If I Die Young

The support of Corinne's arms around his neck was very helpful in ensuring he wasn't going to pull away. Which was good, he would now have an excuse as to why he didn't pull back. Then her lips parted. Corinne was full of surprises. He hadn't really thought about her age dilemma, but she was from some questionable times. Either she learned more than seventeen times quicker than Andrew, or he really needed to pick up a history book for once in his life.

Andrew returned the favor by parting his own lips. This was moving seriously quicker than he ever would have imagined. Granted, Andrew wasn't one to move this at all. Her breath itself wasn't warm, and it wasn't a normal sensation whatsoever. It was like some sort of literal steam formed between them. Andrew moved his hands up. There was a lot of Corinne to warm.

The whole thing felt like she was in a dream. This didn't seem real. Meet up with a boy in the forest and you end up kissing. It wasn't on the list of normal, but then again, Corinne wasn't that normal either. She could feel the heat on her body shift and she could feel it tingle and touch a lot of nerves that she enjoyed.

She could feel his lips part also, and her heart rate picked up instantly. It wasn't long before they ended up in a steamy make out session. Literally. Rinne had forgotten about the part where her skin was cold, really cold, but that didn't stop her. What did eventually make her pull away just a little bit, was to catch her breath. Her breaths were quick and she looked at Andrew, "So tell me, do you like crazy?"

The demigod typically was never short of words, but he was now. He was regretful when she pulled back, despite needing to breathe himself, his brain had disconnected from the fact that oxygen was a need, not a want. She was in charge for the time being. Her fingers with in his hair, and his head was controlled by her arms. For someone in such a susceptible position, Andrew was very infatuated.

Andrew didn't even remember why they were out there. She was Roman, right? A Sentry-On? He didn't even care about her title even a little bit, although somehow, it did make her slightly more attractive. He made direct eye-contact with her. Yet, discomfort didn't even touch him. He felt entirely comfortable in the shoes he was in. "Do you wanna find out?" He cooed.

This wasn't the typical behavior for Corinne. If anything her father was probably rolling around in his grave a bit that she was being so promiscuous. Well compared to the era in which she grew up in. Either way that was the last thing on her mind. She could feel his warm short breaths tickle her face a little.

When he asked her if she wanted to find out. She had never been more attracted to someone in her life. How could those simple words just trigger her so fast. If anyone asked her what she thought she was going to be doing today upon waking up, this wouldn't be the answer, but was she glad it was the answer. In about a minute she replied to him. "I do, I really do."

The moments that followed weren't short in the slightest, and yet, Andrew felt entirely comfortable and confident in what her answer would be. Netha's whereabouts hadn't even entered his mind during the waves of spontaneous passion in the heated and icy moment. He simply waited, and enjoyed the contact, then she answered. "If you insist, 'ma'am'." Andrew suggestively mentioned her title.

His hands rose, to gently push her backwards into a tree, for better support. Of course, his body never left hers. His lips returned to hers, they wouldn't be taken away so easily this time. Andrew's hands lowered. There were a lot of places to warm still, but he was in no rush.

-----

How much time had passed, Andrew couldn't say, but he knew the sun wasn't nearly that close to setting when he'd first met Corinne. He wasn't sure where Netha was, while he sat up on the edge of a clearing. And then, the answer made itself clear, when she appeared with a hare in her mouth. Maybe a jackrabbit. Not the sort of animal that wolves usually caught.

Andrew was still trying to readjust to getting back to planet Earth from the prior excitement. "Hey." Andrew apologetically waved to Netha. "Uh, missed you." He said, to the wolf. Her mouth had blood on all sides from the rabbit. "I see you made a friend."

Quite a bit of time had passed by, they were now apparently losing daylight. Corinne had just been finishing dressing herself again when she saw Netha coming back from wherever it was she had gone. The daughter of Chione began to pull brush and bark out of her hair as she took a seat next to Andrew.

She looked to Andrew, "I don't remember what we have to do, but we don't seem to have a lot of daylight left." Rinne said and looked around in the clearing. What were they supposed to do now? To be honest, her mind was still somewhere else not even on the task they had to do. Today she hadn't been pulling her weight as Centurion, but it was just a check up or something wasn't it? If that was the case, Rinne felt like they did a good enough check up.

Andrew looked towards the Roman. He wasn't exactly sure what he was feeling in the aftermath. He supposed he was simply lucky that monsters hadn't shown up. He caught contact with her eyes when she spoke to him. Yet, his brain decided to shut off, and he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers again. He wasn't sure how to feel, it wasn't natural for him. He pulled away shortly after, only leaving his hand behind her hit, to gently remove a woodchip from her hair.

He stood up without a word. He wasn't anywhere near clean anymore, dirt and dust was on him, and his clothes had secondhand shrub on them. He picked up his bow and quiver, the last thing he didn't have on him again. "Perimeter check. Apparently someone saw something out here. Just make sure it's clear and then you're good to get back to your Sentry-On duties." Andrew stepped towards Netha.

"I'll get a hare tomorrow." He muttered at her clear bragging rights. "You coming? Again?"

She felt his lips press against hers again. and she ended up in a shocked state. It didn't help her resurface from the state of mind she was in already. It was nice though, but it was also weird. Did that all just happen? What were they supposed to say now? She watched as he got up from the sititng position and mentioned the task that they were supposed to do.

"You wish." Corinne responded as she stood up and leaned over to grab her pilum and her bag. She slipped her bag onto her shoulders and carried her pilum as she took a step beside him and she looked to Netha and then Andrew. "Well, it'll be easier to do when we can see." The brunette replied as she began to take a few steps forward.

"Most I get to do for Centurion duties is morning drills, they haven't changed in over a hundred and twenty years, it's quite boring. I don't think they trust crazy girls with the cool stuff. Like hunting a girl down who had firearms."

"Pfft, 'you wish,' that's not what you were saying earlier." Andrew coyly said, turning back to give her a sly grin. "Besides, don't know why I'm the one who should be wishing it. Shouldn't it be you?" Andrew fired again. He wasn't as confident in his words as usual, he'd let Corinne passed a barrier he didn't like letting humans passed. Netha was the best exception, if you could call a wolf that.

He continued on the path behind his best friend. He'd have some explaining to do. She kept her nose to the ground. She was probably comparing the scent to Corinne because it would be closest to other Romans, which was even more uncomfortable.

"No kidding?" Andrew replied. "Yeah, that's what most people tell me. They really wanna hunt down girls with guns. Usually no guns with girls so much." He shrugged, keeping his eyes on the path ahead. "What's the story behind that?" He asked.

The demigod couldn't help but laugh at his remarks. She just shook her remarks and didn't have something to respond back to him with. "You got me there, Johnson." Rinne replied, admitting defeat. She couldn't help but notice the sun setting was rather pretty out here. It had been awhile since she got to enjoy things like this, but unfortunately she couldn't enjoy it for too long as she eyes scanned the area.

"I don't know much about it. There hasn't been a meeting on it yet, I'm sure there will be soon once there's follow up information and everything has been handled, but we do check ups to make sure nothing is there that's supposed to be. So guns for example. One thing led to another, and one of the other centurions got shot and the shooter ran off. That's all I really know." Corinne said shrugging her shoulders a bit.

"But you know, it's things like that, that are kind of exciting. Keeps you on edge. I was frozen for a hundred and twenty three years give or take. Come back and the world is massively different, but instead of getting to experience that, I get to stick to everything I knew from before." Corinne said, she could feel the bit of weight her words held. It was the first time she voiced anything like that to another person. She felt like she could just the Greek though.

Andrew wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he did understand people. As she continued to speak, he felt for her, but a sudden hope in his chest died down. He was glad he wasn't looking at her, because his expression fell. He knew Netha probably was thinking the same thing, and he was grateful that she wasn't showing her face to rub it in or console him. It was the last thing he wanted. He just kept walking.

Between her calling him 'Johnson' and her explanation of wanting to desire the present, he suddenly realized what he was to her. She just wanted a new experience, and that was the end of it. He was more hurt by how Netha was probably looking at him now, more than the act. She wasn't obligated to care for him. But the sensations he'd felt today, he was sure he'd never get them back. Still, his bet friend now felt he was unable to read situations. What would Abigail think if she was here now?

"So, you're saying you want to get shot?" Andrew questioned. He kept his eyes on the ground, looking for any tracks that didn't belong to an animal. "Careful. I know you want to live, but living too much is usually how you die."

There was a bit of silence that fell from Andrew after she spoke. She was wondering if it had to do with anything she had said. It was hard to tell. Even if it had been, was it her place to even ask him? Rinne continued to walk in silence and kept her eyes looking around off the path in case something was hiding. You never knew what was lurking out there.

Maybe speaking as much as she was to him wasn't the best idea. Maybe he didn't actually care what she had to say, maybe he just listened because he had to be there. She took a couple of deep breaths in and out to calm herself down from whatever it was she was feeling. Perhaps it was nothing. She hardly new him, for all she knew, he was generally a quiet guy.

When he spoke again she thought about it, "Well, it wouldn't be ideal, but I've never been shot before. It'd add to life experiences, but I'm not just going to chase things down for the experience. I'm not going to throw myself out there just to say I did it. I want them to be genuine moments I can look back at with some sort of fondness later in life. I just want people to stop limiting me because of the era I come from. I had a lot that back in the day, and for a bit I was starting to think some things never change, but today changed that. Today was the first day I didn't feel limited." Rinne said, and there she was going off again with her words. She felt like mentally slapping herself , but she wasn't sure that'd even help her at this point.

Andrew continued the walk, and saw tracks. Not necessarily prints, but the path of twigs just wasn't natural, someone had ran through or fought in a struggle. He let out a distinct whistle, and Netha stopped and turned to him. She sniffed the twigs and walked off path. "We got tracks." He declared to Corinne. He got caught giving her a longer stare again. She was one of the most attractive people in this world, he was convinced, and she hadn't even made an attempt on his life. All in all, he was actually lucky to get to experience anything with her.

His head still wasn't looking away from her, and suddenly he walked up to her, and grabbed her arm gently. The cool feeling against his warm hand felt blissful, as though it was the first time again. He ran his thumb against her arm. "I don't want you to get shot." Andrew said. It was a weird thing to say, but he just said it as though it was simple and a daily thing.

"You chose to come back and take on whatever that leadership position is called. Clearly some part of you must like it. You have a lot to catch up on. You might think it's all wondrous, but it isn't. Take it a day at a time, Corinne. I don't want you to get shot." He repeated.

It was only a few short moments later when Andrew halted and soon Netha did too. They eventually got a lead and began to go off the path. Maybe today Corinne would see more action than she had already gotten. Although, this was a completely different kind of action. Well honestly, who knew? She assumed there were perverts around, even today. Anything was possible. It was more likely to be something else entirely though.

Corrine was following, but she was shocked when she felt his warm hand on her arm. She looked over at him and gave a small smile to him. When he said he didn't want her to get shot. Rinne didn't know what to say at this point. What was she supposed to say. Life was so unpredictable, it was possible for her to get shot, but also not very likely.

"I came back because it was the last place I was before I was frozen. After hearing what year it was, I had nothing left anyways, so it was easier to stay and work up to a leadership role again. I don't even deserve it. There's a girl in the next highest rank who deserves the position way more than I do. She's worked for it." She said and still she didn't know why she had the urge to tell him these things, to share these things with him. She had kept all these feelings hidden deep inside of her to never be released, but here they were.

"I promise I won't get shot." She said and leaned over and gave him a peck on the lips.

The kiss was quick and then over, yet it shook Andrew's thoughts. What was best was to accept that the girl was Roman and that it just wouldn't ever work. Not to mention, his trust factor wasn't so great. Yet, he couldn't help but keep making remarks and smiles to this girl. He could tell himself he didn't trust her, but he trusted her enough to make out with her in the woods and then some. Surely, there was some level of trust. Clearly, trust that made no sense that he shouldn't have. Yet he did.

She opened up to him, which made him feel guilty for commenting on her stature earlier. "Corinne." Andrew replied. His heart rate increased, and nothing came out afterwards. It was just silence. Then more silence. "I don't know you a lot, and I don't know this other mystery person, but your people must respect you in some manner. I strongly doubt people don't see worth in you." He didn't know where this was coming from.


"You confuse me more than people with hardcore plastic surgery." Andrew finally let out. "It's like, I'm okay with hooking up. But now that we're done, I don't want to go. And I also don't want to admit it, because it makes me look like a kid, and I'm embarrassing myself in front of my best friend, but here I am." The demigod said. He finally managed to break eye contact. He was being stupid. More so than usual.

She heard her name being said by Andrew and all her thoughts halted for that moment. Rinne waited for him to say something. But silence came again and again. She was wondering if he even had something to say at this point, but then the words finally came out. His words were comforting and she gave him a small smile before she spoke up again. "It's not that I don't think they don't see worth in me, I just don't feel like I deserve my position or I'm not trusted with the other aspects of the job yet. "

The next thing he said about plastic surgery confused her. Corinne tilted her head in confusion as he said it. What was plastic surgery? Did people get plastic put on them? She had no idea. She'd have to wait and ask. The words that came next made her features soften and relax. He wasn't looking at her anymore, and so she put her pilum away for a brief moment, and she gently placed her hands on either side of his face and moved his face to look at her.

"It doesn't have to be just a hook up, it doesn't have to be over. You're not embarrassing yourself, you're fine. Shh" She said softly and she kissed him again, this time more than a peck on the lips.

"They wouldn't have given you the position if you didn't deserve it." Andrew simply said. "Then again, I only have my position because Netha won a fight for me. I don't mean like, she knocked him up, I mean he hasn't ever once been salty about it since he got back from the infirmary." Netha was the definition of loyal, and she was kind of awesome. He loved her.

If anything, at least the girl was Roman. She wouldn't be able to go back to camp and tell everyone how he was acting. Well, she could, but Romans didn't matter, they weren't part of his daily life. Although, at the present moment, he was seriously regretful that they weren't.

The kiss really shook Andrew. What was he feeling? He looked back to her, as her hands had made him. Her cold hands were one of the warmest things he'd ever felt. He dropped his bow so he had a free hand, before sliding that hand up, starting from her leg until he reached her cold neck. He couldn't help but let out a slight grin when he noticed his handy work.

"You guys do that legacy stuff, don't you? You sure you don't have any Aphrodite in you?" He asked, slightly coyly, before he leaned back in to kiss her once more. "You're making me feel all kinds of nonsense."

The way Andrew spoke sometimes, he references things she didn't really understand. "Salty about it?" She asked aloud. What was that supposed to mean? Corinne wasn't sure she understood it. Did it just mean the guy wasn't upset about it? It was still mind blowing that Netha had been around this whole time. She was glad to see Netha seemed to have a fondness for Andrew. It was rather different from what she was used to seeing. Netha used to be with hunters strictly, so seeing her with a male was different, but the two seemed to make a good pair and Rinne could tell how much he cared for Netha.

She could feel her hands warm a little while they rested on his cheeks, and she couldn't help but a smile on her face when he kissed her back and his warm hand landed on her neck. The warmth from his hand only reminded her of the warmth from his mouth on her neck earlier.

"Yeah, we have legacies. No Venus in my bloodstream, I don't need it though. I think I do fine on my own." She said with a big grin on her face and she felt his lips press against her own again before he spoke again. "You can't say you hate it though." Rinne said before her arms shifted to wrap around his neck again and she closed the space that was between them as she kissed him again.

"Sour, grouchy, angry, pissed off, upset, and more." Andrew said, listing off synonyms. Not that in his head, he classified them as synonyms. He wasn't the most advanced English speaker. Still, Andrew wasn't thinking much about English, maybe not even in English, when the gap between their bodies closed once more. He had a coy smirk on his face, and gladly accepted the kiss from the girl.

"I can say what I want." Andrew challenged playfully. He kissed her once more, then planted his other hand on her neck. He loved the cold feeling on his hands. "Right now what I want to say is that, how did someone so cold turn out to be so heated?" He asked, leaning his head back in.

He couldn't keep his lips off of her.

When she heard the words associated with salty, she nodded and decided it fit in with what her first guess was of the meaning. Corinne was more than content with that. She noticed the smirk that came upon his face as she closed the gap between them.

The next words to come out of his mouth had seemed to electrify her. She was on edge waiting for the next words that would come out of his mouth. He felt his other hand place on the other side of her neck and she could feel the warmth radiating from that hand too. Rinne was feeling all sorts of emotions at this point, and when he finally spoke again his lips were on hers again.

The daughter of Chione couldn't even pull away to answer at this point. Every time he pushed his lips to hers, she'd push back. She pulled her lips away from his ever so slightly and grinned at him. "I have to have some form of heat." Rinne replied with a playful wink, but her lips touched his again.

His hands cupped both sides of her neck, gently. Some people were into some less gentle touch there, but Andrew didn't think it was a good idea to test the idea on a stranger. Especially while things were going so well. Compromising this moment would be the dumbest thing he'd ever done. For once, he was planning on being smart. It was a working hazard.

He kept his lips on her, only coming off when she spoke, then they would go right back, without even a single moment of hesitation. Everything outside of Corinne ceased to matter in the moment. His lips clashed against hers again, in a heated moment. "I can give you all the heat you'll ever want." He suggestively mused.

She could feel the warmth of his hand on her neck. They were gentle and the touch was nice. She looked at Andrew for a moment and it felt like everything in the world stopped for just a moment. She had no other thoughts, but this.

Rinne could feel his warm lips on her cold ones and the sensation was never old. She couldn't explain it, but the next words that came out of Andrew's mouth couldn't have been any more attractive to the daughter of Chione. She immediately pressed her lips against his again and felt herself pulling herself closer to him. The moment was so heated, and she felt like getting back on task, but she couldn't pull away.

Andrew was very into the moment, and let the outside world be just that- outside. He didn't care what was going on outside of this moment. He let his hands slide down from her neck to her shoulders, and then even further down to the small of her back. Then, even more further down. She was already pressing into him, and it was very attractive. But some extra force wouldn't hurt.

Twice in a few hours? Andrew was more than happy with the results. Who would have thought stupid rants would eventually lead to this? That was some serious positive reinforcements. Talk about the absurdity of wood more, that was on the to-do list. For now, the to-do list was entirely different while he kissed Corinne more. He pressed his lips against hers with more force to challenge her own intensity.

Corinne was caught up in the heat of the moment. She was no longer in tune with her surroundings except Andrew. His warm hands sliding down her body and to her back as he also pulled her into him a bit. The feeling of his body pressed up against her was still so new to her, but she liked it. She liked it a lot.

It wasn't long before she heard it. She heard the roar of a monster and that was enough to break her out of her intimate head space and into her survival one. She pulled away from Andrew completely, "I think we found what we're looking for." She said as she took pilum out and picked up his bow and handed it to him. "You're most likely going to need this more right now, than what's in your pants."

"I could take down two monsters with what's in my pants." Andrew sheepishly said, he was salty that the monster had ruined the moment. "Hey." He said, quickly grabbing her attention. He put his free hand on her side and pecked her lips. "Raincheck, for right after we kill this peeping tom. Can't say I think he picked a bad event to peep on though." Andrew said, with a grin on his face.

Andrew took an arrow from his quiver. He supposed it was better for them to get caught while they were still equipped for the job. It's suck to have to find his pants to find his hunting knife. He notched his arrow, and aimed it down the treeline, waiting for it to come to them. He let out a loud whistle, trying to get its attention.