Scream Me a Dream

“Did he tell you where he’s taking you to dinner?” Emmy asked as she helped Soya look through her closet.

“No,” Soya murmured looking at her heels as she usually decided on her outfit based on the shoes she wore. “He just said to wear a short little dress.” She rolled her eyes, only to look over her shoulder at Emmy who laughed.

“What a male.”

Soya laughed. “Very much so; I’m going with these.” She said holding up a pair of open toe champagne colored heels, with a flower detail on the ankle strap. She tended to shy away from open toe shoes, being so self conscious about her feet, but the shoes were too cute not to wear.

“Did you want to match?”

Soya looked at the heels and nodded. “Let’s go matching.”

“Then you have this dress and it’s short.” Emmy teased, holding out a light pink dress, that Soya had gotten when she’d gone shopping with Rosalind.

“I think that one works.” Soya nodded as she accepted the dress and went to the bathroom to change. She’d gotten home at five thirty that evening, having finished late at her studio and taken a quick shower before blow drying her hair and using her curling iron to curl the ends of her hair, as she had decided to leave it down for the night.

Ville had texted her earlier that day, telling her that he’d dropped Aida off at his parents and that they were more than happy to keep her for the evening while they had a night out. She’d tried to pry information out of him, only for him to tell her not to worry about a thing and he’d be by to pick her up at seven at her flat.

Shrugging off her robe, she pulled on the light pink dress, zipping up the side and looking at herself in the mirror, the pleated bodice went up to gather at one corner of her shoulder with a little rose detail that matched her shoes, while the other shoulder was left bare, the dress cinched at her waist before falling freely mid-thigh.

Going back to her room, she went through her drawers looking for a pair of tights that went with her dress.

“You look cute!” Emmy giggled as she went through Soya’s purses that she had stacked in a box in her closet.

“Thanks.” Soya laughed, pulling out a pair of ivory colored cable knit tights. She didn’t know what Ville had planned, but she knew she would never survive the cold if she didn’t wear thicker tights. She pulled the tights on before sitting on her bed as she pulled on her heels, watching as Emmy contemplated between two clutches.

“This one works best.” Emmys finally said handing Soya the light pink handled clutch.

Soya placed it on the bed nodding in agreement as she transferred her phone, keys and a couple of bills into the purse.

“Now coat.” Emmy said. “God, I love your closet.”

Soya laughed as she went back to her nightstand to pick out her jewelry. “I’m glad. I’m pretty sure I’ll be leaving Helsinki with more than I actually came with.” She laughed, sliding on a gold and diamond banded ring with a pear shaped diamond that sat in the center; a ring she now knew had belonged to her grandmother, as it had been gifted to her by her father when she’d turned eighteen.

“You know, we’re the same size.” Emmy hedged.

Soya laughed as she looked at the teen. “Borrow what you want as long as it’s in the same condition when it’s returned.” Soya said. “Believe it or not, this isn’t even half of what I brought; somehow half of my closet has ended up at Ville’s.”

“I do not doubt that.” Emmy laughed, pulling out a pink trench coat and looking between the coat and Soya before taking it off the hanger and throwing it on the bed. “How often do you stay over there?”

Soya shrugged. “We alternate; so one week he’ll stay here, the other I’ll stay there, or wherever we end up for the night.”

“So I see, as Ville’s clothes are also mixed in with yours.” Emmy laughed, picking up Ville’s Hanoi Rocks shirt that Soya slept in.

“Unofficially, that shirt is mine.” Soya laughed. “I stole it from him back in May and I sleep in it. Actually…” Soya said looking at the floor where a lot of her and Ville’s clothes were scattered. “About half of Ville’s shirts are unofficially mine.”

“I’m surprised the man doesn’t walk around shirtless.” Emmy muttered as Soya touched her neck, making sure her necklace was still on before moving to clip half of her hair up with an ivory flower clip.

“Ville says the same thing.” Soya laughed looking at herself in the mirror to make sure she had the clip on straight. “It’s his own fault for leaving his shirts here, though.” Soya teased causing Emmy to laugh.

“Soya!” Regan yelled, “Ville’s here!”

“Thanks!” Soya called back, pulling on the twill trench coat and buckling it at her waist, pulling her hair from the neck of the coat before grabbing her clutch. She followed Emmy out of the room, smiling when she saw Ville standing in the living room.

Though he wasn’t as dressed up as the last time they’d had their date, she could tell he had still put an effort into his outfit. He wore a white button down shirt and a black dress coat over it; the shirt was un-tucked from the pair of nice black jeans he wore and, while he wore his signature converse, they were all black, completing the outfit.

“You look beautiful, Soya.” Ville said, leaning down to kiss her softly.

“Ah, wait until you see what I have underneath.” She teased quietly.

“I can’t wait.” He chuckled. “Ready?”

Soya nodded. “I am,” she turned to Emmy and Regan who were watching the scene. “Emmy, I’ll see you at the studio tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.” Emmy nodded.

“Ah.” Ville said, looking over at Regan. “My father said he’d love the help by the way, you can either call him at the shop tomorrow or stop by in the morning; I can leave you the number.”

“Ah, I can find it,” Regan assured. “But thanks, I…you know…appreciate it and all.”

Ville shrugged. “Really, you’d be helping my dad out a lot, so thank you.”

“Yeah, it’s not a problem.” Regan said with his own shrug.

“We’ll see you two later.” Soya said, taking Ville’s hand and leading him out of the apartment, hearing the click of the lock behind her. “Thank you.”

“For what?” Ville asked as they walked down the steps.

“For making it seem like Regan was the one doing you the favor instead of the other way around. He doesn’t like to be seen as a charity case, and doesn’t accept hand outs easily, so thank you.”

Ville snorted. “The boy is going to be categorizing dildos by shape, color and size, Soya. Trust me when I say he’s doing my dad the favor on that one. Daddy prefers talking to people rather than doing the actual paperwork, so if Regan doesn’t mind the work, then all the better.”

“Still, thank you.” Soya said, tugging him to a stop to kiss him lightly. “It means a lot to me.”

“You’re welcome.” Ville said before motioning her to keep walking. “Now come on,”

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” Ville said grinning at her as he opened the lobby door and led her to the cab that was waiting.

“I’m not sure I like surprises.” Soya said ducking into the cab with Ville following and closing the door. The cab started down the street without prompting from Ville, causing her to stare at him and him to turn to her.

“Relax.” He laughed. “You’ll like this one.”

“How did you convince Aida to stay with your parents?”

“I didn’t convince, I suggested.” Ville told her. “And she happily agreed.”

“Does this have anything to do with the secret you were going to tell her?”

Ville turned and blinked at her. “What?”

“This morning, she said you were going to tell her a secret.”

“Ah, yes, I did tell her a secret.” Ville laughed.

“Are you going to tell me what it is?” Soya asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret, now, would it?” Ville asked with a raised eyebrow of his own.

“That’s what Aida told me this morning too!” Soya groaned.

Ville laughed. “Smart girl that one.”

Soya shook her head. “I don’t like that you and my little sister are plotting together.”

“If it makes you feel better, we’re not plotting against you.” Ville laughed.

“So much better.” Soya said, dryly rolling her eyes before resting her chin on his shoulder. “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”

“Not at all.” Ville laughed, tilting his head to kiss her. “You’ll find out soon enough though.”

Soya groaned, both in frustration at his secret keeping and at the taste of his kiss, reaching up to cup his cheek as they deepened the kiss. Ville’s hand found its way behind her neck, keeping her in place, as he nipped her bottom lip and slowly ended the kiss once the cab started to slow down.

Soya pulled away, only to frown when she saw the familiar surroundings. “We’re at your house.”

“We are.” Ville chuckled lowly, getting out of the cab and holding out his hand as he helped her out. Having already paid the driver, he thanked the man before leading Soya towards the tower.

“I wanted to take you out tonight.” Ville admitted as he led her away from the front door and around his tower towards his backyard; an orange glowing and flicking light leading their way. “But I really wanted you to myself as well.”

“Ville?” Soya asked, as they stopped just short of his yard.

“I made some calls to some friends.” Ville admitted, placing a hand on the small of her back. “And with some help from Aida…” he pushed her slightly, having her take the last few steps around the corner only to have her gasp.

“Oh Ville.” Soya breathed as she caught sight of his backyard, turning to look at her boyfriend. “Ville, it’s beautiful.”

Ville leaned down and kissed her. “I wanted to do something special for you.” He admitted, pulling away and leading her deeper into the yard. He’d set up a canopy in the middle of his yard, four heater lamps sitting at each four corners of the canopy; a round, black iron table sat in the middle, long tapered candles sitting on the table along with covered plates adorning each-other’s seats. The glowing orange light that had led them to the backyard came from the hundreds of various-sized candles that surrounded his yard, giving them the natural and romantic light that lamps couldn’t.

“Was this the secret that you told Aida?” she asked, letting him lead her to the table.

Ville chuckled. “Half of the secret.” He admitted, pulling out her chair. Soya unbuckled her trench coat, feeling the warmth of the heater lamps as she peeled the coat off, hearing Ville’s breathing hitch. “Stunning.” He whispered, leaning forward to kiss her bare shoulder. “Absolutely stunning.”

Soya turned her head and gave him a smile. “Thank you.” She whispered, leaning forward to kiss him before settling down in her seat, letting him move her chair forward.

“If you get cold, I have a blanket for you.” Ville told her, motioning towards the ivory cashmere blanket that sat behind her chair.

“You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?” she asked with a teasing grin.

“I’m pretty sure I have.” Ville admitted as he uncovered their plates revealing the plates of Thai food he’d ordered.

“Smells amazing.”

“It’s from Farang.” He told her. “I promised you we’d eat there, so I ordered in, is that okay?”

“Perfect.” Soya grinned, picking up her fork.

“This is just a bit of it.” He admitted. “I ordered a lot of food, but it’s in the kitchen.”

Soya laughed. “Went crazy, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t know what you would like.” Ville told her with a smile.

“Ville, this is…” Soya took a breath as she looked at her boyfriend in amazement. “Really, this is…perfect.”

“I’m glad.” Ville told her. “I’ve never…I don’t do this.” He admitted slowly. “I’ve never really put this much effort into something, but I really wanted to give you a nice night out.”

“You know you don’t have to do that, Ville.” Soya told him. “I mean, I love it, but you know you don’t have to.”

“I do know that.” Ville said, taking a sip of his water. “And knowing that you don’t expect things like this, it makes it even more worthwhile to do them.” He shrugged. “Right now, it’s easy to do things like this Soya,” he laughed at himself. “We’re a normal couple.”

Soya wrinkled her nose. “I really don’t like the word ‘normal’ anymore.”

Ville chuckled before giving a slight sigh. “I just…come January, you’re going to be back in New York and you’ll be touring and it’s going to be harder to do things like this for you.”

Soya blinked. “Ville,”

“I want to give you this while I can, because it’s going to come a time when I’m going to become very neglectful of our relationship, especially when it comes time for both of us to tour and work.”

“Making up for the future?” Soya teased, taking a bite of her food.

“A bit, yes.” Ville nodded. “Our relationship isn’t always going to be perfect Soya, so I want to make it perfect while I can.”

Soya watched him as she chewed on her lip, before giving a slight nod. “I’ m not one for romantic gestures Ville.”

“Which is what I love the most about you, Soya.” Ville said cutting her off. “The fact that there’s nothing you like more than staying in, ordering food and sitting in your living room reading from a book; the fact that you don’t expect things like this, it makes it even more rewarding to do things like this for you.”

Soya bit her lip before giving a small laugh. “I was going to say, that while I’m not one for romantic gestures, it’s always nice to receive them, and the fact that you’re the one doing them, it means that much more.”

“I’m glad.” Ville nodded with a small smile.

“So is this why you wanted to pick Aida up from school?” Soya asked. “So she could help you with this?”

Ville nodded. “I needed her help with some things, she was the one that placed all the candles around the yard.”

“I’m glad you and my sister get along.” Soya said. “You mean a lot to her.”

Ville laughed. “Yes, I realized that today.”

“How so?” Soya asked.

“I…uh…” Ville sighed. “I was going to bring this up tomorrow, but I might as well tell you now.”

“Tell me what?”

“You know that Aida took a sweater to Show and Tell today, right?”

“I do.” Soya nodded.

“I found out which one today.” Ville said, watching Soya as she looked at him.

“This doesn’t sound good.”

“She took the one that I confiscated from Rosalind last week.”

Soya blinked. “The pink one?”

Ville nodded. “That would be the one.”

“Why would Aida take that sweater?”

“Apparently the theme of her show and tell was people she admired. She took a picture of you and her, and then the sweater.”

“She admires you.” Soya said quietly.

“Mmm, I’m honored that she does.” Ville said. “But I got reprimanded by her teacher today because the sweater she took was inappropriate.”

“Well, I can see why.” Soya sighed. “Did her teacher say anything else?”

Ville shrugged. “That Aida’s been acting out in class, but when I asked what she meant it seems like what a typical child would do.”

Soya frowned. “What’s Aida doing?”

“Talking out of turn, talking during class, apparently being disruptive, but compared to what I did while in school, I think that’s pretty tame.”

Soya bit her lip. “Aida tends to be pretty well mannered, what did you say?”

Ville shrugged. “That I didn’t feel comfortable talking about Aida’s behavior in class without you there seeing as I really have no say in how to raise Aida.”

“That’s not true, Ville.” Soya said with a frown.

“Of course it is.” Ville told her.

“You’re an active part of her life.”

“Sure, now,” Ville said slowly. “Because she’s staying with you and because you both stay with me or I stay with you. I enjoy sitting down with her and helping her with her homework, watching movies with her and picking her up from school, but when it comes to her general upbringing, that’s all you Soya, you and your mother.”

Soya winced. “More like Niina.” She admitted. “Our mother really didn’t raise us Ville; she left that to Niina and Nathan.”

“You know what I mean though.” Ville said.

Soya nodded slowly. “I do.” She admitted. “But say we were to get married.”

Ville straightened as he looked at her. “What?”

“Well I mean, think about it, if we were to get married, you’d be her brother and she’d look at you as such. Aida isn’t my child, but if we were to take care of her, much like we’re doing now, I’d expect you to take some form of responsibly when it came to disciplining her. I mean, if she were to break something in the house, or throw some sort of tantrum, I’d assume you’d feel comfortable in saying something to her if I weren’t there to do it myself.”

“And that would be okay with you?” Ville asked.

“Of course.” Soya said with a frown. “Why would you think it wouldn’t be?”

“Because she’s not my sister.” Ville said bluntly.

“But she would become your sister.” Soya pointed out, before laughing softly. “Please don’t tell me you’re afraid of being hated by an eight year old.”

Ville chuckled. “I…” he shook his head. “Yeah, a bit. I mean, if I were to say something to her I really don’t want her to hate me.”

Soya laughed, before placing a hand on his. “Trust me when I say this, an eight year old’s hatred does not last that long. You’ve seen Aida; for the most part she’s a good kid.” Soya sighed. “I think…the reason she’s been doing these little things is because she doesn’t know how to handle isi’s death.”

“She doesn’t understand it?”

Soya shrugged. “I’m not sure.” She admitted. “It doesn’t help that she’s been uprooted from her home because of my mother, or that I take her from my flat to here and back again.” Soya shrugged.

“There’s been too much upheaval for her.” Ville murmured.

“It’s been a lot for her to take in, and it’s going to be a lot more for her when my mother takes her back and she’s back to being raised by Niina. We’re not going to be constants anymore, and even less when I go back to New York and you start working and touring.”

“Then, for now, we just have to find her an outlet.” Ville suggested. “Or take her to a therapist to get her to talk.”

Soya wrinkled her nose. “I think once we get back from our trip we’ll figure something out. It’ll be good for her to stay with your parents for a week, have that place she’s constantly going to, instead of us shuffling between homes.”

Ville nodded in agreement. “Then we’ll figure something out, but you should still be expecting a call from her teacher tomorrow, as I told her to talk to you instead of me.”

“Thanks.” Soya teased with a laugh.

“Soya?”

Soya looked him. “Yes?”

“What’s your plan?”

“What do you mean?” Soya asked.

“I know for the most part we’ve avoided the topic of conversation, but come January what’s your plan?”

Soya stared at him, still a bit confused by the question. “You mean work wise…or…relationship wise?”

“Both.” Ville admitted. “I mean, Linde, Mige and Burton go on tour in February and don’t finish until the middle of March; I have that time off to just work on new martial and really, I can work from anywhere.”

Soya stared at him in shock. “Are you offering to come to New York with me in January?”

“You came here,” Ville pointed out. “I don’t see why I can’t go there, I just, don’t know what your work entails, I mean, I know you have rehearsals through January, but I don’t know the detail of what that means.”

“I…” Soya blinked. “I go into the rehearsal studio around five in the morning, and tend to leave about eight or nine in the evening sometimes I just end up sleeping on one of the couches if I’m too tired to drive home.” She winced. “You know how you said that there would come a time when you’d be neglectful of our relationship?”

Ville nodded. “There will be.”

“Come January, it’ll be me being neglectful, I’m moody, I get frustrated and lash out when I don’t get enough sleep, which in turn results in a lot of angry arguments with Josef as he’s just as frustrated and tired as I am. Our hours are long and painful but worth it in the end. I’m a handful.” Soya laughed.

“But you’re done in two years?” Ville said.

Soya nodded slowly. “My contract with Ben ends in two years, yes, but it doesn’t mean I have to stop dancing. If Ben wants to keep me on at thirty, then I might be inclined to continue.”

“What about your ankle?”

Soya shrugged. “It’s better; I haven’t been dancing on it, which I hope has caused it to heal. I’ll see Ed before going into rehearsals in January to make sure it’s fully healed.” Soya shrugged. “But I’m still deciding whether I want to keep dancing or not.”

“Why do you say that?” Ville asked, pushing his empty plate away, watching as Soya did the same, pulling the ivory blanket out from behind her, wrapping it around her shoulders.

“The only reason I’ve gone on this long is to keep my parents happy, and even then they were never really satisfied with what I was doing.” Soya shrugged. “I worked as hard as I did because I had something to prove to them. As it turns out, my father has always been proud of me and my mother doesn’t give a damn, so why the hell am I dancing?”

“Because you love it.” Ville pointed out, leaning forward and watching her carefully.

“Not as much as I did.” Soya sighed. “I love teaching,” she admitted. “I love working during the day and being able to go home at a reasonable hour without every single one of my joints and bones hurting. I like looking at my feet and not seeing them bleed from the amount of abuse I’ve put them through.” She laughed.

“Dancing on stage doesn’t hold the same appeal to me anymore, I love it,” she said quickly, leaning forward on the table herself, “There’s an indescribable rush when I dance on stage, the same one you probably feel performing in front of an audience.”

Ville nodded, knowing exactly the feeling she was describing, having felt it from the first time he’d ever performed to when he performed at Sonisphere only months ago.

“You said something in the bathroom to me the other day.”

“I said a lot of things to you in the bathroom.” He teased.

“True.” Soya laughed. “But you said that while I was drunk, I said I wanted to have kids.”

Ville nodded slowly. “You did.”

“Josef has always told me that alcohol is an elixir of truth, anything said while you’re drunk is about 99.9% true.”

“Josef is a wise man.”

Soya shrugged. “I’ve thought about it, Ville and I do want to have a family at some point. I know we haven’t really talked about it, but if I told you that I wanted to have kids after my two years, then I meant it and the more I think about it, the more the idea appeals to me.”

“The idea of kids?” Ville asked.

“The idea of being settled.” Soya laughed. “I like knowing that in two years I can stop traveling with over worked dancers and stop thinking about how my actions will affect the company.” Soya sighed. “I don’t want to be one of those dancers that plan my life around the company.”

“Would you really be happy planning your life around my tour schedule Soya?”

“No.” Soya said slowly. “But I know I would be happy with you, with the life we formed together.”

Ville grinned slowly, standing up from the table, setting his napkin down before holding out his hand. “Come here.”

Soya took his hand, dropping the blanket on the chair and allowing him to lead her out from under the tent, his hands settling on her hips as he swayed them slowly, causing Soya to laugh lowly, wrapping her arms around his neck loosely, her cheek resting on his chest as she listened to his heart beat. His arms tightened around her waist as he buried his face in the side of her neck, kissing softly.

“Rakastan sinua Soya, niin vitun paljon.” He whispered against her neck, pulling away slowly, when her hands came to frame his face. (I love you Soya, so fucking much.)

“Minäkin rakastan sinua, Ville.”(I love you too Ville.) Soya whispered, leaning up and pressing her lips against his pulling away slightly only to whisper against his lips. “Niin paljon.”(So much)

“Sataa lunta.” He whispered, causing her to pull away and look up at the sky with a grin, watching the soft snow flakes fall to the ground. She raised her hand, letting the flakes fall into her hand before looking back at Ville, only for her eyes to widen when she saw him bent on one knee in front of her,

“Ville.” She breathed her hand dropping, watching him in amazement.

“En voi ... En halua kuvitella elämääni ilman sinua Soya. Tiedän, että meillä on paljon työtä ulos ... puhua.”( I can't...I don't want to imagine my life without you Soya. I know we have a lot to work out...to talk about.) He reached into his jacket pocket, showing Soya the black velvet box that sat between his thumb and forefinger. “I promised you a ring.”

“Ville.” She whispered, her fingers trailing down his cheek with a small smile.

“Vaimokseni Soya.” he whispered, moving his thumb to flip the box open, showing her the simple silver banded ring with the square diamond nestled in the center.

“Ville...”