A chapter? Yup!
Written with Nephewsnixx :)
The vows were written, the dresses were ready and the venue was paid for. Every little detail, from the smallest to the biggest, was taken care of for Dani and Marley's wedding that due to occur in little over 24 hours. Yes, the big moment was just around the corner and the emotions were almost at their peak.
Dani's grandparents and uncle were supposed to arrive to their hotel later that day. Elliott was scheduled to be back hopefully that day, because Marley wanted him with her on the night before, but there was a chance he'd get held back until the next morning. As long as the brides had their whole family share their special moment with them, they were perfectly fine.
The past few months weren't so much as stressed as the wait was killing them. Dani and Marley had college to keep them busy, as well as getting the bridesmaids their dresses, going for food tasting, writing the perfect vows and not forgetting anything they wanted to say and close all the other small details regarding their wedding. Still, when the couple had some quiet time, the excitement quickly filled the air and made them hyper. As the days passed by, it felt like time moved slower; as if teasing them. Of course, abstaining from any sexual contact for almost two months added frustration to the mix and made it even harder. They were happy with their decision, though; it was another way to make their wedding day special.
When they woke up this morning, it was the last time they were going to wake up as an engaged couple. They were going to spend the night separately; Dani was going to drive to her mothers' home and Marley to her mom. The next time they return to their apartment, it'd be as a married couple.
The couple might've been through being apart for much longer period of times, but this time it was different; there was no worry about whether Marley was going to come back or if she was well. They knew for certain they going to see one another the next day; this time they'll be wearing white and swear in front of their family and friends to love and care for each other forever. Still, the young couple wanted to savor each moment and get enough of each other to hold them until they meet again. So they cuddled in bed a little longer, only placing soft kisses on the other's lips, cheeks and shoulders. Dani got showered first, then made breakfast while Marley showered. Even though they were consumed with thoughts about the wedding, Marley and Dani tried talking about other subjects as well; like how pleased Marley's last customer was and the grades that Dani was still waiting for. They had to get up at some point; their mothers were expecting them and the whole point was being apart for a day.
"You took your meds and toothbrush?" Dani asks, coming back to the bedroom from the bathroom. They already have a bag with a few things they needed for tonight, but mostly for tomorrow. Their suitcases for their honeymoon were also packed and stood at the corner of the room.
Marley briefly gazed over at Dani with a smile on her face, definitely not wanting to leave her sight, but that's the rule before the wedding unfortunately. "Yeah, I did." she says and nods.
"Good, good." Dani says and put her own meds and toothbrush inside her bag. "And you have everything you need for tomorrow?" She asks and looks up at Marley from where she stands on the other side of their bed. "We won't want for you to forget something and for me to forget something, then we end up coming here and see each other." A playful smile plastered over her face and she innocently playing with a strand of hair.
"Yes, I have everything." Marley moves from her side of the bed to Dani's and reaches over to graze her arm. "I made a list, and checked things off the second they went into my bag, just like you asked." she explains then purses her lips for a second. "Do you have everything packed?"
"I have everything packed, but not everything I need." Dani grins, proud of herself for being so smooth.
Marley responded with a brow raise, following it up with a smirk. "Is that so?" she asks then sighs. "Damn shame we made that agreement, because I could have given you a nice suppressor to hold you off until tomorrow night."
Dani chuckled and pressed her hand over Marley's toned stomach. "Even though I'd love nothing more than that, I'm committed to our agreement." She says and leans forward. "And you should get your mind of the gutter, soon to be Mrs. Rose." Dani whispers against her fiancée's lips, then pulls away giggling. "I meant I'm going to miss you."
"Hey, I have to keep part of my mind in the gutter, that's how we fell in love." Marley jokes then hooks her arms around Dani's. She then looks at Dani with amazement, just the fact that their wedding is within 24 hours, purely amazing. "I'm gonna miss you too, even if it's just a short amount of time." she says quietly.
Dani squeezes Marley's hand and stands on her toes to nuzzle against Marley's neck. "It is short, only time tend to feel like it moves slower when you're anticipating something and I can't wait to marry you."
"I can't wait either.." A soft sigh comes out of the brunette, if she could, she'd stay like this with Dani until their big day. "Well.. If we have everything packed.." she shrugs. "We should probably head out while the day is young, huh?"
Dani sighs and nods. "Yeah, I don't want to be stuck in traffic." She says and zips her bag close. "You'll be alright getting to your mom? You're sure you don't want me to drop you there?"
Marley nods and moves to her side of the bed. "I need.. What's left of our fresh air anyways, so I'm down for walking." she of course making a slight jab at how many buildings there is in the city as opposed to trees and such. "Don't try to have too much fun without me, okay?" she asks with a slight smile as she picks up her bag and puts the straps over her shoulders.
"Impossible!" Dani grins and picks up her bag and starts walking out of the room. "I made sure doc knows you're at your mom, so there won't be any surprise strippers." Dani laughs as they're walking hand in hand to the door. "Enjoy your day and rest."
And thus, the two departed from their apartment to get a kickstart on their bachelorette party. Dani for the most part was reluctant to let Marley continue walking when she briefly saw her in the rearview mirror, but Dani knows Marley is strong enough, and is technically a "Lethal Weapon" amongst others. With that in her head, she could be comfortable with Marley walking. Traffic, like always, is a nightmare, but on this day the traffic felt welcomed as Dani gets a closer look at her surroundings before she gets married. While that might be weird to some people, one's views can change so much in a night cycle, which is why Dani welcomes the slow pace of traffic.
Eventually though, Dani made it to her home away from home. She got out of the car with her bag and started making her way to the house. Just a couple stair steps and she's on the porch, she could just waltz in, but knowing her parents, they're probably waiting for her to knock so, she does just that.
"Ani, Ani!" is heard from the other side of the door before it opens. "Hey, sweetie!" Rachel greets and moves a bit to let Dani in. "If you didn't hear, your brother is very excited to see you." she points out with a smile.
Dani cups her brother's face and place a few kisses on his forehead and cheeks. "Hey, handsome. We're having a slumber party tonight. How fun is that?" She tells him and tries to match his excitement. "He's growing so fast!" Dani tells her mother when she turns to her and smiles.
"Mama, Ani 'ere!" Riley says with excitement and points between the two women.
Rachel genuinely smiles as she closes the door behind her. "That's right, Riley." she says and before she could lean in to pick up Riley, the dogs run in to say hi to Dani. "Dex, Keanu, heel!" she says quickly and they sit down. "Okay, so your baby and his brother are excited to see you too." she jokes.
"Wow, all this love and I just arrived." Dani puts her hand over her chest and throws her head back. She giggled and pats the dogs' heads. "But I haven't heard if my own mother is excited to see me…" She straightens up again and watch the woman in front of her.
"Because you should know that I am always excited to see you, you're one of my favorite people." Rachel walks to Dani and hugs her tight. "Now, go see your mama while I herd these little sheep creatures." she jokes as she lets go of Dani to pick up Riley.
Dani walks inside and drops her bag in the living room for now. She has the wedding the emotions it brings with it keeping her on edge, so she tries to push it to the back of her mind and enjoy the day. She calls for her mom, to see where she's at so she could say hello.
"On my way, sweetie!" Dani hears Santana's voice, then a few seconds later sees her mother, all dressed up, descending the stairs. When Santana is down, she walks over and cups Dani's face. "How's my baby girl? Did the butterflies already came to visit?"
Dani is familiar with this tone her mother uses; it always comes out when something major is happening in Dani's life, something that represent in some kind of way that she's growing up. Sometimes it'd embarrass her, but it's not every day that your daughter is about to get married, so Dani doesn't show any signs of protest. "The butterflies and I are friends by now." She says with a grin similar to Rachel's signature one. "Are you heading out? I just got here…" She says and pouts.
Santana pulled her daughter into an embrace and kisses the top of her head. "I won't be too long. Your brother will keep you busy until the gathering later." Santana tells her and runs a hand through her daughter's hair.
"You're going to see Marley?" Dani asks with the pout still in place, though now it's because she can't see her fiancée. She's a bit too clingy, but Dani can't find a care to give.
"I'm going to chaperone her wild party for a bit." Santana winks.
Rachel walks with Riley in her arms. "Yeah, make sure she doesn't overdo it on the hardcore Gatorade." She says in a semi-serious tone. "After all, kids get wild on that sh.. Stuff." Rachel smirks and softly giggles.
"Ani, eh Mama, eh Mama!" Riley points to each woman. "Eh 'uppy, eh 'uppy.' He then points to Dex and Keanu.
"And who is missing, Riley?" Dani asks and looks around to emphasize her question.
Riley looks at everyone once more, so far he sees everyone except.. "Ari?" he asks, he can't say Marley's name or pronounce his L's that well, so he goes for something he's able to pull off.
Dani loves hearing her brother saying her fiancée's name, it's adorable. "That's right, Marley isn't here." There is a hint of sadness in her voice, but she keeps smiling, not wanting to alarm Riley.
"But you're going to see her tomorrow!" Santana says excitedly. She's looking at Riley, but the words are obviously directed more at Dani. "We practice his walk for tomorrow. Maybe Riley would show you?" She ruffles his hair and kisses Rachel's cheek. "I should go if I don't want to be stuck in traffic and arrive straight to your wedding."
"Drive safe, babe." Rachel says with a smile on her face. "We'll try not to have too much fun while you're out and about." she expresses as she sets Riley down.
"And tell Marley-"
"That you love her and miss her and can barely breathe without her being within in reach distance from you." Santana cuts Dani and says with an overly sweet voice as she's walking towards the door. "Don't worry, honey, I won't forget."
Dani rolls her eyes and walks to sit on the couch. "She's mocking me, but forgetting that you, two are way worse than us."
Santana took off, and this time to prevent much of the city traffic, she took some back roads that she discovered during the brief amount of time that she would carpool with Millie. While she was driving, she looked back at her encounters with Marley, and admiring her greatly because she kept her promises to Dani through and through. It was when Santana heard about Marley's concern for their relationship when she was 15, that Santana had respect for Marley.
She could stay lost in her thoughts forever on how far the family came, starting out as a few kids from Glee club, to being best of friends, and then a full-fledged family. Of course, the second she approached the parkway to Millie's townhouse, her mind became focused as she turned off the car, got out and made her way up to the door. She knocks and waits for an answer.
The person that answers the door is Millie and she answers with a smile on her face. "Santana, hi!" she greets and hugs her once before moving aside to let her in. "How was the drive?" she asks. "Marls, Santana's here!" she calls out before looking back at Santana with a smile.
Marley was standing in the bathroom, sorting out her medicine when the thoughts in her head play once more. "Marley Rose, these pills just hold you back." she says to herself and looks in the mirror for a few moments. "You don't feel like yourself, but more like a machine." Marley takes a deep breath as she swoops up the pills in her hands. The conversations with Santana and Shania play in her head, laced with some good emotion for the most part. She turns her body towards the trash bin, places her foot on the pedal to open the lid. "Do it, Marls!" she breathes in and out as she drops the meds in the trash and moves back. "I don't need you.. You hold me back." she says more towards the idea of using her meds, she turns to her mirror and smiles at the sight, feeling a huge weight off her shoulders.
"Thankfully, not the usual nightmare." Santana answers with a small grin. "How are you? Tell me you're as ecstatic as I am." Santana asks while walking inside and taking her jacket off. The wedding of their child tomorrow is the first for both mothers and another sign, a huge one, that their babies are grown now. Santana feels fortunate to not only get Marley as a family member, but for gaining Millie and Elliott as well.
Millie nodded quickly. "15 years ago, she would perform her own wedding with her teddy bear." she sighs. "She'd take her father and I over there and we'd have to play along, making her a wedding dress out of one of our old sheets." she starts explaining. "Here Comes The Bride playing on her Barbie Music Maker, which she just hummed on her own."
"Mom!" Marley walks down the steps, hearing everything that Millie had said which made the younger brunette blush. "I have a wedding tomorrow, are you trying to give me an embarrassment attack?" she asks rhetorically, knowing that Millie's explanation is all in jest.. Somewhat. "Hey, Santana."
"Hello, Mrs. teddy bear." She fold her arms and squint her eyes at the young woman. "Does my daughter know you've been previously married?" Santana asks with a playful smile plastered on her face.
Marley furrowed her eyebrows, feeling a little scared to even answer Santana's question. She never really thought that her childhood moments would be shared, not now at least. "L-Like you never had a fake wedding with one of your Cabbage Patch Kids or something." she purses her lips and leaned against the wall, feeling nervous.
"Sweetie, Santana wasn't even born when Cabbage Patch Kids were popular." Millie expresses, she was about to say a bit more about them when she heard the egg timer go off. "Time to check on the food." she says then moves from where they were standing, to the kitchen.
"I'll ignore you thinking I'm ancient," Santana starts and step closer to Marley. "And yes, I've had a few weddings of my own when I was a child. Barbie was my longest relationship for a while." Santana winks and squeezes her soon to be daughter in-law. The girl doesn't need to know how she thought for a long while she'd be married to another; it's irrelevant and these days are all about true love and happiness. She takes a step back and with a calm expression, speaks again. "You want to go somewhere and tell me why you wanted to talk?"
Marley nodded and took Santana's hand as they go upstairs to Marley's room, she pulls out a chair for Santana to sit on. "So.. I remember when I asked for your blessing, two years ago." She starts off on a calm note. "And I know your stance, otherwise tomorrow... Wouldn't happen for Dani and I." Marley takes a deep breath to keep herself level. "I remember a promise that I made to you." She nervously smiles. "You said "I want you to ask me this question again when you come home." So... Santana, can I have your blessing to marry your daughter?" she asks.
The question takes Santana by surprise. She didn't know what to expect when Marley asked to talk to her alone, but now that the young woman expressed her reason Santana feels joy filling her chest. Marley joined their lives shortly after Dani and being apart of it since then. It's no secret how protective she and Rachel are of their daughter, nor that they were apprehensive about Dani being in a relationship when she was so young. After years have passed, it's clear that with Marley not only Dani hit the jackpot, but they did too. Marley is a great person who truly love her daughter, she respects her and they see eye-to-eye regarding their future, or else they won't be getting married. "I asked that from you because I wanted to see you home for good." Santana says with her eyes fixed on Marley. "First of all, I wanted you safe. Also, that mission you took upon yourself was going to change you and it did, and I mean it in a good way." She makes herself clear. "Still, I wanted to make sure that when you're finally back, that it'd be something you both still want. It's very clear that it is and that despite every hurdle, you remain strong as individual and a couple. So yes, Marley, you have my blessing and I cannot wait for our families to be joint together tomorrow." Santana says with a serious tone and blink away tears.
Marley leans in to hug Santana tightly, taking in a few deep breaths from her overwhelmed emotion for explaining everything and asking. She's definitely glad that Santana approves of their marriage, and is even more excited that Santana also wants their families to join together as one. Marley had once said that they all were family, with or without the wedding. It's moments like this that really helps explain every bit of Marley's statement. "Thank you so much, Santana." she says before pulling back from her soon to be 'Mother In-Law'.
Santana reaches for Marley's hand and hold it. "You don't need to thank me, sweetie." She tells her. "You didn't just get my respect and love, you earned it. I wish for both you and Dani to keep living happily together." Santana gives Marley's hand a gentle squeeze and lets it go.
"Uhm.." Marley gulps and moves some hair behind her ear, not entirely sure what to do now because she's not used to hanging out with Santana alone outside of doing stuff for the family. "How long are you staying?" she starts off. "My mom is making her famous casserole, and I was thinking I could show you something I've been working on for my class."
Even though Santana has a good reason to go home; it's the day before the daughter's wedding and she wants to spend it with her. Still, Santana's chest fills with pride and joy hearing Marley wants to share something she's been working on. Knowing she enough time to spend with Dani later, Santana doesn't think for a while longer. "I'd love to say, I'm in no hurry." She tells the young woman happily. It pleases her to have a good connection with the woman her daughter love. Also, Millie's cooking isn't something she's going to pass on.
Santana had no reason to rush back home, her family knew very well how to keep themselves busy. For a little while, Dani played with her little brother while catching up with her mother; everything was so hectic for the younger Lopez that she didn't have much time to really talk to her mom. Later, after washing their hands, the three sat down to eat lunch and went through the schedule for the next day again.
While Rachel put Riley down for his nap, Beth arrived and her and Dani went up to the latter's room. Rachel came by and said hello and told her sister there was food if she wanted, then went back to the living room to call Quinn. Left alone, Dani leaned back on the headboard of her old bed and let out a sigh.
"By this time tomorrow I'm going to be married." Dani says with an even tone.
Beth relaxed with her head on Dani's lap, playing a little game on her phone. "I just hope that Marley can survive the honeymoon." she says and looks up at Dani. "I heard suffocating is common amongst married couples."
Dani looks down at the blonde with her right brow quirked. "Are you making fun on my expense again?" She asks and jabs Beth's side with her index finger. "Anyway, have you seen Marley? She can handle a lot." Dani trace her lips with her tongue; that's not what she needs to think about now.
"I've seen her, yes." Beth says before sitting up with a smirk. "But there's still concern, I mean there's body pillows that have yet reached the size of your girls." she jokes then scoots over to Dani's side.
"Yeah, you're not exaggerating at all." Dani roll her eyes and starts brushing her fingers through Beth's hair. "Marley have both the experience and the abilities, there is no need to worry." Dani says and takes a deep breath; Marley definitely have the skills. "If I get rich, I'll get you a boob job. Then you'll finally leave me alone."
Beth chuckles some. "You know that'll never happen." she says then wraps her arm around Dani's waist, brushing her nose against Dani's side. "I'm really happy for you though, and I'm even happier knowing that I get to be on your side." she admits with vast ease. Their relationship has always been a sisterly one, even when they first met. "I love you lots."
"I love you too, B and that spot was yours from the moment I knew I was going to marry Marley." Dani tells Beth easily. She cherish Beth's presence in her life and the connection they developed over the years. "I want tomorrow to arrive already, but at the same time I'm so nervous." Dani shares and glance over to Beth. "I know it'd be fine, yet the butterflies in my stomach won't rest."
Beth knows that butterfly feeling that Dani's talking about, she feels it too. She also hopes that when the time comes, Dani will be on Beth's side to see her shine. "Tomorrow will happen soon, and you'll be one of the prettiest girls in the room." She states as her eyes gaze up at Dani with a smile. "It's all happening so sudden, it feels like." Beth moves some hair behind her ear.
"It feels like just a moment ago we shared our special kiss and my mom walked in on us." Dani says and laughs at the memory. "And tomorrow I'm going to see her in her dress and marry her. I can't believe it, how life turned for me."
"I got to see her dress, and it really does look beautiful." Beth assures, like Dani needed it. "So much time has passed though, almost a decade of you and I being the best of friends." she says and lets out a happy sigh. "I'm glad our moms set aside their egos, I wouldn't have this life if they didn't."
"The day I ran into mom and she bought me something to eat and drink, instead of throw a disgusted glance and move on changed everything." Over the years it became easier for Dani to talk about certain moments in her life. With Beth it's even easier thanks to their connection. "Hell, I was just happy to eat, despite how scary it was. I never thought going with that woman would later on give me a family and you… You are the sister I always wanted."
Beth smirks a slight amount as she gives Dani a tight squeeze. "I better be, I mean I'm pretty awesome, and pretty beautiful, so.. I hope to be your idea for a sister." she chuckles some. "I mean, look at Rachel, her life got like, infinitely better since I became a bigger part of this family than I was." she boasts with some confidence, of course Dani can tell it's for show.
"Big talk for a tiny person." Rachel says from the door frame and has a smirk on her face. "But yes, you've made our lives better since being a bigger part of the family." she admits with ease.
Dani shakes her head and gives Beth a gentle push. "Mom, don't encourage her, her ego is taking too much space as it is."
Rachel walks closer to the two, sitting at the foot if the bed, kicking her feet up so she can sit criss-cross. "So, big day tomorrow for you." she says to Dani. "Is there anything you might want to know, like.. The secret to a good marriage, or how to keep the spark going?" she would rather not go into the latter, but covering all bases is better in the long run than hopping around it. "And Beth, you might need this advice too, so I'd keep an ear towards the conversation."
The bride to be does not want the answer to the second question; not because she doesn't want to talk about that aspect with her mom, but mostly Dani doesn't want to hear her mother talk about it. The thoughts sends a shudder along her spine; there are things that should be kept private, it's not like she and Marley have a problem that she has to talk about. "I think Marls and I figured how to make it work," Dani says and changes to subject. "I'm going to get so nervous tomorrow and probably forget my vows the moment I see her." That's an honest concern of her.
"I know that all too well." Rachel says casually as she moves some hair behind her ear. "When your mama and I got married, I was all sorts of scared about the vows, the feeling of not being good enough, and scared I might ruin the wedding." she states. "But.. The second I saw her in that dress, that nervousness went away and replaced it with that confidence of 'This is endgame, this is us.'.." Rachel takes in that memory and sighs happily, running one hand through her hair again. "When you see Marley, you're going to get that feeling too, and the words will just flow easily."
It makes Dani smile, her parents have such a great marriage and it's something she hopes she and Marley will have. She was there to witness how they grew closer and how their love grew. Dani saw them struggle and coming back to each other, she knows it's not all happiness and good times. It's only making her want to be married to Marley more and add to her excitement. "I can't wait! Can it be tomorrow already?" She throws her head back and groans.
"We still have a lot of today, still." Rachel points out before lying on her back to stretch some. She quickly sits back up and turns her body to face the other two. "Say, Beth." she starts off. "Do you think that you will get married to Emily, or do you have some scientific belief that says "no"?"
Beth chuckles at Rachel's quick jab and sits up some as well, she shrugs and rests her head on her hand. "To be honest, I don't know if I am at an appropriate age to answer that." she states honestly. "I mean.. I've been with her for.. Coming up on two years, now.." she looks between Dani and Rachel. "While yes there are studies that show that marriage is a bumpkus thing, there's also the human side of me that would love to be bound by true love in front of my family." she has a slight smile on her face. "I'm more than willing to one day give her me, but as a scientist.. The future is all a theory, until you get definite results."
"It'd be strange coming from me considering, but there is no rush. You can get married or decide to not do that at all. Maybe you'd want to spend more years with Em or perhaps things would change." Dani says and shrugs. "That's a decision you make with both your heart and your head." Dani state and quickly adds to it. "And should involve your best friend and practically older sister that needs to approve." She grins and tickles the blonde.
Beth gives Dani a slight glare, playful of course but a glare nonetheless. She then focuses on Rachel with worried eyes. "Can I sleep on the floor in your room, Rachel?" she requests. "I don't want Dani to tickle me at night, or worse, suffocate me in my sleep." she gulps.
Rachel chuckles a little loud, yeah this was the humor that Dani and Beth have amongst each other. "Look, I can't promise anything, once Dani finds someone she likes to cuddle with, she's practically an Anaconda." she looks at Dani and mouths "I love you" to her.
"There must be a law or something against ganging up against a bride before her wedding." Dani protests, but pulls Beth further into her arms. "I love cuddling, what can I say? Until I get back to the one that appreciates it, you'd have to suffer."
"I'm not going to make it to the wedding, am I?" Beth asks as she looks at Dani, once again with a playful glare as she relaxes in her niece's arms. "You're lucky Ikinda like you."
Playful jabs, laughter, and good times. That's pretty much the summary of their talk for awhile until Beth started getting more tired. Being a brainiac definitely had its disadvantages, one of them being the all night study sessions that are enjoyable to them. Beth partook in that, mixed with her excitement for Dani and Marley's wedding, it was no wonder how the small blonde was able to pull it off. Dani figured she'd respect Beth's needs as she and Rachel left the room to continue their conversation. Rachel told Dani some more advice about the married life, like occasionally using special fabric softener for the clothes to give a better smell than the more affordable kind. Dani already did most of the things Rachel suggested, but it was nice to know that she wasn't the only one that takes a few extra steps every so often.
When it came to Santana, she and Marley had spent time talking about the married life, and how the life that she and Dani will end up having will be nothing but pure amazement. The Latina didn't mind much about expressing some of the more intimate things that she and Rachel did, of course leaving out the hot details, just summarizing the emotions the best she could. Marley took in every bit of what Santana said, some of it made Marley daydream about the day that she and Dani can say they did the same, or something that's on a whole nother level of cheesiness. After their talk, Marley had suggested at least a movie to watch to hold them over until Elliot comes over to visit.
Watching the movie with Marley was great, it gave the two more time to connect as they were going to become a family officially in less than a day. When the film ended, Santana hugged Marley and told her to get a good rest before the big celebration. She said goodbye to Millie as well and got into her car. Before starting to make her way home, Santana saw she got a text from her brother asking if it's still cool for him to drop by. They planned on meeting up not only because they haven't seen each other face to face in a long time, but also because it was about time Santana met Leo's girlfriend; they were getting serious and Santana was not having meeting the woman for the first time at the wedding. Santana texted her brother that it's ok and that she was on her way home. She sent another text to Rachel letting her know and put the phone aside to make the safely drive back to the house. As always, it took a while with many red lights allowing Santana to answer emails from work. When she was close enough to the house, Santana could see an unrecognized car - her brother's rental car and him and his girlfriend making the way towards the door. The couple stopped, though, when they heard the car approaching and waited holding hands. Santana parked the vehicle, picked her phone and purse and got out. She was a few steps from the couple, enough time to check the woman in her brother's life. She was tall, dark skinned with bright green and a cute nose - definitely out of her brother's league.
"I see I got here right on time," Santana says when she gets close enough.
"With how the traffic is here, I'm surprise any of us got here in a decent hour." Santana is living in New York for years and the traffic can still get to her, so Leo's reaction makes sense.
"I know it's horrible, but it won't be accepted as an excuse for not coming to see your family." Santana give him a gentle push, then wrap her arms around him tightly; it's been too long and she missed him. Leo returns the hug and place a kiss on her temple, saying he missed her.
When they pull apart, Leo takes his girlfriend hand again. "Santana, I want you to meet Viola, my girlfriend."
"It's nice to finally meet you," Santana says happily and reaches her hand forward.
Viola reaches to shake Santana's hand gently. "I've heard a lot about you." the woman starts off with a smile. "Leo did say that you had a gargoyle complex, nice to know he's wrong." she softly chuckles.
Santana glared at her brother, who in return shrugs and smirks. She's taking Viola's hand and starts walking, basically making the couple disconnect their hands. "Come on, tell me all about what Leo did to get you to agree to date him."
"I hope you have a lot of time on your hands, he's amazingly complex." Viola jokes as they walk, she looks back at Leo and smiles towards him before putting her attention back towards Santana. "Also, you wouldn't happen to have any Fiji water, would you?" she asks.
"I actually drink from the tap, but maybe that's the kind Rachel buys," Santana answers and drops the hand to get the key and unlock the door. Leo closes the distance and put an arm over Viola's waist. "Let's go inside," Santana tells them. "We'll finish they introductions and move on to me telling you embarrassing stories over coffee," she continues with a playful smile.
"Do that and you'll find yourself in the pool," Leo warns her.
Santana roll her eyes. "If I go down, you go down."
"Already your family is interesting." Viola looks slightly up towards Leo. "Hey, relax." She whispers due to feeling Leo's muscles tense up some. "Please."
Perhaps he's more nervous than he thought, not that there is any reason for him to be; he knows his sister is only joking and it's all going to be great. Leo smiles at Viola and nods as he hears Santana calling for her wife.
When the couple gets closer, they hear footsteps going down the stairs. Low and behold, it was Rachel with Riley in her arms and a smile on her face. "Leo, hi!" she says then looks at Riley. "Look sweetie, your uncle is here, do you wanna say hello?" she asks him.
Riley looks between his mom and his uncle, unsure of what he wants to do as there's a new person in the house that he's never seen before. "Who's 'at?" he asks and points at the lady.
Leo nudges his head to Viola and together they take a couple of steps forwards; making sure to not be too close and scare the young boy. "Hey, buddy!" Leo says excitedly. He sees Riley growing up through video chats and pictures mostly, so he wants to take advantage of the time he has with his nephew. "This is Viola, she's someone I really care about and she's here to meet you and your moms and sister."
Riley gives Viola a slight glare, he's never seen this woman before, and she's holding on to his uncle. It's only when Viola steps out of her boyfriend's hold and caresses Riley's shoulder, that his glare turned soft. "O-Ola?" he asks.
Viola nods and smiles. "Yes, I am Viola." she states. "I really care about your uncle Leo, just like how your mommies care about each other."
Rachel grins at the interaction between the two, she feels Riley squirm towards Viola's direction. "Do you want Viola to hold you, buddy?" she asks.
"Could I?"
"I don't see why not?" Rachel carefully hands Riley to Viola, when he's safe in her arms, she keeps an eye on how the two act amongst each other. "You got yourself a catch, Leo."
"Don't I know it?" Leo smiles at his sister in-law, then ruffles Riley's hair and kisses him, making the boy laugh at the feeling of his stubble.
Santana moves closer to her wife and places a kiss on her cheek. "Would it be too forward to ask if you want children, Viola?" she asks and waves for everyone to go to the living room.
"Just a little bit." She answers whilst walking to the living room. Riley is busy gazing at the shiny object resting around the woman's neck, he makes a couple noises that indicates how he likes it. "Your uncle got it for me for Christmas, it's pretty, isn't it?"
Riley gasps and smiles big at her. "Wow! It pitty!" he claps his hands and looks over at his moms and uncle. "Mama, mama, 'eo, it pitty!" he explains and points at the necklace.
Rachel gives her son a genuine smile, feeling proud of how this young man can hold a conversation almost. It was thanks to the vocabulary videos that she watches with him every day, she wanted Riley to be just slightly ahead of the game when it comes to learning. "That's right, Riley, it is pretty." she nods in approval then moves a bit close to Santana to whisper in her ear. "Yeah, she's one of us now."
They gather in the living room and Viola and Leo play with Riley while Santana get them all something to drink. Viola got along well with the energetic boy and Leo… He was the fun uncle. Riley was sure to get tired and in bed without a fuss.
When they have their coffee and Riley has orange juice in his sippy cup and Santana is settled next to Rachel, the Latina asks, "So how did you two met?"
Viola smiled at the couple for a moment then positioned Riley a bit on her lap so he can see his mothers and Leo. "Well, there was a convention that was going on at one of my hotels." she states. "As the CEO of the company, I like to make time to check in on things every so often." she looks amongst Rachel, Santana, and Leo as she explains it, leaving her gaze upon the taller male Lopez of the family. "He tried to use his heritage as a way to… Get with me, which brought out a good laugh whenever we tell this story." Viola uses her free hand to graze Leo's back. "He was persistent, which I found a little adorable in the way he went about it.. He didn't do it to the point of being bothersome, but he did make it known that he had an interest in me." she smiles at Leo then looks back at Rachel and Santana. "We chatted over a cup of coffee, I let him pay for it as he had no clue who I was at the time." she says and looks at Riley, seeing that he is sucking on his knuckle, taking in the story that he had little clue about. "He asked me out before the convention was fully over, I said yes, and the rest is history." she smiles somewhat big. "This hunk of a man here, turned out to be one of the most compassionate people I had the privilege to know."
Leo looks into Viola's eyes with a big, bright smile on his face. "What can I say, I knew you're special and that I'd regret if I didn't try my best and end up missing you."
If she's being honest, Santana is surprise to hear her brother talking this way and being so open and honest with another woman. It's great, it's what she wished would happen to him, not necessarily because it's bad to be a player, but he is her brother and she didn't want him to be alone. Starting a family is not the issue, Santana wanted for her brother to have someone by his side he can go back home to, someone who could support him and share good moments with. Viola looks like a really great woman and it makes Santana so happy. "Aren't you a charmer!" she says excitedly. "I think it's genetic; the Lopez are good with women, we know how to treat them." Santana unabashedly grins at her wife and winks.
"You're okay, at best." Rachel says in jest as she rolls her eyes and turns a bit to face her, keeping a soft smile on her face. She then mouths an "I love you." towards Santana before pulling her a little closer to give her an embrace.
Viola leaned back in her seat, feeling that Riley was pressing his back against the woman's front. "I think little man is more than comfortable with me." she states while gently caressing his head.
"He's picky, so if he likes you and it's obvious that he is, you passed a test we didn't even give you." Santana smiles at the woman holding her son. From the little she knows, Viola fits well to the family and Santana is usually hyper with anything family related, so it's even more when they have such a huge family event the next day.
Leo stop making face to his nephew for a moment to nod. "He's a bigger, so called, test than mama." he laughs. It's clear his family likes Viola and he hopes he's not reading his girlfriend the wrong way and that she, also, feels good with them.
The adults and Riley had a good time conversing amongst each other. Leo and Viola talked a bit more about their relationship, not getting into any personal detail not just due to Riley's presence, but also because Leo thinks that Santana doesn't need to know about that anyways. Eventually though, Viola was getting a little fatigued, mostly due to jetlag taking over her. So the newly established couple made their leave, making a promise to Santana and Rachel that the four of them will have a get-together.
After the two left, Rachel took Riley to the kitchen to put him in his chair. This time of day was one of Riley's favorites, he gets to dance with his one of his mothers while food is getting cooked. Santana enjoyed this time too, for a little bit different reasons than Riley when it comes to seeing Rachel dance, but when she sees Riley dance with Rachel it fills her with much joy. Santana took a little bit of time away from enjoying two of her favorite people dance, to go check on her equally favorite person that decided to stay in her room and draw. When she did, she made sure to tell Dani about Viola and that she will be Leo's 'Plus one'. Dani didn't mind much, and she enjoyed the thought of her already huge family getting that much bigger.
Dani only went downstairs to eat with Rachel, Santana, and Riley. She didn't talk a whole lot, mostly due to listening to Rachel and Santana talk about how excited they are that Dani was getting married. It really helped with opening her eyes on how real the next day is, and how much she wants to be standing beside Marley in her dress, sharing that one kiss that steals everyone's attention. It surged Dani like she was on five different energy drinks, which might've happened at least once.
Beth got back to the Lopez house a little later than she would have liked, thankfully Shelby was out and about and was willing to take Beth from work, to Rachel's. When Beth got to talking to Rachel, she informed Rachel about her day at work, and that their mom will call later on to talk carpooling. From Rachel, Beth jetted over to Dani's room to catch up on anything she missed. Dani went ahead and talked a bit, unfortunately for her, Beth was pretty much out of it by the time Dani got into anything good. Of course, Dani chuckled and covered Beth up in her blanket, making sure the young blonde stayed warm. Dani is now back to sitting at her desk, with her tablet propped up, and her laptop on the right program, she draws a little bit to ease her mind some more.
What felt like minutes was actually about a couple hours, and it was almost midnight. Dani didn't take much notice of the time with how engulfed she was in her work. She decides to save the project and turn everything off, she needs to get as much sleep as possible. Yet.. Something inside her wanted to talk to someone, specifically Marley. To Dani's recollection, there's no superstition against talking to your bride before the wedding, so she taps her screen a few times and presses the phone to her ear, waiting in anticipation.
Marley hears her phone ringing not far from her bed, she reaches over, sees who it is, and then answers it. "H-Hello?" she says sleepily.
Hearing her very soon to be wife's voice warms her heart instantly. "Hey," Dani whispers and can't control the forming of a smile on her face. "Did I wake you?"
"No.." She yawns. "I was totally awake, the whole time." Marley says in jest.
"Maybe I should let you go back to sleep, miss sass. It's not like I miss you or anything." Dani pouts despite Marley not being able to see her. She's sure the other woman would know.
Marley had a big smile on her face at the tone of Dani's voice, she misses her already, in fact, misses her a lot. "How're you doing, love?" she asks and turns a bit in her spot.
"I had a nice day with the family and I'm kind of sleepy, I just had to talk to you before going to bed." Dani says and close her eyes to feel closer to Marley. "What did you do today that you're actually able to fall asleep?" she asks curiously.
"Well.." Marley sits up and yawns once more. "Today, Santana and I watched a couple of horror movies, and we debated on who would win between Freddy Kruger and Michael Myers." she starts off. "Good fun, and she knows her stuff." Marley gets out of bed briefly to walk over to the doorway, seeing her brother asleep in his room from hers. "I bet Elliott a hundred bucks that I could run around our block in under 5 minutes, damn well showed him… Was a second away from 5 minutes." she chuckles.
Dani laughs and can actually image the look on the siblings' faces at that moment. "I can't believe I'm willingly marrying you tomorrow." she jokes, but the happiness feeling mixed with nervousness making her heart beat faster.
"Right? You're marrying a hundred-are.. Is there such thing as that?" Marley turns to go back to her bed, feeling excited that tomorrow it the big day. "Never mind that, I am all sorts of excited that we're going to be married tomorrow."
"I might faint when I see you." Dani bites her lip. She has an image or rather several images of Marley in different dresses on her mind, yet Dani knows her imagination isn't doing any justice to how gorgeous the woman is going to look tomorrow.
Marley calmly smiles, she knows that Dani is going to personally love her dress. "I think the news will report the first ever wedding, where both the brides have fainted from how the other looked." she jokes a little bit, looking over at her clock and seeing that time is moving a little slower than she'd like. "We're so close, babe…"
Dani takes a deep breath and lick her dry lips. "I can barely hold on." she admits easily. "Next time we're at our apartment and when we go to sleep it'd be as a married couple. I'm so excited!"
"And in 24 hours, we'll be snuggled up in snowy Canada." Marley is really excited about the wedding as well, and also the honeymoon, if it wasn't apparent enough. "Would you have thought that nearly 10 years ago, we would encounter each other, fall for each other, and be married soon enough?" she asks somewhat rhetorically, but she wants to hear Dani's emotions as well.
Dani turns to lay on her back and looks up at the ceiling with her eyes still closed and a soft smile. "A wedding and a fancy honeymoon? Not really." She says. "I used to dream, when I lived… When I lived with my biological parents, I always dreamed of meeting a girl and that we'd make each other the happiest we could be." It's not as difficult to discuss, but definitely not pleasant to remember her life before her moms. But this reminder doesn't make her sad, the opposite - Dani feels so strong, so happy and thankful. "Having you in my life, getting to call you my wife and have a future together… I feel like I won life." Dani ends giggling quietly.
Marley listens closely to what Dani has said, she still stands by the mindset of if she ever met the biological creatures that abused Dani, she'd do some very terrible things to the both of them. But knowing that Dani survived, and fought her way to this moment just helps solidify how much Marley wants to marry this woman. "You're the strongest, most beautiful, and bravest soul I will ever know." she says with ease. "I really.. Wanna say a lot more things that would empty the bag of shredded cheese that lies in my mom's fridge, but that'd dabble into my vows, huh?"
Dani's cheeks hurt with how wide her smile is. She could never find someone greater and more compatible than Marley, no matter how long she'd live. "You have no idea how much I want to kiss you right now." Dani sighs happily. "You're too adorable and I love you."
"I love you too, my wife." Yeah, they're not married yet, but it's not like they won't be considering how soon the wedding is. Marley loves calling Dani her wife anyways, and she knows Dani's body nearly forms a pink shade whenever she hears that. "Because.. I am actually still tired, and lazy… Can we stay on the phone while we sleep?" she mumbles a bit when she asked that.
"Like I would have it any other way." Dani answers and gets comfortable on her side. She made the right call to phone Marley and hear her voice; she feels much more relaxed now. The next day is going to be full of excitement, tears of joy and a lot of emotions. They're going to be exhausted by the time it ends and while they really want to snuggle in their room in Canada as a married couple, they need the energy to enjoy their wedding day to its fullness. So the couple murmur they love each other once more and wish good night. It's easier to fall asleep simply knowing the other one is there, even if it's not physically. When they finally asleep, they get a good sleep; no dreams or waking up in the middle of the night. They sleep with the other one on the line until it's time to wake up and start their big day.
'till next time
