•Lighter Than Air•

•Chapter 32•

It was the day of the wedding. Claire and Rebecca had left the house early in the morning since Rebecca was a prominent believer of it being bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. Currently the two girls were in the large tent of the venue Rebecca and Claire were to be wed in. They had decided on an outdoor wedding in the woods, right off the lake. It was a beautiful scene, which was similar to the setting Billy had proposed in.

The isle was beautifully decorated with red flower pedals, the arch they would stand over being wound up with white, glimmering fairy lights that would turn on during the evening. The seats were in neat rows, although there weren't a lot of seats. It was going to be a relatively small wedding considering the small circle of people that would be coming. Some of the trees even had hanging lights while small boys with mini candles would be set into the lake for more beautiful lighting.

At the time, it was already afternoon and the guests would begin arriving soon. Rebecca was dressed in her beautiful gown, it was pure white and decorated with tasteful embroidery. It was an off the shoulder gown, lower cut and the back came down to her lower back. Her veil had the same embroidery as her dress did. Her hair was rushed back to where it was just a tad bit fluffier than usual, although with its length it was difficult to style it.

"I can't believe the day is finally here." Rebecca whispered, looking at Claire while she fixed up little tidbits on her outfit.

"I know. It feels like just yesterday when we tracked you down in that convenience store." Claire let out a little laugh while she remembered that.

"Ha! As frightening as that was at the time... I wouldn't have had it any other way. We wouldn't have been here right now if it weren't for that." She chuckled. "Do you realize how scary you can be when you're charging someone?"

"Oh yeah, I know! Just adds to my Redfield charm." Claire snickered.

"You and Chris sure do have a knack for charging at the danger head on... Speaking of Chris, is he not able to make it?" Rebecca asked, looking up once more.

"He hasn't been responding to a lot of our messages. He's been on this mission with Jill for a while now... I don't think he's going to make it in time for the wedding if he hasn't gotten back to us already. I'm sorry, Becca." Claire tried to give her a sympathetic smile.

"No, I understand. When duty calls, I suppose. Can't really blame him for being busy with such an important job. There's too many issues that the world needs to solve and not enough recruits. That's why I hope to be able to help through my medical knowledge.." Rebecca commented. "Is Genevieve okay?"

"I swear, you are one of the most selfless people I know. You'd be a great doctor. But, oh yeah. Genevieve has been... a little rough to say the least, but I think I got through to her. I gave her a lighter Chris had given me way back then."

"Well I'd rather be at the hands of science than a doctor... maybe a researcher of some sort. I want to work with pharmaceuticals! It's not fair that one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies turned out to be disgustingly vile. I want to change that for the world. Do something great. You know?" She paused. "Well, that was nice. I hope she's alright. Maybe he'll be home soon..."

"All we can do is hope for the best. But, let's not worry about that right now. This is your big day. We should be enjoying that!"

"Ha... Yeah. Maybe you're right."

Meanwhile, Billy and Leon were getting ready themselves. Both of them were dressed up in their suits. Billy sighed, looking into the mirror while he slicked back his hair, trying to make it look a little less messy than it normally was. Leon watched from behind him, leaning back on the wall while he watched Billy.

"Stressing out big time, eh?" Leon asked, smiling toward him.

"How could I not? I want everything to go perfectly for her. She deserves nothing but the best." Billy retorted, then turning his attention from his hair to the color of his undershirt, fixing it as well.

"You say that as if she doesn't always worship every little thing you do. That girl loves you more than anything, man. You realize that, right?"

"Of course I know that. I've only lived with her and spent every waking moment with her these last few years. Regardless of how she feels, she deserves the best. I know she would be fine with anything, but... I want to make this special for her."

Leon let out a little chuckle. "Alright, lover boy. It's almost time to go. Let's head out before you find any other minuscule  imperfection in your appearance." He said, getting up and moving towards the door.

"Alright, alright. I get it. You're in a rush. Let's go then." Billy said, taking one last look at himself in the mirror before following Leon.

The two men got into the car they had, getting situated. Billy was in the driver's seat. Leon took a few glances around before his eyes settled on the ashtray in the car. To his surprise, the tray seemed relatively empty compared to the last time he would have seen it. Billy was pretty heavy into smoking when he had first met him. Though, it seemed as if it was improving as his stress had lessened.

"Did you just clean out that tray recently or are you actually making an attempt to quit?" Leon asked, pointing towards the ashtray.

Billy turned the car on and set off down the driveway like he normally would. "I've been trying to quit. Rebecca has nagged me for years about how smoking is bad for you." He let off a little chuckle. "Now without that stress of not being able to show my face outside, it's been a little easier. Though, these headaches and withdrawals have been driving me mad."

"Hm. I hear this might help." Leon took a pack of gum from his jacket pocket and handed him a strip of it.

"You sound just like every online article I've read about helping ease addiction." Billy chuckled and took the gum,  unwrapping it and folding the strip before popping it in his mouth, the minty flavor immediately melting into his mouth. "Not bad though. Thanks."

"No problem."

Soon enough, they pulled into the venue. Cars of their friends and family were already there. The guests had arrived and soon it would be time for Rebecca to walk down the aisle. Billy put the car in park and got out with Leon. Both of them looked at each other before Leon checked his watch.

"Time to get into our places. Are you ready?"

"I've been ready these last few years. Let's go."