Mystic Messenger Fanfiction | VanderwoodxOC Cerise – Tagged | Ch. 29 New Year, New Start
***I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween! That's why I didn't update last week as I was off having a bat-ty time with my sweet daughter. This week's chapter is full of awkwardity, smut, and romantic fluff, so I hope that makes up for it. Also, check out this beautiful art by FFC's official artist @chaoticstarblossoms. This is now the cover page and will be posted with each upcoming chapter on tumblr. Isn't it absolutely gorgeous? ~Let's Connect! FFC***
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*Remember, this is a sequel to Vanderwood Backstory, and Cerise has a bio. You can support my writing on patreon and get access to my VIP Discord Server or other goodies like early chapter releases and hidden scenes. Tagged Chapter Directory*
He'd been able to get her to let him move his bed into her place with his non-pink and non-frilly sheets because of one promise - more space for pillows. The extra space wasn’t doing much for him, since she just ended up wrapped up around him anyway. Not that he minded. Vanderwood snorted as he disentangled himself from the woman who would be his wife in just a few short hours. Breakfast first, marriage later.
After he’d made their breakfast, he brought it to the bedroom, eating in what was an excited yet comfortable silence - other than the few little questions she would pipe up with about what they would be doing after. He'd gotten her a gift and wouldn't tell her what it was until after the wedding, and of course, she wanted to know. He snorted and gave her a soft kiss. "We should get dressed...just an hour until it's time. I'll change in the other room, so I don't see your dress yet, okay?"
He didn't care about all that superstitious stuff, but he did care about allowing her to make it her surprise to him. She'd been shopping with Crystal for it, but that was all that he’d been told. Vanderwood grabbed his purple dress shirt and leopard tie from his dresser as well as a pair of dark pants she'd gotten him for Christmas. It seemed fitting that he should wear stuff she'd picked for him for their wedding. At first, he'd refused the dress shirt, but she was meeting him on his level and agreeing to a small elopement wedding when she'd much rather have the huge pomp and party. He should meet her on her level, too. The tie he had agreed to simply because it was leopard print, and it looked good on him - even if it was somewhat restricting and irritating.
Cerise had been pouting when he wouldn't tell her anything. Though, she couldn't spend much more time badgering him about it when they already needed to get ready. She really should have woken up much earlier. Cerise had a lot more to do than to just throw on clothes. All she gave in response to his question was an, "Okay!" before she watched him grab what he needed and exit the room. Cerise all but bolted out of bed to get all of her stuff together as soon as he was out. It was a good thing that she wasn't too big on makeup, so that wouldn't take long - just a little bit to make her natural cuteness shine.
Vanderwood had trouble with the tie - having only put one on once before. It took a few times of struggling with it before he called Seven. He did his parties all the time, so he'd know. The redhead laughed at him a good bit before Vanderwood snapped that he didn't have time for games today; he was getting married and needed the idiot's help. Seven helped him figure it out after that and promised to be on time to the courtroom with his boyfriend Yoosung.
Their witnesses were taken care of, he was dressed, Vanderwood's new car was out front - complete with her new gift in the back - and everything was good to go. The wedding bands were in his pocket already. Now he just needed to see his wife-to-be in her dress. Vanderwood stepped out into the living room, calling out to her. "I'm ready to go when you are, shortcake." All he got was a soft noise in response. They weren’t running late, so he leaned against the wall to wait, fussing with the tie.
She’d gotten her dress on with no problem. It had been a problem trying to find it. Cerise had gone out with Crystal in attempt to find the perfect dress as the Crystal shopped for herself as. After what seemed like twenty dresses, it had started to get a little hopeless. Nothing seemed to fit her correctly, and everything was incredibly loose on her. When she felt like she wanted to give up, Crystal had found this really cute blue dress and asked her to try it. Cerise did, and to her surprise, it fit like a glove. The person helping them said it was a something or other cut, but she was so excited to find something that was cute and actually fit her that she hadn't been listening. Cerise grabbed a few accessories to go with it, and they were done with that part.
Marion called out to her just as she was getting to her hair, but Cerise was too focused on what to do that all he got was a soft noise in response. Cerise had let her hair air dry the day before, figuring she could straighten it in the morning or something but nope! No time. Her hair tended to get wavy at the ends when she didn't do anything with it, and it bugged her so much.
She had to do something with her hair and quick. After brushing her bangs to the side, she took a portion of hair from one side of her head and pulled it over to the opposing side, clipping everything in place with a really cute flower accessory she'd found to go with her dress. She examined herself in the mirror. Okay, she had to admit the waviness of her hair was helping pull it together - this time.
Crisis averted. After putting on some super light makeup and her shoes - without the danger of heels - she was ready. She had no idea how she had managed in such a short amount of time, but she had. Cerise took one more look at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath. They would be married in less than an hour; she would be someone's wife. It wasn't the big fuss that she had always dreamed about since she was a kid, but when you loved someone - you were willing to make those sacrifices.
One last internal pep talk and a few selfies, then she was good to go. "Ready!" Calling out in her sing-song tone, she went to join him in the living room. As she got a good look at him pushing off from the wall all she could think was, holy crap. He looked amazing like that. Marion was wearing things that she had picked out for him, and she couldn't help but imagine that if he looked that great in dress clothes - a suit was probably to die for. Too bad he had this weird vendetta against them for whatever reason. Once she got out of that little daze she was able to speak up. "You look so great...lovin' the tie, mon amour~"
Vanderwood was in his own little daze as he got a good look at the woman who was about to become his wife. She looked… "You look...well you look amazing." That was to be expected, because she always did, but this was the first time he'd really seen her do something different with her hair, wear makeup, and the dress was perfect.
Her compliment broke his own daze, and he snorted - messing with the tie again and hearing her giggle at the action. "Yeah, it's a nice one - mostly because you picked it." Starting their wedding day off right with cheesy lines. She was grinning at the way he was looking at her, causing her to blush. It was just an added bonus that he seemed to be as fond of the tie as she was. Leopard print was apparently his kryptonite. "I feel amazing~"
He bit his tongue before he grabbed his car keys and taser. Vanderwood already felt a good deal nervous for no reason, so without a weapon on him - it would have been ten times worse. "You ready to go?" Cerise watched as Marion slipped his taser into his pocket, not making any effort to stop him. Sometimes she felt like maybe he was attached to it as though it were a security blanket, but it wasn't like he could carry a gun around all the time either. "Ready as I'll ever be."
All he could think about on the way there was the fact that he was about to be a husband. This wasn't anywhere close to what he'd expected out of life. Nothing at all. Vanderwood had thought he would die long before this. Here he was, happy with the love of his life. Cerise would steal glances at him, wondering if he felt nervous or was having second thoughts. He seemed fine. Maybe she was the one worrying. Marion loved her - if he didn't, he wouldn't be marrying her.
Once they actually got there, they had to wait in the court waiting room. Waiting wasn't fun, it made her a little anxious. Cerise was beyond excited but...this has to be the most boring place on the planet. Everything was so official looking and drab. Cerise had taken to watching Seven and his boyfriend - a cute little blond with violet eyes.
She couldn't figure out for the life of her how someone who seemed so sweet was with a prankster like he was. Cerise had to guess that the poor guy had been the butt of more than a few jokes. Seven had leaned over to whisper in Yoosung's ear, causing the poor guy's face to turn redder than she thought was humanly possible and slink down into his chair. It was kinda cute - in a way.
The longer they had to wait, the more Vanderwood wanted to get this done - just have her as his wife already. It wasn’t a matter of not being excited for it. He was too excited for it. His hand slipped into hers, the other handing her the flowers that Yoosung had been smart enough to bring. The boy was an odd one, but rather sweet. "Thank you..."
Cerise squeezed his hand, not sure what he was thanking her for. Marion had the tendency to thank her for things without reason, but it always sounded so heartfelt that she knew whatever it was - he was serious about it. Despite not knowing what for, she would usually just reply that he was welcome. This time around she had something else to say. "I love you, Vanderjerk." The phrase was accompanied with a giggle.
"And I love you, with everything I am - though it isn't much." He snorted softly at the name, bringing her hand to his lips for a soft kiss to her knuckles. She couldn’t decide if she was happy or sad about the way he responded. Marion really had a habit of putting himself down. He was so much more than he thought he was. Sometimes she wished he could see himself through her eyes. "Does that make you my vandershortcake after this is over?" The name he tried was so ridiculous that she couldn't help but to laugh. She was obviously better at twisting his name around than he was.
He watched her laughing, relaxing slowly from the ridiculous cringe that was himself. She was going to be his. Cerise would be his wife. As he looked at her, everything felt so right. "Mrs. Cerise Vanderwood." That had been meant to be musing to himself but ended up being spoken aloud. Oh well, that was her name in approximately 15-30 minutes. Cerise had mused over her new name many times, but it was completely different to hear him actually say it. It was like someone had set loose hundreds of butterflies in her chest.
If she thought she felt anxious before, she felt it tenfold now as the clerk came out to drag them inside and the judge got going on having them repeat the vows. They'd gone with catholic vows, seeing as she was at least nominally Catholic. Even though Vanderwood hated God with a passion, the vows were still good. Cerise was anxious up until he looked into her eyes and held her hands. There was nobody there but the both of them in that moment. This was it, the moment they both gave each other their lives. She felt completely and totally happy - almost overwhelmingly so, and she knew by the look in his eyes that he felt the same way.
Vanderwood didn’t flinch as he was promising his entire life and being to the woman he loved - fidelity and steadfastness. He was totally and completely hers - vows or not - but he meant every word he said. "In sickness and in health, for richer for poorer, through good times and bad, as long as we both shall live." Vanderwood felt like living for a very long time with her. He hadn't known it, but she and their life together, the future they had to look forward to - it was everything he'd ever wanted and then some. Vanderwood didn't think he could ever be happier, although she had a tendency for surprising him.
She repeated her part of the vows, trying her best not to cry but choking up a little on the last part. Marion kept running his thumbs over her knuckles whenever she’d gotten stuck, squeezing her hands as they were now finished. Maybe she should have practiced, but she thought that she would have been too overly happy to choke up anyway. Her life wasn't going at all how she had imagined, but she wouldn't complain. She loved her life; she loved him. Cerise was looking forward to sharing the rest of it with him.
It was the last stretch. They exchanged their rings, and the judge pronounced them husband and wife. Vanderwood slipped his hands from hers to pull her into a deep kiss instead - maybe deeper than most people would be comfortable in giving with people around, but he couldn't care less. She was his wife. How happy could one person be? Was this real? It had to be a dream. Everything felt perfect. Cerise could tell how happy he was with him kissing her so deeply right then and there. She didn’t mind one bit, because she was happy, too.
There was paperwork they had to fill out, and Vanderwood handed Seven his phone to take pictures - since he knew Cerise would want them. Paperwork wasn't something she enjoyed, but it was all part of the process. If it weren’t for the fact that Marion had taken care of it, she might have lamented that she didn’t have her phone on her right then. He was always on top of little details though, and she couldn’t help but laugh at his exchanges with Seven. They really were like family.
Vanderwood narrowed his eyes at the redhead as he saw the glint in his eyes that meant he was about to say something stupid. “Now you can have babies, and they can visit uncle Seven's house.” Yoosung mumbled something about that not being safe, but Vanderwood just glared - making Seven shut up and the blond go pale as he responded. “I have my taser on me.”
At least they got their pictures in - a dip kiss for her and everything. Cerise wasn't expecting him to make such a show for the pictures, because he hated pictures. The dip kiss both surprised her and stole her breath away in the best way. She thanked and gave hugs to both Seven and his boyfriend - happy that they were able to stand in as witnesses for them.
Vanderwood was a bit tired of it all by the time it was over, but he couldn't stop smiling either. Mr. and Mrs. Vanderwood. It didn’t even seem real. Bloody Hell, he hoped he wasn’t dreaming. They had nothing else to do after they ushered off Yoosung and Seven, so he took her with him to the back of their new car. "Ready for your gift?" Her focus was instantly back on him and away from the two driving off in Seven’s flashy sport’s car. Marion had finally decided to tell her what her gift was. "More than ready!"
Cerise watched him as he got out a case and opened it revealing a gun...but not just any gun.
It was the moment of truth as he revealed a small caliber pink gun covered in crystals. Just the way she liked things. Pink and sparkly. Seeing her reaction to the gift he'd gotten her made the smile already on his face even bigger. His wife was adorable.
Her eyes lit up as she reached out to run her fingers over it. He had remembered what she said before that day he had taught her to shoot a gun. She turned to him with the widest smile on her face, "I love it!" She was so going to take pictures of it later, and she knew just the right filter that it would look amazing with.
It was funny that he would get her something she could shoot because..."Hold on~" She grabbed her purse from inside the car and removed an envelope. Cerise handed him the envelope with a wink. "Hope you like it~" Vanderwood was somewhat surprised. She'd gotten him something, too? Of course, she had. Cerise loved gifts. "If it's from you, I'm sure I'll love it." He opened the envelope and raised an eyebrow. It was a good thing it was from her, because anyone else - he would have told them it was ridiculous and refused to go.
She waited for his response to the gift, eagerly watching him with baited breath in hopes that she would get a response that told her she’d done well. Inside of the envelope were two tickets to a paintball range. That wasn't real combat, but it was something she figured they could have fun with - without a dire, stressful situation.
For Vanderwood, shooting at the range was all well and good, but pretending to kill each other for a game wasn't something he found either productive nor decent. Still...it was a gift, and if she wanted to do it - it would be good practice for her anyway. The guns were different - more like rifles - but it could teach her lessons that would be strange for him to give her otherwise. "Thank you, shortcake. I think we'll need to change before we go, but when do you want to go?" There wasn't a date on the tickets, and they were all-day passes. Maybe she wasn't planning for today?
Was it just her imagination or was he less than enthused with it? Maybe something like, ‘You shouldn't pretend to kill people. That isn't a game blah blah blah.' Cerise was pretty sure he'd enjoy it if he could get over himself and learn to have fun. "Paintball? Nooot today. Way too much running around for me." Besides, the tickets were for an entire day and part of theirs was already gone. It didn't make sense to her to go now. Cerise moved to attach herself to him in an embrace. "I wanna spend time with my brand-new husband~ What does he wanna do?" It still felt unreal. He was her husband now. Saying it made her feel all sorts of giddy, and she couldn't help it.
The way she said husband melted his heart as he returned her embrace, kissing the top of her head. 'You' had popped into his head, but he quickly bit down on his tongue to keep it from escaping as his face turned incredibly red. He was glad he was holding her for the time being so his face could cool down. "Maybe we should go test out your new gun at the range, then head home and just...I don't know." Yes, he did. He knew exactly what he was thinking. Perpetual asshole, but...Hell. Cerise probably wouldn't even mind.
She pulled back and raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? You really don't know?" Cerise knew him well enough by now to know exactly where his mind was. Of course, she didn't mind one bit - even if it did still make her super blushy. He snorted at himself and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. Yep, she'd seen right through him. Well they were married and that whole consummating thing, right? Yeah no, he was just digging himself a bigger embarrassment hole.
After she nuzzled into his chest again, she took a good look at his gift to her once more. Testing out her new adorable pink sparkly gun? That sounded fun. Plus, there was no running around involved. "To the range then it is!" They could figure out the rest after. Cerise figured that at least they should go out for dinner before heading home, because neither of them - especially her - should be cooking on their wedding day.
The range was different than the one at the agency. Cerise got eyed as they walked in, and it became clear why as the man behind the counter greeted them with something other than a ‘hello.’ "You know how to use these things, young lady?" What was his problem anyway? She was about to pop off at him before she felt an arm around her. Thank goodness for Marion, because she wasn't having any of it today. Vanderwood gave the man a dark look as he held onto his wife. "I wouldn't tease her if I were you. She may look small, but she bites." That was one way of saying it.
After checking out one of the sections, they made their way into their section of the range. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to correct her stance too much that day. He was already feeling frisky just with the wedding. Vanderwood had let her carry her case in and checked out a couple headphone-style silencers, so they wouldn't blow their ears out. The target was a large paper with the torso of a person printed on it - attached to a rope that could bring it nearer or farther. "I'm not sure you can do headshots yet, but feel free to give it a try." He handed her one of the headphones before putting his own on.
Cerise nodded, trying to look completely serious about this as she put on the ear protection he’d given her. This wasn’t a toy. She checked over her gun and took it into her hands after making sure that it was loaded with the safety off. It was really cute, but a gun was a gun.
"Okay..." Cerise let out a breath before getting into the stance that he had taught her before. She hesitated for a moment to make sure she was doing things right. When he didn't make a move to correct her stance, she decided to move on - lining up her sights with the target's head. Cerise shot the gun and totally forgot about the recoil - causing her to jump and yelp in surprise. Upon inspection of the target, she definitely hadn't hit its head.
As she jumped, he slipped in behind her to wrap his arm around her waist - moving her ear protection so he could talk to her and be heard. "Sorry, forgot to remind you." His hold on her was already helping her to calm down as she mumbled in response. “It’s okay…” He held her a little more firmly, using his body to move her back into position. "Try again."
Vanderwood let go slowly as she relaxed before adjusting her ear protection again and stepping back. As much as he wanted to keep holding her and keep her from dealing with recoil at all, it was better that she learned - just in case she'd ever need it. Hopefully, she would remember about the recoil if that ever happened. That was a risky business - either one missed or did more damage than they meant to.
She was thankful that he was letting her do this on her own. How else was she going to learn? If something had happened, it wasn't guaranteed that he'd be available to guide her. Cerise took another breath and tried to focus, reminding herself about the recoil before she shot again - aiming for the head a second time. Cerise was able to keep her nerve this time around and lowered her gun slowly to see where she had shot. Okay, so it wasn't exactly right in the head, but at least it was the general area. If she wanted to shoot someone's nose off. She made sure her safety was on before turning to him and giving him a quizzical look, unsure if she'd done it right or not.
Damn. She was pretty amazing. Vanderwood sure had a Hell of a wife. Wife. The word was still making him melt. He looked towards the target again. Right on the nose - not off in the vast nothingness of a miss. She looked at him quizzically, and he gave her a thumbs-up. A big smile spread across her features. She was excited and proud of herself! Sure, she hadn't shot exactly where she was aiming, but she had gotten pretty darn close, considering.
He took his ear protection off and waited for her to do the same. "That's really impressive...Feel good about it? Not too heavy or uncomfortable in your hands?" She probably didn't know much about the intricacies of the different advantages this gun held over others. That had been stuff he'd meticulously gone through, but she could at least feel whether it was too much for her or not. "Nope! It feels fine to me~ You know how to pick 'em, huh?" He had probably put a lot of thought into getting her something that fit her and wouldn't be too difficult for her to handle. Cerise went over to him and held onto his arm. "Soooo...do I get to see you shoot?"
Vanderwood felt just a little ego stroke at her appreciating his choice for her, though her question had him raising an eyebrow. "Do you want to? I don't have mine on me, so I'd have to check one out or use yours." Yes, a small, pink, crystal-covered gun in his hands. That made him snort. Not like he cared, but it would probably be an interesting image. "I do need to show you how to reload, so we should empty your clip." He popped his ear protection back on and held his hand out for her weapon.
Cerise was all for seeing him wielding her girly-looking gun, so she gave him a nod and gave her gun to him. After she had her ear protection on, she watched him carefully. As soon as he was sure she was ready, he turned the safety off and took stance. Vanderwood knew he had four shots left in her 6-round clip, so he popped off four in quick succession - two to the heart and two to the head. He was fast and efficient before he lowered the gun and removed the empty clip, hand going to his non-existent jacket pocket as though to reload. That had been pure instinct. Right. Currently he was just in a dress-shirt without his usual repertoire of items. He bit his tongue and removed his ear protection. Old habits die hard.
He shot it fast. It took her forever to get up her nerve and make sure she was in a correct stance. Marion did it so effortlessly and flawlessly in a matter of seconds. Plus he’d emptied the clip and gone to reload before she even realized what round they were on. She was in complete awe to see him do something like that - especially since she was able to pay attention with no danger around. It was actually...kind of hot? Her eyes widened as she blushed and shook her head. Not the time. "That was so cool!" She couldn’t contain the excitement in her voice as she took off the ear protection.
His face was starting to turn red, but he just wiggled her empty clip. “Let me show you how to reload.” Cerise got closer, watching him carefully. Vanderwood was slow, showing her how to reload twice before taking out the clip another time and making her do it herself. "The types of situations you might end up in, changing clips is won’t be about speed, but it doesn't hurt to practice it until it becomes muscle memory."
Cerise was a fast learner. He hadn't wanted her to have to learn this kind of thing. She should never have needed to, but now that she did - he was pretty damn impressed with how quickly she was catching on. That and she looked really good with that gun in her hands - maybe a little too good. Not the time to be thinking about that. She did look amazing in that dress. Vanderwood coughed softly and pushed her gun box at her. "Do you maybe want to finish up for the day and head home?"
She raised an eyebrow at him. "I wanna test out my new present some more if that's ok?" She felt like they had just gotten there, and he already wanted to leave? Sure, she was kinda tired, too - the emotional toll of the day. Still. it was pretty early, unless..."You're pretty eager today, huh?" Cerise giggled as she nudged him. "Ya gotta take a girl to dinner first, you know. Especially if that girl is your wife~"
Again, she got him. "Sorry..." What the fuck was up with him today? Must just be the idea of it all - her being Mrs. Vanderwood. He rubbed at the back of his head. "Yeah, you just play around a little more." Bloody Hell, he was ridiculous on a regular day, but he was just being plain awful today. She only laughed and patted his arm before putting her ear protection on and getting back to practice.
Vanderwood leaned his hip against the wall, watching her as he played with his tie, loosening it. He hated the restriction, but he had to admit he looked bloody good in leopard. She looked damn good. Vanderwood eventually switched to looking at his phone, focusing on taking her to dinner and spending time with her rather than being a horny little asshole. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, too - pushing a hand through his bangs as he just relaxed. No point in acting like time was wasting when he had all the time in the world now.
Cerise had busied herself with trying to practice aiming more and pretty much got the hang of it by the end of her clip. She decided to try and load another on her own, fumbling around with it at first but eventually figuring it out. A few more shots, and she felt like she was golden. "Hey, Marion!" Cerise waved around to get his attention. Vanderwood looked up at the muffled sound of his wife’s voice, pushing off the wall with an eyebrow raised.
That was when…bloody fucking Hell. She’d gotten in the correct stance, aimed, and shot the target right in the crotch. After she lowered the gun, she turned to him with the dumbest grin on her face. All he could think was, ow. Why did he feel like covering up and falling to his knees? That was some intense sympathy pain for a paper target. Remind him to never be near the business end of her weapon, because he needed that part.
She seemed amused with his reaction as he gave her a meek thumbs-up before taking off his headphones. He certainly wasn't turned on right now. "Let's get food. I need food.” Vanderwood bit his tongue, internally slapping himself for being an idiot before coming up to her as she took off her own headphones and started to pack away her gun. He watched her turn off the safety before he slipped his arms around her, nuzzling into her hair.
"You did really well...Mrs. Vanderwood." His arms tightened around her as she leaned into him. It was the perfect name for her. Cerise only leaned into him more. Being in his arms was her favorite place in the world. Mrs. Vanderwood... The name made her feel all fluttery and warm again. "It has a nice ring to it, doesn't it~? Thanks for sharing your name with me, mon amour~"
Cerise had this special way of melting his heart into a puddle. No one in the world could do that like she did. "Thank you for sharing your life with me." He could go on and on about how her being in his life had been the thing to give him purpose and a reason worth sticking around for, but if he knew his Cerise - she was ready to eat. His thanks could wait until later tonight.
He pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head, nervous as he took her to the restaurant. Vanderwood wasn't comfortable with normal dates. They'd gone out to eat only once before. That had been spur of the moment, because he'd been too anxious about proposing to even cook. He'd decided to take her to that same place for their wedding day. That seemed a little cheesy, but Cerise liked that kind of thing.
Vanderwood was way too good at being cringe-y anyway. They were able to get that corner seat where he could watch everyone, but mostly his eyes were on her. Essentially for the whole of dinner he couldn't stop looking at the beautiful woman in front of him. She was now his wife, his life partner, and the woman he'd give his everything to and then some.
Cerise didn’t question why they were at the same restaurant as before. It was probably what he was comfortable with. It was a nice place and kind of romantic. She wasn't sure if that's what he was intending, but it worked. Cerise had ordered a big piece of chocolate cake with her meal, choosing to eat that first. This only earned her a look from her husband. It was her wedding day, too! Let there be cake. He just kept staring at her. Cerise stared back for a moment. Did he maybe...actually want some? She took some on her fork and held it out to him. "You want some?" As she asked, she waved the fork around. "It's good~"
He had zoned out until she waved her fork around at him. "Huh? Oh, no, I don't like cake." Had he really been awkwardly staring at her? Nicely done. "I was just thinking about how I'm the luckiest man in the world to get to love you and have you as my wife." Being with her had made him better able to share what he felt, and he wouldn't want it any other way anymore. Sure, he'd turned into a sappy shit, but he felt pretty good about it.
She was just happy it was a, 'zoning out while thinking about my cute wife,' thing and not a, 'I want Cerise's cake,' thing. Though, his answer would explain why the cake she had ordered for his birthday remained completely untouched by him. "I consider myself incredibly lucky, too. I still can't believe I got to marry such a sweet and wonderful person." Cerise watched him curiously as he gave her a smile before he started to fiddle with his phone. He was on Fakebook?
Vanderwood set his relationship status to, 'Married to Cerise Song,' and posted several of the pictures Seven had taken. She'd have to accept it for it to show up properly, and she hadn't changed her last name on her social media yet. Still, it was there. “Here…” He slid his phone over to her to let her see.
Life was so different from what it had been. Vanderwood would never have thought he'd have social media - preferring to live as off the grid as he could manage - let alone that he’d get tagged in posts and become a sensation of his own. It had all started with tags. Cerise was his miracle, and he wanted to make her the happiest woman on Earth if he could manage it. "You've changed my life...and I'm beyond glad to be your husband."
She felt her heart getting fluttery all over again, smiling at his sweet gesture. Cerise had left her own phone in her purse and hadn't really messed with it for a good majority of the day. This day was theirs, and as exciting as it all was - she didn't owe anybody anything except for her new husband. She would gladly give him her undivided attention. Cerise took her time to look through the pictures, her smile growing as she did so. Seven was a bit of a goofball, but he had taken some great pictures - she'd give him that.
Finally, Cerise took out her own phone - ignoring all the notifications she had gotten. She updated her Fakebook to match his and updated her name. 'Cerise Song' was now 'Cerise Vanderwood'. Cerise showed him her own phone with a giggle. "Fakebook official and everything! Look at that~" Almost instantly, people began to comment on and react to the post - causing her phone to go crazy.
For once in her life, she put her phone on silent and stuck it in her purse. "I'm beyond glad to be your wife. You've definitely made me a better person, I think." She felt like it was all thanks to him; she was able to mature a bit - in a way she didn't think she would have managed so soon if left to her own devices. Cerise couldn't explain it, but she did feel different - in a good way. "So...you gonna actually eat your food or are you gonna continue staring at me all night?"
He’d turned his own phone to silent - since her mass of followers had started to follow him. Instead of putting his phone away right then, he ended up staring at it before he tucked it back into his pocket as she talked - getting lost in her eyes. Maybe he had helped her grow. Vanderwood blinked at her as she asked about his food. "Well...I won't stare at you all night." The innuendo he’d accidentally spewed made him cough and rub the back of his head awkwardly. He started to eat to cover up the fact that he was blushing like an idiot as she laughed. It was apparently just one of those days for him.
Once they'd finished their food, he would have asked if she wanted some dessert, but clearly - she'd eaten her cake first anyway. That was wrong on so many levels, but Cerise did stuff he couldn't comprehend on a regular basis. "Ready to head home, wife?" Vanderwood offered her his hand, which she took before he laced their fingers together.
Marion was totally going to abuse that word as much as he could, wasn't he? It was so cute and she enjoyed it. "Of course, husband~" Cerise had almost wanted to ask about dessert just to get a reaction out of him, but she figured she would save that for another time. She giggled thinking about the look he had given her once she had begun to dig into that giant piece of chocolate cake before her actual food. His reactions to things were something she enjoyed, and he was hilarious - whether he knew it or not.
It was still hard to believe that she was married. They were married. A lot of people didn't marry until they were in their thirties. He was a lot closer than she was, but they were still on the younger side. Cerise didn't mind. She was sure it was something that was going to last.
He couldn’t stop thinking about it as he walked her to the car - the way his life should have gone. Vanderwood had always thought he would die young. Life was short sometimes, but even if they didn’t have long because of something out of their control - as long as he was with her, then he’d enjoy it. As soon as they were in the car, he took her hand once more. There was something about today; he didn't want to let her go at all.
Marion seemed pretty keen on physical contact - today in particular, and she couldn't complain. She loved the attention and felt most comfortable when she was near him - especially when they were actually touching. Cerise would periodically give his hand a squeeze; it was kind of like a hug without hugging. Even before everything, he had always helped her out of the car, and tonight was no exception. Not as much of a jerk to begin with as he thought he was...or she had thought he was, for that matter.
He’d paused for a moment, and Cerise looked up at him in confusion. Had something been wrong or did he zone out again? She didn’t have time to finish the though before he took her chin and kissed her. Cerise felt the cool metal of the car against her back as he pressed her against it, but she didn’t care. It was one of those time where it felt like he was pouring everything he felt into kissing her. Every time was like a new experience, each depending on how intensely he was feeling.
His wife. Vanderwood felt like he hadn't kissed her nearly enough today - like he needed to celebrate her being his forever. He poured everything into that kiss as she did the same before he broke it and kissed her forehead instead. It was a relatively short kiss, for them, but it felt intense enough that it didn’t matter. "I guess I'm supposed to carry you over the threshold, right?" He didn't know a whole lot about relationships, but that was one bit he knew was a thing at least where he came from. Was that a thing for the French or Koreans? Was he that ignorant that he didn't know his own wife's customs? Fantastic.
"Maybe?" Cerise giggled at the look on his face - the intensity between them not cooling down even for this moment. Honestly, she wasn't sure how any of this was supposed to work after everything was said and done. All she knew was what she saw in movies and television, and she wasn't about to imitate anything she saw to do with telenovela marriages. That was just a recipe for disaster. They were unique anyway, so anything he wanted to do was fine by her. "I'm not going to protest being carried by my handsome husband anywhere, "
He was loving being married, and he was loving her. "Hold on." Vanderwood bent to swoop her up as Cerise squealed with delight. He made sure to hold her so the skirt of her dress couldn't go up above her thighs. No one but him needed that view. Vanderwood ended up needing her help to unlock the house door, snorting a little at himself for not thinking of that earlier as she giggled along. Once they were inside, he let her down gently and locked up while she smoothed down her dress. It seemed that he was already trying to escape his tie, but she was lucky that she had even gotten him to wear it in the first place. He looked amazing.
Vanderwood felt that much more comfortable with the tie undone. Of course, he needed the dress shirt off, too. He’d wait at least until they were out of the hallway. They'd had an eventful day to now coming home and not really having anything big or important to do...other than each other. Vanderwood bit his tongue, internally chiding himself. He looked her over again - how beautiful she looked in that dress. It fit her perfectly, but right now he would prefer it on the floor.
"Did you want to...finish making this official?" Was he ever going to not be awkward about sex again? Ever since he'd been with her, he'd gotten so awkward about it. The only time he wasn't was when he was using actions rather than words. Cerise set her purse down and glanced back over to him as he asked. There was really only one thing left, so she was pretty sure of what he was asking - not that he hadn't made it blatantly obvious multiple times that day that he had been looking forward to it. It was for the right reasons, though. Cerise gave him an amused smile and went to give him a hug. "Sounds good to me."
She was amused with him, but he couldn't blame her. He was something today. Vanderwood wrapped her up in his arms and bent to kiss her once more, slow as he carefully removed the clips holding her hair in place - wanting it free to tangle his fingers in as he liked to. What had he said about not getting undressed in the hallway? Right. Not really something they should be doing. Vanderwood snorted again before he moved to swoop her up, giving her just a moment's warning.
Cerise was taken a little by surprise when he broke the kiss to pick her up again. He was careful as he took her to the bed and laid her down, kicking off his shoes and socks before crawling in over her to kiss her all over again. When he kissed her, it was so warm and so full of affection and love that she felt like she could melt...but she couldn't exactly be a good wife to him if she were a puddle, could she?
He was taking his sweet time, not wanting to rush anything. It was going to be different tonight. She was now his wife, and he was her husband. The Vanderwoods. He liked the sound of it. Vanderwood started to kiss down, ironically pulling her hair to the side again to kiss along her neck lower until her dress strap got in the way of his favorite place to nip at.
As he slowly pulled down her zipper, she shrugged lightly to help him as he slid the strap away from her shoulder - surprised to find that he didn’t remove the whole thing. He was really taking his time for someone who had been so eager earlier, but she wasn’t complaining at all. Tonight was a night that they should take their time to enjoy each other. Vanderwood pressed soft kisses to her shoulder again before he nipped and licked - teasing her like she liked to do to him and already causing her to elicit a small sound. He continued this for some time before actually leaving a mark over where he always did.
His wife - his everything. Vanderwood gave the mark a kiss before he was back to kissing her. As eager as he was, he was going to appreciate every bit of her that he could. Cerise wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her as they kissed. She was absolutely and completely happy that he was her husband - that she got a chance to share her life with him and that he was sharing his - letting her in in the most absolute way possible.
Vanderwood broke their kiss to murmur against her lips as he began to get his dress-shirt off. “I love you, shortcake.” He had to pull away from her in the end to deal with the item in question. There were too many buttons, and it was taking way too long. This was just another reason to hate dressing up. She could have helped him with his buttons, but it was much more amusing to her to watch him do it himself - knowing that it was irking him. Plus, it was incredibly sexy to watch him get undressed - especially when what he was taking off was dressy. As he tossed the shirt along with his tie at the hamper in the corner, she let her eyes wander over him before his attention was on her again.
He helped her to get her arms out of the dress and then slipped it off easily. Bloody Hell, she was ridiculously sexy like that. Vanderwood knew his breath would hitch again once she was completely naked, but he couldn't help but take in the sight he already had. "You're amazing...Mrs. Vanderwood." Cerise felt her heart flutter as he said her name, giving him a wink as she replied. “You’re equally as amazing…husband of Mrs. Vanderwood.”
It was so great to say and hear it - to keep reminding themselves and each other what they now had. Her giggle got caught in her throat as he touched her, shaping her legs that he loved so much as he nuzzled her nose. Taking his time was hard - like he was - but it was beyond worth it just for the intimacy of it. Cerise nuzzled him back before placing a soft kiss to his nose. "I really am happy, you know? More than I think I could try to tell you..." She figured she should tell him what she thought, considering he liked to doubt himself. Cerise really was; she hadn't ever been this happy before now, and he needed to know that.
Vanderwood loved it - being her husband was the greatest moment of his life. Hearing that she was happy with him was the greatest compliment he could ever get, and the way it made him feel was indescribable. He lightly stroked her cheek, Cerise turning her head to press a kiss to his palm before he moved to kiss her again softly. "I'll do my best to keep you that way, for the rest of my life." How was he this lucky? Really? Tears of a joy were a real thing. He felt a little wetness at the corner of his eyes and snorted softly at himself.
Cerise noticed he was tearing up - which made her want to, too. It was such a sweet moment. All of this was great. Being with him was great. She thought that maybe he needed a moment to compose himself as he nuzzled into her neck, but she was surprised. He found the clasp of her bra with one hand, and there it went - off into the corner. So much for tears. She could almost have laughed. Not because she thought it was funny, but because she was happy and loved him.
His other hand lightly tangled in her silky, soft hair as he moved to kiss his way down from her neck to tease her nipple with his tongue, first one and then the other. She was so sensitive that he couldn't resist paying attention to her there - wanting to hear her get louder for him. Cerise tangled her hands in his hair as he took advantage of exactly what he knew would make her noisiest. He was earning himself particularly loud moans. Combined with the feeling of his hand in her hair and the teasing of his tongue, she was in the best daze ever.
As he pulled away to remove her panties and toss them away, he got a good look at her and felt his breath hitch to complete stillness. Would he ever be able to get over that sight? No, he wouldn't. Cerise was disappointed as he pulled away, and now he’d gotten rid of her last line of defense - looking at her intensely as she was exposed to him. She always felt so vulnerable under his gaze - no matter how many times he had seen her. Today was a lot more intimate than probably any other, which had her feeling it a little extra. She had given her heart and soul to this man - her husband - and now she would give him her body, too. Of course, they'd had sex before, but this time held a completely different meaning
Impatience was a bit of a monster as he moved to undo his pants and remove his underwear. It was always a lot less painful once he was free of his pants, but that didn't make him want her any less. He moved over her again, kissing up from her stomach - wanting to slow himself down again instead of just going for it. Every time his lips made contact with her bare skin, she would shiver.
Vanderwood stroked her hair back as he gave her yet another kiss, pressing against her with a soft groan before he caught her honey gold eyes with his brown. She had whimpered into their kiss, but he was still going to ask. "Ready, wife?" She reached up to caress his face lovingly, cracking a smile. It was so obvious that he’d just wanted an excuse to say it again - to call her his wife. "I'm ready if my husband is ready~" Cerise let her hand slide from his face down to his chest, her nails dragging lightly along his skin. "Is my husband ready?"
Bloody Hell, her voice was as much a tease as her touch. Whenever she touched him, he loved it - especially when she dragged her nails along his skin like that. Vanderwood snorted at her question. "You tell me." He lightly stroked his thumb along her jaw before he ground against her - a soft curse word escaping him. Teasing her was teasing him, but he was enjoying this time with her.
Cerise would have giggled at the way his teasing her had made it harder on himself - if it weren’t so difficult for her right now, too. She enjoyed when he teased her, though, when he could be playful in bed. It was a bigger deal than it seemed to be, because he was an impatient person - an impatient person who formerly used sex to cope. The fact that he was playing around was another testament to his ongoing recovery. She managed to breathe out a soft response. "That's very convincing.” As much as she enjoyed playing around, she knew that they weren't going to be able to for long.
He smiled at her, at the way she could barely speak. Vanderwood couldn’t tease her forever, though, so he moved to thrust into her - gentle but swift as he found an easy pace. It was slower than usual, but he wanted to be swept up in her. Her hands had been wandering over his back, but now they gripped him - more roughly than she had intended. Marion hadn’t hurt or surprised her, but it felt good. It wasn’t just that having sex with him was great, but it was the fact that she could be close to the person she loved more than anything.
"Je' taime, Cerise..." He nuzzled into her neck as she responded. Once upon a time, he’d bury his face in the necks of other women in favor of that rather than looking at them, but this was more affectionate than anything. It seemed like forever ago that sex had been a means to an end, but with her it was like a soul-mending experience. Whatever it was, it was love. VSomething about the way he was nuzzling into her made Cerise’s heart skip a beat as she released her grip on his back to instead stroke his hair. They’d both come a long way from where they started.
Vanderwood moved to kiss her again, picking up his pace and finding her thigh - adjusting the angle so he could hit the spot he knew would give her the most pleasure. She was kissing him back with enthusiasm as he built them both up towards climax. The change in angle made her cry out in ecstasy before he broke their kiss. He wanted to watch her face, feeling his own peak building up and biting it back as he waited for her. The more he moved, the closer he felt her getting - every moment precious to him as he pleased her and she pleased him.
Cerise didn’t have time to be shy, self-conscious, or anything as he watched her. Sometimes, when he would watch for her reactions - she’d try to fight it. She still had a ways to go in feeling one-hundred percent comfortable with herself when engaging in sexual activity, but right now - she was feeling too good to be bothered. It already felt like she was on that edge, and it wasn’t long after that before she reached her climax right along with him.
He’d only let go of the heat burning in his abdomen as he felt her muscles clamping down around him - each of them filling the room with a moan. Vanderwood stilled and rested his forehead against hers as he was catching his breath as she took to stroking his hair affectionately. Cerise was his wife. He snorted softly before it happened - tears building up and spilling over.
She felt something wet on her cheek. He was crying. Cerise was worried for a second that something was wrong, but then he started laughing, too. Vanderwood spoke between his laughter and tears. "I love you, my perfect wife." At this point, she couldn't help but catch the giggles as well. "And I love you, my equally perfect husband~" Cerise moved to kiss his cheek where another tear was and then his forehead. "New year, new start ~"
Her little kisses made it that much better of a moment for him. This must have been what utter joy was like. Vanderwood shifted them, lying down and pulling her into his arms. "New year, new start." It was a bloody good start, too. He nuzzled her hair as she nuzzled his chest - pressing a soft kiss to the top of her head afterwards. What time was it? His eyes found the digital clock. It was late evening but not midnight. "Do you want to stay up for the new year countdown, or would my new wife rather sleep with her husband?" It felt so good to say that. Maybe this would be the one year he'd make an exception and stay up? If that was what Cerise wanted.
Cerise thought about it for a moment, but really the only thing she wanted to celebrate that day was their marriage. Plus, she was really comfortable there in his arms. "I wanna stay here and sleep with my new husband." As she answered, she snuggled into him more. She was tired, and she knew he was tired - especially after he’d been out among so many people for so long. Most other years, she would have stayed up and partied. This year was different. There were more important things. She fell asleep pretty fast afterwards, likely before he did. He always took a little longer to fall asleep.
***Incidentally! I wrote angst every day for 31 days in October using a horde of Original Characters for different angst scenarios ranging from grief to abandonment. If you would like to purchase the PDF I made of my 31 Days of Angst writings, you can do that by going to this link. Or you can become a $5 patron and get access to my private VIP server. Up to you, but I highly recommend this dose of angst if you weren't quite ready for October to end.***
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