Work Text:
The Darrowby Show was up and running. It had been a long time since everyone had come together for such an extravaganza but they'd all pulled it off. The vets at Skeldale had drawn lots for who would preside over the welfare of the competition animals and James was gutted to find it would be him.
"I still say it was rigged," he grumbled as he prepared his bag that morning.
"Oh stop it man, you picked that stick 3 weeks ago. Get over it, you're the only one of us who won't lose his temper anyhow." Siegfried scoffed rustling at his paper.
"Exactly Jim, we have to be at our professional best." Tristan parroted Siegfried's words from yesteryear which went down like a lead balloon. Even Mrs Hall rolled her eyes at that one.
"Don't be a child Tristan. You know perfectly well that the tours work, now stop dillydallying." Siegfried pointed at his brother's barely touched food.
"Stop teasing each other, and eat your breakfast or you'll be too sluggish to keep your minds in the task at hand."
"You'd be sluggish if you were also chained to this house all day, Mrs H," Tristan took a big bite of toast.
"My chain, Tris is in place for most of it, I'll have you know. Your Charlotte offered to help so I'm not needed until 2 now," she sat herself down.
"Well, isn't Dorothy coming to help here."
"No." Siegfried shut him down.
"Oh, uh, why not?"
"She doesn't want to."
"Did summat happen, Mr Farnon?"
"No." Siegfried lied and folded his paper striding out of the room without further word.
"So, something definitely happened then," Tristan said looking to Mrs Hall, she shrugged. Dorothy hadn't said a word to her about Siegfried in quite some time which was odd because they had tea once a week. Except this week of course, she was up to her eyeballs in work trying to ready the house for the onslaught of visitors. Audrey made a curious hum. It would have to wait, there simply wasn't time today.
Dorothy had given Siegfried his marching orders. Tell Audrey how he felt or she would. It didn't matter that he had tried before last year, Dorothy was adamant he hadn't done it properly that his Simeon man brain that was scattered 90% of the time had failed to properly communicate the depth of his feelings. The walls were closing in. She had been altogether gracious about realising why their courtship wasn't going anywhere, in fact she had been relieved to discover her gut was right. Siegfried had to act today.
Audrey sighed as she placed the umpteenth tray of the day on the table. It was half past 1, and she had barely stopped. Helen would arrive soon to take over and she'd get a little time in the sun with Mrs Pumphrey and Grace Chapman over on the square with the WI stall, trying to encourage membership with a stall of baked goods and preserves. She was quite looking forward to it. Her jam was known around these parts as some of the best, even with the rationing.
As she tidied away more teacups and readied the kettle for yet another round of water she heard a cough in the doorway.
"You better be quick, I'd like to freshen up before the next tour and my shift at the WI stall." She said over her shoulder. Siegfried made a disappointed noise.
"Ok." She heard him shuffle away but then he came back, in full strides right to her side.
"I'm going to miss you."
"I'll only be in the square, Mr Farnon. Fairly certain you'll see me from the window."
"No, I mean. I miss you every time you walk out of this house. You leave a…a…an Audrey shaped hole every single time. I can't bare it." Audrey blinked at him as he spoke. "What's more is that, I love you. You reside in my mind like a…a permanent resident, an angel on my shoulder. When I'm out on the Dales i love knowing I'm coming home to you. Because I love you, I do. Too much some might say and if you don't love me then, well, that's fine I know I can be a mess and a ridiculous creature but I needed you to know." Siegfried was relieved to get everything off his chest. Audrey was still staring at him, slack jawed and wide eyed.
"I, you, um," She closed her eyes and sighed. Her fingers came up to rub her eyes. "You are a ridiculous creature. When? How?"
"That year, with the uh dress."
"What dress?"
"The black one, with the bead bits," he did a very bad mime of beads hanging from his arms and she started to laugh.
"That, that were 1938. You waited 8 years! You waited until we had a house full of strangers and a village full of tourists, and to do lists as long as our arms? Ridiculous doesn't begin to cut it," she huffed as she returned to the task of making tea.
"Well, I wanted it to be me who told you."
"Who else might be telling me?"
"Dorothy."
"You told Dorothy before me?!"
"No, uh, apparently I speak about you in 45 minute uninterrupted segments so she put 2 and 2 together. Told me if I didn't say something she would." Audrey was once again blinking at him.
"1938. 1938. And you chose now, when we haven't got time to talk, or to match up our stories and we certainly don't have time to kiss," she shook her head as flitted around the kitchen. Siegfried's ears pricked up at the mention of a kiss.
"So you, love me back?"
"Yes, but about 10 folk are about to start complaining they don't have tea, or biscuits and that means your brother will be through here to bicker wi' you because somebody likes to go on and on about using the Darrowby Show as a way to show off professionally. So no," Audrey took a deep breath, "you get to sit with this, sit with the fact that I love you, sit with the fact I'd like to kiss you, and hold your hand, maybe go dancing with you one Saturday night because you waited 8 flaming years to say summat." Audrey ranted, her voice quiet and steady, it quite took his breath away. Her hands held a tray, her head was tilted to one side and she had continued to move closer to him with each word. Siegfried could barely contain his smile when she reached him. He placed his hands over hers where it held the tray and her face broke out into the widest smile he'd ever seen.
"Siegfried! Are you doing this tour or are you planning on hiding in the kitchen? These were your idea you know. I am not going to be-" Tristan yelled from the main part of the house.
"Told you."
"Yes, my love you did. I still love you."
"Get out of my kitchen before he comes in here and sees us holding hands." Her hands flexed under his and they stepped away.
"Ok, ok. I'll go but this isn't over."
"Far from it Siegfried. This is just the beginning."
They made it. Almost. There were still 2 children, 2 dogs and four adults lounging in the front room. Audrey had made it through the afternoon and all of Mrs Pumphrey's Tricki Woo stories and Siegfried had made it through every last one of his surgery tours. Audrey clapped her hands as she strolled in via the dining room.
"Right, you lot, off to the Drovers. It's still a fine evening and your clogging up this room."
"Mrs H, cant we just sit? I've been on my feet all day." Tristan rolled his head dramatically
"Of course you can sit, sit in the Drovers." Audrey smiled at him as Siegfried entered through the door closest to the exam rooms. She glanced at him.
"Auntie Audrey, don't you want to hear about the animals me and grandad saw?"
"Yes, of course I do. Tomorrow."
"Oh c'mon Aud," Helen also have her tired look.
"Why are you lot so against the Drovers? You love the Drovers, out you go. Go see Maggie, and I'm sure Albert will be there too," she looked at the children.
"Mrs H, why do you suddenly love the Drovers?" She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.
"Because your brother picked the middle of the tours earlier today to tell me he's loved me since 1938 and I was rather hoping we could talk about it."
"And I was rather hoping I might be able to kiss her sometime before the day is over, unless, you wish to see that Tristan." Dumbfounded blinks passed all of them, even the children.
"Right. Well, off to the Drovers we go!" Tristan led the charge scooping Rosie up while Jimmy climbed onto his Dad's shoulders giggling away as both men dropped down as they passed through the various doors on their way out. Charlotte winked at them before following leaving just Helen shaking her head.
"1938, what is wrong with you?" She glared at Siegfried, Audrey smirked, "oi, don't pull that face you thought it best to set him up with another woman. You're both idiots." She pointed at Audrey and Siegfried got a laugh out of that.
"Oh tosh, out you go and don't come back until it's pitch black." Audrey ushered her out the front door locking it behind her. She paused leaning her forehead against the wood for just a moment. When she turned Siegfried was waiting, a smirk on his lips. Audrey crooked her finger at him and rushed over like a desperate man to an oasis.
"I love you too." She whispered.
"I can't believe you told them all."
"I'll be saying it quite a lot, I banned myself some time ago from the L word. Didn't want to hope on it too much, if I had known while I was away it might have killed me but we're here together now, Siegfried. I am never letting you go, I am never denying myself again either."
"Kiss me, please." She pulled him the last few millimetres by pulling at his tie. Their lips pressed together. Years and years of denial and repression found their way out. She tasted of tea, and he of the biscuits he had absolutely been sneaking away all day. His hands gripped at her hips while hers snaked around his tie and the other over his shoulder. Somewhere in the background they could hear the celebrations of a post war Darrowby show but neither gave a hoot. The only sound Siegfried cared for was the moan that left Audrey's throat as he pulled her closer. Her head titled slightly as she brushed tongue against his. 1938. Why had he waited so long?
When they did break apart, breathless and a delicious shade of red. Siegfried wrapped his hand in hers and lead her to their chairs where they sat for some hours talking about everything they had missed. The sleepless nights, the endless gazing and the torturous denial of feelings built from the foundation of proprietary and insecurity. The words eventually ran out, and they rose from their chairs just to hold one another. To be as close as they could get.
"I can't believe this is all real." Siegfried whispered.
"I could pinch you if you want," Audrey whispered back. Siegfried chuckled and it was the dirtiest thing Audrey had ever heard. She dragged her hand down his front, hovering just in front of his fly just long enough for him to flinch closer, yearning her touch, and then she was changing course over his hip and pinching his backside.
"Still here?"
"You my love, are a dark horse." He kissed her temple.
"You, my dear ridiculous man, don't know the half of it." She pressed a kiss to his jaw before flouncing out of his arms and towards the stairs. He watched her go utterly dumbfounded but ultimately impressed.
"Are you coming or we waiting 8 years for this bit as well?"
"Wild horses couldn't stop me." He called back dashing towards her direction. He paused by the phone and pursed his lips. Just this once. The young ones could fix it when they came back, he reasoned as he removed the phone from its cradle then climbed the stairs two by two and wrapping Audrey into his arms. He had a lot of lost time to make up for.