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The Rehearsal Dinner

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Henry smiles as he walks off the plane in sunny, sunny California. It had been a few months after Bill and Hazel had gone down to Los Angeles, and now, Henry was making the trip out himself for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding. He gets off the plane, and smiles when he sees Daniel waiting for him. “Well. If it isn’t Daniel Sousa.” Henry says and walks down the stairs and across the tarmac towards Daniel. “Well, if it isn’t Henry Grahn.” Daniel smiles back and hugs him. “How are you?” . “First off.” Daniel puts out his hand. “5 bucks Grahn.” Henry rolls his eyes, gives him five dollars and they start walking. He looks at Daniel and smiles. He hadn’t seen him in a year and a half, right before Daniel moved out to California. Daniel looked a million times better than he’d seen him last, and he looked lighter. Happier even, if that was possible. Daniel smiles and puts it away. “I’m swell. Wedding planning, jobs been busy too so.” He shrugs. “You? How was your flight?” “Flight was good! I’m good.” He smiles. “Marketing’s fun I guess.” He shrugs. Daniel smiles and nods. “Good. Peggy’s ecstatic to meet you. She’s at work right now, but she’ll be at the party.” “Good. It’ll be interesting to meet Peggy.” Henry smiles. “I barely know anything about her.” He teases. Daniel grins evilly. “Just, don’t flirt with her.” “When have I ever flirted with someone?” He smirks. “She’ll kill you if you do,” Daniel says not looking at him. “How’s your family?” Grahn says. “Good. My sisters are coming in tomorrow and my dads coming in this afternoon.” He nods. “What about yours?” “They’re fine. Mom and Dad are doing good. Want to see you again,” Henry says they get to the car. Daniel helps Grahn put his luggage in the backseat and smiles. “So what’s the other stop, Daniel?” Henry smiles. “The other stop is right here. We’re picking up one of my other groomsmen.” Daniel says waiting outside the car and waving to a tall, ruler-like guy with dark blond hair who walked with a swagger. He smiles and shakes his hand before coming back with him. “Who’s this?” the man says, looking at him. “Henry Grahn, Daniel’s best man,” Henry says, putting out a hand. “So, you are the guy who beat me out. Jack Thompson, groomsman.” Henry smiles and shakes his hand before putting his stuff in the back and getting in the back. He smiles. “So, you know Peggy and Daniel from work?” “Yep,” Jack says. Daniel had told him to keep quiet about the whole SSR thing, and he was sure that Daniel told his agents. “They hadn’t really spoken to each other, so I made Sousa show her to the filing room.”Henry nods, gets out a notepad and writes it down. “And then?” Daniel sighs. “Why are you writing this down?” “Because you didn’t tell us hospital guys anything,” Henry says, not stopping to look up at Daniel. “Sorry, Jack. And then?” “A whole year of pining and hell on earth for the rest of us.” He sighs. Henry nods. “That makes sense.” “Yeah. So anyway, he gets transferred and after 6 months he needs more people, so I sent Marge-” “Marge?” He raises his eyebrows. “Peggy, sorry, out to go and help him. 2 weeks later I get a call from Rose about how Peg needs more vacation days, and they’re going steady. 6 months after, they’re engaged.” Henry raises his eyebrows and nods. “I- I don’t have the words to describe what’s going on in my brain right now.” “This was a horrible idea for both of you to ride together.” Daniel shakes his head.“No it wasn’t.” Jack says as Henry says “Not really.” Jack smiles. “I would enjoy a good retelling about a hospital story Henry.” “Alright. Let me think.” He thinks for a few seconds. “So, there was this pier right by us, cause they used the hotels as one big hospital. And so we’ve been bored for a while. So we decide to take some of the girls out and go for a night on the town.”Jack nods. “Makes sense.” “So, we go to the pier, and there’s about maybe 8 of us, but it was mostly girls. So, we ended up going to the arcade, and that’s when the real fun began, because Daniel didn’t tell us that he had a really good aim on the shooting game, so he ended up winning most of the girl's prizes.” Daniel looks at Grahn with the most exhausted look he can muster and sighs audibly. Jack nods and smiles, and leans forward to hear more. “So, we all congratulate Daniel, and then we go dancing in the dance hall, and he ends up stealing all the girls, and none of us even got a chance to dance because they all wanted to go sit and talk to Daniel!” “Daniel really was a troublemaker.” Jack laughs. “He honestly was.” He says, to Daniel’s shaking head. “What about Peggy? I haven’t even seen a picture of her!” Jack looks between Henry and Daniel. “You’re kidding.” “Nope.” Henry smiles. Daniel pulls out a picture of Peggy and tosses it to Henry. “Here you go.” Henry looks at the picture and thinks. Peggy looked interesting enough, and honestly, she didn’t really fit into the descriptions he got. “Hey, no going and stealing my girl.” Daniel chuckles. Henry chuckles and hands back the picture. “She seems nice.” He smiles. “She pulled a gun on me and then knocked me out,” Jack says, not looking away from the window. “Or not.” Henry groans. Daniel and Jack laugh, and soon enough, they were at Starks house and Henry gets his bag. “Hey, Sousa? Please tell me that I’ll meet Peggy before the party?” Grahn asks. “She’s at work, unfortunately. She’ll be back for the party though, I plan on it.” Daniel smile. As soon as they got to the front door, a woman with red hair comes out and gives Jack into a hug. “Ana!” Jack smiles. “Jack!” Ana smiles. “And this must be Henry!” she smiles. “Yes, Ma’am.” He smiles and goes to shake her hand, but she pulls him into a hug instead. “Hugs only here. I’m Ana.” Ana smiles. Henry smiles and nods. “Hugs only, Mrs. Ana.” “Why don’t I get any hugs?” Howard says leaning on the doorway. Henry almost drops his bags. “Daniel, that’s Howard Stark.” Howard turns around, “Where?” Henry laughs as Howard cockily says, “Yes, I am! And you’re Henry. Jack, always a pleasure.” Jack rolls his eyes. “Always a pleasure too, Howard.” “You and Jack will have your own bedrooms, but you do have to share a bathroom,” Daniel says. Henry nods, not being able to make words. “I met Howard Stark.” He murmurs as he follows everyone in. Daniel shows them to the two rooms and they start to unpack, with Henry taking the side nearest to the restroom. “So, roommate at the hospital, must have some good stories,” Jack says, walking over to Henry’s room. Henry nods. “Yeah. Daniel was the troublemaker.” He chuckles. “Really?” Jack raises his eyebrows.Henry nods, “But here’s the thing. Daniel didn’t tell me anything about Peggy.” Henry continues. “So I’ll tell you hospital stories if you tell me how they met.” “Done.” Jack grins. Henry smiles. “I got to use the restroom real fast. Give me a minute?” “Sure.” Jack smiles. “Take all the time you need.” Henry nods, uses the restroom and checks his stump before deeming it good enough and walking back. “So, what I said in the car is true. And their first kiss was all due to me.” Jack says. “Really?” Henry raises his eyebrows. “Pushed Marge into him. She accidentally planted one on him. He was shocked, but then he kissed her back. Finally went on a date that night. Your turn. Hospital stories?” Jack asks. Henry nods. “Right. Okay.” He thinks for a second, but before Henry could say anything, Rose walks in and says, ”Jack, who’s this?” “Henry Grahn, Miss. Best man.” He says shaking her hand. “Rose Roberts. I work with Peg and Daniel and I’m now one of Peg’s bridesmaids.” She smiles. “Oh, so you know about this.” He says. Rose nods. “Yep. Peg came out to California. Two weeks later Peg kissed him at the office party.” Henry looks between the two of them, and the writes that version down. “Rose apparently Danny boy got into all sorts of trouble at the hospital.” Jack smiles. “Really?” Rose sits down and smiles. “Go on then.” He thinks for a second and he nods. “I’ll tell you all the pizza story. So, it’s a few days after he’s allowed to get out of bed, and it’s a tradition that we take the fellow out after he’s allowed outside.” “That makes sense,” Rose says. “So, he picks the pizza place. Which is fine by me, it’s really good.” “Pizza?” Jack questions. “Yeah, Atlantic City was a pretty big spot for pizza. Anyways, we eat, and Daniel wants to steal some more because he’s been fed army food for the past 3 years so of course, we help him hide some pizza in his wheelchair.” Rose and Jack start laughing a little. “So then, we rush back up to the hospital, cause we were going to be late, and we get there and Lieutenant Keck, our nurse, asks if we had any reason that we were late. Turns out, we were almost 10 minutes late.” Rose and Jack both start laughing and Henry smiles at the memory. “Having fun at my expense Grahn?” Daniel smirks, leaning on the doorway.“Definitely.” Henry smiles and laughs as Jack and Rose chuckle quietly. “Oh, I have a surprise for you, Henry.” Daniel smiles. “What is it? Peggy? Who you’ve told me nothing about?” He sarcastically says. “Even better.” Daniel smiles and steps aside as Bill and Hazel Tipton come in. “Bill Tipton!” Henry smiles and hugs him. Jack and Rose both look at Bill and then back at Daniel. “Hospital?” Jack asks. Bill releases Henry and smiles. “Yep.” Daniel smiles. “All four of us played Bridge together.” “Four?” Rose asks. “Four.” Hazel smiles and comes in, hugging Henry and Daniel before going to Bill and smiling. “Uhm, what were you two kids thinking?! I could’ve been $5 richer if you two told me first.” Henry says cocking a smile at both of them. “At least we told you, and we didn’t pull a Daniel and wait until the very last second,” Hazel smirks.“Wait, he didn’t tell you two about Peggy either?” Jack says.Bill and Hazel shake their heads. “We knew about Peggy when he sent out the wedding invitations. Came down a few months ago to see them and to meet Peggy.” Bill says to the surprised faces of Jack and Rose. “And to get me information because I didn’t know either, so.” Henry shrugs. Jack and Rose look at each other, and both start laughing. “What is it?” Henry says, rolling up his sleeves, prepping for a fight. “I can’t believe that Daniel hadn’t told you all anything.” Jack chuckles. “Same.” Rose smiles. Bill shrugs and Henry rolls down his sleeves. “Hey, how about we go into the kitchen? I bet Ana is making something good.” Jack smiles. “Oh, yes.” Henry smiles. “I’d like that.” Jack, Bill, and Hazel nod, and they all go into the kitchen to see Ana there. “Hi, Ana!” Henry smiles. “Hello.” Ana turns around and smiles. “Angie is in the restroom, but she's the maid of honor, so you'll want to meet her.” “Hello.” Hazel smiles. “I’m Hazel, and this is my husband Bill Tipton.” Angie comes out, waves and smiles. “How do you know the couple?” Ana asks. “Me, Henry, Hazel and Daniel played Bridge together at the hospital.” Bill smiles. Angie nods and smiles. “Gotcha.” “How do you know them?” Bill asks Angie. “I was Peg’s roommate.” Angie smiles. Bill and Hazel nod. “She’s something.” Hazel smiles. “That she is.” Angie smiles. “You’ve met her?” ”A few months ago. She’s a spitfire.” Bill smiles and looks at Henry who was furiously writing stuff down. “Henry, what are you doing?” “This is because Daniel didn’t tell me anything, so I’m writing down anything I can about Peggy to use in my best man speech.” Angie smirks. “Peggy and Daniel were fighting and she planted one on him in the office, and that was their first kiss.” Jack looks at Angie weirdly. “Weird, because I pushed them into each other and they kissed in the middle of the lunch rush.” “Funny, me and Edwin saw them kiss before she left for the airport,” Ana says weirdly. “None of you were right, they were hiding from the feds and Peg planted one on him to shut him up.” Howard saunters in. Henry looks at the four of them and groans. “Oh dear god, what have I gotten myself into.” “It’s called being the best man to Daniel Sousa.” Jack smiles. Henry sighs and nods. “Makes sense.” Bill and Hazel chuckle lightly and smile. “Alright. Jack, Henry, and Bill? Wanna help me set up?” Daniel smiles. They all nod and go with him. “So, Bill? When’s Hazel due?” Henry asks. “In two months.” Bill smiles. Henry and Daniel both nod and say. “Name the kid after me?” Bill gives them both the stink eye before going back and Henry and Daniel laugh and high-five each other, while Jack just laughs lightly. “So, all of you met at the hospital?” Jacks asks. “Yeah, we did.” Bill smiles. “That one,” he points to Henry, “set up Bridge Club, and us two were dumb enough to go to it.” “It’s true,” Daniel smirks at Henry’s shocked face. “They’re mean Jack, don’t listen to them,” Henry says. “Henry yelled at both me and Hazel when we got together.” Bill and Daniel both chuckle. “Henry?” Jack looks at him. “Look, bridge club was half made because I wanted to learn, and half made for opportunities!” Henry sputters out. “Opportunities?” Jack chuckles out and smirks. “With girls. That are not tied down to Red Cross restrictions.” Daniel and Bill roll their eyes and they grab chairs. They work in silence, setting up until Howard comes out. “Hey, Sousa? Who’s the old guy out front?” Daniel smiles. “That would be my Pai, Stark.” He sets down his stuff and goes as fast as he can to the door, with Bill, Jack, and Henry running as fast as they can and beating Daniel. Henry opens the door. “Mr. Sousa! Did you know that your son hasn’t told me anything about this!” Frank smiles and laughs before coming in and hugging him. “Good to see you too Henry. Still, haven’t lost your charm I see.” Henry pouts and lets him inside. Frank smiles as he sees Bill. “And Bill, my favorite.” “Hi, Mr. Sousa.” He smiles and shakes his hand to Henry’s eye roll. Daniel comes up and hugs him. “Hi Pai.” “Hello, son. You ready?” “As much as I can be. Peggy will be here later, she just has some stuff to wrap up at the office.” “All five of you come down to my lab, I’ll have some of the girls and Edwin set it up later.” Stark nods. “I’ll give you all a little tour.” After they finish in the lab, all the boys come out to the party in somewhat full swing. Henry smiles and tags along, seeing Angie. “Angie, right?” “Yep. And you’re Henry?” “That’s me.” Henry smiles. “So you know that if you dance with me, everyone is going to be betting on us.” She smirks. “Well, what’s the worst that could happen?” He shrugs. “Death by Peggy,” Angie smirks. Henry looks at her shocked. She starts laughing. “I’m kidding. I’m actually ready to dance.” “Perfect.” He smiles and takes her onto the makeshift dance floor and starts dancing with her.“So what do you think of the happy couple.” Angie questions. “Peggy seems nice. Haven’t met her yet.” He shrugs. “Really?” “I didn’t know she was his girl until a few months ago.” “Huh.” “Huh is right.” He smiles and dances with her, twirling her out and back in. “Well, she’s nice. Helped me out of one too many bad situations. Threatened a guy at the diner I worked at for me.” He nods, seeing that anything else they said about Peggy wouldn’t surprise him. “I should probably introduce myself.” “Yeah, probably. She’s the brunette by the drinks.” He nods. “Save the last dance for me, my dear?” He flirts. Angie ponders it for a few seconds. “Oh, sure. No one else is going to fill up my dance card anyways.” She smiles. He smiles and nods before going up to Peggy, who was by the drinks. “So, what’s an incredibly beautiful dame like you, doing in a place like this?” He flirts, not even thinking about what he was saying until it was too late. Peggy turns around. “So you’re Henry. Too bad we’re about to take pictures. You would look nice with a shiner.” Peggy teases. Henry couldn’t form words until some patted him on the back. “See you already met Peggy.” Daniel smiles. “I. yes. I have now.” Henry nods as Bill and Hazel chuckle softly behind Peggy. “Roommate at the hospital, if I remember correctly?” Peggy says. Henry nods. “And the man responsible for those two,” he gestures to Bill and Hazel. Peggy nods. “I don’t quite know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.” “Honestly, neither were you. I have something for you though.” He grabs something from the table, that he had placed earlier that night and hands it to her. “Peace offering, for all I say at the wedding about Daniel?” He opens it to a small tin of cookies and he smiles seeing her light up and take the box. “Peace offering accepted.” Peggy smiles. “Now go back and dance with Angie, me and Daniel have a bet going.” “I’m sorry you have a what going?!” Henry says shocked. “Bet. See how long it takes for one of you to ask the other one out.” Daniel smirks. “I said tonight and Peggy said tomorrow.”“But, why?” “Because this is an opportunity, Grahn!” Bill smirks at the same time Daniel says. “Opportunities don’t come so often anymore.” Henry rolls his eyes before saying. “Both of you are getting skinned. Later.” He goes and takes Angie’s hand. “So they have a bet on us.” He whispers in her ear. “What kind?” “The kind where if I ask you out tonight, Daniel wins the bet.” “And if you wait until?” “Tomorrow, Peggy wins.” Henry laughs. “Good thing we got all night then.” Angie smiles. “See, I knew there was a reason I liked you.” He grins before spinning her around. She laughs and looks up as someone rings a bell. “Alright, quick toast, then picture!” Howard says. Henry smiles and laughs. “I’d better get a drink. You want anything?” He asks. Angie nods. “Club soda.” He nods. “One club soda, coming right up.” He smiles and goes to get it for her.He returns with a club soda for Angie and a ginger ale for him. “Here you go, Angie.” He smiles seeing Howard start talking. “So, when I first met Peg, never would I have guessed that she would be the one for Daniel. This out of the box girl being part of a very secret office that I am not allowed to tell you guys about, being married, was one thing that I never expected from her. Thank goodness she found someone in Daniel Sousa, the one guy I think none of us expected us to get with but ended up getting with anyways.” Daniel rolls his eyes and Peggy blushes lightly before Howard lifts his glass. “To Peggy and Daniel.” “To Peggy and Daniel.” Everyone says while Daniel kisses Peggy and Henry smiles lightly.

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