August 5th, 1890 - Hawthorne Hollow, Miller Residence
Beau Miller

You'll know him when you see him
By the way he looks at me, you'd say he hung the moon
I'd say he hung the galaxy
Nobody does it better, oh the way he pulls me in
I've known a couple bad ones
But they all led me to him

What a day. If Eva had been the kind of girl to have expectations for her wedding, she supposed this would have met them all thoroughly and entirely. It was a quaint little backyard affair, nothing fancy or extravagant, just family and close friends. A little ceremony, a decadent dinner put on by Mrs. Sweeney, a little cajoling from Murphy, it was perfectly complete in Eva's eyes.

The fact that they'd been done by early afternoon was also a blessing. This growing a human business was exhausting and she simply couldn't wait to see the cottage Beau had purchased for them. She felt a little guilty about that, eating up so much of his life savings, and some of hers (after insistence) to cover up their mistake, but everything seemed to be settling into place. It hadn't been the plan certainly- but the solution to her own error in believing the healers when they said she'd every be likely to bear children leading her to be a little reckless. Eva had been ready to go it alone, but having Beau stick by her meant more than she could ever describe.

The walk through the hollow was unusually quiet for them, down a path that would no doubt get worn down with use and time, the brambles pulling at the skirts of her wedding dress. With each step she grew more anxious to see the house, but then of course there was the element of surprise she didn't want to quite ruin either. Slowly it came into the view as they rounded the last bend. The little stone cottage was missing a few stones, a little broken fence and a roof that would need a little fixing as well, but she was already hopelessly in love with it.

"It's absolutely darling, I adore it." She said in wonder as the little blue door became visible with it's round window and all of the character that went with it. Eva slipped her hand from his to run her fingertips down the stone wall and over the windowsill in admiration, trying not to peek inside before he was ready to go in.

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The day was but a blur of activity. He had been ushered about from the moment he woke until, finally, he and his wife were given the opportunity to say their farewells and head to their new home. It was the part of the day he both looked forward to and feared, for if Eva decided she hated the cottage there was nothing to be done. His life savings were mostly gone and it would take months before he had it fixed up enough to sell for a profit.

This was it.

He had already begun work on it, having taken the past week off from work to make it safe for them. A few of the interior walls had needed to be rebuilt, and the roof was mostly patched over in the main areas of the house. It was survivable, but just barely so. (Or, at least, that was how Beau viewed it.)

"I know it isn't much," he acknowledged. "But a little love and it will be something to be proud of. I promise."

  

Eavan was already lost in what it would look like after they fixed it up. Yes it would take work and some time, but she was so very ready to put in what was necessary for them to make it theirs. The resignation in his voice brought her back from her plans and Eva tossed a look over her shoulder at him.

"You forget we lived in tents for months on end." She reminded him gently, smiling all the while. "I can see it working really well for us." It had the space for animals, the barn needed a little more work too, but they could fix it up. Her father could be handy if he wanted to be. Or if she pestered him enough. She could probably do some herself too, though she suspected he might not be happy about that.

Moving back toward her husband- that would take a little getting used to! Eavan sighed contentedly as she wrapped her arms around his middle and looked up at him (comically, given their height difference) with adoration clear on her features. "I love it, I really do. It's perfect." How could she not? It reminded her of the house in New Hampshire where she'd last been with her mum.

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"We always knew the tents were temporary." Expeditions only lasted so long, after all. The house with all ifs faults would hopefully be a permanent fixture in their lives. If Eva grew to hate it...well, there wasn't much else Beau could do.

Still, he allowed his defenses to sink as she wrapped her arms around him. For better or for worse, they were in this together. He cupped her cheek in his large hand and smiled down at her. "Do you want to go inside? The main rooms we'll be using have already been fixed up a bit. Our room -" Jesus, what a thought! " - is just down the hall."

  

That was true, but was really the meaning behind roughing it. Then again, Eva supposed it really hadn't been that bad. Everything was comfortable, she'd had (in the beginning) her own space to herself and most of the comforts of home.

Now this was home and she couldn't wait to make it theirs.

"Are you going to carry me across the threshold?" She teased, leaning back to waggle her eyebrows at him, totally kidding. It was a ridiculous tradition, but amused her nevertheless. It wasn't like they were heading straight to consummate the marriage... that ship had well and truly sailed several months ago.

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Oh! Right, that was a custom he, now a husband, was meant to abide by. Beau chuckled at her expression and wordlessly scooped her up into his arms. It helped that their height difference was so drastic, for she was lighter than most animals they worked with. "Was it even a question?" He teased.

Once inside, Beau carried her past the worst of the family room and planted her down in the (for now) tiny kitchen. Not because he expected her to live and work in the kitchen from here on in, but because Beau was most confident in the roof patch on this section of the house. "Welcome home, Mrs. Miller."

  

Eva giggled like a typical girl when he swooped her up with minimal effort. She was't going to lie, his ability to swing her around like a rag doll was quite the perk of their relationship. She rather enjoyed it. She squeezed in against him as he moved into the house and Eva couldn't help but to immediately love the charm of it.

With her feet back on the ground, she moved back in to wrap her arms around him. She'd never been able to get enough of him, but now the problem was exponentially worse. If she wasn't in contact with his body somehow, she wasn't satisfied. "Home," She echoed, looking around fondly from where she rested her cheek against his chest. "It has good bones, a little love and we'll be good to go." It was a lot to process. The wedding, the baby, the house. Eva sighed, closing her eyes to bury her face into his chest and squeeze him tighter.

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A little love and a painstaking amount of work. Even with help, Beau was uncertain they'd have the main house fully repaired by the time the baby came. Winter was only just around the corner, and with its arrival meant the departure of his being able to work. Beau was no stranger to working in the cold, but he didn't feel comfortable risking the work being incomplete and Eva freezing at night.

He kept his arms wrapped around her. All the stress and frustration would be worth it once the house met her vision - once their child was here to distract them. "It'll be done in no time," he told her confidently, not wanting to add to her stress. Pregnancy was a bizarre experience, Beau would do everything in his power to make it easier on her.

He leant down to kiss her sweetly before pulling back and quirking his brow at her. "Are there any other rooms you're curious to see first?"

  

It would be done in no time. With help from her Da and some bribery to get Murph to put in some time, plus she'd be home by herself once she was really showing (though she was going to stay at work for as long as she could convince her husband) and then she would be able to really dig in and get some things done inside the house. Beau would have to handle outside, but Eva was positive are could handle inside.

A slow smile curved her lips after he kissed her. Eva relished in the simple fact that easing away and forgetting the stress of the day was as easy as a long hug and a sweet kiss. Not to mention they just married and though the marital bed ship had sailed long ago (and gotten them here) there was really no need to be ashamed of it now. "Did you have one in mind Mr. Miller..?" She quirked a playful eyebrow at him.

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While Beau had initially feared getting intimate with his wife (his wife!), they'd crossed that bridge enough times now for him to be less concerned. He wasn't as vigorous as he used to be, for sure, but he enjoyed the gentler side just as much. It was a relief to know he wouldn't have to go a year without being close (though he would without complaint if Eva decided so).

He waggled his own brow at her. "I can think of one." The bedroom was the only fully furnished room, and even that was furnishings he found quickly and cheaply. Ideally, he would replace them sooner than later with hand crafted items. "We'll have to get undressed to enter it."

  

Eva couldn't help but to laugh quietly, if there was one thing they were never at odds on, it was this. "Oh, well then." She hummed, hands roaming from behind him to the buttons on his shirt, easily beginning to undo a couple before pausing momentarily.

"Good luck with mine, I think I've been sewn into it," She was just teasing him, but it was tight and the row of buttons down the back was longer than necessary really. Silly fancy dresses and the frills people felt that needed to be on them. She couldn't wait to get back to pants.

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He stood there and allowed her to work on his buttons in peace. There was no rush now, nothing to hide from anymore. Where before he was always aware of possibly being caught, he now dared someone to try to interfere.

Marriage, what a fascinating concept.

However, as she paused Beau found himself glancing down towards her dress. It was so pretty he didn't dare to rip it apart like he was growing increasingly tempted to. "Sewn in?" He asked skeptically. The tightness of it couldn't be comfortable with her changing body, and so Beau promptly turned her to face away from him and knelt to begin working on the back buttons.

"You looked beautiful in this dress," Beau murmured softly as he continued to unbutton it. The damn things were small and his fingers kept slipping, but he wasn't about to ruin her wedding dress.

  

"Feels like it, but not actually. I'll be glad to go back to loose options after this. I'm only going to get bigger as we go." It was funny because it was true.

Allowing herself to be turned so he could handle the buttons, Eva's hands worked at the pins in her hair. It was far too much fuss really and she was relieved it was over. Once the pins were all out, she set them aside, keeping her hair over her shoulder and out of his way. It was getting long again, in need of a cut soon.

Smiling softly, she breathed in a sigh of relief as her dress loosened up around her. "You didn't look so bad yourself today." She cast a look at him over her shoulder. "Never actually thought I'd have a wedding, even a little one." She mused as she felt the dress begin to slip down.

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"Bigger for an amazing reason," he reassured her as the dress finally became lose enough for her to step out of. Some of the buttons might've become lose in the process, but none had fallen off completely. That alone was an amazing feat. "The best reason," he clarified with a grin.

He gently placed his hands on her waist as the dress pooled around her feet. Holy hell, he was a lucky man. "Me neither. I'm glad for the change." Being able to call her his sent such a thrill through his system. With one hand, he traced down her spine over the chemise. At least she wasn't wearing a corset.

  

Her hands fluttered to her stomach as a grin found her features. There was nothing there, no hint of betrayal to the changes her body would start undergoing in the upcoming weeks when she would start showing. She wasn't feeling quite as ill these days, which was good, but still dead tired by early evening. Tonight would clearly be a different story.

"I'm certainly not upset about how it's turned out." It wasn't exactly society's ideal situation, but she couldn't care less. Even a year ago this would have been a totally different situation and she was thrilled that she had landed here instead.

Goosebumps erupted across her skin at his hand on her back, dress long forgotten, likely to be picked up tomorrow at some point. She was going to save it obviously, it was beautiful, by right now it didn't matter in the slightest. She turned back to face him, fingers easily revisit his buttons, finishing them off, giving the shirt a tug free from the waistband of his pants.

"You're all mine now, stuck with me from here on out," Eva turned her slow grin toward him, arms slowly wrapping around his neck as she pressed her body against his.

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He stood as the dress pooled on the floor, his arms hanging loosely at his sides as she worked on his buttons. "Worse things in the world than being stuck with the woman I love," Beau said with a warm smile.

"I actually can't think of many things better than this." With that, he took her hand in his to lead her down the hall, happy to finish discarding their clothes in the bedroom. Carrying her would've been his preferred method, but holding her hand would do.