82 The (Not So) Disastrous Wedding

"You're going to get the gift right?", Claire asked Phil as soon as he entered the kitchen. 

"Didn't you say you were going to get it as the groom's best man?", Phil questioned. 

"No, I have a husbandwho will go and get the gift that I spent ages trying to find", Claire retorted, "They fell in love with this very specific turquoise Italian glass bowl. I looked for it everywhere, finally found one, and we're not going to the wedding without one". 

"W-wait. I thought you were going to take me to the eye doctor.", Phil questioned, "I'm not meant to drive myself home". 

"No no no no no no no no", Claire shook her head, "I'm supposed to pick him up from his wilderness trip. Alex can take you". 

"That's a bummer", Phil muttered, panicking as soon as he saw Alex enter the kitchen. 

Alex, who was taking her car keys, deadpanned, "Aw Dad. I'm touched". 

"No. It's not because you're boring. It's just that I'd rather pick up Luke", Phil argued, quickly correcting himself upon seeing the look on their faces, "Than go to the eye doctor. I-I love spending time with you". 

"You're not really selling it", Alex commented. Scoffing, she walked out of the kitchen. 

"Honey!", Phil exclaimed, "You're fun! I mean it!". Once she was out of the room, he turned to look at his wife with a desperate look on his face and whispered, "Are you sure I can't get Luke?". 

"I heard that!", Alex yelled before Claire could even answer. 

"Let's do this!", Phil exclaimed, quickly walking out of the kitchen. 

As soon as he got to the door, he found Alex waiting there, her arms crossed, "You don't have to go with me if you don't want to. I'm sure you'd have far more fun with Luke". 

"No no no honey!", Phil quickly comforted her, "I love spending time with you". 

"Whatever", Alex rolled her eyes, opening the door and walking into the garage. 

"Oh My God!", Phil exclaimed, "How on Earth did you get that?!". 

"Zephyr gave it to me", Alex answered, "After passing my practical, he gave me the car. I didn't really want it at first, but he insisted. I don't really get what mens obsession with cars is". 

"I don't know why I even asked", Phil muttered. 

"Are you going to stop gawking or are you going to get in the car?!", Alex, somewhat irritated by his earlier statement, snapped. 

"Yes ma'am", Phil saluted and quickly followed after her. 

"Don't call me that. It sounds weird", Alex complained. 

"Yes", Phil rapidly nodded his head. As Phil walked closer to the BMW M4, he was awestruck by the sheer sophistication and power it exuded. Its sleek, aerodynamic body shimmered under the sunlight, and its lustrous purple paint, reminiscent of a deep amethyst, gave it a unique and commanding presence. 

As he entered the car, Phil was surprised by the level of comfort and luxury of the interior. Plush leather seats hugged the driver and passengers, providing a perfect balance between support and relaxation. The dashboard was a technological marvel, adorned with a myriad of high-end features and a touchscreen display that controlled the car's entertainment and navigation systems.

Further irritated by her dad's reaction, Alex quickly started the car, the engine emitting a throaty roar. "Put your seatbelt on!", Alex commanded, with Phil quickly putting on the seatbelt. As soon as he finished, Alex slowly pressed down on the throttle, steering the wheel as the car slowly exited the driveway.

[Time Skip]

"Wow", Cam muttered, both nervous and excited, "We're finally doing this". Turning to look at his soon-to-be husband, he asked, "Are you ready?". 

"I've never been any more ready", Mitchell confidently answered, "I can't wait another minute". 

Nodding, they both turned around and looked down the aisle. 

"Lily. It's your time to shine baby", Pepper informed Lily, who nodded. Lily, wearing a princess dress, carried a basket in her hand and began to pepper petals to each side of her as she walked forward, her dads smiling as they looked at her. Seeing Lily making her way, all the attendants stood up and anxiously looked behind, eagerly awaiting Mitchell and Cam's entrance. 

"On 3 boys", Pepper stated, looking at them with a large smile, "1 ... 2 ...-". 

Just as he was about to continue, a fireguard came running in and interrupted, "Attention! Attention please! The fire has jumped the freeway. I'm really sorry but I'm going to have to ask you all to evacuate immediately". 

Although shocked and frustrated, Mitchell was desperate and asked, "If you're evacuating everyone, can't you just do us last?". 

"I don't think you realise how close you are to actual flames", the fireman muttered, looking at them with pity. 

"We've waited 10 years for this moment, can we please just have an hour?", Cam begged. 

"The most I can give you is half an hour", the fireman announced. 

"W-we can make it work!", Pepper encouragingly announced. Turning to look at them, he said, "The wedding will still go on, it'll just be a slightly pared-down version". In a hurry, he started giving out instructions, "Claire, you're upfront. Lily, start strewing flower petals. Grooms, you're with me!". Dragging them both, he shouted, "Quarter! Quartet! Quartet!". Pushing them onto the pavilion, he exclaimed, "Sal! Start your limerick!". 

"Oh no!", Sal yelled, hunching over in pain. 

"Please! We're all having to make sacrifices!", Pepper remarked. 

"Her water broke!", Cam screamed in concern. 

"Oh God!", Mitchell exclaimed, mere moments from breaking down due to the constant barrage of hits and bumps he experienced today.

[Time Skip]

"Okay. This is weird!", Alex muttered, touching the seat she was on, "I think this is the seat that I used to nervously scratch on my way to middle school". 

"Aww. Poor thing", Haley, who was a seat right in front of her muttered. 

"Yeah", Alex nodded, "Even back then I felt such pressure to do well and excel at my studies". 

"Andy's flight is delayed again!", Haley continued, unknowingly interrupting Alex. 

"Just ignore her", Zephyr comforted Alex, giving her hand a squeeze, "She likes Andy but is unwilling to admit it". 

"I do not!", Haley shouted, leaning back over her seat. 

"Oh God! This is so hilarious", Alex laughed, "He's totally not your type". 

"Shut up", Haley retorted. 

"Hah", Alex laughed a bit again, "You can't stop thinking about him, you're checking on him and you keep looking at your message every few seconds or so". 

"Ugh", Haley groaned, turning around and sitting down properly, still looking at her phone. 

"How's your therapy going?", Zephyr asked Alex as she rested her head against his arm. 

"It's going really well", Alex answered, "I feel so much better now and I'm not as nervous about our exams and college as much as I was before". 

"That's good", Zephyr nodded, happy to see that she was doing better, even if he still felt guilty for being incapable of helping her. 

"What about yours?", Alex questioned, "Matt told me that you go therapy now too". 

"Of course he did", Zephyr muttered under his breath. "It's been okay", Zephyr truthfully answered. 

"I'm glad", Alex contently sighed, squeezing his hand. 

"Excuse me! I'm talking to you!", Manny raised his voice. 

"Yeah yeah", Luke largely ignored him, reading a newspaper, "They looked good on you in the store but now you're not sure". 

"T-that was 10 minutes ago!", Manny defended, "Well maybe if I stapled the sports page to my head you'd finally pay attention". 

"As long as it covers your mouth", Luke muttered under his breath. 

"What?", Manny asked, not having heard him properly. 

"Nothing", Luke shook his head and smiled. 

"Is it just me or are they acting-", Zephyr commented. 

"Like a married couple", Alex finished his sentence for him. 

"Good. Phew", Zephyr sighed, "I'm just glad-". 

"That it's not just me", Alex added, once again finishing his sentence. 

"Aww", Haley teased, looking over her seat once more, "Look at you dorks, finishing each other's sentences". 

"Don't you have an Andy to chase?", Alex asked, "Oh right. He's not interested in you". 

"Argh! Shut up!", Haley screamed, quickly sitting down on her seat. 

[Time Skip]

"I don't think this is going to work", Zephyr commented, looking at how crowded the house was. 

"I feel bad for Uncle Mitch and Uncle Cam", Alex muttered. 

"I know", Zephyr agreed, pulling back a loose strand of hair in front of Alex's face, "First the forest fire, then when they were about to get married, the bride and groom who ran away from the second venue came back". 

Although somewhat embarrassed, Alex recovered quickly, "The hits just keep on coming". 

Zephyr took a deep breath, "I don't think it's going to work with all these people here". 

"Where are the overflow guests gone?", Alex inquired. 

"I'm not sure", Zephyr shrugged, "But half of them are upstairs while some are outside on the lawn". 

"But Cam and Mitch don't own the upper floors!", Alex exclaimed. 

Zephyr sighed, "This is turning out to be a disaster". 

"I agree", Alex nodded, being pushed against Zephyr by a moving guest. 

"You okay?", Zephyr asked, wrapping his arms around Alex's waist and staring into her eyes. 

"Y-yes", Alex nodded her head, momentarily dazed by the ethereal glow of his eyes. 

Trying to distract herself, she looked at Haley and said, "You're texting Andy now?!". 

"I'm just letting him know that he can hang out here if he wants", Haley defended, "He doesn't need that bitch, she'll just keep toying with his heart". 

"Haley", Zephyr intervened, "I hope you realise what you're doing". 

"I'm not doing anything", Haley argued. 

"It's one thing if you're actually interested in him, but if you're just playing around with him for the fun of it ...", Zephyr muttered. 

"Here's the thing about nice quiet dorks like Andy", Alex added, "You'll get over us much faster than we'll over you". 

"Uhm", Haley muttered, unsure of how to respond. Realising that she needed a moment to think about it, Haley walked away from them, barging through the crowd. 

"Lisa and Robin huh", Zephyr murmured, tightening his hold around her waist. 

"Yeah", Alex nodded, hugging him, "I felt so bad for her seeing how quickly he moved on". 

"It's okay", Zephyr comforted, "Apparently she likes Paolo now. Michael told me they went on a date a week ago". 

"I heard", Alex mumbled into his chest. 

"You wanna go outside?", Zephyr asked, "I think I see Manny and Luke writing just married with toothpaste on the back of Mitchell's car". 

Separating quickly, she commanded, "Take me there! I've already got a tonne of pictures but even more wouldn't hurt". 

[Time Skip]

As the wedding procession began once more, Mitchell looked at Lily, who kept picking up and strewing the same flower petal over and over again and sighed. Taking a step forward, he loudly declared, "Hey, thank you guys so much for dealing with all of this today. It means a lot to us but unfortunately, this isn't going to wo-". 

"Stop!", Jay raised his voice, halting Mitchell from continuing, "You can't do this". 

"Thank you Dad, but I'm way ahead of you!", Mitchell exclaimed. 

Before he could continue, Jay spoke up once more, "What I mean is, you can't get married like this". Taking a deep breath, he continued, "You guys deserve a wedding like the one you've been talking about nonstop for the last nine months". 

"What do you mean?", Mitchell asked, curious as to where Jay was going with this. 

"You bring it up every chance that you get", Jay answered. 

"I know what nonstop means!", Mitchell complained. 

"Trust me, okay?", Jay forcefully commanded, "Now what are we all waiting for?". 

[Time Skip]

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow over the horizon, Mitchell and Cam exchanged warm gazes as they stood under a wooden arch. After numerous attempts, the wedding was now taking place in the golf resort Jay often attended. 

Zephyr, who was playing the violin, and Alex, who was playing the cello, nodded at Phil, giving him the go-ahead. 

"Thank you all for attending this blessed occasion", Phil began. "They say the best marriages contain just a little bit of magic", taking Claire's hand into his, he continued, "And trust me, I know. We're gathered here today to join two amazing and wonderful people, both of whom are the nicest and kindest people you'll meet. While their wedding may not have started in the most conventional and smooth way possible, they have both persevered and weathered the harshness, all in the name of love". 

Seeing that he stopped, Claire took that as her cue and passed Mitchell a ring. Mitchell, both excited and nervous, took Cam's hand into his and passed the ring onto his finger. "Do you, Cameron Tucker, take Mitchell Pritchett to be your lawfully wedded husband?". 

"I do", Cam tearfully answered. 

Nodding, Phil looked at Claire who passed Cam a matching ring. "And do you, Mitchell Pritchett, take Cameron Tucker to be your lawfully wedded husband?". 

"I do", Mitchell answered, his voice cracking as he said so. 

"Then, by the powers vested in me by the state of California, I am privileged to announce you spouses for life", Phil announced, "You may now kiss your husband". 

As soon as he finished, Cam and Mitchell leaned forward, their lips adjoining as a fireworks display began in the background. Everyone began clapping, with Jay even shedding a few tears, which he swiftly tried to hide". 

(AN: I have thankfully recovered from my fever so I'll be updating normally again. To make up for the chapters I missed, I'll try to update 5 to 6 times next week but I can't guarantee it.)