The Roof, Wednesday Evening Before Radio

[bitchprince]

Sometimes, he had to confess, coming up here had a certain charm to it. It reminded Arthur of the times he and Morgana, sometimes his father or someone else, would find themselves up high in the castle, the wind roaring past, and talking.

As always, he wasn't brooding. Or homesick. Or troubled over Merlin's future situation, should they actually return home. Or any other number of flaws that weren't his to recognise.

He crossed his arms and stared out over Fandom Town. He'd thought about bringing some of the ale, but he'd be drinking plenty with the squirrels later. Instead, he'd just exercise his right to be thoughtful.

[[ the roof is, of course, open ]]

Comments

[bitchprince]

Arthur was about to respond in a fashion as generally dismissive as he always would, when he recognized the voice.

The resulting, "Francine," hence held something like surprise, and he glanced over his shoulder.

[thatsamilkshake]

"Hi," she repeated. Pillowpillowpillowpillowpillow SHUT UP, BRAIN. "P-- Arthur. I can go? I didn't mean to disturb you."

[bitchprince]

"I'm hardly going to shackle you to the roof," he said, blinking. For one, that would make a headache blossom spectacularily, and Merlin would probably throw a fit.

Not that Arthur cared when Merlin threw a fit.

[thatsamilkshake]

"Huh?" Francine's eyes got wide and she raced back through the instant replay for anything she'd said that might imply she thought he would. "Oh! I meant-- that was an offer. I can leave if you want me to."

[bitchprince]

Well, of course she could. He hadn't assumed otherwise.

"Of course," Arthur hence said, diplomatically, and twisted his head back to look down at the town. "Do as you wish," he said, magnanimously.

[thatsamilkshake]

The problem was she didn't know what she wished, now. Besides for some brain bleach and the ability to go back in time and stick a gag in her mouth sometime yesterday evening. ...Not dirty. SO NOT DIRTY.

But actually leaving now felt awkwarder than staying and being awkward, somehow, so Francine made her way carefully to the edge of the roof, peering over to see what Arthur was looking at. "We're not being invaded again, are we?"

[bitchprince]

It wasn't awkward in the slightest, except for every point in which it was. He would refuse to recognise it, or even to look at her again at all. He found a fixed point on some house far in the distance to focus on.

"No," Arthur said. "Not again."

[thatsamilkshake]

"This would be a good place to have a lookout to make sure we aren't, I guess," Francine observed, and God only knew where that came from other than the memory of trying to scale it when she wasn't herself. But you could see most of the town from here, when it wasn't dark.

[bitchprince]

"I believe some were up here during the zombie invasion." Arthur sounded most carefully neutral. It appeared he would be stuck in a conversation he simply couldn't wrestle his way out of, because despite his best attempts, Francine was really hard to be annoyed with. "Using-- cell phones."

[thatsamilkshake]

"I know. I tried to climb the building to eat M--" Or she could just wish for the gag now. "Wait, Merlin used a cell-phone?" Helloooo, inappropriate case of the giggles.

[bitchprince]

That inappropriate case of the giggles got her an inappropriately baffled look. "Of course not," he said. "Dinah arranged for some contacts."

[thatsamilkshake]

"Oh." Well, now she felt dumb. Which was such a change from her normal daily routine. "I just thought, 'cause he was up here then. I guess he was too busy doing stuff to keep u-- the zombies from making it to the top."

[bitchprince]

"Doing stuff," he echoed, for no reason at all.

A bit of a shake of his head. "That wasn't until the final push," Arthur said. You know, by the time he'd been convinced they were all going to die, and a girl beat his head in against a wall.

[thatsamilkshake]

"I'm a little hazy on what happened when," Francine admitted. With added shudder. "Thank God."

[bitchprince]

"You don't remember anything?" Arthur checked.

If so, life had been merciful. Beyond turning her into one of the shambling undead.

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine shook her head. "No, I remember." Sadly. "It's just fuzzy in parts. Like I spent the whole week...really drunk or something." ...Or having a bad reaction to oregano. Again.

[bitchprince]

He nodded, and pursed his lips. "Keep it like that," Arthur advised, "Don't go digging, it won't help you any."

It was, sadly, advice he used on a daily basis.

[thatsamilkshake]

Francine nodded vigorously. "Sometimes it's way easier not to know."

[bitchprince]

"Right," Arthur replied.

That wasn't awkward, or anything.

"I'm-- happy to see you restored to yourself," he offered, and then fell silent.

[thatsamilkshake]

"You too," she tried. "I mean.. I'm glad you're not a lion anymore." Pillowpillowpillowpillow....aaaargh.

[bitchprince]

"The lion was a choice," he said, without real emotion one way or another.

After a moment, chivalry took over, and he added, "I hope I didn't-- compromise your dignity." AWKWARD.

[thatsamilkshake]

Furious blushing. Of the sort where vegetable-related color comparisons would be damning it with faint praise. "Me? No! What? No. Not at all." Liiiiiies.

[bitchprince]

"All right," said Arthur.

He was male. He was incapable of taking these statements at anything but face value. "I'm glad."

Well, a man who wasn't Merlin, at any rate.

[thatsamilkshake]

"It's not like you did it on purpose," Francine felt compelled to reassure him because she was an IDIOT. Her eyes narrowed. "Unlike some people."

[bitchprince]

There was a very, very, very long pause.

"Some people," Arthur repeated. "What now?" Not that he felt particularly compelled to defend her virtue.

Except he did.

Some days, Arthur hated his conscience.