(no subject)

[neptune-storm.insanejournal.com]

Who: Poseidon and Amphitrite
What: Poseidon asks Amph out for a date. It's draining being a manipulative bastard that wants his wife by his side.
When: Friday night, June 10, 2011
Where: Brasserie Restaurant (French)/Private Room
Warnings: Language and banter

She'd not agreed to have him pick her up or meet her anywhere else but the restaurant he given her. He'd left work a little early to clean up and present himself better than he had the last time they'd seen each other. In just a few days time he already started to look more healthy, unlike the sickly water god who hadn't gotten any sleep.

Paying off the host to stay out of the room he'd reserved outside of ordering and delivering the food was the easy part. Now was that biting feeling inside that Amphitrite would stand him up even though he'd given her more of himself than he had in years or ever. He was albeit bitter for it, but the promise of having her where she belonged meant taking a step out as he had before. Without the help or pleads of another for his own case. Poseidon was making this effort on his own despite his better judgment that she was laughing at him for it.

The room itself was decorated with a red hue low lit, a round table and couch that curved around it. He wasn't about to let her sit at a distance. His jaw clenched as he looked down to his watch, taking a heavy swallow of wine as he waited for Amphitrite to show her pretty face.

Amphitrite once again felt that anxiety that came along with something she wasn't looking forward to. Poseidon may have shown her that he truly needed her but outside that he was still being quite the snarky jerk. There was something about it she adored and at the same time she wanted him to be gentler with her. But he still didn't seem capable of that. It was probably just a pipe dream.

She hadn't spent a long time deciding what to wear. Her wardrobe was packed full of clothes she'd bought (or Poseidon had bought) over the years. Some things she hadn't worn in years, some she wore at least once a week, and others she hadn't ever touched. Tonight she had gone with a black dress she had once worn to a gala a few years before. She looked lovely in most colors but tonight she felt in the mood for black.

It wouldn't be too far fetched to think she would stand him up. In fact, she had thought of it several times and in the cab ride she had almost told the driver to turn around or drop her off somewhere else. When she stepped out at the entrance to the restaurant and made her way inside she knew there was no turning back. She was giving Poseidon a second chance. It was up to him now to make this work.

Finding him wasn't too difficult. She just asked for him at the front and was taken to a private room where she saw him, very obviously anxiously waiting. She took a seat and offered a small smile. "Well?"

He couldn't give her everything right now, he still had his pride to hang on to, but he was making effort. He was still on bended knee in front of her feeling more stripped of his outer walls than he ever had. It was a journey he wasn't so sure he'd made the right choice in making, but he knew what was left of him without her.

The wine glass had just hit the line of his lips, it's velvety taste sliding down his throat as she approached. He may not have stood up in greeting, but there was a light in his eyes at seeing her show.

He sat the glass down as she slid into her seat. His arm rested out against the back of the couch a half smile given in amusement. "Well," his voice drawing out in that deep tone, "you didn't stand me up." He turned to face her then taking in the image she presented. That dress that hugged her curves and opened up in all the right places.

Amphitrite was a little nervous about this meeting. Not so much as the last one and not in the same way. Before she had made the mistake of meeting him at the penthouse, where anything could have happened and she wouldn't have been able to call for help. At least here they were in a public place and she had told the host to come in and tell her she had a call at a specific time if they stayed that long.

"Oh, you noticed. How observational of you." Yes, she was being sarcastic because it made her feel just a little more comfortable.

She did notice his wandering eyes and gave him a look. "As many times as you've seen me naked you could at least do me the curiosity of not trying to mentally undress me. Especially when we're trying to make things work again." The dress made her feel beautiful and she knew it drew eyes but that hadn't been the intention. "Everything depends on you this time and I can walk out that door at any moment and never come back."

"And you should know a compliment when it's given. You shouldn't have worn that dress if you didn't want me to look." She knew that as if it were dangling bait in front of him no matter how hard he pulled she'd snatch it away. She was testing him now. She should have known how defenseless he felt after opening up so wide it made his entire body hurt. He had to have something to grip. He slid in a little closer.

He sighed taking another swig of wine then pushing her glass in front of her. "Wine?" he asked pouring it in whether she said yes or no. While her eyes set to that glass he lifted a gentle hand to brush a strand of that soft hair from her cheek. A simple gesture, not lustful, just wanting.

Amphitrite just stared right back. "I heard no compliment. I only saw eyes burning holes through my dress. Besides, I was feeling in the mood for black and I haven't worn this in a long time. Read into it all you like." There had to be a reason she was being a bit defensive about this. Now she was wishing she had come in a sweater and sweat pants. The dress was a little more loose now than the first and last time she'd worn it. She had lost some weight even though she didn't need to. But for Amphitrite she didn't look sickly as Poseidon had in the last month.

She lifted the glass and took a sip. He knew she wasn't much of a drinker and this would probably be the only glass she'd have that night. She could have drank the entire bottle and still not be tipsy but she still didn't like excess alcohol.

His fingers stayed curled in her hair, eyes glued to her though she sarcastically dismissed him. He poured himself another glass downing it almost as fast as the last. He too was able to hold a fair amount of alcohol without ever feeling the effect. It was the burn down his system he craved.

"I like you in blue, but that dress suits you well." He should know, he bought it.

She let him keep his hand there but she made no move to lean in or show any sign of affection. To him it was probably dreadful that she wasn't trying to throw herself on him. But to her it was a sign that she wouldn't be taken back so easily. She was a fighter. Poseidon knew that.

She nodded in agreement, "Yes, but I'm not feeling very colorful." This all felt a little awkward. It was just strange having been gone for a month and having this reconciliation, if you wanted to call it that. She was just giving him another chance because of the sincerity he had shown. "So when do we order or have you already taken care of that?"

It did break him inside that she stayed so rigid to his touch, as if they were still strangers. This was not unlike when they returned from Greece, in a way this was worse because then she was afraid to have his hands on her. She'd experienced things that for years he'd played on innocent girls. This was her purposefully ignoring his touch to stand her own ground. He expected no less, but he wanted more.

Those fingers brushed against her cheek, eyes searching her before dropping away and settled on the back of the couch behind her. "We have things to take care of first," he said with a half-cocked grin, finishing off what was left of his wine. There may have been a deviousness to his voice but no malice in it at all. He had told her no lies when he said he had something that belonged to her.

In her mind it was the only way to get the point across that he had no power over her. That he he to learn patience. That he wouldn't always get what he wanted simply because he wanted it. They had a lot of issues they needed to settled and get past before she could trust him, and to be honest she wasn't even sure she could trust him.

"Such as?" She asked, looking at him with mingled curiosity and amusement at that hint in his tone. Whatever it she hoped it would be something to help them. Not to egg her on. Because she didn't know if she could handle that anymore. There was a certain degree of flirtation and sarcasm she could take. She couldn't be an iron queen anymore.

Poseidon had never learned the value of patience, it was part of what made him so forceful, so forward. Nothing he held onto lasted, he destroyed anything he touched, she was no different.

Something in her was different and he could feel it, not sure if he liked it or not. He'd morphed her into the cold woman she'd become, but this, this was more of the nymph he'd taken away.

Moving slightly, arm still braced behind her he dug into his coat pocket, hand clamped around the object before letting it sit on the table in front of her uncovered.

Her ring.

His own still remained.

Amphitrite was indeed turning back into that nymph he had fallen in love with. Each day was a struggle to regain back who she was, even if it would never be the same. She could never wholly be that woman again. But she would try.

Once that ring lay on the table she just stared at it, taking a sip of wine as though in contemplation. She made no move to put it on. The moment she put it on would mean she was his again and right now she didn't want that. She was allowing him to make up for his past misdeeds and that in turn would determine if she could be with him again.

Still she didn't move her hand to pick up the ring. "I'm not ready to wear that again," she said in a quiet, sincere voice and set her glass down. It wasn't her saying she wanted to fool around and get her share of men while she didn't wear a ring. She wasn't like that. She had made enough mistakes in recent months to do something so moronic. Her time with Perseus, however, was something she fully intended to keep. That would be a fun conversation.

His lips thinned to a tight line, jaw clenching against his cheek as he turned his head in annoyance giving her his profile. His hand that lay on the couch behind her tightened.

"I expect you to take it, at least," there was a strain in his voice as he kept himself from throwing the table up off the ground. She didn't have to wear it, which pained him to know, but she could take it with her. "It belongs to you." He'd had Hephaestus forge it especially for her, not just some trinket he brought home to flower her with.

The atmosphere of the room almost felt chilled. Amphitrite knew how easily angered he was and if she felt threatened at any moment she would get out of there as fast as her legs could carry her.

She said nothing immediately and instead picked up the ring. Holding it in her hand she looked down at it. Her first had been taken from her and that one she still missed; they had been through some great times together. This one was still new, young, and so far just about everything they had endured together had been terrible event after terrible event. It was also that physical symbol of matrimony she couldn't stand to wear. Not yet. The ring was set carefully on the chain she wore around her neck. "I'll wear it again, Poseidon. I'm just not ready." She looked at him fully now.

His eyes kept cast ahead of them filling his glass yet again, letting that sweet aroma of wine coat his senses. It was a distraction long enough to not force her out of the room. He wanted her there, and he would keep her there as long as he was able.

When he turned to look at her she faced him, her eyes penetrating into him in a way that made him remember the first time he'd seen her. He swallowed another good swig of wine as his head nodded in agreement, though begrudgingly.

It struck him heavy now more than ever that Perseus had had his hands all over her.