t h i r d — p e r s o n — p o v
"Lil, look over there."
Lily turned at Leo's voice, gasping as she seen the large fun fair. She'd never been to a fun fair before— the Ferris wheel was lit up, the fluorescent lights cascading on the sides of the buildings as the twins slowly made their way towards the fair.
"Should we go Leo? I though we were going to the diner to wait?" Lily wanted nothing more than to go to the fair, but she also wanted to find her brothers.
Even if they had been the ones not to wait for them.
"Listen, it's not our fault those idiots left us. I say, we have some fun. Let's have some twin bonding, I want to spend time with you." Leo did, he truly wanted nothing more than to have some quality time with his twin sister, even though his head wasn't in the right place— he still needed her to know how much she meant to him.
"Fine, but we can't go for long." Lily voiced, her azure eyes filed with excitement.
Leo grinned, a smile so large it showed his full set of white teeth and for once, as Lily looked at her twin— she seen a twinkle in his pale blue eyes. Her heart filled with warmth at the sight of her brother being genuinely happy, in that moment, she didn't care that they'd got lost in New York City, she didn't care that her 'overprotective' brothers hadn't realised they'd left them behind . In that moment, all Lily cared about was Leo.
"C'mon then lets go." Leo stated, grabbing Lily's hand in his own before running towards the fun fair.
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As they reached the gates, Leo pulled his black leather wallet from the pocket of his dark grey jeans, handing the ticket booth worker some money in exchange for tickets. He only had twenty dollars in his pocket and the fair didn't accept a card, apart from the food stalls.
"Where to first m'lady." Leo bowed, extending his hand towards the scene before them.
"Oh kind sir" Lily giggled as she curtsied at her twin, jointing him in his theatrics. "How bout the Ferris wheel?"
"Lil, it's an unspoken rule that the Ferris wheel is the last ride you go on, not the first!" Leo all but gasped as he placed a hand over his heart mockingly.
"Oh I'm so sorry" Lily's voice filled with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes at her twin, causing Leo to fold his arms over his chest, whilst raising an eyebrow at her.
"Jeez lil, I'm so glad you're finally coming out of your shell. I love the sarcastic side of you!"
"Did you not love me before hand?" She replied, her tone filled with mock sadness as she turned to her twin with her signature puppy dog eyes.
"Don't even look at me like that." Leo laughed as he playfully pushed his twin.
"So if we can't go on the Ferris wheel till last, what do you recommend fratello?" Lily asked as she pushed her twin in return.
"Let's go on a rollercoaster, then we'll get some cotton candy, then we'll go on the sling shot, then we'll get a hotdog, then I'll win you a teddy bear, then another rollercoaster, and if there's nothing else that interests us after that, we'll go to the Ferris wheel." Leo released a breath as he finished his long planned list.
"Wow, if I didn't know any better I'd say you planned this Le!" Lily laughed.
He had, for years.
"When I was younger, Zac would bring us to the fair at Christmas time." Leo voiced, a sad smile on his lips as he gazed down at his twin, wrapping his arm around her small shoulders. "I always wished that you were there, I don't have a lot of memories of you— considering I was a mere toddler, but I always longed for you Lil. I had our brothers but that never stopped me from feeling the loss of you. They showered me with love and attention, but they came as pairs and I had lost my partner, until now. I hope you know how much I love you and how happy I am that you're finally home."
Lily twisted in Leo's hold, wrapping her small arms around her brothers neck as she pulled him into a tight hug. He responded to the hug immediately, lifting Lily off her feet as he hugged her close to his chest.
"I know how much you love me Le. I love you just as much, if not more. You guys have shown Jack and I what family means, I'm so glad we found our way back to each other." She whispered, burying her face into his neck as she wrapped her dangling legs around his torso.
"Okay, enough of this sappy shit— let's have some fun." Leo laughed as he gave his sister one last squeeze before setting her on her feet.
"Race you to the big blue rollercoaster." Lily shouted, her converse covered feet smacking against the tarmac as she began running away from her brother towards said rollercoaster.
"What... HEY! That's cheating!" Leo yelled as he sprinted towards her retreating figure.
Lily's long brown curls blew over her face as the cold wind picked up due to her now fastening pace. She heard the pattering of Leo's shoes— indicating he was close on her tail, causing a giggle to escape her as she forced her feet to move faster. Leo watched his sister, the joyous glint in her eyes, the sight causing warmth to spread through his chest. He knew he could beat her— easily at that, but he didn't want to. Instead, he kept his pace somewhat slow, forcing his long legs to take smaller strides, therefore allowing his sister to win. He heard Lily cheer from a few meters ahead of him as she doubled over, her hands on her Jean covered knees as she tried to catch her breath.
"I BEAT YOU!" She cheered, her pale blue eyes lit up with happiness. Her pink cheeks now a dark shade of crimson as she began to dance, celebrating her victory. "How's it feel Le?" She panted, a playful glint in her azure gaze.
"How's what feel bambina?" Leo asked, knowing she was about to mock him.
"To be a LOSER!" She laughed, causing Leo to smile at her playfulness. He'd never seen this side to Lily before, he loved that she was finally coming out of her shell— that she was comfortable enough with him to find her personality and make silly jokes.
"Yeah yeah, rub it in Lil."
"Oh I will, gimme an L, gimme an O, gimme an S, gimme an E, gimme an R... what does that spell? LOSER!" Lily all but shouted, using her arms to create the shape of each letter.
"What... what the hell was that?" Leo wheezed, a loud laugh escaping his lips as his azure eyes lit up with amusement.
"What? Maya and Bella taught me some of their cheerleading moves in the hospital." Lily shrugged. "Now, c'mon loser, let's go on the rollercoaster."
"Yes ma'am" Leo saluted as he grabbed a hold of Lily's hand, pulling her towards the rollercoaster.
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"That was amazing!" Lily squealed as she clapped her hands together. They'd just came off the blue rollercoaster for the third time, Lily had enjoyed it so much that she begged Leo to go on again... and again. The latter couldn't refuse his sisters wishes, with the sheer amount happiness that shone in her eyes— he would ride the rollercoaster a thousand times just to see that.
"It was tesoro, how about a hot dog and some cotton candy now? I don't know about you but I'm starving." Leo whined, his stomach now making whale noises due to his hunger.
"Sure, I've never had a hot dog."
"You've never had a hot dog?" Leo asked wide eyed.
"Nope, it's just like a sausage is it not?"
"Similar, but so much better. C'mon I want to see your face when you try it, you'll love it!"
As they reached the food truck, many different items caught Lily's eye.
"What are all these things?" She asked her twin.
"That one." Leo pointed towards a large batter covered sausage on a stick. "Is a corn dog. Then you've got a hot dog and that's a chilli cheese dog. Want to try all three? We can share." He asked.
"Yes please!"
Leo placed their order with the truck worker, making sure to order the three items plus two slushes and a bag of pink cotton candy before paying with his card. After receiving their food, they made their way towards an empty picnic table and took a seat opposite one another, as Leo placed all the food on the table before handing Lily her drink.
Lily's eyes lit up as Leo handed her the blue frozen drink, she'd never heard of a slushy. Leo watched his little sister in awe, the excitement in her gaze causing him to smile.
"Oh my gosh, this is amazing." She cheered before taking another large sip of the frozen drink. "I don't know what I prefer, this or a chocolate shake."
"Mine would be a chocolate shake, slushes are amazing but milkshakes are on another level."
"Mhm I'm not sure, I'll need to try a milkshake at the same time and then decide." Lily responded, causing Leo to laugh.
"You'd throw up if you had them at the same time."
"No I wouldn't."
"You would."
"Wouldn't."
"Fine then, let's bet on it?" Leo asked, a challenging look in his pale blue eyes.
"A bet?"
"Mhm a bet, if you can drink a full milkshake and a full slushy without throwing up, I'll do whatever you want for twenty four hours." Leo voiced confidently, she would throw up for sure.
"Deal!"
"You don't even know what I get if you lose."
"I don't care Leo, I'm going to win so I don't need to know."
"Mhm so arrogant." Leo laughed. "Now let's eat, they don't sell milkshakes here so we'll need to carry on with the bet another day."
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After the twins ate everything Leo had bought, they were now in what one could only describe as a food coma. Lily lay her head against the wooden picnic table as she began to sigh, her stomach felt on the verge of bursting.
"Leo I'm so full." She whined.
"Me too Lil, me too." Leo responded as he began to stand, collecting all their rubbish and placing it in the trash can beside them. "Let's go and I'll win you a teddy, that way we can walk off some of this food."
"Ugh, you'll need to carry me fratello."
"Do you want a piggy back?" Leo asked, staring at his sisters slumped body, her face covered with her curls as she slightly angled her head to look at him.
"Really? Aren't you to full to carry me."
"Shut up and hop on." Leo laughed as he crouched down beside the bench. Lily sluggishly lifted herself off of the wooden seat before climbing onto the place she was once sitting to give her the height she needed to reach her brothers back. He may be near kneeling but with Lily's four foot eleven height compared to Leo— who was around five foot nine, she couldn't reach without more help.
Leo placed his arms under his sisters thighs as they made their way towards the stalls, Lily's eyes lit up as she seen a giant red stuffed animal which she acknowledged to be mushu from Mulan.
"LEO" she all but gasped, causing Leo to jump in fright as he tightened his hold on his sisters legs.
"What, what's wrong?" He asked, his voice filled with panic as he searched for any danger.
"ITS MUSHU!" Lily shouted, pointing to the stuffed animal.
"Jesus Lil! You nearly gave me a heart attack." He exclaimed as he set his twin down carefully. "I'm guessing you want me to win that one?"
"Please please please please please!"
"Okay okay, I'll get him." He laughed, as he approached the counter. The worker handed Leo three white balls before pointing towards the tins ahead.
"How many do I need to hit to win mushu?" He asked the worker, who's name tag read— Colin. Colin scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, clearly not knowing who mushu was.
"Who?" Colin asked.
"The red lizard looking thing."
"He's a dragon Leo." Lily stated sternly, narrowing her eyes at him.
"Sorry, how many do I need to hit to win the red dragon."
"All six of them kid."
Leo threw the first ball, only hitting one of the six tins. He sighed feeling somewhat nervous, he really wanted to win the lizard... dragon. The second ball managed to hit two of the tins, leaving only three. Leo glanced at the last ball, crossing his fingers as he threw it towards the last three tins. Sadly, luck was not on his side as he missed all three.
"I'll try again." He mumbled to Lily, who stared at him with hopeful eyes— she really wanted a stuffed mushu.
She'd never had a stuffed animal.
Four tries later and Leo was onto the last of the change in his wallet. He picked up the three white balls— praying that he could win the stuffed mushu for his sister.
The first ball knocked down three tins.
The second knocked down two.
Leo felt his palms sweat, he was so close. One ball, one tin— he could do it. He threw the ball and closed his eyes, silently chanting in his head.
Please win, please win.
"LEO, LEO, YOU DID IT!" He heard Lily scream as her tiny body engulfed him in a warm hug.
"I did?" Leo mumbled, turning his gaze to the fallen tins. "I DID IT." He cheered as he began spinning Lily around. He turned to Colin, who stared at the kids in awe before handing Leo the stuffed mushu.
"Well done kid."
"Thank you!" Leo responded, turning his gaze from Colin to stare at his sisters joy filled face. He handed mushu over to her, she gently grabbed the stuffed dragon, cuddling not to her chest before turning to her brother.
"Thank you so much Leo." She murmured as she pulled her brother into another hug.
"You're welcome bambina, how about we go to the Ferris wheel now?" He asked, as he took hold of his sisters free hand.
Lily nodded as the made their way towards the brightly lit Ferris wheel. After a five minute walk, they reached the entry gate. Leo handed his last two tickets over to the older lady behind the stand who greeted them with a gentle smile.
"Just in time kids, this is the last ride before we close for the night." The older worker stated as she led them to their seats.
"Last ride, what time is it?" Leo asked.
"Almost midnight hun." She responded before closing the door to go and start the ride.
"Midnight?" Lily voiced as she turned to Leo, who looked at her wide eyed.
"Shit, we've been gone for hours! How have they not found us yet." Leo felt stressed, if the funfair was closing he didn't know where else to go.
"Let's not worry right now Le, just enjoy the ride." Lily mumbled as she lay her head on her twins shoulder.
"Yeah, let's."
The two youngest Lombardi's sat in a comfortable silence, wrapped in each others arms as they stared out at the beautiful sky line of New York City. Each of them silently happy that they'd lost their brothers for a few hours, they now felt closer than ever.
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End of chapter forty four ✨
Hope you guys didn't mind the third person POV! I wanted you to see everything from each of their perspectives.
Did you enjoy Leo and Lily's bonding time?
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