I reconsider my life choices daily when I realize I have to speak to people xD))

"Zeus is Zeus. You're a boy. That I like. Very different things." Tempe snickered, smiling at him. "Okay then. I'll keep an eye out for the obvious then. And also for the whole robot thing." She nodded, setting her head on his shoulder and lifting his hand to her lips. She pressed a light kiss to the back of his hand and settled it back down on her thigh, just happy to have someone to adore. To cuddle. To take care of. She was even happier that it was Zephyr.

She smiled faintly at his words, shifting to smile faintly at him. "Me too. And I do know what it feels like to be hollow like that- at least, I think I know, unless we're addressing two different feelings." She shrugged, tilting her head to press a light kiss against his shoulder, closing her eyes afterward.

(Speaking to people- a scary concept. I'm with you on that one lol)

-

"Very different things." Zephyr agreed, swearing he was glowing from the inside out. Yes, he reminded himself again that Tempe hadn't been LYING, but the tiny words and actions proved to him what he thought- still almost thought- impossible. She really meant it. "Yeah. The whole robot thing. Not my most prized emotional state of mind. Or not mind." He snorted quietly, gazing at the sky for a moment before glancing at her with another faint smile. Again, the little gestures. Any other day he'd rather hide from all life, but now was much different. He wanted to hide from all life except her. Honestly, if he had the ability, he'd freeze this moment in time and frame it somewhere so he could revisit it whenever he wanted to. Apart from the electricity- yes he used that descriptive word for a reason- that shot through any part of him Tempe touched, he was about ready to just konk off and pass out. Which was REALLY unusual, because he never fell asleep unless he felt perfectly safe or he was exhausted. He was not exhausted. Zephyr had never really fallen asleep around someone before unless he trusted them completely. He guessed going through the pits of Tartarus with someone built some pretty strong trust. "Yes, I was talking about that hollow feeling, but as most things I say the words had a hidden joke to them. In that case, it was a play off the joke, why didn't the skeleton cross the road? He didn't have the guts." Zephyr chuckled quietly, letting himself finally relax. He didn't have to keep worrying.

Tempe giggled softly at him, nodding. "Yeah. Not my favorite mood of yours either." She joked, simply staring at him happily for a few moments. He seemed like he was now, at least, less panicky about the whole situation. Calm. Relaxed. She settled her head back down on his shoulder and gently released his hand so she could wrap her arm around him. "Ha-ha. You're soooooooo funny, Zeph." She teased, gently rubbing her thumb across his side.

Zephyr didn't think he'd smiled this much since.. ever. His face was almost starting to hurt. It felt... unnatural. Yet right, at the same time. He was just glad, at least in this moment, right now, he could just.. be himself, with Tempe, and no one would judge him for it. He had always done an astounding job of hiding every layer of his real personality. Truthfully, Tempe had been the first person to make it through the steel to see what his mother described as, cotton candy on the inside. Smiling softly at the thought, he let his gaze flit to her again when she spoke. It wasn't hard- his gaze wanted to gravitate to her anyway. "I know. I am just hilarious." He answered with a joking haughty tone, outright choosing to ignore the sarcasm in her voice. His brain then quietly brought up another thought. He swore if he could, he'd stick a knife in his ear and scoop his brain out and replace it with a better one. Zeph stayed silent for a couple seconds, not super obviously thinking again... but it was noticeable. He stared into space for a couple seconds more before seemingly giving up on whatever was prodding his brain that time. With an almost comically tentative gesture, he shifted his own arm slightly to go around her back, and then shut off his brain so he couldn't worry about if she'd care or not.

Tempe chuckled softly at him, cuddling into him slightly. He went silent again, and she watched him as he stared off, less obviously thinking about something again. She simply waited him out, savoring the feeling of his body warmth next to her. She grinned up at him as he slid his arm around her hesitantly, closing her eyes and simply smiling enjoying him.

Zephyr stared at the moon that had risen while smiling slightly, aware of his surroundings yet still thinking- just more.. normally. Something was going right. He now just wanted to sit HERE forever, and savor every second, but soon it'd get late enough they'd be called in. He wondered what the future had in store, no matter how weird that sounded. Would they sit at this camp for a couple more long years? Would they be sent on another quest? He looked thoughtful this time instead of blank. Glancing at Tempe, he resisted a chuckle at how much she had changed. He knew, like him, she had a different exterior than interior. Just two days ago, when they were in Tartarus, she was practically biting his head off with every word. Now? He liked this much better. Quickly there was a loud call, and people started leaving the beach and the water. He glanced at Tempe before pushing himself up.

Tempe blinked at the call, unsure if she had drifted off to sleep or if she was just resting her eyes. She swiped at her eyes and stood, offering him a light grin. Once he stood, she grabbed his hand gently, his fingers folding over hers slightly. "I guess the fun is over, huh?" She joked, making her way toward where they had left their clothes. She opened her mouth to say something else when an adrupt call pulled her attention away. She blinked in surprise and turned to see Luke, jogging up- he had called her name. He looked slightly aggravated, and she suddenly realized she hadn't spoken a word to him since dinner.

"So what's with the whole sneaking off thing? I invited you out here and you didn't do so much as look at me." He frowned, glancing at Zephyr and then their interlocked hands. His eyes narrowed. "Ah, nevermind. Should've known you were leading me on- and here I was, thinking you were great." He scoffed, his face showing something like resentment. Tempe didn't like it. Before she could slip a word in edgewise, he had waved his hand dismissively and stalked off. She simply blinked after him.

Zephyr, this time, accepted the hand holding and smiling slightly. He might as well be beaming. This- everything- anything? It was all... perfect. "Yep. No more fun, ever again." He answered sarcastically, grinning a little, starting to reach for his shirt with one hand before twisting to look at Luke, his eyebrows creasing and the same thunderous look coming across his face that usually kept people away. He opened his mouth and closed it again, blinking once or twice at Luke's words. Heyyyy, he KIND OF knew that was going to happen, but Tempe had said to stop worrying. At Luke's next words his eyes widened slightly. Ouch. "He- that- you ARE great. He doesn't understand." He mumbled, his voice dropping off towards the end. "I'm sorry.. that... this is my fault." Zephyr ran a hand through his hair and pulled away slightly.

Tempe took a breath, keeping her temper in check, and then shrugged. She smiled slightly at Zephyr's reaction, tilting her head and tugging him closer when he pulled away. "If you think I'm great, that's all that matters to me. I couldn't care less about what he thinks of me." She said simply, reaching up to brush his hair out of his eyes gently. "Nothing is your fault. He's just stupid. It like being rejected and then calling that same person ugly. Obviously, not true." She chuckled, getting on her tiptoes to set a kiss on the tip of his nose. "Now don't be broody and sad. I hate when you're broody and sad. Be the happy Zephyr." She said calmly, squeezing his hand and then letting go to pull her clothes on.

Zephyr glanced back at her, his gaze a little more forlorn than before. "I DO think you're great." He answered stoutly, his eyes flitting to hers as he felt her fingers brush against his forehead. "There's a lot of things that are my fault." He answered with a faint smile, which only grew slightly more amused at her next words. "Yeah. Obviously not true." He snorted quietly, a faint pink tint coming onto his ears. "Broody and sad. Totally covers it." He rolled his eyes slightly, grabbing his shirt and tugging it on. "I'll see you tomorrow then? And- nevermind. My brain is malfunctioning."