Who: Alec/Mary What: The Formal on the Cruise When: July 19 Where: Ice Formal Rating: low
Alec was glad to discover there were clothes for him to attend the formal with Mary. While he wasn’t personally a stickler for proper attire, he knew that Mary would no doubt look stunning and he wanted to make sure he was ‘matching’ her energy - it was only fair.
Dressed in a nice tux, he was waiting just outside the area where the formal was taking place. He realized he was a little nervous which was strange to him. It wasn’t like he and Mary were knew to dating or anything like that and yet, he still had butterflies every time they did something like this. Hopefully that was a good sign.
When he saw her approaching, Alec lit up and waited until she was close enough to say, “Hey.”
-
Formals? Fancy dances in general? Absolutely not Mary’s thing at all. She was far more comfortable in a pair of jeans, preparing for a hunt than she was in this gorgeous dress attempting to not smear her lipstick. Oh God she hoped she didn’t come off as awkward. Even though Alec and her had been dating for a while, she found she was nervous. She knew a lot of that was because she wanted to look good for him. Because she knew he would look epically hot in his tux.
After a moment, Mary tossed her blond curls over her shoulder and took one final look in the mirror. Her dress was darker blue, but it went well with her eyes and she’d actually found a pair of heels to match that weren’t the kind that would break a bone if she became clumsy. Which was a huge possibility when she did things like this. A final deep breath and she turned to leave, careful to not trip over her dress as she approached the hall.
And then she saw Alec. Just as she suspected, he looked amazing. Mary couldn’t help, but smile at the sight of him and she felt her pace quicken.
“Hey yourself,” Mary greeted with a bright smile. “You look every bit as hot as I thought you would in that tux.”
He beamed at her compliment. Alec might have a lot of confidence in his looks, but it didn’t hurt to hear it from other people. Some might describe him as a little vain. That being said, he still replied to her compliment with one of his own. “Are you kidding me? I only look this good because I’m standing next to you. Have you looked in a mirror? Gonna have to step up my game to keep you from accepting all the other guys’ attention.”
He held out his hand to her. “But I do plan to impress you with my dancing.”
Mary might just have blushed at his words, which happened to be a feat in itself. She shook her head. “The only attention I want is from you. Besides, you have every single one of them beat and we haven’t even walked in yet.” Alec might have been a bit vain, but Mary could understand why. He was gorgeous even without a tux and you would have to be blind not to see it. She knew there would definitely be other women checking him out, but Mary had enough confidence in their relationship to know he only had eyes for her.
She accepted his hand and gently squeezed it. “Well, that’s good because I’m pretty sure I won’t be impressing anyone with mine. I’ll have to let you take the lead on this. Dancing and I have never really gotten along, especially in heels.”
Alec’s eyes would have roamed had they not been dating for as long as they were. Mary had taught him how to curb his ‘bachelor’ ways and the truth was, he didn’t feel the need to ‘branch out’ now that he was dating her. It was similar to how he felt when he had been seeing Rachel which was both scary and a good sign to him.
“I have faith you’ll pick it up quickly.” He didn’t say he only knew how to dance because he’d been taught it for his infiltration mission of Rachel’s father, but Mary could probably figure it out. Thankfully not everything he did had been taught by manticore - everything he did in bed was self-taught.
“Shall we go in and make everyone jealous, then?” He grinned and held out his arm to be all fancy like. Then he leaned in a little, voice softer. “Plus I bet the food is good.”
Mary might have been able to connect the dots herself given what she knew about Rachel, but the last thing on her mind right now was anything from either of their pasts. This night was about the two of them and hopefully not stepping too much on Alec’s feet. And yes, if Alec had a wandering eye at this point? Mary definitely still would not be with him.
“That makes one of us,” Mary teased. Hunting things? Mary could probably do that in her sleep, but dancing? That was an entirely different ball game. Still, as nervous as she was, she also found herself strangely looking forward to it too. Even with the potential of tripping in her heels.
Mary accepted his arm, her smile widening at the gesture, and she couldn’t help, but laugh at his whispered words. “It’d be really disappointing if it wasn’t.” The two headed inside and yes, the food smelled delicious and everything looked fancy. Possibly fancier than Mary had ever seen. She looked over at Alec.
“So, should we eat first or dance? I think you know what my answer will be.”
“The dude in me wants to say eat first.” Hey, he was being honest. Most guys would pick food over a lot of things, though sex was the first priority. Or… maybe that was just Alec. “But date-me says we should dance. Besides, if we dance and you get embarrassed or something, then we can ‘medicate’ with food. How does that sound?” Alec had every intention on helping Mary have a good time, though, which meant that he’d find a way to have her feel confident with dancing. “Or we could go get some liquid courage before anything else.”
Mary couldn’t help, but laugh at his initial response. It was definitely a ‘guy’ thing to say, but the blond could appreciate his honesty all the same. “I can get behind the idea of dancing first and then medicating with hopefully really delicious free food.” Or a few beers. Mary could easily see that happening too, especially if she tripped all over herself during the dancing.
“And if I indulge too much in that liquid courage, I might end up falling all over you anyway. I think we should definitely do the dancing first.
“I just so happen to be very strong so if you start falling, I’ll pick you up.” He winked at her, then started to lead her to the dance floor. They had come a long way, he realized. Alec no longer felt the need to look around for Dean to make sure he either did or didn’t see them together. Now it was simply and completely about him and her and that felt nice.
Alec took the lead as a slow dance played. “I haven’t asked this yet and feel free to tell me this is a terrible time to bring it up, but how’s the whole grandma-to-be thing going?”
At his words and that very classic Alec wink, Mary couldn’t help, but laugh. Despite her nervousness over dancing, she couldn’t help, but felt a little more relaxed as Alec led her to the floor and took the lead. Honestly, she wouldn’t mind looking like a fool as long as he was there to laugh with her. Much like himself, she was glad things with Dean had settled down too. She figured it was because of Lisa being pregnant and Dean busing himself with the prospect of being a dad. To which she was so happy for both of them.
Okay, so she wasn’t expecting him to bring up the whole grandma thing, but she wasn’t upset about it. Truthfully, she knew it was probably weird for him given she was younger than her own two sons and now was going to be a grandmother on top of it. The Winchester family dynamic never stopped being weird.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting you to, but now that you have, I’ll simply say it feels really weird. Even though I am extremely happy for Dean and Lisa. I’m younger than all my sons and now I’m about to be a grandmother. It’s definitely not how I saw my life, but that’s not a bad thing.”
Alec stopped himself from adding not to mention the kid’s going to take one look at me and think I’m its dad because Alec had ‘personal growth’ and realized that would not have been a helpful comment. Instead, he nodded. “Well you’ll be the hottest grandma out there, so you’ll be able to wear that title with pride.” He grinned. Did that technically make Mary a MILF and a GILF?
No, that comment would have been the farthest thing from helpful, especially since Mary was turning over a new leaf of sorts and trying to think positive. She was aware that when the baby grew enough that there was a certainty it might confuse Alec for Dean. Her only hope was that maybe, eventually, the child would see Dean was older and Alec wasn’t. Somehow. It felt like a lot to ask in the way of a favor from fate, but Mary felt at this point? Fate owed her a little something.
His comment earned him a chuckle. “Well thanks I think. I never saw myself being a mother at this age let alone a grandmother. It’s still…a lot to adjust to.” Mary’s expression sobered and her gaze met his.
“I know none of this is easy for you. I know without my sons involved I’m not an easy person to love. Just…thank you for sticking around. For sticking with me.”
He looked genuinely surprised. "Are you kidding me? Have you met me?" Out of the two of them, he was definitely way more annoying. Alec knew his flaws. It was only when he started to get serious about Mary that he tried to be a better person. He was getting there, but he'd probably never be able to change completely.
He leaned in and kissed her, lingering close to her as he added, "I should be thanking you. You're amazing."
“I’m not. I do know what you think of yourself, Alec, but contrary to popular belief, I don’t find you annoying or vain. You’re far deeper than that even if you’ll never admit it. And yeah, being even attached to a Winchester puts a target on your back. I mean every word when I say I’m thankful you stayed, even with the whole thing with Dean.” And admitting feelings was not always Mary’s strong suit by far. A lot of times, she found running away far more lucrative than facing feelings, but being with Alec made her feel brave enough to face what she felt and even embrace it. No one had been able to do that since John and Mary wasn’t sure if anyone would be able to after. Not until she met Alec.
Mary returned the kiss, her nose brushing his gently after he pulled way. “How about we say that we are both amazing and then take a few shots in celebration of personal growth.” Mary offered him a smile. “I think this relationship has accomplished that for both of us in different ways.”
He chuckled, smiling. “I think that sounds like a good idea.” It was a better idea than sitting around trying to figure out who was more screwed up. The truth was - they both were. They both had baggage that might be different, but ultimately was the same. Celebrating personal growth sounded way better, not to mention that it was something he’d never have done back home. Not for real, anyway. Max’s head would explode from his personal growth.
He gave her a small dip at the end of the song and then helped her back up slowly. “Shall we go in search of these drinks, then?”
Mary may have giggled just a little when Alec gave her a small dip at the end. It was a rare ‘girly’ side of Mary that not many had the opportunity to see. Alec might tease her for it, but being with him made her feel like she didn’t always have to be the hunter she’d been raised as. She could just be a woman in love, enjoying herself at the dance with a handsome, funny, great guy.
“Let’s.” Mary’s hand found his and, intertwining the fingers, she led the way to the bar.