Strange Love

Jaden couldn't help the smile that seemed unwilling to leave her lips for even a second. Regardless of how awkward their day had begun, she'd finally become accustomed to the prince's wild and carefree ways. She couldn't help the giggle that escaped her as he made weird faces with every bite of the pizza he'd ordered them. "What?" She couldn't help it any longer, she had to ask.

He leaned back in his chair pushing the front two legs off the ground as he sent her a crooked smile. "Well, it's not American pizza... that's for sure..." He let the chair drop back to the ground as his expression became more serious. "Was it to your liking? Did you get enough or would you like to order something else?"

She giggled again. "It was more than enough. I'm stuffed."

He frowned as his focus moved to her thin arms and bony wrist. He gently lifted one circling his pointer finger and thumb around it easily. "Don't seem like it takes much to stuff you..."

She shrugged. "I'm sure my appetite will return eventually... I used to love food, you know... Though I must admit this food is much different than typical Icelandic dishes."

"Really? Like what?" Russ asked pulling his phone out and pulling up the internet browser. "What's your favorite dish?"

She held her hand out for the phone. She typed in the name and handed it back without saying a word. She watched his expression as his gaze moved to the phone. When his eyes nearly popped from their sockets, she doubled over in laughter catching her stomach.

"You ate this!?" He asked turning the image of a lambs head on a plate around to face her.

"I mean, it wasn't my favorite dish... but it is very popular there."

"OH HELL NO!" He shook his head as he pushed his phone away in disgust.

She couldn't help the laughter his actions invoked. "It's really not bad."

"I'm sure it isn't, but I'm also 100% sure I'll never find out!"

He'd spent most of the cable car ride back down the hill with his head pressed to hers, showing her the website of the museum they were headed to next. She was amazed at how easy it was to forget everything and simply enjoy his company. The mile it took to reach the Old Acropolis museum seemed to go by exceptionally fast. She covered her mouth to hide her smile as he forged intelligence as he spoke to one of the curators. They went over a pamphlet, explaining each exhibit and pointing out the locations on the map inside.

"If you'd like a guided tour, there will be one beginning in..." The woman glanced down at her watch. "Twenty-five minutes..." Her gaze moved back up to theirs. "You could look around in the meantime if you'd like, of course."

Russ sent Jaden a questioning look. When she shrugged, he turned his warm smile back to the curator. "I think we'll explore it on our own. What do you say?" He asked holding his hand out to Jaden.

She took his hand and let him lead her deeper into the museum. He began reading off the pamphlet making up any information that wasn't provided all while forging a scholarly tone. "And this is Athena... and this is Athena... and this is head of Athena... and this is half of a head... a ear... it's a chunk of rock with an ear... yep..." He tilted his head as he studied another piece. "I'm not even sure what part this is, maybe a foot... but I bet it's a piece of Athena."

Her eyes moved around the many fractured statues and a sadness she couldn't explain began to sink in.

"What is it?" He asked as he took her hand and tugged her around to face him.

"It's just sad that we'll never know how beautiful any of these truly were... before they became broken and fractured..."

Understanding slowly sank in as he studied her watery eyes. He cupped her face and brought her gaze away from the statues up to meet his. "You're right... We may never know exactly what they were like before... but there is an undeniable beauty and strength in what is left." His eyes traveled to the other people moving around throughout the displays. "Look at all the people who come to see them." He let out a sigh as something Jos had always said when they'd visited places with weathered art or damaged statues came back to him. "Someone once told me, there's value to be found in the damaged and broken. Sometimes far more valuable than when the thing was brand new." He studied her for a few seconds before continuing. "Take a painter for instance, back in the day many were ill-regarded... seen as the lowest of lower-class coining the phrase starving artist. Now, hundreds of years later a ripped up, stained up canvas with those same ill-regarded artists' names scribbled across the bottom are priceless." When her eyes only seem to become mistier, he turned away. Running his hand through his hair, he added. "I guess what I'm saying is, sometimes it takes a little damage before something's true value can be seen." He nodded toward another display. "You... um... wanna move on to something else?"

Jaden nodded, not saying anything as she slid her hand back into his and followed him. Before long he was back to his usual joking ways. This time he was making up a story about the strange arrangement of bodies on a slab and making off-the-wall comments about some of the horses.

She couldn't help her curiosity. "You really don't like horses, do you?"

He glared at the pieces of the horse that remained. "I don't have anything against horses as an animal... overall at least... Just one particular horse's ȧss."

He brushed it off and moved on to the next statue and began making up a story about it.

She laughed. "You really don't know a thing about any of this do you?"

"Not the slightest." He answered as he placed his fists against his hɨps as he studied the slab.

He tilted his head as they entered a new exhibit. "What do you think these guys are thinking?" He asked pointing to the very expressive statues in the room.

She rubbed her chin as she thought about it. "That one looks like he's thinking of a lover... maybe even watching them from afar..."

"Hum... maybe... but where's his dɨċk? Why's it missing?"

Her eyes widened as she moved her focus to the area he was studying. "I... don't have a clue..."

"You know what I think?"

"I'm kind of afraid to ask... but go ahead."

"I think this guy is sitting here all like 'Where are thee pėnɨs', and that one over there is like 'yo which hand? One hand has his pėnɨs and the other has mine. Anyone, someone step on up and pick a hand'. Those two heads over there are trying to decide which hand to pick, while that ċȯċky little bastard over there is just like 'It doesn't matter, my baby dɨċk is bigger than both yours'..."

She scrunched her brows at his crude humor. "I'm quite positive that's not what they're saying."

"Really, you look at these and that's not the story you see here? It looks pretty straightforward to me." He pointed around the room to the statues.

She giggled. "And how old did you say you were, my prince?"

He let out a deep laugh. Taking her hand and leading her through the museum, he finally answered. "I'll be nineteen the day after tomorrow. What about you?" He tilted his head and studied her trying to guess at her age.

She stroked her chin thoughtfully as she did the math in her head. "Hum... let's see. I guess I turned twenty this past December."

"Oh wow, we're so close in age." He declared.

"Is that so surprising?" She asked turning her attention away from the last of the exhibits up to study him.

"Well yeah... it is. I've gotten so used to being around people so much older than me. Other than a few human friends back in school and Shelly, most of the people I know are several years older... hell Raven, Ry, and Jos are both several thousand years older..."

"Really? How old are they?"

He took her hand as they stepped out into the park surrounding the museum. "Well, Rin, Shelly's husband, is somewhere around 75... which is still incredibly young for a Gin. Raven is somewhere around 4000 give or take a few hundred years." He rubbed his chin with his free hand. "I'm not even sure if any of the demigods I know have even a guestament of how old they are... I couldn't even guess how old that would make Poseidon. I guess I've never really stopped to think about it much..."

"Oh... I guess they all seemed so human when I met them that it slipped my mind that some of them were gods and demigods. It's crazy to think about..."

"Tell me about it." He pulled out his phone and looked at the time. "We still have a little over an hour if you'd like to explore more of Acropolis. There are some amazing old ruins here."

"Aright, that sounds good... Maybe you can tell me more about your friends and family while we do so." She asked in a low coy voice.

He smiled down at her. "Sure, what would you like to know?"

They carried on a steady conversation as they moved through the different sights in the area. Nearly to the hotel that housed the restaurant he'd made reservations at, Russ stopped her in front of a beautiful building. As he lifted his phone for yet another picture, she tried to stop him. "Alright, if you don't want me to take a picture of you by yourself then come here." He tugged her into one arm as he lifted the phone and quickly snapped the picture. He lowered it to show her. "Look how perfect the sunset shows between those massive columns."

Her breath caught. "It's stunning..."

His smile sparkled down at her. "I couldn't agree more." He could feel his smile fade as the dėsɨrė to capture her glossy pink lips ȧssaulted his mind for what had to be the thousandth time that day. He slowly released her and stepped away. "We should probably hurry if we want to get a good seat. Peg tells me the window seats go fast because of the amazing views."

Jaden shook the strange feeling that his gaze on her had stirred. {It had to be my imagination... right... He couldn't have possibly wanted to... kiss... me?!?} She gave her head another harder shake. {I've gone crazy... too much time away from normal people... He's probably just being nice. This is probably just how Americans are...}

Had the view not been amazing enough the three-course meal he'd ordered them had been better than anything she'd ever had before. He'd ordered things he'd said Peg had suggested and again had shared everything he'd gotten with her. She'd returned the gesture with far more ease this time, enjoying the strange sense of intimacy the act aroused in her. She hadn't even been surprised when he'd slid into the seat beside her and taken a picture of them with the magnificent view of the temple of Athena glowing proudly in the background. "Can... can I have a copy of that if you print it?" She asked hesitantly.

He furrowed his brows. "I'll have to ask Ry to stop us off so we can get you a phone. I can't believe I just thought of it..."

She threw her hands up, brushing off his suggestion. "Oh no, that's ok. You don't have to trouble yourselves with something as frivolous as that! I can just grab one some other time... maybe once we're back at the palace..."

He took her hand as they stood and made their way from the restaurant. "It's not trouble. You should have one. I'm sure you'd like to call the palace and check on the girls. I mean you can use mine tonight, but after we get you one you can talk to them whenever you want." Though she tried to continue arguing against it, he shut her down each time until she finally gave up.

"Where are we going? Are we not going back to the embassy now?" She asked as he led her through the lit streets.

He smiled playfully down at her. "There's one more stop I wanted to make. It's one Shelly suggested actually." His bright smile lit even more as the sounds of the bustling night market got louder as they neared.

"Oh wow!" She murmured in amazement as her eyes darted around.

He turned to face her as he guided her backward toward an area where a few people were dancing in the street to a small band playing music. "Dance with me?"

She arched her brows as she let him lead her toward the others. "You dance?"

His smile widened. "Hell yes! I've got moves you've never seen." He said with a mischievous wink. He spun her, pulling her back against his ċhėst as he began to dance.

She stared up at him over her shoulder, her eyes nearly as wide as her open mouth. "Where did you learn to dance like this?!"

"Ha, this isn't anything. You should have seen the fundraiser the swim team and I put on." He did his best not to overly grope or grind on her, afraid that it would cause her discomfort or upset her.

"You danced for a fundraiser? What kind of fundraiser was it?"

His grin widened as he spun her around to face him as the music switched beats to a softer melody. "It was a strip show... Shelly's husband was a part of it. Of course, that was before they started dating..." He shrugged, a wide smile still spread across his lips.

A half-smile curved her lips as she arched her brow. "You never cease to amaze me, Prince Boosilis."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I mean you're using my formal title again... should I be worried?"

She giggled. "No, not at all. I just couldn't help imagining the prince for a few weeks ago who stood in front of his people and told the council to F off suddenly stripping his clothes off and grinding himself on the audience."

He arched a brow playfully. "So, what you're saying is you're imagining me nȧkėd right now?"

Another giggle slipped past her lips. "Only nearly nȧkėd..."

He narrowed his eyes, mischief dancing in them as he tugged her closer. He slid the hand that had been gently resting on her side around to the small of her back, pressing her tighter against him. His head had lowered nearly to hers when the ring of his phone shook them both. He quickly pulled away, thankful the phone had stopped him before he'd done something that would ruin the trust she seemed to be building toward him. "Hello?"

[Hey, you two still out? I just got back and notice you weren't here.]

"Oh, yeah. We're at the market. We were going to look around a bit more, then head back." Russ replied turning to find Jaden at his side staring questioningly up at him. "It's Ry." He whispered to her. "Is there anything else? If not, I'll see you in an hour or so."

[No... unless you two need me to come pick you up or something...]

"We'll be fine. It's a short walk back. See you in a bit." He hung up the phone with a huff. "I swear I don't know how to take that big idiot sometimes... If he's not giving me hell, he's acting like an overprotective mother hen..."

Jaden frowned. "He cares for you..."

"So he's said..." Russ grunted.

"You don't feel the same?" She asked in honest curiosity.

"Not in the way he does. He's become a good friend and a hell of a lot of help. I don't know where I'd be without him... but I don't see him as more than a friend or mentor." He forced a smile. "What do you say we grab some ice cream before we head back?"

"Are you seriously thinking of food again already?!"

He shrugged. "Why not? Come on!"