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

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.

Un - [ deeply sorry about that look of horror there margaery, it's nothing personal, he thinks you're wonderful, and if he were 16 - he would be madly in love with you. ]

What? Wh-why would I think that? Margaery - I think of you like a younger sister. Much. Younger sister. Very. Age inappropriate family member. [ so very age inappropriate. ] If I ever gave you the wrong idea I am so very sorry it's completely unintentional and please tell me what behavior I should be fixing right now.

[ because he already feels terrible at her having that idea in her head. he tries so hard not to look anywhere he shouldn't be looking!

kara is going to kill him. kitty is going to kill him. he's dead. please make sure he's buried with jim's note. ]

You've done nothing. Truly, there is naught to change, please - I would be heartbroken if you will be upset on my behalf.

[ she forsakes her work again, places her hands in her lap ]

It is not because of you that I have asked. Now I have my answer and it would please me to put this matted aside.

[ he breathes a little easier at the reassurance but he still can't quite let it go because if he didn't do this - then someone else did. ]

Okay - but if you wanna talk about it - I'm here for you. And it could've been just a miscommunication, or a tease gone wrong. No one could ever see you as untoward - you're the classiest lady I've ever met.

[ and people seem to find it amusing to make jokes about him and his friends. he and cisco can handle it, but don't drag his little sister into your mess. ]

It was my fault, not your own.

[ and while she feels she was on the right, she also feels as if she were too proud, too shielded and too unforgiving. ]

I said - no, I lamented my lack of an escort here, to introduce me to others, especially the man and it was brought to my attention that I spent quite some time with you un-escorted while voicing no such complaints.

[ oh there is no way around it, he would have solved this riddle by now ]

She mislikes me, I reckon. There is much I do not speak about that others told her of. Joffrey being cruel - my time alone with you. She said to be honest - I am sorry. I never meant to cause you such trouble. I never meant for anyone to think I might have a grand scheme here. You are my friend, nearly my kin. I am - perhaps much too affectionate - you do remind me of Willas. Silly of me, to forget myself like this.

[ he frowns as she talks, trying to understand. it's not until she mentions causing him trouble, though, that the ball finally drops. kitty? of all people - kitty? he can't quite accept it, even though her crusades for honesty are something he knows all too well. but he's her boyfriend - margaery is a 16 year old girl who's been through hell. surely she sees a difference between what's owed to her by him, and by margaery? and untoward? could she really think that? he keeps telling her how their age gap sometimes make him feel like a creep...is that it? did he do this? he didn't mean because he's attracted to the 16 year old - if he were he would never hang out with her! he wouldn't feel like a creep then - he'd be a creep!

wait. ok. no. talk to kitty later, take care of margaery now. ]

Margaery listen to me - you've done nothing wrong and you didn't cause me any trouble. You can meet with whoever you feel comfortable meeting however you feel comfortable meeting them. You and I - we're family. And for - a lotta people - [ he goes for a smile, despite how much that little truth hurts ] I don't even count as a man. [ because he sews, he embroiders, he talks about feelings, and while he's now started to get more athletic with kirk - he still kinda hates sports. ] Look - we all...we have our issues. Sometimes we let them beat us, let them determine how we behave instead of our good sense. Kitty, she...has some of those with honesty, but that doesn't make them your problem. I'll talk to her - ok? I promise. It'll be fine. I'm sure it's all just a misunderstanding. [ he knows how important trust is to kitty, but surely you can trust a person without picking apart their life story? margaery's 16. 16, and away from everything and everyone she knows and loves. he knows kitty knows that feeling. it's just that margaery isn't like to explain herself, and it must have caused some miscommunication. it'll be ok. it will. he has to believe it. kitty is a good, loving person. margaery is a good, loving person. if both of them can love him - surely they can love each other. let's face it, he's the challenge in this triangle. ]

Hey, have you seen what happens when you give a hug around here? [ he opens his arms, inviting her in to feel how protective of her he is, how much he cares, how certain he is that this will work out because both her and kitty are great people and - most of all - that he doesn't blame her, not for a second. ok, she may also get a sense of anger there, because as understanding as he wants to be, he can't help but be angry that this happened and if kitty really did think there was something between them - angry that she didn't trust him. didn't come to him about it, instead of to margaery. it's like how she was so harsh with cisco instead of just telling winn that she's feeling left out. she always tells him he has to be honest with her, she can't be with him otherwise. shouldn't it go both ways? ]

Edited 2016-06-28 11:32 (UTC)

No - no do not. It will only cause more trouble and entirely on my behalf. It was silly of me to assume that with so many here from Westeros, that the truth of Joffrey could remain a secret. I was - the one who told everyone how wonderful he was in thought that I could keep the matter under my own control.

[ in the case that joffrey shall ever find his way here, or any Lannister lion aside of Tyrion ]

Please, do not be cross. I was the one who spoke harshly.

[ out of pride and out of a sheer will to keep the matter of joffrey a secret, to keep herself safe. still, mayhaps there was more room for diplomacy than for the steely scolding she has given. she does not wish for the foundation of this friendship to crack, after all ]

I thought - it was about you, mayhaps it was about me. She said I was not truthful, she was right. Only - I cannot explain it. The truth is not something given easily in my realm, if it is ever given. Joffrey is still my husband to be if he comes here. It shall be a disaster, I knew as much. I acted wrongly trying to control it the way I did. Telling everyone how wonderful he is when the entire realm calls him a monster.

[ but being left here to Joffrey's mercy, even the potential of it - it is not something she can tolerate. Better have them all mistrust her than Joffrey's anger. ]

Please do not be cross with her. It will only make this worse.

[ it was a foolish mistake to make, one born out of a woman being cornered and trying to work her way out as gracefully as she could. What would her grandma say? would she do it all differently?

she leans in, can see the difference between what she feels due to the contact, what comes from him than what she herself is feeling. ]

I know.

[ it's said gravely, he might pick up on the why as what she will channel is entirely joffrey, golden haired and handsome but otherwise cruel to the bone. Margaery, please will ring through both their heads, a voice of a girl that Margaery will know is Sansa. you mustn’t. You mustn’t marry him. He’s not like he seems, he’s not. He’ll hurt you.

and here, here he might. beneath the steely calculation of how to best assure herself and her house, there is a twinge of something she dares not show. uncertainty and fear. ]

Politics are a game but Joffrey - he cares little for politics. he cares little for diplomacy and - if we are ever alone here and he thinks I betrayed him, he will cut me apart like a man does an apple.

[ that, in the end, that is truth. ]

Westeros is a realm of power. A wrong step, small as it may be and entire houses can be put to the sword. Yet - I regret that in keeping myself safe I seemed to have brought you trouble.

We have a name for what you're doing right now, in my world. It's called 'victim blaming' and it's wrong - Margaery this is not your fault, ok? None of it is. You did nothing wrong - we're all from different cultures here, of course we're gonna have some clashes, and you're doing so well with adjusting to it all. You have every right to choose when, where, what, and who you talk about which parts of your life with.

[ he's sure kitty doesn't expect him to announce to every person he meets that he's the son of a murderer. oh god no, he does not need his head going there, not when it might slip through to margaery. to her, he wants to be a rock, someone she can depend on, someone she doesn't have to worry about or spare. of everyone he's met here - margaery and sascha are the people he most wants to keep away from his past, from his fears, from his ugliness. he feels protective of her, and now more than ever, when he can feel her fears slipping through her front.

the memories, the feelings - they're overwhelming, and it takes all his years of repressing tears to bite them down now. he's angry - furious that this guy would put her through this, and that she's forced to relive it now. ]

Listen to me - you are no trouble. You will never be trouble to me, ok? You're my friend, and I love you like family. And what you're feeling - Margaery it's completely legitimate. You're just trying to survive, I understand that. Kitty would too, I'm sure whatever happened there was a misunderstanding and we can straighten it out. If he ever shows up here - it wouldn't matter that he doesn't care for politics, because neither would we. We care about keeping you safe - Kara, me, and Kitty too, she'll be in your corner. [ his faith in kitty comes through loud and clear; kitty is a hero. even if, for whatever reason, she an margaery would come to hate each other - which he honestly believes could never happen, they're both so wonderful - he truly believes she'll still do the right thing, still protect her, because that's what heroes do. ]

And a lot of other people will, too. You don't have to worry about me, not about this, not about anything. I'm here for you. I want you to do what's best for you, not for me. You've been putting other people before yourself for way too long. But -- I do think you need to talk about this. With someone you trust. Because it's hurting you to bottle it all up, and the longer you repress it, the worse the explosion will be. [ he lets go of the embrace the moment the image of his dad - as he was dragged off to jail - pops into his mind. that deranged man who was shoved into a squad car had nothing in common with the loving man who took him to his workshop and taught him how to work with his hands, build cool toys.

it will kill him to see it happening to margaery. ]

This isn't Westeros, and it's not National City. None of our rules apply, but that means his won't either. You know what's a king with no army, no followers? A brat with a tantrum.

Trust?

[ she breathes. there is only one she truly, entirely trust and that's sansa, sweet sansa stark who promised her house will stand by her and margaery believes her, she believes in robb stark but the starks may disappear on the morrow, some returning to deaths, others to hidden corners in the world.

and Margaery will remain with the understanding that this game might already be lose to her, that two dragons, a king and a queen to be, are a force joffrey or tommen would not be able to handle.

that she might yet lose and if she loses, what shall happen to house tyrell the day the dragons find out they have been siding with the lions of Lannister?

if they lose, she loses her life. her houses loses everything. ]

-- of course.

[ she smiles, reaches back for her flowers, for the work. there is still time, time to try and change things before it's entirely too late. perhaps it is now time to make herself more acquainted with the dragon queen so that she is not burned when the day comes.

she has to believe it can matter. for her house. ]

Yes, he will probably look like that and Robb Stark does despise him terribly, all Starks do, I am certain they would not let him harm a soul. I am simply being silly, goodness, what you must think of me! and I was looking forward for such a pretty, sweet day. This is not the sort of day for troubles or worries.

[ her fingers work tirelessly on the flower crown ]

It shall all be alright. With some luck, the Gods will hear my prayers and send me Loras so I could introduce him to everyone. They say we look quite alike, myself and him. He would have loved to climb up the mountains here and ride by the seaside. Whenever I watched him ride, he would always give me a flower, naming me his favorite lady and I had no knight that I have loved more, none by far.

[ a pain deep inside his soul forms when she writes her worries off like that. maybe he's playing it wrong. trust is, after all, a two way street. maybe it's not strength she needs - but someone who can understand weakness. but selfishly, pettily - he doesn't want to change his game.

he sighs. ]

You're not silly, not even a little bit, and you don't have to smile for me - I know that trick, I am that trick. [ conceal, don't feel is how he's tried to live his life for the longest time. he still does it now, except now he knows it's wrong. he's trying to do better. ]

I know what it feels like, to be afraid of someone. I know what it feels like - to have no one understand. I want to understand, I want to be there for you. I don't mean to belittle your experiences - I can't imagine how difficult it must be to live on this delicate balance between trying to make things better and not evoking this monstrous rage - I wouldn't have a clue how to do that. I think you're an amazing person, strong, and smart, and wonderful. But I just - you know, this place is so different from your home. In a lot of ways it sucks - I know you miss your family and it has to be so confusing, the way some of us talk and behave - but in a lot of ways it's good. Because we're all on equal footing. There won't be any king here. You're safe here. And if - if you want - I know you have your family and your people and you want to make it better for them and I admire that but - when we find our way back, if you want to...you're always welcome to go with me and Kara.

I do not think you belittle me, not at all. There are certain truths of Westeros known only to those who have lived there and I would not wish these sort of truths on anyone else, they're a terrible burden. You are already far too concerned for my sake as it is.

[ she has to smile a little ]

It is very sweet. I must return home, however, to see this through, whatever it may bring. Either a grand victory or a grand downfall, we all take these risks, I have no right not to stand by my house when it is all decided.

[ she offers him one of the flowers ]

Mayhaps I will visit more, as long as I am here. I have never been to the Tourist, I would like to.

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