WHO: Merida Dunbroch and Duncan McLeod WHAT: Talking, heading out house hunting WHEN: This morning WHERE: Duncan's place WARNINGS: Nah STATUS: Closed/Completed Gdoc
Merida was still adjusting to being here, even though she’d already had several months. Still, getting used to a thousand years of technology and culture was more difficult than she’d imagined at first, it made sense that she turned to Duncan and Methos, who were older than most everyone here. They could help her along in a way many others couldn’t.
Of course, of the two she liked Duncan best. He was a Scot, and he reminded her of home. That, and she found herself quite attracted to him, and the sex was incredible.
She was thinking this as she made her way back from her early morning target practice, quite pleased with the day and with herself. Returning home, she put up her bow and crawled into bed with Duncan, kissing him.
“Morning,” she said.
***
It wasn’t surprising that Duncan adjusted to life here as easily as he did. After so many years, so many different cultures and people he just found a way to fit in. It was the easiest way to keep his head down, as well.
The one thing he didn’t do easily or lightly was relationships, either friendship or...more than friends. Getting close to people whose lives were an eyeblink compared to his existence guaranteed heartache, and that always seemed to last the longest. But every once in a while a woman came along who managed to slip into his heart. Merida didn’t do that. She stormed the castle, broke down the gates and helped herself to the throne room of his heart. To be honest, he wouldn’t have expected any less from a Scots lass.
He smiled against the kiss then gathered her up into his arms. “Morning. Did you show the targets what for?”
***
“The bulls-eye, anyway,” she grinned. “Didn’t touch the outside of them so much.” She never did. She was good at archery, and she knew it.
She kissed him again, snuggling against him.
“You should get up and come with me next time.”
***
Her kisses were nice. Duncan liked getting them. And stealing them. He smiled after the kiss and tightened his arms around her.
“I’ve gotten out of the habit of being active before the sun has crested the horizon,” he said with a smirk for her. “But I thought maybe you might like to resume our hunt for our own house today.”
***
“It’s the best time of day,” she said, intending to chastise him but instead getting lost in his kisses.
“Aye, I’d like that. We need a place of our own, where the kitchen is ours to use as we will.”
***
Duncan rolled over, bringing Merida with him so he could curl around her. Being as big as he was it was fairly easy to do so.
“I didn’t want to leave until I was certain Methos was going to be all right.” Methos was far from all right, but Duncan felt the other immortal was pointed in the right direction.
***
“I understand,” she said. Methos had been through s lot and she knew he was still suffering for it. But he seemed better than he had at the beginning, so she knew that Duncan hoped that meant he was getting better.
“We don’t have to leave, if you think he still needs us.”
***
Duncan’s chuckle was more than a little sarcastic. “Methos never needed us. At least not if you asked him. But my opinion is that he’ll be fine on his own. His crankiness over my hovering is different than before.”
He shifted enough so he could look down at Merida without eating her hair.
***
“Men always think they don't need help, and they’re almost always wrong,” she said, setting her lips into a pout. “Men need women because we’re stronger in every way but one. And we can make up for that by being good with weapons.”
She kissed Duncan again just because she wanted to.
“But I’m glad he’s doing better. Back to his normal crankiness.”
***
Duncan knew better than to argue with her about this. He wasn’t dumb by any means. “Well, he has Maria who can nag him into doing what he needs to do. He doesn’t need me.”
She could kiss him all she wanted. He would never say stop. “He’s not entirely back to normal, but he’s on the right path to it. The best kind of friend I can be to him right now is to let him walk or fall on his own.”
***
Merida nodded solemnly, then kissed him again, letting this one linger perhaps a moment too long. Then she pulled away and sat up.
“So, if we’re going to go look at houses, you’re going to need to get your arse out of bed.”
***
Duncan chuckled again as he stroked a finger down her cheek. “Keep kissing me like that and it’ll be later rather than sooner that I get my arse out of bed.”
***
Merida got out of bed and walked over to the wardrobe to change out of her archery clothes and into just a shirt and a pair of jeans.
“Now get up,” she said, or i’ll shoot you in the arse.”
***
Duncan openly watched her change with a smile on his face. He put his hands behind his head on the pillow as his chest heaved a sigh. She was gorgeous. It wasn’t just physical appearance that made the Highlander think so. He tended to look at the inside to people’s heart, their motives. To him Merida shined like the sun.
“All right, all right,” he said as he kicked the sheet off then stood to go get dressed.
***
She nodded when he got up and started getting dressed. It was about time; she’d been up for hours.
“What say you to going to the bakery for breakfast before we start our search?”
***
“I’d say that sounds perfect,” he answered as he pulled a tshirt over his head. As big as he was even an extra large shirt stretched across his chest. Either he didn’t realize how it looked or he didn’t care.
Once dressed he caught Merida’s hand to lead her toward the door. “But it better be soon because I’m starving.”
***
Merida noticed, and she loved it. She wanted her men to look like men, and Duncan definitely met that requirement.
“We can go now,” she grinned, her eyes reluctantly leaving his chest to meet his eyes, “do you have houses in mind for us to look at?”
***
“As a matter of fact, I do.” There was a smug smile on Duncan’s face as he answered that. “I found a few I thought we should look at when we first talked about moving into our own place. They’re still on the market.”
The house was eerily quiet with the youngsters being gone and Methos lurking in his own wing. Duncan sighed was they walked through the hallways.
***
It was creepy, in Merida’s opinion. She lived in a castle with dozens of servants and three little brothers...she definitely wasn’t used to any sort of silence.
She linked her arm with his as they left the building, relieved to be back in the bright sunshine.
“Do you have a favorite?”
***
Where Merida wasn’t used to the silence Duncan missed it. He missed the privacy of his house boat, the dojo. He definitely didn’t mind having Merida in his life with her endless energy, open curiosity and flash fire temper. It was all coupled with smiles that could part clouds, passion to inspire bad poetry and a warm heart.
He shrugged a shoulder for her question. “I can live anywhere,” he said then turned a smile down to her. “So long as you’re there.”
***
“Well, me being there is a given,” she said, looking up at him. “I just want someplace that isn’t as drafty as home. I hate being cold at night.” She loved the castle where she’d been raised, but it wasn’t always the most comfortable place in the world. Castles were drafty and cold - the stone walls hardly let the warmth in. Of course, here, they had more than fires to keep them warm, which was one of her favorite things about being here.
“Well, what say you to going to look at them? Maybe one will hit us the moment we walk inside.”
***
Duncan chuckled as he draped an arm around her shoulders. “I doubt anything here could be as drafty as a Scottish castle, but we’ll make sure it has central heat and air.” He leaned down to kiss her wild curls as they walked.
“Breakfast first,” he said. “I can text the real estate agent while we eat and set up some appointments.”