lightened by nothing !

                             𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐈𝐍𝐅𝐎 | 𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓

      “ luckily no. which means we won’t have any trouble cleaning up. ” he doesn’t elaborate that he hadn’t meant it literally to begin with –– she’s clearly scatterbrained enough right now as it is. “ the change is the most stressful part. i’ll admit, my mental math skills are a lot better, but i always get hassled because i can’t upsell. something about needing to smile more or whatever. ” he snorts. “ that you never have a problem with. you could sell anything to anyone. ” cleaning was actually a part of the job he didn’t mind. it was straightforward and didn’t rely on him to socialize to do well -- all he had to do was make sure things were where they had to be. “ you don’t owe me anything, skye, you’re my best friend. c’mon. ” he rolls his eyes, swiping a rag across the counter to drop the remnants onto the floor for him to sweep up after. “ but if you insist, the friendship bracelet you made me is getting a little ratty. ” he lifts up his wrist to show her. skye had made it for him during their time at camp halfblood, so it only made sense it was more than worn out at this point. “ i’m gonna keep it but i could use a new one –– don’t want this one to fall off. ”

     the rejection of his offer makes sense, but elijah still has it in him to roll his eyes. whoever this dude is has clearly been punched before, judging by his annoying reaction. elijah blinks when he’s told this is the second time this has happened - he hadn’t realized being punched before had meant being punched by eli before. his eyes focus, trying hard to place his face. it’s only once jax tips him off that eli barely remembers. he’s punched so many people in his lifetime that a stunted athena kid doesn’t particularly stand out. “ oh shit... ” woops. “ look, jack, i said my bad. i thought you were someone else, for real. so –– i don’t know. i’ll get you a drink ? you want some ice or somethin’ ? we’re drinking long islands. ” 

       “ close enough. they’re both rude and annoying. ” he says the last part pointedly, eyes narrowing at mimi to make the intention of his words clear. he didn’t hate his siblings by any means, but their household was inevitably chaotic at times, stacked full of bold personalities that would clash no matter what they tried. it was always resolved, though, one way or another. “ i think backwashing into the carton’s pretty messy. actually, no. dirty. so excuse me if i think the person who spits in the drinks could be the same person leaving their dirty ass drawers around the house. ” he tosses the pair of pants into the trash with a grumble, doing his best not to let his temper get the best of him over such a simple situation. “ and if it has my name on it, don’t take it out of the fridge. ”

      to that elijah can do nothing but shrugged. it wasn’t like he hadn’t failed a class before. “ you don’t deserve to, though. ” especially not if it was because felix was busy handling the issues of others instead of looking after himself. that seemed to be a pattern more than anything. eli feels himself settle a bit more easily with fe’s touch, both from the physical comfort and what he knows is a stream of serenity inducement. “ that’s true. ” more often than not, he didn’t want to be angry. it was exhausting, time consuming, and holding that much frustration and resentment made him feel like he was aging twice as quick as everyone else. “ i don’t want to be like this but... don’t you ever just think it’s fate ? to be born a child of ares ? i don’t think what i want can outweigh that. ”

elijah: we need to assemble

      “ contrary to what you might believe, i actually don’t think about what you wear. ” shared households were only made worse by siblings. he wasn’t accustomed to having personal space ( being shoved in with far too many bodies was something he’d grown up with ) but he never understood why people were filthy as adults. “ i mean, you don’t seem to have a problem touching other people’s shit. ” he nods to the orange juice in her hands, the one that was very much his. “ not sorry if i don’t have faith in you not to leave your shit around. ” his irritation is only mild in this case, an annoyed grumbling that only grows when mimi points it out. “ because we all have to live here and i try to forget that. only made more difficult by seeing everyone’s clothes and books all over the fuckin’ place. ”

      “ you won’t be saying that if you fail, ” it’s a weak attempt at a joke –- and not entirely a joke, either –- but he tries. most people didn’t bother to interfere with eli and his more... violent tendencies, but fe always managed. eli was sure that even without his serenity inducement he’d be good at diffusing situations. maybe not an elijah-sized fuse, but still good. eli’s gaze stays fixated on the ground as he wills the tension to disappear from his hands and between his shoulders. it’s far easier to get worked up than it is to calm down, even with the help. “ don’t you find it draining? ” it’s a genuine question –– elijah feels like anger is a pretty easy emotion to spark, but peace was another thing entirely. “ i know i’m going to be exhausted after this. ” 

      “ i don’t know who keeps leaving their shit all over the place –– ” with a broomstick in his hand, he uses the handle to lift a pair of dirty pants from the floor and swing them into the trash. “ but this shit is seriously nasty.  and it always seems to happen when damian isn’t around, so i’m starting to think it’s on purpose. no home training in this place, i swear to god. ” he grumbles, leaning the broom back against the wall where he’d grabbed it from before. “ don’t tell me those were yours. just don’t. ” @mimixeu​  

          elijah is far too drunk to be able to think through the series of events, still doing his best to shake off the lingering anger in him. there’s no real reason to be mad now, especially now that he realizes the target of his anger had turned out to be the wrong person. but now the man in front of him ( jax, apparently ) is crumpled on the floor after elijah served him a punch he most definitely did not deserve. he reaches his hand out for jax to help him back up, mumbling a half-apology. “ sorry, ” he shrugs, “ thought you were someone else. ” @eujax​ 

        the greeting is enough to bring a ghost of a smile to his face and his hands come up to pat her on the back, hug returned and flour be damned. “ looks like a hurricane came through here. ” he motions to the mess that’s accumulated all over the place. it’s not skye’s fault by any means -– sometimes it gets unexpectedly busy, and cleaning has to take a backseat. “ everyone came when they found out you were working the counter instead of me. ” he laughs lightly before feigning a salute. “ aye aye captain. that i can do. ” with that he moves toward the counter space behind the displays, picking up bits and pieces of paper wrappers and receipts before he gets started on wiping them down. 

        the disagreement  ( as elijah liked to call it ) hadn’t lasted long. he’d been on the verge of throwing the first punch when felix had intervened, apparently seeing the scene in passing on his way. it had dissipated quickly after that, the feeling of anger and the tension in the air  dissolving due to what eli can only assume is fe’s influence. if he’d really wanted to, he could’ve pressed on, but that would’ve meant trying to suppress fe’s serenity inducement with his own powers, and he wasn’t going to do that. instead he finds himself seated nearby bench now that the small crowd has cleared, fe next to him as a constant presence as if anger threatened to return without him ( it wasn’t out of the question ). “ don’t be late for class. ” eli mumbles, a borderline mutter even though he’s significantly more calm now. “ i’m sure that person won’t be worth losing the attendance marks. ” @eufelix​ 

           being called in on his day off hadn’t put him in a fantastic mood, but hearing that skye had been stuck working a sudden rush her own meant that elijah had showed up rather than hanging up. whatever he plans he had wouldn’t be hard to reschedule anyway, and he wasn’t about to let skye suffer with an onslaught of eonia students demanding baked goods. as he enters the shop he sees that the displays are near empty, countertops strewn with things that had accumulated during a rush. “ busy day, huh? ” he grabs an apron off a hook and ties it around his waist without hesitation, already looking around. “ backup has arrived. we know i can’t bake for shit, so just uh –- what do you need help with? ” @euskye​ 

elijah: i'm gonna get bagels if anyone wants to join