You remember when Matt first asked you if you wanted to go to the aquarium in the city. You were so confused. You'd never been to an aquarium because you never understood what was so special about watching a fish swim around.
But, Matt was so excited and telling him 'no' would feel illegal. If going there meant you got to see him happy, anything would've been worth it. So you said yes.
The building was bigger than you expected. Your mouth dropped when you entered first but Matt didn't notice because he was too busy getting the tickets from the desk worker.
Your head spun in every direction as it soaked in the view. Blue lights illuminated every tank with big signs guiding everyone to different exhibits. Rocky formations ran along the walls with bright colors. You started to understand Matt's initial excitement.
He quickly pulled you along towards the entrance with all the signs. In big, lit up letters read exhibits like: tentacles, open sea, splash zone, and into the deep. You both stood there for a moment as you guys pondered your options.
"Which way, m'am?" Matt questioned in a cheesy accent.
You playfully rolled your eyes at him.
"Hm.." you looked at the different signs. "Into the deep sounds scary..let's do that first"
Matt laughed and nodded. "Let's do that then"
This new sense of excitement was nice and a bit ironic considering you now seemed more excited than he did.
Matt grabbed a hold of your arm when you started walking. You spun around, confused. He let go and smiled. He took your hand and intertwined his fingers with yours.
"That's better"
It's crazy how much you could love someone. You used to make fun of tv show characters who were too in love. You would always say it's unrealistic and how no one feels like that about someone because no one is perfect.
But you were wrong. Imperfections made love beautiful. That's why you fell in love with Matt. Matt was perfect in your book because of your differences. You were always learning more about each other.
The squeeze of his hand knocked you from your thoughts. Jelly fish lined along the walls to the right and you ogled in delight. You had seen jellyfish before, but not like this. The tank was taller than you and stretched almost the entirety of the wall. It was beautiful.
"Matt, look!" You whispered, waving your hand.
"Midwater jellyfish" Matt said, reading the sign below the tank.
"They're glowing in the dark" you said. It was like they were glowing, as if their bodies were made out of glow stick liquid.
"It's cool, isn't it?" He rubbed your back as he read the sign. "Apparently they light up their tentacles when they need to distract predators. It gives them a better chance of running away. But they can also detach them? Damn."
You laughed. He had one hand placed on your shoulder as he looked at the words.
"Oh shit! Look at this!" Matt exclaimed, getting distracted again.
Matt broke away from you and ran to a different side of the exhibit. Different circle shaped windows were on the wall and each circle showed a different stage animal.
"It's that guy from Finding Nemo. With the lightbulb thing on its head"
You laughed. "Anglerfish, right?"
He nodded and looked at the fish. A black curtain swayed in front of you, the sign reading 'Underwater Tunnel' Now that sounded interesting.
Your head peeked in and your mouth dropped open just as it did when you first stepped inside the building. Only this time, you didn't bother closing it.
You made your first step through the curtain and promptly felt a hand tighten around your waist. Your body twitched at the touch, slightly startled.
"Wow" Matt said behind you.
You turned around and looked into his eyes. He smiled and kissed your forehead. You closed your eyes and embraced the touch of his lips on your skin.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" You asked when he pulled away.
He nodded and took your hand, pulling you further into the tunnel. There was a few benches along the side and he brought you to the empty one in the middle.
People passed by, chattering away in their own conversations but it didn't matter to you. In this moment, only you and Matt existed. Nothing else existed between the two of you. Not the children running around or the parents yelling after them. Nothing.
"Y/N?"
You were busy staring at a fish floating over your head, but you looked at him.
"Yeah?" You whispered back.
"I love you so much, you know that. Right?"
You felt your cheeks warm up from his words.
"Of course. I love you too"
"Ya know, life—," he paused as he motioned generally around him, "Life is insane. It never stops...life-ing. There's no pause button, no stop button. Nothing. But it's all perspective, you know?"
You looked at him with a raised eyebrow, slightly confused where he was going with this.
"What do you mean?" You asked as you looked out through the glass. Maybe he was seeing something that you just weren't.
"Like the fish, for example. In their world, their tank, maybe that is their idea of chaos. Always bumping into each other, different people always staring at them, taps on the windows, bland fish food. Yet, to us, like right now—we're at peace. This is peaceful, I feel content watching them. Not just us either, but everyone else here," Matt admitted.
"Hmm," you murmured. You thought deeply about his words. He was right. Perspective really did change a lot.
"Our reality, our world, is pure chaos. Everything and all of it. People are always moving and pushing people out of the way. But, you—," he cut himself off for a moment, "You are all that matters. You are the peace I crave in this chaotic world, y/n."
A lump formed in the back of your throat and you turned your head towards him. You smiled shyly at him, fighting a subtle quiver of your lips.
"Matt," you whispered, "I will be your peace forever and always. For as long as you're mine."
