Lets Talk Logistics

It sure as hell wasn't the first time Jackal had been in Malara's penthouse, and he hoped it wasn't going to be the last, either. Today was the day they were going to sit down and... and what? Work it out, he guessed. Jackal hadn't dated anyone since Ralf, and that had been pretty much the grand daddy of all informal relationships. This was something else. He'd hardly known Ralf when he'd asked him out, and that had worked out just fine.

God, it was weird. It was definitely weird, wasn't it? There was no way it was not going to be weird as shit. He hadn't talked to anyone about it. Hadn't given anyone a heads up. Thanni was going to kill him.

He tried to be casual, dressing as he always did as he headed up to the living room. Just... as normal as could be. Don't worry about anything.

Yep, he was stressed as fuck.

More or less the last thing Jackal wanted was a quick fuck. Dallying with another god would get him enough of a stink eye from the boss. Fucking another god? Worshipping at her altar? That would be a whole other fiasco.

That was a bridge he was going to have to cross at some point. He had never been held to his religion the way mortals were. He didn't need faith. He had been created, and he had known his creator, and he had served under them for millions of years. But the possibility still existed that he could turn his faith away. That he could fall.

It had happened before. Not to him, but to others.

Was this it? Was dating a god falling?

Probably. Maybe.

He'd cross that bridge when he reached it.

Malara looked... herself. Casual. No cape for once, which was nice. He wasn't sure what he'd have done if she'd shown up wearing a cape like some kind of ancient queen.

"You wanna sit?" he said, gesturing to the couch before heading over himself. There was no way this wasn't going to be weird, but he was doing his fucking best to try and make it normal. To act like they were just teenagers working out how to date and not fully grown beings with a million miles of history behind them.

"Should I point out I only ever dated Ralf?" He said after a moment. "You have like... miles more experience with this shit then me. But I like you. And I was thinking about dating and what I wanted and I realized I had most of that with you already, and there wasn't any reason to not try and do the rest. Having each other's backs. Being willing to do crazy shit to help each other."

Boy did he have that one down pat.

That had been the deal, hadn't it? That he would go to Mes, do her dirty work, and she would leave him alone. Only there was something about flying across the universe to kill a tyrannical god that warmed you to your co-conspirators. By the time they'd gotten back, he hadn't minded Malara so much.

By the end of the second trip, he'd actually liked her.

"Before it was a fetish thing," Jackal pointed out. "I could kill you and I played hard to get. Nothing else really mattered. But now, dare I say it, we're actual friends. We give a shit. And honestly? It kind of hurts seeing you alone. Putting yourself... I don't know. Putting yourself in a corner where you say you can't ever be in a relationship, that you're never going to find someone who matches up to you. It's sad. It's a sad life. People aren't supposed to be alone."

"Forces of nature don't have kids," Jackal pointed out more or less immediately. "Listen, Malara. Have you considered that you're looking in all the wrong places? Like, serious question. Your past relationships..."

He paused, flicking his fingers up.

"Two mortals, who were doomed to die long before you. Dating mortals is... hard. There are complications. Especially when you're a god. Because eventually you'll want to keep them around, and then they're a worshiper. Gods don't date worshipers. You know why? Shitty power dynamic. They're never going to be your equal. They always be devoted to you, but not in a a way a romantic relationship is supposed to be. That was the issue with Jafar and with Cat. There was an inherent lack of equallness."

Maybe he shouldn't have said their names, but this was supposed to be pouring their hearts out. This was putting all the shit on the table.

"And Pandora... that's a whole other thing. Like the kids. Don't get me wrong, Dalia and her sisters were great, but did she sit you down and tell you guys that was a thing before it happened? Because I'm putting some solid money on the answer being no."

"Oh no you don't," Jackal countered. "You keep that up, and I'm going right back to dad and asking him to give me my old powers back so I can kick your ass to kingdom come." Not that it really mattered, and as Jackal reflected on it, he decided it didn't really matter. Not really. Whether he killed her or not was a non-factor. It didn't matter in their relationship, because he'd proven he was emotionally her equal, even if she could kick his ass again.

"So talk to them. To Chloe. To me. Say you're worried about this. I mean, we're talking now, but talk to Chloe. Focus on the people you've still got. Me. Thani. Dalia. People you can treat as your equals. Who will be there when the earth dies and the sun burns out."