Livre: One Shots

[25] I'm shining like fireworks

very quick fic for the 4th. :)

-/-

Karlie shrieks as the water splashes her stomach, clinging to Taylor's arm.

" Jeez, Karlie, you're freezing." Taylor laughs, wrapping one arm around Karlie's waist. Her teeth are chattering.

The sun has come and gone, replaced by a brilliant moon and reflections of the fireworks on the ocean.

Taylor steps forward, her feet slipping down a ridge of sand. Her hand slides to Karlie's hip. "What the-"

Karlie dissolves into laughter beside her, bringing one arm up to rest on Taylor's head. "You're so short." She tilts her head to the side, laughing again.

"I think the last adjective I would use to describe either of us is 'short.'" Taylor replies.

God, that laugh. It's Taylor's favorite sound, cheesy as that is. If only Karlie could laugh like that all the time. Honestly, that was the goal of the day. Breakfast and coffee. The day at the beach. Watching the fireworks from the ocean. While the current circumstances were saddening as the world raged with the pandemic, it was relaxing to spend the 4th of July with Karlie and only Karlie. And Taylor's pretty much satisfied that she's pulled off a near perfect day. There are probably no completely perfect days. But she's trying. God, she's trying. Hearing Karlie laugh is enough after months of isolation from opposite sides of the country.

A wave breaks in front of them, roaring closer. Taylor dives under it, surfacing a few feet deeper. She shakes the water out of her hair, looking back over her shoulder.

Karlie is still lagging behind, shuffling her feet along the ground.

"What are you doing, slow poke?" Taylor calls, wading back towards Karlie.

Karlie ducks her head sheepishly, toying with her bangs. There's a soft smile playing on the edge of her lips. "I, uh, was just checking for stingrays."

"You're adorable, you know that?"

Karlie eventually makes her way to Taylor and stands behind her, draping both arms over her shoulders. She rests her chin on the top of her girlfriend's head, breathing in the scent of salt water in her hair. She runs her hands over the goosebumps on her arms. "Ok. If we don't go in

Karlie nods in agreement. "Probably."

Taylor takes Karlie's hand, and they trek slowly up the beach towards the house in their towels. Karlie hunches her shoulders against the wind, and Taylor finds herself looking over her shoulder, like she's making sure the wind hasn't swept her away, even when she can feel Karlie's hand tucked into her own.

They reach their previously designated fireworks-watching spot, and Taylor shakes the sand out of their towel.

Karlie sits down immediately, hugging her knees to her chest. "That was fun, but I'm freezing."

"Hang on." Taylor kneels on the towel, digging through her bag until she finds her blue flannel. She drapes in around Karlie's slightly trembling shoulders, giving her a quick hug. "There."

"You know owning a flannel makes you pretty gay, but giving said flannel to your girlfriend makes it even more gay."

"I mean if I have a girlfriend, I hope that I'm queer."

"Good point. I have the best girlfriend ever." Karlie sighs.

"Nope. I do." She looks over at Karlie.

"It's starting." Karlie says, and Taylor looks up to the sky at her girlfriend's words, seeing a small orange light woosh upwards. All was mostly silent for a second before a boom split the night air, the light exploding into streams of white out into purple.

Taylor then glanced over at Karlie, who held an awed expression as she watched the fireworks as the colors played across her face. More and more of them went up, exploding in shades of bright blue, radiant red, gorgeous green, pleasing purple, wondrous white, and glorious gold, letting the sky go dark for merely a couple of seconds before lighting it up again, with hardly a break in between.

There was something about fireworks that required one to be there in person to truly experience them, the booming, brash, brilliant beauty that they held. Taylor pulls Karlie in to her and Karlie immediately rests her head on Taylor's shoulder.

The fireworks illuminate her face, sending colors dancing across her skin. There are dark circles under her eyes, the mark of countless sleepless nights, and she's still the most beautiful girl Taylor's ever seen. Always.

Karlie's eyes flutter closed, and her head weighs more heavily on Taylor's shoulder.

Taylor is still shivering in her wet swimsuit, but it's way too late to move now. She wouldn't for the world. Karlie deserves every moment of peace she can get. Life should be more gentle. It's never kind enough to her.

Fireworks crack loudly above, and Karlie starts, eyes snapping open.

"Whoa. Hey." Taylor strokes her hair gently. "You're fine."

Karlie settles slowly back into Taylor's embrace with a slight embarrassed smiles. "Sorry." She grimaces. "It's fine when I can see then, but sometimes when my eyes are closed it catches me off guard. "

"I know. You don't have to apologize. Ever," she says firmly, squeezing Karlie's shoulders.

"Thanks for this. All of it. This is one of the best days I've had in a while."

Taylor can't help but grin. "Any time, babe. You have no idea how happy that makes me." You have no idea how happy you make me.

Karlie clutches the strap of Taylor's bathing suit, pulling her in and kissing her hard on the lips, "Happy Fourth, Taylor."

Taylor presses their foreheads together. "Yeah, happy Fourth, Karlie."

Karlie's eyes light up. "Wait, hang on." She turns, detangling herself from Taylor's arms and grabs the strap of her bag. She drags it across sand and rummages through it until she finds her Polaroid camera.

Taylor grins. "Haven't seen that in a while," she says softly. If she talks too loudly she's afraid she'll break something, some piece of this moment that she's been, that they've been, waiting for for so long.

Karlie pats the back of the camera. "I know. Too long." She sighs. Then the wistful expression melts off her face, replaced by a dazzling smile. "Ok, ready?" She pulls Taylor's arm back over her shoulders, holding the camera out in front of them.

Taylor presses her lips to Karlie's cheek as Karlie takes the picture, and her girlfriend laughs.

"Perfect."

It's the first photo Karlie has taken in what feels to Taylor like forever. Not that Taylor blames her. After everything. That's not to say that she hasn't tried to get her to take the camera out nearly every day- Karlie, look at that bird, Karlie, it's a deer where's your camera?- only to be met with swift subject changes and feigned distraction.

But now.

Now.

Here she is, holding the photo in her hands, watching it develop with that familiar look of anticipation. She takes Taylor's hand and envelops it in her own.

And they're okay. And okay is enough.

-/-

thanks for reading :)