[He ignores the darker undercurrent, for now. After all, he'd wanted to share with her to celebrate the bright parts of this moment: the way she feels against him, warm and solid; the soft contentedness at how close they are; the quiet wonder of being in a beautiful place with someone he loves]

[(And if somewhere down beneath there is a thread of old guilt, it is not as debilitating as it once was - a dull ache, rather than the bright, sharp blade of a knife - assuaged, somewhat, by a church that stands empty and a courtyard filled with graves)]