One Lazy Afternoon || Richard & Lily
His voice was always much deeper after he woke up from a nap or in the morning and it was one of Lily’s favourite sounds. Smiling to herself, she snuggled down into his protective arms, letting him hold her, allowing herself to feel vulnerable. He held her so strongly but not necessarily tightly. It was a loving embrace, one that told her that he had no intentions of ever letting her go and that made her feel better instantly.
She opened her eyes and looked up into his when he spoke about them going anyway. “Yeah,” she agreed, “that’d be lovely.” She giggled when he mentioned the drinks, because it was no secret that both of them liked to get absolutely wasted once in a while. “Where should we go?” She asked him, taking his hand in hers and holding it up to the light. She played with their hands together, locking and unlocking their fingers, studying every joint on his hand, every finger and every knuckle, every fingertip and every wrinkle. She wanted to know him inside out - she wanted to know every detail about him off by heart, because he was the person out of the seven billion that the Earth held that she loved most.
She sat up, propping up her elbow on the pillows, resting her head in the palm of her hand. Repeatedly, she brushed his hair back, stroking it and running her fingers through his soft curls. “You alright, sweetheart?” She asked, because there was something not quite right about him - she knew him far too well for her own good and she knew right now that he wasn’t being himself. He was distant, staring off at some far point that she couldn’t see. It was like he was outside himself. “Rich, you can talk to me. You know that, don’t you? Whatever it is, no matter how silly, I’ll listen. It’s what I’m here to do.” Leaning down, she pressed a tender kiss to his forehead, his skin warm and clammy from the LA heat although she didn’t mind at all.
He glanced down at their hands which she was busy playing with, a pattern she seemed to like to fall into while he had her tucked up against him and they lay like this. He loved being with her like this, doing absolutely nothing, but he was just as happy to go places with her, as long as it was something. Just having her with him changed everything. The good became better and the bad became more bearable. She made him want to be better, like she had this positive effect on everything she touched. It certainly felt that way to him, like he could be a good person when he was around her. He didn’t want to feel any other way.
The humidity made Richard feel like they were stuck in some sort of greenhouse where the temperature was rising and the air was getting thicker. It felt fuzzy, like he was moving through molasses when he tried to toss and turn, he didn’t think he’d ever miss the crisp air of England. But LA was suffocating him.
“I don’t know. Maybe one of those Pacific islands that you see on TV, with the houses on stilts above the sea. Or the Maldives. I’ve never been and I don’t really know where they are but they sound good,” he said smiling lightly, brushing the fine, wispy hairs behind her ear. Basked in the bright, if a little glaring light from outside she looked like some sort of angel. But she was real, he could feel her skin beneath his fingers, and her soft breath tickling his own.
He stuttered internally a little as she asked him what was wrong. It amazed, impressed and worried him a little how she knew him that well that she could tell something was off when he was certain he wasn’t showing it. He could have easily come out and said it, casually, like a matter of unimportance. But there were a number of reasons, all jumbled in his mind that made him hold his tongue. He wanted to be better before he told her, really, truly better. Not reliant on some pills to keep his head straight. A Richard whose mind was one hundred percent his, not fogged up with serotonin or whatever else was supposed to keep the chemicals balanced. Maybe he’d be easier to love then, maybe then he’d be good enough.
“There’s nothing the matter, I’m fine. Honestly,” he imitated a tone of incredulity, to convince her. But he wasn’t a great liar, and she knew that. Still he smiled on, hoping she would drop it.
