81 When in Vegas

"Will you marry me?" Rin asked pushing the box open with his thumb and index finger to reveal the handcrafted ring inside.

One of Shelly's hands flew up to her chest and the other flew up to cover her mouth as it dropped open into a giant O. "Oh my gods, Rin... Ar...are you serious?" She asked glancing back and forth between the ring and his mesmerizing seafoam eyes.

"Yes, more so than ever before." He answered as he straightened up beside her and pulled her into his arms. He held her tight in one arm as he held the box out in front of her. "Shelly, I love you. Say you'll marry me and make me the happiest man in the world." He removed the ring from its box and slid it over the tip of her ring finger.

Shelly's eyes darted between the shimmering diamond and Rin's serious eyes before she shook her head frantically up and down.

He smiled, "Is that a yes then?"

She continued to nod frantically as she answered, "Yes! Yes! I do!"

Rin slid the ring all the way onto her finger before pulling her tightly against him into a hug then lifted her into the air spinning her in a wide circle. "Thank you so much, baby!" He sat her down and arched his brows. "Next Vegas?"

She furrowed her brows, "Las Vegas? Why there?"

He smiled, "To get married of course."

Her eyes shot open wide, "NOW? Now, now?" She swallowed hard. "I mean... what about our friends and family... We just... you just... we... Oh... OHHHH..." She became light headed and stumbled.

Rin quickly grabbed hold of her arms to stable her and guided her back toward a chair. "We could get married now in Vegas and then have a huge wedding when we get back and everything settles down. What do you say?"

Her eyes were trained onto something in the distance. "But what about Jos and Raven? I always thought they'd be the first to know... the first to be by my side..."

He dropped to his knees in front of her and clasped her hands that were fumbling with the fabric of her clothes with one hand and cupped her face with the other. "They can still be the first to know and they can be right there beside you for the actual wedding..." a dark cloud filled his usually bright eyes, "I don't want to miss the chance to make you mine completely... to be yours... to give you my last name..." His attention dropped to her belly as he stroked it with his finger. "To ensure our baby has my last name."

Shelly's breath caught, "Rin you talk like you know I'm already pregnant or something... How is that even possible we've only been together a short time-" She stopped talking when his face lit with joy and a wide smile encompassed his face.

"What can I say, maybe I have magic sperm." When she didn't laugh but instead looked concerned, he lied. "I don't know for sure that you are, but we have had unprotected sex more times than I can count. It's very likely that you could be now, or become so soon... and you've already agreed to marry me..." He gave her a crooked smile. "And Russ has already agreed to the idea."

Her eyes widened even more, "You asked Russ about this? AND he agreed?"

Rin laughed, "Well yes, of course, I did. He fully supported it especially the ceremony once everything calms down."

She thought it over for a few seconds before slowly nodding her head. "Vegas then... Next... after breakfast."

Rin's face lit with joy and true happiness as he pushed himself up and kissed her letting his lips linger on hers. "Thank you, Shell. You don't understand what this means to me." He nestled his head against her chest and held her tightly until the waitress approached clearing her throat to get his attention.

***

They arrived on Las Vegas Boulevard in a snap the hoards of people moving about not even blinking twice at their sudden arrival. Though it was still early in the day bodies filled the streets, moving in and out of the numerous buildings lining the main drag. The neon lights still shown, though not as impressive as it would be at night. Shelly held his hand tightly as they pushed their way through the crowded sidewalks. They were met with an overwhelming blend of expensive and cheap perfumes, various smells of foods, the bitter aroma of spilled alcoholic beverages, and sickening underlining odor of vomit and trash.

Shelly wrinkled her nose. "Are you sure about this place?"

Rin looked around them and shrugged. "The internet made it look a bit more appealing, that's for sure." He glanced down at her noting her discomfort and overall over stimulation at being in such a massive crowd. "What do you say to somewhere a little... calmer?"

Shelly looked up at him relief heavy in her eyes. "That would be nice." She quickly added, "We can come back though maybe during the night?"

He smiled and bent to kiss her forehead, "If that's what you want." He tilted his head, "So, my beautiful bride, what did you have in mind?"

Shelly blushed, "I wouldn't mind getting married somewhere near your home." Her big blue eyes sparkled up at him as she spoke, "Your mom showed me tons of pictures... I love the dresses and the body paint..." She smiled brightly, "It's all so beautiful and exotic!"

He laughed, "I offered, to take you anywhere in the world and you pick the one place..." His words trailed off as her eyes dulled and her smile began to fade. {It had been more of a prison than a home to me, but with her here...} "You know what on second thought that would be perfect. Mother would love to dress you and I know of this amazing temple not too far away. He pulled her tight against him and snapped his fingers. Seconds later they were face to face with his parents. His mother was wringing her hands in worry and his father was quietly reading a book.

Jamila ran to them immediately, "Is everything alright? Nothing happened did it?!" She quickly examined Shelly then Rin before standing back to await their explanation.

Rin laughed, "Everything is fine mom." He took both Shelly's hands in his and smiled brightly as he gazed down into her content blue eyes. "She said yes and wants you to help her prepare for the occasion in our traditional ways."

Jamila nearly burst with excitement as she launched herself at Shelly and Rin, pulling them into a huge bear hug. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" She held Shelly at arm's length, "I would be honored, my new daughter!" She pulled her into a tight huge bouncing, giggling and chattering on happily.

Before long Rin's large bedroom was teaming with servants and other giggling, gushing girls. Jamila sat on the tiny stool from the bathroom vanity in front of Shelly. She was skillfully painting intricate designs onto Shelly's hands. When she had finally finished she rubbed her chin as she examined her work. "Hummm... Something is still missing." She carefully turned Shelly's hands from one side to the other. "Ah! I have it!" With a snap of her fingers, tiny diamonds adorned various areas of the designs.

Shelly looked from her hands to Jamila in confusion. "How in the world? If it was that simple then why didn't you use magic to do the patterns in the first place?"

Jamila smiled as she cupped Shelly's cheek with her tiny hand, "Then I would have missed out on the chance to be here with you and talk to you for so long." Jamila bounced up and headed for the pile of clothing on the other side of the room that the girls had been working on. "Alright ladies, let's get this bride dressed, shall we!" She clapped her hands over her head to get their attention. As spunky and energetic as the woman was, being a mistress of a palace was not in her nature though she tried hard to hide that fact.

"Wait! How am I supposed to change with all this on me?" She nodded toward the intricate patterns painted on the front and back of her hands and feet.

Jamila smiled, "It's tradition, dear child. The bride isn't to lift a finger in any of her preparations. So sit back and let us pamper you." She clapped her hands and the girls moved forward with various clothing items and surrounded Shelly. When they were finished Jamila examined Shelly. "Almost perfect, not a single smudge... but something is still missing." She smiled then snapped her fingers again. A tiny tiara appeared on Shelly's excessively styled head, and Jamila tilted her head with a pleased smile. "Now that is better."

Shelly glanced over at the mirror the servants had set up earlier by the bed. Her hand shook slightly as she reached up to touch the tiara. "I... I... shouldn't be wearing anything like this... It's too much."

Jamila peered around Shelly's shoulder into the mirror. "And why not? You look beautiful and..." She smiled at Shelly through the mirror. "A princess nonetheless."

***

"Knock, knock anyone here?" Russ yelled as he stepped into the apartment he'd called home for the last five years. There were boxes stacked against nearly every wall of the living room and, as he moved through the hallway, most of the other rooms were packed or empty as well.

"I thought you said you talked to her when we landed?" Orion groaned from the door. He moved slowly toward the sofa, slightly slumped still holding his stomach.

Russ glanced over his shoulder and chuckled, "How is it that someone like you could be such a lil bitch about flying?" He ducked to miss the flying remote that was aimed at his head. "Just saying, man." He threw his hands up in a questioning shrug.

"Simple, creatures of the sea prefer to say grounded. In fact, we prefer to stay as close to the sea as possible." Orion grumbled.

"Aren't you like a bear or something when you shift? Never seen a bear-fish." He said sarcastically as he pushed open the door to Shelly's room. Nearly everything was packed into boxes and stacked against one wall. Her bed had been taken apart and her closet doors were open to reveal an empty closet.

"As a son of Poseidon and Gia, I am of both land and sea so I can travel across the land with little issue but most creatures of the sea must stay close to the sea... flight... isn't my thing." He leaned over the sofa and peered down the hallway. "Anything interesting?"

Russ closed Shelly's door and turned back to Orion. "Nah, not really. It looks like Ray's been busy. Nearly everything is packed in here." He turned and walked toward his room but stopped and turned to face Jos's door. {Let's be real this is the room I've wanted to check from the start... from the second I opened that front door. I wanted to run down the hall and throw open the door and discover her curled up in her tight little ball under the covers like always.} He pushed the door open and just like Shelly's room hers was nearly completely packed with boxes stacked along the walls and the open closet empty. Russ let out a heavy sigh.

"She's not here kid." Orion said from closer this time.

Russ turned away from the room. Orion was now in the doorway of the kitchen, a bottle of water in his hand. "I know... I just... I..." His words trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck and leaned his head against the door frame. "I wanted so bad to open this door and she would be here... Like it's always been..."

Orion arched a brow. "Well I was talking about Raven but-" He stopped himself. Seeing the honest hurt and sadness in the pup's face. Orion couldn't bring himself to tease the boy farther. "She'll be back soon. Her and Arei are headed this way as we speak, though I think he said they had a few stops first."

Russ's ears perked up. "Stops? Like where?" He asked forgetting about searching the room or checking on his own. Instead, he walked quickly down the hallway to where Orion stood sipping the water.

Orion shrugged as he took a longer drink after realizing the liquid wasn't going to make his stomach hurt worse. "That vampire's house for one. She left a lot of her shit there apparently, but don't worry Arei will be there with her."

Russ gritted his teeth. "That bastard! I wish she would have just come home first and left that arrogant son of a bitch and his worthless brother to me."

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Orion shrugged, "Arei seems pretty sure things will be fine, but we can meet them there if you'd like as long as you promise to stay in the truck."