Mary Poppins is Practically Perfect in Every Way (prac_perfect) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-02-04 10:40:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, mary poppins, william laurence |
Who: Laurence & Mary
What: Post-holiday reunion
When: Backdated to the middle of January
Where: LAX
Rating: Low
Status: Complete!
Laurence was used to being away from his loved ones for long stretches of time, though this was the first time where he’d been left at home while his loved ones traveled. It was a different experience, with none of the usual busyness of being at sea to distract him, and the absence of Mary in his life seemed to span far longer than the two months it had been.
He checked his watch again, and then looked at the screens in the airport. It seemed as though Mary’s plane had landed already, and so all that was left was for him to wait in the baggage area for her to appear.
Mary loved her family, but going back always felt like a chore. They were overly critical of her profession, confused and disappointed that she had moved so far from home. Still, she respected her parents and knew her duty was to go back every now and then to see them, check in. The holidays were always the best time to go as her charges hadn’t any need while they did their own family traditions at home and abroad. But this year there was a difference and she found that Laurence was the thing she missed most about California.
As she pulled her carry-on luggage behind her, she almost did a double take when she saw a familiar face waiting at the baggage area. A smile spread across her face as she moved towards him, maneuvering through the busy airport.
“William! This is an unexpected surprise!” She smiled, leaning in to give him a hug. “A very pleasant surprise,” she corrected herself, pulling back to look at him. It wasn’t quite proper to ask if he had missed her, but his actions seemed to echo her own sentiments.
Laurence returned the hug, a little stiffly, but he also held on to her for, perhaps, a moment longer than was proper. It felt good to have her in his arms again, and he was relieved that she didn’t seem too upset with him for surprising her like this.
“I thought that this would save you the taxi fee, darling,” he said as he released her. “I’ve missed you terribly.”
Of course he would be considerate enough to come and pick her up! “I must say, you are a sight for sore eyes! As terrible as it sounds, the mess and decay of travel has all but gotten to me!” Mary prided herself in keeping a tidy home and she had a hard time figuring out why public areas were left to such abuse.
Her smile grew warmer at his sentiments and she easily looped her arm through his. “I missed you too William.” It was true. Telephone calls were not the same as being able to be with someone in person. She forgot how much she missed his smell and just his entire presence while she had been away.
“I hope the traffic here wasn’t too dreadful for you?”
“I understand entirely,” Laurence said. The entirety of his adult life, and the last couple of years of his teenage life, had involved travelling around at a moment’s notice, and while it had just become an unchangeable aspect of his life, he could understand how one less used to it would be bothered by it.
He laid his hand over hers when she took his arm, wishing to twine his fingers with hers but resisting the impulse. “Not at all,” he assured her. “I scarcely noticed the traffic. If you would like, I can help you unpack and set everything to rights when we get you home.”
Nothing sounded better to Mary and she gave his arm a loving squeeze. “I think that sounds perfect,” she said, glancing over at him with a smile as the baggage claim began to move. A light began to shine, indicating that the luggage would soon be shooting down and onto the carousel. Mary was pushed by someone making their way towards it and she could only sigh with discontent.
“I must admit, I’m quite happy to be back home and away from the public. There’s nothing like transportation to make you miss the comfort of your own home.” She didn’t continue to say the comfort of his arms and just being in his presence. She and Laurence may have seemed to have a slower relationship, but there was no one she felt closer to than him.
“Perhaps we could do delivery tonight too. I don’t think I have any good food in my fridge and the thought of going back out again…” Another person pushed back her and she sighed. “Well, you have to admit the timing was quite punctual.”
Laurence frowned after the impatient people that were shoving their way past Mary. He didn’t dislike airports, though he occasionally disliked the manners, or lack thereof, that people displayed in them, as if they were the only people on earth who were so inconvenienced by modern travel.
“As selfish as it may be, I am happy that you’re home as well,” Laurence said. “I think that that sounds like a splendid idea,” he said. “I’m sure after all those hours travelling, you wouldn’t want to cook anything anyway.” He knew that whenever he had to travel for long periods, he himself always picked something light up to eat at his destination. “Have you heard of Uber eats? My understanding is that we can get near anything delivered, so we needn’t be limited to just pizza.”
It sent a thrill through Mary to hear his sentiments on her arrival. They had been seeing each other for quite some time now, yet she still felt like their relationship was new; it was either that or she would never tire to hear how much he cared for her. Whatever the reason, she smiled as he shared his happiness with her.
“I can’t say I’ve heard of such a system, but I can’t say it surprises me.” Her eyes scanned the turning carousel for her two pieces of luggage. “But for this particular evening, I think it sounds like the best thing to do!” Pizza was not her favorite thing to eat, but it was quite simple when you needed a quick dinner.
“Oh, there’s one!” She pointed to a carpet bag that had slid down and was making its way to them. “Oh, and the other is right behind! The matching one!” She took her hand from his arm, stepping forward to try and grab the two bags.
“I’ve never used it myself,” Laurence admitted, “Though I’m sure that between the two of us, we should be able to figure it out.” How hard could an app like that be?
When she spotted her luggage, Laurence reluctantly pulled himself away from her and made the way to the carousel, politely pushing his way to the front. With very little effort, he pulled one, and then the other, off the ramp and made his way back to Mary. “Was this all of it?” he asked.
Mary stopped as Laurence pushed his way forward to grab the bags for her. She smiled at the action; really, she should have known. If there was one thing Laurence was, it was chivalrous and caring. She had missed him while she had been back at home. Part of her had wondered if it would have been too inappropriate to invite him along as well, but that seemed to be moving too fast. They had only been dating for a few months at most!
Still, she genuinely enjoyed his company and thought herself fortunate to have found someone like him, especially in the city and time they lived in. She always felt like they were meant for an earlier time period, but at least they had each other now.
“Don’t sound so surprised,” she teased, taking the smaller bag in hand and linking her arm through his once more. “I know I have a tendency to overpack, but I think I did rather well this time.” They wove their way through the throngs of people, Mary smiling at a few reunions. That was the one thing she did enjoy about traveling; watching people as they reunited with the person they love.
“Was there any snow this year?” Mary had only had one holiday in the OC, but she had been surprised (as well as many others) to experience such a strange weather phenomenon.
Laurence was glad that Mary spent most of the time watching the other pairs of people reuniting with friends, family, and lovers. It gave Laurence time to unabashedly take Mary’s visage in, with no worry about making her uncomfortable or seeming too forward.
“There was, yes,” Laurence said. “Quite a lot of it again. I suppose it is the least surprising thing about living in the Orange County, but I can never quite reconcile that I’m living in Southern California when it’s blanketed in white.”
“At least we had that in common this holiday season. Something that could connect us through the distance.” She blushed as soon as she had said it, a bit more sentimental than usual. She couldn’t help it. Despite all the phone calls, text messages, and video sharing , she was happy to be back on his arm. Her blush deepened when she had the fleeting thought of how it would be even better to be in his arms. She ducked her head, trying to hide it.
“You know, I’m almost disappointed when it snows.” She followed him out towards the parking lot, in search of the car. “I’ve always wanted to experience a warm California holiday.”
Laurence’s smile softened at the sentiment. He hadn’t thought of it like that, but now he wished he had. He moved the arm that she had taken hold of, so he could take her hand, moving to twine his fingers with hers.
“Perhaps next winter we might away somewhere once the snow comes,” he said, and then hesitated. “Of course, if I am off work over the holidays, I will be obligated to go home,” he admitted. His mother would be terribly disappointed if he didn’t.
She wasn’t sure if he was offering for her to come along if he were to go back home or not, but the thought of spending a holiday with Laurence made her smile. “I think I would like that very much,” she said with a nod of her head. “Whatever may happen this upcoming year, I’m sure we can find time for the two of us.” It was also a reassuring thought that Laurence believed they could still be together for that amount of time. She had never been in a serious relationship before, but she had never met a man like him before.
“How about Thai for dinner?” She was suddenly feeling adventurous!
“So long as I’m not deployed over the holidays, then I know we will be able to,” Will said. Perhaps, if they were still together - and as of yet Laurence had no reason to believe otherwise - then he would be able to take her home with him. While his father could be harder to please, he was sure his mother would take to Mary in an instant.
He smiled down at Mary. “I think, Mary, that Thai sounds delightful.”