Closed Post: The Three-Date Rule

[sorrowandsorrow]

Maybe it's some kind of character growth, or something, that Janet can admit to herself she's a little bit nervous. It's embarrassing, but it would be stupid to pretend otherwise. It's also bizarre, because she hasn't been nervous about a date since she was a first year at Brakebills and Sebastien from the five-zillion-generations-of-magic family asked her out. (He turned out to be a dick. Quelle surprise.)

Anyway. The point is, she's kind of nervous, because Susan is meeting her here in T-minus not that many minutes, and this is undeniably date number three, and Janet's not supposed to give a shit about how it goes, but she can also admit to herself that she really wants it to go well. She blow-dried her hair, for Christ's sake. That was the first blow-dryer she'd seen in years, but apparently the mansion could tell she needed one. She's still in jeans, but they're nice ones, dark wash and everything. Her blouse is wine-red and off the shoulder. Basically, she's taken the whole date night thing to heart.

She's in one of the nicer lounges, one with some atmospheric exposed brick and expensive-looking furniture. There's a bottle of what she's about ninety-seven percent sure is real Fillorian wine on the table in front of her, along with two clean and empty wineglasses. There are no words on the label of the bottle, but there is a sigil of two rams' heads, which makes her irritable and nostalgic at the exact same time. Her legs are crossed, ladylike as hell, and her boots are freshly polished.

[NSFW!]

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[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan, dressed impeccably in an extremely flattering dress that's slightly closer to midnight blue than it is mourning black and with her hair loose and tumbling over her shoulders and down her back, comes with a little cheese plate - three varieties, some crackers (homemade), toffee fruits, and rosemary almonds. All this is packaged neatly away on a well-wrapped platter, which she sets on the table. "Hello," she says, warmly, and gives Janet a lingering once-over that she doesn't bother to veil in any way.

[sorrowandsorrow]

That's a lot of hair. Janet's transfixed for a second, like she's in a movie and the love interest just walked in and everything's going temporarily slo-mo. Reality kicks back in shortly, but damn. She comes close to saying Your Majesty, but instead, she says, trying not to sound too sardonic to hide her self-consciousness, "Hi, Susan."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Janet." Susan comes over to give her a hello kiss, hoping that doing so suppresses some of her own nerves about this. Thanks to Liu Mingyan, it hasn't been terribly long since Susan has lain with a woman, but - Janet means something to her. She wants very much for tonight to go well.

[sorrowandsorrow]

The kiss actually comes as a relief, because it's something Janet knows she and Susan can do, and do well. She loops a hand around the back of Susan's neck, cognizant again of the frankly amazing mass of all her hair and how it slides against her fingers, and kisses her for maybe a moment or three longer than a hello kiss should last. When they break apart, she musters a little grin. "So you come bearing gifts."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan teeters for a moment, following Janet's mouth as she draws back, before settling down on her heels. "A cheese plate," she says. "With some Narnian fruits. I thought it fitting for your Fillorian wine."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Oh, I'm a lucky girl," Janet says. Actually, she drawls it, to conceal the fact that the sentiment is pretty much genuine. "Talk about ongoing cultural exchange. Shall I pour you a glass?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"If you would be so kind."

[sorrowandsorrow]

Obviously, the wine's been sitting open already, breathing, because Janet's not a heathen. She pours them each a glass, tempted to go heavy on the volume but then deciding that she should act civilized tonight and keeping to something reasonable. As she settles back onto the couch, she offers Susan her glass. "If it tastes like shit, we blame Ember and Umber."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I'm always happy to blame a god," Susan says, accepting the glass from Janet in a way that enables her to brush Janet's fingers with her own in a way that isn't strictly necessary, but which feels wholly appropriate.

[sorrowandsorrow]

"A woman after my own heart." Janet takes a slow sip, weirdly a little nervous about this, too, especially as the smell hits before it touches her tongue. It doesn't taste like shit. It tastes, basically, like she remembers, like if a really expensive red wine had a baby with a bottle of mead. It's sweet, but not like a shitty wine cooler. There's actually depth to the flavor.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Oh, this is lovely," Susan says, once she's tasted the wine herself. "Narnia never had wine like this."

[sorrowandsorrow]

Some kind of secret tension goes invisibly out of Janet at Susan's approval. Not that she cares. She grins and takes an easier second sip. "What kind of wine did Narnia have?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Oh, shockingly mediocre," Susan says. "Neither bad enough nor good enough to be memorable in any particular way."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Fuck that," Janet says feelingly. "If it's not going to be good, it should be bad enough to talk about with your friends."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I couldn't agree more," says Susan, knocking the side of her boot against Janet's.

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet grins at her, relief and, now that she's relaxing, some building anticipation in it. She pokes Susan's boot right back with the toe of hers. "Okay, Queen Susan, I'm ready to try the Narnian delicacies."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"They're wildly sweet and incredibly juicy," Susan warns, leaning forward to pull the cheese plate closer, then decides it might be fun just to put it on her lap for easier access. She does this, scooting close enough for her thigh to press against Janet's. Also for easy access, of course. "They're fruits of a tree that grew when a piece of toffee got planted."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"When a piece of toffee got planted," Janet repeats with incredulous amusement. "Will fantasy bullshit wonders never cease." She thinks about her options, then leans on Susan just a little bit as she reaches to unwrap the cheese plate. "Narnia sounds like if Fillory was cuter."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"They do seem to have rather a few similarities, don't they?" Susan muses. "Centaurs, dwarfs, gorgeous queens..."

[sorrowandsorrow]

Obviously, the very first thing Janet has to try is one of the toffee fruits. She pops one in her mouth and her eyes widen as she chews. "Well, shit. That really is toffee." She directs another grin at Susan. "Was Narnia flat? Fillory is flat. It's so stupid."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"From what Lucy and Edmund said? Yes; at the edge of the ocean lies the end of the world," Susan says, taking a sip of her wine and settling more heavily against Janet's side.

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Huh." Janet sneaks her arm around Susan's waist. It makes it a slightly awkward reach when she goes for another toffee fruit, but who cares. "That's exactly like Fillory. I didn't see it -- Eliot did, when he was fucking off on his quest and I was in charge."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan twists her head and presses a kiss to Janet's cheek, close to her jawline. She has opinions about putting shoes on couches, but it's so easy to tuck her feet up on the cushion next to her, leaning into Janet's touch as she reaches for an almond. "I don't remember why we didn't voyage, when we ruled," she says, thoughtfully. "I suppose there was too much to do in Cair Paravel."

[sorrowandsorrow]

The kiss pulls another smile out of Janet, who's assembling a bite of cheese and cracker for herself. Magic-strengthened hands are also useful for when you have a beautiful woman in one arm and can't spare it. "Yeah, he went off and I had to take care of the kingdom. He did save the entire existence of magic, so I guess it was worth it, but the administrative burden! Fucker."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan rather likes administrative burdens. This is rather obvious to most who meet her, and therefore doesn't demand anyone remark upon it. "Utterly unconscionable," she says instead. And then, laying it on thick: "At least now our diplomatic duties are much more engaging."