thecapitol | not gonna write you a love song

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not gonna write you a love song

Who| Zelos and Venus
What| Does it count as a date if neither one is serious about it?
Where| Aquea Pax
When| 6pm, the evening after this conversation.
Warnings/Notes| n/a

Zelos had gone out and went through some shops to find something decent to wear to pick her up, and more importantly, something to wear in the spa. It'd taken some effort to find something to wear that wasn't completely hideous by his standards, but it paid off in the end.

For the earlier part of the evening, he was wearing a pair of slacks and dress shirt, with a fabulously pink bowtie being the only visible concession to Capitol fashion that he'd made. His hair was down, and braided, tied off with a matching pink ribbon. On one arm was a plastic bag with the logo of one of the stores from the District 4 area of the shopping centre, and in the other hand was a bouquet of roses.

This? Was something he knew how to do. After all the whirlwind of craziness about being thrown into the Arena, and people coming back to life, it was almost relaxing to default back to what he'd been doing his whole life. Treat a girl nicely, bring her flowers, and take her out to dinner. Granted, Venus wasn't exactly like most girls he knew back home, but that was just a bonus. After all, he had a feeling that excitement hoarding, loaded rich girls wanting a tribute, or victor, to cozy up with wouldn't exactly be in short supply here.

He arrived on the fifth floor at a quarter before six, and waited patiently for Venus to come out.

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Venus is no stranger to the little black dress, and while she thinks she looks more than just presentable in it, she suddenly feels under-dressed when she sees Zelos arrive with roses. A flush in similar hue to the flowers rushes up her cheeks.

(Her swimsuit, underneath, is a bit more humorous, and she did keep her word about wearing a onepiece.)

"Oh, wow. I haven't had anyone actually live up to the standard of being a gentleman in a long-ass time." She laughs and takes the flowers, snapping the head off one rose so she can stick in in her braid before finding water for the rest. "Tell me the spa lives up to these standards too."

"Venus, baby, you are a sight for sore eyes," Zelos whistles when he sees her in her little black number. That skirt would have been way too scandalous to be seen in Meltokio society, but Venus pulled it off with grace.

Zelos chuckles when Venus blushes, and gives her the flowers with a slight flourish. "The Zelos Wilder standard of being a gentleman is hard to reach. Don't blame the poor schmucks you've gone out with in the past for that."

"Well, can I still blame them for the other things they've done wrong?" She takes his hand, wondering if he's about to hold it out for her to kiss. "So, the spa. Supposedly the best one in Panem."

Aw yeah. She can google search. Or whatever the equivalent is here.

"Are you excited to see District Six?"

"Are you kidding? Going all the way out to some backwards village for spirits knows how long isn't my idea of a fun time," Zelos answers truthfully, taking her arm into his as they ride the elevator down to the lobby. In his opinion, this was practically literally a guilt trip. Send them off to the poor districts they were supposedly representing in the Arena. How's that for motivation?

"Are you?"

He glances at her, interested in her view of this whole thing.

"What, you don't like to know your audience?" Venus raises an eyebrow. "That's a little...what's the word..."

She strokes her lower lip. "Presumptuous. I see it as an opportunity, you know?"

He raises an eyebrow at that, deciding to play dumb for the time being.

"Opportunity for what? Do they even get signal out there?" he asks nonchalantly, as they leave the tower for the cool evening air of the Capitol. Just like its citizens, the city was standing out with shining bright lights in a myriad of colours.

"They do. In fact, it's mandatory viewing, and they can send Sponsor gifts like anyone else." Venus raises an eyebrow right back. "I mean, I don't think they'll be good Sponsor gifts, but let's not discount any pocketbooks, right?"

Zelos files that info away for later use. Of course, going by that anonymous announcement on the network the other day, the people of their districts weren't exactly in love with the idea of them being tributes, so it could all be pointless regardless. Plus, given that the citizens were in a constant state of near-starving, he couldn't exactly see what they could possibly have to offer. If they were smart, they'd keep any food they have for themselves, since death for them was a little more permanent than for those in the Arena.

"No offense but I think I'd rather starve than eat whatever passes for food out there," he says dramatically, as they turn a corner and the restaurant comes into sight. "But that's a little too heavy of a topic for a first date, don't you think, hunny? I'd love to hear more about you."

"What about me? I'm a star now and was long before I got here." She bats her eyelashes in a comical exaggeration of both seriousness and sexiness. "I grew up in Georgia and became a superhero when I was sixteen. There isn't all that much to find when you scrape beneath the surface on me."

She tilts her head to one side. "Of course, you'd have to take me at my word for that."

He just shrugs at her last statement. Everything was about taking people at their word right now. It's no surprise that he has no idea where 'Georgia' is, but that's not the important thing.

"Superhero? I'd say that's a pretty big deal," Zelos returns, looking slightly impressed. "Here, I thought they were just stories. That means you had superpowers, right?"

"Yep. Lasers, teleportation, the whole shebang. You don't mind if we skip the origin story, do you? It's long and boring."

Which is a lie. In truth it was sudden and traumatic.

"Sure, sure, but let's go back to the lasers for a second."

He does a (ridiculous looking) imitation of lasers shooting out of his eyeballs. "That kind?"

Venus holds her hands out and wiggles her fingers. "That kind. Now what about you? Did you go to some kind of charming and handsome prep school?"

"Aha, you caught me," he grinned, putting his hands behind his head, debating briefly what to say. "I'm a bit of a celebrity at court, back home."

"An outlaw or a lawyer?" She drags her finger across her lower lip.

That legitimately knocks him for a loop for a second. Out of all guesses he might've expected, those two sure weren't anywhere even near. At least the outlaw part, since he's not entirely sure what a 'lawyer' is supposed to be.

"No offense, hunny, but why would there be an outlaw at court?" he asks, raising an eyebrow with confusion.

"When they get tried. I didn't say a particularly skilled outlaw."

She perks up a bit as she sees the sign for the spa down the road.

If the blank look on his face was at all an indication, he's still fairly confused about what business an outlaw would have at court. But at least now, it's becoming clear there's some kind of communication issue.

Zelos gives her an amused smile.

"Babe, unless he's in chains and surrounded by knights, no outlaw in their right mind would come into the King's court. And I'd definitely say I'm in my right mind."

"Ah, I think we have very different ideas of courts, then. In my time, it's where criminals get taken so the judge can decide if they're guilty and what their punishments should be." She smiles right back. "We don't really have kings much anymore."

It takes him a moment to wrap his head around the idea of that, because wow what a weird concept. In his world, there were exactly two extremes: order of the king, and people living under constant fear of being taken away to a human ranch... so he isn't sure what to make of what sounded surprisingly just.

Thankfully, he's saved from having to come up with a suitable answer by them arriving at the spa restaurant.

"Here we are!" Zelos says cheerfully, ushering her inside. Immediately, he can feel the steam from the spa, warming them up from the chilly outdoors. "I need to change real quick."

"Oh? Am I in treat for dinner and a show?" Venus heads towards the coat check. "I'll let the host know we need a tub for two."

She winks and heads in that direction.

Well, she's definitely in for a show. Though whether she finds it a treat or not is up in the air. This could go two ways, but either way has never failed to amuse.

About ten minutes later, he comes sauntering back in arguably skimpy speedo, completely shameless and with grin on face. He doesn't even try for modesty, as he finds Venus at their tub/table.

The hot tub is one of those ones with wooden sides, with a table stretched across between them. The waiter's already put some cooked shrimp in a bowl on the platform. Venus is in her shark swimsuit.

She's not even fazed. Her teammates often wore less. "Interesting color. Nice body."

"I love a woman who can appreciate a guy's efforts," Zelos winks as he slides into the hot tub across from her. And of course, he can't resist a joke on her swimsuit. "I hope this doesn't mean you're a man eater too."

"You wish." She wags a finger. "At least you didn't make the breast stroke pun."

"Hunny, what do you take me for?" he protests, sounding a little insulted he'd make a pun that tasteless.

"You'd be surprised what charmers think they can get away with." She leans back in the tub and wiggles her toes above the surface. "I'm glad you aren't falling into that trap, though."

"I can't help that the ladies just love me!"

His tone is clearly joking as he goes for some shrimp. It tastes differently from what he's used to, but it's not terrible. "I've been to a hot spring and I've had fine dining, but I gotta say, I've never done both before. This place is something else."

He doesn't only mean the restaurant, but also the Capitol itself. It's high class, but a totally different kind.

"Everything about this place is. It's like the high life, city line to city line."

She raises an arm and rests her head against her bicep, thinking of conversations she's had around here - the cracks people have put in her comfort in this place.

"That's why the District tours will be interesting. Maybe they'll still be living the sweet life by our standards too."

That made him think of a conversation he'd had with the previous victor, at the party the very night he arrived. About the purpose of the Games, as far as the Districts were concerned.

"You know, I heard some pretty messed up things from that Enjolras guy," Zelos says casually, as if he's doubtful and a little disbelieving of said things but intrigued. Maybe Venus could shed some more light on what sounded like some shady happenings behind the scenes. "About why we're assigned to Districts and all that."

Her lips press together and she strokes her nose, leaving a little wet trail along the side of it.

"Enjolras..." Venus' lips flush, the pink dawning from the insides brightening. "He likes to talk a lot, and since he's one of my roommates, I'd rather not run my mouth about him. If it gets back to him he could leave passive-aggressive notes all over the fridge again."

Oh...

"You're roommates? That must mean you're from the same district."

While most people would lean forward in interest, Zelos just leans back, almost a casually intrigued look on his face. "What do victors do around here anyway? Aside from attending fabulous parties thrown in their honour."

"Right. He gets the big bedroom because he's the Victor. Four-poster bed and everything."

She shrugs, unsure about how she feels discussing her best friend on a date, and is quite eager to get off the topic and go gallivanting onto the subject of winning.

"They schmooze with the rich folk here to try and get gifts sent to us in the Arena, pretty much. And they occasionally get tossed back into the Arena for shits and giggles."

Her last sentence made him come to a full stop, as the lighthearted expression on his face freezes for a moment.

"Tossed back in?" he repeated, to make sure he heard her right.

"Yeah. The Victors competed in the last Arena. It's something like a special event."

She tilts her head. "Why, are you afraid of going in?"

"Afraid? Me?" he answers with mock offense. "It's like you don't know me at all, Venus, hunny!"

He then sighs, feeling slightly sucker punched with this new revelation. "I just thought the winners would, you know, win. Not have to go in again. What's the point in winning otherwise?"

"Well, we haven't known each other very long, Zelos, honey." She rubs her foot under the water against his. "Which is why you should tell me more about yourself, and why glory isn't award enough in its own right."

He just smiles and his tone is surprisingly direct, lacking any boastfulness he might have thrown in there. "I told you earlier, right? I'm a bit of a celebrity at court back home - second only to the King and the Pope, you know. I've got fame and glory in spades."

In other words, he doesn't need it. He doesn't want it either; in fact, he'd love most to step out of the spotlight permanently but like he was ever that lucky. "But you know, aren't dates for getting to know each other better? Let's play a little game. I give you a letter, and you tell me the first thing that pops up in your mind when you hear that letter."

"But that doesn't tell me who you are. I'm rich and famous and yet I wouldn't say we're the same, would you?"

Because unlike him, she lives for it. She needs it to patch up the holes in her metaphorical roof.

"Alright. But only if I can do the same to you, otherwise this becomes an interrogation."

Some people might say that being rich and famous was the end-all-be-all, but clearly Venus wasn't one of them. The more he was learning about her, the more he wondered.

"Sure, sure, I'll even let you go first!"

"Alright. The letter G." She winks. "For gentleman."

Easy.

"Games," he says, returning her wink. "For the Hunger Games. It's not exactly a flashy or name that inspires much glory, is it?"

"Well, it used to be run with starving kids, so I guess it made more sense then. But I just think it's awful marketing, I can never tell which word to stress." She leans back and strokes her chin. "For me, G would be...gesture. Back when I had an agent, he really emphasized me using body language to land parts."

Starving kids... yeah, that would make more sense. In a really screwed up kind of way.

"Agent?" Zelos raises an eyebrow. Again with the words that sounded nonsensical with the context she was using. "I don't think you mean the type that goes on missions to spy on people for you."

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not gonna write you a love song

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ugh lost my notif gj me

no worries ♥

Re: no worries ♥

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i am so sorry venus.......

Re: i am so sorry venus.......

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