Ch. 1 D&D and Lord of the Rings

"I still remember what I told you four years ago..."

Erin's breath catches.

"That I'd wait longer than Penelope waited for Odysseus," he says, more quietly now.

And then, almost to himself, with a soft smile that lights up his eyes: "Still would."

Erin looks up, bright blue eyes locking with his warm green ones, and just for a heartbeat-

She swears she hears the echo of that other promise too:
Thou art to me a delicious torment more divine than ambrosia.

The promise was only four years ago, but the shift between them started long before that. Ten years, to be exact.

And no matter how much time has passed, Erin remembers every moment just as clearly as Dustin does.

Especially the night everything started changing.

Some things change. Some promises don't.