Isolating in Italy and then flying to LA for a long weekend with Lewis was the best decision you've made in months. Three months in a gut-wrenching mental place, what felt like your rock bottom, really made you reflect on everything. How you grew up in a divided household, went to university to find music, friendship, and opportunities, to then leave school and become known worldwide. Near the end of this, you found someone you instantly knew would make a mark on your life one way or another. But this was one of those things that you didn't want to consider the other side like you could with going away to school or not, getting into music and making the leap or playing it safe.
You dove headfirst into something that could've been greater than any amount of accomplishments. Meeting Natasha Romanoff wasn't a decision. But if there was a part of you that believed in fate or destiny, then you'd definitely put the redhead in that category.
You were still ever so confident that meeting her wasn't a mistake, no matter how much it hurt.
The general public had their suspicions about who you were seeing and who broke your heart – resulting in a darker genre of an album to be released – but you were scrolling through your Instagram that you hadn't posted on since you were with Natasha when you came across a certain fan post that caught your eye.
It was a blurry photo, probably because it wasn't permitted, but your head was thrown back on a laugh, your hand on someone's arm, and that someone looked a lot like your redhead.
You furrowed your eyebrows, not remembering what you were laughing about, but you do remember when you looked back at her, your breath caught in your throat because she was watching you with such fondness and adoration. You both locked eyes for a moment, hers flicking down to your lips for only a second, and then she looked back to someone who was talking. You two had already shared some brief kisses at that point, but it was right then that you knew. You knew it was something way more.
The caption read, 'People who are destined to meet will do so, apparently by chance, at precisely the right moment. And when the whole world is against you for meeting your person, it's your job to fight to keep that because at the end of the day, they make you whole. Without them, you're an empty shell who only feels loss. I've been in this fandom since the beginning, I've seen the stunts and stolen moments in blurry photos. And I've just got to say it makes me sick how people have turned their back on someone who has saved their lives, made them better, and only put good out into the world. I'm older than Y/n and if she was my little sister, I'd tell her to run away because she deserves the world, but no way in hell does this homophobic, sexist world full of assholes deserve her. I'm sorry they hurt you and whoever you chose to love.'
You didn't move. You barely breathed. You shook your head after a long moment and clicked their handle, refreshing the page and seeing how the likes and comments were climbing like nothing you've seen besides maybe yours and other celebrities' posts. It had only been posted two hours ago and already had five million likes and hundreds of thousands of comments. You clicked them, scrolling through the outpouring of love and agreement for both you and this girl.
You threw your phone on the charger and went to pack.
You were heading to Japan this time.
Over the years, you've gotten to know restaurant owners and their families whenever you're travelling and it's always nice to see friends. You always crashed with one of them and they were happy to host you. You walked around the streets of Tokyo, ate some food that you couldn't get anywhere else, and did a bit of shopping. It was a busy place, but it also gave you the space to think, which was always something you liked to have tucked away in your corner of the world. Japan was different compared to the usual and you loved it. You loved that you could stroll the streets wearing whatever you wanted, and nobody would bat an eye. You loved the respect there was in this culture and people were so friendly to outsiders like yourself. You considered living here in the past, but it didn't seem like a place for you to set roots, it was more of a comfortable escape.
And you could go alone because the paparazzi didn't seem to exist here, the fans did, but they were polite and courteous for the most part. It was nothing you couldn't handle. Plus, whenever you were here, photos were never leaked of you, and everyone who did take selfies or pictures of you would ask if it was okay to post them. You'd always ask back if they could wait a week or two and you've never had a problem. It was a breath of fresh air, honestly.
Your phone went off and you took it out, making sure you didn't drop it as it had started to rain and you were balancing your grocery bag and umbrella in one hand now, but you were happy you looked because it was from Bucky, and you hadn't heard from him in a while.
'Nat's a wreck. Feel like it's been long enough I can tell you. I'm worried about you guys.'
You frowned before tilting your head back to look at the dark sky, taking a deep breath in, and then when you peered back down to your phone, you didn't respond, you went to your contacts. Looking for your pilot's number to schedule a flight.
Because while she might've hurt you, she was still your person, and you would fight for this even if it meant throwing away your pride.
