Reversal of Fortune [malexmale]

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

I was right about two things.

One, Stanton was not overjoyed to see me.

And two, I really did not want to be here.

On the upside, at least Stanton hadn't punched me in the mouth. Instead, he glared at me with his arms folded over his chest, like he was ready to yank me out of the dining hall for nothing more than to do said punching. Of course, his husband was seated beside him at the table and elbowing him in the ribs every time he caught Stanton glaring. Not that it did much.

As stunningly handsome as ever, Stanton finally dressed more appropriately for a family dinner as opposed to his usual leather liquor and smoke combo. He did, however, look so odd in his long sleeved black v-neck and matching jeans. It was incredibly sedate, perhaps too much, but Alaric seemed to enjoy it, and I supposed that was what mattered.

After showing Xiphrus the dining hall, the others had arrived shortly thereafter. Now, everyone was seated around the table, looking eager to eat with conversations going on left and right. Viviana and Michael were talking Renaissance art, Geara and Xiphrus talking about some activist group they were hoping to contact, Alaric was scolding Stanton for glaring again while Joxeia was very not subtly touching Zeus under the table and making the Greek god rake him with a lecherous smirk.

Everyone else seemed completely at home.

And I was beginning to feel suffocated. The room was too full of conversations, all about different things, people jumping back and forth between topics. Every so often, one of the butlers would come around with a pitcher and refill everyone's drinks. The sound of glasses tinkling softly, laughter and voices blending in a cacophony of plain noise.

It was strange; I'd spent my entire life craving this. I'd grown up around these people, most of them anyway, had relied on them for everything. And during the first few years of my isolation, I'd felt desperate needs for contact, even if it was just to have sex. Now, this many people crammed into the room was making me uneasy. There was a cold chill of anxiety creeping up the back of my neck and taking hold of me.

Thankfully, the minutes passed by quickly and the servants finally came in with the meal. Hot steaming food from roasted pork to collard greens and potatoes came out on silver trays and were spread out on the table. The servants bowed respectfully before taking their leave for the evening. I watched them go with a strange pang of jealousy, then turned back to see that once again Stanton was glaring at me. I just stared back at him. I wasn't afraid of a little staring contest, though, it did seem to aggravate him further.

"Wonderful," Viviana announced, "Let us feast then!" Everyone excitedly passed around the trays and the bowls. I sat to Viviana's right, turning to my right where Xiphrus was seated. He smiled at me as I passed him the salad. I just dropped my eyes to the salad, wishing there hadn't been cherry tomatoes added as I loathed the sickening pop between my teeth and the slimy juices inside coating my tongue.

I turned to my plate, picking them out and setting them aside.

"So, you're living in Inferi now, is this permanent?" Joxeia asked as he speared his salmon. Viviana inclined her head daintily, taking a dish of butter from Geara with a warm smile.

"I adore this sweet little town. It is exactly my style and I have received permissions from young Malachi as well. I am even in search of a regular person job," she said with a nod, making Joxeia arch a brow, "I know! It's so fascinating to job hunt. I wish to find something suited to my tastes and my skills, of course."

"Like, what, killing people?" Stanton asked. Viviana smiled when Alaric elbowed him in the ribs.

"Of course not. Killing is not my style. I prefer better ways to make people feel terrible, and wonderful."