[Closed Post] ..lines we're leaving behind..

[lanselos_du_lac]

He doesn't really mean to, but Lancelot keeps to his rooms for a time in the wake of the latest mansion upheaval. He doesn't disappear for days, and he mostly keeps his routines -- he does spend a little more time riding -- but he is subdued and not idly floating about for socializing.

It could have been worse. He knows this. He knows, too, that no one did this on purpose; he's grateful for Susan and Nightingale's understanding. But none of that makes it easier to regain his emotional balance. Much like that day (which felt very long), he is still grappling occasionally with that sensation of being... just outside of himself, a step removed, dizzy and longing to be even further away.

Still, he does not want to punish Susan and he knows they should talk. So this morning after he puts up Rivelin, he goes to find Susan, wherever she might be.

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[lanselos_du_lac]

He makes another contented sound, relaxing such that his hand rests more heavily on her.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan likes the weight of him - in truth, she likes everything about him. She rests there, cozy, for a good few minutes, arguably lightly dozing, warm down to her toes and worn out from her days of fretting over the entire bodyswap situation and (frankly) all of the sex she's had today. Eventually, though, she reaches one dripping hand over the side of the tub and retrieves a bar of soap. As she leans back against him, she remembers something. "Oh," she says. "I suppose I ought to mention - I slept with Janet."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Oh?" He sounds a little surprised, but pleasantly so. Lancelot pauses for a moment, working out how to ask his next question in a way that shows interest but doesn't pry. "Art happy, then? Is it well between you?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Yes, I believe so."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Then I am glad," kissing her cheek.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan shifts, water lapping around her as she pulls away far enough that she can turn to face him. She leans up on her knees to kiss him, once, soft and sweet, cupping his cheek with a wet hand, and then sits back. Her hair clings to her chest; its ends float around her like a cloud. "Come," she says, gesturing with her other hand - still holding the soap - for him to close the distance again. "I should like to clean you, and be cleaned by you."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot smiles, perfectly happy to give her anything she asks. (He also must admit the idea is very appealing.)

He shifts forward and reaches for the soap. "Ladies are served first," with a little laugh.

~~

After they've finished and have helped each other towel off, Lancelot helps her back into her robe and then pulls his on.

"Is there aught else thou wouldst have? An thou hast a wish, I would fetch it for thee."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan smiles up at him, straightening his robe and then tucking herself against his front. "I might fancy a walk later," she says. "Perhaps around the lake if it isn't too windy."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"That would be well. Have you seen Rivelin?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Not in a few days," Susan admits. She takes a step back and stretches - between the sex, and Lancelot, and the bath, she's feeling more properly like herself than she has ever since she woke up as Thomas Nightingale.

[lanselos_du_lac]

"An it suits thee, we might check on the horses as well, then."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"That suits me fine."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Excellent," sliding both arms around her.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

She wraps hers around his middle, too, nuzzling at the spot of skin along his clavicle that the robe doesn't cover. "Perhaps in an hour or two," she suggests. "I should like to have you alone in here with me a while longer."

[lanselos_du_lac]

He kisses her hair, "Thou'llt never have an argument from me on that count."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Very good," impishly. Without releasing him, she takes a step backwards, and then another, easing them back toward her couch so they can curl up there again. "Now tell me, what have you been reading lately?"