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

[ Strategy: make him uncomfortable. She subtly scoots closer to him in the sand and rests her cheek against her shoulder. It's uncharacteristic and completely demure-looking, but not totally unbecoming on her. ]

I definitely believe you right now. I am a mess most of the time. Like, oil stains suit you. So rugged.

[ Weird as this is, he can totally live with these compliments. Keep 'em coming! ]

Yeah? Maybe we should go to Bunker 9, then. I can work on Festus; you can keep telling me how irresistable I am.

[ Two can play that game. ]

... I may be a bad distraction.

[ She waggles her eyebrows and judges him. Another threat. ]

[ He gives her a look. ]

I'm not the one under a love spell.

See, I know my way around some things.

[ Like what if she kissed him while he was welding things? Love spells can't help that kind of thing, right? ]

I can't resist your manliness, dude.

[ Eyeroll. ]

How could any woman resist this much sheer.. manliness?

[ He flexes one scrawny arm like a bodybuilder. He may be capable of lifting parts that are twice his size, but Leo sure doesn't look it. It's hard to keep up the serious facade, though, and he's laughing again seconds after he does it. ]

[ Natalie reaches over to give his arm a squeeze, regarding him admiringly and still blushing heavily when she breaks contact with him. Okay, she's slipping further and further down.

Damn it, Aphrodite. She leans in to kiss his cheek and, with a wide eyed expression, covers her face immediately. ]

[ He freezes, and when his mental processes start up again, he's thinking a million things, but one thought stands out: Aphrodite really knows how to work a love spell. Natalie would never... Not to say he doesn't enjoy the attention, at least a little! But it just isn't... her.

Averting his eyes, he makes a quiet suggestion: ]

Maybe we should go get that bow...

[ Natalie clears her throat and tries to find her head. It's impossible because all she wants to do right now is actually kiss him. Someone up there must be enjoying this. ]

Thank you.

[ But deep down she totally does not regret this. ]

Don't worry about it.

[ Give it a week, and they'll all think it's hilarious. He gets up and brushes the sand off his pants. Mouth curling with a hint of a smile, Leo offers Natalie a hand up. ]

[ Oh, gods. Natalie hoists herself up, holding his hand tightly and completely reluctant to let go. The more sensible side of her eventually drops her hand. Though she's still looking at him all moony eyed and would probably follow him off a cliff. ]

After you, dude.

[ Along the way, Leo occupies himself by fiddling with his helicopter and talking about the bow. And this time, when they reach the door to Bunker 9, he doesn't hesitate in using fire to open it and leads Natalie straight to it, giving it a quick once-over just in case he missed anything before holding it out to her. The arrows are still laying on the table, all cleaned up, sharpened, and ready to go. ]

Not too shabby for something that's gods-know-how-old, if I do say so myself.

[ Occasionally she nods and looks as if she's listening to him in rapt attention but really she's just running through each moment they've touched or been closed on recent memory. She is quick to throw in an 'Ooh, Leo' here and there while batting her eyelashes. So the end result isn't as embarrassing as she hoped - yet - but she couldn't turn down a challenge when her bluff is called. Right? That's totally it.

She gingerly holds her new weapon, mouth hanging open. ]

This is - wow. Better than it looked before. You are amazing, seriously. I know you didn't make it, but it's true.

[ He beams and grabs an arrow, eager to show it off. ]

I modified these guys, too. They're honing arrows, so if you miss or your target moves, they'll follow.

[ Now there's a wicked gleam in his eyes. ]

And I could make arrows that explode on contact.

You did this for me? [ Said as if he had written her a love song or something, with a gleam in her eye. ]

Thank you. Seriously. [ There is a great deal of love and warmth in her smile and, frankly, that look would still be there if she wasn't under a spell. She's pretty relieved not to be singing his sister's praises here, as much as she doss like her as well. ]

[ He rolls his eyes, but the smile's still there. ]

Come on, Natalie, you were lusting over that bow more than you ever could from some love spell. It was nothing.

[ Not that he'd do it for just anyone. Those weapons are works of art. ]

[ She doesn't hesitate in this next gesture, holding his arm as she hops up to kiss his cheek softly in thanks. Another beam forms on her face and she handles the weaponry happily, positioning the bow and arrow in her hands just to test how it feels in her arms. Nice. It's like he really knows her or something. ]

[ A warm feeling washes over him, and he hardly has time to register that she just kissed him again - Natalie kissed him again - before she's moved away. As he watches her test the bow, it slowly starts to dawn on him what that warm feeling is: pleasure in making her happy, coupled with a light blush that he's trying to ignore, all because he... said her name. Oops.

...But it's a great mistake. Now he can really admire how perfect she looks with a bow in her hand. ]

[ There is a proud glimmer in her eye, even when she sets everything on a work table, not wanting to use one of her special arrows in the bunker. The weird thing about all of this is that the warm, honey sweet feeling isn't unusual. It's simply amplified times a million, so when she turns to him again, all she wants to do is really kiss Leo right there and then. ]

Did you say my name?

[ He takes a small step back and averts his eyes, suddenly unsure what to do. ]

Um... maybe?

[ Okay, Natalie wins. He's uncomfortable. ]

[ He gets an accusatory finger pointed at him. ]

Oh my gods, you said my name.

[ That ... doesn't pose any problems, right? Two friends suddenly in love with each other - this will be something to laugh about tomorrow morning. ]

It was an accident!

[ Gods, how'd he know she'd be mad?

...She's kind of cute when she's -- damn it, Valdez, not helping! ]

[ The mild annoyance turns into something like flattery and embarrassment all at once because she's turned an unflattering shade of fuchsia and has taken to fussing with her messy hair. ]

What - what do we do now?

[ No, they can't make out, that would make things weird. ]

You're asking me?

[ He turns and leans back against the table, looking up at the ceiling in frustration. He certainly can't keep looking at Natalie; that would just make it worse. ]

Maybe we should stay away from each other until it's over?

[ Not moving. ]

[ She huffs a laugh. ]

I don't think that is physically possible for me right now.

[ The powers that be, or whatever, have her glued to the floor here and she keeps her gaze on him because looking away is proving to be harder than usual. ] This is crazy. It's not like saying anyone else's mame would make it easier. Um, it's - it would be less fun, honestly.

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