The Healing Canes - Wedding

by bageltm

Summary:

When you're planning a wedding, what would you do to ensure that your special day turns out perfectly? Hire professional wedding organizers, perhaps? Well... not when you're Finn Ames and Carpaccio Luo-yang. Witness what a wedding between The Healing Canes would look like, if Finn's dysfunctional group of friends were to be in charge of the wedding preparation...

Lance is taking care of the guest list? Sure.
Dot's in control of the wedding playlist? No problem.
Lemon is the master of ceremony? Great!
Mash was tasked with ordering food for the wedding...? um, questionable, but okay...

I mean, what could go wrong?
__________
or, a sequel to The Healing Canes , in which Carpaccio and Finn, who have been working side by side for years as divine visionaries, gets married.

Notes:

hey guys!! back at it again! this will be my last work before I go into hibernation again lol...

anyways, the fic can be read as a standalone, but it's gonna include some references to The Healing Canes , so read that if u want some context!

anyways, this is my take on PaccioFinn wedding haha... kinda cringe, kinda chaotic, but oh well. enjoy!!

Chapter 1: Wedding Ceremony - how bad could it be?

On a perfect spring day, a certain mage with burgundy hair is having the second mental breakdown he has ever experienced in his 27 years of living. Today’s the day everyone has been eagerly waiting for, so why is Carpaccio Luo-yang, the esteemed healing cane, curled up in a corner with his knee to his chest?

That’s exactly what Margarette Macaron is thinking. As Carpaccio’s best man, he must make sure the guy doesn’t ruin his own wedding. This is his first obstacle of the day. The clock is three minutes away from striking eleven. Carpaccio needs to walk down the aisle with Finn at eleven o’clock. Carpaccio needs to get his shit together in three minutes. Margarette Macaron needs to find a way for Carpaccio to get his shit together in three– no, now it’s two minutes.

Margarette lets out a heavy sigh as they turn away from the clock on the wall to face the groom. Carpaccio, despite arriving at the reception at the crack of dawn with an unusually wide grin on his face, has now exhausted his enthusiasm. Margarette knew it was too good to be true. The same Carpaccio who claimed he couldn’t wait any longer to see his soon-to-be spouse– currently does not want to go outside and see Finn Ames.

“Carpaccio, you really do not have the time for this…” Margarette starts with a less dramatic tone than usual. “I understand that you’re feeling nervous– it is your big day after all, but as you can see… now is NOT!! The TIME!!!”

Maragrette’s words were met with silence, as the groom still stared wide-eyed at the ground. Margarette tries a different approach. “Oh please, what’s so interesting about the floor, hmm? Finn is outside WAITING for you. I’m sure seeing him after three whole days of being apart is faaaaaaar more interesting than staring at the floor.”

The dramatic twist on words still unfazed the other, who only gripped his suit harder. Seeing his clothes even a little crumpled was the last straw. Margarette quickly grabbed both of Carpaccio’s arms and yanked him up to his feet. Without giving time for Carpaccio to retort, they grabbed his shoulders and began shaking sense into him. “DO YOU REALIZE HOW DIRTY THE GROUND IS??!! You are wearing BEIGE! On top of that, you wrinkled your clothes. If only you knew how much time I spent last night, IRONING YOUR SUIT!!”

“...I’m so–”

“LOOK. Look at the time… Finn is probably already outside, waiting for you. How could you make him wait? What if he thinks he’s getting stood up? Now you’re adding more problems to his bowl. It’s beyond ungentlemanly to make your guests wait, let alone the person you’ll be marrying. Now is NOT the time to be having those silly thoughts. Cease your overthinking this instant!” Margarette commanded. They swung their wand to bring over some tissues and had them wipe away the sweat on the groom’s face. They summoned a pouch full of make-up to retouch Carpaccio’s face and hide those hideous eyebags of his, leaving behind a mist of powdered dust in the air, causing the other to cough.

“The hard part is over already. He agreed to marry you. All you need to do now is WALK. DOWN. THE AISLE.” Margarette yelled once more to make sure the other got it in his head. They then put away the makeup pouch and pushed Carpaccio to the door. “Got it?”

“...Got it.”

Carpaccio finally broke the one-sided conversation. He let out one final sigh as he fixed his bowtie. “Does this make me look stupid?”

“Oh dear, you always look stupid. It’s nothing to worry about,” Margarette brushed off the topic. They then crossed their hands and huffed, “What you SHOULD be worried about, is those list of vows you spent so little time on memorizing.”

As of right now, Carpaccio could at most recite the first paragraph, if he’s lucky. The reason why he spent little to no effort in memorizing them wasn’t because he didn’t care, it was actually because he knew that even if he memorized all of them to a T, all his thoughts would scatter the moment he and Finn met eye to eye. He figured that since Finn is such a wonderful person, the vows will come to his head on the spot.

So without any more time left on the clock, Carpaccio musters up his courage and pushes open the door. He can’t wait to see his other half. Not seeing Finn for three days sucked a lot. Carpaccio swears he is going to beat up whichever person came up with this stupid tradition.

—
On the other hand, Finn’s room was as lively as ever. Quite the opposite of Carpaccio’s. while Carpaccio only has Margarette as his best man, Finn has the entire ex-adler squad as his… bridesmaids? Whatever they are, they’re Finn’s support system.

Finn is currently staring at himself in a mirror, repeatedly reciting his vows. He wants it to be absolutely perfect– no stuttering, no misspoken words. He wants to show Carpaccio that his vows are genuine, and he fears that any stuttering will imply that he’s hesitating. In which he is definitely NOT!!

But despite him staying up all night to rehearse, he just couldn’t seem to recite it well enough. When he stares at himself in the mirror, his thoughts go blank. Then again, it’s too awkward to recite the vows while looking at anyone else who’s not Carpaccio. Reciting the vows to a wall feels a little too much like the real Carpaccio, so that’s extra awkward. But when he closes his eyes to recite his vows, all he sees is CARPACCIO.

“Carpaccio this, Carpaccio that. CARPACCIO IS EVERYWHERE!” Finn desperately yells in frustration, sliding himself on a wall and onto the ground. “This is terrible. I haven’t seen him in three days, yet I’m everything but excited to meet him! What’s wrong with meeee?!”

“Come on Finn, it’ll be okay. Just chill out!” Lemon tries comforting him. She pats his shoulder to encourage him, “There’s nothing to worry about. Everything’s gonna be fine, I made sure all the preparations were done well!”

Mash walks up to Finn while he’s fiddling with the buttons on his suit, trying to button them up since he unbuttoned them earlier. The suit just made him way too hot. Anyways, Mash halts what he’s doing and instead puts out two thumbs up. “You got this.”

Finn cups his face in dismay. “No, I don’t. I can imagine about eighty different ways that things could go wrong!”

“That’s great and all, but I’m gonna tell you this right now…” Dot pointed at the clock above them, “You’ve got three minutes.”

Finn lets out a shriveled whine, sounding as if his soul is leaving his body. “There’s no way I can go out there… There are so many people outside. I’m going to mess up the vows in front of hundreds of people!!!”

“Oh please, there’s barely even fifty people. Relaaaxxxxx,” Dot rolled his eyes, dismissing Finn’s worries. He pursed his lips and hesitantly whispered to himself, “Athough it is being livestreamed across the country…”

Finn lets go of his cheeks when he notices his hands are producing three times the normal amount of sweat. Now his cheeks are twice as red since he pinched them so hard. He turns to the mirror again and groans in agony while he massages his own cheeks. A thousand different thoughts are racing through his mind right now.

His biggest concern is that he won’t be able to recite his vows and then Carpaccio would change his mind and not want to marry him anymore. Which is an absolutely ABSURD thing to think about. And that’s exactly what Lance is going to state.

“Finn. Have you seen the man you’ll be marrying?”

“No, not in three days.” Finn took the question literally. “Waaahhh I miss him so much. But I wish I could just see him on any other day!”

Lance mentally facepalmed. “Finn, the worst thing you could do is stutter on a couple of lines. What Carpaccio’s probably gonna do, is not recite his vows at all. Seriously, do you think Carpaccio isn’t going to make any mistakes either? Cut yourself some slack.”

“Hey! Don’t be like that…” Finn huffs. “I-I know for a fact that Paccio’s going to try this best today… I think… no, I’m sure of it!! So I want to do the best too…”

“Dude, even if you do the bare minimum, that guy is still going to think you’re the most perfect specimen to have walked the earth. He’s totally infatuated to the point it’s cringe.” Dot pretended to puke with a ‘blehh’ sound effect. “No matter what happens, his ass is NOT leaving you.”

While his friends were desperately trying every method they had to calm Finn down, Rayne was sitting down and enjoying a soothing cup of tea. He calmly watched the scene unfold, waiting for the right time to intervene. He took one last sip from his cup as he watched the clock strike eleven.

“It’s time,” He says as he places a hand on his brother’s shoulder. Finn jumped as he was caught off guard. Rayne utters a few more words of encouragement. “Just do what you usually do. Be yourself. It’s what he fell in love with, after all.”

Rayne’s words struck him hard. Finn took a deep breath, exhaled, and smiled. “Right. You’re right. It’s going to be fine… Carpaccio’s never minded before. It’s not like he’s going to start minding, right? Haha…”

He laughs nervously as his head drops. While doing so, he remembers that he’s wearing a white suit. He also remembers that he slid down the wall a few minutes ago. He frantically asks if his back was stained. Lemon told him it wasn’t a big deal and lightly brushed the dust off his back. Good as new!

He then looked in the mirror to double-check. Not a single speck of dust. Although, a new question arose. “Say… Carpaccio’s not wearing white too, is he?”

“Of course not. Last time I checked he should be in a black suit… hm?” Lemon, who was coincidentally looking at her phone, suddenly received a text from someone next door. It was a selfie of Margarette Macaron, with a distracted Carpaccio in the background. In the caption, they wrote ‘Ready to come out any second now. As soon as he stops being unreasonable.’ Lemon’s eyes widened as she sees that… Carpaccio was wearing some sort of shade of white. “Uhm… I hope you don’t consider beige as a shade of white?”

As he walks out the door, Finn spends another minute worrying about how one of them is going to look like they have a dirtier suit than the other. Lemon soon discovers that the miscommunication was because Margarette thought Carpaccio looks better in white, despite him already telling Finn he was going to wear black. Lemon is going to punch someone.

—

“Why isn’t he here yet.”

It sounded more like a statement rather than a question.

Finn is currently waiting for Carpaccio to arrive so they can walk down the aisle together. They are six minutes behind schedule and the overthinking is starting to catch up on him. Rayne made a few phone calls to Carpaccio telling him to hurry up.

Without long, Carpaccio shows up, stiff and awkward as ever. He’s walking like a robot too. Carpaccio looks like he’s going to go into overdrive mode, Mash style. Finn smiles awkwardly as he greets with an equally awkward “Hi…”

“Hi…” Carpaccio replies. He looked the other up and down, his cheeks increasingly growing red. “Y-you…look really… good…”

“T-thanks… you too…” Finn blushed as he looked away in embarrassment.

Lance raised an eyebrow judgementally while Dot rolled his eyes. The redhead laughed to himself as he jabbed at Lance, “They’re being lovey-dovey again. Gross. When’s it gonna be my turn?”

Lance never responded to that.

Finn turns his view back to Carpaccio, wanting to make more small talk since they haven’t seen eachother in a few days. “Uh, so… I missed y– P-PACCIO?!?!?!”

Finn could only utter a few words before he sees Carpaccio get swept off his feet and faint. Right before he could fall face flat onto the ground, Mash caught him just in time with a single hand, and ‘gently’ pushed him back into a standing position. Finn immediately rushed over to support him, panicking over how red his partner was. He slowly crouched down and positioned Carpaccio to lay down on his lap. “W-what happened?! Does he have a fever?!”

Lemon quickly went to fetch a glass of water, Margarette Macaron rolled their eyes, while Finn just added another disaster ending on top of his 80 scenarios. Not even a minute later, Carpaccio’s eyes slowly fluttered opened. Finn’s eyes glimmered with hope as he thought his wedding was saved.

But the other just stared wide-eyed straight into Finn’s eyes, slowly blinking. Finn smiled nervously, while asking whether he was okay. Carpaccio didn’t reply, his blinks becoming more frequent. Finn repeatedly called out the other healing cane’s name, becoming increasingly more distressed. Lemon returned with a glass of water and handed it over to Finn. He thanked the girl and heard Carpaccio mumble a few incoherent words.

His attention turned back to the barely conscious Carpaccio, who’s face become an even more brighter shade of red. Finn wondered whether that’s possible for a human beeing. There was one word that everyone managed to understand. Carpaccio simply muttered, “A…Angel..?”

“...Huh?”

Finn tilted his head, smiling awkwardly while his cheeks flushed a bright shade of red. “Uhm… Are you oka–”

Again, he didn’t get to finish his sentence before Carpaccio started to nosebleed profusely, going unconscious once again. Saying that Finn panicked was an understatement. The look on his face was like nothing anyone’s ever seen before. He just unlocked a new stage of panic.
Unable to watch the scene unfold further, Margarette Macaron groaned and decided to make a move. They pushed Lemon and a few other people aside to make way for himself. “Good grief… Here, let me.”

They flicked their wrist, casting a spell to drag Carpaccio away from Finn, not giving the other enough time to object. They put the unconscious man in a standing position, slightly levitating off the ground. Margarette then started vigorously shaking their wand, also shaking Carpaccio back to reality. (don’t do this!)

“W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” Finn worries Carpaccio’s going to get a concussion. Surprisingly, due to cartoon logic, Carpaccio actually wakes up.

The first thing Margarette does, is give him an earful. “You fool! You’re going to ruin your own wedding. Look at how terrified Finn is! Be a real man and get it together!”

The entire waiting room fell silent, questioning why Margarette Macaron’s unique tactics always finds it’s way to success. Carpaccio was soon put back down to stand on his two feet and Finn rushes to his side, having the other lean on him for support. Carpaccio held his head as the headache slowly fades away. Once his blurry vision clears, he mutters a simple “uh… right…. okay. I’m okay.”

“Good,” Margarette sternly says. “Now get out there and show them what you’re made of!”

After triple-checking to make sure Carpaccio was actually okay, the ex-Adler squad says their final words of encouragement before making their way into their respective seats, while Margarette prepared to take care of the music. Carpaccio figured that Margarette would make a good fit, as they have amazing taste in classical music. Before anyone knew it, the wedding bells rang. Carpaccio stiffened up again but Finn led him by the hand as they slowly made their way down the aisle together.

The crowd cheeres as they walked hand in hand, accompanied by the soothing melodies from the piano that Margarette Macaron conjured up using his magic. They play the piano beautifully, only adding to the atmosphere. The two walked in sync, although Carpaccio slightly dragged behind. The poor guy was sweating buckets, and he only became more nervous as he felt all attention was on them. Worried that his extra sweaty hands would bother Finn, he let go of the other’s hand while they were halfway down the aisle. Finn was so shocked at this gesture that he stopped walking to stare at his soon-to-be husband. He stared with such a perplexed expression, wondering why Carpaccio would let go of his hand like that. Oh no, is he having second thoughts?

Their sudden halt has made the guests confused. They all tilted their heads and whispered amongst themselves. The lovebirds spent several seconds staring at each other before Carpaccio noticed that Finn is making that weird expression he makes whenever he starts spiraling into the depths of his overthinking. Without saying anything, Carpaccio instead held onto Finn’s upper arms, leaning into him a little, and started walking like nothing happened.

“I was right!” Lemon excitedly half-whispers. She looks over to a certain red head seated next to her, “Dot, ten bucks!!”

“Shhh… geez, really?” Dot sighs, not being able to deny the scene playing out infront of him. A few days ago, he and Lemon argued about which one would have the honor of being the… ‘bride’. Dot declared that the obvious answer would be Finn. Lemon on the other hand, confidently answered Carpaccio. They made a bet on it, and here we are.

While scratching his head, Dot reluctantly brought out his wallet and pulls out a 10 dollar bill. He made a defeated expression as he hands it over to Lemon, in which she gladly accepts.

Finn took a few seconds to process what the hell was happening. He awkwardly eyes around the room as he walked, and witnessed Dot handing Lemon money. Seeing that, he was even more confused then before.

The crowd immediately fell silent as the ceremony continues. It goes like any other procession. Greetings, blessings, chit-chats. As Dot mentioned before, many news reporters were at the scene, to broadcast a historic event– being that the two healing canes are getting married. Soon enough, came the moment that both grooms have been dreading for, the vows.

From the front rows, it’s clear that the tremors were kicking in. According to the script they planned beforehand, Carpaccio’s supposed to recite his vows first. The crowd eagerly awaits as Lemon brought out her recording device.

They both held hands for this section of the ceremony and Finn could notice Carpaccio’s increasing anxiety as the grip he has on his hands grew stronger. He recites his vows while staring deep into the other’s eyes. “I, Carpaccio Luo-Yang… promise to… cherish you, Finn Ames… to support, to accompany you, and… ah, try my best not to… blow up our office…”

A few held-back laughs could be heard through the crowd, as Margarette Macaron rubbed his eyebrows in disappointment. Finn himself let out a chuckle, appreciating how Carpaccio always stays true to himself, no matter the situation.

“From the start, uh… everyone made it clear that… I didn’t deserve you. They were right. Every passing day I spend with you… I never fail to find a new reason to love and admire… you. I don’t think even the knowledge cane can tell me… what is it that you see… i-in me. But nonetheless… here we are.”

“I’m not very good with words but um… I want you to know that I am honoured–and forever grateful– to be your life partner. I vow to… love you forever, and…” Carpaccio trails off, looking at the ceiling walls to try to recall the last sentence Margarette Macaron had him memorize. “Ah, In richer or in poorer, through all the hardships… in sickness and in health, till death… do us part.”

Carpaccio concludes his vows as the crowd was… surprisingly impressed? Finn definitely was, as he whispers with teary eyes, “that was great.”

Hearing that, Carpaccio manages to relax a little. He stuttered a lot more than he would have preferred, but it seems that Finn got the point.

Taking a moment to take a deep breath, exhaling and bracing himself. He stares into his partner’s mesmerizing, deep, red eyes. Ignoring everyone in the room, Finn immersed himself in the feeling and pretended as if it was just a heartfelt confession between the two. “I, Finn Ames, promise you, Carpaccio Luo-yang, to be your life long partner. With my entire being, I vow to cherish and support you... Through the years I’ve known you, I have seen every single side of yours… whether it be good, or bad. The sides of you that only I get to see… is what I fell in love with.”

“And I can confidently say that… I wish to wake up every morning and have the first thing I see… be the messy results of your late night experiments. I hope we can continue to improve together, do our best to help the people… a-and grow old… alongside one another,” he squeezed Carpaccio’s hands a little stronger as he noticed himself fumbling his words, due to the sudden urge to cry.

Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t prevent his eyes from watering. He takes a short pause to compose himself, continuing with the most genuine, sweetest smile. “In richer or in poorer, in sickness and in health. The one I love will always be you… till death do us part.”

As Finn concludes his vows, Carpaccio already has a waterfall streaming down his cheeks. Finn was taken back at first, but then chuckled as he helped wipe away his tears. The wedding official gave the two a few seconds to calm down before it’s time for the rings. Soon enough, the ring bearer stepped into the frame.

Carpaccio, with his shaky and sweaty hands, somehow manages to take the ring– after almost dropping it– and slides it onto Finn’s finger. Finn, with his also shaky hands, also somehow manages to slide the ring onto Carpaccio’s ring finger… but only after first realizing that he put it on the wrong finger. No one really noticed Finn’s mistake, but he’s bummed.

“By the authority vested in me by the state, I shall now pronounce you…” the wedding officiant pauses for a brief second. Husband and… wife? Husband? Umm… he’s just going to choose one and hope for the best… “Husband and Husband.”

The venue is filled with cheers and claps. A wave of relief washes over the wedding officiant as it seems he made the correct choice of words. “You may now kiss the…groom?”

“...”

The crowd went silent, awaiting the usual celebratory kiss… but nothing happened. Carpaccio and Finn just stares at eachother. Carpaccio could only stare in disbelief as he was still processing at the fact that he’s officially married to the love of his life… and Finn was staring back in embarrassment, clearly not prepared for a whole crowd to witness something so… intimate.

Cue the poor, unfortunate, wedding officiant’s inner monologue as he spirals into the depths of his overthinking: “Why aren’t they kissing?! Did I say something wrong??? Maybe they didn’t hear me? But the crowd went silent too… dear gods, I did something wrong didn’t I?!?!! Should I repeat?… this is getting awkward.”

“Uh… Carpaccio? What should we do…” Finn whispers as he felt the silence has stretched out for too long. “They’re waiting for us to… Carpaccio?”

Yeah so… Carpaccio’s as stiff as a rock. Finn forced a smile as he looked to the crowd, who was anticipating something to happen. He then looked to the wedding officiant who looks like he’s seen better days. Not wanting to prolong the awkwardness any longer, Finn opted to just… kiss his husband on the cheek, I guess.

Okay, good enough. Lemon took that as the cue to let the confetti fly through! The confetti popped and the crowd erupted into cheers. Success!!

The wedding officiant sighed the biggest breath of relief, as he gave the attendees a moment to celebrate, before waiting for them to settle down and conclude the ceremony.

All in all, mission success! See, it wasn’t that bad… now that it’s over–

Oh wait… it’s time for the wedding reception.

Notes:

how was it??? any suggestions for the wedding reception? haha, actually the wedding reception chapter I've already written it... it just needs a little bit more of a re-touch. it's probably gonna be posted within the week, AND I MEAN IT THIS TIME!!! ok wait for the second chapter okay don't disappear guys!!! ok lopyu hope u enjoyed byebyeee

Chapter 2: Wedding Reception - It really wasn't that bad!

Notes:

hey guys! if you read The Healing Canes, you might remember that in chapter 8, Lemon had this collection of recordings she was gonna play at the wedding. it's gonna get played in this chapter!! so...

============ means we're switching from reality to the video, which can be kinda confusing so uh pay attention with this one haha...

++++++ means the video has a 'cut' and is switching onto another scene!

okay that's all, enjoy!

After the ceremony was over, it was official. They were officially married to eachother! The news made headlines as the two healing canes entered a new chapter in their lives. Carpaccio’s relieved to discover that Finn thought their wedding went ‘considerably well’. As long as Finn is happy, He’s happy.

He thought the hard part was over, but boy was he wrong. He thought reciting his vows infront of dozens of people was hard? Geez, wait until he has to entertain those guests. Here comes the wedding reception… yay!

In the evening, just as the sun sets, they hosted a semi-outdoor reception, in a dimly lit garden. It’s just a celebratory party for friends and close relatives, so most of the guests were just Finn’s friends and the divine visionaries. So a laid-back party? What could be so bad about that? Well…

Before guests could enter the venue, they had to pass through Lance Crown. Not in a scary way, ofcourse– Lance is just taking care of the guest list. He sat at the venue’s entrance with an open guest book. He politely asks guests to sign and write their wishes. Lance’s flat expression are very far from welcoming, but some guests still complimented his handsome looks anyways.

“Esteemed guests, please sign your names here…” He gestures at the guest book laid down on a table infront of him, then at a huge sign to his right. “And please write down your… thoughts and prayers– I mean… wishes, for the newly wedded couple, using the provided sticky-note and place it on that board right there.”

Coincidentally, the next guest was Renatus Revol, the Immortal cane. He looks as tired as always. After yawning and wiping his eyes, he walks towards the guest table with both hands in his pocket. Behind him was Agito Tyrone, a close buddy of his.

Lance raises an eyebrow, looking his co-worker up and down. He then sighs and pushes the guest book closer to their side. With a flat tone he greets, “Welcome, welcome. Please sign your names here.”

“Hm?” The Immortal cane blinks. He blinks again. “Oh,” He finally realizes. He picks up the pen and bends down to write down his name. When he was done, he gave it to the Dragon cane behind him. “Here ya go.”

Agito nods in thanks as he grabs the pen and takes his turn writing. While waiting for the other to finish, Renatus looks around to inspect the decoration. He noted that the garden was nicely lit and gave off a cosy vibe. He admired the choice of decorations until something sticks out to him like a sore thumb. Something right behind Lance. He stares with full judgement.

The other felt the glare. “What?”

“What… is that?” Renatus points at the giant vibrantly coloured flower board sitting right behind his coworker. Not only was it concerningly huge, the color choice wasn’t very tasteful. Worst of all, that flower board had the following words; “CARPACCIO ♥️ FINN”

Lance didn’t bother to turn his head to look. In fact, he really doesn’t want to look at it. With a defeated tone, he simply says, “It was Kaldo’s idea.”

“....”

“If you’re done, write your wishes on that board right there,” Lance pointed. Renatus and Agito give the flower board one last weird look before proceeding to the provided message board, writing their thoughts, then leaving. As the two entered the venue, Lance looks at the guest list. He sighs as he sees that barely half of the guests had arrived, and yet, he’s tired already.

Aside from Lance’s troubles, it started well. The guests came in and were seated with their respective affiliates, sharing a round table. For example, the divine visionaries gets their own table, the ex-Adler squad gets their own table, Carpaccio’s strange ‘acquaintances’ also get a table. Once they were seated, the event begins. Lemon and Dot received the honor of being tonight’s masters of ceremony.

“Good evening honored guests! We’re here today to celebrate the wedding of Finn Ames and Carpaccio Luo-yang!” Lemon enthusiastically began the event. She and Dot took turns greeting guests and giving special thanks.

“Now, a word from today’s stars– give it up for Finn and Carpaccio!” Dot announced before giving the newly weds the space and time for their brief words.

Finn and Carpaccio stepped onto the mini stage, slightly elevating them for everyone to see. Grabbing the mic given to him, Finn tapped the mic and cleared his throat. “Ehem… uh, hello everyone… first and foremost, we’d like to thank you all for attending. We're so glad to have you here… we hope you enjoy, and… special thanks to my best friends– Mash, Lance, Dot, and Lemon– for helping out with everything! it wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

“I guess that’s all from me, thank you so much everyone!” Finn ends his speech as the guests cheers. He then hands the mic over to Carpaccio, who took the mic and reluctantly brought it up to his chin.

After eyeing the crowd for inspiration, he began to piece together a few words. “Thank you everyone for being here… and for always supporting us…”

His words trails off as he leans over to Finn, whispering, “...what else should I say?”

“Uh…” He wasn’t too good with words either. “Special thanks, maybe? If you have… and just end it with… wishing everyone a good time, like I did.”

Carpaccio nodded. “Special thanks to…” He looks around the crowd, until his eyes landed on a certain two-toned sword cane. “Rayne Ames.”

Rayne was taken aback, and so was everyone else. Since when did they become so… close? Finn raised and eyebrow, wondering what Carpaccio would say next. “It wouldn’t be possible without… his blessings… so I would like to thank you for that. Have a good time, everyone.”

Ah, so that’s what he meant. The crowd reluctantly claps as the two gets off the podium and the MC’s take over once again. “Without further ado… enjoy the food!” Dot announces the buffet commodities offered during today’s reception.

Lemon pops a champagne, “It’s time to PARTYYY!!!”

People started to leave their seats to line up for the food. Opting to wait for the lines to shorten, Finn and Carpaccio sits together with the ex-Adler squad + Margarette Macaron. This is basically the VVIP table. After deciding they would get the food last, they chat over today’s earlier mishaps. Margarette and the ex-Adler squad each exchange stories of Finn and Carpaccio’s pre-wedding breakdowns. The newly weds each take turns blushing in embarrassment when their respective stories were told. They all laugh at the shenanigans that ensued.

“I… wasn’t expecting Paccio to have such a hard time… I thought it was just me,” Finn chuckled in embarrassment. It really was just in his head.

Margarette rolled their eyes, “Oh please, whatever it was you were lamenting over, Carpaccio lamented over it ten times worse. He was such a mess…”

“Speaking of mess…” Lemon suddenly went quiet. Everyone at the table could feel the sudden darkness in the atmosphere. “How did Carpaccio end up wearing white, hm?”

“Oh…” Margarette looked away. “Well, you can’t deny that he looked absolutely stunning!”

“BUT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO WEAR BLACK, DAMNIT!” She comically slammed the table. As Margarette tries to defend himself, Lemon slid back onto her chair, defeated. “You added another item to the list of things Finn broke down about, you know? Ah… a whole extra minute of worrying one suit would look dirtier than the other.”

“M-my bad… I really was over thinking it, haha…”

“It’s okay, Finn.” Carpaccio sipped his glass of wine. “You looked really good.”

“So good that you had to faint?” Lance raises an eyebrow, sarcastically. “Twice, might I add.”

“So it wasn’t a fever?” Finn sighed in relief.

Carpaccio looked away with flushed cheeks, full of embarrassment. “Give me a break, I had not seen him in three days… seriously, tell me who made that tradition.”

“That sounds too much like a threat,” everyone thought in unison.

As the laughing died down, Dot remembered something was missing. “Wait, did we talk about Finn’s unusual methods of memorizing the vows? He was babbling something about the wall reminding him too much of Carpaccio! Ha, You should’ve seen.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Rayne suddenly interrupts as he joins the table. He was given freedom to move between the Divine Visionaries’ table and the VVIP table. He decides to join in on the conversation. He takes a seat right next to Finn. “You sure you want to live the rest of your life married to a wall? Although it’s already been done…”

“Rayne!” Finn greets, excited to finally get a moment to interact with his brother.

That said ‘wall’ frowned. “I thought you said I had a good personality.”

“I said you had a personality,” Rayne corrected.

“Okay, fair enough,” Carpaccio shrugged. He grabbed the bottle of wine, making a gesture, offering it to his… brother-in-law. That’s going to take a while to get used to.

Rayne dropped the cold look and chuckled, much to the surprise of everyone. He then nods in approval before bringing his glass closer, letting Carpaccio fill it with wine. “By the way, Finn… I know today’s your special day, and I wouldn’t want to judge your preferences… but did you really request that the entire buffet consist of– and only of– creampuffs?”

“....”

The table goes silent as they all took a moment to look around. And just as Rayne said– the guests were looking quite confused, as they lined up for the all-you-can-eat buffet, which consists of… various flavours of creampuffs.

Carpaccio keeps blinking. Finn could only smile eye to eye, which most people find eerie. “M-mash…?”

“....I ordered fruits too…” Mash added, as if it could make the situation better. “Oh, and there’s vanilla milkshakes at that corner… you like that, right?”

“I do, but…” Finn continues to smile with his eyes closed, the resemblance to the flame cane is uncanny. Maybe they’ve been spending too much time together…

“Argh,” the entire table facepalms. “No wonder Mash had been oddly quiet today…”

____

No worries! Mash has always been a very reliable friend throughout the years, and he definitely wont let anything ruin his best friend’s special day! Turns out, he did order an appropriate course of meals for the guests to enjoy. It’s just that, for some reason, the delivery guy was late. After the guests temporarily filled their stomachs with creampuffs, the food soon came and the guests were overjoyed. Finn sighed a breath of relief. He never doubted Mash… nope, not one bit!

As the guests were lining up once again, enjoying their meal, Finn felt as if the atmosphere was a little… too quiet. He asked whether Lemon and the others had arranged any music, of some sort. Hearing that, Margarette offered to play some classical tunes on their piano, but Finn felt that classical music wasn’t really the best fit for a wedding reception. Lemon flicked her hand and told him not to worry, because Dot has it taken care of!

Dot… what…?

Comically timed, the music started playing. Electric guitars, drums, hard rock! Lemon’s smile drops as soon as the music reaches her ears. The guests all instinctively turned their heads to the source of the sudden loud music. Her eyes twitches as she scans the venue for a bandana-wearing red head.

“Thats… NOT romantic at all!” Finn scratches his head in helplessness. He turns to Margarette and considered that maybe, just maybe, classical music might be the better choice.

“I…i’ll be right back…” Lemon laughs nervously before she dashes over to Dot, who was crouching down, setting up the ‘sound system’, looking proud at himself for figuring it out. (I’ll leave what a speaker and a dj booth looks like in the MASHLE universe up to your imaginations…)

She immediately reprimanded him for his choice of songs and changed it to a romantic pop-ish love song while giving him an earful. Finn and Carpaccio watches with concern from afar, but they’re glad that the music problem is fixed.

“Everything’s going well so far, huh?” a hand found itself on Finn’s shoulder, with a relaxed and slightly sarcastic greeting.

Finn sighs, recognizing the voice. “It’s good to see you’re enjoying yourself, Kaldo…”

“It’s not as bad as you imagine. In fact, it’s quite memorable, don’t you think?” the flame cane looks around, showing them how much of a good time everyone’s having. The divine visionaries finally got some time to catch up and talk with one another, relaxing, sharing stories over dinner. “Really, it’s like a day off. And it’s all thanks to you!”

Kaldo’s right. Their wedding might not have been perfect, but in the end, it was still their wedding– which means it’s special in it’s own way. Ever since the very first time they were paired together as the new healing canes, Finn knew his life would never be ordinary, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. The wedding perfectly embodies their relationship.

“Also, I appreciate the honey corner!” Kaldo enthusiastically complimented.

Finn’s face slightly scrunches in confusion, but soon recalls a time during their wedding preparations where his partner suggested something. “Oh, right. That was Carpaccio’s idea.”

Carpaccio shrugs, “I just thought it would be a good… tribute?”

“Really? Oh, how considerate! I knew you were a good pupil.”

“I thought that was Finn?”

“Haha, I like you both equally.”

After dealing with the food and music mishap, Lemon could finally breath in relief as she sees that the event is going well. Everyone seems to be in a festive mood. She figures it would be a good time to play the video compilation of the footage she collected from the proposal. She tells Dot to help her set up the projector.

When it’s finally ready, she turns on the mic and announces that there’s going to be a special video playing. The murmuring voices of chit-chats immediately dies down as their attention diverts to her. She cues Dot to start the video. He puts a thumbs up and the tape starts rolling.

======================

The video starts with the camera panning to the full moon on that fateful night. The footage offered a good overview of the butterfly garden that was used for the proposal. It documented the dimly lit decorations, the butterfly shaped altar, Kaldo’s honey cake, and… Carpaccio laying flat on his back under a tree, having a panic attack while Margarette Macaron is besides him, giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

+++++

“Mash! Your best friend is getting engaged soon, how are you feeling?” A girlish voice, supposedly Lemon, could be heard from behind the camera.

The camera pans everyone’s beloved mushroom head, who stared straight into the camera before entering overload mode. “B…bbbb…bbbbbbbb..!”

“M-mash?!” Lemon’s frantic voice could be heard as the camera was dropped. The footage kept rolling as it fell onto the ground, only showing a black screen accompanied with concerned background noises.

=====================

The audience could be heard producing “ehh…” “eh?” “um…” and other confused noises while watching the video. Carpaccio cringed at himself and turned his back on the projection, while Finn tilted his head at what this video would contain.

“I think I screwed up…” Mash mumbles as he suddenly appeared besides Finn, causing him to jump in shock. “No, I definitely screwed up.”

“W-where did you…” Finn didn’t have the chance to finish his sentence before the video continued.

=====================

The screen reveals that Lance picked up the recording device from the ground. The camera was flipped around until it was pointed at himself. With a flat face, he spoke with a tired voice. “That means Mash is very excited, I suppose. Something like that.”

The was soon forcefully panned at Dot Barrett, who took the device from Lance’s hands. “I’m sure as hell excited! Oh how time flies, I can’t believe Finn is getting married before I am?? There’s no way!” He was so excited that he didn’t even realize that the camera was up side down… “I hope Finn’s happy. If that bastard ever tries anything weird, I’ll be the first to kick his ass!”

Dot shoved the camera into Lance’s face as the other shook his head. “What about you, pretty boy? How are ya’ feeling?”

“I feel fine…? I see them everyday. They already live together. They spend everyday together as well? I feel like this changes nothing,” Lance spoke as he pushed the camera away.

After making sure Mash was okay, Lemon could be heard behind the camera asking Dot to give her back the recording device. The screen goes black.

=====================

A few laughs could be heard amongst the crowd as the video kept playing. Dot flushed in embarrassment while scratching his head. He pointed profusely at Lance, “Seriously..? It was upside down the whole time and you didn’t tell me?!”

“It’s not my fault you were being idiotic,” Lance responded nonchalantly, not even bothering to look him in the eye. “Although I’m surprised Lemon didn’t even bother to edit it.”

The laughs died down and the crowd goes silent as the video continued. It seems the video has entered a new section, as the words “DIVINE VISIONARY(S)” written in full caps as the black screen slowly fades away.

=====================

The camera lens took a moment to focus itself, as it soons revealed a interview-esque set up, featuring our first guest, Orter Madl. “Finn is indeed a very helpful individual. He is always hard-working, and we all owe it to him for always being Carpaccio’s voice of reason.”

“But lately…” Orter fixes his glasses with a finger, as Lemon could feel a change in the mood. “No, not only lately– the past years, even. Finn and Wirth… haven’t they been spending too much time with eachother, hm? I’ve talked about it with Carpaccio and he feels the same way.”

“....” Lemon wasn’t sure how to respond to that. “So about the upcoming wedding–”

The sand cane looked past the camera and straight into the poor girl’s soul, “Honestly, will Wirth start spending more time with me once Finn gets all busy with his married life? I need your honest opinion”

“Uh, I think you should get a girlfriend,” Lemon states before ending the recording.

+++++

The recording begins with a flash, as the Light Cane made his presence known. Lemon asks the usual question and Ryoh grantz answers. “I sure hope they throw the most spectacular event! If you need help with planning, you can always ask me for help. Have you seen photos of my wedding venue? I decorated it myself! I don’t mean to boast or anything, but it was quite the sight, if I do say so myself.”

“That’s… nice…” Lemon awkwardly responds. She considers ending the video here. He wasn’t really saying anything that’s related to Finn and Carpaccio.

“But of course, no matter how grand the venue was, nothing compared to my wife’s beauty! Oh how I wish to relive that night.” Ryoh was about to continue until the footage fades to black.

+++++

Without any introduction, the camera pans to the ice cane, who was… already complaining about the cold breeze of the night. Tsurara hugged herself as she fiddled with the end of her scarf. “It’s really cold… I’m already wearing five layers, how could it be so cold?”

The air grew more awkward rather than cold, as Lemon realized her previous question was ignored. “Right, right… What do you think is going to happen tonight?”

“...I might freeze to death.”

“I meant the proposal but thankyou for your time,” Lemon gives up.

“Oh. Finn is lovely,” Tsurara simply comments before the screen fades to black.

+++++

“I remember Carpaccio as a cat all those years ago,” Agito recalled with an empty expression after being asked his thoughts on the healing canes getting married.

“That’s adorable! What else?” the conversation might be a little off track, but Lemon was curious to hear infamous story of that one time Carpaccio turned into a cat.

“...Although I don’t think he would make a very good cat. Not with that personality of his. I believe he would be more of a fox? Those big eyes of his reminds me of this variant of a magical beast, a mix of a fox and a dragon, but it has talons of a bird. It’s quite terrifying at first sight, but they’re nice when you get to know them. Kind of like Carpaccio. The first time I saw him, I thought he was going to kill me with that glare of his. Oh, fun fact, did you know that there’s a magical beast that could inflict poison to it’s prey only by looking at them? It’s called–”

+++++

The Immortal cane was asleep on a chair, snoring with his arms crossed as he dozed off into sleep while the soft night winds blew softly against him.

“Mr. Renatus Revol? Hello?” Lemon quietly called for him, hoping he would wake up.

“....”

No response. The camera zooms into his snoring face before fading into a black screen once again.

+++++

“Blablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablablabla,” Kaldo yaps as the video was put on 5x speed, in order not to bore the guests into falling asleep.

The video finally stops being sped up as Kaldo finishes up his thoughts. “In conclusion, Finn is my best disciple ever, and Carpaccio is a nice guy. He might be scary at first, but he has a soft side to him!”

“What makes you think that?” Lemon asks.

“Well, a couple weeks ago he came into my office to ask me about the proposal. I was about to say ‘over my dead body’ but then he gave me a jar of honey– no, three jars of honey!” Kaldo excitedly shared the story as he conjured up a jar of honey out of thin air.

“Right, of course he did.” Lemon’s voice was tired as helpless.

+++++

“What are your thoughts on the proposal?” at this point, Lemon’s tone was already flat and exhausted.

Sophia Bliblia brought a finger to her chin and thought for a moment. She then looked towards the camera with a smile, “I look forward to it. Usually, I would not be too optimistic when I see two people that are polar opposites– they don’t last long. But these two… they’re different. I’ve seen the way they work together, and I can’t say their teamwork is flawless- not even after ten long years. But they look like they enjoy eachother’s company.”

“..Thank you… THANK YOU!” it could be heard from the video that Lemon’s voice was cracking up, alongside sniffles indicating that she was crying from the sheer joy of having a normal interaction with a divine visionary.

+++++

“Excuse me, would you mind sharing your thoughts on the proposal?” Lemon politely asked, as she is now in a good mood after talking to the knowledge cane.

“....” Rayne looked at her up and down, then straight into the camera. He sighed before answering, “I can’t say I object much.”

“Ever since I could remember, I’ve been trying to find every single excuse to hate him. Just every little mistake, anything to prove that someone like him doesn’t deserve Finn. But…” Rayne shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I never expected him to come to my office and ask for a talk. He told me he wanted to get my approval. I immediately turned him away, but he kept coming back everyday. One day, he took me to a rabbit cafe to talk. We got to know eachother, we talked every week– face to face, just the two of us.”

“There will forever be an endless pit of things I will never understand from him. But there’s one thing I can understand, and that’s how much he truly cares for Finn. So as much as I would like to amuse my pride– the logical thing to do as a good brother would be to not hinder their… love.” Rayne’s ears were starting to glow red, but he opted to look away.

“But… But if he ever does anything to upset Finn, I’ll make sure he regrets it.”

=====================

“Damnit! I forgot to edit that out!” Lemon facepalms. She reluctantly looks around to see the crowd’s reaction. Surprisingly, the guests found that quite entertaining.

Carpaccio, who was starting to smile halfway through the video after hearing such nice things said about him, instantly dropped his smile as he heard Rayne’s threats. “Way to ruin the mood,” He deadpans.

“I meant what I said,” Rayne firmly states as he crosses his arms.

Finn pretends not to hear them. As he sees the screen has been blank for a while now, he assumes the video has already reached the end. He walked up to Lemon, who had her back facing the crowd as she stares at the projection as if waiting for something.

Finn taps her shoulder, “Thank you, Lemon, that was really thoughtful… We appreciate everyone’s message. I didn’t expect everyone was so… excited… about us, haha.”

Finn tried his best to word his sentence, okay? Lemon knew that… she scratches her head, sensing that maybe, just maybe, his words weren’t as genuine as they usually are. She can’t blame him for that. But she soon remembers something. “Y-yeah! Totally! But um, you see… the video’s not actually over, there’s one more–”

And right on time, her words were cut off by the sudden sounds coming from the projection device. Everyone’s attention was directed to the video once again. The video continues.

=====================

“So… thoughts about… this?” Lemon’s voice could be heard behind the camera once again, although her right hand could be seen gesturing towards a certain healing cane laying down on the ground.

“Oh this… this is nothing,” Margarette Macaron flicked their hand and dismissed the concerns. They cleared their throat and began sharing their thoughts. “Despite how… pathetic… he looks right now, I can assure you he is very prepared for this and as you can see, very excited.”

They paused for a moment to look behind them, only to see that Carpaccio has changed positions from laying down flat on his back to curling up while leaning onto a tree. Margarette muttered under their breath, “Uhm… that’s not much better…”

“Anyways…” Margarette turned their back to the camera and tried to distract the viewers. “Actually, I knew they were going to be together the moment I saw them together!”

“Huh?” -Lemon

“You see, back during the divine visionary candidate exam that took place eleven years ago… you know, the…” Margarette took a peak behind them to make sure Carpaccio wasn’t listening in. They then used a finger to signal Lemon to come closer, in which she does as the camera closes in on Margarette Macaron’s face. They then put a finger on their lips, indicating that it’s a secret. They whispered, “...the Life Crystal incident… when Carpaccio heartlessly brought a knife to Finn’s–”

Carpaccio’s ears perked up as he heard the forbidden words exiting Margarette’s mouth. He immediately moved from his position to lunge himself full-speed onto the poor guy, tackling him onto the ground. “We do NOT. SPEAK. OF THAT!!!”

“What is it with you! The past should not be… concealed…!” Margarette struggled to get Carpaccio off of them. While they strangle eachother on the ground, Lemon slowly covered the camera lens.

======================

And with that, the video finally ends, fading to a black screen for the very last time. Finn brought a hand up to his mouth, trying his best to hold himself from breaking into a laugh. He eyes his husband who was crouching down besides him, covering his face in shame, not being able to say anything. Seeing the gesture, he couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Pfft– Hahahaha! Paccio… that’s adorable!”

Carpaccio slowly slid his palms off his face, staring up at his husband, who was having the time of his life. He was laughing so much to the point he’s holding his stomach. His wide eyes blinked as he sees the other being so happy. A smile slowly forms on his lips. While still crouching down, he stares fondly at the love of his life. He couldn’t help but start lightly chuckling as well.

After laughing so much that he his eyes watered, Finn wipes his eyes and held out a hand to his partner, offering to help him stand up.

“Haha… I guess I was being kinda silly, huh?” Carpaccio quietly mumbled, only loud enough for Finn to hear. He took Finn’s hand and got back up on his feet, using his left hand to pat down his suit and dust himself off. His other hand didn’t let go of Finn.

Finn could only smile, “Oh Carpaccio… you’re always silly. That’s what I love so much about you.”

Click! A camera noise. The newly weds’ heartfelt moment was interrupted as they both turn their heads in synch towards the source of that said noise. The photographer’s face was covered by a camera, until he brought it down to look at the result. “Got it! Man, that’s gonna look great in the album.”

“Wirth!” Finn’s eyes practically gleams as he excitedly greets. Wirth Madl, younger brother of Orter Madl. Over the years, he and Finn have gotten to know eachother and even became close friends. Instead of letting go of Carpaccio’s hand, Finn dragged him along. “I haven’t seen you at all! Where were you?”

“Sup! I was here the whole time. You just haven’t seen me since…” He trails off and points at his camera. “I’m your wedding photographer!”

“Really? I didn’t know you had such a hobby…” Finn raises his eyebrows in surprise. He then smiles awkwardly. Does Wirth actually know what he’s doing? His wedding photos aren’t going to turn up bad, are they? “Uhm so… how long have you been doing photography for…”

“Eh… you’re doubting me aren’t you?” Wirth purposefully puts on a fake sad expression. “You wound me.”

“I didn’t know you had such a… dramatic personality,” Carpaccio mimics Finn.

“You’re totally being salty aren’t you…” Wirth clicks his tongue in distaste. “Anyways, if you don’t trust me, let me show you! Let’s take the wedding photo right now, yeah?”

“N-now?!” Finn looks around to see if everyone was still enjoying their meal. “Well… I guess most of the guests have finished eating already.”

And with that, Dot and Lemon did their job as MC’s and directed the guests to line up for group photos. First were for close friends and family, next were the divine visionaries, distant relatives and old friends, then other guests so on and so forth. When the group photo session was over, Finn and Carpaccio sat down with Wirth Madl and looked at their photos. Finn noticed that halfway through the photo session, Carpaccio’s smile started to… distort.

He looked over to his husband, who was massaging his cheeks. Carpaccio deadpanns, “I think this is the first time I’ve smiled this much. My cheeks hurt.”

“Right…” Finn awkwardly chuckled. He then skimmed over the rest of the photos, pleasantly surprised that they were in fact taken skillfully. He turned to the photographer and smiled gleefully, “I didn’t doubt you at all, Wirth.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Wirth rolls his eyes. “Anyways, there’s no photo with just you both in it. Don’t you want to frame it up on the wall or something?... and before you ask how I knew, don’t act like your office doesn’t look like an art gallery.”

“...okay, got me there,” Finn sighs.

The three of them then went around the venue, taking pictures wherever it seems pleasing to the eye. First location, near the fountain. Wirth made a rectangle with his fingers to envision how the shot would look like. After doing so with a few angles, he landed on the perfect spot. He directed the newly weds to stand in a very specific spot. He looks through his camera and gives a thumbs up, indicating the two to start posing.

Finn and Carpaccio eye eachother. Wirth waits patiently. Finn and Carpaccio whispers to eachother. Wirth waits, a little less patient. Finn and Carpaccio both look the camera dead in the eye and put up two thumbs ups.

“...you’re kidding.”

“What?” Carpaccio looks at both his thumbs, then to Finn’s. He notices Finn had his arms fully straightened out, so he moves both his thumbs further away from himself, copying the other. “Like that?”

Wirth puts down his camera and facepalms. “You really want your wedding photo to be as stiff as every other photo in that office of yours?”

“What about our photos?!” Finn frowns.

“They all look like they’re taken by paparazzis,” he deadpanns.

Finn personally thought the pictures framed on his wall made his office quite cozy. Especially the one of Carpaccio on his desk! “The one on my desk looks really goo-”

“Especially the one on your desk. Carpaccio looks like he’s having his mugshot taken.”

“Okay.” Carpaccio and Finn say in unison.

In the end, Wirth gave them some pose ideas. He tells Finn to sit on the edge of the fountain, then he drags Carpaccio to stand right beside him. He then adjusts his stiff arms into a somewhat romantic pose. After a while, he gives up. He takes the photo, looks at it, and…

“I don’t get how someone can be this unphotogenic,” he sighs as he looks through the taken photos. “Let’s just move on to the next location…”

Next location was the venue entrance… Wirth saw the “CARPACCIO ♥️ FINN” flower board and thought maybe, just maybe, this wasn’t the best location. They took only a few awkward shots then moved onto the next spot. That being, the dessert table.

“I’m not understanding what’s so aesthetic about this creampuff tower…” Finn suspiciously eyes the concerning height of about a hundred creampuffs stacked on top of eachother. It looked to be about three meters tall. Huh.

Wirth ignored his complaints and instead started doing his weird photography ritual of trying to find the best angle. “Okay! This is perfect. Stay where you are, Finn. Trust the process!”

“...try to look natural, okay? Feed your husband a creampuff or something… maybe you’ll look better doing a candid shot?” he states as he messes with his camera’s settings for a bit.

“Wirth, the tower is going to crumble if I take a creampuff from it…” Finn looks at the tower and shakes his head. He then looks to his right. “oh my god Carpaccio where did you get that creampuff—”

Finn only had a split second to see at the corner of his eyes that at the very bottom of the creampuff tower, was a missing creampuff. The dessert tower topples down in an instant, barely giving the two time to react. Finn accepts his fate and simply covers his head, not wanting frosting going near his hair. As it rains creampuffs, Finn feels multiple creampuffs landing on his shoulders and sliding down his suit, but not a single one landed on his head. Before he could open his eyes to look– CLICK!

The two look towards Wirth, who had the biggest smile on his face. “I got it! I got it! It’s perfect!”

Finn raises an eyebrow at his friend’s odd behavior. He looks up to find Carpaccio’s arm still hanging above him, his sleeves covered in frosting. “Sorry, Finn. I tried my best to fend off the creampuffs.”

“Fend… off…?” He tilts his head as he runs his fingers through his hair, checking for the mess. “Whoah, you’re right. Not a single drop of frosting on my head…”

Wirth excitedly approaches them, making sure to dodge the scattered creampuffs on the ground. It would be a hassle to clean his shoes if they stained. “Look!” He holds out the result for the two to see. “It’s perfect, right?!”

“We look like a mess! How is that perfect?!” Finn lamented at the weird face he was making. His eyes were closed, he was flinching, and his hair looked flat.

“I like it,” Carpaccio nods in approval. “You made a cute expression. We should get this one framed.”

Finn blinks in disbelief. “S-seriously? this is going to be our official wedding picture?”

“Why not?”

“It’s a masterpiece,” Wirth smiles widely. “The lighting was perfect, the direction in which the creampuffs fell was perfect, your expressions are so lively, it’s the perfect candid shot! Plus, Carpaccio’s even… uh, protecting you? It’s kind of cute if you think of it that way.”

Finn looks at the photo then back at Carpaccio. Everytime he blinks, he warms up to the chaos that was captured in the film. “Well… now that I’ve looked at it… it’s not really that bad. Your shocked expression is kinda funny.”

The healing canes look at eachother in approval, then slowly ended up laughing together. They tell Wirth Madl that he did a good job with the photos, and that they’ll definitely frame this one. That single picture perfectly captures the wedding reception’s entire vibe. If could be described simply… chaotic, but perfect in it’s own way. Might not be what people consider flawless, but memorable nonetheless. Hey, at least everyone’s happy!

“Do I even want to ask?” Lance asks anyways.

“Woah… what the hell happened here?” Dot concerningly eyes the healing canes from head to toe, then at the mess surrounding them. “...so who’s on cleaning duty tonight?”

Lemon slightly dragged behind, seemingly carrying something with her. “I saw from afar… I knew something like this would definitely happen!” She reveals the things she was carrying. “Tada! I brought spare clothes!”

Finn chuckles with relief. “You’re a life-saver…”

“M-m-mmm-mmy…. My creampuffs…”

“Mash…” Finn looks at his best friend, who is kneeling on the ground, grieving the loss of about a hundred creampuffs. He kinda feels guilty. “Uh… we’re really sorry about this…”

Well, almost everyone is happy.

Notes:

haha, can u count how many characters were in this chapter??? ermm I know having so many characters make an appearance in a chapter is usually a bad idea.. but this is a wedding!! And weddings are very... crowded. not only crowded, but very very chaotic...

so I tried my best to include a bunch of characters (especially those who are close to Finn and Carpaccio) and give them some sort of special role. Weddings are never perfect, no matter how hard you try to make it be, so I tried to capture the beauty of the chaos haha. weddings are always chaotic, no??? but the more chaotic the more memorable. aanyywayyy that's my take on how carpaccio and Finn's wedding would be like! hope u liked it, comment and feedback appreciated. byebyeee

Series this work belongs to:

• Part 2 of The Healing Canes AU