Disclaimer: It's probably obvious, but I don't own any of the HSM characters or their related elements.

Author's Note: Hello everyone, I'm back! I've had some fun ideas to round off the grown-up Troyella stories, so I'm just continuing on in the hopes it comes out well. I don't know if it will be as long as the last two, but I do hope it entertains.

As well, I must remind you all that THIS FIC IS RATED M. Which means, as usual, that this story is not suitable for children or teens below the age of 16, with possible strong but non-explicit adult themes, references to violence, and strong coarse language.

Okay, so that's it! Here we go!

Written November 18, 2006

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Chapter 1 – The Wedding Dress

From the moment I tried it on, I knew it was the dress for me. It was strapless and had a floaty train, and I felt absurdly like a princess just wearing it. Trembling, I stepped out of the changing room to see it in the big mirror on the sales floor. My friend Anna looked up and gasped, and beside her, so did Sharpay.

"That's it, Gabi," Sharpay said, jumping up out of her chair, Anna not far behind. "That's it. That's the one."

I couldn't stop smiling. The fabric felt silky and light, like a dream of a dress instead of a real garment. I twirled, then started to dance about. "Oh my God, guys. I love it, I love it, I love it."

They laughed, and even the wizened old store seamstress cracked a slight smile as she beckoned me to her. She reached to pin the waist, but after examining it closely, she moved back, frowning.

"It must truly be your dress," she said in accented English. "You will need no adjustments at this time. It is fitted."

My eyes snapped over to Anna and Sharpay in shock. They laughed again. "It's a sign," said Anna. "So just buy the damn thing already and we can go for dinner early."

But the seamstress was still talking. "You are also in much luck today," she said, looking at the tag on the hem. "The dress, it is of our older styles. So, you may take this one with you now, if you wish."

Sharpay's eyes goggled. She grabbed my arm. "Gabi. This is unbelievable. Usually they just take your measurements and send you your dress four months from now. If you need a sign, this is a huge one. Take it, take it, take it!"

Her fingers gripped my arm a bit too tightly. "Okay, okay, release!" I said, tapping her fingers. She laughed and let go, and I turned to the mirror again, still smiling. "Really, I don't think I'm going to need that much convincing. It's just… perfect."

In the mirror, I could see Sharpay and Anna nodding behind me.

"It is, Gabi," said Anna, touching my shoulder warmly. "You look amazing. When you come down that aisle, Troy won't know what hit him."

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For dinner, Anna took us to a small family-run Mexican restaurant she knew. The place felt so cozy and the food was superb. Giddy with my triumph at dress shopping, I even let Anna cajole me into a third margarita. I found myself laughing almost the whole time.

Anna was going to be my bridesmaid, and Taylor of course would be my maid of honor. But with Taylor still out in New York doing what investment bankers do, Sharpay had magnanimously agreed to be her proxy while we planned the wedding out west. The minute she'd returned from her honeymoon, she'd thrown herself headfirst into organizing my wedding details.

She was actually more help than I'd thought. Two weddings had already taught her what details to spend on and which to save. And since her first wedding had been in Albuquerque, like ours was going to be, she knew all the key retailers and could haggle like a pro. As she drove me home from the restaurant, I couldn't help but say how happy I was that she was helping out.

"Seriously, Sharpay, you should seriously plan weddings as a career or something," I gushed. "You're just so great at it. Seriously."

Wait. Had I said "seriously" three times?

But Sharpay seemed not to notice, shrugging cheerfully as she pulled up onto my street. "Well, I don't mind the work. It's fun. Especially when it's for a good friend." She stopped in front of my apartment building. "Now you'd better get yourself some rest. We're going to have to do this again next week for the bridesmaids dresses. And I can guarantee you it's not going to be as easy as today."

She smiled, and I reached over to hug her. "You could seriously not be any sweeter," I said, hauling the garment bag containing my dress out of the backseat. "Thanks for the ride. Have a good night!"

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I opened the apartment door to find Troy chewing a PopTart in the kitchen, unbelievably handsome in just faded jeans and a t-shirt. I had a strange urge to kiss him full on the mouth, like some terrible romance novel… but instead I dumped my bags on the counter and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Hey," he said. "How was dinner?"

"Good," I said. "We went for Mexican. What did you have?"

"Well…" He laughed and turned me around so we both faced the fridge. "I opened a beer and I was going to make something, but I kind of got sidetracked by the calendar."

Troy's calendar on the fridge was where I'd scribbled in all the upcoming dates and appointments for the wedding. "Oh," I said, realizing how full the weeks were getting. "It's coming pretty quickly, huh?"

"Way too fast." He took a sip of the beer he had on the counter. "And I can't believe that next week I'm doing that thing in Seattle. And then Flagstaff the next week. It's insane."

"Oh, right." I smiled, but a cool wave settled over my heart. Troy was going to spend a week in both Seattle and Flagstaff on a business trip. His company had been doing well lately, and some bigger companies had expressed interest in taking them to "the next level." It was only going to be two weeks, and he'd be back in between trips… but I knew I'd miss him a lot.

Suddenly he spoke again. "So what's in the giant bag?

The excitement from earlier bubbled back up. "Can't you tell?" I said, nudging him.

"Your mom?"

He laughed as I smacked him and grabbed the bag, walking over to the bedroom and closing the door. "Your mom better not come out of there with you," he called after me.

"And why not?"

There was a pause, and then he chuckled. "Because I haven't made anything for dinner. And I…"

But he stopped short when he saw me come back out, wearing the dress.

"And what?" I said, grinning slyly.

"I… don't remember," He drew a slow breath, leaning back onto the counter. "Wow. Your wedding dress."

The urge to kiss him flashed up again, stronger than before. I walked lightly toward him and slid my arms around his neck. "What do you think? Good enough to marry me in?"

"I'd say so," he said, a smile spreading on his face. His arms wrapped around my waist. "The real question is whether I'm going to look good enough in a tux to marry you in this dress."

"Yeah?" I said, kissing him softly on the neck.

"Yeah," he said, his breathing suddenly turning shallow. "Jesus, Gabi, you look incredible…"

But I cut him off with a kiss on the mouth, long and soft and sweet. His body felt warm and strong against mine, and his hand reached up to hold the back of my neck as the kiss deepened. Breaking apart, we were both breathing hard. His eyes were bright as he looked at me.

"Could you…" he said. "Could you maybe wear this dress all the time?"

I laughed, kissing him again. "Maybe. But… not for the next hour or so."

"The next hour or so… oh." He laughed, and then without warning, he scooped me up off the ground, making me squeal. "Okay, Montez," he said, kissing me again as we collapsed onto the bed. "I can live with that."

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Author's Note: Oh, it's so nice to see them together again. And don't worry, you know I'm going somewhere with all this….