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Lancelot is a noble man. (fromthelake) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2014-11-29 15:04:00

Who: Gwen and Lance
When: Early October.
Where: Baxter Bakery.
What: A chance meeting.
Rating/Warnings: Low/None.
Status: Complete when posted.



Despite having the entire weekend to get through his work, Lance had decided to get a jump on it. As per usual, he took his things to Baxter Bakery and settled into a table out of the way of things. Working on project syllabuses wasn’t exactly fun or easy, though, so a bit in Lance decided he was due for a break. Leaving his papers spread out on the table, he went to stand in line to get another drink, checking his phone for any new e-mails.

Gwen had decided to take advantage of the nice weather to run some errands that she’d been putting off because of work and trying to get unpacked and reconnect with some old friends, which reminded her that she still needed to get together with the other Gwen for lunch and to catch up sometime soon. She’d finished her running around earlier than she’d expected and didn’t really want to go home yet so she’d decided to go into Baxter Bakery and get something to snack on and maybe talk with Audrey for a bit if the other woman was there.

She was studying the pastry case, trying to decide what she wanted to order to go with her latte when she noticed someone stepping up behind her. She turned to look at them, to tell them to go ahead since she was still making up her mind as to what she wanted to order and stopped for a moment when she saw that the man was messing with his phone but he didn’t seem to be getting ready to make a call so she decided to go ahead and chance interrupting him. “If you’d like to go ahead of me you can. I’m still trying to make up my mind.”

He glanced up at the voice, wondering, for a second, if he was in the way, and then smiled. “Oh. It’s all right, I’m in no rush.” Lance shrugged and tucked his phone back into his pocket. “I couldn’t blame you, anyway. The choices are all good. Though, I do have it on good authority that the pumpkin spice cookies are pretty great.” He gave a bit of a laugh.

Gwen laughed quietly along with him, noticing in an absent sort of why how nice his laugh was. “That’s what makes it so hard to choose. There really is no wrong choice with anything Audrey makes,” she said turning to look back at the pastry case, chewing on her lower lip for a second before making up her mind. The pumpkin spice cookies were more of a seasonal thing and she could enjoy one of the brownies anytime. She stepped up to the counter and placed her order, chatting for a few minutes with the person behind the counter as they made her latte and got her cookie from the case.

She turned back to him. “I’m Guinevere by the way. Almost everyone calls me Gwen though.”

“Guinevere,” he repeated. It was a very nice name. He felt like it suited her. “It’s very regal. I’m Lance. It’s not as regal.” Lance grinned a bit and held out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Gwen. Do you come by here a lot?”

“My father would probably thank you for that. Mum always said he picked it out,” Gwen said reaching out to shake his hand. “Lance is still a nice name though. I think it fits you somehow,” she said.

“Probably more than I should really. The owner is a friend of mine. Of sorts. She married one of my closest friends,” Gwen told him smiling. He was easy to talk to so she found herself telling him things she normally wouldn’t tell someone she was just meeting.

“Well, I take that as a very high compliment.” Lance bowed his head a touch. “Is that so? It’s funny we haven’t crossed paths yet, I feel like I’m here more than my share, too. The cappuccinos keep pulling me back.” And, admittedly, now he’d be on the look out for her. He caught himself with a smile lingering on his face and forced it away - more or less.

“Would you turn me down if I offered to buy you your drink? And pastry, of course.”

“I’ve been away for the past year which could be why we haven’t run into each other before now,” Gwen told him, trying to ignore the way that slight nod of his affected her. She’d never seen anyone do that in real life and she found it charming and even a little sweet. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this easy talking to someone she’d just met - possibly never.

She thought about his question briefly before answering him. “I’ll allow it if you let me sit and talk with you more.”

“It would be an honour to have you sit with me,” he said, flashing her a grin. “And you can tell me all about where you’ve been.” At the registers, Lance ordered his things and waited for Gwen to order hers as well, then led the way back to his table.

“Apologies for the mess.” He stacked up his work and tucked it away into his bag, then, for no other reason than because he could, he pulled out Gwen’s chair for her.

Gwen followed him back to his table, smiling as he pulled out her chair and thanking him as she sat down in the chair he’d pulled out. He wanted to hear about where she’d been, she couldn’t help but wonder if there was a way for her to tell him without explaining the reason why she’d allowed herself to be gone for so long. That seemed to be the question everyone asked when she’d finished telling them about where she’d been, the things she and Morgana had seen.

“No need to apologize Lance. You should get a glimpse of my desk at school sometimes,” she told him with a friendly smile. “What were you working on?” she asked him curiously.

“Oh? Are you a student, then?” She looked young enough, Lance figured. Or around the age to be working on a higher degree. As he sat down, he shrugged a shoulder.

“Syllabuses, mostly. Some paper grading. I teach high school English.”

Gwen shook her head at his question. “I’m a kindergarten teacher. This is my first year,” she told him. She wasn’t really all that surprised by him thinking she was still a student. She was younger than most of the other teachers at her school.

“Sorry. But you can see it’d be an easy mistake,” Lance replied. He looked apologetic, but seemed delighted to have met another teacher. “Kindergarten must be an experience. A lot of fun, I’m sure.”

Gwen smiled at him. “It’s okay! Really,” she said when she saw that apologetic look on his face. “It’s a lot of fun. A lot of work too but I love the kids.” She paused for a moment. “And in answer to your question about where I’ve been - all over. My best friend decided a trip around the world would be fun,” she told him leaving out the other part of why Morgana had suggested it - it would be a good distraction for Gwen.

“Around the world?” Lance raised his eyebrows, looking impressed as he took a drink from his latte. When he set his cup down, he leaned in a little, folding his hands on the table to give Gwen his full attention. “Then I’m all ears. I suspect you have quite a lot of stories to tell.”