I have no idea how this works, and it's not a fic, but your phrasing above made my brain start working, and, well --

Changes

A secret glance, a drifting touch, a hand
Too long on mine, a subtle clue I missed
Until she spoke out plain; until we kissed
I had no thought of any but a man.
That joy brought grief – I knew she still must take
A man to give her standing. She must wed
And build a life apart. We’d share a bed,
But not a life. There was no choice to make.

I never dreamed there’d be another path,
Another life, another choice, a fate
Known and unknown, changing, and still the same –
The mouth that quirks just so, the growing flame
In eyes that catch mine as the hour grows late:
To take this choice, I’ll dare the whole world’s wrath.