[[Wedding]]

[survivesitall]

Christmas Eve had seemed the perfect time to get married. Elena loved Christmas, a holiday she'd only come to celebrate as an adult and part of the Pack. This would be her first away from them; away from all of the effort Jeremy would go to, making sure Stonehaven was absolutely perfect. Here it was just Clayton and her, her hand drifting to her already curving belly at that thought. It would be their last Christmas alone, that was definite. But without the Pack, without Jeremy, it had made sense to them both that they try and make it as much a celebration as they could.

They'd decided to have the wedding at the house, clearing out the living room to make room for their friends. A crackling fire gave the room warmth, and the tree they had felled together stood proudly in the corner, covered with little lights but nothing else in the way of decoration. On the mantle there was a snow globe with two wolves in it, their only other Christmas decoration and a recent acquisition.

Elena wore the same dress that she'd worn to Hermione's wedding. Beaded and off-white, it didn't fit as well as it had then. By their count she was ten weeks pregnant, but already she looked closer to four months. She didn't care about that, she would have been happy getting married in jeans. The celebrant spoke of simple things; committment and love. Elena knew that they had that already. She knew that in the nearly thirteen years since they'd first come together they'd been through more than most couples could ever dream of. Being turned into a wolf, kidnapping, magic attacks, killer mutts... The list went on and on and that didn't include the things that they'd done together.

When she said I do she could feel the tears welling, and for once she didn't care about that either. She'd grown up needing to be strong and tough, and finally she could let another side of herself show. The side that was scared for what they were getting into, but loved Clayton completely and wouldn't want to have her life without him.

She kissed him and heard the cheers of their friends. It was done. They were now Mr and Mrs Danvers.

Comments

[survivesitall]

"Good," she says with a smile, happy to hear that. She's always happy to hear that people she's taken a liking to are doing well in whatever they do. "That's good. It's not always easy here. I think especially for us."

[survivesitall]

"You could have worn jeans and I would have been happy. I could have worn jeans and Clayton wouldn't have cared," Elena admits in a whisper, leaning close and nudging Mylia with her shoulder. "But I wanted to dress up, for once in my life."

[modern_alpha]

"It is not easy living anywhere for me." Biffy frowned, realizing what he had let slip and hurried for his composure.

"But it is not my time to burden you with troubles."

[rulesofthewild]

"The lady at the store told me I had to wear a dress," Malia confesses. She shrugs and looks down. "I like this one the most, I think." It definitely wasn't the dressiest thing the clerk had shown her, and Malia likes that.

[survivesitall]

"Please. You had to deal with my crying though vows, I can deal with a couple troubles," Elena says with a laugh and a wave of her hand. It's more than just that, though. It's a sense of protectiveness and caring she has for all the other wolves in the city, whether they need her help or not. "Why isn't it easy?"

[survivesitall]

"Well, you look great," she says, even though she knows that she's repeating herself. Elena figures this time it's worth saying again. "Have you had anything to eat yet?"

[modern_alpha]

"No, I'd not trouble you, if it's all the same." And not trouble himself in the bargain. Victoria's tolerance had only gone so far, even among the supernatural set, and openly declaring his fondness for the company of his own sex would have ruined him. Being in love with a vampire when he was now a wolf was just silver in the wound.

"Today is too happy. And it is about you, not me."

[survivesitall]

"Another time then," Elena says finally, relenting somewhat. There's pushing as a friend, and then there's pushing people past what they were comfortable with. She doesn't want to cross that line today. "Have you had anything to eat?"

[modern_alpha]

"Some, yes." There was only so much cooked food his constitution could now handle, but what he had been able to taste had been lovely.

That he was famished bore no mentioning.

[survivesitall]

"Can you eat?" It's a fair question, she thinks. She's learned of people who can't, vampires like Cassandra from her own world, or others from places unlike hers. Why not with a wolf too?

[modern_alpha]

"I can," he admitted, fiddling with the watch fob that hung from his pocket. There were many things, in his experience, that were simply not done in a modern society. Women, for instance, no longer wore crinolines and guests never complained to the host about the food.

"But I can only taste cooked food. To sustain myself, I do better on raw meats, offal."

[survivesitall]

"There are a couple steaks in the fridge?" Elena offers it as easily as she would offer a cup of tea. She makes a mental note to provide something next time, without needing to be prompted. "You can eat in the kitchen if you're uncomfortable."

[modern_alpha]

"I couldn't impose on you so," Biffy attempted. His determined politeness was ruined by a loud and plaintive growl from his traitorous stomach.

"...perhaps that may be best."

[rulesofthewild]

"Not yet," she says. Then her eyes widen and she sort of grabs Elena's arm. "Is there deer?" she asks eagerly. She hasn't caught the scent, yet, but that doesn't mean anything. Maybe it's in a building. Maybe it's still being cooked. Maybe they'll go hunting together!

[triskehale]

It doesn't even occur to Derek that his outfit could be seen as disrespectful. He was raised in a small pack who ran around naked all the time, so he doesn't think much of being barefoot. The man in front of him is dressed nicely and Derek can't help the way he raises an eyebrow at his name, but he doesn't say anything about it.

"Good to meet you," Derek says gruffly, holding out his hand for a shake. His eyes flicker red for a moment because he's been on his own in the woods for quite some time now and being around so many other wolves is a little overwhelming, but he blinks and they're just hazel again. "Been here long?"

[triskehale]

Derek hears something in Luke's voice, something that makes him curious and he finds, frustratingly, that he actually needs to use his words. He huffs a huge sigh and nudges Luke's hip with his head, stamping his giant paw against the ground twice in a way that he hopes conveys stay here.

He trots off around the side of the house and shifts back into human form, stretching out his muscles and pulling on the jeans and henley from the bag that had been strapped to his flank. After taking a moment to reacquaint himself with being on two feet, he pads back around to the ceremony and finds Luke, tilting his head like he's still a wolf and blinking at him curiously.

"You seem very hesitant to shift," Derek says bluntly. "Even though you want to."

[survivesitall]

Elena does her best to hide her smile, but her eyes still dance. "Come on. I'll show you where it is."

She looked around for Clayton, smiling and waving before leading Biffy down the short hall that lead to the kitchen. "Here we are."

[survivesitall]

"No but there's rabbit." Elena smiles at Malia's enthusiasm, the younger girl sometimes a snapshot of what Clayton might have been like at one point. "We'll probably go out running tomorrow though. Try and find a deer if you want to come along."

[alphomega]

Scott wasn't looking for a pack, but he was grateful for the loose "pack" that had formed in Darrow, a lot of it thanks to Clayton and Elena, a network of support for the wolves (and other shifters, he didn't want to leave Malia out) that arrived in the city from all different worlds.

Which is why he was happy to be here, watching them get married and being a part of this day. It was why he was spending Christmas Eve here instead of with his mom or Bay. He'd make it up to them both tomorrow, but tonight--tonight he was with the wolves, celebrating this union.

[cleverness]

"I wouldn't have missed this occasion for anything," Hermione admitted, already feeling tears welling as her friend pulled her in for a hug. While she hadn't known Elena for terribly long, there was so much that they had managed to find in common, philosophies and experiences that they shared, that Hermione felt like they were kindred in more ways than one.

"It was a beautiful ceremony, and I'm so honored to have been part of it. Now we're both married!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling back with a wide smile. "How are you feeling? How's Clayton doing?"

[modern_alpha]

Having spent all of his life with an eye to fashion and working as a personal shopper now, Biffy spent far more time fixated on a person's dress than was strictly necessary. It did not distract him from the way the man's eyebrow rose at his name. It was not uncommon and he was, himself, aware that it was hardly an imposing name for a werewolf but he kept it. The nickname had been his first gift from Lord Akeldama and he refused to part with that facet of his identity.

"A few weeks only," he said. The flash of red filled Biffy with a brief, odd desire. Had it lasted any longer, he would have bowed his head in instinct, exposing the back of his neck in a show of abeyance.

[modern_alpha]

He tried not to look quite as relieved as he felt, though he was truly grateful for Elena's understanding. Something in her efficiency of manner reminded him, comfortingly, of Alexia.

"Thank you, truly."

[notaretriever]

"I'm attending a friend's wedding," he points out with a smile, gesturing to the group that's gathered for Elena and Clayton. "And I know they're wolves as well, but I'd much rather stay and enjoy the celebration for a little while before I run off." And he's not one to simply hang around in his wolf form. After keeping it a secret for such a long time, Luke still doesn't trust everyone with the information. In Manhattan it had been used against him more than once, a dirty little secret people used to hurt the ones he cared about.

It might not be like that here. Jocelyn and Clary aren't here for him to worry about, but adjustments take time.

[survivesitall]

"Scott, thank you for coming," Elena says, reaching out to touch the younger man's shoulder. It's made her so happy to see everyone here to support Clatyon and herself. "I can't believe everyone came."

[survivesitall]

She's happy to return the hug, holding her new friend close for a moment. Elena had a lifetime of distance from people, and had only found physical closeness once she'd become part of the pack. They were so completey the opposite, a pile of puppies practically, always playing and touching. Affection from non-wolves can be surprising, but from friends it's welcome.

"We are." When she pulls away, she's still smiling widely. "Putting up with having so many people in his house. But he's happy. We're both happy. I think... To him we've always been married. But it's important to him that we did this. That I wanted this."