March 20th, 1894 - Potts/Grimstone Wedding

Whoever said all the planning that went into a wedding only for it to fly by was far more accurate than Daff would have ever imagined. Her ideal, small, intimate family gathering wound up feeling like half of Hogsmeade was invited. She supposed that their family had grown (and was still growing!) considerably in the last year or so.

Despite the chill in the spring air, the Plunkett’s barn was nice and toasty warm now, if only for the sheer amount of people tucked inside. Daff hadn’t been able to truly nail down a color palette that she liked, which considering she did this for a living, was a little humorous. Instead she’d just opted for a rainbow of wildflowers tucked in every nook and cranny she could find, even her own hair. Ama had wound it into some complicated plait lacing flowers throughout so that it hung beautifully over her shoulder. Of course this late in the evening, it was starting to come loose, but that was to be expected for her.

All in all she was perfectly content. There was a lot of laughter, love and a general sense of warmth that she hadn’t realized she would feel today and it was making her a little emotional. She also felt the slightest bit guilty that Zinna hadn’t been able to have something like this for herself and was cognizant of the fact all day.

Dinner was over and the merriment in full swing; it had to be closer to the end of then night than the beginning now, she'd lost track. Daff watched both her parents and Elias’ on the dance floor, smiling softly with a glass of cider in hand. She'd had one glass of champagne earlier to celebrate, but that was all she'd indulged in. With half a mind to go sneak another piece of cake, the contentment she was feeling had settled and swelled so completely in her chest, she was too mesmerized to move. Thankfully, she didn’t need to look to see who it was that had come up beside her; she’d had big doe eyes on him all evening, unable to keep her gaze from him for very long. ”I think it’s gone well.” She hummed out, leaning into him, sighing.

---

Elias Grimstone

The following 1 user Likes Daffodil Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Daffodil Grimstone's post
   Elias Grimstone

---

Today marked the end of all their waiting. Elias had spent most of the day revelling in that, just celebrating the fact that they had finally made it here. It was as happy as any ending to anything could be. But now, as the hour had drawn later and she had just leaned into him, it was actually sinking in. He was starting to see the beginning of it come to life.

He hadn’t felt any nervousness about it until just now, as the grand scale of the change dawned on him. Marriage was a new phase of being, one he had been desperately waiting for and still had no concept of yet. He only knew his life as it had been, and known that the pockets of time with Daff, in which they were together, were the most valuable parts of it. In that case, he supposed he was a rich man now.

Elias cast a look down at her, feeling too content to resist running his fingers along one of the loosening waves of her hair and stealing a little sprig from it as a keepsake, a tiny flower that had already escaped the braid and was going to fall out sooner or later, especially if they danced again. Instead, for the moment he spun the sprig in his fingers, smiling at its small petals and at her and at the whole picturesque scene.

“I don’t think it could have gone better,” he countered, because he couldn’t have dreamed up a complaint – except maybe that she’d had to dole out her attention to everyone, and there were no shortage of people here. “Will you be sad to leave?” he asked, half just to tease her. Although everything here did have Daffy’s mark on it all over, down to every detail. So it would be a shame when it all came down and the barn went back to its usual state.

---

The following 1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post
   Daffodil Grimstone

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

Delighted to hear he agreed, she chuckled as he plucked a tiny bud from her hair. She was probably shedding them all over the place as she moved around, but it was hardly noticeable about the sheer amount of greenery. Ama had done her best to get the braid to stay put and it had lasted longer than any of her normal updos, but her hair was so fine it always escaped whatever she tried to contain it with. Elias better get used to finding it everywhere.

"No, I won't be sad to miss the clean up." Always the hardest part. So much care went into assembly and then by the end of a long night, taking it all back down was almost a little miserable. Daff had been so focused on putting it all together so carefully last night and this morning that she hadn't even realized just how hard it would have been if she had to be the one to take it down. Fortunately she would be spared. Of course she had asked her mother to keep the bouquet so she could press it when she got back. That would be the only thing left and that was alright. Today was just one day, they had every day after this and that was what she was looking forward to.

She'd get back into the habit of tucking flowers all over his workshop, just like in the barn at the moment; and now the house too. All of the little vases she'd used today would come with her and he would never get away from flowers ever again. It was a good thing he wasn't allergic. "I was going to steal some cake though, I'm starving." They'd been so busy and even though she'd sat down for dinner she wasn't even sure how much she'd actually eaten. She cast him a conspiratorial smile and looked over her shoulder to where the cake still sat on the table. Truthfully she was ready to go, but unsure of how to even go about trying to sneak out.

---

  

---

She had arranged the decor for so many weddings that it must be a little strange to have planned her own; but he grinned at her comment about the clean up. No, they would be well on their way by then, coasting out on a high note probably before the party had quite died down.

That was fine by him.

“Good idea. I might join you,” Elias said, casting a look at the cake, but perhaps tagging along less because he was starving and more because he wanted to hang onto her company before she got swept away by one of the many members of her extended family wanting a little piece of her. It was probably good if they ate something now, besides, or took something for their travels; and he was quite certain she had been more intent upon seeing their guests suitably entertained before she had begun to think about herself.

As they gravitated towards the cake, and Elias passed her the knife, trying to avoid accidentally catching anyone else’s eye in the process, to dissuade anyone from interrupting them, he added in a murmur, “It’s been perfect, but – I can’t pretend I’m not looking forward to having you all to myself for a while.” Finally.

---

The following 1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post
   Daffodil Grimstone

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

Despite the fact that it was their wedding, Daff felt as though she had woefully little time with him this evening. It was to be expected, she supposed, so much attention to be paid to those celebrating with them, but as they moved in sync toward the cake, she realized she was getting a little impatient with it. She had started wondering just how early was too early to leave.

Taking the knife, she cut out one big piece of the delicious dessert and put it on the closest plate. She added a fork on either side, one for each of them, taking hers in one hand and holding the cake between them. Almost all thoughts of cake flew from her mind though at that comment. She flushed, feeling the heat in her cheeks as she bit her lip to keep a giggle from escaping. He probably didn't mean it like that, but Daff certainly couldn't pretend she wasn't looking forward to their uninterrupted time together as well, even if she was the tiniest bit nervous.

Daff pulled a little bit of cake off with her fork and took a bite, just to give herself a moment to get through being flustered. "I'm ready to sneak out when you are," she decided it couldn't be too early. "Well, after this slice of cake." She was hungry and didn't want to have to think about it later. "Are you going to tell me where we're off to yet?" The time might as well be spent on what else she had to look forward to.

---

The following 1 user Likes Daffodil Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Daffodil Grimstone's post
   Elias Grimstone

---

“After the cake,” he agreed, with a grin. She had cut them a piece to share, so that was excuse enough to shift an extra pace closer, to close the gap between them as far as he could whilst still being able to spear a bite of cake. Elias was watching Daff’s expression more than he was tasting the cake’s flavour, though – it was difficult to concentrate on anything else while she bit her lip like that, holding something back.

The corner of his mouth twitched up in a smaller, more secretive smile. At her flushed cheeks and at the question, both. “Do you want to know now? Or wait and see?” He raised his eyebrows, running his free hand lightly down her back mostly just to tease her. Elias didn’t want to keep her too in the dark, or to get her hopes up too high by it – it was nowhere terribly exotic (he could have flown to all the places he’d chosen on his own broom, though a portkey and a short ferry trip would see them there more comfortably tonight). And neither of them could truly be away too long, or their businesses would no doubt suffer for it. But in this moment he half-wished it could be for longer, a months-long tour around the world. (Less for the world, and more for the time spent indulgently with her.)

But he hoped she would like the places he had planned, anyway.

---

  

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

Maybe she could forget the cake. The hand on her back, though light, started a shiver that ran from the base of her spine, all the way up to her shoulders, visible in a little shake. There was no playing it off, nor did she feel the need to. He knew exactly what he was doing.

She looked up at him, popping another bite of cake into her mouth, not rushing, but not finding it necessary to savor it either. Did she really want to know? Daff wasn't used to not knowing all of the details. The details were her job, she decided the details, always knew who, what, where and when. She'd been happy to leave the honeymoon up to Elias, amidst planning everything else, but she was dying of curiosity.

"Is it going to take a long time to get there?" Daff tapped her fork lightly on her lips. That was her main concern, the travel time. Once they left, she just wanted to be wherever they were going, without a ton of time needed to get there. Once it was just the two of them, she didn't want to share him even in the slightest.

---

  

---

Elias wasn’t used to having quite the upper hand with her – teasing her in keeping things to himself, or with that touch at her back – but he was revelling in it, just a little. Usually when he kept secrets, he kept them fast: birthday gifts he’d crafted for her; the ring he’d held onto for some time before they were engaged; even things he thought or felt, sometimes, until he truly had to part with them.

Still, he tried not to smile too fondly at her gentle fork-tapping or the first question she had. (He didn’t know if it was his own impatience reading into the meaning of it, the yearning to get away and just be together, but if it was he was glad she felt it too. If it wasn’t, it was nevertheless a reasonable question, if Daffy were trying to guess.)

“We’ve got a portkey that’ll take us to Dover to start,” he admitted – Dover, on the southern coast, was a clue towards their general direction. Then across the channel by magical methods would not take them too long, and he had the address of the country cottage in northern France where they would spend their first few days. He had chosen it more for the gardens and the surrounding countryside than the house, but – he hoped she would find it as picturesque as he did. (And thankfully relatively removed from the hustle and bustle of Hogsmeade or London or mundane life.) “But not too long, no. Why,” – and he was really purposefully teasing her now, his spirits were too high to resist it; after all, they were married – “are you very tired?”

---

The following 1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post
   Daffodil Grimstone

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

He was enjoying this just a little too much, Daff could see it in that little ghost of a smile on his face and she narrowed her eyes at him, eyeing him curiously. It was hard to keep the expression though, so she bought herself a moment with another bite of cake. She was eating far more of it than he was, but she supposed once she was done, they could sneak out the side door to take their portkey and that would be just the start of the rest of the night.

"Heading south then," she mused, getting the last of the frosting off of her fork. That didn't really narrow anything down, a lot of the world was south of here, but she supposed that if it wasn't that long to get there, it wouldn't be too far of a journey. The destination really didn't matter to her, but she was relieved for a variety of reasons. Still, she didn't want to give him too much of the upper hand. His question about being tired had her pondering a reply. Truthfully she wasn't all that tired, the energy of the day lingering in her limbs and the excitement and nervousness of what was still to come kept her energized, but it would be more fun to tease him.

"Mmm," she said over another bite of cake; pleased that she was almost full. Daff let the sentiment simmer for a moment, hoping to mislead him just a little bit while she finished her bite. "I am very much looking forward to falling into bed tonight." She leaned in as she said it, hardly above a whisper, tilting her head to the side to look up at him again. She bit her lip again, trying to hold back the smile, hoping he could read her expression instead of her words.

---

The following 1 user Likes Daffodil Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Daffodil Grimstone's post
   Elias Grimstone

---

He had been crowing so much at trying to tease her that he hadn’t expected Daff to do it back, and it took him twice over to digest her comment about falling into bed. She was tired, then, and he oughtn’t be disappointed because they had all the time in the world to come, but he most definitely was... And then he put together the low tone and her look and it was lucky he didn’t have any cake in his mouth, because he might have choked on it, too.

Instead he flushed a little, and breathed out, entirely tongue-tied. It had been easy to be patient, when he had enjoyed so much of their journey getting here, growing day by day through it all – but now that they were in the heart of the moment, everything felt caught between real and surreal, so near and yet so far.

“Yes, well,” Elias managed finally, trying to scrape a small piece of cake onto his fork and ceremoniously failing at it, distracted and flustered as he was, “– so am I.”

They probably ought to leave the wedding reception sooner than later, because Elias couldn’t fathom how he was going to have another collected conversation with her mother if Laurel Potts breezed over to them again now.

---

The following 1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post
   Daffodil Grimstone

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

This battle of having the upper-hand seemed to volley back and forth at a rate that was approaching more suggestive than she thought anyone else should be overhearing. The best part was that they were married and nobody could say a thing about it. Still, watching him all flustered and knowing she still had a deep blush on her cheeks solidified that it was time to go. Daff stole the last bite of cake Elias had failed to pick up and licked the frosting from her lips as she set the plate back down on the table.

She looked out over the crowd one last time, smile softening just a bit at the celebrating all around them. A tiny part of her felt guilty for skipping out early, but it was overwhelmingly overshadowed by the readiness to escape. (And it really wasn't that early either!) It was far too easy to be content with sneaking off when she knew she had so much more to look forward in the evening. Turning back to Elias, she reached out hand to him and led him off to the side, tiptoeing around a table and some chairs, through one of the side rooms of the barn and out one of the more obscure side doors. Briefly she wondered how long it would take someone to notice they were missing, but she couldn't bring herself to worry about it.

The chilly night air hit her skin, washing over her like a soft sigh, leaving goosebumps in its wake, refreshing after the warmth of inside and the conversation that had left her flushed. The dim light and the quiet of the field outside the barn was almost a jarring contrast to the party inside, but it was as much as a relief as the temperature. Veering to one side, heart hammering in excitement, barely containing the laugh that was bubbling up, she headed back toward the front of the barn, creeping along the wall, to where the path led back to the house. Daff had unconsciously picked up the pace before realizing they were finally alone. It felt silly to have her leading the way now; her planning for the evening was at an end, it was up to Elias. Daff slowed near the front of the barn, light from the merriment inside spilling out through the wide barn doors into the night all around them, stopping before the could become visible to anyone else again. The last thing she wanted was for someone to spot them now!

Unsure of what came next, Daff had at least come to the conclusion that she was over having any distance between them. She stepped closer, reaching up her free hand to pull him in for a desperate sort of kiss. All of the nerves and the worries faded in that single moment and when she finally leaned back, she smiled at him almost sheepishly. "Where to now?"

---

  

---

He felt a blossoming urge to laugh as they snuck out around the barn – for all the stooping and ducking in the world, Elias was glad it was dark outside because his tall frame wasn’t exactly discreet. Daff had known the first desire on his lips before he had so much as needed to say it – when they broke apart, he could feel his heart on its slow climb back down to a resting rate.

“Well, if you’re ready...” Elias breathed, and gestured to the Portkey waiting for them. He was ready, more than ready; he took her hand as they took the Portkey, and didn’t let it go until they had boarded the ferry, the channel lit by moonlight and the other passengers flitting around, hardly noticeable to him – he was too conscious of Daffodil beside him now for his attention to fully drift anywhere else. But, just waiting for the minutes to pass, he sketched out the outline of the honeymoon: the first days in the country gardens of northern France; a brief stop at the Swiss lakes; a day in Belgium botanical gardens and arboretum on the way to the Netherlands, where the first tulips of the season would be blooming.

But, for tonight: they had disembarked and arrived at the rural house, luggage already floo’d ahead and waiting inside. The shutters were closed and the cottage gardens darkened, only rustling in the breeze. “It’ll look like more in the morning, I’m sure,” he murmured, apologetic, as he let them in. It was warm inside though the lamplight had been left to low, casting shadows on the wall – and Elias was thinking of nothing but their now-uninterrupted solitude, even from the moment he pulled the door closed after them. He considered Daff now, trying to look calmer than he felt; just in case her mood had changed on the way and it all felt strange or daunting now, now there was no one else around them. “How do you feel?”

---

The following 1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post
   Daffodil Grimstone

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

Portkeys were not her favorite way to travel and then the ferry left her a little queasy, but maybe it was the nerves? Daff hadn't the faintest about what to be nervous about; she had been looking forward to the time it was just the two of them all evening. The cold air across the water helped and as she leaned against him, never out of reach, at least one hand on him at all times, she took a few deep breaths and let the sound of the waves and the breeze lull her into a dreamy sense of peace.

Of course that all slipped away from her as soon as they reached their cute little French cottage and the rest of the night was right in front of them. Daffy, being ever the one to need the details, had, after hearing Dahlia's story of their mother's information for a wedding night, had gone straight to Amaryllis to get the facts. No flowery metaphors or innuendos, just the necessary information, which Daff appreciated. Her sister's no-nonsense approach was probably the extreme opposite of her mother's, but Ama did hold a level of affection for her husband that showed when she spoke, so Daff knew she was getting a good sense of what to expect. It did little to quell the butterflies taking up residence in her chest.

The gardens could wait, but she was excited to see them. He had taken great care to choose places he thought she would like and that softened the edges of her nerves a little bit. It was just the two of them, exactly what they wanted, there was no reason to get caught up in her head. "I can't wait," Daff assured him with a quiet chuckle, turning back to him after she took in the quaint little room. Tomorrow she would wander through every inch of the gardens, dragging him with her to see everything they could. But that was tomorrow and this was tonight and Daff had already started to unwind the flowers and plaits from her hair, tossed and tangled from the wind on the boat. She needed something to do with her hands and that at least seemed like a useful thing to do. Soft brown waves slowly came unwound, hanging loosely around her shoulders as she plucked the last of the flowers from the bottom. She toyed idly with the tiny sprig of pink forget-me-knots with a smile.

"My feet hurt a little," she teased lightly; the new shoes were a bit stiff, but not unbearable. The new corset too, laced a little tighter than she would have liked, but she hadn't been about to argue with her mother. "But otherwise, I'm good." Even if she could feel the heat on her cheeks and the uptick in her heartbeat. "You?" She eyed him carefully, watching his expression, lip caught between her teeth again.

---

  

---

“Well, there’s not much further to go now,” Elias answered casually, to her mention of her aching feet. A corner of his mouth twitched, only half in jest. “I’ll carry you up the stairs, if you like.”

Daff had distracted him, though, partway through the saying it, by loosening out her hair. It was often wild and messy and escaping the plaits, or with half a meadow of flowers in it, but tonight watching it fall freely around her face and down her back made his mouth a little dry. Elias took half a moment trying to resist the temptation to step over, until he remembered that was needless now – so he threaded his fingers loosely into her hair, just because he could, and then leaned down to steal a kiss again, to express just how good he felt right now, about all this.

“It hasn’t all sunk in yet, I don’t think,” he admitted, as he drew back – not far away; he didn’t have to now – and let his hand fall down to her shoulder, tracing a path along where the shoulder and neckline of her dress met skin. She was his; he was hers; they were married; everything was suddenly very simple, pieces falling strangely into place. “It doesn’t quite feel – real.”

---

The following 1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post
   Daffodil Grimstone

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3

Daff softened into the contact instantly. She absolutely loved the feeling of his hand in her hair and her own landed on his chest as he leaned in to kiss her. That lovely dizzy feeling took over and she leaned in completely, surrenduring to the sensation. This was good, it was easy to get away from the nerves when she couldn't think.

Thinking was all she had done in the days leading up to the wedding, when she couldn't sleep for trying to figure out what else needed to be done and what to do at the shop before she was gone for a few weeks. In the quiet darkness of her room she kept coming back to being unable to give Elias any firsts; not her heart for the first time or her first kiss. She had trusted him with her heart after it was broken and that felt like something monumental, but tonight was a first she could share with him and only him. Being somebody's first love was something special, but being their last love was everything; she had always meant it when she'd said she had never loved anyone like she loved him.

It was her turn to be distracted at the feeling of his fingertips on her skin at the neckline of her dress. The sigh was inaudible, but the feeling sunk in deep, the warmth spreading across her skin, and it left her wanting more. Daff chuckled quietly as she looked up at him, shaking her hair back out of her face. It had sunk in for her about halfway through the ferry ride and she was so ready. "Very real, I'm all yours." Her hands slid up over his shoulders, looping her arms around his neck, pushing up to her tiptoes to kiss him again.

---

The following 1 user Likes Daffodil Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Daffodil Grimstone's post
   Elias Grimstone

---

It might not feel real in his head yet, but physically he was well on his way to convinced. As Daffy went up on her tiptoes, arms around his neck, he lifted her up higher, hands under her to hoist her properly off the floor – to put them on a more even plane, to feel her closer against him, to deepen the kiss for a moment.

Somehow, at the same time, he was caught up in the memory of the first time they’d kissed – or, rather, when Daffy had, almost unexpectedly, kissed him in his workshop. For all the lightness on the surface, it had felt like something deeper even then – serious and overwhelming and impossibly significant, some infinitesimal shift of the universe he had actually felt beneath his feet. He felt it again now. They had waited long enough that Elias had supposed the wanting might be less by now. It wasn’t: very real, she said, all yours – and even so, there was a brimming sense of urgency in his chest.

So he considered following through on the carrying-her-up-the-stairs threat, but he didn’t want to rush her and besides was worried he would ruin her dress somehow, by stumbling over it or tearing the delicate fabric. Instead he just deposited her onto a stair or two above him, to let her lead the way up – but paused there again, with one hand on her waist and the other pushing her hair back in order to press a slow kiss to her neck.

---

The following 1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post:1 user Likes Elias Grimstone's post
   Daffodil Grimstone

---

look ANOTHER beautiful bee!set <3