A Rift in Relations

Chapter One

Aries Dagon, he was never one for trivial conversation, choosing to cut to the chase rather than discuss the lesser details. This applied to almost everything in his life; relationships, his job, everything. He was strictly a no bullshit kind of guy. And he liked it that way. However, at this moment, he was currently dealing with an issue where one of the superiors was being inappropriate to their subordinate and was currently trying to ramble their way out of it. Aries ran a hand through his ebony hair and leaned back in his chair as he listened. The man on the other side of his desk spewing something about how he swore his subordinate wanted it and was begging for it. Aries ran the hand that was rested atop his head down his face, resting on his chin and his thumb idly stroking the end of his scar that stopped just below his prominent cheekbones.

It was a bit of a habit he had when he was bored or anxious, the feeling of raised skin occupying his mind at least momentarily. The man opposite him had spoke up, pulling him out of his thoughts, not having heard exactly what he'd said Aries made a noise of acknowledgement, showing that he was now listening. The man repeated himself, "How'd you get that scar, Mr. Dagon?"

"Why does it matter? We were speaking about your affair with," He stopped as he looked at the file on his desk, "Mr. Connolly. Most notably, how you were sure that he had wanted it and was, in your own words, "practically begging to get with someone like you"." Aries furrowed his brows into a look of disgust, reading through the file and seeing exact quotes this man had made was sickening. Giving him another once over, he came to the conclusion that he really shouldn't be too shocked. The man in front of him was sleazy, not particularly known for getting things done properly or even getting them done at all. "Normally I'd ask the typical questions such as "how do you feel about your actions", "what do you think drove you to make this decision", and the like."

Aries leaned forward and set his forearms on the desk separating the two men, folding his hands over the file laid out in front of him. He made direct eye contact with him, not even bothering to blink, adding to the intimidation the man already felt from him. Yet he decided to feign courage and speak up. "You think staring at me is gonna get me to fold? I didn't lie a single word, the twink wanted it. Little tease he is, he put you up to this didn't he?"

"Mr. Wilson, I'm not attempting to get you to fold. I'm attempting to get you to understand how grave of a mistake you have made with your misconduct in the workplace. My superiors have informed me of what to do if a situation with you were to occur more than once." Aries began to explain, taking a deep breath and attempting to convey the seriousness of the situation. He picked up the file and leafed through a few pages, leaning back in his chair to show he was relaxed and confident in his control of the situation. "Simply skimming through your file has shown me that this isn't your first incident. As a matter of fact, it's your third this month. Strange I haven't seen you around more then."

"I ain't been down here my entire job. The rest of 'em liked how I was treatin' 'em." Aries nodded solemnly, pretending as if he knew exactly how it felt to be in his position. He set the file back down on the desk and the man across from him lit up, figuring they were done with the meeting he stood up and stuck out his hand.

"Sit down, Mr. WIlson." The man looked confused, his expression then turning sour. Getting ready to say something before Aries stood up, placing his palms on the desk and looking down his nose at him. Towering over him by at least six inches. "I said, sit. Down." He watched as the man shrunk into his seat, slightly in fear of the larger man in front of him. There was no doubt that Aries could take himself in a fight, he just preferred to keep things orderly and clean in the workplace. "Thank you, now, shall we discuss your punishment for these actions?"

"But-"

"Your employment will be terminated as of nine thirty tomorrow morning, you have until then to get your affairs in order. After termination you will not be allowed to set foot in this building without being escorted out by security." Aries watched the fear and panic finally settle over the man's features, taking a bit of joy in seeing him squirm like this. He wouldn't let him know but, the punishment was entirely up to him. His superiors had just told him that something needed to be done about his recurring behavior. "Am I understood?"

"Yessir."

"Good, now I want you to get out of my sight." Aries said pointedly with a dismissal wave of his hand. He watched as the other man scampered away, any dignity he had going out the window. Aries was ruthless when it came to these kinds of things. He stopped at nothing to remove the problem to keep order in the workplace. Just as he was putting away the file, one of the other HR reps came in to speak with him. "Yes? What is it, what do you want?"

"Sir, there's someone here to see you. He didn't give me his name but he insists it's important." Aries eyed the woman cautiously, almost well aware of who it was. He thought he had told him not to arrange for things in his workplace, there was a distinct line between his two jobs and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Tell him I won't keep him waiting for much longer." Aries said as he stood up and straightened out his suit, making sure everything sat properly. He took a few deep breaths to steady himself and opened the door that separated his office from the rest of the department. When he looked to see his "boss" he couldn't find him. Instead he found his brother, Dionysus. Any anxieties he had about meeting with his "boss" had melted and became feelings of annoyance towards his brother. Before he had the chance to turn around and go back into his office, he had already been seen.

"Hey Aries, wait a damn minute. I've got something to tell you." Dionysus said before briskly walking over to his brother. He crossed his arms and let out a huff of annoyance at his brother not wanting to speak with him. He was a bit taller than Aries and more tanned. His size didn't dwarf him but it did make him look smaller than he really was. "Your ex, the blonde one-"

"Athena?" Aries filled in, seeing his brother nod in confirmation. "What about her?"

"She's been getting pissed that you aren't returning her calls, so much that she's been calling me expecting me to get you to call her back." Aries's face couldn't have shown less amusement than it did at that moment. Dionysus was well aware that he was being a burden to his brother and continued on, it was something akin to a pastime of his. "Let's take this to your office, yeah?"

The two men walked into the office, Aries sitting down behind his desk almost immediately, the look on his face not having changed at all. "I know you're not here just to talk about my ex, what do you want?"

"I want you to wake up and realize that what you're doing is bad, and wrong." His brother stated plainly, leaning up against the door in favor of sitting in the chair across from him. He looked down for a moment and sighed. "Is there anything that would bring you back from the path you chose?"

"No. And you cannot change my mind about this, Dionysus. We all have paths we need to follow, and this is mine." Aries crossed his arms and glared at Dionysus, not wanting to hear his spiel for the nth time. He had told him multiple times that he didn't approve of what he was doing, but he didn't care. It didn't directly affect him and it never would. Aries made sure of that. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Not that you'd understand what that is."

Dionysus took that as his cue to leave, not wanting to piss off his brother any further. It was always a hard pill to swallow that Aries would never be the same as he was all those years ago, but that wouldn't stop Dionysus from trying.