A Moment is a Lifetime

A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first post in a loooong while. Hope you enjoy it! Just a little [Mary x Bert fluff and happiness!

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They say that a single moment can span the breadth of a lifetime. Bert has had more than a few lifetimes of such moment. All with her. It seemed as though he were living his life jumping from island to island, safe spot to safe spot in a game of lava. He lived for those strong East winds, the times in between were only filler. The weather would be dreadful, dank and quite often raining sheets and sheets. But such foul weather would frequently bring her to him. His soul would light up, faced up-turned to that silly silhouette. Umbrella out, heels clicked militarily together, she would descend for a new assignment. And he would be giddy with excitement and anticipation for she would, invariably, make some time for them. A stroll in the park, a journey through a evanescent chalk painting, a private dance, just the two of them twirling in each other's arms; these were the high points of Bert's memory.

On one particularly foggy London morning, Bert hummed on the sidewalk, crouched and drawing another wondrous painting on the sidewalk, when he heard that familiar click of those no-nonsense boots. Without turning around, his face split into a wide grin as he dropped his chalks to the ground and spun.

"Well well! Look who it is! If it isn't Mary Poppins in the flesh!"

Mary, rosy-cheeked and radiant as always, smiled warmly at him, "Hello Bert, it's so good to see you again."

She wore a blue hat with a jaunty flower perched upon the rim, her long-suffering parrot umbrella clutched in both hands. And trailing behind her, two brand new youngsters, looking slight mutinous at having been forced to go on an outing, but also slightly frightful and respectful.

"Bert, allow me to introduce young George and Emma Bundings. I am their new nanny, for the time being," said Mary, indicating the two children.

Bert bent down slightly and extended his hand to both of them, "Glad to meet you two, shake for good luck?"

Mary looked around them, the park was barely visible through all the fog. "Bert, this weather really is dreary, can you think of some place sunnier we could be?"

Bert smiled at her mischievously and pointed to his collection of images on the sidewalk.

"Well, Mary Poppins, here we have a lovely sunny beach, where the skies are blue and the waves are gentle and lapping. Or perhaps," he pointed to another image, "a nice meadow with tall grasses near a fruit orchard?"

The two children looked at each other incredulously. George spoke up, "Mary Poppins, what is he talking about? Is he a crazy man?"

At this question from the young boy, Bert roared with laughter. "George, my boy, listen to old Bert now. What is I told you that we could actually go to this meadow and have a picnic today? Right now?"

George looked at with narrowed eyes, "I'd say you'd lost your marbles."

Bert glanced at Mary and said, "Well I can't possibly let that insult stand, Mary Poppins, I'll just have to prove it to him."

Mary shook her head at him, "Oh Bert, always the same, aren't you. Well, here we go children, hold hands tight now, spit spot. Everyone ready? On the count of three, one, two, three, jump!"

The sun was suddenly shining, a pleasant breeze flitted through their changed clothing and tickled the tops of the green grass. George and Emma yelled and laughed with amazement and sprinted off to roll in the soft grass.

"Don't run too fast, children!" called Mary, "Mind your clothes and head towards the orchard for the picnic!"

She turned to look at Bert. He was smiling at her in a way that strangely made her blush and want to look away.

"Why Mary Poppins, you are the perfect picture of perfection. Just lovely!"

"Now Bert, you're incorrigible. You really must stop saying such things."

Bert did a little hop skip and offered his arm, "Well, shall we? After all, we have a picnic to attend to."

The orchard was shaded and cool, dotted with beautiful fruit trees. They had only just finished their picnic when George and Emma decided that they must pick some apples for their mother and father, and ran off immediately leaving Bert and Mary seated in the shade of a tall apple tree. Mary knew the children would be safe, nothing could harm them in Bert's imaginary environment. Nevertheless, they both shouted after the children to mind their clothes and to not lose their footing. The apples, of course, would also vanish with the end of their dream journey.

When the sound of their running footsteps finally fell silent, an unnatural silence suddenly fell between Mary and Bert. They had always been able to talk freely about absolutely nothing whatsoever. For as long as they had known each other, they had always considered themselves to be best friends. So why was it so hard for Mary to lift her eyes to meet his now? She could feel a dull flush of color begin to creep into her cheeks, and her heartbeat was hammering so loud she was certain even the nearby birds could hear it. Bert had never seen Mary so uncertain of herself. She had always been the unwavering Mary Poppins. Always stern yet fair, commanding respect and obedience. But who was this woman sitting before him? She seemed to shrink before his very eyes. Could it be? He dared not allow himself to think in that direction.

Finally, he broke the ice with a laugh, "What a beautiful day, isn't it? I must say, Mary Poppins, you really outdid yourself on this one!"

Mary looked up, relieved that he had spoken at last, "Oh Bert, don't be silly, this is your drawing. It is only as beautiful as you created it."

"Ah Mary, I think you had something to do with the beauty. You definitely made the sun shine brighter, my chalk certainly isn't that color." He winked at her.

She blushed again at his words, dropping her eyes once more. Then, before she knew it, Bert had moved closer. His movement had shocked her so much that she stood up at once involuntarily. The hurt and confused look on Bert's face made her feel immediately guilty.

"Oh Bert, I'm sorry, I didn't mean...that is I wasn't trying to...you just alarmed me, that's all."

"Sorry Mary," and he stood up as well, apology written all over his body language. "I'm sorry. Are you alright?" He took a step closer, concerned for her.

"No no, everything's fine! I'm fine, really." But again she felt compelled to take another step backwards.

Bert was well-reputed for being the perfect gentleman, but somehow, at that moment, he decided to follow another gut feeling, not the desire to keep his distance like he has always done, but somewhere a voice was telling him to continue advancing. And so he did. Step by step forward, as Mary matched him step by step backward.

Mary let out a small gasp, her back had just hit a tree trunk. There was no escape. She didn't want to escape, she found.

Bert stopped about a foot before her. "Are you afraid of me, Mary?" He searched her piercing blue eyes with his own, hoping for some shred of evidence that would support his theory.

Mary slowly shook her head. "No, Bert, I'm afraid of myself. For what I might do. For what I might allow myself to do. Right now."

Bert could hardly breathe, "And what would that be, Mary Poppins?"

She pushed off the coarse brown trunk behind her and launched herself into him, crashing her lips roughly onto his own, her arms wrapping tightly around him. Bert responded immediately, taking her waist and pushing her back onto the tree trunk, trapping her body with his. The full body contact between them was almost too much for Mary. She felt a rush of electricity down her spine as she continued kissing him earnestly. She gasped for a second time when she felt his tongue brush her lower lip, asking for entrance. Mary Poppins, prim and proper as she had always been, had never been kissed before, let alone been kissed this thoroughly. And now she found herself rather loving the sensation of Bert's warm tongue sliding between her lips and lightly touching her own. Sighing with pleasure, she smiled into his kiss.

From then on, every assignment in London was much more enjoyable than past ones, and Mary Poppins loosened up a bit. One could say she got more fun out of life.

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Comments are always welcome!