Tea For Two (Chris)

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Marie's comment about changes was logical, he knew changes were good, in fact changes were necessary for evolution or personal development, he knew that and was up for it, but sometimes changes weren't what you had wanted in your life, changes were what destroy you at a level that wasn't comprenhensible for others. But in that moment looking at Marie, in a way he understood that she knew what was going on with him. Not because she had lived what he did, maybe it was because of her father and her gift, she knew about changes and desisions, so he didn't feel bad or offended the moment she said that about changes. "yeah, it is good that this place had changed a bit, the slight changes make it even more unique."

He wanted also to relate that to himself, the changes he had suffered since his father died were important and in a way were part of who he was in that moment. Then Chris looked again at the sitting hostess and tilted his head, he hadn't really noticed if the sitting hostess was young or old, if she was beautiful or ugly. In a way he only looked at Marie the whole time. "well, yeah, she seems to be kind of... young." he said then looked back at Marie and half smiled. "but you can work in this kind of places as soon as you finish your service, so maybe she's only a couple of years older than we are." He then looked at the menu and frowned thinking what could he order.

His father was the one who orderer when he was a kid, then he always ordered the same, just because he liked it and because it was part of a rutine, but that time he wanted to order something different, something that also gave him the sense of change and that he wasn't the same kid that used to go there with his father, but a grown man who enjoyed that place with his girl. before he could pick something Marie's voice echoed in his mind and he looked at her.

He smiled a bit more and nodded. "lasagna here is amazing, you'll really enjoy it." he then looked down to the menu again and breathed deeply, choosing a new dish for that moment wasn't easy, everything seemed delicious. "ok... I'll order..." he smirked. "frutti del mare pasta and a soda." He was pleased he had been able to pick something different and still feel himself.

A waiter came a minute later, he was an older guy but his skin seemed to be porcelain, his eyes a dark olive green and his hair a short curly brown mess. Chris looked at him and ordered. "for the lady please bring a lasagna and water and for me frutti del mare and past with a glass of blackberry water." he said and the waiter left. he could have ordered wine, but he had always loved the blackberry water. "I've never had that dish, so I hope it is ok."

TAG: Marie
WORDS: 523
NOTES: No problem!! I loved it!!

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It was good that he wasn’t sad about being here. It showed that he was brave in facing his past. Which only made her admire him all the more, if that was possible. It seemed like every new thing she learned about him was a new reason to like him even more. It was fun, getting to know him better and better. “You’re right. It keeps things interesting, when things don’t always stay the same, you know?” Not all change was good, but if you focused more on the good parts than the bad, it made life a lot better. And being around Chris, it was easy to focus on the good.

Marie laughed and then nodded at his words. “Good point. New Rome really is a wonder. A world within a world, if you think about it. And the outside one has no idea of the inside one. But it’s just so… amazing how everything works like clockwork here. How people live their whole lives here without having to touch the outside world. I love it. I can’t wait until it’s our turn to join in the fray. Not that serving in the legion isn’t fray enough. If you could have any job here in New Rome, what would it be?”

She followed the hostess to the table and took her seat, looking over the menu. So many good things here! It was hard to pick one. “I’m not sure I can even pronounce some of this stuff,” she joked as she looked over the menu, sparing him a smile over the top of it. When he said that the lasagna was amazing, she smiled. “Great! Good to have an expert here who know about the food already!” She frowned a little at his choice. “Frutti? That just brings to mind an imagine of spaghetti with orange slices, which sounds… interesting.” She laughed to show she was kidding around. It was fun being with Chris. Like she felt that she could be herself and not be judged for it. Which, considering most of the camp thought she was nuts, was refreshing.

When the waiter left, she looked at him curiously. “Blackberry water? That sounds interesting. What, is it just like a flavored water. Or sparkling or what?” She had a curious mind, that was something she couldn’t help. And she hoped he didn’t mind. She smiled at him. “It’s fun to try new things. What did you generally order here before?”

Tag:
Word Count: 412
Notes:

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Marie was a very special kind of girl, even when chris didn't know his mother, he knew that she would have told him that she was one of a kind and well Marius, his foster father, would have told him that her kind is the one you attach to and never let her go or you'd be a fool. He knew all of that and he agreed to all of that and both of them. she spoke a lot, always with different stuff in her mind and her train of thought seemed to be more a draft of thought, but he kind of liked that it kept him... interested at all times.

In that moment she was talking about, how well everything worked in New Rome, how amazing it was that it was a small world that knew everything from the outside, but the outside didn't know a thing about the things in the inside of that small universe. also spoke about the jobs in New Rome and finally she asked what would he like to do if he had a job in New rome. All that time he had been looking at her, it was nice to look at her and to listen to her voice.

He felt as if she had some kind of spell that left him without the ability of defend himself when he was with her. if she decided at any second to kill him, then he would let her do it and wouldn't even regret it! but maybe it was more than only with her he had that kind of peace that allowed him to feel so relaxed. So when she asked him that, he made a line with his lips and thought for a second. "Well..." he said and then thought for another second. "that is something that I had never thought, not deeply at least..."

He said that and then looked into her eyes, and that made him smile a bit more. "Maybe I could study somethig useful at the University... but well I'm a very good instructur and maybe something related to electricity, I don't get injured if I touch a live wire" he smiled at her and chuckled, he never got injured if he touched energy like that, unless he was already trying to control weather, if that happened, well then he would get a shock like any other or worse. "what about you?"

He asked at her as he looked down at his menu, once more, only to be sure that he had really ordered what he wanted to order, what he had thought. but then looked at Marie and smiled a bit more. "in a way it is! the fruits of the ocean are the animals there, so it is a pasta with shrimp, crab, oysters and some other stuff." he smiled and then he nodded and explained about the water. "They put some black berries, water and sugar in a blender, then blend it and pour it in a jar, it is delicious! you should try it." he said and when she asked about his favorite food before. "well... it is the lasagna." he said and then thank the gods for being there with her.

TAG: Marie
WORDS: 544

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Chris was pretty cool. She hadn’t really met anyone like him before. He didn’t seem to mind that she was a little crazy. And she really liked that about him. Well, she liked everything about him that she’d seen so far. He was nice and sweet and a gentleman and everything! She considered herself lucky to know him. And to be sitting here about to enjoy lunch with him! Even if it was making her babble a little more than usual. Okay, not that much more than usual, because she babbled a lot. Especially when people listened. And Chris, bless his heart, was a really good listener. So she ended up babbling on about New Rome. The place really was a wonder. She loved walking around it and watching people sometimes, just marveling at the metropolis, just like Rome in all her glory. She smiled when he said he’d never thought about it before, or at least not deeply. “Well then, glad I could expand your horizons just a little. I think too much as it is, so it’s nice to share it with someone else!”

She leaned in, one elbow on the table, and listened as he told her about his own idea for what he would do when he got out of the military service. “So like teaching about electricity? That sounds cool! Talk about some really fun science labs! So you don’t get hurt at all? That’s so cool! I wish I had some kind of cool power like that!” She smiled back when he smiled at her. It was hard not to. He had this really nice, warm smile that was so inviting. She was glad he didn’t seem to hide it much, at least that she could tell. He was such a nice person. “Me? I want to be a psychologist. I love getting to know how people think. The reasons behind the choices they make. And to help offer new choices and ideas. It just sounds really fun to me.”

When he elaborated on what he was getting, she had to admit – just not out loud – that it sounded gross. She’d tried an oyster once and thought it was nothing but slime. But if he liked it, then that was good that he was trying it! “The fruits of the ocean. Never thought about it like that. Sounds like an interesting dish though!” She listened intently, still leaning on her elbow as he explained the water. “Wow, that sounds tasty!” She paused at his answer though. She earnestly hoped it wasn’t bad that she had ordered that then. She didn’t want to bring back bad memories for him. So she offered a small smile and was about to say something when the waiter came with their food. “Oh, thank you!” she said as the waiter set down their plates and drinks in front of them.

Tag: Chris
Word Count: 481
Notes:

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People passed by outside of the restaurant, some worried, some busy, some bored, but really few of them seemed to be in love, seemed to be thinking in other thing that it wasn't training, weapons, battles... Well Chris could relate to that very well, his whole life he had been like that, training and fighting, a warrior's life, but love... love was something that he had always thought was what made you weak, his sister died because she loved him, his mother died because she loved him, his grandfather was still alive and as far as he knew he still was strong and leading a part of the IRA, but he let him go, he sent his only grandchild to live away from him. He didn't let love spoiled him and he was still alive.

The voice of Marie brought him back from his thoughts and memories. He looked at her and half smiled at the woman in front of him. She wasn't daughter of Venus, but hell gods she was beautiful, she wasn't daughter of Minerva, well she didn't have children, or Moneta but she had a marvellous mind to admire and to consider. She wasn't daughter of Mars or Bellona, but she was brave and a good Roman. She was different on every aspecy he could think of, yet he liked her... well, he felt more than a mere like, for the first time, he felt he could risk everything to keep her safe, alive and happy.

He smiled at her when she said it was cool to have such power, well he never thought it was really cool, even less after last war where he killed several fellow campers only because he couldn't control that last lightning. But she thought it was cool and that made him smile. "Well... it is useful, the only way electricity could harm me is if I were controling the weather, in that case the switch is off and I can be electrocuted as any other demigod." he smiled as if it didn't worry him, which in a way didn't. He was always careful of not using one if he was using the other.

Then she told him about what she wanted to be, a psychologist was a good profession, a good way to earn good money. "you could help a lot of people here, many need a good person to help them..." Gods he was definetely one of them, even when he would never accept it! "but you are right, maybe I wouldn't go for a second round in service and get a job as a physics teacher in the university, who knows." he smiled more, it was almost a grin from him that was almost impossible to see on his face, unless he had already defeated someone in the fields of Mars.

He then smiled a bit more when he saw her face at his explanation of what Frutti del mare was. "ok, maybe not that tasty... well the idea of them, but cooked they are not sluggish anymore." then he nodded at the waiter and looked back at her. "well... enjoy your meal and tell me ehat you think of it ok?" he said and started eating, he wondered if what he was feeling in that right moment was what his mother felt for Jupiter, to be willing to be there for her no matter what, to be willing to wait for her, to fight for her, to die for her. It was a very weird feeling for someone like Chris, but he was going to find out if it was real or a mere illusion.

TAG: Marie
WORDS: 622

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Marie was fascinated by Chris. He was the perfect mix of soldier and just general, kind person. Not like all the others here who seemed to fit into one of those two boxes and certainly not both. No, he had a foot in both boxes. He was intriguing. And she loved him for it. For everything about him. And she meant it too. She’d never felt this strongly about anyone until she met Chris. Chris was perfect. She didn’t care about what other people thought about him, good or bad. She didn’t care about his rank, considerable though it may be. She cared about him. He made her happy. He made her want to be a better person. He made her feel valued. He was everything she could ever wish for and more. He was amazing. Like the knights of old, valiant and strong and not too bad looking either, not that she really based a lot on appearance but still. And to top it off, the perfect gentleman of a Roman had invited her out to lunch. She couldn’t help but smile. Well, that and hope she didn’t scare him off with her usual chatteryness, but so far it seemed to be going well.

And he had such a nice smile too. Warm and friendly and caring. It was a wonder really that more girls didn’t look at him the way she did. Well, technically, she didn’t know if they did or not. She wasn’t one to pay attention to rumors like who was dating who or who wanted to date who, which in a camp full of hormonal teenagers mostly, were quite a lot. His words brought her back to reality though. Curse her frequently-travelling mind. Chalk another one up for things about Chris that piqued her curiosity. His powers were so interesting! What it must be like to control electricity and storms like that! “I’d love to see some time. I mean, if it isn’t too much to ask. I don’t know how hard it is on you. It must take a toll somehow I imagine. Oh, and I don’t mean like shocking yourself or something, I mean just dealing with electricity period.” Ack, she was babbling again. And she really hoped it hadn’t sounded like she wanted him electrocuted. She so often spoke before she thought and the words just jumbled out in one big mess.

She smiled when he commended her for her profession choice. She was afraid it would seem too… unRoman of her. “Thanks. I love learning about how people think, so helping people solve problems seemed like a natural way to go. And fun.” She grinned when he went on. “You would be a brilliant physics teacher! I’d take physics over and over just to learn more from you!” She laughed. It was so nice being with him, so fun and light, like she really felt like she could be herself without being judged for it. “Well, that’s good news at least! Sluggish and food just sounds… bleh! Not right in the same sentence together. Anyway, you’re right. Time to enjoy some not sluggish food. I’ll let you know for sure! If you share what you think of yours.” She picked up her fork and began eating. As soon as she swallowed the first bite, she was smiling again. “Mmm, this is so good! How’s yours?”

Tag: Chris
Word Count: 564
Notes:

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Talking to Marie was very different than talking to other people in camp or in New Rome, usually people was either deep in their minds and problems or they only wanted to see who was the strongest one in camp, which in a way was part of the same problem. But when he talked to Marie, she was never talking about battles or how she defeated some guys in the arena, she talked aboout very different topics, which made Chris's mind expand, he felt again like a common guy, capable of talking of very different topics and not just battle stuff and strategies to defeat the other group of campers in the obstacle curse during a 48 drill. Even when it was an amazing idea of his centurion mate, he knew that his mind also needed something different than only fights and drills.

Marie just told him that it would be great to see how he managed electricity. Usually when people asked him about his ability to control electricity or lightnings, he just looked away and if the person insisted he walked away, he wasn't really fond of his connection with Jupiter and after the war, he didn't really liked to use his powers at all, he had killed fellow campers, loyal campers to the olympians with his powers! He hated himself for that back then and still those days he hated himself deeply for that. But when Marie said that it would be interesting to see it, he knew that she wasn't curious about how the son of Jupiter could manage it or about how the Irish prince had torched the campers with his powers... no her curiousity was pure and innocent, so he smiled at her when she said that.

"Well... if you like after we finish eating we can go to an isolated place and I can show you how it works, just remember that you must be away from me and... well... maybe we can find a rubber suit for you or something like that..." he babbled about it, he never babbled about anything! But that was also something different from when he talked to others than when he talked to Marie. Even when he didn't know it, he felt that he had enough freedom to talk to her, to even babble about stuff and he felt safe , he knew she wouldn't mock at him, she would laugh and start talking about how low Jupiter's DNA had gotten in him.

But before he had time to really blush about feeling ashamed of his past babbling moment, she told him how she felt about helping others, which made him smile. "then you should really study about it and find a work in New Rome that could help you achieve that." but then the blush that had been lurking his cheeks since he babbled, finally was visible in his usually pale cheeks. "Thank you, I could try and ask around... maybe I could be a physics teacher after all... but I don't think I would be a good teacher... I'm always pushy and bossy..." half smiled at that comment.

Maybe it was also part of his Jupiter's DNA or maybe the fact that he was brought up as the grandson of an IRA leader or brought up as the adoptive son of a Bellona son, but he had always been like that, bossy, pushy, always wating that other made whatever he wanted no matter what others might have wanted. But her comment about the food brought him back to that table and made him smile again. "Well I told you it was an amazing one! " he said and then tasted his food, it was really good and then he understood why his father had mentioned that it was great. "Well... it is really good!... the blending of flavours is amazing!" He smiled at her.

TAG: Marie
WORDS: 656
NOTES: Marie really is making this guy to be human again!! XD

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Marie grinned. “Really? That would be so cool! I promise I’ll be careful.” She laughed. “Though where can we find a rubber suit? Well, I suppose as long as it doesn’t make me look fat,” she teased, half flirting with him because who wouldn’t want to flirt with such a great guy? Actually, hold that thought. She hoped she was the only one because that bettered her chances at actually dating him maybe. Did this count as a date? She sort of hoped it did. Though he was taking her to a nice restaurant and everything, so how could it be anything but? Right? She wasn’t really sure. She’d never dated anyone before. But now she found herself very curious about the intricacies of it. Either way, she wanted to be with Chris. Already, she felt like she loved him more than anyone she’d ever known. He was fantastic and wonderful and everything she could have imagined and more.

She smiled when he encouraged her. It felt good that he believed in her, just like she believed in him too. They could both do whatever they wanted professionally. New Rome had so much to offer and she knew that Chris certainly could be the best at anything he chose. So the fact that he believed in her meant a lot. “Thanks. I’ll do my best then.” His blush was so endearing, so cute. She loved that he was blushing so much, even though she couldn’t see why he would be. Was she embarrassing him? She hoped not. She tilted her head to the side and made a joking exasperated face at his comment. “You? Pushy and bossy? No, you’re not! At least not around me you’re not. Either that or I just don’t pick up on things very fast,” she joked. But really, he hadn’t seemed pushy or bossy at all to her.

His smile, his comment, just everything about him made her light up. She laughed, couldn’t help not to. But not at him, certainly never at him. He just made her so happy, it always came out in happy laughter. “And you were right! Then again, that shouldn’t be surprising at all.” She watched him take a bite of his own food and smiled. “That’s great!” She went back to eating her lasagna for a few minutes, just enjoying the company and the tasty food. Eventually she picked at her food thoughtlessly and watched Chris instead. He was so handsome, so perfect. And here she was sharing a meal with him. She silently thanked Venus for this moment. “So what do you like to do? Besides training and that sort of thing. What hobbies do you have?” She wondered if maybe they had more in common than she originally thought. But it was so hard to tell when everyone was always focused on training.

Tag: Chris
Word Count: 476
Notes: so late it’s incredibly embarrassing. I’m so sorry.