prompt: simple shared nightly routines

The flannel of his nightshirt felt soft on his skin. Robert was buttoning up the last button on the collar as Bates made a few final straightening brushes over Robert's dressing gown. The room was cast in a strange light. Only a small lamp on the bedside table was lit. The hearth was dark and cold. Just as always.

Robert felt less at home in this room with every passing year. It was the place where he had most of his conversations with Bates which he valued highly, but apart from that, the room was subdued with its dark wallpapers, narrow, and lifeless. Robert didn't take measures to change it. His dressing room felt – like the name actually implied – more like a high-class closet than a place he would call 'his room'.

Bates held the neatly folded dressing gown out for Robert.

"Thank you, Bates." The valet nodded shortly, and Robert bid him goodnight. The dressing room was filled with darkness again as the valet left the room seconds after Lord Grantham closed the door to the adjoining room behind him silently.

Next door, the atmosphere was much warmer. A fire crackled in the fireplace. The room was additionally lit by the lamps on the two bedside tables. The sky blue of the wallpapers enveloped the large four-poster bed in the middle of the room. The soft fabrics on the canopy and blankets surrounded Robert's wife in a manner that made her appear like a goddess in a Grecian work of art. At least, that was what Robert saw with his rather restricted knowledge of art history.

Cora looked up from her book and smiled at him when he came in. She acknowledged his entrance briefly and returned her attention back to her book. Robert took a seat in the armchair near the vanity. His hands busied themselves with the sash on his dressing gown without haste. He let his thoughts wander and enjoyed the relaxation of the night. His look fell onto Cora's vanity and he mustered the smaller and larger containers of lady's cosmetics. He had no understanding of any of it. Robert was merely able to distinguish the jar from the lotion she always put on her hands. He knew how her hands felt slightly sticky when she had just put it on. But he had to admit he had come to quite enjoy the scent of her lotion. It was one of the aspects that differentiated her room from his. Hers felt like home because it was warm and light, held countless of their memories, and smelled like Cora's perfume and her lotion.

The desire to hold her soft hand bloomed in his chest and he quickly got up, pulled the dressing gown from his shoulders, and threw it behind him on the chair. There was a sudden impatience that took hold of Robert and this impatience was usually linked tightly to longer chains of thoughts about his wife. There always came a point when thinking about her wasn't enough anymore.

He crossed the distance to the bed with a few large steps and sat on the edge of his side of the bed to slip his loafers off.

Cora lowered her book and it sank into the down duvet. She waited for him to lie down properly and find the right position before she looked at him expectantly. Robert patted the duvet on his thighs and pulled it up to his chest. Then, he rested his hand on the blanket between the two of them with his palm facing upwards. Cora understood the silent invitation instantly. She pulled her left hand from beneath the hard book cover and gently put it in Robert's waiting hand. He caressed the back of her hand with his thumb and gave her a smile.

"Will there be no reading for you tonight?" Cora asked because Robert usually grabbed his book as soon as he sat down under the covers. Robert shrugged his shoulders. "Is there something on your mind that is bothering you?"

"No, no. I'm just not sure whether I want to burden my mind with another man's thoughts," he gave back.

"I see."

Cora placed her bookmark between the pages, closed her book, and put it down on her bedside table with one hand. Her other hand remained in Robert's grip all throughout. Robert relished in the feeling. Her hand was soft and slightly cold, and he could indeed still feel a hint of lotion. Cora turned her upper body to him. Her free hand sought the collar of his nightshirt. The cold tips of her fingers grazed the hot skin of his neck. The sensation evoked small eruptions of goosebumps on his sensitive skin.

"Then, we don't want to burden your mind," Cora purred. Robert hummed in response. He squeezed her hand and began kneading it between both of his warmer hands. He tried to massage a bit more warmth into her cold fingers. Cora's reaction was one of slight surprise and gratitude. The growing grin on her face rounded her cheeks and a light red colour tinged them. Robert took Cora's other hand from his collar so that he had both of her hands in his, and he massaged the lotion into her cold skin. Cora sighed. She tipped her to the side so that it rested fully against the headboard.

"You better not do this too often," Cora remarked. She nodded to their hands.

"Why? Because you will get used to it and it'll spoil you?"

Cora laughed. "No, that would be no reason to stop," she teased. Her voice was light and the usual lilt was even more apparent. "But you will get soft hands like a lady if you keep secretly using my lotion by massaging my hands." She grinned at him cheekily from her relaxed position beside him and awaited his reaction.

"Oh, you are right. This sounds horrible." But he didn't let go of her hands. She giggled. Robert felt a grin spreading on his face.

"I am glad you're in such a good mood tonight," Cora said.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. It's just not very often that everything is so light-hearted. I cannot really believe that no one is causing problems right now. We weren't always this blessed," Cora explained. She relaxed more and more, and her form beside Robert slowly moved closer to his body.

"Don't challenge our luck, my dear," Robert warned.

"Oh, I know that new trouble will come soon enough. But at least for tonight, we will have peace." She extracted one of her hands from his grip and took up playing with his collar again. She whispered, "And I'd say it is well deserved." Her index finger hooked under the seam of his collar and brushed over Robert's collarbone repeatedly.

Robert knew what Cora was doing, and it wasn't what he had imagined for this night. He had imagined peace like Cora had put it. But what she planned wouldn't cause peace, not at first at least. Her plans would lead to surging blood and fiery urges.

Cora's entire palm now rested on Robert's neck. It was warm from his ministrations. He turned his head to look at her. He wanted to give her a look of gentle reprimand. But he was a fool for believing he could reject her. Cora's slightly cocked head was turned to look at him too. Her face held an excited yet patient expression and it took away Robert's resolution to dedicate this night to a restful sleep only. So, Robert returned her expression of anticipation and brushed his knuckles over her cheek. Cora hesitated a little before she leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips over his jaw. Now, that she was so close, her scent enveloped Robert, and now at last would have been the moment where he would have lost his restrain. He turned his head to meet her lips.

It was not very much like them to talk so little. It had become the norm for them to discuss the matters of the day when they met in bed. Robert liked sharing his thoughts with Cora. He could say whatever was on his mind and she would never misunderstand it or take it the wrong way. And he knew that sometimes she needed to ramble too. Get it off her chest, so that she had a night of untroubled sleep ahead. But they didn't really notice how it had taken away from their private time over the years. And that was truly a shame. This night did not seem to become an ordinary night, however, no matter how simple and uneventful it was until now.

Cora melted into his arms. She wound her arms around his neck and Robert held on to her upper back. His palms spread over her shoulder blades. Cora's lips pressed more and more eagerly against his. Robert remembered that they had kissed quite similarly this morning, but it felt too far away already. He felt like a starved man and Cora was the only thing that could sate his hunger. Robert nibbled on her bottom lip. Cora sighed into his mouth in response. The way she tucked lightly at the hair in Robert's neck made him utter a groan as well.

"Mhm, Robert," Cora moaned. Her mouth gasped for air and she rested her forehead against his. She shifted the angle of her body and pressed her knee between Robert's thighs. Her body was now flush with his. When Robert opened his eyes, he saw her grinning at him, her blue eyes brimming with adoration and her pupils dark and large. Her nimble fingers began their work on his nightshirt.

"You don't waste any time, do you, my love?" Robert laughed.

"I want this useless fabric out of my way and then I have all time in the world," she explained.

"I like the sound of this."