Welcome to Gaia! ::

Destiny City was in the throes of one of its annual winters wild storms and yet despite it being a pretty sunny day the temperature still felt like it was next to freezing. On the plus side though, at least Latte’dah was getting quite a bit of business.

Hannah sat at one of the booths towards the front of the bookstore cafe with a warm porcelain mug held between both hands. She watched as groups of people hustled down the sidewalk, some ducking quickly into stores while others hurriedly got into their cars, all the while hoping the next person she saw bundled up in a scarf and puffy coat would be Tristan walking through the door.

His plane had arrived two days earlier and while she wanted to be there when he landed work had other plans. Long distance relationships were hard enough when time together was limited it required a fair amount of trust and commitment from both parties, a struggle they both went through while adjusting to college life and new workplace environments but with time they had found themselves a comfortable routine. Something Hannah had been incredibly reluctant to break which is why, when she saw her supervisor calling she truly considered not picking up.

For weeks she had looked forward to seeing him, each day bringing about that familiar flurry of excitement that brought that ever-widening smile to her face when she’d glance at her calendar. Which is why even now, two days after the fact, guilt still gnawed at her for not being there when Tristan stepped out of the terminal.

Hannah laughed and shook her head. “Quite the contrary, if anything I’m the rude one. But thank you.” She glanced over her shoulder to the ever-growing crowd of customers. Some faces she recognized as patrons from when she used to work here while others, with noses, tinted a bright red hue from being outside, she did not recognize.

Despite knowing Arianne had to get back to work Hannah couldn’t help but ask a quick question before she disappeared behind the counter again to take orders. “He didn’t happen to call you did he?” Her own phone had been quiet since this morning when they last spoke and while he could simply be stuck in traffic, she couldn’t help but worry that something had happened.

“You’re right. Anyway, I should let you get back. Thank you for the pastry!” Hannah smiled as Arianne wove her way between tables and disappeared behind the pastry counter and coffee machines. Times like this she really missed the days she worked beside them.

By herself again, Hannah turned her phone on again to check the time. Only then did she notice the sticky notes Arianne had left behind. Initially, she had thought that it had been left by mistake until noticing it wasn’t names or numbers written on the front page, rather a picture. A drawing in a style that looked vaguely familiar. Head canting to the side, she hummed thoughtfully to herself as she curiously picked it up.

While fanning through the pages a smile tugged the corner of her lips into a wide grin. The character seemed anxious, nervous even, as it paced from one side of the sticky note to the other. It was an adorable flip-book that had clearly taken a lot of time. However, when she reached the last page Hannah paused. Look behind you it said. But she just did a moment ago.

Her brows knitted together in confusion as she glanced over her shoulder to where Arianne was handing a customer their drink. Had this been given to her prematurely? No… Despite their playful banter, Hannah had a feeling this was planned and so, once more, Hannah scanned the faces of each person in the room. Only when she turned fully around did she finally spot Tristan wearing quite the disguise.

At that moment her body seemed to visibly relax as if the worry and guilt she had been feeling had melted away as she rose from her seat. The joy she felt made her heart hum as she wrapped her arms around Tristan’s shoulders, pulling him into a hug. “I missed you so much.” Hannah’s voice was but a whisper but she knew he had heard her just the same. “I’m glad you made it home safe.”

For a moment it seemed as if the people in the cafe had faded into the distance, idle chit chat faded into hushed murmurs, white noise no different than springtime rain. It had only been a few months since she had last visited him and yet it felt like she had waited an eternity to finally hold him in her arms again and share this simple kiss.

But like all moments, this too was not meant to last forever.

When finally she opened her eyes, Hannah rested her forehead against and looked up into eyes the color of warm amber. “Thank you for the flip-book. It was a very creative surprise.” She gave him one more brief kiss before reluctantly taking a step back.

“Do you want to sit down for a little bit, and share the pastry? Or do you want to take off now?” Their plans were pretty fluid, nothing really set in stone other than to relax and possibly watch a newly released movie or two at his house.

The smile he gave her made Hannah’s heart flutter. It was almost unfair how he could easily turn her back into that shy girl she once was when they first started dating.

“Not yet, no.” She replied “Just coffee.” The lifeblood of what kept her going as of late. With long shifts and short days, it was the only thing she could do to stay awake sometimes. “I thought maybe I could take you to a new restaurant that a patient referred to me. It’s a hole in the wall family owned restaurant downtown that, from the sounds of it, has really good omelets.”

“Or...” Hannah paused to reach across the table to hold on to his equally warm hand. Out of habit, she ran her thumb over the back of his knuckles. Even though they sat practically toe-to-toe Hannah couldn’t keep herself from reaching out to touch him, if only to reassure herself that Tristan was truly here least he disappear and this all be an elaborate dream.

“Or, if you’d prefer to wait a little bit I can make you some chicken fried rice for lunch.” With his love for eggs, she was pretty sure that both would happen at some point while he was visiting, it was all a matter of what Tristan was in the mood at the moment so she could figure out if, or when, to go to the grocery store and get the missing ingredients.

“We can do that.” Honestly, though, she was open to just about anything. If he had suggested a walk she would have happily asked for a to-go cup for her coffee, pulled on her gloves, wrapped a scarf around her neck and asked where to?

Slightly chilled weather was nothing when compared to the first time they met. Her struggling to make it home stuck outside caught out in a torrential downpour with winds strong enough her umbrella broke. Then he showed up, like a knight in shining armor, or an apron in his case, ushering her into this very cafe.

Hannah smiled at the fond memory as she moved the plate between them and offered Tristan one of the spare sets of silverware. “I don’t know if Arianne has ever told you but.” She paused, worried that her next admission would break the mood. Her gaze fell to rest on the apple pastry. “I come here often; especially when things are getting really stressful at work or school. We have a lot of memories here, so this kind of became my go-to place to decompress and just remember those times.” Just as he did, she too brought his hand to her lips and placed a soft kiss on the back of his fingers. “I really do miss you.”

They both did their best to be available by phone but there had been times recently where she had been tempted to buy a last minute ticket to go see him. However, fear of being too much of a distraction kept her rooted here in Destiny City until their next planned trip to see each other.

“Hey,” Hannah gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “We’ve made it this far. I just really wish I could have been there when you landed.”

“But…” Her eyes were alight with an almost secretive twinkle while a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “I might have a way to make it up to you.”

“I’ve been thinking.” She picked up a fork of her own, took a bite of the apple pastry and chewed thoughtfully before continuing. “Maybe you and I could maybe run away for a weekend and go on an actual vacation?”

“I know you’ve spent several hours in a plane already but I’ve been putting some money aside and was wondering what your thoughts would be about going up north to a ski resort.” A part of her wished that she had proposed the idea before he came all the way back to Destiny City if only to have saved him the trouble but this was something she really wanted to do for him.

Hannah shrugged her shoulders. “I was thinking, I know it’s really short notice but maybe, either for our anniversary or possibly the weekend before you have to head back for school? I don’t think there will be much snow come February but we might be able to find some cheap airline tickets.” If they were lucky, but that’s why she had been putting money aside; for the probability, they would need to pay full price especially since they were still in the throes of the holiday season.

“The other option would be to save the ski trip for sometime next year and instead plan for something after graduation instead.” She had already tentatively requested days off in June to either attend Tristan’s ceremony or help pack for his return trip home. “Either way, whichever one works out best I’ll take care of the tickets. This is something I really want to do for you- for us.”