Closure // A Saving Elliot One Shot

"Your vows were beautiful, Jensen."

It was the same emotionless voice I remember from years and years ago. Strong and confident, but it'd gotten deeper. Despite the warm glow from my flushed complexion - I'd just finished dancing with Tristan - and the thick silk material that was my wedding dress, I felt a coolness wash over me. The ocean breeze must've picked up again.

I slowly set my champagne glass down on the linen tablecloth. I didn't want to turn around and face him after all these years. Especially not tonight.

I glanced up at Tristan, who'd taken off his shoes and was laughing in the shallow ocean waters with his groomsmen. That warm smile and those open, trustworthy hazel eyes I've sought comfort and love in time and time again made the past few years of my life the happiest I've ever been.

I steeled myself and turned around to face the man with eyes colder than winter storms.

It's been six years since I last saw him. It was a hot summer that year, and Manchester Airport was crowded that morning. He was leaving for the States for a few months and said his temporary goodbye. I was thinking that he would come back for me that September.

Needless to say, he didn't show up that September, or the next, or the next.

And now, six years later, he shows up here on a reserved beach in Cancun at my wedding. There was no doubt Violet, being Arthur's wife, told him to come since she was on the guest list.

We said nothing for a while and simply stared at each other, observing how the troubles and joys of the past six years spent apart impacted the other's face. The furrows between his eyebrows have deepened but the permanent scowl on his face has disappeared, so he's been through more struggles but now has a more positive view of life. A hint of stubble has appeared along his jawline.His tousled black hair is a tad more tamed, and he may have gotten more tan.

But he still has those same, dark, complex eyes. He was close enough for me to see the scattered colored specks in them.

They look at me with as much intensity as those times we spent together long ago. The words tumble out of his mouth. "I know you didn't invite me to your wedding, and it's fine. I understand because I didn't come back to you all those years ago even though you opened up your heart to me. I wasn't ready back then for that."

I am at a loss for words. His mere presence is enough to send me into shock. I'd called Violet so many times throughout the past few years about the whereabouts of Fintry, but she said he didn't want to be contacted by anyone. I thought he'd fallen off the face of the Earth or joined a cult. There was no other reason since I thought that he loved me back. But what he really needed was time. Time away from me. What an utter arse.

"But now I am, even though it's too late," he finishes.

There's a silence that's filled with millions of unspoken words. I try to grasp at them but they're just out of reach, just like Fintry.

He breaks my gaze and looks at Tristan, who's still with his groomsmen near the shoreline. An unreadable expression passes over his face. "He's going to be so good to you. More than I could ever be. You deserve someone who's not scared to love wholeheartedly because that kind of love is unrestrained and candid and the best form of love. All I did was feed you mixed feelings and make you feel like shit, Jensen. And I'm so sorry for that."

I see Tamara walk up behind Fintry to tell me something, recoil back as she recognizes his messy dark hair, and backs away with a surprised expression on her face. I have so much explaining to do to her after this, but seeing them both reminds me of my days at St. George's and the jokes that came with them. Namely, Fintry's nickname for me.