Peaches & Honey

Maya Who?

Maya slammed her easel down onto the floor, kicking at it exasperatedly. She sighed, grabbing a canvas and picking up a paint brush. Furiously, she slashed at the canvas with the paintbrush, splattering paint on the canvas and onto herself. She picked up a tube of black paint, squirting it onto the canvas as she screamed. Finally, Maya yanked the canvas off of the easel, chucking it across the room. She kicked at her easel again, then slammed the paintbrush onto the ground. She'd had "artist-block" for almost a week now, and she was getting worried. Was she losing her artistic skills? What if she never painted again? Who would she be? Maya was an artist. Being an artist was her identity, and without art, Maya had no idea who she was. Maya pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She let the tears fall.

Riley entered her apartment, her eyes widening at the sight. There was paint splattered everywhere. Nearly tripping over the canvas that had been tossed onto the ground, she picked it up, staring at it. The canvas was splattered with gold, purple, and black, with swirls of blue across it. She admired the canvas, tucking it under her arm as she made her way across the room. Her heart dropped at the sight of Maya, the tears running steadily down Maya's cheeks now. Riley dropped the canvas, a loud bang echoing across the room, and rushed to Maya's side. 

"Peaches! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Riley asked frantically. Maya looked up at her wife, her eyes red and puffy. "No, I'm not hurt, honey." Maya croaked out. However, as she spoke, her big blue eyes filled with tears again. "Peaches, talk to me," Riley begged, pulling Maya into her arms. "You're scaring me." Maya began to sob again, her whole body shaking with the force of her sobs. Riley ran her fingers through Maya's blonde curls, her voice dropping to a soothing whisper. "Okay, Peaches. Talk to me when you can. It's okay, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

Several minutes later, Maya's sobs died down to small, choked whimpers as she slowly sat up to meet Riley's kind brown eyes. "I'm a failure, Riles," Maya whimpered. Riley's eyebrows shot up and she opened her mouth to immediately refute Maya's claim. Maya shook her head, pressing a hand over Riley's mouth. "I haven't been able to paint anything in a week, Riles. I've tried and tried, but I can't paint anything good. Who am I if I'm not an artist? What if I won't ever be able to paint again?" Maya's eyes were wide, and Riley could tell that Maya was on the verge of tears again. Riley gently took Maya's hand off of her mouth, pressing a soft kiss to it. 

"Maya, I haven't been able to write anything for the newest book in my series for the past month. Does that make me a failure?" Riley asked, tilting her head at her wife. Maya's eyebrows shot up, and her voice rose in disbelief. "What?! No, of course not! How could you even think that, Riles?" Maya demanded. Riley raised an eyebrow at her, her eyes dancing in amusement. Maya cocked her head at Riley, confused. Realization dawned on Maya's face, and she let her jaw drop as she understood what Riley was saying. "Ohhhhh." Riley giggled, then her face grew serious. "Who are you, if you aren't an artist?" Riley asked rhetorically. "Well, you're Maya Penelope Matthews. A gorgeous, stunning woman, the funniest person I've ever met, and the bravest person in the whole wide world," 

Maya's cheeks flushed, and she opened her mouth to respond. This time, it was Riley's turn to gently place a hand over Maya's mouth as she continued. "You're someone who would give the shirt off of your back if someone in need asked it of you. You're someone who isn't afraid to stand up for what you believe in, and you would die to protect your friends. You are an artist who has a beautiful mind. You're someone who still got up off the ground when life tried to kick you when you were already down. You're a fierce, Amazon warrior. Most importantly," Riley took in a deep breath and smiled something soft and sweet at Maya, her eyes shining with pure adoration and love. "You're my Peaches. You've always been there for me, been my rock. I can't thank you enough for that, for loving me." Riley picked up the easel, placing a clean canvas on it. 

Maya's eyes were full of tears, but for a different reason. They were tears of joy, of appreciation for her Honey.  Maya placed a soft kiss against Riley's lips, as gentle as a whisper.  A dimpled smile spread across her face, her face lighting up. It was like the sun shining through a rain cloud. Riley smiled.  "Dream dreams, Maya. Because you're going to get everything you want." Maya shook her head, in awe of her wife. "How is it possible that you still have hope for me?" She picked up a paint brush, scanning the array of colors in front of her. She smiled, dipping her paintbrush into the deep purple paint. Riley leaned her head onto Maya's shoulder. 

"Hey, I have hope for something that's four billion miles away," Riley replied. She pressed her lips gently against Maya's forehead, smiling as Maya's cheeks flushed cherry blossom pink. "You... have always been right here."