A/N: Mr. Bates and Anna were the first pairing I fell in love with watching Downton Abbey. I've always had a soft spot for them – who wouldn't? (Fellowes, put your hand down!)
Ages ago on Tumblr, a challenge was put out to write a one-shot about "Keys". This modern AU glimpse is the result. I've never written strictly for them, though they often pop up in my other fics. I can't bear to give them any angst; they had enough of that in canon. So this is fluff.
Enjoy, and if you could drop a word or two in review, I'd be very grateful. Thank you.
As usual, John woke up before the alarm went off. He rubbed his eyes, then opened them to see the early morning light peeking through the blinds before turning onto his side for a much better view.
As usual, Anna still lay sprawled fast asleep next to him. His old Manchester United shirt hung off one shoulder. Her hair was a messy golden tangle, and little snores escaped from her mouth. John shook with suppressed laughter.
The monitor on top of the dresser crackled with noise from the room next door.
Robbie.
Their toddler son resembled Anna in almost every way except for his eyes.
And waking early.
John listened carefully for a minute or two. Robbie babbled to himself, as though he was talking to someone else.
Thank God he can amuse himself for a while.
John's fingers brushed over his keys when he shut off the alarm. He always kept them close by. Anna often joked they were their other child.
There were keys to the main doors of their small hotel; the key to his office, the safe behind the main desk; keys for the large van they used for transporting guests, and a general master key that fit every guest room. Though the hotel was thoroughly modern, John had resisted upgrading to key cards.
His wife and other friends kept encouraging him to join the twenty-first century. He suspected he was fighting an ultimately losing battle, but he couldn't help himself.
Not yet.
He liked having different keys for different doors, instead of those horrible flat white cards he'd seen at other establishments. Besides, their guests often commented that they liked having actual keys.
"Anna," he murmured, running his fingers over her cheek. He crept closer and kissed her. "Anna, love, wake up."
She did not like getting up in the morning, so he tried to ease it by waking her naturally.
"Mmmm," she mumbled. She flopped onto her belly and clutched her pillow tighter.
It took him a few minutes to wake her up completely.
"I'll get Robbie. He's already awake," he kissed her forehead as she yawned, sitting up. He always dressed their boy and fed him breakfast while Anna showered.
"Could you start the-"
"Of course." His eyes twinkled as he left the room.
He set Robbie in his high chair and let him play with his keys while he started the coffee and got out cereal. The keys jingled in the boy's hands. John turned just in time to see him about to put several in his mouth.
"No, no," he took them from his wide-eyed son and set them on the kitchen table. "You can play with them, not eat them! Here, you'll like this better." Before Robbie could get upset, he set a bunch of Cheerios on his tray. The boy attacked his breakfast with gusto.
John whistled while cooking eggs and making toast. He gave his son his sippy cup. Robbie grinned at him, dribbling milk down his chin. John wiped his face and kissed his golden curls, once again amazed that anything so beautiful could come from him.
Anna hurried in, her hair still damp. She wore jeans and her favorite pink cardigan. It had been a gift from her boys the previous Mothering Sunday. She kissed Robbie, sang him good morning, and then gratefully took the coffee cup John offered her.
"Mmm," she leaned her head back after the first sip, closing her eyes. "I needed that."
"You should re-write the lyrics to 'All You Need Is Love'," John teased. "All you need is coffee in the morning."
"Silly beggar," she gave him a cheeky look and set her cup down on the counter. "You know that's not true."
His hands slid from her back to her hips as they kissed.
"I know what I need," he whispered.
"What do you need?" Her hands rested on his chest.
"You, Mrs. Bates."
They were interrupted when Robbie's cup clattered onto the floor.
"I'll take care of him. You go shower…did you have some breakfast?" Anna picked up the cup and set it back on his tray. John nodded.
"There's some left for you. He hasn't had any eggs, just cereal."
"I'll get him some fruit, too. He loves strawberries."
"Like someone else I know." John grinned and headed to the bathroom to shower.
He straightened his tie as he came back into the kitchen. Anna was nearly finished with the washing up. Robbie was in the family room, surrounded by toys.
"Here's your coffee." Anna handed John his thermos. The hotel was just down the street. Being able to walk to work was one of the perks of owning the place. John always drank most of his coffee as he walked in the morning, and sipped on the rest throughout the day.
"Thanks." He bent over the gate between the kitchen and the family room, and kissed Robbie. "I'll see you at lunch, son."
"Elsie's coming over to watch him so I can be at the meeting this afternoon," Anna said as he straightened up.
"That's kind of her. Did you invite them to lunch on Sunday?" He asked. He was glad Anna could come to the staff meeting. The hotel was as much hers as it was his.
"Yes, and of course she said they'd be delighted to come. Mr. Carson's still determined that Robbie grow up to be a cricketer."
"He and Robert both," John grinned. His smile faded when he glanced at the table. "Where are my keys?"
Her eyes widened. "Aren't they on the counter?" She turned to look.
"No, I let Robbie play with them, but I put them on the table when I gave him his cereal."
"I put them on the counter to wipe the table off. At least I thought I did…" her voice trailed off.
Their eyes met.
They looked in the kitchen cupboards and the hallway. When they didn't find them in either place, they searched the family room.
John tried not to panic.
Robbie watched the two of them frantically search through his toys and the lower bookshelves. He was content to clutch his favorite green car.
A line appeared between Anna's eyes as she knelt over the toy box. "I thought maybe if he had grabbed them, he would have put them in here. He did that last week."
John ran a hand through his hair. His heart raced. "They have to be here somewhere. We'll find them."
I hope.
Ten minutes later, they were still missing.
"I looked everywhere in the bedroom," he said, coming back into the kitchen. "I even stripped the bed."
Anna slumped into a chair. "They're not in the bathroom, either."
John's heart sank. "I have to leave. I'm already late." He tried to smile. "Well, if this is the reason why I've got to finally join the twenty-first century, I can only blame myself. This is going to complicate things for a while."
"I'm so sorry. I should have paid more attention." She whispered as he hugged her.
"This is not your fault," he reassured her. "It's mine. If I hadn't been so stubborn and old-fashioned, we wouldn't have this mess."
He went to pick up Robbie. A familiar clink of metal on metal came to his ears when he lifted the boy into the air.
"He was sitting on them!" Anna snatched the keys from the floor and the three of them hugged.
"We should have asked you where they were," John kissed Robbie's cheek, his heart beating normally again. "I wonder how you got the keys, if they were on the counter."
"They must've fallen off, and he picked them up. But how did I miss that? I only turned around for five seconds after I'd gotten him out of his high chair. Oh," Anna's eyes softened. "Look."
Robbie had grabbed at one of the keys and tried to stick it into the little pocket on his shirt.
"He always sees me with the keys in my pocket. Most of the time anyway." John gave him another squeeze and handed him to Anna. He took the keys from her and put them into the pocket of his jacket. "He must've tried to put them in his pocket. But they're too many for him."
"Key," Robbie said. He waved his arm at his dad. "Key!"
John and Anna laughed. "That's right," Anna smiled, hugging him. "My smart boy."
"You know, I think it's time we convert the hotel to a more modern system," John said as they followed him to the front door. "I'll bring it up at the staff meeting."
Anna raised her eyebrows. "Modernize? I would've thought finding the keys would convince you there was no need to change."
"Well," he smiled, "I thought if we did, I could give Robbie the old ones to keep."
And that is what they did.
The End.