Late yesterday evening, Hans came down to talk to Eugene. I was busy trying to get Jordan to go to sleep, so I just sat on the wicker chair and listened. Audrey was in the corner, playing with Pascal, as was her normal evening activity.
When Hans came down, I think Eugene and I were both really surprised, but we greeted him anyway. I offered to let him sit on the chair, but he quickly turned the offer down with a gentleman-like smile.
"I, ah, was actually coming down to talk to your husband about something," he added.
Oh, great. Don't tell me that he and Anna were breaking up or something!
"Why?" Eugene asked, flashing me an 'oh no, not again' look. I tried to suppress a giggle.
"Well, ah...you probably know that Anna and I..and Elsa and Kris are getting married on the 28th...a big double-wedding, since the ladies wanted to."
"Yeah, I'm aware of it." He cast another glance towards me. "Congratulations. Um..."
"Well, we were looking for a, ah...someone to officiate it. You're the only other male doll around here, so..we were going to ask you." Hans mumbled. I could tell he felt awkward, talking about wedding stuff. Well, that would make two of them, since Eugene seemed to be less than enthused to be talking about it, too. I had to grin as I watched the two men squirm like little boys at the idea of talking about a wedding.
Glancing down at Jordan, I noticed she'd finally drifted off to sleep, but I kept her in my arms.
"I don't know. I don't exactly feel right officiating a wedding my own wife was banned from, y'know? Kind of..weird, I guess..." he trailed off, giving me a 'help me' look.
"I understand. I just don't really know who else to ask. I asked Anna to let Rapunzel come - they certainly were good friends when I first came here...But she was quite adamant on the matter. I apologize-"
"It's not your fault, Hans. And Eugene, I think you should officiate. It wouldn't matter to me -- goodness, I want everyone to have their happily ever afters, and Hans did officiate our wedding, remember..." I said quietly, standing and going to stand with the guys.
He looked torn at that --my husband, not Hans--, and he gave me an unreadable expression.
"Well..the wedding isn't until the 28th, so it's no big deal at the moment. Just let us know either way, please?" Hans said, acting like it was no big deal -- even though I could read the disappointment on his face. But he only allowed the disappointment to show for a split second, because then he turned to me and Jordan and lowered his voice accordingly. "Is this your youngest?"
"Mmhmm," I nodded, allowing him to take a glance at Jordan's sleeping face. "Audrey's right over there, playing, and she's our oldest."
He looked past me to offer Audrey a little smile and wave, and she gave him a shy grin in return.
"Well, you both have been blessed with two absolutely adorable children. When Anna and I adopt, we'll have to ask you for parenting tips," he joked, and I gave a polite laugh, even though my heart ached with the fact that Anna would never, EVER even consider that - and she probably would never talk to me again, either. "I suppose I should get going...thank you for your consideration, Eugene, and please let us know what your choice is."
He nodded, and then Hans left.
As soon as he was off of our shelf, Eugene gave me a horrified expression. I held a hand up to him, and he stayed silent until I had put Jordan down in bed for her nap, and ensured that Audrey was going to keep playing.
As soon as I'd returned to his side, he quietly blurted, "I'm not officiating. He can give me all the time in the world to decide, but the answer's no."
"Oh, c'mon, Eugene. He officiated for our big day, and if you don't want to do it for Anna, do it for Elsa, Kris, and Hans."
He was conflicted - I could tell. "But.."
"You know, Eugene, I don't care if you officiate it - it's not that big of an issue for me. I think you should. Just think how happy they'll be. Correction: Just think about how happy WE were. Wouldn't you want them to be that happy, too?"
My hubby's face contorted into a variety of confused expressions. "I'm not the best choice for officiating anything, and I can't talk in front of a group."
"You could do it, I know you could - no problem!" I told him confidently. "And you could tell me how the wedding goes!"
He shrugged his shoulders up to his ears. "I still don't feel right--"
"Well, I don't know why not! You can do it, and you'd do fine!"
"I just...look. Wayyy back, when we were not 'together' for those coupla weeks? When I bumped into Hans, he said a few things about you that were less than nice. I don't feel like doing any favors for a fake."
I processed this information slowly. "Well, maybe he was trying to prove that we weren't together -- remember, you thought I'd-"
"I didn't know what I thought at that time. But I did know one thing, and it was that he didn't need to say things about you. Bet he didn't tell you that."
I sighed. I was too tired to care, and that had been upwards of two months ago. "Yeah, but...but Elsa and Kris-"
"I'm sorry, but I'm not doing it. If they'd have separate weddings, I'd officiate for Elsa and Kris, even though Kris knocked me out that time."
"Eugene, they deserve a happily ever aft-"
"I'm not saying they don't, but I'm just refusing to-"
"It's not like they did anything to insult YOU!" I realized that Audrey could likely hear us, so I snagged my husband's shirt collar, trying to reach so I could reach to whisper in his ear. "If anyone should be against this, it should be me. But do what you want-"
"I plan to. It's not your decision to make." He snapped.
Oooh, he didn't just say that like THAT, did he?!
"And I'm going for a walk. Watch the kids, hm?"
"It's nine o' clock - where on earth do you plan on going?"
"For a walk," I replied. I know, I know...it was snobby of me, but oh well.
And with that, I slipped away to leave the shelf.
I just needed to cool down. I didn't really know what I was angry about. Eugene was a big boy, and if he didn't want to perform the wedding, he wouldn't. But I just didn't want either of the girls to be let down, even if Anna WAS a bit of a jerk. And maybe I was a bit upset at Hans, too, for pretending to be all nice to me, when in reality, he thought just about as much as me as what his fiancee did.
Soo, I just walked.
Eventually, I went back to the shelf - or rather, I tried to.
About halfway to our shelf, I slipped, slammed my right knee and hip into the edge of the shelf side, and then I fell back down to the floor.
You don't know true, physical pain and agony until you smack your knee into the corner or edge of something.
Wonderful.
I could hardly walk, but I managed to drag myself back up to our shelf, hoping all the way that my husband was already asleep, and that my limp was nonexistant by morning, so I wouldn't have to explain anything.
Pssh, yeah right!
Eugene was waiting up for me.
As soon as he saw me, he shot up out of his chair, almost knocking it down. Thinking fast, he eased it back to its' usual upright position, but then he was at my side in an instant.
"Hey," I said quietly, trying to move quickly to find my brush.
"Hey, yourself. I'm sorry, hon. I shouldn't have gotten snippy at you, especially after I dropped that piece of information on you...I'm sor-Wait. Are you limping?"
"Hm?" I shrugged, focusing on working the brush through my hair.
"Come on. What happened? Please?"
I started to ignore him, but when he gave me a look of sheer concern, I sighed. "I may or may not have slipped when I tried to come back up to the shelf. No biggie."
He quickly sucked in a breath. "Oh, gosh...you're not hurt? Like...like aside from your leg-"
"I'm fine, I promise," I told him, giving him a small smile.
Watching me silently, he waited until I had put my brush down before he pulled me into a hug.
"I'm sorry for getting snippy with you."
"It's fine, hon, really - I shouldn't have kept hounding at you," I whispered, pulling away from him. "Are the girls both sleeping?"
"Yep," he nodded, so I started over for the bed. And sufficiently managed to trip myself. So now, not only did my right leg hurt something awful, but I had managed to twist my left ankle! Go me.
Eugene grabbed me and helped me the rest of the way to bed, watching as I lowered myself down.
"I'm going to get Tangled Fa-"
"Noo, you're not, I'm fine, and that's that," I told him. "C'mere."
He started to look towards the edge of the shelf, instead of going to sleep himself, and I cleared my throat.
"You look tired. Come on."
"Okay, okay, fine. If you're sure you're oka-"
"I'm positive," I laughed through my nose. "Good night. And stop mentally freaking out over my little accident - it's nothing, and I'm fine."
"I'm not..."
I gave him a playful shove. "Oh, yeah right."
He flashed me a distracted grin. "Ya got me. Now YOU c'mere."
I rolled my eyes as I started to lay down..and felt how really achy my knee still was.
"How did you even do anything when your leg joints were goobered up bad?" I asked.
He started to sit up to - I don't even really know why, maybe help me somehow - just as I gave up on pain-free-ness and flopped down. Safe to say, we butted heads. Also safe to say, nobody's getting out THAT scenario without excruciating pain.
Today just wasn't my day.
We both grasped our foreheads, and I sucked in a surprised breath at the pain. When we could think straight again, Eugene asked if I was okay.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine. What about you?"
"I'm fine. Sorry!" We both apologized at the same time, and then I gave a half-giggle, half-groan before I lowered myself back down on my side - this time, without incident. xD
Butttt, slumber only lasted so long. Sometime through the night, I woke up, and Eugene wasn't there.
I swiped the hair out of my eyes, rolling over and half-sitting, looking around with alarm.
The girls were still in their beds, sleeping, even though Jordan was tossing and turning. My gaze finally landed on the wicker chair, where Eugene sat with his face buried in his hands, leaning forward on his elbows.
"Eugene?" I hissed, clearing my throat and watching the darkness.
He shot up out of his chair and gave me an alarmed look. "Go back to sleep, hon."
I motioned him to come back over. "Assuming you can't?"
Shrugging, he silently strode over. "Just thinking."
"About the wedding?" I whispered, and he sighed, lowering himself down beside me. I tucked my legs up underneath me, slipping a hand under the blanket so I could rub my knee without him noticing.
"Mmhm, the wedding...and other things."
"What other things?" I asked quietly, tilting my head with curiosity.
He shook his head, so I put a hand on his shoulder and went silent. I figured that if he wanted to talk, he would. I remembered that when we were dating, all I'd do is be there for him, and he'd usually open up, so I hoped that that approach still worked.
It did.
"Is your leg feeling any better?"
"My knee feels bruised, but that's all. No worries,"
He sighed again. "I just feel like an undeserving idiot. I just had to go and snap at you...I'm sorry."
"It's fine," I said quietly, surprised he was still hung up on that. "Noo problem. I annoyed you into snapping, so it's mostly my fault."
"And good grief, you could've gotten hurt, like really, really hurt...and you could've even gotten broken or something. And what was the last thing I did to you? THAT. I didn't hug you or tell you I loved you, or-"
"Hon." My voice cracked as I realized he was going through the same guiltiness I'd gone through with him before -- only he hadn't seen me laying on the floor unconscious. I hadn't even gotten knocked out. "I'm fine, and you need to stop thinking about that. It's hard, I know, but you need to."
"You don't kno-" He broke off when I met his eyes. "...You do know."
The silence at that point was nearly deafening. He silently put a hand over the blanket on my lap, and I laced my fingers with his, deciding what I could say next.
"So...what're you leaning towards doing about the wedding?" I finally asked.
"I dunno..." he shrugged, and I just left it at that.
"Well, I guess you DO have about a week and a half to decide. So don't worry about that, and don't worry about me, m'kay?" I reached to kiss his cheek, and he gave me a quick, but genuine, grin.
We sat in silence for a few minutes, and I was just about to lay down and go back to sleep, when I heard a quiet gasp and then the quick pitter-patter of a set of tiny feet.
Audrey appeared at the foot of the bed, a fearful look in her eye.
"What's wrong, honey?" I asked quietly, pulling my hand away from Eugene's.
"I-I had a bad dream," she said breathlessly.
"Aw..well, c'mere-" I started.
"Why're you and Daddy up?" she asked, cutting me off midsentence.
"I had a bad dream, too," was his reply, to which I flashed him a quick, questioning glance. Had he really had a nightmare - was that why he hadn't been able to sleep? He nodded, and I turned back to our daughter.
"Well...do you want to c'mere for a bit?" I asked, leaning forward and reaching towards her. She quickly accepted my offer, and I pulled her up onto my lap, hiding the grimace when her foot hit my knee.
She buried her face in my shoulder, so I held her close and stroked her hair. When I looked up after a few minutes, I caught Eugene staring at us both, so I reached over and gave him a quick, one-armed hug before I continued stroking Audrey's hair. He reached over and gave me a quick peck on the cheek, so I grinned at him before asking Audrey if she wanted to sleep with us.
That was a definite yes, so the three of us settled back down to go to sleep, Audrey snuggled up against me.
Well....we'll see what Eugene does about Hans wanting him to officiate. He's not said anything about it today to me, but I'm giving him space. And my knee's still feeling bruised, but thankfully, he's letting me have my way (It took some convincing, though). Soo, I'll let you know what he decides as soon as I know myself!
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