Hello! So I'm back again and I've set myself perhaps the most ambitious (and potentially foolish) challenge of writing an A-Z story featuring our favourite couple. I've been doing quite well.. Well until I got up to the letters "X" and "Z" anyway.

Just a little warning, this story will 100% turn into an M - in fact, I'm pushing the boundary between the two ratings... Already... So if anyone feels that this is too much to be a T, please drop me a line to let me know and I will change it. I'll only be changing it with the next few chapters anyway.

Disclaimer: I own nothing - although I really, really wish I did.

The (A-Z) Manual of Engagement

Chapter One - Affection

"Maria" he said softly, his mouth grazing her temples. "Is there anyone I should go to, to ask permission to marry you?"

"Well why don't we ask-"

"The children" they finished in unison, giggling at their simultaneity.

They simply stared at each other for a few moments, both contemplating how on earth this night came to be. Maria had returned to know if her feelings were reciprocated, to look for her life. Then the devastating blow of hearing of the captain's engagement to the Baroness had taken the breath out of her lungs, the sparkle from her eyes, the ground from her feet without realising that she would be swept away only mere hours later by the very man who had caused her confusion, heartache and hope all at the same time. Yet now, she was in his arms after he had professed his love for her and told her of his intention to marry her.

Georg was sure he had never felt as complete as he did right now – with the exception of Agathe and his children of course. But since his wife had died, he was sure that the hole she had left him with would never be filled again, and he had resigned himself to being a shell, an echo of the man he once was. However, standing and holding the woman he loved in his arms, he was completely whole. The woman who stumbled into his world with a hideous grey dress and straw hat had once irritated him with her defiance towards him and his demand for discipline and order. And yet she had taught him to love his children again, to get back in touch with music and laughter. Somewhere along the way, she had completely turned his life upside down. Without warning and unbeknownst to her, she had thawed his heart and claimed it from the moment she sat on that ridiculous pinecone.

He had fallen hopelessly and helplessly in love with her.

The chill of the evenings breeze had broken his reverie, he looked down at his Maria as he traced lazy circles on her bare upper arms, the tiny bumps that lined her skin made him realise just how cold it had become.

"You must be freezing" he stated, rubbing her arms with his hands in an attempt to warm her. "We should probably head inside."

"Hmm?" she replied in a complete daze. Her own thought interrupted by his voice. "Yes I-I must be" she continued, only now noticing the goose bumps that had appeared. In all honesty, she barely felt the change in the air's temperature at all and for the goose bumps… Well, they certainly were not the result of the sudden change in the weather, his fingertips tracing her skin was the culprit - even if she was unable to realise or admit it to even herself. This experience was all so new to her yet felt like she had needed this her whole life, like she had always been heading here. She had never fit in within her uncle's household, never fit in at school and definitely didn't fit in at the abbey, she had nowhere to call home. The von Trapp villa however - the one place she would never have counted on - was her home. Despite the children's hostility towards her during her first few moments as their governess, her spritely nature and willingness to open her heart to them had meant that they had opened up their hearts to her in return and at some point, in a bizarre turn of events, the ice that seemingly ran throughout the captain's veins has started to melt too.

It had touched her in a way that she could not fathom.

It had touched her mind, her heart, her soul.

The low chuckle that had escaped from him made her jump, realising that she had gotten completely lost in her thoughts, breaking her reverie.

"You look rather pensive, anything you wish to share?" he questioned with his eyebrow raised. His small, teasing smile broke out into a grin, urging her to open up to him.

She returned his smile, contemplating where she would even start. How could she begin to tell him what was on her mind, she could hardly think straight or make clear sense of it herself. She gave a barely perceptible shake of the head as she pressed her lips together, as if she were willing the words that would undoubtedly tumble out to stay put at least for now.

Georg stared down at his love, the woman who had revitalised him. He had an inkling of what she was thinking, but he also knew how new this must be to her and made a vow to himself to ensure he would never put in a position where she may feel uncomfortable or pressured. After all, he had lived with the most vivid, salacious dreams involving tangled bedsheets and mingled, panted breaths for quite some time now, he was sure he could live with those for as long as she deemed fit. After all, he was an honourable man.

But oh, the softness of her hair, her heavenly moans she made unconsciously when they kissed for the second time that night, the taste of her lips, the brush of her breasts against his chest when he held her.

He was an honourable man indeed…

Until he would at last retreat to his bedroom, the way he had done most nights of late and get lost in his innermost dreams, the place where her soft moans become strangled cries of ecstasy, where her hips would move in time with his, where she became his undoing.

Where she was his entirely.

The barely perceptible shiver from Maria vibrated against his fingertips, making him realise how much the temperature had dropped. For him, this worked as a small blessing. He had to put some much-needed space between them. Not for his benefit of course. On the contrary, he would stay put like that forever if he could, but they needed to think, needed to talk and an idea quickly made its way into his mind.

Dropping his hands from her waist, he gently took her by the hand. There was so much he wanted to tell her and so much he wanted to know from and about her. However, there was one question in particular that he had thought and dreamt about ever since the night of the party. Words wouldn't be enough this time, he had to show her.

"Come with me, I have something I want to show you" he said softly, leading her towards the side entrance of the gardens, around the hedges and onto the terrace.

The place they had first danced, first touched, first shared the undeniable look of longing.

Maria's face was one of complete wonder, the biggest grin on her face formed. As much as she was bewildered and full of panic the last time she walked along this very floor, she couldn't help but smile. She could still hear the clicks of their heels and their heated exchanged looks as they floated across the beautiful marble floor. So much had changed since that fateful evening.

"What are we doing here?" she asked slightly perplexed. The last time they were here, she was confused, fearful – not of him, never of him, but of her feelings towards him. There was no use denying it. He had seen into her, and she had seen into him.

"Well, I had a question for you. You I-I… Well…" Suddenly, words failed him. Of all the things he wanted to say to her, this should have been the easiest, so why couldn't he bring himself to do it?

"Yes Captain? I assume this somehow relates to the Laendler?" she cocked her head to the side, and he nodded the affirmative; this was the second time she had seen him become nervous and although she didn't want him to feel as though he couldn't talk to her openly and honestly, the vulnerability in his voice made her confidence grow. "You wanted to know if I'd really forgotten the last steps?" a sheepish smile now framed both of their faces, knowing that this was the first time they knew with absolute certainty how they felt for each other.

"Well… Yes and no I suppose. In fact, I wanted to know how you would feel about… Re-writing the ending so to speak?" he said with a small shrug, although he felt anything but nonchalant.

"Oh? How so?" she replied with genuine curiosity.

He took a deep breath. "I have thought about our dance every day since you left" the pang of guilt bolted through his chest. He was supposed the more experienced of the two. After all, he had fallen in love before. He should have grabbed her in that moment and told her how he felt about her, propriety forgotten. Yet he had been foolish and let her go, he had proposed to the wrong woman and broken hearts. She had been stronger than him, she had come back, and her valour gave him all the courage he needed to continue. "I want to show you how it would have ended, how it should have ended. You know… Had-had we not had an audience. Oh and by the way, it's Georg, not Captain." A small, nervous chuckle escaped from his throat as he took her by the hand again and raised it up to his lips to kiss her fingertips before he led her to the centre of the terrace, placing their right hands above their heads, and their left behind her back. They were eye to eye once again, but this time he had pulled her closer than before. Their bodies fused at their hips, breaths mangled, the heat between them palpable. Maria's rapidly beating heart and shallow panted breath from the intensity of his gaze was enough to make her dizzy. She stood her ground however and focused on him. "Do you remember Maria?" he started again, turning them anti-clockwise before switching their arms over their heads and turned them both back the other way.

They stopped again in exactly the same place, as though they were stuck in a bizarre case of déjà vu.

"I wasn't lying before." Maria whispered. "I honestly don't remember anymore." Her cheeks were flushed yet again. Her senses completely filled with the sight of his silhouette, the scent of him and the heat radiating from his body. How could she ever remember what happens next? Then his silky baritone voice became the final nail in the coffin, rendering her completely still.

"Funnily enough, I don't remember anymore either. Let me rectify that for us both my darling."

She swallowed hard, the anticipation of what was about to happen not lost on her this time. She breathed in deeply and fluttered her eyes closed, as though if she were to open them again, he would surely disappear.

He bent his head and gently touched her lips with his. So gently in fact, that he was not completely sure whether he was kissing her or whether it was just a figment of his imagination. He wanted to take it slowly, approach her with caution and not overwhelm her. However, the second he went to move his lips across hers, she had completely stiffened and dropped her hands. He quite clearly had not been cautious enough, and for a panic-stricken moment he thought he had gone too far, only to be given instant relief as her arms travelled around his neck, pulling him closer.

She was hungry, hungrier than she had ever imagined she even could be. His kiss was so addictive, so intoxicating that it consumed her very being. She had felt every emotion during her time here and bottled it up to the point she just couldn't keep it in any longer. The hurt, sorrow, pain, confusion. The longing, the love, the desire poured out of her, the fire she had within her, unleashed in a way she could scarcely believe. She felt him wrap his arms around her waist - stronger, tighter. None of them willing to let each other go. Unfortunately, the lack of oxygen inevitably caught up with them both, and they pulled away from each other, their lips swollen and panted breaths wonderful a side effect of their desire for one another.

For Maria however, the flames that had just engulfed her body had been extinguished with such force, she felt cold all over and wished the ground could swallow her whole. The silence that hung around them buzzed with electricity, but all that could be heard was Maria's sharp gasp as she quickly slapped her face to her burning cheeks, the inappropriateness of her actions. She had thrown herself at him with no control over herself. Why, he must have thought she were no better than a wanton-

"Maria? Are you okay?" he questioned, concerned at how much space she had made between them. It had been too much for her after all, and his heart sank at how distressed she appeared. "Maria I'm deeply sorry. I-"

"No Georg" she interrupted, completely unaware that she had used his first name for the very first time. "It is me that should apologise. I-I've - you see I've never..."

Oh but if she only knew how long he'd dreamt of her kissing him with such ferociousness, with such abandon, then she would know that an apology would be the last thing he'd want to hear from her. He rushed over to her and gathered her in his arms, pressing his lips into her hair. "Oh my love, never ever apologise for acting upon your impulses around me. You have no idea how long I've wanted to be able to hold you, for you to kiss me like that... I-I never thought I could ever feel this way, and I owe all of that to you. Just you."

He stood holding her for a little while longer while. He was sure he would never tire of being able to hold her in this way - just because he could. Eventually, she raised her head to look up at him, his tender smile melting away any previous doubt or embarrassment. She raised her hand to touch his cheek, a way of saying thank you for being there for her, for easing her worries.

For loving her.

He turned his face to kiss the inside of her wrist, vaguely aware at how cold her hand was. With the temperature getting lower still, he tried to think of where they could go. They needed to talk, they needed to get to know each other and if he was perfectly honest with himself, he did not want to leave her just yet.

"You're cold" he stated "we'd better get you inside where it's warm." She mutely nodded at him, clearly still slightly in a daze at what had just happened between them and followed him through the patio doors and into the foyer that led to his study door.

She had been in here many times before to discuss the children's progress or inform him of lessons, reading material and her plan of the day. It felt different this time though. No longer was she governess number twelve, but his love, his future wife and to her he was... Well... He was everything.

He gestured towards the cream sofa that sat before the open fire and motioned for her to sit whilst he discarded his jacket and hung it over the chair that was tucked neatly behind the large desk in the corner of the room before taking a match to light the fire before them, earning a gentle crackle as the wood burned and licked the most beautiful amber hue into the room.

He stood and turned to her, slightly rocking on his heels, unsure of how to proceed.

A drink. Yes. He needed to just sit with the company of her and a glass of port.

"Would you care for a drink?" he asked casually as he crossed the room to the drinks cabinet. "It's not unusual for me to retreat here after a long day. I always find that a nightcap sooths me before retiring."

"Oh no thank you Cap.. Georg" she reminded herself. The habit of calling him 'Captain' for the past couple of months was too embedded within her to avoid mistakenly addressing him with formality, but the way it rolled off her tongue when they were out on the terrace was so natural, she was sure it wouldn't be long before she would be more than comfortable with dropping the term 'Captain' altogether.

She watched as he poured the dark red liquid into the tumbler and realised that she had never seen him without a jacket. To anyone else, she was sure they would believe this to be of no importance whatsoever. Maria however, she knew better and if she had been none-the-wiser, she would have almost believed that he were permanently sewn into such attire. But seeing him there, who had placed his glass down to throw another log onto the fire was the man nobody else had the privilege of knowing. In this moment, he was not the Captain, not the Baron, not the aristocrat. He was simply Georg, the loving father, the caring gentleman.

The man she loved, who loved her in return.

As her eyes scanned the rest of the room, she found that she were seeing it properly for the first time. The charming ambience of the fire outlined so many things previously undiscovered by her. The shelf that housed family photos, the freestanding globe tucked away in the corner of the room, the bookshelf lined with numerous hard backs that undoubtedly told wonderful tales.

The peculiar piece of paper that peeked through the breast pocket of his jacket with the most familiar handwriting.

She squinted slightly and could make out the gentle flick of the letters: tain. Maria furrowed her brow - had he kept her letter with him?

"There we are, we should be nice and warm in no time" came the soothing voice of the man she had just been musing over. As much as she tried to force her head towards him, she couldn't help but stare at the letter. It reminded her of a time of such confusion, she barely even remembered writing it.

Georg watched her look slightly over his shoulder as he sat next to her and casually rested his arm over the back of the sofa. He followed her eyes to find the item that had piqued her curiosity and sighed as his own eyes rested on the letter.

"You kept it?" she breathed, not wholly aware that she had said the words out loud. She looked to him then, and he could only give her a sheepish smile.

"It was all that was left when you went away. I don't know why I kept it in all honesty, I guess I just couldn't discard the last thing that would remind me of you."

"Oh I see" she sighed "I-I don't even remember what I wrote. I was in such a daze, such a hurry. I'm so sorry for the hurt I caused you all." she said sincerely. "I just didn't know what to do." She looked up at him, her bright blue eyes baring into his soul, willing him to forgive her.

"Believe me Maria, you have nothing to apologise for. In fact, it is I that should be apologising to you" he took another sip of his port before a small chuckle left his face.

His infectious laugh caused Maria to giggle too. "We really are full of apologies tonight aren't we? But what are you apologising for? We both denied our feelings for each other. I suppose we are just as stubborn as each other." They paused for a miniscule moment of silence before erupting into laughter at the accurate description she had for the pair of them.

As their laughter died down, Georg began again. "I can't exactly tell you what I'm sorry for. It's probably best I show you." She furrowed her brow again at his seemingly bizarre statement. Her eyes followed him as he got up and walked over to his jacket, retrieving not one, but two pieces of folded paper before sitting back down and handing them to her.

"But there's two letters here. I don't understand?" for she really didn't. The first one was the letter she had written to him and the children, and she certainly didn't need to remind herself of what she had written, but the other letter had her name on it.

It couldn't be written by him, could it? Surely not!

"Nothing was the same when you were away Maria. I thought long and hard about what I'd say if I ever saw you again, but I was so consumed with doing what I thought was right that I had determined you meant what you had written. I resigned myself to believing you were truly unhappy and missed the abbey too much, what kind of person would I be if I asked you to stay out of sheer selfishness? I thought if I wrote down my thoughts then I could discard it and I'd be free of my feelings for you. Of course I was completely wrong." He stopped and stared at his near empty tumbler before looking deep into her eyes. "It seems as much as my head was telling me that getting engaged to the wrong woman and hurting you and the children in the process was the right thing to do, my heart fought back - and ultimately - it won."

Her own heart went out to him, and she instinctively reached out to place her hand on his forearm. It soothed the both of them and they smiled warmly at each other at the realisation of what could have been if she had never come back, if they had never realised their feelings for each other. How lucky they were to find each other before it was too late.

"Do you want to read it?" he asked with a sudden seriousness. Maria looked down and her name scrawled on the page and pondered for a moment. He had revealed himself to her in a way that she could never have imagined. Did she need to know what he was feeling in the moment that he had written down his innermost thoughts? After all, she would find out soon enough. No, she'd decided. She didn't need to spend her time reading. She wanted to stay in the blissful company of the man she loved. Rather than talking about their past, she wanted to talk about their future. She couldn't wait to spend the rest of her life talking with him, sharing secrets, laughing with him, crying with him, walking alongside him forever, and it had all started from today, the day she would remember forever.

The day she headed where she'd always been heading.

Home.

To be continued.

I wonder what was in that letter?

Chapter two is on it's way and I will try to post as regularly as I possibly can. I thought we might have had a little road ahead before we got into M territory... But alas, writing chapter three proved me wrong haha!

As always, if you could be so kind to let me know what you think, I'd be extremely grateful and I do hope you are all keeping safe and well.

Until next time.

Charlotte