reflection ● jason grace

This might be a mistake

 "Sometimes I think Leila sends me on these trips to get rid of me," Daria muttered.

She and Michael were on a scouting mission, with no clear objective in mind. Today, they were in the outskirts of New Jersey, one of the ghost towns they often stumbled upon. Daria still liked to travel by foot, and Michael didn't seem to care one way or another.

"You say that like you're not the one who volunteers to go on them," Michael pointed out, pulling out his jacket from his backpack. The small article of storage was the only thing either of them carried, surviving off the kindness of strangers and retired legionnaires. It was nearly dusk now, they were getting ready to retire in one of the empty (and hopefully not haunted) two-stories.

Over the last two months, the two had gotten close – even closer than before. Obviously, it was a product of having no one else to talk to, but Daria liked to think it was because they were so similar. After the Senate made her resign (the most embarrassing thing Daria had ever had to do), Michael was the natural choice for centurion. Even Daria couldn't argue with the idea.

The First Cohort, it seemed, had other plans.

Michael refused to take the position. The legionnaires of the First Cohort adamantly told Leila and the other Senators where they could stick Daria's resignation. After all, if a certain someone hadn't gotten demoted for getting his friends killed on the battlefield, then why should saving someone have the opposite effect?

She hadn't thought about that point until Marcus had brought it up, but it left her as well as others at a loss for argument.

So now, there just...was no primus pilus. Octavian was the only titled centurion, and even he was hesitant about it. The First Cohort stuck together, even as the others scoffed.

"Yeah well," she shrugged, bumping his shoulder. "I get a vacation away from hell and get to spend time with you alone. Win-win, really."

Oh yeah, another thing. Michael Kahale. No, not just Michael Kahale, but Michael Kahale.

Since December, the guy'd had a bit of a growth spurt. Well, that was an understatement. The son of Venus had always towered over Daria (but most people did), and he had always been muscular. But now, there was something different about him.

He was fun, and Daria liked to have fun. She liked to have someone tease her back, unlike Reyna who was always too soft around her. Unlike the others that Daria flirted with that were too intimidated or too boring.

And, he was a good distraction from Jason. Turns out that school girl crush was a little more than that.

He raised his eyebrows. "That's cute, Daria. Really cute."

Grinning, she winked at him as she entered the house. It was extremely dusty and Daria fought the urge to sneeze.

"I say we head back tomorrow," Michael said, dusting off one of the couches. "We've got all the information out there."

"Plus, it's almost your birthday," Daria pointed out cheekily. "15 years. That's gotta count for something."

Michael groaned. "What? Another reminder that I'm the youngest out of all of you?"

Daria sat next to him. "If it's any consolation, you don't look like it."

He smirked as Daria leaned into him, putting most of her weight on his shoulder. Her hair was shorter now, less of a responsibility. But she knew that wasn't the only thing about her that had changed. All of it of her own making.

"That's what I said to you when we first met," Michael recalled, shifting his body to face her. "Though, I must say, you look much prettier now."

"Thanks?" She asked, looking up at him. "Was that a compliment?"

A lazily confident expression crossed his face. "It's anything you want it to be." There was something in his eyes when he looked at her, something that she saw every night for the last couple of days, but this time. This time, he was leaning in to...

Fun. Daria thought, remaining unmoving. Her breath caught, and even with all the flirting and shared glances, she honestly couldn't believe she was about to do this, so, at the last second, she jerked away.

"Look, Michael," she said, forcing herself to make eye contact with him. His arm was still resting near her stomach and she could feel the heat from it, his hand roughened by years of training. He didn't look upset, but determined. Daria knew this wasn't going to be easy.

"Michael," she repeated. "I just broke up with Reyna and-"

"Oh please," he scoffed. "Reyna's in love with you, you are not in love with her."

Somehow, it sounded like something more than wishful thinking. As the sunlight dimmed around them, Michael's brown eyes were bright and certain. It was a First Cohort characteristic, the assurity that what you wanted to happen would.

"How would you know that?" She asked him, leaning away from him and still entangled in his warmth at the same time.

"I'm the son of Venus," he reminded her. "I know more about your feelings than you do. So I know you're in love with Jason, which, by the way is a stupid decision, he's not even your type. Anyway, I like you, and I'm telling you to have a little fun."

She laughed in a little bit of disbelief. "You're crazy." She didn't tear her eyes away from him. "You know that right? That you sound insane?"

"What I'm trying to say, Daria," his voice was firm and rough. "Is that I really don't mind having my heart broken by you."

Daria inhaled sharply. Maybe being the son of Venus really did tell him things, because Daria would never be in love with Michael, but he said things like that, poetic things, and Daria's heart beat faster. She wasn't in love with Michael, but dammit if he wasn't extremely attractive.

"Our friendship-"

"Dakota and Clara are practically together," he pointed out. "You and Reyna already dated. Nathan's kissed pretty much everybody by now."

"And Reyna hates me," Daria retorted. It wasn't something she liked to think about, especially since she respected the daughter of Bellona so much. Though, she was part of the reason she had volunteered for this quest. She and Leila and Jason.

"Nobody hates you, Dars," Michael said sincerely, much more sympathetic than Jason would've been. Though, this really wasn't the time to be thinking about Jason.

Daria sighed. "Kahale, I swear to god if you end up ruining our friendship with this..."

He grinned arrogantly. "What? Something that was three years in the making?" Daria could feel the laugh rumble through him. "Sure, Daria. If we end up hating each other you have permission to kick my ass."

She didn't respond, thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong while also feeling her willpower resolving.

"Oh, come on," Michael whined. "You think I'm hot, we both know it."

She snickered. "You sound so desperate right now."

"You've been flirting with me for two months!"

"Three years in the making," she muttered to herself. Would making Jason jealous be a good idea? She couldn't think of any more objections. Maybe, she just didn't want to. "Fine," she said, inching closer. "Kiss me."

Oooh! I'm out today so no incorrect quote sorry :/ 

What do y'all think of Michael and Dars?

-M