Mars crept through the halls of the great Zhang family mansion, careful not to run into anything for fear of making noise and waking the three Zhangs in the house. The grandmother would be a terror to wake up and she would most likely attack him mistaking him for an intruder. Emily on the other hand would be exhausted but alert enough to recognize him even in the middle of the night. She most likely would be curious about what he was doing sneaking into her house in the dead of night. However the third Zhang would scream and wake his mother if he was to be woken up from his peaceful slumber, and his mission would fail.
Mars had it all worked out to the very last detail. One. He would come to the Zhang mansion and enter as quickly and quietly as possible. Two. Navigate his way to the last room on the left on the second floor of the great home. Three. He would slowly walk over to the crib against the wall so as not to startle the child that it contained. Four. Complete mission. Five. Exit in the same fashion as he entered the home, but without a trace of his presence. Can't fail this, heck I can't fail him. Mars thought as he moved swiftly and soundlessly up the stairs.
All Mars could think about was the tiny baby he had yet to meet waiting upstairs for him. What if he doesn't ever accept me as his father? He pondered as he made his way down the 50 meter hallway leading to his destination. What if he resents me for not being there for him? He really really did want to be there for his son throughout his entire life, be able to protect him and teach him things like how to ride his bike and help him take his first steps. But alas he can't, with all his godly duties and battles to be fought and won he was unable to spend enough time with his son.
Truthfully Mars didn't even know what his son's given name was. He was now a fortnight old and still Mars had been unable to acquire the name of his son. None of his iris messages had included the baby's name in it, even when he had watched as Emily filled out the baby's paperwork he had been unable to make out his name. The thing that most wounded Mars was when he saw Emily skip over the part that asked for the father's information. I can't be a father to a boy that legally isn't mine, even though I know he is. The thought nearly made the god of war shed a tear, almost, the god of war never ever had cried, he had always screamed and wailed as a child but never cried when he wanted something.
Ah finally, finally I have reached him. Mars thought as he twisted the doorknob and entered the dimly lit nursery. The nursery was a shade of medium dark forrest green which was atypical for a child's room considering most nurseries were done in pastel colors. None the less the color seemed fitting for the room and complimented the darker wood of the crib and changing table. Mars fortunately didn't really have to look where he was going because the boy was to young to play with toys that weren't tiny stuffed animals. One thing that really stood out to Mars were the letters F-R-A-N-K spelled out against the wall, above a rocking chair that sat in the corner of the room next to a dimmed lamp.
Once he reached the crib he looked down at the baby that was laying there silently with his eyes staring back at Mars' dark chocolate eyes. "Hello Frank, I'm your dad." Mars whispered quietly at his son with a small smile gracing his normal face, which usually showed about the same level of emotion as a rock. Mars lowered his arms to lift the tiny infant out of his crib. Feeling the comfortable weight of his warm son in his rather buff arms, he looked down at him and slowly rocked Frank's little body while lyrics to You Are My Sunshine kept coming to his mind until he realized the he was quietly humming the calm tune.
"I Love You Frank. I will come see you from time to time, as often as I can, to make sure you are safe and all. I will protect you to the best of my abilities, nothing is going to try to hurt you until you are old enough to handle it, your mother will make sure of that." Mars promised. " I know I'm not the perfect daddy, I can't always be here to talk to you or even really get to know you as much as I would like to. Because, you see, as a Roman god I have lots of duties and things I have to do, things that get in the way of me being with you all the time. Just remember that no one on this earth loves you more than your mommy and I do." Mars finished his practically soliloquy considering Frank couldn't understand a word he was saying. He realized that he had been stroking the small tuft of coal colored hair on Frank's head, he brought Frank's forehead to his lips and kissed it.
"I can't argue with that." A smooth silky voice spoke quietly from the doorway.
"Emily."
"Hello Mars, I would ask you what brings you here, but it is obvious." She replied with a slight chuckle.
"I had to see him, before it got to dangerous for me to be around him much. Before my immortal scent rubs off on him."
"I understand, I do think there may have been a more decent hour to come though."
"Yes, that is true, I am sorry."
"I forgive you, I know why you did what you did."
"Is it just me or is Frank really tiny?" Mars asked changing the topic completely.
"I know, he seems to small and fragile, almost as though if you handle him a little too roughly he would shatter into a billion irreparable pieces."
Mars couldn't help but grit his teeth and set his jaw in anger. Jupiter, just the idea of my kid getting hurt makes my blood boil. Mars noted the feeling of his face turning a bit pink as his blood flowed more quickly and hotly (A/N just go with it).
"I had an interesting run in with Juno twelve days ago."
"Oh?"
"She gave me a stick of drift wood and told me that when the stick burned Frank's life would end."
"Is there any kind of things we can use to prevent it from burning?" Mars asked desperately.
Emily was taken slightly aback when Mars said 'we'. "I haven't found anything in all my research, not even a Chinese folk tale."
"We will find something. Now I must go."
"Alright."
"I love you Emily."
"I love you too Mars."
"I love you Frank, so so much, I will see you soon, real soon." Mars grimaced when he was no longer holding Frank in his arms.
And with those final words Mars had vanished into the air.
