Disclaimer: I do not own the characters they belong to the wonderful people of Lost Girl, Showcase, Prodigy, et al.
A Week Ago...
Lauren was sitting in her apartment eating cereal out of a box while she barely registered what was playing on TV. Her life was in shambles. Her wedding to Amy had been ruined then on top of that when she had gone to console the woman after she had run from the alter Amy had yelled for her to go away. Shouting how she had been made a fool in front of her friends and family and how she had never been so embarrassed in her life. When Lauren had insisted that Amy talk to her the woman opened the door of the dressing room that she was in and demanded to know Lauren if had known about Bo's feelings. When Lauren had told her no Amy called her a liar and slammed the dressing room door in her face. Lauren understood the response. The woman had been hurt and embarrassed so she didn't believe anything Lauren said. Then Amy called everything off. The wedding, the engagement….everything; and the two of them hadn't talked about anything.
Lauren had given Amy a few days to process and cool off but when she had called her a few days ago the call hadn't resulted in them having an in-depth discussion that would lead to their reconciliation. Instead it led to more questions about Bo and Amy questioning Lauren's feelings for her. By the time the conversation ended Amy had told her that she found it hard to believe that Lauren didn't know about Bo's feelings towards her. Then Amy began to go on about how things never seemed to add up between Lauren and Bo. After that she had admitted that she didn't want to wake up one morning and find out that the woman that she was married to was in love with someone else. Upon hearing the admission Lauren thought that she was going to claim that she loved only Amy. That she didn't feel the same away about Bo, but she didn't and it was her lack of a response that caused Amy to end things with her.
Lauren picked up the remote and began to flick through the channels as she muttered under her breath, "Nothing makes any fucking sense anymore." She could have gone back to work since she wasn't on her honeymoon, but she was still dealing with the aftermath of a ruined wedding and a love confession and she didn't think she could deal with complex scientific formulas at the moment. She looked around the apartment and there were things, things that had become staples in the apartment, that were missing. Amy had come for her stuff the day before and had moved in with a friend of hers. Their interaction had been brief and Lauren had left so that Amy could get her stuff without her hovering around.
Then there was Bo. Lauren blew out a breath. She hadn't called her. Hadn't gone to her house. Nothing. She didn't know what she would say or do to the woman. Bo had dropped an atomic bomb on their friendship and it had been one that she had been carrying since they were teenagers. Lauren threw the remote on the empty spot next to her on the couch. How could she have missed that? That was the one question that had been running through her mind for the last week and she hadn't come up with anything.
Lauren felt that Bo's love for her should have been an obvious thing for her to pick up on since they had spent almost every waking moment together when they were younger. And that hadn't changed as they got older. Not after they graduated high school. Not when they went to separate colleges. Hell, whey they were in college she and Bo would visit each other almost every other day despite the two hour drive. But Lauren never would have guessed that Bo was in love with her. For the most part she always thought that Bo was being Bo. The girl who protected her from bullies and encouraged her to be a space geek. Lauren sighed. She knew that she could be oblivious to other people's feelings, that was one thing that always irritated Amy, but to be completely unaware of the fact that her best friend of sixteen years was in love with her was something that confounded her immensely.
There was a knock on her door and Lauren groaned. She wasn't ready to be around people yet. She still had some more wallowing to do. She stayed on the couch, hoping that whoever was knocking on her door went away, but they didn't. There was another knock and Lauren groaned again. She got up and as she trudged over to the door she ran her hand through her hair. She needed a shower and to change into some normal clothes. Something that wasn't an oversized sweatshirt and worn sweatpants. Lauren answered the door and when she saw who it was she groaned. "Mom why are you here? I thought you had gone back home."
"I did but you ou stopped answering your phone so I came back. I had to make sure you weren't dead," her nose crinkled as she looked Lauren over with a scrutinizing gaze. "Clearly though you have given up on proper hygiene."
Lauren turned around and headed back to the couch. She plopped down on it and said, "I was headed for the shower."
Her mom scoffed. "Now you're lying to your mother. You're on a streak these days."
Lauren rolled her eyes. "Mom why are you really here? Other than to criticize me."
Her mom sat next to her and said, "I really did want to check on you. How are you?"
Lauren let out a noise that was half snort and half scoff. "My fiancée dumped me because my best friend declared her love for me in the middle of our wedding. Then to make things even better I never knew Bo felt that way so I feel like an idiot." She scoffed. "So I feel fan-frickin'-tastic
Lauren stared at animated show that was playing on the TV. She really did feel like an idiot because she felt that this was something that she should have known. Her mom cleared her throat and stated, "I do agree that Bo should have picked a more appropriate time to tell you such a thing but hindsight is twenty-twenty for a reason." She paused for a moment then asked in a gentle tone, "But Lauren how did you not know how she felt towards you?"
Lauren got frustrated at the question. It was the same question she had been asking herself for the last week. She stood up and threw her hands in the air. "I don't know mom. I don't know. We've been inseparable for the last sixteen years. We tell each other everything and talk about everything, so you would think that this was something that she should have bought up a long time ago."
Her mom let out a soft breath then pointed out, "I don't think it was that that simple for her. Her parents died when she was fourteen, she almost died with them and her grandfather was the only family she had then she lost him," her mom shrugged. "Maybe she couldn't take losing another person that she was close too." Lauren shoulders dropped as all the frustration seeped out of her. She sat down on the couch then rested her elbows on her knees before she covered her face with her hands. Bo had been dealt the crappiest hand by life. "And I think that choosing her best friend over declaring her love for you was something she had chosen because of that."
Lauren bit her bottom lip as her mom's words sunk into her brain. It was true. Bo didn't trust easily. Maybe it was because of what she had been through or maybe she did it to protect herself, but whatever it was, it meant that she kept people at distance. Lauren was the only person Bo allowed herself to fully open up to. Lauren drew in a deep breath then dropped her hands from her face. "But had she told me we could have talked about it. I mean it wouldn't have been a stretch for me to love her back." Lauren chuckled a little then she revealed a secret that she had never shared with anyone. "I loved Bo once but when she dated a string of guys that were beyond attractive it made me realize that we would only be friends"
Her mom took her hand and she gave it a reassuring squeeze. The two them were quiet a moment as Lauren's confession lingered between. Out the corner of her eye Lauren saw her mom smile a little. "Maybe she dated those guys because no woman could take the place of the one woman that she truly loved." Lauren highly doubted that but considering Bo's confession at the wedding it was possible. "Have you talked to her?" She shook her head no. "I think the two of you should talk, like adults, and see where you stand. I think you two can still be friends if you can't return her feelings and I think she wants to be your friend even if it's going to be a challenge for her to accept the fact that you two will only be friends."
Lauren frowned. She didn't think she wanted to be Bo's friend, not now. Everything had changed between them. She let her head fall back onto the couch and she stared up at the ceiling. Bo loved her and once upon a time she loved Bo. But did that mean that she could love her back? She brought her head down then looked at her mom. "I don't want her to accept anything mom. Bo shouldn't have to accept anything. I think-" She bit then inside of her lip then said, "I think I've always been in love with Bo even when I thought it wasn't possible." She ran her hands over her hair then tried to explain the confusing thoughts that were going through her head. "Bo and I's friendship is something that has always been more than friends but less than lovers. It has been that way since we were seniors in high school but because she dated guys I put her in this little box and put a best friend label on it." She gestured with her hands and said, "Bo is my best friend and that's all she is to me. I continued to interpret my love for her as platonic but I don't think it's ever been platonic." Lauren chuckled. "I think I fell in love with my best friend and tried to lie to myself about it."
"Even though you're a brilliant woman you do have your dense moments dear," her mom said with a smirk on her face and Lauren glared at her. Her mom chuckled then admitted, "When you and Amy started dating I hadn't thought much on it. You dated then your work distracted you. But I always thought, on some level, that you and Bo would become something." Lauren's eyes grew wide and her mom said, "It's weird to say but I saw the way that she was with you. Always supporting you, caring for you, and she brings out the best in you. I thought to myself that if I had to pick someone for you to marry it would have been Bo Dennis. Then she started dating guys and I thought I had read too much into the interaction that was between the two o f you. But I thought maybe one day it would happen. This is why I was a little reluctant to give my blessing to you proposing to Amy."
Lauren couldn't believe what she was hearing and she stared at her mom for another moment before she asked, "And you didn't say anything? Also you eventually gave your blessing to me proposing to Amy."
"Would you have believed me when you were younger?" Her mom countered and Lauren frowned because she knew she wouldn't have. As teenager she thought that she was never going to date anyone and that no one would want to date her. Her mom sighed then said, "And I approved of your proposal to Amy because I thought that she was the next best choice."
"I thought she was the best and only choice," Lauren murmured. She loved Amy but now as she thought about it their love had been something that was comfortable. She had enjoyed it and Lauren did like who Amy was, but she had always felt that something had been missing and she had ignored it because she thought it was her insecurities messing with her. Apparently that wasn't the case.
A soft hum came from her mom then the she wondered, "So what are you going to do?"
Lauren watched the animated rabbit chase after the hunter for a moment. That was something she had been thinking about for the last week. But now that she had a clearer understanding of her own thoughts and feelings and the next step was now, after all these years, obvious. Lauren smiled at her mom. "I'm going to shower first. Then I'm going to go talk to my best friend."
Her mom nodded in agreement. "Sounds like a good idea and what about Amy?"
Lauren sighed then told her, "Amy and I talked a few days ago. That's over. She thinks I knew about Bo's feelings for me and had hid it from her. I told her that I didn't but she didn't believe me. I don't think she ever will." She gave a small shrug. "I know she'll be angry at me for awhile but soon she'll see that it was for the best for the both of us."
Her mom nodded and said, "I'm sure she will." Her mom got up from the couch. "Go take your shower then I'll take you to lunch so you can tell me what you plan to say to Bo."
Lauren got nervous. She had no idea what she was going to tell Bo but at this point. She was certain that anything she was going to say was probably going to make the woman happy but Lauren wanted to be clear and concise in her words when she spoke to Bo. She didn't want any more misunderstandings between the two of them.
A Year and a Half Later….
Lauren was pacing around the atrium of the court house then she stopped to look at her watch. She frowned at the time then she looked out the glass doors. Bo was late. How she could be late for something that was her idea was confusing but Lauren was going to give her an ear full. And if the woman had gone home to check on Oscar then she was going to get even more of an ear full because not only would she have been beyond late but she was also spoiling the dog. Then again after a month of them living together Lauren realized that the dog made Bo soft. The two of them weren't going to have children. Bo and her parents would spoil them and she wasn't going to raise brats. Lauren blew out an aggravated breath. Bo needed to hurry up. She only had so much more time before she needed to get back to work.
The two of them had a solid relationship that was built off the foundation of their sixteen years of friendship. Granted them being in a relationship didn't stop Bo from pissing her off and it didn't stop her from bossing Bo around. The two of them would argue and it would get to an intense boiling point before one of them would say something that the other would just laugh at. It worked for them and Lauren couldn't imagine being in any other relationship. Lauren thought back to the days leading up to her talking to Bo. She had been expecting to tell Bo that she wanted to take things slow but as soon as Bo had opened the front door to what is now their house all she felt was the love that she had kept locked away for the other woman. That made Lauren realize that she didn't want to go slow. The two of them had been going slow for the last sixteen years, even if they had been in denial and repressing their feelings for each other, but now things were just right between them.
Lauren spotted Bo walking to the doors and smiled. She called out Bo's name when she stepped into the atrium. The woman walked over to her and when she was close enough Bo gave her a quick kiss then apologized. "I am so, so, so, so, sorry. The meeting with the clients ran late because they spotted some hidden clause in the contract."Bo rolled her eyes. "There was no hidden clause. Just the terms we talked about at the first round of negotiations."
"And you're not trying to cover the fact that you went home to check on Oscar?" Lauren asked with a grin.
Bo scoffed then said, "I go home once to check on our sick dog and you hold that over my head. Honestly you're lucky that I did or else you would have been the one cleaning his vomit out of the carpet in our room and I would have heard you bitch for days about it."
Lauren scowled at Bo then she shook her head as she took hold of her hand. "Next time he's sick he's going into the laundry room."
Bo gasped. "That is inhumane."
Lauren rolled her eyes and said, "You're only saying that because you spoil him."
"Maybe." The two of them walked over to the security checkpoint and as they stood in line Bo gave Lauren's hand a quick squeeze and asked, "You're sure you want to do this?"
Lauren nodded. "More than sure and as much as I want to savor the moment we need to be quick because I have to be back at the university in like a half hour."
Bo chuckled then told her, "And you will get back there on time. It shouldn't be too busy."
Lauren let out a soft grunt then remarked, "Are you forgetting that you have a skewed perception of time?"
Bo grinned. "Of course I remember and this is why you're going to be late getting back to work."
Lauren glared at her. "If I didn't-"
"Ma'am if you could walk through the detector please," the court officer ordered and Lauren narrowed her eyes at Bo as the woman grinned at her. She put her keys and stuff in the plastic bowl then walked through the metal detector.
Lauren was waiting for Bo on the other side and when Bo moved to where she was standing she said, "You know today is not the day for you to be an ass."
Bo chuckled and took hold of her hand. She gave Lauren's cheek a kiss then whispered, "Today, of all days, is the best day for me to be an ass." She gave Lauren's hand a tug. "Come on."
The two of them walked over to the directory to find out where they needed to go then they walked over to the bank of elevators. They took it up to the fourth floor then headed for the doors that led to the department that they wanted. The two of them walked into the department and stopped at the clerk's desk. The older woman that was sitting behind the desk had an unenthused expression on her face and she looked the two of them over before she asked, "May I help you?"
Lauren was already annoyed with the woman but thankfully Bo took over the conversation. "We'd like to get married."
The woman turned around in her desk chair to get two clipboards then she turned around to face them. As she clipped a sheet of paper to each board she said, "Fill these out, bring them back to me. Then when the judge is ready you will be called back. I'll need a copy of your licenses."
Bo and Lauren gave the woman their licenses and after she made copies of them they went into the waiting area to fill out their forms. Lauren looked over the form then she said, "We didn't discuss last names."
Bo looked at her and shrugged. "Lewis sounds good."
"Just like that?" Lauren asked surprised by how quick Bo had come to this decision.
Bo grinned and told her, "I had decided that a long time ago."
Lauren smiled at her then she leaned over and gave Bo a kiss. She pulled back a little then whispered, "I love you."
"I love you too. Now fill out this form so we can make this official," Bo told her with a huge smile on her face. Lauren couldn't believe that she was doing this. It had started out as a joke last month where Bo had said they might as well be married since they had been together for almost twenty years and they both had laughed it off but it was something that stuck with Lauren. They had loved each other for the longest time and Lauren wanted to be married to her best friend and soul mate. So over the weekend she had finally told Bo that she thought that they should get married. Bo didn't question it and told her that they would do it at lunch on Monday. That had been the discussion and here they were, getting married.
She and Bo turned in their forms then they had a forty-five minute wait before they were called. They walked into a small office and the clerk handed the man sitting behind the desk their forms. He looked them over then looked up at her and Bo. "You two want to do this?" They nodded. "All right. Did you want to say anything to each other on this momentous occasion?"
Lauren looked at Bo and Bo looked at her. No words needed to be said between the two of them. Every day that they were together was a testament of not only their love, but of their friendship. Bo smiled and said, "I'm good. She knows how I feel."
"Me too," Lauren replied with a smile on her face.
The judge blew out a breath then said, "Quickest wedding I've ever presided over. Did you have rings or anything you wanted to exchange?"
"Nope," Bo answers.
Lauren shook her head and muttered, "We should have gotten rings."
Bo looked at her. "We can get rings later."
Lauren nodded and said, "I know we can but it would have been nice to-"
"Lauren we're going to have to do this again because if your mother finds out we've gotten married and she wasn't able to plan a wedding she will-"
"My mom has already planned one wedding for me so I think-"
They were cut off by the judge clearing his throat loudly. He looked between them then asked, "So are we moving ahead or are we putting this off until you two have rings?"
"Moving ahead," both she and Bo answered. Lauren looked at Bo and smiled. The rings could definitely.
The judge went through his declarations of naming them spouse and spouse and after they signed the license he said, "Now you may kiss the bride."
Bo turned to face her and Lauren had a huge smile on her face. The met halfway for a tender kiss but then it became more heated as their emotions got the best of them. Again, they were interrupted by the judge clearing his throat. The man told them that they will receive their official license in the mail in two to three weeks and congratulated the two of them before he dismissed them. Lauren and Bo left the courthouse and once they were on the steps of it Bo asked her, "So are you okay with this?"
Lauren chuckled then gave Bo a kiss. "I've been okay with this longer than I ever knew."
Bo kissed her again then she pulled back and said, "I have to get back to work."
"I do too," Lauren said as she made no effort to leave and they stared in each other's eyes as they stood on the steps of the courthouse.
Bo leaned in and gave her one more kiss then she pulled back. "I will see you at home Mrs. Lewis."
Lauren grinned and said, "Yes you will, Mrs. Lewis."
Bo chuckled. "I have dreamed of this so many different ways and this isn't like anything I dreamed of but it is perfect. And it's perfect because of you." She gave Lauren a quick kiss. "I have a meeting. I love you and I'll see you later."
"I love you too," Lauren replied then she watched Bo headed down the stairs so that she could walk the three blocks back to work. Bo had been right. This had been the perfect wedding day for them. Not because it was simple and to the point, but because marrying the one person who knew you inside out and who happened to be your best friend was an amazing feeling. Lauren smiled to herself as she walked down the stairs. Everything about this felt so right and she couldn't imagine her life any other way.
Thank you for reading, reviewing, and enjoying this short, but a whirlwind of a story. I'll let you guys go back to waiting for me to update now lol.