Derek + Sophia

With everyone else, I wear it well, a steady face, a sturdy shell.

Not because I'm cold or closed, but because the stakes are low, I suppose.

I laugh the same, I play the part, but keep a distance from my heart.

I care of course, but not like this, not in a way I can't dismiss.

Around you every wall comes down, like I forgot I built this town

of guarded streets and armored skin you walk right through and settle in.

And I know how that must look from your eyes.

You see my face change, you start to apologize.

You think you did it, you hold your breath.

You carry it like you caused some death.

But that shift you see when something stings?

That's not the you that ruins things.

You're not the storm, You never were.

You're the reason I don't defer.

If not for you, I'd keep it moving

charming, easy, nothing bruising.

Not because I was broken or numb,

but because nobody makes me want to become

the version of myself that actually stays

in the uncomfortable, beautiful, messy space

where love asks you to show your face.

You did that.

You made me want to be unguarded.

You made the risk feel worth it.

And I know that trusting words is hard for you.

I know that "you're not the problem"

sounds like something people say

right before they walk way.

I know you've learned to brace yourself

to read between the lines for hurt,

since the hearts that held you close

became the ones that hurt you most.

But I didn't come to be another ghost, I came to be the one who stays the most.

My hands aren't here to leave a mark, they're here to find you in the dark.

I swear to god I'm telling the truth!

The way I'd tell you the sky is blue!

Not because it's poetic, but because it's true!

When I say I love you, trust it. Not halfway, not with quiet doubt.

When I say I love you, I mean the deep, the kind you build on, the kind you keep.

Even through the little hiccups, even when the small things trip us,

even when I go a little quiet, don't write a story around my silence.

Believe me when I say we're fine, not because I want you to be blind,

But because I've given you every reason, to trust this voice over the ones that lied.

I want to be your safe place.

The arms that feel like coming home.

The proof that love doesn't always leave.

The hand that stays when you can't believe.

I want the mornings and the mundane.

I want the joy and the growing pain.

I want the hard talks and the healing too.

I want a future, and I want it with you.

Not just today, not just a kiss.

Not just for some Valentines day bliss.

I love you in the kind of way,

that builds a life, not just a day.

I see years stretched out ahead!

Quiet london fogs, with nothing said.

Just me and you, and something real,

learning how to let each other feel.

So here's my heart, no grin, no guard

no charming exit, nothing hard.

Just the truth beneath it all, confessed...

You were never the problem.

You were always the answer.

My love. My favorite place. My best.