Daylight

21 | Dearest

Evenings turned into mornings and mornings turned into afternoons. Several days have passed since the incident in Caroline's house. The sun was just about to set, painting the sky gold and orange.

Madonna looked up from her tea, glancing at Caroline who sat across her from the sofa, on the other end, nose buried in the book she was busy reading, flipping through thin pages.

For a moment, Madonna admired the woman.

Her brown hair was half tied, the strands twisted. Her face was made up, innocent and calm, her lips formed a thin line, her cheekbones and nose slightly red from the cold weather but her eyes were dark and there were smudges in the corners of each one due to her crying. And there was a lot of tension in her shoulders, they've been there ever since the brother incident.

They never talked about it, Madonna didn't want to push through Caroline's boundaries, if Caroline didn't want to talk about it then they won't. And Caroline was rather avoiding talking about it so Madonna only nodded along, she was willing to wait until Caroline opened up to her.

"Did you know horses can sleep standing up?"

Madonna blinked, confused "What?"

Caroline grinned, looking up from the book she was reading and showing the page to Madonna despite the small words "Horses can sleep while standing." she smiled "You... like horses, right?"

"Oh, yes." Madonna chuckled, shaking her head "I did not know that, very fascinating." she sipped her tea, quirking an eyebrow at the brunette. She sighed, swallowing the taste of earl gray "What book exactly are you reading, my love?"

Caroline tilted her head "A book about animals, Daisy has been acting strangely these days." they both glanced at the orange cat sprawled up on the sofa with Lucifer nudging her with a gray paw.

"Perhaps it's Lucifer, they seem to like each other a lot." Madonna carefully placed her empty tea cup on the table before reaching down to take off her heels, letting them sit on the carpet.

Caroline watched her, confused "What are–"

Madonna laid down on the sofa, placing her head on Caroline's lap, adjusting her position until they were both comfortable. She looked up to the brunette, eyes dancing "Oh, do continue reading. Perhaps I can rest my eyes for a bit while the girls are still in town." she smiled.

Caroline chuckled, transferring the book into her left hand while her right hand came to rest on top of Madonna's chest "Are you growing soft on me?"

Madonna shrugged, closing her eyes "Maybe."

That makes Caroline laugh even more, the brunette bit her lower lip to suppress her laughter, eyes lingering on Madonna's features. She brought her hand up, drawing out a finger to trail it from Madonna's forehead to the bridge of her nose then to its tip then further down to her lips.

"Tu es belle." she whispered, leaning down to drop a soft kiss on Madonna's lips, lingering for a brief moment before she pulled back, giggling when Madonna's lips formed a small smile.

"Caroline?"

"Hm?"

Madonna hesitated before she swallowed the lump in her throat then she said "You can talk to me."

For a moment, the unwanted silence came crawling to the space between them. She heard a sigh then felt Caroline's hand rest back on her chest before she heard her answer "I know."

"Mother! Mother!"

Madonna jumped awake from the sofa, she bolted right up, pulling herself into a sitting position, eyes wide, startled from hearing her daughters yell. She immediately glanced over to the hallway where the girls appeared, all jumping and giggling.