Who: Apollo and Adam What: Food chain Where: Some small lunch shop near campus When: BACKDATED... Warnings: None.
To say Apollo was looking forward to his meeting with Adam would have been a complete lie. He could think of no positive reason why Polyhymnia's...whatever he was...would want to talk to him. He hadn't done anything to upset her lately, so he couldn't be coming to bitch him out; not that he ever had before, but maybe the guy had just been biding his time. Or held grudges. Or something.
The cafe he'd chosen as their meeting spot wasn't far from the campus, so he'd dumped all his books into his car before walking over. His regular seat was free, so he slid into it and studied the menu with a marked lack of interest as he waited. Sigh.
Texts were never meant to be super long to Adam, and since there was no reason he could see for Apollo to be worried, he didn't really see why he should state that there wasn't one. Coming up to the shop, he glanced at his watch, then glanced around for the immortal. Spotting the blonde, he moved over to the table, and dropped himself down into the free seat. "Hey," he greeted with a nod, reaching for a free menu to glance at as well.
Well, wasn't he just all...nonchalant about everything? Suspicious. He picked up his drink and sipped at it slowly, watching Adam over the rim of the glass. There wasn't much he could tell from one word, so that was completely not helpful.
After a few moments, as nothing more was said, he set the glass down and crossed his arms. "So what's this all about? I don't remember doing anything to piss anyone off lately, least of all you, so please...enlighten me."
Adam blinked, clearly confused by the statements. Um, what? He set the menu aside for the moment as he though about what was said. "Nothing. I just wanted a chance to meet with you." He shrugged, relaxed and calm. And truthful. He really didn't have some deep dark reason for his plans to meet with the god. "You mean a lot to Shiri. I thought it would be good if we could have lunch or hang or something."
He wasn't lying, Apollo knew that much. Still, none of it made any sense. "Are you sure she didn't put you up to this? Because there are very few people who choose to willingly hang around me, so you can see where I'd find this kind of weird." Weird and a little aggravating that he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something...
His eyebrows went up, his expression open as he slouched back in his own chair, then smiled slightly. "She didn't put me up to this. It just seemed like a good idea." He held up his hand in the classic boy scout salute. "Scout's honor." Not that he was ever a boy scout, but the intention was there.
Apollo relaxed slightly, shifting in his seat and reaching for his drink again. Still no lies, and he couldn't make something from nothing, so there were no accusations. "Anyone ever tell you that there's something wrong with you? I could check, if you'd like; might be a mental imbalance. Hit your head recently?" There had to be some reason why he thought this was a good plan.
Honestly, what Muse boyfriend wanted to hang with the jealous brother?
Clearly the muse boyfriend who hadn't done anything to piss the jealous brother off, and really, he wanted to keep it that way.
"Not that I can think of." Since Apollo seemed to be relaxing, Adam straightened and reached for the menu once more, beginning to glance it over for a few ideas on what to eat. He raised his eyes to the immortal. "Have you ordered anything yet?"
There went that theory then. Damn. There had to be something wrong with him. In the head. Maybe he'd been born that way. He sighed, and glanced down at his own menu again, frowning at it a little. "No, not yet. To be honest, I was anticipating not being in the mood to eat."
"Oh." Uh, that might kill that idea then. He had offered to buy drinks. "Did you want to do something else?" If they did, he'd need to grab something to go then. Having skipped on part of lunch with the simple intention of meeting for a late lunch. His stomach would start to be audible.
He shook his head. "No, it's fine. I just figured that after you got here, I'd be getting up to leave shortly after, that's all." But that didn't seem to be the case now. Strangely enough. So, there was no reason not to sit back and have his first meal of the day.
"You can, but I hoped we could talk for at least a bit. Besides, I already offered to pay." Adam shrugged once more. He really wasn't too concerned about it. If Apollo chose to left, that was his own call.
"You're...sort of missing the point here." How else could he put this? He'd thought he'd been pretty clear. "I expected this to go badly? You know? Considering who you are and who I am and how these meetings never go well..." Yes?
"We didn't have any problems when you came to the gallery showing last spring," Adam pointed out. "We haven't talked, so I don't see why we'd be having any problems."
"The gallery was different," he replied, sitting back and offering the waitor his menu as he ordered. "And we haven't talked because I promised I wouldn't get involved, remember? I said I'd leave you two alone." If only to avoid more grief for himself.
Adam made his own order, then shrugged as the waiter left. "You and Shiri are getting along. And it makes her happy to think of us getting along." He cocked an eyebrow. "I'd probably have to crash at a friend's house for the next month if I did something to piss you off, actually."
That actually got a little laugh out of him. "That's the one thing I always liked about you, kid; you know exactly where we all stand in the grand scheme of things." That was the problem with the others, really. They'd all started out thinking they were equals. Or, in the case of Erato's new man, betters.
Being called kid by someone who looked the same age as him, roughly, was a bit odd, but Adam only shrugged, picking up the glass of water he had for a sip before answering. "There's never really been a question about it. Well, none after I found out about her past." Mostly the part that she was a muse. You couldn't keep him from thinking them equal when he didn't know that he was playing with a muse and this was her musagetes.
That hadn't stopped the others, though he supposed he grudingly got along with Nick these days. Not that they really spoke very often. Or ever. Which was kind of sad, because the sex had been more than decent, even if it was sort of...accidental. "There is that, isn't there?"
Hey. Waitor! Another drink over here. Chop chop. "So what's she been doing lately anyway? Last I heard from her she was lamenting the fact that we're all so ugly on the inside, anatomically speaking."
Adam grinned, chuckling slightly at that image. That did sound like something she would say. "Mostly the yoga classes, getting ready for school, playing a new violin that she was given..." He shrugged. She was doing what she did best and that tended to be whatever caught her attention at the moment. "My father also gave me a pair of tickets to go to France, as a graduation gift. We'll probably go sometime this month, once she gets her papers in order."
Apollo nodded absently. "France is horrible. Why would you wanna go there?" Actually, he just had a bais against the country for personal reasons, but...no one needed to know that, right? "Probably why she didn't mention it to me," he said in an unconcerned tone; no sense getting all bent out of shape about it. Yet, anyway.
"We haven't discussed it much, so it probably won't be until the end of the month." He mentioned, watching at the waiter came over with their orders of drinks, promising the food shortly. "Once we know the actual dates, she'll probably tell you." Though he wouldn't be surprised if she left others out of the know. Either purposely or on accident.
"Maybe." At this point, it didn't matter if she did or not; he already knew. "What about you? Anything ridiculously exciting, or just the usual rushing to keep up with my sister's ever-changing whims? Attention span of a goldfish, I swear."
"I had a real gallery showing, a last minute set up. It landed me with another one, actually. So it's been art and the bar for the most part." He let the comment about her attention span slide. Easily distracted? Possibly, but Adam had learned how to flash shiny and keep her focused, or just go in whatever direction she went. Most of the time, he didn't really mind.
A loving insult, of course. Besides, it wasn't like everyone didn't know it was true.
Another nod. "I might have come if I'd known." Maybe. Mostly it would have depended on his mood on that particular day. Then again, he probably wasn't anyone's idea of a great guest to have at an event like that.
"It was last minute, so I didn't really get the chance to tell anyone.If you're interested at all, I can give you the name and dates of the next one," he offered. It would be interesting to have Apollo see his work, and find out what he thought. Shiri approved, and had assisted, with most of what was being shown, so he knew it wasn't a complete bust. He also didn't really expect others to come. It was a gallery showing. Rarely were they the event of the year.
He couldn't deny being a little jealous. It had been ages since he'd done anything that was worth showing anyone, and he sort of missed the days of being an artist. The brief burst of inspiration he'd had before he'd started med school had fizzled out prematurely, and the whole episode with Hades hadn't helped him get it back at all. "Yeah. Sure. No promises though."
Pfft. He'd probably go.
Grabbing one of the paper napkins and a pen from his pocket, Adam scribbled down the information and pushed it toward the god. "Shiri would probably enjoy seeing you come," he mentioned, thinking of the possible giggling that would occur, especially if she had a few glasses of champagne.
He glanced at the information, then carefully folded the napkin and tucked it into the pocket on his shirt. "I'm sure she would. Maybe I should try for a disguise then..." You know, to avoid things getting awkward.
He arched an eyebrow. "Do you really think that would work?"
"Worth a shot? I mean, I wouldn't want to distract her from you with my being there, so..." Shrug.
"I'll probably be trying to answer questions about artists I've never heard of." He sometimes wondered if there was a listing he'd missed. There were a lot of local artists he'd never heard of, and everyone seemed to think that they were he inspiration. If they only knew... "If you'd rather come when she's not there, I could find out if there's a time she plans to be at home?"
Their food arrived, and Apollo picked at his salad as if he were checking to make sure the depth of color was right on every bite before he actually ate it. "No, don't do that. Then she'll ask why, and it'll eventually come out, and then she'll get all upset about it."
He shrugged, grabbing ketchup for his fries. "If that's what you want." Adam wasn't about to argue with him. Partly because it wasn't in his nature, partly because it just seemed like a stupid thing to argue about. "What is it that you've been doing? You said you had classes."
Apollo grimaced. As the semester wore on, he was starting to like the idea of being there less and less. Sure, he'd skipped all the general courses, and would be on his way to residency a lot sooner because of it, but... It had been a stupid idea. "Medical School. Thrill a minute, let me tell you." Break for sarcasm.
Adam smirked. "Do you end up skipping all the classes except on test days?" He knew a few people who had done that in the past.
"Mostly. It's all stuff I know already, so what's the point of sitting through lectures? I've gone through this a few times before; medicine hasn't changed that drastically in the past couple decades. It's kinda like...driving a car, yeah? You never actually forget." Pity he could just...test out of everything, but that would raise a lot of strange questions, and...well...not a good idea.
"Is there any new research, medical drugs or studies that you hadn't heard about before?" It seemed a reasonable question. The way the body worked wouldn't change, the amazing combination of chemicals scientists would try to string together though was another story. He popped a french fry into his mouth, sizing up the burger he'd ordered.
Ew. Meaty. He focused on his ruffage. "A few, sure, but they aren't hard to figure out when you already know everything else. Read a couple journals, ask a few questions..." He shook his head. "Then again, even if could just skip to being a practicing doctor, I still wouldn't much enjoy it."
"Why not?" Yes, he wanted his meat, and enjoyed it. Once the burger was fixed properly unaware of Apollo's dislike for it, he took a bite and began to chew with his mouth closed.
"No offense to present company, but I don't much care for mortals anymore. Part of being a doctor is being concerned for their health, wanting to help them, and it really...doesn't matter to me much these days." It was petty, he knew, but he couldn't help it; they'd tossed him aside for 'better' things, and now he had to suffer through existence.
Adam considered that. Some did it because there was a challenge, but when you, literally, had all the inside information, there didn't seem to be much of a challenge to the puzzle. "So why are you doing it?" he asked. Why do something that it seems like he'd almost hate?
"The Old Man suggested it. He thought that if I did something I was good at, it'd help me be less of a pathetic asshole. I went with it because I didn't have any other ideas, and now I'm sorta...stuck with it." Another grimace, and he popped a cherry tomato in his mouth.
"Maybe there's some part of it that could be interesting," he suggested with a shrug, taking another bite of his burger. He really didn't know how the break down of becoming a doctor went, but there had to be more than a single path.
Shrug. "I try not to think about it very much." He wasn't optimistic about finding something that wasn't going to bore him to death, and he couldn't imagine that anyone would even want to come to him when he could care less about them. Oh well.
"You play basketball at all?" Apollo sounded done with the topic, and Adam didn't really have any useful answers. It wasn't like he could tell him what to do with his immortal life.
"Can't say that I have. Compared to those that usually do, I'm not nearly tall enough, and generally speaking I'd rather pretend I'm watching while I nap sitting up." Smirk. He'd never really played any sports, not seriously anyway.
Well, scratch that thought. Shiri tended to watch him play, but based that she normally made him play shirtless, he knew what her reasons were. Apollo would be more than bored. "What do you do besides school?"
"Besides Dionysus? I pretend I can still write music, and chase my dog through the neighborhood." Grumble. There were, of course, the usual past times too; smoking, drinking, television. "I used to do my fair share of art too, but..." Headshake. "A lot of crap, really. Oh, and some chick has me giving her violin lessons. Twice a week, I think..." He didn't remember; she always texted him beforehand.
Adam blinked, then glanced about them at the casual use of the god's name. No one seemed to notice or care. Most, if any heard, probably thought of it as a nick name. "What type of dog do you have?"
Yeah, no one there was paying much attention, were they? Most of them, he suspected, were half asleep college students who were barely aware they were sitting down to eat; it was a condition he used to his advantage frequently.
"Border collie. I know people say they're really smart dogs, but Elvis must have been dropped down the stairs at birth, because he's not terribly bright."
"Not real trainable?" he chuckled, taking a few more bites of food.
"No, not really. He only listens half the time and even though I've had him since he was a puppy, I still haven't managed to get him to understand 'sit'. So I guess he's either really stupid, or disturbingly smart; selective attention." Creepy, really. He was leaning towards just plain dumb, though.
"Have you taken him to a trainer?" They had to be used to stupid dogs, right? He'd never had a dog himself, but it seemed that sometimes the dog needed to be trained, and sometimes the person who was trying to train them did. Here he was expecting it was the first.
Apollo shook his head and pushed his empty plate aside. "No. I mean, he's dumb, but he's not destructive, so I kind of just...live with it. He's at least smart enough to know when to stay out of my way..." He smirked, just a little; everyone knew he had a temper. At least he admitted it, right?
"Can't be completely stupid then." Adam finished off the burger and began to pick at the fries. Everyone had a temper, and dogs were supposed to be good at reading moods. But if a dog knew to stay out of the way, Adam was willing to give him some credit.
"Very poor guard dog though, and he's got a bad habit of hiding small electronics." Tsk. Just when you thought you'd found every hiding place, he managed to come up with a new one.
"Does he bury them?" That would not be good if he did it when the sprinklers were on. Bye bye fancy toys. It made Adam a bit glad he'd never wanted a dog really.
"Not yet, but when I've found everywhere in the house he can hid something I'm sure he'll start taking them out back and asking the cows for ideas." Wouldn't that be a fun time...
"The cows?" Did Apollo live on a ranch somewhere? It was a bit confusing, but it also didn't really matter. He lived wherever he lived, and Shiri knew how to get there.
"Yeah. Two of them; white ones. They were, I guess you could call them a 'peace offering', from Mel's...whatever he is now. I asked him to find me an awesome cow, and he came back with two; I was a little miffed at that, but..." Shrug. Cows got lonely too. "I keep'em in the back yard; it's pretty huge."
"I didn't know cows were allowed within city limits." Huh. Look at that. It was probably more a case of 'if no one complained...'. He finished off what he wanted off his fries and pushed the plate away, picking up his drink. "Do you want to order anything else?"
"I don't actually live inside the city. Just outside actually. No one's said anything about it yet; the place used to be a dump, so maybe they're just glad I finally had it overhauled." Shrug. Did he want anything else? Nah. He shook his head. "I'm good."
As the waiter came back, Adam asked for the bill. "Probably. Most neighborhoods hate having bad buildings around." Loss of value to the area? Something of that nature. He wasn't really concerned about it.
"I miss it being a dump." Sulk. Even after all this time, he still sort of missed the whole sleeping in a pile of stuff and avoiding door-to-door salesmen gig. "Things were much simpiler then..."
The mortal shrugged as the check was delivered. "It's easy to make it one again."
"Believe me, I would if I lived there myself. I only fixed it up because D was moving in." Which he didn't regret, mind you, it was just. Yeah. He missed how things had been back then. He watched the waitress bring their check, and stood as soon as it hit the table. Instead of sticking Adam with the bill, as he had been intending to do all along, he pulled a small wad of cash out of his pocket and tossed it on the table.
"Change is yours, sweetheart~" he said, smiling at her brilliantly until she turned away. Hmph. "Well, kid, it was civil. Maybe I'll see you later, huh?"He nodded at Adam.
Since he'd said he'd pay, Adam had been expecting to taking the bill, and was a bit surprised to find Apollo paying. But, if he wanted to, Adam wouldn't make a scene out of it. Since the cash tossed down was enough for meal and tip, he didn't bother leaving any more. He nodded in return as he stood up as well. "Sure. I'll let you know if any other showings come up you might be interested in."
"Yeah, sure." He offered Adam a little wave, then turned to wander back towards the campus. "Tell my sister I said 'Hi', hm?" He supposed he could have been a little more crass with his parting statement, but what was the point? Things had gone well enough, no reason to spoil it now. Yawn~!
Summary: Apollo and Adam met up for a short lunch and general convo.