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Paparazzi - Chapter 1

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Homecoming by Amani-Ishikawa
Homecoming

The wheels of the Boeing 757 screeched on the runway, and Amaya Thomas was awakened by the slight jolt of the main landing gear making contact with the pavement of the runway. She lulled her head to the side and looked out the window at the familiar scene of the LAX terminal, yet she could not wake up. Amaya had been traveling for nearly 14 hours, and she was exhausted from both jet lag and the time difference. Not only that, but changing flights at Laguardia in New York City had been absolute hell, thanks to customs and getting through security checkpoints.

She had been in Germany for about nine months working on the set for Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino's latest movie, though now that the film was in its final editing after Cannes, she would not be allowed to talk much about the content of the film until after its premiere and release here in the United States.

That was when she would see Christoph again.

Amaya sighed. Her time in Germany, while exhausting, had been nothing short of wonderful. The unexpected had happened, and she had fallen in love with a handsome and sweet older Austrian gentleman named Christoph Waltz. Christoph was an actor who had portrayed the role of Colonel Hans Landa, who was the villain-type in the film. This was Christoph's first time in an American-based film, though he had been acting for many years in German movies and had a few English-speaking roles in London. The portrayal of his role had garnered quite a bit of attention when she was with him in Cannes, and he had won the Prix d'interprétation masculine while they were at the Cannes Film Festival. 

She missed him so much already.

Amaya's best friend, Nikki, was waiting at the gate to pick her up and drive her home. Amaya stood from her seat when the plane approached the terminal, and yawned heavily. Her eyes felt heavy, and she slowly removed her things from the carry on compartment above her head and joined the line of people disembarking. She made her way down the corridor with her familiar messenger bag crossed over her so it wouldn't fall off her shoulder and her carryon luggage rolling behind her.

When she emerged, she saw a tall, familiar figure among the dozens of people waiting for passengers, and immediately the redhead was hit by a dozen emotions at once. She smiled and burst into tears that were fuled by a conglomeration of joy to see her friend, sadness that she’d have to wait a few months for Christoph, and relief that she was finally home and would soon be sleeping in her own bed.

"Amaya!" Nikki screeched as she clasped her friend into a tight hug the moment she saw her.

The redhead returned with a hug of her own, and she closed her eyes and buried her face into Nikki's neck. It was a bit weird, but she actually missed how good her friend smelled and her familiar hugs.

"I'm so fucking glad to see you," Amaya said, pulling back, sniffling.

"God, you look rough," Nikki remarked, taking a closer look at Amaya's reddned, puffy eyes and the dark circles under them.

"I feel rough."

Nikki grabbed Amaya's rolling suitcase. "Well, yeah, that's a hell of a flight." She smiled reassuringly. "We'll get you homw to rest, though. Anywhere you want to stop?"

Amaya shook her head. "No. Absolutely not. I just want to go home and sleep for the next five days. I'm tired."

Nikki nodded. "I understand." Then she cocked her head curiously. "So you didn't bring your Austrian boyfriend?"

"He'll be in L.A. in a few months when the movie premiers here in the United States," Amaya explained. She sighed wistfully. "I didn't want to leave him. God...it was so hard getting on that fucking plane."

Nikki smiled. She had not seen her best friend this happy in a long, long time. Even though she had not been in Germany when Amaya was falling in love with Christoph, she had spoken to her friend over Skype, and she had seen some of the photos she had posted on her online blog.

"I'm sure he felt the same about letting you go, but you two will be together in no time. I'll have to keep you occupied until then."

"As long as you don't interfere with my sleep, that's fine with me."

Nikki helped Amaya retrieve her luggage from the carousel, and together they walked out to Nikki's car parked in the parking garage. They threw her things into the trunk and the backseat, and they drove back into the city. Amaya chatted with Nikki as she enjoyed the familiar sights of the city. She had almost forgotten how much she had missed Los Angeles, although now, it wouldn't hold a candle to Berlin, in her opinion.

As Nikki drove, Amaya thought about what there was to do now that she was home. She would have to adjust to United States time again, plus she had three tons of laundry to do, parcels of souvenirs to mail back to her family in St. Louis, tons of pictures to show Nikki, loads of artwork to sort through and upload for Inglourious Basterds, and other things to take care of.

They soon arrived at their apartment, and after hauling Amaya's things inside and riding the elevator up, Amaya was welcomed by the familiarity of her own living room. She and Nikki shared many common interests and tastes, and their apartment reflected this conglomeration of two very unique personalities.

"You want some tea?" Nikki offered. "I saved box of chamomile in there, and I bought a box of jasmine, chai, and oolang for you yesterday when I was out."

Amaya smiled weakly. "Yeah, that would be great, honestly. I'm so damned tired, though. I need to unpack my things and give you your presents."

Nikki got a mug down from the cupboard. "Wait until tomorrow to do all that. I waited this long. I can wait a little more." She glanced over her shoulder as she peeled apart the paper enclosing the teabag. "You should go take a shower."

Amaya shrugged. "I'm gonna skip the shower. I can hardly stand. I'm just going to change into my pajamas, drink that tea, and then I'm taking a much-needed nap."

Nikki nodded as she put the water into the mug with the tea bag and started it in the microwave. "That's fine. I remember how I felt after I came back from Germany, too."

Amaya had almost forgotten that Nikki had been to Germany herself. In high school, she had signed up for the foreign exchange program, which was something Amaya had wanted to do but her family could not afford. Nikki was fluent in German since she had studied it throughout high school and minored in it in college, so she stayed for a year in Germany with a host family and went to school there during her senior year.

As Amaya waited for the tea to finish heating up, Amaya unzipped her bag to hunt for what were now her favorite pair of pajamas. Christoph had given her a pair of flannel pajama bottoms he didn't wear anymore, and she wanted these the most. However, as she searched for the bottoms in question, she came across an item that was not hers. It was a light blue button up dress shirt that was neatly folded on top of her things. Amaya sucked in a breath and lifted the shirt out of her bag; it was Christoph's shirt. He must have sneaked it in there when he was packing up her bags in his bedroom. She bit her lip as tears almost came to her eyes. She lifted the shirt to her face and inhaled; it still smelled of his wonderfully familiar Prada cologne.

"He's...God..." Amaya breathed. "I fucking miss him..."

Amaya found the pajama pants, undressed, and put them on. Then, she put on a sports bra and pulled on the shirt Christoph had saved for her. She should have known him to do something so sweet and adorable. She then wished she had left something for him as well.

She emerged from the room, and Nikki handed her the cup of chamomile tea. Amaya sat on the couch and sipped her tea as Nikki turned on the television. She glanced over at her friend.

"Did you DVR all my shows while I was gone?" Amaya asked.

Nikki smiled. "Of course! You have a lot to catch up on!" She had brewed herself a cup of coffee, and she sipped on it. "When you're up to it, we'll have to go out and celebrate later."

"Actually, I'm all for the celebration taking place here at home. I'm so tired, and I think I'm pretty done with traveling for a little while. I had a great time, but I got tired of not staying in one place for more than a few days. I say pizza, a buttload of Redbox movies, and some mixed drinks." She paused. "Or better yet, a hamburger. I kind of missed American food and movies."

Nikki shrugged. "Well, whatever you want to do! I don't care either way. Maybe some gaming, too?"

Amaya grinned. "And never changing out of my pajamas for at least three days."

"Speaking of," Nikki began, glancing over Amaya's shirt, "is that one of Christoph's shirts?"

"Maybe," the redhead replied, smiling impishly. She pulled the collar to her nose. "It still smells like him. He sneaked it into my bag, and I didn't even know it."

"Aww...he sounds like such a sweetheart from what you've told me," Nikki replied from behind her mug. "I can't wait to meet the man that has my best friend's heart. Did you...hook up with any other men over there?"

"Well, yeah. I fucked a couple of guys, but those conquests were before I met Christoph," Amaya replied. "One guy was when I first got there, and it was a German guy I met in this club. I took him back to my room and fucked him. Then about a couple of weeks later, my friend Jeff and I kinda got drunk in the hot tub and he...sort of became a bit of a fuck buddy until I met Christoph. After I met Christoph, I put a stop to our little tryst."

"Wait...isn't Jeff married?" Nikki asked, frowning.

Amaya bit her lip guiltily. "Yes...yes he is, and...okay well I feel shitty about it, but we were drunk and horny, and I had showed him my piercings. It was just a bad decision, but it was also just meaningless sex."

"Yet you continued with it. Were you drunk those times, too?"

"No...I wasn't," Amaya said. "We just did something really stupid, and Jeff was just...well, he was a good lay, you know? And we can both keep a secret. We were both just using one another for a little nsa fun. It meant nothing, but I can tell you honestly that I won't do it again, regardless of whether or not I had Christoph." 

"Well I sure as fuck hope not," Nikki said. "I'm sure if his wife found out it wouldn't matter whether it was meaningless. Like you could have broken up their marriage."

"Honestly, as much as I like Jeff, I know he sleeps around away from home," Amaya said. "If someone was 'happily married,' they wouldn't be prowling for fuck buddies. I wouldn't be the only one she would be upset with. I know it doesn't make it right, though." 

Nikki knew that Amaya enjoyed casual sex. She was a little wilder in her college days, and though she settled down for a while afterward, Amaya really started having more sex with random men after she had gotten away from Dan, her abusive ex-boyfriend. But now that she seemed to find a man she really loved, Nikki knew that as long as Christoph was in her life, she would be a one-man kind of woman.

"Well, who was better, though?" Nikki asked, smirking. "Christoph or Jeff."

"That's a no brainer! Christoph, of course!" Amaya drank the last of her tea and placed the mug on the table, smiling. "Christoph is amazing in bed. He's an attentive lover, and he's gentle, but I think he can also have a kinkier, adventurous side to him. He was a fan of my VCH piercing." Amaya leaned back against the pillows tiredly as images of his naked body against hers flitted through her mind. "I don't know what I'm going to do without sex for the next few months. It's going to drive me insane."

"Looks like you better buy some batteries," Nikki replied suggestively.

Amaya laughed, but then she yawned. "For now, I'm going to have to dream of it." She sat up and glanced to her bedroom. Her eyes felt even heavier after the chamomile tea. "I'm going to sleep now, Nikki. I'll talk to you more when I wake up."

"Alright, sweet Christoph dreams, pal!"

The redhead stood grunting her approval. Then she closed the door to her room and found her phone. She belatedly realized that it had been on airplane mode, and when she turned the mode off, several messages and missed calls popped up, most of them from Christoph. Then she suddenly remembered what he had told her to do back in Germany: "Call me, no matter what time it is."

"Aw, shit," Amaya complained, cursing herself for forgetting. He was probably worried about her.

She then pulled up his contact information as she turned out the light and snuggled down into the softness of her pillowtop mattress and fluffy goose down comforter and pillows. The phone was ringing on the other end, and finally she heard the click of someone picking up.

"Hallo, Liebling! Finally!"

"Christoph! God, I am so sorry. I forgot to call."

"I figured as much. How was the flight home?"

"Exhausting," Amaya said, rolling onto her back. "In fact, I'm about to go to bed."

"Ah, yes, it should be early evening there. You must be terribly jetlagged."

"Ugh...you have no idea. Well, you kind of do since you lived in New York, but it sucks."

Christoph chuckled. "I know, Liebling."

"I found your shirt," Amaya told him.

"Yes! I thought I would put that in your baggage. I have your picture as the background of my phone as well. I miss you already."

"I miss you, too, Christoph. When I wasn't sleeping on the flight, I thought a lot about you."

"I thought about you as well, and I'm glad to finally know that you're safe at home. With that said, I'll let you get your rest, my love. Gute Nacht, Liebling." 

Amaya smiled tenderly, already wishing he were here with his arms wrapped around her. "Good night, Sweetheart."

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ceciliaseasalt's avatar
Awwww how adorable!!!!