My Best Friend

He didn't arrive with thunder.
No grand gestures, no fireworks.
Just a steady presence
when I needed one.

He learned the shape of me
without asking me to soften the edges.
The sharp corners, the quiet retreats,
the way I sometimes pull away
just to see who follows.

I'm not easy to love.
I know this.
I've said it out loud,
through a half-closed door.

He heard me,
and stepped through anyway.
Just to sit beside me
and say, I’m here.

And somehow
that was everything.

I'm still learning
how to be loved like this.
Still surprised
when he reaches for my hand
like it's the most natural thing
in the world.

Like it's home.

One day soon
I will stand beside him,
put a ring on his finger,
and promise out loud
what my heart already knows:

I choose you.
Always.

Even on the days I'm difficult.
Even when I doubt everything else.

Because you held me
when I was hardest to hold.

Because you stayed
when I tried to push you away.

Because somehow,
you make it feel
like I deserve
to be loved.

And you've taught me
to trust this.