Yay! Another Update!
Huzzah, I decided since it's now the new year to have another update to the ongoing Peter/Caspian story (or saga, if you like). It's the 21st chapter OMG and it's still going. Anyhow, hope you folks enjoy it.
Title: The Lost King
Author: Meriadoc Brandybuck
Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama
Pairings: Peter/Caspian, Caspian/Peter, slight Caspian/Susan
Rating: Overall: 16+ This Chapter: PG-13 for mild cursing and sensual content
Word Count: 2,147
Summary: Ever since his return from Narnia, Peter has been getting into fights and feels lost in life. He wants to return to Narnia, but mostly, he wants to see the prince he fought alongside.
Chapter 21-Sorting Things Out
Susan was standing awestruck in the doorframe gaping at both men. Peter thought she was going to faint, but instead, she just continued to stare with an expression that surpassed all forms of surprise and astonishment. Susan was so shocked that words weren’t capable of forming through her muddled lips.
It was Caspian who finally broke the silence, quietly saying, “Susan.”
Susan leaned against the door as she swallowed, trying to make sense of what was going on before her.
Peter couldn’t have been more embarrassed, to have been caught kissing Caspian no less in front of his own sister who had kissed the same man less than a month ago. Time made it seem like it had been forever, but Peter knew that time in Narnia was completely different than time on Earth, so it was more like a year ago that it happened. Nevertheless, Peter felt like he had been doing something very naughty and his own sister was the witness. Typical.
“Susan?” Caspian said a little more concerned. She looked pale, paler than Peter at the moment. Then again, the eldest Pevensie was blushing profusely, trying to hide his face as best he could away from his sister.
Peter watched out of the corner of his eye as Caspian tried to help her stand up for Susan had somehow gotten herself into a slumped position on the ground. When he reached for her, however, she whapped his hand out of the way, saying, “Don’t touch me.”
Caspian was slightly alarmed at her behavior, but backed away. Peter was not surprised that she was acting like this. The way that the Pevensie family had been brought up was very particular and Susan liked things in order. If anything was out of order, she panicked and almost wasn’t sure what to do if she ever encountered it. Well, she was encountering it right now and Peter couldn’t speak.
Susan finally grabbed her bearings and stood to her full height. She looked from Caspian to Peter and back again. Then, in a low whisper, she said, “You two had better sort this out.”
She turned to leave the kitchen, but Peter stopped her. “Sort what out?”
Susan turned slowly and Peter knew the look she was giving him was one of pure danger. “Don’t fool with me, Peter. Don’t think I didn’t see what you were doing.”
Peter burned and suddenly felt his head throb. He would have liked to be anywhere but there at that moment in time. He wanted to go somewhere safe, away from anyone. Caspian was silent as well, not wanting Susan to snap at him again like she had most likely.
“I won’t ask about it. I just came here to…” she trailed off, regarding the mess at her feet. Peter met eyes with Caspian and gave a small nod indicating for him to help Susan with the tray. He picked it up quickly, and Peter quickly grabbed a washrag. The three of them were silent as they cleaned the mess up. Awkward silence followed in which Peter stood by the sink staring out the window, not wanting to look at Caspian nor Susan.
Peter heard Caspian sigh and instinctively turned in that direction. Caspian was sitting down in one of the chairs around the table and Susan was standing in the doorway, probably feeling more awkward than either man.
“Susan,” Peter said, catching her attention, “I’m sorry you had to see that. I know you probably didn’t wish to see it, but if you could do something for me, I promise-”
“No, Peter,” Susan said, “you know, I’m tired of doing stuff for you. From now on, just keep your own affairs to yourself. Don’t drag me into them!”
“Susan, I’m not asking for something large. Just…please, do not say a word of what you saw to anyone.”
Susan looked at him with desperate eyes, “Peter…are you…?” She let her sentence hang as she shook her head in an afterthought, “never mind.”
But Peter wasn’t so keen on letting the sentence hang on its own. “Am I what?”
He noticed that Caspian glanced in his direction. Peter was focused on his sister though. He wanted to know what she was going to say. She could say anything to him and it would not offend him because it would probably be true.
Susan hung her head and crossed her arms, almost as if in thought. Finally, she lifted her head to face her brother and said in a low voice, “Are you and Caspian…”
She did not need to finish her sentence because Peter understood what she was asking. He took his time, but eventually, he closed his eyes and nodded. When he opened them again, he saw Susan stare at him and shake her head in a revolted sort of fashion. She looked as if tears had started to form around her eyes as she left the kitchen.
There was a moment of silence after she had left in which Peter simply closed his eyes tightly, trying to see if he could somehow go back in time to when he and Caspian had started kissing to make it end quickly and not have to suffer through the embarrassment of it with Susan walking in on them. However, he knew just as well as Caspian did that Susan had seen them and it was not something she was likely to forget immediately. It was not until he felt a hand on his shoulder that his eyes sprung open and looked around to where Caspian was.
Caspian regarded him with a steady look that Peter was thankful for. He knew the prince wouldn’t speak to him about this. He didn’t need to. Words were pointless now. He needed his prince’s love more than anything.
Swallowing hard, Peter whispered, “Shall we go outside or stay in?”
Caspian rested his chin on Peter’s shoulder as he said, “I think staying in would be wise tonight, though it will be difficult.”
“Yes…” Peter thought hard of all the places there was in the house that his sister would never guess to look. Finally, he came up with one.
* * *
“What exactly is this room?” Caspian asked him once Peter decided on a destination.
“It’s a study.” Peter explained. “Mrs. Simmons uses it primarily-when she’s here, of course. However, she won’t be back until the day after tomorrow. So we have this entire room to ourselves.”
“Ah.” Caspian said, looking around. He knitted his eyebrows together as he said, “But Peter, there’s no bed.”
Peter gave him a look as he said, “Caspian, we never did it on a bed. We only did it on the grass.”
“Yes, and that was comfortable, but Peter…shouldn’t we just get some sleep to kind of think this over?”
“I don’t want to sleep. It’s Susan’s own fault for coming in on us like that. Had I known she was coming, I would have stopped her somehow, but dammit, Caspian, I can’t just run away from you. I need your love now more than ever.”
“Just because you were embarrassed to be seen with me?” Caspian questioned.
“That wasn’t the reason, Caspian. You know I was embarrassed to get caught by my own sister. I’m not abashed to be seen with you. On the contrary, I’m more than happy to be around you. It’s just…well, the others don’t seem to fully understand us. Susan must think we’re mad. She may try to have her way to getting rid of you sooner than I’d like as well because Susan has her way of doing things like that.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” Caspian asked sharply.
Peter hesitated as he leaned against the wall. “She may try to kick you out. I don’t know.”
“Why? Why would she do that to-?”
“Because she probably thinks that you’re the one who had initial feelings for me and she doesn’t like anything that she doesn’t understand. She will try to eliminate all evidence pointing to our love for each other.”
Caspian stood in the middle of the room awestruck. He clearly did not ever imagine the woman he fancied to be so cruel just because he loved her brother. Finally, after clearing his throat, Caspian said, “Well, what can we do then?”
“I’ll talk to Susan in the morning about it. But for now…I guess we just pretend like we were never seen.”
“Peter, how can I pretend like it never happened?” Caspian asked wearily. “I really loved her, Peter, and now she can’t stand the sight of me. Why? Because she saw me with you.”
“Are you saying that’s a bad thing?” Peter asked cautiously.
“Well, I’m not saying it’s the best way to find out information about a person. I mean…I really, truly loved her, Peter.”
Peter looked away from the prince as he muttered, “Yes, I know.”
“I guess I just don’t like the idea of her being mad at me.”
“You’re not the only one she’s mad at, Caspian.” Peter told him. “Just remember, I have to live with her. You’re at least eventually going to leave for Narnia again and when you do, then who knows what’ll happen to me. I may get the dirty look for years and that soft spot I feel for you will never go away as long as I am around Susan who will always appear like she knows information suitable enough for blackmailing purposes.”
“For what type of purposes?” Caspian asked.
“Never mind.” Peter sighed. “Still…until that time comes, we still need to figure out what to do.”
“About what?” Caspian asked.
“Well, I mean, are we going to keep it a secret still now that someone else already knows or are we going to tell everyone?”
Caspian stared at him. “Peter, we cannot tell anyone else. What will they think of us?”
“Oh, I see,” Peter retorted, “So instead of coming out with it, you’d rather we hide it even more now?”
Caspian gave an exasperated sigh as he cried, “You know what your problem is, Peter? You’re afraid. You’re afraid of what may happen and that’s why you don’t want to come out with it.”
That’s it. Peter lunged for the nearest object he could find, a trophy from the desk in the corner of the room, and held it up like a club.
“Peter?” Caspian sounded concerned as he saw the Pevensie wield the trophy.
“I’m not afraid to hurt you, Caspian. I will if you keep saying bollocks like that to me.”
“Peter, what has gotten into you?” Caspian asked seriously.
“How dare you say I’m afraid!” Peter thundered, swinging the trophy threateningly.
Caspian ran to the opposite corner of the room, away from Peter as he tried to be reasonable. “Peter, please, listen.”
“What?” Peter bellowed.
Caspian paused and Peter loosened his grip on the trophy, but still held his stance. He was not in the mood for anything at this point. He had had a very pleasant afternoon with Caspian and did not need to put up with any of this. He did not appreciate Caspian saying that he was afraid. He was more than ever the bravest of the lot. Admitting that he loved another man was a huge step for him. It may not have been for Caspian, but Peter was scared stiff of telling him. However, that did not make him any more afraid now of facing Susan. He was a man. He needed to let Caspian know that he was not afraid of anything.
“Peter…” Caspian breathed. “Please, lower the…um…whatever it is that you hold.”
Peter didn’t even bother explaining what it was he was holding. Caspian wouldn’t understand the concept, so he just let it go. He regarded Caspian with a firm expression and stuffed his hands in his pockets very casually as he mumbled, “Sorry.”
Caspian hesitated probably to make sure that Peter wouldn’t pick the trophy up again and attack him with it. Once he was sure he was safe, the prince made his way across the room and embraced the Pevensie.
“I’m sorry too,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to say that. It was rude of me to say such things to the once High King of Narnia.”
Peter gave a small laugh as he remembered all his adventures when he was once the High King. He almost missed it sometimes and wished he had never left Narnia. However, leaving it also made it possible for him to meet Caspian hundreds of years later in Narnia time. With that thought, he held Caspian in his arms and forgot that Susan was his main problem now. He forgot all about the rest of the world around him. He was in Caspian’s arms and that was the safest place for him to be at the moment.
A/N: Okay, so I expanded on this chapter cause I didn't want any complaints about the length like I had with the last one. So yes...I expect to have another update soon. It will at least be here within the next week or so. Hope you enjoy this for the new year, ^^
Previous Chapters
Title: The Lost King
Author: Meriadoc Brandybuck
Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama
Pairings: Peter/Caspian, Caspian/Peter, slight Caspian/Susan
Rating: Overall: 16+ This Chapter: PG-13 for mild cursing and sensual content
Word Count: 2,147
Summary: Ever since his return from Narnia, Peter has been getting into fights and feels lost in life. He wants to return to Narnia, but mostly, he wants to see the prince he fought alongside.
Chapter 21-Sorting Things Out
Susan was standing awestruck in the doorframe gaping at both men. Peter thought she was going to faint, but instead, she just continued to stare with an expression that surpassed all forms of surprise and astonishment. Susan was so shocked that words weren’t capable of forming through her muddled lips.
It was Caspian who finally broke the silence, quietly saying, “Susan.”
Susan leaned against the door as she swallowed, trying to make sense of what was going on before her.
Peter couldn’t have been more embarrassed, to have been caught kissing Caspian no less in front of his own sister who had kissed the same man less than a month ago. Time made it seem like it had been forever, but Peter knew that time in Narnia was completely different than time on Earth, so it was more like a year ago that it happened. Nevertheless, Peter felt like he had been doing something very naughty and his own sister was the witness. Typical.
“Susan?” Caspian said a little more concerned. She looked pale, paler than Peter at the moment. Then again, the eldest Pevensie was blushing profusely, trying to hide his face as best he could away from his sister.
Peter watched out of the corner of his eye as Caspian tried to help her stand up for Susan had somehow gotten herself into a slumped position on the ground. When he reached for her, however, she whapped his hand out of the way, saying, “Don’t touch me.”
Caspian was slightly alarmed at her behavior, but backed away. Peter was not surprised that she was acting like this. The way that the Pevensie family had been brought up was very particular and Susan liked things in order. If anything was out of order, she panicked and almost wasn’t sure what to do if she ever encountered it. Well, she was encountering it right now and Peter couldn’t speak.
Susan finally grabbed her bearings and stood to her full height. She looked from Caspian to Peter and back again. Then, in a low whisper, she said, “You two had better sort this out.”
She turned to leave the kitchen, but Peter stopped her. “Sort what out?”
Susan turned slowly and Peter knew the look she was giving him was one of pure danger. “Don’t fool with me, Peter. Don’t think I didn’t see what you were doing.”
Peter burned and suddenly felt his head throb. He would have liked to be anywhere but there at that moment in time. He wanted to go somewhere safe, away from anyone. Caspian was silent as well, not wanting Susan to snap at him again like she had most likely.
“I won’t ask about it. I just came here to…” she trailed off, regarding the mess at her feet. Peter met eyes with Caspian and gave a small nod indicating for him to help Susan with the tray. He picked it up quickly, and Peter quickly grabbed a washrag. The three of them were silent as they cleaned the mess up. Awkward silence followed in which Peter stood by the sink staring out the window, not wanting to look at Caspian nor Susan.
Peter heard Caspian sigh and instinctively turned in that direction. Caspian was sitting down in one of the chairs around the table and Susan was standing in the doorway, probably feeling more awkward than either man.
“Susan,” Peter said, catching her attention, “I’m sorry you had to see that. I know you probably didn’t wish to see it, but if you could do something for me, I promise-”
“No, Peter,” Susan said, “you know, I’m tired of doing stuff for you. From now on, just keep your own affairs to yourself. Don’t drag me into them!”
“Susan, I’m not asking for something large. Just…please, do not say a word of what you saw to anyone.”
Susan looked at him with desperate eyes, “Peter…are you…?” She let her sentence hang as she shook her head in an afterthought, “never mind.”
But Peter wasn’t so keen on letting the sentence hang on its own. “Am I what?”
He noticed that Caspian glanced in his direction. Peter was focused on his sister though. He wanted to know what she was going to say. She could say anything to him and it would not offend him because it would probably be true.
Susan hung her head and crossed her arms, almost as if in thought. Finally, she lifted her head to face her brother and said in a low voice, “Are you and Caspian…”
She did not need to finish her sentence because Peter understood what she was asking. He took his time, but eventually, he closed his eyes and nodded. When he opened them again, he saw Susan stare at him and shake her head in a revolted sort of fashion. She looked as if tears had started to form around her eyes as she left the kitchen.
There was a moment of silence after she had left in which Peter simply closed his eyes tightly, trying to see if he could somehow go back in time to when he and Caspian had started kissing to make it end quickly and not have to suffer through the embarrassment of it with Susan walking in on them. However, he knew just as well as Caspian did that Susan had seen them and it was not something she was likely to forget immediately. It was not until he felt a hand on his shoulder that his eyes sprung open and looked around to where Caspian was.
Caspian regarded him with a steady look that Peter was thankful for. He knew the prince wouldn’t speak to him about this. He didn’t need to. Words were pointless now. He needed his prince’s love more than anything.
Swallowing hard, Peter whispered, “Shall we go outside or stay in?”
Caspian rested his chin on Peter’s shoulder as he said, “I think staying in would be wise tonight, though it will be difficult.”
“Yes…” Peter thought hard of all the places there was in the house that his sister would never guess to look. Finally, he came up with one.
* * *
“What exactly is this room?” Caspian asked him once Peter decided on a destination.
“It’s a study.” Peter explained. “Mrs. Simmons uses it primarily-when she’s here, of course. However, she won’t be back until the day after tomorrow. So we have this entire room to ourselves.”
“Ah.” Caspian said, looking around. He knitted his eyebrows together as he said, “But Peter, there’s no bed.”
Peter gave him a look as he said, “Caspian, we never did it on a bed. We only did it on the grass.”
“Yes, and that was comfortable, but Peter…shouldn’t we just get some sleep to kind of think this over?”
“I don’t want to sleep. It’s Susan’s own fault for coming in on us like that. Had I known she was coming, I would have stopped her somehow, but dammit, Caspian, I can’t just run away from you. I need your love now more than ever.”
“Just because you were embarrassed to be seen with me?” Caspian questioned.
“That wasn’t the reason, Caspian. You know I was embarrassed to get caught by my own sister. I’m not abashed to be seen with you. On the contrary, I’m more than happy to be around you. It’s just…well, the others don’t seem to fully understand us. Susan must think we’re mad. She may try to have her way to getting rid of you sooner than I’d like as well because Susan has her way of doing things like that.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” Caspian asked sharply.
Peter hesitated as he leaned against the wall. “She may try to kick you out. I don’t know.”
“Why? Why would she do that to-?”
“Because she probably thinks that you’re the one who had initial feelings for me and she doesn’t like anything that she doesn’t understand. She will try to eliminate all evidence pointing to our love for each other.”
Caspian stood in the middle of the room awestruck. He clearly did not ever imagine the woman he fancied to be so cruel just because he loved her brother. Finally, after clearing his throat, Caspian said, “Well, what can we do then?”
“I’ll talk to Susan in the morning about it. But for now…I guess we just pretend like we were never seen.”
“Peter, how can I pretend like it never happened?” Caspian asked wearily. “I really loved her, Peter, and now she can’t stand the sight of me. Why? Because she saw me with you.”
“Are you saying that’s a bad thing?” Peter asked cautiously.
“Well, I’m not saying it’s the best way to find out information about a person. I mean…I really, truly loved her, Peter.”
Peter looked away from the prince as he muttered, “Yes, I know.”
“I guess I just don’t like the idea of her being mad at me.”
“You’re not the only one she’s mad at, Caspian.” Peter told him. “Just remember, I have to live with her. You’re at least eventually going to leave for Narnia again and when you do, then who knows what’ll happen to me. I may get the dirty look for years and that soft spot I feel for you will never go away as long as I am around Susan who will always appear like she knows information suitable enough for blackmailing purposes.”
“For what type of purposes?” Caspian asked.
“Never mind.” Peter sighed. “Still…until that time comes, we still need to figure out what to do.”
“About what?” Caspian asked.
“Well, I mean, are we going to keep it a secret still now that someone else already knows or are we going to tell everyone?”
Caspian stared at him. “Peter, we cannot tell anyone else. What will they think of us?”
“Oh, I see,” Peter retorted, “So instead of coming out with it, you’d rather we hide it even more now?”
Caspian gave an exasperated sigh as he cried, “You know what your problem is, Peter? You’re afraid. You’re afraid of what may happen and that’s why you don’t want to come out with it.”
That’s it. Peter lunged for the nearest object he could find, a trophy from the desk in the corner of the room, and held it up like a club.
“Peter?” Caspian sounded concerned as he saw the Pevensie wield the trophy.
“I’m not afraid to hurt you, Caspian. I will if you keep saying bollocks like that to me.”
“Peter, what has gotten into you?” Caspian asked seriously.
“How dare you say I’m afraid!” Peter thundered, swinging the trophy threateningly.
Caspian ran to the opposite corner of the room, away from Peter as he tried to be reasonable. “Peter, please, listen.”
“What?” Peter bellowed.
Caspian paused and Peter loosened his grip on the trophy, but still held his stance. He was not in the mood for anything at this point. He had had a very pleasant afternoon with Caspian and did not need to put up with any of this. He did not appreciate Caspian saying that he was afraid. He was more than ever the bravest of the lot. Admitting that he loved another man was a huge step for him. It may not have been for Caspian, but Peter was scared stiff of telling him. However, that did not make him any more afraid now of facing Susan. He was a man. He needed to let Caspian know that he was not afraid of anything.
“Peter…” Caspian breathed. “Please, lower the…um…whatever it is that you hold.”
Peter didn’t even bother explaining what it was he was holding. Caspian wouldn’t understand the concept, so he just let it go. He regarded Caspian with a firm expression and stuffed his hands in his pockets very casually as he mumbled, “Sorry.”
Caspian hesitated probably to make sure that Peter wouldn’t pick the trophy up again and attack him with it. Once he was sure he was safe, the prince made his way across the room and embraced the Pevensie.
“I’m sorry too,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to say that. It was rude of me to say such things to the once High King of Narnia.”
Peter gave a small laugh as he remembered all his adventures when he was once the High King. He almost missed it sometimes and wished he had never left Narnia. However, leaving it also made it possible for him to meet Caspian hundreds of years later in Narnia time. With that thought, he held Caspian in his arms and forgot that Susan was his main problem now. He forgot all about the rest of the world around him. He was in Caspian’s arms and that was the safest place for him to be at the moment.
A/N: Okay, so I expanded on this chapter cause I didn't want any complaints about the length like I had with the last one. So yes...I expect to have another update soon. It will at least be here within the next week or so. Hope you enjoy this for the new year, ^^
Previous Chapters