Their bedroom flickered red and gold courtesy of the flames dancing in the fireplace. Their gifts to one another were still wrapped at the foot of the bed, forgotten in their ardor. Now Cora lay propped against the pillows, her husband's back resting against her chest. He ran his hands over her calves and her arms draped across his chest, fingers twisting in the sprinkling of silver hair there.

"Merry Christmas, darling." She murmured into his neck, lips brushing his flesh. He shivered and she squeezed him with arms and thighs. "It turned out, didn't it?"

"Other than the image of Ian Nesbet groping you under the mistletoe, I'd say it did."

She tweaked one of his nipples playfully and caught his ear between her teeth. "Be nice."

He tickled the back of her knees and chuckled. "I'd rather not."

Cora dropped her chin to his shoulder and stared into the fire, hypnotized by flames and his touch and the intoxicating press of his body against hers. She was content to simply stay there, holding him in her arms, unable to tell where his skin began and hers ended. For so many years it seemed life conspired against them, attempting to keep them apart. It was a testament to their devotion to one another that they were there, together in that room, hearts still racing from their love.

"Would you like to open your gift, my dearest?" Robert asked lazily, continuing his mindless exploration of the skin beneath his wandering hands.

Still cheeky, still amused by all that had happened to lead them to this moment, Cora's grin was playful. "I thought you'd already given me a very satisfactory gift."

"That, my love, is the gift that keeps on giving." With regret he pulled himself out of her embrace, his warm skin cooling at the lack of contact. He scooted to the end of the bed, the sheet tangled around his middle falling away and giving his wife a very interesting view as he leaned forward to retrieve a wrapped package. As he crawled back to sit beside her against the headboard, she couldn't help herself. As though her hands had a will of their own, they trekked over his exposed flesh. He swatted at her hands ineffectually and landed face down beside her with a groan. A flat-handed smack on his bottom had him howling in irritation. With mock annoyance he sat up and gathered the sheet over him. "As you can't seem to keep your hands to yourself."

Once he was settled he presented her with her gift. He watched her face as she ripped the paper on the flat box. Pulling back the tissue inside she gasped, tugging the gold chain free.

"Oh Robert." She breathed, cradling the pendant in her palm. It was a heart, encrusted with diamonds. At the center was a deep red ruby that glittered in the firelight. "It's beautiful."

Robert allowed his gaze to trek over her face, the one so familiar to him. Her eyelashes fluttered as she stared at the bauble and a muscle in her cheek twitched, which meant she was barely holding back tears. She bit at her bottom lip gently and fumbled at the clasp.

"Help me?" She asked and turned her back on him. She gathered her hair in her hands and he clasped the necklace. It was heavy between her breasts.

"We've had a rough year. A rough handful," Robert admitted, and there was emotion in his tone. "I think I may have forgotten to remind you how much you mean to me. How much a part of me you are. More than thirty years ago, I gave you my heart. You've still got it, Cora. You still do."

She lost the battle with her tears and turned into his embrace, her arms wrapping themselves around his neck. He drew her against him, until she was practically cradled in his lap, and murmured endearments against her hair.

"For every moment, of every day." He continued at long last, when he'd recovered enough of his control to speak. "You've had it."

He was rubbing her back soothingly, as though he held a child, and she sighed against his neck. He was always so strong in her eyes, even when he had been weak. It was something he'd forgotten - to aspire to be the man she believed he was. Somewhere along the way, he'd lost his compass. But it wasn't really lost, he just forgot that it existed in his wife. She would always point him in the right direction, and would accompany him on any journey.

"This makes my gift seem..." She trailed off, a little embarrassed now. He was choosing heartfelt, emotional gifts and hers was...

"Not in the least. If it comes from you, I know it comes from love."

Something flickered across her features, and Robert felt a niggle of discomfort.

"We should wait until morning." Cora tried to put him off, hoping she would be able to come up with something more suitable. Although a hundred miles from anywhere in Scotland meant the possibility was slim.

"Cora?" It was the slight nervousness in his tone that had Cora flushing. She felt all wrong-footed within seconds.

"No, no. It's just...it's not a very good present."

"Won't you allow me to be the judge of that?"

Her face scrunched in an expression of comic discomfort before slowly nodding. Robert bent to retrieve the gift and by the time he settled once more beside his wife, her cheeks were flaming.

"You're starting to frighten me." Robert said, turning the package over in his hands. It felt like a book, although he couldn't think of one that would make his dear wife turn six shades of crimson.

"It was a stupid...it was silly."

Looking between her and the carefully wrapped gift, he could wait no longer. He tore at the paper recklessly, revealing a very plain cover. The title was inscribed in gold and for a few seconds Robert was even more confused. He flipped the book open to a random page, and studied the illustration.

His eyes widened as he realized what he was seeing and he snapped the cover closed. Cora was beside him, her palms over her cheeks, not making eye contact.

He flipped open again, to another page, and this time he needed to turn the book clockwise to make sense of the drawing. His eyes widened to large ovals of shock.

When the bed began to shiver, Cora drew her hands down from where they covered her eyes. Robert was shaking in silent laughter beside her, tears of mirth rolling down his cheeks.

It was enough to squelch the last of embarrassment and instead send Cora's irritation to spiking.

"I didn't think it was that funny." She huffed, snatching the book from him and thumbing through it. "It is actually quite educational."

She landed on a page and shifted the book several different angles before shuffling some more. At last she turned and showed the illustration to Robert. "This one says it will increase the pleasure for the woman, as well as the staying power of the man."

Robert sputtered, but she noticed he leaned forward to inspect the drawing a bit closer. "That's not even possible. And you've never complained before!"

"Don't be offended," Cora offered a small conciliatory smile. "I told you it was silly."

"I don't know how insulting my bedroom performance is silly."

Cora was careful to avert her gaze as she rolled her eyes. Her husband's ego could be terribly fragile at times and she truly hadn't intended for the gift to address any failings on his part.

Instead of speaking she grabbed for his hand and pulled his arm over her shoulder, curling into his side and resting her head on his shoulder. She pulled the abandoned book from his lap and rested her palm on it. She let the silence deepen for a while longer before choosing her words carefully.

"You aren't alone in your concerns about us. You've been afraid you haven't expressed your feelings properly." She shifted and swallowed, comforted by the arm around her shoulders, despite the fact that it was still somewhat stiff. "There are parts of our marriage that I feel I've neglected as well. I know we're getting older, and that part should be past but...I don't want it to be. I want to be close to you."

Her cheeks were warm but Robert's grip relaxed and tugged her ever closer. "I thought we could...consult...the book. Together. I thought we could..."

She was fumbling for words. It hadn't happened at all as she'd planned, with the gift. She had expected pleasant, scandalized surprised as they spent the rest of the evening exploring the book.

Examining her hand sprawled over the cover, the lines and spots that hadn't been there a handful of years ago, she finally blurted. "I thought it might help us rediscover that part."

Robert buried his face in her hair and she could feel him breathing against her ear, and the sensation sent warm ripples across her flesh.

He was forced to wonder how they had arrived at this point, both so unsure of one another. Could it simply be the cosmic shift that accompanied the war and all that came after? Or was there something to the claim of familiarity breeding contempt? He looked down at his wife, pressed to his side as though she wished to merge their skin, and he couldn't ever imagine having contempt for her.

"I think we just lost our way." He murmured, sliding the book from beneath her palm. "Perhaps this will guide us back?"

He could feel her smile against his chest.

They opened the book and sifted through the pages, stopping every so often to read aloud. Sometimes they would giggle nervously. Occasionally they would sit in stupefied silence as they tried to figure out a particular position. The atmosphere in the room, which had been a maelstrom of conflicting feelings, melted into companionable warmth. Their hands wandered and when Robert read aloud from a section on biting, Cora couldn't stifle the yelp as he nibbled down the side of her neck.

The candles around the room were burned low by the time the book slide away, forgotten, as they crawled beneath the sheets to set about their own rediscovery of each other. Cora's fingertips traced familiar paths over back and shoulders while his lips roamed the slender expanse of her abdomen. He coaxed her into his lap, her back tucked against his chest, and he twined their fingers together. They slid together easily and Cora gasped. He paused while she adjusted before nodding just a little. Her head lolled loosely on her shoulders when his hips began a lazy rhythm.

Cora gasped when she finally opened her eyes and saw herself reflected in the oval mirror above the dressing table. She sought Robert's gaze in their reflection and he was watching her intently, his eyes dark with desire.

They breathed in tandem, stoking desire into a slow burn, then a raging wildfire, still staring into one another's eyes.

She turned her head and he caught the corner of her mouth with his lips, his tongue. The ruby heart glistened against the alabaster of Cora's skin, and Robert thought it fitting that his wife should wear his heart around her neck. He swallowed her moans and gave up his own while held her trembling form even closer.

He guided her hand down to her center, pressed her fingers, encouraging her to take up a rhythm of her own. She resisted momentarily but as pleasure fired over her skin she gave in. She felt wanton and alive and when she looked back into the mirror she saw that Robert's expression was even hungrier. His large hands closed gently over her breasts, warm palms scraping deliciously over her nipples. She she needed him with her, so much, had never felt this ragged desperation before in her life.

She wanted so much and needed that much more. With something like a growl she was forward onto her hands and knees. Robert's expression was one of surprise but he managed to follow her easily and used his hands to guide her hips into a fast rhythm. She looked up through a fall of her dark hair to their reflections again. Robert was looking down where they joined, his gaze full of wonder. His chest perhaps older, was sweat dampened. The muscles in his neck corded when he dropped his head back.

"Robert," Cora said, but it was a rough sound and she had catch her breath to speak again. "Robert."

When he finally met her gaze in the mirror she reached her hand down again to where they joined. He moved faster behind her and white edged her vision as she slid her fingers over herself.

Pleasure raced through her veins and she must have cried out. Her arm could no longer support her weight and she went limp, dimly aware of Robert's holler behind her. He collapsed across her back, pressing her into the mattress. His lips brushed her shoulder blades and he was panting.

When he'd finally stabilized his breathing he rolled onto his side, taking his wife with him. She was boneless and warm in his embrace.

"Best christmas gift. In the history of christmas gifts." He murmured.

Cora's chuckle was breathy and she rolled in his grip until her chin was tucked against her chest. Her smile was bright and unencumbered, as it was so many years ago.

Over the years the trips to Scotland had only been enjoyable because of the happiness they brought Robert. Cora had little use for the vast Castle, Susan's bad humor, the endless hunts and all the rest. She would much rather be in her own home.

However, she had to admit to herself, Christmas in Scotland had its advantages.

HAH. Finished before the alpaca-lypse. Happy End Of The World, my lovelies! Up next: WELCOME TO THE HIGHLANDS, BITCHES*. Tumblr, you're a terrible influence and I love you.

(*probably not the actual title)