But this comes straight from my heart

“I love you.”

Aria squints. She’s just woken up and the world is still a mesh of colors and shapes. But Daehyun. Daehyun is right next to her and more defined than anything else in the room.

“What?” She manages to mumble out, sleep heavy in her voice. Her body shifts so she’s facing him, chest to chest.

“I love you.”

Aria finally opens her eyes, a soft smile settling on her face. “I know, Daehyunnie. I love you too.”

He pauses for a second. And another second. His mouth opens and closes a few times and he’s struggling for the right words. Aria frowns because Daehyun never thinks of what to say, he just says it. “I mean it,” he finally whispers. “Just remember that.”

Aria nods. “I know.”

Daehyun draws in a deep breath. “Don’t listen to people.”

“Daehyun,” she starts, but he stops her with a shake of his head.

“Don’t--”

“Let’s just admit that this isn’t easy, Dae. Let’s just admit that we aren’t easy.”

His lips are pursed tight, but he watches her and regards the statement and perhaps it’s right. Perhaps it’s time to admit that the relationship isn’t easy and they aren’t easy. But Daehyun won’t the one to admit it. “I’m busy, I’m not--”

“Sometimes you’re unavailable. Sometimes we can’t talk--” she raises her hand to shush him when his mouth opens again. “And that’s okay. We don’t have to perfect. That’s what you said. We don’t have to be perfect. As long as we’re together.” The sheets are warm under their bodies and it’s a small comfort as Daehyun’s eyes bore into hers.

“But you know I still love you?” The tremble in his voice is audible this time and perhaps he needs just as much reassurance as she and perhaps that’s what pulls them together.

Aria smiles softly and Daehyun’s sure he’s fallen in love all over again. “Of course. And you know I still love you?”

“Yeah,” he whispers, voice incredibly soft. “I just need some reminders from you, yeah?”

Aria scoots closer, nodding happily. They’re chest to chest when she cranes her neck to look him in the eyes. There’s a beauty to it really, Daehyun determines. There’s a beauty in the way she looks at him that makes his heart swell. It’s not the way she makes cute faces or her seductive looks, but rather it’s the way she looks at him like he’s all she needs. And Daehyun can only hope that he reflects that same look in his eyes when he looks at her.

She tilts her head to the side curiously. “What?”

“I was really scared,” he admits when he finally manages to get out some sounds. “I was really scared that you were going to leave me for someone that would hold you every night and see you every day and then when you cried because of me, I didn’t know what to do. I never wanted to make you cry, but you’re crying everyday and I don’t know if you still want me and sometimes we say the meanest things and I think that one day we’ll get too far into it and we can’t take it back and it’ll be all over and jesus ing christ, Aria. If I lost you, I don’t know what I’d do.” Daehyun rambles when he’s emotional. He rambles and maybe he cries a little too, but Aria knows better than to point that out because this side of Daehyun is hard to see and she doesn’t want him to be locked up again.

“It’s hard.”

His brown hair falls over his eyes when he nods. “Yeah. And I’m really selfish, but I don’t want you to go--”

His rambling is stopped this time by her lips. She pulls away slowly. “I don’t want to go. I know I’m short fused, but Daehyun, I love you.” She pauses before she carries on. “Just remember what you said before: It’s not a movie. Sometimes love isn’t enough...”

He doesn’t want to admit she’s right. He was the first to tell her that. He was the first to break that fairytale. But he hasn’t accepted it himself. “It’s enough for us,” he confirms, not willing to succumb to reality.

“Dae--”

“It’s enough,” he repeats, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her closer. The cutest pout forms on his face and Aria doesn’t even have to look at him to see it. “I’m cute. You’re cute. Cute people have to be together.”

Aria laughs into his chest, arms wrapping tightly around his torso. “Okay.”

“I’m serious,” he assures her. “It comes straight from my heart.”

"I know. I love you."