it’s been a long while since the both of you have been able to go on a date like this with all the trouble camelot stirred up recently both inside and outside of liones. as a knight of the apocalypse yourself and the leader of your platoon, you’d been dispatched to neighbouring countries to gather intel, leaving lancelot to his own devices in time you’d been absent.

your return to liones was quite impromptu seeing as your mission should’ve kept your platoon overseas longer, but with camelot’s recent attack on the capital, you were forced to abandon the mission and come back to aid any efforts against arthur and his chaos knights.

the fight was long since over by the time you’d returned, and you focused on helping with the damages that occurred throughout the capital. it was a destructive siege and very obviously a power play. arthur knew that liones was weak at the moment of his infiltration, especially since all the knights of the prophecy had yet to be introduced and properly acknowledged.

once most of the hassle had settled down, lancelot was quick to whisk you away from any of your impending responsibilities, inadvertently pushing a lot of them onto the rest of your platoon, much to their chagrin.

“blanket’s ready. get over here” lancelot plops down onto the checkered fabric, patting the spot beside him to beckon you closer. when you sit next to him and set the picnic basket you’d been holding between the two of you, you release a quiet sigh, finally able to relax.

“whew… it’s been so long since we’ve been here like this. that mission took so long, and i’m honestly beginning to think his majesty might hate my platoon.” the complain leaves you in a grumble while you lean your head against his shoulder.

lancelot snorts in response, wrapping an arm around your shoulders, pulling you closer to his side. he presses a kiss to the crown of your head, then deviates to your forehead and eventually down to capture your lips in a loving peck. “you’re so dramatic.”

“but i’m right, though.”

“but you really aren’t.”

the both of you snicker at the banter, and you return his earlier pecks with a few of your own.

“missed me that much, hm?” he muses between your pecks, his hand sliding from your shoulders up to the back of your head so he could kiss you properly.

“well, duh…” you mumble, pulling back momentarily to stare into the depths of his captivating, ruby coloured eyes. “why wouldn’t i miss my favourite boy?”

“my sweet girl, always so clingy” he grins, leaning in again.

you grin at the endearment, your own hand tangling in his hair.

“oh, but you love it when i’m clingy.”

“mmh… that i do.”

he pecks your lips playfully then pulls back to look at you. you’re still the same as he remembered; soft, round cheeks, dark skin that glistens in the sunlight, and deep eyes that hold so much warmth and love.

“you’re so beautiful..” he murmured after a while, thumbing at the soft swell of your cheek. “it’s almost unfair how pretty you are.”

a light feeling blooms in your chest, partly out of embarrassment but mostly out of love. you could see the dilation of his pupils and how soft his gaze turned as his eyes roam your face.

”you’re such a sap all of a sudden. don’t tell me you’ve been hanging out with isolde in my absence?”

“don’t start, woman.” he flicks your forehead, not enough to hurt, and kisses the spot he flicked immediately after to soothe the lingering sting.

a brief silence falls between the both of you as you finally begin to eat, but it doesn’t last too long because you start talking about your travels the past few months and the things and people you’d encountered during your mission. lancelot listens intently as you talk, his eyes soft as he watches your animated gestures while you talk.

as dusk begins to paint the sky in an ombré of pinks and oranges, a few hours later, you and lancelot begin to pack up your picnic basket while you neatly fold the blanket and tuck it underneath your arm.

“this has been fun” you hum in contentment. “we should do this again, preferably after i finish my reports.”

lancelot snorts. “oh, please, you know you’re thankful to not be cooped up writing mountains of reports right now,” he stands up, the picnic basket in one hand and intertwining his free hand with yours. “don’t worry, next time i’ll take you to a really nice forest clearing i found. it’s quiet and hidden and farther away from the city.”

“trying to have me all to yourself, are you? and you call me the clingy one” you tease as he tugs you down the steep hill, being careful so you don’t trip on the way down.

“that’s because you are the clingy one. and you’ve been gone for months, i don’t think it’s out of the ordinary for me to want you to myself uninterrupted.”

you pout at him but don't argue—he wasn’t wrong about you being the clingier one in the relationship, but it’s not like he minded it either. if anything, he enables your behaviour more often than he doesn’t.

the walk back to the city is short and quiet as the both of you simply bask in each other’s presence. there’s a slight buzz in the depths of your stomach—your heart feels so incredibly full with affection, and the citrusy scent of him is a heady cloud on your senses.

lancelot escorts you back to the castle because you still have a lot of work to do and reports to compile as the leader of your platoon that can’t be callously handed off to other people in the platoon. the stroll is slow, though. neither of you really want to part ways and settle on talking numerous detours instead to elongate your time together.

as the castle draws near over the horizon, lancelot slows his steps and you follow suit. his fingers are still twined with yours, squeezing gently. eventually, he stops walking as the doors come into view. “i guess this is where i leave you, pretty girl. try not to overwork yourself again, alright? i’ll kick your ass if you do.”

you roll your eyes at him as you face him properly. “that was one time, lance. and it was a heatwave, you can’t really blame me for that.”

“one time too many—and i remember reminding you to stay hydrated, idiot. but seriously, take care of yourself. i won’t always be around to make sure you’re doing alright.” he releases your hand in favour of pressing your head to his chest, his fingers playing with the stray curls at the nape of your neck.

“yes, yes. no need to mother hen me,” you mutter into the crook of his neck, pressing light kisses there.

he shivers, tightening his grip on the back of your head. “behave.”

he tries to sound stern but you can tell you’ve gotten under his skin and flustered him. you chuckle lightly, tilting your head up to catch his lips in a gentle kiss.

lancelot leans into the kiss and soon deepens it with a slow tilt of his head. it was a lot more passionate than the playful ones you’d exchanged earlier in the day but no less gentle.

pulling away, lancelot peers down at you fondly, his hand slipping from the back of your head to your chin, his thumb brushing against your bottom lip. he goes to lean in for another kiss but the sound of footsteps approaching redirects his attention a little bit and upon locking eyes with whoever it was behind you both, his body stiffens.

“…lancelot?” you look up at him worriedly then follow his gaze to see a young girl, probably no older than twelve, standing there, her deep burgundy eyes staring wide at the both of you, almost as if she was in shock.

she’s quite pretty, you note, but find it a bit unusual for a child to be out here of all places, especially with the rapidly setting sun.

“oh, are you lost, dear? where’re your parents?” you ask softly, pulling away from lancelot to crouch down to her level.

she stares at you for a moment and then looks over to lancelot. “who is she?”

lancelot’s jaw clenches and he runs a palm down his face, an annoyed grunt leaving his lips. “did you follow us here, guinevere?”

“who is she, lancelot?” guinevere asks once more, a lot firmer than the first time. her eyes shift back to you, a sudden hostility in their depths which takes you aback and puts your guard up.

“do you know this child, lance?” you stand back up as he tugs you over to his side, placing himself protectively between you and the child.

“it’s… a long story,” he sighs, staring down at the smaller girl with thinly veiled irritation.

“well, i’m all ears,” you cross your arms.

lancelot scratches his nape, his shoulders slouching as he tries to formulate the words in order to not upset you—seriously, where does he even begin to explain this situation?!

with a heavy sigh, he gestures a hand to guinevere. “this… is guinevere, and for some reason, she’s convinced herself that she’s my lover—“

“because i am!” the girl huffs, a frown marring her otherwise soft features.

“okay, okay, so why the hell didn’t you think to tell me about this?”

“i didn’t really know how i was gonna explain it, but i swear i was going to tell you.”

“you still haven’t answered my question lancelot: who is this woman?” guinevere eyes you again, not liking how close you and lancelot seem to be.

“she’s my girlfriend.”

“…your girlfriend?” her tone is flat, clearly displeased with the way you’d been introduced.

“yes, my girlfriend, lover, or however else it’ll take for you to understand that i’m happily taken.”

“y-you..! did… did the kiss we shared mean nothing to you?!” she snaps, taking numerous steps forward until she was standing right in front of lancelot, angry tears welling up in her eyes.

your eyebrows shoot up in surprise and you look to your boyfriend incredulously who in return looks both agitated and irritated.

“the kiss you forced on me, you mean?” he corrects, matter-of-factly. “look, guinevere, i don’t know why you think of me as your lover, and i also couldn’t care less. i have a woman that i love and she’s not you.”

lancelot’s hand trails to your lower back and encircles your hips, his calloused palm grabbing at the plush fat of your hips. “i’d suggest putting this whole fantasy behind you and finding someone your own age. i’m not saying this to be mean or to spite you, but i’m being dead serious when i say that i love this woman with every fibre of my being.”

guinevere’s bottom lip trembles and her words fail her momentarily. she turns swiftly on her heel, muttering something under her breath as she flees, leaving you dumbfounded and lancelot exasperated.

“damn it…” he groans, slumping against you.

you pat his back affectionately. “you did the right thing, lance. it’s important to be stern in situations like that.”

he grumbles something unintelligible against your skin before leaving kisses against the expanse of your neck in remorse. “i’m so sorry you had to deal with that.”

”it’s alright, lance. clearly the situation is a lot more complicated than i thought. tell you what, i’ll finish my things up as quick as i can and we can have a sleepover. and, i’ll even brush your fur if you turn into sin.” you tilt your head back to give him more access to your neck.

he perks up just slightly, nipping the skin gently. “you’ve got yourself a deal, pretty girl.”