Work Text:
Over and over,
The same thing said to me by different people, in different ways, in different places.
"Don't settle",
"You deserve-",
"You could be with anyone",
"That seems like so much work".
It's maddening.
Infuriating.
It might as well be me talking to a rock.
These people, these kind, misguided people,
They classify love into one idea.
One perfect little box,
Never outside it, forever the same.
It's a lie.
Their perfect dreams are nothing but fodder in the real world.
The moment it gets hard,
The second the going gets rough,
And it's no longer an easy stroll or a languid walk,
They balk at the effort.
Not all, yes, but so, so many.
I see it everywhere, in the hearts of people who are afraid.
Hard times create strength,
Just as the struggles and problems of a relationship breed understanding and empathy, and a deeper connection with whom you've worked the problems through.
I know this, and it is fact in my mind,
Just as my oath to you remains solid and unbreakable.
So when I hear them,
These wonderful, foolish people,
Instead of frustration, I meet them with a smile.
Empathetic, and perhaps pitying,
And I tell them,
"It's never too much,
Never too much to ask, never too much to give,
And it never will be, not for the right person."
I shake my head and I look at them,
"For him, the world.
You may be right,
I could be with someone else.
I could leave him behind, and move on.
But to me, your words are hollow and empty, and fall on deaf ears."
So, my love,
For whenever it is that you see these,
For however far off or close that is,
I am not settling when I stay with you.
I know I'll love you always. You are the One.