The italian sunlight coats your skin like a warm blanket while the soft summer breeze hits your face in gentle, swift movements. You inhale deeply the pure air the trees around you emit, filling your lungs with clean oxygen and satisfying tranquility. Your elbows rest on top of the balcony's concrete railing, resting half of your body on them. You get lost in the scenery in front of you, the Amalfi Coast with its clear waters and soft waves crashing on the wall of rocks at the bottom of where you're staying with him. A warm surface makes contact with the back of your body, buff, long arms wrapping around you lovingly, as you hum at the commodity.
"Mornin' buttercup." Ash's sleepy voice makes his australian accent more pronounced. You feel his lips pressed on your right cheek, relaxing you onto his shoulder with your eyes drift shut. The sunshine hits your skin, its rays tickling your face just as his lips keep pressing kisses all over the side of your head. You lay your hands on top of his on your abdomen, his head finding a home on the crook of your neck. You stay like this for long minutes, savoring the feeling of the warmth, the joy.
The happiness.
The amount of stress you've been putting into yourself at work plummets and rushes out of your body with the simple embrace you're in. In order for this vacation to work for you, you had to be present almost every single day since after Christmas, all the way until two days ago, when you rushed home after a twelve hour shift. You were exhausted and felt you were about to collapse. You thank the universe that Ash made you pack your luggage on your only free day about two weeks ago because he knew you've been picking up long ass shifts and even doubles and you wouldn't have time to do so later. The reason for this work overload is that you didn't want to feel guilty for taking a vacation so you felt the utter need to overwork yourself a great amount. It sucked for you but in your warped head you think the getaway will feel even more satisfying.
It is, though. More satisfying. That first inhale of italian air, those first few seconds of laying down after long hours of travel, that first spoonful of delicious gelato, all felt satisfying. Even more so with him beside you, sharing his perfect, dimpled smile while brushing away his grown, faded red curls. His laugh being as contagious as the common cold and his warm touch feeling different but familiar in this new country.
You noticed him being more vibrant, more relaxed. Like he is where he's supposed to be. You can't help but feel soft inside as you realize this is where you're supposed to be, too. Not only in Italy, but beside him. His voice interrupts your train of thought and the sway of your bodies you both unconsciously created in silence.
"I have a surprise for you."
"Oh, you do?" Your voice sounds raspy and low as your eyes blink open, squinting from the sun suddenly blasting on them. You turn your whole body in his arms wrapped around you, placing your own around his shoulders. His eyes soften at the sight of your face, averting them to your mouth like he always does when he looks at you.
Ash doesn't say anything more, crashing his lips onto yours in a still, yet passionate kiss. Your lips dance together while his hold gets tighter. As soon as the kiss turns too heated, he stops. You're not sure what his next movement will be but before you know it, he's sprinting away from you and into the hotel room.
"Tag, you're it!" His voice echoes while he gets further away from you inside the suite. His playful, childlike demeanor makes you giggle before you take off in your own run following him. He uses the bed with messy sheets as a barrier between your bodies while he looks at you wiggling his eyebrows. You lean your body over the bed, using your arms to hold yourself up, calculating when to launch your body forward to tag him. It's like he read your mind when he steps away backwards from the bed at the same time you decide to move forward, flopping on your belly on the soft mattress. His loud laugh hits every wall of the room and your insides fill with warmth but also vengeance. You raise your head to look at him with a deviant smirk and mischievous eyes and he's still giving you that dimpled smile he always has when he sees you, the one that makes you melt each time.
