A/N: without further ado, here is the final chapter!

…

"Hey, what's up?" Sybil asked as her eldest sister entered the kitchen. "Mum's gone to meet Dad at the airport." Robert was returning home from his conference in Edinburgh this morning, much to the girls' relief. They loved their mother but it was nice to have their father around to balance out her superficiality.

Mary yawned widely before she could respond. She'd spent most of the evening at Matthew's place, messaging her mother to say that her date with the Texan was going so well that she'd be back quite late. Meanwhile, however, she and Matthew had a great time making up for the six days they'd been apart. All that physical exertion, coupled with the lack of sleep for the last few nights, was taking its toll on Mary.

"By the way, did I hear Mum correctly when she said you'd gone on a date with that ghastly Texas woman's son? Do you really want her as your mother-in-law?"

"I didn't go on the date, but Mum doesn't know that." Mary replied, sitting down on one of the stools around the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Oh, good." Sybil settled down opposite Mary with her stir-fry. "I can't imagine Matthew would have been too pleased about you going. Do you want some?" She offered Mary some of her lunch.

Mary shook her head. "Actually, I wanted to propose something to you- Mum said she and Dad are going out this evening for dinner at around 6pm- why don't you invite Tom round, and I'll invite Matthew round? We can have a double-date." She smiled.

"Ooh! That's a brilliant idea." Sybil said excitedly. "But what about Edith?"

"She'll probably be in her room, reading about engines or whatever it is she does with her life." Mary replied drolly. "So you'll invite Tom?"

"Yep, I'll give him a ring now, in fact." Sybil manoeuvred off her stool, plate in hand, and scurried to the other room to fetch her phone.

…

Mary checked her watch. 5.56pm. She'd ordered Matthew to go and pick Tom up on his way, to make sure that they were both prompt. He hadn't known why it was so important to be exactly on time, but he obeyed her nonetheless.

"Sybil, why don't you go and start laying the table?" Mary suggested.

"OK. Have Mum and Dad actually left yet?" Sybil queried, on her way to the dining room.

"Yeah, they left a few minutes ago." Mary assured.

"Cool. This is going to be so much fun!" Sybil beamed, practically bouncing into the other room.

Mary wasn't sure that Sybil was correct in her assessment of the evening's proceedings. She drummed her fingertips on the back of the sofa, impatient.

"Mary, what are you up to this evening?" Robert asked as he and Cora walked into the living room, wondering why she was standing on her own in the middle of the room.

"Sybil and I are having a couple of friends over, hope that's OK." She said sweetly.

"Of course! It's been a while since you've had people over to the house. Do we know them?"

"I think you know one of them…" The doorbell saved Mary from further questioning. "I'll get it!" She offered hastily, marching towards the hallway.

Robert and Cora glanced at each other. Their daughter was behaving very strangely indeed.

Mary opened the door. "Hi." She said, accepting a quick kiss from Matthew and shaking Tom's outstretched hand.

"Thanks so much for having me over, Mary. Sybil told me it was your idea." Tom said gratefully.

"No problem, come in." Mary felt rather guilty at Tom's gratitude- she hadn't exactly invited him over to have a nice, quiet dinner.

"Matthew!" Robert exclaimed happily, seeing him enter the room. "Mary didn't tell me you were coming. Why didn't you tell me, Ma-" Robert paused upon seeing the second young man. "And you've brought a friend? I'm Robert Crawley and this is my wife, Cora." He approached the second man, extending his hand.

Matthew had been pretty startled to see that Mary's parents were present, but Tom felt like he'd been shot in the stomach. The mere idea of wealthy, nigh-aristocratic people intimidated him, but Sybil had added to his fear by telling him all about how strict they were. That, in addition to the fact that they were his girlfriend's parents, had him paralysed with terror; he managed to break free just enough to shake Robert's hand.

Robert waited for the young man to introduce himself. Seeing that Tom wasn't in a fit state to speak, Matthew interjected. "This is Tom Branson. He's my best friend, we worked together when I was training." He shot a look over at Mary, asking her what was going on. He had a feeling that her parents' presence wasn't an accident. She gave him a look that said she knew what she was doing.

Hearing voices, Sybil peered through the dining room doorway. Her eyes widened in excitement upon seeing that Tom and Matthew had arrived, then widened further in horror as she saw her parents speaking to them. What were they doing here?

"Sybil, your company has arrived." Cora called to her.

Sybil gingerly made her way into the room. She noticed that poor Tom looked absolutely terrified. "Hi, guys." She said to them both, giving Tom a comforting look.

Robert wondered why the atmosphere was so uneasy. "So, what's the occasion?" He asked, glancing between the four young adults. This was a rather odd gathering.

Mary took a deep breath. "Sybil and I wanted to introduce you to Tom and Matthew." She addressed her parents.

"What? We already know Matthew." Cora laughed lightly, although she found this situation more unsettling than humorous.

"Yes, but…" Mary looked over to Matthew. He gave her a small, supportive smile. "I wanted to formally introduce you to him. As my boyfriend."

There was pin-drop silence. The youngsters felt too afraid to breathe.

Robert blinked in confusion and took a moment to let the words register. He looked to Matthew, the boy he'd trusted to be a gentleman to his daughters. "Boyfriend?" He asked the young man.

Matthew swallowed nervously, unable to deduce whether the man was hurt or merely baffled. "I'm sorry, Robert." He began contritely, ignoring the glare from Mary. He guessed that she didn't want him to apologise, when they'd done nothing wrong, but Robert had been so kind to him and he didn't want him to think his trust had been betrayed. "I probably should have spoken to you about it, but…" He trailed off, realising he couldn't really explain just how things had developed between him and Mary.

"Yes, you should have." Cora piped up sternly. "I think this is all highly inappropriate. I do not appreciate you going behind our back, Mary. And why would you choose to tell us in this way, causing a scene? You know how these things should work." She hissed.

Mary threw her arms up in despair. "Mum, I'm not fifteen years old anymore! It's not like I'm fooling around with random boys, risking my safety- I shouldn't need your permission! This is ridiculous." She said, shaking her head in frustration. "Dad?" Mary turned to her father, hoping that he'd be more rational.

"Mary, perhaps this wasn't the most appropriate way to bring this up." He said gently. His tone might have been less docile had they not had company present. "I think it would be best if Matthew and I have a talk. Sybil and…Tom, here, have nothing to do with it. Sorry about this." He apologised to Tom, who was still rooted to the spot, inwardly recoiling as he realised what was coming.

"They do have something to do with it, actually." Mary said. She gave Sybil a pointed look, telling her that it was her turn to speak.

Taking strength from her sister, and from the fact that her parents hadn't exploded with rage at news of Mary and Matthew's relationship, Sybil said boldly, "Tom and I are in a relationship, too."

Cora sighed audibly, obviously displeased. In her eyes, their living room might as well be the set of a Jerry Springer episode. This was all so uncouth.

"Right, of course you are." Robert muttered, rubbing his temple with one hand. All this information was rather overwhelming. "Maybe I should have a chat with you as well, then." He addressed Tom, who nodded nervously.

"So you're a lawyer as well, then?" Cora asked suspiciously, well aware that Sybil's tastes weren't as refined as they should be.

"Er…no. I'm, a…er…security guard, ma'am." Sybil would have laughed if she wasn't so uncomfortable- she's not the Queen, Tom.

If this had been the 19th century, Cora would have reached for her smelling-salts. "This is absurd." She cried. "Robert, these men have no place being with our daughters." She said angrily.

"Mum!" Sybil and Mary shouted simultaneously. Mary peered at Matthew, anxious that he would be hurt by what he heard. He winked at her reassuringly- he'd prepared himself for much worse.

"Cora, please." Robert held a hand up to silence his wife. She was a wonderful mother, but could be extremely over-bearing at times. It would be best if he handled the situation himself. "May I speak with you both privately?" The young men followed him into the drawing room.

Matthew gave Tom a reassuring pat on the back. He was in the more fortunate position of having known the Crawleys for many months, so he had some idea of how to handle himself around them. Tom, on the other hand, had been thrown straight into the deep-end.

…

Cora sat on the sofa, glaring into the mid-distance. Sybil was perched on the arm-rest, tapping her foot on the floor nervously. Mary was pacing up and down, occasionally leaning her head towards the drawing room door to hear what was being said. Unfortunately for her, the oak doors provided effective sound-insulation.

Thirty minutes had passed when Robert emerged with Matthew and Tom in tow. The three ladies immediately placed themselves at the side of their respective partners.

Robert turned to Cora, a pleased smile gracing his face. "They're in love, Cora." He said simply.

This wasn't a satisfactory enough answer for her. "What?" She asked.

"Mary and I are in love." Matthew clarified confidently, buoyed by his conversation with Robert. The older man had, thankfully, been willing to patiently listen to Matthew explicate the depth of his feelings for Mary. He'd even told him about his argument with Mary three days earlier, when she'd tried to explain her concerns over what her parents would think, which provoked a feeling of remorse in Robert. Tom then took his time detailing his feelings for Sybil, and also explained why they'd been keeping their relationship a secret. Once they'd each finished their piece, Robert had sighed deeply, and apologised profusely; it was clear how much these young men cared for his daughters (and vice versa), and the fact that they'd had to hide their love, all because of fear of judgment from him and his wife, and from their friends, made him feel terrible. He'd also apologised for Cora's behaviour, saying that he hoped neither of them had been affronted by her reaction, and assured them that she would come round eventually.

"As are Sybil and I." Tom said, now much more relaxed. He squeezed Sybil's hand as he felt it slide into his.

Mary kissed Matthew's shoulder lovingly. He smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders, giddy that he was able to display his affection for her so openly.

Cora was unable to prevent her jaw dropping open in surprise. She'd automatically presumed that her daughters were rebelling, doing whatever they could to fight against authority and duty- this is what they'd consistently done as teenagers, so it was a natural conclusion to reach. She'd never once considered the possibility of them being in love. Gazing at her daughter's faces, she could see that they were positively lit up with happiness and adoration for the men standing by them. Especially Mary- why, she was a changed woman! "I see." Cora breathed, resigning herself to the fact that she couldn't interfere. She wasn't sure she even wanted to interfere; she recognised true love when she saw it.

"They're good men, Cora." Robert murmured, taking the opportunity to convey this to her while his daughters fawned over their boyfriends. "They seem to know our daughters better than we do." He added regretfully.

Cora watched her daughters thoughtfully. There was going to be a lot of damage-control to do amongst their society friends- but, seeing Mary playfully scold Matthew and bat his hand away as he tried to poke her during one of their quarrels, and hearing Sybil giggle girlishly as Tom whispered something in her ear, she felt like it would be worth it. A feeling of guilt settled in her stomach.

"Matthew, Tom. Could I have a quick word, please?"

Matthew answered for them both. "Of course." The two men stepped to the side of the room.

"I wanted to apologise for what I said earlier. I was worried, as a mother, that my daughters had chosen partners without thinking properly. I thought they had some ulterior motive. But I can see now that I was wrong. I should have listened to you both before casting judgment- particularly you, Matthew, seeing as you've never given me any reason to doubt your value as a gentleman. And Tom, I hope we can move past this first meeting and get to know each other more." She smiled sincerely.

"Thanks, ma'am." Tom said appreciately, finding her a lot less scary now that he knew he had her blessing.

"Oh, please, call me Cora." She laughed.

"I'm sorry, my dears." Robert said, turning to his daughters after the others had walked away. "I hadn't realised that our over-protectiveness had gotten so out of hand. I want you to know that you can tell your mother and me anything you wish, without fear of reproach." He touched each of their cheeks affectionately. Remembering his wife's reaction, he added, "Well, maybe come to me first", earning laughs from Mary and Sybil.

Mary looked over to the far side of the room. Her heart swelled to see her mother embrace Matthew. She wouldn't have let her parents' disapproval be an obstacle to her relationship with Matthew, but having their blessing made it all so much easier. Part of the reason she'd not wanted to make their relationship public was because she wanted to shield him from judgment and speculation- with her parents on their side, she could be confident that the society chatter would be tempered. There would be nothing standing in their way. Finally.

…

"So, my Dad told me something interesting at dinner." Mary said. She and Matthew were seated at the dining table, leisurely finishing off their desserts. Robert had invited Tom and Matthew to stay for dinner and Cora, in the absence of Greta, had quickly scraped something together. They'd all sat down when Sybil suddenly remembered that one of the family members was missing; a couple of minutes later, she ushered a rather bemused Edith into the dining room, and everybody tucked in.

Soon after dessert was served, Sybil pointed out that this was Tom's first time visiting the house. Robert immediately suggested that he should be given a tour, remarking that there were some books in the library which Tom would like to read, given his interest in developing countries (Sybil and Mary shared gleefully surprised looks- clearly they were getting along like a house on fire!). He and Cora decided to accompany Sybil and Tom on the tour, wishing to get to know him more, and wanting to make sure Sybil didn't just give him a tour of her bedroom.

"Oh? What was that?" Matthew asked, surreptitiously taking some of her cheesecake now that he'd finished all of his.

"He said you told him that I'm the love of your life." Mary said, choosing to ignore that he'd plainly stolen a forkful of her dessert. "Did you just say that to bring him round to the idea of our relationship?" She asked, trying to sound as if she wasn't too fussed about his answer.

"No, that's not why I told him that." Matthew said, setting his fork onto his plate before taking her hand in his. "I told him that because it's true." He said softly, gazing at her adoringly.

Mary felt herself get lost in his eyes- it was impossible to doubt the truth of his words when he was looking at her like that.

"Really?" She asked anyway- he was so good at articulating his feelings for her, and the sound was like music to her ears.

"Yes." He replied seriously. "I've never felt this way about anyone. It's like I can't get enough of you. Even when I'm with you, the mere knowledge that I'll have to leave you soon is enough to make me miss you. I know you so well- I feel like we know each other better than anyone else- and yet, everytime I see you I'm still amazed at how incredible you are." He paused to take in the look of radiant joyousness on Mary's face. "I know I'll soon regret telling you this," he admitted with a smirk, "but I feel like I'd do anything for you. I would've told your parents about us if you'd wanted me to. But I'm sort of glad I didn't have to." He chuckled with her.

"Well, likewise, Mr Crawley." Mary smiled, unable to find her own words to convey her emotions.

"You mean you'd do anything for me?" Matthew grinned.

Mary looked up at the ceiling, pretending to ponder her answer. "I suppose…most things, yes."

"Like what?"

"Like…" She broke a piece of cheesecake off onto her fork. "I'd let you finish off my dessert." She held the fork in front of his mouth.

"Wow, that's a pretty big deal." Matthew said very seriously, gladly letting her feed him.

The fork still in his mouth, Mary gently tugged the handle towards her, pulling Matthew's head closer to hers. Matthew let her pull the fork, now spotlessly clean, away.

"I love you." She said simply, her forehead almost touching his. Those words didn't seem enough, but they were all she had.

Matthew smiled at her, his azure eyes twinkling like jewels. "I love you more." He argued, closing the gap to kiss her soundly, before she had a chance to argue back.

…

A/N: ta-da! I really hope that was a satisfactory ending for you all. But remember – it's not properly the end! An Evening In is technically the sequel, and I may decide to write more one-shots/multi-chapter stories in future. If there's anything you have in mind that you would like to see from this version of M/M, then let me know!