Mari ran her hands over the lace fabric of her dress and wondered once again if she had gone too traditional. The gown which clung to her slim body was a crisp white rather than the cream color she had originally preferred, but she had worried that the cream wouldn't look as good in photographs. Especially if it rained, like the weather seemed to imply it would. She sighed and adjusted the sash at her waist so it was just a quarter an inch higher, which would allow it to avoid catching on the tiny pearls carefully sewn into the mermaid gown. After fluffing her veil one last time, she sighed and flashed herself a quick smile in the mirror. Perfect.

"You look nice." A soft voice called from behind her.

Her golden eyes darted to the reflected doorway, which had been empty a moment before. There, leaning against the wooden edging, stood one of her guests who she had to admit she was surprised to see. Most of her family had been hurrying around the grounds of the garden making sure that everything ran smoothly while she had been left with the hair and makeup stylists. Her many friends wouldn't be arriving until later, except for the bridesmaids who were getting their nails finished. It was, she had to admit, good to see a friend just then. Her smile widened into a genuine grin and she spoke excitedly, "I didn't think you were going to be able to make it."

The scarlet haired woman's face fell a bit, "I can't. But I understand that it is customary to give your best wishes to the bride to be, so I thought I would stop by for a few minutes."

Mari spun carefully around, allowing her dress to brush over the hard wooden floors of the room, to face Shayera. Whereas the woman almost exclusively wore workout gear, she had donned a short, deep purple dress for the occasion which hung loosely on her frame yet still made her appear fragile and feminine. That was accented even more by the small pumps on her feet and careful amount of makeup on her face. Even her usually straight hair was curled and spun into a loose braid. Mari took a moment to admire her before teasing, "I thought you quit the League to have more time for events like these. Come on! Don't you want to stay for the reception? We're going to have every kind of cake imaginable."

One side of Shayera's mouth perked up, and she walked towards the bride, "Yes, but your wedding is a special occasion. There were so many heroes who wanted to attend that Clark asked me to come back in, just for the day. Weren't enough people to cover all of the shifts otherwise."

"What?" Mari laughed lightly, "A couple of months off duty and you want to fly straight into combat?"

"I am perfectly capable of taking down any number of beasts and monsters" Shayera looked offended, but her face softened quickly, "But no. Bruce assigned me to monitor duty for the day. I'll just be coordinating the others, not partaking in any fights...unfortunately."

Mari stuck her hands out with a smile, "I'm glad you came though."

Shayera slid hers calloused hands into Mari's soft, manicured ones and allowed the model to swing their arms gently between them, "I hope that everything goes well for you today."

"Are you going to stop and say hello to John?" Mari asked curiously.

It took far too much effort on Shayera's part to stop herself from freezing at the sound of his name. Instead, she kept her arms loose, took only the smallest intake of breath, and said, "No, he and the boys are busy. Wally planned some kind of party for them last night and I think they're all trying to recover before the ceremony."

Mari laughed, "Sounds right."

"Everything else looks to be in place." She smiled as she nodded her head towards the window, "I took a look at the setup before coming inside. It looks just like the pictures you showed me."

"I haven't seen it yet. Have you noticed if the flowers arrived?" She worried.

Shayera gave her a look, "They have. Not that you should be concerned. You should be relaxing and practicing your vows."

Mari laughed, "I'll take that into consideration."

"Do you need anything before I go?" Shayera asked, taking her hands back.

"Yes!" Mari exclaimed. "Do you have a bobby pin or hair tie with you?"

"Um," Shayera frowned, "No, but I'm sure I can go ask one of your bridesmaids if there are extra someplace."

"No, it's no problem really. What else do you have on you?" Mari insisted.

"Excuse me?"

"I need to borrow something." Vixen said quickly, "It's a tradition that some people on Earth follow. You need four things for your wedding - something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. I have all my bases covered, but I need something borrowed."

"Oh," Shayera frowned and thought for a moment. Her mind went to the sparkling clip in her hair or twenty dollars from her wallet, but words spoken months ago whispered in the back of her mind. Hesitating for a moment, she reached up to the pinky finger on her right hand and slowly twisted off a simple gold band. It seemed like forever since it had been removed, and her skin stung with the sudden exposure to air and light. Still, she cupped it carefully in her hand and held it out to the excited bride.

Mari smiled appreciatively at Shayera as she gingerly clasped it between two fingers, "I've never seen you take it off. Thank you."

"Don't say that." Shayera said sounding distant, "I borrowed it too."

Mari knew better than to ask. She pushed the ring just slightly to get it over the bulge of her knuckle, and then held it up so she could admire the glimmer the aged metal gave off, even in the artificial light of the dressing room. After running her hands over the skirt of the dress one more time, she asked, "You're sure you can't stay? You could even skip the ceremony and stay for just the after party."

"Sorry," She feigned regret, "Can't do that unless you give up your best man."

Mari frowned, "I don't think even I could rearrange the bridal party at last minute."

Shayera smiled over her shoulder as she strode out of the room, "That's what happens when all your friends work in the same profession!"

Shayera was walking out of the lodge when John walked in. She hadn't meant to run into him - in fact she had arranged her visit specifically to avoid him. The image of him in his tux, gorgeous as ever with the emerald green handkerchief in his pocket bringing out the glow of his eyes more than usual was not something that she had wanted chained to her memory. He froze at the sight of her, as she did with him. A sharp pain pierced at her heart as she held his accusing stare.

"What are you doing here?" John asked sharply.

"I was just leaving." She said defensively, "I have monitor duty, but Mari's still my friend. All I wanted was to wish her my best before the wedding."

"I assumed when we said we would be staying out of each other's lives that meant the lives of our significant others as well." He said coldly.

The color from her face drained and she snapped, "I'm not the one who started this."

He sighed, "You were the one who left."

"Like I had so many great choices if I had stayed." She growled, "I made a decision that was best for all parties involved, including the League. Don't act like you had any better ideas."

He glared at her but backed down, "Okay, whatever you say. I have to get to pictures."

"Great." Shayera said shortly, "Congratulations or whatever."

"Right." He said briskly, "Thanks."

It took all of his resistance for his gaze not to follow her as she brushed past him in her walk to the field. In a moment, a flash of light would carry her through the atmosphere and into the safe confines of the Watchtower. He knew she wouldn't linger after today. It was unlikely he would see her again; Shayera was never one to renege on a decision. This was goodbye.