Chapter Text
It made sense to Ellie that they should do household shopping together. Hardy, however, never agreed. It didn’t make sense to him. But he was often outnumbered because Beth insisted that it does and often reinforced Ellie’s point.
Reasons being:
- Bulk purchases are cheaper.
- Freebies that come with purchase with purchase items.
- Less shopping trips, which saves a lot of time for them being working parents.
With a counterargument like that, Hardy had no choice but to give in.
Usually, all three of them would decide on a common available date each month and go to the nearest Morrisons in Ellie’s car. That evening, however, Beth had to attend to a client at the last minute, leaving Hardy and Ellie with her list for them to do the shopping on her behalf.
And as per every shopping trip, Hardy was in charge of the household goods; soaps, shampoos, laundry detergent— you get the gist. So, he separated ways from Ellie as she went off to get groceries.
Previously, Hardy would grab any brand that was the biggest and the cheapest. Now, all three households have the same brands depending on which ones have the most discount. Pushing the trolley down the aisle, with his glasses halfway down his nose, Hardy occasionally squinted at the labels, comparing the prices. What used to be a 30 minute errand run had become a 2-hour eye test for him.
Hardy sighed and picked up a house-brand body wash. It was a bottle bundled with two refills each. It was the best deal he had seen so far. As trained by both Ellie and Beth, he calculated the amount of consumption needed for the month, and picked up 4 of said bundles, settling them into the trolley. Let’s not get into how they would divide it between three households, I can’t be bothered.
As he was about to wheel his way down to the laundry segment, his phone buzzed. Hardy picked it up. “Aye?”
“Where are you?” Ellie’s voice came through, panicky.
“Laundry aisle.” Hardy answered simply. “Why?”
“Stay there. Wait for me.”
Before he could even process what Ellie had said, she hung up on him, leaving him staring blankly at his phone, confused. Hardy shrugged it off and continued wheeling down the aisle slowly, once again, reading the price tags and comparing values. The next thing he knew, there was a sound of a trolley speeding from behind him and an arm wrapped around his waist, their trolleys almost crashing into each other.
“Hello, love,” Ellie greeted him with a forced smile, her face right in his. “They ran out of your favourite jam.”
“Miller, wh—”
“Just go with it,” she muttered through gritted teeth, with widened eyes.
“ Wha — why?”
“Hold me,” Ellie pleaded, her eyes round and sparkly. He hated those eyes, it made him weak. “Please.”
Bloody hell.
A beat later, a voice called out behind them.
“Ellie! Thought that was you.”
Hardy turned. The man was as tall as he was, a well-dressed(too well dressed, in fact) bloke in his mid-40s started approaching them with the confidence of someone who thought he was far more charming than he actually was. Hardy recognised the type instantly — city blazer, smug smile, resting smug-face, even smug personality.
“Hi… DI Hardy…” the man said, eyes flicking pointedly between the two of them. “Ellie, been a while.”
Hardy was stumped. The man knew his name. He was pretty sure they had never met. He turned to Ellie, who was still pressed up against his body, tilting his head in confusion.
“Darren! Hello, yes. Been a while,” Ellie said quickly, without pulling away from Hardy, her arm now wrapped entirely around his back. “You know Hardy. He and I — well, we’re together. Been a while now.”
Hardy blinked. What?
Darren’s eyebrows lifted. “Oh, wow. That’s… that's something.”
“I don’t think I know who you are,” Hardy finally said, his voice gravelly and sharp around the edges.
“Sorry. Bit rude of me, eh? Darren Whitly. You’re right, you don’t. But I know you,” the man held out a hand, smiling way too wide. “Ellie and I, we uh, we were seeing each other for a bit a couple years back. I was just in town to visit someone, was about to get something for them. Didn’t expect to bump into her. Especially with someone like… you.”
Hardy tensed up, offended. “Like me?”
Ellie put a palm to his chest, pushing him back to calm him down as her other arm tightened her hold around him. Hardy looked at the palm hand on his chest, and then up again, meeting her eyes, as she shook her head, refraining him.
“Didn’t mean to offend you,” Darren laughed it off, pulling his hand back. “You’re quite the talk amongst us prosecutors. You know, for being ‘unfriendly’.”
Prosecutor. Hardy should have known.
Darren then turned to Ellie, his smile smug. “So, I guess you’re staying here then with the local rural cases?”
Something in Hardy snapped. But before he could do anything, he felt Ellie clench her palm into a fist on his chest, crumpling his shirt along with it. He found himself snaking his arm around her waist instead, holding her back. Hardy watched as Ellie subtly composed herself and forced a smile.
“It's home,” she managed. Hardy's hold on her softened, his heart fluttering at her reply. Gazing at her, he swayed a bit when she continued earnestly.“Even if I have only one reason to stay, I will.”
Darren shrugged it off, “You’re missing a lot, Ellie. All the things the big cities have to offer.”
“She will be fine,” Hardy cut him off. It was probably pride, or perhaps his misplaced sense of protectiveness he had over her but he would not let anyone speak to Ellie in that manner. Still holding her close to him, Hardy took a step forward, shielding her behind him. “She has everything she could ask for here.”
Darren raised his hands up in surrender. “Just saying, mate.”
“Alright, yes. Nice catching up with you, Darren,” Ellie pulled Hardy back behind her once more. “We’ve got to continue shopping. The children are waiting at home.”
“Children?”
“Children,” Hardy emphasized, wanting to rid himself of the pompous poppycock in front of him. “You should know since you talk like one.”
“That’s enough then, love.” Ellie interrupted and proceeded to push her trolley, dragging Hardy along with her by his arm. Hardy had no choice but to drag his trolley along and catch up with her, which he gladly did, not being able to stand the sight of Darren any longer.
Walking alongside Ellie as they pushed their trolleys off hurriedly, Hardy looked down at her hand tugging him at the sleeve. “Love?”
“Oh, shut up, you knob,” Ellie scolded him, rolling her eyes.
Unwillingly, they had to cut their shopping trip short. Ellie made them check-out despite only covering only one-third of the items they had listed down. He had protested that the whole point of this trip was for them not to go for another one in the near future. Ellie, however, didn't listen to a single word. She gave him no opportunity to ask or say anything until they finally loaded everything into the car.
“Love?” Hardy asked again as Ellie floored the accelerator back home.
“Shut up,” Ellie snapped. “I had to sell it.”
“Couple of years back…” Hardy noted. “When I was away? What kind of men were you seeing, Miller?”
“Arseholes, apparently,” she answered. “Since I ‘ended up’ with someone like you.”
“Oi, don’t take it out on me.”
Ellie sighed. “He was nice initially. And then, after the fourth date he started being a piece of shit and cocky above all else. Made up an excuse that I want to focus on being a working parent instead.”
“After that, we got together?” Hardy exhaled loudly. “What am I? A rebound?”
“Stop it,” Ellie said, annoyed. “But thank you. For backing me up.”
“You hold yourself up well, Miller,” Hardy replied. “I almost believed you back there. I was about to commit myself into the relationship.”
“Bloody hell. You're never going to live this down, are you?”
“How long have we been together, then?”
“Good gosh, stop it.”
Hardy suppressed a laugh. It was nice, teasing her every now and then but never like this. He had never seen her so flustered, blushing like a schoolgirl. He thought the sight to be endearing. But Ellie had always been charming to him. “Home. Is it what it really is to you? Broadchurch?”
“What?”
“What you said back there to Whitly. Is that what Broadchurch really is to you? Home? Still?”
Eventually, she softened. Hardy could see her shoulders drop, the muscles relaxing as she took a breath and pondered over his question. “It is. I meant it. Despite all that happened here. Even if I have one single reason to stay, I will.”
Hardy nodded, understanding.
“And thank you for standing up for me.”
“Wha’?”
“For saying that I would be fine. That meant a lot to me.” Ellie turned to him, managing a small smile.
There was still the leftover anxiety across her face. However, the warmth, and the sincerity in her words made his stomach twist in a funny way that Hardy wasn't sure how to react. But he needed her to know that he was sincere too. He always has been when it comes to her.“You'll do fine, Miller. Like you always do.”
A moment of silence passed between them. Hardy watched as she focused on the road. Or at least she tried to. Her eyes were full of the different emotions she was feeling inside, her worries spilling over as she constantly tapped her fingers on the wheel. He knew he was not the best person to calm someone's nerves but he was an expert at getting on them.
“Four dates? I’m offended, Miller. It took us years to finally end up together. You must have really liked him,” Hardy said sulkingly as he leaned back into his seat.
“Well, if you had been less of a jerk I would have kissed you on the first date,” she hissed back.
“Alright, then. I look forward to it. Our first date.”
Ellie glared at him and rolled her eyes.
Hardy noticed her tapping had stopped. He smiled. Taking out his phone, Hardy texted Daisy to send him the list of dinner places she had once compiled for him.