"That's because," he said, stepping closer to her, "it was. And I figure it's about time we talk about things now, rather than trying to avoid each other. I know, I know, I'm crap at the talking thing."

He held up both hands to forestall her from jumping in immediately.

"It wasn't having it back. Not this time. That was you. The you you. The...it was the same, but not the same. Little bits different. Also? You wore sun hats. I never, ever knew how great you'd look in sunhats before."

He seemed to run out of track there for a moment, and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Look, I know you don't want...that...but it was nice. I can't lie about that. It was better than nice."