how fate does so love the restless

This, Matteo was certain, was the first real conversation Father and son had....ever had about women. At least beyond what Matteo had encouraged Aiden to learn in those tumultuous early years in an effort to prepare him for those things Risque had forced him to learn far before he was ready. Far before he should have. The very thought was one that was so distinctly distasteful and distressing that even Matteo was so rarely inclined to allow it to rest within his mind lest he find that impossible...rage at that woman threatening to overtake him. Such atrocities could not be...undone. Not here. Not now. Matteo so instead determined to draw Aiden's mind away from the tragedies of the tonight and too- much of his past- and towards the young woman that Aiden, agianst all odds, had chosen to offer his affection to. That very notion alone was one that still assured the age-old Frenchman that, despite it all, Aiden's very....soul still remained intact. His son was still capable of both love and affection. EVen if Matteo knew, at times, those very things seemed to cause Aiden no small amount of conflict to both give and receive. Aiden struggled intensely with his feelings and their expression, the younger man too so often seeming to feel as if he was unworthy of love or affection in turn. Matteo, over all those many years, so continuing to make an effort to only offer that unconditional love and support the world seemed determined to deny Aiden- but too- so provided the WereKing with the opportunity to understand his own emotions. No matter how long it took or indeed, how many tantrums were thrown along the way as the Frenchman made numerous efforts to guide his son towards an emotional epiphany of some kind he was certain Aiden would never reach without some level of coaxing. Declaring Mira to be Aiden's girlfriend before Aiden himself had asked the woman was, perhaps, one such tactic in pushing the every stubborn panther forward when he might otherwise be inclined to dig in his heels.

Matteo's query of what Mira was like seemed to prompt a near puzzled look to Aiden's features in turn, the younger man fell silent as he contemplated that question. Matteo's own silver gaze shifted back to the fire that burned before that. The sound of that crackling wood had always been....calming. How much it reminded him of those nights spent in Alexander's army, beneath the stars, outside their tents. Alexander and himself and often spoken long into those very nights. Their conversations, every now and then, turned away from the war and its battles, from strategy and tactics and swords and horses- towards women (or men in the case of Alexander) and those precious few they had ever dared to find affection for beyond a mere curiosity. How the world seemed to have come full circle. Aiden at last declared that Mira liked stars and movies. This, it seemed, was all the Were was content to offer him as Matteo's brow arched upward in some manner of bemusement. He had dated the girl how many months now and this was all the information he had! Ah, sacrebleu! Matteo's head simply shook softly. Aiden, it seemed, having....misunderstood just exactly what he was asking and yet, he supposed, that the boy had taken the time to note even that was a victory all the same. The Frenchman's insistence that he should take Mira to the observatory, or better yet, the planetarium if he wished to indulge her love of both stars and movies seemed to coax Aiden's own brows to knit together. The younger man was hesitant as he repeated that suggestion back with a clear question.

"Oui, Mon Amie. They have you sit in a large room and there are projections above you. When you look upward it will show the stars and galaxies of our universe. The movie talks of how stars are born, how they live, how they die. It speaks of constellations and planets and solar systems. Mira would enjoy it, I think. Do not speak of it to your brother though. Dorian is fearful of space. He struggles to comprehend its vastness. Such ideas did not exist when he was young and he is not ready to learn several hundred centuries worth of new information all in one go."

Matteo allowed a soft chuckle to hum within his throat. Dorian would, in time, come to understand that notion of space and its infinite depth. For now however the Fae King so surely had his mind taken up with seeking to learn all there was to learn on earth first. Aiden's soft grunt of acknowledgement, it seemed, was all the other man was content to afford that idea. Matteo wholly assured Aiden had tucked it away to be considered all the same before the Frenchman sought to reword his initial question. Matteo, this time, offering those far more direct queries. The very kind that might better help his son piece together those emotions for Mira that Matteo knew existed. Aiden, as he near anticipated, was quick to insist he didn't know why he liked Mira. That response was very near habitual and yet Matteo remained silent all the same as Aiden's hand reached upward to run through his brunette locks. The very gesture was one of both stress and thought all at once as Aiden struggled to piece together just what he felt. That sentence Aiden provided was, this time, far more telling than the first. The younger man insisted Mira's lack of fear, her love of adventure and yet too- her knowledge of where she belonged in that pack hierarchy were appealing to him. Matteo, this time, allowed a simper to find his own features as he nodded. How very...significant it was for Aiden to admit he liked anything let alone anyone.

"Ah, I see. You like that she respects you. Not only your position as Alpha but too- she respects who you are and what you want. That, I think, is a very good answer, Mon Fils."

Matteo's voice was nothing short of soft as he uttered those accented words. The Frenchman attempted to further assist Aiden in...labelling those things about Mira he found appealing. If only so they might sit more easily in the younger man's mind when he considered them later as he was near assured he would. Matteo, for now, was willing to allow that topic to pass. Aiden surely had been pushed enough for one evening. The pair, for several moments, were merely content to that comfortable, companionable silence as Aiden nursed his drink and Matteo remained content to watch those flames as they flickered and danced. The night was becoming late and yet, as always, the Frenchman found himself near wide-awake, unlike the man who rested beside him. Aiden, even now, looked entirely ready to fall asleep on that sofa.
The Frenchman's hand waved lightly, a large, leatherbound book appearing within it before Matteo lent back into the plush leather of that sofa, his book opened to that book-marked page within.

"I think I am going to read for a little before I go to bed. Would you care to hear what I am reading, Aidun? It is about stars. Virgo is the constellation your birthday falls beneath. Do not worry, if you fall asleep I will wake you when I go to bed."

How very much he...enjoyed Aiden's company. Even if the other man was but moments from falling asleep entirely. He had hardly read to Aiden since he was a child and yet, perhaps the younger man might prefer to have his mind drawn to stars then the events of the night. Matteo's accented words so offering that tale of sorts then. Whether or not Aiden truly cared to admit he desired it.

"The Virgo constellation was first discovered by Ptolemy in the second century. It contains Spica, one of the brightest stars in all the sky and is the second largest constellation of all. The largest being Hydra. The Virgo constellation is associated with the greak goddess Dike. A daughter of Zeus. She is the goddess of Justice and is depicted as an Angel of sorts. She was born a mortal and placed on earth to rule over human justice. She brought peace, prosperity and everlasting spring and immortality to the world until Zeus overthrew his own Father and plunged the world into dispute. Zeus, or so Alexander will tell you, brought four seasons to the world, ruining Dike's eternal spring and shifting the human's worship away from her alone. She gave an impassioned speech warning humans that if they continued on this path the world would one day cease to be plentiful as she had made it. She fled to the heavens to become the constellation that rules over your birthday. Now, let you tell you about my constellation, Cancer. It is the best friend of Virgo you know...."