13 - Glitter and cold

Hypnos seemed a little startled when he saw Michela's reaction to the news, but he ended up shrugging it off and smiling anyway. If she only worried about the dress code, he could reassure her! "Oh, you know how my family dresses," he snorted. "They dress up on casual days. I'll probably be dressed like the usual, don't worry about it. Besides, there probably won't be much people-" He started to count on his fingers. "My mother, my grandparent, Than and his fiancés, and Charon and his boyfriend. Normally my mother wouldn't invite Sir Hades and his wife anymore- that is, unless she's been dying to see Persephone at home again, then there might be a few more people like her mother and-"
Way to reassure a girl, Hypnos.

"I'm always up for tea of you have some! If not, water will be fine, thank you Madam." Theseus entered the house with a wide grin, finally truly confident about this whole ordeal. "Mister Laurkinson! Good day to you!" He patiently waited for his tea or his water while sat at the table, and then cleared his throat. "So! You, ah. Are not without knowing that Horknath and my sister got engaged, and that it was quite the gesture." He still felt a little jealous that Horknath pulled this off instead of him, but he felt way better about it now.

"Hypnos- that's- an ungodly amount of people!", Michela let out with a groan, after she was done staring at him in utter shock. Sir Hades!? She'd be maybe possibly dining with some aristocrats!? She had completely thrown out of the window all of the good table manners her parents had painstakingly taught to her, what would she even do! She buried her face in her hands. "I'll have to find something decent to wear- and instruct Lucia, that's for sure." She pointed her finger at him. "And it's your birthday. How am I even going to find you something nice in just seven days?" Damn it Hypnos, she had said at least a couple of weeks of notice! That way she would have had more time to worry without actually doing anything about it!

Ariadne beamed at him and invited him to sit while she brewed some tea. Ga'roh had rested his tablet on the table, and was now staring questioningly at Theseus. "Good morning", he grumbled. His eyes too fell on that new piercing, and he raised his brows, before returning his attention to his own cup of coffee.
"Oh, yes of course! What a romantic proposal it must have been! They've come over a couple of days ago to tell us the whole story - I'm still trying to wrap my head around it!", Ariadne chirped enthusiastically as she got Theseus his cup of tea. "One of my boys, getting married! And your sister is such a lovely girl - we couldn't be happier." She sat at her husband's side.

Hypnos' smile died down. "Ah- I'm sorry Michi, I didn't think- I mean-" He massaged his neck. "I don't usually get stuff for my birthday, don't worry about it. And if you're worried about the guests, I could still talk to my mom and ask that we spend it just the three of us with Lucia on the side. I mean- it's also Than's birthday, at least the guests wouldn't come for nothing!"
He wasn't used to getting many gifts, no - he had rarely dated long enough to have a girlfriend on his own birthday, and he had told his friends a long time ago that he was glad with just edible stuff.

Theseus nodded, and cleared his throat. "Well. Great. That's great! Actually- Big and loud had been my own plan so I had to revise it a bit, and-" He took a sharp breath in. "What I mean, is that- in my family, it is customary to go to the parents of your future spouse to ask for their hand in marriage." He puffed his chest, taking another deep breath. "Now, I'm not looking for your permission - that's something for Asterius to decide alone, of course - but I'm looking for your benediction. Should there be something I should know about orcish traditions in that respect, or should I prove my worth to you, know that I'm ready!" He puffed his chest, finally relieved that he had let it all out.

Michela looked slightly alarmed when Hypnos' smile seemed to disappear away. "No, hey, there's... no need to do that", she awkwardly answered, making a little gesture with her hand. "I mean, all those people are coming for you too, not just for your brother. Don't worry, I'll... I can make it, I just need to get organized. 'Very well organized - I'll need a miracle', she thought to herself. 

Ariadne looked a little confused as she listened to Theseus talking about his own family's tradition regarding marriages and proposal - maybe this all was about the fact that Horknath hadn't respected it? because she had thoroughly reproached him about that (after crying of happiness about it) of course! When she finally understood what this was all about, she let out a gasp. "You were planning on asking Asterius to marry you as well? Oh!", she exclaimed, clasping her hands together and beaming. "Oh, that's so sweet!"
Ga'roh tilted his head at him. "Seems to me like you gave yourself the benediction you're looking for already", he observed in a low voice, nodding towards the piercing he was wearing. "But, as you rightfully said - what matters is Asterius' will. As long as he's happy, we'll grant you our blessings."
Well. That had been easy. Maybe too easy.

Hypnos looked at Michela carefully, suddenly feeling a little guilty- and definitely mistaking her stress. "Hey, I said Lucia can come already, right? You don't have to find anyone to keep her!" He gave her a small, encouraging smile. "Besides, don't worry- this usually gets me tired real quick, so you'll just have to follow me upstairs when I go take my naps if you don't feel like hanging out with people you barely know- but there'll be Charon, and Herm! I'm sure you'll get along just fine."

Theseus didn't exactly get what Ga'roh meabt regarding his piercing. In fact, both of the Laurkinsons' answers had confused him.
"Wait- you're giving me your blessing like this? I mean- I'm well aware that Asterius is not your only child, but- I mean- you're not going to test my worth as his potential future husband?" At least on his mother's side, both his grandfather and his own father had to go through lengthy talks about why they should be allowed to marry their wives.
If not duels- his grandfather was a little extra that way.

Michela sighed. "I know I can take her - that's not the kind of organizing I need to get going", she tried to explain. "I just..." Should she try and explain to him that finding a good enough dress for such a dinner was going to be a real hassle? That Lucia would need to be instructed to behave? In the end, she just sighed. "It's just a lot of people to meet and it makes me a little anxious. That's all. But I can make it, as I said, just... if you could maybe tell me a little earlier, next time? Please?"

Ariadne and Ga'roh looked at each other, just as perplexed. "But... Theseus, dear", Ariadne started, with a confused smile, "I don't understand. You mean you would have preferred for us to make it difficult for you?" Ga'roh shrugged. "I guess in a more... conservative environment, if I had not approved of you, I would have tossed you out of this home the moment I saw that piercing", he added. He stared carefully at Theseus, remembering Asterius' affectionate words about just how competitive and eager to prove himself his boyfriend was.
He looked at Ariadne again. And then he sighed. "Well", he started carefully. "There's always the traditional arm-wrestling match-"

Hypnos massaged his neck. "I will, yeah." He smiled sheepishly at her. "You're not too mad at me?" He still didn't exactly grasp what the issue was, but he had sensed that she was uncomfortable, and was willing to try anything to make her feel better.

Theseus had remained oddly silent after both Ariadne and Ga'roh's observations. Of course- since he had seen them a few times already, they knew him, and they understood the deeper meaning behind his pierced nose, and of course they would have disapproved of him already if it were the case.
All of these reasonable thoughts vanished the moment Ga'roh uttered the words "traditional arm-wrestling match".
"Say no more! I am ready to prove myself worthy of Asterius!" He grinned and puffed his chest, feeling a little overconfident- well. He had managed to best Horknath in that field during their holidays in India, and Asterius as well recently during their stay at his own apartment. He genuinely thought he could win against Ga'roh, no big deal.

Michela sighed, but she just couldn't stay mad at Hypnos. "Oh, it takes me way more to get really mad. You have nothing to worry about", she reassured him with half a smile. "But-" She surged forward, grasping his cheek to gently pinch it. "You will get squished as a punishment."

Ga'roh snorted, opening his mouth to comment about youthful overconfidence - only to be preceded by Ariadne's alarmed squeak. "NOT on my kitchen table, for the love of God!", she pleaded, throwing a stern glance at her husband. Who immediately cowered, looking a little sheepish. "Not on the kitchen table, no", he quickly promised, before getting up. "The living room coffee table?", he offered, glad to see Ariadne concede to that with a little nod. "Living room coffee table", he confirmed to Theseus, waiting for him to follow him.

Hypnos laughed. "Aouch, aouch! Alright, I guess I deserved it." He grinned at Michela and let her pinch his big, squishy cheeks. "Then again, I also get this feeling that you're looking for any reason to squish my cheeks lately. You can also do that without any excuse to do so, y'know?"

Theseus rubbed his hands together, still grinning. "Alright! I have to say Ga'roh, I've been dying to challenge you to some arm-wrestling since the day Asterius told me you best him in that field! And to think this will be my chance to prove my worth to you!" He followed him towards the living-room, stretching his arm for a little bit.

Michela smirked. "Well, it is very relaxing", she commented, pulling his cheeks a little before mercifully letting go of them. "I like them. They're soft. You're very soft", she added with a little gesture. "I'm more on the pointy side of things, as far as my body goes, so... I guess I like what I don't have, maybe. But fine- I will just squish you out of the blue then", she added grinning.

Ga'roh snorted again. He knelt in front of the coffee table in the living room, and patiently unbuttoned the wrist to his shirt, rolling it up. "I wouldn't advise for you to underestimate this, boy. In this family, I rank the second-strongest as far as arm-wrestling is considered."
That, and his bicep alone was possibly the size of Theseus' head. That probably helped.

Hypnos chuckled. "For what's worth, I find you extremely huggable," He reassured her with a smile. "Anyway, what are your plans for the day?" He finally sipped on his coffee, happy to just chat with his girlfriend.
We can move on to the birthday, if you wish to!

Theseus sat in front of Ga'roh, still grinning. "Oh, I'll have you know that I never underestimate an opponent. I always give my best! He readied his arm. "Besides, winning against Asterius wasn't an easy feat, so I'm not expecting you to go easy on me either!

(Yuss! Would you like to play the part where Michi asks Carleen to help her with a decent dress for the night first?)

Ga'roh grunted. "I'd never." That would be a great offense. He readied his arm as well, and grasped Theseus' hand with his own. "C'mon, then. Show me what you've got." he was definitely planning on steeling himself and being an uncrushable wall, let Theseus get tired, to then actually use brute force to win.

Yess!
Carleen had in the end kept her promise, and although she did take some more holidays with Horknath, she eventually turned Asterius' room into a small workshop so that she might sew a little bit.
This had everything to do with the fact that she had bought fabric in India with the goal to make neat shirts for Horknath, let's be honest.

Theseus had actually trained a lot of time before he was able to best Asterius, so he knew that the secret was not to give all of his strength in right away, but rather push progressively until he found his opponent's breaking point... which he wouldn't find. He was so focused, and pushing so hard that by the moment Ga'roh would see an opening to defeat him, sweat was dripping down his forehead.

Even after Hypnos had done his best to reassure her about the birthday-family-dinner affair not actually being so much of a great deal, Michela's head was still plagued by anxiety. She'd need to give a long pep talk to Lucia, of course, but that was something to be made throughout multiple days - what worried her the most was the dressing code. You know them! They dress up even on their regular days! Damn it. As she took a brief pause from work to have a cup of coffee, she stared down at her phone, mindlessly scrolling through the contact list, hoping in a sudden revelation that could help her.
The revelation came under the guise of Carleen's name. She hesitated a little, her finger hovering over her number - but hell, asking didn't cost anything, right? At worst, she'd just get a no, and that would have been it. She pressed down and waited for her friend to pick up the call, nervously biting on her thumb.

Ga'roh didn't exactly struggle resisting Theseus' pushing. But, still.
He would call himself impressed. The amount of strength that was slowly pressed against him in the useless tentative to find a weak spot in his defense was truly something he'd only ever felt in his own sons. He had to actually take this seriously, and studied Theseus carefully to find the exact moment when his hold would grow too fatigued to keep on pushing to suddenly press back, hard, and slam his hand on the table.

Carleen beamed when she saw Michela's number, and immediately picked up, discarding her current sewing project for the moment. "Michi! Hi! How have you been!" It felt like she hadn't heard from her in ages - when it had just been before her holidays in India.

Theseus let out a yelp when Ga'roh slammed his hand on the table so effortlessly, and immediately looked extremely bummed by his defeat. Especially because this hasn't just been an excuse to challenge his future father-in-law into some arm-wrestling, but a way to prove his worth as Asterius' future spouse.
"W-wait! Let me try again!" he immediately begged Ga'roh, suddenly feeling nervous.
What if he decided he wasn't worthy of his son and asked him to leave his house - what if he told him to never come back again?

"Carleen, hey- hi", Michela answered after a second, feeling a little awkward - but happy to hear from her friend again. "I didn't have occasion to hear from you since you came back from your holidays, but, uhm, I've got wind of the good news from Horknath, so! Congratulations! I still can't believe he really did pull that stunt", she added with a smirk.

"No need." Ga'roh's answer might have sounded a little harsh as he held one hand up to stop any kind of protests Theseus might have had about the results of this match. "That was... rather impressive", he added after a meaningful pause. "No walker ever needed me to put any kind of effort into this. But you - I do see how you'd manage to defeat my sons. You have my congratulations - and my blessings", he added, crossing his arms on his chest.

Carleen chuckled. "Thank you. Me neither, to be honest. I was both terrified and overjoyed when I saw him in the marketplace that day. I was actually thinking about telling you about all of this in person anytime soon, if you'd like to meet!"

Theseus was at loss for words for a bit. This answer felt both satisfying and frustrating, and then agai. Ga'roh had complimented him and given him his blessings to ask for Asterius' hand-
"Then- I have two more favours to ask of you," he began, his breath still a little shallow after that intense exchange. "The first one would be for you to let me challenge you on another day. And the second-" he took a deep breath in. "Please don't speak of my visit of today to anyone until I've proposed. I do have everything ready for the proposal, but I'd like to surprise Asterius at the best of times." He idly played with the new chain he wore on his neck, a little nervously. It it was fairly simple, in white gold, and the chain was attached to a wide ring with a blue line running along it. It was definitely too big to be a walker's ring, which made it pass as simply a decorative thing.
It was, however, just the right size for Asterius' ring finger.

"Yeah! Yeah, I, uhm. Actually I'd like to meet up, yes. It will be good to see you again." Michela hesitated again. What the hell, just spit it out, c'mon! "By the way, Carleen- I wanted to ask... you had told me once that if I'd ever change my mind about wanting to own a dress, you would've helped. Would you... have the chance of helping?"

"You sure do ask for a lot of favors", Ga'roh grunted, eyes following Theseus' nervous fingers as they tugged on his necklace. He didn't really associate the size of the ring latched on it with his son's finger, though. "Alright, then.We won't tell anyone, and you can challenge me whenever you wish. I'll warn you, though", he added, pointing at him. "As I said. I am not the strongest in this family. And I know from Asterius' tales that you do like to push your limits. But for how admirable I find that, I would advise you not to challenge someone stronger than me until you'll manage to win."
His mother would have probably ended up accidentally breaking his fingers, or worse.

Carleen had to refrain a squeal of joy. Michela was finally open to the idea of getting a dress! This was a chance she'd better not blow. "Yes! Of course! For when do you need it, actually? And is there an occasion, or just something casual?"
Her inner Sakrish was about to explode from excitement.

Theseus grinned back at Ga'roh, acting confidently once more. "Oh, there's no need to worry about that! Asterius has made that clear to me. I can't challenge his grandmother until you deem that I could do it! Of course, I'm looking forward to it, but I'm far from being able to defeat you from now. I'll need to keep on training!" He stood up, and massaged his arm. "Oof. And make sure I stretch properly!" He chuckled. "What a match! Ah, if Asterius hadn't forbidden me to wrestle you, I'd have offered you a friendly spar, one of these days!"

"Oh is there an occasion", Michela chuckled awkwardly, massaging her neck. "Well... to make it brief, I... kind of have a boyfriend, right now, and he wants to introduce me to his family for his birthday's dinner." She paused. "Which will be held in a week. He... only told me today. And it wouldn't be a problem if his family was made up of, y'know, normal people, but no, they're all stinky rich and they overdress on regular days, let alone important occasions", she added, letting out a bit of her frustration. She tried to reign herself ion and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Sorry. I just... don't want to look like a slob, but I know one week is a ridiculously short amount of time, so-" 'You can just counsel me and bring me around for some shopping, at least I'd have someone who knows stuff and can give me some tips.' That was what she wanted to say.

Ga'roh barked out a laugh. "If you can't handle arm wrestling with me, no way regular wrestling would be any different", he observed, getting up from the floor with a slight grunt. Urh, his knees- "Really, Asterius forbade you?"

Carleen let out a sorry smile. "Oh no, my poor Michi. I hope you pulled on your boyfriend's ears- no matter how sweet he is to you, that's a little late to warn you about something like that." That got her to think a little. She hadn't exactly pictured Michela dating a well-off guy - not that it's be a turn-off for her, but she had been around well-off guys her entire life, and she knew that they tended to be... well. Either very specific kinds of douchebags, or they were really eccentric - like Theseus. Regular guys were a little harder to find.
"You know what, don't fret- you've got a pretty regular build, I'm sure I could manage to fit you one of the dresses I have at home! Would you want to come by? I'll kick my brother and his boyfriend out, and then you can come and try some on - I'll make quick adjustments during the week if needed."

Theseus smiled when Ga'roh laughed at the thought of them wrestling. And even chuckled when he mention Asterius' order. "Yes. Well, he's my own wrestling partner. We are a perfect match- We can never know until the last moment whether a fight is won or lost. So I trust him when he tells me that wrestling you might end up with either one of us injured." Probably him, let's be honest. But against a tall guy like Ga'roh, he might have stood a chance if he supplexed him-
Which would definitely end with Theseus either breaking his back or his father-in-law getting hurt from the fall, let's be honest. Or both.

Michela chuckled. "Yeah, I totally did." Hypnos had been mortified, of course, even though she wasn't sure he had understood what her issue with this whole thing had been. She took a deep breath and let go of it, feeling relief washing over her at the thought that maybe not everything was lost. "Thank you, Carleen. You're a saving grace, you really are." She looked at her phone briefly to check the time. "I need to get back to work now, but my turn's almost done, and then I have some hours before it's time for me to pick up the gremlin from her post-school activities. Would it be okay if I come over at four?"

Definitely both. "Hm, good. It's trust that builds a stable family", Ga'roh muttered, crossing his arms on his chest. He stared down at Theseus for a couple of long seconds, before he sighed. "Just make sure to treat Asterius like he deserves to be treated, and you'll never have to fear my disapproval."
"Or mine!", Ariadne piped in from the other room. From the sound of it, she was washing some dishes. But of course she had been listening. Nothing escaped the ears of Ariadne the Great.

"No problem, I'll make arrangements until then. Could you tell me what kind of family your boyfriend comes from, though? That'll help me to do a pre-selection of dresses. Are they, like- really uptight and old-fashioned, or quite modern? Have you seen any of his relatives wearing a polo tied around their shoulders, for example?" She wouldn't say it out loud but these people were often overly Christian and conservative and should be avoided at all costs. They also only dressed in pastel, which was kind of a fashion crime in her book.

Theseus chuckled. "That's good to know. I try my best to make sure Asterius knows just how much I care for him everyday - but should you hear any complaints regarding the way I treat him, please let me know. I wish for nothing more than his happiness. There had been an odd... warmth in his chest when Ga'roh had referred to both him and Asterius as a future family. Well- that was true, by becoming a married couple they would definitely count as one!

Michela snorted. "Oh, no, I would have run away, like, immediately", she commented. "No, I think I've actually managed to land the only kinda-noble family in the world entirely made up of goths. ... well. My boyfriend aside. He kind of always looks like he just rolled out of bed." Because most of the time, that was the case. But I digress- "I think that even if they're pretty reclusive from what I've heard, maybe you can google them up and look for yourself? What was the surname again... Cthonia."

"Of course! We'll make sure there is the healthiest communication network among the two of you, don't worry", Ariadne answered in her husband's stead, beaming as she scuttled in the room, cleaning her hands over her clothes. "And I hope you and your sister will accept our invitation to come over to my mothers', next summer! Oh, I'm sure they'll love both of you, just like they adored Dio. Your parents will be more than welcome to come along as well, of course!" Of course she'd already be thinking about the family meetings. She was so excited about this!

Carleen chuckled at first, and then listened attentively to Michela's depiction of her boyfriend's family. By the time she said he looked like he just rolled out of bed, her jaw had already dropped- and then her doubts were confirmed and she let out a startled cry. "Cthonia?! Oh gods- Oh- Oh you're dating Hypnos! Which means you'll be seeing Lady Nyx! Gods. Gods, Michi!" She didn't know if she wanted to just ask for Hypnos' number and yell at him herself, or if she wanted to scream out of sheer excitement. "Michi, my father dresses like, half of their family. He never dressed Lady Nyx herself! Oh, please, leat me design you a dress from scratch, I promise you it'll be ready for- when's the birthday exactly?"

Theseus grinned. "Well, of course, it'll be a pleasure! But it'll also depend on the date, I'm afraid. We only visit our family in India once a year and that's for the month of August- and I plan on bringing Asterius with me this time," he asserted firmly.