AN: Here it is, the wedding night! It won't be M rated, hence the story's T rating.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Downton Abbey!
Matthew and Mary Crawley walked hand in hand, in a happy and content silence a great much of the way to Crawley house. Mary felt her heart pound wildly in her chest as she knew with every step they got closer to Crawley house, closer to home, and to being alone and together. A million thoughts raced around in her head "Oh, dear God, what if I don't know what to do? What if he isn't pleased with me? He could leave me for someone better- what if he doesn't like what he sees? Oh dear God, why did I go through this?"
"Mary, are you alright?" Matthew asked after a moment, noticing his brides face change from blissful to worry. "Hm? Oh! Yes, yes, quite alright, thank you." She put on her fake smile and kept walking. She felt utterly stupid. She hadn't been at all nervous until now. "Mary, you should know by now, you can't lie to me. I can see through your mask." Matthew had stopped walking, stopping Mary alongside him, not noticing that they were just on the Edge of the Crawley house's lawn.
"I hate to say this aloud, but I'm… Nervous." Mary sighed, not daring to make contact with Matthew. "Nervous? About this?" He asked. She nodded "It isn't because of you, Matthew; I'm nothing short of elated to be your wife, but I've never done this before and well, I'm afraid you won't find me very good at it." Mary's face burned bright red, visible even in the moonlight. "I thought you said- with Pamuk" "No, Matthew! I said he died in my bed, but we hadn't done anything!" Mary admitted through her teeth, unhappy that this had come up now.
"If it makes you feel better, I've never done this either." Matthew admitted. "You haven't?" Mary asked, somewhat surprised. "No, never. This will be a first for both of us." Matthew took the hand he was holding and kissed it. "Oh… I'm relieved! I thought that maybe you had done it before, and would be comparing me to another woman in your head." Mary admitted shamefully. "Mary, even if I had, no woman would ever compare to you." Matthew pulled Mary to him, and kissed her very softly at first, until it grew into something passionate, and lingering.
"Mmm! Matthew darling, perhaps we should go inside first." Mary murmured against his lips. "Oh, yes, would you believe I didn't even realize we'd arrived." Matthew laughed, and quickly scooped Mary up in his arms, causing her to giggle. He kissed her, and kicked open the door, kissing her roughly all the way through. He carried her up the steps, and then stopped outside of the door. "Are you ready?" He asked his breath uneven.
"Well, I could use just a moment to freshen up." Mary admitted reluctantly. Matthew nodded understandingly, and gestured to the door of his- their bedroom. "I'll wait in my dressing room until you're ready" He kissed her on the nose and watched as she entered. Mary took a few calming breaths, and nearly jumped out of her skin to see Anna standing by a small table. "What are you doing here?" Mary asked, entirely confused.
"Someone had to get you ready for bed, my lady, and so your mother sent me with some of your things, and a few new things." Anna nearly burst into laughter at the last sentence, as she realized Mary would have no idea what the new things where. "Oh yes of course… but will you be" "No, My Lady. I'll be dressing you for bed and returning to Downton." Anna gestured for her to sit, and quickly went to work unpinning Mary's hair, and letting it settle in loose curls down Mary's back. "Now, your mother, and your Grandmother picked these out yesterday." Anna had to fight the urge to laugh as she pulled a lacey pink night gown from a box. Mary's face turned pink at the sight of what she knew was negligee.
"My Granny picked this for me?" Mary asked, suddenly horrified. At this Anna had to laugh "I'm afraid so My Lady. Don't worry about it though, it'll look lovely on, and well, it isn't meant to be on long." At once Anna bit her tongue, afraid she'd said something too inappropriate, but to her relief, Mary laughed as well. "Anna, you shouldn't be afraid to speak openly in front of me, we're friends after all! You're my best friend! And I'd like it if you'd just call me Mary, especially when no one else is around." Mary said with a kind smile. Anna's face broke into a giant grin. "Yes, My La- Mary. Now, let's get you dressed, because I know I'm not the one you want to be spending this night with." Mary blushed again, as Anna quickly helped her out of the dress and into the long lacey sheer baby pink night gown and silk dressing gown.
"Thank you Anna, that'll be all. You ought to go see if the party is still going on, enjoy yourself." Mary insisted kindly as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Thank you Mary. And well, Good luck tonight, I'll give Matthew the go ahead." Anna said with a wink, making Mary blush one last time, and then closed the door behind her.
Mary focused on keeping her breathing even, and trying not to think of her attire, or the fact that her Grandmother had picked it out for her. "Mary?" Matthew asked lightly as he opened the door. Mary could feel her heart beat more rapidly. "You may come in, Matthew." She answered hoarsely. When he entered the room, he was struck by just how beautiful his wife was, and how appealing she looked, sitting on the bed that they would share.
"Mary…you're so beautiful." He took a step towards her and she smiled, reaching out a hand to him. "And you're handsome." Mary sighed when he sat beside her and put his arms around her, the heat of his body burning through the thin layers of lace and silk that covered her body. He kissed her, gently, and full of adoration, and pulled back. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" He asked hesitantly. Mary smiled broadly at her husband, who was behaving so very gently, and in response wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and kissed him roughly on the lips, opening her mouth to allow his tongue access to hers, teeth clashed, and nipped gently.
When they pulled away for air, He very gently kissed his way down her neck, her collar bone, pushing her dressing gown off of her shoulders and kissing them. Almost instinctively Mary lay down on the bed, and pulled Matthew's body to hers again. "I adore you." He murmured in her ear in a low and ragged voice. "And I you." She responded as she felt his hand at the hem of her night gown, which had risen to her thigh. "Yes?" He asked her gently. "Yes" the nervousness she'd felt earlier was gone with his gentle touches, and his sweet kisses.
And from there, they found perfect bliss with each other, doing things they'd never done, and loving each other with everything they had. With each touch they tried to forget that his leave would only last five days more. With every kiss on bared flesh, they tried to forget that the war was killing people they knew every day, and with every gentle movement, they tried to forget that he could be the next one to die.
After, they lay in each other's arms, still trembling, and covered in sweat. "How do you feel?" He asked her placing a gentle kiss to her forehead. "Wonderful! And that barely begins to describe how I feel." Mary said honestly. She'd barely felt any pain at all, and even the slight bit of pain she had felt had passed in a matter of seconds, and was replaced by pure euphoria. "I love you, Mr. Crawley." She sighed sleepily as she rested her head gently on his chest. "I love you, Mrs. Crawley." Matthew smiled, and covered them both with a blanket, just moments before both fell into a deep sleep.
AN: So I know that some of this was sort of cheesy… but you know, some good old cheesy fluff is good sometimes! I hope that you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading!