Traditions - 2031 - Part 1
Jessica’s eyes remained open, staring at the fan as it moved at a speed incomprehensible to any human mind - only mingling together to make a circle on the ceiling. Honestly, after a while, everything simply blurred together. At the current moment, however, that didn’t matter as Jessica’s mind was… well… elsewhere. In 12 hours, Jessica would be getting married… and even the thought brought the slightest smile to her lips… that thought alongside the ring that would remain on her finger until the morning. Though Jessica would have bloody loved to have her fiance’s arms around her as well - sadly, her family had rules. Rules that were pretty bloody idiotic and likely created in the fcking dark ages when they needed to see a new couple fck for the first time to make sure the girl was a virgin or whatever. No seriously… weird people stood over the couple to make sure that the hymen broke and blood came out it’s fcking barbaric.
You see, being related to Royalty… even if it was somewhat distantly related… meant traditions to follow and this was one of the most important ones… or so she had been told. One week: that’s how long Jess and Dori had to stay away from each other. One week before the wedding, the two were not allowed to spend the night in the same bed… and technically, years earlier, there was a rule that the couple couldn’t see each other at all. That being said, the rules did become slightly more modernized over the years, so while Jess and Dori could see each other in the mornings for limited amounts of time to finalize details, they were still urged to spend more time apart. The worst part about it was the fact that Dorian was actually following the rules. Bloody arse. And to make sure Jess followed them, he made it a bloody bet and Jess wasn’t one to lose.
She was pulled out of her thoughts with the crying of her daughter in the small crib near her hotel bed. Perhaps this whole arrangement was hardest on Shay - the girl was used to having both her parents around and so this new arrangement meant that she had been with Dorian for a few days, and with her for a few days. In other words, at the current moment, Shay hadn’t really seen her dad for the last 3 days… which went to explain what happened next.
“D…da…dad…daddy.” Shay cried loudly as Jess went over to the girl and picked her up, kissing her cheek as she took a seat on the edge other bed. “It’s okay sweetheart, you miss him too huh?” Jess mumbled. Shay had learned a few words and could hold… well… a mostly broken conversation - but it was clear with her tears and the addition of her saying daddy every few seconds that she missed her father.
Jess tried to console the girl for a few minutes, though to no avail. Despite it being night, her nap had clearly energized her enough that she was not going to be tired out by a little crying. After a second of hesitation, Jess grabbed her phone before dialing her fiancé’s number. It rang two times before she found herself met with his voice. “So you’re breaking the rules first, I’m thinking that means I win the bet.”
A sigh left her lips as Shay cried louder, enough that Dorian would hear her over the phone. “Technically, darling, I blame Shay because she keeps crying for you.” Jess replied, taking a short pause as she fixed her daughter’s hair. “Shay baby, your dad’s on the phone do you want to talk to him?” Though Shay didn’t stop crying. Right - babies only know what’s in front of them. “Give me a minute,” Jess heard him utter and within a few minutes, she found someone knocking at the door of her hotel room. Oh, did Jess mention that Dori was only a few floors down from her? Yeah. That also bloody made it worse.
Walking with the crying girl, Jess opened the door to find Dori standing there with ruffled hair - clearly having been in bed himself. “DADDY,” As if on cue, Shay’s tears stopped as she looked up at her dad with curiosity, putting her arms out to be held and Dori soon obliged, picking his daughter up and kissing her head. “You made me break the rules, rascal.” “Hi,” Shay perked up, ignoring his comment as she put her hands on his face.
“Hi baby girl,”
Jess found him ticking the girl who laughed before adding “Hiiiiiii da…daddy,”
“You really cried for 12 minutes to say hi?” Jess shook her head before meeting Dori’s eyes again, a smile playing upon her lips as she placed a kiss on Shay’s cheek and then kissed Dorian. “So technically, you were the one to show up to my room so… I think I win the bet,”
“Hey no, don’t you start with th-.”
“TAG YO…YOU…YOU’RE IT”
In both Jess and Dori’s distraction, it seemed Shay got a littlleee idea in her mind because within a second the girl had touched her dad’s face and wiggled so she could be let go - something that clearly worked because Dori almost dropped her but ended up carefully letting her go as she ran out of the hotel room. Well… run… meaning waddled.
Jess found Dori sighing, though a smile met his lips as he watched Shay leave the room. “This conversation is not over Jess,” and with that, Jess watched as he followed the little girl who was laughing, pretending like he couldn’t catch her. And… well… that’s how the three spent the next hour. Playing tag in the hallways of the hotel with a little girl who was clearly winning.
As a sleepy Shay laid comfortably in Dori’s arms, Jess and Dori sat outside the hotel room. " I wonder what goes on in her head," Jess whispered, caressing her daughter’s cheek as her own head laid against Dori’s shoulder. “Well clearly, she thinks she’s the fastest human alive,” “Thinks? I’m pretty sure I saw her beating you a few times, love,” Jess replied jokingly, moving her head to kiss him again. “We’re getting married tomorrow,” she whispered, placing her hand in his own as she looked at the ring on her hand. “I told you before, there’s no returns or exchanges, so are you sure?”
Jess found him pulling her closer, placing a soft kiss on her lips before looking at her with sincerity “I just want you… even if you cheat to win bets,”
“You arse, I do not,” she added, playfully hitting him as she stood up followed by him as he brought the baby back inside. Dori went to put her in her crib but before he could, Shay’s eyes tiredly opened and held him tighter. “No.”
Shay once again wiggled out of his hands and then grabbed both Dori and Jess’ hands before leading them to the big bed. Once Shay was in the middle, she pulled both Jess and Dori in with her and made sure that both of their hands were around her before her eyes closed again. Jess laughed, kissing Shay once again. “I guess technically we’re not spending the night together since it’s 2 in the morning,” And with that, both Jess, Shay, and Dori fell asleep.