Anthology - A Collection of Fanfic One-Shots

The Beach

"Where are you taking me?"

"You'll see."

"Ha ha. Funny man."

Tom's hand left the wheel to pick hers up off her lap, bringing it to his lips. "I could tell you, of course, but then...you know how that ends."

Liv laughed. "Should I be calling someone for help?" she teased. "I'm being kidnapped by the God of Mischief and spirited off to an unknown destination..."

"Darling, your other senses are so acute I'm sure you'll have worked it out long before I get you there."

"You sound disappointed – I'm sorry if I rain on your parade all the time."

He kissed her hand again before bringing it to rest on his thigh. "Not disappointed, love; it just makes it a real challenge to surprise you."

"I'm not familiar with the smells or sounds of the Bifrost – you could easily be taking me to Asgard and I wouldn't know it until you called to Heilmdall."

Now it was Tom's turn to laugh. "I'll keep that in mind for the next time I want to surprise you. For now, I'll just enjoy your lack of knowledge as long as I can."

"Well, asking me to wear this dress has certainly piqued my curiosity." She fingered the fabric again, as she had an hour earlier when she'd put it on, the soft folds feeling silky smooth to her touch. Walking in it felt like gliding through water.

"Thank God; I'll be able to claim at least partial success." The sound of her giggle tugged at his heart and he turned his head briefly to look at her, stunned as always by her vivacity and lust for life. It had bowled him over before they'd even met and now, almost twenty months later, he fell more in love with her with every second that passed. "Shall I put the top down?" He waited as she deftly arranged her almost waist-length strawberry-blonde hair into a braid then pushed the button to lower the roof of the Audi Cabriolet as they sailed south along the Gold Coast Highway. Peak hour traffic had not long died away as commuters made it home for dinner; shortly congestion would pick up again when they headed out in search of nightlife and entertainment, but for now there was a lull and he was having extraordinary luck with the lights.

"Music?" he asked, turning the radio on without waiting for her response, knowing how much she loved singing along to her favourite songs. It was already tuned to her preferred station, so he upped the volume a little and settled back with a smile as she added her smoky voice to Anne-Marie's, belting out 'Do It Right'.

I remember when we went dancing, non-stop laughing

He's so charming, oh

And we were like up 'til morning, hearts are pouring

And I adore him, yeah yeah

"We must go dancing again soon Tom."

"Definitely," he agreed readily.

I say if we're gonna do it, do it right

If we're gonna do this, do it right

If it's me and you, we gotta fight

I say if we're gonna do it, do it right

We gotta do it, oh we gotta do it right

If we gonna do it, do it

Twenty minutes later they neared their destination; Tom put the roof back up as Liv announced, "Palm Beach or Currumbin. I lost track of how far south we travelled – you distracted me on purpose with your devilish charm."