After Lover for Pay: ONESHOTS

What A Feeling

There were moments in Henry's life where he could remember being absolutely terrified. Like when he was twelve and he accidentally broke the boards under his bed from jumping on it when he wasn't supposed to. Or that one time in middle school when he thought he heard footsteps in the attic after watching a scary movie. Of course there was the moment he'd been in the worst car crash of his life, but oddly enough, this moment right here...right now, this moment was the one that terrified him the most.

He was alone for now, sitting in a white room with a heart beating a mile a minute. His hands were shaking, each breath tremored no matter how calmly he tried to let it out, and while he knew he couldn't sit still in this room for much longer, he wanted this solitary to at least gather himself before leaving.

Leaning back against a slow dresser, Henry looked up across the afternoon lit room towards a full length mirror. He immediately locked eyes with himself, and the young man staring back at him was something he never thought he'd see. Today, Henry was dressed in a crème colored suit and a white buttoned down, a bow tied around his collar, and the shoes on his feet were the most expensive things he's ever worn in his life. His hair had been trimmed for the occasion, but still had its length and was pulled back out of his face in a low bun. At first, when he put the suit on, he thought it looked ridiculous. It was a little stiff around the shoulders still even though it had been tailored, and the cuffs around his wrists were buttoned too tight.

As Henry locked eyes with his reflection, he saw glimpses of his younger self. The small, skinny kid from elementary, the nerdy loud-mouth in middle school, and the even nerdier, louder, and taller kid with a mild emo phase from high school. While Henry would admit he was still pretty much the same all throughout his life, this young man staring back at him now...he was different in the best way imaginable, and Henry was proud to be him.

Today was his wedding day, a day planned ahead for months prior. And now that it was the middle of spring, he was a graduate from Northwest University, and had applications for various positions being reviewed by different companies he wanted to work for, Henry Dawncraft was more than ready to step into this next stage of his life.

Standing from the lazy position against the dresser, Henry neared the mirror and looked himself over. There were no stains on anything, his face was clear, and he had everything memorized for what he wanted to say. Fuck, but his nervousness wasn't going away at all.

He wanted to know how his fiancé was holding up. Was Daniel just as panicked as he was, or was he taking all of this with stride and confidence? He could imagine Daniel wasn't shaking as much as he was. Always, the brunette was able to do anything he set his mind to without faltering anywhere. Like in school during all of his oral presentations, he always got it done without worry, while Henry hated public speaking almost as much as country music and flip-flops. If he was put in the spotlight, he couldn't take it. And today was practically shining solely on him and Daniel. Could he make it through this ceremony alive? He hoped so.

"You ready?"

Henry nearly jumped out of skin at the sound of his brother's voice. London stepped in and was wearing a navy blue suit with black shoes, his curling fringe slicked back out of his forehead. When he closed the door behind him, it wasn't hard to see the fear in his younger brother's dark-brown eyes. "I'm ready to get married," Henry said, "Am I ready to go out there? Not really, to be honest."

Draping his arm around Henry, London turned him away from the mirror and they neared a small full sized bed to sit down. "You'll be fine," he said, "I remember when Marbell and I got married. I was so fucking terrified, but trust me, right when you get out there, all you'll feel is how happy you are to see the person you're going to marry. Maybe you'll cry, you'll laugh, but at the end all this nervousness you're feeling will fly away."