A/N: HSMandChelseaFCfan sent this to me ages ago but I only just finished it. I hope you like it
Don't own HSM x
Chapter 27
A few days after their arrival home, Troy and Gabriella found themselves surrounded by people at the Montez household. They'd had so little time together as their families and friends had wanted to some spend time catching up on the specific details of Gabriella's time at Stanford. Taking a few minutes to themselves before having to go socialise, Troy and Gabriella found themselves lying peacefully on Gabriella's bed, limbs intertwined, as Daisy and Blitzen lay in the corner of the room in Daisy's bed, Blitzen's head resting on her back quietly.
"So graduation is next week." Troy started up conversation, running his hand up and down Gabriella's arm sending tingles through her veins.
Cuddling closer she sighed, "I know it's probably weird but I'm nervous."
Troy looked down at her concerned. "Why?"
"I guess it's just that the thought of actually finishing high school for good scares me. I mean it's hard enough to stay in touch with my friends now so when we're in completely different states, how will it work. It's almost like when we graduate it's the final piece in the puzzle before I move away from my family; my safety net. It's not that I don't want to leave but it just scares me. Plus the thought of all those eyes on me."
Troy pulled the girl in his arms tighter into his embrace. "Well don't think about all those people. Your parents will be there and so will all your brothers and family along with Shar, Ryan and Zeke. You'll be fine and you know that no matter what happens, we'll all always love you."
Before they could continue, a knock interrupted them. "Come in."
Carl walked in with one of their nephews on his hip. "Mom said you guys need to come down because Aunt Josie and Uncle Leon are here with the grandparents."
Gabriella rolled her eyes as she pulled herself up while Troy hesitated. "Come on, don't be a wimp. My family isn't that scary."
"Baby, you father wanted to practically murder me when he found out we were together. What if the rest of your family don't think I'm good enough for you?"
Carl and Gabriella exchanged a smirking glance at each other knowing their family and their past experience of family reunions. "Dude, you can't get any worse than Sharpay so you'll be fine. If not, I'm sure Shar would be willing to come scare them for you."
Troy laughed at the thought as he walked over to the siblings. "I would like to meet one person who isn't scared of Sharpay's bad side."
Gabriella laced their hands together and led him downstairs and out into the back yard where her family were gathering. "Grandpa!"
Watching as his fiancée wrapped her arms around an elder looking man, Troy followed behind and went to stand next to Greg who was with the man and a woman - whom he presumed were Greg's parents – along with another couple. "How's my favourite granddaughter doing?"
"I'm your only granddaughter, Grandpa." Gabriella giggled as she moved to the woman at his side. "How you doing, Grandma? Grandpa been keeping you on your toes?"
The old woman chuckled. "Oh my sweet child, you know me too well."
Greg rolled his eyes; his daughter had everyone literally wrapped around her little finger. "Princess, I think you forgot someone."
Laughing, the young brunette moved from between the elderly couple and back to Troy. "Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Leon and Aunt Josie, I would like to introduce you to my fiancée, Troy Bolton. Troy, meet Grandma and Grandpa Montez and Aunt Josie and Uncle Leon." She introduced.
"It's nice to meet you all." Troy smiled as Greg patted him on the shoulder in reassurance, a symbolic gesture that filled Gabriella's heart with joy at seeing.
"So you're the young man that has captured my granddaughter's heart? And what are your intentions with her?"
"Yes, sir. I intend to make her as happy as she should be, sir."
"Dad," Greg said in a warning tone. "Don't interrogate the poor lad."
Gabriella laughed. "Yeah daddy already did that part and scared him off once." Troy rolled his eyes as the others laughed.
Greg grinned, "Only because I needed to know he wouldn't hurt you. After all, he is a Bolton."
"Daddy," This time it was Gabriella her spoke with a warning tone in her voice.
Shaking his head at her, he smiled, "I know, I know. It doesn't matter he's a Bolton since you're going to become one eventually. Anyway, I know Troy will protect you just as much, if not more than I would."
"So Gabi, before this escalates, how did you two meet? I want all the details and then I want to see the ring." Walking off with her Grandmother and Aunt, Troy shook his head as Carl headed his way once again.
"Seeing as my sister seems to be too busy gathering attention from telling stories, I better introduce you to the rest of us." It was true; Gabriella was now surrounded by her mom, other older women and some of the people she'd already pointed out as cousins.
Troy laughed. "Thanks, Carl."
***
Troy suddenly felt a very small, albeit familiar, body collide with his back as Gabriella jumped onto him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. He quickly rebalanced Hannah, one of Gabriella's nieces, who had been originally balanced on his hip. "Hey, Brie," he murmured. "You okay Hannah?"
Hannah sucked her thumb and nodded, still fairly shy around the strange man. "Why dith Aufie Gavi jump onfu you?" (A/N: Why did Auntie Gabi jump onto you? Btw, she was still sucking her thumb)
"Because she's crazy like Uncle Carl," Troy replied. He lifted a finger to his lips. "Don't tell him I said that. Shhh…"
Hannah copied his action with her other hand. "Shhhh…"
He smiled and brushed some dark hair, clearly something that ran in the Montez genes, away from her brown eyes. Since the moment he'd seen her, he'd decided that that was what Gabriella had looked like when she was younger. "Hey, Hannah, do you think Auntie Gabi should get down from Uncle Troy?"
Hannah nodded slowly, still sucking her thumb.
Gabriella frowned as she climbed down from his back. "You're no fun," she whined.
"I'm loads of fun. Just ask Hannah. Right Hannah?" He turned to the little girl.
Hannah, suddenly much more confident now that Gabriella was present, stopped sucking her thumb and pouted. "Auntie Gabi!" she exclaimed.
"Hey!" Troy protested.
Hannah giggled and then wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're funny," she said quietly.
Troy could tell by the way she relaxed against his body that she was tired. He rested a hand on her back and began rocking back and fore. "Let me see if I get this right: she's Danny's and Leanne's, right?"
Gabriella grinned and nodded. "Yeah. She is." She paused and looked at him. "She loves you."
"She barely talked to me until you came along," he mumbled.
"She's like that with everyone," Gabriella explained. "I mean, she needs to get used to you. But, the fact she's falling asleep in your arms. Usually, she gets stroppy and throws a tantrum until either Danny or Leanne come and see to her."
Troy chuckled and he moved the hand from Hannah's back to wrap around Gabriella's waist to bring her closer. "God, I love you. You'll be a great mom."
She blushed and kissed his cheek – she'd been keeping the PDA to a minimum all night. "Good. How many do you want?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Five, ten, a basketball team…"
"Okay, I know for a fact you're not thinking about the kids, only the making of them," she protested. "I know my family's big and all but I'm not having ten kids."
He smiled and brushed his lips along her forehead. "Okay," he whispered. "I don't mind, honestly," he murmured into her ear.
She rested a hand on his chest and moved the other one around to slide into the back pocket of his jeans, feeling his firm bottom beneath the denim material. "Okay. Do you want a big family?"
He nodded, his cheek pressed against hers. "Yeah. I love my parents to death but I grew up alone. I know I had Kels but it's not the same. You were surrounded by brothers. I know they drive you crazy but you've told me tons of times that they mean everything to you."
"They've got some competition now," she murmured flirtatiously.
He smiled as he pressed a kiss to her neck. "No competition for you."
Gabriella smiled to herself and closed her eyes at the peace that was surrounding them – they were at the far end of the yard, where Troy first told her they could live together. "You want to go the cabin after this shindig is over?" she whispered into his ear.
"Can't wait," he murmured into her skin.
They suddenly broke apart at the sound of a throat clearing. Hannah woke up at Troy's sudden movement and started crying, causing Troy to quickly start soothing her. Gabriella flushed a deep crimson at the sight of her oldest brother standing their, smirking at them. "Hi, Danny," she said, getting quieter with each syllable.
He nodded once. "Hi Bella," he waved at her. "You guys want to go to a hotel or upstairs…behind a bush?"
"Danny!" Gabriella exclaimed. "I distinctly remember, when I was twelve, I heard banging coming from your room." She poked her tongue out.
He stepped towards Troy and took his daughter off him. "I'll take her away from you. Real mature. I'll take her inside…away from you guys." He shook his head and walked away.
Gabriella rolled her eyes. "I cannot believe that! Can you?"
He smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her. "Baby, calm down. I need you to meet my family." He glanced around and saw the majority of the occupants of the yard were Latinos. "There's a lot less Boltons', though."
"There's going to be one more," she murmured.
He suddenly picked her up and spun her around. "Future Mrs Bolton." He grinned.
She giggled as he set her back on the ground. She bit her lip. "Yeah…"
"You okay?" Troy asked worriedly.
She nodded, a distant look appearing on her face. "I can't wait for our own place. We won't have to go to Shar's cabin to make love."
He chuckled and wrapped an arm around her waist, leading her towards his family. "You're right. But, I don't know when that'll be. Brie, I'd like to introduce you to my family: that's Grandpa and Grandma Bolton, Grandpa and Grandma Harkness, Uncle Mike, Auntie Lynn and that's my cousin, Shane."
Gabriella nodded slowly. "If I can remember my nieces and nephews, your family will be a breeze."
"Yeah, yeah," Troy muttered, stepping forward to embrace Mike, Jack's younger brother.
Lynn rolled her eyes and stepped towards Gabriella. "Hi. So, let's see how much my nephew spent on you."
Gabriella held her left hand out, admiring the sparkling ring. "I know it's not much but I love it. If only because he gave it to me."
"She better love it, it cost me my college tuition," Troy muttered, thinking only Mike would hear.
Gabriella raised her eyebrows.
Mike was laughing but it trailed off when he saw Gabriella and Lynn. He coughed and then kicked Troy in the shin. "Dude!"
Troy turned around and grinned. "Not that you're not worth it."
She scowled. "Watch it, Mister. There are still those Californian men."
He slowly walked over to her and enveloped her in a hug she quickly responded to. "You know fully well you're worth everything."
"Man, when did you get so love sick?" Mike exclaimed.
Jack just laughed. "I have no idea. I never pictured him being this whipped."
Troy rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know I've lost all of my masculinity since everyone found out about Brie."
Gabriella giggled. "Anyway, it's so nice to meet you all."
Lucille's mother, Olive, smiled gently. "Your grandmothers and Marge and I were having a wonderful time."
"Yeah, putting the world to rights," Lucille muttered.
Olive slapped her daughter. "Just because you're a mother yourself doesn't mean you won't be punished."
Troy laughed. "We'll just leave you to it."
Lynn pulled Gabriella into a hug. "It was great meeting you. We'll talk about my nephew another time, okay?"
Gabriella nodded. "I'd like that." She took Troy's hand and allowed him to pull her into the house and up the stairs. She didn't question him but followed him willingly, already knowing she'd enjoy herself because he was with her.
Troy pulled her into her bedroom and shut her door, pushing her up against it. "Do you trust me?"
Her eyes flickered from his eyes to his lips and she nodded. "Of course. Why would I marry you if I don't trust you?"
He shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Believe me, if I walked into East High and yelled that I wanted to get married, I'd find someone."
She smiled and nodded. "I know. But I do trust you."
He pressed a firm kiss to her lips. He pulled back and smiled and turned to their room. When Troy had officially moved in, there had been a few arguments between Troy and Gabriella about where their stuff would go. The arguments were soon solved when they had heard the front door slam and they'd fallen onto the bed and were soon frantically making love, attempting to prove the other wrong. As it was, as soon as they'd laid side by side breathless, Troy had wrapped an arm around Gabriella's stomach, pulling her closer to him. He'd told her that he hated it when she was mad and that it had been her room originally, anyway.
Troy headed over to her stereo and began searching through the CDs. "Your nieces and nephews are sweet."
"Uh-huh," Gabriella murmured, wandering over to the bed and suddenly remembering their solution to their arguments. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks as she recalled the way she'd reacted to everything. It made her wonder if that was what their future would be like. If it was, she wasn't complaining.
"You okay?" Troy asked as he selected a CD and began skipping through the tracks.
Gabriella turned to him. "Yeah. Can I ask what you're doing? We left our friends and family celebrate our engagement downstairs without us."
Troy chuckled and nodded. "I know. Your favourite song of all time is 'I'll Be' by Edwin McCain, right?"
"Always will be," she murmured, sitting down on the bed. "Why?"
Troy pressed play and chords that were remarkably familiar to Gabriella filled the room. He strode over to her and extended his hand. "May I have this dance?"
She blushed prettily and accepted his hand, nodding her head in acceptance. As she rested one hand on his shoulder and held one of his hands with her other, she looked deeply into his cerulean eyes. "I suppose you should warn me: can you dance?"
He nodded. "I have a composer as a best friend and when we started high school, Tay forced Chad, Jase and I into lessons, using the 'girls like dancers' excuse to convince us."
Gabriella giggled. "Well, I'd love you if you were the worst dancer on Earth."
He smiled. "Good."
"Wildcat, what would you say if I told you I was pregnant?" she asked quietly as they swayed together.
He frowned. "Are you?"
"No," she exclaimed quickly. "My dad would murder the pair of us if I got pregnant before we got married. It was bad enough when he found out we'd made love before marriage. I was curious."
He smiled gently and held her closer, pressing his cheek to hers, inhaling the sweet perfume she'd sprayed there a few hours earlier. "I would say I love you," he murmured, "and that our baby has to be beautiful with your gorgeous genes in there."
She smiled into his neck. "I love you, too. Do you think our first baby has your eyes?"
"I don't know," he muttered. "Why?"
"I fell in love with you because of your eyes," she whispered into his skin.
He chuckled. "My mom says that about my dad."
Gabriella suddenly pulled back to look him in his eyes. She frowned. "This is you."
He nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm Troy, your fiancé, remember?"
She slapped the back of his head. "No," she whispered. "This is you singing. I don't understand…"
He shrugged sheepishly. "When I was at school, I recorded this for you. Do you like it?"
She nodded frantically. "I love it. I didn't know you could sing like this!"
He chuckled. "I'm glad you like it."
She bit her lip. "Can this be our first dance?"
He smiled and kissed her gently. "I'd like that."
* * *
Later that evening, Gabriella and Troy sat on the grass outside in the backyard with Gabriella's siblings and her nieces and nephews.
"I'd say that went pretty well." Landon said from his place between Eddie and Danny.
Eddie nodded before looking down at his wife in his arms, "Yeah, Troy, you got lucky. I remember we got quizzed and lectured on how we treated our women when they first met the family. Do you know how embarrassing it is for you to have to listen to your grandparents telling you how love isn't easy and how if we were serious they were expecting some new little ones around? It was so humiliating."
Gabriella just smiled to herself as she listened to her brothers interact with Troy while she lay silently on the ground, half asleep, her head resting in Troy's lap as he ran his fingers slowly and carefully through her luscious dark locks. "I'm just thankful everyone accepted us because I know how much it meant to Gabi having her family's acceptance."
"I really hate admitting this but I've honestly never seen her as happy and content as she is right now," Danny admitted, holding his wife, Leanne, in his arms while looking at Gabriella.
Landon snickered. "He's more whipped than she is. I swear he has no control in their relationship and it's our sister that wears the pants there."
Gabriella rolled her eyes under her closed lids hearing Landon's words. "Yeah well I'd rather have her and be whipped than not at all."
When no one spoke, Carl spoke after remaining quiet for a while. "I guess that's now two things then we Knights and Montez' have taken, the Championship and the Wildcat captain's heart."
Troy glared at his fiancée's twin and the one Montez sibling he had grown very close to. "Just because you won the Championship when I was at a very low point doesn't mean you could beat me at my best."
Everyone laughed as the playful banter continued as the sun finally set and night came. Troy looked down at the woman sleeping in his arms and knew that everything would be okay.