ink. (haylor)

xv. austin

a/n:

hey hey

happy women's day everyone!!!

even if you're not south african or you're not female - still.

today is a good day to be a feminist :)

also - we're way past the halfway point in this story :)

also also - i kinda got distracted today bc i found this amazing artist and all i've been doing is listening to her music (i'll link it up top bc it sort of inspired the next few chapters and it's rad)

alright i love you very much

-kay

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[Taylor's POV]

"You know, I've always found the idea of kissing someone in the rain so romantic," I said, stepping closer to him as the water hit the tiles of the floor.

"This isn't rain," he smirked, shaking his head.

"It's close enough," I said, moving towards him, pressing my wet lips against his.

We pulled apart and I noted the water droplets that dripped from his eyelashes and streamed down his cheeks in rivulets.

"Because the water washes away everything but the person you're kissing. That's why I like it."

Then he pulled me close and our bodies were pressing together in the most not-sexual way ever; like our souls were trying to find a way to be as close to each other as they could.

And I hated it.

- - -

"So I have this theory," he begins as I walked into his room after having thrown on a pair of shorts and a sweater.

"Tell me," I said, and slumped next to him on his neatly made bed and observed he was naked, except for a pair of boxer briefs and was lying flat on his back and staring at the plain ceiling.

He glanced at me and then went back to looking at the white expanse of ceiling.

"Maybe some of us are really asleep through our entire lives. Maybe we're all just on stand-by and we're not really living, just going through the motions and we have no idea we're asleep â and someone comes along and wakes us up."

"And they make you feel as if the sky is inside you and all around you."

"Exactly," he said, flashing his eyes at me, holding my gaze for centuries.

"Why do you wanna know?" he breathed softly, noticing we were still staring at each other.

"Because you have all these stories and memories on your skin â I want to know everything about you."

He exhaled slowly and I watched the muscles in his abdomen contracted â clenched and relaxed. He nodded.

"17Black?" I said, touching the area near his left collarbone, recognising the phrase from somewhere.

"James Bond. That's his lucky roulette bet."

"Oh, and what does this one mean?" I said, pointing to something in a language I couldn't read on the upper part of his left arm.

"That is my sister's name in Hebrew. I like to have her with me," he said, looking into my eyes and smiling a little, "This is an iced gem cookie â that used to be her nickname when we were kids â Gem," he pointed at a lower-case letter 'g' on his shoulder, "and that one's for her too."