Before We Fall

Part 1, Chapter 40

Alivia's POV

I had finally gotten back into the swing of performing on tour again, a few days after my long break from the show. We were currently in the Smith Center for Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sky and I were still staying together at each stop but somehow living together didn't change much between us. Maybe we spent so much time together before everything fell apart that in the end, it didn't really make a difference.

I stirred, the sheets shifting to leave my shoulder exposed. Something tickled my skin, and I absentmindedly swatted it away. As whatever it was trailed from my shoulder towards my neck, I realized it wasn't a random draft or a feather that escaped from the pillows.

Those were kisses.

I smiled as Sky brushed back my hair to find a new place to kiss, and laughed lightly as he hit a ticklish spot on my neck. Brown hair strewn across the sheets shifted as I pressed a kiss to his lips and gently wrapped my arms around his torso, pulling him closer and snuggling into his chest. He gently ran his fingers through my hair and pressed a kiss to the top of my head, wrapping his arms around my waist. Our legs tangled as our heartbeats synced and we breathed in each other's presence.

"Good morning, my darling."

"Good morning."

"You know," Sky said, gently stroking my hairline. "Considering it's my birthday, do you think we could get away with spending the entire day here, just us?"

"Hmm, as much as I'd like that, who will run Newsies if the best dancer isn't there?"

"No one. Let it fall apart. Or let Ben lead." His phone buzzed from the floor, where it was plugged in. He shifted to grab it and unplug it from the charger, reading the text he'd gotten. "Well, there goes our plans for the day."

"What is it?"

He dropped his phone down on the carpet and turned to let me rest my head on his chest as he spoke. "I've been trying to reserve some studio time the entire time we've been here, and today my request went through and I have some space later this afternoon, before the show. Care to join me?" 

"I'd love to. But for now..." I shifted slightly, resting my head against the crook of his chest. And for a moment, it was just us, without any cares in the world. No expectations, or hospital bills, or endless grief, or shattered trust, or burned bridges, or tearful therapy sessions. No smiles or tears or useless wishes or empty promises or pointless dreams, just us and stars and the moon. And that was enough. 

<><><>

Sky had managed to get some studio time across the street, and we took the time to run through more difficult segments of the show. When we got to our studio space we walked inside and I set my dance bag down near the mirror wall, reaching inside to grab something. 

"Hey, I have something for you," I told Sky. When he walked over to me, I pushed a gift bag against his chest. "Happy birthday."

He caught the bottom of the silver gift bag, blue tissue paper spilling out the top, against his palm. "Aw, baby, you didn't have to."

"Yeah, but I wanted to. Plus, turning twenty's kind of a big deal."

He lifted the tissue paper out, crumpling it against his palm, before wrapping his fingers against the item stowed inside. As soon as he read what was written, he threw his head back laughing.

I managed to find a website that produces custom, insulated water bottles. Written in blue text across a glossy white water bottle was "Sky 'Waterboy' Flaherty".

"You're never letting go of this, are you?"

"Absolutely not."

He ducked down the gently kiss me. "You are the worst. And best. I don't know."

"Somehow, I understand. Come on, let's dance." 

We spent the next twenty-ish minutes choreographing a dance combo together instead of properly warming up, and when it was polished, Sky set his phone up to film it.

"Yeah! One take!" Sky yelled as he grabbed his phone off the floor and stopped the video. I stayed in the center of the dance floor, fiddling with the fabric of the sweatshirt I stole from him and pulling it taut against my skin.

Sky clasped my hands in his, letting the fabric fall loose. "Do you want to face away from the mirror?"

"Kind of."

"Alright, we can do that. What part of the show do you want to work through?"

We settled on working through the "Seize the Day" dance break, walking through each step to make sure I was solid on the choreo. Occasionally, he paused to correct my form or tell me if I had missed a step.

We spent nearly all of our allotted three hours in the rehearsal room before we had to leave for the theater. I spent the last few minutes running through my turn sequence at the end of "Seize the Day," making sure my turnout and alignment were correct.

"Why are you staring?" I asked. "Is my form really that bad?"

"Not at all."

"Then why are you staring?"

"Because your face is nice to look at," Sky said bluntly. 

"Dork."

"Sap."

"You know you love me."

"Yeah, actually, I do," He said, ducking down to kiss me.

"Calm down, loverboy, we actually have someplace to be right about now." He handed me my dance bag and slipped an arm around my waist as we walked out.

<><><>

Unfortunately, since his birthday was on a show night and we had a show the day after, there wasn't much else anyone could do the day of. After the show, we resorted to watching a movie in our hotel room and cuddling under a mountain of hotel blankets until we fell asleep.

Sky synced his Netflix account to the hotel TV so we could watch something. We were in the middle of watching Mark Watney explain how to grow potatoes on a planet with no soil when I felt Sky's hand against my inner thigh. Almost instantly, I felt myself flush, before gently wrapping my hand around his wrist.

"What are you doing?" he asked, seemingly dumbfounded.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Sorry, I-"

"I didn't say I didn't like it."

Almost instantly, the movie playing in front of us was disregarded as he pulled me onto his lap to kiss me, running his fingers through my hair. I straddled him as we moved in sync, gently dragging my nails down his back.

He broke away first. "Liv, are you sure about this? I mean, this is kind of new for us-"

"God, yes." I smirked. "Fuck it."

"Let's." 

<><><>

and then we fade to black lolsies but I take it you can extrapolate what happens next

sorry I don't really write smut lol especially about real people 

love you all lots!