xi.
Zeus was peeved, to put it mildly. A business meeting gone awry thanks to a series of incompetences by various underlings. One just couldn't get the staff these days. All of it meant that he was going to have to fly out to the west coast himself in order to make sure a deal didn't fall through completely.
He took the elevator down the building and his stormy expression made it clear that he didn't want any company. His personal assistant said she'd wait for the next one. Wise girl. The elevator stuttered a bit as it went down, the lights flickering on and off, and then, of all indignities, it stopped at the second floor. Who was bloody well interrupting his escape from this den of idiocy?
That would've been a Castor, one half of the Dioscuri and twin brother to Zeus' dear son Pollux. The taste of green tea lingered at the base of his throat and tongue as he stepped into the lift, and upon recognizing the older man, he grinned to himself as he took up the space nearest to the buttons.
Hello, not!Father.
He punched in the button to the ground floor as swept his hair out of his eyes, stepping back against the wall while his gaze darted back over to Zeus.
Zeus didn't really look at the kid, too annoyed that anyone had halted his progress out of the building. His phone flickered in his hand before emitting the universal 'my batter is dying' sound. He muttered under his breath and then the elevator ground to a halt. The lights were a sickly, weak glow.
"For crying out loud," he muttered, before reaching past the other man and jabbing at the button for the ground floor. Unresponsive.
Under any other circumstance, Castor would've been peeved at the turn of events, but getting stuck in an elevator with the father of the gods? Warranted a couple of laughs. The familiarity of a British accent was welcomed, toned down or otherwise, and he might've said something about it had his cellphone not powered down in his pocket.
It was grasped for and peered at. Dead already? He'd charged it in the morning. The phone was repocketed, and the twin finally gave all of his attention to the older man.
"Stuck, are we?"
"Looks that way," said Zeus shortly, his irritation still as palpable as a thunderstorm in the air. Finally, he looked at the boy - or young man - and he wondered at the familiarity. It seemed that the chap knew him which didn't make a huge amount of sense. Patrick, like all Blackwells, did his best to stay out of the limelight, where at all possible. Of course, it was entirely possible that the boy wasn't recognising a Blackwell here.
Zeus scowled. The elevator stuttered. They'd go nowhere till he calmed down.
"Who are you?" he asked, abruptly. The other man did look familiar but Zeus had gone to great lengths to track down as many of his offspring as he could. This man didn't quite fit the bill.
A set of nails rapped against one wall of the elevator. "I'm the bloke you're stuck in a lift with," Castor reminded him with the slightest of smiles, sagging more into that wall.
Zeus had to know. Or would eventually -- he did look like a mirror image of Pollux, even with all those slight differences between them.
"Cute," murmured Zeus. A flash of a smile but no movement of the elevator. He moved closer to the other man and looked down at him. He bit his lip and raised his hand, cupping the other man's chin and forcing him to look up at him.
Zeus hadn't yet met Pollux in the flesh, so to speak, or Helen, but there was a touch of Leda in this boy. The more he looked, the more he could identify. After a few seconds of scrutiny and total disregard of Castor's personal space, he narrowed his eyes. "I thought Dioscuri traveled in pairs."
That final recognition had something in those blue eyes sparkling, but Castor didn't move to shove the man away. This was Zeus, not someone he could push around. Even as an egotistical brat, he still held respect for his brother's father.
"Normally," he murmured, "but we take breaks here and there."
"Fascinating," said Zeus. He moved his hand up, thumb gliding over Castor's cheek, fingers just brushing his ear. "It is ... hm." Uncanny was too obvious a word. "You are my son's brother," he said. A note of amusement was evident in his voice. The lift shuddered and the lights became a little brighter.
He bit his lip again and then bowed his head and brushed his lips over Castor's. Lovely Leda's son and half of a whole but still enticing in his own right.
If the younger man had tensed, it'd only been for a second. While some things were expected, they could still be surprising once they happened. Hands still pressed to the wall of the lift, Castor returned that light kiss, pulling back just enough to whisper his next words.
"Until the day I die, and even after."
Zeus smiled slowly and the lift lurched into life. A tinny voice rattled over the speaker, something incoherent about an elevator malfunction.
He stepped away from Castor, nice and calm, his business woes forgotten for a moment, at least.
"I am glad to hear it," he said, touching his thumb to his own bottom lip. "I am glad that my son is assured of you, at least."
It took all of ten seconds to reach the ground floor after that and there was a tiny smirk on Zeus' lips.
Castor swept his tongue over his lips, not entirely sure what to make of all this. Good to know that he was in Zeus' good graces for now and would only be expecting a thunder crackle upon hurting any of the man's children -- Pollux included, most likely.
But the thought of ever bringing harm to his brother made him sick to the stomach.
"He's in good hands," was all that was assured.
"He is," said Zeus. As he stepped out of the lift, he looked at Castor again. "As are you." He didn't feel the need to state explicitly that he would consider Castor his own flesh and blood until such time as he was refused this strange, not-quite-paternal right (but Zeus was regularly not-quite-paternal). He was determined, though. None of his children would suffer any obstacle or impediment; they would be as great as they chose to be.
He quirked a smile. "Give him my warmest wishes," he said. "And I expect you both to visit me, and soon."
A slight grin was given in return.
"Yeah, we will. Cheers, Mr. Blackwell." Careful to tack on that mortal surname lest any curious ears were listening, Castor snuck out of the elevator and made for the revolving doors, one hand flying up to brush dark hair out of the way. The moment he got home, he'd sweep his brother up in a rib crushing hug.
One good tea, a kiss from Zeus. There were worse ways to start one's day.
[NOTE: Backdated a few days ago~]