It's difficult to be an island in a 27 square foot space.
And even more difficult with three other individuals crammed in beside her, Gwen reflects. Granted, two of those individuals are just munchkins, but it doesn't make up for the colossal blockhead infringing on her personal space.
Especially when said blockhead is stubbornly trying to be his own island.
"Up, up, up!" small voices chorus as their hands crawl and slap over the buttons and the elevator doors slide shut.
"Girls," Gwen sighs, breaking her silence. It's too late by the time she pries them away, and nearly all of the floors are lit up. "You should have left it to your father," she mutters. "His choice is most important."
Arthur clenches his jaw, tightening the arms crossed over his chest, and continues to stare at the wall.
While the lift crawls from level to level, pausing to open for no one in particular, the girls are oblivious to the thick tension between their parents. They giggle as they dart out of the lift and back inside at each floor.
Rosie trails behind her elder sister on stubby legs, managing one clumsy circuit to Scout's three or four. Momentum seems to be the only thing keeping her upright.
Gwen tries not to smile because she's too busy being angry with her selfish husband. If she could stand to look at him, she'd notice how the same impulse wars within him.
"Daddy!" Scout shrieks, tugging at his immaculate trousers. From the corner of her eye, Gwen watches him pick her up and balance her against his hip. She's getting too big for it, but he does it anyway.
Arthur murmurs something and Scout reaches out to run her finger over the engraved letters of the lift capacity notice, sounding out the words with her father's encouragement.
Rosie begins to wail and Gwen forgets what she's seething about, squatting to check on her. Her small fist is pressed to her face and Gwen pulls it gently away.
"What's wrong, Sweetheart?"
She only cries harder and covers her face, and Gwen brings her into a hug as the elevator doors slide open once again to an empty floor. They've gone half the building, but they have a ways yet to go.
"Shhh," Gwen rubs her back as she hiccups. Then her hand brushes a larger one. She glances up at Arthur, his face contorted with worry.
Scout squirms in his arms, trying to reach the alarm button, but Arthur's attention is fixed on his younger daughter.
"Arth—" Gwen alerts him, biting her lip as he turns back to pull Scout out of reaching distance just in time.
Disaster averted, she lifts Rosie into her arms and sways in place.
"You need to apologize, Scout." Arthur's voice turns stern, but Scout just hides her face in his shoulder. "Foot to the head," he explains to Gwen, caressing Rosie's damp cheek.
"Scout, what did I tell you about being more careful around your sister?" Gwen scolds.
"You listen to your Mum."
When he sets her down, she finally gives her sister a hug, a sight that makes Gwen's heart swell. She looks at Arthur with a secret smile before she remembers she's still cross with him.
But he smiles back, and her wretched heart skips a beat.
The doors open and they realize they've missed their floor. But it doesn't matter, because something in the air has shifted and she feels like she can breathe again.
"I shouldn't have assumed," Arthur sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry."
Gwen keeps her silence only a few moments. "My clients schedule weeks ahead of time. You know I can't just cancel on a whim because of some bloody business affair."
He winces at her language, hands automatically covering Rosie's ears, and Gwen flicks her eyes at the ceiling.
"It was thoughtless and selfish. Forgive me, Guinevere."
When she looks at him again, the soft yearning in his eyes makes her irritation start to melt away.
"Oh, alright," she relinquishes her pout. "But you need to give more notice next time. It's not just about me; it's the girls, too."
"I know," he says, brushing her arm. His touch is tender and pleading. "And I hope you know how much I appreciate everything you do."
Gwen darts him a look and gets caught in his gaze, swaying closer by instinct.
He drags her the rest of the way to him, and their eyes fall to where he's holding her waist.
Scout has wedged herself into a corner of the lift behind Arthur's legs, where she hums the alphabet to the wall, and Rosie stares at the buttons, with one chubby fist grasping the bottom of Gwen's dress.
"I love you, so much," he breathes, nuzzling her cheek and jaw, the warmth tickling her neck. "I hate upsetting you."
"I know," she strokes a hand down the sleeve of his suit to fit her hand in his.
"Can I make it up to you?" he asks, lifting his head and fingering her neckline where it frames her collarbone. "When we get home, that is?"
Her devious eyes provide the answer and he's ready to kiss her when the doors open again and there's a man standing there.
"Ah, there's the happy family. I was beginning to wonder if you two were showing up," he says gravely. Then his eyes light up and he leans down. "Who are these lovely young ladies that have come to visit me? Could that be you, Scout? No, you're much too big to be my little angel. And Rosalyn—"
Scout wraps herself around Uther's leg and he chuckles, petting her head.
"Come along," he says, nodding to Arthur and resting a hand on Gwen's back to usher her along with the children. "They're eager to meet you."
A/N: Inspired by the prompt: "Imagine your OTP stuck in an elevator after they've had a fight."