A/N: so, I sat down to write this last night, but then I saw OrangeShipper's wonderful one-shot! I figured, although they're both about parting, they take place in different circumstances (and different eras) so I went ahead and wrote it anyway

…

"At least it didn't snow in the end. These forecasters never get it right, do they?" Matthew remarked, lugging the last of the suitcases into the hallway. He'd looked out of the window that morning expecting to see the road illuminated by a thick covering of snow on the ground- thankfully, it was pitch black outside (it being 6am on a December's day).

Knowing how much Mary liked to complain about the inaccuracy of weather reports at any given opportunity, he was surprised to receive no response. He looked up to where she was, perched on the arm-rest of their sofa, a melancholy look on her face as she glanced over all the luggage before her.

Matthew looked at her sympathetically, though she didn't realise it. He'd noticed her growing increasingly apprehensive about this trip, even going so far as to change the subject whenever he brought it up. Since word had spread that there might be heavy snowfall, and subsequent travel chaos, she had been incessantly checking the forecast; but Matthew suspected that she wasn't worried about the prospect of her flight being delayed- rather, she was praying that it would be.

"Hmm?" She hummed absent-mindedly, realising that he was staring at her and that he'd just asked her something.

"Are you OK?" Matthew walked over to her, gently tilting her chin up with an index finger. She'd initially been so excited about this trip- thrilled. He wondered what had changed to make her so dismal about it now.

Mary sighed resignedly. "I don't want to go." She admitted softly, her eyes casting down towards the floor. She'd been afraid of saying it up until now, for she felt it would make her sound pathetic; she was a grown woman, being given an incredible opportunity in a job that she loved. She should be grabbing the bull by the horns and relishing it!

She'd been working for an international fashion magazine for the last three years, and had risen through the ranks with impressive speed. Continuing its rapid expansion, the magazine had just opened up an office in Mumbai, to track the latest trends in saris and the like. Being one of their brightest and most experienced employees, Mary had been asked to travel to the new office and assist them in their first couple of months- helping co-ordinate teams, overseeing the training of new recruits, influencing strategy and marketing etc; in short, she'd be running the joint. Well, she hadn't so much been 'asked' to go to India as she had been 'chosen'- her acceptance was presumed. And rightly so- it was a once-in-a-lifetime, career-changing opportunity, and you'd have to be a damn fool to turn it down! But these last few days, her enthusiasm for the project had started to wane. At first she put it solely down to nerves at being in a new country, but she now understood what was causing her anxiety…

"Yes, darling, I can see that." Matthew smiled fondly, sitting on the sofa and pulling her next to him. Sometimes she forgot how well he could read her. "I couldn't get you to shut up about Mumbai a few weeks ago and now it's a struggle to find out anything about it." He chuckled. "What's troubling you?" He asked seriously, his eyes concerned.

"I…" Mary hesitated, afraid of sounding silly. There's no time to be shy, she told herself. You need to be at the airport in an hour! "I don't want to be apart from you." She mumbled, her eyes fixed on her lap.

Matthew's mouth parted in surprise as his heart melted a little. He certainly hadn't anticipated that to be the reason for her despondency. Mary was never soft or sentimental about these things. Between the two of them, it was always him who found any distance between them difficult to cope with. Even when they parted to go to work every morning, it was always Matthew who leaned in for one last kiss to last him until the evening. He'd once had to spend the weekend away for a friend's stag party and he'd found himself calling her every few hours (much to his friends' chagrin), just to hear her voice. She, on the other hand, had rather been enjoying having the flat to herself.

"Mary," he said tenderly, tilting her chin up again so he could look into her eyes. "Darling, it's only a few weeks!"

"It's nine weeks, Matthew!" Mary protested. "In our two years together, we've never been apart for more than a weekend. And even then, the furthest we've been apart is a few hundred miles. I'll be completely on the other side of the world! About ten time-zones away!"

"It won't feel like it, though, I promise." Matthew assured her, seeing that this distance issue was clearly distressing her. "We'll talk everyday, we'll skype- the time difference won't be a problem, I'll stay up as late as I need to…there'll hardly be any change at all. You'll probably get sick of me, in fact." He joked lightly, hoping to alleviate her mood.

"Don't say that." Mary said seriously, reaching a hand up to touch his cheek lovingly. "I'd never get sick of you." It suddenly hit her that this morning would be the last time she'd be able to touch him until February next year. That sounded impossibly far ahead.

She'd have to make do with the telephone, which never conveyed the full beauty of his voice, and shaky webcam connections, which never portrayed the full beauty of his face. This was their first Christmas living together, and she wouldn't even be here to enjoy it with him. She wouldn't be able to see the look on his face when he opened her gift (which she'd carefully hidden in his drawer, unbeknownst to him) and she wouldn't be able to show him how much she appreciated whatever gift he got her. She'd have to ring in the New Year on her own, unable to receive a kiss from the man she loved.

"The time will fly by, I'm telling you." Matthew promised her softly, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles as he squeezed her hand reassuringly. It touched him that she found the prospect of nine weeks' separation unbearable- ever since she'd informed him of the trip, he'd been worrying about how to deal with her absence for that long. He was ecstatic for her, of course; she'd worked tirelessly in her job and he knew that she was destined for great things in the industry. He was immensely proud of her achievements, and would gladly brag to anyone who happened to be passing by him about how she'd been the only one chosen to go to Mumbai (she had another employee flying out with her, but they were merely acting as her assistant, so they obviously didn't count). But after spending eleven months waking up with her every morning, watching her get ready for work, occasionally meeting her for lunch (if either of them were able to take a lunch-break), and spending their evenings together before falling asleep in each other's arms, he wasn't sure he'd know what to do with himself when she left. He knew he'd feel like half a person, and he wasn't looking forward to it. Part of him wanted to say 'I agree, this India thing is a stupid idea, you should stay here with me', but he knew she'd immensely regret not going, possibly for the rest of her life. And he didn't want to have any part to play whatsoever in any regret of hers.

"Will it? I'll be in a foreign place, I won't know anyone- aside from Emily, but we're not exactly friends- I'll have a tonne of responsibility that I've never had before. And you won't be there." Mary had a sinking feeling that these next nine weeks were going to drag by incredibly slowly, countering against her willingness for them to end.

"It probably will be quite daunting for the first few days." Matthew agreed, "But then I guarantee you'll be so engrossed in it all that you won't even miss home! It'll be a brand new culture, everyone in the new office will be eager to learn and you'll get to pass on all your knowledge and implement all the ideas that the London office weren't able to."

"And the bit about you?" Mary asked softly. "That'll be the hardest part."

"Darling, so many couples spend even longer periods of time apart. Just think of Alice and Michael." Matthew reminded her. A lot of Matthew's friends from school had gone on to join the armed forces, so he knew of several couples who were separated, not only having to deal with the distance for indeterminate periods of time, but also having to deal with the prospect of one of them returning injured, or worse.

"I know, there are always lots of people in worse situations, but that doesn't make me feel better. It doesn't make it any less difficult for us." Mary explained. Looking into his beautiful blue eyes only made her even less willing to leave. "Sometimes I wish I didn't love you so much." She complained quietly, stroking his fingers with hers in her lap.

"Well, I'm glad that you do love me this much, so you'd better not try and stop." Matthew teased, leaning forward to kiss her cheek. "So, let me get this straight- you're sad about going to India because you have a boyfriend at home who you love very much and don't want to leave?" He clarified in simple terms.

Mary nodded. Hearing him say the words out loud, she realised she must sound like a teenage girl who's considering throwing away her chances of going to a good university because her boyfriend's staying in their home town. But this was different- she and Matthew had become intrinsically linked to each other. Leaving him behind would be like leaving a part of herself behind, and trying to survive for nine weeks in a foreign land without it, when she'd need it most.

"Why don't you think about it the other way? Imagine if you had to go away for nine weeks on a massive work project, without a boyfriend at home who was ready and waiting to hear all about your days?" He saw her expression soften, pondering this new perspective, so he continued. "Whenever there's anything you want to complain about, or whenever you see some amazing new sight that you want to tell someone about, or whenever you've done something brilliant at work that you want to share – you can. Just call me, it doesn't matter what time. And it's not only me- you have your parents, Sybil, and – to a lesser extent – Edith." He noticed the corner of Mary's mouth turn up slightly. "Imagine if you had to go away and you had nobody here to support you- surely that would be worse?" He reasoned.

"I suppose." Mary smiled fondly at him- his ability to lift her out of any bad mood was astonishing. "You're right."

"And if there's anything, anything, wrong, or you need someone there with you for whatever reason, call me and I'll fly out immediately. I mean it." Matthew said seriously.

Mary could see from his eyes that he meant what he said, and she suddenly felt a great weight ease off her shoulders. She could do this. With him supporting her as wonderfully as he did, it would be easy. "OK." She nodded.

"Is there anything else?" Matthew asked caringly. He didn't want her to go away feeling miserable. However glum he felt about her leaving, she should feel excited and happy.

"No, I think you got everything." Mary smiled, encircling his neck with her arms. "Thank you." She whispered, looking into his eyes.

"No problem." Matthew whispered back, closing his eyes as he saw Mary tilt her head. She brought her lips to his for a slow, loving kiss. Matthew pulled her closer, wanting to savour her as much as possible, knowing this would probably be their last proper kiss for over two months. His nose brushed her cheek, and it felt wet. Gently pulling away, he opened his eyes to see tears run down Mary's face. "Darling! Mary, what is it?" He'd thought everything was OK! He quickly brushed the tears away with the pad of his thumb.

"Nothing, really." Mary laughed breathily through her tears. "I'm just feeling a bit emotional. It's unlike me, I know." She chuckled. "I'm really alright, though. Thanks to you." She assured him, smiling appreciately.

"Are you sure?" Matthew wasn't completely convinced.

"One hundred per cent." Mary said resolutely, reaching up to physically un-crease his brow, which was deeply furrowed with concern. "Don't worry about me." She laughed as Matthew grabbed her hands away from his forehead and placed little kisses on them both.

A car-horn sounded from outside. "Taxi's here." Matthew said. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah." Mary stood up and reached for her handbag, double-checking she had everything she needed. "All set." She confirmed.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Matthew asked. They'd both agreed that it would be best if Matthew didn't accompany Mary to the airport. They didn't want to have to say goodbye to each other in the cold, public environment of an airport. They wouldn't even be alone for most of the journey to the airport, as the taxi was going to stop on the way to pick up Mary's colleague.

"No, darling, it's fine-" Mary began.

"I can, you know. I'll let the office know, they'll understand. I'd only be a couple of hours late for work, anyway." Matthew interrupted her, knowing she wouldn't want to ask him to miss work for her.

"It's fine, Matthew, really." Mary said, leaning in to give him another kiss. It quickly deepened. Both of them poured all their emotions into it, and tried to store up the love received from the other, to get them through the coming weeks. Eventually, they broke apart. There wasn't much left to do or say. Neither of them wanted to say 'goodbye', as it had an air of finality about it that would be inappropriate and discomforting. Saying 'I love you' seemed futile and inadequate, given the kiss they'd just shared and the depth of their feelings.

"I'll take the bags out." Matthew said softly.

Mary watched as he carried each of her many bags outside to the taxi-driver, who helped load them into the boot. He returned to the flat a few minutes later, standing in front of her.

"You look good." He smiled, pulling her little black blazer more tightly around her. "Mumbai won't know what hit it."

Mary smiled adoringly at him, her eyes trying to take in all of his handsome features. They'd already been committed to memory, long ago, but she wanted to make sure. "I should probably go…" She said regretfully after a moment.

Matthew nodded in acknowledgement. "Call me when you get there. You can boast about how warm it is."

"I'll probably be calling you from Heathrow." Mary joked. She knew she wouldn't be able to last until she landed in Mumbai to speak to him.

"Good." Matthew smirked. He cupped her face with his hands and gave her one last, sweet kiss.

Without another word, Mary pulled her handbag over her shoulder and walked outside, Matthew trailing behind her. She greeted the taxi-driver as she slid into the back seat. Resisting the urge to open the car door and kiss her one final time, Matthew watched as the car began to move off. Mary turned in her seat to blow a little kiss to him, and he blew one back, noticing that her eyes were glassy.

He remained outside, in the cold December morning, until the car reached the end of the road and turned out of sight. He sighed and walked back into the flat, feeling like he wanted to go back to bed, just as the rest of the country was waking up.

…

A/N: it's a bit of a bittersweet one-shot, I suppose, but hopefully you liked it!