Heidi Macavoy (heidiflies) wrote in theprofslounge, @ 2009-07-23 09:07:00 |
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Heidi really tried not to gape at the hotel. It wasn't becoming, and it probably labelled them tourists (as if staying in a hotel wasn't enough to smack them with that label). Heidi was mildly ashamed of herself, so much so that when she realised that her staring around the hotel had caused her to lag behind Edward, she hurried as quickly as her bird-like legs would let her. Merlin's beard, even the staff looked more posh and polished than she did. She felt under-dressed and worse, completely village bumpkin. Hmm, it was better to let Edward talk to the receptionist; she might apologise profusely for being English. Her fingers clutched at his elbow, needing the comfort. "I should have worn something else. I feel..." Heidi looked around once more. "Like an American tourist." Edward hoped that his choice of a hotel had been a good one, and based on Heidi's reaction, he was mostly sure that it had been. He hadn't wanted to go too overboard with the hotels, but in the end, he hadn't been able to help himself. Since it was all coming out of his pocket whether Heidi liked it or not, and since he wanted to treat her to something special, he figured it would be fine. "Relax," he said quietly, smiling a little at her. "You look fine. Better than fine. No one's going to care what you're wearing." The hotel was certainly as grand as the name implied, and even he felt somewhat under-dressed as they walked up to the counter. He leaned over to give her a quick kiss. "You can change once we get up to the room, if you want." At the counter, Edward set their bags on the floor beside him and gave the receptionist his name. If the lobby of the hotel was this fancy, he couldn't wait to see what the room was like. He'd seen a few pictures online, but the pictures didn't do the lobby justice. "Aren't you two sweet," the receptionist said in a heavy Italian accent. "It must be your lucky day. One of our executive suites is vacant, if you would like to upgrade." Edward hesitated, and glanced at Heidi. He knew she'd probably say no due to the expense. "Oh, it's all right, we--" "It'd be much more suitable for newlyweds. Let me see what I can do." Before Edward could correct her, she was poking around on her computer and calling the manager over to work out a deal. Where they could stay in the fancy suite for such a low fee that it was practically nothing at all and Edward could no longer resist. "Did that just happen?" Edward asked Heidi in a whisper as the porter let them to the lift. Oh dear. Heidi's face -- natch, her entire face -- had turned purple in the embarrassment, but what could they say now that they had some fancy upgraded suite? 'I'm sorry, but you've made a terrible, terrible mistake. Take the room back, and thank you for starting off our holiday with an awkward moment. Cheers!' It took a while to walk the corridor, but the oddest thing was that there seemed to be no other doors. Well, wait, there was one way down there on the other side of the hotel, and then this one, that the porter had stopped outside of. Executive suites? "........holy --" Heidi wasn't much for language, and so she promptly stopped before the word escaped her lips, but the sentiment was there. Rich fabrics, modern design, a killer view, and a hot tub ensuite. "Erm...." After tipping the porter handsomely (he couldn't not, after how nice everyone had been at the hotel so far), Edward let the door shut behind them before he even dared to look around, sure that it was some sort of dream. "Holy shit." Heidi might not have been one to swear, but Edward did from time to time. He took a few slow steps into the room, astounded by everything he saw. "Well. This is... unbelievable." So far, their trip had gotten off to an incredible start, between Heidi not getting sick after the portkey and the fancy hotel suite. "I think I'm going to want to just stay here the entire time." After exploring a little more, he approached Heidi with a wide grin on his face. "You like it?" he asked, easing his arms around her waist. "It's gorgeous; I love it," she whispered, still looking around in awe. Like Edward, she thought she didn't quite need to want to leave. At least not for now. She reached into her purse and pulled out the tiny itinerary that Edward had made for her. To her credit, she only frowned a tiny bit, and that could easily have been because she was thinking rather than disappointed. "It's almost a shame we don't have one more day here just to enjoy the room. I'll feel rather guilty having such a nice room when we've got all of this --" she turned the book around to show him "--to do today!" Oh, God, was she unhappy with the plans? Edward had gone to a lot of trouble to write everything out, practically to the minute, because he knew how much she liked schedules and being on time and knowing exactly what was going on and when. Their days were mostly packed with activities, with a few hours here and there for shopping or relaxing or whatever she wanted to do, and Edward thought he'd done pretty well, but maybe he'd been wrong. Maybe he should have consulted with her more, rather than trying to surprise her. "We could -- well, we probably couldn't stay here an extra day. We'd have to check. They might be all booked, but we could check, if you wanted," he said, sounding a little frantic and concerned. "It'd be no trouble. We can change things around." He hadn't expected her to want to stay in. Then again, he hadn't expected to have such a nice room, either. He took a deep breath, calming himself down again. It wasn't like him to get so flustered, but he was trying hard to make the trip enjoyable and special. "Or we could cut out a few things on the list, and... just relax here instead?" he suggested. "We don't have to do everything on there. It's just... a bit of a guide." "Oh! Oh, no!" Heidi practically threw the little guide on the table and smacked her hands over her mouth. She hadn't meant for him to sound so upset, and she hadn't meant to make it sound as if he'd done something wrong by plotting things out. She liked it, a lot! Heidi threw her arms around his neck, apologising over and over. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that, Edward. Besides, most of these mainland towns shut down fairly early for touristy things. We'll have plenty of time, and I didn't mean to upset you. I really didn't. Oh, please, forgive me?" Oh thank God, Edward thought, a smile returning to his face immediately. "It's okay," he reassured her, tightening his grip around her waist a little. "There's nothing to forgive, I just want to make sure you have a good time and we get to do all the things you want to do." After giving her a gentle kiss, he lifted one of his hands, brushing it over her hair affectionately. "I did set aside some time to just relax, though... after we arrived, in case we were tired." He was already eyeing the balcony, imagining the two of them sitting out there with some wine or champagne, or with a book or two. "What do you want to do first?" No matter how many times he kissed her, touched her hair, Heidi could not help the surge of warmth that stole over her. Even her thin-lipped smile was broad as she rested her forehead against his. "I... could go for a little relaxing, actually. Didn't get ill on the portkey, but there is the time difference to contend with..." Oh dear, was she pushing her luck? Were her glasses pinching his face somewhere? She pulled away slightly. "What do you want to do? It's your holiday too..." Edward was definitely more of the get-up-and-go type. His holidays were typically busy from morning until night. His logic was that he might not get a chance to return, so he should fill the days with as much as possible. With Heidi, things were a little different, and Edward didn't mind the thought of staying in for a bit. "Let's stay here," he answered, making sure he sounded confident and sure of himself, lest Heidi doubt him, "even if just for an hour. Sound good?" How cheesy and corny would it have been if she had answered that anything and everything sounded good if he was with her? They'd just moved in together, and now they were on holiday together; Heidi wasn't sure how long these incredible times would last, but she was determined to enjoy them as much as she could. With her hands on either side of his, she leaned in. It was still weird that she was allowed to kiss him. Kissing Edward still felt like something almost... holy. Something that should be soft and gentle, with good intentions and reverence. He was just too precious not to treat with care. Of course, it wasn't that she thought he was breakable; it was that he just deserved the same sort of treatment he gave her. Edward took the kiss as a yes, and he couldn't help but smile as they kissed. It was even hard for Edward to believe that everything, from their relationship and the mere fact that she loved him to living together and going on holiday together, was really happening. Sometimes, he worried that they were doing something wrong, especially when it came to their children, but standing there, kissing Heidi in the middle of their hotel room, he didn't doubt a single thing. "You know what... I want to do later?" he asked between kisses. "Use that tub." It would be a shame to let it go to waste. Heidi didn't think this was the time to mention that she'd never actually been in a hot tub, and it was mostly out of hygiene issues. No matter, there were certain potions she'd brought along with her since one never knew exactly the standards in which rooms, bath tubs, hot tubs, and other shared items in a hotel were. She could easily slip a drop into the hot tub before Edward even knew what she was doing. Or if he did, hopefully, he wouldn't say anything. "Right now, I think..." Heidi mumbled, distracted by the flurry of kissing. "I think we should have a little bit of a lie down." To her credit, her face only turned pink and not red. Edward's brow lifted and his eyes opened in surprise, but he didn't stop kissing her for very long. Instead, he walked them towards the bed, his arms still wrapped securely around her waist, lips still moving against hers lightly. There was no telling if she meant a real lie-down or if she meant she wanted to snog for a little while, but Edward figured she would let her meaning be known eventually. Once at the bed, Edward pulled back, putting a stop to their kissing for the meantime. The bed was huge, and round! He slipped off his shoes before climbing onto the bed, flopping onto his back only once he'd reached the pillows. "It's comfortable," he commented, eyes closing. "Really comfortable." Heidi pulled off one her shoes and set them just at the edge of the bed. Carefully climbing in, she hesitated for a moment before curling up beside him. He might be comfortable enough now to have a nap, and it was so quiet in the room. Heidi wasn't used to the quiet, though she really ought to have been. James had Fiona every other weekend, and a few weeks during the summer. She thought she should be more used to it than Edward at any rate. "Did you want to take a nap? I could.. could set up the suitcases or... something... if that's what you want?" That was clearly code for Heidi, that she'd had no intentions of sleeping during the lie-down. After wrapping his arms around her, Edward closed his eyes, feeling his body sink into the bed bit by bit. "No, don't go," he whispered, hugging her tighter. "We can do that later. Right now, I just want to be here like this with you." He wasn't quite tired enough to sleep, either, but he would have been happy to just cuddle there with her. Even though the room was quiet, Edward wasn't uncomfortable. He didn't want to admit it, but he barely missed the kids. It'd been so long since he had real, adult time away from them. "I'm glad we decided to do this. It's already shaping up to be incredible." Heidi had to pull off her glasses; they were cutting into her temple and against his side. It was a little uncomfortable for Heidi at the moment, simply because she wasn't sure if he wanted to stay literally like this, cuddled in the enormous, circular bed. It was even more disconcerting because she sort of had other ideas in mind when she was hinting, suggesting, innuendo-ing. She bit her lip, drawing in a deep breath and expelling it with a soft sigh. "I'm glad... you asked me." Why was her voice so tiny? Probably because he'd suggested that anything involving her might be incredible. "I hope --" Her eyelashes fluttered a little as she struggled to figure out how to say it without sounding like she doubted him. "--I hope that the whole... mix-up -- at reception -- isn't going to... erm, make things awkward...?" Edward blinked a few times and frowned a little, trying to figure out what Heidi meant by the mix-up making things awkward. When he couldn't sort it out, he decided he'd better just ask. "What do you mean, make things awkward?" It wasn't like they'd been given a room with... two beds. That would have been awkward, in his opinion. "Well, they... they sort of gave us the honeymoon suite," Heidi started, instantly wishing she hadn't said anything. Now she was making it awkward. "We're not... married... and I don't want you to think that I'm going to start pushing for that.. or something." Too, too early. That had been her mistake with James. Oh. Oh, that was what she meant, he thought. Edward's eyes widened in shock. He had rushed things with Eva, and Heidi knew that too. Did Heidi worrying about thinking Edward would think she was pushing for marriage mean that she was worrying that he would? He did know that he was serious about Heidi and he knew that he wanted to spend his life with her, but while he knew all that, he didn't feel the urge to rush into the marriage part that he'd felt with Eva. Times were different, now. Of course, he had to wonder just how different getting married would be to their current situation. Hadn't moving in together happened quickly, too? "I'm happy where we are," he told her, hoping that was enough to reassure her. "Here, and back home. With us, the kids, the dog..." He released one of his hands from its grip around her and moved it up to tip her head towards his so he could kiss her lightly. "I'm not in any rush." "Oh," she said, feeling somewhat of a relief, though that hadn't quite been her meaning. "Good. I mean...! Not that I -- not that you -- just... mistakes. Made. Divorce. You know what I mean." Smiling with some humility, she shook her head. "Don't wanna... mess anything up." As I'm prone to do. He could barely understand what she was trying to say, but luckily, Edward thought it was adorable. He wished she didn't worry so much, though. "I know," he said gently. "You can't make mistakes if you don't try something, but if you never try anything out, you'll never know if it's actually... perfect. I don't think we're going to mess anything up. All that stuff with James, that was his fault." And technically hers, a little bit, for even getting involved with someone like that in the first place, but the end result (Fiona) was worth it. "That's not going to happen this time. You know that, right?" This was the point where Edward wasn't going to win, and Heidi didn't want to fight. She blamed herself just as much as she blamed James. To her credit, James wasn't a complete tosser until after they married, and by then it was too late. "Can we forget that I said anything? Maybe? I don't really want to talk about... him." "I don't want to talk about him, either, especially not on our holiday." Edward hugged her tightly. He wasn't against talking about James in general, as much as he disliked the bloke, because he was always going to be a force in their lives, but that was absolutely unnecessary while on holiday. He thought it was important, however, to continue that discussion at home, just so they both knew they were on the same page. Rolling onto his side, Edward scooted down so he was face-to-face with her -- much easier to kiss her that way, which was just what he did. Oh, thank Merlin! He'd finally gotten the hint! Elated, despite the rather stupid conversation they'd just had, Heidi dove right into making out with him. After all, she started that stupid conversation and now felt the need to make up for it. Blindly, she reached her arm behind her to set her glasses down. It took a few moments, but she finally managed it without setting them on the edge. Getting more comfortable, Heidi squished one arm under him and the other draped over the side of his neck. Her fingers brushed the ends of his shaggy hair before firmly planting themselves in his hair. How long had he said he'd given them to unwind after getting here? It was sort of nice not to have to worry about the girls (or Andy) making scrunchy faces if they just happened to catch them kissing at home. There'd been a lot of that since they'd all moved in. Kissing her, Edward thought, was much better than sleeping, and he was glad that he had realised what it was she wanted when she'd said 'have a lie-down'. It was fairly obvious, now that he'd figured it out. He was just as glad as she was for some quiet time alone, which, to be honest, had been one of the main reasons for suggesting the holiday. It wasn't that he didn't love being around Fiona, Lydia and Andrew, or that he was tired of them, annoyed with them, or anything else. He just wanted a break, and he was sure that the three children all wanted some time out of the house and away from their parents, too. It was becoming clear very quickly that he and Heidi really needed the time, too. With any luck (and Edward had high hopes), they'd return home from the holiday stronger than ever. |