We Fell In Love In October - Wintumn Flufftober

Stargazing

The trip was absolutely perfect. Winter had planned an entire weekend away for Autumn filled with surprise after surprise that he picked with such care. It was still shocking just how much attention he paid to even the smallest detail about her. The secluded cabin in the mountains he'd booked fit her style perfectly with its dark wood exterior and large stone fireplace. He had made sure to have her favorite coffee and snacks stocked in the cupboards and made all of her favorites for dinner. He'd thought of everything, right down to packing her favorite blanket and the pillow she couldn't sleep without. It was her ideal holiday.

When Winter asked her to go away she agreed without giving it a second's thought. Of course she wanted to go away with him. In their short time together she found that she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. But in the days leading up to the trip she couldn't help but worry that it was too soon. Their relationship was still new and four whole days with no distractions, no one but each other for company, was sure to be a test; but it was one the couple had passed with flying colors. They loved the freedom they had to hold hands as they walked around the sights. On their hikes they were able to cuddle while taking breaks at lookout points and to kiss at the trail's end without checking their surroundings. They'd even danced in the parking lot outside of Waitrose when they got caught in the rain; not worrying for a second that people might see them. No one knew them here, they could be themselves 100% of the time.

By the end of the week, after days of exploring the waterfalls and countryside castles, they decided to spend a quiet night in; just the two of them, miles away from anyone else, exactly how they liked it. They'd worked together on a lovely dinner, moving around the kitchen with ease and sharing loving, lingering touches any time they crossed the other's path. As they ate they watched Friday the 13th and cuddled on the couch, the secluded woods outside their door causing Winter to hold Autumn just a little tighter at the more intense scenes. And they planned to end the night with one last use of their favorite amenity in the cabin, the hot tub.

At the end of every day they had spent the evening winding down in the jacuzzi, easing their sore muscles from the endless walking that filled their days. Every night so far, though, it had been far too cold and too cloudy to stay out for long. But today the weather was perfect, the sky was clear, and Winter wanted to spend the evening with the love of his life under a sky filled with stars listening to music and drinking wine. He couldn't think of anything more romantic.

Autumn, on the other hand, hadn't had any problem with the views on previous nights. She had such a unique relationship with the night sky. It was hard to explain how something so mundane, so ever present could stir up such complicated emotions. There was no way she was ever going to escape the stars, and the memories they held; but she also never went out of her way to look up anymore.

Her brother had been obsessed with the stars for as long as she could remember. Reece told her that as soon as she could walk she would follow him everywhere, not wanting to be left out of whatever activity her older brother was doing. Most nights they ended up just laying in the garden, looking at the sky and wishing on every star they saw. And every airplane, just in case. After seeing this, their mother started singing "When You Wish Upon as Star" to them before bed. Even after the kids told her they were "too old" for it there were still nights they asked her to sing. And there was one night their mum insisted on it. Little did they know that was going to be their last chance to hear it. After she was gone Reece took over, it was the only thing that could get Autumn to sleep on her most restless nights and he couldn't let her go without it. To this day listening to that song was the easiest way for Autumn to get to sleep.

When they were old enough to leave the house to escape their father, Reece and Autumn would ride their bikes as far out of town as they could to their usual hill and watch the stars for hours. At first Reece knew a lot more about them than Autumn so she would just sit in silence and listen to him talk. He told her everything he knew about the constellations and planets; about the moon and how it affected the tide. As the months passed and Autumn did some research on her own in hopes of impressing Reece, there came a point where she knew more than he did. But she never let on, instead she asked questions she knew would lead him on new tangents that she could watch him get excited about because she knew that teaching her about this was what Reece needed. And seeing Reece happy was what she needed.