Ephemera & Tales

For tsuki_no_bara, who asked for Collin/Ally, any time before Collin leaves for uni, when they're not arguing about it.- key words: barn, steam. - Colin's story is told in diary format over at kettle, so it's a little weird writing him third person.

( for boys and their dogs )

The very last of the requested snippets. My apologies for the time this has taken - the scenario got written into the main body of the story at kettle [here and here] but I was feeling as though that wasn't quite fair to the two lovely ladies who made the requests. I'm not used to writing in Ally's voice, so apologies for brevety, but he showed up, and Colin is impossible to pin down for smut type things. He's a shy muse really. [side note : posting via client and not checking lj proper because it's late and I should be in bed.]

***** ***** ***** ( stables, stress free for Tsuki_no_bara ) ( smutt-ish Colin / Ally for Kaytee4ever )

For foreverdirt, who took the phrase 'anyone from kettle' far too literally : this is Mike and Sue, Colin's parents, some 17 years before the current timeline of kettle [who does have a new year entry due to happen - I just have to write a letter from Ali's POV, I think. *gulp*] It was actually really nifty to give a lot mor thought to their early years together. My apologies to the lady in question that the resultant ficlet is so tiny.

***** ***** *****

"Mike? Is that you?"

"Honey I'm home!"

His voice is rich with laughter and comfort. Simply the sound of his key in the lock to their little maisonette calms the anxiety that churns up her stomach, alone here all day with this tiny precious life-changing person who couldn't tell her if she was doing right by him or not.

Even dirty with brick dust and mud, his hair a mess of rain-soaked sweat-soaked hat-mashed curls, her heart still jumps each time she sees him. And for all that she's not gotten a brush through her hair at all today and her slacks have been worn for three days straight, his strong arm finds her waist, pulling her in close to be kissed.

He still makes her feel like the princess to his knight, and that maybe even though they're both so tired all the time, and their parents are so upset. Maybe even though all their dreams have been re-made around the baby sleeping in the carry cot on the table, that maybe, just maybe, this is what happily ever after looks like from the inside.