𝟎𝟖𝟐. 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞

mine ──── taylor swift

warning: mature content

✩ 𝐣𝐣'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖨'𝖬 𝖳𝖠𝖪𝖨𝖭𝖦 𝖬𝖸 𝖦𝖨𝖱𝖫 𝖮𝖴𝖳 𝖮𝖭 𝖠 𝖱𝖤𝖠𝖫 𝖣𝖠𝖳𝖤 𝖳𝖮𝖭𝖨𝖦𝖧𝖳 𝖥𝖮𝖱 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖥𝖨𝖱𝖲𝖳 𝖳𝖨𝖬𝖤 𝖲𝖨𝖭𝖢𝖤 𝖶𝖤 𝖶𝖤𝖱𝖤 𝖦𝖨𝖵𝖤𝖭 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖬𝖮𝖭𝖤𝖸．I have two surprises for her tonight. No, they're not dirty even if it sounds like that, but I'm sure we'll have some fun later on once she finds out what I have planned.

As of right now, Brooke is in our bedroom getting ready, leaving me to lean against the wall and wait for her. I just keep staring at the door, wishing she'd just come out as I'm itching to leave. I'm desperate to see the look on her face once she realises what I've done. She's been in our room for a good hour, claiming that she's doing final touchups, whatever that means.

I was ready in five minutes, but every girl in this house told me that was typical for a guy, and that I should be patient and let Brooke take all the time she needs. No, she is taking forever, eating into our date time. She's lucky I love her, or I swear I'd drag her out of our bedroom.

I'll never get tired of saying our bedroom because, hello, I get to share an entire room with the girl I love. Well, truthfully, I get to share an entire house with her but our bedroom is different. It's our private space away from our nosey as fuck friends.

Seriously, since we've all started living together, they've been all up in our business. For what reason, I don't know, but it's pissing me off. If we didn't have other responsibilities, I'd lock us in our bedroom and never leave.

That was a little possessive, wasn't it? Sorry.

I'd say that our bedroom is the best compared to everybody else's not that it's a competition or anything. Although, if there was a competition, we'd win all thanks to her. Our bedroom is full of life, of love and joy. It's decorated with all my old furniture from my bedroom── new mattress though as the old one was lumpy and hard.

When I was busy doing the manual work on the bait shop, Brooke was in here making our room something worthy of being in. She started by painting the entire room blue, but it's not just any shade of blue. No, I found that it was a very similar colour, if not identical, to my eyes.

I think she's in love with me or something.

The four blue walls of our room aren't empty, of course. When you're in a relationship with an artist, you can bet your ass that there's going to be art not just all over the house, but all over the bedroom too.

The first piece of art she painted on our walls over the blue was the sun which, of course, was expected. She recreated an image she'd already sketched in her book, instead sizing it up to fix in the corner right above our bed. If you look closely, two figures are sketched into the sun which represents us.

I walked in when she was finishing off the painting of the sun, and I had the pleasure of seeing her stained by paint in a pair of shorts and my shirt. I leaned against the doorframe, silently ogling her as she spent weeks doing the same to me whenever I had to nail or screw something── no pun intended. Yeah, that's right, I could see right through her foolish, puppy-dog facade. She just wanted to watch me.

Once the painting of the sun had been completed, she moved on to draw the world map above our bed which now has four white pins stuck into it. According to her, the map is there to act as a reminder of all the locations we've been to, and when we finally get to travel, we can come back and pin the locations on the map.

Our only goal now is to have pins all over the freaking map.

So far, she's pinned each location we've been to── The Bahamas, Barbados, fuck knows where in South America, and Poguelandia. She didn't know exactly where the original Poguelandia was so she just drew a little island near Barbados, pinning and labelling it.

Watching her draw the world map so carefully and meticulously, her tongue slightly peeking out past her lips as she concentrated, was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen. I love how dedicated she is to each piece of art, even the ones she's simply just stencilled over. She takes great care in everything she does, and I'm just so in awe of her every second of everyday.

I still find it crazy that I get to wake up to her every single morning and go to sleep beside her every single night. How did I get that lucky?

Oh, I also can't forget the final significant piece of art in our bedroom── potentially my favourite. Decorative flowers and leaves were painted over the wall across from our bed before Brooke sketched out the Eiffel Tower and painted it onto the wall in an array of colours. It's my favourite piece because it acts as a representation of what happened in this room all those months ago when all we needed was one another.

Our friends don't understand why the Eiffel Tower is painted on our wall, thank God, but I understand perfectly. I think if any of our friends ever found out, they'd be mortified── her brother especially.

Speaking of her brother, he's been irritating the fuck out of me for the past few months. Don't get me wrong, I love living with the guy. I mean, he's my best friend, of course I love living with him, but he needs to get off my back about his sister. Brooke and I have been together for nearly a year now, but he's still not wrapped his tiny mind around the idea of us.

For one, he sends me death glares anytime I place any kind of hand on my girlfriend. I never knew him to be the prude type, not when he and Sarah go at it excessively behind closed doors, but with Brooke and me, he can't stand to know that we have our moments too.

Seriously, the first time Brooke and I wanted privacy in our bedroom, John B nearly killed me, I swear to God.

As you know, this house is full of couples who obviously like their privacy, so to avoid interrupting one another, we now have this seashell that we hang on the door which acts as a "Do Not Disturb" sign. Basically, it means we're having sex, don't fucking come in.

Now, unlike every other couple in the house, I didn't even get a chance to place the seashell on the door before I had my arm pulled back so hard, I thought John B had snapped it. If Brooke hadn't intervened, I think he absolutely would've killed me. Since then, Brooke and I have been so painfully careful that it reminds me of all those months we spent sneaking around. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but she's my girlfriend now, I should be allowed to state that fact── loudly.

Seriously, since Big John died in South America, John B has gone from an overprotective ass of a brother to an overprotective ass of father. I get that he loves Brooke, that he sees her as his baby sister despite them being two minutes apart, but he's gotta know that I'd never do anything to hurt her, not in any lifetime.

He's also got to come to terms with the fact that we are very much together and have no plans to ever split up. We've officially been together for nearly a year, and he still can't accept the fact fully. Best friend or not, he's got issues, I swear.

"What are you doing?" Ah, speak of the devil.

"Waiting for Brooke." I've been staring at the door for what feels like years, my hands pushed into my pockets. I'm bored, missing her every second she spends behind that door.

"Oh, the date is tonight." He comes to lean against the wall beside me, hand squeezing my shoulder. "Have her home by ten, alright?"

Do you see what I mean about the whole overprotective father/brother thing?

"John B, it's nine o'clock." I say that so he knows that I won't be returning to this house in an hour. No, what I have planned is taking all night, but I ain't about to tell her freaking brother that.

He just shrugs, thinking he has dictatorship in our date. "So?"

"Not to argue with you or anything but we won't be coming home." I know I hadn't planned on blurting that out but I couldn't help myself, not when it's so funny to wind up my best friend. "Don't wait up for us, alright?"

He's got that murderous look in his eye again. "You better be joking."

I shake my head, glancing at him because the door is beginning to taunt me, I swear. "Nope."

"JJ, I swear to──"

"Hey!" I turn my head to a half-asleep Emory. One of the first things I found out about her was that she normally goes to bed around nine o'clock which is... weird, right? Her lidded eyes scan me up and down. "You look hot."

I look to what I'm wearing, knowing I can't disagree with her. I do look good── hot, if you will. I went all out as this date is important. I dipped into the money with Pope's permission and splashed the cash on a suit. Well, I say suit, but I just have the pants, shirt and tie while my shoes and leather jacket are shit I already own.

I flash Emory a smile, met with her usual scowl. "Thanks, Emmy." Brooke and I take a lot of pleasure in calling her a nickname that she hates, but this all started because she began to call Brooke by the nickname only John B calls her, so it's her own fault.

Emory and I have become friends quickly, all that previous disapproval and hostility having gone the moment we were tasked to work together on this house we stand in right now. For somebody who grew up with money and status until her family lost it, she's handy and extremely practical. I would even go as far as saying that she was more of a help to me than my supposed best friend who I know is still glaring at me.

Emory's one of us, so I'd consider her a friend── a good one. Don't know if she'd say the same as she doesn't give us anything but scowls all day, but I think she's warmed up to me and to the others. All I know is that she definitely likes Kiara the most, but that's not exactly surprising.

Brooke and I have placed bets on when we think they'll finally become an item.

"Hot date, huh?" She slaps her hand on my arm, yawning. "Make sure you wear protection."

"Okay, what the fuck?"

I forgot John B was here, I won't lie.

"Oh, don't be such a prude, JB." She stretches her arms out in front of her, looking well and truly exhausted, and I can't understand how. "Besides, I'm helping you out, man. You don't wanna be an uncle, not to his kids, so he's gotta wrap it up before he taps it."

Emory doesn't have a filter which is something else I learnt very early on. She loves to talk, letting her mouth move without her mind considering what she's saying. "You did not just say that." I try to stop the laugh that climbs up my throat, but around Emory and her awfully forward comments, it's hard not to react.

John B jabs a finger in my direction. "There will be no tapping or wrapping, alright?" He practically recoils at the thought of me touching his sister.

"Oh, you're so dramatic," Emory scoffs, her socked feet sliding against the wooden floor as she steps forward. "Like you and Sarah can talk with all the fuc──"

"Don't finish that sentence."

I snap my head to the door that is no longer closed, finding a beauty of a human being to be standing in its place. Brown eyes meet my blue ones for a quarter of a second before my eyes venture over her breathtaking presence.

I recognise the dress the moment my eyes grace over the length of her body. Red drapes her body, painting her a colour I always knew I loved to see on her, I just never knew how much until now. Thin straps hold up the velvet-like material, and I find that I'll easily be able to pull those down at the end of the night.

The tight material cascades down to mid-thigh, one leg more uncovered than the other due to slit up one side. Bracelets adorn her wrists── the one I made for her when we were ten being the one that stands out the most. I also notice that, like everyday, she wears the golden ring that belonged to her mother. Although, instead of it being on her ring finger, it's now on her index finger, but that's fine as I one day plan to have that ring finger covered.

Yeah, fuck you, John B, I'll be your brother-in-law one day, trust that.

I drag my eyes down her legs until I find that her feet are covered by her battered Converses. I huff out a laugh, liking that she's got a comfortable element to her outfit. The Converses suit the dress as ridiculous as it may seem.

My laugh is replaced by a gentle smile as I lift my head, staring at her delicate face. Pink cheeks, red tinted lips, long eyelashes. Her wavy hair frames her face and travels down the length of her back.

She's astonishing, out-of-this-world beautiful. I want nothing more than to kiss her, trace my mouth across her cheekbone, glide my mouth down to her neck where her pulse beats wildly because of how I'm watching her.

This girl is mine. How the fuck did that happen? How did I get this lucky?

A soft, precious smile touches Brooke's lips. "Hi."

I'm kissing those lips senseless the moment we're out of this house and away from the eyes of her brother and Emory.

"Hey, Sunshine."

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☀︎ 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐥𝐲𝐧'𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐯

𝖩𝖩 𝖧𝖠𝖲 𝖠 𝖲𝖴𝖱𝖯𝖱𝖨𝖲𝖤 𝖥𝖮𝖱 𝖬𝖤．I know that because the second we stepped out of the house, not only did he kiss me senseless, he placed a blindfold over my eyes. Thankfully, I managed to get catch a glimpse of him before my sight was taken.

He's handsome, unbelievably so. I mean, I always knew that he was as I get the pleasure of seeing him everyday, but dressed in the way that he is right now, he's something else. If it were possible, my eyes would bulge out in the shape of hearts at just how in awe I am of him and his simple existence and beauty.

I wish I could stare at him right now, let my eyes really wander over the boy I get to call mine, but I'm blindfolded and have been for the entire duration of this tantalising slow journey.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited as to where he's taking me as he claims he's got two surprises for me tonight. Going on a date with him is enough for me, he doesn't need to offer me any kind of surprise, but he's apparently pulled out all the stops for this date, not that I'm shocked. He's always done unfailingly generous things for me.

Tonight is not only a date, it's a celebration for all that we've accomplished over the past few months with getting Poguelandia 2.0 up and running. Yesterday we had our first customer, and it was the most rewarding experience ever, so it's only fair that we celebrate that first dollar we received yesterday morning.

After all we've gone through, I think it's safe to say that we deserve a break.

Warmth covers my thigh, startling me. I feel his hand squeeze my thigh, reassuring me that he's not driving me out here just to kill me, not that I'd blame him after I kicked him in the groin this morning whilst I was asleep. Yeah, bet he didn't think to mention that. His mind is probably suppressing the memory. Bless.

"We're almost there, Sunny."

My hand drops, covering his. "You're really not planning on killing me, are you?" I need absolute reassurance that he hasn't considered murdering me for what happened this morning, not that I was conscious for it. But still, I hurt him.

He laughs, that sound a favourite of mine. "No. I'm not killing you. I told you I wasn't mad."

"I kicked you really hard. You said you wouldn't be able to have kids with how hard I kicked you." Okay, so he was probably over exaggerating── as men do── but he did sound like he was on death's door with how much he was bitching and moaning over the force at which I had kicked him. Honestly, it was kind of scary.

"Sunny, I'm fine." His fingers dig into the skin of my leg again. "Don't worry."

"It still works?"

"Yes, and I'll prove it to you tonight."

I gasp, my cheeks heating on their own accord. "You put out on a first date?"

I know he's grinning at me, I can hear it in the ways he speaks. "This is my first ever date, and it's with you, so yeah, I definitely do."

I like that I'm his first date, that he's mine. I'm not surprised given that he's never actually had a girlfriend, he's just had... hookups. Whatever. They aren't relevant, not when I succeeded in being the one who gets him like this.

I shake my head, my face still an embarrassing shade of red. "Well, who says I put out on a first date?"

"Your face says." I should've known my stupid face would give me away as it often does when I'm around him. "It's okay. After what you see what I've got planned, you'll absolutely want me." With a final squeeze of my thigh, he pulls his hand back to likely take the wheel.

I scoff, turning my head, knowing I'm looking somewhere in his direction. "Cocky, aren't you?"

"Oh, always, Sunshine."

While I'm excited to see what he has planned for us, I'm not the biggest fan of surprises. Personally, I like to know what I'm getting myself into before it happens. It's one of the reasons I'd prefer to travel to the future over the past so the surprise element is removed.

I trust JJ and his cockiness which makes this whole surprise thing a little more fun. Whatever he has planned, whether it's big or small, I know I'll love it and will likely end this date in whatever position he wants. Okay, maybe I'll put up some fight if I'm able to. It depends what JJ has in store for me.

Minutes later, the van is rolling to a stop and I hear JJ push open his door, leaving me in silence for a moment before he comes to yank open my door. I'm immediately engulfed by the light breeze in the air and by JJ's safe embrace as he takes my hand to help me out of the van.

He shuts the passenger door once I'm in front of him, and with one hand pressed to the small of my back and the other holding mine, he guides us forward. "Grass," I whisper, knowing I'm walking on grass not concrete from the way my shoes sink ever so slightly into the ground below.

"What?"

"We're on grass," I say, speaking clearer.

"Well, aren't you smart, Sunshine?" His voice is right in my ear, sending an intense spark right down my spine, warming me in a way I never thought possible. "Yes, we're on grass."

"Do I get something for that?"

"Oh, yeah." He pinches my arm, jolting me so far forward that I nearly slip along the mud. "I'll just add it to the surprises I already have for you."

"Sarcastic you ain't cute, babe."

"I thought every me was cute." I can hear the literal pout in his voice, I swear to God.

I remain silent, allowing him to guide me forward and easily. I tighten my hand around his every time I feel my foot slip or sink further into the mud below. The steady hand on my back remains still, continuing to push me forward as I brave through the treacherous terrain. I make it sound worse than it is, but in actuality, it's not that bad, I'm just being dramatic.

While I trust JJ wholeheartedly, I still have some fear that he could still take his revenge for this morning if he really wanted to. I wouldn't blame him. I kicked him in the junk, and that's about as bad as it gets for men.

Just as I'm about to take another step, I'm pulled flush against JJ, my back against his front. "What are you──"

His head dips, lips grazing the shell of my ear. "I'm gonna take your blindfold off now, okay?"

My heart rate picks up as I suddenly become aware of the fact that I'm likely going to be faced by the first surprise, and I'm not sure if I'm ready. I haven't got a freaking clue what he's got before us. Not a single clue. I'm buzzing with excitement, don't get me wrong, but standing here with the blindfold on is safe.

Then again, I hate surprises, so who am I kidding? I need to know what's he's planned.

I nod slowly. "Okay."

With a simple tug on the back of the blindfold, it falls away and my vision comes back to me as I blink rapidly.

I find that I'm standing in front of a tree that is very, very familiar to me. Not only is it the name that holds my brother's name, it's also the tree JJ and I used to climb whenever there was a storm and we wanted to escape.

I blink again, eyes honing in on wooden ladders which can only mean one thing.

They lead to something.

What they lead to is obvious, but I don't dare say it out loud until I know it's there, staring me in the face. I drag my eyes up the length of the tree, heart hammering in my chest as my eyes focus in on a dozen twinkling lights that hang from a house that's tucked into the spot in the tree where JJ and I used to sit every time a storm hit the island.

Tears threaten to escape as I continue to blink, really believing that I'm in some kind of fairytale and that this is all just a dream. The more I blink, the more it stands out to me, and the more obvious the surprise becomes.

"You built me a treehouse."

"You know, I think we should invest in a tree house," is what I had said all those moons ago when our story first began. Since I was a little girl, I had dreamed of having a treehouse as I longed for a home away from home. With the Chateau gone, I've sought comfort in a new home, but now I'm staring at the home away from home that I wanted for so long.

"I'll build you one," is what JJ had told me, saying the second best words I'd ever heard him say── I love you taking the cake.

"Will you really build me a treehouse?" I never thought he'd make my dream come true, not when it's such a big, stupid thing.

"I'll build you whatever you want, Sunshine."

Little did I know, those words would become reality as I'm staring at something JJ built with his bare hands just for me.

"You built me a treehouse," I repeat, voice hoarse as emotion swells at the base of my throat. He, the boy who promised he'd build me whatever I wanted, is standing behind me as I stare up at the one thing I've longed for since I was a little girl── a home away from home.

It's beautiful, unlike anything my mind could've concocted. It looks cozy up there, nestled among the sturdy branches of the oak tree that holds John B's name. It makes me wonder how cozy the inside is, and if JJ went as far as decorating.

Painted a delicate yet vibrant shade of yellow, it matches not only the colour of the sunshine, but of the yellowing leaves that dot the tree. Dozens of fairy lights hang from the wood-panelled roof, giving it a warm atmosphere in the darkness.

I never, not in this lifetime, ever thought I'd be staring at a treehouse that's mine. I never imagined that silly dream I had as a child would come true, but I should've known that being with JJ would result in the most generous of surprises. Seriously, my mind could've never imagined a treehouse like this. How he was able to craft such a delicate piece of art, and transform it into a home nestled between the branches of my favourite tree, is mind blowing to me.

I turn my head away from the beauty that is my treehouse, and I look to the boy who brought this overwhelming feeling of joy to me.

I love the boy who made me this. I love the boy who, not only helped in building our house and our shop, but also went out of his way to build me something so special and outstanding. I'll forever be indebted to the boy who selflessly created something that I would go as far as describing as magical.

"You built me a treehouse." I'll never be able to stop saying that. I think I'll forever be in shock, so naturally I'll just keep saying the same words until my mind comes to terms with the fact that a treehouse has been built for me by him.

His arms engulf my middle, keeping me flush against his front. If he wasn't holding me, I think I'd let myself collapse in a puddle of my own emotion. I feel his chin rest upon my head as my hands come to lay over his that splay across my stomach. "You like it?"

"I──" Something catches in my throat, preventing me from expressing how much I love this treehouse, so I just nod frantically.

His laugh rings in my ears, his lips pecking the top of my head. "You wanna see inside?"

When I nod again, I'm guided towards the ladders that I climb to the very top until I enter the home I've always wanted.

Inside, the wooden floor creaks softly as I take my first step off the ladder. Moonlight filters through the small makeshift windows, casting playful shadows on the walls that I find to be adorned by my artwork. Sketches of landscapes, of the water, of the Outer Banks, of a treehouse up in the clouds that I drew a long time ago. Dozens of my sketches decorate the length of the walls.

A white and yellow gingham picnic blanket lays across the floor, a bottle of champagne tucked between two blankets with a large chocolate cake sitting on top of a pillow that's calling out my name. Beside the cake sits a sketchbook with an obnoxious pink bow stuck to the front of it.

Not only did he gift me an entire house inside a tree, he knew I needed a new sketchbook, and now I'll be able to draw out this beautiful experience.

Seriously, how did I get so lucky?

I flick my eyes to a wooden sign that hangs from the ceiling that reads, 𝖲𝖴𝖭𝖭𝖸'𝖲 𝖲𝖠𝖭𝖳𝖴𝖠𝖱𝖸 in black marker pen. I tilt my head, spelling the word out, and I try my best to bite back a laugh as my elbow nudges JJ gently.

"Hey, J." He hums, chin dropping to rest on my shoulder. "You spelled sanctuary wrong."

His head snaps up, like he's shocked, and he immediately steps away from me to check the sign. The moment his warmth is gone, I curse myself out for pointing out the error. I watch as he smudges one of the letters while he attempts to spell sanctuary out in his head. I watch, the widest smile upon my face as I don't care about the sign, I just care that he is the one I get to be inside here with.

"I checked it, like, six times," he claims, uttering the spelling out under his breath. "Is that not how you spell it?"

"You missed the c and the n."

He frowns, looking fucking adorable. "Shit."

I step over to him, sliding my hand into his before he takes his annoyance out on my pretty sign that he made just for me. Spelling mistake or not, I love it. "Hey." I squeeze his hand in mine, forcing his attention away from the error in the sign. "I love it," I say, leaning into him. "I love it so much."

He sighs, gazing down at me. "I spelt it wrong."

"I don't care. I still love it, flaws and all." I lean up on my tiptoes, brushing my mouth over his in the faintest of kisses. "Thank you."

"You really like it?"

"I love it," I correct, firmness in my voice so he knows that what he did for me was the best thing anybody has ever done for me. "Thank you so much, JJ."

I look away from him, head dropping to rest against his shoulder as I scan the room again, taking in every single detail and letting myself imagine being in this house within the tree in the near future.

I can see myself in here the moment my head stops feeling so fuzzy with emotion. I see myself drawing in this san(c)tuary while he lays beside me, watching with a close eye. I not only see myself, but I see JJ very clearly as he will obviously be in here whenever I'm in here. I see us coming here at night for a moment away from the chaos that is our life now that we've started the business. I see us laughing and talking and conspiring up here in our home away from home.

I blink again, a new image crossing my mind that has my heart expanding in the best possible way. It's a crazy picture that enters my mind given that I'm only eighteen, but I can see my children in here, standing in the same place JJ and I stand.

Not only that, but I can see my future nieces and nephews running wild and rampant up here too. I see each of them causing chaos, not giving us a chance to have our quiet moments alone, but I picture us falling into rhythm with their crazy antics too.

To imagine my children having something I always wanted as a little girl has the butterflies in my stomach overturning and flipping excitedly. And to think that JJ made all this possible, that he made my childhood dreams come true for our future. Well, it makes me feel queasy in the most perfect way.

I realise that this treehouse isn't just a surprise for the person I am now, it's a surprise for that little girl who dreamed of having more than what her life was. It's for the little girl who loved her family, but also loved to live in the quiet of her bedroom with art being her only friend. It's for the little girl who had big, wild dreams that she never thought would come true until she met a boy at eight-years-old who changed her life.

That boy stands beside me now, his arm tucked around my back as imagine him envisioning all that will be created in this treehouse. Is he thinking all the things I'm thinking? Is he seeing our future flash before his eyes? Am I crazy?

Screw just being young up here, I can see us being here at the very end when we're old and grey. The thought of that reminds me of something I recall saying to JJ after his motorcycle crash when I thought I'd lost him and our future.

"We're gonna be old, sitting in our treehouse, laughing about the time you were in a motorcycle crash." I had cried that night, truly and utterly broken over the thought of losing the boy I loved, and he just held me. "We're gonna be old," I had said, insistent on the fact that we had to live a long life together.

Now the dream I envisioned is here, and it's very much alive, ready and willing to welcome future memories of not just us, but of generations after us. It'll be standing for as long as we let it, living on as we do, and living on after we go. I'm ready to find out what these walls will hold after years of it being here.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Right now, instead of imagining all that it may hold in the future, all I can do is live in the moment of being here in this treehouse that I get to call ours with the boy I get to call mine.

I peer up at him, in awe. "I love you."

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𝖨𝖳 𝖥𝖤𝖤𝖫𝖲 𝖲𝖴𝖱𝖱𝖤𝖠𝖫 𝖳𝖮 𝖡𝖤 𝖨𝖭 𝖧𝖤𝖱𝖤，𝖳𝖮 𝖡𝖤 𝖨𝖭 𝖠 𝖧𝖮𝖬𝖤 𝖳𝖧𝖠𝖳 𝖨𝖲𝖭'𝖳 𝖬𝖸 𝖮𝖶𝖭 𝖡𝖴𝖳 𝖨𝖲 𝖠𝖳 𝖳𝖧𝖤 𝖲𝖠𝖬𝖤 𝖳𝖨𝖬𝖤．I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but it just doesn't feel as if I'm in my own body, like I'm watching somebody else enjoy this surprise JJ gifted me because I never thought a childhood dream of mine could ever be made into something so perfect.

I never thought I'd be this lucky. Not only did I get the guy I love, but I have had every wish and dream and prayer of mine answered because of him. He's done more for me than I could ever do for him, and this treehouse is proof of that.

As we began to eat bites of chocolate cake and drink from the bottle of champagne, JJ had told me how he wanted to take me out to a real restaurant, let me order the most expensive foods and enjoy myself, but because of our need to save money, he opted to do this, and I tell you that this is far better. Hello, I'm sitting in a treehouse that he built with his bare hands while we pass a bottle of champagne to one another.

It's perfect. It's more intimate, more romantic.

It's perfect in every which way even though the champagne is not as glamorous as it sounds. In fact, it's rather disgusting, so that idea I had of me drinking champagne whilst eating caviar and a chocolate dessert that explodes was not as thoroughly thought through as I'd hoped.

The chocolate cake may not explode but it is fucking mouthwatering. I don't know where he got it from, nor did I ask where this or the champagne came from, but it's so nice── nicer than anything I've ever had in all my life. I almost feel guilty for having this cake between JJ and I when all our friends should get the chance to try it.

Nope. You know what? Screw them. This is my date, thank you, and after my brother threatened JJ and insisted he have me home by ten, he ain't getting anything. Perhaps I'll save some cake for the girls and Pope, just not John B. He's acted a little too protective ever since Dad died in South America, and while it's sweet that he cares about me so strongly, he needs to give me some space. He needs to give JJ a break.

The cake has now since been eaten, the champagne bottle over halfway drank, and I'm now just lying with my head on his chest, our eyes on the ceiling up above. "Hey," I whisper, head feeling a little fuzzy. "How'd you do this?"

I know he's handy. I know he can do a lot with very little, but this is insane, potentially more insane than building a house, a dock and a shop in less than a year. How he's had the time to do this while doing everything else baffles me, so I need to know if there's secretly thousands of JJ's wandering around that I don't know about. Either that, or he has more than twenty four hours in a day.

"You know all those mornings when I'd wake up really early?" I hated every morning he'd wake up at the crack of dawn, leaving me. "Well, I was here." I can't be mad at him now, can I? Not when this is what he was doing.

"I just..." My mind is still struggling to comprehend all that he's done for me over the past few months. "You built me a treehouse."

"You keep saying that."

"I just can't believe it. You did all this for me." My arm tightens around his middle, my head buried into the crook of his shoulder. "You're the most perfect guy in the world. I... I'm just so..." Emotion bubbles at the base of my throat again, threatening to unleash this time. "Thank you."

I've already said thank you repeatedly, but I'll never stop saying it. I'm not just saying it because he built this treehouse, I'm saying it as I truly am beyond grateful and thankful for his simple existence in my life. I thank every God above that I met JJ when I did, and that we came to be this. That, after years of struggle and fighting and working through difficulties, we're finally at a place that is beautiful and bold and completely us.

His hand pushes into my hair, fingertips pressing into the base of my skull. "You want anything else building, I'll build it for you, okay?"

I gaze up at him. "You're perfect, you know that?"

He grins, knowing that fact already. "You've said that a few times."

"You built me a treehouse."

"Yeah." He shrugs casually like this isn't the greatest gift I've ever received── second to him, of course. "Wasn't too hard."

My face scrunches, my eyes rolling at how humble he is. He worked literally every hour of every day to make not just my dreams come true, but everybody else's. "Remember when I told you that I'd love to live in a treehouse all on my own with a cat one day?"

"And I told you that you wouldn't be alone because you'll be stuck with me."

"I'm not stuck with you. You are stuck with me." I'm half tempted to just glue myself to his side because I don't want to ever leave him, not ever. Wherever he goes, I'm there.

"It ain't so bad," he comments, smiling against my hair. "I like being stuck with you. You keep me from doing stupid things. You keep me alive." He's saying the exact words he said to me over a year ago when our story began and we were sat in this exact tree except it's now a home.

"You keep me alive," I whisper, sliding my palm across the steady beat of his heart, finding it to be the sweetest sound. "I know I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

"And I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

"And now we're here, in our treehouse." I'll never get used to saying that, not for the rest of my life── the rest of our lives, sorry. "Because I don't want to be alone anymore, JJ." I lift my head, my hand still over the thumping in his chest. "I don't want it to just be me with a cat, not anymore."

"Well, good, because you forget that we're getting a dog too."

My face lights, softness glazing across my features as I look to him with a look that's both familiar to us── a look of content and love and want. He lifts himself up slightly, sitting back on his elbows as we look to one another, knowing what we both want, and knowing that there's nothing stopping us from taking what we want.

"Thank you," I say again, tongue peeking out to swipe across my bottom lip. "Thank you for..." I swallow, eyes fluttering down to his lips. "Thank you for everything, JJ."

Blue clashes with brown, masking an array of feelings that swarm deep within. "Don't thank me yet."

Suddenly, before I have a moment to react, he lifts himself up and crashes his mouth over mine in a fiery passion.

There's nothing sweet and tentative in the way his mouth takes mine, contrasting with all the words he's said to me tonight. He's brutal, unrelenting and addictive in the way he kisses me, and I feel as if I can't match his demanding force.

His hands grasp my face tightly, forcing me to remain in place as he quite literally dominates me with his mouth, not giving me any time to catch my breath. His teeth bite into my bottom lip, bringing me fusion of pain and pleasure that has my mouth gasping open for him, allowing him to plunge his tongue against mine.

I moan, hands reaching up to grasp his hair. I tug hard, needing to hold on as his mouth glides across mine at a furious pace. The harder I tug, the harder he goes in biting and kissing me, resulting in all kinds of sounds that sound foreign to me. He does this every time── leaves me a complete mess before he's started anything.

His hands drop from my face, moving down my neck and rubbing across my shoulders where his thumbs hook under the thin straps that hold this dress up. I wore this dress because I promised him for months that he'd see me with this dress on, and now he's taking it off faster than I could've ever imagined.

As his fingers push the straps down, his lips detach from mine and begin their descent down the column of my neck, sucking on the pulse point before dotting across the expanse of my collarbone. I whine, needing everything and more, but I have no idea what I'm doing.

I should know what I'm doing as I've done this countless times before, but I feel fuzzy and entirely blissful. Part of me still feels as though I'm in some kind of dream.

Then again, JJ is here, and I know what we're doing, so I just do what I've always done. I begin pulling at his tie that's seriously an inconvenience right now. I push my fingers into the knot before tugging as hard as I can, his lips still attacking my neck brutally.

His tie falls away, and I unbutton the top button of his shirt, feeling his head dip lower, his hair tickling my collarbone. His lips kiss over the material of my dress in a spot that has my body jerking forward, the unexpected touch igniting a spark at the base of my spine. I groan, continuing to pull at the buttons of his shirt, not caring if I pull too hard and rip them as I just want this off.

I want no barriers between us, so this dress better be the next thing to go.

The moment each button is unhooked, I push his shirt off his shoulders just as his hand squeezes my breast, thumb swiping across my nipple. A stuttered moan slips past my lips. His touch fades for a quick second so his shirt can be pulled off quickly.

Something then catches my eye in the haziness of it all, and I blink several times, for sure thinking I'm seeing things this time as it can't be. I reach for his shoulder just as JJ's hand touches me again, this time sliding under the material of my dress so I can feel the roughness in his fingertips against a sensitive part of me.

"JJ." I whine, head falling to his shoulder. I'm close to biting him, the pleasure continuing to build and build and build. "JJ, what──" I blink faster, knowing exactly what I'm seeing. "Oh, my God."

He breathes heavily, head moving back from my neck so he can look at me. "What?" The moment he backs away, I see it much clearer than I did before. I reach my hand out, fingertips moving on their own accord to splay across the muscle in his arm. "Oh." He chuckles, acting nonchalant about what I'm seeing. "Right. Yeah. That's the second surprise."

My mouth gapes, thumb pressing down harder into the muscle. "Is it real?"

"As real as my love for you, Sunshine."

"You got a tattoo."

"That I did. Now can I──"

He goes to kiss me again but I move my face, examining the very real ink that's embedded into the skin of his upper left arm. I recognise this image as I know everything I draw into my sketchbooks. Apparently JJ knows too as an image I drew decorates his arm.

Sitting in the centre of his upper arm is the sun. The sun on his arm looks similar to that of the one I drew the night his dad hurt him and he allowed me to draw over the scars and bruises that made up his body. In fact, it looks identical, but instead of it being in the centre of his chest, it's on his shoulder.

The sun is signed by me. His arm is signed by me.

My signature that I always scribble into the corner of each page I draw on is now on his arm right below the image of the sun.

He's signed by me.

"You could draw something on me, and I'll tattoo it," is something he had said so long ago now, and once again, I never believed it would ever happen, but here I am, staring at a reflection of my art on his arm with my initials forever on his skin.

My art is tattooed onto his skin for the rest of his life along with my scribbled initials, and he just forgot to mention this surprise as we were too busy caught up in one another. "When did you..." I move my fingers over the ink, in awe of how precise and careful it is.

"A couple days ago."

I exhale a laugh. "That's why you kept sleeping with a shirt on."

"I didn't know how to tell you," he whispers, glancing at my artwork that's forever inked onto his skin. "You like it?"

"It's beautiful." My eyes bounce back to his, brown meeting blue like always. "You're..." Well, he's literally the definition of perfection, that's all I can say. "I love you."

"Well, if you love me..." His pushes himself forward, arm sliding around my back. I gasp, feeling him lift me up easily and onto his lap in seconds. "...show me."

Glancing back to the tattoo that now acts as another symbol for how JJ feels for me, I push my hands up his chest, feeling every ridge and muscle at my fingertips. I want to prove that I feel the exact same, that my feelings run deep and always have. I may not have a tattoo or any way to build a treehouse, but I adore him in every possible way.

My eyes greet his again, and my breathing picks up a notch as I push the straps of my dress down entirely, allowing the red velvet material to fall away. JJ watches with great concentration and fascination as I feel for the zipper with my fingertips before I pull it down as hard as I can, the dress no longer clinging to my skin.

A low groan forces its way out of his throat as his eyes skim my body. I don't shy away, not under his gaze as I trust him with my body, I always have.

With his tongue pressing against his teeth, his intense gaze meets my doe one. "Lay back."

I do as told. I always do. I'm weak in that sense.

The moment I'm on my back, JJ tugs on the material of my dress, pulling it off entirely and throwing it to one side, leaving me entirely exposed except for one tiny piece of fabric that covers me. He pushes my legs open, settling in between them, dangerously close to the only piece of fabric that separates me from him.

JJ's eyes scan my body again, warming every inch of available skin, and my body tingles with anticipation and desperation. "Would you hurry up?"

He huffs out a laugh, fingers reaching out to pinch my nipple in retort. "Impatient, are we?"

I push myself into his open palm, needing to feel more of him now. "JJ, just..."

His hand slides away before moving down the middle of my chest. His hand then lays over my stomach. "Just what, Sunny?" He presses his hand down on my stomach, keeping my back against the ground as I attempt to fight for more contact.

I groan, glaring at him for not moving his hand. "Touch me." I'm not one for begging── Oh, who am I kidding? Yes, I am, but sometimes I wish he'd just give me what I need without a fight. He's annoying that way.

His fingers move further down, dancing across the line of my panties. "Hm." I push my hips up, needing him more than I've ever needed him, but then his hand moves away, taking the warmth with him.

"JJ." I whine, watching as he pushes his hand under my left knee, forcing me to bend my leg. His lips press against my knee briefly, toying with me in the worst possible way. He's a sinful bastard, messing me with like this, but he does it every single time. I shouldn't be surprised.

He kisses my knee again, sliding his tongue down my leg. I twitch at the feeling, knowing where his tongue is going to end up if he continues. His mouth carries on its descent until it reaches my thigh where he presses down harder, teeth now biting into the skin of my upper thigh hard. A moan lurches out of me, shocking me to my core which brings a smile to his lips that I feel against my skin.

I lift my hand slowly, placing it in his hair as he soothes the gentle bite with his tongue. "JJ."

He peers up at me, looking dangerous in between my legs, like he's made to be down there. With those blue eyes on me, he continues to pepper kisses along my thigh, gradually moving closer to the spot I need him most.

When his mouth hovers over the fabric that's last to come off, I'm practically weeping over the fact that he's not touching me enough. "Please," I whisper, pushing my fingers through his hair and pulling hard.

"Very impatient, Sunshine." His mouth covers a part of me that has my hips lifting harshly. Even over the material, I feel every sensation and feeling he offers me.

A smirk brightens his smug face as his fingers reach up, hooking under the fabric before he tugs as hard as he can, bringing my panties all the way down my legs and chucking them to one side.

He doesn't waste anytime now, not like before. The moment there's no barrier, he drops his head and buries his mouth in between my legs, sending me straight to the planets up above. His arms hold my thighs, the heels of my feet pressing into his back as he moves his mouth over the most sensitive part of me.

Both hands hold his hair, pushing down slightly so he doesn't ever stop. I look down, watching with heavy breathing as his eyes remain on me the entire time he's nestled between my legs. This picture of him never gets old, and I don't think it ever will. His eyes just burn into mine, holding me captive as he continues assaulting me with his mouth and touch.

A collection of sensations begin to build at the base of my spine, threatening to unleash harshly and quickly. Moans and groans and tiny whispers spill out of me, gathering in the space of this treehouse that he built for me.

Crazy how the first memory of this treehouse is this── of JJ going down on me.

My toes curl, my back arches and I squeeze my eyes shut as the pressure begins to feel like too much, like I can't control it anymore. A choked moan unleashes, followed by several more before I feel his mouth leave me.

"JJ." I practically cry, longing for his touch all over again. My eyes blink open, staring forward as he sits back up, beginning to unbuckle his belt. Too exhausted to move a muscle, I stare at him with hazy eyes.

I watch as he removes his final articles of clothing until there's nothing left and it's just us.

I reach out for him, he falls back down, laying himself over me. I bring his forehead to rest against mine, one arm hooking around his neck. My other hand moves over the tattoo, still in shock that he did such a permanent thing as a surprise to me.

I go to kiss him, moving my mouth over his as I feel him situate himself. I nod, yanking my mouth back as he pushes into me firmly. His head drops to my shoulder immediately, his teeth biting down on the skin as a string of curse words leave his mouth.

I cling onto him harder, the pleasure beginning to build once again. "JJ. Oh." I could scream, wake up anyone in the near vicinity but I bite my tongue, just letting myself hold on for the ride and enjoy him all to myself.

I slide my hands up, bringing his head up and off my shoulder so we can look at one another. When his eyes find mine in the dizziness of it all, he pulls out and pushes back in slower this time, sending a sharp sting up my spine.

We breathe heavily, our bodies pushed together in the heat of the moment. "I love you," I whisper, fingertips moving across his cheek.

A soft smile touches his lips. "I love you."

Here, in our treehouse, I get the pleasure of holding the boy I get to call mine.

Once again, I ask myself how I ever got so lucky?

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❀ soph speaks

did you all guess this would be the surprise??

over 9,000 words wrote damn

i was gonna put the tattoo in a different place but then i decided on his shoulder?

i had juno by sabrina carpenter playing when i was rereading through the spice and it made me laugh

lowkey not the best at writing spice but i tried my best so hope you enjoyed :)

thankyou so much for reading!!