Thetis | Θετις (argyropeza) wrote in nevermore_logs, @ 2013-11-26 00:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | hephaestus, thetis |
Who: Thetis & Hephaestus (could be open to Aglaia if you want, Lara!)
What: Drinks and quite a bit of crying
When: Monday night
Where: Hephaestus' home
Warnings: Not a lot
Thetis had to forcibly restrain herself from just breaking all of her plates out of rage. She'd set down her long-term plans to Peleus in her journal, and she meant every word. But the longer she sat in her apartment, the more she felt like either screaming or crying. So she pulled on her jacket, grabbed her purse, and hailed a cab to take her to Hephaestus' home. He was one of her oldest friends, and he had, on more than one occasion, been the calm, grounding presence that she needed when she thought she would shatter.
Hephaestus had been sitting in his living room with scotch and a book, when he heard the knock at the door. He wasn't expecting anyone, but maybe it was someone for Aglaia. So he grabbed his cane and made his way to the door, surprised to find a miserable looking Thetis on the other side, shivering slightly against the wind. But she was always welcome in his home, so he simply moved aside so she could enter. "You look troubled," he remarked, hanging her coat and scarf on the coat tree.
Thetis laughed, but it was devoid of all humor. "You could say that," she replied.
"Is it a wine or scotch kind of night?" he asked. They'd done this song and dance before, in both of their homes, in other cities and other times. He knew how it went.
"Scotch," she said, settling into a chair by the fire. "Peleus has returned."
"I'm aware," he said mildly, pouring two tumblers and passing one to her. "He doesn't seem to have changed much."
She snorted. "That's because he hasn't," she answered. "No, he's as arrogant and self-righteous as ever. And I just...I can't avoid him or be rid of him or cut him out of my life, and by all the gods, I want to. I want this joke of a marriage dissolved. I want to be happy, maybe with someone else, maybe on my own, but aren't I allowed that?"
Hephaestus sighed, taking the chair opposite her. "You know that I think you should be able to be happy, of course," he said softly. "I just don't know if it's as simple as...I don't know, never speaking to him again."
"I didn't think it would be," she answered. And she told him what she'd told Peleus she would do to try and find a way out of their 'marriage'. "I meant every word of it," she finished. "I have no doubt there will be a price of some kind, but I'm willing to pay it."
"Don't say that until you know what it is," he warned. "You might regret those words later."
Thetis swallowed more of her drink. "Regret what? Gaining my freedom?" She swallowed hard against the sudden lump in her throat. "I didn't have any choice in this, ever. You remember. They gave me to him, told him how to capture me until I was forced to agree to marry him." She started to cry, tears streaming down her face. "I don't regret having Achilles, I never will, but being shackled to Peleus, however tenuously, I hate it. He doesn't love me, I don't even know if he ever did." She sat her glass down and buried her face in her hands, sobs shaking her body. "They were all so afraid that, gods forbid, their sons would be better than them, it must have hit too close to home, so they didn't care who I got handed off to, as long as it wasn't them." She drew in a great, shuddering breath, swiping ineffectually at her streaming eyes. "And then Peleus, he-he took my son because he thought I was hurting him. I love Achilles, I would never do that, never. I only wanted what was best for him, I wanted to protect him. But he just couldn't see it."
Hephaestus just sat quietly and let her cry and talk, then got up and drew her softly into a hug. She curled into his chest like it would protect her from everything in the world, her tears forming damp spots on his shirt. They stayed like that for a handful of long moments, until she could finally breathe without going straight into another crying jag. "I'm sorry about your shirt," she rasped, wiping at her eyes again.
He waved it away. "It'll dry," he said kindly. "Do you feel any better?"
She gave a tiny nod in response. "A-a bit. But I don't really want to go home, at least not tonight. Can I-can I stay here with you? Just for tonight."
"Of course you can," he answered. "You can take the guest room, it should be all made up."
She finally managed a small smile. "You have always been a good friend to me, Polyphrôn," she told him, suddenly feeling very tired and very old.
"As you have been one to me, Thetis," he answered, smiling in return. He showed her to the guest room, even managing to find some pajamas one of his daughters had left behind. "If you need anything else, I'll be in the living room for a while."
Thetis hugged him again, feeling more at peace than she had for weeks. "Thank you so much," she told him.
"You are most welcome."