*Thankfully, after some time in the bar, making small talk and drinking, Lorenzo was much more relaxed than he was before, the tension that had unknowingly been held in his muscles from the various awkward meetings of the day smoothing out a little, which, he begrudgingly realized, was probably the main point of Agent C bringing him to Black Betty in the first place. While he would never voice it to the man personally, Lorenzo was glad that Dae-Hyun had apparently thought ahead. Assuming that it had been as planned as Lorenzo gave him credit for. One couldn’t always tell, with Agent C, after all*
Lorenzo: A question. Is it really wise to be here for long? Not that I mind, but if you’re dragging me to play babysitter for a school of troubled teens, is drinking the night before that good an idea?
Dae-Hyun: Oh? Have you become less tolerant to liquid courage over the years, old man?
Lorenzo: Witty. I hardly need alcohol to give me ‘courage’. Though at the same time, I could suddenly have a legitimate excuse to leave you on your own and ditch the whole idea. Just saying. *He offers a lazy grin* But then again, you probably wouldn’t care how I acted or otherwise and would drag me anyway, so it’s moot point, I suppose. Or maybe I’m just digging for information on why you decided to bring me here in the first place and just can’t be bothered with the mind games for answers. If it makes you feel any better, you can pretend I ‘lost tolerance’, if you like.
Dae-Hyun: Ah, and there’s the cynical bastard act again…. Lovely. You really can’t enjoy a drink, now can-
Messenger: DELIVERY! For young Master Lorenzo!!!
*An overly enthusiastic messenger appears before the bantering pair, presenting a large parcel to Lorenzo*
Messenger: My Lord Zeus has asked me to come bearing gifts for his youngest seed, offering this as a sign peace to you. Saying that it should come in handy very soon.
*The slight openness that Lorenzo had gained in their bantering closed off slightly again, though out of his past dislike of Zeus, his general discomfort around gods, or just being suddenly invaded by the jovial delivery boy, it wasn’t clear. However, he didn’t outright throw his glass at him, or storm out, or say anything rude, which was a plus. In fact, he even took the parcel, even if he looked like he’d rather eat spiders.*
Lorenzo: *Reluctantly* …..Thanks….
*With those words, the delivery boy seem to dematerialise from sight, leaving the pair alone once more.*
Dae-Hyun: Well, you handled that with more grace than I thought you would. Progress, I guess? So, are you going to open it or let that seal in stay intact *Gestures to Zeus’ Crest*
*Lorenzo, as Dae-Hyun had been talking, had placed the parcel in the middle of the table, rested his head in his hands and just stared at it for a long while, expression flickering through a number of unreadable emotions, before finally closing his eyes*
Lorenzo:....Giving me a gift isn’t going to change my mind so quickly….*Sighing, he rubs his temples*
Dae-Hyun: I’m not taking sides or nothing….. But it’s not like he’s one of those step dads trying to buy their kids affection. If that were the case, he would have done so alooong time ago. Besides, didn't the messenger say ‘it should come in handy very soon’? It might be something very important. At least look at what it could be, and if it's nothing important then you don't have to keep it.
*Lorenzo eyed the parcel once again. While it likely wasn’t the case, it still almost felt like even looking was giving Zeus a chance that he wasn’t sure he wanted to give. After all, he had barely even come to terms with the reunion, since they had come here straight after food, which had been only just after he had woken up. Still, he supposed that, if it was something he couldn’t stand to look at, or later felt he couldn’t give him the chance he asked for, he could always use it as some kind of sign. Nothing said ‘do not want’ like pinning it to the wall of Olympus with god-steel.
...Assuming he ‘did not want’.
...He sometimes hated being in his own head.
Sighing, he reached forwards and tore through the seal somewhat vindictively to block out his head, instead pausing to look at what had been presented to him. There, folded up neatly, was what looked like clothing. Suppressing more impulsive urges, he lifted the folded clothing up to find a dark, slightly beaten up looking trench coat that reminded him a little of a detective’s coat. It also looked….oddly familiar.
It took a moment for it to click into place, before he dropped it back onto the table, and rested his head in his hands, focusing on his breathing to stop any particular impulsive actions he could name in ten seconds.*
Dae-Hyun: *Whistle* What a beauty! I haven’t seen this material in centuries. If I’m not mistaken, it’s from a certain type of golden sheep in your pantheon, no? The designs out dated and it’s a bit worn here and there, but I’m sure Esta would gladly patch it up, if you decide to keep it.
*For a moment, Dae-Hyun’s words fell on deaf ears, as a repressed memory crept its way back into Lorenzo’s mind.*
---Memory---
Zeus: Hephaestus, are you done with it already?
Hephaestus: YES, yes, this way. So damned demanding. Short budget ass, stupid ass *Mutters under breath*
Zeus: You know, I can hear you?
Hephaestus: Oh, I said nothing. Must have been the wind, Sir.
Zeus: ….
*Hephaestus, leads the way into his smithery, where Zeus’s commission is supposed to be hanging buy it now is partly trailing across the floor*
Hephaestus: What the?
*CRASH*
12-Year-Old Lorenzo: Awww, I hit my head
Hephaestus: Well you shouldn't be in here! Damned brat.
Hephaestus: Well you shouldn't be in here! Damned brat.
*Waving off the other god, Zeus made his way over to where the noise came from, raising a brow at the odd mess he had managed to get himself into. There, looking more like his commission was trying to trap the boy, than anything else, was a rather dazed Lorenzo. Attempting not to laugh, Zeus reached down and plucked the boy up before the coat could further eat him….somehow.*
Zeus: My boy, dare I ask how you ended up wrestling clothing and are coming out second best?
12-Year-Old Lorenzo: I wasn’t wrestling it, papa, I was trying to wear it!
Zeus: Uh huh…..Seems to me that it is attempting to smother you. If you wore it, I might lose you forever in there.
12-Year-Old Lorenzo: That’s silly. Is going to be mine some day so I was checking if it fit right that's all… it’s not like I was pretending to be you or anything.
Zeus: Ah, but you still have a bit more growing room just yet. Maybe once you’re as big and strong as your old man, hm?
12-year-old Lorenzo: I’m gonna be stronger than papa! N I’m gonna protect him, and I'm gonna be cooler! So you better not let anything happen to it until then. *Pout* I'm gonna grow up quick, just you wait! Plus it looks better on me.
Zeus: Tell you what then. When the time comes, it’s yours. How about that?
12-Year-Old Lorenzo: *Grin* Yay! I get papa’s coat *Bouncing with joy while clinging to his father*
Zeus: Yes, well, at the moment, my son, the coat looks like it has you. Let’s get you untangled, shall we?
12-Year-Old Lorenzo: Humph!!! What are you trying to say!!! *Puffs up his cheeks*
Zeus: That the coat is eating you. If you want to wear it once you’re big and strong, might be best that you’re not consumed, first, hm?
*The memory fades with the teasing and whining from the duo*
*Taking a deep breath, Lorenzo pulls his head out of his hands, though they still covered his mouth, staring down at the coat, conflicted*
Lorenzo: *Muttering to self* ….Idiot….Don’t stupid things when you know damned well that they haven’t met any of those damned requirements…
Dae-Hyun: Hey, you know talking to yourselves the first sign of madness, right? Nice coat. *Sarcastic tone*
Lorenzo:...I thought we established that I have more than one sign. *Sighing, he rubbed his temples* And Zeus is being a sentimental idiot….as usual…Trying to play to any hint of an old me in there... *There wasn’t much bite in his tone*
Dae-Hyun: Is that really true? From the way you’re both acting, it seems like it’s more adhering to a promise. *He gestures to a note sticking out of the remnants of the parcel*
[Note]
I’ve been meaning to give this to you for a while now… but, until recently, you’ve been out of my reach. However, now we can fulfill our promise. It may be a little warn, but its defensive nature should be more than enough to protect you for the most part. Alter it as you see fit, my little spark.
Love Papa.
*Lorenzo stares at the note for a little longer, torn between wanting to tear it to shreds, tear the coat to shreds, or tear into himself - none of the actions being something that would be good to do in public*
Lorenzo:....Can we...go back. Please.
Dae-Hyun: Sure…
*A short time later, the pair arrive back in their dorm, Dae-Hyun slumping over a carbonated bottle of water, while Lorenzo sat across from him, still toying with the fabric of the warn jacket. Eventually, after a long moment, Lorenzo spoke*
Lorenzo: He shouldn’t have, you know. Kept the whole promise thing. It was something dumb that a dumb child had asked for. And besides, it’s not like that dumb child kept up his end of it. *he sighs*
Dae-Hyun: Ummmm~ well for better or for worst you did grow up, you did fight to protect what you believed in no matter how twisted it was and when you were with us you were pretty cool.
Lorenzo: So, what, two out of three still work- wait a minute *Eyes him suspiciously* How do you even know? Only three people knew of that promise anyway, and you weren’t there.
Dae-Hyun: *Chuckle* Oh, I have my ways…..of getting a god slightly drunk and having him talk about his favorite child. And having him go on an’ oooon about how cute he is. Jeez, that man is the embodiment of a doting parent.
Lorenzo: ...He shouldn’t. He’s an idiot…
Dae-Hyun: Oh like father like son eh? *Grin while sticks tongue out*
*Rather than joke back, Lorenzo just seemed to hunch over a little more*
Lorenzo: ….Yeah…..an idiot….
*For a while, he said nothing, not showing what might be going on in his head beyond those words, that had a measure of loathing, though less at the god and more elsewhere. If Dae-Hyun said anything in response, he outright ignored him for a long moment. Finally, he sighed and stood, holding the coat up to himself with an unreadable expression, eyebrow ticking slightly as he noticed his reflection*
Lorenzo: [Inner Thoughts] ….Still looks like it’s going to swallow me….
Dae-Hyun: Dude, you know vanity is a sin, right? Quit checking yourself out and wear the damn thing already. Preferably before I go gray? *Raised brow, and slight smirk*
Lorenzo: *Sorting* As if ‘vanity’ is the sin that I should worry about the most in my arsenal.
*Even so, he hesitated, before sighing, resigning himself to being the but of every short joke the other could muster, donning the coat. As suspected, the sleeves still stretched far passed his hands. He felt like a child trying to dress in adult clothing, or, quite literally, a kid putting on his parent’s coat.*
Dae-Hyun:.....
Lorenzo:..... *Braces himself for the onslaught to come*
Dae-Hyun: Pffftttt! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!! Dude, you look like it's wearing you! You look like you're playing dress up in you old man's clothes! Seriously, it looks like it's eating you! Ahahahahahahaha aaaaaaah *Cough couch* No, this is too much, I got to sent this to Esta ahhhhh haaa ahhhha. *Takes photo, and with lightning speed sends a message to Esta, while wiping away tears. Lorenzo’s eyebrow twitched at the ribbing for a long moment, before finally he threw the offending coat from his shoulders, rolling back his sleeves with an almost murderous glint in his eyes directed at the object in question*
Lorenzo: That’s it, I’m stabbing it into Mount Olympus, or so help me-!
Dae-Hyun: *Stifling both the grin and laughing fit* No, no, it's not that bad. It's just a little extra fabric, that's all. Let Esta work her magic and it’ll look good as new *Small giggle* But, I won't lie, it looked cute on you.
Lorenzo: I am not cute. You do not call people like me cute. It’s not my fault that moron of a god happens to have more muscles and height than sense!
*He descends into meaningless grumbles as he heavily sits down once more, shooting dark glares at the coat. He almost looked as though he was pouting*
Dae-Hyun: Sure, sure, whatever you say dude. Anyway…
*Dae-Hyun, reaches for his laptop, printing out various handouts, notes, etc.*
Dae-Hyun: You think you could grab those? We’re going to teach the kids Greek and Roman history, with beginner Mystic studies attached. Make sure you got it memorized, or at least have the gist of it by the time class starts. I'm gonna be doing the reports for HQ’s archives…. It's gonna be a bitch, but as long as it's done by the evening it should be ok? *Sigh* Fuck my life.
Lorenzo: Yes, fuck your life for getting me involved in schooling brats.
*Despite his complaints, the demigod still took the papers from him, grumbling obscenities under his breath even as his eyes scanned over the documents intently, used to similar multitasking both from his time in Pandora and in Phoenix*
Dae-Hyun: Oh shut it. The ‘Brats’, as you call our adorable students, are beginning to grow on you an’ you know it.
Lorenzo: Doesn’t stop them being brats. Guess they fit in with all the rest of the brats I’ve ended up following me around at some point, I suppose.
Dae-Hyun: What you trying to say, ‘Daddy’?
Lorenzo: You’re too young to be going deaf yet, ‘son’.
Dae-Hyun: FUCK YOU! *Flips the bird*
Lorenzo: Careful, there. I thought you wanted to do that with Esta.
[END]
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