By Fleur Le Marc and Trick London
80319.15
Following Blessed
-=Arboretum, USS Serendipity=-
Following Blessed
-=Arboretum, USS Serendipity=-
[[You did a wonderful job on the service, Camen.]] Liis signed. She looked around, and saw that the assembly had all moved from the gazebo area of the arboretum over toward the table where the cake was set up.
Zanh took the opportunity to tug Jariel further into the structure by the hand, and he grinned. She glanced one more time over his shoulder to be sure no one was looking, and then she kissed him.
Thoroughly.
One pair of eyes, which rarely left the Vedek when he was within visual range, caught sight of the display of affection and the woman they belonged to grasped the hilt of the cake knife a little tighter between her fingers.
"Green never was your color, dearie," Trick London whispered in Fleur's ear, as he slowly pried the knife from her hand, so he could give it to Grace and Reece to cut the ceremonial first slice. Also, he hated to admit to himself, to prevent Fleur from potentially using it for any other purpose.
Fleur did not speak, but if looks could truly kill, Trick would have been a smoldering pile of ash on the floor, instantaneously.
*I'll be wearing white, soon enough.* Fleur thought. She glanced at Grace and Reece. They were so happy, so in love.
She wanted what they had. And she wanted it with the man who was, across the room, still standing with his arms around another woman. The wrong woman.
*Even his gods say so. . .*
"Fleur, do you have the plates?" Lair Kellyn's voice rose above the happy conversation of the crowd.
"Oui, oui. My apologies." Fleur turned and retrieved the stack of dessert plates, handing them over to London. She watched as Zanh released the Vedek from her clutches at last, knowing if they were gone any longer they'd be missed. Before Jariel descended the steps from the gazebo, he signed something to Zanh that pierced Fleur through.
[[You will make a beautiful bride, someday.]] Jariel gestured toward her. [[You look incredible tonight.]]
She watched as a look of discomfort crossed Zanh's face, at the mention of herself and the word 'bride' in the same sentence.
*Fool.* Fleur thought, *How can you even wait a moment to accept such a gift. . .*
[[Someday.]] Liis signed, then she reached for his hand and allowed herself the luxury of holding it as they walked back to the table where the guests of honor held the knife ready to slice through the perfectly smooth pink fondant covering the cake.
"Say, 'coagulated dairy product'." Salvek invited, as he leveled the camera at the pair.
"Cheese, Pointy." Dabin laughed. "It's 'say cheese'."
"Indeed."
Overcome with affection for him at hearing the sound of his laughter, Bru impulsively embraced Reece and kissed him instead of saying anything.
The crowd gave a collective 'awww' and in a flash, Lair Kellyn's hand reached over Salvek's and pressed the capture button on the camera. She pressed it again a second later, as the two Trill stood momentarily after the kiss with their foreheads gently pressed together, eyes closed and clearly having a conversation in their heads that no one else could hear.
Kellyn looked down at the small display screen and nodded with satisfaction, she'd caught both images in perfect frame. She gestured toward the one of the kiss. "That's a keeper." She whispered, winking at Salvek, and patting his hand before moving hers away.
"As are you, my wife." Salvek replied. "Later when you have a moment, I wish to speak to you privately," Salvek began, but before he could finish their daughter was jumping up and down beside them.
"May I have some cake Oko-mekh? Please? Please? Pleeeeeease?"
"You are doing your best impression of a pogo stick and I am supposed to give you sugar?" Kellyn observed aloud. "Yes, Arie. You may have a piece of cake."
After the cake was cut, Arie skipped off happily with her plate and fork and sat down beneath a tree. Dabin excused himself from his wife's side, and moved over toward her.
"Hi there. May I join you?" He asked the girl, and Arie nodded. She looked at him very seriously now, and he smiled at her as he plunked down beside her on the grass.
"Do you wish to speak with me?"
"I do." He took a deep breath and sighed. "I know that I haven't been able to spend as much time with you, since we all left the station," he and his former significant other had spent a great deal of time keeping watch over Arie for Salvek and Lair as they worked late into the night. Many late nights.
He looked at Arie now, a pretty young lady, and had a flash in his mind to the image of her as an adorable, chubby toddler; sitting in her booster chair with a bowl of grain ring cereal before her, eating them one by one with tiny, dimpled fingers. Back when she used to call him. . .
"'Raffe," Arie said softly, invoking that very pet name and poking at her cake with her fork but not eating it, suddenly disinterested. "Are we still family?"
"What?" Dabin was shocked by the idea that the child would ever consider them anything less.
"Now that you're. . .married to February. Or don't I get to be part of your family now? What if you have your own kids?"
"Arie," Dabin took her plate, set it aside, and put his hand on top of her head.
"You know that Bru loves you, just as much as I do. Would she trust you with Sparrow if she didn't?"
"I don't know."
"She wouldn't." Dabin said conclusively, taking the little girl by the hand. He thought about her comment about having children of his own, and shoved the feelings associated with the complicated issue away, focusing on her. "Arie, how long have I known your parents?"
"Since before I was adopted."
"Yes, that's right. They mean a great deal to me. So do you. I have loved you since the day I first held you in my arms and you smiled up at me," Dabin smiled at her, misty eyed thinking about it, "and you reached up with your little hand and touched the spots on my forehead." He laughed softly. "Even if I had a hundred children, there is no way that anyone could ever take the place in my heart that belongs exclusively to one little Bajoran Vulcan girl called Lair Arie. Do you understand?"
Arie reached up, threw her arms around Reece's neck, and squeezed. "I love you, Dabin."
He patted her gently on the back and kissed her forehead. "I love you too, Arie."
February and Kellyn observed the exchange from their vantage point, and smiled.
"He's invested a lot of time and love into her," Kellyn said to February softly, "She wouldn't be who she is today if he hadn't."
"Neither would he." Whispered Grace, smiling as she turned toward the person who was tapping on her shoulder.
"Congratulations, Mrs. Reece."
February beamed. "Thank you, Mr. London." She scanned the crowd. "Where is Angus? I had hoped he'd be able to stop by."
"He asked me to send his best, he's stuck in the kitchen preparing all the food for Mardi Gras," Trick explained. "Especially since someone won't be helping us with that at all tonight,"
"Someone is invited to that party and plans to go," Fleur scoffed. "My good friend Monsieur Breaux invited me himself. I could not very well turn down such an invitation. Which reminds me, I am now off duty and I must go change." Fleur handed Trick the remaining plates in the stack. "Enjoy."
Fleur Le Marc
Manager, Afterthought Cafe
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Trick London
Manager/Bartender Illusions Lounge
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
Manager, Afterthought Cafe
USS Serendipity NCC-2012
and
Trick London
Manager/Bartender Illusions Lounge
USS Serendipity NCC-2012