A Gift Shared is twice a Blessing - Mat & Ren's Haven

She would likely had a moment of confusion - she was not in the same place where she had fallen asleep.  There would likely be a pinprick of pain as the last rays of the dread ball of flame - their bane, their agony, dipped below the Sea: she was upon the roof of their home, wrapped in a thick blanket like she was a babe in swaddling.  A hand had opened the cloth near her face, shading it, but also allowing her to view the last beautiful moments of the sunset.  His scent, his smell, the sea, the earth, was so much stronger.  His skin, his body was breathing, normal.  He was alive for a moment.  A distinct difference, a true difference, for those last fleeting moments.  Before the curse reclaimed him, and rendered his flesh, while appearing alive, dead.  He could feel the extra heat leaving him quickly, fleeing his flesh as he was an abnormality, a demon, a blight upon the world as all who gained Caine's curse were.  But for one day, he had lived again.  For one day, he had tasted what he thought he never would again.  And at the end of that, he got to share just a moment of it with a kindred spirit and soul.

Around them, as he would let her become untangled from the sheet, were wild flowers.  Ones that had been recently plucked.  Not from their garden, no, they were truly wild - still clinging to the last moments of life.  Half of them were weeds, to be honest.  But it was the best he could do.  He knew little of matters of the heart.  He just knew he had to somehow share this last moment of daylight with her.  As was often the case, Mat did not now much.  But what he knew, he was fanatic about.

There was more than confusion, there was panic. Where was she? The sun...she couldn't look away, certain that her unlife was forfeit. She struggled, felt herself wrapped in the protection of the blanket. Felt herself wrapped in strong arms. She could smell him. Mat. Mat was holding her in the dying light of the day. She was confused, but she stared as the last rays of the sun settled over the horizon.

His breathing slowed, stilled, stopped. It picked up again, haphazardly, after the Sun truly set, but it lacked the belief and rhythm of when he had been alive for a scant number of hours. He adjusted his hat when he felt her no longer shift and churn, his jade eyes on the horizon, as if he kept staring, maybe he could keep the gift. But no. He knew that was not true. He felt colder. He felt as he had since that first fateful night when he had finally met someone stronger than him.

"Evening Duckie." there, the last warm breath he had, held until he spoke her name.

"Evening Mat." She was still shaken.

He kept the conversation light, as the Dream... was not a Dream. So everything he had done, all the warmth, the fact that his skin had taken in the sun, had tanned, had been real. Toutatis did look after his own. He slowly 'undressed' her from the blanket, opening it like a cocoon.

"Sleep well?"

She looked around, her eyes going wide. "You picked me flowers?"

He nodded, "Well, I cannot buy them due to lack of funds... so..." a shrug. "I had a wonderful Dream... I dream of the Sun, of the warmth of a day. Of the taste of the sea against, the hot ocean breeze. I dreamed of breathing, of living, of walking amongst the world. And while this dream was wonderful... it was missing you. So, since I cannot give you my dream, I can bring bits of my dream to you."

He was quiet. "No. I know it was not. But I cannot understand what happened. It makes no sense. So, it feels like a Dream. A memory." He paused. "I wanted to share what I could with you. This is the best I can do. I am sorry it was not more."

"It's more than I ever expected to see." She picked up one of the flowers, giving it a sniff.

"I am sure there are other ways. I do not know how, but I know there has to be other ways. We can become so indestructible..." he leaned back, now that he wasn't cradling her as much, hands behind his head and watching as the stars twinkled into existence.

"... You mentioned, long ago, that I had gotten you flowers. You remembered the one time I did it. I figured... a second time couldn't be so horrible."

She was collecting some of the prettier ones, gathering them into a little bundle. "Not horrible at all."

He closed his eyes after a while, smiling. "I suppose I am still more of a walk along the beach, go for a swim, tear something in half kind of guy."

That even made him smile with teeth. "Is it now?"

He nodded once, pulling his hat down over his eyes. "Well. That's just another way I'm blessed by Toutatis, then. I doubt I could change much if I wanted too." he inhaled pointedly, and exhaled. He was still worse at pretending to be human than her - endlessly worse at it. And he frankly didn't care.

"Anything you want to talk about tonight, or do?"

"Need to go put these in water." She held the flowers up for him to see the pretty bundle she'd created.

"I believe we bought a vase as well." the ramification of his words were lost on him, as he sat up slowly, pushing his hat up as well. He picked up the blanket and threw it over his shoulder as he finally stood up.

She rose to her feet. Stepping in close, she gave him a soft kiss.

He stopped short at the contact, blinking in pleasant surprise. He never expected it, never took it for granted. He just... stood there. Dead in his tracks.

He was slow to recover, slow to answer. "No, you have. I... you." he was as confused as the day he had returned. Never sure of what had happened.

"I am just thankful. Is it so horrible that your kiss can stop me in my tracks?"

"No. It's very sweet." She kissed his other cheek.

He scratched at his cheek, where she had kissed him. Then the other. "Merci." because what else could you say to that. Well, there were things one could do. But they weren't in his nature.

"Window, or hop down?"