One Less Enemy

It had been a few weeks since the arrival of Camp Jupiter, and they were getting ready for their first game of Capture the Flag. The teams were somewhat evenly distributed, with Athena kids on one side, and Ares/Mars campers on the other. Rachel and Octavian were placed on the red team with Athena, who's team was lacking on members. They were alone on defense, something that Drew had wanted, despite the fact that everyone knew of the feelings that both of them had for each other.

Rachel stood there, trying to adjust her armor. The straps were far too tight, and she felt uncomfortable in the heavy metal. Octavian stood on the other side of the flag, but when he heard her fiddling, he went over to help. In a few minutes the armor's last strap was loosened, and Octavian's hand rested on Rachel's stomach a bit longer than necessary. The shell was sounded, and Octavian, blushed, dropped his hand and walked back over to his side of the flag. Several minutes later, there came a quiet brushing sound, and a few Ares kids came through the line of trees surrounding the flag. Rachel raised her dagger, and Octavian drew his sword. They clashed and hit, but the Ares campers retreated for another wave of attack, this time with almost a dozen more campers. Rachel knew they were hopelessly outnumbered, but continued to swipe with her foot-long dagger. Somehow, on a twist of fate, the two were able to defeat the campers. They turned around, now standing face-to-face.
"Well, that was close," Rachel stated, burning hot from her exertion and being within such close proximity of Octavian. Her heart ached for him.
"Yeah," Octavian agreed, resisting the impulse to kiss her fiercely. Their narrow victory was suddenly the most important thing in the world.

The conch sounded, signaling the end of the game. Rachel slumped with relief against a tree, her fiery red curls bouncing down. Octavian couldn't help but stare at her eyes, their cool, dark green perfectly contrasting her pale skin and freckles. He heard cheering farther away, from the red team as they paraded around with their flag. The two were alone, "Thank goodness," thought Rachel, as her breath slowed, and her eyes were drawn to Octavian's. His eyes met her's, and then suddenly he had dove in for a sweet, passionate kiss, pushing Rachel's back against the tree, and gripping her thighs. Rachel, slightly astonished by this turn of events, kissed back even harder, twirling her fingers through his soft, thin hair. His grip tightened, and Rachel's fingers slowly ran up and down his back, under the armor. Octavian suddenly drew up for air, and Rachel dropped back against the tree trunk with a soft sigh.
"We should probably head back now," Rachel said.
"Yeah. That would be a good idea," Octavian answered, somewhat dreamily. Rachel laughed, and pecked him on the cheek before going over to the flag, balling it up under her arm, and walking away.

Octavian slowly touched his cheek, then jumped up, and began heading out of the forest.

Reyna watched Rachel walk out of the forest, practically skipping, her face flushed red and blushing. The flag was under her arm. Octavian strolled out a few minutes after that, his eyes wide, but his face the usual neutral appearance. It was still amazing her how Octavian had turned from scowling person to happy, dreamy person in a few days. Of course she'd seen the eyes he and Rachel made at each other; she wasn't blind. He'd just changed so quickly.

Drew noticed Rachel and Octavian coming out of the forest late, well after they winning red team had gone of to the Pavilion to properly celebrate. She'd instructed that everyone stay away from the 'happy couple' as she'd put it, and act natural. Looks like she'd done well for the two of them, because they were standing closer together, and Octavian had some paint on his hands that matched that of Rachel's jeans. Drew quietly congratulated herself as she went to the Pavilion for some food.

Notes

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