Author's note: Just a little fluffy piece I wrote for those Fi/Homer shippers out there. I hope you enjoy it :)
Chocolate Pudding
I didn't know what made it seem like a special day. It was just different somehow. The air seemed sweeter, if that was at all possible and there was a strong sun rising in the east, its first rays just starting to beam over the ridge of Taylor's Stitch and into the morning sky.
I could hear the creek gurgling gently over the rocky bed, feeding the large gum tree's deeply rooted upon its banks that shaded my favorite thinking spot.
I stumbled out of the tent I shared with Ellie, stretching a jumper over my head as I left to keep out the last lingering bite of frost. I gave a sleepy good morning smile to Corrie, who sat reading her book at the glowing coals of last night's fire and returned it with an equally sleepy smirk and accepted a cup of billy tea from Robyn, who looked like she had been out for a morning jog already.
My grassy seat against the red gum was waiting for me with a warm rustic glow and I sat against it fondly, bringing my knees up to my chest and clutching my tea for warmth. Yes, there was definitely something special about the day, and I anticipated it with a relaxed smile and closed eyes, my face turned up to the sky.
There was a large splash in the water, only meters away. I looked at the ripples as they branched out to the sandy banks and then looked for the suspect guilty of disturbing my peace.
"Woooooo!" came the war cry from a small ledge meters above me on the cliff wall...
Homer...
"What ARE you doing up there?" I asked, determined to keep my voice at a normal decibel.
I saw him lean forward enough to peek over the edge and give me one of his cheeky grins. His dark curly hair fell over his face and I felt the softest yearning to run my fingers through it. Feeling colour creep up my neck at the thought, I quickly distracted myself and allowed my curiosity about his mischief take center stage.
"Homer, you'll slip if you're not careful. Why are you up there anyway?"
"Thought I'd get a bird's eye view of the place." He called back, "You should come up here. You can see where the creek comes out and down the other end of Hell!"
I didn't need much convincing; I had begun to enjoy the outdoor lifestyle we'd adapted to over the past few days. Camping wasn't one of the activities on my hobbies list, at least, not until a couple of days ago. My mother nearly died of shock when I'd asked to come along.
"Camping? In the bush? Oh Fiona, darling, you can't be serious! Why would you want to do that? We were supposed to be going to Melbourne this weekend, remember, your father's conference?"
It hadn't taken too much to persuade mother that she'd be better off going to Melbourne without me. I would have just spent more of my precious savings (I was only a thousand dollars off of buying my first car) and besides, I didn't like dressing up and having to impress loads of old business men whenever they joined my father for lunch, which was most days.
It only took me fifteen minutes to reach him, and he helped me up the last little bit, grasping my hand in his. I ignored the slight shock I felt at initial contact, I was just imagining things, he obviously hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.
"Come on, just up here."
We trudged a few more meters upwards and pretty soon we stood atop of the ledge I could see from the creek. I took in the view. It was pretty spectacular. I mean, the sun was rising across the tree tops and a gold yellow mist seemed to sprinkle the green leaves of the trees and make them glisten in the early light.
"Gosh, it's beautiful." I said in awe.
"Yeah, it's not bad." He said, giving me a wink. I noticed then, he hadn't let go of my hand, but I kept pretending that I hadn't.
An easy silence settled between us as we looked out over the valley, hand in hand.
"There's something else. You wanna see it?"
"What is it?" I asked, delighted that he hadn't let go.
"You'll see. Come on." he urged, leading me by the hand further along the ledge and just around a corner where it widened into a crack in the side of the cliff face. We stood at the entrance of a large corridor and there he stopped me.
"Right, you gotta promise not to tell the others about this, 'k?"
"Okay," I replied hesitantly, not sure where this was going.
He grinned and led me forward before stopping me only meters away. He took my hand and opened it up, then pressed it against the smooth face of the rock wall. It took me quite a minute to for me to realize what he was trying to show me, but when I saw it, I caught my breath.
I couldn't talk for a moment, just stood, mouth agape at the sight before me.
"I reckon you're the first white woman to even see that, let alone touch it." He said, watching my reaction.
"Oh, you think so? Wow." I breathed, marveling the incredible array of indigenous artwork sprawled across the face of the rock. It must have been here for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands. "Robyn would love this."
"No." He said quickly, "Robyn can't know about this, none of them can."
"Why not?" I asked hesitantly, my eyes searching his face. Something was different.
"Well," he started, and it was then I spotted the red that started to creep onto his cheeks. Even through his olive coloured skin, he looked beautiful when he blushed. "Well," he began again, "I kinda thought this could be our spot, like, a special place, for you, and for me."
His dark brown eyes bore straight into mine with those last words. I felt my body tingle all over, and a knot twisted somewhere deep inside me. There were things I wanted to do to him right then and there that my mother would well and truly disown me for.
"Oh..kay," I replied, unsure.
It was awkward for a few moments, as he stepped closer to me and raised his large hands to cup my chin. I didn't fight it; I just didn't know exactly what was going to happen next, although my body had a good idea.
When his lips touched mine, they were gentle, soft. I hadn't expected that. Homer so rough around the edges, but beautifully so, that I never dreamed it would be so deliciously intoxicating, like hot chocolate pudding with cream.
Instinctively, my hands found his waist and pulled him closer before out kiss deepened and I was beyond recognizing in what level of heaven I was lucky to have landed. Sooner than I would have wished, he pulled away and I was left completely weak at the knees.
"Wow." He breathed, a grin dancing where my lips had just been.
"Wow." I echoed, catching my breath, unable to pull my body away from his.
His hand trailed down my arm and took my hand, "So," he smiled rather bashfully, "I've kinda liked you for a while."
"I would never have guessed," I replied, honestly, "I guess I know now," I smiled back shyly.
"And?" he asked, his eyebrows rose in anticipation.
"And..." I smiled with more confidence, "I like our special spot."
"Cool," he shrugged, but couldn't wipe the grin from his face, nor did he let go of my hand.
I knew today was going to be special, funnily enough, I just didn't realize just quite how much.
