Hang Your Halo

Eleven

"I'll go get a ring, let the choir bells sing like ooh. So whatcha wanna do? Let's just run, girl"
Marry You x Bruno Mars

Beckham

We take our seats at the conference table, Rooster and Phoenix following shortly behind us. A few minutes later, Maverick walks in with a suspicious grin on his face. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Seresin take a sip of his coffee...a rookie mistake, really.

"Happy wedding day, aviators!" Mav cheerfully announces, making Seresin spit his drink out and start choking immediately afterward.

I choose to laugh at Jake's reaction and ignore the maelstrom of feelings I have building in the pit of my stomach. By the time he recovers, I have tears running down my face from laughing so hard.

"Aw baby, are you just that excited to marry me?" I playfully ask him, batting my eyelashes and puckering my lips at him in a ridiculous manner.

He shoves my face away, pushing my spinny chair in the process, which turns and dumps me on the ground. I fall with a squeak and land flat on my back like a starfish, and Jake finds this hysterical. Soon, he's laughing so hard he's in tears, which makes me start laughing all over again. The crew just watches the whole thing unfold, wondering if we somehow got into laughing gas this morning.

Uncle Mav just grins and shakes his head, "that was even better than I expected! I figured you'd just be paler than a sheet like Rooster and Phoenix over here, but this is so much better!" We finally settle back down and I climb back into my chair, which Maverick takes as his cue to continue.

"Hangman and Halo, starting today, you will no longer be Jake and Beckham. From now until you return from the op, you are Greer and Drew Tate. Rooster and Phoenix, you are no longer Bradley and Natasha, you'll be Allie and Kyle Anderson. We will all be referring to you as those names so you're used to them by the time you arrive in Texas. Teams will be arriving within the next hour to stage your weddings. This includes hair and makeup, wedding attire, and 'venues.' Obviously you'll each need to be in each other's wedding photos, including the rest of the team. Payback and Coyote, all of our lovely wives will also be joining us today. We want this to look as natural as possible, which is why you've each been paired with your partners as well. Alright, boys follow me. Ladies, Penny will take you where you need to go. Also, you're welcome for the drinks you're about to find." Mav finishes, and we follow his directions.

We follow Aunt Pen down the hallway and into another conference room that has been converted into a dressing room. As promised, there's a bottle of whiskey on the vanity. Nat, wait, Allie, plops down on the couch and lets out a breath.

"This is absolutely not what I was expecting today, but here we are," she chuckles wryly. "You know, I only ever planned on getting married once, there goes that dream! Good thing it doesn't count if we're not actually saying vows. Wait, we're not actually saying vows, right?!" she asks, the pitch of her voice rising with each word.

"Woah there, sister. You're good, we're also not signing any legal documents, at least not with our government names," I reply with a shrug.

"Um, excuse me, Mrs. Tate, but how are you so fucking calm about this? I feel like we're technically committing fraud." I walk over to her and wrap my arms around her, pulling her into a hug.

"It's not fraud if the government does it, that's the rule right?" I ask, laughing at my own joke. "Besides, aren't we already their partners in pretty much everything else? I mean you and Kyle are a little more involved than good ol' Drew and I," I easily toss in response, wiggling my eyebrows at her.