A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 28

Millard spent the next morning running his fingers through Aurora's hair that was fanned across his chest. He took a deep breath inhaling her scent, like fresh blooming flowers on a spring day after a light rain her scent assaulted his senses and muddied his mind. Then Aurora shifted as she began to wake up.

"Morning." Millard greeted her, he only got a small hum in reply as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and sat up. Aurora would probably argue that she looked like a mess but Millard couldn't get over how beautiful she looked as daylight streamed in through the window and made her skin glow, he could feel his heart beating faster in his chest as he watched her.

"Thank you for letting me stay here last night." She said getting out of bed and suddenly Millard felt so much colder.

"I'd never turn you away." He replied sweetly sitting on the edge of the mattress. "You know there's nothing I wouldn't give you." He continued and Aurora turned to look at him, "There's nothing I'd ever deny you. I'd move heaven and earth if that's what it took to make you forgive me."

"Millard what did you expect?" Aurora said in exasperation, her voice shaking slightly. "That you'd apologize for something you did twenty years ago and I'd go weak at the knees, fall into your arms and cry? Then we'd just, pick up where we left off and, and spend forever in the loop together." She stuttered as he stood and walked over to her, "Come on Millard, you're the realistic one what did you expect; we'd get a happily ever after like some fairytale?"

"Yes." He said as he took her face gently in his hands, "To everything. . . except I don't want to see you cry anymore."

"Too late." She said as she let him lean in and kiss her. When their lips came together her hands buried themselves in his hair at the nape of his neck. Millard felt a fire erupt within him and let every feeling he'd buried for twenty years pour out into that kiss. Aurora pulled away, keeping her hands on his shoulders, she had tear tracks down her cheeks as she looked at him.

"You really love me again?"

"Again? Who said I stopped the first time?"

"But you –"

"I told you, I was only letting you go because I cared so much about you, if there was a chance you could do better I wanted you to have the freedom to take it."

"And now?" she asked unsure of herself.

"I love you Aurora, its taken twenty years of being without you for my head and my heart to finally agree, but I truly do. I love you with every fiber of my being."

Another tear fell down her face as she smiled, "I love you too Millard."

oOo oOo oOo Five Years Later oOo oOo oOo

Aurora and Millard were relaxing under the shade of one of the large trees in the yard, she was reading another book while he worked on his recordings. Instead of going out to do research he'd decided instead to tidy up the notes he'd already taken. Every now and then she'd feel his fingers on her chin and he'd raise her lips to his and kiss her sweetly. The first time she asked him, "What was that for?"

He only shrugged in his jacket and replied, "I just missed kissing you."

She smiled and they both went back to their books. Aurora still couldn't believe how simple it had been for the two of them to fall back into their old patterns. They walked around the island's fields hand in hand enjoying the sunshine September the third always had. Some days Aurora would join Millard on one of the many farms to record what the animals were doing; she could never tag along when Millard studied the people, he never said it but she knew she got in the way. Millard wanted an honest recording of what each person did that repetitive day and only an invisible could get that information. Aurora didn't mind, that absence made the heart grow fonder and upon Millard's return the pair would sneak off to a quiet place and spend a fair amount of time snogging.

One afternoon they simply laid in the grass watching the clouds pass by overhead. Aurora had her head on Millard's shoulder as he ran his fingers through her hair. Then he kissed her temple before whispering in her ear, "I will love you forever."

Aurora giggled, "Forever is an awfully long time you know." She sighed as she nuzzled against him.

"Not long enough."

oOo oOo oOo

After twenty years it was almost like they were afraid to be apart for very long, that's probably what led to them sharing a room. At first Aurora had continued to spend the night with Millard because she was afraid her nightmares would come back but after several months she realized it was more than that, she was afraid to be away from him. She'd either sneak into his room or he'd sneak into hers. Emma was the only one who knew and she hadn't said anything because she thought they just looked so sweet together. They didn't do anything scandalous or inappropriate, Aurora would just relax in Millard's embrace and fall asleep in his arms, which he'd wind tightly around her waist.

In the morning whoever woke up first would wait for the other one to wake before they'd kiss and part to get ready for breakfast. Aurora loved the days when Millard would wake up first, those were the mornings she'd wake up to his fingers running through her hair or hearing him hum 'Run Rabbit'. One morning she'd woken up to his face buried in her hair and when she giggled and asked him what he was doing he simply said he'd liked the way she smelled. Aurora had blushed because she knew first thing in the morning she couldn't smell too good, she hadn't even brushed her teeth yet! But Millard argued that her natural smell was the greatest thing in the world, like fresh blooming flowers on a spring day after a light rain. She'd called him silly and got up to leave so she could be on time for breakfast and looked over her shoulder when she heard him move. He'd rolled over onto her side of his bed – she could tell by the way the sheets had twisted around his legs – and she heard him inhale with his face buried in her pillow as if he thought his argument needed emphasis. Aurora thought it odd, how twenty years could pass by so slowly without him, then these past five together again could pass so quickly.