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[not_heavens_adam]

Who: Johnny Rayflo and Yosuke Otoha
Where: Otoha's apartment
Summary: Caring about people is hard, especially when they're stupid
Warnings: Marital spats without the marriage

[Johnny currenty had himself perched on Otoha's couch with nothing but his jeans on and the things he'd recently received laid out on the coffee table. The price for them seemed to be having the worst luck with birds imaginable (which was why his hair was still damp and he was barely dressed, a shower had definitely been called for), but it was worth it, considering.

The fortune itself was there, along side a small, black, masquerade mask and the quartz scarab Jacob had given him back in Vatheon was laying in it's new metal frame that allowed it to be turned into a necklace. He didn't know how or why these things were here, but, for now, he was left staring at them with his knees drawn up to his chest.]

Comments

[bakegarasu]

I dunno.

[Maybe he should sleep. ... Welp.]

This is gonna sound stupid as hell, but. Tell me a story.

[not_heavens_adam]

[He glanced at his friend's face almost to make sure he wasn't trying to mess with Johnny or something, but that didn't seem to be the case.

Okay then...]

Hmmm...There once was a man who ruled more countries than can be listed, but mostly presided over Athens. One day when he was returning home, a new wife and her sister in tow, he was approached by four grieving women. When he asked them what was the matter, they told him their husbands had gone to fight in the siege on Thebes and had fallen, but instead of honoring the men with burial or burning, the king of Thebes let them rot.

The king of Athens was angered by this news and decided to attack and conquer Thebes, which he did easily; he brought the men's bones home and the women were able to have proper burials for them.

While the king was out, he came upon two soldiers of Thebes who were badly injured and dying. Instead of killing them, he healed them and then threw them into an Athenian tower prison where they were to stay for years. These two men were brothers in arms and couldn't be closer, but friction came between them when they both fell in love with the Athenian queen's sister whom they could see out their window.

Now, not too long after this, a man who was friends with both the king and one of these men, came and petitioned for the man's release, which the king granted with the stipulation that the former prisoner never return to Athens on pain of death. For years, Prisoner A lived in the tower fearing prisoner B would return and steal the woman they loved away, while B was jealous that, while still captured, A could still see the fair maiden through his window while he could not.

[Yes this is a love story, Otoha, your fault for not specifying what kind of story you wanted.]

Seven years pass and, looking quite different than before, B returns to Athens to seek the woman of his heart. Meanwhile, A was finally released from the tower and the two meet in a woods, angry that the other could be after their desired prize. The two decide on a dual and begin ripping each other apart. The king of Thebes comes upon them and listens to the men's plight and nearly follows their wish that he kill them there and end their suffering, but the women of his court-including the woman at the root of this conflict-asks that the king spare them.

Once again, he does and says that there will be a tournament held for the fair maiden's hand in marriage fifty weeks from that date.

[He pauses, partly to let Otoha tell him to stop the story if he wants to, and partly just to remember exactly how the section of Chaucer's tales went.

[bakegarasu]

[Otoha listens vaguely. He's not paying much attention to the details, just the general thread. It's partly because he doesn't know where Athens or Thebes are.]

[not_heavens_adam]

[When he didn't hear any protests, he continued, finally remembering the necessary details to finish the story.]

So the king built a stadium and, along with it, three temples for three of their gods: a goddess of love, a god of war, and a goddess of chastity.

The night before the tournament is to start, the maiden visits the temple belonging to the goddess of chastity and tells her she wishes to remain a virgin and unwed for the rest of her life. The goddess tells her that it is her destiny to marry one of these two men and, accepting this, the maiden retires. Soldier A visits the goddess of love and tells her of his love for the maiden and asks for her aid in the battle so that he may win. She gives him a sign that she is on his side and, pleased with this, he also retires. Finally, B visits the god of war's temple and asks that he may have the honor of victory with this god on his side. The god gives him a hopeful sign as well and, confident he will win, goes to bed.

The next day, there is much feasting and celebrating for the bloodshed to come as both men have assembled armies to support them. After much ceremony, the battle begins and it rages on for a while, both forces matched. Eventually, B gets the upper hand on A and wins the battle, though he spares A's life. The maiden and king are overjoyed by this turn of events and begin planning the marriage immediately. However, moments later, the earth shook and a building collapsed on B whose chest was crushed. Medics try to save him, but it's a lost cause and, with his dying breath, he urges the maiden to remember his friend, A if she still chooses to marry.

All of Athens mourns, though none as much as the king, A, and the maiden. Finally, the king moves on and returns focus to his duties, but A and the maiden are unable to do the same. After years of this, the king grows impatient and berates the two on their continued mourning, claiming that death is a natural order of life and to refuse that is foolish. He demands that they cease mourning and that the maiden marry A and move on with their lives. They do as ordered and, over the years, realize the wisdom of the king's words and live to have a long and happy life together.

The end.

[bakegarasu]

[... Yeah okay. That was dumb. Still, he looks a little sleepy.]

Well yeah. Everyone dies. I don't really see the point in crying over it.

[Shut up he knows he's a hypocrite. Reiji was different.]

[not_heavens_adam]

[You are the biggest hypocrite, Otoha, but Johnny doesn't comment because it would be hypocritical to do so.]

Hnnn I see.

[He shifts and leans forward so he can kiss Otoha's forehead.]

Get some sleep.

[bakegarasu]

Mm.

[He turns over a little and presses his face into the couch's back.]

[not_heavens_adam]

[Johnny brushed some of the man's hair back and re-settled on the floor in front of the couch, settling for a nap right there.]