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[right][sub]location: The Olympic Club
a [@smarty0114] & [@KZOMBI3] collab[/sub][/right][/center][/color]
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[indent][indent][color=gray]As soon as Anteros moved to sit himself in the seat beside the Norse wolf, Hati relaxed into his chair. There were few people he could let his guard down around and Ant held the number one slot. A lifetime together listening patiently to the whingeing that fell from him in those late hours as they sat together admiring the moon in the comfort that only night can bring. Wrestling among the sheets as Catherine the Great reigned in the distance. Anteros grounded him in a way that was too familiar for the wolf to not latch on to. A semblance of home. 

So, as he sat there beside him - pleased though Hati was - and spoke of finger sandwiches, he could tell that there was something much more there in the tone with which Ant spoke, bubbling under the surface; threatening to escape and rush forth. Being the terrible influence he is he would just have to coax the coals of action himself.  

[color=#295751]“Mmhm, yeah, finger sandwiches. Not entirely what I would have liked it to mean… but we know your wonderful [i]grand-ma-ma[/i] isn’t one for making such a scene. Wouldn’t want to bring out the degen sides of the gods now would she?”[/color] There was a humor to his own words as he shifted his gaze upon the Erote. Hati was never one for sentimentality but here he was admiring the golden man with memories flashing before his eyes, a cunning smirk playing upon his lips.

Anteros grinned. He couldn’t help himself. Hera might disapprove of the company he kept, Ares might’ve looked down on how he spent his time on Earth, but it did not seem to matter when he was in the presence of the wolf. He wondered if the nights they’d shared all those centuries ago still played out in the theater of Hati’s mind, like they did in his own. [color=facade][i]Surely not.[/i][/color]

[color=facade]“My grandmother prefers all scenes revolve around her,”[/color] he replied, looking out into the crowd. [color=facade]“Of course, as a loving grandson, I could not condone any actions taken that might disrupt the festivities. As a son with no desire to see his father however, well,”[/color] Anteros paused and took a sip from his glass. [color=facade]“I guess I wouldn’t mind if someone sent it all to shit.”[/color]

Hati nodded along in agreement, Hera is one to enjoy the spotlight, much like his own ‘King of the Gods’. He internally groaned when he had spotted the Allfather enter the club and make a beeline towards the trickster. An odd combination the two of them made. However probably no more odd than a Love god and a moon chaser. Hati couldn't, [i]wouldn't[/i], stop the smile that snuck through his cultivated brooding appearance. Anteros did that to him.

[color=#295751]"A literal shitshow, huh? I'm sure I could make that happen,"[/color] It would be too easy to do otherwise. Too boring as well. However, Ant's words caught up to his ears and if they were any more wild like they would have physically perked up. [color=#295751]"Speaking of the one whom you wish not to see. Mind if I pick your brain a bit about the man?"[/color] Who better to gather info from than his closest friend? Someone who Hati had no qualms discussing his new and strange case too. 

Anteros cocked an eyebrow. His relationship with Ares had never been especially loving. That wasn’t surprising, especially within his family. But Hati knew all that. He knew of the scorn Ares looked at Anteros with, and knew how much the word ‘failure’ had come to sting. If Hati was asking about his father [i]now,[/i] long after Anteros had drunkenly shared the sorrowful lows of their relationship, it meant someone else was looking into him as well. Interesting. [color=facade]“Not my favorite topic of discussion, but I’ll make an exception for you,”[/color] Anteros said, reflexively looking over his shoulder, as if his father might appear at any moment.

A groan escaped the white wolf as he leaned back and rubbed his hands along his face, snagging on scruff in the process, [color=#295751]"I know this is a lot to ask and normally I wouldn't. It's just a new client, they want all the deets on [i]Alexander Marvos[/i]. And how could I pass up screwing over your father?"[/color] Another flash of a toothy grin to cut any tension that might have settled between them. Hati knew how much he despised the war god and yet here he was bringing him up. Disregarding feelings.

It made him feel like shit. And Hati never felt bad when it came to doing his job. But with Anteros nothing was ever what it seemed. Nothing was "how he normally did things". It was always softer, newer. More real. Hati shook those thoughts away, [color=#295751][i][sub]'Now is not the time,'[/sub][/i][/color] he chastised himself.

Ares’ mortal name summoned a scoff from his son. [color=facade]“Is that what he’s going by now?”[/color] Anteros shook his head, forcing a smile through the painful absurdity of his situation. [color=facade]“I haven’t really spoken with him in, I don’t know, twenty years? He’s been off the grid, besides the festivals. He barely even talks to Hera anymore.”[/color] Even Hati’s presence couldn’t quell the rage bubbling up inside his chest. [color=facade]“Best guess? He’s been too busy playing at brutality to give a shit about anyone else. Of course, that implies that he ever gave a shit at all, and I’m not sure he did.”[/color]

Anteros downed the rest of his champagne. He would not explode, not here, or even in the privacy of his apartment later tonight. He was not meant to glow, incandescent with rage. He was the perfect son, poised and perfectly put together. The boiling water inside him would stay inside.

[color=facade]“Honestly, that’s probably all your client needs. A millenia on Earth couldn’t make Ares care about anyone other than himself, I doubt a new name and some-”[/color] Anteros trailed off as his father arrived. He watched eyes pass over him, like he was just another face in the crowd. Of course he wasn’t enough for Ares, today or any day.  [color=facade]“I stand corrected. He’s gotten worse.”[/color]

There was no mistaking the bitter taste that seemed to linger in Anteros’ mouth at the mere mention of his father. It was enough information as he was going to get from the male beside him. There wasn’t a need to press any further for fear of truly hurting him. It wasn't something that he enjoyed doing to him though that seemed to be all he ever brought to the table when it was the two of them. Always seeking the Erote out to help [i]him[/i] with his issues. Even after having essentially ditched him all those years ago. Hati didn't deserve Anteros, in any capacity. Friend or lover.

Offering a content, thin lined smile Hati patted the male on the back, nodding in agreement, pulling him closer and into his side. [color=#295751]"If it makes you feel [i]any[/i] better,"[/color] He licked his lips after taking another sip, finishing his glass and waving a server down for another, [color=#295751]"This... [i]client[/i] of mine seems extremely interested in him. Obsessively so. It would be such a shame if this information, of her and her intentions, were to be leaked to the rest of the gods. Perhaps causing a sense of discord among lovers,"[/color] Steel eyes didn't miss the arrival of the Aztec and wondered just how much pain she could inflict on War. Her own pain would be a small price to pay if it meant that Anteros' blood would simmer and the loving passion that is Requited love would shine brightly once more.

Anteros smirked through the rage as he followed Hati’s gaze. [color=facade]“Y’know, you are much more clever than Odin ever gave you credit for.”[/color] Anteros was not normally one for tricks and schemes, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t make exceptions. Tricks and schemes were embedded in his DNA after all. Manipulating Tlazolteotl’s emotions felt dirty, but better that it came from him than someone else. [color=facade]“Who is this woman anyway? Lover? Enemy?”[/color]

If Hati were in a more advantageous position he would have bowed at the compliment. It wasn’t often he was able to have his fur ruffled in all the best ways with words of affirmation. Especially from one as beautiful as Anteros. [color=#295751]"Get this, a mortal.”[/color] Hati nodded as if it were scandalous gossip. [color=#295751]”Some woman named Isabelle or some such iteration. I’m assuming it’s a fling with the size of the hard-on she's got for your old man.”[/color] He graciously accepted his new drink and with a flourish downed it quickly. [color=#295751]"Not entirely sure if she’s scorned or not. She wants information on him; everything about him actually. Family, friends, business endeavors and the like. It struck me as very strange, but there was nothing… otherworldly about her so she couldn’t be a hunter of some sort.”[/color] Hati shrugged, not exactly sure of something in his hunt got under his skin. It wasn’t like him to [i]not know[/i] something about his prey. Regardless of if they knew their role in his life. 

[color=#295751]"Either way, information will be gathered and delivered to her sporadically,”[/color] another wolfish grin placed perfectly across his features, sharp eyes flitting between scanning the room and darting back down to the male still hugged to his side. He would burn anyone else to ensure that his closest companion wouldn’t hurt anymore. If that meant he too would pay the price, then so be it. But there was going to be some fun to be had before it was all said and done. [color=#295751]"It’s the least I can do in order to ensure chaos follows all the right people. There are always some casualties of war, aren’t there?”[/color]

Anteros looked between Tlazolteotl and his father. Even now, he sensed the forces moving between them, the pulls of love. It was practically a fog, filling the ballroom with a rosy haze. [color=facade]“That there are. That there are.”[/color][/color][/indent][/indent]