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procrastinatingsoicanreadfanfics · 2 years

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When in Bali...

Summary: You were supposed to go to Bali with your partner for your one-year anniversary. Instead, you’re there alone, heartbroken. Will reuniting with a friend you know from a summer vacation in elementary school be able to fix it?

Beginning Notes: I was thinking about @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie’s fic challenge when I came up with this, but Bali sadly wasn’t on the prompt list. Still hoping that this'll do as good as Sandcastles.

Tagged: @bragisrunes @demon-of-the-ancient-world @deans-ch-ch-cherrypie @punkrocknpearls @alicedopey @batmandallyboy (hmu to be added to any taglist!)

Masterlist | requests are OPEN!

This summer holiday has been nothing short of awful. First, you catch your partner cheating on you two weeks before you’re supposed to fly, then you find out you can’t get your money back, and then, a wheel broke off of your suitcase. It’s a wonder you even made it to your resort alive.

Now, you’re at the pool, nursing a Mojito in hopes of soothing your heartbreak. There aren’t many people around. Most of them are probably going out. An elderly couple is suntanning across from the pool, there’s two kids throwing a ball in the shallow area and a guy at the bar that looks weirdly familiar. He’s practically devouring his chicken wings and you swear you know him.

The second you start looking away, the two of you make eye contact, and he gives you a bright smile, before returning to his wings.

It happens a few more times in the following days. Each time you see him, there’s this feeling you know him. But from where?

On your fifth day there, you eat dinner at the hotel’s buffet. You haven’t gone out once, either moping at the pool or your room. What’s the point without any company?

You grab this and that off the buffet, only avoiding the shrimps that look a little gray and the chocolate you’re saving for later. At your table, you’re completely alone, and you feel like you’re back in high school.

The stranger walks in, which confuses you, because you’ve seen him leave this hotel with a blond man a bunch of times while you were still lying at the pool. He hasn’t eaten here while you were there, not once.

Every table around you is deserted, and he still makes a beeline for yours. You send a silent curse to any god there might be but put on a friendly smile.

“Hey.” He says. “Saw you sitting all alone, and I thought I’d join you.”

“Hi.” You reply.

“I’m Hvitserk, by the way.” He tells you, holding out his hand. You pause. Hvitserk isn’t a common name, and you’ve only heard it once in your entire life.

You’re sitting on the beach near your parents, trying to save this sad sandcastle when you hear a shriek. Turning around, you see a blond girl your age throwing a crab into the sand after picking it off her leg, before running after a tall boy who’s laughing with sibling-appropriate malice.

“Hvitserk!” she screams. Behind her, a boy with dark hair cackles loudly, before the boy next to him elbows him.

The boy that is being chased runs up to you.

“You have to hide me!” he says, sitting behind you. “My sister is crazy!”

The blond girl that was chasing him isn’t impressed, crossing her arms to show that she can still see him, before she stalks off. You spent the rest of the afternoon ‘hiding’ Hvitserk and building more sandcastles. At some point, the darkhaired boy that was his younger brother crawled over, critizing your castle.

Third-grade you was crushed and immediately entered a sandcastle building contest with him, with Hvitserk as judge. For the rest of your stay in Spain, you and Hvitserk were inseparable.

Quickly, you shake it. “Y/N.” you reply. “Are you from Norway?”

“Yeah, I am actually.” Hvitserk says.

“That’s pretty far.” You comment.

“What about you?” Hvitserk asks.

“I’m studying in Australia, so Bali isn’t too far.”

“You’re really familiar.” Hvitserk blurts out suddenly. You laugh dryly.

“Does that line usually work for you?”

“No, I’m serious.” He insists. “Were you in Spain for summer vacation? Like in elementary school?”

“No fucking way.” You say. “You’re Hvitserk Lothbrok?”

He nods, and your mouth falls open. “Oh my god. I thought I’d never see you again!”

“Fate works in mysterious ways.” He says, making his voice a little too deep to be serious.

“How are Ubbe and Ivar? And Brynhildr and Aslaug?”

“They’re all good.” Hvitserk says. “But Brynhildr is actually called Sigurd. He’s trans.”

“Oh so he’s the blond guy I thought was your boyfriend.” You reply. Hvitserk grimaces.

“Ew, no! He’s my brother.” Then, he smirks. “Wait, have you been stalking me?”

“No.” you protest. “Well, maybe a little bit.”

“Are you saying I’m goodlooking?” Hvitserk asks, casually taking a fry from your plate.

“I’m saying that I’m heartbroken and bored. And yes, you are semi-attractive.”

Hvitserk makes an insulted noise. “All these years of friendship and you call me semi-attractive.”

You laugh, sliding your plate to him, which he happily accepts.

“Fine. Hvitserk, you are so hot and sexy that you’re making me forget why I ever dated my ex in the first place.”

“Good.” Hvitserk says. “What are you doing in Bali anyway?”

“Non-refundable one year anniversary trip.” You grimace.

“Ouch.” Hvitserk nods sympathetically.

“What about you?” you ask. It’s nice catching up with Hvitserk. He’s exactly like you remember. Well, maybe a bit more flirtatious.

“Yearly Aslaugssons trip. Except that Ubbe has a kid on the way and doesn’t want to miss his daughter’s birth.”

“I haven’t seen Ivar around.” You comment.

“He’s kind of turned into an edgelord so he refuses to leave his room to tan. Sigurd’s out with his fiancé today, and I wanted to cheer you up.”

“Did I look that sad?” you ask. After a pause, Hvitserk nods, before you both burst into laughter.

“You should come with us tomorrow. I’ve convinced Ivar to come along for drinks and tacos, and he’s taking his girlfriend. Sigurd’s taking his partner. Why don’t you come as my date, so I’m not alone?”

“I don’t know.” You say. “I don’t want to intrude.”

“Ivar and Freydís will be very preoccupied, but Sigurd’s partner is a treasure. They’ll love you; I promise.”

You think about it for a second. It could be fun, and your ex cheated. It’s okay to go as a platonic date for Hvitserk three weeks post-breakup.

“Please?” Hvitserk asks, making puppy eyes at you.

“Fine. But only because you let me win against Ivar when my sandcastle was falling over.”

***

Why are you feeling so nervous? It’s only a night out with an old friend of sorts. You’ve put on the dress that was meant for your anniversary dinner, a long bodycon dress that makes you feel pretty even now, when you’re feeling out of sorts.

You kept your makeup simple because Hvitserk casually forgot to tell you the dresscode, but it doesn’t matter because you managed to tan enough that it made you look just a little bit refreshed.

Hvitserk knocks at your door right on time – which surprises you. You’d think that Ivar would be perfectly punctual, and Hvitserk ten minutes late at the very least, but he’s there, and he’s smiling brightly, just like he did when he was still a kid.

“Hi.” You say, grabbing your purse off the desk and closing the door behind you. “How’s your day?”

“Getting better and better.” Hvitserk jokes, and you rolled your eyes.

“I’m serious, you’re looking good.” He insists.

“I better. Spent at least an hour overthinking this dress when I bought it.”

“Yeah. Would be a pity if the dress went to waste.” Hvitserk murmurs, before he lets you out of the room and leads you to the entrance of the resort. There, Ivar and Freydís are already waiting.

“I thought Hvitserk was talking shit when he said that the Y/N was also in Bali.” Ivar greets you. He’s standing upright now, supported by legbraces and crutches.

“Still salty about my sandcastle being better than yours?” you ask, and he rolls his eyes.

“Mine was clearly better. I’d say the judge was only a bit partial.”

“Freydís.” His girlfriend introduces herself.

“Y/N.” you answer. “Where’s Sigurd?”

“Him and Gale are already there. They said they wanted to enjoy the music a bit before Hvitserk begins ordering the entire menu.” Ivar replies. Hvitserk snorts, absentmindedly grabbing your hand as the four of you start walking. You blush furiously, but don’t let go. Not quite yet.

The restaurant is right at the beach, and a stranger comes bounding up as soon as you cross the threshold.

“You guys are just on time.” They announce. “Sigurd wanted to start ordering appetizers, even though that’s clearly Hvitserk’s assigned job.”

They go around hugging everybody and hug you too. “You must be Y/N.” they say.

“Yeah.” You reply.

“Sigurd told me you gave him your dessert once after Hvitserk ate his while he was in the restroom.”

“That was only because he braided her hair so nicely.” Ivar says sarcastically. So Sigurd and Ivar are still always fighting. You think.

Gale leads you to the table, where Sigurd is talking to a waiter. He hands Hvitserk the menu blindly, whose eyes immediately lights up. Ivar was right – Hvitserk orders six out of the eight appetizers on the menu.

“How are you going to eat all that?” you ask.

“My stomach knows no bounds.” Hvitserk replies. You all sit down, and Sigurd hands you a drink.

“It’s good to see you.” Sigurd greets. “I ordered a Mojito for you. Hvitserk mentioned you were obsessed.”

“Good to see you too.” You reply, before you turn to Hvitserk. “I am not THAT obsessed with Mojitos.”

“Yeah, you only had them each time you ordered from the poolbar.”

“Who’s the stalker now?” you fire back.

Appetizers come and go, as well as the main course, and Hvitserk keeps true to his promise, devouring everything that comes near his plate. At some point, Gale decide that they are full, and Hvitserk happily accepts their plate.

You catch up with Sigurd, since Ivar is making hearteyes at Freydís, who is talking to Gale and Hvitserk. He tells you all about the things you missed since Spain. From Ivar’s braces and his transition to Ubbe and Bjorn setting the BBQ on fire during a family reunion.

At the end of dinner, everyone except Hvitserk is stuffed, and getting ready to head back to the hotel.

“You and Y/N should stay, have dessert and catch up some more.” Freydís suggests, throwing Ivar one of those looks that only your longterm partners or siblings can understand. However, Ivar’s mouth not-so-subtly tugs into a smirk.

Before you can protest, all four of them are gone, Ivar handing Hvitserk some money for the check, who happily accepts while reading through his dessert options.

“Let’s share.” He suggests

“Share food? With you?” you say, only half-joking.

“We shared your fries.” He reminds.

“That wasn’t really decided by me.” You laugh. He hands you the menu, pointing out both options. In the end, you go for lava cake with vanilla ice cream, and Hvitserk scoots closer as the waiter brings a last round of drinks, courtesy of Ivar.

“I’m actually getting hungry for dessert.” You tell Hvitserk. What you don’t tell him is that all those drinks have made you slightly tipsy and Hvitserk is starting to look even better than before.

“And my stomach knows no bounds?” Hvitserk asks. You groan, leaning back against him.

“I think eating even more is a shit idea, but I really love lava cake.” You admit. Hvitserk puts an arm around you, and you don’t mind at all.

“Did you know I had a crush on you in Spain?” Hvitserk suddenly blurts out. You sit back up, staring at him.

“What?” you ask.

“It’s true!” he insists. “Honestly, I can understand younger me perfectly.”

You laugh, but you feel yourself growing nervous – in a good way. For a moment, you think back to your ex, but honestly, the feelings for them haven’t been very strong for a few months already.

“So you’re saying you have a crush on me now?” you ask. Before Hvitserk can answer, the waiter sets down the dessert. You both dig in, and holy fuck – it’s good.

“I take it back, eating this is a great idea.” You say between bites.

“I might have a crush on you now.” Hvitserk says after swallowing his first bite. Surprised, you cough, some of the cake getting stuck in your throat. Hvitserk smacks your back, until you can breathe again.

“Couldn’t that wait until I had swallowed?” you ask, your eyes teary.

“Oh yeah. Sorry about that. Want me to kiss it better?”

You had forgotten how forward Hvitserk was.

“Uhh...” you mumble. “Sure?”

He leans forward, softly kissing you. You almost protest when he pulls back. You finish the dessert in comfortable silence, and on the way home, Hvitserk holds your hand again.

Dutifully, he drops you off at your hotel room, but before he can go, you pull him down to kiss him. After a few seconds, Hvitserk deepens the kiss, and holy fuck, he was an amazing kisser. Out of breath, you break apart.

“I’ll see you at the pool tomorrow?” you ask.

“Yeah.” He says. “I guess I should go to Bali more often, if it turns out like this.”

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