Who: Helen and Patroclus When: Saturday afternoon Where: Private yacht off the coast of Long Beach Warnings/rating: It's Helen. Otherwise tbd.
Maybe Helen was being selfish keeping Patroclus all to herself, but she really didn't care. There was something between them his friends simply didn't understand. It didn't matter to her whether she got along with them or not. What it came down to was that she made Patroclus happy and she seemed to do a pretty good job of it. So that was that.
With this whole Greek pantheon implosion situation it Helen's first instinct to flee and find a save haven. Which was exactly what she had done. She had heard things about strange clouds and storms on the East coast, just off the coast of New York, which only made her happy they had chosen the West coast. And it was also warmer and she had spent a great deal of time on deck tanning.
Early that afternoon that's exactly where she had found herself and not long after she had fallen asleep. It was so nice having a lazy life again. Nothing to worry about but weather and if they happened to drift off to sea at least they would zap right back after a couple of weeks. Helen really didn't seem to have a care in the world right now.
Patroclus was not a bad seamen, and he could keep the boat afloat and he knew more or less where they were in the world. They only went to port when they needed supplies, which wasn't often as they stocked up when they did dock.
The water was peaceful and blue and it calmed Patroclus immensely. Being with Helen calmed him too. She was his queen and he was her warrior and he liked it that way. Not that Helen, a Spartan, needed a warrior, per se...
He looked over to her on the deck of the yacht, dozing in the sun. He stood and walked over to her, settling beside her, wondering if she would wake.
While Helen was perfectly capable of taking care of herself one thing she hadn't learned was sailing. She had been on ships how many times in her life and had never bothered to learn? It seemed silly that the woman whose abduction had launched a thousand ships would have at least sought out that knowledge. But she simply had no desire for it. She knew plenty of people and had her own ways of getting across the seas if she needed to. Why do the work when others could do it for her?
It was nice just relaxing. She hadn't thought once about going back or about the problems that awaited them. In essence she was running away, but these weren't even her problems to begin with, but she had run so often that it didn't seem natural to stay in one place for too long. At least this yacht wasn't stationary so she could stand to be on it for a while.
The sun felt wonderful and she loved being outside so often. While she was asleep she heard someone approach. In her dreams it wasn't Patroclus; she wasn't even sure what her dreams were about. They were just cluttered, blurry images. With a little groan she started to wake and just barely opened her eyes to see him. She rolled to her side, "How long have I been sleeping?" She asked still in a sleepy daze.
"An hour or two," Patroclus said with a grin. He reached out to brush his fingers down her arm and he waited to let her wake up a little more. "I thought you might bake in the sun and I would have to scrape you off the deck and carry you inside."
"I don't know what it is about the sea but it's so easy to fall asleep. I feel so lazy," she said with a little chuckle, not really caring. "Let's be glad you didn't have to do that." Waking up was the worst part of any day, no matter whether it was early in the morning or from an afternoon nap. Either way, Helen always felt so groggy and unattractive then. Finally she sat up and turned to him with a grin, "We could go for a swim. Or whatever else you want to do."
"Swim sounds nice," Patroclus said with a shrug. He leaned back, basking in the sun for a moment. "So does mixing up a few drinks and sipping them on the back of the boat with our feet in the water." He loved this yacht. He wondered if it was possible to stay forever.
Even as he wondered though, he missed Briseis and Achilles.
Helen considered the options. They could do whatever they wanted, based on the limitations of the yacht, but the point was they could choose. She watched him, "Yeah, let's do that." She stood up and held out her hands to him to help him get up, not that he needed it but it was all a game to Helen. A wonderfully seductive game.
Patroclus took her hand and he stood and pulled her close so he could kiss her gently. Then he headed towards the yacht's cabin. "Should I mix some cocktails?" Being a bartender meant he was very good at it and he always kept supplies around.
That's exactly what Helen had been hoping for, and if it hadn't panned out the way she wanted she would have taken initiative. She walked along with him and nodded, "Yes. I'd love a chocolate martini if we've got the ingredients."
"We sure do," Patroclus said, flashing a winning smile. He walked with her until they reached his makeshift bar in the cabin on the yacht. "One chocolate martini coming up." He reached for the ingredients and started mixing it up.
"How long do you think this war will go on?"
Helen returned the smile, "Great." When they reached the bar she leaned against the counter and watched him. She wondered sometimes what it would have been like had Achilles and Briseis decided to come. Helen would have been pretty miserable, to be honest.
She shrugged, "Who knows? It all depends on daddy dear. It could go on forever for all I care," she said, giving him a suggestive look. But then her expression changed into a slightly concerned one, "Am I being selfish keeping you all to myself?" Maybe it was a loaded question, but whatever answer he gave would determine Helen's next move.
"Of course not," Patroclus assured her before he started shaking her drink. "I want to be here, far away from the pantheon dramas and alone with you. It's perfect."
Helen looked relieved, "It is perfect," she said with a smile. She watched him for a moment, wondering. "Wouldn't it be nice to stay like this forever? Not on the yacht, necessarily. I mean... you and me." Helen's words always had some underlying meaning, whether for her own benefit or someone else's (but it was more often than not her own).
Patroclus had been pouring her drink when she asked that and he very nearly spilled, though he managed not to. He glanced at her when he handed it over, one eyebrow raised. "Is...that what you want?"
Helen couldn't stop from grinning and took the drink. She took a little sip. "Why else would I bring it up?" She studied his face for a moment, "You don't want that?"
"That's...not what I said," Patroclus stammered. Immediately he started to fix himself a drink too. "I just didn't know if you- I didn't know how long you would...want me."
That threw Helen off for a moment and she just stared at him in silent shock. For Helen it was only natural to assume he got these thoughts from Achilles and Briseis; they didn't like her and she honestly couldn't blame them. But she didn't focus on them because it would only show her weakness in caring what they thought. "Because of my past... not just Sparta or Troy... but the last time I left? I know I don't have the cleanest record but I am capable of love without the help of the gods."
"No-" Patroclus put down the bottle he had been pouring from, and he took gentle hold of Helen's arms. "Helen, no. I just- I have no self-esteem of my own. Of course I want you, for as long as you'll have me."
Helen felt embarrassed at her own ignorance. But then she smiled gently, "Patroclus, you really should have more self-esteem. Girls would go wild over you and I'm lucky to have you for myself. You can have me for as long as you want me. This time I have a choice and I choose you, I want you to know that."
Patroclus grinned and he leaned in to kiss her again, overjoyed to hear it. "Maybe you can teach me to have more self-esteem," he said with a smile.
Helen grinned in return, "That's something you don't learn overnight, you know. But for you, anything." Helen would make sure to compliment him more, because that seemed to do a lot for her own self-esteem.