So Call Me Maybe? [Zidane]

[val]

Training. It seemed to last forever. Especially when it was hot out. Even a daughter of a war goddess was not the fondest of an hour and a half of hand-to-hand combat training in 90 plus weather. She’d already ditched her purple camp shirt in favor of a tank top and short, which seemed to actually be something the norm, looking at the people around her. It was either that or the several sweat-speckled t-shirts.

When she was fairly confident it could count as a win, she let the other girl out of a choke-hold and, without further notice, set off purposefully for the sidelines where there was at least some supplies set out for those who had the joy of being out in this heat. She grabbed one of the clean towels and wiped her face before simply wrapping it around the back of her neck. California. Really, who had chosen such a warm state to put a military training camp? Then again, there was the nice fact that when and if you could talk the praetors into letting people leave the camp at all, the beach was not too far. Definite plus. She was no kid of Venus or anything, but she couldn’t deny the attraction of a day, or even a few hours, at the boardwalk.

But today was not one of those days. She grabbed a bottle of water and downed half of it. Come to think of it, today was looking like an excellent take off training early day. Then again, not very Roman of her. Thirty minutes left. How bad could it be? She looked back out over the others who were still fighting and hadn’t long before retired to the sidelines due to injury or sheer tiredness. Then again, there was what looked to be a fourteen year old holding his own pretty well. It was very promising for the future of the camp. Not that it was all that surprising though. She’d seen that same boy fighting pretty well in the battle at Orthys when he was no more than twelve. So there were some things about the Roman style she didn’t agree with. She only vaguely paid attention to the fighting and let her mind wander.

WORD COUNT: 375
TAG: Zidane!

[zidane]

Today was a good day. The thrill of a good fight was surprisingly potent for Zidane, so he didn’t have any qualms with having to go to the Field of Mars for training. Sure it was a scorcher out today, but Zidane new that the sweat on his muscles was an attractive sight for the ladies. Although he kind of doubted that the body odor would be, but hey. He’d work whatever angle he could get. He rolled his muscular shoulders and stretched as he prepared to finish battle with the young mars kid he was facing. Of course challenging a Mars kid to swordplay was a dangerous game, but his speed was said to be unmatched at camp, which was good because it was an edge he probably needed.

He brought his pair of shortswords up to block a swipe from the guy he was fighting and flipped to the side, swiping at his legs. When he dodged, Zidane rolled underneath him and kicked upward, knocking the guy off balance and he fell. In a blink Zidane was back up on his feet and he put his left sword to the guy’s collar bone. When he knocked it away, Zidane spun them and put them back into their sheaths. Sure he was a bit of a show-off, but his older brother used to say ‘If you got it, flaunt it.’ So he did. Maybe he had a flare for the dramatic, but whatever. He decided to step off to the side for a moment to cool down, grabbing somebody’s face towel on the way.

He wiped his sweaty face to keep it from getting into his eyes and was walking towards his water bottle when he noticed a girl who’d finished almost strangling someone and was standing near where he was going so he casually approached, putting his a hand in his pocket. He ran his hand through his damp hair and covertly looked her over. She was pretty, but had the air of one of those girls who usually punched him if he tried anything. Undeterred, he decided to talk to her. “Hey, I saw you strangling that girl over there. That was pretty badass, especially to see someone so pretty do it.” He casually leaned against the wall after he said it, bending down to retrieve his bottle to take a drink out of it before continuing on with the small talk. “It’s a scorcher today. Kinda feels like it’d be better to swim than fight but nothing gets the blood pumping like a good romp involving swords and fists. What about you? You staying around here much longer, or is there something you’d rather be doing?”

Word count: 450
Notes: .oO (Lol, I hope that was okay too. )

[val]

It wasn’t really like Valerie to lose herself in thoughts, especially during training. She pulled herself out of it, though, when she noticed someone coming over. Zidane Quinn. Not someone she’d ever talked to, and considering his reputation around the camp, seemed reason enough not to bother. The guy was infamous for harassing and/or hitting on anything female and breathing. Though she had to admit his fighting skills were impressive. She hadn’t noticed him until just now in the training area, but considering they’d both been here a good few years, she’d seem him kick serious butt before. And really, as obnoxious as she’d heard he was, he seemed relatively harmless. So why not humor him with a conversation? And the fact that if he got too annoying, walking away or breaking his nose were always options.

He certainly did have every bit of confidence in himself, didn’t he? That was obvious right off the bat just by the way he carried himself. His total lack of hiding what was going on in that head of his was almost humorous, but she resisted rolling her eyes as he not-that-surreptitiously brushed his hair back and checked her out. Yeah, the rumors were looking all the more true by the second. “I wouldn’t call it so much strangling as keeping the opponent from being able to fight back. Though I guess strangling works too.” Val decided to go ahead and take the badass comment as a compliment. The other part. Well, that was a little questionable. ‘Here we go,’ she thought to herself. “Thanks, Zidane. So I guess that goes to show that looks can be deceiving, huh? You’re not half bad a fighter yourself, which could be surprising considering your reputation around here doesn’t really lend towards combat.”

Val was finding it more and more difficult not to laugh at the way he seemed to position himself and move in ways that showed off his not-too-shabby appearance – okay, so she had to admit he wasn’t bad looking. But still. She imagined that it was second nature to him by now and chances were good he didn’t even realize he was doing it. Or who knew, he may put a lot of interest and attention to it. With him, who knew?

The weather. An innocent enough conversation starter, but she stayed on her guard. “Yeah, it really is. Though I heard tomorrow is supposed to be a bit hotter. Just what we need. Swimming does sound pretty good really, but you know as well as I do the training expectations. Especially with good old Nathan predicting doom and destruction. I never would have thought of you as one to really enjoy fighting though.” Which was true enough. He seemed more the honorary child of Venus type. And, well, Venus’ kids were kind of lame with weaponry most of the time. “Fighting is a good release. And honors our Roman heritage. So yeah, I’d say I like it. That’s probably just adding to the war-child stereotype though,” she said with a shrug.

Val gave his question some real thought as she took another drink. “Probably going to call it a day here. Mostly because this heat is kind of spoiling things a bit. No idea on what else to do though,” she said, swilling the remainder of the water in her bottle for a second before downing it. “Haven’t really thought that far ahead. What about you then? Got your fill of romping?”

WORD COUNT: 580
TAG: Zidane
NOTE: Are you kidding me? I thought it was a great post!

[zidane]

A cheeky grin came over Zidane’s face as he noticed the girl he was speaking to sizing him up. He figured that it looked as if she knew who he was, and felt bad that he couldn’t immediately return the favor of recognition. He thought for a moment, outwardly expressing the action by putting his hand to his mouth in a sense of pondering something deeply. He thought and thought, and as she began to explain that her strangle-hold had been an incapacitation tactic, it hit him. “Oh, yeah. You’re Valerie Smyth, right? Yeah, that’s it. Bellona’s daughter. Which means I better be on my best behavior,” he surmised teasingly.

It didn’t take long before he felt something like a preen coming on as she complimented his fighting style. He realized that wrapped in the same remark was an assumption about his personality, but in all fairness whatever she’d heard was probably the way he acted. All the same, he leaned just a little bit closer to her as he said, “And what, dear Valerie, do they say about me around here?” He wiggled his eyebrows then backed off, not wanting to actually creep her out. “Besides,” he said, crossing his arms, “Of course I’m good at fighting. Hasn’t anyone told you about the people I defended during the battle of Mt. Orthys? I was valiant, and brave, and… Okay, okay. I have a scar a mile long down my side because of that. Bad example. Just, er.. Carry on.”

He could see that she was having a hard time trying not to laugh at him. It was true, the dumb charming gestures had really become muscle memory and habit more than actually trying to impress. But if he really wanted to, he could certainly bring the charm. However, that was reserved for situations that showed real promise. As he was thinking, he stretched out again, popping his back and shoulders, then pulling a face at her reply. “Aww man! It’s supposed to be hotter tomorrow? I guess I’ll be going shirtless then. But really, I didn’t think it could get any worse than this.” He sighed and it was edged with just a touch of melodrama.

His face fell a little at her chide, reminding him of training expectations. “Yeah, yeah. I’ve heard what the augur has been saying. And sure, I do like fighting. It’s an advantageous venture to impress Roman girls. What else?” He smiled drolly before he realized that it sounded a lot dumber than he intended. “Kidding. It’s a good way to burn off some extra calories and push myself. I had the speed and the tricks when I came here, but the weapon training was a little harder than it was for you, I’m sure. And I’m also thinking that you think that a hot guy like me wouldn’t engage in much of fighting when I can lean on my good looks, but I think Alexandros and Garnet would be resentful if I didn’t let them see some action.” When he’d mentioned the two names, he indicated the swords on his person. It was obvious that he treasured them. “But yeah… I think we’ve had enough for today. Only so many times you can trip a Mars kid before he gets pissed off…Buuut I also dunno what to do now.” Once again that grin was back and he took another swig of water from his bottle.

Word Count: 586
Notes: .oO( Thanks! Zidane is such a goober. xD)

[val]

Valerie stood back and watched as he apparently thought pretty hard about something. He certainly was one for making a show of things. She smiled when he guessed her name. Was that what he’d honestly been thinking about with such intensity? Well, alright. “Yes, that’s me,” she said with a smile as he mentioned being on his best behavior. She had to sort of wonder what he defined as ‘best behavior’. With Zidane Quinn, who knew.

When he leaned in and wiggled his eyebrows, one of her own lifted slightly. “Just Val is fine. And I would think you’d know the rumors well enough. I don’t tend to listen too hard to gossip, but what I have heard is that you hit on pretty much any and every female in this camp and occasionally get beat up for it. Other than that, beats me.” She couldn’t hold a smile back as he talked up his epic heroics at Orthys, though it was not really a comical smile. More of respect, surprisingly. “No, you’re right. Now that you mention Orthys, I think I remember you there. There was a really young son of Ceres, maybe ten or eleven, who was about to be taken out by one of those draconae and someone ran behind the draconae before she could kill the boy and took her head clean off. And now that I think back to it, sorta looked like you.” She looked him over again, though this time with a measure of respect. “Or am I wrong? Not that I’ll dock points from you if I am. Also, don’t sweat the scar thing. Not many came away unscathed anyway.”

She wondered if the stretch was intentional as well. Either that or he just naturally had really flamboyant stretches. “Shirtless, huh? I better warn all the girls of the camp. Don’t want too many people unexpectedly fainting,” she teased. Though he seemed a little put out on her overview of training. Well, she suspected their views were rather different on that one anyway so no surprises. “I guess it is. I’m impressed at least. Though I doubt in the way you were hoping,” she said with a laugh. She listened silently to his explanation of his gifts verses what he’d been learning here at camp, shrugging at the comment about training probably being a little easier for her. Maybe easier to catch onto fighting things, but she liked to push herself as well.

Val glanced down at his weapons as he named them. She couldn’t say she’d met many here who named their weaponry, but for Zidane, it didn’t seem so far-fetched. “Yeah, hate to disappoint them. They need their exercise too." She chuckled at the idea of tripping Mars kids until they got pissed off. “Isn’t that number usually around one?” Well, now there was the option of making up something about needing to go do something on her own, but really, he’d given her no reason to ditch him. “Well… we could always that the long route back to the via principalis. No harm in talking. And I don’t know about you, but a bite to eat sounds good. And there’s that one really good sandwich shop next to the sword-sharpener’s. If you’re interested in joining.”

WORD COUNT: 548
TAG: Zidane the Great and Mighty

[zidane]

Exaggeration was one of the best games in the world to Zidane. Emphasizing gestures, drawing out silences, making his expressions look comically ridiculous… Etc. He knew he did it, but it was usually just to be funny. On occasion he had the added bonus of making a girl laugh, which was always the best way to get her to seem kind of into him. Maybe he was a little bit deluded, but the entertainment value was worth the effort anyway. He had to nod in a self-satisfied manner when she admitted he’d gotten the name correct though because he was honestly pleased with himself. With all the kids in camp there were to remember the names of, he was at least capable of remembering the girl he was sort of hitting on. “Score!”

He couldn’t restrain his chortle at her expression when he’d leaned towards her, but he was somewhat pleased with what he heard. He expected her response and she was correct in inferring that he had a finger on the pulse of gossip that went around camp about him. What he usually heard was entertaining to no end, and he knew that exaggerating his interest in girls meant that most people left his image at face value, which was usually fine with him. Although he was surprised that she didn’t mention people being suspicious of him for stealing. All the same, the usual grin was back when he spoke again. “Okay, Val. And you’re right, I do know what people say. I just wanted to know what you’d heard. And said.”

He quirked an eyebrow and found his arms crossed again as he noted her reaction to his dumb Mt. Orthys story, taking in the respectful smile of hers. Both eyebrows climbed higher as she mentioned the incident with the Ceres kid and he unconsciously rubbed his left side where the scar in question was located. “Yeah… That was me.” When he said it, there was not an ounce of gloating in his voice. “I was seriously freaked when I saw it happening. I thought I was gonna be too late, but I guess thank my dad for passing me the skills to make it on time. Of course, that was also the reason I got hit, but ya win some and ya lose some.” He shrugged, bringing up the carefree expression again as he did, then actually laughing at her response to his shirtless comment. “Dude, you really think girls would faint? That would be… Awesome!” He flexed a bicep obnoxiously, then cracked a smile at her response to his comment about impression roman girls. “My brother always used to say ‘you gotta take what you can get’, so I’ll totally take it.”

Afterwards, his amused expression strengthened, noticing that she didn’t say anything about the fact that he named his swords. It was definitely weird, he knew that, but it was what really motivated him to take good care of them. After all the trouble he went through for them in the first place, he had to. It was kind of a private joke, anyway. “Indeed,” he replied to both the sword comment and the question about a Mars kid’s tolerance. “I’d say that kid I was just fighting is just itching to shed some blood by now. But alas, I cannot humor him because I have a pretty girl asking me to go eat with her. A date?” He asked teasingly, knowing full well it wasn’t, and also admitting surprise to himself that she was tolerating his shenanigans. “Anyway, I’m ready when you are. Talking is always a good past-time.”

Word Count: 605
Notes: .oO( For the very tolerant Val. xD)

[val]

It was impossible after all his antics so far not to laugh at his moment of triumph. If remembering a name was enough to make him that happy, she could imagine him doing an elaborate touchdown dance for getting choice seats at the mess hall or something. Now that would be something to see. And the thought wasn’t helping her efforts not to seem like she was openly laughing at him.

When he leaned in and questioned her on what she knew of him, now that part was a little unusual. Well, that was one word for it. She didn’t claim to be a specialist in other legionnaires, or even a novice really. So it was kind of handy at least that he had a rather well-known reputation or she would have been up a creek without a paddle. His smile was reassuring though, that she hadn’t completely failed that little test. Then he opened his mouth. “Do I strike you as the type to spread rumors?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. She was usually more the one to ignore them entirely and do her own thing.

She wasn’t sure if she’d expected it or not, but hearing him confirm that it really was him she saw at Orthys seemed to add a whole new layer to the usually thought to be shallow individual that was Zidane Quinn. She couldn’t help but give him her full and very interested, if somber, attention. “That’s really something. I bet you’d have rumors of an entirely different kind floating around this place if more people knew about that.” The way he shifted immediately back to his not-a-care-in-the-world demeanor. There was something different about it this time though. Then again, that might have just been the fact that she had a whole new lens to look at him through now.

His response to her fainting comment, though, made it hard to impossible to stay serious. “Well, then I’ll have to do my best dramatic faint acting for you,” she said with a grin. Talking with Zidane was turning out to be a lot more fun than she could have ever guessed. If anyone had told her she would be actually asking to hang out with him more, she would have thought them crazy.

Valerie glanced over at the Mars guy he’d beaten so easily. Yeah, judging by the way they guy was acting, angry would be an understatement. She wasn’t sure it would be wise to put it past him to try and hunt Zidane down at the first chance he got. Yeah, getting out of here was looking more and more like a good idea. Not that she didn’t think Zidane could hold his own in a rematch, but still. “Yeah, I’d say he looks about as happy as a Mars kid might if you told him he’d be better suited for ballet.” The fact that he was still sneaking in his flirty comments was a bit amusing though. “I’m sure you’re really bummed about that,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s go with ‘hanging out’, shall we?”

She drummed her empty water bottle on the side of her leg for a second before finding the bag everyone had been tossing the empty bottles in and leaving it there. “Alright then, let’s be off. Before that Mars kid decides to stab you in the back or something.” She set off in no particular hurry across the Field of Mars back towards the main camp, making sure he was following before talking again. “So, kicking kids’ butts on the battlefield and break for lunch aside, how’s your day stacking up?” So it wasn’t exactly a hugely insightful or deep and meaningful question, but it was a conversation starter.

WORD COUNT: 625
TAG: Zidane
NOTE: Okay, so this turned out longer than I thought it would o.o

[zidane]

Despite his victory in being able to pull the memory of Val out of the depths of his brain to put a name to the face he was looking at, he still felt unhappy with himself for being even more ignorant so as not to recognize that this was the girl who was assigned just a few days before to be the new co-centurion of the second cohort. He thought about the previous one who was a kinda crazy and stuck up dude named chuck who’d been one of Apollo’s kids and had constantly seemed to have something against Zidane since the time he was elected as centurion himself after the “bravery and skill” he’d shown at the battle of Mt. Orthys, even though he’d been injured. The same injury he and Valerie had just been discussing. Either way, he was happy with himself for making her laugh because she seemed like someone who could be prone to being too serious and needed a handsome idiot like himself to help her let loose.

At what he perceived to be a slightly irritated question about Val being the gossiping type, he found that charming smile of his creeping back on. Truth be told, she didn’t seem like she’d care much about what people were saying about the womanizing, blonde, hot centurion except that he was maybe one of the more questionable ones but he teased, “I thought all girls liked to gossip about me.” He was a bit taken aback at the intensity of her attention when he’d broached the subject of how he’d gotten the scar of the conversation, but realizing that she was looking at him with an expression he rarely saw on anyone’s face for him, besides maybe when he pulled off a particularly good win in a fight or one of the war games, but people usually just remembered the parts of himself he purposely highlighted, which meant he seemed egotistical and blew everything off.


When she spoke, his lips twisted into one of his crooked but genuine smiles, free of self-effacement or mocking. “Well, for the time that people were focused on that in our cohort, they decided to elect me a centurion. ‘Course, there are other rumors about how I fight, but I prefer those to stay on the down low. It’s way more fun to see the shocked looks on people’s faces when I beat them than if they expected it.” After the last remark, the blasé edge was back, however. “You can take that kid over there as exhibit A, and you’re right. His face does look like I told him that. Maybe I should try that sometime…” He seemed like he was really considering it a moment before Val had given him a wonderful reply about fainting girls and taking his shirt off. “Oh trust me. You won’t have to act. But I appreciate that you would do that just to stroke my ego.” He grinning from ear to ear now, realizing that he really liked the way this girl handled his personality. She wasn’t rude or condescending about it, and it was awesome that she played along. He realized that this could be the start of a very good friendship. Or he hoped so, since they were supposed to lead their cohort together.


Speaking of which, she was teasing him about his attempt to get her to say that she was going on a date with him, which just made him like her even more. “Darn, man! I really thought I would have gotten you there. Oh well, I’ll just have to try harder while we, ah, ‘hang out’.” The suggestive look was back again, but it was hard to make it look genuine in the midst of his enjoying the humor between them. He chuckled as he considered that this was the most lucrative flirtation venture he’d had in months, even though it was less real flirting by now and more a parody of it. He chugged the rest of the water in his bottle and tossed it in the same bag Valerie had tossed hers in and spared a glance at the Mars kid he’d been fighting, to see that the expression on his face as he regaled his humiliation to his friends was one that told him that she was right. “Yeah, I’d hate for him to get the idea to come over here and make the mistake of trying to attempt a doomed revenge.” He shrugged and followed her from the arena, keeping pace easily with her as she started up a conversation again. His expression was full of levity when he answered her. “Ah, you know. Pretty good, considering I have a hot lunch date. But seriously, I guess this is kind of lucky, since you’re the new centurion and we can get to know each other, get on the same page and stuff.”


Word count: 818
Notes: .oO( A little long, but its because I tried to creep the Centurion issue into the plot so they could address it IC; hope it’s not too weirdly done. )

[val]

Valerie snickered. “You caught me. I’m a terrible gossip, especially when it comes to hot Mercury guys,” she teased. Of course it wasn’t true in the slightest, but joking back and forth was really starting to get fun. And learning about his more serious side was interesting too. He’d been her cohort’s centurion for two years and she’d never seen him fess up to having any sort of emotions past hitting on girls. Not that she doubted he had more emotions than that, she just never really had reason to approach him about it. Until now. Now that Chuck was in New Rome and no longer a Centurion, her being a child of the war goddess sort of helped her get the open spot. She was still getting used to the idea, and figured that was probably normal enough as it hadn’t even been three full days yet.

She nodded when he talked about the time that there had been other rumors. And his valor had gotten him the centurion spot. “I think you’re a good centurion. Even with all the joking, you do know when to be serious. And hey, a little fun doesn’t hurt anyone. Especially when it does involve surprising people on the training field.” She looked over towards the Mars kid and smirked. “Yeah, thinking you might not want to try that… though if you do, warn me first and I’ll bring a stretcher.” Not that he couldn’t hold his own, as he’d just shown, but she had a feeling he would get a lot more than just this guy after him. The fact that the kid was already talking up his buddies was warning enough to that. The fact that he was looking like this might be an idea possibly worth doing was a little worrying.

Though the way he managed to switch gears at the drop of a hat was nothing short of astounding. It was definitely interesting trying to keep up with him. “Oh, you think so?” she asked, trying to hide a smile. “We’ll see about that.” She wasn’t sure if joking on that one was the best idea, but she did anyway. His carefree personality was actually a little contagious. The mix between jokingly let-down and obviously kidding around, with a mild suggestive look to top it off was just making this all the more funny. “Maybe next time, Romeo. You try as hard as you dare. I’m not going to say it.” Though it was pretty obvious she was joking right back. She was usually one to be more serious, but that was mostly because she usually took training and duties here possibly a little too seriously. Having this much fun just talking with someone? She couldn’t remember the last time that had happened, if at all. It was easy to decide that no matter what it made people think of her, she would try to hang out with Zidane Quinn a lot more now. Besides the necessary co-centurion duties.

“I like how you add on the ‘make the mistake of trying to attempt’ before that. But yeah, attempt sounds about right. And avoiding also sounds about right.” She set off much more leisurely than normal for the main camp and raised an eyebrow at his comment, though the hint of a smile made it evident she was more joking than anything. “Oh? Sorry, didn’t know you already had lunch plans. Don’t worry, I won’t take up too much of your highly-demanded time.” Just for good measure, she threw in a wink. Why not have a little fun with him in return? Ah, yes, there was the centurion stuff. Not that it wasn’t logical. She shrugged. “Yeah, probably a good idea. I promise I won’t be as… judgmental as Chuck was. And this getting on the same page thing? Does that mean we have to be completely serious because it’s actually been fun joking around.”

WORD COUNT: 655
TAG: Zidane
NOTES: That’s fine! Though it sorta makes mine look teeny lol.

[zidane]

Somewhat to his surprise, Zidane found Valerie to be very likeable. Not that he thought she’d be mean or anything, but from what he remembered of seeing of her throughout the years (she was in his cohort after all) she seemed pretty nice but not the type he would have pinned to be able to put up with his flirtation, as insufferable as it was for some people, or what was more, even make jokes about it back at him. Just that fact there had moved her name from his mental list of random girls to flirt with to his list of people he’d genuinely like to get to know. His usually devilish smirk had turned into a genuine smile as he thought so for a moment or two, but it quickly reverted when she spoke. “I guess no girl can resist spreading the fame of my hotness. I’m very happy to know you agree!”

He remembered pretty clearly the weeks that followed the battle of Mt. Orthys and recalled that he’d heard a lot of stuff about himself when he’d gotten out of the infirmary for his injuries. Most of them he just accepted and drank in the praise as anyone else probably would have if they had reasonably good self-confidence (which he certainly did), but things like how fast he could actually move or the fact that he was capable of teleportation over fairly short distances were things he was quick to downplay in order to keep some mystery about his hat tricks. Regardless, the hype about what had happened had been what had gotten him into the centurion position, which he almost blushed a little about when Valerie was saying he was a good one. Almost. “Ah, well. Thanks. I know few people like it when they have stuffy weirdoes in a position of authority, and I hate it when people act like jerks when someone hands them the keys, so to speak.” He scoffed at that, knowing that he could name a few people in that list, but he wouldn’t. “I think I better pass on breaking the news to that kid though. I really don’t feel like kicking his and his friend’s asses right now. I mean I probably could, but yeah.”

He knew his speech pattern was completely ADD but Val seemed to have little problem keeping up with his sporadic thinking as he had flipped back to the subject of his impending shirtless state. “You’re right. We WILL see,” he said in a mock-threatening tone. He snapped his fingers in a gesture of defeat when she had challenged him to getting her to say they were on a date, but he chuckled at her referring to him as Romeo. He really had to hand it to her, she was surprising him more and more by the minute with her banter with him, and it honestly made him think that hitting on her a few minutes ago was the best decision he’d made all day.

“Well, it would be a mistake on his part. I’m a very strict centurion and I would not tolerate that kind of childish behavior.” He made his voice sound mocking and realized that he’d just completely contradicted what he’d said earlier, but he chuckled at his own joke nonetheless. “Nah, it would really just be a bad idea. But it doesn’t matter.” He matched her leisurely pace and his eyebrows shot up momentarily at her wink, but it just brought the devilishness back into his expression. “Aww, don’t be put out. The only girl I want to have lunch with right now is you.” He pretended to give her a once-over after he said that to add to the comically over-the-top effect. After he was finished being entertained his expression schooled itself into an attempt at seriousness at the centurion business, but after she’d asked if it meant they had to be serious, the genuine smile was back. “I’ll be very happy if you could keep that promise. But nah, it doesn’t mean we have to be terribly serious. Serious centurion meetings are for chumps! But really, I can’t say I expected you to say that.”

Word count: 697
Notes: .oO( Sorry for the delay, but here ya go!)

[val]

Valerie didn’t bother trying not to laugh. “Of course. It would be impossible to resist.” She had to admit he was hot though. Not that she’d go around telling everyone – or anyone – about that one. Besides, she liked to think she looked at people a little more deeply than that. Then again, his personality was just as attractive. Not helping. The look that barely made it to his face when she complimented his work as a centurion seemed as though she’d caught him off his guard. “Scruffy weirdos keep things interesting. And yeah… I think Chuck had a mild case of that. I say mild because there are certainly others worse.” Not naming any names though. Not that she, or anyone, had to though.

She glanced over at the unhappy Mars kids. “Yeah, you might as well give the poor guys a breather,” she said, giving him a smirk. “Don’t want to humiliate them too much in one day.” She laughed at the way he made the idea of him going shirtless and rendering every female in camp unable to focus on much of anything. The funny part was, she could definitely see him strutting around shirtless. Not something to put past him. “Promises to be interesting.”

Val smiled a little as he was mock-disappointed at her challenge. “Then again, Romeo isn’t a good name is it? Considering he dies… but you get the point.” She waved her hand, brushing the fact away. Though when he went on his serious-centurion skit, she had to hold back a smirk. “Oh yes, very strict. Whipping people into shape just by glaring at them. That’s definitely you.”

She’d meant it just as a joke, but when his response made her genuinely hope she wasn’t blushing, she started questioning what was actually going on in her own head. Okay, so he was really cute and funny, but she shouldn’t be reacting to him that way. Right? She pushed the confusion back and smiled, trying for a joke. “Well, I’m flattered, Zidane. She nodded when they got on the topic of centurion duties, for a moment serious. “Of course I will. You have my word.” She smiled, though, when he started going into not needing to be serious. That sounded great by her. This joking around stuff was way more fun. And it wasn’t like they couldn’t be productive at the same time. “Second that. There should be a rule against serious centurion meeting. And possibly cake in the Senate meetings.” She laughed, then shrugged. “Honestly? Can’t say I did either. This has been a very interesting conversation so far.”

WORD COUNT: 435
TAG: Zidane
NOTES: It’s so short! I’m sorry!

[zidane]

The sound of a girls laugh was sometimes pleasant and sometimes grating to the ear, but for the moment, he might have thought hers was music. That would make a good pick-up line he mused silently. He returned her laugh with a self-satisfied grin. “I’m glad you see it my way.” …But was she actually considering what he was saying about himself? Nah, it must’ve been her just sizing him up as the co-centurion, seeing if he was worth the trouble of putting up with. That was how it usually was, anyway, and she definitely didn’t seem like the girls in his creepy fan club. See, his hotness was a double-edged sword, it was great for the self-esteem but he thought that either Venus or her kids were trying to knock him down a peg by sending the craziest roman girls after him. Or maybe he needed to have a chat with his buddy Cupid about the entertainment outlets he chose. In any case, not only did he have lists of girls to flirt with, and girls he genuinely liked, he also kept one of the ones to run the opposite direction from. It wasn’t that long, but still.

“I think I said stuffy, but scruff is pretty scary too, you know? I’m pretty sure most people don’t dig a whole lot of hair anyway. Which Chuck had too, but I can definitely agree with that.” Another blasé grin, but it had an edge of a scoff as if he were thinking of just who was worse than the last centurion of the second cohort. He shook it off though as he considered the Mars kid in question one more time as they were leaving, then appreciated the sound of Val’s laugh as it came again, no doubt about his half-joking threat to go shirtless in protest of the scorching weather. “You bet! But yeah, I don’t really want to be in a suicidal relationship… I mean even I think two days is a little too soon to get that attached.” He rolled his eyes, having always thought the play was a little brainless. Romeo should have just flirted it up a little and run away with her later. Seriously. “Aww, now. I can definitely pull off the mean thing if I have to. Buuuut, I guess the sexiness just undermines it.” he heaved another theatrical sigh at that comment.

It seemed like things were really going well here as they were strolling on what was supposedly definitely not a date. But then he’d made what he thought was sort of an innocent remark about Val being the only girl he wanted to have lunch with, caught up in the banter, but he realized after it left his mouth that he might’ve sound a little forward. He was actually nervously waiting for her to mock him or come back with something silly and sarcastic, but he could have sworn her cheeks had colored a little. He had to admit that he felt a little relieved when it disappeared, putting it down to his occasionally egotistical imagination. In return, he reverted back to his usual attitude once more. “Well, I’m always happy to flatter a pretty lady.” Oops. Okay, tone it down. He was relieved when they veered back to the centurion conversation, “I’m glad I can count on you. And heck yes, I totally motion for that.” There was that laugh again, and he started thinking he might not get enough of it. Someone who usually seemed so serious laughing was something good to see. “Indeed, it certainly has.” At that, he teasingly wiggled his eyebrows.

Word count: 609
Notes: .oO( Oh boy, this is getting interesting. :D )

[val]

It was getting really hard not to smile around Zidane. It wasn’t so much that everything was flippant and completely joking around him. After all, he’d proven he could be serious when the situation called for it. It was more that he had such a brighter outlook and way or dealing with things. And really, Val didn’t feel like just another soldier talking to him. It was something she needed to get used to, but she really couldn’t truthfully say she didn’t like it. “Well, you are very persuasive. She shrugged as he went on. “Stuffy, scruffy, it all works.” She could tell he was pondering things as well based on that grin of his. It was like finding a little kid up to something right before they realized they’d been caught. Not that she was calling him a little kid or anything. He had that same happy innocence that was so addicting. Five minutes with him – or however long it had been so far as she’d already stopped paying attention to even where they were going – and she was pretty sure it would take something very drastic for her not to seek out his company in the future.

“You and me both,” she said when he mentioned not really being one for relationships that ended in an early grave. Not really that pleasant a thought. She shrugged “But a play that lasted any longer would have put the produce departments out of stock in one fell swoop. So then, how long do you think is better?” It was an innocent enough question. Right? Okay, maybe not. Maybe it was a stupid idea to ask at all. Thank the gods for subject changes. She was more than happy to get back to the safe ground of joking around. “Yeah, cruel and ruthless though you can be most definitely, the hotness makes it a little less effective. That must be rough.” His over-dramatic sigh just made it even more fun though.

When he complimented her, she was painfully away that he wasn’t really staring pointedly at a rock and likely did see if she had the misfortune of noticeably blushing. Then he had to open his mouth more and she felt even more self-conscious about him noticing anything. “You certainly are fluent in compliments.” It wasn’t meant as a bad thing, nor did her tone suggest as much. She just honestly had no idea what else to say. And she really was not one for awkward silences. Luckily, those didn’t seem to exist around Zidane.

New topic. Good. “Of course you can count on me.” She snickered and added, “and is it bad that I really wouldn’t put it past you to do that in a Senate meeting?” Senate meetings. Oh boy, that was another thing to get used to with this centurion thing. She wasn’t sure she was looking forward to doing that bit. Though his gift for making things less harsh broke in again in the form of his odd little way he wiggled his eyebrows and any worrying about the Senate meetings was replaced by a laugh. And a thought. Speaking of stuff in New Rome. She started talking before she could second guess herself and prayed that whatever gods might be listening that this wasn’t some huge mistake. She tried to add in a hint of joking to start with just to make it a little easier. “So, I know the great Zidane Quinn is basically the camp’s most eligible bachelor. So would it be completely pointless of me to ask if you have plans for the masquerade ball coming up?” Hey, it was worth a shot. Now here was to hoping he didn’t shoot her down. Which sort of made her wonder a little why she was so worried about that happening to begin with.

WORD COUNT: 639
TAG: Zidane
NOTE: No kidding, it is!

[zidane]

As little time as Zidane has spent getting to know Val, what was it, maybe ten or fifteen minutes including the walking? Not counting the little bit of time they’d spent when she was inaugurated into the centurion position, (which made him feel a little bad for not realizing and taking it account before, but in his defense he hadn’t recognized her in her workout clothes), he was starting to like her smile as much as her laugh. Maybe that was why he hadn’t really recognized her, because the past few days she’d been very formal and today she was humoring him like the best of them. He liked this side of her, he knew. She’d moved herself from the 'potential flirts' list to 'genuinely interested'. Which was a pretty rare thing indeed. “Well if I knew my persuasion worked so well before this, is would have tried it sooner, you know.” Which was probably true, though he’d been continuing the banter. “Yeah, yeah. All pretty similar. Darn those scruffy hipsters.” He waved his hand in his flippant manner to brush the subject onwards, actually wanting to get back to the flirting. Perhaps Fortuna was smiling on him today, but this was the most successful he’d been in months.

“Well, that’s a relief. I was afraid you might be one of those girls who screams ‘but it’s romantic’! But yeah, imagine all that wasted grocery. I guess killing them was the fastest way to prevent the grocery apocalypse, but that’s kind of heroic I guess, right?” Her question just after actually put him in pause a moment though, as he definitely hadn’t been expecting it. Maybe he wasn’t actually being delusional… “Uh, um. Well, you know.” He was trying to decide if he should go for a joke or give a serious answer, and since his brain was a bit tied up, he decided to try for the serious..ish. “Well, at least a year. That way you can really decide if the person is worth it, right? I mean you can keep the kissing and all that, but I’m not sure it’d be worth dying over.” He shrugged and kept his tone light. He never really thought about serious relationships much since he never got there, but he guessed his answer was satisfactory.

And, there it was again, almost a hint of red in her cheeks. Come on, be cool. He was still weary, thinking she was going to decide he was stupid and slap him any moment, but he kept the jokes coming for lack of knowing what better to do at that point. “Sure, it’s my second language.” He pasted on that scoundrel grin again, but this time beneath it was riddled with uncertainty. Where was this possibly going? It was weird for him to be nervous though, since all of this was usually just for the fun of it.

He was glad when it went back to their mutual position in the camp and he was glad to know he actually could count her to make the job more fun, and he had to laugh when she mentioned that she thought he’d actually do it in a meeting. If it weren’t for Remus disliking jokes of any kind, he actually might’ve too. “Oh, you bet I probably would. And hey, don’t worry too much about the meetings. It’s not really that scary, everyone is usually pretty cool. And you can count on me to get your back.” He had noticed the brief worry on her face and was really trying to make her feel better. He really preferred it when she smiled, and there it was. But what happened next was something he was totally not expecting. His eyes went wide, his mouth slack and open, and he probably looked like the biggest doofus ever as he struggled to compose himself from the genuine shock he felt. This was breaking precedent for two things at once: 1) The great Zidane was rendered embarrassingly speechless in front of a pretty girl and 2) He was pretty sure that said pretty girl had just asked him to the dance. It took another few moments for him to formulate a coherent response and he schooled his expression back into the careless suaveness, although it was a bit late. “Yes, yes I am. And uh, no, I didn’t have any plans past going. Erm. Why do you ask?” he coughed into his fist awkwardly, unable to completely get over his surprise.


Word count: 751
Notes: .oO( Zidane's moment of uncool lol. Oh my goodness!!)

[val]

Being a little more laid back with Zidane was just so natural. Valerie probably wouldn’t admit it to anyone out of sheer stubbornness, but she was really getting to like the camp flirt. Then again, that was probably a good thing as they would have to work together, as far as getting along well and that sort. So not including his bright and sometimes a little goofy smile and the way he exaggerated everything and rolled with the conversation like a pro... It wasn’t really like her to pay attention to smaller details about people, at least not of that type, but in this case it just sort of came naturally. “Uh oh, you’re going to be unleashing your powers of persuasion on the whole camp now, aren’t you? What have I done?” The funny thing was, she could almost see someone like Zidane doing his best Jedi mind trick impersonation, which only made it even more a challenge not to laugh.

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief when he went on about Shakespeare whatnot. “You mean some girls around here actually go for that stuff. Horrifying.” She shrugged. “Maybe it is heroic, maybe not. I tend to side with not. I mean come on, wasn’t Juliet like fourteen? Your life is not over because you’re young and angsty.” She could tell that her question had caught him off-guard. Maybe that wasn’t the brightest thing to ask about. It could be construed as being just about the play anyway though so that was handy. And really, she wasn’t entirely sure why she’d asked. “Makes sense. Not the, what, four days they sporadically saw eachother from balconies and whatnot? Yeah, that’s a little sketchy.” Wait, why were they dissecting Shakespeare? Ah well. Just tally it up to a side-effect of a highly unusual conversation.

His offhand comment and grin actually gave her pause though. She was getting so used to his impish smile that it stood out that something was different this time. Alright, perhaps it was time to start watching herself a little closer. Up until now she’d pretty much been saying whatever and it didn’t seem to matter much or change how they were getting along. Had that been too forward? Heck, she didn’t even know what was going on anymore much less know what to do with it. This was starting to prove harder than she’d thought.

Back to political stuff. For once, she thanked the gods for politics. Couldn’t say that one had happened before. “I’d definitely second you if you did, but yeah, I think that might not be the best idea to try to start with.” She was a little surprised when he addressed her worries without her having to say a word about them. Either she was being really obvious or he was a mind reader. Either way, she smiled gratefully, letting herself show that okay, she was just a bit nervous. Not something she liked to broadcast a lot. She was a child of Bellona; she was supposed to be tough and fearless. Didn’t mean it always worked out that way though. “Thanks. Not really sure what to expect with all this new official stuff. Hope I’m cut out for it. But I really appreciate the support.”

Out of the blue, and before her hey-Valerie-don’t-make-an-idiot-of-yourself senses could kick in, she asked him something even she hadn’t been expecting. And obviously he hadn’t either.

Bad move.

Things had been going so well too! But she’d found the line and, for all appearances, jumped right over it. She found a whole new interest in the gate into the camp just ahead, only sparing a glance to assure herself that yeah, she’d botched up. Zidane, they guy who usually, from what she’d heard, took a hard hit in order to silence, wasn’t saying a word. And his face looked like he’d seen a ghost or something. Or well, that expression didn’t really work around a place where there were Lares floating around all the time, but the idea was there. If she’d thought she’d caught him off guard before, that was nothing to this. And awkward didn’t even begin to cover it. She’d never felt so incredibly self-conscious. They had been talking about important centurion stuff before, and then she just randomly went stupid. Gods, what he must think of her now. This was a really, really bad idea. When he finally spoke up, several very long minutes later, it didn’t help her nerves. “Just wondering,” she said to the distant gate. “Wasn’t sure if I was going myself and thought, I dunno, I’d see if you wanted to go… with me,” she finished lamely. She had never felt quite so tiny in her life. After all, it wasn’t like she’d ever had any sort of experience with this relationship stuff before.

So that meant just one thing: abrupt topic change time. She pulled her wits about her and looked to him again. “So, lunch. Are you up for sandwiches or would you prefer something else? I’m really not picky myself.” So it was a stupid topic change, but it was a change.

WORD COUNT: 864
TAG: Zidane