Just a tiny drabble I put together. It's probably not my best work, but I'm exhausted. Enjoy! And please review! In concerns to POHH, I'd like to get to at least 20 reviews for Chapter 6 before updating! So remember to read that!
DISCLAIMER: I do not know Ian or Lucy personally, nor do I know anyone affiliated with them. This is written purely for my enjoyment and that of others. It is fictional; if you don't like the pairing, don't read.
Together can never be close enough for me
To feel like I am close enough to you
You wear white and I'll wear out the words "I love you"
And you're beautiful
There are the soulmates that always fall short of one another and the soulmates that seem to land on their feet where they belong. Lucy Hale and Ian Harding were the ones who seemed to be destined to never be together. Obstacles had popped up over the first four years of their strictly platonic relationship – emotionally abuse boyfriends on her behalf and a sense of obliviousness on his – making fate seem like they never wanted them to find the way along their star-crossed path. However, with the changing leaves of fall and the wrapping of a television show, things changed. Ignorance turned into appreciation. Appreciation turned to like. And eventually like turned to being very much in love.
Standing in the bridal suite of the Central Park Boathouse, Lucy's hazel eyes drifted down to the circular cut diamond with smaller diamonds surrounding it that rested on her finger. It wasn't an extravagant engagement ring, just how she wanted it. The wedding band that was still waiting to slipped on her finger wasn't over the top either – sometimes Lucy thanked her fiancé's simple taste. It helped with developing her own.
A soft smile covered her face as she continued to study her ring. Lucy had settled into a total other world outside of the chaotic buzz that was her wedding party filtering around the room with curlers in their hair and lipstick tubes in hand. It was cliché, but Ian's proposal played out in her head – Lucy didn't find it cheesy; she found it endearing to think about the moment that brought them to their wedding day.
A pan simmered on the stove, the stir fry vegetables giving off a rich smell to the seemingly quiet house. The volume was at a low for the first time today after countless rounds of barking on the dogs' part. Their two labradoodles slept in the cushioned bed Ian had purchased after the first one had been chewed. Jack was curled up on the couch where Ian sat with a book open in front of him. Lucy sighed; the day was finally at peace.
How the two of them got to the simplicity that their lives easily converted into was a mystery to both her and Ian, but rehashing the ugly past wasn't something they preferred to do. Living in the moment was how they handled their relationship – but it didn't occur to Lucy at just how much Ian was living in the moment that night.
She held a large wooden spoon in her hand, mixing the red peppers, snow peas, and carrots together in one of Trader Joe's stir fry sauces when Ian's voice sounded behind her. Lucy almost jumped at the sudden noise.
"Marry me," he stated simply. Ian leaned across the breakfast bar, watching her with his head propped up in his hands. He was watching her with the fondest of glances, reveling in the domestic moment.
The wooden spoon dropped from Lucy's hand and fell to the floor with a clatter and a smattering of extra sauce against the tile. "Excuse me?"
"Marry me," Ian repeated, the smile still jovially resting on his face.
"Ian, you do know what you're saying right now, right?" Lucy took a few steps closer to him, the palms of her hands resting on the counter of the breakfast bar, opposite him.
He nodded. "I know exactly what I'm saying," Ian spoke confidently. "For God's sake, Lucy, marry me."
She leaned across the nook, a watery smile radiating on her face while her nose brushed against his. "Got a ring?"
"Is that a yes?"
Lucy laughed, her hand snaking to the back of Ian's head to tangle her fingers lightly in his always curly hair. "Shut up," she murmured, pressing her lips against his in her own way of sealing the deal.
In something of a blissfully unaware haze, Lucy found herself circulating through the room. In various stations she had her hair done and slipped into the form fitting lace gown that she'd picked during the first try on. Her nails were painted a light blue – getting away with a quirky nail color instead of the requisite French manicure was something she was prideful of.
"You look beautiful," her mother chimed once Lucy was fully transformed into a bride. Looking into the full length mirror, Lucy was floored. Her curves were accentuated by the lace. Her complexion was rosy, even without the light dusting of blush on her cheeks. Her eyes were bright, rimmed with a full set of lashes and daintily drawn on eyeliner. Pink lips parted in a gasp – she wasn't the little, insecure girl anymore. For the first time in her life, Lucy felt like she'd reached the potential to be the type of woman she was supposed to be. She felt happy and loved and safe – the combination of all three made her hold her head high and not be afraid of the reflection in the glass or the aisle that was lined with rose petals for her to march down.
"Let's go get me married," she smiled softly, willing herself not to cry. Lucy would save the tears for when she saw Ian at the other end of the altar.
Ian's nerves were shot as he waited at the end of the aisle; on the front step of the wedding altar. One half of the tiny bottle of scotch provided by the boathouse hadn't done much to quell the pre-wedding jitters. Not once did he have cold feet – he considered that a major coo. Ian found it ridiculous that he would ever have cold feet while knowing it was Lucy that he would be meeting at the altar. She was the woman he was supposed to the spend the rest of his life with; there was a lot of things Ian wasn't sure about, like which acting job he'd take up next or what the weather would be like in the coming day. But he was sure as hell about Lucy.
Falling in love with her had been easy. Attaining her had been difficult. Being with her was like taking a daily breath. Marrying her would be a piece of cake.
Her bridesmaids cantered down the aisle in light pink chiffon on the arms of his groomsmen. Lucy's little cousin sprinkled flower petals in honor of the bride's arrival. The minute ticked by, but the bundle of nerves towards seeing his wife to be through the doors didn't seem to stop billowing in the pit of his stomach. Ian rocked back and forth lightly on his toes, waiting to the procession to be over and the music to change to "Here Comes the Bride".
And when it did, the double doors opened to reveal the most beautiful creature that Ian could have ever seen. Lucy walked towards him in an utter vision of lace with her father on her arm. The older man had once made Ian nervous, but he now eagerly wanted the pat on the back that would signify him handing over his daughter. She was always beautiful, even after waking up, but a bridal Lucy was nothing to be underestimated.
The music swelled as she reached him at the end, Lucy's small hand fitting easily into Ian's. She stepped up onto the altar, looking him right in the eyes. Ian felt the world shift so that they were the only two in it.
I love you, Lucy mouthed to him, to which he gave a reciprocal response.
There are the soulmates that always fall short of one another and the soulmates that seem to land on their feet where they belong. For Ian and Lucy Harding, their feet belonged on the altar.