A/N – Harold ended up traveling to Des Moines several times in the MG Universe, so I thought it would be a fun challenge to try my hand at some 100-word drabbles capturing the essence of a few of his trips.
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January 1913
The first time Harold traveled to Des Moines, it was for the funeral of his mother-in-law's dear friend. So he and Marian were not there for romance, as he had originally envisioned for their first trip away from River City. But being newlyweds, they often took longer than was strictly necessary to dress for dinner, and one night, when Mrs. Paroo was snoring loudly, Harold's eyes locked onto his wife's in a heated, questioning gaze. When she looked at him with almost desperate invitation, his fingers found their way beneath the hem of her nightgown for a good twenty minutes.
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May 1914
The second time Harold traveled to Des Moines, he went alone. The boys' band desperately needed a new supplier, so it wasn't a trip he could put off until the twins were old enough to stay with family. He felt the lack of Marian's companionship even more keenly now that Fred Gallup had a wife that he adored, and who clearly adored him in return. Hearing their heated moans through the paper-thin walls of the bed and breakfast they were all staying in, Harold would have given anything for even just those twenty minutes of furtive fumbling beneath the sheets.
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May 1915
The third time Harold traveled to Des Moines, he took Marian with him. Although he was once again traveling for business, he made sure to find plenty of time to explore the sights the city had to offer – his favorite being that of his wife writhing against him as they lay cozily cocooned beneath silky sateen sheets and a plush eiderdown coverlet. He'd booked a room at the most luxurious hotel they could afford, and it was well worth the money – Fred and Lucy spent just as much time ensconced in an adjacent room, and they never heard a peep.
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October 1921
On his seventh trip to Des Moines, Harold brought Marian and the twins, and the entire Hill family stayed in Fred and Lucy's flat. In such cramped quarters, husband and wife had even less privacy than they did during their first visit to the city, and refrained from even the most furtive caressing… until they just couldn't take it anymore and, like a couple of naughty teenagers, quietly but shamelessly fooled around in the washroom early one morning while everyone was still asleep. After that interlude, Harold decided it was high time to start saving up for Paris in earnest.