forty-eight || ready for takeoff

the song for this chapter is "Jet Airliner," by Steve Miller Band :) 


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Leavin' home, out on the roadI've been down beforeRidin' along in this big ol' jet planeI've been thinkin' about my homeBut my love light seems so far awayAnd I feel like it's all been doneSomebody's tryin' to make me stayYou know I've got to be movin' on




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Tate


    I had only flown on a private plane once before, and it was not the best experience, considering that at the time, Will and I weren't exactly on friendly terms. And while the plane we had been on was extremely nice, this plane was even more breathtaking. I guess my amazement must have been pretty obvious from the way that Harry was laughing at me as I walked up the stairs. 


   My jaw was dropped and my eyes were wide as I took in the luxury around me. This didn't look like a plane, this looked like a hotel room. There was a bar area and large plushy leather seats. The interior of the plane was primarily black, but accented with gold. 


  I stood in the doorframe of the plane in amazement. The only planes I had ever been on had seats that were mere inches apart, disgusting bathrooms, and screaming children and the only private plane I had ever been on was filled with yelling and Will and Harry nearly killing each other. To say that this was an upgrade would be a massive understatement. 


      "Not too shabby huh?" Harry teased from behind me, causing me to realize I had been standing there blocking him by all of my gawking. 


  I scooted out of the way and let Harry enter the plane first, and watched as he strode to the back and sat in one of the four seats placed there. I followed suit and plopped down next to him.


   "Do you want the window seat?" He asked, gesturing to his own seat.


  I shook my head. "No, I'm alright!"


   He looked at me and frowned, and then stood up, moving out of the way and pointing to his now empty seat. 


  "I told you, I'm fine!" I insisted.


    "You've only been on a private plane once before, and it wasn't the best experience. And I am sure that I have traveled a lot more than you have as well. I want you to get the full experience. If you don't want to sit there for yourself, then please, do it for me," he urged sincerely, the gesture making the butterflies in my stomach begin to swarm. 


   I stood up and shifted over to Harry's seat by the window, and he took my old seat. I placed my hand on his thigh and leaned over and pressed a kiss to his cheek.


  "Thank you," I spoke softly. 


 He smiled at me and used his index finger to hook underneath my chin, tilting it up towards him, before he kissed my forehead.


  "Of course, baby. I know this isn't exactly a vacation, but it is kind of nice that you and I will get some alone time now. If you nix the whole 'running away from an unknown psychopath' part, it is actually quite romantic," he replied, a cheeky grin on his lips. 


    I laughed and slouched down against the cushy leather back of the chair. 


 "Yeah, totally! Nice, low stress, peaceful romantic getaway!" I quipped back, my voice tinged with a hint of sarcasm. 


     Suddenly, the pilot and copilot appeared at the front of the plane, and Harry and I gave them our full attention.


  "Alright, Mr. Styles, Ms. Bridges. We are going to close the doors and get everything going, and we should take off within the next thirty minutes. The skies should have pretty clear conditions, and our estimated flight time is about two hours and fifteen minutes," the pilot spoke.


   "Thank you, Tim, it's good to see you again! You as well, Parker," Harry replied, nodding towards the pilot and copilot. 


   "Before we head up to the front, is there anything that we can get for you? Champagne, snacks?" The copilot, Parker asked.


   Harry turned to me, and I realized he was waiting to see if I wanted anything. 


  I had to admit, it felt kind of weird and surreal to have them waiting on us. I was perfectly capable of going to get a drink myself, I had never been someone who liked to receive special treatment, and so, while I would really like a bottle of water, I shook my head no.


  "I am all good! Thank you so much though!" I replied sincerely, giving them a big smile. 


  They returned my smile and checked with Harry one more time before turning around and heading to the front of the plane to begin the processes that were required before taking off.


   "I know you were lying," Harry suddenly spoke, and I looked up to find him staring straight ahead, but with a small smirk growing on his lips.


  "Lying about what?" I asked incredulously.


  "That you didn't want anything to drink. I know you just didn't want to inconvenience them," he replied, and my jaw fell open slightly.


  "How the fuck did you know that?" I laughed, unable to understand how he could see things in me that sometimes I didn't even see myself. 


  He shrugged and leaned back in his seat, bringing his index finger and thumb up to twiddle with his bottom lip.


   "Because...I don't know. It's just who you are. You never really expect anything from anyone. The smallest gesture of kindness can make your day. You don't ever place yourself above anyone else, and you don't like to be given any sort of special treatment. It's just how you are Tate," he replied, and the only thing that was keeping me from flinging myself onto his lap and peppering his face with kisses was the fact that there were two other people on this plane. 


    So, instead, I chose to gaze at him with every ounce of admiration that I could possibly muster and reached my hand down to grab his free one, intertwining our fingers. 


   He brought our clasped hands up to his lips and pressed a firm kiss to my knuckles, before lowering them again.


  "So, I know you're thirsty, or hungry, or both. What can I get for you? I won't stop asking until you tell me," he warned in a teasing tone. 


  I groaned, knowing that he was serious.


  "Um, if I could just get some water, and then maybe something sweet to snack on?" I asked, not knowing what my options were food-wise.


    Harry released my hand and quickly stood up.


 "You got it, be right back," he called, already making his way to the front of the plane. 


   While I waited for him, I decided to push up the blinds on the window all the way, just so I was prepared to watch while we took off. 


   My attention was diverted to Harry as he plopped down next to me, proudly displaying two bottles of water, a bag of Peanut M&M's, and a pouch of goldfish. 


   "I thought you might want sweet and savory, so I brought you two of the finest delicacies I could find," he explained, using a very formal but funny tone as he spoke. 


  I placed my hand over my chest and dramatically batted my eyelashes at him.


 "Why, thank you, kind sir! These are some of the most exquisite culinary masterpieces I have ever had the privilege of laying my eyes on!" I teased back.


  Harry chuckled and placed the items on the pull-out table in front of us, and then reached a hand up and ruffled my hair around, causing it to fly wildly in my face. 


  "What the hell was that for?" I laughed, trying to see past the newly established forest hanging down in front of my eyes.


   One of Harry's large hands suddenly assisted me in pushing my hair out of the way, and as soon as I could see him clearly, he pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose.


 "Because you're cute," he replied smugly, and I instantly rolled my eyes.


 "That was so fucking cheesy," I laughed, and Harry shrugged.


  "And you fucking loved it," he fired back.


I didn't reply, but I think that the small smile I was trying to hide was all the answer that Harry needed.


  I was started as I heard a beeping begin on the plane but relaxed as soon as I realized it was just the intercom.


 "We are all cleared for takeoff, we will begin the trip to the runway now, and should be up in the air in about ten minutes," Tim spoke.


   I tried to contain my excitement as I heard him speak. I was doing a rather shitty job of it, as my leg began bouncing up and down. 


  I could feel Harry looking at me as I turned to stare out the window. Soon, the plane began to move and head towards the runway.


 I know that we weren't exactly going on vacation, but I was still excited to travel and see places that otherwise, I probably never would have gotten the chance to. I was choosing to look at the glass half full. 


  Yes, we would most likely be running from people who would kill us without even batting an eye. Yes, we were trying to crack and destroy a software that our fathers had created over two decades ago. But we also were getting to see so many beautiful places, and we were getting to spend time with each other.


  I guess my optimism was partially due to my new view of what normal was. My life had completely changed gears, and my outlook on life apparently had too. 


"Once the plane takes off, do you want to go ahead and try to figure out where in Spain we will be headed? I have the journals right here," Harry suddenly spoke out, and I turned to find him clutching the two journals in one of his hands. 


  I nodded. "Yeah, sure. I just...I uh...I kind of want to watch us take off," I admitted sheepishly, and Harry instantly gave me a smug grin.


   "Aren't you glad I told you to take the window seat?" He teased, and I mentally scolded myself for boosting his already enormous ego. 


   I shook my head and rolled my eyes, turning back towards the window. Soon, the sound of the engines whirring grew louder and louder, and the fasten seatbelts sign lit up. 


  I reached down and clicked my seatbelt in place and held on to the armrests as suddenly the plane began to accelerate down the runway.   


   The faster that the plane went, the faster my heart began to beat in a mix of anticipation, excitement, and nervousness. 


   The scenery around us became a blur as the plane reached the top speed that it needed before finally lifting up into the air, soaring above the crowded streets of London and making a city that always seemed so big, look inexplicably small. 


   Once I had stared out of the window to my heart's content, I turned and faced Harry, who was already staring at me, a faint smile on his face.


   I blushed under his gaze before finally speaking. "You ready to figure this out?"


  He snapped out of his daze and fumbled around with the journals on his lap, opening them both. 


  "Ready when you are, baby," he smiled up at me. 


I scooted closer to him so that I could see the journals better, and instinctively rested my head on Harry's shoulder, to which he responded by pressing a kiss to the top of my head. 


   As always, we stared at the pages with quizzical expressions and read the words written upon them.


       A lo largo de nuestras vidas, nos enfrentaremos a muchos gigantes. 


       Algunos serán tercos 


       Otros cumplirán. 


       Lo que más importa es que te dejes llevar,


       que sigues los vientos 


      donde quiera que soplen.


The words were written in Spanish, and I instantly looked up to Harry for him to translate.


   "What does it say?" I asked, gesturing down towards the pages.


   "It says, 


        Throughout our lives, we will face many giants.


       Some will be stubborn,


       Others will be compliant.


       What matters most is that you go with the flow,


       that you follow the winds


       wherever they may blow."


Harry's translation did nothing to help in my confusion, and it was clear that it didn't help him either as he stared down at the pages, looking as puzzled as ever. 


   I sat there, racking my brain for any possible thing that might help us to understand what this little riddle was trying to say. The more that I thought about it, the more that something about it felt familiar. I wasn't sure what it was, but the words 'giants' and 'winds' were really standing out to me. 


    And then, I got it.


"Oh my fuck, yes!" I suddenly exclaimed, much louder than I intended to, and causing Harry to jump slightly from being startled by my sudden outburst. 


  "What is it?" Harry asked, leaning forward and turning his head towards me.


"Harry, have you ever read Don Quixote?" I asked excitedly.


  "Yeah, why?" He asked.


 "Don't you remember the windmills in the story? At the Cerro Calderico ridge? He referred to them as giants! That has to be it! It makes sense because one possible interpretation for the windmills was that they represented technology, the destruction of the past, and the loss of knightly values! I remember learning about it in my literature class!" I exclaimed, my left leg beginning to involuntarily bounce again as I spoke. 


  Harry's eyes went wide and he suddenly reached forward and grabbed my face with both of his hands, pulling me towards him and kissing me firmly.


  "You're a fucking genius!" He marveled, a large grin growing on his face.


 I shrugged and smirked. "You said it, not me," I laughed.


"This is perfect. Once we land, we will go to our hotel, and then, once we are settled, we can get something to eat, and then go to the windmills today or tomorrow," he rattled off, his excitement matching my own.


    "Sounds good," I grinned and turned to look back out of the window.


  I watched the clouds fly by below us as we soared in the sky, away from one adventure, and onto the next. 


   Harry was never what I thought I wanted from life, but he had proved to be everything I needed. He awoke a sense of adventure and a little bit of danger within me and made me realize that just because I came from a seemingly ordinary background, it didn't mean that I couldn't live an extraordinary life.


   My excitement was dimmed as a little dose of reality hit me.


  "How long do you think we have before they find us?" I asked softly, not tearing my gaze away from the carelessly billowing clouds below us.


  I heard Harry release a deep sigh. "Honestly? I have no idea. It could be weeks, it could be mere hours. There's really no telling how much they know, or how much they will be able to find out," he replied. 


   I nodded my head, not surprised by his answer, but not very comforted by it either.


  "What about my father? Do you really think that he's still alive? Or do you think they were just trying to get me worked up?" I asked, even more hesitantly than before.


   "I don't know that either. I don't know how someone can manage to go completely undetected for over twenty years, but I also never thought my own father would be involved in a software that I was required to decode later on in my life either. If there's one thing I do know though, it's that whatever happens...


   we have to expect the unexpected."






AN: HI I HOPE YOU LIKED THIS CHAPTER! SORRY IT HAS BEEN A LITTLE LONGER THAN USUAL! I HAVE BEEN SO SLAMMED WITH WORK! I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH! PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! xx





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