Chapter Text
‘Francis’. In the midst of the jubilant crowds, she breathed his name, as if a song, a wish, a prayer. She grasped his face in her hands, completely aware of the crowds around them, her Aunts disapproving glare, and his shipmate who lingered close to them yet did not seem to know where to look. She was so completely self-conscious of all of it and was reminded exactly of why she had denied him twice, even as she held his face close to hers. After the years of waiting and longing, she couldn’t bring herself to care, only to bring him closer.