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It was a Saturday morning, which meant Tom and Daisy were dead to the world and would be for another few hours, and Fred was distracted with cheerios and banana in front of Peppa Pig. Ellie wasn't going to let him spend the day like that, of course. She just did it on Saturday mornings so her and Hardy could take it slow and wake up in their own time.
Ellie leaned against the counter, watching Hardy, back to her, fumble through the steps to make coffee. Decaf for him, caffeine for her.
She took a bite of her toast- butter and jam- taking in the view of the man she lives with. The bastard wore a suit and tie on the weekends. At least in the morning she got to see him without the tie and blazer, which he stopped doing because she relentlessly took the piss.
God forbid one of their neighbours look in the window at 8am to see him without a tie on.
He probably needs a haircut, she thinks. And a shave, but to be honest, at this point Ellie would be more disturbed to see him with a clean shaven face.
She watches the crease of his shirt as he checks the cupboard by his head to see if they have any spare instant coffee. Ellie curses her brain as she reluctantly admits there is something beautiful about it.
Unfortunately, she might love Hardy. Which is a shame, because he's such a massive prick.
He finishes up the coffee, Ellie's first, sugar and milk, before twisting round to pop it on the counter by her, embellished with a groggy, half-asleep grumble of ‘coffee.’
Then, he turns to finish preparing his own mug.
"I hope you have breakfast with that," Ellie remarks, smile twitching at the dismissive noise Hardy makes in response.
The thought of a conversation her and Alec almost had twitches at the back of Ellie's mind. She'd manage to skirt around the subject, barely breeching it when they'd been interupted by some teenage drama, courtesy of Tom.
"-Would you mind if I did though?" Ellie asks, hoping she won't have to spell out what she means.
"Did what?" Alec asked, tone just a little petulant as he takes the first sip of his coffee.
"Bring someone round sometime,"
Ellie didn't really need to date. She barely had time, for one, with the job and the kids. She also wasn't really looking for that sort of committed relationship because in a roundabout way, her prick boss has become the love of her life.
That part had just sort of gradually happened, practically sneaking up on the two of them till one day, Ellie had dropped Daisy off at Chloe's and Tom off at football, and Alec was watching Fred while he picked up eggs at the supermarket, and it hit her that this was their life now.
So the other aspects of her life were pretty much covered, and chock full of responsibility. But Ellie wasn't opposed to the idea of dating someone for the fun.
Alec makes a disgusted noise in the back of his throat, face like the milk in his drink just turned sour.
"I'll let you know in advance!" Ellie counters, knowing she's just conjured the image in his head of Hardy A.) Having to meet a new person and B.) Him having to awkwardly sit with the telly or something on while he waits for them to leave.
Ugh, the idea of that repulses her too, thanks Hardy.
He swallows the coffee with a grimace, eyebrows knitted together and brown eyes looking with hers, "Miller, where am I supposed to go while you do your thing"
"Oh, don't say it like that!" Ellie protests, repressing a shudder as she sets her toast on the side, "I dunno, if you don't wanna be in the house, maybe you could stay with a friend,"
"I don't have any friends, I've just got you," Alec responds immediately, looking at Ellie like she's asked him a stupid question.
"-And what about the kids, what are the kids gonna be doing?"
"Well, obviously I'd pick my times-
-Maybe when they're on sleepovers, you could work late?
-Ooh! Or maybe you could do something fun with the kids, take them to the cinema," Ellie suggests, lighting up at the idea.
Alec made a displeased noise. "I don't think you should've asked. I think I'd rather have no knowledge of you... canoodling while I have a nice night out with the kids."
"Ugh," it's Ellie's turn to look like her milk has gone sour, "'canoodling' is so much worse. ...But I'm not hearing a no?" Ellie points out, eyebrows raised. She expected to be met with a lot more resistance.
Alex lets out a drawn out groan, turning his head so he's looking somewhere out the window instead of directly at Miller.
"Well, I'd rather you go to their place, but you are a fully grown woman." The way he says it, it's like pulling teeth. But he says it.
"Oh, thank you Hardy!" Ellie squeals, giving the man a massive grin, "I won't take the piss, promise!"
Alec makes a quiet noise, displeasure still present on his face.
Ellie thinks he just hates the reminder that sex exists, and especially that the people around him want to have it.
She remembers the utter disbelief he went through, when Ellie suggested Daisy was old enough to be having it. His face had turned white as a sheet and she was just a little concerned he was going to faint. Most blokes, Ellie would've had a go at for that kind of attitude, but with Hardy, she knew it wasn't rooted in some old-fashioned bollocks, so she gave him a pass.
She'd then offered to tackle that side of things on his behalf, and the relief visually set into his body. Daisy also seemed grateful when she discussed it with the young woman- probably just glad it wasn't her old dad doing it.
"And- change the sheets afterwards. I don't want to sleep on sheets that've been dirtied and sweated in," The DI added.
"You say that like I'm some sort of pig!" Ellie retorts, "Of course I'd change the sheets, Christ!"
She half regrets the whole conversation. Not in any serious way, just in how, at any given point, Hardy can make her want to smack her head against a brick wall. She's going to take a shower, she decides, taking a long sip of coffee and heading out of their kitchen.
"And don't use the nice sheets!" Hardy calls after her, "-or my quilt!"
And well. Negotiations are important.