You, Me and Mr. Dupree - Part 1

Posted on Fri Jun 12th, 2015 @ 8:25pm by Lieutenant Commander Robin Swift M.D., PhD & Petty Officer 1st Class Drusilla Dupree & Lieutenant Commander Nicolao

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Archadia

Archadia III

Nico brushed a speck of dust from the white shorts he wore, then finished buttoning up the short-sleeved white silk shirt. He looked in the full-length mirror, turned from one side to the other and nodded, satisfied. He was glad to see that the Cardassian tattoo on his chest didn’t show through the shirt. He was no longer self-conscious of it where Dru was concerned but that was as far as it went and he didn’t want it there as a shadow over his wedding. He ran his hands through his long hair, brushing it back off his shoulders. One more deep breath and he was ready.

“Dru?” He called out to the bedroom where she was getting dressed. “I’m going to run down to the beach and do one last check….and see if Robin and Dae are here yet. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Without waiting for her reply, he stepped through the front door, hopped off the deck and started down the short path to the beach. The warm sand beneath his bare feet felt wonderful and he began to whistle as he continued on. Behind him, a tall figure stepped out from the palms and once Nico was out of sight, turned and entered the house.

She was in the bathroom attending to last-minute adjustments to her hair. She loved the dress she had found, a long sleeve lace gown that stopped just at her ankles and dipped low on her back. Due to the lace she wore a white two-piece bikini underneath which were hardly noticeable but good enough to cover the important bits.

With her hair where she wanted it, a loose braid hanging over her left shoulder, she smiled excitedly and walked into the bedroom.

“I thought you were going down to the beach?” she said. Before her stood Nico down to the wedding attire he’d picked out, but something was off. She could read him, somewhat, but it wasn’t like Nico. It was more menacing, more cold and distant. Then she noticed his chest in the open portion of the shirt. It was blank.

Immediately alarms went off in her mind. “Who are you? You’re not Nico. Nico!” she screamed, hoping he could hear her physically or telepathically. “Nico!”

Running back into the bathroom she searched frantically for a weapon, but she couldn’t find anything except an old wooden hair brush. She seized the brush end and, if nothing else, she might get a few good shots into this man’s eyes.

Laughter greeted her choice of weapon and the man who looked like Nico shook his head. “Really Drusilla? A hairbrush?” He offered his hand to her. “You can put down the brush, you are not in any danger. I’m Niro.”

She looked at his hand, to his face and then whimpered shrilly. “Niiicooo!!!!!!”

Her reaction puzzled him. Reaching out with his mind, he searched her thoughts but didn’t see much in the way of information on him. He shrugged and turned as rapid steps sounded on the front deck, then the door opened. Nico ran in and skidded to a stop, seeing Niro. He blinked, obviously shocked to see him.

“Is that any way to greet your brother?” Niro asked. “I’m glad I got here in time, I’d hate to have missed your wedding.”

Nico still stared, then looked to Dru and back to Niro. “Niro?”

Niro laughed once more, then pulled Nico into a brief hug. “It’s been a long time.”

Drusilla, however, was having none of it. Once they separated she threw her brush at Niro. “Brother or not, you don’t just let yourself into someone’s beach house posing as your twin brother!” She turned and found a few other things to throw, but they weren’t heavy and were totally useless. But it helped her. A bit. “You scared me! This is not how I wanted my wedding day to go, you know!” She let out a growl of frustration and slammed the bathroom door.

“Hey I never claimed to be him,” Niro called out. And it’s nice to meet you too. He sent the thought to Dru then turned back to Nico. “So, you weren’t going to call and let me know? She’s lovely by the way.”

“Thank you,” NIco said automatically. “She is. As for the rest, I had no idea where you were.”

“Perhaps you should have asked Julisa,” Niro answered. “She found me and we had a nice time, catching up on things.”

Nico stepped closer to his brother and whispered. “No talk of any of that today, alright? If you are going to stay, then you will behave.”

Niro nodded. “Agreed.” His voice softened, “I know you’ve been through hell. If she makes you happy, then I’m glad.”

Dru flung open the bathroom door. “I do make him happy, thank you very much.” She slammed the door again, but she wasn’t just in there pouting. Her hair had gotten a bit mussed and she was trying to fix it quickly. And maybe looking for a shiv of some sort, in case Niro decided to do something else stupid.

“Dru?” Nico called out. “Everyone is here.”

“Almost done!” she said to Nico in a sing-song voice through the door. Then she took a darker, more gruff tone. “Is he gone yet?”

“No, he’s here for the wedding. That is all.” He smiled, having seen her mussed up hair. “You know it’s just going to get like that again.”

She slowly opened the door and stood looking at the both of them. “In that case,” she said, putting her arm around Nico’s waist, “I may have to hold him down and tattoo his name on his forehead, especially if he’s going to keep coming in unannounced. But otherwise, I’m ready.” She looked up to Nico and smiled. “How about you?”

Nico pulled her close and kissed her deeply. “More than ready, Dru.”

Niro watched them, a slight smile passing over his face. “See you on the beach.” He turned and made his way out.

She huffed and turned to watch him go. “I’m glad he’s here for you, but really, he scared the crap out of me. I could tell he wasn’t you then the lack of a tattoo confirmed it,” she said as she ran her hand over his chest. “I didn’t know what was going on. I’m sorry, though. I may have overreacted just a tiny bit.”

“He’s used to scaring people, think nothing of it.” Nico took her hand and turned to the door. “It’s time. Robin’s waiting to walk you down the path. I’ll see you on the beach.” He kissed her once more, then hurried out.

Once alone, a chill of excitement ran through her. She suddenly got butterflies in her stomach--a phrase that sounded so strange, but was about the best description she had ever heard for what was happening. With a bracing, hard exhale, she followed Nico out to the beach.

Robin stood at the edge of the deck and clapped his hands over his mouth when he saw Dru step out. After a moment of taking in the beautiful girl who stood before him, he reached out to take her hand, helping her down to the sand.

“Dru,” he said quietly, “you are breathtaking.” He couldn’t contain the large smile. “Absolutely gorgeous!” He hugged her tightly. “I’m so happy for you. Nico’s a good guy and I’m glad that you’re happy.”

“Counselor? It’s time.” Niro had stepped to the end of the path. “Let’s get her out here to her groom.”

“I guess it’s time, then,” she said.

Robin took her arm and they walked down the path but she stopped him when they passed Niro. “I’m sorry about earlier,” she said. “Now that I’ve calmed down, I have to say that I’m happy that you showed up for your brother. That was very sweet of you.”

“Think nothing of it, and thank you.”

Niro smiled and moved over to stand by his twin and side by side, the likeness was unsettling in how complete it was. Dae stood to the other side and when Dru appeared, he smiled and gave her a wink.

She smiled back and stood beside Robin. She turned to smile at him again and--was he crying? She chuckled lightly and rubbed his back. She thought he looked so dashing in his dress uniform.

The officiant looked at the group, opened her book and began. “Who gives this woman to be married?” she asked.

It took him a few moments to compose himself, but Robin finally announced, “I have that honor. Lieutenant Commander Robin Swift, friend of the bride to be, gives this woman in her family’s stead.”

The ceremony was a simple one, as both Nico and Drusilla had requested. Being Archadian, the officiant spoke a few lines of the meaning of marriage in their culture but it all seemed to ring true no matter where you were from in the universe: love was eternal.

They had decided on their own vows, Nico going first, then Dru. Robin cursed himself for not bringing more tissues but managed to make do with what he had. “Oh my,” he said, once Nico had finished his vows. “Beautiful.” And more of the same with Drusilla.

“Now, in the presence of these witnesses and with these lovely vows, I pronounce you wife and husband.” She smiled brightly at Dru. “You may kiss your groom.”

Taking both of Nico’s hands in hers, she pulled him to her, smiled at him, then kissed him gently. Well, it started out gently. She took his head in her hands and kissed him more deeply, not caring who was watching. He was hers and she was his.

Robin stood a bit closer and began clapping. “Congratulations to the bride and groom!” he announced.

Dae gave a loud wolf whistle, then hugged Dru. Niro congratulated them as well. Nico leaned in, wrapped his arms around Dru for another deep kiss and finally turned to Robin.

“Thank you for coming.” He looked Robin up and down, then tilted his head. “We couldn’t have done it without you.” Something’s different about Robin. He’s...there’s a little spark there that’s new. The thought was passed to Dru.

She glanced briefly at Nico then back to Robin. Maybe he’s just really happy for us? But, leave it for now. She took Robin’s hands and pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you so much, Robin. It means so much to me that you were here and gave me away.” She kissed him on the cheek.

“It’s the least I could do for you, Dru,” he said. “I’m just incredibly happy that you’ve found happiness.”

“And I’m happy she found me.” Nico pulled her back into his arms. “You two have saved me,” he said softly.

Robin pulled Nico in for a hug. “You helped, Nico. But I’m glad I could be a part of it.”

Nico tensed at being pulled into a hug but forced himself to relax. “Getting there,” he said softly, then pulled back. Are you all ready for dinner?” He looked around at the group. “It’s set up by the house so help yourselves.” He took Dru’s hand and led her back up the path.

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...to be continued.