Insecurities
It was a sunny afternoon and everything was quiet. Jack was happy, reding his favorite book of Shakespeare, "Romeo and Juliet", while he waits for his apple pie to be ready. He was drinking a darjeeling tea, as he always like to do while reading a book.
But the door opened with strenght and a child comes in. It's a boy with spiked silver hair and eyes as blue as the sky. He was crying.
- son? What's wrong? - Jack asks, leaving the book.
- I hate you, you monster! - the child screams and cries. - all the children hate me, curse me and bully me because of you! Today I was beaten up again! Nobody even knows my name! All of them call me "the son of Jack, The Ripper"!
Jack stands up, with his heart breaking in thousands pieces with the child's tears.
- dear, I'm so sorry. - he gets on his knees to hug his son. - I promise I'll talk to the-
- NO! DON'T TOUCH ME! - the boy falls on the floor and drags himself to the corner of the room. - PLEASE, DON'T HURT ME!
- what?! Of course I won't hurt you! I'd just-
- stay away from him, monster!
Jack turns to where that voice came from. It's Heracles.
- Herc? But...
- you're a murderer, Jack. You always will be! I should never had fallen in love with someone like you! I'll go away and I'll take my son with me!
And that's what he does, taking the child in his arms and leaving Jack behind to cry alone.
He wakes up suddenly, sweating e with thin tears rolling down his cheeks. "It was… It was a nightmare. Thanks, Lord." he thinks, rubbing his eyes and feeling his heart racing fast inside his chest. He gets up to go to the bathroom and wash his face. He keeps staring at the mirror for some time. His dark circles under the eyes are bigger than before. He rubs his belly while remember, again, the last words of his mother, Mary.
"Don't worry… Even if it's being so difficult, I won't do to you what she wanted to do with me" he thinks, as if having a talking with the little fetus inside his body. He goes back to his room and tries to sleep again, but the nightmare made him feel so bad that he prefers to turn a flashlight and read some book of Shakespeare.
It was happening a great feast at the Olympus. Zeus was sit at his throne and Hera was at his side. All his god children was there, except one.
- Hermes, I don't see Heracles anywhere in this party. Don't tell me he's still crying in his room.
- be comprehensive, father. It's a very delicate situation where he is.
- hmpf! If I cried everything I knocked up somebody, I'd had died of dehydration! Tell him to come down here and have fun! Say that's an order, not a request!
Hermes sighs. Zeus would never understand what really was haunting Heracles. But as the obedient son/servant he was, he went to Heracles' room, where found him lying on his bed, sad, the same way he spent the last seven days.
- brother? - he opens the door with a gentle smile. - everyone is missing you. Come on, lets go have some fun!
- are Aphrodite and Hera there?
- … Well, yes.
- forget it, then. Well, it's not like I'd go even if they weren't there...
- Aphrodite already apologized for what she did, brother.
- I don't care! I don't want to look at her!
Hermes shakes his head.
- and what about Jack? Why hasn't you talked to him yet?
Heracles' eyes were even sadder than before.
- I… I can't. I'd have to tell him what I've done. And even with all the people he killed, this would be too much even to him. I… I'm afraid he'd scared of me. I'm afraid my child will be scared of me if they'd know someday.
- you will never know what's going to be if you only imagine and don't do.
- easy to say.
- but Heracles...
Both are interrupted when a loud scream comes from the great hall.
- ZEEEEEUUSSS!
Hermes runs to see what's happening. When he gets to the great hall, he sees the giant golden door knocked down, as well as their guardians. Standing there, before the gods, were Adam, Lü Bu, Raiden and Leonidas, possessed with anger.
- WHERE'S THAT COWARD HERACLES?!
Zeus stands up from his throne.
- what do you want with my son, boy?
- he abandoned my son with a child in his belly, like a scoundrel! I'll make him pay for this!
- he got us with his "nice guy" face… - says Leonidas. - … But now he'll understands what it happens when you make one of us suffer!
Zeus rises an arm and a lightning appears in his hand.
- if you want to fight Heracles, you'll have to pass throught the whole greek pantheon first.
- father, enough!
Everyone turns around. It's Heracles himself.
- Adam, I can expl-
Before Heracles could finish what he was going to say, the father of humanity advances against him with a punch on his face. Heracles falls on the ground and Adam is already over him, giving a punch after another.
- deixa um pouco pra gente, pai! Nós também queremos quebrar os dentes desse palhaço! - diz Raiden, estralando os dedos.
- scoundrel! Son of a bitch! How dare you?! What kind of father abandon his own child?! Men like you make me sick!
- leave a bit to us too, father! We also want to break this clown's teeth! - says Raiden.
Heracles can hold Adam's fist for a moment.
- it's not what you're thinking! Please, let me explain!
- no! We have nothing to hear from you! - yells Lü Bu. - you'll pay for making Jack cry!
- I… I made him cry?
Now it's him who has eyes teary. Thinking now, it was pretty selfish of him to be so absorbed in his own fears and have disappeared in these seven days, without any explanation.
- … you're right. - he says, with blood dripping from his mouth and his eye becoming purple. - I acted as an asshole. I shouldn't have thought in my own fears when is Jack who needs me the most. Please, let me fix it. Let me talk to Jack, and I promise that I'll do everything to prove that I love him and only want him to be happy.
- yeah, we can see that, running away without any explanation for a week after knocking him up! - says Raiden, angry. - if we didn't come here, who guarantees that you'd be with these puppy eyes asking for another chance?
- I guarantee! But I really am sorry… I panicked because of something that happened in my past. I was blind with fear. Please, let me go with you and I promise I'll explain everything to Jack.
Adam still had his fist raised and his anger still is latent. But, feeling sincerity in the semigod's words about a traumatic event of his past, his breathing eases and he stands up.
- alright. We'll let you to come and explain yourself to Jack. But if he doesn't want to see nor to talk to you… Go away and never dare to step foot in my home! Don't you forget that I almost killed your father, and you're weaker than him. I can very well kill you if it's to protect my son.
- … Ok. Got it.
Jack was out, helping Qin and Eve to buy some more things to Qin's baby.
- Jack, dear, you can see some things to your baby too. - Eve says.
- of course, and don't worry about prices. I'll pay everything, little brother. - says Qin. - I will spoil my nephew or niece since now!
- huh, "you'll pay"… Or will Hades pay? - asks Eve, with a raised eyebrow.
- it was his idea to have a baby, it's only fair he pay the bills. - says the emperor, while getting more animals plushies.
Jack smiles. He always had fun with Qin around. But this time, not even the emperor makes him feel better.
- mama, Qin, if you don't mind, I'm going home.
- why, dear? Is something wrong?
- no, no. It's just that I'm a bit sleepy. I didn't have a good night.
- do you want us to go with you?
- don't need to. Stay and do what you have to do. I can come back alone.
- … Alright. But be careful.
Jack says goodbye to his mother and brother and goes back home. His eyes are heavy, he's really tired. Little he knows that he couldn't rest yet. As he arrives home, he finds his father with crossed arms, brothers with ugly face and...
- Heracles?
- hm… Hi, Jack. Can we talk, please?