[Closed Post] ..shining through the hollow..

[lanselos_du_lac]

Once Lancelot has left Magnus and Galahad in the greenhouse, he goes looking for Laertes. He can admit he has had the urge to check in on everyone, in the wake of Magnus' incident, but he has realized that it's been some days and he misses Laertes' company.

So he goes seeking, checking in on the places he thinks Laertes might be, and eventually finding him in that same parlor they'd sat together in before. Lancelot pauses in the doorway, and then clears his throat and says, "I do hope I'm not interrupting."

Despite the clear fact that he intends to interrupt. He is grinning.

Comments

[lanselos_du_lac]

"'Tis good to know," he settles beside Laertes, easily enough. Ordinarily, in a time of strain, he would stick with his usual clothes. But being bundled up in a sweater has felt pleasant the last few days. He looks well, thanks to Magnus.

"It has not been easy, of late. It is part of why I came to find thee. To see that thou'rt well."

[timebethine]

"I am." His smile slips a little. "Sagramore, less so. He parted ways with a friend, and though I think he does not repent it, he grieves the loss. It's wearied him."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot reaches for his hand, "That I am sorry to hear. I would help the both of thee any way I can."

[timebethine]

"I think only time will help--and the end of this cruel season." He chafes his thumb gently over Lancelot's knuckles. "Is that what's gone hard with thee? The season?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I think I have fared better than most, but-- hast thou learned of Magnus' injury?"

[timebethine]

"Ay--and his recovery. I spoke with him earlier; he seemed well."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Oh. That's well," he pauses. "I found him. I am glad it was so, and that I knew enough to be of help. But-- that's gone hard with me and--"

[timebethine]

Immediately, Laertes gathers Lancelot against his chest and holds him fiercely. "My heart," he says. "Oh, my heart. That would go hard with anyone."

[lanselos_du_lac]

For a moment, he's almost a little perplexed -- but then, this is one of the things that draws him to Laertes, that wholehearted depth of feeling. So he leans into him, lets himself be held. After a long moment he says, "It has made me worry for everyone, but especially those dear to me."

[timebethine]

"If such a strange thing could happen to Magnus, who's adored by the general throng, then it might happen to any of us," Laertes agrees. "But we're well. Both of us. And all those we love are well, or as well as they can be."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Again, Lancelot hesitates. He wants to tell Laertes everything, he wants to talk about what he felt, but it's all over, now, and he himself has no lasting harm.

For now he stays quiet, slipping an arm around Laertes' waiting.

[timebethine]

Quietly, "Wouldst sit in my lap, and be held?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot's first impulse is to refuse -- he's no hulking mass, but neither is he small or light. Still.

"Aye," he says, shifting to do so.

[timebethine]

Neither is Laertes delicate or light--he and Lancelot are almost of a height, and similar enough in build that their differences are all but meaningless. It's easy to settle Lancelot in the dip between his thighs, to gather his legs up onto the sofa. It's easy for Laertes to wrap his arms around Lancelot's chest and to be warm and solid and sure.

[lanselos_du_lac]

It takes a moment -- he had somehow thought this conversation would go differently, and in any case did not expect this type of comfort -- but he relaxes against Laertes, letting himself feel the warmth, the security, so similar to that he feels when he's with Susan.

[timebethine]

"There thou art," he says, low and warm. He noses against Lancelot's jaw in a way that perhaps feels like a hound seeking reassurance, although his kisses are lighter and drier. "If thou hast more to say, say on. I'll listen."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lightly, though that's an effort, he says, "I would not wish to bore thee."

[timebethine]

"Canst never bore me."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Set me not a challenge, for I am like to take it."

[timebethine]

"Very well." Laertes leans back, holding Lancelot's gaze.

[lanselos_du_lac]

He laughs a little, then sighs. He decides it's better to just be frank. "I had not been that close to such a grave wound in... a long while."

[timebethine]

As he listens, Laertes strokes Lancelot's back--long, sure, soothing strokes. "It struck thee to the marrow."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Aye, and-- well. If Magnus was not frightened, I was frightened for him."

[timebethine]

Quietly, "He looks like just a boy."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Aye, though I was a boy myself when I first took the field. And he has experience of battle-- still. None of us expect it, here, and I cannot figure how it happened."