AU: Take Me to the Mardi Gras (Josh)

[Dr. Sean Neville]

((OOC: This occurs longer after "AU: Spirit Voices" but within the same universe.))


They were getting married.

It had been a difficult road, not due to lack of affection – in fact, they had fallen for one another quickly and easily, but rather due to the realities of Sean Neville’s job with the Ghostbusters. Their dates were frequently interrupted due to emergency situations popping up around the City and in the broader Tri-State area. Occasionally they had to reschedule due to a case Josh had on his docket, but, by and large, the telepath’s job took center stage.

Eventually, Sean had invited Josh to move in with him. It guaranteed that they could spend time together in the mornings and at night, even if he had a busy day of stopping hauntings.

The other Ghostbusters liked Josh, and they all approved of the relationship between their coworker and the bespectacled attorney (none cared that he was a former client). The psychiatrist’s relationship reputation among his colleagues was poor enough that any hope of a long-term relationship had been met with congratulations from Rome and a nod from Terrence; Ginny cared less about such pursuits generally, and she hadn’t seen Sean’s relationships flame out over the years, but she still wished him good luck.

Then, finally, they were getting married.

Sean was a celebrity, enough that, upon hearing the wedding announcement, the mayor had called him personally to ask to officiate. Likewise, the Ghostbuster had been given carte blanche for a venue, and, after consulting with his fiancé, they chose the Botanical Garden. In summertime, a couple of weeks after the Fourth of July, so that an event of this magnitude wouldn’t interfere with the City’s celebration.

As the months, weeks, and days ticked down, every little bit came together. For once, every bit was coming together. They spent the night before their wedding eating a big meal in Sean’s (their) townhouse, consisting of Mexican and Chinese dishes, each man’s favorite takeout.

The next morning, the City sent a limousine to pick them up. They dressed in black tuxedos, complete with tails as per Sean’s request (he looked for any opportunity to dress to the nines as compensation for his work attire). Arriving in the Bronx, they were met with a few photographers from assorted magazines, already camped out despite the fact that hours remained until the ceremony, and even longer until the reception.

Josh’s upbringing ensured a full breakfast table waiting for them outside of The Stone Mill, where the ceremony itself would take place. Each man helped himself to a bagel and cream cheese, and, soon enough, members of the wedding party began to file in. Specifically, Josh’s brother, Matt, his sister, Talia, and two of the three Ghostbusters.

Despite having made several suggestions regarding décor and menu options, Rome was running late.

Again.

This was why Sean had asked Terrence to hold onto his ring.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh was still in a state of shocked delight. Marriage was something he had written off for himself as a younger man. Relationships he had expected, perhaps even one that lasted as long as his parents marriage had. But an official ceremony, sanctioned by the government?

No, he had never expected this.

He was happy, of course. More than anything he wanted to share in whatever he could with Sean. Because he found marriage an unexpected boon he had been glad to wear tails for the other man rather than having a strong opinion about their attire that might have conflicted.

He beamed and waved at their guests, his mouth stuffed with bagel. Once he was able to speak again he would thank them all (for only the billionth time) for their support and also for their help in the planning and implementing stages.

He knew that this entire wedding was a massive undertaking for those involved.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

One couldn’t fight ghosts and other supernatural creatures for a living without developing the ability to cope quickly and easily with the unexpected. True, as a younger man, Sean hadn’t expected to have the ability to marry a male partner, as opposed to whatever girlfriend he had at the time. However, he was pleased with the development, with the ability to stand up in front of all of his friends and family, and the government officials of New York City, and the press and whoever else might watch this wedding for entertainment (each Ghostbuster had a small fandom of sorts, himself included), and declare his love and dedication to Josh.

As their wedding party coalesced around them, he engaged in small talk on behalf of both himself and his fiancé, since Josh had a full mouth. Everyone wished them congratulations, and Ginny made several jokes at Rome’s expense for the fact that he wasn’t here yet.

Then Sean’s pager buzzed, informing him that Rome was contacting him. The message stated that he was caught in traffic.

Of course he was.

Still, he shrugged it off with a smile, since nothing could undermine his good mood for today.

“Should we get press photos over with as soon as Rome gets here?” He didn’t mean photos of the wedding party, but the media would want to see the city’s very own heroes dressed to the nines in wedding attire.

[Joshua Bernstein]

"You should go ahead and do that," Josh agreed, glancing over his shoulder at the gaggle of photographers hovering on the other side of the garden. This was one aspect of dating a ghostbuster he could have done without; he didn't quite know how to deal with the lack of privacy that came from a relationship with a celebrity.

This and the interrupted dates due to ghosts and other spooks.

But today was more important than a mere date, and so much effort and planning had gone into it, so he expected no supernatural interruptions.

Ginny patted the back of her hair, which she'd had done into an elaborate up-do. "If I end up on any magazine covers with headlines about my weight..." She sighed, as if there were any threat she could truly follow through on.

"I'll stay and greet the guests while you do that?" Josh asked. He assumed the press would want photos with just the ghostbusters, despite the fact that this was his day, too.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had warned his fiancé about this, of course. Although the telepath had been most apologetic about their frequently-interrupted dates due to the call of duty, he had given Josh fair warning about his celebrity status with the Ghostbusters.

They weren’t A-list, not in the same way as movie stars or being the President of the United States, such that they could go out on dates without being bothered by six dozen people asking for photos and autographs. Still, if anything important happened, the press came in droves. And his individual fans sometimes found him, because he was recognizable, and his interests remained constant and thus easily deciphered from off-hand remarks during interviews.

He didn’t mind it, for the most part, as he was used to it, and at least he didn’t have a number of younger fans making romantic and sexual overtures. Still, he didn’t want Josh to feel excluded, particularly not on their wedding day because of the imbalance in their celebrity status.

As such, he leaned over to press a kiss to the younger man’s lips, tasting poppy seed from his fiancé’s breakfast. “We’ll make it quick,” he promised. “Whenever Rome gets here.”

Unfortunately, their teammate had not been specific about where in traffic he’d gotten stuck.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh smiled up at the other man. No matter how uncomfortable he might feel at his fiancé's press coverage Sean always made him feel important and special.

"Of course. That might be awhile."

He liked the other ghostbuster well enough but his irresponsibility compared to the others on his team was undeniable.

"At least there's still time before the ceremony."

He would be deeply unhappy if they had to delay the ceremony for Rome's tardiness but at the moment they needn't worry.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean would make a poor boyfriend, a poor fiancé, and, inevitably, a poor husband if he didn’t do everything he could to make Josh feel important and special. Celebrity status aside, Josh was the most important and special person in his life, because the attorney was the person beside whom Sean wanted to spend the rest of his life. Josh was the person with whom the psychiatrist had fallen in love.

“Thankfully,” Sean agreed. Turning to face the two other Ghostbusters present, he explained to Josh, “We’ve all taken to telling him the meeting times are earlier than they are to get him here closer to on time.”

Rome even managed to show up late to dates. The only part of life that kicked him into gear was when they had a ghost event, which, the telepath supposed, was just as well. He’d rather have Rome on time for work and dangerous situations than when meeting him for breakfast, even if his highest preference was for Rome to be on time for everything rather than either/or.

On that topic, Terrence asked, “Did you tell him an hour? Or only thirty minutes?”

“I told him an hour before when the wedding party was meeting.” Not an hour before the ceremony. Apparently, that still hadn’t been enough of a buffer.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brethren's tardiness. "If we have to start telling him two hours before events start I'm defecting and starting up my own ghost fighting company."

Josh glanced down at his watch and shook his head. "As long as he doesn't delay the ceremony he's fine," he said, but he sighed anyway. Then he brightened as his mother came over to congratulate him, hugging him tight.

"Oh, boopkie, I'm so proud of you." She whispered before turning her attention (and hugs) on Sean. Once his mother let go his father patted him on the shoulder.

"Huge crowd," He observed, his smile sadder than Charlie's. "I wish your grandparents could see this."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I won’t stop you,” Sean replied to Ginny. He didn’t expect that she would defect, since she was the youngest of them and the most recent addition to their team, even if that still meant that she had been with them for a while now. She wasn’t psychic, and Terrence made all of their equipment, which would make branching off difficult. However, it made an effective expression of frustration for Rome’s inability to master a simple life skill.

Then, he turned towards his fiancé again. “He won’t delay the ceremony, because we start on time, with or without him.” If Rome wasn’t here by the time they had to begin, then the Ghostbusters photographs for the press would wait until after he and Josh were married (which was fine with Sean), and Rome would have to sit in the audience whenever he arrived, rather than join the party.

Of course, the telepath wanted his coworker, friend, and teammate in the wedding party – he had invited him for a reason – but in a contest between accommodating his friend and marrying Josh, Rome would always lose.

Always.

When Josh’s parents arrived, Sean offered them both big smiles, hugging his mother and then shaking Bobby’s hand. “Thank you both for coming,” he told them.

He had met them both several times before, and he was fond of them. He didn’t say anything about Josh’s grandparents, entirely because that seemed like something private (even if he knew that Bobby was an emigrant from Germany).

[Joshua Bernstein]

After milling about and shaking hands for a bit, the music began to play.

"Uh, oh, sounds like everyone needs to take their places," Josh whispered to Sean.

Ginny adjusted the straps of her dress. "Great! See everyone up front!" She called, heading towards the end of the aisles of chairs so that she could begin escorting guests. Terrence followed her at a much slower pace, stopping continuously in order to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with the rest of the guests.

Josh's mother gave him and Sean another hug, and his father patted him on the shoulder, and then he was left alone with Sean.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Just as the music began to play, Rome pulled up in his car. He stepped out, looking a bit disheveled (of course and with a smile on his face as though he hadn’t arrived late to the most important event in the life of one of his closest friends. Because, technically, he hadn’t missed the wedding.

Sean was in too good a mood to point out the folly in that, although he would bring it up when he and Josh returned home from their honeymoon.

The telepath leaned in to press a chaste kiss to his fiancé’s cheek. “I’ll see you at the altar,” he promised, before stepping away. Josh had to line up with his parents, who would walk him down the aisle, as was traditional in Jewish weddings. By contrast, Sean had nobody there for him, but it was fine. He had Josh, and his friends, and the entire press corps, and that was more than enough for one lifetime.

With that, he opened the door to the structure and stepped inside. He put on his most serious face as he walked down the aisle alone, stepping up to join Rome, Ginny, and Terrence, in addition to the mayor. It took all of his self-control to contain himself.

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh inhaled deeply before running off to line up with his parents. He could hear his father sniffling as they walked down the aisle, while his mother beamed widely on the other side of him.

He had to wrestle with himself mentally in order to keep himself from grinning from ear to ear, and he didn't quite succeed. He did, however, manage not to wave eagerly at Sean, and that was a minor victory.

He felt pinpricks along his arm, and shivered; this must be what pure anticipation felt like.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean, too, resisted the impulse to wave at his fiancé; instead, he settled for reaching out with his mind to brush against the other man’s. Before meeting Josh, he had had incredibly poor luck with relationships. Even the men and women who could cope with the fact that he hunted ghosts for a living couldn’t cope with the telepathy and what it meant for their individual boundaries and for their relationship as a whole.

Josh was different. Although the attorney was baseline and thus not psychic himself, he had adapted to the telepath’s mental needs better than Sean could have ever hoped for. He always seemed to take comfort in that, and the ghostbuster loved him for it.

Finding such acceptance made him want to share his love with the world, which was why he had acceded to Josh’s desire for a wedding ceremony rather than simply going to City Hall. It was why they were having a big reception after this.

He watched while Josh walked with his parents down the aisle, and, when Josh arrived at the altar, he offered him a smile.

They were doing this. Truly, they were doing this, and he couldn’t be happier in this moment if he wanted to be.

[Joshua Bernstein]

When Josh arrived at the Chuppah he circled around Sean seven times; this was typically reserved for the bride, but he and Sean had agreed that they would both circle the other. Josh liked the symbolism of making the other the center of their life.

His parents circled with him, and he couldn't help the smile that stretched across his face; he didn't feel solemn in the slightest.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean remained still while Josh circled him, mentally counting until his soon-to-be husband reached seven and stopped. Then, the telepath began to circle around him. They weren’t his customs, but they meant so much to Josh, and all he could do was indulge the other man; he wanted Josh to cherish this day as much as Sean did, and if that included cultural aspects that didn’t involve taking a vow before a religious deity, even ones that the psychiatrist had never encountered before, then that was all he could do.

He counted and finished, coming to stand beside Josh again. The mayor had been briefed on all of this, and so he waited until they had both finished before he opened his book to begin delivering his prepared remarks.

Beside them, Josh’s parents both smiled, as did his siblings, and all three of the Ghostbusters seemed content, even if Ginny was struggling not to turn and look towards one of the photographers who flashed his camera every second. Even if Rome still needed to get a lecture about arriving on time and planning like a grown man. Even if Terrence would probably deliver that lecture as soon as Sean and Josh had broken the glass.

Then, just as the mayor began to speak, an ear-piercing scream interrupted him.