Was It Always Us? | COMPLETED ✔

𝙻𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙸𝚗 𝙴𝚞𝚛𝚘𝚙𝚎

"Well, we better go, now. Don't wanna miss our flight."
"I get it. But what about Ryle?"
"He knew we'd be here."

Alyssa and I had been talking for over twenty minutes. Atlas had been conversing with his friends and Marshall. Emmy was with him while Josh was inside with Theo. Just as we were talking we heard a car approaching, and I saw Ryle's SUV coming in my line of sight. I visibly stiffened. Not because I was scared. Well, I was. Kind of. Honestly, I was scared of how he might react, coming here to meet his daughter. I mean, he obviously wouldn't be welcoming to the idea of coming back to the restaurant where he first met Atlas. I can only pray it goes well.

Don't want a redo of what happened back then, now, do we?

His car pulled in just as Atlas came out. I saw his eyes fall at the car, but his expression remained the same. Ryle came out, and scanned all of our faces, before landing on Emerson. She was standing near Marshall, who also showed up, and smiled brightly at Ryle. Emmy let go of his hand and ran to Ryle, who began laughing as he picked her up.

"How's my darling daughter?" he said, tickling her.

She was giggling and I took out my phone to take a quick picture of them both. It's nice to see her interact with her father. Ryle went up to Alyssa, and hugged her, before doing the same with Marshall. He shook hands with Atlas' friends, and then Atlas himself. They both briefly smiled at each other as Emmy slapped her hands against Ryle's chest playfully. 

"So. Umm...I wanted to ask you something. I know it's your honeymoon and, well, I shouldn't be asking this but could you video-call me ever once in a while with Emmy? I know it's just two weeks but, I just..."
I thought about what he was saying. I didn't really mind his request. I get what he meant. The problem was whether Atlas would be okay with it. And to my surprise, it was actually him who replied to Ryle.

"Of course. We both will make sure of that." he said, and then looked down at Emmy.

"Won't we, Emerson?"

She grinned at him, and so did Ryle. He actually smiled at Atlas. I was shocked, but then again, it wasn't much. Wait, scratch that, it was one hell of a big deal. So much so that I felt like I could cry. It didn't make sense, did it? But no matter, Ryle and Atlas seemed to get better. And that's what mattered. 

Atlas masked his surprise well, smiling back. Ryle turned to Emmy, and began to walk over to his car. I got a bit confused. Why was he taking her to his car? He replied immediately, as if he could hear my concerns.

"Don't worry, I'm not kidnaping her. I just bought a gift for her. Let me give it to her and then you guys can go."
I calmed down. I didn't know what I was thinking. But then again, I'd never thought Ryle was capable of doing the things he did to me. I saw Emmy look back and smile, a Ryle opened the passenger seat of his car, and quickly took out something. He handed it to Emmy and started heading back to us. I saw it was a book. It had the title 'Daddy-Daughter Memories!'. I felt uneasy. Not about the gift. About why Ryle had given it to her at this very moment.

"I kinda began to feel lonely without Emmy, and after spending the whole of yesterday with her, I decided to come up with this scrapbook. It has plenty of pages left, those which she'll be filling herself. I had no real reason to give it to her, but now that I have, I think I feel much better."

There was a light in his eyes, as he glanced towards Emmy every now and then, giving her a smile. He felt truly happy. And it looks like Emmy might just be the reason.
"Well, I shouldn't keep you guys any longer." he said, handing Emmy back to Alyssa. He smiled at all of us before making his way off into his car. 

"Let's go then." I heard Atlas say. 

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"Have a safe flight!" the nice lady said, before we headed off. We'd already booked our tickets online, and just went through the security checks. When the lady referred to us as 'Mr and Mrs. Corrigan', I couldn't suppress a smile. I felt exhilarated. Maybe it was the idea of me and Atlas finally being official. Maybe it was the excitement of our honeymoon. Maybe it was the fact that Ryle and Atlas' reaction to each other was so friendly. Or maybe it's all these things crashing down at once. There were still about fifteen minutes until our flight, and we spent those getting our luggage into order and talking. While we sat down to wait, Atlas gave me a chaste kiss, and it sent my heart going wild. We began conversing, and his arm hung over my shoulders casually. He talked with so much emotion. He used his hands so much, and his smile still took my breath away, even after all these years. His eyes shone crystal clear, pure and unadulterated. His deep blue eyes reminded me of the never-ending oceans, and their calmness, their serenity. But they also reminded me of their huge waves and unexplained storms. Atlas was the most controlled person I'd ever seen. He had such a good reign over his emotions, even when a storm of rage would seize him. He would always remain thoughtful, calculating, collected. And that's what I loved the most about him.

A voice through the speakers alerted us of our flight, and we hoisted our backs up our shoulders. Atlas was the one holding Emmy as she was laughing up at his face. We soon boarded up, and got to our designated seats. We placed our duffel bags in the upper compartments, and sat down. We had booked business class seats, and we had a lot of leg room to settle in. Our seats could easily recline too. We'd listened intently to the safety instructions, and once they gave the cue for the plane to ascend, I felt Atlas hold my hand, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. And believe me, it was and still is. I held on to Emmy tight, at least until the tremors had subsided. 

"Oh God. I think I might puke." I suddenly said.

"Why?" Atlas turned to look at me with worry, his eyes all scrunched up together.

"This is too overwhelming. Being here with you. On our honeymoon."
"It is, for me too. But you're here. And so am I. And that, Lily, means all the world to me."

~▫~▫~▫~▫~▫~▫~▫~▫~▫~▫~

"All passengers, buckle up. It's time to land in Paris, France."

Emmy slept through most of our flight while Atlas and I talked about nothing in particular. At one point I fell asleep, and I felt Atlas wrap a blanket over me.

Why does he have to be this perfect?!

When I woke up, Atlas greeted me with a small peck and a radiant smile, that made everything else around us fade away. He told us that the air hostess had come with some food, and me and Emmy gladly welcomed it. About an hour or so later, we were informed of our descend, and my heart began to hammer inside my chest, as I felt the gravity of what was happening fall upon me.

"I'm scared." I blurted out, childlishly.

"Why?" Atlas said, looking flustered and worried for the second time today.

"Because I'm scared this won't be as perfect as I want it to be or I'll wake up to find this was a dream."

Atlas laughed, and that laugh made heat crawl up my neck.

"Babe, I will make sure this honeymoon is one you'll never forget. And I mean that in a good way. This isn't a dream. You and I, Emerson, Paris, we're all real. And we're here."

I giggled heartily, leaning back into my chair as Atlas' face morphed into confusion and then surprise.

"Ooh, wait, that rhymed! Did it?"

It took all that I had in me not to crawl across my seat and press my mouth against his as a silent thank-you for all that he did. 

All that he did for me. 

His wife.

His Lily.