Jessica stood up suddenly and pulled Tiffany to her feet as well. She walked and brought them to a tree with an ample amount of shade, sat Tiffany down by pushing lightly on her shoulders. Once Tiffany was seated and comfortable after shifting a bit, Jessica sat down perpendicular, back facing to the redhead and leaned back and rested her head on Tiffany's thighs. Tiffany smiled looking down at her brunette love as the other closed her eyes and smiled as well. In no time at all, Jessica had fallen asleep. Tiffany continued to smile and hum various songs as Jessica slept, hoping that her voice would bring Jessica good dreams. She looked ahead, at the view in front of them and took it in. Jessica had led them to a barrier of trees that surrounded them. 'Jessi always said she loved to read outside because it was more relaxing than inside,' she thought. Tiffany noticed the many things in between the trees that reminded her of Jessica in some way. Like how the tree canopy held birds' nests protectively. How the trees stood tall and strong. How there was a squirrel that was running around by itself, instead of with the others nearby.
With onlookers smiling at the sight of the two young women as well, Tiffany couldn't contain her happiness and she started to trace Jessica's face. She brought her left hand up and hovered it over Jessica's face until she set it down lightly on her chin and with her finger tip, she traced the line of her chin, to her right ear and back to the left. She moved her finger around to Jessica's forehead and ran it over her eyebrows. From the eyebrows, she went to the cute nose, tickling her, since she scrunched up her nose in her sleep. Tiffany finally went to Jessica's thin lips brushing her finger over them repeatedly, circling, until a hand grabbed a hold of hers.
"You've been tickling my face for like ever."
"Oh...Jessi...you're awake." Tiffany said blushing.
Jessica sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes, "Of course. Who could stay asleep when someone is tickling their face?"
"Well you normally sleep like a log. And I wasn't tickling you."
"Then what were you doing?" she asked as she leaned back against the tree, shoulder touching Tiffany's.
"I...I was...umm...Not telling." Tiffany stuck out her tongue at Jessica and turned her head away.
Jessica nudged Tiffany's shoulder, to provoke her, "Wae?"
"Because it's embarrassing now."
"Just tell me what you were doing if you weren't tickling me. Please?"
Tiffany turned again and faced an adorable pouting Jessica, "Oh, Jessi...Iwastracingyourfacebecauseyoulooksopeaceful!"
"Slow down there Mario! I know you were tracing my face, but I felt something else."
"You knew!' Tiffany exclaimed, her face as bright a red as her hair. "But I only used my finger, I don't know what you felt."
"Yes, I knew. And wow, I think I've lost hearing in this ear now. I know I felt something else on my face."
"Sorry, Jessi," Tiffany leaned back a little and caressed Jessica's ear.
With Jessica's face growing hotter, she responded, "T-that's okay. I...um, think I know what it was that I felt. Your hair."
Tiffany pulled her hand away from Jessica's dainty ear, leaned back on the tree, and pulled lightly at her sunburst locks. "My hair?"
"Uh yeah, it was like brushing my face so lightly, so it tickled me."
"Sorry."
"Nothing to be sorry about, Tiff."
They were silent once again. Both looking at the trees and the rest of their surroundings. Tiffany was twiddling her thumbs and biting her lip, looking like she has something to say.
"Speak, Tiff."
Tiffany, startled, looked at Jessica with wide eyes, "W-what?"
"You look like you have something you want to say, so just say it."
"How'd you know?"
"I was looking at you. Duh, pabo!" she said as she softly rapped Tiffany's head with her knuckles.
Tiffany giggled and smoothed out her hair that Jessica had misplaced. "I wanted to ask you about your trip. You know, the photography expedition, because you said you would tell me. You haven't yet."
"That's all?"
"Yes. I really want to know what you saw and what you experienced out in the world."
Jessica chuckled at the serious answer accompanied by the cute, excited face Tiffany made. "If you really wanted to know so badly, all you had to do was ask, Tiff."
"Well I'm asking now."
"No, no." Jessica wagged her finger in Tiffany's face, "You, my dear, are telling. I said you have to ask."
"Stop being cheeky with me, Jessi and tell me already!" Tiffany punched the brunette's thigh.
"OW! Okay. No more hitting me, I'm sensitive." Jessica said while trying to rub away the pain in her thigh. After feeling a little relief, she brought her hand up and her chin looking away, faking being pensive, "Where to begin? Where to begin?"
"From the beginning. Duh, Jessi."
"I know. Okay. Well, I first went to Greece. Oh, that was amazing! The water was so immaculate, you could see like 20 yards down. It was so fresh too. Like nothing you ever tasted before. My two favorite photos from Greece were of this little sea town and of a man in a small church. This sea town was so beautiful, especially since it was still winter. The shot was taken from above. I originally intended for it to make it look like the town was really little like it was, but when I got up to the high point, I saw the town and the ocean flowing next to it. Oh, and there was snow falling, not a lot, but enough to have the light from the sun refract in like a million different directions. The fishing boats were just setting out and all of the locals were just going on about their day. I just thought it all melded together exemplifying some kind of flow of the world. The church, it was a simple kind of beautiful, you know? It was just a small, rinky dink church with like a dozen pews, a podium, and a cross on the front wall in the back ground. There's four medium sized windows at the top part of the two sides. The photo was all of that, with the light creeping in from the windows spotlighting an elderly man that was crying and praying. This old man had such a look of sadness and hurt on his face. I don't know if it was because at the time I was still an emotional shipwreck, but I felt some kind of connection with that old man. I felt everything that man felt, but ten fold because I was seeing someone else experiencing the same thing. I found out later, that that old man had lost his wife that he spent 72 of his 86 years of his life with. He said that he couldn't live much longer without her, she was his engine and without her he was a heap of scrap metal, so he was praying that someone would take him out and put him with his love again. It was the saddest and loveliest thing I'd ever heard." Jessica took a break from her story and looked at Tiffany who looked like she wanted to say something again.
But instead of talking, she sang. Her voice hushed and husky.
"Love of mine, some day you will die
But I'll be close behind
I'll follow you into the dark
No blinding light or tunnels to gates of white
Just our hands clasped so tight
Waiting for the hint of a spark
If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the no's on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark"
Jessica smiled, "That's the song I thought about too."
"I've influenced your musical taste well. Good job, young grasshopper." Tiffany joked and bowed her head slightly to Jessica.
"You've influenced me in more ways than one."
With more blush upon her cheeks, "Thanks, Jessi. Go on with your story. I want to hear it all."
"No. thank you." Jessica said and looked up to the sky. "Umm... Okay, then I went to Russia. It was so fu-- freaking cold...." she continued her story about her 'great expedition'. Tiffany listened intently, not wanting to miss a beat. Sometimes she would hum a few bars when something Jessica said reminded her of a song. Tiffany is the juke box to Jessica's diner. "...and the place I was before I was not so graciously summoned back by Krystal was in the Himalayas. The view from and of those mountains was absolutely breathtaking. I was in awe the entire like week and a half that I was there. I froze my off and was drenched in sweat at the same time, but it was worth it. You remember the day we met and talked about the weather? Well the mountains were like that on the... the third day, I believe. The clouds covered the sky and the sun had shone through a small window in the sky. My guide, in his broken English said 'It's the God.' It honestly did look like the God. Oh, I had to wake up early every single morning to keep ascending and stuff. The mornings were the best. The sun wouldn't be fully out, it was just hanging out behind the mountains, creating this silhouette and the sky around them was from top to bottom: a dark smoky blue, a warm darkish purple, a glowing red and orange, and a small outline of yellow. My favorite shot however, was taken in the middle of the day on my way back down. It was of Krystal, but I didn't know at the time that it was her, I just thought it was some person getting in between me and my view. Because of that, I took it by accident, but it was great. She was centered on the shot, she was positioned on the right of it and because it was taken so fast, she was hazy and out of focus, looking out into the distance. The background was in focus and the God was showing again. Something about that shot made me feel the feelings that I'd been trying to keep in burst out. It was just great." Jessica paused, "And that was the end of Odysseus' journey!"
Tiffany was in awe just listening to Jessica's description of the photos. She'd rarely seen Jessica so wired with enthusiasm about anything. Jessica never talked much about her photography, she just did it. She was enthralled with Jessica's story; the hand gestures that she made, the way her voice went a pitch higher because she was excited, the facial expressions that danced on her face. Jessica made her happy. "So, Jessi... Did you think of me much when you were out there in the world?" Tiffany was nervous to ask, but even more so to hear the answer.
"Honestly," Jessica softly took Tiffany's left hand with her right, "I thought of you every millisecond of the day when I was awake and when I was asleep you haunted me."
Tiffany frowned, but held onto Jessica's hand more firmly, "I haunted you?"
"Yes. Haunted. Those years I spent in what felt like never ending pain that I was trying to run away from."
"I'm sorry, Jessi" she whispered, drooping her head.
"Hey. Look at me, Tiff." Jessica lifted Tiffany's head with their interlocked hands, "You said sorry once already. The past is the past. We are moving on. Okay?"
"But-"
"I don't want any buts, unless it's your physical one." Jessica smirked.
Tiffany lifted their hands and brought them down on Jessica's thigh, hitting her once again, "Yah! ByunSica."
"Ow ow ow! Gosh, Tiff! That's the same spot as before. Ow, now I'm for sure gonna get a fist shaped bruise."
Tiffany released their hands and started to rub circles on Jessica's thigh in attempt to soothe the pain. In actuality, Jessica got a little and became flustered, "T-Tiff! Y-you don't h-have to do t-that."
Tiffany looked at Jessica confused, but didn't stop, "But I hurt you, Jessi. Let me make it better."
"Ah... Nope! No need, I'm all better! I'm strong like a bull." Jessica said taking Tiffany's pale hand and putting it on the redhead's lap.
"You said you were sensitive, though."
"Oh, but I am." she mumbled. "I'm a quick healer."
"If you say so."
Tiffany got ahold of Jessica's hand again when things got quiet again. She rested her head on Jessica's shoulder and whispered, "Jessi, could you give us a chance?"
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A/N: Sorry, I thought I would be able to do a double update, but this genius right here for got to save the chapter when she accidently closed her browser. The tile is a band, Between the Trees and part of the name of a song, 'I will follow you into the dark' by Death Cab For Cutie (also the sing in here). The old man is kind of modeled after my grandfather, except he's not 86 and my grandmother is still alive. He always said that if anything ever happened to my grandmother, he wouldn't be strong enough to live very long without her.
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