A/N: My first Downton Abbey fic! I marathoned the show in 4 days, and I have been going through severe withdrawal. So this is how I cope. It's usually hard for me to write fic on TV shows, but I couldn't help it. Matthew/Mary and Anna/Bates (coming soon!) inspire me too much! Please review, and I hope you enjoy. Also posted in a few LJ comms.
Words: 279
Characters: Mary, Matthew
Time: Post-season 2
Genre: Romance
Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Julian Fellowes, not me.
A thin blanket of snow makes the garden silent, and it is a grand relief to Mary; in the house there is always some interrogation about the wedding, in the village there is always a whisper behind her back. Only here can she feel free, at peace. Matthew keeps close to her as they walk.
"It's a curious thing, isn't it? What people will get all worked up about when they have nothing better to occupy their minds. Just a few short months ago, or so it seems, men were dying in the hundreds, and people cared, people grieved. Now they're all in a huff because some earl's daughter had an affair with some Turkish ambassador years and years ago. Silly, isn't it? It almost makes you miss wartime, when there was news worth worrying about."
Mary smiles. "Matthew, if you wish to appear an ordinary man, you ought to be the last person to brush off my scandal as 'silly.'"
"Then it's a good thing I have no desire to appear as such." His hand finds hers. Soon, after a smile, his lips find hers, too. They are quite alone in the grounds, so he lingers; his arms wrap around her waist, and she slides hers around his neck, savoring the heat of his breath and the comfort of his embrace in the frigid winter air.
"Nothing has ever been ordinary for us, has it, Mary?" he asks when they break apart, his blue eyes full of affection, his fingers brushing her cheek as softly as a snowflake, only warmer.
"Indeed not." She presses a brief kiss to his lips. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."