Jack dropped her eyes with a sigh, forgetting that she was supposed to suck in her breath so that the dress could fit her -
stupid wedding planner. As the zipper slipped up her back, she realized she needed to breathe in. She did, holding her breath in her chest, and the zipper finally finished its journey up to the base of her neck. She smoothed the fabric down over her stomach and thighs, before turning to look at Max. He looked spiffy, of course, as men needed only to to throw on a suit to look their best.
He agreed to fall down with her and she saluted him, grinning wryly. "With your help, I'm going to bring this whole ceremony to shambles." She tilted her chin, looking off into the distance with a slightly heroic expression. She grimaced, however, when she was reminded of her feet. She glanced down, quickly running through the schedule of the night, hoping that there would be some time before the reception to slip the heels off.
She turned to the mirror, attempting to catch the strands that had fallen out due to the dress debacle, when Max suddenly spoke. She turned around quickly, looking at Max with a sincere, open expression of awe and affection. He had thought of her, and had just demonstrated everything someone needed to know about her to be someone meant to be in her life. The expression was incredibly open, however, and the vulnerability struck her hard. She forced the expression off of her face, tilting her mouth downwards and arching her eyebrows, turning away casually, continuing to check her hair. "You're my hero, Max." She glanced back at him, smiling. She turned back around and slipped her arm into his. "Let's go - it'll give the planner a conniption to see me actually obeying."
- - -
Gabby's dull expression met Irene's disgruntled one. It seemed they were past even trying, though the very idea they would even try was a comical one. Gabby was certain the only reason Irene was not outright refusing was her inner sense of duty, as well as the fact that she had really like Nan when they had met at the dinner in which Nan had asked them all to be apart of her wedding. That made two people who were only here because Nan was one of the best women this world had ever seen.
Irene commanded them to go and Gabby tipped his chin upwards. "Right." He could not bother with a sneer, not twinkle, not make a joke. This was not a joking matter. Nothing about his friend committing herself to someone, willingly taking herself away from the people who needed her most, was funny. He looked almost green, as though he would be sick, as he turned around and walked briskly away, towards the part of the building that they would make their entrance from.
- - -
Kip had caught sight of the young woman to which his mind had often strayed in her absence. Katarina had become one of their favorite visitors at the Macbain bar. Though she was not there as often as they would like, she was often enough that they had begun to understand her a little more - or, at least, understand just how much there was about her that they did not yet understand. Everyone loved Katarina. Remy and Rory were potentially the least interesting, preferring the louder personalities, but they could not deny their admiration for her work. Yuri understood her art the most, often being able to speak the more in depth about her work. Kenna adored Katarina for everything she was.
And Kip...
He was intrigued.
He had thought he was the only one to notice her, but he felt a smile unfurl on his face as he heard Kenna madly scrambling over the other men. She righted herself and skittered towards Katarina and the attractive man at her side. She looked them both in the face, a bit breathless, and smiled widely. "Hi! Kenna MacBain, nice to meet you. Want to sit with us, Kat? There's room next to Kip!"