Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Martin was, as ever, a pile of nerves. This state was hardly a new one, but the cause of it certainly was. He didn't even really know why he was so anxious. Everyone had already met Theresa, and everyone (including Carolyn) liked her.

Tonight, however, he was introducing her to the crew in a new fashion.

Tonight, he was introducing her as his girlfriend.

As the Princess of Liechtenstein and the proper head of state while the king was still struggling with decimals, Theresa still lived in her home country, in her lavish palace. Martin, having stumbled upon a clever plan involving said princess and several other European monarchs, still lived in Fitton. Just, well, in a nicer flat. One on the ground floor and everything! It was positively blissful.

Theresa visited as often as she could, and Martin visited as often as he could. This was quite often indeed, as the little king attended school so near to Fitton and Carolyn spent quite a lot of time in Zurich with Herc.

As Theresa and Martin found so many opportunities to spend time together, doing simple things like going on picnics in Fitton's little park and attending opulent parties, it was only natural that they should upgrade their relationship status. Martin had asked her officially on their sixth date, as they were leaving the cinema.

Theresa had agreed with an enthusiastic kiss and a well-deserved trip back to his flat.

All in all, things were idyllic. Yes, they lived hundreds of miles away, but the aeroplane really is a marvelous thing.

So, after dating for two whole months, Martin invited his darling Princess of Liechtenstein to Fitton for dinner with the crew.

He brushed his hands down the lapel of his jacket for the tenth time, prompting Theresa to still his hand. She hated to see him so nervous, yes, but she was slightly nervous herself as he paid more attention to his neat jacket than on the road.

"Darling, you have no reason to be so worried," she soothed, rubbing his knuckles softly with her thumb. "You are more fidgety now than when I took you to the Taj Mahal!"

Truth be told, though, his anxiety wasn't that vastly different than what it had been that day.

"Sorry," he sighed, squeezing her hand. "It's just—everyone's going to be there."

"I have met your crew, Martin."

"Yes, but Herc will be there, and Hannah, and you haven't met either of them. And I'm scared that Maxi and Hannah might not get along."

"If they don't, it will hardly be your fault," she said lightly.

Once they'd picked up the King of Lichtenstein, with his hair neatly combed and shoes hastily polished, they turned back and began the drive to Carolyn's house. Theresa wasn't at all nervous about tonight. If she was being really honest, she was mostly afraid for the dinner later that week, the one with Martin's family. But, one worry at a time.

They pulled up in front of Carolyn's house, the van making a dreadful noise. Maxi opened his mouth to say something decidedly unhelpful, and then proceeded to snap it shut when she shot him a Look.

"You can worry about it when we leave," she said easily to Martin, smiling fondly. "For now, let's go inside."

The captain nodded slowly and unbuckled, getting out of the van. Before he could meet Theresa in the other side to help her out, he found her at his elbow. She smiled ever so slightly down at him.

"We can leave Maxi," she suggested, knocking on the door with its red logo painted on. A muffled Hey! rang out, and the pair laughed.

"That's hardly proper procedure for the King of Lichtenstein," Martin said with a grin, sliding the door open. The boy slid out, mutiny writ large on his face.

"Come on, Your Majesty," the captain said, nodding toward Carolyn's house. He then crooked his arm, prompting the princess to take it.

No, Theresa wasn't nervous at all. Not at all.

Arthur greeted the trio at the door with a huge smile.

"Hello!" he crooned, bowing to the royals and their unroyal companion. Everyone was good enough not to giggle softly at the move.

"Hi, Arthur," Martin said. The members of the Liechtenstein Royal Family waved, one decidedly closer to sullen than the other.

"Er, hello and welcome to our house!" Arthur swung an arm back, gesturing inside. His grin was incandescent. "It feels weird to say that instead of what I usually say."

"What do you usually say?" Maxi asked.

"Hello and welcome to MJN Air!"

Martin patted his friend on the shoulder and stepped inside. The others followed and the door shut behind them a bit ominously. He heard soft chatter coming from the sitting room. Everyone trailed after Martin, Theresa's heels clicking against the hardwood floor like Morse code. Carolyn smiled benevolently up at everyone as they entered the sitting room. Douglas grinned (he did like Theresa, and he was friends with Martin, and goodness, his hair looked silly, which would be an excellent thing to tease him about on the next flight) and Herc got to his feet, hand extended.

"Hello, I'm Hercules Shipwright. You must be Theresa," he said, smiling at the princess. She shook his hand.

"Yes, hello," she said. "And this is my brother, Maxi."

"Theresa," Maxi said, frowning at his sister. She sighed deeply, and it was the most long-suffering sigh anyone had ever exhaled.

"This is my brother, King Maximilian the Eighth, King of Liechtenstein. There."

The royal princess then proceeded to flop down on the sofa beside Douglas, an eyebrow raised at her little brother. Douglas's daughter Hannah looked like she wanted to curtsy, but was barely restraining the urge.

"Well, hello there, Theresa," Douglas said with a smile. She gave him a weary one in return. "This is my daughter Hannah. Hannah, love, say hello to the princess, would you?"

"You're a princess?" Hannah asked excitedly, likely spurred on by childish dreams of being one herself. Theresa's smile was much more genuine.

"Yes, I am," she answered kindly. She shot a look at Maxi, who was busy discussing new rules for Yellow Car with Arthur.

"All right, now that we know who everyone is, I'm fairly certain that dinner is ready. Come along!" Carolyn ordered, getting to her feet. Everyone followed her to the dining room in silence.

Though the introductions had been awkward at best, everyone was sitting around the table in raucous chatter and laughter. Even Maxi was enjoying himself among the commoners, and he thought that Hannah was the bee's pyjamas, As there was a two year difference between the two of them, he was beginning to look up to the clever girl, and Theresa could only hope that she lacked the tricky cleverness her father seemed to have in spades.

"...and there was Martin, clinging to that tree limb for dear life, panicking about the bees he's found!"

"There were a lot of them, and I did get stung!"

"Would you like a medal for surviving the tree?" Theresa asked with a small smile. Martin affected a pout, but Theresa just kissed him on the cheek and left him flushing and smiling instead.

After the torte, Arthur asked the kids if they'd like to play video games while the adults chatted some more.

"Do you have Mario Kart?" Hannah asked, voice brooking no nonsense.

"Well, duh!" Arthur exclaimed, and the children and their unofficial keeper ran up to Arthur's room to play the game. Everyone else settled back in the sitting room, Theresa tucked up against her captain.

"S-so, Theresa and I have been dating for a little while and—"

"We know, Martin. I sit in a flying tin cupboard with you for days at a time, and I do talk to Carolyn occasionally."

Theresa bit down a huge grin. It was so lovely to know that Martin talked about her so much.

"Yes, well, one thing that you don't know is that Theresa is my girlfriend now."

"Martin!" Carolyn said, smiling (rather like a pleased shark). "Congratulations!"

"Theresa!" Douglas cried, smirking. "Condolences!"

Martin elbowed Douglas lightly in the ribs at that.

"Oi! I'll have you know, I'm a catch."

"A bit like the common cold..."

The childish pilots bickered for a while longer, the others smiling fondly at them.

Eventually, the guests had to leave. Hannah waved cheerily at Maxi as Douglas ushered her to the Lexus. Martin and his royal companions bid good night to their hosts and trundled into the van. While it had been making terrible noises before, it started up just fine, rumbling happily as they drove off to the hotel where the Liechtenstein royals were staying, one English captain along with them.

"What did you think?" Martin asked softly, streetlights casting an orangey-gold glow over their faces as they passed.

"I think that they all care about you very much, and that Hannah will be a very good influence on my brother."

She snuck a glance at Maxi in the rearview mirror and saw that he was already mostly asleep.

Yes, tonight had been very good indeed, and she couldn't wait to see them all again.

Chapter Text

Theresa stared at her reflection, frowning at the way her hair only barely cooperated. While it was nowhere near as wild as, say, Martin's hair in the morning, it was still less than pristine.

God, she'd been less nervous for Maxi's coronation.

"You ready, love?" Martin called from the front room. Theresa's hotel suite was nice enough, but she was beginning to think about looking for a small flat of her own in Fitton. She visited often enough anyway, and she certainly could afford it. Two of her younger sisters had multiple homes, why not her?

"Yes, I think so," she said, twisting quickly away from the mirror. She was the Princess of Liechtenstein and she had saved Martin from a dragon. She would be cowed by nothing, not even the prospect of dinner with his actual family.

Smoothing down the front of her dress, she let him usher her out of the hotel room and to the most terrifying thing she could possibly imagine.

The drive to Wokingham was longer than she expected, and Theresa was living in fear of wrinkled clothes.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Martin asked for the umpteenth time, prompting a smile like a grimace out of her.

"Of course. When have you ever known me to be anything other than all right?" she asked, going so far as to raise an eyebrow at her captain. He chuckled and held her hand over the console of the rental car.

"You do make an excellent point, my dear."

She smiled out the window, worrying all the while. She had dated other men before, of course, but they had all been from Liechtenstein. She knew what to expect when meeting their families, as they all knew who she was. She'd no idea what Martin's family knew about her, and that alone made her nervous. She'd heard stories, of course, and not all of them were from Martin, and they all sounded nice enough. Especially his mother. But still, she couldn't help the thrill of nervousness as the thought.

It would be awful if they didn't like her.

She also had to admit the other major difference between Martin and her previous boyfriends: she felt more serious about her relationship with the captain than the others. He wasn't her first commoner boyfriend, but he was the first she took to any major functions. She had to admit, there was stigma behind that choice, but Martin simply defied anything of the sort. He was kind and determined and clever and funny, and she was faced with the fact that she really, really liked him.

Therein lay the biggest difference of all. She'd fallen in love with some of those previous boyfriends, some quite deeply indeed, but never as quickly as she had with Martin. She was reluctant to say that she loved him just yet, but the sentiment remained.

Finally, Martin pulled up alongside his mother's house and turned off the car. There were two cars in the drive and one behind the rental, and she knew that his whole family was packed inside.

"Once more unto the breach?" Martin chuckled. Theresa smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"Lead the way."

Martin had brought home precisely two girlfriends home to meet his family, and Theresa was one of them. Granted, Maggie had just been a classmate at uni, rather than a princess, and he couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at the thought. Theresa wasn't special because she was royalty, of course, but there was something empowering in the knowledge that an actual, real princess wanted him of all people!

"Martin, is that you?" his mum called from the sitting room as he let himself and Theresa in.

"Yeah, hi, Mum!" he answered, shutting the door. Wendy Crieff bustled into the hall, beaming.

"Oh, hello, Martin!" she said as she wrapped him into a hug. She then seemed to catch sight of Theresa standing a bit off to the side. Wendy offered a grand smile. "And you must be Theresa. Lovely to meet you."

"And you as well," Theresa said carefully. Wendy patted her lightly on the arm and led them through to the sitting room where everyone was waiting. Caitlin was perched on the sofa nursing a glass of wine. Simon and his wife Colleen took two of the armchairs while their three-year-old son sat at their feet with a colouring book and crayons. "Martin!" Simon crowed, jumping to his feet.

"Come 'ere, you!"

"Hi, Simes," Martin said, stepping back slightly. The Aeroplane Hug was bad enough, but he really didn't need it in front of his girlfriend. That would be awful.

"Big hug!"

And then Martin was engulfed in his brother's exuberant hug, being lifted and spun, listening to cries of "He's flying!" as he protested. When Simon finally put him down, he was huffing and ruffled and flushed.

"And who might you be?" Simon finally asked, smiling down at Theresa with his moustache. Martin barely kept himself from wrapping a possessive arm round her waist.

"This is my girlfriend, Theresa," Martin said, smiling. He then introduced everyone in the room, and Theresa's smile grew broader.

"So, is it true that you're a princess?" Caitlin asked, raising an eyebrow. Martin pursed his lips.

"Yes, it is. Although the full title is a bit of a mouthful," she said with a laugh. Martin blushed, remembering the first time she'd spat it down the line at Carolyn and his instant, reverent reaction. He wasn't so much attracted to such angry force (though he did have to admit that it was kind of hot) as he was to the fact that she'd actually stood up to Carolyn. No one did that, no one.

"Oh, go on," Simon said with a grin. Theresa smiled bashfully (shocking and sweet to Martin, who took her hand) and looked at the floor.

"It's um, Her Serene Highness Princess Theresa Gustava Bonaventura of Liechtenstein, Countess of Sponheim, and Protector Extraordinary of the Cantons of Nîmes," she said in a rush. Martin ran his thumb along her knuckles as Simon gave a low whistle.

"Goodness, that is a lot." "Yes, well, such is the burden of royalty," she said with a smirk. Martin kissed her lightly on the cheek and the siblings all sat down while Wendy and Colleen went into the kitchen to finish dinner.

"We would have bowed or something when you first came in, Your Highness, but we weren't quite sure that... Well, Martin is a bit prone to exaggeration sometimes," Caitlin said. The youngest brother scowled.

"When do I ever exaggerate about anything?" he asked, and he really didn't want to get into a row with his sister, especially not tonight with Theresa sitting right beside him all warm and kind, but Caitlin did so like to prod at him. Middle children, really.

"Well, for one, you're a captain at your airline, even though there's only one plane, and one captain?"

"Ah, but doesn't that make the honour higher?" Theresa asked smoothly. "He is the captain at the airline. Which, I might add, is doing quite well recently."

"Yeah, I heard about that," Simon broke in, nodding knowingly. "Martin told me. We talk a bit more often now."

He said this defensively, like he had to defend his own knowledge, and Martin smiled kindly at his older brother. Simon was a bit pigheaded, and a lot hamfisted, but he was still Martin's brother, and he supposed he did love Simon. And Caitlin, of course.

"Yes, we do," Martin said decisively, and Theresa patted his shoulder.

"Dinner!" Colleen called from the kitchen, breaking the moment and sending the rest of the crowd into the dining room.

Caitlin had warmed up to Theresa quickly enough, and by the end of the night, the pair were thick as thieves. Martin was surprisingly pleased with that turn of events, though he was especially pleased that his mum had taken a real shine to the princess. Of course, it was Theresa; who wouldn't like her?

After dinner and dessert, the lot returned to the sitting room, Simon's boy tucked up beside Caitlin with a small toy.

"So, Martin, have you met any royalty?" Caitlin asked, poking Tommy in the belly. He shrieked with laughter and crinkled his whole face up.

"I'm dating royalty."

"Yeah, yeah, besides Theresa."

"Oh, erm, I have, sort of."

He then went on to describe, in halting terms, their Taj Mahal date and a few of MJN's more recent clients.

"The power of a single review," Theresa said with a grin. And, really, that's what had happened. She'd suggested MJN to someone, and a month later, they were flying royals and nobles all over the world. Carolyn was pleased as punch, since they paid considerably more than businessmen.

"A-and, how's your job going, Simon?"

His brother flushed, as Crieffs were wont to do, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Oh, ah, fine. Fine."

"My boy, a big government man," Wendy said fondly. Martin dropped his gaze to the floor, remembering that conversation with their mother. Martin was coming up in the world, and quite quickly, while Simon was busy working for the council. That wasn't quite nothing, nor was a job as a traffic warden, but still, it was... It was something. He was reminded of that first flight with Theresa, her telling him how lucky he was. And how lucky he was!

"Indeed," he said softly, and then Theresa laid her head on his shoulder, and showing up his brother didn't matter very much. It was just nice to have this, his whole family and the woman he cared for.

That was all he needed.

It was well after goodbyes had been said, when they were halfway to Fitton, when they lapsed into silence. They'd been discussing the dinner, and his family, and how fast Tommy was growing, and it had been lovely. It had all been enough to allay the residual nervousness in the walls of her stomach. Now, there was just one dinner left. While she had been infinitely more nervous about meeting his family, she was still a bit anxious about this next dinner.

"My mother called the other day," she said slowly, breaking the silence with a sledgehammer.

"Oh?"

"Well, not my mother per se. But the intent was the same."

"And that was...?"

"She wants you to come to a family dinner soon. In Liechtenstein. With my sisters and everyone. It will be a regular family dinner, no one but us, and my mother and sisters and Maxi, and I promise it won't be too bad, and it can be whenever, please don't worry too much—"

Martin cut her off with a small laugh.

"I thought I was supposed to be the one who's afraid of me meeting your mum?" he chuckled.

"Yes, well, I suppose I'm worrying vicariously."

"Which is precisely why you're so lovely."

And while she just knew he was starting to panic, there was nothing to worry about just now, with his hand warm around hers and the peace of a night well spent behind them.

Chapter Text

Martin paced in front of the grand doors, nervously twisting the hem of his dinner jacket as he did so. He'd just arrived at the palace via taxi from his incredibly luxurious suite (as gifted by Her Highness, Princess Theresa of Liechtenstein), and he was all in a tizzy. Absurd and expected as it was, Martin Crieff was all in a panic. He'd even gone so far as to call Douglas in the taxi. Douglas had talked him down a bit, but still not enough to keep him from going mad.

"Right," he hissed to himself, straightening his jacket and nodding curtly to the door knockers. "Here goes."

He knocked heavily on the door and it was oh a moment before it swung open. Theresa smiled eagerly and kissed him lightly.

"H-have you been waiting long?" he asked once greetings were dispensed with.

"Not at all. Now, come on. We're at the table. And you see, I was right: the medals would have been a bit too much."

She took him by the hand and led him into the castle, the grand door booming shut. The heels of his dress shoes clicked against the floor with resolution, which was weirdly reassuring. Not on the same level as Theresa's warm hand wrapped round his, but close enough.

He followed her into the informal dining room, with its long table and slightly more comfortable atmosphere. The walls were a delicate cornflower blue, contrasting nicely with the clean white moulding. With the golden-red light from the setting sun streaming through the windows, it did look like a regular family at the table rather than the royal family of Liechtenstein.

At the head of the table sat an imposing woman with her grey hair swept into a swirling updo. It was clear where Theresa had gotten the upturned nose and dark eyes, though there was nothing sweet about this woman. There were six other women sitting round the table, ranging in age from thirty to thirteen. Dear God, he'd never remember anyone's name, and he would insult the royal family and make a right fool of himself, he was sure.

Maxi, who was seated opposite his mother, offered a small little wave, though there wasn't much cheer to it. While the boy liked Martin, he was still a bit too invested in the King Maxi thing to really even acknowledge the commoner.

"So you are the pilot," their mother stated, quirking a well-groomed brow. She reminded him so much of Carolyn, and that was vaguely comforting.

"Erm, yes, I am. A captain, in fact."

"And I see you are from England," she went on, once again telling him rather than asking.

"Yes."

"I imagine you do quite a lot of traveling." Again with the statements. That made him a bit nervous, but then, many things made him nervous. The interrogation when on a while longer, with Martin standing in the doorway and Theresa mutely rubbing his hand with her thumb. Finally, the statement-questions dropped off and he was led fully into the room, seated between Theresa and her nineteen-year-old sister Sophia.

"You're quite handsome," Sophia said matter-of-factly, toying with her spoon. Martin flushed hotly and ignored the desire to deny her claim. Luckily, Theresa broke in, saving the day.

"Sophie, leave him alone, he doesn't need you flirting with him!"

The subject was swiftly changed, the familial party breaking off into small conversational groups. Martin and Theresa discussed aviation with another of her sisters, the twenty-two-year-old Josephine who was also fond of the subject.

Though he was promised a "regular family dinner," the meal was still sumptuous, and it was still put on the table by servants. Although, he did suppose that this likely constituted a regular family dinner for this lot.

By the time dessert rolled in (quite literally, on a little cart), he was feeling much closer to comfortable. While Theresa's mother still looked at him like he was going to dash off with the silver, it was clear that the many, many sisters liked him. Johanna and Lara both flirted with him, much to Theresa's amusement and Martin's dismay.

He did take a moment to dart into the loo after dinner so he could take a breather and come to grips with the fact that he would be sitting in a room with royalty for a little while longer. It was a bit overwhelming, really, quite like the Taj Mahal date. But if he could impress the king of Norway, he could certainly impress Theresa's mother.

After two hours in the informal sitting room, navigating the heady mix of conversations in both German and English, Martin was released. All of the girls, including the shier Alina and Victoria, smiled broadly and waved as they bid him goodbye. Their mother simply bowed her head, and Maxi was too distracted with something to even notice. Theresa kissed him soundly at the front door as the cab pulled up, and it was lovely.

"They loved you!" she said excitedly, winding her arms round his shoulders. "Mother hardly ever likes the men I bring home."

"She liked me?" he asked, incredulous. Theresa was beaming as she kissed the confused expression away.

"She is a bit scary, but believe me, you would have known if she had not liked you."

Though the cabbie wouldn't dare to honk in front of the castle, Martin could practically feel his impatience. So, with one last little stolen kiss, he disengaged from Theresa's hold, said goodbye, and got in. Soon, they were speeding down the road back to his hotel.

The night had gone very well, shockingly enough, and he hadn't made an idiot of himself. Yes, he'd spilled a glass of water whilst reaching over Sophia for the potatoes (two faux pas for the price of one!), but it had been brushed aside easily enough. Theresa was enough to turn him from a neurotic mess to just, well, only a bit of a mess.

When he got back to his suite, he shrugged off his dinner jacket, toed out of his shoes, and flopped down on the sofa. He couldn't wait to call Douglas and tell him that it had gone well.

He also knew, in the back of his mind, that with all of these family dinners out of the way, his relationship with Theresa had shifted slightly, into something more serious. The thought was a little daunting, and a bit terrifying, but it was also exhilarating. It felt just like the first time he'd flown a plane, that very first takeoff and that very first landing. A bit nerve-wracking, yes, but it wasn't something he would change for all the world.