The Last Day of Summer With You || SVT IMAGINES SERIES

3: Joshua - Last-minute Moonlight Picnic

As you lit up the liquid-fueled lantern, Joshua played a sweet tune on his guitar while singing “Falling For U” softly.

The dim light source made the atmosphere romantic and Joshua's heavenly voice under the luminescent moon only made your heart flutter more. You loved how dreamy this night with Joshua was.

There were only a few hours until the last day of summer was going to pass. You and Joshua had planned this little picnic in your backyard for basically the whole day. In fact, you two had been so busy preparing foods and drinks that evening dawned upon you two before you guys even knew it.

Well, the plan was doomed from the beginning because you two couldn't stop consuming the delicious foods you two made and bought before the picnic even took place. In the end, you two decided to place your plaid red picnic rug outside, on the green grass of your adequate sized backyard, under the moonlight.

Already full from eating dinner in the afternoon, the two of you sat side by side, under the night sky, with no food-filled picnic basket.

After lighting the last of the three lamps, you crawled to sit behind Joshua, who had his legs crossed and his acoustic guitar in front of him. With a tired sigh, you leaned your back against his.

“Don't you find it kind of funny? We went shopping for hours, buying food. Then, we spent another few hours preparing the food, cooking, and all that, only to eat it all the moment it got cooked,” You laughed and you could hear Joshua giggle in between the verse of the song. “I wanted to try having a moonlight picnic with you but this summer has gone by so fast that we had to do everything last-minute, resulting in this somewhat empty picnic.”

“It is a bit funny,” Joshua replied, now only strumming his guitar gently. “But it's not empty to me. I like it like this.”

You nodded softly, got up onto your knees, and turned around and placing your head on his shoulder, wrapping your arms around him, similar to if he was going to give you a piggyback. You just wanted to stay there, on top of him, clinging onto him like a koala to a tree.

Joshua chuckled softly, debating whether or not he should say what was on his mind. He wanted to but thought that maybe it was too cheesy to say.

There was a moment of silence with just the chirping of crickets, the faint howl of an owl, the occasional zooming of passing cars, and the short silence of the night. It would have been scary if you were all alone but, because you were holding onto your boyfriend like this, you felt like you could be a bit braver.

Joshua stopped playing his guitar and with the black plectrum still in his right hand, he placed his hand gently on your arm that was wrapped around his neck lovingly. Joshua smiled. “When you're with me, I never feel lonely.”

You smiled, feeling your cheeks blush with pink. You buried your head shyly into his shoulder and muffled an agreement to his sweet statement. Both of you laughed and you couldn't help but squeeze your eyes shut. Your heart was melting.

“Want to sing a song with me?” Joshua asked, getting ready to play another lovely tune on his guitar. “Or, if you don't want to, is there a song you'd like me to sing?”

You smiled and got off his back to sit next to him. You sat down crisscrossed on his left. “It's been a long time since I've heard you sing this song, so I want to listen to it again. I think it'll be perfect for a time like this, under the fallen sky, on the night before summer ends.”

Joshua chuckled softly. “It's not ‘VERY NICE’, is it...?”

You laughed and hit his shoulder playfully. “No, of course not, Shua! I love that song but I was thinking of the song you and DK featured in called ‘17’ by Pink Sweats.”

Joshua let out an understanding “ahhh” mixed with soft giggles. Setting the beat with knocks on his guitar, he started playing the guitar. You could tell that it had been a while since he played the song. Even if he wasn't playing the guitar correctly, his voice was distracting you from his perfect flaws.

Joshua was a bit distracted by his mistakes but when he turned to you who was at his side, smiling with twinkling eyes, he felt like everything he did, including his flaws, was suddenly perfection. He was forgetting the lyrics but they came to him all of sudden as if they were engraved on the back of his hand.

It was all because of you.

“When we're 92 the same as 17,” Joshua sang, gazing into your eyes. You smiled at him swaying your body back and forth as he finished the chorus. He couldn't think about anything else aside from you now. The song was almost like a proposal.

With your angelic smile in his sight, Joshua couldn't help himself. He leaned in and gave you a soft, warm kiss on the lips, catching you by surprise.

He set down his guitar and plectrum and brought his hands to cup your face. You were just so lovable. You made him feel so lovable.

After sharing an affectionate kiss under the bright, round, and shining moon with faint stars dotting the black sky, you both let go of each other's lips with a smile.

“Thank you for spending another summer with me Y/N,” Joshua said sincerely. He wanted to add more but didn't know how to. The words couldn't come out of his mouth or build in his head. He just knew that he was thankful and he loved you.

You grinned brighter and closed in to give him another peck. The night breeze was chill but it wasn't too cold. It was just perfect for this romantic evening.

His eyes were sparkling and you felt like you could see how happy he was tonight. Those genuine eyes were a killer, making your heart pound faster again and again.

“Do you want to go back inside now?” You asked, taking his hand.

He smiled and nodded.

You grabbed the picnic blanket after you two got off and he took his plectrum and guitar. You flapped the blanket to get the grass off and while holding his hand.

As you two headed inside, around an hour before the final day of summer was over, Joshua couldn't help but think to himself that he wanted you by his side all the time.

‘One day, definitely one day,’ Joshua thought, admiring your beautiful smile again as your hands that were clasped dispersed, and you went to put away the picnic blanket. Joshua smiled.

‘I'll propose to you soon.’