Zed woke up with a groan, the light streaming through their apartment window like in an Old Masters' painting of heaven. Zed looked to his right, where Sky's head rested against his chest, and nodded to himself. He was in heaven. Heaven was where Sky was, no matter what. As every morning, Zed allowed himself to examine Sky, taking in every detail of her and searing it to his mind; the light-lavender colour of her closed eyelids, criss-crossed in a spider-web-like pattern of purple veins; the full curve of her bottom lip, slightly pouty and totally adorable, like pink roses or cherries. How he loved to kiss those lips, to stroke those cheeks with his fingertips, watch those feather-like eyelashes flutter as she dreamed. She was perfection itself, his angel.
"What did I tell you about watching me while I sleep?" the angel suddenly said, not opening her eyes or moving at all.
"Not to?" Zed replied unsurely, and Sky turned her head to him, opening her eyes to stare at him tiredly.
"Well done, genius." She laughed, and threw the sheets aside.
"Oh, no!" he begged, watching her go "Don't leave. I'm sorry – come back!"
"I have to go to class." She came back and kissed him quickly "Remember? I'll be back soon." Then she went off to get dressed, and Zed smiled to himself. She was wearing nothing but one of his old t-shirts that reached about mid-thigh. He was honestly disappointed when she came from their walk-in wardrobe in a pair of jeans, tucked into some well-worn boots, and an off-white peasant shirt. Even though she didn't realise, Sky had a flair for fashion and always looked good, no matter what. She had pulled her hair up in a fat bun at the nape of her neck and a shimmer of silver showed around her neck. It was the necklace Zed had given her that Valentine's day – a silver chain with a pendant of a bow in tiny diamonds that looked like glittering stars. She always wore it.
"It keeps you close to my heart," she would say with a secret smile.
"I'll be back with food," she promised as she left, "I love you."
"I love you too," Zed rumbled back "my Soulfinder." It was Sky's favourite endearment. Zed saw her eyes soften at the word, and she kissed him tenderly.
"Don't call me that," she admonished softly, her forehead pressed against him "if you do, I'll never leave."
"In that case," he pulled her onto their bed, in which he was still lying, and pinned her wrists above her head, his face millimetres from hers. Her eyes were wide – she was biting her lip, trying not to look at the perfect, tanned skin on his chest and arms. "Don't leave – Soulfinder." He whispered the last word, and she closed her eyes with a delighted sigh.
"I have to," she murmured, but she no longer sounded so confident. Her will was crumbling in the face of a near-naked Zed. "I have to go to class." She sounded more convinced, so Zed leaned down and gave her a passionate kiss that didn't last long enough for Sky's liking.
"You could stay here," he murmured, tracing a line of kisses down her chin and jaw "I could make you breakfast in bed and we could take a walk in the park and get dinner at your favourite restaurant and. . ."
"Zed," Sky moaned, not opening her eyes "I can't – I have to go to class. It's important. And I've already had breakfast." Zed smiled sadly; he knew I couldn't tempt her, but trying never hurt.
"Ok," he sighed, rolling off and helping her up "I'll meet you at the College for lunch?"
"Always," she smiled, accepting his hand "I love you – bye." With one final kiss, she was off and out the door. Sky was in her final year at the Royal College of Music, and that was reflected by the state of the apartment. There was a wooden piano in the bedroom with sheet music scattered haphazardly over the top – it was only because the apartment was too small that they didn't have an all-out Grand Piano. But she wasn't limited to piano; a guitar leaned against the sofa, a flute case was on the Study table, a violin case was on the bedside table, and the double bass dominated a whole corner in the Study as well. The apartment was constantly filled with the sound of Sky practicing, but she still refused to sing, no matter what.
As soon as the door closed, Zed jumped out of bed and got dressed in the first clothes he could find, regardless if it went or not. Then he went to their floor-to-ceiling bookshelf and pulled out a very specific novel. He had bought it at a charity shop for it's leather binding and the fact that it was all about the Four Humours – a medical theory that is far outdated – so no one would want to buy it. It was thick, with paper so thin you could see through the sheets and a text so small that even Zed, with his perfect eyesight, would need some sort of magnifying glass to read it. Eagerly, he opened the book; it fell open at the right page first time. A great chunk of paper had been cut through with scissors, leaving a square-shaped hole that was about three inches deep in the book. Inside the hole, nestled in the yellowing paper, was a black velvet box. The velvet was slightly dusty, and the box was in the shape of a heart with a delicate gold clip keeping it closed. Zed gently took it out of the book, putting it back on the shelf without looking, and slowly opened the dainty lid. The ring inside took his breath away, even though he had chosen and bought it himself. It was an antique – he had seen the green-blue shop with gold leaf months back and knew he would get Sky's ring from there – and very expensive, but as soon as he had seen it he knew it was Sky. It was art-deco style, with a large circular diamond in the middle. On each side, there were two diamonds side by side set in silver to make a small rectangle – this was repeated with even smaller diamonds after that to give a stairs-like look. It was simple, and yet intricate, and around the main diamond were four tiny circular pearls. It was just Sky – as soon as Zed lay eyes on it, he knew that was the ring he wanted Sky to wear for the rest of her life.
"Oh, Sky," he sighed to himself, closing the velvet box and replacing it in the secret compartment in the book. He didn't know when he was going to propose – he needed to get a perfect situation, and he refused to go to the internet for ideas. He should call Trace – he found his Soulfinder, a French architect called Gabrielle, two years ago and they were happily married and expecting their first child. Everyone was delighted for them, but it put even more strain on the Benedicts who hadn't found their other halves; it was bad enough when Zed found Sky in High School, before he had even consciously began to worry about it, but both Yves and Xav had found their Soulfinders, Phoenix and Rosa, too. Vic and Uriel were feeling the pressure and the whole family was worried for them.
Zed checked the time and cursed. It was almost lunch – he had to meet Sky. He rushed out and went to their traditional lunchtime place; it was small, no more than a coffee shop with sandwiches and the most fantastically sweet cakes and hot chocolates around, and there was a distinct eclectic style to the place. The walls were painted just the right shade of yellow to make the small space look homely, and none of the furniture matched. Zed slipped into their normal place – he was friends with the owner, and she made sure their table was never taken. It was an intimate corner with plush cushions and a checkerboard patterned table, only the squares were blue and silver, not black and white.
"Zed!" greeted Edith, the middle-aged woman who owned the small cafe. Her appearance was mis-matching as her shop; her hair was pure white, even though she was only about 65 years old, and she always wore purple lipstick and blue eyeshadow. She liked to wind multi-coloured scarves in with her wispy tresses and had rows and rows of beads winding around her throat and wrists. Her husband, Jerry, was the baker and made the best damn chocolate and walnut brownies in all of London.
"Where's your Sky?" she asked as she winded to where Zed was waiting impatiently – he could feel Sky getting closer and, to his dread, her annoyance.
"On her way," Zed smiled back – he knew the exact time Sky would come through that door, down to the very last second.
"Awww, you two young lovers." She smiled delightedly "I remember I was young once. And beautiful as your Sky, too." She said sadly.
"You're beautiful now, Edith," Zed brushed off her comment with his easy charm "I wouldn't change you."
"Oh, you charmer," Edith laughed "the usual?" Zed's eyes became unfocused for just a second as he sensed out Sky.
"I think we'll need something a little sweeter for Sky today." He replied with a tight smile.
"Sweeter?" repeated Edith disbelievingly "That girl has the biggest sweet tooth I've ever seen. What'll it be?"
"Sky'll have your thickest hot chocolate and a slice of lemon meringue pie – a big slice – and I'll have some black coffee and some strawberry shortcake. Thanks."
"No problem." She smiled and stumbled off. I glanced at the clock. Three. . . two. . . one. . .
"You will not believe the morning I've had!" Sky came storming in and stood in front of Zed, her face red with anger. Zed couldn't think; his mind froze with shock. Sky was dripping wet, from the roots of her hair to the soles of her shoes, and mud was splattered across her face and shirt. The thin, pale material of her shirt had become see-through when it got wet, and from the way she was crossing her arm over her chest, she hadn't put on a bra that morning.
"Well?" she demanded "Are you just going to sit there staring or offer me your coat? Or do you want people to see your girlfriend in drenched clothes that leave little to the imagination?" her voice was high and a little hysterical. Zed quickly stood up and wrapped his thick coat around her, making her look like a girl who was playing in her father's clothing. She shivered from the cold and Zed sat her down on his lap, pressing her close to his chest.
"I've had the worst day." She whispered, and for some reason Zed started chuckling. Sky joined in too, and soon they were clutching their stomach with laughter, the voices gone hoarse.
"What happened?" Zed wheezed out "Did you fall in a lake or something?"
"No – a bus ran into a puddle right in front of me." she giggled back, her hand over her mouth "I got drenched!"
"I can see that." just then, Edith came over with their food and drinks. She took one look at Sky – or rather, the top of Sky's head, as that's all she could see of Sky from around Zed's coat – and her brow furrowed.
"Bad day." Zed mouthed, the grinned to let her know everything was OK. Edith pressed her lips together to stop a smile and set the food on the table silently.
"No charge." She mouthed back, eyeing Sky, and walked off, ignoring Zed's silent protests.
"Ohhh!" Sky squealed, her eyes brightening "Lemon meringue pie!"