His flaming red hair stood out in the middle of the sea waves.
“Don’t you want to
swim, baby?” Matt called. He had resurfaced with his hair slicked back, a grin
on his face as he took in A’s figure on the beach. The Englishman’s blue eyes
ran over his lover’s figure, hastily looking at her face when she stirred on
the blanket. “The water’s really cool. You should swim,” he insisted. A took
off her sunglasses and squinted, her own green eyes meeting his. “Get yourself
under the sun a bit more. Maybe even end up tanning,” he teased, and she rolled
her eyes.
“I’m not letting myself
out there when the lotion hasn’t dried,” she defended. Matt shook his head.
“You’ve been waiting it
out for the past twenty minutes. I think you’re good,” he declared, moving
towards her and A paling considerably.
“No. I’m okay, I swear,”
she tried and Matt shook his head, lifting her into his arms while the woman
let off a shriek. “Matt you better not do
what I think you’ll do,” she started, but her threat fell on deaf ears as
her boyfriend whooped and leaped into the water with her. A screamed,
scrambling to get out of his arms but failing – Matt still held her tightly,
laughing as they resurfaced.
A’s hair stuck to her
face; the woman huffed in slight irritation and raked it back, green eyes
intent on glaring at her English lover.
“You prat–”
“It was the only way
for you to cool down,” Matt insisted, starting to laugh yet again as she
splashed him and (playfully) smacked his chest. “Jesus Christ baby, don’t get
all rough on me–”
“If I tan, you’re going
to pay,” she threatened. A glared up at the sun and sighed, a visible grimace
settling on her fair face. “I was planning to read,” the woman began to whine,
but Matt shook his head in disbelief and swept her into his arms again. She let
off a surprised squeak.
“I take you to the
beach and all you’re going to do is read?” he quipped. She glowered. “Don’t
take it the wrong way, sweetheart. But we’re here to relax.”
“I am relaxing,” she
told him, poking his nose lightly. “I was going to relax with my book and then
take pictures around the place after resting on the blanket and staying out of
the sun.”
“Clearly, we have
different ideas of relaxation.” Matt retorted dryly. A huffed and resolved to
sit by the shallow part of the shore, Matt following and watching as she dug
her feet into the sand and let the water flow over her legs. “Come on, lovely.
Take a swim with me, it’s a more relaxing form of exercise,” he insisted.
A made a face.
“It’s like you’re forgetting
what happened the last time I swam around the sea,” she deadpanned. The look on
Matt’s face fell as he indeed remembered, and A was able to smile just a bit,
taking his hand underwater and lacing her fingers through his. “Stupid cramps,”
she attempted to joke, and that made Matt give an easier smile, his form losing
the tension it gained when she had reminded him of her accident.
“You scared me when it
happened.”
“You had to use CPR.” Her
eyes gave a gleam and she squeezed his hand, Matt looking at their interlaced
fingers and smiling to himself even more.
“My first aid skills
come in handy for once,” the male murmured. A merely sent him a teasing grin and
stood up all of the sudden, Matt blinking as he was pulled up as well. “Hold
on, what are you doing–?”
“I’m going to swim,
love.” Her mouth curved into a half-smirk, “Unless you want to spend the rest
of the day under the shade and watching me?”
* * * * *
Blue was the color of calm.
“Look at me, A. Just look at me, okay? Relax,” Matt would tell her when she would jerk awake from a
nightmare. A’s breathing would go rapid and she’d start to panic until Matt put
his hands on her shoulders and made her look him in the eye. “That’s it,” he murmured. “It’s me, sweetheart. I’m here. Just breathe,
okay? In through the nose and out through the mouth. Can you do that for me?”
A would nod shakily and
then start her attempt at regulating her breathing, Matt helping her go through
it. “Keep breathing,” he would say
gently, rubbing her back. After a period of time, A would be calmer and more relaxed,
breaths no longer short and panicked.
She wasn’t exactly
which part of him pushed her to calm down.
There was his voice, of
course. Matt’s voice was gentle at those delicate moments, gentle and warm and
full of concern. They acted as a lifeline which tugged her back to the present,
she holding on to each word and climbing out of that anxious state.
Then, there were his
hands. Matt’s hands were always warm despite the weather, and the warmth of
them was enough to send her spiraling back to reality. He would hold her hands,
rest them on her shoulder, squeeze her own hands and do anything with them,
hoping that they’d be a distraction from what she was feeling.
Most of the time, it
did work. A found herself awestruck at his warmth, her panic slipping away inch
by inch. His hands mixed with his voice acted as a light guiding her out of
that dark tunnel. His hands would be there to touch and to comfort, to hold her
when she needed to be held or to keep her close when she wanted him as close as
possible.
And lastly, there were
his eyes.
A was drawn to his eyes
ever since she had encountered him once more in the warehouse. They were a
beautiful shade of blue, falling between light and dark. His eyes reminded A of
the arm oceans and seas, seemingly endless and forever flowing.
It was in his eyes
wherein A could spot his true emotions. Matt was a brilliant actor – he knew
how to communicate, how to make sure everyone was feeling at their best while
he exerted himself. In the first stages of their relationship, it took Matt a
lot to fully open up to her. Only when she had snapped that his eyes were lying
did he relent and begin to let the venting come out smoother, better.
It was also in his eyes
that she was able to reach the ‘calm’ stage. When she looked at them, she saw
herself staring back behind blue irises, saw the worry he held for her.
Looking into his eyes
after waking up from a bad dream completed the ‘road of recovery’ – only then
was she actually able to get a hold on herself and finally squeeze his hand
back, whispering “I’m okay Matt, I’m okay”
with the ginger exhaling in relief and finally taking her into his arms.
Blue stood for calm; for peace and serenity.
He was one of the rare
few (aside from J and Touta) who could calm her down from almost anything. She didn’t
know he was able to do it.
* * * * *
“Matt!” A
squealed, laughing as he lifted her into the air. The twosome had made it back
to shore and Matt was intent on carrying her, so she laughed loudly when he
lifted her up easily with a cheerful grin on his face. “Put me down, you!”
“I like you more when I
carry you,” he noted. A snorted and they were able to come face-to-face, Matt still
grinning (despite a small tan starting to work into him) and A shaking her head
in slight disbelief, but a smile climbing its way up. “Makes me feel
protective.”
A shook her head in
disbelief. “You’re weird,” she murmured.
Eyes found eyes.
“But you love me for
it.”
She didn’t miss a beat
with her reply.
“I do, Matt. I do.”
No comments:
Post a Comment