Waking up the next morning was eerily odd, morning kissed my eyes but I was afraid to open them straight away. I was so afraid that this wasn’t real and that I had dreamt the operation going perfectly and getting my vision back again. What if I opened my eyes and all I saw was the darkness that had swarmed me for the past sixteen years? What if today was actually the day of the operation and it hadn’t even happened yet? What if I heard Phoebe’s footsteps as she made her way to my bedroom to get me out of bed but when I opened my eyes I couldn’t see her? She’d looked so beautiful in my head, I was so afraid to never see her again.

I knew that if the operation hadn’t happened yet, if I’d been asleep this whole time and today was the day—that would be my breaking point. I didn’t think I could handle the disappointment. I didn’t know what would happen but it wouldn’t be good—even in the short time of having sight (if I even had it at all) I knew, no matter how selfish and superficial it was, I wouldn’t be able to handle not having it. It was all such a tease.

I could feel myself getting worked up over these thoughts, and I sighed; my breath came out loudly, I felt so fragile and vulnerable. I sieved through my mind for a while, thinking about the events that happened recently; waking up in the hospital, seeing Phoebe for the first time—seeing everything for the first time—Mike being in my bedroom when I finally got home, waking up in the middle of the night, Mike leaving the light on for me. It was all so vivid in my mind, in the sense that dreams weren’t, I remembered every single detail of the past two days, and there was no fuzz or haziness to it. It had to be real.

Immediately I knew how to test it: if it was real Mike would still be here, next to me, all I had to do was check that. Or you could just open your eyes—my snarky subconscious snapped but I frowned and ignored her. That was not an option right now. I was too afraid, my heart was beating loudly in my chest and suddenly it felt like I was suffocating in the dark. I needed to see!

“Mike? Are you awake?” I whispered, my voice sounded a little shaky, making my anxiety almost tangible but before I could think too much about that I heard him mumble something. It wasn’t coherent or an actual sentence at all but he was here, really here. I felt the bed shake slightly as he fidgeted in his sleep and before I could even tell my face to smile because I was so delighted, I felt tears hot and fast sliding down my face. I rolled over, noticing his presence in my bed more now that I knew for sure he was actually here—I didn’t know how I hadn’t noticed his leg draped over me before.

I cracked my eyelids open ever so slightly, knowing that that would be the deciding factor, if I didn’t see darkness, I knew everything around me was real and everything I thought had happened actually had. Things were a little blurry, due to the fact I had my eyes half opened—or half closed, whichever way you looked at it—or because my eye weren’t working properly I didn’t know. I saw a few blurred colors and taking a deep breath I felt brave enough to open them all the way.

I suppressed a giggle at the sight of Mike, his stubbly cheek scrunched up due to the way it rested on the pillow, his hair was all mussed and his mouth was agape ever so slightly. I wiped the stained tears from my cheeks and reached out to touch him, he was so beautiful. I heard a slight chuckle from the door way and I turned my head so I could see what it was—this felt great, everything was presented to me in pretty colors, there was no doubt because I could see it. Phoebe was in the doorway, her arms folded, her hair down and flowy, a big grin on her face.

“Good morning.” She whispered happily so she didn’t wake Mike up.

“Phoebe,” I whispered back excitedly, “Phoebe, I can see, I can still see.” I sat up quickly and grinned wildly, she nodded and then put her finger to her lips, signaling that maybe I was talking a little too loud right now, Mike stirred slightly, proving her theory. I slammed my hand over my mouth and then giggled slightly—my eyes ached a little, but not enough to sour my mood. I felt giddy, like a child but it was almost like I was a child again, seeing the world really for the first time.

I looked at Phoebe once again and she flicked her head sideways, motioning for me to follow her. I nodded and pulled back the covers, sliding out of bed as quietly as I could—even though I wanted to leap and bounce around. Mike stayed asleep and I left the room with a quick glance and small smile back at him.

“How are you feeling?” Phoebe asked happily as I entered the kitchen. Now that she had asked I felt a bit of weight in my head, but I couldn’t understand whether that was because of all my racing thoughts and the emotional rollercoaster I’ve been on recently or just because of the surgery.

“I’m feeling good,” I told her—it was true, I did feel good. I felt a surge of energy in me that I hadn’t felt for a long time; I felt like life was welcoming me with open arms once again. “How are you?” I replied politely. She headed over to the coffee machine as she answered the question, telling me she was good and was glad I was good also but I rushed over to her quickly.

“Let me,” I told her, my smile bright. She looked at me curiously, her expression curiously asking me if I was sure. “I can see now, I want to do everything I can.” I beamed. She seemed to be considering this, in the end she smiled and took a step back.

“Take it away, Miss Wilson.” She gestured to the coffee machine and I giggled in reply. I was glad she was on board with me doing things like this—technically yes I was supposed to rest but how could I rest when there was so much more to do now? I glanced at the machine, my eyebrows furrowing, my hands frozen in mid-air like I was about to do something with the coffee machine but had second guessed myself. Truth was, I had no idea how to make coffee with this thing.

“Erm...Phoebe?” I said shyly and she chuckled and took two steps towards me.
“Yes, I’ll show you how to make coffee, Faye.” She smiled and I grinned at her, she was so understanding, I owed her so much. I owed her for big things all the way down to tiny things like this.

As she started to explain the coffee maker, I accidentally found that I wasn’t really paying attention. I was too busy staring at Phoebe’s face, and her hair that fell in front of her face as she focused on the machine, and then her eyes flickered to mine and I just stared at them for a minute before I realized she was speaking to me.

“Faye?”

“Oh, uh, er,” I stuttered and giggled a little. I slacked my shoulders and grinned at her. “I’m sorry! I just can’t focus!” I exclaimed in defeat. I wanted to be able to do something little like make the coffee but I was too busy letting Phoebe’s appearance sink in. I knew looks weren’t everything but damn she was beautiful.

Phoebe chuckled and patted my hand understandingly. “Okay, you’ll learn another time then,” she said, starting the coffee herself.

I opened my mouth to say something, but then I felt arms loosely drape around my middle, and a head lazily rest on my shoulder. Phoebe grinned and winked at me and then turned away. I turned my head into the top of Mike’s hair. “’Morning,” he greeted me lowly.

“Good morning, Mike,” I smiled widely. He lifted his head up and kissed me gently, then he nuzzled his face into my cheek. I giggled a little and held my hands over his arms. I breathed in his warm and soothing scent and suddenly found that my eyes were closed in comfort. Sight seemed so magnificent to me so I couldn’t understand why it felt so natural to close my eyes in his company like this.

I didn’t dwell on the thought, though, and reopened my eyes. Mike unwrapped his lanky arms from around me, but, before he could leave completely, I grabbed his hands and held them in front of my face, studying them. I traced my fingers over the tattoos that were scattered across his rough hands. “Evil dead,” I murmured, reading the letters that were printed on his fingers. “Live sick,” I read the ones underneath, nodding and looking up at him with interest. He smiled wide with all his teeth, an exaggerated, adorable smile. I flipped his hands over and touched my finger to the symbol on his palm. His hand curled around mine and I looked back up at him questioningly.

“What’s this symbol?” I asked.

“It’s the Deathly Hollows!” he exclaimed.

“The what?” I asked, still confused especially since he acted like it was an obvious fact. He laughed and shook his head.

“It’s a Harry Potter thing. Oh God I love Harry Potter, you have no idea,” he said. I laughed. “I’m serious! I have his face on my thigh,” he noted.

“You’re crazy,” I laughed again.

“I’m not! And I am going to force you to watch it with me later!” he exclaimed. I smiled and turned around, so I was facing him more directly. I held his hand in between my hands and leaned up, kissing his lips. My eyes closed as I did that and even though I knew that was what you were supposed to do it didn’t feel completely right. Maybe there was something about closing your eyes and being vulnerable in darkness that made you a lot closer to whoever you were with—that definitely made sense. I lived in that vulnerability for nearly all of my life so far. And when you kissed or snuggled to get comfortable you close your eyes as a way to say I trust you.

I pulled away from him a little. “I’ll watch all of your favorite movies with you,” I said. Even though it sounded silly, it obviously meant a lot to me.

He smiled. “Good. Because there are eight Harry Potter films,” he said. “You’re in for a long night, baby,” he laughed, and I cheered. Mike grinned and turned me back around, he lowered his lips to my ear so he could whisper, “coffee’s ready.”

“How did you know that?” I tilted my head to the side, gazing at the contraption. He chuckled a little.

“You’ll learn. But, here, let’s surprise Phoebes and I’ll help you make some cups,” he suggested. I nodded enthusiastically and walked easily over to the cabinets where we kept our mugs. I took two out and set them on the counter and looked back at Mike to see if he wanted some, but he shook his head and I nodded. I brought the cups over and Mike guided me, showing me how to turn the maker off and lift the holder out of the hinges so I could pour the coffee into the cups. I did so and then I walked to the fridge, taking out the milk and pouring a little bit into each. Mike topped them off with a dash of sugar and put the milk away for me, as I took a hold of the mugs and walked to where Phoebe was sitting.

I noticed, then, that she was sitting at the table next to Vic—I didn’t even know he was here. “Oh, I’m sorry, Vic, would you like some coffee?” I asked politely, a large smile plastered on my face.

He grinned and I couldn’t help but notice Phoebe nudging him a little. “That would be lovely,” he accepted. Phoebe winked at me and I laughed a little, setting the cups down for them and then walking back over to the cabinets. I made myself some coffee and gazed at Mike, he was digging his hands into his pockets and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter.

“My coffee,” he said with a small smirk, holding them up.

“Ah,” I nodded. I gripped the hot mug in my hands, the sensation was nice and relaxing. I followed him outside through the back sliding door, sitting down in a lounge chair and him sitting next to me. He lit a cigarette and took in a drag slowly, exhaling the smoke in a thin line. I took a sip of my coffee and brought my knees into my chest, curled up in the chair and facing him, he was relaxed into a neighboring chair, his cigarette hanging loosely in between his fingertips and his smile gentle.

“How are your eyes?” he asked.

“Incredible,” I said dreamily. “Although they hurt a little,” I admitted. He nodded slowly.

“The swelling’s gone down,” he observed. “They’re beautiful as always.” I blushed a little and looked down at my feet.

“You’re too nice to me, I cringe,” I said. His jaw dropped mid exhale, and I giggled. “I’m kidding. You’re too nice to me, I appreciate it,” I said, leaning over and kissing his cheek. He smiled and ran his fingers up and down the top of my thigh. As we were sitting there, though, a small rumble of thunder grumbled in the distance.

“Yes!” he cheered.

“What is it?”

“Today’s perfect. The sun’s not out but it isn’t supposed to rain, just cloudy and I guess a little thunder and lightning. But this is a good day to go to Sunset Cliffs, so the sun won’t irritate you but it’ll still be nice!” he suggested enthusiastically, he was practically bouncing out of his chair.

“Aw,” I said as it thundered again, “that sounds really, really nice,” I grinned. And there was something about storms that I enjoyed, now I was excited to actually see one.

“Vic and Phoebe can come with us, too,” he suggested. I nodded energetically—I didn’t want to separate from Phoebe yet. I wanted to be with all of them, I wanted to see everyone and everything.

Mike finished smoking and stood up, sticking out his hand for me to take. I grabbed it gently and he smiled sweetly, giving my hand a squeeze. We walked inside and Mike suggested going to Sunset Cliffs to the others. They were at first confused as to why we wanted to go there on a gloomy day but when Mike exclaimed with a lot of enthusiasm they were on board with it.

“And maybe later we can watch a horror movie!” Vic suggested wickedly.

“I’ve been able to see for two days and you already want to scare me?” I laughed.

“Not until we watch Harry Potter, first!” Mike interjected.

“Oh, God,” Vic rolled his eyes. “He’s a piece of work, Faye, with that Harry Potter shit,” he said to me. I giggled and glanced at Mike, who was snickering to himself.

“You’ve got a lot to see, Faye,” Phoebe laughed.

“Yeah, like Mike’s Harry Potter tattoo,” I said.

“That’s for later, though, babe,” he said smugly, referring to how it was on his thigh but he couldn’t exactly take his pants off right now. My cheeks heated at his insinuating comment, and everyone laughed.

“Mike also has a tattoo of a pe—”

“No!” Mike boomed desperately. I widened my eyebrows and gazed at him in amusement.

“You have a what?” I laughed.

“Oh, c’mon, Mike, she’s going to find out eventually,” Vic chuckled. Mike let out a heavy sigh and nodded, he had a small grin on his face and didn’t seem at all embarrassed, despite his outburst. “A penis pushing a lawnmower,” Vic said evenly.

“No way!” I cracked up, laughing hysterically. “Mike!”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I was drunk,” he said.

“Why would that even be on your mind?” I giggled. He smiled and chuckled, too, shrugging his shoulders again with indifference.

“Like I said, I was drunk. I’ll show that one to you later, too,” he winked, causing my cheeks to heat up even more. I heard Phoebe cackle and I shook my head, hitting his arm.

“I’m going to get ready,” I announced, seeing that I was the only one still in my pajamas. I blushed a little and Mike nodded; he ran his fingers through my hair as I walked by and I smiled.

--

The sky was dark, the clouds were thick and I could see how the sight would be scary. But when lightning flashed I smiled—it was the light in the dark. Mike squeezed my hand and I rested my head on his shoulder, staring at the sky in utter amazement.

I blinked and suddenly a memory flashed in my head, just like the lightning. I had been sitting in the playroom where I worked, at a social working office. Her name was Rosy. She had little blonde curls—I knew that because one day she gently took my hand and ran my fingers through her hair, telling me softly that her mom used to call her Goldy Locks.

“Why are you scared?” I had asked her. She was holding my hand tightly. Clutched in her other hand was probably a doll or blanky of some sort.

“Thunder,” she mumbled. She slid closer to me and crawled into my lap, nuzzling her head into my hair.

“Thunder can’t hurt you, Rosy, I promise,” I reassured.

“Can lightning?” she asked quietly, her voice still in a mumble. This time I heard the thunder and she clutched onto me tighter.

“Not here it can’t,” I said.

“…It’s scary looking…”

“Then don’t look,” I said softly, smiling gently. I pulled her away from me so she could face me. Rosy lifted her little arms and held her fists in my hair.

“Are you afraid?” she asked quietly.

I shook my head and smiled again. “Because you can’t see it,” she pointed out. I nodded. “But I can see it.”

“Yes you can. I promise you it can’t hurt you here, though. Close your eyes and you’ll be just like me,” I suggested. She shifted in my lap and reburied her face into my hair, I felt her nod a few times.

“You’re the bravest little girl I know,” I comforted, rubbing her back.

“You’re braver-er,” she whispered.

“Faye?” Mike nudged my shoulder and I blinked again, shaking my head. I looked up at him expectantly. “You went all starry eyes on me,” he grinned.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said with a small smile and blush. “I was just thinking.” I blinked a few more times, adjusting myself to the sight of him looking at me. I had a picture in my head of what I thought my sitting with Rosy had looked like, but nothing exact, obviously. It was weird that my memories were all so blurry, I could hear and feel them adequately, but, of course, I couldn’t see them. Zoning in and out from them made me feel like I was losing and regaining sight over and over, similar to the cycle of losing and regaining consciousness. It would need adjusting, as well. Mike squeezed my hand.

“What about?” he asked curiously, tugging my hand to get me to walk with him down the beach. Thunder gently rumbled in the distance, not an immediate threat but it was there.

“My job, back at home,” I said.

“Oh, you were a social worker?” I nodded.

“For kids, specifically,” I said. “But I wasn’t one of those stereotypical evil ones that rip families apart,” I pointed out mockingly. Rather—I put them together.

“Of course you weren’t,” he laughed sarcastically. I rolled my eyes. “Do you miss it?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah I do. I was thinking of this one kid, she was afraid of storms…”

“Oh,” he murmured. “Is she okay now?” He asked, understanding the purpose of my job. His curiosity and concern for my cases made me smile.

I smiled and nodded. “We found a nice home for her. Sometimes, and I really shouldn’t admit this out loud, I would get attached to the kids we helped. I was always a little sad to let them go, but of course I was happy to get them to a place they belong and could find home in. Maybe it’s good that I’ve taken a break from that,” I considered. “We’d spend a lot of time getting to know the kids, making sure they were comfortable and stuff. The amount of time depended, but sometimes it could become months. I guess I feel a little wistful right now,” I said softly, gazing at the sky as lightning struck.

“What’s it like?” he asked.

“What’s what like?” I tilted my head to the side and tucked my hair behind my ear.

“Um, remembering things… like, you can see now, what’s it like having memories of things that you’ve never seen?” he asked, the question itself seemed to confuse him but I understood what he meant.

“It’s weird,” I said with a small smile. I kicked a bit of sand, swinging my leg a little. “But I don’t mind it. Being blind didn’t hinder my ability to do my job, at least I don’t think so… I feel like I could connect with the kids more, because they’re kind of naïve to things, and I was obviously ignorant to a lot of the world myself, not being able to see… so, yeah,” I explained. “But I left with no cases unfinished. I made sure I didn’t abandon anyone, I wouldn’t leave with out finishing what I had to do. So it’s not like I’m missing anyone specifically, just the usual, general nostalgia,” I added. I didn’t know why I was explaining all of this but I really liked talking about it.

“You’re amazing,” Mike breathed.

I poked his shoulder and looked down, blushing. “I’m not.”

“But you are,” he said lowly, leaning down and kissing my cheek. I smiled and squeezed his hand. “C’mon, I want to show you something!” he announced. He dragged me up the beach, towards the rocks.

“Do you know where we are?” he asked, sitting down on one and opening his arms for me. I smiled and nodded, sitting down in front of him. “Wait, really?”

“Yes,” I smiled. I tilted my head backwards so I could look at him. He looked so funny upside down. “We’re on those rocks you asked me out on,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him, teasing him for his cheesiness. But, like I have said before, I liked the cheese.

“How do you know that?!”

“It just feels familiar,” I smiled, resting my head on the top of his thigh. Mike gently rubbed my shoulder, my eyes were feeling a little heavy now, especially when he started to run his fingers through my hair.

“Are you tired?” he asked. I nodded. “Here, Vic and Phoebe are coming over. Do you mind if I put a picture on instagram?” he asked. I shook my head. He smiled and wrapped his arms around me. “Vic!” he barked at his brother, who raised his eyebrows as a reply. “Take a picture?”

Vic nodded and took Mike’s phone. Mike leaned over so his arms were around me and his head was on my chin. He turned it and kissed my neck quickly before turning back to face Vic, who had a foot on a rock to support himself as he snapped a photo. I held my hands on Mike’s arms and smiled gently.

“Wonderful,” Vic said, along with a contradictory gagging sound directed to his softie of a brother. Mike laughed a little and grabbed his phone—the picture was cute, Mike thought so too and he kissed my cheek. He set a nice effect on it and typed a caption—gloomy days at the beach always brightened by this little one—and uploaded it to Instagram. I tried to hide my smile but it was no use, I was just too damn happy. I looked over to the left and saw Phoebe and Vic together, thirty yards away, talking and laughing, hand in hand. They looked so happy, too. Vic looked really happy—I was glad that Phoebe made him happy—but I was more focused on Phoebe herself. He seemed to be taking good care of her, everyone’s spirits were high now and I really just couldn’t stop staring at the smile on Phoebe’s beautiful face.

But I did. I turned back to Mike—his smile was equally as satisfying to look at. But then I saw that he wasn’t smiling, he was frowning slightly. “It’s raining,” he observed with a pout, staring at the single droplet of water on the screen of his phone.

“Uh oh,” I said. We stood up together and walked off the rocks and towards the pathway to go home. Suddenly, though, the rain became more concentrated. Mike quickly jumped into action, taking off his zip up sweatshirt and throwing it around my shoulders. I giggled a little and slid my arms in as he lifted the hood up over my head, protecting my stitches from the water. He gently tucked my hair in and curled an arm around my waist. “Thank youuuu,” I sang, grinning at him. I turned my head and kissed his bare bicep.

“Anything for m’lady,” he said enthusiastically.

Soon the rain became torrential. Mike, in his usual surprising fashion, scooped me up into his arms, jogging off with me towards the car. I giggled and turned my head into his chest, clutching onto his shoulders as he moved. “You’re too good to me,” I laughed as he set me down into the passenger seat of the car. He grinned and made sure I was settled into the seat, before he shook his limbs and his hair out, excess water hitting me like he was a wet dog.

“Get in the car!” I squealed. He laughed and sprinted around to the other side, sliding into the driver’s seat. Vic and Phoebe had taken a separate car; she blew me a kiss and I waved goodbye to them. I turned to Mike. “You’re a doofus,” I said, punching his arm and wiping the dripping water off of my face.

Mike shot me a toothy grin and shook his hair out again. “Yeah, but I’m your doofus.”

Notes

OMG FINALLY. I apologize deeply for the delay.

Soooo

Scarlett wrote the beginning of this because she is my little minion love bug and she inspires me to write and without her I probably wouldn't've updated for another month. Read her stories @Fuentits

I’ve been blocked on most of my stories except one and I feel horrible about it! Especially because I’m collabing with @precious_preciado and I’m being a horrible updater and she probably hates me! But there, that was my sneaky little self promotion, go check out Screams of Silence if you haven’t already! She's probably going to fire me soon for taking a million years to write. I'm lame.

Anywho, what do you think? Yay for fluffy! Too fluffy? I hope not. I think it was needed hahah.

Thanks for reading guys! I love you a lot! xo