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hide-in-imagination · 7 months ago

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Paris & a Promise | Simbar Oneshot

The studio was pristine and cozy, with bright colors on the walls, white leather chairs, one in front of the other, and a big screen between them on the far wall so that the people in the audience, and of course, the host and guest occupying the two chairs, could see pictures and videos of the topic that was being discussed.

Behind the three cameras pointing at the studio (one on the guest, one on the host, and one holding a general view of everything), the floor manager, a woman in her thirties with a headset to hear and communicate the director’s orders, made a signal to the host, a charismatic man on his forties with black hair, wearing a suit and tie. In the guest chair in front of him, the blonde young woman, wearing a tasteful long-sleeve blouse and a mini skirt, listened to the countdown overhead until the ‘On Air’ sign lighted up anew, followed by a short rendition of the show’s theme song, and applause from the audience on their seats.

“Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen! We are here live with Ámbar Smith,” the host resumed the show with a big smile, facing the camera and then focusing on his guest. “Ámbar, once again, thank you so much for coming to our show. I hope you’re having as good a time as we are, but if not, do not worry, your torment is almost over now.”

Ámbar laughed along with the audience.

“Noo, don’t say that, of course I’m having a good time, I’m always happy to be here.”

“I’m so glad to hear that. Now,” the host leaned forward, “I’m sorry for deviating from your achievements but, we simply can not let you leave without talking about—” he pointed at her with his hand, “that huge rock weighing on your finger right now.” The audience started screaming. “Poor thing, she can’t even move her hand— Look how she keeps it on the armrest! Unbelievable!”

The audience whooped and laughed while Ámbar giggled, her right hand coming up to try and hide her grin and blushing cheeks.

“Ámbar, my sincerest congratulations on your engagement,” the host said now in earnest as the audience quieted down.

“Thank you so much.” The audience cheered again, stealing another giddy smile from her.

“Now, I know everyone already knows this, but in case anyone’s been living under a rock these last few years, you’ve been dating the Roller Band’s guitarist and vocalist Simón Álvarez for quite a few years now.” A picture of the couple posing together at a red carpet appeared on the big screen of the studio.

“Six years, yeah,” Ámbar said with a smile.

“Six whole years, and he finally proposed two weeks ago, as we can see in this picture you two posted on Instagram, showing off the ring.”

A screenshot of their Instagram post showed on the screen. The photo depicted their hands together, Ámbar’s hand over Simón’s turned-up palm, the thick diamond ring front and center, shining on her finger, while the background showed an orange and red sky, with the Eiffel Tower blurry but visible in the distance.

The audience cheered and a warm smile curled Ámbar’s lips at the photo.

The host looked at her again. “Tell me, Ámbar, did you see it coming? Did you know he was going to do it or did it take you by surprise?”

Ámbar made a complicated face. “Um, I kind of saw it coming, but no, not really,” she broke off with a laugh.

The host looked at her with intrigue. “What do you mean? Like, you did and then you didn’t? What’s the story?”

“Well. We were in Europe because the Roller Band was touring there, and they had stops in different cities, and Simón was like ‘You should come with me, you could visit Paris’ blah blah blah, so I joined them. He knows that Paris is my favorite city in the world, I’ve always loved it— In fact, I spent some months there when I was in university, as part of an exchange program for six months, and I just have very good memories of the city in general. So anyway, that got me thinking, you know… We’re going to be in Paris…” She started hinting. “He invited me to join… We’ve been dating for 6 years… So, on that front, I did have my suspicions, but I just— The timing didn’t make sense to me,” she said. “That was the problem, that’s what threw me off.”

“How so?”

“Because we were only staying in Paris for one day,” she emphasized. “The guys were scheduled to arrive in the morning at the hotel, then they had their soundcheck in the afternoon, and then their concert, and that same night we had to go to Italy because they had their concert there the next day. So I was like… Yeah, no. No way.” She laughed. “Like, it was a lot in less than 24 hours. How could he even find the time for it? It’s insane.”

“He totally got you then.”

“He did. It took me completely by surprise, it was so sweet.”

“It was like in some sort of balcony, right?” The host checked. “I mean, I remember from the photos you two posted— Those ones.”

New photos appeared on the screen. It was two selfies of the two of them standing close together on a black iron balcony with a view of the sunset, the city of Paris, and the Eiffel Tower. They were taken by Simón, one of his arms around Ámbar while the other extended beyond the frame, holding the phone. In one of them, they were both grinning brightly at the camera, Ámbar showing off the ring, her eyes glistening with emotion. The second was very similar to the first, probably taken seconds apart from each other, except in that one Simón wasn’t looking at the camera but kissing Ámbar’s cheek with his eyes closed. Ámbar was still grinning and showing off the ring like in the first picture, but she had her eyes closed in that one too, basking in the love.

“Yeah, that’s the balcony of the hotel room we were staying at,” Ámbar answered, pointing at the screen. “Simón specifically looked for one that had a view of the Eiffel Tower for us.”

“He had it all planned out,” the host said, impressed.

“Everything,” Ámbar confirmed. “From the very first second. Cause— Look. This is how it all went down.” She leaned forward in her seat, entering story-telling mode, and the host leaned forward as well, giving her all of his attention. “We arrived at around 11 am in Spain. The first thing we did was sleep because we were all dead on our feet, and then around two, Simón asked me if I wanted to go out to eat, and I was like ‘Yeah, sure’, so we went to this restaurant I recommended to him, I knew it from my many trips to Paris, and we just, you know, had our meal, talked, walked around the city for a little bit after— Very normal stuff. Then, Simón had to go to his soundcheck, so he left, and I just kept walking around ‘cause, you know, I was like ‘I don’t know when I’ll be able to come back, better make the best of it now.’”

“Of course.”

“And that was all I was planning to do for the rest of the day really, but then, like an hour or so later, I get a call from Simón like ‘Hey, I’m done with the soundcheck, I’m going back to the hotel now, let’s meet up there’, and I was like… Why didn’t he just stay in the arena?” She said, bemused. “His concert was like in two hours, it would’ve made more sense. But anyway. I got back to the hotel, and I asked him how the soundcheck went, and he was like ‘Well, very well, everything good’— Which was a complete and total lie, by the way,” she pointed out, looking at the audience.

“What do you mean ‘lie’?” The host asked with surprise.

“He never went to the soundcheck,” Ámbar said. “I only found out about it later. The guys went to the soundcheck by themselves, Simón never joined them.”

“Then what was he doing?”

“I’m getting there,” she said. “So, we met at the hotel, and Simón was like ‘Hey, so, I only have like an hour and a half before I need to leave but, what do say if we order room service and eat a little something before I leave?’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds nice.’ So we sat at a little table there on the balcony, and we were just, you know, having like a regular dinner, when suddenly he says: ‘My love. I didn’t want to tell you before, but I have a surprise for you.’ And I was like.” Ámbar made a face of curiosity. “‘What?’ And the very instant— I have this so ingrained in my mind— the very instant the sun started setting, he got down on one knee.”

“Oh my god.” The audience cheered and clapped, joining the host’s excitement. “That’s crazy! So, he had it all timed down to the second.”

“He did! He totally did. I couldn’t believe it. And then he, you know, started saying all these beautifulthings, and once the shock wore off, I just started crying,” she laughed a little bit. “And just, you know, I said yes, obviously.”

The audience screamed. Ámbar laughed, radiantly happy, the camera capturing the emotion in her eyes. “Then we hugged and it was very sweet. I really couldn’t have imagined it a better way; it was perfect.”

“And then you two went to celebrate, right? We’ve got some pictures of you on a rooftop.”

“Yeah! That was the craziest part! We had just gotten engaged and Simón was like ‘I’ve got another surprise for you’ and he led me to the hotel’s rooftop, and the whole time I’m thinking, ‘What now?!’ Like, what else had this guy planned? Fireworks? I genuinely couldn’t put it past him by this point. And then we got to the rooftop, and my whole family was there.” The audience went aww. “With our closest friends too; it was like fifteen people up there. And I was like— ‘What are you all doing here?!’” The audience laughed. “‘When did you get here?!’ It was insane!”

“Simón got them all there without you knowing?” The host expressed with awe.

“No one told me anything! I genuinely don’t know how they managed to keep it from me,” Ámbar said with disbelief. “And the rooftop was decorated with balloons, flowers, there was food— Well, you’ve got the photos there.” She pointed to the screen where the pictures from her Instagram were displaying. “So, like, it was amazing. It was truly amazing, and so beautiful. And our friends started hugging us and giving us their congratulations, and… What got to me the most was that, well, my mom couldn’t go,” she started explaining. “I don’t speak about her a lot publicly but, basically, she’s got a certain degree of blindness, so it’s complicated for her to move around on her own, she has to be accompanied— And honestly, good for her that she didn’t go, I would’ve felt terrible if she had made that huge trip just for me. But she did send me a video congratulating me. I watched it on a tablet. And I just… Well, if I had already cried, that was the moment I finished ruining my makeup.” The audience laughed with her. “But it was sweet. It was all very sweet and moving and just amazing. I had a very good time there with my friends and family until we had to leave.”

“Sounds wonderful.” The host had a sweet smile on his face. “I bet it was a very treasured moment for you two, for your family, your friends—I have a question though,” he said, more serious now, “that I imagine all of us are wondering as well— What about the concert?”

Ámbar nodded like she knew exactly what he meant. “Yeah, you see, that’s the funniest part! Cause like— Just imagine: Simón organized this whole thing— When he was supposed to be at the soundcheck, by the way; he never did that, he was on the rooftop with everyone else getting everything ready— and in the end, he just like, stayed for half an hour and then he left.” The audience laughed. “Because he had his concert! You know?” She said over the noise. “So like. It was crazy. It was really crazy, he totally rushed to the arena. He must’ve put on his outfit and the microphone in record time, the poor thing. But he always tells me that it was worth it. So.” Ámbar shrugged with a little smile.

The audience went aww again.

A mischievous glint appeared in the host’s eyes. “Yeah, he looked very excited the night of the concert. There was even this video that went viral— You saw it, right?”

“I’ve seen many,” she deadpanned, nodding her head.

“Well, here we’ve got the one that made the most headlines on the internet; a little video posted by a fan.” A video of Simón taking the stage started playing on the studio’s big screen on mute. It was a vertical video, filmed from up close, maybe from the fifth row, or maybe using a lot of zoom. “This is the same night you were telling us about, when the Roller Band was playing at the arena.”

The volume went up and the screams of the crowd could be heard as Simón walked up to the front of the stage where a microphone stand was waiting. He had his guitar hanging from his shoulder, ready to play. For everyone watching at home, the video took the whole screen of the TV, replacing the image of the studio.

“Paris, how are you doing tonight?!”

The crowd went wild in response to Simón.

Simón laughed a little and started talking again, so the crowd went quiet to be able to hear him. “You know, I’m the exact same way as you, guys, like, exactly. Because this next song,” he started leisurely playing the guitar as he talked, not a melody but just a simple, soft up and down of his hand on the strings, “is one I wrote about a very special someone to me, many years ago now. And since then, I’ve had the fortune, the pleasure, the utter privilege of having this gorgeous, amazing woman by my side. And this night is very special, Paris, because… This very, very night…” He started laughing and had to take a step back, unable to contain his joy. The crowd was screaming. Simón walked up to the microphone again and yelled out ecstatically.

“SHE SAID ‘YES’!!!!”

Simón began strumming the guitar as the rest of the band joined in, playing together the intro of ‘Tiempo de Amor.’

The studio came back on screen and the video continued rolling in a lower volume as Simón started singing the song, eventually going mute, and then pausing altogether. The audience in the studio was screaming excitedly.

“You do realize that because of this 15 thousand people knew about it before many of our relatives and acquaintances, right?” Ámbar told the host, making everyone laugh again.

“I can just picture them seeing this on Twitter or Tiktok and calling you up like ‘WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU’RE GETTING MARRIED?’” The host acted out.

“It happened with more than one person,” Ámbar declared. The audience laughed.

“Alright but, putting all of that aside, the important thing is that you two had this magical moment and now you’re going to take this next step together,” the host moved the narrative along. “Tell me, have you set a date yet for the ceremony?”

“We don’t have an exact date yet, but the idea is to have a Spring wedding next year.”

“Love that. So, that means you’ve got plenty of time to plan for the event then. I imagine you’ll need it. Are you planning for a big party?”

“We’ll see,” Ámbar replied. “We’re still deciding whether we wanna do this biiig, over the top wedding or just a small ceremony with our closest friends and family. But, whatever we end up choosing, I think the most important thing is just, our promise to always be together. So,” a serene smile graced her lips, “the rest is just a complement to that and we’ll figure it out as we go.”

“That’s beautiful,” the host said. “Seriously, I’m so happy for you two, congratulations— Give it up for Ámbar Smith, ladies and gentlemen!”

The audience went wild.

“Thank you so much for being here with us today, Ámbar,” the host told her, starting to wrap up.

“Thank you for having me, it was lovely,” she replied with a smile.

The host turned to face the camera and the shot focused on him. “And to everyone watching us at home, you’ll want to stick around because our next guest is an artist who’s been trending all over social media, not only in Spain but in all parts of the world. We’ll be right back!”

…

. * ⋆ . · 　.╰──────༺♡༻──────╯. * * . 　 *

Okay so, originally, I had this idea in the context of my Actress!Ámbar x Musician!Simón AU. It was going to be, like, a second chapter where I mixed different interviews, some of Simón, some of Ámbar, as a way to tell how their relationship developed after the ending of chapter one. But then I thought—Why limit it to just that one context? I really loved the idea I came up with for this proposal, so I wanted it to fit as many different worlds as possible, especially canon for those who aren’t such big fans of AUs, so— Here it is! I really hope you liked it. It’s very different from everything I’ve written before in terms of format, but that’s precisely why it was so much fun to write. What would you even call this type of POV? Second Person or something? Sdfkjn. I don’t know, I don’t remember much of my high school lessons; it’s been too many years.

And speaking of years. It's been 6 years now since the show ended and this proposal took place 6 years into their relationship, so I think it would be sweet to imagine that Simón and Ámbar are engaged right now as we speak and that they’ll be getting married next year in 2025 <3

Our babies have grown up, and so have we.

See you all next time. – C

#simbar #simbar fic #simbar fanfic #soy luna fanfiction #soy luna #My Writing #short writings #Gif divider by anitalenia!

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weirdthoughtsandideas · 3 months ago

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10 perhaps? 👀 i miss lunina sleepovers!! sounds cute :D

Takes place either S3 or post-show, or else it would be too risky for them to sneak out like this x)

10. Lunina sapphic sleepover

Nina had spent the night at Luna's more times in the past year than she had ever in her life. She just never had a lot of friends to have sleepovers with growing up.

Really, the only sleepover she remembered going to was when she was a girls scout in middle school. But it felt less like a sleepover and more like a sleepaway camp, as there were so many people sleeping in the same room. She never had a sleepover with just one other person until she befriended Luna.

But she loved it. Even if they didn't do anything special, it was just so fun to spend some more time with Luna. She also appreciated not being home, even though Mora's house definitely made her feel a lot more free than her mom's.

Tonight they sat in Luna's room, just talking.

"Did you ever have sleepovers in Cancún?" Nina asked.

"Yes!" Luna chuckled. She lied down on her bed, with her eyes glowing with nostalgia. "Me and Simón used to have ones when we were younger. My favorite time was when we decided to swim in the pool in the middle of the night."

"A pool?"

"Yes! The mansion in Cancún had a pool... we went swimming, and then saw someone turn a light on. We panicked and ran away from there."

Nina giggled. "Aww, I can picture it so vividly!"

Luna giggled too.

Nina smiled at her. "I love your laughter, Luna. It's so contagious."

"Thank you." Luna leaned down to Nina's mattress to hug her, but accidentally tripped and thus fell right on top of her.

They stared at each other for a brief moment, before awkwardly chuckling.

"Uh..." Nina said, "You can let go of me."

Luna was still embracing her, which she had not at all realized.

"Oh, sorry..."

As she let go, there was another silence.

"So... what should we do?" Luna asked. "I'm not tired."

"Me neither," Nina admitted. But then, she formed a mischievous smile. "What if... you and I sneak out..."

"But we don't have a pool!" Luna said.

"We could do other things, right?"

"I guess... like what?"

"What if we... just go out in the garden? And look at the stars?"

Luna lit up. "Yeah! That sounds so fun!"

They walked downstairs as quietly as they could. Luna was not sure why she was so nervous - she was allowed to be in the garden. It was her house now.

And yet, it just felt better knowing that no one knew what they were doing. Like a silly little secret only she and Nina knew.

They went outside, holding hands so that none of them would get lost in the dark.

Nina looked up in the sky. "Wow... you can really see the stars well."

Luna also looked up. "Woah... I've never noticed it..." She started beaming. "You know... wherever you are, you have the same sky. The same stars... aw, this reminds me of Mexico."

"Did you watch the stars a lot in Mexico?"

"Sometimes. It was always really soothing..."

Nina looked around. "The whole garden looks more... magical, in the darkness."

It was true. The way the garden lit up by the moonlight, and all that was heard was crickets and other insects... it was this aesthetic over it that just was so beautiful.

"You know what I wanna do?" Luna asked. "I wanna run."

"Run?"

Luna laughed and started sprinting away. Nina snickered a bit from surprise, but then decided to run after her.

"Can't catch me!" Luna exclaimed, putting her arms out like she was an airplane. "Wee!"

"Wait up!" Nina laughed.

It was like Luna got some sort of energy boost and she needed to run. Nina soon got out of breath, and had to rest by a tree, while Luna continued running around.

"I'll get you!" Luna said, and ran towards Nina. Nina closed her eyes, afraid Luna would tackle her.

But instead, Luna picked her up mid speed and carried her. Nina yelped, as Luna continued running.

However, Luna could only run for a few seconds, before she realized that Nina was a lot heavier to carry than what she was prepared for. So, Luna had stop and put her down.

"Everyone always carries me," Luna said, "So I wanted to try carrying someone else."

"Everyone's taller than you, so of course you're easier to carry!" Nina chuckled.

"Really? Can you carry me?"

Nina tried to lift her up. "Nah, you're too heavy."

Luna leaned onto Nina's shoulder. "Wooh... I really feel like I got to let out all my energy. This was a great idea."

"Yeah... but we might go change clothes. I don't know if we should sleep in clothes we've had in outside."

"Maybe... but I don't think my pajamas is dirty enough to change!"

Luna then had the great idea to jump onto the ground, rolling around on the grass.

"Luna!" Nina exclaimed.

"Come on! Join me!"

Nina hesitated for a moment, but then decided to join her. She carefully placed herself on the ground, crawling up to Luna.

Luna embraced her. "Now we really need to change sleepwear!"

"Luna, we need a bath... there's grass and dirt in your hair."

"Hm... should we take a middle of the night bath, then?"

Nina frowned. "Together...?"

"Yeah! There's a bathroom with a pretty big bathtub we got, several people can sit in it at once! And we could wash each other's hairs!"

"Ok..."

Nina wasn't sure why she felt oddly nervous of taking a bath with Luna. She had seen her change clothes plenty of times, both at P.E and in Luna's room.

And friends taking baths together was normal. Especially in some cultures. Nina noticed the bathtub resembled one of those japanese bathtubs that fits a group of people (except this one was a lot smaller). Which, considering how rich the Bensons were, she wouldn't get surprised they had a bathtub like that.

She watched Luna undress, and instinctively looked away. She took a deep breath. She would just take a bath with a friend, like they did in Japan, or like Nordic people hung out naked in saunas with their friends. Totally normal. Nudity is natural.

And frankly, both of them did need a bath after their garden adventures.

So why did Nina feel awkward out of nowhere?

She more or less looked down on the floor as she entered the bathtub. It was warm and really was calming.

Luna grabbed some shampoo. "Should we wash each other?"

"Sure..."

"Do you want to start with me?" Luna asked.

Nina nodded, and grabbed the shampoo bottle. Luna placed herself in front of her. Nina slowly applied it into her hair, gently massaging her scalp.

"Aah..." Luna mumbled. "You're good with your hands, Nina."

Nina blushed. "Thanks."

"My turn!" Luna exclaimed after Nina was done. "Turn around!"

Nina did so, and soon felt Luna's hands in her hair. The way she touched her... she felt this electric feeling running through her head down to her legs.

"You ok, Nina?" Luna asked.

"Y-Yeah... I just... I'm getting tired. The bath calmed me down a lot."

"Well, I know a quick way to wash the shampoo off!" Luna said.

"How?"

Luna giggled and then went completely underwater. The shampoo in her hair colored the whole bathtub.

Luna then got up again, giggling.

Nina looked at her, and felt her heart beating faster. There was something about Luna that just was so... pretty.

"What?" Luna asked, noticing she was staring.

"Uh... I just think, I don't know if they shampoo gets off just by being underwater. Maybe we should also rinse it to make sure it really gets off."

"Good idea!" Luna said and stood up, which Nina was not prepared for. "We need to wash our bodies with soap properly, too."

She took out the plug holding the water, and then turned on the shower that was attached to the bathtub. She then grabbed some soap. "Come on! Let's wash ourselves off properly!"

10 minutes later, they sat in bathrobes drying their hairs. Nina was not sure why she was feeling so awkward.

Every time she had looked at Luna today, she felt a flutter inside. Which was why she tried to avoid eye contact.

As the two walked out from the bathroom, they suddenly noticed a door opening in the corridor.

This very bathtub happened to be in the part of the mansion close to Ámbar's room. And Ámbar was for some reason not sleeping. She was standing in her pajamas, giving them a frown.

"What are you two doing here?"

"We..." Luna said, but didn't know where to begin.

"Did you two... take a bath together?" Ámbar asked.

"Yes," Nina said, looking down on the floor.

Ámbar raised an eyebrow, but then shrugged. "Interesting... spare me the details." She then closed the door again.

As they got back to Luna's room, Luna gave Nina some new sleepwear as she had only packed one pair with her.

As they both had changed, Luna laid down on her bed. "Oh gosh... there's something so cozy going to sleep after a bath... feel my sheets! Come on, lie next to me."

Nina laid down next to her.

"Newly washed skin against bed sheets is just... ahh..." Luna said.

"Yeah..." Nina said.

"Your hair smells so good," Luna commented, turning her head to Nina.

Nina turned her head to Luna. "Your hair, too. We both used the same shampoo."

"You know, Nina... you're really pretty. I've always thought so, but especially tonight..."

"Thank you..." Nina felt her heart beat even faster.

"Nina..."

"Eh..."

Nina tucked some hair behind Luna's ear, as she leaned in closer. She stared at Luna for a final time, raising an eyebrow, as if she communicated something telepathically.

Luna nodded in response.

In the next moment, the two girls kissed.

Nina let go quickly. She was red in the face, and laid down, staring up at the ceiling.

"I..."

Luna also blushed. She let out a snicker. "That was..."

"Yeah, I... don't know."

"Me neither, but I liked it."

"You did?"

"Mhm. You're a good kisser."

Nina smiled. "Can I kiss you again?"

"Yes."

They kissed again, and then giggled about it.

Luna embraced her. "I think you should sleep in my bed tonight. We'll share it."

"I was thinking the same thing."

As Monica woke up in the morning, she quickly peeked into Luna's room. The two girls were still fast asleep.

But they were still in each other's embrace, Luna holding onto Nina's upper body like she was hugging a pillow.

Monica smiled.

Later, as Luna and Nina ate breakfast, everyone could tell something had happened between them. Monica wanted to ask, but Luna didn't give much answer. She figured the girls would tell them when they were ready, or when they wanted to.

Luna and Nina still needed to process the night they had. One thing was clear, though: It was one of their most memorable sleepovers they'd have in a long while.

#i love writing sapphic sleepovers so much. like it’s a common theme i have in my fics in general #sara's dcla tumblr fics #soy luna #lunina

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calyxthenerd · 10 months ago

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If you have to pick one fic (that is specifically an Au) to be canon in the respective show, what would it be and why (you need to pinpoint at least 10 things for why). Answer both Soy Luna and Violetta (you can do BIA too, but I don't know if there is enough fics)

I have to go with MOT, and here are the reasons why

I love the transfer of conscience as a timetravel trope

Their futures in that fic are awesome

I think it’s really sweet that they were all traveling together

The drama of them all having to find each other in Cancun, and then getting in contact with Gastina back in BA

The fact that they got to remake their lives, without erasing the things that happened to them in canon

The gasfina part is really funny

Gastón and Nina struggling not to show their Oxford scholar level knowledge is funny too

Luna dreading having to go through high school again

Everyone looking to Ámbar for plans and her stepping up

The fact that they had the one mission of laying low and they failed

Gastón just up and kidnapping his girlfriend so they could go to Paris

The replacement rings

#honestly I could go on and on about that fic #i love it so much #soy luna #thanks for the ask!

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countessofravenclaw · 2 months ago

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Oye, es Navidad, y es Navidad, y es Navidad otra vez

[🇫🇮] Kaikki vaan joukkohon leikkiä lyömään ja puuroa syömään kun joulu on! Kas, nythän on joulu, ja nythän on joulu, ja nythän on joulu taas - Nisse Polkka; Henning Koie & Jorma Ikävalko

[🇬🇧] Let's all get together to play, hit and eat porridge when it's Christmas Hey, it's Christmas, and it's Christmas, and it's Christmas again

Listen the song here... (You should, it is very good)

“And now, before we release you all, we invite the 8th graders to receive their leaving certificates.”

Nina squeezed Gastón’s hand as they sat in the audience at the La Hoja de Roble comprehensive education institution.

“Olinda Bezenty, Aurelius Flavius, Cassius Longinus, Gaius Octavius,” Headmaster started reading off the list. “Laura Perida, Quintus Pictor, Lucius Seneca, Publius Severus, Marcus Tullius, Sarita Urea…”

The eight graders lined up on the stage. Laura was easy to spot, in her glittering red dress. Hoja had actually quite a strict dress code, and the only time the students were allowed to be out of their uniforms was on their last day.

Laura flashed a very charming smile as she accepted her certificate.

“And after all that, we wish our students a very happy summer and Christmas and wish farewell to the eighth graders. We will miss you and good luck as you start your journey into upper secondary!”

“Well, the ceremony hasn’t changed one bit from last year.” Gastón remarked as they were waiting in the lobby, since Laura still had to pick up her things from her homeroom and—even if she wouldn’t admit it—she wanted to say bye to her teacher.

“Or from when Oscar finished here.” Nina noted, as she wrapped her arm around his, “Well, this was the last time…”

“Kind of makes you sad, if you think about it.” He nodded, pulling her closer, “Laura’s starting highschool, that’s scary.”

“Tell me about it.” Nina shook her head, “Where did the time go?”

“I guess we are getting old.” Gastón laughed, his voice getting sultrier, moving his hand to his wife’s waist, pulling her closer. “Just can’t let it stop us. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“You’re daring.” She laughed leaning closer…

“Uhm, can you not like…do this here?” They turned around and saw Laura standing next to them, arms crossed.

“You being the one complaining is new.” Gastón responded.

“I don’t care what you do, I’m not Aurora.” Laura shook her head, “I just wanna get out of here.”

“What’s the rush?” Nina asked.

“You think I want to stay here any longer than necessary?” Laura continued.

“Fair enough.” Gastón laughed, “Come on, show us the degree at least first.”

“It’s not a degree.” Laura shook her head—obviously at this point in time no school used paper report cards, everything was digital, but La Hoja de Roble carried a tradition of handing out out acrylic boards, that read the student’s names, grade point average, and the date when they had completed their comprehensive education—before handing her school-leaving certificate to her parents. “The GPA is 9,6; by the way, on the dot.”

“That’s amazing.” Nina hugged her. “Congratulations sweetie.”

“You are amazing.” Gastón hugged her as well.

“Are you gonna put that thing on the shelf too?” Laura gestured to the board Gastón was holding now.

“Why wouldn’t we? It’s gonna fit right in with Oscar’s and Aurora’s.”

“Okay, but can we go now?” Laura rolled her eyes, “I need to see if Ivory got out already.”

“Ambar texted us, saying that the ceremony at Ruste´ks is taking a little longer. There are more students there.”

“Simon and Ambar should have let Ivory go here.” Laura grumbled, “I can’t believe that we have not been allowed to be in the same school.”

“Sweetie, you know that they wanted her to go to the school closest to their house.” Gastón explained as they got into the car. “You’ll get to go to the school together now, as you go to Blake… Which reminds me that we need to book the fitting for your uniform.”

“I don’t wanna wear plaid.” Laura grumbled.

“Necessary evil,” Nina shook her head, “It’s kind of required. We survived, so can you.”

“Can we not talk about school any longer?” Laura whined, “I’m done now… I still need to do all my Christmas shopping. I haven’t even started yet and…”

“You have time. Don’t worry.” Gastón laughed, “Let's talk about that during dinner when Oscar and Aurora are back home as well. You all need to do those angel tree donations as well.”

The Angel Tree Donations was something Gastón had been doing with his parents since forever, buying gifts for families that couldn’t afford them themselves. It was something that had always been really important to Isla and Marco and Gastón had wanted to instill the same mindset to his own children.

***

“Now, take your tablets out.” Marvin Engelsó, the literature teacher and the teacher in charge of the freshman class at Blake said while writing on the digital board at the front of the classroom. “We are gonna do a fun Christmas activity, just something special for the last day.”

“Seriously?” Aurora rolled her eyes at Stella who was sitting beside her, “So we are allowed to acknowledge the holidays now?”

“I guess Mr. Engelsó woke up and wanted to be the fun teacher today.” Stella laughed. “Let’s see what he thinks is fun?”

“I want you to write a list of what you wish for Christmas…”

“Or this is actually going to be fun—” Stella’s eyes widened.

“…and then detail under it why and how that wish would make your life better. What will bring into the…”

“Are we in philosophy class?” Aurora sighed, “Of course there is a catch. Who thinks about their Christmas gifts deeply.”

“Get to work.” Mr. Engelsó piped up. “You aren’t free yet, so this is still time for education.”

“Of course.” Aurora chuckled as she opened her tablet and picked up her pen. She sighed…as she was so notoriously bad at asking anything. Mom and Dad were somehow super good at reading her mind on that font, and so were grandma and grandpa too, and her godparents…

She always got what she wanted. Books, notebooks—yes, because she still wrote in those, hair care, cosmetics, golden jewelry, puzzles… Everything she liked.

Mom and Dad were also pretty into giving experiences as gifts…

Aurora glanced at Stella, who was already totally engulfed in her own work, writing things down in a hurry. Obviously, Stella had a thousand ideas, as always.

Aurora carefully inched closer to what Stella was writing.

New roller skates… Of course, Stella was like her mother. Romance books, again, not surprising—

At the bottom…the last line caught Aurora’s attention. It wasn’t just a simple bullet point, but… Embellished with hearts? Stella didn’t do hearts. Stars were her go to motif.

Aurora leaned closer to read what was written next to the hearts—

💗💗 I wish that the one who holds my heart would notice me 💗💗

“What?” Aurora stared at Stella.

“What are you snooping?” Stella whipped her head around with an alarming speed and hurried to cover the tablet.

“Something you clearly haven’t told me,” Aurora stared at her best friend. “Since when have you had a crush on someone?”

“Since…” Stella’s eyes started growing desperate. “I don’t know when…you can’t determine timing for these things.”

“Why haven’t you told me?”

“Because…” Stella shook her head again. “I don’t know. Give me some grace here, please… And please don’t tell anyone—especially Mom and Dad.”

“Uh…” Aurora couldn't get a word out of her mouth.

“Dad would start fuming and Mom would jump onto the walls and start planning the wedding.” Stella continued.

“But who is it?” Aurora insisted, while looking around at class. “Don’t tell me it is anyone here.”

“No, no, not in our class,” Stella looked Aurora into the eyes. “…I can’t tell you.”

***

“Hey. Did you see that the last grades have finally been uploaded to the portal?” Oscar glanced at his best friend Ethan as they were walking toward their lockers.

“No. They usually take forever with them.” He took his phone out and opened the school portal that all of their course evaluations were always updated.

“It’s not like you will have something surprising there.” Ethan snorted. “Mr. Straight acer.”

“I got few B:s this semester.” Oscar shrugged.

“Let me guess, philosophy and social studies.” Ethan laughed again. “Well, I don’t think those will hinder your medical school applications. I got a B in chemistry, and C in philosophy.”

“You just need to really understand that substitution and addition are not the same thing.”

“Well, I passed. That’s the victory here.” Etha shrugged. “B is not bad.”

“It is not.” Oscar nodded as he pressed the touchscreen on the locker, and it popped open. “I don’t really get why we need to have actual classes on the last day. There is no use for this info.”

“We all know Blake would rather crumble down in ruins than let a good moment for education go to waste and let us have fun. We just need to hang in here for another two hours.”

“Yep, then we can forget this whole thing until March.” Oscar nodded—

“I’ve been here for one and half months…” Suddenly the sound of lively Andino Spanish came from behind Oscar. The voice moved until it stopped next to him. “…they finally got me a locker.”

Oscar turned around to look as Eliza had stopped next to the locker next to him—no one had been using that one since he had started at Blake three years ago—and was tapping the control screen.

“Oh, hey boys.” She flashed a bright smile toward Oscar and Ethan—Let's be real, it was mostly toward Oscar—as she opened the door. “Helps me a lot to get this on the last day, but I guess I can leave some stuff here for over the summer.”

“Yeah, it’s really great to have a locker.” Ethan leaned over his locker on the opposite wall, “Ain't it great that she’s right next to you, right Oscar?”

Oscar shot a murderous look toward Ethan.

“It is great. I’m so happy it did work out this way.” Eliza smiled at Oscar again. “I mean, it makes everything easier too, for next year.”

“Oh yeah… Next year…” Oscar tried to snap back into the moment, from the thoughts of the fact that he would need—or get—brush shoulders with Eliza every single time they went to the lockers. The hallway always got so crammed too, so there usually wasn’t much room for personal space—

“Or are you planning on jilting me for a lab partner?” Eliza’s laugh snapped him back again. Get a grip Perida, please. “Because… Don’t you dare!”

“No no, of course not.” He shook his head. “Why would I? You’re the best partner I’ve had.”

“Good.” Eliza glanced at him again, before starting to go through her bag. How did she manage to make it look so radiant? “I actually have some books here that I could leave—Ugh.” She made an attempt to reach up for the upper shelf in the locker but was failing miserably. “Why am I so short?”

“If only we knew somebody who’s really tall.” Ethan remarked again. “Right Oscar?”

“Here let me help you.” Oscar grabbed the book and put it on the shelf. “You can’t get those down either now, though.”

“It’s fine.” Eliza shook his head, “I’m just leaving them here for the summer. You can help me again, in the fall.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” Oscar nodded and pushed his own locker shut, slamming the door maybe a little too hard.

“We should probably head toward Mrs. Poncaer’s class.” Eliza also shut hers.

“She always comes up with the most useless things to do on the last day.” Ethan remarked. “Oral exercises or something.”

“I actually need those.” Eliza shook her head as they walked down the hallways. “Mrs. Poncaer doesn’t like me due to the accent.”

“Try having a Cordoban accent.” Oscar laughed, “Dad told me horror stories about how he was treated in English classes. Now he has a flawless British accent and a degree in that language. It's doable.”

“Good to know.” Eliza laughed back, “I guess I have hope then. And since you are good, you can help me…right?”

“Yeah, of course.” Oscar nodded while he swallowed involuntarily. He quickly turned toward Ethan. “When are you leaving, by the way.”

“Day after tomorrow.” Ethan answered.

“You’re leaving?” Eliza asked.

“Oh yeah,” Ethan nodded, “We always spent most of the Holiday season there at home, in Virginia. To see family and such… It’s not summer, it's really cold, but it’s nice to experience the proper weather…” His face curled into a small smile, “But since I’m leaving Oscar alone for most of the summer, I can trust on you right to make sure he won’t get too bored.” He patted Oscar on the shoulder, while glancing between him and Eliza

They reached a small hall area with a couch and an armchair, which Ethan quickly claimed.

“What do you usually do for Christmas?” Eliza sat next to Oscar on the couch.

“We?” He asked, “Well, the usual. We always get a proper real tree, from this farm just outside of Buenos Aires, and decorate it together.”

“Do not ask about those ornaments.” Ethan noted, “In that house, everything has a story, even Christmas decorations.”

“Super funny.” Oscar rolled his eyes. “But yeah, I mean, Mom is an author. Mom and Dad have gotten ornaments made out of photos they have taken and stuff. They also get a lot from charity foundations too. Like we have a lot of ornaments from the Rosa Ribbon foundation, because my great-grandparents died of cancer when my grandpa was in his early 20s. Then we always make those angel tree donations. Dad insists that we all do at least three every year.”

“That’s super amazing, that you do that.” Eliza tilted her head, “Helping others.”

“Yeah,” Oscar nodded, “It was something my grandparents started, as soon as they could, because they believe that if you can help, you should, to the people who cannot help themselves. They once were in that position themselves, so it’s kind of integrated into them on a really deep level.”

“Your grandparents were poor?”

“Yeah, they were.” Oscar nodded, “When they were kids, at Cordoba. They got scholarships to attend uni, where they met. They moved here when Dad was four and with a lot of work, they became who they are today. I guess they’ve never wanted to forget where they come from, I mean. Where we come from. Dad wants to continue the same thing I guess.”

“That is a really beautiful sentiment.” Eliza nodded. “Gives hope to the rest of us.”

“What do you do?”

“I guess I'm still figuring it out,” She lowered her head, “Now that we are here—and Mom and Dad are gone…”

Eliza Topacio had lived at Salta, her parents had owned a sugarcane plantation there…well until they had died, nine months ago. The 17-year-old girl had come to live with her aunt and uncle in Buenos Aires after they had sold the plantation, that’s why she had transferred into Blake one and a half months ago.

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking…” Oscar started.

“It’s okay.” Eliza placed her hand on his arm, which made him stiffen slightly. “I'd like to remember them somehow… We always used to go to church, but Auntie Ida and Uncle Rico aren’t really church goers…”

“We always attend the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar.” Oscar mentions, trying to sound casual.

“You go to church?”

“Yeah, it’s kind of a tradition.” Oscar ran his hand through his hair. He truly wished Ethan would wipe that smirk off his face, while looking at him and Eliza. “We do like mornings with my godparents’ family, they’re like Mom and Dad’s best friends since high school, and then we go to my grandparents for the evening—”

His phone rang suddenly with an incoming message. “Sorry about that. It was just my parents, from our family group chat. Sent a picture of my sister at her leaving ceremony. She’s gonna come here next year, so I can’t ever get rid of them.”

“I thought your younger sister was already here.” Eliza asked.

“Aurora is, but Laura is my younger younger sister.” Oscar turned his phone around to show her the picture.

“Oh, right, you had two.”

“Yep.” Oscar nodded, “Laura has been the one flooding my phone with pictures of accessories she wants to get for Kelvin. She’s a dog, not a doll you can dress up.”

“You don’t like that?” Eliza grinned.

“Collar is enough “clothes” dog will ever need.” Oscar shook his head. “But in Laura’s opinion, she needs to look fancy for the party. She doesn’t need some glitter and sequin cardigan, she’s gonna overheat, and she’s already cute enough. We don’t need glitter. Don’t even get me started on the time when she wanted to dress Kelvin as all Taylor Swift Eras.”

“She is cute.” Eliza looked at a picture of Kelvin Oscar was showing her on his phone. “I love dogs… I always wanted them on the farm, but Mom and Dad said it would be too much. Can I meet her someday?”

“Yeah, sure.” Oscar nodded.

***

“Okay, go ahead,” Gastón said as the family walked into the Galerias Pacifico. “Have fun. Get all the presents you need. And remember, that I can see everything you buy on those credit cards, so don’t think you can slip something in there that you shouldn't. Meet us for dinner at six.”

“Bye!”

“You say that to them every year, and they have never once misused those credit cards.” Nina laughed after the kids had departed, while wrapping her arm around Gastón’s.

“It means it is working.” He shrugged, “I never misused that credit card Mom and Dad insisted I have for emergencies.”

“The one you tried to return about a hundred times before they actually accepted it?” Nina laughed.

“I couldn’t really be over 35 and still have a credit card from my parents," he laughed back.

“Okay, so which ones are we choosing here?” Nina said while looking up the tree. The Angel Trees still worked the same way as forever ago. Wishes of children were hung on the tree.

“The oldest ones,” Gastón said. “They always get overlooked.”

“So 14 and up?” Nina nodded, “Do we start with five?”

“That sounds good.” He nodded back.

“You know, I will never stop admiring you for this.” Nina ran her hand on his arm after they had picked out the first round of tags.

“We’ve been doing this for years.”

“Yes, that doesn’t make it any less remarkable.” Nina shook her head.

“I could have been them.” Gastón noted while looking at the tags, “If life had gone differently. Mom and Dad were them, my cousins would have been if they didn’t send a check back to Cordoba every December. I’m the one privileged enough not to know how it is like to struggle. Mom and Dad are right, I can’t forget that.”

“And you haven’t.” Nina nodded. “I grew up pretty comfortable, but my main worries during Christmas was what Mom and Dad were going to fight over this time. I never gave any thought to anyone else, who have it worse.”

***

“What is going on here?” Simon was bombarded with a cloud of glitter as he came out of his music room. He had to blink at least two times before his field of vision cleared up.

“Well, welcome back to the land of the living.” Ambar smiled at him as she crouched down to pull a tray of cookies out of the oven. “How’s the song?”

“Almost finished.” Simon nodded, while still wiping part of glitter out of his face, “Who brought a party cannon in here?”

“Oh, girls are just wrapping presents.” Ambar pointed toward the dining table. Simon looked over and saw it brawling all over with pink wrapping paper, silver ribbons, golden stars and other gemstones, and everything covered in glitter.

“Hold this please.” He saw his older daughter Ivory cut a ribbon, and then hand it to her best friend…

Was Laura here? Well, that explained the amount of glitter, because only those two together could create a pink glittering hurricane that Barbie herself would be jealous of.

“Okay, now, after we tape it down, we fold it over, so it looks like a star.” Laura read something from her tablet, before they tied the ribbon in a way that looked like they were tackling a monster.

“They said they wanted to try some new wrapping methods.” Ambar mentioned, before handing Simon a bowl, “Help me with this?”

“Yeah, sure.” Simon nodded and took the bowl his wife was offering him, “What is this?”

“Just some Yule pudding. I found the recipe online.” Ambar explained while piling the cookies on the straight pile. “Come on Darling, where is your holiday spirit?”

“I have plenty of cheerfulness.” Simon chuckled. “Just I don’t need it in my face in the form of rough glitter.”

“Necessary evil,” Ambar grinned, “You know how the girls are. Laura has gotten Ivory to try all sorts of artistic pursuits. She wouldn’t even be singing in the choir without her.”

“Oky, now we just need to add the rhinestones.” Ivory said while holding a glue gun. She started tapping small drops on the wrapped present, while Laura pressed small diamonds on the row following the glue gun.

“Hey Dad!” Ivory looked up after they had finished their rhinestoning pursuits. “Did you finish that Christmas song yet?”

“I did.” Simon grabbed a glass of orange juice and went to sit at the table, opposite of the girl’s mess. “Wasn’t that hard after Nina sent the lyrics. I sent the demo to Pedro. We’re gonna record on Friday and release it on the Eve.”

“Huh, fast process.” Laura remarked, while she focused on painting a twirl on silver on the side of the white package.

“Sometimes it is.” Simon nodded as he put his glass down.

“Wow, DAD! What are you doing?!!” Ivory shrieked.

“What?” Simon stared at her.

“No liquids at the table.” Ivory shook her head, so her blond curls swayed from left to right. “You’re way too close to the danger zone. Come on now. Back it up.”

“Okay, okay,” Simon made a gesture of surrender and moved to the end of the table. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disrupt your art project.”

“Uuf, I forgot a few things in my room.” Ivory rolled her eyes, before getting up from the table. “I’ll be right back.”

Laura nodded as Ivory left. She then flipped a tab open on the tablet on a page she had doodled something on there

“What is that?” Simon leaned closer, because it somewhat looked like guitars.

“Oh, just something I’ve designed.” Laura turned the tablet toward him. “I mean I’ve bejeweled the guitar I have, and have gotten so many other ideas, but Mom and Dad say that they won’t buy me any more guitars, which is a bummer—” Her phone dinged. “—and now they are telling me to be at home by six.”

“That's in like forever,” Ivory came back behind them. “Tell them we still need to wrap these and that you need to help me pick the jewelry for my choir recital tomorrow.”

“I can drive you back if that’s the issue.” Simon explained. “Those guitars look really cool, by the way. I wish mine looked like that.”

***

“Thanks for carrying the bags to the door,” Laura said to Simon as they walked to her house’s door, Simon trying to keep his balance under the bags of elaborately wrapped presents.

“Oh, no.” Laura suddenly stopped in her tracks. “I forgot my keys.”

“Well, is someone home?” Simon asked.

“They should be.” Laura shrugged and rang the doorbell.

“Hey. Did you forget your keys?” Gastón opened the door.

“Apparently.” Laura shrugged and skipped in.

“And you brought luggage I see,” Gastón looked at Simon, who was carrying the bags. “Come on in.”

“Thank you.” Simon sighed as he finally let the bags onto the floor. “I don’t know how they make these so heavy.”

“Glitter is weightier than you would believe,” Gastón laughed. “Laura, you can move these to your room yourself.”

“I gotta say our house will be the most festive one on the block, because we will never get rid of all that glitter.” Simon shook his head after Laura started moving upstairs.

“Thanks for taking the mess at your place.” Gastón grinned at Simon.

“No need to thank me.” He shook his head. “By the way, does Laura need a ride to the choir concert tomorrow?”

“We bribed Oscar to drive her.” Gastón responded. “In the end he loves his sisters, no matter how much he likes to complain that we use him as a personal chauffeur.”

“Well, I live with three women.” Simon chuckled, “I am the personal chauffeur, so I can relate. Oh, I thought I’d ask because I saw that Laura has designed guitars.”

“Oh yeah, she does that.” Gastón nodded. “She decorates her guitar more than actually plays it. She’d paint and bejewel a collection of guitars if we’d let her.”

“That’s what I mean. Would she like making me one?” Simon asked.

“Uhm, no. Absolutely not.” Gastón’s expression froze. “Look, it’s really good that you asked me, because it is not that she wouldn’t want to do that or that we wouldn’t want her to do that, but it’s not that simple. Unless you are willing to have a guitar on stage made by an anonymous artist.”

“Anonymous?”

“I am not having her name out there in any circumstances.” Gastón shook his head. “Our name is not common. The moment they hear Perida, it’s linked to me and Nina and my parents. I got to have a normal life because the press didn’t know I existed until I was 23. I am not having my children out there either; they get to decide it themselves when they are 18.”

“Okay I get that.” Simon nodded. Gastón and Nina had kept intensely private, even though both of their careers and Gastón’s family legacy was keeping them in the public eye.

“She’s immensely talented.” Gastón continued, “Nina would love to have her illustrate her book someday, but right now her safety is more important. Sorry.”

***

“Sit.” Oscar placed his backpack down on the ground and looked at Kelvin, who sat on the ground, her blonde tail wagging. “Good girl.”

He checked his watch and then ran his hand over her silky head, before unclipping her leash. “Okay, you know the rules, don’t you dare to run away from me.”

Kelvin tilted her head and gave him a look that appeared to say: “I am not an idiot”.

“Don’t glare at me.” Oscar laughed, “Come on. Give me a high five.”

Kelvin’s eyes glimmered as she threw her right paw up to meet Oscar’s hand.

“Wow.” Oscar turned around to see Eliza behind him.

“Hey, you made it.”

“Of course.” She nodded, “Kind of what you do when you’re new to town, so you have nothing else to do than come to meet your only friend’s dog.”

“I’m glad you came.” Oscar nodded, “No matter how you put it. Kelvin, are you not gonna say hi?”

Kelvin padded over to Eliza and sat in front of her and offered her left paw.

“Well, look who is the proper lady I see.” Eliza laughed and took the paw that was offered and shook it. “You are so pretty.”

“Don’t flatter her too much, it’ll go to her head. She is the most spoiled dog in the whole world as it is.”

“Well, someone this adorable better be.” Eliza crouched down and scratched Kelvin behind her ears.

“Okay, Kelvin, get the ball.” Oscar commanded. Kelvin hopped over to his backpack, pulled on the ribbon in the zipper and got out a ball that she now held toward Oscar. “Good girl.”

Oscar took the ball and threw it across the park.

“Wow, nice curve.” Eliza remarked as Kelvin bolted after the ball. “If the whole med school thing doesn’t mellow out, you got promise as a baseballer.”

“In the words of both my sisters, I don’t do ball sports.” Oscar shook his head.

“What kind of sports do you like then?”

“Climbing,” Oscar shrugged, “Everything that gives my mom a heart attack. The ball’s just for Kelvin.”

“She seems extremely smart.” Eliza noted. “Have you trained her yourself?”

“More or less.” Oscar nodded, “We got her when I was 13, and Mom and Dad wanted me to take care of her as much as possible, especially after…”

“After?”

“She’s not our first dog.” Oscar shook his head, “Her grandfather actually, was a dog Mom and Dad got on their first anniversary. His name was Newton. I don’t really remember everything anymore, but they told me that we were very close, ever since I was born. He had to be put down when I was 7 or something like that.”

“I’m sorry.” Eliza ran her hand on his arm. Oscar tried to ignore the way his skin tingled after.

“It’s fine. That’s life, right.” He nodded as he threw the ball for Kelvin again. “You’ve figured out what you’re gonna do for the holidays yet?”

“Well, I guess we are just gonna be following what my aunt and uncle have always done.” Eliza shrugged. “My cousins want to go the Chrismast market.”

“That's really pretty there.” Oscar noted.

“Oh… And I did get this invite, for 23rd.” Eliza looked at her phone, “From Mandy Ezénois to this eve’s eve party…but I don’t know.”

“She is in our class,” Oscar noted, “She has been doing those for years with the girls.”

“I know she is in our class.” Eliza nodded, “But…”

“You’re not gonna go?”

“I don’t know any of them.” Eliza shook her head, “I mean we’ve talked sometimes and they’ve seemed kind of nice, but only people I actually know are Ethan and especially you. I don’t want to be the pity invite just because I’m the new orphan farm girl from nowhere.”

“Salta’s not nowhere.” Oscar shook his head. “You have a farm. That’s pretty cool.”

“I used to have a farm.” Eliza corrected, “Now it’s my school and college fund and the plantation has new owners. I’m not mad about that, I wouldn’t have time to run it once I’m in med school anyway.”

“You should take the leap and go to the party.” Oscar noted. “According to Mom and Dad, I used to be so shy, until we started going on Disney Cruises and I started loving the kids’ clubs and made so many friends there. Sometimes you just have to try.”

“I’ll think about it.” Eliza smiled at him. “I honestly can’t imagine you as shy. You’ve always been so confident at what you do, and so admirable. How could someone not like you? It’s impossible.”

“Uh. Anyone would be so lucky to be your friend. You really should just let everyone see the person I know…” Oscar realized that they were standing pretty close, and as the sun was starting to go down, the remaining light reflected from her eyes.

At that moment Kelvin crashed into his feet, wagging her tail and holding the ball upwards again.

***

“Where is Oscar?” Nina asked as she pulled an ornament out of a box.

“Still out with Kelvin I think.” Gastón said while walking out of the kitchen, “Don’t worry. He has probably just decided to take a longer route. Let's give him 20 minutes and then call him.”

“Typical,” Aurora rolled her eyes as she was hanging an ornament on the tree, “Oscar starts ditching the time-honored family tradition.”

“Pass me the pink ball,” Laura said from the other side of the tree? “Oh, Mom, Dad, did you already sign all the stuff for that camp?”

“You are signed in there now,” Nina responded, “We still have over a week before you go, so there’s time.”

“Nina,” Gastón suddenly gestured to her, when the girls were engulfed in tree decoration. “You need to see this.”

“What?” She got up from the couch and walked to the foyer, where Gastón was looking out of the front window.

“I think I found out the reason why he is taking so long.” He pointed toward the outside. “Would you look at that.”

Nina looked through the window and saw it. Oscar was standing in front of the gate, Kelvin’s leash in hand, but that wasn't what they were actually looking for. He was smiling and there was that certain glint in his eyes as he was talking very animatedly to a girl with deep red hair.

“I am willing to bet my Ph.D. that that is that girl he has been talking about…Eliza, right?” Gastón continued.

“It has to be.” Nina nodded.

“If I am being honest, I never fully understood my mom’s comments about the light in my eyes that I got from Dad.” Gastón looked outside again, “Until I am seeing it myself in front of my eyes.”

“Your mother does have an eye for these things.” Nina chuckled, while glancing outside again. “I’ve never seen him look like that before…”

“Well, we should have seen this coming,” Gaston laughed, “Given how much he has talked about her, his laboratory partner… Well, we’ll be having a daughter-in-law candidate probably during the next fall.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Well, men in my family have a problem,” Gastón shook his head, “We are completely idiots when it comes to women we like. Getting out of that idiocy takes time.”

“How were you an idiot?” Nina looked at Gastón amused.

“You probably remember all the idiotic stuff I did chasing you around,” He looked at her back, “and then I was an idiot some more, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten, it is not just me either, it’s generational. Dad held out on Mom for five months, and even then, it took his father to die for him to act on anything.”

“And if I recall we all ended up married,” Nina added, while grabbing Gastón’s arm. “Five months or not, you parents have been blissfully happy for almost 50 years now. We are also very happy. Better to follow your family cycle than mine, since that doesn’t know the word happiness.”

“I guess we just have to let Oscar run its course and hope he will get there on his own.” Gastón shook his head. “He’s almost 18 after all.”

***

“Today was fun.” Oscar said to Eliza, as he leaned on the gate of his house.

“It was.” Eliza nodded, looking up, “Also, nice house.”

“Dad built it when Aurora was a baby.” Oscar shook his head, “I know it looks fancy, but…”

“It is fancy,” Eliza laughed, “But there is nothing wrong with that. I wouldn’t expect anything less for you, Perida.”

“Name comes with territory I guess.” Oscar shook his head.

“I am still glad to know you.” Eliza continued, before opening her bag. “Uh… I have something for you.” She pulled out a wrapped box. “Ehm, merry christmas.”

“Wow, thanks. You didn’t need to…”

“I have always had a way with presents.” Eliza laughed, “I guess, I just keep adding people on my list, so it won’t seem so empty now—and I always get gifs for my friends…but right now I don’t have anyone else—”

“Well, I am honored.” Oscar nodded before opening his own bag. “And I actually got something for you too, just didn’t know how to bring it up…didn’t know if you’d find it awkward.”

He handed her a small box, tied with a sapphire blue ribbon.

“It would have never been awkward.” Eliza laughed. “Thank you.”

They just stood in silence for a moment.

“Oh, it’s getting late.” Oscar checked his watch suddenly. “We were supposed to do the tree today. Mom and Dad are probably fuming at me right now… Uh, are you able to get home alright?”

“Yeah, it’s not that far.” Eliza tapped him on the arm—a gesture that ended up being a tad bit clumsy. “Good night.”

“Good night. Merry Christmas.”

“Where have you been?” Oscar was greeted by Aurora’s voice as soon as he got through the door.

“On a walk with Kelvin.” He just shrugged and dropped his backpack down. He looked at his parents who were sitting on the couch. “You weren’t worried, right. I’m sorry, I should have texted or something.”

“It’s okay.” Nina nodded.

“We do hope that this won’t mean that you will start skipping on the tree.” Gastón remarked.

“Oh, nooo.” Oscar shook his head. “I didn’t mean to. Just lost track of time.”

“Good. You can help the girls finish up.”

“Yeah.” Oscar nodded and moved to the living room. “Is Newton’s paw somewhere?”

“On the coffee table.” Laura pointed. “We all know that you’d kill us if we put it on the tree, because it’s yours.”

“Well, good for you to remember.” Oscar laughed slightly, before picking up the ornament from the table. It was a plaster cast of Newton's paw that his parents had gotten made on his last Christmas. Apparently, he had gotten quite upset as younger a few times when it had almost gotten lost.

“Kelvin.” He called the dog, and she padded over to him and boobed her nose against the ornament, like he had taught her, before hanging the ornament on the tree.

“You can handle the higher branches.” Aurora dropped a box of stars in his hand. “I don’t wanna get the step stool out, and you’re the only one of us who actually is tall as a tower.”

Later that night, Oscar dropped his bag on his bed. The time was nearing midnight soon and Kelvin was already curled up at the foot of the bed. He opened the bag and pulled the gift Eliza had given him out.

He looked at it for a moment. It was the 21st of December. Christmas was in four days. Surely, he could open it… And he really didn’t want to open it in front of everyone else in the hassle of Christmas morning anyway. Luna, Matteo, Stella and Milo were coming over and it would be usual festive chaos that it always was.

He made a split-second decision and pulled the ribbon off the package.

There were two items there. The first one was an ornament.

As Oscar raised it to his eye level, he realized that it was a glass pipette. Inside of it, it looked like there were crystals of some sort.

Luckily a card was hanging on it. Oscar detached it from the ornament and read it.

You said that your family likes to collect ornaments with meanings. I tried my best.

Oncotrix-1 (C₂₅₀H₃₇₅N₉₅O₁₄₀P₅₀, but you know that) was the first non-harmful cure for cancer developed in 2030. Nowadays it has become ineffective, but it still was the first important steppingstone in the treatments we have today.

There is one Oncotrix-1 molecule stored in each one of those crystals.

I remember what you told me about your great grandparents and how their fates influenced your grandparents’ path, which is super admirable.

“Wow.” Oscar mouthed as he looked at the ornament. She had not been kidding. She really did have a way with gifts. How did she even remember all those details that he had told her in a passing conversation…

She was good.

Too good, as he found himself taking a few deep breaths. He still wasn’t quite prepared for the sensation that started overtaking him.

He looked at the other item, to distract himself for a moment. It was a deep scarlet red collar that looked like it was velvet or something similar. It was decorated with a small row of pearls.

There was another note hanging on it.

Okay, hear me out here. I know you said you don’t like to dress her up, but…

Come on now, every girl deserves something to feel pretty in during the holidays. Also, this is a collar, not an accessory and you said those were fine. Hopefully Kelvin likes it.

Oscar chuckled. Leave it to Eliza to find a loophole from what he had said. “Kelvin, come here.”

The dog jumped in front of him on the bed wagging her tail and was actually looking at the collar quite curiously.

“Let’s see how this looks.” Oscar put the collar around her neck. It fit perfectly. Kelvin’s eye’s sparkled and she wagged her tail some more and slurped his face with her tongue.

“Okay, I see that you like it.” He laughed as he pushed her furry snoot away. “Calm down now girl.” He traced the collar with his finger. “I like it too.”

He reached for his phone. It dinged as soon as it was in his hand.

He froze for a moment as he realized that it was from Eliza.

Eliza: The complexity and endlessness of the celtic knots honor the idea of legacy — that a person’s life and contributions are woven into the lives of those they leave behind, like an eternal tapestry of memory. I see what you did there ;). It is beautiful. I never took you as a guy who has the chops for jewelry shopping, but always nice to be surprised.

Oscar stared at the message for a moment, while he felt the heat rise in his face. He had gotten Eliza a bracelet woven from celtic knots. The endless loops of Celtic knots symbolized the idea of eternity and the continuation of love and memories, even after someone had passed. It suggested that the love shared with the deceased endures, binding the living and the departed together in an unbroken connection.

He had felt like that was something that would be good for Eliza. So, she could keep the life she had lost always close.

He had taken a bit of a risk, by going to buy jewelry on his own. No way he would have asked either Aurora or Laura for advice. Mom was out too, and Dad…Dad was probably the best at buying jewelry in their house—over half of Mom’s jewelry collection was courtesy of him—but Oscar didn’t want anyone to know. It would raise all sorts of questions and…

…he had already been afraid that the gift was little too forward or overstepping or something.

He looked at the text again. It hadn't been the case. She liked it. She loved it−

His phone dinged again.

Eliza: And yes, I did open it up.

Oscar smiled and started typing.

Oscar: I never said you couldn’t. I'm glad you liked it. Eliza: Where have you learned to buy jewelry? Oscar: That’s classified Eliza: How classified?

***

“That’s the last one.” Gastón said as he hung up the last stocking on the railing on the stairs.

“I wonder how long they are going to allow us to keep doing this?” Nina smiled at him from the couch.

“Well, Oscar hasn't expressed anything that he won’t want a stocking after he turns 18, which he isn’t yet.” Gastón remarked as he sat next to her. “I doubt the girls will either, anytime soon.”

“I guess you’re right.” Nina leaned her head on his shoulder. “You know, with all the chaos, quiet like this is really beautiful.”

“I know.” He pulled her closer, kissing her head. “Kind of reminds me of all the times we spent at the Villa, even if we didn’t often do Christmas there.”

“Those sound magical,” Nina smiled, “I am always so happy to always hear about that. You truly had a happy childhood. We can’t all say that. Well, we don’t want to even get to the Christmases I had growing up,” She laughed slightly, “I don’t want to think about those…even at the time I thought I could never have a happy Christmas, so thank you.”

“I told you that you will never have to go back to that.” Gastón ran his hand over his arm. “I’ve kept my word for 23 years and counting.” He leaned closer to her. “I also hid mistletoe somewhere around here.

“Where?” She looked at him questiongly.

“Not going to tell you.” Gastón grinned, “So better keep on your toes.”

***

“Merry Christmas!!!” Luna exclaimed as soon as Gastón opened the door. “We brough so many presents.”

“Good to hear.” Gastón nodded, and looked over to the driveway, “Matteo, need help?”

“No, I am fine!!!” Matteo yelled from the car, where he was getting a huge bag out of the trunk.

“Sure.” Gastón nodded, before turning around. “Oscar… Go help him.”

“Sure thing Dad.” Oscar nodded and walked outside.

“How’s our goddaughter?” Gastón hugged Stella, whose blonde dyed curls were tied on two pigtails, tied with glittering ribbons.

“I’m hungry.” Stella jumped.

“Good thing we have a lot of food.” Gastón laughed.

“Hey.” Nina appeared at the door. “Come on in.”

“It is so pretty here.” Luna hugged her. “I mean, we decorated too, and Matteo called our house a glittering mess.”

“There is nothing wrong with that.” Nina laughed.

“Hey!!!” Stella stepped into the living room where Aurora and Laura were sitting on the couch.

“Hi!” Aurora got up and Stella tackled her into a hug. “You’ve been avoiding me.” She whispered into her ear.

“No I have not.” Stella whispered back.

“Yes you have.” Aurora continued. “I can’t believe you won’t tell me who you have a crush on—”

“Aurora, have you seen this before?” Laura suddenly interrupted.

“What? She turned around.

“Look at Kelvin’s collar.” Laura pointed out. “That’s new?”

“There is no way Oscar got her a new collar,” Aurora looked at it closer, tracing her fingers on the beading on the collar, “Especially one that looks like this.”

“Or maybe he just has a good taste in collars,” Stella suggested, which was kind of uncharacterized for her.

At that moment, Matteo, Oscar and Milo came in with the gift bags. “Thanks lads.” Matteo sighed and the bags went down.

“And I thought you said you could handle them by yourself.” Luna laughed at him.

“Never mind that.” Matteo shook his head.

“Oscar,” Aurora piped up, pointing at Kelvin’s collar. “What is this?”

“You always get mad at us when we get her accessories,” Laura continued, “but now she has a new collar. Where did you get it?”

“I didn’t get it.” Oscar shook his head. “It was a gift from a friend.”

“There is no way Ethan got that.” Laura shook her head.

“Because it wasn’t Ethan.” Oscar sighed. “She—”

“She? So that lab partner of yours, Eliza?” Aurora asked.

“Yeah, her.” Oscar nodded, “And Kelvin gets to wear it, because she has actual taste.”

“Yeah, sure…” Aurora remarked sarcastically.

“Hey kids!” Gastón interrupted, whatever the conversation was becoming. “Food’s done in 10 minutes, so help Matteo get the packages out of the bags.”

“Yeah, sure.” Oscar nodded while grabbing a bag. “Stella, catch.”

“Huh?” Again, something that was not very in character for Stella, she froze in surprise and wasn’t able to catch the bag in time.

“Sorry. You okay?” Oscar laughed as the bag hit Stella and the contents spilled on the floor.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” Stella laughed nervously. “Now we need to pick these up.”

Aurora had grabbed the last present from the bag she had been emptying into a neat line when she looked around after hearing a giggle. She furrowed her brow… It had come from Stella’s direction but… Stella did not giggle like that.

Aurora looked at her best friend again. She was gathering packages off the ground and at the same time brushing a non-existent lock of hair behind her ear. She had that same kind of puppy face that Kelvin used to beg for treats. And worst of all, Stella was looking at—

“Would you excuse us for a second?” Aurora went to grab Stella’s arm and started pulling her down a hallway.

“What are you doing?” Stella asked after Aurora had pulled her into the library.

“The better question is what are you doing?” Aurora stared at her. “Please please tell me that I am wrong—even though I am never wrong—and you don’t have a crush on Oscar.”

“I—” Stella stuttered and unmistakably started blushing. “This is why I couldn’t tell you.”

“Why? How?” Aurora almost pleaded, “Scratch that. I don’t want to know. You can’t like him.”

“Why not?”

“Million reasons.” Aurora shook her head, “You are my best friend, he is my brother, your parents are his godparents, our parents are your godparents…” Aurora pointed toward a picture at the end of one of the book cases, which had been taken a few days after Luna and Matteo had brought Stella back from the hospital. In the picture, Oscar, who was almost three, almost one year old Aurora, and Stella as a newborn were lying on the carpet in a circle. “We have known you since you were born, he has known you since then… That is like Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker -weird, and they didn’t know!!!”

“It could not be weird.” Stella tried to suggest. “What if…”

“There are no what ifs…” Aurora looked at Stella concerned, “It’s impossible. This not the Christmas present I thought I’d be getting…”

{}

Well, Merry Chrismas!!!! So, I feel like I pretty much nailed the Chrismas fic last eyar, so I had super hard time thinking what I could do for this year. This year's theme has kind of been the SL next gen year for me, so here's the Christmas of 2046 for you. It ended up being more of a slice of life kind of story, just during the holidays. So there was no real plot, but just some holiday scheningans and some set up for future stories. I mean I can say that this alsmot work as a prologue for a story that I have not even started yet, but the story focusing on Oscar, because he is going to get his own story. Aurora has gotten her time travel escapades, Laura is going thorugh he wons stuff right now, so we are not sweeping their older brother under the rug. I love Oscar Perida as a character, and he is gonna get his spolight–and you can probably guess what's that story will be about. Happy holidays everyone!!! And I absolutely have taken it as my mission to educat you all on Finnish Chrismas song every holid days season, because we have bangers.

#soy luna #soy luna fanfiction #gastina #simbar #lutteo #Holidays #christmas fic #christmas

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iridescentis · 11 months ago

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random question for the people who have dabbled in some future soy luna aspects, who do we think gets engaged first?

purely because im thinking of writing a lil fic that takes place during the first engagement party and i cannot decide whose party it is

#i know this question has definitely been answered before but i forgot sorry 😭#my gut instinct is to go with pelfi #but i thought i would ask The People just in case #the fic actually has nothing to do with the engaged couple in question #but rather two “friends” returning from a certain someones world tour 👀#but basically my options are pelfi simbar or gastina unless anyone else has another idea #hey maybe it could be jazmin's #idk who she's marrying but that could be funny #and yes this is one of the ships that does not have enough fics so i have to do it myself #in fact i just checked and there is just one #changes must be made folks #soy luna

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putonmyfavoriteshow · 1 year ago

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Thinking about Jazmín again from last night's rewatch because of just how much she wants to care for people in her life but they just don't let her because they don't take her seriously. And when Emilia is introduced, she acts so intimidating and independent but whenever she's a little bit vulnerable, you can tell she just wants to be taken care of for once.

Jazmilia is the ship ever I'm gonna cry.

#jazmilia #soy luna #i mean this is perfect timing for this brainrot since ch3 of my jazmilia fic is next on my writing to do list :)#but yeah.gif

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gaybarbiegirl · 2 years ago

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Love wins <3

(And happy Gastiro day everybody)

#ITS THE DAY #THE DAY WEVE BEEN WAITING FOR #i can't believe the gastiro lore is finally getting released into the world #i'm so happy #anyway please appreciate the drawings and go check out @marciego's absolute banger of a fic #one of the best fics i ever read in my life fr #we truly gave everything we had for the boys #soy luna #gastiro

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marciego · 2 years ago

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love wins, happy gastiro day <3

#HAPPY GASTIRO DAY!!!!#so fucking excited for today #please please please check out gaybarbiegirl's art for the fic it's fucking phenomenal #gastiro nation won so hard today #this was such a blast to write i had the time of my life being over dramatic for no reason #we gave everything we had for today we've been suffering together to get it done in time for weeks #AND IT WAS SO WORTH IT #soy luna #gastiro

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slingshotfanart · 2 years ago

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I decided to draw some scenes from my friend's fics.

Naty telling a certain someone a message while she and Ludmila are being interviewed on live TV. From all press is good press by @iristhedeadflower

Gastón and Nina flee from Nina's house to get to a car (they're supposed to carry Nina's bags it looks like purses I'm sorry). From Memories of Time by @countessofravenclaw

Ludmila and her foster child Alex. From The Unforecasted Storm by @ichiro51

My friends are very talented and I have even more friends who writes amazing fics. So many that I hope to draw even more. I might do some re-reads ;)

#fic fanart #violetta #soy luna

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purple-fireflies · 2 years ago

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gastina au based on tis the damn season (by taylor swift) where both nina and gastón went their separate ways (nina went to college in the US), nina is this world renowned author but known to be tight lipped about her private life, gastón is a photographer that travels the world, and they both come back to argentina for lutteo’s wedding during christmas time and things start happening 👀👀

#soy luna #lutteo #gastina #one of my fifty fic ideas that i’d write if not for the sats

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psychicbluebirdmiracle · 1 year ago

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I kept thinking Ámbar in Soy Luna reminded me of Chloe Bourgeois and now here we are her boyfriend flirting with other girls and she's treated like the bad guy Chloe and Ámbar should be friends and they can both bond over being the mean bratty girls who deserve better

#i would and might totally write a fic on this #chloe bourgeois #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #soy luna #ámbar smith #disney channel

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hide-in-imagination · 15 days ago

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The Blind Date | Simbar Oneshot

AU – Different First Meeting. Simón is 28, Ámbar is 27 (They have 1 year and 5 months of age difference but this is after Ámbar’s birthday, so she’s already 27). For plot purposes, Luna and Simón are the same age here (not like it matters since she’s not technically mentioned, but I wanted to clarify in case someone pointed it out.)

Hope you enjoy!

“I still don’t like this.”

Walking out of the restaurant, Delfi followed her boyfriend over to the street corner, where they waited for the light to turn green to cross. The sound of traffic and pedestrians was louder here than it’d been inside the establishment, and yet she still made her voice quieter than usual, as if the two still inside would magically hear her. “I mean, set Ámbar up with Simón? He’s too sweet, she’s gonna eat him alive!”

For the record, Delfi loved her friend, she really did. But Ámbar’s attitude toward her friends versus the guys they tried for her to meet was totally different. Delfi stayed in there with them until the waiter took their orders just to make sure Ámbar wouldn’t leave the date the moment they walked out— It had happened before.

Her boyfriend held her hand and interlocked their fingers reassuringly. “Okay, one: it’s too late to back out now, my love,” Pedro reminded her. “And two, as I see it, he might be the only one with enough patience to deal with her.”

Delfi bit her lip, not very convinced. “I guess…”

There were many reasons why they thought it would be great if those two started going out, but now that they’d gotten to the moment of truth, she was worried that theory would be nothing like reality.

Delfi stole one last glance at the two people sitting inside the restaurant. Ámbar caught her eye through the window and waved at her with a smile.

I should probably start looking for a new amplifier for Simón in case this goes too badly.

The traffic light turned green and Delfi walked away with her boyfriend, praying for the best.

**************

Ámbar lowered her hand the moment Delfi was out of sight.

In front of her, her lunch date was smiling a little nervously, but sincerely, as far as she could tell— Simón, she thought his name was. He wasn’t the worst any of her friends had ever fished out for her. At least this one had arrived in a dark blue shirt and black jeans instead of a tank top and basketball shorts. Seriously, what was Jazmín thinking?

The guy shifted in his seat now that they were alone and opened his mouth. “So—”

“Let’s get things straight,” Ámbar cut him off. “The only reason why I’m here is to get Delfi off my back. I’m not interested in the slightest in learning anything about you, and I won’t be sharing any personal information I don’t feel comfortable sharing either. Let’s just eat our food and leave. Understood?”

Simón was dumbfounded. He blinked a few times, processing the information, and then backed up slightly in his seat, a little deflated.

“Um… Well, I guess that takes the pressure off…” He mused.

Ámbar showed him a fake smile. Good thing he took it so positively.

She looked down at her phone.

Simón rubbed the back of his neck.

“Um, what should we tell our friends about today then?”

She shrugged, scrolling through Instagram. “I’ll just say you weren’t my type.”

Simón pursed his lips, considering. “Okay, I’ll say that too,” he decided, and then checked his phone as well.

Ámbar snorted. “Please. Say something believable. I’m everyone’s type.”

Now it was him who let out a little laugh. “If you say so,” Simón said, rolling his eyes a bit.

Ámbar looked up immediately. Her lips pulled up into a murderous smile as she put her phone down. “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

He shrugged. “You’re not exactly my type, so… I guess not everyone’s.”

“Oh, really? What’s your type then, if I may ask? Ugly?” She guessed. “No personality?”

Simón ignored her ironic remarks and just thought over the question.

He gave a little shrug again. She was starting to hate that. “I don’t know… a girl who’s kind, sweet, funny…”

“And how can you affirm I’ve got none of those qualities? You don’t know me at all.”

“And I never will, as you so kindly informed me,” Simón said with a smile, trying his own hand at irony, apparently. “So, let’s just enjoy our meal and go our separate ways, okay?”

He brought his gaze back to the screen of his phone.

Ámbar watched him for a moment. She crossed her arms, leaning back on her seat. “Are you always this condescending?”

“You will never know,” he said with a shit-eating smirk. He seemed to be really enjoying himself, the jerk.

Ámbar told herself she didn’t care what he thought about her— she was never going to see him again anyway— but the fact that he had written her off so quickly annoyed her. It hurt her ego.

So, after the waiter arrived with their drinks, she decided to interact just a tiny bit.

“Fine. We’ll have to wait for our orders anyway, so let’s play 20 questions— it’ll serve to pass the time.”

“Or,” Simón proposed, “we could just have a regular conversation like normal people.”

Ámbar shot him a look. “Do you want to or not? I can deal with icy silence.”

He sighed. “Okay. 20 Questions it is.”

----------------------

“So, are you always this condescending?” Ámbar asked, after he ceded the first question to her with ‘ladies first’.

“No. At least, no one has ever told me that before. I guess it’s just a side of me that comes out when someone is gratuitously mean to me.”

“I wasn’t mean; I was being direct and honest,” she defended. “If one of us is not actually interested in pursuing a relationship, should we let the other person get their hopes up?”

“No, but there are nicer ways to say the exact same thing.”

“Sure, but if I say I’m not looking for a relationship right now and ‘let’s just have a nice time, maybe we could be friends’, guys take that as either, one, a ‘not yet’ situation and turn it into a challenge, or two, an ‘oh, okay, I don’t want anything serious either; do you want to have a quickie in my car?’

Simón looked horrified. “…… Did that really happen or are you exaggerating?”

“Well, those weren’t his exact words, but yes, it happened. And the other thing too, more than once, so I learned to not be nice.”

Simón remained quiet.

“By the way, that was your first question; it’s my turn again.”

-----------------------

They went through the typical small talk questions: what do you do for a living, where did you study, what are your hobbies… She knew most of it already from Delfi, like the fact that he’d come from México nine years ago, that he was in a band with Pedro and they met up once per week to play (of course she knew that, he was Delfi’s new boyfriend) and that he worked as a music teacher at a school.

“What’s your favorite color?”

Ámbar raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You couldn’t think of something more interesting?”

“Well, would you be willing to share anything deeper?”

“No.”

Simón raised his glass, cheering to that. “Favorite color it is.”

“Purple. Yours?”

“Blue.” He took a sip of his drink. “And for your information, favorite colors actually say a lot about a person. Like, from a psychological perspective.”

“Really?” She found that interesting. “What does purple say about me?”

“Nah uh, it’s my turn. Favorite animal?”

“Cat. What does purple say about me?”

“Actually… I don’t remember.” He laughed. “I read it somewhere online the other day. I’m sure you’ll find it if you look it up.” Ámbar grabbed her phone to do just that.

“But, how would you describe yourself?” Simón asked, curious.

“Kind and sweet,” she answered with a smile.

Simón gave her a flat look. “Funny.”

Ámbar smiled wider.

“Come on, seriously,” he encouraged her.

Ámbar thought it over. It wasn’t a deep question really, anyone who knew her probably would say the same.

“Assertive,” she started, fishing for the right words. “Ambitious. I go for what I want and I get it. A little bossy sometimes, I admit. But I’m a good friend, or at least I think I am. I don’t like leaving people alone. If I feel like they need someone, I like being there for them.” Simón nodded to himself, like taking this in, or agreeing with her perhaps. “As long as I can and it’s reasonable, of course,” she clarified. “I’m not going to walk out of my job at the drop of a hat because my friend had a fight with her boyfriend.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, that could be quite draining.”

“I return the question to you: how would you describe yourself?”

“Kind and sweet.”

She chuckled against her will. He seemed pleased with himself.

“Mmm, I don’t know…” he continued, now thinking it over more seriously. “Overall, I’d say I’m a good person. I don’t know if there’s anything too special about me other than I play music, but I like helping people, and I’m a good listener, and a good friend. I’m… enthusiastic— I don’t know if that’s the right word for it, but— I love life. I love to experience new things, try new things, even if they don’t end up well, and… I’d dare say I’m funny,” he ended with.

“I think you think you’re funny, which is different,” Ámbar said.

“You laughed,” he pointed out smugly.

“Because you repeated back my own joke!” She retorted. “I’m the funny one.”

“Okay, okay…”

---------------------

“What did Pedro say about me?” Ámbar asked out of curiosity a moment after their food arrived. Simón had ordered steak with rustic mashed potatoes and roasted veggies, while she was now digging into her ravioli. “You know, to convince you to come.”

“Actually, Delfi did most of the talking. She said you were very funny, a very good friend, that maybe you could be a little surly but it was ‘nothing to worry about.’ Pedro just put on a smile and nodded his head.” Simón paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Now that I think about it, I should’ve known.”

Ámbar gave him a look, but Simón could tell she wasn’t really annoyed.

Wow, how could he know that already? Well, to be fair, she wasn’t nearly as inscrutable as she probably thought she was. Secretive, sure. Defensive, absolutely. (Seriously, one would think he was attacking her.) But her expressions, her eyes… those weren’t that hard to read.

“Well, they both spoke wonders about you.”

Her voice brought Simón back from his thoughts.

“Really?” He asked. It wasn’t like he had been expecting them to say bad stuff but, it warmed his heart that they’d put in a good word for him.

“Yeah, but I tuned out after the first thirty seconds or so, so I actually have no idea what they said.”

Simón snorted. Of course. “How do you know they said wonders about me then? Maybe they were warning you about me being a serial killer.”

“First of all, I doubt they’re the kind of people who would say that with big smiles on their faces.” Simón cracked a smile. Yeah, that would be pretty weird. “Second, no one tries to convince you to go out with somebody and talks about them for ten minutes if they have nothing good to say. And third, that counted as your question; it’s my turn now.”

“Damn…” Simón said, but he couldn’t help but smile. He walked right into that one, didn’t he? He’d have to be more alert.

Ámbar took a few sips of her drink, thinking about what to ask next.

“So, assuming that you’re not a serial killer and that they did speak wonders about you, what would you say is the reason you’re single?”

Simón hesitated for a bit, clearly not having been expecting that question.

After thinking about it for a bit, he answered, “I guess I just suck at choosing women.”

Ámbar scoffed so hard. “Really? So they are the problem? Don’t you think that’s a little convenient?”

“Nonono, I’m not saying I don’t have any flaws— I’ll give you a full list if you want,” he hurried to say. “But seriously, it’s like I’m somehow hard-wired to fall for girls who hurt me.”

Ámbar raised her eyebrows with interest. She grabbed her glass. “Do tell.”

Simón sighed heavily. “Okay. My first girlfriend: dumped me two weeks after taking my virginity and then made a pass on one of my friends.”

Ámbar winced. “Ouch.”

“Well, we were in high school, so I guess that stuff happens,” Simón tried to minimize it. “My second girlfriend,” he continued. “She was very toxic. I didn’t know the term back then, but that whole relationship was toxic. If I did what she wanted, she showered me with love, but if not, she got insufferable, and I had to spend days trying to make it up to her even if the whole conflict had been her fault. And then, every time I tried to break things off with her, she found ways to manipulate me. She wore a fracture boot for her ankle and walked around with crutches for a whole month before I found out—she never even broke it!”

“Are you kidding me?”

“You would think so, but no.” He leaned forward on the table, getting more into the storytelling. “Then there was my best friend from that time; she was a girl. We had known each other for years. We did everything together, and she supported me a lot when I went through those relationships. Maybe it was for that very reason that I started seeing her differently, and, at some point, I realized I wanted to be more than just her friend. I told her about my feelings after we graduated high school, and she agreed to try it out, so we started dating, and it was very nice for some time… Then she friendzoned me in front of this new college guy she fell for. They’ve been together ever since.”

Simón took a sip from his drink while Ámbar stared, aback. “Wow.”

“Yeah… I came to live here in Buenos Aires after that.” He left his glass back on the table. “Things didn’t get much better in the love department though. There was the girl who could never see me on the weekends— Turns out she was still seeing her ex.” He lifted a finger. “The one who only used me to buy her stuff— That might have been my best relationship actually.” He lifted another. “Then the girl who only wanted me to make her ex jealous— Thankfully, I saw that one coming, so we didn’t even officially date. And… I think that’s it.” He lowered his hands. “I kind of just focused on getting my degree and then a job. I’ve had a couple of… somethings the past two years but, they didn’t amount to anything really.”

“So that’s why you didn’t run out the second I told you I had no interest in you.” Ámbar leaned forward, teasing him with a half-lidded stare. “Did my rudeness turn you on?”

“Oooh, yes,” he replied in a heated voice. “Please, degrade me, spit on my face, you have no idea how that gets me.”

Ámbar laughed. Like, really laughed out loud, her hand coming to cover her face because she had always hated how her nose scrunched up when she did that.

Simón, on the other hand, was suddenly tongue-tied at the view.

Wow, she really is beautiful.

He’d known it ever since Delfi showed him a picture, even questioned her about it like— “Isn’t she too pretty for me?” But there were things an image would never be able to capture.

Fortunately, he had more filter than to say that. But the “I like your smile” that slipped from his lips was inevitable.

Ámbar’s laugh subsided as her eyes met his. For a second, Simón panicked (the flutter in his heart was panic, right?) Should he not have said that? Would that make things weird? It was just an innocent comment though.

Then Ámbar squared her shoulders cockily. “Of course, you do.”

The tension dropped and Simón laughed as she reached for her drink. “Of course, you would say that,” he said shaking his head. “Can’t you be humble for once?”

“With this face? Nah.” She took a sip. “But I guess your smile isn’t so bad either. It’s not painful to look at.”

“Why, thank you. Such high praise from your lips, I feel really special.”

Ámbar hid her smile behind her glass. Simón was smiling too, but he didn’t even try to hide it.

There was a small pause while both ate their food before he spoke again.

“So… What about you?” Simón ventured. “Why are you single?”

He thought maybe she’d deem that too personal, but to his surprise, she answered immediately. “Because I have no use for men.”

Simón raised his brows.

“I just mean that I’m fine without having a boyfriend,” Ámbar explained. “My friends don’t understand it because they’re all idiotized by love, but I don’t need a guy taking out part of my free time. I work at a law firm, my time is precious, guys just aren’t worth it.”

Simón stopped cutting his steak and looked at her, analyzing. “I kinda want to debate that, but before I do, why the disdain?” He asked. “What were your previous relationships like?”

She shrugged. “Nothing much, I guess. I had some flings while I was young, nothing too serious. I was popular, you see, so pretty much every guy wanted to date me, but they didn’t really care about me and I didn’t really care about them, because I wasn’t stupid enough to believe they really cared, so nothing lasted very long.”

She took a bite from her food and then kept talking. “Until I met this guy in sophomore year. He was new in school and he was instantly an eye-catcher. He said he was always moving from one place to another because of his dad’s job, but that now it was the first time he really got to stay somewhere. I thought we were kind of similar. Neither of us had had long-term relationships because we knew it would eventually end. For the first time, I found something deeply in common with a guy, and the fact that we were both from good families rapidly pushed us together. We dated all the way through high school and two more years in university. It wasn’t perfect, but I was happy.”

Simón made a face, dreading what he was going to hear but needing to ask. “And then what happened?”

Ámbar raised her glass to her lips. “He cheated on me with my cousin.”

Simón did a double-take. “Wow— What?”

“Yeah. We were at our summer house on vacation, I had invited him to spend it with my family. We were there for only two days before I found them making out. Turns out it had been going on for a while, way before we left for the summer. Me and my cousin were never close, so it didn’t really hurt me on that front, but the fact that he had the nerve to do it in my own house, with a relative, right under my very nose… I made him pack his bags and leave. He took the next flight back to Buenos Aires and my cousin followed him. I believe they’re still together but I haven’t really asked.”

Simón was stupefied. “Are you kidding me?”

Ámbar shook her head. “Apparently, he discovered true love with her or something.”

Simón shook his head too but with outrage. “That guy is the stupidest idiot in the whole wide world. I mean, who would cheat on you?”

She raised an eyebrow. “I thought I wasn’t your type.”

“Maybe, but I’m not blind,” Simón retorted. “And even then— If he really liked your cousin, he could’ve just told you, he could’ve broken up with you first. Cheating is so wrong, and it’s cruel, and disrespectful, and you are—”

He stopped himself short, mouth hanging open as their eyes met.

Ámbar found herself anticipating what he would say. When had that happened? Since when did she care what he thought of her to the point of holding her breath?

Simón looked down and cleared his throat. “You didn’t deserve that,” he finished in a quieter voice. “No one does.”

Ámbar focused on her ravioli again, ignoring how she’d expected him to say more. “Looks only get you so far, I’ve found…” She ate one more bite before continuing the conversation. “Anyway, after that, I realized what a gigantic waste of time that relationship had been and decided that it just wasn’t worth it. I’m content with my life. I have a nice apartment, a promising professional future… I don’t need anything else.”

She’d eaten two more bites when Simón spoke again. “But don’t you want more?”

Ámbar looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

“At the end of the day, relationships aren’t really because you need to be with someone,” he said. “There are other ways to deal with loneliness— a pet, for example.”

He leaned forward on the table. “When you date someone it’s because you want to have that kind of connection with another person. A partner. Someone to talk to about how your day was when you’re back from work and to tell all of your stories to. Someone to share your life with, who supports you, even with all your flaws, and to whom you are the most important person in the world, and they’re the most important person to you too. It can be a little scary when someone has that much power over you,” he admitted. “I won’t deny that it can be easier to live without it. You don’t need it… but you choose it. A relationship is two different people, choosing to stay together every day because, in spite of all their problems, they make each other happy and they want to be together. So, they work for that.”

Ámbar had completely forgotten about her meal or the world around her, immersed in the life he pictured, in the words he intertwined with wonder, longing, and wistfulness.

“How do you get someone to choose you every day of their life?” She wondered out loud.

Simón’s lips turned into a smile that was a little sad. “Well, that’s the hard part. I clearly haven’t figured it out or I wouldn’t be here.”

The world came crashing back to her.

Ámbar straightened in her seat. “Right, I forgot for a second there that you have horrible experiences,” she said sourly. “You almost made me believe your emotional speech about the wonders of love.”

And it was stupid, really. She knew how reality worked. Even if what he described happened for someone, it was so rare it was almost a miracle.

Simón looked down. “Yeah… love hasn’t been very kind to me.” He grabbed his cutlery and brought them to his meal. “But I still believe in it.”

Ámbar couldn’t help but look at him in disbelief. “Why?” After all he’d been through? After all I’ve been through?

Simón looked up at her, huffing out a short laugh. “Because what a sad life it would be if I didn’t,” he said, and focused on finishing his food, eating his last bites of mashed potatoes.

Ámbar sat immobile for moment, just watching him. His words had hit her, but she didn’t know what to say.

Her first instinct was a defensive retort. ‘You’re saying my life is sad?’ It was a little insulting, and she could’ve certainly called him out on it, even if it didn’t seem like he meant it that way. But she didn’t voice that complaint because… Was it?

“Whose turn was it to ask now? Yours or mine?” Simón asked, pulling Ámbar out of her musings. “And before you say it, that does not count as my question,” he pointed at her playfully.

Honestly, Ámbar was so distracted she didn’t remember either. “I think it’s your turn,” she replied.

“Okay.” Simón’s eyes wandered a little, thinking of what to ask. His gaze settled on her plate, all but empty now, and then glanced at his own. The smile on his face faded. “Well, seeing as we’re both pretty much done with our food… Are you going to have dessert?” He asked slowly, with an apprehensive tilt to his voice that indicated he was expecting a no.

Ámbar should’ve said no. Her plan had always been to finish this as soon as possible and go back to her normal routine, with her apartment, her job, and her friends.

But looking at Simón now, she didn’t feel the urge to run. In fact, there was a part of her that wanted to keep listening to him talk about the world and learn what other views he had about different things.

She called it curiosity. She wasn’t ready to call it anything beyond that. But dessert? That she could do.

She showed him a smile. “Yeah, why not?”

Simón’s face betrayed his surprise— He really had been convinced she’d say no— but then a grin lit up his features. “Okay!” He said, and called over a waiter.

Ámbar thought she liked his smile too.

---------------------

The conversation flowed after that. They continued with their questions, but their answers weren’t short and to the point anymore. They ended up trading stories with each one, and Simón got Ámbar to laugh again, with a joke that he ‘thought of all by himself’ he pointed out, making her shake her head and roll her eyes.

It was fun. And easy.

It didn’t feel like a waste of time.

Simón finished his ice cream, and Ámbar finished her chocolate lava cake, and then it was time to ask for the check.

When the waiter came with it, Ámbar pulled out her wallet, but Simón offered to pay for both of them. She protested, saying that the fairest was for each of them to pay for their own food, but he insisted, saying it was no problem since he’d already come with the intention of paying anyway.

If he pays, it was a date— an anxious voice rang in her mind. She had always intended to pay for herself, as one final proof that it had just been a shared lunch and nothing more.

Simón took out his card and smiled at her reassuringly.

She let him pay.

----------------------

The weather was nice as they walked out of the restaurant. The sun had gone down a little, so its warmth remained but none of its scorching heat.

The two walked a few steps as to not block the entrance for other people and then turned to face each other.

“Well… It was nice meeting you, Ámbar,” Simón said with a faint smile. “I hope Delfi lets you off the hook for a while after this.”

“It was nice meeting you too,” she replied. “Now I have sad love stories to tell myself if I ever want to make myself feel better.”

They laughed.

Once the mirth subsided, it was time to fill the silence.

“Okay, well, I’m parked this way,” Simón said, pointing to one side of the street. “Did you get here by car too? Or do you want me to maybe drive you somewhere…?”

“No, no, it’s fine, thank you,” Ámbar told him. “I live close by, so I’m just gonna walk home,” she pointed behind her.

“Oh,” Simón glanced behind her, “you’re… headed that way then?” He pointed.

“Yeah, I’m headed that way,” she confirmed, pointing in the opposite direction to his car.

Simón nodded. “Okay. Then… I guess we’re saying goodbye here.”

“It appears so.”

After some more nervous shifting, Simón surged forward to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Bye.” He parted. “Good luck with everything.”

“You too.”

Simón turned around and started walking toward his car with a grimace.

Kiss on the cheek. Why did you kiss her on the cheek? You should’ve just waved, that was too much. What if you made her uncomfortable? God, that was lame. Lame, lame, lame, you’re so lame.

“Simón!”

He stopped in his tracks and whirled around toward Ámbar’s voice. She came near him and stood in front of him again.

“You didn’t get to 20,” she said, holding the strap of her purse with both palms. “You can ask me one more thing if you want.”

Simón’s heart raced. He studied Ámbar’s expression, trying to make sure if this meant what he thought it meant.

He chose to take the risk.

“Can we meet again?”

He didn’t want this to be the last time he talked to her. Even if it didn’t lead to anything, even if she was still convinced that she was better off alone, he just wanted to see her for a little longer.

Ámbar looked at him and her lips trembled into a tiny smile. “I was actually giving you the chance to ask for my number,” she said with amusement.

Simón blinked. “Oh. Oh!” He sprang into action, searching his pockets quickly for his phone. “Yeah! That would be great—”

“Nope, you lost your chance.” She took a step back, smiling widely. “But I’ll think about what you said.”

Ámbar turned to leave and threw one last look at him over her shoulder. “Bye, Simón.”

Simón stared open-mouthed as she walked away, and a short laugh burst from his lips. He shook his head and turned to leave too. He couldn’t stop smiling.

The next day, he got a message on his phone from an unknown number.

It was only one word, but he knew immediately who the sender was.

“Yes.”

…

-----------------

Can you all believe this fic has been sitting in my files 80% finished since 2019?! Seriously, what took me so long?!

Anyway, it’s here now, and I think my acquired knowledge throughout these past years gave it a boost from the original draft, so I guess all’s well that ends well <3 If there’s anything you don’t like, I blame 2019’s C, not me.

Thank you all for reading. See you next time! - C

#simbar #soy luna #simbar fic #simbar fanfic #soy luna fanfiction #My Writing #short writings

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