I'd Give Up The World For You

"So when's the wedding?" Miette asked with a smile.

"September 2nd."

Daisy still couldn't believe it was actually happening so soon. Even though she knew it wouldn't be a real marriage on her part it would still be very real to poor Leo. Honestly, he deserved so much better.

"I'll be sure you have the day off so you can focus on being with your love. Nia told me she already volunteered to do your flowers."

She nodded. "Yeah, it was really nice of her. I'm sure they'll be beautiful."

The last thing Daisy was worried about was her wedding flowers but she had to act like a normal bride-to-be. She would rather not think about the wedding. She and Leo would be the only ones who knew it was a farce. They also both knew he wished it was real so that might make things awkward.

She wanted the spectacle to be over and done with already so they could move past this. Leo had already proved he could act like nothing changed but for him it really hadn't. His feelings had been there almost the whole time they had known each other. The only thing that was different was the fact that Daisy knew about them.

He was a kind, respectful person and she knew he would never do anything to make her feel bad (at least not on purpose) so she wasn't worried about afterward. She was worried about the wedding itself and the emotional aftermath they would both quietly be dealing with.

Leo would likely be upset to some degree after going through the charade knowing it wasn't real even though he wanted it to be. Daisy already knew she was going to feel horribly guilty and also weird about the fact she was marrying someone so much younger than her that she thought of as a brother.

And here she was thinking about it again! She had hoped going to work would help in that regard.

Blessedly, the subject changed and Miette began showing her where everything she would need to take care of the flowers was located so she could get to work. That ought to get her mind off things for a while.

Once her boss left and she was alone with the flowers she sang and basked in their glory, perfectly content. Being paid to be surrounded by her favorite thing truly was living the dream!

Daisy was in such a good mood by the time her shift ended that she practically bounced out of the flower shop. She got off earlier than Leo since she was in charge of caring for the flowers rather than working in the shop itself and skipped all the way home even though she couldn't take the shortcut.

She watered her own recently planted garden before heading inside to get the laundry. It was a lot easier to do now that she could fill up the washtub directly from a spigot in the backyard rather than having to lug bucket after bucket from the stream.

She was hanging things out to dry when Leo came home looking like he had his soul sucked out of him. "…are you okay?"

"You cannot imagine the horrifying amount of paperwork I had to do today," he said grimly.

Daisy couldn't help it. She burst out laughing not only because of his expression but because she could imagine it rather easily. Paperwork used to be all she ever did. It had made her feel like that more than once.

"That sucks, I'm sorry. If it helps, dinner will be ready soon and I picked up some strawberries on my way home earlier. I was thinking about making a strawberry shortcake."

Leo's expression brightened immediately. He loved strawberry shortcake almost as much as he loved apple tarts. "That's a great idea! Here, let me help you with this. That way we can make the cake sooner."

Daisy laughed again at his eagerness. He could be so cute sometimes. "I'd appreciate that, thanks!"

With him helping, the laundry was hung up in no time and they headed back inside to get started on the cake batter. He asked her about her first day and she told him all about how wonderful it had been working with flowers all day.

"It's a dream come true," she gushed. "I never thought I would be able to do anything like this. Getting paid to do what I love most is such an amazing feeling!"

His gaze was warm as he listened to her and occasionally handed her ingredients. "I'm happy for you, Daisy. You deserve this and more."

Leo was always so darned sweet! No one else had ever told her she deserved something on the rare occasions things went right. She rarely got congratulated in any form at all but there was something about that specifically that got to her.

Daisy beamed at him. "Thanks! I truly couldn't be happier. I'm so glad I came here."

"So am I."

The guilt that had plagued her earlier was back, popping her happiness like a balloon. Would that ever go away or would she spend the rest of her life worrying about her best friend's battered heart knowing it was her fault?

===

Daisy's emotions teetertottered back and forth between bliss because of her new job and being able to be with Leo again and crippling guilt because she couldn't love him back the way he wanted. That, coupled with worries about how their wedding day was going to go, resulted in a lot of sleepless nights in the following month.

She wasn't ready when the day arrived. Everything was already prepared so all she had to do was show up at the church with Leo but it all felt surreal.

She wore a rather simple white empire-waist dress (since that was primarily what they had here) and had a bouquet of Gerber daisies courtesy of Nia. She had also requested a few extra to make herself a flower crown with.

It seemed right somehow. She might not be able to have a veil or anything fancy from back home but she did love flowers and wearing them was sort of an inside joke between her and Leo at this point.

He smiled when he saw it. "I expected nothing less from you."

"I made you something too if you aren't too embarrassed to wear it in front of your army friends," Daisy told him.

The formal clothes he had bought specifically for the wedding had a small pocket where a boutonniere could be placed. He had never objected to wearing any of the flower necklaces or bracelets she had made him before but he was younger then and it wasn't in front of so many people.

This was something that was completely normal in her world though and she wanted that bit of normalcy on her very NOT normal wedding day. Of course, because it was Leo, he obliged her. He seemed pretty happy to do so too.

"We match," he noted in delight.

Daisy nodded. "This is what people do when they get married where I'm from. Flowers are a very important part of weddings there."

"It's a good thing you work for a flower shop then."

"Yeah."

She suddenly felt rather embarrassed and unsure what to say. Was this really going to be okay? She was marrying someone who was in love with her that she didn't love back the same way. This couldn't possibly end well for either of them but since she lived in this fantasyland now she had to abide by its rules.

They headed out to the church in silence, Leo's hand in hers. He gave it a reassuring squeeze when they arrived but Daisy couldn't be sure if that was for her sake or his.

Nia and Miette had closed the shop so they could come to her wedding but everyone else she knew in this world couldn't make it. The majority of their wedding guests were the two dozen or so soldiers in their unforms that Leo had invited.

She couldn't help but laugh to herself because if this was happening in her old world she wouldn't have had anyone to invite either. Some things were universal, like her lack of friends. She really needed to be better about that since she was going to be spending the rest of her life here.

The ceremony itself wasn't terribly different than ones she had seen in movies back home (because she had never been to a wedding in her life). Daisy's hands sweated nervously the entire time because she couldn't believe she was actually doing this.

When the time came to say "I do" she finally looked up at Leo but that was a mistake. Despite his wide smile, there was obvious sadness in his eyes. At least obvious to her since she knew him so well. She doubted anyone else would notice, especially at a distance.

As she had suspected, this was bittersweet for him. Her heart twisted and she was so distracted by her worry for him she nearly forgot to reply to the priest.

"I do!" Daisy said hurriedly when she realized she was spacing out.

"Then by the power vested in me I now declare you husband and wife," the priest said solemnly.. "You may now kiss the bride."