A/N : Matthery wedding is finally here !! I truly hope you guys like this chapter I had a lot of fun writing it. if you did make sure to like or leave a review !
A big thanks to my ever-faifthful beta readers, Chlea and Becca, who are truly a lot of help on this fanfic ! And thanks to all those reading !!
Anna arose from her sleep to be faced with John watching her. She rubbed her eyes to clear the sleep in them and whispered in a hoarse voice.
"Hello, handsome"
"Did you sleep well ?" he asked softly, stroking her exposed arm. She nodded and brushed his chest with her fingers.
"Well, Miss Smith, you've had your way with me" he joked and she chuckled."I just hope you don't come to regret it"
"I would never John, I was genuine yesterday when I said I wanted to take that next step and I'm not regretting any bit of it" she emphasized on the "any bit" part with a smirk.
"I love you, you know ?", he stroked her shoulder.
"I do. And I love you. Happy new year my love" she replied, kissing him. The outside temperature was negative but the room was suddenly very warm when John slipped his tongue into her mouth. They kissed passionately until John trailed his kisses down her neck to her breast. He pressed sloppy kisses on them, biting and licking, eliciting some pleased moans from his girlfriend. Anna was writhing underneath him from all the pleasure. It had never been like this with Alex. This felt extremely good. The kisses traveled down her stomach to the apex of her thighs. She opened her eyes to look at John.
"John, what-what are you doing ?" She managed to say between her sighs. John looked up, concerned he was doing something she didn't want him to do.
"I want to please you. Again" he stated, smiling softly. Anna felt a surge of love for her thoughtful boyfriend.
"I-I never…I mean…He never d-did this" she admitted, ashamed.
"He never pleased you with his mouth ?"He asked genuinely.
"I-I…He never really pleased me. I never had a real…" she tried to explain but was overcome with embarrassment.
"Orgasm ?" She nodded. John was a bit surprised but not that much. Men weren't all experts in that area.
"Then, would you allow me to give you that pleasure ?" he said, with a playful smirk. Anna nodded and gave him a loving smile. She was so thankful for him.
Soon his head was between her thighs and she was moaning loudly. She thought she would nearly pass out from all the pleasure she was experiencing. When she tensed and came in a cry, happy tears rolled down her cheeks and she chuckled. John looked at her, confused.
"Thank you," she said, shakily.
"Why are you thanking me ?" he asked, stroking her thighs to help her calm down from her highs.
"Now I know what an orgasm is" she winked at him and he burst into laughter before kissing her. When they pulled away, John moved next to her and allowed her to be in his arms. Anna took him in. He was devinshingly handsome, her boyfriend. She stroked his face gently, he had a hint of stubble - he would eventually get rid of later - and she thought it made him even sexier. Yet, his skin was very soft and she loved it. John often complained about his cheeks, saying he looked like a bulldog, but Anna loved them. The feeling of kissing his chubby cheeks was one of her favorites. Her hand slowly moved up to thread through his hair, they were silky and fluffy just like she liked, with that little lock falling on his eyes. Her hand traveled to his broad shoulders, she could see nails prints on them, a reminder of the passion from last night. She descended further on his arm when she noticed something.
"You have a tattoo ?" she looked up to his face. He chuckled.
"Yes, you never noticed it ?" he simply said.
"Well you have only worn long sleeves until then", she explained.
"Didn't you notice yesterday ?" he asked her, smirking.
"I was too busy enjoying myself" she teased and he chuckled again. "Why is it for ?"
"It's silly. We did it with Robert -", he began to explain. Anna's eyes widened in amused shock.
"ROBERT ? Robert has a tattoo ?" she interrupted, almost shouting.
"Yes, anyway, we did it as a symbol of friendship when I went to the firefighter training", he said, scratching his neck, embarrassed.
"Aw, you guys are such a cute bromance", she teased him and he pouted.
"Oh, shut up" he said, shushing her with her kiss.
Later that morning - more like noon -, Anna woke up to John cooking brunch in the kitchen. She hugged him from behind, her face on his back. She breathed in his scent before moving over to dress the table. Once the eggs were done, he turned off the stove and went to the little table where there were toasts, jams, freshly made tea, sausages and bacon. They ate, talking about their project for this new year, especially about Matthew and Mary's upcoming wedding. It was an exciting prospect, both were rejoicing for their friends. John had seen Mary growing up and meeting Matthew and was really happy for his goddaughter. Anna was also happy for her friends but she was also thinking about what this change meant for her. She'd have to move out. As she watched John eating his breakfast in front of her, the domesticity of it hit her right into her heart and she wished for every day to be like this. She wanted to move in with him. Live with him, every day - and every night -. However, she couldn't muster enough courage to ask him yet. Was it something he also wanted ?
After what happened, neither Mary nor Matthew wanted to delay a wedding any longer. So, they settled for a Valentine's Day wedding, which allowed only a month of preparation for the ceremony. They would get married at the local church. Mary wanted things done big but her fiancé had to remind her that an early wedding didn't leave them with too many options. In the end, the young woman declared that marrying him was enough for her. She was content enough with marrying the love of her life. Matthew and her had known each other since high school, at first she had despised him because he was coming for her most popular throne but in the end they fell in love. Now that she had come so close to losing him, she couldn't stay any longer without being his wife.
Mary had obviously chosen Anna as her bridesmaid. Her best friend was almost as excited as her regarding the preparations of the wedding. It has always been like that in their friendship. Matthew had chosen his - now former - flatmate, Tom, to be his best man. All their friends and colleagues were invited, Mary had even invited her sister, to everyone's great surprise.
"She's my sister after all", she stated as Anna and Thomas - who had come to help her choose a dress - were looking at her with raised eyebrows.
O'Brien was the only one of their close colleagues who wasn't invited. Mary despised the woman and had told her mom that it was out of question to have her at her wedding. Cora had felt bad about it but her friends assured her it was better this way. John was relieved, he feared O'Brien would find a way to be nasty and ruin Mary's day. The bitter lady, as if she was Maleficent, complained for weeks about not being invited.
"I don't remember you being particularly a friend of Mary's," Anna pointed out.
"And the last time I checked, you thought Matthew was an arrogant sod," John added.
"Aye, okay no need to gang up on me Chip and Dale" O'Brien rolled her eyes. Thomas, who was sitting next to her, laughed and she gave him a deathly glare.
Around January 20th, Thomas, Anna and Mary had been to the wedding dress shop in order to choose the perfect dress. Thomas wasn't really a shopaholic but Mary was one of his best friends. He had missed his sister's wedding because he was out of favor with his family, Mary was like a sister to him as well as Anna, this was his second chance. They went to an expensive wedding dress maker, Mary's family was pretty wealthy and Mary being the oldest child (and first to be married), she was being spoiled by her parents. Anna thought that she would never be able to be married in a dress like this, but in the end what really mattered was that the man at the end of the aisle was John. She hoped it would be him. Forever.
Mary tried on at least twenty dresses. They stayed all afternoon. Thomas had ordered take-aways salads (to avoid staining the beautiful - and expensive - dresses). Anna and him were eating, chatting away about their personal lives - she was surprised Thomas was interested in her relationship with John, the two men were civil at best - while Mary was trying on another dress. When she came out of the cabin, Thomas almost dropped his salad. Anna was also stunned.
"You're both making funny faces, is it that bad ?"
"Oh, Mary !" Anna said, tearfully, walking toward her to take in the dress. It was a beautiful white dress with a long skirt covered in lace and see-through sleeves also made of lace, the collar was a v-neck, boarded with beads.
"Thomas, what does she mean ?" Mary seeked from her other best friend but he also shedded some tears. "Not you too !"
"You're beautiful," he told her with a genuine smile.
"I love it, I must admit, it's the perfect dress !" Mary eagerly said, trying to contain her own tears.
"It is. Matthew's going to fall for you all over again in this" Thomas assured her.
"He will," Anna agreed.
"Guys, I can't believe I'm finally marrying the love of my life !" Mary cried in earnest this time. Anna and Thomas hugged her loosely enough to avoid crumpling her beautiful dress. She bought it. Funnily enough, it wasn't the most expensive dress, but it was the most precious dress Mary ever owned.
As Mary's bridesmaid, Anna had agreed to be an active part of the preparations. All her week-ends of January were spent helping Cora prepare for the ceremony. It would be held at Downton, in the main hall. It was a tradition in the Crawley's family and Mary was adamant that she wanted to honor it. This was a role Anna was happy to assume but this meant she spent less time with John. They still spent every Friday night together and obviously they saw each other at school all week. However, their favorite time at work was the Book Club time on Friday morning. The students had been completely over the moon when they learned about the upcoming wedding. Rose, who lived with the Crawleys, was invited to the wedding - as one of the bridesmaids -. Anna wanted to talk with John about moving in together but it never was the right time or the right place.
Cora was a master at organizing parties. She wanted her daughter to have the best wedding - and she was eager to do it two more times for her younger daughters -. Obviously, Mary had her say in the matter with it being her wedding but mother and daughter agreed on most things. She had the food, the music - a song cover band -, the guests. Everything was right as rain. There was only one thing left to do and Anna, as the maid of honor, was in charge of it : the bachelorette party. This was a big responsibility for her, she had never organized one. To be honest, she had never been invited to one. She didn't go to her mother's, when she remarried her stepfather, being too young for that. On a Friday night, as they were at his flat, she complained about it to her boyfriend.
"I don't bloody know how to organize a bachelorette party !" she moaned. She was cuddling in John's arms, who massaged her scalp as he knew it calmed her.
"I'm sure you're going to be great, love, you're so creative. Just choose something fun." he suggested and she gave him a look.
"It's easy to say for you, you don't have to organize Matthew's stag party. Not that it would be too complicated…"
"What does that supposed mean ?" he feigned hurt.
"With you guys it's just "have alcohol, will travel "", Anna joked but John's face fell.
"You know I won't," he said.
"Of course, I'm sorry, I'm just stressed", she quickly apologized, kissing his cheek to soothe his worries.
"Is there something I could do to help ?" he asked, playfully kissing her neck.
"There is", she smirked, sending a shiver down John's body.
"What is it ?", he playfully asked, knowing exactly what she wanted him to do.
"Take me to bed, Mr Bates" she winked and he lifted her up, walking to his bedroom with her in his arms, despite her worries about his knee.
After that lovely interlude, Anna thought again about what to do for Mary's night. Karaoke was always fun, she guessed. Maybe a few cocktails and embarrassing presents. She decided to ask Gwen for advice. In the morning, she and Gwen talked about it during a break, paying attention that Mary wasn't around. Gwen approved of her ideas and suggested the idea of some games. Together, they worked hard to have it ready for the week before the wedding. Neither Mary nor Matthew wished to be wasted on their big day.
The Friday of the week before the wedding was the night the parties were going to be held. While the girls - Mary, Anna, Gwen, Cora, Edith and Sybil - were having their party at Sybil and Gwen's, the boys - Matthew, John, Tom, Robert, Joseph and Thomas - were at Matthew and Tom's. Rose moaned about not being invited to the girls party and it ensued a long conversation between her and Mary to remind her that she was underage. For her part, Mary had her doubts about her mother being there while Matthew wasn't sure he liked the idea of his future father-in-law being present at his stag night. The night started at 7 pm.
At the girls' place, Anna and Gwen had installed a karaoke machine in the living room. There was a marvelous minibar, filled by Sybil. It was going to be a hell of a night, Mary thought.
Gwen, Sybil, Anna and Mary were already there and waited for Cora and Edith to arrive. The little Marigold was looked over by Isobel, Matthew's mother - which made her the happiest ever, she had been a pediatrician until she retired and considered Marigold like a grandchild of her own -. The girls decided to be a little less dressed up than when they usually held parties, wanting a casual mood for the night. Cora, Edith and Gwen were in jeans, Sybil and Anna were in shorts and only Mary, the star of the night, was in a skirt.
The evening started lightly. They had ordered pizzas - funnily enough the boys had chosen the same glamorous dish for their party- and were sipping on cocktails Gwen had prepared. They were all good drinkers so it wasn't embarrassing - yet. Sybil had made the appetizers and everyone was nibbling on it, chatting away.
"So, how's the future bride feeling ?", Sybil asked, biting on a cherry tomato.
"Over the moon, honestly, after all this time I started to think he would never pop up the question" Mary laughed and the others joined.
"It's only been four years," Cora chided her gently.
"It's still a wide change from that Richard guy who wanted to marry her after having been on one date with her '', Edith said and Mary gave a deathly glare. When Matthew had done a semester away in France, Mary met Richard Carlisle, an uppity journalism student, who bought her coffee and claimed he wanted to marry her after just meeting her.
"The worst was Tony in high school who was ready to go to third base with you just because you kissed him once," Sybil added.
"Oh, not him. It was a bloody truth or dare game !" Mary waved her hand before her face as if she was trying to erase this memory.
Anna laughed along with the others but there was a nagging uncomfortable feeling running through her body. Her stories were less funny to tell and she was reminded of them. She needed to erase them, to think of her first kiss with John, that had been magical. It worked and she was back in the conversation. Cora was talking about an art student trying to kiss her when she was already engaged to Robert.
"Your dad never forgave me for this" Cora told her daughter, huffing from exasperation at her husband.
"As if dad never had his head turned by another woman" Edith rolled her eyes.
"He thinks I didn't see him looking at that waitress…" Cora sighed.
"Okay, before we ruin the night - and your parents' marriage -" Anna intervened " we should probably change the subject"
"There's presents" Gwen sing-songed.
"Why don't I like the sound of this ?" Mary inquired, looking over at Anna.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun" Anna reassured Mary, grinning widely.
One by one, the girls offered gifts to Mary, to celebrate her future life as a wife. Though, everyone knew it was just an excuse to offer sexual gifts. It started soft with Sybil and Anna's ones : lingerie, Gwen had bought her condoms - extra-large ones, which made Anna spit out her drink -, Edith chose a sex toy and Mary rolled her eyes though she thought it could be fun. The future bride nearly choked on her own saliva when she unwrapped her mother's present.
"LUBE ???" she nearly screamed, the object slipping from her hands.
"Yes" Cora nodded, the girls around them burst into laughter and Cora wasn't getting the reason.
"Mama, you bought your daughter lube ??" she repeated, caught in a mix of shame and laughter.
"I wasn't born yesterday, darling, I know what you and Matthew are doing", Cora said with her usual candidness.
"Couldn't you just buy me bloody lingerie ?" Mary retorted, running her hand over her face. Her friends exploded into fits of laughter.
"You know it's always useful," Sybil pointed out. "Sometimes it helps -"
"Don't finish that sentence, Sybil, I don't wanna know about my baby sister's sex life"
"Well, she's not wrong. It feels better when it's -" Gwen started but Mary almost jumped at her to mute her. Gwen had to contain her laughter through Mary's hand. Anna was almost rolling on the floor from laughter. Mary was the first one to make those kinds of remarks and yet she was acting candid all of a sudden.
"I don't want to hear about any of yours' sex life. I know how to use lube, I don't need any example" Mary begged, almost whining.
"Any anecdotes to share, Anna ?" Cora laughed at her daughter's discomfort.
"I think it would finish Mary off if I admitted I have the same bottle at home" Anna smirked, looking over to her best friend who choked on her drink.
"ANNA !" She yelled, disgusted. Anna couldn't help but laugh, proud of herself.
"Wow, I'm not sure I needed that info about uncle John" Sybil giggled.
"Can we please stop talking about this ? I don't want Mama or worse Edith to tell their stories too" Mary groaned.
"Laugh at me if you want, but I'm the one with a baby here, I know things" Edith shot back at her sister's remark.
To change the subject, Gwen suggested a karaoke session. They let the queen of the day start with her first song. Mary chose a song that meant a lot for her, a song that represented her friendship with her best friend.
"I'm dedicating this song to my best friend, my third sister, the woman who supported me the most when things were so uncertain with Matthew…" her voice caught a bit "I might become a married woman next week but our friendship will always be so important to me" Anna caught Mary's look and smiled.
"Anna this is for you" Mary grinned as the first notes of "Everybody" by Backstreet Boys.
Everybody, yeah, rock your body yeah, everybody yeah, rock your body right, Backstreet's back, alright !
As if on cue, Anna, Gwen and Sybil rose from their spot on the sofa to join Mary in a perfect reproduction of the choreography. Cora and Edith couldn't help but laugh as they sang along to the songs. This brought back many happy memories to the girls. Anna and Mary were mad about this band during these college years, going to the concerts every time the group was in England. Mary had passed down this passion to her littlest sister who was still in high school at that time. Robert and Cora had their heads full with the fangirl talks. The three of them together were so loud when it came to their favorite boy band.
Once the song finished, they panted for breath. It didn't take long for them to find their wits again and sing another song. It went on as the night did, and the singing got wronger eras they got drunker.
The night was at the same point back at Tom and Matthew's flat. It had started by a heated debate on football teams - Liverpool vs Manchester United -. Thankfully, they had avoided the sex talk, Matthew was certain he didn't want the hands of his future father-in-law before he even got the chance to marry his daughter. Robert gave great advice on married life -always say yes to your wife-. John avoided giving his opinion, judging how sour his first marriage had turned but he laughed with the others. Soon enough, the flat became a dance club, the men getting far too drunk - apart from John who stuck to ginger ale -. After some time, a really drunk Tom proposed a karaoke and was acclaimed. They used the connected TV to search on YouTube, and connected two old karaoke microphones to it. Many songs were sung - wrongly - until drunk Robert got up - much to Matthew's surprise- and searched for a song.
"John, old mate, come sing with me" he shouted to his best friend, who was the only one with a clear mind and refused. "Oh c'mon"
John gave in and came by Robert's side with a grimace. However, he smiled when he saw the song they were about to sing.
I was made for loving you baby, you were made for loving me
And I can't get enough of you baby, can you get enough of me ?
The two men sang at the top of their lungs. The others watched their two older friends with awe - slightly mixed with wince at the falseness of their singing-. At this moment, John was truly relieved his girlfriend wasn't here to witness this atrocity.
When the song was over, they regained their spot, both breathless and desperate for a drink to heal their sore throats.
"It was probably the worst thing I've ever witnessed" Matthew declared, laughing. His father-in-law, too drunk to understand he was being mocked, laughed along. John joined in too. "I'm just glad Tom didn't plan any stripteasers, that would have been so embarrassing"
"Who says there isn't ?" a voice said. They turned around to look at Joseph Molesley, who put on "Careless Whisper" by George Michael before taking off his shirt and starting a - supposedly- sexy dance for them.
They burst into laughter, throwing pillows at him to make him stop but he seemed unbothered. Finally, they managed to get him to sit down.
Around 2am, both parties died down and people were going back home. John, who was playing taxi driver tonight, dropped Joseph and Robert by their house. Edith and Cora went back home on their own. He received a call from his girlfriend as he made his way home, he picked up the phone and connected it to the car speaker via bluetooth.
"Hello handsome" he heard her rasp through the phone and felt a warmth running through him.
"Hello you. Was your night okay ?" He asked, gently. She giggled and he could tell she was tipsy.
"Fantastic" she said, eagerly.
"Could you drop us home, Uncle John?" He heard Mary shout on the other hand of the phone.
"I'm on my way, girls", he assured them, turning around to go Gwen and Sybil's flat.
"Thank youuu" Mary sing-songed. She was as drunk as Anna.
"I love you" Anna said as a way of thanks. He grinned brightly.
After 15 minutes, he was at the flat. He parked his car and saw two shaky silhouettes coming his way. They hopped into the car, being a bit too loud at this ungodly hour. He tried to shush them gently. Once they were in, he locked the door and made his way to their flat. He didn't get the chance to chat with them since they both fell asleep right from the moment they buckled their belts. It made him laugh, especially as he heard his girlfriend's soft snores.
When he finally arrived, he moved to awaken them. Mary was already awake, sobering up a little. She hopped off the car and made her way to their door, turned the key in the lock and went inside. She almost didn't acknowledge John nor a sleeping best friend in the car. He rounded the car and went by Anna's side. She was sleeping like a baby and he didn't want to wake her up. He unbuckled her belt, took her in his arms and lifted her a little. She shifted a little but didn't wake up. He carried her all the way through her house. He placed her under her bed covers and lifted until it covered her neck. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. He made his way to leave the room on his tiptoes when he heard her small voice, barely a whisper.
"John ?" She called.
"I'm here, love", he replied gently.
"Stay with me ?" she asked, he hesitated a bit before nodding. He went to the bed and lied under the covers next to her. She snuggled close to him, her face buried in his chest. He stroked her arm lightly, kissed her hairline and drifted to sleep quickly after she did.
They fussed a week more about the wedding and it was finally there, exactly on Valentine's Day. The dress code was pink-ish red. The bridesmaid wore a dress in that color, and John thanked Mary for that because red was truly Anna's color. When he went to pick up her and Mary with Robert that day, his heart nearly stopped. He knew it was his goddaughter's day but he found he had eyes only for that little blond he was lucky enough to have as his girlfriend. When he finally took his eyes off the perfect form of Anna, he looked at Mary and his jaw dropped again.
"Will I do, Uncle John ?" She inquired as both her dad and godfather looked at her with their jaws on the floor.
"If you were my daughter, I would be the proudest father on earth," John smiled back. Mary blushed a little before turning to look at her father. He was speechless.
"I echo every syllable. I have the prettiest daughter and I'm really proud of the woman she is now" Robert finally spoke, tears in his eyes.
"Oh Papa" she looked up to prevent herself from crying.
"No crying on your wedding day, your mascara isn't waterproof" Anna reminded. Mary nodded, chuckling at her friend's motherly behavior.
The four of them hopped into Robert's cart. Mary was in the front seat, leaving John and Anna in the back seats.
"You're beautiful" John breathed and Anna met his eyes, she could read his pure love for her.
"You too," she told him back. He looked great in his smart dark gray suit, a red tie around the neck.
"Happy Valentine's Day, John" Anna whispered, leaning to kiss John. He leaned too and they met in a chaste and quick kiss.
"Happy Valentine's Day, love," he smiled and she got lost in his eyes, his beautiful green eyes for a second, wishing they were alone.
"Hey you two, no snogging on my back seat" Robert warned, making them laugh.
"And on my wedding day" Mary added.
They arrived and parked before the church. It was so beautiful, little paper hearts were hanging between the trees. Everyone was already inside. Mary suddenly felt really nervous. This was her big day, the day she had dreamed about since she was a little girl and here she was. She couldn't wait to meet Matthew at the end of the aisle. Anna felt her best friend's nervousness and patted her shoulder, offering a smile. Mary placed her hand on the one on her shoulder and squeezed it. John, who had retrieved Mary's flowers, handed it to her. They were red roses. Her friends left her to go inside with the others, leaving her and her father alone. Robert told his daughter once again that he was terribly happy for her. He truly was. His oldest daughter getting married was a memory he would always cherish. Her mother had told her he had been crying about it all week since he came back from the stag night, praising Matthew. Mary felt relieved that her dad got along so well with her -future- husband.
"Ready ?" Robert shook Mary from her thoughts, offering his arm for her to take.
"I've always been ready for this" she replied, smiling, hooking her arm with his.
He led her to the end of the aisle where Matthew was waiting, Tom by his side. She could see her family and friends smiling at her from the benches. Her mother's smile was probably the brightest, not too far behind Anna and Thomas' ones. Isobel was already tearing up, looking so proudly at her son. Robert went to his seat next to his wife and Tom stood back. Mary glanced at Matthew, who smiled to the point of hurting his cheeks. She reciprocated the gesture before turning her gaze back to the vicar.
The vicar did the usual ceremonial, making them repeat the vows after him. They did, without breaking eye contact between them. It felt as if they were the only two people in the room.
"With my body I thee worship" Matthew repeated after the vicar.
"Oh yes you do," Mary whispered a little bit too loud, making Matthew chuckle. Anna rolled her eyes at her best friend but smiled when she looked at John by her sides. He was just as happy to witness Mary's great moment as her. When she looked back at the couple they were putting on the ring Tom had brought. Anna nearly shedded a tear at the sight. Finally, they sealed their vows with a kiss. At this moment, people in the crowd applauded and couples looked at their significant other. Anna felt a hand on hers, she looked up to see John smiling brightly at her. She took his hand in hers and brought her to kiss it. His eyes crinkled while the corner of his lips moved up. She felt a sudden certainty she had been waiting for all through this time she was wondering about the next step of her life, of their life. She wanted to see those crinkles every morning when she woke up and every night when she drifted to sleep.
They moved this lovely celebration to the school hall that was also decorated with the colors of love. Red, pink and white roses everywhere, paper hearts taped on the walls and a big sign saying "Congratulations Matthew Mary !". The school kitchen staff had been kind enough to prepare the buffet. Anna giggled thinking that it must have been how things were done in the old days with the dozen servants to help.
John and Anna came by the bride and groom's side to congratulate them. They were already surrounded by Thomas, Gwen and Sybil.
"Congratulations !" Anna said happily, opening her arms to catch both Mary and Matthew in her arms.
"Thank you, Anna !!" they both excitedly replied.
"Isn't there a saying that goes "three is a crowd" ? Thomas joked but his friends turned their confused look to him so he added "I guess Anna will have to move out"
"Thomas !" Gwen admonished him. Anna rolled her eyes at her ever-teasing best friend.
"We won't throw her out yet," Mary said jokingly. "I'm sorry guys but I'm famished. It's exhausting to get married". This quickly scattered the embarrassment. Then the newlyweds left to move over to the buffet. Gwen, Thomas and Sybil followed them leaving John and Anna alone. Anna mulled over what had been said over and over, all the more decided to suggest to John that they move together. She was dragged out of her thoughts by her boyfriend's hand slipping in hers.
"Could we go talk somewhere private ?" Anna suggested, her pensive expression still plastered on her face. John agreed, though he wondered what was going on. They walked hand in hand to the courtyard where they met during the breaks. This place has become theirs. They sat on the bench, she noticed that he hadn't let her hand go all this time. She stroked his knuckles with her thumb gently. They were lost in each other's eyes for a moment before John spoke.
"Can I kiss you ? I've been dying to do it since church. It seems a Valentine's Day wedding only multiplies my love for you" Anna's heart swelled with love for that man. How could he be saying something so romantic to her right now as she had an important task to do ?
She nodded and he leaned in to capture her lips in a tender, slow kiss. They had shared a great deal of kiss since their first but this one was special, it felt like it meant the world. She moved her free hand to cup his cheek, leaning in a bit more to deepen the kiss. It wasn't a wild kind of passionate kiss, it was a meaningful kind of passionate. When they pulled away, Anna breathed in, still a few inches away from his lips -the hot air blowing on him- then she asked, her eyes locked with his.
"Can I move in with you ?"
"What ?" John moved a little from Anna, searching her eyes.
"I want us to live together, John. With Mary and Matthew now married it's the perfect moment because I don't see the point in living alone when I can move in with you. I thought about it a lot and I want to see you everyday, to cook breakfast or dinner with you, to not be forced to steal your jumpers" they laughed at this, Anna had developed an habit of stealing his jumpers when she was at his - she loved his smell on it and how it was three size too big for her - "I want to go to bed with you and wake up in your arms. I know this is maybe too soon and I'm not expecting you to say yes right-
John shushed her ramblings with a kiss, a little gasp of surprise escaped her. He pulled away and cupped her face with both his hands - having freed the other from her hold-.
"I'd love it !" he said, smiling widely causing Anna to do the same.