This is just a fluffy little one-shot that wouldn't leave me alone so I had to write it down. It was inspired by the song Turning page by Sleeping At Last. (I would recommend listening to the instrumental version while reading, as that's how it was written, but of course that is optional.) Okay, enough of my blabbing and on with the show! As always, please read and review. Enjoy!
Emma stared out through the window of her second story apartment at the dark night sky. The soft hum of rain could be heard throughout the apartment as she watched the droplets of water cascading down the glass. She rested her head against the window as she pulled her legs closer to her and wrapped her blanket a little tighter. It was around 7:00 in the evening, but that was just a guess. She was no longer aware of time, as she let her mind drift aimlessly. Will would be home from his evening glee rehearsal with the kids any minute. With regionals coming up in just two weeks it wasn't uncommon for him to be out later on Tuesdays and Thursdays. As her mind drifted to Will she couldn't help but glance down at her engagement ring. It caught the light of the moon and illuminated the room ever so slightly as she relished in the magic of it all. Sure, Emma was no stranger to marriage. She had been proposed to twice before as it was, but this time was different. He was different. She no longer felt the fear and anxiety in this relationship that she was so accustomed to in her past. There were no more unsaid words lingering, no ulterior motives. She loved him, and he loved her. It was so simple. So magical.
Emma tucked her legs underneath her as she cuddled further into the window seat and silently chastised herself for not allowing herself to see it sooner. Ken was just a mistake. Thankfully, one she didn't commit to fully in the end. Carl, however, he was different. Emma really did love Carl. In some capacity anyway. It hurt when he left, but she couldn't blame him really. She has been on the receiving end of a similar situation, and she knew how painful it could be to love someone who wouldn't give themselves to you completely because their thoughts were with someone else. But without Carl, who knows where she would be now. It took losing him for her to gain the courage to face what she really felt for Will, and had been suppressing for far too long. The love she had for Will was quite strong; there was no doubt about that. And now she was his fiancée. Fiancée. She loved the way that sounded. She loved the way he could make her feel so complete with a simple flash of those amazing eyes that poured out all the love he felt for her with such expression. Or how he would smile at her and her heart instantly melted into a puddle. She couldn't wait to walk down the aisle and see him at the end, waiting for her. It just felt right.
Emmas thoughts were interrupted as she heard the front door open, and footsteps heading toward the bedroom. She looked up to see Will smiling at her, soaking wet from the rain, as he put his bag into the closet and toed off his wet shoes. Her heart still fluttered at the sight of him, and she couldn't help but smile back not even caring about the mud he tracked in. When Will was with her it was as though nothing else existed.
"Hello, gorgeous." He said sweetly, as he walked over to her and planted a soft kiss on her head. "What are you thinking about?" He asked, innocently.
"Just us." She said sweetly, looking to her engagement ring. "Sometimes I still have to pinch myself to make sure it's all really happening."
Will sat down next to her on the window bench, and grasped her hand; her confession melting his heart. "Well don't pinch too hard, because it's real, and I thank my lucky stars every day for that. I don't know where I'd be without you, Em." She looked into his eyes, and could see the love, knowing he was speaking the truth. He placed a light kiss on the top of her hand as she blushed ever so slightly, her grin spreading even further. She was really the lucky one.
Will quickly changed clothes and toweled his hair before approaching the love of his life once more.
"So…Dinner?" He asked, gesturing to the kitchen.
Emma looked in the direction he was gesturing, "Did you grab something on the way?" She questioned.
Will smiled once more, "Yep. I stopped by Breadsticks and picked up some pasta. I thought we could share, like Lady and the Tramp."
She giggled at his choice of movie reference, and let him lead her into the dining room as the smell of pasta and garlic bread filled the apartment. Dinner was relatively quiet as they simply enjoyed each other's company and talked about their days, all the while sharing loving glances.
It didn't take long for the couple to finish eating so Will and Emma carried their dishes and take out containers into the kitchen. As Will was rinsing the plates and utensils and Emma was stacking them into the dishwasher, the subject of the wedding was brought up.
"How do you feel about lilies for the wedding?" Emma asked as she placed another cup into the dishwasher. "The bouquets could be simple, yet fashionable, and we would have a variety of colors to choose from."
"Lilies. I love it. Classy and beautiful." Will agreed, glancing over to Emma with his charmingly sweet smile, though she was aware he was not meaning the comment to be solely about the flower choice. "I honestly don't care what the wedding looks like, as long as you are the one walking down the aisle. We could be wearing paper bags and you would still be the most beautiful bride to grace the planet." He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek.
She couldn't help but blush at his comment. "Paper bags. Now that would be an interesting fashion statement…" She pretended to mull over the thought with sincerity before a light giggle escaped, giving away any illusion of seriousness she had tried to conger.
All Will had to do was look over at her giggly smile to feel his whole body fill up with an overpowering feeling of warmth and love as he too began to laugh.
"Emma, it was a joke. We are not wearing paper bags at our wedding." He faked seriousness, "That's reserved for the honeymoon." His eyes narrowed at her as she burst into a fit of laughter.
Wills face wasn't stern for long as he too was chuckling quite loudly at the absurdity of their conversation. The giggling began to subside mildly as they momentarily abandoned the few dishes they had yet to rinse and stared lovingly into each other's eyes. Will pulled Emma to him as he placed the dish towel she was holding on the counter and pushed a stray hair behind her ear. He cupped her cheek lightly as her heart began to race at the contact. Will hoped that in 50 years he would still be able to invoke the same reaction from her. Little did he know that she had the same thought too.
"I love you so much." He said, knowing that even those five words were still not enough to explain the true magnitude of how much love he felt for her. She smiled, and Will couldn't help but notice how her eyes sparkled as the smile reached them. Her eyes were perhaps one of his favorite qualities about her. They were like giant pools of warmth and comfort and love, and all he had to do was look into them to feel all of the happiness in the world.
"I love you too." She said in almost a whisper. If someone else had been present to watch the exchange Will knew they wouldn't be able to hear it. The words were soft and loving, and only meant for his ears. His heart swelled at their intimate exchange. He could no longer restrain himself at this point and leaned down ever so slightly as she leaned up, their lips meeting somewhere in the middle. The kiss was deep and passionate, filled with all of the feelings for each other they could not express in words. They pulled away from each other and reveled in the afterglow. Emma was first to break the magic of the kiss they had both been so mesmerized by.
"We should probably finish up here. We need to get to bed. Early morning for the both of us." She turned back to the counter with a small smile and reached for the towel that they had disregarded moments before. Will turned back to the counter as well and picked up a fork, scrubbing it with the sponge to make sure there was no residue left on it. Slow glances were shared between the two as they finished the chore, to enamored with each other to be annoyed by the task.
Emma watched as Will cleaned the last plate, scrubbing at a tiny spot. He was trying to make sure it was extra clean, knowing how particular she was with germs. She once again found herself questioning for the millionth time how she could be so lucky.
After all of the dishes were stacked, Emma squirted a small amount of soap into the machine and turned it on. Will lightly pulled Emma over to face him once more and held onto her hips as he placed a slow kiss to her lips. The smell of his cologne and the closeness of their bodies sent a chill up her spine as she returned the kiss, a little more feverishly. As they pulled away from one another, Will searched her face, wanting to remember every feature, every curve, as though she would disappear in the next moment. "On second thought, maybe the paper bags would be okay for the wedding. I could be wearing a dress for all I care, as long as it's you walking down that aisle."
He kissed her again, this time to her forehead, as he absorbed her sent. She always had this way of electrifying his senses. Emma pulled away slightly and scrunched up her nose. "You are definitely not wearing a dress. That's my job."
She smirked as Will laughed, "Yeah, and besides, we might accidently end up wearing the same one. Now that would be terrible!" He teased. Emma playfully swatted at his arm, rolling her eyes at his goofy comment.
"You sir, are not as funny as you think you are." But Emma's comment was not at all convincing as she was clearly trying to bury a chuckle. Will decided to help it out and began tickling her sides, "Oh yeah? I thought it was a comic genius!"
Emma couldn't hold in her laughter any more as she wriggled for a moment under his fingers in an effort to escape the tickle attack. His fingers quickly stopped their assault and were instead replaced with a soft rub. She relaxed under his soothing touch and reached her arms around his neck for another kiss. The couple pulled their lips apart only after running out of air.
"Wow…" Will breathed on Emma's neck, sending chills up her spine once more, "I should tickle you more often if it ends like that." Emma smiled in agreement as she grabbed Wills hand and led him through the kitchen and into the bedroom.
"Come on mister, it's time for bed. Early morning, remember?" She grinned as she let his hand go to find a night dress from the dresser and some boxers and a shirt for Will.
"Okay." He said, dragging his feet to her side and taking the cloths she offered up. He wasn't happy about ending their wonderful evening together, but he knew she was right. There was a staff meeting in the morning which meant he would need to wake up early. As he stripped out of his clothes, he couldn't help but notice her as she carefully unbuttoned her cardigan and let it fall loosely to the floor, unaware that she was being watched. He memorized every curve of her body as she removed her blouse and pencil skirt and slipped into a blue nighty. She turned around, noticing his gaze on her, and blushed. They had been together for almost a year and were going to get married, and she still managed to take her breath away.
"Are you planning to sleep like that?" She asked with a soft giggle.
Wills gaze broke as he looked down at the pants that were pooled at his ankles and an arm still thread through one hole of his shirt. "Oh." He broke out of his haze sheepishly as he quickly pulled the shirt off and replaced it with his night shirt, noticing her gazing at him the same way he had been. A smile tugged at his mouth as she realized what she too had been guilty of. As her cheeks turned a brighter shade of pink, she quickly smoothed out her clothes and put them into the hamper. "I'm going to brush my teeth. Care to join?" She offered, turning toward the bathroom and looking over her shoulder.
Will followed her in like a puppy dog and they both brushed in silence as they watched each other's reflections in the mirror. Once their oral hygiene was taken care of, they both headed back into the bedroom for a little sleep. Will set the alarm clock as Emma quickly lotioned her hands. Once they were finished they both pulled back the covers and tucked in, turning off the lights and snuggling into each other.
"Goodnight Will." Emma said as she placed a soft kiss to his cheek, "I love you."
"Good night beautiful. I love you too." His arms wrapped a little bit tighter around her as she snuggled just a little bit closer to him. Emma couldn't help but feel blessed to have him, knowing that they would be lucky enough to spend the rest of their lives with each other. She truly was lucky. There was nowhere in the world that made her feel as safe and content as in his arms, and she knew that as long as she was with him that everything would be okay. She sighed as her eyes closed and she could feel Wills steady breathing lulling her into a soft slumber.
Not even 10 minutes later, they were both sound asleep in each other's arms.
