#;mariadrabble

[tealeavesandthorns]

Five times smiled for Declan & Maria

’ 𝙵𝙸𝚅𝙴 𝚃𝙸𝙼𝙴𝚂 ’ 𝙳𝚁𝙰𝙱𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃𝚂. five times smiled: ( five times the sender made the receiver smile ) - @dxrknessexplored

It's just soft and small, nothing big, barely noticeable but it's the kind of smile that takes you off guard. That resonates in your chest. All Maria is doing is watching him with Eli at his feet but it warms something in her chest, like it always does, when she sees someone so clearly loving something unconditionally. It's just a completely ordinary moment but those are always the ones that really make Maria smile. Those little moments of softness in the world.

2. This one could almost be followed by the whispered words of I'll kill you. Instead it's a sarcastic laugh and tilting of the head that Declan is given in response as he fights his way to the counter. The word 'busy' having left his lips the moment he caught Maria's eye. The shop is heaving, tourists, kids, and a coachload of old people who were visiting the museum. Maria is run ragged behind the counter with hair falling out of her pony tail and four cups in her hands.

3. Maria doesn't actually realise she's smiling until her dad asks her what she's thinking about at dinner. He's got a smile on his own face, like he clearly thinks she's thinking about someone she likes. It dawns on Maria then that, oh no, she like likes Declan, because yes of course she appreciated how attractive he is and of course she understands why Alice always blushes around him. He's handsome and gentlemanly and friendly.

4. Maria has no idea when Declan figured out that cheesy, terrible jokes really, really make her laugh but he did and he seems to be coming into the shop with more and more of them. Almost like he might have bought a book and is just slowly ticking them off.

After that Maria has gone hunting for a book of her own and now when things are a bit tough it's like a weird secret language between the two. Maria cracks a terrible joke to Declan or he cracks a terrible joke to her and the mood is instantly lifted.

5. Sometimes a bad day just needs a smile to make it better. Maria has been shouted at and harassed in the shop. It's just one of those days when all the worst people and customers seem to be out and about. There's nothing she can do about it but she's worn out, run down and the smile isn't touching her eyes. There's other things too, little stresses that have all just piled on top of one another throughout the week. She hasn't been able to talk to her family and she's been shouldering the load of Alice and Tony's emotional problems like a lone parent.

"Well if it ain't my favourite shopkeep."

And that's all it takes, well that and the smile, the way he leans against the counter and looks all twinkly. The smile on her face is real then, gentle but touching her eyes and god she could just cry.