tratie one shots, vol. i

[ all my favorite places ]

this is an apology shot for that last one. oops. 

(you can't blame me for writing it, i was listening to hamilton and crying.) 

anyway, this shot is a song shot based off of "all my favorite places" by rusty clanton. it's so relaxing and calming, and i just really love it.

genre: comforting? i guess?

words: 954

. . .

He used to spend his time inside his head - it was more comforting there than anywhere else. He resided there when he needed to be at peace, shrinking away from the real world for the moment it took to gather himself. Sometimes it took him much longer than a moment, but he didn't care. He didn't have anyone to be out of his head for. 

He never went out of his mind - he walked the streets lacking the exact thing he was experiencing - life. He was a shell of who he could've been, but he was protected when he wasn't injecting himself into society. 

It was no wonder he felt safest there; the world had proved itself to be dangerous when you thought freely. He could let down his walls and think for himself in his mind, he could call it home. 

Until she came along. 

She shared things with him he never knew existed. New places, new faces, new growth. New life. He never knew anyone could offer him such an array of new things. He felt like a different person when he was with her; he felt like he could be himself with her. Outside of his head. Inside the real world. With her. 

She showed him emotions he'd never felt before. She made him excited for every waking minute, for every second with her. Life was to experience, not to drift through. 

She took him to all her favorite places, and they quickly became his, too. 

His favorite places felt like being in the city where all the neon lights flashed and cast exciting glows on the world around him. He wandered aimlessly and went where he wanted to, on no time schedule other than his own internal clock and under no one's authority but his own. He ducked into small shops down the street, he ate from the hot dog stand with the checkered sign. He pulled up the collar of his jacket to shield himself from the cold, but he didn't complain - the chill only added to his wanderlust. He adventured every crevice of the city he had never been in. 

She was with him.

His favorite places felt like warm summer nights with the windows rolled down. He played music that he sang to at the top of his lungs, when he drove down dirt roads far away from the city. He had no destination in mind, he only saw the road ahead of him with no ambition other than finding a new horizon to chase. He could see the stars, and he could feel the fresh breeze, he could relish the wind in his hair. 

She was with him. 

His favorite places felt like the coffee shop around the corner from his apartment. It had bookshelves of classics, yellow fairy lights, and steady guitar floated through the speakers. He ordered a peppermint mocha with extra chocolate sauce, and he stuck his nose in the whipped cream to make her laugh. He sat in a big armchair in the corner and gazed out the window, talking about everything and anything he could. The shop was full of warmth and comfort, and when he was there with her, it was also full of joy and love. 

She was with him.

His favorite places felt like being in the rain in the middle of the street. He danced, he shouted, he laughed until his sides hurt. The rain poured on him, drenching his hair, his clothes. He felt like a child again, jumping in puddles and spinning in circles, and he always had a type of fun that matched no other. 

She was with him. 

His favorite places felt like hiking up the mountains. He spent hours walking up to the tallest peaks, clearing his head in the nature. He gazed at the world below him, legs aching and heart pumping, and in those moments he felt nothing other than awe and thankfulness. Awe for the beauty around him, and thankfulness for who was with him.

She was with him. 

His favorite places felt like random plans changing - sudden schedule differences that freed up his day to spend however he pleased. Spontaneity made him feel excited and gave him fresh perspectives. He always spent those days relaxing and watching movies, cuddling up to none other than the person who showed him life was worth adventuring. 

She was with him. 

His favorite places felt like being under the covers during a storm. The thunder rattled his bones, but he reveled in the feeling. The sound of the rain lulled him to sleep, but a crack of lightning out his window would keep him up, marveling. He felt a rush and a calm at the same time, and those were the nights he was so grateful for everything that had happened in the past few months. 

She was with him. 

His favorite places felt like the heavy paper of his favorite books. Curled up on the couch with a warm drink, he read to the light of the soft herbal candle next to him. He gingerly turned pages and his eyes scored over every ink-shaped word as he entered realms outside of his world. He relished the coziness of the blanket he shared with the girl who never failed to make him know he belonged in the place he currently was. 

She was with him. 

His favorite places felt like the love he had for her. Any time he thought of her, he felt at home. She brought light and adventure into his life, and she had introduced him to so many new places. New faces. New life. 

His favorite place to be was next to her.