Word Count: 505
Lavender yawns, stretching until she feels the gentle crack in her spine. Another stretch, this way, then that, and she sits up, her grey blanket falling and pooling in her lap. Parvati isn't there, and it only takes a quick sniff to know her fiance is in the kitchen. The smell is mouth-watering, and she licks her lips, quickly climbing to her feet.
She wonders how she got to be so lucky. Parvati doesn't have to do these things, but she does, and Lavender thinks of how blessed she truly is.
She changes quickly, draping her favorite teal shawl over her shoulders. A glance out the window tells her it's a brisk sort of autumn day with a light chill in the air. Lavender pauses long enough to watch another few leaves fall from their branches and drift down onto the ground. This has always been her favorite time of year, but there's a different sort of joy. Each leaf that falls counts down to December. Once the snow has covered the fallen leaves, Parvati will be her wife, and maybe winter will have to be her favorite season.
Several moments pass, and her stomach growls, reminding her that she has business to tend to. She makes her way to the kitchen where Parvati has prepared a large breakfast that makes Lavender moan in anticipation. "I'm starving! I didn't realize exactly how much I was until just now."
"Aren't you precious?" Parvati chuckles, pouring herself a glass of almond milk.
"Not as precious as you are," Lavender says sweetly, and she loves the way Parvati blushes, like all it takes is one comment, and Parvati becomes a giggling schoolgirl.
Lavender sits across from her partner, digging into her plate. She wants to taste it all at once, but she manages to control herself. "How did I get so lucky? You're so good to me."
"Just because I cook?"
Lavender laughs. Of course there's more to it than that. Even before they realized they weren't just friends, Parvati has always been kind. Where others looked at Lavender and saw a ditz, Parvati saw potential. When she was healing after the war, Lavender had tried to push everyone away, but Parvati had refused to budge. Somehow, Parvati only ever saw the good.
That's why it had been so easy to fall in love with her and know that she's the one Lavender wants to spend the rest of her life with. It had been as easy as breathing, and just as natural.
But she doesn't say any of that now because she doesn't want to start sobbing at eight in the morning. Instead, she just laughs and nods. "Exactly. And you look amazing in a bikini."
Lavender has always wanted a love like this, a forever love that could never be taken from her. As she eats, she admires her engagement ring, a smile on her lips. No more dreaming, no more wishing. This love is real, and it is hers, and she could never be happier
