AN: I know, I know, this is not TtS, but this one got stuck in my head and wouldn't come out. I am working on TtS and new story, but I thought I would give you a little sugar to get you through your weekend. I never realized how daunting writing a chapter story can be. Please don't be too impatient with me! Anyways, I'd love your feedback on this one. I don't normally write so much Topanga, but I have been watching BMW clips on youtube and GMW season 3 on Netflix and it was like they had a baby in my brain. Enjoy! And as always, more on the bottom!
"Mrs. Matthews? Why are you sitting here in the dark?" Lucas asked as he walked into the empty bakery. He knew it was closed, but he'd tried the door anyway. Sometimes the girls come in here after closing, but he didn't find the Matthews girl he was looking for.
"This is my quiet place," she responded simply as if that would mean something to the young boy.
"I, uh," Lucas started, scratching the back of his neck self-consciously as he walked closer to the counter. "I heard you were asking all of your friends and family their opinion about your promotion."
"I was," Topanga said with a nod.
"Well, I know I'm not necessarily your friend, but I am Riley's and I do have an opinion," Lucas said, determined to remember everything he had written on the note cards in his pocket without having to pull them out. Mrs. Matthews was a lawyer. She could debate with the best of them, and if he learned anything about debate, he knew that he couldn't weaken his argument by seeming unsure.
Topanga gave him a gentle smile. "You are very important to my daughter, which means you are very important to me. I'd love to hear your opinion."
He gestured for her to take a seat on the couch, and he started to take a seat in the chair next to it, but his nerves got the best of him, so he started to pace. "I've thought about this a lot, and first and foremost, I want to say congratulations. I know this is a huge honor and something you've worked for your entire life."
"Thank you, Lucas. I-"
"But I also know you've worked at something else your entire life," Lucas continued, ignoring her words and pressing on, afraid if he stopped now, he wouldn't be able to get it out. "And that's your relationship with your husband."
He took a breath and finally sat down on the bench next to her. "I've talked to a lot of your friends and family from Philadelphia and your daughter, and I know quite a bit of your story. It's a really great story, Mrs. Matthews."
"It is," Topanga agreed, an unbidden smile crossing her face, thinking about the stories he might have heard.
Lucas nodded. "I know that you guys met when you were very, very, very, young. I know that you were friends for a very long time and you kissed him first. It took a long time after that first kiss for you to decide to be together."
Tears welled up in Topanga's eyes as she thought about their early years.
"Riley and I might not have been as young, and we might not have been friends for quite as long, but we were friends for a while. She kissed me first, and it left me dazzled for days on end. It took us a long time after that to decide to be together, even though it's exactly what we both wanted."
Topanga nodded, leaning forward, urging him to continue.
"I also know that your family moved to Pittsburgh and you ran away back to Philadelphia to be with Mr. Matthews and ended up living with your aunt so you two could be together. And you got accepted to Yale and decided to stay in Pennsylvania with him. I even know that you got a job offer in New York, and Mr. Matthews left his family behind and followed you here."
"Who have you been talking to?" Topanga asked, curiosity tinging her voice. It seemed like he had heard a lot more of their story than she originally thought.
"Everyone, Mrs. Matthews. I know that you went on a date with Shawn first because he was trying to help Corey figure out his feelings, just like Maya did with Riley. I know that you broke up with Corey because you were afraid to lose him as a friend, just like Riley did to me. I know that Mr. Matthews stayed up all night talking to a mountain girl at the ski lodge, and for the first time, you felt threatened in your relationship, just like I did when I saw Riley with Evan."
Topanga nodded again. "You must have heard a lot, but, Lucas, our story is ours, mine and Corey's. You and Riley will have your own story."
"Yes, we will. There are some similarities between our stories because Riley is so much like you and your husband, because she and Maya have the same connection that Corey and Shawn do. It's weird and unnatural for them to be so close, but I've accepted it as I'm sure you have accepted Corey and Shawn. It's actually one of the things I love most about your daughter, how she loves her friends."
"It's one of the things I love most about my husband, too," she agreed, admiring the young man in front of her.
"What I'm trying to say is, I've thought about this a lot. I told Riley earlier that no matter what happened she would always be my first girlfriend and that I always wanted her to keep being herself. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I don't want to just be Riley's first boyfriend, I want to be her last."
"I'm glad to hear how much you care about my daughter, Lucas."
"Good because just like you ran away from home, I'll find a way to be with Riley. I'll follow her to London or I'll beg her to stay here with her Uncle Shawn and Katy. I wasn't a good person before I met your daughter. I made a lot of mistakes. I'm better with her, and I don't want to be without her ever again."
He came over to sit next to Topanga, grabbing her hand in his earnestness. "I know it sounds crazy, but if anyone can understand how I'm feeling, it's you. I love your daughter, Mrs. Matthews. I have cared about her from the moment she fell into my lap."
His eyes grew wild with desperation as he tried to think of a way to show her just how much her daughter meant to him. "Just look around this room, and you'll see our story, Mrs. Matthews."
He stood up, gesturing to the counters as he walked over to them, slamming his hand down on one. "I was tied to this counter and I ripped the towel racks out to get to her when I found out someone had been hurting her. I sat on that couch and listened to her rant about the Knicks on our second date when I realized just how much I really liked her. I have sat right where you are in the middle of that same couch between her and her best friend scared to move because the thought of hurting her was too much for me to bare. I watched her walk out that door with another boy and felt my heart clench at the thought of her walking out of my life. I put jelly beans on that scale when I needed to be reminded that no matter what happens it has always been Riley. She has always been my choice from day one."
He had moved around the cafe, pointing at the spaces in the room as he talked before coming to stand behind the farthest chair, his hands braced on the back of it. "I sat right here and did a horrible British accent that made Riley laugh so genuinely, I knew I could never live without that laughter. I wanted to make her laugh every day."
He walked over to the doorway. "I stood right here and watched her walk away this morning, and I knew in my heart if I let her go without a fight I would regret it every day for the rest of my life. So this is me, fighting. I love your daughter, Mrs. Matthews. It's a big, scary, exciting emotion that I didn't know I was capable of feeling until I met her."
"I love Riley," he said, his voice full of conviction as he took a seat, giving her a moment to wrap her mind around everything he told her.
Topanga looked around the cafe, thinking about all the times she had watched her daughter and her friends here, laughing, studying, making important decisions. Just like she was right now. She thought about how much her life had changed since she started running the bakery, remembering how excited she was when she lovingly redecorated the space, agonizing over each funky chair and carefully choosing every piece of artwork on the walls and every book on the bookshelves. She gave Katy a job here, helping to mend the fences between mother and daughter and gaining a new friend in the process. She watched Shawn and Katy fall in love here over endless cups of coffee, seeing her oldest friend finally find the person he was looking for, and even though she only played a small part in it, it was one of the top five most fulfilling moments of her life.
"I'd like for you to stay. I'd like for your family to stay here with me, Farkle, Zay, Smackle, Ava, and the Hunters, so your husband can keep teaching us and we can keep growing together. I'd like to get closer to you and your family because I hope one day you'll become my family, but even if you don't stay, even if you leave, this will not be the end of the Riley and Lucas story."
Topanga nodded again absentmindedly, she wasn't even really listening to him anymore. She was remembering a conversation with her husband from a long time ago, from when they first moved into the city. They were looking at apartments, and they saw the bay window in the living room of what would become their home.
"Our nook, Topanga! It's a sign! This is where we belong."
She thought about her life over the years, watching how Riley turned her nook in her room into the bay window, a magical place where friends become family and problems get solved. Why did she automatically think of the bakery when Eric suggested she go to her quiet place? It wasn't because her name was on the sign out front. This was where she belonged, where she finally figured out what she wanted to do with her life. This is where this young man told her he loved her daughter, where their story flourished. This was her bay window, and she couldn't leave it, not now. Not when she knew where her daughter's story headed.
"Thank you, Lucas."
"For what?" Lucas asked, staring at her in confusion. She had been quiet for a long time, so long he wondered if she was trying to find a way to let him down easily.
"I've made my decision."
"What is it?" Lucas asked, moving closer in interest.
"No!" Topanga screamed, much like he did when she pressed him about his decision in the triangle. She pulled out her cell phone, sending her husband a text. "You once had to make an important decision about my daughter, and I wanted your answer."
"And I wouldn't give it to you. Is this payback?" Lucas teased.
"You wouldn't give it to me because I wasn't the person who needed your answer the most."
"And I'm not the person who needs your answer the most, but can you tell me anyways? It feels like the most important decision of my life. I need to know if I have to empty my savings account and brush up on my British accent."
Topanga laughed. "Please, never use your British accent again. Why don't you make sure all your friends are at the school first thing in the morning? I'm sure my husband will have a lesson to teach."
Lucas nodded, trying not to feel defeated. "I might not know what you decided, but I have hope that you made the right decision. Your daughter is the reason I am hopeful for anything, and I'm going to keep hoping for us no matter what."
Topanga knew she shouldn't tell him, but in that moment, he reminded her so much of a young Corey Matthews. Her younger self had hope for the world, but it was Corey who always had hope for her and for them. She stood and held the door open.
"Hey, Lucas?"
"Yes, Mrs. Matthews?" Lucas asked as he crossed the threshold of the bakery.
"Can you imagine Riley being Riley without her bay window?" she asked, tilting her head as she studied the boy in front of her.
Lucas shook his head sadly. "I can't imagine any of us being who we are without our bay windows."
"I agree," Topanga said with a knowing grin. "We all have our bay windows, and this bakery is mine. I don't know who I'd be without it."
"I think... This is my bay window, too, Mrs. Matthews."
"Well, then we have to do whatever we can to make sure it is always here, don't we?"
She closed the door, giving him a gentle wave. By the awed look on his face and the way he threw his hands up in the air, she thought he got the message. She knew she would always remember this conversation as one of the most important conversations of her life, and she hoped Lucas would grow to be as important to her family as he wanted to be. As she walked back over to her barstool on the other side of the bakery, she remembered one more important conversation she had with another important man in her life.
"Believe in yourselves. Dream. Try. Do good."
She took a seat, looking over at the wonderful world she created and thinking about the amazing memories her kids could have here, and a serene smile crossed her face as she grew confident in her decision. This was right for her and her family.
"We're doing good right here. We're doing real good."
AN: AH! What do you think? I've been watching so many random episodes, and I love when Lucas gives impassioned speeches! I really wish Rucas had gotten a better ending. Smarkle got such a cute story in the last two episodes, and I wish we could have spread the love with Rucas AND Joshaya. We did get some nice subtle moments I suppose, and as it stands right now, Rucas is endgame, so I guess I have that to cling to.
I tried to point out some similarities between Corpanga and Rucas, but ultimately, I don't think GMW was trying to retell the stories of BMW and I don't mean this fic to become some sort of entry in the Lucaya versus Rucas fight. I'm sure you can dig into BMW and interpret scenes as mirroring any couple you want, but I thought it was an interesting twist for Lucas to use Corpanga's history to try to convince her to stay when ultimately it was Rucas' own history that did the job.
I hate to be one of those authors that beg for some love, but I am super interested in your thoughts about this one. I have never written I story revolving around one scene or just two characters, and if I were to ever do it, I never thought the two characters would be Topanga and Lucas.