He nods, a weak smile lining his features, “Yeah, we don’t see as eye to eye as Ryleigh and I do, so it was kinda a big deal. Kinda like a one night truce,” he shrugged, refusing to let his mind drift too far into it. They had plenty of time to talk about how shit his childhood was, but now was not it. Hearing the nickname fall from her lips, the thought of how her face might light up once they reached the stadium reset the tone. Once the text was sent, it didn’t take long to get a response. Everything was set, aside from what was in his pack, and he felt the familiar buzz of giddiness he had at the diner returning as he shifted the bag of fries in his grip. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he replied, his words trailing into a softer tone as her hair cascaded down her shoulders.
For a moment, he could see it. The two of them relaxing on a blanket by the lake, those fiery tresses blowing in the wind as he reads a The Fellowship of the Ring for the millionth time. The two of them high above the ocean waves, holding hands as the run and leap into the depths. The two of them snuggled tight in a car on the Ferris Wheel, the whole of Dayton and beyond laid out for them in one broad stroke. Or the two of them kissing in the rain, the thunderous sounds of the storm drowning out everything but their laughter. There were a million things he could see himself doing with her by his side. Some fun– exhilarating, others calming and intimate. Hell– if he thought long enough he was likely to imagine the not picture perfect snapshot. The good, the bad, and the heartbreaking…if he could see himself spending those moments with anyone? It would be her.
Aiden raised an eyebrow as he returned to the conversation and the pins slipped into her pockets. Right! The lock picking. It took a second, but he got there. “Hm? Oh– no of course not. As much as I love our walks and mornin runs, we have plenty of those. I wanted to do–” he paused, knowing if he said anymore all the time and energy he’d spent keeping it a secret would be wasted. And they wee so fuckin’ close to the finish line. “Nope, can’t say. You’ll see when we get there,”
Taking a deep breath to ease the bubbling nerves, he guided her in the direction he’d asked Jackson to set up. It wasn’t far at all, actually, and as they grew closer he could see the small golden lights in the distance. They seemed to almost float in the air, but he eyes adjusted and the outline of the structure came into view. Long flowing linen spilled down forming a canopy from the metal frame as it poured around the plush of a pillow laden mattress. And to the left, along the lip of the concert stadium, draped a large white screen, lit up bright from a small machine in the distance. He could hear the soft hum of the generator as it powered the twinkle lights and projector. Aiden grinned, shifting his gait to walk backward, eager to see her expression as they came upon their own little oasis. “Welcome to your home away from home,” he said, releasing her arm as he took another step and opened up the canopy to her. “Figured you can’t go wrong with dinner and a movie, am I right?”
a city of lights unveiled before her very eyes, mouth gaping at the scene that laid out in front of her, the pillows that line together folding out in front of the movie screen, the perfect front row seat to what she’d hoped would be the rest of her life, the lights, the canopy that would hide them away from the rest of the world’s cruel fate, encasing them in their own story book. What is she supposed to say? How is she supposed to react to this grand gesture, because jesus, she knew that romance had been woven into his very soul, but this? this is beyond what she’d ever imagined he could do.
she’s trying to take it in, take in every moment of this, like snapshots to add to her mental scrapbook, add to the story of what they were, how whirlwind and ridiculous this all had been, but the very thing she would hope she’d never lose, because this? the words beg to drip off her tongue, but she knows better, holds them back as she finally speaks.
“you.. you did this for me?” she asks, because she knows her worth, but even in the grand scheme of it all, how much had she actually to him? when did her worth become a sea of treasures discovered at every passing turn? “i love --,” her words cut as she braces herself, a staggered breath coming from her lips as she turns her gaze to the grinning man who’s standing in front of her, her eyes welling as his grand plan is laid out in front of her very eyes. and god, he truly hadn’t held back when it came to his surprises, had he? everytime she’d thought she had him figured out, another bend propped itself up, beckoning her attention back to the reason she’d fallen for him in the first place. fallen -- no, she was still falling and she’d curse whoever caught her because this feeling? it wasn’t one she’d trade for anything else in this words “i love it,” she whispers out softly, ducking her head to slip past the soft tulle, letting her body fall onto the pillows as she drags him in behind her, her lips quickly capturing his as the lights of the movie plays behind them, unattended and forgotten, because the only thing that could possibly catch even her slightest bit of attention was the man who she held in her very grasp. the one who she’d promised she would never let go of, but begrudgingly, she pulls away, her smile ever present as she keeps her gaze on those pair of ocean eyes.
in those eyes, cordelia swore that if she’d looked hard enough, she could see her future. the endless surprises he would bestow unto her, the copious mounds of tender kisses and beautiful words, gorgeous poems he’d slipped beneath her door after the night they’d met. awakening to that toothy grin that seemed to melt his body into his, awakening to the groggy voice that had taken over in the moments of sleepiness, even the pulls, beckoning her to leave her bed and stomp out the cardio that he’d dragged her into every morning, and while her heartbeat would quicken during those runs, nothing amounted to how hard it beat in this very moment. because this... she’s sure this is the moment she’s truly fallen in love. the one who’s truly stolen every bit of sadness and replaced it with a giggle and a smile, burying the memories that plagued her at night and replaced them with hums of encouragement and strong arms, helping her lift herself from the squallers of depression where she’d once resided, helping her along the way. “you are an enigma of a man, aiden o’connor. never change.”
romaincrisis
blakekathryn
theartofmadeline
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