Prompt: Can you do a prompt about Ray and Silas on Silas and Garrett's wedding day? Maybe where Ray is talking to Silas before the wedding and saying how proud he is of Silas for how far he's come?
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There was a knock on the door and then Ray entered the room. Silas was fidgeting with his bowtie, too afraid to look at himself in the mirror. He'd never been one for a suit.
"How are your nerves?" Ray asked, knocking his hands away from the bowtie. "Stop it, you're going to mess it up."
Silas picked up a pen to fidget with that instead. "I ain't..." He hesitated and looked down at the pen. "Yea, I'm nervous."
"I'd be surprised if you weren't," Ray said. "Were you messing with your hair too? You messed it up." He reached up and carefully fixed Silas's hair, eyeing him. "You look amazing, Silas. You're a handsome kid. Well, I guess you're not a kid anymore, huh?"
Ray heard his friends talk about how their kids had grown up too fast, but Ray had been at even more of a disadvantage. Silas was nearly thirteen when Ray became his legal guardian, which meant he only got a few years with him before he was graduating high school and getting ready to move towards adulthood.
But Silas had beaten the many odds stacked against him. He was here now, at his wedding where he'd marry a man who genuinely loved him and was good for him. He'd graduated high school, and then college, and then gotten his masters. He'd fought and fought and now he'd made it.
Silas finally looked at himself in the mirror. He took in the way the tuxedo hugged his frame, and how good his hair looked today.
"Thanks, Ray," Silas said, turning to his Uncle. "For payin' for the wedding, I mean."
"Garrett's parents took up most of the bill," Ray reminded.
"But you coulda left me to cover my share, and you didn't. It ain't even your wedding and you paid for it," Silas said.
"Well yea it's not my wedding, but it's yours. I wanted you to focus on getting everything ready, not budgeting," Ray said. "I'm just glad Garrett is ready to put up with your punk ass for the rest of his life."
Silas smiled, a shaky, nervous smile. "Yea, I'm glad too."
"I'm really happy for you," Ray said, putting an arm around Silas's shoulders.
Silas's parents weren't here. Silas hadn't even bothered to invite them. They'd never reached out to him, and he felt no need to reach out to them. There was no love lost there, which made Ray sad but relieved. Silas didn't need people in his life who would drag him back into those early memories of violence and hatred. He'd come too far for Ray to see him get dragged back down by his own parents.
"Hey, uh, you sure you want to do that dance? I dunno how to dance," Silas mumbled, dropping his gaze.
"If Garrett's mom gets to dance with him, then I get to dance with you. I don't know how to dance, either. We'll make it up," Ray said. He looked at Silas, heart breaking over how much Silas looked like his mother. But where her gentle face hid a violent nature, his was honest to his temperament.
"Fine, but if go steppin' on my feet, I will kick you," Silas warned.
"Sure, kid, sure," Ray said, dropping his arm from Silas's shoulders. "I should probably get back out there and make sure everything is set up right." He checked the time. "It's almost time."
Silas fidgeted with the pen again. "Guess so."
"Silas," Ray said, and Silas peeked up at him. "I know you're nervous, but once you settle a little, you'll realize this is the best night of your life. My relationships never worked out. I never got to have a wedding with someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. You're so incredibly lucky you found someone like that. The nerves are worth the future."
"It's just...everyone is gonna be lookin' at us up there," Silas said.
"Your friends and family," Ray said. "They're going to be watching and supporting you. If you look over during your vows, your grandmother is probably going to be sobbing on my shoulder and messing up my damn suit. Hell, Garrett's dad might be crying on my other shoulder, who even knows at this point. But these are people who are watching because they care."
Ray stepped forward, placing a hand on Silas's shoulder. He smiled at him, so happy for him, so proud of him. He deserved to hear it.
"I am proud of you, Silas. So damn proud of you." He turned Silas so that he was looking in the mirror again. "Look at yourself. I want you to be as proud of that man in the mirror as I am. He's won a lot of battles people told him were hopeless. I'm so glad you found someone to love you. If anyone in this world deserves that, it's you."
He pulled Silas into his arms, hugging him tightly. Silas hugged him back, knowing Ray was the main reason he was even here today.
"Thank you, Ray," Silas said quietly, and tightened his hold on Ray. His family.
"I love you, you punk ass kid," Ray said.
"I love you too, asshole," Silas said.
It was a word that hadn't been part of Silas's life for nearly thirteen years. It was a word he couldn't bring himself to say to anyone for years after that. But he was here now because of it. He was here to marry Garrett, the man he loved. He was here with Ray calming him down, a man who had shown him endless love over the years.
"Alright, alright, we're both going to start crying," Ray said, pulling away from Silas, keeping his hands on Silas's shoulders as he eyed him. "I really am proud of you, Si. Tonight is going to be great, I promise."
"Get outta here. I ain't crying," Silas said, but he snuck a smile in there.
They shared a quick hug before Ray left the room. As he shut the door behind him, he felt his heart swell with pride and love for the man his nephew had grown into.
