Chapter Text
"I'm headed out to the Chapmans', d'you need me to take anything to Anne?" Siegfried asked as he breezed through the sunlit kitchen, his veterinary bag in one hand, the other hand occupied in the hasty re-fastening of a loose cuff link.
"Nothing that I can think of. I were planning to send her some sugar for Bert's birthday but Helen took it up yesterday." Audrey replied as she scrubbed something in the sink. A small tendril of hair had slipped out of her tightly rolled coiffure. She tried to tuck it behind her ear using the back of her hand, but it just fell gracefully back in front of her face. Siegfried realized that he was staring and hurried to the back door. He didn't think she'd noticed— at least, he hoped she hadn't. "Tell her 'ello from me, though."
"Of course. I'll see you soon. Be safe." He opened the door and started to step outside but the sound of her voice stopped him from exiting.
"Be safe. I love you."
Siegfried froze. Time seemed to stop.
"What did you say?" He asked, almost whispering, trying to control his tone of voice. He couldn't believe his ears. She had been so firm, so matter-of-fact. Surely it had been a mistake. Perhaps she said "above you" or "a dove flew" or—
"I said that I love you, you daft 'apeth." Although she was turned towards the sink and away from him, he could hear Audrey's smile shining through the words. "D'you need me to say it again?"
"Only— only if you want to." Siegfried stammered. He knew he was smiling too now, grinning like a fool in spite of himself. He closed the door and reentered the kitchen. Audrey dried her hands, abandoning the dishes, and turned to face him. He stepped even closer, leaning against the sturdy kitchen table for balance. When was the last time I was this nervous?
"I love you, you impossible creature," Audrey stated calmly. "I love you, Siegfried Farnon, you ridiculous man, you silly beggar, you… significant annoyance." She stepped towards him and brushed some invisible crumbs off his jacket. The bag he had been holding slipped out of his grasp and hit the floor after her hands stilled, staying on his chest longer than he expected, far longer than they ever had in anything other than his wildest dreams. The smell of her hair, clean laundry and nutmeg and bath-salts, took his breath away. She looked up at him and smiled again. Siegfried couldn't think of anything to say.
"Have you always been this beautiful?" he murmured, carefully bringing his hands to rest gently on her waist. Audrey rolled her eyes at him in a way that he knew oh-so-well.
"Oh stop it. Now you're just flattering me." She swatted his arm, but her hand quickly returned to the lapel of his jacket. Is she… blushing? Siegfried had certainly never seen her blush before.
"I… didn't know you felt that way." Oh come now, man. That's not the way you talk to the woman you've loved for years when she confesses that your feelings are reciprocated. "Sorry, I mean—
"Well, I do. And something tells me you feel the same as me." She was smiling coyly, and the thought crossed Siegfried's mind that he might be dreaming. Mrs. Hall wouldn't act like this. She's so… confident and flirtatious. It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for him to have a dream like this, either. How many nights had he woken with a start, awash in guilt for the impropriety of the way she appeared in his subconscious?
Siegfried was unable to control his next words and they came out in a jumble. "But- I track mud in your kitchen and leave my things in piles and I am a beast to my brother and you're so kind and beautiful and I'm just—" He trailed off when he noticed that she was biting back a grin, dimples deepening. He swallowed and took a deep breath.
"Mrs. Hall— Audrey, I mean." His voice cracked. "Would you mind it terribly if I were to kiss you?"
Suddenly, her lips were pressed against his, soft and sweet but firm, confident and strong. Perfectly Audrey. Siegfried suddenly knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was real. A dream could never be this perfect.
After a moment, she pulled away, laughing. "That weren't so hard now, were it, Siegfried?"
"Not at all, my dearest." He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again. "It seems to get easier each time," he chuckled. Audrey wrapped her arms around his back and rested her head on his collarbone. Seigfried's heart felt like it was about to burst. Tears were welling up in his eyes now and as they started to fall, Audrey pulled back to look at him, brow furrowing. "My god, how many years have I wasted?" he whispered.
"Oh, Siegfried." Audrey cupped his face in her hand, catching a tear before it made it to his beard. The touch of her hand on his face felt like heaven and he leaned into the soft warmth. "How long have you felt like this?"
"How long have I been madly, desperately in love with you, you mean? Ages. Years at the least. Perhaps forever. I've been loving you for quite a long while now, Audrey, I just never imagined—"
She looked astonished. "I never knew." Her eyes were filling with tears now too, but she was smiling in a way that made him want her even more. "How I love you, you silly, silly man."
"I didn't want to ruin anything, I didn't want you to feel like I was… forcing myself upon you as your employer, I didn't want to make you feel like you had to do anything but I couldn't bear the idea of you leaving—" Her kiss on his lips silenced him.
"I've wanted to do that for a while," she laughed when they broke apart. "To make you hush up." The tears had stopped and he was laughing with her now, overflowing with joy. Before he knew it, his hands were around her waist, spinning her in the air. Audrey was shrieking with laughter in a way he had never heard before but knew that he would hear again. "Put me down, you daft apeth!" When he complied, she pressed another quick kiss to his lips.
"I could get used to this," Siegfried chuckled.
"You'll have to," Audrey retorted. "I plan on wedding you, Seigfried Donald Farnon."
"Oh, do you now?"
"I do." For just a moment, Siegfried felt like everything he would ever need was standing in front of him, smiling up at him, her arms wrapped around him. But suddenly, he remembered.
"Damn, the Chapmans!" he exclaimed as he pulled away, picking up his bag from where he had carelessly dropped it on the floor. "I forgot all about them." Audrey quickly and carefully ran her fingers through his hair, fixing a misplaced lock, then patted his chest. "I will come home to you as soon as I can." That was a promise. She kissed his cheek and pushed him towards the door.
"Best get a move on, love. Don't keep 'em waiting any longer."
One foot out the door, Siegfried turned on his heel and bounded back into the kitchen. "I love you, too, by the way." He wrapped his arms tightly around her, then placed a kiss on her cheek. "I'm sorry I didn't say it back first thing."
"No apologies needed, love, but you owe me another 'I love you' when you get back." Audrey reached for his hand and squeezed it.
"Be safe. I love you."
*tbc*