Spring socializing. ((Open to anyone.))

[chiron_survivor]

It has been a long winter, made longer by the fact that Adia could not reach any of her friends in the Nexus. When spring arrives and her PINpoint starts working again, she wastes little time in sending out a message.

Hello! This is Adia. Caspar and I were locked out of the Nexus until now. Please reply if you get this message and let me know how you're doing and if there's anything I can get you?

In the interest of efficiency, she sends it as a blind carbon copy to most of her Contact List.

((Feel free to tag once, play out a thread, or handwave your muse's reponse. Also, if you want me to know specifically that Adia can't/won't get a message, feel free to share. :) ))

Comments

[chiron_survivor]

"People can be married by anyone who is authorized to officiate a wedding," Adia explains. "Traditionally that's priests, judges, and people high up in the military. But you can get special permission if you want a friend to marry you. They just have to sign off on the marriage license and submit it to Town Hall. Karl already has the authority, but he's our friend, too, so it feels more meaningful to have him marry us than a stranger. Who typically marries people where you're from?"

She asks because she is curious, and because she has learned not to assume anything about Masarra.

The importance of family at celebrations is something they do have in common, and that would normally bring a smile to her face, but Amelia's innocent question is an unexpected reminder of her loss. "Oh... yes, it is, but, um... well. Seth and Maggie will be there, and they're basically my family now. Some of Caspar's siblings will be there, too."

She takes another bite of pizza, and if it's still a little bit too hot, she powers through it, needing to concentrate on something else. Caspar watches her a moment, then looks at Amelia. Not accusatory, but there is ruefulness in his expression. It's a loaded topic, clearly.

"It won't be an issue for us, all my siblings love her. Some a little too much," he adds in annoyance, thinking especially of his sister Julia and how she continues to carry a torch for her very first human friend. "And Karl is absolutely dying to start calling Adia his sister-in-law. He calls me brother-in-law every chance he gets."

"That's because he likes you," Adia notes, her smile returning.

Caspar snorts dismissively. "He likes everyone."

"We're only having a few witnesses at the ceremony itself, but there will be more guests at the reception afterwards. Maggie's planning the whole thing."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Anyone can marry two people in Masarra," she says after taking a bite of her pizza. "A family member or friend, or someone similar to one of your priests, can perform the ceremony if that's what the people getting married would like. An official from the government must witness and sign the document to be filed for the marriage to be recognized legally, but that's more formality than requirement. If two people live and work together long enough, there's little difference between the relationship they have and an 'official' marriage." She shrugs as she pauses for another bite of pizza. "The importance of a legally recognized marriage is usually the economic gains. Those who get married solely because they love one another will often only take the extra step with the government if it's convenient."

The rogue pauses in her thoughts for a moment to clean her lips with a napkin, but anything she might have said falls away as she watches Adia speak. Dreams, that was a bad thing to ask, wasn't it? It wasn't her intention to bring up bad memories of Adia's family, but...

Her lips pull into a thin line as her friends move away from the posed question. Truly, she hadn't meant to bring down the mood, but it seems she managed it anyway. It's a skill Amelia wishes she didn't have, but there seems little way around it for now. Exhaling a small, silent sigh, she nods and catches onto another question to at least try to move them on from the pain so clearly associated with family and weddings.

"What kind of party is held after a wedding ceremony? Is it something that's always bigger than the ceremony itself?" It feels like the answer to the question would be obvious, so she quickly adds, "Depending on the station and popularity of the couple being married, people in Masarra will either celebrate for a short while together right after the ceremony or hold a larger party a day or two later. The celebration for the Duke of Masarra's wedding, for example, was held three days after the wedding and the entire city - visiting merchants, travelers, and ship workers included - were invited to it."

[chiron_survivor]

It doesn't sound terribly different from how marriage is handled on Atlantis, at least for the less religious set. "If two people are together long enough, that's considered a common-law marriage," Adia notes. "So official or not, there are certain economic protections that come with it." She shrugs and smiles at Caspar. "I mean, I'm not expecting a lot to change in our day-to-day lives after we're married."

"The point is that everyone knows it," Caspar responds smugly. If the rings don't clue others in, the change of his last name to Costas will. He cannot wait to get that paperwork signed.

Caspar is not the best conversationalist, but he has enough grace to latch onto the change of subject Amelia offers and give his soon-to-be-wife a little longer to recover. God knows how awkward it is for him, to be indirectly responsible for the loss of Adia's family, the very people he otherwise would have done literally anything to earn the approval of, if that's what it took to marry her. "It's more casual than the ceremony so we feel comfortable inviting more people," he explains. "It's on that shared property between our cabins. Tables and chairs, a buffet-style meal, that sort of thing."

He finally takes a bite of pizza, having the patience to wait for it to be a reasonable temperature. It's good, but filling, so he'll probably stick to this one slice.

"Maggie loves planning parties," Adia adds with a fond smile. "She was the informal party planner on the Chiron. Birthdays, holidays, socials... any excuse, really. I think she's more excited about the reception than I am."

[rogueinladysclothing]

"Making it official with the local government is definitely a way to make it noticeable," she teases gently. She sees you getting smug over there, Caspar. Don't think Amelia can't get past some slight awkwardness for a good tease, especially when it involves some of her closest friends.

The rogue nods as she thinks about the open space between the cabins. "It seems like it would be a good space to host a lot of people," she agrees. "And if your friend enjoys planning, I'm certain she'll make it everything the two of you could want and more." A beat, and she adds with a smile, "I hope she doesn't get too excited and go farther than what the two of you are looking for." People who plan parties often do that on her world and the rogue can easily see their friend doing the same.

Pausing for a moment, Amelia quickly finishes off her first slice of pizza and goes for a second. Dreams this is so much better than she remembered after a Winter with only the basics available to her at any given time.

Now that much of the awkwardness has been cut by the change in subject, it's time to ask something the rogue is really interested in. "After the two of you are married on Atlantis, will you be hosting a party here in the Nexus as well? I have a feeling I'm not the only person who would love the chance to celebrate the occasion with you."

[chiron_survivor]

"That's right," Caspar responds, missing for a moment the fact that Amelia is teasing him. Because that is the entire point, after all, to make it official. When he realizes her intention, he rolls his eyes good-naturedly and takes another bite of pizza.

"It was either that or the green space behind Town Hall that's used for events, but it's far more convenient to invite people to us." Although she suspects Maggie would rise to the occasion if they changed the location. In fact, her friend could rise above and beyond the occasion, as Amelia comments, and there's a brief look of concern on her face before she shakes her head. "No... no, she knows the both of us pretty well by now. She'll keep it simple."

"I've got a handle on it," Caspar adds in reassurance. He's been the one pinning down the details with Maggie, making sure things don't get out of hand. He might have been called a spoilsport once or twice, but Maggie knows that he's also acting in Adia's best interest and has accommodated his mildly 'groomzilla' behavior.

Adia is in the middle of another bite of pizza when Amelia asks her final question. She hurriedly chews and swallows, although she has no idea what to say. She wants to give her Nexus friends a chance to celebrate, but the thought of planning a second party leaves her feeling a little nervous. "Um... well, I'm not sure..." She glances at Caspar, who is looking at her with raised eyebrows. "It's, um... I've never thrown a party myself, so..."

What a great non-answer. She blushes and returns to eating her pizza.

[rogueinladysclothing]

Caspar always seems to be ahead of any issue that might arise where Adia is involved. The rogue understands why, of course - she does the same for everyone she cares about when the option is available. Still, his dedication is admirable and it warms her smile as she lets the topic settle at that. They've got this, Amelia decides, no reason to worry Adia any more when it's already taken care of.

"It's all right if you don't want to," she notes with a smile. "The decision is completely in your hands and no one will force you into something you don't want. If you simply want a quiet conversation with everyone you care about in turn after the wedding, then you should do that." There will still be gifts given as close to the wedding as possible, but Amelia highly doubts anyone would have a problem with Adia and Caspar taking time to themselves after they get married. The important thing is that their friends are finally doing what they've always wanted with one another. Little else matters after that.

[chiron_survivor]

It's something she and Caspar have in common, though, like her, he tries hard to be reasonable at just how much effort he puts into making things easy for Adia. Sometimes it leads to very stupid decisions, like not telling her about the emotional turmoil he was in until it was nearly too late. At least with the wedding, he's struck a good balance between keeping it simple and letting the bride shine on her big day. (And maybe letting himself shine a little, too. He's excited to get married!)

Adia relaxes in relief when Amelia removes the pressure of an additional party in the Nexus. "It'd be nice to celebrate with my Nexus friends," she says, after swallowing her bite of pizza. "It wouldn't be something right away, if at all. We're not even getting a honeymoon, yet, there's too much work to be done."

"I suggested hacking Steve's PSA and putting up our wedding announcement but Adia vetoed me," Caspar comments off-handedly as he leans back in the booth.

"You did not, and of course I'd veto that, how are Nexus newcomers supposed to know what to do if that's what they're greeted with instead?" she responds, trying to look cross and failing. She's simply too amused by his audacity. "Besides, you know that you want to tell everyone personally."

Caspar blushes, but no, he can't disagree with that.

Adia finishes up her pizza and has another slice, but despite her big eyes, she's satisfied with just those two slices. Caspar has long since finished his one slice, leaving a sliver of crust on his plate. Once Amelia is done, they can head off to see her apartment and the changes that she's made for the better.