Omniscient POV:
"Okay, Honeybee, you set the table right?" Sade called, from the foyer, to her fiance who was in the kitchen of their new home.
"Yep!"
"And all of the food is finished cooking?" She made her way to meet Lauren.
"Done and done," Lauren was chuckling softly at her lover's obvious nerves.
She shook her head with a smile tugging her lips as she set up their long dining table to look like a feast for their expected guests. Once finished, she came back into the kitchen to find Sade subtly pacing from place to place to clean it back up. Simply exhaling an adoring breath, she crossed her arms and leaned against the frame of the door where the two rooms met, to watch for a moment. Sade eventually noticed eyes gazing upon her and paused and huffed as her arms dropped against her sides,
"Baby, why're you smiliiinngg?" she whined as her lip poked out. "This isn't funny, I just want this to go well."
With her bottom lip drawing between her teeth, Lauren pushed herself off the frame before walking up to Sade slowly.
"It's funny because I know for a fact that it's going to go just fine, and probably even better than we think... Come here." She took both Sade's hands to pull her body closer before wrapping both hands around her waist. "Quit worrying Emerald, okay?"
They locked eyes as she spoke and Lauren searched Sade's eyes until her fiance gave a nod in response. Laying a finger under her chin, once Sade's head started to fall a bit, Lauren leaned in to kiss her softly and slowly. And that's when she could physically feel some of the tension that Sade held within her body language wither away. One more kiss, she placed on her lips before pulling back slightly and sweetly swiping her thumb across her lover's chin.
Neither of them were dressed for the gathering they'd planned in their new home, also.
Since she was the one cooking, Lauren wore gray flare leggings with a white halter top and an apron, and her hair was in a clip though slightly damp from her morning shower. Then, since she'd been doing the cleaning and running a few small errands, Sade was dressed in her NYU sweatpants and cotton t-shirt. They'd showered together this morning, so though her hair wasn't wet, it was wrapped under a scarf and her face was bare as well as Lauren's.
Not to mention what a beautiful day it was in general, on the Upper East Side of New York City. Their neighborhood was even more spacious and quiet than their high rise in the heart of the city, and the only sound accompanying their days were the chirps of birds and soft whistles of the distant wind. And it was a sound that they dearly enjoyed waking up to everyday since moving in, almost three weeks ago. That along with the vast amount of space and simple yet enjoyable at-home activities, and the variety of them.
Standing close against each other's bodies, as their foreheads lovingly met, the couple's hands interlaced down by their sides, swinging a bit.
"Your mom called," Lauren spoke softly, making Sade's head lift up. "Their flight lands in less than an hour. And Troy's on his way to pick you up so that he can take you to get them from the airport." Realizing what that meant, Sade's eyebrows furrowed, though before she could utter a word, Lauren spoke again while taking her by the hand out of the kitchen. "Soo, I need to you to get dressed-"
"But babe, I don't even-"
"Your clothes, shoes, and jewelry are already laid out on the bed. All you have to do is put it on, and there's two options, just in case," she carried on while leading up the stairs with their hands interlocked behind her. "Troy will be here in about thirty minutes, so come on let's get you ready."
The two entered the bedroom and Sade couldn't help the smile spreading across her face once she saw the two outfits Lauren picked out for her. She would've easily picked the same out for herself, even down to the jewelry, and it just never failed to amaze her how well her fiance knew her. Indecisiveness and all.
"Which one?" Lauren asked while walking into their significantly larger bathroom, and taking her hair out of the clip. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to be dressy or chill today."
"More chill," Sade answered. "Since we're at home technically."
A mild blush tinted her cheeks and Lauren giggled to herself. "Home," she whispered softly in disbelief while shaking her head.
Though she heard the remark, Sade chose to remain quiet as she smiled and shook her head just the same.
She then began dressing in a black maxi skirt that loosely hugged her curves and a graphic tee with black, orange, and white writing on it. She scrunched the t-shirt into a knot in the front, then slid on the comfortable orange wedge platforms that her fiance also picked out for her. The jewelry, though, was leaving her a bit stumped as she took both options into the bathroom with her.
"Silver or gold?" She turned to Lauren with two necklaces held up in either hand as the two stood before their designated sinks. "Which looks better?"
"Uhhhhhh..." her fiancé scrunched her face indecisively as Sade playfully alternated each necklace up to her neck until she made a choice. Lauren chuckled after a moment. "Ima go with silver."
"Same." She put the gold down before holding out the silver to Lauren, then turned her back to her. Lauren simply laughed again,
"If you already decided then why ask me, Emerald?" She clasped the necklace then slid a hand down Sade's back as her fiance turned back around. That same hand then drew her closer by the waist.
Sade shrugged as her lips smirked. "I dunno, guess I wanted your opinion just in case." Lauren giggled and shook her head. "Should I do my makeup?" She then gasped, "wait, how should I do my hair??"
"You look beautiful as always, so if you're doing makeup, it shouldn't be because you need it. And as far as your hair, the natural fro is also beautiful babe, I say wear it like it is."
Timidly blushing because she knew that Lauren meant every word, Sade considerably looked at herself in the mirror as her lover lovingly gazed at her side profile up close.
"You think so?"
"I know so my love," she kissed her cheek. "You look gorgeous just like that. The other stuff isn't a necessity, not if you don't feel like doing it."
And she meant that just as she always had.
Since they first started dating, Lauren had always admired Sade's natural beauty. Back in high school she'd wear a good amount of makeup, thick lashes, and all kinds of different frontals. And Lauren appreciated that version of her just as well, of course. But when she saw Sade for the first time with no makeup, and a freshly washed head, full of 4b curls that stopped right on her shoulders, Lauren was in a completely different state of awe.
She sees that version of her lover a lot more often nowadays, now that they're grown adults. Sade wears less makeup, smaller lashes, and her natural hair is always out, whether it's styled, braided or straightened. She'd given away all of her wigs once graduating college, and the closest thing she gets to them now is a sew-in. Though she's never shy of fawning over her fiance, no matter what she's wearing, Lauren wasn't hesitant to admit that Sade's natural curls, paired with her bare face, was her personal favorite.
After removing her scarf and fluffing out her dried and voluminous, three day old, curls that she'd style into a middle part, Sade did a quick layer of mascara and applied lip oil before simply putting on her glasses to complete the look. While doing her own hair, Lauren admirably watched through the mirror, with her lips pursed to prevent a smile, as her fiance checked over herself before going to grab her handbag from their closet. She herself was going with mid rise gray cargos, an off the shoulder university tee, and her hair in a low fluffy ponytail.
Sade quickly sprayed some on perfume while in the closet, because by this time, Troy should be there any minute, and then came out ready to go.
"Kiss please." She stood between Lauren and the doorway with her lips puckered until Lauren pecked them twice, sending her on her way. "Okay, byee- I love youuu!"
"I love you too baby- can you get the candies I like too, please!?"
"Was already going to!" Sade called from the stairs.
"Thank youuu!"
~~~~~~~
"So, the Wedding's October 10th..." The couple nodded simultaneously as their parents looked onto them for clarification. "And it's outdoors, at the Botanical Gardens?" Keith asked.
The two were sitting on the loveseat in their spacious sunroom along with Keith, Adrienne, and Wes as Sade's sisters remained outside, enjoying the luxurious pool. They'd all just finished a family lunch about an hour ago, and resided there after providing a small tour of the new house.
"Yep, and the reception will be held inside of a sort of glass tent, or cube looking place-"
"It's beautiful, trust me," Lauren added.
"Beautifullll, mom you'll love it, I'm telling you."
"You showed me some pictures already, didn't you?" Adrienne sipped the tea that Lauren had offered her before everyone settled into the sunroom. Keith had a cup as well while Wes went with a simple bottled water.
"Yeah but it's ten times better in person," Sade answered.
Her mother nodded, took another sip, then sat it ahead of her onto the wooden coffee table before speaking,
"Hunter plan this?"
The couple glanced between each other while wearing bright smiles, then Sade answered again,
"Well, Lauren came up with the Botanical Gardens, and I picked the date. But other than that Hunter's doing the rest."
Wes then chimed in. "And are you designing any dresses or suits, Sade?"
"She's overseeing each dress and suit," Lauren answered once Sade didn't immediately answer.
"But Lauren insists that I don't design a thing, even though she wanted me to do her dress at first."
"Okayy," she held up a hand as everyone chuckled. "That was before I thought it through, and because you know what I like."
"So who is, then?" Adrienne asked out of curiosity. "Designing your dress, I mean."
"Donatella insisted on doing both our gowns mom, I thought I told you." Sade furrowed her eyebrows, and her mother shook her head. "Well yeah, I worked with her a few months back, then again around the time I proposed, and I told her I was getting married."
"Oh wow, a dress designed by Versace is bound to be beautiful."
"I know right," Lauren perked up while smiling cheekily. "I'm already in love with mine, I can tell you that much." She looked at Sade, who scrunched her nose at her.
"Hey." A, now 5'10 and short-haired, Amara knocked on the glass barrier of the sunroom to get everyone's attention. "Y'all come on, Sade, Mom- You said you'd swim with us, remember?"
"Of course, of course," Adrienne stood up, and Sade soon followed, as well as Lauren and everyone else. "Alright honey, you heard her, let's go change," she said to her husband as they left the room to head to their guest bedroom.
"You swimming Honeybee?" Sade asked her fiance as they joined hands and followed everyone out also. Lauren nodded,
"Well I'm changing, but I don't know if I'll get in really. Dad and I have some catching up to do." She turned to Sade before they went up the stairs. "Here, I'll get the snacks and set them up outside, then get changed and meet you guys out there. You go ahead and change, your family's waiting for you."
Sade's brows knit as she tucked a piece of Lauren's hair behind her ear. "You sure baby?"
Biting her lip to hide a bashful smile, Lauren leaned in to peck her lover's lips. "Positive. Go ahead, I'll see you in a bit." She playfully slapped Sade's behind before walking off into the kitchen and leaving her fiance at the stairs, surely blushing and shaking her head.
~~~~~~~~~
Their family stayed over for the weekend, and flew back to Tallahassee that Sunday afternoon after a family breakfast. Though Sade and Lauren enjoyed every bit of their company, the two were happy to have the house back to themselves again. There was nothing like it, and it was as if even after all the time they've spent together, the couple still craved being in each other's presence one on one.
As of now, it's a Sunday evening, and the night before both of their work lives picked right back up.
For both of them, the Grammys was now right around the corner. Lauren was nervous because she had both a performance and a nomination to worry about that night, and Sade was also nervous because Lauren had a performance and nomination to worry about that night. Sure she had about three other artists to design gowns for, and a fashion show that week, but those had become a walk in the park by now.
What did matter most though, was how big of a night this was for her fiance.
Since the accident, Lauren had been working twice as hard to make sure she didn't miss a step within her career, and Sade was there to witness it all. She was there when it'd be 3 am and she'd wake up to the sound of the piano in the living room and Lauren sometimes groaning in frustration. She was there almost everytime Lauren had passed out in her arms because she'd been up since 5 am, going from training to rehearsals, to sometimes training again or spending hours working on songs at home. Countless of teas and massages, she'd given Lauren late at night, just to make sure her lover was somewhat functioning.
And when Lauren had done everything she had to do in a day, then would still cook dinner for Sade or make her favorite dessert for when she got home from work, Sade wondered what in the world she did to deserve someone so special.
And now that her hard work was being recognized, also being that it was almost a year ago since she'd gotten into a terrible accident, Sade was just beyond proud of Lauren; she couldn't express that enough. She was nervous for her, yes, but in the most positive way. So badly did Sade want to see her win, and to see Lauren receive such a big award that she'd been working so hard for. She was ecstatic for her, just for being nominated alone.
As Lauren had just finished cleaning up the kitchen, and straightening up the living room, with Jill Scott playing on the built-in speakers of their home, Sade remained in her favorite room while preparing for work in the morning.
The sun had just finished setting, which left a misty shade of dark blue across the sky with the moon as its accent piece. And just as the day was coming to an end, the weather was cooling down and the wind started to swiftly blow, bristing amongst the glass of the sunroom.
Before heading upstairs to relax with Bella because the two of them loved to watch TV together, Lauren decided to check in on her fiance and see if she wanted to join them.
"Hi," she whispered once entering the room, and Sade glanced up at her with a toothless grin,
"Hey beautiful." She removed her MacBook from her lap to sit on the side of her before extending both arms out toward Lauren. "Come here, I've missed you."
"Baby we've been together all weekend," Lauren chuckled as Sade pulled her down to straddle her lap.
"Yeah but it's not the same and you know it," Sade pouted her bottom lip a little as she sat more upright to wrap her arms around Lauren. "Having a sleepover with my sisters the past two nights, I've barely been able to touch you."
"I know my love, I've missed you too," Lauren mirrored the expression that she found oh so adorable before leaning in to kiss her lover's lips. "A lot," she whispered just as Sade deepened the second one.
Her hands cupped Sade's cheeks as Sade's slid up under her large t shirt, and the two of them slowly started to lean back against the plush loveseat. The innocent kiss they'd first shared had grown more passionate and sensual by the second as their tongues began to fight for dominance.
Each of them wanting to please the other, it went on for a while until Lauren found herself caving as soon as Sade's hands found their way to massaging her breast with purpose before she gently pinched one nipple. The second that Lauren began struggling to kiss her fiance back, Sade kept her caress with one hand while using the other to lift Lauren's chin to grant herself better access to the soft spots on her neck. And when she did that, it wasn't long before Lauren's shallow breathing grew into soft moans.
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Last filler, I promise... like ever lol
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