Author's note: I've recently subscribed to Britbox and fallen in love again with the first seasons of Ballykissangel, and Peter and Assumpta. This is my first BK fanfic and, like my others (shameless plug) it's an attempt to map the internal dialogue of the characters as their story unravels. It's S1, 2 & 3, stopping before the tragic ending and mostly canon with a few additional scenes which I think could be canon. I've guessed the dates because I needed them for my format; I claim no advanced knowledge, just a guess! The title is (c) Taylor Swift!
Chapter 1:
Assumpta, May 1996
Assumpta sighed, exhaling slowly as she watched Leo go. He gave a final smile as he walked out of life again, and, as she stood watching the empty doorway, she wasn't sure whether she felt relieved or disappointed.
Leo's arrival in town had caused a strange dichotomy of emotions in her. There was no doubt that he was still the same Leo she'd lived in college; charming, devilishly handsome and apparently still in love with her, but at the same time he reminded her of the pain of losing her parents and the very different paths their lives had taken since then.
She had no doubt that Leo would've come with her to Ballykissangel, as he'd said he would, but this wasn't his life, he'd never be content with the life she had and his offer was to escape this, to leave the rural for the cosmopolitan. For a long time, she'd not been content either; in Bally K out of a sense of duty to her parents and the community, but Leo showing up and offering her a way out had made her see that things had changed, that this was her home and even a family of sorts - her regulars, Niamh, Peter.
She subconsciously glanced over at the priest as her thoughts turned to him and he returned her smile with a slight raise of his pint. Peter's arrival in the village had definitely changed things for the better; he brought people together, he was warm and genuine, even with those who didn't share his faith. And he allowed, even encouraged, people to think for themselves and respected their choices. Priest or not, he was a good man and, increasingly, a good friend, though he drove her mad sometime for sure. Sometimes, just sometimes, she forgot that he was the curate and she found herself wondering what he would think about a piece of music, or a new dress…
A shout from the bar brought her out of her reverie and back into the present. Leo was gone and she had a pub to run.
Peter, July 1996
As Peter sat on the steps outside Hendley's, thumbing the petition, he couldn't keep the smile from his face; this was proof that he was making a difference here, that he was wanted by those he sought to serve. Even if he still had to leave, he would at least know now that he was appreciated.
He looked up at Assumpta, the late sun catching her auburn hair. She smiled at him and he felt a slight flutter inside his chest that she would do this for him, that she would fight for him to stay. Peter dropped his gaze, suddenly feeling an intensity between them that made him uncomfortable, but equally not wanting the moment to end.
"What about you?"
He looked back up at her; her countenance inscrutable as she pushed a stray hair back behind her ear.
"You said that they all wanted me to stay. What about you?"
She held his gaze, an almost smile playing on her lips as she stood up and walked back to Fitzgerald's leaving him alone with the petition. Peter exhaled slowly and continued thumbing the petition, looking for her name.
He'd come here to escape Manchester and the mistakes he'd made there, but Ballykissangel had wormed it's way into his heart; despite their eccentricities and superstitions, these were decent kind folk and he'd loved getting to know them and caring for them. And in Assumpta he'd found, well he wasn't really sure - a friend certainly, a sparring partner, an ally.
Right at the bottom of the list he found her name and smiled again.
