Just Another Day
A/N: This took forever, but it's done. On that note, important news is at the bottom, if you read any of my other stories you might want to take a look. The song they dance to is by Shenandoah and seriously I agree with those lyrics. If I find someone like that to marry the answer would be yes in a heartbeat.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or the song I Wanna Be Loved Like That.
Epilogue: New beginnings
Some people wake up every day without a single thought towards how they want the day to go. No expectations, or plans, just another day to follow a routine that they've already managed to set their life in. Emily had spent her whole life trying not to fall into that stereotype.
A knock sounded as she took a deep breath. "Come in."
Madeline walked into the room with a smile. A bouquet of gladiolus, 11 white roses, rosemary, and a single red rose.
"Are you ready?" Maddie asked.
Emily smiled. "Not even a little bit."
It was true. She was a nervous wreck and completely anxious. The past few months with Hy had been wonderful and she was happy.
Happiness for someone like Emily, so determined to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others, seemed like such a novel idea. She had always thought of it as an improbability, to find someone who would love her enough to understand her and accept her decisions.
This was the one day that she could honestly say she had never expected to have, and unlike everything else that always spiraled into a chaotic mess this was going so well.
"You look beautiful," Madeline said, handing her the bouquet.
Emily smiled. "So do you, wall-flower," Emily teased.
Madeline playfully hit Emily's shoulder. "Mom would be proud Em…dad would too."
Emily swallowed thickly at the thought. "I hope so."
"They'd love Hy, because they love you and he makes you happy."
Emily sighed. "I know…but when I think about it, I wonder if things had been different, I might not have ever met Hy, we might never have fallen in love, we might never be together, and I wonder if I'd have ever found this genuine happiness, this unconditional love."
Madeline put an arm across her sister's shoulder and squeezed. "I think you would have. The two of you have one of those love stories. Even if things had been different, you would have found each other."
Lovina walked in. "It's time, Emily."
"Thanks, Lovi," Emily said. She couldn't stop smiling. Today she would be married. Today she could see a future with someone instead of a life alone. Today dreams she didn't know she had would come true and she could understand why children grew up so obsessed with finding their happily ever after. Somehow she had. Without ever looking or wanting, she found the person that she knew some people never did.
Hy was more than a lover, he was her best friend, a confidant, an equal, but most importantly, he was hers. Maybe they didn't have a lot of money, maybe they didn't have a lot of friends, they had all they needed and they were happy. Nothing else mattered and Emily was spending this day with everyone they knew that mattered to them. She didn't need a diamond ring. She didn't need a big house or a lot of money. What she had money couldn't buy.
Emily followed Lovina and Madeline. They walked ahead of her, her bridesmaid and Maid of Honor. Looking at Hy took her breath away. Hy stood at the altar, smiling at her with love and devotion, despite the accident, her memory problems, her self-sacrificial nature, he wanted her.
The wedding ceremony passed in a haze. Even the vows were riddled with secret conversations only Hy and Emily would understand from one another, to which someone had offhandedly commented it was a miracle they hadn't been together longer.
"You haven't stopped smiling," Hy commented, his own smile widening just a bit.
Emily laughed. "Neither has yours. I can't believe we're married."
"Why did you choose today?"
"Hm? Oh!" Emily giggled despite herself. "It's New Years Eve. It's an end and a beginning. Like a fairytale. I may not put much belief in them, but I like the symbolism that there is a new beginning with every ending in that they all have new lives, new things to look forward to, and a new start together."
Hy tapped her on the nose with his index finger. "You are such a sentimentalist."
"No one would believe you."
"Maddie would."
"Only because she's my sister and has known me forever."
"Lizzy would."
"No she wouldn't, but she'd blackmail me with it."
Hy had to concede the point. "It doesn't change the fact you're secretly a sentimentalist."
"It doesn't, but it does mean you are the only one who knows that particular truth," Emily huffed.
"Admit it, there's no one else you'd rather have know," Hy smiled, pulling her in for a gentle kiss.
"There's no one I love more than you, no one I trust more than you, unto you I would give all of myself and evermore live unfulfilled if you denied me," Emily responded into his lips.
Hy pulled back just enough to stare into her eyes. "It's just as well I could never deny you."
By the time they arrived at the reception their lips were swollen and their happiness had created a palpable tension between them. Their collection of friends had already started talking, sitting in seats at the tables that surrounded the dance floor, and Emily smiled as she realized the only thing missing from the day was her parents, but she knew they were surely watching over her.
Lovina smirked as she made the announcement. "Before dinner, the lovely newlyweds have decided they wish to share their first dance. I could not think of a more fitting song for the two of you to express such devotion and love."
Natalie Wood gave her heart to James Dean…
The high school rebel and the teenage queen,
Fighting together in an ugly world
One boy fighting for one girl…
Hy pulled Emily into the circle of his arms as they started slow dancing to the song.
"Lovina may be right about us being disgustingly sappy," Emily whispered in his ear.
"It could have been worse."
Emily raised an eyebrow as she pulled back a bit, smiling as he twirled her and pulled her back close so her back was to his chest as he leaned and whispered, "She could have put on that song from Labyrinth you so adore. As the World Falls Down."
Emily couldn't fight the giggles as he twirled her again and she faced him once more. "There's such a sad love deep in your eyes…"
"I'll place the sky within your eyes…"
I wanna be loved like that,
I wanna be loved like that
A promise you can't take back…
If you're gonna love me
I wanna be loved like that…
"I don't think mixing the lyrics from that song work with the one she has for us," Emily got out through her giggles as she leaned into Hy.
Hy's lips pressed to hers. "It doesn't matter, either song, either way. I'm going to love you the way you deserve to be loved. I'm going to spend all my days from now until forever trying to make you happy so that all I ever see will be your smile. You'll be my precious gem, I'll place the sky in your eyes, you'll be my everything, and I'll be devoted to you in every way that matters."
"I don't need that promise. I only ever needed one and you've kept it. You stayed by my side. That's all I ever wanted or needed. If I'm your everything then you're mine."
"I wouldn't want it any other way, Em."
"Everything you've done, it came from the heart, in a bond that was never torn apart," Emily sang the words to Hy.
I wanna be loved like that,
I wanna be loved like that,
A promise you can't take back,
If you're gonna love me,
I wanna be loved like that…
I wanna be loved…like that…
A/N: Okay, so, as I haven't updated in ages, here's what needs to be said. This story is officially done. Finite, complete, however you wish to say over. I'm going to work exclusively on one story at a time, but I will be finishing my Naruto story To Begin Anew because there are only a few chapters left and those are actually mostly written. There will be a poll open for the other stories. The one with the most votes will be the first, and so on. I also have a couple of one shots I'll be posting for Supernatural in the event any of you are part of that fandom as well.
Second order of business. I have a Supernatural story idea set in cardverse and would like to know how many of you would read that. It will have its own poll in a few weeks. It will be…different to some extent and I'm debating Alpha/Beta/Omega gender identity, but so far hunters, angels, demons, all things supernatural, magic (different types), the Fae, gypsies, pirates, jokers, and even prophets have snuck their way into an enticing idea I already have bits and pieces of.