A/N: I got prompted on tumblr to write a few very different scenarios for Anna and Bates. They'll all be one chapter long, and I'll try to keep them relatively short. This first prompt is one of the most difficult I have written, as I have a hard time seeing it, but I tried my best and I hope you like it. Let me know what you think!
Disclaimer: I don't own Downton Abbey.
Prompt: Prostitute/Client
Love Remains the Same by fuzzydream
Chapter One: The Business
He is different. It's only the third time he has called, but she cancels any commitment she may have to stay with him all night. Because he makes her want to stay. Because he makes her feel different. And she doesn't like it, because it's much easier when she feels nothing. The first time ended up being a surprise courtesy from his friend, and he was almost shy, disconcerted by her being there. He had no reason to be; that night, for the first time in her life, he made her feel as if she was the only girl in the world.
She is used to executives and good looking men; she is used to stay afterwards, hearing them talk about their lives and their wives, and she feels sorry for them, for their family - and she tries not to feel sorry about herself. She is here because she wants to, because she makes much more money than she would at any other job, because it pays for her education and because it isn't that bad, really. She had to endure a lot that she didn't want to, in the beginning, but she is past that point now, thankfully.
And he's different. He makes her want to stay all night and all morning; he makes her want to go with him, to leave this life behind and forget about her debts and the fact that she's just a few months away from her graduation.
"What's your real name?" he asks quietly afterwards. The back of his fingers graze against her cheek and she has her nose buried in the crook of his neck. She knows she can't tell him. She never has told any men before. But the tone in his voice is raw from any emotion, and she knows he thinks she's different too.
He is falling in love with her, just as much as she is falling in love with him.
"Anna," she whispers, finding that she is unable to lie to him. She pulls away as she is running her fingers through the dark hair of his chest, and their eyes meet.
"That's a pretty name," he comments, and she smiles. It's not like he really knows her just because he knows her real name.
His name is John, and she knows that's his real name too. She has her fair share of clients who want to remain anonymous because of the damage a fling with someone like her can cause to their reputation. But she knows that's his real name, because she has checked - and it wasn't even difficult to do so. She's a good businesswoman; she finds out what she needs. But with him, part of her wanted to make sure he didn't lie - that there wasn't a wife or a family. She doesn't care about the others. She cares about him.
When he calls her for the fourth time, a week after his latest visit, she is feeling rather poorly, down with a terrible cold, and has already cancelled all her clients that week, but doesn't have the heart to cancel him. She has her own selfish reasons; she doesn't know when he'll be in town again.
But he sees right through her, the moment he opens the room's door. And despite her protests, he goes out of his way to make sure she's alright, and even orders soup through room service. She kisses him, just because, before they go to sleep, and that's the most they get to that night. Next morning, when she's home, she finds cough syrup in her bag along with the money from last night, and it reminds her that their relationship doesn't exist out of the hotel room, besides his gentle manners.
He calls her a fifth time, a couple of weeks later. To him, and she doesn't know why, she dresses simply. Most of her jewelry stays home - they were gifts from other men, and she doesn't like to be reminded of them when she's with him. Her pretty clothes seem to affect him enough and she takes extra care with them, especially tonight, especially after last time. Because she misses him, and thinks about him more often than she will ever admit.
To Anna, the worst time of visiting him is leaving; closing the door behind her, and leaving the fantasy behind, that for a few hours she can feel as if she is part of an actual relationship. She has told him more about her life than she ever should have, but it's hard to say no, and it's hard to pretend that he doesn't mean a thing to her. Because he does.
Now, he is sitting in bed, and she is dressing herself. They have just shared breakfast, and she is buttoning up her blouse, trying not to notice his furtive glances towards her. The worst time is about to come, and perhaps it's as bad for him as it is for her.
"I lied," he says, and she meets his gaze, "when I said I have business here. I haven't had any reason to come to London but you, Anna."
Her mouth is suddenly dry and she doesn't know what to say. After a moment she lets out a forced laugh and shrugs.
"You need to find a better reason to come here, then," she says, buttoning the rest of her blouse.
But John shakes his head. "I can't think of a better reason than a lady like you."
"I am no lady, John," she says quickly, almost mechanically so, "and I don't pretend to be, either."
"You are a lady to me," he says, and she stops to look him in the eye. Surely he must be joking. "And I never knew a finer one."
When he talks like that, she can almost believe it. She entered this job out of necessity, but she has a very comfortable life nowadays. If John can afford their nights together, he surely has a very good life. He will soon find someone for him, she knows, because men like him don't come like buses.
She puts on her skirt, pretending to be distracted by it, but she knows he is still staring at her.
"Don't be daft," she says, trying to go back to work mode. "And since you were incredibly silly and paid me the other week, you owe me nothing today."
He is silent at that, and when he speaks again it isn't what she expects to hear.
"Come with me," he proposes and Anna frowns at this, "to Ireland."
She sighs, thinking about her schedule for the week, but she doesn't really consider his offer.
"I can't, sorry," she says, walking over to him and running her hands through his hair. His arms encircle her hips. "I'm on a tight schedule, unfortunately."
"I don't mean for a few days," he says, looking up at her. "Come live with me in Ireland."
She stares at him. He can't be serious. "What?"
"I know you probably know many better men than me," he stutters, and she almost feels him tremble. He is serious. "I just can't stop thinking about you, Anna."
"Don't say that," the tears prick at her eyes. Perhaps this is the end for them. "There is no better man than you. You are caring and gentle and sweet, and I love you for it… But you must be out of your mind to say this to me."
"I'm not. I mean what I said," he insists. "Come live with me. You can finish your education and I can help you find the job that you dream of. I do well by myself, you wouldn't need to continue with your… current job."
She sniffles but shakes her head. "My past would still be there, John. It's not that simple. There are other people to consider-"
"It is simple. I can live with your past," he says. "But I want you in my future. And not with this business between us."
He looks so serious, and she is flattered at how much he's thought this out. Perhaps as much as her.
"I don't care about what other people think. And if you owe anyone anything here, I'll make sure you are free to go with me," he assures her. "You don't... You don't have to give me an answer today. I just want you to think about it."
She shakes her head. She can't accept it - she shouldn't accept it. But to make such a fantasy, such a dream come true, to make a better life for herself, with him by her side - it is suddenly very tempting.
"I've never been to Ireland," she sniffs, adjusting the collar of his half buttoned shirt. "Do you think I'd like it there?"
He smiles. "If you don't we'll think of somewhere else."
"Okay then," she sighs. "When do we leave?"
He answers her by pulling her against him and kissing her lips after she lets out a squeal of surprise. She won't leave him anymore.
Perhaps it is as simple as he says.
