Title: Shaken, Stirred, Scrambled
Fandom: The Two Gentlemen of Verona
Rating: G
Word Count: ~1,200
Characters/Ships: Julia/Proteus/Silvia/Valentine, Julia/Proteus, Silvia/Valentine, Julia & Silvia
Notes: Counting this towards Drinking Alone/Abandon/Mending.
Summary: Wherein the double wedding goes fine, but the wedding night doesn't, Valentine and Proteus mess up, Silvia finds strength in unexpected places, and Julia is The Most Chill.


Silvia was sitting on the balcony in the morning sun, sipping champagne from a glass flute.

It had been a wild and whirling month, what with the move to Verona and the subsequent wedding. She leaned her head back and thought about that train journey down. She had almost not got on because of Proteus. Valentine had made him apologise profusely for what he had done, or tried to do, to her in the woods, and he had been so earnestly contrite that she had finally given in and got on the train with them all.

It was awkward between Julia and Proteus still, she could tell. There was a tension in the air that made their train compartment smaller than it really was, and she left it more than once for air.

They moved into one of the houses Valentine's father owned, as Valentine had envisioned. She'd had her stuff sent from Milan and had busied herself with sorting out the house alongside Julia while Valentine and Proteus sorted out the weddings.

It was an unconventional way of doing things, but it worked. Silvia was learning fast that things would always be unconventional in this house. Valentine and Proteus would come in and sit on the sofa, arms easily spread along the backrest or around one another's shoulders, while Julia lay on the sofa, reading, her head in Silvia's lap.

And then finally, one night, when the four of them had all been together, drunk on little wine after much work, Valentine and Proteus had kissed on the sofa in their front room.

Julia, who was sitting next to Silvia, only murmured something that sounded like "about time" and went back to reading. Silvia, for her part, wasn't as shocked as she might have been. She supposed she had always known that Valentine was more attached to Proteus than anything else, and that this wasn't disloyalty to her but him finally expressing what he'd felt for a long time. She had no desire to do anything similar to Julia, but she enjoyed the other woman's company, their intimate silences and their comfort around each other.

He kissed her straight afterwards and looked slightly sheepish, as if it was to make up for it. She smiled and touched his face.

It was a big risk, this move to Verona. It was a lot to give up, but then again, she had been certain of Valentine.

She was less certain now. Hence the sitting out on the balcony and the champagne.
To put it in the simplest possible terms, the wedding night had not gone to plan. She hadn't expected Valentine to stay with just her - they'd talked about it and she'd explicitly permitted his being with Proteus as well - but he had left her after their portion of events and fallen asleep with Proteus, and left her to fall asleep well after midnight and wake up in a cold bed.

She closed her eyes and leaned into the sensation of the bubbles on her tongue. There was a lot of sharpness in her throat, but she would save that for Valentine.

She felt the touch of a hand on her shoulder and turned around. She was half expecting it to be Valentine, but it was Julia, her hair in tangles. She looked half entertained, half angry. Silvia gave a shrug. There was no need to say anything - they'd both been party to the events, they were on the same page already. Julia shrugged in response as if to acknowledge the fact, then sat down across from Silvia. They looked out across the balcony.

"Well," Julia said after a moment of silence. "So that was a thing that happened."

"Get a glass from the kitchen, you can join me," Silvia replied.

"Sounds like a plan." Julia disappeared briefly, then returned with a glass and helped herself to drink.

"Were they always like this?" Silvia asked after another sip.

"I think so," said Julia. "I've never know them any other way."

"Right," Silvia said.

They remained in companionable silence for a short while until they heard the men shuffling in the kitchen.

"Here it comes," Julia said. There was a twinkle in her eye.

"Good morning," Valentine said softly from the balcony doorway. Silvia inclined her head towards him. He looked like a deer in headlights.

"Good morning, husband. Did you sleep alright?" She'd meant for it to come out with more bitterness, but looking at Julia's amused expression had softened it a bit.

"I, um, oh my God, Silvia. I'm so sorry, I don't know what to say, what can I do."
His words fell out of his mouth too fast, and his hands moved wildly. There was an awkwardness about him that had charmed Silvia when she had first met him, but now it had lost its magic.

"To have and to hold. In sickness and health."

Julia was looking at Proteus as she spoke those words. The amusement had fled her expression and been replaced by bitterness and betrayal.

"I've been here with you, and we've done this. But Valentine and Silvia haven't, and it was up to you to make sure."

Proteus turned to Silvia. "I'm sorry I kept him," he said, "I'm sorry we didn't take better care."

"It's sweet that you're sticking up for him," Silvia said between sips, "but Valentine's an adult."

Julia beside her reached for her hand and squeezed it. Silvia was grateful for the source of strength as she carried on. "I don't profess to understand the bond between you two, and I won't argue it can't be as strong, or as profound, but it can't take precedence over what is between Valentine and me, and between Proteus and Julia. You can't make a bargain and then not hold up your end of it."

Valentine was looking at his feet and Proteus seemed to suddenly find his nails very interesting.

Julia got up and bodily dragged Proteus to the seat near her, and Valentine sat next to Silvia as it seemed the sensible thing to do.

"I think what we need is some time for us, just us two," said Valentine. Silvia nodded. Valentine took her hand and Silvia didn't resist.
"Some rules wouldn't hurt, for this house," said Julia.
"Probably a schedule," said Proteus. Julia snorted, but Silvia had to concede he had a point.
"And means to keep it. But first of all, coffee," said Silvia.

As if on cue, Proteus got up and shuffled to the kitchen. The others could hear him making noises and a little later, he emerged with four steaming mugs.

The coffee warmed Silvia more than the champagne had done and made her feel the ground under her feet.

She looked across the table at Julia, whose eyes were regaining their amused sparkle, and closed her eyes. There were things here that she could rely on, but they were different from what she'd expected.

She thought that marrying Valentine meant that something was finished. But, as she was starting to realise, it actually meant that something was beginning. And just as she had made her own way from Milan to Verona, she would make her own way through this.