At Last

Disclaimer: Will and Bella are not mine. And will never be, seeing as how they canceled one of the best TV shows to come on since Dawson's Creek first aired. It really ticks me off that TPTB canceled such a wonderful show before it ever received a fair chance.

Author's Note: Well, seeing as how Will/Bella never happened on the show, I figure that I could write this cute little story here with one of my favorite songs ever. I just think that this song describe any relationship where you find the person you want to be with forever. But not many people in my generation are willing to be open-minded enough to actually listen to Etta James for ten minutes before they write it off as an oldie. Let me tell you, she was way ahead of her time, and I honestly feel like she was one of the best female singers of all time. But that's just my opinion, and who am I to preach to you. Any way, enjoy the fic. If you don't like what is know as 'fluff' then I don't think you will care for this one.

Rating: I would say that it is probably PG to PG-13. Nothing smutty or anything like that, just some good ole', down-home fluff.:) Enjoy.

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Bella leaned over the hood of the large blue truck, attempting to repair the engine. She wiped her grease covered hand over her forehead, smearing a black streak over her pale skin. She reached over and took a wrench from the tray next to her. She began turning a nut getting it tight into place.

She finally finished working on the engine, then closed the hood. She walked around to the driver's side and started the engine. She sighed, relieved that it finally started working. She cut the engine and climbed out of the truck. She walked into the garage and washed her hands. She took a look at herself in the mirror, finding nothing that anyone with any sense would want. She was plain looking, with straight blonde hair. She shook her head and resolved that no one would ever want her the way she needed to be wanted.

When she walked back out to the truck, she looked up at the night sky, catching glimpse of the twinkling stars. A memory of when she was younger popped into her head. She used to put so much faith in fate and destiny, now she wasn't even sure that they existed. But the memory was still a sweet one. She would sit outside on the ground with Will and Sean and stare at the stars, every night making the same wish. Wishing her family would come back together. But Will and Sean always reminded her that she was part of their family. She smiled a little, then went back to the truck to find a note sitting on the hood. She looked around, looking for someone who could have left it for her. But the streets were empty, as well they should be at 11:30. She picked up the note and read it slowly.

Come to Friendly's

She looked around once again, this time looking over at the restaurant across the street; nothing. It was pitch black over there. She shrugged and slowly walked over to the restaurant, peering into the window. No one was there. She tried the door and found that it opened. She half expected it to be Scout, trying to find some way around the whole brother/sister thing. The other half of her expected it to be Sean, knowing that he was infatuated with her.

She walked a little more into the place, looking around for anyone. The darkness of the room gave an eerie appeal, but at the same time, excitement coursed through her veins. She didn't know who would go through the trouble of luring her to a darkened restaurant, but the need to know was growing by large means.

"Hello?"

Silence. Who ever was doing this was going through a lot of trouble to get her here and not be known. When she turned to look towards the door, Christmas lights that lined the wall came on, slowly twinkling around the room. She had to smile. This was setting the mood for an incredibly romantic evening. One question still remained, who was the mystery person?

She turned back towards the counter to find Will smiling at her. His brown eyes shining, his brown hair going in every direction. Since he'd cut it short over the summer, it looked good that way. The black tee shirt he was wearing clung to his upper body, outlining his chest.

She was shocked to find that it was Will, her stunned expression must have given her away, because he shrugged and smiled at her. She shoved her hands into her back pockets and looked at him expectantly. She had no idea what was going on, and didn't want to jump to any conclusions.

He walked around the counter, past her, and to the juke box. She just stood there, staring at him. She still didn't understand what was going on. Will had planned a romantic evening for her with...him? She was really confused.

The jukebox began playing one of her favorite songs ever. Etta James' "At Last" began drifting out of the speakers. She stood there, her hands still in her back pockets. He smiled and slowly walked over to her, pulling her body close to his.

At last, my love has come along
my lonely days are over
and life is like a song

Bella moved closer as his arms snaked around her body. She removed her hands from her pockets, and slowly slid them up his arms and to his shoulders. They slowly swayed to the music, drifting off into a world of their own. Never has she thought that this would be happening, much less with Will.

Oh yeah yeah, at last the skies above are blue
my heart wrapped up in clover
the night I looked at you

She kept taking deep breaths, enjoying the feel of being in his arms, feeling so protected and warm. His breath was mixing into her blonde hair, stirring it slightly from where it rested against her shoulders. This was insane, she was experiencing these wonderful feelings with her best friend. It was strange, but at the same time, it seemed like nothing else in the entire world made as much sense as being with Will and feeling this incredible sensation that started in her head and moved down to explode into her toes. She laid her head to rest on his shoulder, feeling everything around them disappear. Nothing else mattered at that moment other than feeling that she was getting from Will.

The song only seemed to heighten the whole experience. The lights spinning around the room made it feel as if they were drifting away together to a new world they had yet to arrive at with anyone else. She was feeling all these things with Will and he had yet to kiss her. She wasn't even sure he would, but the idea still floated around in her head and made her yearn for it to happen.

I found the dream that I could speak to
A dream that I can call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I've never known

His hand slowly crept up her back, pulling her tighter against him. She suddenly remembered the grease stain on her forehead and brought her hand up to it quickly. He pulled his head away from her shoulder, and looked at her hand that covered the top part of her head. He took the hand into his, smiling at the blush that now covered her cheeks. He pulled the hand he was holding to his heart, and lightly kissing her forehead. She felt fire as his lips brushed her skin. She restrained from bringing her lips to his and kissing him the way she needed to be kissed. He nuzzled her face with his nose, making her even more dizzy than she already was.

Her fingers lightly danced over the back of his neck, playing with the tiny hairs that rested there. She felt his breath catch as she continued. His thumb tickled the small of her back as it traced tiny circles, not really paying attention to anything else as his thumb continued to trace it's lazy pattern over her exposed skin. She took a deep breath and tried to steady herself, but slowly losing control over her reactions to him. He's never had this type of effect on her, and if he had, she would have remembered feeling so amazing. But, she never had, as sad as it was.

She put her head back onto his shoulder, slowly swaying with him. Their bodies molding together, almost like lovers, but both of them relatively pure. She loved the feel of his strong body against hers, feeling alive for the very first time. Her body was responding to his in ways she never knew it could. She felt like she was going to explode from feeling so happy being in his arms, dancing with him as if she was the only person in his life that mattered to him. The way he was holding her made her feel like she was the one he loved, but she pushed that thought aside, and just enjoyed swaying in his arms like this.

Oh yeah yeah, you smile you smile
Oh and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
For you are mine at last

She closed her eyes, taking in the fact that she could feel his heart beat underneath their joined hands. The pace was rapid, making her think that maybe she was effecting him the way he was her. She lightly smiled, thinking to herself that she will never have another night like this for the rest of her life. That tonight Will had made her feel wanted, needed, loved all without even really trying.

The song ended, but they continued to slowly dance in circles in the middle of the restaurant. She was so afraid that this would end and it would mean nothing more to him than just some dance he gave her to make her feel better about herself. But when he didn't release her, she knew that he was feeling some of the same things she was.

The song began playing again and she lifted her head from his shoulder and looked into the brown depths of his eyes. He gave her a lop-sided smile, and brought his hand up to brush a strand of hair from her face and tuck it behind her ear. He just looked back into her eyes, making her every fear disappear as he looked at her.

She needed to ask him what this all meant. She needed to know for the sake of her sanity. Bella slowly opened her mouth, but his finger reached up to her lips to silence her questions. He ran his finger over her soft lips, moving slowly over her full bottom lip, traveling down her chin. The soft sigh she let out did not go unnoticed by Will as he smiled down at her.

She stared up at his lips, wanting nothing more than to let hers just brush against his. It was too much to take. The anticipation was nearly killing her. But what if that wasn't what he wanted? She didn't know what he wanted. In fact, she didn't know what she wanted other than for him to kiss her. Her tongue snaked out, wetting her dry lips. She's never wanted anyone like this before, and she wasn't prepared for the first person that she wanted with everything in her being to be Will Krudski.

He released her hand next to his heart as he snaked the other around her tiny waist, bringing his head down to rest on her shoulder. She moved her hands to his hair as she felt him place a kiss on the skin next to the strap of her shirt. She closed her eyes as he slowly moved them over her shoulder, up her neck, over her cheek, and on the tip of her nose. He kissed every inch of her face except her lips, which were on fire by now.

He pulled back again, staring at her once more. She took the initiative this time, moving in placing kisses along the expanse of his neck, parting her lips and letting her tongue slowly dance over his skin. She heard his low moan, feeling relief that he was liking this.

He lifted her chin with his fingers, bringing her face up to his, he slowly moved in, brushing his lips with hers, only enough to drive her crazy. Bella was aching for him to deepen the kiss or kill her now. Either way, she wouldn't have to go through this torture. He moved his hand from under her chin to her cheek, gently stroking his thumb across her flushed skin.

She couldn't take it any longer and pulled his mouth to hers. The kiss was slow yet hard, passionate yet sweet. Everything she dreamed that her first kiss with the man she was meant to be with for life was supposed to be. Never had anything ever felt so perfect to her. Not kisses with Scout, or Sean, or any other boy that ever attempted to kiss her. She felt fireworks with Will.

She'd never experienced fireworks before, but was always told that when you felt them, you'd know without anyone telling you. And she knew. Everything around them drifted away as they continued to kiss. His tongue darted out, softly moving over her lips. She opened her mouth, accepting the sweet kiss that he was offering.

As she kissed him, she heard bells. Not so much bells as it was an alarm. As she was kissing Will, she opened her eyes to find herself laying in her bed. She looked around her room, taking in that it had all just been a dream. But it felt so real. All of it felt real.

She rolled over and wrapped her arm over his strong body. His hand moved up, rubbing down her arm. The white tee shirt she wore to bed was bunched up to her stomach as his fingers began tickling the skin of her stomach. She felt his yawn, feeling his chest rise against her face. She looked up at him, seeing that his eyes were still closed.

She scooted up the bed a little, nuzzling her nose into his neck. He moaned and looked down at her. She smiled as his hand moved up to caress her cheek. She entwined her fingers with his, remembering how Will had done that in her dream, and the simple gesture sent chills over her spine.

Bella kissed his neck, causing him to moan. He smiled at her, bringing her hand up to his soft lips and pressing a soft kiss in her palm.

"Sleep well?" he asked groggily.

"Wonderfully. And you?"

"Not too bad. Course...I usually have a pretty decent sleep when I'm with you."

"Oh really?" she said coyly.

"Mmm. Really."

"So, did you have good dreams?"

"MmmHmm."

"Me too," she said with a smile.

"And what did you dream about?"

"It was more a memory than a dream."

He rubbed her hair and looked down at her, "What memory?"

"The first night you kissed me."

Will looked at her, his face breaking out into a huge grin. "I remember that just like it was yesterday."

"I know. You do realize that you gave me the most romantic night of my life, right?"

"I did?" he said rolling her onto her back.

"Yep. You. Sweet, wonderful you."

"So now I'm wonderful?"

"You've always been wonderful, you just made me realize it for the first time that night."

"Yeah, well, my crush on you, or what I thought was just a crush just kind of grew from not being around you for the rest of the summer. And when I got back and saw you earlier that day...I knew what I wanted."

"Well, I didn't know what I wanted until you danced with me. Then, I knew that if you didn't kiss me or want me, I would die."

"I've always wanted you, Bella. That was never in question. Whether or not you would want me was the problem."

"I'm lucky to have you, Will."

"And I'm lucky to have you too. And just think, two weeks, and we'll be married."

"Two weeks seems awfully far away."

"I know. But you have a little more time to be neurotic over the wedding and a little more time to remind me why I love you and your cute little tendencies to want everything to be perfect."

"Hey, I'm only getting married once, so it better be perfect."

"Yeah."

"Besides, the guy I'm marrying doesn't seem to care what the church looks like."

"No...he has to! You'll have a heart attack if he doesn't," Will said jokingly.

Bella jabbed him in the ribs playfully. "Hey you, just remember, I don't have to marry you."

"True. But you want to."

"Would be nice."

"That's my thinking. So, one more thing before we both go back to sleep like we always do."

She smiled, "What's that?"

"Any regrets?"

"Regrets?" she asked confused.

"You know, about you and me and anything?"

"No. Not that I can think of."

"Good to hear." He kissed her forehead, and snuggled closer to her. "Goodnight, Bella."

"'Night Will, I love you."

"And I love you, Bella."

She smiled and closed her eyes. Her head resting on his chest, she listened to his heart beat as it lulled her back to sleep. She smiled softly, knowing that she had found the one that made her happier than anyone else in the world ever thought about. She knew that everything would be perfect in the future.

The End