Room 324, Monday Evening

[wwiii]

Look, Hercules had been warned.

When Warren had brought the god-turned-mortal-turned-pug back to his room, he'd set down some ground rules. No piddling on the rug had been a big one, and fortunately Herc had been pretty good about that. The other one, of course, had been no antagonizing Thor. And, really, Warren should have known better than to think that Herc's big, innocent slightly bugged-out pug eyes had meant that he'd actually behave.

And so, there were consequences to be had.

So, tonight, Warren was passing the time by flinging treats at the newly-renamed Mr. Sneezebottom, who was wearing the most lovely pink bow that Warren could get his hands on, and watching him jump for them.

He'd only brought it upon himself.

[For Mr. Sneezebottom!]

Comments

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

And after one particular jump for a treat, suddenly the little pug was neither little nor a pug.

Hercules, to his credit, merely chewed for a moment, paused, then swallowed.

"Those actually taste rather nice," he announced.

[wwiii]

... Hercules would be Hercules, Warren supposed, blinking at the teacher who was suddenly in the puppy's place.

"You'll forgive me if I just take your word for that one, huh? But you're totally welcome to take the rest of the bag."

Warren was not so much a fan of the puppy treats, really.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

Hercules then reached up a hand to his head and the pretty pretty princess bow.

That got a bit of a sourpuss expression on his face.

"...very funny," he said, trying not to bust out laughing, because even he had to admit that was rather funny.

[wwiii]

It was hilarious, Hercules. And Warren had totally warned you.

"Somebody had to stand up for Thor once you took off with his squeaky hammer," Warren replied, grinning crookedly as he closed the treat bag and set it down. "This way, I figure you two are even, now."

It made perfect sense to Warren, anyhow.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"How could I possibly not quarrel with someone named Thor!" Hercules objected. "And he's always been way more girly than I. Have you seen his hair? He's like a walking herbal essence-- wait, we're talking about the bunny."

[wwiii]

"We're talking about the bunny," Warren agreed, managing, somehow, to stifle a laugh. "Who comes complete with big feet and floppy ears, and something tells me the Norse god of Thunder doesn't have a nose half as twitchy."

Call it a hunch.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"But his ears are the same size," Hercules said with a solemn nod. With the bow still on his head.

He looked around and realized where he was.

"...it is probably not appropriate for me to be here," he said.

[wwiii]

"Probably not," Warren agreed, offering Herc an apologetic little smile. "Not now that you're not puppy-shaped, anyhow. But I wasn't going to camp out in your office for however-long until you returned to normal, either. Want an escort out of the building, at least?"

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"I think that might be for the best," Hercules said, reaching up to take the bow from his head.

And he walked over and tried to put it on the bunny. "Pink is more of an Asgardian color," he said.

[wwiii]

"I'm sure Thor will appreciate the new accessory more than you did, anyhow," Warren decided, stretching and pulling himself to his feet. "He's got pretty good taste, I think."

In pretty pink bows.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Are you saying I don't?" Hercules said, side-eyeing his friend. "I think my choice in, say, superhero outfits is mite better than yours!"

[wwiii]

"My choice in superhero outfits is to just not wear one if I can help it," Warren pointed out, grinning a bit as he opened the door. "You wear skirts, Herc."

... Well, it was true!

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Ahem. I have a new outfit, remember?" Hercules said. "With pants. And pouches!"

[wwiii]

"Yeah, but did you come up with that one on your own?"

Warren was not complaining about the outfit with the pants! For all the flying around New York that they'd done the other week, he was pretty certain that Brooklyn wasn't complaining, either.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"...no," Hercules admitted. "I probably would not have done the pouches. Though they did prove their worth."

He paused, not sure how to phrase what he was about to say in the appropriate way.

"...your girlfriend has a good sense of fashion, though."

[wwiii]

That did get a bit of a sideways glance from Warren, yeah. But it came along with a tiny smirk, too.

"It's hard to go wrong with black leather, isn't it?" Mistress Mayhem. Oh, Karla. "Not that it's the sort of thing I'd wear. Way too X-Men for me, really."

Because Warren was from a reality where people didn't go beating one another up in spandex, thank you.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

Hercules snorted a laugh. "Oh yes. Too X-Men for you," he said, still snickering. "You would never dress like them."

[wwiii]

"Hey, now," Warren chided, though he was fighting back a chuckle, "I've seen some of the things they wear. Who let those other Warrens think that wearing a loincloth with his red tights was acceptable, huh?"

If you asked this Warren, all those other guys could probably afford some good taste.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Well, you'd hardly want the ladies staring at your Angelic 'features' as you flew overhead," Hercules teased, smirk still on his face.

[wwiii]

Oh, that was just asking for Warren to laugh and punch Hercules in the shoulder. Really, now.

"I don't think they'd complain too much," he protested lightly. "But that's not exactly what I had in mind."

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Well then, you can tell me what you did mean as we head out," Hercules said. "I do know a few good designers that could help you with any ideas you have..."

[wwiii]

"I just meant, if the option was one or the other, he probably should have just stuck with the tights," Warren clarified as he started down the hallway. "I'm, uh, not actually actively looking for a superheroing outfit. Honest."

He had been holding out on this for nearly two years now! So help him, he was going to keep trying!

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Saving Brooklyn was not enough of an inspiration?" Hercules said, as they continued their little journey. "Apparently I'll have to bring you along to save the entire world sometime!"

[wwiii]

"... Does the whole world need saving often?"

So help him, Warren was torn somewhere between terrified and kind of intrigued.

"I mean, uh. I'm still not really much of a world-saver, you know? You have the awesome sword and the shield and all that. I flap."

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"You do realize they're just tools, right?" Hercules said. "They would be nothing without my heart and spirit. And you handled yourself more than handily when faced with villains with wings and worse. That spirit is in you, too. But I think it scares you."

[wwiii]

Warren gave Hercules a sidelong sort of glance at that, and then shrugged a little.

"Maybe a little," he admitted. "I mean, I do what I can when people need another set of hands or something. But I... I don't know. Angel? No pressure or anything, right?"

So, so much pressure.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"It's a lot of pressure," Hercules said. "Don't forget that I was just a young mortal back when I found out I was the son of Zeus. I know how it feels, even if it was very long ago. It might not be the same sort of pressure, but... I empathize, Warren. If you feel that I should not ask you to do these things, say the word. I will not ask you to be someone you are not."

[wwiii]

"I don't know," Warren admitted, quietly. "I don't want to let anybody down, you know? But just because people don't expect me to swoop in and... I don't know, save the day or something... doesn't mean I'm not letting them down all the same if I choose to sit out."

When had his life turned into the sort where conversations like this seemed normal?

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"Why do you think I didn't stop being a hero even when I became fully mortal?" Hercules said, simply. He reached a hand out to try and place it reassuringly on his young friend's shoulder.

"But never let that feeling be what drives you. Don't be a hero because you'd be a let down not to. Be a hero because it is what is in your heart to do."

A bit of a subtle difference, but an important one.

[wwiii]

Hercules got a little bit of a smile out of Warren at that, and the hand resting on his shoulder. This was the sort of talk that he kind of wished he could be having with his father, instead of just closing his eyes and hiding on some island somewhere and pretending the man didn't exist. So he appreciated the sentiment coming from Hercules, all the same.

"I'm still kind of in the process of getting to know myself," he noted. "I think the Warren you know had a bit of a head start on me, in that regard. But I do want to help people. I've seen some bad things, things that I want to stop from happening again, and I can't do that by sitting back and being scared."

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"And you're young," Hercules said. "You have plenty of time to learn about yourself. And I think we will both be happy with what you find out."

They'd reached the door of the dorms, so Hercules turned to face his young friend. "No matter who you turn out to be."

[wwiii]

"I really hope so," Warren replied, smiling a little. "And... If you ever want a hand with the whole crime fighting thing again... I'd be up for it, now and then. I would even wear another silly costume, if you really thought it was necessary."

Just... probably not one with a loincloth attached.

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"It's traditional!" Hercules said with a little chuckle. "But good. Hopefully we won't have any terrible crimes to thwart for some time, though."

[wwiii]

Warren nodded his agreement. And really, after seeing Herc lop off somebody's head the last time, he wasn't exactly in a hurry to run off saving the world again.

"With any luck, people are all done with the excitement for a while, after everything that happened in Brooklyn."

[olympian-herc.livejournal.com]

"And beyond," Hercules said. "But I'll keep it in mind. Hopefully Karla would wish to come again as well. And maybe next time, little Bob..."

He trailed off their, the memory dawning on him. "Well, I shall see you in class on Friday."

[wwiii]

That slip made Warren very nearly wince. God, he missed Bobby so much, right now.

"Yeah... Friday." He managed a tired smile, at least. "See you then, Hercules."

Or Mr. Sneezebottom. Take your pick.