Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

2027 - May

Sundays are cleaning days. Raleigh's wiping down the pictures hung on the wall in the living room. He takes each one down to dust it, reverently swiping away the dust and lovingly rehanging them one at a time. Pictures have always meant a lot to Rangers, the last reminders of people that are gone, things that meant something, proof of the existence of a world without so much loss.

Chuck keeps taking breaks from washing dishes and cleaning out the fridge to watch Raleigh work. His fingers linger on the picture of him and Yancy, back from their glory days. That and a picture of Chuck and his mom from when he was young are the center focal point of the spiderweb of photos. Chuck goes back to the dishes, staring out the window over the sink, past the ledge of knickknacks and tchotchkes Dad's collected for him over the years.

The backyard looks empty, all the lawnchairs and firepit packed away in the shed for the winter. Summer had been a lot of fun, with Chuck's uni friends coming over for beer and burgers, Nancy and Eileen bringing the kids over to splash in an inflatable pool and play with the dog. Now it's sort of dead.

Chuck supposes that the nicest part of living with someone that you love is filling in the dead spots with life; with arguments and laughter and tears and really great parties.

"Rals?" Chuck calls.

"Yeah?" Raleigh replies.

"I think we should get married in the backyard."

Raleigh comes into the kitchen, a small, amused smile playing at his lips. "Yeah? You wanna combine it with your graduation party?"

Chuck sighs. "I don't want to wait anymore."

"Chuck," Raleigh says, a little stern. "We've talked about this. We're waiting until you've graduated."

"Rah-leigh," Chuck whines.

Raleigh's hand flies to his forehead. It's been Chuck's experience that Raleigh will do just about anything if Chuck calls him by the butchered version of his name. Chuck knows that he's got Raleigh wrapped up around all ten of his fingers, and he tries not to cash in on it too much or else Herc or Nancy makes some comment about Raleigh being whipped.

"Maybe," Raleigh says. Chuck grins. "Maybe."

Chuck knows it's a yes.

--

Newt comes down for a conference at one of the universities, sponsored by some whale conservationist group. Raleigh and Chuck meet up with him at a bar and he gets drunk and chatty really quick.

"Can't believe you two are getting married," Newt says into his pint glass. "Talk about 'top ten couples I never thought would ever happen'."

"It's really great that you have so much confidence in us," Raleigh says dryly.

"Hey, man, all I remember is you two trying to pound each other into hamburger," Newt says. "Epic beatdown, man."

"It wasn't that epic," Chuck says after a moment of thought.

Raleigh quirks a grin at Chuck. "It was kind of epic."

"You guys should let me grow your wedding rings," Newt declares.

"What?" Raleigh asks.

"Yeah, yeah," Newt says, nodding. He holds up his right hand, points to a ring on his middle fingers. It looks like it's made out of ivory. "Before my mom passed away, she let me get a bone sample and I grew this little beauty so I would always have her with me."

"That is disgusting," Chuck says, trying to hold back a sneer.

"It's kind of sweet," Raleigh says, nudging Chuck in the ribs roughly. "How long would it take?"

"I mean, technically it could take two months," Newt says, swilling his beer around in its glass. "But I just started experimenting with this really neat phosphorous infused bionutrient liquid that speeds up ossification like crazy, so I might be able to get it done in like . . . maybe four or five weeks."

"What are you doing for work, again?" Raleigh asks.

"Growing organs for transplant," Newt says with a grin. "It's the coolest thing ever, you make a scaffold out of collagen and then you inject stem cells from a donor and feed it nutrients and I can grow you anything you want."

Chuck makes a horrified face and Raleigh elbows him again. "So I mean, theoretically speaking, we could have our rings in a month?" Raleigh asks.

"Yeah, man. I just need your bones," Newt says, nodding. "Do either of you still have your wisdom teeth?"

--

Chuck was born without wisdom teeth and Raleigh teases him for being a freak of nature while Newt's temporary lab assistant at University of Sydney slices down into his gums. Chuck nearly bites the poor girl's fingers off trying to pop back off with something snarky to say. Raleigh laughs so hard he nearly falls off the stool.

"This is going to hurt a bit," the lab assistant says, "even with the analgesic."

She proceeds to jab Chuck's jaw with much more force than might be entirely necessary.

Raleigh kept his wisdom teeth after they were extracted when he was at the Jaeger Academy, and strangely enough still has them floating around in the little wooden memory box he's kept since he was sixteen. He gives one to Newt.

"This is perfect," Newt says, shaking the little glass vial with Raleigh's tooth in it. "When are you guys getting married again? I could grow them here, I mean, I don't think the bioreactors are quite up to my standards but I can whip up that ossification brew in, like, a second."

Chuck looks at Raleigh, throwing daggers with his glare while the lab assistant stitches him up.

"Summertime," Raleigh says. "Probably January."

Chuck's lips twitch into a numb version of a smile.