bakerstreet | a chaste affair

a chaste affair —

NONSEXUAL romance

Romantic relationships, under most circumstances, have a sexual component to them. That's just another level of connection many desire with the one they love. Not so the case with you. You're with someone, and both of you very much acknowledge it's some sort of relationship, but you're not with-with them - not sexually. Whether you're just unexperienced and not ready to move to that level yet, believers in romantic friendship (or that situation is more convenient, given your time and place of residency), unable to consummate anything due to physiological differences or other issues, celibate, or simply content with the intimacy that you do have, it's a mutual decision...isn't it? But is this the way you two see yourselves continuing, without wanting more? And what about other people? If they know you're together, do they see your arrangement as "strange" or "less?"

Even if they do, though, it may not matter; you have each other.

Comment. You know the drill by now, folks!
Reply to everyone and everybody.

PROMPTS

Hair care. Brushing, braiding, washing, cutting -- all of these involve a lot of careful touching in ways that many people enjoy. Hair braiding is a bonding experience in some cultures. In fact, grooming is a bonding technique for social primates in general. People without close ties to others often treat themselves to regular salon visits as a socially acceptable way to meet the need for touch and interaction.
Shaving. This involves an unusually high level of trust, especially if the person is using a straight-edge razor or something else with an exposed blade rather than just a buzzer. Although it can apply to women, shaving is one of the few forms of physical intimacy that is most closely associated with men due to their facial hair. Initiaton into shaving is a major milestone for becoming a man, not just for boys during puberty but also for transsexuals during transition.
Bathing. This varies by culture; in America most people bathe alone but some other cultures practice communal bathing. A bath is usually more intimate than a shower, although a public bath can be non-intimate and small shower stall can be intimate. It's also different when two people wash each other (an exchange of intimacy and affection) than when one person washes someone else (more of a caretaking or protective gesture).
Feeding. A classic romantic motif involves lovers feeding each other, but it works as a way of providing and caring for someone in any context. Like bathing, it can also clue whether both parties are participating equally or one is taking care of the other (temporarily or regularly). This one has an existential flavor since survival depends on food supply.
Seeing someone without their adaptive equipment on. This includes glasses, dentalware, prosthetic limbs, a wheelchair, etc. Adaptive equipment is part of one's presentation to the everyday world, and taking it off can be as intimate as removing clothing, for many people in many contexts.
Holding Hands: There can be many reasons for this gesture. Physical closeness, offering comfort, or staying together in a crowd, all may have you reaching for someone.
Undressing someone. This can be kind of a one-way experience if the recipient isn't awake, and is often awkward for both people if they are awake. Sometimes it happens because hands are out of commission, but a more common example is someone passing out drunk. Overheating is another good reason. Different circumstances can imply different levels of intimacy.
Sharing secrets. This especially applies to talking about personal issues that aren't widely known. An exchange of secrets is a common ritual between "best friends" among girls and women, but appears elsewhere as well. Some things are only discussed among people with a common reference; veterans may be more comfortable discussing war memories with each other than civilians.
Ordering for someone in a restaurant. Acquiring food, without asking the other person what to get, shows a knowledge of their needs and desires. Providing food is also a gesture of support and sustenance.
Providing moral support at a major event. Helping someone get through a funeral, a trial, or other intense but not crisis situation is usually performed by a very dear friend. This is a situation where lovers or family members may be too close to the matter to be much use.
Crying on someone. When you cry, you tend to let your guard down. Most of the people close to you will see you cry at some point, so that can be a milestone in a relationship. Actually crying on someone, letting them hold you, is even more intimate.
Serving in a primary role for someone during a wedding. This includes the best man or maid of honor at a wedding, or stand-in for absent parents, etc. as well as the traditional family roles. One aspect of intimacy is sharing each other's lives, including ceremonies and transitions.
Comforting someone after a bad breakup. Moments of great vulnerability can bring people closer. While this role sometimes falls to family, breakup repair more often goes to a woman's female friends or a man's male friends.
Listening to someone's heartbeat or breathing. Close body contact, enough to carry soft personal sounds, tends to be comforting as well as connecting, as it touches on positive childhood memories for most people. It is shared between parent and child, sometimes between siblings, and later between lovers. Tight nonsexual partners may also do this.
Putting someone to bed. Interestingly, this activity can happen among people who are just getting to know each other -- most often if someone passes out drunk, but exhaustion can have a similar effect. It's a gesture of caring to put someone to bed rather than leave them where they drop. A milder version involves draping a blanket or coat over a person asleep on a couch or the like.
Sleeping in the same bed. This is an act of shared vulnerability and intimacy. Lovers customarily do this; so do some siblings or friends, especially as children. People may also be driven to share a bed, sleeping bag, etc. for warmth or lack of other accommodations in challenging circumstances.
Watching someone sleep. There is more vulnerability on the part of the sleeper, and more intimacy from the watcher, when only one person is asleep. Parents often watch their children sleep. Lovers sometimes do this with each other, which can be cute or creepy. It's also a guard position, useful for showing that one character seeks to protect another.
Waking someone up from a nightmare. A subtler form of rescue than more physical actions, this is still a gesture of protection and caring. It often leads to comfort afterwards. A typical courtesy between parent and child, or lovers, this can also be an early threshold for characters thrust together unexpectedly if one of them has sturdy daytime walls and a lot of issues. It is common, but often unspoken, among war buddies or veterans, many of whom have nightmares.
Sharing clothes, jewelry, other personal items. This is common between siblings or close female friends. Sometimes roommates do it too. Wearing someone else's shirt or bathrobe is typical in romantic relationships, so can suggest a similar level of intimacy even in the absence of sex.
Cleaning someone else's living space. This shows care and knowledge on the part of the cleaner, and trust on the part of the recipient. You have to know what NOT to throw away or move. It's typical of family members and roommates. Coworkers may clean each other's desk, office space, etc.
Living together. This is a big step, even if it's just for a little while. Housemates are in each other's pockets; it's hard to keep secrets. Family members and lovers often live together, but housemates who are family-of-choice form a category of their own. If you don't want a romantic partner, a permanent housemate is a good choice for someone to share your life with.
Childbirth. Attending the blessed event entails providing a lot of moral support for hours under high stress. It can create a bond with the baby as well as with the mother. When planned, this opportunity is only offered to the closest family members or friends, barring professionals. But it can happen by surprise in very awkward circumstances, a popular motif in fiction.
Saving someone's life. Quick action in a life-threatening situation demonstrates how much one person values another. This can create a strong sense of connection, and sometimes obligation. It often, though not always, entails personal risk for the rescuer. This is fairly typical for military buddies or police partners, etc.
Risking your life for someone. Placing someone else ahead of your own life shows their importance to you unequivocally. This often, though not always, involves trying to save or protect another person. While it can create a sense of gratitude, it frequently causes anger as well -- someone who loves you will generally object to you endangering yourself, even to protect them. Military and police buddies protect each other regularly.
Making emergency decisions for someone. This reveals both how well you know the person, and how much you care about them -- whether you know what they would want, and act on it even if it differs from your personal preference. Unlike some of the other options, in this one the initial action is often outweighed by the aftermath. Both characters have to deal with the results of the decisions, good or bad.
Deathwatch. Dying can be as intimate as giving birth. Staying with someone while they pass is an act of love; so is providing moral support to someone sitting deathwatch for a family member or other person. Many soldiers and police have done this for someone.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[11 isn't very likely, but I'm down for everything else]

[No 2, 22, or 26.]

[gray-ace princess seeks love, ota with strong f/f preference; no 2, 4, 9, 22, 26]

[she's more than a little traumatized and wants to go sloooow, f/f; no 2, 4, 9, 22, 26]

[Not interested in 22 or 26, otherwise all prompts are good!]

[she is still a baby taking it slow is nice, ota age-appropriate; no 2, 4, 9, 22, 26]

It was evening, and the girls were in their nightgowns, sitting on Myrcella's bed. The princess' room was done in soft lovely colors that matched the bedding and silk canopy. Sansa sat with her back to the headboard, while the princess sat before her. Nimble fingers undid the elaborate braids that Myrcella had worn that day, collecting the ribbons and pins in a small pile beside them.

Once her hair was down, Sansa picked up the comb and gently began untangling a couple snarls. She couldn't help but remember the countless times her mother had cared for her own hair. With a comfortable silence between them, and the soft glow of candlelight flickering in the room, Sansa found herself beginning to relax.

After dealing with the few tangles, she picked up the brush, and began smoothing it out. It shone like gold in the soft light, much like the queen's, only...softer somehow, like Myrcella herself. "You have such lovely hair, princess," Sansa murmured. "It's so soft, I could have combed it with my fingers." She was sincere; for once, she did not have to guard her words. At least, not as closely as with the other ladies.

[ ooc; AU where Myrcella doesn't get shipped off and they become closer? Let me know if you need me to change anything! ]

It wasn't unusual, anymore, for the two of them to be found like this. No declaration had ever been spoken, but Myrcella seemed to have taken it upon herself to try and make up for, or at least counterbalance, the treatment her mother and brother bestowed on Sansa. She was such a nice girl, a proper lady, beautiful and true, and Myrcella knew deep in her heart that none of this was Sansa's fault. She didn't dare challenge her family directly -- good young girls didn't -- but she tried, in her way, to make it better.

It was easy enough to play off the fact that she wanted for female company. She had her few little friends, but it wasn't the same. They were friends at play, but she'd never considered any of them irreplaceable as bedmaids. Sansa was different, ergo Sansa was interesting, ergo Sansa was suited for the princess' amusement. What went unsaid was that every night Sansa spent under Myrcella's watchful eye was one where she was safe from whatever horror the other Lannister-Baratheons saw fit to create.

And it was pleasant, it was! They could relax in the other's company -- Myrcella knew her hardships were nothing, but as the only princess she was carefully guarded and judged at every turn, and she'd never much enjoyed that -- and hopefully, they were able to be something like friends.

Now, Myrcella turned over her shoulder with a smile, surprised at the compliment though she knew she would be right to be vain about her hair. "You're sweet, my lady," she said. "Would you do that? I think that might... it might feel nice." Once the idea was in her head, she was curious.

Sansa would never think of asking Myrcella to challenge her family. However, it could not be overstated how much she appreciated the kindnesses the princess offered. She only ever slept well beside her; during the nights she spent in her own rooms, she tossed and turned restlessly. During walks and meals with the princess, Joffrey was less likely to act cruel or violent. She is as different from her mother as day and night.

Yet Sansa liked Myrcella for more than just those reasons. In fact, she had liked her since Winterfell. Myrcella was kind, and graceful, and smart. They enjoyed songs and dancing. If it wasn't for Joffrey or the queen, Sansa would be happy to soon call her 'sister'. I have no sisters now. She pushed the thought away.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Myrcella turned her head and gave her a smile. Sansa immediately smiled back. "Of course, princess," she answered. Sansa set the brush aside and gently began to run her fingers through the golden locks. They felt like silk, with just the right touch of a wave - not enough to be frizzy. Sansa was gentle, never tugging too hard, as well as thorough. Her long fingers gathered the hair from around Myrcella's ears, combing, smoothing. Soothing. "How is that?" she asked, voice quiet.

It wasn't a guarantee of safety, mind. Myrcella knew that at least her mother would try to keep a civil tongue in her presence -- snide, perhaps, but not outright violent -- but her brother showed less caution. He'd never treated her as awfully as he did Sansa, of course, but even at his best he was only passably polite, and if there was no supervision she might come away with a bruise or two herself, from well-timed "accidents."

But it didn't matter, not truly. Sansa's company was a gift, regardless of any extenuating circumstances. She was still demure, to a degree -- Myrcella had learned that was just going to be a fact of things -- but she didn't defer the same way her King's Landing playmates often did. At least in private, they were allowed to be more genuine with each other.

She sighed softly at the feeling of Sansa's fingers. She always had been an easy mark when it came to her hair being played with, and this felt so sweet and calm. "It's wonderful," she murmured, rolling her head a bit.

Sansa knew it wasn't a guarantee of safety. She had heard the rumors of how Joffrey's cruelty extended even to his own brother and sister, had witnessed the way he treated them. She had also seen for herself suspicious bruises on Myrcella. Not that they ever discussed it...but silence spoke just as loud as words did sometimes. Even so, Myrcella brought her comfort she otherwise wouldn't have had.

Smiling, she paused briefly while the other girl rolled her head. "I am happy to hear it." Sansa began to hum a little as she played with Myrcella's hair, a song they both knew well and loved. It was just as soothing to Sansa, being able to comb through her hair. Touching another was not something she was able to do much of these days. The princess was really the only one to look past her traitor's blood; everyone else tended to avoid her even physically, as if treason could be caught like a pox.

"What would you have me do with your hair tonight, princess?" she asked quietly. "One braid, or two?" Her fingers moved to lightly massage her scalp, taking a moment to ease any tension. Her own lady mother had told her it helped to keep a woman's hair growing thick and strong.

Edited 2017-02-02 09:27 (UTC)

One of the saddest things, perhaps, was that Myrcella didn't even take the time to consider the ways she herself was hurt anymore. Hadn't for a very long time, since she was very small and found that telling her parents would just lead to Joffrey lying and Joffrey being believed. She didn't think twice of it, but she was sensitive, all too sensitive, to the ways Sansa was hurt. She wanted to protect her as best she could, even if she knew she wouldn't be able to do much.

She nearly giggled at that, the combination of the song and her hair being touched making the moment feel light and innocent in a way she knew they weren't usually able to be. She liked moments like that, more than nearly anything else.

"Hm." Myrcella paused as if to think, but really she was just enjoying the gentle massage. She knew her answer already. "Two, I think." That would take just that much longer, and she did so revel in this.

Sansa liked these moments immensely as well. She could pretend she was innocent again, that her lord father was still alive, and her sister was somewhere safe. That Lady had never been killed, and Bran had never fallen from that tower.

Though Myrcella had answered her question, Sansa continued the light massage, and the gentle coming of her golden locks. She didn't want this to end so soon. It was with a bit of reluctance that the older girl parted Myrcella's hair down the middle, then separated one half into three handfuls. Her delicate fingers skillfully braided first one side, then the other. She tied the ends with ribbons made into perfect bows, then sat back, looking over her work.

"There. Does that feel alright, princess?" she asked. "It doesn't pull or hurt anywhere, does it?"

Myrcella blinked, then all at once she shut her eyes, just enjoying the feeling of Sansa's hands on her scalp, tugging at her hair so gently. Everything felt calm, for once, soft and sweet and almost like a story -- why weren't there more stories about maidens, together, doing maiden sorts of things? Especially when that was one of the nicest parts of life, in her young opinion.

"That's wonderful," she murmured, tipping her head back just a bit. "Thank you. Might I... might I do the same for you?"