bakerstreet | I couldn't leave my best girl.

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[meme] shipping

I couldn't leave my best girl.

Courting

It's getting pretty serious, cop to it or not. You want to snag this person for your new best gal/guy, but you're in an old-fashioned world. Or you've got an old-fashioned mind stuck in a modern world. Or it's possible you just like the classics.

Whatever the case, it's time to pull out the stops, bust out the flowers, and take your honey dancing. Or something.

Top level.
The characters who reply are going steady.
Yes, it's old school. Embrace it.
♥

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[ ooc; f/m preference but willing to entertain f/f or f/nb. ]

[ooc: open to cross-canon and AUs.]

Courting, old fashioned as many of her friends in the Nexus like to call it, is far more familiar to Amelia than the concept of 'dating' they've all tried to explain to her. True, she has no end goal for her relationship with Thor, much less marriage, but her feelings are true and her intentions serious, so she decides to use what knowledge of relationships she gained on her world rather than the little she's managed to pick up since she left it behind when planning her next official 'date' with Thor.

Flowers are a multiversal sign of affection, as far as the rogue's been able to discern. They were given as gifts between friends, family, and lovers alike on her world and the tradition has held when she's heard about them from her friends in the Nexus. There's symbology to them that she doesn't understand in the least, but that doesn't deter her from collecting her own wildflowers from around Asvera to create something fresh for Thor's home. She only hopes he'll enjoy it.

Gifts of food and drink were also common in courting a person on her world, though it was more often given as part of a betrothal arrangement or as a step toward combining households. That's not Amelia's goal at all, but she can use the idea as an excuse to pick up another case of the non-alcoholic blush they've been enjoying with meals as well as some of the new confections the baker's been trying out, right?

~~It's a good thing this woman doesn't know about copper marigolds or she might think that's a good idea, too. Art is a good gift, too, after all.~~

All of this should be supplemental to a gift that will have true value to the person receiving them, of course. This part of courting takes far more effort, but it's also the most important to Amelia. Deciding on what to get Thor is more difficult than she'd more readily admit to; The custom of her world says the gift should show her commitment to what they're building together and her inclusion of him in her life. Inviting people into her life has never been easy for the rogue, and that makes it all the more important for her to get this gift right. In the end, what she settles on feels like the perfect balance between pragmatic and beautiful.

With all of her gifts in hand - and the last, most important gift tucked away in one of the pouches on her hips - she knocks on Thor's door. Their night will take them out to a romantic ocean-side dinner under the stars in time, but she needs to deliver everything first before they manage that.

Courting is, of course something that Thor has long been expected to do before marrying his future queen, whoever that might be. Which is not to say that he has ever actually done it. His relationship with Jane was relatively short-lived, one born nonetheless of genuine affection and love, if incompatible in the end. But there had been no formal proceedings, no meetings between families, no discussion of marriage contracts or children or inheritances. Whether there would have been later, Thor cannot say, but he has experienced little deeper than modern Midgard’s idea of dates in his life.

Perhaps that would have been different, had Thor been receptive to his father’s attempts to set him up with Sif, but they might still be courting decades on. With humans, the luxury of centuries ahead is closed to them, candles that burn all the brighter for how short they blaze.

And he’s courting as a king, besides, not a prince whose parents would have had considerable influence over his choice of suitors. It’s strange and exhilarating like a controlled free-fall, uncertain of the ground below but thrilled by the journey there.

It’s Amelia’s turn to plan their outing, but Thor knows he needs not neglect his own appearance for when she arrives. He’s brushed and braided his hair and beard, and selected an outfit that even a certain tailor might find acceptable, dark slacks and a white buttoned shirt with a soft, red cashmere sweater vest over top of it, shirt sleeves rolled halfway up his arms. There’s a smile on his lips as he opens the door, and sees the woman on the other side, his eye more for her than the items she carries, though they haven’t escaped his notice either.

Amelia's dressed equally well, Alex's handiwork on display in the delicate touches of the rogue's trademark three-leaf embroidery that's on display along the side seams of the pants and bottom hem of the corseted vest Amelia is wearing. It's a juxtaposition of her desire to be pragmatic and fashionable on display, the fine fabrics of her clothing a stark contrast to the hardened leather of the belt and two pouches on her waist, as well as to the fashionable leather boots that reach her knees. She seems completely at ease, though, and her hair pin tinkles musically from where it holds half of her hair up at the back of her head as she smiles brightly and brushes a few dark curls over her shoulder to join the rest that are cascading over her back.

"I hope I'm in the right place," she jokes, a light laugh following her words. She gestures to Thor's clothing with one hand. "The king I'm supposed to meet would never dress so finely without a very good reason, and I'm not sure I count as that." It's a playful offering, of course, because they both know how important this date is to Amelia. All of her fussing and insistence about dress code, over timing and other tiny details that most would pass over without a thought made it clear she was serious about getting this right.

Her lips tug into a grin as she reaches down to touch the case of drink at her feet with one hand. "My overabundance of gifts makes more sense with you all dressed up, though I would have been equally happy to share them when we were both covered in dirt from the greenhouse." She laughs at her own terrible joke as she stands again and offers both the bouquet and bag of assorted baked goods. "Can we start with these? Dinner isn't for a little while yet, so I brought a few little somethings to tide us over. Not that we should eat the flowers," she notes, her smile becoming a touch nervous. "Most of them would be fine, but I was hoping they could brighten your home for a few days instead."