The City of Gods

"Nothing like good old-fashioned hospitality, is there? Saying that, I'd prefer to be alone, but... I didn't mean to touch a nerve. If it helps, my father and my mother abandoned me when I was a child and I've lived alone most of my life. They didn't care to raise me-- but let's face it, most of our people have bad parents," he shrugged, finding it was just part of life, really. He didn't understand why that was. If he was ever a parent, he knew he'd at least show a child love... though he was pretty sure he was never getting to that point when most people didn't even like him. Saying that, he didn't want them to like him, and he didn't want a child - it would be his idea of a nightmare.

"...Can't you at least show me the kitchen? I like cooking, I... I want to see the kitchen, I think," he admitted as he pushed himself from the comfort of the armchair reluctantly. "...I do like the food here, though I've only ordered in takeaways. I quite like it here, it's... nice, in its own way, I suppose."
 
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Running his hands through his hair, he gave another glanced towards the man before sighing heavily and motioned Daeron to follow. He wanted nothing more than to take a long, relaxing soak before taking a dip in their pool, but Proteus wasn't as big of a dick as he may come off as. Compared to Cordelia, he was an angel towards people he found annoying.

"Come on, then. You know, it's going to be really unfortunate to have to leave all of this behind. I mean, I spent a lot of time making this place nice, and to just drop it all in an instant? It's a bit of a bummer. It took a good two decades to get all of those books, and now what? I'll be dragged back Home."
 
"My heart bleeds for you," sarcastically responded the older God as he began to trail after him. He was thankful and pretty grateful that the other was willing to house him for the next month or two because, without that, he'd have to go Home, face the backlash his failure brought and then risk banishment, and... well, that wasn't enjoyable at all. Either that, or he could just spend the rest of his days in the human realm-- and that really wasn't enjoyable either. This way, by staying for a month, he could pretend that he did his job the way he was supposed to.

That said, he wasn't prepared to act and pretend to be an angel. He didn't remotely care if he came across like a miserable bastard because he was sure that that description fitted him down to a T, anyway.

"I'm sure this is all a dreadful shock to you, but am I supposed to feel sorry for you? You were selfish and you're getting your comeuppance. That's about it."
 
"If I were to be selfish, I could get you in trouble so you can get banned here for the rest of your immortal life." He replied flatly as he continued through the house, though locked his eyes forward with pursed lips. "You act so superior while getting mad at people who act superior, you know that? You're fucking arrogant. Your nihilism is frustrating."

Rummaging through his pocket, he tugged out another pack of cigarettes and lit one with a grunt. Glancing out the window, his frown only grew as he took a deep inhale. Coughing out the smoke, he wandered up the stairs of their expansive condo and glanced at the time. If he were to be honest, he just wanted to find some cute guy and get a proper night's sleep with some handsome man. Alas."
 
"I'm a nihilistic asshole. Get used to it. I mean, I'm assuming when you return Home they'll be looking to punish you for your disobedience, and I also assume they'll do that by sending you out to the outskirts. That's where I live. I'm sure we'll be neighbours before long so you'll have to get used to me. I'm not that bad. Just because I'm not a muscular model with loose morals doesn't mean I'm a bad person," the other God muttered, quietly pushing his shoulders back and hanging awkwardly just behind the other, his nose crinkling at the waft of smoke drifting in his direction. He wanted to tell him to quit it-- but telling someone not to smoke in their home did seem like a step too far.

"...I find you to be superior. You look down your nose at anyone that isn't conventionally attractive. Am I perfect? No, and I know that. Doesn't mean it's nice for you to judge me because I'm not a fucking model who'll have sex with you, hm?"
 
"That's not why I look down on you," he corrected easily as he took another puff, his eyes dead set on the windows that looked over the busy streets. "I look down on you because you pretend that you're so humble and don't care about the world and I know that's true. That pisses me off, just how pretentious you act. You aren't any more enlightened than any of the rest of us, so your blatant attempt to act all superior because you don't rely on other's for affection is annoying."

Eventually tossing the finished cigarette, the God wandered to the sink and grabbed a glass while simply flicking a finger for the sink water to fill. As he let it take it's time, he glanced at his watch with a cringe. "I think I can trust you to not steal shit, right? I'm going to bed. If you think I'll be kicked to the outskirts like you said, I'm going to have fun tomorrow."
 
"And you rely on people for affection? That's pathetic by anyone's standards, let alone a God's. But you can do as you wish. Just because I have an opinion on it doesn't mean I'm necessarily vehemently judging you," he reminded, albeit flatly and without any real sense of caring that he'd been insulted. Nothing the other said could really break through the solid defensive wall he'd set up thousands of years ago-- and hell, he'd heard a lot worse in the past.

This hardly made him bat an eyelid.

"Off to bed so soon? You're really... not a big fan of mine, are you?" He laughed humorlessly, deciding to sit down on the couch. Even if this place might by his home for the next month, or at least as long as the other two took to decide to go Home, he really wasn't capable of making himself comfortable so quickly. He stood with his back rigid and straight, his hands resting awkwardly on his lap and his eyes locked on the carpet. "That's no surprise. I didn't expect you to like me. It's why I found their idea ridiculous. If they wanted you to fall in love, they ought to have sent Silas. He's conventionally attractive."
 
"I do not like you, whatsoever. You're right. Good night." He replied flatly, though mostly to tease the other God as he took a large gulp of the cup of water. Running his fingers through his blue locks, he kept his eyes locked on the stairs as he cracked his back wearily. Sure, he was a God, and age wasn't really a thing, that didn't keep him from teasing about how old he was thanks to the constant cracks and groans his joints could make, especially when he was away from water.

"Look, you don't like me and I don't like you. You're content with being lonely for the rest of your life, and I like to have someone by my side. How about we accept that you and I clearly clash, and that we won't have to talk to one another the moment we get back. I won't fuck you over because I'm not a fucking dick."
 
"I just find it utterly pathetic that you're reliant on people. That's all. You can live your life thinking you're the best, that you can attract in anyone you want, but you're not that special. Nobody is. Sorry. You're not better than me in anyway, I'm not better than you-- but yes, that's irrelevant. You hate me, I'm nonchalant towards you. I didn't even known your name a month ago," he pointed out as dully as he could manage, which really didn't take much effort at all.

The other God had a tendency to bore him, so sounding as bored as he was was hardly a task.

"I might just sleep on the couch tonight," he announced, though wasn't really expecting -or looking for- an answer in return. "I don't want to be upstairs and hear you and your buddy gossip about me."
 
Balling his fists up, the notoriously self-loathing and critical God had to take a deep breath from showing just how upset he had become. Locking eyes with the marble staircase, his beetroot cheeks were an unsubtle sign that he was growing more annoyed by the minute.

"Good night then, yeah? Sleep well. I'll be upstairs, gushing about how absolutely great I am and how I have no real substance, huh? You just lounge about thinking that you are better than everyone else because, if you didn't, you wouldn't be critiquing me on my lifestyle and you'd be realizing that there's nothing wrong with the way I live."
 
It didn't take long for Cordelia to get home. While she had been genuinely enjoying her time with her 'girlfriend', she had cut the night short when, in an ideal world, she'd have stayed up all through the night with her and eventually crashed out in bed with her at around 5am. That was what she wanted to do, but instead, she arrived back home at around midnight just for her friend.

She was well aware that Daeron was now staying, and the thought of having left Proteus with him all this time was horrible-- which was why she'd rushed home early. She didn't feel nice leaving her best friend in the company of that miserable asshole, so as fun as the night had been, here she was, collapsing into bed beside Proteus just to let him know he was where her priority laid.

It really wasn't rare or unheard of for them to share a bed. Obviously, they didn't do that every night, but it was something they did often enough for them to have become accustomed to.

"...How's that asshole been?" She murmured quietly, tossing her heels to the corner of the room and, once shoving off most of her clothes, snuggled in close to offer a kiss to the back of his neck. "Does he have to stay here Proteus? He's so moody. He's dragging us down."
 
Wrapped tight in his king-sized bed comforter, Proteus' room was only lit by the screen of his phone, his eyes locked on it as he scrolled through Twitter mindlessly, retweeting every cute cat video or recipe gif he saw. It wasn't until he smelled the typical perfume from Cordelia that he offered a soft groan.

"I dunno, I don't want to be rude, but... he's such a fucking bummer, Dee. All he does is put me down, and if I really wanted that, I would have stayed Home. Like... I get it, he doesn't know how to interact with people. Sure. That isn't a fucking excuse, though!"
 
"It's not like it should be a surprise to us, doll. My mother used to tell me stories when I was a child about that bloke; said he'd come eat me up if I didn't get to sleep. You don't have those sorts of rumours spread about you if you're a nice guy, right? And hey, if he's really upsetting you, I'll smack some sense into him," she promised, frowning just a little at how seriously downtrodden the other seemed to be.

Though, she could hardly pretend Daeron didn't upset her - he pissed her off and hurt her more than she cared to admit.

"Oh, he's just an inconsequential little maggot, that's all. He's older than we are, he's pretty renowned, but he's not, like, your father, who's one of the big guys back Home. Daeron's not really... anything we need to worry about," she continued confidently, moving to wrap her arms around him from behind in an effort to get him to at least relax a little. "Before we head back, I'm serious about that vacation. It could just be me and you, you know? I don't need to bring my girlf-- my friend."
 
Easily nestling into the other's arms, he peaked over to her and offered a smirk at the 'girlfriend' comment. It was an easy distraction from Proteus' whining. Eventually rolling to face his friend, the God happily entangled their legs and held her close, letting out a heavy sigh.

"I'm just planning to avoid them - or maybe we could run? I mean, why are we even trying to be nice? He's... He's an asshole. He had the audacity to say shit about me when he doesn't even fucking know me!"
 
"Why are we nice to him? Maybe it's got something to do with the fact he's one of the 'big guys' and we're supposed to be 'respectful' to those Gods? Or maybe we're just too nice. He doesn't deserve anything from us-- we should just let him sort this mess out on his own," she groaned, pressing her forehead in close and smiling to herself at the proximity. It would probably be easy to mistake the two as lovers from just how close they were and how closely positioned their bodies were, but Cordelia had always held her friend like this, regardless of the romantic aesthetic it seemed to have.

She found her eye being caught more by women, and she knew her friend's preference was geared more towards men too, but that never really stopped her cuddling him like this and offering a few kisses, that of which were completely chaste and simply a reflection of her close relationship with him.

"Like I said, he's a weasel we should just ignore, right? I find it hilarious that the other Gods back Home thought he was the perfect candidate to send for you to fall head over heels for. Like, you have standards, right? And that fool is way below that."
 
"See, no matter what I say, I'm an asshole. If I say I have higher standards, I'm considered stuck up and self-centered. If I say I don't have higher standards, I'm a slut. No matter what I say, I'm always going to be a shit person. People see you as a strong woman, and I'm just a fucking whore, b-but... I don;t know what to do, Dee. I just want to be able to find a lasting relationship if I can, but no one really likes me," he babbled on quietly as he closed his eyes, inhaling softly. He quickly wiped his face to hide his frown and eventually returned to face away.

"... I dunno. Do you think we'll really be in so much trouble when we go Home?" He whispered quietly, all the while contemplating to wander down to the kitchen and pour himself a drink. "I mean... I mean, the world doesn't really like me here, do they?"
 
"Oh, hush up. Strong woman? People see me as a... whore. I hate that word, but they do. We're hardly subtle in our sexual conquests, are we? But whatever, why care what some humans think? I care very little about their opinions," she drawled flatly, easing back a little just to be able to stretch out her legs, which she needed to do. As much as she loved cuddling with her friend, it was't exactly that easy for her to stay in that position long, with her legs hunched up. She was exceptionally tall for a woman at 6'0", so what was easy for her friend was hardly easy for her.

It was actually just another reason people had to take notice of her. If they weren't discussing her casual relationship with sex, or her debauched lifestyle, they were gossiping about her appearance and her height - though she lived by the mantra that there was no such thing as bad publicity. At least they were bothering to talk about her, right?

"...I'm pretty sure that we'll be in huge trouble and they'll separate us and not allow me to see you again," she shrugged, biting her bottom lip thoughtfully. "You know what your father's life, he's... not that complimentary about me."
 
"He isn't too complimentary of me and I'm his son, for fuck's sake," he whimpered before wrapping his arms around his pillow in distress. "We won't be together, a-and... I can't handle that. How lame is that? I can't live without you, Dee. I don't want to be alone. How pathetic is that? I'm a God, for fuck's said."

Grunting softly, he cleared his throat to keep back the shuffles and whimpers m. "In sorry. Really sorry."
 
"Then we just won't go Home. We'll-- I don't know, we'll move somewhere new. It's taken them decades to track us down, s if we move, then... then hey, we have ourselves a few more decades," she decided, sounding as confident as she could manage. Of course, she wasn't so naive that she didn't realise that running away was harder to do now, and it wasn't a relaxing way to live their lives-- but it was worth the risk if it meant being able to be with Proteus.

She wasn't exaggerating when she admitted to herself that there wasn't point in even living without him. Of course, she was immortal so she couldn't really die, but still, she thought the sentiment summed up how deeply she cared.
 
Rolling to face her once again, Proteus sniffled as he wiped his cheeks clear of tears. In that moment, he tugged the other close tight into his chest and held her there. While Proteus wasn't a moron, it still felt nice to be able to just be naive and simply pretend that Cordelia would just find everything out.

"You're great, you know that? If you manage to settle down with that girl, she'll be the luckiest human on this shitty hunk of rock. I love you, you know? I want you to be happy, you know? I just want to be able to relax with you by my side, some handsome young folk on my arms... Do you think our new 'roommate' is all that unattractive?"
 
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