It's Perfect Because You're Here
Set the Summer after the last Season of Girl Meets World.
Topanga smiled as Riley and Maya splashed each other with water from the lake. It filled her heart with joy to see both so relaxed, especially after the stressful year they'd had with both of them struggling with feelings for Lucas, and then the Mathews' considering a move to London.
"Bam!" Auggie said, running toward both girls with a big splash of his own.
"Auggie!" Riley and Maya said in exasperation as he covered them in lake water from head to toe. At least they were all wearing bathing suits.
Katy and Shawn, however, were not. Katy was dressed in a pink tank top and a pair of tan shorts as Shawn dragged her towards the lake in a T-shirt and shorts of his own. "Shawn, put me down! I'm not dressed to go swimming," although her shrieks of laughter as they made their way closer to the lake contradicted her words.
"We don't need suits when there's no one around to see us," Shawn said, laughing as he dumped his new wife into the lake and then jumped in himself fully clothed.
"I'm so glad to see Shawn finally happy," Cory said, as he lounged in a lawn chair where he could see the lake and their friends and children playing.
Topanga's smile widened, almost surprising herself as she agreed with her husband's statement. In the past few years, Cory's almost obsession with his best friend got on her nerves, but now she admitted it was nice to see Shawn have a real family. And the fact that part of his family was Riley's best friend, and the woman who'd become one of Topanga's best friends, made it even better. "Me too, Cory," she said as she watched Katy and Shawn's heads spring up from the lake.
"Why did we take so long to take Dad up on his offer to buy some camping equipment at the discounted price, anyway?" Cory said, as he glanced at the grill and the three tents with several sleeping bags inside them.
Topanga paused as she inhaled the clean mountain air, smelled the wildflowers and the trees surrounding them, and felt the ground underneath her feet. She used to adore nature. When had that stopped? When she'd graduated law school? Or even further back, when they'd moved to New York City?
Out loud she said, "Perhaps we should have done so earlier, but this summer was the best time for it, Cory. We're celebrating Katy and Shawn's wedding and us staying in America."
He flashed her that adorable grin that had always melted her heart. "You're right, Topanga. It's perfect now."
Breathing the clean air again, Topanga realized how much she needed to relax in the past few months herself. She'd always been very driven, and constantly felt the need to prove herself against her peers and even versus herself. As much as she always loved the challenge of her studies and then becoming a lawyer, Topanga sometimes forgot to rest.
And no one helped her to do so more than Cory. She'd never felt the need to prove herself around him and never would.
She grinned and placed herself on his lap. His grin widened and his arms wrapped around her waist. "It's perfect because you're here." She gazed into Cory's eyes, feeling the truth of that statement. No matter how good it felt to be surrounded by nature, or how uplifting the sounds of Riley, Maya, Auggie, Katy, and Shawn's laughter sounded, Topanga would never feel as calm without her husband's presence.
"Oh, Topanga," Cory said delight dripping from his voice as he leaned in for a kiss.