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June was well into full-swing, and its smells and sounds were those of unhindered youths on a Thursday afternoon in very late spring. Where there should have been final exams and tearful farewells with classmates, there were clusters of teenagers in Destiny City's main park. With the National Guard moving into town, and half of the population stricken and in the hospital in that odd sleep-like state, the park was all that really was left.

Audrey had certainly embraced the warm weather, and was dressed for the occasion in the best summery outfit she could throw together. A sleeveless cotton dress in buttery yellow was empire-belted with a length of white cotton and left to hang down the front, weighted with beads at the ends to click as she moved. The clasp for the pin was a daisy, and there was a matching tie in her hair, which was in a ponytail low down her back. In all, she didn't look her seventeen years, but that didn't matter. She was in the park, in the sun, enjoying the warmth on her face.

But unlike most times, when it was the moon that shone on her face instead, Audrey was not alone. Turning almost impatiently, she called back over her shoulder. "C'mon Elzo! I know the perfect place, and I'm not moving that fast!" She wasn't even running! But okay, she was moving sorta fast. After all, it was their first real date after they'd 'officially' become a couple. Elzo was her boyfriend. The bluenette said that to herself almost every time she caught herself wallowing over something, and it brought a light smile to her face.

Once, he'd actually caught her at it. Boy had that been interesting!

That stopped her in her tracks, hands reaching around to feel her hair and let out an overly-heavy sigh of dismay. She finally put the bow back in her hair, and it was trying to be troublesome as payment! Though really, it probably had something to do with the fact that every time she got within his range, Elzo's hands were in her hair. Probably was synonymous with certainly these days. Things had taken a bad turn two days ago when a tired medical student had slipped to the cow-eyed teenager that her parents would probably never open their eyes again. That had been a bad day for them both.

The picnic today, in the June sun, was in defiance of that. Everyone would wake up, and there would be news all around, and pictures to prove it! Elzo would meet her dad, and he could play the overprotective daddy to the hilt. Her mom would probably just squeal with happiness and hug them both, before double-checking that Audrey was religiously using her patch. Not that that was a problem. Wouldn't be, for awhile.

Deftly, the bow was re-tied and tossed over her shoulder, and the bluenette twirled once in place while waiting for Elzo to catch up. "Well, you never asked me to take something! Gimme that." All smiles and rosy cheeks, Audrey snagged the quilt she'd stolen from their old stores in the back of the crafts closet. It was one of the many she'd stowed away for their out of town jaunts, splotched with several stains and general wear. Perfect for a park picnic!

"Besides, it's just over here!" Audrey had actually not spent a whole lot of time in this part of the park, especially after that strange incident with the Makaiju. She'd never seen it, had been left behind thanks to her broken leg, which had made Linarite shriek with fury when she found out. But the normal civilians avoided the park, and there was no point to coming here if there were no people to ambush! So when she came over the lightly sloped hill overlooking Destiny City Park's one and only pond, a smile lit up her face. It was perfect.

"See? There's a few trees by the bank over there, we can sit there and not have to worry about sunburn. I'm as white as a ghost, if I don't get shade I'll be red like a lobster. And cranky as one too." A hand reached out and wrapped her arm in Elzo's, dragging him along with her cheerfully. Today would be a good day, if she had to tear the sun down out of the sky to do it~!

Rolling her eyes but laughing nonetheless, Audrey sank to the soft blanket and dragged the basket into her range, further from Elzo's. There was now Audrey between the boy and the basket, and she intended to keep it that way as blue hair fell to tickle Elzo's forehead when she leaned over him. "Lobster tail is usually rich and buttery. Like popcorn. From what I hear, humans taste like pork. Greasy, not buttery." It was matter-of-fact, logical, belied only by the smile that she wasn't seriously putting him off.

"I guess I can't let you die though. Finally caught you and all..." The tone was light but a bit strained, Audrey wasn't entirely causal with the whole arrangement yet, but was trying to loosen up. It was so much easier to be friends, when you didn't have to worry so much about little things like tone of voice. Yeah, you wanted your friends to like you. But there were two kinds of like, and one was a whole lot more serious than the other. Delving into the basket, a fresh pack of strawberries offered themselves and one was dangled in front of ocean blue eyes.

"What do you think of these?" It was probably about to turn into a horrible Greek painting, a handsome Adonis in the park being fed by a nymph at the spring. Curiously, that only bothered her lightly, something to bring the pink into her cheeks and her lashes down over amber eyes. There wasn't anything a girl who was madly in like wouldn't do for a boy, if it kept him happy! Really, she was just pleased that she'd been able to pull Elzo from the hospital for a day! She could handle some Greek indignity for that.

What was probably unintentional, but no less pleasing for him, was the fact that while wiggling up into her lap like some kind of starved caterpillar, Elzo had exposed Audrey's knees and some of her thigh. Thankfully though, it was shoving the dress up and covering what needed to stay covered even more thoroughly. The cotton would probably wrinkle, but that was only a minor setback.

The strawberry was twisted and then held steady so that mercy was given and Elzo was given a bite before she pulled the stem away to pick up another. It looked like she might have pulled this away too, but that was far too easy! Then he'd expect it! So it was the fourth that got this treatment, before she stopped entirely and looked back down at the boy who was rolling eyes up to stare into her abdomen.

"Comfortable? You were two seconds from having your head up my skirt, you know." He probably did know. But she had to say it.

Embarrassed turned to indignant as he shoved the berry into her mouth and simply sat there watching her try to chew the darn thing. Audrey wasn't used to having things simply stuffed into her open mouth, but maybe she'd asked for it. Either way, this was war. Amber eyes narrowed as she chewed, and reaching into the basket, the teen found exactly what she was looking for - dessert. Sure the cupcakes had taken awhile to perfect and frost so that they didn't like a four year old had done it. But oh, it would be worth it.

Her voice was casual as she turned back, the confection behind her back and well hidden as her tone was as sweet as candy. "You know Elzo, I'm sorta worried. I think your blood sugar might be going down, and as your girlfriend, I am worried about your health! Why not have a cupcake?" And before the word 'cupcake' had even made it fully out of her mouth, she'd reached up and pressed the chocolate icing right against his mouth. It stuck there for a second, before falling where he'd have to catch it or let it land icing-down on the old quilt.

Audrey, of course, had erupted into giggles. "That is for asking to see up my skirt! But don't worry, it looks good on you. Maybe it's a sign you should grow a goatee?" Looking again, she erupted into fresh laughter, popping another strawberry into her mouth smugly.

War was on.

Oh no, he was not about to ruin her dress with chocolate! Thankfully Audrey was a trained Captain of the Negaverse and had unnaturally good reflexes for a girl her age. She was also long-legged and petite. If he could catch her, he deserved the victory cupcake smash! So it was with a yelp and wide eyes that she crabbed backwards, heedless of her dress, and took off running.

Somewhere along the way, she lost her sandals, kicking them up behind her when she thought there was enough room that Elzo wouldn't get plastic to the face. "Elzo, put the cupcake down! I won't let you catch me!" It was yelled back over her shoulder, fake anger ruined with bubbles of laughter and the panting that came with running as a normal human girl. Really, she should have worn her damn jeans!

Normally Audrey would have been bothered about the fact that she'd just gone running and yelling through the main city park like some sort of hoyden, calling attention to herself. Normally Audrey would have been embarrassed and distressed by the fact that she was fairly roughly pressed between a very solid young man and a tree whose bark was pressing into her skin. Audrey had learned almost immediately that when it came to Elzo, she never reacted normally.

The kiss was warm, and full of chocolate, but it also was totally male and perhaps the deepest that he'd kissed her yet. It was almost comfortingly familiar, and it didn't seem odd that Audrey wound her arms around his neck to keep him in the kiss for a few moments. Their faces were both smeared with chocolate, but for a few heartbeats after she slid back to breathe, ocean blue stared into amber and everything was just perfectly fine.

Her face was still pink and red with exertion and heightened emotion, and when she spoke, Audrey's voice was threaded with light nervousness. "So I guess it's a good thing I let you catch me. I'm not like Daphne, meant to be a laurel tree for denying the god his fun." Or hers.

He moved some hair from out of her face. He gave her a sigh. "Well if you're going to be like that then no, you're not a nymph. You're the fickle goddess Aphrodite, the most beautiful goddess in the pantheon of the immortals...But don't tell the others. They might kill me because they're just jealous." He kissed her hand. Just a light one. "Come on Audrey. You're beautiful. Stop putting yourself down." He pulled her into his lap. "And you know me. I only go after the best."

He pulled out the sandwiches. "Which I have. Now, which one of these is your's? I forgot. Mine is the one with oil and onion and pepper and-" He rambled on, blowing his words on her ear. When he finally stopped tickling her he said it again. "You're beautiful."