That One Time We Kissed // Bishova College AU

The Author Remembers the PeterMJ Wedding

Yelena Belova had never attended a wedding. She was not expecting the ceremony to be so short, nor was she expecting there to be such a large, excited crowd. Also surprising was the fact that no one actually asked for objections or burst in at the last second with a dramatic love confession.

What also caught her attention as proceedings began was Peter's tailored suit, an elegant deep burgundy number with a white shirt and gold buttons. From her summer at a fashion magazine, Yelena quickly realized it was designer, easily a couple thousand for the full set. To her, it was without a doubt the second best suit in the room.

The first, of course, was her best man. Kate stood handsomely at Peter's side, grinning broadly and doing her best to stand still (though she did throw a little wave Yelena's way). Donning an all black suit, she was nearly as excited as Peter, whose eyes were already misty as the organ started and the crowd stood.

MJ, accompanied by her father, strode gracefully down through the crowd in the pantsuit Yelena helped pick out. She was glad she did, as MJ had an air of confidence as she walked down the aisle to the rest of her life. Peter looked like he wanted to kiss her as soon as she was close enough, but he resigned himself to taking her hands and whispering something only the two of them caught. The gleam in his eyes was something Yelena saw often when alone with Kate. It was disbelief, adoration, and a dash of terror from being with someone so genuinely stunning.

MJ was similarly enraptured, though much more calm about it. She was the unmoving rock he clung to as he fought through his storm of emotions on such a momentous day. He was her comfort, a home with his gentle brown eyes and even gentler words.

The ceremony was short but extremely sweet, with Peter not lasting through one sentence of his vows without his voice breaking. He was not alone in his emotion though, as MJ and the entire crowd teared up with him. In the glowing light from the depot's many windows, they said 'I do', kissed, and came apart smiling.

Soon, as the crowd was dismissed for dinner, Kate sidled up to her girlfriend, gold and silver rings meeting as their fingers intertwined. Kate led them to their table, waving to a woman she introduced as May, Peter's aunt.

"Lovely to finally meet you," May said, patting the chair next to her for Kate to sit down. "Kate has told me so much about you, Yelena."

"Likewise," Yelena replied amicably, hand on Kate's knee as she leaned over to speak to the older woman. "I've heard all about your famous dinners."

"Ha! My good friend Mrs. Stouffer does the heavy lifting," May joked, elbowing Kate.

"And her neighbor Betty Crocker handles dessert," Kate quipped, settling into the easy, familiar comfort she had found in May for over a decade. "Is that who catered tonight?"

"Listen to this one. I had to teach her how to make boxed macaroni. Boxed!" May rolled her eyes good-naturedly, grin irrepressible. "It's wonderful to see you both. How have you been? How's school?"

"Your boy just got married and you wanna talk about school?" Kate said, toying with her water, rings tapping against the glass.

"Don't deflect."

"School is good, thank you," Yelena supplied, hand still on Kate's knee. "We're both looking to graduate, no problem. At least now that Kate has all her credits."

May nearly spit out her sip of wine. "Peter sent me a video of that play. You were a wonderful little tree, honey."

"Thank you," Kate said genuinely, turning to find Peter and MJ making their way to their table at the front of the hall. "Damn, they're a cute couple."