The first step is the one you believe in

[handing]

Who: Pepper Potts, Tony Stark, and everyone who has gathered there today.
What: A wedding and reception
When: Sept 14, All Day
Where: Cherry Blossom Hill / The Battle Dome
Summary: Pepper and Tony are getting married finally officially finally.
Rating: PG/PG-13 max? There's at least one kid here.
The decorations on the hill are simple ones; they've chosen this spot because it's naturally beautiful without the need for embellishments. Chairs have been set up for the expected guests, with a clear path laid out for the wedding party. And of course up front there is a place for those people to stand, in sight of everyone gathered so Tony won't be able to tell Pepper "I told you so" as color commentary won't be necessary.

After the ceremony everyone will be invited to go to the Battle Dome for the reception. There Tony's programmed an expansive hall with tables and seating enough for everyone. There's also a dance floor, which everyone is encouraged to take advantage of. The atmosphere is warm and vibrant, clearly intended to help all in attendance have a good time. Dinner will be served, and there's an open bar, with rum by request of the officiant.

Just don't get too rowdy, okay kids?

{{ooc: Visual references and details can be found here. Link is very image heavy. There will be separate threads for before the ceremony, during, and the reception.

EDIT: Now with a sign up to catch the bouquet!}}

Comments

[chikaidestroyer]

"There's always something in this place." Empty words that did nothing to let on just how bad the situation had been. He stared at the hand, understanding it as something of a shrug -- something small and attempting to be dismissive over what was not an easy experience.

When he saw Buffy's eyes flit over to the exit, Albert reached up and touched her arm. Now that the topic had been brought up, it would be difficult to simply push away for another time. But he would still provide an out.

"I imagine you can't simply leave the reception, as the Best Man."

[herotypical]

"I wonder if they'd even notice--"

So wrapped up in happiness. Buffy appreciated her position -- what it meant, and how fortunate she was to have a dear friend in Tony and a new friend in Pepper. But she understood that tonight was their night, and one or two souls slipping into the evening for a little while wouldn't ruin things. Besides...

"I should run back to the house, anyway. It seems the officiant forgot to wear his pants. I think fetching some for him might just be one of my best manly duties. You could always come with, though..."

[chikaidestroyer]

Albert looked out to the rest of the crowd when Buffy spoke. With the speeches over and the reception having moved into more of a dancing and drinking phase, there were few that would really take notice.

"I would not mind getting some fresh air." He made a faint gesture with one hand to the room at large; even with the simulation in place to make things seem larger, the hall felt stuffy and enclosed. "...You will have to tell me how one forgets to wear pants for an event such as this, though."

A lighter topic so they could at least leave the room with some levity intact.

[herotypical]

"Jack frequently likes to view the world as pants-optional. It's a problem; we're working on it."

Buffy abandoned her sentry space against the wall and walked backwards, drawing Albert along with a crooked finger. "Plus? He loves weddings. I wouldn't put it past him to have gotten so freaking excited that he skipped the part about getting wholly dressed."

[chikaidestroyer]

"That's quite ... excited." His lips briefly curl into a wry half-smile as he follows after Buffy. A wedding was a celebration, and what he knew of Jack (which was admittedly almost entirely secondhand) was that he enjoyed any reason to celebrate -- legitimate or not.

With one more glance at the party, he heads for the exit of the room to enter the main hub of the battle dome. He waits for the doors to shut behind them before he repeats his earlier question. "How have you been, Buffy?"

[herotypical]

Her expression sobered. And she took her time composing a sentence in her head -- a rare moment of linguistic forethought for Buffy Summers. Her arms clasped before her; her heels clicked on the floor as she continued forward.

"I told the truth when I said it, earlier. I'm doing better. Life kinda got hard, for a while there. Really hard." A beat. "Albert, if you could've flown the coop? Avoided the whole village during the invasion? Would you have?"

[chikaidestroyer]

Flown the coop. Albert's eyes flitted over, as if trying to assess Buffy's body language as she posed those questions.

"Perhaps if I felt that there would be nothing to gain by staying." It's an honest answer, admitting to how much he did not like dealing with the illusion concocted by Zompano. "...Why do you ask?"

He felt like he already had an idea why.

[herotypical]

"Jack and I left. God, the first sign of anything even remotely delusion-esque and I had us packing." What does that say about me? "There was talk of loony bins. I don't fare so well in those."

[chikaidestroyer]

"You left rather than face the possibility of discovery and the consequences. You were fortunate to have someone with you to make that a simpler decision." Was it better, to know now that Buffy wasn't a potential ally or enemy during that Shift?

...

He looked ahead to the exit of the building. "Being without your Slayer strength would have been a legitimate reason to avoid conflict as well."

[herotypical]

"Legitimate, maybe. But also moot. I can handle myself--"

Oh, she hated how defensive she sounded. Buffy took a breath, reminded herself that it was Albert with whom she was speaking, and tried again: "Did they catch you?"

[chikaidestroyer]

He doesn't answer right away, considering the wording. Was he 'caught,' or accidentally turned over?

"I spent a few days in the asylum after they followed my 'son' back to the house. Apparently they overheard that I was acting strangely." He shook his head, trying to dismiss the incident; the asylum truly had been a terrible reminder of the times when Zompano had been in charge of Luceti. "Things eventually got better. Sheena and I found our way out on the last day before the Count was killed."

[herotypical]

"You...escaped?"

[chikaidestroyer]

"It helped that the entire place had devolved into chaos."

There was no way that he would have managed his way through a mental asylum otherwise.

[herotypical]

"But before that?

Was it bad?"

[chikaidestroyer]

Silence. He simply gave Buffy a long look before a faint, strange smile flitted across his face.

"It reminded me of my first year in Luceti. The abductions back then. The screams, the fear of the unknown, the lack of sleep."

[herotypical]

His smile caught her off-guard. She frowned, in return, and gave her arms a quick rub -- friction to induce warmth.

"Gee. Could you try and sound a little less nostalgic?"

[chikaidestroyer]

The smile was quick to fade.

"Yes, I suppose that tone is a bit ... strange, under the circumstances. My apologies. I just found myself thinking about how long Zompano seems to have had an influence over Luceti."

[herotypical]

"...How bad did it used to get?"

Never a question she'd have outright asked anyone else -- and not just because there were so few people who'd been here longer than her.

[chikaidestroyer]

"Sleep deprivation. Food deprivation. Unnecessary breaking and amputation of limbs in the name of research." His voice is calm and detached, for a moment. Then there is genuine bitterness in as he continues, eyes focused ahead at nothing at all. "Apparently they have done the same experiments to me in two iterations."

[herotypical]

But did you know who you were...? -- the question died on her lips. It didn't seem to fair to ask. After all, such a reality was still very harsh. Harsher, one might easily argue, than all these loud changes to their core personalities. Harsher because you couldn't simply pretend that being deprived of sleep was you not being yourself.

Her steps sped up.

"Maybe the third time'll be the charm..."

[chikaidestroyer]

"Perhaps." He repressed the urge to sigh and quickened his pace alongside Buffy. "I suppose things would be different if those experiments were not what they were. I imagine I would be gambling more."

But what was the point of dwelling on things like that? "Do you think this place changed you much?"

[herotypical]

"...Absolutely. I--"

There was no easy way to tell a person -- a confidant, normally, if not a dear friend -- that Luceti had taken a broken shell of a woman and filled her with life again. That it had taught her how to live for herself, and not for the faceless other. That just by being here, she'd transformed. It was all well and good, except for the part where Buffy Summers was convinced these transformations were a mistake, as far as the Slayer was concerned.

"I don't think anyone can be anywhere for this long and not change a whole damn lot. You. Me. Average Joe."

[chikaidestroyer]

It seemed strange to look back at the way he acted in the past and see what would likely have been a meteoric rise and fall in career and-- well, existence. He was by no means safe with his own life, but he wasfar ahead of himself now. Beyond himself and what he would reap as a matter of the actions he had taken.

For all of his foolishness in Luceti, he was sure that he was assured a longer life than what he had in his own world.

...There was that morbid humor again.

"I don't know about 'a whole damn lot,' but I agree that everyone changes by being here. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse."

[herotypical]

"And sometimes -- often, maybe -- for the both. Two big forked branches of change: one blossomy and better, the other gnarled and worse."

[chikaidestroyer]

Another faint smile.

"Such a poignant description. A tree is a good way to showcase what could be dichotomous qualities on a single entity."