#cobert fanfiction

[bella-caecilia]

I wish you would write a fic where... Cora and Robert would've had their son.

Yes! We were robbed! I don't know if I'll ever commit to this weighty storyline but here is a tidbit of how it could look <3

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His hands clasped behind his back, Robert squeezed his fingers and let his gaze flit over the rainy garden behind the floor-to-ceiling windows. His mind was turning over the words of the latest letter from the war office. These letters were his invaluable connection to the front. He wasn't there himself; he had other duties to attend to. But at least he was being kept informed.

"Robert, darling. Do you want another cup of tea?" Her voice was soft but it pierced through his thoughts sharper than any scream could have. Her fragile tenderness was such a harsh contrast to the content of his thoughts. He suspected there was more she wanted to say from the open tone of her question. But upon turning around, he registered Carson and believed that her concern was too intimate to call across the room.

He left the rain-streaked window and took the tea Carson had silently poured him. He went to stand next to an empty settee and avoided looking at Cora. On his mind was the war. He didn't want mix these images with the vision of his wife, rosy and soft and naive.

Robert held on to the saucer and the silver spoon and felt no interest in the tea whatsoever. The same words went round and round in his mind. Germany is advancing on all fronts. Reading the letters from the war office felt increasingly like a fever dream. And he wanted to put an end to it himself.

"Oh, look who is there!" Cora's cooing caught his attention in an instant once again. Robert's head shot up and he took in Nanny in the doorway with the little master on her hip. A serene calm seized Robert's mind. Finally. Arthur managed to achieve this better than anyone else.

Robert watched Nanny walk over to where Cora was seated and place the little master on his mother's lap.

"Thank you, Nanny. I will ring for you when you can pick him up again."

Nanny bowed out. Robert lifted the teacup to his lips and followed Cora's gentle gestures with his eyes. She patted little Arthur's white gown and adjusted the ruffles on his tiny shoulders. His arms were so short, his little fists so easily disappeared in Cora's palm, his feet didn't reach his mother's knees. Robert was once again in shock at how miniature everything on Arthur was. Though, he was an infant after all.

Cora lowered her lips to the crown of Arthur's head. Robert watched the scene with a moved tug in his chest. What a gift. His eyes didn't leave the innocent, embracing duo as he approached them. He discarded his teacup on a tray and carefully sat down on the other end of Cora's settee. Their eyes met for a second before they both observed their son who had taken hold of Cora's pearl necklace and purred quietly in full concentration, studying the accessory.

"Careful, dear chap," Robert said softly. "That's a favourite of your mother's."

Cora kissed the infant's dark hair again. "It's alright. I like to share it," she hummed.

Robert was enraptured by the gentle display of mother and son. He lifted his hand to his wife's face and tentatively brushed the back of his forefinger over her incredibly soft cheek. She acknowledged him with a fond, even smitten smile.

Robert was reassured that his duty here at home wasn't any less important than supporting the war. It was very different but a single look at his wife and their infant son confirmed his responsibility and the rightfulness of his staying.

⟫⟫⟫

(Funny enough, I just started working on an old WIP again that's kind of fitting the brief and kind of not... Well, it's basically an angsty s1 pregnancy AU with a twist. But more about this when I've finished this ficlet :) )

I wish you would write a fic where...

#thank you so much for the ask <3 #fic ask game #cobert #cobert fanfiction #robert crawley #cora crawley #s2 #downton abbey fanfiction #downton abbey season 2

[neverendingsourceofmystery]

Sailing Close to the Wind|| One: Chasing Rainbows and Spinning Dreams

*takes a deep breath* *opens laptop* *blows ever so softly*

*coughs*

Hello everyone, I bet you didn't think I would ever come back to write more Downton stuff. Maybe an update from me isn't in your 2024 bingo card. Not gonna lie, I'm just as surprised as you are. I've been gone for far longer than I ever was here, but I guess, prodigal children always find their way home.

YES. This is an update. I know.

In light of the new movie announcement, I made a trip down memory lane, and was inspired by one of my old fics. Not that my writing from five years ago was ever inspiring, really. Anyway, it was supposed to be a one shot, and so I felt like I was in under no obligation to add more, but add more, I shall do.

*steadfastly ignores the 300 other cobert fanfics I am supposed to update*

To my surprise as well as yours, this one had an interesting and very polite demand for more, and honestly, if I wasn't so neck deep in law school, I would have given this a go earlier. Of course, I chose the most inopportune time -- when I'm in over my head, drowning, in bar review and prep -- to finish this piece. But whatever. It was therapeutic. I do suggest you read the prologue first, again -- here or here-- because I doubt any of you still remember this. This one's a long one that I just had to get out of my system, because studying about my country's system is the equivalent of pouring bleach all over my brain.

I would like to say as early as now however, that as I have already mentioned earlier, I am in the middle of bar prep, so the updates are probably going to be few and far in between, if at all, towards the middle of this year. Not that it's anything new where I'm concerned. But I shall endeavor to finish before the end of year or the end of the world, at least, whichever comes first.

.::.

One

Chasing rainbows and Spinning Dreams

"Can it possibly beThe future for me is you…Wait until I can tell you all my schemesChasing rainbows spinning dreamsTell me please your name”  - Tell me your name, Jose Mari Chan

The silence in the room was so loud that one could hear a pin drop – as the old adage went, anyway, – and for one brief second, Cora found herself questioning if her boss was all right in the head. Maybe she had lost her mind after all the stress and was now clinically insane. 

That, after all, was the only logical explanation to her even remotely suggesting this.

Cora looked away from her boss, wondering what she should do or say next, when her gaze met the eyes of the man on the other side of the room. Robert, that’s what Rosamund said, but Cora already knew that. There was nary a soul in this entire company who didn’t. He rarely made any appearance, but he’s never missed one company party and his name was always on everybody’s lips. 

Cora could still – though she would never say it out loud or admit it – remember the first time she had seen the esteemed Mr. Robert Crawley. It had been during her first company Christmas party. She was new, a new hire fresh from her internship, and she’d been so young and so infatuated by the piercing blue eyes that barely looked her way even once in the party. He’d been caught up, talking to the big wigs, to his sister, and their other colleagues and didn’t have time for the little Miss Americana that was Cora. Not that Cora had minded very much, she was content with sipping her wine and admiring Mr. Crawley from afar. 

He was handsome and his laugh was loud and boisterous, although hardly offensive. He spoke to Mr. Carson and his wife, Mrs. Elsie Hughes-Carson, who both worked with them at the company, like they were old friends – with respect and authority, but with clear affection. Cora could have only hoped, at that time, to be treated the same.

Now, here she was, sitting in the office of her boss, having been just told that she should marry the CEO of the company she’s working for so she can stay in London. She felt like she needed more ruminating about the “brilliant idea” of the boss in question, but she figured there wasn’t really even enough time to ruminate that. It was insane. That, in her mind, should count as a red flag right? That her boss was insane?

“Well?” Rosamund started to speak, though she looked just a little bit nervous, or anxious, or maybe it was self-realization – Cora could only hope for the last. “It’s such an unmusical way of putting things, brother.” She cleared her throat and nodded anyway. Clearly, any hopes of sanity were dashed at this point. “I was suggesting a convenient marriage with a deadline…if you’re amenable, of course.”

More here or here.

#guess who's back #yup me #no one cares i know but here we are #just writing robert and cora in five hundred different scenarios i guess #just another modern marriage of convenience #it's been ages i know #cobert #cora crawley #robert crawley #cora and robert crawley #downton abbey modern au #trutwritescobert #cobert fanfiction

[juliasdowntonstuff]

My entry to the Cobert Winter Fanfic Exchange has just been posted to Ao3 and ff.net as well as on here for anyone who might want to read. Thank you @bella-caecilia for organising this event, this was great fun and I’m so looking forward to reading what everyone wrote!

I chose the Hurt/Comfort category and my prompts were “You don’t have to be so brave with me” / laceration

Without further ado, this is set after S6E5 (the bloody dinner episode)

Robert was coming home. It had been two weeks since that fateful dinner party, a night she would never be able to forget, and now he was finally returning from the village hospital.

Cora was standing by the window in the small library of Downton, anxiously peeking out and letting her eyes wander over the grass and gravel leading all the way down to the gates of their estate.

He was supposed to arrive at the abbey at half past two. A quick look at the clock to her right told her that they were running late, almost half an hour already.

What if something had happened, what if he was not coming home after all?

Then, as her mind began to spin with all the what-ifs she could possibly come up with, each one worse than the one before, she saw a big motor coming up the gravel driveway. It was driving slowly, much too slowly for her liking, but after a while, she saw that this was the ambulance bringing him home. For the past two weeks, there was nothing she had wanted more than to simply hold him in her arms, to feel his presence with her while it was so sorely missed. She had found it hard to fall asleep without him next to her in bed every night, not that she would admit to that.

Quickly, Cora turned on her heel and left the room. With long strides, she crossed the entrance hall and walked out the front door to welcome him, just like they always did with their guests. Right when she came to a halt outside the grand wooden doors of their family home, the back doors of the ambulance opened and she got to look directly into his face, a sight she had been looking forward to for days now.

She had been so incredibly scared when they took him and rushed him to emergency surgery at the village hospital. She had been afraid that she would never get to see him again, that she would never get to see his gentle smile and feel his loving gaze on her, ever again.

The image of him lying in a pool of his own blood on the dining room floor, trying to tell her he loved her — it haunted her. She might have appeared put together as she tried to calm him down, but that was really just a façade. Deep down, she had been scared out of her mind, had been afraid of losing him forever. However much she had wanted to, she simply could not allow herself to fall to pieces in front of everyone — least of all their daughters, who had to watch their father be rushed away, covered in blood.

When Robert saw her, his face lit up into such a bright smile. But even the brightest and most sincere of smiles couldn't get rid of the dark circles under his eyes. His unusually sallow complexion worried her, as did his sunken cheeks. She had to remind herself that he had just undergone a major emergency surgery — of course, he was not going to come back home the picture of health. A gastrectomy was not to be underestimated, that's what Doctor Clarkson had told her when she visited Robert the morning after the incident.

She had expected him not to look his usual self, but not quite as bad as this. It would take a while and exceptionally good nursing to get him back on his feet. Cora was determined to help him as best she could.

The people who had driven him there set about getting his stretcher out of the ambulance to take him inside and up to the bedroom like they had been instructed to. Robert winced noticeably when they hoisted him out of the car, the sudden movement causing his fresh wound to hurt again despite the strong painkillers he had been given ahead of his departure from the village hospital.

"Cora!" he exclaimed weakly as they started to carry him inside past her. Upon this, though, the men stopped and waited until the Countess had had a chance to greet him.

„Welcome home, my dear. They will take you up to our room and I will join you as soon as I have talked to Doctor Clarkson," his wife replied reassuringly, letting her hand graze over his arm as he was carried inside once more.

Robert only managed a small nod in return, wincing and inhaling sharply at the swaying motions shaking him through.

He could hear her voice through the closed door, along with Doctor Clarkson's. However much he tried to concentrate to understand what they were saying, he could not hear a word of what was spoken. Their voices were simply too muffled by the wooden doors separating them from him lying in their bed, and his mind was still hazy from all the painkillers he had been given in the hospital.

Robert was already starting to drift back off to sleep, his eyelids getting increasingly heavy, when the door finally opened and Cora walked in.

She closed the door carefully behind her and took a seat in the chair that was put close to his bedside. When she reached out her hand to take his hand in hers, his eyes immediately flew open again. His gaze met his wife's, and he recognised the concerned look she tried to veil behind an encouraging and welcoming smile — he had seen this before.

"Oh my dear, I am so pleased to have you back home. You have no idea how worried the girls and I have been and how anxious we were to finally have you here with us again. Even your mother decided to let her grudge rest for now, though I suppose your return will lead her back on her warpath with me." She saw his blinking slow down — a clear sign he was tired — and so, after a short pause, Cora added: "I'll let you rest for now. I will redo the dressing on your wound after dinner, as Doctor Clarkson instructed."

Robert still had trouble speaking with his throat feeling sore, but he managed to croak out: "I am so- I'm so sorry you all had to witness this. But what about the nurse Doctor Clarkson wanted to send up to the house along with me?"

Cora handed him a cup of water already standing on his nightstand when he started to cough, wincing and pressing his hand to his side all the while.

"I sent her back to the hospital, she's more needed there to help with all the hurt and sick in the village. I can care for you, and Doctor Clarkson explained it all quite well. I know that I am capable of doing it," Cora said confidently when she set the glass back down.

"You really shouldn't, these are trained people for a reason and I wouldn't want you to have to see this," he whispered in reply.

"But I want to, Robert. Please."

Robert knew that this was an argument he was not going to win, his wife was quite headstrong when she wanted to be and clearly, she wanted in this case. So instead of arguing some more, he simply nodded slowly before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep again.

Later that night, Cora excused herself directly after dinner ended, not joining her family in the drawing room as usual. Instead, she climbed the flights of stairs to go to her bedroom and care for Robert. Mary and Edith had offered to help with the wound dressing, but Robert had refused them much more profusely than he had Cora when they had gone up to welcome him home after tea.

She felt nervous, even though there was no particular reason for her to be. Her husband was home and he was safe. He had had an emergency surgery a fortnight ago and there were hours when she didn't know if she'd ever see him again, but she did. The doctors managed to save him, to keep him there with her, and now it was on her to help him get better.

Doctor Clarkson had shown her how to dress the wound in fresh bandages and how to apply the creams and tinctures to help the wound heal quicker and better, and hopefully also scar less. He had also told her when to give him what kind of medicine to help manage his pain and minimise his discomfort. She was prepared as best as anyone probably could be and still, she was nervous.

What would it look like, how bad would it be?

Taking a deep breath to calm her down, she opened the door and entered their shared bedroom to find him asleep on the bed. However, he wasn't sleeping as peacefully as she had hoped — his face was pulled into some sort of grimace of constant pain.

Quietly, she gathered the supplies she would need to care for his wound and neatly assembled them all on his nightstand. Then, she took a seat in the chair that was still pulled to his bedside and tried to gently wake him from his uneasy slumber.

Robert heard a familiar, gentle and soft voice ring out to him and slowly, it took him out of his uneasy dream. Almost hesitantly, he came to and found himself face to face with his smiling wife.

"What a sight for sore eyes," he whispered softly, his voice heavy with sleep.

A wide smile graced Cora's features when he slowly reached out his arm for her to take. Gingerly, she put her hand in his offered one. When his fingers closed around her delicate hand, she was surprised by the strength of his hold. He had barely managed to reach out his arm, but his hold was fast and steady. That fact encouraged her, it gave her hope.

"Can you sit up in bed? I am afraid it is time to change your bandages and apply the creams Doctor Clarkson prescribed," Cora said after a while of simply sitting there and holding hands.

Robert nodded and further strengthened his grip on her to hoist himself up.

However, before he could even try to sit up on his own, Cora asked: "Do you want some more medicine to manage the pain? You did not take any this afternoon and you seemed to be in quite some pain when you were asleep just now."

Shaking his head no, he replied: "No, I can manage without." After a few short seconds and seeing her doubting look, he tried to distract her and added: "Are you sure you want to do this? Maybe Cousin Isobel coul-"

"No, Robert. I won't trouble her with this," she retorted sternly. Then, Cora stood up from her seated position to help him sit up in bed as well. "And now, let me help you."

He tried. He truly thought he would be able to do it. After only a second of trying, though, the pain in his abdomen became too much to bear and he wincingly fell back into the pillows. He didn't move, inhaling and exhaling quite sharply as he pressed a hand to his upper belly.

Cora let him catch his breath and then handed him a tiny glass filled with a clear liquid she took from the nightstand. Silently, she urged him to drink it, promising him a sip of water afterwards.

"You don't have to be so brave with me, dear. Take the medicine and it will all be a bit easier, for both of us. I can't bear to see you in such pain, not when there is something I can do to help," she said when he only eyed the small glass, clearly hesitant to sip it.

Begrudgingly, Robert drank the medicine, pulling a funny face at the lingering bitter and unpleasant taste.

They sat in silence for a little while, waiting for the medication to start working its magic. Slowly, Robert's tensely clenched jaw began to relax and his steely grip on the bed frame loosened.

"Let us try again, Cora," Robert said with a determined expression.

It cost him great strength and it hurt immensely, but he did it. They did. Somehow, he got into a seated position and managed to stay there while she unwrapped the white cloth bandages that were tightly wound around his torso.

The less his chest and belly were covered, the more her hands started to quiver. She kept her eyes fixed on the slowly disappearing bandages, until finally, the last of them fell away and she saw the wound.

Her breath got caught in her throat. She had imagined a lot, but nothing seemed to have come close to the reality. The wound was long and crooked, the edges jagged. It was painfully obvious that this had not been a planned operation. The flesh held together by the many stitches was coloured a sort of angry red, and it looked incredibly painful.

"That's why I wanted the nurse here to take care of this, at least in the beginning. I did not want you to have to see this, not when it still looks as bad as this," Robert whispered. He had noticed her hesitation and had seen and felt her movements cease when the bandages were gone.

Cora shook her head slightly at that.

"Why? You are my husband and I vowed to take care of you. I am not a young girl you could scare to death with this. You have been injured and I want to take care of you, that's all there is to it," she said, motioning towards his wound and the medical supplies on his nightstand.

With determination in her eyes, she set about caring for the scarring wound the way the doctor had instructed her to and before long, Robert got to lie back down with a fresh bandage wrapped around his torso underneath his nightshirt. This was exhausting, he had to admit, and he almost immediately dozed off into a light slumber.

Not much later, Cora got into bed next to him after her lady's maid had left the room. Baxter had worked silently and very efficiently so that she would not wake him when she helped Cora get ready for the night.

The mattress shifted when she got into bed, the motion woke him up and he watched as she tried to come closer while still trying to keep some distance between them so that she would not unintentionally hurt him.

"Thank you for doing this," Robert said, his voice heavy with sleep.

"We will manage this, you'll see. Just don't hesitate to take the pain medication from Doctor Clarkson, it is there to help you. You don't have to prove anything to me. It is not admitting a weakness or even defeat. You never have to be brave with me, dear."

Cora sat up in bed and placed an innocent kiss on his lips when he hesitantly nodded in agreement, followed by another one she placed on his jaw. Then, she settled back into bed and pulled the covers up over the two of them.

"Cora?" he asked again shortly thereafter.

She had already begun falling asleep, feeling exhausted after this day, and only managed a small: "Mmh?" in reply.

"I know this is hard for you, all of it. Just know one thing: you don't have to be so brave with me, either," he said firmly in the silence that had fallen over their room. His hand left the space on his belly where it had been resting until then and softly fell into the space between them.

Cora turned off the lights and settled into bed next to him. She couldn't cuddle up to him or even lie too close without possibly hurting him. But she could hold his hand, and so she did.

That night, for the first time in two weeks, she fell into an easy sleep, not haunted by a gruesome nightmare that took her back to the dinner party. She fell asleep with a smile on her face, thinking that finally, things were looking up again. She had her husband back home with her. Robert was lying next to her, he would eventually recover and she would help him as best she could. That was a promise she gave him and herself.

Things would turn out alright for them in the end, she was sure of it.

#cobert winter writing exchange 2023 #Cobert winter fanfic exchange 2023 #cobert fanfiction #cobert #robert crawley #cora crawley #downton abbey fanfiction #downton abbey

[onemorecoffeeee]

Faves 💓

#cobert #downton abbey #cobert fanfiction #cora crawley #robert crawley #elizabeth mcgovern #hugh bonneville #cobert feels #otp #mcgonneville

[dream-of-ragtime]

And I hope I can be everything for a while yet

*MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR DOWNTON ABBEY: A NEW ERA”

Evidently, I have been haunted by THAT scene ever since I first saw it. This is my first attempt at writing Cobert fan fiction so any feedback is very welcome:)

There’s both original text by none other that our holy master Julian Fellowes and I wrote additionally what I imagined to be their thoughts and fears when they were faced with the possibility of losing each other.

“I know it’s late, but could we go for a walk?”

Although Cora had known for a long time that she would someday be obliged to discuss the matter with Robert, being confronted with that very situation made her feel nauseous. This was something she was used to by now, as it took her often all the willpower she had left to get down a few bites during dinner, but she knew that this time it was not predominantly the illness that made her feel this way. It was the thought of looking into Robert’s unknowing features that scared her the most.

The Marquis de Montmirail and Robert exchanged some final words, but Cora didn’t really understand much of any of it, as behind her still and smiling façade she was fighting an indecisive battle on how she should best deliver the words she was bound to pronounce.

Only after Robert had slipped his arms underneath her own did she once again notice the surroundings clearly. The villa was enlightened by the sparkling party that pulsated around the beautifully decorated walls and for a second, she caught a glimpse of Tom and Lucy swaying in each other’s arms. Another wave of grief suddenly struck her. Robert had also requested earlier that night to share a dance to the cheerful music, just like the two of them had done so many times.

Dancing together had always been one of their passions. Not only because Cora was convinced that she had earned Robert’s love during one of their most memorable dances, but because they would always forget everything and everyone surrounding them when the two of them whirled around the dance floor intertwined in each other’s arms.

However, this evening Cora had to decline. She knew all too well that her constant dizziness would never allow her to spin around. Her muscles, weak as they had become in the past months, could never muster the quick beats she would have to follow along.

Robert had glanced at her somewhat irritated, given the fact that it had not rarely been his wife who had urged him so desperately to share a dance with her. The decline did seem rather unusual.

Luckily, Robert slowly strayed away from the dazzling party, turning into a much calmer corner of the property. Only delicately could the two of them hear the band playing a slow and melancholic ballad.

Staring at the velvet fabric of her dress, Cora still had not made up her mind how she would deliver the news. She knew precisely that Robert was still so agitated due to the possibility that he may have never been the rightful heir to Downton that it felt harsh to confront him with another unsolvable problem. Because yes, it was indeed unsolvable.

Robert must have understood that Cora walked peculiarly silent next to him, as it felt odd to him that she didn’t carelessly start to talk. He had found himself often confused by the way Cora would always find a topic to discuss, no matter how irrelevant it may have appeared to him. Although their arms were tightly intertwined, Robert felt as if thousands of kilometers were in between his wife and himself. In order to break the uncomfortable silence, he asked the first question that came to his mind, even though he did not really care for the answer, as he was still so preoccupied with the unsuspected turn this journey down to the south of France had taken.

“Have you enjoyed our trip, dear?”

Oh, it was too much. The words instantly evoked a feeling of deep hopelessness and Cora felt the panic bubble up inside her chest. She felt as if all the blood inside her head had sacked down at once, leaving her with a strong lightheadedness. She could no longer rationally control her thoughts and so the words just spilled out surprisingly cold and unfiltered.

“I think I’ve got cancer, Robert”

She had stopped her steps and let go of his arm, just staring into the open night and the Mediterranean expanding into the unknown horizon in front of them.

There was a long and heavy silence.

Neither of them dared to breathe and it seemed as if the concept of time had been destroyed all together as they were standing still side by side.  

“Cora, what are you saying? What do you mean?”

Robert knew very well what the concept of cancer signified but it was a sort of perplexed denial that tried to keep up his strength.

“I- I’ve had some…”

Cora’s voice cracked slightly as she tried to pronounce the words. She finally turned to face her husband, standing there with his fists tightly clenched together. His eyes sparkled dangerously, even though his mouth was pressed tightly together to keep up the image of a somewhat steady posture.

“I’ve had some- some symptoms for quite a while, you see, some very evident symptoms and there is no use in denying that”

Cora was once again surprised how rational she made all of this sound. Inside, she could barely keep herself from falling apart.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?!”

“I was going to and then suddenly we were coming here”

Robert’s heartbeat sped up and he as well fell victim of a panic rising inside him. To keep himself from succumbing to the overwhelming emotions, he chose a feeling he could handle much more easily. Anger.

“But you should never have come here! We have to get you to a proper doctor. And I don’t mean some cackling Marseilles!”

Now it was Cora’s turn to feel enraged. She didn’t particularly know why, but it made her feel safer and she liked the sensation of feeling more in control of her feelings, so she answered with a much steadier voice:

“Doctor Clarkson is more than capable of coming up with a diagnosis”

Robert on the other hand felt the panic leak through every fiber of his being. He felt hot and cold, his head throbbed and his hands started to sweat heavily. But didn’t he need to reassure his wife? He was the strong one, wasn’t he?

More to soothe himself than anything else, he said with a stutter:

“We’ll go to London. We’ll- We’ll go to America if we have to”

There was no question that he stumbled and fell down the slippery slope of a deep-rooted fear: He was going to lose Cora. The one person he could not live without.

Cora knew all too well that there was no use in all of this. The symptoms were evident. Gastric cancer. No doctor, whether in London or America, could alter that.

“We’ll discuss it when we know more”

Was there more to know, though? Beside an exact diagnosis, which didn’t leave much room for interpretation at this point, there was not much to discover. Nothing pleasant, anyway.

The tranquility in Cora’s voice triggered a sudden reaction in Robert and he could not help himself but shout.

“You should have told me!”

His face was bright read. The grass underneath his feet felt as if it had started to move and he could not recall having ever felt so lonely. His wife stood there opposite him, but it seemed as if he was trapped in an overwhelming loneliness.

Robert’s outburst started another reaction. This time it was Cora who lost control over her emotions.

“With the chance of a last treat before illness to cover our lives?!”

Her voice lost all of its strength and by the end of the sentence it had almost vanished completely.

“It can’t be as bad as that”

“Robert, I’ve run the hospital for years! Do you think I just sat there with my ears blocked?!”

Like a dam that had been opened abruptly, all that had been building up inside Robert’s chest suddenly burst out. He rarely was a man to openly display his emotions, but now no strength on earth could hold back his genuine fear.

Seeing him like that immediately made Cora feel guilty. This was exactly the reason why she had evaded the topic for so long. Nothing to her was more painful than to watch her loved ones suffer. To be herself the cause of such great sadness seemed unbearable and so she took on the role she had learned to play ever since her first daughter was born: The caring mother.

“Oh no, no no no. No. No”

She started towards her husband, embracing his shaking figure between her arms, trying to reassure him with her warmth and proximity. Although Robert was almost a head taller than his wife, he appeared to be much frailer beside her. Tears fell down the side of his cheeks and his head turned numerous directions in order to evade the face of his love. He could not bear to look at her.

“That’s not what I wanted at all”, she said. “We’re not sad people! My being ill now doesn’t make us sad!”

The words seemed completely ridiculous and she knew so as well, but she wanted to end this moment so desperately that she could not think of another way of reassuring her husband. While his head constantly turned away from her gaze, she tried to catch his glimpse. Looking into each other eyes had always been their biggest comfort after a disagreement and it appeared to her to be the most sensible thing to do now. How could she possibly ease his pain?

Robert chocked up some word fragments she could not quite understand as they were so heavily drenched with his sobs.

“To lose my mother, and my name. Must I lose you too?! I can’t bear it”

His fingers delicately traced her shoulders down her back. Never until know had it appeared to him how slender her frame had gotten. She always had been very slim, but know as he touched her, the narrow shoulders almost seemed to give in under the very subtle pressure of his hands.

Finally, their eyes met. Oh, his beautiful blue eyes. Him loosing her? She had never thought of it that way. She always felt as if she would be the one to lose him. It was her who had always wanted him. Always. So much so, that she had accepted the possibility to live in his company without reciprocated love when she married him. There was no one on this earth that she cared for more, ever since she had first laid eyes upon him in a stuffy London ballroom. If anyone had the harder burden to carry, it was her.

“If I can bear it, you can. Remember, I’ve loved you from the start! I loved you before you loved me!”

Those words hurt him deeply, but Robert knew they weren’t intended as an insult, but simply a mere stating of a fact.

How he hated himself for having been so blind. He had been fond of Cora from very early on, did recognize her kindness and her warm nature, but he was so caught up in the whole “Save-Downton-No-Matter-What-Business” that he didn’t pay enough attention to the actual soul behind the solution to his problem. The shameful feeling of having wasted almost an entire year beside the love of his life would haunt him to his grave.

“I’ve always been ashamed of that”

“Don’t be. I had money. You needed it”

There she was again, the pragmatic wife who, more often than not, had been the calming guide to Robert. Although society might have been convinced that an American heiress may never have control over her emotions, there was no doubt that the English Earl had been dependent on his wife’s matter-of-fact statements more than once.

Cora’s hand brushed over Robert shoulder, feeling his tensed muscles.

“And then love came. And we have been happy, haven’t we?”

In that moment, even though the sentence only lasted for a mere second, their whole life story flashed before their eyes.

The way Robert had awkwardly introduced himself the first time to her, while Cora couldn’t help but giggle.

The moment she had told him that she was pregnant for the first time and the way he didn’t let anyone get too close to her after that, in order to make sure she could not be hurt in any way.

The day Sybil spilled the whole pot of coffee in the library and although Carson had been furious, the two parents burst into laughter.

Their ups and downs. Their most cheerful memories and their most heart-wrenching moments. It was all there, hovering in between them.

“Oh Darling!”

In desperate need of each other they brought their faces together and exchanged a kiss. But it wasn’t just like any other goodnight kiss they had been sharing for more than thirty years of marriage. They clung onto each other as if it would mean they could never touch again were they to separate. Cora tasted the salt of Robert’s tears on her lips, which led her to initiate another kiss before the previous one came to an end. Even though their bodies were as close as they could possibly manage, Cora wanted to be even nearer to her husband, so she let her hands grasp the silvery strands of Robert’s hair and pulled herself even more into the passionate embrace.

After all, she didn’t know how many times life would allow her to feel her husband that way.

A slight sob escaped her lips as they separated once again.

Robert took in the beautiful features of his wife. The moonlight reflected on her pale skin, her eyes sparkling even more due to many tears that gathered on her long, dark lashes. How beautiful she was. How beautiful she always had been.

“You have been everything to me. Everything!”

Oh, and he was to her, indeed. He always had been. But Cora felt her heart relax at the statement. She knew her husband adored her, but it always brought a smile to her face when he reassured her with such a confirmation.

And so it did now, even though the two of them found themselves in such a desperate environment. Their life, laid out in front of them, in pieces. Nevertheless, her smile couldn’t have been more genuine.

“And I hope I can be everything for a while yet”

#cora crawley #robert crawley #downton abbey #downton abbey: a new era #elizabeth mcgovern #hugh bonneville #they are the death of me #cobert fanfiction #fanfiction

[idoloveouradventures]

A New Era One-shot

After the Dowager’s funeral, I imagine our Earl and Countess were rather exhausted. But rest seems to bring unanswered questions and fears to light. Definitely spoilers below the cut! 

He wondered if she ached like this: if her pain wasn’t merely physical, clawing at her insides, but a deep throbbing like his own. He was curious to know, but would never speak of it, if her knees had nearly failed her when she finally self-diagnosed her symptoms. Had she cried alone in that moment? Had he been nearby, in the next room even, oblivious to the suffering right under his nose? And just how much had she suffered without him there? In the past week, she had allowed him (at his earnest persuasion) to witness her “spells,” as he had come to think of them. There was an overall fatigue that kept one of his eyes glued to her at all times for fear she might collapse without notice. Though her countenance never faltered when in the company of others. Especially the girls. But in the silence of the morning, before Baxter had been summoned, he would awake to Cora’s nausea prying her from their bed.

Still fresh in his mind’s eye, on the eve of both his mother’s death and Cora’s renewal of life, he had followed her into the washroom that morning. Heaving almost nothing, for her appetite had fled long ago, Robert watched as she steadied herself at the sink. He kept his eyes on her hair since tracing the lines of her face would have caused him to vomit right along with her. As if moving through molasses, he willed himself forward and his hand met her shoulder blade. But the contact was short lived as she gestured for a nearby towel. She pressed it to her mouth after he retrieved it and, once she’d removed it, a tremor shot through his spine. The discoloration didn’t seem to overwhelm her and he was faced with the realization that this had happened before. She had been refusing his kisses; had she feared her lips would taste of metal? All he could do was repeat his previous action. Palm on shoulder blade. Slow circles. Slow breaths. He felt her settle underneath his touch.

And then sometimes it was as if she was burning alive. All at once, entirely too hot to lay against anything as soft as the sheets. He would feel the void beside him and rise immediately.

One particular night found Cora perched on the open window begging the wind to relieve the fire under her skin.

“Cora? Are you alright?” She shadow across the room could not be anyone else.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she lied; and it stings him.

After illuminating the bedroom, her condition is put on display. He eyes the damp curls she had brushed away from her forehead and the slightly-more-prominent bones poking through her nightgown. She wasn’t acknowledging the lamplight’s presence, but she spoke into the night air.

“I was just remembering that day I came up to change for tea and found Sybil in tears because Mary was forcing Edith to throw her stuffed rabbit out this window.”

“Edith had lost a game or something.” If he had not swallowed the threatening bile in his throat, he would not have been able to respond.

“And they’d escaped nanny,” she replied, in case this detail would aid the memory to continue it’s visit.

He sees her smile and his face contorts in the opposite direction.

“You are a wonderful mother.” He says it before his brain can understand why his heart proclaimed this endearment.

He hears her chuckle before asking, “So all those battles with Mama paid off, then?”

But his tears have already made an appearance, against his best intentions. She has turned to him by now and is already on her feet.

“Oh, darling. What have I said?” He releases a breath as her body is swiftly wrapped in his arms. He doesn’t sob into her hair or even make a sound. He knows that she is well aware he just needs to hold her. And she needs to be held.

“No, nothing. It’s nothing,” he manages, all the while holding her tighter.

“I promise I won’t fall to pieces every time I look at you.” He grasps at levity, but it doesn’t hold.

“I can’t stop thinking about what you said at the hospital. And I hope to God it’s true.” Before he’s taken another breath, Cora rises from his chest.

“I won’t have your misplaced guilt, Robert. I made my choice. You know you’re my…” She shakes her head in lieu of finishing her sentence. The words “my whole life” sticky on her tongue.

“I won’t have the pity,” she finishes.

Perhaps even more raw than finding her perspiring, the pain was what Robert truly loathed. The previous night was added to the slew of tumultuous memories that would plague Robert’s dreams for days on end.

He had entered their room to a grimacing Cora nestled under the sheets, though her fingers actively kneaded her stomach. He had stood in the doorway and exhaled before crossing to his side of the bed. He asked her if she was hurting and received a nod in confirmation.

“Pressure helps a bit,” she hadn’t opened her eyes or stilled her movement.

“Do you want me to try?” He had offered, fingers tingling to be of use.

“Would you?” Her eyes had pleaded for any relief he could offer.

“Of course,” his hand had hovered over her own. “Show me where.”

All of these instances compiled to make sleeping almost nonexistent for his poor wife, only fueling her exhaustion. He pondered this as he reclined, fully clothed minus his jacket, on their bed. Upon returning from the cemetery, rest seemed like the most rational decision. Guests had been seen to, condolences doled out, and he felt as if his muscles could not hold him upright much longer. And if he was feeling weary, he figured Cora must have been ready to pass out.

So, here he was. Staring up at the canopy above, too tired to close his eyes, and running through question after question in his brain. She breathed atop him, head on his chest and hand over his heart. He thought about her heavy sigh as she removed her hat not a quarter of an hour ago. And the hiss that followed as she had removed her shoes.

He had been sobered by the news of her anemia, forgetting himself and reaching to feel her solid, alive body. Not caring that an embarrassed Dr. Clarkson stood before them, watching Robert kiss his wife. But celebration was short lived. And today had been the culmination.

A beautiful service fit not only for a Countess, but a mother and grandmother. Two titles that Cora could also claim. And a more terrifying thought had never crossed Robert’s mind. Knowing they would be next, at least if the world progressed in a normal order, and this day would be repeated for the both of them.

“I can’t do it, Cora.” His words were lost in a strangled swallow, but she deciphered them.

“Do what, darling?” He could hear, if not sense, that her eyes were closed and he debated elaborating.

Should it be said? Should he voice his worst fear that he had experienced nearly every night after falling asleep? He drifted a hand up her spine and felt each vertebrae protest. He wasn’t the one in pain. He didn’t have to contend with nausea or sudden bouts of heat. But he wasn’t going to let her succumb either. She would get stronger as the days went on, he was sure of it. Yet just how long would her strength last? Or his own?

“Follow your coffin.” Achieving an effect he had certainly not wanted, he pressed his teeth together and shut his eyes before any more tears could escape. The slight scratching of her nails against his shirt was not bolstering his resolve.

“Please let me go first.” He uttered, whispered, pleaded, and felt her press up to look at him.

“You think it would be any easier for me?” Her frown lacked accusation, though, and sincerity swept her eyes.

“Together, then.” It was irrational, of course, but he needed it spoken into existence.

“Alright.” Her’s was equally as irrational, but reassured him nonetheless.

“But thank God we have time,” he breathed, “Whatever you need, whatever must be done, I will be by your side.”

She was on the verge of sleep now, yet Robert felt himself being squeezed a bit tighter as he looked back up to the canopy, truly thanking God.

#cobert #downton abbey #cora crawley #robert crawley #cora x robert #cobert fanfiction #my little suffering babies #let’s hope it makes sense lol

[avoverud]

this is the hot cobert summer writing challenge finished product!

i'm so proud of everyone (even if i've only been here since may or something), i've read most everyone's and they're all SO GOOD, and i'll edit this post later to fill in everyone who hasn't yet :)

i see a lot of people thanking me, but i'd like to thank all of YOU for participating and making this whole thing come alive. a special thanks to @abumperprize and @ohtobealady , this whole thing probably never would've started without them <33

here's the list that i promised you, with the participants, their prompts, and the link to their work/first chapter so you can find it :D

once again, thank you all SO SO much.

@avoverud

breathlessly

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/avoverud/691056306056052736?source=share

@abumperprize

as a reassurance

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14116738/1/The-Bell-at-Easton-Lodge

@ohtobealady

timidly

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14117033/1/A-Collection-of-Cobert

@bella-caecilia

as a confession

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14116351/1/A-Little-Less-Lost

@dream-of-ragtime

as a sign of happiness

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14115616/1/Reminiscing

@idoloveouradventures

woefully

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14116538/1/Three-Pairs-of-Eyes

@whydidnttheyaskcora

quietly

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14116012/1/I-Heard-Every-One-of-Them

@modernamericangirl

as a goodbye

https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/modernamericangirl/691359019926994944?source=share

@whatsabriard

as a promise

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14115292/1/all-i-want-and-i-ve-waited-so-long

@randomabiling

as a last attempt

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14117230/1/

@downton-bridgerton

as a question

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14115955/1/Blended-Toast

@andallthatmishigas

as a dare

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14114869/1/Forbidden

#thank you to everyone for making this possible <33 #hot cobert summer writing challenge #cobert #cora crawley #robert crawley #downton abbey #cobert fanfiction

[ohtobealady]

Lady, what is your headcanon for the first night Robert stayed? Why, how, when? I'd really like to hear your thoughts :) Have you maybe written about it something that I've missed?

Hello, hello! I love this headcanon question and would love to know others' headcanons! My headcanon used to be that he just gradually stayed longer and longer after performing their *duty*, but now I don't think so.

I think that one night, after an emotional day, he just decides to Stay.

It's most likely best portrayed in my fic Things Given to Tomorrow, Ch 9.

Here's the excerpt if you don't feel like reading all that :)

“And speaking of gossip,” Cora shifted down in her bed. And Robert followed suit. “I caught Rosamund in your old nursery today.” Her voice was low between them. “She was going through old crates.”

“Oh?”

Cora nodded against her pillow, facing him now. “Yes. An old set of puppets.”

“Punch and Judy?” Robert’s interest was piqued. “What should she want with those?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Unless she’ll need toys soon.”

“Why would she need that?”

“If she’s … well … do you think she could be pregnant?”

Robert hadn’t the slightest idea. He loved his sister as a good brother should, but he didn’t ruminate on her private life often, if at all. “I suppose she could be. She and Painswick’ve been married for quite some time.”

“Oh.”

Robert massaged the top of his head with his fingers, his head and elbow resting on her headboard. And then he stopped, and looked again at her. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” she was hardly convincing. “Only, of course she can take whatever toys she likes. They were hers too, after all —“

“—Punch and Judy are mine,” he interrupted. 

“But I suppose I would like her to leave some for our own children. It just felt …” she trailed off. And then with a click of her tongue, she shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Actually,” Robert’s mouth was braver than his heart and he paused. 

“Yes?”

“Rosamund suspected that you might be.” There was no reaction. None. So he continued. “I didn’t tell her it was impossible. She needn’t know.”

There was still no expressive reaction in her features. Even in the firelight, he could see her expression was blank. But she moved. She tilted her chin up to him, and quite like a moth to a flame, he met her. And they kissed. Deeply. Again. His mind wandered, drifting away from him and his hands wandered, to lift her nightdress, her warm, velvety skin delighting his fingertips. 

But she was quiet. There were no soft whimpers or moans, and he pulled away from her to look at her. 

On her side, in his arms, she looked back at him. And she whispered, “Do you want me to be?”

He furrowed his brow. “What?”

He felt her ribs expand beneath his arm. “Do you want me to be pregnant?”

Yes, he thought, but he kept quiet. Her face, the way she looked at him kept him quiet. 

“Only, perhaps I am being foolish.” She exhaled the breath she’d taken. “And when I saw Rosamund, and with my aunt, and I … perhaps it is unfair of me to have everyone wait just because of my naive ideas.”

“You aren’t a fool,” he said, and she tried a small smile. 

And then they kissed again. And again. But Robert’s mind did not float away. He stayed grounded as she pulled herself closer to him. As she pressed herself against him. Closer and closer until, at last, he pulled away. 

He whispered again. “Truth be told, I’m rather tired.” 

“Oh,” her voice was soft. She unlaced her fingers from his hair. “Are you angry with me?”

“What? No! I’m not cross.” He grinned at her in the dark. “No.”

She nodded and pulled further away from him. She drew the blankets back up to her chin. 

He sat up away from her, but then stopped and peered down at his wife. “Do you mind if I stay in here tonight?”

Her face lit up the entire room. “Of course I don’t mind, Robert. I want you to.”

He laid back down, and shifted his weight down deeper into her bed. When he turned to tell her good night, she was still smiling.

#cobert #cobert fanfiction #cora crawley #robert crawley

[whatsabriard]

done and done. in time, might i add. thanks for a fun challenge, everyone. this chapter is definitely for grown folks only, so heed the warnings. 

#hot cobert summer writing challenge #cobert #cora crawley #robert crawley #downton abbey #cobert fanfiction

[downton-bridgerton]

Here we are! My contribution for the Hot Cobert Summer Writing Challenge, organized by the amazing @avoverud ! Thank you so much for organizing this fun challenge!!

I can't write smut to save my life, so please do enjoy the sexual tension between these two dorks in the modern timeline😂

I'll it publish now, so that by tomorrow I'll just enjoy myself in reading the other's stories (who are probably better than mine)! I can't wait for the other fics!!! 🥰

Also here on AO3

#this is really fun to write! #cora crawley #robert crawley #cobert #cobert fanfiction #downton abbey fanfiction #downton abbey #hot cobert summer writing challenge #my post #*my drabbles and writing

[bella-caecilia]

Cobert Winter Fanfic Exchange 2023

We're entering the next round of our Cobert writing exchange! It's time for you to receive your prompts. The prompts will be handed out according to the genre you'll choose. It works as follows.

Underneath you can find a list of the genres we have prompts for. @ohtobealady helped me put together a great prompt collection!

It's now your turn to choose a genre and message me to let me know what genre you want to write for.

Then you'll get two prompts from me; a one-word prompt & a dialogue prompt.

You can use either one or both of the prompts for your story; whatever inspires you most :)

When you have your prompts, you can start writing. There are no limits to what you can write; however long, however short, an AU, modern, canon-compliant... We want it all!

Please post your entries by January 6 and tag the tumblr post with "cobert winter writing exchange 2023" or send me the link if you're only posting on other platforms, so I can link every drabble in one masterpost for the fanfic exchange.

Have fun!

Genres:

Angst

Fluff

Hurt/Comfort

Smut

Participants: @abumperprize @adoracora-elizabeth @avoverud @downton-bridgerton @juliasdowntonstuff @modernamericangirl @mrsrobinsong @ohtobealady @randomabiling @whydidnttheyaskcora

If you aren't on the list yet and still want to participate just send me a PM :)

And if there are any other questions left, feel free to message me as well!

#cobert winter fanfic exchange 2023 #cobert winter fanfic exchange #cobert fanfiction #cobert #cora x robert #cora crawley #robert crawley #downton abbey fanfiction #downton abbey

[adoracora-elizabeth]

Drabble - Anniversary

"Mary?" Robert hurried down the great hall to catch his eldest daughter before she left the house.

"Papa?" Mary turned around with a surprised look on her face. "I was about to go to the stables."

"I know, I know," Robert said apologetically. "This will not take long." He stopped and checked if they were alone. When he made sure nobody was listening he continued. "I have a request for you. You know your mother and I will have our anniversary soon."

"Thirty nine years, can you imagine." Mary answered.

"Since your mother is feeling better, I want to do something special. Taking her out dancing, and I want to make it even more special by arranging a new dress for her. But there comes my problem and where I need you." He smiled at Mary. "I do not know where your mother buys her dresses and how that all works. Can you help me with that?"

"Oh, Papa. That is so romantic. Tell me what you want and I will make sure Mama has a new dress."

Robert felt his cheeks colour. "I hoped you would want to take me to get a dress. I would love to be the one who picked it out for her."

"Papa, I have to run now. But we will talk about this later. I do not think you understand how it all works. But I will help you get Mama a perfect dress."

"Thank you." Robert turned around to go back to the drawing room.

"What was that about?" Cora's voice sounded suddenly, making Robert jump. He looked in the direction the sound came from. Cora came walking towards him. She was wearing a dark skirt with a white blouse on top. The blouse was decorated with black flowers. He was glad to see colour on her cheeks again. The last months had been rough, especially for Cora herself. The treatment she was receiving was far from pleasant, but Cora hardly complained. There had been days when she could not get herself out of bed. On those days, Robert carried her to her settee so she would not have to stare at the ceiling the whole day. He had not left her alone during those days. She constantly dozed off but he had stayed in her room. Bates had placed a small table in Cora’s room, so he could work, while she was sleeping. The last couple of weeks, she was starting to feel better and every afternoon she came downstairs to join the family for afternoon tea.

"We were talking about the estate, nothing special." He stepped closer to Cora so he could kiss her cheek. "Good to see you downstairs."

Cora hooked her arm in Robert’s mostly for stability, but she also took every opportunity to be close to him. "Did I hear correctly that Tom and Lucy are visiting today?"

Robert's face lit up, that visit meant his favourite grandchild would come too. His darling Sybbie. "They will be here tonight, Tom said they would join for tea."

"Does Mrs. Patmore know? I know she likes to make something special when they visit."

Robert padded Cora’s hand. "She knows, do not worry about that."

Cora lowered her eyes, it was not easy, not being in charge of everything. Her eldest and husband were taking over where she usually was in charge. The months she had spent upstairs in her room, she had not been aware of it. But now she moved around in the house again, it was apparent and hard to get used to.

"You will be running everything yourself soon." Robert padded Cora’s hand again.

Cora looked up and leaned against his shoulder. "Mary will take over one day, maybe it is time to let go now and give her the chance to be the lady of the house."

"As long as you and I are Lord and Lady Grantham, she will not take over from you."

Cora pressed a kiss on his cheek. "I think I can get used to having some more time with you."

Robert stopped walking. "Do you think you have enough energy for a short walk?"

"But it is snowing?"

"That will make it even better. We will stay close to each other for warmth. And when we come back, we will ask for some hot cocoa and warm ourselves in front of the fireplace."

Cora saw the childlike excitement in Robert’s eyes and even though she was not having the best day pain-wise, she could not deny him anything when he looked like that.

+++

"Will you be home tonight?" Cora asked with a sleepy voice. Robert woke her up early this morning.

"We will, I promise to be home tonight. I asked Mrs. Hughes and Baxter to look after you today. Try to sleep some more, my love." He bent down and kissed her forehead.

Cora sighed. "I wish I knew what you were going to do in London."

"Some business, nothing special. Now please go back to sleep." He pressed his lips on Cora’s.

+++

"I like this royal blue colour." Robert was standing next to Mary in an atelier in London. Mary had explained to him, that all Cora’s dresses were made for her. Robert had expected to go to a shop and buy a dress off the shelve. He never had realised how much work there was in her clothes. Everything had to match and was thought out.

Mary and the dressmaker explained everything that was needed for the dress. He had to make decisions about the colour, the shape of the dress and the type of buttons. Baxter had handed him one of Cora’s newest dresses so they knew her measurements. Without so many words, Baxter said that Cora had lost a lot of weight. Something he had noticed too. This dress should fit perfectly since there was no opportunity to get her fitted in.

After what felt like a lifetime there was finally a dress on paper, all choices had been made and Robert was content. He could picture his wife in it already. He had opted for a looser fit, especially around her waist. He knew how uncomfortable it was for Cora to wear clothes that were tight around her waist and stomach. The dress would be delivered at Rosamund’s, so Baxter could pick it up on the night of their anniversary.

+++

"Do we have to go today?" Cora asked a bit annoyed.

Robert turned around, Cora was still sitting at her dressing table, Baxter had made her ready for the day. She had gone down to put the suitcase in the car, and Robert made sure Cora would not notice that. "We do, Rosamund is expecting us and we cannot cancel this late."

Cora sighed, did Robert forget about today? Why were they going to London and visit Rosamund on this day? There were so many other days they could do that, but Robert had chosen this special day. Had he been too occupied with everything to remember? Had it been her illness that made him forget? Another sigh left her before she got up. "I hope we can have some alone time tonight." She said while walking past Robert towards the door.

Robert did not stop her, something that surprised Cora. "The car is waiting outside, we should go. Did you say goodbye to Mary, George and Caroline?"

"We will be back tonight?" Cora gave Robert a surprised look.

"I know, but you never know. Why do we not go and say goodbye real quick? George loves to see his grandmother."

This brought a smile to Cora’s face, she adored her grandchildren. "If you say so."

Mary came to the front door to wave them goodbye.

+++

Cora had dozed off during the car ride. Robert had hoped to sleep some himself. He had not slept last night, he was nervous about the dress. What if it did not fit her? Or even worse, she would not like it? When they came closer to London, Cora woke up. There was always so much more noise, Robert loved being in London, but at the same time he missed the peace and quiet from home.

"Where are we going? This is not the way to Rosamund’s house?" Cora said, while looking outside.

"Is it not?" Robert acted surprised.

Cora's head whipped towards Robert. "What is going on? You cannot tell me you forgot how we go to your sister's house?"

"Maybe the driver is taking a different route?"

"What is wrong with you? Since last night you have been acting off, are you feeling alright?" She raised her hand to feel his forehead. Then she put the back of her hand against his cheek. "You do not feel warm, that is good."

"Nothing is wrong." Robert saw the worry in Cora’s eyes and decided to not play this game any longer. "We are not going to Rosamund’s?"

"What? Why not? Where are we going?"

"The driver will take us to the Ritz."

"Oh no, Robert. I have not brought a dress with me to dine in the Ritz."

Robert smiled. "Yes, you have."

"Robert, you do not understand. I need a different type of dress to eat at the Ritz than I need to eat at your sister's."

"Do not worry about the dress, Baxter has the right one for you."

Cora gave Robert a puzzled look, but before she could argue again. The car stopped and they stood infront of the Ritz.

"Let us go up to our room," Robert said with a cheeky smile.

Robert hoped the dress would be there. Baxter and Bates had left the house earlier, so they could stop at Rosamund’s for the dress.

The door was opened and Robert let Cora go in first. She walked inside but stopped walking and froze. Robert tipped the staff member and quickly closed the door. He stepped towards Cora and put his hands on her shoulders. In the middle of the room, was a mannequin with Cora’s new dress on it. The dress was stunning, and he could already see Cora shine in it.

Cora turned around to face Robert. "Where did this dress come from?"

"I asked Mary to help me design a dress for you. We went to London to your favourite dressmaker and they made this dress for you. So you can shine tonight when I take you out dancing." Robert took Cora’s hands in his. "Happy Anniversary my darling."

"You did not forget," Cora said softly, she wiggled one of her hands out of Robert’s and laid it against his face. "I thought you forgot. Oh my darling, I love you." She got on her tiptoes to press her lips against his.

"I love you too." He murmured.

The kiss was a long, tender kiss and once they broke the connection, Robert kept Cora close to his chest. "We have no appointments this afternoon, if you want you can rest."

Cora lifted her chin. "I will only rest, if you rest with me. You have not slept much last night."

"You noticed?"

"I can see it in your eyes. We can lie down together. If I want to dance the night away with you, I will need to take some rest now.

+++

After dinner, Robert guided Cora towards the dance floor. The dress fitted perfectly on her. The blue of the dress made her blue eyes shine even brighter. Cora turned towards him and placed one hand on his shoulder and the other in his hand. Robert moved his hand to the small of her back and pulled her a bit closer. "Tonight is our night."

"I remember our first dance vividly." Cora started. "Many men had waltzed me over the dance floor, but when you took my hand and placed your hand on my back, I knew. I instantly knew that I belonged to you."

Robert slowed his movements so he could look her in the eye. "You belong to nobody, my sweet darling. But I count myself lucky that I can call you my wife. Thirty-nine years ago, you made me the happiest man alive." He leaned his forehead against Cora’s. He suppressed the urge to kiss her tempting lips. They were curled up in a smile.

When the song ended, Cora suddenly got on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. They were still in the middle of the dance floor, but the room around them faded away. Cora's warm and soft lips, made his mind go blank. She pressed her body against his and murmured. "I want to dance our private dance."

Robert was surprised, they had not done anything like that since they came back from France. Cora had not been well enough to do more than share a kiss and a cuddle. "Are you sure?"

Cora bit his lip. "More than sure."

#cora crawley #downton abbey #robert crawley #downton #fanfiction #cobert #drabble

[juliasdowntonstuff]

So, I was supposed to work on my term paper for university that is due in roughly 36 hours today, but naturally instead of doing that, I procrastinated by writing about everyone’s favourite old married couple - and I’m not sorry in the slightest. I hope you enjoy it :)

#downton abbey #cobert #robert crawley #cora crawley #downton abbey: a new era #fanfiction #new upload

[onemorecoffeeee]

Them ✨

#cobert #downton abbey #cobert fanfiction #downton abbey fanfiction #cora crawley #robert crawley #elizabeth mcgovern #hugh bonneville #mcgonneville

[dream-of-ragtime]

COBERT HOT SUMMER WRITING EXCHANGE

Prompt: “ I Love You” as a sign of happiness

So, this is my contribution to this wonderful challenge started by @avoverud, and once again, what a brilliant idea and I’m so thankful to have been part of this!

Having said that, lol I don’t know what this is, really. I seriously suck at writing anything remotely light-hearted so I squeezed in some drama, I hope you don’t mind:) (also, this is quite a short drabble, but honestly, I couldn’t get more out of it lol)

I’m soooooo looking forward to all the other stories! 

#hot cobert summer #downton abbey #cobert fanfiction #cora crawley #robert crawley #elizabeth mcgovern #hugh bonneville

[idoloveouradventures]

Three Pairs of Eyes

I can’t tell you how fun this little project was. And now I have soooooo many new fics to read, I can’t wait!! Thank you @avoverud for organizing all of us!

“Shrouded in woe, he fails to quell even his own fears.” My contribution to Hot Cobert Summer. Prompt: Saying “I love you” woefully. Definitely a bit of woe, but all ends well! Told through the eyes of Sybbie, Robert, and Cora. Post-A New Era.

#cobert #downton abbey #cora crawley #robert crawley #cobert fanfiction #cora x robert #hot cobert summer