Categories > Cartoons > Class of the Titans > Skin Deep
Out and In
1 reviewNeil and Galen spend some quality time with each other, and the descendent of Narcissus realizes he just might be falling.
0Unrated
Disclaimer: I do not own Class of the Titans. If I did, Chronus would have taken advantage of Archie's wonky heel in some way by now. It's just sitting there, waiting to be poked or kicked or something. The brace doesn't exactly make it subtle, either.
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Out and In
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They started with something to eat, finding a booth in the back of a Japanese restaurant to talk quietly as Neil sipped on a cup of green tea and ate sushi daintily with chopsticks. Galen waved off any offer to share.
"Nonsense," he said. "Enjoy your food while I enjoy your company. I don't need to eat, anyway." Along the way to the restaurant, Neil had given Galen his jacket, which he was fiddling with. "So, when would you like to talk about your short little meeting?"
"Never," Neil mumbled around a California roll. He swallowed thickly and took a long sip of his tea, aware of the set of deep eyes watching him from across the table. "I like being the center of attention," he said slowly, "but I prefer it to be about my winning smile, or my well groomed looks." The blonde rested his head on a hand, twirling his chopsticks between his fingers. "I'd even prefer to be told to stop looking in the mirror and help, than to be blown off all together."
Galen shrugged. "The others probably fail to realize just how valuable you are. Have you ever had the chance to prove that you're more than just a pretty face?" He reached across to still the whirling sticks, holding the hand loosely on the tabletop.
"Oh, sure. But every time something good happens, my luck gets all the credit."
"So? I'd take luck over pretty much anything else. Luck, you don't have to think about or keep in shape so you don't lose it." With deft fingers, Galen plucked a tuna roll from Neil's plate and popped it in his mouth.
"I thought you said you don't eat?" Neil asked, raising and eyebrow, a hint of a smile trying to force its way onto his face.
Galen winked. "I don't have to, but I can here and there if I'm so inclined." He reached into a pocket in his jeans and pulled out some money for the meal. Then, he guided Neil out of the restaurant and out into the street starting to come alive with people looking for dinner or a little early night life. "Chin up, good-looking," he murmured into Neil's ear, "you've got me, now."
--
With a small yawn, Pamela slid yet another statue onto a drying board and placed it next to the other completed pieces. This one depicted Neil as he received the kiss on his hand from Galen, though her life-size work was absent from the sculpture. She had managed five since the blondes had left, one to a meeting and the other to wait for the meeting to be over, and she was having trouble concentrating. Her hands were dry and raw from the clay and she had taken to sneezing from the dust on her work board. Only once before had she worked so hard for so long, and she definitely wasn't used to it.
"Feeling tired are we?" Chronus said behind her, causing her to jump slightly and whirl around to face him. "I'm just here to see how you're fairing. Checking on my order, if you will." He glanced at the most recent statue and smiled. "I take it the duplicate is having some success?"
"Galen's out with him right now. He phoned earlier to let me know." She went to grab a sheet of plastic to cover her work but the Titan stopped her.
He picked the clay figure up off its board, inspecting it with great satisfaction. "I think I'll take this one now, if you don't mind." Chronus patted Pam on the shoulder. "And I trust you will have the rest finished in time?"
"Of course," she said, looking at the floor. "I would do anything to get back what you took from me."
--
Jay was feeling a bit tired. With saving the world, studying for school, and trying to create and remember all the new strategies Hera and Ares were so keen on them to familiarize, he felt he hardly had a spare moment for regular things, like sleep. And now with Neil acting aloof, granted he had a good reason, the leader of the modern heroes could feel a headache coming on. Behind him, adding to the building pressure in his mind, an argument was going on, and had been most of the way back to the dorm.
"Seriously, I don't get what Neil is so upset about," said Archie for the fifth time since the conversation began. "We all tease each other, all the time, but no one else is throwing a tantrum. If it bothered him so much, why didn't he just stand up for himself and say something before blowing up?" He stuffed his hands into the pockets on his sweatshirt. /I did when it came to all the water jokes, and everyone's stopped. More or less/.
Odie shrugged and adjusted the straps on his knapsack. "Maybe he was too busy making sure his hair was okay or something. The guy does spend a lot of his time checking himself out."
"But guys, there is such a thing as enough is enough." Theresa, too, felt tired and was beginning to regret getting herself bogged down defending someone who wasn't around to do it himself. "Jay," she pleaded, "say something."
Their leader ran both hands through his hair and took a deep, calming breath while he collected his thoughts. "Guys," he said finally, "we have been rough on Neil because of who his distant ancestor was. Maybe he should have said something about it sooner, but he didn't and we need to show him that he's our friend and we're sorry now that it's gone this far." Jay looked back over his shoulder as he unlocked the door, looking at his team. "Do you think you can do that?" Everyone nodded.
They dumped their stuff at the door, hanging coats, stashing bags, and tucking away shoes where necessary. Herry, Theresa and Jay headed for the television, hoping a good movie was one while the others split off to take care of other things, even if they were as mundane as homework. It was Theresa who managed to sit on Neil's discarded bag.
She quickly stood up again, frowning at the article as she grabbed it to toss into the model's room. As she moved it, something slipped from the open zipper and landed at her feet. "A flower?" she said. Of all the things to fall out of Neil's bag, she hardly had expected the lily staring up at her. Theresa looked over at Herry and Jay. "Why would he have a flower?"
"Who knows?" Herry said, channel surfing. "Maybe one of those fans of his he mentions from time to time. They could've traded a flower for an autographed picture or a photo op." He stopped on something that looking promising, eyes glazing over just enough to signal that he had tuned out just about everything besides the T.V.
"Well, I'll put it in some water for him." She frowned at the bag. "After I get rid of this, that is." Once she had gotten rid of it, Theresa was quick to snip the end of the lily and slide it into a tall glass half full of water. She wiped off the scissors, tucked them away and turned back to the flower, intending to find a nice spot for it to sit. Unfortunately the flower didn't want to cooperate with her. "Jay?" she called. "Could you come here for a second?"
He poked his head into the kitchen. "What's up?" he asked, and Theresa pointed at the glass. "Was that the flower?" Where a moment before had been a white calla lily, there now sat a wet, grey lump and a glass of murky water.
"When I turned around, it was, I don't know, melting or something," she said as Jay carefully picked up a piece of the lump, running it between his fingers.
He squinted at it and then took a look at the water. "Well, it doesn't seem dangerous or anything. Go get Odie so he can have a look at it. He'll probably be able to tell us more." Theresa nodded and left. Jay took the opportunity to slip into Neil's room and retrieve his school bag, taking a quick look inside for any more lilies.
"What's this I hear about a melting flower?" Archie poked his head into the hall as Jay headed back to the kitchen. "I heard Theresa saying something about it to Odie?"
The leader shrugged, gesturing for the warrior to follow. "Neil had one in his bag, and when Theresa put it in water, it just sort of dissolved." Already his mind was filling with ways this could be linked to Chronus, and the hope that it was just some sort of weird fungus or something. "Nothing's ever as it seems around here, is it?"
"You can say that again," Archie agreed.
--
For a long time, they walked in easy silence. Galen watched the people pass by, occasionally stealing looks at Neil, off in his own thoughts. They had no destination in mind, already having discussed and rejected the idea of a movie or a bar. So, hand in hand, the pair had set out walking, happy enough to just be in each other's company for a while.
Neil, internally, was a turmoil of emotion. He had to admit to himself that since Galen had swept him off for some time away from the dorm and the life of a beautiful modern hero, his mood had greatly improved. The warm, glowing feeling in his chest also wasn't going away, a fact that once made him uneasy but now was sort of comforting, in its own way. But there were still a few things bothering him, so he broke the quiet.
"How long have you been around? Before freaking me out in the school and everything, I mean," he asked.
"Well," Galen considered, "about a week, I think. Pam got a photo of you from a magazine and got permission from your art teacher to do a big sculpture. Me, of course. I read up about you, did a little reconnaissance so I wouldn't look terrible in front of your wonderful self and then finally got to meet you, face to face." He flicked back his hat a little, remembering the day before. "I came on too strong, I think. But really, it's hard not to."
Neil drew himself into one of his haughty poses. "I can imagine." He deflated slightly when he considered his own feelings toward Galen, an image of himself. "Actually, I know."
"Now you're just trying to flatter me." He smiled warmly at Neil, releasing his hand and throwing an arm up around the blonde's shoulders and pulling him a little closer as they walked. "You really are something, Neil."
/I'm blushing again/, the hero thought to himself as his face lit up with a familiar wash of heat. Aphrodite's words suddenly sprang to mind, but strangely not what she had been trying to enforce. Rather, it was what she had suggested that had him quickly pulling out his mirror to hide behind. /I think I really am falling for him/.
"Galen?" he said a few minutes later when he felt he could speak normally. "Why is it you decided to like me?" I have to be sure about this. Neil didn't want his mentor to be proved right, to have everyone proved right when they said his obsession with himself could only lead to bad places. "It wasn't just because Pam told you to, was it?"
Galen stopped completely and took Neil by the shoulders, meeting his eyes with a sudden, unwavering intensity. "Pam didn't tell me to do anything but get to know you, Neil, and I was happy to do it. You are very interesting, very beautiful." He brought one hand up to cup Neil's cheek. "I would have come to you even if the situation was different." The street suddenly seemed very empty.
S/he was wrong/, Neil said to himself as the gap between him and Galen slowly closed. /I knew she was wrong/.
---
Out and In
---
They started with something to eat, finding a booth in the back of a Japanese restaurant to talk quietly as Neil sipped on a cup of green tea and ate sushi daintily with chopsticks. Galen waved off any offer to share.
"Nonsense," he said. "Enjoy your food while I enjoy your company. I don't need to eat, anyway." Along the way to the restaurant, Neil had given Galen his jacket, which he was fiddling with. "So, when would you like to talk about your short little meeting?"
"Never," Neil mumbled around a California roll. He swallowed thickly and took a long sip of his tea, aware of the set of deep eyes watching him from across the table. "I like being the center of attention," he said slowly, "but I prefer it to be about my winning smile, or my well groomed looks." The blonde rested his head on a hand, twirling his chopsticks between his fingers. "I'd even prefer to be told to stop looking in the mirror and help, than to be blown off all together."
Galen shrugged. "The others probably fail to realize just how valuable you are. Have you ever had the chance to prove that you're more than just a pretty face?" He reached across to still the whirling sticks, holding the hand loosely on the tabletop.
"Oh, sure. But every time something good happens, my luck gets all the credit."
"So? I'd take luck over pretty much anything else. Luck, you don't have to think about or keep in shape so you don't lose it." With deft fingers, Galen plucked a tuna roll from Neil's plate and popped it in his mouth.
"I thought you said you don't eat?" Neil asked, raising and eyebrow, a hint of a smile trying to force its way onto his face.
Galen winked. "I don't have to, but I can here and there if I'm so inclined." He reached into a pocket in his jeans and pulled out some money for the meal. Then, he guided Neil out of the restaurant and out into the street starting to come alive with people looking for dinner or a little early night life. "Chin up, good-looking," he murmured into Neil's ear, "you've got me, now."
--
With a small yawn, Pamela slid yet another statue onto a drying board and placed it next to the other completed pieces. This one depicted Neil as he received the kiss on his hand from Galen, though her life-size work was absent from the sculpture. She had managed five since the blondes had left, one to a meeting and the other to wait for the meeting to be over, and she was having trouble concentrating. Her hands were dry and raw from the clay and she had taken to sneezing from the dust on her work board. Only once before had she worked so hard for so long, and she definitely wasn't used to it.
"Feeling tired are we?" Chronus said behind her, causing her to jump slightly and whirl around to face him. "I'm just here to see how you're fairing. Checking on my order, if you will." He glanced at the most recent statue and smiled. "I take it the duplicate is having some success?"
"Galen's out with him right now. He phoned earlier to let me know." She went to grab a sheet of plastic to cover her work but the Titan stopped her.
He picked the clay figure up off its board, inspecting it with great satisfaction. "I think I'll take this one now, if you don't mind." Chronus patted Pam on the shoulder. "And I trust you will have the rest finished in time?"
"Of course," she said, looking at the floor. "I would do anything to get back what you took from me."
--
Jay was feeling a bit tired. With saving the world, studying for school, and trying to create and remember all the new strategies Hera and Ares were so keen on them to familiarize, he felt he hardly had a spare moment for regular things, like sleep. And now with Neil acting aloof, granted he had a good reason, the leader of the modern heroes could feel a headache coming on. Behind him, adding to the building pressure in his mind, an argument was going on, and had been most of the way back to the dorm.
"Seriously, I don't get what Neil is so upset about," said Archie for the fifth time since the conversation began. "We all tease each other, all the time, but no one else is throwing a tantrum. If it bothered him so much, why didn't he just stand up for himself and say something before blowing up?" He stuffed his hands into the pockets on his sweatshirt. /I did when it came to all the water jokes, and everyone's stopped. More or less/.
Odie shrugged and adjusted the straps on his knapsack. "Maybe he was too busy making sure his hair was okay or something. The guy does spend a lot of his time checking himself out."
"But guys, there is such a thing as enough is enough." Theresa, too, felt tired and was beginning to regret getting herself bogged down defending someone who wasn't around to do it himself. "Jay," she pleaded, "say something."
Their leader ran both hands through his hair and took a deep, calming breath while he collected his thoughts. "Guys," he said finally, "we have been rough on Neil because of who his distant ancestor was. Maybe he should have said something about it sooner, but he didn't and we need to show him that he's our friend and we're sorry now that it's gone this far." Jay looked back over his shoulder as he unlocked the door, looking at his team. "Do you think you can do that?" Everyone nodded.
They dumped their stuff at the door, hanging coats, stashing bags, and tucking away shoes where necessary. Herry, Theresa and Jay headed for the television, hoping a good movie was one while the others split off to take care of other things, even if they were as mundane as homework. It was Theresa who managed to sit on Neil's discarded bag.
She quickly stood up again, frowning at the article as she grabbed it to toss into the model's room. As she moved it, something slipped from the open zipper and landed at her feet. "A flower?" she said. Of all the things to fall out of Neil's bag, she hardly had expected the lily staring up at her. Theresa looked over at Herry and Jay. "Why would he have a flower?"
"Who knows?" Herry said, channel surfing. "Maybe one of those fans of his he mentions from time to time. They could've traded a flower for an autographed picture or a photo op." He stopped on something that looking promising, eyes glazing over just enough to signal that he had tuned out just about everything besides the T.V.
"Well, I'll put it in some water for him." She frowned at the bag. "After I get rid of this, that is." Once she had gotten rid of it, Theresa was quick to snip the end of the lily and slide it into a tall glass half full of water. She wiped off the scissors, tucked them away and turned back to the flower, intending to find a nice spot for it to sit. Unfortunately the flower didn't want to cooperate with her. "Jay?" she called. "Could you come here for a second?"
He poked his head into the kitchen. "What's up?" he asked, and Theresa pointed at the glass. "Was that the flower?" Where a moment before had been a white calla lily, there now sat a wet, grey lump and a glass of murky water.
"When I turned around, it was, I don't know, melting or something," she said as Jay carefully picked up a piece of the lump, running it between his fingers.
He squinted at it and then took a look at the water. "Well, it doesn't seem dangerous or anything. Go get Odie so he can have a look at it. He'll probably be able to tell us more." Theresa nodded and left. Jay took the opportunity to slip into Neil's room and retrieve his school bag, taking a quick look inside for any more lilies.
"What's this I hear about a melting flower?" Archie poked his head into the hall as Jay headed back to the kitchen. "I heard Theresa saying something about it to Odie?"
The leader shrugged, gesturing for the warrior to follow. "Neil had one in his bag, and when Theresa put it in water, it just sort of dissolved." Already his mind was filling with ways this could be linked to Chronus, and the hope that it was just some sort of weird fungus or something. "Nothing's ever as it seems around here, is it?"
"You can say that again," Archie agreed.
--
For a long time, they walked in easy silence. Galen watched the people pass by, occasionally stealing looks at Neil, off in his own thoughts. They had no destination in mind, already having discussed and rejected the idea of a movie or a bar. So, hand in hand, the pair had set out walking, happy enough to just be in each other's company for a while.
Neil, internally, was a turmoil of emotion. He had to admit to himself that since Galen had swept him off for some time away from the dorm and the life of a beautiful modern hero, his mood had greatly improved. The warm, glowing feeling in his chest also wasn't going away, a fact that once made him uneasy but now was sort of comforting, in its own way. But there were still a few things bothering him, so he broke the quiet.
"How long have you been around? Before freaking me out in the school and everything, I mean," he asked.
"Well," Galen considered, "about a week, I think. Pam got a photo of you from a magazine and got permission from your art teacher to do a big sculpture. Me, of course. I read up about you, did a little reconnaissance so I wouldn't look terrible in front of your wonderful self and then finally got to meet you, face to face." He flicked back his hat a little, remembering the day before. "I came on too strong, I think. But really, it's hard not to."
Neil drew himself into one of his haughty poses. "I can imagine." He deflated slightly when he considered his own feelings toward Galen, an image of himself. "Actually, I know."
"Now you're just trying to flatter me." He smiled warmly at Neil, releasing his hand and throwing an arm up around the blonde's shoulders and pulling him a little closer as they walked. "You really are something, Neil."
/I'm blushing again/, the hero thought to himself as his face lit up with a familiar wash of heat. Aphrodite's words suddenly sprang to mind, but strangely not what she had been trying to enforce. Rather, it was what she had suggested that had him quickly pulling out his mirror to hide behind. /I think I really am falling for him/.
"Galen?" he said a few minutes later when he felt he could speak normally. "Why is it you decided to like me?" I have to be sure about this. Neil didn't want his mentor to be proved right, to have everyone proved right when they said his obsession with himself could only lead to bad places. "It wasn't just because Pam told you to, was it?"
Galen stopped completely and took Neil by the shoulders, meeting his eyes with a sudden, unwavering intensity. "Pam didn't tell me to do anything but get to know you, Neil, and I was happy to do it. You are very interesting, very beautiful." He brought one hand up to cup Neil's cheek. "I would have come to you even if the situation was different." The street suddenly seemed very empty.
S/he was wrong/, Neil said to himself as the gap between him and Galen slowly closed. /I knew she was wrong/.
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