marlowemuses | ❥ sometimes it's meant to be

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❥ sometimes it's meant to be

Charterhouse was one of the most elite, exclusive schools in England.

It housed only boys. Boys of all ages, from ones first learning to button their pants on their own to the ones that couldn't seem to keep their pants on when in interesting company. With a campus that covered more than 27,000 acres, the schools had plenty of room to be spread across. Rich, green grass and old fashioned cobblestone streets—it was the pride of the academic world. Rich in history and pedigree, only the cream of the crop could even glance at an application, much less apply and attend. It was a school for future politicians, royalty, and celebrities. The men bred from Charterhouse were said to be the most cultivated in the world.

And, naturally, the richest. Only those from a well-to-do family could attend Charterhouse. Which was why one Richard Campbell Gansey the Third was one among the golden—like his father before him, and his father before him. The Ganseys were internationally known. Mrs. Gansey: a popular and well-known politician in the United States of America. Mr. Gansey (the Second): an ambitious and clever member parliament. Helen Gansey: fashion entrepreneur and lawyer, likely to end up going into politics once she tired of running the runway.

Richard Gansey the Third: one could only wonder what the future POTUS would do. On the campus of Charterhouse he was a golden boy. Popular—captain of the crew team yet also quite an intellectual, spending a great deal of time involved in the expansion of the library and archiving old, important texts. He was the man that everyone liked and talked to. The laughs of Ganseyboy were oft heard throughout the marble halls of the College campus. Handsome—he was more American than most of his peers, having a presidential and charming look about him, with a perfectly golden sun-kissed tan. Thick brown hair swept back neatly almost always, a square build, gentle olive eyes, and a straight nose. The sort of man that entranced those who spoke to him; that wasn't even taking the velvety, almost magical quality of his voice into account.

What the members of his crew team could never figure out was why Richard Campbell Gansey "Ganseyboy" the Third was always single. Never spoke about his sexual conquests, never brought a girl along to parties (when he attended, reluctantly), never even so much as mentioned being interested in anyone. It boggled their minds. The man spent his time with his nose in dusty old books and wandering around old buildings so often that they had grown concerned; the guy should get laid. As friends, as bros, as fellow eventual members of congress of what-have-you, it was their duty to see their beloved Ganseyboy paired off. Or, at least, getting some kind of action in his youth.

Which was why there was a plan. A plan, and a bet that eventually formed because of that plan. A bet in which a lot of money was placed. For, the subject of their little game (along with good old Ganseyboy) was the iciest, coldest, most shut off of all the students. What was the point if there was no challenge? No doubt, among the boys involved in the bet, there were a few that had been spurned by the ice prince, too. Revenge was a sweet thing. Two birds with one stone: they got Ganseyboy laid and they burned the ice prince that had burned them. Or three—someone was bound to make a tidy profit.

When one of the boys approached the ice prince's brother about setting him up with the charming golden boy on campus, the man had launched at the opportunity—for the happiness of his brother, no doubt, and he was not told about the bet.

That was how it would begin. It was a Wednesday, around 4 in the afternoon, when one of the boys dragged Gansey toward the library. The rest of the boys had made sure it was empty. The one dragging him—Charles Defonte the Second—had begged Gansey for some tutoring in history. It was agreed with Laurent's brother that he would also manage to bring Laurent to the library somehow—and the two of them would be left there together to formally acquaint.

There was no tutoring. Charles shoved Gansey into the library in front of him and then shut the door behind him and locked it. "Oh no," the boy faked a gasp, "the door has gone and locked itself, Ganseyboy! A ghost, it's gotta be. I'll go get the janitor. Be back as soon as I have lunch and then find him!" Leaving a very confused Gansey staring at the door and trying to push it open, to no avail. Locked.

"Do you really think it's a ghost?" he said to no one, because Charles had run off to tell the boys that he'd done his part.

There was another door on the other side of the library that was left for the same to happen to Laurent. Unbeknownst to Gansey, who took a seat at one of the tables and glanced around, quickly. A curious time for there to be no one else in the library.

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Gansey laughed at the prospect of telling Helen about the princess of Patria. "Oh, I'm not sure I should. She'll fly there and fight her if she thinks it'll get her a prince. Best for the princess that we don't let that happen, hm?" He settled on sending her an emoji instead. Which only fueled her questions (You're seriously dating someone? I thought you'd end up marrying a mummy from Egypt or something. I want to meet him! Is he reading this? Hello!! Richard, tell him I said hello.).

"I'm surprised you didn't hear something else," he hummed, sending Helen another emoji, "but I guess that's to be expected. You think I've got nice shoulders?'

"You do," Laurent agreed, thoroughly enjoying lounging with Gansey and teasing his sister. "Tell her I am in fact a mummy from Vere, and that I say hi. Broad shoulders. I have a thing for broad shoulders."

Smiling and running a fingertip along Gansey's shoulder, Laurent smirked when Gansey's phone buzzed again. "You're on the rowing team, right? I like the results of that. What else was it that you thought I might have heard?"

Edited 2016-10-21 01:29 (UTC)

Chucking, Gansey did as Laurent told him, detailing to his sister that his new boyfriend was, in fact, a mummy from Vere and that he said hi. A flair for the dramatic, he added a bit of a story about how he dug him up, and that he always knew he'd find something great among some ruins.

"I am," he confirmed, gaze flicking down to the fingertip along his shoulder and back up in the span of a second. "Captain, actually. Though I'd been thinking of giving it up." Glancing back at his phone for a flurry of texts from Helen (See, with anyone else I'd laugh and say that's a joke. With YOU, I am rightfully concerned. There will be no dating of the undead! Honestly, no other sisters have to say this. Well, if you like him, he must like the same weird stuff you do! Else you'll be dumped in a week. You can cry on your sister's shoulder when it happens) he shrugged, "Well, I do make it a habit to talk off the ear of anyone'll that'll listen to my stories. History or otherwise. Usually I try to keep it to professors but it doesn't always end up that way."

"Otherwise... I'm not sure. You know, so many of them call me dad? That's bad. I'm surprised you haven't heard that. Oh—and that I can't grow a beard. I think that's been floating around recently. I hope you haven't a thing for those, because that rumor is true." He sighed. "I think I'd look dashing with one, but alas."

"No beard," Laurent said. "Strict shaving." Laurent smiled, hugging his arm around Gansey's waist and cuddling up against his side as they watched Helen's texts. "And you're to stick with rowing unless you take up something else that will maintain the shoulders. Tell her that we're working on translating Phoenicio-Punic texts together. In case either of you needed reassurance that you're not going to be dumped in a week."

Gansey was warm, and Laurent smiled against his shoulder, blissfully happy to have gotten what he wanted. "I promise never to call you dad. That is definitely not one of my kinks."

Gansey snorted, turning toward Laurent more so that they could be closer, resting the phone a bit lower as he typed. "I would hope my shoulders could keep your interest for a bit more than a week," he drawled, "if I'm to keep up rowing. I guess I can see it through until the end. It's not like it takes up much time."

"And I'm relieved to hear you say that. It's not one of mine, either, for the record. I'm tempted to ask you what one of your kinks is, but it might be too soon for that. So, I'll ask instead, shall we start getting ready to head out?" He dropped his hand and allowed the texts to rack up again.

"Even if I'd hate to move. You're comfortable."

"You're comfortable and warm," Laurent said, reluctantly letting go and sitting up. "I might have to fight Noah for your warmth."

Getting to his feet, Laurent frowned, remembering what Gansey had said about sharing his warmth with Noah, since Laurent had been dismissing their cuddling at the time as just friendship. In retrospect, he felt a sharp stab of jealousy at the thought of Gansey holding Noah like that.

Gansey rolled onto his stomach, stretching out for a moment as he soaked up the last bit of warmth from the sheets. "You won't have to fight him," Gansey said, finally pushing himself up and raking a hand through his thick hair, "because you get preferential treatment. He can have whatever's left over."

Glancing up, he noticed Laurent's frown and tilted his head, "Something wrong?"

Laurent shook his head. "I was surprised by how much I disliked the thought of you keeping Noah warm like--like last night. I didn't know I had a jealous streak, but it seems I do." Laurent picked up Gansey's sweater and put it on over his uniform, immediately feeling warm again.

"I'm ready," he said, glancing to Gansey to make sure, and then heading for the door. "Don't forget your notebooks." He paused by the door to wait. "And lunch--what about lunch? We should take something with us in case we get lost in the woods."

Gansey blinked twice at the notion of Laurent being jealous. It wasn't something he was unfamiliar with; Ronan often expressed jealousy whenever Gansey made a new friend, but this was different. Grabbing his car keys, he followed, grabbing another sweater just in case it was cool from having rained so much the night before.

"We can stop in town and pick some stuff up from 7-11." They had excellent drinks, and he was fond of their snacks. "I've already got some stuff in the trunk. Backpack, boots, a spare change of clothes, but no food." Exploring was one of his favorite things to do, and one never knew when he was going to end up floating in a lake.

Outside, he was a bit cool, though not enough to make Gansey pull on the extra sweater he grabbed. Making his way to the Pig, he slapped his palm against the roof and gave it a quick look over. As usual, another habit.

"Or we can swing by the cafeteria. There's bound to be something we can grab and go with. We might run into people who'll want to tag along, however." Somehow, whenever he went somewhere social, he always ended up with a few stragglers sticking to him and vying for his attention.

"Let's do the 7-11," Laurent said, sliding into the car and smirking a little. He felt fonder of the vehicle today, because it was so very Gansey. "I don't want anyone to tag along with us, and if they try I might have to drive them off with icy jealousy, and then you would realize what a very unpleasant person you're dating."

He gave Gansey a wry smirk, having no illusions of what the student body thought of him. He used that icy unpleasantness as a defense. Gansey, somehow, wanted to be with him despite that. "It's probably inevitable, but I'd prefer to have the one day with you as my boyfriend before you realize I'm not worth the trouble."

He was more than happy to skip dealing with the other boys. Selfishly, Gansey wanted Laurent all to himself. Anyone else intruding on their date would be a pain.

Gansey's eyebrows furrowed slightly when Laurent spoke so poorly of himself. True, he wasn't upbeat and friendly with their schoolmates, and had his quirks, but that didn't mean he wasn't worth being with. So after he kicked the Pig to life, instead of pulling into drive, Gansey reached across to catch Laurent's chin. Closing the rest of the gap, he tenderly pressed his lips against his boyfriend's forehead.

"You're worth every kind of trouble."

Smoothly sitting back in his seat and finally easing the car out of its spot, he made for the little road that lead off campus. Cheerfully he asked, "What's your favorite snack? I'm fond of beef jerky, myself."

Laurent's eyes widened and his lips parted, stunned by the gesture and the words. Gansey's faith in him felt incredible, even though Laurent still thought it must be misguided. It meant the world to him to be so valued, so adored, and Laurent a wave of affection and devotion.

"I've got a weakness for anything salty. Beef jerky's good. Turkey jerky's better." Laurent smiled, resting his head back against the seat and watching Gansey with shy affection. "Kind of in the mood for ice cream right now. Oh, anything barbeque flavored. Not ice cream."

"Then that's not everything," Gansey laughed, thoroughly amused. "Barbecue is great. So is ice cream. We can grab some barbecue chips for later, and some ice cream for now? We already had breakfast and it'd be a shame for it to melt."

The Pig pulled onto the long road to town happily, growling as he pressed his foot down on the gas. Road completely clear, it was just them and the long stretch in front of them. It was a beautiful sight, Gansey thought, with sunlight breaking through trees wet with raindrops. Little rainbows broke through, sparkling among boughs and bushes.

"I love the way the forest look after it rains. It's beautiful." Leaning back in the driver's seat, Gansey relaxed, enjoying the drive.

"It makes me miss Ireland."

"Barbeque chips and a bunch of other stuff," Laurent said with a grin. "So we don't have to worry about lunch. And if we get lost."

He grinned as he watched Gansey driving, liking the way he looked behind the wheel. Confident. Handsome. Ready for any challenge. Some of which might be provided by his own car.

"I like the way you look behind a wheel," Laurent said, relaxing enough to be flirtatious. "You're not Irish. When were you in Ireland?"

"I spent some time going across Europe. Ireland, Italy, Wales, France, England of course... I'd rather spend my time traveling than being forced to attend fundraising events." Glancing at his new boyfriend, Gansey smiled, still liking very much the way Laurent looked in the Pig. More so, while wearing his school sweater. The urge to kiss him now was intense; just lean over and catch him by the lips.

But he was driving. Chances are that'd cause them to veer off the road.

"That was... about two years ago. That's when that whole moving flower patch business happened. Sadly, I didn't meet any fae, but maybe next time." Eyes rapt on the road again, "Maybe we could go together."

"I don't know if I would want to meet any fairies," Laurent said, "even if they are real. I do know that you're not allowed to meet any fairies without me. I will fight anyone who tries to steal you away, regardless of whether these are literal or metaphorical fairies."

Content in Gansey's company, Laurent chewed on his lower lip, thinking of what it would be like to kiss him. "I'd like very much to travel with you. We can go anywhere we please. I'd like to to go to Turkey and visit ruins. Or Libya. Once we've learned Carthaginian."

He was flattered to hear that Laurent would fight fairies for him. Not that he thought he'd be swept away anytime soon; a fairy wasn't likely to turn his head when Laurent was nearby. There was a low chance of any fairy having such an interest in language, history, and running around in the rain during a storm.

"I've never had the chance to go to either. That sounds fantastic. I'd also like to go to Egypt, but not to dig up a mummy bride, as my sister apparently thinks. I'd like to see the pyramids, and they apparently have some excellent libraries there."

Glancing at Laurent again, he asked, "Have you ever been to the United States?"

"We could go visit the new Library of Alexandria," Laurent said, with a grin. "And I'm also willing to fight any mummies who try for you."

Lounging comfortably in his seat, Laurent stretched out his long legs. "I've never been to the United States. I look forward to it. We're going to have to conduct a fairly public romance, which means I should be seen at parties and public events where you make an appearance with your family. And you'll need to be seen in Vere. Once word gets out, my people will be very curious. Are you okay with all that?"

"I'm okay with it," he said mildly, turning the wheel as they neared town. "It's not something I'm completely unused to. I've been making appearances like that since I was born—for different reasons, mind you, but it doesn't make me nervous. And I'd like to see Vere." It was simply another fact of life, being in the public eye. The only new element for Gansey was the romantic aspect of it.

"My mother would be delighted to have you attend her fundraisers and events. Overall, I think that as far as public appearances, we'll have no issues. I was thinking more... there are a few spots in that United States that I love. I'd like to show you, one day."

A small, quiet town where sunflowers bloomed across a great expanse of hills. One of the most stunning forests he'd ever seen, with a great white oak. A lighthouse that had been long abandoned but still lit every night for ships out at sea.

"I'd like that," Laurent said, smiling. "We can travel the world together. On our breaks. Go to Paris just for the weekend. Visit Turkey over the Christmas holiday."

When Gansey parked in front of the convenience store, Laurent leaned over to kiss his cheek, smiling with the pleasure of being able to do that whenever he wanted. Then he got out, waiting for Gansey and shyly linking their hands.

Laurent's hand was cool, a perfect temperature to be linked with Gansey's, which was on the slightly warmer side. The kisses to his cheek made his heart flutter but when their hands slipped together, his throat felt warm, knots in his belly flopping. It was what he wanted. Someone to hold hands with while they shopped in a 7-11. No loud Ehhh Ganseyboy or backslapping. No pretense. No need to act like anything other than themselves.

Gansey head the way into the store, not letting go of Laurent's hand even when it may have been convenient to do so. The guy flipping a magazine at the register didn't even look up. Grabbing a small plastic basket, first he headed down the snack aisles. They were small so it wouldn't take long to grab what they liked.

"Jerky—beef and turkey—chips, pretzels... we can grab extra, anything left over can be saved for next time. Or my room, always nice to have snacks." He bent to leave the basket on the floor so there was no need to part hands, dropping in some items.

"Ooh. Poptarts. I like those. I never toast them, though." He dropped a box of the strawberry poptarts in there.

Laurent chose a couple varieties of chips that he liked, along with a couple of candy bars and a box of granola bars to be somewhat sensible. When he was mostly satisfied with their selection of everything else, he pulled Gansey over to the ice cream case, selecting a chocolate-covered ice cream bar for himself.

Gansey's hand felt warm in his, and Laurent couldn't stop smiling. He knew that the man behind the counter was eyeing them, but that didn't matter. With Gansey, he was untouchable.

He let Gansey pay, letting go of his hand briefly so that he could. While he did, Laurent opened up his ice cream bar and started nibbling at it, catching pieces of chocolate with his fingers as the coating cracked and slipped away from the ice cream. He licked his fingers clean between bites, eyes lingering on Gansey and letting Gansey open doors for him as they made their way back out to the car.

Gansey chose an ice cream sandwich, classic Klondike, when they were over by the ice cream. Overall they looked like a couple of kids playing hookey and likely to get really high with the amount of food they'd bought. Paying with his credit card, Gansey flashed an award winning smile to the kid behind the register, which got a startled look and a blush, before he swept up the bag with their stuff and headed out with Laurent.

As they walked, Gansey fished his ice cream out of the bag so that he could break it open. Tossing the rest of their stuff into the back seat as he dropped into the driver's seat, he licked the edge of his Klondike bar before taking a hefty bite. He'd gotten the vanilla side first.

Swallowing the chunk and licking his lips, he glanced at Laurent and grinned, "Good?" Ice cream in the morning was pretty hard to beat.

"Very good," Laurent said, grinning at him in return. Gansey looked so utterly endearing as he licked and bit at his chocolate bar that Laurent's heart swelled with warmth. On impulse, he slid over, catching Gansey's face with one hand and giving him a sweet, chocolate-and-vanilla kiss. It was brief, and chaste, but Laurent couldn't help but give him an adoring smile for a moment as it broke.

Blushing happily, Laurent slid back to his own seat and belted himself in. He didn't mention that it had been his first kiss, but for him it felt perfect, a perfect memory of skipping school and eating ice cream with his boyfriend.

Gansey was surprised when Laurent closed the gap between them like that—his lips were cold from ice cream and sweet from the taste of chocolate. Brief, just long enough for Gansey to close his eyes with a slight crease in his brow, and then it's over far too quickly.

As Laurent belted himself in, Gansey licked his lips, as though contemplating something. "I think," he said, slowly, "I may have to beg one more of those off of you." With his free hand he touched Laurent's chin to gently guide it back to face him as he leaned over, pressing his lips against the other boy's. A little bit longer than the last though just as chaste, soft and adoring, warm, with the taste of ice cream.

Satisfied, Gansey slid back into his seat to buckle in and pull the Pig into reverse and then drive, biting happily into his Klondike bar now that he'd gotten that urge settled. "So, where are these ruins?" he asked, thoroughly ready to get some exploring done. "We can get as close as possible in the Pig and walk the rest of the way if they're far in the woods."

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