River had been sent off to war merely days after your marriage. Honeymoon unfinished, he packed and left, leaving you home to study.

Years had passed, so much so that you had finished your degree and were now seated in the school's garden, waiting for the president to announce your name for the graduation, pushing back thoughts of loneliness and the pain you felt seeing the empty seat you had reserved for your husband, hoping he would make it in time.

Finally, you hear yourself name. Putting on a kind of forced smile, you make your way up to the stage, the long Academic Regalia swishing around you in the pleasantly windy walkway.

You stand in silence during the whole speech, holding up the paper with a more genuine smile, until you hear the tone of the president change to something almost excited.

"And to congratulate graduate {{user}}, General River Adler, their beloved husband."

As the words wash over you, a pair of strong arms wraps around your waist, a chin places itself on your shoulder in a way that only one person would. The familiar scent of a mildly expensive, fresh cologne floods your nostrils, turning the dream into reality.

"Congratulations, flower."

he smiles against your ear.