Just Stay (39 page)

"You gonna invite your father?" he asks quietly, and he can practically feel Evan tense up. He shifts slightly, looking away, and for a moment, Seb feels a little worried. But there is no need; when Evan speaks, he sounds sad, more than anything.

"I guess," he says. "Probably. I mean, I don't think he'll show up, but... He's my dad. You know?"

He looks back at Seb, his eyes reflecting the sadness of his tone.

"You think he'd do that?" Seb asks carefully. "Miss his son's wedding?"

Evan sighs tiredly.

"Honestly," he says, shaking his head. "I don't even know anymore, man. At this point, I wouldn't really put it past him."

Seb doesn't answer, just watches Evan, silently, until his fiancé takes a deep breath, in a clear attempt at steering the conversation in a different direction.

"But your cousin is definitely invited," he says, and Seb smiles a little.

"Which one?" he asks, and Evan cocks his head.

"Either," he says. "Both. Especially Jim. I liked that dude."

Seb groans a little, but can't help but smile a bit wider.

"I was afraid of that," he says, but his heart isn't really in it. He likes Jim, after all, and he would love to have him at his wedding.

"Your parents can come, too," Evan continues, and Seb's eyebrows go up.

"Gee, really?" he says sarcastically, and Evan nods.

"Yeah," he says. "And Angie, and Mark."

He moves in a little closer then, giving Seb a slow kiss.

"You sure you don't want any pigeons, though?" he asks against Seb's mouth, and Seb groans and pulls away.

"Doves," he corrects, while Evan just laughs. "And no."

Evan pulls Seb in closer, even as he tries to get away from his embrace, and finally, Seb gives in, settling back against Evan's chest.

"Fine," Evan says, still laughing. "As long as I get to marry you, I'm good."

He kisses Seb's hair.

"So, no fucking pigeons. Deal?"

Seb smiles, closing his eyes as he nuzzles back against Evan's throat.

"Deal."

Chapter 24

Beginning

The weeks seem to practically fly by, after the announcement of Seb's and Evan's engagement. Dana goes back home, promising to return for the actual wedding, and Sophie gets gradually more excited, having to be reined in by Jake at every turn, lest she go completely over the top.

Seb and Evan are still sticking to their original plan; no big event, with only friends and family, at the bar that has come to achieve such sentimental value to them both, as well as for their relationship. The owner was actually thrilled about the whole thing, offering to rent out the place for an entire night, and for a very reasonable price―there will even be a bartender on shift.

The wedding is to be kept simple, and therefore, there isn't that much to plan. What little planning it requires, Sophie takes care of, to her great joy, and as soon as the date is set, they send out invitations; they invite both Dana and her girlfriend, as well Clara, and Matt and Em, along with most of Seb's family. The only people invited on Evan's side, apart from Jake, are his surrogate uncle, Morgan, Morgan's fiancée, Josie, and Evan's father. But Evan still has doubts about Peter actually showing up; even Jake seems hesitant about it.

It isn't long before the day arrives. In the blink of an eye, it seems, it's time, and Seb wakes up in his and Evan's shared bed, knowing that next time he goes to sleep, he will be married.
Married
. To
Evan.

Yeah, it's all still a bit surreal.

Evan is already up by the time Seb gets out of bed, and Seb finds him standing in the kitchen, staring at the coffee maker. He doesn't look up as Seb makes his way over to him, and only reacts once Seb reaches out and touches his arm, turning those green eyes in his direction.

"Hey," Seb says, and Evan smiles a little, taking his hand.

"Morning," he says, pulling Seb a little closer. "How you feeling?"

Seb groans quietly, but mostly from some weird kind of fatigue, more than anything.

"I'm fine," he says. "A little nervous. You?"

"Yeah, me too." Evan looks back at the coffee maker. Seb watches him for a few moments, watches that profile. Evan looks deep in thought, and Seb nudges him gently.

"Heard anything from your dad?" he asks carefully, and Evan lets out a heavy sigh.

"No," he says. "But like I've said before, I'm not really surprised. Anyway, I don't care."

"Evan―"

"Seb, please." Evan looks at him, eyes a little bit pleading, matching his tone, as he shrugs. "It sucks, yeah. But... He's never really been there, anyway. It's fine."

Seb wants to tell him that
no
, it isn't fine. Evan's dad isn't coming to his son's wedding, after practically cutting him out of his life, and nothing about that is
fine.
But still. He lets Evan be, keeps his mouth shut. He knows that Evan is just as aware as all of that as Seb is, anyway, and they have already talked about it so much that it just feels like beating a dead horse.

"And besides," Evan adds, making Seb glance at him. "Morgan's coming. He was always more of a dad to me and Jake, than our actual father, anyway. If he's there, I'm happy."

Seb smiles a little, a smile which Evan returns, and a few seconds pass in silence broken by the bubbling of the coffee maker.

"More importantly," Evan says after a moment, clearly trying to lighten the mood. "You still think it was a good idea to let Jim marry us?"

Seb groans again, loudly and slightly annoyed, this time, as he leans his forehead against Evan's shoulder.

Shit
, he had almost managed to forget about that.

They didn't really want a big wedding, not a priest, or anything. At first, they asked Jake if he would marry them, but he's going to be Evan's best man, just like Mark is going to be Seb's, which prompted Jim to offer up his services, to everyone's honest surprise. No one really saw a problem with it, though, and so he got ordained, so that he could wed Evan and his younger cousin. Seb never would have guessed that Jim would end up playing such a huge, important part in frankly the most important day of his life.

"Yeah," Seb says, a bit dryly. "I just hope he manages to keep his mouth shut and not tell too many sweet childhood stories."

Evan chuckles, but he knows that Seb probably has a point. Jim has always been more of a big brother than a cousin, after all, and he's bound to know all kinds of embarrassing anecdotes from when he and Seb were kids. And honestly, Seb wouldn't put it past him to tell several of them, especially with a room full of people listening.

"I'm sure he'll behave," Evan says, but Seb just grumbles doubtfully, in response, making Evan plant a fond kiss on his forehead. "And the whole ceremony could be a mess, for all I care. That's not what I'm there for, anyway."

And Seb smiles at him, honestly unable to express just how much he sympathizes with that statement.

Seb is very aware of the fact that last time he wore a suit, was at a wedding. At the time, though, he never expected to be attending
his own
wedding anytime soon, wearing a different suit, and feeling so terribly nervous.

Not that he minds being wrong.

Dana comes back the morning of the wedding, while Julie is flying in from her parents', so Dana is picking her up at the airport, later today. Seb's parents arrive not long after Dana, and Seb's mother is rather thrilled to see Evan again, asking all kinds of questions, as they all have lunch together. And Evan is happy to oblige, and Dana joins in the conversation as though she has known both Seb and his parents for years.

Morgan and Josie join them too, being introduced to Seb for the first time, while Jake is helping Sophie with the last preparations. Josie points out how Sophie seems more excited about this wedding than anyone, and neither Seb nor Evan is about to disagree.

By the time they all make their way to the bar, Seb is really starting to feel those nerves acting up. His parents go ahead, just like Morgan and Josie, while Seb, Evan and Dana go there in Evan's car, and as soon as they arrive, Dana practically bounces out of the car and over to the bar's entrance.

"This is so exciting, you guys," she exclaims, grinning from ear to ear. "Aren't you excited?"

"Very excited," Evan says, chuckling fondly at his surrogate sister's reaction, and Dana just lets out something like a squeal, before making her way inside.

"Why do I get the feeling that everyone else is more excited about this, than we are?" Seb says, as Evan takes his hand.

"Because we are excited on the
inside
," Evan says matter-of-factly, bordering on sarcastically, and Seb shoots him a look. But he doesn't disagree, and he and Evan go inside.

Not that much has been done, in ways of decoration. The several, round tables of the bar have been cleared out of the way, to create a small aisle, leading up to the stage. The chairs have been lined up like pews, while Sophie has apparently taken it upon herself to get some flowers to put all over the place. It makes Seb groan a little, but he isn't about to complain, even if he personally wouldn't have done it this way. Because it doesn't matter. Evan is here, and he is here, and that's all that matters.

The sight of it makes Seb feel oddly nervous, though, and he swallows hard. Evan notices, of course, and squeezes his hand.

"Hey," he says, nudging him gently. "You okay?"

Seb hesitates only for a split second.

"Yeah," he says, nodding, glad that he doesn't sound quite as nervous as he feels. He glances at his fiancé. "Just a bit... weird, I guess."

Evan lets out a small chuckle.

"You'll be fine," he says, and as Seb gives him a somehow affectionate glare, Evan leans in and kisses his temple. "I'm gonna go find Jake."

He gives Seb a jokingly stern look.

"Don't run off on me," he says warningly, and Seb scoffs, but can't help but smile.

"I'll try not to," he says, before nodding in Jake's direction, over by the bar. "You, go ahead."

And Evan gives him another small smile, before making his way into the rather large room, toward his brother.

Meanwhile, Seb stands there, watching. Most of the guests have arrived already; he can see Matt and Em over there, talking to Clara. He remembers them all being introduced at his birthday party, ages ago. Dana has joined them, as easily sociable as always, from what Seb can tell, and Jake, Sophie and Angie are talking to Seb's parents. Morgan has made his way over to the bar, Josie joining in a conversation with Seb's mother, while Jim and Mark seem to be discussing something over by the stage, where Seb and Evan will soon be standing, by a makeshift altar.

And suddenly, Seb just feels overwhelmingly nervous.

He makes his way over to the nearest table, where some of the chairs have been left in place, and he sits down, taking a deep breath.

His hands are actually shaking a bit. He doesn't like big social gatherings much, after all, despite having an easier time with it, since he met Evan. He can actually enjoy it, now.

But these people are all here because of him. Well, him and Evan, but they have still come here to focus their attention on him, in some way or other. And this isn't like his birthday party. He kind of thought it would be, in a way, as far as the social aspect is concerned, but this really is completely different.

He's getting married today.
Married
.

"You okay?" Seb looks up at the sound of Dana's voice, and he half-smiles tiredly.

"Yeah," he says. "Just a bit nervous, I guess."

He's aware of how that reply sounds almost identical to the one he gave Evan, earlier, but Dana just smiles.

"It's your wedding day," she says, sounding a bit jokingly melodramatic, which Seb somehow appreciates. "I would expect there to be all kinds of butterflies."

"Butterflies," Seb mutters. "That's a nice way of putting it. I prefer the term anxiety attack."

It's an exaggeration, but he doesn't care.

Dana chuckles, and nudges him gently in the shoulder. She sits down beside him, at the table.

"You'll do fine," she says, sounding confident, and unconsciously mirroring Evan's reply from earlier. "If it helps, I know for a fact that Evan's nervous, too."

Seb raises an eyebrow at her, and she cocks hers, as if to say
true story
. Seb sighs.

"Yeah, well, he would be," he says, looking out across the room. "He's marrying
me
."

Jesus, the words still sound so weird to say out loud.

"And I don't think I've ever seen him happier." Dana sounds completely confident this time, and Seb looks back at her. She looks calm, and sure. And then, she chuckles.

"Although," she says. "I must admit, I didn't really see this coming."

Seb raises his eyebrows.

"What," he says, "him marrying a dude?"

"Oh no," Dana replies, raising her eyebrows, as well. "
That
I saw coming, like
miles
away."

Seb frowns, and Dana gives him a look.

"I've known him for years, Seb," she says, matter-of-factly, and just a little bit smugly. "And my gay-dar is simply excellent."

She frowns, thinking.

"Or...
bi
-dar, in this case?" she tries, squinting, before shuddering at the weird word.

Seb is surprised for only a split second or so, at what Dana says. He was under the impression that Evan has been pretty much the epitome of a typical, straight guy, and therefore, everyone was surprised when he and Seb ended up together. But then again, he supposes that one maybe doesn't simply change sexual preferences, over night, and it makes sense that Dana saw it coming.

"I mean," Dana continues, "I didn't really expect him to actually own up to it anytime soon, at least not like that. He's always had a preference for girls, like me."

She quirks a small smile and cocks her eyebrows at that, before continuing.

"But he's always had a thing for guys, too," she says, her voice taking on a more serious tone. "He never did anything about it, though, ever. He admitted it to me, once. But he was shitfaced, at the time, and I'm not even sure he remembers."