Vadimas Lugosi (hammerfall) wrote in olympian_rewind, @ 2011-05-28 23:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | dante lot, hades, hephaestus, vadimas lugosi |
Who: Hephaestus and Hades
What: Divorce proceedings
Where: The Lot household
When: After Heph’s breakdown
Warnings:
Hephaestus drove his roadster through the quiet streets of up-scale, suburban Miami. Normally he enjoyed getting behind the wheel of his electric sports car, but the knowledge that he no longer had any choice but to drive himself robbed the experience of some of its luster. The serious and, to Hephaestus, grim nature of his errand did not do anything to lift Hephaestus’ heart, either.
It’s all for the best, he reminded himself. He desperately wanted to move forward in his life. He wanted to seek out happiness rather than simply avoid misery. After releasing the girls from their unintentional slavery, releasing himself from his own bonds was the next step.
The roadster pulled noiselessly up in from of the residence of Dante Lot. Hades had the power to do what Hephaestus needed done, and he was the only one he would trust with the task. And, given Hades’ own romantic history, Hephaestus believed his uncle would best understand his motivations.
Hephaestus walked purposefully up the walk and to the door. He could smell more than a few barbecues grilling more than a few dinners in the neighborhood, reminding him that it was, in fact, dinner time. As he rang the bell, he idly wondered if he’d be invited inside this time.
It was just after dinner time in the Lot-Little household. His daughters were enjoying bath time under their mother’s supervision and Zale was up in his room finishing up his homework he hadn’t managed to finish in the drive back home from school. It allowed Hades to idly lay on one of his couches, chucking an animal’s hip bone almost like a terrible boomerang for his hellhound to fetch for him.
But at the sound of the bell, he was reluctant to move. There was so many girl scouts and charity people about and while he was willing to give them all money, he was also full of food. Well, maybe he would get up for girl scouts. They came with cookies.
“Someone bring me the monitor thing,” he called out and a nearby ghost helpfully brought the small little monitor to him. He nodded to the spirit before flicking the device on brought up the image of his nephew standing at his front door. “Go get that for me, too, could you?”
The ghost nodded and rushed forward through the walls and reached the door as Hades approached not far behind him. The door was flung open when he was just ten feet from it. “Hello, Vadimas,” he greeted and then frowned. Was something wrong? Was that why his nephew was here? Did he forget he was coming over? “Was I expecting you?”
Hephaestus, rather, Vadimas looked at the door a moment before turning to his uncle, rather, Dante Lot. It was unlikely the door was automated. Perhaps it had been opened by one of those ghosts Hephaestus was becoming sure he couldn’t see.
“No, Dante,” Vadimas said, shaking his head slightly. “Perhaps I should have called, but things have been... hectic for me recently. I have something I want to discuss with you, but I can come back later, if you’re busy.” Hephaestus continued to stand in front of the door, waiting to be invited in or dismissed before moving. He kept his tone casual, trying to resurrect the facade of Vadimas Lugosi, but his heart was truly not in it.
And his uncle could see his heart wasn’t truly into it and that combined with his desire to discuss something and things being hectic - it all concerned him. “No, you can come in. Can break my own rules about guests when I decide I should. Let’s get out of the doorway...” If only because Hades knew a hellhound would be looking for him.
Hephaestus smiled at his uncle’s invitation. It helped ease the sting of the previous rebuff and lifted his heart a little. Knowing that Hades had “broken” one of his rules to invite him in played a large part in bettering Hephaestus’ mood.
“Thank you,” Hephaestus said earnestly and stepped through the doorway. He tried not to gawk, but he could not help but steal a few glances around Hades’ home.
The door closed lightly behind Hephaestus as he stepped through, the ghost then snuck away embarrassed that he had flung the door open like that in the first place. Hades didn’t pay the spirit any mind, all his attention was on his nephew and trying to piece together why he was here. At least he had smiled when he stepped through the door.
Maybe someone hadn’t been murdered or kidnapped then.
Hades turned to lead him to the room he had left. Hestia had once considered the house Hades and Persephone shared as overpowering, with its fine marble and hard wood floors, ornate moldings and rich furnishing, but all of it had been a carefully orchestrated gift from a man who had sought for and finally found his queen after years of solitude and despair. The room’s heavy curtains blocked much of the late sun’s light but even in the dimness, the fact a three headed great dane sat in the middle of the room was clear.
“[We’ll continue later, Cerberus. Lay down now.]” Hades commanded and waited until the beast spat out the hip bone and went to lay down in a corner. He then glanced over to his nephew, “Is everything okay?”
Hephaestus chuckled ruefully at Hades’ question.
“That is an unexpectedly complicated question for me these days, [Uncle],” Hephaestus began. He took a moment to gather his thoughts as he swept his gaze around Hades’ home. It suited Hephaestus’ tastes. The house was well-crafted, and its materials were of the highest calibre. The architect and builders had his approval. Higher praise he could not bestow.
When he could delay no longer, he let out a small sigh.
“[I have learned several hard lessons in only one day,]” Hephaestus admitted, unconsciously switching languages. “[The genesis of it all came from an unlikely source, and it has caused me much grief. However, I know that it was necessary in order to be a better, perhaps happier, person in the end.]” Hephaestus was chagrined as he finished. It all sounded so melodramatic, especially given his own self-indulgent moping. However, though he was already working busily towards change, his wounds were simply too fresh to be ignored.
Hades nodded as he sat and further considered his nephew's words. It was the beginning of a tale that he didn't especially envy, if only because he had lived through similar sounding events. "[Hopefully whatever pains the lessons brought you will ease quickly . With all your have done for me during my times of need, can I help you somehow?]"
“[I think],” Hephaestus said trepidatiously, “[only you can help me. Perhaps Hera could as well, but I have enough grief in my life without asking for her help.]” Hephaestus was rambling a bit. He stilled his fidgeting hands and continued. “[What I need from you, Uncle, is to dissolve my marriage to Aglaia.]” Saying the words hit Hephaestus like a physical blow. He felt his love for his wife keenly, but he could no longer argue the fact that their marriage was over. It had been for longer than Hephaestus cared to admit.
Dissolve his marriage? Now Hades understood why Hephaestus was rambling and why he was fidgeting. He couldn't quite remember when he had seen Hephaestus fidget but now it made sense. Asking to dissolve a marriage was a serious affair, mostly because it meant the person in question had actually valued the relationship to begin with.
Hades nodded again, "[I can help you, but I would like to ask why you want to before I do so. Why do you want to free Aglaia and yourself from your vows?]"
Hephaestus let out a measured breath. He had spent hours agonizing over just that question. Though his decision pained him still, he was sure he was doing the right thing.
"[My marriage is over, Uncle,]" he began. His voice was like that of a professor reading a prepared lecture. "[It is not something I say rashly, but something I can no longer rationally deny. For centuries, I have sought out Aglaia. At first, my wife was all I thought about. All the skill in my hands was turned toward finding her. However, somewhere along the way, my priorities changed. A promising mortal would distract me for a few years. A society would engage my interest for a decade. People and places and things soon filled the hole in my heart where my wife used to dwell. Aglaia was no longer my wife, but an idea.]"
"[As an idea, Aglaia was perfect. I could make her whatever I wanted. She could be the devoted wife I longed for, the woman in whose name I struggled, the commitment that kept me from having to open myself up to others. I could have all of this, and never spend a moment looking for her. She was an excuse. She was the battle cry I sounded as I retreated from my emotions. She deserves better than I have given her, and I deserve better than I have allowed myself.]"
‘[When Aglaia left, my heart left with her. The emotional detachment I foolishly called strength was simply my way of running from my pain. While I crowed about how I had changed, I was the same scared little boy I was on Olympus. I can no longer live that way. It is not fair to my friends and those in the family I treasure. I must finally mature, even if it means leaving behind Aglaia.]"
"[However, all I have said would not be enough to bring me to you. Alone, all that does is renew my resolve to find my missing wife, and, indeed, even before the realizations I have had in the past days, I had stepped up my efforts. Some time ago, I found the Aesir known as Loki with, literally, no reliable information to go on. Having achieved complete success, I turned to Aglaia. Despite having pulled Loki out of the wind itself, Aglaia continued to elude me. In order to do so, she would have to have changed her glamour radically, died, or somehow disappeared from the face of the earth. In any of these cases, she has moved on.]"
"[By coming to you today, Uncle, I seek only to do the same. I do not dissolve one marriage to leap into another, though it would be dishonest of me to say my heart has not been moved of late. These movements are naught but the first stirrings of attraction, however. Do not mistake me, Uncle, I have never cheated on my wife. That is something I can still say with pride. Should the capricious Fates see fit to return Aglaia to my side only after I have severed our ties, I will meet her eyes with my conscience clear. I will explain myself honestly and openly with Aglaia. Who knows, perhaps one day I will even have to ask you how to reinstate my vows.]"
Hephaestus shook his head. He was emotionally drained after his speech, and in his mental fatigue he was getting ahead of himself and straying from the topic.
"[Does my answer satisfy you, Uncle]?" Hephaestus asked Hades. Hephaestus calmly awaited Hades' reply, wondering if Hades was judging his answer's worthiness before granting or denying his request.
She deserves better than I have given her... Those words stung Hades because he had heard himself say them. More than once, when he dissolved his own vows, once with no counsel except his own and the second on the urging of his wife, he had coached his logic with very similar thoughts.
But unlike himself, Hephaestus had a second part to it. ...and I deserve better than I have allowed myself. It had eased Hades concern about the request, that Hephaestus had a well-thought reason for this request... that his nephew wasn't throwing himself down upon a decision that would haunt him like he had.
I will meet her eyes with my conscience clear. I will explain myself honestly and openly with Aglaia. Who knows, perhaps one day I will even have to ask you how to reinstate my vows. But then Hephaestus spoke the very concern Hades truly had about this request. If Aglaia came back...
He had one more qualification, then he would be truly satisfied, "[If she does return, even with your conscience clear, will you be prepared if she returns upset at your decision about your relationship with her? If she finds you having built a new life and you find yourself staring at the woman whom you loved hurt and enraged by you? Because knowing the capricious Fates, its a likely possibility.]"
Hephaestus frowned. He felt Hades was dwelling on an aspect of the situation that was so unlikely as to be unrealistic. However, Hades himself had lived through just such an experience, and Hephaestus’ own luck was as bad as his uncle’s.
Opening his mouth to speak, Hephaestus snapped it shut immediately. He had been about to list all the reasons why he should be mad at Aglaia if she returned. However, that sounded too petty in his mind, and he strived, as always, to be different from his mother and father.
“[If Aglaia were to return,]” Hephaestus began at last, “[I would count it a miracle, even if she despised me. If she is angry, I will bear her anger, even if it pulls the heart from my chest. If she feels hurt and betrayed, I will beg her forgiveness. What I will not do is use the fear of her return as an excuse to run away from life. It does a disservice to both Aglaia and myself.]”
Hades was dwelling on every aspect, realistic and unrealistic. With this family, he had learned that the most unrealistic was often the most likely to occur while the realistic remained the dreams of rational fools. He watched as his nephew frowned and had stopped himself from responding at first.
Good. It was another moment of thought and with the reply that followed, Hades nodded. His nephew said he was prepared for the consquences. Most importantly, Hephaestus again affirmed he was prepared to live a life without her. His nephew was infinitely more prepared for all of this than he was.
He stood, "[Are you ready right now?]"
Hephaestus laughed a small, sad laugh.
“[I doubt it, but it is what I have resolved to do. Having made that resolution, I feel, as the humans say,] the sooner the better.” Hephaestus knew it would be painful, so he wanted to do it quickly, like removing a bandage from a wound.
Hades closed his eyes. He had dissolved his own marriage vows twice, but this was different. This was both easier because it was not own vows and yet harder because he still hoped that this would not work against his nephew. But opening his eyes, he found his own resolve and reached out to grab Hephaestus' wrist firmly.
In the end, Hephaestus was doing this the correct way. He was freeing both himself and Agalia. Hades had never freed himself when he had claimed to.
His black eyes began to suddenly burn with luminosity as he spoke in an authoritative tone, "[You were given Agalia, that she may bring children into the world within the bond of wedlock. I break this pact between you and her father. She no longer has this obligation and you no longer have such rights to her.]" He squeezed Hephaestus' wrist for another moment tighter and then released him, only to place his hand upon his shoulder to give him a clearly ritualistic shove from the absent woman.
Only then did both his eyes and tone return to normal, "[It's done.]"
Hephaestus was not sure what he had expected, but it had not been that. He had not expected the words of the ritual to sound so damning. He had expected to feel damned, as if his very heart was bleeding in anguish as his vows were ripped away. Yet, all he felt was Hades’ shove. There was no pain, no tingling, no mystic sense of severance. His love for Aglaia was still there, but the shield of his commitment to her was not. In it’s stead was the suffocating liberation of freedom.
For a moment, Hephaestus found himself overwhelmed by how everything and yet nothing had changed.
The moment passed, and Hephaestus regained his ability to speak.
“[Thank you, Uncle,]” he said somberly. “[I cannot express what your help means to me. By taking my marriage, you have allowed me to keep my integrity.]” Others may have laughed at the value Hephaestus placed on his oaths and commitments, but he knew that Hades would not.
Hades returned his hand to Hephaestus' shoulder, "[You're welcome, Nephew.]" He didn't quite know what else to say. He was never one that words came easily to and for the situation he wouldn't quite know what was appropriate even if he had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. But he was able to add finally, "[I'm happy I was able to help. Whatever happens, hold on to that integrity.]"
“[My integrity is what this is all in service of, Uncle,” Hephaestus affirmed. “[I may not be handling this correctly, but I am sure I am handling it responsibly.]” With that, Hephaestus laid bare the uncertainty in his heart. He may not know what the proper course for his future is, but he would approach it with responsibility.
"[I've learned both through my own life and by having observed thousands of others unfurl before me that there's rarely a completely correct way of handling an uncertain situation. All you can strive for is the responsible way,]" Hades replied. He hadn't known what to say before but in the face of Hephaestus' honest uncertainty, he was able to find words more easily, "[You considered yourself and her. You considered the benefits and the consequences and accepted them. You can be sure in your responsibility.]"
“[Thank you again, Uncle.]” Hephaestus said with an earnest smile. “[I trust you, even if I am not sure I trust myself. Hearing you echo my own thoughts is a great comfort.]” Hephaestus had expected to feel terrible after Hades ended his marriage, but the elder god’s words were helping to ease away the stress and torment he had subjected himself to.
Sitting back down on the couch, Hades returned the smile albeit much more softly, "[Is there anything else I can do?]" He wasn't sure what else he could do, the life Hephaestus was choosing was one he had never successfully lived. He had tried but either obligation or grief had kept him from it. In the end, it had seemed to have been better for all involved that he returned to his vows, but he figured -- with all Hephaestus had done for him and was still doing -- he could at least make the offer.
Hephaestus thought for a moment. Truly, he had come only to undo his marriage vows. He still had much to do to prepare himself for life without his girls, as well. Suddenly, Hephaestus remembered something that had been placed on the back burners for a while that could use attending to.
“We could always schedule the final approval demonstration for those hellbots you ordered,” Hephaestus said, slipping into English once more. “I’ve got a sample squadron of them completed. All they need is your approval before they go into production.” No amount of inner turmoil and changing circumstances could keep Hephaestus from his forge. It was, after all, where he found his greatest comfort.
Hades was glad that Hephaestus mentioned it. Even though the 'hellbots' were also a serious concern for him, harbingers of possible major life changes, they were so remote and separate from the idea of dissolving marriage vows and the worry of another possibly following the downward spiral his own divorces had caused, that he couldn't help but lightly laugh, "That isn't what I expected you to say, but I did wonder how you were doing with those. How about this Sunday?"
“Sunday it is,” Hephaestus confirmed. “I have already asked enough of you, Uncle, and only because I lacked the ability to do what needed to be done. It is up to me to make my life what I want it to be. If I rely too heavily on others, even you, I will have have failed to change.” That was really the crux of Hephaestus’ issues. He had to stand on his own two feet now.
Again, Hades nodded. Hephaestus had to do what he had to do and Hades had no real advice on how to proceed. His own problems stemmed from not depending on others from centuries of having so very few to depend on in the first place. It was something he was trying very hard to change on his own end. "Understood, [Nephew]. How about first thing in the morning on Sunday?"
Hephaestus checked his handset. It was up to him to keep his schedule, after all. Businesses were closed on Sunday, and it seemed like he had no other pending business than his usual designing.
“Works for me,” Hephaestus agreed. “I don’t sleep, anyway.” It was true enough. But now that he had to drive himself, chances were good he would spend more time in his actual bed in the future.
"Then I will make sure to be there," Hades then glanced beyond Hephaestus to the door that opened into the room. No one was in the doorway now, not even a ghost, but there could have been. He knew how long it took for his daughters' to take their evening baths and usually a ghost did come to tell him about it.
Not yet though. Delaney must have decided to be fussy.
But for once that was fine by him. Mostly because he had suddenly remembered, now that important matters had been settled, that his nephew and his wife didn't especially get along all the time.
He stood up again, "This may sound a little rude, but it's probably for the best I show you out now, considering this was a surprise visit I bent my rules for and all..."
“No, I understand,” Hephaestus said, moving toward the door. “I appreciate your indulgence. Though, I wouldn’t mind actually meeting your kids at some point.” He had made toys for them, after all. Meeting them seemed like a logical next step.
Hades followed behind him, “You should stop by my office during the week then. You’ll get to meet them all at one shot.” It was only after he had said it, that he actually thought out the ramifications of such a visit. It made him shake his head, “Just call ahead so I can brace my assistant if she sees you so she isn’t stun locked the rest of the day.”
Hephaestus remembered Hades’ assistant. He also remembered that Hades seemed determined to keep them apart, despite the fact that Vadimas Lugosi wouldn’t mind chatting with her a bit. Oh, well, she was Hades’ employee, not his.
“I’ll do that,” Hephaestus promised. “I wouldn’t mind meeting my little cousins.” Hephaestus liked children. Most children liked new thoughts and new ideas, very much unlike most adults.
“Have a good evening, Dante,” Hephaestus said as he reached the door. “And thanks again.”
Perhaps if Vadimas Lugosi appeared later on in the work day, Dante Lot wouldn't mind him and his assistant chatting, but he needed her to do or at least be able to delegate the work he wasn't going to do. He would figure it out later. His assistant probably deserved the treat with all the nonsense she put up with concerning him.
"They'd like to meet you. They're social -- well, most of the time anyway." Children could be fickle, Hades had found, and Eric and Delaney were masters of fickleness. But if anyone could bribe them over into social pleasantness it would probably be the inventor of their favorite toys. "Good night, Vadimas."
Hephaestus gave a final wave before turning and walking back to his car. He hopped into the convertible and brought its powerful, if silent, engine to life. As he drove into the humid Miami twilight, he felt hopeful. Though he mourned for the past, it no longer felt like an anchor around his neck. It was the surest sign yet that he was on the right path. The road ahead of him was clear, and he would enjoy the ride.
Summary: A little uncle/nephew bonding over the dissolution or a loving and caring marriage. A good time was had by all.