over to talk to both Five and Lila so I went to mingle with the others in my family. An hour past as I spoke with my family and accepted their congratulations. Even Mr. Hargreeves gave me his compliments. I poured myself another drink as a familiar tune filled the air.
Everyone, including me, turned to Diego as he spoke, "This wasn't a traditional wedding but I think some customs deserve to happen. Like the first dance between husband and wife." Diego held his hand out to me, "Will you dance with me Malia?"
I took his hand, "I'd be honoured."
He pulled me into him and we began to sway to the music. We didn't do any complicated dance or anything, just a simple two-step. We danced to a classic ballad that I thought he would never be caught dead dancing too.
"All The Way by Frank Sinatra. I thought you said this was an 'awful' song."
"I lied. Just like I lied when I said I wouldn't marry you even if you were that last girl on earth." Diego said, running his nose along the shell of my ear. "In fact, I imagined take the place of your invisible boyfriend that day."
"Wow... you lied about a lot." I teased.
"Only about my feelings. I won't be doing that anymore." He said quietly.
"Good."
"Hey, hey, hey... don't hog her." Klaus said, butting in, "You get her for the rest of your life. Let the rest of us have a turn, will you?"
Klaus than swept me away as Diego cursed him. I laughed as I danced a few songs with Klaus. He was the catalyst that got everyone else to start dancing too. Mr. Hargreeves even danced with Grace for a song or two and I was reminded of the Grace in 1963. If he made a robot based on her real person, she must have been special to him. It's likely that he even loved her. It made me wonder what happened to the real Grace.
"Hey, you okay?" Diego asked as he came to sit beside me on the sofa.
I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder, "Yeah, just taking this all in. It feels strange to be all in one place – at the Academy no less – and be happy."
"Yeah, it does." He agreed.
I lifted my head up, "Guess what Five told me earlier. Herb offered him a position at The Commission. Guess as what?"
"Don't tell me..."
I giggled, "Yup! He's the new Handler. Of course, he gets paid leave and doesn't have to work weekends. Since he looks like a thirteen-year-old boy, there isn't much else he would have been able to do here."
"Lila also told me some news." Diego said, "Herb asked her to be Head of Security but also help the new reform."
"That's good. I think she'll be great at it. The Commission hasn't cared about the right or wrong of their decisions before, as long as the timeline is corrected. The reform will change that."
"Vanya also agreed to let Lila stay with her. She has a second bedroom."
I closed my eyes, resting my head back on his shoulder, "That's amazing. I'm so glad things are working out."
"You're tired." Diego said.
"Just a little."
"How about we say our goodbyes and head out then?"
I only nodded as a response.
Diego helped me up from my seat and we made our final rounds. Claire had gone to bed two hours ago but I said I would be back to see her before Allison took her back to LA. Diego and I took a taxi back to our little two-bedroom apartment. When he unlocked the door, he stopped me from entering. I tried to go around his arm but he wouldn't let me. I stopped to listen for danger but there was nothing going on.
"Diego." I whined, "I'm tired, let me in."
Diego scooped me up in his arms and smirked, "Some traditions are meant to be kept."
He brought me into the apartment and shut the door with his feet. He brought me to our bedroom and laid me down. Despite how tired I was, I was still anticipating what would happen next. I'm not stupid, I've read a lot of wedding articles and such, so I know what happens on the wedding night. The bride and groom are usually too tired to do anything on the actual wedding night and just pass out. However, we weren't your typical bride and groom.
Diego took off my shoes, then took off his suit jacket and dress shirt. He then got on the bed and leaned over me. I rested my hands on his chest as I looked up into his eyes. He used the pads of his fingers to trace from my temple to my cheek, then down my neck to my shoulder.
"What are you doing?" I whispered.
"Taking this in... taking YOU in."
"Why?"
"Because you're beautiful and you're mine."
I leaned up to kiss him chastely, "I love you Diego."
_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~****~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~_
...13 Months Later
Diego and I have been married for a little over a year now and to say that anything has changed is an understatement. He still got on my nerves and I KNOW I still got on his. The difference now, is that I know at the end of the day, we still would get in the same bed and cuddle like nothing has happened.
One particular thing did change though. I was 38 weeks pregnant. It was definitely a shock when we found out but once the shock wore off, we realized we were happy and looking forward to it. Diego wants a son and I want a daughter. We placed bets and are going to wait for the delivery to see who wins.
I closed the refrigerator with a groan and waddled to the sofa to sit beside Diego, "There is
nothing to eat."
"The fridge is full." Diego said with a roll of his eyes as he flipped through channels on the TV.
Diego was usually pretty busy with work. Surprisingly, being a Private Investigator/Bounty Hunter kept him decently occupied. As my pregnancy progressed though, he's been taking less and less clients so he can be home when I go into labour. So, on a typical Saturday night, he'd usually be out tracking down some asshole but tonight, not so much.
"Not with ice cream." I whined.
Diego sighed, "Do you really need it?"
"It's the summer Diego. I'm already running hot and uncomfortable from this human you put inside me and the summer heat is adding to that. I want ice cream." I demanded.
"What if you go into labour while I'm gone?"
"Stop being so over bearing and just go get me some ice cream." I snapped.
Diego shot to his feet at the attitude I was giving him, "And you think I'm the one being over bearing?" He muttered, grabbing his keys.
"What was that?" I asked.
"Nothing."
He was about to open the door and leave but Five materialized in front of the TV with a briefcase in hand. His sudden appearance had me jumping to my feet and grabbing the closest thing to me as a weapon, which was a lamp. Diego was quick on his feet to come over and protect me, a knife already in each hand.
When it did register that it was only Five, I was about to yell at him but then I REALLY studied him. He was in a navy suit with a black tie like usual (he stopped wearing the Academy uniform long ago) but the suit looked ruffled and his tie was askew. There was a cut running along his left cheek and the way he was babying his right arm told me it was broken or at the very least, sprained. He looked like hell.
"Five?" I asked, concerned, "What's wrong?"
Five looked from me to Diego, "Good, you're both here."
"We live here man. What are you doing here?"
"Armageddon." Five said tiredly and collapsed in the nearest chair.
"Come again?"
"There is going to be an Armageddon."
"Like the movie?" Diego asked, not understanding.
"No, you idiot. Not like the movie." Five said, unimpressed.
"What are you talking about Five? You're not being clear." I said.
"The world is going to end again and we have seven days to stop it." Five explained.
I frowned and took a calculating step forward as I spoke quietly, the fury building up with every single word I spoke, "Let me get this straight... You're telling us the world is going to end... again... and it's going to happen on my DUE DATE!!!!"
No worries... they got this.