Time Is Nothing (John Frusciante)

Chapter 32

"John? Babe?"

Silence.

"Johnny?"

Again, only silence.

Weird, Cecilia thought. She took a look around the house — John's luggage and guitar case lying around the hall, the house itself dimly lit and filled with silence. His stuff was there, so he must be home. Or at least he must have been home at some point while Cecilia was out with Jessica. Perhaps he was upstairs? Or in the bathroom? Or in the garden? She didn't want to believe that after such an urge to get home so quickly he would have just gone somewhere without seeing her.

She made her way upstairs and noticed their bedroom door almost closed while Cecilia clearly remembered leaving it wide open. It was a little peculiarity of her's — she always left the doors of the most used rooms open during the daytime when she was alone in the house. It made her feel like she was less restricted to her lonesome, almost as if the more open space worked as a some sort of a companion.

She then entered the bedroom and there he was — lying flat on his stomach on the bed, clearly asleep, his face squished into the pillow in the most adorable of ways. He looked tired, worn out even, but Cecilia couldn't help but to smile. John was finally home and the mere sight of him still made her heart flutter and her stomach busy with butterflies. She hadn't even realized it before, but seeing him now made her understand how much she had missed him during these short few weeks apart. And seeing him in the safety of their home, in their bed, definitely relieved all the anxiety she had been feeling for the past couple of days. No matter what happened between him and Anthony or what had caused John to leave Amsterdam so abruptly, him being home was suddenly all that mattered. It was then that she realized that perhaps she and John were a lot more codependent on each other than she had initially thought, but it definitely wasn't something that bothered her. It rather made her feel even more confident in her and John's relationship and their commitment.

Swooning over the sight in front of her, Cecilia took a day blanket from a nearby armchair and covered John with it as carefully and delicately as possible, trying her best not to disrupt his sleep. She then placed a soft kiss on his cheek and joined him under the covers, taking in his smell and his whole being. She felt such ease and happiness right next to the man she loved so dearly, a man she could never get enough of. She closed her eyes and figured that she might as well snooze a bit while John was resting and snuggled as close to him as possible. She took in the warmth of his body and thought about how this simple moment of them just lying in bed together was a moment of such pure happiness and perfection that she wouldn't have traded it for absolutely anything in the world. But just as she was about to slip into a sweet slumber herself, she felt John softly stirring.

He moved around in his spot a bit, probably sensing a body next to him and soon placed himself in a position to face Cecilia. He opened his eyes and smiled as soon as he saw her familiar and utterly delicate face.

"This isn't creepy at all," he softly murmured and laughed, his voice bearly audible.

Cecilia snorted in amusement.

"Right?" she lightly laughed before sliding her fingers under the blanket searching for John's, then softly declaring once she had intertwined them with his own, "Welcome home."

John let out a breath that was so light and so heavy at the same time, but Cecilia understood that it was an expression of sincere relief and joy. He placed his hand on Cecilia's cheek and stared her right into the eyes, then leaned over in order to kiss his beautiful wife.

"I missed you," he whispered, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," she smiled, "When did you get in?"