"I've never felt this way before," Zara admitted. "Jason is... everything. He makes me feel like I'm wonderful and beautiful and even normal. And we've been able to get ahead with everything because you gave us the apartment, and..." She leaned her face into his hand. "Thank you, Murder. For always being there when I needed a friend."
"Yeah, tell me that when I start curling your hair wrong." Then he turned her back to the mirror. "Dry that. I'll tell the girls that it's time to bring out the spackle."
She sat down and lifted a hand over her shoulder, flipping him off. "Love you, bro. No really."
"We should've done henna," he teased. "Fuck, didn't even think about it."
"No," Zara said. "I am not sitting still that long. This is bad enough, but it's for a good cause. I have to trap my man, right?"
"He's trapped," Murder promised as he headed to the door. "You caught him right by the heartstrings."
If Jason thought he'd be allowed to slack off for the next two hours, he was wrong. The moment he arrived at Riley's suite, she pulled him inside. Then the chaos began. First, he had to have a shower. Then he had to deal with Riley styling his hair. Next, a barber came to clean up his face. Granted, that was actually kinda relaxing.
Once he was out of the room, the procession began. Void began laying out a tux. Then Chance arrived with accessories like a vest, tie, pocket square, and so forth. Braden and Psyc showed up. Knock brought out cufflinks. Fucking cufflinks! Then again, they were made from computer parts. And finally, Bradley arrived to take over watching Crysis.
"You got it?" Jason asked him.
Bradley reached into one pocket of his suit and began to look worried. Then the other side. Finally, a grin began to take over his face and he reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a ring. "One appropriate wedding band for your soon-to-be wife," he promised, lifting the lid to show everyone.
"Nice," Riley said. "She's going to love that." But then she stepped back. "Since you're in capable hands..."
"Go," he told her. "I know you need to do makeup and everything."
"And you," Knock said, "use my room to put on that tux."
"Everyone else, time to change," Chance ordered. "I'd rather we were all sitting around looking damned good than making a bride wait on her wedding day. Let's make this happen."
Bradley just tugged his lapels. "I'm good."
"No," Chance told him, "you're not. I'm going to make you a bit less stuffy. Come with me."
One by one, they all headed out the door. Jason grabbed the bags of his stuff and went to Knock's room to change. When he opened the first one, he couldn't help but smile. It seemed Zara had picked purple as her color. Piece by piece, he put on the tux, adjusted all the layers into place, and then he turned to look in the mirror.
Staring back was the man he'd never thought he'd be. This guy was polished around the edges, and smiling! Never mind that his tux fit like it had been tailored. Considering that both Chance and Void had been involved, it probably had been. Jason just had no idea how they'd gotten his measurements. Granted, this group was resourceful like that.
Finished, he headed back into the main room to see the rest of the guys. Knock and Cade were a matched set. Braden and Psyc both wore purple shirts with a black tie for Psyc and a dark grey for Braden. Then the door beeped as someone used their card, and Chance stepped in with Bradley right behind him. Chance looked immaculate as always, but Bradley? Jason's partner was now in a black shirt under his black suit, with a tie and vest that matched Jason's. The guy looked good - and nothing like a fed.
"Guys," Jason said, moving to the middle of the room. "You should all know that the reason Zara was so set on doing this here is because you - all of you - are the closest thing to a family I have. Thank you for coming. For making this happen." He gestured to his tux to prove what he meant. "Most of all, thank you for trusting me when you had no reason to."
"We did," Knock told him. "You were always on the front lines with us, Cyn. So we'll always be there with you."