backyardbbq | Open smut post

[They were out the door and well on their way down the street before Shiro even thought about the guests they had left behind. How long would it take for them to notice that they were gone? He hoped it would be a long time, though it was hard to tell.

For their honeymoon, the two of them were supposed to hop on a train down to another part of the country, where the monkey park was. Shiro would have been fine with anywhere, but Klaud seemed to have a thing for monkeys, which was why they had gone with it.]

C'mon, let's get out of town before they come running after us.

[Since they were leaving early, they would probably arrive before their luggage, but that was okay. Onsens provided a change of clothes anyway.]

[She lets him lead for the moment, feeling the corners of her own lips pull up into a small smile. It was difficult not to feel daring around him; it infected everyone around him. It was exciting, she had to admit to herself.]

Oh, you didn't want to stay and listen to another wonderful speech given by our friends? [The half-smile is still there as she walks alongside him, fingers still locked together.]

Not yet. This is gonna bug me forever not knowing why.

[While there's demigods with special powers, they're not all that common. He's able to do some things that the other Hephaestus kids can't, so maybe that's the case with Nanaki. Things had been different since she arrived, though he'd never thought too much about it before now. He holds out his hand in front of them. ]

I want to show you something, don't get scared. I want you to know you can trust me enough to tell me what your reason was.

[He creates a small flame in the center of his palm and lets it burn there while he waits for her reaction.]

I hear enough of their bullshit at work, I'm not going to listen to it on my wedding day.

[Nope, wedding days are for celebration and drinking and partying. He'll be a lot happier when he's in more casual clothes and just lounging about somewhere.

Of course, their appearance did get them some stares when they reached the train station, but Shiro managed to talk his way out of that mess and get them into one of the train cars. It was about half-full, so they had people around them, but they still were able to sit together.

All the while, Shiro still hadn't let go of Klaud's hand. His grip relaxed, once they were sitting down, but he left it to Klaud to pull them apart if she wanted to.]

[Nanaki's eyes go wide and she backs up a bit from Leo, half-expecting to get burned by the fire. But when the fire doesn't burn her, she goes from scared to curious, with a bit of suspicion mixed in. She glances around at the other campers, trying to gauge their reactions to it, before turning her attention to Leo again.]

It's...fire.

[There's not much else to say about it. She does wonder why he's showing her this, though.]

Can't others make fire too?

[It was easy for her to ignore the stares, unsurprisingly, brushing them off like it was nothing to her. Having half of your face scarred warranted many more strange stares than walking around in wedding gowns. At least they weren't looks of pity.

Seated in their car by now she's almost forgotten their hands were still together. She was never very big on physical contact with others, mainly because most everyone she knew was through work and thus just seemed unprofessional, but for now the connection was... nice.

As the train moves she stares at out the window past her own reflection (and his) to watch the scenery pass them by. Even with the people sharing their car it was pretty serene.]

[Leo shakes his head.]

Nope. I'm the only one. It's been a couple centuries since anyone has had the ability.

[The fire is still burning in his hand, but after a few moments he extinguishes it with as little flourish as he'd started it.]

[It's exciting for him. Even though they're just two people who were 'greatly encouraged to wed for the sake of the world,' they still just got married, and they would be spending the rest of their lives together. Sure, there wasn't much love between them (yet, he mentally added. Love could always come later), they still hand a connection between them, one that made the two of them special. It was definitely something worth smiling about.

Shiro isn't one for public displays of affection, as he prefers to keep such things confined to private spaces, but even now in a train full of people he can find it within himself to give in and be a little romantic in public. Curling his fingers around hers, he pulls her hand up so that he can kiss the back of it.]

I won't pretend that I'm the perfect husband, but I'll try my best.

[She's pulled from her thoughts when Shiro kisses the back of her hand and she can't help the slightly surprised look she gives him at that. A moment passes before her expression dissolves into a softer one as she gently squeezes his hand.

She doesn't know if she could ever come to love him, such ideas scare her just a bit, but she would do her best to care for him like he would her.]

We'll both do our best. [A faint smile.] But I believe we'll be alright.

You're lucky, then.

[Being able to control fire like that is a very useful power, and Nanaki imagines that many people would love to have it.

Unlike her power. While she is alright with using it as much as she can, she can't imagine anyone wanting the power she has.]

I guess. Kind of thought it was a curse for a long time.

[He wasn't going to go into why he'd felt that way. He'd known Piper for several months before he wound up telling her and Jason, and even then it was only because they'd witnessed him survive a kerosene fueled fire without a burn. And he didn't tell them right away either.]

[That strikes a chord within Nanaki. Everyone here seemed to love who they were and what they could do, and she had never thought that someone else here would feel their powers were a curse. It makes her consider Leo a little differently now, at the very least.]

What do you think of it now?

It's not so bad. But sometimes I feel like the other campers are afraid of me even if they don't show it. The worst fires in history have been caused by demigods with the same power I have.

[It's a concern he hasn't voiced before, despite thinking of it often.]

[That's something she can understand, at least. And since Leo opened up to her like that, she'll give him some friendly advice.]

Don't let what they think bother you. If they don't understand, then that is their problem, not yours.

Yeah, I know.

[The fact that it's their problem doesn't make it any less his problem. But he's not going to argue with her.]

So, let me try to understand what you were doing disposing of that drill?

No.

[Sorry Leo. Even though you seem like a cool guy, she's not opening up to anyone that easily. Give her time, though, and soon enough she will.]

I have my reasons for what I do. That's all anyone needs to know.

Suit yourself.

[He shrugs.]

But if you ever want to tell me, I'm here.

[Nanaki is all too happy to leave it at that, and she leaves Leo sitting there without another word. In fact, she doesn't talk to him for several days after that, choosing instead to avoid the Hephaestus cabin in general and focus on other things.

But as much as she tries to avoid it, what Leo said to her keeps sticking in her mind, and she finds herself more and more interested in the boy.

Okay, maybe 'interested' isn't the best word for that. She's definitely curious about him, but not so much that she approaches him about it. Not right away, at least. She watches from afar, seeing how he interacts with others, and it picks at her curiosity even more.

Eventually her curiosity gets the better of her, and she finally gives in. About a week after the previous incident, Nanaki finally approaches him, though she tries to do it without drawing too much attention to herself. She doesn't want anyone else in camp listening in on their conversation.

She chooses to approach him after dinner, when everyone is done eating and going back to their own things but before Leo gets too far away.]

Got a moment?

[Leo hasn't been oblivious to the way Nanaki's gaze kept falling on him over the last week. He'd catch a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eye here and there, but he'd always bide his time waiting for her to approach. He was worried if he looked directly at her whenever he caught her staring that she'd run away. But she seemed to do that anyway because a moment or two later he'd look up and she'd be gone.

So when she calls out to him a week later after dinner, he's a little surprised. He smiles as he greets her.]

Yeah, if you don't mind walking down to Bunker 9 with me.

[She is a cautious one, that's all. She's been chased out of towns for her powers, she doesn't want to get chased out of camp too.]

Alright, let's walk.

[She waits until they're walking to speak again.]

You're different from the other campers.

[He raises an eyebrow at the comment.]

What do you mean? Because of my fire thing?

iyaa nanaki-sama so bold~

[SO.

THIS IS A THING THAT'S HAPPENING.]

Hey, Banjou?

That too, but I meant in how you act. You're not...

[Give her a moment she needs to think of the right word for it.]

...judgmental? You listen to people.

Well... I get judged a lot, so I try not to do it to others...

[He doesn't add that he judges himself more than anyone else probably did/does/]

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