THE MOMENT
"A worm?" It was a quiet Friday evening, and an odd question broke the silence. Greg was watching TV with his wife's legs across his lap. She was on her phone, not watching TV with him, and each of them thought it was perfect. He could watch whatever he wanted, and they still spent time together.
"Yeah, a wyrm," Elva nodded.
"Well, how did this happen? Am I a worm, too? Would you even understand anything at that point, being a 'worm' and all?"
"So, all that talk about 'in sickness and in health'...," Elva held back her own giggles, but just barely. "You're over-thinking it. Stop doing that, and I'll ask you again. Would you still love me if I turned into a wyrm?"
"Yes, honey. I would still love you if you turned into a worm," Greg answered, then turned back to the TV when her attention shifted to her phone again. They settled back into comfortable, loving silence for a short time, and then she presented another odd question.
"What about a naga?" she asked. Greg had been absorbed into the game again, and he only half-heard the sudden question.
"What about a what?" He asked. "What are you doing?"
"A NAGA," she laughed and shook her head. "You know, half-snake. I think I found a game we can play together," she said.
"Oh yeah?" Greg turned his body to face her more directly. "Is it just asking me if I'd love you in different animal forms?"
"Nooooo," she said. "It's supposed to be a super immersive MMO; it's called 'The AlterNet'. There are 30 races and I'm just kind of reading through them," she said.
"I've never heard of it...," Greg had to comment. It was a topic they were both thoroughly interested in. They both gamed to different extents, and despite that, they had yet to find a game they both enjoyed together. He was in the middle of watching a major battle royal tournament, while she preferred more casual gaming on the go. If she'd found a game she thought they'd both like, he absolutely wanted to know more.
"It's new... and it's... a lot...," she giggled. "It's not going anywhere," she nodded at the TV. "You can keep watching the finals, I'm still learning it."
"Okay..," he nodded and started to turn forward again, but he paused. "Wait, they have a worm race?" he asked.
"A subvariant of the dragon race, yeah," she nodded.
"Dragon...?" he was confused enough to stop thinking. He couldn't see how a worm had anything to do with dragons, but as soon as his mind stopped, a new word popped in. "Wait... did you mean wyrm?"
"That's what I've been saying," she nodded. "Wyrm."
"W-Y-R-M. Wyrm?" Greg asked.
"Wait.. what'd you think? Did you think I was asking if you'd love me if I was a W-O-R-M-worm?"
"Well they're both kind of unexpected questions," he said.
"Babe!" she yanked her feet off his lap and sprang forward to kiss him on the cheek. "That's so sweet, you'd love me if I was a worm!"