What, was &quot;Rudy&quot; on cable last night?

However anybody else was crossing to the big boat, Kathy was taking the gangplank over. A quick wave to everybody and then she was ducking into a small stateroom to change into her reception suit. White jacket over a black corset and sharp dress pants. Hell yeah.

And then she was heading back up to the party, grabbing a champagne flute from a passing waiter and looking around for people to talk to.

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"Hey," Dante said, grinning at her.

He was wearing a pretty red vest and pants that looked like they weren't dirty and they didn't have holes in them.

And a long red leather coat.

It was as fancy as he got.

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"Hey," she said, looking him over. "Look who got all dolled up. Trying to outshine me, huh?"

Look, she knew Dante's preferences for dress and appreciated the effort he'd put in for this, dammit.

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"Trying to compliment you," Dante retorted, grinning brightly. "You're one of the, like, not-them stars around here."

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"Well, I think you look amazing," Kathy said, leaning in to steal a kiss. "I was gonna ask if the corset is maybe a little too risque for the wedding reception of my own dad, but you miiiight not be the most neutral party to ask."

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"I mean, I'm into it," Dante volunteered.

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"I'm going for, like, stealth hot. Boardroom hot. You know, where you go in for a meeting about quarterly reports and then end up getting throws against the wall and breaking the projector," Kathy said, grinning.

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"Coulda gone another inch shorter on the bottom side," Dante said thoughtfully, "But I'd go for it. Maybe swipe away the blackboard too."

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"The blackboard?" Kathy asked, looking down at herself, in case that was something about her outfit.

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Sigh.

Dante made an amused noise. "You could also go for school teacher," he said. "But I meant like... whiteboard. Corporate thing. They have those."

Re: The Reception

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"So," Anders said lightly, sipping from a champagne flute of his own, "does this count as getting two new stepparents for you?"

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"Only by the barest of technicalities, I think," Kathy said, turning to give him a lingering look and a smile. "Hardison is more like the younger uncle type and Parker breaks out in hives whenever you mention the word 'parent' in relation to her."

She leaned in to kiss him. "I'm so glad you could make it."

Edited Date: 2019-06-30 07:08 pm (UTC)

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Anders returned the kiss, sweetly. "I wouldn't have missed it," he said. "I feel guilty enough about missing pride, and that'll happen again next year."

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"They're just so happy together," she said, twining her fingers through his and looking at the three of them, standing close together, dipping fruit in a chocolate fountain and laughing. "It makes me happy to see it."

She squeezed his hand. "We were bummed you couldn't make it," she admitted. "But also so proud of you for taking care of all those people."

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"Maybe that could be us in ten years," Anders said as he looked at the threesome, and somehow it didn't seem scary. It seemed sort of perfect.

He squeezed Kathy's hand back and smiled at her in return. "And thanks. It's rewarding, even if I do hate when it means I miss things."

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"We have a lot work on Dante before then," Kathy said, twining her hands through Anders'. "He doesn't want to be married. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't, either."

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"I'm not in a hurry," Anders quickly clarified. "You have to finish school, I have to figure out what I'm doing ... loads of things. But if we're still in love the way they are a few years down the road" -- he shrugged. "Why not? I'll help you work on Dante."

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Kathy grinned at him. She wasn't sure there was any amount of 'working' on Dante that would really work, but that didn't mean she didn't like the sound of it anyway.

"I spent my whole life thinking I was gonna get married," she admitted. "All the traditional American trappings, even. I mean, I know marriage is a lot of work and weddings don't mean more than just, like, you wanted to spend a lot of money on a fancy party, but...There's something really beautiful about standing up in front of your whole community and saying, 'I love these people and want to spend the rest of my life with them.' Having a ring that's actually a promise that no matter how bad things are, we're gonna work through them. You know?"

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"I know," Anders nodded. "And I'm with you. I always thought sooner or later, I'd end up with somebody I'd want to make that kind of promise to. I didn't think it'd be mtwo somebodies, but that just means we'd get a bigger party."

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whoisalicewhite

"You look so cute! You guys did such a good job!" Parker was kind of speaking in all exclamation points today. She handed over a small plate full of chocolate goodies to Kathy. "Here, eat, I'm so glad you're here. You have to come visit us in New Orleans when we get settled!"

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"Is it official then?" Kathy asked, taking a candy since she knew it meant a great deal to have Parker sharing chocolate. "That's where you guys are off to?"

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whoisalicewhite

"I think so? That's what we keep coming back to, when we talk about it. After the honeymoon," Parker corrected herself. "And a couple jobs in Europe. And maybe one in Singapore."

It'd been a while, okay? She needed to flex her fingers, and her skills!

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"Are you going right there after the honeymoon?" Kathy asked. "Or stopping back here for a bit before moving on?"

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whoisalicewhite

"I don't think so-- unless you'll be here?" Parker checked. "If you or Raven are, we could plan a stopover."

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