hunnyfresh - Letters from War

The crowd laughed again, and Regina nodded, supporting her claim.

"If I've learned anything in all my years walking this earth, it's that he was right. Take chances. Even when the stakes are high or the odds are against you, just try. Past Emma would have been so wary writing to a stranger, but that stranger turned into my friend, and then my best friend, and then my lover, and now my wife. Whether it's the right time or the wrong time, all I know is that I would spend a lifetime waiting for the chance to meet you, Regina."

A collective aww started by Ruby and eventually picked up by the bridal party and half the crowd sounded in the hall loud enough to make Emma blush and Regina giggle at her embarrassment.

"I know you'd do the same. Just look at us, you did do the same. I promise to be by your side always, even if you can't see me. I will be your rock, your confidant, your friend, and your loving wife for as long as you'll have me. I love you, and I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you and our son."

As if on cue, Henry stepped up between them and held up their rings in his palm. They took them and brought Henry into a tight hug before kissing the teen on his cheek. Without breaking eye contact, they slid their rings onto the other's finger, holding fiercely onto one another before coming together to meet in a sweet kiss.

The guests cheered as they followed the wives and their entourage down the steps to the lower hall where drinks and hors d'oeuvres were being served while the staff moved hastily to clear out the ceremonial chairs and make room for the dinner tables. August was the second to wish the couple congratulations, after Henry of course. Emma, Regina, and Henry had collapsed into one another in another embrace as soon they made it down the steps.

Pictures were taken. Old friends were reacquainted. New friends were made. Emma and Regina had never looked happier. The photographer had stolen the Swan-Mills family for pictures out by the beachside which gave August the chance he needed to navigate the crowd on the upper floor and find that Accented Beauty he had bumped into earlier.

Making a pit stop at the open bar first, he narrowly avoided running into Denise, Neal's three-year old, as she laughed and ran away from Aliya. He smirked that both girls had matching blue dresses and braided pigtails. He chuckled even harder when he remembered Neal complaining that his fingers were too big to braid the girls' hair, but Tamara basically forced him to learn.

Reaching the bar, he bumped into Ruby who, judging by her wild eyes, may have been part of the crowd already taking shots. Graham, now delegated to Co-Sheriff after a heart attack put him to desk work duty, was already cheering for another round.

"Lookin' spiffy, Sarge." She patted his shoulder and leaned her hip against the bar. "I'll even let you buy me a drink."

He laughed and motioned for the bartender to prepare two rum and cokes. "You're drunk already? It's barely even six."

"Please," the waitress scoffed and taking the proffered drink. "I'm just getting some liquid courage."

"Oh," he raised his eyebrows intrigued. "Who's the lucky man?"

A timid "excuse me" sounded between them, and August and Ruby parted when auburn hair and fair skin squeezed between them to reach the counter and ask the bartender for a soda. Smirking at his luck, August tried to duck his head and catch the eye of Accented Beauty, but she was determined on getting her drink. When she turned to make her leave, that's when August noticed Ruby had been staring at her with the same intrigue—grinning bashfully at her actually—and Accented Beauty's fair cheeks tinted pink at the attention as she smiled into her glass.

"No," August immediately warned.

"What?" Ruby snapped her head at him after staring off after her, and put two and two together. "No, she likes me better."

"We had a moment when I got here."

"We were talking the entire time downstairs, and I helped Emma and Regina pick the floral arrangements. You don't even know her name!" Ruby stomped her foot petulantly.

Before August could retort, the familiar accent spoke up over the music.

"Ruby?" August's eyes widened when he saw not one, but two Accented Beauties. He hadn't realized the one who had sneaked between them mere seconds ago had been wearing a different style of dress, flowy and fairly conservative compared to her counterpart.

Ruby smiled and turned her attention to the florist. "Hey, Belle."

"This is my sister, Lacey," Belle introduced, though Lacey's eyes had been permanently fixated on August's with a knowing smirk on her burgundy painted lips. "She's here for a few months helping my father and I run the shop."

Slowly, August and Ruby turned to one another, their lips quirking pleasantly. "Lacey," Ruby began, shoving the man toward the woman in a clubbing dress, "this is August."

The foursome walked away from the bar just as Tina caught the mischievous glint in Ruby's eye. The preschool teacher shook her head and hooked Kathryn by the arm and tugged them to the vacated spot. "I thought we agreed no wedding hook ups."

"That was really just for you." Kathryn leaned over the counter and ordered a drink.

"Me?" Tina asked aghast, her even springier curls bouncing in her shock. "What did I do?"

" Las Vegas. "

The two words stopped the petite blonde in her tracks and added a pink to her cheeks that wasn't caused by make-up. She muttered nonetheless against Kathryn's laughter and crossed her arms accusingly. "Well, what about you, then? It's been close to a year since you stopped seeing Oliver."

"Can I just be blessedly single for once?" Kathryn reached blindly for her drink only to pull back sharply to find fingers already surrounding it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Miss." A voice, deep and sweet that was laced with just a bit of a Southern accent apologized profusely, but Kathryn barely registered it when she noticed the man, tall, crew cut, and one of the three in attendance who had been sporting their army blues. "I thought it was my drink."

Kathryn, despite her sharp tongue and quick thinking as a lawyer, was left gobbling like a fish as Sweet Army Boy chuckled bashfully, rubbing his palm against the back of his neck. "You have good taste in drinks, Miss...?"

"Sorry, Holt, F," Tina said catching his name stitched on his breast before patting his bicep apologetically. "No wedding hook ups."

She looped her arm through Kathryn's and shoved the drink in her hand.

"No, that's just for you!" Kathryn complained, tossing her head over her shoulder to give Holt a parting pout.

They passed August, who was leaning against a wall speaking closely with Lacey. The younger twin had spent the last seven months in Australia back with their Mum, but had been backpacking across Europe since she was seventeen. Her stories rivalled August's. While he had been sowing his wild oats in Thailand, she was trekking along the Berlin Wall. When he had been training in the desert, she had been cliff diving and swimming with manta rays. August was instantly infatuated. If this was what Emma felt for Regina, then sign him up.

"Uncle August!" Henry, nearly as tall as him, slung an arm around his shoulder in greeting. August made a mental note to talk to the kid about game, but Lacey, sensing their time was interrupted momentarily, bowed her head gracefully and stepped away. "My moms were gonna kill you if you showed up late."

August grabbed a champagne flute from a passing server and snorted. "Today would have happened with or without me."

"Yeah, but they'd never let you live it down." He made a grab for the remaining flute on the tray, but August beat him to it, leading the pouting boy away from any semblance of alcohol.

"Good try," he scolded playfully.