All Things Nice » Band of Brothers

91: Spring

"You didn't even like me back then," he protested.

"No," she agreed. "But you were kind to me even though we weren't friends. It kind of melted my heart a bit."

"A bit?"

"A lot! What do you want from me?" She threw her free hand up, exasperated, and laughed before sitting up and turning to face him.

"What do you want from me?" he fired back, quirking an eyebrow in challenge.

Posey grinned and leaned in close, letting the tip of her nose brush against his before whispering, "Everything."

He laughed and his breath fanned over her face. "Oh yeah? And what d'ya wanna start with?"

"My bear," she answered decisively. "I want joint custody."

"Done. What else?"

Without wasting another second she pressed her lips against his, because if he wasn't going to do it then she wasn't just going to go without. A noise of surprise formed in the back of her throat when he wrapped both of his arms around her waist and drew her in close until she was all but sitting on his lap, and her own hands found his shoulders, so familiar and yet so exhilaratingly new.

Mrs. Daniels' voice calling out from inside the house cut the interaction short. "Josephine!"

"Oh no," Posey mumbled, her eyes wide as she stared back at Bill, her hands still on his shoulders.

"Who's that?" he asked, clearly amused.

"That's Mrs. Daniels," Posey explained, letting her hands fall to her lap and moving back to her chair so she was no longer practically on top of him. "She took me in when I was an evacuee. I told you about her, remember?"

"Right," Bill agreed, looking a little bit disorientated.

"I don't know what her policy is on unfamiliar men in her back garden," Posey went on sheepishly, fiddling at her skirt whilst straining her ears to listen for the elderly woman's progress through the house, "but I don't suppose she'd be too delighted if she caught us kissing."

Bill smirked. "Yeah? Why's that?"

Posey swatted at him playfully and rose to her feet, peering into the house through the back door. "She'll be out in a moment," she informed him quietly. "She's quite the character, just to warn you."

"Eh, I got plenty of experience with those," he dismissed her.

Posey rolled her eyes. "Just be glad it isn't John who came back first - he'd knock you horizontal for sure."

Mrs. Daniels appeared in the doorway before Bill could reply. "There you are!" she exclaimed, brushing imaginary dirt off of her dress. "I thought you might be out here. I was going to make - oh!"

"This is Bill," Posey said, smiling nervously and toeing at the ground.

"It's great to meet you," Bill offered from behind her, getting to his feet. He extended a hand and, when Mrs. Daniels took it, lifted hers to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.

Posey blushed positively crimson at the display of chivalry. He certainly was trying to impress.

"We met during the war," Posey hurried to add, lest he proceed to do something even more jarring than what he already had. "We served together."

"Will I know you from Josephine's letters, then?" Mrs. Daniels asked Bill, smiling knowingly as she looked between the pair of them.

Posey grinned. "You'll know him as the one I despised during boot camp," she answered, and laughed at the face Bill pulled. "I think I said that I couldn't help winding him up."