That morning, Jinri was awakened by light kisses peppered on her neck and shoulders. Knowing exactly whose doing they were, she smiled sleepily but didn’t open her eyes, feeling much too content the just way she was. Truth to be told, she had been feeling perfectly comfortable for a quite a while but she was in a particularly pleasant mood at that point.

“Jinri, wake up. We have to leave.” Sehun murmured into the crook of her neck, his lips ghosting over her skin, making it erupt into goose-bumps.

“Already?” She mumbled, confused and still half-asleep. She could have sworn she had only fallen unconscious a couple of minutes before.

“Yes, baby. Come on. You can sleep on the plane if you want to but we have to leave now.” He encouraged, planting a chaste kiss on her forehead before she felt his body leave the bed. With yet another displeasured groan, Jinri forced her body to turn over and pushed herself into a sitting position, extremely reluctant to leave the warmth of her pillow behind. She stood still for a long moment, rubbing at her tired face, trying hard to chase the fuzziness away from her head.

“Did I or did I not tell you to go to sleep earlier than usual?” He asked with just a hint of cockiness, to which he received a well-deserved pillow in the head.

“Shut up. You know perfectly well that I tried. I’m just not used to going to sleep at freaking eight in the evening. Sue me.” Jinri muttered, visibly upset about the whole situation.

“I know. Come on.” Sehun encouraged, extending his hand in order to help her up. She whole-heartedly accepted his offer, gripping his hand with both of her own and allowing him to pull her up to her feet.

As she reached out for him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his chest. Almost instantly, as her face touched the soft material of his shirt, she realized that he was already dressed before waking her up. Ever since she came back, he had been so sweet, so caring. She’d once thought she’d met Sehun’s sweet side. His strong arms came to wrap around her, his warm hand rubbing up and down her back in a motion so soothing that for a moment, she feared she might fall back asleep. But then he pulled away, kissed her forehead and ushered her into the bathroom.

“Put something comfortable on. I meant what I said about you sleeping on the plane. You look like a zombie.” He instructed after a minute.

“Thanks. You’re so sweet.” She grumbled as she opened the door, toothbrush in hand.

~•~

In the plane, Jinri slept for another three hours before awakening in a much better state. She stretched like a cat under the soft blanket she vaguely remembered her husband tucking over her and then sat up, eyes searching the room for his familiar face. As expected, she found Sehun seated comfortably in one of the chairs, his back to her, looking over what seemed to be a contract. On the table, in front of him, there was a thin stack of yellow files and a bottle of water which she eagerly snatched as she passed by him on her way to the seat opposite him though not before stopping to greet him with a peck on the cheek.

“Feeling any better?” He questioned as he watched her settle into the large chair in front of him.

“Much. Where are we?” She affirmed after she had quenched her thirst. Screwing the cap back on and placing the plastic bottle on the table, she squinted as she gazed outside, furrowing her brows.

“I suspect, somewhere above the Atlantic.” He answered after a brief moment of hesitation.

“Which means I slept a lot.” She concluded.

“Which means you slept enough.” He agreed, placing the file in his hands on the table. “Come here.”

Jinri smiled, more than willing to take a seat on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. His arm came around her waist to support her as he shifted to accommodate her better, his chin lifting and his lips searching hers almost unconsciously. Her smile widened at the action but she gave in, closing her eyes and giving him a gentle kiss. The hand that wasn’t latched protectively onto her hip came up to cup her cheek, his long fingers delving into her hairs.

“So do we have a schedule for the week?” She asked when they broke apart.

“Yes.” He told her and reached for one of the files; sliding out a thin sheet of paper, he allowed his wife to take it from him so that she could study it better.

“You’re free until Monday. That means we have the weekend for ourselves.” She announced, gazing at him for approval which came in the form of a small nod.

“We can walk around. I’ll show you around the city. I can also take you to dinner.” Sehun proposed, wrapping both of his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder.

“I’d love that.” She smiled down at him. “Early meeting on Monday. I suppose I’ll sleep in.” She continued as her eyes slid back to the paper in her hands.

“Reception on Tuesday. You’ll accompany me to that.” He added helpfully, reading over her shoulder.

“Okay. Then I won’t sleep in. I’ll go shopping.”

“I’ll be gone all day on Wednesday. You’ll have to find a way to entertain yourself.”

“More shopping.” She grinned. Sehun rolled his eyes. “Free day on Thursday?” She asked, eyes studying the sheet of paper.

“Yeah. Except for a meeting in the morning.” He answered.

“Great! And dinner on Friday. You or we?”

“We can spend the following weekend in Milan too. Explore some more, if you want. Also, I want to make a small detour on our way home.” He announced.

“Detour? Where?” She frowned curiously.

“Los Angeles. I have a couple of issues to solve there.” He said, being deliberately vague.

“That’s fine by me.” Jinri answered. The paper fluttered to the table as she released it and turned in his arms, cuddling into his chest and pressing her lips to his.

~•~

It was easy for Sehun to spot his wife into the crowd. She was wearing the most beautiful long blue dress he had ever seen. He knew perfectly well what her favourite part of the venue was. The large, floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the entire city. They had only been in Milan for a couple of days but Jinri had been falling in love with everything that she saw. He wondered if that was what all travels with her were like because if they were, he was definitely bringing her along on every single one of his future business trips. His mother had been right when she used to say he was a blind man for not noticing the treasure he had by his side. Words couldn’t describe how relieved he felt that he had managed to open his eyes in time.

“What are you thinking of?” He murmured as he came up behind her, brushing his lips briefly over the smooth skin of her shoulder as he settled his hand over her lower back.

“Nothing. It’s a beautiful city, that’s all.” She smiled.

“It is.” He agreed.

“I never told you I’ve never really left the country before, did I?” She asked, shifting so that she was facing him.

“What do you mean you’ve never left the country before?” Sehun frowned.

“I mean, I did. Once, with Minho oppa. He took me on a trip with his friends to Europe. It was insane. We had almost nothing of the comfort we were accustomed to back home but it was still amazing. And it wasn’t just about a bunch of teenagers escaping from home and getting their first taste of freedom. It was more. That heavy atmosphere we were so bothered by was gone. Just like that.” She shrugged.

“Your parents don’t seem to be the type to let their children go on a trip to Europe by themselves even if only for appearances’ sake.” He commented, tucking a wavy lock of hair behind her ear.

“They’re not. But oppa always did only what he wanted. He was strong. He probably already knew it was a lost cause so he didn’t care about that. He stood his ground until he got his way because he didn’t care what they thought.” Looking down, she grasped his hands and intertwined their fingers, whispering. “Like you. You didn’t care what my father thought when you confronted him at the wedding.”

Her beautiful eyes were suspiciously wet when she raised her head and he gently took her in his arms, handling her like a fragile piece as he coaxed her to relax in his embrace. As soon as she felt the warmth his body radiated, she practically melted into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

“One day, I’m going to get crazy.” Sehun told her as they stood wrapped up in each other’s arms. Jinri pulled back when she heard his words, her features twisted in an amused expression.

“I’m going to take a few months off from work, steal the big jet and take you all over the world. We’re going to visit everything. And you’re going to enjoy every minute of it.” He wasn’t sure he could consider it an achievement that he had managed to take her mind off of her painful past when her eyes were filled with tears again.

“And you’ll teach me Italian?” She pushed, smiling up at him.

“Yes. But I must warn you, the taxes for my lessons are very high. You’re going to be my slave for many weeks. And that’s only for one lesson.”

“Well, professor, I think I might be able to handle it. What do you think?” Jinri laughed, throwing her head back as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

~•~