InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "no, no, no, no....oh okay then"

Marian (sweetspring) wrote in nevermore_logs,
@ 2021-01-22 17:43:00

Entry tags:

maid marian, sheriff of nottingham

WHO Marian & The Sheriff
WHEN Friday (22nd Jan)
WHERE Arizona
WHAT board games like a real couple
WARNINGS there's definitely mentions of all the frolloing going on, but probably the scene itself is gonna be safe.

Of the games that the Sheriff had given her, they had gotten the most use out of Exploding Kittens. It had been easy to learn - all the rules were written right there on the cards to be played - and a round of it only took ten or fifteen minutes. And there was little sitting around and waiting, which meant Marian didn't have to think too much about anything. She could just throw cards on the pile and focus only on there.

The two of them were sitting on the floor of the living room, with its plush carpets and a fire burning behind the Sheriff. (Marian was keeping it at a distance from herself, the heat directly on her skin throwing her back too suddenly to the demon.) There were supposed to be snow showers over the weekend. The Sheriff's bedroom had a large window that looked right out into the yard, and Marian was looking forward to waking up in the morning and seeing snow settling on the grasslands (however much decided to settle).

From her hand, Marian laid down a set of cards that she knew meant she got to pick anything from the Sheriff's hand. She smiled at him smugly.

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whyaspooncousin
2021-01-22 06:51 am UTC (link)

"Gah!" he said, holding out his deck for her to choose from. This quiet life they had settled into oddly suited him. He had always throw himself into his work, chasing down criminals because the people he wanted to chase down always eluded him. Marian made him happy though. He had no desire to chase anyone. No desire to be anywhere other than here, losing terribly at some odd cat game to the woman he loved. "You're cheating, aren't you?" he asked, amused.

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	sweetspring 2021-01-22 07:04 am UTC (link)
	"How dare you," Marian said, but it was with far more ease than one might expect those words to come. "a lady never cheats." Then she gave him a tight smile that said, yes, maybe she was cheating. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 07:37 am UTC (link)
	"I knew it! One of those sleight of hand tricks!" he laughed. Once she had chosen a card he drew and groaned. This game was not going well for him. And he wasn't good at hiding it. "This is why I never play poker." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sweetspring
2021-01-22 08:24 am UTC (link)

"I was never much good at poker either," Marian shrugged.

Marian was excellent at poker. Even after hundreds of years with her boys, Marian could still clean up and they had trouble seeing through her bluffs. There were only ever a few of them at the table that were truly excellent at the game after all this time.

She'd never expected to end up in a game with such high stakes.

"Maybe it's just that the cards like me better," Marian suggested, admiring the actually very good card she'd stolen from him.

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	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 08:57 am UTC (link)
	Malcolm snorted and then he shrugged. "It could be, you are very likeable," he grinned at her. "Come on, draw, I want to see if you blow up." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sweetspring 2021-01-22 09:05 am UTC (link)
	"I'm not blowing up," Marian said with an unearned sense of confidence in the true random nature of the game. She picked up another card and turned it over carefully, grinning when it wasn't an explosion. "You're blowing up." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 09:43 am UTC (link)
	Malcolm reached out for the card warily, wincing before he even picked it up- "Goddammit!" he yelled, but he was grinning. He had indeed picked up an exploding kitten. "And you stole my defuser! This game is ridiculous. Should we play again?" he asked with a smile. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sweetspring 2021-01-22 09:46 am UTC (link)
	Marian laughed when he lost the game, feeling proud of herself (even though, again, it was all chance.) "Yeah," she said with a nod, "I'll shuffle." She began sweeping up the cards from the carpet so that she could do just that. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 09:52 am UTC (link)
	Malcolm leaned back, resting on his arms while she shuffled. "I should have gotten us some snacks," he said, watching her deft fingers as she expertly manipulated the cards. "Any requests?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sweetspring
2021-01-22 10:00 am UTC (link)

"Popcorn?" Marian suggested, knowing they had some in the kitchen. When he left to go do that, Marian kept shuffling the cards in her hands, and when she lifted her gaze she saw herself in the mirror across the room.

She paused her shuffling.

There was a smile lingering on her lips.

The smile fell away now, because she realised she hadn't been faking that smile, nor had she been faking the laugh. She'd been sitting here on the carpet playing silly games and realised that... she was enjoying herself.

In fact, most of today she'd barely thought about the fact that she was still a prisoner, that she was here with her enemy.

Marian had gotten so used to the repetition and the boredom that playing card games with the Sheriff was... enjoyable.

Marian put her hand over her mouth, wondering if she was about to be sick.

How could she be enjoying herself?? How could she sit here and laugh about a game when she was in the same house as the Sheriff, in the same house as the man she'd consented to keep going to bed with just to keep the peace?

Was this even about keeping the peace anymore? Oh god, what was wrong with her??

She heard the Sheriff coming back and took a few stabilising breaths, making herself smile again but feeling the difference in it, feeling the way she had to make it happen.

Who was she turning into? What else was she supposed to do?

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	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 10:04 am UTC (link)
	Malcolm jogged back into the room, a grin plastered on his face. "I made the sweet and salty kind!" he said, going back to sit down. He passed the bowl over to her and leaned back again. "You're beautiful, you know?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sweetspring
2021-01-22 10:08 am UTC (link)

Marian ducked her head at that compliment as though shy, as though it wasn't like having her throat cut.

She wanted to go back fifteen minutes now, back to when she'd forgotten the stakes and was somehow feeling like a normal person. How did she get back to that? How did she make this feel alright?

Make Marian could live through this - thrive though this - if she could just make it alright for herself.

So she smiled and she leaned forward and she kissed him, telling herself she was doing it because she wanted to do it. Telling herself that if she thought that often enough, one day it would be true.

"Thank you," she said as she drew back. "Maybe some wine too?"

Getting a little bit drunk would surely help - or be terrible.

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whyaspooncousin
2021-01-22 10:18 am UTC (link)

When she kissed him, instead of him initiating it, it felt like coming home every time. Malcolm felt so whole these days. Like everything was finally right. He wasn't angry or vindictive, and he didn't give a shit what the Merry Men were up to.

Oh god, was this happiness? He hoped so. God he hoped so.

"Of course," he grinned, kissing her again. He jumped up and returned to the kitchen once more, to grab some goblets and wine.

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	sweetspring 2021-01-22 10:21 am UTC (link)
	Drinking. Drinking would loosen her up and they'd play some more games, and she would settle. She'd forget again that this was a cage and her was her jailer, and she'd pretend they were old friends. She could pretend that, couldn't she? For her own sanity? Yes, she had to. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 10:47 am UTC (link)
	He returned, two bottles and two goblets in hand. "Forgot to ask if you wanted red or white so I brought both!" he laughed. He settled again and handed the bottles over to her so she could choose. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sweetspring 2021-01-22 10:51 am UTC (link)
	"Seems like a time for red," she said, handing back the white and taking the cockscrew from him instead so that she could open the red. She poured them both a large glass and then set the bottle on the coffee table she could reach. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 11:07 am UTC (link)
	He reached for his wine and sipped it, before saying conversationally, "Prince John is thinking of coming to visit soon. He has a few things he wants me to go over for his new private security and it's easier for me to do them in person." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sweetspring 2021-01-22 11:12 am UTC (link)
	Prince John. Visiting. Here. Marian was glad she had the glass raised to her lips when he spoke and that it slightly obscured her expression of surprise. But the she swallowed poorly and ended up coughing anyway. Then she said, trying not to sound stained. "Oh, that will be... nice." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 11:21 am UTC (link)
	"I can see him elsewhere, but you- You don't like it when I leave the house," he pointed out. "And he's my king, he'll be expecting my hospitality." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

sweetspring
2021-01-22 11:26 am UTC (link)

"Of course," Marian said, shaking her head with a smile. "Old habits, I suppose." She took a thoughtful breath and nodded to him, reaching out to take his hand. "Of course he can come here and be welcomed. He's my king too."

In her head a flag-waving version of Marian screamed, HAIL TO THE LIONHEART AND DEATH TO THE PRETENDER!! Was she to grovel before that false king?

Was she really finding that more distasteful than any of the rest of this?

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	whyaspooncousin 2021-01-22 12:18 pm UTC (link)
	When Marian said 'he's my king too', Malcolm felt complete. He couldn't keep from beaming. "He's going to be so impressed. We can make him some dinner. It will be wonderful." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	sweetspring 2021-01-22 12:57 pm UTC (link)
	He's going to be so impressed, like she was a well trained pet. Marian took a drink of her wine and kept it a ladylike amount. "You'll have to warn me when he's coming," she said. "I'll bake something." Like a cake full of dynamite. (Reply to this) (Parent)