Little Doves & Bonafide Heroes ~ Archie Cruz

Mind Riot

It was our last day in Vegas before going back to home and properly introducing Taime and Archie, and I (surprisingly enough) wasn't really nervous about it. I knew that they would get along; they did last time they met, and nothing really changed... except the fact that Taime knew about our little bathroom episode.

After the last three days of hot Las Vegas sun, two of which were filled with loud live music, we were both sunburned and absolutely exhausted. I was more than ready to go home, but not ready to be apart from Archie, who had been telling me about going back to Finland.

"I have some bad news," he said, sitting beside me as I laid in bed, trying not to irritate my sunburn- I, the California girl, was paler than Archie- the man from Finland, and he hardly got burned, whereas I got sun poisoning and felt absolutely miserable.

"What's going on?"

"Well, I have to go back to Finland in a few days."

"Oh... When will you come back?" I felt a tingle of nervousness run down my spine as I watched him fidget with his rings.

"I don't know for sure," he said, licking his lips. "That's why I was worried about telling you."

"What could you be worried about?"

"I didn't know how you would take it. I didn't want you to be upset, and I don't want us to break up just because we're far apart."

"Oh, Miel," I said with a smile, "it'll be okay. Trust Me. I don't want us to break up either. It seems like we're on the same page so far."

"I was hoping that you'd say that... By the way, what does it mean when you call me that?"

"What? Miel?"

"Yeah. You've said it a couple of times during the trip."

"Oh, it's Spanish for honey. I don't know why, but I remember that from, like, high school."

"Hm... how do you call sugar?"

I thought for a moment and mumbled, "it's azúcar."

"How do you spell that?"

"A-z-u-c-a-r."

"What about... moon? Like, y'know," he said, gesturing to the sky. "The moon... and the stars?"

"Luna. La luna y las estrellas- the moon and the stars."

"And love?"

"Amor."

"Beautiful?"

"Hermosa."

"Not to be a sap, but you are all of those things to me. I really don't want to leave you here," he murmured, softly brushing his fingers over my pink cheeks. "I meant it when I said that I love you."

"And I meant it when I said that I love you, too. I'm sure we'll figure something out. I mean, if anything, there's Skype and stuff."

"Yeah, but I can't touch you through a screen."

"That is a downside," I mumbled, feeling the conversation reaching an end as he stared blankly at the floor.

What would happen? We both agreed on not wanting to break up, but where would that leave us in a matter of distance? Finland was, what, over 5,000 miles away? It was going to be an interesting situation to say the least.

"Come with me," he said suddenly, his head snapping up.

"W-what?"

"Come home with me," he repeated. "You'd like Finland; it's like a lot of the places you describe that you like. Even if it's just for a week. Come with me, meet the rest of the guys- meet my family," he implored.