CH975

After a quick run to the woods, finding the man Ben had nearly ripped in half with his power and getting Thera to heal him before trapping him in his ring, the two went back to enjoy the festivities that remained, eating food and watching the happy couple. Greed presented the hairpiece, leaving his now wife overjoyed, and they both spoke a bit to the crowd, thanking everyone for coming and leaving them to mingle in the end, with all Ben wanted to do was rest.

“You gonna survive?” Thera chuckled. “There should be a band coming soon, I’d like to get at least one dance out of you.”

“Ah, you can get as many as you want from me, I’m just enjoying the chance to decompress right here for a second.”

“Ha, alright. In that case, I wanna stretch my legs for a bit. I’ll find you back here?”

“I’ll be eagerly waiting.”

He watched as she walked off before hanging his head back and taking a breath. It had been a far longer day than he’d been prepared for, he certainly wasn’t ready for quite the level of spite and rage aimed at Greed but at the very least, he’d been able to see to it that his friend got married to the woman he loved and just as importantly, survived the experience.

Yeah, all in all, I think that should count as a good day.

“Well, don’t you look deep in thought,” Gennet chuckled behind him, trying and failing to sneak up on him. “You doing okay?”

“Oh yeah, just a little tired, don’t mind it. How about you? Was this everything you hoped for?”

“And more,” she told him, her smile sharing as much. “And thank you for your work. Greed told me that he was going to commission you, but the hairpiece is really just so lovely.”

“Well, I couldn’t have made it without Greed’s input. He nailed down the design so if you like it then it just shows the guy has some good taste.”

“Of course he does, he married me,” she laughed. “But I just wanted to say thanks while I could, before I do a bit more mingling.”

“Any time. A wife of Greed’s is a friend of mine, so if you ever need a commission, don’t be a stranger.”

“I may just have to take you up on that,” she told him, about to leave but turning back once more to give him a small wink. “And thanks for making sure my husband survived the day, you deserve a nice break.”

She left before he could respond, leaving him to quietly laugh to himself.

Guess we weren’t quite as sneaky about it as I’d hoped.

Alone again, he let himself relax once more until another individual joined him, Jeeves carrying Greed his way before stepping back, giving them their privacy.

“Legs, I gotta say, I can’t thank you enough. The wedding was great, and I didn’t die. Basically went off without a hitch.”

“There were a few hitches,” Ben made sure to point out. “And at least a few people I’m going to have to capture and drag off to prison after this. I’m not sure if I should be going for everyone who intended on murdering you or just the ones who actually put something in motion before I could stop it, but there might be a sizable crowd disappearing before the night’s through.”

“Ah, about that. You think you could do me one last favour and let them off with a warning? Wanting to kill me, well, I don’t really want to hold a grudge today of all days, and I’m still trying this whole ‘being a better man’ thing. I’ve given enough people a reason to hate me with my old love’em and leave’em attitude, I can let things slide just this once.”

“Alright, if you’re sure,” Ben shrugged, making a mental note to invade the minds of the few who’d put their plans into motion before he could stop them to properly tell them off for the attempt, lest they get any funny ideas in the future. “Ah, except I’m not sparing the two that were specifically hired to kill you. They’re being turned in and Cheele’s mother is going to be too. Not to scare you too much but she tried to kill everyone here and letting her go would also mess up some of your son’s goals too. As a believer of Myriad, I’m not getting in his way.”

“Lord, fair. She really was up there as one of the more psychotic women I’ve been with,” the crab groaned. “She really tried to kill everyone?”

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“Yeah, although actually, Gennet probably would have survived. She had a lot of plans to murder you in particular and she poisoned the wedding guests’ meals so everyone who ate one would have died, but since Gennet was just eating your guys’ food, she should have gotten out unscathed.”

Ignoring the fact that someone else poisoned that one.

“Ha, she really is luckier than I’ll ever be,” Greed told him, shaking his head before falling silent for a moment. “You really think I can do this, Legs?”

“Do what?”

“Be a husband. My track record with women is terrible and it’s pretty clear I’m trash at being a father too. Even the one I’m trying to raise, I’ll keep doing my best, but I’m still not exactly picking up any good feelings from her. I’m just… I wanna be that guy, you know? But I’ve never been him. I want this family life, but what if I can’t handle it? I definitely don’t deserve it.”