Delays

Like a soothing balm, the glory of the wedding and its grand celebration relaxed any resentment Helen Truax - now Helen Parr - had felt earlier towards her new husband.

The joyous occasion and its infectious atmosphere soon left a wide smile on every face present at the reception, from quirky little fashion designer Edna Mode, to the serious agent Rick Dicker, and all of their Superhero friends from the NSA. Helen never felt so carefree in all her life, with a belly full of wedding cake and her feet elegantly gliding across the ballroom floor, guided along in Bob's strong arms. She was quite surprised by his agility, actually. With strength being his primary attribute, she imagined his coordination would be no better than having two left feet. But instead, he moved with a smooth fluidity, graceful and steady, not once stepping on her toes or stumbling. Bob would move them expertly, as though he'd had years of experience dancing rather than crime fighting. She wasn't complaining. It was a nice change of pace, and she could look forward to the days where they'd be more akin to civilians than Supers. Superhero work, while she loved it, could be a bit tiring, not to mention exhausting. Unlike the regular nine to five job, crime had no start or end times. It could happen wherever and whenever, meaning it was prone to cutting into one's regular life - as it had with Bob that very evening when the man arrived a whopping half an hour late to his own wedding.

Inwardly, she sighed. She knew the commitment of Superhero work, but a part of her was hoping that he would've made a little more of an effort to make it there on time. It was a special occasion after all. Instinct was to brush it off, as she had for when he arrived late to their outings during the dating phase. But tonight she was genuinely curious as to what happened. She knew the man well enough to see that something was bothering him, something he couldn't just forget and had his brows furrow every so often, sparkling blue eyes flashing with darkness. Something he continued to try to hide with smiles and light conversation throughout the whole night. Something she was going to find out about, one way or another.

As she opens her mouth to ask, however, Bob dipped her down at the same time, a peal of laughter ringing out instead as he brought her back up and planted a sweet kiss on her lips, at least the eighth of many he had been sneaking in since he became her husband. He then swept her off her feet, holding her up by the hips and twirling her around in a graceful move fit for a ballet performance. She glanced at him incredulously when he finally placed her down and resumed the waltz they had been doing.

"Well, you seem to be enjoying yourself," Helen snickered.

Bob shrugged. "It's a wedding, you're kind of supposed to. Why, are you not?"

"Oh, no no, I am," she assured. "I just had some... concerns."

"Concerns? Already?" He chuckled at this. "Like what?"

Helen raised an eyebrow at him. "For a minute there, it sure seemed like you were going to bail out."

He pulled her closer to him. "And leave the perfect woman at the altar? I wouldn't dream of it," he answered.

Helen chuckled. "Flattery isn't going to get you anywhere, mister."

Bob wiggled an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

She rolled her eyes, moving in to press a quick kiss to his lips before continuing in their conversation.

"Come on, Honey. I can feel you're a bit tense. Tell me what happened."

Bob huffed out, his mood darkening. "Do I have to...?"

"Yes. Besides, I can tell you want to get it off your chest."

He sighed, seeming to go over it in his mind for a moment before he began to speak aloud. "It was nothing much, really. Just that robbery from the rooftop, and also running into Bomb Voyage. He... he got away."