Peaches & Honey

Missy Franklin pt.2

"Riles?"

"Riiiiiley?"

"Honey?" 

Maya's voice echoed throughout the silent bedroom. Riley had her knees pulled up to her chest, and her eyes were focused on the wall in front of her. Maya scooted up the bed, leaning against her girlfriend, her chin resting on Riley's shoulder. "Pumpkin? Sweetheart?" Maya tried to gain Riley's attention yet again. Riley's expression remained stoic, overly serious in Maya's opinion. Then, in the blink of an eye, tears began rolling down Riley's face, which crumpled. 

Alarmed, Maya gathered Riley in her arms, stroking her silky brown hair tenderly. "Riley! Honey, what's wrong? What happened?" Maya demanded frantically. At her questions, Riley sobbed harder, burying her face in Maya's chest. Maya continued stroking her hair, her voice calmer as she whispered, "It's okay, pumpkin. Talk to me when you're ready. It's okay, we're okay." Maya's blue eyes were bright with tears of her own, but she sniffed them back. Riley needed her to be strong right now, and Maya refused to let her down.

Riley's sobs lessened to hiccups and quiet sniffles. She slowly began to sit up, meeting Maya's teary eyes. Her face softened as she regarded her girlfriend, reaching out to wipe a few stray tears that escaped Maya's eyes. Maya offered her a weak smile. "You cry, I cry, remember?" Maya said softly. "You hurt, I hurt. We're a team, Riles." Riley felt another sob rise up in her throat. Gentle fingers wiped the remaining tears off of her cheeks. The same gentle fingers slid underneath her chin, nudging them upwards, forcing her to make eye contact with Maya. 

"What happened, Riles? You can tell me." Maya said softly, her bright blue eyes wide and beseeching. Riley sniffled and took Maya's hands, squeezing them softly. "Missy was right," Riley felt more tears building up in her eyes. She slid off of the bed and started pacing around. "I'm ugly. I'm too ugly for you." At this, Maya's eyes grew impossibly wider, her mouth dropping open in disbelief. Riley averted her eyes, releasing Maya's hands to fold her own hands together. "I'm too tall. My nose is too big, my teeth are crooked. Missy was right. Why would you settle for me? When you could have anyone you want? Someone prettier, funnier... Someone better than me."

Suddenly, Riley was tugged off of her feet, landing on her back onto her bed. Maya's face was hovering over hers, her eyes wide and teary. "I don't ever want to hear you talk about yourself like that ever again," Maya rasped, the tears flowing freely down her cheeks. "How could you think about yourself like that?" Before Riley could respond, Maya's hovering face disappeared from view, and she was tugged off of the bed. 

Maya tugged her in front of her mirror, and Riley squeezed her eyes shut tight. "Open your eyes, honey. Please." Maya sounded devastated, and Riley's need to make Maya happy overpowered her disgust at herself. She hesitantly cracked open one eye, then slowly opened her other eye. Maya pointed at their reflections. "You are not ugly. You are far from ugly, Riley. In fact, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life." Riley's eyes filled with tears once more, and she opened her mouth, but Maya cut her off, tears still streaming down her cheeks. 

"Your eyes. I love your eyes, how expressive and soulful they are," Maya whispered, but it sounded loud in the silent room. "Your nose is the perfect size for me to kiss," Maya punctuated that statement by pressing a soft kiss to the tip of Riley's nose. Riley smiled, despite the tears now running freely down her own cheeks. "Look, Riles. Look at the way we fit together. I fit perfectly against you." It was true. Maya was a head and a half shorter than Riley, her head coming up to the base of Riley's neck. Curled against her, they looked like two matching pieces of a puzzle. 

"But what I love most of all?" Maya was crying in earnest now, wiping her cheeks as she continued. "Is your smile, Honey." Riley's eyes were glued to Maya's face now, not wanting to miss a moment of what Maya was saying. "When you smile, you light up the whole room, no matter where we are. When you smile, it makes me feel like I can be the best person I can be, the person who's good enough for Riley Matthews. I didn't settle for you, Riley. Loving you could never feel like I was simply settling for someone. I love you, Riley. That's why I'm with you. I don't want to be with anyone else, pumpkin. I want you, only you, for the rest of my life if you'll have me for that long."

Maya took a deep breath, her tears slowing finally. "Loving you is the best thing that has ever happened to me, Riles. You need to know that. You have to know that. You make me feel like anything is possible. You make me feel like I could take on the entire world, but I don't want the world, if you're not there, Riles. I need you. I love you, so much."

Riley's arms wrapped around Maya, pulling her close. "Peaches," Riley whispered, her forehead leaning against Maya's. "You are good enough for me, and then some." Maya's eyes fluttered shut. "I love you so much, Peaches." Riley declared vehemently, reverently. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." Maya's eyes flickered open at that. "Ditto. If it wasn't obvious." 

Riley laughed at that, her face was tearstained, but her smile was wide, genuine. Maya lit up in response, her own grin spreading across her face. Riley wiped her cheeks one last time and squeezed Maya's hand that had found its way to hers. "I want you forever too, Peaches. For the rest of our lives." Maya's grin grew impossibly wider, the crinkles at the corners of her eyes making Riley's heart skip a beat or two. "For the rest of our lives."