Critical Role one shots

Bride or Groom? (Percy x OC)

Warning, this is a sad one. Also, it's heavily inspired by The song posted above!! I fell in love with it the moment I heard it and it really just inspired me to write this. So thank you India Parkman for writing such a beautiful song, I still cry everytime I hear it. <3

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    The venue was beautifully decorated, no place could be more perfect for a wedding than the beaches of Dalen’s Closet. There weren’t many guests, only the members of Vox Machina and maybe a few of the friends they made along their journey a year ago.
    Nyx could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She had contemplated not coming, the thought of actually seeing the man she loved renew his wedding vows with her best friend caused a bottomless pit in her stomach. She didn’t want to let either of them down, however. Yes, she loved Percy, she had for a long time. However, she never acted upon those feelings. Despite being heartbroken at the news that he and Vex had secretly married, she wished them the best. She wanted him to be happy, even if it wasn’t with her.
She approached the seating area, being greeted by Keyleth. “Hi Nyx! Long time no see!” The elven woman greets her cheerily, to which Nyx responds with a small smile. “Bride or groom? What side do you wanna sit on?”
“Oh, well… I- I don’t know. I know them both so well, formalities like that just sound… strange.” Nyx responds, fiddling with the leather bracelet on her right wrist. Keyleth gives a small nod, shrugging softly.
“Fair enough. I’m gonna be on Percy’s side. You should sit with me! I’m up front.”
“No, that’s alright Kiki. I think I’ll just sit back here. Thank you, though.” Nyx gives her a small smile once again before finding a seat in the back row, farther away from the others. She hadn’t really talked to any of them in the past year. She also didn’t feel like socializing, that pit in her stomach was still there and it was making her sick. She glanced around, spotting Grog and Scanlan over on Vex’s side. Gilmore was there too, talking to a couple other guests that she didn’t recognize. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a familiar shade of blue and her heart felt like it was going to jump out of her chest. Glancing over in that direction, she saw him.
Percy was dressed in a very nice blue suit, talking with Keyleth. The redheaded woman nodded in Nyx’s direction, causing her to immediately avert her gaze to her hands in her lap. She once again fiddled with the leather bracelet on her wrist, the pit in her stomach getting worse as the seconds went by.
“Nyxie?” An all too familiar voice spoke from behind her, startling her slightly. She turned and looked up at the man behind her, forcing a small smile.
“Hi, Percy.” She said softly, rising from her seat. He opened his arms, leaning in to give her a hug which she returned.
“It’s good to see you! I’m glad you could make it.” He smiles, pulling away from the hug, resting his hands on her forearms. “Why are you sitting back here, though? I thought you’d be up front with Keyleth and the others?” He asks, furrowing his brows slightly.
‘If you only knew how much this was killing me, you’d understand.’ Nyx thought. “I- um… I don’t really have a good answer to that question. Do you want me to sit up front?” She asks, instantly regretting doing so. Of course he’d want her to sit up front with the others. She didn’t have the heart to tell him that she didn’t want to be that close to the altar. She wanted to be able to silently sob without anyone really noticing. She could do that in the back, not in the front.
“Of course I do. I’m sure Vex would as well. You’re her best friend, after all.”
“Percy, it’s time.” Keyleth says, seemingly coming out of nowhere.
“Already?” Percy asks, a wide smile on his face. “I suppose that’s my cue. I’ll catch up with you after the ceremony, Nyxie.” He says before walking away, towards the altar. Nyx takes a shaky breath before following Keyleth to the front row. She sits on the end, farthest from the aisle.
The music starts and everyone stands as Trinket makes his way down the aisle, followed by Pike. To everyone’s surprise, Vax and Vex make their way down the aisle. Everyone had tears streaming down their faces when they saw the half-elven man, but that wasn’t why Nyx was crying.
Vex’s gown was absolutely beautiful, she looked like a goddess floating down the aisle. Nyx took a moment to glance in Percy’s direction, seeing the happiest smile on his face and tears streaming down his face. The sight breaks her heart just a little bit more. Vex and her brother make it to the altar, Vax handing her off to Percy with some playful remark that Nyx tunes out.
The rest of the ceremony is a blur. Nyx’s thoughts are going a mile a minute as she watches the two gaze at each other lovingly as they renew their vows. ‘If I had told him sooner, would I be where she is now? She makes a lovely bride. Maybe, in another life, I’m by his side.’ She takes a shaky breath as the two share a kiss, averting her gaze to her hands in her lap until everyone stands and starts cheering. She rises, slapping on the best smile she can manage and slowly clapping as they make their way back down the aisle and towards where the reception is held. Everyone else follows behind them, Nyx the last one among them.
The reception took place not far from where the reception had. A few tables, with simple yet beautiful decorations, scattered a small area of the beach, with one slightly larger table in front of all them for Percy and Vex to sit at. A couple people make toasts to the happy couple before Percy gets up to give his.
“I want to thank all of you for coming today. It means so much to Vex and I that we could share this with all of you. We’re sorry we didn’t get to do this the first go around, we would’ve liked to.” He turns to face Vex, looking at her with the most loving gaze. The rest of his speech is muffled as Nyx bites back tears. For a moment, she could’ve swore he said her name but he didn’t.
The reception continues and the two share their “first dance”. It’s absolutely beautiful. Nyx ends up slowly moving farther away from everyone. She stops when she reaches the outskirts of the crowd. She watches for a moment as Percy presses his forehead against Vex’s, kissing her softly. She feels the tears flood her eyes and she averts her gaze, choosing to watch the waves meet the shore. ‘This is goodbye… Always the bridesmaid but never the bride. I have to let him go, he was never mine. He’ll never be mine. Maybe in another life, but not this one.’ She takes a shaky breath, grabbing one of the champagne flutes and downing the liquid in one motion before setting the glass back down. She looks over towards her friends once again, a small sad smile gracing her lips as a few tears slip past her lashes. ‘This is goodbye, old friends. Maybe in another life.’ She sighs, turning slowly and leaving the reception without a word.
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    After the first dance, Percy went to find Nyx. He hadn’t seen her in sometime and if he was being quite honest, he missed having her around. She meant a lot to him, she always had. Of course, he wouldn’t ever tell any of the others, but he did have feelings for her. He never told her, too afraid of losing her.
He scanned the crowd, not spotting the black and silver haired half elven woman anywhere. He saw Vax, figuring he would know where she was, seeing as the two were close. “Vax, have you seen Nyx?” He asks, the question coming out more urgently than he had intended.
“Nyx? Yeah, I um- I saw her… leave.” Vax responds, a small frown appearing on his face when he sees Percy’s expression change to something between hurt and disappointment.
“Leave? She- she left? Are you sure?” Percy asks and Vax nods. Percy looks down at the ground for a moment, taking a shaky breath.
“I’m sorry, Freddy-”
“Did she say anything?” Vax was quiet for a moment before shaking his head.
“No, she didn’t… She was crying, though. I would’ve gone after her but something told me that I needed to just let her go.” He explained, pausing for a moment. “You know she loves you, right? Has for a while.” Percy immediately looked up at him, eyes wide.
“She- she what?” He asks softly.
“Oh, so you didn’t… It’s a good thing I’m only here for the day because she would probably kill me for saying anything.” Vax scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “I’m sure this was really hard for her. At least she showed up, though.” He states before just walking away without another word.
Percy couldn’t believe it. The woman he had secretly pined for, who he was so scared to tell how he felt about her, scared she would reject him, shared the same feelings as him. He looked around the party one more time, hoping, praying that Vax had been mistaken. Wishing that he would see her somewhere amongst the group of people, maybe talking with their friends or another guest. She was nowhere to be found, however. He could feel his heart breaking in his chest. She hadn’t even said goodbye. Though, he deemed that only fair. Seeing as he chose to marry her best friend, a choice he didn’t realize would have the impact on her that it did. Yes, he loved Vex. She made him incredibly happy, even more so when she told him that she was with child the other night. Now that he thought about it, it was probably best that Nyx had left. Hearing that news would only hurt her more, and he felt that he had done enough damage.
Taking a shaky breath, Percy gazed towards the back of the party, around where Nyx would’ve left. A small, sad smile graced his lips. ‘Maybe in another life. Goodbye, love.’