Where Did We Go

Chapter Two

"Are you excited?"

"I don't think excited begins to cover it," she laughed. "I mean, my brother is getting married."

"I can't believe it. I still remember sitting in your den with him when we were like fifteen and playing Mario Kart for an entire day."

Y/N smiled for a moment before it quickly faded again. "Yeah, now you and I are out of town most of the year and Carter and Marenna have their family and Josh is off in California when you actually do get a break."

I rubbed her shin, hoping it would provide some reassurance. "Hey, it's not all bad, is it? We still have a lot of good moments."

"You're right," she nodded. "I guess this wedding is just bringing up a lot of feelings for me."

Doubt immediately flooded my mind. Were the feelings related to me? Was she finally realizing that I wasn't good enough for her after all these years? My hands were starting to shake, so I moved them away from Y/N's leg so that she wouldn't be able to tell. Thankfully her attention was on her food at the moment, meaning that I could take some deep breaths without her noticing.

"Are you ok, Ty?"

So much for that.

"Yeah, I just - you don't - is it bringing up feelings about me?"

Y/N reached over so that she could take hold of my hand. "Only positive ones, love. I guess, sometimes, I just miss how things used to be."

I nodded. In an instant, all the fears were gone again. Y/N had always been good at that.

"I love you."

"I love you too," she smiled, giving my hand a little squeeze before letting go again. "And that also reminds me, Carter said we're in charge of taking care of their son Max during the reception."

"Max!" I gasped. "I haven't seen that little dude in so long. How is he doing?"

"Ty, I swear he gets cuter by the day. He's learning all sorts of new words, and he even called me auntie the other day."

"He called you auntie?"

"Yes! I almost started crying, that's how cute it was."

"I hope he still remembers me when I see him," I said, idly poking at my noodles.

"He asked for you the other day. I would have called, but you mentioned you were busy at the time."

It was impossible to hold back a smile after hearing that. Although Max wasn't technically related to me, he still felt just as much like family as my actual nieces did.

"It's a good thing I'll have a chance to make up for lost time on Saturday then."

"Exactly."

I turned and looked out over the trees again. The sky was growing more pink now, though the sun was still shining brightly in the distance. I was already looking forward to summer nights on tour, wandering around unfamiliar streets with Y/N and pretending like we were kids again.

"Are you sure you're doing alright, Ty?" she asked.

I turned back to her with a smile, "The best I've been in a long time."

We stayed out on the porch long past the time that we both finished dinner, just enjoying one another's company and the sounds that came along with living next to a forest. With each passing minute, my eyes started to grow heavier and I was beginning to question how much longer I would be able to stay awake. As much as I was enjoying this time with Y/N, I knew it couldn't last forever.

"I think I'm going to have to call it a night," I said, finishing off the last sip of my drink. "My eyes don't want to stay open any longer."

"Why don't you head upstairs and get ready for bed then? I'll clean up the dishes and be up there in a bit."

"You don't have to come upstairs with me. I know it's still early and I'm sure there are things that you would rather be doing."

"There's nothing that I would rather be doing than cuddling with you and watching some TV," Y/N said, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek as she picked up my plate.

"Ok," I grinned.

I slowly shuffled my way upstairs and into our bedroom. It was tempting to just collapse onto the bed and let myself sink into the mattress that I had missed so dearly, but I knew the second that I laid down there wouldn't be a getting back up. Instead, I headed into the bathroom to change into pajamas and finish getting ready.

Twenty minutes later, Y/N and I were both curled up in bed in our pajamas. She was resting on my chest, one of her arms slung lazily across my stomach. I was fighting to stay awake, just so that I could appreciate finally being home again and having her in my arms. Tours without Y/N were always hard, even when I wasn't spending the entire time trying to work up the courage to tell her how I felt.

But I didn't have to worry about that now, because she was here in my arms and I could tell her that I loved her as many times as I wanted and always hear it in return.

"I love you, Y/N," I said, finally accepting defeat and letting my eyes close.

"I love you too, Ty. I'm glad you're home."

"Me too."

It only took a few minutes for me to fall asleep with a smile on my face.