Chapter Text
~ bonus ~
The house was quieter now. Seasons had come and gone, rulers had risen and fallen, wars had been fought and won. But here, within the quiet embrace of your home, life had settled into something softer.
Your days were no longer dictated by duty, by survival, by the constant weight of expectation.
Now, they were measured in the warmth of the sun against your skin as you walked through the garden. In the scent of fresh bread wafting from the kitchen. In the sound of horses trotting through the fields, their hooves kicking up soft clouds of dust.
In Simon’s laughter.
That was your favorite sound of all.
The morning light filtered through the sheer curtains, casting a warm glow across the wooden floors. Somewhere outside, birds sang, their melodies weaving through the breeze, but none of it could pull you from the warmth of the bed you had shared for decades.
Simon was still beside you.
His arm, strong even with the passing years, draped over your waist, holding you close as he had done every morning for as long as you could remember. His breathing was steady, deep, the weight of sleep still lingering in his body.
You turned slowly in his embrace.
Time had left its mark on both of you.
His hair, once dark, was now streaked with silver, unruly as ever. His face had only grown more defined, his jaw strong, his lips slightly parted as he slept. Over the years he had let his stubble turn into a short beard that tickled your face everytime you kissed.
He was beautiful.
Time had not taken that from him.
Your fingers moved on their own, tracing the familiar scar along his cheek, the one you had memorized so long ago. His brow furrowed slightly at your touch, but his breathing remained slow, steady.
You smiled, brushing away a strand of silver-streaked hair from his forehead.
A rough, familiar chuckle rumbled against your chest. “Caught you staring again, lovie.”
You huffed, but your smile remained. “I can’t help it.”
Simon’s dark eyes opened, softened by sleep, still holding the same warmth they had the first time you fell in love with him.
He reached up, catching your hand in his, pressing a kiss to your palm. “Still got that look in your eyes.”
You tilted your head. “What look?”
“The one that tells me you love me,” he murmured. His voice was deeper now, rougher with age. His thumb traced absent circles against your wrist, his grip as steady as it had always been. “Even after all this time.”
You leaned in, pressing a lingering kiss to his lips, slow and unhurried.
“I do,” you whispered against his mouth. “Always.”
Simon sighed contentedly, pulling you closer, pressing another kiss to your forehead.
The lines on your faces, the softness of your bodies, the aches in your joints. They were all signs of a life lived . Of battles fought. Of years spent choosing each other, over and over again.
There was nothing left to run from.
Nothing left to fear.
Only mornings like this, wrapped in warmth, in love, in the quiet certainty that time could never take this from you.
“We should get up,” you murmured.
Simon made a low, disapproving sound, pressing a kiss to your temple. “You keep sayin’ that, but you’re still in my arms.”
You laughed softly, your fingers tracing along his collarbone. “Because you won’t let me go.”
“Damn right.”
You shook your head, pressing your forehead to his chest.
Gods, you loved him.
After all these years, that love had not dimmed. It had deepened, becoming something unshakable, something as sure as the earth beneath your feet.
You own knight in shining armor.