You know what gets me? And kills me just realizing it?
It’s Jack who asks first. Always.
Jack was the one to ask Joke to be his boyfriend. And Jack was the one to ask Joke to marry him.
And why it gets me?
Because, it’s so Jack of him to take everything by the hand. When Ama said Jack loves with all his might, she wasn’t joking.
But this is also shows between the two of them Joke wouldn’t dare do it first. Because, he’s still the person who is afraid of rejection. Sure, he was steadfast in asking for forgiveness, because he was in the wrong. But when it comes to seeking things for himself, like love, Joke’s always been wary. Since he never did always have a positive outcome.
So yes, it’s just right that Jack was the one to propose. And this also proves to Joke, that someone wants him. That someone he loves, loves him back.
Not HL related… but my wedding is almost a year away and I wanted to share some of the photos from our Engagement Shoot 🥹🥰 it was a cold, windy day but I think they are sweet.
We will return to our regularly scheduled content shortly. Pardon the interruption.
With this, the wedding countdown is finally over!! Ben and I are officially married 🥰 I'm so thankful to have such a loving, beautiful, and gracious soul in my life. Every day they inspire me, and I'm so glad to call them my husband!
Here's a little sneaky peeky, as always the rest is on Ao3, just hit the button 🔳.
Big thanks to @olliepig for encouraging me the whole way and @hedwigstalons for all her read throughs and notes to help make it coherent, after I hit 11k I lost the will to live. But hey, enjoy!
This is torture, you're torturing me, you realise this, right?"
Penelope lifted a slice of cucumber and cast a side eye in Kayo’s direction. "This isn't about you. You said you wanted nothing to do with organising this event so you must live with the consequences." She dropped the cucumber back into place and relaxed with a contented sigh as the pedicurist started massaging the arch of her right foot.
"Don't even think about touching my feet," Kayo snarled, causing the beautician to drop the bottle of pink nail polish she held and make a rapid retreat.
"Selene, are you enjoying yourself?" Penelope asked, pushing home her point by focusing on the reason they were there.
Selene paused, unsure how to really answer that. She'd loved the back massage, which had left her muscles feeling pleasantly rubbery, but Kayo was right, the rest of the treatments were bordering on sadistic.
Oh, she understood Penny's point, they wouldn't have a lot of time over the next five days in the run up to the wedding, so cutting down on prep time by including manicures, pedicures and facials in the bachelorette party made sense, she just couldn't understand how Penny seemed to be enjoying it so much.
Kayo had refused most treatments and was barely suffering through her facial without throwing hands, but Penelope had taken hers, and by default Selene's, to the extreme. They had been waxed, plucked, buffed and smoothed so much that Selene was surprised they hadn't whipped out an electric sander and been done with it.
"Selene?" Penelope prompted, although her tone had changed a little, holding just the barest hint of worry.
"Sure!" Selene rushed to reassure her. "I'm having a great time, never felt so smooth, it's like they've revealed three new layers of skin I never knew I had, my eyebrows have never been neater and I'm feeling slightly cold from lack of body hair."
"Did you wish for John to marry a yeti?"
"A yeti? Excuse me? How dare! It's not like I was sporting a full winter coat!"
Kayo sniggered, the smile lighting up her face and relaxing her slightly hostile aura enough that her beautician obviously felt it was safe enough to try again. She soon stopped when Kayo gently kicked her hand away, making her point very clear.
"Ladies, we only have ten more minutes before they wash off these face masks and start on our make-up so let's enjoy them, shall we?"
Selene glanced at Kayo, who shrugged in return. It was ten minutes, they could hang it out that long if they had to. They had no other choice.
So here we are... moving along to a year of firsts for the new little Mulder-Scully household. First story up is one revolving around Thanksgiving and the fun revolved around it. I hope...... And......
Wedding Countdown
Chapter Two
Wednesday, Six Days To Go
Scully, with six days to go, is in search of a dress to wear for the wedding, but is having a hard time finding the perfect one.
(Picture of the dress at the end this time : ) )
11b/15
Scully sat down in the car with a sigh, feeling discouraged. She had been to three shops looking for a dress for the wedding. Not a wedding dress, as she was quick to tell Mulder who only smiled, but a dress for the wedding.
The thought of finding some dress like other women dreamed of, some white flowing, mermaid style, made her eyes roll. Imagining herself in a white dress, which symbolized virginity, meeting Mulder at the end of the aisle, as he held their nearly one year old daughter, made her laugh. Add to that her age, and she felt downright gleeful.
No, a white wedding dress would not do, she simply needed a dress for the wedding.
Every place she looked, the dresses were wrong. Either too much or not enough. They just did not feel right to her. Each one she tried on felt off and something about them just …
She needed something beautiful, functional, and appropriate for her taste and for the church. Something like …
“Oh … oh my …” she breathed and started the car, her heart racing.
______________
Forty five minutes later, after a call to Mulder that she would still be out for a bit, with him happily telling her to take her time, she was standing on the front steps of her mother’s house. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she put her key in the lock and opened the door.
Stepping inside, she stood in the entryway, and looked around. The last time she was there had been a few months ago and it was a quick visit. Louise had called to check in on them and asked after her mother's house. What they planned to do with it and how it was being cared for.
“I have a woman who comes to clean my place who is amazing, if you would like to have her number.”
The woman, Ingrid, met with both of them and agreed to clean the house. After she left, Scully and Louise had held to each other and cried as they walked around, looking at the rooms her mother used to inhabit, her presence still lingering in the house.
A plan would need to be made for the house soon, but it filled Scully with sadness at the thought of it. Selling it made her feel they were giving her mother away, and renting it out and letting someone else live there … she could not fathom it. Until then, Ingrid came by once a month, dusted, vacuumed, and cleaned the bathrooms.
Pocketing her keys, she continued on, up the stairs and to her mother’s bedroom door. Opening it, she stepped inside and took a deep breath, her mother’s scent still held within.
“Hey, Mom,” she said quietly, walking further into the room. “It’s been awhile, huh? I was out and about today, trying to find a dress for our wedding, yes you heard that right, our wedding.” She laughed softly and stepped into the large walk-in closet, turning on the light, and sighing. So many clothes hanging in garment bags, she was not sure she would find what she was looking for.
“I was trying to find a dress, like I said, and everything just felt wrong. I can’t describe it, but when I started to think of what I really wanted, I realized where I had seen it. So, here I am, looking for what I would like to wear. I hope it will be okay with you,” she laughed again as she began to look through the clothing. “What am I saying? If you were here, you’d know exactly where it was and hand it to me with a huge smile on your face.” She shook her head and sighed.
“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this to be completely honest. I never saw us as married, not from a legal standpoint anyway. I’ve felt we are without question, but married married, it’s so different. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely do want to marry him. I would have been happy with a day at the courthouse, but well, you know Mulder,” she laughed again, unzipping a garment bag and not finding what she wanted. She zipped it up again and moved it to the other side of the closet, moving onto the next one.
“We even have a wedding planner, Mom. Okay, stop. I can practically hear you clapping your hands and gasping,” she said, as she rolled her eyes. “He’s actually really great and quite funny. I was expecting a flouncy, over-the-top kind of plan, but what he chose was so … me. Simplistic, yet with an elegance to it. I was attacked on all sides and never stood a chance.” Smiling, she opened another bag and shook her head, not finding it again.
“Faith is going to be celebrating her first birthday soon. Now that I can’t wrap my brain around. It’s unbelievable to think I was pregnant at this time last year, but knowing she’s nearly one, Mom, it’s so strange,” she stopped for a second, her shoulders slumping. “I know I shouldn’t do it, Mom, but I look at her sometimes and think how I missed all the big milestones with William. Crawling, walking, talking, I missed all of that with him.” She sobbed out a gasp and left the closet, needing a minute. Walking into the bathroom, she sat at the vanity and took a deep breath.
“I sat here with you, and you told me I made the right decision in giving him up for adoption. ‘Let the sadness in, and then let it out. You did what you needed to protect him, you, and everyone around you. He is safe because of a sacrifice you made, a painful choice you made. He is safe, Dana.’ That’s what you told me, Mom, and it’s been less sad some days, but then some days when I look at her …” she took a deep shaky breath, tears falling down her face. “I look at her, and I think of all I missed with William. I know he was and is okay, but God …”
She tilted her head back and closed her eyes as the tears fell faster, the thoughts of all she missed, all they missed. The memory of her mother’s arms around her as she sat at this vanity years ago, brought her some comfort. She crossed her arms and placed her hands on her shoulders, as if she could feel the weight of that remembered hug.
“Let the sadness in, and then let it out,” she repeated. “I’m trying, Mom, I really am. So much of the hurt has been filled with happiness and hopefulness, but there are pockets of it that pop up and it takes me down for a bit.” She took another deep breath and opened her eyes. Wiping the tears from her face, she looked in the mirror, picturing her mother’s reflection as she stood behind her. “Thanks for listening, Mom, I love you.” She smiled softly and then stood up, walking back to the closet.
“Okay, Mom, enough sadness. Help me out here, which garment bag is it in?” she asked, clapping her hands together and looking at all the clothes hanging there. “Maybe towards the back?” She took out three of the items and hung them on the rack, facing her so she could open many of them at once. She unzipped the first one, shaking her head and zipping it up again, moving onto the next.
Not finding it in any of the garment bags, she sighed, believing her mother must not have kept it after all. She hung the clothes back up and shook her head, then looked up at the shelves in the closet. Shoeboxes, some hat boxes she knew were full of old photos, and then two larger boxes that could be what she was looking for caught her eye.
Walking back to the vanity, she picked up the chair and brought it into the closet, standing on it to pull the boxes down one by one. They lay on the bed and before she opened them, she closed her eyes briefly, praying they would hold the item she needed.
Opening the first box, she pulled back tissue paper and found her mother’s wedding dress. Smiling, with tears in her eyes, she took it from the box and the clear plastic bag it sat inside. Unzipping the bag, she held it up and looked at the dress her mother had worn so long ago. It was simple, yet elegant, just as her mother was, and had passed onto her family.
A white knee length, high bodice dress, with long lace sleeves. It was beautiful, and she thought of the old pictures, and how her mother looked on the day she promised herself to William Scully for the rest of her life. Touching the dress was like touching a bit of the past and holding it sacred. It was beautiful, but it was not the one she wanted. Putting it back carefully, she closed the lid and looked at the other box.
Lifting the lid and pulling back the tissue paper, she grinned. “There you are,” she said softly, and took the dress from the box. As she did, she could hear the music and laughter of the day her mother wore it...
Celebrating their thirtieth wedding anniversary, her parents had been the stars of the evening. Everyone was there, family and friends filling the booked the reception hall at the hotel where many people were staying. The room was beautifully decorated and the dinner they shared was delicious.
Her mother had been radiant, not only in the dress she wore, but with the glow in her eyes and the flush of her cheeks as she had danced around with her father. Both of them happy and smiling, their eyes only on each other as they danced together.
Scully and Melissa had whispered and laughed as they watched them, poking juvenile fun at the love they saw, though they were both themselves in their twenties. Scully had loved seeing them so happy and even though she laughed with Melissa, she also felt that small twinge of longing to have a love like that in her life.
Scully sighed, looking at the dress her mother wore to that party. She took it from the plastic bag and held it up with a smile. “Yes, this is what I was looking for. It’s exactly what I wanted.” She went into the closet to get a hanger to hang it up and look at it properly.
Opening the curtains in the bedroom, she looked at it, touching the fabric, her mother’s laughter ringing in her ears. It was an exquisite dress. Silvery blue and just past the knee, the bodice had a lace flowery overlay, with nearly wrist length sleeves. The neckline was rounded and met at a zipper in the back. Small pearls were scattered throughout the bodice and added to the beauty of the dress. The skirt was not technically full, but had some twirl to it and Scully remembered the way it had looked when her parents had danced.
She took the dress from the hanger and unzipped it, laying it on the bed. She undressed, slipped off her shoes, and stepped into the dress, zipping it as best she could on her own. It was a little loose on her, but that could be fixed easily. Walking into the bathroom, she looked in the mirror and smiled before her eyes filled with tears.
“It’s perfect,” she whispered, imagining how happy her mother would be to let her borrow this dress, the smile on her face as she handed it over, knowing she would be wearing it to marry Mulder. “It’s truly perfect.” Wiping at her eyes, she smiled again, twirling around and laughing out a sob.
Unzipping and stepping out of it, she packaged it back up, taking care to wrap it as delicately as it had been when she opened the box. She put her clothes back on, put the wedding dress back on the shelf in the closet, and turned out the light. The chair went back to the vanity and the curtains closed, before she picked up the box and looked around the room.
“Thanks, Mom,” she whispered, kissing her fingers and smiling. She walked out the door, closing it behind her, and down the stairs. Locking the front door, she walked to the car and put the dress in the back, patting the box as she did.
She closed the door, got in, and sent Mulder a message that she would be home soon. She had found exactly what she was looking for, and it was perfect.
Wonderful, Scully. Take your time, no rush on our end, came his reply and she smiled.
See you soon. Love you.
Love you too.
She smiled as she drove home and then laughed as it hit her. With this dress, she had covered three quarters of the old rhyme for a bride on her wedding day:
Something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.
“Well, I’ll need new shoes, so I guess that will cover it,” she said, and laughed again, sighing at the happiness that took away the recent sadness. “Six more days …”
So, in case anyone reading this also read Soulmates, the dress Scully will wear is the one Maggie imagines herself in when she dies. I love the idea of a dress that Maggie loved so much to be the one Scully will wear when she marries Mulder. A beloved anniversary dress will now be a wedding dress. ❤️👗
