A/N: This is a little something I came up with. It got the kinks out of my writer's block I've had but I'm not sure how good it is. Hopefully you enjoy it. Please tell me what you think.
Disclaimer: I do not own the awesomeness that is Class of the Titans.
The Tough Guy
I'm not sure when I took on the persona of something I'm not completely but I have. I'm the tough guy; I'm the one who keeps everyone at arm's length. They all know it; they see me as the tough one. I'm the one who doesn't show many emotions. I'm sarcastic and biting sometimes.
Sadly, the tough guy is a persona. It's a facade, a mask, whatever you want to call it. If they knew what lay beneath it, they would be surprised. The insensitive jerk, Theresa sees me as is wrong. I care deeply about every single one of my friends. If something ever happened to one of them I don't know what I would do. The time we almost lost Jay, I was ready to run to Hades all the way there and back for him.
I'm not sure what I would do if something to Atlanta especially. I love her with everything I have inside me. I would give her the moon and stars just to see her smile. I would hand her my heart to just get her to tease me before racing off with me just behind her. Of course it'll always be like that. Atlanta is just a few steps faster than me and just out of my reach in so many ways.
I shake my head, looking around the living room. Everyone has gone to bed and I'm stuck sitting here because I can't sleep. I've been having nightmares lately about watching every single one of them dying at the hands of Cronus. A few of them have noticed, I'm a little more sluggish lately but no one has asked why. It's not like I would tell them the real reason why I'm not sleeping well. It might break the fragile facade I have in place.
I look up at the creak on the stairs. A bleary-eyed red head is standing on the stairs rubbing her eyes sleepily. At first I know she hasn't seen me as she continues to saunter down the stairs. She stops in the doorway and frowns at me.
"Archie, what are you doing up?" Atlanta asks softly. I chuckle softly at her sleep filled voice that sounds nothing like the Atlanta I know in the morning hours.
"I haven't gone to bed yet." I answer. The rest have been in bed for at least two hours already and from the way Atlanta is looking at me, she's concerned. She moves farther into the room to sit down in the chair beside the couch I'm sitting on.
"Is everything okay?" she asks, her voice full of concern. I sigh I don't want to worry her; it's not something I feel like doing to her. "Oh come on Arch, don't play the tough guy at this hour. I'm too tired to beat around the bush and the facade you carry. I know something is wrong. Something has been wrong for a little while. You barely even give me a run for my money during our races." I think I'm a bit shell-shocked that she even noticed that the tough guy was a facade. It makes me wonder how much of my walls I have let down around her. It's not like I've said anything but maybe it was something in my actions she noticed, either way she noticed and she's waiting impatiently for my answer.
"Just not sleeping well lately is all." I reply. She glares at me and I know she is not going to take the simple answer. "When I sleep I have...nightmares." I said it; now let's hear the hysterical laughing that I'm so accustomed to in this house but it never came. Atlanta is frowning.
"What are they about?" She enquires. I give her a slight glare and she puts her hands on her hips making me think I need to get her away from Theresa more often; the psychic is having an effect on her. "Come on, Archie, it's me. It's not the guys asking. I'm not going to make fun of you. I might smack you for not telling me sooner but I'm not going to tease you." I sigh, I know I would do anything for her and thus telling her something is not far off. I push down the tough guy facade, the part of me that refuses to open up to anyone.
"I've been seeing Cronus killing all of you. He makes me watch as he kills each and every one of you." I whisper. She puts a hand on my shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze. I'm surprised when she gets up heading for the kitchen. I mean, I tell her, and she just walks away that doesn't make me feel very good. She comes back with a glass of water and hands it to me. I give her a smile; she's trying to calm down the emotions under the surface. She sits down beside me on the couch and places a hand on my knee.
"Archie, it's just a nightmare. Cronus can throw everything he has at us and we are going to keep fighting. Look at the past; we've been through a lot. We will defeat Cronus and not a single one of us is going to go anywhere." Atlanta reassures me. I nod mutely but I know I'm not going to be able to sleep either way. She sighs knowing it's not enough. She seems to wrestle with something internally as I stare at her. I can't help but think she's beautiful. I know this isn't the time but it's something that just slips into my thoughts. She fidgets a little and her hand on my knee takes my hand as she stands. "Come on, I'll stay with you until you fall asleep. You need a good night sleep."
I stare at her shocked but she's pulling me along to my room downstairs. The darkness downstairs makes me squint to see where I'm going properly as the light I'm so accustomed to seeing from under Odie's door is missing. Atlanta opened my door and moved away from me to turn on the lamp. I sigh as I flop down on my bed, she's making me feel like a child who had a bad dream and couldn't get back to sleep. She pulls my computer chair over covering a yawn. She sits down and looks down at me expectantly.
"What? You just expect me to fall asleep?" I say as I sit up removing the gold brace on my ankle.
"Would you rather I get you warm milk, a blankie and one of Herry's teddy bears?" She teases. I glare at her as I remove my hoodie. She covers another yawn and I wrestle with the options I have. I could tell her to go back to her own room and bed or I could move over and let her climb in with me. Of course I could give her my bed and sleep on the floor as well but giving up my bed for the rest of the night doesn't sound really nice.
"No I don't want any of those things." I mutter as I slip under the covers and move against the wall. I pat the bed beside me and she raises an eyebrow sceptically. "I promise no tricks. You're tired and I'm not going to fall asleep in just a few minutes so you can keep your end of the bargain and still get your own sleep." She looks at me for a few moments before rolling the chair over to the lamp and turning it off. I blink trying to get accustom to the darkness. I feel the covers rise up before a warm body is pressed against my chest. For a moment I can tell her body is stiff against mine, she's not used to being so close to someone let alone me. Slowly her body relaxes and she curls into my warmth.
"Why does it have to be so cold down here?" She grumbles. I chuckle before wrapping my arms around her to pull her closer to the warmth.
"You get used to it after a while and once you're in bed you don't feel it as much." I reply softly. She nods against my chest and curls a little closer. I breathe in her unique scent and it soothes me making me relax more. After several long minutes of silence, I figure Atlanta has fallen asleep. She shifts looking up at me.
"Archie?" She says sleepily. I smile at her.
"Yeah, 'Lanta?" I reply.
"Why do you always play the tough guy?" She asks. I look at her. I realize she's asked a lot of questions tonight and she must have wanted to ask some of them for a while. I also guess she deserves honest answers as well.
"Well, it's who I've had to be. Now it's just habit. Plus if I said half the things I wanted to say, you'd probably hate me." I state. She gives me a slight soft smack.
"Tell me, what would you say if you weren't the tough guy?" She implores.
"I love you." I reply without stopping to think. That is one of the reasons I play the tough guy because then I don't say stupid things like that. I blush a scarlet red and thank whatever god or goddess who wants to listen that she can't see me in the darkness. "I-" She cuts me off with a finger on my lips.
"Good to know because I love you too, Archie." I stare down at her in shock and she chuckles. "That's what I would say if I weren't being the independent woman." She leans over kissing me gently before pulling away to curl back up against me. I smile wrapping my arms around her more protectively. I kiss her head and close my eyes.
Tonight I'm not going to be the tough guy. I'm not going to have anymore nightmares either I know. I'm just going to be Archie and I can be happy knowing Atlanta loves me too. I can fall asleep content with the girl I love in my arms, my independent woman.
The End