The next day, Maya was in Alice and Bree's room that had been transformed into the bridal sweet. She sat off to the side with Bree, keeping her company as Alice rushed around getting Bella ready. Bree had originally offered to help, but Bella's scent had been too much for her and she had retreated into a corner so that she could still be a part of it without being as big of a risk to the bride.
Which Maya secretly thought suited Alice just fine. The tiny vampire may seem happy and unconcerned, but Maya had caught the flashes of jealously and possessiveness that had sparked in her eyes when Bree had attempted to do Bella's hair. As for Bree, Maya figured the only reason she wasn't showing the same signs of jealousy and possessiveness was the fact that Alice kept speeding over to place kisses on her face and whispering things in her ear as she worked.
She was moving so fast that Maya had trouble keeping up but that was probably for the best. Otherwise Bella would have for sure thrown a fit at not being the centre of Alice's attention. The girl may claim she was shy and hated being singled out, but all of them had been around her long enough to recognize that that was not true. Hence Alice moving faster than Bella could track to try and keep her and her mate calm. And it was working. The two were settled and happy, which was all Maya could ask for given that newly mated vampires were putting their hands on another girl in front of their mate.
But all the same, Maya kept an eye on them and did her part to ensure that the bride made it through her wedding alive by sitting beside Bree and texting Rosalie to come help with Bella's hair. Rosalie had been unwilling of course, but when Maya offered her the choice of helping to do hair or hide the mess of a dead bride she had relented.
As Rosalie appeared in the doorway, Alice practically beamed and moved off to the side to make room for her to help. As she did she shot Maya a grateful smile and mouthed "thank you" at her. Maya just smiled back and settled in to watch Rosalie's valiant struggle against the urge to bash Bella's head in.
"Do you need some help? I can do your hair for you" Rosalie offered, Bella not noticing how reluctant she sounded.
"Really?" Bella asked skeptically.
Rosalie rolled her eyes at the human, wishing to be back with her parents directing guests. "Please, I'm not offended by your choice of groom."
"Just my blatant lack of respect for my own mortality" Bella said snidely.
"Essentially" Rose said, tight smile on her face. Maya snickered quietly as she could see Rosalie all but physically holding herself back from snapping. Rosalie shot her a glare in return. She was only up here because of Maya and she would not have her sister (or girl who would be her sister as soon as Jasper finally got around to marrying her) making this harder on her.
Alice looked back and forth between the two pairs of girls and decided she should try to break the growing tension. Rosalie's presence was after all for her and mate's benefit, which she was immensely grateful for. "Weddings! They bring everyone together."
Before any more could be said though they heard a woman calling, "Alice? Bella?"
"In here mom" Bella replied to Renee, who stumbled into the room.
"Oh my God!" Renee's hands came up to hold her face as she caught sight of Bella, tears springing to her eyes.
Maya grimaced at the sight of Renee. The two hadn't spoken in person since they had taken Bella to the hospital after James had nearly killed her. And the only time they had spoken over the phone since then had been during Bella's depression when Edward left. The woman had called her almost daily to yell at her for not doing enough to care for Bella and cheer her up. Eventually if had annoyed Maya so much that she had simply stopped picking up when she heard Renee's ring tone. Which she may or may not have changed to play "ding dong the wicked witch" on repeat. Her dad had scolded her the first time he heard it, but she had caught the smile he tried to hide from her.
Renee apparently caught her grimace though and glared at her as if her presence during her reunion with her daughter were the gravest of offences. Not wanting to deal with it, Maya jumped to her feet and headed for the door, giving her dad a kiss on the cheek as she passed and laughing at his comment about being hot.
Deciding to make herself useful she headed downstairs to check and see if they needed help directing guests given that she had stolen Rosalie away to help keep the bride alive.
As it turned out thought they didn't need help. But since the ceremony was going to be soon anyways she decided to just hang out down there with Jasper and Emmet. Who had been hiding off to the side chatting and laughing as they cracked jokes.
Eventually they were found by Esme who gave them a look of disapproval and directed them to the seating area to take their seats. Though the boys officially held the titles of "groom's men" and their sisters "bride's maids", Bella didn't want to share the stage so they were seated in the front row instead. Which honestly Jasper preferred. If Jasper had to have his home invaded by what seemed like half the population of Forks, he would rather it happen while he had his mate seated next to him.
(BTW no hate on anyone that does this for their own wedding. It is of course Your wedding and can do what you like. I'm just upset we didn't get to see Emmet and Jasper lead their wives down the aisle in the movie and venting through Bellabashing)
Maya meanwhile was holding back giggles. Her attention was split between watching Alice grin and bounce in excitement at seeing the wedding she designed come to life as Bree tried to look casual while pinning her down and watching as her dad attempted to murder Edward with his eyes as Edward tried his hardest to hide how uncomfortable he was by it and the thoughts obviously running through her dad's head. By the time the ceremony came to an end Maya hadn't heard a word and was instead completely focused on keeping her face hidden in Jasper's shoulder so none of the guests could see her cracking up.
The moment the couple had walked back down the aisle and the guests were free to stand and mingle Maya dashed off into the house to compose herself. Jasper, not wanting to be left alone lest Alice give him another task to complete, followed her in.
"You know last I checked its bad manners to abandon your beloved all on his lonesome" he drawled as he leaned against the door frame of his room.
Maya just continued giggle as she moved over to throw her arms around him. "Do forgive me for my bad manners sir! I had no idea you would be unable to handle a few minutes alone!" she teased as she pulled his head down for a kiss.
He smiled into it and wrapped his arms around her to pull her into a deeper kiss. The two lost themselves sin each other for a bit before they pulled back so Maya could breath. "You know" Maya said in-between her panting breaths, "someday you are going to suffocate me and I will die a very happy woman."
He snorted and leaned down to give her another peck on the lips. "Your ridiculous" he breathed against her lips.
"Yep" Maya agreed with a grin. "But you're the one that chooses to stay with me so what does that make you?"
"Entertained" Jasper said with a laugh as Maya squawked and hit him.
"See if I ever show you proper manners again!"
"Oh Darlin'" Jasper drawled, running his hands down her body to grip her hips, "you will show me proper manners again, of that I can assure you." He leaned his head down so that he could nuzzle at her throat before slowly moving up to whisper in her ear. "Every time I have you pinned beneath me, writhing in pleasure you show manners as you beg so nicely for me to pleasure you."
Maya whimpered at his words and clenched her legs together as she felt herself grow damp. "Is it time to say goodbye to the bride and groom yet?" she asked with a whine. She was ready for this wedding to be over so that her and Jasper could have some alone time.
"Not quite yet. First we have to survive the socializing."
Maya groaned and threw her head back before giving a resigned sigh and heading towards the door. If she couldn't have Jasper now, then it was probably best that she distract herself. Otherwise she would probably wind up saying "fuck it" and locking the bedroom door. Which she personally wouldn't mind but knowing Bella and Renee, one or both of them would hunt her down and make a scene about her not being properly supportive.
Heading back out to the reception with Jasper, who was no more excited about it than her, trailing behind her the two began the process of playing host and socializing. They began by greeting the ones from the Denali coven that had come. Which had been awkward as apparently one of them had been fond of Laurent, who Maya had helped kill. But they had persevered and Maya thought there was some hope for friendly relationships between her and them in the future.
From there they moved onto their school "friends", Maya only greeting Angela with any enthusiasm. Oh she did her job as sister of the bride and was pleasant, but anyone that knew her well could tell it was fake as she thanked Jessica and Mike for coming.
She and Jasper made polite conversation with the group, Maya mainly focusing on Angela as she pulled her into a conversation about wedding photos and how great they would turn out with this setting when movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention.
Turning to see one of her favourite wolves standing off to the side of a group, she excused herself from the group of humans as quickly as she could while still being polite before making her way over to the wolf.
"Hey Seth" Maya greeted as she skipped over to give him a hug.
"Hey Maya. Hey Jasper" Seth returned her hug and reached out to shake Jasper's hand. "Wedding looks amazing."
"Yes, Alice would never accept anything less" Jasper drawled with an eyeroll. He was ready for this wedding to be over so that he could be done with Alice bossing them around. Not to mention finally being allowed to spend some actual time with his mate uninterrupted.
Seth winced in sympathy, having heard Maya's horror stories of the little party planning tyrant. "Well at least its almost over?" he offered hesitantly. Truth be told, he had no idea how to act around Jasper, more so now that he had seen through the eyes of the pack just how well the man fought. If Seth had thought him intimidating before the battle, it had doubled since.
"So what about Leah?" Maya asked, changing the subject lest it somehow summon the tyrant herself.
"Ah ... yeah. She's not here. Mom kind of told Leah that if she came she had to be polite or mom wouldn't let her come. So she's running patrols with Paul" Seth told them as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
Maya just laughed. Most people would take her attitude as insulting, but Maya enjoyed having someone around who gave as good as she got. Not to mention the fact that her rightly giving Sam hell was an excellent source of entertainment for her. She understood that imprinting was a huge thing and not something you could fight, but ditching your fiancée to hook up with her cousin/best friend was a dick move no matter the reason. Which is why so long as Leah never did any real harm besides making Sam uncomfortable, she was okay with sitting back to enjoy the show. "Well at least most of you showed up, though if I'm not mistaken that's mostly because of the free food."
Seth laughed, relieved his sister's actions would not offend anyone. "Actually we're here because Billy was concerned about how Charlie might react. Something about him going after the groom with a shotgun?"
Jasper laughed at the image of his brother being hunted down by the sheriff. "If he does I may just help him. I have to win brownie points for my own wedding after all."
"You're already his favourite child" Maya told him with an eyeroll.
"Ah but that's only because I haven't attempted to marry you yet" Jasper teased as he tugged her close.
Maya just snorted, "If walking in on you defiling his daughter didn't put him off you, I doubt you making an honest woman out of me will."
Seth watched the two banter back and forth enjoying himself despite his initial nervousness about being around Jasper. Taking a deep breath, he decided to just ask what he had been wanting to ever since he had fought Riley. "Hey Jasper ... would there be any chance that you might be willing to practice with me?"
The two sent him questioning looks and he blushed in embarrassment. "Maya mentioned that you've worked with her a bit on her fighting skills and I was wondering if I could get a few pointers. I'm the youngest and as I learned when facing Riley, I still have a lot to learn about fighting."
Maya practically beamed at him. She was glad he was taking the initiative to improve. She had done the same thing when she had visited Italy; talking over where she had screwed up in her fight with James and how she could do better in the future.
Jasper examined the boy in front of him for a moment, scanning his emotions and face to determine the truth behind his request. Turning to see Maya already grinning up at him, he sighed. Apparently he was going to become a dog trainer. Emmet would probably tease him about it for the next decade.
"If you drop by in the afternoon or evenings when you have time we can work on it. Emmet and I have a ring here we use for practice and you can join us if that's what you really want" Jasper told him resigned. He only hoped that if he got Emmet involved right from the start it would cut down on some of the teasing. Constantly having to beat his brother into the ground to get him to shut up would become annoying quickly.
Seth beamed at him and Maya reached up to place a kiss on his cheek. "You know I'm surprised you're asking" Jasper said after giving Maya a peck in return. "From what I've heard you wolves aren't very fond of my family."
Seth snorted, "you mean Jacob isn't fond of Edward. But you probably won't have to worry about that anymore."
Jasper and Maya both stared at him. Neither of them could believe that after all the boy went through to get Bella's attention that he would just give up as easy as that.
"Yeah, he's kind of over his obsession with Bella now. She apparently kissed him before the battle began but then when he was injured she didn't even bother to stop in once to see if he was doing okay. I think he's finally starting to realize that she's not worth all the trouble she's caused."
Jasper sighed at that, "now if only my brother would realize the same thing" he muttered.
Ignoring her mate's comment, Maya stayed focused on Seth. "So is that why he's not here?"
"Sort of, he took off for a long run to blow off steam. But he said he would drop by near the end to see her before they left on their honeymoon. I think he plans to say his final goodbyes or something."
"Will wonders never cease, you can teach a old dog new tricks after all" Maya said with a fake gasp of shock as she placed a hand over her heart.
Seth and Jasper both laughed at that and the three moved onto different topics, chatting together until everyone was called to be seated for dinner.
Once everyone was in their seats, Emmet headed up to grab the mic to make the first speech. Maya already struggling to hold back laughter as she just knew that this would be a speech to remember.
"Excuse me. Is this on? Hello? Umm, I'd like to propose a toast. To my new sister. Bella, I hope you've gotten enough sleep these last 18 years. Because you won't be getting anymore for a while." He finished with a laugh and Maya cackled while Jasper hid a laugh. Rose on the other just buried her face in her hands, muttering about how she was going to smack her "idiot husband". They knew he was talking about her becoming a vampire, but they also knew that everyone else who did not know about vampires did not take it that way. Just as they knew that Emmet knew that and phrased it that way on purpose. They shook their heads at him as he got down from the mic and Jessica got up to make a speech.
The speeches carried on, Maya, Jasper and the other Cullen children talking and laughing quietly about them as they did. They all agreed though that Charlie's speech, full of not-so-subtle threats against Edward, was one of the, if not thee best they had ever heard. Though it did make Jasper wonder about just what sort of speech he would give when Jasper married his other daughter.
Eventually, the speeches came to an end and the Cullens sat there sneaking what food they could onto Maya's plate and pretending to eat what they couldn't as dinner was served. The group laughed and joked with each other the entire time, enjoying not having any major worries or threats hanging over them for once in almost two years.
When dinner was over, the music started up again and they all headed for the dance floor. They watched the couple dance their first song as a married couple before eventually joining in themselves.
They all switched off dancing with everyone in their family and some who weren't. Maya's dance with her father had been just as fun as she remembered them being from when she was a child and they would dance around the kitchen together.
Eventually as the beat slowed down again though, Maya found herself back in her cowboy's arms with her head leaning against his chest as they swayed to the music. As they danced Jasper noticed Edward and Bella heading off behind the house but quickly decided it was no business of his when he heard Bella greet Jacob. He pulled Maya closer to him and swayed a little more, quietly laughing to himself as he realize his adorable Darlin' was practically asleep in his arms.
His moment was shattered though as his hearing picked up on what was quickly becoming a heated argument as Bella began to raise her voice. Not enough for the humans to hear, but definitely enough to rouse his mate.
Maya let out a tired sigh as Bella's shouting brought her out of her happy and contented doze. "I suppose it would have been too much to hope that this wedding could have gone off without some drama" she grumbled.
"Probably" Jasper agreed. "But I can feel the other wolves approaching so at least we don't have to deal with it."
"Small mercies" Maya agreed before snorting as she shamelessly listened in. "Did Bella really just accuse him of doing this on purpose to ruin her wedding in retaliation for her not picking him?"
"Yep. And if what I'm picking up from Jacob is anything to go by he's just about done with her and her selfishness."
"I'm only surprised it's taken him this long to get to this point with her. Oh listen, now she trying to pull the 'I still care about you card' to keep stringing him along. How original"
Jasper quietly laughed as Maya continued her running commentary on Bella's attempts to manipulate Jacob in a low voice. She mocked Bella's whinny tone as she claimed to be confused about what she wanted from Jacob, scoffing at the end and commenting that if she really were she shouldn't have agreed to get married.
The wolves arrived shortly after that though and dragged Jacob away before he could fully lose his control and attack Bella. Which Jasper was glad for as he did not want to have to fight the wolves today to defend the human. Not that the other alternative of attempting to hide the bride's dead body while all the guests were still here was a better alternative.
As the wolves moved out, Maya pouted playfully. "You know I might actually miss the little love triangle they had going on. At the very least with them around I didn't have to bother turning on the TV to enjoy a soap opera."
Jasper laughed at that before twirling her around the dance floor as the music picked up and the two settled back into following the rhythm.
Finally the wedding came to an end, everyone lining up to see the couple off and waving as they drove off. When they were gone, Maya made the decision to not stay the night with Jasper. Her dad had apparently decided that the only way he would get through the wedding of his daughter to a boy he didn't like was to drink copious amounts of alcohol. As such he was well on his way to being drunk and in no condition to be driving home alone.
She gave Jasper a parting kiss and promised to leave the door unlocked for him for when he finished helping clean up. Then she, with the help of Carlisle, managed to manoeuvre her father into the passenger seat of his car and pulled out to head home. By the time they got home, he was passed out and dead to the world. Heaving a sigh Maya glanced around to make sure no one was looking before basically lifting her father up in a fireman's carry to get him into the house and up to bed.
She didn't bother to do much more than remove his shoes, tie and jacket, knowing that he would probably want a shower when he woke up. Once that was done she pulled his covers up over him, fetched a glass of water and Tylenol for his hang over tomorrow, and gently closed his door before retreating to her own room to get ready for bed.
Falling into her bed she was out practically the moment her head hit the pillow. When Jasper arrived at the house three hours later after helping to take down the set up for the wedding he found her in the same position she had fallen in. Smiling down at her, he gently removed her jewellery and shoes and shifted her so he could pull the blankets all the way up before climbing in to join her.