Best Man To Bride: 6

“Not a great turnout, huh?” Amelie asked, the lucario woman stepping carefully over her zoroark companion's feet as she moved to her seat. “Not even all of Helios's family bothered showing up, it looks like.”

“Well what can you do?” Velvet sighed. “Most of them are still at least a little upset about how the last marriage ended.” She snorted. “Can’t expect them to all make the effort to show up to a shotgun wedding less than six months after the last one… between the groom and the woman they all think he left his new wife for.”

“Yeah, my family was pissed when I said I was coming.” Amelie frowned. “They REALLY don’t like Dee- Sorry, Dede. I think they blame her, even after they found out Delia was ‘also’ cheating.” Her frown deepened. “I still think we let her off a bit too easy…”

Velvet laughed, the zoroark giving the lucario an affectionate smile as she opened her notebook and withdrew a pen from her mane. “You're utterly unforgiving Amelie. Are you sure you're not at least a little dark-type?”

“I wasn’t before, but I’m pretty sure I’ve had at least a little dark-type in me recently.” The corner of Amelie’s mouth curled up as Velvet’s face burnt. “I mean, I know you’ve got to be basically half fighting type by this point, right?”

“WE ARE-” Velvet began before quieting herself as a few of the guests shot her disapproving looks. “We are at a wedding! Can you… NOT!?”

“What’s the matter?” Amelie asked, her own cheeks growing pink as she smirked at the fuming zoroark. “I can stop anytime, but I thought you liked it when I Mega-Punched your-” She paused as she looked down and noticed what Velvet was working on. “Wait, is that another wedding plan? Are you working during Dede and Helios's wedding!?”

“No!” Velvet snapped, trying to close the notebook even as Amelie reached down to force it back open. “Hey! That’s… work!”

“Ha, I knew you couldn’t stop even for this!” Amelie sneered. “Who’s the wedding for? Fess up! Another lucario and a…” She stopped, her eyes widening as her face began to burn as red as her partner’s. “A zoroark?”

“It’s nothing!” Velvet yanked the notebook back away from Amelie, eyes darting back and forth as she quickly tried to hide it. “Theoretical plans for… someone you don’t know! It's not what it looks like!”

“What does it look like?” Amelie asked, her smirk returning, though far more nervous than before as her legs began to jitter. “Because I KNOW a neurotic little perfectionist like you wouldn’t be thinking about proposing to someone after less then a half decade of dating, right?”

Velvet’s eyes twitched. “Oh, you KNOW that, do you!? You're so very sure you know me that well, huh?”

“Prove me wrong!” Amelie demanded, her smirk growing into a grin as beads of sweat began to run down the sides of her face, her whole body feeling weirdly hot and her head lighter than air. “I dare you! I double growlithe-dare you!”

“I-I…” Velvet looked like she was about to pass out as she fidgeted with her hands. “W-Well… Amelie, if you really want me to… I mean… If…”

“Will you two pipe down!” Someone hissed from the row in front of them, an elderly charizard glaring at the pair as they both froze, realizing the music had stopped. “You're going to spoil the moment!”

“Sorry…” The two women spoke in unison, hunching down in their seats and looking up to the altar where Helios and a visibly pregnant lucario were looking back at them, a mix of annoyance and bemusement on their faces.

“Why did we invite them again?” Helios muttered under his breath. “They do this every time…”

“Because without them we wouldn’t be here today.” Dede whispered back, smiling as she took the charizard’s hands. “Because without them, we wouldn’t be parents…” She leaned in. “And because as soon as one of them actually pops the question, we can get back at them by making out during their wedding!”

“God. I love you!” Helios laughed and kissed his bride.

“I love you too!” Dede breathed, wrapping her arms around her husband and kissing him back passionately.

“Alright…” The shiny salazzle behind the altar sighed. “We’ll just say that’s as good as an ‘I do’.” She raised her hands. “Very well, I pronounce you husband and wife! Take care of that kid and… please keep your clothes on, this is still a chapel!” She sighed loudly as the couple descended to the floor, making out as, from the pews, Velvet and Amelie began to clap and cheer far too loudly. “Ugh, I hate this town…”

It would take awhile for Helios's family to come around… longer still for Velvet to alter the memories of Dede’s family to remember their son as having always been a short stacked lucario girl. But though their union was unconventional and their relationship strange in its early years, Dede and Helios’s love would never falter or fade and they would have many, many years together to make everything work out in the end.

And they would all live…

Happy Ever After