(Song for the mood: The Day I Met Her, Esther Abrami)

You had been the closest friends. You were nine and John was ten. He taught you to play soldier and you were happy to run with him through the mud and brambles. You wanted to paint your nails, and he liked to tease you relentlessly for it. The two of you had been inseparable, never one without the other. Soon, you were eleven and twelve, thirteen and fourteen, and finally came the day you were fifteen and he had just turned sixteen, and for his birthday, he was signing a dotted line to join the military. You hated to see him go, and truth be told, he was sad to be leaving you behind, too, but the call of duty was greater than his desire to stay home.

It had been sixteen years since the day he left, but you could still see John's face as clear as day, and it wasn't just because it was the anniversary of the last time you saw him. As you sipped on your London Fog, a handsome gentleman walked into the cafe and you couldn't peel your eyes off him. You couldn't help but think you recognized his steely blue eyes and tall frame. But it was when he folded his arms and leaned his weight back- that familiar "military lean"- you knew exactly who he was. Carefully, you tiptoed from your seat at the table in the corner to where he stood at the back of the line, still reading over the menu. He hadn't seemed to notice you until your breath feathered against his ear.

"You couldn't hide in a crowd if you wanted to, John Price."

He started and looked over his shoulder, his expression of bewilderment melting away to recognition. "(Y/N)!" John smiled brightly, stepping out of line to catch you in a hug. 

You squeezed him tightly and stepped back to look him up and down. "My, how you've grown; I've never seen you with a beard before, or so many muscles. I almost didn't recognize you!"

"Hardly, I'm more beat up and rugged than the day I left," he replied. "Though how you managed to get prettier since then, I'll never know." He adored the smile you tried to hide when you covered your mouth; it was delightfully contagious. "What're you doing here?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." 

His posture relaxed and he shrugged. "Just taking advantage of some downtime before my next mission. I didn't realize you were still in Credenhill." 

"Yeah, took on a nursing job and haven't exactly had the opportunity to leave since then," you chuckled.

"You always were the nurturing type." 

Noticing the line moving without him, you glanced back at your table. "Hey, I'm just in the corner reading a book, when you get your drink, you're welcome to join me if you aren't busy?"

"Not at all." He quickly made his order and came straight back to you, eagerly taking his place across from you. "So you're a nurse now, I take it you've moved out on your own?"

You quickly swallowed a sip of your drink, putting your serviette to your lips to catch a stray dribble. "I did! I found a nice little place here in town that's right in the middle of everything, and very affordable in spite of how nice it is." You could see he had a greater question on his mind by the way he tapped his finger on the table, and wondered if you could coax him into asking it. "Though it is kind of lonely having no one to share it with..."

John tilted his head. "I'm assuming there's no boyfriend in the picture?"

Ah, there it was. You sighed, placing your hands in your lap. "No. Not anymore, anyway." You stroked your fingers through your hair to sweep a stray lock out of your face. "I dated one guy for a few years, but I think we had only stayed together that long because we didn't want to be alone, not because we truly saw a future together."

He furrowed his brows sympathetically. "I'm sorry to hear that. How long ago was this?"

"Three years." You smiled at him reassuringly. "But I'm over it; it was amicable at least." You slid your hand beside his on the table, lingering just an inch from him. "What about you? I'm sure all the girls beat down your door."

John threw his head back with a laugh. "No, no, I've had a few dates here and there, but I'll be honest, I haven't had time to have a serious relationship until only recently, and unfortunately, it seems that after you hit thirty, the fish stop biting."

"Nonsense!" you protested. "I think they're biting, you're just not reeling them in."

"Is that so?"

"Come on, with that face and you're in the military? I don't know a woman out there you couldn't pull in a heartbeat."

"Then prove it."

You paused and shot him a smirk. "Prove what exactly?"

He chuckled, taking a sip from his cup. "That I can have any woman I want."

You could feel the heat in your face and you pried your gaze away from his to hide the nervous grin on your lips, eyes darting around the room. "Well, pick a woman and I'll tell her you want to go out with her."

There was silence and your eyes returned to his face, a sly grin spread across his mouth. Your face felt even hotter and you pointed at yourself. "Me?"

"Well? I'm single, you're single, why not?"

After another beat of silence, you both broke into a fit of child-like giggling. You grasped his hand and he looked up at you with that same smile you remembered from when you were kids; that bright, genuine smile that crinkled up the corners of his eyes. "Alright, then, if I say yes, where are we going?"

He leaned back in his seat, twining his fingers with yours. "How about this nice little cafe on the corner, where it's cozy and we can catch up for a few hours?" John raised his cup, cocking his head as if to emphasize his question.

You scooted forward in your chair, leaning forward to be closer to him. "I think that sounds fantastic."

The barista came up to your table and laid a receipt beside John's hand. You looked outside at a dark sky, the street glittering with rippling puddles of rain. Though outside had turned cold and grey, the cafe was still warm and inviting, the smell of tea, coffee, and cinnamon drifting through the small shop.

John caressed your fingers with his. "What's on your mind, love?"

Your eyes turned from the window to him. His beard had begun to gray, and the wrinkles around his eyes had deepened, yet still, you could see that same face you had fallen in love with nearly 50 years before. It was strange, it was like he had grown more handsome with age; maybe it was the memories playing tricks on you, or maybe nearly twenty years of love, of creating a family together, of always bringing out the best in one another that affected your view, but you didn't mind. You liked the view from where you were standing, and you wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

A smile pulled at your weathered features and you squeezed his hand. "Just remembering that day I saw you again for the first time."

"Yes. It's been so long, yet somehow it feels like just yesterday." He sighed contentedly, watching the trickles of rain slither down the window. John raised your hand to his lips, studying the still-vibrant diamond ring he had out on your finger years before as he planted a gentle kiss on it. "Though how you managed to get prettier since then, I'll never know."