Welcome back to Abby's!

DISCLAIMER: Sound of Music isn't mine!

5:24 p.m., Saturday, Abby's Mart Parking Area

Brooding. He was brooding – and how could he not be? Shaking his head, he slumped against the driver's seat and checked his phone. Nothing. He really wanted to strangle Max.

Max.

For the past week, Max had been teasing him nonstop. And somehow, Max's blabbering had reached Elsa.

And Elsa –

He had no idea why Max would do such a thing, really. Elsa was a good friend – having recently repaired their friendship after – well – Elsa knew him almost inside and out, but the reason she did was because –

Being good friends with Elsa was one thing, but having Max tell Elsa that he was in a relationship when he wasn't was another thing. It made him gulp and sigh deeply.

He glanced at his watch.

Well, it was too early to tell. They had agreed on meeting at Abby's at 5:30 p.m., and maybe he was just being paranoid – there was still time, and he was early for once (well, for the second time, really). There was nothing to fear at the moment.

He really should have insisted that he pick her up, but she – she was just So. Damn. Stubborn. Maybe he just should have showed up at her place? But then, would she have appreciated the gesture? She must have insisted on commuting for a reason. And it was better to leave her to her privacy if she truly wanted it.

Connecting his phone to the car speakers, he placed his playlist on shuffle and hoped that none of his (according to Liesl) "weirder" favourite songs came up.

Song,
After song,
After –

A figure appeared by the corner, face illuminated by the neon pink retro lights of Abby's signage. Hands wringing nervously, lower lip catching between her teeth. Her eyes caught his, and a smile spread on her face, and he felt the corners of his lips tugging upwards.

(Strangers in the night, exchanging glances, wandering in the night...)

Climbing out of the car, he made his way to her.

"Sorry, I'm late," she wrung her hands together then smoothed out the front of her dress. "Did I keep you waiting for long?"

"No, no, it's quite alright," he smiled widely. "Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be, I suppose."

5:38 p.m., Saturday, Car

She was surprisingly quiet in the car. Hands folded on her lap, yet restless, he noticed when they stopped for a red light. He glanced at the stoplight for a moment, watching as the seconds ticked by – and he turned to look at her – her eyebrows were slightly scrunched, and he noticed that her expression was slightly worried. Now he was worried.

"Are you alright?"

"I don't know," she sighed as she twiddled her thumbs. "Well, it's the first time I'm actually going to see people, you know?"

Silence.

"Maria?"

"Yes?"

"You work in a supermarket… you see people everyday…"

For reasons he did not understand, she burst out laughing. Confusion was evident on his face he supposed, because he realized that she had tried to stop laughing – only to slightly snicker and then laugh loudly yet again. He found himself not minding that she laughed at his expense – it had been quite some time since he had heard her laugh like this – freely, musically. He found himself smiling. She was –

He was pulled from his trance as he heard a loud honk, no doubt from the car behind him. Facing forward, he watched as cars raced past them. There was a multitude of honks now – and with a sigh, they began to move once more.

She was still giggling, he could hear, and he couldn't help but smile under his mask. But –

"Do you mind telling me what's so funny?"

"You misunderstood my statement," she smiled at him. ("Cursed mask," he thought. He usually didn't have any hearing problems, but he could barely hear her muffled voice, let alone – excuses, Georg, excuses.) "I said, it's the first time I'm actually going to see people you know. I think you've heard it the wrong way –" another held back laugh – "And I have to admit – your response was adorable."

Adorable.

The last thing he was… was adorable.

But coming from her, he couldn't help a particular surge of emotions fill his mind (and ego).

Adorable.

He could live with that.

6:17 p.m., Saturday, Von Trapp Villa

Dinner was going on smoothly, so far, Maria thought. Though it still somehow hurt her that she had to stay six feet from the children – especially as she and the children were so used to hugging. But she being here was a big risk already, despite the intense disinfection she underwent the minute she entered their home, and she could only be grateful that she could see them and talk to them.

Liesl had been so surprised and excited to see her – and though she loved the children equally, it hurt her most that she hadn't been able to hug Liesl, and on her birthday, at that. It had taken all her willpower to stop Liesl from hugging her, too, after she had given Liesl a small gift (it was a handmade bracelet – but made extra special), but she was glad to see Liesl. Obviously, they had a lot to catch up on.

Her eyes darted across the table, where a man and woman – called Uncle Max and Aunt Elsa by the children – sat. The mustached man seemed awfully familiar to her, she thought. And watching him pour wine into his glass with Georg glaring at hi –

"Dionysus," she whispered under her breath.

It was him! She couldn't possibly be mistaken – he was the man who had sauntered happily to her counter with six bottles of wine. "For a party," he said, smiling widely at her – though she couldn't possibly see behind his mask, she had a gut feeling that it resembled that of the Cheshire cat.

She had been hummed to herself – harmonizing effortlessly with the music that Marge had chosen to play for the day (yep, it was Renée Fleming's You'll Never Know) when he came, and he cocked his head and asked her if she had ever auditioned before – for if she wished to, he was a playwright, and he had very much wanted her to ("That is, when theatres are allowed to open once more," he sighed loudly). She had blushed red, but she had waved it off.

But she would never forget –

"You know, I'm thinking – you would be perfect for this particular role I have in mind. It's a shame you wouldn't want to audition – I don't think you have to, really. You do sound like you'd get the role without trying," he smiled.

Maria wondered what role he might have meant.

She shrugged slightly as she took a bite of her pasta, a smile gracing her face as she watched the children talk animatedly amongst themselves, then laughed aloud as Louisa told the table another joke.

6:30 p.m., Saturday, Von Trapp Villa

She hadn't really expected this, if she were being honest.

No, she hadn't expected being dragged by four children into the family room until her arm hurt – gosh, it actually felt like her arm was popped out of the socket with the intensity of all the pulling. Okay, she had tried talking the children out of going near her – for one, she worked in a supermarket, and though Abby's had been extra mindful, there was no assurance that after disinfecting, she was absolutely clean.

But that didn't seem to dissuade them. Oh, no it didn't.

What made everything seem worse (okay, being with the children wasn't bad, in fact, she seemed to enjoy it, but the pandemic) was that the adults had allowed it to happen – Dionysus was smiling in his cheerful Cheshire manner, Aunt Elsa – whom she had nicknamed The Baroness ("Seriously, how can a woman be that classy?" She said to herself as she was washing her hands in the restroom) pursed her lips, looking somewhat amused. But he –

He had merely stared at her.

When his children dragged her to him and asked him if Miss Maria could join them for a movie, he merely waved it off, saying, "you can if you want to."

The younger children jumped up and down, then proceeded to drag her into the family room.

Maria watched as Liesl rummaged through the shelves – mumbling to herself and humming as she searched. She let out a squeal when she finally found it –

"Sense and Sensibility again?" Kurt groaned. "We just watched that the other week –"

"Oh, shut up, Kurt! It's Liesl's birthday," Louisa rolled her eyes. "You didn't hear us complaining when we had to watch Endgame five weeks in a row!"

"It's because it's interesting! ("After watching it thirty-five times in a row it isn't," Maria heard Lousia mutter, and she couldn't help but stifle a laugh.) And I mean, Edward Ferrars isn't even that handso –"

"Oh, stop right there, kiddo, you do not want to cross that line," Friedrich muttered, pulling Kurt back and pushing him onto the floor, begging him to just shut up and sit down.

"Hey, but it's true – he's so bo –"

Friedrich clamped his hand over Kurt's mouth.

"What did you say?" Brigitta raised an eyebrow, daring Kurt to finish his sentence.

"Bouncy," Friedrich answered Brigitta, panic evident in his eyes as he muffled whatever Kurt was saying. "His hair is so bouncy," Friedrich plastered on a smile. "Now, go on, Liesl, play the DVD."

From the corner of her eye, she could see Kurt struggle against Friedrich's hands, but Friedrich had kept him firmly on the ground.

This was going to be one interesting movie night, she smiled widely as she leaned back against the couch.

6:35 p.m., Saturday, Von Trapp Villa

With the sun beginning to set over the mountains, tinging the skies orange, and the wind whipping against his face, he felt at ease. There was something about tonight that made him feel so comfortable. It was definitely not thinking that Liesl was already seventeen, though. Frankly, he was scared of all the potential suitors who would possibly come flocking his home once the pandemic ended. No, it was definitely not Liesl turning seventeen.

Perhaps it was –

"She really is lovely, Georg," Elsa said, nudging him with her shoulder.

"Liesl did look wonderful today," he nodded. "She mentioned that you helped her pick out her dress –"

"I wasn't talking about Liesl, idiot, though I do agree that she looked ethereal," Elsa rolled her eyes. "I'm talking about Maria."

"What about her?"

"You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, El," he said, convincingly enough, he thought, but by Elsa's glare –

"Don't you be ridiculous. I'm not blind. You could light up all of Austria with your eyes every time she walks into the room. You literally freeze to stare at her. You're in love, Georg. Don't even deny it," she laughed at his slightly-horrified expression. "And Max is right for once," Elsa suppressed a laugh. "You've fallen in deep with the right sort of person."

"I swear, El, I didn't mean to –"

"Oh, come on, Georg! All of Austria knew that we weren't compatible," she laughed. "Visually appealing, perhaps. Business-wise – perfect, but we both knew it wasn't going to work. I don't hold it against you, really. But gosh, she's perfect for you!"

"Elsa –"

"You haven't come into terms with it, I see."

"It's so complicated."

"It only gets as complicated as you let it, Georg. Things can be simpler if you allow it."

8:50 p.m., Saturday, Von Trapp Villa

She could feel her eyes drooping – don't get her wrong, the image of Kate Winslet and Alan Rickman, and then Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant were all visually appealing, but she supposed that all the early mornings and late nights she spent filling out her applications didn't exactly help, and now served as a liability as she spent time with the von Trapp kids. It had been so much fun watching Sense and Sensibility with them – especially hearing all their comments about love (and how beautiful or icky it was). But really, the best part was watching Friedrich keep an eye on Kurt, and speaking over him whenever he attempted to make a snide remark about Edward Ferrars. It was heartwarming to see Friedrich make sure that his sister's birthday wouldn't be ruined, and it was seriously hilarious seeing him attempt to keep Kurt in line and succeeding.

As the movie ended and the lights flickered on, she suddenly jolted awake as a hand touched her shoulder.

"I'm awake!" she breathed out, and her eyebrows knitted as she heard a deep chuckle beside her.

Oh.

She stifled a yawn as she stood up, smoothing down the front of her dress. She helped Gretl – who was still so full of energy – up to her feet. She smiled as the young girl ran to Liesl, and enveloped the birthday girl – ehem – the birthday lady in a warm hug.

"They're quite a sight, aren't they?" He whispered behind her, making her turn around almost immediately. She shouldn't even feel this shocked. She knew he was there –

"They are," she hummed. "Liesl has grown so much, don't you think?"

"She's like a second mother to them," he smiled.

Beat.

Breathe.

Beat.

Breathe.

"Maria…"

"Yes?"

"I –"

Max's loud laugh interrupted him, and they immediately turned their heads to see Gretl atop Max's shoulders – pouting because "why can I reach the ceiling when papa does it? But I can't reach anything now?" Then came Brigitta's answer of "Because Uncle Max is so much shorter than papa. Isn't that right, papa?"

Max opened his mouth to protest, but then was drowned out by a chorus of "yes, duh" from the children.

"I shall now drown my sorrows with wine!" He said defeatedly, making everybody laugh.

"As long as it's not my wine," Georg rolled his eyes.

"Alas, you may ask Maria here. I have bought my own wine!"

Laughs interrupted once more, and Max and the children exited the room, heading to the kitchens for more cake (Max's idea, of course). Taking a deep breath, she realized that only the two of them were left in the room.

"Was there something you wanted to tell me?" She said softly.

"I – well –" he sighed. "Thank you for being there for Liesl when I wasn't," he smiled warmly at her.

She sensed the sincerity in his words – truly, she did – but why was it that she felt that it wasn't what he meant to tell her.

Perhaps she was sleepy.

Yes, she was just sleepy.

9:15 p.m., Saturday, Dormitory

As she smiled at him sleepily, and gave him one last glance before she closed the door, his heart couldn't help but leap in his chest. With the door fully closed now, he waited for a few seconds, then leaned against the door.

"Good night, Sober Woman," he whispered to himself, running a hand through his hair.

Oh, perhaps he'll have the courage to tell her next week.

Adorable –

Things can be simpler if you allow it.

"I love you."

A/N

*Song is Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra :)

Hello!

I hope you liked this chapter! Apparently, I suck at estimating, so there's one last chapter left for Abby's, which I'll probably be posting a week from now (for suspense *wink*). Sooo, stay tuned, I suppose!

Also, eek, thank you for all the love you've been sending my way recently! It really does mean a lot :) Sending virtual warm hugs and schnitzel with noodles [heart]

Stay safe and please go follow quarantine guidelines,
H :)