Consummation
The church bells rung; the bride and groom departed; the two of them met when the crowds had cleared and the holy sanctuary was closed, for the moment. One scowls and shows his dislike of the marriage - he had had manners enough, though, not to show it to his Queen. The other smiles and takes his arm, and leads him away, with a few words that dismissed it as political.
The two of them are as careful as a bride and groom on their first wedding night - they've been through this before, though with differing partners, yet each time there is something new. England notices the scars from the rough treatment he gives Spain when they meet on the seas, but doesn't say a word; Spain stays quiet, too, about England's scars from the encounters.
It's systematic, in a sense. They each know what to do - there's only a little squabbling on who puts what where, but when it's decided they continue - and they move like clockwork, grinding like gears. The sounds are of strangled gasps and pleasured moans; the two of them intertwine and get tangled in the velvet sheets of a private room. They're muted for the most part - this is forbidden, after all, by both their churches, and the crosses in the candlelight seem to shine with sin - with punishments when a sound's too loud.
It ends quietly, with one last thrust from Spain and the silent response as England comes into the beautiful ivory sheets. Sweating and feel filthy, self-hatred at themselves, they don't speak a word. When England falls asleep, still flushed and panting from the night, Spain finishes himself off and begins to get out of the bed. He feels the need to bathe - to purge himself in the cold seas - but the shifting and the feel of someone grabbing his wrist makes him pause. His fingernails dig into his palm and Spain returns to the bed, arms encircling the waist of England.
Instinct to be closer to warmth takes over England and he immediately, unconsciously, snuggles into Spain. Spain smiles and runs a hand through the sleeping teen's hair.
It's cordial the next day - good byes are exchanged with the underlying excitement and dread at meeting on the waves in the later days - and neither speaks a word of the passionate night. As soon as they're alone, there's a swift and chaste kiss between them, and they depart.
------
1. This touches on the marriage of Mary I of the House of Tudor, and Philip I of Spain. Mary declared herself to be in love with Philip when viewing a picture of him and agreed to marry him; Philip viewed it as merely political. The people of England (and, so subsequently England) disliked and disapproved of this marriage. While the sentiments may have been shared by the Spanish, they largely did think it was better to be in some sort of alliance with the English.
The two of them are as careful as a bride and groom on their first wedding night - they've been through this before, though with differing partners, yet each time there is something new. England notices the scars from the rough treatment he gives Spain when they meet on the seas, but doesn't say a word; Spain stays quiet, too, about England's scars from the encounters.
It's systematic, in a sense. They each know what to do - there's only a little squabbling on who puts what where, but when it's decided they continue - and they move like clockwork, grinding like gears. The sounds are of strangled gasps and pleasured moans; the two of them intertwine and get tangled in the velvet sheets of a private room. They're muted for the most part - this is forbidden, after all, by both their churches, and the crosses in the candlelight seem to shine with sin - with punishments when a sound's too loud.
It ends quietly, with one last thrust from Spain and the silent response as England comes into the beautiful ivory sheets. Sweating and feel filthy, self-hatred at themselves, they don't speak a word. When England falls asleep, still flushed and panting from the night, Spain finishes himself off and begins to get out of the bed. He feels the need to bathe - to purge himself in the cold seas - but the shifting and the feel of someone grabbing his wrist makes him pause. His fingernails dig into his palm and Spain returns to the bed, arms encircling the waist of England.
Instinct to be closer to warmth takes over England and he immediately, unconsciously, snuggles into Spain. Spain smiles and runs a hand through the sleeping teen's hair.
It's cordial the next day - good byes are exchanged with the underlying excitement and dread at meeting on the waves in the later days - and neither speaks a word of the passionate night. As soon as they're alone, there's a swift and chaste kiss between them, and they depart.
------
1. This touches on the marriage of Mary I of the House of Tudor, and Philip I of Spain. Mary declared herself to be in love with Philip when viewing a picture of him and agreed to marry him; Philip viewed it as merely political. The people of England (and, so subsequently England) disliked and disapproved of this marriage. While the sentiments may have been shared by the Spanish, they largely did think it was better to be in some sort of alliance with the English.