WHO: Eddie Castile and Rose Hathaway WHAT: Trying on fancy clothes WHERE: The Bridal Shop WHEN: Before the Sydrian wedding WARNINGS: Nah STATUS: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Eddie was looking forward to going to Adrian’s wedding. Clothes, though, were going to be a problem. After all, he didn’t have his Guardian Blacks, and he wasn’t even sure he should wear them if he did because he wasn’t a Guardian here.
That was why he’d gone to the bridal store to find a nice suit to wear. He’d tried on several, and couldn’t quite make up his mind. He should have brought Jill, but he hadn’t even thought about it. That was stupid.
So when he stepped out of the dressing room to see himself in yet another suit, he was happy to see Rose there.
“Hey,” he grinned. “What do you think?”
*** Rose would have killed for her Guardian blacks. She hated shopping, especially for something as useless as a dress. What was the point? You couldn’t carry weapons in it and fighting in it was a pain in the ass, but she had no choice. Sydney would expect the best from her and she didn’t want to let her friend down. So, a frilly, stupid dress it was.
She’d started her search in the bridal shop and had just emerged from the dressing room in a light, airy dress when Eddie happened to come out of the one next to her in a rather dashing suit. God damn it! Why couldn’t she get away with a suit? Lucky Eddie.
“Hey yourself,” Rose greeted, giving him a once over before offering him a nod of approval. “You look...okay I guess.” Okay, Rose couldn’t help, but tease the other guardian.
“I wish I could wear a suit.”
***
“Okay, you guess?” He raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. “I guess that means I’m getting it.” Cocking his head a little to look at her, he shrugged.
“Well, I mean, why couldn’t you? I doubt Adrian and Sydney would mind, if you’re a whole lot more comfortable.”
** Eddie was right; Sydney and Adrian probably wouldn’t care if she showed up in a tuxedo or not. As long as she showed up. “You think they would be okay with that? I feel like for them I should just make the effort with a dress.” Rose added the last part with a small smile. She didn’t want to do anything to ruin their big day. Not after everything they had been through. “Yeah, ‘okay, I guess’ totally means you look like you’ll be the belle of the ball, Eddie. You should go for it.” ***
“I mean, I don’t think it’s going to bother them either way. You could always ask if you’re worried about it, but I think they just want their friends there, no matter what you’re wearing. If a dress isn’t your thing - and I can understand why it wouldn’t be - then wear whatever you want.” He couldn’t help but laugh at that. “Well, I do want to dress nice enough that I don’t embarrass Jill.” *** Eddie was right; Sydney and Adrian would just want their friends to be there. It didn’t matter what she was wearing. Besides, she would probably be more involved with guarding than actually having any fun. “You’re probably right, Eddie. I’ll probably be doing more guarding than anything else.” And this way she could actually pack a weapon if needed. Still… “I don’t think you could ever embarrass Jill, Eddie,” Rose replied, flashing him a smile before she shifted to a row of dresses nearby and skimmed what was available. There was always a part of Rose that did want to be more girly. Part of her did want to indulge that side of herself even as the logical half of her brain told her it was stupid. *** “Guarding? I mean, I guess we should. They say when you and Dimitri got married here years ago there were Strigoi that showed up out of nowhere. So I guess we should keep our eyes open.” He would, of course. He had been trained that way for so long he didn’t know if he was even capable of doing differently.
“I don’t know, she’s just so beautiful and fashionable, and I’m, well, me. I know I’m not bad looking, but I’m not Moroi stunning, either.”
*** Rose froze, her hand on one of the dresses, and she felt her stomach drop. She didn’t know that her and Dimitri had gotten married here. The ring around her neck suddenly felt so much heavier. She struggled to breathe for a moment before finally regaining a some control over herself. That wasn’t her. That wasn’t her. Whatever happened, wasn’t her even if it was her. Damn this place.
“We should be on our guard. Just in case,” Rose replied carefully, forcing her fingers to shift through the various materials again. “
Rose couldn’t help, but laugh when he mentioned “Moroi stunning.” “Is that a fashion term now?” She tugged out a simple black dress and slipped into the dressing room to change. Maybe black would be okay? It was kind of a more spring-like black? Maybe? Rose didn’t know.
“What about this?”
Rose stepped out of the dressing room. “I know it’s not Moroi stunning, but…”
***
“Yeah, of course,” he said. He would never disagree with that. It was their job to protect the Moroi, and that included Adrian, whether he wanted a Guardian or not. They could enjoy the time more than they could back home, perhaps, but he was very sure that they would still be on guard.
It was habit, for one thing.
“That’s pretty,” he said, honestly. He’d always kind of seen Rose as a sister, ever since she’d been Mason’s girlfriend. “Very dhampir pretty,” he teased.
*** Rose knew Eddie would be in agreement with her. As much as Adrian would want them to have fun, Rose knew the two of them would be vigilant regardless. Especially if Strigoi showed up…which was what happened when Rose apparently finally made it down the aisle. She didn’t want to think about that though. That wasn’t her. She had to remember that.
She smiled at Eddie’s words and lightly punched his arm. “Exactly what I was going for. I think I’ll get it.” ***
“Perfect. And I guess I’m getting this too.”
He didn’t want to spend forever picking out suits. He wasn’t the kind of guy who cared a lot about clothes as long as they covered him and let him move. He did want to look nice for Adrian’s wedding, though.
“Wanna get coffee after we check out?”
It was always nice to catch up with Rose.
*** Rose headed back into the dressing room and quickly changed back into her street clothes. She folded the dress over her arm and headed back out. Much like Eddie, Rose didn’t want to spend forever looking for something to wear either. She wasn’t picky about her clothes, but like him, she did want to look good for Adrian’s wedding.
“Sure, that would be great, “ Rose replied. “We can catch up.”
***
That was exactly what Eddie had hoped for, and he smiled.
“Great.” He hurried back in to get changed, checked out, and waited for her outside. It would be nice to catch up with her, since they were the only two trained guardians here, even if there were other people who had been good enough to take on the mantle.
*** Rose paid for hers and with the bag over her shoulder, she left the shop and immediately spotted Eddie waiting for her. “Let’s go.”