Simply
By Myriddin
Things between him and Callie were simple.
It was strange how that statement in itself was a paradox, seeming like a blatant lie considering their circumstances. But it was there, beneath all the fronts and the drama, the complications, the emotional entanglements, the longing and the heartache- that spark, that connection drawing them together on a level no other could compare to. That was simple.
Callie herself was complicated, especially in the beginning. Layer after layer of defenses to shut him out and keep him at a distance. Yet time after time, he slipped beneath them, being the only one besides Jude to possess that power. She trusted him. It was that simple.
With Callie, he did not need constant reassuring, he did not need dramatic love confessions, and he did not need to prove himself again and again. Things were so much simpler than that. She did not need expensive gifts or exotic dates; she did not need elaborate romantic gestures or fancy dinners. She didn't really need anything, except for him to be with her. He did things anyway. It was simple things he was limited to as to keep them under the radar, but still he wanted to give her what attention and appreciation he could.
Small notes slipped to her between classes, little reminders to let her know he was thinking about her. They varied: the occasional self-written (albeit badly) poetry, song lyrics, sweet thoughts or compliments. Sometimes his notes were accompanied by a small, modest gift, something he saw and thought might make her smile. Simple things, and she loved him for it.
It all should have been hard, it all should have been forbidden, taboo, too entangled and complicated for them to even try, but it wasn't. In the end, it was really just…
Simple.
They should have been wrong, some illicit love affair. When she watched him walk through the hallways at school, as they passed each other in the hall at the home they shared, it should never have been her he stared at so intensely, it should not have been him that had the favor of her beautiful smile.
In the rare, rare moments when they could be completely alone, the way he kissed her, the way he touched her, there was nothing particularly poetic or melodramatic about it. It was simply him and the love she felt, the way he could make her feel.
The complication or the intricacy of their affair really meant nothing in those moments as their lips collided, hands pushed away the clothes serving as barriers to glorious, naked skin. It meant nothing…it meant everything that he knew the exact shape of the birthmark on her hip, just the right place at her collarbone to drag his lips and have her shivering with desire, just the right way to have her crying his name as he moved inside her. It meant everything that she knew every contour of his body, the sensitivity of the place just behind his ear, the jagged scar on the back of his shoulder left from a childhood accident.
There should have been guilt and damnation as they lay together in an entanglement of naked skin and entwined limbs, his arms warm around her as she rested her head against his chest, the steady cadence of his heartbeat drowning out the rest of the world.
But there wasn't. It was really, rather simple, in the way his eyes softened as he smiled down at her, brushed back her hair to press a light kiss to her forehead. It was simple as she nuzzled into him, playing with their laced fingers as she answered his quiet questions and told him about her day.
And he listened attentively, offering the occasional comment or gesture when appropriate, just watching the delighted animation of her face, the warmth of her smile as she spoke. She teased him slyly about the guitar pick, emblazoned with her name, she found that morning in her locker, and he denied his involvement, though he couldn't stop a goofy, broad smile that broke out over his face as he dug his fingers in her ribs, taking his revenge as he tickled her and pressed her back against the bed.
It was rather simple, inevitable, magnetic as he looked down at her, saw bright eyes and flushed cheeks, mesmerized as her lips parted with each breath and her hand reached behind his neck, drawing his mouth back to hers. As he kissed her, his hands tracing over the familiar curves of her body, the world melted away around him, and there was nothing left but her. She was simply Callie…simply everything in his world. The family would be back in a few hours and they would have to go back to pretending, but for now, it was simply them.
Simplicity befitted them, and they couldn't have asked for more.