It's crazy how quickly time flies when you're rushing to plan a wedding to your dead fiancé.

The day before the big day, I was a ball of nerves and pent-up emotions of all sorts. I was frazzled, but excited; worried, but happy.

The day passed in a whirlwind of preparations. I hardly even processed what one person was asking me before I was being whisked away to make decisions about napkins or something. I hardly saw Betelgeuse at all, we were both so busy. This fact didn't do much to improve my mental state and mood.

Around five o'clock that evening, I plopped down onto the couch next to Lydia, finally managing to sneak away from Delia, who had been asking me about my opinions on crystal arrangements in order to, quote-unquote, "ward off bad juju". I sighed and leaned my head back, staring at the ceiling.

"Lydia, never get married."

She chuckled. "Been there, done that."

I looked over at her and laughed.

She propped an arm on the back of the couch and turned toward me.

"Hey, I could get us out of here and we could go eat, just the two of us. Just like old times."

I grinned at her. "I'd love that, Lyds."

"Alright, well, let's go!"

~

We walked into Bernie's, the atmosphere bringing back a thousand memories: Lydia and I eating ice cream, the Halloween party, and Rita and I discussing wedding dresses only three weeks prior. I smiled.

As Lydia and I sat down at a small booth, she picked up her menu.

"I know it's no bachelorette party with a male stripper, but I hope it's the next best thing. To be honest, you're getting married to a male stripper, so you won't be missing out."

I choked.

"Lydia!"

She just started laughing.

We both ordered and started eating a few minutes later.

"You know, it's crazy to think how much has happened since you got here," Lydia said in between mouth-fulls.

I smiled at my plate. "Yeah. When I first took this job, I never expected it would lead to marriage." I chuckled.

She nodded. "Well, I'm really happy for you guys."

I grinned at her gratefully.

"He really is crazy about you, you know," the teen continued, spearing a piece of steak with her fork. "When I first met Beej, he was, like, super messed up. Then we welcomed him into our family, and that did wonders for him, because he finally found a place to call home.

"And then you came along and flipped his world upside-down. He would pace around my room at night, ranting about how amazing you were, and trying to barter with me to let him meet you. I told him no, of course." I laughed quietly at the scene playing out in my head. "Eventually he convinced me to let him show up at Halloween with a cover-story. I was half regretting it, you know, cuz I expected him to keep making crappy passes at you, but I never expected you to make crappy passes back."

I burst out laughing at that part.

"But, to be honest, (Y/N)..... I think you've saved him."

My brow furrowed as I looked up at her. "Saved him?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Since you two started dating, I've noticed a significant difference in him. He's happier, now. He's beginning to understand that he deserves to love and be loved, too. His whole life, he was taught that love makes you weak, and that he was unworthy of love.

"But you came and changed all of that."

I smiled at her, tears forming in my eyes. "Well, he wasn't the only one who needed saving. I was at a pretty low point in my life, as well, and felt hopeless. It felt like I would never be happy and would never be complete again. And then, by some miracle, I met you." She beamed up at me. "And that led me back to him."

We grew quiet, eating our respective meals in comfortable silence. After a couple of minutes, Lydia spoke again.

"Oh, by the way, I know you two didn't actually bang on the kitchen counter."

I choked on a piece of popcorn shrimp. "Huh?"

She grinned slyly at me. "Beej later told us it was a joke. Told us he didn't want us to think of you as anything less than the 'fine, upstanding, proper lady that you are'."

I chuckled lightly, my face turning more red as the seconds passed.

"Well, he was right. I've never actually done it, before."

She flicked her gaze up at me coyly. "Hey, another thing to look forward to after tomorrow."

I don't need to tell you how I reacted to that, because you already know.

"Dear god, Lydia. I can never eat or drink around you or Beej, anymore."

She took a sip of her iced tea. "Mhm. Just one of the many things that I hate to admit that we have in common."

~

Sleep eluded me that night. I tossed and turned, but my nerves and turbulent thoughts refused to let me rest. Finding no respite in bed, I crept down to the kitchen and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard. I put it under the tap and began to fill it up, when I felt a pair of cold arms wrap around my waist. I gasped and started, nearly dropping my glass and spilling the water everywhere. I exhaled a shaky, relieved breath after realizing that it was only Betelgeuse.

"Beej, you scared me."

"Sorry, it was just too good an opportunity to pass up," he said, nuzzling his scruffy face into my neck.

I smiled a small smile. Then those frustrating, turbulent thoughts came flooding back again, making me frown. I huffed. Betelgeuse lifted his head and arched an eyebrow at my sudden mood swing. He straightened up and turned me around to face him, peering into my face concernedly.

"Okay, what's wrong? I know you're a bit of a night owl, but this isn't normal, for you."

I looked down and sighed, setting the glass of water on the counter behind me.

"I just can't sleep. I mean, we're getting married tomorrow."

"Today."

"What?"

"We're getting married today. It's three in the morning."

"Oh god," I groaned, gripping the counter with one hand, and holding my head with the other.

Beej immediately pulled me to his chest, and just that simple little thing did wonders to help calm me.

"I just.... I'm worried. What if things go wrong? What if my relatives cause trouble, or your mom shows up.... oh god, what if you fall off the roof after you're alive??" I looked up at him, a crazed fear in my eyes. He just smiled sympathetically down at me and pulled me close once more, slightly swaying from side to side.

"You've been reading too many fanfics."

"What?"

"Eh, never mind."

I shook my head and leaned it against his broad chest, feeling the corners of my mouth hutch up into an almost imperceptible grin.

"It's gonna be fine. I'm going to do my best to make it the most magical day of your life, okay?"

I smiled, tears welling in the corners of my eyes. "I love you so much, Lawrence."

"And I love you even more, (Y/N)."

All of a sudden, there was a soft ballad playing in the background. I looked above me to find about half a dozen lanterns floating up near the ceiling, giving the room a soft, orange glow. I smiled at Betelgeuse as he grabbed my right hand and placed my other on his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and we began to slowly sway to the music, caught up in the magic of the little bubble of safety and peace that we made for ourselves.