Say You Will Part 2: The Tour

That Kind Of Romance

***SEVER SAPPINESS, ROMANCE & A NIGHT OF SEX AHEAD!*** (And it's a long one.)
(To quote Billie Eilish, "Don't say I didn't warn ya!") <3
********************
********************

Somewhere between California & Australia
Valentine's Day
Saturday, February 14, 2004
********************

Stevie was so adorable when she was sleeping.

Lindsey had had the privilege of watching Stevie sleep millions of times in the almost thirty-four years since the first time, and he'd never been able to look away. She was usually curled up in a ball like a puppy or a kitten, looking even tinier than the five-foot-one person she was, and her face always looked so uncomplicated, so peaceful, unless, of course, her dreams were unpleasant, which he had witnessed many times as well over the years, particularly when Robin was dying and he'd spent almost every night at the Honkey Chateau in France curled up with her naked in bed, usually with an abandoned bottle of brandy and a mirror streaked with white residue on her side table. She would wake up screaming on those nights, tears streaming down her face, curly blonde hair damp with sweat as she trembled and it took her a minute to hear his voice beside her, telling her it was only a dream, that she was safe, and he'd hold her as tight as he could and rock her back to sleep like a baby in his arms, singing "Crystal" to her and repeating the same two things he needed her to know - that he loved her, and that she would always be safe in his arms.

Stevie was asleep in her comfortable leather seat on the private plane to Australia, legs tucked beneath her, head balanced against the wall, wrapped in one of her cashmere blankets and headphones to a walkman attached to her ears. He couldn't help but laugh to himself as he stood over her and watched her. A walkman! Has she heard of an MP3 player? It's 2004! Stevie was so behind the times when it came to technology that it was legendary, and he thought of the lyrics to "Silver Girl"..."She would have preferred the last generation..." He was in love with a woman who came from another time, a woman who could be so modern and free-thinking and independent, but then made him think sometimes that they were having their relationship in Victorian England. All of it, he thought, just made her more adorable, more lovable...more Stevie...and he couldn't get enough. He took the seat beside her, and he couldn't resist stroking her hair just a little. My God...I love this sweet, beautiful girl...was all he thought.

Stevie flinched awake at his touch and turned to him, first with a startled expression and then with a smile when she saw his face. She pushed the stop button and removed her headphones, placing them in her lap. "Joni," she explained.

"Of course." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Which one?"

"The last song I remember was 'A Case Of You'," she said. "I woke up just now to 'Car On A Hill'...so based on my tape I wasn't asleep for very long."

"Would you like to go back to sleep, angel? I'm sorry I woke you," he said.

"No, no, I'm happy you did...I don't want to ruin my night's sleep later, and besides...I don't want to sleep through any of our time together...it's Valentine's Day." She smiled sweetly at him and took his hand in hers on her lap.

"Oh, I know it's Valentine's Day, angel...you just wait and see what I have cooked up for you when we land." He looked all around, saw that not a soul on the plane was paying attention, and kissed her, cradling the back of her head in his hand. His kiss was lingering and sweet, and Stevie heard herself moan a little into his lips before he pulled away. They didn't have to say anything more; Stevie wrapped the blanket around the two of them and let her head fall to his shoulder. They would be landing in Newcastle in about an hour, and there was some Australian press they had to do before they could get to their hotel and relax. Lindsey had been in contact with the hotel and various other businesses to accomplish his goal - a surprise romantic Valentine's Day celebration for Stevie the likes of which she'd never seen - and he was like a kid on Christmas morning, giddy with excitement at her reaction when she saw what he had planned. He knew that two months from now, when Kristen gave birth to their third child, things were going to be different for awhile, and he wanted to use this time to assure Stevie that she was loved, that she was his, that all he wanted was to be hers. He thought of a lyric he had been singing on stage every night of his life for decades - "If I could, baby, I'd give you my world." When he'd written that song in 1976, it had been Stevie who'd made it clear she didn't want him giving her his world, and now, ironically, she wanted his world and he was not free to give it to her.