Riko lined the washed vegetables up on the counter beside the cutting board to start preparing dinner. After returning to the house, Naruto had brought in all the bags then vanished. His disappearing act did not surprise her. He always had a knack for pulling a Houdini when there were chores to be done.
She was not too concerned. He most likely went surfing again. He would manage to show back up right in time for the meal.
Riko placed the broccoli on the board to chop off the florets. Scooping up the separated florets, she tossed them into the large wooden bowl on top of the mixture of torn lettuces. Salad would be the perfect dinner after an active day spent in the sun.
Bedtime would come early for her tonight. She yawned in exhaustion. Waking well before the dawn, she had anxiously awaited the sun, drinking her coffee and staring toward the east as if she could will it to rise faster.
Last night her dreams had been invaded by a naked blonde. The lewd scenes her subconscious created had to be illegal in some parts of the world. It was not her fault she had an overactive dirty mind. She blamed her chosen career. Naturally those kinds of naughty dreams would occur to her considering she spent almost every damn day reading and writing sexual content.
Riko sighed, picking up a fat orange carrot to slice. An image formed in her mind of Naruto's wide, brawny shoulders. The small muscles in his back had contracted and lengthened with every little move he made. Those rock hard glutes looked as if they had been carved out of marble and belonged on a statue dedicated to an artistic study in the ideal male body. How dare that boy develop the body of a Greek god and immodestly ripped off his towel without a second thought right in front of the glass wall.
"Ow, dammit!" she screeched when a stinging pain in her finger broke through her thoughts.
Blood flowed from the deep cut she inflicted on herself nearly down to her knuckle on her forefinger. Calmly going to the sink, she set the knife in the bottom before turning on the faucet. Rinsing off the copious amount of blood allowed her to see the cut was deep but smooth on the edges. She could easily fix it without an emergency room visit, allowing the edges to knit back together with a little pressure.
"Hey!" Naruto greeted her when he opened the door to the living room. The jubilant smile dropped from his face when he saw her. "What happened?"
"Oh, I got distracted and cut myself," she murmured, pressing her thumb over the wound to hold the skin together.
"How bad is it?" he asked, rushing to her.
"Not bad," she lied.
Her vision grew fuzzy, blackness appearing around the edges of everything. Lack of sleep and food must be causing her dizziness. She did not have a weak constitution or faint at the sight of blood.
"Let me see," he demanded, taking her hands between his. His hands were cold, his fingers shriveled.
"No," she squeaked, forming her hands into one big fist when he attempted to pry them apart. "I can't move my thumb from it anyway or I'll tear open the wound. It will be all right."
He smelled of sea water. Sand clung to his arms and legs.
"Were you surfing?" she inquired, watching his face turn pink.
"Yeah. I bailed on you to catch a few more waves," he confessed. "Sorry."
"No need to apologize. You could have just told me, you know. I totally understand you wanting to get in more time on the water," she mumbled, holding her hands over the sink.
Carefully, Riko peeled away her thumb before it stuck. Just as she had hoped, the edges had sealed. No visit to the hospital today. While washing off the remnants of blood, she slumped against the counter to keep herself from falling when another wave of dizziness crashed over her.
"Let me help you," Naruto demanded, handing her a clean dish towel.
Riko did not protest when he hooked one arm around her shoulders and the other behind her knees to lift her up. She closed her eyes to stop the room from spinning as he took her to the couch to sit her down. He lifted her shoulders to slide a pillow under her head.
"You're something else. You know that?" Naruto grumbled, pulling her feet up onto the couch to put her in a more comfortable position.
"You tell me that a lot. I'm beginning to think it's not a compliment," she sighed, leaning back into the soft pillow. "I'm tired. That's all."
"It has been a long, busy day," he said. "But a good day."
"It was a really good day," she said. Opening her eyes to look at him, she saw the worry in his blue eyes. She forced a smile to her lips. "Hey, I'll be okay. Seriously. I'm tired. That's all."
"All right. If you say so," he muttered, flashing her a big grin. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll be right back."
Riko knew he did not believe her, but at least he did not force the issue. She had no desire to go to the hospital for stitches. The cut would leave a scar, but she did not care. Life had a way of creating many scars, most which could not be seen.
Laying her arm over her eyes, she inhaled a deep breath. She needed to rest her eyes. Just for a minute.
~\..'../~
The flame shivered as it floated on top of the water. With a hiss and a sputter, white tendrils of steam curled into the air around the fire.
The red, yellow, and orange of the fire reminded her of him. The red of his mother's hair. The color of passion, energy, and power. The yellow of his father's blond mane. The color of sunshine and happiness. In him, they had combined to make an orange child: warm, strong, adventurous, optimistic - a beautiful and mesmerizing culmination of everything good about them.
She was blue and green, the color of water. Her family came from a land of water. She needed it to live which is why she always gravitated toward it no matter where she may be. The sea was tumultuous and unyielding but also soothing and full of life. The ocean is where she found peace and balance. That's why she colored her life with varying shades of the water she loved so much.
The flat, glassy surface of the water rippled, no longer reflecting the flame. The flame split, doubling, then doubled again like reproducing cells. Bubbles rose to the surface of the water and broke as it came to a boil.
The excessive heat dissipated the water, using it up, evaporating it into a cloud. Soon the cloud was gone. The flame withered and died because there was no water to mirror it's beauty and keep it afloat from the nothingness.
She needed him to exist, and he needed her just as much. But if they got too close, they could destroy each other.
~\..'../~
"Oh, my god," Riko gasped.
Cold droplets of water touched her heated skin. Startled out of the weird dream by the tragic and sad conclusion, she panted for air. The symbolism terrified her. A warning maybe?
Stop being so damn dramatic, her inner voice fussed at her. It was her job as a romance novelist to be dramatic. It had become a habit that leaked into the rest of her life.
The stinging, freezing drops of water on her face pulled her further out of dreamland into reality. She had to stop having such bizarre dreams. Her eyes fluttered open to see two big summer sky blue eyes staring directly into hers. The water dripped from the tips of his spiky blond hair onto her cheeks.
"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty," Naruto greeted her.
Riko inhaled sharply when he lowered his face toward hers. After receiving a chaste kiss on the forehead, she exhaled in relief.
"Hungry?" he asked, sliding an arm under her shoulders to assist her with sitting up.
"Not really," she replied, feeling a little queasy.
"Want to go to bed?" When she nodded, he offered, " I can carry you. You can be my queen since I already have a princess."
Riko giggled holding out her arms to him. She slid her arms around his neck when he bent to pick her up again in a princess carry. The heat of his body soaked into hers, warming her up. She had not realized she was so cold.
A sigh passed her lips when he lay her down on the soft mattress, tucking the covers around her.
"I'm supposed to be taking care of you, aren't I?" she asked.
"I don't mind. Besides, it's kind of nice that you're letting me take care of you for a change," he said, sitting on the bed beside her. "You've always been so independent. So stubborn and prideful. You have never allowed anyone to take care of you." He ran his fingers over her tangled mass of curls. "Even when you need it."
Riko held her breath when he leaned over her, stroking her cheek in the same affectionate manner in which she had always touched his face. He placed a tender kiss on her forehead, then each cheek before sitting back up. Then and only then, could she breathe again.
"You were always there for me. I want to be here for you now," he murmured. His fingers drifted down her bare arm raising a trail of gooseflesh in the wake of his feather-light touch.
I don't understand what's going on here, she thought. The special kind of heat she had only felt in romantic encounters spread throughout her body making her fingertips and toes tingle. This isn't right. This can't be happening. Not with him. Not him!, she screamed internally.
"Not my baby," she whispered aloud without meaning to do so.
"I'm not your baby anymore," he returned despite the fact she had not directed the words to him but herself.
"Yeah, she gulped. "I'm aware."
"Is that all you're aware of?"
Goddamit, no!, she wanted to scream at him. And apparently, she was not the only one who had picked up on the new and inexplicable vibe between them.
"You should get some sleep," he declared, standing up suddenly. "Don't worry about the mess in the kitchen. I'll eat and clean up. Good night."
"Good night, Kitsune," she responded, rolling onto her side away from the door.
Riko waited for the click of the door being closed behind him. She tried to relax, breathing slowly and deeply. Somehow they would have to learn how to handle these incomprehensible feelings. But how?