Dante Lot (unseen_miami) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2008-12-11 16:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | children, dante lot, hades, nick aiolos, pelops |
Who: Nick & Hades
What: Two Questions
Where: Hades' office
When: Today
Warnings: None
Julie and the rest probably recognized him by now. Since he'd started working for Hades, and realized what a shit it was, he'd felt a sort of kinship with them. So, he made it a point to grab the secretary staff a bag of doughnut holes, glazed, when he was on his way to the office.
Walking up, the mortal placed the bag on Julie's desk. "Hey."
The three-person paid staff would probably not understand Nick's dismay at working for Dante Lot, but of course they were getting paid forty to sixty grand a year and had full health, dental and paid holidays, vacation and sick leave. Not too bad in the current job market for a bunch of people under the age of twenty-five. However, they would never turn down doughnut holes. In that regard they were like vultures.
Paper work was spread out over the pool table as the other two workers looked up and kept their eyes on Julie and more importantly the bag. Julie glanced down at it with a smile before looking up at Nick, “Guess ya were called in?”
He nodded and jerked his head to the office. "Can I go in, or do I have to speak with a little green man behind a door." Can't see the god of death, not no way, not no how.
“Hmm, let me check if he's doin' something completely insane in there.” There was always a strong possibility. Julie leaned back in her rolling chair and pulled the door to the private office open a little to look in. He seemed busy doing some sort of writing, with notes of some sort at his one side. Of course he called for Nick. He's was putting off work. It all made sense now. Shaking her head a little, she slammed the door shut to break her employer's attention and then looked back up to Nick, “Yeah, ya can go on in. I think he's ready for ya.”
Inside, Hades put aside his work and checked his pocket watch. His slave had made good time; that was always a benefit. Giving a quick glance to his sons merrily playing in their playpen, he summoned his helm of invisibility and faded from sight. Ah, now he was ready to talk to Nick.
"Thanks," said the slave to Julie and the rest before heading in. Ah, the empty chair of doom. "Why do you even do that anyway?" he asked with only curiosity in his voice. "You know I Googled how you look like months ago anyway."
“Like to. Would spend most of my day invisible if I could get away with it. Besides, I think it sets the proper mood.” Hades responded slowly, leaning back in his chair, tilting it just slightly. “Go ahead and sit. Want to ask you two questions... well, a series probably, but you only have to answer the two main questions. Ready?”
Blinking again, Nick sat. This was weird. He usually just got orders, and left. "Okay, sure."
Nick would think it was less weird when he heard the series of questions. Hades took a deep breath, “Number 1. The more recent one. What the hell is wrong with you? Seriously? I shouldn't have to ask ya how you are when I told ya to tell me when you were less emotional. I should have heard back from you as soon as yer emotions settled. Do ya just want to get me in moods? Do ya get some sick enjoyment from it? Did Poseidon take you under the water in your past and do some crazy S&M bullshit with you so bein' a masochist is imprinted on your soul now?”
... The mortal didn't reply. For lack of better words, he was stumped. That, and mentioning Poseidon never did him a world of good. "I've been busy," he finally said. "With Helen and all... especially after what happened with her. And, well, I met Hestia in town a week ago. She mentioned you were brooding." The unspoken word being 'again'. "I figured it was better not to annoy you now." For the sake of his own hide, clearly.
Not that it mattered to Nick, but Hades crossed his arms over his chest in thought. That was almost compassion from his slave to him. Abet a little selfish, but still. Was compassion a good enough excuse to disobey due to neglect? Not really... But for once he gave Nick the pass. Probably due to the mention of Helen. “Fine. Next time, however, you send the text. If I am not in the mood, I will just ignore it until I am. I have question two. It's a bit dated as I've been saving it since Helen's kidnapping. Ready?”
Nick nodded.
No smart ass response? His slave was learning maybe. Hades stopped his leaning and reached into one of his desk drawers to pull out an index card. Yes, he had written down the question so he wouldn't forget it when time started to march on. “Okay. So what the hell is wrong with your family? Are they all vindictive greedy harpies or do some of them have souls?”
Now Nick just frowned. "They're a family. Which means for every great, nice person who's in it, there's a horrible bitch or bastard who makes my life miserable." Which, come to think of it, sounded just like Hades' family. Coincidence?
“So they're not in this bullshit together? 'Cause so far I have had to get your lawyers to bring down a possible murder charge and had to help get your daughter back from a kidnapper, who was a family friend... servant, whatever, from the old country. Not just that, but when I was slinkin' around that hotel room, he was tryin' to do a paternity test and was testin' against yer DNA, trying to disprove Helen as yers.” Hades put the index card away, tearing it up and throwing it out in his waste basket under his desk. As far as Nick could see though it just looked like confetti being spontaneous created before his eyes, “Because if they're all like that, I'm gonna see if I can send an Ares-boat to deal with the lot of them. Enough is enough.”
Nick's face paled considerably. Clearly, he hadn't been told this. But, now it made sense. More sense than just some random kidnapping without even a ransom note. "Sounds like my Aunt is staying busy," he growled. His fists clenched hard until his knuckles turned white on the armrests of the chair. That bitch.
Hmm, Nick didn't know? See, this is why he should have told Hades he was emotional stable earlier... would have learned sooner. “Is she bein' shunned yet... or better yet, rotting in jail yet?”
"Shunned is a good word for it," he grumbled. "She was pushing for me to get a blood test done earlier. Accusin' Mel of being a gold digger, you know the rest. My grandma suggested shunning first..." He shook his head, then buried it in his hands. Out of all the bastards and damned immortals in Miami he had to deal with, he'd thought he could trust his family.
Apparently not.
"She's been kicked out of the family, pretty much. I gave her some money, enough to keep her out of debt until she figures out what she's gonna do since she can't work in the family business anymore, and her land. Everything else is mine now. She's not allowed within a hundred feet of any of my property, and I can call the cops on her if I want."
Gave her money? It would have been better to give her a bullet in the head but alas, few ever took his advice. Shunning was good enough and twice as cruel if it worked. “Good. Then I don't have to see if I can get an Ares-boat to exterminate the lot of them. You assure me the rest of them are sane or at least functionally not evil, yes?”
He nodded again, dragging his hands down across his face with a sigh. "As far as I know... She was the only one who had issues with Mel. The rest are kind of just disappointed; they wanted me to marry a Greek girl then have lots of sons, the works. Grandma's just happy I'm getting laid in the first place."
Hades shook his head a little. He suddenly decided he hated Greek families. They all ended up nuts. He would gladly put his in that group and could only hope that his sons would grow up British and American and escape the curse of being Greek. “Was a girl named 'Melpomene' not good enough for them?”
"The fact that her name means 'tragedy' kind of put them off," he pointed out. "Greeks are still superstitious as ever."
More like as ungrateful as ever. Hades shook his head again and this time put aside his own personal resentment toward the Greek people. “Fine. Just wanted to know what was wrong with them... and you.”
"Nothing's wrong with me," Nick grumbled, but it came off more like an instinctive defense rather than an actual offended pride. Like he was used to having to defend it, but wasn't wholeheartedly into it anymore.
“Well, there's nothing completely wrong with masochism, but its a dangerous trait in a slave. Dangerous for the both of us.” Hades' response came out half as a cruel joke and half as actual sincere advice. He would have said more but Edward had looked around and grown concerned that he could hear Daddy's voice but didn't know where he was. His little face was crunched up ready to cry, while his brother ignored him to gnaw on a plush block. Hades rose to his feet and returned back to visibility with a pained shudder, forgetting Nick was even there to touch his distressed son atop his head. Only then did he remember Nick. “But my questions are done now.”
Nick looked up with slight surprise. Whoa, hello there. "Okay. Anything else?"
Hades didn't especially like mixing moments of caring father with harsh master, but sometimes he had no choice. He picked little Edward up and brought him back with him to his chair to sit on his lap in comfort. “Not today. Be happy for that. I will have errands for you again soon enough.”
The mortal nodded and headed out the door, with heavy thoughts on his head and heart.
Hades was already ignoring his slave. Only little Edward wasn't. He waved to the departing man like only a small child could and called out, “Bye bye!”
Summary: Hades called Nick in once he found out he was emotionally stable to ask him two questions, but even though he's the one asking them, Nick's the one that learns important information.