"...Scary..." Sinsa murmured, staring wide-eyed at the screen.
"Yeah. But that's Ash for you. Highly protective of his family and anyone else close to him." Emily smiled as she turned it off.
Just then Axel flashed in. He seemed to sense something off and it was physically expressed by him raising a brow and tilting his head slightly to one side. "Why do you two smell like Olympus?"
Emily flashed a quick grin. "Gotta go. Bye!" And she popped away again. But she knew better than to try to hide from Ash, so she had flashed into the living room of the Parthenopaeus house. She sat on the floor, just waiting for Ash to come and lecture her. She knew that much was coming. She stuffed the iPad in her bag that had an extension charm on it, plus a few others that made it light as a feather to carry around. From there she stuffed it in her jacket, zipped it up and waited.
"Wait, Em...!" Sinsa winced as the witch-god vanished. Unsure how Axel would react to the plans she'd made behind his back, she slid down in the bed, trying to make herself as small as possible.
"Sinsa?" he prompted. She grimaced.
"...I... I went after them..." she mumbled, unable to meet his gaze.
"...After whom?" It was obvious he'd already guess but was confirming it.
"Artemis and Apollo," she answered, voice barely above a whisper. Then, to avoid misunderstandings, she quickly added, "I didn't go alone; I asked Ash for help, and I didn't even get to Apollo because I was too tired from beating on Artemis, even with the gloves Emily lent me, and I know I shouldn't have, but I had to! After what they did to you, I..." She trailed off, staring at her hands, which were clasped in her lap to try and still the trembling. Emily had taken the gloves off before putting her in the bed, and she found she missed the smooth material against her skin. "...I'm sorry..."
Axel sat down right beside her and pulled her into his arms. He buried his nose into her hair. "While I appreciate the thought. Please don't do that again. I don't want you to get hurt." Then he sat back enough to give her a look of curiosity. "How did you manage to convince Ash? Far as I know he doesn't do anything like this as to not cause an inter-pantheon incident."
Emily looked up from where she was playing with long piece of yarn playing cat's cradle. She gave a small smile as Ash can in and sat on the couch behind her. "I take it that it went well?"
Sinsa smiled lightly.
"You're definitely related," she giggled. "Ash said the same thing. Are... pantheons the different cultures?"
"...Yes," he answered slowly, "but you're avoiding the question."
"Ah... I... told him..." She dropped her gaze, smile turning to a grimace. "He... freaked..."
Axel's jaw clenched and tried to breathe deeply to rid of the bit of anger that had bubbled in his chest.
She sensed the tension in his body and stiffened, worried about what he might do. She'd gone too far, hadn't she? Telling Acheron and attacking Artemis. She'd probably created more problems for them just to satisfy her own selfish desires; idiot.
"I... I understand if... you don't want me around," she said, hands tightening around each other. She wished she could teleport too; it'd be nice to avoid a sort of walk of shame.
He tilted her head up so she was meeting his gaze. Without giving her any warning, he kissed her roughly.
Stunned, she didn't react other than to automatically grab his arm, a motion she didn't even realize she'd made.
He moved his hands down to grip her hips, rubbing soft circles on her skin with his thumbs.
Heat sprang up at his touch, sending shivers up her spine, and her grip on his arm tightened.
"Nn... Axel.." she whimpered through the kiss, trying to decide if she wanted him or not. Well, that wasn't the question so much as whether or not she wanted him right now. Especially when she'd been so sure a moment ago that he'd rip her head off for turning right around and breaking his trust by telling his secret to someone else. Still anxious, she forced herself to break away from him. "Y-you're not mad...?"
He sighed. "I am a little angry to be honest." He brushed her hair from her face. "But I was going to have to tell him eventually. So you really did me a favor."
Breathing a sigh of relief, she laid her head on his shoulder.
"Good," she whispered. "I don't think I could stand having you mad at me..."
He smiled and brought a hand up to run through her hair, leaving the other on her hip.
She stayed like that for a long time, listening to him breathe, until her stomach whined, reminding her that she'd burned a lot of calories on Olympus.
"Ugh, I'm hungry again," she muttered, annoyed. "I suppose I should go back to my apartment and get some food..." That reminded her of how everything had started, missing a bus that would have taken her to the life-saving interview. Groaning, she continued, not really paying attention to the fact that she was thinking aloud. "Damn it; rent's due tomorrow... Gonna have to get another extension... Eh... My landlord's gonna kill me... Or kick me out..."
Axel watched for a moment before speaking. "You can move in with me."
"Huh?" It took her a moment to recognize that she'd spoken aloud, and then to process what he said. "...Are you sure? I mean, is that really a good idea?"
Please say yes... She quickly shoved that thought aside; no need to get herself thinking useless things. A guy like Axel could probably charm any woman, and not only did she not want to be in the way, she didn't want to end up just another name on the list. Normally it wouldn't bother her-after all, she'd had plenty of flings and one night stands-but with Axel it was different. Something... strong, and strange. Something she didn't recognize that made her want to protect him where she could, and stay with him where she couldn't.
A sudden thought hit her, utterly flooring her. She couldn't possibly be... in love... could she? Infatuation, lust; those were nothing new to her, being the foundation of her relations with men in the past, but love? The only love she knew was familial, or friendly. To be honest, she probably wouldn't know love if it slapped her in the face.
What now?
He nodded then placed a soft kiss on her forehead. "But if you don't want to, you can say no."
"I... I don't know," she said honestly. On the one hand, she wanted to be close to him, wanted to learn more about him. But on the other, she could easily be mistaking her feelings, and she didn't want to get him caught up in the mess. She needed time to sort things out in her head before making a decision like that. "Give me time to think about it?"
Axel nodded. "Take all the time you need." He playfully ruffled her hair. "I'm gonna take a shower." He said before starting to get up.
No better opportunity for a chance alone with her thoughts.
"Ah, I'm going for a walk," she said, also standing and managing a passing grin. "So don't freak out if you finish and I'm not around."
He nodded and gently ran the backs of his fingers against her cheek before turning and heading into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
Sinsa didn't know how long or how far she wandered, but she didn't really care. Aside from keeping an eye out for Daimons and avoiding other pedestrians, she didn't pay any attention to her surroundings as she mused over her emotions. By the time she found herself back in front of Axel's apartment, she was no closer to unraveling them; all she knew was that she cared for him enough to want to protect him where he was vulnerable. Maybe Tory or Emily or Gemina could help her figure the rest out later.
As she plodded absentmindedly into the apartment, Sinsa wondered whether Gemina had a place to stay, and whether or not she could spend the night with her. The alternative was possible embarrassment here in Axel's apartment. Leave that as a last resort... She'd ask him to help her get in touch with Gem, and go from there.
But she received a surprise when she walked back down the hall and into the bedroom.
Axel had obviously had just gotten out of the shower as his hair was still damp, but it was pulled up into a high ponytail, letting it drip tiny streams of water down his back. A dark blue towel loosely tied around his waist was all that covered him at the moment as he was looking around in a drawer. His skin was also slightly darker from being in hot steam and water. She couldn't help but subconsciously lick her lips as she took in his hot, wet and sleek form. The only thing that really ruined the image was the white scars that crisscrossed across his back, coming from his shoulders down to just to the very small of his back.
The moment he closed the drawer, she quickly swung around out of sight, pressing herself against the wall by the door.
God, could he be any hotter? She put her cooler hands to her cheeks in an effort to lessen the heat threatening to explode her head, but could do nothing about the heat in her gut that begged her to trace every scar on his body. With her tongue.
Ugh, stop it! She lightly slapped her cheeks and shook her head. Bad idea. Very bad idea. Now it was her turn for a shower. A cold one. Taking a deep breath, she prayed to all the saints he hadn't sensed her presence yet.
"Axel?" Thank god her voice didn't betray her. "I'm back. Could you tell Gem I need to talk with her?" Oh please be at least partially dressed... She stepped into the doorway again. "And while you're at it, tell her to get a cell phone, if she doesn't have one already."
Axel turned to look at her, just as he finished pulling a black tank top down his torso. His lower half was clad in black sweats and the towel now laid on the edge of the bed. Sinsa did privately admit to herself that he actually looked pretty cool with his hair pulled up. After a moment he nodded. "She'll be here in just a second." Then he picked up the towel and started to use it to squeeze the excess water out of his hair.
Gemina appeared before Sinsa could respond. The older girl grinned when she saw Axel drying his hair.
"Just get out of the shower, sexy?" she winked. "Should've called me earlier."
"Gem, stop it," Sinsa scolded, trying to sound natural. At least she wasn't too obvious. "You have a minute or two to talk?"
"Sure," Gemina nodded, striding toward her sister. "I was just checking out classifieds for help wanted ads." The girls went to the living room to talk.
"So you're staying in town?" Sinsa asked, plopping onto the end of the couch and pulling a pillow onto her lap.
"Well, yeah," her sister said, as though it were obvious. She dropped onto the other end and drew her legs up under her. "You're here, aren't you? And besides, it'd probably be best to stay near my food source." She waggled a thumb in the direction of the bedroom.
"What kinda plans do you have?" Sinsa asked. "Like, apartments, jobs..."
"Nothing much yet," Gemina answered. "I don't have a place to stay yet, but I was going to ask Emily if I could crash with her tonight."
"You could stay at my place," Sinsa offered. "Though, it might not be mine much longer..."
"Getting evicted?" Gemina offered, wincing sympathetically.
"Well... Not yet," Sinsa admitted. "But I can't pay rent this month, so it's possible. And..." She paused. "Axel offered to let me move in with him."
Gem couldn't help the grin that crossed her face. "And..?"
"I don't know," Sinsa said. "I mean, I don't want to impose or anything."
"Bah!" Gemina scoffed. "You're not imposing if he's the one offering."
"True, but..."
"But nothing," she pressed. "Just accept; I can tell you want to, and it's always good to have a roommate you trust. Besides, you can make a temporary thing if you have to, until you can afford a place yourself."
"...Yeah," Sinsa hummed, still considering. She couldn't lie; it was appealing. And she saw the truth of Gemina's words; it didn't have to be permanent, so if things went bad, there was an out. "Totally off topic, but do you have a cell?"
"Uh... Sort of..." Gemina pulled a mangled piece of metal from her pocket. Sinsa gaped at the ruined phone. "I got a call from one of the Daimons wondering where me and Quandus were, and I kinda... panicked."
Another phone was tossed into Gemina's lap. "You can have that one." Axel said as he came out into the living room, but only long enough to head into the kitchen. Much to Sinsa's luck and embarrassment, he had actually left his hair up in the high ponytail, which honestly made him look almost twenty eight instead of twenty two.
"Thanks sexy!"
"Yeah, yeah." was all the answer they heard from the only male in the house hold before he came back out a minute later. "And if you're staying with Emily, a fair warning: warn her a minute or two before you just go popping in. She has a tendency to shoot whatever and whoever randomly appears in her house. She had demigod hunters on her ass for years, so she's a little jumpy."
"Ooh," Gemina pursed her lips in amusement. "I was planning to ask her first, and THEN go popping in, but I've always wanted a bullet to the head." Sinsa put two fingers to her temple and mimicked shooting herself. Gemina glanced over and she dropped her hand immediately, smiling innocently.
"No, no," the older girl chuckled. "You're missing the double tap."
"Pfft; not like it really matters," Sinsa said, rolling her eyes. "I'm pretty sure gods are a little harder to kill than just a double tap."
Axel gave a wicked grin at the girls. "She doesn't shoot you with a gun. Bolts of lightning is more her style." He laughed at their slightly horror filled expressions.
"Okay.. thanks for the heads up..."
He winked and purposely made his accent drop into his natural bass Atlantean. "You're welcome, darling~!"
Gemina shivered visibly, a light smile returning to her lips as she cast a sidelong glance at Sinsa.
"Girl, if you don't accept, I will," she warned. "That voice alone... MM!" She growled playfully. Sinsa felt a wave of annoyance that she quickly pushed aside, knowing her sister was just joking.
"Shove off," she said, giving the older girl a mock glare.
"Sigh," Gemina said dramatically. "I guess I'll just have to settle for hunting down Demetrius." She picked up the cell and waggled it. "Call me when you find time to get the number from Ax." Then she vanished.
Axel chuckled. He wasn't surprised by that reaction, he'd actually seen a few girls pass out from one of the times he dropped into his natural accent.
Sinsa took a moment to slow her heart rate before looking up.
Big mistake; with his hair tied back like that, she had an unhindered view of his face, his eyes. All she wanted for a split second was to nibble on that jaw and try to bring pleasure into his expression.
And you thought Gemina was bad...Well, at least she knew where she got it.
"Um... Wanna help me move tomorrow?" she asked timidly, pushing her desire aside to have a serious conversation. Just don't let your thoughts drop into the gutter...
He smiled and she almost wanted to groan.
Too late.
"Though there is the question of sleeping arrangements..."
Are you TRYING to embarrass the hell out of me? She blushed and swallowed.
"I'm alright with sleeping on the couch," she said. "It's comfortable, and I couldn't kick you out of your bed."
Please, oh please, whatever you do, don't suggest sharing it...
He frowned slightly. Unfortunately he was the more gentleman type. He shook his head. "You can take the bed for now. I've been meaning to clear out the spare room but never got around to it. I'll sleep out here until I can get it cleared out for you."
Well, at least he didn't suggest sharing.
"Are you sure?" she asked. He nodded and she relaxed. "Alright." A thought occurred to her and she latched onto it, pushing out other, less wanted thoughts. "Since I'm human, and actually need sustenance, can we stock up on food?"
He smirked. "I stock up to keep up appearances if I ever have human visitors. Or hungry demons in Demetrius' case."
"You get demons often?" she asked teasingly. "Or are you the lonely bachelor that hits on everyone?"
He chuckled. "No. Normally just Simi and Demetrius. And I don't hit on people, they try to hit on me." He made a slight face. "Quite annoying most of the time."
"Then I won't hit on you," she said, barely keeping a straight face. "I'll just poke you."
At that he laughed. "Careful I may bite~" he teased and smirked wide enough for a fang to show one side.
"Hah! You already did," she pointed out. Remembering the feelings that came with it, she blushed. The heat flooding her cheeks was cool compared to the heat in her gut and she immediately decided it was time for a cold shower. Standing, she tossed the pillow at his face, adding, "jerk."
He laughed.
The water felt good against her skin, cool streams trickling through her hair and down her back, across her chest and stomach. She hesitated at using Axel's shampoo, but it smelled wonderful and she couldn't resist.
She did almost do a double take at reading the label. The scent was literally called Sensual Amber, but gods damn it was too good to resist.
Only after she got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself did she realize she had no clothes, no brush, no make-up, nothing. Sighing, she poked her head out of the bathroom.
"Axel?" she called. "I feel really awkward asking this, but do you have a shirt I could borrow until I can get Gem to bring me something from my place?"
Axel thought for a second then went and pulled one of his tee shirts out of a drawer for her. It was a deep red in color and after he handed it to her and she put it on, she saw it actually hit her about the thighs. The color actually brought out her green eyes quite a bit.
"Thanks," she said, tugging the hem of the shirt self-consciously. "Um, what's the number of the cell you gave Gem?" He gave it to her and she grabbed her phone from her purse in the living room, dialing the number and settling on the couch with a pillow on her lap.
"If you're calling for Ax, try again," Gemina answered.
"It's me, Gem."
"Oh thank god; I was about to crush this one too."
"Could you do me a huge favour and pop over to my place?" Sinsa asked. "I, ah... I need clothes."
She could almost see her sister raising her eyebrow at her. "You and Ax got it on already?"
"That is not what happened!" she said firmly. "I took a shower, and I didn't think to go get clothes first." Sighing, she rubbed her temple in annoyance. "Would you just... Just bring me the clothes, so I'm not half-naked in a guy's apartment, and then you can make fun of me all you want."
"You silly idiot," Gemina laughed, and then appeared in front of her, ending the call and putting the phone in her pocket. "I'm surprised you didn't just ask Ax to do this." Before Sinsa could ask what she meant, Gem snapped her fingers, and Axel's t-shirt turned into a cute red nightgown with little purple flowers all across the skirt. "Now that you've got something, I'm going back to sleep; I'll get your stuff in the morning, alright? G'night, Sin." She went over and kissed her little sister's cheek and then vanished, but not before Sinsa noticed that her hair was a bed-head mess, and her clothes were pajamas. She'd forgotten her sister liked to go to sleep early if there wasn't a party or event, so she could get up early and watch the sunrise. Sinsa made a mental note not to bother her sister in the evenings anymore.
Axel came into the room. He had let his hair down but it was loosely braided down his back.
A moment passed before Sinsa blinked and jumped up.
"Oh, sorry," she said, holding out the pillow. "Taking over your couch too, I guess." She gave a sheepish smile in apology.
Axel chuckled and took the pillow, realizing what she was wearing. "You look cute."
"Ah, I'm still a mess," Sinsa blushed, chuckling and running a hand through her tangled mass of hair, which was pitch black wet. "Don't even have a hair brush."
Axel sat down on the couch next to her. "Maybe I can help with that... Why don't you sit in front of me?"
Heart thumping, she swallowed.
"Ok," she replied, turning and sitting cross-legged in front of him with her back just brushing his knees. She was extremely aware of his proximity, and tried not to let the shudder of happiness show.
Axel gently started to run his fingers through her hair, carefully untangling knots and smoothing out the silky stands of her hair. Once he was done with that he French braided it, being careful to not pull too hard then used a green colored ribbon he summoned at will and used it to tie off the end of the braid. "How does that feel?"
The soothing touch of his hands threading through her hair was almost trance-like, and Sinsa nearly fell asleep sitting there. When he finished, she was practically nodding off, and took a quick breath of surprise with his question.
"Mm... Wonderful..." she murmured, wondering if she'd even make it to the bed or just fall asleep right where she was.
Axel saw this and chuckled before picking her up as he stood. He carried her in the bedroom and laid her down before pulling the covers over her. He leaned over and kissed her cheek.
As usual, her dreams were fuzzy, bits and pieces easily forgotten. Thankfully, they were on the pleasant side, mostly memories from her early childhood, and when she woke, she felt better rested than she had in a long time.