come_sailaway | 10th Contraption: Mawwiage

Entry tags:

10th Contraption: Mawwiage

Who: John Watson, Johnny Summer, and César Salazar with Rich Goranski, Fio, and Honoria Crabb AND YOU Oh god why are weddings like this
What: The throuple getting married by... the Captain?!
When: December 11th at 7pm
Where: John's
Warnings: I believe in us! But for now, nothing.

SEATING

John's has been transformed, the seating up front rearranged in rows towards the center dias with an aisle down the middle, the piano moved off to one side. The buffet for later can be seen off to the other. Decorations taken from Spirit Halloween appear here and there–flowers taken from cavalera flower crowns, sun and moon candlestick holders from the tarot collection, festively colored tablecloths draped down the walls like curtains or banners. A sign near the entrance says "seat yourself", although the front row on one side is reserved with a ribbon across the backs.

What can't be seen is who is officiating. Or the husbands, but at least that part makes sense. The dais is empty.

THE CEREMONY

As one of the few traditions in this wedding, music announces the start of the ceremony. Rich strolls in first, trying to look professional even if he’s clearly shaking a bit as he holds the small pillow with the rings laid on it. At least he’s dressed quite smartly, Johnny ensuring his red suit is wrinkle free and his cuff links are set in place. Fio, in a winged black dress and flowery headdress, follows after the ring bearer, adorning the path with paper petals as she moves along.

The first husband to be down the aisle is none other than Johnny, in a smart charcoal grey suit with a goldenrod pocketsquare, gold jewelry, and a wreath of orange blossoms on his head; and accompanied by Honoria Crabb in her perfectly tailored black tuxedo, worn with black gloves and a white bow tie. Watson and César take up the rear, arms linked together. César is wearing an equally fancy suitcoat with his tie held in place with a ruby and silver tie pin, and Watson is wearing an officer’s dress uniform, with the sword and without the helmet, and also his good cane. All three husbands-to-be are wearing green carnation boutonnières.

AFTER PARTY

It's time to eat, dance, and party!

The seating has been rearranged for sitting at tables around the "dance" floor. Food from Windjammer has been placed on some tables for a buffet. There’s a selection of fancy cheeses and crackers, sushi, premade sandwiches, and salad with dressings on the side. For dessert, to one side there’s a table with cupcakes, cookies, and chocolates arranged in a heart. On the bar are a couple bowls of punch (including one explicitly labeled as non-alcoholic) made by Johnny ahead of time, because he's been forbidden to bartend his own wedding, much to his deep chagrin.

There’s a space set just off the dancefloor for musicians who wish to perform, the usual John’s piano (bribed into behaving with a whole pan of beef brisket from the buffet) off to one side.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Max has to force-close the tab in his brain that is still trying to figure out how a guy has a talking chimpanzee as a butler. He just... can't even.

Asses. Asses are safer conversations topics. "Sure. I mean, I've been told it's my second best feature." Eyebrow waggle. Go on. Ask him what the first best is.

"Right? What a burden being so beautiful. You handle it well." The flirting will continue forever until someone tells him to stop. This is how he copes with all this existential information he's getting.

"Holy shit. You're from my future? That's... damn. I want to ask what it's like but is that like asking for spoilers?"

Klaus doesn't get why it's SO WEIRD. I mean, he does, but also he's so used to it that like...is it even news? Probably.

They've never met a challenge, intentional or otherwise, that they could turn down, so... "Yeah? And what's your first?" Klaus isn't sure he can guess, but he hopes it's probably not his personality, so...at least he's ruled that out.

There's a bright grin at the compliment. It's much easier to take compliments about his looks than anything else. "I know. I've had years of experience. But I'm sure you know what it's like." Yeah, flirting is harmless. Nothing has to happen. "I had this huge portrait done of me once. That's probably the only portrait I've had of me done, actually. But I think it caught my essence." A beat. "I mean, there was also that time I was posing for art classes for money, so maybe there's more of me out there than I remember." He casually doesn't mention like...that was so he could afford more drugs, but whatever.

"I mean, I guess so, yeah. I mean, some of it's maybe spoilers, but different world, different futures. Probably. Like I doubt the end of the world is in 2019 for you, but it is for me. We did not succeed at avoiding it."

Max knows the feeling since it's the same every time people get on his case for living with a vampire. It's not that weird, come on. (Yes it is.)

He's so glad you asked, Klaus. "My dick, of course." Look at this smirk he's wearing. Sometimes he gets really into his own head about how his dick might be his most redeeming quality--and what the hell does that say about him?--but... when he's flirting with a fun new friend, it's easy to own it. It's a selling feature, obviously.

"I bet you were a great subject for those pictures. I'd be happy to have you as a model." All the flirting, all the compliments. How high can they each inflate the other's ego?

That plan falters a bit, though, after hearing about... excuse him? The end of the world?

"And here everyone kept saying 2012 was going to be the end of the world. That... seriously happened?"

Klaus wants to say they didn't see that response coming, but...here they are, giggling to themselves for a moment and trying not to look down to see if they can tell. "Hot." He laughs. "Hope you got some things that aren't your ass and dick that people compliment." He looks up at his face for a moment. "You have nice eyes, too." Just a little wink.

It's fine. Nobunaga hasn't said expressly that flirting is off limits, but maybe he should check. Just in case. "Oh? You gonna draw me like one of your French girls, is it?" There's absolutely no apology here. "I'll clear it with Nobunaga. Maybe if you give him a copy."

"Oh. Yeah. 2012 came and went. Nothing abnormal there. It's just my world, I think. So I wouldn't worry about it."

Max was about to say he's also a really good cook, but then Klaus compliments his eyes and he feels his entire chest swell with a sudden joy that takes him so completely by surprise. What was he about to say?

"I-I also make a really good cake." Yeah, that was probably it, right? Close enough.

"Nobunaga? That's the guy in the armor, right? He um. He got really upset when I told him my line of work. But, like, in a sweet and concerned way." Is Max blushing about that a little too? Maybe. He can crush on everyone at once, it's fine.

"I'd love to give him something, at least. And you too. But I'm not that good at drawing and there aren't any kitchens here."

Catching people off guard is actually one of Klaus’ favorite things to do. Kind of like getting Nobunaga to blush.

“I bet you do, buddy. And one day you’re gonna prove it to me.” But this place doesn’t really allow for much by way of cooking. Sadly. Not that Klaus knows shit about cooking. “I shouldn’t be trusted around a stove, so you’ll have to handle all that if we find one ever.”

Klaus finds him in the crowd and nods, a stupid smile forming. “Yeah. That’s the one.” He looks back to Max. “He does that to a lot of people. Wants to break castes and conditioning and all that. It’s cute most of the time.” Max doesn’t seem mad about it, though. Is that a blush he sees? Aw. Someone is blushing over their boyfriend. So cute. “He wasn’t overly intense about it, was he?” Because they definitely know that’s a thing, too.

“We don’t need anything, buddy. At least it’s not super necessary. But you’re cute for wanting to.” And Klaus will stand by that.

"Duly noted," he says with a shy giggle. "I'll keep you away from the hot stoves." Maybe he and Nobunaga both.

"Oh, well, he was a little. But after I told him I had knives he seemed to calm down." Max still doesn't quite know what to do with that. But, Nobunaga had seemed so adamant.

"Actually, he asked me if I could teach you how to use them because he said he'd trust me to do it more than Blackbeard? So. I guess, maybe, if you want to learn?" He's also been pressganged into more martial arts stuff with both Nobunaga and Teyrey so... he may as well.

“Thanks. I’m much better for taste testing.” See? Perfectly fine.

There was a nod at that. “Makes sense. It means you can defend yourself, which is useful.” At least when it comes to Nobunaga. “My dad trained us in hand-to-hand when we were kids. So I know some stuff, but less with weapons. I left Diego and Five to the weapons.”

There’s a slight eyeroll here at the mention of Nobunaga asking someone else to train him with weapons. “I have a plan with Blackbeard. The plan is make myself someone he listens to. It’s fine. If I have to trick someone into torturing me a little to distract them, well, things happen.” But they sigh. “He’s just a worrier. Also please understand that he’s being weird about me being in danger when he’s the one that signed up for a murder game where he got eaten by a werecougar. Like literally. Not sexually.”

This is fine. “Which isn’t to say I’m saying no cause I do still want to learn different fighting, just boyfriends, am I right?”

"Five? Is that really one of your siblings' name?" Says the guy who was renamed Max Maximum.

"Isn't Blackbeard supposed to be a really dangerous pirate? Or is he like... a fanboy who named himself after that really famous pirate." Honestly, it's good he's asking Klaus this and not Blackbeard himself.

"Wait, wait, torture?" He looks Klaus up and down. "You're not, like, into that...are you?"

And Max's eyes just keeping getting wider the more Klaus adds. "Man... and I thought the thing I had going on was weird. That must be the same werecougar Valdis mentioned."

“Yeah. I’m uh…I’m Number Four. Technically. Dad named us numbers. Mom gave us real names. Except Five disappeared before then.”

Klaus considers that before nodding. “Yeah. He’s definitely the real deal and dangerous as shit, but he seems to like me, so…that’s a point in my favor, right? Also don’t ask him that in person cause he can get like angry.”

Klaus arches an eyebrow. “I mean…yeah. Kinda part of it. I got off on the torture when I was kidnapped by these guys trying to get information on Five. So it made the situation awkward. For them. Not for me. Obviously. I mean, sure they didn’t ask permission first, but also…you should’ve seen their faces!” They seem weirdly proud of this. “Ten hours straight and they didn’t get anything! And then like they crushed my drugs and maybe they got stuff. Woops.”

They shrug. “Probably. I only know of the one. But it’s fine. Everything is fine.”

"Whoa. That's... kinda messed up? I like the name your mom gave you a lot better. Mine didn't always used to be Max, either but..." but he suddenly has decided he doesn't want to talk about that now.

"I don't know if I want to meet him if he really is that dangerous. You should be careful, dude... uh. Even if you're into that stuff that's um. That's one hell of a story."

And here now he's feeling slightly awkward because he's never really done drugs so he can't relate.

"You say that but uh... a lot of things don't really sound fine."

Klaus shrugs. "I mean, yeah..." They look at Max for a moment, wanting to ask about it, but the drop off suggests he doesn't want to, so they don't.

"It's fine. He's very grouchy, but he went with me to karaoke! It was super fun! But it's okay if you don't want to. I think it's just one of those things." They shrug. "I don't know him super well, but I know just to say things and if he wants to understand them, he'll ask. And that he thinks music is soooo cool!"

There's a moment of quiet. "Even if it's not, there's nothing to do about them now. I'm fine. I'm alive. I mean, I couldn't die for most of my life..." A beat. "I mean I could die, but I didn't stay dead, which is the same thing."

"What did you sing? Pirate shanties?" See, this is really why he shouldn't meet dangerous pirates, because he's guaranteed to ask stupid questions like this. "Or, oh my god, did you get him into pop music?" Imagine getting Blackbeard into The Black Eyed Peas?

He quiets a little at that shift in mood. More terrible revelations that sound anything but fine. Dying but not staying dead? How is that possible?

"I don't understand. But I... if it's upsetting to talk about we can just drop it."

"No." He was about to mention what he actually sang, but Max got there first. "Duh. I sang uh...Destiny's Child. I think it was Survivor? I was gonna sing Independent Woman Pt. 1, but..."

Klaus waves it off. "Nah. It's fine. I mean, it's just a lot, so maybe I'll save it for a different time. It's just superpowers. But explaining finding out about it and everything is a lot."

"Goddamn, I might pay good money to see a reprisal of that." He's not even joking. Holy shit, what a song choice.

"I... maybe later, yeah. I guess I'm already a little overloaded by everything going on."

Klaus smiles brightly. "Sure, buddy. I can do that. Don't think you'd make it through Lose My Breath." Just gonna wink at that.

There's a nod. "Yeah. We can do that later. Plus, I don't think I should keep you from your date for too long."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

10th Contraption: Mawwiage

no subject

no subject

slightly nsfw

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

start winding this one down?

yep!

Thank you!

no subject