Holidays- aka remembering why you hate your family || self-para
To say Thanksgiving dinner was awkward would be an understatement. Every single year, Mom slaved away in the kitchen all day and primped over her appearance in order to not give her sister-in-law any reason to criticize her. And every single year his horrendous aunt found ways to make them all feel like shit and kill the loving, thankful ambiance the holiday evoked.
Every single year Eliot watched his uncle sit passively as his wife spewed snarky remark after remark, and would have try to smooth things over himself, with the help of Ma's jokes of course.
And every year he'd make heart shapes with his hands for Audrey, when no one else was looking. To reassure her that there were still people at this table who adored her, and none more than he.Ā
This Thanksgiving was like all the rest, until something burst inside of Eliot, some cruelty he wasn't quite aware he possessed.
"Why don't you shut the fuck up and let us all enjoy our dinner, you withered hag?" He snapped, interrupting said hag mid-sentence.
Besides him Mom gasped and Ma snickered and he was too afraid to look at Audrey or his uncle in the eye.Ā
"Eliot, apologize." Mom whispered.
"What did you say to me?" His aunt's mouth twitched. "You little fag...."
Eliot opened his mouth to tell her he wasn't insulted, to tell her he'd never been ashamed of this part of him, that heĀ embracedĀ it. But before he could Mom reached over and slapped his aunt in the face.
They all sat in silence for a moment, shocked that prim and proper Amy Valentine had finally snapped. She didn't seem to recognize herself either and for a moment she looked as if she was about to apologize before she smoothed her skirt and picked up her fork once more.Ā
"You won't be welcome in this household any longer." She said and lifted her fork. "Audrey and brother dearest, you may leave with her or stay, if you'd like."
Eliot glanced over at Audrey and made his hands into a heart, over his chest.
You will always fall in love, and it will always be like having your throat cut, just that fast. You will always run away with her. You will always lose her. You will always be a fool. You will always be dead, in a city of ice, snow falling into your ear. You have already done all of this and will do it again.
As Long As You're Mine: Our muses run away together.
[A/N: I tried making this a Eliot/Theo roadtrip au but I just couldnāt?? Another time, perhaps.Ā And the name Aphrodite calls Eros here is an endearment in Greek, āmy little heartā according to the internet. Okay, hope you like it. Sorry if you donāt]
Theyāre at a feast the first time they catch glimpses of one another. Eros is a young godling then, barely reaching maturity, and Thanatos already so old, so weary. The latter lingers in the back as the others greet the honored guests, the mother and son borne of the sea, borne of the old father. Some welcome them with open arms that he thinks are too open, too friendly. Others hesitate, already sensing this little prince will only bring trouble.
Eros and his mother bask in the attention, looking especially glorious amongst their divine company.
And then Thanatos catches the his eye and the boy holds the stare, as if he thinks he can make him back down with a single look, just like all the other young men who thought they could best Death, that thought he could be defeated. Foolish.
Finally Eros breaks eye contact and turns to his mother. The older god hears him ask āMother, who is that?ā
Already Ares has her hand in his, is planting kisses there that make the color rise to her cheeks, making her all the more lovely. They both turn to look at him and Aphroditeās pretty mouth turns into a straight line.
āThat is Thanatos, karthoula mou. Do not seek him out.ā
Zeus has given Eros his domain and heās become a full-fledged god the next time he meets Thanatos in Olympus. He looks at Love and then reaches his hand into the small pouch at his side, pulling out a small red fruit that he offers to him.
A gift.
Eros eyes it suspiciously, because he knows cousin Persephoneās story well. āIs it the food of the dead?ā
āYou think i intend to make you my groom? ā Thanatosā laughter is hollow. āI have no need for a king. No, it is not the food of the dead. It is the food of the dyingā¦ the food of humans.ā
Eros takes the gift in his hand and bites into it.
āItās a strawberry.ā
It is not nearly as sweet as nectar, nor as satisfying as ambrosia, but it is good and young Eros wonders if the kiss of Death would taste like strawberries too.
āI took it from a young man I picked up earlier today.ā Thanatos continues. āFor his lady love, I presume.ā
The strawberry turns to dust in Erosā mouth. āYou stole it?ā
āHe had no need of it now.ā
āA loverās token is practically sacred.ā Eros exclaims and throws the remaining bit of the berry on the floor.
His face remains still and calm, but something flashes in Thanatosā eyes before he turns those to stone as well. āHow like youā¦ā He muses as he bends down to pick up the strawberry. āTo think that life cannot go on without you. to think you are the end-all, be-all.ā
He picks of a seed from the strawberry and holds it between his fingers. āWe do go on without you.. we have before and even after you and the other gods fade, after everythingā¦ I will be the last one standing, not you. ā
Eros digs his nails in his palm and ransacks his mind for a retort. āA pitiful existence that must be.ā
If Thanatos is hurt he says nothing and they both retreat, neither having won that argument.
One evening Thanatos sees him he is bent over two young lovers that have come to meet Thanatos too soon. It isnāt the first time that Eros has been too rough with his playthings, not realizing how easy it is for them to drown in love, to break because of it. Now there are unshed tears in his eyes and when he speaks his voice is hoarse. āThey- this wasnāt supposed to end this way. And I know youāre thinking it always does, but now is not the time.They are dead because of me!ā
Thanatos approaches him slowly and they both stare at the bodies together for a moment before Eros speaks again.
āI wonder sometimes.. if I was lessā¦ would that prevent so much pain? If I was softer, like you, would that be better?ā
āIf you werenāt loud, if you werenāt flighty, if you werenāt a little cruel, you wouldnāt be you.ā The god of death answers uncomfortably. āAnd donāt forget that I cause pain too, that much is inevitable. ā
The other reaches over to pick up a flower pressed into the girlās hand and hands it to Thanatos- a loverās token just like the one that soured that day so long ago. āYouāre kind too.ā
Thanatos takes the gift and thanks him. He thinks of telling Eros that heās not worthless, that he does make the mortals happier than anyone else. That the ones that die of love would still prefer that fate than to live without it, and that Thanatos himself sometimes wishes he could receive Erosā greatest giftā¦ but by then the god of love is gone.
Three days later Eros finally ignores his motherās warning and seeks Thanatos out. He corners the lord of death and presses his lips against the other godās. They taste like strawberries, just as he knew they would, Ā and he makes a mental note to ask cousin Persephone if all forbidden fruit really tastes this sweet. And then Thanatosā hands are in his hair and then his wings and he canāt think of anything other than this.
āI canāt believe sheās objecting!ā Eros paces the room. āIām not a child!ā
Thanatos closes his eyes and reclines against a pillar.
Eros continues sulking. āItās not as if we need her blessing, you know. Sheād get over it eventually.ā He walks over to his lover and sits on his lap, slowly running his hands over his belovedās chest. āWe could elope.ā
Thanatos opens one eye. āThatās a very human idea.ā
āYou hate it then?ā
āI didnāt say that.ā
Eros leans over to kiss Thanatos and gently bites his bottom lip. āMmmā¦ havenāt you ever wanted to run away from all of them, from Olympus?ā
Thanatos canāt disagree. āWe wouldnāt be able to hide forever, you know.ā
Eros shrugs. āNot forever then. How does ātill the end of the earth sound to you?ā
The god of death takes the god of love in his arms.
There was once a king and queen, who had three daughters of conspicuous beauty. The youngest and most beautiful was Psyche, whose admirers went so far as to neglect the proper worship of the love goddess Venus and instead made offerings and prayed to her. Venus was offended, and commissioned her son Eros, the god of love,to work her revenge. Eros, however, fell in love with the girl and desired to possess her for himself.
Because Psyche has yet to find love, her father believes they have incurred the wrath of the gods, and consults the oracle of Apollo. The oracle tells him that he is to expect an inhuman son-in-law, a dragon-like creature who is feared by Zeus himself.
Psyche is arrayed in funeral attire, conveyed by a procession to the peak of a rocky crag, and exposed. The West Wind bears her up to meet her fated match, and transports her to a lovely meadow where she promptly falls asleep. {more}
Theo looked off to the side for a bit. āOoh, curses. What were you afraid Iād say? Something along the lines of, I know some crazy ass voodoo. Back the fuck off?ā He shook his head and let out a small laugh, teetering between amused and upset. He wondered if Eliot was going to ask if he ever killed person, which of course he hadnāt but it was the question he always seemed to get.
He turned his attention back to Eliot.
āBut alright. To be honest, Iād just like to get this over with. You donāt seem like youād mind having a lot of lines, anywayā He wrinkled his nose. It actually wasnāt so bad, being paired with the kid, that was. Eliot was hopelessly optimistic, but surprisingly tolerable.
"The day she has us sing, is the day I start skipping this class entirely."
Eliot threw his palms up in the air. "Whoa, not at all. Listen, I'm sorry if I've offended you. That's really not my intention." He sat in silence after that, wondering if he'd made a good choice in picking his partner. All he'd done so far was make Theo upset, after all. Still, there was something about the other boy that had drawn Eliot to him, and Eliot always trusted his instincts when it came to poeple.
Then Theo spoke again. "Yeah, I don't mind a lot of lines. I'd like that, actually. So do you have any idea of what you'd like to perform?"
"I'd probably be right there with you. Singing in front of a crowd, that freaks even me out. So uh, if you don't mind me asking... why theatre? You enjoy it?"
Callie smiled at the reassurance he gave her. One thing she didnāt have to worry about but now a million other things to go. Sheād hate to say it out loud, but screw emotions and liking boys. It was far too stressful, but for some reason, she felt as if she couldnāt help it. The more she resisted, the more she was dragged into it. I was poisonous love, and it made her happy.
Callie smiled warmly at Eliot. āIt donāt know what type it is but, I like it. You have excellent guessing skills, Eliot Loren.ā She said with a hint of a laugh at the end.Ā
The small girl shuffled in her seat, growing slightly more nervous with Eliot so close to her, his hands centimeters, a subtle movement away from (basically) holding hands. Although her churning stomach, she fought the urge to pull her hand away because initially she was comfortable around him like this.
She listened intently to very word Eliot said, as if he was whispering a sacred prayer that only she was allowed to hear. A short chuckle escaped her lips as he fumbled over his words, not stopping for more than a quick breath in between. His words weāre sweet an genuine and it made the corners of her mouth turn upwards a little farther. āIād like thatā¦ Iāve never actually seen that movie before, to be honest.ā
Her eyes where transfixed on her feet in front of her, her face growing red from his watchful eye.
Eliot felt proud at knowing he'd picked a beverage Callie would like. "That? Um... it's a Salted Caramel Mocha. I thought you'd like something sweet-ish. I'm glad you like it! It took me forever to figure out what you'd like... which is probably why I'm so late." He laughed.
"Really? You've never seen any of the Romeo and Juliet movies? Ok so there's the older version, the more accurate one if you'd like that. Then there's the 90's version, which I like because it captures the tumultous atmosphere of the story, ya know? And a young Leo DiCaprio stars in it. And then there's the new one." He continued chattering on about the movies, explaining why he liked the story of two kids caught up by the passions of first love and not knowing how to handle it.
He was in the middle of a long-winded rant Ā when he became all too aware of the scent of Callie's shampoo. He couldn't quite place the scent but it was natural and thrilling... he wanted to lean closer to her but they were already sitting so close...
"Um.." He cleared his throat. "So that's why I think they get too much shit. Especially with people calling it lust and not love. They were our age, ya know, and doomed from the start. And as a teenager I know we can do some crazy stupid things in the name of love, especially one that's doomed by circumstance... but that doesn't make our feelings any less genuine than an adult's?"
As entertaining as that sounds, I think I should just hand it over to the Lost and Found, maybe someone there is missing a shoe and is in desperate need to claim it again.
Unless you want to take it and do the Cinderella thing you were talking about earlier. Who knows? Maybe youāll find the love of your life with the shoe.
Well I suppose that is practical. No fun, but the best thing to do, right?
Nah. I don't intend on finding the love of my life anytime soon.There'll be a couple of loves between now and then, but not The One. Ā So I guess you might as well dump the shoe in the Lost and Found for now, Oscar.
Patrick: As toxic as some kinda 50s horror movie monster?
Patrick: Wait no that was mean. I didn't mean it.
Patrick: ... I've never had a wingman before. What does it entail and what've I gotta pay you?
Eliot: Worse. Toxic like the air to the creepy aliens from The War of the Worlds..... I just realized that makes us the creepy aliens... 50's swamp monster it is then. And chill, you're allowed to be mean once in a while. She sure as hell is.
Eliot: You don't pay me anything! I do it all for love, my friend. I think you're both sweet and I want to help. Simple as that. All I really do is talk you up from time to time and make sure you look good in front of her, which I doubt will be hard in your case.
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