(no subject)
In practice, nothing had changed since Henri and Thomasina went from mere lovers to a betrothed couple. They still lived together, they spent lazy morning hours in bed and quiet nights pouring over books. They expressed their love for each other in gestures and glances, smiles and caresses, just as they always had. But something more qualitative had changed in the way their lips pressed together or their bodies intertwined. Now every moment that passed between them was a promise of more to come, of enough moments together to last the rest of their lives. Even when they were not talking about it - which they hadn't much, really, not in words - every moment they spent together spoke of their wedding to come.
The evening was cool as Henri walked home from his Sunday shift in the clinic. The lightness in his step was one he had carried with him for two full weeks now, one that he did not expect to dissipate any time soon, perhaps not even for the rest of his life. He had a book tucked under his arm and swung a large, leafy fern at his side. The plant served two purposes: he had read just that day that a salve might be created from the leaves, something not unlike aloe vera, and he wanted to take a better look at it. But also, he had thought Thom might find it pretty, with its bright green leaves that were speckled with spots of a deep purple color. He was whistling absently through his teeth as he came through the doorway. " 'sinia, are you home?"
"I am," Thom called from the library, looking up from her current occupation with a smile. She got up and went to greet Henri at the door, taking in the large plant he carried with him with an utter lack of surprise. Kissing him hello, she relieved him of his burdens as he took off his shoes; she had a surprise, and she was utterly bursting with the desire to tell him about it, but somehow she forced herself to wait. "How was the clinic, darling?" she asked, setting the fern down on the bed and the book beside it, taking a moment to admire the prettiness of the greenery.
"Oh, relatively uneventful. Quieter now." The end of the last week had seen a burst of activity in the clinic after the strange and sudden attacks on Thursday, but by now most who had been injured had gone home or were recovering comfortably. He tucked his shoes next to the bed and looked up at Thom with a decidedly amused expression. There was an unmistakable energy in her carriage that spoke of news to be told. "Now, are you going to tell me what has you smiling like that, or am I being forced to guess?"
"Why must there be anything besides the fact that my fiance has come home?" Thom asked sweetly and completely disingenuously, before grinning and giving up her own game. "To tell you the truth I'm not absolutely sure yet; I think the island has given me another of its gifts. Like last year. But I haven't opened it yet, I've waited for you." This had in fact been something of a feat; she was never a very patient girl under the best of circumstances, and it was rather fortunate Henri had come home when he did. "Come in and take a look." She tugged him into the library, where there sat a large and rather handsomely constructed cedar chest that certainly had not been there the day before. "I haven't found anything for you, yet. But I'm sure there's something about, or there will be."
"I commend your patience," Henri said with a twinkle in his eye as he stood before the simple wooden box. Arms crossed over his chest, he studied it curiously. He recognized it no more than Thom did, of course, and nothing about it spoke of what its contents might be. This was the time for island gift-giving, so that in itself was not strange, but he could not guess what this could be. He kneeled before it. "Well, shall you do the honors? I am quite curious myself now."
Thom grinned and wasted no time in lifting the lid of the trunk. The first item she removed was a card with her own name on it, erasing any doubt as to what this could be: a gift from the island, sure enough. The card gave no hint to what was contained within, however; the only thing to do would be to unpack it and see. The first thing she removed was a long length of finely-woven material, and then another that was a twin of the first. "Curtains," she said to Henri after a moment, holding them up for his inspection. "How lovely, don't you think?" Perhaps the chest was full of linens - but from what she could see thus far, there were a few other things at least concealed within as well.
Henri had his hands resting on his kneecaps as he peered over the lip of the chest and into those things folded and stacked within. Nothing either of them had received previously had been particularly home-y, for they were not really the sort, but he supposed that such a gift made sense now. "An early wedding present, perhaps," he mused with a curve of a smile. "What else is in there?"
"It seems so," Thom said, as she next retrieved a pair of heavy silver candlesticks. At home, something like this would have been part of her trousseau - things she would have brought with her from her old life to her new. Here, there was very little that would change materially, but it seemed that she had been given a hope chest regardless.
Two new feather pillows followed the candlesticks, and she tossed one playfully at Henri. "Merry Christmas," she bade him with a grin, though the holiday itself was weeks past.
Henri caught the pillow and grinned. "And a very happy new year," he said with a laugh of his own. Eyes twinkling, he leaned forward to kiss her. "I'm beginning to get an idea that this one might be a rather good year. And a bountiful one, if your gifts are anything to go by." They could start a real home - a family - with everything that the island had packed into that little trunk. For the moment he wasn't even thinking that there might be something in there for him as well.
"I am quite certain it will be," Thom said, returning his kiss happily before turning back to the chest. She thought she'd like to pack everything back up after this, save it until after the wedding, when she and Henri began their life together properly. Somehow, with the arrival of this gift, she was both more aware of what they would soon embark upon, and more excited for it to arrive.
There was a new duvet next, and once she'd removed that, smoothing it on her lap, she noticed something that had been hidden beneath it - a little box, with a tag attached bearing Henri's name. Retrieving it, Thom handed it over. "This is for you, I think," she said. "Likely a lump of coal - someone must have told them how wicked you've been this year." She arched an eyebrow and grinned.
"And yet that same someone seems to be under the impression that you have been downright angelic, so I'm sure we can trust that opinion," Henri observed with an arch of an eyebrow of his own. He was quite curious about what the little box contained, and in no way prepared when he discovered the two simple gold rings inside. His eyes went wide, and then he smiled. "Not a lump of coal exactly." And he turned the book around so that Thom, too, could see. "Look."
Thom's breath was momentarily stolen by the sight of the gold bands, gleaming in the box that Henri held out to her. She didn't have to look much closer to know that they would fit each of them perfectly. "Oh," she breathed, looking from the rings to Henri and then back to the rings again. "I think we've both been rather good," she said, moving so that she could lean into his side and look at the trappings of their marriage-to-be, spread before them. "I love you."
The small box still clutched in his hand, Henri wrapped his arms around Thom. His smile was warm and content as he embraced her. He squeezed her and laughed a little at the sudden swell of emotion in his chest. "I think I am a very lucky man, ma 'sinia. Already this year I have gotten everything I might want, and there are joys yet to come."
"Many of them," Thom agreed with a smile, and leaned up with a smile to kiss him. After his gift, which was really for both of them, she thought there could be nothing better contained in her chest. They looked through the last few things together, and after Thom had removed a prettily embroidered tablecloth, she thought it was empty.
Except... there was one more bit of white peeking out at her, and she reached deep down to retrieve it. It was, she saw after pulling it from the chest, an article of clothing, pure white and sized for an infant. A christening gown. She looked at Henri, unable for the moment to form any sentence that would be at all coherent.
A moment or two passed while Henri took in the shape of the garment and what it implied. No, this was not another tablecloth or a pillowcase, but something very, very different. Henri had thought about the family they would start - and soon, most likely - but this brought the decision into new focus. "Well-" he smiled lopsidedly. "There's nothing you haven't been telling me, is there, cherie?" He tried to sound like he was joking.
"There is most certainly not," Thom said, swatting his arm lightly before settling in against him again, gazing at the little garment. "Though I cannot say the thought has not crossed my mind," she amended. No, she was quite sure that whoever the gown was meant for was not yet on their way, but the thought of starting a family had not been terribly far from her mind in the weeks since Henri had proposed. "I suppose someone thinks we ought to be prepared..."
"Indeed." Henri's arm crept over the encircle her waist. Here was something they had surely both thought about, but not discussed with each other. Obviously, they had as much choice in these matters as they had ever had - when, and how, and how many children they wished to have - and for that he was grateful. But that also meant discussing the matter in a way they may not have in their previous lives."I suppose the important question is, do we?" he said with a small smile.
Thom looked up to meet his eyes, her smile matching his own in warmth and tentativeness. Oh, they'd talked about children before, of course, but it had always been in a very theoretical way. Now, though, as their plans for the wedding grew firmer and more real, Thom began to realize that they ought to be planning beyond the wedding, as well. They should talk about children, because it was an issue that was bound to raise itself sooner or later, and they would do well to be prepared.
"I think so," she said finally, fingering the little dress and imagining the day that they would finally put it to use. "I know we've talked about it before, but... well. I suppose I can't think of a good reason that we ought to wait." She dared to meet his eyes again, hoping that they would naturally agree on this subject, as they did on so many others.
Henri relaxed slightly, realizing as she spoke that, somewhere in the back of his mind, he had been worried that Thomasina - with her free spirit and her independent mind - would be wary of children. "Neither do I. I think - I like to think - that we could make a good family as well as a good marriage before very long." His gaze settled on the christening gown as he imagined the day they would finally use it with one part apprehension and two parts wonder.
"I think so too," Thom said, a faint blush spreading over her cheeks as she couldn't keep from smiling. "We've enough love for three at least, it seems a shame not to spread it around a bit." She leaned up and kissed him, seeking out his hand with her own even as she still held the little gown in it. "So, after the wedding," she said when they parted finally. "When things have settled down a bit... we'll start trying?" There was a question in her voice, but she was more sure than ever they were on the same page.
"Yes. I think that sounds like a very good idea." He tried to keep his voice light, but his stomach fluttered with thrill and anticipation as he spoke those simple words. Dieu - they might very well have a child on the way by this very time next time. Henri laced his fingers with Thom's and murmured wryly, "I feel as though I should say something terribly clever about all that trying we will have to do, but I cannot even think of anything. God, Thom..." And he laughed.
"No one can accuse us of neglecting to practice," Thom had to add, a smile at the corner of her mouth as she arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, Henri..." She leaned in for a kiss, momentarily overwhelmed by all that they had before them. A new life was truly about to begin for both of them, and it was hard to imagine how vastly everything was going to change. But, then again, they had to get there first, didn't they? "We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, though," Thom said once they'd parted. "Let's get through the wedding in one piece first, mmm?"
Henri wrapped his arms around Thom and pulled her close so that she was leaning against him as they sat on the floor with all these symbols of the new life they would start together surrounding them. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Have you thought about anything on that front? I meant it when I said I would be leaving it in your hands." He grinned.
Thom laughed a little, settling happily into his arms and covering his hands with her own. "I've been thinking about it," she said, which was absolutely the truth; in fact, she'd been thinking about little else, since the subject had become relevant. "It's just difficult - things have changed so much, and combining that with the island's limited resources..." She shook her head. Already she had been tempted just to drag him to the council office, have it done and over with. But no, this was a once in a lifetime event, it deserved more than that. "Do not worry, though, I will keep you well apprised." She grinned.
"I would hope so," Henri said. "At the very least, I shall need the date and time, or you may find yourself with no one to marry." He ran his fingers absently through Thom's hair as he looked about them. "I suppose the question now is, are all these things a wedding gift or a Christmas gift," he said, half to himself. Like Thom, he was tempted to put them all away until they were truly married, for symbolism's sake, but it did seem a little silly to let all these luxuries go to waste in a place where luxuries were few.
"I think we ought to put them away until the wedding," Thom said, catching his train of thought. "It will make it feel more like a new home, at the very least. And it will help me feel like I am better at keeping house than I've any right to." She smiled and turned slightly, so that she could kiss him over her shoulder. "But just think - once we've set all of this up, we shall be very nearly civilized."
"Oh, I don't know. Even if they have been magically bestowed, I think you deserve to take the credit for keeping house. There's no one to take it away from you, after all - I certainly won't." His eyes twinkled. "Mm, civilized. Now there's something I never expected to find when turned up here, even with its electricity, and plumbing, and all that business." Henri did not have the same wish to beat back the jungle that some island residents did, but this sort of civilization, the kind that spoke of comfort, and family, and home, it was indeed welcome.
"Mmm. The last year has been somewhat full of unexpected things, hasn't it?" Thom asked, smiling softly and twining her fingers with his. "With more to come, it seems." She would not stop thinking about the things they'd discussed anytime soon, she was sure; to think, that by this time next year they might be preparing for an addition to their little family of two! It was a foreign thought, but not an unwelcome one, and she felt a little thrill of anticipation in her stomach at the idea. "But let us look to the immediate future before the distant," she said finally, turning her head to look at Henri as best she could. "Shall we go find our dinner, if the island is done with surprises for the time being?"
"I think the surprises may be done for the evening. We've had quite a few, haven't we? Dinner sounds perfect." Henri kissed her hair and stood. Later they would need to clean up the linens now scattered around them, but for the moment, he rather liked the scene of comfortable chaos they created. He took Thom's hand. "Come on, let's go find something to eat."
The evening was cool as Henri walked home from his Sunday shift in the clinic. The lightness in his step was one he had carried with him for two full weeks now, one that he did not expect to dissipate any time soon, perhaps not even for the rest of his life. He had a book tucked under his arm and swung a large, leafy fern at his side. The plant served two purposes: he had read just that day that a salve might be created from the leaves, something not unlike aloe vera, and he wanted to take a better look at it. But also, he had thought Thom might find it pretty, with its bright green leaves that were speckled with spots of a deep purple color. He was whistling absently through his teeth as he came through the doorway. " 'sinia, are you home?"
"I am," Thom called from the library, looking up from her current occupation with a smile. She got up and went to greet Henri at the door, taking in the large plant he carried with him with an utter lack of surprise. Kissing him hello, she relieved him of his burdens as he took off his shoes; she had a surprise, and she was utterly bursting with the desire to tell him about it, but somehow she forced herself to wait. "How was the clinic, darling?" she asked, setting the fern down on the bed and the book beside it, taking a moment to admire the prettiness of the greenery.
"Oh, relatively uneventful. Quieter now." The end of the last week had seen a burst of activity in the clinic after the strange and sudden attacks on Thursday, but by now most who had been injured had gone home or were recovering comfortably. He tucked his shoes next to the bed and looked up at Thom with a decidedly amused expression. There was an unmistakable energy in her carriage that spoke of news to be told. "Now, are you going to tell me what has you smiling like that, or am I being forced to guess?"
"Why must there be anything besides the fact that my fiance has come home?" Thom asked sweetly and completely disingenuously, before grinning and giving up her own game. "To tell you the truth I'm not absolutely sure yet; I think the island has given me another of its gifts. Like last year. But I haven't opened it yet, I've waited for you." This had in fact been something of a feat; she was never a very patient girl under the best of circumstances, and it was rather fortunate Henri had come home when he did. "Come in and take a look." She tugged him into the library, where there sat a large and rather handsomely constructed cedar chest that certainly had not been there the day before. "I haven't found anything for you, yet. But I'm sure there's something about, or there will be."
"I commend your patience," Henri said with a twinkle in his eye as he stood before the simple wooden box. Arms crossed over his chest, he studied it curiously. He recognized it no more than Thom did, of course, and nothing about it spoke of what its contents might be. This was the time for island gift-giving, so that in itself was not strange, but he could not guess what this could be. He kneeled before it. "Well, shall you do the honors? I am quite curious myself now."
Thom grinned and wasted no time in lifting the lid of the trunk. The first item she removed was a card with her own name on it, erasing any doubt as to what this could be: a gift from the island, sure enough. The card gave no hint to what was contained within, however; the only thing to do would be to unpack it and see. The first thing she removed was a long length of finely-woven material, and then another that was a twin of the first. "Curtains," she said to Henri after a moment, holding them up for his inspection. "How lovely, don't you think?" Perhaps the chest was full of linens - but from what she could see thus far, there were a few other things at least concealed within as well.
Henri had his hands resting on his kneecaps as he peered over the lip of the chest and into those things folded and stacked within. Nothing either of them had received previously had been particularly home-y, for they were not really the sort, but he supposed that such a gift made sense now. "An early wedding present, perhaps," he mused with a curve of a smile. "What else is in there?"
"It seems so," Thom said, as she next retrieved a pair of heavy silver candlesticks. At home, something like this would have been part of her trousseau - things she would have brought with her from her old life to her new. Here, there was very little that would change materially, but it seemed that she had been given a hope chest regardless.
Two new feather pillows followed the candlesticks, and she tossed one playfully at Henri. "Merry Christmas," she bade him with a grin, though the holiday itself was weeks past.
Henri caught the pillow and grinned. "And a very happy new year," he said with a laugh of his own. Eyes twinkling, he leaned forward to kiss her. "I'm beginning to get an idea that this one might be a rather good year. And a bountiful one, if your gifts are anything to go by." They could start a real home - a family - with everything that the island had packed into that little trunk. For the moment he wasn't even thinking that there might be something in there for him as well.
"I am quite certain it will be," Thom said, returning his kiss happily before turning back to the chest. She thought she'd like to pack everything back up after this, save it until after the wedding, when she and Henri began their life together properly. Somehow, with the arrival of this gift, she was both more aware of what they would soon embark upon, and more excited for it to arrive.
There was a new duvet next, and once she'd removed that, smoothing it on her lap, she noticed something that had been hidden beneath it - a little box, with a tag attached bearing Henri's name. Retrieving it, Thom handed it over. "This is for you, I think," she said. "Likely a lump of coal - someone must have told them how wicked you've been this year." She arched an eyebrow and grinned.
"And yet that same someone seems to be under the impression that you have been downright angelic, so I'm sure we can trust that opinion," Henri observed with an arch of an eyebrow of his own. He was quite curious about what the little box contained, and in no way prepared when he discovered the two simple gold rings inside. His eyes went wide, and then he smiled. "Not a lump of coal exactly." And he turned the book around so that Thom, too, could see. "Look."
Thom's breath was momentarily stolen by the sight of the gold bands, gleaming in the box that Henri held out to her. She didn't have to look much closer to know that they would fit each of them perfectly. "Oh," she breathed, looking from the rings to Henri and then back to the rings again. "I think we've both been rather good," she said, moving so that she could lean into his side and look at the trappings of their marriage-to-be, spread before them. "I love you."
The small box still clutched in his hand, Henri wrapped his arms around Thom. His smile was warm and content as he embraced her. He squeezed her and laughed a little at the sudden swell of emotion in his chest. "I think I am a very lucky man, ma 'sinia. Already this year I have gotten everything I might want, and there are joys yet to come."
"Many of them," Thom agreed with a smile, and leaned up with a smile to kiss him. After his gift, which was really for both of them, she thought there could be nothing better contained in her chest. They looked through the last few things together, and after Thom had removed a prettily embroidered tablecloth, she thought it was empty.
Except... there was one more bit of white peeking out at her, and she reached deep down to retrieve it. It was, she saw after pulling it from the chest, an article of clothing, pure white and sized for an infant. A christening gown. She looked at Henri, unable for the moment to form any sentence that would be at all coherent.
A moment or two passed while Henri took in the shape of the garment and what it implied. No, this was not another tablecloth or a pillowcase, but something very, very different. Henri had thought about the family they would start - and soon, most likely - but this brought the decision into new focus. "Well-" he smiled lopsidedly. "There's nothing you haven't been telling me, is there, cherie?" He tried to sound like he was joking.
"There is most certainly not," Thom said, swatting his arm lightly before settling in against him again, gazing at the little garment. "Though I cannot say the thought has not crossed my mind," she amended. No, she was quite sure that whoever the gown was meant for was not yet on their way, but the thought of starting a family had not been terribly far from her mind in the weeks since Henri had proposed. "I suppose someone thinks we ought to be prepared..."
"Indeed." Henri's arm crept over the encircle her waist. Here was something they had surely both thought about, but not discussed with each other. Obviously, they had as much choice in these matters as they had ever had - when, and how, and how many children they wished to have - and for that he was grateful. But that also meant discussing the matter in a way they may not have in their previous lives."I suppose the important question is, do we?" he said with a small smile.
Thom looked up to meet his eyes, her smile matching his own in warmth and tentativeness. Oh, they'd talked about children before, of course, but it had always been in a very theoretical way. Now, though, as their plans for the wedding grew firmer and more real, Thom began to realize that they ought to be planning beyond the wedding, as well. They should talk about children, because it was an issue that was bound to raise itself sooner or later, and they would do well to be prepared.
"I think so," she said finally, fingering the little dress and imagining the day that they would finally put it to use. "I know we've talked about it before, but... well. I suppose I can't think of a good reason that we ought to wait." She dared to meet his eyes again, hoping that they would naturally agree on this subject, as they did on so many others.
Henri relaxed slightly, realizing as she spoke that, somewhere in the back of his mind, he had been worried that Thomasina - with her free spirit and her independent mind - would be wary of children. "Neither do I. I think - I like to think - that we could make a good family as well as a good marriage before very long." His gaze settled on the christening gown as he imagined the day they would finally use it with one part apprehension and two parts wonder.
"I think so too," Thom said, a faint blush spreading over her cheeks as she couldn't keep from smiling. "We've enough love for three at least, it seems a shame not to spread it around a bit." She leaned up and kissed him, seeking out his hand with her own even as she still held the little gown in it. "So, after the wedding," she said when they parted finally. "When things have settled down a bit... we'll start trying?" There was a question in her voice, but she was more sure than ever they were on the same page.
"Yes. I think that sounds like a very good idea." He tried to keep his voice light, but his stomach fluttered with thrill and anticipation as he spoke those simple words. Dieu - they might very well have a child on the way by this very time next time. Henri laced his fingers with Thom's and murmured wryly, "I feel as though I should say something terribly clever about all that trying we will have to do, but I cannot even think of anything. God, Thom..." And he laughed.
"No one can accuse us of neglecting to practice," Thom had to add, a smile at the corner of her mouth as she arched an eyebrow at him. "Oh, Henri..." She leaned in for a kiss, momentarily overwhelmed by all that they had before them. A new life was truly about to begin for both of them, and it was hard to imagine how vastly everything was going to change. But, then again, they had to get there first, didn't they? "We're getting a little ahead of ourselves, though," Thom said once they'd parted. "Let's get through the wedding in one piece first, mmm?"
Henri wrapped his arms around Thom and pulled her close so that she was leaning against him as they sat on the floor with all these symbols of the new life they would start together surrounding them. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Have you thought about anything on that front? I meant it when I said I would be leaving it in your hands." He grinned.
Thom laughed a little, settling happily into his arms and covering his hands with her own. "I've been thinking about it," she said, which was absolutely the truth; in fact, she'd been thinking about little else, since the subject had become relevant. "It's just difficult - things have changed so much, and combining that with the island's limited resources..." She shook her head. Already she had been tempted just to drag him to the council office, have it done and over with. But no, this was a once in a lifetime event, it deserved more than that. "Do not worry, though, I will keep you well apprised." She grinned.
"I would hope so," Henri said. "At the very least, I shall need the date and time, or you may find yourself with no one to marry." He ran his fingers absently through Thom's hair as he looked about them. "I suppose the question now is, are all these things a wedding gift or a Christmas gift," he said, half to himself. Like Thom, he was tempted to put them all away until they were truly married, for symbolism's sake, but it did seem a little silly to let all these luxuries go to waste in a place where luxuries were few.
"I think we ought to put them away until the wedding," Thom said, catching his train of thought. "It will make it feel more like a new home, at the very least. And it will help me feel like I am better at keeping house than I've any right to." She smiled and turned slightly, so that she could kiss him over her shoulder. "But just think - once we've set all of this up, we shall be very nearly civilized."
"Oh, I don't know. Even if they have been magically bestowed, I think you deserve to take the credit for keeping house. There's no one to take it away from you, after all - I certainly won't." His eyes twinkled. "Mm, civilized. Now there's something I never expected to find when turned up here, even with its electricity, and plumbing, and all that business." Henri did not have the same wish to beat back the jungle that some island residents did, but this sort of civilization, the kind that spoke of comfort, and family, and home, it was indeed welcome.
"Mmm. The last year has been somewhat full of unexpected things, hasn't it?" Thom asked, smiling softly and twining her fingers with his. "With more to come, it seems." She would not stop thinking about the things they'd discussed anytime soon, she was sure; to think, that by this time next year they might be preparing for an addition to their little family of two! It was a foreign thought, but not an unwelcome one, and she felt a little thrill of anticipation in her stomach at the idea. "But let us look to the immediate future before the distant," she said finally, turning her head to look at Henri as best she could. "Shall we go find our dinner, if the island is done with surprises for the time being?"
"I think the surprises may be done for the evening. We've had quite a few, haven't we? Dinner sounds perfect." Henri kissed her hair and stood. Later they would need to clean up the linens now scattered around them, but for the moment, he rather liked the scene of comfortable chaos they created. He took Thom's hand. "Come on, let's go find something to eat."