A/N: No classes for me today, and so I spoil you. :) Feedback is always appreciated.
Canon:a musical device that declares a set theme in a piece, it is always repeated, and often works as both a beginning and an ending
Peyton sighed melodramatically as she studied her reflection in the full-length mirror. "I look wrong," she grumbled, tugging at the hem of her shirt.
"You look perfect," Lucas assured her.
She glared. She didn't want him to lie to her. "I do not," she growled back.
"Peyton. Honey," he added for good measure when her eyes flashed. "You do realize that you've known Brooke since you were four years old, right?"
"I know," she sighed. "It just…it feels like I'm meeting her all over again. In a different context. And I look…too…casual."
Lucas looked her over, took in the black shorts and the deep red shirt which clung to her body in all the right places. He examined the white sweater she'd thrown on and the messy bun her hair was in. "You look perfect," he repeated, shrugging.
"You're saying that because you love me!" she shouted as though it were an accusation of the worst kind, throwing her sweater aside. She buried her face in her hands. "I mean…" She took a deep breath, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…to yell at you."
He grinned knowingly but gently. He knew that wasn't what she was flustered about or what she was apologizing for. "You're too cute."
She turned away from him. "It's not funny."
Lucas closed the distance between them in three easy steps. "Hey," he said softly. "I'm sorry."
Peyton rolled her eyes at her own behaviour. "No, I'm sorry."
"Not that," he contradicted her.
"Then what?" she replied, arching her eyebrows, even though she knew.
"I've waited for you for…so, so long. It still feels surreal that we're here, together. And these past weeks of just you and me have been…wow," he said simply, leering for a split second though his eyes remained earnest. "Peyton, I asked you to marry me in the hallway of a hospital and you said yes." He lifted one eyebrow. "And you still think it's not official? You want to hear me say it?"
She rolled her eyes again. She was being a total girl, and it was unnecessary but… "Yeah," she whispered, looking at him with vulnerable eyes. "I think I need to."
His hands skimmed up her arms, making her shiver, and came to rest against her cheeks. "You look beautiful today. You know I love to see you in shorts."
"Luke," she protested softly.
"I'm serious. You do. You look perfect. Brooke's not a monster – we've both talked this out with her already. Miranda will adore you and it's pretty easy to adore her back." He leaned into kiss her and it felt like every pore in her body responded to his. He smiled down at her, his eyes half-closed. "And I love you."
-x-
"Daddy!" Miranda called out joyfully as she rushed toward Lucas. She had complete faith in him, that he would catch her and sweep her up into his secure embrace, which he did.
"Hey, princess," he replied with a grin, kissing both her cheeks. "How's the Big Apple?"
"Good," she chirped. "But I missed you."
"She definitely did," Brooke agreed softly, setting her daughter's suitcases down. "Hey," she added as an afterthought.
"Hey," he replied, matching her tone. "How are you?"
"Fine," she said, nodding amiably. "And how…" She trailed off, eyeing Peyton as her old friend walked down the stairs in the house Brooke had raised her daughter in. "I see you're good," she said decisively.
"Hey," Peyton said nervously, keeping a tactful distant away from Lucas as they faced his ex-wife and her ex-friend. She sighed. "It's good to see you."
Brooke laughed at the desperate way she spoke, breaking up some of the tension. She smiled softly. "You, too, P. Sawyer. Hey, Miranda, this is Peyton. Remember, I told you about her?"
Miranda peered over her father's shoulder. "Daddy's new friend."
Peyton grinned, meeting the little girl's eyes. She was such a mini-Brooke, with touches of Lucas thrown in. "And your new friend, too, if that's okay…?"
Miranda took a moment to assess her. "Mommy says you can draw almost anything."
The blonde shot Brooke a look of thanks before replying, "I try to."
The little girl squirmed, and Lucas set her down willingly. She walked over to Peyton, her guard falling. Peyton crouched down so that they were eye level, and her heart caught in her throat as Miranda extended her hand. "Will you teach me?"
Peyton grinned back. "I'd love to, honey. We'll go upstairs, okay? Your mommy and daddy want to talk."
"I can show you my dolls!" Miranda declared excitedly as they headed to the stairs. Peyton glanced over her shoulder to throw Lucas a smile of relief. He winked in return.
-x-
"So," Brooke said as she flopped down in her favourite chair. "What's up with you two? Have you named your future children, or just picked out the location for your wedding?"
Lucas glanced up at her as though caught and her eyebrows flew upward.
"Oh, my God…you're actually getting married?" She sat back and took a deep breath, trying to absorb it all. "Somehow," she mused aloud, "I'm not surprised."
"I didn't really…propose, or anything. It's not like it's going to happen soon. I mean, I don't have…a ring…or anything. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision…"
"Spur of the moment?" Brooke laughed, looking at him in a way that was almost sympathetic. "Lucas, you've been waiting years to ask her that question. You probably dreamed of it before she'd ever even spoken to her."
"That's not true," he protested bashfully.
"Luke. Our marriage is over. Be honest with me. I know that's the truth." She sighed. "If you want to marry her, and she wants to marry you…that's what should happen." Attempting a smile, she continued, "Get Haley to help you pick a ring. I would but I…I can't." She stood up, nodding toward the ceiling. "I'll make sure that Peyton's taken care of."
"Hey," he protested. "I mean, Brooke, thank you so much, but…sit down. Tell me how your trip was."
She groaned, pressing her fingers against her eyes as she sat down again, as if she was trying to ward off a headache. She smiled at him, all bittersweet fondness. "Dammit, I was so close to being bitter."
He grinned back, shrugging, "Sorry."
Brooke crossed her legs and relaxed into her chair. "You're going to marry her and start the life that both of you were always supposed to have, and I'm going to help it all happen. And then I'm going to find my Lucas. The real one," she added with a smirk.
"You're replacing me?" he asked as if she'd wounded him deeply.
"Honey," she said gently, a bit condescendingly, as she smiled seriously. "You were never mine."
-x-
"Are you sure about this?" Peyton asked nervously as Brooke placed stacks of wedding books in front of her.
"About getting closure and seeing two people I love, however grudgingly, be with each other?" Brooke smirked, all faux sweetness. "Yeah. Come to think of it, I am sure."
Peyton rolled her eyes. She was perched on a stool in front of the counter in the currently-closed Tree Hill branch of Clothes over Bro's while Brooke bustled around behind the counter in search of wedding paraphernalia.
"I feel like I've been waiting this for a long time," Brooke admitted as she flipped a book open and tapped a page full of example invitations. "And now that it's happening, it's kind of relief. One never-ending chapter, the saga of Lucas and Peyton, finally getting its and they all lived happily ever after." She grinned, producing a bottle of champagne, popping the cork, and pouring Peyton a glass in one expertly smooth movement. "Besides, we've got to get a move on. You obviously need me for this, and I'm heading back to NY tomorrow for another week. Drink and look," she ordered before disappearing into the back room.
Peyton's head was spinning as she gazed down at the formally-worded invitations. Things were falling into place for her in ways she hadn't imagined. She'd never felt so confused and yet settled ever before, not even in the earlier days of her time with Jake. Brooke was at least accepting her, if not fully forgiving her. She'd settled things with Jenny. Haley and Nathan had given their blessings. Miranda loved that she could draw unicorns with someone who could actually sketch a horse. Peyton was both dizzy and grounded at once; falling fast into a love that had been waiting for her.
"Mmkay, P. Sawyer," Brooke said authoritatively as she walked back into the room. "What're you thinking for the big day?" She was carrying several bolts of off-white fabric, a couple bundles of rolled-up sketches, and had a pencil tucked behind her ear. She somehow looked sweet, businesslike, and all sexy-librarian at the same time.
Peyton set aside the invitation formats she'd been checking out, the laciest of which had, surprisingly, caught her attention. "Hey, B., listen…I love you to death for being so on board, but I really don't want you to feel like you have to be."
Brooke huffed and glanced skyward as though asking the heavens for patience with Peyton's silliness. "You listen to me, fake Blondie," she ordered. "Do you remember high school?"
"You mean the first time I was the biggest bitch in the world and clandestinely hooked up with the guy you loved and never deserved your forgiveness?" she questioned. She always felt that she'd loved Lucas first, and that Brooke should have let them have a little more time, but she felt such humility around Brooke's current behaviour, which was somehow both selfish and selfless all at once.
Her friend rolled her eyes as she sat down the bolts. "No, I mean when you and Nathan broke up and he and Haley got really serious, really fast."
"Of course."
"Okay, well, do you remember how Haley used to come to you for advice? And you supported their relationship? And encouraged it, because you knew it was for the best?"
Peyton shook her head. "That was different. Nathan and I never had anything close to what he and Hales do."
"Yeah. And Luke and I, as much as I hate to admit it, never had anything close to what you do with him." She took a deep breath. "You let me have him, P. You could have come back and he eventually would have found within himself that part of you that loves you so fucking much that it's nearly impossible…but you didn't. You picked Jake and you stayed away and gave your heart to someone else because you thought it would be best for you and me. And it was. Those were good years. But it was only a matter of time, and leave it to Chris Keller to put the wheels in motion." She smiled bravely, tears glimmering in her eyes. "You are, however, the biggest bitch in the world because you keep questioning me on it. Stop it before I change my mind," she chuckled weakly.
Peyton placed a hand over hers. "I love you, Brooke," she said simply, her heart in her voice. "And I never meant to hurt you even though I really do love him."
Brooke shot her an honest grin, flipping her hand over to interlock their fingers as she squeezed back. "I know you do. Weren't you listening? You proved it."
-x-
"Hey, you."
Peyton's eyes fluttered open as she felt the mattress sink under Lucas' weight as he joined her. "Hey," she mumbled back sleepily, curling into his chest. His arms encircled her instantly and she sighed blissfully. "Is Mira asleep?" she asked, tracing idle patterns against his chest.
"Yeah. Only after talking about you for a good hour. You've really got her under your spell."
"You think?" she asked, preening proudly.
"Hell yeah. She thinks you're way more fun than me."
"Aw." She giggled at his wounded expression. Yawning, she continued, "She's so cute, Luke. You should be proud."
"I am," he acknowledged, looking at her in amusement. "Brooke really tired you out, didn't she?"
"Oh, God…yes. She was a freaking…tornado…of invitations and locations and dress materials and…it was ridiculous."
"Well, she likes to go all-out."
"Mm. All-out isn't exactly the way I envisioned our wedding," she admitted, smiling idiotically at the sound of those words; our wedding.
He chuckled. "We'll figure it out."
Peyton nodded. Lately, it seemed like that was true. "Yeah," she said with a contented sigh.
"Hey…Peyt?"
"Hmm?" she murmured as she began to drift off.
"Do you think I can spend some time with Jenny? Playing basketball, or whatever she'd be comfortable with? I don't think I have any chance of winning her over the way you did Mira…but I want to try," he joked.
She cupped his chin in her hand, keeping her eyes closed. She pulled him in for a kiss; she knew his body only by feel. She didn't need anything more.
"What's that for?" he whispered against her lips.
"Nothing," she mumbled back, opening her eyes one last time before she gave into sleep. "It's just…I love you, too."
-x-
"Nick," Haley said patiently, gently ruffling the hair of her most stubborn child, "Honey, sweetie, my angel boy…" she cooed hopefully. "How about we watch something else, huh? Like The Lion King. You love that movie, right?"
"No! No, no, no!" Nick cried petulantly. "I wanna watch my favourite movie."
Peyton smiled, shrugging helplessly at Haley's desperate, pleading look. It wasn't like she knew where the movie was, and besides, she was too comfortable to get up. Her small, strangely merged family was settled on one of the couches. Lucas sat on her right, his arm draped lightly around her shoulders, his fingers pressing warmly into the flesh of her shoulder. Jenny sat on her left, and Peyton had gently intertwined their arms when they'd first sat down. Her right arm was resting on Miranda's back; the little girl was snuggled contentedly into her lap, Peyton's chin resting atop her head. Miranda had taken to her so well that Peyton was almost in awe of it. Nathan had joked that it must be Luke's genes coming to the surface.
They were at the Scott household, spending the afternoon together after having said goodbye to Brooke. They were, as Nathan had put it, 'celebrating the revamped Scott family'. Of course, with four emotionally and physically tired adults and a bunch of kids, that meant watching a movie as a collective group. They'd probably all doze off collectively as well.
On the floor, Haley was kneeling next to Nick as they sorted through a collection of mislabeled videotapes. Nathan was standing, his upper body practically buried in a cupboard as he searched for more. On the other couch, Jamie was playing with Sebastian, who sat in his lap, and Noah was dozing, his little head on a pillow, despite his earlier insistence that he was not sleepy.
"Nathan, why the H-E-L-L did we not buy this F-U-C-K-I-N-G movie on DVD?" Haley hissed at her husband, at the end of her rope as she sorted through countless old basketball tapes.
"Um, Mom?" Jamie asked, raising his eyebrows as he grinned. "You realize that I can spell both those words, right?"
Haley winced. "Sorry, baby…I keep forgetting how old you are now," she sighed, getting a little misty-eyed.
"Aw, Mom," Jamie grimaced, embarrassed. He glanced quickly over at Jenny. "Not now."
Nathan gave Haley's shoulder a squeeze and sat down on the floor next to his son. "Okay, bud, this is all we've got, but these don't have labels on them."
Nick critically eyed the six tapes his father had just placed on the floor, adding them to the growing collection that Haley was frantically trying to organize. He placed his index finger on one of them and said, with certainty: "That's it."
"Buddy, how do you know that?"
"Because it's my favourite," Nick insisted as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yeah, Nate," Lucas inputted, laughter in his voice. Peyton could feel the rumble of his chest as he spoke. "It's his favourite."
Nick beamed. "Listen to Uncle Luke!"
Nathan shot Lucas a glare. "Uncle Luke's being a big…goof," he said, a threat in his voice.
Miranda giggled sweetly and Peyton felt a wave of thankfulness for how good it felt to be where she was and with the people she had loved and was learning to love. Lucas reached over to brush Miranda's hair out of her face, and Peyton felt his lips touch her forehead. She turned to him and smiled.
"Nick, bud, I'm sorry, but I think this tape is actually a lot older than you."
"No," he replied stubbornly. "That is my movie."
Haley sighed as she attempted to read what was scribbled on the label of another movie. "Just put it in, babe," she told her husband distractedly.
Nick watched the television screen anxiously, but instead of opening credits, they saw fuzz. His face fell in disappoint. "I thought that was it."
"Aw, sweetie," Haley crooned. "It's okay, it's –"
She stopped speaking when actual tape began to play, shakily recorded by a handheld camera, and Nick cried happily, "It's Daddy!"
And indeed it was. Nathan, fourteen years old, showing off as he shot baskets in the driveway of his expensive house. Peyton grinned. "Hey, Jenny, he's as old as you are," she said, nodding toward the Nathan that dunked a ball on the TV. She'd spent several days of her life in Nathan's driveway; the sight was not unfamiliar to her.
Jenny assessed the picture and nodded her approval. "Looking hot, Uncle Nate," she teased.
"Hey," Haley laughed. "That's my man."
All of a sudden, fourteen-year-old Peyton, her hair longer and curlier and her eyes just as troubled as they'd ever been, but lit up with light, appeared on screen next to him. She smirked at the camera and declared fondly, her voice playful, "That's my baby," before pulling Nathan into a kiss, grabbing his chin.
Jenny laughed. "What were you saying, Aunt Haley?"
Lucas' fingers toyed with the curls that hit Peyton's upper back and she shot him a sheepish smile before letting her gaze drift over to Nathan. He grinned back. Haley, next to him, gazed at the couple on screen with a tolerant smile on her face, well aware that the past was the past. In spite of their constant bitching, Nathan and Peyton had had their sweet moments. Peyton was glad at least one had been caught on film.
Noah, who'd woken up from his nap, asked sleepily, "Daddy, why're you kissing Aunt Peyton?" His bleary eyes were troubled as he stared at them.
"Before I dated your mom I dated Peyton," Nathan said, offering the simplest explanation he could.
"But now you only kiss Mommy, right?" the little boy questioned seriously, and Peyton smiled softly at how much it mattered to him.
"Of course, buddy. Your mom's the love of my life," Nathan said, shooting Haley a warm smile that she returned wholeheartedly.
"Promise?" Noah demanded insistently.
"Yeah, kiddo. Of course."
Haley rested her head on his shoulder. "Always and forever," she said softly, but Peyton heard her words and they brought an even brighter smile to her lips, especially with Lucas' hand still tangled in her hair. It actually seemed like a possibility for her own life.
"Don't worry, baby," she told Noah to reassure him. "I don't want your daddy anymore anyway." She quirked her eyebrows and was happy when he laughed, assured of the stability of his parents' relationship.
"Gets me right here, Sawyer," Nathan grouched, placing a hand over her heart.
"Yeah?" she asked skeptically, smirking mischievously. "Pretty sure you and I only got each other a little further south, Nate."
"Mom!" Jenny cried, squirming.
"Oh, wow," said Lucas, grimacing as he obviously tried to block out the mental picture.
"My kids are here!" Haley protested laughingly, and Peyton grinned back at her.
But her words and their connotation were nothing compared to what appeared on the screen eighteen seconds later. All of sudden, in high-definition picture on Nathan's prized big screen, Peyton saw herself engaged in serious foreplay with her high school boyfriend.
No one in the room said a word. Haley's jaw dropped lower than Peyton would have thought her facial structure would allow. Nathan's skin turned a colour somewhere between red and purple. Lucas' hand stilled in her hair. Jenny's eyebrows shot up high and froze there; Jamie looked traumatized, and the twins and the baby stared at the TV in utter confusion – but no one said a word. Peyton slipped her hand out from where her arm was loosely entwined with her daughter's to clap it over her mouth in horror.
She was wearing very little, shorts that exposed most of her legs and a purple bra; Nathan, only his boxers. Her body was mercifully covered by Nathan's, but one of her long legs hooked around his waist was obvious to the audience.
It was the fifteen-year-olds on screen who finally broke the silence, Peyton's purr of, "Mm, Nathan," followed by Nathan's husky reply that was something indiscernible.
That woke everyone up as Haley screamed, "Oh my God!" and slapped a hand over Nick's eyes, ordering, "Noah, eyes closed, now. Jamie, you too, or I swear to God, no allowance for a month."
Peyton instinctively shielded Miranda's eyes, too, as Haley cried, "Turn it off!"
Nathan fumbled hastily with the remote, pressing several buttons until finally, the screen went black and they all wilted a little with relief – but not much.
"You made sex tapes?" Haley demanded incredulously.
Nathan cowered a little, shrugging. It was probably in his best interest not to speak at the moment.
"Whoa," Lucas muttered next to Peyton, and she moved the hand that had been covering Mira's eyes to rest gently on his knee.
"Ew, Mom," Jenny said, wincing in disgust.
Peyton snapped in mom-mode for a moment, automatically. "Thanks, honey," she said sarcastically, and then gave her teenager a serious look. "Never do that." Then, finally, she met her ex-boyfriend's eyes, extending her arm as she pointed an accusing finger. "You promised me you deleted those!"
"Those, plural, as in more than one?" Haley stared at them both.
"I thought I got rid of them," he said weakly.
Peyton bit down on her lower lip as they just looked at each other, unsure of what else to do. Then, unbidden, a snicker slipped through her lips. Haley gaped at her, and that did her in. She started to laugh; the soul-shaking kind of laughter that would make her stomach hurt after a while, but would still feel so good. She was embarrassed, yes, but it was in the past and so old and this was just such an odd moment for it to come back to haunt them, because…it didn't really matter. Nathan and Haley had their life. She and Lucas were starting theirs. It was an old, forgotten – albeit kind of hot – tape. It was another artifact of times that had passed, reminding her once more how different and how much better things were about to be.
Nathan joined in her laughter, chuckling ashamedly and trying to hide it. "Shut up!" Haley barked at him, but a giggle escaped her, too, and that was all it took to get Lucas going. Before Peyton knew it, they were all cracking up, while the kids looked at them like they were insane. Through her laughter, Haley gasped out, "Are you crazy?" and Peyton could only shrug happily, calming her own giggling.
"This is the way it's supposed to be, right?" she asked, glancing back and forth between Nathan and Haley. She locked eyes with Nathan for a moment. "So messed up." He grinned back at her, nodding his agreement. She turned, placing a hand on Lucas' cheek and forcing him to look her in the eye, adding quietly, "But so perfect."
Luke placed his hand gently over hers and leaned forward for a gentle, sincere kiss that was perfectly chaste. "Yeah," he agreed.
Miranda peered up at them both with a pretty little curious smile on her adorable face, and Haley had positively melted, murmuring a soft, "Awww." Then she blinked and her face fell back in a skeptical, scandalized smile. "Sex tapes, really?"
