(Untitled)

[lady_fitzwalter]

Who: Robin and Marian
When: The night of the party and the following morning
Where: The ballroom, then Marian's room
What: Robin ensures Marian gets back to her room. He's such a gentleman ;) (I kid, I kid)

Comments

[lordofsherwood]

Robin watched the dancers, trying to decide whether or not to ask Marian to give it another go. They had done quite well at first, and he would not make the mistake of trying to kiss her again... but he could hardly come out and put it that way, so he had not yet suggested a return to the dance floor

[lady_fitzwalter]

Managing to avoid all the obstacles that kept appearing in her way, like tables and people who really should have known better, Marian finally made it to the door. Once she was in the hall she took a deep breath. It had been suffocating in there. Robin had wanted too much from her too quickly, and she had not liked what he was trying. What was he thinking with that kiss? Almost kiss, she corrected herself. Because she hadn't even been able to enjoy it first to scold him about it later. And it would have been perfect. She could not recall any kiss from their youth that she had not thoroughly enjoyed.

She had only moved a few steps down the hall when she heard him call out to her. He sounded oddly concerned, though she was not sure why. Turning on the spot to face him, she realised too late that the whole process had been too fast, as she felt everything spin again, her knees wanting to buckle. Where was a wall when you needed it?

[lordofsherwood]

It was a good thing he was quick. Marian was not far ahead of him when he got into the hall, but still-- once a person began to fall, there was almost no time to react. Since he was nearly caught up to her and already in motion, Robin managed to catch her as her knees gave out. Swinging her up into his arms, he found his concern melting into warm amusement.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked, words which could have been reproving, but which were entirely affectionate, instead.

[lady_fitzwalter]

The annoyed sound at being lifted in to his arms was automatic. She could walk just fine on her own, thank you very much. And yet...and yet, his arms were so very warm, and his hold was so comforting in a strange way she could not put a name to.

"I was trying to go to bed, Robin put me down." She did not like that look on his face, and yet she did at the same time. Which was far too confusing at the moment. What was he doing to her? Actually, if she gave it any thought she was sure she could work that out. Patronising. That's what he was doing. Even so, her head had found a place on his shoulder, and the idea of moving was really rather taxing.

[lordofsherwood]

He was glad to see the change in her expression; she was beautiful no matter if she was cheerful, sad, or enraged; but he preferred her to be in a good mood. While it was fun to rile her once in awhile, and while he did like that she could give as well as she took in an argument, she really deserved to be happy. It was why he had arranged the dance, and it was why he was so pleased that, even though she had been brought here against her will, she liked the room she was given.

“I like it very much. I was just thinking how well it suits you.”

When she went after her shoes, doing more in the way of tipping around than unbuckling, he braced himself for a quick catch. He would offer to remove them, but she definitely would not accept that. Normally, he would not care, since she obviously needed the assistance; but he also had no intention of leaving when she was so unsteady, and could easily envision her pointing him to the door if he tried to help take them off.

((OOC: U2’s “The Sweetest Thing” came on iTunes as I started

[lady_fitzwalter]

"Really?" A smile crossed her face. "What a coincidence that is," she said in that same musing tone as her attention was once again focused on unbuckling the blasted, stubborn, infuriating shoe. It was no use. She could not get them off. They would just have to stay there.

Sitting upright in one movement did not do much good for her balance, and she ended up slipping forward and into him, attempting to brace herself with a hand on his shoulder. Her tone was serious when she spoke, in an effort to make light of what had just happened. "These shoes are more trouble than they are worth."

((OOC: Awwww XD XD))

[lordofsherwood]

Coincidence? Maybe, although they had always been more well-attuned than she allowed for. He smiled back. "Maybe."

Thank goodness he had been ready for her to tilt, because she went over fairly suddenly. She slumped on him, trying unsuccessfully to push off of him. He started laughing, although quietly, so as not to upset her. "No, they're worth the trouble. They look very nice on you." Very nice; he could not quite get over those straps around her ankles. Now that she really had lost her balance, she could no longer quibble with him over anything remotely proper. "Time to lay down," he announced, holding onto her as he got to his feet and knelt on the edge of the bed, going to scoot her back and onto the pillows.

[lady_fitzwalter]

She didn't bother responding to his compliment about the shoes, though a smile crossed her face. He could be very sweet when he wanted to be. She forgot that sometimes. His laughing, however, she had to make comment on. "Do not think I didn't hear that laughing. Because I did." She said it as though she was chastising him, but the affect was somewhat spoiled by the fact that she was still smiling, despite herself.

As he helped her move back, she didn't protest, knowing that it was futile, and that lying down was really where she wanted to be anyway. As she slumped back against the pillows, the end of the necklace slipped out from under her dress, the delicate cross and engagement ring standing out innocently against the floral pattern of her dress.

[lordofsherwood]

He could have kicked himself for saying anything, for not keeping his thoughts to himself, when the lovely mood began to dissipate. He was still not sure what to make of it all; since her engagement to Gisborne, she had appeared to just follow along with that plan. The only time she had demonstrated an aversion to the idea was right before she collapsed from having been stabbed. As soon as she was back at Knighton, it was a return to that mentality

[lady_fitzwalter]

Her eyes moved from his face to the button she was still toying with as she waited for any kind of response from him. She was a little worried that she had somehow bothered, or even angered him, enough that he would leave without another word.

With that particular thought in mind, to say that she was surprised when he apologised would be an understatement. At the statement which followed, her gaze remained on her hand as she considered the best way to respond. It had sounded as though it had been said in jest, and yet with Robin, one could never be completely sure. She was sure he knew the truth, and yet despite that, hearing it would no doubt do marvellous things for his ego. Well, if she did not say it now he would never leave her in peace to sleep.

"Are you deliberately so foolish? I would choose you." The button slipped free of the button hole beneath her fingers, almost as if to mock her with its timing.

[lordofsherwood]

Robin's renewed humor began to evaporate when she did not reply, instead continuing to play with his button. While it was a pleasant feeling, it was not what he was hoping for. About to backtrack once more, he was about to speak when she finally answered him-- and undid his jacket. There were actually two buttons, but he had not gotten around to fastening the bottom one; now, he was rather glad of that.

Trying not to imagine Marian following up with his vest and then his shirt, he reached over to tilt her chin up, to get her to meet his gaze. Her eyes were looking heavy, and served as an excellent reminder that she was not herself just now. Even though he sighed inwardly at that, even the knowledge that she would likely have never said any of this under normal circumstances, could not quash the cheerfulness her reply brought out in him.

"Any foolishness is completely inadvertent, I swear," he told her, with a wink.

[lady_fitzwalter]

"Sorry," Marian murmured quietly. "Sorry, I did not mean to do that." She lowered her hand, her fingers trailing over the buttons of his vest before she pulled it away completely. Undoing his jacket was not all she was sorry for. She would regret revealing that to him later. She should not have let him stay with her when she had such limited control of her inhibitions.

When he tilted her chin up, she did her best to avoid his gaze, looking over his shoulder at the couch, and the window. "I can not blame you. I suppose a fool can not help that he is a fool." She shifted on to her back once again, so that her chin was pulled free of his hold in the same action.

[lady_fitzwalter]

Once Robin had left, Marian lay there a little while longer. She thought that sleep might find her again, and knowing that could not hurt at the moment, was happy enough to let it. But after some time had passed, she realised it was futile. Very slowly, not wanting to give her stomach reason to rebel, she got out of bed, and moved toward the bathroom to shower

[lordofsherwood]

It was not until Robin got out of the shower that he realized he had left his jacket in Marian's room

[lady_fitzwalter]

"Hello," she replied in a similar, casual tone. "I found your jacket." With her free hand she lifted it from her arm, and passed it to him. She could hardly not mention the hairpin though, she realised. It was not exactly a secret that she had it in her hand.

"And this," she added, holding it up. "Robin..." She was not sure exactly what she wanted to say. She did not want to argue, and really, there was no reason for that to happen, if she remembered to tread carefully. And yet the question remained. "How did you get it?" Not where, because the answer to that question was clear enough to both of them. The other question, and one she would certainly ask, was why did he still have it?

[lordofsherwood]

With the same feeling he used to get when he found himself surrounded by thin ice on Locksley Pond in the winter, Robin accepted the garment. "Thank you," he said, using the same degree of caution with which he had greeted her.

And, there it was. He tried to keep his face impassive until he had a better idea of what her reaction was. Should he admit to this? The action in itself was fine, but as to why he had not returned it... well, she still had her betrothal ring, and did not remember the hair ribbon (and apparently had not found it or the letter, thank God). "I grabbed it as I ran off. I did not want the guard to have it to use against you." If this was going to turn into a discussion, the corridor was not the best place for it. Gesturing behind him, he said, "Why don't you come in?"

[lordofsherwood]

Any desire to play things safe, to make sure that he was not about to put her out or put himself too far out, vanished at the reminder of his words to her. He had come so very close to losing her that day, not only to Gisborne, but irrevocably losing her...

He had just intended not to say anything further on the matter, but found himself doing that very thing; it was for a reason, though. "Yes, I objected to what you did. You believe you had no choice, but there must have been one. After everything... I nearly died in the Holy Land. You nearly died in that cave-- you did die in that cave. Yet, we each survived, somehow. It could not have ended with you married to another-- not to the the man who would have killed us both.

"Not when we are supposed to be together." Making a slight gesture with his hand he said, "It has always been so obvious to me, ever since I found you still at Knighton." He had to grin at that memory. Finding her there had been such a perfect surprise, she could have shot him dead on her doorstep, and

[lady_fitzwalter]

Marian wanted to find a wall, and bang her head against it, or perhaps simply smack her forehead to her palm. Though with how much her head already ached, she resisted such temptations. She was not sure sometimes if he was deliberately so infuriating, or whether it came naturally. What she did know is that he seemed less able to discuss this than she was, at the moment.

"Just because something is obvious to you does not make it so to everyone else, Robin. That day you found me at Knighton, I had no choice but to send you away, even if, in part, that was what I did want to do," she admitted. "But none of that matters now." And she could not see why he continued to bring it up. Did he honestly feel the need to prove he had been right so strongly? "We are here, and we have that chance now, that time we were never given."

[lordofsherwood]

She was clearly frustrated with what he said, but he was beginning to get equally frustrated with her. He knew what she was trying to say; nobody could miss it. And yet, Marian continued to verbally dance around. Robin suspected that she was trying to get him to make the first move toward re-establishing their relationship, and normally he would not be opposed to that. She had stated without a doubt that she chose him, she had denounced her most recent fiancé (and she could do that for the next thirty years, and he would never tire of hearing it)... but there was something that she had not acknowledged, which she really should be aware of.

He tried and failed to keep a very satisfied smile from creeping across his face when he informed her, "You kissed me last night." It was an abrupt statement to drop into the conversation, but they were just talking in circles, anyway.

[lady_fitzwalter]

She watched him closely, looking for any kind of reaction, waiting for any sort of response. She almost got the impression that he was looking for her to say or do something else, on top of what she had already said. Part of her rebelled against that. Why should she be the one to say something else, when he had barely said one thing yet? Stupidly stubborn man that he was, he probably hadn't even considered that.

When he did speak, it was not at all what she had expected, and she wanted nothing more than to wipe that self satisfied smirk from his face. In fact, she might just be able to, she figured. "Yes," she returned his smile with an innocently sweet one of her own. "I remember."