Until You Met Me

One Hundred & Eleven

Messing with the slightly askew knot in his tie, Gerard lifted his head slightly so that he could look over at Molly, a soft, awed smile playing on his lips. He couldn’t think of a moment when he had seen her happier. He had seen a lot of her happiest moments, from winning competitions when they were children, to the moment that she had told him that she was pregnant, but none of those moments had compared to the one where she had pulled out of their first kiss as husband and wife, and just smiled at him. It had been a soft smile, one that was a little lopsided and accompanied by eyes that were shining with happy tears, and it was one that Gerard was going to remember for the rest of his life. It had been a strange day, one that had been full of emotion, but the way that Molly had looked up at him had made everything worth it. It was a look that he knew she had only ever given to him, and he was determined to keep it that way.

“Champagne?”

Gerard jumped, something which made Poppy smile gently before she held her hand out, offering him the spare glass she held. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the pictures, too?” she asked, turning her attention to Molly who was stood in front of the photographer, posing with her father.

Gerard plucked the glass out of Poppy’s hand, shrugging as he took a sip of the drink. “I think they’ll come and get me if they need me” he said “At least, I hope they will” he added teasingly.

Poppy’s lips ticked upwards again before she took a sip of her drink, allowing a moment of quiet to pass before she spoke again. “How are you feeling?” she asked “This morning was a little...fraught” she added, stopping just short of asking the question she wanted to ask.

The answer should have been obvious. Molly hadn’t stopped smiling, and Gerard hadn’t been able to so much as glance at her without a goofy, loved-up smile taking over his face, but Poppy still wanted to ask. It had been brief, but there had been a moment where things looked like they were going to fall apart, and Poppy wanted to make sure that that was all it had been, a moment of uncertainty that could, and would, be easily forgotten from the memories that her sister and brother-in-law had of their wedding day.

Gerard smiled into his glass before he pulled it away from his lips. “We’re fine, Pop” he said “Better than fine, actually. This morning might not have been great, but this afternoon?” he chirped.

Poppy turned to look up at him, her expression slightly cautious. “You’re not just saying that?” she asked.

“No” Gerard answered “I’m not. We’re OK, Pop. I promise” he added.

Poppy’s eyes searched his face, looking for any sign that there was anything amiss, but the worry was quick to disappear from her face, being replaced by a warm, relieved smile. “I’m glad” she said.

Gerard returned her smile, but their conversation was cut short when Molly called his name, something which made his smile widen. Rolling her eyes warmly, Poppy slipped the glass out of his hand before she stepped back, allowing Gerard to pad towards Molly. Reaching her side, he couldn’t resist pressing his lips to hers, something which made Molly laugh softly before she pulled back, smiling up at him. “The photographer wants to do the shots of just the two of us, now” she mused “How do you feel about spending a few minutes pretending to be alone?” she asked.

Gerard grinned at her. “I think I could handle it” he quipped.

“You think?” Molly played along.

Gerard pressed his lips to hers again, causing Molly to breathe out another gentle laugh before she took his hand, twining her fingers through his as she turned and wandered through the garden they had been stood in. Gerard walked beside her happily, his thumb tracing the line of her new wedding ring, before he caught sight of her bouquet out of the corner of his eye. “What’s that?” he prodded.

“What’s what?” Molly asked.

“The wrapping on your flowers” Gerard clarified.

Molly lifted her bouquet slightly, smiling gently at the piece of paper that was tied around the stems. “My papa gave it to me before the ceremony” she answered “It’s a picture of the two of us from when we were kids. We’re dancing at someone’s wedding, and I think he thought it was a nice reminder of how far we’ve come. Once, we were kids awkwardly dancing at some wedding, and now we’re adults who are going to be awkwardly dancing at our own wedding, to each other” she added.

Gerard scoffed out a laugh, trying to ignore the click of the photographer’s camera that was following them. “You don’t know it’s going to be bad” he said.

Molly pulled them to a stop, guiding Gerard’s hands to her waist before she lightly placed hers on his shoulders, her bouquet lazily hanging from a hand. “I don’t” she mused “If anything, I know that we’ll figure it out eventually. We’re pretty good at getting there in the end” she added, lifting her head to offer him a tender smile.

Gerard returned the smile before he moved his head forwards, touching their foreheads together. “Yeah, we are” he agreed “No matter how many times I step on your feet, we’ll find the rhythm eventually” he added, gently encouraging her waist to sway slightly.

Molly followed his lead, slipping one of her hands into his as she tucked her head beneath his chin.

Gerard led the dance for a few moments before he ducked his head, pressing a soft kiss to the crown of hers. “I love you, Molly” he murmured into her hair “I’m sorry I took so long to say it, but I am going to make up for that by saying it as often as I can for as long as I can. You’re going to get sick of hearing about how crazy I am about you” he added.

Molly smiled to herself before she turned, pressing a soft kiss to his chest. “I love you, too” she said gently.

Gerard’s cheek settled on the top of her head as they continued to sway, the only sound surrounding them being the soft click of the photographer’s camera as she tried to capture a moment that both of them would want to remember for as long as they could. A moment that was just for the two of them, hidden away from everyone else.