leo moore | neville longbottom. (longbottomed) wrote in dunhavenic, @ 2018-09-12 21:09:00 |
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When Abby had been coerced out of her yoga pants and sweatshirt and into a party dress and a little makeup that New Years Eve over six years ago, she couldn't have foreseen she couldn't have foreseen how that one decision would change her life. Had she not gone to the party, she wouldn't have found herself seeking some sort of refuge from the revelry as she considered just leaving altogether, a barely touched drink that she wasn't even technically old enough to legally drink in one hand. Rather than leave the drink on the next surface she found and trying to talk her sisters into pizza and home, she had jumped out of the way of a girl stumbling on her heels and slipped to the nearest quiet spot -- a wall that was being held up by just one other person, clutching his own drink and looking as uncomfortable as she felt. "Hi," she'd said, leaning against the wall next to Leo and turning her head to smile. "I'm Abby." Had she known then what she knew now, Abby wondered if maybe she'd have tried to say something more inspired. She suspected not, though. For as open and not afraid to express their love to one another as they were, she didn't think their love story could have started any other way than as two reluctant partygoers that happened to take up residence against the same bit of wall. It had been the start of something new and wonderful that would not only start, but grow over the course of six years, two-thousand miles, and countless late night phone calls. It had started at that party and brought them here, to where Abby was looking at herself in a mirror, her dress white and her hair up with a bouquet of flowers waiting for her to carry down an aisle to Leo. Needless to say, Abby was at the height of her emotions and she wanted nothing more to see him. They had joked about needing the luck that came with not seeing the bride before the wedding -- a joke because they knew that they had plenty of luck to spare when it came to their relationship -- and she hadn't seen Leo since the night before when she'd kissed him goodbye after the rehearsal dinner. It had been the first night in months that they hadn't spent together and while she'd known it was only temporary and that it hadn't been that long ago, in the grand scheme of things, since she would go weeks and sometimes months without his breathing lulling her to sleep, it had been hard. And for as wonderful as she knew those first look pictures were going to be thanks to the rising anticipation, Abby was pretty sure she couldn't wait even the half hour until she was due to walk down the aisle. At the very least, she thought, she could talk to him. That wasn't a break in tradition, right? With her mother dispatched to handle something with the venue's event coordinator and her sisters knowing Abby well enough to let her slip out of the room where they had gotten ready in, she gathered her skirts and walked just down the hallway to where she knew the men were supposed to do the same. She wasn't even sure if Leo would still be there, but she was willing to take the chance. "Leo?" Abby knocked twice on the door, then took a step back and down the hall just enough so she wouldn't be immediately visible if the door swung open. "It's me." Leo had been a nervous wreck all day. He wasn’t nervous about marrying Abby, just nervous that this day and this life were too good to be true. It was illogical and unfounded but he’d spent the better part of the morning checking in with all of the vendors, verifying security for the venue, dodging the stray handful of paparazzi that were undoubtedly here for his soon-to-be-wife (even though they’d been extra careful to keep their wedding preparations private), and doubling back to check in with all of the vendors. He knew that it wasn’t the wedding itself that mattered but he’d had Murphy’s Law instilled in him early on in his life and he couldn’t help but to expect that something would go wrong. Jack had mercifully gone to get them all a drink and Nick had saved Leo from another round with the vendors by offering to go check in with them himself. Leo wasn’t sure if he actually would do that, but it was enough to know that someone that he trusted was on it. He still paced around the room, waiting for his groomsmen to return, but he found that it wasn’t worry that was gnawing at him now. No, now it was an earnest impatience. He was so ready to marry the love of his life that waiting another minute seemed almost impossible. Leo had been the voice of reason over the past few months, the one telling Abby that they didn’t have much longer, that the wait was almost over, but now he felt each minute like a light year. Lifting his hand to his mouth, he chewed on his thumbnail. If Abby had been there, he knew she would have instinctively reached up and taken his hand in hers, not breaking her concentration from whatever else she might have been doing. Unable to contain himself any longer, he pivoted on his heel and walked toward the door with every intention of finding Abby despite tradition, only to be interrupted in his pursuit by a knock on the door and his fiancee’s melodious voice finding its way through it to him. “I was literally just about to open the door and come find you, you know,” he laughed, pressing his hand palm flat against the door that separated them. “Is everything all right?” At his words, Abby felt a tension release in her shoulders that she hadn't even realized was there. It made her think of when she might call him before a particularly big and stressful game, his voice alone being enough to calm her and make her feel like all was right in the world. He wasn't states away now, though. He was barely even feet away, she thought. The only thing keeping them from one another was tradition and the wooden door between them. "Everything is good," Abby replied, leaning in and letting her temple press to the door. She lifted a hand of her own, the fingers of her left splayed against the wood, not even knowing she was mirroring him. "I know it's not even been twenty-four hours, but... I missed you." She smiled. "I think that might mean I like you." Everything that was anxious in Leo felt suddenly mollified. He couldn’t see her or touch her, but it was enough to know she was there with him, that neither of them was alone in their big day. His fingers curled against the wood as she spoke and he leaned his forehead against it. “I missed you, too, so by that logic it’s probably a good thing we’re marrying each other today.” He couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. He let out a slow breath and closed his eyes. “I’m a mess without you, you know. I’ve bothered the vendors so much already that it’s likely they’ll go on strike. I have several buckets of fried chicken on standby, though, in case the caterer rage quits.” Abby laughed softly, if only because she knew that she'd been in a pretty similar state herself. It had helped that she had her sisters there to keep her calm at focused; outside of Leo, Dottie and Tessa were easily the only other people that could do such a thing without just stressing her out more. Though she may not have been bothering the caterers -- and thank god for that or they almost definitely would have quit already -- she had given the photographer more instructions than was probably necessary and had panicked slightly over the seating chart, only to remember that they had opted to just let people sit where they wanted to make things easier on everyone. They were little things that wouldn't have normally bothered Abby, but it wasn't until now, with Leo's presence washing over her, that she realized how silly she'd been. He was her calm. "Fried chicken," Abby repeated, then chuckled once more. "That's what we should have done, baby. When we get our vows renewed when we're 70, let's have KFC for the dinner." “At least the pizza coming later is also a genius idea,” Leo replied, wishing he could just open that door and pull Abby to him. “I want to renew our vows when we’re 80, 90, and 100, too. Maybe we’ll serve mashed potatoes and soup at that last one.” "It's a date," Abby said, her smile wide and threatening to take over her whole face. "We'll remind all of our kids and grandkids and great-grandkids of how grossly in love we still are after 70ish years, then I'll feed you mashed potatoes." It was a joke, but it didn't keep her from being able to imagine the very event. It wasn't all that dissimilar to this day. She had never been the sort of person that daydreamed about her future wedding before Leo, but the last couple of years had left her thinking about exactly that. Her imagination and the occasional wedding magazine had made those long spells apart a little easier, even if they didn't know when it would happen. But now it was happening and it felt wrong to be apart, even if it was just a door keeping them so. Swallowing once, she admitted, "I really want to see you, Leo. I know that's against the rules." For a moment, Leo moved his hand to the doorknob, fully intending to open it and give them what they both wanted. She was his strength, though, and even though he wanted nothing more than he wanted to see her in that moment, Leo knew that they both also wanted every experience they could get from their wedding. Seeing her for the first time that day as she walked down the aisle? That was going to be a moment he would remember for the rest of his life. “If you’d asked me before you got here if I thought we should just say screw the rules, I wouldn’t have even hesitated, you know. I was on my way to you to plead my case, even. But we can do this, Abs. It won’t be long now until you’re walking down the aisle toward me and I promise you that I will not be out of your eyesight for even a moment after that.” He let his hand fall away from the knob and stuffed it into his trouser pocket. “I’m going to wish, instead, that time could hurry up so that I can start calling you my wife already.” He was right, of course, and Abby loved him for it. For as much as she might have been his strength, Leo was just as much hers. And while being patient just a little bit longer so they could enjoy the full effect of seeing one another for the first time in their wedding attire just moments before exchanging vows and rings might have been easier than some of what life had and certainly would continue to throw at them, she found herself no less happy to have that support -- and always would. "I like hearing you call me your wife," Abby said, smiling as her eyes closed, her forehead still pressed to the door. "Just as much as I like knowing that it's just a little while longer and then I get to start introducing myself to everyone as Abigail Moore." Leo could already feel himself getting emotional. Soon, she would be his wife and that knowledge filled his heart with so much joy that he wasn’t sure he could contain it. “I’m going to open the door just a bit,” he said, after a moment of thinking it over. They could keep traditions, he thought, and still take comfort in one another. There was a third option. He gave her a moment to move out of sight if she needed to and then opened the door just enough to slip his arm through it while he trained his eyes on the opposite wall. He stretched out his hand, not knowing which direction to reach. Abby stepped back as she felt the door open, her lips tugging at the corner as she saw Leo's hand emerge from the crack. She didn't hesitate as she took it with both of her own, then raised it to press her cheek to his palm. It wasn't the same as throwing her arms around him, but it would definitely do. Just that touch felt like enough at that moment. Again, her eyes closed and she let out a soft, shaky laugh as the emotions got the better of her. "Hey." Leo let out a sigh, closing his eyes again as Abby pressed her cheek to his hand. His fingers curled against the lines of her jaw and it was at once enough and not nearly so. “I will stay right here like this with you forever, Abby,” he said, “because I don’t think I can ever let you go.” Abby turned her head, pressing a soft kiss to his palm. It probably will have smudged her lipstick and she'd have to touch it up once she got back to where she had been getting ready, but it was worth it. In fact, she was probably going to have to touch up her eye makeup too, she realized; luckily they had thought ahead and went for water proof eyeliner and mascara or they'd have to start from scratch. "I don't know how we went six years, you know," she said, the fingers of one of her hands wrapping around his wrist. "Now I can barely stand being away from you for a couple hours." Leo’s hand wrapped around Abby’s wrist in return and every worry, every concern, every ounce of anxiety slipped away. He let out a contented sigh. “It’s all right, my love. We have the rest of our lives to make up for the past two hours.” He gave her hand a squeeze and closed his eyes. He was looking forward to all of those years to come. Abby smiled at the thought, finding her own worry and tension slipping away at both his words and the connection of their hands. This wasn't the beginning of their lives together; that had been years and years ago, when they had met at that party. This was just the continuation of what they had forged, an elevated path that would lead them to more adventures and love. They really did have the rest of their lives together -- and it was going to be amazing. Leaning in, she pressed one more soft kiss to his knuckles. "I should go before my mom comes looking for me," she murmured loud enough for him to hear through the gap in the door. Her hand slid up, letting her fingers squeeze around his just once before releasing them altogether. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but she knew it was necessary. Besides... "I'll see you at the end of the aisle, okay?" Leo smiled, though she couldn't see it behind the door. “I'll be the one who won't be able to take his eyes off of the most beautiful woman in the world. I love you, Abs, and I'll see you soon.” And then they were separate, again, but Leo took heart in the fact that the best time he saw her he'd be moments away from becoming her husband. How lucky was he that he got to spend the rest of forever with the love of his life by his side? |