Picture the fire still burning, except now it's beyond the horizon. A sunset.

We spent the first night together since our drama. And it was easy, free, light. I just had to make a choice: be her friend, be what she needs now and later she'll be what I need. It's such an obvious solution, so elegant and pragmatic that I'm irritated that I didn't come up with it earlier. Now I just need to stick to this plan of action, stay focused and let my attraction and emotions burn at a slow ember instead of the bonfire they usually erupt into. Because those feelings are still there, still burning beneath my chest and warming me the way brandy warms me. Even now I'd give her anything for her to be happy and if that means stepping back until her life blows up in her face, then so be it. You can't make an omelet without breaking a couple eggs after all. It's all coming together, and for the first time since She Who Will Not Be Named left, I feel as if my life can be simple, easy, and free. I can be an honorable man. I can be happy.