The ball came out of nowhere again, just as Andrea was starting to react to the idea of playing her violin in front of Saph. The ball landed an arms length away from Saph, on the far side of him. She couldn't reach it, in order to throw it back to the kids.

Kids who were, when she turned and looked at them, giggling like...well, children. A puzzled frown settled on her lips, but she decided not to put any thought into what they boys were doing just yet. Instead, she turned her attention back to the man at her side, and eyed him.

"Are you alright?"

The sound of giggling could be heard as he rubbed the back of his head for a moment... It didn't really hurt, considering it was just a kick ball, but it still wasn't really fun to get hit... He looked up at his green skinned lunch date as she asked as if he was alright.

"Eh... I'm fine... Heh, kids..." He shrugged off the slight irritation of getting hit again, and scooted away from her a little to grab the ball, and toss it back to the kids. "Ey, careful where you kick that, kids. Someone could get hurt." He gave them a smile, and they all laughed loudly and grabbed their ball, retreating back to the game.

He watched them go for a minute, shook his head a little, and turned back to Andy. "Um... so... Is there anything you'll need to get settled back in? Cause you know I'll help you out if you need a hand." He gave her a reassuring smile, letting himself forget the kids and their antics.

He was alright. She smiled back.

"Well, I really should go collect the things I left behind at the sanctuary. My laptop is over there, as well as a few personal items that I really do not want to lose... My mothers bible is over there still."

The idea that they might be missing once she got back to collect them made her feel slightly sour. They were special to her. "And... I probably should invest in some new clothes one of these days... and some shoes. Mine have holes in them now."

She wiggled her toes in her borrowed flip flops absently.

He was barely able to keep a calm look when she mentioned going back to the sanctuary... Still, she needed to grab her things. "Oh... Well... Maybe we could send someone to grab you things for you... I... I don't like the things I hear about that place. It's not safe."

He wasn't sure how she would react to that, but she had to admit that she'd gotten beat up a lot more while living in that place compared to... well, probably the rest of her life. With monsters like Aura, and those enormous red guys running about, he didn't like the idea of anyone staying there, let alone someone he loved.

He took note of her lack of clothes and good shoes... Hm... Maybe he could help her fix her situation later... He could make a date out of it! Dates were nice.

It was a plan! Now, to relax and deal with it later. "So... Want a sandwich?"

The Greek stared at him, blinking and tilting her head as if she didn't understand.... which she kind of didn't. She had heard rumors and gossip that often surrounded what happened behind the golden doors, but she had also lived there for nearly a near. She knew that there were unsavory characters that lurked within, and she had been rather successful with avoiding them entirely. But, she also knew that those who sought out sanctuary behind those doors were protected by those that ran the organization.

"Saph... It is alright. It is not such a terrible place on the inside. I used to think like that as well, before I stayed there, there is no harm in me going back to get my things, or to say hello to the people I know." She smiled reassuringly, reaching for his hand again as he attempted to change the topic.

"I am sure some are probably all kinds of worried for me, having someone just run off with me like that... Maybe you could go with me when I go?" Well... maybe. She didn't really like the idea of chancing running into one of the Sanctuary's scarier denizens with Saph in tow. She really didn't want him to go in swinging without knowing what was what.

He let out a little sigh as she didn't budge, and took her hand in his own when she reached out.

"... alright... Yeah, I guess we could go get your stuff together... Maybe I could meet your friends?" Jesus, what did he just agree to? The one and only time he'd gone to the sanctuary he'd punched down the doors and smacked Aura through a wall... Then again as far as he was concerned, that wasn't him. He wasn't the judge. No, he wasn't out of his mind, he just knew that in order for him never to get caught, he had to be a different person than the dangerous, highly illegal vigilante.

So, Saph would be totally fine with escorting her to the this scary sanctuary place he'd never been to. I mean, it wasn't like she was making friends with any of the people he'd clobbered, right? Especially not one of those big mean red guys; she was way too nice for those monstrous types? Hey, there was that word again.

"Eh... So, what about that sandwich?"

Her smile brightened instantly, and she squeezed his hand. "I would love a sandwich... or... some cookies. Or a soda!... Is that pie?" Eyeballing the assortment of things he had brought, she wondered if there was anything he had forgotten.

Napkins, as it turned out.

She found herself wondering what she wanted to eat. With all of the choices he had brought, she was having a hard time deciding. The Oreos sounded good... but there was no milk to eat dip them in. The pie didn't need anything... but he had neglected to bring silverware too... and she didn't really feel like eating it with her hands. All that left was the olives, and the sandwich materials. Which.. didn't make much sense to her. Where did ketchup come into play with ham and cheese? She shot him a little quizzical look, before an idea popped to mind.

"Oh! I know! I'll make you a sandwich.. and you can make me one! We can make it a game!" Scrambling forward, she grabbed some bread and set about throwing together hers. When she was done, she held out her creation with a grin that stretched from ear to ear. The two slices of bread barely held a pile of cheese and ham, as well as a hand full of olives, five cookies.... and as much pie as she had managed to scoop on with said cookies. She had even doused the bread with mustard and ketchup!

"There! all done! Now you can make me one!"

He squeezed her hand back gently, now noticing that he'd smiled more in this last hour than he had in months... his cheeks hurt, and he was perfectly fine with that.

It wasn't long before her eyes wandered down to the food, and he found himself turning just a little bit red... Yeah... he really hadn't put a lot of thought into the grocery list for this picnic... All Saph'd grabbed was what was within arms reach, and it really didn't make much sense after the thought... He hoped she didn't think he was crazy...

Her reaction to the assortment was... well, it wasn't what he'd expected. "Oh! I know! I'll make you a sandwich.. and you can make me one! We can make it a game!" And boy could she make a sandwich... That was a sandwich, right? He supposed that was just how they made them in Greece. He smiled as widely as he could without laughing, so's not to be rude, and graciously accepted the sammich.

He then went about making her a work of freaking art. A look of focus came over his face as he curled his tongue over his top lip and sculpted a multilayer ham and cheese sammich that screamed AMERICA! WHUT NOAW?!

He then presented it to her like it was some sort of medal and he was the president of samerica(TM).

After that, he took a bite of his... Greek combo sandwich?

It was... Interesting. Such a... blend of flavors... A unique blend of flavors. Unique.... yes. ".... mmmm.... s.... gud."

Andrea went from staring at him, to staring at the tower of a sandwich he had made. Her face nearly cracked in half from how big her grin had gotten. When he handed her the stack of meat and cheese, she couldn't help just laugh. Americans sure did like their sandwiches meaty, didn't they? She was about to open her mouth and comment on the silliness of it all, before setting the food down... when he took a bite of the thing she had made him. Thing being a relatively nice term...

While he chewed and chewed, all she could do was stare and blink. Had he really just taken a bite out of that? Why ever had he done such a thing? It had olives and pie on it, for heavens sake! His compliment caused her to tilt her head slightly, until she realized what was what... He though she was serious! Guilt immediately washed over her, and she picked up the sandwich he had made her again. He was eating her creation out of politeness! Without a word, she took a rather large bite of the ham, cheese, and bread pile. As she chewed, a rather serious expression settled onto her face, like she was judging an eating contest, and her opinion would make or break someone.

After a moment, she managed to swallow, and grinned at him enthusiastically. "It is just wonderful!" She opened her mouth to take another enormous bite, to really drive it home that she loved his idea of what a sandwich should be, when a roar of child like laughter erupted from behind them. Out of nowhere, that same old familiar ball that seemed to keep appearing wooshed past her face, obliterating the sandwich in her hands before her teeth could even sink into it. Ham and cheese flew everywhere! Before the Greek knew what was happening, she was left holding two messy slices of bread, with meat and dairy products galore decorating her hair and lap.

Another spree of giggles and cackles shot up from behind her, and her temper flared momentarily. Sloth and the other six snakes hisses as one, wiggling angrily as her anger hit them. Had her vision not been half obstructed by a mangled slice of cheddar, she would have turned and speared them with a very angry, very motherly glare...

Things were going well; he was sort of enjoying the sandwich, he was really enjoying her company, and he was overjoyed that she liked, or at least pretended to like his sandwich.

He wasn't sure which it was, but he took another bite anyways, just as she did the same... that was when a kickball decided to ruin their meal; He felt it zooming through the air toward them, and was prepared this time, pulling away to dodge it. He quickly realized, however, that it wasn't aimed at him for all; its real target was a little less Saphy, and a little more america!sandwichy... That sandwich happened to be held by Andrea, and it happened to send pieces of it all over her... His pleasant smile became a stern look of low boiling anger...


"Are you okay?" He was sure to say as he stood up, and grabbed the ball from the ground near them... The kids had already headed toward them to retrieve their ball, smug smiles and snickers abundant.

He held up the ball to toss to them, and instead sent a large amount of force into it... The ball nearly flattened from the hit, and launched off into the air, disappearing off into the distance. They let out a collective groan as they watched the object of their entertainment blink out of sight.

"Fun's over. Now apologize to her, and I'll think about getting you a new ball." His hands planted themselves on his hips as he sent the kids a stern glare.

"I am alright... Saph.."

She sighed her temper away, and set about dusting the various slices and specks of food from her person, when her companion sent the kids ball skyrocketing away... probably into orbit.

The Greek took a moment to blink at him, not really comprehending that he had done it on purpose until he started speaking.

"Fun's over. Now apologize to her, and I'll think about getting you a new ball."

A stern look of her own washed over her features, and she got to her feet. The children were already attempting to avoid Saph's glare, and when she stood next to him, they flinched and set about mumbling off little snippets of apologies. But... that wasn't really what she was after.

"Saphirus!" Andrea set her own hands on her hips, feet shoulder width apart, and adopted the same pose and tone of voice that her mother had used against her. "How could you? They are just children!" Her lips flattened out slightly, and she looked up at him, all sorts of emotions running through her.

"You need to apologies as well, that ball belonged to them, and you will most definitely be getting them a new one, or tracking the old one down!" The kids watched silently, a few giggling to themselves as she waggled a finger at the man... until her ire Shifted their way.

"...And you lot! You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" The Greek crossed her arms over her chest and tapped a foot until the giggling stopped. "You should know better than to play such a game around other people. You need to say you are sorry, correctly, to both of us."

She speared them with an unimpressed frown, and waited.

He stood, the triumphant hero, having revenged the disgrace of his helpless damsel in distress at the hands of the vile munchkin guild, a huge puff of pride placed on his pectorals. The evil ball was vanquished, its senders, defeated; he'd saved the day!

That prideful pectoral puff deflated, however, when he found his previously frightful fem furious at his actions! Oh my! His head tried to hide beneath his shoulders as the ray of motherly judgment was centered on him, and his actions dismantled like so many recalled pintos.

Yes, he'd acted a bit immature in sending their ball into orbit. Yes, she was correct in pointing that out. Yes, he now felt guilty as hell, and by the look of it, so did all of the kids. Wow, she was good.

"His hand went to the back of his head, and a bashful apology wormed its way from his mouth. "Eh... Sorry kids... I'll get you a new ball... Just... be careful in the future, okay?"

One of the kids stepped up; a rowdy looking boy with a scuff on his cheek and big ol' eyes "I'm sowwy... We wuz jus havin fun... It wuz my idea... I apowogize."

Oh.... dear god... heart.... strings... pulled...

He looked to Andrea, his eyes wide and pouty. "A... Apology accepted... right?"

She listened to Saph's apology, and was pleased. He sounded sincere and genuine. She ceased giving him the stink eye.

Instead, she set it upon the kids again. The apology presented to her from one boy, who claimed to be the ring leader, came off as slight sarcastic for a moment. She couldn't tell if he was trying to pull one over on her, or if he was actually just that darn cute....

but, whatever the case, she relented and dropped her arms from her chest. "Apology accepted... run along now." She watched them turn as one and hightail it out of there, before turning back to Saph. A grin worked it's way onto her face, and she giggled and hugged him.

"...That was cute. You will make a good father someday... What should we do now?" Behind her, where the kids had run off, the boy who had admitted fault stopped and turned around. The scary mutant lady had her back to them, but the guy who had ruined their game was still facing him. With a sly, childish grin he turned around, dropped trow and mooned the man, before scrambling after his buddies.

His eyes locked onto her as she seemingly deliberated his fate... and found that he was cleared of all wrongdoing... Whew! Now it was her turn to judge the kid. At first, she seemed suspicious; how could she?! Clearly he was an innocent boy, just looking for a few laughs, who happened to get in over his head just. this. one. time... /Heartmeltheartstringstuggedohmygawdadorable.

He was relieved when she finally accepted their apology as well, and was happified when he received a hug for his efforts! Yay, he totally just a won a gold medal for the shot-put! His cheeks would hurt again soon, es evidenced by the brimming smile as he hugged her back...

Yet... something in the background caught his eye... Ohdeargod he'd been fooled! No... It was best to keep silent about the little snot's behavior... He would pay him back later. For now, he had to settle with being told he would be a great father and whatnot... A statement which made him blush just a little.

"Well... I dunno... the meal's kinda been ruined... those kids are finally gone, though... maybe we could..." He leaned in suddenly for a kiss.

"Well... I dunno... the meal's kinda been ruined... those kids are finally gone, though... maybe we could..."

Ohsweetjesushewantedtokissheragain

She had pulled away just a fraction of a second before she realized what was going on, and then flew into full blown panic mode. With a soft, panicked gasp, she felt her legs buckle without her willing them to, and she dropped like a brown, blushing stone onto her butt in the grass before he could land his kiss on her.

"...I... um... maybe we should... um..." She didn't know if she could handle anymore of his brand of kiss. It was too.. too... consuming. The Greek back pedaled a little ways, unintentionally mowing over the ketchup bottle on her way past.

"... we should..." God, think of something Andrea, think of something! Her hand plopped into a puddle of newly spilled ketchup, and she glanced down at it. Combined with the various left over bits of cheese and ham still left on her, as well as mustard in her hair and now ketchup... she was a mess. "... I need a shower."