Written with Nephewnsnixx
Christmas and New Year's Eve passed by quickly. Everyone, of course, enjoyed it to the fullest, then they were back to the daily routine. Thanks to great planning, Santana and Rachel were able to work without worrying about not having someone to take care of their son. They got a great arrangement with Beth. Although the college student had a lot of studying to do, she was the top of her class and ahead of everyone, which gave her a bit more free time. Rachel and Santana trusted Beth and were glad to know she was trying to teach her nephew some science. They were also glad to help her out, knowing her plans to move in with Emily at some point. The couple made sure to throw a few extra dollars every time Beth babysitter Riley. When the young woman couldn't, other family members were happy to take it upon themselves and that's how Riley found himself to be the one who spend the most time with other family members.
For Dani and Marley the stress became a regular thing by then; they were experts on how to juggle a few things at once. They did their college work the best they could possibly do, that was the top priority. The wedding planning got squeezed in between projects, studying for tests and classes and it worked; the couple made a lot of progress. To keep the romance alive, Marley and Dani took one evening a week to go out, just them and do something fun. They also made sure to speak to each other a lot and sometimes even brought flowers or candy after a long day of not being together. It worked, they were happy. Marley especially; since she never skipped a therapy appointment and was dedicated to get better, and better she got. Thinking back to the moments on the battlefield and talking about it wasn't traumatizing, she wasn't on edge all the time, she felt freer and was making her way to being in peace with her time overseas.
Today, a freezing Wednesday in mid-January, is a special one. It's time for Dani to try her wedding dress. She left her and Marley's apartment, after a playful argument about sending a tease picture of what it was going to look like. Marley wanted to be surprised, but she was jealous everyone was going to see it. Dani felt the same way towards Marley's dress, yet they were both patients.
Dani drove to the boutique and to her surprise, she wasn't late. Her mothers were already inside with Riley who stood in front of Beth. She laughed when she saw her brother giggling at the funny expression the blonde made.
"Hey, everyone!" Dani waves to her family as she walks towards them. Now that's she's here, with wedding dresses all around her, Dani is starting to get nervous and excited at the same time. She hears, before seeing, her brother running towards her and bends in time to sweep him off his feet. She hugs him tightly and do a quick spin, before approaching the women.
"Hello, future Mrs. Dani Dork." Beth greets with a smile then looks around. "Where's that stylist that Kurt said, worked here?"
"I'll go ask in a second." Dani answers and gives Beth a hug with only her left arm, because she's holding her brother with the other. "I need to say a proper hello to my mothers or else I won't hear the end of it." She jokes and moves closer to the two women. She smiles brightly at them.
"That's right, we raised you well." Santana goes along with the light mood, even though she's feeling a little emotional. She kisses her daughter's cheek and takes Riley from her, allowing Dani to give Rachel a regular hug.
"Hey, sweetie." Rachel leans in to hug Dani tightly, brushing her hands against her daughter's back. "Was the traffic bad, or did you have business to attend to?" she asks with a raised brow. "Because it took you a bit."
Beth is fighting the urge to make a witty comment, she instead goes to Santana to focus on Riley. "Your sister is something else, isn't she, Riley?" she asks with a chuckle.
Dani rolls her eyes and pulls from her mother. "Nothing like that, mother." She answers and takes her coat off and place it next to the ones of the other women. "We simply needed to remind ourselves that we want our dresses to be a surprise and add to the magic." Dani adds and runs her hand through her hair.
"It'd be a moment neither of you will ever forget." Santana states and looks from her daughter to Rachel. She has this mental picture in her head and whenever she thinks of it, her heart skips a beat.
"Ok, it's time I find the stylist." Dani says and go to the front desk. "Excuse me," She gets the attention of one of the employees behind the front desk. "My name is Dani Lopez, Kurt Hummel arranged for me to meet one of your stylists for a wedding dress fitting."
The employee takes a quick look at the guestbook, using her index finger to scroll through the names. "Dani Lopez, appointment reserved by Kurt Hummel.. Ah, here you are." she says and looks over at Dani. "Could I get I.D. please? Just so I can confirm it's you." she asks with a smile.
Beth leans towards Santana. "Is this where you went, or someplace else, because this feels too high class to be a casual boutique." she whispers.
Santana turns and is about to answer when Riley grabs her face and turn it back to him. "Mama, pay!" He still can't pronounce all the letters, but obviously wants her attention back. "Mama is talking, now, Riley." She tells him calmly and turns back to Beth, while Dani passes her I.D to the woman behind the counter. "No, I did not. Kurt knows some people, higher up than when your sister and I got married; he took care of it." She explains.
The receptionist checks Dani's I.D. to see if it matches the credentials that her boss gave her. When she sees that it checks out, she hands Dani the I.D. back and picks up the desk phone, hitting a couple numbers. "Yeah, she's here… Okay, I'll send her up." she hangs up then looks at Dani. "My boss would like to see you, the office is down the hall, to your right and your family can go with too." she says then looks back at the magazine she was reading prior.
Dani thanks the woman and gestures her family to follow. Beth is quickly by her side as they proceed towards the office and her mothers right behind her with Riley holding tightly onto Santana; he gets a little nervous in new places. Dani knocks on the door and takes a deep breath while they're waiting to hear they can come in.
"Just a second!" A voice said from the other side of the door. A few moments later, the person answered the door. "Hello, Dani, good to see you again." Hey smiles and moves to the side to let everyone in.
"Hey, Michael. It's nice to see you too." Dani says politely and walks in with her family right behind her.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Santana Lopez; one of the mothers of one of the bride." Santana tells him and chuckles. "I heard good things about you from my daughter and Kurt. Dani has a specific idea in mind, I hope you were able to match it and create her dream dress." She's being a little assertive, it's only because she wants Dani to have her vision come to life. It also might be related to her being emotional over her little daughter getting married.
"Don't worry Mrs. Lopez, I'm sure Dani is going to be pleased with the result." Michael assures her with a calm smile. He's been in the business for a long time, so he knows how stressful it can be for not only the couple, but their families as well.
Rachel bites her lip, feeling very nervous about being in the area she's in. It's new, it's so clean and official. She can't fully tell if she hates it or loves it. "U-Uh, question.. Never been part of a themed wedding in any sense, so.. What is it like to do things for themed weddings?"
Michael looked at Rachel, gives her a smile and taps a button on his keyboard to show a screen on the wall. "Pretty much, the client tells me what they want, I design the outfits based off the theme and body size." he explains with ease. "I start them in a basic dress, so I know personally what they want comfortwise, then I get to designing."
"It can't be an easy job," Santana comments. "It's amazing, I'm sure, you're making a lot of women happy by giving them the dress of their dream, but you must've dealt with some drama as well. Interesting job you have."
Dani was a little nervous that the stress of the wedding would get to them; she heard many couples experience fights while planning theirs. Thankfully, none of that happened, not yet at least. "We won't give you any drama." Dani chuckles. "You met my fiancée; she's chill and we're pretty much on the same level."
He nods in agreement. "One of my most relaxed couples." He tells her and gesture for them to follow him out of the door. "How about we get to it? I'm sure you're all very excited." The response from the family is a unanimous yes. Michael leads them to a big, open space across from his office. There are a couple of sofas in front of a few fitting rooms and some full body mirror. There is a door leading to the room where they keep their dresses. The family takes their seats while he goes to fetch Dani's dress. Dani follows his instructions of waiting in the dressing room and taking her clothes off. Michael bring her the dress, still in the bag so the family won't see and pass it to her.
Dani takes the large bag through the door and opens it. "Oh my god." She gasps audibly when her eyes meet the dress of her dreams. It's a white strapless ball gown with a mustard colored belt and matching gloves. It's like Michael been to her head because this is exactly what Dani wanted. She gets teary as she keeps looking at it and thinking of Marley seeing her wear it. She takes a deep breath and takes the dress out so she can put it on.
Outside of the stall, Michael bring Santana a glass of champagne and tea for those who don't drink and they wait.
"I am way too excited about seeing Dani in her dress." Beth says and bounces in her spot. She vividly remembers when she and Dani were browsing for what to wear when it was Rachel and Santana in this position, it feels great to be part of this process.
Rachel looks a Beth with a smile and ruffles the blonde's hair. "Yeah, you are, but that's normal." she says with ease and looks towards the door with anticipation.
Santana is feeling probably as excited, if not more, as Beth, among other things. Good thing Riley is keeping her busy, because she's pretty sure she would've finished a whole bottle of champagne if he wasn't there.
When the dress is on, Dani simply stares at her reflection. She can't believe this is actually happening, that it's not a dream; she's in a wedding dress and going to marry the love of her life in a few months. The dress fits her perfectly and she knows she made the right choice going with her gut, she feels great in it. She calls Michael to zip her up and he comes in without allowing the ladies outside to peek.
"What do you think? Does it feel like it's the one?" He asks and moves the zipper up.
Dani straightens the front of the dress and bites her lip for a moment. "It is, you did an amazing job." She answers him, feeling a little out of breath. He opens the door for her and Dani slowly makes her way outside the small space and comes into view with her family. She holds the lower part of the dress, so it won't touch the ground, she's not in hills today, looks nervously at her mothers and aunt.
Santana's heart is pounding fast in her chest at the sight in front of her. She feels like she can't breathe or has any control over her emotions because her eyes fill with tears. Santana is emotional and overwhelmed, so she can't speak at the moment. Her little girl is standing in front of her, all grown up and dressed in a wedding dress.
Rachel gasps at the sight of Dani in that dress. It's rare to see her in a dress, especially when dresses aren't exactly the woman's thing. "D-Dani.. You look so perfect." she says and covers her mouth, holding in some tears, even though this is an emotional moment.
Beth had a lot of emotions held inside, if she could, she'd go up to Dani and hug her so tightly and tell her how she feels. But, that can wait until later in the day, she takes a deep breath then exhales with a smile. "Looking good, dorko." she says with a bigger smile.
"I'm not getting a boob joke? Wow, you must really like the dress." Dani comments to ease the high emotional situation she feels she and her family are in now. It's hard to hold back the tears and Dani finds it even harder not to run to her mothers' arms or reach to call Marley. She's an adult, who has a job and going to college and getting married to the person she loves. Dani turns a bit more towards Santana, since she haven't heard her thoughts. She can see her mother is feeling a lot at the moment; it's written all over her face. Dani just really need to know, to actually hear her approve. "Ma?"
Hearing Dani calling for her and wanting her input grounds her some. There is a part of her that wants to grab Dani, get her changed and taking her back home. She wishes she could've had more time with her daughter before she goes off to start her own life and family. There is so much lost time where Dani could've a happy family life and a great childhood and it'll always kills her. Santana had to take a breath and holds Riley a bit closer and tighter. "You look gorgeous, mi amor. Like an angel." She finally says, a bit choked on tears. She has to wipe her eyes before any tears can escape, but misses a couple.
Beth sees her sister and in-law in tears from the sight of Dani, but when Dani pretty much admitted that she was waiting for a boob joke, there was just no way Beth could not. She looks closer at the outfit, and the joke pretty much writes itself. She clears her throat, and forms an evil-ish grin. "Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na, Bat-boobs!" she throws her arms up in the air, feeling proud of her delivery.
Dani was so into her mom's and her own emotional state and then she hears Beth and starts to laughs hysterically. That's exactly what she needed to feel the stress and nervousness leave her body and the air around them. She holds her stomach and wipe a tear from how hard she laughed. She looks over at the girl she considers her little sister and smiles bright. "Never disappoint." She tells her and exhales.
Santana laughs too and silently thanks for Beth being here. She bounces Riley to try and avoid him getting bored and pulls a toy from his bag next to her, to help him pass the time. He grabs the toy immediately and get into his own bubble.
"Do you think Marley would like it?" Dani knows the answer, deep down, but again needs to confirmation.
"Baby, she's going to love it." Rachel says with ease and with excitement in her voice. "You two will be the prettiest couple around, and in such a short amount of time from now." she bites her lip.
Dani looks at the ring on her finger and a wide smile forms on her lips. "It's just in a few months, yet feels like forever." They've been engaged for a long time and Dani can barely wait until their big day. "Hey, B, can you help me get the dress off? I can be a little clumsy." She giggles and signal the direction of the room with her head..
"No kidding." Beth looks at Santana and Rachel with serious eyes. "I have stories, but that might have to wait." she say then gets up to go with Dani into the dressing room.
"You're not telling embarrassing stories about me. Remember, I have some about you too." Dani warns and keeps it mostly playful. It's so great to have Beth here and Dani is so glad that they clicked and formed this sister-like bond. Shelby deciding to fight to get back into her mother's life had more than one advantage. In the dressing room, Dani waits for Beth to close the door before rushing into her and pulling her for a tight hug.
Beth had a feeling that Dani was holding in something, she's glad this was that something as she returns the tight hug. "You look gorgeous, Dani." she whispers with a smile on her face.
"You know that feeling when you're driving fast?" Dani asks without pulling back, she needs Beth to keep hugging her. "There is that rush and adrenaline with a bit of fear. That's kind of how waiting for the wedding feels like. Putting the dress on intensified it and it's so difficult not to snap a picture and send it to Marley." Dani speaks fast and feels the blonde's hug grounding her.
"Think about this." Beth starts off and looks up at Dani. "You're not just marrying a simple 'Someone'. You're marrying the love of your life, the one who can wake up to your messy bedhead, and kiss you despite having that morning breath nastiness." she says with a soft chuckle in hopes Dani calms down at least a little bit. "Marley Rose will end the year with your last name, and your undying wedded love.. There's nothing to fear about that, don't you think?"
Dani's heart speeds up when her mind picture the words Beth said to her. Marley is the perfect woman for her and she's lucky enough to have her love. "I want it to be perfect." Dani tells Beth and pulls a little and their eyes meet. "It'd be one of the most important days of my life and not only because Marley and I are getting married. We're, all of us, celebrating love and the struggles we've came to get to this day. If one of you wasn't in my life, going through those years with me, who knows where I would've been."
Beth rises up some to peck Dani's cheek a few times. "You being in our lives would have been inevitable, so you don't need to think about the unlikely what-if's." she says with all the confidence in her body. "May 6th, you're going to be the center of attention, you'll be the most beautiful woman in the room." she says then pulls Dani with her towards the mirror. "You'll look into Marley's eyes and say "I do.", and have that kiss to surpass all other kisses." she says with a big grin then playfully pecks Dani's face. "And we will all cry, laugh, cheer and all that stuff."
Dani stays quiet and takes everything Beth told her. The words and Beth's energy calm her down and bring her spirit up. "You're clearly the best maid of honor in history." Dani states and place her arms around Beth. "I love you, sis." She kisses a couple of times and moves to stand in front of the blonde. "Now let's get me out of the dress and into my clothes, before the mama bears would think something is wrong and knock off this door." She jokes, kind of; it's highly possible that her mothers would do that. "And by the way, I totally think Marley would be the prettiest woman."
When Dani was out of the dress and back into her clothes, she and Beth went out of the dressing room. Dani thanked Michael for her stunning dress and they set a date for a final fitting and fixing before the wedding. When they got to the car, Santana put Riley in his car seat as Rachel said her goodbye to the girls. Dani was taking Beth back and returning to the apartment to meet with her fiancée, which she haven't seen the whole day. Rachel and Santana, on the other hand, were going to for a tuxedo fitting with Kurt for him and Riley. Santana finished securing Riley in his seat and went to pull her daughter for a tight hug; she wanted to do it since the moment she saw her in the dress and only now got the opportunity. She placed a kiss on Dani's forehead and told her how beautiful she is. She quickly hugged Beth and thanked her for babysitting Riley and then they all parted ways.
Traffic was exhausting, as always. Santana put a movie for Riley to watch while they were stuck and texted Kurt. He had left work not too long ago and was stuck as well. They complained to each other for a little while before they finally moved. When traffic finally eases up slightly, they were finally able to make it to their appointment at the tuxedo shop. Rachel found it amusing whenever Santana's road rage kicked in, but it couldn't go to the length that it normally would because Riley is sitting in the car with them. About 10 minutes later, they pull into the parking lot where Kurt was awaiting for the three. Kurt helps with getting Riley out of the car, which Riley gives his godfather a tight hug when he's fully within Kurt's embrace. Of course, Santana made a witty comment about how much Riley loves Kurt even though she finds their interactions to be absolutely adorable.
The group gets inside, of course Kurt does the talking to get the stylist. Rachel and Santana shouldn't be so surprised that Kurt is very dedicated to make Dani's wedding a great one, but they are because Dani deserves a lot in life, this is one of those things. It's no secret of Dani's troubled past, so whenever Santana or Rachel makes that young woman smile, it's an accomplishment that can nearly trump all other accomplishments. Kurt of course knows this too, after all next to Rachel and Santana, Dani is one of the closest friends he has, and he's her uncle. The stylist leads the group towards the dressing area, with a set of suits with Dani and Marley's theme in mind.
Rachel had gotten a call from Quinn about some important events, some that needed to be set aside until after the wedding.
"Okay, so let me know how they fit, and if you need help, feel free to ask me or one of my assistants." The person says before leaving the area.
Kurt turns to Rachel and Santana with a smile. "So, let's get little man in his tux." he suggests.
"Be ready, Kurt, because once you see him in it, you'd want to make him a model." Santana says with confidence.
"Oh he's a mix of you and Rachel, he's getting a career in the entertainment field." Kurt says and brings Riley in with him and Santana. "You're gonna be a handsome man when you get older, huh?"
Santana kneels in front of Riley and brush his hair back. "He will be, but his mama will keep him far away for the spotlight." She's looking at the young boy, although clearly talking to Kurt. "He's going to be a gardener or programmer, something that's going to keep him near his mothers." She concludes and gently takes off his coat.
Kurt rolls his eyes and chuckles some, he helps Santana get the remainder of Riley's clothes. Which when Riley saw himself in the mirror, he made "Ooh" noises. Of course he loves himself, and he has every reason to. He's an adorable child.
"You sure about that, Santana?" Kurt asks.
"He is a Lopez; he knows he looks good." Santana laughs and watches her son in front of the mirror. "He can get a job with Noah, though even there people can snatch him. We might need to go with homeschool." She sighs and quickly the smile is back on her lips. She's not that crazy to try and prevent her child from having a life, she's just a mother who wants her child to stay close by.
Kurt picks up the tuxedo pants for Riley and slides it on him. "Hm, I wonder if we can make the belt a decoration, he doesn't need to wear one but it'd be a cute aesthetic." he points out then carefully sits Riley up so Santana can help with the rest of the tux.
Santana tucks the small black shirt into Riley's pants. Riley watch her do that and tilts his head, then look at her. "We're almost done, baby." She tells him, knowing that he's probably bored by just standing there. "I'm sure you can have them do it, Kurt." Santana tells her best friend and fix the yellow suspenders and bowtie.
"Alright, let's check the shoes.." Kurt mumbles and turns slightly to grab the shoes. "We might need to check his foot size a couple days before the wedding, just to be safe." he suggests as he carefully puts on one of the shoes on Riley's person.
"We must, his shoe size changes often." She agrees and makes a face to entertain the boy and keep him from getting frustrated. "He'll end up being taller than me, I'm tell you."
Now they're finally done with dressing up the little man, and Rachel was finally done with her business call with Quinn, so things worked out. Riley started walking out of the room with Kurt and Santana right behind him, he sees Rachel and lets out a loud "Mama!"
Rachel looks over to see her son all dressed up, she gasps and runs over to him, she then picks him up and holds him tight. "Oh, you look so handsome, Riley!" she says with all the excitement in her voice.
Riley's smile lights up the whole room, or maybe it's just Santana that feels like that, probably Rachel to if she was to ask her. The young boy doesn't know exactly why he's getting so much affection from his mother, but he loves it. "The suit looks great on him." Santana says happily and walks closer to her wife. "And he seems comfortable in it, which is the most important thing."
Kurt smiles at the two then moves a bit to grab his tux. "I'll be back." he says with a smile then moves to his dressing area to get dressed.
Rachel looks over at the door for a few seconds then back at Riley, giving him a gentle bounce. "With your shine, you could risk getting some more attention than your sister." she jokes with a chuckle behind her voice.
"Like Dani is going to care about anyone but Marley on that day." Santana argues and giggles. She places a soft kiss on Riley's temple and brush a hand through her hair. "We won't have to worry about this little guy, I'm pretty certain people are going to snatch him for most of the evening." Santana says and glance over to their son. She pecks Rachel's lips a few times, before their lips can meet again for the fourth time, Riley pulls Rachel's face towards him and put his cheek against her lips.
Rachel giggles some more, overall she's in an amazing mood, and nothing could take it away. "I told you, he's gonna steal everyone's attention." she points out, which Riley giggles and claps a few times.
"Well, he is a legacy after all, it's in his nature." Santana points out.
Riley cuddles into Rachel and makes babbling noises. Rachel smiles as she moves a bit to sit down with Riley in her arms. "Yeah, and he looks so much like you in many ways." she looks up at Santana. "We made a beautiful child, didn't we?" she asks somewhat rhetorically.
Santana sits down as well before answering. "We're pretty good at this parenting thing." She replies and smiles.
"The best, clearly." Rachel says with confidence, Riley tries repeating what his mother had said, but only is able to say "Bes" due to him still learning words. The brunette smiles at her son and nodded a few times. "That's right, Riley, we're the best." she says.
Kurt was getting the buttons on his suit on, then had something in the back of his head that he felt, needed to be said to someone. He moves to the door to his dressing room, opens it and peeks his head out. "Hey, San. Could you help me out with my tie, I can't get it right." he says, knowing that it's really a lie to get Santana in the room so he can tell her something important.
"Are you getting old and starts forgetting how to perform basic tasks, Hummel?" Despite the teasing question, Santana stands up. She quickly kisses Riley's head and walks to the dressing room.
The man waits for Santana to get in the dressing room then shuts the door, he takes a deep breath and tries to piece together the words to say initially. Kurt turns a bit and walks towards Santana, he holds his tie up with a slight smile. "May is going to be an exciting month, isn't it?" he asks.
"Extremely exciting." Santana takes the tie from him and put it around his neck. "We just saw Dani wearing the dress for a few minutes and I almost fainted." She tells him and giggles.
Kurt smiled a bit more, but it fades to a more serious expression. "She's gonna look amazing, not only did I get my best guy to work on her and Marley's dress, but she's a Lopez, and they usually look great." he complements with every bit of confidence in his person.
Santana looks closely at her best friend as she carefully tying his tie. "Do you need something? Or did you do something really bad that you're scared of telling me?" Santana asks and tilts her head. "Is it sexual?"
"It depends on how your definition of 'bad' applies to what.. I am about to tell you." Kurt answers honestly and gulps some more. "So, Jake and I have been going steady for awhile now, and I.. I love him, like.. I've been the happiest I think I could be." he says with a chuckle in his voice. "That.. Being said.." Kurt, who loves the family he has a lot, takes pride in everything they do. This was hard for him to really say. "I.. I'm moving to Boston… I want to start a family one day with Jake, and I know that he has a strong career that he might not be able to leave.." Kurt's lips started to quiver.
Shocked at hearing this, Santana moved back until her back hit the wall. She was so happy to hear Kurt found love again and is in a good place. It was great to hear he was thinking about a family and maybe she's just being selfish, because she doesn't want him to leave. They've been tight for over a decade; either in the next room, end of the hall or a short drive away. Santana has mixed feeling about the move, but she blinks her tears and acts like a best friend should act. "That's awesome, Kurt. Jake is an amazing man."
"H-He is.." Kurt sniffs some and brushes a finger under his eye. "He gave me a second at happiness, like.." he threw his hands up and looks to the floor, he covers his face and takes a very deep breath.
"Hey, no, none of that." Santana brush her nose and move closer to Kurt. "It's a fantastic thing and I'm happy and so proud of you for embracing this opportunity." She tells him honestly and put her hands on his shoulders.
Kurt shakes his head some, still letting out deep breaths. "I'm proud too.. But I am also sad." he says and uncovers his face. "Because all I've ever known was you guys, the family we have.." he says and takes one more deep breath. Kurt spent quite a few nights thinking about the move, and thinking about how hurt everyone will be upon hearing this news. "I.. I love you guys, and being away is going to be hard for me to do."
"It's going to be hard for me too." Santana tilts her head back and bite her lip to prevent herself from crying. "Dani is going to miss you like crazy and you should expect a lot of crying when you tell her." She warns him and move her hands to his waists. "But you're doing something good for yourself and we're not going anywhere." Santana tells him and also trying to convince herself because her best friend is moving away. "We have Skype and we can visit each other. There is no chance I'm going to let Riley grow up without knowing his uncle" She wants him to stay, but taking that step with Jake is what right for Kurt. Santana would have to get used to it.
Kurt nods slowly and wraps his arms around Santana, pulling her into a tight hug.
Santana rests her head against his chest and stays quiet for a few moments. "You moving with Jake is expanding our family, which is good." She says. "Just make sure Jake knows you're going to come for a sleepover once a month, at least." Santana pulls back a little and looks up at Kurt with a serious expression. "Neither of you want to fight me over that." Yeah, she's not playing games.
"As long as we have a place for your part of the tribe, we won't say no." Kurt softly chuckles and looks into Santana's eyes. "Thank you.. For being not only my best friend, but one of the closet things I have to a sister." he expresses as he lets go of Santana.
"We're not going to list everything we did for each other, that'd take the whole day this room is too small." Santana has to break the tension. It'd take her time to come to terms with Kurt leaving. "I'll say that I love you and as long as he's making you happy, I fully support you." She rubs her forearm and grins. "I'm just thankful it's not sex-related, I know enough about one Puckerman's sex life."
Meanwhile, Dani was on her way home with nothing but good feelings behind her little jigs to songs on the radio. She was high on life and nothing could get her down, not today, tomorrow, or any time before the wedding. That's how great she felt. As for Marley, she felt the same as Dani. And like Dani, Marley was out most of the day, but instead of dress fitting, she had a somewhat intense workout session at the gym. She's doing as much as she can until the fitting, after the fitting she will have to switch up her workout regime from gaining, to maintaining. The two of them only had just around four months until the wedding day, they've done a lot since Marley's return yet it felt like more needed to be done! Maybe this was due to them wanting time to pass by faster so May 6th can finally appear, who knows?
Anyways, as soon as Dani pulled in the parking lot. She got out of her car, bumping the door shut with her hip, and made her way upstairs where their apartment is. Of course, this is the hardest part of coming back home, fighting with her denim pockets for her keys. A few minutes of fighting with her keys Dani is finally able to get the door open, which she does just that. When she does, she sees Marley relaxing on the couch with her left ankle resting on a pillow, wrapped up and an ice pack on top of it.
Marley sees that Dani is about to ask something, so she raises her hand. "Before you ask, I took it a little too far at Cross Fit today and hurt my ankle, I just need to rest if for a few days and I'll be fine." she says with a smile.
Coming home after not seeing your fiancée the whole day and trying your wedding dress, only to find her hurt is not a good feeling. "You're in such good shape, I don't understand why you push yourself so hard." Dani hangs her keys and takes her coat off, putting it next to Marley's and walks towards the couch. She leans down to cup Marley's face and press their lips together for a long moment. "Should I call Shania to check it out, just in case?" She asks when she pulls back.
"Nah, I'd rather save my freebie house call for after the wedding." Marley says with a smile, admiring how much her soon-to-be wife cares. "So, I take it the fitting went well?" She asks.
"Then I guess I'll have to play doctor." Dani winks and sits in in the small space next to Marley. "It went amazing, baby!" She answers excitedly. "He made the dress just like I wanted and I can't wait for you to see it."
Marley wraps an arm around Dani, leaning her head over to cuddle the shorter woman closer. "I bet you looked flawless in that dress." she points out whilst smiling. "And you'll most likely look even better when I see you across the aisle, whether I am waiting for you at the altar, or you're waiting for me." Marley speaks with more confidence in her voice, she pulls back a bit to gaze at Dani some more. "Like a perfect goddess, you are."
"I'm giving you a heads up; the dress is so beautiful that I might not take it off for a couple of weeks." Dani jokes and traces Marley's jawline with her index finger. "I bet you'll look so stunning that I'll forget my vows and that our family is there and just stare and drool."
"Ugh.." Marley throws her head back slightly, letting out a soft sigh. "Fitting day will suck because then I will have to pause the gain, and play the "maintain"." she mentions and purses her lips. "But.. I guess it's a good thing considering my boo-boo leg, huh?"
"I don't want you limping your way down the aisle." Dani says with a rather serious tone. "Besides, you can afford taking it easy for a little while." Dani's hand brushes over Marley's toned stomach and she nods to herself.
The woman shrugged and watched Dani's hand for a few seconds before turning her attention back to Dani. "Technically, you can afford to take it easy, you're the one with a steady job." Marley tried her best to not sound a little jealous, but she knows it came out that way. "I mean, since I came back, I've only been doing freelance work." She points out. "I go to school, and then I go home to work on whatever animation I get hired to do."
"You forget that the only reason I have a job is because of my uncle." Dani points out. "We're making enough money, more than most people our age." She adds. "There is nothing wrong with doing freelance; you're getting paid and gaining experience. Don't stress, things will work out."
"I know they will, and I am glad they will." Marley says with a slight smile. "I was going somewhere with what I said though." she gently taps Dani's nose. "You always have places to go, which is awesome.. I don't, and that's why I go to the gym." she admits. "So I can socialize when I feel like it, and get out anything pent up."
"Socialize, huh? Maybe I need to get you a bigger ring." Dani wonders aloud. She's not being serious, she trust Marley completely.
"When you get all sorts of famous, I want one as big as my bicep." Marley states, then gives Dani a visible flex with confidence. "Think that'd be possible?"
Dani brushes her fingers over the muscle and leans closer to her fiancée. "It'd have to be custom made." She says and bites her lip.
Marley smirks then leans some to catch Dani's lips for a few moments, keeping her closer. "God, being away from you the night before the wedding is going to kill me, not literally, but you know.."
Dani playfully glares at Marley, then quickly place a kiss on her lips. "Oh, I know." She pouts. "But it'd be nice to build up the excitement of seeing each other in our dresses, and then spend the night as a married couple." She smiles and leans even closer.
"Ain't that the truth." Marley says with ease and relaxes in her spot, letting out a soft yawn. "It's going to be perfect."
The couple stayed cuddled on the couch for a while longer. At some point, Dani got up to change the ice pack on Marley's ankle. She brought her hot chocolate and something to eat and made sure she was comfortable. When Marley said she was alright and had everything she needed close by, Dani put her coat back on and headed out again. Santana sent her a text that they were getting home, like she asked her. Dani had to drop by her parents for a short visit, to get something important done that she couldn't earlier.
Dani wasn't completely sure on how she was going to say what she needed, but thinking about it made her stomach hurt and her hands to sweat. Deciding not to push herself to having an anxiety attack, Dani put music on and thought good thoughts. It took her some time to finally get to her mothers' street, but she finally did and soon saw their car in the driveway. 'Perfect' she thought to herself when she parked and took her phone and keys and headed to the front door. Dani unlocked the door with her key and closed it behind her.
"Mom?" Dani calls out. She didn't want to scare Rachel by just showing up next to her, it was better to let her know she was there.
"In the garage, sweetie!" Rachel says from where she's at, she opens the garage door and then goes back to working on her dads' car.
Dani quickly makes her way to where her mom is. She's still very nervous. In her mind, getting this done is the better option. She can't wait to think it was ridiculous of her to stress over it. "Wow, mom, you really did a great job with the car." It's been a little while since she saw the vehicle and the progress is visible.
Rachel smiled as she stood up a bit, pulling her rag from her pocket to wipe her hands. "Thank your uncle for that, he helped out big time with this." she says with ease then looks over at Dani. "You should have seen Kurt and Riley in their suits, they were like a secret agent duo, only one's an infant." she chuckles softly.
"Now that would be a movie I'd watch." Dani giggles and shove her hands in her coat's pockets. "Are you.. Do you have a few minutes? I want to talk to you about something." Dani runs her tongue over her lips and gulps.
"In the.. Coming up on 7 years you've been in my life, have I ever not made time for you?" Rachel rhetorically asks with a smile as she walks over to bring a couple barstools over by the car, she pats on one of them to tell Dani to sit down and Rachel sits on the other one. "What do you wanna talk about, hon?"
Dani takes her coat off because it's warm in here and also, being nervous makes her feel hot. She place it on a clean surface and sits next to her mom. She looks at her hands and takes a long, deep breath. "Before you became my mother, you were just another stranger I ran into on the street. Only you weren't like any of them." Dani looks up and makes an eye contact with the woman who changed her life. "Now I know it was because of your huge heart, but then I had no clue why someone would care about a random homeless girl. You bought me food and gracious enough to actually take me home. You knew there wasn't enough space there and that your roommate would give you hell for it, but you saw a child in need and it all you cared about." Dani did not plan any of what she's saying, the words is coming from the heart and she's completely fine with it; she's expressing exactly how she feels.
Rachel bit the inside of her lip, feeling all sorts of emotions from Dani's speech.
"You changed and adjusted your whole life for me without stopping for a moment to think." Dani continues. "You gave me your bed, fed and clothed me. More than that, you set with me through my night terrors, you made me feel like I belonged and wrapped me with so much love." Dani wipes a tear from her eye, she doesn't want to cry, until not until she finish saying it all. "Family wasn't a positive term in my head, I didn't know what it was like to have a warm, caring parent. It was you who gave me family and made me feel safe and understood. You were and are the definition of being a mother and I learned that family doesn't necessarily means you're connected by blood." Dani takes a deep breath and run her tongue over her lips one more time. "It was thanks to you teaching me it was ok to trust and love and showing me I have a chance in a good life, that I met Marley and allowed myself to fall for her without being scared. You turned my life and because you believed in me that I'm where and who I am today." Dani feels more relaxed now that she let most of it out. "Mom, you are my guiding light and guarding angel. I love you so much and I'm forever thankful for your kindness and support. I'll be honored if you'll walk me down the aisle at my wedding, because none of it would've been possible if it wasn't for you." She ends with the request. There is a tight lip smile on her face and her eyes and cheeks are getting red. There aren't enough words for her to describe what her mom is for her and how much she appreciates her. Dani hopes her short speech and walking her at her wedding would let her mom know a little better.
For Rachel, hearing all of this emotion from Dani meant everything and then some. Nearly a decade at being her mom and yet it still feels like yesterday that she picked Dani up and took her to that 7-Eleven, took her into that small apartment, signed those adoption papers. It definitely has been a long time, and they've grown so much since then. Rachel made it to Hollywood status, Santana made it to Forbes, they have a family that only gets bigger as time goes on. Dani and Marley will get married soon, and Rachel is ecstatic that Dani went to her to give her away to Marley. "You feel honored?" she asks. "I feel honored that you would ask me this, Dani." She says then gets up to hug Dani as tight as she could. "I would love to walk you down the aisle, my perfect and beautiful daughter." Rachel's smile is as big as it can get without looking too goofy.
Dani stays close to her mom, with her arms around her, for a little longer. Having someone hugging her used to be a huge deal, Rachel's hugs were and remain a large source of love, support and reassurance. "Thank you, mom." She tighten her arms for a moment before letting go and kissing Rachel's cheek.
"You are more than welcome, Dani." Rachel returns the peck on the cheek and pulls back. "God, I'm a little emotional now." she sniffed once and chuckles. "Uh.. Are you staying long? We're having that pasta for dinner tonight." she asks and explains.
"Really, mom?" Dani groans, it's one of her favorites, and shakes her head. "I would love to, but I can't. My Iron Woman pushed herself too hard in the gym and hurt her ankle." Dani explains. "I don't want to leave her alone for too long."
Rachel frowns some, but she understands that the younger couple has their own stuff going on. And it'd be best that Dani tends to Marley's injury, and just the injury, at least she thinks that's the case. "Well.. Tomorrow, if you two aren't doing anything, I'll bring by some leftovers for you two to enjoy." she says with some enthusiasm in her voice.
Dani's face brighten up. "You'd do that? Mom, you're the best!" She really wants to eat that pasta, but Marley is much more important. "We can have lunch together." She suggests and steps over to get her coat.
'till next time.
