fic - generations (a miniseries)
title - generations (a miniseries)
fandom - the oc
pairings - where's your curiosity, folks?
warnings - language, sexitimes, familial confusion
disclaimer - never owned it, still broke.
words - 3K-ish
author's note: It's supposed to be soapy, we're totally going to all hug it out when this is over.
MONDAY.
TUESDAY. DAYTIME..
"Are you sure? Seth, like, really sure?" Kaitlyn had accidentally answered Ryan's phone.
"Kaitlyn? Fuck. Where's Ryan?"
"No - you can't back out on this conversation now, she's pregnant?"
"What am I going to do?" Seth groaned in her ear.
"You don't want it?" Kaitlyn was confused.
"Of course I want it - she's the one that hates children - why am I talking to you?"
"Is that my phone?" Ryan walked in and traded phones before she could stop him.
She immediately dialed Summer.
"Oh my God, who told you? Is he telling people already? I haven't even told my dad yet."
"I accidentally answered Ryan's phone," Kaitlyn said. "But is it true?"
"God, yes. He's so excited, Kaity, and I'm so scared..."
Kaitlyn knew that Summer would rather be having this conversation with her sister but Kaitlyn considered Summer family, too. She wished she knew what to say. "You're not excited?"
"I just told you, I'm too scared to be excited. A baby, you know? I mean, you have a kid, but Jacks was, like, 7 when you got him."
"That was pretty scary, too, but I'm following. Summer, if you don't want to have it, Seth will understand..."
"He shouldn't have to - he's given up a lot to make me happy, Kaity, and I can give this to him. He'll be such a good father but I'm - I'm not cut out to be somebody's mother."
"You are just letting your hormones talk for you. God, Summer, you coddle animals and plants for a living, you'll do fine with a baby," Kaitlyn said.
Ryan walked into the room and held up his hands. "Seth, breathe."
"I don't know how to do this - I don't think I can fit a baby through my -" Summer started.
"Summer. Pack your stuff, and Seth's stuff and get on a plane and come out here."
Ryan glared at her and spoke into his phone. "You should come home and talk at me in person."
"We can't just throw up our hands and fly to California," Summer answered.
"Yes, you can," Ryan told his phone. "I think I proposed to Kaitlyn."
"Ryan proposed to me last night," Kaitlyn told Summer. He started it.
"Oh my God. What - you didn't tell me that you were - Ryan didn't tell me either - I...I'm coming out there to kick both your asses."
Ryan lowered his phone. "Seth and Summer are coming out."
"So it was a proposal. With the caveat that we not date first," Kaitlyn said, ending her call.
"Yes. That," Ryan said, sliding into the seat across from her.
"It doesn't work like that," she replied.
"I'm already in love with you, and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Might as well skip ahead and get to the point," Ryan said.
She lost all the breath in her lungs. "You're in love with me?"
"You already know that. You don't like it when I tell you things you already know," Ryan replied, completely calm. There was smile hiding behind his eyes but she could tell he was serious.
"You are so bad at communication," Kaitlyn said.
"If you want to date, we can do it. But you said it last night, I'm bad at dating. I don't know why I'll be a better husband but I don't see why I have to schedule times to take you out when I get to go out with you all the time now without an appointment. I don't need to bring you flowers when I plant flowers for you in the yard," Ryan said.
"Romance means nothing to you, does it?" Kaitlyn asked. She straightened her shoulders.
"I'm messing this up. I take it all back," Ryan said after a long beat.
"You're an asshole, but you know what? I'm calling your bluff. We're going to tell Jacks - together - and then we'll go to the Justice of the Peace."
Ryan blinked at her. "You want me to marry you at the courthouse?"
"Balls to the wall, Atwood. But - if I marry you - you are still going to have to take me on dates. I'm going to be all over your day planner and you're going to buy stock in Flowers.Com."
She stared Ryan down but instead of shock, his face broke into a bright grin. "I knew this was easier than people make it out to be. I didn't even have to get on one knee."
Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes at him. "I want a pre-nup."
"What are you guys doing? It's way early," Jacks yawned, sitting down heavily and scratching his stomach.
"Yeah, because you have to get to school early to run laps. You have to stop letting that kid bait you or you'll get benched next game," Ryan said.
"I know. Sophie lectured me already, she's been talking to Summer too much about the harmony of the universe or whatever. But seriously, before she's done with her shower - what's up? You were arguing last night and it looks like you're arguing again. Are we going broke or something?"
"You don't have to worry about money, kid, you're trust-funded to hell and back," Kaitlyn said.
"Then what?"
"Me and Kaitlyn are hooking up," Ryan blurted out.
Jacks stared at him. "What?"
"How would you feel about your sister marrying your brother?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Oh my God, you're not serious. That's - you weren't doing math, were you? Gross - you're - this is not okay," Jacks said.
"Don't be a brat," Kaitlyn said when Ryan leaned forward with his crisis management face on. Jacks' face flickered and Ryan realized he was fucking with them.
"Seriously, Jacks?" Ryan huffed.
Jacks laughed but his cheeks were flushed. "It's about time, you guys have been sniffing around each other since I was old enough to know what flirting was. I don't care."
"Nothing's going to change for you, Jacks," Ryan said.
Jacks rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ry, if you guys have taught me anything it's that I'm stuck with you for the long term. I'm not worried about that part. Even if you break up, you'll both still be my family," he added. "Sophie's going to flip out, though."
"Don't say anything, we're still negotiating terms," Ryan said.
"Fine, but I want to be there when you tell the Cohens," Jacks said. He was much more at ease when he hurried out of the kitchen.
"It's your fault that our life is a sitcom," Kaitlyn said.
"Should I call in sick to work or do you think we can hit the courthouse on my lunch break?" Ryan asked seriously.
"You're not getting off that easy. We're waiting until Seth and Summer get here. I need to get my nails done," Kaitlyn said.
Ryan slid out of his chair and took the seat beside her.
"Maybe I'll see if Kirsten can get the kids after school. And maybe you can meet me at the boutique after you get them from the airport," Kaitlyn suggested.
"And I'll call in a favor from Judge Mason down the street."
"And you'll bring flowers."
"And maybe something shiny," Ryan said, leaning in for a kiss.
*********
"Ryan doesn't joke. Summer, you know that Ryan isn't funny - he's really doing this," Seth said.
"Seth, God, relax - you're acting like this is the biggest thing in your life right now," Summer frowned, elbowing him against the airplane window.
"I'm sorry - I just feel like I'm being ambushed from all sides with too much information. This morning, I was worried about making deadline on an issue I'm not supposed to be writing and now my wife's having a baby and my brother's marrying his sister and I just don't know what I'm saying," Seth blurted out. He leaned his head on her shoulder. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Summer sighed.
"And we have nine months to figure out how to be good parents," Seth said.
"If we move to Newport, we can get your parents to show us," Summer said, joining in on the pep talk.
"And we'll have free babysitting with Sophie and Jacks," Seth added.
"And I can help the marine life in my own backyard," Summer said.
"We're talking about babies, not seals right now. Focus," Seth scolded.
"Sorry. Ooh, we'll win the first grandchild prize from your parents!"
Seth grinned. "You're totally right. Ryan tried to snitch that from under me in high school, I totally earned that prize."
"Damn right," Summer said, settling her head against his.
"We'll need to find a house with enough grass to put a rabbit hutch in the backyard," Seth said.
"Swingset goes in the backyard, for the baby," Summer said. "The rabbit hutch has to go in the front yard. You'll have to be elected president of our homeowner's association."
"I will add it to my list of life goals."
"You really think Ryan proposed to Kaitlyn?" Summer asked.
"He's sending me pictures of wedding rings. He says we're his witnesses," Seth replied. "Then they told us to turn the phone off so I'm probably a few texts behind."
"Did he say why he's rushing it? You never told me they were together," Summer said.
"I honestly didn't know. He keeps stuff close to his chest. They take care of Jacks together, that pretty much bonded them for life so I can actually see this working out, even if I didn't see it coming," Seth replied.
"He's not really the impulsive type, at least not anymore," Summer said.
The attendants told them they could turn their phones back on and Seth immediately raised it to his eyeline. "Don't want to make a big thing about it. Time for that later. Got to catch her first."
"He's not so smart today, is he?" Summer asked.
"We're moving home for all the best reasons," Seth said, laying a hand across her seat belt.
"Newport needs us," Summer agreed.
*********
"Man, Taylor has lost her mind," Luke announced, sprawling on the couch beside him.
"How did you know I was home?" Ryan asked.
"Your car's in the driveway," Luke shrugged. "Should you not be home?"
"Didn't you come to talk about Taylor?"
Luke took the remote from the table and started flipping channels. "She thought I left her. All I did was go to work, it's not my fault her job is in a place without electricity or, like, pen and paper."
"Your marital problems are not my business. But Taylor's always been crazy. Which one of these is nicer?" Ryan held up his tablet.
Luke settled on ESPN7 and skimmed the screen. "Rings. Go for diamonds, always."
"It's not an engagement ring," Ryan replied.
"Still. Gotta have diamonds. And the inside should say something sweet," Luke said. "Who's getting hitched?"
"Nobody. Did you talk to her last night?"
Luke shrugged. "As much as I could. She was finished with the ranting and went straight into the apologies. I love her, but I thought she would have chilled out by now."
"Dude. It's Taylor Townsend," Ryan said.
"Taylor Ward, you mean."
"Yeah." He held up the tablet again. "Which one?"
Luke slid his finger across the screen to skip images. "That one."
"Okay. Is Taylor going back to Kenya?" Ryan asked, taking the computer back. He was being weird.
"She says she's going to get a job here and be a housewife. But we tried that two years ago," Luke replied.
"Did you tell her that?"
"She was apologizing, she didn't let me talk. We're going to do that tonight."
"Good. You guys are fun together, I don't want to choose sides in the divorce," Ryan said.
"Hey, you'd be on my side," Luke protested.
"Well, yeah, but Taylor's out of her mind and it wouldn't end well for any of us, man."
Luke nodded. "Right."
"'I heart you' wouldn't be appropriate, would it?" Ryan asked.
"What is with you and the rings?"
"Nothing."
Luke sighed. "It should be something sweet. Unless you're marrying a tweener, you should probably skip text-lingo."
Ryan blinked. "I think I'll skip the inscription for the moment."
"Are you seriously going to pretend like you're not buying wedding rings right now?" Luke asked.
"I asked Kaitlyn and she said yes," Ryan said. "Roses or lilies?"
"Dude. Always roses, always," Luke said after a beat. "When's the wedding?"
"Five-ish," Ryan replied. "Don't tell anybody. We don't want it to be a thing."
"Your parents are going to kill you. We can't survive another murder trial, you have to tell everyone," Luke said.
Ryan glared at him. "We've got this. We're going to do it before dinner. We'll tell them as a united front."
"Taylor and I are totally putting off our talk and coming to yours for dinner," Luke said.
"You cannot tell her before we tell the Cohens," Ryan warned.
"I'm going to be too busy helping you pick out roses to call her - and you have to get those rings sized stat," Luke said.
*********
"Stand still - I can't do this if you keep moving," her assistant hissed. "If I stick you, you'll get blood on your white dress."
"Maybe it shouldn't be white - I mean, it's not like I'm pure or anything," Kaitlyn said.
"You said it wasn't a wedding dress."
"It's not," she replied. She turned her head to check the silhouette in the mirror again. "I just have a thing tonight and I decided I needed a new dress."
"Sure. A thing. Turn around."
Kaitlyn spun in place and held up her arms so Clover could pin the final drape. "What do you think?"
"It's...gorgeous. What kind of shoes are you wearing with it?"
"Oh my God. I need shoes," Kaitlyn realized. She couldn't get married in these shoes.
"Well, if it was a wedding dress, I would say you go down the street and get a pair from Ellen's shop, they could be your something borrowed if you didn't want to pay for them, and your something new if you did," Clover suggested.
"You are an awful person. And I love you. You can have the day off after you finish this dress while I get shoes," Kaitlyn said.
"This is some Project Runway kind of shit and I am totally winning this challenge, for a fee. Time and a half," Clover suggested.
"Show me the dress and I'll show you the bonus," Kaitlyn said.
She hadn't been one of those girls that stayed up late picturing their dream wedding. Her mother had enough weddings for everyone and when Marissa died, she never really thought further ahead of 'getting the fuck out of Newport'.
Then her mother decided to kill Kaitlyn's favorite stepfather-figure for money and she threw her focus full-on taking care of her little brother. She had a chance to protect Jacks from Julie's parenting.
Ryan hadn't made a move on her for four years and while it was strictly casual and unspoken, she didn't bother looking for anyone other than him on the side.
She didn't know he loved her. She would have brought dating up sooner if she'd known that.
But in his roundabout - infuriating - way, Ryan was offering her the life she'd always wanted. They talked to each other, they knew each other's habits, they had great sex - they had been 'sort of' married since they moved in together for Jacks.
This might actually work. She was definitely going to give it a fucking shot.
*********
"Seth, Summer, God, you have the best timing ever. I love you guys so much," Ryan said, pulling them into a hug when they stepped into the parking lot.
"Are you dying, Ryan? What the hell?" Seth demanded.
"No - listen - I am about to do something impulsive and reckless that is going to put me on your parents' bad behavior radar - but you guys are having a fucking kid and I get off the hook," Ryan said.
Luke raised a lazy wave from behind him. "He might have had a few drinks at the Florist."
"You can't get married drunk," Summer protested.
Seth patted Ryan's cheeks and searched his eyes. "He's not drunk. What's going on?"
"I want to be with Kaitlyn so we're going to do it," Ryan replied. "It's not complicated but we're making it simple. I've got rings and Luke's going to film it on his phone. Then we're all going to Sandy and Kirsten's for lasagna where I get to kiss my wife and you get to overshadow my announcement with your baby news."
Seth shared a glance with Summer. The grandchild award was pretty important but stealing Ryan's glory didn't seem fair. Especially when Ryan was going for low-key. It wasn't fair that Ryan got off the hook for Kirsten and Sandy's hands-on wedding planning.
"We were going to wait for the right time to break the news, not tonight," Summer said.
Ryan's face fell. "No way. Don't do this to me."
"We can discuss in the car - what's the game plan?" Seth laughed.
"You're here so we can do the marriage stuff now. The judge is meeting us at the boutique and I'm going to change in the back," Ryan said.
"Plug my phone in to charge, we need multiple angles," Seth said.
*********
"I can't believe we're getting married in the boutique," Kaitlyn said when Ryan walked out of the stockroom.
"You look amazing. And the boutique's the first place we hooked up," Ryan replied. He would always look amazing in a tux so she didn't want to feed his ego.
"Grand Opening. You were my first and last customer that day," Kaitlyn replied.
He cupped her chin and smoothed his thumb across her lips. "I was so proud of you. I knew I had to stop fighting. I knew I'd take whatever you were willing to give me."
"We are going to go on so many dates after this," she said, leaning in for a kiss.
"Oh my God, not before the wedding - seriously - you are both lame and I'm totally going to shame you on Facebook forever!" Seth yelled.
fandom - the oc
pairings - where's your curiosity, folks?
warnings - language, sexitimes, familial confusion
disclaimer - never owned it, still broke.
words - 3K-ish
author's note: It's supposed to be soapy, we're totally going to all hug it out when this is over.
MONDAY.
TUESDAY. DAYTIME..
"Are you sure? Seth, like, really sure?" Kaitlyn had accidentally answered Ryan's phone.
"Kaitlyn? Fuck. Where's Ryan?"
"No - you can't back out on this conversation now, she's pregnant?"
"What am I going to do?" Seth groaned in her ear.
"You don't want it?" Kaitlyn was confused.
"Of course I want it - she's the one that hates children - why am I talking to you?"
"Is that my phone?" Ryan walked in and traded phones before she could stop him.
She immediately dialed Summer.
"Oh my God, who told you? Is he telling people already? I haven't even told my dad yet."
"I accidentally answered Ryan's phone," Kaitlyn said. "But is it true?"
"God, yes. He's so excited, Kaity, and I'm so scared..."
Kaitlyn knew that Summer would rather be having this conversation with her sister but Kaitlyn considered Summer family, too. She wished she knew what to say. "You're not excited?"
"I just told you, I'm too scared to be excited. A baby, you know? I mean, you have a kid, but Jacks was, like, 7 when you got him."
"That was pretty scary, too, but I'm following. Summer, if you don't want to have it, Seth will understand..."
"He shouldn't have to - he's given up a lot to make me happy, Kaity, and I can give this to him. He'll be such a good father but I'm - I'm not cut out to be somebody's mother."
"You are just letting your hormones talk for you. God, Summer, you coddle animals and plants for a living, you'll do fine with a baby," Kaitlyn said.
Ryan walked into the room and held up his hands. "Seth, breathe."
"I don't know how to do this - I don't think I can fit a baby through my -" Summer started.
"Summer. Pack your stuff, and Seth's stuff and get on a plane and come out here."
Ryan glared at her and spoke into his phone. "You should come home and talk at me in person."
"We can't just throw up our hands and fly to California," Summer answered.
"Yes, you can," Ryan told his phone. "I think I proposed to Kaitlyn."
"Ryan proposed to me last night," Kaitlyn told Summer. He started it.
"Oh my God. What - you didn't tell me that you were - Ryan didn't tell me either - I...I'm coming out there to kick both your asses."
Ryan lowered his phone. "Seth and Summer are coming out."
"So it was a proposal. With the caveat that we not date first," Kaitlyn said, ending her call.
"Yes. That," Ryan said, sliding into the seat across from her.
"It doesn't work like that," she replied.
"I'm already in love with you, and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Might as well skip ahead and get to the point," Ryan said.
She lost all the breath in her lungs. "You're in love with me?"
"You already know that. You don't like it when I tell you things you already know," Ryan replied, completely calm. There was smile hiding behind his eyes but she could tell he was serious.
"You are so bad at communication," Kaitlyn said.
"If you want to date, we can do it. But you said it last night, I'm bad at dating. I don't know why I'll be a better husband but I don't see why I have to schedule times to take you out when I get to go out with you all the time now without an appointment. I don't need to bring you flowers when I plant flowers for you in the yard," Ryan said.
"Romance means nothing to you, does it?" Kaitlyn asked. She straightened her shoulders.
"I'm messing this up. I take it all back," Ryan said after a long beat.
"You're an asshole, but you know what? I'm calling your bluff. We're going to tell Jacks - together - and then we'll go to the Justice of the Peace."
Ryan blinked at her. "You want me to marry you at the courthouse?"
"Balls to the wall, Atwood. But - if I marry you - you are still going to have to take me on dates. I'm going to be all over your day planner and you're going to buy stock in Flowers.Com."
She stared Ryan down but instead of shock, his face broke into a bright grin. "I knew this was easier than people make it out to be. I didn't even have to get on one knee."
Kaitlyn narrowed her eyes at him. "I want a pre-nup."
"What are you guys doing? It's way early," Jacks yawned, sitting down heavily and scratching his stomach.
"Yeah, because you have to get to school early to run laps. You have to stop letting that kid bait you or you'll get benched next game," Ryan said.
"I know. Sophie lectured me already, she's been talking to Summer too much about the harmony of the universe or whatever. But seriously, before she's done with her shower - what's up? You were arguing last night and it looks like you're arguing again. Are we going broke or something?"
"You don't have to worry about money, kid, you're trust-funded to hell and back," Kaitlyn said.
"Then what?"
"Me and Kaitlyn are hooking up," Ryan blurted out.
Jacks stared at him. "What?"
"How would you feel about your sister marrying your brother?" Kaitlyn asked.
"Oh my God, you're not serious. That's - you weren't doing math, were you? Gross - you're - this is not okay," Jacks said.
"Don't be a brat," Kaitlyn said when Ryan leaned forward with his crisis management face on. Jacks' face flickered and Ryan realized he was fucking with them.
"Seriously, Jacks?" Ryan huffed.
Jacks laughed but his cheeks were flushed. "It's about time, you guys have been sniffing around each other since I was old enough to know what flirting was. I don't care."
"Nothing's going to change for you, Jacks," Ryan said.
Jacks rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ry, if you guys have taught me anything it's that I'm stuck with you for the long term. I'm not worried about that part. Even if you break up, you'll both still be my family," he added. "Sophie's going to flip out, though."
"Don't say anything, we're still negotiating terms," Ryan said.
"Fine, but I want to be there when you tell the Cohens," Jacks said. He was much more at ease when he hurried out of the kitchen.
"It's your fault that our life is a sitcom," Kaitlyn said.
"Should I call in sick to work or do you think we can hit the courthouse on my lunch break?" Ryan asked seriously.
"You're not getting off that easy. We're waiting until Seth and Summer get here. I need to get my nails done," Kaitlyn said.
Ryan slid out of his chair and took the seat beside her.
"Maybe I'll see if Kirsten can get the kids after school. And maybe you can meet me at the boutique after you get them from the airport," Kaitlyn suggested.
"And I'll call in a favor from Judge Mason down the street."
"And you'll bring flowers."
"And maybe something shiny," Ryan said, leaning in for a kiss.
*********
"Ryan doesn't joke. Summer, you know that Ryan isn't funny - he's really doing this," Seth said.
"Seth, God, relax - you're acting like this is the biggest thing in your life right now," Summer frowned, elbowing him against the airplane window.
"I'm sorry - I just feel like I'm being ambushed from all sides with too much information. This morning, I was worried about making deadline on an issue I'm not supposed to be writing and now my wife's having a baby and my brother's marrying his sister and I just don't know what I'm saying," Seth blurted out. He leaned his head on her shoulder. "I love you."
"I love you, too," Summer sighed.
"And we have nine months to figure out how to be good parents," Seth said.
"If we move to Newport, we can get your parents to show us," Summer said, joining in on the pep talk.
"And we'll have free babysitting with Sophie and Jacks," Seth added.
"And I can help the marine life in my own backyard," Summer said.
"We're talking about babies, not seals right now. Focus," Seth scolded.
"Sorry. Ooh, we'll win the first grandchild prize from your parents!"
Seth grinned. "You're totally right. Ryan tried to snitch that from under me in high school, I totally earned that prize."
"Damn right," Summer said, settling her head against his.
"We'll need to find a house with enough grass to put a rabbit hutch in the backyard," Seth said.
"Swingset goes in the backyard, for the baby," Summer said. "The rabbit hutch has to go in the front yard. You'll have to be elected president of our homeowner's association."
"I will add it to my list of life goals."
"You really think Ryan proposed to Kaitlyn?" Summer asked.
"He's sending me pictures of wedding rings. He says we're his witnesses," Seth replied. "Then they told us to turn the phone off so I'm probably a few texts behind."
"Did he say why he's rushing it? You never told me they were together," Summer said.
"I honestly didn't know. He keeps stuff close to his chest. They take care of Jacks together, that pretty much bonded them for life so I can actually see this working out, even if I didn't see it coming," Seth replied.
"He's not really the impulsive type, at least not anymore," Summer said.
The attendants told them they could turn their phones back on and Seth immediately raised it to his eyeline. "Don't want to make a big thing about it. Time for that later. Got to catch her first."
"He's not so smart today, is he?" Summer asked.
"We're moving home for all the best reasons," Seth said, laying a hand across her seat belt.
"Newport needs us," Summer agreed.
*********
"Man, Taylor has lost her mind," Luke announced, sprawling on the couch beside him.
"How did you know I was home?" Ryan asked.
"Your car's in the driveway," Luke shrugged. "Should you not be home?"
"Didn't you come to talk about Taylor?"
Luke took the remote from the table and started flipping channels. "She thought I left her. All I did was go to work, it's not my fault her job is in a place without electricity or, like, pen and paper."
"Your marital problems are not my business. But Taylor's always been crazy. Which one of these is nicer?" Ryan held up his tablet.
Luke settled on ESPN7 and skimmed the screen. "Rings. Go for diamonds, always."
"It's not an engagement ring," Ryan replied.
"Still. Gotta have diamonds. And the inside should say something sweet," Luke said. "Who's getting hitched?"
"Nobody. Did you talk to her last night?"
Luke shrugged. "As much as I could. She was finished with the ranting and went straight into the apologies. I love her, but I thought she would have chilled out by now."
"Dude. It's Taylor Townsend," Ryan said.
"Taylor Ward, you mean."
"Yeah." He held up the tablet again. "Which one?"
Luke slid his finger across the screen to skip images. "That one."
"Okay. Is Taylor going back to Kenya?" Ryan asked, taking the computer back. He was being weird.
"She says she's going to get a job here and be a housewife. But we tried that two years ago," Luke replied.
"Did you tell her that?"
"She was apologizing, she didn't let me talk. We're going to do that tonight."
"Good. You guys are fun together, I don't want to choose sides in the divorce," Ryan said.
"Hey, you'd be on my side," Luke protested.
"Well, yeah, but Taylor's out of her mind and it wouldn't end well for any of us, man."
Luke nodded. "Right."
"'I heart you' wouldn't be appropriate, would it?" Ryan asked.
"What is with you and the rings?"
"Nothing."
Luke sighed. "It should be something sweet. Unless you're marrying a tweener, you should probably skip text-lingo."
Ryan blinked. "I think I'll skip the inscription for the moment."
"Are you seriously going to pretend like you're not buying wedding rings right now?" Luke asked.
"I asked Kaitlyn and she said yes," Ryan said. "Roses or lilies?"
"Dude. Always roses, always," Luke said after a beat. "When's the wedding?"
"Five-ish," Ryan replied. "Don't tell anybody. We don't want it to be a thing."
"Your parents are going to kill you. We can't survive another murder trial, you have to tell everyone," Luke said.
Ryan glared at him. "We've got this. We're going to do it before dinner. We'll tell them as a united front."
"Taylor and I are totally putting off our talk and coming to yours for dinner," Luke said.
"You cannot tell her before we tell the Cohens," Ryan warned.
"I'm going to be too busy helping you pick out roses to call her - and you have to get those rings sized stat," Luke said.
*********
"Stand still - I can't do this if you keep moving," her assistant hissed. "If I stick you, you'll get blood on your white dress."
"Maybe it shouldn't be white - I mean, it's not like I'm pure or anything," Kaitlyn said.
"You said it wasn't a wedding dress."
"It's not," she replied. She turned her head to check the silhouette in the mirror again. "I just have a thing tonight and I decided I needed a new dress."
"Sure. A thing. Turn around."
Kaitlyn spun in place and held up her arms so Clover could pin the final drape. "What do you think?"
"It's...gorgeous. What kind of shoes are you wearing with it?"
"Oh my God. I need shoes," Kaitlyn realized. She couldn't get married in these shoes.
"Well, if it was a wedding dress, I would say you go down the street and get a pair from Ellen's shop, they could be your something borrowed if you didn't want to pay for them, and your something new if you did," Clover suggested.
"You are an awful person. And I love you. You can have the day off after you finish this dress while I get shoes," Kaitlyn said.
"This is some Project Runway kind of shit and I am totally winning this challenge, for a fee. Time and a half," Clover suggested.
"Show me the dress and I'll show you the bonus," Kaitlyn said.
She hadn't been one of those girls that stayed up late picturing their dream wedding. Her mother had enough weddings for everyone and when Marissa died, she never really thought further ahead of 'getting the fuck out of Newport'.
Then her mother decided to kill Kaitlyn's favorite stepfather-figure for money and she threw her focus full-on taking care of her little brother. She had a chance to protect Jacks from Julie's parenting.
Ryan hadn't made a move on her for four years and while it was strictly casual and unspoken, she didn't bother looking for anyone other than him on the side.
She didn't know he loved her. She would have brought dating up sooner if she'd known that.
But in his roundabout - infuriating - way, Ryan was offering her the life she'd always wanted. They talked to each other, they knew each other's habits, they had great sex - they had been 'sort of' married since they moved in together for Jacks.
This might actually work. She was definitely going to give it a fucking shot.
*********
"Seth, Summer, God, you have the best timing ever. I love you guys so much," Ryan said, pulling them into a hug when they stepped into the parking lot.
"Are you dying, Ryan? What the hell?" Seth demanded.
"No - listen - I am about to do something impulsive and reckless that is going to put me on your parents' bad behavior radar - but you guys are having a fucking kid and I get off the hook," Ryan said.
Luke raised a lazy wave from behind him. "He might have had a few drinks at the Florist."
"You can't get married drunk," Summer protested.
Seth patted Ryan's cheeks and searched his eyes. "He's not drunk. What's going on?"
"I want to be with Kaitlyn so we're going to do it," Ryan replied. "It's not complicated but we're making it simple. I've got rings and Luke's going to film it on his phone. Then we're all going to Sandy and Kirsten's for lasagna where I get to kiss my wife and you get to overshadow my announcement with your baby news."
Seth shared a glance with Summer. The grandchild award was pretty important but stealing Ryan's glory didn't seem fair. Especially when Ryan was going for low-key. It wasn't fair that Ryan got off the hook for Kirsten and Sandy's hands-on wedding planning.
"We were going to wait for the right time to break the news, not tonight," Summer said.
Ryan's face fell. "No way. Don't do this to me."
"We can discuss in the car - what's the game plan?" Seth laughed.
"You're here so we can do the marriage stuff now. The judge is meeting us at the boutique and I'm going to change in the back," Ryan said.
"Plug my phone in to charge, we need multiple angles," Seth said.
*********
"I can't believe we're getting married in the boutique," Kaitlyn said when Ryan walked out of the stockroom.
"You look amazing. And the boutique's the first place we hooked up," Ryan replied. He would always look amazing in a tux so she didn't want to feed his ego.
"Grand Opening. You were my first and last customer that day," Kaitlyn replied.
He cupped her chin and smoothed his thumb across her lips. "I was so proud of you. I knew I had to stop fighting. I knew I'd take whatever you were willing to give me."
"We are going to go on so many dates after this," she said, leaning in for a kiss.
"Oh my God, not before the wedding - seriously - you are both lame and I'm totally going to shame you on Facebook forever!" Seth yelled.