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

[selfhelp]

[Hey. Hey, bf. What was that about being dragged off to dance? Because at some point during the evening, in between conversations, when Teddy is on his own, Billy marches meaningfully right over, setting his own (mostly empty) glass on the table beside the blond's, and grabs him by the tie, pulling him in close, his voice low. There's a hint of champagne on his breath and he looks very serious.]

Teddy Rufus Altman, if you don't join me on the dance floor within exactly one minute I cannot be held accountable for what I do in retaliation.

[halfnhalf]

[He had heard the footsteps, but he wasn't quite expecting to be pulled down like that (an action he easily follows through, even though he could easily fight against it). So he blinks when Billy talks in that tone of voice, with that look in his eyes, with - okay, using his middle name was a bit of a mood killer, but.

Well. Even with the champagne breath, Billy's aggressiveness is one of the things that makes Teddy instantly attracted.]

That almost makes me want to hold off for a little while. [Teddy gives a slow grin as he presses his fingers against Billy's chest to give him a gentle nudge backwards, toward the dance floor.] Almost.

[selfhelp]

Yeah, it better be almost.

[Once Teddy starts moving - since he's kind of a rock and therefore impossible to move when he's unwilling - Billy takes over, shifting his hand to get a firm grip on his collar instead. The goal is to pull, not choke.]

The whole point of threatening retaliation is that you won't enjoy it.

[halfnhalf]

For the sake of satiating my curiosity, say it wasn't an almost.

[Teddy happily goes along with whatever Billy does, tilting his head to be pulled along easier. With Billy being like this, Teddy can already tell who'll be taking the lead in the dance (which suits him fine, Teddy is a terrible dance-leader).]

What would've happened to me?

[selfhelp]

If it wasn't an almost... hm.

[Billy stops when they hit the edge of the dance floor, sliding his hand down Teddy's chest and to the side, holding him there instead, while the other finds Teddy's hand. He bobs his head a couple times to catch the beat of the current tune playing, then launches right into a dance, pulling his boyfriend into it.]

I'm not sure I should spoil the surprise. I could just save it for later, let you live in fear for a while.

[halfnhalf]

[Teddy rests his hand against Billy's shoulder in response, and he barely has time to catch the beat before Billy launches into the dance. Thankfully he's a little better at keeping up thanks to Theodore's love of music and dance, so Teddy reaches into that to adapt easier. Still, he's glad that Billy's leading; even now, Teddy's not nearly as good at this as he is.]

Why should I live in fear when I already agreed to dance?

[selfhelp]

[That... is an unfairly good question. And one that Billy isn't sure how to answer, mostly because he hadn't actually picked a retaliation. He hadn't considered the thought of Teddy actually refusing to dance with him. Maybe if he'd been affected by that heart shard thing again, but now? On a night like this?

Yeah, no. So now he's not sure, but he won't let it show on his face. Not when Teddy seems to already like what he sees.]

Well... maybe not fear. Anticipation is more fun. But you should still do what I say, because I have very good ideas about what to do with you.

[halfnhalf]

Oh...

[There's actually a little flush to his cheeks at that, though thankfully they're in constant movement, so Teddy can let people who might see him blame it on that. He gives a slow grin again, though he bites his lip in an attempt to keep it down (or so he says, it might just be that anticipation that Billy's talking about), and squeezes Billy's hand.]

I think I want in on these ideas. But maybe once we're off the dance floor...

[selfhelp]

Yeah, uh. Let's just say a few of them aren't rated PG.

[He finally lets himself smile, drawing back to push Teddy into a casual spin before pulling him close again. With Teddy blushing like that, it's easy to imagine those few things he could be thinking of.]

Though phrasing it like that makes it sound like a reward, not a rebuttal.

[halfnhalf]

Hmm. [He muses as he draws in close to Billy again, touching foreheads for a moment before pulling his head back once more.] A rewarding rebuttal?

[selfhelp]

Doesn't that sound a little contrary? Shouldn't that bother you or something?

[halfnhalf]

Mm, what do you want me to do? Shove you away and shout "Objection!" while pointing at you? I'm sure that'll go over well.

[selfhelp]

Probably not. We'd make a big scene at the wedding, and it wouldn't be very attractive, would it?

[Not good incentive to do those things he mentioned. Or. Didn't mention.]

[halfnhalf]

Not really, no. Well. Maybe to you and me, but. You know.

[Maybe if it was their reception or something, not that Teddy's thinking about it at all, no sir. But at Tony and Pepper's? Naaah.]

[selfhelp]

Maybe at the after-party or something.

[He steps back to spin Teddy again, twining their fingers together.]

A private courtroom built for two?

[halfnhalf]

[And Teddy follows the spin, the movement far more graceful now that he knows how to move his body. When he draws back in again, he presses his forehead to Billy's again, this time shutting his eyes to allow his boyfriend to fully lead.]

With fully slammable desks. I'll be your Phoenix if you be my Edgeworth.

[selfhelp]

...Aren't you just setting things up now so that you always win?

[Despite the quip, Billy has his eyes closed as well, rocking back and forth with Teddy, his expression content.]

[halfnhalf]

[The dance isn't quite as energized for the moment, Teddy can feel it even with his eyes shut. So he sinks into the moment, letting his voice soften to something quieter.]

Not without you, no.

[selfhelp]

...Mm.

[Billy sounds musing now, fingers curling in the material of Teddy's suit jacket, momentarily forgetting the steps and just swaying instead. It's like a high school prom in those silly scene drama movies, a moment on the dance floor where everything seems to slow, where the downtrodden star of the show meets the partner they'd always dreamed of having, finally winning the prize of a perfect ending. It's a wonderful feeling, even if it's someone else's dance, and not theirs.]

What would you do without me, really.

[halfnhalf]

[I'd never be who I am today. I'd be alone in all of my darkest moments and never know what it was like to be there for someone else's. I would've fallen apart after mom died, after I found out I wasn't human, after everything I thought was real was taken away from me.

I'd never know a love like this existed, a love deep enough to want all of my flaws and imperfections without improving anything, to want to be by your side forever.

I don't know what I'd do without you.

It's nothing he says out loud, but instead he conveys it with the way he slides his hand to the side of Billy's neck and caresses his jawbone with something not unlike reverence, the way he tightens his grip with his other hand, the way he takes in a slightly deeper, sharper breath than before.]

... Cry a lot?

[selfhelp]

[Billy actually hadn't expected such a serious response, even if it is mostly unspoken, so for a long moment he's taken aback, not sure what to do or say. He goes still at the sheer honestly he finds in Teddy's expression when he opens his eyes, and he feels a light flush cross his cheeks from more than just the alcohol he'd been sampling all evening. That... was surprisingly intense, actually, and it takes him a few extra seconds to shake it off and push Teddy into another spin, letting the break in eye-contact help him regain his composure.]

That, uh. Sounds kind of messy. It would be pretty irresponsible of me to leave that for someone else to clean up, so... I guess you're stuck with me for a while.

[halfnhalf]

Oh -

[Teddy himself hadn't been expecting to be suddenly spun again, so his follow-through is entirely graceless, his spinning arm getting caught in front of him since he hadn't raised it fast enough. He manages to recover quickly, though, and along with that, the intensity of the moment breaks. Probably a good thing - a very good thing, really, since Teddy was feeling a little vulnerable like that.

Once he draws in close again, his hand goes back to Billy's shoulder, body moving with the beat rather than the gentle swaying they were doing earlier.]

Stuck with each other, you mean. [He raises his eyebrows, something a little hopeful in his eyes.] Do you think this counts as a rewarding rebuttal?

[selfhelp]

[Billy feels some of the tension ease out of his shoulders as the conversation slips back into playfulness; it's not like it made him uncomfortable or anything - far from it, because he loves when Teddy gets that look on his face, or touches him that way - but he was so unprepared for it at that moment that it's a relief to be back to what's familiar. They've been having these moments more and more often lately, and he loves them as much as he fears them. They bring to mind a question that has been on the tip of his tongue for months, only held back by the walls of doubt known as "too soon" and "this is ridiculous", and a healthy dash of "what if the answer is 'no'?"

And lately, more prominently, the question is also, "what if he says yes?"

Of course it would come to mind here and now, at a wedding. And it's their night, Tony and Pepper's, and he'd never take that from them, so he's glad to feel that moment and let it slip past him yet again.

But... but. It's just a thought.]

Hmm... I think it'll do, yeah. I mean, it's one part punishment and one part present, a couple of strange and stubborn geeks like us being stuck together.

[halfnhalf]

Well... There's no one else I'd rather be stuck with.

[And it's true, absolutely, even if he can feel himself approaching that line they arrived at several times before in the past few months, more and more so recently. Those same walls that hold Billy back also stop Teddy, the thought that they're both too young, not mature enough, not ready, that this is ridiculous, that they should wait until they're actually home in New York, that Billy might say no...

How many times did they steal glances at each other during the ceremony, only to hold hands once they caught each other? How many times have they been at that line, just waiting to step over it and see where it takes them?

Still... tonight is not the night. This is Tony and Pepper's night, and how tacky would it be to steal it away from them? Extremely tacky, especially if the main couple of the night got wind of it.

So Teddy steps away from it again, a promise echoing in his head that he'll do it, for sure, some other time. Besides, he'd rather ask while Billy's completely sober; Teddy's sure he's only a little tipsy, but it's too important for even that much.]

I mean, who else would get what it means to be a Phoenix and an Edgeworth?

[selfhelp]

I guess the list is pretty small. But couldn't you be a little more romantic about it? I mean, Edgeworth and Phoenix are never gonna be canon.

[And they very much are. Kinda. If they were fictional in their universe, they would be. He'd like to keep it that way for a long, long time.]

...We do look just as good in suits, though.