Fic: Postcards
Feb. 13th, 2010 05:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mjartrodTitle: Postcards
Genre: angst / romance (aka fluff) / short
Rating: PG-13 (language and some suggestive sex stuff)
Disclaimer: Fiction, of course.
Summary: Holidays in Dubrovnik. Pairing is Matt and Valentina from 'Dirty Tricks', the last fiction I posted. It takes place a few years later.
Author's Notes: Short, mellow and quite crappy, sorry about that :p But I felt like doing something like this, so… Dedicated to Kat for her b-day (sorry it’s a bit shite and not even R rated LMAO)
It's un-betaed, if you spot any glaring errors, do tell!
POSTCARDS
August 2007
Valentina took a deep breath and closed her eyes with a smile.
At last, she could say she felt completely relaxed. Wouldn’t be long until sunset and the day had been awfully hot again, but now in the shade of the immense trees and with the small breeze blowing, a light shiver ran her arms. Crickets could still be heard in the distance, mixed with the nearer sound of soft strumming of an acoustic guitar. Why couldn't life always be like this?
Looking down at the camera she held, she checked the last picture she had just taken, a view of the clear waters of the Adriatic sea, a fraction of Dubrovnik’s city walls in the corner. She couldn't help but smile when she remembered Matt’s silent awe as they stared around from their hotel room’s balcony, right after their arrival in Croatia two days ago. She had felt quite smug that although Matt travelled so much and visited so many places in the world, she could still take him on a trip to somewhere he had never been and surprise him like that.
She pushed the button to see once more some of the previous pictures. Those outside the old Benedictine monastery were very nice and the shot where Matt stood next to a peacock was hilarious, but her favourites had been taken earlier in the day, in the Dead Sea Lake. Maybe not the pictures themselves, many were blurry, but the memories they elicited. Matt diving off a rock, their voices echoing in the small cave they could swim into, the two fighting and splashing water like two children... They had floated in the salty waters of the paradisiacal lake surrounded by rocks for what felt like hours. It had been unexpectedly quiet, few other tourists in there, and Valentina imagined that the majority of the people that had came to the Lokrum island with them in the ferry that morning were exploring the island or tanning at the nudist beaches. Regardless, at that moment, the world had been something that existed far away from that lake, all problems, worries and misfortunes distant and irrelevant.
Switching the camera off, Valentina turned back to the coffee bar near the harbour where they had been relaxing and having a drink for the past hour. She scanned the area to try and spot where she had left Matt slouched on one of the big comfy Balinese chairs. The local guitarist had stopped his performance now and was lighting a cigarette... ah, and there was Matt. He wasn’t alone, though, there was a tall, very tanned shirtless guy with dark unruly hair, similar to Matt’s current style, standing next to him. Perhaps a fan.
As she got closer, she understood from Matt’s defensive posture that the other person was bothering him and she rushed her step.
“Look, I told you. It wasn’t me.”
Valentina could hear Matt’s clipped tone of voice just as she arrived and both men’s heads swerved to her, undeniable relief on her boyfriend’s features even though he had sunglasses on. She could also see the other guy’s face now and he was absolutely gorgeous, all green eyes and flirty smile.
“Hi.” She said, smiling and looking him in the eye.
He nodded a greeting and looked between the two, scratching his head in a confused manner. “Sorry, my mistake then. But,” and again he turned his attention to Matt, after a quick glance at Valentina. “You’re still welcome if you want to join us...”
And he left towards a table a little further (where two other guys sat, obviously following the scene with interest) but not before throwing a final steamy stare in Matt’s direction that made him blush furiously when he realised Valentina had caught it as well. She giggled and dropped on a chair by his side, endlessly amused as she realised what had just happened.
“You are safe now...” She laughed, holding his hand above the table between hers and stretching over to give him a short peck on the mouth.
“Said he had seen me at the beach today, I mean, what the fuck?” He grabbed his glass and downed the rest of his drink in one go.
“Since we were only at the lake and then walking around... am I to assume you’ve been checking the gay nudist beach while I was off buying postcards, Bellamy?” Valentina sat back against the chair, crossing her arms and faking outrage.
He didn’t reply, a questioning brow arching from under the rim of his sunglasses.
“Alright, alright. But... if you don’t want him, can I keep him?” She bit her lower lip and leaned challengingly forwards towards Matt. “He was so hot.”
He kept looking at her with a bored, disinterested expression, but then she saw his lip curl and he burst in giggles. “Jesus Christ,” he threw his head back dramatically. “Why do I keep putting up with this shit for years! I’ll never know!”
And neither did she. But it was the way it was. He put up with her constant teasing of hooking up with someone else. And she would put up with his long absences on tour. She had always thought that, all things considered, Matt got off quite lightly.
Well, there had been that time. She was so inconsequent back then, which coupled with the intense feeling of helplessness concerning what bothered her in their relationship triggered a situation that could have seriously hampered the band and injured irrevocably Matt and Dom’s friendship. But it didn’t. As it turned out, that night only proved to be helpful in upgrading her relationship with Matt from one stage to another. It felt like so long ago. Had it really been six years?
So many times she had been sure she wouldn’t be able to handle this. But tour after tour, year after year, people coming in their lives and leaving... and somehow, they always remained together in the end. Surviving battle after battle.
And now here they were, together again and away from everything and everyone. It was a mutual decision to leave mobile phones disconnected, no internet, no newspapers, no calls to anyone. Just the two of them. She had been eager to spend some time alone with Matt and he had been promising her the same for awhile now. Only a dozen of dates now, he would say. Only two gigs more. But the circumstances that eventually led to the short trip weren’t those she most wanted, by any means. But such was life. And death.
The Croatian guitarist had resumed playing, now a simplified version of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. She turned to Matt, who seemed focused on the figure of the musician, but when the man hit a bum note and Matt didn’t even flinch, her heart lurched. He was listening to something else.
“Matt...” She rested a hand on his cheek softly and turned him to face her. “You want to go back to the mainland?”
“Yeah, I mean, no...” he shrugged, sitting up straighter. “If you feel like it. Don’t you want to listen to the rest?”
“You play that a million times better...” She moved to sit sideways across his lap, watching the reluctant appreciative smile at the compliment. Cupping his face between her hands, she placed a small kiss on his lips. They were chapped from the sun. “We can stop by the hotel and get changed... and then dinner afterwards...” She slid her mouth to his ear, tasting his salty skin. “And then we go back to our room and I’ll do a load of naughty things to you...”
His arms were lazily wrapping around her waist, one sneaky hand stroking up her thigh and pulling the fabric of her white pearl summer dress with it. “Such as...?”
“Oh, never mind. I forgot!” She abruptly pulled back. “I forgot that you are knackered, that you are absolutely knackered from so many stairs and so many miles we had to walk yesterday! And then all that waiting while I bought some souvenirs... Surely you still need to catch some rest. Shame on me.” She shook her head in mock lament, recalling his constant whining the day before when they visited Dubrovnik’s Old Town.
He pouted, a long accusing index finger pointed at her. “If I knew you were taking me to a fucking labyrinth, I would’ve well stayed in the hotel the whole day.”
“It only turned into a labyrinth because you couldn’t read maps or the signs but you were too proud and macho to let me lead the way.”
He suddenly stretched out his legs and Valentina lost her balance, a graceless squeak out her mouth before she could avoid it, which made a couple of heads turn in their direction, her flailing hands reaching for Matt’s white t-shirt to grasp something that allowed her not to fall off his lap. But she didn’t have to worry, Matt grabbing her firmly by her arms again and hoisting her back up with an insufferable smirk.
“You idiot...” She smacked his shoulder, smoothing her ponytail, as he cackled evilly.
The laughter eventually subsided but she could tell he kept staring at her with a soft smile on his lips. It was difficult not to smile back. A hand rested on his cheek, her thumb stroking his skin, circling the small mole on his face. It was rare to see Matt tanned like that, but she thought it suited him. He complained about English fair skin and the sun, but to her he never quite looked like a typical Brit. She slowly removed the sunglasses, placing them on the table, and he blinked momentarily adjusting to the light. He didn’t have dark circles under his eyes anymore. And they looked so blue, so bright. She treasured all the pictures she had taken so far that had both Matt and the sea. It was like they were made of the same matter.
“Your hair is longer now,” she buried her fingers in it, stroking back through the mass of black, brown wisps revealed here and there already. “I like it so much more like this.” He didn’t say anything, eyelids dropping closed as she massaged. She wanted to save the image in her mind forever, he was so beautiful. “God, I’ve missed you...”
***
Valentina rolled in her sleep and extended her arm to the side. She felt nothing but the softness of the sheets and the warmth of the material which was certainly caused by the summer heat, even at night. Her mind became more alert and she opened an eye groggily to confirm her guess that she was now alone in the bed. She slowly moved again and her eyes landed on the open window to the balcony, sheer curtains draped aside. The air was dry and uncomfortable and she grabbed a glass of water off the nightstand, drinking thirstily, before sliding out of the bed.
She could see him outside wearing only boxers, elbows resting on the stone balustrade. He almost looked peaceful. Indeed he had lost weight, she could tell by the way his shoulder blades stuck out more prominently again. She sighed quietly before stepping outside barefoot, the stone under her feet still warm, mild qualms about standing outside in her sheer babydoll and matching knickers forgotten as she was immediately enveloped by the sweeping view.
It was overwhelming, even more so at night. The sea was now silvery, a blanket of wrinkles bejewelled with the reflex of the moon. Right ahead there was the small Lokrum island, where they had spent their day; to their right the walls of Dubrovnik’s Old Town and the harbour, millions of tiny lights piercing the landscape.
And right in front of her, oblivious to her presence, the man who meant the world to her. She stepped closer and slid her arms around Matt’s waist, feeling him flinch before relaxing again in her embrace.
“What are you doing up?” She whispered against the back of his neck, her lips leaving a small kiss on his skin.
There was no reply but after a few seconds his arms covered hers and she closed her eyes, resting the side of her face against his back. She knew well why he was up. It was for the same reason he had been up all those other nights ever since the band had returned from the latest tour in the US two weeks ago. After that last nightmare of a gig.
“Go back to sleep, I’ll be there in a bit...”
“That’s okay,” Valentina let go of him and leaned on the balustrade by his side, an arm stroking up and down his back. “I can wait for you, I like it here outside.” And she grinned at him.
He continued staring ahead, his eyes glossy. “I should switch on the phone.” His voice was barely audible. “Maybe there’s... maybe something new...”
“No news will change what already happened.” She saw him swallowing and looking down. “You have to let go...”
“It’s fucking hard, you know.”
He wasn’t censoring her. Looking sympathetically at him, Valentina pulled him close, arms wrapping around his body, her breath warm against his neck. “I know.”
She had unwillingly pictured many times what it had been like, the horrifying scene playing in a loop as images formed in her mind without her consent to fill in the gaps of what Tom’s camera hadn’t filmed. Of a crowd too large for the site surging towards the stage, security rushing to try and re-establish order, Matt yelling ‘Stop the song, just stop the song!’ into the mic, his guitar screeching out of tune. She didn’t see who had been crushed against the barrier, no one else could now for there were no visual archives. But she knew Matt had. That he had watched everything, even discerning the short girl being swallowed by the masses. Her family later shared that she was looking forward to the gig so much that she often said it would be one the greatest nights of her life.
Valentina felt herself being squeezed in Matt’s arms, pressed tight against his body as he nuzzled her neck and she fingered through his hair gently.
“Come back to bed,” she whispered. “Come back to bed with me...”
This time he didn’t struggle and allowed her to steer him inside the room to lie back on the large bed. She straddled his waist, their faces close, noses rubbing lazily. His hand rested on the back of her neck to bring her closer, but she removed it, sitting back on top of him to kiss his palm softly, drawing on it with her own finger. She would never tire of his hands, his wrists, how strong they were although they appeared so delicate and frail. Tongue darting out, she licked a small path on the inside of his wrist, the sight of his Adam apple bobbing as he swallowed pushing her to hold his wrists down on the pillow beside his head, her lips reaching for his. Just brushing slightly at first, a light caress before she parted her mouth and she caught his bottom lip, sucking gently before pulling back. But he followed her, closing the distance again more heatedly, deepening the kiss, his mouth hot and wet and sensuous and making Valentina’s heart race within a second.
***
When she woke up for the second time the room was much brighter; she didn’t know what time it was but the sun had obviously risen. She twisted out of Matt’s hold as carefully as possible and slipped on the robe that lay crumpled on the gold and red antique parlour chair, disentangling her long dark hair with her fingers as she checked the clock. It marked 10:27AM. It was another beautiful day, she realised as soon as she stepped out to the balcony, shielding her eyes from the sun. There were people by the pool, on one of the terraces below hotel guests were having breakfast. A swim in the waters of the Adriatic sounded just about perfect now. She went back inside fully intending on waking up Matt, but she stopped as soon as her eyes landed on his frame. He was still sleeping soundly on his side like she had left him, the sheet covering him from the waist down.
Closing the curtains again with a smile, Valentina tiptoed to the bathroom. She could settle for the hotel pool for the time being.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2016-09-09 03:07 pm (UTC)