Out in the Woods [5SOS AU]

Chapter 25

Hi! I'll start right away with saying sorry, once again, for the long wait \: I kinda had to refind my motivation for this, which took a while... But here it is now (:

I also wanted to let you all know that I'll be starting posting Single Parent-trip (Cashton) from now on and some promotion for myself where I ask of you to check out my other works on my profile if you're interested <3

Enjoy the last chapter!

It was a bit of a sunny day, with just a few clouds in the sky. Nothing too crazy though, just small white, almost transparent ones. No predictions for rain and just sunshine with a nice temperature and a soft breeze to keep everyone happy.

That day, Luke took Valeria to the fair, which was in town for about a week. Valeria didn't know where they were going just yet, sitting in the car and tapping her jean-clad leg as she looked around, trying to determine where they were going. She was curious, obviously, and all she had gotten from Luke was that it was going to be fun.

Thereby she ruled out the idea of the things like watching a movie or something with limited exercise. Those things could be fun too, but her definition of fun included a bit more exercise than sitting on a couch or cuddling in bed or on that same couch.

"Stop being so fidgety." Luke mumbled, a teasing tone to his words. He knew how curious she was, as she had kept asking him what they were doing or where they were going. He had simply told her to just dress comfortable or casual, which had not really helped her curiosity, he knew. But he loved to keep it a surprise and he was amused by her inability to just let it be a surprise.

"Then tell me where we're going." Valeria retorted, looking at Luke with a raised eyebrow. The blonde simply grinned, knowing that response was coming. He shook his head a little, keeping his eyes on the road. "Nope."

Valeria groaned and threw her head back against the headrest, pouting a little and crossing her arms as she looked out the window again. Luke kept grinning, feeling proud he was able to keep it a secret until the last minute. He knew she would know the second he would park, as after all, the ferris wheel was pretty big. She could have figured it out earlier, because the ferris wheel was even to be spotted from a little away, but she hadn't seen it yet, as it seemed.

"I hate not being told things." Valeria mumbled, purposely loud enough so that Luke heard her. He didn't react though, he only grinned wider as he took a left turn. The girl groaned again as he didn't answer, rubbing her face and looking at Luke again. "What do I need to do to be told where we're going?"

Luke stayed quiet for a moment, turning into the parking lot and making sure she had a view of the fair if she would turn back to the front. His voice was filled with the same teasing tone as before, obviously having fun with this all. "Look in front of you."

Valeria blinked a few times in confusion, before turning back to look out the window and letting her eyes widen a little as she spotted the fair. How she hadn't seen it before, she didn't know, but she loved it as much still. She was excited and she couldn't wait to go in all the attractions and play all the games and eat all the food. After all, her parents hadn't ever allowed her to go to a fair, so yeah, she was really, really excited.

"No way." Valeria mumbled, a wide smile on her face as her big eyes took it all in. Luke couldn't help but smile either at her face, surprisingly easily finding a parking spot and parking the car. To his amusement, Valeria was already out of the car before he had properly parked, making him shake his head as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out too. She was very obviously excited.

"I've never been to a fair. How did you know I wanted to go?" Valeria was hanging from Luke's arm by now, as he led her to the ticket booth at the entrance, looking up at him. He simply smiled down at her, letting his hand slide to hers and tangling their fingers together. "I didn't. But when you said you wanted to do something, like, 'something you don't see around often', I got the idea. I knew it was coming and I figured it would fall under that."

The girl was still smiling widely, happy Luke had thought of this and took her here. It was an amazing idea and she was definitely excited for the day. God, she couldn't stand still at the idea of it all. As Luke went to stand in the line with her, she leaned up and tilted his head a little before pressing her lips to his. He smiled at the action, pulling her more against himself and kissing her back gladly.

They remembered they were in a line though, keeping the kiss short but sweet before moving to buy some tickets. Luke paid, as a real gentleman, and took Valeria and the tickets to the entrance. They kept holding hands, while Valeria looked around happily and took everything in. From the flashing lights to the smell of all the food. Everything was so bright and clear and it was absolutely wonderful.

"Where do you want to go first?" Luke asked, looking at the blonde girl on his arm and smiling at the way she resembled a kid in a candy store. He loved the sight of it, snapping a mental picture to save for whenever.

"Can we go in the tea cups? No wait, I want the ferris wheel. No, no wait, rollercoaster. Definitely rollercoaster!" Valeria was grinning from ear to ear, her eyes sparkling as she tugged on Luke's arm lightly. He simply gave her a grin in return, before nodding and leading her over to the rollercoaster, counting his tickets to have the right amount ready. 

They paid the man of the booth in tickets once it was their turn, getting in the cart and buckling in. Valeria was basically bouncing in her seat in excitement, while Luke was squirming lightly and biting his lip. He didn't mind rollercoasters, in general, but he wasn't a big fan either. Some he could deal with and some just made him nervous. And this one was currently making him somewhat nervous.

But, Valeria took his hand and kept as close to him as possible, smiling wide and yelling happily throughout the ride. So maybe, even if he wasn't a fan of rollercoasters, this ride wasn't all that bad. Even if he did shake a little afterwards and mentally promised himself he wouldn't ride one again.

"That was amazing! C'mon, we have so much more to do!" Valeria started pulling Luke further. The blonde chuckled lightly -having regained his composure- and followed her around. They did all the cliché things, like spinning in the tea cups together, sharing some food, cuddling together in the love boats, Luke winning Valeria a big, brown bear and lastly go in the ferris wheel together. And of course, it had to be that once they were on top, they shared a cute kiss.

Valeria had her head on Luke's shoulder with the bear on her other side, as the two of them looked out over the town and enjoyed how it looked in the evening glow, with the sun setting. The fair was still very much alive and loud beneath them, while the town seemed quiet and basically the opposite.

"Today was amazing." Valeria breathed out, a smile still on her face, as if it hadn't left all day. Which Luke was convinced of to be true. He hadn't seen anything but a smile and sparkling eyes whenever he looked Valeria's way and he had absolutely loved it. He knew for sure now that it wasn't just a soulmate-infatuation. He liked Valeria and he loved making her all happy, like today.

"Yeah? You approve of your first time at the fair?" Luke looked at her for as far as that worked, to see her nodding. It made him happy to hear her say such positive things about the whole of today. After all, he had to admit that he had been nervous about the idea at first. Because there had always been a possibility that Valeria didn't like it or something went wrong. But it didn't and he was more than happy.

"Yeah. Even if we're currently stuck on top of the ferris wheel because machines suck, today has been amazing. More than amazing even." Valeria grinned, looking up at Luke in return and taking in his blue eyes. The setting sun illuminated them amazingly, making them look even lighter than they originally were. It made her wonder for a brief moment if hers looked like that too, though green, before she decided that she didn't really cared. All she cared about was how amazing (yes, that word again) today had been and how nothing could possibly top this. No chic diner or masked ball could beat this day.

"I'm sorry, I guess." Luke said with a chuckle, smiling sheepishly. After all, he couldn't help it there was something wrong with the ferris wheel that made it stop and unable to continue spinning. Though honestly, it was fine. They were on top and they had a great view and all the time. So who cared?

Valeria simply cuddled close to Luke and the blonde gladly held her, adding in soft kisses on occasion and watching Valeria look at the view. Or he would have his head on hers, enjoying the view just as much.

Either way, after everything, they were fine where they were right now.

Together and content.

THE END