Her gaze stretched out beyond the gazebo, her lips widening into a gentle, soft smile.  The faintest phantom of a kiss rested on her cheek from when her lover planted it there.  Thoughts of him made her delicate skin radiate with heat and blood.

He found the meadow before they had the pleasure of meeting and built the gazebo of clouds.  When he brought her there, he said he saved this spot for someone who he thought was someone he would not want to let go.

            It has been five long, wonderful years since that day and he has not yet loosened his firm grip.

            Her gaze fell to the wildflowers of the meadow, her smile stretching as if waking from a deep sleep.  Every Friday her lover showered her with the delicate fragrance of the flowers from the meadow.

            His gaze was soft and caring as he watched her.  He wanted nothing more than to sit next to her and hug her and never let her go, but the near burning need to absorb the moment made him pause in his steps.  He memorized the dazzling depth of her loving eyes, the way her hair danced with the gentle August breeze, how her smile shined more brightly than the sun.

            He moved out from the masking shadows of the trees and apologized for taking so long.

            She could not have cared less.  All she wanted was to be held in his safe, strong arms that she would never leave as long as she had breath in her lungs and her heart played in tune with life.  She patted the space next to her and he complied, not needing to be told he could close the raging crater between them.  They fit together like puzzle pieces as they cuddled into their embrace, comfortable with only the sounds of the breeze and the singing of birds as their conversation.

            Her swift gaze shifted to him, taking in his unyielding jaw line, the way his eyes demanded her attention, the way his shirt clung to him like he was the only thing that the shirt had to live for.

            The air was alive and joyous from the spark and electricity of their sweet love.  They scooted closer to one another, their embrace as warm and welcoming as a blanket on Christmas Eve. The worries and stresses of the outside world had long been forgotten as they took and gave each other all the love they wanted, needed. For hours, they watched the meadow in a comfortable bundle, the bright blue sky falling asleep into a rainbow of warm, dark tones.

            The intangible scars they received for their struggles were for naught, for their love was strong and true.