"so i guess what I'm trying to say is

i will talk until my voice is hoarse so that my little sister understands that aggression and

affection are two entirely separate things

baby they exist in difference universes

my niece can't even speak yet but I think I'll start with her now"

-

It's five years later and Iris is awake in the middle of the night, her lover facing her with sleepy eyes as the were nuzzled close to each other in bed. They'd been up for hours just talking about everything and anything even though in the past 18 years of friendship, not once had this topic been covered.

"I want my little sister to understand." Iris spoke lightly despite the dark topic. Her younger sister had just turned 13 and she never wanted her to go through the same things she did.

Luke brought a hand up to her cheek and she had grown not to flinch. She never feared that he would scrape or bruise her, not once. His thumb rubbed over her face as he watched her fight back tears. She wasn't sad or scared, they were from having to relive the memories and realizing they affected her more as a young adult.

Iris laid there and thought to herself how naive she had been, thinking that a male's aggression could be covered up by a stupid sentence that she swore to herself she would never repeat.

It was affection she wanted when she was younger, but she believed she had to go through aggression first. She had been so young, her childhood slipping through her fingers. A chipped tooth at 7, a broken heart at 13, her first split lip at 14, the loss of her virginity at 15, a concussion at 17, and a new found bravery at 20. She's now 25.

"They're completely different things, aggression and affection I mean."

The blonde boy leaned into her without a word, placing a dear kiss to her lips. They'd barely been touching and he didn't mind that. The girl who he had admired since he was only so big was lying right next to him.

"Baby," He tucked a piece of hair behind Iris's ear. "They exist in different universes." He told her, which she already knew.

She laughed at his words and got him to smile just as big as she was. He tangled them further into the sheets by crawling over and on top of Iris. The necklace he'd been wearing dangled in front of her face while his bare chest pressed against hers. She seemed to be hypnotized by the silver chain, but that didn't stop her from going on.

"My niece is almost 1, but I think I'll start with her now." Jane sighed as she stared up to the boy.

He gave her a sweet smile, even after this long of a time she never got sick of. Five years they had been in a relationship. 60 months, 260 weeks, 1,826 days. Out of all of those numbers, it had been 3 months since Luke got down on one knee and asked if Iris would marry him. And of course she had said yes, it was what she was best at.

In the dim light Luke could see a few faint scars on her face and he always fell guilty.

"I'm so sorry, Iris," he said.

"It's okay," she replied.

"I could've helped," he said.

"No you couldn't have."

And then there was always a silence.

"I love you."

"And I love you."