Beautiful
Short but nauseously fluffy!
For the one and only, CSIsnickers101. Happy (very late) birthday! I love you with my whole heart and more and I really hope you like this!
Xxxxxx
"Do I look old to you?" Sara asked, standing in front of the full length mirror, prodding her cheeks and pushing her skin upwards with her fingers.
"What?" Nick asked, looking around the bathroom door to find Sara standing frowning at her reflection.
"Do I look old to you?" she questioned once again, her voice no more than a whisper as she peeled her attention away from the mirror and towards her lover.
"Of course not," Nick shook his head, stepping out from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his hips. "Sara you're beautiful."
He slowly slid his arms around her from behind, both looking into the mirror that held only illusions. A small smile graced her lips as she felt the heat of his body and she relaxed into the protective arms of the only person in the world who could make her feel safe. His fingers threaded through hers and they stood encompassed in their own magic world before he spoke softly.
"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met,
"You always were and always will be."
He punctuated the message with tiny kisses on the nape of her neck and along her shoulders. The small smile returned and stayed for a second on her lips before her lips pursed and a tear escaped down her cheek.
How she had come to this, she didn't know. She had never been critical of her appearance but now day by day it seemed as if years were passing and she feared seeing the reflection of her being every day. She willed herself often to snap out of it but every night she found herself staring into the eyes of a woman who was not herself.
"You have the most beautiful skin," he told her. His voice, a whisper made even quieter by the silence of the room.
"Soft. Pale white. With beautiful constellations dotted all over your back that I will never tire of tracing."
He let go of one of her hands to brush his fingers over her arms.
"And you have the magic eyes, no matter how many times I look I never once see the same shade. Every time you laugh, sparkles," he teased, kissing her temple.
She let out a soft giggle, shaking her head softly with a smile on her lips like it belonged.
"Don't laugh at me, I only speak the truth."
She leaned her head back upon his shoulder and he planted a flurry of soft kisses into her hair.
"You have the softest, most beautiful hair I have ever seen, even when it is tickling my nose when we sleep."
She began to laugh and closed her eyes, blocking out the image of the mirror and letting her lover tell her what she really looked like.
"And those lips, never once will I tire of kissing them. Morning kisses, night kisses. Special kisses... naughty kisses."
"Nick," she grinned, squeezing his hand.
"They're by far my favourite kisses," he chuckled, tracing her bottom lip with his finger.
"And last, but certainly not least, I love your hands."
He held both of her hands in his, "I love every finger, especially..."
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed the gold ring that adorned her finger, "this one."
"So, do you believe me?" Nick questioned, embracing her in a tight hug.
"Believe you?"
"Do you believe that you are not, in any way old and that you are incredibly beautiful?"
She bit her lip and softly nodded her head. He had captured such an image of her, one that she had never seen before but one that made her feel like the most beautiful woman alive.
"Good, because I speak only the truth Mrs Stokes."
He kissed her cheek and began to wander back into the bathroom, holding her hands until the last second. When she heard the door close she slowly opened her eyes, looking into the mirror with a soft smile.
"You are beautiful Sara," Nick's voice called from the bathroom.
You are beautiful Sara.
The words flew into her ear and made their way to her heart.
You are beautiful Sara.
She ran a hand through her hair. The once thick brown locks had given way to thin, grey wisps.
You are beautiful Sara.
Both of her hands glided across her cheeks. The pale skin had lost its brightness and had faded to grey. The freckles on her nose and cheeks were disguised by wrinkles formed after years of smiling and stress and...living.
You are beautiful Sara.
Her eyes strained under the low light without the lenses she was forced to wear daily but she could still make out the dark orbs that she supposed were once brown but were now too dark to distinguish.
You are beautiful Sara.
She pursed her lips together, remembering a number of kisses that had meant the world to her. Kisses that had woken her up, kisses that had sent her asleep. There was memories of kisses that had been apologies, promises, she remembered kisses that had been solely to quieten her when they were doing something risqué.
She remembered the kiss that had sealed her promise to love a man for the rest of her life.
The ring that decorated her finger had at first been odd. She wasn't used to weight on her finger and she had often twisted it around her finger desperate for it to feel more normal.
You are beautiful Sara.
And yet, after wearing it for 40 years it had become part of her, and she supposed the ring her husband had given her for her 84th birthday would become just another part of her being too.
You are beautiful Sara.