Saint Vanity (mxm)

Chapter Eighteen

"You look rough," Icarus points out the obvious, sitting and handing me a crepe. I realise Poe is on his shoulder, for some forsaken reason. I give the bird a suspicious stare before giving him an accusing stare.

"That bird lead you here?" I hiss at Icarus as he draws beside me. My voice sounds shorted out, replicating how fried my brain is.

All night I've rested by the river, contemplating what to do next. Where do I to go from here? My mind created a whole web system in doing so. I tried meditating on the idea only to wake with a pounding headache and a chest tied in knots. I shiver and curl into myself as the cold goes right through me.

On the other hand, Icarus looks like he just rolled out of bed. His dark hair is in tight curls from dried sweat and judging by hickeys on his neck, he had a wild night.

"Yup. Strange creature. It got into my house and cawed in my ear until I followed it. The loveliest sound to be graced with after partying until 4 am," he drawls, voice dripping with sarcasm. He gives Poe the top of his crepe, which the bird politely responds by tearing half of it apart and throwing the other half on the grass. He stretches his arms up with a yawn and glances around our surroundings. As he works out where this is, his face sobers. "Ah. So, you had one of those nights."

"Those nights?"

He takes a bite from his crepe and tilts his head to the side.

"Where you're up contemplating your life. Judging by the fact you're here and even a mystical bird was worried enough to call me, I'm guessing it was pretty bad."

I purse my lips and stare into the river.

When I don't respond, he slaps my back and shoves the crepe into my hand. I cringe when I watch how his face has darkened, strangely reminiscent of Lilu when he finds out I'm not eating enough.

"How is it possible you're skinnier than the last time I saw you, mate? Eat up or I'll force feed ya." I'm guessing the threat is meant to be light-hearted, but I sense he isn't fucking around.

I roll my eyes and take small nibbles. Chocolate fills my mouth and I lighten up, gulping down the meal.

"I know right, it's amazing," he agrees with a wide grin. When I nod, his face brightens, and he gives me an overview of the food he has eaten in the past week, throwing in a few innuendos and nudging me. I watch him speak, wondering how he can be so upbeat despite the past he suffered. He even is smiling when he is flat out broke, for Zeus sake.

"You lost everything because of Apollo," I mutter, rubbing my arm in self-loathing. I never thought I would be asking him for assistance. "How did you deal with it?"

His smile thins for a second before stuffing his mouth with crepe.

"It was weird at first. I was given a new body and kicked out of the Underworld, everything was so different: the clothes, the food, they had weird roaring, moving metal carriages and everyone spoke a different language," he explains, swallowing his food and licking his fingers, "But there were kind people who helped me out. People took me in, housed me, and took care of me. It was after I got the hang of this realm I was given time to consider what happened."

His eyes become clouded with memory and he smiles more to himself than me.

"How did you react at first?"

"Of course, I was pissed and upset. No matter how I distracted myself, it was always in the back of my head. The beauty of the light and the adrenaline rush I had before I fell never left me either. I did crazy shit to see how close I could get to death without dying, like climbing without a harness and jumping off mountains, waiting how close I can get to the ground before I pussied out and release my parachute. I love the rush. It's probably like dating you."