It's a love story baby just say yes (Clark and Evie)

[elderfrye]

Evie doesn't think anything of it when she first sees the letter - Jacob is intrigued by the Frye crest on the envelope and begs her to open it, but she just assumes it's some family announcement, a wedding invitation or some such from an over-zealous aunt who's tracked down their somewhat estranged branch of the family tree out of a need for completeness. Jacob and Evie are aware they have relations beyond their father and uncle, but they're so rarely in touch with them they may as well not exist.

The letter is from an over-zealous aunt, her mother's sister, and it does concern a wedding, but it definitely wasn't what she expected. It addresses her as Evelyn, for a start, and nobody's called her that since... well, since the last time she was in aforementioned aunt's presence, and it draws her attention to certain arrangements made by her parents in her youth, a contract that she was being called upon to fulfill.

Jacob had mockingly hummed the wedding march for a week after it arrived, until they finally realised there wasn't any way of slipping out of this arrangement, that had sobered them both considerably. Before she had really registered what was happening, her aunt had arrived to tut over her entire wardrobe, whisk her away to the country house and start making preparations for her dress.

It was huge, and white, and the very latest style (which meant near-impossible to move in, corseted so tight she could barely breathe, and with a train that trailed pointlessly behind her tripping everybody up) and every single female relative, maid and friend of the family gasped and oohed and aahed over it until Evie was ready to scream. They all talked about how lucky she was, how handsome Mr Kent was, what a beautiful wife she'd make.
Evie had never wanted to stab a civilian harder in her life, but of course she couldn't, because Jacob had very wisely divested her of all her weapons - promising to take the very best care of them and return them to her as soon as the wedding was over, of course.

The ceremony was beautiful and overbearing, and while Evie was capable of agreeing that Mr Kent cut quite a dashing figure, it didn't in the slightest excuse him from being just another player in this whole charade and it certainly didn't prevent him from earning her ire, given that he was the embodiment of everything that was about to ruin all her carefully constructed plans for her life.
She plotted becoming a widow, and wondered if that would be frowned upon by the brotherhood.

Eventually all the frippery was done with, the toasts had been made, the meal served, the music played, the drink consumed (a lot), and the whirlwind of activity had passed, and now she was standing in an unfamiliar bedroom in an uncomfortable dress with a man she'd exchanged no words with that weren't vows.

And she had no idea what to do.

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[truth_and_justice]

He nods to her, leaning in just a little.

"I know. Which is why I've kept my secret. My parents have always taught me that no good would come of people discovering what I can do. But to keep my gifts to myself is the height of selfishness. I go to the city that I might use my gifts to save people, help them, though... I haven't figured out how to keep my identity from becoming known other than perhaps a mask, as silly as that sounds."

He's quiet for a moment before-

"But the way you say these things... it sounds as if you may have more than a passing familiarity with such people. Is that, perhaps, why you've hidden several weapons throughout the room?"

He turns to look her in the face then, as well as he can in that position.

"I can smell the metal. And once I did, look through the wood and the bedding to see the blades."

It was one of the many reasons he'd wanted to tell her before mentioning it. Because now she knew his secret, the greatest thing he had. She had all the cards. He didn't want her to fear him, after all.

[elderfrye]

"We should talk to Freddy," she says thoughtfully "as much as Jacob can always see through his disguises he may have some advice we can use. I can understand the need to help people but we must ensure your safety." Perhaps she can teach him to fight, it likely won't be hard if he's as strong as he says, and she will sleep easier at night if she knows he can handle any Templars that come his way when she's not around.

Her expression is impressed when he mentions her weapons - Jacob may have taken most of her arms but he knows as well as she that it's unwise for an assassin to be completely without backup. It's likely some of the weapons he can locate were stashed by Jacob himself, just in case,he would have trusted Evie could find them by herself.

"I do," she says, "You have told me your secret so it is only fair I return the favour, not least to prepare you for who may wish to cause you harm. I am an assassin, a member of a brotherhood of assassins who work against the Templars, they are the enemy I speak of, they wish to dominate and control mankind. Assassins work to stop them."

[truth_and_justice]

"There seems to be a capital letter to both names, Assassins and Templars as opposed to assassins and templars," and there is a difference in how he says them. "And while the idea of killing is not one I personally care to consider... that certainly seems like the sort of thing you'd want to stop."

It ran directly counter to everything his parents had ever taught him, all that they'd instilled in him when it came to how to act responsibly with what he could do. Mankind could not be shackled, should not be, even if the shackles looked made of gold. The very idea was repugnant.

"That was what your father was training you for, wasn't it?"

[elderfrye]

"There is," Evie agrees, there are assassins and then there are Assassins, she's glad he can understand the difference. "I understand your reticence, a lot of people are somewhat squeamish about the idea of killing," she nods matter-of-factly "But I am well practiced - I tell you this because I want you to understand who and what I am." she didn't want him putting her on some kind of pure and innocent pedestal, as much as it almost broke her heart to break the illusion of the girl she used to be to him, because she was not that girl any more.

"Yes, this is what father was training us for, and he trained us well..."

[truth_and_justice]

He shakes his head.

"I'm not squeamish," he says quietly, and he realizes this will take a very careful walk along the line as he chooses his words carefully. "I could flick a man's head from his shoulders with two fingers, Ev. Causing harm is a choice I turn away from every day by pointed effort.

"The idea of it is simply not one I find acceptable for me. I have been given greater gifts and those gifts hold with them responsibilities. And one of them is to seek every solution other than death."

He looks firmly at her.

"I do not judge you for your actions or your choices, Ev, other than to be glad you act for humanity's freedom. I understand. But my own path will be slightly different, even if I believe we will work towards the same goal." And in truth, he hopes that she would see the necessity of such a choice. Someone with power as he had should be careful with it, or it would surely turn to something worth fearing. "Do you understand?"

[elderfrye]

The way he says it is so casual that she's quite certain he's not exaggerating, and it only reaffirms her certainty that the Templars can never get their hands on him.

"You don't try to change me and I won't try to change you," She nods "sounds perfect." He's so solid and perfect she feels like it would almost be a shame for him to bloody his hands, but beyond that, she knows what happens when mankind holds too much power, if he doesn't impose restrictions on himself... he'd be like a god, and she doesn't want to see what it looks like if he gets corrupted

"I can't quite believe this," she admits "I came here with such trepidation, only to find that this is.... this is more than I could ever hope for..."

[truth_and_justice]

There is a relief in him, one she can no doubt feel as his muscles settle beneath her, and he carefully, hesitantly, wraps his arms around her. He'd done as much when they were children many times. But they were no longer children. Instead, now, they were husband and wife, and suddenly, there were no secrets between them. It was strange and new and beautiful and terrifying, all at once.

"I find myself feeling similarly, Ev. Evie." He looks to her with a cautious smile.

"I should call you as you asked, but all I can think when I see your name is 'Ev', sunlight and chestnut curls and warmth. My memories of you feel like I believe it would to fall in love.

"It gives me great hopes for us. Ones I have every intention of working to support."

[elderfrye]

"If you wish to call me Ev as you once did I have no objections at all,my not-so-little Lark," she finds herself smiling, relaxing into his arms and feeling like she completely belonged there.

Nobody she knows has ever described her in so sweet a way, to everyone else she is sharp intelligence and sharper blades, cold fury and firm ideals, he was the only person who saw her with such warmth and softness.

"You were always blue eyes and kind smiles and..." She blushes "and butterflies, to me, I... I was going to tell you that I loved you, the summer we could not visit... I have always regretted that I could not."

[truth_and_justice]

"And yet now, I have heard you confess your love in a church dressed in a way I know now might give you hives from pure consternation," he teases before leaning in and, gently, carefully, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

"You may call me Lark, as you wish, my dearest."

[elderfrye]

"It was awful," Evie confided with a smile, though she couldn't bring herself to regret it somehow, even after how terrible the day had been, this somehow made up for all of it.

"But it's not anymore," she assured him "Jacob is not going to believe this..."

[truth_and_justice]

He can't help but kiss her again on the cheek. He has to be careful, or he won't be able to stop kissing her. His Ev, his darling, the friend closest to his heart, the greatest joy he has... returned to him. And now, his wife.

"Do you doubt his ability to believe my identity or the part where knives skitter off my skin and shot bounces from me like a rubber ball?"

[elderfrye]

"Both!" she laughs "You know what a sceptic Jacob is." her brother had a tendency to only believe in what he could see with his own two eyes, she was the one who'd always believed in ghosts and legends and the occult. He'd have to believe this, though.

"Of course... you don't have to tell him, and I won't if you don't want me to."

[truth_and_justice]

He considers the problem carefully before looking over at her.

"I think... that I would prefer that he know of the matter. After all, I would hate for him to come to harm attempting to save me from something that I could easily weather. It's clear enough he knows how to keep a secret, after all."

[elderfrye]

Evie breathed a sigh of relief, kissing him impulsively.

"Thank you, there's a lot of things I don't like to tell Jacob but something like this? It's not the kind of secret I would have liked to keep from him." she smiles slightly "Of course, there's every likelihood he won't believe you until you prove it, you know."

[truth_and_justice]

The kiss makes him pause, leaves him a little breathless and has him needing a moment to think before he continues where he'd been about to go.

"Do you think we should show him the flying?" he asks with a grin at her, "or simply bend a bar into a tied knot for him?"

[elderfrye]

"You should arm-wrestle him," she suggests, eyes twinkling with mirth "Don't try and beat him, just... don't move an inch and watch him get more and more frustrated."

"Than you can bend a bar into a knot." she smiles.

[truth_and_justice]

"That's very cruel, Ev," he says as he leans in, unable to help himself as he presses a kiss to her lips.

"But what can a man do when it's asked to him by his most beautiful bride?"

[elderfrye]

"He deserves it," she laughs, accepting the kiss with a delighted little smile, chasing after him as he leans away again to press another kiss to his lips just for those words alone.

"Your bride. Your wife. You know, I rather like it." Evie had always had a fiercely independent streak, but she knew he wasn't about to take that away from her, and she was quiet happy to hold those particular titles.

[truth_and_justice]

"If his own sister says so, how can I doubt it?"

And he lets her catch him and deepens the kiss when she presses it to him. He's coming to greatly enjoy her kisses.

"I must admit," and his voice is softer, "that I am quite pleased to be your husband."

[elderfrye]

"I am quite pleased you are my husband as well." She agrees, leaning her forehead against his and looking into his eyes. She still can't quite believe such an awful day had ended up so perfect, and the beginning to so many more perfect days to come.

[truth_and_justice]

He reaches a hand up, strokes the side of her hair, and cannot help but stare back into her eyes. Her beautiful eyes. The eyes he's kept close to his heart all these years.

"Ev," he starts after a moment, slow and careful, "I would never ask you to... that is to say, we hardly know one another again. There is no need to..."

He breathes out a little.

"I should like to fall asleep tonight with your head upon my breast with my arm around you. Nothing would give me greater joy. Would you be opposed to this, Ev?"

[elderfrye]

Evie has to fight back the urge not to laugh, only Clark Kent would ask if it was alright for him to sleep beside his wife. As amusing as it was,however,it was also adorable, and reassuring, and perfect, all at once. It reminded her how much she used to care for him, and once again how pleased she was to have him back.

"I certainly wouldn't be opposed to such a thing at all," she tells him firmly.

[truth_and_justice]

Of course he's going to ask. It doesn't matter what her family says or what the priest says: it matter what she says.

"Then perhaps we should go to bed. The morning will have plenty for us to do, after all, and it would be best if we were both rested."

[elderfrye]

"You're probably right," she agrees, fighting back a yawn - it's been a long and somewhat trying day all together, and the overwhelming relief to learn her new husbands identity had somehow almost been as tiring as all the anger and worry and drama that had lead up to that point.

"Sleep sounds like a very good idea."

[truth_and_justice]

He looks down at himself and then at her.

"I believe we're ready for bed."

He's in his bedclothes, after all, and she's taken off most of her restrictive materials. One thing he doesn't know much about is whatever regimen she might have.