Raphael & Eve Azure
The Wedding Day - December 2030
Raphael smiled at his cousin, though his nerves were clear. “Why am I scared to do this, Val? We’ve been together for so long, I shouldn’t be like this.” Even after years of being together, Raphael still couldn’t stop himself from being nervous about the big day ahead. He could have proposed years ago, he knew that, but they had just settled into a life that was perfect the way it was. They both knew they wanted to be together the rest of their lives, but somehow making it official, becoming husband and wife, just seemed exceptionally daunting. “Raph, it’s natural. Marriage is a big deal, so being nervous is normal.” Valerie said, doing her best to assure him. “I don’t know. Something seems different, and I don’t know what it is… I’m just in my head, I know…” Raphael sighed, sitting down next to Valerie, who was holding her young son, Peter. “Hey, listen to me. You two are a great couple, so trust me. It’s going to be just fine.” Raphael took a deep breath, he knew it was just nerves, but something still felt different about the whole day, and about Eve, but if he was nervous then maybe she just was too. “I just love her so much” he began, lightly touching Peter’s tiny little hand with a smile. “I want everything with her, and there’s no one else I could imagine marrying and eventually raising a family with, but at the same time it’s still scary.” Raphael let out. “Trust me Raph, today is going to be amazing, and it’s just the beginning.”
Eve let out a deep, but panicked, breath in an effort to calm herself. It was her wedding day, and there she was counting down the minutes until the day was over. She knew it wouldn’t be much longer until she was marrying the man she would be spending the rest of her life with. This day was supposed to be the best day of her life, but why was she so nervous? Her hands were shaking, she couldn’t seem to get ahold of herself, even when someone else came up to her.
“Hey love, how are you feeling? You look absolutely bloody amazing, Raph won’t be able to keep his eyes… or hands off of you. Do you need anything?”
“I think that’s the problem…” she responded when Jess said how Raph wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of her.
Eve looked over at Jess just in time to see her raise an eyebrow, only to let her gaze quickly return to her feet as she started trying to chew on the ends of her hair, like she often did when she was nervous. Though, after just a moment, she felt Jess’s arms around her before she heard Jess whisper, “You’re going to be a great mom, you know that? That kids will be loved, and well fed. Amazingly fed. Like probably even better fed than I am right now - which trust me, is very well fed… though… Now I’m craving your family’s pizza fck. ANYWAYS, if, Eve, I go back in time and be your child, because damn, that kid won the lottery. But, how are you doing?”
“I… don’t know. We didn’t plan for this… I wasn’t planning on this until after I graduate. How am I supposed to do this?” There was a part of her that knew Jess was right, that her kid would be loved and well taken care of, but she couldn’t deny the panic that had a hold of her. Kids weren’t supposed to be in the picture yet. How was she even going to have the time? The wedding was even planned knowing that it would fit between semesters, so how would a baby fit into that? Maybe in a couple years it would be different, but right now, a baby was not part of the plan.
“Darling,” Jess began, pressing her head against Eve’s. “What was a few more years going to change, really? You know you love Raph and you know he absolutely adores you. Sure this wasn’t expected, and yes, maybe life would be more stable later. But does that mean that you won’t figure this out? No. And guess what love? You’re not alone. You’re never alone. You have Raph, your parents, me. There are so many people who love you and won’t let you do this alone. So to answer your question, how are you supposed to do this? Well, darling, with help.”
“Come and get me Vic!” Cassie called out to her cousin as they played tag. It wasn’t often that they got to see each other, but there was the rare time when they were both in the same place. Daniel Parker usually tried to keep a distance between any member of the Azure family and his, despite the Azures being relatives of Valerie, and by extension the young Veronica Charlotte as well, or as Cassandra Azure decided to call her, Vic. Though this was a special occasion, this was the day that Cassie’s older brother was getting married. Her oldest brother, Kai, got married before she was born, but her other brother, Raphael, was finally getting married, so that meant the whole family was invited and Cassie got to see her cousin.
The nine year old ran, keeping just enough distance behind her, before stopping and hiding behind her brother, who was on a video call with Kai.
“I’m really sorry I’m not there, Raph.”
“I know… but it’s not your fault. I know you’d be here if you could.”
“Kai’s not coming?” She asked, questioning why Kai wouldn’t be there.
“I know Cassie, my flight got canceled. But I’ll try to come back and visit again soon though. And that goes for you too, Raph.” Kai said, returning his attention back to their brother. “Now go, you have more important things to do than talk to me. It’s about you and Eve, you don’t need me. I’ll talk to you later, Raph, and you too Cassie.” Cassie knew it hadn’t even been six months since she had seen her oldest brother, but she still felt like he should’ve been there. She could probably count on her fingers the number of times she had seen him in her life, and she knew her brothers had a much closer relationship than she had with Kai. He should’ve been there, everybody should’ve been there for Raph’s big day.
She watched her brother sigh, she could tell he was sad that Kai wouldn’t be there, but there was little more she could do when she heard VC’s voice coming closer, “Cassie, Cassieeee” By that point, Raph heard her too, and gave a slight nod telling Cassie to go ahead, that he’d be fine.
With that, Cassie took off, nearly getting caught by her cousin, only to find herself next to VC’s dad of all people. Cassie looked up to him when he looked down at her, her eyes silently pleading for him to help her, putting her finger to her lips asking him to keep quiet as she hid behind him and her oldest sister. She could see him smile for just a moment, as he continued talking with Akielah about some new invention of his. “I was watching this weird movie called Spy Kids with VC a few weeks ago and I wanted to know if I could make a R.A.L.P.H. like the beetle thing and GUESS what. I THINK I DID IT. You want to see? I need someone to mess around with it to see if I got the kinks out.”
“You know the answer to that already. Who else would be able to take something you’ve made and make it better?”
Cassie hid there, silently, waiting for VC to go by, just for the chase to begin again a moment later. Enjoying getting to play with her cousin for once, at least until the game soon had to end as it was time for everyone to take their seats.
There was no describing the mixture of nervousness and complete awe that Raphael had felt as he watched his fiancé walking down the aisle with her dad. It was truly the best moment of his life up to that point. Why didn’t he ask her to marry him so much sooner? He’d known he wanted her for the rest of his life since he was just a teenager, but now it was real. He was telling the world that Eve was not just the girl of his dreams, but his future, til death do them part. Aside from his nerves, it was the best day of his life, making her his wife. A day that would only get better from the moment they said, I do. There weren’t many people there, just their families and closest friends, but it was everything that mattered. A small wedding, with people that mattered there with them. He couldn’t stop smiling, an arm around Eve, simply enjoying the moment, the first of many as husband and wife. It was after Eve’s aunt had given them each a glass of wine that Eve looked at him, a slight concern visible in her eyes. “Raph?” Eve whispered, pausing to be sure she had his full attention, while not drawing everyone else’s. “You’re going to need to drink my wine.”
“Okay… why?” He asked, confused by the request. “I can’t drink.” She said slowly, but made her words clear, letting them sink in. “Not for the next few months.” She added as the meaning of her words became entirely clear. “Really? You’re sure?” Raphael said, making sense of all the little things that had been off recently, only to see her nod her head. “Certain.” With that answer, there was no doubt in his mind that it was the best day of his life, and that the days to come would be even better.
Mentioned:
@CerealKiller - Val, VC
@benitz786 - Jess, Dan