AN: Rating this M just to be safe. Though, it's some wandering hands and lips.
I love Season 5 and go against the grain in my belief that their engagement and marriage was well written and they transitioned to a great team.
Soooo, needless to say I've watched it a few times and have always wondered if they waited until their wedding night or not? I go back and forth, but actually land more on the side that they didn't wait. I also don't buy into the narrative that Jeannie was a virgin.
For the sake of this piece, they did! Also, before anyone comes for me: They absolutely shared one bed. Everytime we saw the bedroom, before and after the wedding, it was one big bed. We even saw them together in the morning and it's one big bed.
His first mistake was lighting the fire.
The second was the bottle of wine he had stopped for on the way home.
The third, settling down to watch television on the couch.
And his final mistake was being in love with the most beautiful woman in the world.
They were only a week from the wedding. They were so close go upholding this one tradition. To not balking in the face of all societal norms and doing one part of this relationship in the correct order.
And yet here they were, tangled together on their living room couch, hands wandering, lips exploring.
Neither were sure when she'd shifted from sitting next to him, to straddling his lap.
They'd done this many times since getting engaged, and even a few times before.
Danced on the edge. Nearly lost themselves to temptation.
No part of their relationship had followed tradition, and they had willingly and unwillingly balked societal norms at ever turn.
She had lived in his house for years. They had kissed, touched and nearly given in several times.
They has never truly dated in the understood definition of the term.
Nor had they had any sort of true courtship.
He hadn't even told her he loved her before he'd commandeered his own jet and flown to Basenji to propose.
He hadn't gotten down on one knee when he proposed, and he'd only thought to buy her a ring a week later.
The only norm that had attempted to follow, an engagement party, has been derailed by the Cocoa Beach Police attempting to ticket the T38 she'd blinked into the street.
She deserved this one.
"We have to…stop," He said against her lips.
She had a hand in his hair, and her other was on his chest, fingers deftly plying at the first two buttons.
"I do not wish to stop," She whispered back, skilled fingers easing in the space she'd just exposed.
He nodded. He never wanted to stop. But this had to be where he drew the line. The one moment he gave her that she deserved from the man she loved.
"We can't," He said this time, attempting to peel his lips from hers.
His own hands were under dress, palms gliding over the soft skin at her waist.
This was going to be the longest week of his life.
"Why not?" She questioned, lips hovering just out of reach. "You do not want to."
It was part question, part accusation and enough to break the mood.
She leaned back on her thighs and her eyes met his.
"I want to," His voice was sharp the words breathy and drawn out. "I have always wanted to. I will always want too. We just can't. Not yet. Not here. Not like this."
She nodded, but her face twisted with confusion. "Why not?" She asked again softly, her mind racing.
If he wanted to. And she wanted to
. Why could they not do so?
"Tradition and societal norms around dating and being engaged say that we are supposed to wait until we're married. We aren't even supposed to be doing this."
She scoffed. "What a silly tradition. Denying oneself such pleasure simply because we are not married. It is no wonder humans are so grumpy and temperamental," She mused shaking her head.
He smiled up at her, laughing. She was right. It was a silly tradition and denying oneself did seem to lend to the hard temperament of the world. "The thinking is that by waiting until the wedding night, it will be special and unforgettable."
"I do not need a wedding night for this to be special and unforgettable," She replied honestly.
All she ever wanted was him. A life together. Human traditions meant nothing to her.
"We haven't done any of this the way we should. I don't really believe in all of that," His hands were on her thighs now, his vain attempt to stop touching her. "but I want to do this one thing right, you deserve nothing less."
She sighed and nodded reluctantly. "This country confuses me," She started, eyes locked with his. Her fingers made quick of another button and she pushed his shirt away from his chest. "I see men and women dating all the time and I am to believe that they do not engage in relations before marriage? Hardly." She shook her head this time and laughed dryly.
What kind of a world were they living in?
Tony forced out a strangled breath and moved his hands along her waist, up the sides of her stomach and over the curve of her breasts.
His eyes closed and he wondered why he was putting them through this? Why was he drawing this line?
"Darling," He pushed out on a hard breath, green eyes open and wide as they met hers, wide, wild and desire filled.
"We have the rest of our lives for this. I want to give you this one moment. This one thing that has been done properly. I don't want to be that man, who couldn't wait. Couldn't respect his relationship enough to wait until the wedding night."
She sighed before offering him a soft smile. "I suppose we should honor tradition. Even if it is a ridiculous one."
He laughed, offering her a knowing smile. His hands moved to her cheeks and his eyes met hers. "It will be worth the wait."
He kissed her then. His lips reminding her of things to come.
She pulled away a few seconds later, needing to break the spell or she would not be able to stop herself. "It will be a long a week."
They were both laughing as she reluctantly shifted position off his lap.
But it would worth it.
She settled in next to him, his arms strong and safe as they encircled her.
She blinked on the television, hoping they could both steady their breathing and relax their bodies.
"You know," Tony broke the silence a few minutes later, "there might be one more tradition we could break tonight."
She nodded and looked up at him, smile bright. "Oh? What is it?"
"Don't sleep in your bottle tonight. Sleep…just sleep," He emphasized, "in the bedroom with me. I want you with me."
It was a big step it's self but seemed less significant while just as meaningful.
"Oh that is a lovely idea," She said excited.
They would stay on the couch for a while longer, let the temptation ease and then they would make their way into the bedroom.
They would choose sides of the bed, and change into their pajamas, before falling asleep in their bed.
It wasn't the tradition they wanted to balk, but it was one that made sense. And it was one that let them be as close as they could be without crossing the final line.
It would be a very long week but they could handle anything.
They already had.
He pulled her close, smiling into her hair.
She was worth it.
Fin