Hyde Park, Sunday Afternoon

[geoff_chaucer]

House had been called on another page to the hospital, except that this one actually appeared to be an emergency, so Geoff decided to take the time to do a little exploring. He'd told House not be concerned if he wasn't there when the doctor returned, and pulling on his coat headed out into town

Comments

[shane_mcc]

"Oh, man," Shane groans, doing her best to sound like a bratty, much put-upon sister. After a moment, she chuckles again, shoulder shaking. "Yeah, I guess I could drop Necro. I mean, Anita already sees me for Practical Magic three days a week, she's bound to be getting tired of me, by now."

[geoff_chaucer]

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I haven't even seen the school yet. They may not want me. Anyway...if I do teach a class, it'll probably be something informal, maybe something like the independent studies I did with Kiki and Phoebe. So...there's no need to drop anything. It's not like I have a schedule myself to worry about."

He slipped his arm around her shoulders and hugged. "You know what? I missed this. Just...walking and talking. I could always talk with you better than anyone else"

[shane_mcc]

"It'd have to be pretty informal, then," Shane says with a faint chuckle. "I'm in school, plus I'm apprenticing at this salon in the Tamarind district like almost every day and I'm gonna start volunteering at this runaway shelter on the weekends with Tara..."

"Yeah... me, too," she replies softly, smiling up at him. "I really missed you a lot."

Talking about Geoff with Susan, Shane had told her just how alike she and Geoff had always been. Talking about some things was usually easier for her with people she didn't know very well and when she talked about her feelings for Geoff - at least, she was pretty sure they were feelings - Susan had told her that if they were that much alike, then chances were slim that Geoff would push her away because that was something she, herself, wouldn't do. The talk had certainly helped to comfort and reassure her, but still hadn't done much in the way of convincing her that she should sa a word.

[geoff_chaucer]

"You do keep busy, don't you!" Geoff looks impressed. "Now I feel like a laze-about. Well...we'll just have to work the poetry around your schedule. Maybe I'll come down to your homeless and shelter and teach it there," he adds, grinning.

"We're going to have to plan to get together very soon and just...stay up all night, drinking beer and talking. Catch up on everything we've been missing."

[shane_mcc]

"You could do that," Shane agrees, returning the grin. "And it's -- it's not my shelter, it's... well, you remember M? I guess she went back to when she came from, but she's here now and it's been... five years since she'd seen me? I think I was a year older than her when we were going out and now she's four years older than me. So, uhh, yeah, it's her -- that's her baby, not mine."

"There's so much," she says with a sigh. "It's been four months for me and almost a year for you, but even just in four months there's been so much..."

[geoff_chaucer]

"I didn't mean it literally, that it belonged to you. But...if your heart is invested in it -- and I'll bet it is, or will be -- then it's 'yours'." He smiles, and raises his eyebrows at the mention of Rogue. "Yeah, I remember her. Another strange time thing, huh? How are you with that? With seeing her again, and her being older, I mean."

[shane_mcc]

Shane's lips twist pensively as she considers the question. "I don't know... weird?" She says finally, glancing up at him. "Really weird. I mean, it would be one thing if five years had passed for both of us? But when I ran into her here... for me, the last time we'd talked was about a week and a half before that and she was still sixteen, but for her, she'd had five years of... everything. Y'know?"

[geoff_chaucer]

Nodding, Geoff answers, "I'd bet it's strange for her, too. Are you doing all right, though? I mean...you're able to communicate, and work together I assume, since you're going to volunteer at the shelter."

He keeps his arm around Shane's shoulders and just walks quietly for a few minutes, thinking about what's been happening, for both of them.

[shane_mcc]

"Yeah, yeah... I mean, she -- she didn't know -- I didn't get a chance to tell her before we ... had to leave, about me and Tara and Kate, but when I ran into her, Tara was with me," she replies, worrying on her bottom lip. "She said she was happy for me."

[geoff_chaucer]

"I'm sure she is, Shane. If you saw something in her that you liked, then I know she's good-hearted. And...five years is a long time to try and carry hard feelings, if there were any to start with."

He thinks for a moment, searching for a topic that's not as volatile, and then grins. "Tell me more about Dexter."

[shane_mcc]

"Yeah, no, I -- I mean, it's not like I thought she ... would feel bad about it, it's just..." Shane trails off, shaking her head as she sighs. "I don't know. She said we were probably gonna implode, anyway, even if we had stayed together... so... I guess I did the right thing."

Shane grins as she laces her fingers with Geoff's. "Dex is so cool," she murmurs. "I know there's, like, that joke about all lesbian couples having cats, but I love him. He likes pouncing everything and he's always getting into stuff. Tara says he's an adventurer..."

[geoff_chaucer]

"Shane, you seem so happy with Tara, I'd say you definitely made the right move."

With an encouraging smile, he tilts his head to watch her talk about Dexter. "An adventurer, huh? Takes after you, then. I can't wait to meet him."

[shane_mcc]

"Yeah..." Shane's smile is impossibly soft and besotted as she ducks her head. "I'm so happy." After a moment, a thought seems to occur to her and she looks over at Geoff, blinking for a moment. "You're here, now! Shit. I -- you're here and... this is... oh, man, this is so perfect..."

Realizing that Geoff probably has no idea what she's talking about since he doesn't live in her head, she elaborates. "Uhh, Tara and I -- we've been talking about, umm... having a ... I mean, it's -- it's not a wedding ceremony or anything since it's not legal here, but... we were talking about sort of having a thing with... y'know, our family and everybody who's important to us . Tara called it a handfasting...?"

"He takes after me?" She asks, giving him a quizzical look as she chuckles.

[geoff_chaucer]

"Handfasting, sure. It's a committment ceremony, without a priest. I'd love to be there for one, Shane." Geoff beamed at the idea. "When do you think you'll be doing it? Do have someone to do the ceremony?"

It's possible he might be almost as excited about the idea as Shane is.

He chuckles at the confused look on her face. "Being an adventurer. Someone who isn't afraid to jump in and try new things, and can adjust to their surroundings no matter where they are. Like you."

[shane_mcc]

"I don't know," Shane replies, grinning from ear to ear. "We were talking about doing it outside, maybe at the park? So it would have to be warm out, since we're planning on doing it skyclad... at least the ceremony part, anyway."

"Oh," she says, sounding a little surprised by that, but not unpleased. She's never really thought of herself as much of an adventurer... then again, she usually doesn't think about herself, much, full-stop, so to hear Geoff describe her that way is ... interesting. "Huh. Yeah, I guess..."

[geoff_chaucer]

"Skyclad...does that mean what I think it means? And if it does, is this part where I'm supposed to be a responsible adult and discourage you from doing it, while appearing shocked and giving you a lecture on appropriate ladylike behavior?"

He gives his most convincing (well, okay, least convincing) 'I'm appalled!' expression.