A/N: So, I'm back. Finished this on a long airplane ride home. I published a new story this weekend called Welcome Home, so you should check that out if you haven't already.
I am super freaked out about this chapter because I felt that no matter how many times I re-wrote this and edited it, it wasn't going to live up to expectations. I am kind of disappointed about this chapter but maybe it is just because I am freaked out about it.
As always, Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! I love you all! And just to let you know, I cannot reveal what is going to happen in the story by replying to your reviews. I don't want to be rude, but I leave certain things out because they will pop up in the story later.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Gabriella Montez was freaking out. No, she was more than freaking out. She was about to have a flipping panic attack. She hadn't had a panic attack since she was fifteen. Tomorrow was going to be here soon.
Okay, so it was 5:12 A.M., but tomorrow was going to come quickly and she had a lot to get done. Why was she awake at this time of day? There was no time for sleep, that's why she was awake. She only had thirty-two hours and forty-eight minutes until she would get to see him again. Everything had to be perfect for his homecoming, which explained why she pushing the vacuum around her, rather their, apartment in Troy's white v-neck and a pair of athletic running shorts. She had already finished cleaning the bathroom and kitchen and was working on finishing the living/dining room. All she had left to do was their bedroom. She would clean it, but wanted to wash the sheets and put some scented candles in the room also. She had been cleaning since around two, she couldn't sleep.
Turning the vacuum off, she tucked her long bangs behind her ears; she had been trying to grow them out. She started to realize that waking up so early had worked to her advantage. She was almost done cleaning and by the time she had finished her bedroom, she would be able to shower and start running her errands. There was a lot to be done.
After cleaning and showering, Gabriella went out to get everything she desired for Troy's perfect homecoming. Currently she was at Super Target, it was a little bit further from her apartment that the regular Target, but she could kill two birds with one stone. Looking at her long list, she decided to head toward the grocery sections of the store first. People were probably staring at her because of the speed she was pushing her cart. She needed to get the essentials milk, eggs, and bread but also some strawberries, chocolate she could melt, Troy's favorite sour cream and onion potato chips, and his favorite Peppermint Bon Bon ice cream. Finishing up in the grocery section, she went to get everything else she needed.
After grabbing some vanilla scented candles, some cheap white t-shirts that would have to hold Troy over until they could go shopping, and some boxers she went to grab toothpaste, shaving cream, razors, and deodorant. Finally she got to the final aisle she would be in at that particular store: Sexual Wellness.
How hard could this possibly be? She hadn't bought condoms before, Troy always had, but you just went in, grabbed a box, and left right? No one was even in the aisle so she had nothing to worry about. Turning her cart, she passed pregnancy tests and lubricants and found the condoms at the end of the aisle. Looking up, she saw a myriad of different brands, colors, and flavors? She had only ever heard of flavored condoms from the movie Juno. This was just as confusing as buying tampons for the first time. What kind did Troy buy? She couldn't ever remember using ribbed, neon colors, glow in the dark, or flavored condoms, so those were all out. Then, what brand? And how many should she buy? Should she buy the economy pack? They would be set for a while. Finally making her decision, she steered her cart toward the check out lane and checked her phone for the time. 10:37. Damn, had she really spent that much time here?
After dropping off her purchases so that the food wouldn't get spoiled, she left her apartment again to go buy Troy a present. He deserved something after all he had been through. Serving in war was difficult and he had missed two birthdays and two Christmases so she wanted to get him something special that he could enjoy in his free time. Arriving at an electronics store, she pulled her car into a parking space and went in the entrance.
Walking to the video game section she requested some help. Gabriella had decided on upgrading their video game system for Troy. She had wanted to get Troy an Xbox 360 for his birthday or Christmas but he had left before she had the opportunity. Now that the new Kinect system had come out, she decided it would be a good present to get him. It would certainly be an upgrade to his Play Station 2 that sat in their apartment unused. Looking at the various games, she had trouble deciding on what to get. She wanted to stay away from war and guns because she wasn't sure how Troy would react towards them, but was finding that difficult. She finally picked out some games she thought Troy would like and grabbed some sort of fitness game for herself. Maybe she would get some use out of this thing too.
It was nearing four o'clock by the time she finished all her errands. She had plans for one of her coworkers to pick her up from her apartment and drop her off at a car storage garage, where they had stored Troy's car. She would drive it to pick up some dinner and then she would go home and hopefully allow herself to relax for a while and let everything sink in. The lack of sleep was catching up on her and she was starting to get tired. Troy was coming home tomorrow. It almost seemed too good to be true. Tomorrow at two in the afternoon, she would be wrapped in his arms, most likely with tears flowing down her cheeks.
Settling down on her couch with some pad Thai, she flipped the television on. She didn't know what she ended up watching because she was busy with her own thoughts. The past year and a half had been the longest period of her life. She knew that tomorrow, when she was lying in bed, cuddled next to Troy, and she wouldn't be able to remember how she had possibly been able to live without him.
Troy Bolton was in a testy mood. He had just gotten back on a plane after arriving in New York City from Berlin. Between the long plane ride, the dramatic time difference, and the small seats that seemed even smaller than usual because he had his army apparel on still, he was extremely exhausted and annoyed. Than man with a bear belly sitting next to him that was bitching about some lawsuit only pissed him off more. He sat down in his window seat and shut the window shade immediately. He hoped that by resting his head on the wall of the plane and closing his eyes, it would be made obvious that he had no interest in striking up conversation.
Starting to think, he thought about what Gabriella was doing right now. His flight was supposed to last four hours and forty-six minutes. Currently, it was sometime close to eleven and there were a few minutes until takeoff, which meant it was about nine o'clock in Denver. Gabriella was probably up and cleaning the apartment. He had insisted that she didn't need to do anything special, in his mind, his arrival would be perfect as long as he could take a hot shower or bath and lay in bed with Gabriella. A cheeseburger would be nice too, but that wasn't important.
Slowly, he began to drift asleep. A while later he awoke to here the captain announcing that they would be landing soon and all technology was to be turned off. He had slept through the whole flight. Suddenly, his stomach flipped. He realized that he was about to see Gabriella for the first time in 511 days.
Troy could count on one hand the number of times he had been nervous about seeing Gabriella. All of the instances had occurred after he had turned sixteen. The first was the day after he had kissed Gabriella for the first time. He had been nervous because she had seemed to enjoy the kiss and they had even held hands for a while but they hadn't discussed what happened or what was going to happen with their relationship.
The second time Troy had been nervous to see Gabriella was after their first argument as a couple. It was rare that the two had ever fought. Sure, it had been a pretty petty argument but Troy had felt like a jackass afterwards. They had got into an argument after Troy had seen Gabriella talking to her ex-boyfriend. His possessiveness had come out and he had yelled at Gabriella for simply talking to him. This ex was the one that had started her body image issue and he never wanted to see Gabriella speaking to him after what happened. Voices had been raised and feelings had been hurt, but Troy realized he hadn't listened to her side of the story and he would owe her an apology for that at least.
The third time Troy was nervous to see Gabriella was after they had had a particularly intimate night together that had almost lead to them having sex. They hadn't talked about going all the way and he had been afraid of the discussion they would have. He was nervous that Gabriella didn't want what he wanted and whether their relationship would change if they indeed decided to have sex.
The fourth time he had been nervous around Gabriella was when he decided he was going to propose to her. He had been carrying the ring with him for months at that point. He had desperately tried to hide it from Gabriella and shortly after moving in together he decided that it would soon be the time to propose. Soon in their relationship however translated to eight months. He wasn't necessarily nervous about her rejecting him, he was nervous because he was proposing. This was what they had talked about doing in the future, and apparently the future was now. Marriage was a big step in a relationship, it wasn't just wearing fancy rings and a white dress, it was dedicating yourself to the other for the rest of your life.
Now, he wasn't sure why he was nervous. It just seemed to be a natural reaction. The past few days had been surreal and his life without her was about to come with an end. The worry of being shot or a bomb being dropped from above was over. He was going home and he was going to marry Gabriella and they were going to start a family together. No one had believed him when he said that before leaving, but he was about to prove them wrong.
As soon as the plane hit the tarmac and came to a stop he stood up. Walking as fast as he could, he moved through the aisle and into the airport. He had to restrain himself from running as he moved across the linoleum floor that reflected the florescent lights mounted on the ceiling. His fast pace had to come to a stop when he came to a fully loaded escalator. Looking over the heads of the people in front of him, he tried to spot Gabriella from above. He didn't see her. He looked again, where the hell was she?
Stepping off the escalator, he didn't know what to do. Should he go to the left or to the right? Stepping forward he peered around once more trying to see through the large amount of people crowded around the various luggage carousels. He still couldn't find her. Suddenly he saw a brunette with curly hair, standing with her back to him, down by the other escalator. He knew it was her. He didn't need to see her face, it was Gabriella. Picking up his pace once again, he couldn't help himself from running. Once he got within the range that she knew he would be able to hear him, he yelled, not too loudly though, "Ella!"
He saw her turn around. She held a poster that read 'Welcome Home Troy' in green lettering. At the sight of him, tears began to fall down her face. She started to walk toward him but soon enough, she jumped in his arms. They spun in a circle once and Troy set her down on the ground again. Removing his hands from her waist, he raised his hands to cup her cheeks. At this point, he knew he had let at least one tear drip down his face. Looking in her eyes, he whispered what he had wanted to tell her face-to-face for the last eighteen months, "I love you Ella, I love you so, so much."
Gabriella tightened her grip around his neck, "I love you too Troy, more than anything in the world." Finally, after a year and a half of waiting, Troy dipped his head down and kissed her. Letting themselves explore each other's mouths, they quickly forgot where they were and what was going on around them. They didn't care that they were in a public place, it was their moment and nothing was going to ruin it.
Eventually forcing their lips apart due to lack of air, Troy rested his forehead on Gabriella's. "I missed you Ella. I'm never going to leave you again."
"I missed you too Troy." Gabriella smiled. Troy's face lit up with a smile as a natural reaction. He pecked her lips once more before they reluctantly pulled apart. Looking around, they both saw many people watching them with smiles on their faces. Grasping her hand, Troy and Gabriella moved toward the exit to get into her car leaving behind the loneliest year and a half the two had ever experienced.
"Do you want to go home? Or is there somewhere you really want to go to? I'll take you anywhere baby." Gabriella questioned him. She could tell from the bags under his eyes that he was tired. Starting the car, she pulled out of the parking lot. Troy had placed his left hand on her right leg and was gently rubbing up and down, not in a sexual way but because he just wanted to be touching her.
"I really just want to go home." As his hand moved up and down her bare leg, she could feel the blisters, cuts, and calluses on his hands. They were cracked from dryness and rough from the handling of guns. She always shivered at the thought of him running around with a large gun in his hands.
"Okay. Are you hungry? Do you want me to pick up something to eat? Or I could make something at home if you wanted." Gabriella knew his living conditions had been poor and wanted to treat him to whatever he wanted after having been gone for so long.
"Right now, a good grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup sounds perfect." Troy smiled at her. She thought that he would need a lot, but he didn't need much. Just some food, a change of clothes, and her would hold him over for a while.
Gabriella dropped her right hand from the steering wheel. She knew it probably wasn't the safest thing to do, but she felt the need to hold his hand. Stopping Troy's movements, he flipped his palm upwards so that they could interlock their fingers. At the moment words weren't needed. They pulled into the parking garage and got out of the car and connected hands once again as they went up to their apartment.
After walking in the door, Troy sat down on the floor to take off his tall, laced boots and Gabriella bent over to take the heeled pumps off her feet. "It looks exactly the same as when I left." Troy didn't know if he was expecting her to change the apartment or not, but he was still surprised it looked exactly the same with the exception of a few magazines scattered on the coffee table.
"I know, I didn't want to change much." Gabriella smiled at him. He stood up and began to walk toward their bedroom. Walking through the door, she watched as he collapsed on the bed. She giggled at him. It probably felt like heaven on earth compared to the cot he had been sleeping.
Troy groaned, he felt like the muscles that had been in constant use were slowly loosening. Gabriella lied down on her side next to him and rested her head on his outstretched arm. Troy looked at her and couldn't resist himself from pulling her toward himself and kissing her once again. "I probably should have changed before falling on the bed, huh?"
"It's fine Troy." Gabriella didn't care if the sheets got dirty as long as he was laying next to her. "Do you want to change?"
"Yeah, I am ready to take this camouflage off." Troy stood up and unbuttoned the coat that had his last name embroidered onto it. He began to shrug the heavy coat off and Gabriella went to get him a large shirt, a pair of sweatpants, and a fresh, brand new pair, of black boxer shorts in case he wanted that too. When she walked back out she saw him bending over to grab his pants that he'd just dropped to the floor. She observed the way the muscles in his back contracted as he rose back up. He had gained a lot of muscle. Before he had left, he had been muscular with decent sized biceps and a six-pack of abs. However, he had been slightly skinny. Now he was simply buff. His muscles were more suited to his body now. The shaved head was something she would simply have to get used to.
"Here." She said handing him the clothes. He took his boxers off right in front of her, as if he'd never left. Pulling on the clean pair, he heard her giggle again and smiled. That was one sound he would never get tired of.
"Enjoying the view Montez?" He smirked at her. She probably wasn't expecting to see all of him within ten minutes of their arrival back to their apartment.
"I just think you want to flaunt your new bod Bolton." She joked back. Their ability to joke with each other was always something the two had enjoyed. It was their way of making a serious moment less awkward.
"Damn, I didn't think you'd catch me Montez." Troy skipped putting on a shirt and sat down next to her on the bed, before leaning back to lie down again. Gabriella once again lied on his arm but this time she place her hand on his stomach and began to run her hand across the ripples of his abs. Tilting his head up to kiss her, they quickly became lost in each other. Soon enough Gabriella had completely rolled on top of him and his hands were roaming up and down her sides and Gabriella let out a moan. Troy, however, knew that now was not the time. Pulling away he lightened the mood once again, "You don't seem to be capable of resisting my new 'bod' Montez."
Leaning down to peck a kiss on his lips she smiled and giggled. "This won't work as well when we get married and have the same last name, will it?"
"Who knows. Although, I can't wait to call you Mrs. Gabriella Bolton though." He said with a cheeky grin. Soon enough they would be Mr. and Mrs. Bolton and they would have kids with the last name Bolton. "So, how about that Grilled Cheese and tomato soup Montez?"
"I hope you know that just because I'm being nice now, doesn't mean I'm going to slave over the stove for you when we get married." She threatened him. Just because he returned home from war didn't mean she was going to be a housewife and baby him a year and a half from now.
"Well, I better take advantage of it while it lasts, shouldn't I?" Troy returned with a smile. He knew Gabriella would take it as a joke, but he would no doubt get a slap on the shoulder for his comment.
"Troy Bolton!" She exclaimed and lightly shoved his shoulder as he had expected. Rolling off him, she stood up. "You better keep in mind that I could withhold you from sex."
"You wouldn't do that Ella. It's been a year and a half, I know you are just as desperate as I am." Troy smirked at her. She had threatened periods of abstinence before but no matter what it wouldn't last. "And I'm irresistible."
"Haha Troy, very funny. Now, you can either sit in here by yourself or you could come and stare at my ass while I make you some soup. Your choice." Gabriella winked at him with a cheeky smile. She was only partly joking with her last comment. Before he left, staring at her ass had been one of his favorite pastimes.
"Yes ma'am." Troy stood up and grabbed her hand from behind as she walked down the hall toward the kitchen. They were already back to their old ways.
Settling down at the kitchen counter, they began to talk about their plans for the next few days. "So, do you want to go down to Albuquerque anytime soon? I kind of told your mom we would so you are out of luck if you don't."
"No, that's fine. I was planning on going down there. I want to see everyone. Do you know when Matt is going home? I want to make it down to see my niece." Troy hadn't realized how much he would truly miss out of his family's lives. He barely even knew Matt had had a kid while he was gone.
"I think he took the entire week off and aren't going to leave until the seventh. We have plenty of time to spend here and still be able to make it home and see everyone for a few days before school and work." Gabriella herself would have to think about returning to work soon. First she wanted to make sure that Troy would be able to get back to work and had everything set. "I did want to get some things sorted before we leave though. The brochure I picked up from the armory mentioned that you should get a physical upon arrival home so I set up an appointment for tomorrow because it will be closed for new year's. I also was thinking that we should try to get your license renewed and maybe get a new cell phone. I tried to contact the school but they haven't called me back."
"Okay. I just want to spend some alone time with you too." Troy looked at her. There was a lot he had to do that he hadn't thought about.
Gabriella looked him in the eyes. He had missed her a lot and was probably feeling an emotional attachment to her right now. They would definitely not be without of arm's reach from each other for a few days. "I know baby, me too."
Gabriella turned the stove off and poured their soup into bowls, put their sandwiches on plates, and grabbed two napkins. She sat down next to Troy, who put his arm around the back of her chair. "Thanks Ella."
"No problem honey, it's just lunch." Troy had become so much more appreciative of everything he had at home. At war they didn't get the opportunity to eat much and it had all been 'Just add water!' food.
"So, should we spend four or five days here and then go to New Mexico? It would be the second and we would still have five days before Matt goes home. I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind if we stayed longer if we wanted to." Gabriella wanted to get their plans out of the way so they could just enjoy their time together.
"Works for me." They sat in silence for a few a while.
"Is there anything you want to do today?" Gabriella wanted him to decide on what they would be doing. He hadn't had any free time in a year and a half.
"Honestly, I just want to lay on the couch and watch movies and cuddle with you." It had been a long day for Troy with all the traveling and he didn't have the desire to do much besides laze around the apartment.
"Sounds like a perfect day. I want you to open a present I got for you first though." She put her empty dishes in the sink and went to grab Troy's present from the closet. Spotting him sitting comfortably on the couch, she carried the slightly heavy box and sat it down in front of him. "I was planning on getting you one for your birthday or Christmas but you left so I wanted to get you one now. It's not as meaningful as my Christmas present, but I wanted to get you something."
"Thanks Ella." He bent over and kissed her. He had a feeling they would be doing a lot of that in the next few days. Picking up the present to set it in his lap, he felt the unexpected heaviness. It was a large box and had a bag with tissue paper sticking out. Ripping the wrapping paper off, he saw the Xbox 360 he had once wanted. "Wow, this is great!" Moving on he took the tissue paper out of the bag and took out a few games that would be compatible with the gaming system.
She lent her head on his shoulder. "I wanted to get you something you would have fun with."
"Well, I will certainly have some fun with this. I can't believe you remembered I wanted one." Troy had previously complained about his old gaming system.
"I'm glad you like it." She pecked his cheek and wrapped her arms around him. "Do you want to set it up now or just relax on the couch for a while?"
"It's not that I don't want to play it now, it's just that I want to lay down and rest for a while." Troy didn't want to hurt her feelings but he didn't want to go through the trouble of setting up everything right then at that moment.
"That's fine honey, don't worry about it. What do you want to watch?" She stood up and walked to the entertainment center.
"We should watch some of those Friends episodes." Troy smiled cheekily at her. They had watched the show a lot in their teenager years and he would never admit it but he kind of missed watching the show.
"Okay, I have to open it first though." She went to get a scissors to open the plastic wrapping on the large DVD set. Troy grabbed the blanket from one of the chairs and switched on the electric fireplace. It was starting to get dark outside so he used the light switch to dim the lights so it wasn't completely dark in the room. He watched Gabriella put the disc into the DVD player and she walked back toward the couch. He was laying on his back with his head propped up against a pillow. Gabriella pulled the blanket up and laid on top him before pulling the blanket back over them. She sighed as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her on the top of the head. These were the moments he missed the most. The moments where they were just laying in each other's arms, relaxing and not worrying about anything. It felt great to be home.