LOVELY MOMENTS : a compilation of oneshots and drabbles

peter - veronica romanova

words from the mouth of babes
promises, oceans deep
but never to keep
oh, never to keep
— taylor swift, "peter"

"do you really have to go?"

tears flowed down veronica's face as she stood by the departure gate, holding on to the collar of her boyfriend, keith klena, as though it would keep him from leaving.

she should have known better than to fall for the exchange student. they never stick around, they come with the summer winds... and drift out with the spring. keith was never meant to stay in eastwood, his departure was inevitable– but now, all veronica could ever wish for was to find a way that he could stay.

his hand on her cheek, dampened from the flow of her tears. veronica could see the french boy holding back his own, but all she was met with was a bittersweet smile.

"i can't stay, mon amour," keith told her, gentle and delicate. "i must go back, we've talked about this."

veronica interlaced her fingers with his, tightening her grip, as if it would keep him to stay. "please, don't go."

keith wiped a fresh tear, one that dared to escape veronica's eyes. "i'll be back for you, mon amour." he said. there was a break in his voice, and veronica wondered if it came from his own heart too. "i'll grow up, then i'll be back. and i'll come find you. this is just goodbye for now, my love. just for now."

she couldn't hold back the uncontrollable tears that fell almost endlessly. veronica felt her heart break as she silently accepted this fate, only able to nod along to what keith had said. "this is goodbye, just for now."

"i'll come find you, i promise."

...

veronica romanova sat at a table for two, the seat in front of her empty. her date- long time crush seo ri-han or evan, as most people knew him, had gone to take an important call, leaving her just for a few minutes to herself.

she found herself taking in the view from their table, overlooking the busy city below. she felt like she was on top of the world, both figuratively and literally. she could look back on her life recently- graduating from school, passing law school and the bar exam, opening her own law firm and her flourishing career. it was hard work, a tedious process costing her blood, sweat and tears, but now veronica was relishing the fruits of her labor. and as if that wasn't enough of a win, she'd recently discovered that the man she'd been in love with for the past few years had felt the same way for her too.

could life get any sweeter than this? veronica wondered to herself, her mind wandering as her gaze never left the night cityscape. a dream, built on her own and not one inherited, surrounded by the people she loved and cared for. nothing could possibly—

"veronica?"

her world froze, an air of familiarity of the one who spoke sending shivers down veronica's spine.

it can't be.

veronica, for a second, felt paralyzed. as if a ghost of her past had returned to haunt her. it was though the high school student in her had come back.

she turned around, daring to look, afraid of who she might see.

oh, she couldn't believe her eyes.

at least for a while, veronica had known him. but that was the past, a time in which she no longer lingered. her gaze was met with a face too familiar, lips she'd once kissed curved up in a boyish smile she once loved.