XVIII - Thoughts and Feelings

SMASH!

Tatiana woke with a start. She was momentarily disappointed - she had been having another nice dream, and featuring guess who?

But then she realized that the source of the smash had been a crash from somewhere within the house. She jumped out of bed, threw on her robe, and raced down the hall, suddenly very much wide awake, the dream and the lingering feelings it led to pushed to the far back of her mind - for now at least.

In the kitchen she found Orm, on his hands and knees, staring down at a smashed bowl whose pieces were scattered across the floor.

"Oh, Tatiana," he said when he saw her fly into the room. "I apologize for waking you."

"That's okay. What happened?" It was pretty obvious, but what had he been doing with the bowl in the first place?

"I'm very sorry." He looked ashamed.

"That's okay, it's just a bowl - I'll get the broom." She made her way down the hall to the closet. "What were you doing?"

"Cooking."

This made her smile. "Oh?"

"It was meant to be a surprise - but clearly I ruined that part. I wanted to use the skills you taught me to surprise you by cooking for you."

She nearly dropped the broom and dustpan - her heart swelled. "Really?"

"Yes, I wanted to show my skills, but more importantly I wanted to show my appreciation for all you have done for me since I arrived here - starting with rescuing me from the ship's net, even though I didn't know it yet. But I'm afraid all I've managed to make is a big, embarrassing mess."

"Well that's very sweet of you. I appreciate your appreciation. And don't worry about the mess. We all make mistakes." She began sweeping up.

"No, no, I made the mess, I'll clean it up. You have a seat and I'll get you the breakfast I managed to prepare before breaking the bowl." He took the broom from her in one hand and pulled out one of the chairs at the table with the other.

"So you went from the King who had always been served out of expectation to someone who is serving others out of kindness?"

"Yes, I suppose that's it." He placed a plate before her with a proud flourish. He had prepared a salad - with rather lovely chopped tomatoes she did say - along with the leftover chicken. "Breakfast."

She smiled down at the carefully prepared plate and then up at him. "Thank you, this is so kind of you."

"Enjoy."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine, really."

"But you must have some, please. Here, I'll share. You deserve some of the finished product as a reward." She got up to retrieve a second knife and fork and pushed the plate into the centre of the table between them.

She smiled across the table at him, and he smiled back, and they both tucked in, sharing another meal together.

Orm was very satisfied, thinking he had totally blown it by breaking the bowl. Was it ever strange, doing something for someone else, and not because they expected it, but not for any reason at all, just because - but it also felt very good.

He offered to do the dishes as well - he was on a roll after all.

Once that was finished he left the house with his trident, saying he would be back in a little while, while Tatiana readied herself for more work.

A while later she got up and stretched and decided to step out for some fresh air - she had been cooped up inside thanks to her work and the storm. The storm had finally let up; the rain had stopped, but thick clouds still clogged the skies, leaving it dark.

Orm had gone out a while ago, and she was curious what he was up to.

Turned out he hadn't gone far. He was out practicing with his trident again.

And he was shirtless.

Of course he was.

"Like what you see?"

He'd caught her standing there, staring at him, practically drooling. Also, was he joking? Flirting? There was certainly a certain tone to his voice.

"It's amazing really," she admitted. "Never seen anything like it. You're so cool."

"I've been called many things, but never 'cool'."

"Well I promise it's a compliment." She continued watching him intently. "How do you not hit yourself with it?"

He stopped his fluid movements. "Come, I'll show you."

He waved her over and she obeyed, reaching out and also taking hold of the trident so that they held it together.

He spun them around so that they stood with her back against his - um, bare, ahem - chest. It was like the other night with her helping him cut the vegetables, she realized, only that was with a kitchen knife and this was with a whole ass weapon.

"It's much easier in the water," he told her, and she could feel the hum of his voice pulsing through his whole body, buzzing against her where their skin touched.

"Well you don't seem to be struggling too much up here," she said, wondering if her voice sounded as shaky to him as it did to her.

He held such a solid, steady presence. She felt safe with him, supported. A support she hadn't felt even with her family lately, she realized, that was what struck her the most. Here was this man, who she barely knew, really, and he had been nothing but encouraging in her work, supportive, helpful even, and he never made her feel foolish for what she did and believed in. And it meant the world to her. She loved that about him, and could totally fall for him if she let herself.

She stopped such thoughts - but she wasn't going to let herself do that. Yes, she was eternally grateful for what he was doing to help her, and would be always, but she couldn't confuse that with falling for him. She found him attractive, but that was it, that was all.

And even if she saw something in him, what could he possibly see in her? She was so boring compared to him, a literal king, of ATLANTIS! A literal superhero. She was just a desperate, lonely nerd.

These thoughts had taken a dark turn all of a sudden. What was the point of such thoughts? If he saw something in her? They were housemates, friends at best. They still didn't know all that much about each other in the grand scheme of things. Where were these crazy thoughts coming from?

And so what if she was attracted to him? It was a harmless crush at most.

"Alright, now you try."

She had been so lulled by the steady movements they were doing together she had gotten lost in her thoughts, and it was only his voice that brought her back. "W-what?"

"You try now," he repeated.

"Um, okay."

He let go of the trident, leaving it secure in only her hands now, and stepped back and away. She instantly missed the warmth of him, the strength of him, and she suddenly felt very insecure.

She had been so focused on her jumble of thoughts that she wasn't even sure she remembered what he had been showing her in the first place. She bent her knees and swung, beginning some slow and not-so-steady movements. She gripped the handle tighter.

And then it happened, just like that, the briefest of moments: an image, just a flash, and then it was gone.

"Ah!" She cried out and dropped the trident, flailing backwards and tipping, landing hard.

Orm rushed to her side. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Yeah," she panted, breathing hard. "When I swung it, I saw something."

His golden brow furrowed. "Saw something?"

"Yeah, it was just a flash in my mind, so fast, but from what I could tell, it was an Ancient Greek temple." What the hell? And it hadn't been just her thoughts, that she was certain of. This was like it had been shown to her, there in that moment, that chosen moment.

What the hell indeed.

She passed the weapon back. "That was so strange. Sorry, I don't know what is with me today." First dreams about him, then thoughts of how attractive he was, and now this strange happening, whatever it was, whatever it meant.

Uncertain feelings? Strange visions? What did any of it mean?

I've been brainstorming more ideas for this story so stay tuned!

As always, Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :)