the end of jaylark tims (and the start of something new)
A belated birthday gift for @psiroller who asked for "ems au, them being gay at chilchuck's wife's wedding (or their own)!" Please enjoy this new drabble for the Chilaios ems au. Takes place after Psiroller's beautiful Stop Smoking, We Love You!, Chilchuck's bad call and talk with Laios, chatting about their background, and Chilchuck and Laios' pining at a bar.
Chilchuck and Jaylark gradually regain their friendship after being divorced, and she and her fiance, Ned, also befriend Laios when he and Chilchuck start dating. They coparent their kids together and become close enough to plan trips as a mixed family. That friendliness is why Laios and Chilchuck are readily invited to their wedding, despite the divorce.
Happy birthday, psi, and thank you for letting me write this for you!
Chilchuck glances over to Laios, who is still standing uncertainly in the bathroom of their hotel room, staring at himself in the mirror. "What did you say, Laios?"
Laios steps out into the rest of the room, having traded out his usual shift commander white shirt and cargo pants for a nice charcoal suit and tie. Chilchuck gives what he hopes is an encouraging smile, "You look really good."
Laios pauses and walks over to sit down next to him. He could see through Chilchuck's brave face to the tension in his shoulders and tightness of his jaw. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, of course." Chilchuck replies brusquely. Laios reaches out. His hand covers Chilchuck's own. Chilchuck's brows unfurrow and he sighs, lacing their fingers together. Laios squeezes. "We don't have to go right now, if you don't want. Sneak in right before the ceremony, or hang out with the girls instead of visiting Ned."
Chilchuck cracks a wry smile. "Are you kidding? He's going to have a heart attack if we don't tell him what's going on."
"He'll be okay, I can text him." Laios shrugs. "Jay won't expect to see either of us until the reception, we have options."
Chilchuck sighs and shakes his head. "Nah, I want to go. I don't really want to run into her family, feeling like a failure. But they're my friends, our friends, and they're getting married."
"Yeah." Laios waits, quietly. Chilchuck turns towards him. He does look very handsome. He and Chilchuck had gone shopping for suits together for the wedding, Laios' first formal event since he moved out from his parents' house, and Chilchuck's first since Puckpatti's baptism. Back then, he had a pure black suit and white shirt; this time around, he was talked into a grey a few tones lighter than Laios’ own. Chilchuck squeezes his hand back. "I love you."
Laios makes a quick, excited whine in the back of his throat and leans in. Chilchuck meets him for a kiss. The separation of their lips is audible in the quiet room. "...Let's get going, I don't want to leave Ned hanging. And you look great."
"You too." Laios bumps their shoulders together, and Chilchuck snorts. He bumps him back, harder and faster, attached from hand to shoulder like two survivors in a stormy ocean. "We need to put on our shoes."
"Mhm." Laios doesn't move, rubbing his thumb against Chilchuck's own. It's peaceful. Too peaceful, for the morning of a wedding. Chilchuck cranes up to peck another kiss to Laios' (conveniently lowered to easier reach) cheek with one more hand squeeze. "C'mon, we can sit quietly once we make sure Ned isn't going to have an aneurysm."
“He’d better not,” Laios speaks with a joking weariness, “We’re off-duty, no emergencies allowed.”
Neither of them were a part of the wedding party; it was already socially precarious for Chilchuck to be invited to his ex-wife's wedding, and he vetoed it the moment Ned, Jaylark’s awkward geeky fiance that eagerly befriended his future coparents a few years ago, brought up the idea. "That's the number one way to get the inlaws on your bad side, I can promise you that."
So, instead they arrived a few hours before the ceremony to say hi, and offer to do any last minute errands that they might need. Ned looked understandably overwhelmed and excited to see them and gave them both a huge, sweaty hug. Laios laughed and patted him on the shoulder, “Congratulations, man!”
“Thanks, guys, for being here and everything.” Ned’s mouth runs a mile a minute, “I know it’s been crazy, Jay and I are just so grateful.”
“Sure thing,” Chilchuck ends the hug to look around the room at the less nervous but still haggard-looking groomsmen, “I figure we can pick up any of the girls who don’t want to do the girly wedding stuff and hang outside for a little, maybe grab something to eat. Have you guys eaten? Lunch, snacks?”
They are met with blank stares, and Chilchuck crosses his arms.
“I haven’t been hungry, sorry. I feel like I’d throw up anything I ate now.” Ned wrings his hands.
He does look put together and ready to go, if only he would stop being so nervous; a feat of mental fortitude Chilchuck knew to be impossible for the man. “Well, I’m going to go get you all something, before you go up to the altar. Doesn’t matter how nervous you are, you don’t want to pass out during your vows from low blood sugar.”
That’s how they ended up with Puckpatti in tow, driving to the nearest deli with sandwich platters they could pick up. “Chil, do you want me to wait for the sandwiches, you and Puckpatti go grab some sodas or something?”
Chilchuck takes the key out of the ignition, glancing at his partner, “Sure, divide and conquer. That sound okay, back seat?”
Puckpatti gives a thumbs up, putting her hand-me-down gameboy from Mei to the side. “Okay!”
Laios glanced over, “Do you think Jaylark needs any sandwiches?”
“I doubt it. This isn’t her first rodeo.” Chilchuck comments before glancing in the mirror to Puckpatti, “What do you think, Puck? Should I ask your mom if she needs something to eat?”
She thinks for a moment. “Yeah, maybe!”
Chilchuck sighs and pulls out his phone, sending a quick text to his ex-wife, Hey, going to pick up a sandwich platter for the guys, can I get you ladies one too?
He puts his phone back in his pocket and opens the door, stepping out of the car, hearing the slamming of the other doors as Laios and Puckpatti both step onto the pavement of the strip mall parking lot. Jay and Ned ended up booking a venue a few hours from the city for the wedding, closer to Ned’s family who insisted on celebrating like this wasn’t Jaylark’s second marriage, protesting that since it was Ned’s first, the whole extended family needed to be there. And there should be flowers, a full ceremony at a chapel, and since they’ve already traveled this far, why not a full reception with a well-stocked bar?
It quickly went beyond the simple ceremony and lunch they had originally planned, but aside from normal wedding stress, there was no denying the excitement and love coming from all directions. Laios and Chilchuck both took a couple of days off to make a weekend of it, both to take their own vacation and spend time with Jay and Ned before snagging the girls for the rest of their honeymoon. It’s still surreal, Chilchuck thinks as he stands in the drinks aisle with Puckpatti picking sodas, that he’s here helping with his ex-wife’s wedding, and he’s excited to do it. He pulls a six pack of ginger ale cans into his cart before looking down. “What do you think, Puck?”
She stares at the options, thoughtfully. “Coke, Sprite, ummmmm…can we get the orange soda?”
“Those sound like great choices.” Chilchuck pulls them off the shelves and drops them into the cart. “Can you grab me a Monster from the other shelf?”
“Don’t you want to pick it, so it’s the flavor you like?”
“Nah, it’s for me and Laios to share. You’re good at picking drinks he likes.”
She nods and darts off, becoming immersed in the task of picking an energy drink from the plethora of wild flavors. Chilchuck goes for the next can of sodas, not filling the cart but getting enough for both wedding party to have some options. His phone rings. Jaylark. He answers.
“Good, do you need anything? I’m at the grocery store with Puck.”
“Sandwiches are good, but Ned’s sister is a vegetarian, can you get some that are meatless?”
“Sure thing, and we’ll bring some sodas. Anything from here? Ice, bandaids, drinks?”
“…I don’t think we need anything else.”
Chilchuck smiles, “I’m really happy for you, Jay.”
There is a moment of silence, “Me too.”
“As you should be, it is your wedding! Let me call Laios and tell him about the vegetarian sandwich, we’ll be back in a few.”
“Right, sounds good, I’ll see you then, just text when you get back.”
He hangs up and calls Laios to tell him the news.
Nobody passes out at the altar. Laios and Chilchuck abandon the girls, who sit on the front row, to find anonymity in the crowd further back. Laios pays rapt attention, “I haven’t been to a normal wedding since, I dunno, when Dan got hitched in his backyard.”
“Mhm? There’s no way that was a normal wedding.” Chilchuck gripes, whispering back, “It’s not anything too exciting to be honest, the best part is the reception.”
Jaylark tears up at the vows, and everyone claps when Ned kisses the bride. Chilchuck can’t help but compare the whole thing to their haphazard teen wedding years ago, thrown together when they realized Jay was pregnant. There was love there too, naive and nervous and hopeful, with a different Chilchuck and Jaylark than they are now. He leans against Laios, who holds his hand and squeezes as the bride and groom process down the aisle with genuine joy in their eyes.
“Laios, Chilchuck, stay nearby for a picture?” Not Ned, but one of his groomsmen interrupts their escape from the chapel, and Chilchuck glances at Laios in surprise, getting only clueless blinking from his companion. “Is that not okay?” Laios questions, unaware of what an oddity it would be to have a wedding picture including your ex-husband.
“I mean, if they want it, sure. Getting wedding pictures with your ex-husband and his boyfriend is not normal procedure. I figured I would have at least a vape break before the reception started.”
“You can still get that, after pictures.” Laios teases with a nudge. Chilchuck drops into his side at the touch, and Laios drapes an arm over his shoulder.
“You’re going to wrinkle your suit.” Chilchuck mumbles, “They’re going to have to photoshop that out of the wedding photos.”
“Yeah.” Laios agrees cheerfully. Chilchuck sighs and hooks his arm around Laios’ waist.
Laios sighs, “This is nice.”
Chilchuck pokes him in the side, getting a ticklish flinch, “It’s pretty good.”
They both lock eyes with Mei, who opted for a dress shirt and pants in the same sage green as the bridesmaids dresses. She jerks her thumb over her shoulder. “You’re up, for a family shot.”
That gets them untangling and stepping up past the photographer, congratulations repeated quietly while they got into position, the girls standing in front while Laios, Chilchuck, Jaylark, and Ned are in the back.
“Are you sure you want an exes picture at your wedding?” Chilchuck leans over to Jaylark to murmur.
She tilts her head to whisper back, “Just take the picture, Chil.”
“Okay, copy that.” He smiles at the camera, arm around Laios on one side and Jaylark at the other. It’s surreal, but over in an instant. He follows Laios’ lead, and hugs Jaylark, then Ned, “Congratulations again, I’ll see you guys inside.”
“Thanks, Chil, Laios. See you.” Jaylark responds.
“Bye, Dad and Laios!” Flertom chirps, waving as Laios and Chilchuck wander off towards the parking lot.
“See you later!” Laios answers her wave with his own.
He looks over to Chilchuck, “Ready for your vape break now?”
Chilchuck shoves him and keeps walking to the car.
They snuck off and took a break from all the festivities, driving Flertom, Meijack, and Puckpatti back to the hotel after they were done with wedding pictures to relax in the room for a couple of hours, when the only wedding-based entertainment would be socializing and drinking. Everyone ended up crowded around Laios as he took over Mei’s switch to beat one of the Cuphead levels that she had gotten stuck on for a few days. Chilchuck snuck a candid shot of them, Laios on the floor with the twins hovering over his shoulders from the bed, while Puckpatti needed to strain her neck to peek at the screen while sitting next to him on the floor until she got drowsy and fell asleep against his side. “You’re stuck there now, Laios.”
He flushes and grins towards Chilchuck, “I can’t blame her, it’s been a long day for me too.”
“And you haven’t even gotten to the party yet.” Chilchuck adds the image to a text message in their Parents Group Chat, sending it silently for the newlyweds to see later. Laios swallows nervously, “It’s going to be fun. And Ned said there’s a lot of room outside, if we need to take a break.”
“He’s a smart guy.” Chilchuck replies, pleased, “You guys really are good friends.”
“He’s your friend too, you know.” Laios shoots back.
“Yeah, somehow.” Chilchuck sighs.
Laios stares back down at the game, “Makes perfect sense to me.”
“Yeah?” Chilchuck leans back, “Well maybe you’re biased.”
“If it were just bias, you wouldn’t be here too.”
Chilchuck doesn’t have an immediate response to that, and Flertom whistles, “He got you there, dad.”
“Turning my own kids against me…” Chilchuck accuses Laios, jokingly disappointed, and both Meijack and Flertom jump in to protest their apparent exclusion from this conversation. Laios laughs as he finishes the level.
Everyone had laughed when Jaylark was egged on to throw the bouquet, after the first dance of the new couple (there was no mother son or father daughter dance; it felt out of place to begin with, and it was left on the cutting room floor when trying to merge a second wedding with a first). Chilchuck didn’t think that she would play along, too mature for a frivolity like tossing the bouquet, that wasn’t the Jaylark he was married to years ago, and cracked a bemused smile when she stood up to throw it.
Except, then she didn’t. After faking out the gaggle of onlookers who were ready to fight over the floral arrangement, she walked through the crowd, searching the seats, until their eyes met. Chilchuck feels like he sees the teenager he was so in love with when she gives him a mischievous smirk and walks towards his table.
She stops in front of him and he wishes he could melt into the floor, “What are you doing?” He whisper-yells to her.
“A favor for my friends.” She thrusts the flowers into his hands and he has no choice but to accept it.
There is the sound of Laios’ chair scraping behind him, and that’s when he realizes he’s been duped.
His heart is already beating in his ears as he turns to face him, boyfriend on one knee with the face he gets when he’s determined to hold himself together. He’s holding a ring pinched in his fingers. With everything he’s seen in his life, Chilchuck considers himself to be very calm under the most stressful situation. Which is why it was so shocking when tears welled up in his eyes and a lump caught in his throat.
Laios exhales, psyching himself up, “Chil, being your boyfriend has been the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I love being a part of your family, and being a part of your life. Please make me the happiest…or second happiest, man here tonight? And marry me?”
The question is barely out of his mouth before Chilchuck is laughing through his tears, “Yes, you idiot, of course.”
He catches Laios when he jumps forward to kiss him, his large arms wrapping tightly around his shoulders. “I can’t believe you did that at my ex-wife’s wedding.” He murmurs into Laios’ ear as the polite claps from Jaylark’s family are drowned out by the whoops from Ned’s relatives.
Laios just captures his mouth again, grin ever present against Chilchuck’s lips. Chilchuck keeps waiting to wake up, back in his bed alone, on the verge of losing his job or pining quietly for his young handsome supervisor as he dates other handsome young men, but this isn’t a dream.
Laios squeezes him in his arms and kisses his cheek. “Sorry, I’m just so happy. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”
“I’m not upset, I’m.” Chilchuck holds him, gripping the fabric of his shirt in his fist, “Stuff like this isn’t supposed to happen to me.”
“It isn’t supposed to happen to me either. I can’t believe it.” Laios tucks his face into Chilchuck’s neck, and inhales sharply, voice tight. “I never thought I would meet someone who makes me as happy as you.”
“You idiot, now we’re both crying, at Jaylark’s wedding.” Chilchuck bites out against Laio’s temple.
Laios leans back, holding out the ring–a plain band, like a wedding ring; Chilchuck likes the way it looks on his finger, likes the way it makes him feel. The reception has long since continued behind them, tables emptying onto the dance floor as the rest of the crowd starts to lose themselves in the rhythm and forget about the proposal of friends of the bride and groom. Laios and Chilchuck stay sitting there, the surreal feeling of the whole event reaching a new peak as the idea of their own wedding and the chance to call each other husband really starts to sink in. Chilchuck knows it won’t truly sink in for months, years, maybe.
Laios’s eyes keep drifting from the ring back up to Chilchuck’s face, the gaze of a man who spent his life being told that there was something wrong with this feeling and he would never find this happiness, still trying to believe that it is real. Even though he was the one who started it. Chilchuck bumps their heads together. “I have one for you too, back in the hotel room. I still can’t believe you proposed tonight. I was going to do it in a couple of days.”
Laios looks like he’s won the world, and Chilchuck knows he’s the one who already has. Laios stumbles to his feet, still holding Chilchuck’s hand, “Do you want to dance?”
Chilchuck groans and gets to his feet, wiping at any tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes. “Only for you, kid.”