A/N: This was written from a prompt on tumblr: Matthew moves in across the hall from Mary. I intend to keep these as relatively short drabbles from the same AU but chapters may be non-linear and may not necessarily lead on from one another.
Mary groaned, shutting her laptop lid with a sigh and deciding to reply to her boss's email at a later date. She wasn't supposed to be working overtime anyway, she'd be doing him a favour if she even read it before next week.
She flopped back against the back of the couch, listening to the vague blare of London streets that was still audible through the windows and walls of their apartment building.
She looked at the clock and puffed out a long sigh. "Screw it," she mumbled, neatening her hair a little as she stood, "I need a coffee."
She reached for her bag, swiped her keys from the breakfast bar and headed out.
"Morning Mary," Tom Branson called cheerfully, closing the door to his own apartment and smiling widely, jogging a little to catch up with the girl that lived across the hall. "Going for coffee already?"
Mary gave him a tired smile. "I'm done with working for today. My boss will have to lump it."
"Good for you, mind if I join?"
"Of course not, it'll be nice to have someone to talk to." The two fell in step as they made their way down the stairs of the building. "Anna's still out with her sister, so I've only had Perseus around."
Perseus was the cat; he was not actually Mary and Anna's cat, persay, but he came in to their apartment via the fire escape often, and very rarely spent time elsewhere. After six months of him treating the place like home, the two women had made the executive decision to buy him a bed and add cat food to their weekly shop.
"How's the roommate search going?" Mary asked, curious as to if Tom had found anyone worth considering.
In the time, just over a year now, that Tom Branson had been living oppsite Mary and Anna, he'd had over twenty roommates. He just couldn't seem to tie one down, and he couldn't understand why.
"Actually," he started with a rather upbeat tone, "I had a call a couple of days ago from an old friend who's moving to London soon and needs somewhere to live."
"What's he like?" She asked, offhandedly.
"His name's Matthew, he's a lawyer– just starting out– I went to Cambridge with him, very nice guy. Good fun, had great parties."
"That's good. He sounds a good sight better than Larry anyway."
"Don't remind me," Tom laughed, shaking his head at the unpleasant memories of the worst roommate he'd had yet. "I think he'll fit in well and it'll be great to see him again."
"I hope he's all you've cracked him up to be." Mary commented, shooting him a wry smirk as they pushed in the door to the cafe.
"Tom! Mary!"
Lavinia waved over her two friends to the booth she'd already occupied.
"Hi Liv," Tom grinned sitting beside her as Mary took the seat opposite.
"What's new?" She asked the pair, clearly glad of the distraction from her work.
"My boss is an arse." Mary said drily.
Lavinia laughed. "Nothing new there then. How about you, Tom?"
"I've found a new roommate." He announced happily. "My friend Matthew from Uni is moving in next week."
"Ooh," Lavinia leaned forward. "Is he hot?"
Mary rolled her eyes. "Don't let Evelyn hear you saying that."
"I love Evelyn, of course I do, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy looking if there happens to be another attractive man around." Lavinia reasoned.
Tom shrugged. "I don't know… I suppose he's quite good looking… a lot of girls at Uni seemed to like him."
"Men," Lavinia sighed. "Honestly, I don't understand you. How can you not tell if your friends are hot or not?"
Tom scoffed. "So if I asked you if you thought Mary was good looking?"
Lavinia took a sip of her coffee before she answered. "I'd say good luck getting Mary Crawley, she's wildly sexy and as sharp as a knife."
Mary chuckled, winking at Lavinia.
Tom just grumbled, rolling his eyes as he got up to get himself and Mary a drink.
Anna came in a few minutes later, immediately plonking herself down on the seat beside Mary.
"How's Charley?" Mary asked, eyeing Anna a little suspiciously over her coffee. Supposedly, Anna had spent the night over at Charley, her elder sister's, flat and yet, Mary noticed, she still wore yesterday's jeans and a t-shirt that Mary didn't recognise.
"Oh, she's fine." Anna murmured vaguely, before adding: "God, I need caffeine."
"Late night was it?" Tom smirked.
Anna looked up to see all three pairs of her friends' eyes watching her intently.
"Fine– don't make a big thing of it, but Charley and I went out last night and well… I may have met someone."
"I knew it!" Lavinia cheered. "You smell of sex."
Anna turned a rather bright shade of pink.
"So," Mary prodded Anna's side with her elbow, "Who was he? Was he any good?"
"Hello all!"
The group looked up to greet Evelyn as he came in, dropping in on Lavinia's other side and kissing her cheek sweetly.
"What're we talking about?" He questioned.
"We're quizzing Anna on the guy she slept with last night." Lavinia filled him in.
"Typical!" Evelyn said, "I'm always the last to know when something happens!"
"That's so not true!" Tom countered, "I was the last to know when you and Lavinia got together!"
"That's because you're blokes," Anna told them, as if it were obvious. "Women talk. Men rarely do, at least not about the same things."
"Anyway," Mary brushed off, turning back to Anna. "What was his name?"
"John," Anna answered, a little bashful. "His name's John Bates."
Tom leapt up from his couch, moving over to the door and opening it curiously.
"Oh, hi Mary."
"You seem surprised," she noted, pushing into his apartment and flopping down onto one of his kitchen chairs. "Who else are you expecting?"
"Matthew's moving in today."
"Oh yeah, the famous Matthew. You might have mentioned him one or twice… a minute… all week." She gave him an exasperated look.
"He's my friend!" Tom raised his hands in surrender. "I just want you all to like him."
Mary rolled her eyes. "Well I suppose I can make my own mind up when he arrives. I'm going to have to hide at yours, Anna has John round. The fifth time this week."
Tom furrowed his eyebrows. "It's Tuesday."
"Mhm," Mary replied.
"Well, good for Anna," Tom grinned, taking the seat opposite Mary.
"Matthew's just arrived downstairs, I'm gonna go and help him with his things, do you mind lending a hand?" Tom looked up from his phone to Mary, who sat across on his couch watching Have I Got News For You?
"Yes of course, I'll just go to the bathroom, then I'll be right down."
Mary followed through into the bathroom, tapping the TV off as Tom left, leaving the apartment door ajar.
When she came out, a few minutes later, she made for the door, intending to venture downstairs to meet the new-bee, but instead coming face to face with a tall, blonde and rather handsome man, carrying a large box in both arms. A large box which he promptly dropped onto his foot upon seeing her.
"Argh!" He cried out in pain and dropped down to collect himself and his things, some of which had rolled out across the floor. Mary watched him for a little while, appreciating his toned arms as his muscles moved and flexed, and the way his jeans complimented his derriere rather perfectly.
Matthew found himself with a rather extraordinary view of her legs, long and smooth and slender, as much of a vision as the rest of her was; utterly beautiful in every sense of the word.
She stooped to help him, offering a tender smile.
"You must be Matthew," she held out her hand between them in greeting. "I'm Mary, Mary Crawley. I'm Tom's friend, I live across the hall."
"Mary Crawley?" He repeated incredulously, shaking her hand in somewhat stupor-like surprise. He took in her perfectly poised raised eyebrow at his exclamation and hastened to explain himself.
"It's just, I'm Matthew Crawley." He said, shooting her a charming blue-eyed smile.
Mary felt her heart thump a little, her skin prickling and blood growing hotter.
"You're not related." Came a casual Irish tone from the doorway. "I was so interested, that I actually went to the library and looked through Burke's Peerage and Burke's Landed Gentry. Matthew isn't in it and neither are any of his ancestors." Tom explained.
"You borrowed books on Peers and Gentry?" Mary laughed, astonished that Tom, with all his politics and principals, would even do such a thing.
"I know," he rubbed his forehead. "I got a very odd look from the librarian I assure you."
"Why did you need to look through books on the aristocracy?" Matthew asked, his brow furrowed in confusion.
"Ah!" Tom said, with a little mocking in his voice. "My friend clearly didn't introduce herself properly." He made his way over to Mary. "Matthew, this is Lady Mary Crawley, the daughter of the Earl of Grantham. Lady Mary, this is my mate Matthew."
Matthew wore an expression of mingled surprise and amazement.
Mary simply rolled her eyes. "I don't require you to call me by my title, Mr Branson. But if you continue to vex me so, I may insist upon it."
"Say that again," Matthew teased, "But a little more primly."
Mary gave him a look, glaring daggers at Tom who snickered along with Matthew at the joke.
"Forgive my joke, Lady Mary. I shouldn't like to start on the wrong foot." Matthew amended, his eyes practically glowing in their brightness.
"You best be careful then, Mr Crawley." She quipped, swaying her hips deliberately as she passed him and strode through the door, on her way downstairs to help with his things. Before she left however, she turned, shot him a wink and went on her way, her dark hair flowing out behind her.
A/N: feel free to leave a prompt on here or on tumblr- asukaneus. Thanks for reading!