date night (tessa)

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Gunnar wasn’t happy that he had to stay in one place for so long. It was nice though that his guardian Angel had been there to take care of him and to keep him company. She also provided him with a good bit of distraction and even a basket of his favorite food, Green Apples. He had been in Japan, doing some business for his job, but he had that stupid super hero complex, he had to save that little girl from being kidnapped. He had been there in the right place at the right time to save her. But he had paid a price and according to her, he had almost died for it. It was a high powered muscle relaxer that had hit him, almost taking affect instantly. He had landed in the infirmary but at least she had given him something to help work through the stuff prematurely so he could make sure that the little girl had stayed safe. Gunnar placed his jacket over his shoulders. It shimmered and then went to match the black pants that he was wearing with a light green button down shirt and tie. Gunnar sat down in the second cohort barracks as he pulled his black leather shoes out and his kit. He brushed them off and then started to polish them, really making them shine. He wasn’t about to go out looking like a bum with his shoes all scuffed up. He thought about his angel, Tessa Yates, the new head of the infirmary. She had a bit of an issue with believing that he cared about her deeply. HE would prove it, oh how he would prove it. He cared for her more than anything in the world and would even go to the moon just to bring her back the light of the stars if she asked him to. Gunnar slipped his shoes on and then tied the laces. He stood up, moving quietly through the shadows as he usually did. Only Tessa knew of his existence in the second cohort, Jason knew of it by being the centurion, but other than Remus, not many others knew of his existence and that was how he preferred it. Keeping it low was what he did to make sure that the others weren’t in danger.

Gunnar stopped in at New Rome and purchased some flowers from a Ceres vendor before heading back into camp. Tessa had said her days off were sporadic since she had become head of the infirmary. But he intended on taking her off to celebrate her new promotion. He hoped she liked the hydrangeas that he picked up to go along with this particular bouquet. She didn’t know much of the things she liked since she had always done what she was told and didn’t know exactly what she liked, but it was going to be fun to find out together what she loved. Tonight she had something special that was going to be presented to her. Oh he had arranged everything for tonight and he hoped that she would enjoy it with as much fun as he did.

He walked through the infirmary, looking for the particular room where she was now making her home as the head of the infirmary. Even though he could have just appeared in the office, he thought it would have been better to just knock. He had enjoyed creeping her out before he could really figure out that he cared for her. Gunnar had been like a small child, torturing and teasing her like some kind of bully, but he had come to grips with it and then kidnapped her on a date. Though Kyoto wasn’t too happy about it, what was the guy gonna do? Gunnar knew the sound of her heart beat and the sound of her breath in the shadows. Shadows were unavoidable and everywhere. That was the thing that people didn’t know when they tried to stay away from the ‘Shadow Man’. You can’t avoid the darkness. It was inevitable and you had to sleep sometime. Gunnar didn’t so much as sleep as he did meditate. He was fully aware of his surroundings and his senses were heightened but his body was getting the required amount of rest. But for once he felt nervous. He had hoped that she liked what he was doing for her. Gunnar swallowed as he knocked on her door, loud enough that the occupant would hear it but low enough that the entire infirmary would be alerted to his presence.

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She had promised to tell him twenty-four hours ahead of schedule, at a minimum, when she would be off. While her week had been busy, so very busy, since she became head of the infirmary it seemed to die down a bit. Jason had been helping her out, but she was a bit stubborn and had to make sure he got rest. She was in charge of everyones health, at least a bit, now and that included her dear lovely Praetor of an uncle. It seemed a habit of those in charge of the Infirmary to get very little sleep. Though she at least didn't have to deal with centurion duty like Jason. Though she did have to deal with her own little perfection nuances. She tried so hard, working on the things she did to try and be perfect, accepting nothing less from herself. She felt that was required to get any kind of love or attention, but it seemed recently that might not be the case. It was a little confusing, to say the least. People telling her she need not be perfect, that she didn't need to do everything she was. Archery, sword fighting, medical care, sewing, more recently forging. She felt everything she ever tried to dabble in she needed to perfect and keep it that way. Even the parper work, teaching, and assigning work to best suit other was going to have to be perfect. She loved Jason, and after quite a bit of time accepted his feelings for her as family. They were related after all, and he seemed to take over a big brother type of role in her life that she was thankful for. She could accept that he cared for her, even in all of her flaws. She knew she had plenty of those.

There was one other who seemed to care for her, at least more than she would normally think a person should care about her. Gunnar. Oh how he made her heart beat fast, though it had not started out as quite the pleasurable rapid heart beat. Originally he frightened her, tormented her from the shadows, making her think every day would be her last. Never once did she do anything different. The thought of death, and dying did not make her do or say anything really different with her schedule. Possibly because she had nothing different to do, because she already had no regrets. Perhaps other than not finding someone to love and be loved by. Though she found Jason, which for a while was all she could ever hope for. Romantic love had never been on her mind, and looking at her organizer she had even mentioned the fact she had no time for love. It seemed to not be something you can simply say no to. She had spent a week hovering over him after his near death experience. Even though he need not actually have spent all that time in the infirmary, she wanted him there. She wanted to keep an eye on him, and make sure she hadn't messed up. She was so worried when he collapsed on the floor in front of her. She went right into doctor mode though, commanding and caring for him as she would anyone else. Emotions could make things a bit sloppy, though when the newest member of the Infirmary team could not obtain her the AED she needed she had to admit she was flustered, and slightly angry. She wasn't quite sure what she would have done if Gunnar hadn't made it right then. Simply thinking about it made her heart feel like it would stop, if it had happened she feared it really would stop.

Today she had the afternoon and evening off, which meant it was when her knight cloaked in shadow and mystery would show up to whisk her away. Though she had spent years not dressing up, or doing anything special she still had her practice. She simply never left without washing all the work off her face. Sometimes it was just nice to dress up nice, and be pretty before washing it all off and putting on useful clothes instead of skirts and dresses. Today though, was not a work day. Instead of her normal attire she wore the blue dress Gunnar bought her. It always made her feel special when he brought her gifts, things for the simple reason he thought she'd like it. Which she did. Every last one of them. A tall black belt adorned her mid section, pulling the loose dress close to her. That morning she had spent a small amount of time on her hair and make up before doing a small amount of paperwork in her office. That was were she was going to be picked up anyway, so she might as well do a bit of work before he came. Her loose curls tumbled around her shoulders, not quite the straight hair she normally wore, and just a light bit of make up. While she liked the look of heavy eye shadow on some models, it was never really her thing. Best to simply accent natural features with a little bit of make up.

Her heart beat in her chest as she stared at the paperwork, not quite comprehending it as much as she would like. Glancing at the clock every few seconds, it seemed time ticked by at a snails pace. She wondered if she could get anything done when she could hardly contain her excitement. She wasn't even entirely sure why she was so excited. She had been on, outings with him before. She wasn't sure if she could call them dates, mostly because every time she thought of them as such her heart beat wildly. The knock at the door made her look up, at the window lay a familiar silhouette. She hadn't wanted to get her hopes up at first, in case it had perhaps been someone with a lance through their foot again. However this was him, and a wide smile spread across her face. She attempted to make it go away before opening the door, feeling she looked goofy with the grin plastered across her face. Finally when she felt she made progress with turning it to a normal smile, his face on the other side of the door foiled her plans. She stood in the doorway, not in her scrubs as normal, not with a clean make-up free face as normal, and not with her normal straight hair. Bashfully she pulled the corners of her lips back, looking up at her date. There was no way she could get around not calling this one a date.

OOC: omg, holy smokes. this is my first post I broke 1000 words. celebration is needed

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Gunnar wasn’t sure what was going on. Somewhere in this infirmary, there was a rather loud clock ticking, each second that was ticked off was like a gunshot going off in his mind. He didn’t know if he was just nervous or if that clock was really that bad. It was like his senses were going off on over drive, everything heightened like he was partaking in a battle or another job. The loud noise was driving him insane as he stood in front of a door, like he was about to meet his own grandfather at the time of his demise. He tried to take a deep breath and quell these pesky emotions that reared their heads more often these days. Where in the world had his training gone? Was this that emotion called love and affection that he was afflicted with? He didn’t know. Ukki said he needed to learn of more emotions and that to keep them bottled up was a bad thing. Apparently that was what happened to his mother. While now he understood what had happened but he could never forgive her for it. It was no skin off his nose. He didn’t want to end up like her, he didn’t want to go crazy or insane because he was too stupid to allow himself some downtime. Yes, he was still able to keep his emotions in check, but he didn’t trust himself to keep his anger reined in if someone were to threaten or touch Tessa. Only he was allowed to torment her, and he did so due to his inability to actually communicate with a woman. She probably didn’t even know that they were in the same cohort. Or did she? No Gunnar wasn’t sure. Every breath he breathed seemed to catch in his neck, his heart pounding like a roman war drum and his head was hurting. Maybe he would have to get something for his headache before he shadow traveled. Otherwise it would prove to be disastrous. A sick stomach and on a worse case would end up jumping too short or two long. He knew what he was doing today. Gunnar had it all planed out and made sure to make all of the nessicary calls.

There was the click of the door and Gunnar almost felt like he was going to faint. He collected his mind and gave a small smile, feeling like a total idiot as he stood there with a bunch of flowers in his hands as Tessa then opened up the door. His heart fluttered, much to the same degree of terror that he could hear her’s beat at around him when he was starting to torment her. Gunnar’s small smile turned into a full blown smile as she looked gorgeous in her dress. He had picked it out and had it delivered by an old friend of his, a legacy of venus and mercury. It looked amazing on her and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. “you look beautiful.” He muttered as he quickly offered up the flowers. What in the name of all gods am I doing, he thought as he felt the blood creep up into his ears, making them feel as if they were on fire. Gunnar wouldn’t have been surprised if smoke was blowing out of his ears like a freight train. It was pretty bad. “I brought these for you.” He said, trying to offer up the flowers, instead he just shoved them at her like a maniac. No, that was wrong. “I’m sorry” He apologized, trying to not look like a jerk or an idiot. “I’m just nervous.” He admitted to her. He would never admit it to anyone else, but he was sure that Tessa wouldn’t divulge this little bit of information to his enemies. Oh he had enemies. The Yakuza and various drug cartels among them. So he did a few things that weren’t so good, but for the most of the time, his secrets and dealing death was beneficial in the long run for both New Rome, the Camp, and the world around him. He wanted to leave it better, he wanted to do things his way and the way that he knew how to best make a difference. If there was a chance that it could be better for Tessa then it would be worth it in the end.

“I hope you will enjoy what I have planned tonight.” Gunnar said as he let out a breath that he didn’t know that he was holding. “This is my congratulations on your promotion. But I think I might have to get myself injured to see you.” His eyes sparkled with a glint of mischievousness. He hoped that Tessa wouldn’t take him serious and freak out over it. “I only joke. I don’t wish to give you that sort of heart attack anymore.” Oh he wouldn’t mind stopping her heart by sweeping her off her feet or to take her breath away by showing her the beauty in things that would be worthy of a legacy of Venus that surpassed even the daughters of Venus themselves. “I hope that you’re ready, but before we go, May I inquire about something for this headache? I’d hate to over shoot our destination or to miss it completely.” He gave her a smile. He offered her his hand as he looked at the shadows that were starting to stretch across the office. They would make the perfect portal to travel to his intended destination. “Hold on to me tight, love.” He said as he pulled her close to his chest.

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A goofy, embarrassed, excited smile threatened to pull the corners of her mouth until her cheeks ached from the muscle strain. Though it seemed the attempt at stopping the smile also caused a bit of pain, something the warmth of her face soothed away. The high amount of blood circulating in her face, leaving her cheeks tinged in a soft pink color. Curling her lips inward, she tried to keep them from pulling apart showing her teeth in the same smile she was trying to avoid. The soft taste of cherry passed through her mouth, a colored lip balm she had. "Thank you." she said softly, so that only he could hear her. She still had no desire for people in camp to hear her voice, but she liked for Gunnar to hear it. Speaking completely broke the control she had over he lips, as they pulled back into that sweet, joyful smile. She quickly covered her face with her hand, smiling into it. She thought it must look strange, or silly, and she shouldn't smile so widely. Glancing away for a moment, her heart beat faster and blood continued to choose her face as it's destination. "You look extremely handsome." Which he was, and that was part of the reason he had his own private room while he stayed in the Infirmary. She didn't like some of the wandering eyes that fell upon him. Jealousy she supposed. A terribly feeling she wished she didn't have.

Her smile softened a little as she was going to take the flowers, not quite looking at him face because she felt it would only deepen the shade of crimson on her face. They thumped against her chest, and in quite an unexpected way he took her breath away. Looking questionably at the flower, she tilted her head up to see his face. A soft shade of pink had creeped up over his tanned skin, making it's way up to his ears. Resting her hands gently on his as she took the flowers she smiled. Not the overly excited smile, or the bashful smile, this was a slightly amused one. It was cute, and reassuring, to know he felt shy or embarrassed from this too. Nervous. He admitted to that emotion, and she knew how much he had to trust and care for her to do that. Bringing the flowers closer to her face she inhaled their pleasantly fresh smell, bringing a bit of calm to the feelings she was having at the moment.

Gunnar stood a foot and a half taller than she did, the height only slightly diminished by her heels. Even with that, she really wanted to kiss his cheek. That was near impossible for her to do without him bending down for her though. Softly she chewed on her lip, the burst of cherry reminding her to stop that. "It's okay, thank you. Again." barely audible she was very good with her control over her voice. She could speak quietly without that harsh sound whispering had. Maybe if she could some how grow a few more inches, there had to be a way right? Perhaps not instantaneously, but just a little bit so she could be closer. There where cases of girls growth spurts as late as 26, so she could always hope. Though she wasn't sure if she'd still be with this particular person at that time, she slightly hoped so. Though she didn't want to think about it. She'd never seen a relationship last very long outside of camp. Even inside of camp there were few that lasted more than two years. Yes, it seemed that was the cut off for these things.

Getting himself hurt to see her, it wasn't a pleasant thought but he had mentioned it in good fun that week she stayed with him after his injury. While she was fairly sure he wouldn't harm himself or another, she could some how see him hanging around First Cohorts training sessions to help someone back to the Infirmary. Those in First Cohort where stubborn, but defiantly kept the staff in practice. She couldn't help but smirk at the cunning gleam in his eye, full of child like delight. Though he used to have a similar look while tormenting her, perhaps this joke was simply an extension of that. "I know the heart is a muscle that needs to be worked out, but lets keep it from being exercised in that way." with a small laugh she nodded "I know." Her lips again swept into a joyful smile. It wasn't as though he didn't give her heart enough of a work out. Simply being here, in front of her, caused it to beat rapidly. He was a strange one, that initially terrified her, the confused her to no end, and finally became a man she could trust. The fluttering of her heart that once came only in fear came to her now in joy, and embarrassment.

Headaches weren't good for anyone, and most people in the legion never complained of them. For the most part Tessa took the idea, if a Roman complained about pain it's probably at least above a five on the pain scale. Then there was when the Mars children came asking for pain pills, that normally required examination. Perfectly acceptable rule of thumb. Her hand reached up to lightly caress his face, a small bit of worry in her eyes before slipping back into her office for a small bottle of headache medicine. It was nothing special, just a take one or two type of medicine. While there she put the flowers in a vase, pulling out some she had placed there a few days ago. She liked having flowers in the window.

Scooting her fit frame back through the door way and to the man who waited for her outside she presented the medicine, and the water bottle she almost always kept with her, especially in the summer months. Taking the hand that was offered to her she held onto it tightly, until he pulled her close to him. Her heart had been given a chance to slow to a normal pace, but not anymore. Glancing up at his face the quickly averted her eyes, the all too familiar warmth raising to her cheeks again. Nodding she allowed him to pull her close, and held onto him.

OOC: hahahaha, over 1000 again

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A small smile had started to tug at the usually cold lips that stretched across the legionnaires face. Emotions for so long had been off limits. But after learning that what had driven his mother to insane was the fact that she kept her emotions in check for so long. Gunnar had watched her slow descent into madness, a slow and spiraling problem that left his family torn. How his father was able to go about for so long like there was nothing wrong, he wasn't sure. He was glad that he had spoken to Ukki about emotions. He was glad that his grandfather had taken it upon himself to find a nice girl. Emotions were not something that could be kept bottled up for so long. He didn't want to loose it the same way his mother did, no, that would be a bad thing and he would end up hurting people that were innocent. The last thing that he wanted to do was to hurt someone who didn't deserve it. Tessa, she was his world and anything that wanted to hurt her, they would have to go through him. He would never forgive himself if he had hurt her. It was enough to pain him, but his mind was taken away from his thoughts as he returned with her voice to the present world. Her voice was low and sweet, it was like every desirable sound had manifested itself into a single person's voice and wound it's way through his ears and assaulted every part of his brain that controlled desire. She commented on his handsome appearance, and he could feel a bit of blush flush up across his cheeks. There were those that called him vain because he cared about his appearance, he wanted to look professional. He was a trained and professional killer, he had to look the part of being a businessman. “Thank you, and my eyes look upon the singular most beautiful star in the galaxy.” A mischievous glint flashed in his eyes. Okay maybe Lady Venus would take offense, but as of right now, Gunnar didn't care.

The noticeable size difference was something that Gunnar over looked most of the time. He worried about it on occasion, but he always held out hope that she might hit a growth spurt late in life. It had been known to happen from time to time, but he always towered over people. It gave him a rather intimidating advantage for the most part, but this was a woman that he didn't want to tower over and try to push information out of. He had no reason to. Again she spoke, once more, Gunnar felt his control slipping. He took a few deep breaths, hoping that it would clear his head. He felt the swimming feeling go away, he was back in control of his facilities. That was one of the major reasons why he didn't drink more than the occasional glass of wine. Okay, maybe not here in America, but when he went to visit his Italian vinyard, a glass of wine wasn't out of the question. Why were Americans so picky about drinking age? This was also the country where too much control lead to too many problems. “you don't have to thank me so much.” He gave a smile, finally his emotions betraying a usually cool facade. He was happy that she had taken him up on the offer to take him someplace. He didn't usually care for girls. But that was the big difference between Tessa and the other girls that ran around camp, she was a woman. She had a good head on her shoulders and she was a quick thinker. It was her actions that saved her life. Yes, it probably was his fault for doing something stupid to save a life, but he didn't care. Gunnar felt that if he could make a difference in a single life then it would be worth it. “I hope that you're feeling up for an adventure.” Gunnar said with a small smile. He hadn't told her what in particular they were doing and yes he did feel like a jerk for keeping the secrets from her, but he wanted to surprise her.

“You know I would never intentionally give you heart problems.... well... now at any rate.” He winked at her. He knew full well how much he tormented this poor young woman. Previously he took some sense of child like glee every time he was able to brush his daggers and knives against the back of her neck, her pale skin making her jumpy. Oh it was quite the sensation and rush. Now he got a feeling of happiness from her smiles instead of her heart beating terror. People didn't realize how much power that shadows could hold. The body was filled with them and on more than one occasion when Gunnar had been given a job and no sense of evidence could be found for death, it usually meant that he strangled them with the shadows in their throats or he caused the heart to stop beating. He had a rather extensive knowledge of human anatomy, part of his studies that were required to be a dealer in death. Medics and doctors and Apollo spawn had a marginally better understanding of the human body than he did. But it came from years and years of practice, or in the case of the children and legacies of Apollo, it was a natural instinct. They got it through genteics. Was he a little jealous? Yes maybe a tad bit but then he wouldn't have the amazing ability to control the shadows.

Gunnar took the medication that was offered to him, he really didn't want to mess this up because of a simple and avoidable thing such as pain. He chugged the water, swallowing at least half of the bottle. He had choked on a pill once before, as embarrassing as it was, the last thing he wanted to do was croak before a date. Her smaller frame bumped into his larger one. He held her tight against his body and he melted through the shadows that were cast by the late afternoon sun. To others, the shadows could get to be unnerving, but to him they were a comfortable blanket. He wasn't as powerful as an actual child of Mors or Pluto, but he was good with what he was given. Gunnar was a master of his craft, even if his parents were slightly deranged. There was a light and suddenly the warmth of a late summer afternoon came over them. It was nice, they had landed right where he had planned. He dusted himself off and then dusted off Tessa. Yes it was a dirt road in a quiet little area. “our ride should be here soon...” Gunnar commented as a horse drawn carriage clopped up. “ahh yes, here we are.” Gunnar offered her a hand to help her into the carriage. “Welcome to Williamsberg Virgina.” He said motioning to the revolutionary war village behind him.

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She inhaled slightly, a light bit of surprise and confusion over taking her features. Her lips curled inward as she looked away, the flush on her face growing. She was fairly certain she was attractive, though to hear Gunnar speak it was almost as if she was the most beautiful. "No..." she said quietly, perhaps more so to the floor than to the man in front of her. He could have such sweet words, and she wasn't sure how to deal with them. She was fairly certain if anyone else had said something like that she wouldn't be affected as much as she was. Still anyone complimenting her was nice, but coming from Gunnar it took a whole new meaning. Something that caused her stomach to knot, and heart to flutter. Her mind would at times wander to the thoughts of why. Why did he care about her specifically? Why was it her when there were plenty in the camp more useful, more beautiful, more confident than she was? Why in all of his world travels was he here with her? Why did her heart change so easily from fear to....

What was this feeling?

Love?

Could she say she loved him? She wasn't sure. She certainly enjoyed his company, enjoyed talking to him, trusted him. She looked forward to the time they spent together so much that the time between seemed to drag on forever. Though she didn't want to say she loved him. It felt like something inside of her would break if she said those words. Part of her felt that would be perfectly fine, that he'd be there whether she broke or not. Another part told her it would never last, that this was only a small break as compared to what would happen if she said those words and they parted ways. She knew she was over thinking again, she knew that's exactly what she always did. She had to simply trust Jason to let him get as close as he was to her. She supposed it would take a while, but perhaps if Gunnar would put up with her long enough, she could do it. When she knew for a fact, and when she felt ready to say it.

It was probably just a habit she had. There was reason for the words "Thank you" and "I'm sorry" to be written in perminate ink on the inside covers of her notebooks. They were the phrases she used most often. She wanted to apologize for a moment, but thought better of it. There was no reason, since there really was no such thing as thanking someone too much. Though he said it wasn't needed, she felt she still needed to thank him when she was thankful. Which, she was thankful for many of the things he did. She supposed it could get annoying, and she didn't want that. "I don't know what else to do. Other than to thank you." her voice continued to stay soft, though it had a near apologetic hint of tone. Everyday with him was an adventure, though she felt weird saying something like that. It felt cheesy, like her smiles. It was nice to see he was smile too, that she had barely been able to see the bit of pink from the blood rushing to his face earlier. Nice to know she wasn't the only one happy about this date. She took his hand a moment, wondering about what she was going to do. It caused her heart to beat even faster as she put his hand on her neck, over her common carotid artery. "Perhaps not intentionally...." gently holding his fingers on her neck, she let him feel the rapid beat of her heart. She tried to control the amount of redness in her face, but it was difficult.

He downed half of the bottle of water, which surprised her a bit considering most people she knew only took a swig or two. She leaned towards him as he pulled her into the shadows. They didn't scare her when she was with him, not any more. Though the fact he could use them as he pleased used to terrify her, she didn't quite feel that way anymore. Perhaps completely due to the fact he no longer teased her with thoughts of death. The cold metal that would tickle the back of her neck, though his hand was so gentle. That was perhaps part of what scared her the most, the way he could control the lightness of his blade was on par with some of the best surgeons they had in the medical building. Though more than likely her own control of the small movements of a blade were better than anyone else there. She'd never say that, nor would she ever think that of herself.

Blinking away the bright summer sun, Tessa let her eyes adjust before looking around. She was terrible with how her eyes adjusted from complete darkness to bright outdoors light. Possibly even the indoor incandescence compared to that which light the outdoors. She felt the hands lift from her, as she looked at the dirt road, the soft rolling hills around them, and her eyes came to focus on the buildings. The light feeling of someone touching her came and drew her attention back to the man with her, as he dusted her dress off. "That's fine, it's fine. It'll get a little dirt on it." she said taking his hand shortly before the carriage stopped at their side. Though she wasn't trying to whisper anymore, her voice still had that touch of soft sweetness it always had. "Williamsburg? Really? But there's so much to look at and do! What time is it here. Three hour time difference..." It took her a moment to realize she didn't even know when things started anyway, but she adjusted her watch accordingly anyway. Plenty of her relatives would have thought this was boring, at least on Venus' side, though she was fairly certain she got more from her Apollo side. Other than the charm speak of course.

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A few things swam through his mind at a rapid pace. He wasn't sure what to make of these emotions. His grandfather told him that there was a time for emotions. Was this one of these times? What was this emotion? Emotion. Was it love? Love was something his father said that did strange things to the mind. His father spoke of it fondly, with more care than he spoke of anything else. When the subject of love came up, he wondered, did his mother even love him? Did she have love when she ripped into his soul with the stygin iron tipped whip? Did it matter that his grandfathers cared for him? Yes it did. Their care was as good for what it was. For what they could do at any rate. There was some times that he couldn't be in places that he wanted to or when their children or grand children needed them. Jupiter had rules that needed to be followed. He watched her, the beautiful blond hair and her star lit eyes, they were enough to make the cold layers of his icy and stoned heart melt. It really was like Venus herself had reincarnated herself into this woman. This wonderful and loving woman. There was everything on earth that made her perfect in his eyes. Sure she didn't know what she wanted, but what woman knew exactly what she wanted? She was kind hearted, sweet, the type of woman that his father told him to look out for. That they were more precious than any amount of money or more valuable than a whole vault full of gems. Tessa was everything he needed to make him a better man and then some. He could see himself with her for the rest of his life. That was something that was rare for him to consider. His life as a roman, his job as a dispatcher of life, seeing himself as a family man or somewhere down the road, that wasn't a luxury he thought about till now.

She thanked him. Apologetically, but it was still a thanks. She took his hand and placed it on her artery. Beneath the warm skin, he could feel the blood pulsing through her veins. It made her alive. She was excited, but at the same time, subdued. Like she was trying to keep herself from getting too excited or too scared. Right now, he could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage. If it wasn't for the bones keeping his lungs and heart lodged where they were, he would have lost his heart flopping on the floor like a fish. He pulled her into a tight hug so she could hear the heart beat of his own. It was pounding hard and fast. He took a deep breath as he tried to calm his own heart. He didn't need for his emotions to get the better of him right now. “you're the only one who can make my heart beat like a drum.” Gunnar whispered so only Tessa could hear him. Though it was just the two of them, he didn't want to share her with anyone else at this moment. At this time, she belonged to him, figuratively of course, but it was the sentiment that Gunnar wanted this sweet little angel all to himself.

He felt her body against his own, the feeling that was over whelming, there was nothing better than this feeling. Gunnar felt the shadows hug him, a comforting feeling that pushed him and Tessa even closer together. The warmth of her body against his, the smell of her shampoo in her hair, even the scent of whatever perfume she was wearing, everything about her right now was intoxicating. The end of the travel brought on a smell of the south. The smell of leather, of horses and hay. Dust littered the air. “I hope this is an acceptable place for a date.” Gunnar commented as he offered a hand to help her up on the carriage. The driver tipped his hat to him, Gunnar replied with a nod of his head as the horse jerked forward. Down the street they went, a slow and leisurely pace, looking at the farm land and the old houses were magnificent. It was quite humbling to think that these houses had been built by hand. They were so well taken care of and so sturdily built, you didn't see things like this any more. It was sad. “Ahh, just up there.” Gunnar pointed to a little tavern that was lit with candles in the windows. “That's our destination. It's a tavern, but it's more of a romance destination than it is for actualy being a tavern.” The carriage rolled to a stop as Gunnar got down and held a hand out for her to take so he could help her down from the high carriage.

He offered Tessa his arm. He wanted to escort her into the small restaurant. They were taken to a table that was lined with the finest linens and the table wear was set with some of the finest pewter. It was near the window that was framed with honeysuckle and a candle flickered in the window. Just on the other side, fireflies flickered and glowed as they drifted aimlessly by. Gunnar looked at his watch on his arm before he glanced over at Tessa. “I really hope this is alright.”

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The soft brush of warm wind blew small clouds of dust from the dirt road, gliding off her skin with the softest of touches. The unusual feeling of the air, different from that of Camp Jupiter but still pleasant. It's warmth seemed heavier, laden with moisture from an ocean miles away. Some how Camp Jupiter had managed to keep a mild amount of dampness, something that she felt they should be thankful for in the summers. Humid heat was not something pleasant, and she would hate to imagine the increase of heat casualties if it became a terribly humid place. Pressure, warmth, roughness, all of the feelings one had at their finger tips was amplified in the little legacy of Venus. Though she had found it quite painful at first, she learned that she could easily use it to her advantage in fighting, and more importantly in medicine. Her light, gentle touch helped more than just calm the patience. It helped her apply the necessary pressure to a needle, and feel resistance in an arm before hurting someone. The pull of a bow string, the way you turn a blade, all of it relied on the persons sense of touch. Here on a completely difference coast from that which she was used to, she could feel the subtle changes in the air. The difference making her more aware of every bit of her skin, and especially that which Gunnar's strong hands touched.

Her own soft supple hand sat inside of his, though she couldn't quite remember telling it to do so. Without a bit of thought, it naturally found it's place when offered. Hands that told of hard work, and a warmth she would have never thought they had not too long ago. Foolish as it was, the sound of his heart beat and the heat from his skin brought an overwhelming sense of belonging. As if her place was in his arms. Perhaps that was why her hand so readily found his. "Of course it is." If she were to be honest with herself, any place would have been the perfect place. She simply wanted to spend time with him. Any amount of time was precious, time spent with people you cared about was that way. At least that was how the petite blond felt about it. That seemed to be what time was made for, all the time you had to live was to spend with those you cared about. No matter what age a person was, it seemed like their final thoughts were wishing they had spent more time with their friends and family.

Though she might not have been a child of Vulcan, the buildings were beautiful. Masterfully crafted with hands that actually cared, because this was for their family, friends, and community. It was the time, and careful craftsmanship that made them uniquely lovely. The gentle movement of the cart, and the sound of hooves on the ground below seemed to bring the entire scene in front of her together. She lived near New Rome, which in itself was set a time apart from the rest of the world, however this place was of a different time and place. Also set aside from the modern hustle and bustle, without the mechanically perfect buildings that had done away with flaws that game them character, and showed a builders care for his craft. Though some still built that way, it was few and far between. The caring man that stayed by her side spoke again, gesturing towards a particular establishment they were heading toward. A tavern of sorts. Not that the amused, mildly excited smile had left her face upon arrival, but her lips pulled back into a lovely smile. A bit of excitement danced in her eyes as she gazed upon the building.

Again her hand found his as she stepped off the carriage, feeling somewhat like a princess. Since their first excursion Gunnar seemed to treat Tessa as a prince would treat a princess, always such a gentleman. Even if he did seem to still enjoy spooking her every so often. Nothing could be compared to the fright he gave her arriving in a near dead state. She had been so frightened she stayed with him in that room for the entire time he was under observation. At times she even missed it, the fact she knew where he was and would stay with him. To be together all day, not even that they had to talk to each other the whole time. The silence that sometimes grew between them was not uncomfortable, but proof of the opposite. She was comfortable enough with Gunnar to not try and have a conversation, and perhaps even more important she was comfortable enough to talk to him. Actually talk. Laugh. Things she hadn't done around people since entering camp, and something she continued to keep only to her and Gunnar.

Something about the place had a home like feel to it, perhaps not the types of home she had come to know, but the ones she read about inside of books. Tessa knew the feeling of flopping into bed after a long day of training in the Legion, and she knew the cold feeling of coming back to a home without family. To be honest it felt almost like when she would go into the infirmary. The people she knew, and had been with for years. That was her home. This place had a soft aura like that, though more visually appealing. Soft carefully arranged linen covered the tables, set with beautifully shined silverware. The beautifully simplistic appearance of nature curled itself around the window with light yellow flowers, and long green vines. Even the tiny lights that blinked outside of the window, dancing in their own special way. Somehow the man beside her still wondered if it was alright. She couldn't help but give him a look of worried disbelief, the hint of an amused smile across her pink lips. "It's much better than alright." Putting a hand on his watch Tessa looked into his brown eyes, which she knew could hold a cold calculating lack of emotion but saw a warmth in them she felt he only allowed her to see. "I'm with you, not to sound too cheesy, but that in itself make it great." A small slightly awkward grin couldn't help but bubble to the surface, as her cheeks became tinged with an ever so light shade of pink. She meant what she said, but sometimes hated to say it. They felt too normal, too over used. She wanted something she made, something only for her and Gunnar. Perhaps it was from her grandmother, or her grandfather, she wasn't sure. Either way she wanted originality, not something so over used someone could call it fake. Not something overly dramatic either, possibly from preference. She'd come up with something one day.

Her small arm was still linked with his own, and she partially regretted the though of having to take her arm back from him. Still she had to take a seat, and he had to take his. She wanted to sit across from him, to see him, and talk to him. She wanted to hear his voice clearly, and spy every emotion on his face. They were precious, since he let so very few people see any kind of emotion. It was necessary, if she had remembered correctly, as he did the more undesirable things around camp. What exactly that entailed she had only a vague idea of, mostly that which dealt with movies and his unusual ability to appear and disappear as necessary. There was also the story or two from his childhood he had told her. Every ounce of emotion he showed her, she treasured. "How do you know about these places?"