Dante Lot (unseen_miami) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2010-07-24 22:01:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | dahlia little, dante lot, hades, persephone |
Who: Hades/Dante & Persephone/Dahlia
What: Remember me?
Where: Vadimas/Heph’s house and outside garden
When: July 16, 2010
Warnings: none
Persephone made her way to Hephaestus's door carrying a bag of treats and mementos with her. Yes, of course she was troubled by the news that Hades had lost his memory, but she was just so relieved that someone had tracked him down. She had been certain that he was alive, but being able to take care of him was a luxury that she was happy to have.
She rang the bell, primping her hair carefully. After all, her husband was seeing her for the first time...again.
“I'll get it! Let me get it!” Dante called out. He knew that his nephew had two women about and probably doors he could open with the touch of a button... Maybe with a thought, but he was restless. He had just slept so soundly and deeply and long in the comfortable bed his nephew had provided that now he was full of energy but it was too bright outside to use it against thugs.
So, he threw open the door and then froze.
It was like lightning had struck him. The woman at the door was beautiful.
Dahlia couldn't help but smile, wanting to hug onto him tight but too cautious to try. "You're alright..." she murmured, her voice full of relief. "Vadimas--he said you hurt your head. I know he's taking care of you, but I didn't think it would be bad for your fiance to drop by and give a little extra TLC."
“Fiancée?” Dante lit up with a smile, reaching out to grab her hand and then hesitating. Maybe he had misunderstood. He sorely hoped he hadn't. “Tell me we're really engaged and that you're in love with me.”
Dahlia smiled, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze before letting that good sign give her the courage to hug onto him. "We're really engaged. I'm so in love with you, and I'm a super model." She wriggled her eyebrows playfully at him before tapping a kiss on his lips.
Instinct took over for moment. Somewhere between her hugging him and the tap of a kiss on his lips. The incredible love in his own heart and soul made its demands and he pulled her to him possessively and tightly into his nephew's house and pinned her right to the wall with his weight, kissing her in return deeply. He eased away only to stare into her eyes, his smile not fading. “My life is officially awesome. Am so angry at that bullet for taking it from me.”
Dahlia let out a breathy sigh against the wall, a slow smile spreading across her face. She hadn't seen him in so many days. Maybe it wasn't the reunion she'd been hoping for, but it was still nice to be with him. "You and me both. But I brought some things to try and help you get it back..."
“You did?” Dante brushed his fingers along her cheek and then combed them through her hair, studying her. He didn't want to look away from her or part from her. Ever. He tried to memorize every aspect of her, ashamed and angry that anything or anyone was able to take her from him. But... “Maybe we should sit down?”
"That's probably better than standing in Vadimas's hallway," Persephone said with a grin. "Lead the way. You know this place better than I do..."
Taking her hand, Dante turned to lead her to where he had been sleeping but suddenly he stopped. He didn't know why but as much as he wanted to bring her there... He wrote off the hesitation with the fact of he was in his nephew's house. Instead, he turned from the path he had been on and led her outside. His nephew's lush landscaping was both open and private... which relaxed him on multiple levels. Only then did he question if his fiancee actually liked stuff like this, “You enjoy the outdoors, yes?”
"Yeah, I like the outdoors a lot," Dahlia replied, nodding a bit as if to encourage the whole 'getting to know you' process. She snuck under his arm, hugging onto his side. "Have you been feeling well?
“So do I.” Dante wrapped his arm around her, keeping her close as he found a nice patch of grass besides a nicer bed of flowers robotically cared for, not that he knew that part. Kneeling down, he kissed her hand and then tugged her a little to encourage her to join him. “Been feeling great. Even better now. Had literally forgotten how good it is to sleep in a comfortable bed. Is everything good at home? We live together, yes?”
"Yeah, we live together. Things have been okay. Your daughters miss you though..." Dahlia opened her bag, pulling out her spare iPod touch, which she had been using to store pictures of the girls. She handed it to him, occasionally reaching over to flip through the photos. "That's Delaney, and this...is Dasha."
“Dasha...” Dante repeated the name as he took the iPod touch from her and laid down in the grass, stretched out. He traced the little girl's face, or at least he tried before the iPod touch flicked to the next picture to his annoyance.
"They're being good though...which is surprising. I'm usually not the disciplinarian. Our kids are both way too spoiled," Dahlia laughed, staying where she was. He needed to have his moment with the photos. "You...you can come home any time you feel comfortable."
Dante looked over to her, “Was she born in December?”
Dahlia smiled brightly. "Yeah. She was. Do you remember anything else?"
Dante put the iPod touch down and stared up at the sky. His smile disappeared, replaced by a deep frown. “No. I know she's my daughter. Can feel that much... but the other girl? No. Don't even remember you. I know I love you. Felt that as soon as I opened the door.”
"Some things are more than memory. Some things are essence," Dahlia murmured in reply, reaching out to touch his hair. "Burned into our bodies...you can come home any time you want. I wanted you to know that. I just...well, we need to make sure the girls aren't upset by everything." Delaney was so sensitive to this sort of thing. If Hades didn't want in there confidently, she would know instantly. She glanced at the abandoned iPod touch. "You didn't get to my brother yet. He lives with us. We take care of him."
“We take care of him?” Dante reached over and grabbed the iPod touch again, flipped through the photos before realizing that he wouldn't know who she was talking about even if he found the picture. He handed it back to her, it clear on his face for her to show him, “Why do we do that? What happened to his parents?”
Dahlia dutifully shuffled through the pictures before finding one of Zale. He was horse riding in the picture, which was classic Zale. "His father and twin sister are...abroad. Traveling around Europe I think. He's a bit of a jerk." She rolled her eyes. "Not my father, by the way. Half siblings. Our mother had to go away. She was having a baby and there were some people after her. She sent Zale to us because she felt he should live somewhere with roots."
“Should find them and kill them. If I can do that much for strangers, I should do the same for your mother,” he said confidently as he rolled to his stomach in the grass so he could actually see the screen without the sunlight destroying any chance at seeing the image. He was certain she must know his nighttime activities. His nephew would have told him if she wasn't in on his secret life. If he could get a guest that wasn't in on it. He then reached over and brushed his fingers along her cheek and then pushed her hair from her face, “... I'm worried about all of this.”
Dahlia almost laughed when he said he wanted to help her mother, but she found restraint. When he touched her, she smiled warmly, but this quickly disappeared when he spoke. "What's wrong?"
He smiled a little as he looked away to the iPod again, “My children are beautiful and I never want you to leave my side. Want to go home... to my home.... but they're all going to know. All of them.”
"Yes, they probably would," Dahlia said softly, glancing away from Hades. As much as she wanted to deny it, she could definitely tell the difference. "But...you can still come home if you want."
Laying in a garden probably wasn't helping matters. Again, he reached out to her but this to guide her eyes back to his, “Do you think its a good idea? You know what I'd be walking in to, meanwhile I don't even know your name. Would have to resort to only calling you 'love' or something like that. So, kinda have to trust you...”
"Oh that wouldn't be so unusual," Dahlia laughed, shaking her head. "You can call me Dahlia, by the way." She sat back a bit, thinking on it. "I could always explain it to them. That you're sick."
Dante couldn't help but laugh as she did. It was an enchanting sound and it immediately warmed his heart, whisking away any lingering anxiety this conversation had brought to him. He watched her as he relaxed again in the grass. Pleasantly content with everything. It would all work out, he was certain, “And how would we explain how not sick I feel? The boy... Zale,” he made a point to say the name to remember it, “Seems old enough to realize things like that.”
"Just stay in a robe all day and look tired, but you're right...Zale is old enough for a full explanation," Dahlia murmured softly, wringing her hands. "But then he's been old enough to know you were missing too. I think he'll be happy to see you're alive, and we can privately explain the rest."
He nodded before taking both her hands and pulling her close to him. There would be no more hand wringing. Why couldn't she just be happy and relax with him? “Suppose I could still sneak out at night with a story like that...” A sudden thought appeared in his mind and it was quick to find its way to his tongue, “Do you go on patrols with me? Do you have powers?” A man could dream. Especially if she had some sort of revealing costume to fight crime in.
Dahlia blinked, giving him a strange look. "..........what?"
Oh she and Hephaestus would have some words.
Dante pulled up to sitting. She had to know? She was his fiancee and Vadimas wouldn't have invited her over without telling him something like that. But, “Okay, what do you think I meant by that?”
"I'm....thinking your nephew had mislead you some how," Dahlia grumbled, glancing back at the house.
No, he wasn't pretty sure he went invisible and brought justice to wherever he could. “Shh,” But her grumbling bothered him and he took her in his arms, “What part do you think he mislead me?”
"Going on patrol? I mean, yes you have certain powers. I have certain powers. But what do you think you are?" She raised her eyebrow, a hard look on her face.
“An unconventional arbiter of justice?” Even with her hard look on her face, he couldn't help but smile a little. She had powers, too. His life was upgraded from awesome to awesome plus great in his mind. “Extreme justice.”
"No no no, I can see where you're going with this, but no," Dahlia shook her head, prodding him in the chest. "You're not a superhero."
“If I have powers and do acts of heroics, I believe I am a superhero.” Catching up her hand, he brought her palm to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss. She was intoxicating. How had he even been shot without her knowing? How had it been possible to leave her side long enough to do so? “If not that, then what am I? I'm not human. Humans don't get shot in the head and live.” A wickedness consumed his smile as he continued, “Know that for a fact.”
"No you're not human," Dahlia replied easily, "But I promised not to say anything more as it might upset you. All I can tell you is that you weren't out crusading by night. Because that kind of vigilantism isn't justice, and if you were in your right mind, you'd know that."
“Then what do you call it? What would I call it?” As beautiful as she was and as much as he loved her, Dante couldn't help his sudden burning anger at her declaration from seeping into his words and tone.
"Joyriding," Dahlia said flatly, obviously not pleased with Hades.
“Maybe there's nothing wrong if the joyriding condemns the vile and preserves the innocent,” Dante said just as flatly.
Dahlia frowned, pulling away from him. "You're probably right. The kids would know the difference. It could be upsetting for them."
Dante lowered his eyes, reaching once more for the iPod. Anything not to reach out for her. Something inside of his soul went off like an alarm to avoid lashing out... avoid making her understand... That it wouldn't end well. “Am I that different than I was?”
"Your heart is in the right place," Dahlia admitted. "But you're not as careful as you usually are. Not as thoughtful." And it was this fact that made her anxious to have him around the children. Dante himself seemed like a child--all impulse and caprice, like a cat proudly bringing home a dead bird.
“You didn't see me trying to figure out the best way to not leave evidence.” Dante thumbed through the photos again before placing it down with a sigh. It was disappointing that such planning hadn't taken all that long and even more disappointing that the photos did nothing else. Maybe because they were just photos. He was certain he had seen Dahlia on a magazine cover a couple of days ago and felt nothing then either. Now all he could do was feel. Feel and be upset that she sounded upset. He didn't want her to be upset, “What was I like?”
“Smart. Romantic. Patient when it came to doing anything just the right way...” Dahlia suddenly realized that they were talking about Hades like he wasn’t there. Like he was dead instead of standing in front of her. The thought pained her, piercing her heart with such sharp ache that she couldn’t help crying. “I...I’m sorry.”
Hades wasn’t always patient. Persephone’s tears always cut through his patience and pained his soul. It was no different now. Dante cringed at both her apology and her tears and swept her into his arms. Gently, he settled her onto his lap and even more gently wiped her tears away with the tips of his fingers, “Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” It was as ancient of a plea as it was present.
Persephone felt pathetic for feeling as good as she did about the gesture. Nothing was fixed. Her fiance and her relationship with him were still busted, but she couldn’t help but be calmed by the familiarity of his actions. She took a few deep swallows of air, curling up against his shoulder while her tears subsided. She really was sorry he had to see that. After all, for all the heroics Dante thought he could perform, he could not fix her problems. He didn’t even know where to begin. And that, more than anything else, told her that she was far from having Hades back.
“Will make you deal. Today, I’ll come home with you, I’ll stick close to you and try to avoid spending too much time with the children lest I concern them if they catch on to me, but...” Dante brushed back her hair and rubbed her back, anything to comfort her. His soul demanded that he comfort her and he would obey his soul. After all, everything he had done since waking up in the sewer had been obedience to instinct. It was all he could be sure of. He knew people could lie to him, and even if they didn’t mean to -- people could be unreliable narrators of his life but his instincts and his soul wouldn’t. “I still need to go out and joyride, as you call it. Have read the papers... people in my city are calling out for justice. How am I supposed to ignore them? How can I ignore them when I have the power to tame the world and reward their lives?” In the end, his words weren’t new. If it had been some thousands of years ago, with very little changes, he could have been talking about the Underworld and not Miami.
Persephone still didn’t like the idea of him going out and doling out punishments without contemplation and trial. She just didn’t want him to have regrets, though in some cases she was sure he would not. His heart was in the right place. She was sure of that. She just wasn’t sure he could see the boundaries the way he had once been able to. “Just...don’t talk to me about it. I want to be able to pretend you aren’t doing this.” She would be completely miserable otherwise.
Dante nodded, not understanding why but he probably wouldn’t have been able to guess her reasoning even if he did know anything about her, “Deal. You will have all the plausible deniablity you want.” Though part of that saddened him. He wanted her at his side protecting the city... for some reason. He pushed the thought away and kissed her cheek, before nuzzling her there, “So, what do we do now...? Mean, I barely know you and it’s probably the same for you, as much as you would like it to be otherwise...” He may not have remembered he was the eternal judge, but there was still some sound judgment in him.
“Pack up whatever you might have here that you feel you need. You should probably also speak to Vadimas about leaving. I can wait at the car. And oh...I brought you some food.” It wasn’t the most fine fare--pomegranate iced tea, other snacks that he liked--and Hestia’s cooking probably would have made him happier, but she wanted to feel like she was contributing to his comfort. She shifted to get the bag, placing it at his feet.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he impulsively blurted out as he grabbed her by both wrists. Leaving bags at his feet, talking about waiting in cars... that was all leaving him. Dante couldn’t abide it. If only he knew how ancient that possessiveness was, but for the moment it was new and powerful. He pulled her close to be flush to him and looked her right in the eyes, “A bullet took you from me. Nothing else will.”
Dahlia would have been more impressed if it wasn’t something she was so used to. She smiled, tapping a kiss on his lips. “What are a few moments of eternity?” She reached up, dragging her fingers through his hair. “But if you want me to stay with you, I will.”
“I’d rather have all of eternity, not eternity shy a few moments, with you,” he murmured against her lips, kissing her again and then pulled back. Dante couldn’t remember ever being intoxicated, but he was pretty sure he could guess it from just being in her presence. And he wouldn’t just get lost in the sensation, he would keep control over himself. Still, he smiled at her, keeping his grip on one of her wrists just the same. “Let’s go find my nephew then. We can discuss what lies we’re going to have to say in the car.”
Summary: Taking Hephaestus’ offer to see her lost fiance, Persephone heads over and finds herself face to face with Hades, and yet not.