It felt like an eternity, being separated from him, but she strokes his cheeks, shaking her head. "No, no, only a week," she assures him, needing to kiss his lips again. Then, she pulls back to look at him, trying to see if he's more or less whole, if anything's happened to him.

"Twenty years for you," she breathes out, knowing. There's more white in his hair, and she slides her hand behind his neck, unable to find purchase in his curls because they're pulled back. "Or longer?" she asks him, searching his eyes.