What Happens In Brazil

Chapter One: Shock To The System

Candice huffed a stressed sigh as she lounged out on the nearest seat by the window overlooking the tarmac of JFK airport. They were scheduled to take off at noon, heading to Brazil for the weekend for the Vampire Attraction convention. She had her bags packed, the itinerary was set, her outfits chosen. Everything was going according to plan, except for that delicious thorn in her side who was conveniently not answering his phone.

Candice really didn't like it when things weren't going as planned. It was a trait of hers she'd always been teased about, and she knew full well it was very much a similarity she shared with her counterpart, Caroline Forbes, er, Salvatore. She couldn't help it. If he didn't show up, she would have to take the ten hour flight without him, and for some strange reason that thought filled her with an abnormally large amount of disappointment that was surely driving her irritability full force.

She took another slow sip of her wine and looked down at her phone again, smiling at the picture of her daughter, Florence. She was looking up at the camera with big curious eyes, little chubby arms in the air, snuggled into warm, purple fleece. It hadn't even been a day yet and she already missed her. Just then a robotic, female voice called over the speaker's that they were now beginning to board first class. Goddammit, Paul.

Candice stood up slowly and began to make her way towards the gate, looking over her shoulder anxiously as she waited a beat. There was the sound of hurried footsteps and excitable movement. She knew who it was without even needing to lay eyes on him. "I'm here, I'm here." She looked up to see Paul rounding the corner. Breathlessly panting, bag casually slung across his shoulder, cap on backwards, ticket in his hand. As always he had this infuriating way of just looking effortlessly beautiful.

He looked at her and her heart nearly did a double take, and she couldn't put her finger on exactly why. They hadn't seen each other in nearly three months since they wrapped filming the finale. A few text messages had been exchanged and one or two phone calls where she had basically grilled him on what kinds of things he'd like to do in Brazil. He hadn't been much help for those, but she didn't expected him to be. Truthfully it had just been an excuse to hear his voice on the other line. That and she had been… well, okay, she had been a bit concerned. She had learned he had broken up with Phoebe after Christmas and worried that he wasn't holding up, especially once they were finished with work.

She found herself constantly wondering if he was taking care of himself, eating proper meals, if he was lonely, what he was doing on any particular evening. Part of her knew it wasn't her place to care, but he was her friend, and she just wanted him to be happy. At least that's what she kept telling herself. But then she learned a few weeks ago that him and Phoebe were working on patching up their relationship - again - and she had sort of stopped with the phone call's. Not after an awkward last call between them:

"So I was thinking that when we land, we should check in to the hotel and drop off our things. Then we can get settled, get changed, and I found this great bike rental place where we-"

"Sorry, just one sec." There was shuffling on the other side of the line, and she heard a rich, velvet accent in the background, followed by Paul's response. "It's just Candice. She's telling me about-" The rest she couldn't make out. A few seconds later he returned.

"Sorry Candice, can I call you back later?"

"Yeah, sure, don't even worry about it."

"Thanks."

After that he sent her a quick apology text and an explanation: "Phoebe and I are trying again."

Fast forward to a few weeks later and here he was, looking pretty much the way she had last seen him aside from the scruffy beard he was sporting. She had to admit she liked the look. It made him seem older; more mature. He was different, yet somehow still just the same old Paul as she always knew and loved.

"Wow, you made it." Candice teased, and he smiled and expelled a sigh of relief.
"Sorry, I got caught up at security. And then some fan's wanted photo's, and you know how I have a hard time saying no.."

She did. In particular to a certain someone in his life who's name started with a P.

"Well, you made it!" She repeated, and a bright smile emerged on her face, opening her arms up to give him a hug. "It's good to see you." He pulled her into his arms in the middle of the moving line and dipped his head near her neck, his nose brushing just beneath her ear where she was dead sure he could probably smell her perfume. She felt her body shiver as she felt the familiar warmth and safety of his presence wash through her like a soft breeze.

Pulling away to look at her, he smiled. "You too." They were shuffled forward and Paul put his hand against her back to urge her ahead first to the ticket booth where she then waited for him to be checked. Once through, they walked down the shuttle together side by side. She couldn't keep herself from grinning and casting him side-long smirks. Her blood heated when she realized he was doing the exact same.

"So Brazil, huh? You excited?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. I've been needing this vacation for awhile."

"Same."

More silence between them, but it didn't feel empty. By the time they reached the plane they busied themselves with storing their carry ons and getting seated. As always, he let her have the window seat and she couldn't help but smile at that.

"You know if you ever actually wanted the window, I'd give it to you."

"Nah, I'm good. I have all the view I need right here." She was sure he was just being his usual witty self, but the unintended meaning behind that statement hit them around the exact same time. "Um, you know what I mean." She didn't.

She watched as he peeled off his jacket and got comfortable, the musky amber scent of him suddenly surrounding her. Candice turned away and pulled out the latest book she'd been reading, fiddling with the bookmark. She caught his brows furrowing. "What, going to tune me out just like that?" He gestured with his hand for her to open up. "Tell me what I've missed. Fill me in on our itinerary." It didn't take long for him to convince her. Before long she was pulling out all the print outs and showing him the bookings, the address's. She would need his help to find some of these locations, and he took them in his lap to pore over them carefully with a studious expression, the tip of his tongue poking out in concentration.

"You know we're only here for four days, right?" He joked with a teasing chuckle.

"And two of them are already planned."

"I know, but I thought we should make the most of our time. I want to do more than just get a sun tan."

"Right, no, me too." He nodded in agreement then offered her a tender, assuring smile. "We'll try to do it all."

By the time they were finished talking about the trip and catching up, they had been in the air for five hours. She was beginning to feel herself drift off, a side effect from all the wine and air pressure. Paul had pulled out his mac book and was surfing the net, catching up on news and twitter. Sometimes he would nudge her to read something to her he thought was particularly fascinating or hilarious, to which she replied with a sleepy smile of acknowledgment. She finally fell asleep to the sound of him typing.

Candice woke without opening her eyes, the sound of the plane engine thudding through her aching temple. She must have developed a headache while she was passed out. She remembered then where she was and where she was going, an excited smile pulling at the corners of her lips. Rio, Brazil.

The sound of someone exhaling above made her freeze. That's when she remembered who she was with, and suddenly she had to question where her head was resting. Splitting her eyes open a bit, she took in her surroundings. The first class section was eerily quiet. Paul had stashed away his computer in his bag under the seat in front of him. She heard him breathe and she inhaled slowly. He was right there above her. She had fallen asleep - she realized - with her head on his shoulder. And he in return now had his cheek pressed against her hair. The close proximity made her catch a breath. Part of her wanted to stay like this because it felt only natural and right. But the responsible part of her knew she had to put an end to it, so she slowly extracted herself away from him, watching as he tilted his head the other way, mouth falling open. She couldn't help but smile to herself at the sight of him like that with his guard down. It was definitely a rare sight.

She pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead and leaned down to pull out the bottle of tylenol in her purse. With what remained of her wine, she washed it down, and stood up to make her way to the bathroom. That was when the floor trembled beneath her feet and the plane lurched in a sudden burst of turbulence. Candice felt herself losing grip of her footing, and before she knew it she was tumbling backwards - no, no, please god, no - straight into Paul's lap with a dizzying impact.

His eyes flew open as he startled awake in shock. "What the -?"

Her body jerked, trying to escape. But the awkward moment had already come to fruition as the plane did another funny lurch that had the side of the plane dip, causing a couple bags to slide towards the aisle. She felt his bicep instinctively close around her middle to keep her from falling and for a few moments of utter terror she was convinced she was going to die, eyelids clamped shut with her face pressed against his shirt. After a couple moments that felt like an eternity the plane righted itself again and the pilot's voice came on the intercom to apologize. Only the sound of the chuckle over her head made her finally open her eyes, turning to look at the smirk on his face.

"Are you… are you laughing at me?"

"Just a bit."

She smacked him, fighting to remove herself from his lap, but his arm only held her tighter to his chest. "Are you sure you can handle it?" He goaded her playfully. "What if we go through another big cloud? Maybe I should just carry you."

She could feel her face burning. "Paul, let me go!"

In that exact moment a flight attendant strolled by to check on the passenger's. Paul looked up at her with an innocent smile as the blonde continued to wiggle in his lap for her freedom. "We're fine. All good here." He quipped, and she chose that moment to wedge her fingers into his sides and place pressure. One of the perks of spending so much time with someone for eight years was you began to know them inside and out, including the places they were most ticklish.

"Nononono," he started to say, trying to stop her but then his chest heaved and he dissolved into fits of laughter as he yelled out, and she managed to free herself from his grip. Candice huffed and straightened her golden locks, turning to hide how flushed her cheeks were. She quickly hurried off to the bathroom and locked herself inside. Looking into the tiny mirror, she felt her body shaking. Either from the shock of the disturbance or what had just happened, she couldn't be sure, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know. Either way her veins were buzzing with adrenaline, and she needed to calm down.

It was just Paul. They always joked and exchanged banter. But that… that had felt….

She turned on the tap and spritzed her face with cool water and took a few deep breath's to ground herself. After a minute, she opened the door and returned down the aisle, avoiding his eyes when he stood to let her pass in to her seat.

"You okay?" He sounded different. More serious this time; more concerned.

"I'm fine."

He tilted his head to try to catch her eye. "You don't look fine."

"I just have a headache, and I want to be on solid ground." She didn't mean for her voice to sound quite so stiff.

She could tell he seemed slightly disappointed. Well, what had he been expecting?

"Okay, fair enough."

She felt for the seat belt and firmly snapped it into place around her waist, as if somehow this would save her. She could feel his eyes on her for a long beat from her peripheral vision, and then it was gone, turned down to his phone dejectedly. Candice rested her head against the back of the seat after fishing out her face mask to block out the light, and, well, him.

This was going to be a long weekend.