A Warm Welcome

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~~~(POV: Hannah Fiona)~~~

~~~(Date January 24th, 2026)~~~

~~~(Time: 12:15 PM)~~~

~~~(Location: Plane, Landing at LA International Airport)~~~

The 2-hour ride has been relaxing, and I never knew flying first class was this great. Ulysses is taking a nap right next to me. He's been asleep for the last 45 minutes. Despite it being first-class, he still found it hard to have room for his legs. It's not as bad as it would've been in coach, but it took him a minute to get comfortable. Ellie is on the other side of the aisle.

She's listening to music and reading a book. Off in her own world. "All right, ladies and gentlemen. We'll be arriving at LAX shortly. Strap in and prepare for landing." The pilot's voice comes over the intercom, and I gently shake Ulysses. It takes a couple of tries, but his eyes open, and he looks at me for an explanation. It's cute that he seems a tiny bit lost.

He sits up straight, and his tall body stands out. He was sleeping in a way that made him not stick out. "We're landing in LA, so it's time to wake up, sleepyhead." He rubs his left eye and smiles at me. He buckles himself in, and I follow suit. I look over to Ellie, and she's still reading her book and listening to music. She hasn't strapped in yet.

Meaning she didn't hear the pilot. Her music must be just loud enough to drown out his voice. I reach across the aisle and tap her shoulder. As I do, the strap-on light starts to blink. She lifts her head to look at me, and I point toward the sign. She's quick to put her book down and take her headphones out. Placing them on the seat next to her.

We're all buckled in, and the stewards and stewardesses come in and make sure we're strapped correctly. One of the stewardesses spends a little more time than she should on Ulysses, but she makes it quick. Usually, I'd get angry and flip out, but ever since I started taking those MMA classes, I've learned to control my outbursts better.

After a few more minutes, Ulysses is looking out the window and staring at the city of LA below us. "I never thought I'd come back to this city without my team... We'd always stay at the cheap hotels cause it was the best the school could manage... We'd stay up playing cards and being idiots..." His eyes are filled with pain, but he closes his eyes and shakes his head.

As he opens his eyes, I see the pain isn't there anymore... He's gotten so good at hiding it... I know him, and it's because he lost his parents when he was younger... He knows what it's like... Before I can say anything, the plane starts to rock as we land on the runway. "Playing some scrimmage games with an NBA team... Never thought I'd get here..." His voice is soft and in a whisper.

I wish I could say something, but whatever I think of isn't good enough. He turns to me with a smile and leans over. Kissing my forehead as the plane stops rocking and we're at a slow pace. Heading towards an apron. "Thanks for coming with me... It means a lot to me." The way he's looking down at me causes butterflies in my stomach.

~~~(POV: Ulysses Kennedy)~~~

~~~(Date: January 24th, 2026)~~~

~~~(Location: LAX, Leaving the boarding pod)~~~

~~~(Time: 12:22 PM)~~~

Hannah is to my left, and Ellie is to my right. We exit the loading area and head toward our baggage claim, but before we can. There is a crowd of people and cameras. I feel like a deer caught in the headlights. I look at the crowd, and they have the same look at me. Realization falls on them faster, and as the cameras start flashing, I take a step back.

This is a LA... The media capital of the western united states... We have to push through the crowd and barrage of questions to get to our things. After a few minutes, we make it outside while being surrounded by people, and I ignore all of them. A man in a suit standing next to a limo waves us over, and I see salvation from this chaos. We all hurry and load in.