Part 18 - Just an Old Fashioned Love Song
"Jox?" The pained look and groan Harmonia received was no joke. And since it came up from between Joxer's fingers as he sat with his head between his knees, there was little doubt that something was majorly wrong.
"I�" a throbbing in Joxer's temples cut off any further postulating. "Ugh. Wow. My head�"
"Should I go get Ace again?" the young goddess laid her hand on her new friend's head.
"Nah, I'll live. Forever, it seems," Joxer chuckled, rubbing his temples to chase the soreness, wishing he could do the same for his chest and crotch. The two seemed to be having a contest on which would explode first. "Maybe ambrosia doesn't agree with me."
"You and the rest of us. I think each god on Olympus has tried to fix the taste of that junk and it's still like sucking on rotten olives that have been sitting in a jug of snails for a week." Harmonia winced and made a face, complete with a little tongue sticking out.
The former mortal groaned, that description coming in right on the money and making his stomach want to leave through the nearest exit. "Don't mention olives." Harmonia gave a smile that was both reassuring and commiserating as she rubbed his back in what she hoped was a soothing fashion. A mingled flash arrived right in front of them, its travelers appearing quickly.
"What in Tart's goin' on around here? Did someone implode?" Hermes looked around quickly for the source of the massive energy output that had pulled on him so insistently. "The whole joint's buzzin'."
"And where's that cranky twin of mine?" Eris' eyes narrowed as she surveyed the landscape, her hand firmly tucked into the warm crook of Hermes' elbow, where it was happy to set up camp. For now. The stray lust lingering in the air made her wonder off-handedly if there was someplace on him more inviting to stick it. "I could smell him all the way across Olympus."
Joxer's mouth made to move and speak, but there was no way for him to find the words for this. Harmonia interrupted quickly. "It was Joxie. He� I can't do shields yet. I'm still carting around one from Daddy myself. Someone else has to cover him for now."
No one got a chance to do it before a familiar feeling came to Joxer - that of a hand palming his head. His nausea doubled, stomach cramping a little with nerves as he waited for the inevitable yank of hair that never came. The long fingers seemed to radiate a cool power that seeped over Joxer's body in a calming wave that pushed everything else away, blocking out all those things ricocheting back at him. Eventually, he could sit back up and he cast a look over his shoulder, finding a familiar plain of black shiny leather and random metal fastenings.
"Bettah, bud?" Strife's grin wasn't his menacing best, looking more goofy than dangerous. He quickly plopped down on the bench next to Joxer. "Don't worry. We'll get Aunt 'Dite ta show ya the best way to block out the noise around here. I'll fix this one on ya 'til then. Don�t wantcha to short out on us, right?"
"I guess not. How's Aphrodite going to help me?" He'd been the recipient of her 'help' before and newly bestowed divinity didn't help him shake the uneasy feeling about getting it again.
"OH! Mommy's totally the best with shields," Harmonia chirped and landed herself a seat on Strife's lap.
"Yeah, Aunt Dite's tops. Then, we can get to work on the othah stuff, too. Y'know, fireballs, glamours, telepathy� all the basic junk." Strife looped an arm around the cousin on his lap, his hand finding a casual roost on her side to keep her steady.
"Thanks," Joxer could feel the heat in his cheeks, embarrassed a wee bit about having to be so much bother.
"No prob. We all hadda do it. Cupe, Dei, Ace� Me. Hey, even Unc hadda learn somewhere, right?" Strife chucked Joxer on the shoulder with his fist, though he made sure to keep it gentle. "We'll set ya up and you'll be bona-fidey in no time at all." Joxer nodded, at least that was something. He didn't envy whoever it was who got stuck teaching him, though. Judging from the way Xena went about it, trying to impart any lesson on him was a trial. "Kewl. Now," still with his cousin on his lap, Strife turned to face his mother and the man she was currently hooked to, "since I get the feelin' we're not gonna get too many chances ta hash this out, let's discuss." A table and two chairs appeared in front of him, deliberately clashing with the style and sense of the surroundings. The God of Mischief gestured for the two older gods to sit and Hermes never felt more like a teenager than he did right now. "So. You wanna date Mom."
