Yawning and stretching her arms over her head, Myth finally emerged from her dark room and threw herself into the over-stuffed armchair that waited just outside the door for her. Oh sure, she could have waited to develop that roll of film when she wasn’t so tired. But she wanted those pictures now. It wasn’t often that she got a perfect storm, so to speak, of photographic circumstances. But, today, somehow, today she’d managed it. And now she had several quietly beautiful pictures of a walk in the park on a rainy, drizzly morning.

And ‘Mine was probably never going to forgive her for it. Not that he’d looked less than perfect. Hardly the case! But he was quite the little peacock and she knew that being photographed while standing in the rain would hardly appeal to him.

Which was why she’d snapped the images quickly. And she fully intended to turn the one of the baby ducks following Carmine into a full sized portrait for their living room. Though it was a pity that she’d been unable to get a shot of the very put out momma duck proceeding to chase ‘Mine across the park. Ah well.

Stifling another yawn with the back of her hand, she snuggled deeper into the chair and considered the other shots she’d gotten. The rainbow had come out against all odds and to her practiced eye, the image seemed clear enough. Mist droplets on the grass stems and tiny wildflowers, yes. Overall, it had been quite the productive little outing. She even had a close up of Carmine looking calm and thoughtful that she thought might help to soothe his bruised ego after the Great Duck Chase.

And if that wasn’t enough, well, he’d never yet been able to resist it when she curled up against him and scitched the back of his neck. Maybe she’d take it up a notch and cook him something nice for lunch too. Or she could give him the antique oil lamp she’d found for his office. Plenty of ways to make nice.

Another yawn. She was dozing off. Frowning slightly, she realized that she didn’t have to stay awake while the pictures dried. All of the complicated, timed stuff was done with. Hell, maybe she could talk ‘Mine into a nap too. Naps were always better with snuggle buddies after all. And she didn’t have to fear his venturing into her workroom to fiddle with anything. He’d been well trained to leave her dark room quite alone. The more she thought about it, the better she liked the idea. Smiling a little, she climbed to her feet and stretched again before taking off her apron and tossing it over the back of her chair.

First things first though. She had to clean up. It didn’t matter that Carmine was in the best of health. She wouldn’t risk him. And between her developing chemicals and random grass stains from the park, she was hardly an appealing vision of a snuggle buddy. Shower first then.

Once her (blissfully) ht shower was finished, she changed into the flannel pajamas she saved specifically for drowsy days and went hunting for her husband. And when she managed to track him down, she smiled and moved next to him, resting her head against his shoulder.

“How does a nap grab you, Peacock?” she asked softly. “Or even just curling up on the couch together.”

It was cuddle time.