first_in_time | Zagreus Sits Inside Your Head (for Splendid

Barbara looked out at the view as Ian put the last of their things in the car. From the front door of the little Bed and Breakfast, she could see beautiful rolling hills for miles. The last of the morning was being chased away as the sun rose higher in the sky, thawing everything out. Even the cows seemed more active on one particular hill.

"I wish we could stay for a little longer," she sighed to Ian, turning her back on it all so that it might be easier to leave. Her arms folded, one hand still held on to the key they were yet to return. "I don't suppose your car has a secret time traveling device so we can spend an extra few weeks here?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

splendid_roman

"No, we're not," he said softly. He sat back up and took her free hand. "We both know we did the right thing. And if it comes to it we can always just leave and let them get used to the idea."

From:

first_in_time

"That is true," she replied, looking down at her hand in his. She was so very lucky to have Ian for the rest of her life. "I just hope that it doesn't come to that."

From:

splendid_roman

"Maybe it won't," he said optimistically, wanting to cheer her up. "Maybe they'll be happy that we're happy and didn't squander our money on our wedding when we could be saving it for a house instead."

From:

first_in_time

"Maybe," she smiled up at him then finished her tea. "We should probably start getting ready soon. I'll get dressed if you'll clean up here. Shouldn't take long."

From:

splendid_roman

"All right." When he stood up he stopped to kiss her before collecting their plates and mugs and taking them to the kitchen to wash up. Once that was done he went back to the bedroom and picked up the clothes that had ended up on the floor the day before.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara had halted her dressing mid-way to start digging into their luggage. She'd had an idea that simply couldn't wait until she was dressed.

As Ian entered, she glanced up at him. "Do you think we should give the portraits to our parents now? As a peace offering?"

From:

splendid_roman

"That's a good idea. We can distract them with them if they complain." He put his dirty clothes in the wash and went looking for new ones. He'd managed to rearrange everything before they went to Scotland to make some space for Barbara, which meant he couldn't find anything. He ended up opening all the cupboards and drawers before he managed to get a full set of clothing.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara had found the pictures in the suitcase she hadn't been looking in originally (of course), and put them carefully to the side before continuing dressing. She managed to find a pair of clean trousers and a nice shirt so that she still looked presentable while being comfortable enough to walk.

"Do you have any wrapping paper or nice bags we could put them in?" she asked Ian as he was doing up his buttons.

From:

splendid_roman

"I don't know." He thought about it while he tucked his shirt in and then folded down the collar. He definitely didn't have anything that could be described as a nice bag, but wrapping paper was something he used. "There should be some wrapping paper in the lounge. I'm not sure how much is left, though." He usually ran it down until he didn't have enough to wrap presents with and then had to rush out and buy some.

From:

first_in_time

She went and looked to find a few scraps of Christmas paper and some baby blue paper, presumably from something he had to wrap for one of his nephews. Still, it was nice enough to use and she got to work. Once both pictures were wrapped and presentable, she went to fix her hair.

Barbara's hip nudged Ian's as they stood at the sink together. "I've left the pictures on the counter. Please don't let me forget them."

From:

splendid_roman

"I won't," he promised, not pausing his shaving. But while he rinsed the razor out in the sink. "Is there enough space for all your stuff in the bathroom?" There was space around the sink for her toothbrush and toothpaste, but there wasn't any storage space for anything else, unless she lined it up along the edge of the bath.

From:

first_in_time

"We'll find room, and if not we can put some in the bedroom or buy a shelf to put somewhere. We'll find out when we get back and unpack." Barbara put an arm around him and kissed his cheek before digging around to find her hairbrush and start on her hair.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian put a briefly hand on her shoulder and started on his teeth. It would be easier when they bought a house, but they couldn't afford that just yet. It was just as well he didn't have a lot of stuff, although they both had quite a few books.

Then he was ready to go, although they didn't need to leave quite yet, so he settled on the sofa with the book he'd been reading the night before.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara made sure that her hair was just right and she was perfectly presentable before leaving the bathroom (although she did have to dash back into the bedroom once to find some things from her suitcase).

"Are you ready?" she asked once she felt adequate.

From:

splendid_roman

"Yes." Although he finished the page before looking up. "Let's go and brave the... parents." At the last minute he substituted a word before she complained about how he described her mother.

From:

first_in_time

Her eyebrow raised but Barbara said nothing. She handed Ian his keys and walked out the front door, leaving it open for Ian to follow. While she was slowly walking down the first couple of steps, Ian's landlady happened to be coming up.

"Back for breakfast?" she asked Barbara happily, a knowing twinkle in her eye.

From:

splendid_roman

At least now Barbara could have legitimately stayed overnight. Having locked the door Ian came up behind Barbara in time to have heard the question. He took her hand, grinned, and said, "No, we got married last week."

"Congratulations," she said, sounding pleased for them. "I was expecting an invite." She didn't sound too upset about not having got one though.

From:

first_in_time

"Well we...didn't invite anyone,: We eloped to Scotland." Explaining it put a wide grin on Barbara's face and she quickly leaned over to kiss Ian's cheek.

"What did your parents have to say about that?" she asked cheekily.

From:

splendid_roman

Ian squeezed Barbara's hand. Even mention of their parents didn't dull Ian's enthusiasm at telling someone they were married. "That's what we're going to found out. Wish us luck."

"Good luck," she said amiably. "But I'm sure you won't need it."

As they all went on their way Ian was cheered by her optimism. "If only they react like she did, we'll be all right," he said to Barbara in a low voice.

From:

first_in_time

"We just have to keep telling ourselves that they're our parents and they love us. Even if they're not happy now, they will be in time." And Barbara would keep telling herself that, even if she didn't feel that way.

From:

splendid_roman

He smiled, kissed her cheek and then unlocked the car. Then he remembered something. "Did you pick up the portraits?" He hadn't thought about it when they left the flat.

From:

first_in_time

She looked down at her hands and sighed. "No, I didn't. I won't be a moment."

Once she'd taken Ian's keys back, Barbara raced upstairs to his apartment and took the carefully wrapped portraits off the counter. Then she met Ian back at the car.

"Sorry. If we hurry, we should still be there in time."

From:

splendid_roman

He shrugged. "If we're late we'll just blame it on bad traffic."

Inevitably there was bad traffic and they were ten minutes late by the time they arrived. Ian hung back and let Barbara apologise to her mother.

From:

first_in_time

Barbara's mother awaited them on a bench just inside the gardens. She was dressed nicely in loose trousers and a fitted shirt. A small broach caught the light near her shoulder. She stood as Barbara and Ian approached and she gave Ian a small glare. Nothing unusual there.

"It's good to see you," Barbara said as she leaned forward to kiss her mother's cheek. She self-consciously hid her wedding band behind her back. No use letting everything slip so quickly. "How've you been?"

"I tried calling you," Joan replied and turned to start walking without acknowledging Ian any further. "By the third day of trying, it told me that your phone line had been disconnected. Are you struggling to pay your bills?"

Barbara reached behind her for Ian's hand. "No. I um, don't have to pay those particular bills any more."

From:

splendid_roman

Maybe they should have thought about that sooner, but they hadn't considered that anyone might want to call Barbara that urgently. Ian squeezed Barbara's hand, but said nothing, not wanting to annoy Joan any further.

Although Joan looked back at Barbara she didn't notice she was holding Ian's hand. "If you don't have a phone how am I going to contact you if there's an emergency?"