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The pressure of soft lips against my spine has me slowly returning to the land of the living. When I turn to my side and look over my shoulder at him I can't help but give him a slight glare. "You cannot be wanting to go another round." I honestly lost count of how many times we made love through the night, and I'm colored by soreness and exhaustion because of it.
He leans in, releases a soft attractive masculine sort of chuckle, and kisses me on the cheek. "No, Baby. I was waking you up because it's just past ten."
I turn over more so on my side and widen my eyes at him. "You mean I slept into the double digits?" I don't remember the last time I did that. Probably either before my parents' death or just after I was placed in my Foster home.
"Yes, the others are all awake already and waiting for you so we can all eat breakfast together." That's when I notice the ship is still moving, and I remember that we unfortunately won't arrive in Syracuse, Sicily until around noon.
I nod my head letting him know I am definitely awake, even if I really want to stay in my sanctuary of blankets and relax, and he promptly moves to let me get past him and wash my face. As I stand from the bed I stumble for a moment and glare at him, even though there is no heat in my eyes. "You. You did this."
He chuckles. "Are you really complaining, Baby?"
I sigh. "Only about the fact that I am walking funny. Besides, I am the one that didn't pay attention to the bottle when I purchased it."
When I glance in the mirror I groan at my crazy hair, but I am thankful that I somehow don't have shadows under my eyes. I'll have to wait on my shower until after breakfast so I grab a bottle of leave-in conditioner and use that to help smooth out my hair a bit before I even attempt to brush it.
When I arrive at our private dining room I am still limping slightly, but it is hopefully not as noticeable. All of my other soulmates are there waiting on me, but my face falls when I realize that they have no food in front of them. I notice Jk and Tae frown at me for a moment, obviously spotting the way I was walking. Yoongi gives me a curious look and promptly announces. "I'm staying with Daisy tonight."
"Hyung!" Jk exclaims, and I know instantaneously that he was wanting the night for himself.
Yoongi gives Jk a look, and I'm not sure exactly what he is conveying without saying a word but it silences the maknae.
"Why aren't you all eating?" I can't help but ask.
A voice pops up behind me and startles me. "Because, breakfast would have melted." I turn to a smiling Feliċ, surprised that the sous chef is assisting the wait staff in delivering whatever is hidden under the large silver domes. The only reason I know it is Feliċ is because of his chef whites, and the fact that Nikola comes up behind him.
When the plates are all placed is when I remember he said something about breakfast melting. What the fuck could we be having for breakfast that would melt?
When I lift the silver dome I find a thick crusty brioche bun and inside are two scoops of vanilla gelato. The wait staff also brings in an array of syrups and compotes so we can add additional flavors to the treat. "This is breakfast?!?!"
Feliċ softly chuckles at my response. "Yes. It is often eaten as breakfast in Italy."
I look up at each of my soulmates before I sincerely say. "Can we try to make this a thing in Seoul? I would be totally down to have literal ice cream sandwiches for breakfast."
They all laugh at me. My poor Jiminie even nearly falls out of his chair. The only thing keeping him from ending up on the floor are the fact that both Tae on his left and Jk on his right reach out in an awkwardly choreographed attempt to steady him.
I add a mixed berry compote to my vanilla gelato sandwich and can't quite contain my moan of delight as I bite into it. My soulmates should be used to my response to ice cream at this point, but of course they all stop eating for a second to look up at me. I avert my eyes for a second at the cameras around us, then back at them. This promptly has them clearing their throats and tackling their breakfast with a gusto.
I'm a bit thankful to have some time so I can take a proper shower after breakfast. The temperature is supposed to be only 2 degrees cooler than yesterday, so I chose to wear one of my sundresses. This one is one of Jiwoo's designs. It has a halter top with a full back. The hemline is asymmetrical which I believe adds a feminine touch to the way it flows against my knees. The blue flower print screams Spring, and when Jiwoo showed me the bolt of fabric I knew I needed something made from it. Just before I get to the bathroom to get that shower I'm interrupted by a knock on the door.
I answer it and find my Bear looking concerned behind it. I let him in and shut the door behind him. "Are you okay?"
I sigh when I realize he definitely saw the way I was slightly limping. "I'm fine." I blush. How exactly do I tell him that my injuries were a product of a night of vigorous lovemaking with one of my other soulmates?
Luckily, apparently I don't have to explain myself. He must be able to infer what the blush staining my cheeks means. "I wanted to let you know that I don't expect anything tonight. In fact, I volunteered because I wanted to simply cuddle with you." He sighs. "I also saw Jk's eagerness to be with you. I didn't want him to be disappointed to not do more than cuddle with you tonight."
"But, won't you be disappointed, Bear?"
He gives me a soft gummy smile and holds his arms out to me. I go into them willingly and sigh in contentment as he wraps his arms around me. "No, Honey. I don't mind offering up my cuddly self to simply sleep beside you tonight." He pulls away, and I can't help but frown. "Go get your shower."
About an hour later we are all gathered together in the lounge looking through tourist sites on recommended places to visit in Syracuse. "I wasn't originally planning on visiting another Cathedral. I'd hate to make the tourist stops all religious based, but I find the history of the building interesting."
"It also looks like the entire Piazza del Duomo is filled with historical pieces of architecture. I'd imagine it wouldn't be a bad place to just act like tourists and take in the sites for the day." Tae pipes in.
"Oh, I bet they have street food vendors in that area!" Trust my Bunny to think with his stomach.
"That's not a bad idea since we just had breakfast not that long ago." Jin adds.
"So, this afternoon I guess we are all going to tour around the Piazza del Duomo together." Namjoon nods.
"Wait, all of us?" I ask curiously. Normally, they would break off into separate smaller groups. I'm not complaining but I don't understand why we will be sticking together.
"We decided that none of us like being parted from you during this trip. Petal. So, we all agreed to simply plan our itinerary together."
I nod. "Yeah, I don't really necessarily like dividing my time like that either."
Stepping into the piazza almost feels like stepping back in time. People must mostly travel by foot in between these glorious pieces of architecture, and I can only conclude that the reason is to restrict the smooth brick roads under our feet to minimum damage. I wouldn't be surprised if they allowed something as simple as biking through here since there are scattered food stalls here and a lot of them are on wheels.
Tae and I both spot a corner stand that sells fresh squeezed orange juice, and since I read that Sicily is specifically known for the citrus fruit I can't help but insist we stop for a glass before we continue our stroll. None of us are quite hungry yet, although Jk keeps eyeballing every food stand we pass, so we decide to determine an order of what buildings to visit.
"Should we go by the Archbishop's palace first since we are still enjoying our orange juice? I read it's not open to the public, but I am sure the building is beautiful judging by the baroque style of the architecture around us." We head that direction, and all grow immediately disappointed that we can't go in. Then we surprisingly find a hidden treasure at the foot of the gardens outside the palace.
A sign proclaims it to be the Hypogeum. I go up to the person selling tickets. His nametag lets me know his name is Enrico. "Excuse me. I'm sorry. I was curious if you could tell me what the Hypogeum is? We perused some tourist websites, but we didn't stumble across this location specifically."
He smiles warmly at me. "Syracuse is built on a network of passages and tunnels. The Hypogeum is a small version of one of those very networks that was turned into a refuge once in History. I don't want to give away too much if you are wanting to see for yourself however."
I glance back at my soulmates. The maknae line is all staring at the sky, and even Jin seems to be trying to figure out what they are looking at. Namjoon of course looks eager to discover more historical aspects. Yoongi has a somewhat indifferent look on his face, and Hobi honestly looks kind of terrified.
Despite the mixed reception at the idea of venturing on through the tunnels I manage to coax everyone inside. I regret not having a sweater, or the hoodie I stole from Jk, pretty much right away with the way the temperature dropped. I'm surprised when a strong pair of hands places an oversized cardigan over my shoulders. I look up and immediately smile at the beautiful loving man before me. "Thank you, Sweet Jin."
"I thought it might be a smart idea to pack something warm in my bag in case the temperature dropped. I'm happy to offer up the cardigan so it can keep you warm, Princess." He squeezes my shoulder before turning away to the others.
We learn that the tunnels were turned into a refuge from an Allied bombing. Several projectors scroll through images of how that time was documented by historians of the area. I mentally compare it to a mini underground museum of sorts.
Hobi jumps in front of me, and I can't help but giggle. "It's the echo of dripping water. We are in an underground cave after all, Hobi."
"I know that, but it doesn't make it less creepy for me." I reach out and take his hand in mine as we finish up our tour of the tunnels and head back the way we came.
"I'm a little hungry. Want to stop and grab a snack from one of the stands?" I don't direct my question at anyone in particular but suddenly Jk is grabbing my hand and dragging me over to a nearby stand selling something called Arancini.
I watch the person behind the cart as he starts preparing someone's order. It turns out that Arancini is basically a fried ball of risotto. I don't know if it is the case with all Arancini but in this case it is stuffed with pine nuts and cheese. Jk and I order enough for everybody, production team and security members included. That's when I realize that only three of the security staff are with us. Juwon, Sang Hee, and a member of security that I don't know terribly well, Won-Shik. That means Youngmi, Korain, and Hye Rin must have stayed behind on the ship.
After we eat our treat we head over to the City Hall. Just inside the building in a protective glass case is a Baroque style gilded carriage. We each walk around the case so we can see the exquisite piece of art in its entirety. While inside this building we learn of another hidden gem underneath called the Artemision, the remains of a Greek temple. We have to buy a ticket to see the ruins here, but of course none of us mind.
We walk into what honestly seems like an old basement, but judging by the stone sparsely strewn about there is obvious history here. We had to navigate the area over narrow wooden bridges in between what looks to be archaeological dig sites. Once we get back outside though I have to admit to myself that the Hypogeum was far more worth it and interesting than the Artemision.
We are still a bit full from our snack so we decide to proceed to the Cathedral of Syracuse, also known as the Cathedral of Santa Maria delle Cologne. We listen to an audio tour guide as he tells us about both the remains of the Temple of Athena and the Byzantine church that overlaps the original temple structure. It isn't mentioned, but I am curious if part of the reason for the church's existence in place of the temple was a religious way to try to help the citizens forget the original religious practices. However, it is also possible that it was due to limited space since Sicily is an island.
We stay in the building for an hour or two, completely engrossed in the history and artwork inside. When we are finally outside in the sun again we find we are all actually famished at this point. We find a street side restaurant where we sit outside on wrought iron garden chairs and people watch while waiting for our sfincione, Sicilian pizza, and crocché, deep fried mashed potatoes, that we ordered. I indulge in more of the luscious fresh squeezed orange juice while the others sample a popular wine called, Nero d'Avola. For dessert we order cannolis.
I frown when we are finished eating before I admit aloud what is wrong to my soulmates. "If you all want to you can stay and explore more, but I'm honestly exhausted. I think I should head back to the ship and rest."
"Why don't we all go back for now." Namjoon suggests. "We can let the production crew rest for a few hours, and if any of us want to go back out we can let them know."
I head below deck to my room and almost bump into Hye Rin on the way down as she is heading back up the stairs herself. "Oh!" She exclaims in surprise. "Did you have a good time today, Daisy?"
I smile warmly at her question. "I did, but I got kind of tired so we all came back for now."
"Oh, I should let you pass so you can go rest then." She gives me a sort of nod bow combination before she continues her way upstairs.
It is only after I have changed clothes that I find myself wondering why she might have been on this floor.
I get a few texts from my soulmates letting me know that they are going back out after all. They apologize and reason that it's because they need the footage for the show. I try to convince them it's okay, but I know until I see them face to face to reiterate the point that they probably won't be convinced.
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A/N: So, I'm sitting here letting Youtube autoplay Kpop songs and as I got to posting this chapter it starts playing BTS' cover of Fix You. I don't think that there will ever be a time this cover doesn't make me cry. The harmonies are just simply so gorgeous!
I honestly don't have too much to say this time around. I shared the fact that Italy has ice cream sandwiches for breakfast with my husband when I was writing this chapter. His immediate response was that he weren't going to Italy just to have ice cream sandwiches for breakfast. lol