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hera (_marriage) wrote,
@ 2009-03-23 20:29:00

WHO Cora/Hera & Gabriel/Hephaestus
WHEN 23 March 2012 | during an afternoon appointment
WHERE Cora's office
WHAT two people meet, not for the first time, but the first time with open eyes.

She had Todd's file open, reading it as she leaned back in her chair, pouring over old records. He wasn't a long standing patient, but she worried about him. He hadn't called her, she knew he wouldn't, but she still hoped. It was a difficult thing to lose a family member, but one with a past like that, she didn't want him to make a bad decision. Putting the file down, she placed her elbows on the desk and buried her face in her hands, hair starting to fall out of her bun. It wasn't Todd that had her so stressed, she was worried about him, but she was good about letting that sort of concern not override her life, as a psychologist you couldn't or you'd never be able to do your job. No, it was her own life and her romantic entanglements and Hera.

Gods, Hera. Cora didn't believe in a sexuality label, homo-heterosexual, she believed in a person loving another person. Not exactly pansexual, but something closer to that and Hera was driving her up the wall. There was progress, her goddess was less uptight with every date the two went on, realized that gender and sex did not have to be linked (which she should have known already! they had four transgender patients!) but she still held back, and Cora had not even had a chance to get to know Tara. If the two were going to make a forceful go of it, Cora really did want to be acquainted to the other soul she'd be sharing her time with when the two gods were not awake.

Running her hands up her face into her hair, she pulled it back and slid in her chair to take a deep breath. She'd have to demand some time with the mortal half regardless of what Zeus or Hera said. Her phone rang, pulling her out of her train of thought; picking it up her secretary told her her new patient "Mr. Graham" was here to see her. Folding Todd's file back up she told her to send him in and quickly re-fixed her hair getting up to open the door for him.

"Hello Mister G-" and she stopped, staring.

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godoffire
2012-03-24 01:21 am UTC (link)

Gabriel had been searching for Cora for months. He had known her name and her hometown but he had lost track of her in school. He had dismissed her as a delusional girl with dreams of myths and fairytales. He had been heartbroken and defensive. He had wanted as far away from the beautiful girl as possible. He knew he was wrong, the minute he awoke from knee surgery with a voice in his head and losing his mind. The voice told him that he wasn't Zeus at all but Hephaestus. The ancient Greek god of fire and metal work.

Gabriel had researched, confused and angry. He took time off work and one night when he was laying in bed, he remembered that Cora had once told him that she was the goddess Hera. It was certifiably insane but he had no other ideas and was running out of ideas. The doctors had given him medications to suppress the voices and notions. He was often confused and dull, the medicine taking away his ability to reason.

He finally asked a friend at the law firm to help him track down Cora. It was a shot in the dark but he thought she would help. He had made an anonymous appointment through her secretary. He had left her and refused to return her calls, he had no idea if he would be thrown out on contact.

He was dressed in a dark colored suit and was still using a cane after the knee surgery. His rehabilitation was slow and steady. He stood in the doorway and looked at Cora with a small smile. "Hello, Cora." Mother, Hephaestus said as he looked at her, searching her gaze for a sign of Hera.

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_marriage
2012-03-24 01:34 am UTC (link)

Staring. It was all she could do, she hadn't seen him in years. Hera had screwed everything up with him, she had finally- finally found something that she adored more than, well a great many of things, and someone Hera had approved of; those things- it was a miracle all on its own. She had wanted him and loved him and Hera had been so positive it was her husband that she let Cora do a great many things she should have been learning and experience in high school. It all had gone crashing down around her when Hera thought it would be oh-so-romantic to have her husband wake up in the throes of passion.

She could have kicked herself for letting the goddess take over. He rightfully thought she was insane, hell, she still thought she was insane most days. He'd stopped returning her calls, pretended she wasn't there when she did try and meet him face-to-face, to try and fix the horrible blunder Hera had created. Finally she'd given up and now...here he was, in her office.

"Gabriel. I-" her heart was pounding, Hera was internally rolling her eyes, and she stepped back. "Come in.."

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godoffire
2012-03-24 03:56 am UTC (link)

Gabriel didn't expect to feel anything for her after all the years that had passed. He had tried to forget the pretty little blonde who had stolen his heart. He had succeeded in moving on and had been with other women but seeing her reminded him that he had said the big L word to the beautiful woman in front of him. He cleared his throat and offered her a small smile as he entered her office.

"I made the appointment but I wasn't even sure if you would see me after how badly we parted ways." He was still using the cane and so he took the liberty to cross to an empty chair and sit down. He might get right back up and leave but the small rest felt good. He looked toward her and waited for her to catch up. She looked shocked and completely off guard. Good, he wanted a real reaction and not time to plan the conversation. "I need to talk about Hera and Zeus." He said plainly, not giving her time at all.

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_marriage
2012-03-24 04:10 am UTC (link)

It was taking all her power to keep an even face, a mantra of 'he is here as a patient' kept calling out over and over in her mind, even as Hera(? her own voice, she could barely tell them apart anymore) reminded her he had given a false name and probably had other intentions. Which were only reinforced by his statement.

Still she needed to follow protocol and grabbed an empty file to sit down as well, looking at him as a professional. She had missed the cane until it was resting on his chair and though she didn't look down, her peripheral vision was trying to catch what was wrong with him, her heart aching to help and Hera's own thudding with a dull ache, a reminder of someone else.

She ignored her and gave him a small smile. "I promise subterfuge wasn't needed. A simple call would have sufficed." With a glance down at her empty sheet, she went to direct a question to him, only to be caught off guard with one of his own.

Hera prickled with attention and Cora swallowed hard. "Gabriel. I- please. Don't." If he was merely here to tell her she was crazy, or belittle her, she couldn't handle it. Not again.

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godoffire
2012-03-24 05:15 am UTC (link)

"I think you misunderstand me, Cora." He said her name like a long forgotten caress. He still remembered the nights when they had blocked out the world and spent time together. Laughing, kissing, doing incredibly mundane things like watching television together. "I didn't come here because I needed a shrink. I have plenty of them poking at my head already. I came here to talk about that night."

He tilted his head and watched her, his eyes taking in the angle of her cheek and the fall of her hair. She was nearly perfect and he could remember a time when he had looked forward to a future with her possibly by his side. It was all crushed in that moment of madness and now, years later. Much later and with a voice inside of his head telling him that this was his mother. Zeus was his father. The bastard who threw him from Olympus, the woman he called mother cruel and unfeeling as she scorned him along with the rest of the Greek Pantheon.

"Don't?" He shook his head sadly, "I wish I didn't have to. I need to know. Tell me about Hera and Zeus." He leaned forward in the chair. "And about Hephaestus." He let the name linger in the air between them.

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_marriage
2012-03-24 05:28 am UTC (link)

That deep soothing sound of his voice had won her over years ago and it was working on doing so again, she almost believed him; truly wanted to believe him. He was here for some other reason beside Hera's terrible misjudgment, the one that had cost her a future she had wanted so desperately, had wanted him.

She went to put down the blank file, eyes watching it as she did until his words rang in her ears 'about that night'. Her chin jutted out and she tried to remain as impassive as possible. "I think you said enough that night. I got the- jist of it." With tense shoulders and an even tenser jaw, Cora stood ready to let him out. She wouldn't let him hurt her again. Even though it was her job to help others get past unpleasentries from their memory, she had never been able to leave him behind. She had cared about him too much and the words had cut too deep, she wasn't anxious to feel it again.

Only, Cora managed to take one step before her voice got sort of far away. "Hephaestus? He was, a victim of two stubborn and selfish parents." Cora suddenly wanted him out. Out out out. If he had any access to where Hephaestus was she didn't want to know. Hera made no fewer then a constant string of desperate requests to find him; they ranked only under Zeus and Ares, and with Zeus found....

"Gabriel. Leave. Please, please leave. I can't," her voice dropped to almost an insurmountable whisper, "let her do this. Not again."

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godoffire
2012-03-24 05:42 am UTC (link)

He pushed to stand even though his knees protested the extra weight so suddenly. He had been exercising it more than necessary and it was stronger than doctors expected. It was healing faster than anticipated. When she stood to see him out, he moved to intercept her. He hated the tone to her voice, he had done that. He had scoffed at her, said cruel things, and then ignored her calls. He had thought she was crazy but now he realized she had sensed the god soul inside of him.

He reached out for her, invading her personal space as he leaned forward. The urge to kiss Cora was so strong, Hephaestus was willing to ignore the idea that she was his much loved and hated mother if it meant touching Cora again.

He did brush a soft kiss against her lips, taking an ounce of comfort from the barest hint of contact before he took a step back to avoid a smack or to avoid doing too much. "Hephaestus was a fool, he let his family destroy him and yet he never hurt them in return. Only sought answers and support from them. None of which they gave. Not his wife, not his mother, and certainly not his father."

Gabriel fell back into the chair and looked at her. "Hello, Mother." His voice didn't change but his eyes certainly did. Stronger, larger. Gabriel seemed to grow before her eyes. "You were very wrong. I was not your beloved Zeus but your son."

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_marriage
2012-03-24 04:01 pm UTC (link)

She wanted to tug her arm away from him, to push him back and tell her exactly what she thought of what he had said. She knew, even now, how crazy Hera had made her seem, but, the- what if she had been a schizophrenic! He had only perpetuated the stereotype that- No. She would not let those thoughts over run her again; which ended up being quite easy when there was his lips and for a brief moment Cora remembered what it was like to kiss someone and lose yourself in them. She hadn't tried dating since him, and until Zeus that meant the last physical contact she had had was a handshake.

But it was over in a flash because he was moving and she was remembering why it had been over three years since she'd even hugged someone. "How- dare." And Cora was gone.

"Hephaestus?" It was a complete 360 from the tone she had been spitting out so angrily a moment ago, it was disbelief and the quiet, vulnerable speech of a mother seeing her lost child for the first time in years, unable to believe he was really there.

She dropped to her knees and looked him plainly in the eyes into the soul there. How should she have been such a fool? Now that she could see him it was so obvious. There had just been so many similarities. Others may not have saw it, but this was the son that reminded her of the husband she had loved as a young girl. The calm and devoted man she had had for 300 years before they had returned to Olympus and his wandering eye overtook him. Her hand rose to trace the contour of his face without actually touching the skin.

"My Hephaestus. You are perfect."

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godoffire
2012-03-24 05:47 pm UTC (link)

Gabriel realized that he had missed Cora, craved her. He had missed that undeniable connection they had but time and too many other things had come between them. Now it seemed that they would be separated by Greek gods and confusing family history. He tried to ignore the pang of emotion that the kiss brought, instead of feeling he let Hephaestus take control.

Hephaestus stared at the mortal form of his mother, searching her eyes for the goddess within. He had loved his mother with the unconditional love that he seemed to have an abundance of. The love of a son for his parent and yet, he had always been rebuked. He had worked to gain their acceptance but had always been on the edge of their circle. Because of his deformity, because of Hera and her pride. Not even his beloved wife had accepted his love and devotion.

"As opposed to deformed as before." He flinched away from the touch. He had awoken within the body of a near perfect mortal, strong and handsome. He had a limp because of an injury that would heal but his new mortal vessel was everything he was not in his life. He planned to keep it. To take the body and find immortality within it. "And you are perfect as always." He looked around the room, at her desk. "And my father? Have you found your husband?"

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_marriage
2012-03-25 04:05 am UTC (link)

She allowed her hand to drop to just look at him, this man she had thought was her husband only to be her son. She remained squatted for a moment longer, taking in the growing power with every soul she met; this was her son and it made her heart grow. Cora tried to point out the blatant cruelty she had just said but Hera was too far gone in her control and power, she barely noticed. "I wish I had been able to see more clearly all those years ago, we could have been a formidable team, you and I." She stood to cover his hand with hers, "my boy, my Hephaestus." She was rather emotional, Hera played favorites. Her family knew it, her children experienced it. Part of her kingdom was the solidarity of heirs and without question her sons overruled her daughters. And while Ares was the god after her own heart, Hephaestus would always be her baby.

To which Cora nearly scoffed at internally. She shared the goddess heart, she knew much of her affection, while real, was done because of the mistreatment she gave him as an infant. Had she been sitting in that chair of hers playing psychologist to these two, neither would be pleased to hear her conclusions.

"Your father is in the city. We have made contact, and your sister, Eris. She is- still Eris." Hera paused, "though, their bodies are quite different then they once were."

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godoffire
2012-03-25 05:26 pm UTC (link)

Hephaestus was a fool, he knew he was a fool but there was nothing to be done for it. He could bury his resentment and distaste again and offer his mother his love. She had given birth to him and whether she had rejected him or not, she was still his mother. He stopped himself from reaching for her hand, stopped short of just accepting it all without a qualm. Maybe it was Gabriel, maybe his life as a mortal had changed him a little.

He tugged on the cuff of his shirt and looked back at Hera. "I woke up about 6 months, confused." He nodded at the mention of Zeus and Eros. "And my wife?" He asked, distaste clear on the mortals face. Hephaestus might love her, adore her through the years despite her unfaithfulness but the mortal man hated how they had been treated.

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_marriage
2012-03-25 06:44 pm UTC (link)

Her hand immediately went out to smooth out the shoulder of his shirt, a motherly gesture that came natural even though in the last time she had seen him, toga's and other more unstructured clothing were the norm; it was a habit that perhaps she had picked up from American television, whatever it was, she smoothed it out looking at him affectionately. "You should have come found me sooner, I am sorry you were alone. I think that is why I was so desperate for you to be Zeus, I saw something familiar and did not want to be alone any more. It had been a long seventeen years."

A small shadow did cross her face at the mention of Aphrodite, "I- do not know. She has been mentioned to be, around, but I have not spoken to her. I do not know where she is. Poseidon might or Zeus, they seem to be the most well connected." She paused for a moment before moving a hand to cup his jaw, unperturbed that he had jerked away when she had gotten close before. "My dear, if you want her, we will find her; but, it is a new era, you can-" She wasn't sure how to proceed. She had suggested Zeus offer up Aphrodite as Hephaestus wife, for his sake as well as her husband's concern over the beauty of Aphrodite. But once she had, once she had seen the pain it caused him she felt guilt ridden, and did not want to see him go through her rejection again.

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godoffire
2012-03-26 11:14 pm UTC (link)

Hephaestus didn't flinch away this time, his gaze staying on her as he listened to her speak. "I didn't remember you or anyone else when I first woke up. I only remembered darkness and the feeling of loss." He reached out and smoothed a lock of hair away from her cheek. "What has changed mother? Not I. Have you? I have not forgotten the deeds of my lifetime. I regret your loneliness but I cannot allow you to treat me the same again."

He nodded. Poseidon, Zeus. His father and uncle. His uncle had been fair if not distant. Unlike Zeus who had scorned his own son and yet depended upon the weapons that came from Hephaestus' forges. "I no longer desire Aphrodite, Gabriel has shown me what the value of a faithful and loving woman is. I do not need the lies or deceit." He pulled back from her, he needed air and time to think about everything. "If I leave my contact information, could you give them to our family if they are interested in speaking to me?" He would not reach out to them again, if they wanted to talk to him then they could come to him.

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_marriage
2012-03-26 11:23 pm UTC (link)

Her eyes stared at him blankly for a long moment and then darkened, in both hurt and in anger. "Treat you?" She stood up and almost looked fierce in her emotions; she had longed for him for so long and he was spurning her so cruelly?!

Her mouth opened to speak and Cora nearly pulled her back, the action in the mind was so surprising Hera shut down, allowing Cora to rise again to the surface. "Ga- Hephaestus, I am sorry. You are right," her goddess hissed internally, "you weren't treated fairly and you have every right to walk out that door and never speak to her again. Her heartbreak, and mine, wouldn't be enough to make up for what she did. I can only promise I'll do my best to make her realize that." Cora nearly reached for his hand, both to comfort and to just touch him again. The man she was speaking to may not have been Gabriel, but she understood what it meant to have a god living in your head, and understood a child that grew up with pain and hurt coming from a parent.

"Whatever you leave, I'll make sure to give to them. Zeus wants to gather everyone, I am sure you'll be included in that." Her lips lifted in a small affectionate smile, wanting to make clear she was sincere.

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