Room 303, Tuesday Evening

[bitchprince]

After an exhausting day, there was little Arthur enjoyed more than getting to lounge about his thankfully not-an-alcove bed, which was just about as good as the one he had back in Camelot. He was already in his nightclothes by now, and he was fairly sure that whatever happened, he had a good night's sleep coming up on him.

If you didn't know him any better (and most people on the island didn't. Even many who thought they did) you could almost say he was completely back to normal, had put That Weekend out of his mind, and was continuing on as per usual.

You'd be wrong. So would Arthur, who made deluding himself into an art form when he felt like it.

He was just going to concentrate on the whole good night's sleep - have a hunting dog now - nice bed thing. That was about in keeping with his sanity. (That, and considering everything that Reno had put on his mind. It was always nice when life accommodated your denial with more responsibilities)

He wasn't yet aware that in a few short hours, he was going to be bustled out of his room by cranky rodents, no.

[[ door is cracked, post is open! -- and thread with Leto nws. sigh ]]

Comments

[future_sandworm]

Of course, Arthur didn't have that room all to himself. Leto, too, was relieved to be back in the dorms, especially as he and his roommate were on speaking terms again.

He entered, throwing his cloak on the bed - you never knew if it was going to rain in this place - and threw a glance at Arthur. "Early night?"

[bitchprince]

"Thought I'd catch up on a few things."

Like sleep. Arthur shifted against his pillow, and glanced up at him. "I spoke to Reno."

[future_sandworm]

"You did? So did I." He sank down on his own bed and pulled off his boots.

[bitchprince]

"I mentioned Zack to him," he continued, "Reno seems to think highly of him. I think we should give it a shot."

[future_sandworm]

He gave a nod. "Yes, I agree." Reno might have given him even more information. Leto considered pointing out that Arthur seemed to think very highly of Zack too, but didn't. There was just a hint of a smile on his face when he thought about it.

[bitchprince]

Oh, please. He was a hyperactive fool who seemed entirely too fond of everyone and everything and he did not at all remind Arthur of some kind of bizarre blend of Lancelot and Merlin on too much sugar.

Not that he'd go into that. "Next week, then," he said, idly. That closed the subject off nicely.

He tilted his head slightly at Leto, wondering whether or not he felt up to small talk about the dorms or not.

[future_sandworm]

Leto wasn't going to question that assessment - not that he had met Lancelot - but that wouldn't change his conclusions drawn from observation.

Leto looked back. He didn't mind conversation, or rather, he didn't mind company. "Is there any dried fruit left?"

[bitchprince]

"I think you're almost out," Arthur said, sitting up to affirm that fact. (Funny how they were 'Leto's' when they were out, and 'theirs' when they weren't) "Pity."

[future_sandworm]

Yes, that was funny indeed. Leto gave him a look, raising an eyebrow. "Really?" He paused, a little longer than necessary. "Anything else you've been doing?"

The 'apart from eating all the fruit' remained unspoken but audible.

[bitchprince]

It was Arthur's good right to commandeer materials left in their room. Or, in a pinch, outside them. Reality, after all, existed to bend to his many whims. "At the moment?" he asked, feigning innocence for... several reasons, "Preciously little."

[future_sandworm]

As long as he didn't start commandeering anything important Leto could be patient, at least as Arthur might be able to offer som kind of amusement.

"Clearly, it tired you out."

[bitchprince]

"Oh, I'm not that tired," Arthur countered, idly, because that did in fact sound like a challenge. "Just considering my resources."

[future_sandworm]

Of course it was a challenge. "And what are your conclusions?"

There was a hint of a smirk, yes.

[bitchprince]

"I am thinking," Arthur said, displaying more subtlety than he was usually good for, "That you may want to consider yours, first."

We didn't say it was a lot of subtlety. Just more of it.

[future_sandworm]

"And why is that?" Leto countered with a laugh. "Does your conclusion depend on mine?"

[bitchprince]

"That depends," Arthur said, pulling a fake thoughtful face.

Something went twitch on the inside. Much like with Jenny last week. He... ignored it, and tried not to think about trees.

[future_sandworm]

"On what?" Leto pulled his shirt over his head and reached for his own night clothes.

Arthur did seem to have a thing about trees. Perhaps he needed to experience the desert.

[bitchprince]

"On whether or not you're going to be putting those on," Arthur returned, glancing at Leto's exposed chest. Subtle, really.

He was just glad he didn't have any treeburn on his back anymore. That made things easier to deal with.

[future_sandworm]

"Now, perhaps you should give me some more information here on which to base my decision," Leto smirked, getting off the bed and taking a few steps towards Arthur.

[bitchprince]

Arthur got up off his own bed, slowly, and failed to break eye-contact for a few moments; then he pulled off his nightshirt as he went to shut the door with a sound thud.

He dropped the shirt to the floor. Deal with that later. "For one," he said, idly, pulling his hand away from the door, "It's only fair to keep things equal."

[future_sandworm]

"I'm not going to argue with that," Leto replied. They weren't talking about other people, after all. Walking up to him, Leto gave Arthur a nudge towards the door.

[bitchprince]

For once, Arthur's brain happily supplied, but he didn't voice it, taking a step backward to anticipate on the nudge - couldn't let Leto have all the control, now - and sliding one hand up into his hair, firmly.

"Good," he just said.

[future_sandworm]

While the banter was entertaining, Leto saw no point in replying this time. He just met Arthur's eyes, waiting for the other man to act. That was a challenge, too.

The fact that they were back to this made him relax a little, and not only because of the anticipated pleasure.

[bitchprince]

Back to old ways for different reasons, not that Arthur would acknowledge anything of the sort. No thinking about trees, or spells, or overly innocent boys with black hair and blue eyes. He looked back at Leto steadily for a few, creeping seconds.

The moment he slid his unoccupied hand over Leto's firm biceps was also the moment he yanked him forward for a kiss, impatience or a need for denial and distraction kicking in - whichever was which.

[future_sandworm]

The kiss was returned of course, and Leto pushed Arthur against the door. Arthur's reasons really didn't matter to him, as long as the benefits were enjoyable enough. They usually were, he recalled.