Rydellington Imagines/One shots

Her.

Rydel clung onto Ellington's arm tightly, swaying side to side a little and giggling like an over excited school girl. "That rollercoaster was awesome!" She exclaimed, grabbing his hands. "You really are a great friend for bringing me to six flags even... after my date didn't show up..." Her voice lowered as she trailed off, looking down at the ground. "He was a jerk. You deserve better." He told her, playfully punching her shoulder. She rubbed her arm, looking down at the ground, "yeah well guys don't seem to like me." Ellington smiled a bit, butterflies in his stomach. "Rydel, will you go out with me?"

He could remember it all just like it was yesterday.

"Ellington! Oh Ellington! Yes! Yes I will marry you!" Rydel exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately, his arms holding her body so close and so comfortably against his. It had happened exactly as he had planned and now he would finally get to marry the love of his life. He took a mental picture of her reaction as he slid the expensive silver ring onto her slim finger. That would be a face he'd never forget.

Those were the days.

"You may now kiss the bride."
Rydel's smile was wider than he had ever seen before. She looked so flawless in her beautiful white dress and perfectly styled hair. Like a princess awaiting the kiss from her prince.

How he wished he could relive it all.

"C'mon one more push Rydel, you're almost there." He told her, gripping her hand as tight as she was holding his. He watched her face as it turned from expressing pain and difficulty to relief and some relaxation. He kissed her cheek softly as she rested her head against him. "Here's your first child, a baby boy." The nurse told them, showing them a small pink face that was deeply buried within a blanket.

They were inseparable.

"Dad! Dad! I'm open!" His youngest son yelled, catching the football and making the touch down just as the kitchen time dinged- signalling the end of the game. Ellington, his daughter and his youngest son all celebrated with high fives and sporty chest bumps after winning the game. "Dinners ready!" Rydel shouted through the open kitchen window, winking at Ellington which made his insides melt even at forty years old. "I'll race you inside!" Ellington exclaimed, running towards the door as his four children chased after him.

Maybe they were a little dysfunctional but they were a team. They were a family.

"I can't believe he's gone." Rydel cried into Ellington's shirt as they surveyed the empty bedroom of their youngest child. "It's just us now." He wrapped his arms around her tightly, kissing the top of her blonde hair. "Will they ever come back?" She asked, looking up at him with her tears in her soft brown eyes. "They're just going to college delly, they'll come home."

They ended up as musicians, just like their parents- doing what they loved to do.

"Come on!" Ellington asked, giggling like a child as he jogged several steps at the park before stopping, doubled over and out of breath. Rydel caught up to him, wrapping an arm around her husband's waist. "Ell, you aren't as young as you used to be. You'll tire yourself out." Rydel told him, helping him to a bench and sitting next to him, her head resting against his chest so she could hear his slow but steady heartbeat. He looked down at her blonde hair with silvery-grey highlights that glistened in the sun.

She kept him young.

Ellington looked at the picture of him, his wife, his oldest son, his daughter and his youngest two sons and smiled weakly as he delicately ran his fragile finger over the front of the photo. His eyes fixated on Rydel. She had passed away two months ago and he missed her so much. sixty years they had been married. sixty glorious years and shortly, he knew they would be together again.

They say that when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes but in that moment, all he could see was her.