The Art of Loving

[27] On the Road Again

It wasn't exactly the nicest thing to be woken up by a beeping alarm at 7 in the morning on a day that was supposed to be a day off. Ellie sighed heavily and rolled over before she turning off the incessant beeping.

Brian beside her was slowly starting to stir, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Do we have to get up?" His voice was husky and he sat up a little.

Ellie rolled onto her side and looked up at him. "Yeah... we should... we should leave in a bit more than an hour."

"Alright," Brian sighed, nodding a little before he pushed the blanket aside and got up. "I'm going to make some tea.."

"Okay," Ellie simply replied, taking a few more minutes before she got up as well, following Brian into the kitchen. When she got there it was just in time to hear the whistling of the kettle. The sight of Brian pouring the boiling water into two cups was something so mundane but it was something that made Ellie really happy, even at quarter past seven in the morning. A smile on her face she stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her head against the soft, warm skin of his back. "Good morning, you," she mumbled, letting her hands wander over his chest.

"Good morning, my wonderful woman," he replied, reaching for her hands to loosen her hold. He turned around and wrapped his arms around her too, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "You have everything packed and ready to go, right?"

"Yeah," Ellie confirmed with a small nod. "We just have to get dressed, have breakfast and pack a little lunch basically."

"And then you're going to have to slip me a sleeping pill or something so I don't freak out on the trainride," Brian sighed, making his curls bounce as he shook his head.

"And carry you around?" Ellie laughed, shaking her head a little. "No, you'll have to do the walking yourself, plus I need you to help me with our suitcases, you know?"

"I'm not going to be relaxed though, you know?" He said, pulling Ellie a little closer.

"It will be okay, Brian. You really don't have to be nervous. First of all it's still hours away, and second of all you really don't have to be nervous. Just take a few deep breath, and if everything fails we'll just sneak off into the bathroom quickly, I know a little trick that always makes you relax," she told him, winking at him.

Brian laughed a little. "You're unbelievable. Okay, that's a plan I can get on board with. No sleeping pill, but possibly a quickie. That's quite a good deal actually."

"I thought you would think so," Ellie chuckled and quickly pecked his lips before she let go of him and got the two cups of tea ready. "But seriously, you don't have to be nervous. I called my mum again Thursday night and she told me how excited she is to meet you. They're going to make a huge deal, yes, but only because you're the first guy that I bring home. Apart from my ex, but he doesn't really count. They've been waiting for this day for years, so they know that the guy I do bring home is someone special and they know that if they talk bad about you I'm not going to be happy." She handed him his cup before she took a sip of her tea.

"I'm not going to be calm, you know?"

"Try to stay calm at least until like Dundee... I only had an hour of travel time to freak out before I met your parents." Ellie smiled at him before she started to make breakfast for the two of them.

Brian chuckled and helped her here and there. "Fair enough.. I have to admit, I am excited to meet the people who've managed put up with you for 18 years of your life," he teased.

"You're such a nice person," she replied amused. "I wouldn't be surprised if they said something similar to you though," Ellie muttered, shaking her head a little.