adjective ~ without imperfection

CHARLIE

From the moment Calida arrived in my room, her eyes lit up with wonder. I had covered the private staircase that lead to my suite in flowers. Wrapped between the bannisters and hanging from a net in the ceiling were red and white petals with green leafy plants. I wasn't sure their name; I just knew the red were roses. I think the white were called baby's breath. It didn't smell that bad; and Freddy sure stank when he threw up.

Entering the top door, there was a soft silky curtain, caressing our skin as we entered the candlelit room. Calida was quiet, which was either terrible or very good. Rose petals covered the floor, with small LED tea-lights leading her toward the sofa. The blankets were scattered and the pillows of the sofa were no longer on the frame.

"Is that...a fort?" She wondered.

I grinned. "Sure is. Took me ten years to build that baby. She's solid as cement."

Calida's eyebrows rose, but it was out of interest. I may have stolen some cushions from one of the various living rooms downstairs, but it had to be flawless. They leaned against the edge of the sofa and built the walls that houses more silken curtains. It had to be the perfect height too, so laying them sideways gave me the best height, but lacked width. I must've used three sofas worth of cushions, covering the floor with more plush blankets and my bed pillows.

Between the gentle flow of the curtains, I draped fairy lights between them. With the main curtains closed, only the berry-scented candles and the fairy lights lit up the room.

Then her eyes found the still title screen of Harry Potter, and she squealed with delight. She had told me in explicit detail how it was one of her favourite movie franchises since coming to the pack. According to Nova, she had only watched the first five, so it was my duty to give her the bad news of Dumbledore's death later.

Spoiler?

Oops.

We settled down into the fort and lay leisurely, watching the first movie. Time passed by in a blur, and with four failed wins at Monopoly, I dismissed the game with a huff.

"How do you keep winning?" I complained. "It's Monopoly! It's so easy to cheat!"

Calida had laughed, a joyous, carefree, gleeful noise I wanted to listen to all day long. We spent the morning in my room, in the fort, watching the next Harry Potter movie and snacking on popcorn. I wanted to play twenty-one questions with her, but I became so obsessed with trying to with Monopoly, I refused to give up. I only gave it up when the alarm on my phone rang.

It was lunchtime.

"Stop pouting." Calida laughed, looping her arm through mine.

We were walking down the stairs toward the kitchen, where I had food prepared. My eyes widened slightly at her touch, but I pulled her closer.

"I will win one game. I promise you."

She giggled, her head falling onto my shoulder for the briefest of moments. I inhaled her scent deeply, sighing happily as the citrus scent filled my lungs. She smelt tasty too, and it didn't help my need to lay my teeth on her skin.

Reaching the kitchen, a small maid met me halfway with the picnic box in hand. I thanked them softly, knowing they had helped me prepare most of it.

"What's that?"

"We are having a picnic." I stated.

"Outside?"

"Where else do you have a picnic?" I mused.

"In the fort?" She asked and pulled me to a stop.

I hesitated, hating how tempting that sounded. I had planned for a leisurely stroll through the spring flowers and trees, but Calida had that sweet look in her eyes. Her head titled, lips pouting softly in thought.

"Is... is that what you want?"

"I will do whatever you planned, Charlie." She laughed.

"No, no, this day is about you."

"No, it's about us!" she tutted.

My posture relaxed, not realising I had even been tense.

"Do you want to go into the fort?"

"Well... I mean... it smells good in there, and it's dark and cosy. And we still have six more Harry Potter movies to watch..."

I laughed, shaking my head. "Okay, fine. But just so you know, this is completely against my itinerary."

She grinned, taking my arm again as we walked back to my room. "Can I see it?"

"See what?" I frowned.

"Your itinerary! Of course!"

"No!" I snapped.

"Aw, why?"

"Because it is a secret."

"What could be so secretive?" She pouted.

Oh no. The pout. My weakness.

I winced, looking away from her. "There's a surprise on there."

"Ooh!" Her eyes lit up. "Okay, I can wait!"

I sighed with relief, happy she dropped it. Reaching the room, the gentle scent of berry candles mixed with her gentle citrus scent. It made me pleased, because the longer she stayed in here, the stronger her scent would be on my things. My pillows, blankets, my sofa would all smell like her.

What a bonus!

"Yay! Harry Potter!"

I shook my head, sitting back in the fort with her. I was sure I would get a crick in my back tomorrow and would need some intense yoga to set it right. Yoga was one of my favourite things, thanks to Pollux teaching me.

Lunch comprised a variety of melons, fruits, sandwiches, pastries, biscuits, scones, and crisps. Can't miss the crisps. They were a staple! I also requested fizzy drinks, and it surprised me to find glass bottles instead. It weirdly matched the aesthetic, and I mentally made a reminder to thank the staff one more time.

Food gone, and movie three down, I rose from the fort. Since the itinerary was already out of the window, this called for another game of Monopoly. Calida laughed at me as I brought it back over to her, stating that I would just get grumpy again when she beats me.

She was right, of course. Over the length of movie four and half of five, she beat me three times. But then, the Goddess shone down on me, and with a wide realisation, I jumped up from the floor in glee.

"Ha! Beat that, sucker!" I grinned.

Calida leaned back in her hands, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, don't see me rubbing in my... how many wins was it now?"

I growled, darting down to tickle her again. "Doesn't matter! I finally won!"

Her laughter was joyous and contagious. As we fell back into the fort for the rest of movie five and some of six, she had grown closer to me to the point her legs wrapped around mine. As expected, she became emotional at Dumbledore's death, but fortunately, a mind-link saved the worst of it.

The dinner service came, and we dined under candlelight and wine. Our conversation was light, from talking about Ron and Hermione to the four tiny babies that now roamed free in the pack and to the excitement of spring.

Then she surprised me.

My eyes widened as Calida talked about her past. She grew hesitant as she spoke, staring into her wine glass. I held onto her hand, listened to every word she spoke like it was a lifeline. My grip may have turned tight, and I may have grumbled too often, but I waited and listened, accepting how hard it was for her to speak. And then, instead of rambling on at the end, I thanked her for opening up to me.

As we snuggled down to the end of movie six, Calida had shuffled closer to me. I didn't want to disturb her, but there was one thing on the itinerary that I really did not want to miss out on. Excusing myself to use the bathroom, I came back and diverted to the box. Reaching inside, I took hold of our next activity. Sitting beside Calida, she glanced at it curiously as she set up the next movie.

"Another board game?" She wondered.

"Nope!" I grinned. "This is not as fun."

She snorted, turning to sit criss-cross in front of me. Her dark eyes watched my hands as I opened up the box and evenly split the pieces of craft supplies between us. Her eyebrows furrowed the more I passed her things, until finally, they lit up with recognition.

"Painting!"

"I got the idea from Nova one day." I admitted. "She was in her studio, painting something abstract, and she drank from her paint mug instead of her tea mug. It was hilarious... But beside the point, it made me think how much a personalised mug would truly stop that from happening."

"You drink paint water often?" Calida snickered.

I laughed, shaking my head. "I have drunk far worse."

She snorted, popping open her tiny paint set. "Let's do it."

As the Harry Potter movie ran, we busied ourselves with painting our mugs. Calida seemed to draw cute, cartoonish pictures and flowers across hers. I used to love watching people create, and Calida, with her poked-out tongue, was not an exception. Most of the time, she caught me staring and would glare at me, but after the sixth time, she would blink and not care.

I couldn't help it. How could I create something great when magnificence was already right before me?

One mug, one photo frame, a paint-by numbers, and Harry Potter later and our dirty hands finished.

"You sure you are ready?" I wondered.

"Oh yeah, bring it, dude!" She grinned.

"You go first then." I gestured.

"Okay, so the mug..."

I must've fallen deaf, because I heard nothing as she rattled on about what she had painted delicately onto the mug. She mesmerised me. Calida was not an artist, her lines messy and bulky, but it was unique, and although scrambled an uncoordinated, it was perfect. Her paint-by-numbers canvas was a tiger in the jungle, and her photo frame was a dark sky covered in gold and silver stars.

"Your turn."

I blinked out of my daze, smiling softly at her. Her cheeks had turned rosy, noticeable even in the room's darkness.

"My paint-by-numbers was a waterfall." I explained. "My photo frame, I copied you, in a way. You did the night, so I did the day. Put some cute little flying ducks in there, too."

Calida giggled, taking the frame in her hand to gaze down at the flock of birds. "That's pretty good, though."

"You haven't seen my mug yet." I shook my head.

"Oh, I look at your ugly mug every day." She teased.

I scowled, growling softly at her. She jolted when my hand came to tickle her side, squeaking loudly.

"My coffee mug is a meadow in the springtime. A gentle blue sky, soft fluffy white clouds and a lovely warm sun." I explained. "Amongst the grass are daisies, dandelions, buttercups and a mix of pink and purple wildflowers. Then in the middle, there's a couple laid in the grass. They're holding hands as they cloud watch, breathing a sigh of contentment."

Calida sighed in sync with my words, her gaze soft as she looked down at my creation. "You are..."

My ears perked, and I looked at her with interest. But she fumbled, blushing and dropping her gaze.

"You're a pretty good artist."

My shoulder sagged slightly, but I smiled softly. "Thank you. Now, we swap."

"Wait, what?"

"Yep! Your mug is mine. Gimmie!"

"No!" she complained. "My mug!"

"Nope! We swap, because we are cute, and now every time I have a drink, I get to remember you as you are right now." I grinned, taking it from her and swapping it with mine. "Every sip of coffee, I get to look at what you created and think of you. If anyone asks, I will proudly say that my mate made me it."

"Charlie..." she mumbled. "But... mine is hideous."

"It's perfect." I shook my head. "Because it's yours and anything that is you, or yours, is perfect for me."

Her eyes swam with a million thoughts and questions as she gazed at me. She was analysing me, her head tilted as her soft gaze peered across at me. I smiled back at her, happy to just be in her presence. She has messed up her hair from laying so much today, her eyes sleepy and content. Dressed in a comfy t-shirt and leggings, Calida was perfect.

But then she surprised me, leaning forward to kiss me.

And oh, she kissed me.

My entire body melted as she leaned into me, my hands falling to her waist and clutching onto the gentle curve of her body. The bond seemed to burn, charging something inside of me that lay asleep. A deep growl curled in my chest, my wolf as eager and super-charged as I was. Instead of pulling away, it seemed to spur Calida on more, and before I even knew it, she was climbing into my lap.

I groaned softly into her mouth, one of my hands coming to caress her cheek as the other wrapped around her waist. Her body pressed into mine, every smooth curve of her available to my pleasure. I remained stoic, holding her in the places I knew she didn't mind. But then, perhaps it was the wine fogging our mind, but when she ground against me, I had to pull away from our tongue-wrestle to stare at her.

"Calida..." I whispered.

Her eyes fluttered closed, forehead pressing into me. "I... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to rush it."

"No! No, baby, no," I spluttered, taking both her cheeks in my hands.

I searched her eyes, finding embarrassment and regret. Shaking my head, I pulled her face to mine and proved to her how much I loved it with another kiss. It lasted only for a few seconds, and when I pulled away, she was looking at me with parted, pouty lips.

"Don't apologise." I breathed. "I loved it."

"Why weren't you touching me?" She whispered.

"I don't know where to touch you, baby."

Her eyes fluttered closed at the name and I grinned. My mate liked the pet names in the bedroom.

"You can touch me, Charlie." She shook her head. "Please, touch me."

My heart leapt into my throat. "Are... Are you sure?"

"About you?"

"Touching you, yes."

"Charlie, I am sure about everything about you."

Yep. There goes my heart. It just beat so loudly; it flew out of my chest and lay across the room in a dark corner. Surprise rocked my soul, and I stared across at her with wide eyes. What... What did that mean? Did my wishes come true? What... Wait, I haven't even got the promise ring out yet!

She leaned into me again but I stopped her. "Wait..."

"Please, Charlie." She whimpered.

"Wait!" I shook my head. "I have something to give you."

"If it's a disease, you can keep it." She joked.

I shook my head, a laugh escaping me as I dived into my trouser pocket. My hand wrapped around the case, and with a deep breath, I lifted the white box between our faces.

"I have a gift."