survivesitall | [[Wedding]]

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"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.

"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?

"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."

"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."

"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."

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."

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."

"Is two enough?" She holds up a container, the meat fresh and from the local butcher. They may hunt for game, but some things were easier to get from stores. "Clayton found a butcher he likes in the city. No hormones, he says, and grass fed."

Biffy raised his eyebrows, taking the container gratefully. Hoping to preserve his clothes, Biffy unbuttoned and rolled up his sleeves as he asked, "Isn't all beef fed on grass?"

"No. Sometimes corn and grain and straw and other things. Farming is more of a business than you're likely used to, and animals can be kept in really small spaces and fed nothing good at all." She shrugs, knowing that this is Clatyon's bugbear more than her own.

Biffy was not much of a farmer but he raised an eyebrow at such a thought, certain that it would lead to an inferior product. "Why are such things done?" he asked, even while he seized one steak and took a bite.

"America. Canada. Most places in the future," she says with a dismissive shrug. It's one of the many ways things have changed, farming an industry like any other.

"How odd," Biffy said, thinking it was indeed so. He knew technology improved daily, especially here, but why use it to alter what needed no changing?

"Could I trouble you for a napkin?"

"Sure," she says, tugging a drawer open to pull out two paper napkins and pass them over the island. "I should have offered. Does it change for you? Do you ever get more used to prepared food?"

Biffy nodded, wiping hands and mouth delicately on the napkin. "They say once I'm more accustomed to the wolf side of things, yes."

It went without saying that he had some difficulty in that regard.

"Well, if you need any help with that... I know we're not the same," she offers, lifting a shoulder in a half-shrug. "But if there's something I can do- We can do, then we'll do it."

But, in a way, they were. Biffy would not have gone so far as to say they were pack, but even loan wolves weren't truly alone. So too it was with them, he found himself hoping.

"You have been very kind to me," he said. "And I am grateful that you are willing to extend that kindness further."

"We only have each other here," she says, her expression turning sad for just a moment. There are times that being away from the Pack is hard, and this is one of those times. There are friends here and she appreciates that, but it's not the same. "This place, if people turned against us, found out what we were? It's good to think we'd be in each other's corner."

[[Wedding]]

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