Her voice made him smile at her, and it just might have been his first real smile in a long time. Her arms moved to take him into an embrace, a hesitant embrace that Regulus understood and mended when he wrapped his arms around her tightly. She wasn’t as young as he remembered her and it didn’t matter to him. She was just as beautiful and just as familiar, and that was the important thing.
“You’re as pretty as I remember, maybe more.” He pulled himself away from her, kept his hand faintly touching her arm and looked her in the eyes. She didn’t hate him for what he’d done. She didn’t despise him and that alone was a relief. He didn’t know what he’d do if she turned her back on him.