post of shame

[psycholawgy]

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[psycholawgy]

I got it.

[ she gives him a look. the sheets and pillows are easy to carry, jeez! ]

Maybe we need two trips, though. It looks like you're going camping for days.

[sortileges]

[ He didn't mean it like that?! Just doing a check on everything! ]

I've... [ He looks down at his arms, and laughs a little. ] ...had to carry much worse than this before. Trust me.

Let's go though before I really do drop something.

[psycholawgy]

[ to the door she goes! and fortunately for everybody, the doors are sliding doors and not the ones with knobs. thank god.

though now... the test to open the elevator door.

athena just stares at merlin expectantly. she can't reach for it when she's holding the pillows and the sheets. ]

[sortileges]

[ He puts the cool box down to press the button, seeing as it's much easier for him and it gives his arm a break. It doesn't take long for the elevator to arrive, or even for him to lead them out to the rooftop. Thankfully they're higher up than most people, so this trip is short.

Once there he puts the blankets on top of the cool box and takes the sheet from her to set it on the ground. It's mostly there to protect the blankets that he lays out right after.

He indicates she can put the pillows down then, whenever she's ready. ]

There!

[psycholawgy]

[ she sets the pillows down as she kneels onto the floor to get comfy. she's calm for the most part, but the last time they were up here, things happened. unexpected things happened. and it was weird. and crazy. and while athena loves it, she's still in disbelief sometimes. she can't believe he likes her back.

she looks up at him and pats the spot next to her. ]

Come on. [ a beat. ] We can't see them here, but do you want to learn about the planets in the Solar System?

[ nerd. ]

[sortileges]

[ He moves to sit on the floor next to her, trying to make sure his shoes don't mess up the blankets. He pulls the cool box to the side so he can at least grab the glasses and the fairy lights that were thrown on top (before it messes with the electrics in that oops) then flops it out on the ground at the bottom of the blankets to turn it on.

Now it isn't quite as dark, at least. ]

Tell me. I read a little, but you'll still know a lot more than I do.

[ they're both nerds in their respective fields ]

[psycholawgy]

You read- [ oh, right, that's why she's bringing it up in the first place. because he said he knows about the rotations and revolutions of the planets and all that when he was drunk.

she laughs, covering her mouth as she does. ]

You know, you said some stuff about planets when you called me that one time.

[sortileges]

[ Well that might be saying a little more than he really knows, but he did look up the names and their atmospheres and things like that. ]

I did? [ He reaches up to rub his neck. ] I've had to read up on a lot of general knowledge, I guess it's because I think of you when I think of space, the sky... you know?

[ because you're out of this world eyyyyyy ]

[psycholawgy]

[ she pulls a pillow to put on her lap and embrace it tightly as they talk. it's better this way, and she's comfortable. she's having fun. ]

Because I told you I grew up in something like the planetarium?

[ I WILL PUNCH YOU FOR THAT. ]

[sortileges]

[ In contrast he pulls his knees up, just to rest his elbows there, arms bending back to support his neck. He laughs a little at her question and tilts his head a bit. ]

Something like that. But also because of-- [ His hand reaches out, to lightly touch her earring ] --this. And you just seem happier when under the stars. Like ... [ He takes a deep breath. ] Like you're home.

[ :* ]

[psycholawgy]

[ oh, the earring... now she has a better idea of him, and the way he thinks. though he's very unpredictable, athena might not even be right at her guess.

truth be told, she has no idea what a real home is like. when she was a child, she lived in a space center, of all places. and then there was after her mother passed. she lived in various dormitories because she travelled as she studied. it wasn't home. there was no home in the first place.

but perhaps he's right that she does find peace in the sky. the nighttime sky in particular. the moon is just so... alluring and its gravitational pull has an effect on her, too. ]

I guess. [ that's all she says for a while, until-- ] I'd love to see the stars up close some time.

[sortileges]

[ It doesn't have to be a fixed point. For him he has Ealdor or Camelot, at least now, but really home to him is where ever Arthur is no matter where they're travelling. And here, it's where ever she is, at least to some extent. He feels more at peace, happier when he's close to her than most so that's what counts. ]

Maybe one day you'll get the chance to.

[psycholawgy]

[ and she did tell him before that she'd show him what widget can actually do.

she switches the AI on with her glove, drawing a circle in the air before her before a smiley face pops up. it may surprise him, but to athena, it's as normal as drinking water. and then the screen appears. ]

Move closer so you can see.

[ there aren't any apps on widget that talk about the solar system or anything, but she did download some pictures off the internet to show him what the solar system looks like. ]

[sortileges]

[ He got a tiny glimpse when she was reading at the cafe's camp session but it's true, never anything with an explanation. The screen makes him jump, but thankfully the CereVice has prepared him a little. It's when she tells him to move closer though that he thinks about the best and most comfortable way to do this.

Instead of just shuffling next to her he twists a bit, reaching for her hip or waist to slide her across the blanket a little, shuffling himself until he can pull her back against his chest. His knees stay a little bent for comfort, but she should be successfully tucked up against him now, to the point where he wraps his arms around her from behind, chin resting on her shoulder. ]

I can see clearly now.

[ He probably moved quickly enough that her brain will hopefully still be catching up so he doesn't get smacked for it, but it's nice like this. He can hold her and listen to her. ]

Go ahead.

[psycholawgy]

[ her brain doesn't catch up quickly enough but at the very least, she's gotten used to contact with merlin that she doesn't flinch or even try to flip him or throw him down the roof. (let's not have that happen.) she laughs, instead, to show her surprise.

though, okay, maybe she does fidget a little when his head is on her shoulder out of giddiness. they've been doing things like these for weeks now, but her heart still always jumps whenever he does something. but at least it jumps in the best of ways.

she kisses him on the cheek before proceeding. ]

You probably don't recall, but you said the planets spin around the sun.

[sortileges]

[ Let's really not have that happen, the last time he tried to grab her shoulder she jerked away, so he tends to avoid that now but--

--this is nice. Trust is growing both ways, after all, the fact that it's this far is outstanding enough on its own. His hands clasp together and rest against her tummy, and he listens to what she's saying, trying to ignore the pounding of his own heart from being so close like this. It's so comfortable. ]

That's what I read in a book. Well, they circle the sun, right?

[ His drunk self obviously wasn't as smart okay. ]

[psycholawgy]

[ while he's ignoring how his heart beats, athena can't. she can both feel it and hear it... and it's nice. it's not the kind of music from his chest that she loves hearing, but it's close. very close. she just loves hearing how his heart beats, period. all the more if it beats for her. but she would never think that... besides, it's too early in whatever this is to be able to say something like that, anyway.

even though she might... be thinking that she's fallen for him already. she's just so smitten... so strongly attached to him. it's so different.

her eyes flicker a couple of times, batting her eyelashes before she focuses back on widget's screen. ]

They do. It's called revolution. Once they complete one revolution, an entire year passes.

[ the planets even start moving on their own around the sun, like a solar system toy. they rotate on their own axis too as they revolve around the sun - in their own speeds, of course. ]

[sortileges]

[ Trying to ignore, it's not that easy when she fits so well against him, even if he has to duck a little to rest his chin against her it's warm. Perfect.

He's definitely not thinking about the rest though, that's reserved for the solitude of his room when he has space to think.

He keeps his eyes on the screen, though she'll feel his index finger making small circles against her side in time to the one on screen, copying one of the planets quietly. ] That's a full set of seasons, right?

[ Because to him it's like saying he's 19 winters old... counting by the seasons than actual years. ]

[psycholawgy]

[ MERLIN REALLY WANTS TO GET SHOT AT THIS POINT. she's feeling slightly ticklish when he does those small circles on her side, but she tries her very and absolute best to ignore those movements so she can continue. ]

A full set, yes. [ that's one way of looking at it. ] Winter, spring, summer, then fall.

I suppose things were different back then... you guys went by weeks and seasons, but now, there are months and stuff.

[sortileges]

[ Look he barely notices he's doing it, it's just a way of tracking the movements on screen, locking the information into his head. ] Yes. It's easier to track by day and night, the seaons, the count the days.

This calendar is taking some getting used to.

[psycholawgy]

Then here's something you ought to remember about the Gregorian calendar...

[ are you prepared. are you ready for this, merlin? take down notes. ]

My birthday is on the 23rd of March.

[sortileges]

[ Is he prepared? The laugh she'll feel against her neck and the way he presses his forehead there probably says he wasn't expecting that. ]

The 23rd of March. Understood.

[ But he isn't saying anything about himself, apparently??? ]

[psycholawgy]

Well?

[ she's waiting. what about you, you moron? ]

[sortileges]

Well what?

[ :) What about him, Athena?! ]

[psycholawgy]

[ s

m

h ]

Did you figure out when your birthday is, yet?