Velvet sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. Another one had appeared. She reached up and looked at the couple of strands of gray hair mixed amidst a sea of black. The reality had always been that she would get older. She knew that. So why did she feel sad about it. Velvet looked over at the clock, sighing yet again as she saw the time, two thirty-five in the morning. It wasn’t like she had anything to do tomorrow, but she knew that she needed sleep.

As she walked out of the bathroom, she saw Eleanor sleeping soundly on the left side of their bed. Her gentle snoring was the only sound in the room, captivating Velvet for a moment. The one awake woman looked down at her left hand, and the small golden ring on it. As she thought about the matching one next to Eleanor’s bedside, right next to another, similar ring, with a small diamond on it, she couldn’t help but smile.







Velvet, why do you seem so nervous? Is something the matter?

The memory played out in Velvet’s mind like she was watching a movie, with the ring as the screen, I-I’m fine, I just- She exhaled in amusement as she remembered the loss for words she was at that day. To think that it was thirty years ago was, baffling, to say the least, Eleanor, do you mind coming with me for a little while?

Of course, where are we going?

Just to the docks, I-I feel like I can gather my thoughts better there…

The memory remained vivid as she thought back to the two walking side by side, down to the Meirchio docks. It was snowy, as always, and their footfalls made small, gentle crunching noises as the white flakes were pressed down. Neither of the two had spoken the entire way from the inn, and Eleanor was the one to break the silence.

Velvet, really, if something is wrong, you know you can tell me, right?

She remembered how hard her heart was pounding in those moments, and how her mouth felt dry, with the blush on her cheeks feeling as though it would rival the color of Eleanor’s hair. However, when she had began to talk, it felt as if the weight of an entire building lifted from her shoulders, Eleanor, you know that I love you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and, I think… She couldn’t even finish her sentence without feeling as though she would stumble over her words, I think that you’re the person I’d like to spend my life with.

Velvet… Are you… Are you-

Eleanor, She got down on one knee, reaching into her pocket, We’ve both lost our families, and our loved ones. I thought that I would never let anyone get that close to me again, So I wouldn’t have to go through the pain of losing them.

Velvet?

I thought wrong. Eleanor, I can’t even begin to fathom losing you, and beyond that, She pulled out a small box, I don’t want to imagine you with someone else. So Eleanor Hume, will you walk with me not as someone who you owe a debt, or even a friend… Eleanor, will you walk by my side as my wife?

After it had all come out, it took all of her power to avoid looking away in fear. That meant she could see the redhead cover her mouth with her hands in shock, with tears welling up in her eyes. The whole world felt like it had paused. The snow no longer fell. The waves halted in the sea. The wind itself had stopped blowing, all for that single moment in time. The only things that fell were the tears down Eleanor’s cheeks. Not tears of sadness, but of overwhelming joy.

Yes… The word was gentle, quiet, coming from a cracking voice, overwhelmed with emotion, Yes! Yes, yes, a million times, yes!

Velvet was taken aback as the woman before her dove into a warm embrace. Even so, she felt tears in her own eyes begin to fall freely as she returned the hug.

I love you Velvet, more than anything in the world…

I love you too…







The memory faded just as quickly as it came, leaving Velvet processing the emotions that she had felt that day. She thought about everything that they had gone through, and a question crossed her mind, addressed to the woman she had given that ring to, Shouldn’t I be less in love with you?

For years, people had studied love, and how people reacted to it, how it affected them. People always said that love fades with time. They had been together for thirty whole years, and of course, that came with fighting. Countless times the two had fought, lost sleep, cried, questioned what they were even doing together.

Shouldn't Velvet be looking for someone younger? Someone more beautiful? The vibrant hair that Eleanor once had was becoming flecked with silver, her once smooth face now becoming home to wrinkles, and her body now remaining the same way it had been when she had confessed.

Shouldn’t she say that they should split up? The friends they had gained had all split up with their spouses. The love had faded. They sought new thrills, a new love, a new person to spend that stage of their life with. Everything was supposed to come to an end, and this was no different.

She thought back to all the memories they had shared. Their wedding, the honeymoon, raising Laphicet, all of their anniversaries, and the idle time they had spent with only each other as company. Wasn’t that enough? Shouldn't she have had her good times and decided to move on to new ones?

The question rang out in her head as she sat down on her side of the bed, staring at her sleeping wife, Shouldn’t I be less in love with you?

Even with that question coming back, she continued to think.

Even with all of their fights, all of the screaming, the sleepless nights, the tears, they got through it all. They stayed, and they continued walking alongside each other.

Even with Eleanor’s hair losing its vibrance, her skin not being as smooth, Velvet still found her beautiful. When compared to all of the other people in the world, She failed to think of anyone who could possibly be this beautiful.

Even with the thought that all of the good times had passed, she still didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to split off from her. She wanted to gamble on more good times being on their way, and Eleanor was the only person she wanted to spend those times with.

If what those people who had studied it were right, then why did her heart still flutter whenever she laid eyes on her wife?

As she climbed into bed, inching closer to the still, softly breathing form of her wife, that question came for its final time, Shouldn’t I be less in love with you?

A smile came to her face as she gently pushed a strand of Eleanor’s hair to the side, being careful not to wake her. Just as gently, she placed a light kiss on the sleeping woman’s cheek. As her lips touched the aging skin, as she settled into the bed, wrapping her arms around her wife, she found the answer to that question. Every time it reared its head from that day forward, be it another ten, twenty, thirty, forty years, it always met the same answer.

No…