darker_london | The Love (Aly, Peter and Lydia) (Reply)

Peter asking Aly to reward him was not an unwelcome thing. Absolutely not. The reason they hadn't been together since Peter's return from Romania was truthfully, far less because he was being punished for hoarding alcohol away in his office drawer, and far more because he had been tortured by evil demons and he was in pain. They both knew it. But it was easier not to draw attention to it.

When Aly went to find Peter, she located him saying goodnight to his daughter Lydia, who was 13 going on thirty. Peter was laughing at something Lydia had told him, and it made Aly's heart melt to see it. She loved when he looked happy. And she loved his relationship with his children. She loved him.

"It's true!" Lydia stressed. "Ms. French totally spontaneously combusted."

Peter chuckled and he reached out to pat Lydia's knee. "I really don't blame her. Why was she deemed worthy of a tuna sandwich on the windowsill anyway?"

"She's boring." Lydia shrugged. "And she made Brianna cry because she said her project was not at the level she would have expected." Lydia leaned forward conspiratorially. "Brianna cries a lot to get better grades."

Peter grimaced. He wasn't entirely fond of Brianna. She was spoiled and she took things for granted. But she was Lydia's friend and she was only thirteen. So he was civil. "Hopefully she'll learn that it's easier to just work that little bit harder than to put all your effort into play acting."

"Don't worry, Dad, I'm not going to give up on studying." Lydia winked, reading between the lines, which wasn't all that difficult, really. "Hi, Mum!" Lydia said brightly, noticing Aly in the doorway.

"Hello, Darling." Aly entered the room and she kissed Lydia's forehead. "have a good night. See you in the morning, alright?"

"I love you!" Lydia nodded cheerfully and then she kissed Peter's cheek. "Go with Mum, Dad."

Peter glanced over at his little girl and he smiled fondly at her. "As you wish. Pleasant dreams, Darling Girl. I love you." He ruffled her hair and then chuckled as she looked rather miffed and reached up to put it all back in place.

In the hallway, Aly took his hand and she led him towards the bedroom. "You were laughing because someone was tunafished?"

"No." Peter shook his head. "Not at all. Lydia said she didn't think it was 'very polite' and she wouldn't have done it herself. I was laughing at the way she described the smell. Our Lydia has quite the way with words." Lydia was blunt and she said exactly what she thought. Peter found it beyond charming. "I love the young woman she's becoming."

Aly smiled sweetly, opening the bedroom door for the both of them. "As do I." She grinned and closed the door behind them before drifting to the nursery to check on their sleeping babies.

"How are they?" Peter asked, trying to peer over her shoulder. He had missed his children so much while he was gone.

"Just fine." Aly soothed him.

Peter moved to the bed and he sat down, his eyes never leaving his wife. She was a vision of beauty. She always was, but he had so recently spent 3 weeks without her, and every time he looked at her he remembered how very lucky he was. As Aly stepped back into the room from the nursery, unbuttoning her shirt, she noticed her husband's eyes on her. "What?" She asked softly, a small smile quirking her lips.

"You're absolutely gorgeous, do you know that?" Peter responded, his voice quite low. He stood again and he crossed the room so he could wrap his arms low around her waist. "I missed you."

"And I missed you." Aly admitted, leaning forward to kiss his chest. "I hate it when you're not with me and I don't know if you're alright. And then Thomas said you could die and I was terrified. I'm so relieved you're alright, Peter."

"Yes, you are not alone there." Peter said, kissing her forehead and drawing her closer. "I was quite relieved myself.

"We haven't even talked about it. Things have been too hectic. How are you doing with that? Being mortal again?" Aly looked at him, concerned. But Peter's face was nothing but soothing, which calmed her immediately.

"I'm fine with it." Peter said honestly. "I never asked for it in the bloody first place, it was just given to me. And I can't say it didn't come in handy, what with stab-happy Razvan and heart-grabby Aleto, but...I like that I can grow old with you. Well...before you as you are a youngun." Peter winked. "But technically, if you consider the time I was immortal, then I'm only 5 years older than you, and not seven as my age would suggest!!"

Aly chuckled and she gave Peter a little squeeze. "I like dashing older men anyway."

"Crap, I have to learn to be dashing!?" Peter groaned. "You never told me that!"

"Ah, that is because I am a woman. We like to spring things on our husbands to keep them on their toes."

"Oh, Alyona, you never have a problem with that." Peter grinned. Aly was...quite perfectly unique. She was a constant surprise and he loved it. "Seriously, the only thing I'm sad about, in regards to immortality, is that Deirdre will have to lose me. I can tell she's upset about it because she's Deirdre and I know her. But she's doing an amazing job of keeping it quiet. I don't think she wants to upset Thomas or Spectre. And I think now that she knows she'll have Renee and Kait she knows she doesn't have to fear slipping. Which was the main reason she was terrified to lose me. Beyond how incredibly wonderful I am of course." Peter winked again, and although he was joking, Aly knew it to be 100% true.

"I'm so glad she has them. They're incredible girls." And then Aly reached out and she unbuttoned his collar slowly. "And I'm very glad you're not upset. You're happy then?"

Aly unbuttoning his shirt caused Peter to take a sharp intake of breath because she was a goddess. He nodded. "Oh...you could say that." Peter said with a grin. "Happy. Thomas is alive and I'm back with my family and you're...doing that. Very, very happy."

Aly laughed and she finished with his shirt, pulling it off of him and leaving him bare chested. She ran her fingers over the grotesque and healing cut across his chest he had received from the demons, her face schooled into a frown. He had a burn mark on his side too, and he had been quite bruised and swollen when he'd returned home, but that was much better now.

"I'm alright." Peter assured Aly, reaching for her hand, and covering it with his own. "This is nothing." And it was true. What he had suffered at the hands of the Templar was far worse than anything the demons had done to him. For that very reason, Peter had tried his hardest to keep it from getting in the way of being there for people since his return. He had suffered violence, but he had gotten past far worse before. If he could do that, he could not focus on this, and focus on the important things instead. Like Aly. "Aly...I'm still here."

Aly looked up at him and then she stood on her tiptoes, kissing him deeply. The ferocity at which she had done so, knocked both of them back onto the bed, Aly on top of Peter, but certainly neither of them were going to complain about that. They were together again, and finally able to enjoy that fact in every sense of the word. And nothing could make them happier than simply that.