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Crystal Clear

When he turned around for her to see the scar she looked down at it. Candace frowned. She reached out to touch his back, soft fingers sliding down the length of his back beside the scar that cut it in half. It was hideous and grotesque, and the reminder of why and how he got it was almost as painful as receiving it probably had been.

Finally Candace stepped closer, her hands settling on his hips while she leaned in to boldly place a soft kiss against the scar. And then she rest her forehead against his back, eyes closed and fingers pressing into him. "Don't hide from me. I can't stand it. At least you don't have to see the whole thing every time you look in the mirror, it isn't disfiguring, you're still the damn fine man I married a year ago."

Crystal Clear:

He stiffened, the back muscles bunching with tension, like a tiger prepared to jump. He didn't have to see her face to know she thought it ugly, but it was the shame that she even had to see it that made it feel much worse.

"I failed..." He looked to the woods, to anything but the lake and his wife behind him. "You're right, but I know its there and it hurts and it's ugly. I've never had a scar I couldn't hide..." he had the burned scarred skin from when he was a child, but he hid it well, and it was a small reminder of why he became a hunter....

This new large back scar felt like a reminder of why he hated being a hunter.

"all I ever wanna do now is hide Candace..." he waited, "Isn't that why we are out here, hiding away and pretending its normal?"

Too Much Quiet

Candace slowly stopped laughing when Dakota burst into laughter. She watched him, stunned and awed by the sight and sound. There was a huge smile on her face. See? He's still in there..she just needed to coax the little turtle out of his shell. She followed him to the tree, sliding her arms around Dakota and leaning her weight into him, giggling and nuzzling her face against his throat.

When he repeated her rules back to her she looked up at him with a smile. Even if he was sullen she knew that her Dakota was still in there. The laugh was progress. "Well, if you could do anything right now. Anything at all. What would it be? I'll make it happen."

Morning

Candace frowned. "All right.." She watched him leave with a soft sigh, only climbing off the bed once he was downstairs again. She grabbed her phone, her toiletries, and started the bath.

While the tub filled she sat on the floor, arms hugging her legs to her chest and her head nestled on her knees while she stared out a window on the other side of the room. She wasn't sure how long she could tolerate this before she snapped. She would never leave Dakota, but she also couldn't stand seeing him like this. It wasn't right. It was just..so unsettling.

Finally the bath was finished and she climbed in, relaxing and closing her eyes.

Hm..

One eye opened and looked around the room while her other hand pat around for her phone. She found it, holding it over herself and smirking up at the phone.

Crystal Clear

"Well you can if you keep your shirt on." She shrugged. "But I like you shirtless." One last kiss was placed softly against the scar and then she was gone, instead stepping around him and further into the crystal clear lake until she was treading water near him.

"We're not here to hide. We're here for space, for..clarity. This isn't about hiding, this is about clearing your head and helping you. If you had wanted to go to a busy city somewhere I would have taken you there, or even to a beach, or the arctic. Anywhere you wanted." She lowered enough in the water to blow bubbles into the surface. She'd looked over the scar, now would he keep his shirt on or take it off?