Characters:Ian & Anne, Gabriel, Bill, the children
Prompt: Anne gives Ian some advice. - Prompt by the wonderful @unusual-ly can be found here.
A/N:I really enjoyed writing this little fic. There’s just something incredibly sweet about Ian slowly but surely finding his place in the world and Anne gently coaxing him out of his shell. I hope you like what I came with for your pormpt!
Prompts are open,so if you want me to write a story for you as well just send me an ask with the fandom, characters and your prompt. I’m writing for Ghosts, Yonderland, Horrible Histories and Bill at the moment.
Six Idiots Whump Wednesday / Fluff Friday masterlist is here.
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Daisy
“So,” Anne said conversationally. “Are you ready to tell me what you have planned for tomorrow or am I to be left in the dark like everyone else?”
She didn’t look at Ian when she said that, instead choosing to watch Gabriel and her husband trying – and obviously failing– to teach her children the skill of sword-fighting. There was quite a bit more giggling than actual fighting involved, she observed with an amused smile; especially when one of the blunt wooden swords managed to hit its mark and caused its victim to fall to the ground in a manner rather more dramatic than it truly needed to be.
They had fun, though, and that was the most important thing. Her family’s laughter was like music to Anne’s ears, just like the familiar and much missed birdsong that had greeted her this morning when she woke up. After months of staying in London they were finally back in Stratford – back home.It wasn’t a permanent move, of course; Bill still had a play to put on, after all. Stratford was their past, not their future. They both knew that, and yet it hadn’t taken much to convince him to take a week off and go home.
“We could celebrate Gabriel’s birthday there,” Anne had suggested with a sweet smile on her face she knew Bill couldn’t say no to. “Just think about it: the fresh air, the cherry trees in bloom, the wide, open spaces …”
Bill had dragged a hand down his face and sighed, and Anne knew she’d won. “I suppose we ought to make her first birthday here special so she won’t get too homesick.”
Anne had brushed her lips against his cheek in a soft, lingering kiss. “Exactly.”
Two weeks later, they’d packed their things and left the city behind for the first time in three months. Originally, Anne’s intention had been to show Gabriel more of England than dreary, crowded London but while Gabriel seemed to enjoy the sights of rolling fields and blossoming trees along the road it was Ian who actually marvelled at them. The smaller London became behind them, the wider his eyes grew as he looked around. He took in the trees and flowers and sunsets with unabashed awe, almost like a drowning man, and halfway between London and Stratford Anne had realised she had it all wrong. It wasn’t Gabriel who had never seen the sun rise over dew-damp grass or set over golden hills as millions of stars twinkled into existence in the night sky. She had travelled the world, or at least parts of it, and seen things most of them probably couldn’t even imagine whereas Ian–
Ian had only ever travelled one road: the one between the Earl’s residences in Croydon and London.
After realising that, Anne had adjusted her carefully made plans a little so Ian could come along on all the trips and activities she’d planned for Gabriel in and around Stratford. What she hadn’t anticipated was how hard it would be to drag him away from his duties. Anne had no idea how often she, Bill, Gabriel and even the children had tried to convince him that he was there as their guest, not their employee.
“Just relax, Ian,” Bill had practically begged only yesterday. “We’re on vacation.”
Anne began to suspect Ian had no idea what either of those things meant: relaxing and vacation. Not for the first time she wondered what kind of life he’d led before they met. She’d seen the way the Earl had treated him, of course, but she didn’t know for how long it had been going on, or how Ian had come to work for him in the first place. Ian didn’t like to talk about his past – or himself in general. Getting him to open up often felt like pulling teeth but from what little information Anne had managed to gather over the last few months she was pretty sure Ian’s life had not been a particular happy or carefree one.
Which was why seeing him sitting next to her on a blanket in a meadow, his restless hands still for once, almost seemed like a miracle. There was a small smile on his face as he observed the children’s swordplay – or, Anne suspected, rather Gabriel’s graceful movements. It was nice, seeing him like this: content and at ease, for once not worrying about tomorrow.
That all changed the moment Anne had to go and put her foot in her mouth by bringing up Gabriel’s birthday.
At the mention of it, Ian’s eyes dropped to the ground, the spectacle in front of them forgotten for the moment. With his pulled-up knees and hunched shoulders he suddenly looked small and fragile in a way Anne knew he truly wasn’t, not deep down. There was an inner strength to him she had come to admire ever since Ian had started living with them, and her chest tightened every time it was overshadowed by his own self-doubt.
Just like now.
“It’s nothing special,” he murmured softly, briefly glancing up before he rested his chin on his knees and sighed. “I couldn’t afford any of the things I know she’d like.”
He closed his eyes in shame and pulled his legs even closer to his body. Anne’s heart went out to him. Making sure Gabriel, Bill and the children weren’t paying them any attention, she scooted a little closer to Ian so she could place a comforting hand on his arm. He flinched, but only a little bit.
Progress, she thought and gave him a moment before she said softly, “You know, presents don’t have to cost a lot of money, or any at all, to be special.”
Ian glanced up at her. “The Earl’s presents did – at least when he wanted to impress someone.”
Anne gave him a look. “Really. The Earl of Croydon is your role model here?”
Ian shrugged. He looked both a little embarrassed and helpless in the face of her incredulity and it suddenly hit Anne how truly lonely his life must have been if the Earl of Croydon was the only person he could think of to look to for advice. As far as she knew Ian had no friends apart from her, Bill and Gabriel, no family he could ask for help and guidance; only a man who had been a terrible employer and an even worse human being.
Thank god that part of his life was over. Ian had her now, and Bill and Gabriel, and Anne would be damned if she let him go on thinking his present, whatever it was, was worthless just because it hadn’t cost a small fortune.
“Bill once gave me a daisy,” she began softly. “He just held it out to me one day, completely out of the blue, and said, “You’re as pretty as this flower, Miss Hathaway.” Anyone else would have given me a rose but not Bill Shakespeare. No, he picked the most ordinary flower of all and handed it to me with the sweetest smile and most earnest expression on his face, never realising he’d all but called me dull in that moment.”
She smiled at the memory and reached out to pluck a daisy out of the grass.
“I still have that daisy, you know? I preserved it between the pages of a book and every now and then I look at it and remember why I fell in love with that impossible man all those years ago.”
She shook her head, her eyes soft with fondness, and handed Ian the daisy. “That little flower means more to me than any of the bouquets Bill’s given me since. And it didn’t cost a single penny.”
Ian looked down at the delicate flower. It’s white petals, tinged faintly pink at the tips, gleamed in the warm sunlight as he turned it this way and that in quiet contemplation.
“I had planned on baking a birthday cake for her tonight,” he finally whispered. His shoulders relaxed a little, as if this soft confession had taken a huge weight off of them. “And tomorrow morning, before sunrise, I wanted to come back here and pick the prettiest flowers for her.” He offered Anne a small, sweet smile. “Just like this daisy.”
Anne smiled back at him, wondering how someone as kind and caring as Ian could have had so much bad luck in his life until now. She gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “I think that’s a wonderful idea.”
Ian’s cheeks coloured a little and he bit his lip, looking suddenly shy. “Do you think Gabriel will like it?”
His voice sounded so small Anne let go of his arm to pull him against her side. “She will love it, Ian. And do you know why?”
When Ian shook his head she lightly tapped her finger against his chest. “Because your present comes from the heart. And in the end, that’s worth more than all the money in Southampton’s treasury.”
Ian nodded slowly and then, to Anne’s surprise, allowed himself to relax against her. “Thank you, Anne.”
“Anytime.”
Together, they gazed at the daisy he kept twirling between his fingers while a few feet away, the children were in the process of overpowering both Gabriel and Bill by teaming up and foregoing their wooden swords in favour of lesser but more effective techniques that would undoubtedly lead to several bruised shins in the next few seconds. Anne smiled to herself and closed her eyes, for now content to simply sit here and soak up the sun as Bill shouted, “Hey, that’s not fair!”
Their life might not be perfect but it was good, better than any of them could have ever hoped for, and she was eager to see what tomorrow would bring.
Bill calls Anne “my sweet angel” in his letter to her then at the end of the film, he says he “cast aside an angel” in reference to her and I just think “My Angel” is his ~special nickname~ for Anne
