Smiling despite herself, Elsie let herself get lost in him for a purely selfish minute,  her arms wrapped in a loose loop around his neck. Though she felt no urgency in the evening, it was easy to get caught up in him because she knew their time tonight was limited. A small whine escaped her lips when he pulled back, though her brows furrowed at the mention of Witch Weekly.

"I've had quite enough of them this week," Though they'd joked about it earlier in the night, Elsie's recent conversation with her mother was still fresh in her mind and the Merlin-forsaken gossip magazine had caused some unnecessary turmoil for her. Needless to say, Els was bitter about it. Her tone suggested as much and now she felt all the pent up anxiety threatening to take hold. Try as she might to pretend nothing was wrong, it was hard to ignore the fact that things were starting to fray at the edges and she hadn't any idea what to do about it. They were barely any closer to where they needed to be and Elsie felt that sting specifically as of late. It was to no one person's fault, but it felt like things were stacking up against them again and it was a constant worry she didn't know how to ease.

Sliding her hands down his shoulders, she pulled them back to press the heels of her hands into her temples, leaning back just a little to give herself enough room to do so. "Mother saw the article. It was... not a pleasant conversation." She huffed, taking a couple of steps back now to pace in a little circle. The frustration was never-ending and she felt the weight of it on her shoulders, rolling them subconsciously as if it would ease of the built-up tension. Passing him a helpless look, she felt guilty for unloading this on him, but she didn't have anyone else to talk to about it. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin their short time together, but if she didn't release some of the pressure she was going to burst.