The four boxes by Emmylou
Disclaimer-I'm not sure who relic hunter belongs to, but I'm damn sure it's not me!
Archive; if you want it, take it, but just send an email so I can go look.
Summary-4 boxes affect Sydney and Nigel's behaviour.
PG/PG-13
Feedback- Yes please!! I try to thank everyone who reviews in the author's notes, but if I forget you, tell me and I'll apologise.
Thank you: Kharma and Kazuki Landen for the reviews.
"No Nigel." Her arms were crossed and she was leaning against her desk to hide the fact that she was swaying ever so slightly.
"Syd, think about it, you're being ridiculous." He wheedled. "We can't just burst in their without any idea what we're doing, especially when neither of us have slept in a bed in over three days." He tried to think of another excuse. "Besides which, how do you expect to fight anyone when you can barely stand from jet lag?"
In order not to give in and to give herself time to think up some excuses she tried to change the subject.
"Nige, I'm fine. I really think that we should have let Dolores and Mallory come as well. It's their little boy. And," she added triumphantly "imagine what could happen to him if we wait a whole day to try and rescue him."
"And imagine what would happen to us if we don't. I'm sure that Dolores and Mallory would feel a lot better knowing that their only son is going to be rescued by someone who is wide awake and knows what they're doing, than the two of us half asleep without any idea what to do."
Damn, Sydney paced around her office trying to shake herself awake, Nigel always had an answer for everything. This time she could really see where he was coming from, but her mind was too caught up with worry for the poor little boy.
"I'll tell you what Syd, if we're still alive in a week, I'll buy you that knife you were after from that catalogue."
"I can afford my own knife." She mumbled.
"*and* I'll let you test it out the next time we see Stewie"
"And off to bed we go, I mean I go, I mean..."
"The important thing is that we *go*." He smiled weakly.
"Can we get Chinese?"
"Absolutely."
As usual, when you're ready to drop you're so tired, you can never get to sleep. Which is why after leaving the office two hours before, neither Sydney nor Nigel had even made an effort to rest.
They were both sitting on her living room floor, throw pillows strewn around them, with, very helpfully, maps of Lazlo's mansion that had been provided by Mallory.
"Couldn't we get in through that window Syd? That's near enough to the stairs that lead to the vault." He pointed at an entry point on the ground floor.
"No. Remember what Mallory aid, he hates having windows open, and they're all double glazed. It'd be a nightmare to get in through one without attracting attention."
"What about the garage? He won't have had there double glazed would he?"
Syd had to admit that Nigel was right, getting in anywhere else would be impossible. It would have to be the garage.
"We'll have to try I guess."
The doorbell rang, signalling the arrival of their meal. It was paid for and soon they were sitting back down on the ground again to eat the food.
"Are you sure it's okay to eat here? I mean i-it's a very nice cream carpet, I wouldn't want to ruin it."
"Don't worry about it Nige, I don't. Put a cushion on your lap if you're really worried though."
They ate in a pleasant silence.
"So..." Syd spoke carefully, managing to turn the comfortable silence into a slightly awkward one by just dragging out one syllable. "After we've sorted out these boxes, will we be living together? That's what married couples do, right?"
There was a pause in which Nigel tried to rearrange the words in his head to make an understandable sentence.
"Do y-you *want* us to live together?" Sydney wanted to seem strong and in control but this was a whole new territory for her. She hadn't shared a living space with anyone for a long time, she doubted Nigel had either.
"I don't know. I *really* want this to work out. I always thought that when I did marry, it would be forever..."
"And then you got caught up in a spell and were forced to marry a geeky English bloke."
"Well, to be fair, I probably would have done it with or without the spell, eventually." She grinned and tried to lighten the mood. "Anyway, spell or not, I really want this to work. It's just...I don't know. We're still new to the couple thing; the married part is not something either of us can deal with just yet." Nigel was nodding to this. "And there's other factors. We still have to work together, and relic hunting is demanding enough without the extra worry of dating each other."
A period of silence followed this.
"Oh forget that. When can you move in?"
"P-pardon? Move in? What happened to 'not something either of us can deal with yet'?" The shock of her statement had had Nigel choking on the last of his juice.
"Well it all sounded reasonable, but at that rate we'd never become a real couple. We'd be awkward and grow apart, our lives are too insane for reasonableness." Nigel didn't want to admit it, but Sydney was right. Living apart would only enforce the feeling that they weren't really a couple. And then it would be all too easy to forget what had happened.
"I thought the whole plan sounded far too normal for us." He conceded finally.
If Sydney heard this, she didn't show it. She seemed lost in a world of planning.
"You'd have to move in here, we could use all three bedrooms. You'd have one room, I'd have the other, and we'd have one room to share. That way we'd still have our own space and we wouldn't have to invade the other's privacy. What do you think?"
"W-wait? How did we get from living apart to living together in ten seconds flat?"
"You don't want to move in?" Nigel cringed, this was the first time he'd ever really seen her vunerable, and now he was messing it up.
"Well yes, of course I do, but there's lots of other factors..."
"If you feel threatened by having to leave your home, I understand. I only suggested here because it had three bedrooms...or maybe it would be a better idea to move out of both apartments totally...we could maybe buy a new place, a house perhaps."
"You American woman certainly move quickly...friend to lover to husband and moving in together in less than five days. I'm waiting for the two point four children to suddenly run in and complete the picture." It had meant to be a joke, Nigel had *intended* it to be a joke, but somehow his slight panic had seeped in and Sydney had not only noticed, but was looking totally broken.
"God Nige, I'm so sorry. It's just that when I think of marriage, I think house, white picket fence, perfection. And I guess I just saw this as a quick way of getting something I really wanted. I just, I never, I never thought I'd get it. I'd have boyfriend after boyfriend, affair after affair, and I never found that one person who I could see myself having all that stuff with. I'm not saying that I wanted to become a domestic goddess, but I wanted just a little part of that life. And you seemed like the perfect option, a lovely man who I really truly love."
Nigel couldn't have formed a sentence then if you'd handed him the Holy Grail. He was aware that he'd just seen a real true piece of Syd, something that he doubted many had been allowed to see. But she was looking so hurt, so, so, not afraid as such, but a sort of resigned sadness. The look of a puppy that *knows* it's about to be kicked. He had to do something, anything to show his appreciation.
He kissed her.
He was really trying to come up with something profound to say, something wonderful that would show how much he loved and cared for her and how he longed to be with her. But somehow the whole thing got twisted on the way down to his mouth so that what he actually said was;
"I just put my hand in the sweet and sour."
"Oh really."
No, no, no, he kicked himself, of all the stupid, pathetic, idiotic, un- sensitive things to say...
"No! Well yes, I did put my hand in the sauce, but that wasn't what I meant to say.
"Oh."
"What I meant to say was, was that you're a wonderful woman and I want to share the perfect life with you. But I think that right now isn't a good time for this, we're in the middle of a relic hunt, we've got a really stressful day tomorrow and we're are both suffering jet-lag of extreme proportions." Well, that was slightly better. "I'm not going anywhere, we have years to sort this out. Years to settle down and become the perfect yuppie couple." He tried to add something on to make her more confident again. "Um, and everyone wants their own slice of domestic heaven deep down, I know I do. So stop worrying, I think we both need sleep."
Sydney had been listening raptly, her head using the seat of the chair like a pillow, her brown eyes staring intently at him, looking for all the world like a child being told a story.
"Thank you Nige. I really needed to hear that." The smile was faint but definitely there "Come on, lets get some sleep."
That chapter was even harder to write, you know my terror of writing mushy scenes. Hope this one is good.
thsnk you for reading please review.
Disclaimer-I'm not sure who relic hunter belongs to, but I'm damn sure it's not me!
Archive; if you want it, take it, but just send an email so I can go look.
Summary-4 boxes affect Sydney and Nigel's behaviour.
PG/PG-13
Feedback- Yes please!! I try to thank everyone who reviews in the author's notes, but if I forget you, tell me and I'll apologise.
Thank you: Kharma and Kazuki Landen for the reviews.
"No Nigel." Her arms were crossed and she was leaning against her desk to hide the fact that she was swaying ever so slightly.
"Syd, think about it, you're being ridiculous." He wheedled. "We can't just burst in their without any idea what we're doing, especially when neither of us have slept in a bed in over three days." He tried to think of another excuse. "Besides which, how do you expect to fight anyone when you can barely stand from jet lag?"
In order not to give in and to give herself time to think up some excuses she tried to change the subject.
"Nige, I'm fine. I really think that we should have let Dolores and Mallory come as well. It's their little boy. And," she added triumphantly "imagine what could happen to him if we wait a whole day to try and rescue him."
"And imagine what would happen to us if we don't. I'm sure that Dolores and Mallory would feel a lot better knowing that their only son is going to be rescued by someone who is wide awake and knows what they're doing, than the two of us half asleep without any idea what to do."
Damn, Sydney paced around her office trying to shake herself awake, Nigel always had an answer for everything. This time she could really see where he was coming from, but her mind was too caught up with worry for the poor little boy.
"I'll tell you what Syd, if we're still alive in a week, I'll buy you that knife you were after from that catalogue."
"I can afford my own knife." She mumbled.
"*and* I'll let you test it out the next time we see Stewie"
"And off to bed we go, I mean I go, I mean..."
"The important thing is that we *go*." He smiled weakly.
"Can we get Chinese?"
"Absolutely."
As usual, when you're ready to drop you're so tired, you can never get to sleep. Which is why after leaving the office two hours before, neither Sydney nor Nigel had even made an effort to rest.
They were both sitting on her living room floor, throw pillows strewn around them, with, very helpfully, maps of Lazlo's mansion that had been provided by Mallory.
"Couldn't we get in through that window Syd? That's near enough to the stairs that lead to the vault." He pointed at an entry point on the ground floor.
"No. Remember what Mallory aid, he hates having windows open, and they're all double glazed. It'd be a nightmare to get in through one without attracting attention."
"What about the garage? He won't have had there double glazed would he?"
Syd had to admit that Nigel was right, getting in anywhere else would be impossible. It would have to be the garage.
"We'll have to try I guess."
The doorbell rang, signalling the arrival of their meal. It was paid for and soon they were sitting back down on the ground again to eat the food.
"Are you sure it's okay to eat here? I mean i-it's a very nice cream carpet, I wouldn't want to ruin it."
"Don't worry about it Nige, I don't. Put a cushion on your lap if you're really worried though."
They ate in a pleasant silence.
"So..." Syd spoke carefully, managing to turn the comfortable silence into a slightly awkward one by just dragging out one syllable. "After we've sorted out these boxes, will we be living together? That's what married couples do, right?"
There was a pause in which Nigel tried to rearrange the words in his head to make an understandable sentence.
"Do y-you *want* us to live together?" Sydney wanted to seem strong and in control but this was a whole new territory for her. She hadn't shared a living space with anyone for a long time, she doubted Nigel had either.
"I don't know. I *really* want this to work out. I always thought that when I did marry, it would be forever..."
"And then you got caught up in a spell and were forced to marry a geeky English bloke."
"Well, to be fair, I probably would have done it with or without the spell, eventually." She grinned and tried to lighten the mood. "Anyway, spell or not, I really want this to work. It's just...I don't know. We're still new to the couple thing; the married part is not something either of us can deal with just yet." Nigel was nodding to this. "And there's other factors. We still have to work together, and relic hunting is demanding enough without the extra worry of dating each other."
A period of silence followed this.
"Oh forget that. When can you move in?"
"P-pardon? Move in? What happened to 'not something either of us can deal with yet'?" The shock of her statement had had Nigel choking on the last of his juice.
"Well it all sounded reasonable, but at that rate we'd never become a real couple. We'd be awkward and grow apart, our lives are too insane for reasonableness." Nigel didn't want to admit it, but Sydney was right. Living apart would only enforce the feeling that they weren't really a couple. And then it would be all too easy to forget what had happened.
"I thought the whole plan sounded far too normal for us." He conceded finally.
If Sydney heard this, she didn't show it. She seemed lost in a world of planning.
"You'd have to move in here, we could use all three bedrooms. You'd have one room, I'd have the other, and we'd have one room to share. That way we'd still have our own space and we wouldn't have to invade the other's privacy. What do you think?"
"W-wait? How did we get from living apart to living together in ten seconds flat?"
"You don't want to move in?" Nigel cringed, this was the first time he'd ever really seen her vunerable, and now he was messing it up.
"Well yes, of course I do, but there's lots of other factors..."
"If you feel threatened by having to leave your home, I understand. I only suggested here because it had three bedrooms...or maybe it would be a better idea to move out of both apartments totally...we could maybe buy a new place, a house perhaps."
"You American woman certainly move quickly...friend to lover to husband and moving in together in less than five days. I'm waiting for the two point four children to suddenly run in and complete the picture." It had meant to be a joke, Nigel had *intended* it to be a joke, but somehow his slight panic had seeped in and Sydney had not only noticed, but was looking totally broken.
"God Nige, I'm so sorry. It's just that when I think of marriage, I think house, white picket fence, perfection. And I guess I just saw this as a quick way of getting something I really wanted. I just, I never, I never thought I'd get it. I'd have boyfriend after boyfriend, affair after affair, and I never found that one person who I could see myself having all that stuff with. I'm not saying that I wanted to become a domestic goddess, but I wanted just a little part of that life. And you seemed like the perfect option, a lovely man who I really truly love."
Nigel couldn't have formed a sentence then if you'd handed him the Holy Grail. He was aware that he'd just seen a real true piece of Syd, something that he doubted many had been allowed to see. But she was looking so hurt, so, so, not afraid as such, but a sort of resigned sadness. The look of a puppy that *knows* it's about to be kicked. He had to do something, anything to show his appreciation.
He kissed her.
He was really trying to come up with something profound to say, something wonderful that would show how much he loved and cared for her and how he longed to be with her. But somehow the whole thing got twisted on the way down to his mouth so that what he actually said was;
"I just put my hand in the sweet and sour."
"Oh really."
No, no, no, he kicked himself, of all the stupid, pathetic, idiotic, un- sensitive things to say...
"No! Well yes, I did put my hand in the sauce, but that wasn't what I meant to say.
"Oh."
"What I meant to say was, was that you're a wonderful woman and I want to share the perfect life with you. But I think that right now isn't a good time for this, we're in the middle of a relic hunt, we've got a really stressful day tomorrow and we're are both suffering jet-lag of extreme proportions." Well, that was slightly better. "I'm not going anywhere, we have years to sort this out. Years to settle down and become the perfect yuppie couple." He tried to add something on to make her more confident again. "Um, and everyone wants their own slice of domestic heaven deep down, I know I do. So stop worrying, I think we both need sleep."
Sydney had been listening raptly, her head using the seat of the chair like a pillow, her brown eyes staring intently at him, looking for all the world like a child being told a story.
"Thank you Nige. I really needed to hear that." The smile was faint but definitely there "Come on, lets get some sleep."
That chapter was even harder to write, you know my terror of writing mushy scenes. Hope this one is good.
thsnk you for reading please review.
