A/N: *Shows up a millions years late* Sorry life happened, a lot of things happened since I last wrote anything and I just didn't have the urge to write anymore, some of the stemmed from what happened specifically on here with the whole plagiarism thing because how could someone just do that and try to justify their actions as it's only fanfiction as if it doesn't matter that they had stolen something that was deeply personal to me. The other things well, I moved to another state and got a new job (a full time job) the last six months have been a roller-coaster, if you count the current series of events, so I've been a little stressed the last year and a half since I've written this. I think I just needed something happy to do and well this was it.
P.S. I'm rewriting Glitter and Stardust, the new version is only going to be posted on AO3, because I'm mad with power, but also because it's easier to only post it in one place, so when it goes up I'll tell who ever is still reading my fics!
There were days when Josh felt a little guilty about monopolizing Maya's time during her first semester in college, he knew that Riley worried about her best friends, and she had constantly told him that if it wasn't him then it would be her family taking up her time. She had a new little brother, she had a dad now, she had all of these things that Maya, in her own mind, would say she would never have gotten. Riley reassured him about it constantly, but it didn't stop him from feeling just a little bit guilty for not having Maya spend at least one weekend at her own school.
His solution to all of his own guilt, and possibly a bit of Maya's when it came to not being around as much, was to spend more time traveling up to Maya's school and seeing her there. Plus it helped fulfill one wish that his girlfriend had and that was that they would get to cuddle together on her bed like Riley did with Lucas, but that was mostly selfish for both of them, and probably had a lot to do with how close his niece was with her boyfriend.
So, that weekend, he found himself standing in Maya's room, setting up a movie night for the two of them. Farkle had taken Smackle out for the night, something about a meteor shower, so he would be alone with Maya for the entire night. They were going to spend the next day with their friends as they prepared for their spring break trip, but that night was just for them and he was glad that he would get that chance right now.
"What up Boing," Maya said and he knew she was joking because while she had said it in the same way she had when she had been in middle school, her smile was the one she reserved just for him.
"Funny you should ask," he said before pulling her into his arms and slowly dancing in slow steps. "Tonight," he said twirling her around. "We're just going to stay in and watch movies and it's going to be just the two of us."
"I would like that very much, especially since tomorrow afternoon we'll be on the road for hours just going on this crazy road trip that Riley suggested," she said smiling up at him, he would never get over the fact that she was shorter than he was, for some reason it always made him happy that she was always close enough to hear his heart beat for her.
"Yes, well there's that, but also, I had a promise to keep, you know us cuddling on your bed watching movies and just being together."
"Ah yes, this was before Mr. Matthews freaked out because he heard what we said."
"Yes, but because of that Riley stood up to my brother, which is a big step for her, because honestly she needed to do that. I remember how he had been when she was still a kid, before you came into the picture and it wasn't as bad as it was once Lucas came into the picture."
"Hell, I'm pretty sure he was bad the moment I came into the picture, but you know what it taught me, that that was the kind of father I wanted, and look at what I have now and it's all thanks to her."
"Does this include me?" he said smiling as he continued to sway around with her. "It better include me, because if it doesn't then what have I done to forsake you."
"Josh, it will always include you, I know she jokes about being scared of me becoming her Aunt, but that's usually just her joking, I honestly think that she's just meant to find people and bring them together," she told him as she wound her arms around his waist resting her head near his heart. "Sometimes it doesn't work, we already know that, but other time she knows that people are just meant to be together."
"That's sweet," he told her, and he knew that without a doubt that Maya was right. "At least she knew when to fight people's stubbornness and force them to actually work through their feelings because man we were really stupid a few years ago."
"You were stupid, I was a ray of sunshine," she said and all he could do was give her a look. "Alright, I was stupid, I did something stupid, but I can't take all of the blame for it."
"You don't have to, we can share the blame, but just remember it's those things, those dumb stupid things, that made me realize just how much I cared about you, just how much I absolutely love you."
"Yeah you do," she pulled away and brought his face down to meet hers, giving him a soft kiss on his lips. "It's why I love you too."
He smiled into their second kiss, before pulling her towards her bed where he set up some food and his laptop, "Come on let's watch this movie," he said before showing her the horror movie that she had wanted to see months before but it had only come out overseas and they had had to wait.
When she squealed he couldn't help but laugh, strangely enough this was when he saw her act the most like a girly girl, all because of a horror movie, outside of that she only showed her softer sides to him and Riley, other than that she usually had some form of mask on. It was nice that she was able to fully let herself go when he was around. It was one of the reasons why he knew that this was going to last, the trust that they had built over the years even after everything they put themselves through.
Josh pulled out a fleece blanket that Maya had under her bed and wrapped it around the both of them before settling into her bed, he couldn't help but smile at just how perfectly she fit next to him. This was what he had wanted ever since his brother told him to find his own version of Topanga, and it was perfect.
Lucas loves Riley, honestly, he couldn't ask for a better girlfriend in his life, but the few months everything in the world has tested their relationship. They've tested his resolve to not go after the person who had the audacity to even try and attack Riley, he's seen her struggle with a lost of things, and some days he sees a distant look in her eyes almost like she's reliving what happened. He glad that she's a strong person, not many people could have done what she had done, but it hurts to see her in so much pain. That's why, after dropping Zay, Charlie and Sam off at the speed dating event, he decided that taking Riley somewhere was his priority, he wanted her to be somewhere she felt comfortable.
Dinner at the dining hall was their first stop, it wasn't romantic in the slightest, but they paid for those meals and they were going to use them. He grabbed extra food before they left, she thought that it was only because he tends to get hungry when they're watching movies, but actually it was because he was taking her somewhere. Farkle had told him about the meteor shower he was going to see with Smackle, the genius even told Lucas that it would probably be something that Riley would like, because of course Farkle noticed things not just with Riley but with Lucas himself.
So, Lucas got enough food for them to have, mostly fruit and a couple of bottles of water, in case they didn't get back until morning. Taking her hand, he walked her out to his car.
"Lucas where are we going, I thought we were going back to my room to watch a movie," she said but all he could do was smile as he opened the car door for her.
"It's a surprise," he said giving her a soft kiss on her lips before pulling away. "Now buckle up, I don't want your dad coming after me if you get hurt and because you didn't put on your seatbelt."
"Well we wouldn't want that," she told him with a smile just as he closed the door and rushed over to the other side of the car and getting into the driver's seat. "You know, I haven't driven since I got my license."
"Well that's going to change during spring break, mainly because I don't want to drive that long and we're going to be driving close to ten hours to get to where we're going."
"I really can't wait," she said smiling at him in that way that always made him feel nothing but love, but he always felt that when it came to Riley. "I really need the break too; I've been a little... um... well."
"I know Riley," he knew all too well, but he didn't want to bring up what she had been through in the last few months, it still hurts him that it happened and he wants to protect her in the only way he knows best, but he also knows Riley and she's stronger than most people give her credit for. She's gone through a million different trials since he's met her and she has always come out of them stronger, so the only thing he can do for her right now is just be there when she needed him. "Let's think of something else."
"Well, where are you taking me?" she asked him as he drove them down the road towards the meadow that Farkle had told him where they could see the meteor shower. Lucas knew that Farkle was taking Smackle somewhere farther upstate, to an observatory he had contacted but Lucas didn't need that, he just wanted a moment alone with Riley where they wouldn't be interrupted by their normal lives.
"It's a surprise," he said to her keeping his eyes on the road, only taking one hand off the wheel to grab onto her hand and giving it a kiss before placing it right over his heart. "Can't a boyfriend surprise his girl?"
"Yes, yes, he can, even though we're driving down a dark road towards nowhere in particular, almost like I'm being kidnapped."
"Except you're not, trust me please."
"I do Lucas, with all of my heart," she said taking his hand and placing it over her own heart. "I always have."
After that they were quiet for the rest of the drive, Lucas only let go of Riley's hand so that he could keep his hands on the wheel, and while she protested against him letting go, she still let him. He had noticed that since the incident she tries to keep as much contact with him as possible, and while at first, he had been afraid of triggering her because of the attack, he later learned that she needed him as much as he needed her. At first, he always let her initiate contact with him and after a while he only grabbed her hand never pulling her close like he used to. It was always up to her, but once she did, he always took in her warmth and the knowledge that she was still there with him.
It was going to take a while for them to go back to the way they had been before, he was always careful around her now, but it's because he wanted her to come first no matter what. Even if it takes a million years, he would wait for her.
When the turn off towards the meadow came up, he quickly took the turn, watching Riley as the path lit up by the car's lights. He knew her fear of anything horror move related, but he hoped that she wouldn't think anything bad would happen while they were there.
"We're here," he said as he pulled into the patch of dirt turning the lights off.
"And where exactly is here? Because Lucas this looks like the place kids would get murdered in a horror movie."
"It's not, it's a meadow," he said to her before getting out of the car. He watched as she reluctantly got out herself and stood by the open door not moving at all. "Farkle's dad owns it, they were going to build something on it but instead just left it as it is for now. Farkle told me that he comes here with Smackle to find things to test."
"Oh, I'm guess we're not here for a science project."
"No, you see Farkle also told me that there's a meteor shower tonight, and I told him that it would be something that you would like to see so he pointed the way here."
Before he could say anything else, she launched herself at him and that was enough to make him smile, it felt like the old Riley was slowly returning every day, this was just another moment for them to share together.
"Oh my god Lucas this is just perfect, you're so great," she said smiling. "I couldn't have asked for a better boyfriend in the whole world."
"You didn't have to ask, you had me from that first moment on the train when all you did was look at me," he told her taking her hand and kissing it. "Riley you have my heart, my soul, my everything."
The moonlight was enough for him to see the fresh tears in her eyes, "You have me heart too Lucas Friar," she said to him, her voice choking up as she said his name. "I love you more than anyone in the whole world."
"Even you father," he said as a joke and she laughed. It was nice to see her like this again.
"Lucas, my father is my father, and he should never be brought up in a conversation where I'm trying to tell you just how special you are to me."
"I know, but I feel like he's always watching even when he's not around."
"I know, in all honesty I don't know if we'll ever escape his overprotectiveness, but when it comes to you versus him, I pick you," she stopped and cringed a little. "This is weird."
"It is and it isn't, eventually we were going to have this conversation, but at least I know where we stand. I'll never tell him anything you said because I feel like he would murder me where I stand," he told her with a smile.
"Good because I like our future together and I don't want him to ruin it."
He couldn't help the laugh that came out of him, it was great that they understood one another so well, "Let's get all set up over there," he said pointing to the middle of the field. "I even borrowed a telescope from Farkle so that we could look at the stars."
"You're changing the subject Lucas," she said as he pulled her towards the middle of the meadow. "Do you not want to talk about the future?"
"No, I just want to give you the chance to wish on a star, and maybe one day that wish will come true," he said because it wasn't that he was afraid of the future, it's just that he wanted to think about it and maybe make his own wishes.
"Honestly, I don't know what else to wish for when everything I have right now is perfect," she said and kissed him just as the first meteor flew over their heads, just having a happy Riley was the best thing to wish for.
Farkle knew one thing above all others, and that was that Isadora Smackle was the one person in the whole world who understood him. As much as he loves his friends, there were things that his girlfriend knew that no one else would ever know. This part of the relationship went both ways because he had started to notice things as well and while he was glad that it had made him worry about her more than anything. College had not been easy for his beloved, not in the sense that she didn't understand school, but in the sense that her family wasn't there to pull her back from her studies. You see, Isadora had the tendency of immersing herself in her work and forgetting the basic functions of a human being. That's where his luck, of all things had come in, and had gifted Isadora with Maya as a roommate. And while Isadora still immersed herself in her work, she also remembered to go out and eat like a normal person.
It was during this time that he had realized that they needed a date, just the two of them, to commemorate their relationship, their anniversary had long passed, but he wanted to have a moment where she wasn't engrossed in her work and he wasn't busy splitting his time between family obligations and school. He had only remembered about the meteor shower just days before it was meant to happen, and it was enough of a scientific curiosity for him as it was what Riley would call a romantic moment. That's why he had brought it up with Lucas, because he knew that Riley would like it as well, and it was Farkle's way of making up for what had happened their first semester. Even though Riley has constantly told him that there was nothing wrong with what had happened.
"Okay Beloved," Isadora said to him as she stepped out wearing a dress that most likely had been picked out by Maya but looked great on his girlfriend. She didn't look as nervous as she had when they had first started dating, and she was more comfortable with him then with anyone else. It was strange to him that he had met her so early in his life and was still with her, and while his friends didn't know about their fights, as few and far between as they were, it made them feel more like a real couple.
"You look beautiful my one and only," he said smiling, this wasn't a normal date, he had known in freshman year of high school that his life with the one and only Isadora Smackle wouldn't end. He learned from the Matthews that when something special came along you had to hold onto it. Science couldn't define what love was, he learned this from his own parents, two people so opposite they worked, he learned this from watching his own friends learn to love and sometimes stumble when it came to finding someone they loved. It was work, and that was something he knew how to excel at.
His decision towards this moment had come from a lot of thought, and research, well that and love for the one person who he cares for the most. So, after calling for an uber, the two were off towards the observatory which was just beyond where Farkle had told Lucas to take Riley. It was the one place where there was the least amount of light from the nearby city skyline, and it reminded him of that first anniversary dinner he had put together with Riley's help. That felt like a million years ago, even though he knows it wasn't that long ago, but they had grown so much since and it has helped him accomplish so much at the same time.
Walking Isadora into the building, holding her hand with nothing but a smile on his face, he knows how much she cares for normal human interactions, she always feels left out. It's why the first semester of college he was happy that she got to experience so many things just from going on double dates with Josh and Maya. They taught them how to be a couple in a way that he couldn't learn from Riley and Lucas. All of his friends had taught him something different, and that's the fact that all of their relationships, their likes and dislikes, their mannerisms around one another are so different. It made him realize that Isadora and himself are unique in their own way and these moments were special no matter how small or how extravagant they are.
"Are we here to watch the meteor shower?" Isadora asked him looking around the observatory, he could tell she was excited there's small ways he can tell, her eyes light up when it comes to science and this is one of those moments.
"Yes and no," he said before turning off the lights in the room. He had gotten special permission for set up the observatory for their trip, the inside which is normally used as a planetarium during the day was set to where Isadora's star was. "I would like to go meet up with our friends after we're done here."
"This is not our first stop," she said looking at him with curiosity, she's always analyzing a situation and he could see it, she always braces herself for something especially if it could be something that she has never experienced.
Taking a deep breath, he took her other hand. "I know we've been together since middle school, you may think we're too young, but this is more of a promise," he slowly kneeled down onto his left knee. "On the wall behind you is the star I brought for you back in high school, I brought it as a promise for us both, for our future, and I know there's a scientific explanation for the stars in the sky, but I wanted to have something there for our future, something that would live with us."
"Beloved," she started but he shook his head, he didn't want to lose the courage for what he was going to do.
"I want to spend my life with you Isadora Smackle, I want to change the world and make it better, I want to stand by your side no matter what our lives would bring, and if you would have me I would like to be with you forever."
"Forever is a concept, it's not something that can be measured," she said, and he couldn't help but smile.
"Isadora, my love, I want to one day be your husband, and according to every couple we've met, and everyone we know, this is one step we should one day take, I'm not asking to get married tomorrow, but one day in the future," he took out the ring that he had gotten made.
The ring was made of a special alloy that had been found in a meteorite, hence his need to propose during a once in a lifetime meteor shower. Riley always told him to make these kinds of moments special, to make them something that they would remember. But when Isadora was just standing there not saying anything, he was second guessing his actions, maybe they're too young, maybe she doesn't want this.
"I have watched my parents since I was a child wondering if this would have been possible for me, I'm not normal, but you've taught me so much since we've been a couple, you've taught me that it's possible for me to fall in love with someone."
"Is that a yes?" he questioned because he wasn't sure where anything was going anymore.
"It is a yes beloved," she said, and at that moment she had given him the greatest gift he could have received. "But just to be sure, we're not getting married until after we have graduated college."
"We'll need our Ph.D.'s at the most," he said knowing how ambitious she was and how much she wanted to accomplish everything without having to prove that she didn't get there because she just so happens to with him.
Riley's back was against Lucas's chest, it was one of her favorite places in the world, the stars in the sky were perfect, and according to Lucas they were there for a meteor shower, a once in a lifetime event and she was excited.
"You know, I'm going to make a million wishes tonight," she said to the sky excitedly jumping. "I want nothing but happiness for everyone of course, but I want to wish for something dumb, like a bunny rabbit to show up on campus, or for flowers to bloom right outside my window."
"They're not dumb if that's what you want," Lucas said, and she knew he was smiling, but then she heard a rustling around the trees and she wasn't sure what was happening.
"Did you hear that?" just as she asked the question a familiar blonde head broke through, Riley holding in the scream that threatened to come out. "Maya?"
"What's up," Maya said walking over to them, Josh's hand in hers. "Farkle said to come here in a weirdly cryptic message."
Behind them was Zay, Charlie, and Sam who were all laughing about something, Riley didn't know what. Her heart in her throat, she went from feeling happy on her date to scared to happy again, and that was too much happening all at once.
"You know, a serial killer could have killed you both," Josh said as they reached them. "Then I would have to explain to my brother how I let you go off to be killed when you could have just stayed home."
"Funny Josh," Riley said, before she could say anything else the two geniuses joined them, both dressed up and smiling at one another.
"Farkle said that we needed to share this night with one another," Zay said as he plopped himself next to them all the while Maya and Josh laid down a blanket on their other side.
"So, of course we're crashing your date," Charlie added before sitting next to Zay. "And thank you so much for leaving us behind in that room."
"Well… um…" she didn't know what to say.
"Don't worry they left maybe half an hour after you," Sam said before pushing the two of their heads. "They abandoned me for a coffee shop."
"Sorry," Zay said before turning to Riley and whispering, "Thank you."
She winked at him, she was definitely getting the details later, but for now she just wanted to know why her friends were crashing date night. "So, why the impromptu gathering?"
"Well my darling and I have some news," Smackle said smiling at the group, and Riley couldn't help but see just how much she had grown over the later few years, she was more open with them all, but she was still very much Smackle and they wouldn't change that for anything.
"I asked Isadora for be my one and only," Farkle said, only to have everyone else groan, telling them that they already knew that, but Riley knew this was different. She stood up and hugged the two of them.
"Congratulations, and I want to be the best man," she said as a joke.
It took everyone else a moment of confused glances before they caught up to what they were talking about, just before they all stood and shouted congratulations to the pair of geniuses. Just as the sky above them changed and a million stars flew by them. It really was a special night for her friends.