just to pull me c l o s e r {jesse}

[DANNA]

i feel weak
THROWN IN WIDE OPEN SPACES

WE TURN OURSELVES INSIDE OUT
expose what we're afraid to see

It was rare for Danna to be nervous, but standing at the entrance of Central Park, she bit her lip anxiously, waiting for Jesse to show up. Things were almost perfect. She had solved most of her problems with the conclusion that she would need Jesse for her plan to work, or he would at least be of some help. Ever since returning to Mount Olympus from Persephone’s Gardens, from that night when their feelings all came out into the open, there had been a lot of questioning things, convincing herself she had only decided that out of foolish dreaming, telling herself over and over again that this was a bad idea and that she was only letting herself get hurt again, but no matter what pessimistic second guessing that went on in her mind, she never changed her mind. Her self loathing only seemed to grow each passing day, but by now she wasn’t sure if it was possible to let him go. Just thinking about it hurt…Trying to push him away was the hardest thing she had ever done, and it hadn’t even been very successful.

So with her new budding relationship with Jesse well on its way, she figured it was high time she let him in on the truth. She hadn’t told any of her new friends or anyone else she was recruiting for her mission, but Jesse…She wanted to tell him. Danna had already told him far more than she had ever meant to tell anyone. She had confided in him her views on many things and even her most secretive history. She trusted him, and had from the very beginning, and she had no idea why. Sure, she had come up with all the reasons in her head for it, but it still stunned her and still didn’t make sense, no matter how valid the reasons. Lifting a hand, she swept a hand through her blond curls, pushing them out of her face as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. Danna wanted to do this, wanted to tell him this, but she couldn’t get those thoughts out of her head, the ones telling her that this was a bad idea and that she was stupid to trust anyone, for any reason.

It was never too late to walk away, leave Jesse with some excuses before returning to Mount Olympus. She stayed where she stood, though, fiddling with the necklace she wore. The action only went on a moment, though, for when she realized how nervous she was acting she dropped the pendant and cleared her throat, standing straight and forcing herself to appear nonchalant. She had embarrassed herself enough lately without all of this. There had been a lot to damage her pride lately and she was going to do her best to hold onto it. Taking in a deep breath she slowly let it out, forcing herself to calm down a little more. It was dangerous to talk about something like this, to even dream of something like this, but she had and if there was anyone she could trust, it would be Jesse. Even with the constant uncertainty of her thoughts, she tried to force herself to think positively and convince herself this was going to go well. She licked her lips, smirking and straightening up when she saw Jesse walking up. “It’s about time you showed up,” she teased.

AND I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING

JESSE IS TAGGED
THIS IS WHAT I'M WEARING
IDK HOW MANY WORDS
CHIODOS'S "IF I CUT MY HAIR, HAWAII WILL SINK" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[JESSE]

TAKE MY HAND AND WE'LL END IT ALL

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jesse felt like he had just been here.

Well, not here, exactly, as in Central Park "here." But he had been to Earth not even three months ago, and now here he was again. It was strange in that he had been doing a lot of running back and forth lately, but Jesse didn't mind much. The last trip he had taken to Earth had been the best of his life. He had come with Danna to torture poor, unsuspecting mortals for weeks on end, and in doing so had learned more than he would have expected. Not only did he realize what Danna wanted him to, which was that doing things physically was sometimes much more preferable than using one's power, but he realized something else, as well - Jesse realized that he loved her.

From the first time he had set eyes on Danna, Jesse had known she was different. It was like they had started talking and been inseparable ever since - they just fit together so well. Jesse had never found someone who was so easy to talk to, at least for him. He had told her all sorts of things that he had never told another soul, and he was just so comfortable around her. Being around Danna felt like taking a deep breath at the end of a long day. It just felt right.

He supposed it would have only been a matter of time until that connection he had felt from the very beginning grew to overpowering strengths. Jesse had certainly never intended to fall in love again, after all it had put him through. But Danna just felt different, and it didn't matter what he told himself. Nothing he could think of made him want to let her go.

Jesse had been both surprised and relieved to learn that Danna shared his unexpected feelings. She wanted to remain independent for her own reasons, and the conversation had been all over the place - from them yelling at each other to finally admitting their love for one another in Persephone's Garden. There had come a point when Jesse truly thought that he would lose her, and the fear and dread that thought filled him with clued him in to how much he really cared for her. Even if he hadn't thought he could be with Danna, it became very clear that he sure as hell couldn't be without her. And really, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to be with her. Jesse only hoped that it would work out, and that she would be able to stay with him and still remain independent, and in charge of her own goals.

Jesse had a feeling that that was the reason why they were back on Earth. He had asked more than a few questions of her that had earned answers like "later" and "not here." And when Danna asked him to return to Earth with her, there was something in her eyes that was different. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but it had made him look twice. This wouldn't be some impromptu trip to Earth like the last one had been (at least, it had been impromptu for Jesse). This was serious... secretive, almost. It piqued Jesse's curiosity to no end.

He was supposed to meet her here in Central Park, right at the entrance. Jesse supposed it was a good enough place for secrets. The park was not only big, but it was shady, in a way. Grown men went into the park and were never heard from again. Of course, being gods, Jesse and Danna had nothing to worry about. But it would certainly be difficult for anyone to listen in on their conversation... and if they were overheard, the eavesdroppers would be easily dealt with.

The traffic was terrific on this day, as in "numerous" rather than "cooperative." Jesse stared out the window of his taxi, tapping his chin in irritation while the car inched forward. He glared at the back of the driver's head, wishing the man would just floor it and run them all over, but of course that was impossible. Jesse was seriously considering just telling the man he could walk from here, but thankfully the cars began to flow again, and the park was only a few more blocks away.

Jesse hopped out once they arrived, paid the driver, and looked around for Danna. She was relatively easy to spot, in her bright white pants and shiny red boots, and Jesse felt a smile come onto his face when he saw her. He wove his way easily through the crowd to her side, placing his hand on her waist and leaning down to give her a quick kiss. Even that simple contact ignited the ever-present sparks that flew between them, and pulling away was a conscious effort, one that always seemed accomplished much later than Jesse planned beforehand.

"I know," he replied with a roll of his eyes as he thought back to the less-than-agreeable taxi drive. That minor inconvenience was long gone now, though, and Jesse felt Danna's presence somehow drain the irritation away. He was just happy to see her again; nothing that had happened earlier mattered anymore.

"Shall we?" he asked her, gesturing to the entrance of the park with his eyes. He took her hand - reasonable, seeing as how packed the throngs of people were near the entrance to Central Park in the middle of the afternoon, and just so happened to not let go. He glanced at her while they walked, choosing a random path through the park, letting a comfortable silence fall between them as they moved deeper into the park and the crowd thinned out quite substantially.

"Was there anything specific that you wanted to talk to me about?" Jesse asked her, glancing over at her expression while he did so. He knew there was something on her mind, and wasn't sure how long he could keep his almost unbearable interest at bay.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

DANNA IS TAGGED
HERE IS WHAT I'M WEARING
1,010 WORDS
SERJ TANKAN'S "LIE LIE LIE" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[DANNA]

i feel weak
THROWN IN WIDE OPEN SPACES

WE TURN OURSELVES INSIDE OUT
expose what we're afraid to see

Jesse took her hand. Danna hid a smile at the feel of his larger hand capturing her own, and acted as if it were perfectly normal and she didn’t think twice about it. In all reality the gesture started up yet another internal argument with herself over Jesse, about her pride and weakness and other such matters. Her chest suffered a very warm, pleasant feeling and her heart even skipped a beat. How pathetic, she told herself, and refrained from shaking her head as she wished and doing anything in response to her own thoughts or what he had done. It wasn’t even that important. They were a couple…Weren’t they? Honestly that part was a bit unclear, as they had never said anything along the lines of “Hey, we’re together now”, but it seemed like an assumed thing. At any rate, they had feelings for each other, and couples and people who liked each other held hands all the time. Danna easily spotted in the crowd of people, as Jesse led them through, several people holding hands. It wasn’t anything to be embarrassed about…It was normal.

Their walk was relatively calm and silent, a nice and peaceful silence, though Danna hardly noticed. She went back and forth from paying attention to Jesse and to their nice little walk to the unceasing arguments in her head. She was going to need a therapist soon, she swore, if this kept up. She had never had so many contradicting sides inside of her before, and it was driving her crazy. Danna would never be able to rest easy at this rate, because there were so many things at conflict. Her pride versus her love for Jesse, her need for power versus her need for Jesse, her own self interest versus Jesse…A lot of things involving basically herself versus Jesse. The parts of her wanting and needing to be with him, of course, argued that she could have everything, that she had worked out a plan and that Jesse could be trusted and so many other things, but her pride (the main source of all of this) kept up with its own opinion that she was better off alone and that he was going to ruin anything.

Luckily Jesse pulled her out of focus of that battle and she glanced at him confused for a moment before clearing her head and laughing. “Oh yeah…” she said, clearing her throat and licking her lips. It was show time…Whatever anything inside of her had to say was going to have to wait. She took a deep breath and laughed again nervously. She very well couldn’t be getting cold feet now. “Where to start? Umm…Well, I, uh…I claimed my children a few days ago…Came down to Earth and everything to do it. Met them in person and told them…” It was a personal meeting instead of the normal way gods claimed their children, merely having their symbol appear glowing above the child’s head for all to see, but Danna had made a personal visit, almost unheard of for the gods. “And I figured you’d figure that out soon enough. But…I had a reason for doing it. I have to play ‘good mommy’ now,” she said, laughing bitterly. That was the easy part, but getting to the reasoning behind it all was a bit trickier. It was the most dangerous thing she could do, revealing the truth to him.

“Because I need them. I need to gain their trust, their loyalty, their love. And I need to use them to get as many of the other demigods into the same state as possible. Along with them, I’ve been working on…Befriending…Other gods and goddesses in my spare time. I need their absolute faith in me…I need, basically, an army that doesn’t know that that’s what they are. People who will back me up, one hundred percent, when I need them. People who will fight this battle when the time comes. I need as many people as I can manage, and hopefully that’s everyone…Every one of the ‘minor’ gods, every one of the demigods…Anyone I can manage. Because…Well…” She swallowed hard, feeling so dumb saying this. He was just going to laugh at her…Anyone she told was just going to laugh at her because of how impossible a quest it was. “I…Well remember about how arrogant and just…Well you know…They were?” she said, referring to the main Twelve Olympian gods and hoping she wouldn’t have to say it by name. Normally you only got their attention by saying their name, and certainly no one would be paying attention to someone as young and ‘silly’ as Danica. But just in case…One could never be too careful… “And…They don’t deserve…What they have so…And I want power so I was just…Well if I get enough people, they’d be horribly outnumbered, and no matter how great and powerful they think they are, they’d be screwed, right?” she said all in one breath. She had never been so nervous or terrified in her life. She was normally so much easier and smoother than this, delivering everything she said brilliantly. But this was different. This was so much bigger than anything.

Danna was afraid of looking at him, but she forced herself to, watching his expression for every little change and just waiting for him to talk.

AND I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING

JESSE IS TAGGED
THIS IS WHAT I'M WEARING
IDK HOW MANY WORDS
CHIODOS'S "IF I CUT MY HAIR, HAWAII WILL SINK" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[JESSE]

TAKE MY HAND AND WE'LL END IT ALL

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jesse was slightly confused about the way this conversation had begun. Danna had claimed her children, and had even made a special trip to Earth to do it. Jesse couldn't understand her reasoning behind that - when he had first heard of Danna's children, she had sounded like she hated them. He remembered her saying that she had only had them because she was forced to, and that she had deserted them as soon as she possibly could. She certainly didn't seem all that "mother-y." Jesse hadn't expected her to have any kids at all, claimed or not. And now here she was telling him that she had revealed herself to them, as not only a goddess but a mother? Was that what this whole thing was about, family?

These questions and more swam through Jesse's mind, but he picked them out and set them aside for later, remaining silent as he continued to listen to her. Danna told him everything, how she was building an army of not only her family, but anyone she could befriend, anyone she could get on her side. It was a smart move, Jesse was sure, but he still wasn't clear on what it was she was planning - why she would need all of these people.

He couldn't have imagined the answer to that question if he had had a millennium to think about it.

Jesse and Danna had spoken before about how arrogant the gods were, how they took their status for granted and saw themselves as infallible no matter how many times they were nearly defeated. What Jesse apparently hadn't realized, however, was just how strongly Danna felt about this. She was building her army to outnumber them... to take them down, and to show them how their positions could be taken from them. Danna wanted to rule Mount Olympus.

It was never an easy task to surprise Jesse. He was commonly a mainly reaction-less man. He tended to take situations at face value, no matter how bizarre, and forming a plan of action without wasting time asking himself how such a thing could be. This, however, was beyond anything he could have expected to come out of Danna's mouth. Sure, Jesse had thought the gods were arrogant, and perhaps he had even thought that they needed to be taught a lesson. But, like the way he had never considered torturing mortals physically just because he could, he had never considered a change this big, that would knock the gods themselves on their heels. He had never seen their arrogance as a weakness, but now, that was so clearly what it was.

But they were still the gods, weren't they? They weren't in power simply because no one had ever thought to try and take it from them. There had been the Titans, who had risen up twice to take back Mount Olympus, and who had ruled for centuries before the gods were even born. And the gods had pushed them back twice, but both times had been a close shave. Still, Jesse just wasn't sure it could be done.

Ten minutes ago, you believed she could do anything she ever set her mind to, a voice in Jesse's head argued. It was a good point. He had been totally convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that whatever Danna set herself to she would accomplish. He saw a fire in her, a potential to succeed and the drive to do it. Nothing had changed in that aspect, had it? Nothing had happened to cause him to think differently. He still saw that fire, that passion, that determination in Danna. She was only one hundred and ten years old, but she was already so ambitious, so strong, and so smart. She was taking everything Jesse knew and turning it upside down. Danna was different from everyone else. Danna had a fighting chance.

Jesse turned to look at her, letting out a deep breath as he thought through the details of her plan. "I suppose they would," he finally decided, running a hand through his hair. He kept his voice down, as she had done, though not out of concern for anyone in the park anymore. "Twelve can't be hard to outnumber. And the Titans... the Titans almost took them down twice. If I remember correctly, the demigods had to be called on to help," Jesse recalled, laughing bitterly. He slowed to a stop and turned to look at her, his serious, dark eyes meeting her brilliant green ones.

"They're powerful, Danna. It won't be easy - won't be anything even remotely close to easy, though I'm sure you know that. But... yeah, I guess it's possible. It really is." His gaze softened, and he smiled fondly at her, squeezing her hand gently.

"If anyone could do it, it's you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

DANNA IS TAGGED
HERE IS WHAT I'M WEARING
808 WORDS
SERJ TANKAN'S "LIE LIE LIE" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[DANNA]

i feel weak
THROWN IN WIDE OPEN SPACES

WE TURN OURSELVES INSIDE OUT
expose what we're afraid to see

There was a moment of silence following her explanation, and it was one Danna had expected, but did not enjoy. It was the longest moment of her life. Her heart was pounding hard in her chest and she swallowed, focusing on the path before them, keeping her exterior calm and focused while inside she was doing everything she could to actually be that way. Her stomach was in knots, tight and painful knots. She was nervous and scared, yes, but she was determined to not let that show. Perhaps she had stumbled uncertainly through the whole thing, and she was mentally screaming at herself for handling it in such a manner, which only further encouraged a stable façade, the image of someone in control and at ease, despite the fact he had just seen the very opposite from her. It was to be expected, given the circumstances, but she wasn’t ready to forgive herself yet. It seemed there was another area she needed more practice in, an area she was so certain she had already mastered, so confident in herself.

Jesse finally spoke, running a hand through his hair, and her eyes shot towards him immediately, his first line still leaving her hanging, still leaving uncertainty about what his thoughts towards the matter were. She swallowed and kept her eyes on him as he continued on. Finally she was able to relax, the first time all day, and it was hard to hide the relief that swept through her. That didn’t stop her from trying. Danna nodded and fought a smile as he recounted all of the things she had taken into consideration. Maybe they were still in power, maybe they had had to fight for it, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be knocked off of their thrones. She was sure no one thought anyone could beat the Titans, but they had. The same could certainly be done to them, especially with their own against them. She’d work on the weakest, first, those of weaker loyalty and those of lower self worth, those easy to turn and manipulate against the likes of Zeus. Harder would be those such as her siblings, with Eros’s dedication to their mother, and the respect Deimos and Adestria held for their father. Many would be difficult to sway, but it could be done. And once it was done, no matter how “great” they thought they were, they couldn’t beat out the sheer numbers of all of their subjects against them.

He slowly came to a stop, their connected hands leading her to slow down with him, turning to face him as he did her. She glanced up searchingly into his dark eyes, needing some sort of certainty, some sort of confirmation. What if he was lying, with every intention of going to his father with her plans? What if he was just screwing around with her? What if he liked her plan, and wanted to try to outdo her? There was so much to consider, to not trust. She had spent her whole life with her little rules of never trusting anyone, not for any reason. But looking up into those dark eyes she had met several times, it was hard not to trust him, hard not to feel comfortable and safe with him. Meeting his gaze she became very much aware of that powerful connection, a connection that easily shut up her angered mind and reassured her that that was a strong bond, and a bond that worked both ways. Danna knew…Knew without a shadow of a doubt, knew in her heart, that she could trust him. Jesse began speaking again and she was all ears, a smile slowly forming and growing with every word. His last statement touched her, a warm and pleasant feeling of pride flowing through her body as she fought that bright grin and rolled her eyes. “You’re so mushy,” she accused teasingly, shoving his shoulder gently and squeezing his hand in turn.

Shaking her head, she pushed herself up onto her toes and pressed her lips deeply against his, allowing for a slow, drawn out kiss. A kiss that made her head spin and her bones to melt, but she pulled away with a shaky laugh and fell back onto her heels, turning back towards the path and gently tugged on his hand to continue their walk. “Yes, I know it’s going to be hard,” she said, agreeing with what he had said moments ago. “I knew that when I first started…I was only fifteen. I spent years just coming up with some sort of idea…Going through several ideas before landing on this one. I threw myself into training with my father. I know that training with the best is the only way to become the best. He always kicked my ass…Hard. But I could tell I was getting better. And no matter how much pain I was in…No matter how much damage he did, I got back up every time and I fought until it was physically impossible to fight anymore. Because I need to be strong…I need to be physically powerful to do this. They need someone they can trust,” she said, referring to her recruits. “They need to not only trust me, but trust that I know what I’m doing and that I can do it. They need to know that I’m the one who belongs in power and they need to not think that I’m not strong enough for the job. I spent my whole life, basically, training with him…Day after day…All day, for the first several decades. I’d work on ideas on the side…Ways of getting people and how to keep them and calculating when to act and who to go to first and…So many things. I was so overly cautious, but I figured that’s better than just jumping into things. Only recently…And I mean in the past couple of months…Have I started on things. Talking to new people and being their “friend” and now…Coming out to Christian and Azrael,” she explained with a shrug.

“Speaking of which, I’m meeting them later,” she said, scrunching up her nose unpleasantly. This was the part of her trip to Earth she was dreading. Danna wanted nothing to do with those brats. “I bought a house in Manhattan…Perfect for torturing mortals,” she said with a smile. “And a perfect place to spend time with my spawn,” she said bitterly. “You can come if you want…They want to meet you,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But if you want to run off screaming back to the Underworld, I’d understand,” she laughed. “What I wouldn’t give to do the same…But alas, I must be a good mommy to get this going. Luckily being a god gives me a good excuse to not see them often,” she said with a pleased smile. Hopefully this meeting would be the last for a year, or at least for several months.

AND I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING

JESSE IS TAGGED
THIS IS WHAT I'M WEARING
IDK HOW MANY WORDS
CHIODOS'S "IF I CUT MY HAIR, HAWAII WILL SINK" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[JESSE]

TAKE MY HAND AND WE'LL END IT ALL

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jesse rolled his eyes and grinned as Danna pushed his shoulder, returning his gaze to the path they were following for a moment while he laughed.

"I'd rather think I was just being observant, but whatever," he teased back, still grinning. He turned back to her, and in the blink of an eye her lips were on his. The sheer unexpectedness of the action, as well as the deepness of the kiss, caused Jesse's heart to jump into a backflip as he kissed her back just as deeply, slowly, and passionately. He was about to sigh into her mouth and pull her closer before Danna rocked back on her heels. Jesse followed her down a short way, keeping their lips pressed together, but then the kiss broke and there was nothing left of the doubts that had been plaguing Jesse's mind recently.

She laughed shakily as they parted, her voice sounding exactly like Jesse felt - quivering, melted, delightfully overwhelmed by the connection that existed between them, and the bond that they shared. Danna tugged gently at his hand, and Jesse let her lead him back into a slow rhythm, walking comfortably side-by-side. She agreed with him that it would be hard, but of course she had a plan. Jesse listened in wonder as she told him that she had first started considering something like this at only fifteen. That was young for a mortal, but for a goddess it was practically infantile. Hell, they were still considered kids, even now, and Jesse was over three hundred years old!

She talked about how hard she had trained, every day, keeping her dreams and goals at the forefront of her mind and not letting Ares' beatdowns stop her. The more she talked, the more Jesse began to understand everything that this plan entailed, as well as how deeply Danna herself understood what she had to do. She had it all figured out, from winning over her recruits, to keeping their loyalty and determination, and making sure there would be no chance for an uprising. There were a million things to think about, but Danna had been thinking about them for ninety-five years. That was a long time to mull something over, and to come up with loopholes. Jesse was sure more than ever that Danna knew exactly what she was doing.

She clarified that she had only just begun actually "befriending" other deities, and otherwise putting her plan into action. That would explain the children, then, and why she had chosen now to reveal herself to them as their mother. She needed everyone she could get, including them, no matter how much she resented them.

Jesse couldn't help but grin as Danna mentioned that she had to see her children today. The way she wrinkled her nose was endearing, and Jesse outright laughed when she told him that they actually wanted to meet him, as well.

"So you told your kids about me? Who's mushy now?" he teased her comfortably, sidestepping to gently knock his weight against hers. She had a point, at least she didn't have to see them often. And when she did, Jesse now understood that it was all for a very good cause. He chuckled and shook his head when she suggested heading for the hills, or in Jesse's case, the Underworld. It was a tempting thought, to be sure, but not one he would really bring into action.

"Now what kind of man would I be if I left you all alone with your irritating offspring while I hightailed it back home?" he teased her, grinning before sighing dramatically. "Nah, I'll come with you. If your little litter wants to meet me, then I'll do them the honor. Besides," he continued, more serious now, "it might help your cause. I mean if I were some half-blood half-brain and Mommy's Boyfriend wanted to meet me, I'd probably think she really had an interest to me. Who knows, maybe me going with you will do even more to cultivate all that love and loyalty you're trying to bring out of them," he said, glancing at her with a grin. He felt... proud of her, somehow, although he himself hadn't done a thing to get her to where she was. He supposed he was proud for her, instead. She dreamed big, and she planned big, and Jesse was going to do everything he could to get her all she ever wanted.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

DANNA IS TAGGED
HERE IS WHAT I'M WEARING
742 WORDS
SERJ TANKAN'S "LIE LIE LIE" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[DANNA]

i feel weak
THROWN IN WIDE OPEN SPACES

WE TURN OURSELVES INSIDE OUT
expose what we're afraid to see

Danna smiled, rolled her eyes, and shook her head as Jesse returned her accusation of being “mushy.” “Oh get over yourself,” she teased back, shoving him away gently. “They’re both orphans. Both of their dads are dead, they’re both in foster homes, and they just found out they had a mother. I’ve been badgered with questions and the subject of my love life just so happened to have come up so, yes, I told them the…Well partial truth. I didn’t gush about you or anything, don’t worry,” she said with a smirk. She wasn’t one to go bragging about the fact that she had feelings for anyone, and honestly did her best to hide the fact whenever possible. It had been almost tempting to lie to the little rug rats, but she figured being in a relationship might put her in an even better light, of sorts. The nicer they could think of her the better, though she wasn’t sure how long she could keep up with the nice mommy act. As long as she wasn’t harsh towards them she should be okay, she figured. Already, though, playing the “good mommy dear” was getting dull and aggravating.

Speaking of children, she had a little “date” with her children today at her new home in Manhattan. Danna was not looking forward to it in the slightest, as she wasn’t too interested in the little brats. Still, it was good to spend some time with them to get her little ball rolling, gathering the clueless troops. Both had seemed interested in meeting Jesse, and she wasn’t sure if he would go or not, but she wanted him there. He would keep her somewhat sane through the whole ordeal and perhaps once Thing 1 and Thing 2 were gone they could have a little bit of real fun. It would be too easy to find victims in Manhattan and she wanted to test out her new home in its abilities to aid in torture. Then following that could be a steamy round of mind-blowing sex before heading back to their respective homes. That was how she imagined it going and how she hoped it would be, and luckily Jesse agreed to go. She smirked, pleased, at his agreement and laughed, nodding in agreement at his words.

“Very true,” she said happily, feeling ecstatic about the rest of the day now instead of dreading it. “And I’m sure once we get rid of them we could enjoy a bit of grown up fun before going home…Make a little use of our time here,” she said with a wink. “I have training first thing in the morning so I can’t stay overnight or anything. Daddy actually has time to work with me himself in the morning so I have to make use of him before he has to run off again. He’s got some secret mission or something going on lately so I’ve been stuck with my siblings for the past week,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Hopefully he gets done soon, I hate training with anyone else,” she complained, shaking her head. It wasn’t much…A simple sharing of things going on in her life, but she couldn’t help but frown slightly when she realized what she was doing. It was so strange…And so very new to her. It was nice, though…Maybe she had trust issues, but she should have tried this whole friend/boyfriend thing before. It was odd, but with Jesse here it was easy to realize just how lonely life had been.

AND I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING

JESSE IS TAGGED
THIS IS WHAT I'M WEARING
IDK HOW MANY WORDS
CHIODOS'S "IF I CUT MY HAIR, HAWAII WILL SINK" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[JESSE]

TAKE MY HAND AND WE'LL END IT ALL

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jesse laughed as Danna pushed him away, stumbling a ways out onto the path before coming back to her side. Of course her children had been curious; like she said, she didn't go around gushing about him. Neither did he, in fact, though deep down he didn't mind the idea. That was a bit of a scary thought, and he pushed it away in favor of the light mood and just being here with Danna. It was only the beginning of everything, but already Jesse felt overwhelmed sometimes by how strongly he felt for her, and his worries about whether it was too soon to be feeling and thinking such things. Internal arguments of this type were nearly perpetual, settling a bit only when Jesse was with Danna. Because when Jesse was with Danna, it seemed like everything else just fell into place.

Danna's promise of "a little grown-up fun" after the children left made Jesse grin, her smirk and wink conveying exactly what it was she was thinking about - torture and sex. They seemed to be two of Danna's favorite things, and they were two of Jesse's, as well. It was just another area where he was floored by how well they fit together. Unfortunately, there would be no overnights, as Danna informed him that she had to train with her father early the next morning. Jesse grinned and nodded, earnestly pushing away all disappointment and anything else negative that those words evoked in him. Of course she needed to train, Jesse would never keep her from that. He would miss her, yes, and again he felt that terrible, vulnerable feeling. He'd be fine for a few days without her, if that was what needed to happen. He disliked it, of course, and that alone made him even more determined to be just fine with it.

"He is the best of the best," Jesse said instead as they continued to walk. "You know, I still have to see that," he reminded Danna, referring to her training with her father. Now that he knew what she needed from him - a strong, loyal addition to her army - he would be doing some physical training of his own, in secret. Of course, nothing could compare to training with Ares, and maybe even just watching would help him pick out a few specific things he could work on. "It's not hard for me to get up to Mount Olympus, especially if it's during the months when my mother is there. But I used to go all the time when I was young, so it wouldn't be the most surprising thing in the world for them to see me there again," he said with a shrug, as if talking about their personal lives was the most natural thing in the world.

With Danna, it was.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

DANNA IS TAGGED
HERE IS WHAT I'M WEARING
474 WORDS
SERJ TANKAN'S "LIE LIE LIE" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[DANNA]

i feel weak
THROWN IN WIDE OPEN SPACES

WE TURN OURSELVES INSIDE OUT
expose what we're afraid to see

Danna laughed when he mentioned going to see her train and she immediately shook her head, even as he explained how easy it would apparently be for him to get up there. Even for gods, not all of them had such easy access to both areas. Hermes was the god of travel, so he was always good, and Persephone had it rather easily when she was actually needed. But even for the Big Three, Hades was only allowed in Mount Olympus during the winter solstice. Danna herself was one of very few with such easy travel between worlds because of how useful she was in all of them. “You’re not exactly a baby anymore,” she teased and shook her head once more. “And really, you shouldn’t. I don’t mind him kicking my ass, but I do mind having an audience while he does it,” she said, voice half teasing though she was entirely serious. People knew that those fights never ended well for her, but it was another thing entirely for them to witness that and Danna did not need that sort of stress or distraction while training.

Especially Jesse, though. What he saw and what he thought were certainly more important than just any ole person. He thought so highly of her now and she didn’t think she could handle him seeing her like that. Her pride wouldn’t be able to withstand it, she was certain. “You wanna watch him beat one of my brothers into the ground or fight one of my more talented siblings, fine, but you better not be anywhere near there when I’m training,” she said, keeping her voice light and joking while keeping a somewhat serious edge to it, warning that she meant what she was saying. “Of course, if you wanna watch me beat up some poor wimp, I don’t mind that so much,” she teased with a wink, liking that idea much better. She’d “pretty please” Eros or Anteros until they caved and agreed to fight. They’d probably assume it was a fair shot, but Danna knew well enough she could kick their ass. They were more than twice her age, but fighting was her thing while they took after their less violent mother.

“Hmmm…It wouldn’t be too bad of an idea to work more with Dei--Some of the others while Daddy’s away. Work on my siblings a bit and see if I can get anywhere with them. I’ll save the more difficult for later, especially Mummy’s favorites,” she said, rolling her eyes and thinking about Eros in particular. It would take a lot to break his loyalty from their mother, but Danna was sure over time it wouldn’t be so hard…After all, Eros’s feelings towards Aphrodite had changed a bit since the whole incident with Psyche, at least she had heard. And if one thing could weaken their bond, then Danna knew it was possible and it was something she could do. “I don’t imagine anyone will be too hard…Even if they don’t trust me, turning them against the others shouldn’t be so bad, with all of the conflict and dysfunction in our ‘big happy family’,” she laughed

AND I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING

JESSE IS TAGGED
THIS IS WHAT I'M WEARING
IDK HOW MANY WORDS
CHIODOS'S "IF I CUT MY HAIR, HAWAII WILL SINK" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES

[JESSE]

TAKE MY HAND AND WE'LL END IT ALL

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jesse did his best to hide a smile when Danna tried to talk him out of coming up to Mount Olympus to watch her train. She was joking, but she was serious at the same time, and really, Jesse couldn't blame her. She was exceptional at what she did, Jesse was sure, but Ares was... well, Ares. The god of war. He was a tough man to beat, and Jesse could understand Danna not wanting to have people watching while she got her ass handed to her - if that was even what would happen.

"All right, all right," he conceded, glancing at her. "But you talk like getting beaten into the ground is a sure thing. You beat him once, right?" Jesse reminded her. Maybe it had been a one-time deal, but he doubted it quite a lot. That had been years ago, years of Danna training at every chance she could get. She would have gotten better, and she'd continue to get better, just like anyone else who applied themselves to a skill in such a way. If she'd done it once, her chances of doing it again were only increasing with each passing day.

Jesse laughed when she suggested watching her beat up an innocent hopeful instead. It wouldn't be the fight that Jesse had set himself on seeing, but with Danna's plan in motion, the day he would see her face off against her father might very well be approaching. Until then, Jesse would settle for whatever he could. He needed to learn too, after all, if he was going to support her in this.

"Sounds like a plan," he told her, grinning, as the path they were on led them to a bridge over the water. The place was relatively deserted, at least for Central Park, and Jesse breathed in the air deeply. It was nice here, just walking and talking and enjoying the day. He listened while Danna planned to gather a few more recruits while her father wasn't looking, working a bit on the easiest of her siblings to convert to her cause. He chuckled and nodded when she mentioned that it shouldn't be too hard, as the gods almost always had problems with each other. It was true - that was what happened when everybody was in everyone else's business like they were. Jesse was a bit more isolated from it, living in the Underworld, but rumors still spread like wildfire. Even Hades seemed to be getting more anxious about Camp Half-Blood again.

"Can't be too hard," Jesse agreed thoughtfully, thinking through the powers he had in the Underworld. There were billions of monsters down there, waiting to be released by Hades, and tasting freedom only in that time. Jesse wasn't sure how well you could reason with a hellhound, but freedom was a universal privilege, and one that everyone wanted. There was a whole harvest of souls in the Fields of Punishment, the worst of the worst being tortured day in, and day out. If Hades fell, and the Underworld went to Jesse, he would have the power to free whomever he wanted, right?

Jesse shook his head, uncertain about too many things to answer that question. He would do what he could, and in the meantime lay low at home. He glanced back to Danna, their hands still clasped at their sides. He was reluctant to ask, feeling a bit stupid, but the words found their way out of his mouth anyway.

"What about the Underworld?" he inquired, his voice sounding too uncertain for his liking. Jesse cleared his throat and elaborated. "I mean, sure, he's the ruler over all the souls, all the monsters. But they all have minds of their own, right? What about them?" Jesse asked curiously. If souls and monsters could be soldiers, Jesse might be able to do more than he originally thought.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

DANNA IS TAGGED
HERE IS WHAT I'M WEARING
648 WORDS
SERJ TANKAN'S "LIE LIE LIE" LYRICS
DANNA GETS THE CREDIT FOR THIS, BITCHES