Open A Treasured Moment

[AJ Ari]

AJ knew today was important for Lily. He didn't know the Maid of Honour (best.. maid?) could get pre-wedding jitters too, but he supposed if anyone could, it was Lily. Especially when he knew Elliot and Alice were so important to her.

Honestly, there'd be times where he'd wondered if he needed to be worried about Lily and Elliot, hearing and seeing plenty between them over the years with Lily, but he'd set that worry aside awhile ago. Elliot didn't get to see the quiet, soft sides of Lily like he did and AJ knew he was lucky to be privy to them too, smiling at the look on Lily's face throughout the ceremony.

He'd lost track of her now though, having braved the mess near the food table for something for them both to hopefully perk them up for what would likely be a long night and returned to find Lily conspicuously absent. It didn't take long to find her though, AJ used to her favourite hiding spots by now, his heart dropping at the far more trouble look on her face now.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" He said, setting the plates down and gathering Lily's face in his hands, thumbs brushing at the tears gathering there. "I'm guessing not happy tears? What do you need?" He said softly, resisting the urge to bundle Lily up in his suit jacket and hide her away. Today was important to her AJ knew, but he had to fight off the urge to just suggest they get out of here if it was too much for her.
@Lillian Lockwood

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily jumped a little, surprised when AJ popped up out of nowhere. She stammered a little, trying to think up a convincing lie, but she melted when he took her face in his hands. She sighed, leaning into it and bringing her hands up to wrap around his wrists. She rubbed her thumbs over his wrists, shutting her eyes and pressing into the touch. She ran over the words in her head several times before just sighing softly and deciding on the simplest explanation. "I-it's just... just a l-lot," She managed to stammer out, wincing a little as she did. She hated that the stammer kept coming back, even as an adult. She peeked up at AJ through wet lashes, feeling a little calmer with him close. His warmth was always a comfort. Her own personal fire. "I'm s-sorry," She offered gently, taking a deep breath. She hesitated, looking down, before peeking back up at him again. "Could we just- just- just t-take a min-minute?" She forced out, laughing awkwardly. She just wanted to curl up against his chest for a few moments at least, let his warmth ground her again like it usually did. And they were out of the way, so no one should notice, or mind, if they just stood there for a few minutes longer? @AJ Ari

 

[Professor Adorah Zumwalt]

Adorah felt bewildered about the fact that she was attending Elliott's wedding. It seemed like only yesterday that they were in school talking about classes, and now they were full fledged adults making life decisions like marriage. The former Ravenclaw enjoyed the ceremony, even tearing up a bit, as she did at most emotional moments. It was also bringing up feelings of her own about whether or not she would ever get married. She and Noel had been together a long time, and they had talked about the future, but seeing more and more people get engaged and married was making Adorah a little worried that maybe Noel didn't want what she wanted. But did she know what she wanted, as well?

Adorah took a quick moment after the ceremony to congratulate the couple, glad to see how happy the atmosphere of the day was, before finding a quick beverage and standing by herself in a corner to people watch.