when it comes to us // jeve
sterlingjeffs:
As much as Jeff would have loved to continue their conversation, he did realize that now was not the time. He pursed his lips, failing miserably to suppress a smile but at least managing to swallow his words. No, now wasn’t the time for them to go off-script, but knowing that they had the rest of their lives to talk, to get to know each other even better than they already did and to witness each other grow and become real adults…Jeff wasn’t a sappy guy but it was all he had ever really wanted for himself, all the time in the world to be with Eve.
Jeff listened to his father say all the right things, or probably the right things, but ridiculously enough he could hardly pay attention. He would really hate to miss his own wedding because he was too focused on looking at his bride but he also knew that they would never be here again, doing this or saying these exact words to each other before an audience, and he would hate to ever forget this feeling.
Both of them were used to performing in front of audiences, and this felt absolutely nothing like that. But unlike performing at a show choir competition, there were no nerves or butterflies in Jeff’s stomach. He could do everything wrong, make all the worst decisions, from this point on, but at least he knew without a doubt that marrying Eve was right and best and the most important.
As he listened to her vows, he smiled, even though he knew that his own vows paled in comparison. This was something he had known to expect from the beginning. It was not uncommon for a bride (or groom) to cry during her wedding, but Jeff was physically incapable of just watching tears gather on Eve’s face, even if they were happy. Just before she was done reading, he reached over to wipe the tears from her face, and suddenly she was done and Nick’s arm was reaching out to pass Jeff his own vows.
“My turn,” he agreed, refraining from the obvious statement that she was a hard act to follow. “I always knew I was lucky, and that I was even more lucky because I was in high school and actually happy about it, but meeting you reminded me of all the reasons why, and gave me something else to feel lucky about. Even though life has not always been kind to you, you’ve never given up, and you’ve taught me the very meaning of the word resilience. Everything you’ve accomplished has been entirely your own doing, but I’m proud to have been the person by your side while you adjusted to life in a new place. I’m happy I got to be a part of your new beginning.” He looked away from his notes to meet Eve’s eyes, needing to ad-lib a little. “It’s interesting you talked about allies, because the one thing I kept thinking about as I was trying to write my vows is that you’re my partner, in every sense of the word. I know that you’re always on my team, and that everything I do is better if you’re there, and that I don’t feel like anything is real unless I’ve told you about it, or shared it with you.”
He had returned to his written vows now, but he had the ending memorized, so he handed the piece of paper in his best man’s direction without looking, and Nick was quick to grab it back. “Somehow, I haven’t said this yet in my nervousness to get this all right, but I love you. You’re the only thing I want to see when I wake up in the morning, and I can’t wait to spend thousands of mornings waking up to your face.”
In a way, Eve was fulfilling what her father had always planned for her. She was marrying young, actually a little younger than her father had always hoped she’d be when she married. And she used to scoff at the idea, used to find it genuinely uncomfortable and horrifying because while it worked for others, she knew it would never work for her. It wasn’t even when she first met Jeff that the feeling shifted, but rather further into their relationship, as she saw who they were going to be, and what they were going to have together. Marriage this young wasn’t for everyone, but this was what fit them and what they already had in life, and what they wanted. Not a single regret nagged her.
Eve had laughed a little when her makeup artist had been practically coating her in makeup setting spray. But now she couldn’t keep it in any longer, tears flowing freely down her face, and she was glad for the extremes. Eve didn’t think she was particularly vain, but it was her wedding; she wanted to look good in the pictures. It was impossible to listen to Jeff’s vows without getting emotional, thinking about everything they’d faced to get here, both separately and as a team. It hadn’t been a perfect road, but they’d never left the other to deal with something alone, and that was how she knew this would work.
“I love you too,” she couldn’t help but whisper to him when he finished, kind of wanting to keep that particular sentiment to herself. It wasn’t like he didn’t know it, but sometimes it was hard to hold back and not remind Jeff every moment of every day how she felt about him. She didn’t have any family, not anymore, except for the one she’d chosen for herself. He may have been her soul mate, but Eve would pick him a thousand times over even if different initials were on her wrist.
It was time for rings now, which made her heart flutter a little. This was genuinely real, she would be Eve Sterling. It had a nice ring to it, in her opinion. While she’d allowed Jeff’s parents to treat her to a rather expensive wedding, her one request had been very simple wedding bands. Plain gold, with no embellishments other than Eve’s initials engraved on the inside of Jeff’s, and his on the inside of hers. There was the standard repeating of the ring vows, and then before she could even process that they’d even started this wedding, Jeff’s father was saying that he could kiss the bride.
Eve grinned, her tears stopped now, and unable to help wiggling her eyebrows at him. “Pucker up, Sterling.”
