AN: Another follow on fic to my original RD x R series - a look at where the couple is now.
*Part of this story mentions neurodivergence, this is based on my own diagnosis and for the sake of the story, Rachel or Millie have never said that they are*
Laying on the sofa in the house you have recently moved into with Rachel felt like bliss – a full circle moment. Your head rested on her lap while the TV glowed in the background as you both scrolled on your phones after a long day at work. Rach had recently stepped down from international duties which meant she had more time to build a life with you but you didn’t let her make the decision lightly. Watching her last game in the stands when nobody knew it would be the end made you sad but the pictures and shirts hung up around the house reminded you both that it happened. You had chatted over tonights dinner so the silence and unwinding was welcomed as you let go of all the workplace drama.
“I’ve been offered tickets to a show tonight, do you wanna go?” Rachel broke the silence making you drop your phone and look up at her, you had been looking forward to relaxing since the start of your shift this morning. You were finally getting over the stress of moving and was enjoying spending time in your first home with your fiancée so your reply wasn’t encouraging. “Err..what is it?” your tone of voice already telling her that you weren’t keen on moving from the sofa anytime soon. Running her fingers through your hair she knew how tired you were. “Something called Six in London?” she said, moving the phone away from her face and gazing down at you to see your reaction,“Six?!” your demeanor quickly changed, sitting upright suddenly in excitement. “I’ve wanted to see that for ages!” your eyes glowed with enthusiasm that wasn’t there a few moments ago. “They’ve said we can meet them beforehand if we get there early enough too?” Suddenly filled with a whole truck load of energy you started bouncing around the room gathering your make up, mirror and hair brush while ticking over outfits in your mind. “Oh, I do like being your girlfriend, you know that right?” you gushed, leaning over the back of the sofa to kiss her but she pulled away before you could. “Excuse me! You’re my fiancée remember!” she screeched cheekily and waved your own hand in your face to remind you of the ring on your finger. “How could I forget” you blushed, admiring your ring, “I can’t wait to marry you” holding both her cheeks you brought her in for the kiss she’d backed away from a few moments earlier. “I can’t wait to call you my wife” she breathed in between your lips stroking together. “Say that again” your words mumbled seductively into her mouth, leading her to snap her head away from yours and start to dramatically perform to an invisible audience. “What? My wife? Oh yes this is my wife (y/n), Mrs (y/n) Daly, that’s her, the love of my life!” You giggled as the goosebumps trickled up your arms when she grabbed you and pulled you back onto the sofa with her.
The instructions in the email Rach had received told you to get dropped at the stage door which allowed you to enter the theatre in secret. Since coming back from the World Cup you were lucky if you made it around the local supermarket without being stopped 3 times - your whole life had changed and now you’d become Rachel’s personal photographer when it came to the fans. Sometimes they asked for a picture with you too but that was a rare occasion so you revelled in the days where you could sneak into somewhere without being spotted and try to live a normal life like before. You met the actresses and took photos together that would be used as promo on the show’s socials (this always seemed to be part of the package when you’re invited somewhere for free, you didn’t mind if it saved you money though!) then was shown the way to your box. You’ve been in boxes for shows before but this was like another world, it had a door for a start and the normal seats had been replaced with a sofa, allowing you to snuggle close together away from everyone to enjoy the show. It was amazing and you both really enjoyed it, the songs had you up and clapping at the end wishing you could watch it all over again.
You let most of the crowds leave before you did then took a stroll down to Trafalga Square, you’d never seen it at night before. “Is this bringing back memories?” you asked flicking your eyes around the vast empty space and wrapping your arms around your lady. Remembering the Euros celebration and Rach singing her Rag Doll in front of thousands of fans. You were one of them, smitten with her brave and carefree attitude how she did that without a care in the world. “I was… stood right around here, I think” you said slowly, waiting for her to catch on. Rachel who was watching the traffic looked at you stunned - “this is when my crush started, you singing in front of everyone, being so happy and just not giving a shit about anything, I loved it, made me want to care less about what people think, it was brave.. and sexy” you said fiddling with her hair between your fingertips. “I still can’t believe I did that to be honest, I think I was still drunk and thought fuck it” she laughed. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you.. still can’t” winking at her, “and now you’re marrying me” she gushed.. “and now, I’m marrying you” confirming what she’d said your eyes sparkled looking up at her. Walking over towards the fountain Rach quizzed you on why you hadn’t told her you were at the celebration before, you said that you were waiting for a cute time and this seemed like it.
Perching on the ridge of the fountain wall you positioned yourselves to be looking at each other, London had never seemed so peaceful and calm. “Do you think our lives are planned out for us when we’re born?” Rachel asked, making you take a minute to think; you had studied philosophy and ethics in school and this was something you had written countless essays on, it’s typically a Christian view and being agnostic you allow yourself to believe in anything you want. “Not necessarily, but our story makes me think fate exists. Like my life wasn’t planned for me, I’ve made all of this happen, nothing is taking away my own achievements. But was it fate that lead me to you?” you paused in thought, stroking her leg. “Maybe.. seems to be more and more coincidences as time goes on. But then, can it be called coincidences because I was here celebrating your win? Because so was a lot of people. So who knows” you shrugged, leaving her to put forward her thoughts. “I believe in fate, I believe you were and are my fate and everything that’s happened has lead me to you. If I didn’t sing that, would you have fancied me? Would you have been front row, would you have taken my shirt? Then slept with me, come home with me and never left? Because if I didn’t sing that song you wouldn’t have started fancying me, no?” she projected. “You could be right there, your personality shone that day and that is what I fall for so..” you drifted off. “I’ve always been told by girlfriends that I’m too much, I’m a lot to handle. Then I was diagnosed with ADHD and everything just made sense. Millie has it too, must be why we became best friends” she drifted off. “You’re neurodivergent?” you interrupted with a hint of surprise in your voice. “Yeahhh?” her reply seemed coy, trying to gauge your reaction and whether it was good or bad. “Me too! I’ve read that we gravitate towards each other! Okay. It’s official. I do believe in fate!” you exclaimed excitedly, shaking her lightly with a huge smile on your face. “Woah, I was so worried to tell you in case it scared you off” her voice became more high pitched with every admission, “me too! I can’t believe it!” You hugged happily knowing neither of you have to hide that side of yourselves anymore but stopped suddenly when your excitement nearly landed you in the cold and murky fountain water. “Baby, nothing will scare me off. I’m marrying you for you, you’ll never be too much for me. The more the better!” you reassured her, both smiling with deep knowledge that you were both absolutely meant for each other. Sitting side by side on the fountain wall you talked for what seemed like hours, the cool evening breeze gently tousling your hair, you began reminiscing about the start of your relationship and how far you’d had come.
“We should probably go catch our train” Rach said glancing at her watch. You smiled and kissed her one last time before leaving, basking in the glow of the city lights and the warmth of each other's love, you knew that your story was far from over. But one thing was certain - you were in it together, forever and always.
