A Peculiar Time in 1944 - A Millard Fanfic (Miss Peregrine's Home) #wattys2020

Chapter 17

On the piano: (take out the spaces between letters in the links)

Aurora: h t t p s : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = P p f 6 R c 5 z Y 6 g (It's a compilation video, the tune Aurora plays is the first one)

Millard: h t t p s : / / w w w . y o u t u b e . c o m / w a t c h ? v = w V o J A v T 2 1 y U (another compilation video, Millard's tune starts at 46:35)

I highly recommend listening to them as you read this chapter

oOo oOo oOo A Year Later oOo oOo oOo

As Aurora had feared things with Victor had become tense. Every time he passed Millard he gave the invisible boy a glare so nasty that the phrase 'If looks could kill' would pass through her head. Victor was a bit more tolerating of her though, she'd smile apologetically at him when she saw him at meals and he'd at least attempt to give a small smile back.

She felt bad that for so long he was under the impression that she was available and he had a chance. It made her regret keeping her relationship with Millard secret in the first place. Had she known how Victor would react she never would have done it, but her and Millard had been in what Emma called the 'honeymoon phase' of their relationship – being completely oblivious to everyone else unless it concerned your significant other.

"Victor will get over it." Emma had told her, "Don't waste your time worrying about it. Besides after ten years he should have been able to pick up on the fact that you weren't interested."

And she did her best not to worry, she focused on doing things that made her happy, most which included Millard. She found she quite liked everyone knowing about them – the Victor issue aside – and it opened their world up to so much more. They'd hold hands and walk through the trees and flowers that grew around the house, he'd wrap his arm around her as they sat on a bench and watched the younger children play.

One afternoon Aurora had been sitting in the parlor playing the piano when Millard walked in. He had been in the library reading when he heard the music and followed it to Aurora. He leaned against the doorframe with his book gripped in his hand against his side, his other hand in his pocket. He smiled as her watched her play, she was so absorbed in the melody and he noticed she didn't even have sheet music in front of her, she was simply playing by memory.

"Is that Bach?" he asked and she looked up at him, still playing. He had gone without his sweater and jacket today and was only is a light blue collared shirt, brown pants and suspenders.

"Yes, you know it?"

He shrugged, "I know a lot." Then his cap tilted down as he looked at the floor and gave a humorless chuckle, "That sounded completely conceited."

"But still true. You do know a lot."

He looked back up at her and his sleeve gestured to the piano bench, "May I?" he asked politely.

"Of course." She replied as her tune came to its end. When it did she pulled her hands away and Millard placed his book beside him on the bench and rested his hands against the ivory keys. He began a soft tune and Aurora watched in fascination as the keys moved seemingly by themselves with the cuffs of Millard's sleeves hovering just centimeters above them.

"Chopin?" she asked recognizing the tune. Millard chuckled again.

"Seems I'm not the only one who knows a lot." He said and Aurora laughed.