Matthew had a total of three requirements for the wedding. The first, that it occur as soon as could reasonably be accomplished. The second, that Mary get exactly what she wanted in line with request number one. The third and final being that he ended up legally wed to Mary at the end of whatever ceremony they ended up having. That one was non-negotiable. Mary took the planning upon herself, only forcing Matthew to endure the few sessions of cake tasting or color selection that actually needed his input. He didn't want to make it seem like he didn't care, but honestly, the trappings of the day didn't matter to him all that much. He was just anxious to finally make Mary his wife.
Looking back on the day, Matthew had to say that it was wonderful. Mary had done a wonderful job with the church and then the reception at the Abbey. He would never forget the way she looked as she walked towards him, Robert at her side. Nor would he forget their first dance, the song an instrumental version of their favorite. They hadn't told anyone what it was and they weren't going to. No one seemed to figure out what the song was and that became quite a joke between them. It was theirs and theirs alone.
But now on their honeymoon, Matthew was congratulating himself. While Mary was to plan the wedding, he was in charge of the honeymoon. He did very well, if he did say so himself.
They had two weeks to do as they pleased, without training or needing to be back for uni. He had initially considered going on a sight seeing tour for all those sights that they missed out on seeing whilst skating all over the world, but he figured they would see them all again as they began competing once more. Instead, he had opted for two weeks on a private beach in Mauritius.
The weather had been perfect for the first week and a half of their stay and they had taken advantage of it. He may have even convinced Mary to go au naturel which led to some of his best memories of the trip. But overnight, the clouds seemed to have gathered and a steady rain fall was pattering against the glass doors of their villa.
They had moved from the bed to the large couch, Mary settling in with a book, hair pulled back in a messy bun and face scrubbed clean of any makeup or sun cream. He had initially settled his head in her lap, ready to doze to the sound of the rain, but found himself staring at her as she focused on the words on the page.
"Should I be concerned that you are staring at me?" Mary's question drew him from his thoughts. Her eyes flickered to meet his quickly before turning a page in the book.
"No, wife." He replied, sitting up. "I was just thinking."
"About?" Her attention was still on the book, but her hand reached out to clasp his where it rested in his lap.
"The most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"It is gorgeous here. When the weather cooperates." Mary agreed, looking out of the window.
"No, I meant you." That drew her attention. Her brow furrowed as if she were expecting a joke.
"I almost thought that we'd never get here, to this place. But being here with you, being the one that gets to see you like this." He brushed his lips over her exposed shoulder, nuzzling it softly with his nose. "My Mary."
"The things you'll say to get a woman in bed," she joked softly, closing her book and curling towards him.
"Not any woman, my wife. And I don't seem to recall saying anything about taking you to bed." Matthew retorted quietly.
"Hmm." Mary agreed. "But you are about to get lucky anyway." She took his hand, leading him to the bedroom.
"How was the honeymoon?" Robert greeted them as he pushed open the grand doors to Downton. Mary accepted the hug her mother was offering as Matthew took Robert's outstretched hand.
"My eyes have been opened." Matthew joked, but Robert didn't seem to understand it as he slapped him on the back and then ushered the pair through the door. He figured that was for the best; after all he didn't want to get into a discussion of married life with his father-in-law.
"Well, everyone is waiting to hear all about it."
One week later…
It felt odd to be wearing skates again. Not bad, but odd. He went through the ritual tightening of the laces, pulling them tight and then loosening them again and repeating the process. Mary was seated across from him, already laced into her skates, as she pulled her hair up with a hair tie. He grabbed their water bottles and then wordlessly walked with her to the ice where Carson and Hughes stood at the boards waiting for them. No words were exchanged as they took the ice, completing a few laps and drills to warm themselves up. He saw Mary heading for the boards so he followed, coming to a stop just beside her and in front of their coaches.
"Before we begin, a few orders of business." Carson greeted them. "First, congratulations on your nuptials."
"We are both so happy for you." Hughes interrupted, much to Carson's consternation.
"Which leads me to the second, just because you are married now doesn't mean we are going to treat you any differently. I don't want any marital disputes to come out on the ice. Its dangerous and I would rather have no practice at all than have you two at odds with one another and risk injury."
"We've skating while arguing before. I don't think it will be a problem Carson." Matthew reassured the man, chuckling lightly. Mary just rolled her eyes.
"We shall see." Carson didn't seem convinced. "Next, the rings."
"What about our rings?" Mary asked with surprise, her thumb automatically twisting the two bands around her finger.
Hughes looked at Carson in annoyance before speaking. "A decision needs to be made about whether you will wear your rings during practice and then while competing."
Matthew looked down at his newly adorned left hand before meeting the coaching pair's eyes. "Is this something we have to discuss now?" He asked for the both of them.
"You know I have a rule about jewelry." Carson said gruffly. He did. They were never to wear jewelry while skating. Carson was worried about impairing grips or falling on the ice, or any number of untold possible disasters. It had never really been a problem before.
Hughes seemed to sense the tension brewing between them and Carson as the silence continued without an answer. "Moving on."
"Lastly, we know you are in your last year of uni, but we still expect your full dedication." They both nodded in understanding which caused Carson's lips to twitch as if to form a smile. "Alright, lets start with some new lifts." Matthew took Mary's hand in his and led her to the center of the ice.
"Ready?" Matthew murmured, receiving a squeeze of his hand in response.
"Let's begin."
AN: And another chapter for the books. I hope you all liked it. No, I don't plan to write a wedding for these two in this universe. I think you all like the bit that comes after more anyway. ;) I hope you all have a very happy New Year. I would love to hear what you all think.