freedhunter | (no subject)

(no subject)

Going to the mall during the busy hours probably hadn't been the best of ideas, Ford thought as his wife and him were making their way through the crowds, bumping shoulders with passerby's ever so often. He was mainly just annoyed, but he worried about her. Crowds and Darcy had never been the best of combination. Though as far as he could tell, she was holding up okay. Comparing her now to the woman he had first met was like comparing night and day.

Still, they had some shopping to get done, shopping they had been putting off for long enough already. And it had to be now, if they wanted to get home to have dinner at any sort of suitable hour, and go out stargazing later in the evening like he had promised her they would. It wasn't often that he agreed to go out and do that with her, so now that he had promised he wanted to keep that promise.

But it was still crowded. And loud. And annoying and frustrating and full of idiots and... And crowded.

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He just held her tightly for a moment before he eased up and sat up straighter, clearing his throat. "And now I need a drink." He hadn't meant to get all brooding on her, but hey. Sometimes it happened. But it would be a shame to ruin the night with that, so he pulled himself together. "Could you dig out the flask from the bag?"

She didn't think he ruined it. She thought he was letting her in on what was in his head. She was okay with that, even if it got dark sometimes. He asked for the flask though and she giggled, managing to escape the blanket very quickly and dig it out before snuggling back in against him. "Here," she offered to hand it to him.

He finished off the tea while she found the flask, and then traded his empty mug for the flask. After settling much like they had been before he took a sip, feeling the familiar burn down his throat. He didn't speak now, just let the silence settle again,

He went to town a moment later and hike they sat there in silence she let her mind wander. She really did care about him. This wasn't about what she wanted but what they could have together. That was what was important to her. That was how she wanted them to care for each other.

"I didn't mean to drive you to drink," she murmured, teasing in her tone while she rested her head back against his shoulder.

"Baah, strange woman-folk. See what you make us men do in order to cope." He grinned, unseen and offered up the flask. "Want some?"

"I'll go home and cry about that later," she deadpaned right back at him. He then was offering her the flask and she took it, taking a swig and passing it back. Darcy was not a fan of bourbon, because she was one hell of a lightweight.

"Ugh... I can't drink that stuff," she shivered as it ran down her throat.

"Wimp," he teased, taking back the bottle and leaning in to kiss her neck. It was true, he got to keep his liquor cabinet mostly to himself, unless Francis decided to stop by, which was something that happened far more seldom than it should.

"I am not a wimp," she argued and shrugged as he kissed her neck again. He was being fairly affectionate tonight. Not that she minded. "One of us has to keep a brain functioning. I can't expect you to control yourself. "

"When you talk like that it makes me think I should have brought a bigger bottle." He grinned and took a swig from his flask.

She laughed and leaned back heavily against him, "You want to get out of coming out here with me ever again," she teased. She knew that wasn't the case and web if it was, stargazing had only ever been her thing.

He shifted a bit to accommodate her, keeping the blanket secure around the two of them. True, he didn't much care for stargazing, at least not enough to make a thing out of it. Though there had been many a night out in the backyard on summer nights, just him and a bottle of bourbon. Nights were tranquil times. This was no exception, though he had come out here with her not to see the stars, but to spend time with her.

"Perhaps, perhaps. At least for this time of year," he half-joked back. She wouldn't have as much problem getting him to agree in the warmer months of the year.

"Do you still want to move somewhere warmer?" She figured now was as good a time as any to ask about that. He seriously hated the cold andthough being somewhere hot all the time didn't sound great, she didn't like having him suffer either.

Her only concern was leaving Quinn and Francis behind.

He let the silence stretch out, thinking before answering. "Yeah. I feel done here." A house was just a house, but that was where he had lived during the worst years of his life. In most ways he had left that period behind him, so severing that last tie felt like a good idea.

"There's really nothing left here, except for Francis. And he's moving on." It almost hurt, how the little man pushed forward without him. But it was an unfair thought, of course the little man should reclaim the life he wanted if he could. And if Ford felt a bit left behind at time, well... Maybe he should just focus in building his own life with his beautiful wife.

"What about you? Don't you want to stay close to your sister?"

She understood his answer and what he wanted, but there was so many different aspects of this. She felt like she was going to lose a lot by leaving. She'd spent so much time here and grown so much. She should, perhaps, consider what somewhere else might have to offer assuming she could find work.

"I worry about her," she answered first and foremost, "I don't know if she needs me though and I shouldn't be inserting myself into her life if she doesn't. I'd always been on my own, so it shouldn't bother me to leave."

"But it does." In ways it bothered him too. Leaving something you knew was hard.

"If we do move, we don't have to do it now. Or this year, or next year, or... There's no hurry to do anything." They could keep status quo for a while longer.

Yes, it did bother her and she wasn't sure what she could do about it to make it any better. "I don't want to have to wait around though for something to happen to is. Be it moving or kids or... " she took a deep breath. She didn't have to control everything. She could let something else happen.

"I want us to move forward. I don't know where or what that is, but I do."

"Depending on things like work, we could possibly split out time between two places," Ford suggested. "Keep a home here, and a home somewhere else. Could be a way to sort of test and see how well we do elsewhere."

She didn't know how that would work or even if it would. That was certainly an option and she hoped that she could find a way to work. It wasn't necessarily what she wanted but it could be a start.

"We could look into it," she agreed.

"If nothing else, somewhere to run away to when Francis and Quinn get too annoying." He had this picture in his head now. The first time they had talked about moving, she had mentioned Arizona. The desert. And now he had this idea, of them alone there in the desert, just them with no-one else around for miles.

What was the world coming to, when even he got romantic ideas?

"Like a vacation home?" she asked. Well, that made them sound like they were well off. She didn't mind that idea. Somewhere to escape to if they needed it and... yeah, she could imagine it. Finding somewhere warm and spending time alone. They were so used to having people all around them all the time and suddenly it was just them, alone and it was really weird. Darcy liked it, in an odd way and sometimes she craved company, but she wanted to spend time with her husband.

They were well off. Not insanely rich, far from it. But they could manage two homes. "Something like that. It could be a start. So, let's just dream a bit here. Where would you want to live?"

This time she twisted a little so she could face him while they spoke. "Somewhere warm with a way to escape city lights," she said, leaning in to kiss the corner of his mouth. She had a hand on his leg and was half watching him and half glancing at the sky. "What about you?"

"Somewhere warm," he echoed, his eyes directed straight ahead and slightly up. Maybe he was looking at the sky, maybe he was looking at nothing. "Away from people, but not far out enough that searching people out would be too much of a hassle." He wanted privacy, but he didn't want isolation. "Your idea of the desert does have a certain appeal, though."

She watched his face in the darkness, nestled in close to him while he spoke. She hadn't realized that the desert idea had stuck with him. Darcy kissed his jaw this time and let her lips brush his skin when she asked, "Why's that?"

He gave a shrug. "I just seems calm. Peaceful." Looking down at her, he smiled. "And that way you would get your stars."