A/N : Ngl I'm very very proud of this one-shot. I've been wanting to do it since I saw A New Era. I just believe this would be canon at some point because John is such a self-depreciating man but Anna loves him to pieces and is always here to tell him. I genuinely think Anna loves her men older ;)

Anyways, the title comes from the Ed Sheeran's song (i love them and they suit Banna so well) "Thinking out loud". I looked on the official wiki pages of Anna and John for the ages but they also happen to be Brendan and Jo real ages lol

Enjoy !

John looked at his reflection in the mirror and what he saw there didn't please him. Grey hair. He groaned. Of course, at fifty-nine, he was bound to have grey hair but he couldn't admit it. This was a sign of his getting older, and it was the thing he hated the most. With a forty-two years old wife and a four years old son, he hated the thought of being an old man. His injury already prevented him from being a regular husband and dad, actually, he knew that this side would tend to get worse too.

Anyway, John was upset. He sighed and searched into the washroom cabinet for his favorite item these days : a pomade to hide the greyness of his scalp. As he went to apply it on his hair, he felt two arms circling his waist from behind. His wife's tiny body pressed flush against his large bulk.

"Hello, love, what are you doing ?" She asked softly, against his back.

"Erasing any proof of my being an old man" he replied in a sour tone.

She pulled away to swat his arm and turned him so he would face her.

"John, don't say that ! You're not an old man" she scolded him, a disapproving look on her face.

"But I am, darling. I'm almost sixty", he looked down.

"Yes, and as dashing as a young lad. And you think I'm still twenty-five ? We're both getting older, John. It's life" she reminded, grinning at him.

"You, my darling, are an immortal fairy. You would still look beautiful when you're old and grey" he said, cupping her cheek to look into her beautiful blue eyes, smiling.

"So do you !" She retorted.

He sighed, turning away from her.

"I just don't like growing old, Anna. I feel uncomfortable going out with you and Johnny, looking like I'm more his grandfather than his father"

"Oh, love…Johnny doesn't care neither do I" she cupped his cheek and turned his head to look him in the eyes.

"But one day, he will go to school and his classmates might make fun of him because his daddy is an old man"

"Wow, why are you talking about school? Johnny is still our baby" she pouted.

"And I'm the one being sentimentalist ?" He chuckled.

"Anyways, that's not the point. I told you a hundred times that your age doesn't matter to me. It didn't matter when you were 42 and I was 25 and it won't matter when you're 80 and I'm 63. I love you John, I married you because you're the smartest, funniest, kindest, and most handsome man I've ever met and I love you as I did the first time I ever told you so, at that flower show" they both chuckled at the memory, happy tears in their eyes. "And your son loves you too. No matter your age" she stroked his cheek with her knuckles.

"But I'm going to die before you. I'm going to die before seeing my boy as an accomplished man" he cried. She silenced him with her lips, kissing him with the greatest tenderness.

"I've come so close to losing you to death when I was just a young bride. The day I'll lose you for good will be the hardest day of my life, John, I won't deny it, but I'll let you go knowing we lived the most perfect of life together" She kissed him again, stroking his cheek lovingly with one hand, the fingers of the other were intertwined with his.

"Do you still desire me, even with my grey hair and my lowering sight ?" He asked, shyly.

"Oh yes, I do. More than you can imagine. Seeing you in your glasses makes me feel like i'm a young bride all over again" she said in a sultry tone close to his ear, winking at him to emphasize her point. "Come here, so I can show you how much I still desire you, Mr Bates"

She took his hand and led him to the bedroom. The pomade was long forgotten on the sink shelf as Anna pushed her husband on the bed.

Please review !