The Favor

by Punkpoet69

Gabriella Montez has one goal, to have a baby. Preferably with Troy Bolton, her sexy neighbor/best friend. She has a great career, she lives in a cute studio apartment and she has a loving support system. Her life is perfect-ish. Absolutely wonderful. Except for one tiny little thing. She wants a baby. And all she needs is an egg, some sperm, and an at-home insemination kit.

Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the High School Musical world, which is trademarked by Disney. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of High School Musical. The story I tell here about Troy and Gabriella is my own invention, and it is not supported or believed to be part of Disney story canon. This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official story line.

Gabriella

She could do this. She had a plan, a list and now all she needed was sperm. What was a little sperm between friends anyway?

It wasn't like she hadn't asked Troy Bolton for crazier things in the past. During their junior year of high school, she'd asked him to help her lose her virginity. Of course, he declined at first but, during their senior year, he came around to the idea.

She remembered feeling very pleased with herself, sneaking out of their graduation party and up into his treehouse. How his lips felt against the skin on her neck as he slid his hand over her shoulders. Warming her up instantly and flooding her body with tingles.

He'd been so gentle and sweet, not at all what she had expected from the infamous caption of the basketball team. She'd overheard girls talking about being with the great Troy Bolton almost every time she went into the girl's bathroom. From cheerleaders, drama, to girls from band class. Troy Bolton did not discriminate. He was a charmer and a good-looking athlete. And girls talked. She would always hear others talking about the way he used his hands, making fine use of his hand and eye coordination.

They hadn't been wrong either. She remembered very well what those hands had made her do. How they had coaxed her into her first orgasm. How they caressed her, held her body, brushed her hair over her shoulder.

She'd had dreams about those hands for years afterward.

And he had asked her for stuff too. When he was fourteen years old he hopped over his parents' fence and asked her what a period was. He asked her to teach him how to uncook a bra when he was fifteen. She was pretty certain her bra was the first bra Troy Bolton had ever removed with one hand. Then there was the traditional help, like helping him pass his English and Chemistry classes or assisting him with completing his college applications.

They always kept each other secrets, they always answered each other's questions. They had lived next to each other practically all their lives. Even years later, when Troy had come back home with an injured knee. Gabriella had helped him get an apartment in her building.

So, she could do this.

"I'm going to have a baby." Gabriella declared as the car came to a stop outside their apartment building.

They were coming back from a barbecue at his parent's house. A weekly occurrence between the families that alternated from house to house. She'd been preparing herself to have this conversation with Troy for a whole month. And she'd talked herself out of it twice. But not tonight, because tonight she had learned from her mother that Micheal, her cheating ex-husband had just announced the arrival of his third child.

His third child. With Kelsi Nelson, her backstabbing ex-friend. Who knew they had been trying for months to get pregnant. Who had been right by her side when she waited for her pregnancy test results.

Who ended up getting pregnant with Michael's baby instead.

"Wow, I didn't know you were seeing someone," Troy said as he put the car in park and then cut the engine. "Wait, are you seeing someone? Was this unplanned?" His eyes narrowed in concern as he looked her over.

Shaking her head, she glanced over at Troy who met her eyes with a tender smile. As if she could tell him the worse news imaginable and he listen intently while holding her hand. And wasn't that unfair? They were polar opposites and totally not made for each other, but the way he was examining her in the dark space made her female parts clench.

Because yes, Troy Bolton was extremely good looking and when he gave you his 100% you felt like the only person on earth.

"I'm not pregnant," she said watching him relax a little. "But I want to be, and I'm making the decision to have a baby on my own. I don't want to wait around anymore."

"Oh," he said sounding a little surprised. "Oh," he repeated as if understanding had finally sunk in.

"I know it's not the traditional way to go about things, but I already did the traditional thing and well, that kinda blew up in my face."

Troy's hand reached for hers and he gave it a firm squeeze. "Gabi," he said with a smile. "You don't have to explain it to me, I know you had your plans. You always have your plans and I'm a little surprised about this one, but I know you, you're going to be a great mom."

"Actually," she said after taking a breath, "I was thinking you could be the dad."

Silence filled the car. His firm grip loosened. The sound of his keys clinking together in his other hand seemed to echo as he dropped it into his lap.

"What the hell?" Troy said, turning so he was fully facing her. "Where did that come from?"

"We've known each other a long time," Gabriella began.

"Thirty-four years." Troy supplied.

"Right so we've grown up in the same town, went to the same school, your parents are great, my parents love you, we celebrate every holiday together anyway." She narrowed her eyes to study him better, trying to gauge if he could see where she was going with this. Unfortunately, he just stared back at her in confusion.

"Look, I feel like I know you pretty well." She offered, "and I can say that you're a decent guy."

"Thank you?"

"So, logically I think we should–"

"I don't think we should have sex, Gabi." he finished.

"What the hell?" Now it was her turn to look confused. "No, no, no, why on earth would you think that."

Troy made a face, "Seriously."

"That was one time. And that was enough for me thank you. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt."

Troy let out a laugh, "you still have that?"

Thank goodness it was dark. Her cheeks were certainly pink.

"There are other ways to make a baby. Michael and I were going to see a specialist before…" her voice trailed off. She didn't want to say it out loud.

Troy let out a frustrated sigh, "Jesus Gabi, is that what this is about? You find out that Mr. Doofus is having babies and now you feel like you have to prove something?"

"I don't have anything to prove." She said pointedly. "I want to have kids; I always have and you just said it yourself. I did everything I was supposed to, got married, waited till we were financially stable, took all my vitamins, tracked my ovulation and while I was doing all that, I lost time."

Gabriella's eyes watered and she blinked to stop any from breaking free. "I lost the time I could have had with them, loving them, listening to their laughs, and telling them how much I love them."

Troy let out a breath as he leaned back, "Gabi."

"I want to have a baby and I'm tired of waiting for a man to want one with me," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. "So, I just need your sperm, I'd rather have yours than some stranger but if you're that set against it, I'll manage."

"Whoa," Troy held up a hand. "Hang on a minute."

Gabriella nodded, rubbing her palms against her jeans. Her heart was racing, making its way up her throat.

"You want to have my baby?" He whispered.

"No."

"No?"

"No," Gabriella panicked a little as she held out her hand. "I don't want to have your baby. I don't want you to have any responsibilities. This would be my baby, I am willing to do this alone."

Troy grunted. "Like I would let that happen."

"I'm not saying this right."

"We can agree on that." Troy opened his door and moved to get out.

"Troy," Gabriella reached over, grabbing his wrist, and stopping him. "Please, just think about it. I'm not asking you to be a dad. If you don't want to be. She would never have to know. And if you did, if you did want to be a dad then we can work out a schedule."

"She?"

Gabriella pulled her hand away. "I don't know, I just imagined she would be a little girl."

Falling back into his seat Troy let out a breath. "Can I think about this? I mean this isn't like borrowing a cup of sugar Gabi, this is a baby. You want to make a mini human."

"Of course, oh God, I didn't mean you had to decide right now." She said with a wince. "God, of course, you can think about it."

"Okay, then I'll think about it."

This time when he made to get up she didn't reach out. She leaned back in her seat as his door shut and let out a low breath.

"See, that wasn't so bad." She told herself as she placed a hand over her heart. Then before she had the opportunity to gather herself the passenger door was pulled open.

"If I agree to this. IF. I am going to be a dad. I will be there, and you will not be on your own."

"Troy."

"My sperm, my say."

She let out a huff and he mumbled a slur under his breath as he offered her his hand.

"I can't believe I just said that" he grumbled.

Troy

He didn't shut the door to his apartment until he heard the lock click shut from her door across the hall.

Once on the other side of his front door, he didn't move. He stood there with his hand on the doorknob. Maybe he was holding himself in place, maybe he was holding himself back, maybe he was just trying to give himself a moment to escape this stupor.

"What the hell was that?" He whispered to himself.

Was he dad material? Could he be a dad? Did he want to be a dad? He hadn't thought of it until 20 minutes ago.

Most people are good at one thing- sports, art, academics, being a smartass, getting high, smooth-talking politics bullshit of government. Whatever you're heart desired most. But he was good at a lot of things. He often moved through cliques as easily as that X-Men Mutant guy passes through walls.

He had a good face and an athletic build. He discovered early that sex was awesome, so not only had God gifted him with a big dick but he'd learned pretty early on how to use it. Which put him in good with the pretties, the popular kids, and especially the cheerleaders.

He had great hands and quick feet; he could catch anything. His future was set.

Ending up with Gabriella Montez was always in the cards for him. He knew that. He believed that. When it came to the girl next door it was really only a matter of time before they settled into the idea. Hell, they were practically a married couple already without the sex.

But never in a million years did he foresee this situation. Letting go of the doorknob he made his way over to the kitchen area and opened the fridge. He took out a beer and popped the cap. Then he just stared at it.

Of course, he was going to do it.

The only time he had questioned his fate was when Gabriella married Michael. He'd been a little nervous and had felt like the rug had been pulled out from under his feet. It had rocked him that his "always there" neighbor was suddenly not there or his. But he brushed it off, made himself busy, and pulled back as much as he could. He'd come to terms that he'd been selfish to think she would just wait for him.

Then Michael fucked up, the divorce happened and one injury later he was right back home. Only she wasn't there. She'd moved into this apartment building. So, he did what any insane, selfish, despicable man would and moved in across the hall.

So of course. He wasn't going to be stupid a second time.

When he came back home, he had to start over and come up with a new life plan. So he took the coaching job at their old high school. The pay was decent, the benefits were good, and the hours were a cakewalk. The summers off allowed him to tour as a motivational speaker and sponsor for other athletes injured on the job. To work one on one with other professional athletes who were coming back home after one too many injuries with no plan.

His life was pretty awesome, uncomplicated, and easy.

So much for that.

Babies always complicated things.

He lifted the beer and chugged it, setting it back on the countertop and then heading back to the door.

He grabbed his keys opened it, shut the door behind him, and then crossed the hall. He gave two warning knocks, counted to five as per the protocol of their agreement, and then used his key to get inside.

He dropped his keys in the bowl on her hallway table and made his way to her kitchen. He'd opened the fridge and pulled out a second beer.

"That didn't take long," Gabriella said coming into the kitchen in her Captain America tank top and shorts. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a crazy-looking bun that would probably slowly sink low to the back of her neck with the weight of it.

"Took long enough for you to change," he said popping the beer can.

"So what's up?" she said leaning back on the countertop and crossing her arms over her breast.

"What do you expect from me, Gabi?"

Her brown eyes gaze back at him, a dozen different emotions swimming in their depths. Hope, determination, joy, worry, attraction, and his personal favorite, lust. It was all there, swirled together naked for him to see. Gabriella didn't have a poker face. He always could figure out where he stood with her.

"I don't expect anything from you," she thought for a moment then nodded her head. "Just your sperm."

His jaw clenched. This woman.

She let out a sigh and shrugged her shoulders "I've had time to process this, to think it through."

"Did you now?"

"I did. I'm prepared to have this baby, to raise it, and love it. I've considered my financial situation and have been looking into childcare. I can also work remotely most of the time so-"

"And what would we tell people?" he asked with a narrowed gaze.

"We don't have to tell them anything."

Troy let out a laugh. "Your parents will string me up by my balls to the nearest flagpole."

Her lips fell into a frown. "So that's it. I can't have a baby because of what everyone else thinks?"

Troy put his beer down. "That's not what I said."

"It's where this conversation is going," her frown deepened. Gabriella had a stubborn streak. It was there in the flash of her brown eyes, the twitch of her nose, and the rise of her chin. It was very, very cute.

And confusing as hell.

"What about me?" he heard himself say softly. "What about what I want?"

Gabriella lifted a shoulder, her eyes looking away from him. "What do you want Troy?"

"First of all, I'm not a sperm bank," he said, a little irritated. "I'd like to think I'm a little more to you than that."

"Troy I never-"

He held out his hand. "Yeah, you did. You practically said because no one else is around and I know your not a creepy axe murder."

Troy watched her eyes soften, then she came over to him and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his cheek. The scent of her surrounded him. The irritation that had built up in him from before deflated.

"I'm sorry if that's how it sounded." She said quietly. "I was nervous about how to ask you. And I've been working my way up to it," she admitted, placing a hand on his chest.

"How long have you been working your way up to asking me about this?"

She took a step back, putting space between them which was probably for the best. He was trying really hard not to look beneath her neck.

"I've had the idea for a while now, I just went to my first appointment with my doctor and I told them I already had a donor. So I've been waiting for the perfect time to tell you."

"Gabriella." He warned.

"About a month and I need to know by Tuesday because that's when our next appointment is."

Tuesday. His eyes widened and he felt his stomach bottom out. "It's Friday."

She winced and picked at her fingernails to avoid his gaze. "I could pick a donor from a database. They tell you basic things about each donor but the thought of it kinda freaks me out." She shrugged, "I thought, I figured if I was going to have a baby I'd want to know more about the father. So I made a list." She said the last part with her hand held up in preparation for list-making.

"This ought to be good," he mumbled.

She held up a finger, ignoring his comment. "One. I wanted the father to be smart. And you're smart."

"You're the lawyer, all I do is dribble a ball." That was partly false. He taught advanced honors and AP Calculus. He was good at math. Loved it. The symmetry and balance, the patterns he could see so easily. There was a beauty to the solved equation, almost like the perfect game.

It was another reason teaching ticked all the boxes for him.

"Two. I wanted him to be, well, good-looking."

Troy raised an eyebrow.

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "You know what you look like."

"Still nice to hear it said out loud."

"Third." She said deciding to move on. "I want the father to be athletic to make up for my complete lack of coordination."

"You are kinda clumsy." He teases bringing his beer to his lips.

She shrugs, not even willing to argue. "Four. I want to know that the father comes from a healthy family."

Troy nodded, "Alright so I'm your perfect sperm donor. Got it."

"Like I said if you want the baby know you're the father we can write up a schedule where you have every other weekend, a month in the summer or maybe–"

"Shit woman." Troy interrupts. "This sounds like a divorce without the benefit of honeymoon sex."

Her cheeks brightened into a soft pink, just as they had early in the car and he couldn't help but smile in triumph. "You know, you haven't really mentioned the how yet."

At that, the pink fades and she resumes her layer-like focus. "First you go to the doctor's office and make a deposit. We need to check your sperm count. Then I'll be doing the at-home insemination."

This time Troy winced. His brain stuck on the "make a deposit" in other words he be asked to whack off in a plain-looking closet, into a little cup while looking at a rumbled copy of playboy.

"You'll have to provide your sample on Tuesday." She said with a shrug, "you know, just to make sure everything is working properly."

At that, he grunted. "It works."

"Well, how sure can you be? You haven't had a child before."

"That's because I practice safe sex."

They were both quiet for a moment. The sound of the refrigerator ran softly in the background as they watched each other.

He broke the silence. "What time on Tuesday?"

Squeals erupted from her small frame, and she lurched forward jumping up into his arms and placing a few kisses on his cheeks. Her curves pressed against him, and he held onto her waist as she wrapped those gorgeous legs around him.

Hell, if he'd known she would react like this he would have agreed after reason number two.

Gabriella

She watched as Troy sat in the waiting room chair. His knee bounced up and down in a steady rhythm.

"Are you nervous?" She whispered.

"No." He said sitting up straighter and forcing his knee to still.

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. He was nervous. She could tell, it was like he was in pre-game mode. Trying to keep his head in the game and still control all that testosterone.

"They gave me these hormones that trigger ovulation." She said attempting to distract him. "The idea is that I'm going to boost my fertility to make sure your swimmers can find my egg."

For a moment he stared at her. Then he arched brows in concern. "Did you have to do this before with Michael?" He asked quietly.

"We really didn't get this far last time," she said looking down at the pamphlet in her lap. "We were 8 months into our first year of trying and that's when I was thirty. Before my eggs started to dry up."

"Your eggs haven't dried up," Troy assured her.

"By age 30, fertility starts to decline." Gabriella said with a sigh, "hell, by 45, fertility is almost nonexistent." She bit her bottom lip as the icy prickle of fear and sadness filled her. She wasted so much time.

"Hey," Troy said quietly. "Don't worry, I'll do my best to make sure you're well and pregnant before 45."

At that, she laughed. "God this is probably the most ridiculous idea I've ever had isn't it."

Troy shook his head, "No, asking me to deflower you was ridiculous."

"Oh yeah," Gabriella smirked. "Like that was a hardship for you."

Troy mirrored her smirked. "Yeah, you're right about that."

Gabriella felt her cheeks warm. They hadn't ever really talked about that night. Looking back at it, it seemed like they talked about everything in detail but that night. And maybe she'd taken that for granted. Because how do you stop yourself from wanting a man who's so damn wantable? And wanting Troy was just asking for trouble. It could make things messy and awkward between them. Simple was better. Easy. Keep the focus on the baby. Co-parenting and friendship.

That is all.

She needed to keep her thoughts away from Troy's gorgeous mouth, his sexy smile, his hands, his firm, oh-so-grabbable ass, and especially-

"Troy Bolton," the nurse called out.

They both jerked and Troy rose to a standing position.

"You got this." Gabriella offered.

"Yeah," he mumbled before following the nurse behind the set of double doors.

Gabriella leaned back in her seat. Closing her eyes for a moment she tried counting backward from ten in an effort to relax her own jitters.

She could feel her emotions getting away from her, like a balloon getting caught in the wind, rising higher and higher until it's so far gone you can't even see it.

No. It was better to keep her feet on the ground.

Hope was scary. An attachment was risky. Disappointment could be crippling.

She learned that the hard way. It was easier not to expect things from people, not to want or dream about futures that may never happen.

But now there was a giddy, gushy sensation in her chest. The smile pulling at her lips was just silly and permanent and it was all because Troy had decided to do this with her.

Her phone buzzed and she jump a little bringing it up to look at the screen.

Troy: This room is horrible. The magazines are a joke and the thought of touching anything else in here gives me the creeps. I'm gonna need some inspiration on this one.

Gabriella sat up straighter. Surely, he didn't mean. Her phone buzzed again.

Troy: Could you send a picture?

Gabriella stared at the phone.

Gabriella: Your joking? Just look up porn on your phone.

Troy: Not working.

Gabriella looked up towards the ceiling and back down at her phone.

Gabriella: I'm not sending you a picture.

Troy: Woman, someone just knocked on the door. The pressure is on, and I can't just do this on command.

Gabriella grunted. "Jesus."

Looking around the waiting room she spotted the bathroom and began making her way there.

Gabriella: Hang on.

Once she was behind the locked door, she look in the mirror at her reflection. She was wearing a light grey pantsuit she'd brought from JCPenney. She didn't really have on a full face of makeup, just the bare essentials since she wasn't appearing in court. Gabriella winced as she looked back at her hair which was already starting to droop low on the back of her neck from her clip. Overall, she was hardly the make of inspiration.

Thinking quickly, she undid the top buttons of her light blue shirt and pushed her breast together, thankful she'd worn some light pink lace beneath her outfit.

Troy: Still waiting Gabi.

Gabriella rolled her eyes as she snapped the photo and hit send. Muttering a few choice words, she began doing up her buttons again.

Troy: I like the look but take your hair down.

"Seriously," Gabriella muttered.

There was a soft knock on the door. Followed by a soft female voice. "Is everything okay in there?" it was the nurse from the front desk.

"Yes, I'll be out in a moment."

Quickly she undid the buttons again, pulled the clip out of her hair, ruffled it, snapped another photo, and hit send.

She waited a moment this time as she watched the screen. Then nothing, not even three little dancing dots. Her shoulders slumped a little not really sure what she expected. Then she shoved the phone into her back pocket and began righting her clothes.

Once she was dressed and her hair was up, she washed her hands and unlocked the door. When she came out into the waiting room area Troy was standing by the front desk talking to the nurse. He looked normal, not at all like a man who had just solicited her for photos of her breast. Not at all like a man who had just relieved himself.

He just looked like Troy.

Then his eyes found her coming towards him and she hesitated. Dark blue eyes met her brown eyes, and she felt a little bit of air rush from her chest. His smile was different. Appreciative? Smug? Hungry?

"Please tell me you're wearing the matching panties," he said quietly once she was beside him.

"That's my secret to keep," she said just as quietly feeling her cheeks warm. "Everything go okay?" she asked a little louder as she shifted the strap for her briefcase higher on her shoulder.

"Very much so," he responded with a smirk.

Troy

Two weeks later he could recall every pixel of that photo by memory.

The night they had come home from the doctor's office he had jerked off three times before he could finally lay on his stomach and fall asleep without his hard-on poking him in the gut. It was a new record- and not one he was particularly proud of.

It was bad enough when she was just a memory, but now, the past was coming back to him, and with the knowledge that she wore shit like that under those paint suits. He was going to be a walking, talking pair of blue balls with a serious case of raw dick by the time their kid made an appearance.

"Twenty-minute break," Troy yells over to the sweating gaggle of teenage boys running drills up and down the court. "Make sure you hydrate."

Sounds of sneakers squeak on the gymnasium floor as they all head for the bleachers. His eyes roam the gym spotting a cheerleader in uniform with pom poms heading his way. Amy Andrews.

"Coach B, can we use the gym to practice for the prep rally while the teams on break?"

"Sure, thing Amy," he said, checking the last three names off his attendance chart.

Chad Danforth, the assistant coach, came up from his left with the playbook binder as Amy bounced away. A few seconds later a flock of cheerleaders decked out in red and white take over the court.

"So you're really doing this whole half-in on a kid thing?"

He'd told Chad. Needed to really. Chad was already a father of three. If anyone was going to give him solid advice when he needed it, he would put his money on someone with dad experience.

"I am," Troy says with a nod. "I can't leave her hanging. Not that I know much about babies, but I picked up some reading material on the insemination process."

"Mickey" by Toni Basil filled the gym and the cheerleading squad started to dance.

"I don't get it, you've already made a sperm deposit once, why not just knock her up the old-fashioned way."

"Because getting romantically involved with a baby in the mix would be a mistake." her words not his. He'd been against the sex at first, not wanting to risk their relationship a second time on the account of his dick.

The first time had been nerve-racking enough, he hadn't been sure if she was going to expect him to act like a boyfriend or need him to act like her friend. Sex was for guys, for girls it was emotional and triggered feelings.

Having sex with his best friend had definitely triggered his own feelings. And there was nothing he could do about it since they were going to separate colleges. He knew a long-distance relationship would never work and he certainly did not want to end their friendship.

Thankfully things had just righted themselves. They bounced back into their grove and the distance seemed to work in their favor.

"If you're not romantically involved in some way having a baby is going to mess up your relationship." Chad countered.

Troy sent him a look. "How?"

"The thing is when you love someone, getting up in the middle of the night to do the next bottle feeding is just something you do. When you're not together and she's the only one who gets up in the middle of the night, she becomes resentful."

Troy looked down at the playbook. "Then we'll take turns."

"Right, so when the baby is barfing, dinner is burning and the phone rings, because it always does, and you're alone…"

Troy shook his head. "Then I'll deal with it. Single parents deal with things like that all the time."

"We're not talking about being a single parent. We're talking about co-parenting. And co-parenting is a beast even when you are romantically involved. Agreeing on discipline, diet, learning activities, discussing milestones that need to be met with doctors." he ticked off these items as easy as Gabriella had gone through her list. "And you're not together so think about how you're going to throwing in dating, introducing your kids to strangers, hoping the stepparent isn't a dick or resentful of your kid."

The sounds of applause go crazy and Troy lifts his head again to the cheerleaders. There's some hip-shaking, a little skirt flipping. Of course, his players are enjoying the show. Teenagers.

"I'm sure we can come to an agreement," Troy said between clenched teeth. They would have to. The idea of another man fathering his child did not sit well. When he thought about another man in the pictures his inner voice whispered not on my watch.

"You would also be losing out." Chad sighed. "There is the baby-momma perk," he throws out thoughtfully. "That shouldn't be discounted."

Troy raises a brow. "What's the baby-momma perk?"

Chad huffed and shook his head as he placed a hand on Troy's shoulder. "She's going to need someone for the next nine months. Pregnancy messes with the hormones and hormones can lead to certain urges."

Troy nodded, leaning in a little bit.

"So that duty will more than likely fall on you. We're talking unlimited, easy access booty calls, condom free," Chad whispered the last part. "it's not like you can knock her up twice."

And that is an excellent point.

Later that evening he's sitting on his couch with his pile of test papers in his lap. He adjusts his reading glasses and scribbles some helpful notes on the sidelines of Daniels's paper. Smart kid, that one. He was co-caption of the basketball team and part of The Mathletes, an academic club he supervised.

They tutored other students free of charge and traveled from school to school to do battle in mathematics competitions. Sometimes the math games were just as brutal as the basketball games, sometimes even more so.

Most teachers have to ride their student's asses to make sure they do their schoolwork. He had to ride his students to make sure they did something, anything, besides schoolwork. It was important that these kids have a fuller, fleshed-out life and didn't consider offing themselves if they didn't become valedictorians.

Joking aside, it was a genuine concern he had for these kids. They were pressured at home, at school, by their peers they didn't need the additional pressure from him or themselves. He'd learned that from Gabriella, from listening to her as she would pour over her studies and practically rip her hair out trying to cram as much as she could into her brain.

He'd been there for her to create that balance just as she had been there for him to drag his sorry ass out of the after-parties and into the library.

There were two knocks at his front door. A five-second pause and then the sound of a key turning in the lock.

"I brought pizza," she called out as she entered.

"You gorgeous siren," Troy answered as he lifted his reading glasses up on top of his head. He watched her come through the door of his tiny open floor plan apartment and set the pizza box on his countertop. Could he afford a bigger place? Of course. He had money in the bank from his NBA days and had invested wisely. He wasn't wealthy by any means but he could comfortably buy himself a house.

Only doing that would mean he'd miss out on this. On her. Their routines.

"Hardly a siren." Gabriella laughed as she removed her blazer. "I got a case to review, and I didn't hear the TV so I figured you were grading papers."

"Guilty," he said, watching as she walked over to the couch with her briefcase and set it down beside his own.

"In full disclosure, I'm out of soda so my intentions aren't completely genuine." She added making her way back to the kitchen and opening his refrigerator.

He smirked. "How was your day?" he asked as she came back into his small living room with a can of soda and the pizza box.

"Long and filled to the brim with idiots," she said as she settled onto the couch beside him. "Yours?"

"Same with a side of cheerleaders taking over my gym and causing chaos."

Gabriella laughed, "Once upon a time that would have been the highlight of your day."

Troy made a face. "When male teachers reach a certain age you look at your female students like you would a little sister. On a basic level, you recognize that they're hot, young, pretty, and perky in all the right places, but they don't turn you on. You're not attracted to them. Because they're kids."

Gabriella nodded, "That's noble and all but," Gabriella shrugged as she kicked off her heels and then opened the box of pizza. "I'd seduce Tom Holland in a heartbeat."

Troy laughed.

They settled into a quiet place as she opened her briefcase and pulled out a folder. She leaned back and began flipping through the pages. Her dark brown hair hung low at the base of her neck in a ponytail he assumed had once been higher up.

He loved that about her hair, the way it sagged at the end of a long day. The way it fell around her shoulders when she pulled at her hair tie. Loved watching her pile it up on top of her head causing her shirt to rise and expose that little sliver of skin from her lower back.

His thoughts wandered to her outfit, the buttons of her blouse resting in place. And then that picture she sent him ran through his mind again and he couldn't help but shift a little in place. He could see himself kissing that flesh just above her bra line. Grabbing a handful of her breast in one hand while he used his other to pull down the lace and expose her to him.

"Can I ask you something?" He said tapping the paperwork in his lap and grateful that it hid his growing erection.

She looked at him curiously. "What?"

"Where are you going to live?"

Her brows arched. "What?"

"Your apartment is a little small for you and a baby."

She thought for a moment before answering. "I've been thinking about buying a house."

"Alone?"

"People usually do. So yes, I have money saved up from when Michael and I sold our place." She said, obviously playing it cool and trying not to meet his eyes.

"And what about me?"

"What about you?" Gabriella said quietly as she let the papers in her hands fall to her lap.

The words are right there on his lips, waiting for breath, but he remained silent. Because he had to be smart about this. They had to be smart. Adult. Responsible.

No matter how much it sucked.

"I think it would be weird to not be neighbors," he said quietly. "I would miss this. Us. You, coming over with pizza and sitting with me while I grade papers."

Her features softened. "Well, we haven't always been neighbors," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We lived separately through college and while you were signed."

Troy let out a huff, "I like to refer to those years as the lost years of our relationship."

Gabriella laughed, "Well, what do you expect to happen? That we look for two lots of land side by side and build matching houses?"

Troy didn't laugh. "Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of we find one residential house in the suburbs, maybe a nice cul-de-sac where we could raise our child. Together."

He didn't need to look at her to know that she had stilled. He could feel her stiffen up beside him. She remained silent for a while, and he let the quiet of the apartment sit as he kept his eyes on the pile of papers in his lap.

Then she cleared her throat. "Troy, where is this coming from? I don't need you to take care of me, or feel obligated to play house–"

"I don't want to play house," he interrupted. "I want to make sure that I'm doing my share. I want to be there in the middle of the night when the baby cries, or when the kid barfs, while dinners burning and the phone rings, because you know that's when it will ring."

"Wow, Okay?" Gabriella lets out a laugh, pushing herself up and shifting in her spot so that she was facing his profile on the couch. "Anything else on your mind?"

Troy shakes his head, there was a lot on his mind. He'd been dreaming of this woman for years. And now here she was. Available, eager - he saw the way she looked at him, the way her pupils dilated, and her nipples hardened. He knew when a woman was interested in him, and Gabriella was definitely interested. But choosing not to act on it.

Which hurt a little bit.

It was like he wasn't good enough, or not up to her standards. Which was ridiculous because they were talking about having a kid together.

He pictured how she'd look a few months from now, her breast fuller, her stomach rounder and heavier, and yeah, it felt a little wrong, but it was a turn-on.

"I meant it when I said that I wanted to be there. This baby is going to be our baby. Something that we do together."

Gabriella nodded, "So, tell me," she began letting the papers fall in her lap and leaning back in her spot reaching behind her and undoing her hair. "What does that look like for the infamous Troy Bolton who has a line of cocktail waitresses out the door."

Troy rolled his eyes. "That's an over-exaggeration," he says holding a finger. "For your information, not that you asked, but I haven't had sex in quite some time. That selfie of yours the other day was probably the closest I've had to a date in four years."

"Poor baby," Gabriella offered with a teasing laugh. Her smile pulled and she shook her hair out. "Why the dry spell?"

His eyes watched as her curls bounced around her shoulders. With each shake, the smell of her shampoo wafted across the space and flirted with him. "Because it's time that I started getting serious, and if I want to do that, I have to prove to the person I love that I'm not a screw-up anymore."

Straightening the smile disappeared from her face, "I didn't know you were interested in someone. Who is it?"

Her hair falls over her shoulder in a long, loose wave. Her attention to it is lost as she watches him expectantly. She was always wound so tight, put together in this perfect vision of professionalism that seeing her like this. Disheveled and in her slightly wrinkled soft white button-up shirt and dark grey trousers, made him want to kiss her senseless.

It made him want this to be real, for her to come home to him, to relax and unwind every night with him to stay up late watching tv while cuddled on the couch. To sit on this same couch and watch her ride his dick and come apart under his touch because he drove her just as crazy as she drove him.

And it's instantaneous, immediate, everything locks into place inside him. The free-falling freaked out feeling is gone, because…okay, he might not know what he was doing but he knew exactly what he wanted.

"You."

Gabriella

"Nope." She felt her body violently jerk as she hopped off his couch.

"Nope?" Troy repeats obviously caught off guard, which serves him right because… what did he just say?

You.

"No." She was not doing this. Not even a little bit. No.

She began picking up her papers and shoving them back into the manilla folder. Then into her bag. She needed to leave. She needed to get the hell out of here.

"You can keep the pizza." Her heart was thrumming quick and hard and she licks her lips. Don't look at him. Don't make eye contact.

"Fuck the pizza," he said shoving his own pile of paperwork off to the side. "What the hell just happened?"

Gabriella shook her head as she slung her bag over her shoulder. She reached for her shoes, her blazer next. She was on a mission. Get her shit. Get out.

"Gabriella," Troy said with an annoyed growl as he too stood up.

Nope, she had to keep moving. She could not let this man catch up to her. She makes it to the door with her hand on the knob. Her heart is in her throat as she twists the lock but just as she pulls the door open, his hand reaches over her head pushing it shut.

They stand there for a moment with her back against his front. She'd been so close, almost free. You. A little voice hisses in her head. The soft confession melts her heart into a gooey mess of sweet, tender desire.

Ever since she could remember she thought Troy was a good man, and he confirms it with every word out of his mouth. He's smart, talented and funny and you can't forget hot. So very, very hot.

And those glasses, holy hell, goodbye wild wonder boy and hello sexy professor. The fantasies are instant and numerous. She wanted to lick every inch of him while he was wearing those glasses.

"Gabi, talk to me."

"You don't get it."

"What?" He asked softly. "What, don't I get baby?"

She turns in his arms so that her back is against the door. Don't do it. The voice of reason shouts at her from inside. But she ignores it.

Because maybe it's the hormones or her own stupid, hopeful heart but she tilts her head back, lifts up on her toes, and presses her mouth against his. And God, the feel of his mouth, of him, it's electric and wonderous, every bit as amazing as she remembered from all those years before. When she last let herself give in. Her breasts grow heavy, aching for the touch of his hands and the muscles low in her stomach pull and tightens.

For a moment, Troy doesn't react, as if she surprised him by making the first move. But then he recovers, and she's treated to the head-spinning sensation of his wet tongue tracing her lips, before plunging inside her mouth, stroking hungrily. The sound of her shoes hitting the floor is followed by her blazer and her bag as he brings her closer to him, away from the door. His hand cradling her head, fingers tightening, pulling her closer, and a deep groan passes from his throat to hers.

He spins them around walking them back into the kitchen, her lower back bumping against the kitchen counter. His mouth opened wider to suck at her lips and scrape them with his teeth. She feels lightheaded and languid and desperate for more.

"Christ, you're making me crazy. The things I want to do to you, you have no idea."

Her eyes meet his and her hand comes up to touch his jaw, her palm tingling with the feel of that sexy, scraping trouble. "I don't know about that. I have some pretty interesting ideas of my own."

Hello, sending signals… meet mixed.

But she wants him. Good or bad, smart, or stupid, it just is. She wanted him against her, inside her, over her, and all around her since that last senior night of high school, and nothing about that has changed. She was beginning to think it never will.

"We can't do this." she hears herself say. And what a shame that reality is because she knew without a doubt that getting involved with Troy Bolton would ruin her. It would ruin her in a deeper and darker way than Michael ever could. Michael had been her husband, her lover, her partner, and the end of their marriage definitely felt like a bomb had gone off in her life.

Troy would absolutely ruin her.

"We kinda already are doing this," he says softly touching her with the tip of his finger, just the tip, dragging it along her collarbone, and that soft brush of touch is almost enough to make her moan.

"I think doing this would make things complicated."

His brow furrows. "Again, I'm going to go with 'a little late for that, don't you think' for $500, Alex."

"Jeopardy?" she raises her brow. "Cute."

"I can be adorable when I want to be."

"I'll rephrase, I think it would be a mistake for us to get involved romantically now."

"Ah, I see." He mulls that over. And then he shrugs. "We can just fuck, then."

Her pelvic muscles clench and her vagina thinks this is an amazing idea.

The last inches between them disappear as Troy presses his forehead to hers, stroking his thumb along her chin and across her bottom lip. His voice is a plea and a promise.

"I'll make it good, Gabi. It'll be so fucking good."

And she knows it will be.

She closes her eyes, "You said you loved me."

She feels his nod. "I do love you."

Her eyes open and she stares into the scalding blue waters of Troy's gaze.

"I've only ever slept with four people in my life and you were the first. I'm a relationship kind of girl. I get emotional when it comes to sex."

"Would that be such a bad thing?"

"I don't know. And that's the problem. You literally just decided to do this with me, Troy. How do I know you're not just caught up in the moment? If this works we're going to be involved in each other's lives forever, and we're just starting out on this journey. To bring sex into that mix now is … it's not smart."

Her hand drops to her stomach as she's flooded with images of her baby, the one meant to be hers, the one she'd been praying for, for so long. She had to keep her eyes on the bigger picture, and that was their baby.

Troy closes his eyes for a moment, then he straightens up and steps back, tilting his head to the ceiling and blowing out a deep, frustrated breath. He scrubs his hand over his face like he's trying to wake himself up.

"Okay, I see what you're saying."

He turns away from her placing distance between them, but then he changes course and turns around to face her.

"But I'm putting this on the table, anytime you feel like being not smart, I'm your guy. You change your mind and want to hook up, even for one night, or ten, I am up for that." he gestures to his groin. "Literally, up for it. Just say the words."

A giggle tickles her throat. "What words?"

"Yes, Troy. Please, Troy. Now, Troy. Supercalifagilistcexpiali-fuck me, Troy. Any combination of those will work. Don't be shy, I'm a sure thing. Okay?"

And now she laughs, not just because it's funny, but because being around Troy makes her happy. So incredibly happy.

"Okay."

"Good."

Troy

"Alright, you can come in now." She calls from her bedroom.

Troy gently pushes the door open, entering her bedroom while holding up a bag of Dove's milk chocolate. "I don't know, but this feels like a gift-giving kind of situation."

She's on her back at the top of her bed, her feet in the air and up against the wall. Today was insemination day. She called him while he was at the corner store buying toilet paper.

He came running home. The release had been welcomed since she told him not to masturbate. Something about saving up his sperm. Talk about a week from hell.

He'd reverted back to his teenage years. Hard at the mere sight of her breast straining against her shirt. He had never been more excited to jack off in his life.

"Chocolate," she exclaimed as she reached out her hand in a grabbing motion.

Troy smiles wickedly at the sight of her in a pair of blue boy shorts and a Hogwarts t-shirt. "You look ravishing."

She rolled her eyes. "I've gotta lay on my back for 15 minutes."

He stood by the bed. Not sure if he should even risk sitting down. He was already hard again at the sight of her in those shorts. Her long legs were up in the air almost taunting him. "Anything I can help you with? Do you need water or a sandwich or something?"

She laughed as she opened the bag of chocolates and began unwrapping one of the candies. "There's not much else to do really. The doctor said to take it easy. No heavy lifting or strenuous activities for a little bit."

She popped the candy into her mouth and mumbled in delight.

The sound of her mumbles made his dick twitch. He knew she'd be an outstanding dirty-girl in bed, even if out of it she gave off good-girl vibes. It was always the good girls who liked it dirty.

God, he needed to stop. There was no way he was getting out of here alive if he didn't.

"This is weird." He said looking around her bedroom. It was cozy and the smell of her body wash filled the room. His eyes shift back to her as she lays there in the middle of the bed. Her hair spread out and her hand relaxed up by her head.

Being this close to her and not being able to touch her was torture. Especially when he knew how easily she melted into his touch. He swallowed hard. "Does it feel weird?"

"Only in the sense that I literally handed you an empty cup, waited outside the bathroom while you masturbated and then waited ten minutes before shooting it up into my vagina with a huge syringe."

Right. Troy swallowed.

Gabriella chuckled. "You didn't have to stay."

Troy made a face, "I'm in this for the long haul. Sex or no sex I'm still going to be here every step of the way with you."

Gabriella shifted as she looked back up at the ceiling. "Speaking of sex," she says with a sigh. "I read an article about how orgasms help the sperm travel faster. And then one of the women in my support group mentioned masturbating post insemination but I don't know." She shifted a bit and wiggled her toes. "Not really in the mood."

Troy chuckled, "want help?"

"You would love that wouldn't you." She said, shooting him a knowing look.

"I could assist with the mood part at least."

She raised a brow, "What do you mean?"

Troy motioned to the bed, "permission to sit?"

Hesitant Gabriella shifted. "Permission granted."

Troy sat down; his hands folded in his lap. "How do you normally get in the mood?"

She smiled stubbornly.

He grunted. "I like a challenge."

"Oh God," she rolled her eyes and laughed.

Troy took a moment to compose himself. "Well, each time I masturbate, I think about you."

She huffed in disbelief.

"It's true, and it's always more intense than the last and every time it's your name on my lips. The picture of your full and perfect tits, that pouty mouth, and the memory of your pretty pussy in my head."

He smiled at the sound of her sharp inhale but kept his eyes focused on the doorway of her bedroom. This was not about him. This was about her.

And yeah, a little bit about him.

"Sometimes I think about that night, about that green summer dress and the way it bunched under my touch. The way you tasted, so sweet and warm. I think about how wet and ready you were from my kisses." He smiled softly, "I bet no one's ever found that spot after I did. That one that made you shoot off like a bottle rocket when I used my tongue to-"

"Okay, okay." She said a little out of breath. "You can go now."

He chuckled and pushed himself up from the bed.

Gabriella

She came out into the living room, stopping when she found Troy laying back on her couch. He smirked wickedly in her direction and she was almost annoyed with his triumphant attitude.

So what, she'd gotten turned on by the sound of his voice. The way he talked about her body. She made her way into the kitchen. It was thrilling to think that he thought about her like that. That NBA playboy Troy Botlon thought about her when he orgasmed. That he still remembered the color of her dress from sixteen years ago.

"I think we should date." He announced.

She paused in her reach for one of the glasses in her cabinet. "People date to get to know each other Troy," she turned to face him. "I think we're past that." She grabbed the glass and shut the cabinet.

"I don't think so." He spoke. "We're friends, close friends but we've never been friendly, friendly."

She stood up straighter and turned back to face him. "We already slept together." And the summer that followed had been extremely awkward for her. He had been different with her, concerned, careful, scared even. She remembered thinking they'd ruined their friendship. But during their first year of college, something reset, and it was as if it never happened.

Even though it did.

"So what? That's it? You gave me a shot sixteen years ago when I was a fumbling teenager but now that we're both consenting adults it's different?"

Gabriella turned from him and poured herself a glass of water from the sink.

"You were many things; fumbling wasn't one of them." She said lifting the glass for a sip.

"Things were different back then."

She sighed reluctantly, "So now that I'm older, overworked, borderline psychotic, and divorced you're just eager to date me?"

Troy laughed, and then he pushed to get up to his feet. "I'd do a lot more than date you if you weren't being so stubborn about this."

"I'm being stubborn?" Gabriella leaned back against the counter. "Last month you weren't even considering any of this. Now you want to date, have babies, and split a mortgage."

"We're practically married as it is." He said coming into the kitchen.

"No, we aren't," she argued. "I've been married. It's hard, it's exhausting, it's about making unsexy decisions about finances, holiday traditions, and closet space."

"To be fair, you married a dickhead." He countered.

Gabriella let out a breath. Her arms came up over her chest. "You weren't there for the ending." She said softly. "You didn't have to sit through the divorce and argue about who paid for the stupid dining room chairs." No, he didn't have to sit there and listen to how ungrateful she'd been, how disappointing she had been. How much she failed as a wife, how unattentive or uncommunicative she was.

No, Troy hadn't come home until the divorce had settled. After she'd been moved into this apartment and forced to restart and rebuild.

"Hey," his voice caught her attention.

He was closer now, standing in front of her with his hands gently resting on her shoulders. "You're right, I've never been married. So, I don't know entirely what it's like. But I know that I want to have those unsexy conversations with you. And I promise you I will never fight with you over furniture."

Gabriella laughs at that, "You say that now," she shakes her head. "Then when I won't let you put that stupid autographed poster of Michael Jordan over the bed, you'll have a fit."

She felt his finger under her chin, and she smiled softly as he tilted her face up to him.

"It's because I love you. That I'm willing to let that disrespectful comment slide."

She laughs. A ripple of relief filling her up with joy.

"Let me take you out to dinner, give me the chance to relationship status the fuck out of this friendship."

"Troy," she begins to protest, then she meets his eyes. And he's so genuine and determined that she feels the argument leave her body. "Alright."

Troy

For the next two weeks, operation relationship status goes into effect. They go to the movies, grocery shopping, to the homecoming game, then the homecoming dance later that day as chaperones.

They eat dinner at a diner by the apartment complex and get breakfast two days in a row at the bagel shop across the street. Just like a real couple.

Unfortunately, he hadn't been able to make it past the front door all week but that was fine. He could wait. He saw the bigger picture, the one with her in the kitchen, in a tank top and lacy pajama shorts shaking her irresistible ass…

There are two knocks at his front door, pulling him out of his fantasy. The usual five seconds pass followed by the sound of her key in the lock.

He turned towards her from his spot on the couch. And his good mood sinks when he finds her puffy eyes and tear-stained face looking back at him.

"What happened?" He says pushing to stand and tossing his paperwork onto the coffee table.

"I got my period."

His shoulders fall a little and he comes over to her pulling her into him. Wrapping his arms around her small frame and letting her rest against him.

"I didn't expect to get pregnant right away, you know," her voice is muffled, and she sniffles. "But it just really blows."

Troy nodded, "I'm sorry this one didn't take Gabi."

"God, I feel like there's something wrong with me. Like, I'm a failure because I can't get my body to reproduce." She moves away from him. "Do you have any beer?"

"Middle shelf," he says softly watching as she makes her way into his kitchen.

"Thanks, I'm stressed out about this stupid case I'm working on. And I was craving a doughnut. The sugar twist kind and they were out. So, I got a glazed doughnut. But it just felt off so I got a chocolate bar."

Her ponytail hung low, and her shirt was pulled out from where she had tucked it in. His eyes shifted down to her feet. They were bare.

She popped the top of the beer, lifting it to her lips and chugging for a moment before putting the can down with an audible clink.

"God, I hate Mondays."

He watched her for a moment longer than pulled out his phone. A few taps and Kane Brown's Weekend filled the room.

"What are you doing?" She said standing up a little straighter.

He reached for her, shushing her as he pulled her into his arms. His hands slid along her lower back and held her to him.

They danced like this quietly, her body against his, feeling her softness beneath his palm. The way her body started to melt into him. Resting against him. Letting him lead.

"You're incredible, you know that?" he said. "You're not a failure, you couldn't be one even if you tried."

Gabriella looked up at him, her brown eyes softer now and more relaxed than before. The storm raging inside her from just a few moments ago was not gone but tempered.

"You really do make a good boyfriend."

He smiled. "I told you so."

She chuckles and leans back a little. "Do you mind if maybe tonight, I can sleep here? With you."

He lifted his arm, spinning her around and back to him. "I would never say no to that."

"Even if you can't score?"

Troy laughs, "Just you being in my bed, feels like I've already scored."

She stops moving her eyes looking up at him with a soft smile. Then she leans up and into him, her lips crashing down on his. His fingers tangle in her long hair as he tilts her head to the side to deepen the kiss. Her lips part and he touches his tongue to hers.

And that's all it takes. The kiss instantly goes wild, and he lifts her onto the kitchen countertop. He feels her wrap her arms around his neck and his hands hold onto her waist. They kiss like this for what feels like minutes, hours.

Days.

She fits so perfectly in his arms, against his body. And the sounds she makes, the way she tastes, how she's touching him. It's like everything he's been searching for has been found.

After long, lips-and-tongue-filled minutes, he breaks away from her first to catch his breath, then to begin a path of kisses down her neck. Smiling when he feels her shiver. It's like he's a teenager all over again and slipping his hand up her blouse earns him another shiver and This one's accompanied by a whimper.

His thumb rubs the bare skin of her back gently. "Gabi?" He whispers softly using his other hand to brush some of her hair back. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know," she whispers back. "But let's not think too hard about it tonight, okay?"

He nods, watching as her tongue darts out to streak across her upper lip. He groans and presses his mouth to hers, capturing her lower lip with his teeth and giving it a small tug. She makes a tiny whimpering sound that shoots an electric current through his body.

Gabriella

All she could think about was Troy.

It was as if they had morphed into teenagers who just discovered making out go the first time. They ended up in make-out mode almost anywhere they could, couches, bed, the front seat of his car, her kitchen countertops, Troy's lips, and tongue had been all over her body at this point. They just hadn't managed to go all the way yet.

Which was ridiculous given that they had already gone all the way once. Sixteen years ago. He's been the first boy she'd ever had sex with and now she was doing almost everything but having sex with him.

And she wanted to have sex with Troy. She was almost scared of how much she wanted to have sex with Troy.

"You seem quiet," her mother said as she handed her a mixing spoon for the guacamole she was making.

She was standing in her mother's kitchen for their weekly meal and so far everything was routinely normal. They had decided a while ago not to say anything just yet to their parents about their operation to get pregnant.

Her own disappointment of their failed attempt was enough misery. No need getting everyone else's hopes up.

"Been working on a case." She lied as she began turning the guacamole, mixing the onions and tomatoes into it. "I guess, I'm just exhausted."

"I see." Her mother said with a curious expression. "So, there's nothing else going on in your life that you might want to tell me about?"

Gabriella's eyes picked up as she met her mother's gaze. The hairs on the back of her neck stood upright. "What?"

Did she know? How could she know? She wasn't pregnant, she wasn't even ovulating yet. She hadn't mentioned anything baby-related or talked about the insemination process, hadn't even brought up the doctor.

"Ellen told me she saw you and Troy at the homecoming game together. Said you both looked cozy."

A sigh escaped her lips and she relaxed. "Troy asked me to go with him to the game. It was a school thing and he didn't want to go alone." She shrugged.

Her mother smiled with a look, the one she reserved whenever she smelled bullshit. "Are aware that the two of you can't stop sneaking glances at each other?"

As if on cue Gabriella eyes shifted to the backyard where Troy was standing at the grill with her dad and his parents. He brought a beer to his lips nodding along to whatever they were talking about. Then his eyes shifted towards her, and he smiled.

Crap.

"He looks smitten," Her mother said with a small smile. "Michael never looked at you that way."

"Mom," Gabriella said, glancing back at everyone.

"Relax, no one can hear us." Her mother laughed softly as she added more seasoning to the steaks. "But anyone with eyes can see you both fawning over each other."

Gabriella inhaled sharply. "How bad is it?"

"I don't think your father suspects anything yet." She said with a laugh. "Troy looks too comfortable for that."

Gabriella glanced back at the others then at back at her mom.

"Are you upset?"

Her mother stopped for a moment, looking back at her in surprise. "Honey, why on earth would I be upset?"

Gabriella shrugged. "Because if this goes wrong then everything will blow up in our faces."

"And if it all goes right, I think you and Troy would be very happy together."

Gabriella raised a brow. "You do?"

"You love each other very much. That's plain to see. Your friendship is solid, it's lasted this long." Her mother shook her head as if trying to read Gabriella's thoughts. "Why would you think something could go wrong?"

Gabriella shrugged, "I've been wrong before."

"Oh honey," her mother came around the table offering her arms out for a hug and Gabriella welcomed the embrace. "Michael and Troy are nothing alike. You can't even compare the two of them."

"I'm not," she said, instantly recognizing the lie. "I think."

Her mother let out an amused huff as she gently ran a hand up and down Gabriella's back. It was a welcomed comfort. The kind only her mother could provide. She instantly wished she could tell her more. She wanted to share everything with her mother, wanted her mother's advice and kind words.

But she knew she wasn't completely ready to share. Wasn't ready to have others know about their failures, their attempts. There had been so much pressure with Michael. Everyone watching, waiting, expectations hanging in the air at every event for an announcement that wouldn't be happening. Her heart sank a little and she quickly pulled herself together.

She couldn't survive that kind of heartbreak.

"Life has a sense of humor that way," her mother said, pulling away and lifting her chin up with her index finger. "But sometimes if you're lucky, you'll find out that your soulmate was disguised as your best friend the whole time."

"He said he loves me."

Her mother smiled, her eyes softening as she reached up to hold her face in her hands. "I'm so happy for you."

Troy

They drive back home in silence, when he parks the car he takes her hand in his, bringing it up to his lips for a quick kiss.

"My mom knows." She says quietly.

He stills. As if he's been caught red-handed. Well, this is awkward. "How much does she know?"

"Just that we're dating."

Troy lets out a slow breath. "Does your dad know?"

"Not yet."

Relief floods his system. He didn't fear much in this world, but Luis Montez was a no-nonsense man when it came to his daughter. Many times over the years he'd had a front-row seat to how Luis had expressed his desire to castrate Michael with a rusty pair of pliers.

The thought of it now made him shift.

"Are you scared of my dad?"

"Yeah," Troy answered without hesitation.

Gabriella laughed. "He's harmless."

Troy let out a huff, "I think we can agree to disagree on that one."

They get out of the car and begin making their way up to their floor. He follows behind her, watching the luscious curve of her ass. A little annoyed by her oversized sweater, she had a fantastic ass. And he should know because as of lately he had his hands all over it. She doesn't say anything until halfway up the first flight of stairs.

"Troy," she says quietly, peeking back at him over her shoulder.

And just like everything else she does the tone of her voice goes straight to his dick.

"Yeah," he answers, attempting to hide the arousal from his voice.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" she asks with a timid smile.

His reaction to this request is a raging hard-on. He can't help it. He was going nuts. The making out, feeling her up, and on two very fortunate occasions getting her top off, was killing him. Slowly.

And he was eager to do it again.

"Don't see why not," he said, grateful when they reached the top of the stairs and made their way over to his door. "Do you need to get anything from your place?"

"No, I can sleep in your shirt."

He clenches his jaw, the thought of her bare tits in his shirt making him almost dizzy. Be cool, Troy. Be cool. He puts his key in the lock and lets them inside. He shrugs out of his own jacket looking back at her as she does the same.

Only something is up. Her eyes slowly drag over him, from his shoulders to his feet and everywhere in between. "I think you should take off your shirt."

Such a great goddamn idea. Maybe she should join him.

He reaches back between his shoulder blades, tugging the shirt over his head and dropping it to the floor. "Any other requests?"

They drift toward each other, two trains on the same track, who can't wait to crash. Gabriella stops short of a step away from him, her hand reaching out like she'd hypnotized, infatuated, trailing her fingers across the center of his chest.

His heart slams against his ribs and he doesn't say anything, afraid to break whatever spell and risk kissing the feel of her hands on him. But then her hands travel down to his abs, resting just above his waistband, so torturously close to where his cock is already so hard it hurts.

"Gabriella."

Her eyes dart up to his and her chest rises and falls in these little, short pants. His fingers twitch to grab her, to lift her up, and carry her into the bedroom.

"Troy?"

"Yeah?"

"Supercalifragalist-"

He's on her before she finishes the word. His lips on hers, his tongue spearing and stroking, his hands on her waist lifting her up. And when she wraps those long gorgeous legs around his waist he can't help the growl.

Her nails dig into his shoulders, then his back. And he's damn sure she's gonna leave a few claw marks on his back.

He licks down to her neck and sucks on her pulse point, hard enough to leave a bruise. She angles her head to give him better access.

He begins making his way to the bedroom. Their lips locked in another kiss as she arches forward, pressing her breast against his chest. There were too many layers between them. He needed to feel her, fuck her, throw her legs over his shoulders and eat her. He wanted to drown in her, lose himself in her, make her come so many times they lose count and she loses her mind.

And he wants to do all of it right the fuck now.

They're in the bedroom and he turns so he's sitting on the mattress with her sitting on his lap straddling him.

He reaches for the hem of her shirt, pulling it over her head, making quick work of her bra. Because he's a fucking Houdini of bra clasps.

When it's gone, when she's bare from the waist up, he forces himself to lean back, to get a good look at this woman. To appreciate the trembling, stunning view of her. And there's so much to appreciate.

The caramel globes of her breast rose and fell slowly as she shifted in his lap. Her hair disheveled from her ponytail, her lips swollen from his kiss and parted.

"Fuck, you're beautiful."

He leans forward cupping them both in his hands and groaning from the back of his throat. Then he takes a dark nipple into his mouth, sucking and flicking it gently with his tongue. Earning another whimper from her lips.

She squirms in his lap. Needing friction. "Troy," she moans, running her hands through his hair.

"You wanna ride me, baby?"

She's biting her lip as she nods. "Please," she keens. Her hips lift and she moves against his groin.

"Good girl." He murmurs his hands coming down to her waist and bringing her down on top of his bulge. She's squirming, looking for the friction she needs. The feel of her heat through her jeans drove him nuts.

He taps her thigh and motions for her to get up. They make quick work of removing the rest of their clothes. He admires her naked body, so much beautiful skin to taste and touch. She removes her hairband, and her hair tumbles out and falls around her shoulders.

He reaches for her bringing her back to his lap, her knees settling on the bed, straddling his lap again.

She sighs into his mouth when he presses his lips against hers, stroking the hot cavern of her mouth with his tongue. And there's a blissful relief in having her in his arms again. Of having her naked and against him. Good and right. And his.

It's a perfect space of bliss and pleasure carved out just for the two of them and he never wants to leave.

She glides over him, once, twice coating him with her juices as she grabs his shoulders. Watching her is the hottest thing, her openness, confidence, shamelessness, and trust.

She lifts and reaches for him, stroking him and positioning him at her entrance. Then she's sinking down on him and they both let out a moan of satisfaction.

"God, your so fucking wet and tight baby."

She whimpers as pulls back up and then sinks down. His hands take hold of her hips and shift her so she's grinding against him.

"Oh yeah." She says rolling her hips. Nice and slow, savoring each inch of his dick.

He holds her waist, pumping up inside her and she begins to pant, her breast bouncing with each thrust, her hair wild and falling down her back.

Troy's hands reach down, placing his thumb over her clit and gently stroking her as she lifts.

"Oh my God, I'm going to-."

She lowers and grinds against him, her arms wrapping around his neck.

"That's right," he moans, "such a good girl. take it all."

She quivers against him, repeating his name over and over and clawing at his back.

She grinds harder and he reaches around her hugging her against him. Christ. Their hearts are beating in the same frenzied rhythm.

"This pussy feels so fucking good." He says, meaning every word. "I can't believe you've been keeping it from me."

He grabs her ass tightly, loving the way she gasps. Then he feels her coming round his dick. And she shatters in his arms, her wet heat grips and spasms around him and he follows her. Thrusting up inside her, filling her, groaning her name. His orgasm rips through him, making him hold her pussy down in place, taking all his seed.

And there's something about filling her up, something about wanting to get her good and pregnant that makes his inner man roar in satisfaction.

They don't move for a while. They stay there, leaving lingering kisses and touches. Wrapped close and snug around each other. And then, once he can feel his legs again he lifts her up spinning them around so she is underneath him.

Because they have a lot of time to make up for and he's just getting started on all the different ways he wants to make her come.

Gabriella

It's a full-on fuck-feast from thereon. They deprived themselves for so long, and now it feels like an indulgence. Gorging themselves on every sexual activity they could come up with no matter how mundane or deviant.

And she doesn't think Troy intends on slowing down until he's screwed her on every surface of his apartment.

She smiles to herself, remembering how she came against the front door with his tongue on her. She had been coming back from her apartment with a change of clothes and underwear and he'd greeted her at the door.

God, she might not survive his stamina. Could you die from too many orgasms? Did her care? If she had to pick a way to go, really she was fine with it.

She bends over the arm of the couch, her feet on the floor, legs spread as he pumps into her from behind. His fingers worked her over, building towards another orgasm. She's panting, whimpering, begging, practically incoherent, and she loves it.

He reaches up her spine to the base of her neck grabbing a fist full of her hair and tugging it, just hard enough for her to feel it as he thrust up and into her.

"You like that, baby?"

She gives a jerky nod and a long, shuddering moan. Her back arches and he quickens the pace. Her orgasm explodes inside her, white, hot heat licking up her skin from the inside out. Making her knees buckle and forcing him to hold her up as he drives into her relentlessly making her orgasm last.

Then he follows, tipping over the edge right after her. His growl of pleasure ripples through him and he fills her with his come. When slumps over her he's breathing hard and he chuckles.

"Oh yeah, you definitely liked it."

They both let out a laugh and she moves to get up, feeling the evidence of their lovemaking all over her body and enjoying it.

"We should make something to eat," she says reaching for his shirt from the floor. She pulls it over her head and then pulls her hair out letting it fall around her shoulders when turns back to him, she finds him sitting on the couch admiring her, His eyes roaming her body as if he can't get enough of her.

"Even rabbits take a break Troy," she says with a laugh.

"We could order pizza? Or I could make us some sandwiches."

She sighs as she falls onto the couch beside him, "Pizza."

He nods in approval then looks around the apartment curiously. "Have you seen my phone?"

She shakes her head and smiles, "No, it might still be in your jeans."

He gets up from the couch and she watches his butt as he makes his way back to the bedroom. And there's this pinch of emotion that hits her right in the gut as she watches him. Because his smile, his long-lashed focused eyes, his laugh, his mind, his heart. They're all so beautiful, precious to her.

And it's not until this moment that she realizes she can't remember what her life looked like before Troy had come back home. And now, she can't imagine her life without him in it. She doesn't even want to try.

She suspected for a while that Troy owned her heart, but now she was sure of it.

She was done fighting it. This was it for her, he was it for her.

"Success!" he calls out, coming back into the living room with his phone in hand and a pair of basketball shorts on. "Ordering the pizza now," he says tapping on the phone screen a couple of times. "Done."

"We should buy a house."

He looks up, caught off guard, "you mean that?"

"I mean that."

"So we're doing this," he says, a smile growing on his lips. "Unsexy decisions and all."

She smiles. "Bring it on."

He jumps onto the couch making her laugh and he pulls up a realtor app on his phone. Clearly, something he's been thinking about for a while with the onslaught of houses compiled in his favorites. They spend the afternoon talking about houses, about what they want, how many rooms, bathrooms, whether they're getting a dog or cat.

The next few weeks pass by in a blur, since they decided to give this relationship a shot, things between them have been amazing. Better than amazing, it was more than she ever let herself dream.

Tonight they were telling their parents. Even though her mother already knew, and she was sure by now so did everyone else.

Troy hadn't stopped smiling. She couldn't remember a time when she ever saw him look like this before. These days his entire face lights up, and he's looking at her like she's the most precious thing in the world to him. And maybe she is, it's still hard to wrap her head around the fact that he's in love with her.

Troy Bolton.

In love with her.

She felt her own smile pulling at her cheeks.

"You look relaxed for someone who claims to fear my father," Gabriella said, taking hold of his hand as they made their way up the walkway.

Troy nods. "I'm going to tell him that I'm in love with his daughter, and I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure she's happy."

"Are you now?"

Troy smiles. "Yeah, I am."

And she's breathless again, this time because of his words, the sincerity in his gaze and his voice.

"Are you worried about your parents?"

"Are you kidding?" Troy shook his head. "They think you hung the moon and stars. I'm just the guy holding the ladder."

"Right," Gabriella said with a laugh, "like you weren't totally looking up my skirt the whole time."

"I never implied otherwise."

Troy (Epilogue One)

Seven months later.

Gabriella's five months pregnant. He rest his hand on her stomach as they talk about their baby, if it'll be a boy or a girl, they decided not to find out the sex because Gabriella said it would be one of the greatest surprises ever and she wanted to wait until the delivery to find out. They talk about what the baby will look like, whether they'll have her eyes or his, and what it'll be like to hold them and talk to them in person.

And the crazy thing is, these hushed words and quiet, intimate moments are every bit as awesome as the sex.

Not that the sex isn't still one of his favorite activities.

He spoons up against her from behind, and she wriggles her ass, reaching back, cupping the back of his head. He kisses her shoulder, her neck, scraping his words against her ear.

"I can't decide what I want to do first. It's been a while since I've come in your mouth, that sounds like fun. But you look so hot riding me… and so pretty on your knees with your ass in the air."

He cups her breast and can feel her heart pounding against his hand.

"Decisions, decisions…"

He ends up taking her sweet and easy from behind, clasped together on their sides. After, when they're both a little sticky and sweaty, that same bone-deep sureness wracks through him. It says that what Gabriella and he has, who they are together, is a good thing, the best kind of thing, something that should be held on to and protected and cherished.

She's quiet for a minute, then she rolls onto her back and looks up at him, morning-mused and beautiful.

"We have a doctor's appointment at 3 today," she runs her hand tenderly over her growing stomach. And he shifts a little so that he can place his hand over hers. The shine of their gold bands catch in the morning sunlight.

How fucking cool is that? His wife. They had a quiet ceremony, immediately family and friends only in his parents' backyard. It was perfect for them, sweet, intimate and filled with love.

"Noted," he says quietly. "What do you want to do until then?"

Gabriella rolls her eyes at his raised brow. "Not that," she batted his shoulder playfully. "I wanted to work on the baby's room. You need to mow the grass."

They had moved into a four-bedroom house only five minutes away from their parents' street. It had taken them one moving truck and one whole weekend before the place was livable. With the help of both their moms.

They spent their weekends getting the nursery ready, and staring at her baby bump as it grew, watching their baby move and stretch inside her. It's amazing. More exciting than basketball. The most wondrous thing they'd ever done. He doesn't worry anymore about not being a good dad, because together they make the best team. It was almost impossible for them not to be awesome at anything they do together.

With chores assigned he forces himself to put on clothes and head outside to mow the lawn. Leaving Gabriella to work in the baby's room.

When he comes back inside, he finds working on the nursery wall. She's back in her pajama's shorts, carefully applying a fox decal to the wall. They agreed on a woodland forest themed nursery.

He removes his shirt and sits down against the opposite wall, staring at her ass. Now that is a Saturday afternoon well spent.

"I could watch you do this all day."

She smiles back at him over her shoulder. "You could watch me apply decals to the wall all day?"

"Fuck yeah."

"That sounds about as interesting as watching paint dry. Would you watch that too?"

"If you're wearing those shorts, bent over just like that? Bet your sweet ass I would."

Gabriella shakes her head as reaches over for the vinyl booklet and begins peeling out a forest tree. He watches her with satisfaction as she bends down to begin placing the tree- and suddenly his dick gets the best idea.

A glance at his watch and he's pleased to see they have another two hours. He can work with that. He lifts up onto his knees and shuffles towards her. "How about you work on that while I'm going down on you?"

She freezes mid-placement.

"Troy, I don't know if I can keep this design straight if you do that."

"Only one way to find out."

He slides between her legs, pushes those shorts to the side, and his tongue gets to work.

She's not able to keep the decal straight. Beside the dark oak dresser there's a slightly crooked section of tree decals. And it's like visual Viagra, every time he looks at it, from that afternoon on, he gets an instant hard-on.

Gabriella (Epilogue Two)

Ten months later.

"Hey Mrs. Coach B!" Amy Andrews, captain of the cheer squad, waved in passing.

It had taken a bit to get used to her new nickname. It was what his students, players and work colleagues called her. It was sweet, teenagers from all over town knew who she was, they waved at the grocery stores, at the park and even some of their neighbors used it in passing.

Admittedly at first she hated it. Then it grew on her. And now it just makes her feel all warm and gooey inside. And Troy loves it. He gets that sexy, tender, possessive caveman look in his eyes whenever he hears it.

"Hi Amy," she waves back making her way through the propped open gym doors.

And speaking of sexy, there was nothing that turned her on more than watching Troy holding their son on the sidelines of the court. There was a chance he knew this, which beside the obvious benefit of hanging out with his boy was another reason he brought Alex to practice every chance he got.

Her adorable dark haired boy chews on his hand as he watches the player with rapid attention from his outward facing spot on the carrier strapped to Troy's chest.

"What the frickin 'frack Daniels?" Troy shouts as a player runs by with the ball. He's been working on his language, not that it was an issue before but Troy certainly took caution after Chad's story about his ten month old chanting dumbass.

"Stick to the play," Chad chimes in, scribbling something down on his clipboard.

Troy spots her as she approaches, and his expression softens. "Hey, you," he greeted her with a kiss at her temple. "Are you all done for the day?"

"Yeah," she said, reaching a hand out to run a few fingers through Alex's hair. "I figured I can take Alex home, take MJ for a walk and get started on some of my reading."

Troy nods. "We're almost done here. Another thirty minutes or so of running drills maybe?"

"Sounds good," she reaches for her son. Placing a few kisses on his plump cheeks in greeting. She really had everything she ever wanted. A man who not only adored her but was also her best friend. And a healthy baby boy who had his parents and grandparents wrapped around his finger.

"I'll make my mom's famous spaghetti and meatballs as soon as I get home," Troy leans in for another kiss. An innocent peck, although a whistle can be heard from one of the players on the team. Teenagers.

"Later Mini Coach B!" Daniels calls out to their six-month-old and Gabriella lets out a laugh.

"Really?" She asks with a smirk as she positions Alex on her hip.

Troy beams, "wait till you see the jerseys I ordered us."

Gabriella chuckles, "We'll see you when you get home Coach." She waves and then lifts one of Alex's little hands to do the same. "Bye, bye daddy!"

That surging feeling of contentment and joy fills her, tight in her chest, and she's pretty sure this is as good as it gets.

The End.