I don't own RvB.
When they got back to their apartment, Allison gave Leonard's mom a tour, silently thanking God that someone had made their bed this morning.
"I'm surprised you guys don't have more alcohol here." She remarked.
"We're a lot different then we were in high school, Mrs. Church." Allison spoke.
"Please, call me Brenda. You're going to be my daughter in law."
"Please, if you have something to say to me, say it." Allison said firmly.
"Alright, fine. I think you're a bad influence on Leonard."
"Honestly, Brenda, you don't get to make that call. You abandoned him because he chose to do something different with his life than you had planned. You abandoned him because he fell in love with a mess. You don't get to suddenly come back and tell him how he should live his life. Listen, I may not have been the best influence in high school, but I love your son. I would jump in front of a train for him." Allison finished, tears in her eyes.
"He left us. To go die in battle!"
"No. He was coming back. You were the ones that chose to stay away." The tears fell. Instantly, she was pulled into an embrace, nuzzling her head in his chest.
"She's right." Leonard's dad said. They hadn't realized that they had been having a huge argument in the hallway.
"We did something wrong, Brenda. Now we have to fix it. Don't you see how strong he's become? If he had just taken over the store when we wanted him to, he wouldn't be the man he is today. Look at them. They've been together for what, six years? I think it's safe to say that they're ready."
"Thank you, dad."
"I need to go back to the hotel. I need time to think." Brenda stormed out of the room. Church slipped the keys to his car out of Tex's pocket. He then handed them to his dad.
"We'll call you."
Leonard nodded, still calming his fiancee down. When they had left, he kissed the top of her head.
"Babe, are you okay?" He asked, wiping her tears with his thumb.
"No. I'm not okay, because your mom is an asshole."
"I figured that one out a long time ago." He responded with a small laugh.
"They can't just come back because we call them and then start criticizing our choices and the way we live our life." she said, more tears slipping out. "I'm sorry. I should be the one comforting you. I feel like a jerk."
"You're not a jerk. You have just as much right to be upset as I do. I'm just sorry that you had to deal with her. Also, I want to thank you."
"Why?"
"Because you're always with me, and because you defended me." That's something that my mom wouldn't have done."
"I'll always stand by you. That's what getting married means, right? Forever?" She smiled.
"Forever." He responded setting his head on top of hers.
…..
Tucker came home to Church sitting on the couch watching TV and Tex curled up, asleep with her head in his lap.
"Hey man. How was the date?" Church asked Tucker.
"It was fantastic, man. She's so amazing." Tucker replied, sitting on the side of the couch that wasn't occupied.
"How'd it go with your parents?"
"As you would expect. They came over and pointed out everything wrong with us, and Al got into a big fight with my mom. Then, they left and I haven't heard from them since."
"Sounds like you had a great day. Was she really upset?" Tucker questioned, referring to Tex.
"Yeah. She's exhausted. Bad dreams." Church said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.
"Yeah, I heard her." Tucker responded.
"Sorry."
"Don't apologize, she can't help it. Usually I have earplugs in." Tucker shrugged. "So... I asked Vanessa to be my girlfriend today." He casually slipped into conversation.
"Did you? Did she say no and punch you in the throat?"
"Dude, isn't that what Tex did to you?"
"Touche. What did she say?"
"She actually said yes." Tucker said, trying to hide his smile.
"Niiiice." Church said, fist bumping Tucker. Tex gasped and sat up.
"Shh. You're okay. Go back to sleep." He soothed. She sighed and then shifted so she was sitting in his lap and then curled up against him, resting her head on his shoulder. She was asleep again in minutes.
"So have you guys talked about the wedding at all yet?"
"Yeah. We actually set a date last night, December 7th."
"Dude. That's in like two months."
"Yep. You don't need that much time to plan a small wedding." Their conversation was cut short by a phone call from his dad. He answered it and told him to hold on, setting Tex down gently by Tucker.
"You know what to do if she wakes up." Tucker nodded and Church went off to go talk to his dad. He came back a few minutes later and sighed.
"I have to go out to dinner with my dad. He wanted to have a 'one on one' conversation, but I told him that I wasn't going to talk to him unless she was with me, so we'll be gone tonight."
"Alright. I have to work tonight anyway." Tucker told him.
"Leon!" Tex cried from her spot on the couch, shocking herself into waking up.
"I'm here." He comforted. "It's alright."
"I never want to go to sleep again. Ever." She sobbed. Eventually, she calmed down.
"I told my dad we'd go out to dinner with him tonight, but if you aren't feeling good, I can just go." He told her.
"There's no way I'm letting you leave me. I'm coming." She stated matter-of-factly.
"We're going to a fancy restaurant, so don't look like a hobo." He smirked.
"Oh, says the man who needed his fiancée to pick out his outfit this morning." She retorted with a small laugh. "Don't you worry, Leon, I'll make sure to look my best." She winked and turned to go get dressed. When she exited the bathroom, she was in a tight blue dress that went to just above her knees with a diagonal strap that was accented with flowers. Her hair was curled half up-half down, and she had matching blue heels.
"What do you think?" She asked him.
"The worst thing about that dress is that it makes me want to rip it off of you." He responded.
"Later." She breathed, placing a kiss on his cheek.
One of the things that I'm really going to hit hard (bow chicka bow wow) in this fanfiction is the nightmares and separation anxiety, because I think that's really something that chex has to deal with. I mean honestly, think about everything they've been through. That is all, thank you :)