Wax

Eighteen

A/N: I am soooo sorry for the skipped update last weekend! ;-; Sob, was supposed to make it up to you guys to actually do a double update but the side effects of my second vaccine was just awful and I was out cold for a good couple of days. I do have a rather weak body after all.

This chapter is slightly longer than I intended, and could honestly have been longer but you will know why I decided to leave the rest for another chapter once you're done reading it ;)

Also, Leroy's birthday is the 13th of August and as voted by everyone on IG, we will be going with the Head Designer Vanilla, Model Leroy AU! Hehe. Um, the question is: should the next chapter be the birthday special or do you want Chapter 19 next week first? I'll leave the decision up to you guys. You can either head over to IG to vote or leave a comment here!

Enjoy. Yet, another tough chapter to write. But insanely satisfying.

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[Leroy]

He was out cold on the passenger's seat minutes into the ride and I knew why.

Last night, he came to check in on me while I was supposedly asleep. Not gonna lie, I wished he did more than place the back of his hand on my forehead and re-arrange the covers I'd messed up. I was half-awake when I heard his footsteps. Deliberately light. He was tip-toeing. I sat up after hearing the door close behind him, staring at it for some time until I noticed an extra bundle of towels on the floor by the bed. He'd let Chicken into the room to keep me company.

"Leroy?" His voice was slightly muffled by the windbreaker I'd thrown over him while he was nodding off. I took my eyes off the road for a second and saw him struggling to sit up. "Where are we? I'm sorry I—oh. Is... is that the sea?"

We were about an hour into the drive, far out on a highway down Dartford. "It's just the Thames, dumbass," I laughed, only because I hadn't expected him to fall for something like that. He blushed on cue.

"Ah. Right. W-well, but the River Thames would, eventually, lead to the North Sea, no?" He had his back turned towards me, eyes fixed on the view. "How far out are we?"

"Just an hour out," I checked the GPS. "Thirty minutes to go."

I spent the next ten minutes listening to his happy monologue; pointing out the trees, the sky, the water, random deer and other forest animals. I had the windows rolled down, turning up the music that made everything seem like the kind of dream I'd have once in a while. I called it the honeymoon.

"Leroy," he paused all of a sudden, retreating from the window after identifying a third hybrid tree species and a lone eagle in the sky. Riding along the waters with a view had him electric. The look in his eyes. A summer pool. "Are we going to the beach?"

I glanced sideways, musing. "Took the genius long enough."

The summer pool rippled; sparkling under the light. He said nothing, merely turned his attention back to the view with both hands lightly touching the ledge of his window. He kept this up for some time before leaning back in his seat, gaze seemingly resting on the steering wheel. Couldn't tell from the corner of my eye.

"Thought you'd have seen a lot of this by now," I laid out. Surprised. Pleasantly.

"The sky above the clouds, yes. The occasional sea, yes. And, well, actually... beaches, too. Yes, I've seen a lot of them," he sorted out the windbreaker, folding it into a perfect square. "But seeing something isn't quite the same as experiencing it, I believe. I've seen beaches but never lived the experience of visiting one."