Author's Notes: Reeve revels in the sense that matters most. And if you can actually guess who Reeve's lover is then you get an imaginary cookie. Oh, and I know that Reeve's eyes are actually brown, but I love him with green eyes. Oh… The shampoo scent is what is available in Reeve's bathroom because Cait Sith shops. Pesky feline.
Theme: Touch
Touch Me
Silence greets him as he awakens. The darkness of the starless Neo-Midgar night is still thick in the air around him. There isn't even the normal glow of the alarm clock, it having been knocked to the floor hours before. The scent of lemon is in the air because of the scent of his lover's shampoo. His fingers brush over the black satin sheets he had chosen not long after he'd moved in. For that single moment life seemed to freeze, letting him revel in all of the sensations around him.
Years ago, in a past he would rather not remember, he had been an executive in Shin-Ra. And he'd been in Midgar when Meteor was falling. One could still see the scars etched so deeply in his flesh from the injuries he'd sustained. For nearly a week he'd been pinned under a metal beam. In the end he'd lost feeling in his fingers and toes and legs. That was how he was found by Vincent and Cid. The two had managed to free him in a few minutes. Two months he was in the hospital. Two years he'd been undergoing physical therapy. And for five years he'd realized how precious his life was. He'd almost lost it.
During those first few days of being freed from the rubble was the hardest time of his life. No feeling in his legs, no feeling in his arms. He couldn't even feel it when his love would hold his hand and caress it lovingly. Yes, he could hear the whispers of love. Yes, he could smell the lemon he had come to associate with his lover's shampoo. Yes, he could see the beautifully elegant features. Yes, he could taste the familiar cinnamon and kahlua on those soft lips. Yet never could he be totally sure. Those words could just be things his mind wanted to hear. That smell could be the air fresheners in the hospital. The vision could just be hallucinations from the medication and the loneliness. And the taste of those perfect lips could possibly be his body yearning for human contact. Without being able to feel that hand that he could SEE holding his, without the sting of a needle in his arm, without the feeling of those kisses left on the hands he could not feel… Was it all real?
Reeve felt strong fingers tangle into his amongst the sheets and released the breath he hadn't known he was holding. Yes, there was that feeling of satin-like skin against his own rough flesh. Emerald eyes turned to look thankfully upon his love. For a sweet moment Reeve's eyes locked with those of his lover. Both knew though that it was the touch he was absorbed in.
Because you never know when you're going to lose it, and you need every second you can to try and remember those little touches that matter the most.