Work Text:
“Mark certainly did not need to hear about the time they disappeared from one of Andrew Parker Bowles’ famous halloween parties for quite some time before returning looking less than put together, almost to the point of dishevelment.”
London, late 1988:
As Andrew Parker Bowles escorted Princess Anne into the restaurant, he was sure that it was going to be tonight. It had to be. Tonight he would finally bring Anne back to his bed after many years of absence. Since her marriage had no hope of continuing, he’d been subtly courting her, wanting to bask in the spark that flared between them so many years ago. Dinners, trips to the theatre, meandering conversation, were al had in aid of trying to woo her. They were great friends, but he longed to feel that passion she once inspired in him. No matter his efforts though, she seemed unmoved. Sure, she was lively and appeared to enjoy his company, but beyond that, nothing. Alas, he would keep trying .
Pulling a chair out for his companion, he wondered if they would talk about what seemed to be her favourite topic of late: The Queen’s Equerry. He’d only met the man once briefly, in passing but he appeared to be nice enough; Anne certainly thought so as the courtier was mentioned in conversation each and every time they went out over the past few weeks. He was sure that tonight would be no different.
Gazing across at his companion, who had just spent the previous ten minutes extolling the naval Commander's prowess on the water, Andrew was sure that Anne was blushing. It was a simple question he had asked her really; trying to show an interest, he asked her if she had ever been sailing with the man? Why on earth would that question make her blush? Then it hit him. How could he have been so incredibly blind to it? His only excuse was that he had been too determined to get Anne into his bed to see that in all this time, she was in love with Commander Laurence, or at the very least had a crush on the man. With a bit of poking and prodding he managed to get her to admit to being in love with her mother’s equerry and that they had been seeing each other for a bit over a year.
Andrew was absolutely fascinated by this new piece of information. Tim Laurence indeed must be something special to be able to capture and hold the interest of the Princess Royal. As he enquired further, he discovered how that the only downside to their relationship appeared to be the lack of opportunities for them to behave as a real couple would; going out to dinner, being at parties together, just generally being open about their relationship. That night at home, unfortunately without his companion, Andrew contemplated on how happy this new relationship made his friend and also how desolate she seemed when discussing how she wished they didn’t have to hide their feelings. Thinking about how he could help, a plan began to form.
To say that Tim was nervous was an understatement. Andrew Parker Bowles had asked him to lunch and so curiosity got the better of him and he agreed to go. He didn’t really know much about him, except that he was friends with Anne and that they used to be together. He certainly shouldn’t know that Mrs Parker Bowles was currently seeing the Prince of Wales. Surely that’s not what he wanted to talk about?
Sitting across from him, Andrew was sizing him up and could see why Anne was drawn to him. Good looking with impeccable manners; the perfect gentleman. Over lunch, he told Tim of his plan, and understandably he seemed a bit dubious about the idea; A place where Anne and Tim could go, surrounded by close friends and be open about their relationship? He understood the younger man’s hesitancy. One word or gesture that revealed his connection with Anne, in the wrong company then his career and most likely his relationship would be finished. He assured Tim that if he came to his halloween party then all would be well.
Anne felt slightly ridiculous dressed as she was. Andrew had somehow managed to convince her to come to his halloween party and she only agreed as she couldn’t see Tim that weekend. When she approached her lover about spending the time in Winchester together, he shrugged and said he had already made plans and didn’t want to elaborate on them. She hadn’t been happy at this, but decided that if wanted to do his own thing then she would too and had accepted Andrew’s invitation. No matter how much she tried to deny it, it hurt knowing that Tim had made plans without her.
She had fallen for Tim quicker than she had realised, and for a long time in denial, had clung to the belief that it was just that the sex was so good and that it had been so long since someone had paid her any attention. As time went on though, it became harder to reconcile that belief with how she felt when she was around him, how any mention of him would send her heart racing, and a blush appearing. Gazing around the room, she sighed; the party just wouldn’t be the same without him. As she looked around, she spotted a man dressed as Nelson complete with a bicorn hat. His back was to her, but she suddenly knew in her heart, without a doubt, who it was before her brain could even make sense of it. It couldn’t be him, surely? When he said that he had made plans, she didn’t think he meant Andrew’s party. Before she could go over and find out, one of Andrew’s tedious friends appeared, wanting to chat.
Tim looked over and seeing Anne, his mouth became dry. Looking every inch the bar wench, she had clearly outdone herself with her choice of costume. He tried not to stare but he wasn't able to resist. He couldn’t help but admire her shoulders that were on display and to remember how they felt under his hands. Seeing that she was chatting to someone, but not wanting to wait, he made his way over to her.
Anne looked up and saw Tim coming towards her; that slightly lopsided smile beginning to appear as soon as their eyes locked. She was so entranced by him that she didn’t notice her companion making himself scarce, now clearly aware that she wasn’t paying him the slightest bit of attention.
“Hello you. So these were your plans that you didn’t want to share?”
“Well, an Admiral’s got to keep his battle plans a secret and Mr Parker Bowles insisted on surprising you.”
It warmed her heart to know her dear friend supported them and was trying to provide an environment for them to try and be a normal couple. They were among a lot of her old friends here, people she trusted and who knew that her marriage to Mark had become unhappy and was essentially over.
As the night went on, the pair shared food and discovered that they had very different ideas on how to dance and throughout the evening they couldn’t help but continually touch each other; a hand at the small of her back, his arm around her shoulders, her hand on his knee. The longing built until Tim couldn’t think straight and ended up dragging Anne off to find an empty room so he could satisfy them both.
Tim pulled his lover into the coat room at Andrew Parker Bowles townhouse, and gently shut the door behind him. Anne didn't know what to think, she'd never seen him quite so determined before. Pushing her against the low cupboard behind her, Tim shook his head.
"You look, well words can't describe how wonderful you look."
"The costume is well made I guess," she shrugged.
"Anne, you're well made. You could be wearing a sack and my mouth would be watering."
He lifted her to sit on the low cupboard…
Back in amongst his guests, Andrew had seen Tim take Anne by the hand and lead her out the room.
Much later in the evening, Andrew was just wondering if the pair had gone home when they came back into the room, looking rather sheepish. It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what they had been up to. Tim’s bicorn hat was missing and his hair fluffy as if a certain someone had been running her fingers through it. His jacket had obviously long been discarded as had his tie. Anne was only faring slightly better with her hair out of its trademark style, with it now flowing down her shoulders. Her deep blush and tell-tale smirk did nothing to hide what her and Tim had been up to while they were absent from the party. Andrew smiled and made a mental note to remind himself to tease Anne mercilessly about it later.