Hello and welcome to 25 days of fanfic Christmas Challenge - where I have painted pictures of the beautiful and complex relationship that is Matthew and Mary. I have been posting these drabbles on Tumblr under the same authors name, so you are welcome to come and follow me there as well. Let me know your thoughts. We all have stories to share, mine - at this point are set within the confines of this OTP. Cheers and read on...
Day 1 - A forest of Mistletoe
He moved her with deft practise around the room. Their heads cocked together and the miniscule space between heated with expectancy. The flames of the many candles leapt to the music, the lights on the magnificent tree sparkled brighter and the romance of the shadows that played across the room sang of happiness. Their happiness.
They twirled around Edith and Tom, hearing their snatched words on something to do with farming, and Matthew paused under the archway. Mary looked up into his eyes as he spun her on the spot and he delved in to take a kiss that spoke of utter joy but also a shyness of that which caused it.
Mary's wide eyes of surprise and her sideways glance to the rest of the room, made Matthew chuckle. He pointedly looked upward and Mary spied the branch of mistletoe overhead.
"Really Matthew. Here, in the middle of the ball?" The familiar eyebrow cocked in exasperation.
"Does it matter; protocol dictates that a kiss must take place."
"Always a creature of duty, but you would find any excuse for public displays of affection"
"Quite right. I'm not sure if I can withhold my amorous inclinations for any length of time"
They sidestepped Robert and Cora and he moved them gracefully away from the other dancers towards the fireplace. Matthew slowed and as his nose neared Mary's cheek she instinctively tilted her head to receive his lips. This kiss spoke of tenderness and hope. She pulled away and raised her eyes to see more mistletoe over the mantelpiece. Her eyebrows rose in silent amusement. Something was afoot.
"You must not appear too intent. We need these next couple of weeks…to be sure."
"Well then, for tonight at least I have the mistletoe as an excuse to lather ministrations on my wife!"
The rapid way Matthew took them past the gramophone and the Dowager suggested a specific location before the music stopped. She arched her back to counter balance the speed at which he took them.
"My god Matthew, you must slow down. The sea within me doesn't stop just because the shell does. I'm not partial to seeing that sumptuous dinner twice."
He pulled her close and they almost stopped swaying as he tipped her chin upward to meet a promise of utmost love and devotion. He didn't care that the household were all congregated in that one room celebrating Christmas; he only had thoughts of Mary and what they had discovered that morning.
Her eyes never wavered from his as she spoke, "There seems to be a lot of mistletoe this Christmas?" Her breath caressed his chin. In her peripheral vision she spied copious amounts of mistletoe hanging in doorways, above the stairs and throughout the Grand Hall. No doubt more elsewhere in the Abbey.
"I've had Lynch scouring the woods for weeks. It seems that there were parts of the abbey that we hadn't christened yet.'
The rumble that emitted from her chest drew a few glances "And you would have your wicked way with me here, in the Grand Hall?"
He smirked and the eyebrow that got raised only inferred wickedness. "Perhaps after all the servants have gone to bed we can get the hall boy drunk and I can open my Christmas present under the tree?"
Holding onto his hand as she broke from his embrace, she started up the stairs, leaving no doubt to Matthew that they were retiring for the night.
"Oh my darling, we already have our gift. But I definitely think something needs to be unwrapped"
Day 2 Spiced Chocolate
The door clicked and Mary maneuvered up the bed to rest against the headboard, clutching at the bed sheets. She hummed eagerly as Matthew made his way to the side of the bed.
"I'm afraid either Carson or Mrs. Hughes is onto us. There was a big tin of the best Dutch coco sitting on the kitchen bench tonight just waiting there for me to discover it."
"Do you think that they know it is us?" She arched her brow whilst blowing into her cup.
"Possibly. You know Carson; he has a sixth sense about these things."
"And they surely wouldn't obtain the best coco for the hall boys?"
"Absolutely not. Besides I'm sure Carson remembers your penchant for warmed chocolate milk from when you were very young and snuck into the kitchens in your nightgown."
"Not always so young, and later, never in my nightgown." She huffed with indignation.
As she took a deep breath of the steaming mug, inhaling a delicious perfume a contented hum reverberated in her chest. "I think, my darling that you have outdone yourself tonight. It has a distinct Christmas pudding smell."
He chuckled, knowing that Mary loved the guessing game of what he put into the warmed milk.
"It has a distinct hint of cinnamon, but…..something else? Tell me?" Mary took a few tentative sips swirling it around her tongue.
"If I tell you, I would have to tickle you." He started to put his cup towards the bedside table and stretching his fingers on his free hand.
"Oh no you don't, that would be the death of me, and I'm sure all that excitement is not good for the baby. Besides, I still have three guesses."
Taking a hefty sip of his coco Matthew waved his hand between them in a gesture of information forthcoming.
"Is there …..citrus peel in here?" She hedged.
"No fruit what so ever."
Her finger tapped the side of the cup as she contemplated, finally venturing, "Perhaps, brandy then?"
The feigned shock on Matthew's face added dramatics to their little midnight game. "I will not ply my pregnant wife with alcohol just to get her to sleep. Warmed milk and the sound of my soothing voice seem to do that nicely enough."
"As nice as nice can be." She hummed again sipping the beverage and she looked him in the eye, hers twinkling with mirth and knowledge. "Oh fine then, Ginger. It has the warming and peppery taste of gingerbread." She smiled then with triumph and licked her lips.
Day 3 –Pritla (Inuit: Our Children's Snow)
Each snowflake was unique. Like each moment of time in each person's life.
"I think that we have been here before?" The dry powder snow crunched underfoot as he approached her.
"One moment in time that took eight years to get to and yet look what we have had crammed into less than a year since?" She turned smiling slightly, her eyes returning to the dark night and the diamonds that wafted around them.
"A year filled with unique and unforgettable memories." Matthew whispered the statement into the night. The way he placed his jacket over her bare shoulders spoke of tenderness and familiarity.
"I seem to have become an incubator with heat just emanating from me." To prove her point Mary extended her gloved hand and watched as the piece of crystalline art disappeared instantly.
"Yes, you're one hot mamma!" She rolled her eyes and dipped her chin whilst leaning back into his embrace. His hands joining low on her stomach, cupping the gentle swell of the protruding bump.
"I heard at University that the Eskimo's have over 400 words describing snow." Matthew shared in wonderment.
The teasing in Mary's tone as she responded indicated this was among many interesting pieces of information shared. "Well I can see that being helpful in your law profession as well running an estate!"
They watched the snowflakes dance in the night, lost in their own thoughts of the reality of the past, grateful of the present and the dreams for the future.
"I can imagine our little princess right now curled up warm and content surrounded by a sea of sparkling snowflakes just like tonight."
"Such a poetic tongue, Matthew. Are you referring to me as a snow globe?"
His chuckle next to her ear confirmed her suspicions and he nuzzled into the crook of her neck breathing in the warm scent of his beautiful wife.
"And besides," she continued with the stubbornness of a continued argument, "It's a prince."
"Fine then, you win," he breathed softly onto the exposed skin of her neck, sending a delicious tingle of excitement down her spine, reminding her that soon they could creep up to bed and celebrate in private.
"Or rather, we're both right. A prince for you and a princess for me."
"Good god Matthew," Mary whispered into the blanket of night, "Be careful what you wish for. How on earth could we handle a mini Matthew and a mini me both at the same time!" She huffed at the thought and Matthew's crooked smile expressed exactly what that thought brought to mind.
She turned in his arms, wanting, not the night to end, but a new place to which they could make memories. Her hands hooked into the fabric of his shirt on the sides of his chest, pulling him closer.
"Keep in mind that I am not the kind of snow globe that is shaken or gets turned upside down. I rather think that a genie lamp more fitting. Wouldn't you say?"
The laughter that echoed out from the Abbey's walls promised a glimpse of happiness to come.
"Well then Mary…I think that there needs to be some rubbing to see what happens next!"
Day 4 - a chocolate penny for your thoughts
"Matthew Crawley!"
She'd seen that look before. The wide-eyed petulant look of someone caught in an act of wrongdoing. The exact same expression plastered on his handsome and now older face, that fateful day that they had met.
"What?" He was frozen, standing in the middle of the room, unsure of where to now look.
Wet sucking noises drew both of their attention to what he was holding in his arms. There was no denying the image before Mary was one that could melt her heart; however every unknown maternal instinct kicked in. Pausing to compose a face of strict disproval she strode into the nursery with one thing on her mind, to save her niece from this disastrous mess.
"Please tell me that she hasn't had all those." Mary nodded toward the pile of golden circles of foil on the floor with an exasperated raised brow.
"What," Matthew jerked, looking guiltily at the eaten coins, "absolutely not. Tom had them in his pocket after giving the farming children them when he was visiting. I think that he must have been finishing them off when Sybbie woke from her nap." The rate at which he divulged the information clearly expressed an air of innocence.
"She's not even one yet. Whatever made him think that he could give her chocolate?"
"Look at her face Mary, I don't think that Tom has learnt how to say no to her yet."
They both looked at Sybbie, a face scrunched in ecstasy with one hand stuffed in her mouth and the other flailing around grabbing at anything Matthew. Chocolate was melted and smudged over her entire face and hands, in her hair; staining her gown and making her look like she had just been rescued from a puddle.
And as Mary took the whole scenario in, she wondered just how long he had been holding her as Matthew had chocolate everywhere too.
The door to the nursery opened with gusto and Tom walked in, washcloth in hand momentarily surprised by the sight before him. Chocolate covered Sybbie squealed with delight at seeing her father and flailing to get out of Matthew's arms into her father's she pushed her chubby hand into Matthew's mouth. At which he surprised her by licking and sucking the melted remnants from her fingers, resulting in a loud burst of giggles from the toddler.
He wagged his eyebrows at Mary, the hand still in his mouth, challenging her resolve at maintaining anger giggle still erupting.
"Well then", as she strode over to the bell pull, "I think we will have to organize a warm cleansing bath."
She turned then smirking in a quintessential Lady Mary way, rolled her eyes at Tom. "For two!"