The Conductor and The Teacher[Sam]

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Robin had informed Samatha he would be a bit late for their dinner so she need not wait idly by as he finished up the dinner festivities. He wanted to make sure he was the last to leave the kitchens, or make shift kitchens at any rate. The legion had a number of romances blossom over the past year, and even a few gods had chosen to participate. It was a lovely time, and he hoped it would bring the gods and demigods together a bit. He hoped it would bring everyone together honestly. He'd have been just as fine with Saturn and Ops being here, though not all the other guests might be as keen. As per the first cohort sentiment, Robin was first in, last out, and made sure to have all the ducks in a row before the even even started. A few mishaps here and there, nothing could expect to be perfect, but he was good at improvising. After all life was nothing but improve sometimes. No one was burned, though Robin came very close to keep boiling water from a nymph, and everyone's dishes were being served warm and ready. A few people who wanted to help, but who's loved ones were other wise gone stayed in the kitchens, joking and laughing with each other away from all the couples. Well enough. Valentines wasn't even mentioned in the kitchens, to them it was simply a party that Robin would supply drink and food for. A bit of the alcoholic type for those of age after the stoves were off.

He changed out of the white jacket he wore to cook in, and into a suit jacket. He could have gone all out with a button up shirt, vest and silk tie, and he was tempted to considering the holiday. Instead of all of that, and his normal attire of a suit jacket with a tee shirt, he wore a button up shirt, bow tie and a pea coat. Double breasted wool-cashmere coat, which was warm and incredibly soft. He didn't exactly skimp out on the clothes he wore, they needed to be high fashion with a purpose. Brands he'd forced himself to care less about, his favorite actually being a cheaper off brand which made quality merchandise. As a young son of Venus he was just as obsessed with brands such as Dolce and Gabbana, or Donna Karan, as any of his sisters.

“Miss. Manson” he spoke softly from behind her producing a bouquet of stargazer lilies with pink or purple centers edged in white. “My apologies for being late.” He smiles softly as he sat across from her. A bit of a different smile from how he would normally, he hadn't originally expected her to invite him, and the pink rose was a bit interesting considering who was in charge of those. Though he had burned the list once the flowers were sent out. Must make sure anonymous flowers stayed that way after all.

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Sam really didn’t mind waiting. She figured it had been going out on a limb to invite the host of the event himself anyway, so she was pleasantly surprised to find out that he would indeed be joining her. But she figured he would need a break anyway, from all the hard work he’s been putting in for this event. So far it seemed spectacular. She wasn’t sure how he had managed to spearhead this whole thing. It was amazing. She’d offered her help, but he hadn’t taken her up on it. Ah well. Hopefully she could help by giving him a break.

And, well, she’d be lying if she said that there wasn’t something of a selfish aspect to it too. Not that she was going to confess to it though. She just hoped that his emotion-reading abilities didn’t kick in and rat her out. But she had to admit that, especially after that delightful time going over to his home for dinner, she was more than a little fond of the counselor. She just prayed that it not be too obvious. She’d never been in this situation before and it was a little unnerving, and yet exciting all at once.

She’d found the table with the little cards that read her and Robin’s names and took a seat at her own spot. She smoothed her knee-length red dress over her legs, hoping it was okay. She didn’t really wear dresses a lot, but it was a holiday. Though she’d had to add a white jacket to the ensemble as it was the middle of February. She was looking around at the others gathered and talking with one another when a voice came from behind her. She jumped and turned and was met with Robin… and a bouquet of the most beautiful flowers she’d ever seen. “Wow, Robin! Are those… are those for me?” She shook her head. “Don’t worry about being late at all. I know you’re busy. I’m just glad you could make it period.”

Tag: Robin
Word Count: 338
Notes: sorry it’s short, and also… dress with white jacket

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Words: 359 Tag: Sam Notes: Sorry it's short

What about now? “That they are completely yours.” he said in a gentle voice “I didn't know which flower was your favorite though, but I thought these might suit you.” He was smiling, of course he was. Very few times did he not smile, thought his smile today seemed a bit more reserved. As was his voice, perhaps from being tired, he worked hard. Though it was times like this that reminded him so vividly of Kit. He tried to push her from his mind, it was poor conduct to think of another female while you were on a date. Even if this were a friendly type of outing. He could tell a bit about the girls growing feelings, and hated to admit how close she was starting to feel. He was a bit of a hypocrite, telling people to speak to him about their problems and then keeping his own to himself. Though if it accounts for anything he had his head in the sand denying he had a problem. He simply did not want to date again, and that was not a problem. Someone he loved more than the life of any other died in a war that now seemed to be crawling back up again. He was fine though. As per the Roman motto apparently. He moved to sit down across from her, his movements quiet and with purpose. He was still a trained legionnaire, even with his 4 years of retirement. He didn't make wide unnecessary movements, and he could pick up and move a chair carefully enough to make close to no sound. An important task when your centurion was a light sleeper and you were doing things you might not be allowed to do. Teenagers, rebellion ran in their blood. “You look exquisite, the dress is lovely.” he shook his head a little “I may not have sat down to take a break if you hadn't invited me, I'm not very good with moderation in my work. It's too fun. What have you been up to today?” It shouldn't be long until the appetizer came out, he had seen what Sam ordered but hadn't memorized everything.

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She couldn’t help but smile. He really was so kind. Everything about him drew her in, from his gentleness to his kindness to that sweet smile he always wore. She liked to think it was meant for her, but she’d seen him around enough times to know it was commonplace. Wishful thinking. “They’re beautiful. Thank you.” She sat up a little straighter automatically when he sat down. He was so graceful, one would think he wasn’t even there at all. But he was. And that meant a lot to her that he had shown up. She’d had her doubts when she initially invited him. He was busy, wasn’t he? He was organizing the whole evening. He had every right to tell her he couldn’t come. But he hadn’t. He was here, dressed up, even with flowers. Though she knew it was probably unhealthy, it gave her hope. And that was one thing she really hadn’t had much of in a long time.

But she wouldn’t let her mind wander down the darker paths right now. It was supposed to be a happy night. And she was spending it with someone important to her. She smiled. Yes, a happy night. “Well, thank you very much. You look handsome yourself, as usual.” Sam smirked. “You do seem the type all too willing to overwork yourself. You shouldn’t make a habit of that, you know? It’s not very good for you, mind or body. Though I suspect you know that already. Though I’m glad to hear you at least enjoy what you do. I have to say, this event is really something. And I haven’t seen this much food on a menu since the Feast of Fortuna when I was little.” She chuckled. He really had gone out of his way to make this night special for the camp. It was only fitting that he get to enjoy it too. What had she been up to today? She shrugged. “Nothing out of the ordinary. My class made valentine’s for their parents. Though I admit I received several little handmade hearts myself. They’re so sweet at that age.”

Hardly before she could finish her sentence, the server came over with their appetizers. Her salad looked delicious. Well, most of it. “Do you like tomatoes at all? Because you’re welcome to mine. I hate to see them go to waste.”

Tag: Robin
Word Count: 395
Notes:

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Words: 454 Tag: Sam Notes: Arrrggeee you started out so strong Robin, what happened?

What about now? He couldn't help but laugh a bit, so he looked the part of someone ready to over work themselves? That wasn't often what he heard, more that he looked like a lounge about. Calm and always with a soft smile, though that might be because most Roman expect hard working people to have stern hard faces without emotion. “Habits are very hard to break, I believe I've had this one since I was...perhaps nine. When I first met Miss Lupa.” he nodded a bit, his smiles a bit more joyful than it had been when he first arrived. “Yes, not only have I heard that from medics but also the teachers at the Academia. Even from my own mouth to some of the overworked ones in camp!” Robin could probably name a good eighteen off the top of his head at the moment, and who knows how many after he stopped to think. People who worked too hard for their own good. Though he wouldn't mark himself as having worked that hard on the food preparations. They were simple enough recipes. “Thank you, I wanted to make sure there was a good selection. Though I admit I picked a number of things I myself like, but I think I have good taste.” Children could be the sweetest little things, he was a bit glad to know someone who agreed. Someone he could talk to and hear a bit about the children, though he could probably go get some kind of part time job teaching at the school. It seemed like they were always low on teachers, especially for the little ones. They needed smaller classrooms after all, more attention. He could close his eyes and imagine them giving their parents the cards, and without catching himself he did for a moment. With a soft nod he brought himself back, he tried to keep himself from getting over sentimental and emotional. It could be hard at times though, he was his mothers son and loved to express himself openly. Though he was also a legionnaire, at heart anyway, and tried to be calm and quiet as he imagined an adult and a therapist should be. “Perhaps I should have made one for you myself, I'm a kid at heart if that counts.” The first course had come, salads for both of them. With a smile he took the tomatoes off her plate sliding them onto his own. “Most fruits and vegetables I like, I'm not a vegetarian but I prefer vegetables over meat most of the time.” Taking his knife he cut up the larger pieces of his salad before skewering a few and eating them. “What about you? Obviously a bit fan of tomatoes.”

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She laughed softly at his words. “Nine? Impressive. At that age, all I wanted to do was play games. Though I can definitely understand how Lupa would have changed your attitude. She’s quite imposing.” He had a nice smile. It was catching, so she couldn’t help but smile herself. “See? You say so yourself, so how can it be wrong? Though for what it’s worth, I completely understand the difficulty of following one’s own advice sometimes. And from what I’ve seen of this camp and from my own service here, I bet you have to tell people to back off the workload a lot.” Maybe it was an inherently Roman thing? Sounded about right. She thought back to the menu; she couldn’t remember all of it, but she did remember being quite impressed. “That you do. I don’t remember seeing anything on the menu that didn’t look delicious. It was hard to pick.”

For a moment, she wondered if she’d been right to mention the children. For a moment, he seemed distracted, though maybe not in a bad way. Maybe she’d stirred up a good memory? She watched him carefully, trying to gauge the situation. Should she apologize? In all honesty, she didn’t know all that much about his recent history. She could have said just the right thing, or something terribly wrong. And it freaked her out not knowing, much more than it should have. But when he opened his eyes again, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding for a moment there. “You okay…?” was all she could bring herself to say. All she could think to say. Until he spoke up. She could feel some color coming to her face at the idea of him making a valentine for her. She smiled at the comment of him being a kid at heart. “Between you and me, I think all of the best people are.”

“Thanks,” she said as he took her tomatoes. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m in the same boat usually, just minus tomatoes. But things like pomegranate… can’t get enough. And is it weird to say I love Brussels sprouts?” She laughed as she cut her own salad. “I suppose that would be all the weirder if it came out of one of my students’ mouths though. According to the stereotype, at least.” She took a bite of her own food, which was, not surprisingly, delicious.

Tag: Robin
Word Count: 405
Notes:

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Words: 470 Tag: Sam Notes: Sorry for the wait

What about now? "Honestly I wanted to work harder, she was....well kind of a motherly figure for me I suppose. I had none growing up, and was hardly ever punished. Odd to say I found it rather refreshing for someone to care if I was going good or bad." He shook his head a bit with a laugh. Yes he knew it wasn't good to work too hard, but he hardly saw anything he did as work. Sometimes he would simply get lost in the wonders of the females voice, with special mention of Sam. Her laugh brought him a good amount of joy, that he was still refusing to spy as anything other than friendship. Such a hypocrite. "Is it the advice you give your students? You should know not to eat the glue." He flashed a smile, not the kind he normally gave people. It was the one he gave when flirting. He thought he must really be off his rocker tonight. Trying his best to not think about the loss of the love of his life. Slipping slowly into his natural ways, flirting was something he used to do so often. He had to catch himself, as he always did. Pay attention to his own words, his facial expressions. He put the calm friendly face of a psychiatrist back on. Nodding to her words. "I tried to take into account allergies, which is a bit hard considering I have none myself. Food wise, I am allergic to polyester though." He had worried her, he could see it. Her emotions were always on display for him, as were everyone elses. "Yes, sorry. I was just thinking. It must have been adorable." Perhaps mentioning to her how much he wanted children was not the best of idea's. He'd watches as she slowly started to like him, romantically having feelings for him. He was rather happy to bring about such feelings in a former huntress, they were about family love and he understood that but he believed girls should grow in all forms of love. Even the romantic kind. He was not as happy that he simply wasn't ready for that kind of relationship. If he was he'd have asked her to this dinner, he'd have made something special just for her. He'd drag her out to the dance floor before their food came, As it stood, he had done none of these things. He couldn't help but smile when she said she thought the best people were kids at heart. "A little bit weird, but who isn't?" he said with a smile "Besides I do enjoy them on occasion, but broccoli and spinach are my favorites." He couldn't help but chuckle at the pair of them and how they seemed to cover the worlds most hated vegetables on their list of favorites.