A/N:
Aloha!
I'm so on a roll with this story now, I know what i'm doing and the plan is in motion and I've finally gotten some motivation. 2 chapters in 2 days.
Thanks for the kind reviews on the previous chapter. Mucho appreciated.
I have actually been to London myself, i went last year to see a 3 Doors Down concert. I didn't really get to do much exploring because of Uni and work, leaving me with only 2 days in London, minus a night that I went to the concert.
I have been to some of the places I'll be writing about, but not all of them.
Though I did go to the trouble of actually mapping out all of the places I mention on a Google map I created. AND cross referenced with a tube map. So the stations and everything are correctly referenced. You could actually follow my directions, since they're all right.
You see the kind of research I do?
If you ever are planning on going to London, don't let my over exaggerations deter you, the tube really isn't that bad, once you get used to it. It's pretty easy to get around actually, the map itself just looks a hell a confusing.
Seriously, Google it if you don't believe me.
Anyway, rambles.
Please Read and Enjoy! and Review if you're lovely.
I woke up the next day, unsure of my exact location. I looked to my side and saw Aria sleeping peacefully. Well, wherever I was at least I had her.
After a few moments I got my bearings, and got out of bed to have a shower and wash all of yesterday off of me. After finding the bathroom and turning on the water, I reluctantly looked at myself in the mirror, jet-lag very apparent in my features. I hoped a shower and a good scrub down would fix that. I hoped. Sometimes hope wasn't enough though, was it?
I heaved myself into the shower and let the steam and heat consume me for a moment, wavering my focus enough that I didn't notice the entrance of someone in the bathroom until Aria ran her hands down my sides.
I turned to face her, smirking, before our lips collided. The kiss was wet, and desperate, she made no bones about the fact she very much wanted me then and there.
I guess jet-lag did different things to different people. It made me look like a zombie. It made Aria very, very horny. But as she slid her hand between my thighs, in that moment, I was in no position to complain.
-XXXX-
Hanna had impeccable timing on a normal day, but jet-lag seemed to be my friend again in this situation as she didn't walk in on Aria and I unannounced whilst we were in a compromising position. That made a change.
Emily came in shortly after Hanna had, arms full of maps and tourist type gadgets, explaining excitedly all the amazing things London had to offer. She didn't stop talking for a solid 10 minutes. She was never usually this chatty.
As a group we were completely off our games, London was apparently a parallel universe. Who knew?
After we all threw on some clothes and gathered ourselves, we made our way downstairs to get some breakfast.
Today was Saturday. Wait? Or was it Sunday? I couldn't remember. We got a newspaper with breakfast and I glimpsed at the front cover; 'Sunday'. Okay, today was Sunday, and we were leaving on Friday night, late. That was 6 full days in London. 6 days, and I was going to make it count. We were going to make it count.
"Okay guys, so the plan for today is: the London eye, lunch in the city and then Buckingham Palace: if anyone can make those guys with the hats laugh, it's Hanna." I said as we sat, eating a large spread of food, courtesy of Hanna. And of course, the hotel.
"Is that all? Come on guys! London Baby!" Hanna said excitedly.
"Alright, Tribbiani, calm down. I know it's not much but we just got here, I'm exhausted and I think we should do things that don't require much energy and still have a good time, go for a nice meal and then come back, get some rest and tomorrow be fresh as daisies." I suggested, trying to explain my reasoning.
"Are daisies even fresh? I mean really?" Aria asked and I looked at her bemused.
"O.K Spence, I guess you're right... For once…" Hanna admitted.
"For once?" I asked, raising a very curious and accusatory eyebrow.
"Yes. ONCE." Hanna said, raising the same eyebrow as me.
"Alright guys, that's enough, let's get going, before I go into labour with this food baby." Emily said laughing.
We thanked our waiter and grabbed our things, making our way out onto the street. Hanna may be annoying but she is correct. London Baby!
-XXXX-
"Okay, so we get Picadilly to Green Park and then interchange, getting the Jubilee to… Waterloo. And then we can walk to the Eye." I said nodding happily to myself for finally getting the hang of this tube map. I put my stupidity last night down to jet-lag, since the Picadilly line stopped right outside the hotel and I, for some reason, thought we needed to switch. A wasted £20 for the cab, but I wouldn't let tell the girls. I didn't feel like being beaten by Hanna after all. I looked up to find my friends staring at me with strange looks on their faces.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"You sound like something from the Matrix." Hanna said.
"Have you seen the Matrix?" I inquire.
"No." she said simply.
"Then how could you know what something from the Matrix sounds like?" she was frustrating me now.
"I don't, I'm just assuming." She said shrugging. I paused and stared at her.
"ANYWAY." I looked away and noticed the train had arrived. "Come on! Let's go."
We hopped on the train, and after changing trains a few moments later, we found ourselves at Waterloo station.
"Waaaaaaterlooooo…. Couldn't escape if I wanted TOOOOOOOO!" Hanna sang at the top of her lungs.
"Don't think it's the same one, Han." I said simply.
"A girl can dream, can't she?" Hanna laughed.
"You're dreaming about being in the same Waterloo that the war was in? I think this one may be slightly better. Now enough singing, let's go look at things from a slightly escalated height."
We made our way out of the station and towards the London Eye. It was a beautiful day out and luckily, we didn't really need the coats we had brought with us, after being warned that London was extremely cold. We arrived at the London Eye after a short walk by the Thames. The Eye was huge. We got in the relatively short queue and waited to get on.
"Wait, we have to get on WHILE IT'S STILL MOVING? Can't they stop it for, like, a sec?" Hanna asked, looking horrified. The others laughed.
"They don't stop it, it's constantly moving." I explained as she backed away slightly. "Come on, it's easy." I smiled.
"Have you been on it before?" she asked.
"No, but my parents have, they said it's fine. Come on, it'll be a piece of cake for Hanna Marin!" I said holding her hand.
"Okay, but if I die I want it to be known that it was your fault." She said sternly.
"Okay Hanna, whatever you say." I said laughing.
It was finally our turn and Hanna all but Ninja rolled into the pod/compartment. Standing up and looking very pleased with herself, she grinned widely at me and mimicked: "Piece of cake." She grinned wider "Hanna Marin; Londoner Extraordinaire."
"Alright, settle down, Mr. Bond." Aria joked.
We made our way to the sides to look out the window at the view of London before us. It was beautiful. I stood behind Aria, wrapping my arms around her waist and grabbing hold of the wooden bar attached to the window of the pod, effectively keeping her there for the duration with no chance of moving. Hanna and Emily moved around with the rest of our pods population, while Aria and I stood peacefully looking out the window from our original spot.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" she said eventually.
"Yeah. Not as beautiful as you, though." I whispered as I brushed our cheeks together and held her close. I felt her face move and knew there was a smile on her face.
"I love this. Being here. With the girls. And with you. Having this special thing as our own." She sighed, content.
"Me too…" I trailed, holding her even tighter to me.
"I love you." She murmured, barely audible, for my ears only.
"I love you too, Goose. You really have no idea how much." I kissed her cheek softly and we stared out onto the Thames, watching as it started glistening and sparkling in the Spring sunshine, as Big Ben winked at us from his place across the river.
"How long does this thing go on for?" Hanna asked a while later.
"About 45 minutes." I heard Emily respond.
"Really? That long? And how long have we been in here?" she asked, dejected. I saw her slouch on the wooden seat in the centre from the corner of my eye and rolled my eyes, laughing in Aria's ear quietly.
"About 20 minutes." Emily said happily.
"Hey Spence, where are we going for lunch?" she inquired.
"I don't know, I figure we'll get the train back toward Buckingham Palace and then find somewhere close by for something to eat?" I suggested.
"Sure sounds good." Hanna seemed happier now, knowing we would be out of this tiny white pod in the very near future with the promise of lunch at the end.
After we managed to get out of the pods and back on the safety of land with the utmost grace a short while later, we made our way to the station to get back across the river.
We walked for a short amount of time before we found a small café near the Palace and decided on some lunch, to refuel and rest before going to watch Hanna make a fool of herself in front of the guards outside the Palace.
"Hey you!" she yelled, standing a few feet away from the guard. He stared straight ahead.
"Hey! I have a joke for you." She said, moving closer to him. He was still staring ahead.
"What do Henry the VIII and Kermit the Frog have in common?" she asked smiling at him.
No response.
"No idea?"
No response.
"Shall I tell you?" she grinned widely.
No response.
"They have the same middle name."
We all tried to contain our giggling as we watched the guards face. He squinted and scrunched up his face slightly, blinking furiously as he tried to keep the smile from gracing his lips, it kind of looked like he was biting the inside of his gum to stop himself from losing it.
"Please hold your applause, I'm here all week." Hanna said, bowing in front of him and walking merrily over to us.
"Oh my god. I can't believe you did that." Emily said bursting into fits of laughter.
"It was fun." She smiled. "Have you guys gotten enough pictures yet? I'm knackered." She said, putting on a very think and very fake British accent.
"What was THAT?" I asked.
"What? I heard that lady in the café saying it." She defended.
"Oh god. Right, let's get back and get changed so we can go for dinner. You guys all set?"
"Ready." They chimed in unison.
-XXXX-
After we got back to the hotel, I decided to take a shower after all the sweating in the sweat boxes London calls trains, and the walking around. When I came out of the bathroom, I saw Aria sitting on an armrest talking on the hotel phone, saying her goodbyes and hanging up before looking at me.
"Who was that?" I asked.
"Hanna and Emily, they were wondering if we could just stay in the rooms and order room service, they're completely exhausted." She explained.
"I told Hanna she would be. Sure, that sounds perfect, just let me get dressed and then we can go get them."
I quickly threw on some clothes and Aria and I knocked on the door of Emily and Hanna's room, Emily answered a minute later and ushered us inside. We placed our orders and picked out a movie to watch.
A short while later we heard a knock on the door and Hanna opened it swiftly, allowing a very young, very attractive man inside the room to set out the trays of food for us. We thanked him and after Hanna giving him the once over, we sat down to chow down. That was a terrible joke.
"Woah, did you see that guy? What a fine piece of ass." Hanna said, munching on her 'chips'.
"He seemed very happy when he was looking straight down your top." Aria laughed.
"He can do what he wants. Phwoar he was SEXY."
After finishing our meals and leaving them outside the door, as per request of our delivery boy, we settled down to finish our movie. As the end credits rolled, I noticed Aria was asleep in my arms.
I motioned for Hanna to open the doors for me, and I picked my sleeping girlfriend up and held her securely in my arms as I walked into our room and lay her down on our bed, tucking her in for the night. I went back into the others' room and said my goodnights.
I brushed my teeth quickly and got into bed next to Aria. She rolled over and cuddled into my side, kissing my neck lightly before falling back asleep. I smiled and closed my eyes, willing myself to dream of something spectacular. But truth be told, nothing my imagination could possibly come up with, would compare to the reality of Aria.