Chapter Text
When Finn and Piper will finally get married has been a hot topic amongst their friends for years. Lily was convinced they would get married as soon as they turned 18, but Amy disagreed, insisting that Piper wouldn't want to get married until she was sure of who she was as a person and established in her chosen career.
Clearly, none of them should ever doubt Amy again because she obviously knows her best friend better than any of them.
Finn doesn't propose at high school graduation like Lily thought he would. He doesn't propose on Piper's 20th birthday like Summer thought he would. He doesn't even propose at college graduation like Heath thought he would.
No, it's a random Saturday night in April a couple of years later, when Finn's 24 and Piper's 23, that he proposes. They're away at some cabin in the middle of nowhere, claiming they need alone time as if they don't already get enough of that in the apartment they share in the city. (Sure, Heath and Ozzy live a floor below them and come over a lot because Finn's a better cook than either of them could ever hope to be, but it's not like they're over all the time.)
Piper sends a photo of the ring to Amy as soon as the question's been asked. They're all sitting in the bar of a restaurant they frequent, Heath squeezed against the wall on one side of the booth with Ozzy and Winnie, and Amy, Summer, and Izzy across from them. Winnie and Summer squeal so loudly, they attract the disgruntled looks of several other patrons.
Ozzy simply gasps. "Don't tell me you knew this was happening tonight," he says to Amy, who pointedly looks away, taking a long sip of her margarita with a sly smile.
"Why wouldn't he tell us? We're his best friends," Heath says, gesturing between himself and Ozzy. He's slightly offended, but not as much as Ozzy. They were Finn's roommates in college. They've nursed each other through hangovers and heartbreaks and everything in between. All of that bonding, and Finn didn't even tell them when he was proposing?
Granted, they knew he had the ring and that it was coming soon, but how were they supposed to figure out that soon = tonight?
"Maybe he wanted to- I don't know- keep it a secret?" Izzy suggests while crunching on a nacho chip.
"We can keep a secret!" Ozzy insists, but then Heath remembers the time they accidentally spoiled the big date surprise Finn had planned for Piper on their fifth anniversary and grimaces. Maybe Izzy has a point.
Looking her brother dead in the eyes, Izzy deadpans, "Christmas 2014," and he groans, throwing his head back against the booth.
"Fine. I see your point," he admits in defeat. Izzy smirks, catching Heath's eye from across the booth and taking a victorious sip from her club soda.
The wedding is originally planned for next spring, but then they find out Finn's mother's breast cancer is back, and it's moved up to November, two weeks before Finn's birthday. Moving the wedding up means a lot of scrambling to rearrange caterers and flowers and whatever else a wedding entails, but Piper handles it like a champ, at least according to Finn. It also probably helps that Amy is on top of her Maid of Honor duties. When Amy and Piper are working together, they get stuff done.
Heath and Ozzy are the best men, of course. Finn didn't want to choose between the two of them, so he just gave the role to both of them. Part of Heath likes to think he feels bad for not telling them the day he was planning on proposing so he's compensating in this, but he doesn't mind. He's never been in a wedding before, hasn't even really been to a wedding since he was a little kid, so he's just excited to get to be a part of the big day at all. Finn's always been like a big bro to him, having taken him under his wing when he first joined A-Troupe as an alternate, so it feels like the biggest honor to be included in his wedding, even if he has to share Best Man with Ozzy.
Along with Amy, Summer, who lived with Amy and Piper in college, is also a bridesmaid. The rest of the wedding party consists of Piper's older siblings and Finn's cousin Jack, who immediately bonds with Ozzy over their love-hate relationship with the latest Legions of Lasers game. Heath's just relieved that Ozzy finally has someone else to talk to about the video game he wants to create one day. He's heard all of Ozzy's ideas so many times at this point, he could probably make the game himself.
As the wedding day draws near, many of their old friends from their Next Step days begin RSVP'ing for the ceremony. It's set to be a major A-Troupe reunion, and Heath can't wait to see Henry and Kingston and everyone else.
But then the snowstorm hits.
It's the biggest snowstorm to hit Toronto in years, and of course, it blows in the night before the wedding.
Heath's not entirely sure whether a blizzard on your wedding day is a good omen or a bad one, but Summer claims it's bad, and she seems to know a lot about that kind of stuff, so he takes her word for it. What he does know, however, is that Piper is panicking.
They're at the rehearsal dinner when all the texts start coming in, all of their friends who were set to fly in for the wedding saying they're so sorry and won't be able to make it. Lily's trapped in Montreal. Kingston's stuck in New York. Noah and Henry's flight is grounded in Los Angeles. Even Richelle, who was travelling around Europe last Heath heard, calls to say she'll have to send her gift in the mail and that hopefully it won't break on the overseas flight but to let her know if it does so she can call and demand a refund.
In a matter of a couple of hours, their A-Troupe reunion and Piper and Finn's big day has turned into a giant question mark. No one's sure what to do or if they should even have the wedding at all. But then Deborah insists that this hasn't all been for nothing and that it'll be an even bigger hassle to change the date again.
Piper leaves the dinner in tears, her bridesmaids trying to console her, and the boys half-heartedly leave for the bachelor party, which turns out to be downing bottles of champagne in Finn's hotel room while playing video games.
Finn clearly isn't invested in the gaming, however, and Heath eventually pauses the game, turning to his friend to address the melancholy that he shouldn't be feeling the night before his wedding.
"Alright, let's talk about the elephant in the room," Heath says. Finn groans in response, throwing his head back against the bed behind him.
"This is supposed to be the happiest day of our lives, and instead, it's a disaster."
"It could be worse," Ozzy says through a mouthful of potato chips.
"How?"
Ozzy pauses, looking to Heath, eyes pleading for him to answer because he actually has no idea. Heath rolls his eyes at him. Typical Oswald.
James is the one to come to Ozzy's aid, clapping Finn on the shoulder and shaking him. "You've gotta pull yourself out of it, man. So the day isn't going to go exactly as planned. What's the most important thing?"
Finn sighs and mutters, "I'm marrying the love of my life."
"You're marrying the love of your life," James reiterates loudly, and Finn grins as his future in-law shakes him again. "Every wedding has a few things that go wrong. Hell, I can't even tell you half the stuff that went wrong on my wedding day. But once you're married and all's said and done, that stuff won't even matter anymore. Don't even worry about it."
The phrase 'Don't even worry about it' is uttered approximately 109 more times over the next 24 hours. Heath hears the words so many times that he's certain by the end of this wedding, they'll be etched into his vocabulary forever.
The morning of the wedding is utter chaos. There's a mix up with the caterers, and then the bouquets show up with the wrong flowers. Amy drags Heath into damage control, the two of them rushing around and working with both mothers to try to keep Piper from finding out too much because she's already a nervous wreck as is.
Kingston was originally supposed to be an usher, but since he can't make it, Amy puts Heath on usher duty as the ceremony draws near. He stands by the doors to the hotel, welcoming guests. Many of the people who initially RSVP'd don't come, but the weather doesn't deter much of Piper's family from showing up as well as Winnie and Izzy. Finn's uncle Bill arrives with his grandmother at the last minute, and following the two of them are none other than Emily, Michelle, Eldon, and Thalia. Heath greets them all haphazardly before dashing over to where Piper's Aunt Kathy is gesturing wildly for him to join the rest of the wedding party before they all start walking down the aisle without him.
Ozzy and Amy are the first of the party to go, then Heath and Summer follow. As they walk down the aisle with familiar faces watching them from every angle, he thinks about how they always used to joke about this day when they were teens and didn't know any better.
Now this day has actually come, and it's not a joke or a far-off fantasy. Piper and Finn are in love and wanting to spend the rest of their lives together, and Heath couldn't be happier for them.
The wedding party makes it to the end of the aisle without any mishaps, and then Piper's three nieces, one of whom is James' daughter, precede the bride down the aisle as the flower girls. In the front row, Piper's cousin Freddie has a camera set up, streaming the wedding online for those who couldn't make it. He's oblivious to the way Winnie is eying him a few rows back, smiling slyly to herself.
The doors close for a moment and then open once more to reveal the most important person of the day: the bride.
Piper's always been beautiful, but today, she's stunning in her lace gown and hair flowing in loose curls down her back. Heath immediately looks to Finn to see his reaction, and the groom is looking at her with a look of pure adoration, like he can't believe that she's real or that any of this is real.
Across the stage, Summer, Amy, and both of Piper's sisters are all dabbing away their tears. Heath can't help himself as he leans over and mutters, "Try to keep it together, Oswald."
"Speak for yourself, Heathcliff."
They share a grin before turning back to the ceremony. Piper's dad gives her away, pulling Finn into a hug before joining Deborah in the front row. Next to them are Finn's parents and three sisters. His mom is looking frailer these days, but she's positively beaming as Piper and Finn hold hands and the officiant begins his speech on love.
Piper manages to hold it together during her vows, only getting choked up once. Finn's hands shake so much during his that he drops the book he wrote them in and loses his place, sending them both into a fit of giggles.
Meanwhile, Piper's eccentric uncle Arthur cries through the vows until his wife hands him a handkerchief, which barely muffles his sobs. James' one-year-old son cries along with him, sending Heath and Ozzy into their own fit of giggles, and Riley looks conflicted on whether to carry Tanner out or let him cry along with Arthur. None of Piper's family seems bothered or even fazed by the crying, so Riley stays put though Finn's grandmother sends a scathing look her way.
The ceremony is short and sweet and to the point. Piper and Finn have never sounded more sure of anything as they both declare, "I do," and when they seal the marriage with a kiss, absolute chaos breaks out as Piper's family erupts into cheers. Heath and Ozzy share a wide-eyed look at the outburst, and Heath's not sure if that's normal or not, but James is whooping on his other side, so he quickly joins in.
When they finally make it to the reception, the wedding party let out a collective breath of relief. James leaves them to join Riley and their children at their table with Emily and Piper's sisters, and Jack leaves them to join his own family while they eat (though not without sending a longing look to Summer as he walks away. The two of them have been making heart eyes at each other all weekend, and Heath's sure it's only a matter of time until Summer pulls him out of his socially awkward shell to dance with her).
Heath and Ozzy sit at their own table with Amy, Summer, Winnie, and Izzy. The six of them watch together as Piper and Finn dance their first dance. It's unchoreographed, just a simple waltz. Piper keeps giggling while Finn whispers in her ear, and Heath thinks for probably the thousandth time since he's met them that they're just so in love.
Amy sits back in her seat, her eyes a little teary as she watches her best friends, then says, "We did it. They're married."
"I know today's all about them, but this feels like a major victory for us," Ozzy says while munching on his dinner roll.
"I don't want to say I called it, but I totally called it," Winnie says with a smug smile. Heath rolls his eyes, and she pushes him playfully. "Don't give me that look, Heathcliff McFadden. You know I'm right!"
"Oh please. We all called it," Heath retorts sarcastically, earning an eyeroll from his best friend.
It doesn't actually feel like it was that long ago that he and Winnie were speculating about Piper and Finn's relationship status in Shakes and Ladders. He can still remember the first conversation he ever had with Finn. They were talking about TV shows, bonding over their love for House Flipper, until Finn, for whatever reason, brought up how Piper's favorite show was Supernova Superstar, and suddenly everything became about Piper. That one conversation had told Heath everything he'd needed to know.
Finn had been in love with Piper for as long as Heath had known him. They had been through so much together. Now, they would have the rest of their lives to continue loving each other, just as it should be.