Theseus wasn't going to stick around to face Dionysus after Valentine's. Theseus had kind of taken advantage of his wife, though it was up for debate she didn't take advantage of him. He also would five anything to get out of this cold weather. He was about to start up the boat and get out of dodge but something stopped him.
The worry of a father.
He pulled out his phone to check in on his granddaughter. _____________________________________ Zoe sat happily with her mug of cocoa and she set it down when her phone rang. "Try not to pick all the marshmallows out." she said to Greed as she put the mug down. She wore a snuggly green dress so her legs were bare and she answered her phone with a cheerful hello. _____________________________________ Greed ignored her warning, quick to pluck as many as he could into his mouth before she could take another sip.
"Want to go sailing?" Theseus asked. He needed to get out of this place and quickly. _____________________________________ She kicked at Greed with her bare foot lightly to get him to stop stealing her marshmallows and was surprised by her grandfather's invitation. He'd said it before.. but it was months ago, she was pretty sure he forgot. She was also pretty sure he was reconsidering being her family.. "Um... sure. When?" _____________________________________ Greed took that kick as an invitation to take one more. Which he did as she chatted away with her grandfather. Bastard. "What's he trying to do now?" Greed bristled.
"Now. Can you take the weekend or something?" Theseus almost sounded desperate like he was trying to run from something brutal. _____________________________________ She gave Greed a look and waved her hand in a motion to quiet him. She frowned and said, "Now? I.. uh..." but it was his tone that made her ask, "Is everything okay?" and the weekend? He wasn't asking her to go for a few hours, he was asking her to go on a trip it sounded like. _____________________________________ He was afraid if he bolted now he'd never come back. Maybe with her there it could keep him grounded. He was trying to involve her and that was a big step for him. "Yeah, now." Everything wasn't okay and he was sure he was a step away from panic and just letting the ocean feed off him before any angry Olympians came to his door. "No, everything is not okay." He was in a whole hell of a lot of trouble, and this was something Poseidon couldn't pull him out of. _____________________________________ She was immediately concerned and shifted to sit up, the marshmallows forgotten. "What's going on?" she asked softly. _____________________________________ Greed pelted a marshmallow at her head but it didn't seem to matter. What story was this guy fishing for now? Bastard.
Theseus was quiet for a minute as he shuffled around on his boat. "I kind slept with my ex who happens to be married to a Olympian. Eros played his games on Valentines Day and I got lucky." His words were laced with sarcasm. Sure he'd thought about getting into Ari's pants since they started being friends again but it was a one shot trip to nowhere. The playing field was different when Eros was involved. "I just need to get out of the city." And he wanted her to come with him. _____________________________________ She let out a huge breath, "Oh Mr. Moreau... is he going to try to hurt you?" this was some serious heavy shit. The look on her face was grave and she knew her grandfather wanted to run.. she was just surprised he wanted to do it with her. _____________________________________ "I don't know. Olympians tend to hold grudges as you know." Poseidon had made sure of that, but he wasn't the one he was running from. "I'm on the boat by the harbor. I'll be leaving within the hour. Will you come?" His heart was racing out of his chest waiting for an answer. _____________________________________ He sounded so... like he might do something that was dangerous. It was so sudden but she had some sick days she could take, the weekend was coming up. "Yeah, yeah, I'll come, I just need to pack. Don't.. don't do anything until I get there, okay?" _____________________________________ "See you soon." Theseus wasn't sure how to feel, but now he had no choice but to return if she came.
Greed starred at Zoe as I'd she had two heads. "What are we doing?" He popped the last marshmallow in his mouth. "You look so serious." _____________________________________ She hung up and frowned before she said, "My grandfather... I don't know, he sounds really... he needs me. He wants me to go sailing with him for a few days." she looked at him, "I'm gonna do it.. I can take a sick day tomorrow and if it takes longer than someone can cover for me on Monday." _____________________________________ "What? You aren't going with him alone." Theseus would take her. He jumped up looking for his coat and other things he had there to take with him. _____________________________________ She stood up and put her hands on his arms to make him look at her, "Chance!" when she'd get him to stop she said, "You have work, remember?" her hands slid down his arms and she took his hands in hers and squeezed them, "It's just for a couple of days." _____________________________________ "Family emergency. Like I'm not going." Ha! Theseus would steal her away and never come back. He wasn't going to risk that. She was crazy if she thought he was going to just let her go. Pish. _____________________________________ She gave him a look, "You're going to miss work to go on a boat? For days? With my grandfather?" she kept giving him the same look because he loved working and he hated the water and he hated boats and he hated her grandfather. _____________________________________ "If I leave you on that fucking boat he'll take you away and never come back." Did she really think he could do that? Just let him run off with her? Like hell. _____________________________________ She let out an exasperated breath, "Are you... he won't do that. I won't let him. My apartment is here. My job is here. YOU are here. I'm gonna come back. I promise." she'd love for him to come but this was just a recipe for misery for him. _____________________________________ "I don't trust him." He didn't care what she said to console him. He'd already made up his mind. She was not going without him. _____________________________________ "Okay but you trust me, don't you?" she tried again but he had that look on her face and she sighed, "Okay, I need to change and pack, we can discuss this after that." and she went into her room to ram clothes in a big duffle and change into boots and a shirt and scarf type outfit and grabbed a warm jacket for on top. She took his wrist to look at his watch, "We have.. less than forty minutes to make it to the docks. Annnd if you go home to pack, I'm guessing you're gonna take forever." she eyed him since him and clothes was just a bad idea in a time crunch. _____________________________________ "So you're saying you don't want me to go?" His voice was stern because she was giving him excuses. He didn't have time to pack by going back to his house. "I have stuff here---what is the rush?" _____________________________________ "He said he was leaving in an hour I think with or without me and I just.. I feel like if it's without me, he won't come back. He sounded.. desperate." she gave him a helpless look and put her arms around him, "Of course I want you to go! But I don't want you to be miserable and you guys fight the entire time. This is a boat, on the water, with my grandfather. Everything you hate." she didn't want him to end up hating her for the voyage. _____________________________________ "Then looks like I've got to pack." He had enough stuff squirreled away in her room to make do for a few days. Not all of it was sailing weather attire, but he took what he could find. He was limited but he would make do in the face of her being sailed off across the planet without him. "He doesn't seem to hang on to his companions even if he takes them with him." He reminded her of that. Ariadne had been left behind on an island, what made Zoe think she was any different.
As it ran closer to time, Theseus became more anxious. He had the boat ready to go, letting go of the ropes that held it to the dock until he saw her. But she wasn't alone. _____________________________________ She frowned at that and when they went to get a cab, she took his hand, "Well if he leaves me stranded somewhere, then at least I'll be stranded with you." when they got to the docks, she spotted her grandfather getting ready to run and she waved at him to show yup she was there. "Hi!" she called up to him, nervous because she knew Greed hadn't been part of the plan, "Um.. can we come onboard?" _____________________________________ Greed was the master at turning this into something bigger, it was part of his Sin code. He didn't like something, he made it sound horrible. He wanted her to be happy in her family but at the same time he was still threatened that it could be taken away from him in a flash. That worry kicked in and he put up his defenses.
Theseus smiled back until he found that she had brought more cargo than he expected. "He's coming too?"
"He has a name." Greed smiled baring his teeth. "Got a problem?" _____________________________________ Zoe inwardly sighed, someone was going to get murdered on this trip, she was sure of it. She took Greed's hand to show her grandfather that it was a package deal and to soothe Greed a bit. "Chance would like to come too. I hope you don't mind." there was a pleading look in her eyes, she wanted to be there for Theseus but not at the cost of losing Greed. _____________________________________ "I don't have a choice either way do I?" Theseus didn't like where this could lead.
"Nope." Greed said dropping the luggage down in front of Theseus as if he was going to put it away.
"You had this boat before, you know where to put it. I have to navigate." Theseus want going to be Greed's maid. Poseidon was enough. _____________________________________ She gave a smile with a cringe, no he really didn't. She put an arm around Theseus' middle and kissed him on the cheek, "Thanks, Mr. Moreau." she gave Greed a 'come on' look and said, "We know the way." they could take the room she'd liked before, she wanted to avoid the room he did the dirty with Lust in like the plague. _____________________________________ Greed pointed a finger to say keep one eye open when you sleep. He followed Zoe to the cabin already feeling a little queasy once the boat started to move and drift away from the harbor. _____________________________________ Zoe put their things away and she was perfectly at ease with the rocking of the boat but she took Greed's hand and brought him close to her, "This is kinda neat, right? It's like a romantic getaway..." except her grandfather was with them... _____________________________________ "I never liked boats..." They tended to be fun as ocean liners or cruise ships, but this was ordinary. "He's put back all that horrible decor." It made him nauseous. _____________________________________ "I know.." she said softly and fixed a blonde strand of his before giving him a kiss, "And I know the decor is kinda... old manish and outdated for you. But it isn't our boat. It's his boat." she put her arms around his neck and give him a couple more little kisses, "I'm really glad you're here tho." _____________________________________ "It was my boat," he pouted. Did she forget? "He ruined it." The boat ticked a bit knocking Greed off his feet. "And I think he's trying to make me seasick." _____________________________________ "I know.." she kissed him again, "It's just the ocean waves, it takes some getting used to. You want me to see if I can find some sea sickness pills or something?" her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck. _____________________________________ "Why couldn't he drive a cruise ship. I can do those." Now he just wanted to die. His face turned pale the moment they hit a bump or something..."what was that a fucking rock?" He made a dive for the bed because in motion this boat sucked! His face was pale and he was going to curl up in a ball. "Make it stop!" _____________________________________ She knew this was a terrible idea. She sat down next to him on the bed and said, "No, it's like hitting turbulence in the air, it's just the waves." she frowned, "Do you want me to ask him to turn around? I don't think we're too far out and you can go home." if he was regretting his decision which it seemed he was. _____________________________________ "I'm not letting him leave you on an island." He'd have to deal with this. "Just give me a moment." Drowning someone in water was one thing, but moving water when there was an endless ocean out there? It was a little different than a lake. _____________________________________ She stroked his hair and she was kinda touched he was willing to battle his anxiety and sickness just to stay with her. She felt bad tho and she climbed onto the bed with him, pulling the blanket over them, "Hold on to me if you feel like you're gonna fall." because she knew that the rocky motions caused vertigo even if he wasn't moving at all. She sighed, "We're the worst couple..." she was a water baby and he got sea sickness and was scared of it. _____________________________________ "It's not the falling that makes me sick it's the fucking water." He buried his head under the blanket. He would be fine after some sleep. He clung to her until he drifted off and couldn't complain anymore. _____________________________________ She kissed him on his head and neck a couple of times and rubbed his back soothingly until he fell asleep. She squirmed as gently as she could, wriggling out of his grasp and letting him sleep his sickness off. She pulled her snowflake patterned warm jacket tighter around her and joined her grandfather on deck. "He.. hates the water." she explained with a half helpless smile. She wished he didn't since she loved it so much but everyone had their differences. _____________________________________ "I didn't invite him. So it's his problem. I can drop him wherever." Threats took in a deep breath. It was like ice out here still but now the city was becoming more distant. He felt a little less stressed and it showed. _____________________________________ She only said, "He hates the water but he loves me.. so he'll deal with it. He says he's worried you might strand me on an island." but she smiled to show it was more a joke even if it wasn't. _____________________________________ "Somehow I think he'd serious." It didn't make Theseus comfortable, but there were a lot of other things more dangerous than Greed right now. Greed he'd learned unless he was threatened could keep things pretty low profile. Unless he got it in his head to have fun. Which was why Theseus was giving him a go.I'd lashing in the water. Better to keep the Sin down then let him play. _____________________________________ "About loving me or you leaving me on an island? Cause he is serious. About both." she moved a tiny bit closer and was giving him room to bring up whatever was bothering him. _____________________________________ "Leaving you on an island. Though I guess he's never going to let you go either." Theseus wanted him to. He wanted to get away from the Sins, the Olympians, all of them. And he wanted her to come with him. He had been traveling alone for a long time. "How does one of them actually love?" He hasn't figured it out yet, and it kept his mind at bay from his own issues which he was running from. _____________________________________ She smiled, "He trusts you about as much as you trust him." which she was sure put things into prospective for Theseus. She again moved closer and said, "Sins? Well they're entwined with humans, they're just extreme versions of them. Chance is like a mirror though.. he likes having facs and acts, if you're rude to him, he'll puff out his chest and throw that back. When I was kind to him, he as completely taken aback and didn't know how to respond.. but he learned because that's what I showed him." _____________________________________ "The propose of a Sin I imagined had nothing to do with love." But as she explained, he supposed in a way they all wore a number of faces that they showed to the world. Greed just had a million of them. "So how do you know he's not just pulling a face with you?" It was a simple question. _____________________________________ She wasn't offended since she'd wondered that herself, "Because he doesn't stand to gain anything. I'm not rich.. I'm not like slinky slutty gorgeous. He doesn't like my roommate, or my family. And even tho he gets sea sick, hates the water, and can't swim, he's in the middle of the ocean on a boat.. for me. So maybe it's a face but if it is, it sure is a stupid one.." because why would a man go through all that if he wasn't in love? _____________________________________ "He doesn't secretly wish to destroy you?" Greed only purposefully ruined those that got in his way. Zoe was his prize, Theseus just wanted to be sure not at a price. _____________________________________ She actually couldn't help but laugh and walked even closer till she was just half a foot away, "Ummm.. I hope not. He's hurt me pretty badly before and done it to my face but he always tries to understand why and make up for it. He always says he eventually destroys everything because it's in his nature but he also says he's surprised I've lasted this long so I like to think I'm an exception." she wanted to be honest with Theseus to show him she knew the risks and dangers of being with Greed. _____________________________________ "Like the drugs..."Theseus didn't want to hear of or see that again. "You make it sound like he doesn't understand when he hurts you." Theseus wanted to get this right because he was starting to see that with Zoe this was a packaged deal. _____________________________________ She nodded solemnly, "Because sometimes.. he doesn't. The drugs thing.. he wanted to hurt me because he was being a brat. But when I got sick and didn't want to be around him, it was a huge wake up call. Other times.. he's like a typical meathead boyfriend. He'll do dumb stuff that hurts my feelings and I have to explain it to him. Like.. at his company Christmas party this awful woman was grabbing his butt right in front of me.... and he let her. But he wasn't trying to disrespect me, he just didn't understand what those actions meant." _____________________________________ "Maybe he's learning a thing or two." Theseus talked as if Greed was an alien. He was on planet earth but most days he was off in space. Theseus took a seat on the side, pulling on his own coat and settling in to this conversation. It kept his mind off his issues, but they were starting to surface. It was a new burden, and he showed it in the slumped position. _____________________________________ She scooted over to sit near him and said, "He is. It's what happens in love." she looked at him and asked hesitantly, "Haven't you ever been in love..?" didn't he know how relationships worked? _____________________________________ "We've had this conversation before. I was and it was ripped from me by my own son. Lie or not, Phaedra was my favorite." He'd killed his own son for that woman, and he was left entirely alone thinking that it was better that way. _____________________________________ She nodded, "And that's probably the reason I blocked it out." she looked at him, "The point being that relationships, of every kind, are a lot of work, you have to learn and grow with the other person or get left behind." _____________________________________ In that perspective it made him and Greed not so different. They birth had gone to extend for someone they cared about. "Maybe loneliness draws us to someone even when we don't want it." Theseus knew all about it. He exhaled another deep breath. _____________________________________ She scrunched up her face thoughtfully, "I don't know.. there might be some truth to that. I wasn't lonely and neither was Chance when we found each other, we just felt alone." she drew up her knees and hugged them to her chest as she looked at him, "Unless you mean this trip and you asked me to come not because you wanted to but cause you're lonely." she didn't seem upset by that, she knew he needed baby steps. _____________________________________ "I've been running my whole life." He didn't settle, and any chance of happiness was lost because he didn't stick around. It had all gone downhill when he lost his favored wife and sin in the same day. Attachments weren't as important. It just put him at a distance with the rest of the world. Up until now, with Zoe, he hasn't ever taken a moment to breathe and slow down. _____________________________________ Zoe hopped up, "Then you must be exhausted. Come on..." and she walked down the deck and into the little captain's booth helm thing to take a look at where they were and where they could stop. No more running. _____________________________________ She was the calm of a storm, and it was the the first time in a long time that Theseus took a breath. "Where should we go?" He was giving her the captain's wheel. Let her decide and see if it was anywhere he wished to stay. There was a sparkle in her eyes, excitement even. "Do you even know how to read a map?" It wasn't condescending. He'd teach her if she didn't, while that Sin stayed knocked out in another room. _____________________________________ "Somewhere sunny." she said with a laugh, she was tired of the doom and gloom weather they had to live in. "Yes!" she said proudly, "I mean the basics, to look at it and figure out.. I had to learn--" she paused and turned her lips in, she couldn't explain to her grandfather that her interest in maps stemmed from finding the center of things so she and her boyfriend could make love. "Ummm, it's just fun." she said with a sheepish smile. _____________________________________ Theseus had picked up on that she was hiding something. She forgot she begged him to use his father's company jet while he was MIA. So, maybe she just had a thirst fir travelling but there was something else to it. "Alright, you steer for a little while. Tell me where we're going." _____________________________________ "Me?" she squeaked and pointed at herself. She looked excited and went to the helm, "Do I get a hat?" she was only half joking as she studied the map. "What exactly do I do?" she looked worried, she didn't want to crash them. _____________________________________ "Just guide her. Slowly. It's a little different than driving a car, but you have all the time in the world and no traffic." He let her pick the spot and just guided her which direction, how to read the compass and the rest was easy from there as long as they didn't reach any turbulence abs rough waters. The sky was pretty calm and still. "Poseidon used to have domain of the water. You always knew when he was in a bad mood because sailing was near impossible. Think Odysseus." _____________________________________ Her eyes were wide as she looked out at the water, in awe of steering the ship, "Uhhhh I don't know how to drive a car." she explained, "I had to sell grandma's car to pay rent and Chance normally drives if we need to go somewhere or I take the bus." she paid attention to his instructions and wrinkled her nose, "He seems to always be in a bad mood, I'm surprised New York hasn't had a tsunami by now." _____________________________________ "Well the ocean is usually open to go at your own pace. That's the beauty if it. It's home." It was the only place he felt comfortable. No one could take that away. "There was a hurricane, but not sure he had everything to do with that. He's not powerful as he used to be, which probably keeps him in a nasty mood." Theseus got the brunt end of it in a daily basis. When the entire company was scared of Poseidon he practically had free range to do as he wanted. _____________________________________ "Yeah.." she said with a calm sigh when he called the water 'home'. She'd always felt at peace on it, a trait she got from him. She grinned as she steered, "Chance walked through that hurricane to come over, got a nasty cold. And Poseidon can suck a duck, he's a mean old man." then she hesitated and looked at him with a worried expression, her voice lowering, "He can't hear me, right...?" she had no idea how his oceanic powers worked.. _____________________________________ "He is an idiot. A hurricane is not something to just walk into." It was hell enough to sail through. When she lost a little control of steering he came to the rescue like a dad to help put her back on course. "No, he can't hear you." _____________________________________ She grinned a little, "He did it to see me. I mean, technically he did it because he didn't want me to be alone with my best friend at the time who was a boy but yeah...." she let him help her since she was still kinda unsure of what she was doing. But she did breathe easier when he confirmed Poseidon couldn't hear them, "Good. Because he's a jerk." _____________________________________ "A little paranoid isn't he?" He left her alone again when she had the hang of steering again. "Poseidon is a big kid with a magnifying glass. He holds grudges like all Olympians..." It was why he was getting out of dodge right now. _____________________________________ She moved her head side to side like a bobblehead, "Yeah, a bit. He's convinced someone's always trying to 'steal' me. I keep telling him no one wants me but he's a nutcase." she kept her eyes on the water and slowly tested the waters by turning the wheel to not be so straight and narrow, "I guess we're part Olympian too by birth..." it was an odd thought. _____________________________________ "He's clearly been hit in the head too many times. I suppose I'm also a threat." It made perfect sense now as to why Greed had come along on this trip. "Olympians are a special breed I'm not sure any of us quite match. Maybe we are better versions of who they wanted to be. The more human side of them." He could say the same for himself and how she had turned out. She was the better side he was too scared to face. _____________________________________ She laughed, "Yeah, he's taken a few knocks to the noggin." she nodded, "Yup, big time. He thinks either you'll take me away or..." she didn't finish the thought, Greed knew if Theseus abandoned her, it'd devastate her. She thought about it, "Maybe we're who they forgot they were." she'd like to think even as Gods they still had love, family, were people once. _____________________________________ "Maybe...or maybe they want to forget." He'd never wanted to be on Poseidon's bad side before, but the more comfortable Theseus became in his own skin, the less frightening it was now. At this distance no one could touch him. Not Dionysus, not Poseidon, Lust, none of them would find him here. "Maybe they can't be...Maybe I'm just as bad." He was a first generation of children. A demi-god. She was better then both of them. _____________________________________ She gave him a smile as if she didn't believe what he said and put an arm around his middle for an affectionate squeeze, resting her head on the inside of his arm for just a moment, "You're not so bad." _____________________________________ Her hugs were always a surprise. Something warm and inviting. His arm went around her shoulders, giving her the opportunity to keep him calm. "I'm glad someone thinks so." He hadn't had anyone in so long to be a part of his life, she made him think it wasn't so bad.