Until You Met Me

Turning the television off, Molly blinked sleepily before she sat up, her eyes looking around the still vaguely unfamiliar layout of the living room she was sat in. The novelty still hadn’t quite worn off. Despite her and Gerard having lived together for a few weeks, the idea that she was sat in their house was one that still felt a little unfamiliar, but the slightly disconcerted feeling that she had sometimes never lasted for long, not when she woke up next to him every morning. Living together hadn’t come without its bumps. Both Molly and Gerard had lived alone for a long time, and getting used to having someone else in their space almost all of the time hadn’t happened easily, but whatever little fights they had gotten into had been quickly smoothed over when they both remembered how much they liked waking up next to one another.

Lifting a hand to rub at her eyes, she let out a soft yawn before she caught sight of the magazine that was sat on the coffee table ahead of her, something which caused her to shake her head gently, a soft huff of laughter falling out of her mouth. It hadn’t surprised her. Despite both her and Gerard insisting that they wanted to take their time when it came to making plans for their wedding, she had fully expected their friends and families to try and nudge things forwards slightly, and so when her parents had dropped by for lunch earlier that day, she hadn’t been at all surprised when her mother had pulled the bridal magazine out of her bag. Julia had insisted that there was no pressure, that Molly and Gerard were in charge and that she would be happy to help whenever the time came, but it hadn’t stopped her from pressing the magazine into Molly’s hands, or admitting that she had already folded down the corners on pages that she liked.

Picking it up off the table, she leafed through the pages until she heard the front door close. Lifting her head, she watched as Gerard padded into the doorway before his face lit, something that made her shake her head, smiling down at her lap. “Good match?” she prodded.

“You’d know if you’d watched” Gerard chirped, making a show of playfully rolling his eyes.

Molly shrugged, matching his impish smile. “If it makes you feel better, I didn’t watch much of anything” she mused “I fell asleep pretty early, and I have just woken up” she added.

Gerard fell into the seat next to her, huffing out a playful sigh. “I guess that that makes me feel a little better” he quipped.

“How about this” Molly quipped “I’ll come to the next home match. If you can get tickets for me and my papa, we’ll be there” she added.

Gerard’s teasing smile softened into something brighter and happier. “Really?” he asked.

Molly nodded. “Really” she confirmed “I can’t remember the last time I went, and I know that my papa thinks it is the biggest perk of having you in his life, so...” she trailed off with a small shrug.

“Me making you happy isn’t the biggest perk of me being in your father’s life?” Gerard chirped, gently tucking Molly’s hair behind her ear.

“You’ve been able to get him tickets for longer than you’ve been my boyfriend” Molly quipped “But, for what it is worth, you’re also probably his favourite of all of my boyfriends. You make me happy, and that makes him happy” she added.

Gerard thought about making a joke about how few serious boyfriends Molly had had and about how it wasn’t much of a competition to be her father’s favourite, but he stopped himself. Instead, he leant over and kissed her temple softly, mumbling a comment about how he loved how well her family knew him, before he glanced down at her lap, his forehead furrowing slightly at the sight of the magazine that sat here. Reaching out, he slipped it out of her grasp before he held it up, offering her a slightly baffled smile.

Molly shook her head, an embarrassed tint on her cheeks. “A gift from my mother” she said before he had the chance to ask “She and papa were here for lunch and she left that behind. You know how excited she is. I keep telling her that we’re not in a hurry, but she keeps, not so subtly, trying to coax us into planning” she added.

Gerard thumbed through a few pages, his expression growing slightly apprehensive, something which had Molly biting back the urge to sigh. She had agreed to slow things down. When Gerard had admitted to being overwhelmed by the way that everything about their relationship had been intensifying at the same time, she had felt the same way, but it didn’t mean that there wasn’t a part of her that was itching for the day his expression didn’t change to arrive. They had done a lot in a short time. In a little over a year, they had gone from friends, to being a couple to being engaged, and there was nothing wrong with wanting to slow things down a little, but eventually, Molly wanted to talk about planning their wedding, and she wanted Gerard to want to do it too.

Reaching over, Molly gently slipped the magazine out of his hand before she settled it back onto the coffee table, offering him a slightly forced smile. “She’s just excited” she mused “She was the same way with Pop and Felipe. She will get the message eventually” she added.

Gerard looked up at her, hearing something in her voice that he couldn’t quite place, but before he had the chance to question it, Molly leant over, pecking his lips a couple of times before she stood up. “I’m going up to bed” she said “Will you be up soon?” she asked.

For a second, Gerard thought about asking her what was wrong, but he talked himself out of it, deciding that whatever he had heard in her voice had just been his imagination. Instead, he nodded his head. “Should be” he said “I just need some water or something. I will see you up there?” he asked.

“In our bedroom” Molly chirped, smiling gently as she stressed the word ‘our’.

Gerard laughed, certain that he’d never get tired of hearing her say that and a little relieved to see her smile to confirm that she was alright. “Night, Molly” he said.

“Night, Gerard” Molly replied before she stepped out of the room, trying desperately to ignore the tiny knot of frustration that twisted in her stomach.