Chapter L. And The Rest Is Confetti.

Most of the time when people think of love, they wish for eternity.

But not Pedri.

He doesn't need eternity if it doesn't has Vivienne in it. For him, eternity isn't some immense far-fetched idea that cannot be understood on the basis of human studies. Instead, for Pedri, eternity is laying on this uncomfortable creaky bed with Vivienne fast asleep in his arms in this little room that suspiciously resembles a village bathhouse, grimy and with algae crawling up on the walls. That's all that eternity is for him.

He thinks that it isn't eternity that is necessary for love but perhaps it's love that is necessary for the existence of someone's idea of eternity.

His gaze drops down towards Vivienne who is snuggled up in his arms and subconsciously, he smiles.

Her head is right on top of his chest, above his heart. Her blonde hair is splayed on the bed like an angel's halo. Her eyes are closed and her lips are slightly parted with slow and peaceful breaths leaving from between them. She looks calm and at peace and that is all Pedri can ask for. That is all he wishes for.

There’s something almost fragile about the way she sleeps, as if the world outside has no right to reach her here.

And maybe it doesn’t.

The sunlight filters through the window and hits her face at an angle that makes her skin glow golden.

Pedri is sure that he hasn't seen such a divine sight anywhere else. Not under stadium lights, not in the roar of a crowd chanting his name, not in the hundreds of lenses and flashes that have captured him in frozen frames of glory. None of that ever looked like this. This soft and ordinary miracle of her existing beside him is somehow worth more than that.

He wants to tell her. But he doesn’t.
Instead, he whispers something quieter, something meant only for her and the sun between them.

"I love you."

The words are barely a breath as he presses his lips against the crown of her head. He feels her stir, not awake but aware, her fingers unconsciously tightening around his waist. His smile trembles, private, a secret only the walls will ever hold.

He speaks up again in a quiet, soft mumble as he feels his own eyelids getting heavier, "I love you but I can't tell you that right now... I hope the sun on your face does it for me."

He lets the silence fill the room again. It hums faintly. Its the kind of silence that has texture, weight and memory. Somewhere outside, a gull cries. Somewhere further away, the sea breathes against the shore. But inside this small room, time folds in on itself.

He thinks about how there are infinite versions of the confession, I love you and how they're different for everyone.

Pedri has learned this in quiet, gradual ways through Vivienne’s gestures, through the simplicity of shared mornings, through all the domestic and unglamorous things that fill the spaces between chaos.

Love, he realizes, doesn’t announce itself. It seeps in quietly.

Sometimes it sounds like: "Do you want me to make you tea?" (I love you)

It's in the way, Vivienne always insists she makes tea wrong. Too bitter, too strong but he drinks it anyway, tells her it’s perfect, because it is. It tastes like her sleepless nights and her soft hums when she stirs in bed. It tastes like their exile.

"Do you prefer oranges or tangerines?" (I love you)

He asks her this at the market three days after they arrived here, in a coastal town so small it feels like it could slip off the map. Vivienne wears a scarf and sunglasses, laughing when he compares her to a bad spy. She chooses tangerines, says they’re less sour. He buys both. Later, she eats the oranges anyway.

"The moon looks beautiful tonight." (I love you.)

He says this the evening when they had reconciled. It’s quiet except for the cicadas and the sea. The moon glows low and golden and her hand finds his without hesitation. He doesn’t remember who reaches first. (It doesn’t matter.) The moment holds.

"Did you eat?" (I love you.)
"Not yet. I was waiting for you." (I love you too.)

The world has always seen them as extravagant. Her, the popstar draped in glitter and defiance; him, the footballer blessed with impossible precision. But here, in this small life they’ve borrowed, extravagance is replaced by tenderness. He memorizes the way she likes her coffee, black but with sugar. She memorizes the way he stirs his spoon twice, never three times.

They’ve become fluent in the language of small things.

"I noticed you like this brand of bread so I brought it." (I love you.)

"Do you want me to give you a shoulder massage?" (I love you.)

"I memorised your favourite pizza toppings." (I love you.)

"Do you want to watch a movie with me?" (I love you.)

"If you need anything, tell me." (I love you.)

"Your favourite pie is pumpkin, right?" (I love you.)

"Are you okay?" (I love you.)

"Everything will be alright, I'm here with you." (I love you. I love you. I love you.)

There are also a hundred ways they say I love you in hiding.

She brushes sand off his arm after they come back from the beach. (I love you.) He hangs her towel out to dry in the sun. (I love you.) She cuts her hair with kitchen scissors, uneven, laughing as he gasps. (I love you.) He pretends to be offended, says she looks like a misbehaved angel. (I love you.) They share a glass of wine by the window and pass it between them. (I love you.)

Love is a weird thing with so many weird expressions but when done right with the right person, it can be something extraordinarily beautiful.

Love takes the shape of burnt toast and sunburnt noses. Of long naps and wet hair and mismatched socks. Of her voice reading him poetry in French, not translating it, just letting the sound fill the room. Of him sketching her name in the sand even though the tide will wash it away in minutes.

Love isn't something one can figure out... just like life. The more you try, the more bewildered you will be. Just live and just let love happen at its own pace. There's no need to force it. It may seem like a childish and immature thing but let love take its course just like you sometimes let life takes it course. Sometimes, the road will be hard and uneven and you'll want to quit but in the end, if you put in effort it'll be worth it. That's how love is. That's how life is.

Love is like life.

For some, it's a fleeting feeling. For others, it lingers behind like the scent of smoke.

As for Vivienne Leclerc and Pedri González, love is letting go of the past.

And as they both lay there in each other's arms with content smiles on their lips and a warm feeling in their chests, the past gets faded and faded until the scars of it remain no more; And outside it is summer ━ a warm, beautiful summer.

She loves him completely and he loves her the same.

That's all. The rest is confetti.

SUZUMI SPEAKS,
Guys... I love you all so much like each and everyone of you who read this book I love you. Each comment, each vote meant so much to me and this fic and every single reader is gonna have a special place in my heart ❤️🫂 You guys are honestly the best. Your comments made my day and even helped me through a writing drought.

With that, I have come to inform you that unfortunately this will be the end of Vivienne and Pedri's story. I'm sorry to kind of like rush it at the end but honestly, I had lost all motivation for the fic a few months ago when I started slagging on updates. And instead of discontinuing or leaving it unfinished, I kinda forced myself to grind through and just finish this because I'm very well aware of the pain that follows when an author discontinues a fic 😭💔 I've been there before and I won't ever wish that even on my worst enemy.

(Also like originally I had planned about 54 chapters for this fic so cutting it down to 50 isn't even that bad like I just skipped through the family and friends reaction to Pedrienne getting back together and the teasing from Barca boys and the Leclerc brothers + Mijoo threatening Pedri lol)

Alas, after 50 whole chapters and almost an year we have finally reached the end of this fic. This was truly an experience for me to write and share this with everyone.

Bed Chem will always hold a special place in my heart as it introduced me to a lot of my friends and let me interact with this wonderful community 🫶🫶🫶

Who knows maybe I'll come back with some special bonus chapters for these (drop suggestions/requests of what you guys wanna see and if it fits the plot I'll be sure to write it out) but till then, goodbye <3 thank you so much for accompanying me on this wonderful journey.

P.S some shameless self promo [tucks hair coyly behind my ear] i'm a huge animanga and kpop stan and I have like an alice in borderland, tokyo revengers, weak hero, sakamoto days and a kpop soloist and other books on my profile that are still very much ongoing so if you miss me too much (i just know some of you want to shoot me) you can visit me there 👉👈🫦

With Love, Suzumi ( ˘ ³˘)♥