[Closed Post] ..the plan means nothing stays the same..

[lanselos_du_lac]

In the few days since Dark ended, even Lancelot has noticed himself feeling easier. He had not thought himself much affected by Dark, aside from his concern for Susan and those he cares about who were facing their own struggles during the month; it's something of a surprise to find that his relief is also deep-set, for himself. There is a strange kind of hope that he doesn't recall feeling before, in anticipation of spring. He realizes that the pace will change, and that he is looking forward to spring and summer in this new place.

He's been considering whether he should move some of his things back to his own room. He has not stayed the night there since Susan asked him to stay with her during Dark, and he is happy to admit that this arrangement has been deeply pleasant. Lancelot has never experienced something so ... domestic as this. (He so rarely was able to wake up next to Guinever, that the first few times he woke up next to Susan after they began seeing each other, it felt like a very deep intimacy.) He doesn't, however, want to presume anything -- he knows Susan has appreciated having him close, he knows their relationship has grown deeper, but he isn't sure whether she wants him to stay with her at night on a more permanent basis. He suspects she might want her own space back, once she's recovered her equilibrium.

As ever, he has maintained his routine. He has also seen the invitation to Dionysus' party. It's this that was on his mind as he set out for the training yard this morning -- it was brisk and cold, but not so much the punishing cold of deep Dark -- and this he let himself idly consider while making his way through drills. (Thinking about it during drilling helps, because thinking about it otherwise has made him feel anxious -- he will never know what he ought to wear, or what to expect.)

By the time he has finished, he knows that there are several subjects that he needs to discuss with Susan when they meet for lunch.

Comments

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I admit I am simple, in this way."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"As is Grantaire," says Susan, who is so focused on soothing Lancelot's concerns that it doesn't occur to her until after she's said it that she hasn't actually named names, yet, of the lovers she'd taken here before Lancelot. Still, she doesn't stumble when it strikes her; she just adds, "And I imagine Laertes must be, too."

[lanselos_du_lac]

It's hard not to miss the difference in phrasing, "Grantaire?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Ah, well. It's not like she's been specifically been keeping a secret; it's more that she's never been given to sharing details and, between the drink and the ensuing months, she's put most of this out of her mind. She flicks a glance up at Lancelot. "From what I remember."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I see," he seems faintly surprised, certainly not upset. He won't pry. "Well, that is good to know."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"So you see, you've got nothing to worry about."

[lanselos_du_lac]

He kisses her cheek, "Thou'rt sweet to counsel me."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

She smiles at him. "I've got a vested interest in your happiness."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Perhaps so, but it is generous nonetheless."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Do you really think so?" she asks, clearly surprised.

[lanselos_du_lac]

"It seems so to me," in a tone that suggests some uncertainty.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Then I shall take your compliment happily," says Susan, reaching to cup his cheek with one soft hand.

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I love thee," softer, "with all I am."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Well," says Susan, flushing, with that businesslike tone of hers. "Jolly good. I love you too, naturally. I--" She gives up and kisses him.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot kisses back; he gets both arms around her and eases her into his lap.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

In what is rapidly becoming an unconscious move, Susan slides easily with his touch, arranging herself in the way they both seem to like the best. She spreads a hand out along his neck, stroking her thumb along his jaw, his hairline.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot draws it out, arms around her waist, and when they eventually stop for a breath he murmurs, wryly, "My thanks to whatever magic brought us here."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan huffs out a hoarse half-laugh. "I was so cross when I first arrived here," she says, which is certainly one way of putting it!

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Aye, so was I. I know I was unpleasant. 'Tis a good thing I did not meet thee first."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

She settles snugly against him. "At first I thought I was dreaming. You remember how I thought Narnia a childish fiction?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Aye, I do." He runs a hand down her arm, idly.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"When I first walked through a door and ended up in a hallway here, I thought I'd nodded off at the library and all of this was," Susan pauses and makes a tiny grimace. "A grief-fueled manifestation of my unconscious, to envision traveling to a new world, when my family died in the middle of a fight where they kept insisting we'd traveled to Narnia, and I kept insisting it had just been childhood fancy. I do believe I must have made rather a fool of myself."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Perhaps we all did, in one way or another."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan glances up at him and then leans up to kiss his cheek. "Perhaps," she allows. "I certainly didn't accept that this was real until I met SecUnit and its drones. I couldn't fathom making something like that up myself."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"It went very hard with me, at first. But it did help that there was already someone here that I knew and could trust."