AN: Wow, I didn't expect to get this done so quick! I guess that's what happens when you get so many nice reviews! So thanks to Morbid Crow, Blood of the Wolf, and Dark Roswellian Angle. This chapter. It's the last for this story. It has some major gushyness. I was grinning while I wrote it, and I'll be grinning as I type it. I'm a hopeless romantic, if you hadn't noticed yet. One other thing. I'm sorry my kisses are so pathetic. I have very little experience with the action, and the one (and only) guy I have ever kissed wasn't that good. Sure, I have nothing to compare it to, but I know when something sucks.
______________________________________________________________________
As soon as I rematerialized, I got hit in the face with a pillow. There was a very upset Lydia sittin' on her bed, glarin' at me, and she threw another pillow at me. Seein' as there were countless other things, harder things, she could throw at me, I was lucky and she wasn't that angry. I finally managed to duck as a third one came at me.
"Goddamnit, what the hell, babes?!"
"You promised!"
That was unexpected. "Would ya mind clarifyin' that?"
"You promised we would always be best friends," she said quietly.
"You're . . . you're not supposed to know that."
Lyds laughed sarcastically. "I know. I thought I was going crazy, remembering things that never happened. All those adventures we had. Two years, Beej. For two years, I've been remembering another lifetime. Do you have any idea how difficult that is? And I couldn't tell anyone! Could you imagine that conversation with my parents? Dad, Delia, remember that psychopathic ghost who tried to marry me? Well, I think we might have been best friends before he left me!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I did not leave you! They took you away from me because of what I did for you. My punishment for killin' those bastards was losin' you."
Lyds just took a deep breath and looked away from me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say.
"Did you trick the Maitlands because it was me?"
"I didn't know it was you till I saw you. The Maitlands just seemed like easy money."
Lyds laughed. How I missed that laugh. "You never change, do you?"
I gave her my trademark grin. "Why change what's perfect?"
"I never said you were perfect."
My grin vanished. "But--"
"I'm still mad at you."
What?! "I didn't do anythin'!"
"You almost killed my father."
I opened my mouth to argue, but nothin' came out. "What is I said it was an accident?" I asked lookin' down.
"Hmm, if you had known before hand, would you have still done it?"
"Of course not," I said, pullin' out a cigarette.
She didn't say anythin' for a moment. "I don't remember you smoking, though."
"I didn't," I replied as I took a drag. "I quit when I met you. I'm drinkin' again, too."
"Oh," she said quietly.
Okay, this was awkward. Nights said I needed to tell her I loved her. I couldn't just blurt it out. That wasn't my style. But . . .
"Hey, babes?"
"Yeah?"
"You remember the last thing I said to you?"
"'I'm tellin' you, honey, she meant nothin' to me, nothin' at all'?"
"What? No! Not that time, the other time!"
"Um, that day is a little fuzzy."
Fuck. This was not workin'. "Do you remember anything?"
"I remember . . ." She put her head in her hands. "I remember we were going to tell my parents about us." Then she looked up and grinned. "And you slept with me."
"Yeah, we did that a lot," I said as I flicked the cigarette away, makin' it disappear. Damn it. This was gonna be corny, cheesy, and if anyone found out, my reputation was gonna get beaten with that two-by-four, castrated, shot, and whipped with a wet noodle. But chicks dug this kinda thing, so I walked over to her, sat on her bed, and took her hands in mine . . .
Goddamn, what I did for this girl . . .
"I love you, Lydia. Always have, always will."
It was worth it, though, when she smiled. I hadn't realized till then how I had missed that smile.
"And I love you."
She made a surprised squeak when I wrapped my arms around her and practically crushed her to my chest. I had my babes back!
I let go of Lyds so I could see her face. Those big, dark brown eyes lookin' back at me . . . confused? Hmm, confused was bad at the moment. So I held her face, my fingers in her hair, and kissed her. Ha! Take that confusion!
She broke away first. Nngg, damnit!
"Beej, do you trust me?"
Where the hell was she goin' with this? "Yes?"
She nodded, takin' my hands in hers and stood up. "Then let's go."
"Go where?" I asked as she started pullin' me.
"We're finishing what we started."
Me and my perverted mind looked behind us. "Wouldn't that require the use of your bed?"
"Not that!" she said, blushin'. She freed one of her hands so she could open the door. Lyds started to walk out, buy she stopped and looked down at our hands. She frowned, adjusted her grip so our fingers were intertwined, and she smiled. "That's better." Then she yelled as left her room, "Family meeting!"
Wait, what? No! Not a good idea! "Babes, I don't--"
"You said you trusted me."
Fuck. This was not gonna end well. Babs was gonna feed me to another sandworm, I just knew it.
Apparently, they were all in the kitchen. Before Lyds could enter, I jerked her back.
"What?!"
"Don't you remember the sandworm?!"
"I'm not going to let you get eaten by a sandworm, 'kay?"
I nodded after a moment and she went into the kitchen. Well, she tried to, but I wouldn't move.
"Lydia?" Babs. "What is this about?"
Lyds glared at me. I shook my head. So she tugged my arm and I stumbled into the kitchen.
Well, damn, if looks could kill. The four of 'em looked like they wanted to rip me to pieces.
"What is he doing here?" Babs again.
Lyds looked at me. "Did I ever happen to tell you what I was going to do with this?"
"Nope. You never actually figured it out. I'm tellin' ya, runnin' is still an option."
"Beej, they're my family."
"And I'm your best friend, boyfriend, and technically still your fiance."
"I never said we were dating again."
"We never broke up!"
"You left!"
"I never left! They took you from me! Juno had to pull some major ass strings for us to even have another chance together!"
"What are you two talking about?" I looked over at Chuck. Oh, right, we had an audience.
"Dad, in, I guess my last life, Beej and I were best friends. For six years. I met him when I was twelve. When I was seventeen someone . . . hurt me?" she asked, lookin' up at me.
"Three, actually. I killed 'em. Ghosts ain't supposed to kill breathers. It took the higher ups six months to figure out I had used a Deja Vu spell to save her. So on her eighteenth birthday, they acted out my punishment. They used a spell called Turn Back the Clock and they, basically, erased the last eighteen years."
They all just stared. Probably didn't know if they should believe me. How the hell was I gonna make 'em believe me?
"How are we supposed to believe any of that?" Shit, Babs was psychic, or somethin'! "You're a con man! A disgusting, perverted dirty con man! You tried to force a little girl into marrying you!"
Well, fuck, here goes my reputation. "First, Lyds ain't a little girl. Second, I didn't force her into anythin'. I woulda saved your miserable asses anyway 'cause my babes asked me to."
"Then why did you say I had to marry you?"
This was it. Goodbye badass reputation, I knew thee well. "I asked you to marry me 'cause then we would be together forever. I love you, Lydia. I need you. You're my everythin'. I couldn't lose you again."
"That was a funny way of showing it," she said with a smile.
"Yeah, well, I have a reputation to keep up." Oh, right. "I had a reputation," I mumbled.
Lyds gave me a kiss on the cheek. Then she looked at her family. "I love him. If . . . if you have a problem with that . . . I'll leave you. Please don't make me choose between my family and the man I want to be with."
Awkward silence. That was not a good sign.
Surprisingly, it was Chuck who spoke up. "Pumpkin, as your father, I have to ask him." Then he looked at me. "Are your intentions honorable?"
I pretended to think for a moment. "Define honorable."
"That's what I thought." He sighed. "Just promise me she won't get hurt?"
Completely serious, I said, "If anyone hurts me Lydia, I will kill them. She's safe with me."
I wasn't gonna screw this up. Not this time.
______________________________________________________________________
AN: Yup, uber gushyness. There is still one more story in the works for this line. A Christmas special! Then, my idea well will be dry. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing. I've still got three more separate stories to do. One will be all about Nightshade and Derrick since it seems like they're (well, she is, at least) really popular amongst you. Thank you all so very, very much!
