Dante Lot (unseen_miami) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2010-01-03 22:27:00 |
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Entry tags: | children, dante lot, hades, hestia, tessia sloac |
Who: Hades & Hestia (with their Twins)
What: Christmas dinner
Where: Her house
When: Christmas day, afternoon
Warnings: none
Cupcakes. Cupcakes that had to be assembled, once all together, to look like the icing illustrated a palm tree. It was certainly proving to be challenging and different, so the first few times the doorbell rang and the door was knocked on, Tessia didn't even look up. It was only once it started to go from annoying to demanding that she remembered what time it was.
"Oh! OH! I'm sorry!" she called, hurrying to put down the icing and run over to the front door. She wiped the icing down the front of her white apron, leaving great green and brown finger streaks, and opened up the doorway. "Dante! I'm so sorry!"
The boys stood beside their father as he rang the doorbell. Normal people would have just rang it in a conventional fashion, but Dante? Dante chose to ring it in Morse code for the phrase “You know I'm out here. Open up or I will just open the door with this key I have. I am only being polite and my politeness is wear...” He didn't get to finish his sentence before the door was thrown open. “Was torn between wondering if everything was okay in there or if that was your silent way of just giving them both to me.” He then glanced down at his sons, “Well, off you go. Go hug your mum.”
The twins squealed and ran over to Mommy. She giggled and gave them both kisses before she lost their attention to their discovery that she had icing all over her. Shaking her head at them, she glanced to their father. "I'm sorry, I'm doing an order for a birthday party, it's really fun! How are you?"
Dante shrugged, “Fear to say. Don't want jinx anything, but so far I'm fine. Everything is.” He shook his head and stepped through the doorway, circling around her to undo the tie of her apron and just handing the icing covered garment to the squealing boys. If they were going to have the sugar rush, they might as well be less absurd doing so. “The car ride over here was interesting.”
The goddess laughed, squirming her way out of the apron. "Oh?"
He continued to nod and then closed the door, locking it finally. “Yes. Learned today that the boys are divided in their opinion of their new sister. Eric seems to think she's some sort of teddy bear while Eddy believes her to be mewing blankets.”
"Awww! They're going to be such good brothers!"
“Once they figure out she is neither a blanket or a teddy bear,” Dante moved deeper into the house, glancing around as he did so. Ironic that he redid the place to make it feel like his own home and again, he no longer lived in it. It always struck him on his visits as he watched the floors before sitting down. “Until then, they can keep playing with Delaney and she can keep changing the rules of Candyland on them. So, how are you?”
"Good, good. The holiday season is just barely slowing down but not by much. It's keeping me so busy." As per usual, she offered him something he favored to drink. "Thank you for the gifts, by the way. Did you like yours?"
“It went great with the beautiful gift Dahlia gave me for the Solstice. Thank you.” Dante took the tea and quieted for the moment, touching the hot liquid surface to cause it to ripple in external expression of his own thoughts. “Um... Can't sleep over tonight,” he softly confessed to keep it from the boys for now, “Not with a child less than a week old at home...”
She nodded, smiling reassuringly as she sat down next to him. The boys busied themselves with each hugging a different portion of little Sonny's body. Front half for Eric, back half for Ed. "It's okay. I perfectly understand."
“Watching a newborn sleep is magical,” he continued on in his softened tone as he glanced at his sons and the incredibly patient dog. When they had been the same age, he had been away from their mother. When Delaney had been that age, he had been in a pit of despair and delusion post-suicide attempt. He sighed a little, “They're going to be upset...”
"A little, but they'll be fine," she said, giving him a small pat on the knee. "You'll be back to normal soon enough, and they won't even remember."
“You never know what a kid will remember,” he said with a shrug and then bothered to drink his tea instead of just holding it like a prop. “I'll still come in the morning to get them for tomorrow.”
"All right." She watched the children for a little bit, feeling odd. She didn't know what else there was to talk about... Small talk had never been easy with one so introvertive as Hades, it was even more difficult now that they no longer lived together, it seemed. "I think I may use those tickets soon. I'll let you know when, so we can arrange it with the twins."
“Can take them whenever you want for however long you want, really.” He was rarely happier than when he had all his children in one place. Glancing over at the children as well, he smiled slightly at their simple happiness and then leaned back on the couch to continue to drink his tea. “Hope you like the exhibit. When you get back, you can tell me all about it.”
The goddess smiled and nodded. "I am excited! And D.C. is a lovely city."
“Just stay in the good parts of it.” Even though he knew a mugger or criminal wouldn't be able to get very far in hurting her, he still didn't want her to have to face it nor did he want to have to hear about it. Dante wanted happy stories as a result from his gift.
Even if there weren't, she probably would never have told him. She had done enough things to upset him, in her mind. "I promise," she said, even crossing a finger over her heart.
“Good.” Leaning over, he kissed her temple affectionately. He knew they were lovers no more but there was still an instinct and an urge in him that desired some sense of physical affection toward her, even if it was brotherly in a more traditional sense. “Do you need anything in the house or for the boys? Would ask them but they just tell me they need candy and I know that's a lie.”
At the kiss, she smiled and blushed chastely. "They're both doing well. The only thing they really need at the moment are clothes; they're getting bigger by the hour, I think."
“Do you want me to pick them up?” He then paused and then looked quickly to the boys on the floor and then back to her, “Or would you rather me just give you some money so you can take them Sunday shopping?” Part of him knew she must adore making them try on adorable little outfits.
Hestia considered. "I don't see why we can't do half and half. You pick out some, I pick out some?"
“True enough.” He placed the tea cup aside to thumb through his wallet. How did he have all these big bills? What good were all these big bills when stores and delivery men hated making change? Letting out a gentle sigh, he just pulled out three of those hundred dollar bills and handed them to her, “This is literally the smallest bill I have.”
Hestia squeaked at the sight of it. What was small change for him was huge amounts for her. "Good heavens, Hades, just one will be more than enough."
“Eh, clothes are expensive and I would feel cheap handing you one bill of anything.” Putting his wallet away, he glanced back to his sons. They would have to entertain themselves as their furry playmate had begun to walk away, “Besides, the wallet is now closed. No give backs.”
Shaking her head, she tucked the bills into a pocket. "If you say so."
“It's not a problem for me. Don't worry about it. If I kept it, I would probably just buy a second PS3 or something like that.” Considering Zale kept stealing his, he would probably do so anyway. “You'll at least use it for something worthwhile.”
"Well, true. I just still feel bad, accepting money..."
“Rather I give it to you in the form of a gift card?” He teased lightly, only to reach over to her again and brush her hair from her face, “It's for the boys. It's what a father is supposed to do.”
Bah! Damn blush! "I know! It just feels odd, I suppose. I'm used to being far more self-reliant. Hard to break centuries of habit."
He noticed the blush and let his hand ease away from her with a small smile, “Well, if you want to be self-reliant, you could blow the money on some luxury so you would then be forced to buy the boys' clothing with your own money.”
"But that would still be using your money!" she said with a laugh. "I'm weird. You know that better than anyone."
“Yeah, but you had no choice but to be weird. Think its a genetic flaw in our bloodline. You, at least, have an innocent version of it.” With that he stood, but not to leave or even appear as such. Instead, he took the four steps it took him to reach his sons and move them away from their mother's house plants. They were up to something and it was probably just better to nip it in the bud before it happened, “So, what are you making us for dinner?”
"I was thinking Thai."
“Sounds good to me,” he muttered as he put both boys back into the center of the room. They shouldn't be around house plants. House plants couldn't be trusted... Dante shook his head in some attempt to shake away his own internal madness. That thought had really gone too far, “Make mine good and spicy.”
She nodded and stood, brushing herself off like she always did before returning the friendly kiss to the top of his head. Once she got into the kitchen, something occurred to her. They almost got along better now than they did before. He certainly seemed cheerier, for him. And almost as startling, as she collected the ingredients from the fridge, it didn't make her feel that badly. A small twinge of regret but... nothing else. It was almost nice.
He couldn't help but be cheerier; a new child of his had just been born and the Devil was seemingly out of his hair. Messing with his hair where she had kissed him for a moment he wheeled around on his children, mostly toward Edward. Edward had been the one to laugh at his reaction. Gently, he tackled both boys to the ground. Wrestling sound like a good way to spend the time between now and dinner.
"Oh!" came the cry from the kitchen.
Dante paused at the sound, holding both children down with either hand, “Oh?”
"I have something for you! Well, not from me, but he asked me to give it to you." Out from the kitchen, she emerged with a little red box wrapped with a white bow. "Open it up, it's your last holiday present."
Releasing his sons from their pin, Dante took the box and pulled the white bow as he glanced at her, “He?”
She shooed her hand at him. "Open! I have things on the stove."
Taking off the the lid, he wrapped the red mala beads around his hand, showing them to Ed and letting Eric feel their rough texture, “Who's the 'he'?”
"Our brother," she said, heading back into the kitchen.
He chucked the beads back into the box like they had been transformed into a poisonous snake and then slammed the top back on. Both boys looked to him in compete confusion, but their father was now ignoring them, “You should have lied to me.”
Sighing, Hestia turned around in the doorway and frowned at him, hands on her hips. "Dante. Honestly."
“No, you should have lied to me. It would have been better for all of us.” Dante stood up, and then took a step away from the box, a frown having erased any previous smile. He eyed the small box with both sorrow and anger, a combination that looked perfectly natural on him unfortunately. “If you had lied, then I would have been happy about it and you could have told him I accepted it. Now, I may have ruined it and its not the mala's fault I hate him.”
"Your reasons for being mad at him are still stupid and juvenile," she replied in her calm tone but with obvious irritation simmering underneath it. "If there's anyone to be upset at, it's me, but for whatever reason, you choose him instead, and I will bet money you haven't even told him why. So he tries to send you something nice to make up for something he's not aware you even know about! Doesn't any of that seem foolish to you?"
He bristled under her condemnation with obvious irritation as he brought his black eyes right to her. Now the children and the box were forgotten, “[First of all, he knows. I did tell him and I have the texts to prove it. If he's too dense or proud to figure out every point of his betrayal toward me, that's not my fault. I'm not breaking out the flowchart.]” He was saving all his flowcharts for when he had to explain to his children why he wished terrible harm toward a third of his own sisters and all of his full brothers, just in case. “[Second of all, I choose him because he was responsible at the time. And third, my reasons for being mad at him are neither stupid or juvenile, they are dreadful and full of anguish.” Taking a breath, he tried to expel the sudden surge of anger and the desire to leave. No. She simply didn't understand and he was glad she didn't. Truly, he was. Another breath and he looked down at the box again, “[And if he did send it as an olive branch, he should have sent a note with it saying so. I would be able to decide on it and not possibly ruin perfectly good beads with my negativity.]”
"[He is not to blame for giving in to an older sister's pleas when she was being irrational and demanding!]" she shot back, throwing a hand up in the air with frustration. "[Me. He didn't go chasing after me, he didn't force me to do anything, he didn't do anything but listen to my reasons, asked me if it was what I truly wanted, and when I said yes, he allowed me to. If you have anyone to blame for how everything turned out then, yes, I am to blame... okay? Please, stop. I don't want you two to fight...]"
“[Sister, he shouldn't have listened to you when you were irrational and demanding. He should have pulled back from the situation and looked at it with a clear head, something you could not as you were in the middle of it.]” He shook his head and then bent down to pick up the box. The box would probably protect the beads from any further negativity from him. “[And I am not upset at him because of just that, but learning it? That was the final straw. I will be angry at him until he makes reparation for his betrayal of me. Or at least be sorry for it.]”
Then, looked to her and the box, he held it up, “[For your sake, I'll take it. But even if I get them purified, I still can't use them. If it was an olive branch, then I'll use them when he actually proves it. If its just a gesture of his dense arrogance, then it'll remain shut as a monument to it.]”
"[It wasn't his betray--]" Hestia took a deep breath, making herself stop, and turned around to head into the kitchen; there was a slight sizzling sound emanating from the oven. The goddess mumbled to herself as she quickly repaired the lightly burned bits.
“[What I'm talking about is his betrayal...]” Sighing more, he knelt back to the floor to tousle his sons' hair and ease them. It was clear on their young faces that they understood their parents were arguing. He took them up into his arms and gave them a good long hug, whispering to them that their parents weren't angry at each other. They just weren't making sense to each other. The two boys seemed to calm at that and he released them, only to stand up and glance into the kitchen, “Everything okay?”
"Yes! It's just-- it's just a little burned," she sighed. "But it's salvageable!"
He moved closer and put his arms around her in a gentle, quick hug before easing away. A dinner being deemed “salvageable” by Hestia had to be upsetting to her, “No more arguing today, okay?”
After a moment, Hestia turned into the hug, embracing him back. "Okay. I'm sorry. It's your business... I just don't want any of us to fight anymore."
“You never do,” he let his arms slip back around her as she embraced him back. If she didn't mind his arms around her, he would keep them there a moment longer. He made her burn the dinner after all. “It's just out of your control this time.”
"I was the source of it. I feel bad. I never realized, then, how much it would affect everyone." She sighed and buried her face in his chest for a moment, needing security. "[I'm sorry, brother. I never meant to hurt you.]"
“[Shhh,]” he stroked her hair softly, keeping her close to his cool body and offering her any comfort he could. She just didn't seem to understand and no matter what he said, he couldn't seem to convince her. It made his frown deepen all the more, but he tried once again, whispering in her ear, “[It's not your fault. At the end of the day, it was in the king of the god's hands and he failed to act. Stop carrying his guilt.]”
"..." She sighed and pushed him away a little, looking up at him. "[And that is where we disagree, little brother.]"
Pushed away, he braved to touch her cheek with the back of his fingers, “[Eldest sister, who here is the one's whose feelings were hurt? I can't be wrong when it's my feelings that were betrayed. I know who hurt them and who doesn't care he did. ]”
"[You weren't there. I know you don't care for him much, but he does care for us, as siblings... If anyone was careless for your feelings, it was me. Yes, maybe he was irresponsible... But if I hadn't asked it of him, it wouldn't have happened. Please, at least say you'll try to work on it. Nothing will happen if both of you just retreat and refuse to acknowledge it.]"
“[I'm the only one acknowledging it and I didn't have to be there. I am judging him on his actions, or lack thereof.]” Dante then released her as a shiver went down his spine. “[Let's stop using the word 'it' and let's put this aside. You don't understand and he doesn't think he has done any wrong. Let's just have dinner.]”
Hestia bit on the inside of her cheek a little to restrain a sigh. "Okay. If you don't want it, I'll take it back to him." And with that, she turned back to the food, meticulously separating the burned bits from the rest.
“Already said I was keeping it for your sake and to see if its an olive branch or not.” He was pretty sure it wasn't, but perhaps he was too close to the conflict to view it clear enough to determine that. He knew that it was a possibility, but even with that he doubted it. Reaching over her shoulder, he picked at the cast off burnt pieces and popped them into his mouth, “Besides, I have to get them purified.”
"Ahh." Looking back to him, she asked, "Good?"
“I like burnt pieces.” His time in England had clearly ruined his taste buds.
She shook her head at him, though she couldn't hide the amused smile. "Is that a hint to burn the rest of the food from now on?"
“You would never be able to.” He grabbed the rest of the burnt pieces, so he could easily pick them out of his palm and not off the counter top, “Just like how you couldn't let me eat raw lamb meat.”
Hestia shuddered at the mere memory. "Not allowed."
“Try to imagine trying to burn a whole meal now.” Leaning back against the counter, he watched her and waiting for the response as he popped the burnt pieces into his mouth like they were chips.
Another shudder, the fine hairs along her shoulders and neck standing at attention. "Okay, maybe I'll try barbecue at some point. But, only then!" She laughed a little and gestured for him to hand her some plates to pile it on.
Handing plates required two hands. He looked down at his palm and popped all the rest into his mouth and then wiped his hand along his pant leg before passing her a plate, “Good, I like barbecue.”
"Yes, I remember! I'll have to make that next week, how about that?"she said as she put on the food, putting aside the pan once it was empty, and turned to slice some bread.
“Sounds like a good meal for New Year's Eve.” The only real benefit he had found to Miami's disagreeable heat was that BBQ was always a possible meal choice. “I'll go gather the boys, you get their high chairs set.”
"Okay." Once he was out of earshot, she sighed, trying to let the stress out of her body. Maybe he was right. At least in the sense of they had to sort it out themselves... Ah well. Shaking her head, she pulled the chairs to the table and set them up. Hopefully the rest of the night would be calmer.
Summary: Even though neither Hestia or Hades celebrate Christmas, Christmas fell on a Friday and that is the day of the week he has dinner with her. They disagree about Hades' feelings toward Zeus.