Jumping a bit forward in time here. Enjoy!

September 2020

Mercedes was awake early the day before the wedding, her mind running a thousand miles a minute as she thought about all the errands and tasks that needed to get done before the dedication that afternoon and then the rehearsal and dinner later that night. A quick meeting with Kurt for a final check of her dress and last-minute review of everything else, lunch with her mom and grandma, packing – so much packing – her suitcase for their honeymoon in Key West, her overnight bag for the OG glee girls slumber party at her mom's that night, but also the things she would need when that bag became her carry-on for the flight to Florida, a different bag for the things she would need only for the wedding, that could be left with her mom until they got back – there were just so many things to get done. And that wasn't even accounting for the auditorium dedication that afternoon or the rehearsal and dinner later that evening.

But before she could jump out of bed, she turned and looked at Sam, sleeping soundly beside her, and she had to pause and just look at him for a minute.

She knew this was all happening fast, some people probably thought it was too fast. But the thing was – she and Sam had been heading straight for this point since they were seventeen. She hadn't realized it then, didn't think he really had either. Three years later, in New York, they had both known. But they had also both known that their timing still wasn't right and they'd let each other go, trusting the universe to bring them back together at the right time. Six years after that, ten years after first meeting, nine years after first dating – here they were. Finally at the right place at the right time.

Well done, universe, she thought.

As if Sam could feel her intense gaze on him, he opened his eyes then, blinking at her a few times before half-smiling.

"Hey," he said, voice thick with sleep and she smiled back, reaching over to push his hair off his face.

"Hey, yourself."

"Were you just laying here, watching me sleep? Creepy. Is that going to be a regular thing?" he teased.

Mercedes laughed. "Maybe. Is that a dealbreaker?"

He shook his head, scooting closer to her and draping his arm over her body. "Probably not."

They were both lying on their sides, facing each other, and as he pulled her closer to him, in the back of her mind, Mercedes marveled once again at how easy, how natural everything was with Sam.

"Good," she said softly. "Because I was just looking at you, thinking, we're getting married tomorrow. The next time we wake up together – you'll be my husband."

Sam grinned. "And, at the risk of stating the obvious, you'll be my wife."

Mercedes nodded. "Yeah, and…" her voice trailed off as she looked down for a moment and then back up at him. "Can I tell you something?"

Sam looked mildly concerned at this question. "If there's anything you can't tell me at this point, we should maybe be re-thinking the whole getting married tomorrow thing." He suddenly looked more concerned. "That's not what you want to tell me, is it?"

Mercedes shook her head. "No," she said, firmly, surely. "Of course not. I have never been more sure about anything in my life than I am about marrying you."

He looked relieved by these words and the tone she said them in. "Good. Same."

She smiled even as he studied her face and said, "But I sense a 'but' coming?"

Mercedes nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm totally sure about this, but I am still a little nervous. About tomorrow. Or, well, tomorrow night."

Sam didn't quite look like he was following her, so she steeled herself and continued, "So, the next time we wake up together – I'll be your wife. But also – I won't be a virgin anymore. And I'm nervous about - the, um, getting to that point?"

Sam shook his head, keeping his expression carefully neutral. "Baby, it's okay. Don't worry about that – we don't have to do anything tomorrow night. If you're still not quite ready –"

"Oh, no," Mercedes interrupted him. "I am definitely ready. So ready. Like, totally ready. Like, I really appreciate you always being such a gentleman and never making me feel pushed or pressured – but I. Am. Ready. So don't try to put me off with your thoughtful, respectful self, okay?"

He couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, okay, I get it. You want me SO bad," he teased, dropping kisses across her face between words and then moving his lips down her neck.

She laughed too, even as she moved her head to give him better access to her neck. "You know I do," she said softly as he raised his head back up to hers, their lips meeting in a sweet kiss, filled with promise.

"So, then, what are you nervous about?" Sam said gently as they broke apart. "Can I help?"

Mercedes shrugged, feeling a little self-conscious now. "I don't know. I know it's silly. I just – like, I just keep thinking, what if we have this beautiful, perfect day tomorrow and then we get to the hotel and I ruin everything because I have no idea what I'm doing and turn out to be terrible at sex." She leaned away from him, pointing her index finger in his face. "Don't you dare laugh."

"I won't, I promise! I wasn't!" he swore, although he did seem to be working to keep his mouth from twisting up in a smile. Even if it was a ridiculous notion, he knew it wasn't easy for her to admit and he didn't want to make her feel any more anxious than she already did.

They were quiet for a few minutes, Sam trying to figure out how to respond. They had shifted, Sam now lying on his back, Mercedes curled up beside him with her head on his chest, and he gently, almost absent-mindedly, stroked her back as he thought and she let the rhythm of his heartbeat lull her back to a calmer state.

"Okay," he finally said, Mercedes lifting her head as he spoke and then sitting up beside him as he too moved to a seated position. "Two things. Number one – maybe it's not my first time ever – but it's still my first time with you. I mean, not that I'm not flattered by the perception, but I'm not exactly the expert you sometimes seem to think I am." Mercedes giggled at that and Sam just rolled his eyes as he kept talking. "Just because I have sexual experience, that doesn't necessarily mean anything, because it hasn't been with you. You could hate all my moves," he pointed out, grinning when Mercedes scoffed at this. "I mean, I hope not, but I'm just saying. And anytime two people are together for the first time, it's just about guaranteed to be awkward. We haven't even seen each other totally naked yet. I mean, I'm a little anxious about that too, guys want you to like what you see just as much as women do. And don't you dare mention the bus ad, that is completely different!" he added, seeing Mercedes about to open her mouth and protest.

"Is it, though?"

"Yes!"

Mercedes couldn't help it, she laughed at his indignant face. "No, I get it, it is different."

"Anyway, my point is, tomorrow night may not be the best sex we'll ever have. But that's okay. We've got our whole lives to figure out what each other likes and what feels good for each other and all of that. And to keep trying to have the best sex ever," he said, grinning as Mercedes blushed under his gaze.

"Besides, I feel reasonably confident that it's still going to be good sex. Great, even ," he continued, "which brings me to my second point, which is that based on the relaxing of the 'rules' in the last couple months, you are not going be terrible at sex. I'm pretty damn sure of that, actually." His grin turned mischievous; he could tell she was blushing even harder now. "If you've been paying attention at all, I thought it would've been clear that I've been enjoying myself and I think that you have been too."

"I have been," she whispered and he grinned, leaning over to kiss the tip of her nose.

"I thought so," he said, just a touch smugly, Mercedes thought, but she figured she'd let him have this. "It doesn't have to be perfect. It just has to be you and me, figuring it out as we go."

Mercedes nodded, a grin spreading across her face as she admitted, "I really can't wait to marry you."

He grinned back. "That makes two of us."

"Maybe we should have eloped after all."

Sam shook his head. "Too late for that, babe. You wanted –" and here he began to sing "bells to ring, a choir to sing, the white dress, the guests, the cake, the car, the whole darn thing –"

At her WTF look, he shrugged. "Shania Twain."

"Oh-kay."

"Anyway," he said, completely unphased by her reaction to his impromptu serenade, "my point is, it's too late for a courthouse wedding. If nothing else, I do not want to see Kurt's face when he discovers we've abandoned his perfectly planned event."

"Oh, so Kurt's more important than me, huh?" Mercedes questioned, clearly teasing and Sam laughed in response.

"Of course not! But he is married to my best friend, so you know, don't want Blaine to have to deal with that."

"You punk," Mercedes said cheerfully, punching his arm.

"Aw, c'mon. You walked right into that one," Sam said, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards him again.

"Ugh, I know," Mercedes agreed, snuggling into his arms. "And now you're slowing me down. I got shit I gotta get done if we're gonna get married in like, forty-ish hours."

Sam laughed again. "I'm slowing you down. Okay." Even as he was talking, he was lowering his head to kiss her and Mercedes giggled as he did.

"See? You're just proving my point," she said, as she kissed him one more time and then extricated herself from his arms and slid out of the bed before he could distract her further.

"That's okay," he called after her as he watched her walk across the bedroom. "I'ma keep doing it for the rest of our lives." Her laughter in response was all he needed to hear.