Bluebirds Without Wings | Julie and the Phantoms

Full Moon

"I am serious, though. It's something you should think about before you know." She made a hand gesture at herself.

"Falling in love any further?"

"Yeah," she said, almost shrugging. Luke pulled the blanket tighter around them. It caught her off guard, but it didn't take long before she sunk back into his arms. They fit together.

"You're it for me, Julie. Can't imagine my life without you in it. I'm staying here with everyone and especially with you." He kissed the top of her head. "And I guess being king might be cool if it means you get to be my wife." His mom would scream at him if she found out he said those words to her and didn't propose. But that wouldn't be for a bit longer. They had time. They could take it day by day and take a moment to remember it all.

Julie pulled away from him to tell him, "And to think I wanted nothing to do with you when I first met you."

"I was very persuasive with my words." Julie laughed. She reached over to brush hair out of his forehead. It wasn't bothering him, but she liked to do little edits on him. He knew they were just excuses to touch him. She had been doing it since they were younger, and some things never changed.

"You hardly spoke," she reminded him.

"You were kind of scary, and I was scared."

"I was not scary," Julie retorted. "I was just angry at everything."

"Maybe just a little bit scary," Luke teased her. Julie clicked her tongue but in that moment, Luke leaned down to kiss her. He felt her smile against his lips, and he got those feelings of eternity in his chest again. His soulmate. He would never get sick of the feeling.

"When did you start to like me?" Julie asked him. Luke thought back to his earliest moments of Julie. It did not take him long back them to realize he was really in for it when it came for her. A smile like hers was unforgettable and haunting like a ghost. It followed him everywhere even when she never smiled at him. Tiptoeing just for a chance to glance at it. Telling her she hadn't smiled in a while in hopes that he could make her do it again. She was heaven on earth.

"The first time I heard you play the piano," he said. "When you smiled. I knew I was in trouble."

"That early on?" she asked him. She watched him attentively as he brushed back her hair.

"Yeah," he said. "Your smile has always been my favorite thing about you." Julie struggled to keep her eyes on Luke before puttting her forehead against his chest again, and he laughed at her. "Why are you being so shy?" he asked her.

"I don't know," Julie murmured. She sounded embarrassed. She was always the one with the upper hand and somehow, Luke was the making her stumble over her own feelings. "I'm not used to this yet."

"That's why we're taking it day by day," he said as he held her. She was probably still thinking about what he said.

"Is that why you would never stop talking about Nick to me? You were jealous?" Luke was the one whose face started to get red now, and he moved his gaze away from her.

"Maybe. Maybe not. I will neither confirm nor deny those allegations." Julie chuckled, reaching a hand over behind his neck to play with his hair.

"I mean. I kind of figured you had a thing for me around then."

Luke's eyes went back to hers, raising an eyebrow at her. "You knew I liked you?"

"I wasn't sure about it, but I had a feeling. You weren't the best at hiding it, you know? Always asking about Nick. Always staring at me."

"That was my job. To look at you."

"But you would look at me like that. Like nobody else ever has."

"Now I'm the one that's embarrassed," Luke mumbled to her, turning his head away. It might have been long ago, but with her, he still felt like a teenager with a crush all over again. She continued playing with his hair, her other hand wrapped around him and resting on his back. She had a hold on his shirt. A hold on him. He asked, "What about you, Princess? When did you start to crave a forbidden romance with your knight?" He couldn't help but watch her face after those words.

"Oh shut up," Julie laughed into the creases of his clothes as she rested her head on his chest again. She stayed silent, Luke taking a moment to look up at the full moon and the area surrounding them. It was home. "When they started that petition to have Nick as my knight. I realized I wouldn't want anyone else but you following me around all day. Seeing you get all obsessed with the necklace and pretending you didn't have a crush on me confirmed it. That day with the frogs. I think about it all the time."

"I wasn't obsessed." Luke sneered, but he knew she was right. He fell hard and fast for her, and a romance with her was the last thing that he should have indulged in at the time. But she made everything better even when he was just there to make her life worse. He felt so lucky to have been forgiven by her and to be able to love her. Even if it meant going to the frog pond every once in a while and holding one for a picture to amuse her. Anything to see that smile.

Julie put her pointer finger and thumb close together as she said, "Just a little bit obsessed." Luke thought she was cute, so he let her have it.

"Okay just a little bit." Julie put both her hands on Luke's face and pulled him down closer to her face to kiss him, Luke letting himself feel everything in the moment. The taste of her lipstick that was somehow still there. The smell of her perfume mixing with his cologne out in the crisp air. The feeling of her fingers holding his face. The sound of crows in the distance.

He opened his eyes when she parted from the kiss, and he could not imagine seeing anyone else in her place as long as he lived. That was his whole heart right there, standing with a timid smile and a blanket that was half falling off her. He loved her.

"I love you," he told her as if it were an out of breath confession. She didn't seem thrown off like had had been. It was a thing now. To say I love you. He couldn't wait to see what more things would happen in their relationship.

"I love you, too." He fixed the blanket, wrapping it around them. It would be easier to suggest they go inside, but seeing her under the night sky, so bright and happy was his favorite thing in the world. He never wanted to leave. She asked him, "What do you want to do tomorrow? Bird watch or go to the villages? I heard they're starting school next week. We can see what they need."

"Anything you want," he said to her. He placed a kiss on the bridge of her nose, Julie scrunching it up in glee. "I'll follow you wherever you go."

-

A/N: Aaaand that's a wrap everybody ;-; <3

This is a very bittersweet moment for me as this is the longest fic I have ever written, and it's been a crazy few months. I could've had a baby probably within the time I took to write this lmao. My life has gone through a lot of changes and my one constant has been this fic I could always come back to.

I cross published this on Ao3, but I really wanted to thank you guys here on Wattpad for your immense support. I do not think I would have had the motivation to complete this story if it wasn't for you guys. You guys consistently voted and commented. Writing fanfics is fun but it's even more fun when people are reading them. I will really miss you all ;-; <3

I have a few stories up my sleeve, but until then, see you all later and take care !!!

xoxo

Star

p.s. What were your favorite/most memorable parts in this fic? I'd love to talk about them before we all part ways! <3