"Then I would much enjoy a new cultural experience," he says softly, sparing a glance towards the direction of the stairs. He stands, rigging the beaters and the bowl in such a way that they would be able to leave it unattended. Clever solution, if he thinks so himself.
"...Hades wasn't my husband yet either, and never will be now. That is likely my fault. I enjoyed being difficult with each new draft of our contract," but he says this with the sort of distant air of someone who isn't really all that broken up about it.
"I'm not much of a coffee addict as Jack," Steven explains. "Five years without it in Arcadia broke me of it--and honestly, even before Arcadia I was always more of a cappuccino or latte guy than I was into your regular drip coffee. I'll get something on the way to work."
Then his mind fully processes what Hythlodaeus just said about himself and Hades and he swears under his breath.
"Are you--" He's got a pensive worried expression, looking at Hythlo. "I mean, I get it, it's a thousand fucking years for him by now, god, thousands of years, of course he's had the time to get over losing you, but-- Jesus Christ. You're basically saying you were engaged, right? Holy fucking shit. If we didn't have a treaty I'd throw him down another flight of stairs for fucking with your emotions like this. Not that it wasn't bad when you were just exes, but--"
He glances away.
"Sorry. I just. He's being such an asshole about all of this. This whole-- bullshit with you and Dirk."
“Do not become confused, this is as I have chosen it to be. It was I who told Hades to pursue Dirk singly and it was I who revealed the nature of our reality to Dirk to encourage him without reservation,” he says as he lays a hand on Steven’s shoulder.
“I am thankful that you wish to protect me, that you consider my position an injustice. Yet you need only to do what you do now: To distract me from my sorrows and to allow me to release the pressurized steam that builds in my heart.”
He gives his shoulder a squeeze and the corner of his mouth twitches.
“It is because he is my betrothed that I wish this. I know it is hard to imagine.”
"That you're secretly a self-sacrificing type when it comes to the man you love?" Steven says. "Not exactly the first thing I'd have expected from you, no. But I can see it in a way." He sighs. "And-- knowing what you are, I can see how you'd think it would be better that Hades be with a 'real person' than a memory with a mind of his own.
"But Hythlo--even if this is all to your design doesn't mean that it can't pain you or you can't have regrets. And even if Hades is just doing what you want him to do, he's still the one going through with it, you know? He's still making choices that pain you."
But there's a soft, almost embarrassed smile on his face for Hythlodaeus. "And-- I'll do my best. As a distraction and a friend."
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"...Hades wasn't my husband yet either, and never will be now. That is likely my fault. I enjoyed being difficult with each new draft of our contract," but he says this with the sort of distant air of someone who isn't really all that broken up about it.
"You have had your coffee already, then?"
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Then his mind fully processes what Hythlodaeus just said about himself and Hades and he swears under his breath.
"Are you--" He's got a pensive worried expression, looking at Hythlo. "I mean, I get it, it's a thousand fucking years for him by now, god, thousands of years, of course he's had the time to get over losing you, but-- Jesus Christ. You're basically saying you were engaged, right? Holy fucking shit. If we didn't have a treaty I'd throw him down another flight of stairs for fucking with your emotions like this. Not that it wasn't bad when you were just exes, but--"
He glances away.
"Sorry. I just. He's being such an asshole about all of this. This whole-- bullshit with you and Dirk."
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“I am thankful that you wish to protect me, that you consider my position an injustice. Yet you need only to do what you do now: To distract me from my sorrows and to allow me to release the pressurized steam that builds in my heart.”
He gives his shoulder a squeeze and the corner of his mouth twitches.
“It is because he is my betrothed that I wish this. I know it is hard to imagine.”
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"But Hythlo--even if this is all to your design doesn't mean that it can't pain you or you can't have regrets. And even if Hades is just doing what you want him to do, he's still the one going through with it, you know? He's still making choices that pain you."
But there's a soft, almost embarrassed smile on his face for Hythlodaeus. "And-- I'll do my best. As a distraction and a friend."
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“My duty is to Emet-Selch, this... Surpasses merely the play of our interpersonal affairs.”
And then the timer goes off and he turns towards the oven.
“Ah, just so. Those should be ready. You can smell them properly, do you notice this? That is a keen indicator.”
...And he is grateful to change the subject besides. He can’t possibly tell Steven Emet-Selch’s plans.
“Then we are of an accord. To while away the years and to bear witness to what may come next.”
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"Yeah. I can smell them. Let me go take them out, okay?"
And he does that, moving to the oven and pulling the sheet out.
"How many minutes do I wait before transferring them to the rack?" he calls over.