lucetilogs | The first step is the one you believe in

The first step is the one you believe in

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!}}

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It has been a long while since he has properly spoken to Buffy, and he smiled slightly at the sound of her laughter. The atmosphere was by far the lightest and most positive he has felt in months, which was a large part of why he had decided to accept the invitation.

"I think a celebration of this nature is good for everyone once in awhile." His eyes strayed over in the direction of the bride and groom for just a moment before returning to Buffy. "This is the first wedding I've been to, in Luceti."

"...Really?"

Her eyes follow his -- ever so briefly -- before she added: "It's the first I've been to that didn't have that inevitable smog of doom gathering at the edges. Y'know? They love each other back home, too."

Although...

"Inevitable smog of doom." There's a wry note to his voice as he repeats her words, a brow rising faintly in question. "They seem very comfortable and happy together. Anyone who can contain Mr. Stark's ... bombastic personality is a fortunate one indeed."

"What," she prompted, "do you and the billionaire groom not get along?"

"We get along fine." Professional relationship and all, aside from the unnecessary nickname. "His attitude can be somewhat off-putting -- that is all." Only somewhat; even he had to admit that Tony had a certain charisma.

He continued on with a separate topic. "How have you been?"

"Better, thank you," she answered in a rare simple fashion. Such an answer admitted to the fact that she had indeed been having problems in the past. And she wanted to share her improvements with Albert, but it didn't seem like the best moment. The best atmosphere. So she hoped it would be enough to assure him that she was indeed better.

"What about you, though?" She settled at his side, red wings folded hard against her back and tucked between her body and the wall. "I've been meaning to touch base. Ask how you made it through that invasion?"

Better. His frown deepened at the brief reply without further elaboration, but soon smoothed over as he understood why; any heavy talk would be better off left outside of the celebration.

"I was myself during the invasion." He paused, as if planning to continue, before deciding to follow Buffy's example and keep his response simple.

"Me, too." She tipped an empty hand towards him -- a superficial kind of gesture. The remaining trappings of a valley girl still used to talking expressively with her hands. The hand expected nothing -- no slap and no shake. It simple stood there, handishly, and existed. "Lucky us, huh?"

A note haunted her voice. Primarily, it was an understanding of what remaining myself meant for that particular time. Padded cells and institutionalization. Buffy had run, none to eager to experience that yet again. She was not yet cured of all the guilt running had inspired.

Her attention slipped to the door. She wondered, briefly, whether she ought to ask Albert to step outside with her. Ah, well. It could wait. Let gentle conversation flow a few minutes more before she had to be the Slayer again.

"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."

"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..."

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.

"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."

"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?"

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?"

Edited 2013-09-22 02:45 (UTC)

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.

"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."

"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."

"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?"

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."

"You...escaped?"

"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.

"But before that?

Was it bad?"

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."

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?"

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."

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