sunburned | (no subject)

Laurence looked up from the piece of paper that he had been diligently studying, trying to make some sort of headway in mapping currents of the island's surrounding waters, a puzzled expression on his face. "John? What is the matter?"

"I am bored out of my tiny bloody mind," says Granby, huffing out another sigh and glowering in Laurence's direction. "I've read enough, Laurence. I need another entertainment"

Laurence glanced down at the mess on his paper, then back up at Granby. If it was a distraction the other man wanted he was certain that he could think of something productive with which to occupy his time. "Have you any head for figures?" he asked, gesturing to his work.

"Are you entirely serious?" asks Granby, even though he knows that Laurence probably is. He rolls his eyes and tugs at the bandaging on his shoulder.

"Not the entertainment I had in mind, Will."

Laurence had, of course, been entirely serious and he was momentarily confused as to why Granby might not find it an acceptable use of his time. After all, he believed it to be quite a useful afternoon's occupation, even if a slight but tedious. "I fear it may not be entirely diverting, but it is necessary."

"If I wanted to watch you do mathematics, then I surely would," says Granby, still feeling fractious and ready to crawl out of his skin. He drums his fingers against the table - at least the bandages are off his hands.

"I would very much like it if you came to bed for a while, Will."

"Perhaps later," he said, looking pointedly out of the window where it was still very obviously midday. Granby may have slowly changed his views on some things, yet his beliefs about when they ought to occur seemed unlikely to change in any great way in the near future. "There are things that need doing at the present time."

"Like what?" asks Granby, a slight smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "More maths?"

Laurence frowned and laid his pen aside, giving up on his work entirely for the time being. "No. I was planning on going out on the water once this is through to attempt to settle a question of navigation."

"The water." Granby mulled that over for a moment, considering. His shoulder is serviceable; he's been on dragon back with worse.

"I'd be amenable to that."

"You would find it sufficiently entertaining, then?" Laurence asked, looking somewhat dubiously at Granby. Ge seemed to have changed his mind about things rather quickly considering that only a few moments earlier he had been remarking so disparagingly on Laurence's suggestion. His wounded shoulder did not even come into things as he was quite certain that the other man was more than ready for light duty.

"I am sure I could find something about it to my liking," he says, with a roll of his good shoulder. "You'd be there, after all, and it is very private out on the water. That boat of yours has a cabin, does it not?"

"It does," he admitted. Already he was beginning to gather the items necessary for a short trip out, a process which would not take overly long as he made sure that the boat itself was always kept well-prepared. "Though I hardly think it will need to be used on such a short voyage."

"Oh, absolutely," says Granby, although there's an idea definitely taking place. Since making it down from the hill and then home from the clinic, he's found it difficult to not be within arm's reach.

"Do I need anything?"

Laurence shook his head, placing his calculations into a bag to take with them for all the good they might do. He did not have Temeraire's mind for numbers and could promise little in regards to their accuracy. "Not unless you feel it necessary," he said, certain Granby would at the least wish to bring his sketchbook.

The sketchbook and spare pencils, a little tin of watercolours that he'd managed to scrounge up lived in the leather satchel that was dumped unceremoniously by the door. It didn't take long to sling it across his chest.

"I suppose I'm ready then."

"Good." The change in environment and the possibility of doing something useful would surely do Granby a world of help. Laurence smiled, his mood visibly easier now that there was a set course of action before the two of them. Even the walk to the dock seemed to go more swiftly than usual now that he had that sense of purpose.

He wandered along in Laurence's wake, taking his time and enjoying the sun on his shoulders. The boat is nice enough; cheerful in the sun. He grinned, steeping in closer behind Laurence, not pressing against him but near enough on the empty dock.

"You all but glow with pride," he says.

"Do I?" Despite the question, Laurence could not help the smile that remained on his face. Even on a magical island, the sea still felt like home, something that would remain familiar regardless of the circumstances, and having a vessel of his own -no matter the size- only made it that much better. "I was a sailor long before I was an aviator, John, so I suppose it is somewhat warranted."

"Aye. You do." They were alone and Granby leaned in, pressing a kiss against Laurence's cheek, lightly stubbled, before walking past him, down the jetty. "So...how're you going to press me into service?"

Laurence looked down, blushing fiercely even if they had been unobserved. A good many things were still far too private to be so open. It was no reflection on Granby, simply on his own character.

"I had rather hoped that you would come willingly," he said, following Granby down towards the boat.

"Well, I am and I will but I assume you'll want me to make myself useful," he says, climbing aboard and dropping his satchel not the deck. "You know you won't want me sitting about making the place look untidy."

"I hardly think you will be so great a burden," Laurence said, busying himself with various ropes and knots in preparation for their getting underway. Surely Granby knew the procedure by now. "And I would not wish for you to do more than your wound will permit, John."

There were a handful of small things that Granby could do perfectly capably and he fell to doing them without being told.

"I know that, Will," he said, with a crooked smile. "I'll be careful, I promise."

They both knew that that wasn't entirely likely. But at least he was trying.

He was indeed well aware of it, and he returned Granby's smile as he came aboard. He was in his element now, moving about from task to task with an effortless capability as they made their way to open waters. The motions had been ingrained in him from such a young age that he could likely have done them in his sleep. He was, however, still grateful for Granby's help.