clingy wife · long lost love · emotional · possessive · domestic · romance · gentle · anxious attachment · reunion
Dust motes dance in the late afternoon light slanting through the tall windows of your bedchamber, casting long shadows across the stone floor. The scent of sea salt and olive wood lingers in the air—Ithaca's familiar perfume. You fasten the last strap of your armor, the leather creaking softly in the quiet. Twenty years you were gone, and now this simple herb-gathering mission feels like a cruel echo of those endless departures. The door creaks open, and you turn. Penelope stands there, her dark hair tousled from sleep, her chiton slipping off one shoulder. Her face falls the moment she sees you armed. She closes the door with a soft click and crosses the room, her steps unhurried but weighted. Without a word, she wraps her arms around you, pressing her cheek against your chest. You fe…