InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Bye Felicia!"

Ashley Ellenore Darcy (ashleysully) wrote in spinningcompass,
@ 2018-11-03 15:57:00

Entry tags:

beast, fitzwilliam darcy, miguel o'hara, rawdon crawley, shepard, ~ash sully

Who: All those invited
Where: Pemberley Estate
What: Wedding reception
When: Saturday starting at 6pm
Rating: Low
Open: Yes
Status: Ongoing
Mrs Reynolds had done a fantastic job in getting everything set up in such a short time. The ballroom had been decorated with whatever flowers she could find. Most of them coming from the estate itself. The new Mrs Darcy had been rather okay with whatever Mrs Reynolds could find, rather than fussing over specific things. It was refreshing.

There was a full orchestra off in one corner. Mr Darcy had insisted on sneaking them in so that it could be a surprise for Ashley, but that hadn't been easy to do. They'd managed it, though, and everyone was getting set up while Mrs Reynolds put the finishing touches on the room. There were chairs everywhere in case someone wanted to sit while they ate. There were buffet tables all around the room as well with various meats and pies and pastries. Anything that anyone could want. As well as a few with punch and glasses to drink from. And Mrs Walker had done a lovely job on the wedding cake with all the sugar flowers and decorating. It was just lovely.

Mrs Reynolds had to dab at her eyes a bit as she moved around the room to make sure everything was perfect. She was so happy that Mr Darcy found someone that made him smile the way he used to before his father died. It was lovely to see that light in him again. And it was obvious to her that this wasn't just a marriage of convenience. They really did love each other. Once everything was ready, she opened the ballroom doors wide and propped them open for the guests. One of the maids commented about wondering where the happy couple had gotten off to rather than being there to greet the guests as they entered and Mrs Reynolds just smirked and sent the girl back to her tasks. Definitely not a marriage of convenience.

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Shepard and Ashley (a little later in the evening)

commander_shep
2018-11-07 07:23 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, like the old vid says, 'There's no place like home'." Wouldn't she like to see her own one more time.

"Well then if it wont be a bother, I'll stay. I'll just have to get somebody to get some clothes off the Normandy." Because everything she put her hands on they had gone through it.

Shepard snorted her lack of tact had been almost worth it. "Not as interesting as it seems. I was a ghost."

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	Re: Shepard and Ashley (a little later in the evening) ashleysully 2018-11-07 07:28 am UTC (link)
	"There are several guest rooms available. And....some with connecting doors." She cut her eyes to Rawdon before looking back at her mother. "That's a shame, really." She sipped her punch again. "So um....would he be referred to as your very close friend?" She had been in the medbay and seen them, even if from a distance. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Shepard and Ashley (a little later in the evening)

commander_shep
2018-11-07 08:14 am UTC (link)

Shepard's eyebrows shot up at that. Did that mean she didn't disapprove?"Oh, well... that'll be handy." Both with the littles, and a sneaky evening guest.

"It is, but what can you do?" She shrugged slightly. Until that question. Then a puzzled look came over her features, and her eyes searched out the man in question. "I don't know. I haven't thought about it. I doubt he has either. Well beyond we like spending time together. Why?" Then a slightly devilish grin turned up her lips. "Unless you want to mess with him. By all means go right ahead."

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	Re: Shepard and Ashley (a little later in the evening) ashleysully 2018-11-07 08:18 am UTC (link)
	Ashley smiled. It was nice to see her mother smiling again. That's what really mattered. "How far are you willing to let me go?" She leaned in a bit to whisper. "I could start calling him dad unless you think that's too far." She certainly didn't want to push things. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Shepard and Ashley (a little later in the evening) commander_shep 2018-11-07 09:03 am UTC (link)
	"Well, I was thinking you run up to him, and throw your arms around him and say something like 'Oh Daddy I am so happy'. And see how it goes from there." Shepard wiggled her eyebrows, when she leaned in closer and whispered. "I'll let Darcy know, just in case. So he doesn't get jealous." Not that he had anything to worry about, of course. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Shepard and Ashley (a little later in the evening) ashleysully 2018-11-07 03:23 pm UTC (link)
	"That is kind of evil. I love it." She laughed. She looked at where her husband was talking to one of his cousins and chuckled. "I don't think he'll get jealous but he will be very, very confused if he doesn't know what's going on." And confusion tended to lead to anxiety. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Shepard and Ashley (a little later in the evening)

commander_shep
2018-11-08 05:50 am UTC (link)

Shepard was a little curious how he would respond, it was a harmless prank after all. And if she were an honest woman, He was the whole reason she was okay enough to be here. "Hopefully he'll... well I don't think he'd take it badly."

She glanced around to Darcy again. "Yeah, but you wouldn't want him feeling insecure either. Not on his wedding day." And Rawdon was good looking enough to make a lot of the men in the room feel insecure. Or. That was how she felt about it.

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Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon

cpt_crawley
2018-11-08 09:20 am UTC (link)

Rawdon had gone to try some of the regency nibbles that were on offer, intending to bring some back for Shepard as well, but he had been distracted along the way. He had been talking to a few different people, and now he was being bored to tears by some Lord Whatever who knew all about his father. It did feel a little odd, talking about the old man in the present tense.

It was hard to keep focus, and eventually he’d let his eyes drift back to where Shepard was talking to her daughter, only... they were looking back at him. They looked pretty damn amused, and they were quite obviously up to some mischief. He shot her a suspicious look, wondering what they were up to now.

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	Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon ashleysully 2018-11-08 09:29 am UTC (link)
	Ashley nodded to her mother. "You give Fitz a head's up so it doesn't get taken the wrong way." She giggled when she noticed Rawdon look over at them. "I think he's figured out we're up to something." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon

commander_shep
2018-11-08 04:14 pm UTC (link)

Shepard's grin grew even more when he realized something was up. She gave him a bit of a quirked eyebrow for the suspicious look, a 'who me, noo', glance. "It's good that he knows something is coming, so there is no malicious intent. It's all in good fun." It would hopefully lead to a less freaked out response and more an amused one.

"Go go go" She whispered to her daughter, as if they were on a mission. As she began to move toward her new son-in-law.

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Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon

ashleysully
2018-11-08 08:25 pm UTC (link)

Ashley giggled and then nodded at the command to go. She tried to keep a straight face but her mouth kept betraying her, the corners pulling ever so slightly.

She walked up to Rawdon and took his arm, smiling up at him and battling her eyelashes.

"Oh daddy dearest, I'm so glad you could make it. I was quite afraid you and mom didn't have enough travel time." She was very good at looking sweet and innocent.

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	Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon commander_shep 2018-11-09 05:44 am UTC (link)
	While Ashley made her way over to Rawdon, Shepard made her's over to Darcy. Mindful of the people he was with. She didn't want to be obnoxious, this was his house. "I want to thank you, Darcy." She knew that he might have had something to do with her getting an invite. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

Re: Shepard and Darcy

mrdarcy_
2018-11-09 12:39 pm UTC (link)

Darcy has given Ashley a little space to talk with her mother. It had been a while, and he wanted them to be able to talk candidly without worrying about his presence. Plus, although he had read back on the network to see what had happened when he was older, he wasn’t entirely sure how Shepard felt about him right now. The hug had been a surprise, but it had confused him more than cleared anything up.

So there was a bit of a deer in the headlights look about him when she first spoke, although it passed in a couple of seconds when he’d processed what she had just said. “Me? Oh, I think I should be the one to thank you for coming,” he told her softly, giving her a little bow.

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Re: Shepard and Darcy

commander_shep
2018-11-09 08:35 pm UTC (link)

"Yeah, I probably wouldn't have got an invite if it weren't for you. This is a beautiful place." Even if she did feel very much out of place, dress and all. "I want you to know I never disapproved of you as a choice. And I realize after talking with your elder-self, that... Well that's not important now. It's done." Shepard was never really good about talking about her feelings, instead she cleared her throat, so she could get to where she wanted it to be in the conversation. "I apologize for calling you a coward. I realize it took a lot of balls to do what you did, when you did it." And the lack of an announcement was all choice of someone else.

Her gaze shifted over back to Rawdon, and Ashley. The look on his face was gold. And it broke the veil of seriousness, as a smile broke over her lips. "What is it about you regency men, that make the heart flutter, and troubles vanish?" She may had been admitting to more than she would have under normal circumstances. And she couldn't give a fuck about any of the other Regency men in the room, just the one. The one in the red coat, and the adorable look on his face as her daughter teased him.

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Re: Shepard and Darcy

mrdarcy_
2018-11-09 11:24 pm UTC (link)

"No, it was a mutual decision," Darcy assured her. Although he had brought it up, it wasn't something he'd had to talk her into. "She wanted you to come. We wanted you to," he added with a nod, in case she thought it had just been because he felt obligated or something. It really hadn't been like that.

He gave her a curious look as she started to explain further. He really hadn't expected it. She owed him no explanation at all, but he appreciated the effort, and it was pleasing to hear. "You do not have to apologise to me, but thank you," he told her after a moment. "My behaviour at the time was unpardonable. I can hardly think of it without embarrassment. There was a great deal of our conversation that I did not... could not understand," he admitted. There was a lot of the conversation that made a hell of a lot more sense given context, now that he understood more about Ashley's world and how it worked. "I should very much like for us to be able to move past it," he added.

Darcy followed her gaze, tilting his head a little as he tried to figure out what was going on their. Some little teasing, it seemed. He gave a sharp laugh at her comment, shaking his head a little. Apparently she had more in common with her daughter than he had realised. "Well, we both know how you appreciate a man in a red coat," he joked a little.

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Shepard and Darcy

commander_shep
2018-11-10 06:21 am UTC (link)

That surprised her. It was mutual. They had both wanted her there. That got him an honest smile. She patted him lightly on the shoulder. She wasn't much of a hugger, sure she had hugged him once, but he'd come in when she'd needed somebody. And he'd come to her. She hadn't had to ask.

"Come on, we both know I was a class one ass, that I was goading you into saying or doing something, that was outside that stiff shell. But I want to say this, and when I do, if you want to we can move on." She paused for a moment, took a breath and then jumped in "I wasn't happy, I might have taken it out on you, a little. I didn't believe that the two of you could achieve happiness in that short amount of time, and that if you had that you were both more interested in impressing each other that neither one of you were letting your true selves just... breathe." Shepard turned her head just a little, to catch his eye, if he would have it. "But I was wrong. And I'm sorry. Those are two things that I don't readily admit often but, there you go. I really wish you would have stood up to me that day, when they all had vanished. I don't care how upset I was then, I would have seen past it. It was something happy to grasp on to." She sniffed sharply and felt a possible slip in composure so she faced forward. And forced it back. "But that's the past, and we can't change it. We live, we learn, we grow. That's how life works. But if she gets pregnant.... Tell me, don't wait until there's a right time for it, just do it. Because there's never a right time in this place. Er, on the station, not here. There's something always happening. And sometimes it just takes that little flicker of light in so much darkness to keep hope alive." Okay that had turned into more than she'd meant it, but there it was. She sniffed again sharply, and in spite of it being rude, she rubbed her nose. "Anyway, that's... if you have anything you want to say..." She'd listen.

But she looked back at Rawdon. He was easy to be raw with. To be herself. "We plotted against him. 'Oh Daddy' seemed safe." She nodded her chin toward the man in question. The prank hadn't lasted long, but he seemed to take it well. "But it wasn't just red coats, it was uniforms in general. I just teased you about a red coat, because that's what you would have worn. But he's...." undefinable. More than just the coat.

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Re: Shepard and Darcy

mrdarcy_
2018-11-10 11:13 pm UTC (link)

The shoulder pat was perfectly sufficient in terms of physical contact as far as Darcy was concerned, and he was actually rather grateful that she hadn't gone for a full on embrace. He never knew what to do with his hands, and just got all awkward about it.

At her admission, he gave her an almost imperceptible smile. Of course he had known she was goading him, and really she had known just how to get under his skin and make him feel all itchy and uncomfortable. He just really hadn't been sure why she wanted to do that to him. Of course. The 'stiff shell'. He felt his gaze dropping for a moment as she pointed it out. It was armour, it was protection, they were walls he had been taught to build brick by brick from a very young age. On one hand, he wanted to explain - on the other, Ashley always got to see what was behind it. That was all that counted, surely.

And so he let her speak, nodding a little as he tried to take it in and understand her perspective without butting in or trying to make it all about him. He knew he could be prone to that, but this felt important, and like a one-time thing. He was right, because then she was saying that she had been wrong and she was apologising again, and he was rather blown away. He hadn't expected that, not in the slightest.

"I... did not think for a minute that it would be something happy for you. I thought you'd... think I'd just come into your home when you were grieving and practically spat in your face, rubbed salt in the wound," he tried to explain, his tone calm and gentle compared to the last time they had really spoken. His smile grew a little, and he gave her a nod of agreement. "Yes, I have already come to realise that. That is partly why the wedding went ahead today, despite the station deciding to take Halloween rather too literally. We figured it would always be something," he smiled. He was really glad the effect had worn off when they'd left the station. It looked like everyone had made it after all.

Darcy gave another soft laugh at her explanation. That explained rather a lot about the look at the man's face, but he seemed like the kind of gentleman who could handle a lot more teasing that Darcy could himself. He remembered that her joke had made him feel uncomfortable at the time, so he didn't want to get too far into it again. "I am very glad that he recovered," he said instead, just moving on from it. "He seems a good man, and if his company can bring you even a little happiness, then..." he shrugged a little. "Well. As you say. It's a flicker of light."

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Shepard and Darcy

commander_shep
2018-11-11 09:30 am UTC (link)

"Yeah, I gave you no indication that I actually liked you. But she would, should have..." Shepard shook her head there was no point in rehashing the should have would haves. "But it's done. It's over. I'm moving past it, with a little help. I've realized that was unfair, and also that being drunk all the time is bad business if you have stuff you want to remember." Or a big help. How Rawdon talked her away from being angry was something of pure magic, or anyone who knew her would have thought so.

Shepard actually smiled. "If you guys would have called off the wedding or postponed it because of crap that is going on over there, I might have had to kick both of your asses. This is your home, you love it, and for some unknown reason, so does my daughter. I can count on one finger where people have been able to go home from the station and get married. And that's you, you're it. And who knows it that stuff will be over by the time this door closes. So I am glad you didn't wait, because I don't know if I would have come through that door otherwise." Though, she would have for Rawdon. "And not being a ghost is totally worth the pain in the ass of wearing a dress." She waved a hand down at herself. "This has to scream volumes at how much I like you as a son-in-law."

She softened almost instantly at the mention of Rawdon recovering. "Yeah me too. It was looking pretty dark for a little while." Again, she caught her eye wandering. "But you're wrong about the flicker, he's the sun." She hadn't realized how much he was. Not until Darcy had said something. And maybe that was unfair, but she couldn't change how she felt. Didn't know if she wanted to.

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Re: Shepard and Darcy -

mrdarcy_, 2018-11-11 11:17 pm UTC

Re: Shepard and Darcy -

commander_shep, 2018-11-12 10:22 am UTC

Re: Shepard and Darcy -

mrdarcy_, 2018-11-12 11:16 pm UTC

Re: Shepard and Darcy -

commander_shep, 2018-11-13 11:08 am UTC

Re: Shepard and Darcy -

mrdarcy_, 2018-11-13 09:32 pm UTC

Re: Shepard and Darcy -

commander_shep, 2018-11-14 11:48 am UTC

Re: Shepard and Darcy -

mrdarcy_, 2018-11-15 12:38 am UTC

Re: Shepard and Darcy -

commander_shep, 2018-11-15 04:22 am UTC

Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon

cpt_crawley
2018-11-09 12:44 pm UTC (link)

Rawdon narrowed his eyes slightly at Ashley as she approached. Oh, she was definitely up to something, and he really didn’t know what to expect by the time she reached him.

Whatever he might’ve guessed at, it wasn’t that. He didn’t know what to do with himself, or his face.

“Eh... heh... what?” he stuttered a little, and then laughed quite nervously.

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	Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon ashleysully 2018-11-09 03:07 pm UTC (link)
	Ashley squeezed his arm a bit and chuckled. "Breathe, it's just a joke." She wasn't going to point out that if things got serious between him and her mother, he'd be her stepdad. "The look on your face was pretty priceless." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon cpt_crawley 2018-11-09 11:42 pm UTC (link)
	"Gad, I knew you two were up to something," he laughed, feeling himself relax a little. The timelines were so damn confusing, and it was definitely strange to think that she was Shepard's daughter when she was already grown. "I'll bet, you took me quite by surprise," he admitted. "Congratulations, by the way." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon ashleysully 2018-11-09 11:55 pm UTC (link)
	Ashley chuckled. "Messing with you was mostly her idea." She smirked and then it changed to a genuine smile. "Thank you. I really am glad you could come. It's good to see you fully recovered." She honestly didn't think she could have left the station if he were still sick. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon cpt_crawley 2018-11-10 09:43 pm UTC (link)
	"Now that I believe," he laughed a little, glancing over at her mother who seemed to be having quite the serious chat with her new son-in-law. "Ah, yes," he ran his fingers through his curls, feeling a little awkward about it all. "I suppose Dr Morgan explained the how and...?" he asked, not sure if she was even curious about it or not. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon ashleysully 2018-11-10 09:54 pm UTC (link)
	Ashley shook her head. "I didn't ask. I've grown up on the station. Stuff like this is kind of a regular thing." She shrugged. She just assumed it was some kind of magic or another. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Re: Shepard and Ashley and Rawdon cpt_crawley 2018-11-10 10:11 pm UTC (link)
	"Sure," he nodded, realising that he actually kind of appreciated it. She'd figured that if he wanted her to know, he would tell her himself. Not everyone was quite so respectful, he supposed. "It was... pretty unique, but perhaps not the best place to talk about all that, hmm?" he smiled. Wouldn't want a local overhearing him, it would sound utterly insane. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)