Bo Dennis is not a lost girl anymore (faetedlove) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-03-08 18:09:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, bo dennis, kenzi malikov, lara croft |
Who: Kenzi, Bo, Lara and NPC!Sam
What: A surprise hand-fasting ceremony!
When: Valentine's Day
Where: A beach
Warnings: Family friendly, unless you're allergic to fluffy cuteness
Ever since the idea had come to her and Kenzi had agreed to help her make it happen, Bo had been nervous about it. She’d ensured that Sam was able to make it and tailored the date to when Sam could make it. That date just so happened to be both Lara’s birthday and Valentine’s Day. Bo well knew that Lara absolutely hated this day, but she’d gotten Lara to actually enjoy her birthday the previous year. This year, well, she hoped that it would fully become a day that Lara could like, if not love.
Bo had managed to keep the entire thing secret from Lara. The only thing she’d told her was to not make plans for today and that she’d need a dress, preferably white in color. Other than that, she dodged any questions about what she was planning.
And when the day finally arrived, Bo was a bit of a nervous wreck. She was either texting or calling Kenzi every half hour to ensure everything was fine and needing her bestie to calm her down. She’d enlisted Kenzi to be the one to bring Lara to the ceremony as Bo was picking Sam up at the airport and taking her there, timing it so Sam would already be there and Bo would be dressed by the time Lara arrived.
The weather was decent enough that they could have the ceremony on the beach. Bo hadn’t opted for the beach on their property because sneaking Sam past Lara there would’ve been way too difficult to accomplish. She’d told Kenzi what time to have Lara to the beach by. Likewise, Bo had left in plenty of time to pick Sam up from the airport and get back to where she could get dressed. Though she was becoming more of a nervous wreck the closer to the time Lara was supposed to arrive, but she was keeping her cool as much as she could. She was also waiting for a sign from Kenzi that she was almost there with Lara so she could get Sam to hide for a grand reveal of the plan.
After her hair and make-up were done, Bo set about pacing back and forth to try and alleviate her nerves. She idly fiddled with the engagement ring on her finger. If this was how she felt today she was probably going to be a thousand times worse on their actual wedding day.
"Breathe. It's fun. You should try it." In all honesty Sam found Bo to be absolutely adorable. Really breathtakingly hot but adorable too.
She'd been a little iffy at first. Not on Lara being into a girl, but on Lara being into this girl. Might have been a little jealousy at first. But she'd gotten to know Bo a little and could tell that Bo only wanted the best for Lara. And that was the most important thing. It didn't hurt that she seemed to oddly compliment Lara in a contrasty way. Plus it didn't hurt that Lara had more party friends. Sam was all about the party friends.
"She's going to love this, you know. I mean the whole romantic thing is just like...a shot to the heart and then there's all the research you did and this is Lara we're talking about if you haven't already won her over you just did. She never had many friends. This is going to be important to her."
Sam took Bo's hands. "And you look so hot she's gonna die."
Lara, meanwhile, had been going nuts trying to figure out what Bo was up to. She’d been planning something, and clearly Kenzi was in on it too. “Is the blindfold completely necessary?”
In Kenzi, Bo could trust. There was no way this entire thing was going to go tits up or whatever the saying went - she’d help it go flawlessly, and she’d beat whoever necessary with a damn shoe to make sure it went off with only one hitch. Of the romantic kind, not of the ‘oh shit something went wrong’ kind, and she’d do her best to keep it cool and keep a super duper important secret.
“Totally necessary,” was her simple answer, dressed in red for the occassion. “Hold my hand, don’t let go, and follow me.”
Breathing. Yes, breathing was good so Bo took a few slow breaths to try and get herself under control. She just wanted this to go smoothly. And she hoped that Lara would forgive the secrecy, but she’d really wanted to surprise her with having Sam able to be part of their wedding. This ceremony wasn’t the actual wedding, at least not one that would be recognized legally, but it meant something to Bo with her new-found Irish origins as well as her fae heritage. And she felt it would appeal to the archaeologist that Lara was.
“I know she will. I’m just really nervous. And wanting this to go smoothly.” She looked at Sam and smiled. “I’m just glad that we could work this out so you could be here. I know it’ll mean everything to Lara to have you here.” She then chuckled. “If she’s going to die, it had better not be before the ceremony.”
“Fine…” Lara’s dress was simple, but it was white like Bo had requested. She sighed, probably more dramatically than was necessary and held Kenzi’s hand as she was pulled towards whatever fate awaited her.
“I’m so glad I could make it.” With her own career taking off it had become harder to arrange any kind of in person shenanigans with Lara, which was kind of a disappointment. As it was she was barely holding together herself. “You’ll just have to give her CPR, that’ll do the trick.”
“Here we goo-ooohhhhh,” Kenzi sang, barely able to hide the excitement in her voice as she led Lara along - again, carefully, precious baggage in tow - ‘til she was visible to Bo and Sam, and signaled them to get ready.
It was then that she dropped her hand and hopped behind her, doing the honors of undoing the blindfold. “I got the alcohol ready if you faint,” she whispered to Lara’s ear, a wide smile easily deciphered in her tone.
“I totally would’ve waited to do this for any day you were able to make it. The fact that it’s Lara’s birthday just makes it even better.” Bo said with a warm smile. Then at the mention of CPR, Bo managed to bite her tongue. After all, she could revive Lara, just...not with traditional CPR. “Luckily for all of us, I actually know CPR.” And that’s all she was going to say about that. The less she made herself seem not human, the better it would be. Sam wasn’t a dreamer, and she didn’t need to know that Bo was a succubus.
Then she saw Kenzi and Lara arrive and her heart started pounding. She let Sam move off out of sight, if she wished, to maximize the surprise. Luckily, the woman that would be performing the ceremony was already there and patiently waiting. Bo took a deep breath as Kenzi removed the blindfold, though she was rather distracted by Lara’s dress. She looked positively gorgeous. Bo actually stared for a moment before a warm smile crossed her face.
And then it was time to wait and see Lara’s reaction.
And if she’d need to be revived succubus-style.
"Roth would never let me live it down if I fainted for any reason," Lara protested. Kenzi's smile was a bit of an alarming one, because god only knew what it actually meant.
She hated February 14th. But Bo might be pretty good at making her forget why she hated that day.
Sam would never let Lara live down the succubus thing either. It seemed fitting and also hilarious and she'd get a lot of milage out of it. She grinned at Lara then slipped out of sight. Like a ninja.
Lara blinked her eyes and looked around. "Bo? What is this?" She didn't need to ask, because it quickly dawned on her what was going on. She glanced at Kenzi in shock, and then at Bo, words failing her. And she actually did feel faint.
"Oh this is such a good look on you," Someone said, emerging from hiding with a camera held up in front of her face. Sam lowered it and beamed at Lara.
"Sam!" Sam was the last person Lara expected to see, and the person she most wanted to see on a day like this (Bo excepted of course). She rushed forward, picking Sam up in a crushing hug.
"Lara!" Sam hugged her back, then gasped. "Air!"
Yassss! Surprise pulled off! Kenzi’s grin was practically the Cheshire’s Cat, and she tiptoed off to the side to keep the ladies safe, and to join Bo (maid of honor, after all). “Success,” she mirthfully whispered, holding a hand out for a high-five. “You look hot, the way. Super hot. Lord of the Rings Elf Lady hot.”
Bo grinned widely as she watched Lara and Sam. Definite success in pulling off the surprise without a hitch of the bad variety. “Nailed it,” Bo whispered back, giving Kenzi the high five. “Thank you. I felt getting in touch with those new-found Irish roots of mine would be a nice touch for this. You look pretty sexy yourself. Red definitely looks good on you.”
"I didn't think you'd be able to come to the wedding," Lara said, setting Sam down. "I certainly wasn't expecting this."
"Did you really think I wouldn't be there for you? Besides, like I'd ever miss out on cake." Sam flashed a grin, taking Lara's hand and squeezing it as they walked towards the others. There was so much to catch up on but they could do that tomorrow maybe.
Lara walked with her, an easy sort of familiarity between them. She loved Bo, but Sam was her Kenzi.
Kenzi could tell. The bestie vibe flowed between them effortlessly, and time and distance wasn’t a strong enough wedge to interrupt that - it was good to see, and at least she’d have someone to gush over how cute Lara and her bodaciously bodacious Bo-bana were.
“Sssssssst,” was the sound she made when she licked her finger, then pressed it against her butt because, yass, the red was bangin’ but now she wished she would have dressed all elven like too. Oh well. The ladies definitely had the spotlight with how classy they looked. “Anyway, let’s get this adorkable show on the road! I wore waterproof makeup for this event. I’ll cry my eyes out without looking like a crackwhore.”
Bo had to smile, loving that she was able to see Lara and Sam together. She knew how much Lara missed being around Sam, so she was glad that she could give her this opportunity at least. Hopefully Sam made a good birthday present for Lara. The handfasting ceremony itself was the Valentine’s Day gift. (Along with new lingerie for later that night, of course.)
“Good because I want you looking pretty for the camera, not like a crackwhore,” Bo quipped with a smile. Her heavy eyeliner and mascara were also waterproof because she was relatively certain she’d be crying as well. She turned to Lara with a warm smile. “Surprise? I’m glad to see you’ve made it this far without fainting. Now, I hope you’re ready because Kenzi helped me plan this handfasting ceremony for us. And Sam’s going to document it.”
Sam was absolutely the best birthday present. Lara beamed, letting go of Sam so she could hug Bo. "Can I have a minute? I'm still trying to process this."
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then placed it on the side of Bo's face. She whispered. "Thank you."
Clenching her hands together, Sam contained a squee. "I feel like my expensive education has led up to just this moment."
"I thought your expensive education led up to the time you documented your attempt to parkour."
"That was then, this is now." Sam rubbed her elbow, ruefully remembering the bumps and bruises. "Here and now, Lara Croft is getting married and they're getting witnessed by only the hottest best friends in all of existence."
Aw, man, Kenzi really liked Sam. Why couldn’t she lived in the OC, too?
Probably because their home was craycray, but anyway, the lady spoke the absolute truth that it most definitely warranted a high five from Bo’s bestie to Lara’s bestie. Up top, pretty lady! “For real - if I missed out on Bo’s big day I would have cut a couple bitches or something.” It was awesome they were able to get Sam out here for the celebration. “These hoes also would have no clue what to do without us, just sayin’.”
Bo hugged Lara back tightly. “Of course, take your time.” She rubbed Lara’s back gently. Bo leaned into Lara’s touch, a warm smile on her face and gazed at her adoringly. “You’re welcome.” She would do anything to make Lara happy, and she absolutely loved the way she was beaming right now.
Sam and Kenzi would be a force to be reckoned with if they ever joined forces. Bo felt she could handle whatever they threw at her, but she wasn’t so certain Lara would survive. So she’d just have to do her best to keep Lara alive.
“I’d like to argue that, Kenz but I know I’d lose,” Bo chirped. “Besides, you’ve saved my ass more times than I can count.” And Bo had saved Kenzi’s ass multiple times as well. It was a good, loving friendship like that.
“Lara would have never gotten her nose out of a book without me,” Sam joked. “Do you know how many times I heard…” And here she affected a really accurate accent, “Sam, I’m trying to study. Sam, I can’t wear that. Sam, your arse is hanging out!”
Lara pressed her hand to her face. “I wasn’t that bad.”
“Lara, you nearly missed a very important dance.” Sam planted her hands on her hips and gave Lara a mock glare.
“And Bo would make shitty bed fellow decisions without me,” Kenzi leered, arms crossed, but she meant it all in good humor - it was mostly a reference to the dreams, anyway, with her questionable decisions and all too trusting nature. “But she’s got Muscles. I approve.”
Lara hadn’t broken her heart like Dyson or Lauren had so kudos!
Bo grinned and slung an arm around Kenzi’s shoulders. “Without you, I’d just be in a heap with a train wreck for a lovelife. And probably nothing to my name because we know I trust too easily.” She pressed a kiss to Kenzi’s cheek. “Love ya, Kenz.”
She eyed Lara, a little glint passing through her eyes. “Hey Sam, did I tell you what I got Lara to do recently that I don’t think she’d ever done before?” Oh yes, Lara, she was going to potentially reveal that little trip to the adult shop a while back.
"Muscles are important," Sam agreed, sagely nodding her head as though it really was an important thing.
Lara rolled her eyes. "One time we were rock climbing and I had to carry her up after her rope snapped."
"It was hot."
Ignoring Sam, Lara turned to Bo, eyes widening. "Bo!"
Sam grabbed onto Bo's arm. "Talk!"
Oh, what? Kenzi didn’t know about this one and she gave Bo a look. “Damn, she’s got that look on her face - dis is gonna be good gossip, isn’t it? This doesn’t have anything to do with butt plugs, does it?”
Not like she had anything against it, but she just needed to be prepared if this was turning into one of those conversations.
“Lara’s definitely good at carrying people. She’s had to carry me a couple times.” Bo wouldn’t go into details on the circumstances of that because it had to do with starving and weak succubus things that Sam shouldn’t know about.
Bo smirked playfully at hearing Lara’s protest, then she had to laugh at Kenzi’s mention of butt plugs. “No, Kenz, I promise that it has nothing to do with butt plugs.” Which it didn’t, but it did involve things like vibrators, strap-ons and things of that nature. She then grinned at Sam. “I got Lara to go into an adult shop with me. And she didn’t faint or get a nose bleed in the process.” Of course, part of that may have had something to do with Bo having given her a dose of that emotional manipulation power she had to keep Lara calm while they were in there. But nevertheless, Bo was going to let Lara have credit for remaining on her feet in the shop.
Sam stared at Bo and Lara as she waited for an explanation. She hoped it was a good explanation because it sounded like something she could hold over Lara’s head and boy was she right! “You took miss prudipants into a porn store? Lara! I can’t believe it!”
“Oh my god.” Lara hid her face behind her hand.
“This is the best day ever,” Sam breathed. “The best.”
It was one of those conversations! A tame one, at least, and Kenzi bit her bottom lip to stifle a giggle. “I can’t believe she’s never been to one,” she expressed, an eyebrow hiked up beneath the satiny black curtain of bangs. “Remind me to hook her up with some sequin lingerie.”
Sparkly thongs for everyone! They could all have matching ones out of friendship or something.
It was definitely the tame version of the story. Bo wasn’t about to dole out details of her sex life while in public. Lara would most likely actually die in that situation, and she didn’t want to kill her. So the details of that experience were left out, but Sam was free to poke for details later if she so wished.
“You’re welcome,” she said to Sam with a grin. “Sequin lingerie? You know, I think she’d carry that off well.” Bo responded to Kenzi, tilting her head a bit and sizing Lara up. Of course, she thought Lara would look good in anything.
Sam looked like she wanted more details. Or sparkly thongs. She’d be okay with sparkly thongs. “Something green. Green is Lara’s color!”
Lara just looked like she wanted to sink into the ground. Red-faced, she blurted. “If you don’t want a premature divorce, perhaps we should get on with it??”
“I dig the green,” Kenzi concurred with the sagest of nods but alright, fine, before Lara’s face exploded and there were archaeologist insides raining upon them because of embarrassment - let’s get the show on the road. “Position, ladies?” Hers would be by Bo’s, of course, and she imagined Sam would be her mirror standing beside Muscles.
Beaming with pride too, probably. She sure was. Time to officially test that water resistant makeup with some salt water leaking from her eyes.
“Okay, yes, let’s get started,” Bo said with a grin. Teasing Lara sometimes was just too much fun, though Bo tried to keep it to a minimum when out in public. However, considering both Kenzi and Sam were here, it was rather easy to make with the teasing. Nevertheless, she drew in a deep breath and signaled to the woman who would officiate the ceremony that they were ready to begin.
Once places were taken, the woman began the ceremony with the preamble followed by the welcoming of the guests. Which in this case was only two people, but nevertheless, it was how they began.
It was at this point that Bo’s heart leapt up into her throat.
Between Bo, Sam and Kenzia, Lara just had to accept that teasing would happen. And she’d have to find a way to get them all back later. She already had some ideas.
It was similar to many ceremonies that Lara had read about. She'd even witnessed one in the actual highlands, when she'd gone hiking with Roth. They'd stumbled upon it, and the wedding party had been more than happy to let them stay. They saw it as a sign of good fortune. Though there were some differences, Lara could almost lip sync along, if she was the rude sort. Honestly, it was just making her giddy with nervous excitement.
Lara didn't believe in god, or the divine. Everything could be explained by observation or experience. But there were some things that were harder toe explain. Bo was one of them. Even Sam was, though her friend had never dreamed of Sun Goddesses. And then there'd been the source that could have made her immortal.
Despite that, she appreciated the language used, and to her marriage was a sacred thing. Going this far was a lifetime commitment for her. Come hell or high water, she'd make it work. Even though the cords were not binding, Lara didn’t like to think that they might some-day fray. It was why she really, really appreciated the part about accepting imperfection and human frailty.
As for Sam, well, she'd worn water-proof make-up too, that was already being put to the test.
Kenzi was always a hardcore skeptic when it came to a lot of things, but she wasn’t going to knock on the mumbo-jumbo of the divine nature, gods or goddesses, all that jazz. Their entire existence here was proof that something bigger seemed to be at play. And if shit ever went down over yonder at least she had the chance in this life to witness this, and be there for Bo.
At least she was doing well in not turning on the waterworks, but the whole thing caused a wide smile to open on her face - because awww, they looked like such princesses.
Bo didn’t believe in God any longer, and her relationship with gods and goddesses tended to be roughly the same. Though there was something about this ceremony that she loved. Part of it was her Irish roots in this life. The other part was that the fae had a lot of Celtic stuff about them, and that meant something to her. More than the goddess that was being invoked for this ceremony. Not only was that being changed, but also considering Lara and Bo were both female, the terminology reflected that as well.
As they weren’t doing a full wedding with ring exchange during this ceremony, the sword and chalice portion was modified to be an offering of their own weapons. Bo had secretly snuck Lara’s favorite bow out of the house that morning to use for Lara’s offer to her, while Bo was going to use her trusty dagger. Instead of the rings being blessed, the two weapons were to be presented by the maids of honor. Bo had given Kenzi her dagger on a previous day (it wasn’t like Bo had a shortage of weaponry anyways, she could spare parting with the dagger) and Sam had gotten Lara’s bow after she’d arrived here.
It was at this point that Bo felt the tears starting to sting her eyes, and she looked at Lara, a big, warm smile on her face.
Tradition was an important thing. Adapting tradition to new times and circumstances was also important, and something that Lara saw often in her work. Bringing people together and letting them make a mark of their own.
Sam wiped at her eyes and clutched her hands in front of her. It was really beautiful and so, so Lara. That Bo was doing this, and probably as much for herself as for Lara, meant the world to Sam. It meant that Lara had someone who could understand and respect her. She wasn't even all that jealous.
When it came time for the bow, Sam retrieved it from where she'd hidden it, and held it reverently out to Lara. She didn't quite understand this. Lara was good at archery but she wasn't an expert and it wasn't her life or anything. If only she knew. But she supposed it was part of the ceremony and certainly more Lara than say, a sword. Besides, it let her say, "Lara's bow for her Bo."
Lara glanced at Bo, her face hurting from her smile, then reached for the bow.
Of course the ceremony would involve weapons - she remembered one of Bo’s birthdays where all she got were weapons - but this was fitting, and Kenzi had it prepared to hand it over to the succubus with careful hands.
“Go get her, sexy,” she winked, because unfortunately she didn’t have any puns for the exchange but she’d say something that was at least very much Bo.
Luckily, the weapon offering worked, and it was very Lara and Bo. They were both fighters, and she knew that Lara would love this entire thing. It also showed how much Bo did respect and understand Lara. She knew how important this was, which was part of the reason why she’d kept this entire thing a secret, and why she’d gotten Sam here for it. She wanted Lara to have a wedding ceremony she could share with Sam.
“I’ve been waiting way too long for someone to make that pun,” Bo laughed. How no one else had made that pun yet was beyond her.
The offering of weapons basically worked how the sword part of the ceremony did. Though taking Lara’s bow and tapping it against each shoulder then the top of her head seemed a little silly, it probably looked cooler with a sword, but this was them. The Bow and the dagger symbolized the rings here. Once Lara had done her part with the dagger, it was time for the ale and cake portion of the ceremony. At least as far as it related to Lara and Bo. A drink of ale was taken, followed by Bo taking a piece of cake and smirking at Lara as she held it up.
“I’ll try not to smash this all over your face,” she quipped.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Sam assured her. “Puns and the after party.” She winked at Kenzi, as she had a hell of an after party planned.
Lara was doing the stoic British upper lip thing throughout the ceremony, because if she didn’t she’d start crying like a little girl. Still, her jaw did quiver several times and her eyes were a constant watery wetness. “If you want a honeymoon you’ll hold to that.”
Much to her dismay, her voice shook and she felt choked.
These moments weren’t totally lost, either - Kenzi would make sure of it. A purse had been strapped on her shoulder, hanging on her side, that held a retro polaroid camera. And once her role of handing the dagger was done and over, photos were snapped.
“Hells to the yeah,” she giggled at Sam, taking another a picture - especially of Lara’s woobie face. Those were tears, damnit. Kenzi was going to immortalize all of it.
“You’re a treasure, Sam,” Bo commented with a laugh. Despite the somewhat watery eyes that she’d had during this ceremony, Bo hadn’t completely lost it yet. Except for hearing Lara’s voice shake, and then the word honeymoon driving home that this wedding in spirit was actually happening. It was then her turn to get choked up and her eyes watered more.
Not trusting herself to speak without losing it, she instead held the cake up to Lara’s mouth and waited for her to take a bite. Once their bites of cake were taken, then would come the other important part: the handfasting itself, then sealing it all with a kiss.
There was something about polaroids that Sam loved. Even if she had the event recording on her state of the art digital camera, Sam just loved old polaroids. She also loved being smooth. “Lara is good at finding treasures. After all, she’s marrying one.”
Lara leaned in, taking a bite. It was a good flavor, but she wasn’t really focusing on that. Her mind was on the moment, and on the impending handfasting. She was still very nervous.
“Guys, stop, I’m getting allergic to feelings,” Kenzi sniffed (only a little and there were no tears yet to test that waterproof mascara, yet). All the sap in the air. Every photo printed was fanned and tucked carefully into her purse - she’d put together a little scrapbook of this with their other wedding photos. “I’m ready for pictures of cake-tasting kisses.”
Bo almost blushed at Sam’s comment. Instead, she just seemed to glow that much more, in the non-succubus-glowy-eyes way. She was glowing in the happy sort of way. She was intensely happy right now, even as tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks, but she kept herself under control and she took a slow breath before it was her turn to eat the cake.
“You can’t get allergic yet, Kenz, the best is yet to come!” Bo said. And now it was the part of the ceremony that would result in some tears. It was time for their hands to be fasted. She tried to steel herself as she lifted her hand and placed it over Lara’s so the cords could be tied around them.
After Lara fed Bo the cake, she tugged her close and kissed her. It wasn’t lewd or anything, but it was entirely unlike Lara to kiss Bo in front of people like this. Special, one-time only treat because of the circumstances.
Sam picked her jaw up off the ground so she didn’t miss the important part. She did a good job of zooming in on their hands, and on their faces, and taking shots that encompassed the whole scene.
Lara’s hand was shaking, and she stared at their hands together. Part of her suddenly questioned the wisdom of this. What happened to Bo if she died? But it was a little late for that and the cold feet quickly passed.
Like Sam, Kenzi was attentive enough to catch all of it - their faces, hands, but the still photos couldn’t capture the way Lara’s hands trembled. Awww, Muscles. Overloaded with feels, wasn’t she?
Maybe she was too. Shut up. Don’t judge. Kenzi would keep quiet to herself aside from a couple sniffles here and there.
The kiss caught her by surprise, mostly because the official kiss didn’t come until after their hand were fasted, but she returned it nevertheless. There were butterflies fluttering around in her stomach, and she got choked up as she looked at their hands. She could feel Lara’s hand shaking. She swallowed past a lump that had formed in her throat. There was momentary realization that she would outlive everyone present by centuries. Unless she got killed somewhere along the way (which was a non-zero probability considering the state of Orange County), but she pushed the thoughts from her mind. Because Bo loved Lara, and she wanted nothing more than to be with her.
As their hands were tied and the presider spoke of how their hands were bound as their hearts had always known them to be, Bo couldn’t hold the tears back anymore. There were tears on her cheeks by the time they were told they could kiss. Looking at Lara, her face was starting to hurt from the smile she wore, and the waterproof mascara and eyeliner was definitely working.
Without further ado, Bo leaned in and kissed Lara.
Immortality had been one of Lara’s quests in her dreams. To find a means to remove sickness and death. In the end, she’d given it up rather than sacrifice her morals in the quest. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t on her mind. She didn’t want Bo to be alone.
Somehow, she made it through this part without crying, but then the kiss happened, the real kiss, and there came the water-works.
The binding was complete, figuratively and literally, and in a word it had been perfect.
And Sam? Sam was pretty sure she was going to win an award when she got this thing edited together. Of course, that would be Lara’s eternal gratitude, but who was counting.
“You guys are gross,” Kenzi choked, her throat feeling all that damn emotional pressure. The camera lowered, the last photo printed - the one of them smooching - and she fanned it in the air to let it cool and develop. “Beautiful, but so gross. I’m pretty sure my camera caught the rainbows and hearts coming out of your butts.”
This ceremony was perfect. Beyond perfect, really, considering Bo had pulled off getting Sam here to witness it. She sniffed after the kiss, the waterworks still happening, but her grin was bright. “Just you wait, Kenz, the rainbows and hearts are contagious.” Bo retorted with love. She could’ve made a more direct remark about Birkhoff, but she held her tongue. Bonus points for that, right?
Yet even with the comment to Kenzi, she didn’t take her gaze off of Lara. Lara was a beautiful sight, and she was drinking in this moment. They were joined now, maybe not married under law, but they were in spirit. And she was so happy she felt like she could burst.
“Glitter, can’t forget the glitter falling from their ears,” Sam whispered in an aside to Kenzi, loud enough for someone the next hill over to hear. “Does that mean we’re destined to fall in love? I mean we’d make really hot babies and they’d never hear the end of it from us.”
Ignoring the peanut gallery. Lara stroked her fingers down Bo’s cheeks, her grin so wide her face felt like it was splitting in two. “Thank you for this. It means everything.”
“Aww, man, if only,” Kenzi said with a dramatic hand to Sam’s cheek, staring so hilariously deep in her eyes. “Our babies would be pretty - and my boyfriend can be the mansion boy that’s just there to look scruffy and pretty.”
Bo’s grin widened and she sniffed a bit. “Thank you for letting me surprise you.” It hadn’t been easy keeping it a secret from Lara, but it had definitely been worth it. The look on Lara’s face when she first saw Sam was all she’d hoped it would be. She leaned her forehead against Lara’s. “I love you.”
While she’d felt like she had a home and place to belong for a while now, it wasn’t until this precise moment that she truly felt like she wasn’t lost any longer. Sure she still had her dream issues to contend with, but as far as she was concerned in this life? She wasn’t lost and she wasn’t going to run again. This was where she wanted to be. Some more tears rolled down her cheeks at the revelation and she wrapped her arms around Lara and hugged her tightly.
“Scruffy, pretty mansion boys...I can live with that.” Sam and Kenzi were on the same wavelength.
Lara closed her eyes, unable to keep them open in the face of all this emotion. She didn’t do well with emotion. It was that British thing. But for Bo, she’d deal with it. For Bo she’d let the emotion flutter free and unconfined. Bo made her feel human again, lifting a burden of murder and death that was a constant weight on her shoulders. Giddily, she whispered, “I love you too, Mrs. Croft.”