Closed Post: #SelfCare

[sorrowandsorrow]

Eat your heart out, Castle Whitespire. Eat your heart out, Eliot Waugh. Janet doesn't need any of you, because she found this stupid mansion's stupid Jacuzzi all by herself. In the aftermath of the zombie uprising (by the way: what the fuck?), she must have been putting out some kind of extra desperation, caked in sweat and zombie dust and the dirt of the mansion's grounds, because as she stomped down the hallway to her bedroom, something told her to open a door. And she did. And there it was.

It was fucking glorious, and she was too selfish to wait that time, but she has a date to set up. Susan will find a neon orange Post-It stuck to the door of her room this morning that says: Found it. Meet me at seven o'clock tonight, third door on the right when you hang a left past that ugly chandelier with the swans. --J

She even doodled a little crown symbol over the letter to make her point clear.

When Susan does make her way to the room with the hot tub, she'll see Janet in a black bikini with a glass of prosecco in one hand, another frosty glass sitting on the tiles next to her hand. With that hand, she's propping herself up as she takes a sip. Her legs are dangling into the Jacuzzi already, but she hasn't switched on the jets yet.

Comments

[sorrowandsorrow]

"I feel pretty bad for him." Janet slings a half-smile, half-smirk Susan's way. "I mean, he's out in the cold -- I guess -- and I'm sitting in a Jacuzzi with a pretty girl. He didn't even know we were having a competition, and now I'm winning."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"He never even stood a chance," Susan says, tone arch. "Though I might argue we're both of us winning."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Oh, are we?" Janet's smile broadens, turning into something easier and, she hopes, more inviting. Inviting isn't her strong suit on the best of days, but it's not so difficult to imagine herself achieving it when she's around Susan. "Do tell." She's fishing, and she knows she's fishing. So sue her.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Janet has been - flirting. Susan can acknowledge this. Surely it's not wishful thinking, or missing anyone from back home. Clearly the rules here are different than the rules Susan is used to.

She twists a little, so that she's facing Janet more directly, and quickly finishes off this glass of prosecco. "Surely you know that you're stunning," she says. "You don't strike me the sort of girl dedicated to false modesty."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Not even a little false modesty," Janet confirms, meeting Susan's gaze directly. "I just like hearing it out loud." Especially from Susan, maybe, but that might be laying it on a little too thick.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Well, then," says Susan, raising an eyebrow at Janet. "From one gorgeous woman to another, I must say that I imagine poor Fabio might be languishing in a most morose sort of envy."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"What a pity," Janet says brightly. "I think I'm going to recover from the sadness of thinking about it, though." She considers for a second, then stands up to retrieve the bottle. With it in hand, she can bend down to refill Susan's glass for her.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan is settling into this feeling - of flirting, openly, with another friend. She lets her gaze travel up Janet's body; when she hits Janet's face, she nods her thanks.

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet's smile returns, slow and satisfied. She sinks back into the water, sitting next to Susan so that she can reach over and tuck a stray lock of steam-softened hair back away from her face. "Now," she says, "we have some more important business. Terrorized any men recently?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan groans, bringing the back of one hand to her forehead, dramatically. "I'm afraid I'm losing my touch, Janet," she says.

[sorrowandsorrow]

That pulls another laugh from Janet, a sound that might actually skirt around the edges of fond. "Buck up, champ," she says. "It happens to the best of us. Honestly, I don't have much to report, either. I'm avoiding most of the men around here as much as I can."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Have you!" Susan says. She makes a face, directed at herself. "I suppose I've been trying to get my bearings first."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Well, if anyone's being a dick to you, just tell them to come talk to me. I'll fuck them up." Something occurs to Janet that probably should have occurred to her sooner. "Did you do okay with the... zombies? That was insane, by the way." It's true, and she does sound a little skeptical about the whole event, but there's some exhilaration to the memory, too.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Oh, yes, that was absolutely mad," Susan agrees. "I was fine. I helped Clarissant with her first aid station, and then I helped Thomas with some whiskey." She offers Janet her easy, flirtatious smile. "I have been meaning to poke around and see if there are any bows lying about, since, but I suppose it hasn't felt very pressing. And you? All right?"

[sorrowandsorrow]

Oh, that's a good smile. It's especially good to see after how frigid and still Susan was the last time they spent time together. Janet gives her a quick little grin in return. "Honestly, it was amazing. I said I've been avoiding the men here -- well, there was a reason for that. A specific man. I think I really needed to just get out there and smash my axes into a bunch of undead freaks. By the way," she adds, "I'd love to see you with a bow."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan's smile broadens. "It's been eight years since I've touched one," she says. "But I used to be quite competitive." She wonders - should she ask Janet about the specific man she's avoiding? "I'm not typically one for the frenzy of battle, but a good victory can be quite cathartic."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Exactly. I don't think those guys were ever people in the first place." Janet finishes her own second glass of prosecco and then, again, slips deeper into the water, head tipped back. "Most of the time the axes are for intimidation more than anything. But it felt good to use them. And remember that spell I used on the Foremost? Woven Strength? I did that again, too. Ripped some zombies' heads right off their shoulders."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan raises her eyebrows. "Color me impressed," she says, setting her glass on the ledge of the tub and letting herself relax a little deeper into the water, too.

[sorrowandsorrow]

"It was amazing," Janet says dreamily. "And that's why you have to show off and do some incredible archery for me. Equal-opportunity impressing each other." Beneath the water, she reaches for Susan -- not for her hand, but to experimentally brush her fingers against the inside of Susan's wrist. In the water, with the heat of the room and two glasses of bubbly down the hatch, it actually feels easy.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan shivers despite the heat of the water, and tilts her head, taking Janet in. "I'll pencil you in," she says, lips quirking. She likes the way that Janet makes her want to rise to a challenge, and nudges Janet's ankle with her toes

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet smiles a little, more to herself than anything, and curls her hand around Susan's wrist so that she can rub the pad of her thumb across the thinnest skin there, over her pulse. She knocks her foot back against Susan's, too, almost a fond kind of a gesture. "You're too generous, Your Majesty."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Never, if it's in the interest of international diplomacy, Queen Janet," Susan replies, breath catching the tiniest bit at the stroke of Janet's thumb.

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Hmm." Janet's smile lingers, and she keeps her thumb there, just stroking it back and forth. "You can tell me more about Narnia if you want. Or not."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan purses her lips, considering. A wicked gleam enters her eye. "So, Queen Janet of Fillory," she says, pressing her foot against Janet's calf now, cautiously. "I hear you've an interest in opening diplomatic negotiations with Narnia. I believe opening trade between our countries is a good first step, so: In the wake of the Ettinsmoor War, we have made robust additions to our farmland, and have a surplus of grains and fruits, many of which have also been blessed by maenads and dryads. Following our victory in the recent conflict, we have new diplomatic ties with the Northern Giants, as well; their quaint workstuffs are the pride of Talking Beast matrons nationwide."

[sorrowandsorrow]

This is better than Janet could possibly have imagined. She angles her leg into the touch, her fingers coiling more tightly around Susan's wrist. "You make an intriguing proposition," she says loftily, "I must admit." Fuck, she misses being in charge of her stupid fantasy kingdom. "I admit, there are some weaknesses in our economy following the recent war with Loria, despite our handy and extremely predictable victory. The centaurs, although huge assholes, are skilled woodcrafters and healers -- maybe we can consider trading skills as well as raw materials."