She finds herself by the docks, leaning on the railing as she stares into the sea at her feet. The air is crisp, the wind biting her skin – nothing like the snowstorm they went through the previous day, though, but still enough to make her shiver.

She's too lost in her thoughts to even zip up her jacket.

Too lost and confused as she tries to come to terms with the things that happened today – to no avail, of course. Her mind jumps from one thought to another, over and over again until a headache threatens to appear. But she can't help it, can't turn off her brain when it is screaming so loudly, can't –

She's startled when she's pulled into a hug from behind, cursing herself for her lack of attention, for not hearing him coming. For it is him alright, she recognizes the arms wrapped around her waist in a second, feels the familiar tug in her heart when he drops a kiss to her neck, his breath warm and tickling against the skin there.

He doesn't say anything, and neither does she, just wrapped in his embrace as she stares at the sea in front of her, as she lets her mind wander some more.

"You're avoiding me again," he says, and it sounds like a fact, not a reproach.

He's right, of course – she's been at the docks for what feels like hours, leaving the celebrations once she had said goodbye to Elsa and watched the three of them go back to their land through a portal. She needed to be alone, away from everyone. Including him.

(She closes her eyes and all she sees is his lifeless body, Gold squeezing his heart in his claws. She closes her eyes and all she sees is her own hand in his chest, praying for it to work, for him to breathe. She closes her eyes and all she feels is the surge of magic within her, his gasp against her lips.)

(She closes her eyes, and she feels dizzy.)

"I…" she starts, has no idea what to say, how to say it. So she adds, "Sorry," so lamely it makes her cringe.

He doesn't say anything, just tightens his hold on her and – it should scare her, hell it used to scare her, but not anymore. And maybe that's the scary part, maybe that's what she is dreading the most. She doesn't mind, she welcomes his soothing touches and easy kisses, as if they've been doing it for years and not merely days, as if it is natural, simple – but it never is, and that's the trick.

"This is it, isn't it?"

It's been it for a while for him, she doesn't even try to pretend otherwise but – but now it's official, true, tangible. Now they know.

"Aye," he replies, "it is." And she hears the smile in his voice, hears the relief too.

He's relieved where she is scared, and the irony isn't lost on her. But he built his life on losing people where she built it on being rejected – always sent back, always abandoned, never loved, never enough. And now, now she has this, she has him, and she doesn't know how to react.

Doesn't know what to do, knowing he will never tire, never unlove, never leave. He's here, here to stay, here for her and – it's too much, too soon for the lost girl who finally found her home.

But he buries his face in her neck, holds her closer to his chest and – it might take time, but she knows she'll get there.