The door swung open and he stumbled in, leaning against the doorframe for support, a low grunt falling from his lips. A hand brushed unkempt hair aside, and it took him a moment to realise that there were other people in his house.
Unlike everyone reintroducing themselves to him though, these two boys needed no introduction.
It wasn't often that he felt guilt, but with kids he never spent time with, he didn't know if he'd ever stop feeling guilty. He tried, but he'd never really been there for them, and he knew that nothing he could do now would ever be worth anything. Boys became men but men can't become boys again, and he can't make amends anymore.
He knew, better than anyone else.
Cold water against his face sobered him up a little, and he stared at his reflection in silence, water dripping from his face and hair. It took him a while to realise that he had lost everything that was worth losing, and no amount of water or alcohol or blood can bring any of it back.
The mirror in the bathroom shattered, and Ares wandered back out into the living room, pulling shards of mirror from between bloodied knuckles, dropping them carelessly onto the floor. He wasn't even aware of how many times he had broken that mirror, and how often they got a call from him the next day to get a new one fitted in.
Sitting on the kitchen counter, he watched his boys sleep, blood oozing out from the back of his hand until it went pale and numb.