A/N: I was happily scrolling down Tumblr this morning when I came across a gifset that inspired me to write this. I'm not sure if this is will have more chapters or not, although I hope so because I miss writing DA Era John and Anna :)

Also, I was to thank my dearest and patient TerrieJane, who's always ready to read over my fics, even when I tell her I'm not writing anything else ;P

Disclaimer: Downton Abbey and its characters belong to Julian Fellowes.

- More Than Just A Glimpse -

It was more than will. It was a power he could not explain, as if the universe itself was the one dragging him there, knowing that this was all he wanted, all he was ready to have for now. A glimpse; one single glimpse. His heart racing in his chest again, proving still to be alive. A way of easing his pain, his longing. A way to believe again.

And as he had expected, she was there.

He knew Wednesdays were her half day off and he also knew the bookshop would be the perfect place to find her. He had been right, and his body had responded accordingly; excited, nervous, in love. The need to run to her and tell her how much he missed her, her touch, her kiss, her scent, the beautiful smile never far from her lips…

Instead he watched. She went in the shop and he waited outside, peeking discreetly through the open window, and watched as she roamed through the romance section. Her gloved index finger ran along the books, deciding which one to pick. He saw her move to the poetry shelf then, her expression growing sombre; he saw her sigh. Byron, his favourite author. The shelf she had picked to linger over as if he was there - her beloved - amongst the words of love and longing, as he had been so many times before. She took one of the books out, and he knew which one it was. 'Hebrew Melodies.' The exact same copy he had; the one he used read to her while she sewed and no one else was around.

'How much?' her voice, no less than music to his ears, even if not as close as he would like.

'Five pence, Miss.'

In a rush, he walked away, having stayed there watching longer than he had expected. If she saw him he would be at a loss. Loss of words, of an excuse, of helping himself to kneel at her feet and beg her forgiveness. Beg her to run away with him, far far away, to a place where their love would be free and everlasting.

Behind a tree he looked back at her, as she walked out the bookshop, headed to her next errand - Pins and Needles; as always, she must have been in need of sewing material.

Daring too much he lingered there, taking her in one last time…and then…

She saw him, just before stepping inside the tailor; her eyes right to his direction as sudden as more than coincidence, almost as if she was hoping to see him there, spying. After that, it was all so fast, so hasty, so anxious. He ran as fast as he could and with a strike of luck, a bus stopped right before him and he jumped inside, not even minding his leg, or cane or even his composure.

The last thing he remembered was seeing her run to that tree, as if running after life itself. And after that, a sharp pain. An unbearable regret. A dream he thought would never come to be.

And now, she was here, before him, asking for a glass of cider as cold as humanly possible. But her eyes betrayed her words, her apparent distance, and his heart began to beat again.

Thank you for reading :)