(no subject)
Jill: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=353798&CategoryID=12425
Peter: http://www1.macys.com/catalog/product/index.ognc?ID=339864&CategoryID=18417
Racing. If there was one thing that Jill hadn't taken enough advantage of, it was the ocean - the sun and surf, and the waves, but it was more the racing. It'd started about 100 feet back, when she'd goaded him into racing into the ocean, hopping on one foot as she pulled off her shoe, and she left a stream of clothes behind her. Three steps from the ocean, she got her shirt off her head and threw it, laughing as a breaker hit her legs. "Come on, Peter!" Her bathing suit wasn't exactly indecently small, and she'd managed to pass on all the day-glo ones.
-----
Peter blinked for a moment after she took off, thinking she'd been all talk, of course. But she was shedding layers, out there on the sand, a grin on her face. They'd talked about going swimming and had found swim trunks, but he thought it meant laying in the sun, maybe a dip in the water later; he hadn't been prepared for running. But a split second later he had kicked off his sandals and was sprinting after her, the sand kicking up past his heels. He let out a laugh, peeling his shirt off and leaving it on the sand behind him, racing to catch up.
---
She splashed into the waves, turning so she was backing into them. "I made it first," she said, her lips curving into a smile. "That means you owe me." She wasn't entirely sure what had gotten into her - maybe it was because her work was finally done, and she was healed, and there wasn't anything to worry about.
Besides, that is, Peter. But that wasn't here nor there, and she was content for now to let sleeping dogs - or lions - lie.
---
"Oh, really?" His lips curled into a smile. "Owe you? That sounds dangerous." He walked in front of her, fighting the waves as he let the water pound against his legs. She was so open, so happy. She'd worked so hard on her thesis; she really deserved this. He grinned wide. "Let's see. You don't want me cooking for you, so it can't be that. Baking, too, just horrible. I don't know if I could think of anything." He grinned, pausing. "Maybe manual labour; hauling lumber, or something." He grinned, pushing back against the water as a large wave crashed against his legs.
---
Jill laughed, her nose wrinkling. "Peter, I don't want you to do manual labor." She reached for his hand without thinking about. "C'mon. Just... have a good time, alright?" She raised her eyebrows, as if she was cajoling him - and then abruptly spashed him with her free hand. smiled again, her hair catching the sunlight.
---
"Well, you said I 'owed' you, so-" he trailed off as she grabbed his hand, smiling fondly. But then, without warning, there was water in his face. His mouth dropped into an 'o' of surprise, but his physical reaction was immediate and unconscious, his hand tightening on hers, so she had no where to go when he skimmed his hand over the surface of the water, splashing water up against her.
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Her movement was just as sudden and smooth as she pulled him forward - she hadn't trained for nothing. She fell back at the same time, trusting the water to cushion her as she moved to drag him under the water, before she left go and surfaced with a laugh. "Teach you to splash me, Peter." She blushed, then, not trying to be shirty about the whole thing.
---
He felt the tug, growing steady as she fell back, and he caught his breath just in time to get yanked under the water, completely submerged. He pushed himself to his feet, shaking his head once to shake the water off, huffing out a breath upward, droplets flying from his face. He grinned wide, backing into the waves even further, taking them out just a little deeper. "Serves me right, then. Get what I deserve."
---
Jill laughed again, then actually looked at him - and her laughter faded, only to be replaced by bright pink cheeks and wide blue eyes. He was a sight - one that she couldn't actually express her thoughts on, because her brain was somewhere in the 'uhhh' and blank mindset.
---
He laughed in kind, looking down at the water a moment before glancing up and catching her eye, smiling as her laughter faded, caught in those blue eyes. They were in over his waist in the water, the waves pushing against his back. His smile softened, lips pressed gently together, and his hand found hers under the water, eyes not leaving her face.
---
Her cheeks were growing rosier and rosier, her fingers twining automatically with his before her lips parted, and she leaned up on her tiptoes - before a breaker hit and she fell, still tugging him with a sudden and embarrassed laugh. They hadn't - not since New Years, and she- she let go of his hand just to pull herself upright again, pushing her wet hair out of her face.
---
His lips parted as she moved forward, his heart racing. Really? We're really going to-- The wave smacked into them, soaking them and submerging them momentarily. He tossed his head, shaking the water clear from his face with a grin. He returned the laugh for a moment, catching his balance. Her hair was caught against her cheek, and he reached up to push it away instinctively, eyes following the strands for a moment, before catching her eyes again. His hand lingered at her cheek, cupping it gently. He closed the distance between them, pressing his lips softly to hers.
---
Oh, Goodness. She couldn't really think more then that, because he was - and it was nice - all warm and... and nice and- Her fingers curled up on his shoulder, and she was precariously balanced on tiptoe even without pushing the kiss any further - she wasn't about to do that, and-
Another wave. Funny thing about oceans, of course - they didn't particularly care if you were kissing the bloke you'd been sweet on for months and months, and he'd just kissed you for the first time out of his own free will, and, well. The breaker pushed her against him, and the kiss broke, breathless laughter pulled from somewhere.
---
His mind whirled, his heart raced, and he still couldn't believe he was doing this. Really? Like this? With her? He just.... followed. He felt like there was a version of him tucked somewhere inside still confused by it all, but the rest of him just said go for it, and like that, he was gone. This was the hardest part of all this. With girls back home, they'd... they'd flirted with him more than anything, and he'd been proper, and had been the one to start anything. But Jill was different; not quite like the girls from home, and he didn't know how to just.... follow. So he didn't.
He smiled widely, holding her up against the push of the water. He huffed out a half a laugh, glancing down at her, their bodies flush, and her sliding against his chest. He caught her eye, smile wide and easy. Of course. This was what I did. He leaned down, catching her lips again.
---
Jill pulled back - some might say that she wasn't the smartest about these things, staring up at him with her brow furrowed. Her mouth moved in soundless words - things like What and Really and she certainly hadn't let go of him because her arms had ended up around his neck somehow and they were both soaked to the skin and she was against him, and-
"Peter?" She managed a squeak - not that much of a squeak, mind, but it at least was something.
---
He let her pull back, her arms on his shoulders still, his eyes wider, lips slightly parted. Right. He swallowed hard, letting her go and smiling. He pushed back against the waves, just a little deeper, so he had to tread water. "Come on, then," He smiled, letting the moment pass. There were waves, and sun, and he didn't want to let it go, just yet.
---
She swallowed hard. Did I make that up? She swallowed hard, regaining her feet and nodding once, her brow still furrowed as she looked down into the water. "Right," she said with more of a squeak then a word. She rubbed the back of her neck with a hand, standing there like- Like a stupid ninny, Pole. Just- Just ignore it. Maybe- Maybe it was an accident. Or- He could have just been carried away, couldn't he? She moved to dive smoothly under the water, and tried not to think even as she reached for his ankle to pull him under.
----
He gasped, his head submerging for a moment before he broke the surface again. He barked out a laugh, pulling in a breath before ducking underwater, swimming for a few strokes around Jill. He came up for air again, just a little further down from her, waiting.
---
She swam back up to where he was, and smiled, still self conscious but... "This is brilliant," she said, her cheeks still red - but she wasn't getting nearly so close to him, just- not because she had an issue with it, she just didn't want to rock the boat, as it were.
---
"It is, isn't it?" He grinned, huffing out a breath and spraying water. "Sunshine, blue water, sandy beach..." He grinned. "Reminds me of the second time we arrived in Narnia." He grinned, treading water a moment, then swimming back to where he could stand, shaking his head clear.
---
She heard him before he went off, and she forced a quick smile before he turned, then paused a moment before following. Jill, you see, had tried as hard as she could to fit with the rest of the Narnians. It seemed to be a bit of a square-peg-round-hole problem, largely because she couldn't let go of... well. Even she would admit they were considerable issues. Things were a bit better now, but she had resented the good times that they'd had - and the camaraderie that she herself was at fault for not being apart of.
She walked out of the ocean, wringing the water from her hair as she scanned for her t-shirt. "It's really pretty today," she offered - mostly because she wasn't entirely sure what else to say.
---
Oh, damn. Peter forgot that Jill had this burden about Narnia, that her time wasn't as pleasant as theirs was. Bugger. He strode out of the ocean, pushing against the water, and coming up next to her. The sun warmed the water beaded on his back, as he began to dry off. "Jill, I-" He sighed, smiling fondly. "It is really pretty today." He paused, trying not to-- "Is there any way for Narnia to be a happy memory for you? Something that you can think about with a smile?" He shook his head. "It's not your fault about what happened. You did the best you could, and things just happened." He paused. "It's an amazing place, Jill. And we share that memory."
---
She opened her mouth and closed it, then bent to pick up her shirt, still looking down at her hands. "Narnia- the whole of Narnia isn't- it's not an unhappy memory. It's- It's like this place. Good and bad and- it's like England. It's not bad - not all of it, anyhow, and I love it, because-" Her chin trembled and she looked away because her eyes were stinging. "Because of what it is and what... what it was. I just- the things you all had, and you all found- Mine wasn't- I know," she said with a sigh. "I know you fought battles and it was horrible and-"
She sighed, still not looking at him. "I wasn't there when- I started this - all of this - by Eustace falling off a cliff because I was showing off. After that, it was trying to save Rilian, and then Caspian passed, and then- and then we were home again. The next time, Scrubb and I were dropped into Tirian trying to fight back the ocean." Metaphorically, anyway.
She tugged her shirt on, her eyes still on the sand. "I've tried. I'll... I'll keep trying. I know- I know it's not the same."
---
He sighed, smiling sadly. "Jill," he said, pleading. He wanted her to look up at him, just to see her face. "Jill, it's okay. That's exactly how it was for us. I was in Narnia as High King for years, and then we went on a hunting trip and never came back. Then we reappeared from a tube station, and had to leave again after putting Caspian on the throne. It's not nearly as easy as you think it was-- I know you weren't there, but--" He sighed. "I had my family with me, so it was different, I know." He shrugged, turning to pick up his tee shirt off the sand, and pausing a moment with it in his hand.
"I just. It's not all your fault, I promise. Narnia is a confusing and wild place, and we simply have to do our best while we're there, and remember it in our hearts."
---
"I didn't think it was easy for you-" The words came in a burst when she did finally look up at him. "You had years, Peter, and- I just had a job to do. Both times. It was something that I had to go, and I did what I was supposed too, and then I went back. Back and my only sodding friend was Scrubb - Scrubb, who was just as likely to make fun of me as he was to be nice to me, and then I go back to the middle of a war, and I know you fought in so many - and I know that it must have been so hard because you were responsible for all those people and that it was hard but- you all have one another. You all do, and Susan- I didn't say what she thought I said. I just- I'm finally getting past everything that happened, and yes, a long time ago, I thought you all had it easy, and I know you haven't, and-" It was a ridiculous burst of words. "Lucy - your sister, Lucy - used to talk to me about the grand balls and the happiness and the peace that came after the White Queen, and that wasn't my Narnia, Peter."
She finally looked away, and shook the sand off her shirt. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, shoving her hair behind her ear.
----
He watched her, brow furrowed, as she vented to him, releasing all the fury and pain and bitterness, and he just-- he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her tightly, just a strong, steady hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered into her shoulder. "I know you didn't have it like we did. I just-- wish you did. I wish I could change it." She had a rough go of things, and Susan's reaction to her, all of them-- it didn't make it any better. Peter had been avoiding it for months, but he knew he needed to find out what really happened, and read it for himself. He pulled back, eyes soft, rubbing her upper arm for a moment before his hands dropped to his side.
---
"I just don't think you had a simple run of it, Peter." She swallowed hard. "I need you to know that. Alright? I know it was just... different." She closed her eyes when he hugged her, then he'd stopped, stepping back. "I- We could... go back." She chewed on the inside of her lip. This... this wasn't nearly how'd she'd expected the day to go.
---
"I know you don't think that, Jill. Promise." He paused, squinting back at the ocean for a moment, chewing the corner of his lip thoughtfully. "How about some lunch? I'm absolutely starving." He paused, eyebrows raised. "And I'm an expert grilled cheese chef."
---
She wrinkled her nose at him. "Really? You know, you're going to have to prove your claim." She was grateful that they weren't talking about it anymore, and cast about looking for her shorts and flip-flops.