#satellitewrites

i. theo’s there. roxy has control over the playlist, but theo’s there and he plays steph down the aisle ( an instrumental rendition jason mraz & colbie caillat’s lucky )

ii. oakley walks steph down the aisle. it’s a great “compromise”, which is to say she doesn’t want her dad to walk her down the aisle, so she comes up with a reason for anyone else to. she likes a certain amount of tradition, but “being given away” isn’t something she can really get behind. it’s fitting, though, because oakley is her ex wife, so she can tell her father it’s about “technically, i’m not yours to give away”.

iii. mona, isla, ellie, georgie and dot are her bridesmaids, with oakley as part of the bridal party on the technicality of walking her down the aisle. mona is her maid of honour. steph did ask / want to ask honey, but didn’t want to put her in a position where she felt like she couldn’t leave if she was uncomfortable. honey sits in the front row with carol, ian, penny, jakob and the rest of the ritters.

iv. steph CRIES. actually, a lot ( thank you mona for the waterproof mascara ), though she doesn’t let it show. she’s just about teary-eyed from the moment she walks down the aisle, but tears fall during the vows and the first dance. we know avery cries.

v. steph wears doc martens under her dress. they can’t really be seen until later on in the reception when steph’s picking up the skirts of her dress to move around more easily. the laces and detailing on the shoe are blue.

BONUS: something old: she combines the “silver sixpence in her shoe” part of the tradition with the something old.something new: the tiara !!! she’s fuckin princess and she deserves it ( again, thank you mona ), and that is what she counts as her something new something borrowed: as this is supposed to be borrowed from someone in a happy marriage, “borrowing that bride’s happiness”, she borrows the ribbon that tied fern’s bouquet together, fashioning it as a bracelet-corsage style thing. something blue: her laces.

@satellitewrites / @iconiquetm

leo vc: throw some money in their mouth and request a song like a jukebox

Anyone watching them for the past few days would be amazed that the pair were even capable of STANDING UP, let alone underneath any Christmas decoration. Even Steph was amazed that she hadn’t keeled over yet ( she could drink, but she had nothing on Oakley’s liver ), but her eye for detail was slipping, just like her glasses. Oakley must have grabbed the fucking thing on the way in, and now here she was, brandishing it with that cocky smile that was easily her trademark.

“You know FUCKIN’ what—” But Steph didn’t bother to finish her sentence, instead choosing to ( do her best to ) focus on her first kiss that wasn’t Chris. On having FUN.

It’s the FOURTH of December, and Lilli had already covered her ENTIRE house with Christmas decorations. At least, Steph thought bitterly as she tried to avoid the festive glitter, at least Lilli wasn’t currently playing her Christmas playlist. It’s because she’s not there, at work, probably causing Spencer Yuletide-themed grief instead.

Perdita had padded up to her as soon as she’d stepped into the kitchen, and Steph absentmindedly pets the dog as she opened the fridge to find… Something.

“Do you want curry or pasta?” Her eyes combed over the boxes that Lilli had left labelled for her, waiting for Avery’s answer, wondering if she’d left the door open and if he’d even heard at all. “C'mon, girl,” Steph gently nudged Per’s nose out of the fridge with her thigh, heading to the door to repeat herself, louder.

“What?”

“Oh!” They weren’t moving fast enough to fully slam into each other, but it was still a surprise to have each other so close to the others’ face.

“Lilli… Never spares any expense at Christmas, huh.”

“You have no idea.” Automatically, Steph checks above them for whatever decoration Lilli had chosen for the passage to her apartment and then she rolled her eyes. “What a fucking BITCH.” Not that it stopped her from hooking her finger over the hem of his shirt collar and pulling him down, less aggressively than you might expect, and placed a kiss to Avery’s lips. With a sigh, she relaxes and smiles into the kiss, pulling him a little closer with a small murmur before pulling away.

“I SAID, curry or pasta?”

pistachio, a right dickead of bird: mimics a neigh

i. it was fast. it had to be, for steph to get herself over the barriers she’d put up. but it had happened, and it wasn’t so fast that either of them blinking would mean they miss it. and it hadn’t been a kiss to his CHEEK, either. steph had rose to her toes, one hand keeping her balance by resting on his as she did so, planting a soft but certain kiss to his lips before she pulled away ( somehow she was already three feet from him in the moments it took to open their eyes again ).

“schöne träume, avery.”

ii. it’s quiet — the way steph prefers — and they’re the only two left. which is to say, steph snuck into the aquarium after closing to spend some alone time with… the fish? avery? who knows. but the two are walking hand in hand, STANDING hand in hand now that steph stopped walking.

“hey…” she doesn’t take her eyes from the sting-rays. “hmm?” in the time it took avery to respond, steph had brought their hands up to her lips. “thanks.” she lets the words move her lips more than actively pressing them against the back of avery’s hand, but it didn’t change the intention.

iii. the laughter’s muffled, hidden by pillows, blankets, avery’s shoulder. it’s muffled and even softer for it, genuine, and hardly at all induced by sleeplessness. she begins to bunch the duvet up, uncovering the both of them but not bothering to untangle limbs, trying to find his face, just to look at him for a second. the giggles are still on her lips as she sees him, hair messy and falling in ways it didn't normally across his face.

everything is carefree enough in that moment that she can lean in and kiss him hard without thinking about anything other than his lips on hers.

iv. she doesn't tend to move gracefully, but there IS an air of SOMETHING that makes it seem calmer when she moves, even if she's in a hurry, and being late is rarely something that bothers her ( because she always IS ). so this morning was a little disjointed simply because she is rushing, suddenly aware of the concept of time. it doesn't stop her from taking time for avery, though. Jellybean was clinging to Avery's leg and Abby settled on Steph's hip, supported with one arm, the other free to latch onto her husband's shirt. The kiss was already an acrobatic feat, given the children attached to limbs, but they managed it with an ease that showed this had been practised to perfection.

v. "shhh!" it's a pointless warning, really. the kids were sleeping through the night, and if mona WASN'T asleep, she'd already heard them long before they'd parked. that, and it was completely ineffectual as they tried to muffle laughter against each others' lips, the loud clattering of keys dropping into the bowl giving them pause, listening to the house. as soon as they confirmed no stirring from upstairs, their attention returned to each other, steph pushing avery against the wall to kiss him fiercely.