A little late, but I actually do have words to share for triad thursday 💜
~
“Peg?”
She looks up, only to see Hawkeye looking down at her, his expression soft and his brow furrowed with worry in the glow of the back porch light.
“Are you gonna be okay?” he asks again. “And can I help?”
“What?”
“Can I help?”
“Darling, I appreciate the offer, but they’re my parents. It’s not… it isn’t life or death.”
“Maybe not, but…” Hawkeye takes her hands, tugging her to her feet as he quotes, “And so hold on when there is nothing in you…”
“Except the will which says to them ‘hold on’,” Peg finishes, feeling her eyes well up at his concern. “Kipling.”
“You bet.”
“I love you,” she says, standing on her toes to kiss him in the glow of the porch light, his lips soft and yeasty from the beer, his hands strong in hers.
“I love you too,” he says, pulling back, and winks at her. “Never underestimate the power of Rudyard Kipling.”
“Yes, he was quite a wordsmith when he wasn’t busy being a jackass,” she says lightly, and his face falls.
“You don’t like Rudyard Kipling?”
She almost laughs. “Darling, I like his work. It’s him I’m not overly fond of.”
“Fair enough,” Hawkeye says, and gives her a shy grin. “I’m not overly fond of your mother – if even just for what her imminent arrival is doing to you – but I think her daughter is pretty neat.”
“Well fortunately for you, her daughter thinks you’re pretty neat too,” she says, and kisses him again, letting go of him as the back door creaks open.
“There’s not that much to do,” BJ says, walking in. “Daniel and Erin will be right in- oh.”
“Hi darling,” Peg says, smiling at him, her heart settling down a little. “Nice of you to join the party.”
“I leave you two alone for five minutes…” BJ grouses, walking over and wrapping his arms around both of them.
Squished in between Hawk and BJ, Peg thinks her heart rate finally settles, letting her head fall against Hawk’s shoulder.
“How’s our Peg, Hawk?”
“She’ll be alright. Unfortunately, my powers of seductive reasoning don’t work on her.”
“Looks like your seduces were wild,” BJ jokes, making Peg groan and Hawkeye let out a single wheezy goose honk of a laugh.