he hadn’t kissed her since the accident , dante was determined to remain respectful , wanted hart to recover and he fully understood that she might not ever remember him . he hated the thought of that , it devastated him having to accept the reality that she might never remember the lives they’d built together , all while he remembered every detail of it . all he’d ever wanted since seeing her again was to kiss her , but he reminded himself that his own desires were not important . hart was the one who mattered most to him , it was her comfort he was concerned with , and it was her pace that he wanted to work at . he wouldn’t ever push her for more , wouldn’t try to progress things more quickly no matter how much he missed her . he studied her closely after her request , swallowing the lump that had settled in his throat . he couldn’t recall the last time he’d been this nervous , he didn’t want to fuck anything up , wanted to ensure that things between them remained positive . his movements were slow , hands gentle as he brought them up to cup her cheeks . dante gave her a slight nod before slowly leaning in to press a gentle kiss to her lips , he wanted to keep things at a relaxed pace , wanted to make sure that she was fully comfortable with everything that they were doing .