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[b][center][color=gray]Oh, Beloved.[/color][/center][/b]
[/h1][/sup][/color][indent][sub][COLOR=gray][I]The Ball[/I][/COLOR][/sub][/indent][indent][sup][right][COLOR=gray][b]no place for pining![/b][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][hr]
[sup][right][color=black] interactions: [@icy hot]x[@smarty0114] collab [/color][/right][/sup]

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[color=859ecc]“Waiting for someone?”[/color]

[color=2f4f4f]“For me of course. Lovers like us cannot be kept apart; no lonesome corner or boring book is enough to keep me away forever, my love. How long have you been moping in this corner, Baldr?”[/color]

A smile graced the chiseled features of the most beloved, wandering mind pulled back to reality by the jests of his friends. [color=b8a857]“I was not moping,”[/color] Baldr said, though nothing could be further from the truth. It didn’t matter now, though. The arrival of two of his closest confidants on this plane of existence was already raising his spirits. 

He swung his own arm around Than’s shoulders. The Greeks and their flirtatious ways had once been a mystery to him, but he’d grown used to them both over the centuries. [color=b8a857]“I’m surprised you were allowed past the front doors, Than. Has the big man upstairs finally softened to your family?”[/color]

Thanatos cracked a smirk at that notion. Far as he was concerned, no one dictated where he was allowed to go, especially not some “King of Gods” that spent his time golfing and playing in the [i]snow[/i]. 

[color=2f4f4f] “The only big man upstairs I take orders from is the Father of my savior Jesus Christ.”[/color] 

Thanatos was able to hold a straight face for a moment before he was laughing at his own words. Leaving an affectionate pat to Baldr’s chest before pulling out of the embrace, only to secure them two glasses of bubbling gold. Not Thanatos’ choices of drink, but he had a shift to get to after the ball and unfortunately couldn’t get wasted, [color=2f4f4f] “Really, I couldn’t get out of attending.  My brother’s ‘boyfriend’ is as meddlesome as they come, I imagine the same can be said of your mother. Has she found you a wife yet?”[/color] 

[color=b8a857]“Not yet,”[/color] Baldr said, swirling the golden liquid in his glass, [color=b8a857]“and hopefully not-”[/color] Baldr’s words faded into the void, stolen by the arrival of Her, pale and cold as the realm she’d once lorded over, as hauntingly beautiful and ageless as the last time they’d met. For a moment, the ballroom fell away, and the only obstacle between them was space. 

Space that he could not cross.

The stark realization pushed him back into reality, perhaps too harshly. He tore his eyes from Hel and returned them to Than. [color=b8a857]“Sorry, I, uh,”[/color] Baldr fumbled for the right words, [color=b8a857]“Did you know that she was coming?”[/color] The most beloved suddenly felt smaller than Ratatoskr, a speck among the branches of the World Tree.

Thanatos knew that look on Baldr’s face all too well and could feel the weight of his words on his own chest. To have felt love and to have lost it to means impervious to their godly powers- Thanatos understood, completely. There was a cold glint in his eyes as he stared at the sparkling goddess besides Hel,  [color=2f4f4f] “Only just moments ago, I didn’t expect Skadi’s meddling to work so [i]quickly[/i]. “[/color] Thanatos saw the nod and promptly stepped into the view of Baldr, his back turned towards the two girls and shielding his friend’s hopeless pinning. 

A sound of annoyance left Thanatos as he grumbled about having to go through such lengths, [color=2f4f4f] “You plan on staring at her from across the room the rest of this miserable existence, Golden Boy?  What are you waiting for? The fucking stars to align?”[/color] Thanatos huffs with a shake of his head. Seeing his friend squander all of these crafted opportunities to reconnect with the woman that held his heart made quick work of getting under his skin, just as it always had.

[color=b8a857]“Shut up,”[/color] Baldr said, scoffing and playfully shoving his friend. [color=b8a857]“We’re just friends. Anything else would just complicate things.”[/color] Baldr craned his neck to see around Thanatos, but Skadi and Hel had already disappeared. [color=b8a857]“Anyways, you’re one to talk. Hypnos was looking for you the other day, and since you weren’t with me, I guess I’m just wondering where you could’ve disappeared to?”[/color] Baldr had flipped the tables with the effortless charisma that had earned him his reputation. [color=b8a857]“Don’t tell me you’re harassing me about my love life when you’re out spending days in strange apartments?”[/color] Baldr cocked an eyebrow, smirking.

Thanatos chuckled at that idea, ending up in stranger’s beds would have been a much more exciting tale to tell, but unfortunately it was not the truth of his life. He shook his head and turned to face the party again, arms crossed over his chest,[color=2f4f4f] “Ah yes, my strange apartment visits when I’m knocking down doors to get to my lover Gertrude who has collapsed and broken her hip from old age, or even more exhilarating Oscar on Main street whose wife called because he was having a heart attack, couldn’t believe that bastard had a wife all this time!”[/color] Thanatos clicks his tongue in disbelief, playing the part of a scorned lover just long enough to get his sarcasm through.

[color=2f4f4f] “Don’t say I’m harassing you; I can call Skadi over if you’re feeling a little masochistic, B.”[/color] Thanatos replied smoothly changing the focus back onto his friend, [color=2f4f4f] “I’m just looking out for you, Golden Boy, if Hel is the one you want, go for it, complications be damned. Living forever sucks but at least you’d get to spend it getting laid for once.”[/color]

Baldr sipped his champagne and shook his head. Whatever there was between him and Hel, it was delicate. A treasure that was not to be brought out and flaunted in front of everyone, but tucked away, safe from prying eyes and clumsy hands. Fear wrapped it’s frozen tendrils around him at the thought of the eyes that would fall upon them, and the whispers that might spring forth. Their families were destined to tear eachother apart, to plunge the world into darkness. The legends said that he would rise again, after the Aesir and Vanir had leveled Midgard, but they said nothing of a bride.

[color=b8a857]“We’ll have to agree to disagree. Our fathers are regularly trying to kill each other, and I think my mother would lose her mind if I brought her to meet Loki’s daughter.”[/color] Baldr stared down at his champagne, unwilling to admit that none of that would really matter, not so long as he had her. [color=b8a857][i]But that’s not what she wants.[/i][/color]

Thanatos snorts but doesn’t push the subject any further; there would be another day to try to convince his friend. When he looked up at the crowd again his eyes met Eros’, immediately screwing up into disgust at the wink thrown his way as he flashed him a friendly bird in return. The ball room had shifted, people joining in to dance alongside Apollo. While other smaller groups pressed closer together and claimed the shadowy outskirts of the room, [color=2f4f4f] “You know, I’ve been thinking- s’weird that the Romans rounded us all up, don’t you think? Not like I’m one to talk, but they skip every conclave, and then all of a sudden bring us all together? I feel like I’m waiting for a butler to appear and tell us there’s been a murder we have to solve or somethin’.”[/color] 

[color=b8a857]“I’ve been wondering about that myself,”[/color] Baldr replied. [color=b8a857]“I don’t remember Jupiter being one for tricks, yet this whole thing reeks of them.”[/color] The Aesir looked around the room, spotted his mother and Xolotl entering, clocked Hati, left behind by Odin. Perhaps his father held insight into Jupiter’s plans. He made a note to check in later. [color=b8a857]“I’m starting to think I should’ve just stayed home tonight. Might’ve been better for my sanity. All these schemes and secrets, it’s like Paris all over again,”[/color] he said, recalling the court intrigue that had plagued so many of his fellow gods. 

[color=2f4f4f] “Paris, London, DC,  the Conclave two weeks ago— it’s always one thing or another with them. If it weren’t so exhausting it would be entertaining.”[/color] Thanatos replied with a sour chuckle, [color=b8a857] “But I-“[/color]

[color=859ecc] “Hate all the gods and how arrogant they are? Toasty, haven’t you complained enough to poor Baldr for a good lifetime or two?”[/color] Skadi interjected, seemingly materializing beside her favorite Norse man, slinking her arm through his, [color=859ecc] “You know it’s far too early in both of your lives to be sulking and gossiping during a [i]social gathering[/i]. Beloved, why don’t we leave the King of Melancholy to brood by himself and go have some fun, unless you want to third wheel and not bring us down, Toast?”[/color] Skadi bat her full lashes at Thanatos, donning her perfect pout as mischief twinkled in her eyes.

[color=2f4f4f] “Like I’d be the third wheel, didn’t you say he was my boyfriend earlier?”[/color] Thanatos scoffed, flicking his finger roughly against Skadi’s nose.

The Most Beloved grinned at Skadi’s return, unbothered by the bickering that quickly resumed between her and Than. [color=b8a857]“And what exactly does fun mean, here?”[/color] Baldr said, smirking. He’d learned the hard way that he’d likely end up going with Skadi no matter what she said, but it still paid to be on your toes. Especially with the ski queen.

[color=859ecc] “Ah, is this caution I’m hearing, Beloved?”[/color] Skadi teased and swung her arm out in a grand gesture, [color=859ecc] “Anything is more fun than what you’re currently doing, but the bar beckons and then the dance floor, and maybe if you decide to shed the ‘good boy’ persona you’ve been playing something [i]mind blowing[/i] later on.”[/color] Skadi’s glacier blue eyes turned to Baldr’s giving him a playful wink as her arm slide from his and her hand slipped down to his, she wasn’t letting her efforts go to waste, even if she had to play the long con game, [color=859ecc] “Is that acceptable for you two?”[/color] she asked gently tugging on his hand, as her gaze bounced between Baldr and Thanatos.

Death incarnate rolled his eyes, he could practically hear the meddlesome thoughts bouncing off that empty head of hers, [color=2f4f4f] “not like we really have a choice anyways, right?”[/color]

Baldr swung an arm around Thantos’ shoulder, pulling him along as he followed Skadi’s lead. [color=b8a857]“Oh cheer up Than. We’ll try not to drink you under the table this time,”[/color] Baldr said, grinning. His eyes swept the pool of swaying bodies in search of Hel, but still, she evaded his sight. He thought to ask Skadi, but caught himself; no reason to give those stories anymore credence. 
[color=2f4f4f] “Riiight,  like either of you know anything about moderation when it comes to alcohol.”[/color] Thanatos quipped with a smirk but followed along without resistance. Out of the corner of his eye did a familiar glimpse of a love lost catch his attention. Thanatos pulled away from the “party train” momentarily as he looked around wide eyed, but no priestess filled his view, and he let out a chuckle, popping a few buttons on his shirt as he rejoined his friends. 

[color=2f4f4f] “Alright, give me your worst.”[/color]

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