Mirific Flower Petals

63

Delonix just came back from his short trip and the first thing on Fleur's mind was finally meeting him after days of missing him. He said his door was open for her anytime so she wanted nothing more but to enter it as long as he accepted her. Not wasting one more second, she surprised him with a hug which Delonix gladly and wholeheartedly reciprocated. It was as if he was never gone for days.

"I'm sorry about what happened. I wish I was there to comfort you though," she whispered at the nook of his neck.

Fleur's heartbeat trembled against Delonix's back. Her soft breath sent shivers down his body, electrifying the tiny hairs resting on his skin. He mumbled his disapproval and shook his head eagerly.

"It's okay... I'm fine," he repeated. He extended his neck to reach Fleur's jaw and left a flurry of pecks everywhere his lip could possibly reach. "You're here now."

"What can I do to make you feel better?"

Delonix held Fleur's chin and guided it down until their gazes finally locked. "Just stay... You staying has always been enough."

She pouted, a little bit dismayed that she hadn't done anything for the past hour to alleviate the weight bearing him down. He laid his back against her body again until their hearts were closed to being stitched together by a frail thread. Their close distance reminded Fleur of something.

"I want to read you something again, angel!" she cheered while playing with his hair.

Delonix chuckled, "Palagi kang prepared?"

"Hindi kaya! Memorize ko lang 'to simula dati for some weird reasons. Baka dahil paulit-ulit ko 'tong binabasa dati kaya na-stuck na siya sa utak ko."

He nodded. "How do you want me, Fleur? Should I close my eyes again like last time?"

"Ikaw na ang bahala. Basta be comfortable!"

Delonix didn't move a single muscle at all. He remained his body close to Fleur's; their breaths syncing and racing into one. Fleur's eyes widened a fraction when Delonix lifted her hand back atop his head like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"I'm comfortable this way," he answered contently.

Hindi napigilan ni Fleur ang pagtawa niya sa pagsabi ni Delonix nun. He was resistant and sure that he liked to stay right there.

"Sure ka ba? You can't even rest your entire back on me kasi I'm smaller than you e."

"I'm sure, pretty flower..."

Not trying to fight him against it anymore, she mumbled under her breath, "Okay..."

Softly and carefully, Fleur continued to stroke his hair with light touches. Delonix then began to close his eyelids like her previous orders.

"I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, and all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by; and the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking, and a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking."

A small smile crept beneath Delonix's long lashes which reflected on Fleur's face as well. With her fingers a few centimeters above his face, Fleur traced the upward curve of Delonix's lips. She curled her fist, stopping herself from touching it.

"I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied; and all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying, and the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls crying."

Delonix carried around a heavy heart lately and Fleur couldn't stand seeing him like that—hopeless and sullen. Words connected them in ways other things couldn't have and that complemented their relationship; it was their beginning.

These words were the only way Fleur knew how to mend the pain, so she passed that healing on for others to share. Fleur's worries were put at ease when Delonix's body relaxed from tension.

"I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life, to the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife; and all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover, and quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over."

Although he still had his eyes closed, Delonix managed instantly to put his palm above Fleur's knee, drawing slow circles on it. The familiar blaze of touch melted on her skin, relished in her core.

She didn't know if it was physically possible but she felt time stop. Everything that normally moved in their surroundings that she didn't seem to mind before paused and all of her senses directed themselves at Delonix only. Her heart swelled with immeasurable affection; the bones securing the fragile organ could break anytime soon.

Fleur bit her lower lip at the intimacy boiling between them. They were so close—so, so close that the concept of space was completely ignored. But Fleur didn't want to let that go just yet, she wanted to carry that feeling until the brink of eternity. It was relieving and heartening that she found an experience she was never searching for.

At that time, nothing else ever mattered—they were caged in a moment only they could call as theirs.

"Hey, Delonix..."

"Yeah?" he hummed, opening his eyes slowly.

"I think..." she heaved a sigh of content, a flick of the morning sun's glory appeared briefly in the depth of her eyes, "I think time stopped."