Baby, te amo (forever ‘til the end of time)
So I wrote a little something for my soft juke babies because the idea just was too cute to let the opportunity pass. It’s tooth-rotting fluff (when is it not with me lol).
Summary: She closed her eyes, basking in the moment, basking in his presence, warmth and comfort, and the words came out naturally.
Or the one in which Julie grew up with the idea of ‘te amo’ being the ultimate love confession. She hasn’t ever used it romantically because no one had been deserving of what her mother used to call the promise of profound devotion. Until years later, that’s it.
It was no secret how much her parents loved each other.
Everybody with eyes could see the brazen devotion in every term of endearment and the warmth in even the smallest interactions. Little Julie could not understand how the other kids were disgusted by their parent’s displays of affections when her mom and dad were just like the princes and princesses in her fairy tales storybooks!
And so, Julie grew to be in awe of the love her parents had for one another.
On the nights she couldn’t sleep, she would shrug off the blankets and pad barefoot through the house, clutching her favorite plushie under one arm. She would go searching for her parents, knowing that her mother’s soft tunes were her favorite lullabies in the whole world and her dad’s gentle words made her feel every bit like the daddy’s little girl her mom always said she was. And, more often than not, she would find her parents slow dancing in the kitchen, under dim lighting with their hands wrapped around each other and with the biggest smiles on their faces. For little Julie, it was magical and she found herself wishing to grow up quickly so she too could find someone to live a fairy tale moment of her own.
She was the honorable spectator to her parents' shows of affection time and time again, each one of them filled with what she could only describe as genuine, unadulterated love. Like witnessing her mother serenading her father with one of the most beautiful songs she has ever heard, or the time in which she saw her dad cooking an entire feast of all of her mom’s favorite dishes for their anniversary date.
There were way too many moments engraved in her mind that she just can’t let go; Julie holds them dearly in her heart because what her parents had was the epitome of true love and she would fiercely stand by that.
The truth is that Rose and Ray were absolutely enamored with one another. Julie is just glad she could experience it first-hand.
However, there was a specific moment that left Julie quite shaken, even as a freshly-turned teenager. She remembers her mom draping her arms on her father’s shoulder, gazing at him with the softest yet most ardent look in her eyes and saying, “Te amo” . So straightforward, without stuttering, whispering a confession from the heart. And her father’s face would soften immediately, his posture slumping as if he is getting rid of all his defenses, as if he doesn’t need them anymore. They would get trapped in this bubble of vulnerability together, a number of ‘te amo’s being muttered for their ears only like a sacred word, their smiles radiating blinding happiness.
She didn’t understand how a simple world could cause such a fragile reaction.
Julie did ask her mom about it when they were both cuddling on the sofa watching a movie, because she was always a curious kid and not knowing stuff made her restless. Rose had
smiled, bringing Julie closer to her chest and tucking some of her curls behind her ear. “Mi amor,” she had started, with a tender look that only mothers could muster, “sometimes, a simple ‘I love you’ is not enough.”
Julie had cocked her head to the side in confusion because that didn’t make any sense. That was how you verbally express that you love someone. Granted, there were some alternatives but that was the most universally known phrase, so she definitely didn’t see where her mother was coming from.
Rose had laughed at her bewilderment, hugging her closer as she continued, “In spanish, ‘te amo’ is so powerful. It’s the most beautiful, most intimate way to voice out what you feel towards someone.”
Julie turned to look at her mom, “but isn’t that the same as ‘I love you’?”
Her mom hummed, “Not quite. Te amo is saying I love you, adore you, respect you, protect you, accept you, support you and care about you all in one word. It’s a meaningful word that carries a promise of profound devotion.”
Julie had nodded in understanding, though she’s sure that many of what it entailed went over her head. Her mom, on the other hand, had seemed to know what she’s talking about so she must be right, Julie had thought.
Rose had smiled wistfully and leaned over to place a kiss on her temple, “ Te amo, darling.”
She hugged her mom tightly, breathing in the moment that would later become one of Julie’s most treasured memories.
Julie may had been young, and perhaps she didn’t get all the fuss about it or just how significant it was as her mom made it out to be, but it did make sense over the years. As she grew older she would only use it a handful of times: to her dad, her little brother and her aunt Victoria. Sometimes, she would half-jokingly send it to Flynn over text.
Never romantically, no, because no one had yet to be deserving of those words.
Until years later, that’s it.
“So, I was thinking that for the bridge we could slow down the tempo a little bit, what do you think? Reggie came up with a killer riff that we could use and make the song awesome!”
Luke is pacing back and forth in front of her, talking animatedly about the song they have been working on the past couple of days. There’s the distinctive bounce on his step and a glimmer in his eyes that appear whenever he’s talking about something that he’s passionate about. It’s endearing, really.
Julie would have never thought that she would harbor such strong feelings for anyone, let alone for someone who wasn't exactly... alive. But here’s this boy that makes her heart flutter when he as much looks her way, that makes her feel breathless whenever he smiles at her blindingly, that makes her write the silliest of love songs and daydream about dancing to the idyllic tune of a ballad.
It’s overwhelming and the mere thought throws her off slightly because never has she ever felt so deeply over a crush but, perhaps, that word is too short of a label for what it truly is after all.
“Julie, are you with me?” She snaps back to reality to the image of Luke kneeling in front of her, his thumbs carefully rubbing her knees in an attempt to make her come back to the conversation at hand. It’s more distracting than helpful, the pads of his fingers incredibly gentle against her skin, but who is she to complain?
Ever since they discovered they could be able to touch, they had been using that information to the fullest in fear that it could be short-lasting. All of them.
(“Hmm, this is nice.” Reggie says, there’s a hint of a smile in his tone as he wiggles closer to Alex in his attempt to equally find warmth and to not fall off the bed.
Alex grunts as he is being pressed forward, “yes Reg, I love being squished to death.” He deadpans, his words dripping with sarcasm, surely with a roll of his eyes thrown in there to get his point across. Julie grins inwardly, the irony of what he said not lost on her. “I can’t feel my ribs, geez have you always been this strong?”
“Hey! If you don’t remember, I give the best bear hugs in the whole world and afterworld for that matter!” Reggie sounds so utterly offended that it makes her chuckle at how ridiculous this whole conversation turned out to be. The bed shakes a little — mainly because of Reggie pulling back slightly to look at Alex right in the eyes but she’s sure the added weight also plays a part in it — and the sudden movement had Reggie yelping and grasping Alex’s sleeve in a tight grip in fear of falling off.
“See, that’s the universe telling you that you should never question my strength ever again.”
“Reggie that’s not— okay.”
Luke laughs beside her, the sound melodious and blithesome, it makes something inside her melt and she’s flabbergasted for a second because since when has laughter sounded so beautiful and enthralling.
He has one arm draped across her stomach and she has an inexplicable urge to snuggle closer to him, to erase the space between.
“Come on dude, don’t deny it, you are loving it it.” He says playfully, propping his head on one had as he narrows his eyes humorously at the boys.
Alex scoffs weakly, as if he was about to come up with an excuse that no, he clearly was having the worst time of his not-life but the battle was lost before it even started. He all but grins and gives in, “okay, yes. This is great, you guys win.” He says, cuddling up against Julie even more.
Reggie dabs him cheerfully on his side, hugging Alex impossibly tighter and if he was crushing him, he never complained once this time.
Luke hums, “Julie your bed is the softest thing ever. I think it’s starting to become my next favorite thing.” He snugs down to the point that Julie believes he’s about to become one with the mattress. She gazes at him, and hopes that her eyes don’t betray her by giving too much unsaid information.
He looks at her, “though, don’t worry. You’ll always be my number one.” Luke shrugs, a coy smile on his face as if he didn’t just set her heart ablaze.
The words die on her tongue, her teasing about how his guitar might become jealous forgotten at the back of her mind. She guesses that getting used to him openly flirting would never get easy but honestly, she wouldn’t have it any other way. It hasn’t been too long since they dared to cross over that fine line between friends and something more; she’s still threading lightly, he plunges all at once.
“Yes Julie, I wonder why we never did this before.” Reggie says, cutting her off before she could even answer him with a flirty response of her own. Sometimes she felt a little daring, sue her.
She turns her neck to be able to look at him and smiles, he has his butt half on the bed and half on the air, but he looks as happy as ever. “Off limits, remember.”
She sees realization dawn on him.
Julie continues, “also, I don’t know if you remember but you guys weren’t exactly tangible to human contact.” She says matter of factly.
“Oh, yeah.” Reggie draws out the oh as if he forgot he was a ghost for a second. He stares off at the distance before shrugging and nuzzling his nose in the back of Alex’s neck, all talk about it unequivocally forgotten.
She chuckles and looks over at Luke, ready to tell him that he too is her favorite next thing, her favorite person, her favorite music partner, her favorite everything. Ready to see him beam at her words, maybe get a little bit flustered but he’d eventually find another thing to say that would render her speechless — as he always do, it’s some kind of superpower she’s staring to believe. But she’s greeted by the sight of her boyfriend fast asleep, his lips slightly parted and his fingers grazing faintly her curls. And he looks so at peace, so happy even in his sleep that it makes that indescribable feeling inside her to appear once more. The melting and the twisting and the fluttering ever so present.
And she wants to act on them. She will act on them.)
She looks at him, his eyebrows are slightly furrowed because he can’t help but get concerned over her. It comes naturally, he had jokingly said. “Is something wrong?”
Julie smiles, “no, you dork.” Her hand comes up to brush his bangs that fell a little bit long over his eyes, moving them aside to reveal those green eyes that she very much loves glinting with affection and tenderness and everything in between that makes her feel so warm and fuzzy.
“I was thinking that we could take a break for a bit,” she suggests, her hand now moving downwards to cup his cheek and she felt him leaning in. She’s sure her stomach was the home of millions of butterflies, leaping and dancing by the way it feels all fluttery when he turns his head to press a quick kiss on the palm of her hand. He’s going to be the death of her, she swears.
“Sure, yeah.” He smiles, moving to the couch and sitting next to her, his arm coming up to tuck her on his side. His chin is resting on top of her head and he may have said a joke about how her curls tickle his nose but she tunes it out, she’s just so happy right now.
Luke tightens his hold on her, “Tell me about your day.”
She tucks her legs in, almost resting them atop of his lap but not quite, and drapes one of her arms across his chest, “Well, Mrs. Harrison said that we’ll start on the preparations for the Winter Musical Festival next week. She told me that she wants me to write and perform the song for the opening act.” Julie started to play with the neckline of his shirt — surprisingly one with proper sleeves, though she’s a secret fan of his muscle tees for obvious reasons — a habit she has taken a liking to.
“Julie, that’s awesome! You are gonna knock them off their feet, as always!”
She can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm, it’s contagious to the point that she momentarily forgets about the real reason of why she brought up the topic in the first place. “And I want you to come.”
Julie waits for his response, “and the guys too, of course.”
He smiles the kind that makes his eyes wrinkle from how big he’s smiling, the apples of his cheeks popping up in the process. “Julie, we’d be honored!”
And then he softens up a little, she feels him slump further on the couch and his body curving towards her and Julie wonders if it was because of another emotional overload or because the excitement of the day is finally catching up to him — he has way too much energy, she really doesn’t know where he stores it — but then a quieted “I’d love to,” was being murmured in the space between them and Julie stopped wondering.
She closed her eyes, basking in the moment, basking in his presence, warmth and comfort, and the words came out naturally.
It’s straightforward, without stuttering, whispering a confession from the heart.
Julie doesn’t know if he understood it, in fact she doesn’t wait for him to act on it for that matter because she lifts her head from underneath him — feeling all kinds of emotions all at once — and takes his chin in her hand to bring their lips together in a searing kiss, the image of glazed eyes the last thing she saw.
They have kissed before, of course, small pecks here and there but nothing quite like this. Perhaps her not so little confession making the moment significant tenfold.
The kiss is mind-spinning and it makes her lightheaded and weak on the knees (she’s just glad she’s sitting down for this one), it carries both passion and tenderness at the same time and it’s brimming with everlasting promises that are left untold but still very much avowed. It’s sensitively overwhelming because there’s Luke everywhere; underneath her fingertips, on the back of her mind, on the soft glides against her mouth, on the gentle touches of his knuckles along her back, her face, her arms. She doesn’t know when he ended and she began.
She feels like her soul is being set on fire and then he tilts his head just so for their lips to slot even more perfectly together — if that was even possible — and she quite literally melts on his arms. She hums against his lips, and she needs more.
On a whim of boldness, she swings one of her legs to straddle his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck, weaving her fingers through his brown locks to draw him impossibly closer. His hands were everywhere and her skin felt like it was being put aflame. Come to think of it, she wonders how she hasn’t combusted already.
She tugs his bottom lip in between her teeth, a low grunt was heard in the air as a result and she grins against his lips at the sound.
Julie slowly pulls away, giggling at how he follows her lips as she moves away as if he doesn’t want to let her go yet. She leans to place one soft kiss on his cheek, another one on the tip of his nose and another on the corner of his mouth. She’s tempted to leave a trail down his neck, but she refrains from doing that in fear of not being able to stop after the first few kisses.
Luke runs his hands gently up and down her arms, his eyes looking a little distraught and she feels oddly proud at being the one responsible for such absentmindedly state in the rather streak-focused Luke.
“Te amo.” She repeats, this time looking at him directly in the eyes, hoping to convey everything that the word entails in her body language, in her facial expression, in the pitch of her voice. Because if anything, her mother taught her that it should be said from deep within.
For a second it seems like time and space stop, but then Luke shifts from beneath her and brings his hands to frame her face gently. His expression is stark and intense, and she didn’t know she was waiting with a hitched breath when she let out a sigh of relief at his next words.
She doesn’t know how he knows those words, she doesn’t care to ask when and why or to even consider any possible explanation because right now that’s the last thing on her mind as she leaps forward and embraces him in a crushing hug. Because nothing else matters as long as Luke loves her and she loves him just as much, as long as there’s amor and te amo’s in their love language.
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