Jetta was highly annoyed. Her current favourite--well, that generally applied to any guy she had out at any given moment, so favourite is perhaps not the best word--was not cooperating with her in the slightest.

He wouldn't fall in love, dammit! It was very irritating.

And this was supposed to be a fun shopping trip, and it wasn't, because Hunter just wasn't cooperating and...

Agh!

She stalked the mall, clad in a pair of jeans that must have taken half an hour to wriggle into, they were so tight, and a flirty top that showed the best of her figure, but didn't actually show anything.

Sexy, but not skanky.

Just the way she likes it.

And, at the moment, she'd like to drive those killer heels through Hunter's head.

Stupid boy!

Her annoyance, of course, is why she was walking through the mall as if she owns it and attracting the stares of every guy she passes. She wants attention, and she's not getting the right kind from Hunter.

And as if the thought summoned him (funny how that works out, huh?), here's Hunter, as he's called today, looking beautiful. Watching her.

He seems expressionless. As she may have learned in the past weeks, that means he's amused.

He isn't moving to intercept her because guess what, he's right in her path.

Magical, isn't it?

Upon spotting Hunter, there were two things that Jetta could do.

One, she could ignore him and brush past him, as if he weren't anymore important to her than the rest of the guys giving her admiring looks. Except he wasn't, was he. Giving her admiring looks, that is.

Two, she could try, yet again, to wrap him around her little finger, like she could do with any of those other guys without hardly trying.

Three, she could slap him for being annoying. (Okay, I lied. There were more than two things she could do.)

Guess which option she went with.

"Hello, Hunter," she purred.

A small, indeciferable grin. Is he glad to see her, or admiring the view? "Jetta."

"Would you like some company?" Being a gentleman, of course, he'll insist on buying anything she likes on a jaunt they take 'together'. She should be well aware of this by now.

The question is, however, is he doing it because he's polite, or because he dotes on her?

The answer is neither. And both.

Gods are complicated.

"If you like, honey."

She isn't (quite) grinding those perfect white teeth, but she's coming awfully close.

Infuriating man.

Maybe she should have slapped him.

He smiled, one of those open, honest smiles that said he was anything but. "Something on your mind, dove?"

Nature nickname. Who would have guessed.

"Whatever makes you think that, hon?"

Other than the fact that her smile is approximately the same as the sort of smile you would see on someone trying not to wring your neck, of course.

Nothing at all on her mind.

Yeah. Right.

"C'mon now, dove." You aren't fooling anyone.

"You're angry."

Does he mind that she's angry (most likely with him)? Maybe-yes, maybe-no.

He wants to provoke her, so he traces her jawline with gentle fingers, as if petting a flighty butterfly.

And provoke her he does.

It might not have been possible for her smile to grow any more fragile, but it was definitely obvious that he'd hit a nerve in the way her blue eyes flashed.

And then it was gone.

"Angry, honey?" she cooed. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

Blank expression, amused eyes (though by now she's probably learned not to look at them, huh?)

Theatrical sigh. "Whatever you say, dove. Why don't we just go shopping?" Let her win this one, almost. He'll bring it up again later.

He reminds me of her, really.

Influence of the mindset, most likely.

"Fine with me. And you can buy me lunch."

And probably a bunch of other things, too, but not right this minute.

She draws close to him and slips her hand into his.

He better start behaving, soon.

Or better yet, start behaving badly. So she could have an excuse to dump him for a more cooperative guy.

He does her one better, and slips his arm around her waist.

Pretty little armful, and he's had quite a few of them in his day.

An hour or so pass without the topic of her being angry coming up again. He enjoys the time immensely. She is a most diverting girl.

Jetta has acquired a few expensive goodies that she did not have when she first came to the mall. She is rather mollified, except for the annoying fact that Hunter acts like this all the time.

Maybe she should start ignoring him, or something.

And isn't this a delicious little cafe? One of those stylish places tucked away between larger stores in the mall.

She smiles a little.

"Lunch time, Hunter."

And steers him into the cafe.

If she starts ignoring him, he'll be very unhappy with her.

"Yes, dove."

Doncha hate it when he acts falsely submissive? When you're used to the real thing, this must grate on the nerves like anything.

Well, isn't it his turn to be unhappy...

Wait. God. That could be very bad for Jetta, if she starts ignoring him, couldn't it.

And, yes, she does hate the pretend submissive act. It's very irritating.

This is why she gives him an almost-glare before stepping up to the counter and ordering something chic and fat-free.

Well, yes. Gods do more damage when irritated than most third world dictatorships do when on crusades.

Gods are cool that way.

He gives her his best innocent 'I thought you weren't angry' smile and orders a summery salad and sandwich combo, with lemonade.

Y'know, he could forgive humans a lot because they invented lemonade.

Jetta ignores the innocent smile as she takes her salad to a table in the corner, where she sets her purchases down and waits for 'Hunter' to pay.

She fingers one of the expensive goodies he bought for her and wonders if she could be happy without all these things. Hunter's just too aggravating to keep...

... but he takes her out to expensive places...

Feh.

She waits for him, arms crossed and foot tapping impatiently.

He pays, taking his sweet time about it. He gives the cashier exact change, for crying out loud.

How far, exactly, can he push her?

He pulls her chair out for her (gentlemanly-like), and waits for her to sit before sitting himself.

He's still got that innocent who-me? smile on his face.

She takes a seat, regally, like a queen with something to prove.

"Took your sweet time, didn't you, honey."

Is that a bit of venom? Probably.

He's acting like a gentleman, but he's not doing it right. He's supposed to be fawning over her, and not this polite sort of thing.

Stupid boy.

"Just being polite, dove."

She knows, and he knows she knows, that he is teasing her.

It'd be rather hard to prove, though. He always acts this way. Normally he wouldn't be so blatant about it, though.

As mentioned, he wants to provoke her.

"You weren't flirting with the cashier now, were you?"

Of course he wasn't. Was he?

She can make him out to have been, if she wants to. It would give her an excuse to throw something at him and storm off.

He threw her a skeptical look. "Would you care if I was?"

Aww, does the lil' god feel neglected by his girl? Poor lil' god.

It's a neat explanation for why he's acting so irritating today, y'know. He wants to feel like he's more than a passing fling, or some such. He doesn't care how she interprets the implication, actually. The implication is there.

"I most certainly would."

She can date and play with half a dozen guys at once. When the guys start doing the same, it's war.

Yes, it's a double standard. No, she doesn't think it is.

Deal with it.

"Really." He's very skeptical.

Pause, as he eats, drinks, and presumably thinks.

"Are you angry now?" Curiousity, nothing more.

"If you were flirting with another girl, I am. Answer the question."

In other words, give me an excuse to throw something at you in righteous anger.

She's tired of being played with; that's her prerogative.

"Please."

I.e. don't be ridiculous, you sound like an idiot.

Yes, he is being deliberately irritating. Thanks for asking.

She certainly doesn't like it when he speaks to her in that tone of voice.

(You realize she's been looking for an excuse to do this for rather a while now, yes? She's tired of the teasing and the way he's never exactly what she's wanting, and all that. She's not tired of him, she just wants him to act as he's supposed to.)

There are less spectacular ways of taking your revenge on someone. Then again, this is Jetta. She thrives on spectacle.

This is why 'Hunter' is now decorated with a salad, dressing and all.

He sighs. "Jetta...." And there's genuine regret in his voice.

There's never genuine anything in his voice. This is a rarity.

Obviously, he thinks whatever they have is over, and just as obviously, he really doesn't want it to be over. At all.

Does that answer her question about whether or not he's in her thrall?

Of course, the regret in his voice comes from 'Jetta, I'm sorry that I have to curse you with something embarrassing now, you were doing so well'. One had to maintain godly standards, after all. But Jetta doesn't need to know this, does she?

Well, well, a genuine reaction. And not only that, a reaction of genuine regret. One of the few times she's ever gotten something genuine out of him.

An apologetic smile.

"Sorry, honey. Guess I lost my temper for a second."

It would be a pity to lose his endless stream of money, after all.

She offered him a handful of napkins. There, there, honey, at least it wasn't Italian dressing.

When Frey goes from sad to happy, it's like the sun coming out from behind the clouds. He shines. (Not literally, you understand. On that other plane that could be called magical, emotional, whathaveyou. Anyone around him suddenly feels much happier.)

He smiled at her as he picked lettuce off his shirt. He's rather fond of her, after all.

"I think I need a new outfit...." Rueful, but nothing more than that. He isn't being infuriating, for once. "And I have no idea what to buy."

Hint, hint.

"Well, come on then, darling."

Hel-lo, a new nickname. It isn't even a variation on 'honey.' That's a rarity--I'm sure the god is conscious of it, too--and it's probably at least partially due the the aura (or what-have-you) around the god. Partially.

"We'll have to clean you up."

Her eyes are sparkling, probably because she wants to dress him up like an overgrown doll.

Not that she plays with dolls. She outgrew those when she discovered boys.

How very flattering. Hunter is pleased.

Seriously, he's picking up bad habits from her. Tut.

He follows.

"Where to?"

Y'know, this is as close to submissive as he comes. I hope she appreciates it.

I guess that means she has a strong personality?

"This way."

And she leads him through the mall to one of those expensive men's clothing stores, where she spends a very entertaining hour choosing and discarding various and sundry pieces of apparel.

She's not thinking about dumping him any longer.

It'll come up later, but she'll be happy with this for now.

((Fin.))