~ Little Things: An Unexpected Valentine's Fic ~
By CJ Moliere
Author's Note: This one shot is part of the Raphael Sbarge birthday tribute on a FB group I own and admin. Also check out its Rumbelle anniversary companion piece Unwrapped by my co-author Snapegirlkmf and don't worry dearies, we're going to be doing an all new Unexpected story in the summer called A World of the Unexpected! Enjoy!
The little things you do, that's what makes me love you.
It was a speech Marie Hopper made quite often over the years and most of the time it was after Archie spent lavishly on her for one reason or another. She knew some people in town still called her a gold digger because of her former profession as a dancer in a strip club even though she never took off one piece of her clothing.
They said the same things about Belle too but the two women now attributed it to jealousy. They were jealous that the Bordreaux women had two of the best husbands in all the realms, men who weren't afraid to show their wives how much they were loved and it was what dreams were made of.
Archie was always finding ways to show Marie what she meant to him even when he was a cricket back in the Enchanted Forest. At first it was just keeping her company while she was ill but one day he gave her a rose, just to see her smile and made a promise to himself that he'd give her roses every day if he could to keep that beautiful smile on her face. Once they started dating and even now that they were married, he did just that, had a dozen roses delivered to the office or the house every day. Moe often teased him that he should make him a partner in the flower shop since he was one of his two best customers. Both of his daughters' husbands kept the florist busy throughout the year.
He awoke early as he always did on Valentine's Day and the moment he was out of bed, Marie rolled over onto his side of the bed and buried her face in his pillow, sighing contentedly. It was a habit she had from the day they were married. She had as much trouble sleeping when he wasn't in bed as he did when she wasn't beside him. Part of it was because of the deep bond they shared and the other was he was always afraid someone would harm her if she were alone the way Gaston did. No one would ever brutalize his goddess that way again.
There were still times when he asked himself how such a beautiful woman could possibly want him when he was older and he didn't consider himself that handsome, not like some of those movie and TV stars she watched. She would just shake her head and list the many reasons he stole her heart first as a cricket and then later when he was human again. He was warned by Rumple the road to their happy ending wasn't going to be easy but here it was almost five years later and they had two wonderful children and two more on the way.
He would start the day off by making her breakfast in bed. It had been a while since he did it. Having Couvade Syndrome was making him sleep in as late as she did most mornings, especially on the weekends. Pongo and Perdy were waiting for him in the living room when he came downstairs. He set out fresh food and water for the Dalmatians, noticing that Perdy was eating more. He smiled, thinking he would have to make an appointment with Doctor Doolittle to find out whether they were going to have a litter of puppies in the house along with two babies. He knew it was what Pongo wanted.
He made all of his wife's favorite items: bacon and cheese omelettes with toast and pancakes he cut into heart shapes and a glass of orange juice. He placed all the items on a tray along with a vase that held a rose taken from the bouquet Major Moe, the Happy Army bear his niece named after her grandfather, delivered that morning and carried it back upstairs.
Marie was still sleeping in the same position he left her in earlier. He took the rose out of the vase and made a gentle trail across her cheek to her lips.
"Archie..." she murmured and smiled in her sleep, feeling something soft trailing over her shoulder and down her arm, the sweet scent of roses and her husband's cologne on his pillow triggering a lovely dream of him caressing her with a rose like she'd seen done in a movie once.
"Wake up sunshine
Ooh it's good to have you here with me
Can't have you hidin'
Can't imagine what I'd do
But feel too lonely without you…." he sang in her ear. Marie opened her eyes to find her husband sitting in bed beside her, a rose in his hand and a breakfast tray on the silver serving cart behind him.
"I'll take you singing over that damned alarm clock any morning, baby…" she murmured sleepily, resting her cheek on his other hand. "and…was I dreaming it or did I feel a rose on me earlier?"
He picked the rose up and brushed it across her cheek again. "What do you think, darling?"
"I think I have the best husband in the world." As she was sitting up, he grabbed the pillows and stacked them behind her back so that she would be more comfortable and set the tray stand in front of her. She always had an enormous appetite in the morning and so did he and she didn't want him to wait for his own breakfast when there was plenty on the tray for both of them. She picked up one of the heart shaped pancakes and dipped it in maple syrup, holding it out to him. He bit into it slowly, getting a few drops of syrup on his chin. She leaned forward and swiped at it with her fingertip. He raised it to his lips and licked it clean, his blue eyes gazing into hers.
"Keep looking me like that, baby and we're not going to be able to finish breakfast…" she whispered.
"Good things come to those who wait, darling…"
He took everything down to the sink to wash it while Marie showered and dressed and called Mary to make sure the kids were all right. She stayed at a small cottage in town on the weekends since they were technically her days off but that weekend she was watching Adriana, Jonny and Gisella while their parents spent the night celebrating Valentine's Day. He already knew what surprises Rumple had in store for his wife; the brothers-in-law had discussed their plans for their wives a few days earlier. Archie, though he found the Rumple In a Box trick amusing, wouldn't try it himself because he couldn't stand being in confined spaces because he'd been in plenty of them with his parents and hated every minute of it.
Like Rumple, he too had a difficult time deciding what he wanted to do for Marie on the holiday made exclusively for lovers and wanted to try something different, something that didn't require him to spend a great deal of money because he knew Marie preferred it that way. He knew some people in town still called her a gold digger but if they wanted to see one, all they had to was go to the farm where the goat formerly known as Zelena was kept or downtown where Merriweather Blue lived with Sly Fox, her old boss and owner of the Foxtrot.
They would drop Pongo and Perdy off at Mary's house before they drove out to their own lakeside cabin, not far away from Rumple and Belle's. He drove out there the night before to get some of the things ready for a romantic evening with his wife. Marie was going to be surprised that he'd had one of the empty rooms converted into a spa. He planned to have one built at the Dutch Colonial but it was going to be done while they were overseas for their summer vacation.
Up in the bedroom, Marie opened a box from Mallory Raven's shop, smiling with approval at the white silk and lace teddy and matching panties the designer made for a new line of lingerie for expecting women. She'd gotten the idea from Regina, who said she wanted to feel sexy for her outlaw, even while she was expecting. Mallory made sets for all of the expecting mothers as free gifts. Marie didn't know if Belle showed Rumple hers yet or not but she was going to take her own husband's breath away with hers that night at their cabin. She knew he had his own plans for her and she had a few surprises in store for him, one being the teddy, the other a little serenade she'd been wanting to do for some time and she had just the song in mind.
Their "theme song" was always Chicago's "You're The Inspiration" and they'd already serenaded each other to their second favorite song "It's You" from Babes in Toyland but the song she had in mind was Tanya Tucker's "Little Things" because even though he did spend lavishly on her at times, there were little things he did every day that made her love him more. She packed the teddy in her overnight bag and joined her husband downstairs.
"Pongo! Perdy!" Archie called out and whistled for the two Dalmatians. They raced out of the living room and sat by his feet, their tails wagging excitedly when they saw their leads in his hands. "Yes, you're going to stay at Mary's with Jonny and Sella tonight."
They listened to a mix of their favorite songs during the drive to Mary's cottage, the other mix he would play at the cabin when they were alone, grateful now that they had their own place instead of having to borrow Rumple and Belle's when they needed to get away from it all for a while. Marie took a brief nap during the drive, having sweet dreams of the evening ahead though they couldn't possibly compare to reality.
Archie pulled into the driveway of the cabin and glanced over at his wife, she was asleep again. He smiled and grabbed another rose out of the bouquet he planned to give her and caressed her lips with it.
"Darling…we're here…" he whispered and kissed her.
"You have some interesting uses for Papa's roses, my Adonis," she murmured.
He couldn't wait to show her how he'd used them to decorate the spa…and their bed.
When they walked into the living room there was another bouquet of roses on the coffee table along with a tray of red velvet cheesecake tarts with chocolate sauce, one of her favorite desserts. Belle once wheedled Rumple into making them for Marie so that Marie could tell her what intimate outfit Rumple bought for their little Christmas Eve celebration. Though Marie loved her brother-in-law's tarts, they were divine when her own husband made them. She snatched one off the tray and bit into it.
"Ohhh….just perfect…" she moaned. She noticed a bowl of his red velvet cake truffles dipped in chocolate beside them and grabbed a piece. "Mmmm…Archibald Hopper if your intent was to seduce me with treats….you've succeeded!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the sofa with her and kissed him ardently.
"I have a few ways of seducing you, my goddess," he murmured.
"And I'm looking forward to every one," she whispered.
Four years ago being intimate with a woman made the former cricket terribly nervous because his only experience with them was a few kisses that all of them said left much to be desired. He went out on a few dates during the curse but they never ended well. All of that changed the moment Marie came back into his life again. Archie feared he would disappoint her due to his lack of experience but Marie knew she could never be disappointed with him from the few times they had been intimate without actually making love. Her own innocence had been taken in violence but on their wedding night he made her feel like it was her first time again, the way it should have been...with a man who loved her.
She crawled onto his lap and fed him one of the truffles. He chuckled, knowing how difficult it was for anyone else in the house to get any chocolate once she saw it. "Being charitable with your chocolate today, darling?"
"Just a bit. This is a difference sauce than the one you made for my tarts but oh is it delicious."
And at that moment she was having naughty images of her husband and a bit of chocolate sauce that made her blush.
Archie was enjoying having his wife sitting comfortably on his lap. She didn't do it often because it reminded her of the years she spent doing lap dances at the Foxtrot. He knew she only did it because of the curse and to support her daughter, finding no enjoyment in it like some of the other women did. She pressed her lips to the side of his neck. "Almost as delicious as you..." she purred and moved her hands under his shirt to caress his chest while he stroked her back.
"Marie..."
"I've been waiting all week for this...us here alone...no kids...no pets...no patients..."
That week many of his patients had him at his wit's end. Valentine's Day was a joyous occasion for some and miserable for others. He was always irritable when his last patient left for the day, partly from the Couvade Syndrome and frustration that some people just enjoyed being miserable and wanted everyone else to be.
Neither of them knew how long they lay there caressing each other between passionate kisses nor did they care until their stomachs started rumbling, their twins demanding nourishment.
"We're going to have to have a talk with them about their timing," Marie said softly.
"We did skip lunch...they have a right to be upset," Archie joked.
"Oh I wouldn't say that..."
Reluctantly he rose from the sofa. "I'll get dinner started."
"I'm going to change into something a bit more...comfortable."
"Ummm...darling...our bags are in the guest room. Can you change in there?"
Her eyebrows rose. "Why?"
He smirked. "Later, darling, later."
"What if I go in and look?"
"You can't." He held up a key dangling from a chain.
"You locked our bedroom door? From the outside?"
"You forget, I know how good you are at sneaking about trying to spoil my surprises," he teased.
"I didn't ruin your birthday surprise...Belle did!"
"Oh is that so? Then I suppose Rumple was lying when he said you made a deal with her to tell you what I had planned in exchange for you telling her what HE has planned for her birthday?"
"I...I...oh damn!"
She was going to take her broom to her brother-in-law for eavesdropping.
"Well my goddess, you won't be finding out my plans tonight...until I'm ready for you to. And Belle has a nice one waiting for her too."
"Are you going to tell me?"
"No. You'll find out tomorrow I'm sure."
She couldn't wait to see his reaction to her little surprise.
In the kitchen Archie was listening to their song on the Bose system the Golds bought them for Christmas while he prepared their dinner. He decided to do a quick recipe since they were both famished and he wanted to devote as much of the evening as possible to his other plans.
Their first Valentine's Day together Marie was pregnant with Jonny and both of them craved steak dishes. Their twins now wanted them to eat mostly chicken and he found a recipe online called a Bruschetta Chicken bake made with cubed chicken breast, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, garlic and Italian seasoning. Once he had everything mixed up, he put it in the oven to bake and brought out the Red Velvet Cherry cake roll he made the night before, grateful he hadn't baked it at the house it she would've found it. His wife was a magnet to anything chocolate, cherry and red velvet flavored. He was imagining how amused she would be when she found out Cherry Coke was one of the main ingredients.
He draped a white satin and lace tablecloth over the dining room table and scattered rose petals across the tabletop and little cutout hearts Gisella and Jonny made for him and two red candles in silver holders. He set a single red rose beside her plate along with a large red envelope holding a gift he knew she would love and it wasn't anything he spent lavishly on. It was also a gift they could enjoy together.
"Something smells wonderful," he heard her say from the doorway and nearly dropped the pitcher of cranberry juice he was holding when he looked up at her. The teddy had a lace halter neckline with spaghetti straps and a short satin skirt.
"You...look...beautiful..." he stammered. She did every day in his eyes even when she felt she didn't.
"This is one of my gifts to you," she said as she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You'll get your other one after dinner."
"Will I?" he inquired silkily, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss.
"Yes...do you like your first gift?"
"Yes. And is that a new body lotion you're wearing?"
"It's called Passion Struck. It was part of the gift set Snow bought me."
He was certainly passion struck just looking at her and smelling the lotion on her silky skin.
"I want you to wear it more often..." he murmured.
"You keep looking at me like that, my Adonis..."
"Looking at you like what?" he inquired innocently.
"Like you want to take me to bed right now..." she said breathlessly.
And she wouldn't mind that at all but their children reminded them again they wanted fed and she would feel terribly guilty for letting his efforts go to waste.
"We'd better give Maureen and AJ their dinner or they won't give us a moment's peace."
They were firmly convinced they were having a boy and girl like they wanted.
He took her hand and led her over to the table and pulled out her chair, pouring each of them a glass of cranberry juice. "Happy Valentine's Day, darling," he said and clinked his glass against hers then served her some of the Bruschetta Chicken Bake.
"Oh this is wonderful Archie!" she praised after she'd taken a bite.
"I found the recipe online along with the one for your new cake roll."
"This is a different red velvet cake roll?"
"You'll know when you eat it."
While Archie put what was left of the chicken bake in a container for the kids to eat for lunch the next afternoon and the dishes in the dishwasher, Marie cut off a piece of cake roll and took a small bite.
"Am I imaging things or am I tasting a bit of Cherry Coke?" she giggled.
"You're not. I found this one online too. Do you like it?"
"I love it and I would eat it all but Jonny and Gisella would throw a fit if I didn't save them some." She handed him what was left of the cake roll to wrap up for the kids. "And what's this?"
"Your gift...now before you chew me out about spending too much...this is more for both of us..."
She frowned, hoping he wasn't fibbing. She opened the envelope and found a membership kit for the worldwide fanclub of their favorite group Chicago. The couple went to see them for the first time over the summer and enjoyed hearing "their" song being sung live. Included was a set of guitar picks, a collectable lithograph and tags with their names on them, granting them VIP status.
"Being a doctor has its perks," he joked. "The blanket's upstairs. We can use that if we go to an outdoor venue and tailgate since some of the people we talk to in the forum do that."
"Archie, we might even get the chance to meet them! Oh I'd love that!"
"So would I."
"Baby, this is perfect!" She jumped out of her chair and embraced him. "one of your gifts is at home...goes right along with this...a portable grill so we can tailgate! I bought it right after we talked to some of those couples in the forum about tailgating at a show this year."
"Most people think tailgating is for sports events."
"Not anymore, baby. And besides, I know how horrible it can be when you can't cook for us when we travel." They had several bad food experiences on their honeymoon. And now...it's time for me to give you my other surprise."
She took his hand and led him into the living room, picking up the remote for the stereo system, gazing into his eyes as the opening notes to Tanya Tucker's 'Little Things' started to play.
"Love can't be measured with diamonds and gold
Before you spend your money I oughta let you know
If you wanna get to me, try the little things..." she sang softly.
He smiled. She'd been saying this to him even before they were married.
"Don't need that mansion on top of the hill
Too many rooms with nothing to fill
You can't furnish me with the little things
Rub my back, make me laugh
Hold me while I dream
All it takes to make my day
Is to tell me you love me, little things..."
As she sang to him he looked back over the four years they'd been together, realizing he did those things almost every day even without her asking him to.
"It doesn't matter what mood I'm in
I always melt when you begin
Whispering little things
Rub my back, make me laugh
Hold me while I dream
All it takes to make my day
Is to tell me you love me
Oh, little things
Rainy walks, a midnight talk
Dance me on your feet
Hold me close, don't let go
All I'll ever need is a single rose
A kiss hello, that smile upon your face
The tender way, you say my name
Takes my breath away
Little things..."
She pulled his head down and kissed him. "I love you Archie..."
"You know I love you my goddess and now.." He swung her up into his arms. "it's time for your next surprise..."
He carried her down the hall to the room she thought was going to be his office but when he opened the door she was delighted to see that it was a spa room and there were rose petals floating in the water, a bottle of cranberry juice on ice and their favorite love songs playing on the stereo.
"I figured it was time we had one of our own," he said softly while they changed into their bathing clothes.
"Have you tried it yet?" she asked once they got in the water and she lay her head on his shoulder.
"No, I wanted us to be in it together the first time."
The warm water felt like heaven on their necks, backs and legs. She snuggled against him, tracing patterns in his chest with her fingertips as he made a trail of kisses down the side of her neck to her collarbone.
"Now I know why Rumple and Belle spend so much time in theirs...very relaxing..." Archie murmured.
Marie smirked. "Among other things..." She moved so that she was on his lap and nibbled on his earlobe. "And one of these days I'd like to give that a try...but I have a feeling you have somewhere else in mind for that tonight...namely our locked bedroom?"
"Are you ready to find out, my goddess?"
"I've been ready all day..."
They got out of the tub and once they were dressed again he picked her up and carried her upstairs, setting her on her feet to unlock the bedroom door and turn the light on.
Marie was at a loss for words as she glanced over at their rose petal covered bed and heard more of their favorite love songs playing from his phone in the docking station and tears brimmed in the corners of her eyes. "It's like I always say...the little things you do...that's what makes me love you..." she sobbed.
And in a bed of roses, he demonstrated his love for her with his gentle touch and his passionate kisses. Little things...but those little things meant the world to a woman.