"Cora, do you love me?"
Robert Crawley inquired as he saw his wife washing her face in their shared bathroom. Cora, of course, was surprised with his out-of-the-blue question at six in the morning
"Of course I do, Darling!" she answered before patting her face dry with her face towel
"Would you still love me if I did something bad?"
She looks at him from the mirror, even more confused than ever
"Well, of course I...would..."
"I mean something really, really—"
And finally...just finally...it hit her
"Robert," she said, "What did you do?"
"I...may have broken the blender"
"The one that mother just gave a few weeks ago?"
"Yes...that one exactly"
"Oh my goodness" she puts her hands to her face and sighed tiredly, rolling her eyes into another dimension
"Yes. Quite tragic, I know" Robert said, leaning by their bedroom doorway
"What did you exactly do to our blender?" Cora then inquired him
"Well...it might be better if you go and see it downstairs"
As they head downstairs to the kitchen, what Cora Crawley saw before her eyes was...quite tragic, to say the least. The blender itself was shattered on the floor, and there were splatters and spills of liquid everywhere, from the floor to their kitchen cabinets
She then turns to her husband again, looking a bit disappointed "Mind explaining this, Mr. Crawley?"
"So, I had this rather...revolutionary idea" Robert said, saying it with a bit of enthusiasm to ease up the tension "I was making our breakfast when I thought: 'What if I make...blended toast'?"
"Blended toast?" Cora said in disbelief "Robert, what are you—"
"Wait, wait, wait. Here is the thing: Toast is good. Like...quite good and all. But what if...I make a drink out of it? So I tried to do it!"
"That's very disgusting!" she complained "Why would you do such a thing?!"
"No, no...it's not disgusting, and I will prove it to you!" Robert countered "Anyway, after I finished cooking our breakfast and set them aside on our lovely table, I decided to use the leftover burnt toast to make the said drink. I added milk, a bit of melted butter, and a generous amount of sugar...and et voilà! Blended toast!"
He rushes to the center island, and raised the glass of the unusual drink. It slightly looks like expired milk, but he was very proud of it that Cora finds it hilarious than disgusting
She then cleared her throat, trying her best not break into laughter "That still doesn't explain why the blender was broken" she reminded
"Ah yes, the blender. Forgot about that" Robert frowned a bit, to which she finds adorable of him "I became quite excited when it tasted better than I expected...which made accidentally knock off the blender. I didn't get to save it in time, and also slipped down the floor...to which is also why my back hurts, and I removed my shirt because it was a mess"
"Is that so?" Cora said, respectfully looking at his slightly toned dad bod
Robert noticed her gaze, and slowly smirks "Or...maybe I am just showing off how hot I still am, despite our daughters' complaints"
They then both shared a light laugh, before he slowly went to her and pulls her close, wrapping his arms around her waist. Cora smiles sweetly, bringing a hand to cup his cheek. Robert smiles softly and gently rests his forehead against hers
"But for real though, do you love me?" he asks
She laughs again softly, and gently slaps his arm "Of course I do love you, you Donk!" she said "I love you very, very much"
"Even if I broke our blender?"
"Even if you broke our blender"
Robert chuckles softly, and pulls her closer to give a passionate kiss. Cora returns the gesture, with her hand running through his greying hair and pulling him closer. But before even things started to get even more heated, she slowly pulls away, making him tilt his head to the side and frown a little. She giggle softly at his rather annoyed expression
"You need to clean up first, Mr. Crawley" she said, moving away from his grasp and handing him their spinning mop and bucket "It's your mess, after all"
"Aww..." Robert whined playfully, making her laugh again
"You'll get your reward once you finish all of your task" she teased, sitting down on her chair at their small dining room "Do hurry up now, because I am feeling rather hungry already"
Robert smirks again at her teasing, and starts to carefully pick up the shards of glass on the floor, as well as the other parts of the blender before starting to mop the floor
Cora, on the other hand, admired him lovingly as he cleaned their kitchen. With her being always busy, even on the weekends, the only chores that she always see him doing are cooking and washing the dishes. She can see how much he enjoys being a househusband, ever since their eldest Mary was born exactly nine months after their college graduation
Much to both of their mothers' chagrin, they maintained their decision of having their roles reversed: her being the CEO of his family company, while him taking care of their girls, and nowadays, their grandchildren, whenever they come to stay with them
Robert then notices her staring at him again, and shakes his head a little "Do you know that it is rude to stare at someone, Mrs. Crawley?" he asks, making her snap back to reality
"Oh, I know" she smirks "But it's been a while since I saw my husband clean the house half-naked, so I thought I might enjoy the view while it lasts"
Robert chuckles softly "I should do it more often, then" he then suggested
"Only when I am here alone with you" she said
"As you wish, milady"
He then notices his unattended glass of blended toast, and looks at her "Do you want to try this, though?"
"Nope" Cora said almost immediately "Not by any chance"
"Please..." Robert pleaded "You know how much your opinion means to me. Just this once"
She sighs softly and rolls his eyes, before walking up to him and taking the glass from him. She said a silent prayer in her head...and takes a sip of the drink
"Well...?" Robert inquired, now a bit concerned for her as she rushed to get another glass and fill it up with water "How was it?"
"I stand by what I said: it is disgusting" Cora then said after downing the glass of water
"But...?" he then ask hopefully
"But," she added "It can be a good hangover drink. I can't believe I said that, but yes: a good hangover drink"
"So, if you would ever have a hangover, you would like me to make this?"
"Yes. Yes, I probably would"
Robert smiles proudly at himself as he finishes up in mopping the floor "That is enough victory for me, then"
Suddenly, he grabs his wife from her waist, making her yelp. He then sits her above their center island, laughing at her surprised expression
"Robert!" Cora said, slapping her husband's shoulder "What was that for?"
"For this"
He then slowly leans in for another passionate kiss, slowly wrapping his arms around her. He then held her closer to him as he slowly slides in between her legs. She returned the kiss and wraps her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his greying hair as she pulled him close
Robert then slowly trailed kisses down her neck and collarbone, making her moan softly in pleasure. He trailed to her chest, silently thanking the v-neckline of the shirt that was wearing for giving him access down to her sternum
"Oh, Robert..." she said breathlessly, tilting her head up as she was showered with kisses "Robert, please..."
"Please, what?" he inquired, slowly pulling away from her
"Please let's have breakfast first" she chuckles softly
"But Darling...you are my breakfast" he teased "And besides, I am here to claim my reward early"
Cora chuckles seductively "You are very naughty today, Mr. Crawley" she said. Two can play the game after all "Have I neglected you these past few days?"
"Two weeks, to be exact" he replied, a huge grin painted across his face "You have been very busy at work, that you have forgotten your dear husband"
"The company wouldn't run on itself you know. And besides, they need someone to lead them"
"A strong and powerful woman?" Robert suggested "Who is somehow also very beautiful and smart that the owner of the company can't resist her?"
They then both share a laugh once again before he gently showers her face with kisses. Cora laughed even more, holding him closer to her. But as he was to kiss her lips again, she places her finger to his, stopping him. Robert sighs softly, and rolls his eyes in surrender
"You'll get your reward later," Cora assured him "But you still need to clean the rest of the kitchen, and we still have some actual breakfast eat"
"But–"
"One more protest, and you won't have it. I am warning you, soldier"
Robert was a little surprise when she surprisingly uses her authoritative voice at him outside their bedroom. And every time she does, it makes him both obey like the officer that he once was and turned on at the same time
"Y-Yes, ma'am" he said, pulling away from her standing up straight in front of her
Cora chuckles softly, and hops off the center island before walking to him and planting a kiss on his cheek
"At ease, soldier" she said sweetly, slowly rubbing his chest to help him relax "But do hurry up in cleaning, our food is getting cold by now"
Robert slowly relaxed "Right away, ma'am"
"I love you" she smiles
He smiles back lovingly, and kisses her forehead "I love you too, Darling"
Cora gently pats his chest before letting him continue in his cleaning. She then notices the once again neglected glass of blended toast, and secretly takes it while he was distracted. Taking a sip once again, she now finds it rather delicious, despite her being disgust by it a few minutes earlier
She chuckles softly to herself, and drinks the rest of it while she patiently waited and checks emails on her work phone
Maybe blended toast wasn't really that bad, after all...
...only if it is made right