Husband and Wife

Back when Elle's parents had been alive, one of her mother's favourite things had been talking about her wedding day. The woman had remembered everything, from the guests, the sitting arrangements, the menu, the flowers. How her dress had felt, the way Elle's dad had looked, but most of all, the one thing from her mother's recollections that had really stuck with her, had been how she had described the feeling.

'Walking in and seeing your father there, looking all handsome. It felt like I was going to faint. I wanted to run to him, but I was shaking with such excitement all I could manage were slow steps. And with each step, a swirl of butterflies rose up within me. I could not stop smiling the whole way down the aisle,'

Elle had always listened intently then, hoping and praying that if she ever got married she would be walking on air the same way her mother had. Hoping with all she had that she married a man who loved her as much as her father had loved her mother, if not more.

After her death Elle had forgotten that little dream. What use were dreams when the people who had inspired them were long dead, buried at the same time. Their departure stealing the light from Elle's life and leaving her jaded.

In her grief, Elle had taken those memories and all her dreams and buried them deep, thinking that such soft emotions would never resurface in her ever again. But as Celeste walked her down the aisle. With Gio up ahead waiting for her, his honorary aunt, Maria, by his side, Elle felt it. The feeling that her mother had described all those years ago. Excitement, fear, joy, and many other feelings she could not pin, all of them forming a giant ball within her. The butterflies were having a full on feast in her stomach, her grin so wide her cheeks were hurting. It took everything in her to maintain a show of dignity and walk at a sedate pace when all she wanted to do was grab her dress and run at full speed towards Gio.

She must have looked like some ridiculous bride, hopelessly in love. But she could not find it in herself to care. Not when Gio's grin matched her own, his eyes as teary as hers. 

Looking at him, it did not seem as though he was marrying her just to protect her. To a stranger, the look in his eyes could be mistaken for love. Elle chose to cling to that, pretending even if it was just for a little while.

The moment she reached Gio, everything else became just background noise. Things came into focus in flashes, there was a bit of talking. Followed by a 'you may kiss the bride,' When Gio pounced on her, she let him. Their passionate kiss leaving her panting and licking her lips. An equally affected Gio staring at her hungrily. The two of them unbothered by all the wolf whistles.

They made their way out of the church amidst a literal rainstorm of rice. Elle got the feeling that the girls were getting their revenge against her. Judging by their overly jubilant faces, they most definitely knew they were using too much rice. On any other day, she would have been annoyed, but she was too full of joy to even feel the tiniest bit mad.

Instead she waved at them with her free hand, the other one gripping Gio's tight.

The reception was, quite honestly, the best fun Elle'd had in a long time.

The speeches funny without overdoing it. When Celeste, using her best Cherry Top voice, started with…

"Show of hands, how many of you have walked in on Elle and Gio doing the nasty?" Everyone in the room raised their hands, and all Elle could do was hide her face in a laughing Gio's shoulder, mortified.

The crowd whooped, enthusiastic clapping going on as more than a few traumatised people spoke up. But somehow, by the time Celeste ended her speech, it was a heartfelt one"… After years of actively trying to blind us, they finally got their act together and I now Mr and Mrs Romano. I am proud of both of you," Celeste was not one for false pleasantries. For her to be saying it, then she meant every word.

More speeches followed, but Elle barely heard them. Her focus on the heat that was radiating from Gio totally distracting. By the time the dancing was over and the two of them left, headed home, it was well into the night.

There were no words exchanged in the back of the limo. There was no need for them, not when Gio had been on her from the moment the door had closed. She was now laying back on the seat, with Gio on top of her, his hands gripping her waist tight, his lips fastened to her breasts.

Clearly, all the champagne she had drank during the reception was finally kicking in. She was not even putting up a fake protest, simply giggling and moaning the longer he kept up his ministrations.

Soon enough he was laughing alongside her, his forehead against hers. When the laughter finally died down, he kept looking at her, his eyes soft.

"Hello, wife of mine," He said, his lips catching hers in a quick kiss.

"Hello, husband of mine," Elle replied, landing a kiss of her own.

They spent the rest of the ride like that, staring into each other's eyes and grinning like idiots.

It was ridiculously sappy, but it was also the happiest Elle had ever been. There was a small voice at the back of her head telling her not to be so happy, to be cautious. But Elle pushed it further back.

Truly happy moments were hard to come by, she would enjoy this one for as long as she could.