Elain's attention was drawn away from her catalogs of flower seeds and bulbs only when a presence filled the door into the sitting room. She glanced at the clock.
"Should I be concerned that you took nearly two hours in there?" Lucien's tentative smile returned as he strolled over to the low table Elain had spread her catalogs on and knelt on the other side.
"Don't worry. I was just preening. My kind are prone to such things, remember?" Elain nearly sagged with relief at the embers of humor glimmering to life in his russet eye. It had looked so hollow earlier and while she still wasn't sure why it had terrified her like it had, she was glad he was improving already. "What are you looking at?" He asked and she spun one of them around. She pointed at one of the infographics, "I'm looking into what to plant in my garden this year." Lucien leaned forward to look at the images. He thumbed through a few pages. "...do you have any perennials from last year?" She might have been glowing as she flipped the rest of the catalogs around and moved to sit next to him.
She pointed out which flowers would return this spring, as well as the ones she grew last year that would have to be replaced. Lucien listened carefully.
"These ones…" he mused, tapping a listing she still had marked from the year before. "These you should replant. In white this time. To complement these." He flicked back a few pages in a small catalog to show her another listing. Elain considered before pulling out the folded paper containing the mostly blank outline of her sprawling garden. Lucien moved a few of the catalogs to make room and she spread out the map and fountain pen. She held the pen out to him and smiled,
"Show me where."
Elain watched as Lucien mapped out where the new flowers could go. Carefully noting the ones that would be coming back that year and occasionally flipping through pages in the catalogs to determine what the different combinations would look like side by side. She leaned her head on a hand as he moved the pen across the page. He stopped and lightly tapped the back of the fountain pen on the table.
"What colors will your roses come in?" He looked over and raised an eyebrow and she suddenly realized that question had been meant for her to answer.
"A-ah, right. The roses." She leafed through a few random pages and cleared her throat. She hoped her blush wasn't too visible in the dim light of the sitting room. "Champagne and peach. That's what the colors are called on the receipt anyway." Elain pulled a small ledger book out of the mess of catalogs and flipped it open to the beginning. "Father had me write down what specifically I wanted to order for the garden here so… ah here it is." She tilted the ledger toward him and pointed out the initial ordering of the rose bushes. It was preceded by the white and purple lilacs and after the roses followed her orders for honeysuckle and wisteria. "Very organized." he leaned a bit closer to look at the neat handwriting detailing the flowers, which retailer the listing was from, and the price. Elain took a deep breath but with him so close it didn't help much. Mostly because in her attempt to even out her breathing she'd just caught the faint scent of him. The earthy rosemary and fresh zing of mint in the soap she'd picked up for him but also something under that. A faint smoldering that reminded her of autumn campfires… She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and found him still focused on the words in her little ledger. Gods… He really was beautiful. She quickly set the book on the table in front of him for him to peruse at his leisure. "I'm… I'm just going to get some water." Lucien nodded and Elain made quick steps to the kitchen.
She dug two glasses out of the cabinet and found the decanter of water. She downed an entire glass on her own and stuck her head out the window. Fae male. Dangerous. Handsome… Ugh damn her to hell he was handsome. She quickly smacked her cheeks with her hands and drank another full glass of water. He is your guest and he has been through something terrible. You are going to respect that and give him as much space as he needs. Got that Elain? She gave her reflection in the window a pointed look before refilling her glass one more time and walking back to the sitting room with both glasses.
She set them on the low table, wherever she could find room.
"I thought you might be thirsty as well." And it was a good thing she was already getting ready to sit down again because Lucien's returned smile might have sent her to her knees anyway. This man, male, whatever he was, he was going to be the death of her.
"Thank you Elain." he took a slow sip from the glass she'd brought for him and she quickly found a catalog to flip through again. "Of-of course." She stammered and it took every ounce of restraint to not smack herself for stumbling over her words.
She'd held out for a long time but Elain had eventually fallen asleep, her head drooping, and her pen falling soundlessly to the carpeted floor between them. Lucien leaned down to pick it up with a slight shake of his head. She should have told him that she was tired. It occurred to him that he'd distracted her and as such she'd never shown him where to find that guest room she made up for him. He set the pen on the table and sorted through the various open catalogs. He'd enjoyed the diversion though. She'd lit up when he'd asked her about those flowers. He'd never had such a lively discussion about a garden before. The gardens at Rosehall had been almost entirely unchanged since the death of Tamlin's mother. He doubted Elain Archeron would find much joy in a garden that did not require tending to anyway. The lady kept her nails trimmed short and neat for the activity even through the winter and kept such careful books regarding the various flowers, bushes, and vines that Lucien was very surprised to learn that the family did indeed employ a gardener. He stacked the catalogs neatly on the table and looked over at Elain. The dim lights flickered over her soft features, dancing in the threads of brightness in her brown-gold hair. He ran a hand through his own hair and blew out a long sigh.
"Mother help me…" He mumbled and blew out the candles lighting the room before her carefully moved to pick up the sleeping human woman.
He carefully moved up the stairs, Elain nestled quietly in his arms. He remembered where her room was and shouldered his way inside, as silently as he could manage. He set her down on her bed and she curled onto her side. She murmured something in her sleep but he couldn't quite make it out.
"Goodnight Elain…" he whispered in the dark, pulling her comforter over her and brushing a stray tendril of hair out of her face. He sank down against the wall nearby. He could probably find the room she'd organized for him but he yawned slouched against that wall. In the morning. He didn't even manage to shift before sleep swept in and stole him away into dreams of flowering vines and warm sunlight.