emet_sulk | [avalon] IC Inbox

He sneaks a look out of the corner of his eye. It is certainly rare to see his friend acting so bashful. His own behaviour must not have been very encouraging - goodness knows how many times he has rebuffed Hythlodaeus' flirtations over the years.

Reaching out, he touches his friend's hand. His palm is warm from holding the mug.

"Would it put you at ease if I were to act like my usual self and refute your compliments instead?"

Hythlodaeus gives Hades a sly smile as he laces their fingers. Got you.

"That would rather defeat the purpose of today's outing, no? Besides, I do rather enjoy your more affectionate side."

He curls his fingers around Hythlodaeus' hand and grumbles further into his coffee.

"I wasn't aware I had one..."

Draining the last of his drink, he thrusts his now-empty mug at his friend. "Would you wash that for me whilst I change?" he asks. If there's any colour in his cheeks, it's definitely because of the coffee and not something else. "I won't take long."

Edited 2020-12-05 10:01 (UTC)

"Is that not what you like about me, Hades? I've always brought the much-needed diversity to your life. Of course, 'tis what you hate about me, too," he replies with a grin, taking the mug and standing up. "Oh, and I hope you've naught against the idea of having breakfast at some cafe or other afterwards. 'Tis nearly customary, after all!"

"I do not."

Even if it now falls under the umbrella of a 'date', as he's heard it called, it's no different to the times they would take their ease at such places.

He disappears into the bathroom to make himself decent, taking a change of clothes with him. Some ten or fifteen minutes later, he emerges fully dressed.

Hythlodaeus gives him a happy nod and pushes himself off the wall he was leaning against while waiting.

"Ah, I believe this is my cue to tell you you look good? I am told that, too, is part of the process," he adds, glancing at the phone in his hand. "Curious, do you not find? The idea that there is a protocol for courting... I know not whether I like it or not. Conforming to expectations has never been my strong suit."

Hythlodaeus shakes his head and smiles, holding out his hand.

"Shall we go? I found a spot that I believe would be perfect."

The spot turns out to be some way from the city center, in a prestigious district - some manner of a museum complex, it appears, quite literally merging into a stretch of a park: the building seems to have been fashioned out of a marble cliff, the nicely finished exterior gently turning into the slopes of rougher natural stone that vaguely encircle the surrounding territory, giving way to shrub and pines around a small elongated lake. The windows of the building are tall, intermittently made of stained glass that seems to glow gently in the soft morning sun. All things considered, it is quite beautiful, if not exactly similar to their home.

Hythlodaeus turns to his friend, a smile on his face.

"There. Do you like it?"

He takes the proffered hand with a nod, side-eyeing Hythlodaeus' phone. There is something he wants to say, but he holds his tongue for now. If his friend gets too reliant on whatever these supposed dating conventions are, he will act.

For the time being, he remains quiet as they stroll out to the location. He's content to let Hythlodaeus fill in the silence with his chatter, offering comments when prompted. If he is embarrassed to be seen openly holding hands with his friend, he does not show it. In fact, one would think the pair of them have been together more than a single day.

Arriving at the spot, Hades halts and takes in the sight. There is a natural beauty to the place with how it has been carved out of the cliff-side. In many ways it is indeed reminiscent of their home, even if the architectural design differs from Amaurot's. The stained glass windows must be an especially prettier sight from within. He exhales quietly, wistful longing creeping into his expression.

"When did you find this place...?"

Hythlodaeus looks clearly pleased with the question.

"I noticed that many buildings here incorporate nature one way or another, so I asked the residents where I might find more examples of such architecture. They directed me here. It opens later in the day, so I thought a morning visit would be more appropriate if we want some privacy... but I would love to come here with you later. 'Tis a museum of art and history, and particularly the role of this world's magic in both. I think you will love it."

"I see."

Curling his fingers a little more securely in Hythlodaeus', he bites his lip. His eyes do not look away from the building. "I would not mind visiting later. I..."

But 'tis not the same, is it? No faintly lit streets, no scholars walking by. Another alien city reminiscent of his home, just like the last.

He sucks in a deep breath and quietly lets it out. He won't spoil this day. He won't. Instead he turns to look up at Hythlodaeus, raising an eyebrow.

"But where is your heartfelt confession? Was this not the spot where you planned to make your feelings known to me?"

Edited 2020-12-06 14:56 (UTC)

Hades's brief trepidation does not escape him - after all, they did not know each other for millennia for naught - but Hythlodaeus is not eager to dwell on things that would make both of them miserable today, either. The jab, however, makes him laugh, and he briefly strokes Hades's fingers before letting go of his hand to link their arms instead.

"Why, Hades, you insult me! 'Tis merely the stage that I have set. The performance begins now. Pray walk with me."

Hythlodaeus feels unusually nervous as he begins their slow stroll - which is ridiculous, a part of him muses. Hades has already responded favourably to his feelings; what is there to be afraid of? The accidental embarrassment caused by his younger self's clumsiness? There have been much worse things between them. And yet, the strange light anxiety in his gut isn't settling down.

"...'Twas some time after we both started attending the lectures at Akadaemia for pleasure rather than merely our studies," he begins after clearing his throat. "Do you remember? I would sit next to you, and you would oft scold me for ruining your concentration - sometimes by simply existing, apparently!"

Hythlodaeus gives his friend a grin as he directs their steps along the front of the building, the marble marvel on one side, the stretch of the lake some distance away on the other.

"But I digress. One morning, after the first lecture... We had some time for a break and discussion. We headed outside... much like this." He looks around them slowly, a smile on his face. "That lecture had been something else. You disagreed with the teacher, but the topic had moved on before you could have a say, and it was only after we left the hall that you gave voice to your frustrations. You built your arguments, with myself as your only listener, through all of our walk to the outside. And as you spoke, I looked upon you and thought about just how different we were."

"Though we shared the gift of the Sight at a scale known to few others, 'twas perhaps the only outward similarity. I have always been happy to simply watch the world around me, like a leaf blown along by the wind. But if I observed, you wanted to take action - correct mistakes, set things right, improve, create. In all things, little or big, you saw a better world... one that you wanted to share with all who lived on our star. I think... it was in that moment that I realized I wanted to follow you for as long as I can. To see your efforts come to fruition."

"And I could not help but think how lucky I was to have met you. Someone who sees the world the same way I do, but can show me the wonders of it that I would never have known otherwise. Someone who can bring such novelty, such colour into my life. And just mayhaps... someone I could do the same for, too." Hythlodaeus gives Hades a side glance, a hint of pink in his cheeks. He stops, letting go of his friend's arm, turns to face him and take both his hands into his. "Of course, I could not simply say all of that - not to mention that you were still talking. Yet I could not stay silent, either."

He closes his eyes, takes a quiet breath, a familiar mischievous smile appearing on his face.

"You truly have a gift, Hades. Between your eloquence and your unbending will, who could you not sway? After all, you have already swayed me."

...Was that his famous first ever confession line? Judging by the smug expression and a half-expectant look in his eye, it was.

He listens without interruption, letting Hythlodaeus take his arm. His friend's words take him back to a gentler time. Long hours spent immersing himself in the study of creation, philosophy, rhetoric, and other subjects which caught his interest. Days where the only irritant would be Hythlodaeus' physical presence, if that.

He doesn't remember the day his friend describes though. It had been but another part of their daily routine. Another memory faded through the passage of time. What had he found aggravating about the lecture? Things like that feel so inconsequential in the wake of everything which has occurred hence. But it had been a pivotal moment in Hythlodaeus' memories and he doesn't have the heart to admit that he cannot recall it.

As the other man goes on, he finds he cannot tear his gaze away. Hythlodaeus describes a younger, more aspiring man: one who had looked at their star, had known he had the talent to make it better, and had sought to do so. He had never intended for that change to come under his tenure as Emet-Selch, but it had - and look where that has brought them now...

He swallows thickly and sets his jaw, feeling his chest tighten. This is wrong. What positive changes has he wrought since that day? What about the world is so wondrous now? There's nothing. Nothing--

His grip tightens. If only he still wore a mask. He has a feeling the flash of anguish on his face is writ clearly for Hythlodaeus to see but he quickly assembles a wry smile in its place.

Don't grow too attached. He doesn't know yet.

"Alas. The art of rhetoric was ever ineffective against you. You would defeat soundly crafted arguments with statements of illogical whimsy. I think half our debates ended with us straying so far from the main topic that I forgot what we were initially debating." Hades' smile falters and he looks away, towards the museum, and sighs. "I wish I could name a similar moment on my part. I...always took your presence for granted. I knew you would be there, whether I wanted it or no. I suppose I grew accustomed to that, for when you were gone, I realised I was at a loss as to what to do."

He looks as though he's about to say more but he presses his lips together tightly. This all feels wrong. He doesn't deserve this. What is he doing here, why--?

Taking a deep breath, he looks back towards Hythlodaeus with the smile once more in place. "But here you are now - and as irritating as I recall. I suppose I can tolerate you being more permanently by my side."

Hythlodaeus chuckles, his own light, happy smile a stark contrast to Hades's grumpiness - as it has always been.

"Indeed! And much like you said, you haven't much choice in the matter. I shall stay by your side whether you like it or not, Hades. Me and my illogical whimsy, of which you have nearly not enough in your life, in my eyes."

That last line is delivered with the familiar impish glint in his eye... which soon fades away as his expression grows a little softer, a little more serious.

"...So I truly pray that you frown because of the chaos my presence will bring, and not something else."

He certainly wasn't so blind as not to notice Hades's little signs of anguish, yet neither is he so blunt as to ask about it directly.

The smile falters again but he swiftly assembles a disdainful look and scoffs.

"I think you shall find your mischief has less effect than it did centuries past, 'Daeus. I am now much older and wiser to your attempts to rile me."

Which doesn't answer the implicit question at all. But Hades doesn't want to answer it. No good answer awaits at the end of that query.

Hades is lucky that that is enough distraction for his friend - at the very least, for now. Hythlodaeus is not stupid in the least, but he would rather not ruin today yet. He smiles in an infuriatingly smug way.

"Do beg my pardon, most venerable Emet-Selch! I see now that I shall have to put in a lot more effort."

"Hmph. See that you do. I would hate to be bored."

Smirking, he steps forward and impulsively kisses Hythlodaeus by the corner of his mouth. Before his friend can react, he is already turning away and wandering closer to the museum, fingers tangled in Hyth's own.

It affords him a moment to let his mask drop. For the pain to cross his face before he shores everything up again. Would that he could let Hyth remain ignorant of all the unpleasant things. Were Felih and Irhya and the rest not here, perhaps he would have tried to do just that. As it is, it is only a matter of time before the truth comes out.

At least he can enjoy this moment while it lasts.

"And I told you not to call me that."

The kiss is unexpected. Hythlodaeus's eyes widen in surprise - enjoy having taken him unawares, Hades, - and afterwards he has to press a hand to his face, trying to hide the smile that he just can't help. Such open affection from his friend is still almost surreal... He follows the light tug on his hand, skipping a little to catch up.

"Ah, if only I had confessed openly all the way back then! Truly, I was but depriving myself of your affection," he laughs, half-jokingly. The words are true, but as ever it's easier to say them under the pretense of a joke. "And if you dislike that mode of address, are you still certain you do not want me to find a nickname for you? I promise it would be a good one."

"Hmm... I would hear your idea before I permit you to use it. I'll not accept names which make a mockery of me," he says, humour a little more genuine as he smirks upwards at his friend. "If I hate it enough, I may even toss you into the water over there."

He tips his chin towards said body of water nearby. Don't think he won't, Hyth.

...He was going to elaborate on the nickname he'd come up with, but there is no way Hythlodaeus could ever pass up an opportunity like this. He looks aside at the lake, making a thoughtful hum, then back at his friend... then grins, letting go of his hand to instead wrap both his arms around Hades's neck, slumping onto him. He is certainly heavier than Hades himself. Do you even lift, Architect?

"To think that the academic I once knew would finally take up honing not only the mind, but the body as well! Oh, do not deprive me of this chance to witness your newfound strength!"

...Hythlodaeus is indeed quite heavy. Hades certainly hasn't slacked in maintaining this particular body's fitness, but that doesn't mean he can lift a taller man than himself.

But as he's struggling to manage the weight, an idea suddenly comes to him.

With a glint in his eye, he cups Hythlodaeus' face in one hand and touches their foreheads together. Their faces are mere ilms apart.

"'Daeus, playing the fainting maiden does not become you. I think I had best find a more...productive use of that mouth of yours."

So saying, he closes the distance with a far deeper kiss, curling his fingers into Hythlodaeus' shirt. With the other man thus occupied, he slowly takes one step, two, moving as though he simply wants to devour all he can of his good friend's poise and to hell with anyone who might glimpse them. So it is that Hythlodaeus may not realise Hades' ulterior motive: not until he steps into cold, cold water.

It is then that Hades suddenly shoves him away and down, causing Hythlodaeus to topple straight into the tide.

If there's anything Hades's got on Hythlodaeus during the twelve-something millennia (and time in Duplicity), it's certainly experience in this particular sphere. Hythlodaeus colours almost instantly at the sudden proximity, eyes widening in surprise--but that surprise is nothing next to the shock that goes through him when Hades kisses him. He only manages a brief whimper into the kiss, feeling as though his face is aflame and his heart beating faster than a hummingbird's wings. The distraction is more than effective - even when he steps into the water, his mind registers the sudden cold sensation as something faraway and unimportant, especially when compared with his efforts not to let himself just melt into Hades's arms, much like a fainting maiden his friend had compared him to--

--which last for all of a handful of seconds before Hades pushes him away, and then the freezingly cold water becomes incredibly important indeed. Hythlodaeus's brief exclamation is quickly swallowed under the water - as is the man himself. It seems like the lake is not nearly as shallow as it seems, and cuts off into the depths just a short way from the shore.

Fortunately, Hythlodaeus is not a bad swimmer, and surfaces quickly, coughing and spluttering. He's got water in his nose, he's got water in his throat, he's got water everywhere and it's an almost-winter morning with appropriate temperatures... and yet, despite everything, he can't find it in himself to be mad. This is easily among top ten funniest things Hades has ever done.

"Hades!" he calls out through alternatively coughing and laughing. "I-I did not even give you any nicknames!"

He tries to get out of the water, but... it's a little harder than expected. The underwater dropoff is pretty sheer, and it takes Hythlodaeus a little bit to gain enough purchase to pull himself up onto the shallow end, where he sits up, panting, before trying to stand up. That is no simple task, either, between the weight of his soaked clothes and hair and the post-adrenaline shakiness from the sudden dip. Hythlodaeus sways and staggers as he stands up, but finally manages to pull himself upright, throwing back his sodden hair and trying to shake off the excess water from his sleeves. Even if the clothes Felih had helped him pick out were not tight-fitting enough before, well, they sure are now.

"I-I must needs admit, I did not think you were that serious."

Hades waits by the shore, stepping neatly out of reach just in case his friend has any funny thoughts about dragging him into the cold lake as well. He crosses his arms smugly, watching as Hythlodaeus struggles out of the water, a sodden, coughing mess.

"Well, I hope I have disabused you of any such notion. Consider that...a warning," he says with a smirk. He finally takes pity on his friend and moves closer to help wring out some of the water from their clothes.

If he side-eyes Hythlodaeus' body in the process, well, that's just a bonus.

"That is a much more effective warning than your usual ones," Hythlodaeus responds with a laugh that still ends in a cough. Gee, sure hope someone doesn't catch a cold! Unfortunately, by coming into range Hades also makes himself open to having some of the water on Hythlodaeus's hands being flicked into his face. Consider that... a revenge. The man does not seem apologetic about it in the least, grinning widely.

"As much as I fear for my health, I cannot say I dislike the fact that you've finally discovered a taste for mischief proper! I've a feeling that the future will certainly be interesting," Hythlodaeus adds with a smirk, before... pulling his shirt off to wring it out properly.

He clicks his tongue, as though calling a pet - which he is, because in the next moment his firebird glides into existence next to him out of whatever dimension the familiars disappear to when their masters have no need of them. The phoenix gives an annoyed trill at seeing his master soaked like that, but settles on his shoulder, lowering its wings to half-cover his back and chest and preening through some of his wet hair. What a good thing he has a portable heater for a familiar.

He endures the flick of water with a slight wrinkling of the nose, wiping the droplets off with his sleeve.

As he's about to respond to Hythlodaeus' comment, the man pulls off their shirt without any hesitation or preamble whatsoever. Hades stands there, mouth slightly open, staring. He's quick to shake himself and scowl, turning away to check that no-one else is around to see.

"You idiot. Why would you bare yourself so readily? Would that I could produce a towel..."

Well, technically he could, but there's a dearth of convenient wool or cotton lying about. Unless...

Sighing, he turns back and gestures impatiently for the shirt. "Give that here."

Hythlodaeus only blinks at his friend in confusion, unaware of the implications going on through Hades's mind.

"What do you mean? You know 'tis rather dangerous for the body to remain exposed to the cold, and it is much easier to dry my clothes and myself like this."

He forgot they were not in Amaurot, where people would easily know not to intrude upon such a scene. He hands the shirt over obediently, though.

He shakes his head. "I am aware, but men and women are likely to oggle any flesh you might bare in their company here. At least crouch behind a bush if you intend to strip down next time."

Heading to a flattish rock, he takes out a piece of chalk from his pocket and scrawls a rough circle, drawing runes with a frown of concentration. Once he's done, he pockets it again and whistles for his familiar. The gwiber appears promptly out of a dark portal, attentive and curious.

Hades lays the damp shirt in the centre of the circle, out of the way of the chalk lines, and focuses. One snap of the fingers and a flash of light later, it transforms into a damp towel.

"Here," he says, picking it up and holding it out for Hythlodaeus to take back.

Edited 2020-12-10 11:03 (UTC)

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read my 50k words emehyth novel

throws money at screen

ONE DAY

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