halfbloodhill | SITUATION POST: JULY 21, 2013 (APHRODISIA)

I really like that you speak machine.

[ He gets a mildly flirtatious glance out of the corner of her eye as she plays with her necklace. Keep her hands occupied. Never mind that she keeps waffling back and forth between wanting to lunge at him and moving to the other side of Festus' back. ]

Thanks for letting me on.

[ Morse code, actually, but Leo's cool with people thinking he speaks machine. Sounds cooler. He just smiles in response gets to working on those wires, trying not to think about how he can get another glance like that one. ]

[ Back to hair fussing. She pulls her hair out of a ponytail and starts to braid it. Except it's too thick so she just shakes it out so it looks a little wild around her face. Not looking too great, she thinks, wrinkling her nose. Maybe ... Yeah, she uses a little magic, sweeping her hands over her hair so at least the curls are a little smoother. Magic's her language. ]

[ That wire connects without a hitch. Leo looks up to find the next one when he sees Nat and stops, staring, hand hovering at the halfway mark. Gods, she looks awesome with her hair like that. There's part of him that wants to ask her out right then and there, but he squashes that thought as soon as he thinks it. Love spell, he reminds himself. He and Natalie are just friends. Friends...

That word is unfairly disappointing right now.

He gives himself a mental kick. Stop staring. Stop thinking compromising thoughts. If you can't come up with anything to say - and he can't; he's too focused on her - then just keep working. ]

[ Watching his hands, she is acutely aware that he is looking at her, really looking at her. Her heart flutters and she nearly winces at how cheesy it must be, how dumb they must look together.

Briefly, she meets his eyes and opens her mouth to say something - but she doesn't. Her mind briefly goes blank and her throat is dry. Clearing it, she shyly averts her eyes and leans away from him. ]

[ If he'd been able to think, his mind would have come to a screeching halt just now. Luckily, he can't, so it's just an extra moment of blatant staring.

Aaaand then she looks away and Leo's brain starts up again. What was he here for, again? Oh, dragon. Wires for the dragon. He clears his throat and continues working, with Festus making a humming noise and setting off a few sparks where Leo's working. ]

Oh, for the love of Zeus --

[ The awkward silence is unbearable, Natalie moves in, grabs him by the collar and flat out kisses him on the mouth. It may be fueled by Aphrodite, but this is a long time coming, honestly, and since they're having a moment ...

At least it's a memorable first kiss on a dragon. ]

[ If it weren't for Festus asking dumb questions - what did he care about visitors or awkward silences, anyway? - Leo might slowly be sinking into the zone, fixing these little things and knocking them off the to-do list. He can even manage to ignore Aphrodite's spell - almost - as long as he's doing something and not looking at Natalie.

But that's when she yanks him around and - gods, is she - she's kissing him?! Under normal circumstances, it might take him five, ten minutes to gather up what's left of his senses enough to react. Apparently the goddess of love has him covered, though, because he's hardly registered what's going on before he's kissing her back, work forgotten. ]

[ On the plus side: he isn't pulling away but then again, they're both under the influence.

She is actually grateful for the lack of inhibitions. Maybe - and don't tell Aphrodite this - nothing would have been accomplished without some unwarranted tampering with the food. Natalie smiles against his lips and loosens her grip on his collar to rest her hand on his shoulder. ]

[ Maybe they'll regret this later, when they're both back to being themselves. But right now, the feel of her smiling into the kiss is definitely worth the awkwardness that's sure to come. When he finally pulls away, he feels dizzy and a little short of breath - does the spell really have to include that sappy crap? ]

I... uh...

[ Stammering! Real romantic, Valdez! Real suave! What are words, anyway? ]

Edited 2013-07-27 03:52 (UTC)

That bad, huh?

[ Joking! Of course. She knows how he's meant to feel under these strange circumstances and they're programmed to be into it and each other.

But it's not all entirely false, right? Right? As soon as the doubts start creeping in, Natalie's dopey expression shifts for a split second. No. Don't think about that. ]

What? No! Gods, no. You just... surprised me.

[ He bites his lip, running a hand through his hair. Honestly, he's more surprised the kiss didn't startle him into spontaneous combustion. He knows his temperature must be rising, but maybe the spell's accounted for it somehow? If that's the case, maybe it's not so bad.

When Leo sees the flicker of doubt in her eyes, he wonders for a second if he should say something about it. He's not good at talking about feelings or whatever, though, even if he knows he's thinking along the same lines. Machines don't have the same sorts of feelings as humans, and no spell will make it easier for him to understand. It does make him wonder if another kiss might help, but he doesn't make a move. ]

[ Maybe if she just keeps sitting here while he works and they don't look at each other for a while, this Aphrodite stuff will wear off, but Natalie likes when he looks at her, whether she realizes it or not. Why can't she just be completely reckless and go for it without hesitating every five seconds? With the way she's progressing, it's as if she has taken a few leaps forward and three times as many steps backwards.

But here she is, sitting close to him with her hand on his shoulder, acutely aware of how he could burst into flames here. ]

I - wanted to. Surprise you, I mean.

Not your best idea, huh?

[ Come on, Natalie, you should know that by now. It's a miracle no one got burned. Still, that's one more point for her today, which means his plans for payback are not going so well. Lucky for him, he's a little more on the impulsive side, and the spell helps push him forward for another kiss, one hand reaching up to touch her cheek. ]

I could have t -

[ Her words are caught up because her mouth is otherwise occupied and she chuckles quietly, giving his shoulder a squeeze. A little daringness on his part is appreciated because she might just babble on instead.

Besides, she could have taken Leo's explosions even if her head is currently in the clouds. (And thank gods all of this happened away from prying eyes. They'd never live it down otherwise, unlike more visible pairs around camp.) ]

[ He smiles in satisfaction at cutting her off. This is better than talking or awkward silences or just looking at each other, even if he did enjoy the view more than usual today. Totally worth it.

But of course the dragon has to ruin it by moving suddenly and nearly pitching Leo off his back. The wires go flying, and Leo has to pull away suddenly to find something to hold onto. Then he shoots Festus a glare. ]

What was that for?!

[ Festus just growls and twists his neck so he can look at them with a sharp-toothed grin. Not cool. ]

[ The sudden movement has Natalie yelping, sliding backwards on the dragon until she clutches the tail. Or, she reaches for it when she sees that Leo has something to keep him balanced.

And she just burst out laughing, covering her face. Annoying, yes, but actually perfect when it comes to the two of them. ]

Dude. I'm sorry, Festus. You just became the third wheel.

[ Leo makes a face. ]

He's just mad I didn't finish the wires first. I don't even know where they are now, thanks to you.

[ Dang it, Festus, it's not like it takes that long to do. He climbs down to find them, grumbling about dragons and tantrums. ]

[ Natalie decides to dismount so he can finish the work without a hitch - well, without any kissing-related interruptions from her. ]

Yeah, I'm just gonna wait down here.

[ How long have they been here? She isn't quite prepared for the day to end. ]

[ There they are. He scoops up the clump of wires and heads back toward Festus, smiling at Natalie. ]

No distractions this time?

[ She crosses her heart for show, grinning up at him. ]

Promise. Mostly because I don't want you thrown off the back of a dragon.

[ If he's honest, Leo's a little disappointed at that, but Festus has spoken. Growled. Snarled. Whatever. So he climbs back up the dragon's neck and gets to work reconnecting those wires, stealing glances at Natalie every now and then (don't blame him; it's the spell that won't let him focus). He loses track of time while he works, but eventually he gets the last one working. A quick check of the hose he replaces last week shows no more leakages, so Leo shoves his tools into the belt and makes his way down, Festus making satisfied noises at him. Leo rolls his eyes and pats the dragon's leg. ]

Just the control disk left. You'll be ready to fly again in no time, buddy.

[ Well, of course she keeps watching him from afar, though she tries to keep her attention elsewhere, playing with her new weapon, or gingerly picking up things here and there. Once in a while, she'll levitate a few things to tidy up a mess but other than that, she has got it bad for him and it's painfully obvious after a few kisses. ]

When can we go for a spin?

I told Pi-- uh, the bird next week. I need to program the new control disk first.

[ Glad he caught that one. It would be so awkward, falling in love with Piper, especially after she gave him that warning. That he... failed to heed already. ]

You know, you didn't have to stay if you were bored.

I'm not bored.

[ It is true that she does like to watch him work. In the meantime, she will perch herself atop a free work table, practicing making things disappear momentarily. Hey, might as well use this time to work until she can possibly kiss him again. ]

We, uh, should eat lunch soon. I almost forgot to eat again.

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