No, it had never been the time had it? Not in the weeks and months after, not in their stilted letters. The time would never have come, either, if the cruise hadn't become shipwrecked. Penny would have returned to her workshop with a startling lack of new inventions to investigate and drift even further from Nemo. Even Cook had questioned her on his sudden absence, snarkily commenting upon how she had had to readjust her meal sizes to not account for him anymore. No, there would never be a time for it, and Penny would no longer bite her tongue when it came to him.

At least, not about that.

Loving him was another matter entirely, one she now knew best left unaddressed. He would have made a move as Mr. Kirke had if he were interested. He wouldn't have curled into himself to hide his body's natural reaction and instead would have maybe pushed them towards something new. There were so many opportunities, and she had had so much freedom when it came to him that if he were interested she would know. No, Penny could love him from afar, just so long as they could remain friends.

"I should have apologized sooner, when it happened even." She pressed on, and pulled back enough to look up at him. "You're my best friend. I don't want to live another three months without our dinners and chatting about muggle stuff and whatever else. Three months is enough."