Thing one and Thing two

"Good morning! Please no photos. I'll sign autographs when I'm finished." Rolling my eyes, I followed Bryson into the kitchenette.
"What do we owe the pleasure of you sharing breakfast with us, oh great one." Henry bowed to Bryson before he sat down. I giggled and sat next to him with a cup of coffee.
"My royal servant brought me." Bryson grinned ear to ear.
"Oh, I know you're not talking about me." I crossed my legs.
"Oh no, you're the whole monarchy." Henry teased me.
"Well, you did drive." Bryson sat across from Henry and me.
"This is why I only like Joe." I threw a napkin at them both. Grabbing my coffee I stood up.
"Where are you going?" Bryson's attention followed me.
"Where all the peasants go." I smiled and left.

The halls didn't feel as heavy as they used to. Maybe that is because everything is back in the proper swing. I knocked on the nearly closed door.
"Enter." I pushed the door open with my foot. "Oh Lawrence, good morning."
"Morning." I plopped into what felt like my seat across from him.
"Is there a reason you're in my office and not enjoying Bryson being back?" I shrugged like I didn't live with him and see him daily.
"Just came to say hi but I can leave." I joked.
"No, no." Mr. Gold waved his hand, dismissing the idea. "I do actually wish to speak with you."
"Oh." I gripped the mug in my hands.
"Bryson called me this weekend." My stomach dropped. He leaned on his desk, giving me his full attention. "Are you okay?" I nodded my head. "Sebastian, he was arrested the next morning." My palm grew clammy as I bounced my leg. "Do you want to know more?"
"I don't know," I answered just above a whisper.
"Bryson knows everything if you care to ask him or I would be more than willing to tell you everything myself."
"Can I ask questions?"
"Of course. It's whatever you're comfortable with." Taking in a few deep breaths, I tested the waters.
"Am I going to have to go to any court dates?"
"Not if you don't want to. All they need is a written statement from you. Bryson had offered to testify in your place." My senses were overwhelmed with emotions.
"I'm not the only am I?" Slowly, he shook his head.
"No, unfortunately, you're not." I tried to blink back tears but one escaped, racing down my cheek.
"What are his charges?"
"They are hoping to get him on rape, statutory rape, and drug possession." Tears started to spill.
"I don't want to know anymore." I choked. A knock came at the door, I looked away.
"I thought I'd find you in here." It was Bryson. When I turned to look at him, his face fell. "Oh." The color drained from his face. "You know." I nodded, tears still racing down my cheeks. "Okay." He dropped to his knees and turned my chair to him. He wedged his body between his knees. His body heat raced through me. "I'm really sorry I told him. I didn't know what to do." He spoke softly. I just wanted to crawl into a black hole and disappear.
"I understand why you did it." I choked on my words.
"Are you mad at me?" I shook my head. "I'm really sorry."
"You did it because you care, I know." I placed my shaky hand on his cheek. Bryson's stubble tickled my palm. Mr. Gold remained silent, just watching us.
"How can I help?" Smiling slightly, I shook my head again.
"You already did everything, I guess I just need time to process." I moved my hand on top of his. "Can this not this room?" I asked Mr. Gold. He nodded.
"Of course. No one knows a thing."
"Well, Joe does." A smirk slid on Mr. Golds' face.
"Can't say I'm surprised." Smiling, I wiped the remaining tears from my cheek. "Are you sure you're going to be alright?" Looking between him and Bryson, I nodded.
"Yeah, I have good people around me." Smiling softly, he nodded once.

A moment of silence had lapsed in the room. The heaviness came back, but this time I didn't feel alone. Gold smacked his hand on a folder on his desk.
"I have more on your case if you'd like it."
"Ooo, yes please." Bryson popped up, grabbed the folder, and sat on my lap, nearly spilling my coffee.
"Okay, wasn't prepared for this," I grunted under his weight. He help the file so both of us could read. "We still don't know how many people are involved?"
"We have a general guess, but no we aren't sure." Mr. Gold leaned back in his chair.
"So what's our first move?"
"Well, we know it's a marriage scam. They are marrying people and getting money and leaving." My attention turned to Gold, I could hardly read the file from behind Bryson. "There are only so many venues in the area. I would like you two to check them out and see who is on the list."
"We're going venue shopping?" Bryson wrinkled his nose.
"Almost. I need the know the layouts of these venues, who's on their list, and when." My brain was already in overdrive, coming up with a plan.

Bryson promised to get me Starbucks to try and make me feel better. I was too lost in my own thoughts to think about Sebastian. My mind was already thinking of the different things we would need to get and how to get them.
"Thing one and thing two, what are you two up to?" Calum joked, clapping Bryson on the back.
"Oh, we're going shopping!" I popped up. Joe's jaw dropped.
"I want to go." He whined, stomping his foot.
"You can gladly take my spot." Bryson offered up.
"Absolutely not." Gold entered the room. "You two are going  venue shopping." Joe wrinkled his nose.
"Never mind. I thought it was clothing."
"So you two are finally getting hitched?" Henry asked.
"Getting hitched?" I said at the same time Mr. Gold said,
"No." And the same time Bryson asked,
"Finally?" Henry and Joe chuckled.
"Not touching that with a ten-foot pole." Grabbing his sandwich, Henry left the room.

****

The wedding chapel was huge. There was one set of wooden doors leading inside. Bryson had to yank it open.
"Heavy doors." He groveled. I smiled. I'm the pretend fiancé, just looking at a place to get married in. A pastor stood close to the entrance one of the room. He smiled when he saw us.
"You must be Rene and Bryce."
"We are, hi." I extended my hand. We finished our greetings and started the tour.

As planned, Bryson excused himself to the bathroom. The pastor and I continued the tour.
"Your fiancé has been gone for some time." My heart flipped at the word fiancé.
"Oh, yes, uh, he has really bad stomach issues. Once it hits, it hits." I played it off.
"Oh my, poor soul."
"And he's not the one who has to clean the bathroom." I joked. We both laughed, dropping his suspicions of Bryson's absence.

The tour was nearly over and Bryson was still gone. My anxiety was rising.
"How far are you guys booked out?"
"Only a month and a half." He frowned. "No one wants to have church weddings anymore." They do, just not here. It's run down and in the middle of nothing.
"That's not bad, I like it. We have been looking at a few different churches." I tried to stall. A hand pressed in the small of my back.
"This church is lovely." Bryson stood next to me. "I apologize about my absence."
"Oh," the pastor waved his hand. "That's alright, your lovely fiancé explained. She's wonderful, your a lucky man." He smiled and squeezed Bryson's shoulder.
"Oh, I know." He pulled me into him. "If it were up to me, I'd marry her right now." My heart danced in my chest. Soothing butterflies filled my stomach. "She wants a wedding, so a wedding she'll get." He beamed at the pastor.
"He's a good guy. You're both lucky. I'm so glad you two found each other. I have seen many couples in this church, I can tell when people will make it. You two are going to make it." My body felt heavy against Brysons. It was a mix of emotions to feel.
"Thank you." I smiled at him.
"Of course."

In the car, I zoned out. My imagination was trying to run away with fantasy while my brain was trying to do the task at hand.
"You're a ghost town over there." Bryson's voice cut through the chaos in my head.
"Huh? Sorry." I shook my head. "This is all just a bit overwhelming."
"Are you thinking of anything specific?" I looked at him. His hand casually rested on the steering wheel as his eyes were trained on the road.
"Like what?" I croaked.
"Sebastian?" His voice went higher than normal. A somber mood filled the car. "Okay, clearly that was not on your mind and I made it worse." His nerves made me laugh. "Okay, now you're laughing?"
"I don't know. Aren't we taking life a little too seriously? Not being alive, that's serious but just everything else?"
"I think you're losing it."
"Maybe. I mean a few days ago I was almost date rapped and now I'm out venue shopping and snooping with my best friend? Who the pastor, by way, absolutely adores and thinks we are end game." Bryson studied me at the stoplight. My emotions were a mixed drink in my brain and apparently I was chugging it.
"You really have lost it." Looking over at him, our eyes connected.
"Have I?"