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There's an eyelash resting on Melissa's cheekbone.
She's sitting in front of a massive mirror, trying not to make eye contact with her own reflection. Truth be told, she only barely recognizes it. Every time she looks up, her lips are turned into a slight smile. She's wearing absolutely no makeup and after spending so much time with her hair pulled into a ponytail, it looks more than a little strange to see her dark curls flowing down to her shoulders, littered with dozens of tiny, colorful flowers.
"Are you okay?" Allison asks. She's standing behind Melissa, weaving even more flowers into her hair. Melissa nods and slowly reaches up to brush the loose eyelash away from her face.
"I don't think okay is a strong enough word," Melissa says. "I've always said that the day I had Scott was the best day of my life, but I think this is a close second."
"It's pretty exciting," Allison says. "It's all Scott's been talking about for the last month." Her smile lights up her entire face and, not for the first time, Melissa is very glad to have her as a daughter-in-law. Her slim fingers press another flower just behind Melissa's ear and she steps back slightly, cocking her head slightly as she surveys her work.
"I think that's enough flowers for now," she says. Before Melissa can answer, there's a knock at the door. It swings open, bringing with it the scent of even more flowers. When Melissa glances up into the mirror, she can see Braeden standing in the doorway. She looks like something out of a dream, clad in a loose, floor length purple dress with her hair loose around her shoulders. There's a purple flower crown bearing all the signs of Lydia's handiwork perched slightly askew on her head and there's a bracelet around her wrist that looks woven from grass.
She's nothing less than breathtaking.
"Can I borrow the bride for a few minutes?" she asks.
"Sure! I'll come back when it's time to start." Allison flashes Melissa a smile before she pulls the door shut. Braeden wastes no time in crossing the room and perching herself on the edge of the vanity in front of the mirror.
"Nice flowers," she says, brushing a loose curl away from Melissa's face.
"Nice crown," Melissa responds. "Isn't it bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?"
"I don't think the same rules apply to commitment ceremonies," Braeden says. "We could always ask Marin. I'm sure she knows."
"I think she's a little busy right now." Melissa rests her hand on Braeden's knee, running her fingers over the soft texture of the dress. Hers is a different color than Braeden's, a dark green rather than purple, but it's otherwise identical.
"Bit different from your wedding dress?" Braeden asks quietly, resting her hand on top of Melissa's.
"More than a bit," Melissa laughs. Just thinking about her wedding dress makes her wince; it'd been so tight around her ribs that even catching a single breath was hard. "I think it weighed forty pounds. And there were ruffles."
"Actual ruffles?" Braeden groans, but her small smile, the one that Melissa still feels blessed to see, doesn't shrink. "I'm sure you still looked killer."
"Maybe like I was being killed." There's a quiet knock on the door and when Melissa glances up into the mirror, Allison is poking her head in.
"They're ready for you both," she says. Melissa turns back to Braeden, whose smile has grown even larger.
"You nervous?" she asks quietly, squeezing Melissa's hand.
"Actually, not really," Melissa says, squeezing back and getting to her feet. "After everything else I've gone through, marrying-"
"You mean committing to."
"Yeah, that. Committing to you and Marin actually seems like a walk in the park." Braeden full-on grins before leaning in and pressing a kiss against Melissa's lips. When she pulls back, her flower crown is even more crooked and some of Melissa's flowers have fallen from her hair to land on her shoulders.
"I'll see you in a few minutes."
&.
Melissa didn't lie about not being nervous, but what she sees when she steps out into the Hale's back yard is enough to make her stomach swoop in a way she hasn't felt in years.
There are at least a hundred people scattered around, sitting on blankets stretched out across the ground. There's no separation of the crowd into her guests, Braeden's guests and Marin's guests; everyone is mingling together, druids and werewolves and humans. They're all falling silent and turning to look at her and instinctively, she looks for Scott. He's sitting in the front row of the loose cluster and he flashes her a gigantic smile and a thumbs up.
When she looks past him, she feels her heart momentarily stutter.
The crowd is loosely gathered around a ring of vibrant purple flowers laying on the forest floor. There are three breaks in the ring, one for each of them and Marin is already standing just inside one of them. Her dress is red and comes to an end just above her bare feet. She looks downright serene and Melissa finds herself quickening her steps over the uneven ground, just so that she can get to the ring faster. Once she's taken her place, she reaches for Marin's hand without a second of hesitation.
"You look beautiful," Marin murmurs, brushing her thumb against Melissa's knuckles.
"You too." Beautiful definitely isn't a strong enough word but there's no time to come up with something more suitable, Braeden is stepping out of the house. She's shed her heavy boots, leaving her in bare feet as well and she takes sure steps, easily navigating the bumpy ground. Once she's joined them in the circle and taken both of their hands, Deaton steps forward from where he's been standing off to the side. There's a small pouch in his hand and he pulls more purple flowers from it, filling in the gaps that they stepped through.
Melissa feels it as soon as the circle is completed. A feeling rushes through her entire body, like just barely brushing her fingers against a live wire. It's how she feels after kissing Marin sometimes, especially around the full moon.
"Are you ready?" Deaton asks softly, glancing at the three of them in turn. Melissa nods her head and squeezes both of the hands she's holding.
"I'm ready."
&.
The next time Melissa looks in a mirror, she's so tired that she can barely keep her eyes open.
She hasn't looked at a clock in ages, but she's pretty sure that the sun is going to be popping over the horizon at any moment. Her feet are absolutely killing her and while their reception technically ended two hours ago, she still feels a little tipsy from the punch that had been flowing freely. The bathroom light is glaringly bright and she squints as she runs her fingers through her messy hair, tugging out the last of the flowers stuck in it. She leans over the sink to quickly splash some water on her face.
When she glances back up, she jumps and stubs her toe.
"Sorry," Marin says, fully stepping into the bathroom. "Didn't mean to scare you."
"It's okay," Melissa automatically replies as she turns around. She doesn't know if it's a druid thing or if Marin is just really quiet, but it's definitely not the first time she's seemingly popped up out of thin air.
It might be the first time she's ever done it while completely naked.
"Are you okay?" she asks, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Melissa's waist.
"I am absolutely amazing and completely exhausted," Melissa says quietly, resting her palms on Marin's ribs, just below her breasts. "Is Braeden already asleep?"
"She's out like a light. Might have to fight her for space on the bed, actually."
"As long as that's the only fight we're having tonight." Marin grins and leans in for a kiss. Her tongue gently brushes over Melissa's bottom lip and if Melissa weren't so tired, she would return the favor.
But there'll be plenty of that later, after she's crawled into bed beside both of her amazing partners and gotten some sleep.