Painting Greens and Golds
Fiery, red hair slipped out of her messy bun, escaping like water running through cupped hands. Jace nearly laughed as he saw her rub her hand against her temple- in frustration, no doubt- smearing the gold, coppery color across her forehead. Her green eyes squinted in annoyance as she studied her paint job on the mirror before her. Clary had woke Jace up early that morning to move the umbrella on their balcony just so she would not be scorched by the surprisingly intense, summer heat. She had been repainting all afternoon to fix the "horrible and distasteful color" that framed the mirror. Jace had chosen the mirror. He had actually enjoyed the framing color and found it quite calming as he looked at himself before he ran out the door in the morning. However, Clary felt different.
"Jace!" Clary had said exasperated one morning, "It is green. Green."
Jace had crossed his arms across his chest defensively. "So?"
"Green! Really?"
"I like it. I find it calming, thank you very much."
"It hardly matches the apartment! Scratch that- It doesn't match the apartment at all!"
"Because we just moved in and we hardly have anything yet. Why don't we just get more green things?"
Clary was not happy with that answer. In fact, she had gone out one of the following nights just to buy something to repaint the mirror with.
Which was in fact the color gold- gold.
When she got home with paint, Jace couldn't stop himself. "Gold? You are okay with a gold-colored mirror but not green." Clary only glared. The following morning Clary had repainted.
Coming back to reality, he looked at his fiancé. She had gone back to slowly stroking her brush across one of the corners, being extremely careful to not get any paint on the mirror part. A small stereo sat behind her humming an upbeat song with calm quietly whispered lyrics. Since the hot summer started, Clary had definitely gained some color. Fading red sunburns were disappearing from her shoulders and under her eyes. Tanned legs were folded beneath her as she would rise and fall with the strokes of her brush. Her wavy hair was still in its bun, but on the verge of cascading down her back. A bowl of the coppery colored paint sat by her hip, nearly looking like whiskey but a whole lot thicker. And not to forget the attention craving cat that bothered everyone in these apartment complexes with its constant snooping. The blue umbrella had done a fantastic job of keeping the sun off Clary. Jace felt himself sigh in contentment as he stared at the scene on the balcony and leaned with his right shoulder on the sliding glass door he was opening. Her head snapped toward his direction, bailing on the last of her bun. It slid down her back, stopping a little ways above her hip. At the sight of him, the corners of her mouth perked up.
"Would you want to see the progression?" She asked, her voice soft.
Jace stepped onto the balcony, causing the stray cat to get excited. It scurried over to him, weaving between his steps, purring.
Clary's laugh seemed to fill the open air of the balcony. "Whose cat is that?"
Jace shrugged as he reached the shade of the large umbrella. He looked at the mirror and observed the color. "Good job." He murmured as his arms wrapped around Clary's waist and planted a small kiss on her cheek. Although they planned to get married this autumn, it did not stop Clary from blushing at the small gesture of affection, blending into her sunburned cheeks.
"But do you want to know why I liked the green better?"
Clary rolled her eyes, and said nothing.
"It's the color of your eyes."
At this, Clary laughed and turned her body side ways to face him better.
"Did I ever tell you why gold is my favorite color?"