Up, up and away [TAG - april]

[chance]

The sun splashed lazily across his back, the heat bleeding through the cotton and onto his skin. Maximus grinned, his hands stuffed deep into his pockets as he ambled down the sidewalk, occasionally throwing in a quick twist of his hips or a little hop to the beat of a song he’d been listening to earlier that morning. It’d gotten stuck in his head and he had absolutely no idea how to get it out, but had decided to embrace it. It was a beautiful day, a deep blue sky without a cloud in sight (although that also meant the sun had free reign to fry him alive) and the scenery was practically picturesque. Really, it had been no contest when he’d tried to decide between catching a movie and going for a walk - it was simply too nice a day to waste indoors. Besides, Maximus had the attention span of a gnat so the act of trying to watch a movie was often times an impossible feat. He still tried though, thinking that eventually he’d be able to sit ninety minutes without nearly bouncing out of his seat.

Dark chocolate eyes lit up when he approached the sign for the local park, his gait hurrying the slightest bit. Max loved parks. He imagined he shouldn’t, at least not as much as he did considering he didn’t have the excuse of a kid or a dog, but really, he’d never been that into what other people thought anyway. He followed the winding path into the heart of the park, taking his time to glance about - admire his surroundings. The trees were in full bloom and he was a little dismayed to find that the park was nearly empty. Surely people should be milling around a park like this on this sort of day. He frowned absently, figuring perhaps that considering this town was largely composed of people who owned horses, they were out doing horse related things. Max had been toying with the idea of buying a horse -really, but so far he hadn’t been able to get over his slight fear of the things. He wasn’t horribly afraid and they were quite interesting, but just the fact that he’d never been around a horse his entire life save for his fifteenth birthday party where he’d inexplicably had pony rides, so his experience with the species was limited.

Normally that would only encourage him to investigate further but one night back in England he’d caught a program about American rodeos and had watched full grown men being tossed halfway across an arena by a thousand pound animal. While he figured that not all horses were like that - the little voice in the back of his mind couldn’t help but bring forth those images each and every time he toyed with the idea of going out and actively looking to purchase a horse of his own. Pushing those thoughts from his mind, he grinned widely when he noticed the swing set. He loved swing sets. Generally, he thought that swinging with a friend was much, much more fun than swinging by ones self but considering he only had a few friends in this town, and not one he would feel comfortable calling to demand they come swing with him, he was content to do some himself. And so he did, heading eagerly toward the swaying swings before perching himself up onto one, his skinny frame fitting more than easily and pushed himself off the ground. He pumped his legs as he went along, trying to obtain maximum height before he attempted his usual feat that he did when he found - which was jumping off at almost the highest point. It had rewarded him with a few broken bones in the past, so this time he picked a lower height before launching himself from the swing.

And landed with a heavy thump in the grass, toppling off his feet and into a lying position. He grinned, chuckling quietly to himself - trying not to remember that the last time he’d been on a swing set had been with his late wife - as he closed his eyes. The sun was soothingly warm and he stretched, wincing at the tightness in his muscles as they protested to his childish actions and set about the task of basking.

[coraline]

NOW IF SHE TOUCHES LIKE T H I S

making her way through the gates april looked around, it wasn't like she usually came to the park. sure, she could've brought the dogs, but she wasn't really in the mood to be dragged around by the over sized doberman bitch and have to keep an eye on the collie while he was off the lead. she'd actually considered taking alfie, the collie, along but in the end decided not to. he was in one of his funny moods, hyperactive and constantly begging for attention. a mood she hated in him, for he was usually laid back and willing to do just about anything in a calm manner. there was no way she was bringing the doberman, that would've been a nightmare. so she walked slowly along the path, letting the suns rays hit off her cardigan as she walked beneath the shade of the trees. as she moved out into the open the sun hit her with a boiling force, making her taking her thin cardie off and wrap it around her tiny waist. she'd lost weight since she'd come to indian valley, which was a bad thing. but she could easily get back to her goal weight if she wanted to. though weight wasn't on her mind, love was.

april tried desperately to push the thoughts from her mind, she wanted to feel free in this lonely park, free of any thoughts she was thinking before she passed through the gates. although the weather was gorgeous, there was hardly anyone there. she made her way slowly down the path that lead to where the kids would play, a place she hardly visited unless she wanted to sit quietly on the swings to think. throwing her head back she looked up at the skies, squinting a little so she could see better. the sky was perfect, not a white impurity to be seen. the sun was high in the sky, a large glowing circle that was way too bright to look at. smiling to herself she looked back at the way she was heading, blinking a little to rid her sight of the luminous dots she was now seeing. she figured most people were with their horses, after all it was a lovely day and it was wonderful to go out for a hack or a trail ride. she'd initially thought of going on one with bruiser, but the stubborn paint horse stallion was refusing to submit. after she'd fed him, he'd decided to loll about in his pasture, refusing to move. but it suited her just fine to go for a walk, after all, she needed the exercise...didn't she?

she spotted the play area quickly, her pace speeding ever so slightly to see if there was anyone there. there was, but she couldn't see who it was. making her way silently over to the swings she heard laughter, like that of a mans. oh, someone must be here with their child. with a sigh she carried on walking, watching the figure on the grass in front of the swings. searching the area she couldn't see a child in sight, let alone another figure. she made her way over there quietly, closely watching the person to see if she knew them. standing behind the man, leaning on the rails of the swings, she examined his face. and to her surprise, she knew him. she knew that hair, that nose, those eyes, those lips and those ears. she couldn't believe it. she chuckled silently to herself, of all the places and he was here. a grin spread over her dainty lips as she watched him for a moment or two, he seemed quite content with himself. a pang of guilt hit her as she realised she never rang him when she heard of his wife's death, by then she'd lost touch with him. her heart sank a little, but she didn't let it get in the way of her joy. butterflies flew up in her stomach, a new kind of love brewing. totally forgetting her past worries a smile quickly flickered back onto her face, her eyes lighting up even more in the sunlight. leaning against the bar still she placed one hand on her hip loosely and called out in her usual, husky way, "you need to get yourself a life mate." she grinned, waiting to see his reaction.

WILL YOU T O U C H HER RIGHT BACK?