Tealeaves and Thorns

"Mm, give me a few days to look around and see what I can find." Horatio teased in response to her comment about wanting a wedding in a castle that resembled the one in Beauty and the Beast. Though it did make him wonder... were there castles in Miami? He thought there was one famous castle, but he couldn't quite remember the name of it. There was a part of him that actually wanted to look, though. That wanted to try and give her that wedding in a castle, but he wasn't sure if that'd be possible, especially if it was privately owned. But perhaps, one day, he could book a surprise tour. If not here in Miami, then perhaps abroad. Europe, to be exact. He still very much wanted to do some traveling with them. But with their wedding, the beach would likely work best. "Then I think we're in agreement of having it on the beach." Horatio smiled, one that reached his shining eyes. He could envision it so clearly. Whether it was in a venue or on the beach itself, the ocean would be right there. Right next to them. God, he hoped the weather would be kind to them that day.

And they were in agreement about the cheesecake, too. They’d just need to decide on the flavor but they could do that tomorrow when they visited the actual bakery and taste tested different flavors. They could still even do three tiers like Maria wanted and imagined, perhaps even one of the tiers strawberry flavored, just in case she was able to eat it again. He hoped she’d be able to.

His brow quirked when she pulled her feet off of the chair and stood up and he instinctively started to reach for her but she managed just fine and was heading for the living room. He and Maddie shared a look and then Maddie looked at Olive and wiggled her finger. “Don’t eat Momma’s salad!” She said and Horatio chuckled, especially at the way Olive was just watching her finger, likely debating if she wanted to pounce it or not.

Seconds later Maria came back in with a magazine in hand and he looked down at the open page, smiling when he saw the little Ferris wheel of treats. Now that was both creative and cute. “Maybe we should leave out the skittles then.” He grinned, looking over the picture and nodding. “We could have a table just for the kids. Candy, snacks and drinks. Maybe even some trinkets for them to take home” He paused briefly. “Monitored, of course.” Just so they didn’t overdo it on the candy and snacks. He… hadn’t really been to many weddings, he definitely hadn’t been to one in years, so he couldn’t remember if weddings had separate tables or areas for children. He figured some did.

“Momma can we have one of those chocolate fountains!?” Maddie asked and Horatio grimaced slightly.

“Those, um, those are not very safe, sweetheart.” He answered honestly. “They’re extremely unsanitary and can even make you sick.” He frowned, hating to tell her know but because this was a matter of health and safety, including and especially her own, he needed to. He didn’t know how any restaurant could stand having them. What with how they recycled the same continuous chocolate liquid, germs and crumbs and who knows what else included.

He turned the page in the magazine, his interest piqued. “Hm,” he hummed thoughtfully as he looked over the image. “Are we going to want an actual bar?” He knew most weddings had a different variety of drinks from non-alcoholic to alcoholic. He wouldn’t be drinking any on his wedding night unless it was in celebration with his wife. Then he looked on the next page and his brows furrowed in amused disbelief. “A waffle bar?” He questioned incredulously, shaking his head with a laugh. “There are some very… interesting ideas in here, sweetheart.” He grinned, thoroughly amused. “Is there anything else in here that caught your eye?”

"I was thinking the same thing, for the kids. We'll have to get the ones playing a part in the wedding some gifts too. I think we could probably get someone to monitor it. You know they'll be people serving drinks and sorting the food. I'm sure we could easily get someone to monitor the kids table, keep an eye on it and make sure they're not having too much or taking too much. If we're on the beach too we have to be aware that we'll probably attract kids that we don't even know." Maria chuckled.

Maria was about to reply to Maddie, when she saw the look on Horatio's face. Her own face was taken aback, not just by what he thought about the fountains but by how hard-lined he seemed about it. Were they about to have their first argument about chocolate fountains?

"Wow, you really don't like a chocolate fountain do you. Remind me to tell dad never to get his out when you're there." She chuckled, though that was her dad's. She'd never really trust one at a wedding or a restaurant.

"I FORGOT GRANDPA HAD ONE!" Maddie gasped. "Last time we had marshmallows and strawberries and oh my god, oh my god, last time the twins started trying random things with chocolate. Like pickles, chips, even a piece of bread."

"I just assumed there would be a bar. I do like a strawberry daiquiri." Maria admitted. "But if you don't want one, we could have something else." She leaned up slightly looking at the page with the waffle bar and laughed too. "There are a lot of very interesting things in some of those magazines. One of them had a bouncy castle in it. There's everything from petting farms, to face painting to fairground rides." She took another bite of salad, chewed and swallowed before adding. "I quite like some of the garden games, like a ring toss, skittles, cornhole."

“On the contrary, you will be the main dessert.” Horatio corrected, the grin remaining as he kissed her forehead. “You’ll be the entire meal, too. Because I could eat you for hours and never want anything else.” Oh, his words were dangerous. He was being dangerous because if he kept this up, they’d probably go another round and he knew how exhausted she was from the last. So was he. Admittedly he was, too. But too tired to go again? He didn’t think so. He hummed against her skin at the thought, but they were also really enjoying just lying here talking about their future together.

Horatio looked up at the sky for a moment, his eyes taking in the stars. “She’s got a stable job now and she seems happier, but..” his words trailed off and he sighed. “I know she misses him a little. She won’t admit it though.” Horatio knew she did though. Because of how she’d look at the empty corner of the living room where his chair once sat or how she’d smile at one of the pictures he was in, either with her or with him and Ray. Or maybe… maybe she just missed how it used to be. Before he— Horatio sighed again, shaking his head. He really didn’t want to thinking about him right now.

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out. Especially you. You’re the smarter one between us.” He chuckled, kissing her forehead. He wasn’t putting himself down when saying that, because he was pretty smart, too, but god, Maria was a quick learner. The teacher could go over something once and she’d remember it instantly. Not to mention the fact that she reads instruction manuals and textbooks. She was so goddamn smart. He wasn’t at all worried about their future together. Not with her. Not with them as the amazing team that they were. “So am I, sweetheart. So am I.” He smiled, his eyes holding the excitement for the future that he felt in his heart. “Even if you’re trying to be a Disney princess.” He teased with a laugh.

“Nothing’s wrong with it, I love this about you,” he said, kissing her shoulder. “you just… still have to be careful with them.” He chuckled. Since most wild animals didn’t care for humans and all, but god, he loved her. He loved her heart and how much she loved animals and how unafraid she was. Even to a fault since she was talking about be befriending wild animals. When she trailed off on chipmunks though, he arched a brow, wondering what she was thinking. It posed a question, too. “Have you ever had any pets?” He doesn’t think they’ve ever talked about this. It wasn’t something that ever came up and now he was curious. “Or wanted any?”

"Horatio stop it." Maria chuckled, swatting him with her hand and burying her face in his shoulder as she started to blush. He knew exactly what he was doing and sometimes she felt like it was his whole purpose in life just to make her blush.

At the mention of his mum missing his dad, Maria felt her heart drop. She knew this was something that happened to domestic violence survivors, she'd read all about it when she'd been doing all that research into how to help Horatio and his mum. She was still reading and researching because the trial was coming up.

She could have answered his question about pets but instead she decided to go back to talking about his mom and dad. It seemed like something he needed to talk about and talking about pets could wait a minute.

"It's natural, her missing him." Maria told Horatio. "It was her normal, all of your normal for a long time. It's something that happens a lot with people who've been through what your mom went through." Maria said. "How does it make you feel? That she misses him." Maria had her hand on his shoulder, drawing soft circles on his skin. She wanted him to talk about it if her needed too.

dontcxckitup

“The dishes can wait…” Gareth murmured, his arms now snaking around her waist while his lips were still busy caressing her neck with kisses. God, he had missed this! Although it had only been a few hours they were separated, but those had been enough. He swore to himself he never wanted to part ways with Maria with a fight – or not fight with her at all, to begin with.

He frowned, though, pulling a bit away. “Do I want to know what you and the…admin pool girls are talking about?” Sometimes it was probably best that he didn’t know anything about the talk behind his back; he was the boss, after all, and was technically using his position if he did insist on Maria telling him all about it. On the other hand, however, he indeed was just curious.

Maria's eyes fluttered shut when his arms snaked around her waist. She melted against him as his lips made warmth radiated from every point they touched. Desire curled around her spine, molten heat pooling low in her belly.

When he pulled back to ask about what her and the admin girls talked about Maria decided that right now she didn't want to answer that, instead she dried her hands on the tea towel next to the sink and turned in his arms wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Do you really want me to tell you what they talk about, right now?" She asked giving him a mischievous smile.

#dontcxckitup

bunnypets

by saweeeties

#;food tag #;maria likes

#;aesthetic

//Had a really rough morning, so I'm going to try for replies a bit later 🫠

#;don't judge a book by its cover (face)#;waterqueue couldn't escape if i wanted to

dontcxckitup

Ralph Fiennes The Constant Gardener

#;ship:maria x gareth #;face #dontcxckitup

dontcxckitup

Gareth frowned when she talked about close friends and…well, not so close friends. His friend circle was different, yes, but he had never thought Maria felt that way; that she didn’t actually see her friends at MI6 as close friends. What else were they then? Moneypenny and her were constantly together, they went out together every few days. “If you create an international incident, I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend the wedding, either,” Gareth joked. That was another issue they had to work on, though: that he was simply not available at that time. It was going to be difficult enough already, he figured, with both him, the Chief of Staff, and one of his best agents being out of office that day. They simply had to hope and pray it was going to be a calm day.

He stopped in his tracks, but not because they had arrived at home. An eyebrow rose, and his gaze dropped to the bags in his hands. “You…seriously think the cake would actually survive it? Us?” he added. “We are hopeless, Maria.” They wouldn’t even manage to keep their hands off their own bloody wedding cake before the wedding.

“We should best have it made in the area and delivered to the venue,” Gareth mused, walking past Maria into the house. There he finally dropped the bags off in the hallway – albeit carefully as to not destroy what was left of their cakes.

"Stop poking holes in my plan." Maria frowned, narrowing her eyes at him. The PM was absolutely not invited, nor was he inviting himself to their wedding. It was bad enough that he caused Gareth so much hassle as it was. She couldn't imagine how stressful he'd make their wedding day if he was there.

When Gareth stopped Maria stopped too and looked at him, concern flitting across her body. It stopped as soon as he raised his eyebrow though and she let out a laugh because he was absolutely right.

"Can you imagine-" Maria said as she followed him into the house and slipped her shoes off, humming at the relief she always felt in her feet. She absolutely refused to get the stupid granny like shoes that everyone kept telling her to though. She would give up her kitten heels, an essential part of her outfit, when hell froze over. There was no way she was ruining an impeccable dress or beautiful outfit with trainers, pumps or slip ons. Flats, flats, if they were expensive and beautiful would be acceptable. "That cake would be delivered here and we would definitely eat it. We would absolutely demolish it and people would ask where the cake was. Eve would definitely be pulling out pictures of today." Maria shook her head. "She would know exactly what happened to that cake."

She shrugged off her coat and hung it on the hook, before moving to the bags and looking in them.

"Do you want dinner first? And then we can start on these files?"

#dontcxckitup

"Everything I want, sweetheart," he lowered his fork in favor of reaching for her hand, holding gently in his own. "is already going to be there." It wasn't Horatio trying to be charming, it wasn't him trying to make her feel flattered or make her blush. No. He meant it. He meant those words. And he looked at Maddie, too, when saying them. Because they were everything he wanted, everything he needed. They always had been and always would be and he just... wanted her to know that. Maddie was busy munching away on her bread while watching Olive scarf down her own food, but that was okay. Because she also knew how much Horatio loved her. How much he loved them both.

But he also knew that she wanted him involved in this planning, that she wanted to plan it with him and he would absolutely give her that. It was important to her and he did appreciate how much she cared about what he might want, too. About what kind of wedding he might have thought about one day. He hadn't thought about it like Maria, but... "I've thought about a wedding by the beach." Which wasn't surprising coming from him. "Or on, but Miami's weather can be unpredictable so even if we decide to have it there, the date we choose may not work if there's a storm expected." Which they wouldn't know until that week or even the day before, really, but he'd settle for a venue near the beach, even. "I'm open on colors because we still do need to choose a theme and that would determine the color of the dresses, wouldn't it?" And so he wanted Maria to have that final say, if so. He went quiet to think about the other things - flowers and food. Food first.

"We could certainly ask her and if we decide on cheesecake, I'm sure she could still design it the way you've pictured it." Which would be them compromising, but he just wanted to make sure that Maria, and everyone else, enjoyed cheesecake so when she asked if he liked red velvet or if he was just thinking of everyone else, he chuckled. His face turned a little red like he'd been caught. "A bit of a both. I was thinking a common flavor most people like, but it is our wedding." It was more so a reminder to himself than her because Horatio was always thinking about other people first, but this... this was their wedding. This was their day. This was their wedding to plan how they wanted. With whatever colors they wanted, whatever decorations they wanted, whatever cake they wanted. "Alright, so let's go with cheesecake and you pick the design." He offered.

That's when Maddie slipped in. "Can we have candy at the wedding!? Oh oh oh and popcorn! Maybe ice cream, too!?"

Horatio grinned at her, finishing his plate and setting his napkin on it. "Well, the cheesecake will be the dessert, but it does pair well with ice cream." He thought about it, looking at Maria. But then they'd have to store it somewhere frozen and worry about it melting, so... maybe not. "Candy and popcorn, however" he hummed, thinking. "I suppose it could be an added snack alongside the fruit bowls?" He looked at Maria. Maddie's suggestions just now weren't outlandish, just... very sugary. Which was to be expected from a child that loved cake and cookies and ice cream.

Maria knew he meant those words, she knew he wasn't just doing it to be flattering but it still made her melt, still choked her up. She just wanted to give him everything, she wanted him to have everything because he was everything to her. Him and Maddie and Nicky and now little Olive. They're beautiful little family.

"I always saw myself in a Beauty and the Beast castle but they're a little hard to come by in Miami." Maria chuckled. "When I was much, much younger than I am now. I like the idea of the beach, on the beach if we can and if not at very least by it. We could take some beautiful pictures with the ocean behind us. If there's going to be sand I can factor that into my dress too, and you can get these sort of dance floors and canopies to set up on the beach now." Maria explained, because she had been researching. She'd already thought that Horatio might like a beach wedding. He loved it so much.

"As for the dresses, yes, with the exception of-" Maria tilted her head towards Maddie, who was too busy watching and talking to Olive. "Though if we wanted blue and emerald, we could the boys in one colour, ties and cuff links and pocket squares and girls in the other." When Horatio thought and started to talk about the cheesecake Maria ate some more of her salad, even taking more out of the dish. She was eating for two after all.

"Exactly." She said, watching him closely. "It's our wedding, which means you don't really have to think about anyone else when it comes to things like that. So, yes, cheesecake." She smiled and then she looked between Maddie and Horatio when Maddie asked about all the sweet treats, Maria knew he could never say no to her.

"Well, what about if we had one of these-" Maria started, putting her fork down and pulling her feet off the chair. "One second-" She laughed because it was taking her a minute to get up. "Don't let Olive eat my salad." She stood up, rubbing the bump and stretching her back before she made her way into the living room and came back with a wedding magazine in her hand. She flicked through it as she came back into the kitchen until she found what she was looking for and then placed it down on the table between Horatio and Maddie. There was lots on the page, fun things for weddings, but on there was a little popcorn machine guests could serve themselves from that you could hire and then, and it's what Maria thought Maddie's eyes would light up over.

It was a white wooden ferris wheel, filled with sweets.

"What about one of these, mostly for the kids. Though I think Harvey and my dad would probably be fighting some of them if there are Skittles on there." Maria laughed. Then she moved back to her seat, sinking down into it and picking her fork back up. There was no way she was getting her feet back up but she could wait until they were on the sofa in the living room.

#;don't judge a book by its cover (face)#;waterqueue couldn't escape if i wanted to

Horatio remembered the conversation they had a few days about how sometimes the kicking could hurt, or could at least feel uncomfortable, and how Maddie loved kicking against her bladder. He just wanted to make sure it wasn’t hurting her now, especially with how strong his kicks seemed to be, but maybe that was just him thinking so because he could feel them. They felt strong to him, but maybe for Maria they felt light, barely anything. "Me too and I hope he'll avoid them, too." He matched the quiet of her voice. Though she was mostly healed, they were... fragile now, in a way. After having been damaged and even broken more than once, it wouldn't take much to do so again. "You hear that, little man? Go easy on her, okay? Try to avoid the ribs." He muttered to her belly, then grinned. "Avoid the bladder, too." He added with a chuckle, looking up at her again with a smile.

He stood when Maddie came back over, reaching out to touch Maria's cheek for a moment before he pulled back, grabbing the bag they'd be using to collect the seashells in. The mention of June's name had Horatio smiling again, grateful that she, and her mother, were doing okay after everything that had happened to them. They had moved out of the house and in with June's grandmother and Horatio didn't blame. It would be hard to live in a house where something so horrific occurred, with so much bloodshed... the images of that house were burned into his mind, along with many other crime scenes, but he forced them away and focused his thoughts back on his two girls.

"And that's why we know you'll be such a good big sister, because you already help take care of Maeve. And you helped June a lot, too." God, he remembered the moment Horatio met all three of them. Not only had Maria stood in front of the girls, putting herself between them and him without any hesitation or second thought, but Maddie did the same. She stood protectively in front of June until they were both sure he could be trusted. Maddie truly was her mother's daughter and it warmed his heart to think about.

"Alright, how about we go find those seashells, hm?" He suggested, holding out the bag.

"OKAY!" Maddie nodded, taking the bag from him. "Can I ride on your shoulders now, Daddy?"

That made him chuckle. "And how are you going to collect seashells from all the way up there?"

That made Maddie pause. She tilted her head and hummed. "You're right." She giggled. "On the way back?"

"On the way back." Horatio agreed and Maddie beamed before turning to Maria, standing on her tippy toes to kiss her.

"We'll be right back, Momma! And Olive! Or Oliver." Then she turned and started heading down the beach.

Horatio smiled and leaned down to also kiss Maria, a soft, tender kiss. "Holler if you need anything, okay?" He kissed her once more.

"Come on, Daddy! You can kiss Momma when we come back!" She shouted and Horatio laughed.

"I definitely will." He murmured against Maria's lips with a grin before pulling back, giving the kitten a quick scratch behind its ears before he turned and followed Maddie down the beach.

"This one, Daddy!" Maddie gasped and pointed. "And this one! This one, too!" She kept pointing and placing them into the tag.

At this rate they were going to completely clean the beach of all the seashells.

Horatio crouched down. "What about these?"

Maddie crouched next to him and in that moment, they looked exactly alike. Sunglasses, red hair, crouched. Anyone that walked by wouldn't even question whether Maddie was his biological daughter or not. They looked like it in that moment.

Like father, like daughter.

Maria waved them off when they said they were off to collect seashells. She could no longer hear them but she could see them. Her book was in her bag but instead she decided to watch them for a minute. One hand on the lower part of her bump and the other stroking the kitten softly.

She knew she should probably be more concerned about fleas, but the kitten didn't look like it had them, not even when it sat and scratched it's ear. It just looked a little worse for wear. Skinny and a bit dirty.

"Where did you come from huh?" Maria asked as it padded back up the bump and settled on top of it. "You like Nicky already?" She smiled scratching behind it's ears.

"That little girl over there, she's going to love you with her whole heart." Maria whispered. "She's been dreaming of your for a long time."

And weren't they all so lucky. Maria had dreamed of Horatio, of a father for Maddie, of another baby, of being a wife and he'd come along to make all those dreams come true. Horatio had dreamt of a family, someone to love and here they were. Maddie had dreamt of a daddy, of a kitten.... maybe not of a little brother or sister... but here they were. Maria looked back over at the pair of them crouched in the sand and smiled to herself.

You would never know, you'd never know that biologically she wasn't his and that's exactly how it was with her own father. You'd never have known unless Maria told you. She couldn't have asked for anything better for Maddie, couldn't have asked for anything more.

Maria closed her eyes for a minute and leaned her head back. She was thinking about everything to come. The wedding, the birth, she was thinking about events much much further down the line. Maddie going to highschool, her graduating, her getting married. It was all so far away but now, now that missing puzzle piece was there. Now she had a father who Maria knew would be there for all of those things. She smiled thinking about the look on Horatio's face when Nicky had kicked, how he'd raced up the sand. It made her so happy. She couldn't wait for him to be able to experience fatherhood from the start, everything. The stinky diapers, the late nights, the crying. The smiles, the first words, first steps, first touches. All of it.