Prevarications (Rome + Mama Greece)

"Thanks," Helena said with a grin. She enjoyed doing ehr job and it was ncie to know that she was appreciated for doign it.

When he said she could leave, she got up from her seat and smiled at the principal.

"Ok, Mr. Vargas. See you around," she said before exiting his office. When she got back to her office, she sat down in her chair and thought over the events in her boss' office. She merely smiled at the thought before doing her work.

Caesar was lost in thought. The school day was drawing to a close, and nothing too serious had happened.
He was out in the gardens enjoying the hot sunshine. Relaxing and stretching, and generally in a good mood.

"Aaaah what a wonderful day." he said merrily. No one seemed to be about, so he began to quietly sing one of his favourite songs, until he was rudely interupted by the ringing of his cellphone.

"Hello?" his face darkened as he realized who it was. His interfereing mother. His voice lowered, and the words streamed out in Italian as he spoke to her - well whenever he could get a word in. The woman was asking him to go out on a date she was setting up with this 'oh so very nice girl' before interjecting in her well meaning way why he wasn't married already - and going on and on and on. Shaking his mother off was hard - even if he were to rudely hang up on her she would find a way to continue the conversation with twice as much steam. So it was best to let her get what she wanted to say out the first time... although this topic had become a bit of a sore one between them.

As he talked on the phone he paced, attempting to combat the tightness he felt from the stress of talking to her.

Helena was taking her afternoon walk around the school to make sure there weren't any students skipping classes before the end of the day. As she turned a corner to enter the gardens, she saw a sight that she thought she'd never see. Her boss was pacing around in the gardens. She was about think of it amusing until she saw the tense expression on his face. And the sight of his muttering quietly to whomever he was talking to on his cellphone wasn't making him anymore relaxed.

Whoever he's talking to must be really irritating him right now, Helena thought. She walked over to a bench far enough to where she wouldn't listen in on his conversation, but close enough to be seen by him when he was done talking on his cellphone.

"Ciao," he finally managed to say, before snapping his phone shut. With a sigh, he rubbed his hand across his face in hopes to relieve the tension, before looking up and pausing as his eyes fell upon their school counselor.

Immediately he forced the tension away into a brilliant smile, "Helena, I did not expect you to be here."

"I didn't expect to see you here either, but here we are," Helena replied with a small smile. It soon went away though.

"I can see that you're still a bit frustrated from whoever you were talking to. If you want, I'll leave you be, so you can think alone. But if you want some company, I'll stay and listen to you rant." A sheepish smile appeared as she scratched her head when she spoke once more.

"That is, if you want to talk to me about what's made you upset."

Rome considered her offer.

He didn't want to be rude, and perhaps ranting would be a little nice to do... he didn't get to do that too much being responsible and all.

Kicking a rock forward,he watched it skip forward, before he took the few steps to sit down beside her and groaned.

"It was my mother." he began, hesitating slightly before turning his body more towards her. "She still has these false hopes that her son isn't as devilish as she knows he is, and is doing the typical mother nagging about why I'm not married yet... nagging about me growing old and lonely and how I need some nice wife to keep me in order."

Helena watched her boss hesitate as he told her about his mother and him trying to force him into something he did not want to do. It was a little strange to see him frustrated, but she was going to try her best to help him feel better.

"Ah, the mother-trying-to-get-her-son-to-date-so-he'll-settle-down-and-have-a-family debate. I've heard it many a time when I was at a consuling building some years ago. She tries to set you up with people when all you wanna do is, well...be you, right?"

"Ahh you're a quick learner," he felt more relaxed and managed to show her a little bit of a mischevious smile, "It's always awkward to tell ones mother that one is not skilled in monogamy."

Helena chuckled, a mischievious tinge to her voice.

"That's understandable. After all, some thigns are more fun in groups than one on one. As the saying goes, the more, the merrier~"

Rome's face couldn't be more shocked; and he looked at her with ... a new respect.

"I would have never expected that coming from you!I mean... you seem so straight... and... "

Helena just laughed at his surprise. It was...enlightening. She didn't show this side of her often and revealing it to the man next to her was rather...nice.

When she calmed down, she grinned and winked at him.

"Nah. Sex one on one is nice at times, but being with a bunch of people makes the moments between people more...interesting. And as to the sraight note, I'm actually bisexual. Girls interest me just as much as guys. I just happen to hide it well."

His cheeks tinged pink slightly at her revelation, and he struggled to keep his thoughts from running rampent.

"Ohh? Hmm well I guess you won't judge me too harshly in admitting the same... being bisexual.. aah how do I put it? I tend to admire certain characteristics regardless of gender." he paused attempting to put it in words, and he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "I tend to be a bit of a lech when it comes to things, but I always am faithful in my own way, which in the past has ended up in me getting into lots of trouble."

At the end of his sentence he looked mildly regretful.

"I have no reason to judge others unless they judge me first in a way that I find is unfair," Helena replied with a smile. She could care less that her boss was bi. it was the next part, though, that surprised her a little.

"What, did the others want you all to themselves or was it something else?" she asked. Then she covered her hand over her mouth and looked down in shame.

"Sorry, that's too personal of a question for me to ask. You don't have to answer that," she said quietly, a pink blush covering her cheeks.

Stupid! Had to be that straightforward, didn't you? she thought, mentally smacking herself for asking such a question.

"Oh don't worry about being straight forward.. I have the feeling we're going to be great friends," Caesar replied mildly, "Ah yes they kept wanting monogamous relationships even when I gave them forwarning... so when I mentioned wanting to open the relationship up after the honeymoon period because there's a gorgeous blond I want to sleep with there tended to be.. incidents."

"Did the others try to hurt the person you were interested in? That would be pretty fucking harsh," Helena said getting ove her straightforwardness with her boss.

A friend to him? Well, that's nice to know he thinks so, she thought.

A sort of cold look came over Rome's face, as he cryptically replied. "No. I dealt with it before it got to that stage..." his eyes wandered, "I try not to ... let bystanders be hurt by crazy lovers... well probably why my love life has pretty much dried up over the past few years.. well work and family issues."

He sighed, "I think I may have become a relic of the past."

"Oh," Helena replied softly. The look on his face sent a slight shiver down the counselor's back, making her wodner why those jealous lovers could do something like that to another person. She didn't like the cold expression on his face. His last statement, though, made her want to just hug him in her arms and tell him that wasn't true. But she didn't. Instead, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"If you keep living in the past, you're going to end up like a dusty picture frame. Those people truly didn't understand the type of person you were, let alone the love and attention you gave them. Since they only thought for themselves and nothing else, it's a good thing they're not with you anymore, cause they don't deserve a respectable man like yourself. Besides," a grin appeared on her face as she spoke, "you'll find someone who will appreciate who you are and be grateful for you coming into their life."

Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed, "Well, I'm not so sure about that. I tend to be a handful. Plus my family.... can be... interesting."

The thought of anyone meeting his two sons filled him with terror. He loved them dearly, but the scowling expression of Lovino with his insults was apt to make any potential lover head for the hills.

Helena chuckled a little. She gave her boss a grin.

"Who isn't a handful? I know I was when I lived in my parents place. And I know what you mean with the "interesting family". Or at least, probably to an extent."

She noticed something that seemed like fear when she looked at him. Her smile went away and she shook him a little with the hand that was still on his shoulder, concern entering her eyes.

"Are you alright? You look a little frightened."

"Ah just thinking if ... aah unfortunate encounters." he murmured, "Sometimes it's hard keeping a lover once the family is introduced..."

"Oh. If you don't mind my asking, which family members give you a hard time about lovers? Or if you don't wanna answer that, don't."

She wasn't sure if it was female relatives, but she had a nagging feeling it was something else. Like maybe children, if he had any. Who knows. It all depends on if he answers or not, Helena thought, waiting patiently for an answer.

He wasn't sure if he should open up... she did seem trustworthy and suprisingly open... but he really tried to keep certain things private.

Like his children.

Looking at her with some interest, he decided to play it safe.

"Oh depends on the day which relative wants to be annoying..." which was sort of true, Feli also had his moments. "Ah I should be getting back to the office... it was nice chatting to you.. we should perhaps go out drinking sometime." he said the last part with a bit of a wink, not entirely serious about it. His only drinking partner as of late was the stolid librarian, who was never that good at conversational material. But very nice to look at.

Helena merely smiled. She could understand him being secretive about which relative and wasn't going to pry.

"Me too. It was nice talking to you, too. And as for the drinking part...we'll see~" she said with a wink of her own, got up from the bench, and walked back to her office. When she arrived, she looked through her fridge to see if she had any water, but none was there. And she was a little hungry, but she ate the last of her fruits snacks during the lunch hour. She sighed, grabbed two dollars from her purse, and walked out to go to the teacher's lounge to get a snack and drink.

---

I thought it'd be better for the drinking part between you, me, Carlos, and possibly Germania, so I posted my little part from the other thread to make it go together. Hope you don't mind. ^^;;

He gave her a friendly wave, and then wandered off back to his office.