Let It Be Your Shirt (Story 3 of Sev & M)

Chapter 20

Zandra hung back from the small crowd gathered at the reception. Much like their landlady, the boy's boss at the Cafe had insisted they use the banquet room at the back of the Cafe for the reception and had not allowed them to pay. It relieved her to know that this small town had accepted the two of them so completely and that they had people they could turn to for help. She had wondered briefly before the ceremony if Marcus was upset that their parents weren't there. She had been angry at the thought at first, thinking they should have been there regardless of if they approved of his life choices or not. But once she and Marcus had entered the room and she had seen how genuinely happy the people who were there were she had realized her parents being there didn't matter at all.

They were anxiously waiting for the boys to get there. They had gone home to change into less fancy dress, Severine terrified he would ruin his white tux with something. She looked around the room for Nora and spotted her by the cake, straightening the utensils. She was wearing a teal sweetheart neckline dress that the straps crossed just below her throat. It fit her nicely hugging all the right curves. When she had first seen her in it she had lost her breath and ducked into the bathroom fearing her thoughts were written all over her face. Nora caught her looking now and smiled, she gave a shy smile back. She was about to make her way to here when there was a commotion at the door. She turned to see her brother and Severine finally arriving.

Their hands were clasped together and Marcus raised them in victory. It was easy to see on their faces how happy they were. Marcus was eating up the attention and Severine, although smiling and happy looked slightly uncomfortable. When he saw the table covered with wedding gifts she saw his eyes widen with surprise and gratitude. They had told everyone there wasn't a need for gifts but who didn't take a gift to a wedding.

They ate a small meal, prepared by the owner. Although it wasn't traditional they decided to open the gifts since there wasn't an overwhelming amount. They received some small appliances, towels, and some personalized items. It was easy to see that even the smallest of the gifts made them excited. With the gifts opened it was time for cake. She leaned against the far wall and smirked as Marcus nicely placed the cake in front of Severine to take a bite. Surprising them all, Severine shoved Marcus's piece into his face, smearing it all over him. She laughed with the rest of the crowd and thought how much Caspian would have loved to see that.

The thought caught her off guard. She pushed herself away from the wall and out the door into the alley. Her heart was racing and it felt like she couldn't breath. She tried not to think about Caspian often because whenever she did this was the result. She took a deep breath and heard the door open behind her. She mentally shook herself, putting on her composed face she turned surprised to see Nora.

"Evanora, what are you doing out here?" she asked.

"I saw you...leave the room. I wanted to make sure you were alright," Nora hesitated.

The thought that Nora had been watching her while so much else was going on in the room thrilled her. "I'm fine."

Nora stared at her for a long moment then shook her head. "You're not though. I saw your face before you bolted from the room. You looked incredibly sad."

"Are you sure you don't have powers Evanora?" she asked trying to change the subject and hide how right she was.

"No," Nora laughed, "I'm average as can be."

"You're anything but average," she started and stopped at the sight of Nora blushing. Caspian's words to Marcus flashed through her mind and she sighed. "I was thinking about Caspian and how he would have loved to be here to see this. To see Marcus happy. We don't have our parents, I mean we do, but they have disowned both of us. Marcus thinks I still have contact with them but that is because I haven't told him the truth. He had enough to deal with during the trial and keeping Severine sane through it. He's made peace with our parents' decision...." She trailed off and shook her head, "I'm sorry this is not the occasion for this conversation. Let's go back in."

Nora grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "No, it's okay. You should keep talking. If you want to."

It amazed her how sweet and understanding people could be but Nora above all others. She knew Nora had to want to be inside anywhere other than out here with her, yet here she was. She could easily dismiss her hand from around her wrist and go back inside ending the conversation but she didn't want to. Now that she had started talking she wanted to be done with it, she wanted to tell Nora how she felt about her and deal with the consequences of that conversation.

"Thank you. Marcus told me that he had a dream about Caspian, a final sort of dream. Caspian had told him he hadn't been able to pass over but now he has. Which is good, don't get me wrong. I am glad to know that he isn't stuck here anymore."

"That is good," Nora said.

"Marcus said Caspian gave him a message for me. He told me today at the ceremony. He said that Caspian wanted me to make a move. A move that I've been avoiding for some time now," she said.

She saw Nora swallow nervously and wondered for a moment if she knew. "What move do you need to make?" Nora asked.

"I am in love with you Evanora. I've been stricken by your beauty every time I have laid eyes on you since that first day I saw you. There are several things in my life that I have regretted but I have never regretted answering Marcus's call to help him find Severine. Not just because I was looking for a way to get back into his life but because it brought you into my life as well," she said quickly.

Nora stared at her for a long moment then simply said wow, seeming to notice she hadn't answered her she shook her head and tried again. "I mean, I've never had anyone confess to me before."

"You do not have to say anything Evanora. You do not even have to return my feelings. I just felt I could no longer hide it. Especially with you in that dress tonight." She covered her mouth with her hand embarrassed. "I apologize, I didn't mean to say that out loud."

Nora laughed then turned serious, "It is flattering, hearing you say all of that. I have never been in a relationship before so I don't know that what I feel when I am with you for sure is love. And I don't want to say that it is when it might not be because that is not fair to you. But I do know that I enjoy spending time with you and miss you when you are gone. I want to keep being with you as we are now, I don't want you to leave me. I know that sounds selfish but I want you to stay."

"Of course I will stay," she said.

She started to reach for Nora's hand when the door opened again so she dropped her arm. The boys were now standing in the alley with them. Severine took in their flushed faces and body language and smiled.

"So...she finally did it?" Severine asked Nora.

Nora shrugged and looked away embarrassed.

"Finally did wha...OH!" Marcus exclaimed, "You finally told her. Good for you! How'd it feel?"

She looked to Nora before answering with a smile. "It felt great. We are going to work on it. Evanora needs some more time which is fine, I'm not going anywhere."

The End