A/N: I'm glad you all liked the angst in the last chapter. This chapter is going to be fluff, fluff and more fluff. I honestly had no idea what to write for this chapter but then while shopping for a birthday card for my friend I stumbled upon a card and it got my head turning and I immediately set to writing. You shall see what the card is at the end of this chapter, I read it and it screamed WEMMA to me. So I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Emma was standing in the center of miles and miles of rolling green hills. There was a light breeze but she could not feel it. She could only feel a great warmth from the giant yellow sun high up in the clear blue skies. She could feel herself closing her eyes and she could feel the bright smile on her face.
She reopened her eyes and strolled through the green grass. There was no sign of life anywhere. There was no noise. Just peace. No matter what direction she turned the rolling green hills were endless.
She was in heaven and only one thing would make it even better.
Just then she felt something encompass her from behind. She might have panicked if she had not recognized it instantly. She rested her back against his chest and let out a contented sigh.
"Will..." She breathed out, her words being carried off by the light breeze.
"Emma." He whispered back and she smiled again.
"Oh Emma." His voice was crisp and sweet in her ear and she giggled at the feeling it gave her.
"Emma." His voiced seemed to be getting louder now. "Emma..." Everything around her turned pitch black for a split second and then..
Emma's eyes snapped open and she found herself face to face with a smiling Will. She took in her surroundings behind him and her eyes widened. "Will!" She gasped and sat up quickly grabbing the sheets and pulling them up to her neck.
Will pulled back a little and laughed. "Good morning."
She curled up her legs and stared at him as he stood next to her bed. "Will what are you...why did you...uh...what...good morning." She blushed at her own stumbling. He laughed again which only caused her to blush further.
"Happy Birthday!" He suddenly exclaimed and her eyes widened further. She had completely forgot about her own birthday.
"Th-thank you." She muttered shyly. "You remembered."
"Of course I did." He grinned and leaned in to press a kiss to her forehead. "Now come on, get up, I made a special breakfast for you."
She smiled at him graciously and now that she was starting to wake up she noticed what he was wearing. He was dressed and all ready for work. She glanced over her shoulder at the clock on her nightstand and gasped. "Will!" She cried and threw her sheets off of her and leaped out of bed.
"What?" Will asked, alarmed.
"Do you know what time it is?!"
"Yes." He replied laughing and she huffed. He gave her a sheepish smile, "I guess you forgot to set you're alarm last night and I figured since it was your birthday I would let you sleep in a little longer."
She rushed around her room gathering her clothes that she was going to wear. "That was a very sweet thought Will but I need to get ready and now we're going to be late!" She sifted through her drawers, not caring for the moment that she was ruffling up most of her clothing, and didn't seem to notice that one or two articles of clothing had hit the floor.
Will calmly walked over to her with a bemused expression on his face. He gently grabbed hold of her wrist and she paused and turned to look at him with wide eyes.
"Calm down Emma, we're not going to be late just take a deep breathe and relax."
Staring into his eyes, she knew she couldn't refuse him so she sucked in a breath and let it out slowly.
"That's my girl. Now," He let go of her wrist and bent over to pick up the clothing that had fallen and handed it back to her, "Why don't you go take your shower and get ready and meet me in the kitchen alright?"
She nodded slowly and glanced down at the clothing he had shoved into her arms. She blushed furiously when she realized they were her underwear. She curled the garments into her fists and pressed them up against her chest to hide them from Will.
Will gave her a perplexed look at her actions and slowly, when he realized what exactly he had been holding just moments ago, his cheeks turned a light pink.
"I-I'll see you in a few." He stuttered and then backed out of the room, leaving her alone.
She let out another breath and then quickly made her way into the bathroom. She showered quicker than she ever had before. She finished up her morning routine, quickly but carefully got dressed and then headed towards the kitchen.
She stood in the doorway and saw Will sitting at the table reading a newspaper. She cleared her throat to get his attention and he looked up at her. And then he did a double take. His eyebrows shot up and his jaw dropped slightly.
Emma was dressed in a black pencil skirt with a deep red blouse and a low pair of red heels to match. She smiled shyly, gauging his reaction.
He slowly rose from his seat and they both walked towards each other just stopping inches away from the other. "Wow Em...you look great."
She blushed bright pink and ducked her head shyly. "Thank you." She murmured.
She felt Will's finger under her chin and he lifted her face up so their eyes could meet. Then he leaned down and sweetly kissed her lips. Emma, as usual, melted under his touch and had to hold onto his arms to keep her knees from buckling.
After the brief kiss Will smiled down at her. A dreamy smile crossed her lips as she gazed lovingly into his eyes.
He the released her and motioned towards the table. "Come on why don't you eat?"
She cleared her foggy mind by blinking a few times and then glanced at the clock. "Alright but we have to move quickly Will we have to be there shortly."
He only smiled at her and pulled out her seat for her.
After she finished breakfast, she quickly washed the dirty dishes and they both headed out.
Emma dug the keys out of her purse and headed towards her car, Will heading to the passenger side. They had come out with their relationship just about a month earlier, even though they had been secretly together for nearly five, and ever since then they decided to drive to school together. Emma insisted on taking her car because even though she was comfortable with touching Will she was not comfortable riding in his car. She would insist on cleaning it every time she got in it and that would slow both her and Will down, even though Will would probably claim he didn't mind.
They got into the car and once Emma started it she immediately turned on the air conditioner. It was nearing the end of the school year and the weather for the past few days in Lima had been unbearably hot. She could already feel the sweat starting to conspire on her forehead and looking at Will, she could tell he was just as uncomfortable as she was in the heat, if not worse. She was allowed to dress in short sleeves and a semi-short skirt and that would keep her cool. But Will had to wear long pants and a long sleeved shirt. He must have been dying.
They rode in pleasant silence until they got to the school. Emma parked in her usual parking space and they both got out of the car. Will walked around to her side of the car and slipped his hand into hers. She smiled brightly up at him and gave his hand a small squeeze and the couple made their way into the school, hand in hand.
Emma reluctantly tore her hand away from Will's once they got to her office so she could find her key and unlock the door. She opened the door, flicked on the light and jumped in surprise when she took a look at her office. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Will smirking.
Different colored streamers were streamed across the filing cabinets and bookcases lining the walls of her office. A set of balloons were tied to the back of her chair and a bouquet of red roses already in a vase sat seated in the center of her desk.
She brought her hand up over her heart and glanced over her shoulder at Will. "When did you...how...?"
He chuckled softly. "Remember last night? I told you I had to run some minor errands?"
"THIS is what you were doing?" She asked raising her eyebrows.
He nodded once, smiling.
She turned back to look at her office and walked towards her desk, a smile creeping up onto her face. She leaned in to smell the roses and closed her eyes for a second to relish in the scent. She then looked up at the balloons. One of them ready 'Happy Birthday Emma' and the two around that one were two different shades of blue.
She stood behind her desk, in front of her chair and smiled over at Will who was still in the doorway. "This was very sweet Will. Thank you."
"You're welcome." He stepped into the office and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk.
Emma sat down in her seat, rested her chin in the palm of her hand and smiled adoringly at Will.
Will slid the vase to the side of her desk as it was slightly obstructing his view from her. At her questioning look he responded, "The roses are very pretty. But I'd rather see you."
A blush creeped up her face and she turned her face away shyly. Will smiled at her obvious embarrassment of the compliment he gave her.
They sat and small talked for a couple of more minutes before Emma started noticing that students had started to arrive. Will excused himself from her office to go set up his classroom for his first class, but not before kissing her softly and wishing her another happy birthday.
She smiled as she watched him go, and sighing contentedly, took out some paperwork.
Throughout the day she had gotten many birthday wishes, thanks to Will, from students and faculty. She had a few wise students trying to ask her how old she was. She would simply smile, shake her head and proceed with the real reason they were in her office.
She was glad Will had not decided to put her age on the balloons in her office. She had passed the 'thirty' marker two years ago and where thirty two wasn't exactly that old she still did not want her students to know how old she was.
At lunch time, as she buried her face in her hands, one of the lunch ladies from the cafeteria had brought her a giant cookie. She mumbled a thank you to her and shot Will a look as he laughed happily. But she could never stay annoyed at him for too long especially when she heard him laughing.
When the day ended and most of the students had cleared out Emma sat in her office finding something to do with herself while she waited for Will to be done with glee rehearsal.
She got up, grabbed her cleaning supplies and started to scrub the windows. After cleaning the windows she grabbed the feather duster in her bottom drawer and started to dust off the tops of shelves. As she was doing so she started to hum I could have danced all night.
Without even realizing she started to prance around her office happily, letting herself get lost in one of her favorite songs and the memory that went along with it.
She failed to notice that halfway through her little performance Will had appeared in the doorway, obviously surprised to see her dancing around her office with a feather duster, but enjoying it all the same.
At the last phrase of the song her humming turned to words, "I could have danced, danced, danced all n-" Her singing was cut short by a gasp when she turned around and saw Will standing in the doorway, grinning at her.
She stood with the feather duster in the air and her mouth gaping open in shock.
Will, slow clapping, stepped into the room. "Bravo Em."
Emma blushed the color of her shirt and lowered her arm, swallowing hard. "How-how much did you see of that?" She asked breathlessly.
"Oh I'd say right from right about the twirl. You're very graceful Em."
"Oh God." She muttered burying her face in her hands. He chuckled softly and walked over to her prying her hands from her face and entwining their fingers together.
She glanced up at him sheepishly and could feel her heart pounding away in her chest.
"Your performance was lovely. Just as it was the first time you sang it. The only difference is now," He let go of one of her hands to trace his finger down her jaw line, sending shivers down her spine, "I can do something I was too much of a coward to do then."
Before she had time to ask what that was, Will swooped down and kissed her. She released his other hand and slid her arms around his neck bringing them closer together. Will slipped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly against him and the two got lost in each other.
After they parted, they both stood panting, resting close to the other.
"Is glee over?" Emma asked after catching her breath.
"Oh." Will pulled back from her slightly. "No, its not. Almost but..." He smiled warmly at her. "We have a surprise for you."
She furrowed her brow. "A-a surprise? What kind of a surprise?"
"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." He answered and winked at her. He released her from his arms and took her hand in his. "Come on."
He led her down the hallway and towards the glee room. Once they got close to the door she could hear the loud chatter from the teenagers. She hoped whatever it was it was not going to be anything too embarrassing she had had enough of that for one day.
Will stopped in front of the doorway, gave some sort of signal through the door to the kids inside and then opened the door. When Emma walked in after him she was immediately met with all twelve of the glee kids singing 'Happy Birthday' making it special in the only way that New Directions could.
When they were done and Mercedes, Rachel and Kurt had belted out a series of harmonizing high notes, Emma was left with a bright grin on her face.
Rachel stepped out in front of the group as the natural born leader that she was. In her hands she held a large rectangular shiny wrapped object. "Miss Pillsbury," She started with a smile, "on behalf of all of New Directions we would like to present you with this." She jogged forward and handed Emma the object.
Emma glanced quickly over at Will and he shrugged although his smile indicated he clearly knew what was under the wrapping paper.
She carefully tore off the paper and gasped when she saw what was under it. There was a 16x20 framed picture of all of New Directions after they had won nationals. There was a grin on each and every one of their faces and she even saw herself standing beside Will. At that time he had just been ending things with Terri and the smile on his face barely showed it. She had never seen him that happy. In the bottom right hand corner was printed in gold letters: NEW DIRECTIONS '09-'10 OHIO STATE CHAMPIONS.
Emma brought her hand to her mouth and tears stung her eyes.
"You're just as much as part of this club as Mr. Schue." Finn spoke.
"Yeah, If it weren't for you Miss P we wouldn't even have made it to sectionals." Mercedes added and the glee kids nodded in agreement.
"So we decided to give you this so you could always remember how you helped us succeed." Rachel concluded.
Emma looked up from the picture and to the smiling faces of the glee kids. "I...I don't know what to say." She whispered. Never had she been so touched by a group of kids before. She always had a little bit of understanding of why Will loved these kids so much but now she understood completely. "Thank you."
She put down the picture on top of the piano and bravely hugged each and every one of the kids.
When she hugged the last one she turned to Will who was standing behind the piano and they shared a smile.
As soon as Emma got home she hung up the picture in a spot where whenever she passed the living room she could see it. She took a few steps backwards, placing her hands on her hips and admired the picture on the wall. She loved to see all the smiling faces of the kids but as usual, her focus remained mostly on Will.
She remembered that day like it was just yesterday. Will and Emma stood backstage, Emma had her hands folded together tightly in front of her and Will was biting his nails nervously as they waited for the results of the first place winners.
"And the first place winner goes to..." the announcer seemed to take forever as he opened the envelope containing the winning name. Emma could see the kids waiting some what patiently just as eager, if not more, to hear the news. "New Directions from McKinley High School!"
The kids didn't even give the man the chance to finish the name as they screamed and ran out onto the stage. Emma smiled brightly in relief and joy and the next thing she knew she was being swept up into the air. Will's arms strong arms were around her and spinning her through the air and she heard the sound of his glorious laughter. He was so happy that once he placed her back on the ground he captured her lips in a kiss. After he broke it off she was left stunned from the intensity of it. The kids then called him out as they thanked him and once she regained her conscious mind she began clapping and cheering for them as loud as she could. For the rest of that day or the days following his smile never faded.
"What are you thinking about?" Will's voice pulled her out of her memory and the same arms that wrapped around her that day slid around her now.
She turned to him with a questioning look.
"You're smile is even brighter than usual...I figured you must be thinking about something good."
She smiled and rested back against him turning her attention back to the picture. "I was just remembering that day." She answered. "You were so happy."
"I was and still am so proud of them. They worked hard and they deserved it."
She turned in his arms so she could face him. "They wouldn't have been able to do it without you Will."
He shrugged and she smiled. Will, always the modest one.
"Sandy Ryerson would have never been able to get those kids to even sectionals." She said and that put a smile on his face and he chuckled.
"Well when Sandy ran glee club the only person in glee club was Rachel. But now that we've got the others together they were sure to win." He explained.
She shook her head in protest, resting her hands on his chest. "Will you brought those kids together. All of them they are all from different worlds in the school. From the cheerios to football to just being a nobody in the crowd but look at them..." She looked at the picture again and Will followed her gaze. "They're all such good friends now. And its because of you Will." She turned back to him and he was smiling down at her.
"Thanks Em."
A couple of hours passed and they were just sitting down to dinner. Will had made her her favorite meal for her birthday even though she tried to tell him that she didn't mind cooking herself.
"It's your birthday." He told her. "I'm cooking, you're eating."
She rolled her eyes playfully but was grateful for the night off. She didn't get many of those. Not that she minded of course, she loved to cook, in fact if it was anyone but Will she wouldn't have let them touch the food in her kitchen. And to make her heart soar even more he washed his hands thoroughly before touching any of the food.
They chatted about how their days were all throughout dinner. Even though they worked and lived together they always found something to talk about.
When Will had finished eating and Emma was almost finished up, Will rose from his seat and she gave him a questioning look. He held up one finger and walked out of the room, returning just moments later with a small rectangular box and an envelope. As he sat down and presented them to her she gave him an exasperated look.
"Will," She began, "You didn't have to get me anything. The roses and the picture were enough for me."
"The picture wasn't from me. The glee kids came up with the idea and all pitched in to buy it. I had nothing to do with it." He shoved the box closer to her. "It's nothing too extravagant I promise I just wanted to get you something."
She sighed quietly but accepted the gift and reached for the envelope first. Printed on the front was her first name in Will's handwriting. She undid the envelope slid the card out and started to read the front cover.
Lucky me to be in love with my best friend
There's nobody I'd rather spend time with than you.
There's nobody I trust more than you.
There's nobody who makes me laugh as easily
or as often as you do.
I've heard it said that the best kind of love
happens when friendship catches fire.
I think that's what happened to me.
I "fell in like" with you right away
and then one day I realized
an easy, comfortable "like"
had grown into a deep and dazzling "love"
Now I go to bed with my amazing lover
and wake up with my wonderful friend.
She could have sworn her heart stopped the moment she read the first line, her breath caught in her chest and tears pooled her eyes as she flipped open the card to read the rest.
Life doesn't get any better than this.
And it's all because of you....
incredible you.
And underneath in Will's own handwriting,
Happy Birthday Emma. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me and I hope your day is as special as you are.
Love always,
Will
She lifted her eyes from the card and saw that Will had moved and now was kneeling beside her. He was gazing up at her with love and adoration. "Will.." She whispered.
"I love you." He blurted out and she stopped breathing again.
For years she had longed to hear those words out of his mouth directed at her. She thought the only way she would be able to hear it is he would be saying it in a thankful manner, "I love you Emma, you're the best!" but only in her wildest dreams did she think he would say the words and mean them from the bottom of his heart. But here he was telling her that he loved her for the first time. And so she could only sit there in shocked silence.
His face twisted up in nervousness. "You...you don't have to say it back if you're not ready. I'll understand. I just want to let you know that I-"
She cut him off by flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him with a passion that even surprised her.
She felt Will's arms wrap around her and press her tightly against him as he kissed her back with the same amount of passion she offered him. She remained in the kiss until her lungs demanded oxygen and even when she parted she still remained close to him. A matching bright smile were on both their faces.
"I'll take that as a good sign." He whispered and she giggled as his breath tickled her face. She lifted her head to look into his eyes and saw them twinkling in happiness and love.
"You can take that as a very good sign." She whispered breathlessly and pressed her forehead against his. She hadn't noticed in their kiss Will had pushed himself up into a standing position. "You don't know how long I have waited to hear you say those words."
"Well?" Will prompted into her ear and she lifted her head to look at him again. His eyebrows were raised in question and it took her a moment to realize what he wanted. She grinned brightly and slid her hands to rest on his chest. She looked deep into his eyes and told him with every ounce of feeling she had in her, "I love you Will."
His face lit up and he brought her into another deep kiss. Emma smiled into his kiss and knew without a doubt that this would be her best and most memorable birthday ever.
Liked it? Loved it? Let me know! And how adorable was that card??