The Green Shell

Brown eyes looked into green eyes as Perseus paused with his answer. He still felt conflicted about whether or not he should go along with the idea. Honestly, he wanted to but the leader in him felt hesitant still. Not feeling entirely sure, his lips pressed into a thin line as he continued to think on it. Glancing back up at Cephalus, he saw the regret and worry start to sink into those green depths. A frown showed on his lips now as Perseus began to feel bad for making such emotions display in those sea-colored eyes.

"Fine, we can go." A sigh left his lips as the feelings of a leader and my stubbornness on the situation diminished. Surely, nothing could go wrong while we're out, right?

Excitement bubbled up into those green eyes, making them as bright as the sea water's surface in the morning. Perseus felt his eyes widened immensely at the beauty shining in those green eyes. He didn't think he was going to regret this decision now that Cephalus gave an expression like that. How could he be upset about agreeing to this?

Shaking his head, he turned away from Cephalus to hide the heat flowing onto his face when he realized he was staring at Cephalus for what seemed like an unreasonably long time. The blonde could only hope that Cephalus didn't notice this peculiar behavior. Honestly, it didn't seem like he noticed since he didn't ask about why he was staring.

Letting out another sigh, he moved towards the door and then glanced at Cephalus as he cleared his throat. The darker haired male seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Maybe that's why Cephalus didn't question Perseus staring at him. Dawn had already slipped by as it was bright enough to possibly walk along the beach without any troubles with the villagers. "Come on." A simple statement left his lips to catch Cephalus's attention and away from his thoughts. Sometimes, Perseus noticed that thoughtful expression on the other's face and would find himself wondering what was going on in his head that would have him become so rooted in his position.

Cephalus didn't seem to realize that he had drowned himself in his thoughts after Perseus accepted his invitation to go out with him. Not expecting to get that far, it was a surprising and welcomed accomplishment as Cephalus wanted to make the most of this opportunity. Doubting he'd get another chance like this, it was more of a matter of thinking of what they could do. He looked at Perseus, realizing that Perseus had already had an idea on where they could go. Giving a slow nod, he followed Perseus out of the house.

Thoughtfully, Perseus couldn't bring himself to look at Cephalus. He kept his head turned away from the male throughout most of the walk to the beach. Feeling the butterflies flutter around inside and his face flushing with heat had caught the younger male off guard. Why did he act like they were courting each other? Obviously, that isn't the case in this situation but he couldn't help but feel like the air around them was a bit intimate. At this point, he almost regretted sending Damon away. Even if it was necessary for him to send Damon away, being alone with Cephalus like this was intimidating.

Knowing next to nothing about romance made him a bit uncomfortable with this situation but a minuscule part of him felt hopeful about it as well. Why he still couldn't bring himself to figure out. He has only known Cephalus for less than a day if you don't count the fact of them sleeping. When Damon asked for advice on approaching and courting Athena, Perseus was at an extreme loss since he has never really felt these feelings before. He did his best to provide his best friend some sort of advice and comfort regardless of that.

Running a hand through his hair, Perseus took a moment to glance up at Cephalus and admire his toned features. Definitely, he was built like a guard for the royal court of Rhodes so the story that Cephalus provided was very possible. With how the male acted, he didn't believe this rumor that Cephalus tried to kill someone. Perseus could already tell that Cephalus was a person that was noble, protective, and considerate. Regardless of the incident that happened between Damon and Cephalus, he seemed very level-headed in the situation. Meanwhile, Damon looked like he could have punched Cephalus simply because Perseus had told him to go to his wife instead of letting him stay longer.

Truly, he doubted that Cephalus was capable of killing an innocent person. Regardless, that didn't explain how Cephalus got the stab wound on his side. Perseus had a feeling that whoever started this rumor may have been the same person that stabbed Cephalus. He might have to keep an eye out when the court comes to Dasia from Rhodes. Maybe he'll get some answers to the questions he has by then. It wasn't surprising to gain enemies in Rhodes as the people in Rhodes were described to be more greedy than the average person. So if Cephalus made enemies, they wanted something out of Cephalus's disappearance.

"I have a random question." The first to break the silence between them was Cephalus. He looked rather embarrassed and it made Perseus a bit worried about the question that Cephalus wanted to ask. "Are you... seeing anyone? I mean, courting or maybe a wife or husband, maybe?" Slowly, the words came out of Cephalus as his gaze darted everywhere but to the person in question.

Heat flushed his face once more as lips opened and closed. Oh, how could someone ask about that unless they were actually interested? "No, I'm not seeing anyone... you?" An awkward cough left his lips as he found himself pausing. The beach was in view now but his legs couldn't bring himself to move after he asked. He felt nervous for reasons he was still trying to figure out. Similarly, he was also trying to figure out why he was so flustered around this guy.

"No... The heiress in the royal court was meant to be my wife due to an arrangement with our parents a couple of years ago but we managed to get out of it since... well... she wanted to court someone else. Don't get me wrong, I am glad since we've known each since we were kids and she strongly disliked that we were arranged to be together when she's not even into, well, you know. We saw each other as siblings so it would have been awkward if we did end up courting each other." He tilted his head as he didn't want to get into much detail on that but Perseus understood. He felt the same way about Damon so he would have found it awkward if he were to end up in an arrangement with him. Oddly though, Perseus felt relieved by his answer.

They continued walking once more, but this time they stayed silent for the rest of the walk towards the beach. Perseus knelt down and started to comb his fingers through the sand, looking for any shells. "I've always liked looking for shells along the beach. It's a weird hobby I have since I love collecting the colorful shells. The shells that are brightly and vividly colored seem to appeal to me more than the other shells on the beach. I'm always drawn to these kinds of colors. I don't exactly have a favorite color but if I were to pick a favorite color, it would be green." He hummed as he picked up a peach-colored shell, flipping it as he looked over each ridge with a fond expression.

After a few moments, Cephalus had knelt down and started to comb through the sand. He looked as if something had caught his eye. Which, something did and it caught Perseus's eyes when he pulled it out of the sand carefully. It was a beautiful, sea green shell with ripples of white and lighter shades of green. Carefully dusting off the shell, Cephalus examined the shell in awe. Obviously enough, Cephalus has never had time to really get to the beaches of Rhodes to admire the shells. Being able to experience this was something new to him and it was amazing to witness what lay hidden under the sand.

Cephalus couldn't bring himself to keep such a beautiful shell after having heard Perseus explain that his favorite color is green. He turned and held it out for Perseus to take from him. What surprised him was the fact that Perseus placed his hands over the shell but pushed it back into Cephalus's hand. He gave a faint smile before tilting his head. "Keep it, maybe we can make it into a necklace when we get back. It goes with your eyes and you found it. I wouldn't feel right in taking it from you. Maybe it can be a souvenir when you have to go back to Rhodes."

Another hand found itself on Perseus's hand, enclosing his hands carefully. "What if I don't want to go back to Rhodes? What if I want to stay here?" The questions took Perseus by surprise as he stared at Cephalus with wide eyes. There was a look in Cephalus's eyes that he couldn't quite place but it removed the air from his lungs, leaving him breathless. There was only one question that flashed through his mind at these questions but he couldn't find his voice to tell him.

Why...?