Happy Man, a girl meets world fanfic

A/N: Don't own GMW or Die a Happy Man

Warning: Major fluff ahead!

September 2025

Lucas is 25

Riley is 24

They have been a couple for 10 years… have lived together for 3 of those years

"Riley? Babe? You almost ready?" Lucas yells up the stairs as he straightens his tie.

"If we don't leave in the next 5 minutes, your dad is going to kill me for you getting there late!"

"Settle down Lucas. I'm finishing up now." Riley yells back "Besides, he won't kill you…hurt you maybe but he knows killing you would kill me so I think you are safe" Riley murmurs as she comes down the stairs.

"Wow…Riles, princess…you look amazing. How did I ever get so lucky?" Lucas whispers as he leans in to give her a quick kiss. Riley is dressed in a red sheath dress. Her hair is down, just the way he loves it. He takes a quick peek at her feet, she is wearing red ballet slippers. She never quite got the hang of walking in heels. He liked it when she tried because inevitably he would end up carrying her before the night was over…. not that he ever really needed a reason to have her in his arms.

"You don't look so bad yourself there handsome. I think I'm the lucky one." Lucas is wearing a black suit, with a white shirt and a red tie. She leans into steal a kiss of her own. She leans her head against his chest and sighs.

"What are you thinking about?" Lucas asks quietly.

"Just stuff. Like how lucky we are. How I fell in love with my best friend when I was 14. How I almost lost you. How grateful I am that you never gave up on me and that no matter how goofy I am you still love me." During her reply, Riley reaches up and holds his face in her hands. She stares into his eyes and marvels at how, all these years later, the butterflies are still there. Just hearing his voice sends shivers down her spine.

"Princess, giving up on you was never a possibility. You had me wrapped around your finger from the moment you landed on my lap in the subway. I don't like to think about the "brother" period if I can help it. I thought riding Tombstone made me nervous…that bull has nothing on you. And Sunshine? I will always love you. You are the reason I am the man I am today. I wanted to be a better man, for you. Remember on our first date when I said that I would remember that moment forever?"

"Yes"

"It was at that moment I knew you were going to be my life. That I would move heaven and earth to make you mine"

"We've been together for 10 years yet every time I see you, I feel like I'm seeing you for the first time."

"I know the feeling. We need to get on the road Riles before your dad calls looking for us" Lucas holds her raincoat so she can slip it on.

"Your right." Riley replies as she tightens the belt on her coat.

They head out to meet Riley's parents for dinner.

Dinner is a warm, quiet affair. Cory is still a little overprotective of Riley but he knows that Lucas takes great care of her and that makes him the perfect man in his eyes. Topanga loves to talk about how the love story of "Rucas" may be more epic than the love story of "Corpanga".

A warm, steady rain falls as the couples head to their respective homes.

Once they arrive home, Lucas pours them each a glass of wine as Riley starts her "Lucas" playlist on her Ipad.

They meet in the living room, wrap their arms around each other and slow dance to the music. They are happiest in moments like this. It's just the two of them, wrapped up in each other. The pressures of the outside world have been left on the front porch and they can just be.

After they finish their second glass of wine, Riley grabs Lucas by the hand and drags him outside onto their balcony.

"Riles, it's pouring! Why are we out here?"

"Dance with me. Let go and be goofy with me." Riley has her eyes closed as she sways to the music. Her face is lit by her mega-watt smile. He can't help but stop, stare and smile. He absolutely adores her.

They are outside for only a short time. After a hot shower to warm herself up, Riley crawls into bed to wait for Lucas. It only takes a few moments and she is out cold. Lucas walks out of the bathroom, towel drying his hair and sees her fast asleep. He tiptoes out of the bedroom and heads downstairs to the living room. He grabs his laptop and searches for the lyrics to a song he heard just that morning on the radio. After reading the lyrics, he knows he has found the perfect song. He downloads it onto his Iphone, grabs something out of his medical bag and heads up to bed.

Riley wakes up the following morning to an empty bed. She rolls over to see if Lucas is in the bathroom. On his pillow is a note. "R- when you get dressed, please put on the outfit I put in the bathroom for you. When done, please meet me on the roof. Love- L"

Riley is intrigued and hurries into the shower. She climbs out of the shower and finds one of her favorite dresses hanging on the back of the bathroom door. It's a black lace baby doll dress and it makes her feel sexy when she wears it. She quickly puts it on, pairs it with a pair of black pumps and the locket he gave her for her 16th birthday.

The elevator to the roof feels like it is moving in slow motion. She is anxious to see what surprise he has in store for her. He is forever giving her these little "moments", he says that he does it to make up for how long it took him to have his first "moment" with her all those years ago.

She steps out onto the roof and walks up to the love of her life as he stares out over the city.

"Hey Babe" she whispers quietly.

"Morning Riles" he whispers back. He turns and looks at her, he is certain that his heart skips a beat. He knows that he couldn't have planned this moment any better.

He grabs her hand and walks her to the little table set for two.

They enjoy a quiet breakfast while they stare at each other. It never fails to amaze him how right his world is when he is in her presence.

After they finish eating, he helps her from her chair and asks her to dance. She immediately says yes and they begin to sway.

When he hears the opening notes to the song he found the night before he whispers in her ear

"This is the perfect song. I couldn't have written it any better myself"

"Baby last night was hands down
One of the best nights
That I've had no doubt
Between the bottle of wine
And the look in your eyes and the Marvin Gaye
Then we danced in the dark under September stars in the pourin' rain

And I know that I can't ever tell you enough
That all I need in this life is your crazy love
If I never get to see the Northern lights
Or if I never get to see the Eiffel Tower at night
Oh if all I got is your hand in my hand
Baby I could die a happy man
A happy man, baby, hmm

Baby and that red dress brings me to my knees
Oh but that black dress makes it hard to breathe
Your saint sure got us the cutest, the hottest masterpiece
It's too good to be true, nothing better than you
In my wildest dreams

I don't need no vacation, no fancy destination
Baby you're my great escape
We could stay at home, listen to the radio
Or dance around the fireplace

And if I never get to build my mansion in Georgia
Or drive a sports car up the coast of California
Well if all I got is your hand in my hand
Baby I could die a happy man

Baby I could die a happy man
Oh, I could die a happy man
Don't you know, I could die,
I could die, I could die a happy man, uh oh hmm"

The grin on her face is bright enough to rival the sun.

"I feel the same way Lucas. As long as I'm with you, my life is perfect" she says as she stands on her tiptoes to give him a kiss.

He slowly sinks to one knee, holding both of her hands in his…

"Riley, I am convinced that we were made for each other. Since the day we met, my day starts and ends with thoughts of you. My day is not complete without one of your smiles or hearing you laugh. Every day, I find myself falling in love with you all over again. I never want that to change. I never want to imagine a day without you by my side. I love you Princess Dancing Sunshine, will you marry me?" he produces a ring from his pocket.

"Yes, Mad Dog. I will marry you. I love you Lucas. I think I loved you before I met you" she replies as he slides the ring onto her finger. He rises to his feet and seals it with a kiss. As he looks into her eyes, he smiles and says "It's OK Riles…. Let it out"

She smirks, wraps his arms around him and yells "Yay!" as loud and as long as she can.

A/N: I have always loved this song. I was working on the next chapter for Girl Meets the Unknown when it started to play. As I had Rucas on my brain, I could easily imagine Lucas playing this song for Riley. I have made no secret of my love for Rucas. I am still hopeful that they end up together on the show.

Hope you enjoyed this little bit of Rucas fluff. PS- Girl Meets Stem was pretty good. I liked the message it sent. However, the shows being shown out of order are confusing to their younger viewers. My niece and her friends don't understand why everyone is acting like Farkle never said anything. I hope I explained it enough so they understand…. I'm already thinking of how to explain why nothing happens between New Year's and graduation. We already had a talk about "girl code" as they were mad at Maya for breaking it. I feel so old, when I was their age, I had no clue about girl code!