Eugene Hartmann just wanted one thing right now and that was to leave. Anxiety is, as it often does, gnawing on the edges of his conscious mind, and he grows weary as the time drags on before him.

He looked down at his watch again, waiting impatiently at the bottom of the steps for the coachman to arrive. Next to him was Aurora, also waiting for their shared ride as she sat on top of her trunk, as she read yet another novel. They were much too thin and did not hold her interest for long, as he is always keen to point out.

It was her third rotation since they left the dorms, and they were supposed to last her throughout the week on the balneary. Before long, she would be pestering him to share his own reading.

"I'm on page 228, and I guess it is quite enough." Answered Aurora, a question that he had not proffered, as she looked up at him. "Are you well, Eugene? I didn't think your family would take this long to get ready to go on one vacation."

So, it is. He, Eugene Hartmann, is taking his girlfriend along on vacation with his family. It was a first for all of them, since his siblings are much too young for being concerned with courting rituals and the marriage market. He, himself, deems it to be beneath him and have not given it all a single thought since he arrived to Gallatin College, in spite of his mother's admonishments. Which would serve to point out the terrible choice he made, if one were to analyse it through a purely rational lens.

To Hell with it all. They are going to a beach resort to the south of the realm together, and he is not open to discussion on these matters. He has performed every ritual that was required of him and neither of them are criminals.

Though, Eugene reserves the right to feel unease at what sort of nightmare his family brews over them this week to come.

He bit his bottom lip. "Well, it doesn't help that we're two hours early."

"Two hours early!? Eugene, I would have slept in." She couldn't help but yawn as she looked at the clock. "It's seven AM, I would normally be asleep and using you as my pillow."

A slight flush grew on his face as a small grin grew on his face. Aurora threw her travel pillow at him as he ducked and the stuffed object landing behind him. She just sighed before placing the bookmark he gave her in the spring to mark where she stopped on the narrative.

"Why don't we go and get breakfast at the inn down the road? The streets are growing busy, and the matron is bound to have started serving it for the boarders that work down at the mines." The young woman offered, breezily. "Besides, thanks to someone, I didn't exactly get a chance to eat before I left."

"Sure. Just let me call a footman to look after our luggage and warn my family about where we are going if they arrive before we get back." He acquiesced, entering back into the school to find a servant.

Soon after, the blond man took her hand and led her down the street. The dawn just barely cracking on the horizon and a warm, early-Summer breeze blew through her loose travelling petticoat. In all, while a pleasant walk, it did not take long to get there, since it was such a tiny village nestled between two boarding schools.

Inside, Eugene was thinking of what would happen once they left on the carriage. To make do with so many people travelling and so much luggage, his father had hired three coaches: one for the parents, one for the younger children, and another for the eldest son and his intended. Plus, they would be sharing a room at the vacation cottage rental once they arrived.

Still with their hands linked, the couple walked into the town's inn, which, as wisely predicted by the girl, was serving pancakes, rashers and eggs for breakfast. They sit at a small table by the front window and order some plates, with Aurora accompanying it with chocolate milk and Eugene with orange juice.

"Eugene, are you nervous about us going on vacation together?" Asked Aurora as she sat back, sipping her milk. "You've been acting a little skittish."

"I am not skittish." He defended, feebly.

"Then explain again why that are we out here two hours early?" She sucked in a breath yawning as the man furrowed his eyebrows. "You're worried about something. Is it your family? I hope you know that we all get along with each other. Your siblings are great and I like your father very well, especially the chess matches that we have."

"What about my mother?" He asked that a little too quickly.

Aurora raised her eyebrow, formulating her words carefully. "She's a little intimidating and proud, but she clearly loves you and she is coming around at the idea that we're together. Even if our relationship at the moment is not ideal, I'm sure there will be no problems on this trip."

"But Aurora…!" He begins to argue, but she stops him with a soft finger to his lips.

"You see? That just confirms to me that you are nervous." The woman smiles kindly at him. "Everything is going to be fine, even if it tuns out to be a disaster. Because, no matter what happens, I will still love you."

Something in him warmed as Aurora said that she loved him. It was no surprise, she had said it time and time again since they began their courtship, but it still amazed him that he had a steady, serious girlfriend that cared so much about him and him alone.

He never thought he would have such a relationship, even if he always knew he would end up in an engagement. He only hoped for a person who could understand, if not share, his intellectual pursuits and nothing else. Now, he knows of something so rare and so precious that brings pure wonder to his life.

His girlfriend grinned at him as the order of pancakes was laid out in front of them and drinks refilled.

Aurora lazily drenched hers with syrup and covered his as well with just the right amount.

"You know me too well." Eugene conceded. "And you're right. I am a little nervous. Not that showing affection in front of my family is weird or anything but…"

She nodded, comprehensive. "I get it, it's different and new and might be a little scary. I'm a little nervous too, but I decided to just roll with the punches. We'll do this together, and that's what's important."

Oh, she was nervous too? It could have surprised him, but her approach to the problem was so characteristic and predictable that it served as a twisted sort of comfort.

"Yeah. Together." He smiled warmly.

Conversation died down. It was quiet as Eugene finished half of his pancakes before turning to ask her something weighing on his mind.

"This means a lot to our relationship, you know? Things are really serious. After this vacation, what do you think will come next? Going away to a resort together, even if we're being chaperoned, is quite..." Suddenly, he realizes what he is saying and stops short. "I'm sorry, this is too serious of a question to ask over breakfast and the nerves are starting to hit again and…"

Aurora cut him off by pressing her lips against his as he could taste the syrup on her lips as he kissed back with just as much fervour. Her hand gently cupping his cheek as if shutting him up in the best way possible.

"I think that I'm not letting you out of my sight for a long time." She said, serious. "There will be a right time for us to make it all official, and we still have to graduate properly and you have to settle in your chair. For now, just understand that I am committed to it and I'm waiting with batted breath."

The young man nodded along, picking on a piece of fabric from the frills of her dress' sleeves and gazing upon his girlfriend's face against the morning sunlight filtered through the stained window glass. That happy smile on her face, golden flecks in her eyes seemed to brighten.

When she was happy, her eyes light up in a certain way. Every time she smiled like that part of his heart swelled, she had a beautiful smile. When she was happy, he was happy too.

He nodded. "Of course."

"Now that this is settled, let us switch the topic of conversation to something more elucidative." The woman smirked. "The first thing we're going to do when we get there is going to be sneaking out to a secluded cove at night to go skinny dipping, right?"

Eugene laughed as Aurora started to giggle, all on the while she tries to keep herself form choking on her own half-chewed food. He needed that spirituous remark, as that seemed to clear his mind of all nervous thinking.

After that, their conversation turned to random topics, such as the book he was reading or the next game strategy that she was going to put on the test at the chess board, their hands briefly touching as they picked up a sausage at the same time. Any outsider that saw them would see a young couple acting in love.

That was when the diner door opened with the Hartmann family entering, two at a time, looking for the last member lost to the flock.

The four of them were quick to spot Eugene and Aurora finishing their own breakfast, more than a little surprised to see them sitting together, so cosy, in a quaint table next to the window. Their eldest was in love, and this is an undeniable fact.

"They make a handsome couple, if you do not mind me saying." Mr. Hartmann points out, more to himself.

"Our son has an intended. That is that." Mrs. Hartmann declares, a bit of a sneer on her face. "I'll be waiting on the carriage. Try not taking long."

"Be not concerned, wife. We should be on the road before the bell rings the hour." The older man dismisses.

The eldest son of the family notices the new arrivals and quickly pay for their check, leading his girlfriend on to their coach.

As the countryside rolls on slowly from their window, with Aurora and Eugene sitting on the same bench, side by side, a new, good sort of anxiety blooms on his chest.