#antheresa

[kiara-carrera]

33 for theresa and anthony!

i just want to preface this by saying i had no ideas for this so if it sucks, whoops lol (also this gif has no correlation, but i do like imagining anthony getting jealous haha)

send me a ship and a prompt!

Standing against the back of the ballroom, she truly wished she could just camouflage herself against the gilded walls. It was all Theresa could do to keep herself calm, wishing she could just fade away as the music transitioned into the next waltz.

She was fairly certain she had promised some gentleman one of her upcoming dances, a name hastily scrawled across the card dangling from her wrist, but that was long forgotten as she tried to control herself.

“Do not cry, do not cry,” she mumbled to herself, hastily dabbing a building tear from the corner of her eye with a flourish. She wished she’d brought a fan tonight, at least then she could try to look coy and mysterious while she tried not to make a fool of herself in front of the whole ton.

She could see Whistledown’s latest sheet the following Wednesday. Miss Ramsford attempts to make a river of tears in the corner of Lord Hampshire’s ball. 

It would make a far better headline than the ones that normally ran about her. Theresa had managed to stay out of Whistledown’s publications the best she could, avoided scandal and was usually only ever mentioned in passing, but those passings always tended to slip in how long she had been on the shelf.

It was no secret within London that Theresa Ramsford was, by all accounts, something of a spinster. Debuting at twenty was flirting with misfortune. Twenty-three, though, and she might have been better off asking the musicians to lead her in with a death march on every occasion.

She was spoiled goods, at best. No one wanted the twenty-three year old still riddled with grief over losing their sibling when there were younger, prettier girls who would make the good, quiet wives they desired.

She knew what people said about her, knew that people spoke in hushed whispers about how it was going to be hard for her to find a husband. Twenty-three was practically ancient to the people of the ton and Theresa’s minimal number of callers was proof of that.

But no one, besides Whistledown’s cutting remarks on paper, ever actually said it to her face. At least not until tonight

Cressida Cowper was known for being a lot of things, but a mean spirited wench might have been at the top of the list as far as Theresa was concerned. A little tiff had broken out between Theresa and the younger girl, something about Cressida’s antagonizations of Daphne, and Cressida had done what she did best: take someone’s deeply ingrained insecurities and thrown them right back in her face.

Theresa had done well to save face publicly in front of Cressida. She was not about to allow that arrogant little brat to see how she affected her. But now she was resigned to a corner, for what was probably the rest of the night, and all she wanted to do was to be alone. 

A body slid in beside her against the wall and let out a little huff of air. Theresa stiffened, brushing one of the curls framing her face out of her gaze. It only took her a second to recognize the dark haired man standing next to her before she began rapidly blinking to stop to rise of tears.

Theresa wished the floor would swallow her whole, to be quite honest. Out of all the Bridgerton men here tonight (which was all of them), it just had to be Anthony who would join her in solitude. Normally, it was Benedict or Colin who would join her when she retreated to the edges of the ballrooms, as Anthony normally wouldn’t join her alone. He seemed to be all too oblivious and yet all too aware of her feelings for him all at once.

Anthony paid her no mind at first, taking a sip of his drink as he began discussing his woes of the night. “I believe the mamas have become agitated tonight, swarming around like a lot of — Theresa, are you alright?”

Yes, melting into the floor seemed like a good alternative.

She gave him a slight nod of the head, doing her best to act like Cressida Cowper hadn’t just destroyed her entire night. “I’m quite alright, thank you asking.”

He gave her a look that was told her that he was unimpressed with her lie. “Should you not be off dancing?” he questioned, a hand tossed in the direction of the dance floor where the majority of eligible ladies, as well as his own siblings, were spinning with their various partners.

Theresa bit out a rather unladylike laugh. “Yes, because everyone is dying for a dance with the grieving spinster.”

“Did someone say that to you?” Anthony questioned, tone and gaze suddenly hardened, serious. He looked personally offended by the statement.

She had intended to not discuss this with anyone, let alone him, but she could not help herself. Theresa had been holding all of this in for weeks. “Do I start that list with Whistledown? Or perhaps all the people who talk behind my back?”

“They are wrong about you, you must know that,” he told her sternly, the same sort of tone she had seen him scold his siblings with. “Any gentleman here tonight would be lucky to have you on their arm and if they cannot see it, then that is their issue.”

Theresa gave a weak smile. Any man would be lucky, yes.

But not just any man was the one she wanted.

[kiara-carrera]

Theresa and Anthony for the headcanons!!

the end of s1 is not a good look for anthony because he’s fallen into his whole irrational “time to get married and it won’t be for love but i’m running out of time” thing and he sort of throws theresa’s age in her face (most of the ton sees her as a spinster) because she’s sort of his first choice while he’s floundering after siena turns him down

anthony’s view of her “childish crush” on him sort of changes after the duel because he starts realizing she has actual feelings for him

she starts courting another oc of mine, who will one day inherit a barony from his dad, and anthony refuses to admit his feelings for theresa but bitches to benedict and colin about how theresa can do better than a baron and benedict and colin are just like dude

send a ship for 3 headcanons!

[kiara-carrera]

Headcannons dating meme: Anthony x Theresa

this is under the cut because it got long really quick!

where they first met and how: they met during their childhood. their parents were all very close, so theresa and her brother spent a good deal of time with the bridgertons. however due to the 6-ish year age gap, they didn’t spend a good deal of time together and anthony most definitely viewed theresa as like an additional little sister due to her friendship with daphne

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved: okay this i’m still shaky on because i sort of need season 2 to come into play (also waiting on my copies of these books to be delivered so i can have a tad more context), but there is definitely some light flirting in season 1 but it’s not super serious on his part but season 2,,,their might be a bit more even though she’s with another dude like anthony you choose now to like her????

who fell for who first (if applicable): theresa’s been head over heels for anthony since she was a teenager. at first it was kind of just like a cute lil childhood crush on her friends eldest brother but when she was like finally an adult and stuff she started taking her feelings a bit more seriously.

where their first date was and what it was like: they go promenading in the park, very nice weather, very cute, his mom chaperones from afar and is vvv happy while anthony’s like mom i’m like 30 stop embarrassing me jfc

who asks who out and how (with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’?): anthony is the one who makes the move to officially court her ... it’s very out of nowhere and kind of angsty because she’s technically courting someone else.

who proposes first: anthony

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away: it’s a secret at first because once it’s clear that they’re doing this for real, she has to break off a courtship with someone else and it kind of causes a bit of a scandal because it looked like they were going to be engaged. when they do go public, it’s lowkey a shitshow

where the proposal happens and how (kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park?): so there’s an impromptu proposal and an official proposal. the impromptu one is basically the same moment as him confessing feelings because lord does he not want to see her marry someone else and it’s sort of uncalled for but he’s just putting everything out there. the second one is a bit more formal and they’re not completely alone but it’s very soft.

if they adopt any pets together: nope

who’s more dominant: anthony

where their first kiss was and what it was like: very abrupt, a little aggressive and overly passionate ... also depending on how i timeline this it may technically count as cheating pls do not come for me

if they have any matching couples stuff (mugs? sweaters? pillowcases?): i like to think their wedding bands have a matching vibe to them, but that’s sort of like a standard thing lol.

how into pda they are: not really. it’s also sort of a time era taboo anyways, but they’d only like going as far as like holding hands or a kiss on the cheek when others are around.

who holds the umbrella when it rains: anthony because he believes in being a gentleman

where their usual ‘date spot’ is (if applicable): honestly at their house, they just like quiet intimate time together.

who’s more protective: this is sort of even between them, although anthony’s more of a defend your honor publicly kind of person while theresa’s more the one who pulls him aside to be like i want you to be safe sort of like making sure he doesn’t do anything stupid.

how long it is before they sleep together (can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’): their wedding night covers both of these

if they argue about anything: this is well before their relationship, but they argue a lot about his bs in s1 with berbrooke and sometimes how he gets this mightier than thou attitude with her because they’re at the point where he still views her as like just some lovesick little girl

who leaves more marks (lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc.): theresa and she has no shame in it whatsoever.

who steals whose clothes and how often: theresa’s been known to pick up his discarded shirts every once and while and wear it to bed

how they cuddle (spooning? facing each other?): sometimes it’s spooning, but sometimes they face each other and she rests her head on his chest.

what their favourite nonsexual activity is: walks in the park, horseback rides, just spending time together in general.

how long they stay mad at each other: anthony can usually only go a few hours after an argument, but if theresa knows she’s right you can bet she will silent treatment the situation for like a day.

what their usual coffee / tea orders are: they both drink tea but i know nothing about tea drinking so i’m not going to answer this lmao

if they ever have any children together: they will have a few! definitely not as many as his family had, but at least 2 or 3. one’s definitely going to be named in honor of her late brother.

if they have any special pet names for each other: anthony uses darling a lot while theresa’s been known to use sweetheart every now and again.

if they ever split up and / or get back together: they don’t. once they’re together, it’s a straight shot to happily ever after!

what their shared living space is like (messy? clean? what kind of decor?): elegant and definitely tidy. 

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like: they probably spend it with their families, so it’s definitely a fun affair. it’ll probably be a little bit after they marry, so it’ll be a good time.

what their names are in each other’s phones: this is not relevant to them for obvious reasons

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ (buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening?): none as of right now!

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first: theresa for both, but she likes to wake up on the real early side which sort of drives anthony up a wall.

who’s the big spoon / little spoon: theresa lives to be little spoon but on occasion she likes to be big spoon

who hogs the bathroom: i think based on regency styles, probably theresa based on the aspects of everything that goes into looking “presentable” but i really want to say anthony because i just think it’s amusing to think about him sorting out his sideburns every day.

who kills the spiders / takes them outside: anthony’s in the business of whacking spiders swiftly while theresa’s like hold on let me get something to scoop him up to put him back outside.