WHO: Melpomene, Tragos WHEN: Saturday night, directly after she walks away from Ares WHERE: Ares gym WARNINGS: Aftermath of rough sex
Not far beyond Ares' doorway, Melpomene ran into one of his men in the hall, and grabbed his arm before he could walk right past her. "You. Take me to Tragos," she said, with all the proud, furious authority she had in her. She saw him take in her split lip, his eyes moving down her body, her bare skin and the pants that wouldn't close anymore. Saw him grin.
"You ever decide to upgrade that kid for a real man, you find me instead," he leered at her, and she stared him down. He was not even a shadow of the man Ares was, and Melpomene could handle Ares. She could fucking handle him. She could - honestly, she could barely stand, but she could reach for the knife in her boot, hold it in her hand as an obvious threat. "Suuure," he said, more amused than threatened, only doing as she'd asked because he knew she was Ares'.
She followed him to a door that looked the same as any other, but he stopped her. "No tail beyond this point," he said, eyeing her in a way that made him want to stab them out. "Sit. Stay."
Or maybe she'd rip out his tongue.
She leaned against the wall as she waited, arms crossed in front of her, thinking about Ares.
The way he recoiled, she held onto that, like she was too much for him to take. Good, it was good. But - she shifted against the wall - it hurt, oh fuck how it hurt, like it was always going to, in the end.
Crazy, hormonal addled, stupid, a mad bitch who didn't know when to stop. Ares could call her whatever he wanted, she could be all those things, sure, but no matter what he called her, he couldn't pry her loose. No matter how hard he fucked her, either. Their destinies were entwined, as much as he denied it. And destiny was like one of those fingertraps, the more you struggled, the tighter it took hold.
However he chose to treat this child would affect it in the years to come, like it had so deeply affected Marcie. Bought her all the way to New York to fight for a place among the gods, Melpomene was pretty damn impressed, really. Yes... Oh yes, she would have to meet with Marcie again.
She was finding it a little hard to think straight (I'll show you crazy) but she had to believe Ares would be too. Had to believe she'd left something under his skin, like a splinter, ripe for infection.
Fuck you, she thought at him, but also, go, Ares, go fuck up somebody else. Go have a terrible week. Little ripples of misery were spreading out from her with each move she made. She was that butterfly that flapped its wings in New Mexico and caused a hurricane in China.
But also, gods fucking dammit, she hurt.
Tragos came slamming out of the door so hard it bounced off the other wall, and stopped, staring. "What the fuck?" he demanded, giving her the same once over, starting with her busted lip and ending with her pants, but unlike the older guy, his eyes moved back up to her face.
"Yes I know," she said, her voice still ragged, as she took in him. He had a vicious look in his eyes, like he might take on Ares himself. She had to admit, that gave her a small thrill, but no, she didn't want that. "You look worse," she said, and twisted the corner of her mouth up at him.
Tragos took a moment to figure out how to react, caught off guard by the smile, and in the end he grinned in return. It was true. The bruise on his jaw would cover half of his face by the time it had fully developed, blood had dried around both nostrils, and he had a monster shiner brewing. "Barak lost a tooth," he said proudly, and Melpomene grinned back at him and tasted blood.
"Come here," she said, reaching out for him, and he stepped in close. Melpomene pressed her hand against his chest and lay her forehead against his collarbone, and allowed herself to melt into him. Tragos lifted his hand (knuckles purple, days old scabs burst open despite the wrap) and - after a long second of indecision - placed it over the back of her head.
"Get me out of here, Tragos," she whispered, and he wrapped her up in his hoodie (it smelled, rather violently, of Axe) and took her home.