WHO: Nina Deforest and Rupert Shield WHEN: Backdated to Thanksgiving WHERE: Their home SUMMARY: Nina and Rupert spend Thanksgiving with her parents and she's left feeling a bit wedding stressed, thanks to her mother's enthusiasm. Chatting, planning, and cute ensues. WARNINGS: None!
Although Nina hadn't been completely quiet on the drive back down to Dunhaven from his parents' home in Fairfax, she had been pensive. Her stomach was comfortably full of turkey and various types of pie, but her mind was abuzz in a way that she hadn't felt in a long while -- probably not since she had been approaching exams in medical school or juggling too much early on in her residency. Not the sort of woman that became easily overwhelmed, she didn't like that she was feeling exactly that at that given moment. She especially didn't like that it was her future wedding that was causing it.
It had been a couple of months since Rupert had proposed to Nina. They'd had several conversations about their desires, but no true planning or booking of venues had taken place just yet; they hadn't even chosen a date, given how it was tied to what sort of venue might be available. They both had busy lives with their work, though, and Nina hadn't felt any rush. She was looking forward to being married to Rupert, but she was determined to have the time that would lead up to them throwing a party and exchanging vows to be as stress-free as possible. As soon as her mother had taken out the stack of wedding magazines -- all of which filled with notes and corners of pages bent over to mark ideas -- and the research of different venues she had done on her own time, though, Nina had felt the stress start to settle in her chest.
Though Rupert had diffused the situation admirably, it hadn't kept Nina's mind from staying on thoughts of caterers, tulle, and flowers. When they left after the meal, her mother had packed away all of the magazines ("For you to look at in your own time, sweetheart.") and she couldn't help but glance over her shoulder at them in the backseat. She couldn't wait to be married to Rupert, but she was starting to feel the control she had over the situation slip through her fingers.
Once they got home, Nina excused herself to change, bringing the stack of magazines along with her. At her heels was Sam, who immediately flopped down on his dog bed in the corner of the bedroom after a day of exhaustive playing with her parents' dogs. She changed into some loungewear, including a t-shirt of Rupert's that he'd left at the house months ago which she'd stolen and introduced into her wardrobe, and then found herself standing in the middle of the room. Pushing her glasses up her nose, she looked at the offending magazines from where they sat on her dresser and then sighed.
"Rupert?" Nina called, her arms crossing loosely in front of her as she padded barefoot out of the bedroom in search of him.
“In the kitchen!” he called back, setting down the mug he’d just plucked from the cabinet. It’d been a long day - a good day, on the whole, but long nevertheless, and he h ad the kettle heating up on the stove. He hesitated for a moment and then opened the cabinet for another mug, one for Nina.
It hadn’t taken him long to read the dynamic between Nina and her mother that day. He was an expert at pushy parents, at navigating the fine line between standing up for oneself and not disappointing someone. He knew her parents meant well, and he’d adored them from the start, but that didn’t mean her mother’s hovering was good for his future wife.
“I’m making tea,” he added, “would you like some?”
Nina followed Rupert's voice to the kitchen, smiling to herself when she found him making tea. She wasn't sure what was more comforting, the prospect of getting to have tea or just simply seeing him. She had a feeling that it had more to do with the latter, no matter how much she liked tea.
"Yes, please." Even as she said it, though, she stepped up behind Rupert, letting her arms slip around him and her cheek press to his shoulder. Nina released a sigh, one much different than the one she'd let out just moments before in the bedroom. This was pure contentment and she wasn't sure how she'd managed all that time without him. Though she knew she was almost certainly in the way of his tea making, she held onto him and murmured, "I really love you, you know."
Rupert chuckled, letting her hug him for a moment longer before turning around in her arms. He didn’t make a move to step away. All he did was lift a hand and brush some of her hair away from her face. “I really love you too, you know,” he echoed, sensing that she needed to hear it (even if she already knew). “I’m still sorry it took so long for me to figure out. We could’ve been married by now if I hadn’t been so dense.”
She really had needed to hear it, even if Nina had no doubt in her mind just how much Rupert loved her. And though they may have gotten there in the end, she couldn't help but let herself dwell on just where their life might be right that moment had their farewells in Kenya had been more honest. They very well could have been married. They might have even been expecting a child. As much as Nina had started to warm to the concept of fate and the idea that everything in her life happened as it was meant to, it was hard not to sometimes wish for that life where they might have had a head start.
But, that wasn't the life they had and the one that they were living was pretty great as well, as far as she was concerned. "We got there in the end," she decided, one of her hands turning to press her palm flat to his back. "Well, we will get there, as far as marriage is concerned." She paused, hesitating a moment before drawing in a breath and asking, "What do you want? For the wedding, I mean? Do you -- do you want something large with tons of guests or something small and intimate or -- or something in a massive cathedral or in the backyard or? Because it could be outside or inside, I suppose, depending on when we decided and what the weather is like and -- " As she spoke, the words started to come out more rapidly, her gaze dropping from his to a point over his shoulder, until she made herself stop, her lips pursing together tightly.
The kettle was starting to whistle, so Rupert took a moment to shut the burner off before he faced his fiancee and her jumble of questions. He hadn’t given it much thought, truthfully, beyond asking his sister to be his best man of sorts, and imagining what it would be like to see Nina for the first time on that day. Everything else -- well, their tastes were typically so in tune that he trusted Nina to make choices he liked as well. Maybe it’d been a mistake to be hands-off so far, he thought. She’d been stressed out that afternoon, and it didn’t seem like that had faded.
He stepped over to her and clasped both her hands in his, trying to anchor her in the present. “I want…” He had to try to answer, for both of their sakes, but first he wanted her to relax. “You to take a deep breath. We’ll take it one step at a time.”
Nina did exactly as he bid, taking comfort in how he held her hands and was perfectly near her as she drew in a long breath and then released it. Then, just for good measure, she took another deep breath. Whether it was actually taking the time to breathe that helped calm her or Rupert's presence, she wasn't sure, but it did seem to help. Again, she was struck with a sort of irritation with herself; she wasn't supposed to get overwhelmed. Nina Deforest just didn't do that -- or so she told herself.
Swallowing hard, she let her eyes dart back to his. "Sorry," Nina apologized, a little embarrassed color rising to her cheeks as a sheepish expression took over her face. "I'm trying not to be stressed. I might be failing."
“You’ve nothing to be sorry for,” he insisted, and he meant it. There was so much more involved in planning a wedding than Rupert ever realized. He hadn’t thought about it much before, that was true, but he could still see how easily someone might become overwhelmed. And they hadn’t even gotten down to the meat of it yet.
“How about,” Rupert continued, “I pour us some tea and we sit and talk about what you’re stressed about. All right?”
"All right," Nina agreed, pushing herself up on her toes and leaning in to steal a quick kiss from Rupert before allowing him to finish with the tea. Retreating from the kitchen, she moved into the living room, deciding that sitting comfortably on the couch with the Christmas tree (that Sam hadn't yet knocked over, despite some interested nudges with his snout) twinkling in the background would be a good place to talk about her stress. She pulled one of her knees to her chest as she waited, trying her hardest not to let her mind run too rampant in the meantime.
A few minutes later, Rupert entered the living room and set the two mugs of lavender chamomile down on the coffee table in front of her. The sight warmed his heart: Nina on the couch, the tree all lit up in the corner, Sam stretched out at her feet, having decided he didn’t want to be alone in the bedroom. It was the start of their lives together, their future. It was hard not to feel excited about that.
“So,” he started as he sat down beside her. “Is it your mother? You looked rather frazzled today.”
Nina didn't hesitate in leaning into Rupert as soon as he was sitting next to her, wanting that added bit of touch and affection in that moment. It was really no different than any other time she might have curled up next to him on the couch when watching something on television or just sitting together, but in that moment it felt like a bit more. How had she gotten through life without him there to anchor her? She wasn't entirely sure, but she did know that she counted herself incredibly lucky that she'd never have to live a life without him again.
"I don't know," Nina admitted after a few seconds of thought, breathing out a sigh. "I know that Mom is just trying to help and that she's really excited about all of this. And I know she isn't expecting us to want to throw some massive wedding either, but she does seem to have... expectations, I guess." She paused, thinking of the magazines that her mother had clearly gone through multiple times and found all sorts of ideas for her vision of their wedding. Then she thought of her own vision of their wedding. Something simple, she thought, with the people they loved most to celebrate the life they were dedicating to one another. The two didn't line up.
Tipping her head to the side, she let it come to a rest on Rupert's shoulder. "I don't want to disappoint her, I guess. She only has one kid that she gets to see get married."
Rupert eased an arm around Nina, hugging her shoulder briefly before lifting his hand to play with her hair, listening quietly as she tried to explain how she felt. He understood not wanting to disappoint one’s parents; he’d spent most of his life not wanting to disappoint his, only to wake up one day and realize that everything he did would be a disappointment. His parents -- at that moment, anyway -- weren’t invited, and the last thing Rupert wanted to do was alienate the only set of parents who were actually excited about his decisions.
But... this was supposed to be more about Nina than her mother, he thought.
“Maybe she’s just eager to watch you do something she’s likely always imagined?” he suggested. “And her excitement’s not coming off the way she thinks? I don’t think you could possibly disappoint her, for what it’s worth. No matter what we do, I think all she wants is for you to be happy, in the end. It’s just, that might come with some letting go on her end. It’s your wedding, not hers.”
"Our wedding," Nina corrected. She understood what he was saying, of course, but it also felt important to her in the moment. While the issue might have been the struggle between her expectations and her mother's not adding up, the simple reminder that this was their wedding was enough to ease her stress -- at least, a bit.
She let her head tip to the side, her cheek resting on his shoulder. "You're probably right, though. No, I know you're right. As soon as you sort of stepped in, she backed off so I logically know she'll be all right with letting things go the way I want them to." Pausing, she scrunched up her nose a bit and then went on to admit, "Not that I really know how I want it to go, though. I just want to be your wife by the end of it all."
“I want that too,” Rupert agreed with a warm smile, and he leaned in to kiss her hair. “Maybe it’ll be easier to sort of, guide her in the right direction, if we have some direction too.” Her mother might still have opinions, but if they had a semblance of a plan, maybe it would be easier for Nina to streamline it.
“For example,” he continued, “she could help you pick a venue? Do you want indoors or outdoors?” He had his own feelings about it -- he saw them getting married outdoors, somewhere surrounded by a lot of trees -- but he didn’t know what Nina saw herself. “We don’t quite have time until after my residency is done, which gives us plenty of time to sort all this out.”
"Outdoors," Nina replied immediately, the thought and decision coming to her faster than she might have expected and aligning with Rupert's without her even trying. As soon as the option was presented and she thought about it for more than just a passing moment, she knew that there was no other possibility. She thought of the woods, surrounded by all of that green -- or, in contrast, the oranges and browns and yellows of autumn. Either one. "In the woods," she continued, considering. "Or, at the very least, somewhere with a lot of trees."
Somehow, with just that one decision made, she felt the tension that she was carrying ease in her chest. It was just one thing, but it was something that she could mentally check off and could bring to her mother the next time it came up.
“That’s what I was thinking, too,” he admitted, allowing his face to fill up with a smile. He often marveled at how in sync they were, and how much that might have to do with their other lives as Kili and Tauriel. They’d run parallel lives to one another, too, and they’d been drawn to each other in a similar way, out of two different worlds.
Rupert thought a wedding in the woods would have been exactly what Kili would have wanted, too. This was going to be be a step that Kili and Tauriel would never get to take, so Rupert wanted to honor that as well. “I’d say in October, so we can get the fall colours, but I know that’s hard to predict. But it’s a nice image in my head.”
"October," Nina repeated, nodding her head as the picture formed in her head as well. It came together so easily in her mind, as did many of the plans that she and Rupert made together. "It's a very nice image," she agreed, straightening up just enough to peer up at him. She gave him a small smile. "Thank you for being you. I'm almost definitely going to stress a few more times, so have a warning on that, but you are so good at talking me down."
As soon as he’d said it, he knew it felt right, so when Nina agreed, Rupert couldn’t help the wide grin that split open on his face. Maybe they’d get lucky about the colours, he thought. Or maybe not, but at least it felt like it suited them either way. He remembered taking her up into the mountains early on, when their relationship was brand new and they were tentative. The thought of revisiting the way he felt that day on the mountain filled him with more warmth than he knew what to do with.
“I can handle it,” he agreed, leaning in slightly to press a light kiss to her lips. “We can handle it. And maybe now that we’ve got a start, it’ll be easier to steer your mom. She can help you find the right place for this, because I’ve got no bloody clue about that. If we give her a project, she’ll feel like she’s part of it and stay out of your hair.” Ideally, anyway. He hoped some delegation would help Nina juggle planning and her job, in any case.
He was right about her mother, Nina was positive. Now that they had talked through it, she was less irritated by her mother's overexcitement; if anything, she knew where she was coming from better. But, giving her mother projects and leaving her feeling as though she was involved as Nina could allow her to be would do wonders for them both -- and also give her a bit less to have to worry about.
But, it was his earlier words that struck a chord, making Nina lean into him a bit closer. We can handle it. She loved the notion that they were a we in the first place, but knowing that eventually they'd make it legal, sharing a last name as their lives entwined even closer -- that was definitely nice. They could already handle anything together, but it made her heart warm knowing that they'd handle it together until forever, too. "I love you," she said, her cheek coming to rest on Rupert's shoulder.
“I love you more,” Rupert countered, though he knew that it wasn’t a competition at all. “I only have one other request about the wedding.” He knew little about what they needed to sort out, little about what flowers would look nice or what she wanted her dress to look like. They’d need food, a cake, music (his heart leaned towards a live band, though that might not be the most easily accessible idea…). He wondered if they could hold the wedding near a campground, if they could spend the night under the stars with their closest friends.
But that could all come later. “I want my sister by my side.” He had other friends, but none as close as Margaret was, and he couldn’t imagine going through with his wedding without his sister standing in for the best man position. “I’m sure she’d be tickled to wear a suit, but all I really care about is that she’s there. I don’t need anyone else, really.”
Nina straightened up as soon as Rupert said that he had a request; whatever it was, she had no doubt in her mind that they would make it happen. She had been in plenty of weddings in the past for brides who had taken perhaps too much control of the nuptials and didn't take into account what their future spouse might have wanted. She didn't want to be that way. Their marriage, much like their already existing relationship, was a partnership and their wedding should reflect that.
Of course, his request was an easy one. Nina smiled. "Obviously," she replied, reaching out to brush her fingers over his jaw, then settle on his shoulder. "I couldn't imagine it any other way." She thought for a moment, then said, "I was thinking about asking Lyllia. She was my first friend in Dunhaven, even before we found each other again." There were cousins and other friends, even some back in the DC area that she had considered as well when she'd let herself idly think about the wedding, but she always came back to Lyllia.
“I think that sounds perfect,” Rupert agreed. Rhys and Lyllia were good sorts of people, and he was glad Nina had a friend in Lyllia. “She’ll be tickled.”
The enormity of what they’d decided hit him, then. He knew where they’d end up when he’d first asked, of course, but they hadn’t actually set anything in stone. His eyes widened slightly with excitement. “This is really happening.” It’d been real before, but somehow, something as simple as deciding on a time of year and who they wanted in their wedding party solidified the entire idea. “And I think our tea went cold.”
Nina laughed, leaning over as though she could peer at the tea and make it warm again. "I think you might be right," she agreed, though she didn't appear all that bothered by it. In fact, she just cuddled in a big closer to Rupert; it was hard to not want to be close, especially when she thought about his first comment. This really was happening. The question and the ring had set it into motion, but now they were actually making decisions. Someday in the future, they really were going to be married. They actually would be Dr. and Dr. Shield, like she had considered many times before.
Leaning up, she took a kiss from Rupert. "I don't want to rush my life away, but… I'm very much looking forward to being married to you."
“The feeling’s mutual, amrâlimê,” Rupert murmured. It would have meant a lot to him without the memories, but with them, and with the knowledge of Kili and Tauriel could never have, Rupert was over the moon about their future. He kissed her back and then pulled away to grin at her. “I just hope we can manage to wait that long.”
Nina laughed, even as that grin of his made her stomach do flips, just as it always did. It was unfair how he was able to do that to her, not that she would ever actually complain. "I'll try my best not to just talk you into hopping a flight to Vegas and eloping, but no promises."
“Oh, now there’s an idea.” It wasn’t one he would consider seriously. As much as he wished to be married already, the tradition of a wedding meant a great deal to him. All of their friends and family together -- well, maybe not all. “We can make it. This year will be gone before we know it.”