Almost Normal

Posted on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 11:19pm by Princess Royal Giana Orsini & Major Sacha Lavigne

Mission: Historiae Terrae Et Imperii
Location: Giana's Apartment, Imperial Palace
Timeline: Date 2371-08-13 at 2130
1686 words - 3.4 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Giana had returned to her apartment in the palace after her conversation with her mother. She had taken the time to sober up and shower, and was now feeling strange about the whole thing. She couldn’t remember the last time she had really spoken to her mother so frankly and intimately; maybe she never had in her life. Yet, it had happened; and really Giana had to admit she did feel a bit better on some level. While they had grown distant over the years Giana knew - if she were to actually be honest with herself - that she was actually her mother’s favorite child. Of course Cosima adored Paolo, but Giana had been the first girl and the only girl for a number of years and she related to her mother much better than Elana ever had and likely ever would.

She was sitting cross legged on the couch with her back against the arm, a bowl of cereal in one hand and her spoon in the other. In front of her on the view screen was playing some new, crappy romance movie that she had been sent an early copy to watch; she wasn’t really enjoying it, in fact her interest was purely to see how bad it was going to get. She didn’t much look like a princess at that moment, though the pink silk nightgown she was wearing was probably worth thousands of crowns.

Sacha hadn’t let the end of the interaction with Selena dampen his mood too much and seemed to have immediately put up a blinder to prevent any of the feelings of doubt he really had hated all his life. One of the reasons he was so confident was that he was repelled by uncertainty and self-consciousness. He had already arranged to stay with Giana tonight, and so he arrived on his black motorcycle and moved to her apartment without any fuss.

He entered without so much as a knock, removed his shoes in the walk-in closet, then hopped immediately into the shower to wash up quickly. When he was done, after only a few minutes, he slipped on a pair of blue boxers and walked across the hall to the living room in just that. Waking over to the couch, he lowered himself down next to her and draped an arm over her shoulder, his gentle blue eyes falling on the crappy movie on the screen.

“Oh, I love this movie!” He exclaimed, pointing to the holoscreen.

Giana was vaguely aware of hearing the door open and close. She looked toward the archway leading out of the living area but saw nothing. She wasn’t alarmed of course, there were guards inside and out not to mention her servants and lady. Given there was no fuss, she assumed it was Sacha coming “home” since they had decided to stay together. She continued to watch for a moment to see if he appeared, but when he didn’t she turned back to her food and movie.

By the time he had come in, she was finished with her food and had adjusted to sit on the couch in a more normal way so it was easier for Sacha to join her and when he did, she smiled at him.

“Oh yeah? Seems just like your type of movie.” She shifted closer to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and kissing his cheek.

“Yes, I know it well. Spoiler alert, the main character is secretly a man. So, yeah. It actually ends in a brutal crime of passion.” He said, turning and kissing her cheek in return. “But don’t let me ruin it for you.”

Giana rolled her eyes and shook her head though smiled as she did so. The movie was forgotten in favor of Sacha and she cuddled up closer to him. “How was your boys’ evening?”

“It was normal. My friends are assholes, so it had its pluses and minuses.” He said with a shrug, his strong arm pulling her into the comfortable place for her against his bare chest. “Saw Selena there though with a group of her friends. She’s grateful for the dating arrangement from you and the Empress.”

“Oh.” Was all Giana said for a moment and her body stiffened slightly, but then she relaxed by some act of the gods. Her mother’s words echoed in her head to trust and not be so fearful, and she reasoned if he wanted to try and hide the meeting he would have obviously not told her. So telling her was a good thing.

“Yes, she was having a bit of trouble navigating the soirée we had set up for her. Maybe a bit too much too fast but I did my best to help her. I hope she enjoyed it at least somewhat. I know she wouldn’t tell me differently.”

“We didn’t really talk about that too much. You know me, I don’t ask too many questions about people’s love lives.” He said with a humored lift of his brow. “How about your evening with your mother? Wine and gossip, I know, but you seem like you endured it.”

“Well, wine helps any occasion, really. It was fine, boring, but fine.” Giana shrugged and began to run her fingers over Sacha’s chest. She had gone quiet, thinking, and then chanced to speak again.

“Thank you for telling me that you ran into Selena.”

“I didn’t see any reason not to. You know her.” He said, his eyes fluttering slowly closed at her touch. “But thank you for not being jealous.”

Well, she hadn’t been completely devoid of jealousy, that was just the way of women like her, but she hadn’t let it get out of hand. Her lips found his neck and she kissed him there a few times, trying to test out the waters. They hadn’t been together for a little while, but at the moment he wasn’t reading as particularly interested in it either.

He exposed his neck as she kissed, his hand gently finding her bottom and giving a suggestive but modest squeeze.

“Ooo, is this the liquor talking or do you just miss me.” He asked, looking down at her with a grin.

“Yes.” She replied with a cheeky grin and kissed him again while she took the hand on her rear at its suggestion and slid into his lap completely. When she broke the kiss, she started to immediately go for another one but stopped.

“Oh yeah, breakfast tomorrow… we should definitely eat something before we go. I guess my mother is going to try to cook?”

“Does your mother…do that?” He asked, looking somewhat hesitant as he received her on his lap. His hands rested on her hips as he looked into her eyes with an uncertain expression. “When does she do that?”

“See, that’s a very good question and one I asked too. She seemed offended I would ask but I have some serious doubts about it.” Giana pointed out, looking extremely skeptical. “Maybe she’ll come to her senses before she poisons us all.”

“I honestly don’t want to die like that.” He said with a shake of his head. “But it might be better than offending the Terran Empress. I don’t normally eat breakfast anyway, so it doesn’t really matter.”

He kissed her then quickly pulled back, smiling with his lips poised in a pouty grin.

“Let us make love, sweet Princess, for tomorrow we die.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. Oh! We’re still on for that lunch tomorrow, right? You’re still okay with going? She asked in a rare moment of consideration to him. It was just going to be the two of them, but it was going to be in a very public up and coming restaurant in the city - in the end it was a public appearance for the two of them doing something “common and casual”; the public loved moments of being able to relate to their royals.

“Oh, yes. Making googly eyes at you from across a sunlit table sounds nice.” He said with a grin. Then he turned his head a bit. “To tell you the truth, I’m starting to like playing a monkey in a suit every now and then.”

The admission made Giana happy to hear and she hoped it was a genuine one; she chose to believe it was. She gave him a smile and kissed his cheek. “Well, as long as you don’t start swinging from the rafters, we’re good. Besides, I rather like you in a suit.”

“I like you in those pretty dresses. Particularly the part where I get to help you take them off.” He said, and then he leaned in to return kisses to her neck. He nibbled gently, his hands exploring a bit again.

“Oh do you?” Her smile grew into a grin, girlish and innocent in a way. “Well, this may not be one of my fancy pretty dresses, but you are more than welcome to help me take this off.”

That he did, slipping his hands under her expensive nightgown and lifting it over her head in one swift and smooth motion. He was quite dexterous and good with his hands, a trait he liked to show her often. With kisses and roaming hands, the two of them reaffirmed their love for each other.

It was playful, passionate, fueled by the lingering effects of alcohol but not solely driven by them. In the end, it was simply just the two of them together in relative solitude away from prying eyes or flashing lights. It was where they showed their love. When they were spent, they showered and returned to bed together. Sleep came quickly, and when morning came they would face the trial of the Empress' cooking together.

Perhaps in the end, everything would turn out alright after all.

END