Kyle let go of Marina and took a step back. “Another quest?” He said with a sigh. “Last time we went on a quest, I got stabbed in the leg. You got poisoned. I still think that Hunter temporarily died. Will…Well he got out okay, but still. I’m not going another quest.” Kyle said, studying the ground. Marina cradled his face in her hands.
“I’ll be okay, Kyle. I’m going to be okay. You’re going to be okay. This is a different quest.” She said looking into his eyes. She bent his head toward hers and kissed him gently on the lips. “Come on. Follow me.” She said before taking his hand and leading him through the woods. They walked until they found a small clearing. Kyle let go of her hand and sat down on a rock and leaned up against a nearby tree. Marina sighed and sat down beside him.
“The last quest we went on…” Kyle said quietly. “I thought that you were going to die. That manticore hit you. I thought that you were going to die.” He said quietly, his voice catching. Marina gave him a small smile.
“I was just grazed.” She said, taking his hand. “I appreciate the concern, though.” She kissed him gently on the cheek.
“I know. I couldn’t stand seeing you hurt though. And when I got stabbed…” He said. His voice trailed off and his hand moved to his leg where he had a scar from the wound Eris had inflicted upon him. “The pain was so excruciating, I thought…I thought that I was going to die.”
“But you didn’t die. We took care of you.” She said, rubbing a thumb across the back of his hands.
“That’s not the point, Marina.” He said with a sigh. “As I passed out, the only thing that I could of was us. This. This…relationship. We had only just started…uh…” He said quietly. He wasn’t sure what they were. He had met her parents. They had been together for a long time. What were they? “Going together. I had my first kiss, period, probably an hour before that.” He said with a sigh and pink cheeks. “The only thing that I could think of was you. I didn’t want to die without saying goodbye, Marina. The fact that I hadn’t broke my heart. I felt awful. I could see you sobbing over me and screaming, telling Eris to stop, but I couldn’t do anything.” He said near silently, a few tears rolling down his cheeks. Marina blinked at his words.
“We’re fine. I’m fine. Sure, I was broken at you in pain. I couldn’t stand seeing you like that.” She said, painfully remembering back to the experience. “It’s bound to happen, though. We’re demigods. We were born into this kind of stuff.” She said, moving to catch his glance. “It’s part of the job description.” He said smiling lightly.
“Just because that’s what we do, doesn’t mean we have to do it. I’m not going to let you get hurt.” He said studying the ground. Marina stared at him for a second before grabbing his face and twisting it towards hers. She smiled gently before pulling him into a passionate kiss. She finally broke it and leaned her forehead on his.
“Don’t I get a choice?” She said with a small smile against his lips. Kyle seemed to be dazed. “If you won’t go then I will.” She said letting go of his face and leaning back, a defiant smile on her face. Kyle blinked before shaking his thoughts straight.
“You have a choice. I was just protecting you?” He said with a furrow in his brow. “You can’t go. If you go then I have to go.” He said, still a little confused.
“I’m going.” She said with a nod. “I’m doing it as a favor to Hunter.”
“You don’t have to do anything for Hunter. You don’t owe him anything. Neither do I.”
“Umm…Sure we do.” She said with a chuckle. “Would we have met if we hadn’t both known him? Would we have been in a situation to actually make a move to each other? Would we have been able to succeed in the quest and get you to Olympus safely without him?” She said, not letting Kyle protest, grinning the whole time. Kyle stared at her for a few moments before sighing.
“That’s not fair.” He said with a chuckle. “That can be made for almost anyone in camp.” Marina smiled and kissed his cheek.
“Deal with it.” She said as she stood up and grabbed his hand. Kyle sighed and took it. She stood him up and gave him a hug. “Thank you.” She said into his chest. “Come on. Let’s get lunch.” She said before dragging him through the woods and back to camp. They entered the mess hall and were forced to separate their grasp on each other’s hands. Both of them got in line and got food. They sat down at their respective tables and ate quickly before tossing their trays and leaving the mess hall hand-in-hand once again.
“What do you want to do?” Kyle asked giving her a nudge. Marina smiled up at him and gave his hand a squeeze.
“I don’t know. It’s up to you. What do you want to do?” She asked giving him a nudge.
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?” He asked returning her nudge.
“I’m asking you. What do you want to do?” She said, continuing his game.
“Let’s go to the arena.” He said before pulling her hand after him. Marina sighed.
“I don’t want to do that.” She said, stopping and not letting him move further. Kyle turned and looked at her with a shrug.
“You said it was up to me.” He said blinking at her. “Okay. So what do you want to do?” He said with a chuckle.
“I don’t know. What do you want to do?” She said, her bright green eyes looking up at him. He looked at her and shook his head in cluelessness. “Okay. Fine. Let’s go to Arts & Crafts.” She said with a smile. Kyle rolled his eyes and let her drag him along.