Mortal Hero

Back and forth, sunlight bearing down on your back, and you skid to a halt in front of the Heavenly Deities office. Swipe your badge, enter the waiting room, suffer through the inevitable purgatory joke, and hurry up and wait. Archangel Gabriel was...quiet. And you would never get used to his curious eyes. Drop off the paperwork, thank him for his time, and off you go again.

Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. Maybe you should just—

"Hey!" You almost scream when someone grabs your arm and yanks you to the left; you hit the marbled wall with a sharp thud and can almost see stars blinking in and out of your vision. Slumping to the ground with a groan, head throbbing, you look up at the blurry figure standing above you.

She's...pretty. And terrifying. And you find yourself wishing Alexander or Hui Yin were here to shove them in front of you.

Long dark hair, dark brown eyes almost black in color, and tan skin that glistened with sweat in the sun were the first things you notice. A moment later you notice the gun that she taps against her shoulder and the hand she offers you. "You're lucky I was here, you know?" She grins at you the way a predator grins at the rabbit they have blocked in a corner. "Or you would have run headfirst into that." She jerks her head to the right and for the first time you register the absolute chaos in the hub central. Two minor deities were having a...spat, and godly auras were flying.

Apparently tired of waiting for you to accept her help, she grips your shirt and begins yanking you to your feet. "A Hero of Mercury huh?" You go to open your mouth but she keeps going. "Hermes is interested in you. Ain't nothing special about that on its own but...well." Her eyes crinkle as smiles, her hand tightens on your arm, and you feel almost trapped.

A moment passes. And another. And then she laughs.

Blowing a out a breath, she lets go of your arm and takes a few steps forward. She tips her head, turning to look at you, and smiles. "Name's Lea by the way. If you ever decide to ditch the loser, drop by the Greek embassy and ask for me."

Eron is tired but content. His child cries at strange times for no real reason it seems; but they're his baby. Even if Alana was gone...she would come home. And he wasn't so blind as to not see how she softened around them. Tonight is different though; they've been screaming and sobbing for an hour and nothing he's done has been able to help alleviate what was hurting them.

"How long?" Eron nearly leaps out of his skin when Alana's voice sounds behind him. He turns to see his girlfri—his wife. His new wife and the mother to his baby stands in the doorway looking...off. There wasn't a better way to describe it. She's looking at him expectantly and his mind scrambles to catch up.

"Oh! Um," He clears his throat and winces as the bundle in his arms screams again. "About an hour now." His wife moves to the window, looks outside and he sees her jaw clench. A second later she draws the curtains and holds her arms out for their wiggling bundle of...well, sadness currently.

"Hush sweet babe, rest your head." Eron remembers this lullaby; his wife sings it often whenever their child couldn't sleep. And yet she always sang it like...

"Tonight's the night the stars have shed." Like she couldn't stand it. Like the words were acid in her throat.

"Through mirrored lakes and crystal skies, we see today the promise rise." She never stopped singing it though, never paused in the middle. And it was then that Eron noticed how their baby had quieted, how their child looked at her with wide eyes.

"The magic flows from rivers dried, today's the day we pay the price." Their child is quiet for a moment before they reach up toward Alana's face.

Alana's hand raises, her fingers brush against their child's, and then she almost drops them when they open their mouth. "Ma. Ma...ma." Eron shouts, jerks towards her and she all but tosses the child to him. The baby is crying again but Alana turns to leave.

Guanyin is crying before they realize it, their hands shaking, and their godly aura flaring to life with the scent of salt water and lillies. It embraces MC the same way Guanyin does; with nothing but love. "My dragon, I promise..." Their tears fall into your hair and you curl around them. "I promise to protect you. I promise."

Hemera has your hands in hers, looking into your eyes with golden eyes and an expression so earnest one could never doubt her words. "You, sunrise," She smiles. "You are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

He grins, eyes sparking. "A holiday should be celebrated, don't you think?"

Alana just stands there, let's her child vent and scream and get out all of the emotions that have been festering beneath their skin. Still, she couldn't help but be proud. Whether they knew it or not, whether they wanted it or not, Alana could see so much of herself in them. Yet they were so different. She couldn't respond, anything she said would upset them further.

(I had to google flowers for this)

Alexander: Snowdrops

Hui Yin: Venus fly traps

Taylor: Sunflowers

Rania: Orange roses

Kazu: Hibiscus

Aquila: Butterfly weeds

Desmond: Bloodroot

Horus: Delphinium

Amaterasu: Heliotrope

Raphael: Lantana

Hemera: Forget me nots

Mercury: Lemon Balm

Guanyin: Bleeding Hearts

Artume: Moonflower

Nero: Marigold

Nadia: Pansy

Luis: Rue

Aurora: Scarlet Sage

Anthony: Sweet Alyssum

Loren: Virginia Bluebell

Bonus+

He reaches out for you, his hands shake, and then he falters and pulls them back. "'Could be worse' is still pretty bad isn't it?" He laughs but its more of a breath of air than a laugh. He reverts to old habits, wrapping his arms around himself.

The parents are super sad 😔

(I took a bit of a liberty and am treating this as they actually have to arrange the MC's funeral)

Eron drops the phone. He can't breathe he can't breathe he can't—

His baby can't be dead. They can't be dead they just can't be; this is a joke a sick twisted joke. He doesn't realize how loudly he's screaming, sobbing, until his coworkers are crowding into his office. But he still can't speak, can't believe it. And through it all that voice in the back of his mind taunts, 'They died hating you, thinking you hated them, thinking they were unloved. This is your fault your fault your faultyourfaultyourfault—'

It took two weeks for the news that her child was dead to reach Alana. She doesn't show up to the funeral and Eron doesn't tell anyone where she is. Nobody believes he even knows.

Desmond catches you around the waist, pulling you tightly to his chest. One soft kiss against your forehead, another on each of your cheeks, and then finally on your lips. "I love you." He sounds breathless; he is breathless.

In another world Desmond isn't Desmond; he keeps his birth name and doesn't have to hide behind charms and tricks. His mother smiles when he introduces you to her, his sisters tease him because he can't stop smiling, and you don't have to forgive him for things he wished he hadn't done.