Chapter 11
The minute the sun was up on Friday morning, Edith was awake, pottering quietly around the house, gathering the last things she needed for her trip with Bonnie. With the time drawing closer to Bonnie picking her up, Edith curls herself up on the sofa closest to the window in the living room, watching out for Bonnie to come walking down the street. The minute she spots him at the top of the lane, she runs to the front door, swinging it open and hanging out of it as she watches him smile, letting out a chuckle at her enthusiasm.
"Good morning!" Edith says, a big grin plastered to her face as he reaches the house, flinging her arms around his neck as he lifts her off her feet with an arm around her waist, shutting the door behind them with the other, Edith pulling him in for a passionate kiss.
"Good morning to you too!" He teases, stealing one last lingering kiss before pulling away. "You ready?"
"Yeah!" Edith replies breathlessly, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "I just need to say bye to Finn." She says, jogging up the stairs to wake her brother.
"Finn," she whispers, poking him in the arm as she leans down to press a kiss to his cheek. "I'm going."
"Mmm, Edith, piss off." He groans, batting her hands away as she continues poking his arm.
"I'm going." She repeats, Finn groaning again still batting her hands away.
"Have a good time. Be careful." He yawns, patting her cheek before rolling over. Edith rolls her eyes, kneeling beside him on the bed to press another kiss to his cheek.
"Bye! Love you too, I'll miss you so much!" She teases as he pushes her off the bed.
"Yeah, yeah, love you too, now shoo." He responds, tucking the covers around himself as she ruffles his hair and heads out the door.
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"So, where are we going?" Edith asks, wrapping her arms around Bonnie's waist, looking up at him expectantly as they reach the caravan he had borrowed from his dad.
"I was thinking we could go to the beach," he replies, wrapping his arms around her, smiling as her grin grows impossibly wider. "How does that sound?" Edith squeals excitedly, making Bonnie laugh as she wraps her arms around his neck, him lifting her off her feet again as he holds her to him. "Come on. Let's get going."
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"It's been years since I've been to the beach." Edith breathes out, inhaling the sea air as Bonnie stabilises the caravan in the spot they were going to stay. Satisfied with the job, Bonnie walks up behind Edith who was stood at the top of the small hill that overlooked the beach. "I can't believe we're really here." Bonnie smiles to himself, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her gently back into his arms, bending his head to press feather light kisses down her neck, making her sigh.
"Me neither." He says, resting his chin on her shoulder as they stand and watch the waves. "I can't believe I've got you all to myself." Edith turns in his arms, grinning as she leans up to kiss him softly.
"Come on! Race ya!" She exclaims, catching him off guard as she breaks the kiss, taking off down the hill; Bonnie laughs, smiling at her squeals as she runs through the grass, catching up with her as they reach the sand, wrapping an arm around her waist and swinging her into his arms, spinning her around. As soon as Edith's feet hit the floor, she takes off again, zigzagging through the sand with Bonnie hot on her heels, both of them laughing and shrieking as they dodge each other's grasps. Edith, breathless from chasing Bonnie along the beach, flops back on to the sand, pulling Bonnie down with her, both of them still laughing as they tried to slow their breathing.
"I'm so happy, Bonnie." Edith sighs, stretching out in the sand, lacing her fingers through his.
"Me too." He replies, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
"Wanna go in the water?" She asks, turning to face Bonnie, excitement lacing her voice.
"It'll be freezing love!" He laughs in response
"We can't not go in though!" She protests with a whine, throwing him a pout and batting her eyelashes.
"Go on then!" He says with a laugh, motioning to the sea. Edith jumps up, resigning to the fact he probably won't be joining her, pressing a kiss to Bonnie's lips as she pulls off her boots and starts running towards the water.
"Oooh! It's freezing!" Edith squeals, bouncing on her toes as she steps into the waves, holding her skirt above the water as she hops deeper into the waves.
"Told ya!" Bonnie calls back teasingly, pushing himself up on to his elbows so he could watch her. He laughs as she jumps, trying to dodge the waves, nearly falling into the water as she does. "Careful!"
"Come here!" Edith shouts, releasing one side of her skirt to beckon him over, shrieking as the fabric skims the water. Bonnie laughs, reluctantly standing, pulling off his boots as she had done minutes earlier, rolling up his trouser legs as he heads down the beach towards her.
"Nah!" He exclaims, jumping out of the water as the waves trickle over his feet. "No way!"
"Don't be a baby!" Edith calls with a laugh, skirt pulled up around her thighs as she inches deeper into the water. Bonnie steps forward again, shivering as the cold water hits him.
"No Edith!" He calls again, both of them laughing. "It's bloody freezing! I'm going back to the sand!"
"Wait!" She shouts back, wading through the water towards him as he heads back to where they had been sat. She runs up behind him, jumping on to his back; Bonnie stumbles slightly under the unexpected weight of her body, righting himself quickly and taking hold of her as he trudges back through the sand. He drops her gently to the ground, settling down behind her as she pulls her knees up to her chest, positioning herself in between his legs, her back to his chest. Edith sighs in contentment as she leans back into him, his arms coming around to circle her body, pulling her tighter into his embrace.
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"Mmm, thank you!" Edith says gratefully, taking the bowl of food Bonnie was holding out for her. After hours of chasing each other along the beach, laying in the sun, and jumping through the waves (more so Edith than Bonnie, who still seemed unsure of going in too far against the cold water), the pair had slowly made their way back to the caravan. Bonnie had immediately lit a fire, taking blankets from the caravan to wrap Edith in to keep her warm as he prepared and cooked their dinner. "You never told me you could cook!"
"You never asked!" He retorts with a wink as he grabs his own bowl and sits beside her.
"Touché," she replies with a wink of her own, taking a spoonful of the stew. "This is really good Bon."
"Thanks." He says, digging into his own meal. "Are you warm enough?"
"Mhmm," Edith hums in response, mouth too full to talk. "Might need some extra warmth later though."
"Oh yeah?" Bonnie questions, raising his eyebrows.
"Mhmm."
"More blankets?" He suggests, watching Edith out of the corner of his eye.
"Hmm, I was thinking...more cuddles." She corrects, throwing him a cheeky smile.
"Ah!" Bonnie laughs, nodding slowly.
"Very effective in maintaining warmth." Edith comments with a shrug, continuing to eat the food in front of her.
"Is it now?" He asks with a smirk, Edith nodding in response.
"It is." She states, letting slip a smirk of her own.
"Guess we'll have to prove that theory then." Bonnie nudges his shoulder against hers with a laugh.
"I'd be happy to!" She sings, still smiling cheekily up at him.
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Later that evening, Bonnie and Edith sat around the fire, wrapped in blankets; they each had one blanket and an extra one wrapped around both of their shoulders, the teens snuggled up together.
"Bonnie?" Edith says softly, rubbing circles into the back of his hand with her thumb.
"Hmm?" He hums sleepily in response, his head resting on top of Edith's, who's head was resting on his shoulder.
"What do you want to do?" She asks, Bonnie turning his head to press a kiss to the top of her head. "Like, in life?"
"In life?" He repeats, swapping his hand in hers to wrap an arm around her shoulders as she nods in response. "Well...I want to be a boxer, professionally I mean. I don't really have a plan B, or a plan after that. I guess I'd just travel with my family for a while, whilst I figure out what's next." Edith hums. "Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering," she replies. "We've never talked about it. I just want to get to know you better."
"Well, that's always been my dream. Never really had any other interests if I'm honest. I never even thought I'd get that opportunity, I figured I'd always just travel with my family, help dad out with the little girls." Bonnie admits, tucking her tighter into his body.
"You don't talk about your sisters much." She comments, leaning into him.
"What do you want to know?" He asks
"I want to meet them!" Edith exclaims, making Bonnie laugh.
"One day love." He says gently, kissing the top of her head. "They never hang around one place for too long. My oldest sister Gwen, she's married to Timothy, they have two children, Nicholas and Ruth." He explains, the hand resting around her shoulder coming to rub circles there. "My other older sister is called Iris, she's married to Joseph, they don't have any children, but they look after Nelly and Annie, my younger sisters while dad and I are away."
"Do they stay together?" Edith asks, leaning up to press a kiss to Bonnie's jaw.
"For the most part," he replies. "They split off occasionally but not often. I think they like being together."
"Do you miss it? Travelling with them?"
"I do." Bonnie admits. "But at the same time, it's nice to get away for a bit, ya know? Like you with your brothers." Edith hums and nods in understanding.
"Will you tell me more about them?" She asks, peering up at him.
"Another time love," he says softly, pulling Edith closer as she lets out a shiver. "It's getting dark out here, you cold?"
"A little." She admits, curling into his arms.
"Let's go inside, eh?" Bonnie stands first, putting out the fire before holding out his hand to pull Edith up and leads her into the caravan. Once inside, he tugs her gently into his arms on the small bed, blankets still wrapped tightly around them both. "What do you want when you're older?" He continues their earlier conversation, Edith resting her head on his chest.
"I want to have a family." She states, tracing circles on his chest. "A big one. Like mine."
"Oh yeah?" Bonnie asks with a smile, running his fingers through her hair.
"Yeah. All joking aside, as much as my brothers get on my nerves, I've always loved being part of a big family. Having older siblings to go to when I need them." Edith admits, wrapping an arm around Bonnie's back to pull herself closer to him.
"What else?" He asks gently, gathering that she hadn't finished.
"And I want to travel. Go back to my gypsy roots a bit. I don't want to be part of the family business."
"You don't?" Bonnie asks in surprise.
"No." She states with a shake of her head. "I help the boys out because they ask me to, and I want to spend more time with them. With the company growing, they're so busy all the time, so I'll take any time I can with them. But it's not something I want to go in to. I want to create my own path."
"What do you think you'd want to do?"
"I think I'd like to do something with animals, horses maybe. Like train them for races. Or have my own stable like my Uncle Charlie." Edith replies with a smile.
"I can see you doing that." Bonnie says, moving his hand to run it up and down her back. "Running the show. With all your babies running around at your feet." Edith lets out a laugh at this, Bonnie smiling too.
"I'd love that." She replies, turning to cuddle into Bonnie's side. "Do you want children?"
"I do." He says with a nod. "But if I'm honest, I haven't ever really thought about it."
"But you know you do?" She clarifies, looking up at him. He gives her a small smile in return, looking down at her, but remaining silent. "What? What are you thinking about?"
"It's nothing." Bonnie says, shaking his head, Edith frowning at this.
"Bon? What is it?" She presses, running her fingers through his hair.
"Before now, I didn't know that I definitely did. I was never really interested in having a family, having little sisters running around and getting in the way used to annoy me. But I think as I've gotten older, I've realised that actually it is something I want one day. With the right person. I want a life where I'm happy and enjoying the things I do, and have someone to come home to at the end of the day. And you've shown me that." He says quietly, looking forwards, a small smile on his face. 'And I want that with you.' He adds silently in his head, turning his head to look Edith in the eyes.
"Bonnie." Edith whispers, a smile on her face.
"You have Edith." He states gently, kissing her forehead. "I know we haven't been together long..."
"I know." She replies, gently cutting him off, still talking quietly. "I feel the same. You know that right?" He nods, leaning down to kiss her.
"Better get some practice in for all those babies you want!" He teases, running his fingers down her sides.
"Bonnie!" Edith exclaims, letting out a laugh.
"Hey! You can't say you weren't thinking it too." He jokes, winking at her.
"Well..." she draws out, smiling cheekily at him as he pulls her gently into his lap.
"See?" He mumbles against her lips making Edith giggle, wrapping her arms around his neck. "What did I say?"
"Shut up and kiss me Mr Gold." She demands with a smirk, pulling herself closer to him as their lips reconnect.