Jono and Paige | London
Jan. 1st, 2025 07:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsPaige and Jono explore London....they mostly have a good time.
Jono waited for Paige outside the Tower of London gift shop, watching the ravens as they bopped around the courtyard. Paige had insisted on going into the gift shop alone and getting him something. The idea of it kind of gave him a headache but he’d promised to treat Paige to a day in London doing touristy things. And if that meant he owned merchandise that supported the royals at the end of the day, at least it made it her happy.
Paige hadn’t been expecting to find anything in the gift shop. The Crown Jewels and the history had been interesting, but nothing she was really into. However, the ravens were a popular motif on the merch they were selling and well, it did fit Jono’s aesthetic very well. So maybe she spent a little too much money on gifts for Jono, but they fit him so well. There was a nice patch for his jacket, a little silver charm to make up for the ring he had given her, and a nice hoodie that was warm and comfy. It was worth it, especially after all the money Jono had spent on this trip.
Bag in hand, she rejoined Jono outside. “I’m all set if you are!”
Jono’s eyes widened at the size of the bag in her hand. “What? Did you buy the whole shop?” He teased. “Here, let me carry the bag at least.”
“Nuh uh.” Paige held the bag close to her chest and shook her head. “It’s a surprise. And I can carry my own bags, thank you very much. What’s next on the agenda?”
—————
Jono had insisted that they shop for books during their trip to the city, which was how Paige found herself following Jono down an alleyway in search of a bookstore she wasn’t sure actually existed anymore. Not that she doubted Jono’s navigation skills, but the streets and alleys winded and twisted in ways that New York’s didn’t. The streets and alleyways didn’t make any sense, twisting and turning in confusing ways. “Are you sure it’s down here?”
“Positive. The store I worked for used to do business with this one so sometimes I’d have to take the train over to pick things up. I know where I’m going.” He had a steady grip on Paige’s hand to make sure she didn’t get lost. “Books are so much cheaper here, we might have to mail them home.”
Paige laughed as Jono pulled her along. “And you were making fun of me for buying a lot.”
They turned a corner and there, in its own little corner, was the bookstore they had been searching for. The street wasn’t even big enough for cars to come down this way. If they hadn’t been looking for it, Paige never would have guessed there was a store here.
“I still might after this.” He teased. “I think they’ve likely got the new translations of some old Celtic epics in now!”
“That’ll be nice.” Paige hoped they had a nice fantasy section. Or maybe they’d have some good starter books for British history. She got a feeling she’d have to brush up on that so Jono wouldn’t have to explain every time he talked about home.
“Meet you at the register when we’re done?” Jono asked. Paige usually asked that when they’d go into Salem Center or the city - it was kind of nice to get to ask it for once. “If you’re looking for something in particular I’m sure I can find a specialty bookstore for it that we can stop at before we go back to Birmingham.”
“Deal,” Paige chuckled. “Try not to get too many books, we still have to carry them home.” Leaving Jono to browse on his own, she browsed the shelves on her own. There was a surprisingly wide selection in the store, but Paige only found a couple of books that interested her enough to buy. At least it would be light carrying everything home. Jono seemed to still be browsing, so she took a seat in one of the armchairs scattered around the store and began to read until he was ready to go.
Jono found her with his books already bagged. “Ready to go? I have an idea of what we should do next.”
——————
“Jono, why are we doing this?” When he had said he had an idea of what to do next, Paige had thought that Jono was going to take her to another bookstore or a museum. She had not expected him to insist they get a tarot reading. It was pretty obvious Jono believed in a lot of things she didn’t, like fairies and magic, but this still felt like a stretch even for him.
"Because it's fun?" Jono responded easily. "Come on it's harmless, and you don't believe in it anyway so why does it matter to you what the cards say?"
Before the accident he'd preferred having his tea leaves read, but well, that was always more accurate when you could drink the tea yourself and that wasn't an option anymore. Palmistry could also be okay, but somehow he didn't think Paige would be overly pleased about having a stranger study her hand like that.
Paige rolled her eyes, but let Jono drag her into the shop. It was cute how excited he was for this, even if it was a hoax. Besides, he was right, it couldn’t hurt. “Ok, ok. We can get our cards read.”
"We can do it together if you're scared." He teased. "That way we only have to do it once."
Paige stuck her tongue out at him. “Why would I be scared of anything other than wasting my money? Though if we do it together, maybe you’ll get a discount.”
The shop was small, and the beaded curtains and crystal ball almost made Paige laugh. It was a bad cliche come to life. There was definitely incense burning somewhere, too. At least it lived up to expectations.
"I'm paying. It was my idea anyway." He promised, rolling his eyes.
The fortune teller looked at them curiously. "You're here for a couples reading?"
"Just-" Well.... "Maybe just a cross spread?"
"No no." She said, looking between them and smirking. "I know what you need. Come on dearies, take a seat. A nice, simple, seven card spread. It'll tell you everything you need to know about your friendship."
Jono's face heated up as his cheeks darkened. Oh this was a mistake, he thought as he watched the woman shuffle the cards. Nothing about this could end well.
The woman held the cards out towards Paige. "Pick a card, luv."
Damn, was her crush that obvious that even random people could notice it? Paige tried not to blush at the woman’s words and reached out to pick a card out of the woman’s hands. “Uh, do I look at it or hold on to it? What’s the game here?”
Before the card reader could respond Jono tapped a space on the table. "You'll put it here, face down....if it's the spread I'm thinking."
"Smart boy." The woman grinned. "Go ahead luv, pick a card."
Paige picked her card, and then Jono, and then they had to pick five cards together. For one card draw they accidentally pulled two cards and the fortune teller made them put both down in the same position.
One by one the cards were flipped over. The Sun and The Star were supposed to represent what they both wanted. The Five of Cups, their differences. The Ace of Wands for their similarities. If possible, Jono's blush only darkened when she revealed The Lovers for their emotional compatibility. The Queen of Swords was supposed to represent their mental compatibility, which was fine. But then the woman smirked.
"Now, your physical compatibility- you've pulled two cards here, The Eight of Swords and the Knight of Cups.....so if you can get over some....slight hiccoughs I'm sure you'll both be very happy."
Jono blinked rapidly, reaching for his wallet quickly. "Yes, uh, thank you very much. I'll- how much do we owe you?"
Well, that had been…it was certainly one of the most experiences Paige had had on this trip. Jono seemed to be incredibly embarrassed and wanted to leave as soon as possible, so Paige decided to never speak of this again.
“So…you wanna head back for the night?” Paige asked. It had been a fun day, but she was starting to feel exhausted after walking around all day. It would be nice to decompress after…all that.
"We'll grab dinner here before we head back, there's a more subdued pub that sometimes has folk music around here somewhere. You haven't had a good steak and ale pie yet, I'll have to fix that before we leave London."
——————
Jono sat in the pub, arm around Paige's shoulders as they relaxed off of their feet a minute, listening to the band play as Paige finished her dinner. The place was livelier than he'd thought, though the live music was good so he didn't really mind.
He tapped his foot and swayed a little, singing along quietly. "Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín, and she smiled as she passed me by, she looked so sweet from her two bare feet, to the sheen of her golden hair, such a winsome elf, I'm ashamed of myself, for to see I was staring there.."
Paige finished off the last of her pie and cuddled into Jono’s side. She wasn’t sure Jono realized he was projecting into her head, but it was nice. He had a lovely singing voice. “You never told me you were a folk music fan.”
"It kind of goes hand in hand with the folklore thing here." He whispered, fighting the surge of warmth in his chest when Paige cuddled up. He was secretly glad that she didn't know the song enough to realize he'd changed a lyric. "Helps when the band's this good too. We'll have to buy them a round before we leave."
“If you insist,” Paige chuckled, knowing Jono wouldn’t let her contribute to buying the drinks. As a couple pushed their way from the crowded bar to the open floor, she began to get an idea.
“You know, there is another way we can show our appreciation for the music.” Grabbing Jono’s hand, she stood up and nodded toward the group of people dancing on the open floor. “Could be fun.”
For a moment he nearly refused. But Paige was smiling at him, her hand was warm in his, and she wanted to dance with him- and when would he get a chance like this again.
He shook his head fondly and followed her as she moved out to the dance floor. As soon as they were far enough out he pulled her close, swaying to the music with her in his arms. "I didn't know you liked to dance."
Paige hadn’t thought Jono would do it and was mostly teasing, but she couldn’t complain when he was holding her like this. Maybe she should just tell him how she felt. But this trip had been so nice and relaxed. It would be horribly awkward if he didn’t feel the same and she messed it all up now. “Seemed the thing to do. When in Rome and all that.”
He spun them around a little bit, bumping his nose against her forehead- almost a kiss if he had the anatomy for that. "You know.....if you like this.....I'm sure we could find places back home with live music and room to dance......if you'd want to do it again.....with me."
Paige flushed bright red and hid her face in Jono’s shoulder so he couldn’t see. “Yeah? You uh…you’d want to do that?” Was this…he couldn’t be asking her out, right? Jono just liked music and it was good he wanted to get out and experience it more. Probably.
"What? Am I not good at it?" He tried to sound teasing, but mostly sounded about as flustered as she was projecting. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Rhys was right- he'd lost his game, and apparently his nerve.
“No! You’ve actually got really good rhythm. I uh…” Jono sounded odd, she had probably made things awkward. Trying to salvage the mood, Paige spoke her next words in a rush. “I’d like that a lot, we’ll have to look into it when we get home.”
"Yeah, definitely. There's a few bars I've seen with bands I'd like to see if you're willing to try rock music....." He spun them again, grabbing Paige's hand and twirling her when the music picked up with a new, much faster song. "But for now....try to keep up?"
“Is that a challenge?” Paige smirked, happy to be on a less confusing page. Just because she wasn’t a musician didn’t mean she couldn’t keep time, too.
"Maybe." He teased, relieved to see Paige looking more confident as he pulled her closer again. "Somehow I don't think swaying along will cut it anymore."
Jono waited for Paige outside the Tower of London gift shop, watching the ravens as they bopped around the courtyard. Paige had insisted on going into the gift shop alone and getting him something. The idea of it kind of gave him a headache but he’d promised to treat Paige to a day in London doing touristy things. And if that meant he owned merchandise that supported the royals at the end of the day, at least it made it her happy.
Paige hadn’t been expecting to find anything in the gift shop. The Crown Jewels and the history had been interesting, but nothing she was really into. However, the ravens were a popular motif on the merch they were selling and well, it did fit Jono’s aesthetic very well. So maybe she spent a little too much money on gifts for Jono, but they fit him so well. There was a nice patch for his jacket, a little silver charm to make up for the ring he had given her, and a nice hoodie that was warm and comfy. It was worth it, especially after all the money Jono had spent on this trip.
Bag in hand, she rejoined Jono outside. “I’m all set if you are!”
Jono’s eyes widened at the size of the bag in her hand. “What? Did you buy the whole shop?” He teased. “Here, let me carry the bag at least.”
“Nuh uh.” Paige held the bag close to her chest and shook her head. “It’s a surprise. And I can carry my own bags, thank you very much. What’s next on the agenda?”
—————
Jono had insisted that they shop for books during their trip to the city, which was how Paige found herself following Jono down an alleyway in search of a bookstore she wasn’t sure actually existed anymore. Not that she doubted Jono’s navigation skills, but the streets and alleys winded and twisted in ways that New York’s didn’t. The streets and alleyways didn’t make any sense, twisting and turning in confusing ways. “Are you sure it’s down here?”
“Positive. The store I worked for used to do business with this one so sometimes I’d have to take the train over to pick things up. I know where I’m going.” He had a steady grip on Paige’s hand to make sure she didn’t get lost. “Books are so much cheaper here, we might have to mail them home.”
Paige laughed as Jono pulled her along. “And you were making fun of me for buying a lot.”
They turned a corner and there, in its own little corner, was the bookstore they had been searching for. The street wasn’t even big enough for cars to come down this way. If they hadn’t been looking for it, Paige never would have guessed there was a store here.
“I still might after this.” He teased. “I think they’ve likely got the new translations of some old Celtic epics in now!”
“That’ll be nice.” Paige hoped they had a nice fantasy section. Or maybe they’d have some good starter books for British history. She got a feeling she’d have to brush up on that so Jono wouldn’t have to explain every time he talked about home.
“Meet you at the register when we’re done?” Jono asked. Paige usually asked that when they’d go into Salem Center or the city - it was kind of nice to get to ask it for once. “If you’re looking for something in particular I’m sure I can find a specialty bookstore for it that we can stop at before we go back to Birmingham.”
“Deal,” Paige chuckled. “Try not to get too many books, we still have to carry them home.” Leaving Jono to browse on his own, she browsed the shelves on her own. There was a surprisingly wide selection in the store, but Paige only found a couple of books that interested her enough to buy. At least it would be light carrying everything home. Jono seemed to still be browsing, so she took a seat in one of the armchairs scattered around the store and began to read until he was ready to go.
Jono found her with his books already bagged. “Ready to go? I have an idea of what we should do next.”
——————
“Jono, why are we doing this?” When he had said he had an idea of what to do next, Paige had thought that Jono was going to take her to another bookstore or a museum. She had not expected him to insist they get a tarot reading. It was pretty obvious Jono believed in a lot of things she didn’t, like fairies and magic, but this still felt like a stretch even for him.
"Because it's fun?" Jono responded easily. "Come on it's harmless, and you don't believe in it anyway so why does it matter to you what the cards say?"
Before the accident he'd preferred having his tea leaves read, but well, that was always more accurate when you could drink the tea yourself and that wasn't an option anymore. Palmistry could also be okay, but somehow he didn't think Paige would be overly pleased about having a stranger study her hand like that.
Paige rolled her eyes, but let Jono drag her into the shop. It was cute how excited he was for this, even if it was a hoax. Besides, he was right, it couldn’t hurt. “Ok, ok. We can get our cards read.”
"We can do it together if you're scared." He teased. "That way we only have to do it once."
Paige stuck her tongue out at him. “Why would I be scared of anything other than wasting my money? Though if we do it together, maybe you’ll get a discount.”
The shop was small, and the beaded curtains and crystal ball almost made Paige laugh. It was a bad cliche come to life. There was definitely incense burning somewhere, too. At least it lived up to expectations.
"I'm paying. It was my idea anyway." He promised, rolling his eyes.
The fortune teller looked at them curiously. "You're here for a couples reading?"
"Just-" Well.... "Maybe just a cross spread?"
"No no." She said, looking between them and smirking. "I know what you need. Come on dearies, take a seat. A nice, simple, seven card spread. It'll tell you everything you need to know about your friendship."
Jono's face heated up as his cheeks darkened. Oh this was a mistake, he thought as he watched the woman shuffle the cards. Nothing about this could end well.
The woman held the cards out towards Paige. "Pick a card, luv."
Damn, was her crush that obvious that even random people could notice it? Paige tried not to blush at the woman’s words and reached out to pick a card out of the woman’s hands. “Uh, do I look at it or hold on to it? What’s the game here?”
Before the card reader could respond Jono tapped a space on the table. "You'll put it here, face down....if it's the spread I'm thinking."
"Smart boy." The woman grinned. "Go ahead luv, pick a card."
Paige picked her card, and then Jono, and then they had to pick five cards together. For one card draw they accidentally pulled two cards and the fortune teller made them put both down in the same position.
One by one the cards were flipped over. The Sun and The Star were supposed to represent what they both wanted. The Five of Cups, their differences. The Ace of Wands for their similarities. If possible, Jono's blush only darkened when she revealed The Lovers for their emotional compatibility. The Queen of Swords was supposed to represent their mental compatibility, which was fine. But then the woman smirked.
"Now, your physical compatibility- you've pulled two cards here, The Eight of Swords and the Knight of Cups.....so if you can get over some....slight hiccoughs I'm sure you'll both be very happy."
Jono blinked rapidly, reaching for his wallet quickly. "Yes, uh, thank you very much. I'll- how much do we owe you?"
Well, that had been…it was certainly one of the most experiences Paige had had on this trip. Jono seemed to be incredibly embarrassed and wanted to leave as soon as possible, so Paige decided to never speak of this again.
“So…you wanna head back for the night?” Paige asked. It had been a fun day, but she was starting to feel exhausted after walking around all day. It would be nice to decompress after…all that.
"We'll grab dinner here before we head back, there's a more subdued pub that sometimes has folk music around here somewhere. You haven't had a good steak and ale pie yet, I'll have to fix that before we leave London."
——————
Jono sat in the pub, arm around Paige's shoulders as they relaxed off of their feet a minute, listening to the band play as Paige finished her dinner. The place was livelier than he'd thought, though the live music was good so he didn't really mind.
He tapped his foot and swayed a little, singing along quietly. "Down a bóithrín green came a sweet cailín, and she smiled as she passed me by, she looked so sweet from her two bare feet, to the sheen of her golden hair, such a winsome elf, I'm ashamed of myself, for to see I was staring there.."
Paige finished off the last of her pie and cuddled into Jono’s side. She wasn’t sure Jono realized he was projecting into her head, but it was nice. He had a lovely singing voice. “You never told me you were a folk music fan.”
"It kind of goes hand in hand with the folklore thing here." He whispered, fighting the surge of warmth in his chest when Paige cuddled up. He was secretly glad that she didn't know the song enough to realize he'd changed a lyric. "Helps when the band's this good too. We'll have to buy them a round before we leave."
“If you insist,” Paige chuckled, knowing Jono wouldn’t let her contribute to buying the drinks. As a couple pushed their way from the crowded bar to the open floor, she began to get an idea.
“You know, there is another way we can show our appreciation for the music.” Grabbing Jono’s hand, she stood up and nodded toward the group of people dancing on the open floor. “Could be fun.”
For a moment he nearly refused. But Paige was smiling at him, her hand was warm in his, and she wanted to dance with him- and when would he get a chance like this again.
He shook his head fondly and followed her as she moved out to the dance floor. As soon as they were far enough out he pulled her close, swaying to the music with her in his arms. "I didn't know you liked to dance."
Paige hadn’t thought Jono would do it and was mostly teasing, but she couldn’t complain when he was holding her like this. Maybe she should just tell him how she felt. But this trip had been so nice and relaxed. It would be horribly awkward if he didn’t feel the same and she messed it all up now. “Seemed the thing to do. When in Rome and all that.”
He spun them around a little bit, bumping his nose against her forehead- almost a kiss if he had the anatomy for that. "You know.....if you like this.....I'm sure we could find places back home with live music and room to dance......if you'd want to do it again.....with me."
Paige flushed bright red and hid her face in Jono’s shoulder so he couldn’t see. “Yeah? You uh…you’d want to do that?” Was this…he couldn’t be asking her out, right? Jono just liked music and it was good he wanted to get out and experience it more. Probably.
"What? Am I not good at it?" He tried to sound teasing, but mostly sounded about as flustered as she was projecting. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Rhys was right- he'd lost his game, and apparently his nerve.
“No! You’ve actually got really good rhythm. I uh…” Jono sounded odd, she had probably made things awkward. Trying to salvage the mood, Paige spoke her next words in a rush. “I’d like that a lot, we’ll have to look into it when we get home.”
"Yeah, definitely. There's a few bars I've seen with bands I'd like to see if you're willing to try rock music....." He spun them again, grabbing Paige's hand and twirling her when the music picked up with a new, much faster song. "But for now....try to keep up?"
“Is that a challenge?” Paige smirked, happy to be on a less confusing page. Just because she wasn’t a musician didn’t mean she couldn’t keep time, too.
"Maybe." He teased, relieved to see Paige looking more confident as he pulled her closer again. "Somehow I don't think swaying along will cut it anymore."
