Sunsets and Love- Sizzy AU
When the smell of salt water hit her nose and the rays of the sun warmed her skin, Isabelle knew she was home. Home to where her friends, favorite shops, and Simon were. She'd been gone for the holidays to New York visiting her family. The only draw back from living in LA was that her family was on the other side of the country, but she had Simon. Simon with his chocolate, curly hair and warm smile that made her feel happy and content even in her lowest times.
Everyone thought she wasn't coming back till a week after today, so she was excited to surprise them. Isabelle and her two other friends, Holly and Teya, all shared an apartment together in downtown LA and right down the street from it was a cafe with the most delicious strawberry tarts ever created. If she was right they all would be there now, including Simon. Isabelle decided it'd probably be better if she put her bags in the apartment and then went to the cafe. Once she did that, she was off. The only reason she wasn't sprinting was because she was in heels, but she was still doing just above a jog, with a few people giving her strange stares. The smell of coffee and different pastries hit her as soon as she walked in the door, and over in the corner sat her friends, her family from the West Coast.
Isabelle saw them before they saw her, and this gave her an idea. She was good friends with the workers here, so she asked if she could barrow an apron and a few mugs. Holly liked tea with two lemons, Teya liked blonde roast coffee, and Simon just normal, black coffee. As she walked over to the corner she was filled with joy and excitement to see them all for the first time in almost three weeks.
"A hot tea with two lemons, a blonde roast, and a disgusting, bitter black coffee." Isabelle said a gag and then a small giggle escaping her lips at the end of her sentence.
"Listen, black coffee is comple-" Simon stopped talking as soon as he saw Isabelle with her big, dark eyes and radiant smile. Wait. Isabelle? "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?", he shouted and then he noticed they were in the middle of the cafe and decided to just hug her relentlessly. He was so excited to see his Izzy. She'd been gone for what felt like a millennium.
"I wanted to surprise you all. I caught an early flight back because the snow was supposed to be really bad next week. Did it work?"
"YES." They all said in unison, which caused weird looks from everyone and then laughing between the four.
"Let's get these to go because I'm sure you're exhausted." Holly said looking at Isabelle with concern, being the first to realize Isabelle had just come all the way from New York.
"Yes, but first thing we do when we get there is telling you all about everything that happened!" Isabelle said a big grin spreading across her face that made Simon want to tell her how beautiful she was again and again.
As they were all walking back Isabelle slipped her hand into Simon's warm one and he looked down at her and smiled, kissing the top of her head. She was happy being back with her friends and boyfriend. She couldn't wait for her family to come to LA this summer and meet them. She knew they would love Simon. They would have to because she loved him.
When they got into the apartment Isabelle began her story about how she almost missed her flight in Atlanta because she couldn't find anyone to show her which way to go until a lovely woman by the name of Sarah helped her. But after that her flying experience wasn't that bad. Once she got to New York she had to dig deep inside her memory to figure out which subway she needed to take to get to her family's house. When she finally got there she was greeted by her studious little brother Max, and her parents who were over joyed to see her. Alec was in the family room sitting on the floor with his husband Magnus, and their two sons Rafael and Max, or as the rest of them liked to call him, Blueberry.
Isabelle told them all about how she had tried to help her mom with cooking on Christmas day, but that had only resulted in a burnt casserole and a few burnt pans. They all knew Izzy couldn't cook very well, just barely she could make grilled cheese, so this was quite a thing to hear. Simon, especially, got a scary picture in his head of her trying to make a casserole. He had first hand experience in the field of kitchen disasters created by Isabelle.
Finally, she told them about her sad goodbye and how they were coming to LA for a few weeks during the summer to meet them all.
"So, you had a fun trip it sounds like?" Teya said, who had laughed for probably five minutes after hearing that Izzy had tried to help in the kitchen.
"Yes, but I missed the sun and the beach and especially you guys." Isabelle sighed.
"We can go to the beach and catch the sunset if you want? We don't have any plans for the evening." Holly shrugged, looking to everyone to see if they had a problem with it.
"Can we? It feels like forever since I've seen a sunset on the beach." Simon could see the excitement in her eyes and it caused a warm feeling to go through his chest.
"Grab a few blankets and let's run because it's already 6 o'clock now." Simon said and Isabelle jumped up and hugged all of them another huge smile spreading across her face again.
When they got to the beach they laid down the blankets and pillows and waited for the sun to set over the Pacific Ocean. Simon looked over at Isabelle and saw her black hair blowing in the wind like it was weightless. He grabbed hold of her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of it, not wanting to ever let go. He wanted to marry this girl. Grow old with her. He could see all that in her eyes as she stared out at the sea. She was beautiful, but that wasn't what he cared about most. She was passionate about everything she loved. She was gentle, but wasn't afraid of anything when it came to those she loved. Isabelle was the love of his life and nothing could change that now.
The orange, pink, and purples of the setting sun made Isabelle wish she could capture the image of it forever. She could just pull out her phone, but she didn't think it would capture the beauty of this. She looked over and saw Simon staring at her and it shocked her. He looked at her like she was that setting sun. Like she was the most beautiful thing in the world. She felt her cheeks start to get warm, but by then the sun was gone and the moon was starting to give off its pearly glow.
Before she realized it she was kissing him. Isabelle had missed him so much, even with the constant texting, phone calls, and Skype. Simon kissed her back and in that she knew he had missed her just as much as she had missed him. This kiss felt different from others. She could feel something more between them now. She pulled away and she found Simon's eyes. They were bright in the dark and she could see herself reflecting back in them.
They packed up their things, but Simon never let go of her hand, and she didn't want him to. His hand was warm and soft wrapped around hers and it felt like home. She loved him and that was all there was. He was hers and she was his and in that moment she knew she would never stop loving him.
On their way back to the apartment Isabelle fell asleep on Simon's lap, hands still clasped together, dreaming of him, the sunset, and everything else she loved. Isabelle was in love with how her life in LA had turned out. She'd found her two best friends, a nice little apartment, and Simon. She had found some of the most important things in her life here. She didn't ever want to leave again. Not for a year, not for three months, three weeks, or even a day. Isabelle wanted to stay right here with her hand in Simon's and her head on his lap.
