Who: Quin and Lancelot When: July 18 Where: House in London What: Looking at houses Warnings: None, really?
Lancelot had lined this house up for their Saturday. The realtor that he had found had called him about it, it had just gone on the market and it seemed to be right up their alley. It had a few of the must haves that the couple had asked for, enough that Lancelot knew they could add in whatever else they needed with a few extendable rooms and get everything they needed. That didn’t mean it would be right for them though, it just meant that they were going to go look at it.
He apparated them to the front of the home, the exact spot his realtor had told him to. Since the family that had lived there already moved, the realtor had given Lancelot the essential magical keys to the place so that they could check it out at their leisure. These were some of his favorite homes to be able to look at, they could take their time working their way through the home and figure out if it was right for their little family.
“It’s beautiful, what do you think so far?” He asked as he started to lead the way towards the front door. He had worn just a simple pair of black slacks with a light weight button down t-shirt with his loafers. He was having a laid back weekend with his girlfriend.
Quin craned her head to look up as they arrived at the house. They'd had a couple of pictures to go off of for the front, but they hadn't quite done the place justice. The outside was lovely and charming, and she loved the look - that whole era of architecture tended to charm her, though.
"It's even more charming than the pictures," she admitted as she let him lead her up the path to the door. He unlocked it for them and they went inside, where she immediately started to look around. The entrance hall was nice, and something she liked to have in a house for Apparating if nothing else.
Lancelot grinned when she seemed to love it, that was a plus. As they got inside, he went about locking the door behind them. It had been part of the rules for letting the couple see the house on their own. They had to keep it locked up, just in case.
"Where should we start the tour? Do you want to try the kitchen first?" He knew they'd be spending a lot of time in the kitchen so it seemed like a good idea. He reached an arm out to slip around her waist, pressing a kiss to her cheek, before he looked around the entrance hall again. "I like this area, it'll be nice to fill it with some fresh flowers. It can be the one area of the house that we leave open for apparation, though maybe not completely open. Just the people we allow access, that way they aren't just popping up randomly in the home." He was mostly thinking of his mother popping by to spoil the kids, at least they'd get an advance warning when she showed up. She had already tried a few times but he had wards set at their current home to keep her on the porch unless she was allowed inside.
The outsides were always a plus; the insides were what would really matter, though with magic they could at least renovate it a little without too much hardship. It depended a lot on what they would need or want done.
She slipped close to him as his arm went around her waist, the fingers of the arm that went around him in turn curling lightly into his shirt.
"Well, yes, we have to have some restrictions," she said quietly. She would still want wards to keep certain people out, but others she would be glad to alter the ward structure to let come in -- like Tate.
The house was just what Lancelot though they needed. On the main floor was the large kitchen and living room, just farther down the hall. There was even access to the large library that was an addition since it was as tall as the house itself, undivided by the floors. Upstairs was where the bedrooms were, even another living space for the family if they wanted. There was even an office that one of them could take, or even convert one of the extra bedrooms into another office for whoever didn’t get the other office.
Where to start though was definitely a problem, and as Lance’s hand slipped into hers, he glanced towards the stairs. “Do you want to head up first? We can go to the master bedroom, see if you could see yourself in there.” He wanted to show her the library first, without a doubt. It had been what had gotten him interested in the house, that with the sun room. He knew it had to be last though, he wanted it to be the last thing they saw.
"From the top down, hm?" she said with a bit of a smile, her eyes a blue-green today that matched the dress she wore almost perfectly. She would welcome another large-ish house, if only because she liked having the extra space for things like music rooms and libraries. And guest rooms. She liked having guests.
"Lead on, love," she told him, and let him lead her up that way by the hand, her large fey eyes taking everything in as they passed it, trying to see if she could imagine herself and their little family living here. It seemed quite lovely though some of the decorating would have to be changed.
Lancelot heard that comment, the look that she gave him was met with a pair of perked brows and a wicked little smirk. “I usually prefer it that way.” He teased as he started to lead the way up the stairs and towards what would be the master bedroom. It was on the third floor to the right, at the end of the hall. It was the only room that was at that end, the other end held four bedrooms, two along each wall with a window at the end of the hall.
Not only was there a fireplace in the room, there was also a set of stairs that led to the balcony that their bed faced. Or rather, would face he thought. He rather liked the look of the room though he assumed that they could fix it up as they wanted. If she didn’t like it, they could literally tear it apart and start new. He wasn’t opposed to changing anything for her to liking.
“What do you think?” He asked as he walked her into the empty room, his eyes lifting to look towards the high ceilings. “The ceilings are high enough that we could put in some magical lighting, softer for at night.” When he wanted to romance her in their bedroom, “Just think, our bed could face the balcony and I could fill the room with beautiful fresh flowers from the garden. The dim lights, the flowers, some Dean Martin softly playing in the back… It’d be nice.” What was also nice that it had a master bathroom attached that had a tub. It was something he had wanted as well.
It took just a minute for Quin's brain to process what he meant, and she slowly turned bright, bright red, a hand automatically coming up to splay over the V of the neckline of her brightly coloured dress. She still, after all this time, wasn't used to being flirted with, but at the same time, she did kind of like that Lancelot said those kind of things sometimes... in private.
She'd probably die if he said them in public.
She pulled away from him so she could move to the center of the room -- and regain some of her composure -- and twirl in a circle, taking it all in slowly.
"You just want to romance me, Mister Cadwallader," she said softly, her cheeks still pink, but her quiet pleasure at the fact was evident to someone who knew her, at least.
Lancelot loved that look, the color that didn’t just stop at her cheeks. He flashed her a boyish smile, it clearly said he wasn’t sorry about being caught. He had gotten bolder lately, the more they were spending time together alone on the couch. He knew better than to make the comments in public though, he knew that she would be embarrassed if he thought to do so in front of friends. He was always on his best behavior when they were out, never letting her completely fade into the background.
“I will always just want to romance you, Ms. Sewell.” He hated calling her that last name, it wasn’t his fight to have though. She wore his ring, she knew that he wanted to marry her when she was ready. She just had to say the word. Though… Now he was curious, he bit his lower lip as he watched her a moment while she looked over the room.
“Have you given anymore thought to my promise?” He asked in a soft curious voice, his eyes nodding to the ring that was on her finger.
No, someday he would discover that her blushes could be all body things, and she was slowly easing into more physical comfort with him, in public and alone. She knew he was far more patient with her than she ever deserved, but she appreciate his willingness to let her have a lot of the control over their speed. She even, every once in a while, managed to say something daring and flirtatious back, even if she did tend to turn bright red just after.
She had no idea he disliked her last name or its connotations to him. She held absolutely no animosity towards her late husband and in fact missed him still in many ways. He had been a dear friend, a mentor, and someone she had shared life with. And more than being grateful for those things, she was grateful for the children he had given her.
Quin grew unaccountably shy again, ducking her head and unconsciously pressing her lips to the ring that was his upon her finger. "Of course I do," she whispered. "I think about it a lot."
When she said that she thought about it a lot, he felt his heart soar. He instantly assumed those thoughts were good, if she had been debating leaving him and not accepting that offer then he assumed they wouldn’t have moved in together, they wouldn’t be snogging on the couch after the children went to bed, and they wouldn’t be looking at buying a home together. This was good news, though he had to be careful how he chose to approach the subject and he knew it. He knew that she still held back some things, no matter how many times he told her that he wanted to know everything.
“What do you think about it?” He asked curiously as he reached his hand out for her. He wanted to tell her how he had been thinking about it all the time. How lovely she would look in a wedding gown, how beautiful Auri would look as flower girl, tossing petals at people as she danced up the aisle. He had given this far too much thought, he even knew who he thought she might ask to walk her down the asile. It was all so absurd since she hadn’t mentioned even wanting to be married yet. They had been promised to be engaged for a bit now, he assumed she would want a long engagement as well. He knew though that if she asked him to marry her tomorrow, he wouldn’t hesitate. He would have to find a place they could go, likely to the United States, but he would get it done.
Quin still had issues. She would likely always have them. She hadn't had a close friend until ZJ, who was several years younger than her, had gotten old enough to be one. She kept to herself a lot. Ambrose had actually taught her a fair amount about interpersonal communication. She hadn't met Genevieve until they'd been in France for a little while.
She'd always been criticized for asking too many questions and she's learned young to keep to herself or her actions would be even more criticized. So she learned not to ask permission unless she absolutely had to. So when it came to telling even someone she loved things, even her cousin, even Lancelot, she didn't always know how.
She went into his arms when he reached for her, ducking her head against his chest. "That I want it," she whispered directly into his chest. "Even If some people say I'm rushing." The words came out half amused and half appalled considering everyone else they knew. "And then you know Vieve is going to be married soon. And I wouldn't be surprised if ZJ and Hyperion for married before the end of the year either."
Lancelot knew she really worried about both of her friends. Felt that they might be the ones actually rushing into things. But She tried to support them as best she could.
"I don't want to take their spotlight," she added very quietly.
Lancelot grinned a bit as he felt her press against him, speaking to his chest. He didn’t mind, he was getting better at being able to hear her when she did this. His arms enveloped her in a hug, resting his own head on top of hers. “Who is to judge what is too fast?” Lancelot asked her curiously, “Your last husband you saw exactly how many times before you were married?” He kept his tone light, though whoever had said it was in hot water with him. He doubted he would find out who but he’d at least ask Quin’s cousin if it had been her mouth, he wouldn’t put it past the spunky lead singer.
“I don’t think it matters if everyone is getting married tomorrow,” Lancelot gave just a tiny shrug, “Every women gets their own spotlight. I bet they would be thrilled for you.” He turned his head to kiss the top of her head. “I love you, whenever you’re ready to celebrate our love with our family and friends? That’s the perfect time. It doesn’t matter what else is going on with whoever.”
He bit his lower lip, he wanted to pry more about who had said what but it wasn’t important. “If you feel that you’re ready, then we’re ready. Seeing as I’m part of this couple, I personally don’t think we are moving too fast at all.” While no, they may not have been intimate just yet but he knew her intimately. He knew things about her that he knew she didn’t share with the world. He thought that was a much better situation to be in, he had been in enough where he only knew the woman in bed and virtually nothing else about them. He liked doing things different with Quin.
Poor Lancelot. He had to get used to hearing her whisper into things. At least she was talking though. It was progress. But it was hard. It often went best when she was allowed to keep her face covered though.
She laughed a little weakly. "That's different. That was arranged." And this was something that had happened and she'd made many if the choices in it.
She shrugged a little uncomfortably. It was no one's fault but hers but she felt self conscious about it and with her upbringing especially it did feel rude. Besides he was a man, and possibly it meant he simply didn't consider such things like women did. Then again most brides cared very much.
She just nodded again faintly against his chest. Agreeing on the whole. But she still didn't want to step on toes. Or moments.
Lancelot had a few questions, he wanted to ask. He wanted to go about making his own plans, how he would propose. He already had the ring, tucked away in his drawer. He wanted to surprise her with it. He bit his lower lip as he thought about this, slowly swaying them to some beat that he only could hear. A usual for the couple since day one, he always had his own soundtrack going on for the day.
He finally came to a decision, he needed to ask her if she would be upset. “Will you allow me to propose? I won’t be doing so right away, I want to surprise you.” He wanted to give her that moment, that wonderful moment that all women dreamed of. He knew that maybe Quin had not dreamed of it, he was intending to go all out though. She deserved only the best.
“I want us to have our own moment, everyone else will get theirs. I would never propose at a wedding or something like that, so I promise that we won’t be stepping on any moments or toes.”
Her nerves were somewhat soothed by the sudden segue into a dance, something that happened with them more often than not. It was an especially endearing trait of his, to have them dance to no music, and she followed his lead easily, settling more calmly into his arms than she had a moment ago when she'd been a bit upset.
Quin bit her lower lip softly and then nodded slowly, not quite able to bring her eyes up to his. Too shy about the whole thing. She'd never had the proposal thing, though she'd always had the sense that Ambrose had regretted not asking her personally -- or perhaps her parents had interfered? She knew she didn't know the entire story there. But she'd not had that part of things in her previous marriage either.
"Yes. When you want to ask, you can ask," she whispered almost inaudibly, heart pounding a bit with fear and excitement and other contradictory emotions.
Lancelot leaned down when he heard her say something. He strained his ears he held her closer. He thought he heard yes, he wasn’t entirely sure that was what he had heard. He was going to take that for what he heard though, he was going to go about figuring out just what he wanted to do and putting his plans into motion. He was going to propose to her before the summer was up, he was hopeful that she wouldn’t mind that he was going to wait until after all of the weddings. Give Quin her own moment, separate from all of them.
“Should we start venturing farther into the house?” He asked her in barely a whisper, ignoring the subject for now since he knew that the only place to go from here would be to propose, he wasn’t going to propose just yet nor was he going to give away just what he had planned for that as well. He figured he could show her the rest of the house, all of the rooms that he thought their little family could use, and some of them that would be just for them. Her very own office to do what she wanted with, an area for her guests that might need help adjusting to life in London, whatever she wanted. If there happened to not be enough? Well, he had a woman for that. Dora might be out of commission for a while until she had the babies, but she would be back at by the time they would realize if they needed more rooms or not.
His change of subject was a relief and allowed her to get herself together a bit. She was a mess and she was just lucky he was willing to put up with her and all her issues. Her hand slipped shyly back into his and she stuck close to his side. "Yes. Let's look at the rest of it," she said softly, allowing him to ease them out of the room to explore the rest of the very nice house that she suspected might meet their needs just about perfectly.