Disclaimer: We don't own the characters nor anything relating to PD - rest assured if we did the wango scene would not have been trimmed down!
Author's Note: SORRY it's taken so long to update, real life has kinda been getting in the way, we promise to get part 27 up alot quicker. Nearing the end of this saga now, we have another 8 chapters already written YEY - so please do try and stick with us. And enjoy of course!
Mixed Signals - Part 26
The morning dawned in light grey; it was slightly foggy and already showing signs of becoming very hot again. Hopefully, he would manage to get the bulk of his work done before that, the man, stepping outside the palace, thought to himself.
First of all, however, he would do a little jogging. Whistling quietly for the white standard poodle, he cast a short appraising glance over the terrace and manicured lawns.
Security was tight and watching. Good!
"Come on Mo, lets run a little before it becomes too hot and Mommy wakes up." The man said, starting off at an easy pace. In his mind he continued the sentence with ill-disguised amusement. 'Though I sincerely doubt it will be anytime soon that she joins the land of the living.'
His wife was by no means a morning person, never had been, never would be. Only duty and necessity brought her out of bed at an early hour. Mia resembled her in more ways than she would believe and Clarisse admit.
Admittedly, 6:30 was almost sickeningly early, especially after last night, but he had woken up at some point and been too restless to go back to sleep. Not wanting to disturb her, he had quietly slipped out of their bed and decided on a morning run to clear his mind, before settling down to work.
Doing the routine of jogging, the simple task of setting one leg before the other in a well-timed manner, breathing in and out at well-measured intervals indeed calmed the man. The early birds, chirping in the bushes and trees, and the smell of blossoms indeed eased his tense mind. Of course, he knew what had made him so restless that not even her warm and fragrant body in his arms could relax him.
The envelope would be on his desk by now. Charlotte would have seen to that the evening before. Just thinking about the contents made him feel tense again. It just screamed long hours in his office and on many planes. He would be on the run again all the time, trying to organize things perfectly and in time, easing tempers, convincing backers, sweet talk politicians into supporting their cause.
There would be no more nights like the last one for quite some time and certainly no such wonderful and relaxing weeks like the last one.
He had actually never thought that vacationing at home could be that enjoyable and relaxing. He would have never believed that with all the personnel and the other prying eyes on them they would be able to fully relax, but his wife, she was a wonder.
He could almost see Mia's face turning in a grimace of relief, when she wouldn't have to go through the paperwork and the public appearances alone anymore. He could almost hear the war whoops she would secretly do.
It must have come as quite a shock to the young queen to hear that her grandmother had cancelled all appointments of the week and refused to take on any paperwork, claiming that she intended to spend the week entirely with him.
And what a week it had been. Snuggling up in front of the fire or in bed during the rainy days, dancing in the ballroom just after lunch and at night in the privacy of their suite. Leisurely walking through the woods at the edges of the palace grounds, riding on the beach, having picnics in the green meadows of the grounds and dancing on the blanket. Even going shopping and out to dinner, ignoring every eye that was on them – the days had been pure heaven. And the nights, oh what bliss they were. Making love, tenderly, gently, wild, passionate, simple, creative or not at all, it didn't matter.
Nothing mattered as long as she was close to him. So close to him, physically, but even more so in her mind and soul. And last night…
He closed his eyes for a second relishing the memory. Maurice's short demanding bark did nothing to shake him out of his musings…
How she had looked last night, how she had smiled, how her body had felt against his.
Briefly he wondered if she had already known that their time of bliss was coming to an end and if it was because of this that she had arranged the evening, but then he decided, it didn't matter.
The scene would remain on his mind for a long time, keeping him warm at night, when he had to spend it in a lonely hotel bed again.
The gazebo – he chuckled slightly – how important this structure was for their relationship. Just how many life-altering things had happened there? Their first personal conversation on a rainy day, the overwhelming shock when he realized that he was in love with her, just like the moment when he realized just how trapped she was in her marriage. The minutes he had desperately tried to calm himself before going to her suite and tell her that her son was dead. Their very first kiss, in a rain shower again, and how shocked they both had been at his boldness, at her almost involuntary response. His proposal. Their one-month anniversary, when their dancing had so gotten out of control that they barely made it back to their bedroom.
Last night, those moments of utter bliss, dining together all by themselves, dancing to slow jazz and an even slower version of the Wango – barely dancing mostly swaying against each other, exchanging sweet kisses.
The candles had burned low, then fluttered out without them even realizing it.
He had been too lost in her, in the sparkling of her eyes. Her fingers had moved slowly gently over his neck. They soothed him and excited him at the same time. Her perfume, always overwhelming him, had enveloped him, putting them both into a cocoon of sensuality. Of happiness. But most of all of love.
Her body moulding against his, her arms around his neck, her hands leisurely drawing invisible paintings on his back, while he pulled her against him as tightly as possible. Her mouth either brushing over his skin or whispering sweet words of love, he knew he had found paradise.
She had become quite adept at speaking Spanish. Their murmured words of love mixed the languages. They no longer knew which they used, didn't care either.
He was happy, he couldn't deny it. So happy, so content.
It was such a beautiful week, such a beautiful night.
It was so perfect, just like his wife, just like their love.
But it would be over for the time being.
His usual morning round was almost finished. The large building of the palace loomed before him and with it the knowledge of the work to come.
In a way, he was excited to start the next part of his project. He did good work, important work, and was recognised for it. He loved being an elementary help in furthering education in Genovia, furthering the development of his beloved – yes – home country. And admittedly, he was even happy to get back into the swing of things.
Still the bliss of the last days would be over.
And he couldn't help but wonder if the new project would not bring new trouble for their marriage.
"Good morning, Sir Joseph."
"Charlotte, how often do I need to tell you not to call me 'Sir'? We are friends."
The young woman blushed. "I know, 'Joe', I'm just trying to… well…to… you know what I mean. The mail is already on your desk."
Joseph sighed. "I expected as much." He turned around and whistled. "Come, Maurice, lets see if your Mommy is already up and willing to have breakfast with us." Walking into the palace, followed closely by the white dog, he mentally added. "And then back to work it is…"
Clarisse was fussing, she knew it, and she was aware he knew it too but he was allowing her to do it anyway. He sat back in the chair watching her, a half smile on his face, legs outstretched, relaxed and preparing himself for leaving.
Clarisse was going through the pile of clothes on the bed and rearranging them into the suitcase once again, they had people to do this; in fact a maid had already packed everything he'd asked for. Yet Clarisse insisted she do it, he didn't mind, not in the slightest. Somehow it seemed normal, something normal in their otherwise insane world. Something that a wife might do were she not a member of the royal family.
"You really don't need this, do you?" She asked holding up a rather brightly coloured tie.
He smiled. "It was a gift from Mia, said I needed brightening up, I thought it would please her if she spotted it on the front of some newspaper."
"Oh very well." She shrugged placing it gently alongside the others.
"Clarisse honey you know you don't have to do this, I'm sure everything will be fine."
"I know, but fine may not be right." She sighed again folding his pyjama top. "What time is your flight?"
"I leave for the airport in an hour." He said twisting his watch on his wrist.
"Is that all?" She gasped unthinking. "Well, then we'd better hurry with this hadn't we."
He had to laugh, the packing had been done the night before, it was she who had unpacked it again.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing." He shook his head getting up from the chair and crossing the bedroom. "Nothing at all." His hands slid around her waist and he kissed the back of her neck.
"Your shoulders are tense my dear." He said gently swaying his body with hers.
"I'm just… well I hate to fly, and I hate to think of you flying, I prefer it when you're safe on the ground."
"Rome isn't too far." He kissed her again. "Relax, leave that, talk to me."
She leant back against him, still clutching a shirt. Her eyes closed as he continued to kiss her neck.
"What's on your mind, hmm?" He whispered soothingly. "Why don't you tell me?"
"It's nothing, silly really, I'll just… I enjoyed these past few weeks so very much, I'll miss you."
"And I you. It won't be for long. And you might be able to come and join me for the weekend."
She nodded. "Perhaps, Mia is awfully busy this week, I don't like leaving her under so much pressure, she's only young."
"I know, I know." He kissed her head.
"Oh it's not like we haven't had time apart before it's just that, somehow, we're getting somewhere… aren't we?" She turned in his arms. "I feel we've finally reached this…" she flailed searching for the words.
"Cosy little married couple haven." He smiled.
"And now you finish my sentences."
He reached up to stroke her face. "I don't think we'll lose that now."
She nodded. "I know, I feel we've grown so much this year, together, despite the mistakes…"
"Well they do say it helps you grow stronger."
"They do? Who are they?" She smiled teasing his nose with hers.
"People." He shrugged. "All knowing people."
His mouth moved over hers smoothly and assuredly, she responded in kind, her grip tightening around her shoulders.
She moaned into his mouth and he pulled back slightly tucking her hair behind her ear.
"Shall we go for a stroll before the car arrives?"
She nodded. "What about the packing?"
"Oh I'm sure we can finish that in two minutes between us."
Naturally they had needed more than two minutes and if he hadn't put his foot down, it might have taken them almost ten minutes or more. He shook his head.Clarisse was anything but a fast packer. However, he believed her fussing had more to do with her reluctance to let him see just how much problems she had with their parting.
He hid his problems, or if he was honest, displayed them by not being able to let go of her body. He had to hold on to her hand or keep his arms around her shoulders, just to feel her be there.
Of course their walk had distorted into a kissing session. Every few steps they had stopped to snuggle up in each other's arms and to share a kiss that had quickly escalated into desperate embraces. They had barely made it to the fountain and back.
It was a good thing that Clarisse had a meeting with Lords Blake and Jerome as well as Prime Minister Motaz right after he had to leave. Thus, they had been able to say goodbye in the relative privacy of the palace.
And thus, no paparazzo had seen their tight embrace, had heard their whispered words of love and farewell. And luckily, nobody had seen the tears she had so desperately tried to hold. Yet, they had been completely obvious to him, for hehimself had fought them.
It was incredible, how a few days could evaporate all desire to be an important and busy man.
Of course, he still wanted to work for the board, wanted to further their cause. Genovia did not have so many resources to work with and furthering education was the best thing to hold up the country's wealth. Joseph knew that, even better since he himself had climbed the social ladder through education and working successfully. He also liked to be heard by politicians, socialites and experts, liked that they asked him for advice, valued his opinions. Finally, he thoroughly enjoyed the business.
However, being parted from Clarisse was a serious let down. He had left her less than four hours ago and he already missed her almost painfully.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, in a few minutes we will arrive at Leonardo da Vinci airport in Rome. Please extinguish your seatbelts and fasten your cigarettes, while we prepare for landing. We thank you for flying with us today and hope to be able to welcome you aboard again soon."
His head shot up at the words. What was that? A short look over to the man in the other row confirmed it, he had really heard that.
Shaking his head with an exasperated sigh, Joseph pulled at his seatbelt and prepared himself for the landing. It would be a long five days.
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