You softly knocked on the apartment door, the sky dimming with darkness as the sun began to set. You tried to hold yourself together, to muster the strength to keep your chin up regardless of everything that oppressed your heart to the oblivion that had consumed you. But you couldn't.
As tears arose in your eyes and your heart began to rip open, seeping the blood of sadness, you felt yourself slowly slipping into a weep. The door opened, your boyfriend's silhouette emerging from behind it as warm air embraced you. A shuddered breath slipped your lips as your tears obscured your vision and flooded down your face. Swiftly, as if instinctively, you hugged Riki, encompassing his figure in your arms and silencing your cries into his chest. His hands intuitively lifted, gently caressing your back and pulling you closer.
Your heart paced, quickened with the adrenaline that cracked you open and poured you out, an unfamiliar sensation in the pit of your stomach as your stomach clenched with each sob that escaped you.
"It's okay, I got you," Riki's voice soothed the ache the lump in your throat had caused. You felt so vulnerable, so weak with the worry and sadness that overcame you, putting you in a position you didn't know how to get out of. It was so pitiful.
But Riki didn't see it that way. In his mind, you were something so fragile, so precious. He knew you were only human, and as much as it'd hurt to see you so low, he saw the beauty in your pain. Although momentary, he felt endeared by the fact you felt vulnerable with him, it was a special place in which he felt the love you felt for him. He didn't pity you, he loved you.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked in a delicate whisper, pulling back just barely to look into your tear-glistening eyes. He tucked a stray hair behind your ear, his eyes nearly never leaving yours as his fingers lingered on your face.
"I think I just want to lie down for a little while." Your voice rang out like a discordant harmony, the ache in your throat reflective in your tone. You pulled him close, faces only separated by the familiar warmth of his breath and the intoxicating scent of his perfume. "Thank you, Riki. I love you."
Your voice was now tender, a contrast of the one you uttered just moments prior. As the words slipped through your lips, you pressed your mouth against his, feeling the softness of his lips on yours. The kiss began gently, slowly deepening as you felt the weight of life begin to lift. His hands cradled your face, thumbs lightly caressing your cheeks. The kiss lingered, urgency melting into tenderness as you began to part, breath lost in the mix of it all and a smile tugging lightly at your lips.
