-Across America- Diego Brando x reader

~38~

"Please attention all racers! We are about to start. Everyone is in line. We'll start in 10.....5..3,2,1 and.. GO!!"
Guns shot in the air and all 400 people started going forward. Y/N and me did our technique, staying in front of everyone so we can separate from the other racers quickly.
We did as planned and were on our own after about 15 minutes. We still had a few days before making the decision of crossing the lake. Although.. this wasn't the only thing on my mind. I couldn't really get enough of her. Two days with her weren't enough for me. I wanted a lot more than that..

Y/N's pov (finally😭)

We parted from all the other racers.. I saw Johnny and Gyro. I was worried about them being hurt, but they looked alright so I could take that off my chest.
I was following behind Diego, thinking about what I shared with him before..
"Yes, yes I would. If it's for you, I would."
His words echoed through my mind. I felt terrible. In the end, I'm not willing to leave my past life for him, but he would.. Was I really that important to him? I was shocked..

After about two hours, it was time that we eat lunch. I had made some sandwiches the previous day.
We stopped our horses, got off and sat together. I opened them up and we ate in silence. "Mm, so have you planned everything out?" I asked with my mouth full. "Yes, all you gotta do is listen to me and follow me." He said. "Yeah, yeah, I already do that though." I rolled my eyes. "Not really, not all the time. It will still take a lot of time until I get that attitude of yours fixed." He took another bite. "Fixed? You're not fixing anything. I'm already perfect~!" I joked. "Hmm, maybe. But you still have a lot to learn. Look at me though, that's what you can consider as 'perfect'" He grinned. "Hey, hey! You ain't even close to perfect, with that moody ass toxic trait of yours. You're quite selfish too!" I pouted. "Toxic and selfish? Have I ever been toxic or selfish towards you? No? That's right." He said confidently. "Not towards me, but other people-" "Other people don't matter. It's just you and me here. What is perfect anyway? It really depends on the perspective. For me, your imperfections make you perfect for me." He was saying all those things I didn't quite get. "I'm thinking if that's why I have the strong desire to have you with me. I'm gonna be honest, I don't really get what love means, but I do feel very 'affectionate' with you." He said. I didn't think that this conversation would turn out to be that deep. "I can't help you with this, it can't be explained like that. All I can say is that love is a combination of a lot of things. It's your task to find out about all of them." I answered him, finishing my sandwich. "What do you exactly feel towards me, Y/N?" He asked. I took a moment to think of what to say. "Well, it's like, I want to be with you all the time. Talking to you makes me feel good. When you part away from me, I feel empty and lonely. I want to give you everything that I have to offer and make you happy, regardless of how I feel. I admire and respect all of your accomplishments and choices.. There's a lot more, but I think that answers your question." I sighed. "I see, thanks. I have a clearer version of love now, kind of." He stood up and held his hand out for me. I held onto it and he pulled me up, embracing me into a hug. His lips met with mine, I was surprised. It quickly turned into a passionate kiss. He stopped for a second to let me catch my breath, then went for another one, but I pulled away. "Diego.. it's not the time for this now. We need to race, you are forgetting your goal.. We have to be first, right?" I placed my hand on his chest, feeling his muscular body. "We can continue tonight, I promise." I stepped away. "You're right, sorry. Let's go then." He sighed.

We got back on track and started going forward again. It was weird, I had never seen him acting so strange. "All I wanted to know is where we were going to sleep tonight..." I face palmed mentally, it's not like I didn't enjoy it.

About 4 hours later, the night already started overtaking the day. It was freezing cold, awful. I just wanted it to be over and be home cuddling under my sheets once again. Too bad though, I didn't want to leave alone at all.. cuddling with someone else sounded too good. And of course that someone was Diego. Snuggling into his warm chest was the reward of all day racing through the cold December wind. It was worth it..

The sun had already gone down, but Diego still continued to make his way through the fields. I was so tired.. sometimes I wondered how he could endure this all, without even showing signs of struggling. I decided to speak up..
"Dio! How far are we from the place you've planned to stay in?" I shouted out for him to hear me. "...We are almost there." He said, calmly.
In about 10 minutes, we arrived in some kind of winter house.. It was small, in the middle of nowhere in a forested region. It was snowing, about 30cm (12 inches) of snow was covering the ground.
"So cold.." I said to myself, trying to ignore my freezing cold body. "It's expected to get warmer in January.. it's about the end of the month anyway." He heard me, of course. "End of the month, end of December? isn't it about time- It's 24th December!" I remembered. I had completely lost track of days and dates. I didn't have a gift for him, nor did he. "He couldn't have remembered about this.. It'd be fucked up if he did, leaving me the only one without a present." I was worried

We got all our needs for the night inside, and left the horses. There was a small fireplace, I immediately made my way over there to warm up my hands. I sat down on the wooden floor, the smell was so nice. Diego joined me.
"You know what day is today?" He asked quietly. That was it. "It's.. 24th of December." I said, a little sad. "Oh, then it must be Wednesday, thanks." He relaxed his body. "Phew, so he forgot too.." I sighed. "Anyways, I don't usually celebrate it, but it's Christmas Eve as long as I know, right?" he asked. "Oh shit-" "Yeah, I'm sorry Diego, I couldn't get you anythi-" "Shh, that's just fine, all I need is you if I'm gonna be honest.. Although, here's a little gift.. for the most beautiful person ever stepped on earth." He said with a gentle tone.. I was taken aback. He had never spoken to me like that.. He got out of his pocket a sparkly glass utahraptor. He held it out to me. "You like it? I just thought it may remind you of me when you go back, it's not much left anyway." He said unemotionally, looking at the fireplace. This made my eyes watery. I was just looking at it, thinking. A tear went down my cheek. Then another one, and another. They were slowly stopping at my chin, then dropping at the little glass figure. I looked at Diego, he was still watching the fire. He was smiling, but his eyes were empty, there was nothing inside. It felt unpleasant to see. He looked content with our fate, he made the time to accept it as it is. I still couldn't, still trying to find a way, not to choose between two things.
I made a little sound, he immediately turned to look at me. I tried hiding my face as quickly as possible. "Hey, what's up?" He got closer, trying to get my hand off my face. "It's nothing, there something in my eye." I turned to the other side. "It is something, let me see!" he insisted and held onto my face with one hand. "Stay back!" I tried to fight back. "No." He leaned towards me. "It's nothing!-" I was suddenly pushed back on the floor, him finally succeeding. I looked at him, it hurt that he had to see me like that. "You're- crying?" He stared into my eyes, holding me down. I just looked away. "I'm sorry, this is the second time I've made you cry." He wiped my tears away with his thumb. "I'm still here, so why waste your time crying about it? Can't we just be happy while it lasts?" He asked, I felt my eyes tearing up even more. I was looking at him, admiring his beautiful eyes, then he blinked and I noticed a tear coming out of his right eye. It was just one, alone tear running down his face then dropping on mine. "Huh- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." He got off me but I pulled him back. I hugged him and we lay down on the floor together. "It's fine, it's okay to let your emotions show once in a while." I lightly chuckled, snuggling into him. "I love you, although this phrase seems to be very overused and made look meaningful by some people, I actually mean it." He whispered. He was adorable. "I promised you today.. that we'd finish what we started earlier today, still in the mood?" I asked. "Oh? Why is that?" He acted surprised. "Well, you know. I promised so.." I was flustered. "That's right. This is all I need for Christmas, really." Diego smiled, he stood up and picked me up in his hands. "Huh-?" I was confused. He carried me and gently placed me on the bed. He was really sweet.. "Oh yeah, forgot that you didn't know I could walk." I rolled my eyes. "Oh sorry, though you were Johnny for a second." He smirked. "Wha—" I was cut off by a sudden kiss..

Helloo, I now have more time for writing so I'll be able to post new chapters on time! Byebye