Closed: But they stayed there as stars in the shape of a crown

[vineleaves]

Dionysus is a very seasonal god. Much like the grapes he is known for, he spends the winter largely dormant and indoors - at least, when he isn't spending winters just traveling places where it's summer, there's an entire southern hemisphere, after all - but now that it is spring he has been spending most of the sunlight hours outside. He has his garden to tend to. Now that it is set up it hardly takes all day to do daily maintenance on such a small patch of vineyard, but truthfully, he's just spending a lot of time sitting outside, enjoying the weather and enjoying nature coming back to life. It's a plant god thing.

But he does have to go inside eventually. As much as he likes being outside he still prefers sleeping in an actual bed at night. Sleeping on the ground doesn't exactly do wonders for his lower back, so a little bit before sundown he bids goodnight to his growing plants and heads back inside. His plan is to clean up, head to either the café or a kitchen to grab a bite to eat, and then curl up in bed and either listen to a cd or read a play before going to sleep for the night.

When he enters his room it takes him a few minutes before he notices anything different but when he finally looks up, it hits him like a ton of bricks. Ariadne's crown. Painted on his ceiling. He stares at it for a long time, unmoving, just looking up. Eventually he sits down on his bed, still looking up at it. It's perfect. He has missed her stars so much.


"I know you've been... nervous, about it."
"I'm not nervous about marrying you, Dionysus."
"Well that's certainly good, all our friends are here already and I'm sure that would make an awkward conversation. No, I mean... You're nervous about joining my family. I can tell, y'know."
"...Well, they're not exactly the easiest people to live up to."
"Don't be ridiculous, my love, you're better than all of them combined."
"I think I should be very careful about whatever I say next. They are just in the next room."
"You're perfect."
"I'm mortal."
"You're perfect. This crown is -- well, it's not as perfect as you are, but I thought -- maybe if you wore it, you'd feel as wonderful as you really are. I don't care that you're not a goddess, but I want you to feel like you're one, if it'll help. You shouldn't be nervous about them."

_____________________________________

Some time later he finally emerges from his room. His hair is damp from washing and he has exchanged his gardening clothes for a clean and familiar chiton. He figures it must have been Grantaire -- who else would sneak in and paint his ceiling, after all -- and so that is who he is looking for. He's on his way to check the café when he actually runs into him in the hallway.

Dionysus doesn't say anything, he can't get words out, he just goes up and wraps Grantaire in a tight hug.

Comments

[vineleaves]

Dionysus takes Grantaire's hand, kisses his fingers, then leads him down the hallways back to his room. When they get inside, Grantaire might notice Dionysus' bed is a little messed up, from where he laid on it earlier to just stare up at the ceiling. In fact, he's having a hard time taking his eyes off the painting right now, but he does usher Grantaire to one of the chairs at his table before disappearing into his closet.

"I put it in here, on the off chance you decided to sneak in my room and paint a masterpiece on my ceiling," he calls from inside as he digs around for it.

[futaille]

He grins, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. "I can't believe I didn't think to look around for a gift while I was painting on your ceiling."

[vineleaves]

"Well, given you're an oracle, you probably didn't feel the need, as surely you must already know exactly what I've gotten you." That's decidedly not how oracle-ing works, but then again, Grantaire is only a pretend oracle¹. Dionysus reemerges, carrying a large basket full of several smaller items wrapped up in colorful paper. There's a decent chance that, oracle or no, Grantaire will be able to guess what at least two of the items are, due to them being suspiciously wine bottle shaped. There's another item that is probably a bottle of some sort, but shorter and flatter than what most wine bottles tend to be, and three nondescript rectangular box shaped items. He spares another glance up at the ceiling as he walks over and sets the basket on the table in front of Grantaire. "Happy early birthday!"


1. Citation needed

[futaille]

"Well, I do at the very least predict some wine, although pretend I said that in appropriately cryptic terms," he says as he starts by unwrapping the obvious wine bottles.

[vineleaves]

"Oh, of course," Dionysus says with a smirk. The first bottle of wine is the wine Grantaire has enjoyed best during the taste tests he and Dionysus started at the party. The second bottle is absolutely terrible, as close an approximation as Dionysus can estimate to the wine Grantaire likely had at the café he and his friends went to in Paris. "Thought I'd give you some options."

[futaille]

He goes to open and take a sip from each bottle. He grins at the first. "Well-remembered, clearly." The second, though, makes him stop and blink a few times. "Oh. Oh. Thank you."

[vineleaves]

"What sort of god of Wine would I be if I couldn't remember the wines you like?"

[futaille]

"Not the kind you are, obviously." He sets them both to the side and goes for the differently shaped bottle next.

[vineleaves]

This is a bottle of "KIERKLAAND" branded sandalwood and jasmine scented bubble bath. "Please don't taste test this one," he says with a grin.

[futaille]

He laughs and at least opens it up to smell. "Oh, that's quite nice."

[vineleaves]

"Hopefully it'll bubble up decently well too."

[futaille]

"With luck." He sets it aside. "Is there a particular order I should open the last ones in?"

[vineleaves]

"Not really, just be careful when you open this one," he points to one of the boxes.

[futaille]

"I should save that one for last, then." He sets it to the side and opens the smaller of the two remaining.

[vineleaves]

This is a set of some very nice paintbrushes. "And see, if I had given this to you on time, these might have been useful today." And because he has remembered it is there, he turns at looks up at the ceiling again.

[futaille]

"They'll be useful enough for my self-portrait for you, then," he says with a little smile as he goes for the next box.

[vineleaves]

"I'm going to be absolutely spoiled. Two of your paintings!" The next box contains a waistcoat neatly folded up. It is a fine, light sage green silk, embroidered along the collar and edges with vines and leaves in an ivory thread. The style is more or less close to what Grantaire wears, if perhaps off by a few years into the future, but Dionysus thinks it looks similar enough that maybe it doesn't matter¹. He is blushing a little as Grantaire opens it; dressing Grantaire up in embroidered grapevines seemed a much better idea when it was hypothetical, and now he's second guessing himself.

1. It's similar in style to these two, though obviously different color and embroidery motif.

[futaille]

He looks at it, gently tracing along the lines of the embroidery with a fingertip. "Oh, it's... let me put it on." He immediately unbuttons the waistcoat he's currently wearing, draping it haphazardly over the back of his chair.

[vineleaves]

"I hope it fits. I asked the mansion really nicely for it to be in your size." Maybe the mansion gave him one in the wrong size as a sign that it's stupid to give something like this to Grantaire and so he won't have to worry about wearing it or not. Dionysus is, of course, still blushing a little.

[futaille]

Grantaire puts on the new waistcoat and buttons it, looking down at himself. "It's perfect. Thank you." He gives Dionysus a quick kiss.

[vineleaves]

The kiss helps him feel less awkward about it, so that's nice. He smiles. "I'm glad you like it." ...It is nice to see Grantaire wearing his vines. He's going to give him a slightly less quick kiss.

[futaille]

And he laughs happily as it finishes. "All right. Last one. And be careful with it." He goes to carefully open the final one.

[vineleaves]

Inside the box is a kylix made out of glass stained in different jewel tones. "I made three more, so it's a full set. They're in a box in my closet, they just wouldn't all fit in the basket together."

[futaille]

He holds it up to the light, studying it. "That's amazing."

[vineleaves]

Dionysus gets up quickly and rushes to the closet to retrieve the rest of the kylixes, glancing at the painting on his ceiling as he passes it both times. He sets the larger box down on the table, next to all of the other presents, and gives Grantaire a kiss on the cheek. "Happy birthday, love."