lanselos_du_lac | [Open Post] ..only want to glean the purpose..

Since they learned of Shen Yuan's death, things have been subdued; rightly so, Lancelot reasons. He has done what he can to be a support for those he loves, and to keep his own worry and anxiety at bay. He worries about how they are all doing, about whether or not they are safe, about what he can do to make anything better -- which often feels like nothing. It's unsettling, and he wants to stay settled and present for them, so he determines to find a way to be so.

As has always been the case for him, being outside helps. The weather is warming and true spring is settling in. (He has difficulty keeping track of what time may be like back in Britain¹, but he suspects that it is early summer there. If so, then he supposes that means he is another year older, which is a strangely hopeful thought.) And so, after his lunch with Susan, he heads back out -- he might ride, or walk through the woods, or explore the lake. Whatever keeps him out in the sunshine, under the sky.

^{1: He has not quite realized this yet, but he has generally stopped thinking "at home" when he means Camelot, or Britain in general. That this place -- no, these people -- have become home in so short a span is something he has to take by degrees, lest he worry about what it means for his relationship with those he left behind there.}

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From:

timebethine

Laertes leans in to crush his cheek affectionately against Lancelot's shoulder. "We can lie out under the stars, and tell each other stories of our homelands and our travels," he offers. "And then when the long night steals our words, I'll take thee in mine arms and warm thy sleep."

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Aye, that was my thinking," leaning a little, encouraging that contact. "Warm only my sleep?"

From:

timebethine

"Wouldst thou else than that?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"I would," a bit carefully. "I would ... lie with thee."

From:

timebethine

"Oh?" He squeezes Lancelot's arm, three parts reassurance to one part tease. "Hast thou been imagining it?"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

If Laertes is looking, he will see Lancelot flush. "I have."

From:

timebethine

That flush is adorable, and at once Laertes wants to deepen it. "Wilt thou speak of what's in thy thoughts?" he asks lightly. "Canst whisper in mine ear--"

From:

lanselos_du_lac

The flush does, of course, deepen. By way of delaying, Lancelot says, "What need is there to whisper? 'Tis only us."

From:

timebethine

"Ay, then speak boldly."

From:

lanselos_du_lac

"Ah," laughing softly, still deeply flushed. He isn't sure why suddenly it feels as if he doesn't have the words to explain what he's envisioned, fantasized about; he is certain of his desires, but feels suddenly caught out.

"I would take thee," he manages, after another pause, "I would have thee take me. I would learn what pleases thee most."

From:

timebethine

"Then I would give myself unto thee, and accept the gift of thee, and teach thee all those gentle arts which have pleased me." He lets his hand slip so that he can thread his fingers through Lancelot's, palm to palm. "And afterward, I'll love thee as I do today, with a pure and constant flame."