An "innocent" fitting (archer)

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

Charlie-mack had been waiting for this day for a good long time. It wasn't the fact that she had been in too tight bronze armor for most of this year. Or the fact that it had gotten so dented in the last arena practice that she looked like a rickety old bronze trash can. It was the fact that she was about to spend some real quality time with Archer, the handsome Hephaestus son. They had hit it off really well when they had met around the camp fire a few times. She had even made him a glowing arc reactor necklace and smashed her hand with a hammer against white hot metal. It was a small consolation for it turning out great and Archer loved it. He kindda freaked out a bit after seeing the bandage on her hand. It was nice to have someone actually worry about her for a tiny bit.

She made her way to the armory. Her heart was fluttering and Charlie-mack felt a bit panicked. She didn't even feel like this when.... She shoved the thought to the back of her mind. It wasn't right to think about something like that. Not now. After her conversation with Zephyr the other day and then starting to do some special training with Chloe, she had started to feel better about herself. She had a bit more confidence. Even the talk with her older sister seemed to help her gain what she had always desperately wished that she had. Camp had really just started to agree with her.

Charlie-mack had come a tiny bit early. She had even spent time doing her hair and make up to make sure that she would look great for Archer. Though she doubted the son of Hephaestus would really and truly care. She shivered slightly as the wind blew through and chilled her. Her long sleeved sweater would have to serve for now since in a tiny bit they would step into the forge to work on this fitting. Charlie-mack peeked around the corner to see if anyone was in the forge. Surprisingly, there was no one in there. She let out a sigh of pent up anxiety. This stress was really making her chi wig out. She didn't much believe in energies or anything like that, but after her study into psychology, she did believe in trying to stay as stressless as possible. now all there was to do was to wait.

[Archer Kaplan]

Archer was wrapped up in his reflection for a little longer than usual that day as he rocked out to his newly constructed ipod's tunes in the bathroom, getting every hair perfectly in and out of place all at the same time. It was a fine art and he was determined to get it right today. Something about Charlie-mack's repeated threats to visit him in the armory or forge one of these days made him feel the need to put forth the extra effort.

Normally he would've erred on the side of practicality because dressing up and grooming for the forge really was a futile endeavor. Sweat, grease, oil, fire, and steam all made it basically impossible to keep clean and after about 10 minutes you inevitably wound up in this tunnel vision like groove of creation and superficial things like hair fell off your radar. Regardless though, a few extra minutes spent on vanity wasn't exactly a sin.

He was hardly running late when he strolled out of his apartment and made his way through the woods, absently toying with his new necklace as he vibed on his tunes. He grabbed a few pieces of toast on his way by the dining pavilion, tossing a piece into the fire as he went sending a minor prayer to his stepmother that this thing with Charlie worked out.

He was still munching away as he walked in the forge, his mind already on the job as he contemplated the idea of a rocket that separated into numerous other rockets like a swarm of bees without losing any of the destructive yield of a normal sized rocket. Oy vey chemistry was annoying so he was trying to figure out the idea based on using greek fire. Then again it might've been a bit of a stretch since testing something like that was sort of impossible inside of camp.

He wasso wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the girl as he made his way into the empty forge. With flick of his hand he sent an orb of flame into a hole near the door and within a few seconds the forge fires were heating up and the temperature was starting to rise in the room.

Sighing he settle down on a bench and waited for the station he sat at to heat up enough to be of use, slowly pumping a bellows with his foot as he flipped through hsi sketchbook of latest ideas.

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

Charlie-mack couldn't believe it. Some how he had managed to slip right past her without her notice! So quietly she slipped in to the empty forge and made her way to the handsome Hephaestus son. She noticed how good he looked, like he had put in a tiny bit of extra effort into how he looked this morning. Charlie-mack made a quick prayer to Queen Hera and Lady Aphrodite that this would be a fruitful endeavor. She could almost hear her dad in the back of her mind lecturing her on how heroes were worthless creatures that wern't worth the time of day. Sometimes she felt as if her dad's bias was a bit unfounded, but she looked at her step-mom and could see where her dad was coming from.

Charlie-mack snuck up behind Archer, gently placing her hands on his shoulders and peeked over his shoulder to see what he was working on. It looked complicated, but she was sure that it made enough sense to him. "Hey Archer. Whatcha doing?" She asked in a completely innocent tone of voice. She couldn't help but let a little smile creep up on her face as she stood there in the forge, just the two of them. Anyone else would have thought of something like this as scandelous. Charlie-mack didn't care. She had learned a long long time ago that people were notoriously bad for talking, especially the aphrodite kids. It didn't matter as long as you made sure it didn't bother you.

It was a tad bit warm here in the forge, just as she expected it to be. Charlie-mack started to shed her light sweater, feeling the warmth of the fire on her cold skin. She could apreciate the glow of the fire and the warmth that it gave off during this particularly chilly time of the year. Charlie-mack gently leaned against his work desk as she looked at him expectantly. "So, handsome, I think I'm ready for this armor fitting." She said winking at him with a mischevious look in her eye that would rival even the most devious of hermes children.

[Archer Kaplan]

Archer was fairly well engrossed in his sketches while he waited for the coals to heat up properly, so much so that the soft scuff of footsteps against the sooty floor didn't even alert him to the fact he wasn't alone. He really needed to pull his head outta the clouds but then again, this wasn't abnormal. When you were in the throes of inspiration, tunnel vision was a normal side effect.

When he felt her hands slip over his shoulders he was so surprised he jumped and his hands lit on fire all the way up to the elbow and his sketchbook caught fire for a second before he suppressed the flames.

"Holy crap PYT! You scared the crap out of me." he said putting a hand over hers on his chest, calming his heart, "I was just thinking of getting some work done on a new model of automaton but now...I'm thinking about something else."

A sly grin spread across his face as he slowly stood up and turned around looking down over the other demigod. She really was a pretty one, bouncy curls, bright smart eyes, and great taste in make up (not that she needed it).

He was just wondering why she was wearing a sweater in the forges, after all it must be warm in there for her but he couldn't tell, warm wasn't exactly relative to the children of the forge god. Then the reason became exceedingly and he felt first stupid for not figuring it out first then he was content with it as she peeled the wool over her eyes. He let his eyes wander just slightly as a sliver of milky white skin along her midriff became visible, but his eyes snapped back up before she could notices and he lifted an eyebrow at her.

"My my Ms. Charlie-Mack, might you be trying to seduce me? Don't you know I couldn't possibly be fired from my job for this?" he joked as he took a few steps across the forge to the wall of tools and supplies and with an accustomed hand, plucked a roll of measuring tape from a hook, sure to slowly pull the waist of his pants back up as his arms came back down, wondering if she was giving him the once over too.

"Well I can oblige you with that, though I hope you don't mind if I take my time to uh, get the numbers just right?"

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

It seemed that Charlie-mack must have startled up the genius at work. The sudden conflagration startled her, but she quickly put that feeling aside. She blinked, trying to clear her mind. But it was set on the wonderful and handsome weaponsmith in front of her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you go up into flames.” The poor sketchbook was singed. It gave her an idea for something that she could get him for Christmas coming up soon if she could barter for it. Charlie-mack would even pay three weeks of her fifteen drachma allowance to get him something he needed, even a little more if she could. “Automaton? What are you going to design it to look like?” Charlie-mack was curious. She wasn’t too good at doing something like that. If it wasn’t plants or making drinks or something like that, she was horrible.

But putting her curiosity about the Automaton aside, she focused on what was going on here and now. The way the coals flickered about and danced lively, surprisingly spry, their happy dance mirrored her own good mood. She noticed his wandering eyes and couldn’t help but smile. It took a whole load of will power to not do anything too rash. “me? Seducing you? I would never!” She said slyly, fanning herself as they would have done back in the day when ladies were really proper and well bred, not like the way some of them were in this day and age. As he walked over to the wall where some of the tools were kept, Charlie-mack watched his handsome backside. His muscles were strong and well placed, but he wasn’t overly brawny like many of the Ares kids in her arena classes. His shoulders were strong and solid, she could only imagine getting into a fight with him in the arena would be bad news for anyone. His hands were strong and amazing. They were rough in a different sort of way then from the normal calloused hands of other. They knew what they were doing.

Charlie-mack raised an eyebrow at the joke about him loosing his job. “Well now I wouldn’t want to put you in a strange predicament…” His voice was amazing. Charlie-mack smiled at him about the comment of taking his time to make sure the numbers were right. “Of course, gotta make sure this armor fits properly. But I’m sure you’ll do an amazing job.” Her voice was sweet and innocent in a way that some of the other people couldn’t understand. Charlie-mack had loved once before and had been hesitant to do it once again. But this time it seemed that her quick prayers to queen hera and lady Aphrodite had paid off. It seemed that they were cutting her some slack when it came to the rather tumultuous topic of love and dating. “What kind of armor do you think I should go with?”

[Archer Kaplan]

"S'alright, I should've been paying more attention anyhow. But yeah an automaton. I haven't decided what to have it look like yet. It's sort of the last thought because I gotta make the insides function first, the aesthetic is simple in the end. Any suggestions or requests?" he replied rather matter of factly, glancing at the sketches he'd laid down of the idea.


Archer's mind was busy trying to figure out just how much time he had to flirt with Charlie-Mack before the first of his siblings came barging into the forges but he couldn't really be sure. He also found himself wondering if he gave a damn. Sure a few of them would hoot and whistle but his siblings tended to be rather practical people and had better things to do than tease their older brother about what he was doing with some girl.


"Never? Really, well shucks now I'm sad. I was hoping you'd get around to trying to seduce me sometime. Guess I'll have to keep looking or was that a request for me to put in all the work?" Archer asked as he turned around raising a coy eyebrow as he sauntered back over.

Archer couldn't help but look at her as he came back over. Her hair, her curves, her choice in jewelry, even the way her clothes fit. She was practically perfect. Camp Halfblood might've had it's shortcomings but it sure knew how to put a person together.

"I'm the king of strange predicaments and awkward positions. Trust me. Alright now, arms out," he said as he stretched out the coil of tape and stepped up beside her. Then he realized he was missing a part of this whole ordeal and fished around in his pocket for a few seconds and pulled out a bronze sphere about an inch in diameter and put it down on a clean page of paper and tapped a button on top of it causing it to unfold and six spindly legs popped out and a point came out the bottom.

"Ok now you let me know if it starts to get too hot in here for you." the son of Hephaestus said quietly as he took his place behind her, his body pressed gently against hers as if it were just the natural location for him to be as he gently swept her hair to one side and with a gentle gliding touch, slid his fingertips down her shoulder to the elbow before he brought the tape up. He stood rooted to the spot like a statue, hoping she would lean against him but he wasn't going to force it.

"Well you'd originally asked for leather I seem to recall because you wanted something flexible but I could easily do a nice breastplate with a fibrous weave at the joints to maximize maneuverability and protection. Bulletproof and all that jazz and I could, with a bit of time and research I think, make the whole thing a shirt and when you say the word the metal bits could appear so it's easy to get on and off. Though I am gonna need to see you fighting a bit to see how you move and what not, just to make sure it bends in all the right places plus I could make sure all the holes in your defense get the extra protection they need. Might take a bit longer than normal, probably 10 days or so, but worth it," he whispered after thinking about it for a few seconds, taking the tape and wrapping it around her shoulder then her bicep. The way he said it made it seem like he was just mentioning this sort of thing in passing like it was a common practice.

As he worked he spoke his measurements aloud and the little spidery orb moved around and copied his words down.

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

Charlie-mack’s mind wandered over the rather tight and cute butt the handsome Hephaestus man had on him. For a fleeting moment, she wondered if they would get caught. She couldn’t help but smirk at the though, it made the moment all the more tantalizing to her. But this wasn’t like getting caught in the stables by one of the hands for the day. Then the comment of her seduction or lack there of came about. “Oh well maybe I was trying a little…” She admitted in a coy manner, batting her eyelashes at Archer without missing a beat. “Was it working? Me seducing you I mean.” She asked in a seemingly innocent but rather far from it sort of voice. She never really had done much flirting when she was hanging out with her old posiedon friend. He did most of the flirting and she never really had to go for it on her own. But this was a chance for Charlie-mack to experiment and hopefully no rebuffing from the other interested party.

He mentioned being the king of strange predicaments and awkward situations. Charlie-mack quirked an eyebrow at him, mostly in curiosity then in disbelief. She knew what sort of things he did, the particular line of work that he was in. “Some how I could find that little bit of information to be quite amusing.” Charlie-mack complied with raising her arms as he took out a tape measure to get her size. Then to her amazement, he pulled out a little spidery disk that started writing when he spoke. It was truly quite amazing. She was a huge klutz when it came to things like that, making stuff with her hands just didn’t work well with her. But in all honesty, Charlie-mack’s last endeavor at the forge ended up better then she could have expected. Despite the injuries she had obtained, all in all it was very worth it.

Archer’s gentle hands slid over her skin, they were warm to the touch of her cool skin. Everywhere he touched left her skin tingling, the excitement was like an army of ants doing the Macarena all up and down her arm. Charlie-mack closed her eyes and savored the moment, enjoying the sensation. Archer gently leaned against her back. Suddenly the realization crossed her mind. Charlie-mack suddenly became super self-conscious as she leaned against his strong chest. Her inhibitions were suddenly very real and made her nervous. But despite all of her nervous ticks and inhibitions, she turned her head into his chest and rested it there. She inhaled his scent deeply. It was a very manly scent and he wore it well. It mingled perfectly with the scent of the forge. That’s about all she could really describe it as. It smelled of fire, like the perfect bonfire with the scent of cherry wood popping and crackling and he even smelled like roasted marshmallows. A scent that she absolutely loved. “You smell amazing.” She mumbled into his chest, closing her eyes in ecstasy. “It is a bit warm, but the fire has nothing to do with it, if you know what I mean.” She chuckled and smiled up at Archer.

“You’re the designer, whatever you think is best. Maybe we SHOULD have a little tussle. For the sake of accurate armor of course.” Charlie-mack glanced up at him over her shoulder with a grin. Seizing the opportunity, she kissed him on the underside of his jawline. That was about all she could reach given her short height. “I’m sure it will be some fun.” She gently traced his chin with the tip of her finger before drawing in a little circular manner on his chest. “I’m absolutely sure that it will be worth it. As long as I get to see you again.” She leaned her head back against his chest and listened to the heart beat of the son of Hephaestus. She could only wonder if his heart was beating out of control like hers was. She was a tad bit short of breath as she was leaning against his body. “Smart, handsome and amazing, How did I get lucky?” She wondered out loud.

[Archer Kaplan]

"Yeah sure. Just a little..." he replied with a grin, clearly mocking her a tad bit.

Damn he liked this girl, there was nothing about her that he didn't like really and it was really starting to make him wonder if this was his godly step-mother's way of torturing him. Parading this young lady in front of him knowing full well he probably shouldn't be thinking of her in the way he was. It wasn't because of some sort of perceived relation or anything like that, rather it was her age. Sure back in the day, he could've done whatever he wanted and freely fallen in love with this girl but this was America there were stupid laws that got in the way telling people who and what and how they could love. It made Archer pissy just thinking about it.

He quickly rationalized that he didn't give a flying horse dick about what the law was telling him. The rights afforded him for being an american citizen were currently being violated by a government sanctioned and funded organization, so clearly the law had gone out the window.

"**** the police... he whispered to himself, though it was surely loud enough that Charlie-Mack's cute little ears could hear.

Archer couldn't help but agree with her. He'd better smell good after all the washing he'd done earlier that morning. But then again his scent in his mind, was nothing compared to hers. She reminded him of his old days at camp because she smelled like strawberries and sunshine to him, with a hint of some sort of exotic fruit. It was practically intoxicating to be honest. So much so that he'd only half been listening to her as she agreed to meet him in the arena sometime. The child of fire was only pulled out of his own head when he felt the gentle press of soft lips against his chin.

He couldn't help himself as a smile spread across his face when she leaned back into him. He felt his heart pumping in chest and was intimately aware of the rate at which he breathed, his chest heaving outward slightly every few seconds. His ears felt warm and he could practically hear the rush of blood through his veins.

This girl was different than all of the others who had come before her. Not a one compared to this demigod. Archer had traveled the world and done more than his fair share of boot knocking during it but he didn't feel like that about Charlie-Mack. It was different, like he wanted to see her happy and hold her close and stand in front of impending danger for her every day.

"Sure I'll take you on PYT. Just tell me when. Oh and Charlie?" he said quietly, as he let go of one end of the tape and let it hang from his other.

Then, with little warning he stepped to the side and sidled closer to her, bending slightly and gripping her chin lightly with thumb and forefinger, lifting it higher before placing his lips on hers for along moment, his passion present on his lips and in the air as the fires in the forges flared, beckoned hotter and larger by the power of the child of the Smith god.

Soon he pulled back and breathed deep before speaking again.

" That's how we should be kissing you know. Life's short and being nervous is stupid. It's why I prefer living it up and doing everything like we could be doing it for the last time. That's how I got amazing, I can't explain smart and handsome though," he said with a grin, his eyes glistening in the firelight.

[Charlie-Mack Jolly]

Her heart fluttered as she tried to calm her mind and relax in such an interesting situation. Never in her wildest dreams did Charlie imagine she would end up here. If they got caught, this could end up disastrously. Not to mention she wasn’t even of age just yet. Just another week or so and she would be free to do as she pleased. Not that she didn’t do that already, within reason of course, but she had to be careful to keep her nose clean and to try her best to not anger any gods or make a certain son of Hephaestus keep from being turned into a mentally challenged dolphin. That would be very bad. Oh so very bad.

However it was right here and now that she found herself in a moment, a wonderful and amazing moment that was right out of the demi-god fairy tales of finding a prince charming and a happily ever after. Charlie was beginning to think that those wouldn’t happen in this day and age. With the government being complete and utter bastards, it was frustrating to know that the once great place that she had read of in schools had now fallen far from their grace and glory. It reminded her of the nazi regime. She hoped that one day they would be able to keep themselves from being stamped and branded like common cattle. It made her frown every time she thought about it. But now was not the time to think about that.

Charlie brought her mind back to the present. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the man whom had warmly enveloped her in his arms. His scent was so wonderful. “You smell like fall, like wood smoke, a comforting fire and hot chocolate almost…. No not hot chocolate.” She took another deep breath trying to figure out what it was exactly he smelled like. “Like wood chips.” Charlie finally decided. That was such a wonderful smell. She gently closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. It was so comforting to be here in this early morning moments, the thrill of being caught at any moment by his siblings was enough to make her heart flutter. Her face flushed and she could almost guarantee that her ears were redder then the strawberries that she helped grow in the fields. She had taken the time to make sure that everything was just right this morning, so that she would make the utmost impression on Archer. Minimal make up and a spritz of a sibling magical smelling good stuff, that was all she needed to make sure that she would be just right for what may or may not happen today.

Suddenly without a warning, Charlie felt the tape measure slide down from her skin and there was a sudden surge of heat as the flames responded to Archer’s passions. The kiss was sudden and for a moment, it felt as if she was suspended in time. Everything seemed to slow to a crawl around her and she kissed him back just as passionately. Fireworks were going off in her mind and it seemed like the warmth from his body lit her up like she was a sparkler on the fourth of july. Her heart hammered like a brass band on an army parade ground and her ears hummed with a musical joy that probably only was in her own mind. Archer pulled back and left Charlie breathless.

Charlie blinked, trying to figure out what had just happened as Archer talked about living for the moment. “Your words have such a truth to them. Especially in this day and age we have to make the most of what we have right here and now. You don’t know what will happen tomorrow or even within the next hour. But I can’t imagine it being better then this moment right here. Well… I could think of something but…” Charlie’s eyes glinted in the fire light as she gave him a mischievous grin. The firelight made everything about archer seem softer. The shadows amongst his chiseled face gave him a strong look of what a greek demi-god should look like. She ran a gentle hand across his chest as she could feel the strong muscles underneath her shirt. “You make it a bit hard to exert some self control, you know that right?” She couldn’t help but laugh at herself. There was no one who made her feel in such a way as archer did. That was a good thing.

She moved her hands to slide them downwards, resting on his hips as she gently pushed at him before reciprocating his kiss. There was a sudden burst of scent, smelling strongly of strawberry blossoms and a scent that smelled strangely of a good red wine. There was a sudden surge of her dopamine flooding her brain. It was something she had learned a lot about having things having to do with the brain. It was all about the dopamine that marked certain pleasure pathways on or off. “You know the strongest thing about romantic urges have to do with scent? It can be such a powerful thing.” She said as she pushed her chest against Archer’s in a rather discrete way as she gently ran a finger over his ear. “They also say that the ears are a very sensual part of the body, second to the more well known parts of course.” Charlie gently nibbled and tugged in a sexy way on his ear. “You can learn a lot from reading books on sex therapy.” She whispered as she gently ran her hands down to his muscular and rather cute looking backside.