houseofcards_rp | [OTA] We Are Gathered Here

A few things had gone wrong, honestly. There had been some confusion in the morning when they’d arrived to decorate the church - a few bouquets on the altar, some green and blue ribbons twined around a few of the posts - and it’d been locked. She’d managed to leave Spade Castle with her dress, veil, the coin from his mother strung on a thin leather thong, the emerald silk sash and Victor’s ring - but of all things, she’d managed to leave her shoes in their box in the closet, and Chives had had to go back for that. Hadyn looked a little green from his adventure shanghaiing Victor with Ben and Elisha, her cousin Sara had in usual Sara fashion managed to break the heel on her left shoe. Nerves finally hit as Chives was braiding her hair, and by the time the veil was settled over the smooth curls, her nails had left indents in her palms.

In the end, though, it was pretty much perfect. Two of her closest friends preceded her down the aisle in soft blue dresses with forget-me-nots in their braided hair and small posies in their hands. She’d walked towards her fiance on her brother’s arm with her hands full of spring flowers, and after the words were said and Victor lifted the veil, they were married. It only felt a little different than before, Zoe thought as their brief kiss ended. But it was different; she was Zoe Fox.

Zoe Fox knew, of course, that Victor Fox would have preferred them to just slip back to their apartment - no big party, no flowing wine and hors d'oeuvres - but she’d wanted something. And he’d given her carte blanche in the end, really; she’d chosen the small reception room that opened out into the Castle gardens, she’d picked the combination of hyacinths, hydragea, and lily of the valley for the table arrangements, the Greek-flavored menu of spanakopita, wild green and strawberry salad, linguine primavera and herb-encrusted lamb. She’d pored over cake designs until she finally picked a vanilla bean cake with strawberry puree filling, decorated in vanilla buttercream. She’d pruned the list of friends, family and acquaintances who might be expected to be invited to the wedding reception until they numbered barely fifty.

Under the strict supervision of Chives, of course the reception looked perfect, she thought as they arrived, and she smiled as she slipped her hand into Victor’s arm and the full skirt of her dress swirled against both of their legs. Perfect, though perfect didn’t matter quite so much to her right now.

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It's perfect. It really is. And even though she would have scoffed at the planning and the fretting had this happened a couple months ago... not now.

Now she's just looking at all the decorations a little dreamily as she eats cake.

Well, he was going to just sneak along out having given his congratulations and stolen his cake, but this? This is just pastoral.

"And which is the lucky sop you'll be dragging into this mess of fabric and flowers, then, Lady Heart?"

"No lucky sop yet, man." She sighs, leaning back in her chair. "Though in a couple years... Evan McCartney. I never thought this mess could look so appealing, though."

"Now that would be a wedding."

Seriously, McCartney wedding? The free food would be everywhere. The singing would be maddening.

A good wedding for a Joker to properly enjoy the shit out of. "Taking notes, then?"

"Not really. Ours will be... I imagine it'll be quite different. Don't even know if it'll be on Deck." Wait. "...you think that our wedding will be nice?"

"D'you think it won't be?"

What silly goose is this?

"Well-- yeah, but-- I didn't think... others would think it was," she says slowly. "... s'that make sense?"

It does, but he is a Joker. He can't help himself. "Who doesn't love a party?"

“That’s true. No one doesn’t like a party. And no one parties like Riley James.” She grins, running a hand through her hair.

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hamelinic - 2013-04-11 05:56 (UTC) - Expand

standlikestone - 2013-04-11 06:00 (UTC) - Expand

hamelinic - 2013-04-11 06:25 (UTC) - Expand

standlikestone - 2013-04-13 02:52 (UTC) - Expand

Oh, he's seen that face before, though not on Riley, admittedly. It was a commonly held expression at weddings, really, and the Huntly clan had had a few over the last several years. It's almost enough to make a man run in the other direction, except he's pretty sure the dreamy eyes are aimed in another direction.

"I hear that we're being plotted against."

"--Dillon." She turns to him, dreamy smile turning into a more Riley-like grin. "Plotted against? This is the first I've heard of it. By who?"

"Evan McCartney and Tess Bowen," he says, nodding at where their dates are conspiring. "Looking to eliminate both of us so they can run off and get married in Aruba, you know." He pauses. "You look nice."

"Oh, please. Don't even. He's not going to run off with her." She looks over her shoulder at them, smiling to herself before returning her gaze to Dillon. "I... thank you. Very much. You look pretty good yourself."

"Maybe just steal her for a dance, then," he says, leaning his elbows on her chair. "Yeah, Mom's still picking out my clothes, thankfully for all the attendees."

"Oh, trust me, I see. No dorky plaid boxers here. Or, at least-- you know, I don't want to check." She laughs a little, running her hand through her hair. "The flamingos, though. They're always a good choice."

"Hey, it's been a while since you've seen my underwear." He has not. But maybe he should, since he's a dour grown man of twenty-four. "Want to dance, bella?"

"It has been." She nods a little before reaching a hand out to him, nodding to the dance floor. "Sure. Let's make them scared of plotting against us, lest I run off to Aruba with you instead."

unsungheart - 2013-04-08 01:34 (UTC) - Expand

standlikestone - 2013-04-09 01:56 (UTC) - Expand

Clearly the cue for him to snap his fingers in front of her face, almost against her nose. "Earth to Riley. I'm pretty sure they haven't spiked the cake."

"Iggy!" she'll protest, pouting up at him. "It's so pretty. S'not fair."

Oh, prime time to misunderstand. Bad move. "Not fair? You think Zoe should have had an uglier wedding? I am shocked, young lady."

"I-- Iggy! You know what I meant. It's not fair that Evan has to make me sit here and think that I'd actually like all of this some day."

"And what's wrong with that? Wanna try standing instead, see if it helps?"

"Hey. Don't make me pull out the full name." She narrows her eyes at him, though she still has a smile on her face. "He's making me into a housewife. There's something really wrong with that."

"You couldn't possibly pronounce it," he protests. "And there's nothing wrong with being able to take care of yourself and your home, brat." Forehead poke. "It's called adulthood. Welcome to it."

Totally ignoring the root of her protest. Yep.

"Oh, shut up. Like, let's be serious for a second. Riley James: housewife? That was never supposed to happen."

sirforawhile - 2013-04-16 13:23 (UTC) - Expand