9th August, 2014
The 25th Birthday 🎈

The day had arrived. The day that Adelaide was equally looking forward to and dreading, all at the same time. Excited because Joseph had planned an entire day-long date for the both of them, dreading because she would have to embark a flight to Ireland and say goodbye to him tomorrow. Goodbye for two long months.

Adelaide's alarm goes off at 6 AM, indicating it was time for her to get up, but she had already been up for an hour ahead, thinking of what was to come. Of course, her and Joseph had planned to not let time zones get in their way, but regardless of everything, at the end of the day she would likely be tired from filming all day. Even Joseph was going to be filming for the third season of TO and their schedules were bound to get in the way. In all honesty, Adelaide was just trying to look for excuses to not have to leave this time, and she knew it too. But she had to go. It was her job and she knew what she was getting herself into- staying away from all her friends and family for months on end. Except this time, it felt more difficult than ever. The only consolation she had was that at least Rachel would be with her at all times, even if she had breakdowns. She was thankful that Rachel had auditioned and bagged the role of Queen Elizabeth, Mary's mortal enemy on Reign.

With a sigh, Adelaide sits up on her bed and reaches for her phone, dialing Joseph's number. After a few rings, the call disconnects without answer, so Adelaide decides to leave a voicemail.

"Hey Jo, no don't worry I'm fine. Yes, it's surprising that I'm up this early...I just couldn't sleep. Too much on my mind at once. Anyway, I'm looking forward to our day together today, call me when you get this or when you head out...I, um, I miss you and I can't wait to see you in a few hours. Bye."

And with that, Adelaide gets up and walks to her wardrobe, picking an outfit and taking a shower before her day officially started.

On the other side, Joseph replays the voicemail for the third time before sitting up on his bed with a sigh. He too hadn't been able to sleep all night. Yes, he was excited to have Adelaide all to himself today but then...he'd have to let her go for two months. Two months. 60 days. How was he going to survive 60 days without her when it had become an habit for him to be in contact with her 24/7, he wondered to himself. Joseph found himself wishing he could get his girl to stay back with him, never have to separate from her. If he didn't have filming schedules for Season 3, he would've travelled to Ireland with Addy, no doubt. But now, they both had responsibilities they needed to live up to, even if their own heart was breaking in the process of doing so.

And to add to all his worries, he wouldn't admit it to himself or anyone else, but he was scared about toby. What if seeing each other everyday again reminded Adelaide of why she had picked Toby over him the first time? What if she realized she had never looked at him as more than just a friend? What if her love for Toby resurfaced? What would he do if he lost her before she was even his? He didn't know. And he didn't want to find out.

With a sigh, Joseph replays the voicemail one last time before getting up to freshen up and drive to Addy's, to begin their daylong adventures together. He had a lot of things planned, and he only hoped he would do enough for her to remember all these memories while she was away. That he would make her happy enough for her to not look for happiness elsewhere.

༆☼︎☾︎ꨄ︎☽︎☼︎༆

6:25 AM

Adelaide had just finished getting ready and was making herself some coffee when she hears her doorbell ring. By the time she gets to the main door, the door was already opened and there he stood...Joseph, with a big smile on his face as Ranma had rushed to him and was lying lazily in his arm now.

"I think Ranma likes me more," he jokes and Adelaide rolls her eyes before smiling at him.

"You didn't answer my voicemail," she says as Joseph sets Ranma down and they walk to the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, must've skipped my mind. Sorry," Joseph apologizes while looking at the coffee mug she was offering him.

"You're going to have coffee with an empty stomach?" he asks with a concerned voice as Adelaide glares at him.

"Hey, remember the pact we made? You can't say no to me today," she reminds while pointing a finger at him as he holds his hands up in mock-surrender.

"Alright, Miss Del, it's your day. Do whatever you wish," he replies, "as long as I get to spend the day with you, I don't mind."

"Right, let's get going then," she blushes, quickly grabbing her purse and thermos before placing Ranma in her cot and walking out of the house.

Joseph frowns as he hold the passenger door open for Adelaide, "you're not going to lock your house?"

"Nope, makes it easier for the incoming people to break in," she shrugs.

"Wh-what? What 'incoming people' are you talking about?" Joseph mumbles with wide eyes.

"Oh please, Jo," Adelaide scoffs, "I read your texts from your lockscreen when you went to get popcorn on GOTG movie night and left your phone behind. Can't believe Dan asked you to steal my housekeys. What did he even mean by 'just like I stole yours', huh?"

"I, um...he got himself a pair of my housekeys made after he took them from my duffel bag on set," Josepha smiles sheepishly, "and you took away your keys from Seb after last time soo."

"Oh, so they asked you to do their dirty work, I get it. Too bad I hid them after I saw the text," she smiles as they get into the car and back out of the driveway, driving off to their first destination.

"You're still not going to tell me where we're going?" Adelaide asks with her puppy eyes on show.

"No, Del. The puppy eyes won't work, so stop it. You'll find out when we get there," Joseph retorts as Adelaide huffs in frustration.

"Fine, you're rude," she mumbles before turning up the radio as 'Blank Space' begins to play. Surprisingly enough, Joseph sings along this time, causing Adelaide to raise her brow at him.

"What? I listened to the songs you were talking about the other day. Taylor's music is good," Joseph shrugs as Adelaide grins at how adorable he could get sometimes.

"We should totally attend one of her concerts after the tour starts," Adelaide suggests as Joseph nods.

"Sure, anything you want," he states as they both continue to sing along to the songs on the radio.

6:45 AM

The car comes to a stop as Joseph parks along the Venice Canals and holds the door open for Adelaide.

"We're going to start our day with a beautiful sunrise, what say?" Joseph holds his hand out as Adelaide takes it with a grin.

"I think you've topped this birthday over any already," Adelaide says as Joseph shushes her.

"Let's not say that already," he cuts her off, "we have the whole day ahead of us."

The two then walk over to the bridge, hand-in-hand and overlook the mesmerizing scenery ahead of them. There were barely any people here, this early into the day and everything was calm and peaceful around them. Adelaide stood against the bridge's ledge with Joseph behind her as his arms were wrapped around her waist and her head rested back on his chest.

"This is so beautiful," Adelaide whispers as Joseph hums.

"It is," he mumbles against her neck, placing a small kiss there before Adelaide turns around and wraps her arms around his neck, smiling at him.

"So, what now?" she quizzes.

"Now, we go boating, but first..." he replies with a smile before leaning down and placing a small kiss on Adelaide's lips, looking deep into her eyes, "happy birthday, my love," he whispers to her while running his thumb across her cheek and her lower lip.

"Thank you," Adelaide whispers back with a smile before getting on her tiptoes and pacing another small kiss on Joseph's lips. The two continue to smile lovingly at each other as they walk towards the canals underneath and embark on their private boat, rowing along the peaceful waters.

7:30 AM

After boating along the canals from one side to the other, the two get off on the opposite side of town, where there next destination awaited them, according to Joseph.

Soon enough, the two found themselves at the Hudson Gardens, popularly known to be an Event Centre but also for its mesmerizing greenery.

"This just keeps getting better," Adelaide compliments, "did you come up with all of this on your own?"

"As much as I'd like to take all the credit, Will and Rachie helped with somethings," Joseph informs as Adelaide nods with a smile.

"Here," Joseph motions for them to come to a stop when they reach a secluded corner of the garden, beside a lake. There was a blanket laid on the ground with many food and drink items placed beautiful over it, most of them being Adelaide's favorites.

"Let me guess, this is the part where Rachie helped?" she smiles as Joseph nods in agreement, both of them settling down on the ground.

As Joseph serves the breakfast, Adelaide brings out a camera from her bag and starts to take pictures of him.

"Where did you find that?" Joseph chuckles.

"Oh this, this is my camera. Mom got it from me when we first moved to the US and ever since, I take it along with me on all memorable adventures. Then when I get home, I get the pictures washed up and add them to my photo albums," Adelaide explains.

"Oh, is this the same camera you blinded Daniel with when we were filming TVD S2?" Joseph chuckles as Adelaide rolls her eyes.

"He was exaggerating, obviously. Nate was teaching me some new settings and we asked Daniel to just sit there and pose...but of course, he couldn't even do that without complaining," she scoffs while taking another picture of Joseph. This time, Joseph brings out his phone and takes a picture of her at the same time and smiles adoringly at it.

"Is it cute?" Adelaide asks as Joseph hums, "wait, lemme see," she reaches out her hand as Joseph moves his arm away. Adelaide frowns before scooting closer and closer until she was basically straddling him as Joseph still denied to give her his phone.

"Jo, lemme see it," she yelps trying to reach the phone as Joseph continues to chuckle before eventually Adelaide manages to snatch the phone from his hand. She looks at it to see he was smiling because he had set the picture as his home screen now. She smiles down at the phone before looking up to see Joseph smiling at her with eyes full of love as his arms wrapped around her waist. Almost instinctively, Adelaide drops his phone and wraps her arms around his neck as they both lean in closer and closer until they can feel each other's heavy breathing. Joseph's eyes flicker between Adelaide's face and her lips and before either of them know it...their lips connected. Neither could tell who leaned in first but here they were, kissing each other as if their lives depended on it, as if they were trying to make up for the upcoming months and the lost-time in the past, all at once.

Joseph slowly lowers Adelaide onto the grass while their lips were connected, as they continue to devour each other and get lost in each other's touch, ignoring their greedy lungs and accelerated heartbeats that were indicating they needed air. Finally, not being able to keep going on any longer, their lips separate reluctantly as they gasp for oxygen to fill their lungs and slow down their heartbeats.

"Don't go," Joseph whispers against her lips while his forehead rested against hers, both their eyes closed.

"I wish I didn't have to, "Adelaide mumbles back as Joseph sighs, looking up to meet her sad eyes.

"I know," he says before moving away and helping Adelaide sit back up as well, "but you have to. So, let's make the most of this, hmm?" he says, trying to cheer her up as she nods her head sadly.

"Hey, we're going to be fine, okay? So quit sulking because it's not everyday you turn half of fifty," he jokes as Adelaide nudges him with a laugh.

"Don't say it like that, I feel so old," she whines.

"You're still as beautiful as you were the first time I set my eyes on you," Joseph compliments as Adelaide blushes, grabbing onto the champagne bottle and pouring themselves to glasses.

"You're right. So yeah, Cheers! I'm forever Young!" Adelaide exclaims while handing Joseph a glass as they clink their drinks before gulping it all down in one go.

9:00 AM

The next place on the list for them was an exhibit Will had told Joseph about. Knowing how much of Adelaide loved exhibitions and museums, Joseph didn't hesitate before getting them tickets to it.

The exhibition was set to begin at 9AM and Joseph ensured they were the first in line to enter the exhibition and spend some time there, while Adelaide admired the art and he admired her.

"Okay, this is hands-down my favorite part of today," Adelaide declares while looking around, mesmerized as Joseph chuckled at her words.

"That's what you've said for every place we've been to so far, love," he states as Adelaide hums.

"That's because you keep topping every destination with the next," she compliments.

"I'm glad you're enjoying," Joseph says as they settle down on a bench and watch as the scenes change from one art piece to another- Almond Blossoms, Starry Night Over the Rhône, Café Terrace at Night, Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, Van Gogh self-portrait and lastly, The Starry Night; among many others.

"This is so peaceful," Adelaide mumbles after a while, "I wish we could stay like this forever."

Joseph wraps his arm around her as she rests her head on his shoulder, "me too," he hums, "but we've got more on the list so we need to head out soon."

"Just a little longer, please," she requests while snuggling closer to Joseph and yet again, he finds himself unable to say no to this girl. Against her, he was helpless, powerless, defenseless. But he wasn't complaining about it, either. He liked being powerless against her. Only her.

Eventually, the two decide to head out to their next destination, but not before Adelaide convinces Joseph to get a picture of theirs framed from the exhibit's gift shop, also getting the digital copies alongside.

11:00 AM

The next destination was easy to guess by the route they were on- Santa Monica Pier.

"It's going to be crowded there," Adelaide states as they park at a corner alongside the beachline.

"At 11AM on a Saturday? Probably, but it doesn't matter," Joseph shrugs, "we'll still make the most of it," he assures as Adelaide nods with a smile.

The two walk into the amusement park hand-in-hand as Adelaide says, "I'm getting major Disneyland flashbacks."

"Me too," Joseph agrees, "expect this time, I'm not nervous because you already know."

"You were nervous?" Adelaide laughs as Joseph mock-glares at her, causing her to laugh louder as people passing by look at her weirdly, "oops, sorry."

"It wasn't even funny," Joseph mumbles, "I was literally shaking when I told you."

"Well then it's a good thing you picked a nighttime and I couldn't see you shaking or I'd bully you for it forever," Adelaide teases as they wait in line to embark the 'West Coaster'.

After getting off of the 55 feet high coaster, they decide to try the 'Seaside Swing', a calmer ride in comparison. Next comes the Pacific Plunge, Inkie's Scrambler, Sea Dragon, Shark Frenzy and lastly- The Pacific Wheel.

Next comes lunch, eating by the beachside restaurants before deciding to spontaneously go biking along the oceanfront. Adelaide even managed to drag Joseph to the aquarium, carousel, arcade, farmer's market and of course, the shopping mall 'to get souvenirs to remember this day by', she said. The last thing the two decide to do before heading out was take a long, peaceful walk along the beach as they watched the sun go down and the nightlife overtake the Pier.

[tagged: therealjosephmorgan]
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6:30 PM

"I swear it's calmer stuff next," Joseph assures Adelaide for the hundredth time as they head to their next destination.

"Good, cause I think I'm still dizzy from the coaster," Adelaide whines as Joseph chuckles at her words.

"Told you to take it slow," Joseph mumbles as Adelaide's head snaps in his direction, her glaring furiously at her. For once, Joseph was actually slightly scared to look at her, although he still found her looking as adorable as ever, "...or not. It's your birthday, I'm not telling you what to do."

"Come on, this one's good," Joseph says before parking the car and walking to the passenger side, holding his hand out for her.

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Adelaide states as Joseph hums.

"It's safe, I swear," he assures as they walk deeper into a garden-like area.

A little further into the walk, a series of lights catch Adelaide's attention and as they follow along, they find themselves in a clearing. There were large blankets laid on the ground with fluffy pillows surrounding them. There was a little fire lit around a corner and a table set up over the blankets, topped off with popcorn, coca cola and maybe other movie snacks. Lastly, was a big screening cloth hung down a stringline as a projector whirred to show the title- Dirty Dancing.

"Oh god, did Seb tell you about this?" Adelaide asks, turning back to face Joseph while her face was stained red with a blush creeping up.

"About you boths' crazy obsession with this movie and karaoking its songs?" Joseph smirks teasingly, "no way, why would he tell me that?"

"Ugh, remind me to kill him the next time I see him," Adelaide mumbles as Joseph smiles at her, leading her to sit down next to him on the comfortable carpets and fluff-pillows as the movie begins to roll.

Joseph watches as Adelaide sings and dances along with almost all of the songs, mouthing every scene. When 'Hungry Eyes' comes along, Adelaide pulls Joseph to his feet, making him join along as they both dance along crazily to the song, laughing their hearts out when one of them goofed around or messed up a step.

9:00 PM

"I, for real, had the time of my life," Adelaide exclaims, still dancing along to the music as Joseph parks the car outside her house and all the lights immediately go out.

"They're not even trying to be discreet," Adelaide chuckles as Joseph huffs before saying, "they're good for nothing."

Adelaide nods as they walk to the door and hold it open, being greeted by darkness. The two venture deeper into the house and as soon as they enter the living room, a balloon pops, dropping confetti all over Adelaide and Joseph as the lights come back on and everyone yells out in unison, "HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY, ADDY!"