#well this one kept me busy in the plane back from barcelona | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

judebelle · 5 months

Note

one with gavi where u guys r long distance and finally see each other again and it’s just cute and fluff

did i mention i missed you? - p.g. x reader

pairing : pablo gavi x fem!reader

cw : just stomach churning fluff

wc : 1.2k

author note : i need to write fluff more often cus wtf

---

it had been 34 days, 6 hours, and 43 minutes since you’d last seen pablo.

just kidding, you had no clue how long it’s been, but you felt sick with longing. all you knew was it had been a little over a month, and you couldn't wait any longer.

he played in barcelona and lived there as well, but you attended university in cueta, spain. it was around a 13 hour drive away, and with both your schedules being so busy and it being impractical, neither of you could drive so far on the regular.

it was just past mid terms, and you had planned to make a trip to see pablo. you two had talked about it, and he said he wasn’t too busy, and that you two would be able to spend a good amount of time together.

and that was all you needed. you packed your backpack and convinced an unsuspecting taxi driver to drive you to barcelona.

keep in mind, you were a broke university student, you didn’t have money to buy a plane ticket to barcelona as well as a return one. of course if you told pablo, he would pay for it, but you didn’t like to ask him for money.

13 too many hours lately, the taxi driver dropped you off at a coffee shop not too far from pablo’s house. you bought two small coffees and started your walk with your backpack slung on your hunched back. you were so excited you felt giddy.

you tried to get your mind off seeing your boyfriend in a few minutes because if you kept thinking about him, you might've just fainted and dropped the overpriced coffees on the ground.

your hands were full, so you couldn’t text pablo that you were closeby, so you just walked until you got to his house. you placed one coffee on the stone ground in front of his door before ringing the bell and picking the coffee back up.

you were smiling like a little kid, your body shaking slightly with excitement.

it took a little bit of waiting, but the door finally opened.

there he was, in all his glory.

his hair was all disheveled, his grey sweatpants and white t-shirt wrinkled and wonky. he was napping.

he rubbed his eyes in confusion before looking at you, looking at his watch, and back at you.

a toothy grin spread on his face, accentuating his dimples. he bit his lips before finally opening his arms, calling you to hug him.

you squealed in excitement, your hands beginning to wrap around his neck before realizing you were still holding the coffees.

you quickly stepped into his house, placing the coffees on the table near his door before turning around and squealing again, finally getting to wrap your arms around him.

he engulfed you into a warm hug, chuckling into your hair. he dipped his head into the crook of your neck and breathed in your scent. “missed you so much, hermosa.”

you laughed and squeezed him hard.

“i took a long ass taxi ride over here, so you better have missed me.” you planted a teasing kiss on his cheek.

he pulled back from you.

“you took a taxi? bebé, that’s so unnecessary and unsafe! what were you think-“

you shut him up with a kiss, his arms going back to wrapping around your waist. he shut the door behind you, stopping the cool evening air from hitting your back.

“shh, just wanna kiss you” you whispered, kissing him and shrugging your backpack off your shoulders and onto the floor with a thump.

he laughed into the kiss before sighing in satisfaction.

he broke the kiss to look at you.

“did i mention that i missed you?” he teased.

you smiled “no, maybe you should say it again..”.

he bit his lip and kissed you on your cheek “i missed you”. he kissed your other cheek, “i missed you” before kissing your forehead, eyes, nose, and lips. “i missed you, i missed you, i missed you,”.

you giggled and grabbed his arms, pushing him back. “okay, i think i got it. i take it you.. missed me?” you questioned sarcastically.

“spot on, mi amor.”

---

you had finally finished greeting each other. he took your backpack to his room as you removed your shoes and used the washroom downstairs. he came back down to see you handing him a coffee.

“drink it, its a new place nearby, never seen it before.” you said, smiling softly.

he smiled and gently took the coffee. you both took a sip at the same time, locking eyes.

ew.

both your faces scrunched in disgust. the coffee was bitter, bland, and just plain disgusting. it was like drinking plastic.

“ew, what is this?!” you said, covering your mouth dramatically.

he turned the cup over to see the label on the cup.

“el café..?” (the coffee)

he drew his eyebrows together.

“that’s the name of the shop? the coffee?”

you both laughed at the choice of shop name. “how unoriginal can somebody get?”

---

after dumping out that expensive cup of trash people called coffee, you two snuggled up on his bed and turned on the tv.

you had changed into one of his clean boxers and crewnecks which were both too large on you, the fabric your body.

he scrolled through netflix, hovering over each movie he deemed interesting before you dismissed it with a “ew no”.

“baby, how can we watch a movie if you say no to everything?” he looked down at your curled up form, snuggled into the warmth of his torso, leg thrown over his waist.

you shrugged “not my fault everything on here is shit.” he giggled at your words.

after what seemed like an eternity, you two had finally picked a rom com. pablo didn’t necessarily like romantic comedies, but you did, and he loved you. he just decided he would suck it up for 2 hours.

funny enough, the 13 hour car drive was starting to creep up on you. your eyelids felt heavy. the mixture of the exhaustion and you being back in pablo’s warm embrace sent you into a deep sleep.

pablo didn’t notice, and continued watching the movie, internally cringing at some moments. he would be lying if he said it wasn’t interesting.

when you two would finish watching a movie, you would usually complain about how stupid the characters were, or discuss the plot. but ironically, pablo had a lot to say about this specific film.

“i don’t understand why he would leave if he really loved her? i just don’t get the whole concept of loving someone so much that you’re willing to leave them. it’s so stup- y/n?”

he stopped his rant halfway when he saw you practically knocked out against him. you were snoring lightly, which was unnoticeable when there loud movie was playing.

he smiled softly, admiring your gentle features, and placed a loving kiss on your forehead before reaching for his phone.

he snapped a picture of you cuddled up against him and posted it on his instagram story, captioned:

“mi chica soñolienta <;3” (my sleepy girl <3)

595 notes · View notes

emgavi · 1 year

Text

I can't lose her (Gavi x reader)

Part 2 of Losing you slowly, hope it gives some of you closure from the last part.:)) 1,944 words

All you could hear around you was the busy life of the airport as you sat by your terminal for your flight. You were going to do this, you couldn’t believe it. Part of you was excited to go to New York City, but another part was thinking about what Gavi is doing now. By now you think he read your letter at your, well now his apartment.

“Flight 309 to New York will be boarding in 5 minutes”

Hearing the announcement I get my suitcase and head to the already forming long line near the entrance. Just as you stopped rolling your bag, you heard a voice call out behind you that sounded like your name.

“y/n!”

I turned around looking to the side of the people behind me to see… no… what is he doing here? There I see Gavi running towards me. Stunned at seeing him here especially since you didn’t know he would know you would be here at this time.

“Gavi? What are you doing here?” i asked , puzzled as he came towards me.

Panting from running in, “i - i - I needed to see you. Y/n mi amor, i’m so sorry from the bottom of my heart i never meant to hurt you and not show up last night. I was texting you but I forgot to press send, that’s my fault completely. Everything. Please forgive m-”

You cut him off, feeling yourself start to grow angry again hearing him make more excuses, “Stop, Gavi, stop with the excuses, that’s all you ever give me. How hard is it to show respect in this relationship? I love you Gavi, i really do , which is why it is so hard to say goodbye even after all you’ve done.”

He looked at you with pleading eyes ‘i’ll be better, i’ll fix myself, please mi amor don’t leave me, I don’t want to lose you” he begged, reaching out to hold your hands but you pulled away before he could. Making him frown at your movements to distance yourself.

``Please Gavi, even if you did, how could I have full confidence that you won’t do it again?”

Gavi opened then closed his mouth, having an internal battle as you said that. Shaking his head , that’s when you notice tears fall from his eyes. You started to feel bad and wanted to comfort him but you were still upset so all you did was rubbed his shoulder.

“This is probably for the best, I bet you heard about my promotion, headquarters gavi, this is big and i’m sorry it had to end this way but I need to go.”

Gavi was about the response but then the announcer beat him to it,

“Flight 309 to New York Gate will be closing soon”

He didn’t even realize that the rest of the people that once surrounded him were gone and in the plane, leaving only y/n and him outside.

“I’ve got to go Gavi” you said as you started to back away.

Panicking again, he grabbed your hand softly, “por favor y/n, I don’t want you to leave like this, i - i don’t want to lose you, por favor give me another chance, what do i have to do to prove to you ??? i will do it , anything you say, please y/n” he said more tears falling from his face.

Struggling on the inside seeing him fall apart in front of you, It makes you give in to the need to hold him. You go and hug him, and once you do his arms hold you tight like you might disappear while he puts his face to your hair, cherishing the moment you are willingly giving him. One he fears will be the last.

You both stand there for a few seconds before you start to pull away, “i have to do this Gavi, there’s no other opportunity like it…… I’ve gotta go. “

You turn quickly and make your way to the gate but before you’re far you hear Gavi speak something behind you

“I love you”

Closing your eyes, fighting to stay strong, you didn’t turn back to him instead kept walking but in your head you said it back, “

I love you too”.

T H R E E M O N T H S L A T E R .

In Barcelona Gavi was a wreck. He was basically on auto pilot and everybody could see how much the break up affected him, even the barcelona fc staff. He tried to send you text messages every once and a while to let you know he was still there, but you never replied. He so desperately wished he could go see you and fix things.

Pedri looked at his poor friend who was kicking poorly at an attempt to practice penalty kicks.

Xavi, his coach was also looking alongside him, sighing “ that kid really can’t get over it’ .

Pedri turned his head to his coach, “no…he won’t stop talking about her”

His coach nodded, growing concern lingered in him as he watched his rising young star start to struggle both in the game and life. “Does she still talk to him?” Pedri shook his head.

He thought for a while then called Gavi over. As Gavi walked over to his coach he asked, ‘si coach?”

“I’ve been watching you, and you haven’t been looking like yourself out there” Xavi started

Gavi looked down in disappointment as he heard those words

His coach continued, “I remember being your age, all the dumb decsions I made that i regret to this day…I’ll only do this once but…. He hesitated

“I can arrange for you some time where you can leave to go fix your problems, however when you return you’ll have to sit on the bench for at least 3 games. Do you accept it?”

Gavi looked at him surprised , he certainly did not expect to hear that from his coach and so did pedri, nodding his head quickly, “si claro que si, gracias , muchas gracias!” Gavi said going to give him a hug.

“One condition, you better be in playing form when you return” he told the boy.

Shaking his head as he headed to the exit of the field, already knowing where he’d been wanting to go for three months, he shouted out, “gracias!” before finally leaving the field. Running over to his car to go straight to his apartment and pack.

In NYC…

It’s been 3 months since you’ve left barcelona… since you left Gavi. In that time you were enjoying yourself in your new city minus the heavy workload and some rude employers. You were finally living one of your goals.

You hadn’t talked to Gavi during that whole time but he did try to contact you. Calling or leaving you texts saying he hoped that you were having a good day. It was clear that he still didn’t want to let you go and from your talks with Aurora, Gavi wasn’t giving up.

It was the winter time here in NYC which meant your apartment was way colder than it was in barcelona at this time. Still early in the morning on your day off you decided to make some hot chocolate to warm you up a bit. Turning up the music you took your hot chocolate and sat on your comfy lounge chair.

Right when you were in a comfortable position taking one sip from the mug, a loud knock to your door rang out. Annoyed, you sighed and placed your mug down to open the door.

Who in the world is out at this hour in almost blizzard conditions??? You thought as you walked up. As you opened the door and saw who was there, your eyes went wide.

“H-hola , can i come i- in?”

There standing in front of your footstep was Gavi. Shivering from the lack of layers needed for NY weather. Quickly feeling the cold air enter your house you ushered him inside. Which he was very happy about entering a warm room.

“Gracias,” he said, warming up his hands. You saw that he had a suitcase with him, raising your eyebrows.

“How did you know where I lived?” you asked if the only person you ever told in barcelona was Auror,,, oh, i'm going to talk to her after this.

“I think you already know judging your face right now’ he said

“Why are you here? Why come all this way?”

“To be with you” he said promptly and you gave him a confused look.

“You said before you left that you needed to leave for this opportunity, so you are here, then i am here” he said plainly, even more confused you asked him

“But what about barcelona gavi, your dream??, don’t you still want to play football? I can’t let you throw that away ``I told him sternly, this was crazy.

““You were about to risk your career for me so I’m risking mine for you because I love you and your more important and I should’ve shown you that all of those times but I was selfish, and incredibly stupid. I want to fix the mess I made and be here with you.” he said getting closer to you.

You were stunned at this, all the anger at him disappearing and started to feel your love creep in again for the brown eyed boy. You knew how much football meant to him, and he was choosing you over that, “Gavi i …i don’t know what to say”

“Say you’ll let me stay with you, i’ll even sleep on the couch” he said

Still not getting over the fact that he seriously left barcelona during it’s season, “this is a sweet gesture to show me but i can’t let you throw away your chance to play Gavi, have you ever considered his completely, aren't you in season right now?”

He smiled at you rambling over the concern for this career. He grabbed your hands which you let him, ‘you are worth everything, i was a wreck without you y/n , when you left I didn’t know what to do with myself, if this is enough to prove to you that I love you and im serious that i’ll change then i’m right where i should be.”

Taken aback from his words, and him staring deep into your eyes was the moment you felt yourself lean into him, he did the same. Stopping inches before your lips met, you looked up at his eyes, “one more chance’ you whispered on his lips

He smiled wide “I promise you won’t regret it” then he leaned forward and met your lips. Holding you tightly, hands at your waist while yours around his neck, he kissed you as if trying to show you how much he missed and loved you.

When you pulled away you asked, “wait but what are you going to say to Barcelona when you don’t show up for practice?”

He gave you a smirk and pulled you closer “don’t worry mi amor, I got xavi to cover for me, turns out there’s a really good rehab specialist here in New York that barcelona likes to send their injured players sometimes, i got at least 1 month”

You looked at him surprised at the actually well calculated plan, “well then, with that taken care of, I guess it’s time for….New York adventures with y/n and Gavi!” you said excitedly

He laughed then looked at you with a glow in his eyes, “te amo y/n”

Te amo tambien Gavi” leaning up to kiss him.

#pablo gavi x you #pablo gavi imagine #pablo gavi x reader #pablo gavi blurb #football fanfic #spain football x reader #football imagines

523 notes · View notes

cali-holland · 4 years

Text

Promises- Harrison Osterfield One Shot

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield X Reader

Prompt: You’re out of town for Harrison’s birthday, and nothing upsets him more than knowing he can’t be with you on his special day, but little does he know that you and Tom devised a little surprise.

Word Count: 2100

Warnings: idk probably some swearing, alcohol mentions, lil bit angsty

Masterlist Harrison Osterfield Masterlist

*Pic is not mine*

~~~

Harrison let out a small sigh as he stretched his hands and slipped on a couple of his rings, finishing his look for tonight. He scanned over himself in the mirror, adjusting the sleeves of his button-up. He rolled them up to his elbows because you had told him that you loved it when guys- a.k.a. when he- would do that.

Not that that matters much since you couldn’t actually be there tonight. He let out another sigh, pouting at the nagging reminder.

His phone began to ring from his bed and he darted across the room, picking up the call without even looking to see who was calling.

“Hello?” He asked eagerly.

“I’ve been trying to reach you all day!” His mother scolded. Harrison bit back a groan; the only voice he wanted to hear over the phone right now was yours.

“You called me this morning.” He replied, before quickly adding, “I’m not complaining though. How are you, mum?”

“Am I not allowed to call my son twice on his birthday?” She questioned with a laugh, which made him chuckle in return. “I was going to ask if you’d heard from Y/N today yet.”

“No, but she’s been busy filming today.” Harrison defended you. You’d been away filming a new show in LA for the past few weeks, and, while it sucked for Harrison to not have his own girlfriend of nearly two years there for his birthday, he knew you were incredibly busy.

Before his mother could respond, his phone started to vibrate in his hands, informing him of an incoming call. A bright smile made its way onto his face as he saw your picture flashing over the screen.

“Gotta go, love you! Bye mum!” He quickly hung up the phone and answered your call.

“Happy birthday, Haz!” You exclaimed, cheerfully.

“Thank you, darling. I’ve missed you today.” Harrison answered, feeling a twinge of sadness strike his heart as he once again remembered just how far away you were from him.

“I miss you too, baby.” You replied, just as sadly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be home before you know it.”

“I’m counting down the days.” His eyes flickered over to the calendar by his door, your return date circled with a red pen. To say he was missing you and excited to reunite with you was a massive understatement. “How’s LA?”

“It’s,” You trailed off momentarily, “LA. Hot, kinda gross, but hey there’s good food.”

“You’ll have to show me all the best spots when I come visit you.” He said, pulling up his laptop to look at flights out there.

“When? I didn’t know you were coming out.” Your voice sounded scared for a moment, but Harrison assumed you were just distracted.

“Well, I’m not, but I want to.” He laughed lightly, but still frowned as he looked at the flights. Every flight from Heathrow to LAX was fully booked for the next few days- damn Americans trying to celebrate their own holiday this weekend.

“Why don’t we figure that out later? You’ve got a big night ahead of you, Mr. 24.” You teased, effectively changing the topic.

“God, I hope not. I specifically asked for a small party.” He laughed just at the thought of his party last year. It was anything but an intimate get together with friends and it got incredibly out of hand; Harrison, you, and most attendees didn’t remember a good part of that night. He certainly started 23 off with a bang.

“I have to go, but you have fun tonight, alright? I love you, Haz.” You said, a quiet sigh escaping your lips.

“I love you, too, Y/N.” And then the line went dead and he was brought back to the reality that was his birthday- time to celebrate alone in a crowded room.

The moment you hung up the phone, you dialed Tom’s number. As it rang, you fidgeted with the baseball cap on your head, pulling it down further.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on a plane right now?” Tom asked immediately, a humorous tone hidden underneath his question.

“It got delayed.” You sighed, looking up at the board of flights. It seemed to be mocking you as the flight to Heathrow just kept getting pushed back.

“Really? How long?”

“I was supposed to leave an hour ago, but now they’ve pushed it back to 9.” You explained. You looked down at your watch and adjusted the blue neck pillow that you’d stolen from Harrison. This is what you get for thinking you could catch a quick break back home. When your schedule cleared up for the next few days, you jumped at the opportunity to fly home- the first available flight to London wasn’t supposed to land until the night Harrison’s birthday (a.k.a. right now), but now you’re just stuck in your Barcelona layover until the plane’s ready to go.

“So you’ll get here at like midnight? We’ll probably still be up.” He reassured you, “He’ll be so happy to see you, even if you don’t get here on time for his actual birthday.”

“I know, I just wanted to surprise him at the party. He already knows you’ve thrown a big one.” You laughed.

“If he’s gonna complain about my parties, then he can throw his own- and I’ll throw my own birthday party.” He huffed jokingly. He and Harrison had a thing going for the past few years where they’d plan each other’s birthday parties, just because they were both shit at planning stuff for themselves. If it wasn’t for Tom throwing Harrison a birthday party three years ago though, you and Harrison may have never met, so Tom made sure neither of you forgot that.

“Just make sure he’s fine until I get there. Make him actually enjoy the party.” You told him.

“So, set him up with a stranger?” Tom joked, and you scoffed.

“You’re the worst.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll see you in a few hours.” You replied.

“Just let me know when you take off and land.” He requested.

“Will do.” You hung up the phone and let out a small groan. It was going to be a long night for you. You looked down at the small silver promise ring on your right hand and trailed over it. It was a thin band with just a small heart in the middle; Harrison had given it to you for your first anniversary, promising to love you forever and to be there for you no matter what- and now you felt like the world was keeping you from being with him.

~~~

When Harrison got to the party venue, his suspicions were confirmed- it was another large party. He drank a little bit, nothing more than a couple rounds of shots and a beer or two; it was enough to get him buzzed, but not enough to make him elated. He was trying to play it off though, claiming he wasn’t in the drinking mood as his friends all got drunk around him.

“What’s up with you tonight?” A drunken Harry asked him, throwing an arm around his nearly sober friend’s shoulder.

“Just tired.” Harrison tried to shrug it off, but his friends knew better.

“It’s your birthday! Live it up!” His enthusiastic words came out slurred.

“He misses his girl.” Tom announced, and a blush spread over Harrison’s cheeks.

“She’s got you so whipped.” Tuwaine snickered.

“Shove off.” Harrison grumbled, running a hand through his hair and taking a drink of the beer he’d been nursing. He let out a yawn and looked at the clock, 12:01. His birthday was over, and he could justify leaving now. “Okay, I’m going to head out.”

“Wait, you can’t.” Tom said, trying to discreetly look at his phone as the others protested Harrison’s departure.

“I really appreciate tonight. I had a good time, but I just want to go home now, okay? You lot drink up for me.” He stood up, doing his best to sound cheerful.

“No, no, you can’t leave.” Tom insisted.

“Why not?” Harrison questioned. He watched as his friend’s jaw slackened and he had no response. Laughing in confusion, he brushed it off, “I’ll see you all at home.”

And with that, Harrison left, quickly getting himself a cab. Meanwhile, Tom texted you: ‘Change of plans: he went home, go there’.

When Harrison got home, the tiny amount of alcohol he had consumed was all but gone out of his system. He thought about calling you, but he knew you were busy, you were always busy. Just as he was about to tug off his shirt, he heard someone clearing their throat from the hallway. He jumped, turning to the doorway to see you smiling there with a couple bags of luggage.

“Oh, don’t stop on my part. I want the show.” You teased. Harrison rushed over to you, wrapping his arms around you tightly.

“You’re here.” He breathed out, pulling back to look at you.

“I’m sorry I’m late.” You smiled before kissing him. He tugged you closer to him as he backed up to the bed, his lips never leaving yours. He sat down and you effortlessly climbed into his lap.

“Happy late birthday.” You said softly against his lips.

“You’re the best birthday present.” He stated. He went to capture your lips with his once again, but you moved back.

“I want to give you your gift first.” You told him.

“Well, I won’t say no to that.” Harrison winked, his hands running underneath your shirt and he leaned in to kiss you again, his teeth nibbling on your lower lip. You pulled away, laughing.

“Not that, Haz.” You shook your head at him, getting off his lap. He pouted playfully at you while you went over to your suitcase. You held a little box wrapped in blue paper, “This is your birthday gift.”

“Darling, you didn’t have to.” He said quietly, scooting back on the bed until he was comfortably sitting against the headboard. You climbed over the bed, sitting in front of him eagerly.

“Well, it took me months to find you this gift so you better like it.” You jokingly threatened, but both of you knew it was also serious; you always went out of your way to get him the most thoughtful gifts, that’s what he loved about you. He took the box from you and playfully shook it near his ear. You slapped his arm scoldingly as you both laughed at his childish actions.

Slowly, Harrison unwrapped the gift to reveal a standard, black ring box. He opened up the box and stared at the silver ring nestled in the middle with an unreadable expression. You felt your heart about to leap out of your chest, watching with bated breath as he slowly ran a finger over it. It was the inverse of your own promise ring, a thick band with a small heart taken out the middle.

“It took me a while to find a jeweller to make this, and I had to steal one of your rings to get the right size, but,” You trailed off, trying your best to read his face. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he took it out of the box to examine it further. “If you don’t like it, I can take it back. I just thought-“

“It’s a promise ring.” Harrison looked up from his new ring to the ring resting on your finger. With his free hand, he delicately slid your own promise ring off your finger and, smilingly, merged the two silver rings into one. He looked up at you with the most awestruck face, “Do you realize how incredible this is?”

“How incredible?” You teased, and he shook his head in disbelief, slipping your ring back on your finger and taking off one of his rings to put the new one on, both of you now sporting matching rings on the same fingers.

“This is the best gift I’ve ever gotten.” He rested a hand on your cheek, cupping it lightly as he leaned over to kiss you. “I love you so much, Y/N.”

“I love you, too.” You smiled, “But you haven’t let me promise anything yet.”

“Okay, okay, go for it.” He laughed, and you gently started to trace over the ring on his hand.

“Harrison, I promise to always love you, to always share the best moments with you, to always be there for birthdays, and to always be yours.” You barely got the last word out before he kissed you again. It was by far his favorite birthday (or well morning after) yet, and it was all because of you and a couple promise rings.

~~~

Tag List: @viagracex @theamazingtomholland @Hellomoveonby @heyitsshrez @harrisonosterfieldhazmyheart @joyleenl @t-o-m-holland @lonikje @sleepybesson

Harrison Tag List: @Calhtlland @tomkindholland

#harrison osterfield #harrison osterfield x you #harrison osterfield imagine #harrison osterfield x reader #harrison osterfield one shot #harrison osterfield x y/n #harrison osterfield fic

288 notes · View notes

tehri · 3 years

Text

Here’s a birthday gift for you, @panpervinca! Story from this post, I had a lot of fun writing this!

Also it got much longer than I thought it would be, but that’s me being wordy as hell...

Working for an airline would never get Salvia anywhere in her life – at least, that’s what her family always told her. In their eyes, she could have (should have, even) done a million other things. She could have been a lawyer, a doctor. An astronaut, even, if she had just put her mind to it. She could have gone into politics, though her grandfather had looked her right in the eye and said very seriously that if she became a politician, he would find the clue to immortality so that he could tell her off for it.

But no.

No, Salvia hadn’t precisely had the luxury of choosing. Finding a job after she was done with her studies was rather akin to hoping to scuba-dive to the bottom of the Mariana trench. When she’d gotten the offer of a job working at the ticket counter for an airline, she’d quite frankly jumped onto the possibility, leapt onto that train before it could leave and never looked back.

It wasn’t easy. It absolutely wasn’t. But it was worth it. It was a job, it paid the bills, and it wasn’t too far from home. The hours could be hell, she hated the uniform and hated how her boss had taken one look at her the one day she didn’t wear makeup and said she couldn’t show herself to customers like that. But it was worth it, to keep the apartment. To avoid having to move in with her parents again.

Then, of course, there were the days, the little moments, that made everything even more than worth it.

It hadn’t been an overly busy day. Flights came and left, of course, but there were few people at the counter, and Salvia could breathe easily and could focus on other aspects of her work for a while. So when an old man, perhaps in his late seventies or early eighties, approached the counter and said he had a question that needed answering, she didn’t think twice about it.

He was rather tall, she noted – taller than her, at the very least, though she came from a family filled with people under five feet and six inches. But this old man, broad-shouldered and without a back bent by his age, had to be pushing six feet. His hair was white as snow, though she could spy a few streaks of a faded copper red here and there, and his eyes were a brilliant green that seemed to stand out a little from his olive complexion.

“I’m supposed to meet someone who came with the last flight from Spain,” he explained. “From Barcelona – the flight number was BA475? But the plane landed an hour ago, and he didn’t show up. Do you keep records of passengers on various flights? I just need to know if he was on it and I missed him somehow…”

“I’m terribly sorry,” Salvia answered, giving the old man a kind smile, “but I’m not allowed to give out that kind of information, sir.”

If he had looked somewhat worried before, it was nothing to how his expression fell now.

“I understand. Thank you, either way.” He smiled back at her, though it fell quite some miles short of being anywhere near cheerful; if anything, he looked almost like a kicked puppy. “I’ll go and have a look near the baggage-claim area, maybe he’s there…”

Maybe it was his expression. Maybe it was simply that he was an old man who shouldn’t have to be waiting for someone like this. Whatever it was, Salvia couldn’t just let him walk away like this without at least trying to find some other way to help.

“Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, could you tell me what happened?” Curious though she was, she kept it from her tone. Knowing the background, she thought, would only help her make a better decision. “Were you supposed to pick them up, maybe?”

Though she had perhaps expected him to decline to answer and walk away, she was pleasantly surprised; he did indeed stop, and some measure of joy crept back into his expression when he looked back at her and smiled again.

Happiness, Salvia decided, absolutely suited him better.

“I fell in love,” the old man sighed, and something in his tone had Salvia’s own heart fluttering wildly in her chest. “That’s the gist of it. But well, see, it’s the circumstances that are a bit odd. But I don’t want to keep you from your work, miss, you’ve better things to do than to listen to an old man babble about such things.”

“It’s a really quiet day,” Salvia shot back. “And it’s not like I’m here all alone. Please, I’d like to help somehow, and maybe if I know the circumstances I can think of something. Please?”

Throwing a somehow doubtful glance at her co-worker, busy helping another customer, the old man took the few steps back to the counter.

“If you’re certain,” he said slowly. “Just… Do tell me if you’ve had enough, I know I can start to drag on at times.”

It took several promises to convince the old man that it was quite alright and that she would absolutely tell him if it grew too longwinded. But soon enough, he was telling her everything that had happened, and it sounded to Salvia’s eyes almost like a modern fairy-tale.

“See, I’ve known this man for some time already,” he explained. “My eldest daughter – I have twelve children, she’s number nine – she’s just married this man’s eldest son, and they married in Canada, of all places. Canada! I don’t understand why they chose that, really, though I’d wager it’s my daughter insisting on it. Anyway, I’ve been to visit them, and so had he, and we happened to be on the same flight back and had managed to get connecting flights through Spain. Odd choice, I know, but last minute booking and all that, I’m sure you know how it gets.”

Salvia did indeed know. It was simply insane how some bookings were handled; to get a flight from Canada to Spain connecting to a flight to Birmingham in England seemed more than a bit mad. But whatever got one home would work, right?

“You know, it’s strange. We’ve known each other for years and years already – friends in the same circles, and such, but we could never stand each other before. Something always felt off. But now, on this flight, something happened.” The old man’s tone changed again, something wistful coming into it that reminded Salvia of how her grandfather would sometimes speak of her grandmother. There was such warmth in his voice, something so gentle and wonderful, that she felt almost as though she were just a little girl again asking her grandfather about how he met his wife. “We sat next to each other. And one way or another, we started to talk. I mean, it’s a long flight, almost eleven hours. What else were we going to do, pretend the other didn’t exist for that whole time? We just started talking, about our wives, our children, our homes, our friends, anything. And I’ve never seen him like that before, and something… something just melted, I suppose.”

And his dimpled smile widened and warmed, so much so that Salvia couldn’t help but think that he was quite handsome; had he been younger, she would perhaps have tried for him herself, just for a smile like that.

“I fell in love,” he repeated. “Just during those hours, I fell in love for the second time in my life. Never knew I could love anyone but my wife, but here I am now. And as luck would have it, he feels the same way.”

It took an incredible effort to keep herself from letting out an audible squeal of delight at such words, but Salvia managed and said:

“Oh, that’s incredible! It’s so sweet!”

“Sweet as honey,” the old man agreed with a laugh. “Ah, he’d hate hearing me say so in public, but it’s true!”

“But what happened, then? How come he’s not here?”

“Well, see, we had different connecting flights, so I got here earlier. But we agreed that we would meet here, and I’d drive him home so we could spend a bit more time together.” In a flash, his smile was gone again, and he sighed deeply. “I wonder why I didn’t see him. I might’ve missed him, I suppose, but he must’ve been on that flight, unless he missed it.”

Maybe it was simply that there hadn’t been much to do that day. Maybe it was her love for a good story, especially sweet ones. Or perhaps it was Salvia’s memory of her own previous fling with a girl from school. Whatever it was that compelled her, she found it quite difficult to keep her hands away from the computer’s keyboard and to remind herself of the company’s policies.

“It really is very sweet,” she said, her heart weeping in her chest, “but I’m afraid I really can’t give out information about passengers. But you can try to have him called out, I think, and maybe that would work? Or you could call him?”

Her poor heart broke just a little further when the old man shook his head and explained that he had already attempted to call, but had received no answer. This sweet old man didn’t deserve such treatment – that is, if he had in fact been ghosted. Salvia had been through that a few times, and had no wish to see a sweet old man going through the same thing.

“Wait a moment,” she cried when the old man said a soft-voiced goodbye and turned to leave. “Wait just a moment! Look, I can’t give out any information, and I’m very sorry about that, but tell you what – how about you leave your number here with me, just in case? Maybe he is here, or maybe he was moved to another flight and is late. Either way, if he comes looking, I could call your number and let you know. Would that be alright?”

He hesitated, gave her the same thoughtful once-over that her own dad had given her on occasion – as though attempting to figure out if she was asking because she genuinely wanted to help. And finally, just as Salvia was sure that he would kindly refuse and walk away, taking this sweet story with him, he gave her a small smile and stepped back towards the counter.

“That would perhaps be a good idea,” he agreed. “So long as it won’t interfere with your work – I know it can get busy at an airport, I’d rather not make things worse for you.”

“It’s customer service.” Salvia grinned back at him and quickly grabbed a piece of paper and a pen for him. “I’m meant to help customers, and this kind of falls under that, right?”

Just a short while later, the man had left, and Salvia was curiously eyeing the name and phone-number on the paper. It was an odd name, she thought; not one she’d ever heard before. So many people had common surnames like Johnson, or Smith. Who ever heard of a surname like Took? And the first name sounded like something out of a story. The old man had laughed at her initial surprise and told her that most in his family had somewhat odd-sounding names, and that Gerontius was not the worst of the lot.

Well. At least he had been very nice. Which she made sure to point out to Mike, her co-worker, when he tried to tell her that it was a lost cause.

Around lunchtime, Salvia retreated to the back room in order to eat what she had brought from home. It wasn’t much – a sandwich and an apple, really, but it was better than nothing. She wouldn’t have time with more than that, her break was too short. But at home, she had a container of leftover takeaway food waiting in the fridge that would make a wonderful dinner; it would make up for what she was missing earlier in the day.

She hadn’t been sitting there for long, however, when she heard Mike greeting a customer. At first, it seemed to be the usual stuff; someone who needed a bit of help, that was all. But then came the words that caught her attention and had her putting down her sandwich and rushing to the door.

“I was supposed to meet someone here,” said a man’s voice, a steady and relaxed tone that somehow reminded her of an older teacher she’d had in school. “He was meant to arrive from Spain, but I think he should have gotten here before me.”

Mike, bless him, caught on just as quickly as Salvia did and turned his head to call for her, smiling when he saw her peeking out from the back room.

“I think my colleague here might be fit to help you, sir,” he said, waving for Salvia to come out. “Though it’s her lunch-break, and-“

“Never mind the lunch,” cried Salvia as she came up to the counter. She gave the customer a bright smile. “Sir, you said you were waiting for someone meant to arrive with a flight from Spain? Did you by any chance just come from there too?”

He was quite short, she thought, much shorter than the previous man. If she were to take off her heels and step around the counter, she was willing to wager that she’d find him just around her height, if not a tad shorter. His dark skin was wrinkled, his hair was iron grey, but his grey eyes were bright and sharp – less shuttered than his expression, which reminded her equally of her old teacher. And he looked back at her, brow furrowing ever so slightly, and nodded.

“I did, yes. How did you know?”

“Call it a hunch.” She grinned and shuffled through the papers at her computer. “Hang on, give me half a moment.”

Still fixed with a somehow equally confused and annoyed sharp stare, Salvia dug out the paper with Gerontius’ number and pulled her work-phone towards her. This, she decided as she picked up the receiver and swiftly dialled the number, was by far the highlight of her day – no, of her entire time working there. This made everything worth it.

One signal.

Two, three, four.

Just as her heart began to sink just a little in her chest, the dial-tone broke and gave way to a slight crackle and a familiar voice:

“Gerontius Took speaking.”

“Hi there, Mr Took,” Salvia said blithely. “There’s someone waiting here for you by the counter you were at earlier!”

If not for the background noise over the line, she would have thought that he’d hung up by how silent he was for a moment. She kept her eyes on the old man on the other side of the counter, whose expression now was one of astonishment and a budding relief and joy.

“He’s there?!” cried Mr Took suddenly, and by the sound of it, he must have started to run. “He’s really there?!”

“He is, I promise! Here, I can hand the phone to him for a moment, I think he needs to hear your voice.”

She held out the receiver to the old man. Later on, when she was recounting the story to her family and to her friends, she would swear on whatever she could think of that he had tears in his eyes as he smiled at her, an action that transformed his face just as the sun transforms a landscape after a rainstorm.

“I’m here,” the old man said finally. “I’m here. My flight was full, I got transferred to another, and I couldn’t reach you when I tried. I know, I should have checked sooner… But you, you dolt, where did you go? Why didn’t you wait here? No, no, I don’t mean to snap at you! Please, just hurry, love, alright? I miss you. I miss you very much.”

Exchanging a look with her co-worker, Salvia felt almost close to tears herself. The softness in the old man’s voice when he professed to miss Mr Took was almost too much for her heart to handle.

A few more words exchanged, and finally the old man returned the receiver with a relieved smile.

“He just said what you did for him,” he said softly. “I can’t thank you enough. Stars know what I would’ve done if I’d arrived here and found that he’d already left.”

Smiling and feeling heat rush to her cheeks (though whether from pride or embarrassment she couldn’t be certain), Salvia replied:

“He just made the whole thing sound so sweet and romantic. I couldn’t just tell him I couldn’t do anything, you know?”

“Oh, that. He does that.” The old man’s smile widened as he spoke. “At least he can’t have made the whole thing sound too ridiculous.”

They had time, Salvia thought to herself as they continued to talk. She could keep him company; if any other customers came, they could speak to Mike. This was a story that she wanted desperately to see the end of.

His name was Mungo Baggins, she learned as they spoke. Another very odd name – but he laughed at her surprised expression and told her that where he lived, names such as that were quite common. He told her his side of the story in short terms, explained how the eleven hours spent on a flight with Mr Took had changed quite a lot in his life.

“I used to find him so arrogant,” sighed Mr Baggins. “Insufferable lout that he was, he was always acting as though he owned whatever establishment he stepped into. Loud and brash and impulsive. I couldn’t stand him before, even if our fathers were quite close – did he tell you that? Anyway, I had to deal with him sooner or later, when my son fell in love with his daughter. And this flight was… It was ideal, I suppose. I mean, I love my wife, of course I do. I adore her. But he’s… Gerontius is just…”

“He’s just different?” Salvia filled in with a smile. “You know, there’s a word for that. For loving more than one person, I mean. Polyamorous.”

“Oh, I know, I’ve heard. It just isn’t something that I had associated with myself or with him before. It’ll take a bit to get used to it.”

Ten minutes passed, and still they were chatting. And suddenly a call rang out not very far away, and as they looked, Mr Took came rushing towards the counter. Mr Baggins, seeming to momentarily forget all about the conversation with Salvia, left the counter and hurried to meet him, and Salvia couldn’t help but give a small squeak of sheer joy when she watched how Mr Took pulled the significantly shorter man into a tight hug.

“Got your happy ending, huh?” Mike asked with a laugh.

“This,” answered Salvia, “just makes it worth working here. It’s like a film!”

When had she last been thanked so profusely by a customer? Never. She was quite sure of that. But Mr Took and Mr Baggins were beyond grateful, and there seemed to be no end to their words of thanks. And when it was time for them to leave, they left hand-in hand, looking quite happy. It was more than enough for Salvia to see them smiling at each other.

Even in the car, Gerontius wasn’t willing to let go of Mungo’s hand, no matter how the man tried to tell him to focus on keeping the car on the road.

“It’s an automatic,” the Took said firmly in the end. “I can damn well steer with one hand and hold your hand with the other, there’s no worry about that.”

“The gears aren’t a concern of mine,” Mungo sniped back, without any real heat in his voice. “I only want you to live long enough for this-“ and here he gestured between them “-to actually be explored.”

It certainly didn’t have much effect on Gerontius, other than making him a little misty-eyed. Mungo wanted this, just as much as he did; it still didn’t seem quite real.

“That lass really was incredible, wasn’t she?” he said instead, hoping to push his mind away from any second-guessing. “Very sweet one.”

Mungo laughed softly and gave the older man’s hand a gentle squeeze, unknowingly chasing away any worry and second-guessing.

“She was, yes,” he agreed. “Though I do wish we could have given her something more as thanks.”

“A chocolate bunny was about what we could manage.” Gerontius smiled, his thumb rubbing small circles over the back of Mungo’s hand. “We’ll see if we can’t find a way to send some flowers later, eh? She helped more than she knows.”

#panpervinca #birthday gift #THE HATEMANCE LIVES

5 notes · View notes

whereisten · 5 years

Text

Hero, Yuta, & Me

Summary: Your pet sitting job lands you at the doorstep of the magnetic Yuta Nakamoto, owner of the cutest Shiba Inu on the planet, Hero.

Multi-part Series: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4

Part 3

Word Count: 3.2k words

Kaia, Joanna, and Taissa drove over to your house to pick you up and drive over to Jaehyun’s house. You went with a dark blue dress that hugged your curves nicely. Your heels could poke an eye out.

You arrived at Jaehyun’s Spanish villa style home. Jaehyun came from a wealthy family but because of his soccer career, his wealth multiplied tenfold. The house probably had sixteen bedrooms AND sixteen bathrooms. In order to enter to Jung estate, you and the girls had to give your names at the security gate. You raised your eyebrows at the opulence and exclusivity of it all.

Kaia parked her blue Corvette (which your dress oddly matched with) and the four of you walked through the impressive garden entrance. You knocked on the door and were greeted by a butler who reminded you very much of Alfred Pennyworth circa The Dark Knight era.

“Welcome to the Jung estate. Master Jung is expecting you. Please come in,” he said.

Of course, Jaehyun had a British butler.

“Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars was playing from some admittedly amazing speakers. You recognized a lot of your classmates. Doyoung and Johnny were in an intense round of pool. Youngjae was belting it out in the karaoke room. Senior dance captain Lisa was at the center of the dance floor. It was surreal seeing everyone again after so long.

You and the girls were served some of the most amazing frozen margaritas in existence. You clinked glasses and talked about everything and nothing for a while.

You noticed that the party playlist was a 2012 playlist, highlighting the year you graduated. “Thinkin’ About You” by Frank Ocean played as you found yourself worried about Jaehyun popping out at any second.

The beautiful song paused. Then, you heard someone clinking their glass.

At the top of the grand staircase was the ever extravagant and ever extra Jaehyun Jung.

“Hello everyone!” Jaehyun yelled to the partygoers. He was met with cheers and whoops.

He continued, “Thank you so much for coming out. I’ve missed each and every one of you since we graduated.” His eyes met yours then.

Taissa cleared her throat. “Yikes.”

“Enjoy the night! There’s plenty of booze and make all the noise you want!” Jaehyun proclaimed.

Everyone yelled then as the music changed to “I Love It” by Icona Pop. More people went to the dance floor, drinks in hand.

“You guys saw that, right?” You asked.

“Anyone who’s had two drinks or less did, Y/N,” Kaia answered.

“He’s coming this way, y’all!” Joanna whispered a little too loudly.

Jaehyun sauntered his way over to you. You felt a little smaller and you hated that.

“Hello ladies,” he said as he smiled his angelic smile.

You had to hand it to the boy. His smile was so benevolent.

The girls all muttered greetings while you said, “Hi.”

“Y/N, I’m really glad you came,” he said as he smiled.

You sighed. “Well, how could I turn down free drinks?”

He laughed. “I deserved that.”

“Among other things,” Joanna muttered.

Jaehyun acted like he hadn’t heard that. “Y/N, can I speak to you alone?”

You raised your eyebrows at that. “Sure.”

Jaehyun led you to the gorgeous gazebo in the backyard. Candles were lit all around it. Technicolor flowers and lights sprinkled all over the top. It was so beautiful you wanted to pull your camera out and take photos at every angle.

Jaehyun sat down at the bench and you sat down as well, keeping yourself three feet apart from him.

Jaehyun fiddled with his champagne flute when he started. “You look great, Y/N.”

You couldn’t help the blush. Curse your seventeen-year-old self that was rising to the surface.

You snapped out of it and met his default flirtatious gaze. “Let’s cut the crap. What did you need to say?”

At first, Jaehyun averted his gaze and stared down at his lap. But then out of respect for you, he gave you eye contact as he delivered, “I am so sorry.”

That was the first of many things you wanted him to say. He just needed to beat himself up a little more before you caved and forgave him.

“For what?” You prodded, teasing him and acting like you didn’t know what he was talking about.

Jaehyun continued, “For blowing you off at prom and being scum of the earth.”

“Oh! That,” you said as you rolled your eyes.

“I was a jerk. And you were right. I was a coward.”

“I like what I’m hearing, good sir,” you said as you downed the rest of your margarita.

“I owe you an explanation. Not that it’s an excuse but I need you to know what happened.”

Your ears perked up at that. You were interested. You thought it was because he didn’t deem you cool enough or some other bull. But deep down you always wondered if there was more to the story.

“I’m listening,” you said.

“Candice’s dad was my old soccer coach. Taught me everything I knew and helped me book deals and sponsorships. But he was manipulative and wanted more of a cut of my earnings than he was given. I got caught up with some drug dealings senior year and he threatened to out me if I didn’t increase his pay and take Candice to prom.” Jaehyun looked smaller then as he shrunk in shame.

“Drugs?” You were shocked.

“I was an idiot, Y/N. I got clean after graduation. Told my parents everything. They cut ties with Coach Lochlan because they had some dirt on him. I took the summer to go to rehab and kept training.”

“And Candice?” You added.

“Candice had no idea about the drugs or what her dad was up to. She was a family friend. She always thought we would end up together even if we fucked around. So when I asked her to go the night before prom, she thought it was because it was the real deal.”

“Oh,” you managed to say.

“And...I didn’t know how to tell you. I felt horrible. I knew if I called you, I wouldn’t have been able to do it. If I texted, I...just couldn’t do it.”

“So Facebook messenger?” You asked in disbelief.

“I know. It was stupid and selfish and everything else,” Jaehyun downed the rest of his champagne.

You both sat in silence for a minute. The partygoers came in and out of the house. The vibe of the party was euphoric and carefree. The bubble you and Jaehyun created was not.

“Y/N, you have to know I liked you a lot back then,” he said.

“I figured you didn’t find me repulsive when you asked me to prom,” you said. He really pulled out all the stops back then. He convinced the soccer team to help him perform a slightly tone-deaf version of “I Swear” by All-4-One. You remember crying from laughter that day.

“I am so sorry,” Jaehyun repeated.

“So how are you now?” You wondered aloud.

“What?” Jaehyun was confused.

“Are you clean? For real?” Even if you thought Jaehyun was an egomaniac and a coward, he was still a human being with feelings and a family and a future.

Jaehyun nodded fervently. “I’ve been clean since the summer after senior year. Soccer was my only focus after that.”

“Look, what you did to me was cruel and humiliating. But...now that you told me what happened...It’s still cruel and humiliating...What you went through was terrible and I hope you’re clean now. I don’t want you to get messed up with drugs. It’s not a life for anyone. So...I forgive you.”

Jaehyun’s smile came back full force. His prominent dimples were bigger than you’d ever seen them. “Really?”

You nodded. “It’s in the past now.”

Jaehyun said, “Y/N, thank you.”

You smiled. “I’m glad you told me the truth. It must not have been easy for you to say it.”

Which made you wonder.

“Wait a minute,” you said.

Jaehyun’s smile faded.

“Why are you telling me this? Won’t this get you in trouble?” Jaehyun’s drug use was never revealed to the public. You would’ve known. He was one of the biggest celebrities in the world so whether you liked it or not, his life was out there for you to always get updated on. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, you name it.

“I was betting on you keeping it a secret.”

Well, that was a bombshell. “And what if I’m not the decent girl you remember?”

Jaehyun lifted an eyebrow at that. “You haven’t changed that much, Y/N.”

You asked, “What makes you say that?”

“I’ve kept up with you on Instagram and Twitter,” he blurted and turned away from you.

You coughed. “I’m sorry?”

“I’ve kept up with you on-“ He said as he avoided your stare.

“How? I would’ve blocked your ass,” you said.

“messi_214 was me. On Twitter.”

Curse you for accepting any and all follows on Twitter.

This meant he had seen everything. Your One Direction phase. Your very brief 5 Seconds of Summer phase. Your descent down the anime hole. Your rants about your family and your life. Your desperate longing to go to Barcelona and meet Messi. Your crude humor with your friends.

“Oh, no,” you said as you made yourself smaller. Trying to hide.

“You are hilarious,” Jaehyun said as he laughed at your reaction.

“Oh, God, why?!” You asked yourself, Jaehyun, and the big man upstairs.

“As for Instagram, Doyoung let me scroll through your feed whenever we met up.”

“Jaehyun, that’s a little creepy.”

“I would’ve messaged directly if you didn’t hate my guts so that was the next best thing.” He shrugged.

“You lurker,” you said as you shook your head. “Tell me you didn’t see everything.”

“Believe it or not, I have a life. I’ve been pretty busy...Mrs. Irwin.” So he did see everything, including your crush on drummer Ashton Irwin.

You smacked his arm. “Son of a!”

He laughed. “Y/N, the most vile thing you’d do is trash talk Real Madrid on Twitter. So...I trust you with my secret. But...I’m letting you decide. Say something or don’t, I’ll respect it and face the consequences.”

You weren’t going to expose Jaehyun. When he told you, you knew you would take his secret to the grave.

“I won’t say anything, doofus,” you said.

He perked up at “doofus”. “Y/N, thank you.”

“I do have one favor to ask you.”

“Anything,” he said eagerly, ready to buy you a car, a dozen handbags, and a plane trip to Fiji, if you asked.

You blew out a deep breath. “Don’t lurk anymore. Just follow me on Twitter and Instagram. As yourself. Not as messi_214 or as Doyoung. I won’t block you.”

“You promise?” His eyes were hopeful.

“I promise,” you replied.

Yuta was on his way to pick you up from the party. He was taking you to a late drive-in movie. Hero was coming along so you were even more ecstatic. You packed a change of clothes in Kaia’s car.

You and Jaehyun parted ways after your conversation. He surprised you by asking for your number but you didn’t think too much of it. He probably just wanted to commemorate your renewed friendship. It wasn’t like he was going to call tomorrow and ask to go play air hockey at the local arcade. So you gave your number to him. You thought he was just being nice. The next time you saw him would probably be at your high school’s ten year reunion.

Kaia walked you back to her car to unlock it for you. “So how did it go with Jaehyun? I’m dying here.”

You laughed. “He explained why he blew me off and...I saw things differently. His actions aren’t excusable. But...I forgave him.” You didn’t tell Kaia about the drug use but you told her everything else.

Kaia nodded. “I see. So this means he’s probably going to ask you out soon.”

You frowned. “What?”

“Y/N, he’s been keeping tabs on you for basically a decade. I hardly think it’s because he cares about your Stranger Things updates or your song recommendations,” Kaia grabbed some chapstick from her glove compartment as you grabbed your bag.

You shook your head. Jaehyun had moved on. He probably only liked you in the most innocent way in high school, too. He probably wouldn’t have asked you out again after that. Everyone had grown up and become different people. High school was long gone. He just wanted to make amends. And you did. “Kaia, no.”

Kaia sighed. “Y/N, he likes you.”

“Kaia, he does not.”

“I saw the way he looked at you.”

You were even more confused. “When?”

“When you two were talking outside. It was obvious. When you looked away from him, I saw it in his face. He looked like it physically ached him not to touch you.”

You laughed. “Kaia, you got all that from a look?”

Kaia rolled her eyes. “If stalking you on social media isn’t proof alone, you’re hopeless.”

You leaned onto her car and looked up at the night sky. They started fireworks in the backyard. “Even If he did, it wouldn’t mean anything.”

Because Yuta captivated you. And that was that.

Kaia got back to the party as you waited in front of the security gate for Yuta. A few minutes passed and he pulled up in his Challenger. You heard barking.

Yuta pulled down the passenger side window and gave a low whistle as he looked at you in your dress. “Have mercy.”

You laughed. “Hi, baby.”

Hero jumped from the backseat to the front to lick your chin from the window. “Hi, beebs! I missed you!”

“Hey! I’m waiting for my kiss,” Yuta whined.

You opened the passenger side door and were careful not to let Hero jump out. Hero moved to the backseat. You fastened your seatbelt and looked back at Yuta, who looked like an impatient kid.

“You have to put on your seatbelt to kiss me?” He asked.

It was funny. Regardless of a car moving or not, you automatically put on your seatbelt. You blushed, about to unfasten your seatbelt when he moved over and planted his lips on your mouth. He embraced you and you felt the warmth of his skin on your bare arms.

Your heartbeat was all over the place. You loved it when he took you by surprise. Yuta was a mischievous man who liked to mess with you and reward you all at once.

He tucked your side bangs behind your ear and just smiled at you in adoration. You looked stunning and he didn’t want to share you with anyone else.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“So I wasn’t the first soccer player to turn your brain into mush?” Yuta was annoyed.

You told him what you told Kaia about Jaehyun because you didn’t want to keep things from him and have it blow up in your face later.

“I’m afraid not, stud,” you said. You gave Yuta all kinds of cute nicknames.

“Pisses me off,” Yuta rolled his eyes as he muttered in Japanese. Hero was sleeping in the backseat. You were at the Galaxy Drive-In Theaters. The trailers were playing before Toy Story 4 would come on.

“Are you jealous?” You loved it.

“Damn straight. You know he’s into you, don’t you? I’ll kill him.” He aggressively grabbed a handful of popcorn and shoved it in his mouth.

“Yuta,” you laughed. “He is not.”

“Don’t deny it, Y/N. That pisses me off even more.”

Honestly? It wasn’t that much of a stretch. But so what? Jaehyun had a life of his own away from Miami. God knows how many women he was sleeping with. He wouldn’t pursue you. Did he think you were hot? Probably. But that wasn’t enough incentive for him to go out of his way and ask you out. You would become an afterthought to him.

Maybe he just wanted to ease up on some of the guilt he carried. His drug use was enough for him to look back on. Earning your forgiveness must have helped him feel a little better.

“Fine,” you said. “Maybe he does like me but who cares? I like someone else.”

Yuta eased up a little, ready to hear you sing his praises.

“Taeyong is number one in my heart,” you said. Taeyong Lee had been your celebrity crush since his debut single “Let’s Get It (feat. A$AP Rocky)” came out in 2018.

“I hate you,” Yuta pouted as you snatched the popcorn.

“I know,” you said. You absolutely relished in messing with him.

Toy Story 4 was way better than you anticipated it to be and you found yourself tearing up at the slightly unexpected ending. You had a feeling it would end the way it did but you still cried. Yuta had his arm around you and you leaned in closer to him, enjoying the scent of him.

“You big baby,” Yuta said as he sniffled. It seemed he also had a soul.

“Hypocrite,” you muttered.

He laughed as he kissed the crown of your head. “Let’s go home.”

“Okay,” you managed to say without your voice cracking. Your first night with Yuta.

You got back to his house in record time. Hero fell back asleep in the living room, which left you and Yuta in his kitchen.

Yuta could tell you were nervous. “I can make tea. Or do you want something else to drink?”

He was so kind and considerate it killed you. “Tea’s good. I’m actually hungry. Mind if I steal a scone?” Yuta made the best blueberry scones and oddly enough, they were your favorite pastry.

He smiled. Your love of food made you all the more adorable to him. He loved feeding you. “Not at all, sweets.”

Oh yeah, he also had all sorts of cute nicknames for you, too. You two were so nauseatingly sweet that anyone who came into your vicinity needed a filling.

Once you two ate some scones and drank his favorite green tea, you walked into his bedroom.

He picked you up and sat you on his bed. His eyes were the most intense you’d ever seen them. He had his hands on your shoulders and leaned down to kiss you. You fell back on the bed and he got on top of you.

He kissed your neck and moved his way down the valley between your breasts. He looked back up at you, waiting for an answer. You nodded.

The thing about Yuta is that even though he liked to tease you and lived to make you turn red, he wanted you to feel safe and protected. He made you feel like the most precious thing in the world. Like you were above Aphrodite. So when he made love to you that night for the first time, you knew that no one could ever make you feel this good.

Back at Jaehyun’s party, your friends were dancing and having the time of their lives. Jaehyun surprised everyone when he halted the music once again. He stood at the top of the staircase again.

“I’ve been dying to tell you guys this all night. I was just waiting for the final confirmation from my manager. I am moving back to Miami because I am joining the Inter Miami CF team!!!!!” Jaehyun yelled at the top of his lungs.

Joanna and Taissa looked at each other and said. “Shit.”

Jaehyun looked out into the crowd and looked for you. He was so busy mingling with everyone but hoped to run into you later on so he could ask you to come see him play. But you were nowhere to be seen.

Part 4 (Coming Soon)

A/N: Thank you so much for the love for this fluff. I really appreciate it! So yes, you are correct...Someone is gonna die next chapter or get a black eye. I don’t know. But it should be fun!

255 notes · View notes

mveloc · 7 years

Text

Cophine/Sense8 Crossover

Author’s Note: Don’t really have a title/real plan or sense of direction with this. Just a fun little blurb inspired by @trylonandperisphere‘s post. I mean, Cosima and Amanita being sisters would be totally fucking amazing.

“Do you have everything?” Delphine calls out, waiting near the stairs leading up to the comic shop with her luggage in tow. “We can’t be late, Cosima!”

They’ve been planning this trip for far too long and it’s long overdue; with Neolution out of the way and the taste of freedom sweet on their tongues, their first order of business as free women is to take a much needed vacation—to spend some time alone together and learn how to be a couple without all of the bullshit drama or trust issues attached. Now they are finally free to take their leave and start their own journey—not as a doctor and patient or subject and monitor, but as nothing more than simple lovers.

“I know, I know! Just gimme a sec,” Cosima mutters beneath her breath, shuffling around the dingy basement in search of her passport.

She had planned to set it aside last night so that she’d have everything ready to go first thing in the morning, but she somehow found herself distracted by the blonde as Delphine packed her clothes away into her suitcase while humming a gentle tune. There was something so raw and domestic about the moment and before Cosima knew what was happening, she was pouncing on her former monitor, all thoughts of trip preparation discarded along with their garments.

“There you are!” she triumphantly exclaims, finding the document amongst a stack of books on her desk.

“The driver will be here soon!”

“In a minute!” she hollers back.

She does one final sweep of the basement, ensuring that nothing is forgotten. Satisfied, she grabs her luggage and joins her girlfriend and they slowly make their ascent up the stairs. It seems almost surreal that they’re finally heading out on their trip after all this time—no more distractions. Delphine had wanted to disappear together the very second the dust had settled, but there was still too much holding Cosima back for her to simply take off with her girlfriend; she wanted to wait for the babies to be born, for everyone to be safe and accounted for. Once the mess was cleaned up and everyone seemed to be transitioning back into their normal lives, they decided it was time to move on, as well… starting with a week in San Francisco to visit her family, followed by a week in Paris to see Delphine’s home and then another in Venice, Santorini, Barcelona, and wherever else their restless hearts decided to take them after that.

They help each other load their luggage into the back of the uber, though they’re interrupted by the loud ringing of Cosima’s cell phone. She fishes the device out of her purse and the second she sees the caller ID, her brow furrows in confusion.

“It’s… my sister?” she asks in disbelief.

Delphine cocks her head.

“Which one? Sarah?”

Cosima shakes her head.

They both slide into the car and she presses the talk button, bringing the phone to her ear.

“Uh, hey. What’s up?” she asks. “I was just about to hop on a plane to see mom.”

“I know. She just told me.”

It’s been many months since she’s spoken to Amanita; things in her life had become so twisted and dangerous first with Helena hunting them, followed by DYAD and Castor and Neolution, that she didn’t want to risk getting her family involved in any of it. She had limited her contact with her mother and sister—hadn’t even bothered to tell them about her illness—but now that all of the threats are gone, she feels a major wave of relief wash over her to be able to reach out to her family again.

“I get in later tonight,” she informs her sister. “Why don’t we grab brunch tomorrow? You can meet my girlfriend.”

She shifts her gaze to the blonde at her side, wriggling her eyebrows and offering Delphine a smile. Delphine is unable to mask her surprise; Cosima had mentioned that she had a sister and it was even in her files, though any more details were vague and they didn’t exactly have a lot of time to discuss their upbringing while they were fighting for their lives against genetic fanatics. She has no idea what to expect from Cosima’s adoptive sister, but she can only hope the woman is a little more welcoming than Sarah and the others were at first.

“I’m… not in San Fran right now,” Amanita hesitantly replies.

“Oh. Well, where the hell are you?”

“London.”

“Like, England?” Cosima exclaims.

She can’t imagine her free-spirited sister in dark, dreary London.

“Yeah,” Amanita chuckles. “It’s… sort of a long story.”

Cosima laughs.

“Yeah, I get that,” she agrees. “I’ve got a pretty long story of my own. We can talk about it when you get home?”

“Yeah. I’ll be back in a couple of days,” Amanita agrees. “Mom said you had your own conspiracy bullshit, but you wouldn’t tell her anything. Go figure—both her kids turn out to get wrapped up in major shit storms simultaneously.”

Cosima frowns.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“Right now? I guess. I mean, everyone’s alive… for now.”

It isn’t like Amanita to hold back and she knows that they’ve been distant for a while, but she can also tell that something is eating at her little sister.

“Anything I can help with?”

Amanita releases a long sigh.

“Actually, yeah.”

Delphine, sensing the conversation taking a turn from light to something far more serious, shoots Cosima a look of confusion. Cosima merely shrugs in response, as lost in all of this as her girlfriend.

“What do you know about homo sensorium?”

Cosima pauses.

“What?”

“Have you ever come across the term before?” Amanita follows up. “I need someone I can trust who knows their shit when it comes to evolution. Naturally, you’re my first pick.” Cosima quickly racks through her brain for any knowledge of the word. It sounds familiar, she’s sure she’s read something about it in passing, but she’s read a lot of material throughout the course of her studies and she can’t recall anything more substantial on the topic.

“Since when do you care about my work?” she counters.

Her sister has never expressed any sort of interest in her field before and she’s having a hard time understanding where the sudden fascination is coming from.

“Look, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t super important.”

“Okay, okay. I don’t really know anything about homo sensorium—”

Delphine’s eyes immediately light up the second the word is mentioned and Cosima can tell by her expression that, like so many times before, Delphine knows something she doesn’t.

“—but I know someone who does.”

She can almost hear Amanita leap in excitement.

“Really? That’s the best fucking news I’ve heard all week!”

Cosima frowns again.

“Amanita, what’s going on? Just spit it out.”

Her sister pauses, trying to compose herself.

“You remember Nomi, right?”

Cosima blinks.

“Your girlfriend? Yeah. Of course.”

She had met her sister’s partner once before when the two had first started dating. They had all gone to dinner together and from what she remembered, it was a pleasant evening; Nomi was sweet—a little shy and still uncertain in many ways—but she complimented Amanita well and even leaned more toward the intellectual side, much to Cosima’s delight. They had carried on a conversation about gender and genetics for nearly an hour before Amanita had to rip them away from the subject.

“Nomi’s sort of… special.”

“Special how?” Cosima challenges.

She locks eyes with Delphine, sees both fear and shock shimmering behind her hazel pools, and knows that there’s something much deeper to all of this.

“Is she… homo sensorium special?” Cosima tries, gauging the reactions of both Amanita and Delphine.

Her suspicions are confirmed when Delphine is visibly affected by the revelation.

“Your friend,” Amanita begins. “They… they don’t work for a company called BPO, do they?”

“No. Definitely not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, my “friend” is actually my girlfriend, and she used to spy on me for a company called DYAD, so… yeah. I’m pretty sure she’s not also working for BPO,” Cosima answers. “As brilliant as she is, I don’t think she’d be able to juggle so many jobs for so many dubious corporations.”

Once again, she can tell by the expression on Delphine’s face that BPO is not an unfamiliar term to her either. She's naturally inclined to feel angry at her lover for being kept in the dark, but then she remembers that this has nothing to do with clone drama, that her ignorance and Delphine’s knowledge aren’t deliberate, and so can she really be upset at the blonde for the wealth of knowledge she obtained while dabbling in fringe sciences?

“Shit,” Amanita mutters. “Are… are you being hunted too? Are you a sensate?”

“Sensate?” she asks, the term catching her off guard. “Uh… no? And I’m not being hunted anymore. I took care of all that.”

She can hear Amanita’s anger bubbling on the other side of the phone.

“Why can’t these creepy-ass evil organizations leave the people I love alone? Like, what’s the deal?”

“Look, let me know when you’re back in San Fran. I’ll be home for the week with Delphine before we take off to Paris. We can talk more in-person,” Cosima suggests. “And I’ll have more info on this homo sensorium you’re dying to know about.”

“Okay. Sounds good.”

“I’ll talk to you later.”

She’s about to hang up her phone when she hears her sister call out her name one last time, drawing her back into the conversation.

“Yeah?” Cosima asks.

There’s a brief pause.

“It’s good to talk to you again. I really missed you.”

Cosima smiles.

“I missed you, too.”

As soon as she hangs up her phone, tension lingers in the air in the back seat of the uber. Delphine chews nervously on her bottom lip, watching Cosima slip her cell phone back into her purse.

“Well, I told you you might get to meet my sister,” she says.

Delphine sighs heavily.

“Why do I get the feeling that our vacation isn’t going to be a vacation?”

#orphan black #sense8 #cophine #cophine fanfic #fanfiction #amanita #nomi mark #nomanita

66 notes · View notes

thomastravels · 7 years

Text

Andalusian Holy Week and Tom’s “Grand Tour” of the Iberian Peninsula

My longest break this semester was in April around Easter, during what’s referred to as “Semana Santa” or Holy Week in Spain. The amount of vacation time we got for this holiday was certainly nothing to scoff at, just one day shy of a full two weeks off from school! Of course, I had to make the most out of so much free time, and I decided to spend it traveling.

My trip was 100% self-organized (transportation and lodging), self-planned (things to do and places to see) and self-financed (so logically, I kept everything as cheap as humanly possible), something I’m pretty proud of. To top it all off, I decided to make this adventure a solo one, partly because I wanted the freedom to do whatever I wanted, and partly because it’s hard enough to coordinate a trip to one city with multiple people, let alone a trip with 7 different stops!

Here was my itinerary:

0. Valencia

1. Granada

2. Sevilla (Seville)

3. Lisbon

4. Bilbao

5. San Sebastián

6. Madrid

7. Toledo

(From this map, it looks like I did an almost complete circuit of the Iberian Peninsula while intentionally excluding the Cataluña region. I did skip this area for a reason - I’d already been! See my blog on Barcelona here.)

Because most of my trips up until this point had been to other countries in Europe, I decided to stay in Spain this time around (the one exception being my stop in Lisbon, Portugal). I also strategically planed my visits to Granada and Sevilla to coincide with Andalusian holy week festivities. All throughout Andalucía (a community in Spain, similar to a state here in the US) there are festivities and processionals throughout the week of Semana Santa (Easter), so it was a great opportunity to visit those cities and experience such a unique and important element of Andalusian culture.

It’s been over a month since I got back from this trip, and I’m just now finally getting around to writing a post about it! And as you could probably imagine, it’s a pretty sizable post too, with just over 300 pictures (and trust me, there were at least double that amount on my camera roll before I started picking and choosing) so fingers crossed it won’t crash your phone/internet browser. I tried to fill this post with lots of details - possibly making it a little boring for some readers, which is totally okay! My justification for so much verbiage is I want to be able to look back at this blog later in life and remember my travels. If you’re not interested in the writing and just want to quick scroll through to look at the pretty pictures, I won’t be offended in the slightest :)

2 weeks, 7 cities, 1 Thomas. What could possibly go wrong?

1. GRANADA

A lot, actually. Well not really - just one thing. But a pretty major thing. Every millennial’s worst nightmare: I couldn’t charge my phone (gasp!)

Yeah, I know, you can groan and roll your eyes about how my generation is dependent on technology - I get it. However, when traveling alone in a foreign country, your phone is your lifeline. Not only does it serve as a camera (which is a convenience thing but not a necessity), it also serves as a map, translator, and emergency contact device (all of which are essentially necessities). Not to mention, I was traveling alone. So needless to say, having a functioning phone is important when traveling abroad!

After taking a train from Valencia to Granada and listening to music/texting most of the ride, my phone battery was pretty low. I wasn’t worried though, because I always keep a backup battery pack on me when I travel. I arrived at my AirBnB, got ready for bed, plugged my phone in to charge (or so I thought) and went to sleep.

The only problem was, my iPhone cord (for some inexplicable reason) chose that night of all nights to stop working. Being the dimwit I am, I just plugged my phone in overnight without bothering to see if it was actually charging. When I woke up the next morning and realized my phone was on 8%, I was an unhappy camper (to put it lightly). I needed my phone to navigate through the city and arrive at the Alhambra in time for my tour. If I was late, I would be denied entry, and I was not about to miss out on seeing it. The Alhambra is a famous Arabic palace, and is actually the most-viewed monument in Spain (see pic below).

Friends who previously visited raved about how absolutely beautiful the Alhambra was and how I had to take a million pictures there. Well - that’s not so easy if your phone is your camera and it’s on death’s doorstep! I pulled out every trick in the book to make my phone last as long as possible: battery saver mode, airplane mode, even turned the brightness completely down. Luckily, I arrived in time for the tour, but using the GPS brought my battery down to around 2-3%. Miraculously though, my phone lasted on such low battery for almost the entirety of the visit! Normally, my phone would drop that much battery percentage in three minutes, let alone three hours! Even though with the backlight off I could hardly see what I was taking a photo of, I got pictures of the majority of the tour, and I think all things considered, they turned out pretty decent!

It’s a bit hard to make out in this shot, but on many of the walls of the Alhambra, the word Allah, the name for God in the Islamic faith, is spelled out to adorn the walls.

Interesting tidbit that our tour guide shared with us - although these windows look to be the same distance from the center of the wall, they're actually intentionally mis-aligned by 2 centimeters (that is, if you could fold this wall down the middle, the windows wouldn’t line up just right). This is because the creators of the Alhambra believed that there is no complete perfection except their God Allah, and any attempt to create perfection was blasphemy. The palace was constructed with many very tiny and virtually undetectable, intentional architectural and geometric errors due to this belief.

Palacio de los Leones, perhaps the most famous room in the Alhambra.

My luck got a bit better when the tour started - I had a reasonably small group. In fact, it was just me and one other family. And believe it or not, the other family was from Valencia! We got along really well, made some nice small talk, and the dad even emailed me some photos after the tour because I told him my phone had died.

The weird earpiece thing I’m wearing in the picture above is the latest in tour-guide technology - the guide speaks into a microphone softly and we can hear her explaining history and other details while we wander around and soak in the sights. While this is convenient, I suspect the main reason they do this is so that snoopy passerby don’t get to hear the tour without paying.

Some beautiful views of the Albayzín, a historic district in Granada.

Jardines del Generalife

After this point in the tour, my phone finally gave out. However, I was all-in-all pretty impressed at how long it lasted with 2%, so I couldn’t complain. After the tour, the first order of business was to find a working iPhone cable (which was already difficult because most Spanish stores have weird hours, made even worse because it was a holiday) but eventually I found a charger at a sketchy mini mart and revived my iPhone. After that, I went to a bar to get a bite to eat. Although I didn’t think to snap a picture, I was reminded that I was truly in Andalucía when I ordered a drink and received free food that I didn’t even chose along with it. Although other areas of Spain have added tapas to their menus to try to reel in tourists, in their most authentic Andalusian form, tapas are free bites to eat that come with drink order, without you asking or choosing what you get. Cool huh?

After a quick siesta at my AirBnB, I paid a visit to the beautiful Cathedral of Granada

One of the many, many processions for Holy Week. Religious orders dress up and wear white robes and cone hats that I think look alarmingly similar to KKK outfits (but thankfully, there is no relation, and these processions far outdate the Klan anyways).

Many times in processions, members of religious orders carry an effigy of the Virgin Mary on a sort of pilgrimage. The candles you see are all real and lit, and the smoke is from incense.

Every so often, the procession stops at designated points and a vocalist sings a blessing in traditional Andalusian style over the Virgin.

A huuuuge baked potato I got from a street vendor, stuffed with just about everything you could imagine: carrots, corn, cheese, pepper, and other ingredients I can’t recall now.

El Ayuntamiento (town hall) de Granada

Exploring the Albayzín (the little white village I saw from up above in the Alhambra earlier that morning).

Mirador de San Nicolás, with a great view of the Alhambra.

2. SEVILLA

When I arrived at my AirBnB in Sevilla, I was greeted by traditional Andalusian tiling on the stairs and wall. It can be a little much at times, but I still think it’s so pretty!

View from my AirBnB of la Giralda, the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral

Parque de María Luisa

Plaza de España. My pictures simply do not do this place justice. I got here and absolutely fell in love - the plaza is simply beautiful. The ambience is distinctly Spanish and is filled with different sounds: street flamenco dancers and their shoes on mini-tablaos, the clip-clop of horse drawn carriages, the music of street performers, the chatter of castañuelas... I could have stayed there for hours.

Every Spanish province has its own bench/monument in the plaza

I found some Valencians, and we took each other’s picture :)

The view from the rooftop of my AirBnB

Another Semana Santa procession, this time in Sevilla. You should be able to make out the cone hats a bit more clearly in this one

I learned that I had to be very flexible while navigating the streets of Sevilla. Not only were they a virtual labyrinth to begin with, many times I would finally find the right street to follow, only to be forced to turn around because it was blocked off by a procession. This trip was an exercise in patience and flexibility for me in many ways - in this case, instead of getting frustrated, I decided to just relax and enjoy the procession!

Another Virgin effigy

The Cathedral of Seville, the third largest cathedral in the world

El Real Alcázar de Sevilla (the Royal Palace of Seville)

The palace gardens were gorgeous and very peaceful

One of the processions either entering or leaving the cathedral (don’t quite remember which)

Flamenco Show. Unfortunately, there was no photography allowed until the very end. Although most spaniards would never really go out to see a flamenco show (it is almost solely a touristic attraction at this point), this show was performed in authentic style (or at least, that’s what the reviews on TripAdvisor told me!) and the dancers and musicians were very talented.

La Giralda at nighttime

A procession the night before Easter.

Pro tip - if you don’t want to have to pay to tour the cathedral, go to a service!

It’s pretty cool to say I went to Easter mass in the Catedral de Sevilla, the third-largest cathedral in the world!

A procession on Easter Sunday - notice the robes are white today instead of black, symbolizing purity but unfortunately looking even more like klansmen.

Metropol Parasol, an exposition center in Seville.

Ayuntamiento de Sevilla

La Maestranza, or la Plaza de Toros de Sevilla - The bullfighting ring of Seville

After having studied the culture behind bullfights year after year in Spanish classes, I finally got to see one for myself. Even though I had a feeling I wouldn’t like it, I decided I needed to witness a bullfight in order to form an educated opinion.

And... I hated it. I understand that bullfights are traditionally a way to honor the bull, but all I see is suffering and torture. The bull really has no options. If it is docile, it is prodded and goaded into attacking. If it is aggressive, it is tortured and then killed. What a way to spend Easter Sunday - paying to see the Lord’s creatures suffer unnecessarily :(

Although this bullfight had six bulls, I only got through three before I had to leave the stadium.

While I was waiting for my bus to Lisbon, they were filming a movie at the Seville bus station!

3. LISBON

The leg of my trip from Sevilla to Lisbon was by far the longest of my two-week journey, lasting around 8 hours total. I was horrified upon boarding my bus to observe that there was no bathroom located in the back, knowing full well that nothing short of a miracle would allow me to survive 8 hours without being able to use facilities. I did notice a few elderly couples on the bus as well, and figured they would crack before I did. I assumed that if the bus had no restroom, it would have to make rest stops at least every other hour, but 3 hours into the ride it had not stopped once. It wasn’t until a girl got up from her seat and disappeared behind me that I realized the bathroom on board was ingeniously built (disguised) into the side of the rear-exit stairs. Although this location forces you to more or less climb into the lavatory, I was quite relived to realize that there was indeed a bathroom on board. Who would have thought?!

On a more serious note, traveling to Lisbon by bus really helped me realize just how cool the European Union is. Because both Spain and Portugal are part of the Schengen Area, the free-movement zone of the EU, they have no border control. Driving into Portugal was as simple as driving from one state to another in the US. There’s just a “Bem vindo a Portugal” sign and that’s it - you’re in a new country! In fact, I totally forgot I had left Spain, and when the bus driver took a break at a rest stop (this rest stop finally came after I had discovered the on-board bathroom), I accidentally tried to order food in Spanish!

However, speaking Spanish is still of some value in Portugal. I found that if the person I was speaking to didn’t know English, I could still have a jumbled conversation with them if I asked a question in Spanish - I would just recieve a response in Portuguese. Although the two are absolutely separate languages, they share their similarities, and I was surprised at how much Portuguese I could vaguely understand given my knowledge of Spanish. Written Portuguese was even better. I found that when I concentrated too hard on deciphering Portuguese, I psyched myself out, but when I just did a calm skim over the text, I could get the general idea. This was very useful in a wide variety of scenarios, from understanding instructions from my AirBnB host to reading public transit maps.

Praça de Dom Pedro IV (Rocio)

From my observations, Lisbon seemed to rely much more on tram cars than on busses for public transportation.

Some of them were older while a few were more modern

I just had to stop here and get some shots of the laughably difficult-to-navigate roads in center city Lisbon. Between cars, trams, busses, cyclists, and pedestrians, the roads are a mess.

Take this scene for example. A car is trying to go down a street that is completely blocked by two tram cars. This makes a further traffic jam because the car isn’t able to finish its turn, irritating cyclists, all while a pedestrian jaywalks in between the car and trams. Crazy huh?

Cais das Colunas.

Arco da Rua Augusta

Praça do Comércio

Next, I went on the Elevador da Glória - similar to the trams I mentioned earlier, except it scales a mini-mountain. The picture right below is what the elevador is supposed to look like...

but the next picture is what it actually looks like.

Thank you street artists!

The ride was cool and all, but it was majorly overpriced and there wasn’t really anything at the top, so I was a little disappointed.

The street that my AirBnB was on - pretty jam packed with cars, but still pretty. I love all the different brightly colored buildings.

The craziness that is the Rua Augusta

Later that afternoon, I went to Belém (Bethlehem in English), a municipality of Lisbon that was by far my favorite part of my visit to Portugal. I didn’t take any pictures of it, but in order to visit the various monuments I walked through a beautiful park full of happy couples, children running around playing sports, and picnics in the grass. Oddly enough, passing by and enjoying the calm scene hit me with a wave of nostalgia for home - who would have thought a park in Portugal would make me yearn for an American summer?

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, a beautiful monastery that I admired from the outside because I’m too cheap to pay the entrance fee for everything (and trust me, I had paid enough to enter various religious buildings by that point).

Padrão dos Descobrimentos

Lisbon trying to get that SanFran aesthetic?

Torre de Belém, beautiful at sunset

The next day, I took a short-distance train to Sintra, a famous national park on the outskirts of Lisbon.

Palácio Nacional de Sintra

To walk to the Moorish Castle, I had to hike through some of the forests of Sintra. The pictures truly don’t do the walk justice. On family vacations, I’m normally the one who complains about hiking, but this hike had even me blown away by its natural beauty and great look-out points.

If you look closely, you can see the Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros) on the mountain in the distance. However, I couldn’t hike all the way up to see it, because there was a steep entrance fee and I’m a cheapskate.

The Palácio da Pena. Get ready for a ton of pictures of this one... I just couldn’t help myself. To me, the architecture is absolutely stunning and very original. For this one, I did cave and pay to go inside.

Like... is that incredible or what?!

Look closely to see the village houses out in the distance

If you look closely, you can see the Moorish Castle on top of the mountain.

What is a trip through Europe without unflattering selfies??

(See look I told you, I actually paid to go inside this once!)

After visiting Sintra, I took the train back to center city Lisbon to explore until I had to leave for my flight to Bilbao

Back in center Lisbon near the Praça de Dom Pedro IV. On top of the hill you can faintly make out the Castelo de São Jorge, where I took these next few pictures

The view at the top was magnificent - shame there was no Elevador da Glória to make this (significantly more challenging) ascent

The walk down was great!

The walk back up, not so much...

Igreja de São Vicente de Fora

For my flight to Bilbao, I was very frustrated that the online check-in did not work for me for some reason. I figured this was because I had purchased the flight off a semi-sketchy third-party website with a great deal on tickets. Knowing this, I got to the airport extra early to get in line and check in the old-fashioned way, intentionally leaving plenty of wiggle room even for an international flight just in case there were any problems with my ticket. Little did I know I would have the most incredible luck when I got to the airport.

First, as I was stopping to get something out of my backpack, a sweet random woman came up to me and asked if I would like some chocolates. Her suitcase was overweight and she was trying to get rid of things. Not too bad huh?

The nice happiness-boost from the chocolate lady wore off pretty quickly when I saw the check in line. It was colossal (the airport was busier than normal because of the Easter season) and moving slowly. I tried to check in on my phone and on the digital machines one last time, but still no luck - each time I would just get a message saying I had to go talk with customer service, so I grudgingly joined the humongous line.

I had barely been in line for 5 minutes, however, when a very kind airline employee came up and asked me what I was waiting in line for. Evidently, because there were so many people waiting to talk to customer service and he just happened to not be busy, he was working from the back of the line up to see if he could help customers and reduce the line. I explained that I just needed to check in for my flight, and he asked me to follow him. He accompanied me to another station where he allowed me to completely cut the line, after which he promptly checked me in and printed my boarding passes. He told me that I had actually purchased budget tickets that didn’t include a checked bag (thanks sketchy third-party website), and that I would normally have to go back to customer service to pay to check my suitcase. However, because the customer service line was already way out of hand, he said he would just go against company policy and check my bag for free. I was completely flabbergasted and could not believe my luck. I thanked him profusely as he hurried away to assist another customer. I honestly felt undeserving of such a stroke of good fortune - I had arrived at the airport with time to spare, and surely there was someone in more of a rush who could have used that godsend more than I could have. Either way, I just had to give that mysterious TAP Airlines employee a shoutout - you the real MVP man.

4. BILBAO

I really enjoyed my time in Bilbao. I happened to visit during the week they were doing a sort of “piano project,” where a number of pianos were placed in public spots and anyone could just walk up and play them. I was lucky enough to come across at least four while exploring the city!

Another neat thing about Bilbao (and Basque Country) in general is their language, Basque or Euskera. Words in Basque can be pretty intimidating to pronounce, to say the least. I didn’t think to snap any pictures at the time, but the picture below I found on Google of a street sign gives you a bit of an idea. Thankfully, everyone (or mostly everyone) also speaks Spanish, so I didn’t really run into any trouble.

I think the snapchat caption just about says it all. My AirBnB hosts had to get up early the next morning for work and I had already arrived a bit later than anticipated, and I didn’t want to irritate them even further by waking them up at such an ungodly hour - so I just sucked it up and waited until morning.

Churros and cola-cao, a delicious breakfast (even if it is pretty meager)

Parque de Doña Casilda Iturrizar

El Cachorro (the puppy), a sculpture made of flowers that’s supposed to look like a west highland white terrier. Unfortunately, the flowers were not quite in bloom yet.

The Guggenheim Museum

Ayuntamiento de Bilbao

Río Nervión

El Casco Viejo

Catedral de Santiago de Bilbao

Iglesia de San Nicolás

La Alhóndiga. This is a cool one - it’s a multipurpose building in center city Bilbao to serve various needs for city residents. Among other things, it has restaurants, shops, a library, a gym, a movie theater, and an auditorium.

5. SAN SEBASTIÁN

San Sebastián is a very popular beach town to the east of Bilbao. It’s actually quite close to the border with France, and I heard just about as much French spoken while visiting as I did Spanish. Although the water was too cold to swim in and the wind made even laying on the beach a bit chilly for my taste, the city was absolutely beautiful.

To get from Bilbao to San Sebastián was only about an hour ride by bus. When I purchased bus tickets online, I wasn’t really paying too much attention to the type of bus, and €15 seemed a reasonable price to me so I didn’t think anything was out of the usual. However, I was blown away when I saw a sleek black bus that said “ALSA Premium” on it pull up to the station and realized it was for me. This bus was by far the fanciest I’ve ever been on. I mean, it had a flight attendant. On a bus. What? Did I mention complimentary snacks and beverage service? I sure wish I had this bus for my 8 hour ride from Seville to Lisbon! I was almost sad when the ride ended. I found a picture of the bus model online so you can get a better idea.

The Río Urumea, that flows through the city of San Sebastián and into the Bay of Biscay.

El Ayuntamiento de San Sebastián

Playa la Concha

Such amazing artistry - a man down on the beach was drawing all these designs in the sand, and passerby on the bridge where this photo was taken would throw money down for him.

Catedral del Buen Pastor de San Sebastián

Basílica de Santa María del Coro

Iglesia San Vicente

6. MADRID

For the end of my two week traveling spree, I decided to splurge and treat myself a bit by booking a private single room in the cheapest hostel I could find in Madrid, instead of staying in a room in someone else’s house via AirBnb. This was the view from my balcony!

Because Madrid is the most globalized city in Spain, I was overjoyed to find a place where I could get a real, hearty American breakfast (breakfast in Spain is very, very light fare). It was so delicious (or maybe I had just missed real breakfast so much) that I ended up coming back here for breakfast again!

San Jerónimo el Real

Real Jardín Botánico

“I heard it and I forgot / I saw it and I understood / I did it and I learned.”

-Confucius

Parque de El Retiro

Cool spot in the park where you could rent a game of chess!

Puerta de Alcalá

Plaza de Cibeles. This building serves as the town hall of Madrid. Notice the “Refugees Welcome” banner - wishing our president could take a page out of Spain’s book.

Edificio Metrópolis along the Gran Vía

Estatua del Oso y el Madroño. This statue represents the Coat of Arms of Madrid and is also the 0 kilometer mark for all roads in Spain.

Estatua de Carlos III de España in the Puerta del Sol, the Spanish equivalent of Times Square.

Plaza Mayor

Estatua de Felipe III de España

Real Basilica de San Francisco el Grande

Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace of Madrid) seen from a distance.

More pictures of the Palacio Real

Templo de Debod, a temple that was disassembled in Egypt and reassembled in Madrid, now located alongside a nice public park.

Biblioteca Nacional, the Spanish National Library

It’s really cool to me that Spain has a ministry (government department) of equality.

A protest by Venezuelan expats living in Spain, decrying political corruption in Venezuela and trying to raise awareness of their country’s economic crisis.

Las Bicicletas son para el verano (Bicycles are for Summer), a play I read for my Spanish Literature & Cinema class during the semester. I had the chance to see the play live in Madrid!

I was always taught it’s good to arrive to the theater a half-hour early, but here, the other spectators were living up to the stereotypes about Spanish punctuality.

Madrid at nighttime

7. TOLEDO

The last stop on my two-week adventure was Toledo, Spain. The city had a very distinct charm and some absolutely incredible views of mountains and valleys.

I was already impressed with Toledo as soon as I stepped off the train - look at how how pretty the train station is!

Puente de Alcántara

El Alcázar de Toledo

Catedral de Santa María de Toledo

Inside Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes

Puerta de Bisagra

At this point, I took a very, veeeery roundabout hike (I didn’t really know what I was doing, I was just looking at the maps app on my phone) to try to find the Mirador del Valle, a lookout spot where you can see the whole city of Toledo in all its glory. It was a very hot, sweaty hike, but I finally made it, and the views were totally worth it.

I also found another mini-mountain next to the lookout spot where I could get an even better vantage point of the city, so of course, I climbed it.

If you’ve reached this point in the post, you can smile as wide as I am in that last pic... you’re done! The never-ending blog post is finished. If you actually read all this, you deserve some award.

Although I was sad that my journey finally had to come to an end, upon my return to Valencia was greeted by my wonderful host mom, who stayed up until midnight to make sure I was well-received with a hot home-cooked meal (she’s the best).

This trip was very eye-opening for me in a lot of ways. It was an exercise in maturity to live independently for two weeks, not to mention the absolutely incredible opportunity to see so much of Spain in so little time. Even so, there are many more places I would have liked to visit. I’m already starting my list for round two. Spain, you haven’t seen the last of me!

0 notes