Astrophilia ~ The Hobbit Cast

Part 20

The next morning I woke up in Richard's arms while his bright blue eyes were looking straight into mine 'Hello there' I muttered which made him laugh. 'Good morning' He said with a husky voice. I just couldn't resist kissing him over and over. Yet we couldn't stay in bed kissing all day and soon Richard got up throwing some clothes on the bed. 'C'mon sleepy head time to go discover a bit of this magical city, I know the perfect place to start the day' He spoke where after I swiftly got dressed and followed him towards his "surprise" spot. First we took the metroline to Bank station where Richard lead me through to crowdy streets till we stood in front of a giant Skyscraper. 'Okay, wauw uhm I'm not afraid of heights, but are you sure this is the first thing you want me to see here? A skyscraper, like there aren't enough of them?' I laughed which made Richard poke me 'Hey, we're not done yet, just follow me. This isn't just a skyscraper. It's the sky garden, c'mon!' Richard said pulling me inside where we got checked by security where after we stepped into an elevator and went up to the 35th floor. Once the elevators opened I could barely believe my eyes 'Oh my...' I mumbled while Richard led me into a giant room all surrounded by glass window looking over the skyline of London, In the middle of the room there was a bar with some tables and a lot of plants and even trees. I simply didn't know where to look first. 'Okay you sit tight I'll get breakfast while you enjoy the view' Richard whispered in my ear where after he went towards the bar and I sat at a table by the window checking every building, park and street in London. I had no idea how long Richard had been gone but when he came back he had coffee, croissants, chocolate buns, even eggs and some cookies with him. 'My lady' He laughed where after he sat down with me and we had our breakfast while I had a virtual tour through London. 'So where you want to go first?' Richard then asked after breakfast. I sat there for at least a minute looking around 'Well, there's so much to see' I sighed 'Okay let me help, something more cultural, something touristy?' he asked which made me smile 'Something romantic maybe' I answered whereby Richard grabbed my hand 'No I already have a romantic surprise for this evening.' Richard spoke before kissing my lips again having a sneaky grin on his face. 'Let's start being a real tourist and go to Picadilly Circus' I then suggested which made Richard laugh 'Oh so you really want to be that touristy kind if girl, great' Richard now said where after I poked him 'Hey you asked!' I defended myself which made Richard kiss my forehead 'I know love, c'mon I'll take you there!' He promised where after we left towards the metroline. Once we arrived in Picadilly I didn't know where to look first, it was so crowdy, all kinds of people were shopping, hurrying to work and so on. Richard luckily guided me towards the right street and then completely trusted me going in and out shops as if I were some tourist he just found on the airport. I just wasn't used to shopping trips, seeing all these amazing stores, all kinds of clothing, Christmas decorations and so on made me really excited. While I tried on some new sweaters and jackets, which I could really use as it was definitely a lot colder here then it was back in New Zealand, I heard some people call Richard's name. When I got out of the fitting room I saw a few women standing next to Richard. 'We just can't believe we're seeing you here, we thought you were filming The Hobbit now?' one of them said while the other just kept looking at Richard in surprise. 'Well we're on a break now for the holidays, so I'm here with my friend' I heard Richard say. For a moment I felt hurt, why would he say friend instead of girlfriend? Did he feel embarrassed? Was he not sure about us? When he saw me he swiftly reached out for me 'This is Hera, now if you don't mind we still have some shopping to do.' He smiled which made the ladies 'No, yea of course, could we maybe just have a picture with you?' One of the ladies asked which made Richard uncomfortable. 'I'm not sure, I mean we still have lot to do' Richard started. I just couldn't help but notice how sad those ladies looked all of a sudden which made me step up 'Hey I can take a quick picture' I suggested which made the ladies a lot happier. 'Oh perfect, thank you so much!' She said before handing me her camera so I quickly took the picture. 'Thank you so much, have a great Christmas, bye!' They then said before Richard took my hand and guided me the other way. 'I am so sorry!' he said where after I shook my head. 'It's okay, I mean this is part of being with a celebrity, right?' I said which made Richard laugh. 'Yea well I might consider hiring a bodyguard after finishing The Hobbit' he said which made me laugh 'Seems like a good plan' I answered before trying some more clothes. 'After about five shops in which both Richard and I got some new outfits we stopped at a nice bar where we got ourselves some tea with scones. As we were sitting by the window I was thinking about what Richard said to those ladies again. I felt sad, Richard immediately noticed 'You okay?' he asked which made me nod quickly, of course he didn't believe me. 'Hera?' he asked holding my hand. 'I was just thinking about what you told those ladies, that I'm a friend, like not girlfriend...' I sighed which made Richard sigh too. 'Hera I'm so sorry, I just, I was scared' he said which made me even more sad 'You were scared of what they'd think? I thought we got passed that' I mumbled. Richard shook his head 'Hera, they were fangirls, I was scared of what they'd do or say if I called you my girlfriend. People do crazy things for a person they admire, and I don't want them bothering you' Richard explained. I immediately felt so stupid making a scene over something like that while he was protecting me like that. 'You're right, I'm sorry, I should have know you were just being nice and protective' I spoke. 'Hey I get it, I promise anyone that matters can know you're my girlfriend, I just don't want fans or press finding out' He said before giving a quick kiss on my forehead which immediately made me feel like the happiest girl in the world again.

As the evening fell we just dropped our shopping bags at Richard's apartment where after Richard stopped a cab to take us to his romantic surprise. After a ten minute drive we arrived at the entrance of Winter Wonderland. 'You're really unbelievable, This really is the best day of my life' I laughed which made Richard give me his prettiest smile in return. 'I need every day to be the best for you, over and over again' He said leading me inside through a private entrance. First we were strolling around some of the food stalls having some pizza and something called Bratwurst, apparently it was a typical German meal. After this we went towards the fair where Richard asked me on the Ferris Wheel. At first I was a bit scared but as soon as he wrapped my arms around me I didn't care about anything else anymore. As the wheel went higher and higher I got to see more of the fair, the Christmas stalls, and then even most of the neighbourhood. The sun was getting real low which resulted in a red gloom filling the city. 'Hera?' Richard suddenly asked which made me look at him. For a moment I thought he was going to ask me to marry him. Luckily he didn't go down on his knee, as I wasn't ready for that. 'I just want you to know I'm very excited for you to meet my parents and I'm so happy we're here together!' He spoke. I swiftly laid a hand on his cheek and gave him a warm smile. 'I'm excited to meet your parents too, I just hope they'll like me' I spoke a little insecure. Richard laughed 'Of course they will, why wouldn't they?' he answered. For a moment I thought about Dean and our fight but as soon as Richard kissed my lips I forgot about the quarrels and enjoyed the rest of my ride on the ferris wheel with Richard by my side.

When we both stood back on the ground we went to get some glühwein and passed by an ice rink. 'Oh I want to get on the ice!' I immediately said. Richard seemed a little doubtful but seeing my happy face he couldn't say no. We finished our drink and got in. As soon as I stepped on the ice I remembered how much I loved this as a kid. I hadn't done this in years. Yet I only had to make a few steps before smoothly sliding over the ice. Looking behind I saw Richard holding on to the wall very tightly which made me feel sorry for him. He definitely wasn't used to this. I quickly went back and took his hand 'Do you trust me?' I asked him which made him look at me with some fear in his eyes but he nodded 'Always!' He said which made me nod too. 'Okay c'mon' I said softly pulling him along. In the beginning he could barely stand up on his skates, but soon he also found out how it worked and could even do a few steps without my help. After about an hour we had so much fun we even tried some tricks. Just as Richard managed to stand on one leg he lost his balance and fell. I first got startled and went over to him asking if you was okay but for I second I forgot to slow down which made me fall on top of him. Luckily none of us got hurt and we got a good laugh trying to get up again. After the ice skating there were again some people who recognized Richard and asked for photo's. Richard tried to keep his distance, but since he was such a nice guy he didn't want to let anyone down and I could definitely understand that. When we had a short chat with some fans we walked around the Christmas stalls a little longer, Richard suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to one of the stalls grabbing a nice and warm scarf made of wool. 'There, you can't go cold my lady' he spoke which made me shake my head 'How thoughtful of you my king' I said before kissing his cheek. Richard wouldn't let me pay for the scarf so while he was paying I got us some waffles to make it even. After this we had to get back home. A taxi picked us up and drove us back to the apartment where Richard filled the bath so I could get a relaxing bath before going to bed. We talked a bit more about what we were going to do the next day, I wanted to visit a museum and go to Camden town as I already heard quite a lot about this neighbourhood. Richard immediately agreed and soon I was laying in his safe arms again falling asleep while dreaming of another day of seeing a bit more of the world.