Room 502, Tuesday Afternoon

[withoutverona]

After talking to Edward and fighting a whale in management class, Romeo went back to his room to lounge on his bed with his Japanese notebook.

He was trying very hard not to think about ... well, about anything he and Edward had spoken of. It had been an unsettling conversation.

[OOC: For one, but open before her!]

Comments

[bitchprince]

"Absolutely out of my mind," Arthur affirmed, without missing a beat, and glanced about the room. "But I find it's best not to dwell. I've heard Edward isn't short on problems."

[withoutverona]

"I'd never met the man, and he opted to tell me his manhood was broken," Romeo explained with a slight snicker. He only felt a little guilty for provoking Edward in that direction. "I told him he'd recover."

He tilted his head to the side. "There must be something for you to do, on this whole island."

[bitchprince]

"No doubt," Arthur said, dismissively. The last thing he wanted to discuss was his own boredom. "...I see Edward continues to be as peculiar to others as the stories my manservant has told me implied."

[withoutverona]

"And possibly more so. I was not so forewarned," Romeo said. "I'm not sure if he's delusional, or merely not terribly bright and from a very different world. You're lucky to have Merlin here."

He meant in a more general sense than just the Edward thing; he'd been missing Balthazar lately.

[bitchprince]

"That lies in the eye of the beholder," Arthur said. This was, after all, his favorite topic. "He's possibly the worst servant I've ever had, but I suppose it's better than nothing at all."

[withoutverona]

"The rest of us are left with nothing at all," Romeo pointed out. "I don't want to admit how long it took me to learn to do laundry." And ... well, Romeo's room wasn't filthy, but no one would describe him as naturally tidy.

"How bad can he be, really? He seems bright enough."

[bitchprince]

"You'd think," Arthur said. He was never getting rid of Merlin ever (if never admitting that one), but his point stood. "It's a... different... land, but it's good to see you've learned to deal with it," he segued, hitting that edge between seriousness and slight sarcasm. Not so much at Romeo's expense: rather the island.

[withoutverona]

"Oh, yes, I've borne up terribly well under the circumstances," Romeo said, and there was a distinct edge of sarcasm in his voice. "I had it easier than some, though. My world has the same technology; I only had to get used to the culture and the language. And the ... magic, or Fandom weird, or whatever you like to call it."

"is it suiting you any better these days?"

[bitchprince]

"I seem to still be alive," Arthur said, dryly. "So all things considered, I can't complain."

Even if he did. A lot. Especially about the squirrels. "I also appear to have missed you at the dance. How did you fare?"

[withoutverona]

"Better after the punch was doctored," Romeo said bluntly. "I forgot to look for you, but I did speak to Merlin for a bit. Did you enjoy it?"

[bitchprince]

"It was a fair bit nicer than I expected," Arthur confessed, "The punch, as you said, did improve on it over the course of the evening."

[withoutverona]

"The stuff is abysmal until someone improves it," Romeo said. "I don't know why they don't doctor it to start with and save us the trouble. But I'm pleased you enjoyed it. I know Leto was worried about the music."

[bitchprince]

"The music was..." Arthur pulled a face, "Nothing I'd choose," he said, diplomatically. For his standards. "But the people weren't entirely horrible." High praise. "Jenny was kind enough to grant me a top-up before the punch was augmented."

[withoutverona]

"Ah, you met Jenny," Romeo said fondly. "Outside class, I mean. She works at the shop, though I'd not be so bold as to call myself her boss. And yes, she's an excellent woman."

She also scared Romeo the slightest bit, but that made him respect her more.

[bitchprince]

"I have met Jenny several times," Arthur said, and if he'd been up front about any of it, he'd have mentioned that the scary part was a good bit of the reason why- well. "She's a bit... straightforward, but that's normal 'round here."

[withoutverona]

"No, you're not going to find many willing to play coy," Romeo said. "But I tend to be straightforward myself, so I suppose I only add to it."

[bitchprince]

"You've still got a sense of manners about you," Arthur offered. "Which I suspect puts you a bit beyond that degree of it."

Nevermind that Arthur's manners were horrid if he felt he could get away with it.

[withoutverona]

"I was raised to have them," Romeo said with a shrug. Not that they survived when he was upset, but whatever. "You were the same, I expect. It seems to be almost an unusual thing here -- and I think I sound about four hundred years old when I say that."

[bitchprince]

"That might not be a bad thing," Arthur said, dryly, the incident with Priestly still firmly in mind. "But there is an unusual lack of propriety in these parts. I'm of two minds about it, but it's not as if I can force a change."

[withoutverona]

"What is your second mind?" Romeo asked with genuine curiosity. "If the first is that people ought to mind such matters, that is."

[bitchprince]

"My second mind is that this is not my home," Arthur said, after a moment's thought, "And I'd be remiss if I didn't make an effort. Annoying as it may be."

[withoutverona]

Romeo thought about it. He hadn't been of two minds in the same way, but he wasn't a king's son, just the spoiled child of gangsters with pretensions. "I can say," he ventured, "that life here is easier when you do make the effort. I dreadfully missed home until I stopped comparing."

Well, mostly. He still thought the colors in Fandom were too dull, but that wasn't something he'd ever been able to explain.

[bitchprince]

"It is not so much about compare," he said, "As it is about respect. But it seems even that flows in strange ways."

It was that Arthur had rather a lot of experience with Merlin's impertinence.

[withoutverona]

"I think most people here believe respect is earned rather than granted," Romeo ventured, grappling a little with putting it into words. "Even for teachers; I have only one this term I would say I respect, and that's solely for the way he carries himself."

[bitchprince]

"It makes you wonder how any of them keep discipline at all," Arthur said, and if his tone was a bit dry, he'd foist the guilt on Yzma.