神々の悪戯
Surprisingly enough, Thor joins her in the kitchen this time, washing his hands in the sink after her. Considering the way he was looking at her and Dionysus earlier-
"No blessings or curses!" she calls out as she spins around, hand up in the air with her finger outstretched to point at him. Her only response is a twitch of his lips and a brief nod. She narrows her eyes as she stares at him for a moment, watching the way the muscles and tendons in his arms move and shift for a few seconds before sighing, turning back to the fridge.
Fucking a fertility god with the blessing of another fertility god…that would basically be her begging to become pregnant, right? Not that she wants a kid, definitely not. She's still in university, still got things she wants to do. Wants to travel to art museums the world over, go to the most well-known metropolitan cities and the under-developed rural villages, and experience as many cultures as she can. Wants to craft a piece of art so famous that in fifty years, a hundred years from now, she'll have her name in the history books as being an 'influential artist of her time'.
How could anyone do that with a child in tow? And she knows it would be one, as in 'solo', because that's what gods do, isn't it? Read all the mythology you want, but that's every gods M.O., to get some and then get gone. Human form or not, they just…fly into your life, mess about for a night or a week, and then leave on swift wings; pregnant or not. A major plot point behind the Percy Jackson books is that gods have half-blood children that they might interact with once in their child's mortal life-span.
And that's-
…
She's doing it again. Distracting herself by thinking about petty bullshit that doesn't need thinking about.
Cut up some fruit, make it look somewhat pretty. She's fairly certain she saw cream of some sort in the fridge…
"I'll take that out," Thor states, grabbing a tray to put the platter of fruits on it, the bowl of dipping cream in the middle; he's already thought ahead and got forks in his hand.
"Tell them I'm planning on pasta," she calls as he leaves, throwing the knives and cutting board into the sink, before quickly washing her hands to free them from the fruit juices. Pre-heat the oven, and-
Meat…meat…meat…mince! Tomatoes…cheese…ooh, is there a grater? Because that would make things so much easier… Hmm, maybe if there are some jars of pre-made sauce, that would make things go qui-
There are several unlabelled jars of what looks like pureed tomatoes and herbs in the next cupboard… Luck, the power of positive thinking, or a god playing 'feed my children and the other miscreants as well please'? (Would Zeus even say 'please'?) Cracking a jar open, she dips a spoon in, and-
"Wow, that's really good."
"Is it?"
"Mother fu-" Spinning, the spoon goes flying from her hand, across the room, above the head of Tsukito, who has luckily dodged, and out into the hallway, where it hits the wall with a loud clatter. She sends back an 'I'm okay' to the inquisitive shouts. Her heart feels like it's going to explode out of her chest. "Holy hell, what the fu- Make some noise next time!"
"I will." The absence of an apology is unmistakeable, and she raises an eyebrow at him.
"Thought you'd disappeared with Balder, chasing off after Apollo."
"Yes. Apollo is now the student council president. His instructions must be obeyed."
"Aaaaand…how does that affect me?" Whatever a student council president is; she tries to stay as far away from the indecisive creature known as 'people' as best she can. She begins rummaging through the cupboards again; oil to cook the meat in, a large enough frying pan or two… Fantastic, a cheese grater! Let that start to cook, find a few baking dishes…
"He is the student council president."
"You've said that."
"His orders must be obeyed."
"Said something like that as well." Jar of sauce goes in a dish, stir in some shells for that one. Into the oven it goes! Next…bowties? Into the oven. And finally…spirals! Three dishes in the oven…are there even any gloves in here? Or towels? There! Perfect.
"You are a student, he is your council president."
"No he's not!" Her response is chirpy as she opens up the block of cheddar, before leaning the grater over a clean board.
"…He is the student council president."
"Okay."
"You must follow his orders."
"Nope." It's kind of fun, watching the way his eyes go from her, to his little notebook and back again, as though she's ruining a script he has already written.
"Apollo is the student council president. His orders must be obeyed."
"Okay." Maybe his brain is like a computer, and can't comprehend why she's going against the flow-chart he has in his head of how this conversation is supposed to go?
"…You must follow his orders."
"Nope. Pass those gloves over." He hands them over to her, blinking rapidly, especially when she pulls the trays out the oven with a plume of steam behind them.
"Why will you not follow his orders?" Finally. Asking for a reason. Wow, this already smells nice, even if she says so herself. Compliments to the chef!
"I have attended high-school and already graduated. This is why I'm not going to any of the classes at the school. I am, therefore, not a student of this high-school, and thusly not subject to anyone trying to order me around." More blinking as she sprinkles cheese over the trays of pasta and sauce, before he watches with a steady gaze as she places them back in the oven, cracking open another two jars to pour into the frying pans, the sizzle of the meat almost immediately dying down to a soft bubble. Time for pasta!
"…I understand." He's gone within a few seconds, only to return with the dirty spoon, placing it in the sink with the other dirty equipment, before leaving again.
Well, that was…
'Weird' might not actually cut it.
神々の悪戯
"Hands on a body that won't fall over!" She leans out into the hall to call, and she hears loud chuckles as well as a 'hey!' that can only come from Balder. Soon enough though, she has several 'volunteers' (she didn't miss hearing someone stating that if 'he' wants food, then 'he' should help in getting it), who help in carrying out the bowls, trays, cutlery and dishes. Someone's going to have a fun time doing the washing-up…
…
It's probably going to be her, isn't it?
Urgh…
"The baking trays have pasta shapes, this bowl has spaghetti, that one has tagliatelle. All the sauces are tomato and herb based. The meat is beef mince. I have no idea how to make garlic bread, so that's not here. All compliments go to me, the chef; all complaints can go to someone who gives a fuck. That said, dig in."
Loki grabs a tray not long out the oven with his bare hands, and she nearly shrieks, preparing for him to drop it back down onto the table, possibly shattering the glass, but he easily trades it for the serving bowl of noodles near Thor, who is glaring at the bowl with a passion.
Okaaaaay then. Heart-attack moment averted.
The room is quiet, except for the scraping of bowls. At one point, Dionysus disappears, only to reappear with a tray with glasses, and a large jug of water. She tries to keep her sigh as light as possible; she'd completely forgotten about anything to drink.
Then again, this isn't her shindig, she hadn't sorted anything out for it, and she's not the one in charge, despite having kind of taken over at certain points.
Food, people. Important thing! Her belly had been calling out for meat and pasta!
In fact, hadn't both of the people who'd organised this 'beach-school' gone AWOL? Of for a little joy-ride on a Pegasus?
"So where did Apollo and Kusanagi sneak off to then?" she asks as she starts sliding empty bowls over towards her. Despite her provisional tidy-up, Thor is still eating…although only from the trays, not from the bowls with the spaghetti or tagliatelle. Alright then, that'll just make for less waste. To be fair though, most of the noodles are gone; combined, they might make up a portion.
Apparently everyone was hungry. Or at least hungry enough to ignore any crap cooking.
"They did not sneak off," Tsukito quickly replies as he slides his bowl across the table towards her growing pile of bowls and utensils, a mark of sauce follows the bowl's path for a good portion of the way. "They were loud in their departure."
"Brother!"
"Wow, you are a literal one, aren't you? My sentence has two meanings. I'm enquiring as to where the two of them are, but also making reference to how 'sneaking off' is something couples do when they want to spend time alone."
"I see." Out comes the notebook. "'Something couples do when they want to spend time alone.'"
"Are you saying they've abandoned us here to go and…and…fornicate?" Loki shouts, his head appearing from over the back of the couches.
"Loki," Balder remonstrates, a disapproving tone in his voice; coupled with a look, it makes the fire-god huff as he falls backwards onto the seat of the couch. "We should wait until they return. Apollo and Yui may have come up with something that you'll like. Besides, do you want to try and return to the school in the dark?"
"Urgh!"
"And no, I wasn't saying it, I was implying it. It's like…speaking in code." Besides, she can't imagine the Weak-…Kusanagi…having sex with someone she's known for only a week. Her though? She's been waiting to fuck Dionysus since about an hour after she met him.
If she knew how thick the walls were here…
Maybe later.
But that's the start of what feels like a very long wait. Like 'Lord of the Rings, Extended Edition' long. But patience doesn't seem to be any of the boys' strong suit, and they can't seem to sit still for more than ten minutes at a time. They leave the room in pairs, heading out to explore, and in their absence, she collapses onto one of the couches, her legs dangling over the end, her back and head flat against the cushioned seat; she can hear them opening doors in the distance, calling out to each other with every new find.
The couch jolts slightly as someone sits at the available spot above (to the side?) of her head; opening her eyes shows Dionysus leaning over her, his hair beginning to form a veil around his face. She startles somewhat, not having been expecting him to lean over her, but when he pauses she smiles (which must look fucking weird upside-down), stretching a hand upwards and backwards slightly, pressing down on the back of his head…
Into what might be the most awkward kiss of all time.
"Spiderman lied," she mutters as she pulls her hand back towards her, using the momentum to slide off the couch to stand, only to sit back down next to him, ready to pull him back towards her-
Only to stop at the sound of a cough.
She sighs, even as she listens to Dionysus as he lightly groans. "Your uncle didn't go exploring, did he." It's clear by her tone that it's not a question, but he replies with a small headshake anyway. "Right then, I'm just gonna…" She stands, indicating the hallway leading to the kitchen. "Washing-up won't do itself after all."
She leaves to the sound of Hades chuckling as Dionysus calls out that it's 'not funny, Uncle!'
神々の悪戯
She's just lied without even knowing it.
The washing-up is all done, all the pots and pans and bowls all back in their cupboards. Even the packets of pasta she'd disturbed earlier in her hunt for soba with Takeru have returned to their perfect alignment.
She doesn't go back out. Instead, she pulls out the little stool from underneath what would be a breakfast bar in another life, and parks her arse on it with a freshly-made mug of hot chocolate in her hands, a pack of choc-chip cookies open in front of her.
There are way too many boys here, but if the only choice is Kusanagi as a female friend…
Urgh, she'd rather drown herself in lava.
神々の悪戯
She munches through-
Oh god…gods? Whatever, that was the whole fucking pack she just ate, and she had all that pasta as well. Like seriously? What the fuck?
…
Whatever, they were bloody delicious.
But she can hear…she's not going to call it shouting, that's a step too far, but…
"What now?" Loki's voice is extremely recognisable, especially at this volume. She assumes there's a response, even as she gets up to rinse her mug, but it's also possible no-one answers him. The voices get louder as she returns, and walking through the doorway, she immediately takes note of Loki and Takeru on one couch, Balder and Tsukito on the opposing one (which causes an 'oh fuck' to go through her head; that's easily the set-up for a fight), and Dionysus and Thor sitting at the table.
Ah.
She really-
Wait, where's Hades? Her eyes flicker for a second, and she notices him sitting on a stool in the shadow underneath the balcony of the landing upstairs, next to what she'd call a bar if it looked like it contained actual alcohol. He doesn't seem to have noticed her standing in the doorway (is a doorway a doorway without a door, even if the frame is there?), but she shouldn't assume.
Right. She doesn't want to sit on either of the couches, despite the space available, so she makes for the table, nodding to Thor when he notes her approach, and brings a chair closer towards Dionysus, who greets her with a smile on her lips.
"What'd I miss?" He doesn't get a chance to answer her as Loki begins, or maybe continues, his argument with Tsukito and Balder.
"Why is Apollo going to all this effort for the seaside school, anyway?" There's a sort of…dare she say smirk on his face when he finishes, as though his sentence is leading up to something else, but he's just waiting for-…
It's bait.
"What are you trying to say?" Thor replies; is this the opening Loki needed?
"Isn't he Zeus' son? Maybe he's only pretending to be our friend, while working to ensure Zeus' plan goes well, or something." There's a chuckle at the end that's totally in character (she can practically see Tom Hiddleston sitting there right now, going through this whole thing; in fact, why wasn't her mind's version of Loki someone who was, or looked like, Tom Hiddleston? Huh, now isn't that a thought...), but Hades, Hades, is the one to jump from his seat, stating that Loki's words can't be true.
"Why not?" Takeru questions, and (pretending it's real! Got to pretend that it's real!) both of them kind of make sense. It's possible they don't fully know about why they were brought here, about the Nothingness, but she can understand why the foreign gods would be suspicious of the Greek ones, because of course you'd associate Zeus, being the 'bad guy' here, holding them captive, with the rest of his pantheon.
"Because Apollo…has a love more pure than you can imagine for you…" Umm…God of Wealth say what now? Is he trying to say that Apollo loved Takeru? She's not saying anything against the whole guy-guy thing, but…the way Apollo had been acting around Kusanagi… "No, for all of us. That is how he is." Oh thank the gods… (wow, that sounds weird given her current situation), Hades had obviously meant some sort of friendly, platonic love for Takeru and all of them. Obviously familial love for Hades and Dionysus though.
Unless he felt familial love for his brother and uncle, and some sort of 'purer' love for the rest of them. Honestly, that's…more than a tad bit terrifying. She's seen how dangerous loving someone can be, the depths someone is willing to go to for the one they love… And some of the myths about these guys that she remembers…
"I agree," Tsukito mentions in that somewhat monotone voice of his (emotionless, like literally emotionless, or just well-controlled?), and Balder quickly agrees with him, which has Loki basically storming off, only-
Wait, can she hear Apollo?
"I wasn't waiting! I'm leaving!" Loki shouts down to Apollo, and-
"Fireworks?" she mutters at the familiar sight (although that is one big-ass firework) and sound, standing from her chair to follow Loki out. But she's not the only one, even if the others stop at the entrance to the balcony. Hadn't they ever seen fireworks before? Or explosions?
It was…the Chinese, right? The Chinese who'd invented gunpowder several thousand years ago, or whatever the explosive powder in a firework was called. It is thousand, right? Are they, or someone at least, seriously trying to say that the pantheons are so far removed from the human world that they don't know about something that old? Hades, at least, expresses knowledge about bombs, probably due to how many people entered into his realm, especially during wars, but soon enough, intrigue and fascination overrides fear, and everyone soon comes out onto the balcony with her and Loki.
'Flowers in the sky', Takeru calls them, and, yeah, that's actually a really poetic way of putting them, isn't it? Dionysus comes up behind her, arms hugging her as his chin rests on her shoulder. Hm, he's nice and warm, and the weight feels-
The fireworks continue for some time, and the only way this would have been better would have been if she had another mug of hot chocolate in her hands, especially since the temperature has dropped a good few degrees since they first entered the beach-house/mansion. To her far right, just in view in front of everyone standing by the balcony wall, she can see a pouting Loki, and…is that Balder smiling down at him?
Probably some sort of Nordic teasing or whatever.
神々の悪戯
"Everyone," Kusanagi calls out, drawing the observer's attention as the fireworks fade away, and fuck, she'd been hoping that the girl was just an illusion. "We've got some more if you want to try them?"
"Yeah," Apollo shouts in that…overly exuberant manner of his, "and guess what? They fit in your hand!"
"No way," Takeru practically gasps out.
"Honestly," Apollo quickly retorts, and she has her fingers crossed, and her toes inside her trainers, hoping to the point of praying that the pair of them are referring to plain, ordinary sparklers.
…
They're on a floating island where gods are attending classes though, and the seasons visibly change in the course of ten seconds, and where everything you want to get from the school store is free, so what are her fucking chances of that?
神々の悪戯
Non-fucking -existent, that's bloody what! Sure, they're like sparklers in size, but that's about it, and she completely understands now why they've had to walk for a few minutes to a clearing away from their home for the night.
Because they're like…like…streams of explosive fire!
Okay, maybe a bit too enthusiastic there, but-
You know fountain fireworks? Where it's like a continuous stream of coloured hissing energy? That's the intensity of the sparklers, although they don't have the random popping to the side, but they're louder than normal ones.
She accepts one from Apollo, rejecting the second he tries to pass her, extending her arm as far away from her body as she can.
"They're not going to hurt you," Apollo almost giggles as he speaks.
"Is that a fact?" The end catches light, sending off a stream of crackles. "Well if anyone does get hurt, it's not like we have an infirmary, or a nurse or doctor here to help us, do we?" She walks away, determinedly avoiding Kusanagi, aiming to head for Dionysus, or maybe even Takeru, buuuuut Takeru and Loki are chasing Dionysus with lit fire-sparklers, and- Yeah, that's a no.
Just because the odds of her ever doing this again are about ten billion to one, she holds the fire-sparkler up, and quickly, just like she had as a child, writes her name in the air, the after-image staying in her eyes for a second or two.
Actually, that would make a good picture. In fact, she thinks, as she looks around, all of this might. A clearing, a shadowy forest, the beach-house/mansion elevated slightly, and this glorious sky… Maybe have the little glowy stones create a path leading through the woods back up to the building?
Loki and Takeru seem to be having some sort of…moment with Apollo and Kusanagi, and then there's a call for one last firework, which turns out to be an actual fountain firework.
Almost sneakily, as they stand in a circle around the sight, fingers lace themselves into hers; her peripheral tells her it's Dionysus, and she tightens her grip momentarily. Somehow, this translates to something in his brain, because she rapidly finds an arm across her shoulders as her body is pressed up tightly against his. If she wanted to (and she can't quite tell if she wants to), she could tilt her head just the smallest amount and let it rest on his shoulder.
It's a very, very tempting idea though.
Her hand now free, she sneaks it across his back, her thumb tucking into the waistband as his fingers follow the natural line of his hip. It's almost…she wants to say 'possessive', but being possessive about people really isn't her. At least not typically. Her ideas, her artwork, her sources of inspiration; those she tends to guard like a dragon with its hoard, but people?
People have free will, can move and do whatever they want or wish.
She's not the first to yawn, or the last, but it seems to be the catalyst for them to head back to the beach-whatever, and the trip back, is, dare she say it, rather pleasant. Divided mostly into the individual pantheons, the atmosphere is jovial as they return, the sky full of stars brilliant and bright enough to light their path, especially with the glowing rocks along the pathway.
Loki, fire-god that he is, seems all the happier to have messed around with something so potentially explosive and destructive, especially as he drapes himself across Balder, who is laughing at something Loki has just said; she swears she even sees Thor crack a smile for a split second. Almost secretively, although not to anyone whose watching them with enough attention, she slides her hand further up, no longer on Dionysus' hip now, but on his waist, actually touching his skin. It's enough to make him startle slightly, leaning his head back to look down at her. She's the one that speaks first though.
"Problem?" It's not like she's the only one making a move to touch skin, intentional or not. The arm across her shoulder…his bicep is across the lower part of her neck, exposed by the somewhat low dip of the t-shirt she's wearing, and his fingers can't seem to decide what they want to do. She's not complaining though, not in the slightest, even as her skin tingles at his touch.
"No. Not even the beginning of one," he replies, brushing her lips with a faint kiss before turning back to face the path as they keep walking
It's only a minute later when everyone suddenly stops, turning back as Apollo starts shouting 'Fairy' (wasn't that his nickname for the Weakling?), and Dionysus furrows his eyebrows as the sun-god rushes back the way they came, constantly calling out. She doesn't want to ask, but-
"Should we…?" She gestures with her free hand in the direction Apollo has gone, and Dionysus levels a deep stare in the glowy depths of the path they've just walked through. A few seconds pass before he replies, and the words sound like they've been rolled around his mouth a few times before he decided on the final sentence composition.
"No, the situation is resolving itself." She nods, slowly at first before picking up the pace, both of them moving to catch up with the others. Balder is…ah fuck, he's looking a forlornly at the direction Apollo has just gone, which is also where the Weakling is, and shitballscrap. She does not think Apollo is a god who shares easily.
"Come on, Balder," she calls out, trying to swing her arm around Balder's shoulders and basically drag him with her and Dionysus if she has to. It's made a tad bit difficult by the fact she's shorter than him by a few inches; he's got to be…what…five foot nine? Five ten? Maybe more? If only she were wearing solid heels or something. Instead, her arm falls to his elbow, and she tugs him away, jolting him forwards until he almost falls before catching him. The sudden movement seems to reset something in him, and the face which, now that she thinks about it, was a bit too…flat, becomes a bit more active. "You mentioned something about a barbeque?"
…
Fuck.
神々の悪戯
Author's Note 21/06/18: Yay! We've managed to reach the end of episode three people! How are we feeling about that? Also, are you all liking the more frequent updates? Hopefully you are, because if we've only just finished episode three, and we're already a few weeks into my summer holidays… I'm going to try and release a chapter every two or three days for you guys, but don't hold me to that! We all know how real-life (horrid thing that it is), interrupts with previously arranged plans.
Does everyone feel that the characterisations are okay? Tell me, even if you think they aren't! All feedback, positive or negative is good, so long as it explains why.
I know I said I wouldn't do it, but I accidentally (like it came up in my recommendeds on YouTube) found a new anime that's rather good. So new in fact, that as of my writing this, it doesn't have an option on . It's called 'Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi', and to summarise, it's about a girl whose grandfather died, but not before he offset his debts to a demon-god by offering her as its bride. Obviously, this is something the college girl doesn't want, and she vows to work instead to pay off the debt. Honestly, I can see the anime ending with her ending with the demon-god anyway, but at least it would be by her terms, in how she chooses him, instead of being forced to. And no, if that's how it ends in the manga, don't tell me; let the anime at least try and surprise me!
HOWEVER, I have no plans to write anything for this anime, and I won't let myself even draft an idea for it, at least until this story is finished, because I owe it to all of you, especially given the years between chapters six and seven, and how patiently you all waited, which I thank all of you for.