Open Your Eyes: What It Takes

((Post-series future fic; angst - Drake/Mindy, Mindy/OMC - Rating: K+; Words: 1000))

The last follow-up to Open Your Eyes. (Also my last update of the day.)

Mindy stares at her reflection in the full-length mirror. All that's missing is her veil and her bouquet. She's been on edge since Drake's confession of love the night before; the panic began to set in while her mother tightened the bodice laces of her wedding gown. She's hoping that if she does have an anxiety attack that it doesn't hit during the ceremony or reception.

Goddamn Drake Parker.

She truly does love Luke, and he's so good to her and he's good for her; she never questions her sanity with him. Drake doesn't make her question her sanity, being with Drake proves that she is still certifiable; but those months with him made her feel so alive and in tune. Being with Luke—it's safe and complacent; there is no spontaneity, the status quo remains in place.

She's torn from her ruminations when she catches sight of movement in the mirror. She sucks in a breath when Drake's reflection comes into view behind hers. He looks stunned. She turns around, the fabric of her gown rustling, to face him. "What are you doing here? I told you in no uncertain terms were you to be at my wedding. You cannot be here."

Drake finds his voice, "You look amazing."

Why is he doing this now? She does not need this today. She's emotional enough as it is. "You have to go."

He nods. "I know, I just needed to see you before…." He's looking at her like his heart is breaking and he's just waiting for her to start putting it back together.

She starts to move towards him but she stops herself. She controls her voice, "I'm sorry this didn't turn out the way you wanted it to."

"Me too." He looks down at the floor for a few moments before looking back at her. "I just need to know one thing: Do you love me?"

"What?" It catches her completely off guard.

"Do you love me?"

She wants to look him in the eye and lie, tell him that she never has and she never will; that she doesn't know, but she does know that she loves her fiancé. Admitting to him that she reciprocates will bring everything to a screeching halt. She can't do that, not to Luke, their families, and their friends, less than an hour before she's supposed to walk down the aisle. She just can't, so she doesn't answer Drake, instead saying, "Last night you said that you loved me, did you mean it?"

He steps closer to her. "Yes."

"If you really love me, then that means that you should want me to be happy; Luke makes me happy."

She's making it nearly impossible to argue with her. He doesn't want to give up but she's practically begging him to. And since he loves her, since it'll make her happy, he'll do it. For her.

"Okay. I guess that's it." He sounds small and broken. He knows that if he asks if she was happy with him she'll only say that it was in the past. He forces a small smile and a wry chuckle, "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

He leans forward and presses his lips to her cheek. "Good-bye, Mindy."

"Good-bye, Drake."

Drake makes his way out of the church, pausing to send Josh a text letting him know that he was unsuccessful. He drives around for about an hour before he ends up in a bar. He figures after a few hours he's drowned his sorrows enough and he might as well go home to wallow in self-pity. The thought comes to him that this is all great songwriting material. He almost calls Josh to drive him home but he realizes that Josh is probably at Mindy and Luke's reception; he calls a cab instead.

He's a little drunk and fumbles with his keys and the door. He starts to turn away from the entryway into the living room towards the kitchen when he does a double take, spinning around to see Mindy rising from her seated position on his sofa. She's wearing jeans and tank top, her hair still curled, styled in an elaborate updo.

"Hi."

He stares at her as they move closer to one another. He's still not sure that she's actually there. Drake desperately wants this to be real. "Shouldn't you be at your wedding reception?"

"There can't be a wedding reception if there wasn't a wedding," she says, giving him a timid smile as she holds up her unadorned left hand, wiggling her fingers.

A grin spreads on his face as he scoops her into his arms, kissing her and spinning her around. He lowers her so that her feet are on the ground and he reluctantly breaks the kiss. He needs to know. "What happened?"

"You know the vow about forsaking all others?" He nods. "I could not make the words come out of mouth, they just wouldn't and then 'I love Drake' slipped out instead. The ceremony fell apart with astonishing speed after that."

He's leaning in for another kiss and she's stepping back. Mindy gives him a stern look. "I just publically broke a man's heart and wasted an obscene amount of my parents' money, so there's something I need to say before we go any further. If, in the future, you have a change of heart about us being together, I will spend the rest of my life making yours a living Hell."

"Huh. I can live with that." Drake catches her lips in another kiss then breaks away abruptly. "Hey, what about your honeymoon?"

"What about it?"

"It's kind of late for a refund."

She's incredulous. "We are not going on my honeymoon."

"Why not?"

"Be—" Mindy stops herself. There's no reason why they can't; there's reason why they shouldn't. Her parents did paid for it and it would be a shame to waste it. She smiles at him. "What the hell."

*** Finis ***