"How many times do I have to tell you she's not my girlfriend-- fuck her, then. We'll go alone, just us two. I'm fucking annoyed at you constantly insinuating that I like her, when she's just better than everyone else I'm with right now. But hey, I'll ignore her from this moment on because you're relentless tormenting is fucking with my head," she groaned, though, despite what may be seen as an angry snap, she didn't refuse to be pulled in close to him, going as far as to rest her head quietly on his shoulder.

"It'll just be us, which will at least stop us having to go through the torture of catching a plane like normal humans. It'll be nice to get out of LA for a while," she continued while absently frowning at her nails, making a mental reminder to paint them when they'd finished up with the bath. "But I won't stop you bringing one of your lovers along if you're developing feelings for anyone. You tease me about it, so maybe that's to cover up you falling in love with someone. Honestly, if that's true, I'll throttle you. I don't recommend you start falling in love, Proteus."
 
"You act as if you've had experience, Cordelia. You've never loved someone before, so how do you know it's so bad?" He questioned curiously while he ran his fingers through the other's hair casually. The other hand, of course, held the Goddess firmly to his side as he played with the locks teasingly.

"I don't think I'll ever fall in love, to be honest. I mean, people like me for my money and looks, nothing else. Hell, some people don't like me at all... but I guess I'm pretty good at changing their minds, huh?" He cooed, before pressing his face into the other's hair. "I mean, I've only ever really had one good relationship. They're probably dead by now..."
 
"It's a useless emotion that causes nothing but trouble. Lust? Lust I'm totally down for, that's great. Love? No thank you. The fact you're even open to the idea sickens me. Promise me you won't ever fall in love, because I won't be afraid of threatening the life of whatever little human you fall for. You're a literal deity. Humans are far beneath us, you do realise that? I won't ever allow you to fall in love with one of them, no way," she declared sternly, lifting her head off his shoulder to consolidate her statements with a fierce glare. If he fell in love with a God back Home, she would, reluctantly, allow him to do as he wished. It was only the fact he was open to loving some human that she disagreed with. That said, she knew she was teetering on the edge of hypocrisy - she had genuine feelings for Rosie that she wasn't quite comfortable admitting to, and if she did, she would have to allow Proteus to have the same feelings for someone, or face being called a hypocrite. It was why she was so defiant in refusing to admit how much Rosie meant to her, so much so that she would face never seeing her again just to prove a petty point.

"As for people not liking you-- those people are fools, but you're right. You could convince them otherwise, and you always do, which is why I know I'll see that moody piece of shit from tonight naked in this house at some point. When he inevitably falls in love with you, I suppose seeing his heart break in two when you refuse to see him again will make it all worthwhile. He has a face I'd love to punch. He just has that air about him, really."
 
"How do you know that he'd even see me again? I'm not going to hunt him down, that's weird," he murmured, while letting his hands carefully wrap around the Goddess to nestle his face in the crook of her neck. Reveling in the close embrace, he just enjoyed the silence for a bit.

"Maybe I'll find some cute, sexy men who'll want to give me something to do?" He murmured in thought, before purring. "I'd love to bring back some bulky guy who would punch that kid in the face."
 
"I wouldn't stop you from getting someone to do that. I didn't pay attention to anything he really said about me, it's all water off a duck's back, but he did say I was a bitch. I suppose I could turn a blind eye if, theoretically, you did organise someone to beat him up a little bit," she admitted slowly, definitely not pressuring the other into doing something like that, but clearly not refusing the idea. Ignoring the kid seemed like a good option, but also knowing he got his nose broken and a few bruises was equally as satisfying.

"How old was he, anyway? Like, 18? 19 at a push? You shouldn't go for men that young. Go for a nice 35 year old with a steady job and streams of cash to, like, spend on you, it's what I do. Who do you think buys all my designer crap? I certainly don't. I spend their cash, I don't spend my own unless I need to," she continued smugly, wriggling her fingers for emphasis - the few rings she wore had all been bought using the money men or women splashed out on her, though, admittedly, the one she wore on her middle finger was the only one she never took off. Predictably, it was one Rosie had given her after finding it on the street, and while it wasn't big or flashy, the fact Rosie had bothered giving it to her meant Cordelia found herself unable to take it off, thus providing more evidence towards how much she liked the girl.

"Look, that kid... I dunno, maybe he had a bad night. He said his parents are shitty to him. Look how fucking dysfunctional our families are, we know a thing or two about feeling shit because of our parents or siblings."
 
"God, you're gay!" He blurted dramatically, only to push off the other to wash himself carefully. "Look, just admit that you like Rosie so you two can hold hands as you walk along the beach, enjoying the sunset. It'll be cute. All the while, I'll be planning an assassination on this kid. Hey, he might be older, by the way! The kid just clearly doesn't eat properly, or goes outside..." He explained, before deciding to turn around in the tub to face out and lean over, his back snapping.

"Like I said, he's actively avoiding me. No one has done that before, yeah? It's okay, though. I'll do some meditation and just wipe him from my mind. He doesn't go outside, anyway."
 
"She's human. I'm a fucking Goddess. I'm not going to lower myself to feeling love for a human. Maybe if we ever go Home, maybe then I'll find a nice Goddess to spend my life with. I'm not against that, even though I'd prefer not to commit myself to anyone. I don't like the idea, it doesn't seem natural," she shrugged back in response, having pursed her lips at the 'gay' comment. Sure, it was true and she had no problem admitting she was gay, but she didn't really want that admission to go beyond Proteus. She had a dozen or so male admirers and lovers who sent her money and gifts. Her coming out as gay was bound to ruin that once they realised they didn't stand a chance of sleeping with her, and while she had millions of her own to spend, she didn't want the cash flow from her admirers abruptly cut off, hence why her sexuality was never really something she liked to discuss in public.

"He's not older than 20, I'd bet a life on that. And if he is, I need to ask him how he stays that youthful, because fuck, he looks young Maybe he's a vampire, it'd make sense. Not that they exist, but you never know. He'd fit the bill," she shrugged in amusement, resting her face on her hand. "Don't get obsessed over him now, Proteus. He doesn't fancy you. It's maddening, but there's bound to be one idiot human out there who doesn't appreciate you. Just thank the gods he's not that good looking, because it'd be a shame if he was, like, gorgeous, and you didn't get to sleep with him."
 
"... I guess," he sighed, before glancing at his robe. Offering a chaste kiss to his friend's cheek. Taking his time climbing out, he offered the other a grin as he stroke a pose. "I mean, who wouldn't want this God bod?" He cooed, before snatching the robe to carefully wrap himself up, yawning.

"Are you going to sleep with me tonight, or are you going to sleep in the other room? It's supposed to be chilly soon, and I'm not going to sleep alone. I could call up someone quick, but it's way too late."
 
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"I know you're, like, irresistible to all of your lovers, but I doubt any of them would rush through the rain just to sleep next to you for the night, so yeah, of course we're going to share a bed. I don't like sharing my bed alone, you don't want to do that either, so I thought it was a given that we'd share together," she admitted, rolling her eyes again to herself.
 
"Good. I'm making sure, y'know?" He replied, before offering himself one more glance in the mirror to push his hair a bit to the side. For the added comfort, he slipped his feet into the nearly $300 slippers that were set aside and let out a tired sigh.

"Have you had enough to drink tonight or should I pour you some champagne before bed~? I mean, I could go for one more glass, if I'm to be honest."
 
"Maybe one more, I'm sure I can handle one more glass, after the hellish night we've had," she tutted, wrapping a towel around herself. "As long as you take me out to breakfast tomorrow, okay? At that nice little cafe with the lovely handsome server who has the hots for you. Then we can spend the rest of the day lounging in the house, if that's what you want-- but I need breakfast. I never miss breakfast, and it'll be good for you to chat with that server."

Typically, despite how hungover they may have been, or how tired they were, Cordelia held her best friend to the promise she forced onto him. If she wanted to go to the cafe, she fully expected him to accompany her for the forty or so minutes she often dined out for, and given how she usually got her own way, it wasn't a total surprise that she happily waltzed into her favourite uptown cafe with her best friend pulled in close to her. Given how upset he'd been a night before, she made a big deal of specifically asking the young man who seemed to fancy Proteus to ask them what they wanted, and for a few minutes, she was genuinely happy to ease herself out and let her friend have all the attention... at least until noticing the same moody, darkly dressed kid from the night before sat obliviously in the corner. Seemingly, he'd been there before the two Gods had entered, but that didn't appease Cordelia whatsoever, her lips pulled together in annoyance.

"Can you ask him to leave, darling? He's been awfully rude to Proteus and, well, look at him. he brings the place down, he's dressed like a commoner. Maybe ask him politely to take his business elsewhere--"

"I... I can't do that," the nervous server responded with a cautious glance in Daeron's direction. Daeron did stand out painfully against the expensive surroundings and wealthy customers, but that wasn't a reason to throw him out, even if the tuts and glances from the people around him wasn't great for business. "He comes in here a lot, he... he doesn't cause trouble, I mean... he's always alone, it's really sad, actually--"

"Fuck that, it's not sad. It's pathetic, and he needs to go somewhere else," the Goddess grunted, almost demanding as she stood with her arms petulantly folded... though it didn't stop her from taking a defiant seat right next to Daeron's table, as if that would intimidate him enough to leave... though Daeron didn't seem to even notice.

He did frequent the cafe over the month, and while Cordelia might not have realised it, he'd always been there while the other two had been. He had to observe their behaviour, and that meant sitting on the periphery watching them at their favourite places. Being unnoticed by them was expected and honestly worked in his favour, but now they really knew him, he was going to be noticed by them wherever he went, which was a bummer. He knew they were there -their obnoxiously loud voices were hard to ignore- but he managed to feign obliviousness perfectly. Instead, dressed in his baggy sweater with his hood up, the God was hunched over his black coffee, looking like death... which really wasn't a surprise, given who he was. With his pale skin and dark eyes, complimented by the redness and the dark rings underneath them, he didn't look at all like the trendy LA folk sat around him, which was gaining him unsubtle insults from the other customers. Not that he cared about that either.
 
Waking up in a much better mood, Proteus was ready to start over and prove his best friend wrong. He'd find a cute guy who'd come over and get a bit heated, enjoy their company, make breakfast. Hell, he locked onto the waiter easily, offering flirty comments and casual coos. He knew he had the man in his hand, especially knowing his already established feelings, and his own loneliness aided in him liking the other.

Oblivious to Daeron, his pleasant mood only soured when Cordelia brought attention to him. Holding his cup of coffee tight, he chose to remain quiet, and instead held onto the waiter's hand tight in fear.
 
Although, Daeron remained clueless to their presences, despite knowing the likelihood of them arriving. It was stupid, therefore, to even go to the cafe they liked to go to... but he had grown accustomed to going each morning, and, given his penchant for a routine, it would stress him out not to go, so much so he would risk being glared and yelled at just to have his daily morning coffee.
 
"... I'm not really hungry." Declared Proteus, albeit quietly, as he rummaged through his pocket. With a piece of paper and pen, he offered his number to the waiter, and easily handed over a fifty dollar bill for a ten dollar meal. Offering the waiter a wink, he refused to look back at either Daeron or Cordelia, in fear that it would cause a scene.

Instead, he patiently waited outside. Cordelia would realize he left, would follow suit, and they could go home properly. Pulling out a cigarette, he lit it easily as he watched people pass by. It wasn't a habit, nor did it leave any negative consequences, but Proteus had started smoking them back in the 60's and learned to enjoy them. Having something in his mouth often calmed him down, like gum or cigarettes.
 
The moment Daeron did notice the pair, he realised that, rather than jump down his throat with curses, the two preferred to just ignore him. Cordelia remained sitting with a sour frown, and Proteus clearly couldn't leave fast enough. Now, that was preferable for Daeron - he much preferred not talking to them than sitting awkwardly as they berated and ridiculed him, but he also had to keep in mind that he had a job to do. He didn't want to do it, but the prospect of being banished was enough for him to slowly slip out of his seat and for the door before Cordelia could really acknowledge him. He did have a tendency to just slip out of rooms without being noticed, really.

"...Are you going to accept my apology because I am sorry and I didn't really mean for you to take what I said so seriously, even if what I said was awful," he began to Proteus quietly, straightening his back to look like he was taking this whole thing seriously, going as far as to remove the hood from his head. The only real thing he managed to achieve was making his full height realised. Given he usually slouched and hunched himself over, he hadn't really realised the full height advantage he had over the other God, so, before he could help himself, he did genuinely grin once acknowledging the few inches he had over him. "Or are you going to continue to petulantly hate me because I called you a whore? I'm sure you and your friend have called me some names, too. I've heard loser once or twice, and I'm sure your friend keeps calling me 'kid'. That's annoying, by the way. I'm... not young."
 
"I don't want to talk to you." Proteus stated flatly, while locking his eyes on passing cars. "You seemed to make it clear that you don't want to talk to me. I'm not accepting your apology because I know it's bullshit, so don't act as if I'm being a dick for not breaking down immediately and just tugging you into a hug. Just... piss off. Go climb into the cave you're from so you can look down on the world and act as if you're some superior being."

Taking a long puff of the cigarette, his face twisted into a grimace as he tossed it onto the ground and stubbed his sandal into it hard. He then immediately moved to light another one, popping it into his mouth coolly. "You don't like me, and I don't like you. There are literally millions of other people in this city."
 
"...Just because I don't flatter you with compliments like every other sap in this town doesn't mean I don't like you. I hardly know you. I was rude to you and I'd like to show you I'm sorry, but if you want to be stubborn and ignore my apology, that's fine too. I don't really need to hang out with you, it doesn't affect me in any way personally to not be friends with some hip and trendy guy in this city-- which is probably all bullshit anyway. A facade, you know. You're probably a really sweet guy behind the face you show to all of these paparazzi guys, huh?" He shrugged, leaning against the building while doing his best to avoid the smoke the wind was blowing in his direction. He didn't really understand cigarettes and the human obsession with them. He had tried one in his efforts to integrate himself into human society and understand things... but he really didn't understand why anyone would want to smoke and take minutes off their mortal life. Not that Proteus was mortal. In that regard, he was the one person who could smoke without doing any harm to himself.

Eventually, Daeron let out a groan and rubbed his temples in annoyance. This... This was all too much trouble than it was worth. he wanted to go home and just ignore the world again, like he'd happily done for centuries, but here he was, having to try and talk to a God he didn't even know a month ago. Granted, Daeron hadn't known many Gods. He'd spent centuries upon centuries alone in the mountains, and had been there for decades before Cordelia and Proteus had even been born. He didn't care about getting respect from them like most Gods his age and pedigree would. He didn't even care about boasting about who he was. He just wanted his own space and privacy, and not to engage in this trivial bullshit. If they wanted to stay in the human realm, then why couldn't they? And hell, why was it Daeron's responsibility to bring them back?

"...They want you go Home," he finally mumbled, deciding he'd been pushed to a level where he couldn't pretend a moment longer. If he got banished for it, so be it, but trying to act like a human a second longer was tantamount to torture. "I know who and what you are, okay? They thought they were going to be sneaky and send me to drag you back, but-- look, can we go sit back inside and talk? I'm cold and tired and I just want my fucking morning coffee."
 
This, of course, finally grabbed Proteus' attention, albeit briefly. He put it off to the man's clear lack of sleep, which he didn't really understand, but the comment did have him open up just a tad. Stomping out his second cigarette, he finally moved to face the other fully and, much how Daeron smiled at the height, Proteus frowned. It wasn't uncommon for other people to be taller than him, but he had fully expected the other to be shorter after seeing his hunched posture. Running a hand through his hair, he glanced away quickly,

"I'll... How about I buy you a coffee. You seem to be talking nonesense, and I guess you really do need some caffeine. Let's just get in, I-... ignore Cordelia, yeah?" He murmured, before moving to head back into the coffee shop.
 
"I didn't really intend to go sit next to her and start chatting, so you're alright. I'm not the sort of person to sit and talk shit with someone I really dislike, and as nice as I'm sure your friend is, I dislike her greatly," he admitted as he began to trudge back into the warmth of the cafe. Now he'd all but decided he wasn't going to pretend, he had no reason to even feign niceties. He'd been crap at it anyway, but now there really was nothing holding him back. He was going to say what he wanted, and while he could just head Home or, at the very least, back to his human apartment without another word, a part of him wanted to cause a little mischief in retaliation. He hated the fact he'd been bullied into coming here, so why not ruin the Gods' plans by informing Proteus and Cordelia?

Predictably, Cordelia sat upright and glared towards the two as they approached and took their seats, waiting for all of two seconds before her curiosity got the better of her. "...I knew this would happen, I've told you that, but this quickly? Even I wouldn't recommend forgiving this asshole in two seconds, Proteus. I was thinking you'd at least give him a week begging your forgiveness first before taking him in, but you do you, sweetheart. What is this now? Are you two going to go have sex, is that it?"

"...This is why I hate your friend. She talks shit." Daeron continued slowly, reaching for his coffee and taking a long, much needed swig. "I mean, I've heard a lot about you both from the others, they informed me. You're both much younger than I am, and I obviously made a decision to be alone for centuries, so I didn't have a clue who you were, but they... they have a lot of stories."
 
"He seems to have lost it," Proteus explained quickly, though his nervous glances and his hand wringing were proof that he knew the reality of the situation. Sure, he was confident when leaving Home, but it was mostly due to Cordelia. He never thought that they'd actually be sought out by his family. Shooting his best friend a wary glance, he took a large sip of Cordelia's coffee to calm his nerves a tad.