Penelope looked up at him as he began to explain himself and what he was feeling. Her gaze softened sympathetically as she came to learn that he was worrying about the 'what ifs'. She couldn't blame him for that—especially since she easily got caught up in such worries—but she wasn't sure how to reassure him since he already seemed to trust her intention to be with him after the war. It was just a lingering fear of the past repeating itself that would be a bit difficult to combat. As he took her other hand, she gave it a comforting squeeze and held his gaze. 

"Thank you for being honest.." she told him softly, giving an appreciative nod. Though the topic was a bit difficult to deal with, Penelope was glad he had chosen to be up front with her, unlike when he had dealt with the previous issue of Gavin's words bothering him. The knight paused and shifted a bit. "I'm not sure what I can do to help ease that worry and it might not fully go away until we finally leave together after the war, but thinking about how things have changed might help you."

She gave him a soft smile and let go of his hands so she could wrap her arms around him in a comforting hug. "Like, for one, we've been together longer than a few weeks and we've faced even more challenges. We've talked about what our future will look like and I think we're starting to get a clearer picture of it." Penelope blushed a little as she mentioned their future, her mind quickly wandering to their past conversations about it. She smiled up at him affectionately. "I mean, I'm even starting to learn how to cook. Plus this time, there won't be a war to worry about. It'll eventually reach its end.

"And.." the knight hesitated and shifted her gaze away as a hint of guilt seeped into them. "I've learn from past mistakes. I won't give up so easily and if anything does happen to pop up that could potentially get between us, I won't just silently disappear. We'll talk about it and figure a way around." She knew he didn't want her to feel guilty about it but she couldn't help it. It was her mistake in the past that had caused for them to grow apart and though she had to be there for her family, she couldn't help but think that perhaps they could have figured something out if she had just sought him out instead of leaving him in the dark about why she had never come to meet him. 

Penelope leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "It might not get rid of what you're feeling but I hope thinking about all that stuff will at least help lessen it."