"Well, my cabin is your cabin. Let's see if the gods know what I like," Idris chuckled as he approached the door to his cabin.
Wes lingered behind him and Rae, barely stepping inside behind them. He set down her bag, propped himself up in the doorway and hooked his thumb in the front pocket of his jeans. While he might not have known Idris… at all, his chosen cabin seemed to suit him well just based on the simple fact he mentioned enjoying cooking. The kitchen itself was big enough to house a small army. He couldn’t imagine why someone would need that much space or two fridges. It was beautiful and looked exactly like the kind of place Wes would never set foot in unless he was making a bowl of cereal. At least a place like that went to someone who could appreciate it, and not himself.
"Damn," Rae muttered. "This is like… Iron Chef meets Martha Stewart. I was expecting maybe, I don’t know, a hot plate and a dented kettle. Not this."
He was trying his best to be cheerful and accommodating but his thoughts kept drifting back to Trinity. Wes never liked when their conversations ended on a tense note. It constantly felt like he was always upsetting her when all he ever wanted was to share everything with her, including his High School friend. Maybe it was foolish of him to think the introduction wouldn’t be awkward. He didn’t know. Hell, he could even understand why his whole natural allure bullshit stressed her out. It wasn’t like he could control it. All he could was reassure her that he wanted no one else but her, which only made the whole thing more frustrating when that didn’t work. He was disheartened that one action messed up the entire night, ruined his plans, and pissed her off.
Maybe Mason was right… Maybe he needed to focus more on his own relationship rather than everything else. Wes sighed, lightly tapping the toe of his shoe against the door jam.
"It looks like I should be able to cook something from the restaurant!"
"Cooking sounds amazing. Seriously, if you can whip up even half of what you’re promising, I’m cashing in that raincheck. But maybe not right this second," Rae thankfully spoke up before Wes had to find a polite out. "It’s, uh… about to be the new year. First one at camp and all that for me. So… food some other time, maybe? Deal?"
"Yeah, I appreciate the offer, man," Wes added with a tight lipped smile. "But I have an angry girlfriend and I haven’t decided if I’m going to risk going back to the party or hide in my cabin." He laughed weakly as he pushed off the doorframe, picked back up Rae’s bag, and took a step back onto the porch. "Don’t stay up too late. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s training tomorrow," he called back over his shoulder before he descended the stairs and made his way back onto the main path.
He waited patiently for Rae to say whatever goodbyes she wanted and rejoin him. "Your cabin is pretty much on the way to mine. I’ll help you find it." Wes started leading them in the right direction, still lost a bit in thought. It wasn’t until they were turning down the narrow path toward her cabin that he realized how silent and withdrawn he had been. He sighed softly and looked over at the red head beside him. "Sorry you won’t be getting all the stories I promised tonight." He flashed her a lopsided smile with a sigh.
"Now, don’t you start apologizing, Lewski… I know how you are," Wes chided her playfully as he set her bag down beside her front door. "It’s not your fault." He took a step toward her and wrapped her in a much more gentle hug than the whirlwind one he swept her up in earlier. "I’ll answer all your questions later. Promise."
Wes gave her a gentle pat to the back before he slowly started back down trail. "Cabin 21 if you need anything," he reminded her. "Happy New Year’s, Red." He gave her one last wave before he disappeared out of sight around the treeline.
It didn’t take long for Wes to find his way to his cabin. He couldn’t bring himself to attempt rejoining the party, not when it felt like he’d only dread the coming of the new year and whatever rant Trinity had in store for him. It was better for everyone if he just went to bed and attempted to get some sleep before the new leader unleashed whatever hell on them tomorrow. He trudged his way up the stairs to his treehouse cabin. Once through the door, he kicked off his shoes and climbed the spiral staircase to his bedroom. He barely managed to pull his shift over his head before he collapsed face first into his bed with a dramatic sigh. Happy fucking new year.
Wes lingered behind him and Rae, barely stepping inside behind them. He set down her bag, propped himself up in the doorway and hooked his thumb in the front pocket of his jeans. While he might not have known Idris… at all, his chosen cabin seemed to suit him well just based on the simple fact he mentioned enjoying cooking. The kitchen itself was big enough to house a small army. He couldn’t imagine why someone would need that much space or two fridges. It was beautiful and looked exactly like the kind of place Wes would never set foot in unless he was making a bowl of cereal. At least a place like that went to someone who could appreciate it, and not himself.
"Damn," Rae muttered. "This is like… Iron Chef meets Martha Stewart. I was expecting maybe, I don’t know, a hot plate and a dented kettle. Not this."
He was trying his best to be cheerful and accommodating but his thoughts kept drifting back to Trinity. Wes never liked when their conversations ended on a tense note. It constantly felt like he was always upsetting her when all he ever wanted was to share everything with her, including his High School friend. Maybe it was foolish of him to think the introduction wouldn’t be awkward. He didn’t know. Hell, he could even understand why his whole natural allure bullshit stressed her out. It wasn’t like he could control it. All he could was reassure her that he wanted no one else but her, which only made the whole thing more frustrating when that didn’t work. He was disheartened that one action messed up the entire night, ruined his plans, and pissed her off.
Maybe Mason was right… Maybe he needed to focus more on his own relationship rather than everything else. Wes sighed, lightly tapping the toe of his shoe against the door jam.
"It looks like I should be able to cook something from the restaurant!"
"Cooking sounds amazing. Seriously, if you can whip up even half of what you’re promising, I’m cashing in that raincheck. But maybe not right this second," Rae thankfully spoke up before Wes had to find a polite out. "It’s, uh… about to be the new year. First one at camp and all that for me. So… food some other time, maybe? Deal?"
"Yeah, I appreciate the offer, man," Wes added with a tight lipped smile. "But I have an angry girlfriend and I haven’t decided if I’m going to risk going back to the party or hide in my cabin." He laughed weakly as he pushed off the doorframe, picked back up Rae’s bag, and took a step back onto the porch. "Don’t stay up too late. Wouldn’t be surprised if there’s training tomorrow," he called back over his shoulder before he descended the stairs and made his way back onto the main path.
He waited patiently for Rae to say whatever goodbyes she wanted and rejoin him. "Your cabin is pretty much on the way to mine. I’ll help you find it." Wes started leading them in the right direction, still lost a bit in thought. It wasn’t until they were turning down the narrow path toward her cabin that he realized how silent and withdrawn he had been. He sighed softly and looked over at the red head beside him. "Sorry you won’t be getting all the stories I promised tonight." He flashed her a lopsided smile with a sigh.
"Now, don’t you start apologizing, Lewski… I know how you are," Wes chided her playfully as he set her bag down beside her front door. "It’s not your fault." He took a step toward her and wrapped her in a much more gentle hug than the whirlwind one he swept her up in earlier. "I’ll answer all your questions later. Promise."
Wes gave her a gentle pat to the back before he slowly started back down trail. "Cabin 21 if you need anything," he reminded her. "Happy New Year’s, Red." He gave her one last wave before he disappeared out of sight around the treeline.
It didn’t take long for Wes to find his way to his cabin. He couldn’t bring himself to attempt rejoining the party, not when it felt like he’d only dread the coming of the new year and whatever rant Trinity had in store for him. It was better for everyone if he just went to bed and attempted to get some sleep before the new leader unleashed whatever hell on them tomorrow. He trudged his way up the stairs to his treehouse cabin. Once through the door, he kicked off his shoes and climbed the spiral staircase to his bedroom. He barely managed to pull his shift over his head before he collapsed face first into his bed with a dramatic sigh. Happy fucking new year.
interactions ....|.... rae & idris ............... mentions ....|.... trinity & mason ............... collabs ....|.... none
"You know, it’s pretty rich for you to say that." Elias’s voice drew Tapeesa’s attention, but the warmth she was used to feeling around him felt like it had been sucked out of a vacuum. Her smile faltered as her brows knit together in confusion. "Considering you’re the one who bailed on me and Anissa to dance by yourself. Remember that? Right after you’d already dressed me down like I was some kid who couldn’t be trusted to handle himself."
Tapeesa flinched at his dry forced laugh. Whatever light had been behind her eyes slipped away with the darkness of the night. Her dimples disappeared as the corners of her mouth trembled and what smile she had a moment earlier threatened to vanish entirely. "I don’t know, Tapeesa. From where I’m standing, it looks to me like you’ve been doing just fine without any offers."
She parted her lips to try and say something but when he looked away and frowned, the words fell apart with a soft breath. Warmth flooded her cheeks as he made a jab at her happiness and the fun she was having with Nate. It felt personal, like she wasn’t allowed to enjoy herself with someone that wasn’t him. Anxiety twisted in her stomach as her gaze fell to a small clump of snow by her feet. Subconsciously, she took a small step to the side, placing herself between both of them as if the physical barrier would protect Nate from Elias’s ire. Her hands trembled slightly from her elevated heart rate as she picked at the skin around her thumb.
"...I would’ve joined you if you’d asked. You said should not want." His voice might have been softer but the difference was lost on her. Only his words and their sharp meaning resonated with her.
"I…" the words got stuck in her throat as her voice threatened to crack. "I didn’t realize… I’m sorry." Tappi’s voice was quiet and easy to miss beneath the upbeat party music that contrasted the tension of their conversation. She couldn’t bring herself to meet Elias’s gaze. She swallowed and looked back over her shoulder toward Nate, all the brightness gone from her face. "I’m sorry," she whispered up at him before she turned in the direction of her cabin and walked off the dancefloor.
Nate wasn’t particularly good at hiding the wave of emotions on his face. That smile he tried to maintain disappeared as Elias continued to speak. He recognized the look and tone of the guy, he had pissed off a number of them. He started off annoyed, but slowly began to simmer and steam the more Elias took digs at Tappi. His fingers strained, stretching out wide as he did his best to not curl them into fists at his side. Any swaying Nate was doing had stopped. He stood perfectly still, as if every fiber of energy he had was dedicated to figuring out what his next move was.
As she apologized and began to leave, Nate’s gaze trailed after her. He shook his head, his gritted teeth chewing at the inside of his cheek. When he looked back at Elias, the anger in his face was clear. He didn’t shout to cause a scene, but he spoke clearly over the music. "Are you an ass to everyone, or just women?" He let the insult sit for a moment, before he just shook his head. "Should sounds like an invite to me, bud. But honestly, for her sake, I’m real fucking glad you’re too dumb to realize that." He turned to Forest, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry man… I hope you find better company. I loved the drink, you brought some good shit." With a small wave, Nate turned on his heels and left. While he’d certainly scrapped over less, getting into a fight with someone bigger than him didn’t seem like the best course of action.
He had more important things to do, anyways.
Nate jogged up behind Tapeesa, slowing down as he caught up beside her. He turned himself around, walking backwards just a little in front of her so he could swivel his gaze between her downtrodden face and Elias on the dancefloor. His cheeks were still hot from rage, but his expression had softened considerably as he got a good look at her. "Hey, hey… " He stepped in front of her, trying to stop her in her tracks gently as he bent over slightly to get his face in her field of view. "Where are we going?" He tried to keep the question light, but concern crept into his voice.
Tappi had been walking with her head down, fingers toying with the tail of her braid as she tried to calm her breathing. Her only goal was making it to her cabin before she accidentally cried in public, because the last thing she needed was another reason to be embarrassed her first night at a camp full of strangers. She was so focused on the crunch of her moccasin boots in the snow and the rush of her pulse through her ears that she didn’t notice anyone approaching. She gasped, stopping abruptly and holding out her hands so she didn’t run into him. Her hands quickly rubbed at her eyes, trying to catch any tears on her sleeves before they could slip out. A sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips at his question. Tapeesa wasn’t expecting either of them to follow her, but especially not Nate. The way he looked at her and the concern in his voice made her chest tighten.
"I was going to throw his stuff out of my cabin… And hide in my greenhouse," she confessed, the smallest hint of a sad, guilty smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she looked up at him.
Nate nodded, his eyes shifting back in the direction of the dancefloor. He considered backing off and giving her space, but he knew if he went back to the party he was bound to sock that smug dick and cause more problems. He shrugged his shoulders. "Ok… yeah, I'll join you. Mind if I grab my stuff first?"
Her eyes widened slightly at the casual way he offered to join her. While Tappi was embarrassed that he saw her that way and how Elias venom was pointed at him too, she couldn’t deny that the thought of company, his company, made some of the tension in her shoulders fade away. "Ok," she replied softly and nodded her head.
Nate shoved his right hand into his pocket, feeling the cold metal of the zippo. With his left he reached out and grasped Tapeesa's right hand, gently tugging her to follow as he spun around and made his way towards the table and chairs he had left his bag at. He glanced in Elias’ direction, glaring at him a little out of the corner of his eye, but mostly just making sure he didn't follow after them. He walked at a leisurely pace, making sure he didn't go too fast. When they neared the table, he let go of her hand to quickly shove his hoodie and jacket into his stuffed duffel bag before swinging the strap over his shoulder. Satisfied he had everything he needed, he spun around to face her. He held his left hand out, a clear sign for her to guide him this time. "Lead the way."
Tapeesa was prepared to stand at the edge of the party and wait for his return. She was not prepared for him to take her hand in a more intentional way compared to when they were dancing and pull her along with him. Even so, she didn’t fight it and followed along in sync with him. But when he glared at Elias, she very pointedly looked anywhere else, like the small dots of her tattoo that were barely visible where the tips of her fingers wrapped around the side of his hand. She waited patiently as he collected his things, the weird sensation of someone watching her tickling the back of her neck but she ignored it.
It didn’t take long for Nate to gather up his belongings before he was holding his hand out toward her. Three times wasn’t a coincidence, was it? Tapeesa’s cheeks grew warmer as she slowly slid her fingers into his palm once again. "It’s not far," she said while pointing in the general direction of her cabin next to the infirmary, nestled a little out of view behind some trees. While pulling him along with her gently, she weaved through the crowd, making sure to give the dancefloor an exceptionally wide berth.
Once they were out of range of most of the party’s festivities and noise, Tappi let herself fall back slightly, walking in stride beside him rather than in front of him. There was a part of her that wanted to apologize to Nate a second time. It wasn’t like Elias was her responsibility. On the contrary, she barely knew him. But it was embarrassing and ruined the fun they were having. Rather than dredging that up and dulling the small bit of happiness that returned to her with his presence, she tried to take a page from his book and turn things in a lighter direction. "I never asked who your parent is," she confessed looking over at him. "I initially would have guessed Hermes, but I don’t think Gods make a habit of getting matching tattoos with their kids," she added with a faint smile while pointing toward his chest where the quote lived beneath his shirt.
A small smile returned to Nate's face as he saw a little bit of joy return to her. He readjusted the strap hanging from his shoulder with his free hand as he took in her question, trying to think back to that strange woman he had met a year ago. "Yeah, no… dad's normal. Only really had him growing up. Woman showed up last winter claiming to be my mother. She said her name was… something like rival?" He clicked his tongue as his brows furrowed, trying to remember what she said her name was. "Adversary, maybe?"
She laughed softly and shook her head as he fumbled through trying to find the name of his mother, and failed. "You don’t know the name of your mom?" Tapeesa turned fully toward him as her brows tugged upwards in surprise. "Do you mean Nemesis?" She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly and squinting her eyes.
Nate shrugged his shoulders at her first accusatory question. "Dad never talked about her… and I never really met her. Just said he had met her when he was fighting overseas." His eyes widened as she offered up a name, though. "Nemesis… yeah, that sounds right. See, I was close." He flashed a grin, happy that he was at least in the right ballpark.
"I understand," she replied with a bit more softness in her tone. "My mom told me some stories but never the important ones… Like that he was a God." Tapeesa’s mouth pulled into a lopsided smile in reluctant acceptance. "I’ve known for–" Her lips pursed as she tried to remember what day it was and when Apollo showed up at her door. "Like four days. Give or take." She laughed awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders. "The harder part was giving myself a crash course in Greek Mythology."
Tappi studied his expression, curious as to how he could forget the name of the Goddess who bore him. Maybe it was just her, but ever since her dad magically popped into her life it was like she could no longer separate herself and Apollo in her mind. Nate said he never really met her… She didn't know how well she would have accepted the news of her parentage if she didn't hear it directly from her father's mouth. Either way, she flashed him a warm smile and lightly nudged his arm with hers. "You can get a gold star for effort."
Nate looked at Tapeesa like she had two heads, eyebrows raised fully as he cocked his head to the side in incredulity. "So.. Your dad shows up claiming to be a Greek god and you just… buy in immediately?" He kept a hold of her hand, his other seeming to instinctively reach for his back pocket. When he noticed, he lifted the hand to cling onto the strap of his duffel bag. He looked out in front of them, shrugging his shoulders. "I… I’ve known for a year, and I still refuse to believe it." His smile was still present as he looked back at Tapeesa, his expression relaxed. "You have me beat on who these gods are. The only ones I know are Zeus and Ra. And Jesus, but I don’t think he counts."
"Well—I—Yes?" Tappi’s voice squeaked slightly as she stumbled through the words. She looked up at him from the corner of her eyes, brows furrowing and tugging upwards in sheepish innocence. "My mom had this old picture of him and the guy standing at my door looked just like him, hadn’t aged a day." She started rambling and talking with her hands, which also meant she waved his hand around unintentionally as she tripped over her words while trying to explain. "And I had these weird abilities I couldn’t explain. So when he said Apollo—and I googled it—it added up. My mom always said he was special, and a God’s special." She finally paused and took a deep breath, having forgotten to breathe that whole time.
Her pace slowed as they neared a small iron gate in the middle of a short stone wall that acted like a fence around her cabin. Beyond was a quaint little home that almost looked more like a cottage than a cabin. It was the kind of place friendly witches or fairies lived deep in the woods in old fairytales or Disney movies. It was one of the smaller cabins compared to the other ones she’d seen, but it was still twice as big as her studio apartment and it had a little tower. She was content living like a little forest witch, especially when it came with a greenhouse. Seeing it again made her earlier giddiness return as her smile grew at the prospect of finally getting to explore her new home. This was heaven to her.
"How can you not believe it?" Tapeesa asked him as she turned halfway to face him while the fingers of her empty hand reached out to rest on the gate. "You’re here, aren’t you?" She leaned in slightly, looking around a bit paranoid-like before whispering. "Or are you a figment of my imagination?" Her slight smile and the subtle return of her dimples betrayed her terrible joke.
Tapeesa took a step or two forward, leading them into her yard? Is it a yard? She didn’t really know the specifics. But Nate’s comment about Jesus actually made her snort out a laugh. Her hand clapped over her mouth while her cheeks returned to the familiar shade of pink they seemed to frequently be when he was around. "Jesus," she echoed into her palm with a chuckle.
"You got me,” Nate teased, letting Tapeesa guide him along. "I've totally been a ghost the whole time." His eyes scanned her quaint little cottage, his mouth agape at the design. It looked like… like… "Though I could ask the same thing about you, Sleeping Beauty." He laughed a little himself, absolutely dumbstruck by how insane this all felt. Sure, she looked the part of a Disney princess, but they didn't usually live in a concrete compound from what he remembered. And the closer he got to the front door, the more concerned he was that maybe, just maybe, he was walking into a witch's trap.
Her smile grew as she nodded her head in silent acknowledgement. It did kind of look like the fairies’ cottage in Sleeping Beauty. "I don’t think there are ghosts in Sleeping Beauty." Her face scrunched up slightly as she looked over shoulder at him. "But you can have a second gold star for not taking the easy bait of Pocahontas." Although, to be fair, her cabin looked like nothing out of Pocahontas but she was always compared to her since she was a little girl. Sleeping Beauty was a new one, even if he was talking about her home rather than her.
Nate shook his head at that, rolling his eyes a little. "I don't think that deserves a gold star, Toppings. Different cultures.” He wasn't an expert by any means, but he knew enough to not make that comparison. Though, that never really crossed his mind.
"You’d be surprised how stupid people are," she whispered, leaning toward him slightly, like someone might overhear.
Tappi opened the door into her dark but cozy living room. She laughed awkwardly, forgetting how she practically stripped out of her winter clothes and tossed everything on the couch. It wasn’t like she was expecting another visitor before she ever got a proper chance to look around or unpack. Her gaze drifted over toward Elias’s things he left propped against the wall near the entrance and her smile faded. For a quick moment, his words replayed through her mind as her palm grew hot in Nate’s hand and the anxiety slowly crept back up. She cleared her throat and reached down, scooping up his jacket and the handle of his bag. She hesitantly looked up at Nate as she slowly pulled her hand free, disliking the cold emptiness she felt in his absence. "I’ll… be right back," she whispered before slipping back out the door.
She walked back up the stepping stones toward the closed metal gate that faced out toward the field and the party. Tapeesa stopped just shy of the wall as she caught sight of Elias. Her gaze fell as she leaned over the stone wall to set down his things beside the gate, then turned back around without daring to look in his direction a second time. By the time she reached the doorway to her cabin a second time, she was once again picking at the skin on her thumbs. "I was going to go check out my greenhouse. You should—" She paused, thinking back to the way her words were turned against her earlier. "I want you you to come with me," she corrected her wording pointedly even if it felt foreign and worded strangely. The last thing she wanted was Nate to get mad at her too.
Nate took a look around the living room, chuckling at the sight of her clothes haphazardly discarded on the couch. She had the same instinct he had, she just had the common sense to find her cabin first. She was probably excited to join the party like he was. Unless… no, given her reaction to his shirtless gambit, something told Nate that Tapeesa hadn't hooked up with Elias. Probably for the best, given how upset she seemed dragging his stuff outside. He'd need to get that guy's last name later. For now, Nate just pulled his duffel bag from his shoulders and plopped it down in the same spot Elias’ sat a moment before.
When Tapeesa came back, he noticed her hands. Combined with that slight correction in her words, Nate was nearly ready to charge back outside and start a fight. Instead, he did the only logical thing he could think to do. He raised a hand in the air over Tappi's head, holding it flat vertically. He brought his hand down softly in a very awkward karate chop to the crown of her skull. "Please don't do that,” he pleaded softly. "I know should and want are close enough. Or if I don't, I'm not gonna get pissy about it, ok?” He offered what smile he could as he looked down at Tapeesa, redirecting his indignation towards something a little more beneficial.
Tappi’s face scrunched up and she ducked her head between her shoulders as his hand came down on her head. While the whole interaction was a little awkward, the softness in his voice and reassurance in his words relieved some of her anxieties. There was a part of her that wanted to thank him for being kind and more understanding than Elias, but something else entirely slipped out of her mouth before she fully registered it. "You’re weird." While something like that could be seen as an insult to some people, the way her smile grew and the soft laugh that followed showed the endearment behind it. Tapeesa always found herself gravitating towards people who didn’t quite fit the mold, like herself. Sure, Nate’s corny dance moves and awkward karate hand thing were a little odd, but he felt authentic in his quirkiness. She liked his weirdness.
She tucked loose hair behind her ears before taking a small step backwards toward the door. "It’s around the back," she said while pointing in the general direction of where she remembered seeing the greenhouse. Then, a bit to her own surprise, Tapeesa held out her right hand toward him expectantly. It wasn’t like it was more than thirty feet away. Nate could find it just fine or follow her there. Yet her hand still hovered in the space between them, palm turned upwards awaiting the warmth of his touch. Her cheeks flushed as she held his gaze for what felt like an eternity, even if it was only a second or two. "Or I can race you there," she challenged him playfully with a soft laugh.
Nate scoffed playfully, dramatically lifting both his hands up to cover his mouth in response to her simple declaration. He then shrugged, his expression shifting back into his usual wide grin. But as she stepped away, he naturally took a step to follow. He turned his gaze down towards her offered hand, lifting his own to grab it. But she made a mistake.
She issued a challenge.
Nate's grin remained, his hand hovering above Tappi's. "I accept your challenge." He slapped Tapeesa a low-five, and immediately began to run toward the door, ripping it open and ducking out into the night air. He was quick and athletic, and he was obviously trying to win. A wild laugh escaped his lips as he sprinted around the side of the cottage, his entire torso leaning out away from the turn as he took it in tight. He was going to win. He was going to ask for another favor. He would ask her to—
The next thing Nate knew, he had fallen face first into the dirt, face covered with soft snow. His right ankle had finally given out, the twisted strain from earlier finally catching up to him. Nate didn't feel any pain, but his face was red with embarrassment as he started to pick himself up. Something felt wrong with his ankle, but he couldn't quite place it. He simply shook his head. "Damn it… not again."
Tapeesa’s face scrunched when he slapped her hand rather than taking it. She gasped as he ran past her and was out the door in a flash. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized how competitive he was and that she set herself up for failure. She tried to grab his shirt to slow him down but he was fast and agile, and she was not. By the time she got back outside, he was already rounding the corner and slipping out of view. Her boots were definitely not the right shoes for running in the snow and her lack of athleticism didn’t help anything. She reached out, grabbing the stone corner of the cottage to steady herself as she took the turn. But instead of catching a blur of red hair disappearing into her greenhouse, she caught the tailend of him falling to the ground.
In an instant her laugh was swept away in the wind as her eyes widened and smile vanished. Tappi hurried to his side, falling to her knees beside him in the snow. "Stop," she instructed him with a gentle whisper and pressed her hand against his chest to keep him from trying to stand up. "Here." She wrapped her fingers around his bicep, while her other hand slipped behind his back and helped him sit up. She met Nate’s gaze with a sympathetic smile, laughing softly at the mixture of snow and dirt across his face and in his hair.
She tugged her sleeve over the palm of her right hand before lightly grabbing his jaw with her left and turning him to face her. Using the heel of her hand and the side of her wrist, Tapeesa gently tried to clean his face with the fabric of her shirt. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and brows furrowed as she focused. Her hand slipped from his jaw as she finished but before she pulled away, she ruffled his red hair playfully while knocking out any snow or dirt that lingered there. "You might be a little too competitive for your own good," she teased him quietly, pulling away to rest her weight on her bent knees.
Nate's heart rate skyrocketed as she touched his face. Her suddenly serious expression left him somewhat speechless. He had, foolishly, anticipated a kiss that never came. He had even closed his eyes, only to feel her rub away the lingering dirt and snow. Her fingers in his hair and the slight barb left him feeling disappointed, but he didn't let it show. He merely shrugged, speaking softly himself. "Nah… not possible. I'll be fine, doesn't even hurt." In an effort to heal his bruised ego rather than his ankle, he placed his hands on the ground behind him to begin pushing himself up to stand.
"Nate, stop." Her voice was more serious as concern laced her words and furrowed her brows. Tapeesa leaned forward, placing her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to keep him seated. If he really wanted to get up she couldn’t stop him. Nate was stronger than her, but she hoped he’d listen. She kept her hands firmly in place and held his gaze, silently pleading for him to trust her. "Let me help you… Please."
He relented with a sigh, settling back into a sitting position. "Fine… fine. Do your thing, Doc." He offered a small smile as he waited for her to go grab ice or something.
"Thank you." Tappi smiled at him and gave his shoulders a gentle, reassuring squeeze before she pulled away. Instead of getting up and walking away, she shifted across the snow until she was kneeling by his feet. "Which one?" she asked, looking over at him from beneath the loose hair that fell from her braid. When he motioned to his right foot, she effortlessly shifted into her problem solving nurse mode that had become second nature to her over the years. Her fingers pinched the cuff of his jeans and carefully inched it up, making sure to be as gentle as possible. She scooted forward so she could rest his foot in her lap while she worked on unlacing his high top sneakers. When it was loose enough, she slipped it off and set it beside her in the snow.
As Tapeesa tugged down the edges of his sock, her eyes went wide at how bruised his ankle already was. "Nate!" her voice squeaked as she looked up at him. "How were you walking on this!?" She didn’t wait for an answer before slipping her left hand along the back of his ankle and her right hand cupped over the top. After a silent moment, a soft golden glow emitted from her hands radiating a soothing warmth that seeped through his skin and spread through his inflamed joint.
Nate shrugged his shoulders at her shock, grimacing a little as he caught a glimpse of his purple ankle. "It didn't feel that off." He wiggled his foot slightly, seeming to be completely oblivious to whatever pain would come from a sprained ankle. "I don't really feel pain… doctors said it must be some kind of congenital thing. Freaked my dad out once when I broke my arm as a kid." Nate held an arm up, keeping it limp as he waved it a little. "I was swinging it around and laughing." His grin made it clear it was not a particularly painful memory.
He glanced over towards Tappi as he felt a strange sensation in his legs. The slight glow, the warm feeling… Nate was left speechless for a moment. He looked briefly at the cottage, then back at Tapeesa, then back at the cottage. She was using magic, clear as day. The dawning realization that this was all, in fact, real hit him like a freight train. His mind reeled at the words. He was the son of a goddess of… what was it, revenge? Was his luck a tangible thing? Why did his dad know a goddess? What did that make him? As the questions swirled around his mind, one question kept popping up in his head. The most pressing one he finally blurted out. "You aren't… a witch or something, are you?"
"Oh, great," Tappi mused quietly with a soft laugh as she adjusted how she sat knowing it was going to be a minute or so before he was back to normal. The more severe the injury the longer it took to heal. Salves and things helped, and unbroken concentration but she could sacrifice a couple seconds of faster healing for the conversation. "So I just get to live in a constant state of panic now, thinking you’re hurt all the time." Her fingers idly tapped against his ankle as the healing waves continued to pulse out from her palms. "I’m going to have to start strip searching you."
Then her eyes went wide and her cheeks turned the brightest shade of red they had been all night. "No—I—to check if you are injured, not… oh God." That would have been one of those moments where she would have just turned and walked away from embarrassment, but there was still some faint bruising visible over the top of his sock. Tapeesa’s head fell slightly as her face twisted into a bashful grimace. "No. I’m not a witch," she quickly tried to move the conversation onto something, anything else. "My dad’s Apollo… God of the sun, light, archery, music, poetry," she rambled off the list as a way to distract herself but eventually lifted his foot a little as if to drive it all home. "Healing."
Nate's eyebrows were already raised when she made a comment about worrying about him. He didn't understand why she would be. They were two strangers. He wouldn't mind being friends, she was the kind of person he got along best with. Hell, he wouldn't mind something—
His eyes went wide when hers did. While she panicked and back-pedalled over her words, Nate's wide open smile grew a little second by second. Her flustered reaction to him being shirtless, her awkward course-corrections, constant tucking of hair behind her ear, the current slip of the tongue… he knew what it all added up to. More than that, he couldn't let the words go. He took in her explanation of her powers with much less interest than his slow attempt at forming a response. He could be kind and let things slide, or he could take a risk. "Don't threaten me with a good time." His words dripped with his usual jovial humor, but his smile was genuine and authentic. His next words were joking, but just barely. "Of course… if you wanted to see me naked, you could just ask nicely."
Tapeesa’s eyes remained wide and intently fixated on his ankle, nothing else. The flush had spread to the tips of her ears, down her neck and across her collarbones. She chewed on the inside of her cheek trying to focus on healing and only healing. Unfortunately, her heart, while beating faster than the energizer bunny, wasn’t loud enough to drown out Nate’s words. For the briefest of seconds, she looked up at him, then immediately back down at his ankle. Her mind frantically tried to find something to say but all of her logic felt like water in her hands as she tried to grasp for anything.
The second his bruises were gone, the glowing light dissipated. Her fingers awkwardly fumbled, missing the delicate precision they had before as she pulled up his sock. It took her multiple tries to get his shoe back on and laced up. She was so flustered that she entirely forgot to fix his pant leg before she pushed off her knees and went to stand. "I’m sorry. I uh… I’m not that type of girl," she confessed barely above a whisper as she dusted the snow from her jeans. The denim from midway down her thighs all the way to the tops of her boots was damp, but considering how hot she got from embarrassment, she didn’t mind the cold. Tapeesa took a second to try and calm her nerves before she held out her hand to help him up.
Nate knew in an instant that the chips did not fall his way. He let her do her thing, not wanting to touch her. This wasn't the first time he had said the wrong thing in a tense moment, next usually came a slap or insults. He wasn't prepared for Tapeesa's quiet and withdrawn demeanor shift. It wasn't that dissimilar from her reaction to Elias. That was the most disheartening part. She apologized for something she shouldn't have to, but she didn't leave. That much was a good sign. He unfurled his pant leg and brushed off his dirty hands on his thighs.
He took her hand for some help standing up, but did most of the work himself. The ankle seemed fine, though it was hard to tell when he didn't feel pain in the first place. He let go of Tapeesa's hands once he was up and standing, his hands sliding awkwardly into his back pockets. He felt the dwindling pack, but fought the urge to pull it out. He shook the thoughts from his head, letting out a half-hearted laugh before speaking. "Why would you be sorry?" He shrugged his shoulders, trying to keep an awkward grin on his face. "I'm not… that's not…" He sighed, removing his hand from his back pocket to comb through his hair awkwardly. "I don't care if you are. Or maybe… uh, it's more that I…" He wasn't going to lie to her, but the last thing Nate wanted was to make things worse. He needed to thread that needle. "I enjoyed talking and dancing with you. The girl you are is cool with me. Weird, but cool." His smile was more genuine with the last line.
Tappi’s hand remained frozen in the air where he left it after he pulled away. She blinked slowly as the overwhelming feeling that she messed everything up played across her mind. It wasn’t often that she found herself saying or doing the wrong thing, but now she had done it twice in one night. She cleared her throat as she finally moved her hand and busied her fingers by playing with the tail of her braid. Her lips parted for a second to answer his question, but then Nate started down his own awkward spiral. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why, but watching him stumble through his own explanation eased some of her tension and even teased the subtle return of her smile. The faint shadows of her dimples ghosted against her cheeks at Nate’s last comment about her being weird.
She took a small step forward, holding out her hands slightly as a way to try and calm his own anxieties, finding it easier to relax when she focused on someone else. "It’s ok. I don’t judge," she reassured him gently. Tapeesa never had a problem with how people lived their lives as long as it wasn’t at the expense of others. Nate was free to do whatever or whomever he wanted. The brief thought made something almost imperceivable tug at her stomach in a way that she didn’t quite understand. She mentally tried to shake off the feeling and focus on what she was trying to say. "I like you too," she admitted easily without any hesitation or averting her gaze elsewhere. Tappi always found it easiest to be honest and straightforward, even if it was sometimes offputting for the people around her. While she could be awkward about some things, being truthful was not one of them. "I just… I’ve been pretty good at saying or doing the wrong things tonight. I didn’t want to mess this up too." She laughed softly at herself as she hooked her thumbs into the back pockets of her jeans and shrugged her shoulders.
Nate nodded, his eyes focused on her as his brain tried to process what she meant. As far as he could tell, it seemed like a confession of feelings. He liked her too, obviously. She was far more interesting, genuine, and sweet than those he had seen earlier. She just wasn't interested in anything risqué. He could work with that. He spoke softly, "I don't think you've been saying the wrong thing." He rotated his formerly injured ankle, testing to make sure he had full movement again. "But… well..." He gave a warm smile, lifting a hand to pat Tapeesa's shoulder. "I've got a race to win." Without further warning, he was back to a full sprint around the back of Tapeesa's cottage, looking for another structure that could fit the description of a greenhouse.
She exhaled softly letting the last bit of anxiety that twisted in her chest slip out with her breath knowing that she wasn’t somehow fumbling a second friendship in a single night. Tappi’s gaze fell to his ankle, watching the movement intently to make sure it looked normal considering he wouldn’t have a clue how it felt. Her nose scrunched dreading how often he’s likely to get hurt in a place like Camp without ever noticing. She didn’t know what was worse, someone who was accident prone or someone who didn’t have a clue they were hurt in the first place. Nate’s hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts as she looked up at him.
Tapeesa didn’t know what she expected, but she should have known better. She stood there dumfounded for a second time as he took off in a sprint. If he somehow managed to hurt his ankle again she was definitely finishing the race before healing him, little cheater. Of course, after fixing his sprain, he was even faster than before. She was barely halfway there when she saw his mess of red hair duck into the greenhouse. Her pace slowed, defeated as she took the last few steps over the threshold and threw her head back with a sigh. "You don’t play fair," she spoke between heavy breaths while jabbing him in the chest with her index finger.
Pulling her gaze away from Nate, that was the first time Tapeesa really got to take in her greenhouse. It looked like the type of shed someone built out of salvaged windows. Greenery, even in the dead of winter, practically exploded from it. Her face lit up, smile growing and dimples prominent as she stepped back inside. She couldn’t contain herself from running her fingertips along the various leaves and foliage as she walked a small lap around the small room. Every plant and herb she could ever need for medicinal purposes was present, potted, and thriving. "This is so much better than what I had at home."
Nate stayed in the doorway, his head cocked back as he focused on regulating his breathing. He had been on his feet and walking for hours, so sprints late at night were not the smartest of moves. He huffed out a simple response to her allegation. "You need to… start setting rules." When he had regained his breath, he watched Tapeesa take in the space as he leaned against the door frame. He shoved his hands into his front pockets while smiling at her. He didn't exactly know much about plants, but he was pleased she was happy with the selection. "Yeah?" It was less a question and more of a poor attempt at offering a response to something he knew nothing about, giving Tapeesa space to take in her accommodations.
Tappi glanced over her shoulder at him with squinted eyes. Knowing now how fast he could run it was likely she wouldn't have beat him even with a head start, but a fair start would have been nice. Either she was going to get paranoid like she was making a deal with a genie or learn to look for loopholes like he did. Seemed more likely she was going to be continuously duped until she was forever indebted to him. "So, what do I owe you this time?" she asked, turning to face him while pinching a velvet-like leaf between her thumb and index finger.
Nate shrugged with an impish grin. "I was thinking another favor." He let out a slow exhale, making a show of mulling over ideas in his head. "But we can worry about the specifics later. I'm just trying to enjoy the here and now."
"You’re going to turn me into an indentured servant if I’m not careful." Tapeesa looked over at him rolling her eyes dramatically. "Because you’re having so much fun surrounded by plants," she teased him with a soft laugh. Nate lingered in the doorway observing rather than joining her or exploring himself. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to connect the dots that it wasn’t really his thing, but she appreciated the company nonetheless. Even if her cheeks flushed slightly as she became more aware of how he watched her rather than looking at the plants.
As she walked around slowly, she stopped by every familiar plant, leaning in to smell them or lightly run her fingers along the leaves. "When I was little my mom had one of those like greenhouse window box… things." Her nose scrunched and face contorted as she used her hands to try and mime the general size and shape of the window box. "She kept all her medicinal herbs there in these tiny little pots and the leaves overgrew so much that they hung in the sink." A nostalgic smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she got a far off look in her eyes. "My studio apartment was hardly big enough for me so—"
Tapeesa stopped in the middle of the greenhouse looking up. Tied to the crossbeams were various plants and herbs hanging to dry. But one plant in particular caught her attention more than the others. "No way," she whispered. She reached up her right arm so high that the hem of her shirt lifted, revealing a small glimpse of her midriff. She grimaced and jumped, but still came up a few inches short. Her gaze fell to Nate with a playfully innocent grin as she held her hands behind her back and turned back and forth like a child asking for sweets. "I know I owe you two favors already, but could I steal a freebie and borrow your height?"
Nate bore an amused expression as he watched Tappi move about the space. It was true, he wasn’t super interested in plants before. Even now, he was less interested in the greenery than he was in Tapeesa’s story. The smell was a nice olfactory collage wafting from the space and buffeting his nostrils. It smelled a lot better than he did, tobacco and old spice wasn’t a particularly refreshing scent. He listened close as she spoke of her mother and her home. When she got particularly excited, Nate naturally stopped leaning and took a step into the greenhouse. He tried hard not to stare as the hem of her shirt pulled up a little, figuring she wouldn’t appreciate it. He met her eyes as she asked for help, warm smile greeting her. "You can borrow me al-" His words stopped cold, his automatic response cut short as he refocused his efforts. Was he always this flirty? Nate shook his head, walking over towards her and looking up towards the rafters. "Yeah sure… which one was it?" He was already leaning up on the tips of his toes, hands reaching up and brushing some leaves aside.
Tappi took a half step toward him, accidentally bumping his arm with her shoulder as she tilted her head to the side and squinted an eye to try and see from his perspective. She subconsciously shifted to her toes, leaning in slightly closer so she could grab his forearm and redirect it toward the correct plant. "That one." She guided his hand so his fingertips brushed against the dried buds. "The weed," she confirmed with a soft laugh as she looked over at him. There was a second where heat flooded her cheeks as she noticed how close they were. Her smile grew slightly before she released his arm, lowered herself flat on her feet, and took a small step backwards.
He completely forgot what he was there for as Tapeesa guided his hand towards the right plant. His other arm had instinctively wrapped around her to help steady her as she stretched up. His hand held her gently near her ribs, his body twisting slightly so it almost looked like they were dancing again. But as her head neared his, he stopped looking up at the plants above him. He could only look at her for that brief moment. Even in the dim pale light of the moon refracting from the glass panes, Tapeesa shone bright. She confirmed he was touching the right plant with his other hand, but he couldn’t process the words. When she looked back at him and her cheeks brightened as they complimented her widening grin, Nate moved on instinct.
He was a fraction of a second too late. She let go and backed away slightly just as he began to lean in. It was just his luck. His hand on her side loosened as he let her step away, quickly turning his head up and away to hide his quickly fading smile. She just needed to borrow his height, after all. He reached up with both hands to remove the familiar plant. He lowered it back down and vaguely in Tappi’s direction, his head still turned away as he pretended to look up at the stars through the glass. "RIght, uh, yeah. Guess you had some."
Tapeesa’s smile faltered as she noticed the way he turned away from her slightly. It wasn’t until she was flat on the ground again, with the small bit of space between them that some of the pieces started clicking together. All of this was out of the realm of what she was used to and she was learning, a little too slowly, that she was always three steps behind. A small knot twisted in her chest when he wouldn’t look back at her and the light in his face had seemed to fade. She slowly reached out both of her hands to take the dried plant from him, letting her fingertips intentionally brush his. "Thank you, Nater-tot," she spoke quietly, hoping the stupid nickname might bring back a fraction of his smile.
There was a moment or two where she hesitated, not entirely sure what to do. But then her demeanor shifted with a resoluteness as some semblance of a plan started forming. Tappi held the bundle of weed in her right hand while her left hand took his. "Come on." Her voice was still gentle but held a bit more conviction as she lightly tugged him toward the door.
A small smile did return to Nate’s lips at the return of the nickname. Somehow, that gentle voice and soft movements had a way of cutting through the noise in his head. He felt powerless to stop her from pulling him along for whatever game or mission she had planned next.
Tapeesa flinched at his dry forced laugh. Whatever light had been behind her eyes slipped away with the darkness of the night. Her dimples disappeared as the corners of her mouth trembled and what smile she had a moment earlier threatened to vanish entirely. "I don’t know, Tapeesa. From where I’m standing, it looks to me like you’ve been doing just fine without any offers."
She parted her lips to try and say something but when he looked away and frowned, the words fell apart with a soft breath. Warmth flooded her cheeks as he made a jab at her happiness and the fun she was having with Nate. It felt personal, like she wasn’t allowed to enjoy herself with someone that wasn’t him. Anxiety twisted in her stomach as her gaze fell to a small clump of snow by her feet. Subconsciously, she took a small step to the side, placing herself between both of them as if the physical barrier would protect Nate from Elias’s ire. Her hands trembled slightly from her elevated heart rate as she picked at the skin around her thumb.
"...I would’ve joined you if you’d asked. You said should not want." His voice might have been softer but the difference was lost on her. Only his words and their sharp meaning resonated with her.
"I…" the words got stuck in her throat as her voice threatened to crack. "I didn’t realize… I’m sorry." Tappi’s voice was quiet and easy to miss beneath the upbeat party music that contrasted the tension of their conversation. She couldn’t bring herself to meet Elias’s gaze. She swallowed and looked back over her shoulder toward Nate, all the brightness gone from her face. "I’m sorry," she whispered up at him before she turned in the direction of her cabin and walked off the dancefloor.
Nate wasn’t particularly good at hiding the wave of emotions on his face. That smile he tried to maintain disappeared as Elias continued to speak. He recognized the look and tone of the guy, he had pissed off a number of them. He started off annoyed, but slowly began to simmer and steam the more Elias took digs at Tappi. His fingers strained, stretching out wide as he did his best to not curl them into fists at his side. Any swaying Nate was doing had stopped. He stood perfectly still, as if every fiber of energy he had was dedicated to figuring out what his next move was.
As she apologized and began to leave, Nate’s gaze trailed after her. He shook his head, his gritted teeth chewing at the inside of his cheek. When he looked back at Elias, the anger in his face was clear. He didn’t shout to cause a scene, but he spoke clearly over the music. "Are you an ass to everyone, or just women?" He let the insult sit for a moment, before he just shook his head. "Should sounds like an invite to me, bud. But honestly, for her sake, I’m real fucking glad you’re too dumb to realize that." He turned to Forest, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry man… I hope you find better company. I loved the drink, you brought some good shit." With a small wave, Nate turned on his heels and left. While he’d certainly scrapped over less, getting into a fight with someone bigger than him didn’t seem like the best course of action.
He had more important things to do, anyways.
Nate jogged up behind Tapeesa, slowing down as he caught up beside her. He turned himself around, walking backwards just a little in front of her so he could swivel his gaze between her downtrodden face and Elias on the dancefloor. His cheeks were still hot from rage, but his expression had softened considerably as he got a good look at her. "Hey, hey… " He stepped in front of her, trying to stop her in her tracks gently as he bent over slightly to get his face in her field of view. "Where are we going?" He tried to keep the question light, but concern crept into his voice.
Tappi had been walking with her head down, fingers toying with the tail of her braid as she tried to calm her breathing. Her only goal was making it to her cabin before she accidentally cried in public, because the last thing she needed was another reason to be embarrassed her first night at a camp full of strangers. She was so focused on the crunch of her moccasin boots in the snow and the rush of her pulse through her ears that she didn’t notice anyone approaching. She gasped, stopping abruptly and holding out her hands so she didn’t run into him. Her hands quickly rubbed at her eyes, trying to catch any tears on her sleeves before they could slip out. A sad smile tugged at the corner of her lips at his question. Tapeesa wasn’t expecting either of them to follow her, but especially not Nate. The way he looked at her and the concern in his voice made her chest tighten.
"I was going to throw his stuff out of my cabin… And hide in my greenhouse," she confessed, the smallest hint of a sad, guilty smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she looked up at him.
Nate nodded, his eyes shifting back in the direction of the dancefloor. He considered backing off and giving her space, but he knew if he went back to the party he was bound to sock that smug dick and cause more problems. He shrugged his shoulders. "Ok… yeah, I'll join you. Mind if I grab my stuff first?"
Her eyes widened slightly at the casual way he offered to join her. While Tappi was embarrassed that he saw her that way and how Elias venom was pointed at him too, she couldn’t deny that the thought of company, his company, made some of the tension in her shoulders fade away. "Ok," she replied softly and nodded her head.
Nate shoved his right hand into his pocket, feeling the cold metal of the zippo. With his left he reached out and grasped Tapeesa's right hand, gently tugging her to follow as he spun around and made his way towards the table and chairs he had left his bag at. He glanced in Elias’ direction, glaring at him a little out of the corner of his eye, but mostly just making sure he didn't follow after them. He walked at a leisurely pace, making sure he didn't go too fast. When they neared the table, he let go of her hand to quickly shove his hoodie and jacket into his stuffed duffel bag before swinging the strap over his shoulder. Satisfied he had everything he needed, he spun around to face her. He held his left hand out, a clear sign for her to guide him this time. "Lead the way."
Tapeesa was prepared to stand at the edge of the party and wait for his return. She was not prepared for him to take her hand in a more intentional way compared to when they were dancing and pull her along with him. Even so, she didn’t fight it and followed along in sync with him. But when he glared at Elias, she very pointedly looked anywhere else, like the small dots of her tattoo that were barely visible where the tips of her fingers wrapped around the side of his hand. She waited patiently as he collected his things, the weird sensation of someone watching her tickling the back of her neck but she ignored it.
It didn’t take long for Nate to gather up his belongings before he was holding his hand out toward her. Three times wasn’t a coincidence, was it? Tapeesa’s cheeks grew warmer as she slowly slid her fingers into his palm once again. "It’s not far," she said while pointing in the general direction of her cabin next to the infirmary, nestled a little out of view behind some trees. While pulling him along with her gently, she weaved through the crowd, making sure to give the dancefloor an exceptionally wide berth.
Once they were out of range of most of the party’s festivities and noise, Tappi let herself fall back slightly, walking in stride beside him rather than in front of him. There was a part of her that wanted to apologize to Nate a second time. It wasn’t like Elias was her responsibility. On the contrary, she barely knew him. But it was embarrassing and ruined the fun they were having. Rather than dredging that up and dulling the small bit of happiness that returned to her with his presence, she tried to take a page from his book and turn things in a lighter direction. "I never asked who your parent is," she confessed looking over at him. "I initially would have guessed Hermes, but I don’t think Gods make a habit of getting matching tattoos with their kids," she added with a faint smile while pointing toward his chest where the quote lived beneath his shirt.
A small smile returned to Nate's face as he saw a little bit of joy return to her. He readjusted the strap hanging from his shoulder with his free hand as he took in her question, trying to think back to that strange woman he had met a year ago. "Yeah, no… dad's normal. Only really had him growing up. Woman showed up last winter claiming to be my mother. She said her name was… something like rival?" He clicked his tongue as his brows furrowed, trying to remember what she said her name was. "Adversary, maybe?"
She laughed softly and shook her head as he fumbled through trying to find the name of his mother, and failed. "You don’t know the name of your mom?" Tapeesa turned fully toward him as her brows tugged upwards in surprise. "Do you mean Nemesis?" She asked, tilting her head to the side slightly and squinting her eyes.
Nate shrugged his shoulders at her first accusatory question. "Dad never talked about her… and I never really met her. Just said he had met her when he was fighting overseas." His eyes widened as she offered up a name, though. "Nemesis… yeah, that sounds right. See, I was close." He flashed a grin, happy that he was at least in the right ballpark.
"I understand," she replied with a bit more softness in her tone. "My mom told me some stories but never the important ones… Like that he was a God." Tapeesa’s mouth pulled into a lopsided smile in reluctant acceptance. "I’ve known for–" Her lips pursed as she tried to remember what day it was and when Apollo showed up at her door. "Like four days. Give or take." She laughed awkwardly and shrugged her shoulders. "The harder part was giving myself a crash course in Greek Mythology."
Tappi studied his expression, curious as to how he could forget the name of the Goddess who bore him. Maybe it was just her, but ever since her dad magically popped into her life it was like she could no longer separate herself and Apollo in her mind. Nate said he never really met her… She didn't know how well she would have accepted the news of her parentage if she didn't hear it directly from her father's mouth. Either way, she flashed him a warm smile and lightly nudged his arm with hers. "You can get a gold star for effort."
Nate looked at Tapeesa like she had two heads, eyebrows raised fully as he cocked his head to the side in incredulity. "So.. Your dad shows up claiming to be a Greek god and you just… buy in immediately?" He kept a hold of her hand, his other seeming to instinctively reach for his back pocket. When he noticed, he lifted the hand to cling onto the strap of his duffel bag. He looked out in front of them, shrugging his shoulders. "I… I’ve known for a year, and I still refuse to believe it." His smile was still present as he looked back at Tapeesa, his expression relaxed. "You have me beat on who these gods are. The only ones I know are Zeus and Ra. And Jesus, but I don’t think he counts."
"Well—I—Yes?" Tappi’s voice squeaked slightly as she stumbled through the words. She looked up at him from the corner of her eyes, brows furrowing and tugging upwards in sheepish innocence. "My mom had this old picture of him and the guy standing at my door looked just like him, hadn’t aged a day." She started rambling and talking with her hands, which also meant she waved his hand around unintentionally as she tripped over her words while trying to explain. "And I had these weird abilities I couldn’t explain. So when he said Apollo—and I googled it—it added up. My mom always said he was special, and a God’s special." She finally paused and took a deep breath, having forgotten to breathe that whole time.
Her pace slowed as they neared a small iron gate in the middle of a short stone wall that acted like a fence around her cabin. Beyond was a quaint little home that almost looked more like a cottage than a cabin. It was the kind of place friendly witches or fairies lived deep in the woods in old fairytales or Disney movies. It was one of the smaller cabins compared to the other ones she’d seen, but it was still twice as big as her studio apartment and it had a little tower. She was content living like a little forest witch, especially when it came with a greenhouse. Seeing it again made her earlier giddiness return as her smile grew at the prospect of finally getting to explore her new home. This was heaven to her.
"How can you not believe it?" Tapeesa asked him as she turned halfway to face him while the fingers of her empty hand reached out to rest on the gate. "You’re here, aren’t you?" She leaned in slightly, looking around a bit paranoid-like before whispering. "Or are you a figment of my imagination?" Her slight smile and the subtle return of her dimples betrayed her terrible joke.
Tapeesa took a step or two forward, leading them into her yard? Is it a yard? She didn’t really know the specifics. But Nate’s comment about Jesus actually made her snort out a laugh. Her hand clapped over her mouth while her cheeks returned to the familiar shade of pink they seemed to frequently be when he was around. "Jesus," she echoed into her palm with a chuckle.
"You got me,” Nate teased, letting Tapeesa guide him along. "I've totally been a ghost the whole time." His eyes scanned her quaint little cottage, his mouth agape at the design. It looked like… like… "Though I could ask the same thing about you, Sleeping Beauty." He laughed a little himself, absolutely dumbstruck by how insane this all felt. Sure, she looked the part of a Disney princess, but they didn't usually live in a concrete compound from what he remembered. And the closer he got to the front door, the more concerned he was that maybe, just maybe, he was walking into a witch's trap.
Her smile grew as she nodded her head in silent acknowledgement. It did kind of look like the fairies’ cottage in Sleeping Beauty. "I don’t think there are ghosts in Sleeping Beauty." Her face scrunched up slightly as she looked over shoulder at him. "But you can have a second gold star for not taking the easy bait of Pocahontas." Although, to be fair, her cabin looked like nothing out of Pocahontas but she was always compared to her since she was a little girl. Sleeping Beauty was a new one, even if he was talking about her home rather than her.
Nate shook his head at that, rolling his eyes a little. "I don't think that deserves a gold star, Toppings. Different cultures.” He wasn't an expert by any means, but he knew enough to not make that comparison. Though, that never really crossed his mind.
"You’d be surprised how stupid people are," she whispered, leaning toward him slightly, like someone might overhear.
Tappi opened the door into her dark but cozy living room. She laughed awkwardly, forgetting how she practically stripped out of her winter clothes and tossed everything on the couch. It wasn’t like she was expecting another visitor before she ever got a proper chance to look around or unpack. Her gaze drifted over toward Elias’s things he left propped against the wall near the entrance and her smile faded. For a quick moment, his words replayed through her mind as her palm grew hot in Nate’s hand and the anxiety slowly crept back up. She cleared her throat and reached down, scooping up his jacket and the handle of his bag. She hesitantly looked up at Nate as she slowly pulled her hand free, disliking the cold emptiness she felt in his absence. "I’ll… be right back," she whispered before slipping back out the door.
She walked back up the stepping stones toward the closed metal gate that faced out toward the field and the party. Tapeesa stopped just shy of the wall as she caught sight of Elias. Her gaze fell as she leaned over the stone wall to set down his things beside the gate, then turned back around without daring to look in his direction a second time. By the time she reached the doorway to her cabin a second time, she was once again picking at the skin on her thumbs. "I was going to go check out my greenhouse. You should—" She paused, thinking back to the way her words were turned against her earlier. "I want you you to come with me," she corrected her wording pointedly even if it felt foreign and worded strangely. The last thing she wanted was Nate to get mad at her too.
Nate took a look around the living room, chuckling at the sight of her clothes haphazardly discarded on the couch. She had the same instinct he had, she just had the common sense to find her cabin first. She was probably excited to join the party like he was. Unless… no, given her reaction to his shirtless gambit, something told Nate that Tapeesa hadn't hooked up with Elias. Probably for the best, given how upset she seemed dragging his stuff outside. He'd need to get that guy's last name later. For now, Nate just pulled his duffel bag from his shoulders and plopped it down in the same spot Elias’ sat a moment before.
When Tapeesa came back, he noticed her hands. Combined with that slight correction in her words, Nate was nearly ready to charge back outside and start a fight. Instead, he did the only logical thing he could think to do. He raised a hand in the air over Tappi's head, holding it flat vertically. He brought his hand down softly in a very awkward karate chop to the crown of her skull. "Please don't do that,” he pleaded softly. "I know should and want are close enough. Or if I don't, I'm not gonna get pissy about it, ok?” He offered what smile he could as he looked down at Tapeesa, redirecting his indignation towards something a little more beneficial.
Tappi’s face scrunched up and she ducked her head between her shoulders as his hand came down on her head. While the whole interaction was a little awkward, the softness in his voice and reassurance in his words relieved some of her anxieties. There was a part of her that wanted to thank him for being kind and more understanding than Elias, but something else entirely slipped out of her mouth before she fully registered it. "You’re weird." While something like that could be seen as an insult to some people, the way her smile grew and the soft laugh that followed showed the endearment behind it. Tapeesa always found herself gravitating towards people who didn’t quite fit the mold, like herself. Sure, Nate’s corny dance moves and awkward karate hand thing were a little odd, but he felt authentic in his quirkiness. She liked his weirdness.
She tucked loose hair behind her ears before taking a small step backwards toward the door. "It’s around the back," she said while pointing in the general direction of where she remembered seeing the greenhouse. Then, a bit to her own surprise, Tapeesa held out her right hand toward him expectantly. It wasn’t like it was more than thirty feet away. Nate could find it just fine or follow her there. Yet her hand still hovered in the space between them, palm turned upwards awaiting the warmth of his touch. Her cheeks flushed as she held his gaze for what felt like an eternity, even if it was only a second or two. "Or I can race you there," she challenged him playfully with a soft laugh.
Nate scoffed playfully, dramatically lifting both his hands up to cover his mouth in response to her simple declaration. He then shrugged, his expression shifting back into his usual wide grin. But as she stepped away, he naturally took a step to follow. He turned his gaze down towards her offered hand, lifting his own to grab it. But she made a mistake.
She issued a challenge.
Nate's grin remained, his hand hovering above Tappi's. "I accept your challenge." He slapped Tapeesa a low-five, and immediately began to run toward the door, ripping it open and ducking out into the night air. He was quick and athletic, and he was obviously trying to win. A wild laugh escaped his lips as he sprinted around the side of the cottage, his entire torso leaning out away from the turn as he took it in tight. He was going to win. He was going to ask for another favor. He would ask her to—
The next thing Nate knew, he had fallen face first into the dirt, face covered with soft snow. His right ankle had finally given out, the twisted strain from earlier finally catching up to him. Nate didn't feel any pain, but his face was red with embarrassment as he started to pick himself up. Something felt wrong with his ankle, but he couldn't quite place it. He simply shook his head. "Damn it… not again."
Tapeesa’s face scrunched when he slapped her hand rather than taking it. She gasped as he ran past her and was out the door in a flash. It wasn’t until that moment that she realized how competitive he was and that she set herself up for failure. She tried to grab his shirt to slow him down but he was fast and agile, and she was not. By the time she got back outside, he was already rounding the corner and slipping out of view. Her boots were definitely not the right shoes for running in the snow and her lack of athleticism didn’t help anything. She reached out, grabbing the stone corner of the cottage to steady herself as she took the turn. But instead of catching a blur of red hair disappearing into her greenhouse, she caught the tailend of him falling to the ground.
In an instant her laugh was swept away in the wind as her eyes widened and smile vanished. Tappi hurried to his side, falling to her knees beside him in the snow. "Stop," she instructed him with a gentle whisper and pressed her hand against his chest to keep him from trying to stand up. "Here." She wrapped her fingers around his bicep, while her other hand slipped behind his back and helped him sit up. She met Nate’s gaze with a sympathetic smile, laughing softly at the mixture of snow and dirt across his face and in his hair.
She tugged her sleeve over the palm of her right hand before lightly grabbing his jaw with her left and turning him to face her. Using the heel of her hand and the side of her wrist, Tapeesa gently tried to clean his face with the fabric of her shirt. She tucked her bottom lip between her teeth and brows furrowed as she focused. Her hand slipped from his jaw as she finished but before she pulled away, she ruffled his red hair playfully while knocking out any snow or dirt that lingered there. "You might be a little too competitive for your own good," she teased him quietly, pulling away to rest her weight on her bent knees.
Nate's heart rate skyrocketed as she touched his face. Her suddenly serious expression left him somewhat speechless. He had, foolishly, anticipated a kiss that never came. He had even closed his eyes, only to feel her rub away the lingering dirt and snow. Her fingers in his hair and the slight barb left him feeling disappointed, but he didn't let it show. He merely shrugged, speaking softly himself. "Nah… not possible. I'll be fine, doesn't even hurt." In an effort to heal his bruised ego rather than his ankle, he placed his hands on the ground behind him to begin pushing himself up to stand.
"Nate, stop." Her voice was more serious as concern laced her words and furrowed her brows. Tapeesa leaned forward, placing her hands on his shoulders in an attempt to keep him seated. If he really wanted to get up she couldn’t stop him. Nate was stronger than her, but she hoped he’d listen. She kept her hands firmly in place and held his gaze, silently pleading for him to trust her. "Let me help you… Please."
He relented with a sigh, settling back into a sitting position. "Fine… fine. Do your thing, Doc." He offered a small smile as he waited for her to go grab ice or something.
"Thank you." Tappi smiled at him and gave his shoulders a gentle, reassuring squeeze before she pulled away. Instead of getting up and walking away, she shifted across the snow until she was kneeling by his feet. "Which one?" she asked, looking over at him from beneath the loose hair that fell from her braid. When he motioned to his right foot, she effortlessly shifted into her problem solving nurse mode that had become second nature to her over the years. Her fingers pinched the cuff of his jeans and carefully inched it up, making sure to be as gentle as possible. She scooted forward so she could rest his foot in her lap while she worked on unlacing his high top sneakers. When it was loose enough, she slipped it off and set it beside her in the snow.
As Tapeesa tugged down the edges of his sock, her eyes went wide at how bruised his ankle already was. "Nate!" her voice squeaked as she looked up at him. "How were you walking on this!?" She didn’t wait for an answer before slipping her left hand along the back of his ankle and her right hand cupped over the top. After a silent moment, a soft golden glow emitted from her hands radiating a soothing warmth that seeped through his skin and spread through his inflamed joint.
Nate shrugged his shoulders at her shock, grimacing a little as he caught a glimpse of his purple ankle. "It didn't feel that off." He wiggled his foot slightly, seeming to be completely oblivious to whatever pain would come from a sprained ankle. "I don't really feel pain… doctors said it must be some kind of congenital thing. Freaked my dad out once when I broke my arm as a kid." Nate held an arm up, keeping it limp as he waved it a little. "I was swinging it around and laughing." His grin made it clear it was not a particularly painful memory.
He glanced over towards Tappi as he felt a strange sensation in his legs. The slight glow, the warm feeling… Nate was left speechless for a moment. He looked briefly at the cottage, then back at Tapeesa, then back at the cottage. She was using magic, clear as day. The dawning realization that this was all, in fact, real hit him like a freight train. His mind reeled at the words. He was the son of a goddess of… what was it, revenge? Was his luck a tangible thing? Why did his dad know a goddess? What did that make him? As the questions swirled around his mind, one question kept popping up in his head. The most pressing one he finally blurted out. "You aren't… a witch or something, are you?"
"Oh, great," Tappi mused quietly with a soft laugh as she adjusted how she sat knowing it was going to be a minute or so before he was back to normal. The more severe the injury the longer it took to heal. Salves and things helped, and unbroken concentration but she could sacrifice a couple seconds of faster healing for the conversation. "So I just get to live in a constant state of panic now, thinking you’re hurt all the time." Her fingers idly tapped against his ankle as the healing waves continued to pulse out from her palms. "I’m going to have to start strip searching you."
Then her eyes went wide and her cheeks turned the brightest shade of red they had been all night. "No—I—to check if you are injured, not… oh God." That would have been one of those moments where she would have just turned and walked away from embarrassment, but there was still some faint bruising visible over the top of his sock. Tapeesa’s head fell slightly as her face twisted into a bashful grimace. "No. I’m not a witch," she quickly tried to move the conversation onto something, anything else. "My dad’s Apollo… God of the sun, light, archery, music, poetry," she rambled off the list as a way to distract herself but eventually lifted his foot a little as if to drive it all home. "Healing."
Nate's eyebrows were already raised when she made a comment about worrying about him. He didn't understand why she would be. They were two strangers. He wouldn't mind being friends, she was the kind of person he got along best with. Hell, he wouldn't mind something—
His eyes went wide when hers did. While she panicked and back-pedalled over her words, Nate's wide open smile grew a little second by second. Her flustered reaction to him being shirtless, her awkward course-corrections, constant tucking of hair behind her ear, the current slip of the tongue… he knew what it all added up to. More than that, he couldn't let the words go. He took in her explanation of her powers with much less interest than his slow attempt at forming a response. He could be kind and let things slide, or he could take a risk. "Don't threaten me with a good time." His words dripped with his usual jovial humor, but his smile was genuine and authentic. His next words were joking, but just barely. "Of course… if you wanted to see me naked, you could just ask nicely."
Tapeesa’s eyes remained wide and intently fixated on his ankle, nothing else. The flush had spread to the tips of her ears, down her neck and across her collarbones. She chewed on the inside of her cheek trying to focus on healing and only healing. Unfortunately, her heart, while beating faster than the energizer bunny, wasn’t loud enough to drown out Nate’s words. For the briefest of seconds, she looked up at him, then immediately back down at his ankle. Her mind frantically tried to find something to say but all of her logic felt like water in her hands as she tried to grasp for anything.
The second his bruises were gone, the glowing light dissipated. Her fingers awkwardly fumbled, missing the delicate precision they had before as she pulled up his sock. It took her multiple tries to get his shoe back on and laced up. She was so flustered that she entirely forgot to fix his pant leg before she pushed off her knees and went to stand. "I’m sorry. I uh… I’m not that type of girl," she confessed barely above a whisper as she dusted the snow from her jeans. The denim from midway down her thighs all the way to the tops of her boots was damp, but considering how hot she got from embarrassment, she didn’t mind the cold. Tapeesa took a second to try and calm her nerves before she held out her hand to help him up.
Nate knew in an instant that the chips did not fall his way. He let her do her thing, not wanting to touch her. This wasn't the first time he had said the wrong thing in a tense moment, next usually came a slap or insults. He wasn't prepared for Tapeesa's quiet and withdrawn demeanor shift. It wasn't that dissimilar from her reaction to Elias. That was the most disheartening part. She apologized for something she shouldn't have to, but she didn't leave. That much was a good sign. He unfurled his pant leg and brushed off his dirty hands on his thighs.
He took her hand for some help standing up, but did most of the work himself. The ankle seemed fine, though it was hard to tell when he didn't feel pain in the first place. He let go of Tapeesa's hands once he was up and standing, his hands sliding awkwardly into his back pockets. He felt the dwindling pack, but fought the urge to pull it out. He shook the thoughts from his head, letting out a half-hearted laugh before speaking. "Why would you be sorry?" He shrugged his shoulders, trying to keep an awkward grin on his face. "I'm not… that's not…" He sighed, removing his hand from his back pocket to comb through his hair awkwardly. "I don't care if you are. Or maybe… uh, it's more that I…" He wasn't going to lie to her, but the last thing Nate wanted was to make things worse. He needed to thread that needle. "I enjoyed talking and dancing with you. The girl you are is cool with me. Weird, but cool." His smile was more genuine with the last line.
Tappi’s hand remained frozen in the air where he left it after he pulled away. She blinked slowly as the overwhelming feeling that she messed everything up played across her mind. It wasn’t often that she found herself saying or doing the wrong thing, but now she had done it twice in one night. She cleared her throat as she finally moved her hand and busied her fingers by playing with the tail of her braid. Her lips parted for a second to answer his question, but then Nate started down his own awkward spiral. She couldn’t quite put her finger on why, but watching him stumble through his own explanation eased some of her tension and even teased the subtle return of her smile. The faint shadows of her dimples ghosted against her cheeks at Nate’s last comment about her being weird.
She took a small step forward, holding out her hands slightly as a way to try and calm his own anxieties, finding it easier to relax when she focused on someone else. "It’s ok. I don’t judge," she reassured him gently. Tapeesa never had a problem with how people lived their lives as long as it wasn’t at the expense of others. Nate was free to do whatever or whomever he wanted. The brief thought made something almost imperceivable tug at her stomach in a way that she didn’t quite understand. She mentally tried to shake off the feeling and focus on what she was trying to say. "I like you too," she admitted easily without any hesitation or averting her gaze elsewhere. Tappi always found it easiest to be honest and straightforward, even if it was sometimes offputting for the people around her. While she could be awkward about some things, being truthful was not one of them. "I just… I’ve been pretty good at saying or doing the wrong things tonight. I didn’t want to mess this up too." She laughed softly at herself as she hooked her thumbs into the back pockets of her jeans and shrugged her shoulders.
Nate nodded, his eyes focused on her as his brain tried to process what she meant. As far as he could tell, it seemed like a confession of feelings. He liked her too, obviously. She was far more interesting, genuine, and sweet than those he had seen earlier. She just wasn't interested in anything risqué. He could work with that. He spoke softly, "I don't think you've been saying the wrong thing." He rotated his formerly injured ankle, testing to make sure he had full movement again. "But… well..." He gave a warm smile, lifting a hand to pat Tapeesa's shoulder. "I've got a race to win." Without further warning, he was back to a full sprint around the back of Tapeesa's cottage, looking for another structure that could fit the description of a greenhouse.
She exhaled softly letting the last bit of anxiety that twisted in her chest slip out with her breath knowing that she wasn’t somehow fumbling a second friendship in a single night. Tappi’s gaze fell to his ankle, watching the movement intently to make sure it looked normal considering he wouldn’t have a clue how it felt. Her nose scrunched dreading how often he’s likely to get hurt in a place like Camp without ever noticing. She didn’t know what was worse, someone who was accident prone or someone who didn’t have a clue they were hurt in the first place. Nate’s hand on her shoulder pulled her out of her thoughts as she looked up at him.
Tapeesa didn’t know what she expected, but she should have known better. She stood there dumfounded for a second time as he took off in a sprint. If he somehow managed to hurt his ankle again she was definitely finishing the race before healing him, little cheater. Of course, after fixing his sprain, he was even faster than before. She was barely halfway there when she saw his mess of red hair duck into the greenhouse. Her pace slowed, defeated as she took the last few steps over the threshold and threw her head back with a sigh. "You don’t play fair," she spoke between heavy breaths while jabbing him in the chest with her index finger.
Pulling her gaze away from Nate, that was the first time Tapeesa really got to take in her greenhouse. It looked like the type of shed someone built out of salvaged windows. Greenery, even in the dead of winter, practically exploded from it. Her face lit up, smile growing and dimples prominent as she stepped back inside. She couldn’t contain herself from running her fingertips along the various leaves and foliage as she walked a small lap around the small room. Every plant and herb she could ever need for medicinal purposes was present, potted, and thriving. "This is so much better than what I had at home."
Nate stayed in the doorway, his head cocked back as he focused on regulating his breathing. He had been on his feet and walking for hours, so sprints late at night were not the smartest of moves. He huffed out a simple response to her allegation. "You need to… start setting rules." When he had regained his breath, he watched Tapeesa take in the space as he leaned against the door frame. He shoved his hands into his front pockets while smiling at her. He didn't exactly know much about plants, but he was pleased she was happy with the selection. "Yeah?" It was less a question and more of a poor attempt at offering a response to something he knew nothing about, giving Tapeesa space to take in her accommodations.
Tappi glanced over her shoulder at him with squinted eyes. Knowing now how fast he could run it was likely she wouldn't have beat him even with a head start, but a fair start would have been nice. Either she was going to get paranoid like she was making a deal with a genie or learn to look for loopholes like he did. Seemed more likely she was going to be continuously duped until she was forever indebted to him. "So, what do I owe you this time?" she asked, turning to face him while pinching a velvet-like leaf between her thumb and index finger.
Nate shrugged with an impish grin. "I was thinking another favor." He let out a slow exhale, making a show of mulling over ideas in his head. "But we can worry about the specifics later. I'm just trying to enjoy the here and now."
"You’re going to turn me into an indentured servant if I’m not careful." Tapeesa looked over at him rolling her eyes dramatically. "Because you’re having so much fun surrounded by plants," she teased him with a soft laugh. Nate lingered in the doorway observing rather than joining her or exploring himself. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to connect the dots that it wasn’t really his thing, but she appreciated the company nonetheless. Even if her cheeks flushed slightly as she became more aware of how he watched her rather than looking at the plants.
As she walked around slowly, she stopped by every familiar plant, leaning in to smell them or lightly run her fingers along the leaves. "When I was little my mom had one of those like greenhouse window box… things." Her nose scrunched and face contorted as she used her hands to try and mime the general size and shape of the window box. "She kept all her medicinal herbs there in these tiny little pots and the leaves overgrew so much that they hung in the sink." A nostalgic smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she got a far off look in her eyes. "My studio apartment was hardly big enough for me so—"
Tapeesa stopped in the middle of the greenhouse looking up. Tied to the crossbeams were various plants and herbs hanging to dry. But one plant in particular caught her attention more than the others. "No way," she whispered. She reached up her right arm so high that the hem of her shirt lifted, revealing a small glimpse of her midriff. She grimaced and jumped, but still came up a few inches short. Her gaze fell to Nate with a playfully innocent grin as she held her hands behind her back and turned back and forth like a child asking for sweets. "I know I owe you two favors already, but could I steal a freebie and borrow your height?"
Nate bore an amused expression as he watched Tappi move about the space. It was true, he wasn’t super interested in plants before. Even now, he was less interested in the greenery than he was in Tapeesa’s story. The smell was a nice olfactory collage wafting from the space and buffeting his nostrils. It smelled a lot better than he did, tobacco and old spice wasn’t a particularly refreshing scent. He listened close as she spoke of her mother and her home. When she got particularly excited, Nate naturally stopped leaning and took a step into the greenhouse. He tried hard not to stare as the hem of her shirt pulled up a little, figuring she wouldn’t appreciate it. He met her eyes as she asked for help, warm smile greeting her. "You can borrow me al-" His words stopped cold, his automatic response cut short as he refocused his efforts. Was he always this flirty? Nate shook his head, walking over towards her and looking up towards the rafters. "Yeah sure… which one was it?" He was already leaning up on the tips of his toes, hands reaching up and brushing some leaves aside.
Tappi took a half step toward him, accidentally bumping his arm with her shoulder as she tilted her head to the side and squinted an eye to try and see from his perspective. She subconsciously shifted to her toes, leaning in slightly closer so she could grab his forearm and redirect it toward the correct plant. "That one." She guided his hand so his fingertips brushed against the dried buds. "The weed," she confirmed with a soft laugh as she looked over at him. There was a second where heat flooded her cheeks as she noticed how close they were. Her smile grew slightly before she released his arm, lowered herself flat on her feet, and took a small step backwards.
He completely forgot what he was there for as Tapeesa guided his hand towards the right plant. His other arm had instinctively wrapped around her to help steady her as she stretched up. His hand held her gently near her ribs, his body twisting slightly so it almost looked like they were dancing again. But as her head neared his, he stopped looking up at the plants above him. He could only look at her for that brief moment. Even in the dim pale light of the moon refracting from the glass panes, Tapeesa shone bright. She confirmed he was touching the right plant with his other hand, but he couldn’t process the words. When she looked back at him and her cheeks brightened as they complimented her widening grin, Nate moved on instinct.
He was a fraction of a second too late. She let go and backed away slightly just as he began to lean in. It was just his luck. His hand on her side loosened as he let her step away, quickly turning his head up and away to hide his quickly fading smile. She just needed to borrow his height, after all. He reached up with both hands to remove the familiar plant. He lowered it back down and vaguely in Tappi’s direction, his head still turned away as he pretended to look up at the stars through the glass. "RIght, uh, yeah. Guess you had some."
Tapeesa’s smile faltered as she noticed the way he turned away from her slightly. It wasn’t until she was flat on the ground again, with the small bit of space between them that some of the pieces started clicking together. All of this was out of the realm of what she was used to and she was learning, a little too slowly, that she was always three steps behind. A small knot twisted in her chest when he wouldn’t look back at her and the light in his face had seemed to fade. She slowly reached out both of her hands to take the dried plant from him, letting her fingertips intentionally brush his. "Thank you, Nater-tot," she spoke quietly, hoping the stupid nickname might bring back a fraction of his smile.
There was a moment or two where she hesitated, not entirely sure what to do. But then her demeanor shifted with a resoluteness as some semblance of a plan started forming. Tappi held the bundle of weed in her right hand while her left hand took his. "Come on." Her voice was still gentle but held a bit more conviction as she lightly tugged him toward the door.
A small smile did return to Nate’s lips at the return of the nickname. Somehow, that gentle voice and soft movements had a way of cutting through the noise in his head. He felt powerless to stop her from pulling him along for whatever game or mission she had planned next.
interactions ....|.... elias & forest ............... mentions ....|.... none ............... collabs ....|.... @webboysurf
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