A/N: Happy Birthday to jordana60 - this one is for you, honey - though it would also be cool if others folks read it and enjoyed it too ;) It's set in The Runaways-verse and may yet become the first part of a new 'Our Little Corner of the World' collection, though honestly, I'm assuming nobody is still around (apart from Jordana) who cares about that anymore, so I don't know (however, there is a poll in my Profile Page if anyone does have an opinion). Anyway, regardless of that, I invite you all to the wedding of the season...

(Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and any recognisable dialogue from Gilmore Girls belong to Amy Sherman-Palladino and other people that aren't me. All other characters belong to me!)

Wedding Belle - 1st June 2029

"I have had that ridiculous June Bride song from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers stuck in my head all day and, even though I know I also got married in June back in the day, I'm still blaming you," said Lorelai as she sat down next to her granddaughter with a thud. "Seriously, kid, you couldn't've gotten married in any other month?"

"Sorry, no." Tori grinned at her. "The deal was, I graduate, Dax puts the ring on my finger, case closed," she said, showing off the golden band that was now sat next to her sparkling diamond engagement ring.

"Yeah, I guess it's official." Lorelai sighed, taking a hold of Tori's hand and staring at her third finger. "Wow. You're married. My little granddaughter, married. God, I'm so old."

"You are not." Tori giggled, finding the concept so insane. "I actually don't think you'll ever seem old to me," she said then, remarkably serious for someone who had been laughing so hard a moment before.

"And this is why you're my favourite," her grandma told her, hugging her close, yet mindful of crushing any part of the fabulous dress she was wearing. "So, you're happy, right?"

"So happy," she promised, nodding her head. "Shouldn't every bride be so happy on their wedding day?"

"They should, I just don't know that they always are. I know I was." Lorelai grinned, looking across the marquee at where her husband stood talking with April and Jess. "I sure did wait a long time for my big day, but when it came around... God, that was special."

"I wish I'd been there." Tori sighed. "Jack got to be there."

"Honey, he was two months old," Lorelai reminded her. "Really don't think he remembers. Besides, I don't actually think it's normal for a kid to be at their grandparents wedding."

"Since when was our family normal?"

"I'll second that," said Rory as she came to join her mom and daughter. "Pretty sure we decided a loooong time ago that normal was over-rated."

"Amen, sister-friend," Lorelai agreed, raising her hand to high-five with Rory who didn't leave her hanging. "But look at us now," she said then, smiling at her daughter and granddaughter. "Three old married ladies around the table."

"She seems pretty stuck on this 'old' thing." Tori rolled her eyes as she looked to her mom. "I can't seem to make her stop."

Rory laughed. "You know, mom, however old we all are, Grandma is always older."

"Ooh, I like that!" Lorelai said giddily, clapping her hands like an excited child. "Hey, babe, guess what?" she said to Luke as he and Jess wandered over to join them. "I'm not old, but my mom is. Isn't that great?"

"Yes?" he ventured, clearly feeling like he turned over two pages at once.

"See, this is how you train a husband," his wife told Tori proudly.

"Yes, Dax is so well-trained, he's actually disappeared," Jess pointed out, as all eyes searched the marquee for the groom.

"I know exactly where he is," Tori assured them all. "His aunt got a little... over-emotional," she said, with a specific gesture of her hand. "So, he took her into the house to get some coffee."

"Ah, that aunt." Rory nodded in understanding. "Louise told me about her. She gets over-emotional on a pretty regular basis. Spends almost all her money on being over-emotional."

"Geez, and you invited her to a wedding with an open bar?"

"I didn't." Tori shook her head. "Dax did, but only because he knew it's what his mom would've wanted. I couldn't exactly argue with that."

Nobody seemed willing to disagree, but conversation came to kind of a grinding halt from there, at least until the music changed.

"Oh my God, you did this on purpose!" Lorelai gasped as the very particular guitar stylings of Chuck Berry came flooding from the speakers. "You did, didn't you?"

"I didn't actually." Tori shook her head, eyes searching the crowds once again. "I let Dax figure out a lot of the music choices, and Kwan pitched in, obviously, but I don't... Jack!" she said suddenly, catching his eyes across the dancefloor.

"Jack, did you do this?" Rory asked as her son crossed the space to come over to them all. "Did you...?"

"I didn't exactly do it. I may have suggested to Dax... well, you know, a little something to remind us, since he can't be here today," he said, deliberately not actually saying the words 'great grandpa' or the name 'Richard', clearly knowing it would cause much in the way of tears and make-up malfunctions if he did.

"Good job, brother," Tori told him with a shaky smile as she got to her feet and threw her arms around him, hugging him tight.

"Well, for as long as Johnny's being good, I say we dance," Lorelai declared, grabbing Luke's hand and dragging him so hard he almost spilled his drink, though he didn't argue.

"That means us too, right?" Jess realised, offering a hand to Rory who went willingly into his arms to dance too.

"You too grown-up to dance with your brother these days?" Jack asked Tori.

"I am not," she assured him, happy to go and dance like a lunatic with her big brother, just as she had when their great grandpa played this song to them so many years ago.

Of course, when the music changed from Chuck Berry to something slow and smoochy, it wasn't exactly appropriate for Jack and Tori to continue dancing together. Instead, he went in search of food and she went in search of her new husband, who really should be back by now. Instead, she found another guy, holding out a glass of champagne for her at the edge of the dancefloor.

"Hey, and thanks," she said, accepting it easily, clinking her glass against his own and drinking just a sip. "I really should go easy on this, but everywhere I turn, someone puts a glass in my hand today."

"It still blows my mind that you're old enough to drink now." Matthew shook his head. "And that you're married, before me. I mean what is up with that?"

Tori laughed. "I'd apologise, but I don't really think it's my fault."

"Oh, come on, are you serious?" he checked, nudging her shoulder with his own. "I've never been the same since you turned me down when I proposed to you."

"What?" Tori's eyes went wide with surprise at that remark and she stared at Matthew for a long moment, trying to figure out what he meant. "Seriously, what are you talking about?"

"You don't remember?" he checked. "Well, you were only, like, four at the time. It was the first time your dad ever brought you to Truncheon. He had to talk to Chris, so he left you with me. I was terrified by the way, I never watched a kid in my life before, but you were cool, and a lot less scary than most females I tried to have conversations with back then. When Jess and Chris caught up to us, I forget what we were talking about, but I said when you grow up would you marry me, and you said, no," he recalled with a wry smile.

"Wow. I had good taste even then," Tori deadpanned, laughing loudly when he faked being shot through the heart. "Come on, you know I'm kidding."

Matthew sighed. "All I know is that Dax is very a lucky man, as is your dad, and your grandfather, and most of the guys here that are married or engaged to really amazing women," he said, looking all around. "I guess it just doesn't happen for everybody."

Tori felt so bad for him being one of the few that was all alone. The moment she noticed Dax returning to the reception, with his now somewhat more sober aunt on his arm, her smile returned.

"Hey, why don't you ask Aunt Meryl to dance."

"Aunt Meryl?" Matthew checked, turning to look where Tori was pointing.

"You'd like to dance, right, Meryl?" she said the moment the older woman was within earshot. "Because my friend Matt here would love to ask you."

A minute later, the pair were out on the dancefloor, looking pretty awkward, but neither so lonely as they had been before as they danced together. Dax put his arm around Tori and kissed her temple.

"Well, that was some serious meddling of the misguided kind," he told her, smiling fondly at her shocked expression. "Come on, that has disaster written all over it," he said of Matt and Meryl. "He's desperate, she's drunk."

"But they're both smiling," Tori pointed out. "And they're here, amongst friends and family, so they're perfectly safe. This is a good place to be," she reminded him, turning into his arms and pulling him into a good long kiss. "Mmm, hey, Mr Cooper."

"Hey, Mrs Cooper," he replied, grinning as much as she was. "So, no regrets?"

"Why would I have regrets? I just married the hottest guy here," she told him happily. "Successful up and coming businessman who also plays drums in a killer rockband, who gets along with my family and thinks I'm the best person in the whole world. I'd be crazy not to be happy about marrying you."

"Yeah, I'll agree with that," Dax said too seriously, laughing in the next moment as Tori socked him in the shoulder. "Like you're not pretty amazing yourself, Victoria Lorelai Cooper," he said, pushing her hair back from her face and looking into her eyes. "You know, as corny as it sounds, I'm pretty sure I have been in love with you since the first moment I saw you in the Van Gerbigs' garage."

"I'll bet you say that to all the girls," she teased, the two of them laughing at how crazy that sounded. "Seriously though, as great as it was to think I was in love back then, I never could've imagined all this," Tori admitted, making vague gestures towards the whole situation that was their wedding reception. "We made it, Dax. We're married, isn't that crazy?"

"The craziest," he admitted, "but I couldn't be happier."

"Me either," she agreed as they both leaned in for another kiss.

Over on the dancefloor, Rory lifted her head from Jess' shoulder, grinning as she watched her daughter and new son-in-law kissing a moment.

"Can you believe that?" she asked her husband, getting his attention on the scene she was observing. "Our little girl, all grown up and married. Kind of weird."

"I don't know." Jess shook his head. "At her age, we were already married with two kids," he reminded her. "I never saw that coming when we met either, but I think it all worked out pretty well."

"It worked out so well," Rory agreed, grinning at him. "And to think, none of us would be here like this if I hadn't come to find you in New York all those years ago. Tori wouldn't be here, neither would Jack. Our whole lives could be totally different."

"And that would suck," Jess said definitely.

"Oh, yeah," Rory agreed heartily, as they continued to dance, alongside so many family and friends, into the night.