Queen ♔ Flarke ❷ {Wattys2015}

Chapter 12: Finn

Chapter 12: Finn

I lie on the bank of the stream, exhausted from spending the whole day outside and being active. Harper's still running about; the energy never seems to be drained from her. Clarke sits at the bank of the stream, only her legs swimming around in the water. Her clothes are now pretty see-through and they cling tightly to her body. Her eyelashes glitter in the sunlight after being soaked by water, and I have to say, she looks utterly beautiful.

"Hey." She catches me staring. "What're you looking at?"

"You," I say, smiling cheesily.

"I guessed well." She laughs her alluring laugh.

I get up to go and sit next to her, swinging my arm around her shoulder. She looks at me through her eyelashes, and think about how impossible it is for my lips to not touch hers in this moment. I pull my hand up to her cheek and she moves her forehead to touch with mine.

"You're so gorgeous," I say, her lips brushing over mine.

"You've told me before," she giggles.

"I don't want to let you forget, though."

"I won't forget as long as I'm with you."

She shifts further towards me until she's sitting on my lap. My lips crash onto hers and we fall back onto the ground, the water just inches away from us. I can feel the splash on my back but I ignore it until a full-force wave erupts over us.

As I wipe the water from my face with the back of my hand, Harper laughs behind us, her clothes soaked through.

"I'm gonna get you!" Clarke laughs, getting up quickly to chase Harper through the stream.

Harper screams hysterically while she runs around, her energy draining as her small legs wade through the water. Finally Clarke catches up with her and sweeps her up into her arms.

Shivering a little, I lie back onto the drying mud and close my eyes. A smiles plays across my face and I listen to the laughs and shouts of the two people I love most in this world. I take in the place around me so I can remember it for another six years if I don't visit it again before that. The smell of flowers add to the peacefulness of the place and the stream running across the rocks keeps a steady rhythm. I keep my eyes closed until I sense someone in my face and as I open them, Clarke kisses my nose and falls down next to me.

"That was tiring," she says, breathing in and out quickly.

"Not for me," Harper butts in, although her collapsing on the ground next to me makes me think differently.

Clarke relaxes beside me, nuzzling herself under my shoulder and closing her eyes. Her soaked hair is sprawled across my arm; I look to my other side to see Harper in the same position, mirroring Clarke almost exactly.

"I love you both," I whisper to them.

Clarke smiles one last time before I fall asleep.

***

"Daddy," Harper says, interrupting my sleep.

"Yeah?"

"Where's Mommy?"

My eyes dart to my left side, only to see an empty space. "I-I'm not sure." My voice wavers more than I expected. "Maybe she went back to camp."

"She should have said."

"I know, I know. We should go back."

"Will Mommy be at camp?"

"Sure," I lie. Instinct tells me that she's probably not there, perhaps she's gone for a walk or something. Then another thought crosses my mind, one so shocking I feel my heart jitter inside me. I'm not sure if I'm right, but it's certainly possible.