Triple Frontier - Their Crush Get's Engaged To Someone Else, And They Object At The Wedding
This is a reaction for this request from in-my-zone: I have an idea for how the triple frontier boys (not including t0m) would react to the reader getting engaged to someone else, and they eventually object at the readers wedding.
Includes Santiago Garcia x Reader, Ben Miller x Reader, Will Miller x Reader, and Frankie Morales x Reader
Some angst, lots of fluff
Santiago Garcia
When you made your best friend your maid of honor you had no idea her brother was suddenly going to drop in for the few months before your wedding.
Of course, you wouldn’t put it past Santiago to find out when you were getting married and come poking around. He always managed to pick the worst time to do anything. That was part of the reason why he was your ex.
That timing was why you were currently sitting in your best friend’s apartment, and trying your best to ignore the man leaning on the kitchen counter.
“So, you sure you love love this guy?” he asked.
“Are you almost ready?” you called for your friend, ignoring his question.
“Because I heard he’s a bit of a wet blanket,” he continued on.
“I’m ready whenever you are, so-” you were busy trying to yell over Santiago when you finally looked at him to say, “Wet blanket? No he isn’t!”
“That’s definitely not what I heard,” he said with a shrug.
“From who? And no one even says wet blanket anymore. Or ever, really,” you said, already getting exasperated by him. You quickly resumed yelling down the hall, "What's taking you so long?”
“Sorry! Sorry!” your best friend said, finally coming out, “I lost my wallet.”
“Are you telling him my finance’s a wet blanket?” you asked.
“What? No! He’s sooo fun,” she said.
“Thank you,” you said, shooting Santiago a cocky look.
“I remember you saying he was-”
“Oh my god, shut up,” she said, shushing her brother.
You looked between the two of them before saying, “Hang on, what did you tell him?”
“I just said… he’s, you know, a different kind of fun,” she said with a shrug.
“That’s some serious paraphrasing,” Santiago said with a scoff.
Before you could pry further your best friend was grabbing your shoulders and escorting you out the door to the car, and saying, “Ignore him. Just ignore him.”
As you stood in the boutique, wearing the dress you had picked the week before, you could feel your heart starting to sink. You had been so sure this was the dress, but in this moment you were suddenly second guessing yourself.
Your best friend and maid of honor was noticing the frown on your face and asked, "Everything okay?”
“What do you think of this dress?” you asked.
“I mean, you said you thought your fiance would love it,” she pointed out.
“Right,” you sighed.
She noticed your frown deepening as you spoke, and decided to mention something.
“I think if you want to try some other things on you totally could,” she said.
“I mean… I really thought this was the one,” you said with a defeated feeling, “And I really liked that everyone was here to look at everything with me…”
You thought back for a moment to your bridesmaids cheering you on as you tried on dress after dress. Suddenly, the very same boutique was feeling very depressing.
“I know someone who is free, and they’re pretty good at changing the mood for the better,” she said, sounding hesitant.
“No.”
You already knew who she was thinking of, and there was no way Santiago was about to have a say on your wedding dress.
“We don’t have to call him!” she said, throwing her hands up, “I’m just saying he has a knack for turning shitty days into a fun time.”
“No way!” you said as you made your way to the dressing room.
“Alright, fine,” she said.
You thought she was on your page, but about half an hour later and five dresses later, Santiago was walking through the front doors of the boutique. You gave your best friend a withering look which was met with a sheepish shrug.
“You are totally freaking out!” she said.
“Oh, but this is going to calm me down,” you said sarcastically, gesturing his way.
“Hi to you too,” he said.
“Hi.”
“What’s going on?” he asked, looking around at the many dresses draped around the few couches, rack, and floor.
“She hates her dress,” your friend explained.
“Whats wrong with that one?” he asked, gesturing to the one you were wearing.
“It just isn’t right,” you said.
“It’s gorgeous,” he said, looking at your frowning expression.
“You’re not even looking at the dress,” you said with an eyeroll as you headed off to the dressing room.
You picked dress after dress, but nothing seemed right. Santiago did a good job of bearing the brunt of your frustrations, managing to keep in a good mood as you went through all the dresses.
“We’re starting to run out of clothes here,” your best fries said, looking at the rack of rejected dresses.
“Who needs a dress? Just grab the guy and head off to Las Vegas,” Santiago said with a shrug and smile.
You slumped beside them onto the couch as you spoke, “That’s definitely not an option.”
“What, are you kidding me? Elopement sounds like something you would totally-”
“It’s not his style,” you added, “And it is not my thing either.”
“Sure, sure,” Santiago said, but you could hear the knowing tone in his voice as he spoke.
“What does that mean?” you asked, eyebrows raising as you did.
“I’m agreeing with you,” he said, throwing his hands up.
“Sure, sure,” you said, mocking him. This time he let himself fully laugh, and in spite of yourself you found yourself smiling too.
“Let’s take a break from all this,” your friend suggested, “Let’s go get a drink or something.”
“That actually is a good idea,” you said.
“Why did you say that like it was surprising?” she asked with mock offense.
“Probably because you invited her ex to help her try on wedding dresses,” Santiago pointed out.
A month, and multiple dress fittings, had passed and you still hadn’t found the right dress. Santiago tagging along had become a commonality without you even realizing it. There was just something about him being there, letting you freak out as he smiled through it, that actually somehow helped you feel a little more sane.
After another disastrous fitting the three of you ended up where you always did at the end of the whole ordeal; at a bar down the street.
“All I’m saying is, getting married should be fun,” Santiago said, finishing another one of his whole anti-wedding speeches.
“You don’t get married for yourself,” you scoffed.
“That’s weird, I thought it was supposed to be about you and the love of your life,” he said.
“Nope,” you said, “It’s for everybody else. All those family and friends who only want the best for you.”
“Fuck that. You do what you want to do,” he said.
“Some of us aren’t totally selfish,” you said pointedly.
“You got me,” he said with a cocky smile, easily bearing your dig, “If I get married, it’s cuz I want to.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to-”
“Sure, sure.”
“Why are you always saying that? And I do want to… It’s just, weddings are complicated, and marriage is complicated, and love is complicated,” you said, your words spilling out faster than you could filter them.
“Love isn’t complicated,” he said.
“Oh, really?” you asked, thinking of your fiance. You knew he was the right choice, the safe choice, but sometimes you couldn't help but second guess it all. No matter how safe it was, “I mean, even just getting a wedding dress is already seeming impossible.”
“Hey,” he said, noticing your worried expression, “Forget the dress.”
“Easy for you to say,” you mumbled.
“I’m serious. If he’s the right guy, the dress won't even matter,” he said.
He meant it as a comfort, but suddenly you could feel your heart unexpectedly begin to break. You realized he was right, and you also realized exactly why no dress was ever going to be the right one. You nodded, fighting back tears. Santiago’s eyebrows furrowed as he leaned in towards you, “Woah, are you okay? I only meant-”
“I know what you meant,” you said, quickly wiping tears away.
“Are you sure? Cuz I definitely didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said, making you laugh a little.
“I’m fine, really,” you said.
He nodded, and you didn’t notice as you tried to stop yourself from crying that he momentarily seemed to struggle with his own wants and your own needs. He stood up and gave you a hug. You leaned into it instinctively, glad to have some comfort.
“Look, even though you know how I meant it, I’m sorry anyways. Everything is going to be fine, yeah?” he said.
“Yeah,” you said with a deep breath. He gave you one last gentle squeeze before leaving you and his sister to talk.
The next day your maid of honor called to let you know Santiago had left.
“What do you mean?” you asked, the news shocking you enough to keep it from truly sinking in.
“I think he felt like… maybe him being around was…”
“What?” you asked.
“Well, I mean, I sorta agree,” she said.
“I don’t even know what you agree with!” you said, the devastation slowly beginning to dawn on you.
“I think him being around was sort of confusing for you,” she admitted.
“What does that mean?” you asked, despite knowing exactly what she meant (and knowing she was one hundred percent correct).
“You and Santiago have a lot of history. No one could blame you for…”
“Whatever you, or Santiago, think I was feeling, I wasn’t,” you said, denying what your heart was telling you at that very moment.
“Okay, you’re right. Either way, he had to go.”
“Okay… Do you want to come over?” you asked.
“Sure. Should I pick up some ice cream?” she asked.
“Yeah,” you said. That day was spent with the two of you binging movies and eating all the junk food you wanted. You had never been so grateful to have her as a best friend. Anybody else would look at that whole situation and say it seemed like you were getting over a break up. But she knew that was totally not the situation. You absolutely, completely, had zero feelings for Santiago.
A few weeks later you were at the altar, in a dress you hated, getting married to a man you loved. Definitely. Maybe. The way you scanned the crowd as you walked down the aisle was just excitement to see all your friends and family there. You definitely weren’t looking for one person in particular. And your heart definitely wasn’t breaking when you realized he had truly decided to stay away.
As the officiant asked you two to exchange vows, the chapel doors swung open. You looked to see Santiago standing there in the doorway.
“Did I miss it?” he asked, walking down the aisle and stirring up many mutterings and gasps.
“We’re in the middle of it,” your fiance said, gesturing between you, him, and the officiator.
“Not the wedding,” Santiago said with a wave of his hand.
“They already asked if anyone objects,” you heard your maid of honor say from over your shoulder.
“Shit, really?” he asked with furrowed brows.
“Wait, what do you want to do here, exactly?” your nearly husband asked with a scoff.
Santiago turned his eyes to your fiance, looked him up and down, and then looked to you. There was a miniscule tilt of his head, as if he was asking “this guy? Really?”. You didn’t have any sort of reaction though. You were too busy oscillating between shock and something that felt suspiciously like relief.
It seemed Santiago could read your thoughts as he broke into a grin and said, “Fuck it. I OBJECT!”
“Excuse me?” your fiance spluttered.
“You do?” you asked, and instead of surprise your tone only sounded relieved.
He held his hand out to you as he asked, “How does a Vegas wedding sound?”
“Perfect,” you said, and you let him lead the way as the two of you raced down the aisle. You couldn't explain it, but suddenly the dress you hated minutes ago suddenly seemed perfect for the occasion as the two of you ran off for whatever future was coming your way.
Ben Miller
You could have sworn your fiance’s best man, Ben, hated you. He seemed like a naturally outgoing and charismatic guy from what your future husband told you, but every time you came into the room he went silent and sullen. Anytime you brought up wedding plans he would scoff or roll his eyes. And even before you two were engaged, Ben always found a reason not to come out whenever you were hanging out too.
But you were determined to get him to warm up to you. He was your fiance’s best man! Having your husband’s closest friend hate you would not be a great start to any marriage, so one way or another you were winning Ben over.
That’s why, at your co- Bachelor and Bachelorette party you found your way over to Ben. He was busy standing on your maid of honor’s back porch, drinking a beer and practically sulking as he looked through the window at the house party.
“Hey, you!” you said with some forced cheer.
“Hi,” he said with a cocked eyebrow, clearly picking up on your ingenuine greeting. You internally flinched, wishing you were better at masking your nerves. You held up your hands, both holding shot glasses filled with cheap whiskey.
“I come bearing gifts,” you said.
He looked you up and down, weighing the pros and cons, before finally shrugging and taking one of the glasses. You hadn't noticed, but a smile passed over his face for a moment as your own expression became scrunched as you threw back the drink.
“So… enjoying yourself?” you asked, looking across the very quiet backyard.
“Having a blast,” he said with a dry tone, his eyes also looking away from you and to the night sky.
“Could’ve fooled me,” you whispered.
“What was that?” he asked, his eyes back on you as he leaned in just a smidge.
“Nothing!” you said, not quick enough on your feet to think of a good answer.
“Does the bride to be secretly have a backbone?” he asked, giving away that he definitely heard what you said.
To your surprise, he seemed less annoyed and more amused. He was openly grinning at you, for maybe the first time ever, as he waited for your answer. You rolled your shoulders back as you prepared an answer, ready to rise to the challenge.
“It’s not so secret, actually,” you said with what you were hoping was a confident-looking cock of your head.
“Could’ve fooled me,” he teased, quoting you from moments before.
“You know what?” you asked.
“What?” he asked. You were trying your best to be intimidating, which seemed to amuse Ben to no end. You couldn't explain why, but in that moment you found this conversation between the two of you much more engaging than the party happening inside that was meant for you.
“I didn’t just come out here to give you a shot,” you admitted.
“Okay,” he said, clearly intrigued by what you were going to say next.
“I came out here to talk,” you said.
“Wow. You’re completely off the rails,” he said, and you almost laughed. For a moment you were actually seeing the charm everyone had been telling you about.
“And to tell you-” and this time you were the one leaning towards him as the two of you spoke, “I’m going to get you to like me, one way or another.”
“How do you know I don’t already?” he asked with an easy confidence you wished you had, mirroring your movement as his body shifted closer to you.
You felt your breath hitch as you finally began to realize just how close the two of you had gotten during this backyard conversation. You had both leaned in bit by bit till you were mere inches away from the other.
“There you are!”
The voice of your future husband broke the tension, and you jumped back. The frown you had grown accustomed to seeing came back onto Ben’s face as you moved away and turned to your fiance. Before you were dragged back inside you turned back to Ben for one last comment.
“You should join the party, Ben,” you said.
He looked over for a moment, clocking how you were already arm in arm with your fiance about to head inside, before he said, “Yeah, maybe.”
You felt frustration at the failure to become his friend bubble up along with another emotion… Relief? Like you weren’t quite sure how you would act around him. He brought out something in you that you were not at all expecting or used to.
Ben managed to dodge you for the next few days, but he knew on the day of the wedding he would have no choice but to see you. That situation came up sooner than he expected when the wedding photographer was suddenly grabbing a few photos ahead of the ceremony.
“Let’s just get a few of these out of the way.” was the excuse he was given. The groomsmen and bridesmaids were pulled out onto a green lawn to take photos. After a few moments the groom joined them, but when he went inside you were called down to the lawn. Ben tried to compose himself, but every effort was immediately brushed to the side as soon as he saw you in your dress.
You looked gorgeous as you floated across the grass in white. Ben felt a pang in his heart that was etched on his face in the fashion of a frown as he watched you and the bridesmaids taking photos.
“Alright, now the groomsmen! Get in there!” the photographer instructed.
Ben put himself as far away from you as possible. You felt your heart pang a little. Sure, you two had a good conversation a few nights ago, but he seemed to go right back to hating your guts. With the tension between the two of you becoming a distant memory, you found yourself once again wishing you could crack the tough exterior of your fiance’s best friend.
“Let’s get one with the bride and best man!”
You and Ben both looked wide eyed at the suggestion from the photographer. You glanced at Ben, who was practically glowering. You half expected him to take off across the lawn and down the road, but after a few moments he came to stand beside you. You both waited for the photographer to set up the camera in the right spot. It was quickly becoming an awkward silence. You took a breath, ready to say anything to break the uncomfortable tension when Ben spoke up.
“Congrats.”
“What?” you asked.
“You’re getting married,” he said.
“Oh, right. Yes. Thank you,” you said, once again finding yourself forcing an overly friendly smile.
He cocked an eyebrow before saying, “You forget?”
“Ha. Ha.” you said, your smile slowly becoming genuine, “I was just… I don’t know, I guess I’m nervous.”
“I make you nervous?” he asked, sounding just the slightest bit cocky.
“No,” you scoffed, even though he absolutely did.
“Suuuure,” he said with a slight drawl in the word.
“I’m the bride, nobody’s making me nervous. I’m the star of the show,” you said, acting way more confident then you ever would usually act as you immediately went back on what you had said moments ago.
He smiled at you, and for a moment you could have sworn he was considering something before he said, “Yeah, you look good.”
A blush started to creep onto your cheeks, and before you knew what was happening the photographer was speaking up and telling you to smile.
“It’s looking a bit stiff. Can you two try some sort of pose?”
The heat in your face increased as Ben wrapped an arm around your waist.
“Perfect!” the photographer said before snapping away with their camera. You weren’t sure what to do with the information that was currently flowing around your head. Ben’s arm holding you close felt so natural.
“I can hear your heartbeat from here,” Ben said quietly, the two of you still holding the pose and looking at the camera.
“I’m not nervous,” you restated, sounding considerably less bold than before. There was something about him in this moment that was making you more nervous than anyone ever had.
He looked away from the camera to give you a confidence inspiring grin and said, “You’re the star of the show, right?”
With a relieved sigh you looked back, saying, “Right.”
“Got it!” the photographer exclaimed, “Just lovely.”
You felt your heart sink when his arms dropped away from you and back to his side. You felt yourself wanting to say something but you had no idea what. Just as before, Ben was the one to speak up first.
“See you in the chapel,” he said.
“Can’t wait,” you said, the words leaving your mouth before you even thought of what that could mean. You couldn't wait to see him in the chapel? You both seemed surprised by the response, silently looking at the other. Before you could try to explain it away, the bridesmaids were rushing you away to finish preparing for the ceremony.
Ben watched over your fiance’s shoulder as the officiate began to speak. He began to think back to a few years ago, when he first met you. He had fallen in love with you on sight. After that he had avoided you at any cost. He couldn’t be in love with his best friend’s girlfriend, and when you became his best friend’s fiance his resolve only doubled. But over these past few months, you had slowly but surely cracked away at that resolve till he barely had any left. Which is why, when he heard the words “...if anyone here objects to this marriage speak now…” he was suddenly speaking up.
“Yeah,” Ben said.
Everyone in the chapel watched with shock as the best man suddenly spoke up.
“Sorry, but I object, or whatever,” Ben said.
“What is going on?” your fiance asked, not sure what was happening.
“It’s just-” Ben looked straight at you as he spoke, “I can’t let you get married without saying this.”
“Saying what?” you asked, your heart pounding once again.
“I’m in love with you,” he said.
“I thought you hated me,” you admitted.
“Yeah, I know,” he said with a nod, “I thought… I thought that was for the best, you know? Keep you at arms length and let everything I feel for you just disappear. But it never did. I’ve tried to hate you. Really tried. But I can only love you.”
Before you could respond, Ben was turning towards everyone gathered for the wedding.
“Sorry for the interruption,” he said simply, then turned back to you, “I just…needed to get that off my chest. I hope you two have the best life. Really. I want you to be happy.”
Everyone was stunned into silence as he walked down the aisle and out the chapel. You looked back to your fiance, who sported a ‘that was interesting’ look on his face, and after a few moments the ceremony carried on. But as soon as you were asked if you would take the man standing across from you to be your husband, you found yourself tongue tied. You couldn't bring yourself to say those two simple words. You were practically willing yourself to say a simple “I do”, but your heart wouldn’t let you.
Like Ben had minutes earlier, you were suddenly going down the aisle and out the doors (although you were hurrying much faster than him). That night, after your ex-bridemaids had left, you found yourself alone. Your head was reeling, wondering if you had made a mistake.
But then you heard a knock on the door. As you got up to answer it, you somehow already knew who was on the other side.
“Hi,” Ben said.
“Hey,” you answered. Just like the rest of this day, week, and every moment you had spent knowing Ben, you knew whatever this was between the two of you was going to be very interesting.
Will Miller
When Will had met his cousin’s future wife, he didn’t expect you to throw him for a loop like you did. But he considered himself to be a smart guy. He didn’t believe in love at first sight. Whatever he was feeling was just surface level, and he knew he could bury them far enough down that eventually they would disappear. He’d carry out his role as a groomsman; be polite and friendly enough, and then go home and forget you. At least, that was the plan, but unfortunately for him his irresponsible cousin was putting him in your vicinity much more often than he anticipated. The first favour was when Will was suddenly being sent to help iron out some issues with the cake.
“Hey,” he greeted as he walked into the bakery.
“Hi,” you said, trying not to let your stress show as you forced a smile.
“My cousin wanted to be here but-”
“Don’t worry. He let me know he’s got work,” you said with a nod.
He thought back to when his cousin facetimed him, clearly hungover and on the couch, that morning. He furrowed his brows with annoyance before saying, “Right.”
“Um, so I guess our order somehow slipped through the cracks,” you explained.
“We are so sorry about that!” the baker said.
“But, they’ve got a few options that are less custom and more just basic-”
“They’re staples! Not at all basic!” the employee said, trying to paint the situation in a better light.
Soon the two of you were trying bites of their “staple” cake options. You couldn’t hide how frazzled you felt as you quickly tasted each bite. You looked over to see Will watching you, clearly amused.
“What?” you asked.
“I’ve just never seen anyone look so frustrated while eating desert,” he said.
The tension released from your shoulders as you finally let a smile slip onto your face, “Sorry, I’m just… With my fiance being so busy it gets a bit stressful.”
Will bit back the admission of how his cousin was not actually all that busy, and instead made an effort to comfort you, “This is just a bump, you know? And there’s some pretty good options here.”
You took a deep breath before forcing yourself to agree, “Yes, you’re right. And the lemon’s pretty good.”
Just as you said ‘the lemon’s pretty good’ he said, “Except the lemon.”
“What? Are you crazy?” you asked.
“I take it all back, you were right. This is going to be a super stressful day. I didn’t know you were an amateur cake tester,” he teased, finally getting you to laugh.
“Me?” you asked with fake shock.
“Okay, here’s the official test. What did you think of their red velvet?” he asked.
“Hated it,” you admitted.
“What!” he asked before waving over the baker, “Excuse me, we’re actually gonna get two tiers with chocolate and the other is gonna be red velvet-”
You tried to shush and shove him to the side, but his broad shouldered figure didn’t even budge. You talked over him saying, “Don’t listen to him. We’ll take the lemon. Actually do you have something that’s extra lemony? Like, lemon on steroids.”
Somehow Will had managed to turn what could have been a disaster into a fun day. That’s why you didn’t mind it when your fiance was texting you, letting you know he’d be giving you a ride from the bridal shop.
You were trying on the dress in front of a set of mirrors, looking over the last little tweeks that had been made. It had turned out just how you had imagined.
When Will saw you his jaw dropped. He watched your eyes drift across the reflection, looking at the dress. He wasn’t sure what you were thinking, but he wanted to tell you not to change a thing. You looked perfect.
“Oh no! Don’t come in! It’s bad luck!”
The seamstress was suddenly shouting at someone who had come into the dressing room, but you saw Will in the reflection and smiled.
“Oh, don’t worry. That’s my fiance’s cousin,” you assured them, “Hi, Will.”
“Don’t scare me like that,” the seamstress said with a huff, and the two of you exchanged amused glances.
“So, what do you think?” you asked, presenting your dress to Will, “Do you think he’ll like it?”
“For sure,” he said, and after a pause he realized that answer may have been too quick. He tried to save it by simply saying, “Do you like it?”
“I love it,” you said, beaming at him with excitement before looking back down to the dress, “It’s just beautiful, isn’t it?”
You were too busy looking at the garment that you didn’t notice how his gaze was focused on you as he answered, “Yeah, beautiful.”
On the drive back to your place you apologized for needing a ride, explaining how your car had broken down just two days before. Will didn’t mind, and if he was honest with himself he was desperate to spend as much time with you as he could. The only time he felt any annoyance was when you started explaining why your fiance couldn’t pick you up. Apparently his boss had offered to take him to lunch, and he just couldn't miss it. But Will tended to doubt it.
Over the next week and a half Will was sent on task after task. He found himself battling between potentially upsetting you with the truth, that his cousin was an absolute asshole, and keeping you happy. Plus, there was the fact that he was not yet willing to admit to himself, which was that he was more than happy to spend every minute he could with you.
It all came to head for him on the night of the rehearsal dinner. He was standing outside the venue when he got a text from his cousin. Apparently your fiance had drank too much at the bachelor party the night before, which Will had left early, and had drunkenly fell down a set of stairs that morning. He was still at the hospital and was getting his arm put into a cast.
You, of course, got a very different text. As Will came in you crossed over to him. Over the past week and a half he had become your confidant. You gave him a hug hello, which lingered as you breathed in the comfort his presence naturally gave you, and you said, “Can you believe someone hit my fiance with a car?”
“What?” he asked.
“You didn’t hear? It broke his arm,” you explained.
“Oh, did it?” he said through clenched teeth.
You broke the hug with a sigh and said, “I’m just glad he’s okay.”
“Yeah, thank god,” he said, trying his best not to sound sarcastic.
The night went smoothly, but Will could tell you were hiding disappointment. It was the first time he saw it since he’d been there. He tried to nonchalantly walk over to the empty chair beside you as everyone milled about.
“Hey, you good?” he asked.
“Yeah,” you said with a half hearted smile.
“Come on, y/n,” he said, with a comforting nudge of his knee against your own.
“I know he’s busy, and whatever else. I’m pretty used to it at this point, but I really thought he was going to be here tonight,” you admitted.
“He should’ve been here,” Will said, his true feelings slipping out for just a moment.
“Yeah,” you said, and suddenly you felt tears pricking the corner of your eyes. You felt your cheeks get hot with embarrassment.
“Do you want to get out of here?” he asked. You nodded with a relieved sigh, not at all surprised Will was once again saving the day.
The two of you slipped out, somehow managing to let the joyful energy of the night be your cover. The two of you ended up being the two best dressed at a hamburger joint a block down the road.
“Thanks for being here,” you said as the two of you ate hamburgers and split an order of large fries.
“I think it might be weird for a groomsman to miss the rehearsal dinner,” he said.
“No, I mean these past couple weeks,” you said with a light laugh.
“It was nothing,” Will shrugged.
“Really, thank you. I think I would have died of a stress induced heart attack at this point,” you said.
“You’re not giving yourself enough credit,” he said.
“No, Will, I really could have never-”
‘Y/n,” he interrupted, resting his arms on the table as he leaned in towards you, “I liked doing it. Really.”
“Okay,” you said with a smile, “But still. Thanks.”
The next day Will drove with his cousin down to the wedding venue. He made a joke to his cousin he half expected to get a call asking him to fill in at the altar for his cousin (and in the back of his mind a thought popped up that he wouldn’t have hated to trade places with his cousin today). His grip tightened on the wheel as his cousin let out a groan, saying he barely got any sleep thanks to the pains in his arm, and how he might’ve asked Will to fill in if he could’ve.
Will’s heart pounded as he watched you walk down the aisle. For one, you were easily the most beautiful person he had ever seen. For another, he could feel his heart and his head working together for once in his life to form a certain resolve he wished he could ignore.
As the officiator talked through the speech Will saw how his cousin was impatiently shifting from one foot to another. Just that little movement seemed to cement the thoughts that had been bouncing around Will’s head since he saw you walk down the aisle, and if he was really honest those thoughts had been there since he first met you. When the officiant asked if anyone objected, Will stepped forward.
“I object,” Will said.
“What the hell are you doing?” your fiance asked, but somehow even though you knew you should feel as equally surprised, you did not.
“I’m sorry, y/n, but you can’t marry him,” Will said, basically ignoring his cousin as he stepped over to you, “He’s not for you.”
“Hey man! What the hell?” your fiance stepped over to him, ready to go toe to toe.
Will finally gave him his full attention, not flinching as he seemed to tower over your fiance, “She deserves better than you. I know it, and you know it.”
Your fiance almost immediately regretted stepping to Will, and turned his attention back to you, “Don’t listen to him, baby.”
You could feel tears pushing at the back of your eyes as you replayed, first, these past couple weeks and then the past years, “He’s right. I… I can’t marry you.”
And with that you walked back down the aisle, leaving your now ex, Will, and everyone else behind. Twenty minutes later you were at the hamburger joint from the night before. You tried to ignore the whispers and stares as you sat in a wedding dress, drinking a lemon icee.
“Please tell me that isn’t lemon,” a voice said. You looked up to see Will in his tux standing by your table.
“How did you know I was going to be here?” you asked.
“I didn’t. I just needed a place to take a break, and I came here,” he said.
“Why here?” you asked.
“I spent an evening with a pretty chill girl here, actually,” he said with a smile pulling at the edges of his mouth, “What about you?”
“Same,” you said, and he let himself openly grin. It was strange, you weren’t feeling quite as heartbroken as you thought you would. In fact, sitting here and smiling back at Will, you felt more hopeful than you had in years.
Frankie (Francisco) Morales
Frankie’s mouth went dry as his eyes locked on your ringed finger currently being held up for him. Of course, as one of your closest friends you had to share the news of your engagement with him first. Little did you know that good news broke Frankie’s heart.
“Beautiful,” was the one word he managed.
“Isn’t it?” you said, looking back at the ring with a pleasant smile while his eyes stayed locked on you.
“And that isn’t the only good news,” you said with a grin.
“Oh yeah?” he asked, not sure how much more ‘good news’ he could handle.
It turned out his instincts were correct. You explained how your fiance would love to get to know him, and he was invited to join the group of groomsmen
He wanted to turn down the offer, there was a very good reason why he had been avoiding your fiance, but one look at your bright, glowing face and he found himself saying yes. He could never seem to tell you no.
Of course, it would have broken your heart if he had said no. That line about your fiance was complete bullshit. You had begged your fiance to let Frankie be a groomsman. You couldn’t imagine getting married without him being in the wedding party.
Your face broke into a glowing smile as soon as he said yes. Despite his innate want to immediately turn down the offer, seeing your bright expression meant he couldn't stop himself from grinning back at you. No matter how screwed he knew he was.
That was how Frankie found himself at a bachelor’s party for the man he was most jealous of in the entire world. It was only an hour and a half in and the group was already toeing the line between drunk and blackout wasted. Every single one of the other best men were busy crowing about your fiance’s ‘last night of freedom’, but with every shot Frankie’s thoughts seemed to hazily drift to you more and more.
It was nearing midnight when all logic had left the group as a whole. For everyone else this meant singing along loudly to the bar’s music, teasing your fiance endlessly, and flexing their own bachelor conquests. But for Frankie he found himself in the chilly night air at the front of the bar, dialing your number.
“Hello?”
Frankie found your voice shooting nerves through him, sobering him up for a moment. What was he doing?
“Hey. Sorry, were you sleeping?” he said.
“It’s alright. What’s the call for?” you asked, but before he could come up with some sort of reason for the call you spoke up once more, “Wait, aren’t you at the bachelor’s party?”
“Hm? Oh yeah. Yeah, I am,” he admitted. He unknowingly smiled as he heard you start to laugh.
“It must not be very good if you’ve got time to make random phone calls,” you joked.
“Totally sucks,” he said, going with the joke.
“You’re not one for parties and drinking?” you asked.
“Oh, I can get down with the best of them,” he said, once again making you laugh, “I guess it’s the company.”
“Hey! That’s my fiance,” you fake scolded, assuming he was still messing around.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I’m one of his groomsmen, remember?” he asked.
“I’m lucky to have you,” you said.
His heart pounded to hear you speak about him like that. He cursed himself at that moment for getting so drunk throughout the night that he might forget what you said by the morning.
“Oh yeah, why’s that?” he asked, holding his breath.
“It’s great to have a man on the inside,” you said, and he felt his stomach sink as he realized you were still joking around. You continued on, “You can make sure my fiance has fun, but not too much fun.”
“Right, right,” he muttered. Even though he was drunk he was able to keep the pain out of his voice. It was almost second nature for him at this point.
“Well,” you said, yawning, “I guess you can’t be a very good spy if you’re stuck away from the party. Was there anything you needed to say?”
“Nah… Just hi, I guess,” he said.
“Hi, Frankie,” you giggled. This time, that light laugh made his heart break. He would give anything to make you laugh as someone who was more than just a friend, “And bye, Frankie.”
“Hi… and bye,” he said.
When you hung up you found yourself unable to fall back asleep for quite a few hours. For some reason, getting that call from Frankie in the middle of the night had sort of seemed to set you on a strange train of thoughts.
Not about him, but about your fiance. You tried to recall a time he called you randomly just to say hi. You couldn’t. And the more you thought about it, you realized you had never done the same for him either.
After you hung up he couldn’t stand going inside and help your fiance celebrate the life he desperately wanted for himself. Instead, he walked home, his thoughts so focused on you he didn’t notice the bite of the late night cold.
When the day of your wedding rolled around, it would have been hard to guess who had more nerves; you or him.
Frankie had laid in bed on that fateful morning, wondering if it was too late to remove himself from the wedding party. But then he pictured the disappointment on your face if he decided to pull out of the wedding, and that guilt is what finally got him out of bed.
That guilt is what got him into his tuxedo, into the church, and down the aisle. But it was the love he had for you for years that kept his eyes on you the second you appeared at the end of the aisle.
As soon as the chapel doors opened your nerves peeked as you felt all eyes on you. You had thought you would feel excited, but here you were, inexplicably terrified. It was when you met eyes with Frankie that you finally found the strength to begin your walk down the aisle.
As you walked, the two of you kept steady eye contact with the other. For a moment, Frankie almost convinced himself you were meeting him at the altar, but when you began the vows he could no longer deny you weren’t here for him.
However, when the priest asked if anyone objected to this marriage he suddenly found himself speaking up.
“I object,” he said, his voice ringing out louder than he expected it would in the church.
“What?” your fiance asked, shocked. But you weren’t paying any attention to him. Your eyes were locked on Frankie, just as his were on you.
“I love you. I have for… I think forever, actually,” he admitted.
“I love you too, but-”
“What?” your fiance asked again, this time to you.
“I’m in love with you,” Frankie said, waiting with bated breath for your answer.
“I’m… I… I’ve-”
“Tell him you’re not in love with him,” your fiance said.
“I… can’t,” you said.
“What?” your fiance said, but this time Frankie asked the same question along with him.
“I can’t do this,” you said, adding to your previous statement, and soon you were fleeing back down the aisle. As you sat in the bridal sweet by yourself, in shock, a soft knock on the door broke your daze.
“Who is it?” you asked.
You found yourself breathing a sigh of relief when you saw who was on the other side of the door. It was the same person who seemed to always be able to calm your nerves, the same person who could always make you laugh, the same person you couldn’t picture getting married without.
“Hey, are you okay?” Frankie asked, coming into the room.
“That was…”
“I know. I’m sorry,” he said with a shake of his head, “I had no idea I was going to… do that.”
“Are you taking it back?” you asked with a small laugh.
He smiled at you, and you expected him to play along with the bit. But instead he leaned closer to you, and for the first time you saw how his smiling expression was tinged with sadness.
“I wish I could. But I can’t really seem to stop myself from loving you.”
“I love you too-”
“Not just as a friend. I meant what I said. I’ve been in love with you for a long time. I hated the idea of being involved in a wedding where you were getting married to a guy who wasn’t me. But I had to say yes. Because it was you asking me,” he admitted.
“You hated it?” you asked.
“Yeah,” he said, and despite himself a disbelieving chuckle slipped from his heartbroken smile, “Why the hell did you even ask me?”
You found yourself being just as honest as he had been all day when you said, “Because I needed you.”
That declaration shocked Frankie to his core. He knew exactly how he felt about you, but for the first time he was questioning how you felt about him. He could have sworn you only saw him as a friend, but in this moment he was unsure of everything.
That glimmer of a chance is what gave him the bravery to finally do what he had been dreaming of for years. Frankie wrapped a hand around the nape of your neck, closing the gap between the two of you with a kiss.
His heart stopped then soared as he felt you kiss him back. It had taken what felt like ages, but finally you two were together in the way you two were always meant to be.
