Peaches & Honey

"At 5:30, you turn golden."

"Peaches, C'mon. Dinner is almost ready." Maya looked up at the sound of her girlfriend's indignant voice and grinned impishly. Riley would completely deny that her heart fluttered whenever Maya looked at her like that. "Hold on, honey. I'm almost done with this painting." Maya replied, dipping the paintbrush into a cup of paint.

Riley sat down on the bed next to her and wrapped an arm around her, being careful not to jostle Maya. "Whatcha paintin' peaches?" Riley asked, her eyes scanning the canvas. The whole canvas was painted a light yellow, with streaks of gold running through it. Maya bit her lip, concentrating on painting the outline of a girl, with the same gold on the canvas.

"I'm painting you, Riles." Maya casually said, glancing up at Riley with those big blue eyes that made Riley want to tackle her onto the ground and kiss her until she couldn't breathe anymore.

"Me?" Riley asked, as Maya's fingers quickly grasped the paintbrush tighter as she sat up to meet Riley's eyes. "Yeah," she replied, tucking a lock of chestnut brow hair behind Riley's ear. "Remember how I told you that one time, at 5:30, you turn golden?" Riley's cheeks flushed and she gave Maya a shy smile. Maya almost swooned at the sheer adorableness of it.

"How could I forget?" Riley murmured. She leaned forward and kissed Maya on the lips softly. Maya dropped the paintbrush on the floor and wrapped her arms around Riley's waist, pulling her closer and kissing her more ardently. Riley's hands rose up and she ran her fingers through Maya's curly blonde locks, her eyes slipping closed once more as she and the love of her life kissed.

After a long moment, Riley pulled back to catch her breath. Her face was flushed a rosy pink, and her lips were deliciously swollen. "Well, I was wrong." Maya murmured, cupping Riley's face in her hand. Riley's eyebrows shot up, and she cocked her head questioningly. Maya smiled a soft, loving smile, the smile she saved for Riley when they were alone. "I was wrong. You don't turn gold at 5:30. You're always gold." Maya said softly, her voice uncharacteristically shy.

Riley's eyes welled up with tears, and she took the hand that was holding her hand and pressed a soft kiss to it. She untangled herself from Maya's embrace, and picked up the paintbrush, handing it to her. "Finish that painting, Peaches." She said softly. Maya smiled up at her, her eyes shining with adoration. "What about dinner?" Maya asked teasingly. Riley just smiled and hopped off of the bed.

She came back several minutes later. Maya was painting, her brows furrowed as she painted. She jumped when a plate was placed next to her, laden with food. Maya looked up to see Riley settling down on the bed again, a cup of water in one hand, and another plate of food in the other. "We'll eat dinner here tonight." Riley smiled. Maya grinned at her, and continued painting, only pausing when Riley offered her a piece of food. They ate and painted in comfortable silence.

"Hey peaches?" Riley's voice broke Maya out of her concentration. Maya smiled up at her. "Yeah, honey?"

"I know you think I'm always gold, but I think we're both gold when we're together."