Chapter Text
My (writer's) POV:
I was packing my own stuff into my luggage when I heard a loud thud and Bruce's voice from the other room.
"Ah, stupid rollerskate! Babe, can you help me get the water shoes down?" Dickinson asked me as I walked up to him.
"Of course. I'll bring a stool, so I can stand up on it." I said. I put them into the bag which was for our swimming stuff.
"When are we leaving?" he asked.
"I think leaving around 3AM or 4AM would be good." I answered and he nodded. We ate a light dinner and then I made some sandwiches for ourselves if we get hungry on the road. Of course, I bought plenty of other snacks to eat.
"How many sandwiches do you want?" I asked.
"I think three will be good."
After packing up everything, we went to sleep.
*at 4AM*
I woke up as the alarm on my phone went off loudly.
"Bruce, wake up." I said as I nudged his arm.
"Right now?" the singer asked jokingly after he got out of the post-sleep haze. He was so cute, his hair was so dishevelled.
"Come on, sleepyhead. Croatia is waiting for us!" I tried to get him out of the bed.
"Five more minutes..." he said as he pulled me closer, giving a sleepy kiss to my forehead.
After he finally got up, we went into the kitchen, drank a glass of water and a coffee, then we dressed up.
Bruce wore black cargo pants with a belt and a simple black shirt and black shoes. He also wore the necklace that he wears all the time, a golden one.
I wore a simple black tank top with a green short and for the footwear, I opted for one of my sandals.
We loaded the car, locked the house and we left. The sun was just starting to light the sky, the streets were empty. Everyone was asleep behind their windows.
"Well...we're off." Bruce said and I nodded.
During the first hour, we barely talked, the radio was playing quietly. The lights from sorroundings slipped across the windshield and I stared sleepily at the passing landscape. Bruce was driving, calmly, confidently. Every now and then, he glanced at me. Then, I reached for his hand near the centre console and we laced our fingers together.
About two and a half hours later, we stopped at a petrol station for the first time, to go to the toilet or to refuel the car, buy something. As we got out of the car, the morning air was already different from home. It started to warm up rather quickly. While my partner filled the car, I went inside to buy something more to eat.
"Coffee?" he asked as I was looking at the menu inside the building.
"I already had some..."
"That doesn't count."
"Why not?"
"The one at home doesn't count."
"And suddely, you're an expert?"
He just laughed and we bought two latte macchiatos for ourselves. Then we got back into the car.
Right after we crossed the border of Croatia we stopped to eat at one of the rest stops.
"Hmm... it is really good." Bruce complimented the sandwich I made after biting into one. We ate in silence, after that, we continued our journey. Soon, the landscape began to change.
"Should I take the wheel?" I asked Bruce when we stopped at another rest stop, because I could see it in his eyes that he started to get tired from all the driving.
"Uh, yeah, I have become quite exhausted." he said and we changed seats.
Soon, we reached the first toll plaza.
"Right, pay attention now."
"Okay."
"Just because last time-"
"Bruce!"
"Okay, okay...no need to bite my head off..." he said and smiled sheepishly at me.
"Sorry." I apologized.
"It's nothing." the singer said calmly.
We payed at the toll plaza and then we continued our journey.
Around some time in the afternoon, we finally left the motorway. The narrow road was lined with pine trees and oleanders, and houses on both sides. The sun occasionally peeked out from behind the clouds.
Finally, after a couple hours of driving, we arrived to Banjole, a smaller village, a ten-minute drive from the city of Pula. The sun was starting to set in the sky.
We parked the car in the parking lot which was in front of the apartman houses.
"We're here, love."
"Yeah...finally." I said with a smile on my face.
We went inside the hotel's building to check ourselves in. We got the apartman D004. We walked back to the car, enjoying the smell of the sea.
"Lets unload the car before-" Bruce started and looking up, we both saw that a few raindrops started falling from the sky.
"...it rains. Well, that was quick."
The rain suddenly started pouring like someone up there had opened s gigantic tap. We almost had no time to get into the car...the few drops quickly turned into an absolute downpour within seconds, it was so heavy that the car's windshields were having a hard time keeping up.
"Oh, for fuck's sake.." Bruce said and burst out laughing.
"We drove here for several hours and then this..." he said and stopped the car at the closest possible point to the apartment. Bruce turned off the engine.
Outside it was raining so hard that we could barelyvsee the part of the parking area only a few metres away.
"Right..sprint?" Bruce asked, smiling.
We both got out and we were soaked instantly. Bruce's t-shirt clung to his shoulders, my choes started quelching from all the water inside them. I held one of the bags over my head as we were running inside the apartment. Then, we get out again, grabbing our suitcases, we managed to get inside the apartment, completely drenched, laughing like idiots. Bruce slammed the door and we both just stood there, dripping, breathing heavily.
"...lovely weather." Bruce murmered and I burst out laughing.
"I mean...what am I supposed to say?" he asked, smiling.
"Nothing."
We just looked at eachother for a bit of a time, then he caught me around the waist.
"Come here."
"You're wet."
"So are you."
"I didn't order the rain." he added quickly and kissed the top of my head.
Once we properly looked around, all we could say was 'wow'. The apartment was much more spacious than we expected. The living room opened into the kitchen, with the pull-out sofa that could be convert into a king-size bed, the TV in front of it which was on top of a light blue colored drawer.
"Ahhh, it's soooo nice." I said. Bruce put down our suitcases.
"Yeah." he commented and we wandered into the bedroom, which had a king-sized bed.
"Oh." Dickinson said as he stood behind me.
"Well?"
"Either this one, or we could sleep on the couch which can be converted. Hmm?" I added.
"We could try both of it?"
"Yeah...we will decide later."
We decided to take a look at the bathroom and when we found out that there's two of them, it was just the icing on the cake.
"I am sure that we will have a very good time here." Bruce commented.
"I'm glad that you like it."
Our unpacking came to a halt because the rain outside suddenly became even heavier, so we both went over to the window. The rain covered the entire area like a thick curtain. I walked through the living room to the balcony door and looked through the glass. Our balcony faced the harbour and the sea so it was really pleasant to look at.
"Seriously?" Bruce asked as he stepped up behind me and is arms slowly wrapped around me.
"I'm sure it will be better tomorrow." I tried to cheer him up.
"I hope so." he sighed and rested his chin on my shoulder.
"And if it isn't?"
"Then we'll stay here all day."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"No."
I leaned back against him, relaxing. After a moment, Bruce spoke quietly.
"Coffe?"
I looked up at him.
"Now?"
"Yes."
"Okay." I shrugged my shoulders. Bruce kissed my cheek.
Later, the rain simply refused to stop. Sometimes it poured harder, sometimes it eased off a bit but the streams of water running down the window kept reminding us that the weather was still raging outside. With that, we ended up having dinner in the apartment, nothing special, just some pasta with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, also a little bit of basil. It was too late to anywhere and we were both quite tired from the long journey anyway.
"It's still raining." now, it was my turn to complain softly, as I checked at the window again.
"Yes."
"...it washed the whole day away."
"No-uh. Just the first evening." Dickinson stepped closer to me, wapping his arms around me. For a moment, we simply stood there like that.
"Shall we go to bed?" the singer eventually asked and I nodded.
"We will finish unpacking tomorrow."
"Of course."
Soon, only the bedside lamp was on in the bedroom. I slipped under the covers and Bruce turned off the light before getting into the bed beside me. The steady tapping of the rain against the window become shooting. Bruce turnd onto his side.
"Are you tired?"
"Very."
"Come here."
I moved closer and I rested my head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around me. One of his hands came up and rested on my back. I simply listened to his breathing, his arms tightened around me.
"Despite the rain, it's very nice here."
"Yes."
I finally closed my eyes and I felt Bruce relaxing more against me, his breathing became deeper. I slowly fell asleep too, following him into a dreamless sleep.
🌺tbc🌺