driftfleet | ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪɴᴅᴏᴡ, sᴡᴇᴇᴛ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ-ᴀɪʀ ( ᴏᴘᴇɴ )

[ they have all been cooped up for far too long. now, all the passengers seem like birds in their flight, running here and there, rushing between the seaside to the marketplace to the woods. margaery arches an eyebrow at his explanation and smiles brightly when he offers her one ]

they do have a way with manners here, do they not?

[ she dips her chin, a little bow to the men and holds onto the stick and when he takes a lick she takes a bite and laughs, barely managing her way between the fruit and the sticky sugar ]

Are you not meant to bite into it?

They have a way with personal space -

[ as in: they give you none of it. ah well. ]

I just got a personal rule about not biting into things if I'm not sure what they are.

[ he nods. it just seems like a good strategy when they're on another planet; it may look like earth cooking but for all they know it could've been wax. or. something he'd rather not think about! now though, that it's been ascertained as sugar, he takes a big bite and smiles. ]

What kinda sweets do you have in your home? Maybe we can find some!

Not a rule to be shared with me? Such gallantry.

[ she gives him a sharp little smile before resuming her walk, giving him a moment to catch up with her before answering his question ]

Cakes, as it happens. We had wonderful cakes in Highgarden, they'd use the fruit and honey to make them. There was this wonderful cake of apples and berries, that one was my favorite.

[ she takes another bite of her apple ]

However, this also pleases me.

[ he catches up, not missing a beat. ]

A wise and brave queen like yourself surely knows better than a lowly nerd like me.

[ plus this way she could've let him know if it's gross. ]

I bet we can find cakes around here! Actually, I met someone who bakes on the ships too - a baking pony. I'd promise I'm being serious but I'm not completely sure I wasn't hallucinating her myself -

I still do not know what a 'nerd' is.

[ sorry winn, she cannot accept what she doesn't understand. she looks at him, tilts her head and chuckles ]

A baking - pony? Are you sure you weren't intoxicated at the time? Some of the taverns do offer very strong drinks.

Me.

[ he nods, it's as simple an explanation as he can offer. ]

I'm - pretty sure I wasn't drunk. But with the terrible food we have on there, I don't absorb alcohol as well as I used to, so I could be wrong -

Someone kind and clever and giving? What a wonderful notion. Mayhaps my next husband shall prove to be exactly that, a nerd.

[ she makes a face and giggles ]

I do think I could make a good lady wife to one, do you not think? A kind, clever man, not a very common combination.

[ she winks, takes another small bite from her apple as they walk ]

Here they are - are they not lovely?

[ she points towards the little forest clearing, a field covered in simple wildflowers, she takes her boots off and hurries to sink into the grass ]

I would have kept them all, if I could.

Someone lesser than that has no business hanging around you, let alone marrying you.

[ he knows what she's doing there - time for a vigorous game of pass the compliment! she wants to build him up, and he wants to show her that she doesn't have to take any crap from anyone just because they were born with certain body parts. ]

You would make an amazing lady wife to whoever's lucky enough to get you. And I do hope he is a nerd - because a nerd would realize how lucky he is.

[ margaery deserves love in her life. all he ever hears her talk about is her duty. he knows it's naive of him, but he wants her next wedding to be for love, or at least - for love to play a part in it. there has to be a clever, kind, wonderful heir to a throne out there somewhere, right?

he smiles when they reach the clearing, and runs after her, flopping into the grass by her side, laughing and rolling in it. ]

This is great! Is it - like Highgarden? [ the beach reminds him of national city, so he knows how bitter sweet it can feel. it's his way of letting her know he knows - and he's there for her if she wants to talk about it. ]

A little like it.

[ all she thinks of here is highgarden. she can almost sense it, on the tips of her fingers, trace it in the smell of flower, in the soft breeze that seems to scatter petals here and there. ]

Careful.

[ she reaches a hand to steady him as he rolls and for a moment, he might see a flash of it, of the grand castle by a river of pale blue water, surrounded by fields of golden roses before she lies down, looks at the skies above ]

How I wish we would never leave this place.

[ he wasn't prepared for the sight, and his breath catches; it's like a fairytale. he wishes he could take her back, but to a highgarden that's safe, one she could stay in, not have to leave to marry man after man who only seem to care for her status, not her person. ]

Well, you know. It's a big universe out there. If we never leave, we may miss out on even better places.

[ that's never really been his philosophy; back home he was more than happy to stay in national city and only stray from it for college. but seeing how they have no choice but to leave this place, well...they may as well look at the glass half full, right? ] But, I got you a little something to remember this place by.

[ digging in his pocket, he pulls out the hair brooch he picked up with hank - a beautiful wooden white rose. ] I'm pretty sure that back home a white rose means friendship. Or maybe it was a yellow rose? Either way, let's pretend it's the white one. Or, we can paint the roses yellow -

[ he offers her a little smile along with the gift. ]

Can anything be better? I almost cannot imagine it.

[ surely there is little that can compare. for her, this must be the closest she can reach to what home has been like. Not King's Landing, not Renly's military encampment but Highgarden, the leisurely afternoons by the river, the ripe fruit, the flowers.

she rises to look at the trinket, smile softening. a rose. all we wear is damned roses, I could do with a change, her grandmother would say but Margaery takes it between slender fingers and gazes at the little details ]

No. I wish to keep it as it is.

[ she reaches back, twists the little braid she had tied in her hair and fastens it ]

Does it fit me?

[ she turns her head so he can look, all long brown locks dyed blue at the ends. there is the broach and twigs and petals from where she rested her head against the grass ]

Think of all the things we've already see and couldn't have imagined before we did - there's a whole universe out there full of things just as extraordinary.

[ and some of them have to be good. even if this game is rigged, it's clearly rigged to cut them some slack! it's not very interesting watching people stress out all day. ]

Yeah, it looks great. [ he smiles and pulls out the phone cisco gave him, and snaps a picture of her. any day, they can lose each other. he can't know if he'll get to keep this phone wherever else he may end up - or even here. but jut in case. and even if they manage to stay together - he wants to remember these happy days. they are, after all, the happiest days he's ever had. ]

What is that?

[ she peers closely at the phone, touching the screen and laughing when she sees her picture ]

Is that like the - box? the comm? it captures sound and movement this - captures - how would you call it? it is not a painting.

[ she tilts her head, starts picking flowers and twigs until her lap is filled with them and she is twisting them together ]

Do all people in your realm have one?

It's a smartphone, my friend Cisco made it for me. And yeah, I had one just like it back home, too. Here -

[ he turns on the camera ]

You press this button - and it'll capture the image you see on the screen. We call it a picture, or a photo. We can also capture video, like on the comms, and audio. You wanna give it a shot?

A photo?

[ she takes it between her hands, places down the flowers and peers at her surrounding through it for a long moment, smiling as she does. a photo. how quick! much quicker than a portrait, to be certain and far more accurate, like capturing something of a person or a scenery in your pocket.

she takes one of the field, the panoramic view of wildflowers under a blue sky and shows it to him ]

Like this?

[ it seems that when it comes to arts and crafts, Margaery tyrell has a knack to things ]

Exactly!

[ he's genuinely excited for her work. love of crafts is one of the things that brought them together, after all. and now he can blow it up and print it out for her, a memento to hang in her room when they're back to travelling through space. ]

That's really good. Here now come here - [ he leans close to her but doesn't touch, flipping to the front camera. ]

This is called a 'selfie' - it's when you take a picture of yourself. [ he smiles as he takes one of them both. ]

Selfie?

[ she chuckles. They have such odd names for things in this realm, she would have named it a self portrait of a sort but very well then, a selfie it must be. she peers at it, smiling - it is almost like a mirror of a sort and then there is a photo. ]

Those must be very well-loved, photos.

[ would that she had one of loras to carry with her. returning to her work on the flowers, she asks ]

Do you - have many of those? from this realm?

Ohhhh yeah. A little too well loved. [ death by selfie shouldn't be a real thing, and yet it's a headline that keeps popping up. but not here because he refuses to bring the mood down. ] I haven't taken a lot yet but - here -

[ opening the photo library, he demonstrates how to scrawl through it ] you can take a look.

[ the pictures are mostly of people - cisco, kara, kitty, and himself. he wants to get pictures of everyone, but he's only recently started documenting. ]

[ she is not truly surprised by what she sees. if she had one of those, what would they contain? those closest to her, certainly. sansa and lady riona and kara and himself. there is a matter here to be discussed but she pushes it away yet again. a bit more time before she voice out her worries. ]

She is beautiful.

[ she hands him back the phone, held on a picture of Kara ]

lovely beyond measure and very sweet, it captured her well.

[ he needs to get pictures of the rest of his friends still, starting with jim, but hopefully he has the time for that still.

he takes back his phone and smiles at the picture. ]

Kara can't take a bad picture.

[ he's so glad that their friendship came to such a good place now. a part of him realizes that he fell for her simply because - she was there, and she didn't ignore him. now he can honestly say that her having rejected him was a good thing. they're great as friends, but in his romantic life - he needs someone who's just as devoted as he is. ]

Are you ladies getting along? [ it makes him so happy - and so proud. bringing the two of them together may be his greatest accomplishment on the fleet. he knew they'd be good for each other. ]

She is very kind to me.

[ she nods. They have traded stories of their families and their worlds, of Kara's sister and Margaery's brothers. She had asked many questions and Margaery had asked many in return. Kara's gift was at how quick she was to assure, to tell Margaery she needn't answer if she does not wish to.

And Kara was a treasured friend to Winn. If she did not say anything of their friendship then maybe - ]

I wish to ask you something. It would sound odd - we are - almost like an odd little family, yes? Brought together by fate?

You can ask me anything, Margaery - and odd's kinda my forte.

[ he smiles encouragingly at her. ]

Yeah - yeah we are. Kara and I pretty big on the found families.

Good.

[ if he does not think ill of her, then it all that matters. What her audience and the hosts think, she cannot begin to tell but at the very least she did not tangle herself in something too complex.

She smiles and returns to her work on the flowers ]

That is all I need know.

[ he frowns a little, because that seems like an odd line of questioning, and an odder still place to drop it at. ]

What brought this on?

[ he can't imagine kara would have said something that would've made margaery doubt their friendship - but maybe someone else did? ]

I only wished to ask. I did not wish for you to have any doubts or thoughts of me being - untoward.

[ it's as subtle as she can make it ]

I would have felt simply terrible if you did. I would never try and - be untoward with any man already committed to a woman.

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