Chapter Text
He hears it before he even shuts the car off and smiles, his eyes crinkling slightly at the corners. He hefts the bag laden with chocolate bars, oranges and a loaf of bread into his arms, the familiarity of the weight sinking into his ever toned arms. The windows shake, a single droplet left over from this morning’s spring rain slides down the pane, and rests on the sill. She doesn’t even hear the door open, the music booming through the cavernous living room. Still holding the bag, he throws his keys onto the table and sidles up to the edge of a wall, leaning into it and bending one leg behind the other. She pivots expertly on the ball of one foot, the familiar curve of her spine arching forward as tendrils of silky hair slink down her back and into the crook of her shoulder.
“Baby its you,
You’re the one I love,
You’re the one I need…”
Watching her, he begins to flip through the mental landmarks of his life, and she fills every frame. He knows the medals stored in their closet will never sparkle the way she does. She’s his greatest prize.
“You’re the only one I see
Come on baby it’s you…”
She is luminosity, phosphorescence; her tinkling laughter drowns out the sound of the music as he watches her body sway. He’s taken back to the night they got engaged. She’s always been the steady unwavering calm to his mercurial and radiant energy. That night, he arrived home to an empty room. The back doors were open and he heard the sounds of quiet music on. Assuming she was sitting on the patio, a glass of red wine already staining her perfect rosebud lips, he walked outside and their yard had been transformed. Twinkling lights, flickering candles and the smell of fresh cut lilies filled the air. She was standing in the center of the magic, radiating, glowing, red fabric clinging to every curve. He had no idea what she was up to, but when she got down on one knee, and told him that true love isn’t always easy, but that he filled the void in her heart, he was the breath in her lungs and the blood in her veins – he was gone.
How did she know? How did she read him like an open book? He’s never written down his feelings, his thoughts in regard to her; he couldn’t. But she knew. He had already bought the ring. When he slipped it onto her long slender finger, and she traced the outlines of his face, he was alive. He was love, he was filled with mysticism. What had he ever done to deserve this love? What had he ever done to deserve this life? His every dream and every wish came true, with her, through her and because of her. It still made his chest throb, pushed him to the edge of his existence, to think about.
“Baby I can hear the wind whip past my face
As we dance the night away…”
He remained incapable of counting his blessings, the number of which were staggering. Every moment in the timeline of his life was spent by her side. She was always one breath and one thought ahead. He could never collect his own thoughts, because they were bursting with her. She was everything, she was all of him.
He watched her flow and prance around the room in his boxer shorts, a tight sports bra gripping the swell of her breasts. He was on fire, he was deeply in love. He always had been.
Still gripping the bag of groceries, he ran one hand through his long hair (she liked it that way), and he felt the smile on his lips reach the edges of his face. The moment shifted, her knees buckling, she fell to the shining wood floor just as the bag slipped from his grip. She looked up and locked into his gaze (her eyes never had trouble finding his) and screamed. A guttural, wrenching scream.
“Scott!”
He felt his body move before his mind could catch up.
“It’s okay Tess I’m here. I’m right here, I’ve got you”.
One single orange rolled, bumping into her hand as she leaned on all fours. Lifting one beautiful hand up to grip the swell of her belly, his heart gave one massive thump in his chest, just as he reached her.
“I’ve got you Tess, I’ve got you”.