Chapter Text
A week after the fateful trip to the tailor, Toni found herself on Fatin’s spacious back patio, trying to appropriately arrange 168 guests into 16 tables. Luckily, Becca had taken charge of receiving the invitation replies and was fairly well organized, but the activity was still not Toni’s first choice on how to spend her Friday evening.
It had already been an exhausting two hours when Becca looked at her stacks of papers and said, “Okay, so on my list I have Angie Shalifoe as not yet responded…Toni, who’s Angie? Do you know if she’s planning on coming?”
Toni should have known this was coming. She’d been so hopeful when her mom had responded to her text asking for her mailing address. And after thirty years of disappointment, Toni should really have known better than to believe her mom would come through for her on anything. Still, this was her wedding, and it hurt somewhere deep inside that she couldn’t even get an RSVP.
“I have no fucking idea,” Toni replied, and the second the words left her mouth, she knew that wasn’t true, because she knew her mom. So she changed her answer, and barked out “I fucking doubt it.”
Toni could feel Becca’s confusion and fear, could sense Fatin and Martha’s discomfort from beside her, and couldn’t even glance in Shelby’s direction. She tried to calm herself down but felt her anger growing, felt the tense air sitting stagnant around the table, so she pushed her chair back, a bit more abruptly than she intended, and did her best to walk, rather than storm, into the bathroom.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the door, taking in deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. She felt her anger dissipate a little, replaced by shame and embarrassment. She was just starting to wonder what Shelby would think of her when she heard her voice calling softly from the other side of the door.
“Toni? Can I come in?” She wanted to say no, but she was powerless against her, wanted so badly to see her, to throw herself into her arms and sob until the pain subsided.
Instead she opened the door silently and let Shelby step in with her.
“I know it’s hard. I’m really sorry you haven’t heard from her,” Shelby said with a soft smile, the only smile in the world that could calm Toni’s nerves in a moment like this.
Toni shrugged. “I know your parents aren’t coming either. I’m just being fucking dramatic.”
Shelby shook her head and grabbed Toni’s hand, and it was so warm and soft and felt so comforting it could almost make her forget everything else.
“Don’t worry about my family stuff right now. I know you’re still figuring things out with your mom and it’s really difficult. I’m here for you, okay? If I’m going to be your wife, I’m gonna be here for better or for worse, all that, right?”
Toni looked into Shelby’s bright green eyes, so tender and caring. She thought back to the way she’d stormed out of the planning session at the mere mention of her mother’s name, unable to control her own emotions at thirty. She didn’t deserve her. Shelby deserved the absolute world, and Toni was angry and impulsive and immature and could never be enough for her.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be my wife, though.”
Toni felt Shelby drop her hand quickly, and the moment it was gone she missed the contact. She could see confusion and fear wash over her face. “What?”
Toni rubbed her temples, feeling some of her frustration creep back up, angry at herself for hurting Shelby, for blurting out words without thinking about how bad they sounded.
“I’m just saying, there’s probably better women out there for you.” Toni wished she could be enough for Shelby, but in reality, she was pretty sure no one would ever be good enough for her. Still, she deserved someone who didn’t let her anger get the best of her, who was stable and patient in a way Toni strived to be, but could never quite get a handle on.
“Seriously, Toni? After all of this, you’re gonna tell me you don’t wanna marry me?” Toni could hear the quiver in her voice, could see the sadness in her eyes. She wasn’t sure if “all of this” meant all the wedding preparations and deposits they’d put down, or if it was something else; the spark that had been reignited, the bond that had become so strong again, so easily. She searched Shelby’s eyes for the answer before giving her own truth, though it wasn’t the full confession she knew she should probably make.
“I do want to marry you. I just feel like you might want to see if there isn’t someone better than me that you could marry. Because I’m sure there is.”
Shelby looked at her for a second before bringing her hands to Toni’s face, cradling it gently. “There is no one else I’d rather marry than you.”
For a moment, Toni thought Shelby might actually kiss her, there in that bathroom without anyone even watching them. Toni thought she might accidentally kiss Shelby. Instead, she croaked out a nervous “Are you sure?”
She felt Shelby gently stroke her cheeks and she closed her eyes as she leaned into the touch. “I’m sure. I don’t wanna spend the rest of my life with anyone else but you.”
Toni opened her eyes again and looked into Shelby’s, earnest and loving, and she somehow felt - so inexplicably - like she actually was enough. Something in Shelby’s tender touches, kind smile, and soft eyes made her feel like maybe, as long as she always strived to be her best self, that could be enough. She could be loved forever, as she was.
She leaned forward and melted into Shelby’s arms, and felt her squeezing back so hard it almost hurt, still they held on. Toni was afraid she’d kiss Shelby if she pulled back, and for whatever reason, Shelby seemed just as inclined to keep holding her close.
It wasn’t until Fatin knocked on the frame of the open bathroom door that they broke apart, Shelby gasping like they’d been caught doing something wrong.
“Please do not bang in my bathroom, the guest room is literally right upstairs,” Fatin said with an eyeroll, and Shelby blushed and started trying to mutter an excuse in a way that somehow only made them look more guilty.
“We were just hugging,” Toni pointed out, cutting off her fiancées incoherent ramblings.
Fatin took a deep breath through her nose and cocked an eyebrow. “I can smell the vibes,” She shot back skeptically, before shooing them out of the bathroom.
Shelby held Toni’s hand throughout the rest of the meeting, and the calming effect it had on her seemed almost miraculous. At one point, when Toni was starting to feel tired and hungry and frustrated that it was taking so long, Shelby brought her hand up to her lips and gave it a gentle kiss, and it was all Toni needed.
As Toni laid in bed that night, the moment with Shelby in the bathroom played on repeat in her mind. “ There is no one else I’d rather marry than you.” Maybe she just said that because they’d made that pact, and spent all this time preparing, and because she and Toni worked well as friends and it was easier than going out and meeting someone and actually falling in love. Maybe that’s all she meant.
But maybe, just maybe, she meant something else.
Toni didn’t know when she would need this information, but she made a note to herself to never let Fatin throw a bachelorette party again.
Talking Fatin out of strippers (“really Fatin, male strippers? ” - “They’re for me.” - “It’s my party!” - “Fine, fine, I’ll tell all but one to cancel.” - “There were multiple? ”) was the first hurdle, but the rest of what Fatin had planned for - the alcohol, the clubs, the reservations - she had refused to budge on.
That led Toni to where she currently was, drunk off her mind in the middle of a club, feeling way too old to be there. She felt like the Tin Man for fuck’s sake, her bones creaking and cracking, and she was treating alcohol like it was oil, downing shots upon shots until she forgot why she gave up the club life at twenty-three.
At least it looked like the other girls were having fun. Martha killed it on the dance floor, spinning Rachel around and feeling the beat pulse through her. Toni watched from the sidelines, cheering her on and reveling in her laughter.
Leah and Nora were having a lively discussion in the booth about classic literature, until Nora started yelling about plagiarism and fraud, and Leah nearly dumped her entire drink out on Nora’s head.
Fatin was too busy chatting up the bartender, until she finally received a round of free drinks (probably in exchange for her number, Toni thought, laughing to herself).
Apparently Toni must have been more drunk than she thought, because Fatin wouldn’t let her touch another shot. Sure, Toni had wobbled over to the booth as soon as Fatin placed them down and almost fell on her face, but she had access to almost all her other basic motor functions.
Instead, Fatin shook her head and pushed herself out of the booth, coming around to throw Toni’s arm over her shoulder.
“Come on, girl,” Fatin groaned. “Let’s get you some water.”
With a quick stop by the bar, Fatin brought Toni to the empty bathroom, propping her up on one of the stall doors. “Drink this.” She shoved the glass into Toni’s hand, watching her chug it down, spilling water all over the front of her button down.
“Why’d’ya bring me here,” Toni slurred, wobbling slightly.
“In case you blow chunks. We’re not getting kicked out ‘cause you can’t handle your shit.”
“I totally can,” Toni nodded to herself.
“Right, right, that’s why you blew up my tab. Because you can handle it.”
Toni rolled her eyes petulantly, feeling herself cross her arms.
Fatin scoffed, taking a good look at the state Toni was in. “You’re getting married, Shalifoe, no more of this child shit. Shelby’s not gonna take this.”
“It doesn’t matter.” Toni’s arms fell, her hands clenched into fists. “She’s gonna leave eventually, find someone she actually loves.”
“Whoa, whoa, where the hell is this coming from?”
Fatin came forward and placed both of her hands on Toni’s shoulders, pulling her up slightly so she could look her in the eyes. Toni could see past Fatin into the bathroom mirrors, how her eyes were glassy. Her whole body was aching. She was just so tired.
“It’s all fake, Fatin,” Toni murmured. She reached a hand up to grab one of Fatin’s arms. “It’s a stupid deal. I’m in love with her, and she just thinks we’re friends doing each other a favor.”
Fatin didn’t say anything at first. She allowed Toni to close her eyes for a moment and let out a few deep breaths before finally speaking up. “You’re a fucking idiot.”
Toni’s eyes popped open again. “What?”
Her hands slid off of Toni’s shoulders, pulling back to cross her arms. “You think anyone in their right mind would marry you if they weren’t in love with you?”
“Hurtful.”
“She’s in love with you, too.”
Of course the thought had crossed her mind, late at night after meetings with Shelby where her touch would linger too long on Toni’s shoulder or in Toni’s hand. During college, when both of them were single and spent more time in each other’s beds cuddling than in anyone else’s. During those years apart, catching Shelby’s eyes at Martha’s wedding, like Shelby couldn’t pull her eyes away.
In fleeting moments that left her breathless, but moments she would never let herself indulge in.
Toni shook her head several times. Then, she looked off to the side, staring at the bathroom door. “No, no she’s not.”
“Maybe if I was Dorothy or Leah I would’ve kept this shit to myself, but I’m not going to let you spiral because you can’t get your head out of your ass.”
Fatin waited for Toni to meet her eyes again, her gaze far too serious for almost twelve in the morning on a Saturday night. It took Toni a moment to focus her eyes.
“Listen.” Fatin ducked to head to keep them at eye level, her dark eyes boring into Toni’s own. “You two have spent the better half a decade apart. If she wanted to hang out with you again, don’t you think there were easier ways to ask?”
“But she wanted kids and stuff…” Toni mumbled back.
“There’s no shame in being a single parent, and you know that.”
“What the fuck am I supposed to do with this information?” Toni pushed herself off of the stall door, wobbling on her feet. The anger hit her full-force, but it quickly simmered, making her drop her balled fist. “What’s the point? Martha says I need to be honest, but what happens then? We push off the wedding and try this for real? Then what? I let my guard down, give my whole life to her, and then we break up?”
“What did I say about spiraling?”
“Am I not right?”
“No, fuckface, you’re not right!” Fatin quickly threw herself between Toni and the bathroom door. “You love her and she loves you, and life’s short as shit, so fuck it! Tell her you love her and marry her!”
That got Toni’s attention. Over time the conversation had sobered her up, but her vision was still hazy enough for her to shake her head and ask, “What do you mean?”
“I’m saying ,” Fatin slowed her words. “You ask Shelby to marry you for real, kiss her before your wedding, and get a honeymoon suite that only has one bed.”
She poked Toni with each point and Toni let her, finally allowing the words to sink in.
She loved Shelby. She was in love with Shelby.
Maybe Martha was right; maybe it was time she put herself on the line and put her happiness first.
“Okay.”
Fatin blinked. “Okay?”
What was the point of going through the motions? Why not go all in and let the whole plan burn down? It would probably hurt less than living her entire life loving Shelby from so close, yet so far.
“Yeah.” A small, half-smile formed on Toni’s face. She scoffed, shaking her head and standing up straight. “Yeah, I’ll do it.”
Fatin’s incredulous expression turned into one of excitement. Her arm slipped over Toni’s shoulder as she tugged Toni towards the bathroom door, laughing in surprise. “Thatta girl, Shalifoe! I’m thinking a flash mob for your second proposal? No, no, that’s so cringey. How do you feel about sky-writing?”
“Nah, Fatin.” Her raised hand effectively cut Fatin off as they meandered through the bar. “I think I know the perfect place.”
Wednesday evening, they met up at Shelby’s to call and confirm their arrangements with the bakery, photographer, florist, caterer, and about a million others. It was tedious and boring, but Toni’s heart was going a mile a minute the entire time while she prepared what she wanted to say to Shelby.
As they wrapped up for the day, Toni took a deep breath and, in the most casual voice she could muster, said, “Hey, do you remember when we used to just drive along the coast and listen to music together?”
Shelby grinned “Of course I do. You told me I was the only person who had ever gotten to hear you sing.”
“That’s still true, actually,” Toni admitted, hoping that Shelby couldn’t see her blush. “Anyway, I was thinking, if you’re free Sunday, maybe we could take a drive? And we could put songs on a playlist together and pick one out for our first dance?”
Shelby beamed and Toni wondered for a second how she’d even make it three more days without confessing to her. “I’d love that.”
Throughout the next few days, they both added songs to their joint playlist, titled Forever & Always. Toni added some songs that were classic first dance songs, some songs that she and Shelby used to belt out during their drives along the coast together, and the songs she’d discovered in the intervening years that always made her think of Shelby.
Toni picked up Shelby, who had donned a gorgeous sundress for the occasion, and in a rush of boldness, Toni whistled as she approached the car. “That’s my fiancée!” she called out to no one in particular. Shelby strutted across the sidewalk to Toni’s car and greeted her with a hug across the center console. “I’m so glad we’re doing this,” Shelby said as she kept Toni in her arms, and she mumbled back a “Me too.”
On the way out of town, Toni stopped at a convenience store, grabbing a bag of Takis for herself and animal crackers for Shelby. “Do you still bite the heads off so that they don’t suffer?” Toni asked, and Shelby laughed and nodded, grabbing Toni’s hand and dragging her out of the store, not dropping it until they reached the car.
While on the drive, Toni thought for a minute about the possibility that if Shelby turned her down, they’d be in for one very awkward and very long car ride back home. But as she watched Shelby’s blonde hair flowing in the wind as she sang along to Enchanted , she knew that going out on a limb and putting her heart on the line for Shelby would be worth it.
Shelby’s voice grew softer, and Toni saw in her peripheral the way her eyes darted around at the sight in front of them.
“Hey, wait.” Shelby tilted her head and squinted her eyes. “I know where we are.”
Toni let out a sigh of relief. If Shelby knew where they were, that would save Toni a whole spiel about why this place meant something to them.
“Oh my God, Toni!” Despite the fact Toni was still driving the car, Shelby grabbed her right shoulder and began to shake it. “That dingy park from way back when we made the-”
“Yeah,” Toni cut her off, smiling fondly to herself. “Thought it’d be cool to come back to our roots, you know?”
“Speaking of roots,” Shelby grinned, her eyes not quite looking at the playground itself. Without waiting for Toni to fully stop, Shelby threw open the passenger side door, stumbling out and up the grassy hill.
Toni followed, not too far behind her, smirking at how absolutely infatuated Shelby appeared as she spun around, taking in the whole tree, which had sprouted fruits since they had been there a decade ago.
“The Lychee tree! It’s- it’s so big, now!”
“Yeah, I think that’s how time works.”
Toni barely managed to dodge Shelby’s hand, which was ready to slap her shoulder, instead skipping over to the base of the tree.
Just being back at the old tree, with that achingly familiar breeze drifting through the air, sent Toni back a decade. She closed her eyes for just a moment, breathing in and taking in the memory.
Thoughts of young love and the years Toni wasted refusing to admit that she met her soulmate at nineteen flooded in, reminding her of what she was here for. Reminding her of what she could have.
“This is sweet and all, Toni, but why’d you bring us here specifically?”
Shelby’s voice cut the last of Toni’s memories off, snapping her out of her reverie.
After this, there was no turning back.
Tilting her head down towards Shelby, Toni took a deep breath. “Can I have that ring back?”
“What?”
Shelby’s soft smile transformed into a look of hurt, as she cradled her left hand with her right.
“Trust me.” Toni held her hand out with her palm facing upwards. “Please.”
A moment passed before Shelby gently slid the ring off her finger, her eyes still flashing with a mix of reluctance and curiosity.
As soon as Shelby placed the ring in Toni’s hand, she closed her fingers over it, feeling the cool metal dig into her skin. Her hands were shaking, her heart was racing, and all the words she wanted to say were coursing through her mind.
“You have to promise to let me finish, okay? No interrupting,” is how Toni started it off, waiting for Shelby to speak before she continued.
“Okay.”
Shelby’s voice was so soft. It sounded as though she was afraid Toni would call this entire thing off.
As though she was afraid Toni would break her heart right then and there.
“When I bought this ring, I told the seller I’d been in love with you for what feels like my whole life.”
The sentence sat in the air for a few moments (partially for dramatic effect, Toni had to admit).
“What I didn’t realize, or really, didn’t want to admit at the time, was that it was true.” Shelby gasped, and Toni watched as the blonde’s own shaking hands lifted up to cover her mouth. “I fell in love with you so quickly it gave me whiplash. I was scared. Scared of giving you all of me, of falling deeper, of falling apart. So scared that I hid everything I felt from you, until I convinced myself that it wasn’t worth it.”
Shelby’s mouth opened slightly, but she snapped it shut almost immediately, remembering her promise.
Toni swallowed, before dropping down to one knee. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right.
“These last few months dug up everything I’ve been trying to bury for ten years. After a lot of late night talks with Martha and Fatin, I finally pulled my head out of my ass.” She laughed at herself then, shaking her head and thinking about how much she owed those two after all of this.
“I don’t want separate beds in our house, or kids who don’t know how absolutely, head-over-heels I am for their mother, or to have to spend even one more day pretending I haven’t found what people go their whole life chasing.”A tear fell down her face, but she choked down the lump in her throat. “My soulmate.”
“Toni…” Shelby’s voice trembled.
“Shelby Goodkind, will you marry me? For real?”
Shelby had been nodding for almost the entire speech, but Toni still had to make sure.
“Of course, of course I’ll marry you, Toni.”
Tears began to spill out of both of their eyes, yet Toni couldn’t help but ask, “Are you sure?”
Shelby reached down to cup Toni’s cheeks, guiding her to stand up so they were at eye level. Her eyes flickered between Toni’s own until she closed them and brought their foreheads together. “I’m sure.”
Toni’s breath was ragged and her eyes were still closed, but she managed to lift a hand up to remove Shelby’s left hand from her cheek.
When her eyes fluttered open, they immediately fell in love with the way it shined on Shelby’s finger, knowing that this time, it was there for all the right reasons.
Shelby’s own eyes met Toni’s, and she brought her left hand back to Toni’s neck, pulling her forward to capture her lips in a searing kiss. Toni’s heart pounded against her chest like crashing waves, and the only thought running through her mind was the repetitive banging of finally, finally, finally.
Eventually they pulled away, and Toni wasted no time taking in Shelby’s blown pupils and swollen lips.
“Would you maybe like to come stay at my place?” Shelby whispered, running her hand over Toni’s hip, and the implication couldn’t have been more obvious.
“You sure you don’t wanna wait for the honeymoon?” Toni asked, half joking, but knowing that Shelby still held some fairytale-esque notions about weddings and wanting to fulfill as many of those as possible.
Shelby shook her head. “I waited eleven years, I don’t wanna wait a minute more.”
The next time Toni saw Shelby in her wedding dress, she cried, freely and openly.
Fatin would rip into her later, but Toni could not care less, because here Shelby was, walking down the aisle, in the center of every stream of light shining through the glass surrounding the venue.
Her breaths left her in short, shaky intervals, but she forced herself to continue breathing and to not lock her knees.
Shelby, Shelby, Shelby was the only thought running through her mind, but she tried to piece together a few words to describe the feeling, so she could put it to memory.
She was the luckiest woman in the world.
Shelby could not be defined by any of the words Toni knew, she couldn’t be boxed into labels, there were no passages from those books she was forced to read in high school or proses that Leah had recited that could possibly explain how damn beautiful Shelby Goodkind was.
So Toni cried. That seemed to be the only appropriate reaction.
With the classic tune of Here Comes the Bride reverberating through the hall, Shelby finally arrived at the end of the aisle, taking her place across from Toni.
Shelby’s eyes raked over Toni, who was standing deathly still in her suit, until reaching Toni’s eyes and letting a smile stretch across her face that only Toni had ever had the privilege to see.
A smile that could only mean, “this is exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
Toni knew she had the smile to match.
After Shelby’s minister began to speak, the entire ceremony blurred into bits and pieces Toni could barely make out, too overwhelmed by the emotions ricocheting through her head (thank God this thing was being recorded).
She forced herself to focus when Shelby recited her vows, but that only caused her to cry again.
During her own vows, Toni tried her hardest not to stumble or stutter over her words, staring at Shelby’s reassuring smile that trembled as she trailed further into her speech.
Sliding the ring onto Shelby’s finger was the most difficult task, Toni’s own hand shaking as she did so.
After what felt like eons and seconds all the same, the priest declared that Toni was Shelby’s and Shelby was Toni’s, legally, metaphorically, and intrinsically, with their souls and lives intertwined.
Toni sank into the kiss, letting Shelby hold her up as her own knees buckled beneath her.
This was her forever, and there was no better feeling.
After leaving the wedding venue itself, Toni and Shelby promptly sped off to a spare room for Toni to change from her suit to her dress, before the reception began.
Sure, Toni knew that Shelby didn’t have to be there to help her change, but she didn’t mind having Shelby’s nimble fingers unbutton her shirt, or slide the suit jacket off of her shoulders.
“We don’t have time for this,” Toni admonished, feeling Shelby’s hot breath on her skin, her mouth only inches from her own.
“It’s our wedding.” Shelby pulled Toni in by her belt loops. “They can wait for us.”
Eventually, Toni and Shelby made their way towards where the wedding reception was being held, Toni now in her skater dress and Shelby’s hair just a little too frazzled.
The dinner began with a flurry of dishes and conversation being strewn around the reception hall. Instead of being sat with their parents, Toni and Shelby were sat with their real family. Martha, Fatin, and Rachel were to Toni’s left, while Becca, Dot, Nora, and Leah were to Shelby’s right.
Toni wasn’t sure she had ever felt so royal in her life, with meals being served to her she couldn’t even pronounce (but of course, Shelby could say every single one perfectly).
After she had gorged herself on beef, roasted potatoes, and whatever vegetarian meal Martha had been served (that Toni argued she could steal, as she was one of the brides) and let Shelby wipe the crumbs from her face, Martha stood up to give her Maid of Honor speech.
“When we were eleven, Toni told me that without a doubt, she’d never end up hitched to a Christian girl.” The smirk on Martha’s face was so prominent, Toni could feel the ‘I told you so’ radiating from every pore in her body. “And said if she did somehow lose enough brain cells to do so, it was my duty as her friend to object.”
“You failed,” Toni called out, earning a round of laughter from the other guests, and a slap on her shoulder from Shelby.
The rest of Martha’s speech went off without a hitch, earning a few more laughs, but also causing a flood of tears that Toni hadn’t expected.
Afterwards, Toni flew out of her seat and pulled Martha into the tightest hug she could muster, whispering, “Thanks for everything,” into her ear.
Becca stood up next, after being passed the microphone by Martha, and somehow delivered an even more heart wrenching speech about the trials and tribulations Shelby had faced in her life, and how Becca had watched her come into her own by accepting the feelings she had for Toni, before she even knew they were soulmates.
At the end, Becca thanked Toni personally for looking after Shelby and loving her exactly how she deserved, with every piece of her, freely, fully, and without reservation.
Now it was Toni’s turn to console a sobbing Shelby, who shook so hard she couldn’t stand up to hug Becca. Instead, the curly haired woman bounded over and wrapped her arms around Shelby from the back, kissing the side of her face.
And that was it for the speeches.
At least, that’s what Toni thought , until she heard the telltale crackling of the microphone being passed to someone else.
“Who let Fatin have the mic?” Toni hissed between a tense smile. “Who told her she could write a speech?”
“I did,” Shelby smiled gently back, and then turned her body towards Fatin in anticipation
Toni sighed, readying herself for the circus act that was bound to happen as a tipsy Fatin began to speak.
“Hey-yo!” Fatin started, immediately bumping the microphone against her mouth. “Oof, my bad! Alright, let me tell you a little bit about Shalifoe and Sandra Dee over there.”
Shelby covered her mouth to muffle her laugh, using her other hand to hold Toni’s.
“Shalifoe comes to me sophomore year, slamming doors and drawers in my apartment, throwing her hands around and spouting nonsense about the hottie down the hall from her.”
Fatin moved the microphone away from her to take a long, final sip of her champagne, before slamming the glass back down on the table.
“Long story short, it took Toni a decade to figure out what we all knew in college.”
Shelby laughed, but stopped as soon as Fatin held up a finger.
“Uh-uh, no. Shelby, you would get drunk just to drape yourself all over Toni and pretend you didn’t remember it in the morning.” Fatin lifted her hand to faux-whisper to Toni. “Spoiler alert, she always remembered.”
Despite already having an inkling, Toni gasped, much louder than she needed to, before letting a smirk slide onto her face. She turned her head towards Shelby, who was looking forward, refusing to meet her eyes.
“Aw, babe,” Toni cooed. “You were always such a touchy drunk.”
“Only with you,” Shelby said through her gritted teeth.
“Anyway, one day Marty and I-”
“Fatin,” Martha warned.
“Oh, shush, like you weren’t as invested as I was. Anyway, Marty and I had this whole betting system going on for months. You two lost me a lot of money!”
“You bet against us?” Toni turned to Martha, whose head was in her hands.
“No one actually won, but I could’ve!”
Toni rolled her eyes. “Does this speech have a point, Fatin?”
“Right, right, the point.”
With one last survey around the venue, Fatin cleared her throat and continued. “These two, despite taking an aggravatingly long amount of time, prove that you can’t fight love or destiny or some other third thing...” Toni watched her visibly swallow, almost looking like she was going to cry . “They belong together, and are probably going to make each other sickeningly happy for the rest of their lives.”
Toni glanced at Shelby. “Are you crying?”
Shelby dabbed a napkin along her cheeks, sniffing softly. “She’s right.”
“Yeah,” Toni sighed, letting a stupid smile slip onto her face. “I guess she is.”
After dinner, Toni wasted no time tugging Shelby out of her seat to cut the cake. Although Shelby had reservations about it, she let Toni wield the enormous knife, slicing through the cake in one swift motion and placing it on her plate.
“Careful,” Shelby chided, holding a napkin under the fork Toni had stacked to the ceiling with cake and frosting. “You’re not gonna wait on me?”
“We can share.”
She made a big show of opening her mouth as wide as possible to fit all of the cake in her mouth. Moaning around her full cheeks, she held her plate up for everyone to see and announced that “Arlene has outdone herself.”
Shelby opened her mouth expectantly, so Toni stabbed the cake once more, and then closed an eye and aimed, landing the fork right in between Shelby’s lips.
“Get a room!”
“It’s our wedding, Fatin!”
It wasn’t until their first dance as wives that time finally slowed. The wedding reception had sped by with laughs and food and spilled champagne, but now the moments ticked by in hours.
Toni committed it to memory, the feeling of Shelby’s dress underneath her fingers and how it dipped into her waist, the sound of the beginning bass of Lover reverberating through the hall, the way Shelby’s hypnotizing, green eyes shined with unshed tears, highlighted by her makeup.
Cheek to cheek, they swayed in time with the beating of their hearts, as the song painted a story of the softest love, one that Toni was never certain of, but now more than ever knew she was lucky enough to have.
“Where do you see yourself in another ten years?” Shelby whispered into her ear.
She didn’t need any time to answer. “Dancing with you.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” was Shelby’s coy response.
Toni laughed lightly, pulling away from Shelby to speak against her lips instead. “Then it’s a deal.”
“Isn’t it nice to get out of our suite for a little bit? Soak in the sun?”
Toni, covered in only a bikini and love bites, disagreed, but she nodded nonetheless.
Immediately after their wedding, they boarded a plane, slipped each other melatonin, and woke up bleary-eyed in Madeira, an island far off the coast of Portugal.
The first day (or two, or three) was spent christening every corner of their small suite, making up for a lost decade and taking intermittent breaks for room service.
Eventually, Shelby dragged Toni out of their room and down to Seixal beach where they currently sat, lounging on the dark sand and breathing in the salty, ocean air. Toni let the sun beat down on her skin. It didn’t quite burn, but the breeze did little to offset the heat. Instead, Toni took her beer bottle and held it against her forehead, letting the condensation drip down to her cheeks.
More importantly, she looked to her right to rake her eyes over Shelby’s bare legs and stomach, glistening with suntan lotion.
Toni didn’t think she would ever get over how drop-dead gorgeous Shelby was without even trying.
“I’d have fun wherever, as long as I’m with you,” Toni murmured.
It was true, she knew it to be. They could’ve been stuck in the airport terminal with nothing to entertain them but straw wrappers and each other, and Toni would’ve been grateful to be stuck with Shelby.
Shelby reached up to lower her sunglasses, letting her green eyes reflect gold as she met Toni’s own. “You already put a ring on it, no need to flatter me.”
She chuckled and trailed her eyes from Shelby’s to the ring on her finger, sparkling in the light. Toni flipped to lay on her stomach, now inches closer to Shelby’s face. “Seriously, Shelbs. Whatever’s next, it’s gonna be good as long as it’s with you.”
Shelby turned her head entirely towards Toni with a deep smirk struck across her face. Before she could respond, Toni leaned forward to steal a quick kiss that turned into two. “I’m so lucky to be yours,” Shelby said against her lips, looking at Toni through hooded eyes.
“Yeah, you are.”
That earned her a quick pinch to her hips which caused her to yelp and then laugh along with Shelby, who had a satisfied grin on her face.
“Say you’re lucky to have me.”
Toni turned her head forward to squint, tilting her head like she was thinking it over.
“Say it!” Shelby pounced onto Toni’s back and forced her into the sand.
Toni wriggled beneath her and attempted to push herself up, but Shelby was a lot stronger than she remembered (or Toni was weaker, but she’d never admit that), keeping her pinned.
“Uncle, uncle!” Toni shouted, struggling under Shelby’s body weight. Her attempts were futile, and all she could do was say, “Okay, I admit it!”
Shelby rolled off of her, but kept a hand on Toni’s cheek to pull her face closer. “Then say it.”
“I am so unbelievably lucky to be yours, Shelby,” Toni whispered, wasting no time before closing her eyes and capturing Shelby’s lips with her own.
Five years later.
“Arlene’s Bakeshop, always the best!” Toni said to Shelby as she unboxed the cake. All around the base were little animals drawn in frosting, and at the top was a big number 1 and “ Heidi” written in fancy script. It went perfectly with the zoo-themed decorations Troye, their foster son, had made along with some of his friends from his middle school art club.
Shelby snuck a quick kiss from Toni and whispered “Arlene knows all, doesn’t she?” and Toni smiled at the memory of the baker telling them they had something special, before she even admitted it to herself.
Just then, Toni felt a tug on her leg, and looked down to see Heidi, green eyes shining, lifting up her arms to be held. She picked her daughter up and began cooing to her, “Hi, sweetheart. You’re looking so beautiful in that dress, just like your Mama!”
“Oh, you’re such a sap,” Shelby said, but leaned in to give Toni another kiss.
“You two are still like this, huh?” Sara, their former foster daughter, said as she joined them in the kitchen. “Why am I not surprised? Meanwhile I’m gonna be forever alone,” she sighed as she gave Heidi a kiss on the head and took a seat.
“I’m sure that’s not true. I bet you there’s loads of people at UCLA who would be so happy to be with you,” Shelby reassured her.
Sara just rolled her eyes. “Not looking good for that. But you remember my friend Riley who I told you about?” A silent look passed between Toni and Shelby, Riley was all Sara was able to talk about sometimes.
“Sure, what about them?” Toni asked casually.
“I made an agreement with them, if we’re both single by the time we’re 35, we’re gonna get married, but like, platonically.”
Toni tried to hold in her laughter but failed when she noticed Shelby was doing the same thing.
“What’s so funny?” Sara asked, appalled.
Guests were about to arrive at the party and Toni really didn’t feel like explaining everything to Sara at that moment, so she just shook her head. “Nothing. It’s a good plan. Just make sure you don’t lose touch with Riley in the meantime.”
Toni smiled at Shelby, who smiled back as she arranged cake plates and napkins. They didn’t mourn their lost years anymore, not when they knew they had so many wonderful years ahead of them.
Suddenly, music came loudly blasting through the speakers they had set up around the living room. Troye had appointed himself the DJ of the party, but was clearly still getting the hang of it, considering the music started somewhere in the middle of the song.
It worked out though, as Shelby pulled her close a moment later to sing along with the lyrics, “ All’s well that ends well to end up with you.”