A/N: Greetings! This follows on from my other Hardy x Miller fics Whatever You Make Me and Where You Are but comes before Public Decency, though it isn't essential to read any of them to understand any of this.
Disclaimer: None of it's mine.
Ellie Miller stood at the far end of a restaurant car park, trying to blend in with the bushes while also trying to appear as if she had a valid and legal reason to be there. After a couple of minutes twitching every time another car pulled in, she opted to get back into her car and play a game of Candy Crush on her phone so at least she wouldn't notice if someone found her suspicious.
If anyone did say anything to her then she could just pull her warrant card out but it was something she was trying to avoid.
Luckily, it was only a few minutes later there was a tap at her window. Jumping more than she was proud of, she turned to see Alec Hardy frowning at her.
"What are you doing in there?" he asked as she got out of the car, grabbing her bag as she did.
"Thought we were keeping a low profile?"
"Yeah, but we're not quite eating a picnic in your car with fake moustaches on."
It was amazing, really, that she hadn't predicted that he would have said something to annoy her in the first minute of what was to be their first official date. It had been nearly two weeks since he'd invited her to go birthday present shopping for his daughter with him. She'd spent the entire confusing day wondering if it had been his idea of courting or if he really was that hopeless at gift buying. The issue had only been resolved when she was on the verge of leaving, but instead turned her car around and threatened to run him over if he didn't kiss her.
Ellie doubted any relationship before had started in a similar fashion, but she also thought it suited the two of them perfectly.
They'd been in contact every day since but other commitments had kept them from seeing each other - until now. It seemed so stupid, all the anticipation and nerves that had preceded this moment. After all, they'd spent weeks living in each other's pockets before, but that had been when he was her boss and she was married. Or when she was a complete mess and he was half convinced he wouldn't see the end of the month.
Now, however, he was… something else entirely to her.
"Hi," she said as she came to stand in front of him.
"Hi. You-" Hardy swallowed his next word as his eyes flicked down to her feet and back to her face again. "You look good. Nice. In that dress."
His words were accompanied with an excessive amount of nodding and round eyes, as though he was genuinely terrified by his own words. Ellie gave him her own searching glance and took in all the tiny details she'd found herself daydreaming about over the last fortnight. Considering she'd hated the sight of him when they first met, it was strange that everything from his freckles to the way he stood as though the weight of the world was literally on his shoulders was endearing to her now.
She wasn't sure if it was the improvement in his health or her opinion of him, but he was infinitely more handsome than the man she'd met on the beach that horrible day.
She grinned at him. There was no way she could've stopped herself. "You look good nice, too."
"Don't start."
"Complimenting you?"
"You know what I mean."
"You started it, anyway."
"C'mon, Miller." Hardy nodded towards the restaurant but stopped before he'd taken a step, which was lucky as she wasn't too pleased about being summoned like a bloody dog. "Shit - hang on." He reached for something over her shoulder.
Her eyes followed the movement and saw he was going for the bouquet of flowers on the roof of her car. It wasn't small and she wondered how she hadn't spotted it before.
"Got you these," he mumbled, handing them to her.
She took them with an uncertain smile. "Thanks. Just the flowers this time?"
"I figured they'd have wine and chocolates in the restaurant."
There was no way of telling if he was joking or not underneath his tense exterior.
"Thanks. They're lovely." Surprisingly, she wasn't joking. "I'll just - um - leave them in the car."
It took a moment to find her keys and she avoided his eyes while she did. She'd been nervous before but she hadn't seen him this uncertain since she'd invited him to dinner the first time. It wasn't until much later that she realised that had probably been the first out of work socialising he'd done since before he'd left Sandbrook. At least then he'd had a reason. Now it was just amplifying her own nerves.
When the flowers were safely on the backseat, she turned back to him and decided she couldn't go through the rest of the evening with him so on edge he was likely to fall off. She approached him slowly and took both of his hands in hers. It took all of her willpower to maintain eye contact.
"Thank you." She leaned up on her toes and kissed him gently.
Or at least, that was what she intended to do. Nearly a fortnight had passed since their last kiss and she hadn't realised how much she'd been looking forward to the next. A simple peck of gratitude quickly escalated to open mouths before Ellie could stop it.
Months of being starved of physical contact with a man like this after over a decade of it being a constant in her life had left her needy as it was, but it was more than that. Despite the expectations that Ellie hadn't realised she had, Alec Hardy was a bloody good kisser. He was nothing if not an intense man and having that concentrated on her was overwhelming. She almost dreaded to think what it'd be like if they ever took things further.
Almost.
She broke the kiss and matched Hardy's shy grin.
"Thought the goodnight kiss happened at the end of the date?"
"Well," Ellie said, taking a step towards the restaurant and pulling him along, "if you behave you might just get another one at the end."
He surprised her by stopping and tugging her back to face him. Licking his top lip, he said, "I can't promise that."
"What?"
"I can't promise I can go the next couple of hours without pissing you off."
She frowned. "You could at least bloody try."
"Or," he said before drawing breath as though he was having second thoughts about committing to the train of thought he'd already started, "I could take advantage of you liking me now and get another snog in?"
It took a couple of seconds to realise that he was flirting with her - actually, properly flirting with intent. Finally she remembered how to smile and his resulting smirk made her stomach contract. Or disappear. It really was difficult to tell or care with him looking at her like that.
She looped her arms around his neck with a giggle that he quickly covered with his lips. A gust of wind reminded her that they were still outside.
"We have a reservation," she said against his mouth before ignoring her own words and closing the gap again.
"It's fine," he reassured her between kisses. "I know the bloke who owns the place."
She pulled back properly. "Really?"
Hardy blinked. "No. I don't really know why I said that."
Laughing at him, she took his hand and dragged him towards the entrance.
"You can ask for it without the sauce."
"Yes, but it will still have been prepared near the sauce. The smell of the sauce could permeate the rest of the ingredients so it still tastes like it, thus ruining the entire meal."
Maggie sighed and went back to the menu. Across the table, Jocelyn did the same thing, although it was mainly for appearances. While she had no issue with her gradual blindness behind closed doors, she was still too proud for it to become public knowledge. Even though they'd come to a restaurant miles outside of Broadchurch, she was still on guard.
"They've got a nice risotto here?"
"Hmm… Risotto ai funghi?"
"Would I even bother to suggest something with mushrooms to you? It's with pumpkin and nutmeg."
Jocelyn smiled, still looking over her menu. "Perfect. Where would I be without you?"
Placing her menu back on the table, Maggie shrugged. "At home, wallowing in intellectual ennui that us mortals could barely comprehend?"
"You know me so well."
They smiled at one another and Maggie hesitated a moment before reaching for Jocelyn's hand. Times might have changed and they were in a room of strangers but after so long these things had become instinctive.
"I suppose you've got dessert all-" Jocelyn began but stopped with her eyes glued over Maggie's shoulder. "Oh my goodness!"
Unused to seeing her so startled, Maggie panicked. "What?"
"Is that - DI Hardy and Ellie Miller?"
"What? Where?" Maggie twisted around but was pulled back.
"Don't look at them!" hissed Jocelyn and Maggie was filled with the urge to shake her. Her eyes followed the new arrivals across the room. "They're being seated by the window behind you. Here - swap seats with me."
"I am not-"
The other woman was already half out of her chair before Maggie had chance to speak. She gave her glare that normally curbed her more outlandish actions and was rewarded when she slowly sat back down with what could only be described as a pout.
"I was only suggesting it because you could see them better," Jocelyn told her primly, smoothing out her blouse. "Thought you had a duty to keep the town rumour mill going?"
Rolling her eyes, Maggie concentrated on catching the attention of a waiter. While she was undeniably intrigued as to what her friend and Alec Hardy could be doing at a restaurant together, she was loathe to give Jocelyn the satisfaction of telling her.
It didn't help that the entire time she was making their order, she could see her eyeing up the corner of the room with the subtlety of a car alarm.
"They could be here for any reason," Maggie reasoned. "They're friends. I think."
Jocelyn scoffed. "You used to tell your mother we were friends."
Unable to think of a decent comeback, Maggie inspected the table cloth. However, the pattern was simple and didn't hold her attention for long. She turned to look behind her, trying to hide her intent by scratching her ear.
Sure enough, talking to a waitress, were Ellie Miller and DI Hardy. To avoid being caught snooping, Maggie turned back to the table quickly but was met with Jocelyn's smug grin.
"So?" She shrugged. "They're here. Like I said - could be for any reason."
"Grow up, Maggie."
"Me?"
Jocelyn ignored her splutter and narrowed her eyes. "Are they acting suspiciously?"
"No more than you are, dear," Maggie muttered before taking a sip of her drink. When she replaced her glass on the table, Jocelyn was looking at her innocently. "Oh no. I am not going to spy on them for you."
"Why not?"
Maggie smiled at the waiter taking her empty glass. "Because I respect their privacy."
Giving up on all pretense, Jocelyn leant forward on the table and Maggie felt a rush of sympathy for anyone who ever had to face her in court. "What kind of journalist are you?" she hissed.
When Maggie did nothing but sigh, she sat back in her chair and folded her arms.
Maggie accepted that she was in for a long night.
"Shit. Shit, shit, shit..."
Ellie glanced up from her menu to see Hardy was attempting to hide behind his. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" she whispered. "You'll get us kicked out if you keep swearing."
Hardy flicked his eyes to somewhere near the bar behind her. "Thought you said we wouldn't know anyone here."
Her stomach sinking, Ellie did her best to hide her reaction from Hardy. They'd only just got beyond the awkward first bump and were talking normally. There was no need to be as spooked as he was if she could help it.
That, of course, depended on who was sitting behind her. So far only Tom knew where she was and who she was with. Lucy would make the evening excruciating and if Beth found out before she could explain everything properly...
"Jocelyn Knight and the woman from the Echo," Hardy replied. "Maggie?"
Ellie nodded. It could have been worse, but it was still a journalist and the solicitor they'd sworn they'd never had an affair to.
"Have they seen us?" she asked.
Hardy watched them, hiding behind his fringe in the hopes of concealing his identity. "Don't think so. Looks like they're… arguing. Discussing something, at least."
"It should be fine," Ellie reassured him, and turned her attention back to the menu. "Jocelyn keeps herself to herself and Maggie wouldn't spread gossip."
"Really? Even though this is exactly what the prosecution said was happening to cover-"
"Hey," Ellie cut in. "Maggie wouldn't do that. She's no hack. There's no way she'd print anything - especially without speaking to me first."
Hardy sat back in his chair, his thin chest heaving as though he had a hundred more protests locked away inside.
"Why are you so worried anyway? Stuff like this never exactly fazed you before."
He froze and met her gaze with one of his vulnerable stares. Sometimes she wondered if it was his way of pleading with her to read his mind so he didn't have to communicate what was wrong with him.
"None of the other horseshit they've printed about me was true," he eventually explained quietly. "This is. This I care about. And you've got to live with these people..."
"These people are my friends," Ellie pointed out, ignoring how the rest of what he said made her heart skip.
"Not all of them," he replied darkly.
"Well, they're not here. If Maggie and Jocelyn say anything to us then I'm sure we can deal with it."
Hardy swallowed before nodding and perusing his menu over his crossed arms. He remained skittish until they'd ordered their food. Ellie knew it was still getting to him as he'd only deliberated over his meal choice for five minutes and hadn't ranted about the wine list being too complicated when he'd been asked to choose between three different merlots.
"I'm just happy for them. Maggie and Jocelyn," she clarified when Hardy frowned.
It didn't clear things up for him. "They're eating dinner."
"Yeah - together."
The moment the penny dropped his eyes nearly bugged out of his head and he did a double take over to the couple in question. "Together together?"
"What?"
"I just - never mind."
"Hang on - you thought Maggie was straight?"
"I don't exactly go around questioning people on their sexual history," he bit out, before amending, "unless it's relevant to a case."
"Oh, so you just assumed she'd be straight?" Ellie took a sip of water to hide her teasing smile when he started to splutter indignantly.
"Don't put it - I'm not- Jocelyn told me all about some bloke she always… but never…" His protest faded out as he stared off into the distance, her eyebrows drawn together.
"She never said it was a bloke, did she?"
Hardy shook his head mutely then looked over the restaurant at the couple in question. Ellie did the same in time to see Jocelyn laughing at something Maggie had just said.
"Good for them," he said softly.
Their food was placed in front of them and Ellie was mildly surprised when Hardy thanked their waiter. He still had a distant look about him when what he'd said caught up with her.
"Why were you talking about that sort of stuff with Jocelyn, anyway? A quick heart to heart mid-trial or something?"
Hardy faltered when reaching for his cutlery.
"I think he's looking at us."
"You did say I looked beautiful tonight," Maggie quipped and Jocelyn laughed.
It'd been fifteen minutes since the other couple had walked in and Jocelyn's interest had only grown. Admittedly, Maggie's was going the same way. If the pair of them had wanted to catch up over dinner there were plenty of pubs and restaurants in Broadchurch they could have gone to that weren't half as fancy. Then there was how they were dressed. Hardy was in his usual suit, but Ellie had definitely made more of an effort than she would've done if they really were just friends.
The simplest explanation, the one Jocelyn was more than hinting at, was Ellie and Hardy were there for the same reason they were.
Maggie looked up from her food to see Jocelyn glancing across the room for the third time that minute. With a sigh, she set her cutlery down and pulled her phone out.
Jocelyn gasped with excitement. "Have you got one of their phone's tapped?"
Maggie spared her a raised eyebrow. "The wig comes off and the law just goes out of the window for you, doesn't it?"
With much more dignity than someone who'd been acting like a teenager all night should have been able to muster, Jocelyn went back to her dinner. Maggie could almost hear her thinking something along the lines of "won't dignify that with a response."
Maggie was halfway through her text when Jocelyn gasped again.
"I think she's holding his hand! Maggie-"
The tap on her arm wasn't needed. Maggie had twisted around in her seat against her better judgement the moment Jocelyn had spoken.
Before she had chance to chastise herself for eagerly spying on her friend, Maggie felt her jaw drop.
"Bloody hell, she is!"
Closing her mouth with a click, Maggie turned back to the table and was surprised to see Jocelyn narrowing her eyes at the pair by the window.
"If they managed to keep an affair from me-"
"No, Hardy wouldn't have done that. Ellie isn't like that either," Maggie said, remembering the night at the Echo office when Hardy had explained all he had sacrificed and was still sacrificing for his ex-wife.
Jocelyn shot her a disparaging look. "She's holding his hand. In public."
"If you're so concerned then go over there and tell them to put gloves on."
"Don't be glib, Maggie. It doesn't become you."
Maggie stuck her tongue out, finished her text and placed her phone on the table.
"That is the height of rudeness," Jocelyn informed her haughtily with a nod towards the phone. "I ought to dump you."
"Like you ever would. Besides," Maggie added cockily when the mobile buzzed, "I'm only doing what you've been whinging at me to do since they walked in."
"What?"
Maggie read the message she'd just received and stood up. "Being a journalist. I just landed myself an exclusive interview."
"With-" Jocelyn's question faded out when she noticed Ellie Miller standing up from her own table, explaining something to an agitated Hardy. "Maggie Radcliffe, I love you."
"As long as you remember that and I don't come back to find you flirting with the waitress."
Jocelyn smiled. "She wishes."
Ellie had known the moment she started a relationship with Alec Hardy that she would eventually have to explain it to people. She'd barely had her own head wrapped around the idea when she'd told her eldest. However, she had hoped they'd have had at least one date before she'd have to tell anyone else.
At least it's Maggie, she thought as she walked what felt like a mile to the ladies. She knew she'd get a fair say in the interrogation that was likely to follow. Seeing as most of the rest of the town had been arrested or questioned by Hardy at some point, they'd likely skip that and go straight to having her sectioned and her kids put into care.
After the way he'd spoken to some of them, she wouldn't blame them either.
Jesus, what was she thinking?
She closed the door to the toilet and rounded the corner to see Maggie leaning against the sinks. Thankfully, there wasn't a dictaphone in sight. They stared at each other for a moment, neither willing to break the tense silence.
"It seems," Maggie began hesitantly, "that great minds think alike."
Ellie laughed and was relieved when Maggie joined her.
"Clearly not that great though," Ellie pointed out. "You'd think after everything we would've learnt that there's no point trying to have a private life in this town."
"Talking of private lives - who do I have to not mention this to?"
Maggie looked at her kindly and Ellie sagged against the counter opposite her in relief. "Everyone. Only our kids know at the minute. Well, I don't think Fred understands but..."
She folded her arms against the tightness forming in her chest over the thought of letting everyone else know. It was inevitable, but she wasn't naive enough to think that it would be easy.
"Everyone already stares at me, thinking I've failed Danny and Beth and Mark," she blurted out, hating that she could feel her throat closing up and the tell tale burning behind her eyes. "Or, even worse, that I was cheating and covering and-"
"No, they don't," interrupted Maggie gently.
Ellie scoffed.
"Well… sod them."
Laughing, Ellie wiped her eyes.
"It wasn't true, was it?" Maggie asked. "The affair?"
"God, no," chuckled Ellie. "Thought he was a knobhead. I hated him."
They smiled and part of Ellie knew she was being interviewed and was falling for it. So far she'd admitted to pretty much everything while Maggie had only gently prompted her for more. She supposed it wasn't Maggie's fault, that after years of doing something, it was difficult to behave any other way. She knew she did the same sometimes while trying to work out if Tom or Lucy were lying to her about something.
She'd worked out where Joe had hidden her birthday presents the first five years after they started living together and after that he'd stopped hiding them.
"What about you?" Ellie asked, shoving the memory away. She wasn't going to think about him, not tonight.
"He definitely pissed me off, but I wouldn't go as far as hating him." Maggie sighed when her joke didn't distract Ellie from her question. "Old habits die hard, I suppose."
"You know no one gives a shit about that anymore."
"I know, but… some wounds take longer to heal than others."
The woman smiled sadly at each other and lapsed into a comfortable silence. Ellie checked her reflection in the mirror and was happy to that, while her eyes were watery, none of her make-up had ran.
Not that she thought that mattered to Hardy seeing as he'd seen her fall apart a couple of times and even covered in toddler sick once, but it still made her feel better.
"So how long have you been hiding this from us all, then?" Maggie asked her reflection with a smirk.
"This is our first date actually," Ellie admitted.
"You're terrible at this!"
"Well, how long have you kept it quiet?"
"Nearly six months now."
"Blimey."
Maggie nudged her with her shoulder. "And now you've stolen our hideout."
"Your fault for not putting a sock on the front door."
The woman laughed and Maggie picked her bag up off the counter. "C'mon. Let's go back to our secret double lives and put our other halves out of their misery."
They were still chuckling when they re-entered the main part of the restaurant and paused when they'd have to part ways. On Ellie's left she could see Jocelyn, sitting straight and proud, as comfortable as if she owned the placed. To her right, slumped forward and fiddling with his phone, was Hardy. Every few seconds one of them would glance at the other before attempting to hide it by inspecting the tables they were sat at.
"I'll let you know when we next book a table so we can avoid this," sighed Maggie.
"Probably for the best," Ellie chuckled and headed back to Hardy, hoping the rest of Broadchurch would be as kind. Rather than worrying about it, she smiled at him and decided to concentrate on the things she could change instead.
Thanks for the reading!