ONE. WEEK. LEFT.
Hello to all my fellow Hearties! I can't believe how close we are to Season 9! And in celebration, I have something special planned for you this week (or, at least, I hope I do). You'll probably catch on pretty quickly as to what that surprise might be, but for now, here's just a little something to hold you over for today!
Thank you all for reviewing (y'all are honestly so sweet), and to the guest who left the negative review wondering why anyone would want to kiss Lucas, thanks for the laugh. I think it's pretty obvious at this point that there's more than a few people who would want to. I will remind you, however, that negativity gets you nowhere, and wasting time leaving a negative review on a piece of fanfiction, much less anywhere else, only hurts you in the end. Haters are gonna hate, but when you promote negativity, you're creating a cloud over your own head.
But, just in case you needed a reason to wonder why anyone (and in this and every case, Elizabeth) would want to ever kiss Lucas, here's a spicy short for you to enjoy! :)
Mondays were for doing the laundry.
And so, Elizabeth usually dreaded Mondays. If you asked her, she'd never complain, but aside from the fact that it often took an entire evening to complete, her hands were always left raw and her back was sore from the scrubbing, easily making it her least favorite task.
On this particular Monday, however, she'd been on her way home from the library, where her dutiful students had arranged to meet for a weekly book club during their summer vacation, when she noticed her husband and son at work in their backyard. They could frequently be found there, and as she approached, she could see their matching white shirts and suspenders, a sign that they were likely working in the garden that Lucas had insisted on planting that spring.
Growing closer, however, she realized that they weren't working in the garden at all. In fact, it was quickly apparent that they'd taken on another task to pass the time on this hot, summer afternoon.
The laundry.
Elizabeth had to stifle a giggle as she turned the corner of the house leading to their backyard. There, in between them, sat the washtub, baskets of clothing strewn around them. Lucas was washing, Jack helping the best he could, but both father and son were drenched head to toe in water.
"What in the world are you two doing?" she asked, causing them both to jerk their heads in her direction. Lucas' hair flopped down over his forehead, and Jack quickly abandoned his post, rushing to grab her hand and pull his mother toward their project.
"We did the laundry, Momma!" he eagerly explained. As they got closer, Lucas shook his head and stood to greet them, trying to fix his hair, but only succeeding in getting soap on his forehead.
She laughed at both of them, "I can see that. Is there any particular reason you two set out to do the laundry today?"
Lucas stepped closer to his wife, "we wanted to do something special for you, and I know how much you loathe doing the laundry, so here we are."
"And might you mind telling me why it looks like you ran yourselves through the wash as well?"
"Daddy accidentally fell into the bucket," Jack chimed in before Lucas could make up an explanation, and the faint pink tint to her husband's cheeks told Elizabeth that their son was telling the truth.
"I thought we weren't going to tell anyone about that, Jack," Lucas responded.
"Sorry Daddy," the boy responded quickly, and at Lucas' suggestion he rushed back into the house to retrieve the last of the laundry baskets from his room.
"You can't be too hard on him, Lucas," Elizabeth said, trying not to laugh, "he's provided me with quite the mental image."
"Oh has he now?" Lucas asked, stepping close enough to her that she could see the water droplets as they ran down his neck.
Elizabeth nodded slowly, swallowing as he stopped just inches from her. "My current view isn't too bad either," she pointed out, referencing the way his shirt still clung to his form, her eyes roaming down to his lips and then back up. But as he leaned in to kiss her, she quickly dodged out of the way. "Hold on, you're going to ruin my good clothes."
"They'll be washed eventually too," Lucas pointed out, stepping toward her again with a playful look on his face.
"Perhaps, but unlike some people, I prefer to wash my clothing when I'm not wearing it."
She could see the glint in his eyes, the familiar spark that she loved as he reached out for her again, catching her around the waist and pulling her against him anyway, not that she resisted further. "I think, perhaps, we can remedy that situation," he suggested, his breath hot against her ear.
Elizabeth placed her hand on his chest as Jack reappeared in the doorway, effectively putting an end to their brief rendezvous, but leaned in to give him a quick peck on the lips.
"I'm going to hold you to that later, Mr. Bouchard."
And as she sauntered away, glancing back at him before she stepped inside, she had to admit that laundry day might not be that bad after all.