(the gif is here again bc i don't know what song suits this chapter oH well i'm a mess)

-

"so this next song," shawn speaks into the microphone in front of him. "i want to dedicate to my beautiful girlfriend, who has stuck with me through everything. we've been having a few problems lately, but i truly know that we will be able to get through them, and when we have, i'll be waiting for her," he says, a small flush at his already rosy cheeks. "this is when you're ready."

the crowd cheers, as arias heart skips a beat. she looks up from the control panel, facing shawn directly, who stands on the main stage, breathing out the words of he song, filling aria with ecstasy.

"problems? what's he on about?"

"i always knew she wouldn't treat him well."

"they're so cute. i love them!"

"i'm so soft for one couple only!"

aria hears various screams around her, but blocks them out completely, focusing on shawns beautiful voice, which truly captivates everyone, but most importantly, which captivates and moves aria emotionally. the tears build at her eyes, and she can't help the few escape and slide down her cheeks.

shawn kept looking forward, looking straight forward at the control box, where he sees his beloved girlfriend. he can faintly make out her wiping away her tears, and the small smile that appears over her lips.

"what are you even on about?" she asks him gently, wiping away his never ending tears. "shawn, we're not ending."

"aria, we always fight," his voice cracks, indirectly cracking arias heart. "and i don't even know how to cope. i'm scared aria."

her mind flashes back to when shawn finally cracked, that night a few weeks ago. since then, the two of them have been informally ignoring each other, but still displaying contact to each other. it's been a confusing, yet grounding time for each of them, but it was up to aria to finalise everything, and both of them knew it.

"thank you so much," shawn says, as soon as he finishes the song. "and thank you for coming out tonight! i love you so much, and i will see you all very soon!"

aria mumbles a few things to herself, before helping to close up the show, and wipe away the last of her tears.

"hey tom, can i go to see shawn? it's just-"

"go," he cuts her off with a chuckle. "you could've gone earlier too, but thanks for the help aria."

"no problem, and i love doing this," she grins, picking up her hoodie that lies on the chair next to her, and rushing down the steps of the box, heading around the barriers to the backstage area. she shows her pass to he security guard, before venturing around to find shawns dressing room, knowing he's there to change into something more comfortable.

she finally reaches his door, and opens it immediately, coming face to face with shawn, who looks shocked, nevertheless, completely jovial. he smiles gently at her, and she crashed into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"i love you," she mumbles, squeezing him gently. "i love you, i love you."

"i love you more darling," he chuckles, holding her back after the initial shock, and pressing a chaste kiss to her temple. "did you enjoy the show?"

"you were incredible shawn, and the last song, oh god, i love you," shawn grins to himself, swaying her in his arms. "i love you."

"i love you," he says to her, as she looks up from his grasp, making direct eye contact with him. the world around them completely comes to a stand still, and arias mouth goes slightly ajar. she nervously looks at shawn, who trails his hands up her waist, pulling her even closer, up until their foreheads touch. "can i kiss you?"

"mhm," she mumbles back, her eyes fluttering shut, as shawn gently places his lips onto hers, spilling out all the love and passion he has for this girl. he kisses her with force, yet ever so softly, not wanting to hurt her. "shawn," she whispers, pulling away, and resting her forehead against his. "i love you."

"come on, i wanna take you somewhere," he says gently to her, before she nods, pulling away and letting shawn change quickly and refresh himself.

"ready?" aria asks him gently, as he nods, linking their hands together, and picking up his backpack. "where are we going?"

"we're in paris darling, we can go anywhere."
-
the two of them find themselves outside the arena, seated on the grass hill, overlooking the city of love. aria rests against shawns chest, sitting between his legs, as he rests his chin on her head.

"aria," shawn whispers gently, making her sit up, and look straight at shawn. "i know things have been rough, but i really want us to work through this completely. i hate it when we fight."

"so do i, shawn," she mumbles. "i just don't understand why we fight so much," she lets out a small sigh, turning her back to shawn, and crawling back into his arms. "shawn, i want us to be together, i'm ready, but i just don't want us to fight. i'm scared of that."

"i know baby," he hums. "whenever we do, i always hurt you. i always say the wrong things, and it fucking sucks," he mumbles. aria doesn't reply, taking in his words. the two of them know it's the truth, whenever they fight, shawn does say something, and then it spirals out of control.

"are we unhealthy?"

"i don't know, aria," shawn sighs. "but hey, when we get back from tour, we have a few weeks in toronto. let's take time away, and go on that holiday to the bahamas that we were talking about."

"can we?"

"of course, hunny, we can go anywhere you want," shawn presses his lips to the side of her face, making her cheeks heat up immediately. "does that sound like a plan then?"

"yes," she confirms. "i'd love to."

"okay, then it's settled. we'll go to the bahamas," he says gently to her.

aria looks out into the distance, a light breeze running over shawn and her bodies, making aria shiver slightly. after all, november in paris is quite bitingly cold, and the jacket she wears now, definitely isn't enough.

"are you cold?" shawn asks her, smiling down at her.

"a little, can we head back to the hotel?"

"yeah," he nods. "it is getting quite cold, here," shawn takes off his puffer, guiding it over arias shoulders, which are also covered by her puffer. she lets out a chuckle, shaking her head.

"shawn! take your jacket back," she giggles, as shawn grins, standing up and shaking his head. "shawn i swear to god-"

"you're cold, come on, let's go find a taxi," he ignores aria who tries to give him back his jacket eagerly, and instead continues to walk to where the teams cars are, and finding an empty taxi.

"i hate you," she groans, getting into the car before shawn, as she places his jacket on the seat next to her. shawn laughs, getting into the car, and placing the jacket on his lap, hooking his arm over arias shoulders.

"four seasons hotel please," shawn says to the driver, making aria furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

"but that's not our-"

"shh," shawn says. "i got us a room for tonight."

"but what about clothes-"

shawn chuckles, unzipping his backpack, and pulling out fresh clothes for the two of them to wear.

"toothpaste?"

he grins, shaking his head, and taking it a clear bag with their various different toiletries.

"you're so annoying," aria mutters, a small smile toying on her lips. shawn chuckles again, zipping up his bag, and leaning back in the seat, enjoying the drive with aria.

he was more than happy.