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10 PM, and most of the family has given up on staying awake.
It's funny, Bianca had silently predicted it would happen while she was sat next to Lando watching whatever Christmas movie they had stumbled upon and decided to watch.
Originally, everyone was there. Lando's parents, his brother and sister-in-law, his niece, and-of course-he and Bianca were there too. His niece had fallen asleep watching the film first, so Lando's brother went to put her to bed, then promptly said that he was tired so, he went to sleep too. After thirty minutes or so, Lando's sister-in-law called it quits, and went to bed as well. It was natural, really, with parenting being tiresome and all.
Bianca, Lando, and his parents ended up finishing the film at 9. They all agreed it was a solid 6/10, with some of the jokes just not landing and the acting being moderately okay. His mom eventually admitted her need for sleep, so they bid her goodnight with Lando's dad following her not-so-far behind.
So, there Bianca and Lando were once again, in the living room alone. This time though, they were sitting comfortably on the floor waiting for midnight to strike, with Bianca sat with her back resting on the actual seat part of the sofa, while Lando opted to sit by the coffee table a little bit away from her.
"It's just fun, really," he defends, sipping on his rare cup of coffee he's chosen to drink tonight. "Gives you something to look forward to on a holiday. Plus, someone needs to eat those cookies over there to keep up the Santa act." He points to a small plate of cookies and carrots near a table by the Christmas tree with his free hand, earning a scoff from Bianca.
"We could just eat them now..."
"Nope," Lando shakes his head. "Midnight."
Bianca rolls her eyes playfully as she flips through Netflix's awful catalog of movies. "Shadow & Bone?"
He sets down his coffee and shakes his head again, "I don't really like watching shows that got cancelled, because what if I like it but then I can't forward to future seasons?"
Bianca points at him with a nod. "Good point, babe."
Lando shoots her a smile, then turns his head to the TV once again as she starts flicking through more movie and show options.
The nickname fell from her lips way too easily, but Bianca has chosen to ignore it, because overthinking on Christmas is strictly forbidden.
"Ugh, screw this," she sets the remote on the floor next to her. "I don't know what to do to keep us occupied."
Lando snickers and opens his hands in front of his face. "Pass the remote?" And Bianca does with a swiftness, tossing the small remote and having it land perfectly in his palms. "When in doubt..." he clicks a few buttons on the remote and the YouTube icon pops up on the TV screen. "...YouTube."
Bianca agrees, "You're smart."
"Thank you, love," he chimes, as his 'Recommended' videos pop up.
Coincidentally, the first video up is a live-recording of one of her shows in Argentina during the At Her Worst tour.
As Lando skips the video, Bianca finds herself wandering over to the little space in her brain she calls 'MusicLand' (or 'Hell,' depending on her mood.)
She's been writing here and there throughout the trip, from diary entries to song lyrics. While Lando was asleep last night, she had reached for her phone and wrote a song in six minutes, then went back to sleep. It was only after she had really woke up this morning that she realized she doesn't really know how to relax anymore. Not until this trip, sort of.
Being in Glastonbury has given her privacy, with the Norris Family's home being so far from the main town and all. It was just her, Lando, his family, and nature, to be honest, and the more time she spends here, the more she realizes that her 'Plan B' of ending her career and living in a cabin in the woods might not be such a joke anymore. Additionally, having Lando around made everything even better, with him always making sure she's enjoying herself or feeling okay.
She's been wanting someone like Lando in her life for a while.
"Hey," Lando says suddenly, looking at her dead in the face. "You okay?"
Ha, speak of the devil.
"Yeah, just nice to be relaxing for once," she admits, readjusting herself to sit on top of the sofa rather than near it. She lays down, head on one of the pillows. "My brain is always going thirty-thousand miles an hour so, this is good for me."
Lando crawls-like, literally hands and knees on the ground crawls-towards her, then finds himself kneeling by the sofa near her face since there was no room for him to sit. "I noticed you've been writing a bit throughout the trip," he points out, changing positions to sit criss-cross on the floor. "And I thought I work myself too hard."
"I didn't know noticed me doing that," she sighs.
"It's hard to ignore you grabbing a napkin and scribbling on it in the middle of our lunch date in a cafe," he lightly jests. "I'm glad this trip is helping you calm down."
Bianca can only smile at the man. "Yeah, me too."
It's a bit weird, really. She doesn't remember when she and Lando started holding hands, yet there she was, her hand intertwined with his, resting on the small, free space on the sofa cushion.
She lets loose, the tension in her shoulders she's become more aware of as the days go by dropping as she lifts her hand holding onto Lando's, giving the top of his knuckles a kiss. It's a shame, in all honest, that the only light in the living room tonight was from the TV and the Christmas lights scattered around. Magical, sure, but, it made it difficult for Bianca to see Lando's face in its entirety.
"Isn't it crazy that it's been a month since this all started?"
Lando shifts from a soft gaze to a face of disbelief. "What? I thought it'd been two?"
Bianca giggles, feeling the tiredness catching up to her. "I thought so too, but I checked. We met on November 26th, and it's December 24th."
Lando's eyes widen at her words, and he licks his lips before he speaks. "That's unreal, isn't it? Feels like it's been longer."
"I feel like I've been dating you for a year."
"I feel like I've been dating you in general," he says in response, a huff of laughter coating his words. "You're a very good fake girlfriend."
Bianca sits up, not minding the mess her hair had become from her lying down on the couch. "You're a very good fake boyfriend too. I'm thoroughly impressed."
"What can I say? I'm quite the gentleman," Lando brags, taking a seat on the new free spot next to the woman. "Hope you've had a lot of experience with people like me though."
"What do you mean?"
"Gentlemen," he teases, pointing to his face with a grin.
Bianca snorts, rolling her eyes at the gesture. She catches a glimpse of the clock on the wall.
11 PM.
One hour until Christmas, and she's not home alone in her apartment, or getting wine-drunk with Sareena at some private bar. No. She's with Lando, and that already makes them feel more real than any other relationship she's ever had.
NOTES!
don't worry i'll go back to social media posts in a bit 🙏
xoxo, cas