Disclaimer: I don't own MMFD or any of the characters.
Rae stood outside Finn's door, clutching a gift bag tightly in her hands as her stomach twisted and turned sickeningly with nerves. It was Finn's birthday and she'd been invited to his family dinner and party to celebrate the occasion and she was determined to make a good impression on his family. Sure, she had already met his dad and he'd been lovely and kind to her but she was going to be meeting his mother and his grandparents and his aunts and uncles and cousins. What if they didn't like her? She was sure they would take one look at her and scoff 'Finn, you can't be going out with this fat lump, send her home!' and Finn would finally realise that he could do so much better and tell her to leave.
She had even bought a dark purple, cotton, skater dress to pair with black tights for the occasion and when she'd left the house Rae had felt almost pretty but now she just felt like a bit of a prat. Sighing heavily, she chapped the door and anxiously smoothed the front of her dress down while she waited for someone to answer.
Finn opened the door and his face positively lit up when he realised it was Rae.
"Rae! Thank God, you're here," he said waving her in. "Everyone's getting a bit too merry in there, I think my aunty Carol's already had one too many glasses of Magners."
She laughed and pulled him into a hug, his mere presence easing her fears slightly.
Rae wasn't exactly sure what she had been expecting the evening or Finn's family to be like, maybe a formal meal around a perfectly set table as Finn's posh and elegantly dressed family discussed politics. She certainly hadn't anticipated the loud music or the tacky birthday balloons and banners or the copious amount of alcohol and laughter in the living room but she thought it was perfect anyway.
Finn led her into the noisy room by the hand and began his introduction by shouting, "Oi!" to get everyone's attention. Rae felt a blush creeping up her neck as everyone's attention turned to her and Finn.
"This is my girlfriend, Rae," he told them all with pride in his voice and a grin on his face. Warmth bloomed in her chest at hearing him refer to her as his girlfriend and she wondered if it would ever get old. She didn't think so.
A plump woman with a warm smile and pretty curls rushed towards her and pulled her into a hug.
"Rae!" she exclaimed. "I'm Finn's mum I've been so desperate to meet you. Finn hasn't shut up about you since he met you."
Rae laughed easily and ignored Finn's embarrassed growl of "Mum, oh my God."
She had expected Finn's mum to be perfect and skinny and was surprised to find that she just looked like a normal mum. The fact that she already seemed to like Rae made her feel much less anxious.
"It's so good to meet you, Mrs Nelson," she replied genuinely.
"Oh, call me Gillian," she chuckled. "Would you like a drink, darling? I know you're always at the pub with Finn so I assume your mum won't mind you having alcohol."
After she had accepted her drink Finn's remaining grandmother pulled her down to sit next to her and she was quickly enveloped in the family's conversation.
Even without Finn by her side Rae felt comfortable and accepted and so happy. She looked up and caught Finn's gaze from where he was sitting on the settee across from her with one of his older cousins. She shot him a small smile and when he winked at her in reply her stomach flipped they way it always did when she was around Finn.
Dinner couldn't have been farther away from the stiff meal she had imagined; Finn's dad left the house with a promise to be back soon and returned with a large stack of pizzas for everyone to help themselves to. Finn came over to where Rae was still sitting with his Gran and grabbed her hand.
"I'm stealing her back, Nan, you've been hogging her all night!"
The older woman swatted playfully at him and scolded, "Selfish boy! You get to see her all the time."
After dinner the party was kicked up a notch as more drinks were poured and Finn's mum wheeled in a big karaoke machine.
Rae cackled and clapped as Finn's dad pulled Finn up to sing Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back in Town with him. Finn pretended to look pained and embarrassed at first but before long he was bouncing round the living room with his dad, really hamming it up.
When he was finished singing Finn sat close to her on the couch and they whispered and joked with each other as they watched everyone else sing and he didn't take his hand off her knee once.
She'd had just the right amount of alcohol and was that perfect kind of drunk where everything is funny and you love everyone and insecurities don't exist so when Finn's mum passed her a microphone she happily danced around the room with her as they sang Material Girl by Madonna together. She flashed Finn flirty grins and didn't even care about how cheesy the song was.
Later as they lay curled up in Finn's bed under the covers she whispered to him, "Did you have a good birthday?"
He shifted so that he was on his side facing her and slipped an arm around her waist, "Yeah, I'm glad you could come."
"Me too," she told him. "Your family are amazing. I was dead nervous about meeting them but there was nothing to be scared of."
"They loved ya," he said, leaning forward to press a kiss to her forehead. "I knew they would."
She yawned and shuffled closer to Finn feeling more content than she could ever remember feeling before and mumbled, "Love you," into his neck.
The last thing she heard before drifting off to sleep was Finn's murmured, "Love you too, Rae."
Author's note: If anyone has tumblr my url is jinglebellblaine!