Room 303, Sunday Morning

[bitch_prince]

Arthur did not awake to the feeling of having slept particularly well. His head wasn't pounding, which was a good sign, but his brain felt like it still wanted to seep out of his head into something nice and unconscious of the sweetest kind

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[newlances]

Gawain gave a long-suffering sigh, then rose up on his toes, and tried to restrain a bounce. "Run first? Or gymnastics?" Bounce. "There's a pool here, Mum said."

[bitch_prince]

"We can go for a run in another hour," Arthur said, shoving his pillow over the back of his head. "Sit down and be quiet."

[newlances]

Gawain flopped back into his blankets, groaning in disgust. At least there weren't any other kids here right now. He glared over at Leto's bed. Even if he was still there.

He managed to be quiet for all of five minutes before he had to ask, "How'd you hurt your arm?"

[bitch_prince]

Oh, the incessant questions. He'd missed those. Really.

"The castle was under siege by monsters, risen from the grave," Arthur told him. He was still trying not to think about this whole venture (and failing miserably). "One of them crushed my arm against the wall. It'll heal."

[newlances]

Gawain's head popped up at the foot of the bed, smile wide and brilliant. "Cooooooooooool. You and Mum fought them? Like with the harpies?" Then with relish he repeated, "Risen from the grave."

[bitch_prince]

"Yes," Arthur affirmed, and sort of turned his head on the pillow to shoot the boy a look. It was a sleepy one. "We-- fought them. I killed a great many before the battle was done. Will you settle down?"

[newlances]

Gawain shot him a smug look in return, and did settle down.

Five minutes later, very softly, but still in tune:

...and they killed the undead
and got hit in the head
and everyone said
Pendragon lead
and now it's
time for bed!

[bitch_prince]

Arthur was not going to groan. That was against his pride as Uther Pendragon's son. "How far along are you with your studies?" he asked, "Please don't tell me she's been including music as well."

[newlances]

The blond head popped up again. "That's just a side effect of hanging out with Aunt Helena at her bar sometimes when she gets bored." He leaned his elbows on the foot of the bed and said, "Swords and eskrima! And gymnastics so I can climb over everything. And school. I'm reading two grades ahead of where I should be," yes, he's a tad smug about that. "And computers with Aunt Barbara, only I have to be supervised now." So not fair. "And sometimes you take me to work and I learn things there."

Or rather, pester the hell out of every Wayne Enterprises employee in the building.

[bitch_prince]

Arthur would probably be somewhat self-satisfied about the amount of pestering he managed himself in that timeline, but as he didn't know, he wasn't.

"I take you," he repeated, "to work. Well, I suppose that's the best way to teach anyone anything." It didn't impact his sense of modesty, no. "And of course you're two-- grades-- ahead. You are a Pendragon."

[newlances]

"Yup," Gawain said complacently. Never mind what that stupid Arawn said about him not being a prince. Being a Pendragon was what counted. "You own the world. Well. All the important bits. Somebody has to run things with some competence."

That would be a direct quote, yes.

[bitch_prince]

Arthur did brave battle with some of that smug self-satisfaction previously mentioned. "As I've said, clearly I haven't lost my head," he said, propping himself up. "So it's been two years of sword practice? How much rubbish do I think you are at it?"

He said the last with a bit of an encouraging smile. He wasn't heartless or anything.

[newlances]

Gawain grinned back, way too used to this. "If I apply myself, and if I don't do anything too stuuuupid before I'm fully grown, I might make a decent swordsman, someday, God willing, but only if I stop trying to attack first, and not pick up any bad habits from people who like sticks better."

[bitch_prince]

"Staves are a decent weapon," Arthur mused, leaning back on his bed, "But they distinctly lack the grace and power of a sword. It'll be a miracle if she hasn't messed up your footwork yet."

[newlances]

"She says if you get me a concussion or a broken arm or kneecap myself I won't be allowed to learn at all, so we're going slow. Boooooring." Gavin flopped down at the foot of the bed, watching his younger dad. It was kinda funny, seeing him like this. No suits. No Blackberry. No employees. "She and Aunt Barbara teach me eskrima. Aunt Helena does the gymnastics. When you're not all fighting bad guys."

[bitch_prince]

"Oh, please, if anyone would get someone's arms broken, it'd be Dinah," he snorted, then raised his chin. There was something about this story. Something... off. "You're from New Gotham."