Anders clearly needed a session in which to vent all his miseries, being one with words. He wasn't keen on the idea of leaving his office and his sanctuary, and he made this known to Mike, detailing his conditions.
"I'll go - as long as you make sure that the goddesses won't be there. The last thing I need is a reminder that Axl STILL hasn't found Frigg and that we're still on this stupid mortal earth." That was a smart move. In order to prevent spontaneous combustion between Anders and Axl, Mike needed to ensure that the goddesses stayed away from them for the time being. Mike nodded in agreement, and finally he, Anders, Axl and Olaf got up to leave. Only Ty still sat there, shock set into his face.
"What's going on, Ty?" Mike asked exasperatedly. He was so close to getting them all out the door and into a more familiar territory, and each of his brothers kept hitting a roadblock on the way. "What's going to happen when Odin finds Frigg? When the gods return to Asgard? You're all going to become gods, and then…I'll be left here on this earth, alone." Ty, for the first time, was starting to regret his decision to stop being a god. The thought of him no longer having his brothers, his grandfather, not even Dawn now that she barely knew him was overwhelming.
"See, Ty, this is why I made you promise that you would run your plan by us before doing anything! Look, we'll find Kvasir and see what he has to say. Let's just get going." It was difficult to juggle two depressed brothers at once, especially when the third was likely to get mopey again over Gaia's fate. Mike was eager to get his brothers to the bar, where he felt more in control. Or at the very least, he could serve everyone alcohol until nobody cared anymore. He shepherded them out the door and didn't leave until he was certain that every one of his family members were out of Anders' office.
Once back at the bar, Mike could breathe a sigh of relief. The smell of the wood in the bar was comforting, and he felt stronger there. It was going to be easier to deal with them all as there was more space, and more alcohol. Olaf, Anders, Axl and Ty each had their preferred seats which they had now settled into, and Mike went behind the bar to pull out some clean glasses. He had just poured everyone a stiff drink, when Michele entered the bar.
"NOPE," Anders said loudly, pointing his finger in the direction of the door. "No goddesses allowed. Get out." Michele inched forward slowly, crossing her arms.
"Excuse me, dwarf?" She asked dangerously. 'Dwarf' had been her affectionate and condescending pet name for Anders, depending on her mood. Today was certainly not a day where she was feeling affectionate towards him. Mike hurried out from the bar over to her to prevent her from throttling his brother.
"I have the other three with me outside, and yes that includes newly christened Idunn who has been asking to see Anders ever since you all took off this afternoon. What do you expect me to do with them?" Michele whispered angrily to Mike. Mike reached out to brush the hair from her forehead. "Look, we just need a few hours to come to terms with everything. I have three brothers who are all down in the dumps for various reasons, and I want to give them a space to air their troubles without interruption. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you later, I promise," he said softly, leaning in to kiss her cheek. Michele rolled her eyes.
"Fine, you pulled my leg. I'll be back later. Alone," she added in a alluring whisper into his ear. Mike smiled and kissed her again slowly. "I look forward to it." Michele turned and went back out the door; her coat slung over one shoulder.
"At least one of you is lucky in love," Olaf said, lighting up a cigarette. He was in blatant disregard of the fact that he was breaking the law by smoking in Mike's bar, but Mike decided that he would have to pick his battles. He would let this instance slide.
"Lucky? Pah-ha! Mike's wife dumped him after she got knocked up by his best friend, and now he's shagging Loki's leftovers. I would hardly call that lucky," Anders retorted, swiping a cigarette from Olaf and lighting up. Mike was more than a little miffed.
"I seem to recall that you were unable to get with Michele, Anders," Mike said, momentarily forgetting that he was supposed to be nice to his brother. Thankfully, Anders chose to ignore this comment, and exhaled forcefully from his cigarette.
"So, is Gaia going to be pining over Anders for the rest of her life? Until she gets with him and it ends badly for her? Can't he just get with her and then dump her straight away?" Axl asked his grandfather hopefully. He really wanted his old flatmate back, the one who loved him, not stupid Anders. Olaf simply shrugged.
"God only knows."
"Aren't you supposed to be the god who knows?! You are the family oracle!" It was hard for Axl to not let his irritation show. Olaf wasn't ruffled by Axl's frustration.
"Well, what if she is? Then there's nothing you can do anyway, and thus you shouldn't worry. Relax, have a drink or six. Move on from Gaia and focus on finding Frigg. Because once you find Frigg, you're not going to care about Gaia anyway," Olaf coaxed in his slow, deep manner. This logic wasn't what Axl needed right now. He stood up huffily and started to head for the door in a strop.
"Where do you think you're going?" Mike asked warningly. It was as though Axl was a teenager again; when Mike and Valerie had basically been his parents. The memories that Mike's tone brought back stung - but all Axl cared about in that moment was getting the fuck out of the bar; away from his family and all that Norse god crap that he was completely over.
"None of your business," snapped Axl. He turned and continued making his way towards the exit.
"Get your arse back here!" Mike snarled. His brothers were certainly determined to test his patience today.
"Why should I? I'm Odin, and I can do what I like. You're not my dad!" Axl spat. The room was silent as his last comment sunk in. Mike wasn't Axl's dad, but he had been as good as, if not much better than their real father, who had been abusive and took off early on.
"If that's how it's going to be, then fine – bugger off, you ungrateful little shit," Mike growled. Axl needed not another word of encouragement – he left the bar, slamming the door shut behind him.
"…So are we taking bets on how long it takes before he comes crawling back all apologetic?" Anders asked, trying to defuse the tension. Mike didn't even look at him; he was still glowering at the door from which Axl had departed. Ty had pulled himself from his wallowing to at least look concerned for his brothers.
"Shouldn't one of us go after him?" He looked around the room, waiting for his family to respond.
"You heard the almighty Odin, it's none of our business," Mike replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he angrily started pouring himself a drink.
"Look, Mike, I'm sure he didn't mean it. He truly appreciates what you and Valerie did for him for his whole life," Ty tried to comfort his brother. Despite his affinity towards self-pity about his life, Ty was the brother who was the least prone to hotheadedness (for more reasons than one). Additionally, Mike and Axl's exchange reminded him too much of the fights between his family members when he was younger.
It had normally been his brothers who had comforted him, so it was now Ty's turn. It seemed like a good start to make sure that Mike knew how appreciated he was. Or at least, distract him from the problem at hand.
"Hey, Anders…if Gaia is now the reincarnation of the goddess you're destined to be with, why are you so adverse to her?" Ty asked suddenly. "Aren't you supposed to be in love with her?"
Anders sent a dark look in his brother's direction.
"Ty, is that really an appropriate question to be asking Anders right now?" Mike reprimanded. The distraction had worked!
"It's a fair question! Maybe these prophecies don't hold as much power as they're supposed to! Helen and Anders could have just hit it off because they're just as slutty as each other-" ("HEY!" Anders interjected) "-and Gaia only thinks she's in love with Anders because that's what everyone's expecting from her! She could still be the Frigg," Ty suggested hopefully. But then he remembered what it would mean for him if they really had found Frigg, and he sunk back in his seat.
"Believe me, she's not Frigg," Anders said knowingly.
"Ingrid is a very good oracle, she's knows what she's talking about," Olaf agreed. "If she says Idunn is a constant goddess and is now using Gaia as a vessel, then that's what's happened."
"But how do you know she's not Frigg?" Ty insisted to his brother. Anders downed his drink and turned to Ty, looking irate.
"Look, you want to know why I'm so upset? It's because Gaia has made me confused as fuck."
"Why would Gaia confuse you? What happened?" Even Mike was curious now.
Anders leaned forward and sighed.
"You all remember what happened when Gaia emerged as Idunn?"
"My lord Bragi, it is I, Idunn." Gaia announced to Anders. Anders stared at her in shock, backing away slightly. Everything happening behind Gaia had promptly turned to custard. "Oh, this is bullshit!" cried Jerome, sounding like a frustrated child. "This is all your fault!" he accused Axl.
"MY fault?! How is this my fault?!"
"You stole Papatuanuku from us! Now we can't fulfil the prophecy!"
"Hey, our prophecy isn't fulfilled either!" Axl exclaimed. Jerome lunged for Axl, and they started scrabbling on the grass.
"Maybe – maybe that's not such a good idea," Ingrid called over to the boys. Michele rolled her eyes and exited the river haughtily, leaving Stacey and Ingrid looking utterly helpless. Olaf, Mike, Leon and George were awkwardly trying to figure out how to stop Axl and Jerome from killing each other. Colin was just laughing maniacally at the situation. He took way too much joy from others' misfortune.
"Fuck, I need a moment," Anders said, backing away from Gaia and briskly walking back to his car. Gaia followed him slowly, away from the commotion occurring at the riverside. No-one had seemed to notice that they had slipped away. Anders climbed into his car and slumped his head dejectedly on the dashboard. Dawn whenever she felt too overworked would attempt to breathe slowly and count to ten (before Anders would make fun of her and she'd stop), maybe that'd work. As he breathed in and out very slowly, Gaia slipped into the front passenger seat of his car.
"Whoa – Jesus! What are you doing?!" The last thing he needed right now was a 21 year old goddess in his car. Especially one who smelt as good as Gaia.
"Are you okay?" she asked him simply. He turned to look at her properly, and as they exchanged gazes, a strange, familiar wave of peace and desire washed over him. He had never noticed how beautiful she was before that day. And then she smiled. And he couldn't help but smile back. In that moment, he WAS okay.
"Oh, you didn't," The disgust in Ty's voice had never been stronger. The look on Anders' face was one which Ty had rarely – if EVER – seen on his brother: guilt.
"You had sex with your brother's flatmate? The one who he's in love with?!" Trust Ty to get all uppity about this. Anders knew this would happen.
"We didn't have sex! Well, not entirely, anyway…" The noise that Ty made reminded Anders of a cat being strangled. "I was upset! And I wasn't exactly going to pass up a desirable 21 year old flinging herself in my direction! For once I didn't have to talk her into anything."
"Really, Anders?" Mike wished it wasn't true. This threw a spanner in the works regarding happy families with his brothers. Not that he felt particularly sympathetic towards Axl at the moment.
"Was she good?" Olaf wanted to know. Anders gave a guilty little glance in his grandfather's direction which confirmed Olaf's suspicions. He had always thought, since he discovered that there were Maori goddesses, that they'd be particularly fiendish in bed.
"I can't believe you! No, wait, scratch that, this is so typical of you, Anders!" Ty was too fed up with Anders to be sympathetic towards him.
"Do you think I like this? I don't want to want to be with her! Why do you think I feel so shit? Because I'm not only insulting Helen's memory, I'm hurting Axl in the process!" Ander felt like shouting. It was grating how much people assumed that he just didn't care about other people. Anders just found it easier to hide it from people.
"Wait, you actually cared about Helen beyond screwing her brains out?!" Ty said sarcastically.
"Oh, shove it up your arse, Ty!" It took a lot to get Anders truly angry, and Ty had just reached the limit. He slammed his glass on the counter where it miraculously avoided cracking.
Mike was inclined to agree with Anders.
"Ty, you need to pull your head in. Anders may have done something less than ideal, but it's been a rough few days. Your attitude is not helping anyone."
"Oh, whatever," affronted Ty, standing up and following the same path his younger brother had taken earlier.
"For fuck's sake, Ty, where are YOU going?" Mike's plan to keep them all in one place was falling through fast.
"What do you care, I'm not a god," Ty sniped at his older brother.
"You're still our brother, and I hate seeing the three of you at ends with each other. You're supposed to hate me, instead." Never mind the fact that Ty was getting pissed off at Mike something that was his own bloody fault.
"Oh, don't be a martyr, Mike," Anders and Ty said at the same time. Olaf found this highly amusing and started chuckling away. Never had the two brothers seemed more alike.
"More booze for everyone!" he crowed, and Mike obeyed, filling everyone's glasses up with whiskey. He pointedly held a glass out to Ty. With a sigh and a roll of the eyes, Ty sat back down beside Anders, taking the glass from Mike. The four of them clinked glasses and downed them in one go.
"This doesn't make me feel any better," Anders said in a slightly slurred manner.
"Fuck, I forgot how much alcohol burns," Ty added, twisting his glass with a bitter look on his face.
"You're not meant to feel good, you're just supposed to forget," Olaf instructed. He was disappointed that his grandsons still had much to learn about how to properly use alcohol as medication. Ty and Anders were beyond achieving any happiness from their drinks; their next aim was to simply drink until it didn't hurt anymore.
"Would more alcohol do the trick, Anders?" asked Mike. Anders stuck out his glass and pointed it at the strongest bottle of absinthe across the bar, nodding in its direction.
"Yes please."
A/N: Yay for absinthe's legality in New Zealand! :/ It's not the drinking, it's how we're drinking.
Seriously. I'm a little concerned for their drinking as well. And in the next chapter, I won't be the only one concerned.