Pairing: Angela/Ben
Era: Anytime
POV: Angela, 1st person
Lyrics: Sing like a bird
There are thousands of things for a girl to love about a guy. His looks, his intelligence, his sense of humour. And sometimes, just sometimes, you can love him for the simple reason that he loves you. That, despite every single one of your flaws and insecurities, he's still happy to sit there, expression calm, as you cry your eyes out about a college rejection letter or a great-uncle's death or a terrible thing that a girl at school said to you that you wish you could forget.
In Ben's case, it was the singing that did it. His awful, wonderful singing.
He didn't do it a lot, only when he knew that nothing else would cheer me up. He'd gather me into his arms, pull me close so I could feel his heartbeat, and just sing. I don't even know if it was a real song, or just one he made up on the spot. The tune was inconsistent, the rhythm was all wrong and the words were ludicrous, but none of that mattered. What mattered was that, every time without fail, his singing would bring a smile to my face. Sometimes I'd even join in for the second verse.
And that was it, right there – that was why I loved him. Because he didn't care that neither of us could sing well, that when he'd cheered me up enough to join in, my voice made the song twice as bad. He loved everything about me: my tears and my smiles, my dreams and my nightmares, my flats and my sharps. And I loved that. I loved him for giving me that love.
