the wedding; faith seed x alice riley

so uh – this is awkward as hell. but oh well. a sequel to @elusetta‘s wedding fic, this time featuring Adelaide and Mary May being upset that they dared to get married without either of them, as well as the presence of Claire and Carolina Denno, their foster daughters.

warning, this is cheesy as fuck and i have no idea what i’m doing for any of it lmao

there’s also a key at the end of the wedding party/involved people, because i spent way too much time figuring that out

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The war had been over for five long years. Hope County was finally getting back on its feet, with buildings being repaired, families returning, and more small victories every day. Casey had permanently taken control of the Testy Festy, the Rye’s had monthly barbecues, and the Fall’s End churches were busier than ever, with regular services, as well as funerals (many, at first, then slowly petering out to a normal rate) and weddings.

Weddings, like the one that was happening today: former Deputy, now mayor, Alice Riley, and former Herald of the Project at Eden’s Gate, Faith Seed.

Whispers had been going around the valley for months. The couple had “officially” married a few years back, after Faith’s house-arrest had loosened to include more areas of the county, but – at Mary May and Adelaide’s insistence – they were finally having a big ceremony.

Nobody was sure if it was because they wanted to, if it was simply happening because of Adelaide’s insistence, or if it was for the benefit of their foster daughters, who had moved in with them nearly three years before.

It didn’t matter, of course – while the ceremony was for friends and family, everyone knew that at least half the county would show up to the reception at Primrose Ranch. Plenty of people didn’t approve of the match, even now. But, hey, free food? Even now, so long after the war, people had a hard time turning that down.

The whole thing started because of Adelaide: Mary May was upset she hadn’t been included in the original ceremony, but understood why it was so private. Adelaide?

Well, she insisted on planning a bigger ceremony. She became even more insistent after Claire and Carolina had settled into the family, saying that at the very least, they needed a picture to put on the mantle or something. A full ceremony, that’d be preferable, but… At least a picture.

Alice made the mistake of saying yes – to the picture.

It… Obviously didn’t stay as just a picture.

Planning was a flurry: trips to Missoula, then a weekend trip into Seattle (one for Alice, one for Faith), because no, their original dresses absolutely wouldn’t do, and they had to have a bridal shower (Alice won the no-presents argument, since the two had been living together for seven years now and didn’t really need anything), multiple consultations on flowers and decorations… Grace was bribed into making the wedding cake (by Alice, who thought Adelaide’s original ideas were too grand), and Casey and a friend of Elizabeth’s were handling the catering.

The bachelorette parties?

Both Alice and Faith would rather forget those.

But finally, the day was here, and the town was abuzz: the Fall’s End Church was fully-decorated, as was Primrose Ranch.

The couple both said they’d rather get ready together, at home, but both Adelaide and Mary May had insisted that they get ready separately.

Mary May’s old apartment above the bar was cleaner than the old cabin was, which was nice, but the fawning? Not as nice. Faith had gotten the house when they drew straws – she was smug, teasing Alice that she’d get pictures with the cats, but Alice wouldn’t.

“Alice, hold still.” Mary May crossed her arms, frowning when Alice stuck her tongue out at her. “Do you want to do this or not?”

“I did! Three years ago!”

“That doesn’t count!”

“Then what paperwork did I file?” Alice tugged her head away from Mary May’s grasp, sighing. “My hair is fine, Mary. It’s fine.”

Again with the frowning. “At least let me –”

“Mary May.”

“The fucking flower crown, Alice. Just let me put that on, then I’ll set you free.”

“No you won’t.” She sighed, settling back into the chair. As her friend carefully nestled the delicate flower crown in her hair – soft pink, even lighter than her hair, with white roses nestled within – she slid her hands down the chiffon of her skirt.

Even if this was more of a vow renewal than a wedding, it was still surreal. The dress was almost identical to the one she wore at her first wedding, a soft white (Adelaide’s insistence) chiffon number inspired by Grace Kelly’s blue dress in To Catch a Thief, minus the scarf. Adelaide had insisted on it – she would have prefered to wear her old dress, same with Faith, but… Sometimes you just don’t argue with Addie.

—-

Holy shit.

Holy. Shit.

Alice hadn’t seen her uncle or brother in years – not since before she moved back to Hope County.

She’d sent them invitations, yeah, but… She didn’t think they could come, she thought their schedules were super busy –

But here they were.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, her uncle’s arm stretched out to help her to the door, tears barely hidden from his eyes. (Her brother? He was a mess. Caleb always was when emotions were involved and he wasn’t working)

“Hey, sweetie.”

Smiling, Alice barreled into her uncle, hugging him close. “I missed you, Uncle T. And you too, Caleb, fuck, I missed you guys.”

“Oh, uh -” Alice looked up the stairs, smiling as she saw Claire walking down. “Uncle T, Caleb, this is Claire, Grace and Joey are outside, uh, I think you’ve already met Hurk over there, and Mary May, Caleb, you remember  -”

Thomas shook Hurk’s hand, smiling, before crouching down in front of Claire. “So you’re the famous Claire?”

The little girl nodded, “Mmhm.”

“So, I hate to break this up – “ Grace poked her head inside the bar, nodding in the direction of the church. “But Joey said everyone’s in the church.”

Thomas gave Alice a reassuring smile, offering her arm to her. She smiled back, laughing when Caleb offered Claire a piggyback ride – the girl shook her head, but happily took her uncle’s hand.

The walk to the church was excruciating, and Alice barely remembered the walk up the aisle – it felt like a dream.

Mary May stood beside her, whispering words of encouragement, reminding her to take deep breaths.

It wasn’t the first wedding. They were already official.

But God.

Mary May’s going to tease her later for her immediately tearing up when Faith entered the church – but honestly? She doesn’t care.

Fuck.

This is happening.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her uncle smiling, her brother giving her a thumbs up, and Sharky – fucking Sharky, being a dork, grinning like an idiot.

Faith grabbed Alice’s hand the instant she arrived at the altar, smiling at her wife. The pair turned to Pastor Jerome, who greeted the congregation.

“We are gathered here today to officially celebrate the union of Faith and Alice Riley. While I was there that day three years ago, someone, “ He looked at Mary May, who raised her hand, and laughed, “Convinced them to have a ceremony that included their friends and family. But enough of me – Thomas Riley, will be reading an excerpt from a favorite book of his.”

Oh, this is gonna be interesting.

Thomas took a deep sigh as he unfolded the paper with his reading, shooting the couple another reassuring smile. “Well, for those of you who don’t know, I’m Alice’s Uncle Thomas. Or T. Whatever. Her and Caleb moved in with me a good 15 years ago, and… Well, we may not have expected either to be where they are in life, but I know my wife and my brother would have been proud of them, and that they would have wanted to be here today. Uhm, I’m going to read y’all an excerpt from one of my – and my brother’s – favorite authors, Madeleine L’Engle.

“‘But ultimately there comes a moment when a decision must be made. Ultimately two people who love each other must ask themselves how much they hope for as their love grows and deepens, and how much risk they are willing to take. It is indeed a fearful gamble. Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.’ I may not know the full details of what happened here in Hope County a few years back, but I do know that whatever happened lead my niece to Faith and even though it was risky, they stayed together. So. Congrats, you two. I love you.”

Fuckin’ hell. Alice didn’t think she’d be this much of a mess today.  “Love you too, Uncle T.”

“Now, Alice told me not to get too crazy with a bible passage – so a classic, I Corinthians 13:4-7. ‘Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.’” Pastor Jerome closed his bible, motioning to Faith. “Faith?”

“There’s no way I was going to remember this, so…” The former siren took a deep breath, pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket. “There was no way I could have known how much you would mean to me, after seeing you the first time in Joseph’s church, no way that I could have thought we would get married that day two years ago.” Another deep breath – Alice noticed Faith’s hands shaking, and she reached over, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “I know not everyone likes me, and I know some people never will forget what happened. But… I’m so glad we’re together. And I’m so glad that we have everyone here – Claire, Caroline, your family, all of our friends – to witness this, and to hear me promise that in sickness and in health, richer, poorer, all of that – that I love you, I love our little family, and I always will.”

“Alice, I believe you said you had special vows?”

“Oh, Faith, you’re going to kill me. I know we said we wouldn’t get too crazy,” Alice laughed, and she heard a few snickers from the crowd. “So… Caleb and Mary May are probably the only ones who remember how much I loved this song when it came out – okay, well, maybe Staci too, but uh, I digress… So. This is a quote from one of my favorite songs, and I… It fits us. And how I feel about you. It’s not really a vow, but, Uh. ‘Your arms are my castle, your heart is my sky, you wipe away tears that I cry, the good and the bad times, we’ve been through them all, you make me rise when I fall.’”

It was cheesy as fuck, but… Faith’s smile? And the happy tears she could just see in the corner of her eyes – worth it.

“And now, the rings.” Jerome waved Sharky forward, and the man happily handed Alice and Faith their wedding rings. They were the same from before – each had handed over their original rings that morning, both happy that they had talked Adelaide into not buying them new ones. “I believe you two know what to say?”

“With this ring, I thee wed.” Faith slipped the ring onto Alice’s finger, smiling at her.

“With this ring, I thee wed. In front of everyone, this time.” Faith snorted as Alice spoke, receiving an eye roll in response.

“Well, I can’t really say that I now pronounce you wife and wife, but -” Jerome laughed. “By the power vested in me by God and the state of Montana, I happily, finally introduce Alice and Faith Riley.”

They skipped a kiss (Alice faintly heard Hurk yelling “come on,” but she ignored him), instead touching foreheads.

“I love you.”

Faith sighed. “I love you, too.”

The pair ducked into their house as guests filed out of the church, piling into cars to head to the reception at Elizabeth’s ranch.

Later, after a flurry of pictures in Fall’s End and on the ranch, they took a deep breath outside the tent the reception was in.

“You ready?”

“No.” Alice looked up at Faith, then sighed. “Ready as I can be.”

Faith laughed, kissing the top of Alice’s head, and lead her wife to the head table. There were cheers and whistles (Alice shot a glance at Sharky and Hurk, who laughed and settled back into their chairs) as they sat down.

It wasn’t as crazy as she had expected, honestly – Adelaide had talked big, but hadn’t gone as all-out as she had threatened. Twinkle lights hung between the tents supports, wrapped in fake vines, with tea lights and fresh bouquets of flowers on each table. It seemed like half the county was there, but with Hope County, that… That was to be expected. Even with the fact that it was one of the old enemies of the county being married – it was still the biggest party the county had seen since the day Joseph was arrested.

Boomer laying at her feet, wearing a little “dog of honor” bandana, chewing on a bone – Alice could tell that his presence was helping Faith, who still wasn’t used to being around so many people that used to hate her.

After a round of appetizers, and an awkward toast from her brother (no baby stories, thank God.), Wheaty called for them to come out for their first dance.

As the first notes of “Crazy He Calls Me” played, Faith rested her cheek against Alice’s. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“I love you.”

Alice smiled, quickly kissing Faith. “I know.”

–

As the song ended, Wheaty announced that the floor was open to dancing, and Faith and Alice slipped outside with Claire and Carolina.

“So. We have a question for you two.” Alice wrapped her arm around Claire, Faith doing the same with Carolina. “You guys have been with us for a while now, and… “

“Well, what do you two think about becoming Rileys?” Faith smiled

Carolina looked between Faith and Alice, confused. “You mean….?”

“Welllll, we have the paperwork all finished, we just have to turn it in,” Alice said, looking up at Faith.

Claire squealed. “So you’re gonna be our moms?”

“If you want?” She looked at Carolina, then to Claire. “Uh, if you –”

Faith laughed as both Claire and Carolina hugged Alice, before being pulled in by Alice. “We love you two.”

——-

Eyyyy it was going to be super awkward after that so I’m ending it there!

I also spent way too much time figuring this out, so… Here’s the bridal parties/etc:

Alice’s Side

Maid of Honor: Mary May
Bridesmaids: Hurk, Hudson, Grace, Claire
Family: Uncle, brother, Sheriff Dad, Eli
Walk down the aisle: Her uncle

Faith’s Side

Maid of Honor: Jane
Bridesmaids: Elizabeth, Kim, Carolina
Family: Sharky
Walks her down the aisle: Nick? (because of Kim)

Gen

Officiant: Pastor Jerome
Flower Girl: Baby Rye
Ring Bearer: Sharky
DJ: Wheaty
Caterer: Grace/Casey
Planner: Mary May
Adelaide helps fund
Jess avoids all the bridal stuff, but attends the wedding