Aphrodite - Carmen Summers (adore_me) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2008-09-02 00:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | aphrodite, carmen summers, hermaphroditus, sam harmon |
Who: Aphrodite and Hermaphroditos
What: A chance meeting of mother and child
When: Today - evening
Where: Mall then Aphrodite's shop
Warnings: None
The work of opening a shop was overwhelming for the pampered Aphrodite and the majority of her days were spent outside of the shop instead of in. Her justification (not that she needed it) was time to get to know the city and the people but, better yet, get to know her competition.
Today she found herself lost in a mall, standing outside the Frederick's of Hollywood store, a few bags draped on her arms. Sighing, she stalked left, grumbling to herself. Did a mall really have to this large?
Malls? MALLS! If Sam's domain was in the bedroom, then his playroom was a mall. He looked around the huge building with an observing, playful, and skilled eye. He knew how to get away from the ladies who sprayed experimental perfume in your eyes, the annoying emo kids who think they owned the food court, the fat security guards, everything. But he was too busy looking to a pretty boy passing him to notice he was about to run right into a lady in the door--
OOF.
A loud shriek echoed through the mall causing, if just for a brief moment, the place to fall silent. Aphrodite had stumbled back, dropping her bags to the floor, the contents spilling out for all to see, not that she minded. It was the snapping of one of her heels that caused her the most distress, leaving her hobbling unattractively on one foot.
"You broke my shoe!" she seethed, holding in her scream. "These were a gift! Specially designed! You ruined them!"
Ack! Sam fell back, clapping his hands down on his ears when the shriek hit him. Good gods, that was loud. "Sorry!" he squeaked.
"Sorry? Listen you little-" she stopped, taking in a deep breath and stomping the broken shoe to the ground. "Whatever. The least you can do is pick up my stuff for me instead of laying there being useless."
Sam blinked and then glared. "Hey! You shouldn't be standing in the middle of the entrance!" he snapped right back.
"Don't you dare blame me for your inability to see!" Ripping off the broken shoe, she threw it on the ground, just missing his hand with it. "That was my favorite pair of brown heels," she said to herself, pouting.
Growling, Sam stood to his full height. Which was to say, not terribly impressive. "[Cow!]" It was fun to insult people when they had no idea what they were saying. Huffed up like a fowl, he began to stalk off.
"COW?!" she screamed, gathering the attention of anyone who had been trying to ignore the heated exchange. "How dare you!" The other shoe was soon flying at his head, too insulted to realize the word had been spoken in her old language.
Sam yelped again, this time from the sharp and intense pain of having a heel lodge into where a human's brain stem would have gone. He went down to a knee, clutching the back of his skull. "[Fucking bitch!]" he hissed. Wait. She knew what he said. Blinking in confusion, he turned to look at her. "Wait, what?"
Her eyes were narrowed, the corner of her lip twitching in anger. The thought of clawing out his eyes came to mind, but when she realized he had paused to question her, she had to think back. Was it so difficult to understand that she was upset because he called her a-oh. Wait a minute. "What what?" she asked, crossing her arms and straightening up substantially.
Sam stood as well, picking the shoe up with him. "You... you knew what I said?"
"Of course I knew what you said!" The outburst was rather sudden, her arms flailing, but she quickly drew them back. "And I can't believe you had the guts to call me that! [I. Am. NOT. A. Cow!]"
The youngest Erote stared. "[Who are you?]" he whispered.
She opened her mouth to speak but shut it quickly, turning her head away. She wanted an apology, her bare foot tapping expectantly.
Stepping closer, he handed her the shoe. "[Please? Seriously, don't... don't scream in that tongue around here,]" he warned, feeling a bit of fear creep in, looking all around him. How could he know who was another god and who was not?
Yanking the shoe out of his hand, she dropped it to the ground and stared at him. It was too much to keep up a spell of silence, especially after such a request. "[Don't tell me what to do,]" she hissed, back to glaring.
Eek. "[I'm trying to protect your hide!]"
["If you don't apologize for your insults then you'll need to protect yourself!"] She was definitely stuck on a single thought.
... Sigh. "[Look, I’m sorry! I'll pay for the shoes, honest!]" It'd probably steal out half of his savings, ugh, god he hated expensive shoes. "[I swear it.]"
Pursing her lips, she just shrugged. "[I'll just get a new pair.]" Her eyes went down to the fallen bags on the floor and back to him.
Sam struggled not to make a face, and remembered that he'd done far worse things for people, usually involving his own body. Bending down, he picked up the bags, rearranged the items neatly into them, and held them out. Ta-da.
She walked past him as he held the bags, heading to what she hoped to be the exit. "[What's wrong with speaking loudly?]" she finally asked.
"[Well, that depends... Who are you?]" asked Sam in a whisper, following after her. He continued to look about him nervously.
"[If you can't trust me, how am I suppose to trust you?]" she asked, stopping him by the arm and pulling him into the first shoe store they passed. A quick replacement pair was all she needed.
"[Who else can tell you why you really need to be a little more discreet?]" Wait, why were they still talking in Greek? Crap!
Glancing over the first row of shoes, she is momentarily distracted. "[What name would you like?]"
"[Your true one.]"
Picking up a brown shoe, she dropped it to the floor and tried it on. The small mirror on the seat at the ground provides enough of a reflection for her to decide the shoe is not flattering enough. Leaving it on the ground, she moved on. "[Aphrodite.]" Saying the name brought a smile to her face.
... Sam blinked, face paling. "[Mother?]" His voice was barely a whisper, his hands trembling. It couldn't be.
A delicate brow raised, full attention on him. "Excuse me?" The ancient language is forgotten in her surprise.
The love god felt his lip wibble like a child's. "Mom... it's me... [Your son with the messenger.]"
Blink. Blink. "Hermie?!" she squeaked, throwing her arms around him in something reminiscent of a rarely given hug.
"Yes!" Despite his male facade, Sam couldn't help but squeal and return the tight hug. Oh gods. His mother? His mommy? He couldn't believe it!
She drew back, cupping her face in his hands. "You're really here?" she asked, petting his face, inspecting him now. In all of her years she had not encountered her family, it was so nice to be touching someone familiar. "Look at you, you're quite magnificent."
Sam blushed mightily. "I, um, thank you, Mama. What are you doing here?" He didn't bother to inspect her; she was magnificent, as always.
"Me? I needed a new city," she said, brushing her fingers into his hair for just a moment and drawing back, attention back on shoes. "And I had never been to Miami. How do you find it?"
"I had a lover who was from here, always loved it. He... he died, and I promised him when he was alive I'd visit. So, I am taking classes at the college, for now." He shrugged. "But it's been so crazy!"
"Oh my poor Hermie," she said softly, picking up a pair of white shoes and doing the same thing with the pair as the first one she had tried. "What's so crazy about Miami? It's just like the other cities I've encountered, only a little more bright."
"Well, for one..." Wait. He glanced around nervously and answered in a whisper, "Too many mortals. Is there somewhere private we can go?"
"Oh, yes, yes," she said, grabbing the first discarded shoe and its box and taking it to the counter to pay. "The painters should be out to lunch by now, my shop will be clear."
"Shop?" Ooh, fun. He quickly nodded and followed after her. This conversation would have to be private, to be safe.
Keeping the box at the counter, she pulled her new shoes on and headed towards the exit. "How are you taking care of yourself? Your clothes look a little...old," she mentioned offhandedly.
Sam pouted. "Being a college student is not glamorous," he sighed. "Lead the way, please?"
"Let me buy you something then, at least to make you more presentable," she said, leading him to the exit. "I know that today's fashion focuses on a dirty look, but please, you know better than that."
Ahh. He remembered this sort of conversation. 'You look nice, really, you're fine! But...' Ugh, it rang echoes into his childhood. She was a fine friend... just not always a great mother. But that way he knew enough to shut up and just nod in agreement.
The entire walk to her shop was nothing but ragging on today's choice fashion and how she could easily do better, that she would do better. "Well, here we are," she stepped through the front door. The shop was still under construction, but the majority of the white was up on the walls and a few boxes had been cleared out. No one else was around.
Oh thank the gods. Sam quickly stepped inside and, closing the door, said, "The other gods are trying to kill us." Simple!
Her head slowly tilted to the side and she found herself staring at him for a moment. "What are you talking about?"
Taking a deep breath and a seat on the first box he could find, he told her about it all. About the Egyptians, their plans, what they had done to many other gods including some Greeks. The story still gave him chills. Once he was done, he sat back in silence to let her absorb.
The blank face she had kept through his story was gone in an instant, replaced with a deep frown and a furrowed brow. It looked like she was about to burst into tears. "There are others here?!"
"Yes! Um, let me think. A few muses, Apollo, Grandpa, Hades, Hestia, Grandpa's mortal son or the newest one anyway, Hera, Herakles, I think I heard a rumor about Hephaestus but that might just be a rumor."
She smiled, smiled wider, and then suddenly curled her nose in disgust. "Well, I can't wait to see them!" Most of them, anyways. "It's been so long. Oh Hermie, I bet they've missed me terribly."
Sam bit back a small comment about how the chaos was already pretty good without her and gave her a hug instead. "It's good to see you safe..."
"Aw, thank you," she said, sounding truly touched. She pet his face again and drew back. "If you see anyone, tell them I'm here," she said with a smile, slipping off the shoes she had bought and walking them to the trash. "How have you been...handling...things?" she asked, unsure how to really ask about his physical appearance.
He caught her tone, and glanced down to his flat chest. "The years have had a funny effect on me. Whatever god granted the nymph's wish must be dead or weak, because I can choose between what I look like more easily now." The god offered her a smile that reassured her that all was well, even when her comment stung a little. It was hard to be the freak son of a goddess of perfection.
"Oh, that's good to hear," she said with a tight-lipped smile. It was still hard for her to handle. She approached him again, patting his cheek. "Well, if your feminine half is looking for a job, you're welcome to work for me."
Sam blushed and looked around at the store. "Here? What sort of place is it?"
"What sort of shop do you think I'd open?" she asked, knocking him gently off the box he had been sitting on, pulling out a piece of lingerie.
The son had to laugh, and replied, "Hey, could've been a porn video store! Or one of those massage parlors were you get happy endings or something." With such a goddess around, who knew. "You know, I could work here as a boy, too... Men like sexy clothes, too."
She held the piece up to herself, much too large, and threw it back into the box. "Please, I offer so much more than cheap thrills," she said, tapping her chin. "Though the back is quite large...do you think I should invest in some more provocative toys?" Her mind was off on the new topic, though the job offer was bound to come back around sometime. Possibly.
Sam chuckled. "Maybe. I have so little experience with what American people like in regards to sex... I have been here only about a year. I spent the past decades in France."
"France? Well, you are my child after all," she said with a dazzling smile. "Would you really want to work here?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, the majority of my staff will be women. In lingerie. But I'm sure I could find someone suitable to...both forms."
Both forms. Oh, just say it Aphrie. "I can take care of either gender, mother," he said quietly.
"Of course you can, I just...well," she sighed and glanced away. "I was thinking that gold and red would be the best colors for my shop. Sensual, classy, and it would go well with some of those designs my window dresser created."
Sam looked away as well, ashamed. For who, though? He wasn't quite sure. "So... here, this is my number, at the college. My address..." He took out a pen and wrote it down onto a spare receipt from a store. "In case you want to call me?"
"Well you had best stay by your phone," she said with a smile, "I've been away from you too long to let you go on your own already. Maybe next time we can get you some...more suitable clothes?"
"I'll do my best, mama." The son stood and brushes himself off a bit, suddenly super self-conscious about... well, everything. She had that effect on everyone, him especially it seemed. "I'll consider your offer, too, thank you."
She cupped his cheek, brushing her thumb along the skin. "Don't be afraid to ask me for anything that you need. You know where I'm at now, come by when you're free. Bring your friends if you'd like," she added, though a little awkwardly. Was that was parents did these days? Impressed their children's friends?
Friends. Right. Besides the two lovebirds in his dorm? He tried to think of any friends, and failed. "Okay."
"Here," she said, handing him a card quickly that she procured from her pocket. "That's all you need in case you have an emergency. And if you see anyone else...family wise, send them my way. Please?" She batted her eyes at him.
He felt his heart stop just like everyone's did when she did such things, and nodded. How could he deny her?
"Thank you, Hermie!" Her arms went around him in another, awkward hug. "You should come back soon, there's so much we need to talk about!" Not that she could really think of it at that moment, but she was certain there was something she could bring up.
Blushing again, he gave her another tight hug, hoping she'd feel his love just from that. "Okay. I'll call you soon. Okay?" Right. Forcing himself to pull away, he took a step back and towards the door. "Night."
Summary: Aphrodite and Hermaphroditos are reunited and he fills her in on who's actually around and what's going on.