Work Text:
When Mat Osman met Lieutenant-Commander Emily Milligan, RN, he had no idea how much it would change his life.
It was a wet and windy morning outside the studios, and Mat was surprised to see a woman in a military uniform standing outside, battling with an umbrella. He ran over to her with his, and helped her inside.
“Thank you so much, I’m waiting for a friend to meet me but they’re late” the woman said, straightening her hat carefully.
“You’re welcome, it’s a foul day. I’m Mat” he replied, sticking his hand out for her to shake.
“Emily Milligan” she replied, taking his hand.
“Military?”
“Navy. Lieutenant-Commander”
“Well I must get on, otherwise the band will have my guts for garters, but it was lovely to meet you, Lieutenant-Commander Milligan, and, uh, call me if you fancy a drink sometime” Mat said, pulling a card from his pocket and thrusting it into her hands before he walked down towards the studio. Emily stood there, dumbstruck. She’d only been waiting for a friend, and now she had a potential date with a very attractive man.
Mat couldn’t quite believe it either. He hadn’t particularly been looking forward to another long day in the studio but meeting Emily had certainly cheered him up, and he really, really hoped she’d call him.
Mat was surprised when his phone rang that evening.
“Hello?”
“Mat? It’s Emily Milligan”
“H-hello Emily. Fancy that drink?”
“As a matter of fact, I do”
“You do?”
“You sound surprised”
“No, no it’s just, well, when I gave you my number I wasn’t quite expecting you to call. I’m delighted you have”
“You are?”
“I am. Do you know Well Walk in Hampstead?”
“It’s just around the corner from me, why?”
“Number 38. What’s your tipple of choice?”
“Anything except Lamb’s Navy Rum. I’ll be 10 minutes”
“See you then” Mat said, and he put down the phone. He ran upstairs to put something a bit nicer on and to have a quick shave, before he made his way back down to the sitting room, and he set about making a drink for Emily.
He opened the door on the second knock, and found Emily stood in front of him, wearing a blue knee length dress.
“Hello Mat”
“Hi Emily, come in”
Emily walked into Mat’s house and looked around. She always thought you could tell a lot about someone by what they had in their house, and from what she could see, Mat seemed intelligent, cultured, and kind. It was homely. Not what she expected from a pop star’s house at all.
Mat led her into the living room, and they sat down on the sofa next to each other, Mat’s arm slung over the back of the sofa behind Emily. He couldn’t quite believe it. A pretty, clever, independent woman was sat on his sofa drinking a cocktail he’d made. She was very pretty out of uniform, he thought. He thought she was hot and sexy in her uniform but that wasn’t the point. She looked less severe, more welcoming, more delicate, and lovelier in her ‘civvies’. It wasn’t long before she noticed him looking.
“What?” She asked, laughing slightly.
“N-nothing, just you’re very pretty, that’s all” Mat replied, flustered. Emily laughed and leant her head on Mat’s shoulder, not really thinking about what she was doing. It seemed so natural and like the right thing to do, so she did.
Mat couldn’t believe his luck.
They sat there for hours, discussing art and music and the navy and everything in between. As they drank more, ordered some chinese food for dinner (“I want to eat something that’s not navy rations”), and got to know each other more, Emily and Mat found themselves sitting closer and closer together.
They turned the TV on and flicked to a random channel, half-watching whatever film was on. Emily’s legs were draped over Mat’s lap, her head resting on his shoulder and his arm tight around hers. Emily tried to drift off to sleep, but she couldn’t. Her heart was beating too fast. She had too much excitement and adrenaline going through her veins. Being in the Navy, she was away a lot, she didn’t like to get attached. With Mat, though, she couldn’t help it. He was so inviting, warm, kind, handsome, she couldn’t help getting so fond of him so quickly. She didn’t usually believe in love at first sight or love at first meeting, but she could see herself falling quickly into the trope she despised. She felt she could quite easily love Mat. She wasn’t sure whether she did already or not. She certainly didn’t think Mat would feel as strongly as she did so quickly. As she sat there, taking in the feel of Mat’s shoulder, her hand resting on his chest, she felt more at home than she ever had. She’d always wanted to be in the navy, and had found a home there, but this, she thought, was her home. This is where she was meant to be.
Mat was cataloguing the feel of Emily’s body against his, the feeling of her head being so close to his. It would be so easy to lean down and kiss her. He didn’t dare. He was fairly sure she didn’t really feel anything towards him except platonically, despite the fact she was all but draped over him.
It was Emily who made the plunge. She made eye contact with him, and he seemed to invite her in. She leant up and connected their lips, revelling in the feeling of Mat pulling her closer towards him. Their lips moulded together, like it was always meant to be. It was Mat who broke the kiss.
“Emily, this sounds stupid I know, but I think I’m falling in love with you” He whispered against her lips.
“It’s not stupid, Mat, I think I’m falling in love with you too” She replied, kissing him again. She pulled away quickly.
“I’m getting deployed soon, I only have a couple more weeks of shore leave” She said sadly, looking up at him.
“Then we better make the most of it” Mat replied, as he picked her up and carried her up to his bedroom.