Making Moves, Part III

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

"You've done good, kid."

Ellie smiled as Scott as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her to his side. She had been watching her parents dance together in the center of the ballroom floor and marveling over how in love they still were, even after thirty-plus years.

Sure, they fought; Ellie herself had been witness to many arguments between her parents. They had hardly led a perfect life or a fairytale romance, but had still managed to remain together through it all. That, in and of itself, was admirable and inspirational, and it made Ellie want a relationship just like her parents.

Unbidden, her eyes sought out Nathan O'Neill. The young man in question was currently talking to her Uncle Puck, and Sophie was hovering nearby them, obviously trying to pick up whatever little bits of their conversation that she could (Ellie had made the mistake of telling Sophie about her kiss with Nathan. Of course, Sophie had taken that information and had gone completely crazy with it. The Puckerman woman threatened to lock Ellie and Nathan in a closet until they "figured their shit out").

Ellie's cheeks flushed pink as she recalled the kiss they had shared in her kitchen. It had been so abrupt, so passionate and hot and… she shook her head slightly in an attempt to clear her thoughts. She so did not need to be thinking about that kiss when she was standing next to her older brother.

"Thanks, Scott," Ellie said instead as she forced her focus back to the conversation at hand. She checked the time on her phone, and then caught sight of how Kurt was trying to get Abby and Mason away from the candy bar—he was obviously trying to stay on schedule, and the pictures were next. She knew that Blaire was going to be Kurt's next victim, and then he was going to be coming for Scott, Evan, and Ellie.

"We have to get pictures taken, you know," Ellie said.

Scott groaned. "Why? Isn't this whole party enough for them? I'm wearing a tux!"

Ellie rolled her eyes and pushed Scott towards his pregnant wife. "Go get your wife and child and meet us in the garden. Or you can explain to Uncle Kurt why you weren't on time with his picture schedule."

Scott grumbled under his breath, but he crossed the ballroom and went to get Blaire and Liam so they could join the rest of the family for their pictures. There would be an even bigger family picture later that night, with the Puckermans and the Hummel-Andersons, but for right now, it was just going to be the Hudsons.

Ellie moved across the dance floor, over to where Sophie was hovering around Puck and Nathan. She had to distract the blonde for the time that she would be out taking pictures, because Ellie was sure that Sophie would do something to completely embarrass her. Sophie was a Puckerman through and through, after all.

Ellie waved her arm, trying to get Sophie's attention. What she didn't notice, however, was that Nathan had finished his conversation with Puck and had turned… and Ellie was on a direct path towards him. She managed to catch the gleeful look on Sophie's face before she collided with Nathan.

Nathan caught her by the shoulders, steadying her even as she tried to right herself. An exasperated curse slipped past Ellie's lips, and Nathan's eyebrows shot up. Despite the somewhat surprised look on his face, there was an amused quirk to his lips that Ellie found entirely too endearing.

"Hey," Nathan said. His voice was careful, tentative—and Ellie responded with wide eyes and a spaz attack.

"Pictures!" she exclaimed as she stepped out of his grip. "I have to go take pictures!"

With that, Ellie brushed past Nathan and out into the gardens, where Kurt had planned for the pictures to be. Nathan stared after her, a half-frustrated, half-affectionate look on his face.

Of course, it was mere seconds after that when Sophie Puckerman sidled up to his side. She had a glass of champagne in one hand, a beer in the other. She pushed the beer into his hand and then narrowed her eyes at him, pinning him with a look so intense that Nathan wondered why she had never become a police officer. She would have been great at interrogating suspects.

"Ellie is my best friend," Sophie began.

"Yeah," Nathan said. "I know." Of course he knew. He had been hearing stories about the trouble that Sophie and Ellie got themselves into for years. The two of them had made quite a pair—typically, Sophie got them into trouble, and Ellie was the one who ended up sweet-talking their way out of said trouble.

"Then you must know that I will kick the ass of anyone that hurts her," Sophie continued. "Including yours. I don't care if you're an officer of the law, Nathan O'Neill. If you do anything to upset Ellie, I'll make it nearly impossible for them to find your body."

Nathan eyebrows shot up, but he didn't dare argue with her. "I won't hurt her," he assured her instead.

Sophie stared at him for another long, serious moment. Then she suddenly smiled and patted his chest before she darted off, more than likely going to wreak some havoc somewhere at the party. Nathan knew that Sophie had just issued some sort of test—a way to try and see what his intentions towards Ellie were. She hadn't indicated if he had passed it or not, but Nathan kind of thought that he had.

A plan began to form in his mind. Yes, he had been the one to kiss Ellie and then the one to leave in the aftermath. He hadn't meant for it to be like that—he wanted their first kiss to be special, and instead he had laid one on her in the middle of the kitchen while she had been freaking out. No one had ever made him feel the way that Ellie had, and it had taken him a little bit to come to terms with those feelings.

Nathan was determined to make up for it though, and he was going to do it tonight. He just had to get Ellie alone, and he had to get her to actually look him.

As he moved to intercept Ellie from the gardens, he missed the knowing and amused looks he was getting from the eight adults on the other side of the ballroom.

Ellie sighed as she pulled her phone from the pocket of her gold ball gown. Kurt had spent the better part of twenty minutes posing the Hudson family for pictures, and they had gone along with it for as long as possible before Scott and Mason had finally put a stop to it so their pregnant wives could sit down and relax for a bit.

She smiled to herself as she thought of how her parents had been so wrapped up in one another, they hadn't even noticed how anal Kurt was being about the pictures. The love that the two of them shared truly was inspiring… and inevitably, that subject made her thoughts steer towards Nathan O'Neill.

She still had no idea what that kiss had meant, but she was determined not to hide from Nathan anymore. Somewhere between seeing him in the ballroom and taking the pictures, Ellie had decided to be mature and handle the situation with as much dignity as she could muster. They had to have a talk, and there would be no hiding from it this time.

It was like Nathan could read her mind. No sooner had Ellie thought about him, he had suddenly appeared in the gardens. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his tuxedo pants as he walked towards her, and Ellie took in the way his sleeves were rolled up his muscled forearms. He had gotten rid of his tuxedo jacket moments after the ceremony for the vow renewal had ended, and Ellie thought that it was a great look for him.

"Hey," he greeted.

Ellie's heart skipped a beat. "Hey."

Nathan's eyes were unreadable as he gazed at her. "We need to talk."

"Okay." Ellie sat on a bench, underneath a weeping cherry tree that was in full bloom. "So talk."

She was proud of herself for managing to sound so clam and nonchalant. Was Nathan able to tell that her heart was beating about a million times a minute underneath her dress? He had to have known. As a detective, Nathan was trained to look for those sorts of things.

If he knew, the only sign he gave was the slightest quirk of his lips as he tried not to smile. Ellie appreciated the effort, since she was already embarrassed enough as it was.

"That kiss," Nathan began. For a long moment, that was all he said. The silence stretched long enough between them for Ellie to jump in. Truth be told, she was a little nervous about what he might say.

"Yeah, I'm not sure what that was about," Ellie babbled. She had no idea what she was saying, but the words just kept spilling from her lips and she had no idea how to stop them. "If you want to pretend that it didn't happen, that's fine with me. I mean, I totally get it."

"What if I didn't want to?"

Nathan's question made Ellie's brow furrow. "Didn't want to what?" she asked, somewhat stupidly. He wasn't talking about what she thought he was talking about, was he?

Nathan's dark eyes were completely serious as he looked down at her. "What if I didn't want to pretend that the kiss didn't happen?"

Ellie's mouth dropped open in surprise. "What…?" But she was never able to finish her question, since Nathan gripped her around the waist and pressed another deep kiss to her lips.

Ellie had no idea how long they sat on the bench, kissing. When they finally came up for air, Nathan pressed his forehead to hers, and she couldn't stop the smile the formed on her lips. One of his hands tenderly stroked her cheeks, while the other squeezed her waist affectionately.

"Ellie," Nathan breathed. "Will you let me take you out to dinner?"

"What? Of course," Ellie said quickly. "Is that even a real question?"

Nathan started laughing then, and Ellie blushed. But when he kissed her sweetly, she figured he didn't mind her awkwardness. He seemed to like it, in fact, since he didn't stop with the one sweet kiss. He kissed her deeply again, and Ellie was sure that she had melted into a puddle against him.

"We should probably go back into the party, shouldn't we?" Ellie asked a few minutes later, when she had managed to separate her lips from Nathan's.

"Probably," Nathan agreed, but he had his lips against her neck and didn't seem like he was going to stop any time soon. Ellie curled her fingers into his shirt as his lips moved along the column of her throat, and she closed her eyes.

Finally, after a few more passionate kisses, Nathan and Ellie finally decided to head back into the ballroom. By pure luck, a slow song had started, and Nathan had pulled Ellie into his arms and twirled her around the dance floor.

"I had no idea you were such a good dancer," she giggled as she followed his movements. Ellie was notorious for being a horrible dancer, just like her father. That didn't mean she didn't love to do it, however.

Nathan shrugged his shoulders. "Only ballroom dancing," he revealed as he easily spun her around the ballroom. "My grandparents made me take lessons."

Ellie grinned and managed to stretch up on her tiptoes (even in her heels, Nathan was still taller than her) to kiss his cheek. She didn't even care about the looks her brothers, uncles, and father were sending her, either.

There's probably going to be a part IV to the vow renewal series!