Author Note: Eek! The last chapter, wow, you all have been amazing. If you haven't already please check out my first Rucas/Liley fic Girl Meets Moment and I've started a collection of Rucas/Liley shorts called The Story of Us.
Song Used: Love Me Like You Do—Ellie Goulding
Chapter Ten: Love Me Like You Do
November
It was early in the evening as Lucas sat at his desk going over some paperwork; well that was what he was supposed to be doing. Instead he was distracted by planning the last few details of his and Riley's trip to South Dakota. He couldn't help but smile to himself with his plans. The last few months had been as perfect as possible.
His clinic was doing well; he had a small staff working for him now. Riley had started working more normal hours, but sometimes she would sneak down to the bakery in the middle of the night to work on a cake. After a bout of month of living in both apartments, she officially moved in with him, while Auggie took over her old place.
"Dr. Friar, you have a call on line two, it's your friend Zay."
"Thanks Beth." He said to his receptionist before picking up the phone, "Hey Zay, what's up?"
"Maya and I are going to drop by tonight, is that okay?"
"Of course it is." Lucas finished submitting his hotel reservation, "Are you guys finally going to tell us how amazing Hawaii was?"
"Something like that." Zay's voice was playful, "Oh I think Farkle and Isadora might drop by as well."
"Okay, I'll let Riley know." Lucas looked over what he had on his desk, "I gotta go and get some stuff done before I can get home. I'll see you later."
"Bye."
Lucas quickly went through his papers, seeing what could wait until morning, what needed to be done right away, and if he had any more calls he had to make. After twenty minutes he was done for the night and on his way out.
"Dr. Friar, Riley just called, wanted you to pick up a pizza from down the street before you come home. She said she called the order in." Beth told him as she started her end of night procedure.
"Thanks Beth, I'll see you in the morning." Lucas pulled his jacket on before walking out of the clinic and down to the pizzeria on the corner.
As he walked back to their apartment, he enjoyed the crisp autumn air, the small of the New York style pizza—because almost nothing else could be as good as that.
When he walked into the apartment he found Riley waiting, she wore a pair of jeans, and had a tunic top, looking comfortable but also beautiful. He was always amazed that she could do that, and she never realized just how good she looked. "I got the pie." He called out as Scottie ran towards him.
"Thank you." Riley kissed his cheek before taking it, "Maya called, she and Zay are coming over, and so are Farkle and Smackle, do you know what's going on?"
"Nope, Zay called to tell me the same thing." He took his jacket off hanging it on the coat hook. "How was work today?"
"It was great, you will never believe who came in to order a wedding cake."
"Who?"
Riley chuckled, "Missy Bradford, for her and Charlie's wedding."
"No way."
"Way." Riley shook her head, "You know what, God bless them."
Lucas shook his head, "Well at least now we know he did find someone interested in his special brand of romance."
"I guess so, but once Missy realized it was me, she decided on another bakery. I'm not torn up about it.'
"Good, I think it would be weird to make their cake." Lucas sat on the couch with Scottie, "I finished booking our trip to South Dakota!"
Riley raced over to him, forgetting about the pizza, "You did! So you figured out our itinerary?"
"I did, I found a really nice hotel, very romantic." His fingers played with her hair as he spoke, "It's going to be great."
"This is going to be so much fun, we'll go to South Dakota for a few days, come back, spend Thanksgiving with my family and our friends. It's going to be wonderful."
"God I love you."
"Lucas Friar, watch it with that charm, we have people coming over any minute and I can't get lost in you right now."
"Tonight then." He kissed her just as someone knocked on the door. "Ugh, that's them, isn't it?"
Riley got up and answered the door, finding all four of their friends waiting on the other end. "Come on in guys. Do you want anything to drink, we've got beer, wine, I picked up some soda earlier."
"Water for me please." Maya asked.
Riley stopped and looked at her friend, "Really, are you feeling okay?"
"Yeah, just dehydrated." Maya explained as she glanced to Zay.
"So how was Hawaii?" Farkle asked when Riley came back in with a tray of drinks she sat on the coffee table.
"It was amazing, thank you again Farkle, it was above and beyond." Zay reminded him.
Farkle shrugged, "If I can do something nice for my friends I intend to do it."
"We've got pizza!" Riley brought the pie in with paper plates and napkins. "So what's everyone got going on?"
"We've got a new app coming out that's designed to encourage girls study science and math." Farkle explained, "You inspired that Riley."
"Aww, thanks Farkle."
"Also Isadora is about to start a trial on a new drug she designed for cancer treatments."
"Yes, I'm a little nervous, but I believe in what I've created so far."
"That's amazing," Lucas opened the bottle of beer Riley had brought out for him, "Zay, Maya, what about you guys?"
Zay got nervous and started rubbing the back of his head and looked to Maya. "Now or never?"
"Now or never."
"What's going on you two?" Riley tried to read Maya but couldn't at the moment.
"Well we're um, we're having a baby around May fifth." Maya took a sip of her water.
"I knew it!" Riley jumped up hugging her best friend, "I can't wait to pick the middle name."
"Wait, Maya, what is she talking about?" Zay looked at his wife concerned.
Maya looked down and then up at Lucas, "You couldn't have proposed already could you? Riley and I made a bet while we were in the Hamptons that if I got pregnant before Lucas proposed she would get to pick our child's middle name. If Lucas had proposed before I found out I was pregnant, I would get to pick their honeymoon destination."
Zay shook his head, "Can we all agree no more bets?"
"No, not going to happen." Riley handed him a plate of pizza, "Besides I promise it will be a good middle name."
"Okay, so what about the two of you anything new in Rucas world?"
"We're going to South Dakota in a few weeks." Lucas reminded his friends, "We'll be gone for a few days, but back for Thanksgiving."
"Wonderful, interesting choice, but wonderful." Farkle already knew what Lucas had planned.
"It's really good that all of us are together again." Maya sipped her water, "I like us all very much."
"This is amazing." Riley couldn't believe it as she and Lucas walked past the gift shops and cafes. "We're really here."
"Wow." Was all Lucas could say as they moved towards the viewing area.
They had both seen pictures of Mount Rushmore before, they'd read about it online, but seeing it in person was something else. They stood, just looking at it for a good twenty minutes, before going inside and checking out the museum. Then they went for a walk on the trail, stopping at a cave that had a crack opening in the top and an amazing view of Washington and Lincoln's heads.
"This is breathtaking." Riley was lost in the moment before she turned to see Lucas down on one knee.
"That's how I've always described you." He smiled, "Riley, I have loved you almost my entire life, even when we were apart."
She bit her lip to keep from yelling yay as she watched him.
"I've been dying to ask you this for a very long time, I got this ring before we left for college, with a plan to propose over Christmas, I even asked your father for his blessing. I kept it, all this time, because I knew deep down that I would have another chance with you. I asked your father for his blessing once again, and he gave it to me again.
"Riley Matthews, will you do me the greatest honor, will you marry me?"
"Yes, of course Lucas, yes!" She was shaking as she felt him slip the promise ring off her finger, slipping the engagement ring on in it's place. She looked at the ring, it's gold band reflecting the sunlight along with the small diamond. "It's amazing Lucas."
He smiled, "I'm glad you think so." He kissed her, "I've been dying to ask you for months."
"I'm glad you waited." She threw her arms around his neck. "Thank you for believing in us."
"You're my Pluto, I could never not believe in us."
"Wait, did you wait so I would win the bet?"
"No, though I did have amazing timing." He kissed her again, "I was thinking Paris for our honeymoon."
"I love the way you think." She kissed him again, she couldn't remember a time when she was happier then at this moment.
"We're going to go in here and everything will be okay." Riley reminded him as she they each balanced a pie in their hands, "We don't have to tell them right away, we can just go and enjoy a very large family Thanksgiving."
"I like the way you think." Lucas opened the door for her, and immediately they saw that everyone was staring at them. "Who did you tell?"
"No one, who did you tell?" She whispered back to them as both their eyes landed on Farkle.
"So, how was Mount Rushmore?" Topanga came towards her daughter trying to take the pie from her.
"Mom, I've got it." Riley couldn't believe this, how could they all know already. They hadn't posted it on social media, they hadn't told anyone, except obviously Farkle had known this was coming.
"Fine, fine, just put them on the counter." Topanga waved them away.
"So tell us all about South Dakota." Her Uncle Josh watched from the end of the sofa.
"It was wonderful, Mount Rushmore is breathtaking." Riley got a dreamy look in her eyes, "Crazy Horse was amazing as well, and we went to Wall Drug."
Lucas took the pie from her and went to put them on the counter.
"So anything special happen on this trip?" Cory was sitting between his brothers, trying not to smile.
Riley sighed as Lucas came to stand next to her, "Might as well, it's like they already know."
"I guess so." He shrugged knowing she was right.
"While we were at Mount Rushmore, Lucas proposed, we're engaged!" She held up her left hand, "We haven't set a date yet, but we're very excited."
"Thank God!" Maya declared from her seat in the arm chair, "We've been expecting him to propose since Farkle's wedding."
"Well Riley and I do things our way, no one else's." Lucas reminded them.
"Well, welcome to the family." Topanga told him as she gave him a hug, "I'm just glad it finally happened."
"We all are." Josh rose to hug his niece, "Be good to her, or you'll have to deal with me."
"I promise to treat her like the princess she is."
"So did your family have any suggestions for when we should get married?" Lucas was removing the extra pillows from their bed.
"My Grandma suggests spring, Mom thinks summer, Maya thinks you and I should just run off to Vegas and get it over with."
"I like spring, but you know what I like even better." He took her hands in his before sitting at the foot of the bed, "Autumn, maybe September just before the weather goes cold, on the roof, our families, our friends."
"Just as I described in my letter." She smiled, "I like it, I like it a lot."
"So next September, unless you don't think you can wait that long."
"I was going to ask you the same thing, sure you can wait almost a year to be married?"
"I waited eight years to get you back, I think we could wait less than a year to get married." He kissed her fingers.
"Then, it's decided, we'll figure out a date tomorrow." She pulled away from him and went to get into bed, "Lucas . . ."
"Yes?" He moved to his side of the bed.
"I'm glad you came home."
"I'm glad you welcomed me home." He leaned over to kiss her goodnight.
Riley took a deep breath, trying to remind herself to count to ten. She had nothing to be nervous about. Looking at her reflection she almost couldn't believe it.
"Are you ready sweetheart?" Cory stood at the door of her old bedroom, a smile on his face.
"I am, I've waited a very long time for this."
The roof was decorated with white lights and flowers. A small band played in a corner as everyone gathered for the ceremony.
Lucas waited, his heart racing with Farkle and Zay at his side. Isadora and Maya had both walked down the aisle wearing deep purple dresses.
The music swelled, and Cory escorted Riley down the aisle. It was finally happening; he was going to have to let her go.
The moment Lucas saw her; he knew this was one of those moment he would remember forever. He could barely breathe as he watched her, in fact he was sure he would fall over and Farkle and Zay would both have to catch him.
"Friends, family," The minister began, "We are gathered here this evening, to unite Riley and Lucas in matrimony. Who gives this woman to this man?"
"I do, I know she'll be in good hands." Cory kissed his daughters cheek and placed her hand in Lucas' it was true, he knew that Lucas would do anything for Riley, he would take care of her.
"Lucas and Riley have written their own vows. Lucas?"
"When I first moved to New York, I was starting over, I had no idea what to expect, I wasn't sure I would make friends. My first day of school, you fell into my lap on the subway; I knew then that I had to get to know you. You became one of my best friends, the only woman I have ever loved, even when we were apart, my heart was filled with love for you. I promise you Riley, it will always be filled with love for you."
"Riley?"
"That day Maya pushed me into your lap changed my life. I knew you would be important to me Lucas, always. I might have been scared and insecure a few times, but that's over. You always had my heart, you were always the man for me. My future has always included you, even when I couldn't see it. I promise you that Lucas."
"These rings are a symbol of your undying love, and the commitment that you are verbalizing now, in front of friends, family, and God. Lucas repeat after me, with this ring, I thee wed."
Lucas smiled as he slipped the gold band on Riley's finger, "With this ring, I thee wed."
Riley bit her lip as she took Lucas hand and slipped the band on his finger, "With this ring, I thee wed."
"By the power invested in me by the State of New York, I pronounce you Husband and Wife. May I introduce to you for the first time, Lucas and Riley Friar." He looked at the happy couple, "You may kiss now."
Lucas cupped her face in his hands kissing her, a magic moment between just the two of them.
You're the light, you're the night
You're the color of my blood
You're the cure, you're the pain
You're the only thing I wanna touch
Never knew that it could mean so much, so much
"Are you ready to finally be in Paris together?" Lucas held her close as they shared their first dance.
Riley smiled, "I almost can't believe it."
"Well believe it, tomorrow by this time we'll be in Paris."
You're the fear, I don't care
'Cause I've never been so high
Follow me to the dark
Let me take you past our satellites
You can see the world you brought to life, to life
He spun her out, pulling her close to him. "Dancing with you is one of my favorite things."
"Mine to, though it's a little weird having so many people watching us." She confessed.
"Let me guess, you prefer our moments in the kitchen?"
"How could I not?" She kissed him softly, quickly.
So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do
Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do
Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do
What are you waiting for?
"We have a lifetime to dance in the kitchen together."
Riley giggled as he dipped her, "Lucas Friar, you charming devil."
"Only for you, Riley Friar."
"Oh, I like that." She smiled.
Fading in, fading out
On the edge of paradise
Every inch of your skin is a holy gray I've got to find
only you can set my heart on fire, on fir
Yeah, I'll let you set the pace
'Cause I'm not thinking straight
My head spinning around I can't see clear no more.
"Okay, they're finally married. Think they'll be less exhausting?" Zay looked to his wife as he bottle fed their son.
Maya snorted, "These two? Never, but we love them no matter what."
They watched their best friends dance. "She did pick a good middle name."
"Yeah, she really did, didn't she Shawn Hunter Babineaux?" Maya kissed her son's forehead. "Do you know where he's taking her on their honeymoon?"
"Paris, like he's always wanted."
"God they're sappy."
So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do
Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do
Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do
What are you waiting for?
"Well Cory, you did it. You let her go." Topanga took her husband's hand, "She'll always be our little girl no matter what."
"I know, if it had been anyone else, I don't think I could've done it. I knew this was how the story would always go."
So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (like you do)
Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (yeah)
Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do
What are you waiting for?
"So Husband, what happens next?" Riley was amazed at how she could still get lost in his eyes for even the smallest moment.
"Besides the dream honeymoon," He raised an eyebrow, "We could start thinking about what should go in that spare bedroom."
I'll let you set the pace
'Cause I'm not thinking straight
My head is spinning around I can't see clear no more
What are you waiting for?
"Oh I already know what that's going to be, we'll paint it a nice creamy, buttery yellow." She told him, a secretive smile on her face.
"Oh really, why yellow?"
"It's good for a boy or a girl." She teased.
"Riley . . ."
"We're not yet, but I think we're ready to start trying."
"I love you." He kissed her, deeply, slowly.
So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (like you do)
Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (yeah)
Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do
What are you waiting for?
"So, are we going to make a bet on when we get a Rucas baby?" Farkle sat with Zay and Maya.
Maya watched the couple dancing, "Oh, I say about nine months from now, give or take a week or two."
"You think honeymoon baby?" Farkle looked over at them, "Yeah probably."
Maya pulled out her phone and took a picture, a smile on her face.
So love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (like you do)
Love me like you do, lo-lo-love me like you do (yeah)
Touch me like you do, to-to-touch me like you do
What are you waiting for?
MayaPHartArt
So happy for my best friend, my sister, Riley today. #RucasWedding