It truly is a perfect day. Gideon stretches out near the lake, enjoying his ice cream cone—a sweet, cold treat that goes so perfectly with this hot summer day at his father's cabin—and watching the ducks bob along in the water.
"I think you have an addiction," Dorcas says, laughing softly. "How much ice cream have you eaten today?"
Gideon tears his gaze away from the lake. Dorcas looks gorgeous in her hot-pink dress, and her smile is enough to make him melt. "What a silly question," he says, shrugging. "The answer, though, is that I haven't eaten nearly enough."
Dorcas snorts, dark blue eyes rolling. "Have you always been this much of an idiot?" she teases.
He considers for a moment. Of course, it's a rhetorical question, but he is too much of a smartarse to leave it as such. "Yep." He offers his girlfriend a grin. "I was always this much of an idiot. But you already knew that."
"You aren't an idiot."
Gideon shrugs, returning his attention to his ice cream, absently lapping at the creamy treat. "Doesn't matter. Mum always says it doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, so long as someone loves you," he reasons, watching as Fabian's pet cat perches precariously on the edge of the pier, batting at the passing ducks. "Since you love me, I think I'm good."
"Gideon! Are you going to just sit there all day?" Fabian calls, sticking his head out the cabin door. "We need you too! Marlene is bullying me again."
"Am not!"
"Be in a bit." Gideon snorts and shakes his head. To Dorcas, he says, "Crazy, isn't it? There's a war going on. We're part of it, but here we are, pretending to live ordinarily lives."
"Do you regret it?" she asks, sitting beside him at last, her slender arms wrapping around him.
He considers. Maybe he should. There's the smallest hint of guilt that sours his insides, and it's hard to ignore. He can't help feeling like he doesn't deserve any downtime, like he should be with the Order, plotting and planning and finding some way to help.
At the same time, though, he knows he is still young. Even if the world is falling apart, he is still allowed to enjoy his youth. Tomorrow isn't promised, and he wants to live while be can.
"No," he answers at last, his fingers moving gently along her spine. "We deserve a peaceful day."
Dorcas snuggles closer. In the back of his mind, Gideon wonders how many days like this his future holds. How many times will he be able to hold onto Dorcas and just breathe?
"I love you," he whispers, and there's a sort of sadness in his voice; he wonders if she can hear it.
"I love you too."
A comfortable silence hangs between them. Gideon continues to bask in the summer heat, still enjoying his ice cream and the company of a good woman. The world is going to hell, but he will enjoy this blissful moment while he can.
Sewing 101: ice cream cone, regret, hot pink
Back to School: question
Feline, Bombay: Write about someone enjoying the heat.
Supernatural, nymph: set on or near water
Insane House Challenge: loves the heat
365: present tense
Auction: duck
Piñata: Order member
Character Appreciation: cat
Book Club, Tony: addiction, cabin, "I was always this much of an idiot."
Showtime, Prima Donna: "We need you too."
Sophie's Shelf: GideonDorcas
Arcade, Cream the Rabbit and Cheese: soft, laughing, Marlene McKinnon
Bex's Basement, The Witches: "it doesn't matter who you are or what you look like, so long as someone loves you."
Word Count: 512
