Time is the great teacher of love
Leonard couldn't hold it in any longer. He took Marcus to a corner of the room and told him what Deanna had planned.
"This time, if you call Sacha, I'll kill you," Marcus threatened.
"She doesn't want to travel. She wants to sing again, and she wants to do it here."
"God! I've been waiting for this for so long."
"I know, but we have to be careful. I know Crusher will move whatever needs to be moved and will play babysitter, but just in case, find out how we can set up part of the theater for the girls. I'll cover the costs."
"Of course you'll cover the costs. I'll do anything to see her shine on my stage again."
The joy of being married to the woman he loved and the anticipation of hearing the applause for his daughter drove him mad. He was ecstatic. He hugged Susan whenever he could and kissed her in front of everyone, even Camila.
While the children entertained themselves in their exclusive section, the adults enjoyed the evening. Daniel held his wife close to dance with her to the most suggestive pieces; their unspoken communication had not disappeared. They had to devise new ways to express their feelings without drawing too much attention from their children. The discreet touches were charged with intensity, lingering longer; the kisses deepened hurriedly, the caresses became more daring. Deanna had come to believe that passion would diminish with the burdens of home, but Daniel couldn't extinguish his desire for her with anything.
The parts of her body that refused to return to their original places were now just another reason for his compliments, for his eager mouth. Sometimes, desire exploded in the strangest and most uncomfortable places: behind the stairs, with the pantry door closed, in the small guest bathroom. They discovered that hurried and heated moments were exciting too, just like the long and dedicated ones.
"I'll chase you until I can't walk anymore," he warned her.
And Deanna laughed and hoped it would be so.
Harry and Amanda were still postponing that step, but it didn't stop them either. The explicit sweetness of his wife made him feel foolish; she attracted him with tender and fleeting caresses and kisses, and Harry felt he could fall to his knees. This beautiful, hardworking woman, tireless mother of two, still waited for him with a prepared dinner when he returned from the company. This woman, so different from the other, the cold and dull one, illuminated his soul. Sometimes he remembered those sordid beginnings and cursed himself for how badly he had treated her. But Amanda would come up behind him and take his hand, and Harry Crusher knew he could die for her. There was no more coldness in their home, no more shouting or hatred, no more false attitudes.
Charles and Camila reveled in the family they had built. He danced with his wife too; he still found her the most beautiful woman. Because despite all the years, Charles remained in love. It wasn't a passion-filled love like Daniel's, nor a sweet love like Harry's, not even a crazy love like Leonard's. It was a love strengthened over the years, with the life they had shared. Because love transforms, but it doesn't lose its essence. Camila had always been a bit pedantic and loud, yet she still blushed at her husband's compliments. Not for a single moment in their entire marriage had Charles held back words of appreciation for the person who was his partner and the mother of his children. Camila pretended to be indignant or indifferent, but she felt the warmth of those words in her heart.
Susan and Leonard shared a new level of intimacy now, just hours after saying "I do," and he was already touching her all over. It wasn’t that he never did it before, but now all that beauty would be his forever.
"Leonard..." Susan warned him.
"You can’t blame me, you look incredible..."
"Well, this isn’t the place. We’ll have our wedding night later."
"But what if I let you go and you run away?"
"I won’t."
"How can you assure me?"
"Because I’m looking forward to tonight too, just like I look forward to every night by your side and the days and your awful face when you wake up and how you appear out of nowhere with a smile in the gallery. I don’t want to run away. Miss all that? Not a chance!"
"Are you sure your brothers aren’t adopted?" he suddenly asked.
"What?"
"You’re so beautiful, all gorgeous and sensual, so smart and sweet... Those two aren’t like that."
"Of course they are, but you don’t know them."
"One’s a fool, and the other’s an idiot."
"Hey, they’re my brothers! They’re a bit slow, but we’re very alike. They were, are, and will be the best gift my parents ever gave me."
A bit tipsy from love, and a bit from alcohol, Deanna watched along with Susan and Amanda as their respective men interacted... a bit oddly.
"It’s strange, Daniel doesn’t drink," Deanna said.
"And Harry stopped drinking," Amanda added.
"It’s because of Leonard," Susan admitted, a bit embarrassed.
They had accepted him into the family, but there was still some tension.
"The day... Listen to me carefully, Reed... The day my sister tells me you hurt her, I’ll kill you," Daniel slurred.
"Pffft! I’m so scared, Crusher... If you touch me, my daughter will break something over your head."
"She won’t."
"Of course she will! I’m a dad now."
"You’re a weird old man," Harry added.
"You shut up, stupid Crusher. I’m not afraid of you either. Your whole family is crazy."
"My wife is looking at me weird," Daniel said, glancing at Deanna.
"Because you’re drunk, idiot, and now she’s going to scold you," Reed said with a satisfied smile.
"They’re not looking at you nicely either," Harry said.
Susan’s face was serious.
"But they’ll forgive me. You, on the other hand, are going to get a lecture."
Deanna approached them.
"Daniel, we need to go," she said.
Daniel stood up without a word and followed her.
"Whipped..." Leonard whispered under his breath.
"Harry..." Amanda called.
He did the same as his brother.
"Another one..."
Then Susan stood in front of him, and he just smiled and hugged her waist.
"What a wedding night awaits me," he said.
"Oh, don’t worry, no matter what state I’m in, I’m going to adore you all night long, all night..."
"I’m going to adore you all my life," he thought to himself.