Roommates

blurb: wedding

You bit your lip nervously as you eyed the blank iPhone screen, waiting impatiently to hear from Shawn.

It was tradition to keep away from each other in the hours leading up to the wedding, and even though you knew he'd soon be officially all yours, that didn't make things any easier.

"Mommy, you look pretty," your daughter spoke, giggling once you planted a kiss on her tiny nose after scooping her into your lap.

Juliana was about to turn four, and it broke your heart. In a million little pieces, to be exact. You and Shawn had been mentally preparing for the day you'd have to drop her off at some elementary school and just leave her there. Then Shawn would embark on another tour. And you weren't sure how you were going to survive it.

Fuck, she's getting big, you thought to yourself as her bony little butt dug into your lap. You knew Shawn was your soulmate or whatever and he wanted to be married more than anything, but life kept getting in the way. First a baby. Then a house. Then another album. Then another tour. Then a movie. And then? Then four years had passed.

You mouthed an apology to your makeup artist as she did her best to work around the precious angel insisting on being close to you, all-the-while trying not to freak the fuck about the white gown hanging in the corner. You took a deep breath.

____________________

Shawn fiddled with his cufflinks, cursing Geoff for making him turn his phone off. He had mentioned something about it helping with the element of surprise, but Shawn wasn't quite positive. He hadn't really been listening.

Besides, what was there to really be surprised about? He'd known you five years, loved you five years, was positive he'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with you for five years. There was no element of surprise here. Just what was meant to be.

A knock at the hotel room door caught his attention and he grew painfully curious as Brian sauntered over to it, swinging it open in an instant.

"Special delivery," Shawn could just make out, peeking around the corner to get a glimpse of who was there. He grinned.

It was his mother, holding the tiny hand of his little girl.

"Daddy!" she squealed, breaking into a wobbly sprint toward Shawn.

"Hi honey," Shawn smiled warmly, pulling her into his arms and giving her a spin, "everything good?"

"I miss you," she mumbled, reaching out with her tiny hand and poking her dad on the nose. He was wrinkling her puffy pink dress, but he didn't care. This was so much more important, "Oh! Mommy says you need to answer your phone."

"It's turned off, baby," Shawn spoke softly, but his glare in Geoff's direction didn't quite match his tone.

"Well, she says she's very nervous," Juliana spoke slowly, but with confidence. His heart swelled as she added, "but the good kind."

Shawn had an idea.

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You screamed a bit at the tiny knock on the door. With Juliana gone you were already so on edge.

"Jesus fuck, relax," your sister laughed, swinging the door open only to stop her actions abruptly, "You can't be here!" she insisted, triggering you to swivel your head in her direction.

"It's fine, I can't see anything," Shawn spoke, and you got up to discover that he was crouching down very low, and Juliana was standing behind him with her tiny palms covering his eyes.

"Mommy?" your little girl called, "Daddy says he needs to talk to you."

You heard Shawn mutter something in her ear, and she added to her sentence, "the good kind!"

You tightened your satin robe and scurried over, crouching to meet their level.

"Yes?"

"They made me turn my phone off," Shawn began to explain, and you couldn't help but giggle at the tiny hands keeping his eyes shut.

"That's okay, baby," you grinned, reaching out to grab his hands. His suit was exquisite.

"I just wanted to tell you that I love you, and I'm nervous, too. The good kind."

You leaned forward and planted a quick kiss on his lips, moving your hands to his bent knees comfortingly.

"I'll see you soon, yeah?" Shawn asked, and you laughed again because even though his eyes were closed, his brows still went up as he posed a question.

You nodded, and then realized he couldn't see anything, and then felt like an idiot, so you mumbled something between "mmhm" and "uh-huh."

"Okay," he chuckled, flashing you his white teeth, "Team Mendes?"

"Team Mendes," you nodded, giving him another quick peck.

"Jules, you too," Shawn grinned, "Team Mendes?"

"Team Mendes!" your four-year-old exclaimed, and in that moment, you knew everything was going to be just fine.