bakerstreet | —turn over a new leaf for you

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—turn over a new leaf for you

turn over a new leaf for you

Here's the thing: in the past, you've not been a nice person. Whether you were just a little nasty, you did terrible things, you were forced to be a monster, or your heart was dark to the core, it's understandable why you weren't anyone's favorite. But those days are behind you. Now, there's someone you care for, someone you want to get closer to, someone you lov-

Well, they make you want to be a better person. This desire could have been a gradual realization, or you could have suddenly decided one day to improve. In the same vein, you may want a complete overhaul, yet you could also be more realistic and try to work on one thing. Still, you know that you're the only one who can change yourself.

How is that going? It can't be easy, as old habits die hard. Do you have a supportive loved one — or someone who wants nothing to do with you, no matter how much you improve?

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( from where she's checking that their luggage—what little they actually brought with them—has survived intact, she tosses over her shoulder, )

The fun ones are in the top drawer.

( in amongst the various lacy pieces of fuck all that constitute her underwear, which is the most fabric featured in the pictures she's just directed him to. they're more recent than when she was last living in this room, though, she's at least twenty-one in the oldest; she always stays here, when she's in florence. it's just she tends not to stay long enough to warrant redecorating. )

[ Fun ones? He nods and opens the drawer, rather bemused by the lacy underthings. He'll have to ask her to model them sometime. He pulls one out at random, eyebrows rising as he turned. ]

Some of the older people at Court would have fainted if they had any idea you posed for these. [ he says, with an appreciative look towards Gwen before he slips the photo back in the pile. ]

Perhaps later, you can show me your favorites? [ he's still too dizzy for much now, but he's not above planting ideas for later. He takes a seat on the bed, then flops back on the bed, arms over his head, waiting for the room to stop spinning. ]

( he'll hear rather than see the next few things—the dual thuds of her shoes being discarded, the shift of her suitcase. closing the drawer again, after a nostalgic flick through her old polaroids. )

I was thinking maybe later we could make new favourites.

( she needs a photo of his abs just to answer the barrage of 'sorry, you got married?' when word filters out that she's back in italy, frankly. but for now—

she's content to lay down next to him, fit against his side, knee tucked up over his thigh. a bottle of water collides (gently) with his stomach, fetched from the suitcase; it had warmed to room temperature, but it's been in gwen's hands and it's cool again by the time he gets it. it can't hurt. )

And the old guard would probably hate more or less...all of my adolescence and most of my early twenties.

[ It's automatic now, his body rolling towards hers as he feels her settle next to him. He scooped up the water bottle and propped himself on one elbow to take a deep drink, still bemused that up here the water was kept in containers. ]

Cool water on demand. You spoil me. [ Orm says, with a smile, as he caps the bottle and sets it somewhere, his hand returning to tug Gwen closer. ]

And I like the idea of us making new favorites. [ He leans in to drop a soft, sweet kiss on her nose before settling back on his back, drawing her over him, wanting the pressure of her draped over him and not just her knee. ]

Their children did just as much if not worse than you. And they are there, and we are here. They'll have to deal with Arthur now. I wish them luck.

[ He was not even close to being ready to forgive his brother, the wounds still fresh. But he also was aware enough that it was in their best interests to align themselves with the new Atlantis. And he was willing to do whatever was needed for Gwen. Politics, as it were. And he was very very good at that. ]

( as much as she'd been reluctant to put her full weight on him—in case he's feeling too delicate for it to be comfortable—she's hardly going to pass up a clear invitation, moving when he shifts her and settling on top of him, cosy. the height difference between them has been interesting, on land; in the water it barely registered most of the time, but in barefeet she only comes up to his shoulder, and there's no floating higher when she wants to make a point.

it just means there's more of him to lay on, currently. )

Oh, if they didn't like how much I had to adapt.

( which they didn't. gwen had to, though, and had to tolerate the pushback while she did it; to some degree atlantis is instead going to have to adapt to its new king. all things considered, with the way this has played out...gwen doesn't mind not being front row for that. it'll be a power struggle. she thinks arthur will manage, but she'd rather focus on orm than trying to stay afloat in the balance of that. )

[ he might be persuaded into something if he didn't have to move too much during, but right now he's content to have his wife draped over him, his hands slowly rubbing her back, the scent of her filling his nose. ]

They made remarks about the river, you know. Thought you should just deal with the salt water. Gwen's a water breather, why do she need fresh water? Was what I heard the most, mixed in with complaints about you not being royal. I think they wouldn't have bleated so much if it was one of their daughters I married, instead of you.

( he can probably imagine the expression she's making without much difficulty, the way her nose wrinkles but she doesn't bother to open her eyes— )

Nobody tell them my parents weren't married, ( droll. ) Mother— ( there's a degree of separation in the way she refers to anne, when emeric is still daddy to his twenty-six year old daughter, ) —always calls this place Daddy's masturbatory monument to his delusions of adequacy.

( that's what she'd said when she first saw the photos of emeric's then-new humble abode, and as a phrase, it was memorable. )

He said I'm a princess and deserve a castle, though, so I think you two will get along fine.

( she's being determinedly optimistic about that, though he's never been thrilled about anyone she pays more attention to.

after a short, thoughtful silence— )

You're probably right. If you'd married someone more useful to them, well.

Mother wasn't married to Arthur's father, either. And look how that turned out for him. [ so dry ]

You really are a princess now. So this place does suit you. And if this is his 'masturbatory monument', well, you can tell her someone diverted a river just for you. But as long as he recognizes I'm your husband, I'll be civil.

[ he hums a little, eyes still closed. ]

Well, you were useful to them anyway, for the heirs. But, now we don't have to have children for Atlantis, but we can have them for us.

( that's when she sits up—not entirely, lifting her weight onto a hand beside his shoulder, enough that she can look at him. (she likes, sometimes, looking at him when he isn't looking back; memorising every line of his face, in case she ever has to remember it without him. examining the details, and how he looks when he's relaxed.)

quieter, but not displeased—just serious— )

You want that, still?

( it isn't an objection. it's...

that wasn't guaranteed. and he'd said it, before, but there'd been a lot of other things happening and she hadn't really had the time to sit down and process it. )

[ he blinks his eyes open when he feels her shift, his eyelids only making it to half-mast. The blue's darker, but mostly he's tired and still under the effects of the mild tranquilizer she slipped him at some point before the first plane. ]

I do. Want us to have a family. One or more, doesn't matter. If we can have them, that is.

( she smooths her thumb over his cheekbone, head tilted—hard to read, which on her so-expressive face tends to mean whatever she's thinking is probably tricky for her to get through, too.

eventually, )

Well, I had my birth control removed before we got married, and self-evidently all of our species can interbreed, so I don't...

( see why not? she trails off. it's so diffident a response she can hear herself giving, and it's a bad habit, she knows. protecting herself with distance. look how far they've come, shouldn't she be better at this?

she presses a kiss to the corner of his mouth. )

I mean, I do, too.

[ he smiles at her, knowing she was giving it a thought or three. He lifts a hand to thread through her hair, momentarily distracted by the sleek straightness of her strands, before dragging her down for a short, sweet kiss.

Once he pulls back from the kiss, leaving just enough space between their lips to speak, he continues. ]

Then we'll see what happens, hmm? While you teach your trophy husband how to get around on the surface.

We have time.

( nothing but, for the moment, which will be an adjustment. in atlantis there had been a thousand other calls on his time and energy and attention that were not her, but now the world has narrowed down to the two of them, this moment, this place.

he'll need more than that, eventually. retirement is not—he's a man who wants for occupation, she thinks. exile could be good for him, but only if he can fill it with something new.

besides his wife.

as much as she likes being the center of his attention. )

You'll get the hang of it, and then I can show you off.

[ he isn't built for idleness, nope. But he'll be interested in learning history and literature and languages and the sciences, which should take up time. And also the social skills necessary to not embarrass his wife.

Orm smiles, and trails his fingers back through her hair. ]

I'll enjoy that, being shown off by you. Showing everyone who makes you happy. I do, don't I? Make you happy. Even with everything.

( her hair is heavy and silk-straight above the water, the product of rigorous styling that she seems well in the habit of, and it slides easy through his fingers beside the mirroring smile she gives, softening almost without noticing it happen— )

Of course you do. You do.

( her hand comes up to his wrist; not restraining, only holding. )

Good. Because I love you, and that's all I want now, is to keep you happy.

[ oh look. Someone said those three little words that went unspoken in Atlantis. ]

( nothing else he could have said might have floored her quite the same way—it isn't as if she doesn't know, at this point. that she doesn't understand what they're doing, or why they're doing it, that she hasn't tried to express the same sentiment, but...

it's not something she's accustomed to hearing. it doesn't come easily, and trusting it doesn't, either, and it means something to hear it out loud, in so many words.

she's quiet for a long time. long enough that it would be hard not to think it a little worrying, and then, )

I'm, um. I'm not great at being happy, but I do—feel the same way.

( this would be easier if she could do a shot first, probably, but more sure of herself: ) I do love you.

[ that earns her a smile from Orm, a mixture of innocent little boy and bright joy, eyes lighting up as he pulls Gwen in for a kiss, fingers pressing into her scalp. ]

Just so long as you stay with me. [ he whispers against her mouth ]

Luckily, ( one hand flattened on his chest, the other framing his face, ) that is exactly where I want to be.

( queen of nothing, it doesn't matter. )

[ queen of his heart u mean ]

Good. You're stuck with me, then. [ he grins, lazily, his eyes fluttering closed as he yawns, a hand covering his mouth. ]

Nap? Then you can show me around.

( she laughs—smooths his hair back from his face and sits up. ) Yes. Get some sleep, I'm just going to get some things sorted out while you're napping. I won't go far.

( probably she won't even need to leave the room, most of what she wants to do while she has a spare moment can be achieved from her laptop. if she's organized about it, maybe she can have everything done so she doesn't even need to explain why they didn't bring a lot of luggage. it was just, you know. delayed. what with everything being so sudden. )

[ He smiles at her and shifts to take his usual spot between the door and the rest of the room, squirming to get comfortable while also trying to get rid of his shoes. ]

Let me know what you got sorted out when I wake up.

( when he wakes, she looks both more and less like he's used to—hair damp and curling down her back, the result of a shower taken while he was sleeping, one foot on the edge of the chair she's sitting in at her desk, a loose blouse over a pair of silk knickers and her legs long and bare. she's still attuned to the small shifts, and when he's sitting up she's already looking— )

Hey, sleepy. I bought you some clothes.

[ He blinks a little as he sits up, and smiles a soft smile at her. ]

Well, that would help the lack of luggage. Did you take a bath?

Quick shower.

( she turns in the deskchair, swinging her legs either side of the back of it and leaning her chin on her arms over its back; she looks in her element in a way that she didn't in atlantis, a counterbalance to how far out of his that he is. )

I made an appointment with a tailor, too. I think everything's going to fit, but you need a decent suit and we might need to have a few things altered. And I'm getting you a computer and a phone.

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