#thefastermaximoff

Pietro yawned, stretching languidly, somebody had been prodding at his arm-no doubt trying to wake the speedster. Anticipating to face Cole when he turned on his side-he paused when he came face-to-face with a pair of sleepy grey eyes staring at him, framed by a mess of blonde hair. “Uhh-” The young girl rubbed at her eyes. “You guys overslept. You were supposed to run me over to Xavier’s today, remember?” Pietro blinked, brows furrowing as he processed her words. “I was-” Her hand fell to her side, brows raising as she spoke again. “Going to take me to Xavier’s so I don’t have to take the bus. I know you just woke up, but don’t tell me you forgot, dad.” Pietro’s brows shot upward, head tilting down slightly. “Dad?” She stared at him before walking away with a yawn. “I need to get ready, you guys are making breakfast, right?” Pietro blinked, rolling to nudge Cole’s shoulder. “Cole, I need you to wake up and tell me I’m not going crazy.”

Although he was wasn’t yet aware of the passing time, not a difference had been made in how heavy a sleeper Cole was. His eyes felt especially heavy as he was nudged awake by his husband, although it had taken several of said elbow digs just to rouse him. Even half-awake, he could sometimes notice the most random things--things that were out of their usual place. In this case, he noticed he’d woken up to his face buried in different sheets than the ones he’d gone to bed in. It was only a fleeting thought, especially after his mind processed Pietro’s words. “Nnhh?” croaked Cole, raising in a lazy push up while his head turned to look at Pietro. As he awakened further, his brows fell low and his eyes widened a fraction, not from the sight of his husband but looking beyond him at the bright room they were in. They had been back from their honeymoon for days…where the hell are we? he thought to himself, nearly muttering the same words. “What’s going on, Cole wondered, turning off of his stomach to sit up properly. As he did so, a young voice called out, “Padre! Daddy! Get up!” The voice rapidly neared until a small, slender boy of about 6 or 7 darted inside and threw himself on the foot of the bed. His dark brown, shoulder length hair hung messily around his tawny, cherub face. He leaped like a frog between the two men while slapping his hands down over the top of their comforter, chanting, “Get up! Get up! Get up! Lexi’s late and you promised I can go see the school this time!” Alarmed and even more confused, Cole unabashedly asked, “Who are you? And who’s Lexi?” The little boy kept unnecessarily insisting they get up, but he soon stopped and spoke in a sing-song voice, “Uh-ohhhh…” before turning, puffing his chest dramatically, only to holler, “LEEEEEXXXXIIIIIIIII THEY FORGOTTED AGAAAAIIIIN!”

”Uhh-” Before Pietro got the chance to fully explain, the little boy ran in, only adding to the confusion. “-this is going on.” He gestured with a wave of his hand and a shrug. “This is the second time I’ve been called ‘dad’ this morning.” He added quietly, leaning over to whisper to Cole, flinching slightly at the sudden shouting. ”What?” The tone was alarmed-if not a little exasperated-as the blonde girl from before re-entered the room, blonde mess of hair now neatly brushed and in the process of being braided. Her eyes bounced from Cole to Pietro before she gave a deep sigh. ”I didn’t even do anything this time.” She admitted with a frown, moving to sit on the floor. ”I’ll have to tell my professor-” While this seemed mostly directed to herself, she crossed her legs in front of her, fingers moving to braid her hair again. “-I’m Alexis Grace Harris-Maximoff and that-” She pointed to the boy who had yet to leave the foot of the bed. “-little bundle of energy is Ezra Xavier Harris-Maximoff. We’re your children.” She paused, letting the two men absorb this information, but given Pietro’s shocked expression-he’d need more than a second. ”He’s as normal as normal comes but I kinda have some influence over memory and probably made you two forget about us.” She cleared her throat, eyes dropping as her voice lowered slightly. ”Again. But I can fix it!” Alexis added hastily with a crooked smile that looked remarkably similar to Cole’s. “I promise I can! Just...maybe not right now?” Her voice squeaked slightly at the end, coming off as a question, earning a round of giggles from Ezra. Inhaling slowly, Pietro shut his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose. They just got back from their honeymoon-memory tinkering or not-Pietro felt like he’d remember if they adopted two kids. “I-how-you two-” He ran his hand down his face, moving to sit up as he glanced at Cole, a single brow arched. “-I don’t know how to respond to this.”

Cole’s heart began thumping hard in his chest at the shock of...everything. He raised a hand to run a hand through his hair but was surprised to find most of his hair cut off. He brought his hand away, relieved to see that his wedding band was at least still in place--not that he expected anything else--but there were small changes to his body that were quickly unsettling him from what had been a good night’s rest. As his eyes widened and the rest of his body stilled, the teenager who later introduced herself as their daughter entered the room and the bouncing boy had finally settled down. Although he was certain he had heard the girl, Alexis correctly, disbelief still came over him. How could we go to bed newlyweds and wake up parents and not remember a goddamn thing? It was only slightly easy for him to take his eyes off of the two children and look to Pietro who seemed as dumbfounded as he was. True to Cole’s nature, he needed to make sense of this; memory manipulation wasn’t enough, and he had more than enough of people messing with his mind. Before the question growing in his mind could leave his mouth he looked about their surroundings some more. Alexis promised to tell them anything they wanted to know in hopes that it might jog their memories. She then urged Ezra off of the bed and told them she would get him dressed but someone needed to take her up to the school. Xavier’s being brought up had a particular question--among the many the sprouted in his mind--that he needed answered. As he and Pietro were momentarily left alone, Cole leaned over, glad to see that a phone was nearby. Being near his side of the bed, he assumed it was his cellphone, so he tapped the screen. The lock screen held a family partially complete family photograph of Pietro sitting with either child at his sides and a slightly larger Luna lounging at his feet. The picture seized his attention for only a short while, further confirming the story Alexis told them, but it was the information he sought that made Cole blanch. The date on the lock screen read July first, two thousand twenty-six. Saying nothing aloud yet, Cole held the phone out to Pietro to show him his discoveries. “I don’t...even if she-- our daughter...Alexis...even if she altered our memories, how the hell did we skip through ten years of our lives?”

Exhaling slowly as the two kids-their children-left the room, Pietro fell back onto the bed. His mind was racing-more so than usual. Casting a sideways glance to Cole, his brows furrowed more as he took in his husband’s changed appearance. “Your hair is short.” He muttered, moving to run a hand through his own silver locks, noting the length with a small huff. “Mine isn't.” When the phone was offered to him, he took it and cast a quick glance at the screen, jaw dropping slightly. “That's-there's no way-” What the hell was going on? Feeling restless, the speedster got to his feet, pacing about the foot of the bed. “-ten years.” He looked at the screen again. “To the day, Cole. Do you think she can do that?” Even Pietro wasn't sure why he was asking, it wasn't like Cole knew everything about the daughter they just found out they had. Or their son. A blur of movement and he grabbed his own phone, greeted by several text notifications. Some from people he recognized at SHIELD-but several were unfamiliar to him. He paused, moving to sit on the bed. “What do we do? I mean-” He gave a wry chuckle. “-we didn't exactly train for this when we went to Xavier’s.” A pause as Pietro thought. “I could take her-Alexis. Professor X might have some answers. Even if he doesn't, our-” He hesitated on the word, still trying to wrap his head around it. “--daughter can fill in some blanks.”

Cole watched Pietro and almost reached up out of reflex to run a hand over his hair again but he stopped mid-rise and lowered his hand again with a roll of his eyes at his near-action. “I don’t know. I’ve never really looked into altering memories as a mutation. She said she made us forget about her and...Ezra, right?” From the brief moment Cole had seen him, the little boy appeared to be Native American; had he and Pietro supposedly adopted the two? It seemed the only answer but settling on a possibility didn’t really bring him much comfort for their overall situation. Taking his phone back, Cole tried to look through it for answers. He had text messages and emails from people whose names he did not recognize, along with an appointment notification with an unfamiliar address added to it. The view from the various windows of the bedroom they woke up in told him they most definitely were not in The Baxter Building. Are we the only ones affected by all of this? How far did Alexis’s powers reach? The garden of questions began taking their turns nagging at Cole’s mind while he half-listened to Pietro. “Alright. Sure. Ezra too. Um…” Glancing down at his phone again, he left the appointment notification alone for the time being and started purusing his contacts, relieved to see Cotia and Jeremy’s names still in it. “I guess… I have an appointment later today.” Wherever they were now, Cole also needed to go somewhere familiar; if Pietro couldn’t find them answers at Xavier’s, he would hope to figure some of this out for them back at Harris Broadcasting. “Let’s get dressed and...try and get some more answers from Alexis about… who we are now? I guess..? I’m going to try our luck at the station.” As he got out of the bed to navigate his way around the room’s layout, he heard a high-pitched squeal coupled with the clinking of dog tags, followed by Ezra’s newly familiar giggle. “Luna, stoooopppit!” Trying to keep his focus and some level of calm, Cole continued to what appeared to be the closet and sorted through what appeared to be his part of the wardrobe for something other than boxers to put on. He and Pietro needed answers and severely hoped they could be found outside of these four walls.

Nodding, Pietro followed Cole, being noticeably quiet as he dug through the closet and started to get dressed. He had a lot to catch up on-it seemed he was still with SHIELD-he could even get answers from there if Xavier didn't have any. But was he still undercover? What about his sisters, his mom--Erik? Taking a deep breath, he moved into the kitchen-Ezra being chased by an ecstatic Luna while Alexis day at the counter, fingers drumming as her eyes followed him. “So-breakfast?” He asked, prompting a small nod from Alexis. ”I grabbed an apple and Ezra got a poptart. So, don't worry about it.” Nodding, Pietro looked around the house, it was...surprising. A little unsettling to not be in their penthouse. Watching Ezra and Luna, a frown crossed his features as he noticed the presence of only one dog. “Is Star…” He let the sentence hang, but given the silence and dropped gaze that came from Alexis, he could draw his own conclusion. “Yeah. Yeah-okay.” Sniffing and rubbing at his nose, he gave a half-hearted smile. “I'm going to take you and Ezra to school. Cole’s got an appointment, so I guess-whenever you guys are ready.”

Cole sat on the edge of a cushioned chair, staring at his bare finger with striking amazement at how naked it felt. He and Pietro hadn’t been engaged terribly long but already he was used to having his ring on and had developed a habit of occasionally turning it about with his thumb. Part of him felt a little bit foolish, knowing that it was currently in safe hands and would soon be back on his finger. Eventually he chalked it all up to anxiousness and pulled away from his own thoughts to have a look about the hotel suite. His best man and best friend, Jeremy was posing in front of a full body mirror alongside his other longtime friend, Will, adjusting their ties while half-singing Billy Idol’s “White Wedding”, somewhat off-key. His dad and his uncle were talking amongst themselves with an obvious ease in their dark formalwear, and his niece was currently being attended to by one of the two photographers who wanted some staged photos of the four year-old flower girl in her pale, princess-like dress. Cole knew Cotia was undoubtedly up on the roof acting as a coordinator to make sure everything looked perfect and that things were happening on time. But as he caught himself smiling softly from Olivia loving the attention in her dress, something told him to check the time and after confirming that it was nearing when the ceremony was to take place, he glanced about the room until his eyes fell on what he was searching for. He crossed the room and picked up a small, flat gift box with, “BARNEYS NEW YORK” impressed on the lid. He walked over to Jeremy, handed him the box and said, “Can you run this over to Pietro really quick? I almost forgot.” When Jeremy agreed, simultaneously making a quip about not being the quick one around here’, Cole went to grab his hung tuxedo jacket and kippah. His father and his uncle broke apart from their conversation; Uncle William stole Olivia’s attention as the photographer finished and escorted her out behind Jeremy and Will. Cole’s father, Connor, stayed behind long enough to assist his son with pinning his boutonniere and kippah, convey his happiness and support for Cole and Pietro, and then, after a meaningful embrace, he too departed to the roof terrace and take his seat. Taking the moment alone, Cole breathed deeply, paced slowly and thought meaningfully to himself about the step he and his love were about to take. As he privately did this, Jeremy reached the room where Pietro was and proceeded to knock on the door while speaking to it in a falsetto tone, “Special delivery for one soon-to-be married hunk’a man!”

“I wish you would just let me-” Pietro rolled his eyes before lightly swatting his mother’s hands away from the tie she was trying to straighten. For the third time. “Mother, I am fine. I think it was straight the first time you did it.” Magda huffed, but lowered her hands, instead contenting herself with picking up around the room, trying to find something to keep herself busy. Pietro always wondered where he got that from. “You are making the face again.” Pietro pointed out as he moved around the room, trying to track down just where his mother put the jacket of his tuxedo. ”What face?” Magda questioned as she came back to where her son was, jacket in hand as she offered it to him. “Your ‘nervous last minute did-I-remember everything’ face. I should be making that face.” Although he did remember everything. Or he was pretty sure he did. Magda’s eyes caught something that apparently needed fixing across the room and began to move before Pietro caught her arm. “Everything is fine, yes? We have everything taken care of, my tie is straight, take a deep breath, alright?” Despite her reluctant face, Magda nodded, Pietro allowing his arm to fall to his side. ”I just can’t believe it is already time. You’re getting married and I-” She let the sentence fall with a smile, staring at her son. “What?” Pietro paused-in the middle of putting on the jacket. Magda waved off the question, gesturing for Pietro to come closer as she made sure every button was buttoned and there were no loose threads. ”You look handsome, is all. Cole is very lucky. If I get the chance to talk to him-I am telling him as much.” Pietro shook his head. “You two aren’t going to get five seconds to talk. I am watching you.” Magda simply smiled innocently and gave a quiet laugh before pulling her son in for a hug. Initially surprised by the reaction, Pietro returned it. “Thank you for your help. But-you have a seat to get to. Come on.” He half-pushed his mother to the door, ignoring her protests that she had wrinkled his jacket when they both paused-interrupted by the knock. ”That better not be him.” Given the faked falsetto, Pietro could safely assure his mother that it wasn’t, and opened the door for Jeremy, a brow raised. “Hey, Jeremy.” Magda attempted to peek around Pietro’s body to glance at the visitor. “Come on in before my mother has a breakdown over the possibility of Cole seeing me.” Firing off how ‘it would be warranted’ Pietro rolled his eyes. “Mother-you have places to be that aren’t here.” Giving her son a small shove and one last effort to straighten his tie, she gave Jeremy a quiet ‘hello’ and ‘goodbye’ before leaving the room. “She is freaking out a little, sorry.” Pietro admitted with a shake of his head. “What is this special delivery? Shouldn’t you be helping Cole or something?”

Jeremy barely had enough time to rock on the heels of his shining black dress shoes before the suite door swung open. He teasingly gave Pietro elevator eyes while letting out a low whistle. Playfully carding a hand through his already slicked back hair, he said, “Well look at you. You’re gonna knock C off his feet.” Grinning, his blue eyes then went to Pietro’s petite mother and despite the slight blush that soon tinted his cheeks from not realizing she was behind him, he rolled off the brief embarrassment and waved to her with his free hand. “Hey there, Mama Maximoff! And Cole’s fine--he’s a big boy. Got himself dressed and everything.” Grinning impossibly wider, he held out the Barneys box, “Besides, I said I had a special delivery. Your fiancé sent me over to give it to you before the ceremony got started. And no, I don’t know what it is but just in case, don’t go shaking the box before you open it.” Noticing the restless look on Pietro’s mother’s face, Jeremy offered her his elbow, turning on the charm while saying, “We’ll give you a moment before things get started.” He then looked to the Maximoff matron and asked, “Can I escort you up to the terrace? Cotia told me there’s a seat for you up front next to Cole’s dad.” Only barely waiting for a response, Jeremy proceeded to give Pietro a final wave and wished him a final, “Congrats, man!” before carrying on a conversation with Pietro’s mother in a small attempt to distract her from fretting further. Not long after all of this occurred, Cole had quit his pacing and checked the time again. If he didn’t leave now, Cotia would come looking for him--high strung attitude and all. Tugging his jacket sleeve down, he gave himself one final look in the mirror and fixed his hair one last time. He’d been letting his ash brown mane grow out slightly longer than usual and currently donned an uncommon part just beside his widow’s peak that was now slicked back and held in place by gel. Feeling as prepared as he could, he then headed out. They had already gone over things during the rehearsal the previous night; he knew what to do, and he wasn’t the least bit afraid. His fears of marriage had all but vanished with each step to the elevator. Once the steel doors opened, for the first time he was seeing all of the ceremony and reception decor but his attention was momentarily derailed. He wasn’t sure if he had been the first to arrive or if Pietro would be, but the flutter of excitement settled down when he realized he had been first. As he stepped to the left and watched their friends and siblings precede them up the aisle, Cole took a quick glance at the various guests who had come--few family, a number of friends and co-workers, and a handful of their former Xavier Institute professors had been in attendance. A small orchestra played off to the side next to a DJ/master of ceremonies waiting on standby for the reception, but all of the decor had been an ode to the roaring twenties and more importantly, their Great Gatsby theme. As he allowed himself a soft smile, his eyes soon fell back on the elevator doors, awaiting Pietro’s appearance.

Pietro rubbed the back of his neck, but was grinning widely at the compliment. “Thanks.” The speedster could almost feel his mother beaming behind him. She waved to Jeremy as she grabbed a small shawl. “Not what I meant-” But Pietro let the sentence drop with a huff, taking the offered box with a raised brow. “I will keep that in mind.” His expression changed from confused to relieved when Jeremy offered to walk Magda to the terrace. “You kids have fun.” He shot the two of them a wave, watching them-especially Magda-carefully before he shut the door, turning to rest his back against it as he looked the box over. Part of him wanted to wait until after the ceremony-but if Cole had it delivered now-that meant it was supposed to be opened now. So he carefully removed the lid and set it to the side, reaching for the letter first. His first read of it had been at his usual level of speed, then he read it again-slower-taking in every word, smile only growing as he neared the bottom of the letter, reaching to grab the small pendent from the box. Pietro couldn’t help but recall the night the pair had graduated-the hook necklace that he was wearing even now. Back then-Pietro wasn’t sure where their relationship would lead them. He had no idea that it would be as strong as it was so many years later-or that they would be here now-moments away from getting married. It almost seemed fitting that he had gotten a necklace at the start-and was getting another one for this new beginning. He was quick to clasp the necklace on, letting it fall to hang just below the engraved hook. Exhaling slowly, he set the letter back carefully-intent on keeping this one with the postcards-and moved his sleeve back to glance at his watch. Looking at the mirror one more time, he adjusted his tie and gave a sharp tug to the bottom of his jacket before opening the door and heading to the terrace. The elevator ride was different-he didn’t feel any form of restlessness with this one-he felt strangely at ease, his breathing even and collected as he focused on the door instead of the rising numbers. Hearing the ‘ding’ that marked his arrival, he moved from leaning against the wall to standing straight, clearing his throat as the doors opened. He was greeted by the music first, Pietro stepping off the elevator with a small smile as the sounds of the orchestra reached his ears, the speedster taking a few steps before he stopped in his tracks. Seeing Cole in formal wear was nothing new, between the parties at Xavier’s and the galas in New York, it was a familiar and welcome sight. But now? Seeing his fiancé standing there? It took Pietro’s breath away-a feeling he wasn’t too familiar with. Giving a light chuckle and a crooked smile, he took steady steps towards Cole. “You look-” He paused, trying to think of the right word that wouldn’t sounds like a cliche. “-amazing.” Well, it was a tad cliche, but it was true. He wanted to tell Cole that he got his gift-but he was still struggling to find words, a fact that as he noticed-caused his cheeks to grow warm as his gaze dropped. “Sorry-you-uh-” He chuckled, finally turning to glance at the decorations and guests, seeming to remember where he was. “I guess we have a wedding to get to, huh?” He pointed out, shooting Cole a grin, his heart beating in his chest. “Well, Mr. Harris-unless if you are having second thoughts-please don’t be-” He added with a chuckle as he offered his fiancé his arm. “-may I?”

The final sweep of his eyes had been on their wedding party--Cotia, Wanda, Jubilee, Jeremy, Julian and The Cuckoos--standing in the thematic gold and black colors. But Cole was anxious to see his fiancé, so his eyes had fixed on the elevator door, nearly wishing he could will them open. He didn’t hear the small orchestra’s music transition songs to Elvis Presley’s “I Can’t Help Falling In Love With You” because the steel doors had finally opened and he saw Pietro step out of it. His breath hitched and as though he had no other choice, his signature crooked smile appeared on his face. He was seeing Pietro from head-to-toe, yet his eyes wouldn’t leave Pietro’s face for some time. Turning his body slightly toward the speedster, Cole found himself grinning softly, and it slowly widened the more Pietro spoke. Things were beginning to feel somewhat surreal as he held his hands out a little, taking in everything about the man who would be his husband in a matter of moments. “Look who’s talking,” Cole replied, softly chuckling as well. Seeing the speedster’s gaze break away helped pull Cole out of his own mild trance, becoming attuned to the music and awaiting guests again. After softly and purposely snorting, he quietly assured Pietro, “I’m not. But you may,” and threaded his arm around the taller mutant. Slipping his fingers between Pietro’s, Cole held his hand securely to his soon-to-be husband’s, walking side-by-side with him down the aisle as guests rose to their feet to greet the couple. When Cole wasn’t glancing up at Pietro, he was looking ahead to their awaiting wedding party, as well as their officiant and former professor, Ororoe Munroe-Howlett. She cast a brilliant yet humble smile at them and once the two reached her and their bridal party, Cole half-reluctantly loosened his grip on Pietro’s hand and stood to face him while Ororo invited their guests to take a seat.

Ororo stood poised behind a small table with her long, snow white hair held out of her face by an intricate, gold headband. After everyone had taken their seat and the orchestra faded to silences, the weather witch’s blue eyes swept constantly amongst the guests. “Good evening all. On behalf of Cole and Pietro, thank you for gathering on this beautiful summer night to bear witness to their union.” She exchanged glances with her former students and then proceeded speaking to their guests, “To be a participant in another’s wedding is an honor and a humbling experience, especially when you have a couple whose love and commitment to each other is as strong and genuine as Pietro and Cole’s. Now while the couple did not wish to exchange original vows, they have chosen a rather unique set of vows instead of the more conventional set of ‘I do’s.” Smiling softly, Ororo lowered her gaze to the table before her and picked up a small matchbox, striking its side to light the thick, ivory unity candle at the center of two thinner candlesticks for each of them. Along with the candles sat a clear, glass goblet with gold adornments beside a newly opened bottle of white wine. Beside that were two black and white fabric pieces, mildly protecting blown glass in their interior. The final tokens on the table had been each of their wedding rings, with Cole’s resting nearest to Pietro, and Pietro’s hearest to Cole. Ororo’s eyes glowed a soft white as she stilled the soft breezes around them so that the candles could all become and remain lit; lifting the unity candle, she prepared herself to offer it to Pietro so that he could begin reciting the intended vows and eventually light Cole’s first.

The familiar feeling of Cole’s fingers laced through his own seemed to cement Pietro, keeping the speedster focused, calm-matching Cole’s pace as they walked down the aisle. It still felt strange, seeing this many familiar faces-even though the pair had sent out the invites, the number of people caught him off guard a little, blue eyes only settling on familiar faces for brief moments. Old friends and new ones, Cole’s family as well as his own, old professors-but as soon as Pietro made eye contact with a certain scruffy former professor-Pietro’s eyes snapped back to the front with a slight cough as he cleared his throat. Making it to the front, he shot Ororo a wide smile as he took his spot and turned to face Cole, listening to the other white haired mutant with an ever growing smile. Upon hearing his cue, Pietro took a deep breath. “Cole Anthony Harris-” Pietro took a couple of seconds before shooting Cole another smile, his right hand raising. The two had discussed their vows several times before finally deciding on something simple-being over the top was never in the pair’s nature. Not to mention that the vows they chose suited each other well. “-with this hand, I will lift your sorrows.” Moving to grab the bottle of wine, he filled the goblet halfway. “Your cup will never empty, for I will be your wine.” Pietro was thankful for Ororo’s assistance in keeping the breeze at bay, his hands shook slightly as he grabbed his designated candle. “With this candle-” Lighting it on the unity candle, he moved to carefully ignite Cole’s own candle, shooting the other a small grin before continuing. “-I will light your way into darkness. And with this ring-” His movements might have been a little too fast as he took the ring and moved back to his original spot-a fact Pietro noticed with an almost sheepish smile. “-I ask you-” Electing to merely apologize later, he reached up and took Cole’s hand gently, fingers grazing over knuckles as Pietro sid the ring onto Cole’s finger, his voice quiet, the mutant almost seeming to forget that their were others there. “-to be mine.”

At times, Cole was struggling to control his smile. It was how he knew his nervousness was rising up again, not out of uncertainty for what he and Pietro were about to do, but there had been pure excitement coursing through the short brunette’s veins. Part of his mind wanted to wander--to skip ahead to the end of the ceremony where they would be permitted to conclude it all with a kiss--but he forced himself to focus, to take in the present moment and to watch Pietro, whose lead he would soon be following with their agreed upon vows. Although he hadn’t actually made out the action, he was familiar enough with Pietro’s quickness by now to know what caused the new smile to grace the speedster’s lips. The action and reaction only made Cole lose control over his own crooked lips as his teeth shone slightly. He did his best to keep his restless fingers as still as possible for Pietro while the familiar black band was pushed back onto his finger. After awaiting Ororo’s cue, Cole, took a small and mildly uneven breath. He knew he was supposed to lift his hand to symbolize taking the vow, but instead, he ended up reaching for Pietro’s left hand with his right one; he gave it a small squeeze and used his left hand to do the rest as he began. “With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty,” he paused long enough to gain a steady grip on the wine bottle, and then tilted the neck over the glass goblet, “for I will be your wine.” Picking up Pietro’s unlit candlestick, Cole lifted it to the unity candle, “With this candle, I will light your way into darkness.” Once it was set back into place, he picked up Pietro’s wedding band and brought it to the taller of the two’s fingertips. “With this ring, I ask you to be mine.” At that, he guided the ring up to secure it on Pietro’s finger. Not once could Cole bring himself to let go of his almost-husband’s hand now. He knew what was coming next and felt his joy and anticipation combined might be enough to, just this once, allow him to be a hair quicker than Pietro.

Ororo watched her two former students exchange their atypical vows, smiling as she did so. Only a beat after Cole completed his portion of the vows did she look past the couple to their seated guests and part her hands out from one another. “As you both have accepted each other’s promises to one another, confirmed by the tokens you have restored to one another’s possession, then by the power vested in me by and beyond the state of New York, I now pronounce you married.” Curling her lips into a new grin, Ororo lowered her hands to her side again, glancing back and forth between Pietro and Cole, before, during and after she told them both, “Kiss your husband.”

Although Cole wasn’t generally fond of big public displays of affection beyond hand holding and occasional small pecks, there was a growing feeling inside of him that this very particular occasion called for it, quite literally. At Ororo’s command, with his hands holding both of Pietro’s at this point, Cole used some intentional force practically snatching the speedster to him at the hands so that they now stood chest-to-chest. Cole immediately shot up to the balls of his feet, angled his head and kissed Pietro full on the lips. His arms automatically came around his husband’s neck while his eyes shut. Any clapping, whoops, or cheers that might have been happening around them hadn’t registered to Cole in the moment. The love and joy doing laps throughout his body was making him unusually unaware of his surroundings. They were married.

Pietro could feel his heart threatening to pound out of his chest, beating unnaturally fast even for the speedster. He glanced at Ororo when she spoke again, returning her smile quickly only to turn and face Cole-overly aware of what would come next. But for all of his speed, Cole was faster, a surprised expression crossing Pietro’s features-an expression that only faded as he felt his husband’s lips on his own. Pietro’s hands rested on Cole’s shoulders, fingers digging into the fabric, and even though he could hear the clapping from the guests, he didn’t pull away. For once, his slowed perception of time didn’t annoy him. It allowed him to live in the moment as long as he was able, to truly savor the moment. He was reluctant to pull away, keeping his hands on Cole’s shoulders as he chuckled, ducking to rest his forehead against the other’s. “Still surprising me.” He muttered, tone low enough for only Cole to hear as he pressed another brief kiss to his husbands lips.

It was his first start to a new year without having school to juggle, yet with the absence of academic obligations, Cole had been almost as busy as he was during past years. The weekends were especially valuable to give him breathing room, but he seemed to have some breathing room this weekend and had every intention of taking advantage of that.  After changing the dog’s morning run to a shorter, brisk walk due to the chilly weather.

Cole returned to the penthouse long enough to shower, grab something light to eat and jot down a note for his fiancé. Taking the Batmobile, he made his way across town to pick up his sister and handle a few errands. He only partially expected his sister’s speedy ramblings of her week, complete with an update on her tense relationship with her roommate. But her fluid transition from her school week to wedding questions and commentary made Cole arch his brows at her.

“So how many people are you guys inviting? And have you decided on colors yet? I mean the longer you guys wait, the more expensive everything’s going to get. What about a venue? And flowers? You guys are doing flowers right because I’ve been looking at what’s in season during the summer--I mean you could always have some imported if they’re in season elsewhere. And I don’t have to help plan your bachelor party, do I? I mean I know I’m a maid of honor but the only reason I’d wanna fly you off to Vegas and watch you get shit-faced drunk is for blackmail purposes, so if you want that to happe--”

“Cotia! Jesus Christ...” Cole finally blurted out, followed by an exasperated sigh. He shot his sister a look to which she squeaked out a genuine, “Sorry!” but he shook his head at her and gave a hollow chuckle, “Just...no more lightning round questions, alright? At least you’re firing them at me and not Pietro. This planning’s been overwhelming enough for him as it is and I can’t say it’s been a walk in the park for me either.”

Cotia nodded while eyeing the binder on the panel between them, “Fair enough. So...what have you guys done besides send out ‘Save the Dates’?”

Cole had been privately mulling over what previous questions of hers she posed while answering, “Well, we’re looking at rooftop, terrace venues. An indoor-outdoor location. And as much as we both like blue, we’re not including it in the colors. Flowers are fine but we’re not picky on the type. I just don’t want anything that’s going to look stupid or cheap.” He paused while parking at their first stop, and then grabbed the binder and looked to his sister. “We’re inviting around fifty people. You don’t need to plan my bachelor party--Jeremy and Will get those honors, but I do want your help coming up with ideas for favors.” 

Before reaching the shop entrance, Cotia had her cellphone out to make a note of the information and request her brother gave her. “You got it. I already know there’s really cute ideas on Pinterest and Etsy!”

Cole held the door and followed his sister inside. They both looked around at the various greeting cards and calligraphy samples on display but his sister’s sudden gasp grabbed his attention.

“Are we ordering the invitations??” she happily wondered, her fingers curling into thrilled fists.

“Mm, yes. The next stop is meeting with two possible photographers--Cody recommended one of them since he and Amy are using them for their wedding, whenever that’s happening.”

Cotia rolled her eyes, “I swear, they’re never getting married. At this rate they might as well go to the Justice of the Peace and call it a day.”

Her flippant remark made Cole chuckle. He didn’t exactly know what was keeping their elder brother and sister-in-law-to-be from setting a date, but Cole knew he wasn’t exactly one to judge when it came to ceremonial commitment.

“Hey Cole?”

“Hm?” he looked to his sister, catching a flash of impatience on her face from the lack of customer service but suspended her annoyance for her brother.

“Can I ask you something?”

Unable to help himself, he chuckled again, “I think the car ride proved that you can. But what did you want to ask?”

“What was it like for you when you first met Pietro, and when you first knew how you felt about him? I mean I know you guys met at Xavier’s, and I know it wasn’t all ‘love at first sight, googley eyes’ but what was that like for you?”

His eyes had been on a handwritten invitation template but he slowly lifted them and appeared to be staring into the past while memories came to the forefront of his mind.

His eighteenth birthday was just days ago. Despite relaxing in the hotel with some of his friends through the remainder of the weekend, he wanted to continue resting up where possible. ‘Grease’ would be opening in a few weeks and as Danny Zuko, he wanted to be ready. Adding to his obligations at the time had been his class load and brutal soccer practices thanks to Professor Summers. For the time being, he was studying.

And that’s when Pietro entered the theatre lounge. That was when Cole saw him for the first time--someone he had never come across before. He was tall, fit, and initially carried a look of confusion that soon changed to a charming, uneven smile. Messy, silver locks framed his angular face, and the striking, bright grey hue made his azure hues stand out.

By no means was it love at first sight, but it was lust at first sight. 

Goddamn is he attractive, Cole remembered thinking back then. He remembered discovering soon after that the boy with the silver hair was far more than a pretty face. He was funny too. Mischievous and adventurous without being unbearably obnoxious. He had his baggage but  Remembering this now brought his own signature smirk to his face. He’d given his sister a shorter version of the memory and after she finished, ‘Awww’-ing and asking again, when he knew how he felt, Cole’s memories shifted. It surprised him how swiftly he’d grown to liking Pietro, but loving him and being in love with him...it didn’t come out until their one year anniversary, but Cole realized it before their camping trip.

He had one final left before completing his first full year at NYU. His last final was an essay he had to submit by midnight via email. To help put the finishing touches and clean up the conclusion, he decided to spend some time in the campus library--a place he frequented through the fall and spring semesters when he needed a breather from Xavier’s. 

His usual table was occupied and the library itself was significantly more crowded thanks to several people cramming for exams. To his fortune, he had found a spot and set up his laptop, re-opening tabs, pdfs, and his nearly finished essay. He spent two hours polishing the piece and intended to re-read it in its entirety before submitting it. The mental exhaust from his previous finals was catching up to him, however, and before he knew it, Cole had fallen asleep on his folded arms directly in front of his laptop. 

The amount of time that he had been asleep was difficult to say, but he had been woken up by a tap on his shoulder that was immediately followed by a small breeze. It stirred Cole, but he didn’t open his eyes or lift his head until another tap on the other shoulder, and the breeze shifting directions at his back. Although disoriented at first, remembering his surroundings roused him further into consciousness. He pulled off his glasses and rand a hand down his face but by the time he moved the hand away, a sticky note appeared on his laptop screen with familiar handwriting scrawled on it: 

“Almost there, Orphan Black. Proud of you.”

Cole cracked a soft, crooked smile that grew following the next gust of wind and the kiss on the cheek that preceded it. Cole looked behind himself in time to see the blue wisps faded away. No one else seemed to notice anything, but he knew better.

Again, Cole paraphrased for his sister, but she was enamored nonetheless.

“That is so cute! Why am I just now hearing this story?”

“Because you never asked before,” quipped Cole, earning and eye roll and a playful swat from his sister. He smirked at her and said, “Come on, let’s go. There’s a Starbucks a few doors down and since we’re not getting any help here, we have time to kill before the meeting with the first photographer.” 

“Thank God,” sighed Cotia, linking arms with her brother. “This also means time for me to ask more questions. Annnnd maybe more stories?”

Cole finished setting the dining table for seven, placing a pitcher of ice water beside a chilled bottle of Pinot Gris. Pasta seemed like a simple, filling and appetizing route to go for dinner that night, and over the past few years--between their first loft together and the penthouse now--Cole felt he and Pietro had improved vastly on having others over for dinner. After his eyes scanned the table one more time to double check, he made his way to the laundry nook to double check Star and Luna’s food and water bowls, refilled what needed attention and then returned to the kitchen to wash his hands. There, he called out to remind his fiancé, “Hey, Sonic, they’re gonna be here soon!” while eyeing the time on his cell phone. He wasn’t exactly sure what Pietro was up to--whether he was getting himself ready or doing something else entirely but Cole doubted it was anything that could be very time consuming for the speedster. The doorman was already made aware that the two were expecting The Cuckoos, so it would only be a matter of a door knock, or Star and Luna’s common rushing to the door upon hearing feet approaching it first.

The Cuckoos were waved past the doorman without issue, though they hardly looked up long enough to notice. If it wasn’t for Irma looking and steering them all, they might have simply smacked into the closed elevator doors and made a proper mess of things. Esme tapped out a response on her phone, tongue between her teeth as she tasted the thought of several different insults. The other three were halfway through phone conversations that varied in tone, all talking over each other in the elevator “No, no, the link I just sent you, do you see where the light should be?” Phoebe asked, staring down at her tablet screen. Celeste scoffed into her receiver. “And I told him that it wasn’t worth it.”

“I know, but short of putting a vise around his movement in the city we can’t do anything else -” Sophie sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “No, I need to know if it’s a disc drive failure -” “I was thinking more of a price on his individual teeth -” ’Sisters, sisters, we’ve arrived,’ Irma announced, snapping her fingers in front of Sophie’s face. It was a tiny bit rude, but she didn’t like her chances breaking them out of their busy thoughts otherwise. The four sisters murmured their apologies to their conversations and slipped tablets back into their laptop bags. Now they looked a bit more like young professionals, and not people that had been suggesting a certain amount of violence in an elevator even when they had been called into the Baxter Building. Celeste stood by her suggestion. Sophie wasn’t vetoing it entirely as his behavior suggested a potential for escalation. They didn’t need to be on the receiving end of that again. After another minute of silent discussion it occurred to them that they hadn’t announced themselves, and Esme rapped smartly on the front door of the apartment.

”You sound worried.” Pietro pointed out upon hearing Cole’s reminder, head popping out from their bedroom door. “Did you forget that I could literally wrap this all up in a second or-” He let the question drop with a wide grin, moving to shut the door behind him, finally satisfied with not only his appearance, but with the appearance of the apartment as well. Darting into the kitchen, the silver-haired mutant leaned against the counter, replying to a text on his phone with an arched brow. “Got some more confirmations for the wedding, by the way.” Blue eyes rose from the phone to the door at the knock, Petro quickly disappearing from the kitchen with a ‘got it’ thrown over his shoulder, both Star and Luna heading straight for the door, tails wagging excitedly. “Sit, girls.” The dogs sat, Luna with a quiet bark as Pietro opened the door, the dogs’ ears twitching curiously at the sight of the sisters. “Hey! You guys make it up here okay?” Pietro figured that they’d have no problem with the doorman, but he still felt the need to ask. “You’ll have to excuse Star and Luna, they love meeting new people.” As if on cue, Luna crept forward, sniffing at heels, much to Pietro’s exasperation. “Come on in, before Luna decides the whole hallway is her playground.” He rolled his eyes, holding the door open for the sisters. “Thanks for coming, how’s work going for you? I’d ask if you were keeping out of trouble, but that seems like a-” A shoulder rising in a half-shrug. “-pointless question. Anything interesting?”

Cole rolled his eyes at the returned reminder that being ready in a timely matter wouldn’t be an issue for Pietro, as it hardly ever was. A small smirk crept to his despite himself, only after the small jump at the speedster’s sudden appearance in the kitchen. It didn’t matter how much he was used to his fiancé’s speed, the surprised flinch almost always happened. His gaze dropped from Pietro’s face to the device in his hands at the mention of wedding confirmations. “We should keep track of those,” Cole started to say, but the knock on the front door seemed almost like a cue following said reminder only a moment ago. The small whoosh and pale blue streaks that soon faded beside and behind Cole made him grateful he hadn’t backed up to open the oven yet. Being out of sight of the entry way, he merely listened while finally pulling garlic bread out and setting its pan on the stove to cool beside the dishes of baked chicken and fettuccine alfredo. A pre-tossed salad sat inside the fridge so he walked over to pull that out and take it directly to the dining room table, only to return to the kitchen to slice up the bread and set the pieces inside a bowl. This time when he had gone to the dining room table--an area in full view of the apartment’s entrance and living room--he looked over to the Cuckoos, nodded and raised a hand up in a ‘hello’ manner. “Good to see you all, and happy new year.” Shortly after eyeing the table’s setting one last time, he returned to the kitchen once more to retrieve serving utensils and the warm entrée, privately satisfied that everything for dinner had been finished on time.

The Cuckoos followed Pietro through the door, and Esme smirked at him. “It’s an entirely pointless question. We have a person of interest in sight but he was wearing more sensible shoes than we were.” “And there was no trouble getting in,” Irma said. It was probably not customary to talk about work when invited for dinner. Phoebe would double-check that guide on her tablet as soon as they weren’t being observed. Still, Pietro was the one that had brought it up in the first place. It might be useful to forward a photo to him, help flush out their quarry and his admittedly excellent forged records, but they didn’t want SHIELD actually trying to snatch him first. They didn’t need to put Pietro on the spot like that. Only one dog was following along and sniffing at Celeste’s ankles, though they knew that the pair had two of them. Irma smiled back at the dog; she had always wondered what sort of thoughts they really had. She was sure it wouldn’t be quite the same even if they could communicate properly with an animal’s mind, but one still had to wonder. Esme resisted the urge to roll her eyes. They didn’t really need to wonder, because dogs probably weren’t holding the secrets of the universe in the recesses of their minds. The second of the two dogs seemed a bit more patient, or was perhaps disinterested in the sudden cluster of blondes passing through her home. “Hello,” they chimed, nodding hello to Cole. “You both look well,” Sophie said, glancing in the direction of the kitchen, then back to Pietro. “Do you need any help with anything here?” She gestured vaguely around at the place settings and the table they had clustered beside. Everything looked set and ordered, but perhaps something needed to be carried over. Though they didn’t know their kitchen well enough to be the most effective helpers in any event, Sophie felt she ought to at least offer anyhow.

”Still figured I’d ask.” But Pietro was quiet as he listened to the sisters. “Yeah, well, that’ll happen. But at least you still made it here alright.” Star eventually followed after Luna, head tilting with curiosity as she sniffed at each Cuckoo sister, making sure each of them passed her sniff test, giving a small, satisfied bark before turning to follow at Pietro’s heels, earning a pat on the head from the speedster. “Actually-” He rubbed at his jaw, casting a glance to the table, noticeably lacking utensils. “I may have forgotten to set the table.” If one didn’t know better, they might’ve thought that Pietro was glaring at the barren table top before he turned to face the sisters again. “You could help me with that. I don’t know what Cole’s got going on in the kitchen.” He admitted. “But you could also see if he needs a hand. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind the assistance. Also-sorry again about Luna.” The smaller of the two dogs still excitedly bouncing around heels, not sure which of the five to focus on first. “She’s a little….friendly. But harmless. For the most part.” Hearing her name, the Husky turned to face Pietro, letting out a playful yip before bouncing over. “Did you guys want anything to drink either? Almost forgot to ask.” Pietro muttered, glancing upwards as he made a mental note as he turned to head towards the kitchen, motioning for the sisters to follow. While both him and Cole had guests over before, the speedster still occasionally forgot his manners. His mind was too focused on other things at times, he just breezed right past them. “Feel free to make yourselves at home by the way.”

Cole’s brows furrowed upon returning to the dining space and hearing Pietro’s words, “The table’s set, Pietro. Not the breakfast one but the dining table.” While adding to his words, he set the stainless steel pot down at the table’s center, adding to the sister’s offer to help, “Thank you, but actually everything’s ready for us all to eat.” Realizing they still hadn’t purchased any salad tongs, Cole stuck two serving spoons inside the salad bowl, and proceeded to add serving utensils to the pasta and chicken, pulling the chairs out for each of their friends and Pietro along the way. The overall table setting was relatively simple: a black tablecloth, seven empty red wine glasses to accommodate more than a few sips of water if chosen; the assembly of food, pitcher of ice water and chilled white wine, and seven place settings at the eight-seater dining table. As Cole finished adding utensils and pulling out chairs, he took a seat for himself at one of the table ends, inviting everyone to help themselves as opposed to any formal food service. Reaching for the Pinot Gris, his eyes swept across the five sisters, “Thanks for coming over by the way. And thank you for the gifts, I found a home for the painting and its frame earlier.” With a small turn and nod of his head, he indicated the spot on the wall beside his piano where said painting now hung. “Did you all and your associate do anything celebratory to bring in the new year the other night?

Sophie led the way to the table and the Cuckoos sat around the other table that had been set, glancing around with mild interest at the setup. This was rather more formal than their own table. And the only reason they bothered to eat at tables at all was Celeste’s angry hissing at any mess made elsewhere, and Phoebe’s protective attitude toward their electronics. Crumbly saltines and keyboards were a bad mix as far as she was concerned. “Actually making myself at home would probably involve examining your electronics,” Phoebe observed. “Maybe looking into why the wi-fi in the elevator was a bit slow.” “We had an...interesting time of things on the 31st,” Esme replied. That wasn’t technically wrong, even if it wasn’t the sort of drunken party Cole had probably envisioned when asking. Hopefully Wren, the associate they assumed he meant since he hadn’t met most of the others, wouldn’t be meeting this particular problem. They didn’t think that she would be immune to his ability and she could get hurt. They weren’t in the business of introducing teenagers to dangerous people like that. Sophie reached immediately for the ice water, while Esme reached for the salad to be the first to reach the food. Irma wasn’t sure if they were meant to let the host reach the food first or not. The only other time in the past year they had been invited for a meal, they had gone out, so it hadn’t been an issue. Being inside someone’s actual house had different social rules. They really needed to double-check that guide Celeste had found earlier. Irma glanced between Cole and Pietro. “We were surprised to get your invitation, actually. We’re not exactly popular dinner guests - probably because of the volume of food required for it as much as our personalities.”

Pietro sighed somewhat overdramatically, running a hand down his face. “I don’t even know why we have two tables.” It certainly wasn’t the first time Pietro had gotten the two mixed up, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. “Well, if you could fix that problem, Phoebe, we certainly wouldn’t mind.” He pointed out with a grin, moving to sit next to Cole as he listened to the sisters, head tilting to the side slightly. “Hopefully nothing that you all couldn’t handle.” ‘An interesting time of things’ could mean a lot of things when it came to the Cuckoos, but Pietro had no doubt it wasn’t something the sisters could overcome, or at least, he hoped it wasn’t. “Um-dig in, by the way.” He pointed out with a smirk, noticing that Esme had already began to do so, Pietro was content to let them get what they wanted first, taking a long drink of water. “Well, luckily, we’re kind of used to making a lot of food.” Between Cole’s metabolism and Pietro’s, not to mention the sibling dinners they held on a fairly steady schedule, this wasn’t anything too out of the ordinary for them. “Actually, we wanted to talk to you all about something and we figured-why not invite you guys over for dinner? Besides, I think this beats out my usual-uh-coffee bribes.” He pointed out with an arched brow, setting the glass back down on the table. He glanced over at Cole, slightly unsure of how to approach the topic. “Well, Cole and I have been talking about wedding planning and all sorts of oh-so-fun fine details that come with that.” To say that Pietro wasn’t a detail planner was an understatement. “But, we’re taking a lot of things into consideration, who we want there, and-of course-who we want to be a part of the ceremony itself.” He turned and looked at Cole. “And-well-this was sort of Cole’s idea so--you want to do the honors?”

Playfully pursing his lips, Cole nudged his fiancé and replied, “Aesthetic. Besides, we rarely entertain anyone else at breakfast so why dirty up this whole table for that?” He chuckled a bit at Phoebe’s response to making themselves at home and added, “I think the most interesting piece of tech here is over there.” With a slight tilt of his wine glass, he drew attention to the Sony Eclipse suspended to one of the glass window-walls. The solar powered music device was still considered a concept but Cole was lucky enough to get a hold of one for a graduation present last year. True, the luxury apartment had its share of other electronics but the square music device was by far and away, Cole’s favorite gadget. He poured himself half a glass of wine and then proceeded to help himself to the chicken and pasta while listening to Irma and Pietro, giving some fleeting smiles and agreeing nods to Pietro’s response about having them over and it being no trouble. A small part of him felt a little bit guilty but he instead made a mental note for them to try and invite the sisters over more often in the future. In the midst of passing the bowl of garlic bread off, he met Pietro’s gaze with an arched brow and slightly amused smirk. “Alright.” Shifting slightly in his seat to sit up a little more, Cole’s eyes swept from sister to sister, “Pietro and I wanted to ask if each of you would be a part of our wedding party.” Immediately after, he muttered a recurring thought, mostly to himself but somewhat to Pietro and the Cuckoos, “I keep defaulting to say ‘bridesmaids’. I guess it would be groomsmaids in our case though.” Mentally waving off the thought, he went on to add, “You’ve all been helpful to the two of us, in the last few months especially, but more than that, we both consider you good friends of ours and want to recognize that at our wedding, beyond sending an invitation to be there.”

The Cuckoos watched the back and forth banter with mild interest, but were hesitant to take any sides between the two. They had read that it was a bad idea to take sides in a couples’ debate unless serious moral issues were at stake. They only had one table in their own home, having decided that a second more formal table was a superfluous addition - particularly for people that didn’t really cook, and had never hosted a dinner party in their lives. It wasn’t their business to take sides on minor organization disputes. They focused their attention on passing the breadbasket around while the two exchanged glances. There was something...obviously not telepathic, but something in those looks that was an attempted communication all its own. If they had been plied with food because someone had a horrible disease they needed to research, that was a mistake. Horrible diseases were best researched before eating, not after. “Wedding party?” Sophie asked. Their eyes glowed briefly before any of them spoke again. Though that was certainly preferable to finding out that someone had a terrible ailment to research, one of them was going to have to find an excuse to run to the restroom and look up what a wedding party actually did in case they were quizzed later. Pietro was often difficult to get a read on, given the speed at which his thoughts moved, and Cole might notice them having a look in. The couple actually getting married planned most everything, as they understood it, or else hired others to do so. What did the wedding party actually do? Maybe they were security, meant to escort inebriated guests out of the reception. Telepaths were a good choice for unobtrusive crowd management. They couldn’t keep discussing the matter or it would look silly. “We’d be happy to,” they replied together. Phoebe picked up a fork, but left it hovering somewhere midway between her plate and her mouth as she glanced at Cole and Pietro. “How many people have you invited? Is it going to be outdoors?”

Pietro moved to grab a piece of garlic bread for himself, watching the sister’s reactions with an arched brow, the corner of his mouth twitched into a small smile, blue eyes glancing to each of them respectively. As he reached for his glass again, he paused in the movement upon hearing their confirmation, his smile only growing wider. “Really? That’s-that’s great!” One more thing off of their seemingly never-ending list of wedding ‘to-dos’. And one of the items that he had been-not that he’d admit it-nervous about. “Umm-” Pietro rolled his head to the side, finally moving to grab the glass again, taking a long drink as he thought. “-I don’t remember exact numbers, not really my thing.” He just knew there were some people that weren’t getting invites, another one of the items on the list that made him nervous. “And we’re still working out a lot of the details, I don’t think I ever really considered an outdoor wedding.” Given the date of the wedding, he had no doubt that the weather would be there if they chose that option. “I don’t know-” He glanced over at Cole, arching a brow as if to ask the question again. “What do you think? I mean-it’d probably be nice.” He shrugged. “We still need to figure out a location and-” He ran a hand down his face before resting it on the table top. “-so many other things.

Waiting patiently for The Cuckoos’ response, Cole bit into the garlic bread he’d taken for himself with his eyes moving from their five pairs of glowing orbs, down to the table and back up again when they spoke in unison. Swallowing the somewhat large bite he’d taken, he cracked a smile that echoed Pietro’s spoken response. He raised his brows slightly, thinking about the questions posed to him and Pietro. Opening his mouth slightly, he started to hum a little bit but stopped and looked to Pietro, chuckling a little bit. “Yeah I’m keeping track of the wedding to-do’s for us and saving the RSVPs we get back, although when I looked into it...apparently Save The Dates aren’t considered invitations, but frankly, I don’t want to send out another notice about the day if we don’t have to.” Catching himself heading toward a ramble, he paused and course corrected. “Anyway, we didn’t send out any more than fifty ‘Save the Dates’ and only some of them went to multiple people within the same home, like yourselves.” Cole felt Pietro’s eyes on him while addressing the question of where they would be holding the wedding. Washing the bread from his mouth with a long drink from his wine glass, he then looked from his fiancé to the Cuckoos while weighing in on the venue type, but placed a hand over Pietro’s as a calming gesture to the various essentials they had for the wedding. “The humidity won’t be much fun for me, personally, if it’s entirely outdoors and I end up in a suit or tux. Plus you end up fighting off bugs in the summertime when you have food out, but the views can be nice with the right location, so I think we could set our sights on an indoor-outdoor venue. Maybe we can start looking at hotels for a rooftop terrace to book.” His next remark was more to Pietro than the sisters as he gave the speedster’s hand a quick, assuring squeeze, “I think we should do away with a seating arrangement. People can sit wherever the hell they want. But once we decide on some kind of color scheme, I think everything else will fall into place.” Cole then swept his gaze around the table to conclude, “There’s not much we’re being all that anal about for this. The guest list will be relatively small, the date is set, and now it sounds like our wedding party is set. Flower types, table arrangements...all of that for me isn’t highly important so long as it looks nice--elegant--and those who join us that day have a good time.”

Phoebe nodded along with their responses, leaving her fork in its awkward limbo between the food and her distracted face. “I’m sure it will all be organized by June.” The date they had chosen was only a few days after their own birthday, in fact, but they had never revealed their birthday to anyone that wasn’t demanding it on an official application form. Otherwise people might comment on it. Irma thought that June was a very solid choice for an event. They ran no risk of getting a blizzard in the middle of their affair, it wasn’t on top of any major national holidays, and they would have a pleasant summer day as their anniversary every year after the wedding. Except for the humidity factor. That was always a hassle on summer mornings. Esme thought that fall sounded more pleasant; the changing leaves would be a pleasant backdrop for people getting married, and the weather would be cooler. But she wasn’t the one getting married here. “I suppose screened in venues might not be possible,” said Sophie, “And it’s really about what will make the two of you happy. It’s your memory, after all.” “Yeah, have at least a little fun with it,” said Irma. “Maybe not Esme’s sort of fun, but fun,” said Celeste, pointing with her fork before returning her attention to her pasta. “Oh, come on,” Esme protested. “You have no proof I was going to suggest anything untoward for their event. I’m not going to ruin someone’s wedding. Again. Well, I’m not going to ruin a friend’s wedding. There’s a line there somewhere.”

“Hmm, I didn’t even think about the humidity…” Pietro mused, glancing up to the ceiling as he thought. The terrace idea certainly had it’s merits but Pietro could feel himself getting lost in thought, meaning he could-and probably would-zone out if he wasn’t careful. So he made a mental note to think about their options again later, when they didn’t have dinner guests. Listening to their exchange while he took a bite of pasta, Pietro couldn’t help the grin that made its way onto his face, his head shaking slightly. “We will keep that in mind.” The ‘again’ made him arch a brow, his curiosity threatening to get the better of him. “It will be fun, just when the planning is simplier. That’s my thought anyway.” Luckily, Cole was a lot better with the ‘being organized’ and planning aspect of everything. “I’m hoping that it is going to be a fun event for everyone, not just us.” He paused to take a drink, eyes glancing around the table. Now that their wedding party was settled and they had a bit more of an idea as far as venues went, Pietro relaxed somewhat, content to just enjoy the dinner with his friends and fiance. “I’m sure Esme has some good ideas that aren’t anything bad.” Pietro pointed out, gesturing to that particular sister with his glass. “Besides, I’ll probably be running to you guys with a million questions when this gets closer. Appropriate amount of coffee bribes in hand, of course.”