AN: This is a piece that has been very quick in the making but has been long in coming. I needed to take a mental break from PM for a story or two, but never fear! I have stories I'm working on and I feel much more ready to get back to them now that this one is out on the market!
Backstory: this is based on the TV Show episodes Morticia's Romance where Morticia tells the children the story of how she and Gomez got married. Basically, Gomez is in an unhappily arranged engagement with Morticia's sister Ophelia. The second he lays eyes on Morticia, just two days before the wedding, they fall madly in love. Just before the beginning of our story, they have consulted Cousin Itt and Uncle Fester to figure out how to deal with their problem and they suggest being together in death. However, just before they pull the trigger...
Thing pulled the rifle from Gomez's hand and used it to push Morticia's out of the way.
Gomez looked desperately to Morticia and couldn't help but take her in his arms.
"I can't believe I was about to die without asking this... Morticia, may I kiss you?" he whispered breathlessly.
"Oh Gomez, yes," she moaned. Their lips met and Morticia felt her knees buckle. The only thing holding her up was Gomez's strong arms around her body.
"Are you alright, Querida?" he asked against her lips.
"Kiss me again and I will be," Morticia begged. He did as she asked, and his lips moved slowly against hers as she raked her fingers through his hair. His kisses made her forget everything: that he was to marry her sister, that they'd met purely by chance-made her forget everything except his name, and the moment he stopped kissing her lips to trail affection down her neck, that was what spilled from her mouth, over and over again. He whispered her name back, against her throat in an almost prayer-like trance as he worshiped at the shrine of her alabaster skin.
"Promise me you'll kiss me like this forever," Morticia pleaded, bringing his lips back to hers.
"I promise." Another passionate kiss. "Morticia, I will find a way for us to be together."
00
"And of course we'll need some fresh weeds," Ophelia prattled on as she brushed through her platinum hair.
"Of course," Morticia agreed, sitting on the window seat and looking up at the cloudy sky. Ophelia continued to ramble on about wedding plans and Morticia felt her stomach churn. Tomorrow, Gomez would belong to Ophelia.
They hadn't had a chance to be alone together the entire day, not after Mother had caught them standing suspiciously close in the study after their brief tete-a-tete. He hadn't even said goodnight to her when Ophelia excused them both from the dinner table for the evening.
The clouds cleared from in front of the bright moon, revealing off in the distance, the Addams Cemetery.
Morticia couldn't stand another moment next to Ophelia while she was discussing wedding nonsense, so she murmured excuses about needing some moonlight and dismissed herself.
She wound through the twisting corridors of the house, trying to remember where the conservatory was. There was a garden door she could sneak out without disturbing a living soul. Until she passed the curtained archway into the great room, where Mrs. Addams and Mama were flipping through old yearbooks spread out on a card table. Gomez was there too, smoking dejectedly in a chair facing the fireplace.
His face was downcast, his brow knit beautifully with worry. The second he saw Morticia though, his eyes lit up.
"What are you doing?" he mouthed.
"Cemetery," she mouthed back.
Gomez glanced over at their mothers. They were laughing over a picture. Gomez came to Morticia where she stood, tucked in the shadows behind the curtains. "The mausoleum, ten minutes," he whispered, tossing his cigar into the cold hearth.
00
He'd made excuses to his mother and their guest and went upstairs. It hadn't been strictly necessary for him to sneak out the window and down the knotty oak tree, but that was the route he chose.
She was bathed in moonlight, sitting atop a gnarled stump between the mausoleum and Great-Great Grandfather Clipper Addams, the ship builder. He'd never been able to build a boat that could float.
Gomez stood watching her silhouette as she talked to the poison sumac that was growing around some of the graves. He was brought back to the first time he'd ever laid eyes on her, when they were only young children-it had been cousin Balthazar's funeral, right here in this very graveyard.
Funerals, despite their macabre nature, were hardly what he wanted to do as a six-year-old child. There was nothing to blow up, no trains to crash, and wrestling the corpse to the ground was hardly a fight at all. All the adults were mingling around the open grave-people he didn't know, friends of his parents and grandparents. He'd been barred from inviting a friend of his own, and his Mama had promised there would be a few other children there his age. For a while, he'd seen only one other child, a girl that had to be older than he, picking dandelions near Uncle Droop and Aunt Drip.
That's when he'd noticed her, sitting behind Cousin Scream's tall headstone: another girl playing with a man-eating plant, an African Strangler like the one she'd brought with her this time. They'd spent nearly an hour trying to catch a mouse near the mausoleum, squealing with laughter each time one got close.
Their parents had come along far too soon for their liking, saying it was time to go home. He hadn't seen Morticia again until the day before, when she'd come in dragging Kitty Cat and stopped his whole world.
"Cara mia, you are a vision," he said, finally stepping out of the shadows, unable to resist her magnetic pull any longer. She turned in surprise and rose to meet his advance.
"I needed a bit of air," she said, brushing away the compliment and looking back up the cliff toward the house. "Ophelia was talking of wedding things…" she trailed off sadly.
"We won't talk about that," Gomez decided, taking both her hands in his. "Tell me about you. I don't want you to spare a detail. But first, Tish," he left off, kissing her fingertips, "let me make up for the hours I missed."
She giggled like a schoolgirl as he counted back the hours that had passed since their last embrace, punctuating each one with a kiss up her arm.
"And now, midnight," he captioned, having reached her neck at 11. He held her close to him and turned quickly, dipping her in front of him. She sighed into the passionate kiss he placed on her lips. He stood her upright once more and they stayed nose to nose, sharing space and breath. "Come, Cara. We have the best hours of the night ahead of us."
He tucked her hand into his elbow and led them through the moonlit graveyard.
00
They laid side by side on the hill and watched the moon set.
"Even a sunrise is beautiful with you," Morticia whispered, holding on to his arm.
"I can't believe we've been out the whole night."
Morticia shook her head and rolled to her side so she could lay her head on his shoulder. He nudged her to move so he could slip his arm around her.
"I love you, Tish," he murmured. She held him even tighter.
"I love you too."
They were silent, absorbing the weight of the other's statement and their own. A tear dripped from Morticia's eye and Gomez sat up to kiss it away.
"Cara, we will find a way."
00
"The only person I could ever marry is-" Gomez trailed off and Morticia plucked a note on the lyre.
"Who?" she asked, emanating Ophelia.
"You," he breathed. Everything fell away and Morticia let the lyre drop by her side.
"Oh, Gomez," she breathed. Everything hurt. She ached to be held by him, even closer and tighter than he was holding her now. Her lips longed for his kiss. But more than those physical aches was the pain in her chest that came from knowing she was about to lose Gomez forever. And not just lose him, but lose him to her sister-she would see him at their family functions, be the aunt to his children, and every moment know that fate had forbidden their love.
In less than an hour, she was going to walk down the grand staircase of the Addams house and watch as the love of her life married someone else. The pain made her want to cry.
She wanted to live in this moment forever, to bask in the glow of his gaze, to revel in the sweetness of his kisses, to melt in the warmth of his embrace.
Fester accidentally shot off the gun, causing Gomez to jump and break away from her. The moment had passed.
Doomsday was upon them, and for the first time in her life, Morticia was dreading it.
00
"Morticia Frump," she answered, filling with glee at the thought of never having to introduce herself that way again.
"My favorite Frump," Gomez murmured, nuzzling her hair. Morticia leaned into the caress.
The minister performed the ceremony quickly, but Morticia couldn't care less.
"You may now kiss the bride," he announced. They turned to each other, beaming. Gomez took her in his arms and turned quickly on his heel, dropping her into a low dip.
"My Querida, my wife," he whispered before pressing a passionate kiss to her lips.
00
"And now, the first dance!" announced Uncle Fester.
"Lurch, to the harpsichord!" Gomez cried, guiding Morticia to the open area in the center of the room. Thing popped out of his box with castanets and clicked them as Lurch played a smooth tango.
Gomez held his new bride close and took slow steps to allow for the tiny ones she had to take in her wedding dress.
Slowly, the rest of the room dissipated like smoke and he was left with only Morticia in his arms.
"Tish, you dance divinely," he murmured.
She smiled. "As do you, darling." They turned with a flourish, dancing back in the opposite direction. They were practically nose to nose, and from this close distance, Gomez could smell Morticia's intoxicating perfume. She hadn't been wearing it before the wedding, but he wanted now more than ever to nuzzle the soft place behind her ear. Even though their dalliance had been short up to this point, he'd discovered that his breath against that hollow made her shiver delightfully.
Looking into her dazzling blue eyes, Gomez wondered how many other delightful little things he'd discover about her. What would he discover yet that very day when he brought her up to the master bedroom? How did she wear her hair to sleep, flowing, like it was now, or in the braids he'd seen her in before? How did she like to be held in the quiet hours when they didn't have to keep their love secret from the world?
And what would he discover over the years that stretched out before them? Were there things he'd learn that Morticia didn't even know about herself yet?
Gomez leaned closer and tucked a kiss against her neck. There were things, he was sure, that she'd learn about him too, things he didn't recognize as characteristics of his personality.
They had their entire lives together to learn about each other and about themselves.
Lurch played a final flourish on the harpsichord, bringing the happy couple unhappily back into the main room of the Addams mansion. No longer were they the only two beings in the world, floating on a cloud. Mama had the cake, and then there would be more dancing.
"I can hardly wait until we are alone," Gomez whispered to his bride as they shared another dance after the wedding cake was served.
"Nor can I, ma cherie," Morticia replied.
"Ahh, that French!" Gomez exclaimed, dropping his lips to her shoulder.
"Darling, guests now, us later," she soothed with promise in her eyes that made Gomez want to order everyone else from the house immediately.
"Ah, yes," he agreed, mentally picturing what later might look like. That would be enough to tide him over for a few more hours.
00
Morticia took a deep breath and smoothed her hair in the mirror. Gomez was in the ensuite as they both changed into something more comfortable. The gossamer sleeves gave way to a barely opaque shift, leaving little to the imagination. It left off quite high on her legs, displaying the blooming purple bruise she'd obtained when he dropped her while carrying her to their master bedroom.
The marks were a bit tender, but Morticia was certain Gomez would give them the utmost care as he kissed all the way up to their point of origin, past the hem of her nightdress.
Gomez returned dressed in a pair of striped pajamas pants and a glossy smoking jacket. His eyes darkened as he took her in, looking up and down her body that had, until this point, been hidden enticingly from his view. He crossed the room and touched her with the reverence he'd have touching a Ming Vase or or a Michelangelo. His hands cupped her rib cage and slipped them down her sides to her hips. Squeezing gently, he pulled her close and felt up and down her spine into her hairline.
"Beautiful," he murmured.
Morticia felt like she'd never been looked at before this moment, and she knew she'd never been looked at with the kind of love Gomez held in his gaze. With a gentle tug, she pulled open the knot he'd put in the tie of his smoking jacket. The glossy fabric fell open revealing his bare chest. Morticia raked her nails over his skin, leaving thin red lines behind.
"Take me to bed," she whispered, fighting down her nerves. She loved this man, trusted him implicitly even though their adult acquaintanceship had lasted only a few days. He smiled wickedly, swept her up into his arms, and did as she asked.
The mattress was deliciously hard and the sheets were silken against her bare skin.
Kneeling at the bedside, Gomez kissed along the bruises, just as she'd hoped. But instead of following the likely path they indicated, he moved her nightgown out of the way to ensure he covered every inch. Morticia shivered as his hands crept over her body and her nerves tingled as if a thousand spiders were crawling over her skin.
Despite the tremors of her nerves and the pure arousal she was feeling, Morticia couldn't stop the yawn that overcame her. Gomez paused in his amorousness as her yawn passed to him.
"We didn't sleep last night," he murmured against her skin, pulling himself into the bed beside her.
"We have forever, Darling. Perhaps this could wait until morning?" She strokes his cheek with her crimson nails. He turned his head and pressed a kiss into her palm.
"Forever with you, Cara mia, even that may not be enough."
00
Morticia stretched languidly as thunder rumbled outside the window. Gomez blinked slowly awake beside her and smiled as he yawned.
"I thought this all might be a dream," she murmured, snuggling in closer to Gomez. He wrapped his arm around her and nuzzled his nose into her hair. He could still smell the perfume against the crown of her head. She leaned up to kiss him.
"No nightmare shall ever compare to our life together, Cara," he promised, fingering a lock of her beetle black hair and letting it fall across his chest. "Well, Mrs. Addams, shall we begin our life together?"
AN: Thanks eversomuch to the incomparable PerryLovesDella for the beta and InTheConservatory and totea-ornot-totea for mulling over ideas with me!