To Have And To Hold

"We are not being late to Jaime's wedding!" Lauren yelled to Joey as he was in the shower, her voice slightly indistinct which he guessed was because she was trying to rush her breakfast, but fierce nevertheless. His reassurance that they'd get there on time was drowned out by the blasting of the hairdryer. He hurried to turn off the water, wrapping one towel around his waist and running another over his hair.

He got dressed as quickly as he could, and gelled his hair back. He walked into the bedroom with his shirt still unbuttoned, seeing Lauren halfway through her makeup but already dressed in her romper and with her hair done. He mumbled something about how they wouldn't be running late if she hadn't kissed him the way she did when they woke up, and Lauren threw him a look over her shoulder. He suspected it was supposed to be withering, but she was unable to hide her smile, and it took everything he had not to kiss her the same way now.

"What time's the ceremony?" he asked, his fingers nimbly doing his shirt buttons up. 

"11.15," Lauren replied. She glanced at the clock and grimaced. "We've got an hour."

"Plenty of time." Lauren looked sceptical. "You're dating the best driver in LA, remember? I'll get us there."

That got a laugh out of her, and he grinned. In his preoccupation he'd managed to knot his tie crookedly. Lauren spotted it, and came over to retie it for him. He caught her wrists when she was done, pressing a kiss to each palm.

"We don't have time, JoJo," she said exasperatedly, but she hesitated to walk away nonetheless, a soft smile on her face.

Lauren pulled on her heels as Joey put on his jacket. They checked each other over before they went out the door to make sure everything was in place. 

"Perfect," Lauren informed Joey, beaming.

He nodded the same for her, unable to take his eyes off her. "You look gorgeous Lo." She flushed, pleased with the compliment, but practically pushed him out the door.

Joey pulled up at the venue with 20 minutes to spare, grinning smugly at Lauren. She rolled her eyes, grabbing his hand and leading him over to where their friends were congregated waiting to take their seats.

Joey watched Jaime walk down the aisle with tears in his eyes, marvelling at how far they'd all come together. Both he and Lauren cried through the ceremony, clutching at each other for comfort. They were far from the only ones. A quick glance around told you how much joy everyone felt for Jaime and Andrew, and for each other, with this wedding bringing them all together once again. And there was something special about seeing two of his close friends celebrating their love.

Lauren handed Joey a tissue from her purse as they made their way back to the car to go to the reception, having already wiped her own eyes.

"Good thing I wore waterproof mascara," she said, rolling her eyes. Joey pressed a kiss to her temple with a chuckle.

"I'd cry a lot more than that at our wedding," he said, sniffling.

"I would refuse to let you cry at our wedding," she said firmly.

"You couldn't stop me."

"I'd call off the wedding if you did," she joked, leaning into him. 

"What, in the middle of the ceremony? After we spent so much money? And everyone had made the effort to come?"

"Yep," she said obstinately. Joey laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist. His heart felt strangely lighter hearing her talk about their wedding, and although it definitely wasn't the time or place, he reminded himself to have that conversation with her again soon.

They both managed to stave off the tears watching the newly weds' first dance. They were sat side by side, Lauren's head resting on Joey's shoulder. He had one arm wrapped around her, the other holding her hand in his, and he couldn't help glancing down at the smile on her face which warmed his own heart.

When the first few dances were over they mingled with people, relishing in the opportunity to see friends again but never leaving each other's side. Jaime came up to them a little later that night, her smile infectious.

"Congratulations," Lauren said, hugging her tightly. Joey hugged her too, full of love and joy for his friend.

"Thank you guys," Jaime said, seeming scarcely able to contain her happiness.

"You look beautiful," Lauren said, and Joey nodded in agreement.

"It was a beautiful ceremony, too," he added.

"Yeah, Joey cried," Lauren said, grinning.

"I don't know anyone else that cried," he replied, bumping her shoulder. Jaime laughed.

"Seriously though, we're both so happy for you," Lauren said. Jaime gave them both a touched smile.

"This could be you soon," she said, putting her hands on both their shoulders.

Lauren laughed, shrugging her hand off. "Brian and Meredith first." 

Joey swallowed, before managing to laugh along with her. He looked down at her, trying to figure out if it was a genuine laugh or not, but then Jaime began talking about how they were all growing up and Joey tried to turn his attention back to the conversation.

He just couldn't figure Lauren out. One minute she was talking about their wedding like it was a soon-to-be reality, the next she was evading the idea altogether. He decided to talk to her about it when they got home. It made him feel a little uneasy, but he knew he and Lauren could talk to each other about anything; they were always completely honest with each other. He put the thought to the back of his mind for now, determined to enjoy the rest of the night.

A/N Love generating an idea for another chapter after I'm halfway through publishing and stressing myself out wondering if I'll be able to write it in time!!! Huh, if I didn't tell you that no one would have been any the wiser if I didn't manage it... But we all know I love to make life difficult for myself 🙃