A/N: I took ten minutes out of my study time to write a short fic underneath the library. Enjoy

She's run out of places to cry.

Tears coalesce with raindrops.

What's the difference between bathwater and saltwater anyway?

She takes another sip from her glass at the hotel bar. It's been ten long years since the last time her glass was half empty like this.

Happy fucking Anniversary.

She misses him terribly. She used to remember his quirks and flaws. Now all she sees is fading perfection. He left her two days before her birthday.

Happy 22nd, Allison.

Loving brother, son, and husband.

The night before he passed, the fog was too dense. The full moon tucked safely behind its opaque blanket.

They both knew it was time. She wouldn't cry.

Not tonight.

His outstretched hand against her face.

A finger brushing across her lips. Flesh on flesh. Tired eyes meet swollen eyes.

His dying words were 'Smile for me, beautiful.'

His words undid her. No one could make her feel as perfect as he.

March 10th, 1998. 10:37 p.m. and silence.

She tucked her favorite sweater in the casket. It was his favorite as well.

oOo

She returns to his gravesite today. Ten years passes so quickly it seems. She sees the hill from her car and tells her companion that she might as well go alone, that the hill can't be good for his leg. He nods once, understanding what's beneath those words.

She finds a rock as she walks along the path. The headstone has withstood nature and time remarkably well. She places the piece of granite atop the slick surface. She allows herself ten minutes of remembrance and mourning. Just ten minutes.

Forgetting him, that's something she cannot do. It's not an option for her.

She descends the hill; the hunched shoulders from before have since relaxed.

They return to the hotel and climb into bed together. And he holds her.

And she cries.

She can't forget him and she can't forget the past that he shaped.

But this. This is her now.