(ACT 02) What are friends for

HARRISON SILVERS:

“Harrison, we're leaving!” Alastor suddenly hissed as he rudely dragged Harry away from the lovely flower nymph he was smooching for the past five minutes out of nowhere.

Harry groaned out loud.

Seriously, can't they leave a guy alone to have some fun?!

“Don't call me that and you just got here!” Harry complained as he waved an arm to emphasize his point… but still allowed Alastor to drag him with the back of his shirt away from the pretty blossom who looked just as miffed as he felt. Harry didn't bother to fight or try to free himself from the grip though.

…Such a waste of effort.

Alastor grunted but decided not to grace that with a comment as they reached Sean who stared at the two of them like they were the ones embarrassing him.

The nerve of this simp–

“So... judging by your bitchy mood, I take it did not go well with Miss Doom-shroom?” Harry finally asked, still in Alastor’s grasp.

“Don't call her that,” was the snappy reply.

“Aw, come on, man!” Harry rolled his eyes at the telling attitude, crossing his arms petulantly, “Just because you guys couldn't get laid right now means me too as well. What is this, a pity party? I was getting to the fun part!”

“What happened?” Sean asked Alastor, opting to ignore Harry's dilemma.

Harry pouted at the older man. Ouch.

“It did not end up how I wanted but we... we reached an understanding. At least,” Alastor answered, finally releasing Harry's shirt.

“So… in other words, you didn't get laid?”

Alastor clenched his jaw at the question, looking positively murderous in that one moment; Harry wisely took a step back from the alpha and almost regretted he had even bothered to ask.

Key word: almost.

Definitely didn't get laid.

“...huh, no wonder you look as grumpy as Sean right now,” Harry commented. This time, both of friends turned to glare at him—he immediately raised his hands up in surrender, “…whoa. Tough crowd, you guys seriously have no chill.”

“It's really none of our business but... now what, Al?” Sean asked, turning to look at their alpha with a concerned gaze, “You okay?”

“Peachy… anyway, how much does our pack know of W–” Alastor suddenly paused, glancing back to the direction which he just came from, a strange look passing over his face for a brief moment before it settled into a look of stubborn determination, one that often get him, his twin and Harry in trouble, “...I mean, what do we know about Proserpina?”

“Honestly? Not much,” Sean answered with a casual shrug, “Just what I told you. She's a relatively new minor goddess, after all.”

“Sean... please, you do not call my mate a 'minor' goddess, nothing about her is minor,” Alastor grumbled, one of his eye twitching in irritation.

“Oh, wow…” Harry whistled, completely amazed, floored, astounded—ah whatever’s the appropriate word, “...now you even sound as whipped as the old man!”

The beta pointedly decided to ignore the casual jab, what a buzz kill, “So... what are you going to do now, Al? Do you need any help?”

Alastor glanced around them for a moment, as if to make sure no one’s listening (none, Harry almost pouted again, because everyone’s too busy making out or having fun), obviously hesitant and a bit embarrassed but nodded. “..Just promise me that the elders won't find out,” Alastor muttered, “…I don't want her to get swamped by them like they did with me.”

Sean nodded sympathetically, “Of course,”

“Oooh, so it’s a secret mission?” Harry cackled, rubbing his palms, gleefully, “Hell yes, I'm all in! So, what's the plan, commander? We’re stalking her now or what?”

Alastor threw him a look, “What the fuck, man?”

“What?”

“We are not stalking her.”

Harry pouted, “BOO! Lame…”

“She's a goddess but we barely know anything about her other than her duties,” Alastor explained with a sigh, crossing his arms, “...I want to gather information first. I want to know as much as I can about her before we get to talk again.”

“You said no to stalking but you sound like a stalker,” Harry noted with an amused chuckle, “Worse, you sound obsessed. And I mean the creepy kind. Not the hot kind.”

Even Sean was kind of inclined to agree.

“Should I be worried?” the old man wondered.

“Am not!” Alastor hollered defensively at that. Harry raised his brows, yup, definitely obsessed, “Besides, it's my right to know! And I was just really worried, you know? Something bad had happened to Wi-… to her and I was just–!”

“We get it, Al.”

Harry raised his hand, “So does that mean we are going to break in on a super-secret underground temple?”

“Why does that sound so specific?”

Sean ran a hand over his face, looking completely done with both of them... and they haven't even started anything, “I don’t think we have to go that far, Harry…”

“...you two are no fun.”

“And you’re crazy,” Alastor quipped, followed by another depressing sigh.

“Oooh, you flatterer…” Harry feigned a swoon.

Alastor actually shuddered at that, shoving him.

Sean gave them a look, his face wrinkling a bit as he frowned, “Al, you sure you really want to do this? I mean, you just said you two reached an understanding right? So why not just, I dunno... try to talk to her normally?”

Harry made a face, “But that’s so boring!”

“No, it’s the right thing to do, you moron.”

Alastor simply stared almost suspiciously at Sean, eyes narrowing, “…wait. Why does it sound like you’re talking from experience, White?”

“GASP! SCANDALOUS!”

“Did you just seriously say the word ‘gasp’–?”

“O-M-G! SPILL THE TEA, OLD TIMER!”

Sean cleared his throat, face reddening at the curious stares thrown their way, “I mean, that's what I and Lizzie did when we first met. We sat down and talked. I'm sure it'll work out between you guys as well...”

Harry blew a raspberry at him.

“What?”

Harry raised an eyebrow at Sean, looking pointedly over at Alastor who was now frowning down at his already healing wounds. Despite the rain, there were still some thin, traces of blood left on his skin, particularly a nasty mark his collar bone that Harry was so sure was not a love bite.

“...not anyone's as friendly as your mate, Sean.”

“Touché,”

Harry suddenly leaned in closer and stage-whispered to Sean, “You know… I’m starting to think the poor idiot’s just been rejected!”

“WHAT?!”

Alastor's eyebrow twitched in annoyance causing Harry to let out a theatrical gasp at that, “Sweet Artemis… so I WAS RIGHT! Dude, you wanna go get some break up ice cream? Don’t worry, it’s on Sean.”

“Why me,” Sean grumbled, pushing Harry away from him, “And what do you even need a breakup ice cream for? They weren't even in a relationship.”

Harry shrugged, “Fair enough,”

“...Fuck you, guys,”

He chuckled, raising his hands up in surrender again, “Not today.”

Sean groaned, running a distressed hand through his hair, looking like he had already envisioned how poorly this will end up. And knowing just how much he likes to over-think, not impossible, “All right. I just know I'm going to regret this... but how on earth do you honestly intend to gather information about a goddess?”

“Let’s try Moogle!” Harry cheered, brightly.

“...Research? Uh... how about some of those books–?” was Alastor's unsure response, shrinking in further at Sean's unimpressed glare.

Harry frowned at them, yelling louder, “Moogle!”

“I mean, all gods have myths, right?” Alastor added, almost sheepishly.

“Moogle!”

“I just told you she's a new goddess,” Sean reminded him, his feet tapping up and down agitatedly, “Of course she has no written myth –”

“MOO–!”

“Oh, for fuck's sake Harrison… could you please SHUT THE FUCK UP?! It's not like you could actually just… type her name on the internet and then find something, let alone someone to get you intel!”

Alastor and Harry paused at that, giving the older man a look of awe.

Sean blinked, finally noticing their odd stares.

“What is it?” he asked, slowly inching away warily from the two of them when they hovered close to Sean with wide eyes, it was obviously freaking him out by this point. “Seriously guys, you’re creeping me out. It’s not funny. What?!”

Alastor grinned, “Thank you for your cooperation.”

“But I still believe in the power of Moogle!”

“Oh gods, shut the fuck up, Silvers!”