venus | virgil van dijk

sixteen.

THIRD PERSON POV

'are you ready?' says virgil as cat just stands there with a blindfold on, no idea where she is or what they are doing.

'should i be worried?' she asks.

'just trust me cat.'

'okay, i'm ready.' she says and he takes off her blindfold and she stands there in shock and silence for a moment.

'you took me to disneyland?' she grins like a child which makes him smile as well. there is nothing virgil loves more than seeing her smile.

'i took us to disneyland. it's always been somewhere very special to me, when growing up my mum and i didn't have much since my dad left. but one thing we did have was disney films and our dream was to go to disneyland paris. one year my mum worked so hard, was taking the most ridiculous shifts and barely sleeping, just so she could me to disneyland. and to this day, disneyland forever holds an important part of my life.'

'that's actually such a heartwarming story, oh my god virgil.' she says before giving him a hug and he pulls her in close.

this is where i belong, he thought.

'who knew you were such a softie.' she says teasing him.

'hey now, i'm never shy for my love for disney! anyway enough chit chat, we only have a couple hours before the park shuts and there's the fireworks!' says virgil before grabbing her hand and taking her towards the rides.

-

virgil and cat are walking through the park, hand in hand, both wearing matching mickey and minnie ears. it feels so weird and different to them but it feels so right. just the two of them, holding each other close and no one to tell us what they can and can't do.

if you didn't know them, you would think they're a young couple madly in love, just by looking at them.

'i can't wait to see the fireworks. i've only ever seen them once and that was with my mum that one time. i always said to her, the next time i see them won't be with just anyone, it will be someone that means a lot to me, that's special.'

cat just looks at him and smiles softly, she's been restraining herself all evening from kissing him.

you may think "but wait didn't they sleep together?",yes but the first kiss with someone is still very special.

as they walk closer and closer to where the fireworks display is held, virgil's nerves start to build and his heart starts to beat faster.

'virgil, are you okay?' cat says looking at him, suddenly snapping him out of his thoughts.

'huh? oh yes i'm great.' he replies with a fake smile but she's still not convinced.

this is it, this is the moment where he tells her how he feels and it can go in some ways, good and bad ways. he's never been so nervous in his life, not even for the nations league final nor the champions league. he's gotten so far and it could all crash and burn now.

ten minutes, that's when the display starts and there's the employees doing last minute checks making sure there's no safety or security hazards. virgil can feel his palms get sweaty so he quickly lets go of her hand.

'seriously virgil, what's going on with you?'

'i'm fine!'

'no you're not, tell me.'

this is it, this is the moment. he's got to tell her now or nothing's ever going to happen. he can't tell her during the fireworks as she won't hear him and he can't tell her after because the mood will be gone.

'look i have something to tell you catalina jones.' he says looking at her, the way he's looking at her and the way he said her name is making cat nervous.

'i've been wanting to say this for a while now but never found the right moment. this might sound really cheesy and lame and you might think i'm the cringiest man in the world but here it goes.'

virgil takes a deep breath while catalina just looks at him.

'these past few months, i have grown as a person. i have changed, i have learned to trust again and it's all thanks to you. you know what i used to be like, you know my past and you know my struggle to trust someone. but all because of you, i no longer struggle with trust issues, i wake up with a smile on my face, i want to make the most of my life. you're making me a better person, slowly but i'm getting there.'

'i'm going to try and be romantic but honestly i haven't been romantic for years so i'm a little rusty. you are the most beautiful woman i've ever seen, honestly every time i look at you, i am at lost for words. in some ways you're like a game, it's a challenge to not fall in love with you every time you laugh or smile, and i failed miserably. i'm not going to go on and on so i'm just going to say. catalina jones, i'm so fucking in love with you.'

virgil goes to speak once more but they are cut off by fireworks. catalina just looks at him with a wide smile, not even looking at the fireworks before putting one hand around his neck and bringing his lips to hers. their nerves soon began to relax, their troubles just began to melt away and the surroundings began to disappear leaving only catalina and virgil.

i guess you could say there were literal fireworks happening between them.

'funny you should say that mr van dijk.' says catalina into virgil's ear.

'because i've fallen in love with you too.'