[ᴘᴏꜱᴛ-ᴄᴏɴᴄʟᴀᴠᴇ ꜰʟᴀꜱʜʙᴀᴄᴋ]
Awash he came in fields of wheat, bathed in the brilliance of the sun as it set alight the waves of Roman land that stretched far into the mountains. Yet, it was not Rome that he smelled but the heavy bread, the smell of sweat over a fire, the liquid wine that ran down throats. He saw her people along the streets, smiling, talking, weeping.
Yet, that was but an instant and, coming to, Mars gazed upon the room with his stone settled face. Rome and her people had fled his mind, replaced by the toils and troubles of these deities now. Mars found their dramatics unbecoming of them and the information provided lacking as he stared the Morrigan down. At least she provided something. An unnatural death, something she hadn’t fallen upon before. It brought more questions to mind that he’d have to divulge to his brethren.
Well, they’d simply have to wait. A fitting punishment for throwing him into the flames without second thought.
Mars fished his phone from his pocket. Time would be on his side yet and he whistled to Virtus as he began his exit. He turned toward the Morrigan in pause, however, first.
”If you find anymore information, let me know,” Mars requested, straightening his jacket,
”I’ve been conducting an investigation of my own that I think you’d be interested in. Keep in contact, Mor."With that he pushed past the other deities and back out into less musty air and brighter surroundings.
Business meetings to a CEO of a vast and wealthy conglomerate were a dime a dozen. Negotiations would be set, compromises struck, underhanded dealings dealt with. It was all par for the course.
Yet.
Mars breathed in. He hadn’t asked for help in quite a long time, nor did he trust someone to aid him in such a way in even longer. Of course, there were his brothers, but he felt it unfair to count their dealings when it was mostly expected of them.
Beside him, Virtus opened her maw to pant with a wide smile directed at the mighty god of war. Mars let his fingers dig into her fur to ground himself. He just had to remind himself this was a mere business meeting with someone who was, by all intents and purposes, a rival company, though their domains didn’t truly converge. At some point, he just wanted to be mad at their young, conniving mogul and yet he simply couldn’t bring himself to reach beyond impressed.
Still, Syrinx had what Mars needed and he’d get to it one way or another. He just prevered it be mutual with no mask or tricks to hide beneath. Just honesty.
Mars stepped out of his car, Virtus following suit and made his way toward the restaurant’s front door. It was a small establishment, but its quantness only aided in its beauty. Mars huffed a breath as a waiter showed him toward a small table near the corner. The nod to Italy was much appreciated and the ingredients here were as fresh as possible, like eating from Rome’s own farmland.
With Virtus settled beneath him, Mars gathered what he needed for the meeting in the small bag he’d carried with him. Papers seemed awfully wasteful these days, so Mars settled for a tablet that contained all the necessary information as well as a harddrive that Pan would be more than welcome to take. As he set them to the side of the table, Mars allowed himself to relax, breathe in and take a gander at their hopefully authentic wine collection. Though, his eyes kept flickering toward the glass doorway in hopes to see a spry young man waltzing through.
And waltz he did. It was an apt description of Pan’s graceful fluidity as he came in off the street, clipping his sunglasses to the front of his shirt. A hostess opened her mouth to speak, but he raised his hand and she grew silent. His eyes scanned the tables until they fell on Mars, attempting to simultaneously peruse the menu and watch the entrance. He grinned, and nodded to the hostess before striding over to take a seat.
Pan wasn’t sure what to expect from this meeting, but wherever the chips fell, he’d remain unfazed. This was business now, not the childish games he’d once enjoyed. Mars had been at it a lot longer than he had, and it would be foolish to underestimate him, or let their family’s rivalry stifle a promising partnership.
“I was wondering when you’d come calling,” Pan said. He sat comfortably in his seat, though his posture could hardly be considered high-society. It was proud, uncaring, leaning back in his chair as if he was completely untouchable. He was confident in his position, that much was clear in the relaxed tone he took on, as if this was just another Tuesday.
“Don’t suppose the Conclave was any fun?” Prompt. That’s not something he expected from a trickster god. Mars grinned, setting the menu down as he straightened himself. He held his gaze on Pan for a moment, staring him down until he gave a slow blink and narrowed his eyes.
”I’m not sure I’d call Ares brandishing a weapon fun,” Mars said,
”But eventful? Quite. One of your own, Hephaestus, was murdered and conclaves are presumably becoming more frequent.”Mars, however, didn’t let Pan digest the information. It was a slightly crude tactic, but, at least to Mars, Pan didn’t seem the type to bear any strong feelings toward his own pantheon. The news would be his own to dissect; Mars was here on business.
”Unfortunate as that may be,” Mars started, turning the tablet on and sliding it toward Pan,
”You’re here for a different reason. My company requires assets and you have those assets.” “Well, I am known for my assets,” Pan smirked and picked up the tablet to begin scrolling through the information Mars had compiled for him. He stowed the news of Hephaestus’ death away for later, happy to talk business first. He remained silent for a moment as he examined, though his eyes betrayed his surprise at what awaited him. Mars, once a champion of the industrial age, was looking to go green, and he wanted Pan’s help. The screen displayed plans for engineering projects that could change the world, if done right. Shaking his head in awe, he set the tablet down and crossed his arms.
“Well, I’ll be honest. This has caught me by surprise, and that is very hard to do.” His eyes ran over Mars’ frame, looking for the slightest hint of what the father of Rome was thinking, to no avail. The uncertainty might’ve worried a mortal but for Pan, it only invigorated him. This was starting to get fun.
“What’s with the change of heart?””I aim to exceed expectations,” Mars let a corner of his mouth tug up as he reached over to retrieve the tablet. He took a second to pull up a few more things, then handed it back. Not one to reveal too much of himself, Mars let his face fall just slightly, pinched with his lips pursed.
”As you can see, agriculture, particularly agriculture geared toward feeding livestock is an extremely large contributor toward climate change. You knew that, of course. That means I’m a colossal contributor toward a number of unsavory environmental hazards and changes.”Mars let his head fall to his lap, eyes locking with Virtus at his feet. She whined and tilted her head. For a second, Mars let his posture fall as his hand raised to scratch at the back of his head.
”I’m a war god, but I’m also a protector of my people and by extension the land they inhabit. There’s no reason to prosper at the expense of the earth we live on and it took me awhile to see that. Symbiotic relationships are far and away more preferable to parasitic ones, I’m certain you’d agree,” Mars explained. He straightened, cleared his throat and gestured toward the tablet.
”I suppose I personally owe you an apology before extending my hand in partnership.”“These plans are a good place to start,” Pan said. He cocked his head, and while it might have appeared like he was debating the pros and cons of the proposition before him, he’d already made up his mind.
A partnership with Mars gave him access to funds that he couldn’t dream of as Peter Oakley, even after Syrinx’ rapid rise to relevance. It wasn’t a secret that Triarii Corp. was bigger than Syrinx and in a better position to enact the change Pan wanted to see. Add the ever stoic Roman across the table and Pan had never truly considered declining.
“I’m in. But just know, I’m not selling you that little start-up back, and you come to me with environmental issues from now on. And I’m not signing until I get my lunch.”Of course there would be conditions to his proposal, Mars just didn’t expect those conditions to be easy to accommodate. That Pan would agree so readly did surprise Mars, but Trarii had an amassed pool of wealth and resources that would be hard to pass up. He just expected there to be a lot more hoops to jump through than simply having to consult Pan on any and all environmental issues. To say Mars minded that arrangement would be a lie, one he’d be hard pressed to deny.
He cleared his throat, eyes darting down to watch Virtus plod toward Pan’s side. She lay at his feet, huffing slightly before letting her head fall to her paws. Mars scratched at the hair on his jaw.
”I would say you won that start-up fair and square. Not many people could give the slip like that without my notice. I can only applaud you for that.”With that said, Mars signalled for a waiter to come.
”As for your other requests, Syrinx will be the sole provider for any and all environmental needs that Trairii requires. I’ll even personally inquire you about any issues I and my company run into, if that’s fine by you,” Mars said, thanking the waiter as he set down a few menus for the both of them. He spread it open and peered over the top at Pan.
”This isn’t an opportunity I’m willing to pass up, so let’s get to that lunch, shall we?” Mars smirked,
”Do take all the time you need. I cleared the rest of my schedule to ensure these negotiations go as smooth as I can make them.”Pan leaned over his chair to scratch the top of Virtus’ head once he realized that she’d come over to his side of the table. He diverted his attention to her for a moment, always a sucker for an animal, especially a cute dog.
“Clearing your schedule just for me? I am important, aren’t I?” Sitting up, he took a look at his menu, eyes flicking up to the god of war every so often, eyes running down his chiseled jaw and broad shoulders. There was a magnetism there, plain and simple. He felt it with many people, a lust-laced attraction that he couldn’t shake. He shifted in his seat, and did his best to send his mind elsewhere. Oh, the woes of a fertility god.
“What did the Morrigan tell you about Hephaestus?” Pan asked, setting his menu down and taking a sip of water from his glass. It wasn’t concern in his words, more of a fascinated curiosity. This was not the first, nor was it the greatest tragedy he’d endured.
“I’d hope she’d have more to offer than just that.” Business didn’t typically entail any kind of pleasure, nor did Mars truly hope for it. This had to be one of the rarer times he’d actually find himself enjoying a partner or client’s company. There was a chilly confidence to Pan, one that made Mars stare at the man’s smaller build and lithe frame a little too long. Youth still tickled the sharpness of his jaw, belying the ageless being waiting beneath. A slyness, ever enigmatic and biting, lay hidden in dark eyes and Mars stared harder, drawn to the clarion call of a deep, endless forest abyss.
A cough slipped from his mouth and Mars straightened himself.
”I have a feeling I shouldn’t feed that ego of yours,” Mars said, with a smile tugging his lips. His eyes roamed toward Pan,
”Why, I wonder, would I feel the desire to do just that?The server came at that time, to which Mars simply pointed to what he wanted without his gaze leaving Pan’s.
”To your question about Hephaestus: Morrigan stated that she knew of his death merely by the string of fate attached to him. She’d spoken of it having been cut clean, rather than unspooled as she is used to. I take it to mean that his death was unnatural and not simply a desire to wander outside of the Colossus range. Other than that, she gave nothing of import,” Mars revealed, leaning back with a sigh,
”Though, I suppose I have my own investigations to worry about and a business to run, of course. Still, it intrigues me more than worries me and I assume it will do the same for my brothers.”Pan followed Mars’ lead with the waiter, pointing at his desired meal and handing the menu off. His fingers tapped out a quick rhythm against his chin, eyes narrowing while he pondered the ramifications.
“I’ll second that. If I know my family, one of them’s to blame, and I think you’ll agree that they aren’t quite their old selves.” Pan chuckled at his own jab, drinking in the atmosphere. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say that Mars’ interests were even more closely aligned with his own than he’d thought. He smirked. Wouldn’t that be something.
“What have you and your brother’s been doing all this time? Aside from polluting the earth, of course,” Pan added, his smirk betraying the good nature behind his jests. Anyone who wanted to get to know the Great God Pan would come to enjoy, or at the very least endure, his humor.
Cheeky little bastard. Mars grinned, though, taking a sip of his water.
”I’m not sure we’ve had time outside of our busy schedule accelerating the heat death of the universe, or at least earth’s,” Mars threw that smirk right back,
”I’m sure you’ve been too busy throwing your wild bacchanals and diving headfirst into sin and debauchery. Oh, and apparently stealing what isn’t yours.” Mars couldn’t very well call himself a successful business mogul if he wasn’t keen enough to throw his own punches.
Still, his smirk turned into a small smile.
”My brothers have their own agendas outside of wanting Rome back. Janus has been doing his usual: curing cancer, making vaccines, starting world wars. Jupiter has been busy being an ass. The others, I’m not so certain outside of their regular businesses,” Mars pondered, pursing his lips slightly. He turned his attention toward Pan again, wondering at his own plans outside of restoring earth to its former glory? He was still uncertain, but something in him craved to learn more.
”What of you? What has the trickster got up his sleeve?”“I try to keep my sins carefully calculated nowadays, thank you very much,” Pan said, flashing a coy expression at the man who was starting to seem like a very intriguing sin indeed. He sipped his water and leaned back once more.
“I’ve been here and there, doing what I do best.” Many would debate what exactly it was that Pan did best.
“Who do you think convinced the hippies to try and levitate the Pentagon?” Pan said.
“For a little bit, I was running with an awfully dedicated group of mortals, but you can only hijack so many oil rigs before you realize you have to start playing a different game.”Of course there was more to his centuries on Earth. There were stories that clawed at his lips, begging to be set free so that they might leave their impression on the god of war, but Pan held them in. These weren’t stories told over five-star meals. These would be whispered in the dark, between tousled sheets, when everything had fallen away.
“Once we got here, I became this,” Pan gestured to himself, hands running down his frame as if he was trying to sell a ring to a gullible buyer sitting at home.
“I take it you know the rest of that story.”Mars allowed an eyebrow to raise. Of course a god such as Pan would have a number of tales to tell upon entering the mortal realm, though, like any deity worth their salt he likely had a number more pre-fall left untold by mortals. He was left intrigued by what Pan left unsaid and caused Mars to lean forward, eyes roaming down the god’s frame with Pan’s motion. Water couldn’t quench what parched Mars now and only Virtus could hear the quiet growl vibrating Mars’ throat.
”I can say that I do, but I wouldn’t deny knowing the intimate details of your story,” Mars said,
”Or rather all of your stories.” There he felt a hint something sparking lining the words spoken, but Mars wanted to drag more out, unspool the things unsaid until either one of them came undone. Mars gritted his teeth.
”I’m sure you could be convinced to let a few more of those adventures of yours slip out,” Mars tapped a finger against the table, staring at it before locking eyes with Pan,
”As could I, if you’re willing to part with something I find of import.” While the god of war preferred to be direct, he occasionally let mischief play along the tip of his tongue.
The rapport sent jolts of electricity bolting through his nerves, a tightening in his gut that was unmistakable. Temptation was no stranger, but today he’d come to play.
“I’m older than the trees they cut down to carve this table. I’ve got stories about wars and orgies and everything in between, but I’m not quite sure which would interest you more,” Pan said. There was a thrill that came with teasing and denying the Roman, watching those dark eyes smolder with an intoxicating intensity. He bit his lip, before yielding a story lost to the passages of time.
“Years ago, when we were in Paris, I snuck into Versailles.” The waiter chose then to reappear, placing their plates in front of them and scuttling off, though not without stealing a glance over his shoulder at the two men. Unfazed by mortal stares, Pan continued.
“It was one of Hera’s parties, when she worked for that one king? You know, the one that got the,” Pan mimed a beheading, but otherwise didn’t pause, animated by his memories.
“Now, the French didn’t need any help throwing a party, especially back then, but well, the alcohol flowed, and I ended up more than drunk.”Pan’s story wound through the castle gardens, the stables, and the Hall of Mirrors, infused with his signature splendor.
“Finally, we’ve collected all her friends, we’ve found a bedroom, clothes have come off, and we’re getting somewhere good. And then, Hera walks in.” Pan punctuated his sentence by slamming the table, and letting out an exuberant laugh.
“Turns out, it was her bedroom. Gods was she livid,” Pan managed to gasp out between laughs. After a moment, and a few sips of water, Pan calmed himself, and met Mars’ gaze.
“Are you amused?” he asked, smirking.
Mars held Pan’s gaze for the entirety of his story, keeping a stoic face throughout. Underneath that exterior bubbled an instinct to stake his claim. To grasp a god as slippery as Pan, however, would not likely end well for him. The desire to chase grew in tandem and Mars straightened himself in his chair once more. As Pan’s laughter and story died down into a question and a smirk, Mars hummed and took his time to gather the necessary utensils for his meal. Something simple: baked rigatoni.
With his gaze trained on Pan, Mars chewed his first bite. He allowed himself a grin.
”A story befitting a god such as yourself,” Mars said, truthful as he ever was,
”I find myself disappointed that I could not partake in this Pan you spin tales for, yet…” Mars set his utensil down, taking a drink of water without averting his stare.
”While I find myself intrigued with your plunders and your spoils in your past, there’s nothing more exciting to me now than seeing what you’ll do with this newfound direction. Fun and debauchery is amusing to reminisce about, but something tells me that you bore of it. Why else have you come here? To a man who doesn’t indulge in those frivolities? For as much as they amuse me, I have different needs.”Mars paused for a moment, setting his food aside as he leaned forward.
”What is it you crave, Pan?”Pan leaned forward, close enough that he could smell the expensive cologne that wafted off of Mars.
“I crave a great deal. Success, power, freedom.” You. The spaces between the lines were bursting at the seams.
“What needs do you have, Father of Rome?” Pan’s smile never faltered, even as the space between them seemed to grow smaller and smaller. He could sense the wolf closing in, anticipating the pounce, welcoming it.
The smell of earth washed over him, told him a number of things: desires, wants, needs. His, of course, and he was tempted further to close that gap. Yet, he grinned with a finger at Pan’s chin to tilt the man’s head up while Mars tilted his own to the side. His eyes fell from Pan’s, toward the other god’s jaw, then his neck for but a split second.
”I need prosperity. I need thrill. I need to see myself ushering this world into a new era.” I need the smell of earth and grass tousled into my sheets. Mars nearly growled, but held it for a lip curl instead.
”There is nothing else you would ask of me, before you sign your life away?” Mars pressed, flashing a canine as he smirked. His finger slid down Pan’s chin to his neck, fingers barely hovering over skin. He could bare them like fangs. Mars wondered, looking at Pan now, if the mighty forest god would let him.
Heat against his chin, running across his jaw. The flames lapped at him, heat running to his core as he fought against the urge to succumb to his basest instincts. To give in to temptation was his nature, and this was a most advantageous temptation.
“Just one thing.” He flashed a smile of his own, as sure of himself as ever.
”Just one?” Mars asked, just barely above a whisper. His eyes flashed down to lips he could almost feel and heat burned in Mars’ chest. Hunger gnawed at him, a wolf with its jaws ready to snap shut, and Mars nearly allowed it to consume him. Yet, he held on as tight as the fingers that gripped the table and as coiled as the ones against the thrum of Pan’s neck.
”Enlighten me. Perhaps I’d be willing to accommodate,” Mars hummed. His head tilted and he breathed deep one more time.
The tightness that gripped his throat thrilled him, invigorated him. His nerves were firing non-stop, begging him to give in. He leaned in closer, increasing the pressure on his neck, bringing his lips up to Mars’ ear and whispering his next words softly.
“When you usher in that new age? I want to be by your side.”Fingers tightened even further, fully wrapping around Pan’s neck but stopping just before the blood flow constricted. This time Mars truly did growl, guttural and rumbling in the deep pits of his chest.
”You’ve already wrapped me around your finger haven’t you?” Mars grinned as he huffed his whisper. His teeth sank into the lobe of Pan’s ear as he leaned forward ever closer.
”I’ll take that in writing.”A gasp slipped past Pan’s lips, followed by a slow chuckle, both distorted by the fingers around his throat.
“Have I? I hadn’t noticed.” Grinning he leaned back, his heart pumping much faster than it had been a moment ago, cheeks flushed. He grabbed the tablet off the table, and scrawled his signature across a dotted line, and set it back down.
“What next, partner?”
