InsaneJournal

Current mood:	awake
Entry tags:	anteros, erato, ~complete

log; anteros and erato
Characters: Andrew/Anteros (avengedlove) & Harper/Erato (writinglove)
Date/Time: 06/08, afternoon
Location: Garden of Eatin'
Rating: PG
Warnings: None
Summary: Harper and Andrew finally have that date...


It had taken Harper awhile to get back to Andrew about the date. Harper may come across as a confident woman on the network, but she had a mass of insecurities bubbling behind that facade, particularly in regards to her writing. It was rare for her to tell people about her other life as a romance writer, especially not people who were relative strangers. But Sam's encouragement - and seeing what he was like in person on the bikini shopping expedition had given her a rare moment of daring, so she'd actually made the call. He'd agreed not to reveal her true identity on air, so she'd suggested they have lunch at Garden of Eatin' - something casual, but she did enjoy the food there. And they were unlikely to run into too many they knew there.

Harper had ended up being there early - worried about being late, and making a bad impression, she'd left herself more time than needed to get to the cafe. She'd dressed carefully for the occasion, blue jeans tucked into knee high tan leather boots, a cute pink top and her hair in a complicated mess of braids. She let the waiter seat her, letting him know who she was waiting for, and who he'd be expecting to see. She nursed a glass of water as she waited nervously. This could potentially go very badly.

~*~

The longer it took for 'Rachel' to call regarding their impending date, the more convinced Andrew was getting that the woman who had called into his show was an imposter. It wouldn't be the first time someone had pulled one over on him, and probably wouldn't be the last, but it was annoying as he had gotten his hopes up. When he finally did get the call, and found out the truth, Andrew readily agreed to whatever terms she offered. He liked Harper; not only was she one of the muses and a sister to Sam, but she was confident, sassy, and seemed very no-nonsense; the fact that she was a hottie was a bonus. When she suggested lunch at the Garden of Eatin' he was slightly bugged by the casual location and what it implied, but by the time the actual date came around he'd resolved to make the best of it.

Andrew was punctual - arriving five minutes early to leave himself some time to relax. He'd dressed in an upgraded version of his usual sartorial favorites - a dark blue button-down shirt over a gray t-shirt, fitted jeans, his favorite fedora, and the hipster-appropriate glasses he wore out of necessity - taking a moment to observe Harper before letting the waiter guide him to her table. A smile was on his face as he approached, nodding slightly as he sat down. "Hello, I hope I didn't keep you waiting. You look nice," he said by way of an introduction, suddenly wishing he'd dressed nicer.

~*~

"Not at all," Harper said with a warm smile, doing her best to hide her nervousness. She certainly wasn't feeling very confident at the moment - a million worries were flying through her head as she watched him sit. It was just a date, it was silly to be this nervous, but there weren't too many people who knew she was a writer - and those that did, she knew well. Outside of her sisters, the only person she'd told was Aidan, offering the knowledge in an attempt to build a bridge after their break-up. She was still waiting for - well, something. She knew what the general public thought of romance novels, and even though she was one of the best of the genres, it was still... awkward.

"You look pretty great yourself," she continued, after taking a moment to look him over. Harper appreciated a snappy dresser, and Andrew certainly didn't disappoint. She found herself hoping the date did go well - she'd been enjoying their banter over the network more than she liked to admit, and he came with such a stirling recommendation from Sam.

~*~

"I would have been here sooner but I had to stop by the station to pick up something," Andrew revealed, pulling out his wallet and flicking it open to show off the corporate credit card he'd been given. "Order what you want, the sky's the limit, since the powers that be want to pick up the date." He was aware that as per their agreement the most he'd be discussing on his show would be general things and nothing specific, however he and the producers were sure that there would be some interesting conversation that might somehow translate well to a very non-specific story. "And believe me, I hate to turn a date into business, but I do have a few questions for Rachel that I've been asked to try and sneak in here if that's alright with you. Just the basics, like how long have you been writing and how did you get started, but it's up to you as to when we get those out of the way."

He wanted to be up front with her, considering she had trusted him with her secret. Andrew prided himself on being someone worth opening up to, and Harper had already proven to be someone he wanted to get to know better. Completely out of his league despite the oddly encouraging looks Sam had been throwing his way during the bikini shopping adventure, but still someone who he wouldn't mind being friends with. He refused to think there was a possibility of them being anything more. "So, do you eat here often, and if so what do you recommend?"

~*~

"That's fine, really. This is what I get for calling in." Harper smiled broadly suddenly, seemingly amused by herself. "My publicist has been having something of a fit. She's been trying to get me to do interviews for years." Andrew had landed himself something of an exclusive here. A somewhat proper interview with Rachel Groves, mysterious and illusive writer. Ever since she'd called him for the date she'd been trying to work out what she wanted to say, how much she wanted to reveal. 'I'm a reincarnated muse' might go down fine in Montenegro, but in the outside world? Perhaps less so.

Turning her attention to the menu, she paused to think about recommendations. This was one place she frequented often, and she'd tried nearly everything on the menu. "All of the salads are fantastic," she began. "But I think my favorite might be the lasagna. It's pretty spectacular."

~*~

"You're a real trooper, Harper. I promise this will be quick and painless." Andrew smiled at the amusement on her face, pleased to think he might have caused it. "Sounds like you need a better publicist, or to just do your own publicity." Andrew wasn't going to push his luck by pointing out that one of her sisters could probably help her with the more day to day things that a publicist would normally handle, and she most likely wouldn't even need to pay one of them, he was just going to be mildly thrilled that she seemed to have no problem answering a few questions. This way, he'd have something to talk about on the radio show. Which reminded him. "You know, if you wanted to come on the show to answer the questions we can arrange something."

Picking up the menu, he looked over the salads for a moment, thankful that he didn't open his mouth to mention he was in the mood for something more substantial than salad. "Lasagna, huh? It's been a while since I've had a good lasagna, so I guess I'll get that."

~*~

"One step at a time," Harper said with a laugh. "This is the first official interview I've given. You'll have to take it easy on me." Truth be told, Harper stayed out of the process as much as possible once she'd sent the book off to her editor. She made the necessary changes, she glanced at cover art, but once the book was out of her hands, she didn't really want to know about it any more. She wrote because she had to, not because she enjoyed it. She agreed to this interview more because she was interested in getting to know Andrew, not because she wanted the publicity. She just hoped it wouldn't open the floodgates.

"You won't regret it," Harper promised, getting the attention of the waiter who came over and took their orders. She ordered rice balls with a tomato relish, with a garden salad on the side to go with it. Once the waiter left with their orders, Harper leaned forward, propping her chin in her hand and focusing on Andrew.

"So, Dr Hart," she said with a playful smile on her face, batting her eyelashes at him in an exaggerated manner. "What's your first question?"

~*~

"Is it? Then I guess it's good that I live in fear of upsetting Sam and giving her reason to tap dance all over me," Andrew laughed, grinning ruefully. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle." He realized how sketchy that sounded but figured she'd know a joke when she heard one, and since she seemed to have a good sense of humour Andrew wasn't going to stress about it. "It's just the typical rundown, how did you get into writing-type questions. My producer knows I wouldn't ask anything too personal." And it was true; he had too much respect for both her and his listeners to play armchair psychologist.

As they placed their orders, Andrew found himself admiring the confidence she exuded. She was something of a contradiction, coming off like she was open to anything while keeping herself closed off when it came to those aspects of her life that made her who she was. It was strange to him that she would want to hide that she was a writer when it was his understanding that muses enjoyed being appreciated for their contributions to the world, but then again what did he know?

"Please, call me Andrew, no need for formality among friends," he demurred. "First question, when did you decide to get into writing, and what drew you to mommy porn? Or, I suppose, romance?"

~*~

"I'm fairly sure upsetting Sam ranks up there with kicking puppies and proclaiming you don't believe in fairies." She smiled fondly. The other muses - her sisters - had brought her out of her shell in a way she hadn't thought anyone would. And she loved them all the more for it.

"I didn't really... decide," Harper admitted. She paused for a moment, thinking back to what it had been like to first start writing. It had been a compulsion, an obsession, something she just had to do. She'd never been able to shake that, that driving need to put pen to paper. "I'll tell you a little secret, so you can understand my story better. You already know I'm a muse. More specifically, I'm Erato, the muse of erotic poetry and mimic imitation. Romance is what I'm inspired to write." She shrugged gracefully, leaning back in her seat.

"I've been writing since my senior year of high school. And I've yet to shake the urge to write." Though part of her would like to. Or at least for it to stop consuming and destroying her life as often as it did. "And people seem to enjoy my writing. Who am I to take that away from the world?"

~*~

"Or Santa Claus," he returned smoothly, hand coming up to rub his chin. "Actually, she might still believe in Santa Claus." He didn't believe that, but he wouldn't be surprised if that turned out to be true. Sam always did have that whimsical vibe to her. It was part of what made her who she was.

"That... makes a lot of sense," Andrew said, thinking over some of their past interactions. "I got into advice giving on relationships because I'm Anteros." He paused, apology already prepared. "And yes, I know that Eros has been around up to his usual shenanigans, and while he's my brother be assured that I don't support that. I do support the idea of love, but only in situations where both people are on the same page. It's why I can't stand Narcissus, and why I've always avoided Zeus and most of the Olympians for that matter."

"It's good that you have an outlet, then, which is what I should have said to begin with as opposed to launching into a long-winded explanation about myself." He smiled, nodding slightly. "I enjoyed your writing, although I must admit your books wouldn't be my first choice for a serious read."

~*~

Harper laughed fondly at the comment about Sam, agreeing. She was terribly fond of her sister-muse, and she adored just about everything about her.

"You don't have to apologise for him," Harper replied with a smile. "He made his choices, and while they're not ones I would have made either, he... had good intentions. My only concern is my friends got hurt in the process." She shrugged. "Lord knows our lives aren't exactly simple, with this whole... reincarnation thing going on. It's inevitable our powers are going to make things worse."

She smiled ruefully at his last comment, taking a sip of her water before she responded. "To be honest, I don't actually read romance novels myself. I never have. I wasn't even much of a writer before I was inspired by the muse."

~*~

Andrew was glad that his comment about Sam earned him a laugh, since he wasn't sure what he'd do if she'd gotten offended on behalf of her sister-muse.

"Sometimes, although I was younger than him before, I feel like I should apologise for his actions," Andrew explained, shrugging. "Besides, you know what they say about good intentions. It's never easy when our friends get hurt by someone using their abilities and we know there's nothing we can do. I barely use my because of that." The only one that seemed to get any use was the avenger-based one.

He raised his eyebrows at her response, finding it funny that she didn't even read the genre she wrote. "Is that so? Are you saying that I went through the trouble of reading your book so I could give it a fair review and discuss it with you when it's not even something you'd buy if you saw it in the store?"

~*~

"I only have the one power, which is..." She shrugged. "I'm usually the only one who gets hurt by that. Which is a good thing, I suppose." Sure, other people had been hurt because of her behaviour, but that was on her more than anything. Maybe there was a better way for her to handle her bouts of writing, but she wasn't sure what it was.

"I'm not much of a reader," she said with a shrug. "I was a cheerleader at high school. I spent more time worrying about my hair than reading anything. And now..." She shrugged again. "You said yourself you enjoyed my writing. It takes me longer to write a book than it does someone to read it, so..." Harper was starting to realise really how much of an odd contradiction she was without the full story - perhaps with the whole story, she'd seem just as odd.

~*~

Her brief mention of her power, but obvious unwillingness to talk about it, gave him pause. "It's never a good thing when someone gets hurt by powers, no matter who's powers they are," he said, his tone indicating that he genuinely believed his words. He was the type who wished there was some sort of magical third option in any given situation that meant nobody got hurt.

"What does being a cheerleader in high school have to do with how much you read?" He didn't understand the connection, but figured that combined with the hair comment meant she was attempting to indicate she wasn't the most erudite or scholarly of people, which was a little silly in his opinion. "Oh, I'm sure it's difficult to write a full book, I've never tried but everyone I know who has made it sound tough." Andrew wondered where she was going with all this, since it almost came off like there was something she wasn't saying.

~*~

Harper paused for a long moment, looking down at the table. Andrew obviously wasn't an idiot, he wasn't exactly following her story since it made no sense. There were parts of her story she hadn't told anyone since leaving town - her sisters knew she was a writer, and some of them knew what a mess she was when she was writing. Aidan had witnessed first hand what a heinous bitch she could become when her writing was interupted. But no one knew the story of Harper before she was a writer, before Erato had consumed her life.

"If I tell you, this all has to be off the record. Strictly between you and I. It's..." She trailed off, chewing on her lower lip. She didn't know Andrew very well, but she'd messed up enough in her life being secretive. Even if nothing came from the date, he seemed like the sort of guy that would make a good friend, and she didn't have enough of them these days.

~*~

Andrew thought it best to keep quiet, nodding his agreement. Harper obviously found this difficult to talk about, and while part of him wanted to tell her it was okay and he didn't need to know, the other part was understandably curious. He knew that everyone had a past, and possibly a darker side, but most people preferred not to talk about the experiences that shaped them into who they were now. He wouldn't have blamed her if she chose not to confide in him; it wasn't like she owed him anything or even ever needed to see him again.

"I understand your hesitation, but you can trust me. I won't say anything," he assured her. Being able to keep secrets was one of the skills he was most proud of, and if Harper felt that he was worth confiding in then maybe that meant she could see him as a friend someday. He wouldn't hope for anything more than that, since friendship was as good a start as any.

~*~

Andrew thought it best to keep quiet, nodding his agreement. Harper obviously found this difficult to talk about, and while part of him wanted to tell her it was okay and he didn't need to know, the other part was understandably curious. He knew that everyone had a past, and possibly a darker side, but most people preferred not to talk about the experiences that shaped them into who they were now. He wouldn't have blamed her if she chose not to confide in him; it wasn't like she owed him anything or even ever needed to see him again.

"I understand your hesitation, but you can trust me. I won't say anything," he assured her. Being able to keep secrets was one of the skills he was most proud of, and if Harper felt that he was worth confiding in then maybe that meant she could see him as a friend someday. He wouldn't hope for anything more than that, since friendship was as good a start as any.

~*~

When Harper started speaking, Andrew found himself leaning closer, his eyes focused on her to show he truly was listening. It surprised him to hear she was from a small town, considering the worldly vibe she put forth. Same with hearing her call herself simple, when he'd easily claim she was anything but. In fact, the story sounded like something out of a movie at first, though he'd never say such a thing out loud. It was obvious this wasn't some idyllic parable, even if that's what he felt she deserved.

When she mentioned how her oh-so-perfect boyfriend dumped her when he found her poetry, the part of Andrew that was inherently Anteros flared up, his anger over this random idiots' treatment of her visible in his face even.as he attempted to mask it with a smile. There were so many questions kicking around his brain, some more appropriate to ask than others. After thinking on it, he spoke quietly. "Did you confront him, or have you seen him since?" He kept his voice calm as he uttered the questions, really wanting to as 'Do you have his last known address, so I can go punch him?' but knowing that might come off as creepy. Besides, saying that would mean revealing that he had this strange ability to kick the crap out of anyone who he knew had broken someones heart. Some people reacted oddly to hearing that.

~*~

"No," she said with a shrug. "Or at least, I tried to talk to him. But instead I ended up locking myself in my bedroom and finishing my first novel. After I graduated, my parents took me on a tour of Europe, and I haven't looked back since." She shrugged again.

"Obviously, I've grown up a little since then," she continued with a small smile. "He's probably married, drunk and has a couple of kids by now. Presuming he didn't get out like we'd planned. But there you have it. My big secret, and why I don't like talking about my past. Or my writing." There was a pause. "Well, and the fact that I typically turn into the bitch monster from hell while I am writing." Harper wasn't sure why she was telling him all of this, why he was the person she'd opened up to. But then if he pulled away, or judged her because of it, she could live with that. It would prove her right, but it would certainly hurt less than if it was someone she was close to.

~*~

"His loss, then," he said congenially. "The guy sounds like a tool, and you're better for not wasting time on him. It sounds like you moved on and made the most of things." He smiled softly.

"Thank you, I'm glad you trusted me enough to tell me all this," he murmured, almost wishing that he had a similar situation to confide in her about. He didn't though; his discovery of being a reincarnate was relatively painless, minus a few fights. He was able to keep who he was from most people other than his family, and those outside the family he told were alright with it. "As for your becoming bitchy when you write, well everyone has their creative processes, and if that helps you write then so be it." Andrew couldn't say how he'd feel if she acted like a bitch towards him, since it would depend on the situation. Maybe, if he were to experience it, he'd understand.

~*~

"You've never encountered me while writing," Harper said with a broad smile, somewhat relieved to have told someone the whole story and have it not blow up in her face. Harper had always kept her heartbreak close to her chest, and as such had not ever really gotten over it. It had formed the basis of her avoidance of relationships, and resentment of her powers. She could feel that knot of resentment loosening a little, and it was a relief.

At that point, the waiter appeared with their meals, placing the plates in front of them.

"Enjoy your meal," he said, leaving them to eat.