Work Text:
Nathan enters his rowhouse, letting out a breath of relief once in the shade of his home. Though the rowhouse is becoming hotter and hotter as the day goes on, it's an oasis compared to the oven outside. A heatwave hit Hope Valley today and Nathan knew it was just the beginning of a long, hot week.
Removing his hat and belt, Nathan steps through to the parlor, and then undoes his serge. A mountie’s serge is not ideal for hot weather and Nathan has been sweating all day and feigning off the heat that is getting to his head. Clad in his undershirt, he wipes the sweat from his brow and heads to the kitchen. Dipping his head in the sink, Nathan pumps the water straight over his head to cool off. The water glides deliciously over his neck and through his hair, giving him temporary relief from the heat. He cups his hand and drinks straight from the pump and then washes his face, not bothering to dry off with a towel. It's a Saturday and Nathan came home to break for lunch, but the heat took his appetite away. He opts for some fruit to renew his energy and eats an apple on his way upstairs. After changing into fresh clothing, Nathan puts on a hat and heads out the back door to grab his toolbox. Allie is spending the day at the river with her friends to enjoy the water and the shade of the trees, so Nathan figures he’ll use the time alone to fix the porch steps that had gotten loose. Normally, he wouldn’t be outside hammering away in the heat, but he wants to fix the porch as soon as possible so Allie doesn't hurt herself going up and down the stairs.
Rounding the side of the house to the front, Nathan sets his toolbox on the ground and kneels at the bottom step to get to work. He can feel the hot sun beating down on his back right away and after a few minutes of working, the skin of his arms feel like they are burning. Sweat drips down from his face and onto the wood right in front of him, and he wipes his face and neck down with a towel. He only hopes he can finish the job quickly so he can rest for a bit inside before needing to get back to the mountie office later.
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Sticking her head in the icebox, Elizabeth lets out a sigh of relief. Hope Valley was hit by a heatwave and it’s been brutally hot all day. Jack wouldn’t stop crying for the past hour, fussy from the heat, but she managed to put him down for a nap and hoped the weather would make him tired enough to sleep the rest of the day away. Elizabeth takes a deep breath of the cold air when she hears a faint banging in the distance. Standing up straight, Elizabeth closes the icebox and walks across the room to her front door. The noise is consistent, like someone hammering away at something, she thinks. She wonders who would be doing yard work in this kind of heat. Opening the door she turns towards the sound of the banging and down the line of rowhouses she sees Nathan crouched down on his porch steps, working away at something. She smiles to herself, leaning back on the door frame and just watches him for a moment. Since she and Nathan started courting in the beginning of the summer, Elizabeth has felt the happiest she’s ever been in a long time. She finally feels like she can move on after Jack and she's ready to do that with Nathan, she thinks.
Going back inside, Elizabeth walks to the kitchen and gets out the strawberry and lemon water she made earlier this morning. She goes back into the icebox and adds enough ice to fill the pitcher she made. Then, going next door to Rosemary, she asks if Rosemary can keep watch over Jack for a little bit while she goes to see Nathan. Rosemary happily obliges and so Elizabeth is off to Nathan’s with her pitcher of water and a full glass ready for Nathan.
As she walks to his rowhouse the banging gets louder. In the distance she can see the heatwaves rising from the ground, contorting her vision. The sun bakes her skin and a drop of perspiration skids down her back. As she approaches Nathan she can see him fitting a new board to the top step of his porch. He places a nail in the wood and starts hammering again. When she gets closer she can see the sweat soaking through the back of his shirt. His muscles tense with every strike of the hammer, and she tries not to let her eyes linger too long. Not wanting to sneak up on him while he works, Elizabeth walks around his side so she could be in his line of sight.
Reaching for another nail, Nathan looks up and doubles back when he notices Elizabeth standing in front of him. He smiles instantly, setting down his hammer and climbing off the stairs to meet her.
“Elizabeth,” he smiles in greeting and takes off his hat. She smiles brightly at him and it makes his heart light.
“Hi,” she says, holding out a glass of water. “For you.”
He huffs out a breath, taking the cool glass from her hands. “Thank you.”
He downs the class in one go to her surprise and she pours him another glass which he takes gratefully. She watches as he sits back on the steps and she follows him, climbing the steps and sitting a couple of steps above him to have her face in the shade. She sets the pitcher down on the porch and watches him drink the second glass with less desperation. She looks at the way his neck stretches out and his throat bobs with every pull of water. Drops of sweat line the perimeter of his face and his hair is dark like he's doused his whole head in water. She has to admit she likes seeing him in this different state. When Nathan finishes the drink she takes the cup from his hand and places it beside her.
"Thank you for that," Nathan pants, leaning back on his elbows.
“You’re welcome.” Elizabeth can't stop smiling at him. Then looking out at the hazy field ahead of them she huffs out a breath, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead. “Goodness, it’s hot.” She takes the glass Nathan used and pours herself some of the fruity concoction before drinking it swiftly.
Nathan groans as he wipes his forearm across his brow. "It sure is," he agrees, eyeing the way Elizabeth uses the same drinking glass as him without hesitation.
“Well, what are you doing working in the sun like this?” she asks, leaning back on your hands and looking down at him from the top step. Nathan’s head falls back to look at her, his blue eyes bright in the light of the sun, taking her breath away. His left eye squints and it makes her want to laugh a little, and pieces of his wet hair clump together across his forehead, making her want to run her fingers through his hair. She doesn’t do either.
“The porch step was loose and then the other one was splitting,” Nathan sighs and kicks the new board he was nailing in when she found him, “and I wanted to fix it before Allie got home,” he explains and squints out towards the field. Elizabeth hums in response and then bids him to come sit up a couple steps so he can get some shade. He listens and scoots up to sit back beside her, leaning against the porch rail.
Facing Elizabeth this close, he takes in the full sight of her beauty. The heat makes her skin flush pink and glow with perspiration and he thinks it's the most beautiful sight he's ever seen. He smiles to himself. Just her presence makes him feel more awake and lively despite the heatwave swelling through the town. She sits with her head resting in her hands and looks at him. They sit like that for a few minutes before he shifts against the porch rail and it groans against his weight. Reaching behind him with his arm Nathan feels for the pegs in the railing and catches some that are loose. He groans internally, another thing to fix. Elizabeth notices his slight sigh and stands up, touching his shoulder as she passes him.
“You know, I have fixed a few porch rails in my time.” Elizabeth places her hands on the railing, feeling where it needs some tightening.
Nathan gets up then from the steps to stand beside her, just mere inches away. “I'm sure you're more than capable, but don’t worry about it. I’ll get to it in time." He looks down at her, smiling that crooked smile she loves.
She smiles back at him, looking up into his blue eyes. Standing this close she can see the dark ring around his irises, making his eyes pop even more. He takes an impossible step closer and she gravitates to him naturally. Despite the heat outside, all Nathan wants is to be closer to her, and feel the warmth of her skin under his hands. He leans down, and closing the distance between them, captures her lips in a soft kiss. He cups her cheek in his hand and she leans into him instinctively. She runs her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and he kisses her more deeply, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. Kissing Elizabeth is like a cool drink of water in this heatwave. Pulling apart, they stand with their foreheads touching for a minute before Elizabeth ultimately steps out of his warm embrace as she bites her lip. He gazes at her mouth as she chews on the lip he just kissed. He clears his throat then and gets back to work fixing the porch while Elizabeth sits back down and watches him. She likes watching him fix things, and so she lets herself follow his movements, mesmerized by the way the muscles in his arms flex and the way his hair falls over his forehead when he leans down. She offers him a towel when he needs it and pours him more water when builds up a thirst. After another ten minutes he's finished with the steps and the railing, and he and Elizabeth talk for a little while longer before they part ways, him needing to get back to the mountie office, and her needing to get back to little Jack and relieve Rosemary from babysitting. She kisses him on the cheek goodbye and Nathan follows her with his eyes and watches Elizabeth disappear into the heatwaves until seeing her again tomorrow.