[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/trZIxKo.jpeg[/img]
[sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img]
[color=bd1664][b]#bd1664[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [url=https://imgur.com/y58l9Y9][color=9b9b9b][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url] [color=2e2c2c].....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [color=b45f06][b]#b45f06[/b][/color] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [url=https://imgur.com/a/QTL8qJH#NAaGPhC][color=9b9b9b][b]outfit[/b][/color][/url] [color=2e2c2c].....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c].....[/color] [color=9b9b9b][b]party > andy's cabin[/b][/color]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img][/sup][/center]

[indent][indent][indent][indent][justify][color=808080][color=04ed42]"Guess they don't teach manners here,"[/color] Nate called out after them, making sure they both heard him loud and clear. 

[color=bd1664]"[i]Fuck,[/i]"[/color] Andy muttered under her breath, letting her eyes close as her head fell. She was proud of Mason for being relatively tame, [i]for him.[/i] But she also knew how one shitty word could set him off. She prayed he just ignored it, but her body still tensed preparing to intervene or drag him away.


Mason glanced over his shoulder as Nate ran his mouth then turned around to face him. [color=b45f06]"I’ll show you no manners,"[/color] he began, taking a step forward.

[color=bd1664]"Hey,"[/color] she spoke up, trying to get his attention. Andy’s hand reached up and took hold of his cheek. She gently tried to turn his head back toward her. Halfway there, her other hand cupped the opposite side of his face. [color=bd1664]"Hey,"[/color] she repeated, this time softer and more intimate. When his gaze met hers, her thumb lightly stroked his skin in a calming and comforting manner. Her head leaned in slightly, closing some of the space between them. 

The tips of her fingers on her right hand lightly ran across his forehead, along his temple and back through his hair over his ear. [color=bd1664]"I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have danced with him."[/color] Andy knew in her gut that accepting that dance was a bad idea but she ignored the signs to try and be friendly. That was her mistake and stupidity. She knew that and she knew better. [color=bd1664]"Please, don’t fight, not tonight,"[/color] she whispered. She knew full well that she couldn’t keep Mason out of fights forever, but perhaps he could avoid it for one night. 

He sighed out, trying to allow himself to calm and relax under her tender touch and proximity. [color=b45f06]"I know,"[/color] he admitted. Tonight wasn’t the night for fighting and he’d rather not have made an enemy from the get-go but…[color=b45f06]"I didn’t want to make a scene, but you look too beautiful. Especially tonight."[/color] Naturally someone else would shoot their shot with Andy.

Her cheeks began to flush as a sweet, bashful smile crossed her lips. [color=bd1664]"[i]Well,[/i]"[/color] she started as her hands slowly fell from his face to rest on top of his shoulders. [color=bd1664]"You look pretty good yourself,"[/color] Andy admitted as her gaze fell to take in the fit of his shirt, the way his sleeves were rolled up over his muscular forearms, and the tease of skin beneath the loosely unbuttoned collar. Her right slid down his chest, stopping at his abdomen and playfully tugged at the fabric of his blue button up shirt. [color=bd1664]"I [i]really[/i] like this outfit,"[/color] she confessed, barely above a whisper, before looking back up into his ocean eyes. 

Mason looked her over, undoubtedly appreciative of the mesh dress and bodysuit she wore, a new spark igniting behind his eyes and the hint of a smirk on his lips. [color=b45f06]"I guess we’ll call it even then."[/color] His fingers inched their way to her waist. He had half a mind to tug her dress in return but it was better if he didn’t. He found himself leaning in, lips hovering temptingly close to hers, if he just leaned in that fraction more his lips could finally reembrace hers, but unfortunately there were elephants to address. He promised himself he would.

As he closed the space between them, Andy’s hand subconsciously tugged on his shirt, pulling him in. Her gaze flicked between his eyes and mouth. His lips were so close she swore she could almost feel the ghost of them brushing against hers. But then he stopped. Her eyes closed and she sighed as she released his shirt.

[color=b45f06]"What’s it gonna take for you to stop being mad at me?"[/color] He cocked his head. Meanwhile, his hands went to the small of her back, pulling her in closer and he swayed her. With or without music or completely off beat, it didn’t matter. He wanted to be in their own world.

While Andy’s heart sank at the shift in conversation, she knew it had to be addressed. She let the question hover as he pulled her in closer and started swaying slowly. Her fingers felt the contours of his muscles beneath his shirt as her hands slowly slid up his biceps and rested on his shoulders. Being so close to Mason, feeling her body pressed against his, melting to his touch… It was like returning home after spending months away. There was comfort and a nervous tension. Static danced along her skin. Every nerve tingled with longing and anticipation like the twisted knot in her gut at the top of a rollercoaster just before going over. Maybe it was because she missed him or because it had been months since he held her, and maybe the alcohol played a small part as well, but she wanted him so badly it made everything else foggy.
 
Her mind’s logic tried to overpower her heart’s yearning. The emotions spiraled within her like a typhoon. Mason asked her a question. She blinked hard, sifting through her cloudy thoughts to find and retrieve what he asked. It took her a moment to come back down to earth and stop focusing on how… [i]incredibly[/i] hot he was. [i]Stop it. Focus.[/i] She parted her lips to speak, but before anything came out he interjected.
 
When it looked like she'd fire a whole list at him, Mason got in first. [color=B45F06]“Uh uh uh,”[/color] he chided her gently before she could get carried away in anger. 
 
Andy’s face scrunched in annoyance before she lightly shoved him. Not hard enough to knock him off balance or anything, but enough that he knew she was frustrated. [color=bd1664]"[i]Ass...[/i] Asks a question but doesn’t let me answer,"[/color] she grumped and shook her head.
 
Mason parted from her when she shoved him. He may have deserved that but he wasn’t looking to fight. [color=B45F06]“You know I miss you. You know I’m sorry,”[/color] he spoke low yet pleadingly for her to hear. [color=B45F06]“I’ve always been here for you and I’m going to keep being here for you.”[/color] 
 
She sighed, slowly blinking her eyes as she tried to push away the frustration. Andy knew he was teasing and trying to bring some lightness into an already heavy topic, but she wasn’t in the mood. After a second, she rolled her eyes slightly and took the small step forward, closing the distance she made by pushing him away. Mason didn’t want to fight and neither did she. So much of their friendship had been spent fighting, from repressed feelings and shitty ex boyfriends, she didn’t want to continue their toxic trends into, what she hoped was, the beginning of a relationship.

Andy’s eyes closed as he pleaded. She exhaled softly and nodded her head as he spoke. [color=bd1664]"I know, I know."[/color] 
 
Hesitantly, he raised a hand and even paused mid-way before he tilted her face up gently so she could look him in the eyes. [color=B45F06]“I’m sorry,”[/color] he told her again, even lower somehow, insistent for her gaze. He’d tell her as many times as it took, the meaning never diluting for him. Mason didn’t have many regrets, but threatening her in the tent and making Andy feel how she felt was one.
 
Andy’s eyes remained shut, scared to meet his gaze and that she might falter. She couldn’t see him, but she felt every small movement as his hand shifted from guiding her chin to caressing her cheek. She could smell the subtle notes of his cologne: musk, leather, cedarwood, and patchouli. Dark, intense, and moody… like him.
 
She sighed and opened her eyes. Mason held her gaze intently, his deep blue eyes unwavering as they pierced straight through her mental fog and churning emotions. Andy could see his remorse, [i]feel[/i] it. She knew he meant it and how much their separation hurt him as much as it hurt her. But it wasn’t enough? [i]Why[/i] wasn’t it enough? She wanted nothing more than to melt into his arms and let him kiss away the pain. But a small pang left behind a sliver of doubt and distrust.
 
[color=B45F06]“I’ve been a dick and stupid and self-sabotaging, but I don’t want to be anymore.”[/color] Mason titled his head side to side. [color=B45F06]“At least not with you.”[/color] It was out of his realm to promise that he wouldn’t be a dick for everyone else.
 
[color=bd1664]"Yes, you have,"[/color] she replied honestly. There was no reason for Andy to sugarcoat her words or placate him. He [i]has[/i] been a dick and self-sabotaging. He had her. There was no one else, no Ajax, and yet he somehow found a way to disturb the waters before they got the chance to settle. She sighed softly, her gaze fixated at a spot on his shirt as her head fell. 
 
[color=bd1664]"Why, Mason?"[/color] she asked barely above a whisper. [color=bd1664]"Why’d you say it?"[/color] Her gaze flitted around focusing on anything else, the hangnail on her thumb she had been biting at anxiously for the past three months, the tiny missed stitch in the seam of his shirt, or the subtle rise and fall of his chest with every breath. [color=bd1664]"We fight all the time, but you’ve [i]never[/i] spoken to me like that. You said you’d kill me, Mase."[/color] Andy’s voice was quiet and shaky. She didn’t want to talk about it, but they [i]needed[/i] to.

He took in a breath as her earth hazel eyes left him to look anywhere else. This was what he had done to her and there honestly was no good answer he could give. Mason couldn’t even comfort her and wrap her in a hug because he was the problem. [color=B45F06]“It was a stupid, heated mistake.”[/color] He dipped his head to try and catch her eyes again. [color=B45F06]“A huge one.”[/color] She needed to know he wasn’t saying it was a mistake lightly and simply waving it off.

A single tear escaped from her right eye and ran down her cheek. Gods she didn’t want to cry. Andy was so tired of crying. She took a deep breath trying to calm herself and spared a glance up at him. [color=bd1664]"It was scary… [i]You[/i] were scary,"[/color] she admitted while looking back and forth between his eyes. She swallowed trying to force the lump in her throat back down and keep the tears at bay.


This time Mason’s eyes fled first to the ground, frowning. The last thing he wanted to do was make Andy ever feel scared of him. Literally anyone else could be, and that’d be fine, but not her. [color=B45F06]“I didn’t mean it,”[/color] he said. Mason would never harm a hair on Andy’s head. [color=B45F06]“I wouldn’t…”[/color] he shook his head to himself trying to imagine any scenario, even if Hades or Zeus demanded it, that he’d hurt her… But he couldn’t. He’d rather die. [color=B45F06]“I would never hurt you like that, Andy.”[/color]

[color=bd1664]"I know,"[/color] her voice cracked. She did know… [i]she did.[/i] But he still said it which only filled her head with a festering nest of doubt. Mason was the one person who saved her from the Underworld. He betrayed his father to save her life. He always, [i]always[/i] put Andy first with a steadfast loyalty. She had always trusted him with her life, without hesitation… until those words left his mouth. A small fraction of that trust had broken, destabilizing the fragile beginnings of whatever they had. 

He lifted his gaze but looked away again, afraid to meet the rejection, hostility or see her upset and doubt him. [color=B45F06]“I know it doesn’t make it right or okay. But hopefully you’ll give me time to make it up to you as a partner.”[/color]

[color=bd1664]"Is that what we are?"[/color] she mused with a weak laugh, attempting to find some lightness in the shadow that had been hovering over them for months. [color=bd1664]"I don’t think we ever established that,"[/color] Andy added with a sad smile. They kissed, made love and told each other they loved each other, but they never really [i]talked[/i] about it. No labels, no questions. Just one minute they were two, and then they were one. 

It was what he wanted, but he couldn’t say it out loud in fear of her denying him. That, and it felt like a bad time to assume anything. Their loving encounters were only few and he already blew it so he couldn’t answer anything.

There was a long moment of silence between them. Andy’s eyes closed as she let her stresses and anxieties float away into the cacophony of the party. The sounds of laughter, toasting, and upbeat music that contradicted their own slow swaying rumbled around them. But even lost in the loudness a tense quiet hung over them like a low hanging storm cloud waiting to release rain at any moment.

In their own world, Andy let her head slowly lean forward until her forehead rested against his. [color=bd1664]"Do you want this?... [i]Me?[/i]"[/color] she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She remembered her obnoxious persistence, forcing Mason to be her friend whether he wanted to or not. No matter how much he tried to be cold and distant she was always there like a loyal stray puppy, always coming back. She practically forced herself into his life and into his shell. Perhaps this fissure in their relationship didn’t solely come from him but from her own stubbornness and her inability to leave the brooding, grumpy Hades boy alone. Perhaps… It was her that needed him and not him that needed her. 

She kept her forehead pressed to his, scared to open her eyes and see whatever truth stared back at her. But when the silence was no longer bearable, Andy opened her eyes. Tears welled against her eyelashes as she looked merely inches across into his own, seeking the one thing she needed more desperately than anything else… [i]Reassurance.[/i] She needed to know no matter what had happened and what he said that he loved her… that he was in love with her. Andy couldn’t bear the thought of being so deeply in love with someone who didn’t feel the same… [i]not again.[/i]

[color=b45f06]"Of course I do!"[/color] He replied adamantly. [i]Gods, how could she think otherwise?[/i] He pressed his nose to the side of hers. [color=b45f06]"Of course I do,"[/color] he repeated softer this time and cupped the back of her head. 

Her gaze shifted back and forth between his eyes, searching for any lie or dishonesty… but all she saw was the stunned truth staring back at her. Andy knew what he was thinking. She could tell by the initial abrupt and shocked contradiction. She could tell by the concerned furrowing of his brow as he searched her eyes for an explanation. He couldn’t fathom why she’d ask such a question, why she’d think he wanted anything else. She knew that, deep down she truly did. But she still asked. All of Ajax’s shortcomings left her with a weight of insecurities she couldn’t seem to shake. It wasn’t fair to Mason for her to keep projecting her own doubts and fears onto him. And it wasn’t fair to her for Mason to project his own insecurities and anger onto her. 

[color=b45f06]"Don’t cry,"[/color] he whispered, keeping his head to hers. He moved his hand to stroke her cheek with his thumb and wipe any tear that might’ve escaped. 

She nodded her head. [color=bd1664]"I’ll try,"[/color] she said with a weak laugh. Andy didn’t want to cry. She didn’t want to cry or fight or be mad at him anymore. They were happy… for a time. It was brief, but it was bliss. She wanted that back… She wanted him back.

He swallowed a lump in his throat and drew Andy’s body in closer, guiding her waist towards him gently and carefully so that she could break free any time. The thing she failed to recognize was he needed her and he wanted her. He always did. He turned his face so that he could lay a tender lingering kiss on her cheek, though it was very near the corner of her lips. [color=b45f06]"I want this. I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted anything else,"[/color] he confessed to her. He drew back slightly. [color=b45f06]"Do you know how I feel about you?"[/color] 

Andy didn’t fight or pull away when he tugged her in closer. Her hands slid up to his shoulders as her chest lightly pressed against him. The warmth of his breath grazed her skin, running along her jaw and tickling below her ear. His lips were like electric fire against her skin, sending a chill up her spine and hitching her breath in her throat. Her head leaned into the kiss, prolonging the intimate, almost forbidden, touch. Like magnets, her lips were drawn to his. When he pulled away her mouth subconsciously followed. 

Mason’s words broke her from her temporary trance merely inches from his face. His confession, although simple, carried such a weight that it crashed into her like a wave, leaving her head and stomach spinning. Andy exhaled a shaky breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Her left hand slowly hooked around the back of his neck, running along his skin beneath the collar of his shirt. While he never shied away from a harsh truth, Mason wasn’t known for being vulnerable. But his desires were clear and concise. He didn’t falter, hesitate or take it back the moment the words left his lips. While she might have known how he felt… for far longer than she let on, hearing him admit it out loud made her heart race. 

[color=bd1664]"You love me,"[/color] she said barely above a whisper, half drowned out by the roar of the party around them. The inflection at the end of her words raised slightly, betraying her confidence and revealing her uncertainty. Mason had told her he loved her once before. But their relationship since that fateful kiss in the closet rested in an uneasy balance of ambiguity where they wanted more but teetered on the edge of friendship, unable to make that final leap. There were no labels, no clarity. They tip toed on egg shells around each other afraid one wrong word or action would derail everything… until it inevitably did.

She guessed correctly, but he still caught traces of doubt. While he hadn’t been the most forthcoming or confident in his feelings, Mason had loved her for a long time. Far longer than when he admitted it to her. He shook his head to himself slightly in disbelief and shifted to her other ear. [color=b45f06]"I love you."[/color] There was no faltering or fluctuation in his voice. Just stating a fact.

His words and breath caressed her skin, sending gooseflesh down the back of her neck. Andy closed her eyes while tightening her hold on him into more of a hug rather than a slow dance. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, taking in his scent and the warmth of his body against hers. [color=bd1664]"I love you too,"[/color] she replied quietly, her voice half muffled by his shirt. No matter what he did or how infuriating he could be or how mad she was… That’d never change. She too had loved him far longer than she admitted. Even when she was in denial, it was there. It was always there.

After several minutes of comfortable silence in each other's arms, slowly swaying in circles, Andy pulled her head back to look up into his eyes. [color=bd1664]"Promise me…"[/color] she started. Her voice was quiet but certain, filled with forgiveness but also a warning, one that wasn’t to be taken lightly either. [color=bd1664]"Promise me you’ll never say something like that to me again."[/color] She didn’t mean ‘I love you.’ Mason knew what she meant, the origin of their entire conversation, of their three month long strife that weighed heavily on her with each passing day. She needed to know he’d never do it again, hear it from his own mouth. 

Mason met her gaze and nodded softly. With complete sincerity, he replied, [color=b45f06]"I promise."[/color] He wasn’t one to promise much but that he could, and would do for Andy. He tucked the smallest stray bit of her hair that escaped her buns behind her ear and smiled warmly at the girl he had in his arms. The way it should be. He looked around briefly at the party then back at Andy. [color=b45f06]"Can I take you away for a bit?"[/color]

In the end, that’s all she ever wanted, for him to promise and to know, that even in his anger that she was still what he wanted. Andy’s right hand slipped from around his neck and slowly moved to cup his jaw. Her thumb stroked his cheek as she held his gaze intently. After a moment, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a tender, loving kiss. Her arms tightened around him, fingers slipping back through his hair, holding him close. It was a silent gesture to show she forgave him. Her kiss spoke the words she did not speak, desperate to fill the gaps of months apart. It was gentle at first but grew deeper with her longing. Her lips locked with his before parting slightly to caress his tongue with her own. He tasted like alcohol and faint traces of pomegranate. Mason was warm and passionate in the way she missed the most. In a way that felt reserved for only her.

He found himself waiting and hoping to be able to kiss her and touch her as a lover again but he wanted it to be her call. And she called. While they were in the middle of the field, in the middle of some party, he only saw and cared for her. Mason kissed her back, expecting a sweet brief but meaningful kiss. But it turned into more. His brows shot up a little surprised that Andy’s lips lingered but he was happy to oblige, matching her intent and longing with his own, his arm hooking around her waist as if they could get closer somehow.

Reluctantly, Andy broke the kiss to catch her breath. She remained close, the tip of her nose lightly brushing his. She wasn't surprised he was looking for a chance to leave and while Andy was the one who organized the party, she wanted to spend time with him more. For the past three months all she wanted was him, now that she was in his arms… Party be damned. 

Her fingers tangled further into his hair as she slowly opened her eyes. [color=bd1664]"Take me home,"[/color] she finally replied to his question barely above a whisper. With every word Andy spoke, her lips faintly grazed his, tempting him… [i]and her[/i] with another kiss.  

As cliche as it was, his heart beat dangerously fast against his chest. She took the rug from under him and left him breathless, and when his gaze fell back on her, hearing what she said, his eyes might’ve flickered with surprise for a moment before something more primal triggered in him. He kissed her quickly, deep and firm but quick, having done his waiting and patience for long enough. [color=b45f06]"Careful what you wish for,"[/color] he purred low, before grabbing her hand and leading her off the field and down the path of their cabins without any sorry looks back at the party.

Mason could barely wait to reach her cabin. He got about halfway up the path before turning to her, pulling her in close, cupping her neck and kissing her again. He had wasted enough miserable months being sorry and missing Andy that he wasn’t about to be modest or apologetic for his hunger and lust for her.

She barely had time to smile as he turned toward her and stole another kiss. It was passionate and desperate in a way they hadn’t dared at the party. Mason’s touch was electrifying wherever his fingertips grazed her skin and held her close. Their lips were ravenous for each other as months of pent up tension and longing boiled over. They starved for each other in a way that made them impatient, unable to keep their hands off one another. 

He drew away breath mingling with hers, bunching the bottom of her dress up, greedy and eager to get rid of the fabric despite not quite being in the safety of shelter yet. In fact it was probably the only saving grace of not yanking it off and freeing her from it.

Andy’s chest heaved, trying to catch her breath as she opened her eyes to hold his gaze. She briefly glanced over her shoulder to see how far her cabin was before looking back at him. Her lips lingered dangerously close to his as her hands untucked his shirt. She slowly started walking backwards towards her cabin as her fingers made quick work of unbuttoning it. With his skin exposed, her palms pressed against his abdomen, trailed along his muscles, over his chest and hooked behind his neck. 


Without warning or hesitation, trusting he’d catch her, Andy leapt up into his arms. Her legs tightly wrapped around his waist to help support her weight. She cupped his face in her hands, breathing heavily, as she held his gaze. No words were spoken, but her eyes said everything. How much she missed him, how she loved… and how desperately she needed him.

With an open shirt, two hands automatically caught her, clasping under her backside to hold her, but he didn’t flinch or break their stare for anything in the world. As much as his lips ached to find hers again, the look she gave him was rare, one he was lucky to have and he wanted to bathe in. Though undoubtedly, his mouth found hers, and his feet crept forward until he bumped Andy into the door he was trying to find. Mason smirked against her lips briefly before lowering his mouth to her neck while she found the way inside.  

Something between a laugh and a soft moan nearly broke their kiss as Andy was pressed back into the door. She smiled as she felt Mason’s own smirk grow against her lips. Her eyes closed and breath hitched in her chest as he started trailing kisses along her neck. Reluctant to release her hold on him, she finally let her right hand slip from his shoulders and fumble along the door in search of the handle. It was hard for her to focus with his hands and lips all over her, but eventually she managed to open the door after an [i]ungodly[/i] amount of time.

Mason squeezed her bottom before stumbling over to the bed and collapsing with her with a small chuckle. It was only then he released Andy, when she was under him, and he started to shrug out of his shirt. 

[color=bd1664]"I want to do that,"[/color] she whispered between heavy breaths while looking up into his eyes. Her hands ran up his chest and hooked beneath his opened collar. Her lips lingered dangerously close to his as she slowly slid his shirt down his arms and tossed it aside. 

He couldn’t fight the temptation to give her another kiss before helping get rid of that pesky lace dress. When it was up and over her head, he paused. Not in hesitation or doubt, there wasn’t a single doubt about having Andy like this—he wanted her every moment they were apart for the past three months—instead his eyes drank in every detail of her body, scars from past battle wounds, the tone of her legs and thighs from daily running, and the curve of her breasts that dipped beneath the collar of her bodysuit. Mason had been patient and respectful, but now that she laid beneath him all pretenses vanished out the open door. He grabbed two handfuls of the black fabric and in one swift tug he ripped the bodysuit open, freeing her from her last piece of clothing. 

While Mason slowly lowered himself down to her, Andy held her hand out to the side, never breaking his gaze. With a flick of her wrist the front door slammed shut and all the curtains closed around her tiny glass cabin as they got lost in each other’s embrace. [/color][/justify][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]

[center][sup][img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img]
[color=808080][b]interactions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] none [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]mentions[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] nate [color=2e2c2c]...............[/color] [b]collabs[/b] [color=2e2c2c]....[/color]|[color=2e2c2c]....[/color] [@Sir Sparky][/color]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/9qIY4OK.jpeg[/img][/sup][/center]