Time: 10:05 AM
Date: 14 July

Sabreena gazed outside as the morning sunlight filtered through the window in her bedroom. Allowing a soft, somber sigh to finally escape her lungs, the soon-to-be bride hopped off the study table that doubled as a platform for late-night stargazing. Just then, the digital alarm clock sitting on her nightstand blared, eight o'clock flashing in red annoying blinks. Like always, she slammed her fist on it to shut the thing off, tired eyes scanning the scantly furnished room that she loved with all her heart. In two hours, she'd part from this very room that served as a safe haven for the past eighteen years. The idea made her want to crawl under her bed and stay there until her future husband called off the wedding. Darn it! Couldn't he come live with them? Why did she have give up her room? Sleeping on someone else's pillow bothered her enough, God only knew how she'd manage to survive in his bedroom - correction - their bedroom. Given that she normally took up three-fourth of the bed, despite her small frame, it would be interesting to see how Mr. Thomas dealt with it because purchasing the world's biggest bed would do him no good, she'd still roll over to the other side.

Her thoughts came to a halt when her bedroom door flung open and her ecstatic mother, clad in a pretty dress, padded toward her, wedding dress in one hand while make up kit in another. "Sweetheart, how are you feeling?" Concerned eyes met her blue ones and seconds later Jocelyn crushed her daughter in a loving embrace after dropping the items on her bed, the younger woman burying her face in her mother's neck. All the differences aside, she'd miss her the most although, her room still topped the list. Letting go, Bree smiled at her, "I'm fine, mom. I'm all showered up so get to dressing me up, yeah?" She gave her mother's hand a squeeze and shot a disdainful look at the wedding dress. Too girly for her taste, she decided. Being accustomed to wearing plain t-shirts, jeans and sneakers, the girl had no idea how to carry herself in a dress. Plus, the nerves and the fluttering in the pit of her stomach would surely make her do something stupid. Shutting off her thoughts, the ladies busied themselves with the task at hand - gussying up the bride.

After what felt like an eternity of utter madness, forty five minutes to be exact, her mother seemed to be satisfied enough to allow the girl to see her reflection. With tentative steps, she stepped in front of the mirror and immediately, her shoulders slumped and her lower lip started to quiver. "MOM! I hate it. I look worse than a circus clown. Grab me some tissues, I have to wipe this gaudy lipstick off." She complained, reaching for the napkin box, but before she could extract a tissue, Jocelyn slapped her hand away. "Don't you dare." Her mother's warning was enough to freeze Sabreena and she dropped her hand to her side, unable to proceed further. The dress she could live with but the god awful lipstick needed to vanish. But she had no time to make adjustments as they were about to leave for the chapel.

An hour later

The guests were seated, the bridesmaids had taken their respective places and if she were lucky, the groom would be waiting at the altar and no trying to slip his way out. At five past ten, Sabreena found herself staring at the chapel door, numbness taking over her, body trembling as she held onto her father's arm a little too tightly. Pre-wedding nerves or whatever, she had the strongest urge to release her father's arm, who had barely spoken a word to her all day, and scamper off to the dressing room. Throat painfully dry, she motioned her mother to fetch her a glass of water but the woman shook her head in denial, indicating it'd ruin her...lipstick. Enough was enough, right? She couldn't swallow and all her mother could fret about was how she looked. Without any second thoughts, the girl, clearly annoyed with her mom, sneaked her palm to her mouth and as she rubbed it against her red-tinted lips to subdue the color, the door swung open and an audible gasp escaped her.

Oh God. Her heart stopped for a second and she lowered her gaze as all heads and scrutinizing eyes turned to look at her. Great, just great. Now she had to walk down the aisle with lipstick smeared on the side of her mouth. All her fault, even though the smudge wasn't too visible . Closing her eyes, arm interlinked with her father's, she drew in a deep breath and expired slowly, walking toward her groom all the while. Amidst the mess, she never got a chance to give Eddison a good once-over. From what she could tell by the emails exchanged between him and her mother, who was walking closely behind the father and daughter duo, he seemed to be a relaxed guy and she genuinely liked him. Her mother, on the other hand, adored him. That woman had been rambling on and on about his greatness to anyone who'd hear. Truth be told, she could sense a flicker of jealously toward him. On the contrary, her father opted to keep his thoughts to himself and continued to pay no interest. He just wanted to marry her off. Or so she thought.

The blonde, oblivious to the fact that during the entire walk, she had a smile plastered on her face, parked herself next to her fiancé and glanced at him from under her eyelashes. She could hear her heart beating in her ears and the blush creeping its way from her neck to her cheeks couldn't evaporate unobserved. Her father cleared his throat and turned his attention to Eddison, "Take care of my daughter." And with that out of the way, her father let out a soft grunt and stepped back, his poker face as present as ever. It felt absurd to hear him say such a thing but she still considered it as cute."Any last wishes?" She questioned, failing to keep herself from smiling as the soft music began to play or had it been playing all along? For the first time, she looked at the man standing next to her properly. Undoubtedly handsome and tall, he surely scored extra points and cookies for it but she'd need to know him better to form any opinions. She was aware of the age issue and honestly, the twenty-year-old couldn't care less as age was nothing but a number.

Eddison had a hard time falling asleep the night before the wedding. Nerves. Anxiety. Doubt. Was he doing the right thing? Was this really the right woman for him? Was she too young? Had he lied when he said he could work through it? How could he do this to his parents? Okay - that last one had been his Mom. She hadn't been thrilled with the idea when he told them he was interested in signing up for The Vow. She had likened it to arranged marriages and other archaic institutions. Eddison simply turned so she was on on his left side and he couldn't hear her as well any more and went on with his decision.

But the seed had been planted. His Dad had talked with him late into the night. He trusted Eddison to know his own mind, and if this was what he wanted then he knew he would make the best of it. He gave him tips and advice on marriage - everything he knew and could think of that he thought his son could use. And all of it was swirling in Eddison's brain, keeping him up along with the doubts and worries. It had occurred to him that he had never actually talked to Sabreena. He had only conversed with her mother - who seemed like a nice enough lady. But it made him nervous. Was this an indication that her mother was controlling? That she was going to be IN their marriage more than she should be? Or maybe that Sabreena was just that shy? He hoped she wasn't one of those terribly shy people - the ones who could barely function when someone they didn't know spoke to them. But then, she had been the one to make the baboon butt comment. So she couldn't be THAT delicate.

Getting ready in the morning was a bit of a blur. He'd only managed half a piece of toast and a couple of sips of orange juice - he just wasn't hungry or thirsty. He would eat at the reception. He stood in the bathroom after his shower, looking at his newly shaven face and checked his teeth about twenty times before he was satisfied that nothing had magically appeared there between brushing and staring at his reflection. He had thought that now would be the appropriate time to tell himself something encouraging and philosophical, but really all he could think was that he hoped he didn't drop the ring. The simple gold band he had picked out was absolutely tiny in the palm of his hand. He tried to imagine what the finger that would be wearing it looked like.

Soon enough, though, he was standing in the church, in front of the altar, feeling nervous and a little excited, and totally rocking his converse. Yeah - his mother had made about a million comments about them, but you know what? The tux was not Eddison at all, and he wanted a piece of himself there at the wedding, so the shoes stayed. He was going to meet his bride. His wife. He was going to be a married man. And you know what? He was going to be awesome at it. He hoped, anyway. How hard could it be? It was like having a roommate who usurped most of the property in the closets and bathroom. Or that was what he kept telling himself as his hands began to get a little clammy.

And then the doors opened, and Eddison got his first look of his new bride. Wow, she was young. She looked young. Or maybe that was just because he knew how old she was? But she was pretty. Very pretty, actually, though she looked a tad uncomfortable... not that Eddison could blame her. This wasn't the easiest thing to be doing. He looked at her face as she started down the aisle, trying to see if there was anything there that would tell him what kind of person she was. Well... she definitely had the most gorgeous set of eyes he had ever seen on a woman; the color was incredibly vibrant. She had a sweet face - a girl next door look. That was good. Eddison liked that look. She was a little smaller than he preferred physically, but appearance wasn't everything. If the emails were any indication she had a sense of humor, and he liked that.

She also had a little bit of a smear going on with her lipstick there at the corner of her mouth. Eddison glanced at her father's cheek to see if there wasn't a little left behind there from some fatherly affection, but no. Maybe she had forgotten she was wearing it and wiped her mouth after a drink? Did she wear makeup a lot? He didn't know. It was something else to learn about her. There were a lot of things to learn about her. He was getting more and more excited to start learning them, but he was also more and more nervous about what he didn't know. He could begin to feel his pulse jumping out against the collar of his shirt, and he felt a warm flush rush over him. She was getting closer.

Smiling nervously as she approached, Eddison turned his attention to her father, who he was expecting to receive a grunt from. Or perhaps a glare. Instead, he had a very simple instruction. One that Eddison could follow. "Yes, sir." He nodded simply, choosing not to poke the bear with a silly response. This was a wedding, after all. He didn't want to mess it up, and he was fairly certain that her mother was already disapproving of his shoes.

Taking her hand, Eddison was finally able to give Sabreena his full attention. "We meet at last," He smiled at her, wishing for a moment that he had thought of something more sentimental or witty to say. Especially since they were technically his first words to her.

"Any last wishes?" He barely managed to make out her question over the music playing. Oh, see, now - her first words were so much better than his. He was jealous. Hmm, and actually... She was on his left side, so this was not going to work. Glancing around, then looking at the presider, Eddison turned and gave his bride a conspiratorial grin. He wasn't sure how well this would go over, but he was always up for a little something out of the ordinary.

"Yeah, actually." He spoke quietly, trying not to draw too much attention. He had always gotten in trouble as a kid for talking in church. "Trade sides with me? I want to be able to hear you say I do, so you can't back out on a technicality." He winked at her, gesturing to his left ear as a reminder that he couldn't hear out of that one. Maybe she would like the idea of breaking tradition? Or maybe she would ask her mother for permission? Eddison weighed the option of running if she did... he really hoped she had even just a little sense of adventure.

Ever since a little girl, her parents bore it in her mind that she couldn't, even if she tried to, squiggle her way out of getting married and hence, she never tried to put up a fight whenever they touched on the aforementioned topic. After all, she had no desire to bring disgrace upon the Mayer's oldest tradition and perturb her great, great, great grandfather's spirit. Additionally, most of the marriages that took place in her family proved to be fruitful, well, except her one uncle who had the courage to fall for a man and deviate from the norm. She did cheer him on in a very hush-hush manner. But, her twelve-year-old self had witnessed the entire fiasco and drew the conclusion to succumb. Twenty-year-old Bree did not. She fought with abject ferocity to avert the inevitable when the tidings of her application being submitted to the Vow floated into her ears. Well, what do you know! Fast forward a week, and here she was, staring at Eddsion's extended hand as if it had sprouted a sixth finger. In a flash, she slipped her hand into his, which, at first, felt extremely awkward yet somehow fitting.

As he spoke to her, her stomach flip-flopped and it took her a beat to process his words. We meet at last. Indeed. No more flirtatious mother-in-law to play gooseberry. Coming to think of that, she had been in a foul mood and her mother only offered her services because of her blunt refusal to open the email. However, when she read out his message to her, she slowly crept over to her with a smile too big for her face. "Fortunately." She answered, flashing him a half smile. "Or not." Adding as an afterthought, she shrugged. This could swing either way. She might turn out to be the worst wife in the history of, well, wives. Just then, she noticed his black and white sneaker which reminded her of her own kicks sitting under a chair in the dressing room. It was decided, then. This wedding could only sway toward awesomeness. "I envy you. These heels are hellish." Before the words were fully out of her mouth, her father grunted aloud and her mother huffed. Riiight, the wedding.

The officiant beckoned the ring-bearer to step forth, and before he could commence the ceremony, Eddison's furtive grin and slew of words ceased him from proceeding further. Oh, his ear. How foolish of her to not remember that in the first place. His ear did tickle her curiosity and she might even poke or fiddle with it, at some point. "Oh, trust me, after a year or two, you'd wish you hadn't heard me say it." She joked, winking right back at him before switching positions. Up until now, the audience were ignorant as to the breach of tradition but when she moved to his right, her superstitious, seventy-six-year-old aunt was quick to comment, "Jesus, Mary And Joseph! Change over, love. It might bring bad luck." Everyone in the hall turned to look at the imprudent aunt and soft murmurings began. Except her. And she didn't move either. Awkward much? She shot Eddison an embarrassed glance and inched closer to him, "Pssst, ignore her. She's prone to speaking out of turn." Shuffling back to her position, she sighed. Embarassing family members should be boxed up and shipped to Uzbekistan.

The officiant looked at the groom with a questioning look. "Whenever you'e ready." He mouthed the words, waiting for anyone to signal him to carry on. Nodding his head, Bree's father motioned him to initiate. He had errands to run. He couldn't stand here all day. Rings were handed to the bride and groom, and the soft susurration of conversation died down. First up, the bride. "Do you, Sabreena Mayer, take Eddison Thomas to be your husband – to live together after God’s ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?" The voice reached her and the nerves returned in full force. She was going through with this, wasn't she? No turning back. No second thoughts. Facing Eddison, she looked him in the eye, the ring buried in her fist. Say it now. Say it.

"I will."

There. Happy now?

It would seem that more than her mother had noticed his shoes, and Eddison could only smile before adopting a shocked expression. "Really! That sort of language in church?" He continued to tease her, finding that his nerves were feeding his need to ramble and fill the void. "That's a lot of nerve - tempting the big guy to strike you down at the altar. Happy wedding day to me." Still, Eddison couldn't help but look down at her feet - which were dutifully covered by the hem of her dress. He'd have to take her word for it on the heels. "You know, you could have gone barefoot and no one would have been the wiser, I don't think." He pointed out.

It was almost surreal how they were chatting back and forth. They could have been standing in line at the grocery store, not preparing to be wed. Eddison hoped that this was a good sign - that it was this easy to talk and joke. Or maybe it was just that they were both so damn nervous that little jokes and asides were the only way they could deal with it? Then that was something they would have in common. And wasn't that what relationships were? Shared moments, ideas, and tastes? A life time of them had to start somewhere, didn't they? And why not start by throwing tradition to the wind and trading places!

"Oh, trust me, after a year or two, you'd wish you hadn't heard me say it." Sabreena joked back with a little wink of her own. Eddison grinned as he stepped around her, mindful of the dress. Ha, she winked. He liked a girl who could wink.

"You're giving us a year? That's generous. I think my Mom said three months." He teased back, only not really teasing. She actually had given them three months. She had promptly apologized, mind you, but she had still said it. She was worried, Eddison knew that. She wanted him to be happy and make the right decision and she didn't think this was the right one. A part of Eddison agreed with her, but a larger part knew this was what he wanted. And it meant the world that she and his Dad were here to watch him and to give them their blessing. She wasn't happy, but she would at least make the best of it.

And it would seem that their break with tradition was a bit scandalous to a few. Literally having to bite his tongue to keep from laughing, Eddison cleared his throat to hide a giggle. "Those are usually the best relatives to have around for the holidays." He whispered back, already grateful for her willingness to swap. It made the chatting back and forth way easier. Or it would if they weren't properly chastised by the officiant asking them if they were quite finished. For one moment, Eddison was very tempted to tell him no, but decided that they had caused enough ruckus as it was. It was time to get down to the business of matrimony.

It wasn't until Sabreena had spoken her agreement to the vows that it truly set in for Eddison. They were getting married. All it would take were two more simple words and them signing the license. And they would be joined before God and State. Whoa... heavy stuff.

"Do you, Eddison Thomas, take Sabreena Mayer to be your wife – to live together after God’s ordinance – in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy, to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart’s deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keep yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," He spoke automatically, the words falling out of his mouth so naturally that for a moment he hadn't realized he said them. Wait - that was it, wasn't it? Now they just had to exchange the rings and... wham, bam, thank you ma'am? Holy crap.

Had she not been in a church and about to get hitched in a few moments, she would've snorted out loud when he chided her good-humouredly. Instead, a simple smile graced her lips. "That sounded an awful lot like my father." The to and fro exchange of jests between them seemed to have put a tight lid on her wedding jitters. There weren't many to begin with and it escaped her as to why she weren't sweating profusely or collapsed on the floor in a heap of nervous mess. Inwardly, she thanked the heavens above for the former. Excessive perspiration should be a thou-shalt-not under any and all circumstances. Or so her mother would say. His head dipped to look at her feet and she followed suit. What he said made sense. "Barefoot bride and sneaker-clad groom? I think people will talk." For a second there, she chewed over whether to abandon her heels or not. But decide to keep them on. It'd be too out there and besides, there had been enough arguable practices for the relatives to yap about following the wedding.

"What can I say? I'm an optimist." She replied with a small shrug of her shoulders, trying her level best to not let the revelation of his mother's dejecting comment get to her. It surprised her, to say the least. She regarded this wedding as a highly momentous moment of her life - the only momentous moment of her life. She didn't sign up for this to only be a here today and gone tomorrow merger. Granted her age and lack of experience in, well, everything could be off putting for him and his family, but she had prepared herself mentally for this marriage and clearly knew what it entailed. She was ready to give her hundred percent and only hoped that he felt the same way. "Your mother..she..oh, never mind." She cut herself off and dropped her gaze from his face, the tip of her heels scuffing the floor below.

Out of nowhere, a flinch came out of her as he whispered back. Blinking blankly at him, she zoned out for a moment. Flinchy Flincherson needed to be kept at bay and god, she must get by with the fact that she had never been in close quarters with a man before. The closest encounter involved her uncles who'd muss up her hair, kiss her on the forehead or the cheek. Her father, on the other hand, kept his distance. He wasn't a cuddly-huggly kind of father. Snapping out of her trance-like state, she glanced back at him, finding her voice again. "And the last to leave." She finally uttered, smiling in an effort to make up for the earlier display of awkwardness. As embarrassing as her family maybe, she still held a great deal of love for them. Brash aunts, homosexual uncles, annoying cousins and all.

When the words 'I do' rolled out of his tongue with such ease, she let go off the breath she had been holding. His inflection had a touch of assurance that hers lacked. Ah, too little, too late. With shaky fingers, she reached for his hand, and due to the panic slowly taking over her, she grabbed his right hand and was about to slip the band when the mistake dawned on her. Immediately releasing the wrong hand, she looked up at him, a sheepish smile spreading across her face. How could she mess this up? Really. She should be rather ashamed of herself. Cringing at her utter lack of attention, this time the blonde made sure she got hold of the correct hand. Taking his hand in her trembling ones, she slipped the ring onto his finger. Good gracious! The band fit perfectly. Her mother would be so relieved since she had been fussing over the size and driving everyone up the wall. A few more moments and she'd be Mrs. Thomas. Hmm. Not too shabby.

"Oh, don't start on those I'm old enough to be your Dad comments already." Eddison whispered with a crooked smile in Sabreena's direction. He was eleven years older than her - not quite old enough to be her Dad. But she was ten when he turned twenty-one. That was a little bit of a creepy thought. Which was why he was trying not to think about it. Age was only a number. It could only bother you if you let it, and Eddison was determined NOT to let it. Eventually.

Looking down at her feet when Sabreena did, Eddison had to smile and nod in agreement about the shoes. "Very true. The natives are already restless, we don't want to cause a riot. Though it would make for some interesting headlines, wouldn't it?" He laughed quietly.

Eddison had thought things were going very well, actually. They seemed to be equally at ease with each other, joking about family, discussing shoe options, and making wagers on how long they would last. But then, she had flinched. Just when he leaned in to whisper - she had made that little involuntary jerk, and he felt like he had done something wrong. Too close too soon? Did she have a thing about personal space? Or was it just that he was a complete stranger and she didn't want him getting too close?

But then there was that little smile, and things began to feel all right again. If she could still smile, then that was a good sign. Whatever little thing he had done, she had moved past and they were back on track. That was good, because it was time for the rings.

It took a second for Eddison to realize that she had taken the wrong hand as well. He supposed it made sense - her left hand was in front of his right, so that was the hand she reached for. It wasn't until she had abruptly released his hand and given him a sheepish smile that he realized the mistake. He opened his mouth to make a little quip about it, but thought better of it when he saw the cringe. Poor kid was nervous enough, she didn't need him teasing her about little mistakes.

Then it was his turn. Taking her left hand, Eddison held it lightly in his own hand, marveling for a moment at small it looked in his own. And pale. At least compared to his own it was pale. With a smear of lipstick on the side of it. So that was what happened to her lipstick! Slipping the ring onto her finger, Eddison fumbled a little trying to get the band over her knuckle, but in the end it fit nicely around her finger, leaving him standing there, holding her hand, and smiling, quite proud of himself. Look at him. Putting rings on fingers like a boss.

Now all that remained was being declared man and wife and kissing the bride! Oh... kissing the bride. His eyes immediately went to the corner of her mouth where there was a small streak of bright lipstick. She had been smart to remove some of it. That color was entirely too bright for her.

Ow. She didn't purposely aim to taunt him. The comment had simply cropped up in her head, and without much consideration, the words came spilling out with no intention of being in the least bit demeaning. The last thing she wanted was for him to feel ill at ease around her. Marrying a stranger was unhinging enough, she couldn't let age add to their worries. "Sorry, it was an inappropriate thing to say. I often struggle to strike a balance between talking too much and not talking at all." She enlightened with a slight roll of her eyes at her own ineptness. He had smiled at her, though. Maybe it wasn't too offensive, after all.

She laughed along with him softly, glancing around to ensure icy glares weren't being thrown about. Much to her chagrin, frowns, yawns and blank stares met her eyes. C'mon people, show a little enthusiasm here. To be honest, she would've been a bit miffed at a wedding if the bride and groom were so blatantly stalling the ceremony. "Indeed. It's too bad though, we could've graced the front page." She feigned a look of sheer disappointment and straightened up, time to get down to the nitty-gritty.

Sabreena had expected him to make a crack about her lapse in attention, but no such thing came spewing out of his mouth. To say she was relieved would be an understatement. One witty remark and she would've been a puddle of mush. With a sigh of respite and a small smile, she let him take her hand – sans the flinch. Looking at her hand, she had to purse her lips to keep herself from smiling as he struggled with the ring. After a moment of knuckle-action, the gold band slipped onto her ring finger and she genuinely beamed at him. However, the smile soon withered upon realizing where the trail of his sight landed.

The officiant smiled and addressed them, "With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride."

And just like that, they were almost married. Had she grown any horns yet? Because, she didn't feel much different, except her heart was on the brink of exploding, butterflies had invaded her stomach which, by the way, couldn't be deemed comfortable and her legs, well, she couldn't feel them. Her grip on his hand tightened so as to survive the internal panic attack gripping her and she hadn't even kissed him yet. Speaking of which, how does on go about doing that? Blue eyes blinking, blood rising to her face in a slow deep blush -not the baboon buttocks kind-, she simply looked at him. She had seen movies. She knew the technicalities of kissing but executing it was a whole new ball game.

"Kiss him, honey or I will." Same madcap aunt, different offensively bold remark. Oh, how she wanted to strangle the woman's neck without actually strangling it. Settling on dismissing her aunt's foolishness when a much greater task awaited her, she mustered up a smile and took a small step toward Eddison. Bree gently took his other hand in hers, and leaned closer, shutting her eyes. The proverbial ball now lied in his court. At this point, she didn't have the guts to initiate any form of contact.

"That is a hard balance to find sometimes," Eddison agreed with a chuckle. Lord did he know how hard it was. "I usually don't bother to try for a balance and just stick with the saying too much. At least then you run better odds of saying the right thing." He didn't add the part about the odds being very very low that you did. That sort of went without saying.

Eddison was beginning to wonder if this was what their marriage would be like. Full of random little quips that were fast developing into inside jokes. Little moments of unity where they totally got each other. Crazy aunts interrupting important, serious life moments with their own commentary. To be honest, Eddison preferred the little interruptions. They were reminders that no matter how serious things might be getting, that there was still room for a little laughter and nonsense. Even the struggle with the ring brought about another one of those little exchanges between them where they shared his triumph at finally getting it on her.

"With the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride."

And then that happened. It wasn't that Eddison had any reservations about kissing someone. He'd kissed his share of girls. He had been told on more than one occasion that he was a good kisser. And by more than one girl, thank you very much. It was more the look on Sabreena's face that made him hesitate just a moment. The poor girl looked Wiley Coyote just as he realized that the cliff ran out twenty feet ago.

"Kiss him, honey or I will." Eddison couldn't help but laugh at this threat, though a part of him wondered how serious she was. He was going to have to do what he could to avoid her at the reception, that was for sure. The interruption had the desired affect, though, as Sabreena closed her eyes and leaned in towards him. It looked like a very practiced movement - something girls did in front of the mirror at home just before a big date. Her mother had said she was shy... did shy mean that she didn't date, either?

Stepping in towards her as well, Eddison leaned forward and placed one hand gently on her arm, taking note of the flush in her face and across her chest. It immediately brought to mind their first email exchange and he couldn't keep the cheeky little grin from spreading. "Hey," He whispered softly, his mouth a few inches from hers and turned up a little in amusement. If he was going to kiss her for the first time, he would at least prefer she was smiling. "Baboon butt." He said quietly before closing the distance and pressing his lips to hers, and moving in so that the front of their bodies brushed against each other.

As kisses went, it was chaste. Polite, even. But it also united them as husband and wife. She was no longer his bride - she was his wife. Holy crap, he was married.

Funny how things work out. A week ago, the idea of matrimony tormented her, and the whole affair sounded worse than hell ever could. Despite the plentiful examples of long and prosperous marriages under her family's belt, Sabreena stood her ground on the notion that signing her up for the Vow might only bring disaster. The same optimistic, looking-at-the-bright-side kind of girl had no option but to entertain the thought of the worst befalling her. What if her match turned out to be an old creep with dentures? Not the nicest thing to say but dentures gave her the creeps big time.

Luckily, she had never been more wrong. The Vow did a grand job of matching her with Eddison. Granted they had only met now and one shouldn't forge an opinion based on fifteen minutes worth of banter but nevertheless, he turned out to be everything she'd hoped for and more; laid-back, funny and him being easy on the eyes was an added bonus. Above all, she found herself opening up to him, which, if one even knew a smidge about her, was a miracle through and through. Not many people were talented enough to gouge out the less reticent aspect of her personality. He did and she wouldn't have had it any other way.

With mere centimetres between them, he breathed a soft 'Hey' and God, did she feel her insides turn to jelly! Knees threatening to buckle under her any moment, she squeezed his hand a little. And then, he mentioned baboons and their atrocious butts which, of course, made her smile like a fool. "I think I just married one." She whispered back, and finally, submitted to the kiss, one hand automatically sliding up to rest on his cheek, giving it a gentle stroke with her thumb.

Her brain failed to comprehend as to how this particular kiss felt. For her, kissing boys was confined to pecking her little cousins while babysitting. As for lip-locking with Eddison, it felt simple and clean, almost sweet, and short-lived but enough to account for her racing pulse. Her first proper kiss with a man and it wasn't similar to smooching an eighteen-month-old while potty training by any means. Score, right? Breaking off the kiss, she beamed at her husband. This was one of those moments that required prolonged screaming into a pillow. "Do you want me to move over? Aunt Judy might want to test-drive the groom." She laughed softly, cleaning off the faint daub of lipstick on his lips with her thumb.

There were a lot of things that were omens to a good marriage. Being able to settle your disagreements quickly and with respect for each other was a good one. Having things in common that you could share and talk about was another. Eddison was willing to bet his entire trust fund that no where on that list was being called a baboon's butt. And you know what? That was a crying shame. Because he was pretty certain that this was a very good sign for them. And what would make a better first anniversary gift than a framed monkey ass?

The kiss they shared was sweet. Which was more than he had expected. Kissing a stranger tended to be a little... awkward. Or so he had imagined; Eddison made it a practice to know a girl before he kissed her. But in the short time that they had been speaking, it was obvious that The Vow had lived up to their reputation. They had found two people who, for all intensive purposes, matched pretty damn well. Which made the kiss a little more than sweet... perhaps promising?

"Do you want me to move over?" Sabreena asked him, pulling his mind back to the present where her hand still rested gently on the side of his face. Wow - her eyes were even more stunning up close. He was going to have to make it a point to tell her that. "Aunt Judy might want to test-drive the groom." She laughed softly, her thumb rubbing at his lip where he imagined he now had his own little smear of lipstick.

"Sorry, she missed her chance." Eddison laughed, his hand sliding down her arm to take Sabreena's hand. "I'm a married man now, and I don't think the little woman would approve of me smooching on other ladies." That and he had gotten a good look at Aunt Judy. He'd rather pass, thanks.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," The presider called out, deciding that if he didn't interrupt them now that the two would probably stand there chatting all morning. He had other weddings to perform, thank you. "I am proud to present, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Eddison and Sabreena Thomas."

Turning to face the crowds who were politely applauding the new couple, Eddison gave his new wife a reassuring squeeze of the hand. Nothing to do now but to walk down the aisle, this time together. He had never realized how symbolic that walk was until then. They had arrived separately, and they would leave together. "So. What are we doing for lunch? I'm starved." He asked brightly as he escorted his Sabreena down the aisle, trying not to look at his Mom who had actually started crying at some point. Whether they were happy or sad tears, he would prefer not to know.