9355/Hoppy New Year

Hoppy New Year
Date of Scene:	30 December 2021
Location:	Roof: Themysciran Embassy
Synopsis:	Morgan is a nerd and does nerd things. Alex is super cool.
Cast of Characters:	Morgan Finn, Alexander Aaron

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Morgan Finn has posed:
The mild winter has been favorable for Morgan, who once a week or so likes to sneak up to the rooftop to smoke a little bit. It's legal in New York but, of course, he's underage. He's definitely not addicted, but he likes the way it relaxes him. He's up here this evening, enjoying the mild New York winter air. He's sitting on the ground, leaning back against a support wall. He puts his pipe up to his lips, lights it, and draws in a lungful. After about thirty or so seconds, he slowly lets the fragrant smoke out and watches it as it trails off into the night air like plumes of fairy magic.

His legs are stretched out straight in front of him, enclosed in a brand new pair of Timberland hiking boots (a Christmas gift). In fact, his whole ensemble -- blue jeans, boots, a flannel shirt, a grey down vest -- all look brand new. Diana and family were very kind to the boy this Christmas. Life didn't start very easy for this one, but maybe things are going to be uphill from here.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The sound of footsteps are heard upon the stairwell, that soft raspy clap-clap-clap of leather winter shoes scraping a bit as some sand is trailed up along with each step. Just a lazy unrushed stride that is heard before its owner comes into view in that curling staircase. One hand upon the railing and the other in the pocket of his great coat, Alexander wanders into view into that lounge area that looks out onto the city from the embassy's rooftop.
    A few more steps carries him out onto the roof proper toward where Morgan is settled and enjoying his doobage. The youth's nose crinkles at the smell but doesn't comment on what it's from. Instead he draws up short and says with a casual yawn prefacing the words, "Hey man."
    A bit of silence then, pale hazel eyes sweep the area as he looks out onto the city. An eyebrow quirks then he murmurs, "Never been up here before. Asked the receptionist and she said you were up here." In case he thought he was being sneeeeky.

Morgan Finn has posed:
When the demigod heard someone coming, he stuffed his pipe and lighter into a pocket of his vest. He looks toward the door and sees Alexander emerge. He relaxes a bit when he sees who it is.

"Hey, Alexander," he says warmly. Kid's almost always happy to see most people, but he's double fond of Alex. "How you been?" His vocal cords are still a little tight from the smoke. "You give that arrowhead to your girl?" He pulls his legs up to his chest and rests his chin on one knee.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    No judgement there, though there's a slightly wry half smile as he shifts his weight to one foot, both hands now in the pockets of his heavy coat. "Oh yeah." A pause as he looks out across the city, then looks back. "Went well. She got me a bow. We're gonna practice some together."
    Which should be good. He chews on his lower lip for a moment in thought before he tilts his head toward Morgan. "You know, our family, it's not always good to give and receive presents. All the stories about them. Greeks bearing gifts. Right?"

Morgan Finn has posed:
A small smile crosses Morgan's features as he listens to the story of about the arrowhead and the bow. "That's cool, man" he says. "I'm glad you found somebody." His warm expression and tone indicates that he's genuinely happy for Alexander.

When the subject changes to family, the smile does fade a bit. "Are you pissed because I tried to offer my ring?" he asks gingerly.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Shaking his head, "Oh no, though... yeah." Alexander's smile broadens. "It was a nice sentiment, man. I know you meant well by it." He casually nudges Morgan's side with the toe of his shoe, then takes a few steps out to lean on the railing of the balcony. It lets him face Morgan directly, while still maintaining that casual cool guy manner that he is /so/ known for.
    "But you go in debt to one or the other of us and it opens entanglements." The wind catches his hair and he grimaces, lowering his head and pulling out a gloved hand to try and push fingers through. His nose crinkles, "Also it's a convenient excuse for not getting each other Christmas presents. So you know, don't get your hopes up each year."

Morgan Finn has posed:
"Alex, don't...don't judge me by those standards," Morgan says calmly. His eyes are a little bit red but he's not that high right now. "I really care about you, man. You. Diana. Ferdinand. Donna. I love you guys. There's no way I would ever hold something against you. If I do something, I do it because I /want/ to, not because I /want something/."

He sits there quietly, eyes studying the only god he knowingly has met. The adoration, like a kid brother, is clear on his face.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "I'm not judging you, man." Alexander looks down at where Morgan sits. He chews his lower lip a little bit as his eyes unfocus, then he murmurs. "More I'm trying to help you get ready for being out there and all." A small smile is seen as he adds, "I know you don't mean malice now or anything like that. That you're not trying to gain influence or position..."
    He sliiiides along that railing, looking sooo lazy as he glides a hand over the surface of the metal rail, then pushes himself back to his full height. He takes a deep breath, then murmurs. "More trying to help you avoid minefields."
    He gestures to the side, "If Eros took you up on the offer of your ring, and you gave it with such a blanket statement, he could've been a real dick to you about things. Hung it over your head or hundreds of years. All for me wanting to impress some girl, right?"

Morgan Finn has posed:
A rare frown crosses Morgan's features at the mention of Eros. The sour expression fits his normally kindly face poorly, like a puzzle piece shoved into the wrong spot. Where he idolizes Alex, he clearly dislikes Eros. Who can blame him?

"How could he have held it over my head?" Morgan asks, puzzled. "Wasn't it an exchange of services? He gets the ring for a week and you get the arrow head? And don't downplay the importance of doing something for love. That shit's important."

Obviously, the idea of being with a girl and not fully loving her hasn't occurred to the inexperienced teenager. This dude's gonna get his heart /smashed/ someday.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Alexander starts to say something, then pauses and just exhales a little. To some it might sound like exasperation, but from him it's more a signature of effort as his brow knits together with his eyes lowering. "More that... you made the offer and the terms hadn't fully been settled. He coulda wiggled some, and also played it into a debt that might have been more difficult to resolve."
    A hand uncurls to the side as if gesturing to some sort of invisible exhibit A. "And, afterward, he'd tell the others in the Pantheon that you are vulnerable, and how to exploit you."
    The smile returns to Alexander's lips as he looks back. "You just need to protect yourself more, man."

Morgan Finn has posed:
Fuck. Life is taking some turns that Tyler didn't expect. He tugs his pipe and lighter out and takes another hit. All he wanted to do was sit on the roof tonight and get lil high. He holds the stuff out in case Alex wants some.

"But wouldn't...wouldn't it make me in debt to you, not to fuckface?" he asks curiously. "I don't understand how me doing you a favor makes me indebted to someone else?" He looks up at Alexander like someone who is trying -- and failing -- to understand astrophysics.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Nope, I would be indebted to you, for you covering the cost. And you would be indebted to Eros for him 'allowing' it, since it would be out of the ordinary." For a time Alexander works at the inside of his cheek, as if trying to find the right words to summon forth that might explain everything. Eventually he just crinkles his nose.
    "I think main thing is, just be careful. Think out the repercussions. With our family you need to look two or three steps ahead." He waves off the offer of a drag, then looks to the side, over the railing... down toward the street below.
    "Now, having said all that." His lip twists and with little preamble he pulls a small white box from his pocket and tosses it casually toward Morgan with an flick of his wrist.
    "Merry Christmas, you chucklehead."

Morgan Finn has posed:
After Alex waves off the pipe, Morgan tucks it back away in his vest pocket. "That shit freaks me out. It's like if you owed Diana ten bucks and I paid your debt off to her, you're saying that /I/ would owe /her/ because she allowed me to pay back the money that she had coming anyway?" He blinks and shakes his head. "I don't even get that."

He blinks in surprise and catches the white box. "What? I thought we weren't allowed to..." He grew up poor and hasn't gotten all that many Christmas gifts in his life, so he quickly pops open the box to see what's inside.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Inside the small box wrapped in some tissue paper is an old coin, weathered, gold it looks from the gleam but there is some discoloring along the edges where some sort of treatment had been applied. On each face is the profile of two classical looking figures, difficult to tell, one has a beard and looks dour with flames in the background. On the other face is a thinner face with a bunch of grapes in the front of the profile.
    "Long time ago, Hades and Dionysus gave me some shit. I had to arbitrate a disagreement between them." Alexander says with a nod to the coins, "From all the craziness that happened because of it, I gained a few of those coins. They signify a favor that they owe me. Now they owe you. Don't worry, I have like four more of them. And don't expect it'll cancel out something huge. Just, you know. It's a thing."
    That said he gives a nod, "It'll maybe get you out of a tough spot. Anyways."

Morgan Finn has posed:
A small, warm smile creeps over Morgan's face. Diana just got him a PS5, but /this/ is the absolutely coolest present he has ever received. His slightly reddened eyes get a little bit glassy. Emotional boy is emotional. With a broad smile he stands up and throws his arms around Alexander for a hug. "This is amazing! Thank you! I'll never get rid of it."

After that which, presumably, Alex was not a huge fan of, Morgan steps back just beaming down at the coin, turning it around and around in his fingers. If he idolized Alex before this, he practically worships him now. "This is amazing," he repeats.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    There's no problem with a hug, though Alexander goes for the one-arm bro-hug, pulling Morgan in for a thump-thump-thump on the back and then pushing him away to look him in the eyes. "S'alright, man. It's not a hot line to them or anything, it's not magical. It's just a representation, and since the Fates have connected us and it, well... it has significance. Cool?"
    That said he eases back and leans on the rail. He laughs a little, shakes his head as he looks away, then back. "You are such a dork." Because humor helps divert those awkward emotions.
    "What are you doing for New Year's?"

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan is affectionate, but not, you know, into guys. So he backs away appropriately after the awkward business of bro-hugging concludes. But he keeps studying that coin. He definitely loves it.

"Hmmm?" he says, looking back up. "Oh, New Year's?" he says with a laugh in his voice. "What can I do? I'm fifteen years old in Manhattan. I'll be here in the Embassy, I guess." Then a hopeful look crosses his face. "Unleeeeeess...my cool cousin is throwing a party?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    An abrupt laugh, "No." Though his eyes lift as his gaze distances. "I mean, I haven't even talked with Thea yet about what we're doing for sure. We'll spend it together, just she has other parties she might wanna go to and..." A tilt of his head, "No offense man, but I prolly couldn't take you."
    His eyebrows raise, "Though if it's something chill, I'll let you know. But hey, there are worse things than spending new years in the embassy." A wave of his hand is given, "Sets a nice precedent. A future based in stability. And lots of beautiful amazons running around."
    There's a shrug given, "So who knows?"

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan lets out a snort. "Yeah a bunch of hot Amazons who fawn over me like a little brother." His tone and expression really do reveal that it doesn't bother him. On the contrary, he vibes on the attention. After carefully tucking the precious coin into the front pocket of his jeans, he moves to the edge and looks out over Manhattan. "School starts back up Monday. Diana still wants me to train every morning so I think it's going to be a lot of going back and forth on the jet." He furrows a brow. "I wonder if she'll let me take a girl for a ride on the jet. I mean, the thing literally flies itself. /I/ piloted it in Earth orbit a couple weeks ago."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    A hand slides out of his pocket to point at Morgan, "Don't go down that road, man." He gives a nod, "With who you are, and your role, and whatnot. It'd be easy for you to get attention and members of the opposite sex wanting to spend time with you. But you don't wanna put like..."
    He lifts a hand to his head and for a moment shifts his gaze back to Morgan who just is there looking so earnest. He takes another deep breath, "Man, I never thought I'd be having a conversation like this so early in my life but..."
    Considering Morgan's father wasn't present, Alex perhaps assumes, but he gives this some weighty thought before he murmurs. "You don't want to put things out there as like special benefits to being with you. Like, I could go buy a car, and it'd be a cool car. And then I go driving and some gals... they'll find the car enough. Interesting enough, a fun enough experience that well... you both have a good time."
    Shaking his head, "With who you are, and who you will be, man. You don't want to get going that way. Because our kind. We leap into that. With both feet. It's like giving meth to someone who has an addictive personality. You start using people, viewing them as just objects. It's a bad deal."

Morgan Finn has posed:
Morgan can't help but smile a little bit. "Dude, what's wrong with a guy wanting to impress a girl? Isn't that a story that's been around for, well, for as long as there have been guys and girls?"

He lets it slide away, though. Instinctively, the young demigod seems to sense that there are things he and Alex won't see eye to eye on.

He gives Alex a friendly nudge on the shoulder with his elbow. "Thanks for the coin, man. No joke, it means the world to me. Seriously." He looks at Alex directly, letting his expression confirm what he is saying. "But I left a bunch of dishes and I better go get them clean before Ferdinand finds them and whoops my ass."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Sighing a little, Alexander shakes his head, "You'll find out, man. Just... take this bit of advice. Try and get people interestedin you as you first, than the things you have or can do. Right?"
    That said he leans over and gives him a hair ruffle because it's a thing. And Alex is taller. So he is better. Because of tall.
    "And yeah don't worry about it." He stuffs his hands in his pockets. "Yeah I should head on out too. You take care of yourself, ok?" With that he starts to head toward the stairs.