Author's Note:
Alright, alright. I know I said I would have a Demeter or Athena fanfic out soon. But I had been browsing through my folder of fanfictions and chanced upon this particular fanfic that was not even finished. So with a bit of polishing and a few tweaks, I finally finished this one-shot that I had started three months ago and only now have completed.
And PLEASE take note, people. This is a one-shot, alright?
Hope you enjoy!
Muse of Fanfiction
Hebe rushed up the stairs to the last level of the palace – the level which housed the rooms of the Twelve Olympians. She had just heard terrible news from Iris, her mother's loyal attendant, regarding her brother, Ares.
Hebe knew it had to be terrible. Ares had gone to fight in the battle of Troy, siding with the Trojans. It was so very typical of him to rush into the rage of war just to quench his lust for battle. But she was stressed over the fact that he didn't take many important things into consideration.
Like the fact that the Goddess of War, the smart and sharp Athena, was also partaking in the Trojan War on the side of the Greeks, and that she proved to be a lethal opponent.
Finally, Hebe reached the floor of the last level and rushed past all the tall and shining golden doors until she came to a stop in front of the golden door that was engraved with the name Άρης – 'Ares'.
Just as she was about to knock on the mighty golden door, it opened from the inside, and a god with shoulder-length walnut brown hair and green-yellow eyes stepped out. This god was Paean, the divine physician of the Mount Olympus.
His green-yellow eyes saw Hebe immediately, and before she could say anything, he said, "His body needs some time to heal, but I have taken care of the worst of his injuries. But be careful. He seems to be in a temper right now."
Paean gave her a nod, and she returned the gesture before going inside and shutting the door. Just as the golden doors shut, she heard his voice shout, "I said I don't want anyone to see me!"
Hebe's golden brown hair sashayed as she whipped her head in the direction of the angry voice. Her caramel eyes immediately came upon the image of Ares lying atop the dark brown silk sheets of his bed, his body bare except for a simple white cloth that was wrapped around his waist. He had bandages and it was all dirtied with dry golden ichor. His head was resting atop many silk pillows and he had a bandaged arm draped over his eyes, which he moved to see whoever it was in his room.
When his grey eyes were fixed on her, his mouth twitched into a grimace.
"Hebe," he muttered under his breath in a slight hostile manner. "Why did you come here?"
Hebe inhaled deeply before answering in a gentle voice, "Is it not alright for me to see my own brother? I heard about what happened from Iris. How are you faring?"
At that, Ares suddenly growled indignantly, "Damn Diomedes! And damn Athena! Had she not assisted the blasted mortal, I would have been able to slay him in a few seconds flat! Now I look like a fool! A weakling! I would become a laughing stock of the entire Mount Olympus! Me, a god, beaten by a mortal!"
And then, his piercing grey eyes darted back to Hebe, who was now beside him sitting on the edge of his bed. "Is that why you are here? To laugh at me?" he questioned accusingly and angrily. "To laugh at how weak I was? Well? Is it?!"
Hebe was not affected by the malice of her brother's harsh words. She knew him very well to be like that, and she knew that fighting back would lead to nowhere. She too encouraged herself to not be so affected by his words.
Instead, she sighed and gently grasped her brother's hand. He jerked at the touch and his scowl deepened, but she did not pull away.
In her sweet and gentle voice, she replied, "I did not come here to laugh at you, my brother. That would be a cruel thing to do when you are in need of help. I came here to make sure that you were alright, and that nothing too serious had happened to you."
Ares held the gaze of her soft caramel eyes with his narrowed piercing grey ones. He said nothing after she had finished her sentence. After a few seconds, he looked away from her, but he still let her hold his hand.
Hebe studied the state of her brother's body. He was bandaged heavily around his torso, and not so much on his arms and his neck. His legs held scratches that did not look too deep, but other than that it was not so serious.
On the bandaged areas, ichor was staining it quickly, and Hebe knew that it had to be rid of.
"Let's get you washed up," she murmured as she urged her brother to sit up. Ares was reluctant at first, refusing to budge from his bed. But after more urges and gentle shoves from Hebe, he groaned and gave up his attempts of refusal, allowing her to help him off the bed.
Although his legs did not suffer from too many injuries, it was very weak and Ares couldn't hold himself up. Luckily for him, Hebe was there. She draped one of his arms on her shoulders and wrapped her arm around his lean waist firmly. She allowed him to lean onto her, making her support his weight, as he shuffled to the washroom.
When Hebe had drawn refreshing warm water into the bathing pool, she helped Ares get into it gently. After he had gotten off the cloth around his waist, rendering him completely in the nude now, he stayed still as she unwrapped his dirtied bandages.
What used to be open wounds were now raw pink scars which would heal completely with a little bit of ambrosia and maybe some help from the healing fingers of Apollo, who was currently busy in the war. But as for now, Hebe was careful with it.
She scrubbed his body gently and carefully with a wet cloth and a bar of milk soap. She washed away the stains of dried ichor on his chest, back and arms until his body was clean. And then, as she sat on the edge of the pool and Ares rested the back of his head on her knees, she washed his face and hair.
Playfully, she tickled the insides of his ear with the wet cloth. He grumbled and ordered for her to stop it, and she giggled in response, but nonetheless stopped.
Ares stared blankly up at the ceiling as his younger sister washed his blood-red hair. Feeling her doing that felt strange. He didn't have many people close to him, except for Aphrodite due to intimate reasons, his mother with just small hugs and touching of hands and a handful of one-time lovers. But this was different. This was Hebe, his younger sister. He was usually only close to his other sister, Eris, because she was a companion of his in wreaking havoc, and not so close to his other sister, Eileithyia, the Goddess of Childbirth.
But Hebe was different. She was the complete opposite of him. She was gentle and sweet, whilst he was quick-tempered and rough. And yet, she still treated him with respect and care, unlike most of the divine beings on Mount Olympus. In simpler and easier words, she treated him just what he was to her; her older brother.
"Hebe?"
"Yes, Ares?" she answered, her fingers still washing his hair gently.
"Why do you do this?" he asked.
She stilled her fingers and looked at him in confusion. He lifted his head off her knees and turned to look at her.
"What do you mean?" she asked curiously, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at him.
He lifted a hand and gestured all around them. "This," he murmured. "Take care of me. Why would you do that? I have done nothing like this for you. I do not even interact with you as much as I should. Why would you even think of me?"
Suddenly, a small smile appeared on her lips. Ares was visibly taken aback by the smile, not anticipating it at all.
"Do you really want to know why I do this for you?" she said kindly, but does not wait for his answer and continued on. "You're my brother. That is why. And I care for and love you as such. Is that reason enough?"
As the Goddess of Youth sat on the edge of the tub with a warm smile, the God of War looked at her in shock. He was hesitant to believe her words at first. But the kindness in her tone and the warmth of her caramel eyes revealed that she was in fact speaking the absolute truth. The words coming out of her mouth were not lies.
He knew not what to say to her. Instead, he kept silent and resumed being washed by her.
How could she be like this? he thought to himself. How could she be so naïve? How could she be so sweet?
When Ares was clean and dried (his scars now in the process of fading away), Hebe got out the comfiest item of clothing she could find for him. After he had donned the beige chiton she had chosen, Ares was slowly and carefully led out of the bathroom to his bed, still supported by his younger sister.
As he lay down back onto the mattress, Hebe said to him, "I'll get you some food now, and a cup of ambrosia to aid you in healing."
And then she turned to the door, but she was stopped short by Ares, who grabbed her hand. She turned to look at him again and saw his eyes fixed intently on her.
"Yes, Ares?" she questioned gently.
Ares said nothing. As he kept his grey eyes on her, he brought her delicate hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles. Hebe felt strange, seeing her brother do such a thing, but she smiled.
"Hebe, I-"
Ares did not know what to say. He was one of the most disliked gods on Mount Olympus, and yet Hebe could truly love him as a sibling, no matter who he was or what he did. He had never felt such powerful gratitude to someone, especially to a minor goddess, who so happened to be his younger sister. But what she had done for him and what she had said to him had somehow managed to touch his heart, which he thought was completely impossible.
He did finish his sentence, saying, "Thank you, sister. Thank you so much."
The smile on Hebe's lips grew bigger. She felt touched at hearing such words from her brother. She felt touched that he was even gentler at this moment than his usual gruff, rowdy self. All in all, she just felt touched.
Hebe bowed her head, saying, "You are very much welcome, brother."
And finally, Ares let go of her hand, and she walked out of the room to get him his sustenance. After the door had been closed, he slowly relaxed, staring blankly at the white ceiling.
He will resume fighting with the Trojans in the battle of Troy soon. He swore to himself that. But as of now, he will allow himself to relax and let himself be taken care of by his wonderful younger sister.