( like the sun peeking out from behind a could, paul smiles, immediately relieved. not that alina doesn't casually say an intensely sad thing — but at least she's talking to him, presumably not too mad to stomach his presence. happily, he offers paulican his marble fingers to peck at. )
It won't go forgotten again.
( paul has a computer for a brain, mostly. it's not just a promise — it's a guarantee.
in any case, he offers her a soft look, leaning in to affectionately butt their foreheads together, a very fremen motion. )
You'll like it. After you get married you're supposed to go on a long vacation called a honeymoon, where you travel around and eat a lot of food, and basically just get spoiled for a few weeks after your wedding. Since we didn't have one, and since I can't take you out of this place, I thought we'd honeymoon in here. Well — ( he clears in throat ) not in here. I thought we could go see the zoo, if you wanted. And after that, we can go pet and ride the horses outside, though we'll need to bundle up for it, since it's cold. Those are just ideas though — really, we can do whatever you like as long as we're together, and are working towards disgusting everyone nearby with our love.
( she squints a little — which, combined with paul's closeness, only accomplishes alina going ridiculously cross-eyed with skepticism. not even ravka's golden royalty could afford such a luxury, with a war on their soil — and nikolai's father pissing away their coffers, with all the gracelessness of emptying his bladder. her answering twinkle of laughter accordingly says funny joke, i nearly fell for it, half-forgetting the beginnings of paul's life were spent in water-logged luxury, and not the barrenness of arrakis' dunes. )
Weeks? You're pulling my leg. ( punishingly, she nips at his nose. that's the pitfall of paul's presence — for all that her mood has been a rainy cloud in the past week, shifting from depressingly cloudy to ominously stormy again, she can't batter herself against him for long. ) That's better than what I was going to suggest.
( because alina's problem-solving skills and scope of imagination, where celebrations in her honor, are limited to simple comforts and simple solutions no better than slapping a bandaid on an amputated limb. namely: )
I was going to say we could hide in the shelves and kiss for hours. ( mischievously, ) Or run off and build an ugly hut in the forest, where no one can ever bother us. But I think I'd like to see the animals and go riding with you, too. As your wife, you'll have to let me win at racing you.
( weeks, yes, generally as dictated by visiting all the grand houses, to receive their well wishes, and explore their planets. weeks at the minimum, really, though there's no knowing if alina would actually like the pomp and circumstance of it. for paul, it's less about enjoying, and more about the way things have always been — surrounded by the wastefulness of ceremony, a particular thorn in his father's side.
in any case, as ever, alina does actually have the better idea. paul brightens. )
I'm sure there will be a misplaced hour or two. ( he steals quick, tactical kiss ) Or three. ( and kisses her again, longing and lingering, flattening his hand on kettlewing's wide body to make sure he doesn't slip. ) We can make time for it all. Alina's birthday week, I say. And — as my wife, you'll have to prove your ability to ride.
( yes, he'll let her win. though, on that thought — )
( her lips stumble, uncharacteristically clumsy. she hasn't forgotten how to love paul — it's as natural a movement as drawing breath into her lungs, as placing one foot in front of the other — but there's a surprise to it, all the same, to find that he still wants to kiss here as she is. thorns and teeth and the jagged edge of a broken glass, compared to the soft delicateness of his mouth.
it leaves her fumble toward him, a sunflower stretched toward the sky, even as he speaks. kettlewing gives a predictable squawk when she has to right herself and resettle, annoyed by all of the jostling movement on the cradle of her hip. )
I — ( a shamed flush flowers across one cheek, then vines to the other, a fertile shade of pink. alina's eyebrows knit together, girlishly embarrassed. it doesn't abate, for good reason — paul was likely born with a mare under him, the well-bred duke — it's only natural to ask the peasant girl if she's ever done more to travel than march around in first army muck. ) A few times. My former teacher at the Little Palace liked to ride. It might've been the only thing he liked.
( aside from power. something shrivels to ash in alina's mouth, trailing off. teacher sounds too illustrious, for all that aleksander had taught her all the wrong lessons. alina clears her throat. )
Unless this an excuse because you want me to hold onto you. Then I've definitely never ridden a day in my life before.
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It won't go forgotten again.
( paul has a computer for a brain, mostly. it's not just a promise — it's a guarantee.
in any case, he offers her a soft look, leaning in to affectionately butt their foreheads together, a very fremen motion. )
You'll like it. After you get married you're supposed to go on a long vacation called a honeymoon, where you travel around and eat a lot of food, and basically just get spoiled for a few weeks after your wedding. Since we didn't have one, and since I can't take you out of this place, I thought we'd honeymoon in here. Well — ( he clears in throat ) not in here. I thought we could go see the zoo, if you wanted. And after that, we can go pet and ride the horses outside, though we'll need to bundle up for it, since it's cold. Those are just ideas though — really, we can do whatever you like as long as we're together, and are working towards disgusting everyone nearby with our love.
no subject
Weeks? You're pulling my leg. ( punishingly, she nips at his nose. that's the pitfall of paul's presence — for all that her mood has been a rainy cloud in the past week, shifting from depressingly cloudy to ominously stormy again, she can't batter herself against him for long. ) That's better than what I was going to suggest.
( because alina's problem-solving skills and scope of imagination, where celebrations in her honor, are limited to simple comforts and simple solutions no better than slapping a bandaid on an amputated limb. namely: )
I was going to say we could hide in the shelves and kiss for hours. ( mischievously, ) Or run off and build an ugly hut in the forest, where no one can ever bother us. But I think I'd like to see the animals and go riding with you, too. As your wife, you'll have to let me win at racing you.
no subject
in any case, as ever, alina does actually have the better idea. paul brightens. )
I'm sure there will be a misplaced hour or two. ( he steals quick, tactical kiss ) Or three. ( and kisses her again, longing and lingering, flattening his hand on kettlewing's wide body to make sure he doesn't slip. ) We can make time for it all. Alina's birthday week, I say. And — as my wife, you'll have to prove your ability to ride.
( yes, he'll let her win. though, on that thought — )
Actually, have you ridden a horse before?
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it leaves her fumble toward him, a sunflower stretched toward the sky, even as he speaks. kettlewing gives a predictable squawk when she has to right herself and resettle, annoyed by all of the jostling movement on the cradle of her hip. )
I — ( a shamed flush flowers across one cheek, then vines to the other, a fertile shade of pink. alina's eyebrows knit together, girlishly embarrassed. it doesn't abate, for good reason — paul was likely born with a mare under him, the well-bred duke — it's only natural to ask the peasant girl if she's ever done more to travel than march around in first army muck. ) A few times. My former teacher at the Little Palace liked to ride. It might've been the only thing he liked.
( aside from power. something shrivels to ash in alina's mouth, trailing off. teacher sounds too illustrious, for all that aleksander had taught her all the wrong lessons. alina clears her throat. )
Unless this an excuse because you want me to hold onto you. Then I've definitely never ridden a day in my life before.