Who: Dante/Hades & June/Hera (with brief NPC introductions) What: Lunch Meetings Where: Dante’s Office When: Backdated (for no good reason) 8/27 Afternoon. Between these tweets and this text. Warnings: none
When she had spoken with her brother, he had promised, or near promised, that once he started at work once more with the boys, their lunch meetings could resume. Dante was now back at work, and June intended to meet him for it.
She was in rather good spirits as she stepped from the elevator and into the floor space owned by her brother. She carried one of his favorite meals of fresh fish and chips in one bag, and a a few bottles of beer to go with it in another. In with the beer were fresh strawberries, and two small servings of ice cream. The fruit had smelled wonderful, and she thought it would make a good treat that could be shared with the boys. She glanced to the desk of his assistant, coming forward to greet her with a casual smile waiting on her lips. Now the question would simply be, did her brother expect her or not?
The offices of Call Up Consultation had a distinctly different air about it than normal. The three employees that worked there had their heads down and their hands busy with typing and paper moving. No one was playing pool. None of the arcade machines were on. Only the radio buzzed in its regularity. Someone had clearly cracked a whip on them. For once.
Julie looked up and at least returned the smile from her multi-computer set up and the notes she was trying to decipher, "Hello, Ms. Marris... um, he's a little busy today. Does he know yer comin'?"
“Perhaps. We had tentative arrangements.” She arched an eyebrow, slightly impressed by the change within the space. Her eyes took in Julie’s work area, before meeting the woman’s once more. She smiled. “However, busy or not, I will need to see him at least briefly.” The smell of the fish would probably be tempting enough to draw Dante out for a bit of lunch.
Julie leaned a little over her desk and caught sight of the distinctive grease stain that all good fish & chips left on their carrying out bags and smirked a little. “Yeah, I think he’d make arrangements for that...” She typed a few things on her keyboard and then met the other woman’s eyes again, “I told him ya were here. Ya can just go in suppose.”
Dante looked up from his work at the ring of his iPhone and the message in bright black letters. June was here? With fish and chips? He surveyed his work and then shoved it aside with a sigh. Eating would probably be good. Glancing to the floor beside his desk, he looked to his children taking their afternoon naps and knew that very little would wake them from it, so he pressed his door opener.
June nodded to Julie as she passed and headed into the office of her brother. She pushed the door closed behind her, then walked straight to the couch and table. The cold items were set down and aside as she began to pull out the containers of the hot items. She glanced up to her brother briefly. “[Hello brother.] It looks as though your whole office is catching up on homework before final exams.”
“It feels like it. Thought I wouldn’t feel that feeling again after I flaked out on my doctorate...” Dante shrugged a little and stood from his desk and his work. His laptop sat open on his desk, and hand written notes labeled with numbers consumed his desk. He stood and stretched before approaching her. “Lose your memories for less than two months and the entertainment world doesn’t know what to do, [Baby Sis].”
“They will have to suffer for a little longer.” She held up a container of fish and chips for him as show for the reasoning, then nodded to the other bag, a hint that he should open it and look within. “I thought you might appreciate a small break for lunch this afternoon.”
“As I am very close to canceling my consultant-ship with certain groups, they may have to suffer a lot longer.” While Dante was accustomed through the centuries with working at futility and people paying him no heed - to have it occur while he was actively trying to consult someone, to be paid to do work and then be ignored... He didn’t start this company to do work he didn’t like; he started this company to do easy work that people would appreciate and heed... Reaching out for the bag a hint of a smile crossed his face, “Do appreciate the break. My committee of beneficiaries isn’t offering any distractions today.”
A glance to the twins and she chuckled lightly, setting each of them places as he brought out the beer and desert. She knew he would have a place to leave the ice cream for the moment where it would not melt. “They must be getting used to work once more. I am afraid that I allowed them to slack in duties slightly,” she mentioned, before settling onto the couch with her food. “You could always refer to this as a consultation or lunch meeting if you have the need.”
“What I need is the producers of Idol to stop fighting me. If they resist listening to me after I write this advice, I’m dropping their account,” Dante took a deep breath as he finished, turning the ice cream in his hands as he walked over to the mini fridge in his office. He paused glancing over his shoulder to her, “Ironic flavor for you to buy me, isn’t it?”
“Would you have preferred pomegranate?” She shrugged slightly to the question. “I was considering far more closely what you enjoy and if it was suitable than the details of why. If you do not enjoy mint, then you do not have to have it,” she pointed out, giving him a smirk as she said so. June doubted that he was complaining.
“They make pomegranate ice cream for the commercial market?” He questioned as he put the mint ice cream, thankfully lacking the chocolate chips that often got included in most brands, into his tiny freezer and returned to June’s side, “No, I wouldn’t have preferred it. Just think it’s ironic the goddess of marriage and wives bringing me ice cream that has the literal taste of adultery.”
“That is one form of thought upon it. Another would be that it is continued proof of vengeance for misdeeds and a reminder of the tale.” She picked one of the crinkle cut circular fries and popped it into her mouth. She arched an eyebrow. “But as you enjoy it, perhaps I should deny it to you. It would be as if I were allowing and condoning your actions of the past. Next time I will need to bring pomegranate as a reminder of your marriage perhaps.”
“Mint is holy to me, you’re just trying to give me a power buzz. Another thing I appreciate considering how annoying my work is being.” Sitting beside her, he pulled the fried fish over to himself. Let her mess around with the fries, he wanted first dibs on the fish as he considered her explanation. Reminder of the tale... That tale was far more complicated than most understood. Only he truly understood it but he was pretty sure the existence of mint ice cream was more of a vengeance on the little plant’s part than on his once and future wife’s... To be on the surface plentiful where the spring goddess could see and managing to reach his hands again when she was ripped away from the possibility of his judgment? “Perhaps you should wait until Dahlia and I remarry for the pomegranate ice cream. Be a reminder of the rebirth.”
“Or I will bring nothing and read meaning into every choice that you make for our lunch.” He would not be gaining all of the fish, even if he was greedy enough to want the double serving. Taking a piece for herself, June divided a off a piece to eat and chewed carefully. Now would come a remark about the fish being a spite of their brother perhaps? Though she knew how she would retort if that was his answer.
He liked fish & chips because he liked them, the spite toward Poseidon was simply a relatively recent added bonus. He smirked a little as he nabbed some of the fries, having watched her take a her proper portion of the fish. “Just stating the irony. Can cite other ironies not brought in lunch bags if you so wish.”
“You do seem to enjoy your irony.” She gestured for him to go ahead with a wave of her hand. It would be interesting at least to hear what he had to say, and a new conversation for them as well. “Tell me, what else do you find ironic.”
“That you married Tessie after all your time and effort trying to keep us from imploding is plenty ironic, I think,” he easily said as soon as he was given the permission to do so. All the advice June had given them as a couple... From the earliest days to the second half riddled with his own grief and eventual drug abuse... So much effort and then she marries her. “You even had us do an office visit once. Should apologize for being so unpleasant that time.”
“Apology accepted.” She took another bite of her fish, considering his words carefully before making a further response. She reflected on the time she had spent trying to help them find balance, then slowly shook her head. “[There was possibility, but there were also far too many outside influences by the end for the two of you to be a truly suitable pair without some adjustments. When you first began to live with one another, my niece was not about. There were also no children.]” She smiled and glanced at her brother sideways. “[Or perhaps our sister merely needed a perfect wife to satisfy her.]”
“[Careful, careful, Baby Sis, a lesser man may have had their pride hurt or tested with comments like that....]” Dante shook his head with a small smile, but the smile faded away to neutrality as he thought about those time further. Far too many influences was an understatement.... “[It fell apart when I had entered the worse time in my life between me and her. She couldn’t handle my need without breaking herself... but you two came together when you were in your worse time. Maybe I was preparation... ]”
June was quiet for a moment, as the mood seemed to mellow. “[My need of her is different than yours,]” she said slightly softer. “[Another time, with different circumstances, and the relationship between you and her would have been much stronger. That is a truth. But as I also warned you at the start, while she will always deny it, I do not believe she was prepared for all that was opened up to her when she dismissed her vows.]” Smiling slightly, Hera bent slowly to place a light kiss to her brother’s cheek. “[You helped prepare her for me.]”
Her slowness kept him from flinching, her light kiss returned his small smile. Imagining all of those months as a preparation for Hestia to find happiness with Hera made Dante feel better about how crazy, withdrawn and violent he had been. “[You think she’ll view it like that, too?]”
She lifted a shoulder slightly in a partial shrug. “[If she does not, then I will help her to see it as so.]” That was something that Hera knew she would be able to manage well enough. She had practice manipulating views when she wanted, as it was the only way to gain much say at times with her younger brother and husband. She returned to disappearing her fish carefully, preventing bits from dropping to her clothes.
He went back to eating with a nod, “[Maybe she’ll also think of it as preparation for when the boys get to be teenagers. While I hope with all my soul they are never as bad as I was, I can easily see one or both of them throwing something as hard as they can just to see it break.]”
“[I will take them someplace to experience just that. There are some suites at the hotel that would be suitable.]” A smile came to her lips as she reached for another piece of fish. “[There is some art to it I once found, though stone walls give a vastly different result than those of the buildings today.]” That was something that Zeus had come to learn as well. That, and dodging, before he learned the ways of bypassing her anger altogether.
Licking his fingers from the delicious grease from the fries, he nodded again, “[Stone walls do make a great sounds. Gold walls make better ones though. Crystal breaking against a solid gold wall really can help temper rage...]” It had never made him feel especially better, but the outburst returned control to him. The majority of his anger when he once ruled the Underworld had been due to things outside of his control... to break something by his own volition was a satisfying action sometimes. Enough to carry on. “Are you two doing well?”
“We seem to be finding our footing together. Another month or so, and we will seem as though we have always been together.” She pointed toward the beers that were still in the bag closer to her brother, and asked for one. “It worked well enough, with her at the bakery in the day, and I watching the boys. I no longer have my office, but if you are once more taking the twins during the day, I may return to the hotel some and see that it is properly run.”
“Need to have them during the day. When they start going to school, I’ll lose the time.” And have to renegotiate with Tessie... Dante left the last part off, not because he was hiding it but simply because it didn’t leave his lips as if the implication of it was loud enough in the silence. He passed her a beer, taking up his own, “That’s good for you two.... You’re gonna work at the hotel?” That wasn’t what he expected and it showed as he straightened up further in his spot on the couch.
“Only as little as possible.” She opened her beer and took a small drink. “It is not my domain. If I thought she would accept it, I would sign it over to Tess, but she is happy in her bakery and I would be foolish to ask her to leave it.” June shrugged slightly. She had thought of simply selling it or giving it away, but her husband had loved his hotels, and she had not been able to in the end. “It will also give me a bit of leverage for the tasks I may undertake in the future. People do not take you nearly as seriously if you do not actively have something with weight at your back, or a reputation and rich name.”
Dante frowned behind his beer, but not out of distress or depression, simply as an outward expression of his internal gears turning in thought, “Planning something big, June? Should I be buying a ‘vacation house’...” he made the air quotes around the words, “to flee to with my family when you reveal it to stay out of the way?”
June smiled at his phrasing. “I am merely intending to further campaign for the rights of same sex marriage nationally. It is all well and good that our family will consider Tess and I married, but I would be more comfortable if in the future we would be recognized legally as well.”
“You could be legally married in another state. Personally have little faith in this state. Of what I understand we all decided to live in the stupidest state in the union for whatever cosmic reason,” Dante shrugged. He knew why he moved here. D was here and with the nightlife and clubs in Miami, he could understand why D was here. The state’s stupidity was not a concern in that regard. “Would say you could go to another country to be married, but Tessie would probably want the boys at the ceremony and they ain’t going anywhere so...”
“It is a project that I wish to undertake. It harms me none to have all marriages recognized nation wide,” she pointed out. Legally being married would be nice, but she less concerned about that at the moment. The highest benefit of being married would be to be recognized as a caregiver to the twins if something came up with the schools, and she suspected that would be easy enough to tend to with merely listing her as an emergency contact or some such on the paper work.
“It probably helps you to have all marriages recognized nation wide,” he considered aloud and then stood to make the short journey to the mini fridge to get that adulterous ice cream. The food was gone after all. “Have to talk to Dahlia later about our own marriage. Hope she doesn’t think that just because I didn’t remember we were getting married soon for six weeks means we ain’t.”
“Have you made any plans yet?” She wondered briefly if they would need a wedding planner or someone to help them organizer everything. Depending on how busy Persephone was keeping herself, she may choose to do the planning herself. Some of the fries had been hidden from view, and Hera quickly claimed them for herself as her brother fetched the ice cream. Standing, she found the strawberries, and placed them where they would be in easy reach.
“Have I?” Dante couldn’t help but snicker. Half of it was a very pleasant amused sound but the other half was filled with spiteful wickedness. “Have made tons of plans. Have so many people on retainer that I could get this wedding done from start to finish in 48 hours through different levels, from modest to insane, depending on my mood, her mood, how the stars align... But the normal planning, not my ‘Code Green’ planning, I tried to put in Dahlia’s hands... Isn’t a bride supposed to do the planning?” He sighed a little, “Which is why I have to talk to her. Talking to you about Tessie reminded me I should.”
Hera chuckled at his response. It was something that he could get away with that very few grooms ever managed to accomplish. “Most brides do enjoy at least a say in the matter. On the bright side, the two of you will most likely be able to hold every kind of wedding or vow renewal that you may dream of, if that is your desire. There is often some eagerness in have a date chosen and waiting for it to arrive, to watch things slip into place and go about choosing every little detail.” She smirked. “Some simply relish the day being centered around them and their wishes.”
“[I just want to call her ‘Wife’ again...]” His words slipped back into Greek as he put the ice cream on the table so they could actually share it and not just horde it all for himself. Even though he had been joking with Hera about how the ice cream had the literal taste of adultery to his tongue, he still removed his hands from it as he spoke in an unconscious bout of respect to ironically, both women involved with its creation, “[I made her wait but I’m tired of waiting. I want to call her “Wife” again and know she’s mine forever this time. Completely by her own desire. No deals, no misplaced bullshit kindness where I release her.... ]”
An eyebrow lifted at his words, and she waited for a moment to see if he would say more before she dared to comment. She hesitated though, considering which question she wanted to ask first, and if both were as appropriate as she felt. Either way, the questions should be asked. “[Have you mentioned as much to her?]” she finally asked.
Dante frowned, not understanding, “[Mentioned what to her?]”
“[How much you wish to call her ‘wife’ now, and to no longer wait. How many details you have covered at the drop of a hat all dependent on her whims. And how prepared you are to cling to her and fight for her, once she chooses of her own free will to marry herself to you once more.]” Hera plucked a strawberry up and twisted the stem off, watching him as she answered.
He lowered his eyes, considering her words carefully before shrugging a little and grabbing the small container of ice cream and a spoon. If June wanted some, she would have to grab her own spoon and deal with sharing the container; he wasn’t putting it into bowls. “[In a way. She knows I moved the date I wished for earlier and she knows that when we are married, there is no leaving me again. I made sure she was clear on that fact... I delayed as long as I did to let her have a final chance to run. She hasn’t.]’
“[Then ask her if she has chosen a date. If she is still unsure in herself, despite your faith in her, than she can delay. If she wishes as you do, than she will care nothing about the wedding, and choose to do so as soon as you can. I would suspect her to be somewhere between the two extremes. Or perhaps waiting to see that you are truly ready as well.]” She bit into the strawberry and relished the flavor, finishing it off and setting the green with the rest of their trash. He could horde the ice cream for the moment, she would simply take the strawberries. They could arrange a trade later.
“[If she has chosen a date...?]” Dante spooned a bit more of the ice cream into his mouth before he snickered, “[I chose the date and it’s set. There is no changing it and she has no say in the matter... well, unless she chooses against marrying me completely, which...]” Leaning back against the couch, a hint of a smile crossed him, but the hint conveyed his contented pleasure well enough on a face more often found frowning or neutrally expressed. No, no. In less than two months, she managed to nearly tackle him twice in joy. Twice. “[Which I’m positive will not be her choice. I mean... I just hope she doesn’t think there is a delay because I was unaware of our plans for weeks.]”
“[Ah. A situation easy to remedy then. So if a date is chosen, has she made mentions to her plans, or do you wish to surprise her all with it?]” This is where it was partly confusing. If they had a date set and chosen, then how did he not know her wishes on the matter? But this was Hades, and his logic did not always follow the same trails of her own. That merely meant that they had more to discuss.
Dante couldn’t help but snicker again, the seriousness fading from him as he could almost see his sister’s confusion. Her words were of one trying to make sense of something without enough information. She was making it more complicated than it had to be and her understood why. He was just complicated. “[Sorry, sister. Let me try again. My memory-free weeks were rough of her. How could she think about marrying me when I barely knew her and vice versa... I just worry she stopped planning or thinks when autumn comes I won’t be expecting her hand. Which is why I should really talk to her about it.]”
“[So she was making plans before hand,]” she smiled, nodding slightly as she understood. There were different conversations taking place it had seemed almost, though now it was more clear. Truly, there was little for her to add. He needed to communicate with his wife to be. End of story. Boring, in a way. “[And once you speak with her, you will have to let the rest of the family know if there is anything expected of us. Our sister would most likely make a wedding cake for you if you simply made the request.]”
“[I have to admit, I am selfishly very pleased that you and Hestia are married now,]” Dante placed the ice cream back down on the coffee table before them as he reached over and grabbed a couple of the strawberries from her, “[I was worried...]” of your reactions to my marriage after Zeus died and “[of any awkwardness about it. It’s much easier when Hestia is with you. I don’t have any guilts then. At least not about her.]”
As he had put it down, Hera simply grabbed the second spoon and picked the ice cream up. If he was taking strawberries, she would take ice cream. She scooped a bite out and ate it slowly to prevent a brain freeze. “[There is still some adjusting between us, but I believe it will work out for the best for all, considering the situation.]” She did not wish to dwell to long or deeply on just what that full situation was, and instead focused on her ice cream. Hera chuckled. “[With Hestia and I married, you do not have to play the protective brother that must approve of whomever would wish to court her,]” she teased. “[I have family approval already, and you know that I will treat her well and with respect, opposed to simply disappearing after a bit of fun.]”
“[I would have played protective brother on both of you. Stalked beaus in the night, questioned them, all of it...]” Pulling the green leaves off the strawberry one by one, he rolled each little green leaf between his fingers until it was bruised and torn before flicking it to the coffee table, “[It would have been my job toward my two favorite sisters and as the only one of your older brothers worth a damn...]” Dante paused then, taking a bite of the fruit, “[Would ask if I could edit that last sentence to just be ‘my job toward my two sisters’ but part of me wouldn’t mind seeing] Madeline [again].”
Hera raised an eyebrow at that, but only took a moment to decide what his reasoning was. She took another bite of ice cream. “[I would not mind seeing either of our missing siblings again, though I suspect my reasoning would be different from your own.]”
A wicked smirked crossed his face immediately, “[Me meeting either of our missing siblings again would be less than enjoyable for them.]”
“[Than I would ask that if possible you allow them to meet with me prior. I would prefer to speak with them while the are capable of intelligent thought and speech, and not simply dwelling on whatever thoughts you would put into their head before chasing them off once more.]” She sneaked a strawberry and dunked it into the ice cream before popping the treat completely into her mouth, smiling slightly around the item. Living with Hestia had given her a slightly different preference and taste for food.
“[I make no promises on that. I won’t make a promise I don’t think I can keep.]” Dante merely shook his head as he watched his sister, “[Should I let you have the rest of the ice cream?]”
“[Only if you do not want it.]” She scooped the section her strawberry had touched free and offered the carton back to him. “[I do not expect a promise, merely that you know my wish in the matter, and accommodate if it is possible to do so. I realize that not all situations would allow for such a thing, but if you are alerted to their presence, perhaps you could see that I am as well.]”
He took back the ice cream but mostly to do something with his hands as he tried to not get caught in his own words and responses. Alerted to their presence... While he didn’t know where Demeter was, he did know where Poseidon was... It hadn’t even been overly difficult to figure out. There had been no keeping Zale and Amara apart when the Internet had bloomed into a nexus of social communication sites. “[Why do you even want to know?] “
“[They are my siblings, and I wish to discuss things with them,]” she answered simply. “[I did not believe that I needed to have a set agenda and reason for meeting with those of my family.]” She turned to her brother as she said this, as if to further her point.
Dante nodded once more, having found a compromise in his mind that he felt was suitable to let him sleep easier at night about the location of at least his brother... well, easier than he ever really slept since before or after his amnesia anyway. “[If they wished to discuss things with you, they could find you. You didn’t change your name but if they come into the city, I’ll tell you.]” He smirked again, “[I think I might be telling everyone if] Madeline [came back to the city anyway so....]”
“[I have no doubt that you will. I merely hope that I do not find out through the news before you inform me.]” Not that she expected their meeting would truly draw so much attention, but it was fun to tease him on such matters all the same. She was the younger sister. She had no need to attempt to remind him to be civil and not draw any undue attention when meeting with their sister.
Perhaps. It was a matter if his definition of civil and hers matched. Full for now, he found a spot on the coffee table to kick up his feet and lounge a bit in his leather couch to relax as his eyes drifted to the playpen tucked in the corner of the room. All sleeping still. “[They may just be in a coma....]”
“You could wake them and offer them some fruit,” June suggested lightly. “Though they have not been in your office for awhile. The work that has piled up must have worn them out.” She smirked mildly at that thought, and waited to see if he would let them sleep or dare to wake them.
“What? You don’t want my sons throwing your peaceful house into chaos when they have tons of energy when they return home?” Dante asked returning her smirk.
“I am sure that you would find joy in that. I, however, would like to see my wife to bed tonight after the twins are already asleep, not before.” She met his gaze and returned it, arching her eyebrow slightly.
Under her gaze, he merely shrugged, “You could have Tessie send them home with me. Tomorrow is my full day with them anyway, which I’m reclaiming.”
June shook her head. “Tessia would prefer to have them while she can. I will wait until the weekend. Another time, perhaps.”
“You two do have forever with each other for anything you wish...” His words struck a cord in his own mind and brought him to his feet. They had forever assuming no one killed them.... Tessia and June -- he had their company for as long as he wished and they wished for it. But his children... He stood and moved over to the playpen to loom over them and watch their slumber, “Can understand her feelings completely. I’ve just missed so much time with them. Can’t blame me for trying to steal some time....”
“It would be rather fruitless to. I notice, however, that you do not have a third with you. I trust that you are being just as attentive to your girls?” Shifting on the couch, June tucked her feet beneath her and turned to watch her brother.
Reaching down, he softly brushed his sons’ blond hair, trying to equally tame Edward’s in its wildness from his play and mess up Eric’s from the calmness of his own game. Better, now they looked the same again. He smiled a little, only to then remember his sister was here and a conversation was going on, “Of course. Delaney wanted to stay home. She thought playing with the ‘wuff wuff’...” he did the quote marks as he turned to face her again, “Would be more interesting than watching me work. Considering her brothers have decided to sleep so much, she may have been right...”
“Most likely. She will return once she decides that it is more interesting here, I suspect.” She recognized as easily as Dante did that in this matter, arguing with his daughter would have been a poor choice. “How does the ‘wuff wuff’ feel about such things?”
“He doesn’t mind. She tends to bribe him,” With little cakes, to his chagrin. Dante shook his head and returned back to his sister’s side, “Her and her mother will probably spend the day bonding.”
“A sensible plan. It can serve them both well later if they grow close now,” she mentioned off hand, tracking her brother as he moved to take a spot beside her once more.
“She has to learn all her feminine skills from somewhere and it won’t be from me...” he shrugged as he settled back into his place at her side, having contented his sudden anxious paternal urges to dote on his sons even though they remained unstirred in their naps, “Would feel bad about letting the twins sleep, denying you of your visit from them but now that you’re married to Tessie... that isn’t especially a concern anymore.”
“They sweeten my reasons for coming, for they are not the only reason for my visits. It grants me a suitable alibi and character witness as well.” She smirked. “And it is a suitable excuse for avoiding Friday lunch meetings.” She did not worry of those, but if she did, visits of an established pattern were always a fitting excuse for them to schedule at another time, or at least without the lunch part.
The lunch part was a side benefit to their meetings, The main draw was spending some time with his little sister without the outside world turning either of them on edge. The outside world could stay far away from them, kept out by the doors of his private office. “As long as you don’t avoid your Friday lunch meetings with me, I’m more than happy to be an excuse for you, Baby Sis.”
“And I shall do the same for you,” she returned easily with a smile. She reached for a forgotten beer and lifted it in slight toast to him at her words. It was good to have such pleasant excuses for things.
Summary: Dante is busy at work after being away from the office for weeks and weeks. June, keeping to their tradition, came to have lunch with him in this Friday afternoon. They have a rambling, pleasant lunch.