A/N: Hello and welcome to my first Coco fic! I don't know why it has taken me so long to watch this movie, but I watched it for the first time the other day and I am literally obsessed. With no-one more so than Imelda x Hector because they are literally the sweetest, excuse me? Anyways, I thought it would be fun to do this little fic - but I will be giving them a happier ending because they both deserved better and watching the movie hurt enough without having to write it too. I really hope you like this!

Héctor had to keep reminding himself that this was real.

She was lying naked in his arms, her dark curls tickling his skin as she had her head tucked beneath his chin, yet it still felt as though he was caught in a dream.

He hadn't planned for things to go as far as they had – no doubt Imelda would say the same thing – but, at the same time, he didn't regret a single moment of it. He couldn't. Not when he'd been in love with her from the moment he laid eyes on her. He was playing his guitar in the square at the time, not long after he arrived in Santa Cecilia, and she'd come dancing through with a group of her friends. All of them were beautiful, he remembered, but she was the one who stood out to him. Her smile, the way she moved when she danced, the sound of her laughter, she made it impossible for him to take his eyes off of her and he fell hard. It didn't help that she locked eyes with him right before she and her friends left either, flashing him a flirtatious smile before she walked out of the square.

He was sure he'd been seeing things – Ernesto said much the same, reminding him that chicas like that didn't go for hombres like him – but then a few days later their paths crossed again. He'd seen her helping her mamá at her bread stand and she'd beckoned him over when her mother had gone inside to fetch more loaves. She told him she'd seen him watching her in the square and, for a minute, he'd thought he offended her and attempted to work out some kind of apology before she chuckled and told him it was alright. She went on to compliment him on his music before asking if he would play one of her favourite songs – La Adelita – for her some time. He agreed on the spot and, the next time he'd seen her out and about in the square, he played the song for her just as he promised.

They became friends quickly, he would play for her in the square and she would sneak him small pieces of bread and other treats from the stall when her mamá had her back turned, but he wanted more. He decided – despite Ernesto and other friends telling him not to – to ask her if she'd like to go to Día de la Candelaria with him. He'd half-expected her to decline, but to his delight she'd agreed. She explained to him that she would have to spend the day itself with her familia - her papá would insist – but that she would be all his later in the evening. There was something in the way she'd said those words and the way she'd laid her hand over his that told him his feelings were reciprocated. She'd seen more than friendship in their future and it'd made him happier than he could put into words.

That night had been the beginning of it all for them both. They danced together in the square, they performed – her singing while he played his guitar – and they sat and ate together. Eventually though, they decided to get away from the crowd for a while and they went for a walk. It was when they reached the lake at the edge of town that they stopped and sat down together, taking the time to talk and share more stories from when they were younger. He moved around a lot as a child before losing his parents, so his stories were always so fascinating to her. Especially since she'd never so much as stepped foot outside of Santa Cecilia.

Looking back, he still couldn't remember exactly what had led up to it, but sitting together on the bank leading down to the lake they had shared their first kiss. He could remember running his hands through her hair, feeling her curls slither through the gaps in his fingers while he kissed her, and he was certain in that moment that there was no feeling that could be better than that. Of course, holding her in his arms now in the aftermath of their lovemaking, he knew different.

It had been a little clumsy, what with neither of them having done anything like it before, but instead of thinking too much into it they had let it happen naturally. He'd wanted to be certain that it was what she wanted and so he'd slowed them down a number of times to make sure. In the beginning, she'd found it sweet and given him the reassurance he needed before kissing him again to shut him up, but by the fourth time she'd had enough. She didn't even have to say a word, she just gave him that look and he didn't interrupt things again. She would have thrown him from the bed if he had, of that he was sure. In the end, the whole thing was perfect too. He knew she was the woman he was meant to be with, the love of his life, and so to get to be with her in such a way…it was indescribable.

He was pulled from his thoughts when she moved, using the hand on his chest to push herself up, and when she turned onto her front against his chest to look at him he smiled. He reached up to brush a curl from her face, tucking it behind her ear, and she turned her head to kiss his palm when he stroked her cheek.

"You're quiet…" She murmured against his skin before turning her head to look at him again. "What are you thinking about, amor?"

"You. Same as always," He flirted with a little smirk, making her smile before his tone became a little more serious and he sighed. "You really have no regrets?"

She hummed under her breath as she pretended to think for a moment, unable to keep from chuckling when he rolled his eyes at her teasing. "No regrets," She shook her head, her voice soft. "I know my own mind, Héctor, I know what I want and what I want is you. I think mi mamá was hoping I'd marry Félix or Ezequiel, but no. I see the way they and the other hombres dance and flirt with woman after woman, refusing to settle down, and I don't want that. I have no desire to be part of some pointless game. I want something real and you give me that. I love you and…and I want a real future with you. I mean marriage, niños, everything."

"Niños?" He raised an eyebrow at her, Imelda biting down on her bottom lip as he brought a hand to her waist and sat up a little to make her lie back against the pillows again. He moved over her, taking her face in his hands beneath her curls, and smiled as he ran his thumbs across her cheeks. "How many are we having?"

Grinning, she tilted her head back to graze her nose against his. "I thought we might aim for two and go from there."

"Two is good," He murmured with his face inches from her own. "I like two."

She found herself chuckling at his silliness before he caught her in a soft, deep kiss and she let her arms slip around his neck. She felt more than heard him hum into her mouth as she curled her hands into his hair, kissing him a little harder, and the love she had for him only deepened when she felt him smile into it. Meeting him kiss for kiss, she felt herself getting lost in the moment – much as she had earlier – but she realized her familia would be expecting her home soon, so when Héctor turned his attention towards her neck she knew she needed to slow things down. She let an arm fall from around his neck and laid her hand upon his chest, smiling to herself as she indulged him for a few more seconds. "Héctor…?" She eventually said, running her free hand over his cropped dark hair.

"Hmm?" He hummed against her skin.

"I should be getting home. Mi familia will be waiting." She sighed.

Knowing she was right - as per usual - he let out a huff and pushed himself up on his forearms before kissing her tenderly once more and moving from over her. Falling onto his back, he tucked an arm beneath his head and watched her for a minute as she sat up and reached for her slip that was on the floor next to the bed. She pulled it on over her head before getting up from the bed and he took that as his cue to start redressing also. He had no doubt she was going to roll her eyes at him when he told her he was walking her home – she thought it was unnecessary, what with her knowing near enough everyone in town – but he didn't care. He wasn't going to be the one to blame for something happening to her. Knowing his luck, the one time he didn't walk her home would be the one time she ended up in trouble. He was positive that wouldn't score him any points with her father whom he was still trying to impress and convince he was worthy of her.

He reached over the side of the bed and retrieved his pants from the floor before quickly pulling them on and pulling back the quilt, climbing out of bed himself so he could walk across the room and grab his shirt from where she'd hastily thrown it earlier. He chuckled at the memory as he pushed his arms into the sleeves. He almost thought she was going to just rip it and send the row of small buttons flying across the bedroom. Fortunately, his shirt was still in one piece.

"Héctor," He turned in place to look at her when she said his name, seeing her standing there with a hand on her hip. "You don't need to walk me home."

Fastening the final button on his shirt, he walked across the room to her before stopping in front of her and taking her waist in his hands through her dress. "Ay, we have this same argument every time we're together," He reminded her with a little smirk, letting her bring her hands to his chest as he pulled her close to him. "I like walking you home. I can be sure you get back safely and I get to spend a little more time with you which is always a good thing." He kissed her gently.

"Mmm…that and you're still scared of mi papá." She gave him a look.

"Scared of him? No," He shook his head. "I want him to like me, that's all."

"He already does like you. He likes you more than any of the other hombres in town, that's for sure."

"He does? Then why does he look at me the way he does?"

She rolled her eyes. "Because he's mi papá. Believe me, if he didn't like you then you wouldn't get anywhere near me."

He thought about the blissful afternoon the two of them had just shared and tightened the hold he had of her. "I must have made quite the impression then."

She knew exactly where his mind had gone and she whacked his chest, her cheeks turning crimson. "Behave yourself."

"I love you." He told her once they had stood there in comfortable silence for a second.

"I love you too," She smiled, going onto her tiptoes to kiss him twice on the lips before pulling back again. "I think we should get going."

He gave her a nod in response, taking his arms from around her before she took hold of his hand and the two of them walked out of his bedroom together.

It took them little time to reach her house, what with her family only living on the other side of the square to him, and when they reached the gates she slipped her hand out of his and turned to him. "I promised Mamá that I would help her with the stand this week, so I doubt I'm going to have much spare time, but I was thinking that maybe we could walk down to the lake or something next time I'm free. We haven't done that for a while now." She suggested with a hopeful look.

"An afternoon by the lake sounds perfecto." He brought his hand to the side of her face, stroking his thumb against her curls.

"You'd say that no matter what I suggested." She pointed out.

"Because I don't care what we do as long as I get to have some time alone with you." He admitted, leaning in to kiss her.

Just as their lips met, she heard a quiet muttering from behind the gate and groaned under her breath, stepping back from Héctor for a moment to open the gate and reveal her twin brothers, Oscar and Felipe, huddled there. "¡Vete de aqui!" She snapped, taking off her shoe and throwing it at them as they hurried inside. Once she was sure the two of them wouldn't interrupt them again, she returned to Héctor and laid her hand on the side of his neck. "Where were we?" She asked.

He gave her a look. "Uh…your shoe?"

"I'll get it in a minute, just shut up and kiss me before I get cross." She told him.

Deciding against arguing with her, knowing it would get him nowhere, he took her face in his hands and bent down to catch her in a kiss that was long and soft. He heard the sound she made in the back of her throat as her hand fell to his chest and curled itself into his shirt, one of his hands falling from her face to her hip as he stepped further into her. Neither one of them wanted to be the one to bring the kiss to an end, knowing it would mean their time together was up, but before long the need to breathe arose and she was the one to reluctantly pull back. "I suppose this is where we say goodnight then." She huffed, disappointed.

"I'll come by the stand tomorrow to see you," He smiled. "I don't think I have it in me to stay away."

"Ay, you're obsessed." She teased.

"Can you blame me?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

Smirking, she brushed a curl slowly behind her ear. "No, not really."

He couldn't help but laugh before stooping to brush his lips against her cheek. "Buenas noches, cariño."

"Buenas noches." She echoed, letting her hand run across his chest before she stepped around him once more and stepped through the little opening in the gate. The pair of them shared a smile before she shut the gate completely behind her, raking a hand through her curls as she made her way across the courtyard to where her shoe had landed. Muttering under her breath about how annoying her hermanos were, she returned her shoe to her foot before going inside the house and seeing her family getting ready for dinner. She must have been a little late because her mother seemed slightly less than pleased when she looked at her.

"Imelda…"

"Lo siento, Mamá, I lost track of the time."

Her mother shook her head at her, but chose not to continue further.

"How was your afternoon, mi vida?" Her father asked from where he was already sitting at the head of the table.

She smiled. She adored her papá. "Héctor and I had a wonderful time."

"Héctor, Héctor." Her brothers mocked playfully, batting their eyelashes and making kissing noises.

"¡Silencio!" She hissed, walking over to the counter to get some of the plates of food her mother had sorted and carry them over to the table.

"Imelda, I don't want you making any plans. Not when you promised to help me with the stand this week." Her mother reminded her while they sat down at the table.

She nodded. "I know, Mamá, I already told him I don't know when I'll next be free."

"Ay Teresa, she needs to be allowed to have a little fun." Her father said.

Her mother looked down the table at him. "She knows how busy the stand has been recently. I need all the help I can get."

"I don't mind, Papá," She admitted. "I still get to see my friends and Héctor when we set up in the square."

"You're a good girl." Her father ran the back of his hand gently down her cheek, making her smile.

Yes, she thought to herself as her mother began to say grace, she was going to be rushed off her feet and she was going to miss seeing Héctor so much during the week, but there was one thought that would keep her going. Their time apart was only going to make it so much more special when they got together again.

Climbing into bed once she had freshened up and gotten changed into her nightgown that night, she smiled to herself as she laid down and got comfy between the sheets. She couldn't help but think back to that afternoon, to what she and Héctor had shared, and although she knew there would be implications should anyone find out about it, she found that she didn't much care. He made her feel so loved. He was so patient with her, so gentle, and she knew for a fact that she could have asked him to stop at any moment and he would have done so. She never felt the need to though. Being with him in that way just felt natural. It felt right. She was aware it couldn't happen again, not until they were married – both of them could do without her ending up in the family way – but she was alright with that. It was like he said earlier, as long as they were together she didn't care what they did. They could be patient until that time came, she was sure of it.

Well, she could.

He, on the other hand, would probably require a little work.

She chuckled under her breath at his shocking lack of self-control – not that she was much better in all fairness, especially if her actions this afternoon were any indication – and rolled over underneath the quilt, tucking her hand beneath her pillow with a sigh. She was the luckiest woman in the world. Some months ago, she was convinced there were no good hombres left. She was forcing herself to come to terms with the fact that no-one would come along with the ability to live up to her standards, but then Héctor had come into her life. He'd shown her what it meant to love and be loved and he'd changed her whole life for the better.

It wouldn't be for a long time yet, she realized that, but she could hardly wait to marry him.

She couldn't wait for him to be the first thing she saw when she woke in the morning and the last thing she saw before she fell asleep at night.

She couldn't wait to get to share every meal with him.

More than that though, she couldn't wait to never have to say goodbye to him again.

Once they were married, they were stuck with each other for good.

And that, in her opinion, was the greatest thing in the world.

A/N: Thank you so much for taking the time to read chapter one! I had so much fun writing this so I hope that you liked reading it. I would be so grateful for any reviews to let me know what you guys thought. See you all soon!