Work Text:
1.
The last few weeks had been very exhausting. They had raided quite a few Faith Houses and banks in the towns they passed, not getting much sleep in the process. All the more reason for Albert to look forward to the day off that lay ahead of them.
He had woken up early, excited about all the things he wanted to do today. Scarlett in the sleeping bag next to him had only grumbled and pulled the blanket over her head while he set about making breakfast.
"Look, Scarlett. The sunrise! Isn't it just beautiful?"
"Hmph..." made Scarlett and turned over.
2.
After they had eaten breakfast, they packed up their things. They were only half a day's journey away from the place where they would meet Joe and Ettie.
"Look Scarlett, the flowers." Albert gently touched the petals as they rolled up the canvas they had used for shelter. "They're really pretty."
"Maybe, but they're also very ephemeral. Come on Albert, we have to go!"
3.
They walked over a hill towards the small town, which lay in a green valley by a river. Most of the houses had red-tiled roofs and chimneys from which smoke rose.
The bigger buildings like the Faith House, a town hall and what might have been a school stood out.
"Isn't the view just breathtaking?" Albert beamed all over his face.
"Yes, not too bad. But let's see what it looks like up close." Scarlett said unconvinced.
4.
The large building on the outskirts of the city was actually not a school but a museum. Albert managed to persuade Scarlett to go inside. For one thing, the entrance fee was not expensive and for another, there might be something worth looking at.
The walls were paved with old art. Paintings that showed a world that was so alien to theirs. Much of it was quite weird. Faces full of strange shapes and colours. Some were familiar places, but they looked strange, like the skyscrapers of old London or the landscapes of the north through which they had travelled so often.
Finally, Albert stopped in front of a picture of a girl in a white dress releasing a heart-shaped balloon that seemed to be flying away from her.
"She looks a bit like Ettie, doesn't she?" he asked Scarlett with a smile.
"I suppose so," she said, but her tone was already much softer than it had been all morning.
"Anyway, it's wonderful!" laughed Albert.
5.
Finally they found the hostel where Ettie and Joe were already waiting for them.
Ettie came running towards them with her arms outstretched and lunged at Albert, who lifted her into the air and spun her around.
When he came to a stop, he saw that Scarlett was smiling.
"You're really beautiful, you know?" he said with as much tenderness in his voice as in his embrace for Ettie.
"Oh, stop it..." said Scarlett, but she didn't complain at all as defensively as before.
+1.
When Joe and Ettie had gone to bed, they both sat for a while on the balcony of the hostel, from which there was a good view over the town. The sun was setting on the horizon and the first stars were already visible on the other side of the sky.
"It's beautiful," Scarlett said, lost in thought, and Albert smiled.