Hullo, everyone! This tale is written entirely based upon the 1995 version of the film, Persuasion (you know, the one with Ciarán Hinds and Amanda Root). This story takes place after Frederick and Anne kiss for the first time and unfolds during the interlude between their understanding and Frederick showing up at the Elliot's card party to ask for her hand in marriage. As a slight warning, I usually write stories in first person, but that didn't seem to fit this particular piece so I used third instead. Every once in a while, I caught myself typing "I" and "my", so if you find any first person pronouns below, I apologize; I will fix them as soon as I become aware of them.

Disclaimer: I do not own Persuasion, it belongs to the fabulous Miss Jane Austen. Any copyright infringement is unintentional.

An Overabundance of Felicity

by Knowing Grace

The caress was soft, sweet. In fact, it was everything that Anne Elliot could have ever imagined a kiss would be like between two people who shared the very deepest of affections. His firm lips were slightly chapped, but that only seemed to add to the delight she felt in such an intimate gesture. When it finally came to an end, she was left gasping for breath. Opening her eyes, she noted with secret pleasure, that Frederick seemed to be just as effected by the gentle caress as she herself proved to be. He caught her staring at him and the corners of his mouth tipped upwards; in that moment, she thought him to be the handsomest of men, but she knew that she was guilty of partiality—though no one could blame her for it. Indeed, though love matches were rarely a reason for a man and a woman to be bound together in holy matrimony, it was always a pleasant surprise when a couple joined together due to a strong affection rather than for monetary gain or loftier position in society.

"Anne." He whispered, gently winding a loose curl that had escaped from her bun around one of his calloused fingers. A shiver ran up her spine at the tone with which he used to call her by her Christian name. She had scarcely hoped to hear such obvious love being directed towards her after she had disappointed him all those years ago due to Lady Russell's persuasion.

An irrepressible happiness flooded her veins like a heady wine, and she wondered why she, the least of the three daughters born to Sir Walter Elliot, should be blessed to feel such an overabundance of felicity at such a moment in time. She smiled then, unable to contain the love that burst inside of her. Frederick had been the only one to see her when she had thought herself to be forever invisible to the world.

"Anne?" Her reverie ended abruptly at his questioning tone, and she gazed deeply into his eyes.

"Yes?" The word sounded breathless even to her own ears and she felt a blush rising up in her cheeks.

He turned then, offering her his arm in a gallant gesture that would have melted even the coldest of hearts—though, perhaps not the marble-like heart of Lady Russell. They strolled down the walk, studiously avoiding the carriages and other people who went about at a great pace, hastening to complete their own business as swiftly as possible.

"Is it...that is, I wonder...would it be too soon for me to seek an audience with Sir Walter tonight at the card party to request your hand or...am I being too forward?" She glanced up at him and noted that his own features were now stained crimson.

A chuckle burst from her lips, startling him. "Why, Frederick! I never thought you to be a hesitant man!" She cried, mirth clearly evident upon her face.

"Only when it comes to you." He murmured, seriously. Instantly, she halted and, using her free hand, she very boldly cupped his jaw, tilting his face so that he was now looking at her instead of at the ground before him.

"I could think of nothing I should like better than for you to speak with my father this evening." She murmured, receiving a blinding smile at her words. He turned just enough so that he was able to brush his lips against her gloved hand that was pressed against his cheek, a gesture that set butterflies to performing an aerial dance within Anne's stomach.

A passing gentleman jostled Frederick's arm, effectively reminding them both that they stood on a public roadway and not in the privacy of a parlour. Colour infused both of their faces and they soon continued on towards the house where the Elliots had been residing for the past two months.

"How? How could you still love me after all this time, after the abominable way I treated you in front of the Musgroves?" He asked after they had walked in silence for some time.

A soft smile graced her lips. "Very easily, I assure you. After all, I was the one to dash all of our hopes by entertaining the doubts of Lady Russell. If I had not let myself be so easily influenced by her, we would have married and been settled eight years ago, and neither of us would have had to suffer the affliction of a broken heart. I can easily forgive you your transgressions. I only wonder if you can also absolve me of mine, which are infinitely more severe in nature than your own have been."

His eyes filled with deep emotion and he squeezed her hand gently. "You are far to good for the likes of this poor sailor. All is forgiven, in fact, I believe I began to forgive you the night I saw you at the Musgroves, when I joined your family, my sister, and her husband for that dinner party. It was then that I realized that I still loved you. But the pain of feeling affection for one who had once rejected my suit and being forced to remain in your presence almost daily, caused me to hold you at arm's length lest my heart become injured beyond repair. It was only this afternoon, when I overheard your conversation with Harville, that I began to hope...that I thought perhaps all chances of persuading you to be my wife might not be as lost as I at first supposed."

He stopped and it took her but a moment to realize that they had, in fact, reached their destination. Slowly, regretfully, she unwound her arm from his and took a step towards the door, waiting for the familiar pang to strike her heart at his leaving-the same painful dart that had afflicted her every day since she saw him in Uppercross. It never came. "I love you, Anne." The words were as music to her ears and she beamed up at him.

"And I love you, Frederick."

Smiling joyfully, He tipped his hat towards her and said for her ears alone, "Until tonight." Turning, he made his way back up the street, glancing back at her from time to time until he turned a corner and was lost to her sight.

With a sigh, she entered the townhouse and closed the door in her wake.

Tonight, if her father gave his consent, she would be formally engaged. Her cheeks flushed with pleasure. It was a wonderful thought, and suddenly, her future did not seem dismal as it had just the night before. She would finally wed the man she had loved for the better part of nine years. He would belong to her and she to him; there was nothing that could make her happier than to share the rest of her life as the wife of Captain Frederick Wentworth.

"Anne? Is that you?" Her father's voice echoed down from the upstairs sitting room, effectively bringing her day dreaming to a close.

"Yes, Sir. I shall be up momentarily." She replied. Removing her pelisse, she hung it on a nearby peg and began ascending the winding staircase. A gentle smile curled her lips upwards; in a few hours the guests would be arriving, and then her future felicity would be secured by the man she loved most in all the wide world. For the first time in a long time, Anne Elliot was contented, both in mind and in spirit.

~Finis