Chapter Text
Claire’s fingertips trembled against the mascara tube she clutched in her sweaty palms. Trying to take a deep breath in this tight of a dress was nearly impossible, but she tried anyway, straining her ribs against the lace illusion. Her manicured nails clutched the applicator tightly, as if she were afraid to drop it. If she dropped anything on her outfit today, there would be a crowd full of people who would be most displeased with her. Funny; if someone asked her younger self if she would ever look the way she does today, she would have laughed in their face.
But today was a special day.
Her special day, in fact.
Today, the world as she knew all her life would forever change. Not that it hadn’t already, but in a way that never seemed possible, given the world they all lived in now. Today, the woman known as Claire Redfield would be no more. And instead, she would be reborn, forever known to the world from this day forward as Claire R. Valentine.
No matter how many times she said it in her head, she still couldn’t get over the sound of it. Even as she stared at her reflection straight ahead in the mirror, it still felt like a dream. It still feels like only yesterday when she and Jill spent their first night together after her recovery. Their first night of getting to know one another all over again, of reliving history, of sharing memories they both long thought forgotten. A night full of tears, screams, fits of sorrow, anger, relief, joy, and more love than a sole human could carry. That night, not a word was left unspoken, not a dark place was left unlit. Not an inch of her body was left unknown to her. Scars were kissed, wounds were healed, and a path ahead was formed.
Everything changed that night. They had plunged into an unknown world, hand-in-hand, without looking back behind them. And now, here she was, in a gorgeous floor-length white gown with a blush petticoat and floral white lace details trailing up the skirt, from the tips, hugging up her sides and bunching around her waist. The illusion carried up into the bodice, curving above her breasts into a gorgeous sweetheart neckline. Down her arms, nude illusion sleeves complete with lace detailing at her shoulders, elbows, and wrists. Her thick, auburn hair was pulled up into a loose, low bun, with her signature money pieces framing both sides of her round face. A round face coated in light, peach freckles from the tip of her nose to the corners of her eyes. Long, bejeweled blue earrings sparkled against the setting sun that peered through her dressing room window. And her makeup- near flawless.
Save, of course, for her mascara.
Every time she tried to put it on, a ball of emotions would well up in her throat, and within moments, tears would stream down her puffed cheeks. She must have counted about four rounds of reapplication, and she mentally prepared herself for a fifth as she took in more of her reflection. It wasn’t that she was sad- far from it, in fact. But with so many emotions swirling within her brain, she couldn’t tell if it was nerves, anxiety, or a sense of impending doom.
Okay, maybe it was the nerves.
It wasn’t like the morning before had been a cake walk, if she was being honest with herself. The caterers were late with set up due to their earlier engagement running behind, the DJ had gotten caught at the airport and forgot a crucial piece of his setup, and the last time she checked in with anyone, she was informed that her beloved was in the middle of a minor panic attack. She had been told by countless faces, friends, and even family that ‘everything was fine,’ that ‘it’s all being handled, go get dolled up!’ but that didn’t stop the storm of anxious energy brewing inside her guts.
All of that, and the obvious- that she was finally getting married, but that their parents weren’t here to see it.
Claire had been without her mother and father for so many years- so long in fact, that part of her hated to admit that she was struggling to remember what their voices sounded like. Would they be proud to stand here alongside her today? Would her father hold her on his arm as they walked down the aisle? Would her mother have helped her zip up her dress instead of Moira?
Would they have accepted her?
She shook her head. No, she wouldn’t burden herself with that darkness. Not today.
Leaning forward, Claire brought the mascara wand to her eyelids once again and gently glided the bristles through her thick, full lashes.
Once.
Twice.
Done.
A knock at the door sliced through the silence of her dressing room, pulling Ciare away from the sight of herself in the mirror.
“What’s the password?” she called.
There was a brief moment of silence before a very familiar voice rang out from the other side of the door.
“...Bingo.”
A wide grin split across her maroon-red lips. “It’s open!”
Seconds later, the door to Claire’s dressing room cracked open, and in stepped one of her knights in shining armor for the evening. Clad in a burgundy suit and jacket combination, with a white dress shirt with the top two buttons left undone, with a black belt and matching Neiman Marcus shoes, stood Leon S.K. Redfield, catching his breath after what Claire could only imagine was his eighteenth errand of the day. His Hamilton watch clung to his wrist in a vice grip. His hair, a soft, dirty blond, hung to the right side of his face in its usual cut. Although Claire noted to herself with a smile, it appeared stiffer than usual, giving her the indication that he likely gelled or put some type of product in it.
As Claire stood and adjusted her dress, Leon took her all in from toe to tip. He sighed, his eyes smiling for him.
“Wow…” he remarked, stumped for what he wanted to come next, “You took getting dolled up seriously, huh?”
Claire shot him a pointed look, raising an eyebrow, “That’s the best you came up with?” she negged, “No ‘God, Claire, you’re so stunning?’ or ‘Holy shit I married the wrong Redfield.’ Nothing like that?”
Leon chuckled a lightweight, bright laugh- one that he reserved for those who knew the real him. Not Leon, the D.S.O. agent tough guy he became known to the public as. Not Leon, the sworn enemy of Umbrella Corp and bioterrorism everywhere.
No, in their family, he got to be just simply ‘Leon.’
“No, because I’d be lying if I said that second one.” As he spoke, he approached Claire and gently embraced her in a firm, supportive hug.
“Oh, like that’s hard for you,” She returned the hug with great enthusiasm, taking in the smell of the Versace he wore.
“Getting worse at it every day,”
As they separated, the two exchanged a playful stare at one another. This was nice for them to do- busting Leon’s balls always did wonders for Claire’s nerves, and just the presence of another human being in the room with her helped her breathe much better. Leon was also clearly softballing his responses to her today, but today was a special occasion. There will be plenty more opportunities for revenge another day.
“How is she?” Claire asked suddenly.
“Better,” Leon replied, turning around quickly to the full-length mirror to adjust the tuck of his dress shirt in his trousers, “Carlos and Rebecca got her settled downstairs. Everyone’s starting to make their way out to the garden now.”
“DJ’s all set?”
“All set. All he needed was a fucking spare aux cable for his amp- like that was necessary to hold up a whole TSA line for.”
“Did we have a spare to give him?”
“Yeah, had one in the car. Motherfucker owes me 25 big ones for it, though. If he bills you for it, I’ll follow his ass back to Tampa,”
Claire took a breath in through her mouth, exhaling it out of her mouth just as quickly. She mentally yelled at herself, ‘through your nose!’ but she could hardly hear herself think over the tubthumping of her racing heart in her ears.
Leon turned his back to the mirror and met her eyes from across the room. Clearly, that was not the only piece of news he wanted to share with her at that moment. And Claire knew, just by looking at her brother-in-law, the subject of her next line of questioning:
“Big guy okay?” she asked carefully. They both didn’t need to ask who the aforementioned ‘large man’ in question was.
Smirking at the mention of one of the many nicknames for his husband, Leon chuffed, “If by ‘okay,’ you mean ‘smoked through half a pack of cigarettes before we’ve even gotten down the aisle,’ then he’s fantastic,”
Claire rolled her eyes while her head shook from side to side. She had lost count of how many years she’s asked her brother to quit his dirty habit, but a part of her could forgive the nervous tic. They all have them- Leon fidgeted with his ring, Jill pulled her nails, and Claire twisted her hair. Her big brother just happened to pick the most expensive, dangerous one out of all of them.
“God, his breath’s gonna stink,” She groaned.
“Also took care of that,” Leon patted the breast pocket of his jacket, “Got a platoon’s worth of Altoids in here,”
“My hero,”
Leon shot her a small smile once again, this time pivoting back over to the entrance door of the dressing room. He turned back to look at her, as she positioned herself to sit atop the ottoman in front of the couch on the far side of the room.
“You ready for him?” his question was soft and kind.
Claire took another breath. This time, in through the nose and out through her nose. Then, a sharp nod in Leon’s direction.
“You got it, rockstar. I’ll send him in.”
Before Leon could finish turning the knob on the door to make his exit, he flashed one more look in her direction. He spotted the anxiety returning to her face in full force, and part of his job today was to ensure, without a shadow of a doubt, that everything would run smoothly. So, he nodded to her, his smile widening.
“I promise, it’s not so bad on the other side. Just gotta make it there. Okay?”
Claire didn’t need to ask questions. Didn’t need to decipher whatever riddle he was speaking in. She knew him like the back of her hand. Her eyes watered, and she nodded quickly in response. “Get out of here, dummy,”
A grin split across Leon’s face, and he took a very animated, very unnecessary bow in Claire’s direction before pulling open the dressing room door and slipping out once again, as quickly as he came. The theatrics got a giggle out of her, so it indeed achieved the intended effect. But once again, Clarie was suddenly engrossed in the echoing silence of the room. So as she waited, a trembling hand reached up to the side of her face to grip hold of the loose lock of hair.
It’s not so bad on the other side.
-
Large crowds always made Chris extremely tense.
The lobby of the mansion was flushed to the brim with wedding guests, all making their grand exodus from the welcome area into the rose garden where the ceremony was set to start shortly. Employees and colleagues from multiple agencies, from the B.S.A.A., TerraSave, and D.S.O. to ancillarily connected organizations, alongside extended family and friends, made up the roster of nearly 200 people in attendance. Each entrance, exit, and pathway accessing the mansion was thoroughly secured, with a constant perimeter check every 10 minutes in place. Drones patrolled the skies above them all in a near-constant rotation. Chris hand-picked the squad on duty today, with Leon’s assistance, to ensure there would not be even the slightest threat of ‘unwanted entanglements.’
Nothing, or no one, would come between his sister and his best friend on their special day.
Even with the beefed-up, some may say ‘excessive,’ security on duty, it did little to break Chris free from his wound-up nerves. All the problems that bloomed throughout the day were taken care of with a strong and careful precision the day called for, all without neither Jill nor Claire’s knowledge, as far as he was concerned. Still, it had taken Carlos, Rebecca, and himself to fully calm Jill down from the state of panic she had been in throughout the majority of the morning- panic at what exactly, Chris still tried to rack his brain around to figure out. Rebecca suspected it was the nerves of the event just getting to her, but if Chris were a betting man, he suspected that panic ran much deeper in her than she let on.
But, ever the powerhouse, Jill had put herself back together and now was dutifully waiting under the garden’s perfectly decorated gazebo.
For him.
To present her with his baby sister- her bride- for the rest of their lives.
The ash from his tenth cigarette of the afternoon blew gingerly away from him in the late summer breeze. He knew he needed to quit. Claire would be screaming at him right now if she saw the damn thing in his mouth, but nothing else was pulling him out of his mind quite like this.
Not until his eyes caught the very familiar figure of a man he loved very much sauntering down the stairs like he owned the place.
Once Chris spotted Leon coming down the stairs and locking onto his exact standing spot at the mansion’s doorway, he knew his time was up. As the younger man approached, Chris was quick to ditch his cigarette in the ashtray on the side of the door and straightened his boutonniere. Claire chose a white rose for him to wear across his heart, not just to symbolize Chris ushering her into her new beginning, but also to hold a piece of their parents with them today. His stomach tightened as his fingers brushed against the fragile petal of the rose he adjusted.
Maybe it wasn’t just his nerves kicking in. Maybe it was the crippling imposter syndrome also settling in his core.
The thought that he had impossible shoes to fill today, and inevitably, he’ll come up short.
Once he touched down at the bottom of the stairs, Leon bobbed and weaved through the sea of guests until he made it to the front door beside Chris, reaching out to touch his shoulder to indicate that he was by his side. “She’s ready for you,”
“Fuck- okay,” Chris mutted under his breath, quickly exhaling and straightening his jacket. “Last time I’m asking, is my tie straight?”
Leon spun Chris around so he was chest to chest with him, his icy blue eyes peering downward at his chest. Sure enough, the sky-blue tie Chris wore around his neck at Jill’s request was meticulously knotted in a near-perfect full Windsor knot.
Near perfect, because somehow Chris cocked it slightly to the left- likely when he pulled his jacket to reach for his cigarettes.
Leon smirked and inwardly chuckled, bringing both hands up to the knot to shift it back into place, “You know, you’re lucky you’ve got me. All these other jarheads would have ‘yes’ed you to death, and you would have looked like an idiot up there,”
“Can’t look any worse than I feel right now,” Chris grumbled, his foot tapping impatiently against the cobblestone below them.
“Hey- that’s my husband you’re talking about,” Leon retorted. Once his work was done, he removed his hands from his tie, letting one travel down to Chris’s left hand to give it a soft, reassuring squeeze.
Despite how wound up and wired he felt, Chris returned the squeeze instantly.
“...Thank you, babe. I’ll see you in there,” Chris thought he let go of Leon’s hand and tried to jerk himself away to leave, but after getting pulled back to his husband’s side, he realized he was still attached by the hand.
“One more thing.”
Chris hardly registered that Leon spoke before he felt a pair of lips gently envelope his in a warm, wet kiss. Chris’s shoulders immediately relaxed, and his free hand reached out to cling to Leon’s jacket. A soft groan embarrassingly escaped his throat, and before he could turn his head away in shame, he felt the gentle press of a tongue against his lips. Without question, he opened his mouth to allow entry.
But, instead of a tongue, he felt a small, cold tablet slip onto his tongue.
Surprised, his eyes widened, and he separated himself from Leon, who let him go with a flash of a satisfied smirk on his face.
Chris ran his tongue gently, calmly over the small tablet.
And the taste of mint flooded his senses.
Altoids.
“Knock ‘em dead, handsome,”
As quickly as he arrived, Leon departed from Chris’s side to join the gathering crowd within the garden- likely to try and find a seat towards the front if there were any left. Knowing him, if there weren’t any available where he wanted to be, he would not be shy about making himself room.
Chris swallowed the saliva building up on his tongue from the strong mint in his mouth. His crystal blue eyes slowly shifted from the entryway to the stairs. The lead in his belly only expanded once he took his first steps towards and up the stairs. Sweat pooled on the palms of his hands. Fingertips quivered against his black suit pants. Every step he took forward resembled climbing up a small mountain, his breath shortening with each passing second. He hardly registered that he reached the top floor before he arrived right outside Claire’s door.
This is it.
Don’t fuck this up.
Thick, callous knuckles knocked gingerly against the wood of the door.
“Come in!” his heart skipped once the chime of his baby sister’s soft voice hit his ears.
He quickly crunched the Altoid in his mouth and swallowed its remnants.
Reached for the knob.
And pushed the door open.
The wooden door gave way, and right in the center of the room, was Claire. Standing in her dress, with open arms and the biggest grin Chris had ever seen her wear. Light from the setting sun shone on her face like the grace of God, coming down to bless her. Her eyes were already wet before the door finished moving.
“Hey, Chrissy…” She sang, and reached out to him. Her nickname for her beloved big brother since she was eight years old.
That did it for him.
Chris hardly made it to the door before his stone-cold face, always so strong and tough, crumbled, softening the moment he laid eyes on her. Eyes that began welling up with tears within seconds. Tears that didn't stop as she floated over to him, hands reaching up to grab his arms. His trembling arms reached out to cradle hers. He had no words for just how beautiful he thought she looked in that moment.
“Oh my god, say something, you’re scaring me…!” Claire tried to neg, but no malice could be found in her words. She could hardly get her own words out before they, too, choked in her throat.
Chris sniffled, trying so hard to push his tears back into his eyes or down his throat, but they kept coming. He gripped her arms, soaking wet eyes watching her up and down. All before he uttered words that nearly drove Claire off the edge herself:
“You look just like Mom…”
Claire gasped and bit her lip to bite back even more tears from coming. She removed one of her hands from Chris’s bicep to rapidly fan her face, trying her damndest to dry them before they could spill down her cheeks.
“Fuck…I’ve had to redo my mascara five times already, don’t do that to me, asshole!”
In spite of his heavy tears, Chris managed to belt out a hearty, wet laugh alongside Claire, who clung to him as he reached onto the dressing room table for a tissue. He grabbed two, handing one to Claire to dab her eyes while he made himself almost woozy by blowing his nose too hard. Even as he dried his eyes, the moment he caught a glance at Claire, it would start up again.
“Shit…” he huffed to himself, grabbing another tissue- and another to shove deep in his pocket.
“I know,”
“I wish they were here for this, Claire,”
“Me too…”
“They deserve to see how beautiful you are,”
Claire’s smile was sad as she rubbed her brother’s arm with her free hand, her other hand reaching to toss away her used tissue. “You’d probably have to fill in for Dad… he’d have a heart attack for seeing me in this dress,”
“Mom still would make him get up and walk you,” Chris replied with another chuckle, and that made Claire giggle even more.
“She would! She’d tell him to put ice on his chest and walk it off!!”
Chris beamed through his damp eyes, looking down at his sister as that bright smile returned to her. In that moment, standing side by side in that room with her, he could feel the puzzle pieces of their lives gently falling into place. For everything they’ve been through together- everything life threw at them, every time they’ve been chewed up and spit back out, they both remained on their feet. Arm and arm, hand in hand, as it was always meant to be. When they were younger, Chris didn’t know what he was doing when it came to bringing Claire up in this rotten world.
But, from the way she smiled back up at him, he couldn’t have done too bad of a job.
“Am I ready for this?” Claire suddenly asked, her voice trembling. One of her hands reached up from her place to fix the boutonniere that got jostled about in their embrace.
Chris only smiled even wider at her, and leaned forward to give her forehead a quick peck, right at the crest of her hairline.
“You know you are. You don’t need me to tell you that.”
She sighed lightly and wiped the remnants of her tears away with the back of her hand. As usual, he was right- they were only delaying the inevitable now. She righted herself and, still clinging to Chris’s massive bicep, she locked eyes with her big brother, her mentor, her parent, one more time.
“...I love you, Chris.” Her voice almost broke as the words slipped out of her.
Chris blinked. A few loose tears dropped down onto Claire’s hair,
“I love you too, Claire Bear.” His nickname for her since she learned how to talk.
She stifled yet another sniff, “Okay, if we don’t get down there, I’m going to legitimately start bawling my eyes out, and I will never forgive you for fucking up my makeup again.”
Chris managed a toothy smile, wiping his tears one more time with the back of his hand, “Yes, you’re right, let’s…let’s do this,”
“Lead the way, Cap’n,”
The door swung open once more, and soon, Chris guided his baby sister out of the room, grasping hold of the train of her dress so she could walk without issue. The door closed behind them, and before either of them knew it, they set on their way. Side by side, hand in hand, as they’ve done their entire lives already.
At each other’s side, no matter what.
–
If Jill had to stand under that gazebo for a single more minute alone, she was going to snap.
Her frazzled eyes darted to each blurry face in the crowd of people gathered in the sweltering heat of the garden. The more people took their seats, the hotter it became. The evening sun, while not beating down on her, cooked the roof of the gazebo, making her sweat through her crisp white dress shirt and jacket. Whatever intern at Louis’ Bridal convinced her that wearing a full double-breasted periwinkle pantsuit in late August for an outdoor ceremony was a good choice was definitely not getting a positive Google review; she was sure of that much.
She glanced at each of the exits. Three exits. Two at the sides and one at the very back, which would be where Chris and Claire would enter through. Each one with a guard dressed in wedding attire and earpieces in each of their right ears. Her eyes moved again. Even at the distance she was at, she could make out clear as day the outline of a holster on the guards’ legs, each carrying a Glock 9MM. Good, hearty gun. Sturdy.
What was she doing? This was her fucking wedding day and this was what she was thinking about?!
How hard was it to just turn your fucking brain off for once?!
Jill’s eyes then moved to the crowd. She could vaguely make out some faces closer to the front row. Some were locked in conversations with one another. Some laughed at an innocuous joke their neighbor made. Others were burning a hole through her with their stares. What were they so locked in on her for? Were they expecting her to put on a show for them while they waited for the real lead star to arrive?! She couldn’t recognize many of the faces of the bureaucrats and colleagues from all their various workplaces, but quite a few stood out to her towards the front:
Moira and Barry, Barry taking up an aisle seat so he could easily get his walker out upon dismissal. Carlos, catching her eye as he talked to his seat neighbor to flash her a big grin and two thumbs up. She wasn’t sure what sort of response he was looking for-if he was looking for one at all- so she gave a half-hearted raise of the right corner of her mouth. Which he seemed to accept and return quickly to his conversation. In front of him, beside an empty chair, sat Leon- a right pain in Jill’s ass, but instrumental to how smooth everything had thus far gone. To that, she owed him a very strong ‘thank you’ and a split round at the bar during the reception. He sat with his arm out over the empty chair to reserve it, speaking to a woman beside him with very short, blond hair, a woman whom Jill swears she met before but could not for the life of her recall her name in that moment. Perhaps it’ll come to her- or perhaps she’ll wake up in a sweat tonight, and then it will come to her.
Sherry! That was her name! Jill should have absolutely known that- she was part of the service, after all.
And lastly, Rebecca, taking temporary respite in a reserved seat off to the side to glance quickly through her service binder before standing up to join her at the gazebo.
As Rebecca stepped up the wooden steps to take her spot in the center beside Jill, she placed her binder on the available podium and looked over at her very nervous friend.
“You’re doing great, hun,”
Jill let out a huff, her white boot tapping against the aged wood of their floorboards.
“I don’t know what they’re all staring at…not like there’s anything interesting up here. They wanna look at the 80 year old wood some more? How about the four-thousand dollar flower pieces?”
Rebecca chuckled, causing Jill to whip her head around to look at her.
“They’re all just happy to be here with you,” Rebecca reasoned gently, “They’re all waiting for the best moment of your life to start. That’s so special, right?”
Jill hesitated, unsure of what to say in that moment. Her tapping quickened. Her thumb scraped across the manicured nail she just fixed an hour ago.
Noticing this, Rebecca reached out over her podium to gently cradle Jill’s sweaty, shaking hand in hers. A bit taken aback, Jill snapped her head down to her hand, then back to Rebecca.
“Breathe,” Rebecca’s voice was a gentle, calm breeze against the boiling anxiety underneath the surface of Jill’s skin, “Don’t even pay them any mind, even. In a minute, all of them are going to fade away, and all there will be here are just you and Claire,”
Jill’s breathing didn’t slow down. Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs like a caged animal.
“-And me!” Rebecca added, trying to make Jill laugh or smile. She half succeeded with the second option, noticing the rise in Jill’s lips.
Rebecca squeezed her dear friends hand, locking eyes with her so she knew that she was listening, to speak the final words of wisdom before the ceremony truly began:
“Remember, this is your special day too. You deserve to be here. Enjoy it, and we’re all going to enjoy it with you.”
Jill, again, was speechless as Rebecca let her hand go.
The garden bell chimed its loud soprano ring once, twice, thrice into the garden space. Silence fell amongst the guests within seconds of the chimes. The only sound Jill could hear was her own thunderous heartbeat in her ears. Still, despite the shaking in her legs and her quivering lip, Rebecca’s words echoed into her head like a mantra.
It’s my special day too…
I deserve to be here…
When it came to planning the events of today, Jill had allowed Claire to take the reins on the vast majority of the planning. Claire let her decide what she was comfortable wearing, and the details for the ceremony, like readings and timeframes, but as far as other details,like flowers, music, and food- she let her take the wheel and drive, giving her opinions and guidance where necessary. However, the music was the one thing she was left completely in the dark about other than one for the reception they decided together.
And as the garden doors opened, Jill held her breath.
The DJ started the music.
The first few chords of a very recognizable song started to blare from the speakers.
A song Jill knew all too well. Because it was a song she cried her eyes out to during one of the first recovery sessions with Claire. A song that finally let her cry out all the pain she kept bottled up for years.
A song she dedicated to Claire, who brought her back to life again.
The first few chords from Goo Goo Doll’s Iris blared through the speakers, and as soon as they did, Chris and Claire started their long trek down the cobblestone path towards the gazebo. Her dress flowed behind her in the late autumn Breeze. Her hair clung to the back of her head as the breeze whipped through her. She strode, gallant and strong, her back straight and her smile beaming at all the faces in the crowd. The bouquet of orange, yellow, and two white roses was safely snuggled into her hand, their long ribbon cascading down to join her dress. Everyone in the crowd rose up from their seats to watch the stunning redhead and her strong brother captivate them all.
And Jill, with the violins of the song serenading her, finally let herself breathe out. She finally released it all, all of what she held inside her for this very moment. The moment that her beautiful, sweet, fiery, stubborn, fearless bride took her first steps towards her, arm in arm with the most loyal, dedicated man she had ever met.
The most important person in her life, walking towards her to meet her. In front of the entire world. Smiling up at her like she was the only person in the room.
Rebecca was right: Nothing else mattered. No one else was there.
No one but her and her beloved.
Jill couldn’t contain it anymore. She cried. Sobbed. Mouth in her hands as she watched Claire. Love and tears and joy and pride filled her eyes and spilled out down her cheeks and neck in buckets. Catharsis washed over her like a baptism. The violins soared above them like birds taking flight, followed by the guitars soothing the hurt the song had caused. Many of the faces in the crowd join Jill in their tears, happy tears, as the final chorus comforted them all in their journey.
And I don’t want the world to see me
Cause I don’t think that they’d understand
When everything’s made to be broken,
I just want you to know who I am!
I just want you to know who I am!
I just want you to know who I am!
After the dramatic climax, the song gently decrescendoed to a glittering denouement, and by that time, Claire and Chris finally reached the gazebo. Grabbing hold of her dress, Chris assisted Claire up the three easy steps, and once she reached the top, she turned towards her brother again and gave a great big squeeze, her arms hardly reaching the middle of his back. When the released, Chris turned to Jill, who had just finished wiping her tears with the back of her sleeve. She shot him a look, a look he knew like the back of his hand, before he stepped forward and embraced her with as much strength and love as she felt in that helicopter all those years ago. Jill, to the best of her strength, returned that hug, sniffling loudly into Chris’s black jacket, before he released her, stepping off the stage to join his red-eyed husband in the frontmost row.
Before taking her place across from her, Claire reached for her beloved with both arms, pulling them away as Jill tried to hide her tear-soaked face. Her soft hands embraced her wet and clammy ones, manicured thumbs stroking the skin in her hands. She caught Jill’s eyes and held her gaze, her gorgeous smile cracking through her lipstick.
“There she is,” she cooed.
Jill, sniffing once again, couldn’t even resist the ear-to-ear grin that split across her face. Her eyes, soaking in Claire’s godly presence across from her, finally softened and relaxed. Her shoulders slacked, and her chest heaved. She was real. Today was real. And it was going to be okay. She squeezed the hands in hers tightly- she would never let go of them again.
Rebecca, patting away a tear of her own, cleared her throat and grinned to the crowd.
“Welcome, everyone! I could not be more honored to stand here with all of you, because we have a lot to celebrate together! Tonight, we come together to unite two unique souls, to join them from this day forward forever by the bonds of marriage to a lifetime of unity against all of life’s troubles, and unconditional love. We are gathered today because one of, if not both of these beautiful ladies have touched your hearts in their own special way- for some of us, their presence in our lives has transformed us, and their story of love has given us glowing examples of what true unwavering perseverance, compassion, and resilience look like. Now, this is their day: their day to join hands and souls, forever enmeshed, unravelable against the tides of time. Without further ado, let us be on our way!”
Following those gorgeous opening words, the true ceremony began without a hitch. Jill and Claire asked two people to provide readings for their ceremony today- poems of their choosing that they thought best represented their story. Claire chose the first, while Jill chose the second.
Moira was the first to come up to the podium to recite the poem “The Bridge Across Forever” by Richard Bach. She beamed at both of them, flashing a smile as she spoke with confidence and pride in her friends:
“A soul mate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person, we're safe in our own paradise. Our soul mate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction. When we're two balloons, and together our direction is up, chances are we've found the right person. Our soul mate is the one who makes life come to life."
Second, Jill’s choice was for Sherry to read. It took her a minute to scoot out of her chair, with Leon standing up to assist her up the stairs, as her dress was just a little too long for her heels not get caught on top of. Once she arrived at the gazebo, she couldn’t resist giving Claire a big squeeze, as well as Jill, and an enthusiastic hug before going to her spot to read.
"I will love you forever, whatever happens. Till I die and after I die, and when I find my way out of the land of the dead, I'll drift about forever-” Sherry started to choke up a bit as she spoke, wiping her eye with her dress sleeve. A few sniffles could be heard from the crowd, particularly in the front where Chris was seated. Claire released one of Jill’s hands to fan herself, as she too felt the familiar ball of tears welling up in her head. “All my atoms, till I find you again… I'll be looking for you, every moment, every single moment. And when we do find each other again, we'll cling together so tight that nothing and no one'll ever tear us apart. Every atom of me and every atom of you… we'll live in birds and flowers and dragonflies and pine trees and in clouds and in those little specks of light you see floating in sunbeams… and when they use our atoms to make new lives, they won't just be able to take one, they'll have to take two, one of you and one of me, we'll be joined so tight…"
Jill couldn’t help but hear a very soft “Fuck, there it goes again...” come from her beloved, followed by a few more sniffles. Once Sherry was done, she offered another smile to each of them before she made her way back to her seat, receiving a bonus hug from Leon once she sat down.
After the two readings, it was time for both Jill and Claire to share the vows they personally wrote for one another. Rebecca, ever the organized one, kept little booklets containing the handwritten vows each of them wrote for their companion. Handing each of the booklets to their assigned person, Rebecca exchanged the bouquet in Claire’s hands with the detachable microphone from the podium.
And Claire, of course, was not the least bit shy of nearly shouting into the mic.
“HI- oh fuck that’s loud-” causing a wave of laughter to break through everyone’s tears, including Jill, who snickered across from her, “Hi everybody. I literally begged Rebecca to let me go first so I can sob my eyes out at whatever my darling dear has planned for me, so here goes!”
While the crowd chuckled again, Clarie locked eyes with Jill, who clutched her booklet between her shaking hands. Her eyes were filled to the brim with a euphoria she could recognize in her sleep.
“Hi, Jill…” she began, voice already shaking.
“Hi, Claire,” Jill volleyed, smiling gently.
Claire’s grin only widened as she cleared her throat, her eyes darting down to the pages in front of her. “
“Jill, this is my fourth draft of these damn vows-” that got another ball of laughter, particularly from Leon’s row, “-because I couldn’t pin down which route I wanted to go today. Do I be the ‘funny’ one and make lighthearted commentary on your favorite things? Do I be the super sappy one and make myself cry trying to speak more than you? Or do I be the ‘short-and-sweet’ type- like the shape of my brother’s rapidly shrinking hairline-”
Another, much louder, wave of laughter, followed by a curt “Fucks sake,” from the front row.
“The truth is, every time I tried to write something that would give this huge, emotional impact, I found myself thinking that what I’m saying isn’t how I truly feel- that I’m putting on an act. Because really, what words can I say that can compare to the feeling of warmth in my chest when you look at me? Fucking none, that’s what. Nothing can compare to the way your smile lights up every morning when I wake up beside you. Nothing compares to the softness I feel in my chest when we’re on the couch together, with your arm around my shoulders, and you’re cursing at the T.V. when your favorite hockey team is losing. Or when you fall asleep with a book on your lap, and your hair falls just so perfectly across your face. Or when you bring me my exact coffee order that you memorized without ever having to write it down once. Nothing will ever match those small moments, because nothing compares to you.”
Jill couldn’t even hide her tears. She let them fall freely, trickling down her cheeks like melting ice.
Claire sniffled as she kept going. “The day I got to hold you in my arms again was the start of the rest of my life. I knew in that moment that I was never letting you leave my side ever again- I worked hard for this, goddamn it!” she giggled a loud, wet laugh into the mic, which got a few others to do the same, “That day, I made a vow to myself that I would work till the end of my days to see you smile again, and I vow to you today, that I will never stop trying to make you smile. I will never stop pushing away all the darkness and despair that crowds around you when no one’s looking. I will be your fire against the snow, your respite from the rain. When you are feeling empty and weightless, I will fill you back up with everything I have. You will never know a day of true darkness again, so long as the sun…rises in the east…” she stumbled into a choked back sob, “...and sets in the west…”
In his seat, Chris’s shoulders trembled. One hand gripped his suit pants to the point of nearly ripping them, while the other- his left- clung to Leon’s open palm like his life depended on it. To his credit, he wasn’t the only one almost falling apart; beside him, Leon eyes were wet, and out of the corners of his eyes, his cheeks glowed with the shimmer of tears that haven’t had time to fully dry yet. Chris felt a squeeze of his own hand, and a callous finger run over his left ring finger and the silver band laying across it.
Once Claire pulled herself together, she cleared her throat once again, smiling through it all at her beloved bride. “So, I guess I wasn’t as funny as I wanted to be, as sappy as I wanted to be, or as to-the-point as I wanted, but I hope you will have me the endless mess that I am. I love you isn’t enough to say to you, Jill Valentine. But I’ll say it anyway. I love you, in this lifetime, and every one we’ll have together after this,”
With that final sentence, Claire’s vows ended, and the garden erupted into a cacophony of applause. Honestly, Claire was just relieved she got through her entire booklet with only one true sob- she honestly thought she was going to have a lot more than that. As the applause died down, all eyes turned to Jill, who had just finished wiping her own eyes. Luckily, she didn’t have mascara trailing down her face like Claire did, so she was arguably in a much better state, appearance-wise. On the inside, though, she was a candle in the wind.
As Rebecca swapped the microphone from Clarie’s hands to Jill’s, she presented her bouquet back to her and grasped the booklet, tucking it safely back in her binder. Jill took a breath- broke her look with Clarie to momentarily look out into the crowd, then back to where she belonged.
It’s just you and me, baby.
That’s all.
“Firstly, I’ll just say that, that joke about Chris’s hairline was not originally Claire’s, she, in fact, stole it from me, so I will be filing for copyrights after today…”
The crowd chuckled alongside Claire- even got a laugh out of Chris, followed by the man flipping off his former partner.
Jill, put a bit at ease by her joke landing, breathed in and out once again, letting her shoulders fall back into place.
“The Greek Philosopher Aristotle was once documented stating that love was a single soul inhabiting two bodies… And…” her lip quivered. Goddamn it. “And I can say for certain, that…there is no greater pain in the world than losing even one soul in your own body. For too long, I convinced myself that my soul was dead. That everything that made me me was gone, never to be seen again. The reflection I saw in the mirror wasn’t mine- and I was…buried, in a coffin within my own bones.”
She sputtered, and Claire started going to pieces. Her shoulders quivered, and she rose a hand to her mouth to cry behind it. That opened the floodgates for a great number of people in the crowd. Barry, who had been rather silent for most of the ceremony so far, sighed while Moira dotted his eyes. Carlos’s head fell into his hands, hiding his face in his hair. Rebecca, who hardly got through Claire’s vows, put her binder up to hide her leaking eyes and nose. Sherry trembled against Leon, hiding her face in his shoulder.
“And one day, after I was a monster in that rehab room, you thought I fell asleep for the night. I wasn’t asleep, but you thought I was, and you stayed by my side that entire night. And in that quiet room, I heard you say to me: ‘I know you’re in there, Jill. And I’m going to pull you out if it’s the last thing I do.’: She swallowed, but no matter how much she did or how much she wiped, her tears were so thick she struggled to see the page in front of her.
Chris held a hand to his mouth, swallowing the loud sob that threatened to bubble out of him. Leon held him, soothing his hand with his own trembling one.
“Claire…You saved me. In every way someone could be saved. I was dead, and you brought me back to life. I gave up on living, and you shook me by the shoulders and showed me that the world was still a bright, beautiful place that was worth staying in. You took the broken fragments of my soul and stitched them back together, and what you couldn’t fit, you poured in some of yourself instead. I am standing here, in front of everyone we’ve ever known and loved, because you proved me wrong: you proved to me that I mattered. You are not just the person I want to be strong for- you’re the person I want to be weak for. Someone I can collapse with, scream with, sob with because I know that I’m safe where you are. That I can be vulnerable, and soft, not this machine that I was always told was all I was good at being…” Jill couldn’t stop shaking, but she kept going. Claire reached for her hand, nearly dropping her bouquet, and she took it without hesitation. “And so I swear to you, I will never give up again. I will never stop repaying you for all the sacrifices you made for me. I will show you that your work wasn’t in vain by living every day with the life and love you gave back to me.”
In that moment, she looked up and saw her sobbing, sniffling bride, with mascara steaming down her cheeks, the bottom of her nose wet and glistening, and she took a breath again.
And she smiled. She smiled wide.
“After all, I’ve got a lot of lifetimes to do that, right?”
As soon as Jill put the microphone down, Claire dropped her bouquet and went completely off script, and as the garden exploded with applause and cheers, she ran across the gazebo and into Jill’s arms, squeezing her tightly and smashing her lips to hers. Jill’s nerves, already shot from pouring her heart out on stage, allowed her adrenaline to coast her through, and she wrapped her arms around her bride and pressed her against her chest. Several guests ‘whooped’ throughout each of the rows as the claps only crescendoed, Jill melting against Claire like candlewax- two souls becoming one, as it was always meant to be.
Seconds felt like hours before Claire released Jill, pressing her forehead to hers and letting her cries resume. Her hot breath coated Jill’s face as she whispered though her sobs, “You messed up my makeup..!”
In response, Jill could only laugh, leaning in to mess her makeup up even worse by pressing another kiss to her lips.
Rebecca, grabbing her binder and the small ring case from the podium, placed her hands on each of their shoulders as they pried themselves apart. “Hang on, you need these! I gotta actually marry you two first!”
“Come on, Bec, I can’t take much more of this!” Claire cried out Jill made feeble attempts to untangle her from her and adjust her dress. Giggles bubbled up from the crowd.
In particular, Leon shook his head and chuckled while leaning into Chris at his side, who had just managed to straighten himself back up and blow his nose with the spare tissues he stole in his pocket. “Fast forwarding to the honeymoon, aye Claire?” That earned him a half-hearted bump in the arm from Chris, which only made Leon smile more.
After everyone went back to their positions, Rebecca cleared her throat again, “Okay- I had about two more pages worth of things to say, but- let’s be real, there is nothing I can say that will hold a candle to what we heard up here today- so let’s get to the part we’ve all been waiting for!” She pried open the ring box, which contained two beautiful matching yellow gold bands, the only difference being the thickness- Jill’s significantly thicker than Claire’s. Jill reached forward for Claire’s, and Claire did the same for Jill’s.
“Now, Jill, please take Claire’s hand- and only her hand!”
Smirking over at Rebecca, she does so, cradling Claire’s shaking hand in hers as if it were a delicate flower, the last of its kind. The thin, yellow band slipped easily onto her lithe finger, perfectly stacking on top of her solitaire engagement ring she so lovingly picked out for her.
“And say ‘With This Ring, I give you my heart, for each day until my last.”
Jill met Claire’s shining eyes. And her grin bloomed through the lipstick transfer Claire gave her across her lips.
“With this ring, I give you my heart, for each day until my last.”
“And Claire, the same to you!”
Claire, grasping Jill’s hand with the strength of an army battalion, gently slid the band onto Jill’s left ring finger. Even taking a second to run her manicured finger over the metal lovingly. Cementing that it was indeed finally there. Where it will always stay.
“With this ring…I give you my heart. For each day, until my last.”
Rebecca grinned, flashing her teeth. “Claire, do you take Jill Valentine, to be your beloved wife? For-”
“Yes, yes, all the yeses!!”
Chris particularly smiled and chuckled, shaking his head at that alongside some others on their side of the aisles. Even at her big age, she never quite grew out of her impatience. At this rate, he didn’t think she ever would.
Rebecca only laughed in response, “Alright! Jill, would you like to hear all my questions?”
“You know what, I would,” Jill replied, smirking even more. One of the first lessons Claire was going to have as the new Mrs. Valentine was a lesson in patience, even if it earned her a playful glare from across the aisle.
Rebecca played along, turning to Jill, “Jill, do you take Claire to be your beloved wife? For all the good days and bad days? For all the highs and lows? Through sickness and health- through anything life holds in store for you both?”
“I better after all that,” Jill responded, and more laughs bloomed. Followed by a cheeky, “Yeah, you better,” from Claire, which earned her a squeeze of the hand.
“Well, you heard it here first, folks!” Rebecca announced, turning towards the crowd, “And so, by the power invested in me by my forty dollar ordained minister online certificate course, I pronounce you two officially married! You know what comes next, so go get her!”
Claire hardly waited for Rebecca to finish her sentence. The crowd erupted into cheers, clapping and standing from their seats in an ovation of joy, pride and love for the raw display of emotion bestowed upon them that evening. As a gorgeous orchestral rendition of ‘Against All Odds’ by Phil Collins pounded through the DJ’s speakers, Claire leapt into Jill’s arms. And Jill, with her killer reflexes, caught her and cradled her with as much effortless strength as carrying a paper bag, wrapping her arms around her waist and twirling her as their lips connected again. This time, Jill was ready for her, holding Clarie’s body to hers, her heartbeat pounding against hers. Hearts ready for their first few steps into their new forever.
When they parted, they grinned into each other’s mouths, pressing their foreheads together as Jill’s arms tightened around her. Then, without setting her down, Jill hoisted Claire up a bit higher, and repositioned one of her arms to scoop up more of Claire’s dress. Once she had it, she cupped underneath Claire’s knees to cradle her bridal-style. As Clarie nodded that she was stable, the two hurried down the steps of the gazebo and down the cobblestone aisle. The applause grew louder and louder as they descended, the whopping from the B.S.A.A.’s side traveling high above them. Chris, in the front row, yelled out as they passed him, clapping a thunderous rapture. Leon, smiling through new tears brimming in his eyes, threw his fist up at them and whopped alongside Carlos behind him. Sherry laughed, clapping and shouting untill her hands ached.
“BARS OPEN EVERYBODY! LET’S GO!” Claire screamed as Jill carted her fully off, down the rest of the cobblestone path until they reached the garden doors and back into the mansion.
And as guests filed out line by line, row by row, a wave of joy washed over each of them in that space. The heart-wrenching part was done.
Now, it was time for the real party.