+ [open post]

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Oh my God," Kade murmurs when Susan shows up at his door, knocking briskly. It's quiet, practically subvocal, but she can still make out the words distinctly. He wipes his hands on his trousers and extends one. "Susan Pevensie. Hi! I'm Kade. Kade West."

"I know," she says, glancing at his hand for a moment and then shaking it. "You're our tailor. I'm afraid I've been delinquent in introducing myself." She's been busy, but in the wake of all of the Mansion's most recent spat of strangeness, she decided it was high time that she conspire to meet him. She needs some sort of change-up to her days, which have become rather routine and increasingly feel uninspiring. Not that she wants more Mansion-driven mischief, just that... it was nice, to have a little adventure, once she set her worry for Lancelot to the side. "But you worked wonders for Lancelot's wardrobe."

A bright grin flashes across Kade's face as he takes in her pointed tone. His teeth are extremely white and, frankly, unsettlingly straight. "You want I should give you a makeover, too?"

Susan glances down at herself. She's back in mourning black, one of her everyday dresses. It feels more comfortable than color, sometimes, but... in truth, she misses being eye-catching. "If you'd be so kind," she says, briskly. "I haven't got a particular look in mind. I'll try whatever you think might be interesting."

Kade's smile broadens. "You're giving me a blank check?"

"I shan't wear it if I don't like it."

"Of course, of course," Kade says, and opens his door wide. "C'mon up. Tell me about your Worlds. I'll get you all sorted out."

---

Three days later, Susan decides she might as well try debuting the first outfit Kade selected. It's all black, so it seems a good gateway to the more colorful options, especially as she's not convinced of trousers - she's ever so used to the skirts and garters and stockings she defaults to day after day. And, she finds, as she checks the outfit in her mirror, it's strange to wear a top with meagre built-in supports but no brassiere. The red heels he chose, though... those, she loves. He'd recommended curls and a bold lip with this look, but she doesn't like the fussiness of curling her hair and instead leaves it loose and smooth down her back.

She can't deny that she looks phenomenal. The trousers, though they feel uncomfortably tight, look flatteringly as if they're painted on. She has, delightfully, gained some weight since arriving here, especially now that she's off her grief diet, and her figure is truly striking. The top is on the verge of indecent, with a low neckline and sleeves that fall off her shoulders, and she considers throwing on the jacket Kade suggested just for some degree of modesty across her decolletage... but that would go against her purpose of trying something exciting and different and new. So she shrugs, leaves the jacket on the edge of the bed, pats the spot where usually she would have her pocket and her notebook, fetches a handbag so she might still carry her notebook along with her (she wants a change, but that's no reason to be unprepared!), and sets out, Regina at her heels.

Susan has no way of knowing this, but anyone who's been to Earth after the late 1970s will recognize that Kade has put her in a perfect recreation of Sandy's greaser outfit at the end of Grease.



People who will find this hot and/or striking and/or familiar in some way are obviously welcome, but also anyone who wants to touch base after the AU days and/or meet Regina are encouraged to tag in too!

Comments

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Fear not," dropping her hand so he can get to work, "I'll not talk my way out of this task."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

As Lancelot helps her back into her clothes, Susan shan't make it easy on him, trying to distract him with little touches and poses, hoping to goad him into - in truth, she hasn't got a specific aim; she'll be pleased with any successes.

[lanselos_du_lac]

She certainly does manage to distract him, more than once, into kisses and teasing touches, and occasionally something considerably more daring. But he's not quite ready for another round -- and it's pleasing to tease her, besides.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Eventually, she's in her leather trousers and tight top again, debating whether to sort out the disarray of her hair or not, a soft look in her eye as she regards him. "Do you know," she says, and pauses there, clearly turning a thought or two over.

[lanselos_du_lac]

He pulls on his own shirt, smiling at her, "Know what?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I believe I might be..." Susan pauses to double-check her words against her feelings. "Tremendously happy, actually."

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot's answering smile is brilliant. He sweeps her up into an embrace, mussing her hair further and kissing her cheek. "That makes me tremendously happy."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan laughs, indulgent and giddy, and flings her arms around his neck. There were months where she thought feeling like this might be impossible. As recently as Dark, she worried that letting herself admit to enjoying herself might result in some sort of cosmic punishment for her daring. But she feels more confident of her position now. There are opportunities to indulge and opportunities to organize, and even the regular madness this place throws at everyone seems surmountable. Though the second day of changes was exhausting, it was also, ultimately, rather fun.

She mightn't feel this way forever. She mightn't even feel this way terribly long. But that she feels this way at all seems rather like a miracle - only better, because she's won it with her own efforts and not through some boon granted her by a judgemental lion.

And a cherry on top of all of this, of course, is Lancelot. She's pleased that he's pleased. She likes that she knows that she loves him. She tries to capture all of these racing interconnected thoughts, and convey them to him with the ferocity of her embrace.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot slides both arms around her waist and holds her just as tightly.

Of course Susan is gorgeous, and of course he's wildly attracted to her, but the thing that has continued to surprise and delight him is the quality of their connection -- the sincere friendship, the degree of care they have for one another, that feeling of true partnership in which he doesn't feel beholden or worshipful but seen and loved and known. He hasn't experienced anything quite like it; it brings him no end of joy.

(He has almost, almost stopped internally apologizing to Guinever and Arthur when he has these thoughts. The relationships he has here are different, with different people, and he himself is different than he was. It doesn't undo or negate his other relationships. He is still sorting through this, though slowly.)

It's not lost on him, as well, that Susan has typically been cautious with how she expresses her feelings. That she has said tremendously today is meaningful. Lancelot is delighted to see her this way; it makes everything feel warm and light.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Eventually, still smiling, Susan draws back, first pressing her cheek against Lancelot's, then kissing the corner of his mouth, then stroking a hand through his hair as she regards him from a few scant inches away. "You said you had something to... show me, was it?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Ah," he says. He is sorry, now, that he has any need to discuss anything that is not in this room right this minute. "Yes."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Very well," she says, with no small reluctance of her own. "I suppose I'm decent enough for the general public."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"Not under any notion of decency I'm familiar with," grinning.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I'm clothed," she amends, "in a sort of clothing Kade deemed appropriate."

[lanselos_du_lac]

"I would never question Kade." He is still holding her close.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

She kisses the tip of his nose. "If we stay here, we'll just get distracted again," she says, in a tone that makes it clear that this isn't precisely a deterrent.

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot grins crookedly, drawing away (though very reluctantly). "I ought not put it off. And anyway, there will be time after."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Indeed there will." This is a threat! Susan decides to give up on sorting out her hair and rises, extending a hand to Lancelot. "Where must we go?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

Lancelot takes her hand, "The game room."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"The game room," Susan repeats, intrigued. "Very well. Have you got high score on that game of yours? --No, don't tell me, I shall wait for the surprise."

[lanselos_du_lac]

He scoffs a little, leading her out into the hallway, "Very well. I'll not tell thee."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan draws his hand up so that she can kiss his knuckles. "I shall continue guessing, however. There's a new game you think I might excel at?"

[lanselos_du_lac]

"No, but I would very much like to find one. I shall consider this."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"You've constructed a surprise for Regina. You're showing me alone, in the game room, lest she find a way to understand our words before the gift's completion."

[lanselos_du_lac]

The corner of his mouth turns down slightly -- this could be something of a surprise for Regina, though he expects an unwelcome one. He says, "She is too clever for surprises."