Chapter Text
Sel had barely been home from her honeymoon for a week before she started bugging me about my own wedding. Oh, sure, she did it very subtly, but given that she's my best friend, it's not like I don't know her tricks. The wedding magazines "appearing" in the office, and her penthouse, and my apartment, and the manor. The boards that miraculously generated on my Pinterest account. The color samples that took over my desk, though I couldn't be completely sure those were from her, or Alfred. Either way, it was the most passive aggressive pestering I'd ever been privy to, and it was driving me nuts.
"Dick and I haven't even set a date yet," I told her finally, after nearly three weeks of wedding-induced psychosis. "We're not in any rush."
"Good, 'cause if I have to wear another fancy dress like that anytime soon, I might just kill someone," Steph said, throwing herself into my lap, even though I was standing next to Sel's desk. Thankfully, there was a chair directly behind me, since we both went down into it.
"But you looked so pretty," Sel cooed, then laughed as Steph flipped her off.
After spitting Steph's hair out of my mouth, I assured her, somewhat tentatively, "I don't really want anything quite as fancy as Sel and Bruce did. And, I don't know, I don't think a big white wedding is really what I want. Or what Dick wants, either."
Sel sat up straighter and looked me in the eye. "Precious, I don't care if you want a hoedown in cowboy boots or the fanciest wedding in Versailles, Bruce and I will make sure your wedding is exactly what you and Dick want. Whatever you want, you will get. Same goes for you whenever you're ready, Sunshine. You will have the wedding of your dreams, no matter what those dreams may be."
"What if I want to run away to Vegas and elope?" Steph joked, cuddling into me even more. Like a sleepy cat. "Would you be okay with that?"
"We would hope that you would invite your family, but whatever you want, we'll make it happen," Sel reaffirmed.
They joked back and forth for a while, but I sort of tuned them out. I was mostly reveling in the fact that I wasn't expected to have a society wedding, just because I was marrying a Wayne. The relief of that sort of took my breath away. Or that might have been Steph's elbow wedging itself in my diaphragm as she shifted, yet again. But anyway, I let myself really start to dream, about what I wanted. I had no idea what it was, but I knew that I could have it once I discovered just what it was.
…
Dick came home that night to find me in our bed, scrolling on my tablet. "What are you doing, babe?" he asked me, stripping out of his Nightwing suit and dropping the pieces as he went.
"Looking at wedding stuff," I said, shaking my head at his predictability. He did it every night, and cleaned it up every morning. When I had asked him why he didn't just put everything away when he took it off, his response was to pout and say he was too tired. And since he jumped off buildings to chase down bad guys, after a full day of work, I couldn't really argue with that.
He nuzzled in next to me until he was laying in my lap, face pressed to my stomach. "Whatcha thinking so far?" he asked, eyes closed as soon as I began petting his hair. I took a brief moment to be thankful he didn't wear a helmet or cowl, since that would make his hair incredibly sweaty, then I disagreed with myself. After all, either would protect his head far better than his domino mask.
"I'm not really sure yet, just looking at ideas in general," I began. "Sel said we could have whatever we want, and it doesn't have to be anything fancy like hers and Bruce's. And neither of us were super excited about the prospect of a society wedding, anyway."
"That's an understatement," he mumbled. He was basically boneless, and it was adorable. It never failed to make me happy that he was so comfortable with me that he could completely let his guard down.
We sat like that for a few more minutes, him dozing in my lap, with my tablet resting on his shoulder, but soon enough, we both climbed into bed. As soon as I turned out the light, Dick wrapped himself around me, in the now-familiar way that I couldn't sleep without. I snuggled in and was nearly asleep when Dick said softly, "You know, Bruce has an island in the Caribbean."
"Of course, he does," I mumbled, turning in his arms to face him. "Are you saying you want to get married there?"
"We could," he replied. A quick kiss to my forehead later, he added, "It would be fairly easy to do it there. The house is bigger than the manor, and then there's various guest cottages spread throughout. It would be easy to keep it contained to the people we actually want there."
"And to keep the unwanteds away," I agreed, warming to this idea pretty quickly. After all, we were already getting hounded by various members of the press on what our wedding plans were.
"Exactly. We could even have some fake plans leaked to the press to throw them off the scent, and then quietly disappear down there. How does that sound?"
"That sounds amazing," I said hesitantly, as a potential problem presented itself to my anxious psyche.
"Except…" he prompted. He knew me so well.
"If we had to hire anyone to help out, we would still have to keep things on the downlow. You wouldn't be able to be completely relaxed." And that was important to me. I wanted him to enjoy his wedding day. Was that too much to ask for?
But Dick just smiled and kissed my nose. "The caretakers are Alfred's sister and brother-in-law. Between the three of them, I think they would be offended if we offered to hire help for them."
That made sense. A Pennyworth was worth a legion of hired help, after all. "Then, I say let's talk to Bruce and Sel and see what they think."
"They'll say yes," he laughed, kissing my lips this time.
"I know, but I hate assuming," I replied, pouting just a bit. Just because Sel had said I could have anything I wanted, didn't mean I was going to take it for granted.
"And that's why I love you, babe."
…
The next day being Sunday, we were expected at the manor for family brunch, which gave us the perfect opportunity to bring up our idea with Sel and Bruce. We were greeted by various grunts from everyone under the age of twenty-one, and actual, coherent hellos from the over-thirty crowd. And just as I started attacking my cappucino Alfred had waiting for me, Bruce said, "You know, chum, we do have Kokomo available, if you wanted to get married there."
I snorted, inhaling hot coffee and foam. "You have the island in the Beach Boys song?" I managed, after I stopped choking.
"Yes, I bought it to keep Lex Luther from sullying it," Bruce replied, completely nonchalant.
"You failed to mention that last night," I accused Dick, who merely laughed at me.
"Would it have changed your mind?"
"It would have helped me decide faster, to be honest."
And so it was decided that we would get married on Bruce's private island named Kokomo (which, to be honest, made me giggle every time I thought about it). After that, the hardest part of planning the wedding was finding a dress I liked. Sel dragged me to every bridal shop in Gotham, Metropolis, and Star City before I found the one.
Lois, Dinah, Artemis and Diana had been recruited in the "We will find the perfect dress for Precious or else" plan, so the five of us spent many hours (honestly, too many, and I would have felt guilty had it not been so much fun) combing through racks and pages, trying to find something that felt right. It wasn't until the sixth (or was it the seventh? I couldn't remember) consecutive Saturday spent in search of El Dorado, or so it felt, that Dinah gasped, spicy tuna roll halfway to her mouth. "I can't believe I forgot about Tien! C'mon, let's go!"
She herded us all out of the Queen mansion and out to her waiting SUV, even forsaking our lunch that none of us had finished in her haste, then drove like a bat out of hell toward downtown Star City. "We really should have thought of Tien before now," Artemis said, shaking her head. "I mean, she only makes nearly all of your dresses, Di."
"I know! But maybe I just subconsciously didn't want to share her genius with anyone else," Dinah replied, grinning back at me through the rearview mirror. "But Gen deserves it for her special day, so I guess I can share for something like this."
She took us to a literal back alley, parking the car and rushing us all inside with a giddy delight. "This had better be good," Sel threatened teasingly as our eyes adjusted to the somewhat dim store.
"Miss Lance, it's so nice to see you again." A tiny (and coming from me, that was saying something) and glamorous woman with gorgeous thick dark hair suddenly appeared in front of us, though I was the only one surprised. Dang supers. "And Miss Crock, it's been too long."
"It has, sorry, Hoa, but I haven't needed a dress for a while now," Artemis confessed. "Being a college student fulltime put a bit of a damper on my outings as the ward of a billionaire."
"But we brought someone to see Tien," Dinah said, pulling me through the knot of women. "Genevieve is getting married, and we know Tien will create something spectacular for her."
"A wedding, how lovely," Hoa said, turning to me with a very critical eye. "Tien does love to create special pieces for special days. I will let her know you have arrived."
She gestured for us all to take seats in the plush-looking chairs, then disappeared behind the curtain closing the small reception area off from the rest of the shop. I barely had time to sit, however, before Hoa came back, followed by another woman who was even tinier. And this new woman, Tien, I assumed, seem old enough to be my great-grandmother. Her hair, just as thick as Hoa's, was a gorgeous silver, and her face seemed to be one wrinkle on top of another, born from a lifetime of smiling, given the shape and placement. But her eyes, which fixed on me immediately, were a clear dark brown, and they didn't seem to miss a thing.
"Come, Genevieve," Hoa gestured to me. "Tien needs to inspect you to create your dress."
Inspect? That made me a bit nervous, but I did as I was bidden. I stood on the little pedestal, feeling tall for probably the first time in my life as Tien circled me many times, though without saying a word.
"Where and when is your wedding?" Hoa asked me, ready to write my answers on a clipboard that she seemed to pull from nowhere.
I answered, and both Hoa and Tien immediately burst into more smiles. "A spring beach wedding, how lovely," Hoa gushed. "And your colors?"
"Black and blue," I answered, then blushed at Artemis's knowing grin. Yes, I had chosen those colors as a tribute to my fiancé's superhero suit. And this was probably the fiftieth time that Artemis had teased me about it. And it wasn't like Sel hadn't done the exact same thing with her wedding.
"Blue? Not emerald like your eyes?" Hoa asked, a bit surprised.
I was a bit thrown, myself, though flattered she thought my eyes looked like emeralds. "Ah, no, blue like my fiancé's eyes."
"Ah," she said, and she and Tien nodded like it explained everything. "How big is the wedding party?"
Hoa started measuring me, so I was a bit distracted as I answered. "Just a best man and maid of honor, but then the family will all be in our wedding colors, too." Artemis preened again, since she was the maid of honor. Wally, of course, was best man, which, according to precedence, meant they were next to get married. She laughed every time I said something about it, but Wally usually blushed, so I figured I wasn't too off the mark.
Hoa continued asking me questions about what I had planned for the wedding while Tien measured every part of my body. I sort of felt like Harry Potter when he was getting measured for his wand. But then Tien suddenly stopped and rushed to the counter, where she began drawing furiously, with a look at me every few seconds. I wanted to go see what she was doing, but Hoa stopped me by asking me more questions.
Ten or so minutes passed, and then Tien suddenly stopped drawing. She picked up her notebook and held it level with me, looking between it and me for several long moments. Hoa joined her, and they spoke quickly in Vietnamese to each other, with a few adjustments to the drawing following. Artemis looked intrigued, since she could understand what they were saying, but I had no idea.
Hoa turned back to me, clasping her hands in front of her very excitedly. "Tien has designed a dress for you. She would be pleased if you would come see it."
I nodded shortly, feeling nervous all of a sudden. I felt like this was momentous, and I even shook a bit. Sel was at my elbow in an instant, steadying me as I walked to the counter.
Tien had drawn a rather good likeness of me, even for being quick and rough, but it only emphasized the perfection that was her design. It looked like a crocheted lace dress with a V-neckline, figure-hugging and ending in a small train. It was simple, but somehow everything I hadn't known I wanted in a wedding dress.
"Is good, yes?" That was the first Tien had spoken, at least in English, but it was the understatement of the century.
"It's fantastic," I whispered, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
"It's perfect," Sel added, squeezing my arm.
At our approval, the rest of the women came rushing over to see. There were many oohs and ahs and a whole lot of talking over one another, but we all let Tien know exactly what we thought of her design. She nodded, happily accepting our praise.
Hoa and Sel went over all the arrangements, and Tien brought out a bottle of Dom Perignon. As she handed me a glass, she smiled. "You will be beautiful bride. My dress only help." Embarrassingly, I burst into tears, but she only smiled more and handed me a box of tissues, patting my back as I blew my nose.
…
The months flew by, and then I was suddenly getting on the Wayne jet with all my family. We spent a few days on the island, both in preparation for the wedding and as a bit of a vacation. Alfred's sister, Alice, was a spectacular cook, as was expected, and her husband, Oscar, nearly had everything set up by the time we got there.
My wedding day dawned perfectly clear, almost as if someone had ordered it specifically for me. We woke nearly with the dawn, even though Dick and I had specific instructions to sleep in late. That just wasn't possible for either of us. We had a lovely brunch as a family, then Sel, Artemis, and Steph whisked me away with a laugh. "We're already tempting fate by having you see her this morning," Steph teased Dick, "so we've got to keep you two away until the ceremony."
He gave in with one last heated kiss to my lips. "Last one as a single girl," he said with a wink. I was pretty sure Artemis snapped a pic of that kiss, which made my heart happy.
Tien and Hoa were waiting for us in the little guest house Sel had declared the bridal suite. And there was my dress. My perfect, made-specifically-for-me, gorgeous wedding dress. Tien carefully took it out of the bag, and I bawled my face off again. She just laughed and patted my hair.
We girls spent the rest of the day with pedicures, manicures, and facials. Alice kept us all well-fed and watered, so we didn't need to leave, and it was honestly incredibly relaxing. My family kept me from overthinking anything or crying, at least post-dress reveal. Sel then did my hair, all in a tumble of curls down my back, and Artemis did my makeup, only slightly more dramatic than my usual natural look. And then it was time to get dressed.
Tien had provided a bra and panty set made from the scraps of lace from my dress, as well as a gorgeous negligee that would be worn on some other night. I slipped into the surprisingly comfortable underwear on my own, then Sel helped me carefully shimmy into the dress. She placed the flower crown in my hair and the giant sapphire necklace Bruce had given me around my neck.
"Precious, you are a beautiful woman every day of your life, but hot damn, you look stunning," she said, tearing up as she looked at me.
"Really?" I squeaked, starting to tear up as well.
"No more crying!" Artemis ordered sternly. "Your mascara is waterproof, but your eyes will still get puffy! And we can't have puffy eyes!"
"Okay, come see yourself!" Steph instructed, pulling out her phone as she gestured toward the full-length mirror. "Come see, 'cause you look fabulous!" Cass nodded in silent agreement.
I obeyed, torn between enthusiasm and anxiety. But as I stepped into view of the mirror, my heart stopped, and I was barely conscious of Steph taking pictures.
"Yes, Precious, that is you," Sel said, taking my hand in hers. "I told you you look fantastic."
"Dick is going to die," Cass added, grinning at me.
"He better not," I laughed, a bit wetly. "After all, we have a life to spend together, ya know, the whole reason for getting married."
"I thought that was so you can get people to give you expensive presents," Artemis quipped, lightening the mood for us all.
Everyone hurried around to finish getting themselves ready, and then Sel was ushering me to the golf carts Alfred and Oscar had to take us all back to the big house.
With Sel on one side and Artemis on the other, I was ushered through the house to the doors leading to the back lawn. The lawn, which was bigger than a football field, ended with a dramatic view of the ocean. It just so happened to face west, perfect for catching the sunset. The aisle runner started at the doors and led all the way to the simple backdrop where I knew Bruce, Wally, and the man of my dreams were waiting. Steph and Cass kissed my cheek and slipped out, apparently letting the DJ (also known as Jason) know I was ready, since soft music began less than a minute after the door closed behind them.
Artemis gave me a big hug. "You got this, babe. You look gorgeous, and Dick is head over heels for you. Just breathe," she told me, then kissed my cheek, accepted her bouquet from Alfred, and slipped out the door.
Alfred handed me my flowers with a wet smile. "You look absolutely breathtaking, Miss Genevieve. You make a lovely bride."
"Thanks, Alfie." I was barely able to get the words out without crying, but I managed to kiss his cheek and take a deep breath.
"Ready, Precious?" Sel asked, slipping her arm through mine and entwining our hands. "Just remember to breathe, and you'll be great."
I did as instructed, taking a deep breath, then another, just to be on the safe side. "I'm ready," I announced with a firm nod.
"That's my girl," Sel whispered, and Alfred nodded proudly. He opened the doors, and instantly, the music swirled into the wedding march as the audience rose to their feet.
Sel guided me down the aisle, but I really wasn't paying attention. Dick was at the other end, looking exactly like every fantasy I'd ever had as a little girl. His midnight blue three-piece suit fit him perfectly, and his sand-covered bare feet brought a smile to my lips. And he looked at me like I was all he ever wanted.
Bruce's speech was appropriately funny, poignant, and touching, but I only ever heard it when I watched the video afterwards. I couldn't look away from Dick and his gorgeous eyes. We exchanged vows, and then we exchanged rings. Tears were shed, since it was the stones from his mom's ring. And then Bruce pronounced us man and wife. "You can kiss her now, chum," he said, smile coming through even in his words.
Dick smiled and cupped my face in his hands. "I love you, Viv," he whispered.
"You'd better, or we just went through all this for no good reason," I teased, happier than I'd ever been in my life.
Dick laughed and kissed me. Literal fireworks boomed overhead, and our guests cheered.