narnia au;

[illuminescent]

how did you get here? through a wardrobe, or through death, or maybe a portal gone terribly astray. a ring. the roar of a lion. in the bottom of a cup. because you were looking for something, or missing something. no matter how you got there, this is where you belong.

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[illuminescent]

[She runs her hands through his curls, and scrubs them clean.]

Lovely.

[She kisses him.]

I hear that tomorrow, we will be married.

[curlytop]

[He laughs and leans toward her touches.]

I've heard that as well.

[It occurs to him that he doesn't know how they do weddings in Telmar.]

At home, it's bad luck for the groom to see his bride before the wedding.

[illuminescent]

[She sits back just a little, just enough.]

Do you mean to tell me you wish to be blindfolded?

I will not leave your side, you know. You have a duty to protect me.

[That's not why she won't leave his side.]

[curlytop]

[George won't leave her side either. He smiles and kisses her.]

It would be difficult to get through the morning blindfolded, but I could probably manage.

Mostly...I wondered what weddings are like here.

[He saw a few in Calormen, but he knows they'll be different here.]

[illuminescent]

Oh.

[She thinks about it a moment.]

In Narnia, they would cover me in flowers, and Peter would marry us. We would be married under a canopy of trees. We would dance, afterwards, and there would be a feast, and cake. They would give us so many gifts, but we would give them all away to anyone who asked for them.

[She considers a moment.]

I do not know, in Telmar.

[curlytop]

[George watches her as she describes a Narnian wedding, wondering if she regrets that she won't have that. He regrets not being able to give it to her.]

Then we'll find out together.

[He smiles gently and takes her hand.]

Shadowhunters mark each other. Permanent runes for marriage, one on the hand, one over the heart. [He presses her hand to his heart.] I don't know what the runes look like, though.

[illuminescent]

[She considers that.]

We could mark each other. A tattoo. It would not be the same, but over my heart, here.

[Higher up on her chest, and then on his. The lion that is spread over George's chest would sit just over any mark.]

Or I could get you a ring.

[curlytop]

A ring?

[He smiles.]

They do that at home as well. That's what my mum and dad did...

[On occasion, the realization that he will never see his family again--never introduce them to Lucy, not have any of them at his wedding--hits him, sudden and hard. He sucks in a breath and lowers his head, brow furrowing.

His voice is a little rough.] Rings would be good.

[illuminescent]

[Oh.

Oh no.

Lucy rocks her hands through his hair, then, and presses a kiss against his cheek.]

My love, what is it?

[He was happy a moment ago.]

[curlytop]

[He closes his eyes so the tears gathering won't actually fall.]

It's nothing-- [he starts, but he frowns and shakes his head] I always thought, when I got married, I'd have my family there, my friends.

[He's quiet a moment, not trusting his voice. Then he clears his throat.]

I miss them. Sometimes.

[illuminescent]

You are allowed to miss them.

[She reaches up to kiss him on the cheeks.]

If my family were not with me, I think I would be not half as brave as you.

[curlytop]

[He closes his eyes and exhales as she kisses him.]

It's not bravery.

[He's not sure what it is, really. Just survival, he supposes. What choice did he have but to keep going?]

[illuminescent]

To fall in love? To be kind, and loyal, and good, instead of give into a baser desire?

To allow yourself to be happy?

That is the highest order of bravery.

[curlytop]

I don't know that I did any of those things until I met you, mo chridhe.

[He touches her cheek and smiles.]

Anyhow, which of us is the Valiant, eh?

[illuminescent]

You make me braver.

[She beams at him.]

You would make me a lioness.

[curlytop]

[He laughs and kisses her.]

You are already a lioness, Lucy, my love.

[illuminescent]

Well.

Perhaps.

[She kisses him again, and gets up. The water is starting to chill, and she reaches for a cloth to dry off, to dry her hair.]

But you make me braver, just the same.

[curlytop]

[George stays in the water just a moment longer to watch her.]

Then we make a good pair.

[Getting up slowly, he steps out of the tub and stretches luxuriously. He reaches for her as she starts to dry her hair, curling an arm around her waist and pulling her to him.]

We make each other better.

[illuminescent]

[She gets close to him, and looks up at him, and beams. And she reaches for him to help him try his own hair, his curls tangling a little as she dries.]

We do.

That is why I will never give you away.

[curlytop]

[He bends to help her reach and laughs.]

Nor I you.

[He pulls back so he can work his fingers through his curls to separate them.]

Do you remember what I told you before about parabatai? They say it's like that for parabatai as well. They make each other better, draw on each other's strength.

[illuminescent]

Are you asking me to be your parabatai?

[She doesn't even know if it's possible. She doesn't fully understand the word, either.]

[curlytop]

No.

[He laughs and moves to sit on the bed.]

No, then we couldn't get married. I was just thinking about that. A lot of what we have is like parabatai.

[illuminescent]

I do not understand. Is it not already a marriage of a sort?

[She move to straddle him, and it's still not sexual, even though they're both naked and she's still drying off. There is something that is so perfect about being like this. Together, and intimate, without any rush for sex.]

[curlytop]

Ehm...sort of?

[Parabatai are difficult to understand, and George has never been one.]

It's not meant to be romantic. If you're too close to your parabatai that way, you'll go mad.

But the rest of it is like a marriage.

[illuminescent]

That seems rather nonsensical.

I would rather be married.