Author's Note: No, I am not dead. Yes, I have started writing again. I hope I've improved. The whole story stems from a lullaby my mom used to sing to me :)
Summary: It's spring when they meet again, summer when he realizes he loves her, winter when he asks and autumn when she gives him a miracle.
I Gave My Love
By k-shee
I gave my love a cherry that has no stone.
It's Spring when they meet again. The snow has long melted and the greenery is coming back to life. The faint scent of flowers has permeated the air—the residents, he recalls, has taken to lining the pathways with moon drops and toy flowers at Chelsea's suggestion. She tackles him with a hug when he arrives, always the first to greet him with quick bursts of kisses, and when he steps off the pier with one hand on his pack and Chelsea's on the other, he thinks how natural it feels to twine their fingers together.
It feels like home.
I gave my love a chicken that has no bone.
Summer comes with pinkcats and the sound of humming in the air as beatles emerge as if to complain of the heat. Chelsea dips her toes in the ocean while she fishes and tells him to do the same. He complies, idly splashing his feet, content to listen to her tell him about the new chicken coop she's having Ganon build. And there's something about the way the breeze is blowing, or the way her hair is arranged today but he can't help but stare. She catches his gaze from the corner of her eyes, and asks, "What?"
He's about to say, blunt and to the point, "You're beautiful." But her fishing line tugs and the answer dies in his throat when she's pulled into the water by a king fish. They laugh about it later, and when he hauls her out of the wet and she swears she probably looks like a "half-drowned cat" he shakes his head and tells her what he's been meaning to say, blunt and to the point.
Just before summer starts to die, he presents her with a little box filled with straw and a little white thing nestled comfortably in it. Chelsea blesses it with a portmanteau of their names, and he doesn't have the heart to tell her that it's just an egg.
I gave my love a story that had no end.
This year's winter is a kind one so far, peaceful, if monotonous. The season is marked with squelching boots, nippy fingers and a distinct lack of work. Vaughn tells her not to expect him on the dock on Wednesday because he'll be staying the whole season. "There isn't much work that I can do this time around," he explains, "So I might as well stay and spend time with my family."
She thinks of his Aunt Mirabelle and Cousin Julia and feels a little hurt that he doesn't stay for her. "Oh. Alright then."
He isn't the best at human interaction, but when she turns to leave, it's a miracle he understands. He pulls her back with a gentle tug of the wrist. "Where're you going? Silly girl, I was talking about you too."
The snow is indistinguishable from his hair. She laughs as she reaches up to brush them away and even with her standing at the tips of her toes, Vaughn has to bend down a bit. His eyes are soft as his arms wind warmly around her waist. She smiles gently and lets her fingers trace the curve of his ear, tickle the back of his neck. They stand like that, breaths intermingling, kissing like Eskimos in the falling white.
"What are you thinking about?" She asks.
He hums and presses a kiss to her temple so he can put his mouth by her ear. "The snow. You. Us."
She giggles. "Very specific."
Vaughn cups her face in his hands and kisses each eyelid, her forehead. "I was thinking of staying here. I was thinking if you'll have me. If you'll marry me."
"Oh!" She gasps back a breath that has misted in the snow. "Yes…Yes! Oh, Vaughn, I do!"
I gave my love a baby with no crying.
The next autumn comes as easily as the leaves transition to yellow, to red, to brown.
"She has your hair."
"I was hoping she wouldn't."
"Why not? Don't you know that hair like that means a blessing from the Goddess?"
"…Huh."
"Now you do. Honestly, Vaughn, why are you so scared?"
For a moment he's silent, until he runs a gentle thumb through their little girl's little tuft of silver hair. "I got picked on a lot of kids when I was younger."
"Oh, honey. There's no threat of that here. Everyone on the island's like family. If they can accept a grump like you, they'll accept a little angel like her." Chelsea teases. He blows stray strands of her hair from his face. She smells sweet like she always does. "She's such a quiet thing. Just like a mini-you. I saw you with her when she woke up and you two just…stared. I wish I had a camera. It was cute."
"If she's anything like me, she'll turn terrible once she hits two. Auntie tells me I used to terrorize Julia when we were younger."
She laughs. "Why can I easily imagine that?"
He laughs with her. "She'll be spoiled. Treated like a princess."
"I'm sure we won't be that bad."
"Maybe you, but not me. She's got your eyes. I can't say no to that."
" Mmm…" Chelsea shifts in his arms to peck his cheek. "Who knew you could be such a sweetheart?"
He kisses her back and looks at the sleeping baby in her arms, his arms wrapped around them both. "My girls. My two favorite girls in the world."
When the baby wakes later that night, Vaughn takes her from his wife and whispers, "I got it." His little girl quiets down as he starts to hum, the vibrations of his chest soothing her.
"How can there be a cherry that has no stone?
How can there be a chicken that has no bone?
How can there be a story that has no end?
How can there be a baby with no crying?
A cherry when it's blooming, it has no stone
A chicken when in the shell, it has no bone
The story of how I love you, it has no end
A baby when it's sleeping, it's not crying."
I hope that rot your teeth hahaha! The answers to the riddle are in this order: flower, egg, ring, sleeping baby. The name Chelsea gave the egg was Velsea :P
Review, dear reader, what did you think? Did I deliver or did I stink?
