New Plan, Step One: Provide For My Community [open]

[summerdude]

Magnus needs something to change, so when a Mansion calendar helpfully informs him that it's International Falafel Day back on Earth, he goes to the library for some cookbooks, and then to the kitchen.

He lays out ten different falafel recipes. He gathers the ingredients they list, as best as he can understand them. He has canned chickpeas and fresh chickpeas and dried chickpeas and chickpea flour and box mixes of falafel that say 'just add water!'

Cripes.

"I can do this," he says, peering at the assorted recipes intently for a good ten minutes, and then takes the dried chickpeas over to the sink to rinse and soak.

Comments

[summerdude]

"Good." Magnus gives Galahad another squeeze. "Where should we start?" (He means, of course, with everything: reconnecting, dealing with the way things have changed, making the falafel...)

[onthewillowsthere]

"Lan Wangji says there are four gentlemanly arts. Calligraphy, painting, weiqi, and playing the qin. You don't have to train with us. We could both be his students."

[summerdude]

"I know," Magnus says, but instead of matter-of-fact he sounds mostly -- surprised? He'd sort of forgotten. No, not forgotten, just... set the memory aside. "He's been teaching me meditation and he keeps promising to teach us calligraphy together."

[onthewillowsthere]

"We talked about it during Dark," he agrees. "When things were bad."

[summerdude]

"That's right," Magnus says. Yes, with another squeeze.

[onthewillowsthere]

"I would like to."

[summerdude]

"Me too. Soon." Magnus doesn't put a specific day or time on it, though, which is an aberration from his usual approach (scheduling out in detail), because he doesn't want to be disappointed if it can't happen on that schedule.

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad still feels somewhat off-balance; things are definitely not Normal. He reaches for the bowl of chickpeas. "Do you want to finish?"

[summerdude]

"Yeah." Magnus disentangles himself from the hug and turns to help continue shelling. "So, um. What's new with you?"

[onthewillowsthere]

Very little; very much. He and Susan have been visiting often to listen to music together, and talk about science, and pet her cat; he and Laertes are nearly finished with the signet ring. He is still training with Lan Wangji, and still spending time at the chapel Magnus made for him, although he rarely prays there now. He doesn't always say mass now. He still always says the hours. He and Claudius have sex. They have a great deal of sex.

"Dionysus painted my face," he says.

[summerdude]

"He what?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"And put glitter on me."

[summerdude]

Magnus blinks and stares. "Why?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"He said it was a celebration."

[summerdude]

"A face painting and glitter celebration??"

[onthewillowsthere]

"That's what he said." He pauses, trying to remember anything useful. "In the cafe. There were flags."

[summerdude]

"Flags? Like, Greek flags?" Could it be some kind of ancient Greek holiday?

[onthewillowsthere]

"There were lots of colors. Apollo was there."

[summerdude]

Magnus can't help it; he grimaces when Galahad mentions Apollo. "Ugh," he says, and then, "Too many colors for me?"

[onthewillowsthere]

"I told him I knew he was your dad," peacefully. He's almost done with his half of the chickpeas. "It was too many colors for you. Some of the flags had rainbows."

[summerdude]

Magnus rushes to catch up. "It was a... wait. The greek gods know about pride?"

[onthewillowsthere]

Galahad gives him a Look. He can't think of a clarifying question that wouldn't be easier than just waiting for Magnus to explain, and, more than that, he wants to listen while Magnus just talks, the way they used to. What made Magnus so easy to be friends with in the beginning, when Galahad was like a clenched fist instead of a person, fingers biting into a palm, was that Magnus didn't expect him to say anything -- and Magnus never said anything he didn't mean. He is like Percival. He came upon Galahad and chose him, in spite of who he was, and he's never made Galahad guess what the truth is. Now that that feels less than certain, suddenly, Galahad wants more than anything to hear Magnus go on a long and half-incomprehensible explanation of what pride and rainbow flags have to do with each other.

[summerdude]

Sorry, Galahad! "Did Uncle D, like. Explain why he was putting glitter on you?"

[onthewillowsthere]

He shakes his head.

[summerdude]

"Okay. Well. Did you like it?"