Remembrance
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Sorry it's been so long. My muse got sick and went away for a while but I think she's better now… I'm updating but am still unsure of the quality so don't hesitate to ask for a rewrite, I'll do it.
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Kat: only 8 recently un-updated fics now!
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5.
She led him to the bedroom and left him standing in the doorway while she opened the lowest drawer and took out a box carved from wood.
"So this is where you live now?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "For now. Sometimes." She patted the side of the bed next to her and he came towards her with a slight nervousness that she could sense. She looked down at her watch. It was nearly 4 o'clock.
"Why aren't you working?"
She turned to him and met his gaze with her own. "Where do you think I work, Michael?"
He grinned at her then, flushing slightly under her inspection. He raised his eyebrows. "The CIA?"
Her lack of astonishment gave him the answer that he hadn't been looking for and there was that silent tension resting between the both of them again until he broke it by moving closer to her and placing his hand over hers which was resting on the top of the smooth wood.
"What is this?" He asked, somehow knowing the answer already in his heart.
"Things. Just little things. To help you remember."
He nodded. "Does it work?"
She smiled. "Usually. This is my favorite part of the day... going through all of this... seeing you react and remember..." She was obviously lost in her own thoughts, leaving him feeling chagrined and frustrated with his own inability to help her and be well. She sensed his thoughts and shook his head, allowing him a small rueful smile. "It's not your fault Michael," she stated, removing her hand from under his so that his fingertips were grazing the top of the smooth wood, "close your eyes."
He obediently lowered his lids so that he could feel whatever she was about to lead him through. Her own hands lightly covered his, pressing them into the wood and moving his fingers so that he could feel the smooth texture. "What is this?" he asked softly.
"Shhh."
He was perplexed and knew that something was supposed to happen, that this ritual had worked in the past but now was only a frustration because he couldn't do what she wanted him to do. In the span of a few short hours, the only thing that now mattered to him was doing whatever kept her happy. And it somehow let him feel happy too.
And then the memories came out of nowhere.
She looked at the image of his hand in hers and softly traced the lines of his fingers with her own, biting her lip wistfully.
"Let me show you something."
He nodded, a little wonderingly as she pulled him up from his spot on the couch and led him to her bedroom. He began to raise his eyebrows but stopped them at her playful smack as she sat him on the bed and turned around to get a box from the closet.
"What is it?"
She sat down next to him, the box in her lap. "Well, I figured that I owed you a present..."
He looked at her, a little surprised. "Why?"
"The silver picture frame. Last Christmas," She grinned at him as she placed the box into his hands.
He looked at her with half-closed eyes. "Syd, you know you could have given me another present which would have cost a lot less thinking, time, and money."
She laughed. "You obviously don't know how much lingerie costs, Vaughn. And besides, I'm saving that one for later."
He turned the box around, trying to figure out how it opened. He saw the creases and cracks where the panels fit together and the circles of wood that were placed on every side of box but didn't see a way to open it. He looked up at the sound of her laughter. "You need four hands."
And with that, she placed his hands on opposite sides of the box so that they were pressing on the circles of wood while she touched the remaining panels. The box seemingly sprang open with the surprise a can of confetti might have had. But only a few well-chosen ties sprung out into his laughing face and what was left at the bottom, among other things, was a picture frame.
"You and your imagination, Sydney," he joked, shaking his head. "You are the most original person I've ever met. Really."
She laughed and pulled it out. "I'll have you know that I am very original and that my present is a lot more valuable that yours because not only did I spend time and energy looking for a frame that would perfectly complement the one you gave me, this one also already has a picture inside of it."
He took it from her then and looked at the picture with an expression of wonderment in his eyes. "I don't remember taking this picture. And I'm really hoping that it wasn't taken by someone else."
Despite his jests, it was the most beautiful picture he had ever seen. He was sound asleep on the bed, the sheets wrapped over the both of them while she dozed on his chest, her arm flung across his torso. It wasn't sensual in any excessive way but rather somehow seemed to express the pure innocence and beauty of love that only became perfectly apparent and truthful in sleep. Even know he could see that their hands were intertwined under the covers and that there was the tiniest of smiles resting on his face.
Good dreams.
"How did you take this picture, Sydney?"
"Do you like it?"
He looked up at her and saw in her eyes that she felt the same things when she looked at the picture. That scene, that perfect moment in time was etched in her memory just as it was now etched with his. His response needed only one syllable. "Yes."
She understood his slight breathlessness perfectly. "I'm not really asleep in that picture," she giggled, "I had woken up a few minutes before and I had been lying in that same position and you had such a content look on your face that I couldn't bear to let it pass by. I know it sounds stupid but you can see the feeling between us from that picture can't you? It was much more real and… there… in real life."
He nodded. "I believe you. I just can't believe that you felt you had to capture the moment so much that you set up a timer on your camera and pretended that you were asleep again."
"You have this picture now."
He traced the image of her face in the picture. "Yeah. I do."
Opening his eyes, he saw the slightly expectant look on her face and smiled slightly, taking her hands and placing it on opposite sides of the dark mahogany box. She grinned at his realization and pressed as he placed his own hands in the right places.
And there were two picture frames sitting at the bottom. The first, he felt, was the one he had given her. It was a picture of him looking up, probably at her call, a complete candid of his looking up with a newspaper lying on the table and a spoonful of cereal in one hand. She loved it. And the second one... The second one still took his breath away.
The picture wasn't done in natural colors or black and white but in a soft sepia that lent a surreal feeling towards the image… as if this was a pocket in time that nothing and no one else could touch.
Here, at least, they would be safe.
TBC...
Sorry about the long wait. Gracie lapsed into a coma for the last two weeks and then after she was better, I got caught up in another fic "The Way It Should Be" which has been updated every day (I know it's unbelievable).
If you haven't seen it around, you should check it out. It's post the season finale "The Telling" and is an S/V story which gives a take on what SHOULD happen though not necessarily what I think will happen and also gives an account of what occurred during her two-year absence.
Those of you who are waiting patiently and not-so-patiently for "Far From Home"... I'm so sorry about the lack of updates but ever since that code, I guess I've been drained. Also, I don't really know how to resolve that cliffhanger. I'll work on it and hopefully it will be up soon.
Also, check out the 5th chapter of "A Lesson in Humility" that will also be coming out pretty soon... I like this story because it's really different from my others in the respect that itmoves backwards chapter to chapter. (Think Memento).
Also: in regards to a possible sequel to An Undefinable Sweetness; I'm frankly thinking that there won't be one because in my opinion, that story is resolved, done, beautiful, complete, etc. and adding more would only detract from the overall beauty. If one of you comes up with a superb plot, it might happen but I doubt it.
Also check out the update on Vivian Heights because it is re-vamped and has a twisted story-line which I thought was cool but not very many people read so try it and tell me what you think.
Thank you for any/all feedback~
-Jenn