all that we could beAuthor: SPublished: 2022
They begin because of what Lisa supposes is the dumbest idea she's ever had.
all that we could be
Lisa haltingly steps onto the patio, eyes focused on the two steaming mugs of tea she's holding as she inches her way to where Jennie is. She breathes a sigh of relief as she sets the mugs on the coffee table, mildly proud that she didn't spill or forget to use a coaster.
Jennie's sitting on the hanging chair, an open book on her lap, a blanket around her shoulders. Lisa shakes her head when she hears her soft snores.
She moves around the coffee table, careful around the edges, and sits gingerly beside her wife. Jennie doesn't stir, and for a moment, Lisa's content to watch her sleep, taking in her slightly parted lips, the way her time-touched skin looks when it's caressed by the light of a dying sun.
Lisa reaches for a hand before scooting closer and pressing her nose against Jennie's temple.
"Nini," she whispers.
She smiles when she feels Jennie squeeze her hand the moment she wakes.
"I brought tea," Lisa says quietly.
Jennie breathes slowly and deeply before turning her head until she can rest against the crook of Lisa's neck. Lisa wraps an arm around her, moves closer so that she can feel Jennie against her side.
The world is still and quiet, the wind gracefully dancing around them, the sun stealing one last peek. Lisa closes her eyes, utterly content.
If she could choose how they end, it would be like this.
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Jennie rests a hand on Lisa's thigh, feeling the gentle back and forth of the hanging chair as Lisa lifts her legs onto the cushion. She opens her eyes just enough to see the last of the sunset, eyes taking in the paint-splashed sky above them. The book lays ignored on her lap, the steaming mugs of tea patiently waiting on the coffee table.
Lisa sighs against the top of her head, and Jennie knows that sound. She smiles, glad to hear it now, even after so many years together.
She doesn't know how much time they have left for moments like this but knows that they don't have forever. Something will come for them one day, sooner rather than later, and they have lived long enough to welcome it with open arms and acceptance in their hearts. Jennie isn't afraid, but she has spent a lifetime with one person by her side and if she could demand it from death, she would ask to have her with her for whatever comes after.
"Lili," she says softly.
Lisa hums, hand squeezing her shoulder.
"Love me again tomorrow?"
Jennie feels a kiss and a smile pressed against her gray crown.
"I'll love you even after."
Jennie believes her, and it's enough.
🌜
Lisa shivers into wakefulness with her knees almost up to her chin, her hands tucked into her armpits, feet rubbing together in a useless attempt to generate warmth. She sighs, resigned and fond, and doesn't bother muttering a word of complaint.
It's her turn to make breakfast anyway.
Her joints click as she goes about the long, slow process of straightening her body, muffling a groan as best as she can when her knees and back protest against the movements.
