Aidoneus paced his room, arms folded, and a hand placed under his chin. He kept glancing at the clock that read 6:00 am. He scoffed, sat down on the bed and pulled out his phone. He didn't get too much sleep last night due to his mind racing. He scrolled his text messages. They were all from Minithe and Zen. Minithe was pleading for him to meet up with her, Zen was demanding a re-meeting. Bing. His phone went as another notification popped up, it was a text message from Hippio sharing the details of the place Aidoneus was supposed to go and investigate Hera and Zen.
He tossed his phone onto his pillow and threw himself back onto his bed with a frustrated sigh. 'Is it wrong that I just want to stay home' he thought while placing his hands over his eyes. A knock came at the door.
"Come in" he sighed, sitting up in his bed. It was one of his other bodyguards Adrian.
"Kalés molysmatikés* Mr. Doukas" Adrian nodded to his boss. He stood there with his hands folded down in front of him. Aidoneus stood and walked towards Adrian, who stood just barely up to Aidooneus's shoulders.
* Kalés molysmatikés*: Good Morning*
"I take it Peter is resting?" He questioned while patting his guard's shoulder to let him know it was ok to relax. Adrian stood in a more relaxed stance.
"No, kýrios ippóti̱s *, he's entertaining our guest" he said looking at Aidoneus with an eyebrow raised. Aidoneus glanced back at his clock that read 6:10am. He expected Kore to still be asleep, especially after the night she had.
*Sir*
In the kitchen Kore was making coffee for her and Peter. She didn't sleep much and figured why not just get a start on the day, she could go to sleep early if need be. She also had to figure out a way to contact Katrina to let her know she was ok. She turned with two piping hot cups, she put them on the counter and slid one towards Peter.
"I hope you like it strong Peter, I'd normally make it fancy, but I am a mess right now" she giggled while pointing at her messy, frizzy hair with the baggy sleeves from her shirt hanging down.
"Thank you kyrá*" he said as he clasped the cup and pulled it close to him to blow on it. The morning was cool, there was a slight drizzle outside. You could hear the soft patter against the window. Kore held her cup close to her and looked out the window. She loved this weather; it was one of the reasons why she wanted to leave the inner city and move to the seaside of Atlas. She closed her eyes while taking in the scent of the coffee and the sounds from outside.
* kyrá: madam, dame
Peter took a sip of his coffee while looking at Kore. He didn't know why, but with her around, this place felt complete. His alarm beeped on his watch; Kore jumped a little bit.
"Sorry kyrá, it's time for our daily training" he placed the cup back down, a small frown came across his face, he was disappointed he wouldn't be getting his caffeine this morning. Kore gave him a gentle smile; she looked at him questionably, "Training?"
Peter led Kore back to the back yard court Aidoneus had built for his employees to keep up on their self-defense training. There were multiple people outside in the drizzle practicing their hand-to-hand combat. All of them men. Kore noticed the lack of females in Aidoneus's house and was questioning if it was on purpose. He had a huge mansion but only 20 people were here, that she could count.
Peter removed his shirt, revealing a white tank top underneath. He headed towards the court with the drizzle becoming stronger. It was cold, and Kore could feel it penetrating through her shirt. She wrapped her arms around herself.
"Aren't you cold?" she questioned Peter.
"No kyrá, we train in these conditions on purpose" he said while stepping up to a free spot.
"Kyrá, you should go back inside" another voice said firmly behind her. She turned to see a new man and Aidoneus standing behind her. Shivering, she shook her head no. She was curious about this and was wondering if this was common practice throughout all of the Doukas's households.
Aidoneus, upon seeing Kore had a soft smile on his face. Adrian caught a side glimpse of this and was taken aback. He's never seen his boss like this with a stranger. Peter's facial expression turned into a scowl as he saw his boss look over at him. Aidoneus playfully smirked, he had an idea.
"Agápi̱ mou, care to watch?" he slyly said while pulling his shirt off in front of her, revealing a slender muscular build that was riddled with scars. As the cool air hit Aidoneous's body, steam started to come off of him. Kore immediately broke eye contact and looked off to the side. Adrian snickered.
"Um... w..a..t...c...h what" she slowly said while looking towards Peter's direction. Peter saw his boss heading his way and his heart sank. He knew what was about to happen. Aidoneus stepped up to Peter's section and took a stance. Peter sheepishly took his stance.
"Afentikó, please don't go showing off for the Misses" he said while putting his arms up in a defensive position. Aidoneus rolled his head back and forth while bouncing on the balls of his feet. He leaned forward with his hands in front of him and waved Peter forward to throw the first punch.
Kore stood back with Adrian while the two went at each other. For their sizes they moved pretty nimbly. Peter threw an upper cut at Aidoneus who snatched his hand and spun the big man around like they were dancing. Peter managed to break out of it and went for a foot sweep, Aidoneus playfully jumped out of the way. The two men both had a huge smile on their faces. Kore could hear Aidoneus chuckle at Peter while Peter threw a slew of Greek curse words at him. Their fighting sped up.
Adrian was amused to see Aidoneus toying with Peter. He knew Aidoneus could easily have ended this fight as soon as it started, but his boss loved to toy with his guards like this. Kore lost track of who was doing what, her teeth started chattering due to the cold, but she didn't want to go back inside when this was starting to get interesting.
Peter managed to land a square hit on Aidoneus's face, Peter winced at how hot his boss's skin was. Aidoneus stood there laughing while Peter's fist stayed in place. He grabbed Peter's wrist, flipped him and put him in a chokehold. Peter tapped out. Aidoneus let him go and extended a hand to help Peter up. He cursed at Aidoneus while clasping his hand, Aidoneus pulled him up in one quick, fluid movement.
Aidoneus smacked Peter on the back making the man stumble from the force. "File mou, you're getting better. You lasted a lot longer" he chuckled while making his way back to Kore. Peter hung his head a bit and walked over to another guard to continue his training. Aidoneus caught Kore staring while her teeth chittered together which could be heard throughout the court due to the stone walls bouncing the sound off it.
Aidoneus walked up to her arms outstretched "I'm a personal heater agapi̱té mou*, feel free to come on over" he teased while moving his hands in a come here motion. Kore blushed and turned to head inside.
* agapi̱té mou: my dear*
Aidoneus grabbed his shirt from the ground and trailed behind her making fun of how she was gawking at him. Kore shooed him off and headed back to the kitchen, hoping her coffee would still be warm enough to heat her up.
As Aidoneus entered the kitchen, he pulled his shirt on. The water that hit his skin outside was gone. Kore cocked and eyebrow when she noticed this. He saw the curiosity on her face. He took a seat on the stool by the counter and took the coffee Peter left.
"Go ahead, ask away" he said while sipping the warm coffee.
"What do you mean?" she stammered, not wanting to be rude. Aidoneus swallowed his coffee and placed the cup down.
"My family, we all have a set of skills that are unique to us. Zen, well he can manipulate electrical currents, Hestia is fire manipulation, Hippio is water manipulation, Hera is emotional manipulation, and I manipulate my environment's heat," he stated while pulling closer to the counter. Kore leaned closer to him.
"What do you mean by, environmental?" she questioned while looking into her cup. He took another sip of his coffee.
"I can manipulate my body temperature to basically ward off anything, burn anything that touches me. It helps that I'm naturally hot" he said while fanning himself and smirking. Kore laughed and sipped her coffee.
"What else can you do?" Kore asked with her eyebrow up in curiosity. Aidoneus laughed and reached over to Kore's coffee cup. Her cup immediately heated up to the point she had to let go. "I can also manipulate heat around me within a 100-foot radius" he explained while removing his hand from the cup.
"Hey, I was drinking that" she pouted and crossed her arms angrily.
"Agapi̱té mou, it'll cool down. It'll also make it so you don't run off and we can continue our conversation" he said slyly while sitting back with his eyes closed. He opened them to reveal his eyes were glowing a light turquoise. Kore stared in awe; she knew she saw this at the ball.
"I can control this, but when I'm angry I unfortunately can't. "He leaned forwards placing his hands back on the coffee cup in front of him. Kore reached out to trace the scars on his hands. Aidoneus flinched from the touch and looked up at her. She studied them intricately
"And... What about these?" She looked up at Aidoneus and moved her hand back.
"Sorry!" She quickly apologized, knowing that this was probably a touchy subject. Aidoneus took a deep breath in.
"You know what I do correct?" he looked down at the counter while sipping his coffee. Kore nodded. "One of my other abilities is to heal quickly. I can't be killed by a gun or a knife, per say, but you chop my head off I'm done" he chuckled. He continued on "The rest of my family cannot be harmed unless it's by another Doukas. They're impervious to knives, bullets, fire, you name it, but due to me being the weakest in the family, I am unfortunately not so lucky." He finished looking at Kore, studying her reaction. Everything he just said was not common knowledge to anyone. There would be an uproar that the most powerful family basically resembles gods.
Kore tapped her finger on the bottom of her chin. Aidoneus was curious as to why she wasn't freaking out. Kore placed her hands on the countertop, folded on top of each.
"Why are you telling me all of this?" she locked eyes with Aidoneus. He got lost in her blue eyes for a moment before clearing his throat.
"Agápi̱ mou, with what you did for me at the ball, you've won whatever trust I have. "Kore blushed a little bit. She didn't understand the language he mixed up in his sentences, but some part of her feels like she knows what it means.
Bing, Aidoneus's phone went off. He sighed and pulled it out of his pocket. Kore noticed his mood change in an instant. He glared at his phone while taking the rest of his coffee in one gulp.
"Hey, can I borrow that?" Kore gestured to his phone. He looked at her curiously. Kore pulled her phone out and showed him that her phone would not dial out.
"Ever since you..." she shot a nasty glance at him "Broke my phone yesterday, ever so rudely I haven't been able to call out, and when I do, I can't hear anyone on the other side" she put her hand out "So, Sir, may I please borrow your phone" she attempted to say it in a seducing way but came off more coyly.
Aidoneus looked at her cracked phone that had a line of yellow, blue and red across it while the rest of the words flickered. He sighed and handed his phone over to Kore.
"No snooping agapi̱té mou" he wagged his finger playfully at her. She took his phone and puffed her cheeks out as she acted like she got caught. She quickly pulled up the dial pad and dialed the flower shop's phone.
"Hello! Thank you for calling Roe's flower shop! This is Katrina Roe; how may I help you?" a happy voice said over the phone.
"Hi Mrs. Roe, it's Kore..."
"KORE! Oh, my goodness! You have any idea what time it is? It's 7:00! You have any idea how worried I was?"
"Yes, Mrs. Roe I'm sorry, I had a little too much to drink and I ended up..." Kore stopped mid-sentence and glanced at a smirking Aidoneus.
"Well spit it out girl! You're where? Do I have to call the police?" Katrina asked frantically. Aidoneus let out a chuckle.
"Who was that? Kore!? Are you with..."
"Yes, I am with Aidoneus at his house, or should I say mansion?" She cocked an eyebrow at Aidoneus who was attempting to hold in another laugh. "Anyways, I'm perfectly fine Mrs. Roe, I will be in work tomorrow for my morning shift"
"Kore, you don't need to ever show up to work if you got Aidoneus in the sack" Aidoneus let out a bellowing laugh upon hearing her through the phone.
"Mrs. Roe, I will see you tomorrow" Kore hung up, her eye twitching with embarrassment. She handed Aidoneus's phone back. He took it and stuffed it in his pocket.
"I take it you have the day off then?" he asked while leaning on the counter. She nodded yes and went to wash out their coffee mugs. Adrian entered the kitchen.
"Afentikó, what's our schedule today?" Adrian stood in the doorway awaiting his boss to tell him what they were doing today. He glanced over at Kore doing their dishes.
Aidoneus leaned on the counter for a moment and chewed on his inner lip while thinking. He whipped out his phone and started typing. He tossed his phone on the counter causing Kore to jump from the sound.
"I believe I owe this young lady a new phone" He stated while walking over to help Kore dry and put the mugs away. Their fingers grazed against each other's, causing Kore to instinctively grab his pinky with hers. Aidoneuslooked down at the gesture, she blushed, looked away and let his pinky go.
"Thank you, you don't have to" Kore cleared her throat while saying that. Aidoneus fought every urge to grab her into a hug. He turned and started heading to the kitchen exit.
"We'll also grab you some clothes." He picked up his phone and handed it to Adrian. "I'm not taking any calls today". Adrian nodded.
"No need! Just take me home" She replied quickly. She had to feed and let Sam out or the apartment would be filled with poop land mines.
"Ooh, agápi̱ mou, you're taking me back to your place? So soon?" He had a teasing smile on his face. Kore walked up and pushed past the two men with her nose stuck up in the air and arms crossed. She went into the guest room to collect her dress.
Adrian pulled the car up to the front as Aidoneus and Kore exited the front. Kore looked comical in the oversized shirt and pants. Adrian exited the driver's seat and opened the door for the two.
"Thank you" she said sweetly. Adrian closed the door behind Aidoneus as he followed her into the back seat. Kore buckled herself in. While Aidoneus crossed his legs and looked out the window.
"Kyrá, may I have your address? "Adrian turned on the car's GPS ready to input the numbers she was about to give.
"Yes, it's 2200 W Terrance Street, it's the Whispering Whistle apartments" she finished adjusting her seat belt. Adrian inputted the numbers.
"Whispering Whistle?" Aidoneus said with a puzzled look on his face.
"Yes, what? Too poor for you?" she joked. Aidoneuslooked a bit pained by that comment, Kore regretted saying it.
"Agápi̱ mou, I am not bothered by where you come from," he said adjusting his position to look at her. He noticed the regret on her face as Adrian pulled out of the driveway. Aidoneus slid his hand towards her to silently reassure her he wasn't mad. Kore reached her pinky out to touch his the proceeded to look out the window.
Adrian turned onto the onramp for the 86 freeway to uptown Atlas. Aidoneus's house was found on the sea front of the city, while Kore's apartment was located towards the inner end of city. The 86 freeway would lead them into the front fancy end of the city, then they'd have to take Green Tree Lane through the middle of the city, pass by Grand Terrance Avenue and Grand Terrance Banquet Hall, Mrs. Roe's flower shop and another short 10-minute drive they'd land at Kore's apartment building. In total the trip would take 45 minutes. The clock read 7:45 am as Kore dozed off to the pitter-patter of rain hitting the windshield.