So Ares and Athena haven't been themselves lately. This chapter is getting them back to whom they are and who they need to be for each other. Also, I decided to throw in a little Lysistrata there. Hope the feminists and Aristophanes fans in the audience appreciate that.

WRITING PLAYLIST: Never Let Me Go by Judy Bridgewater

Beta-less again. Sorry for the wait.

As always, PLEASE REVIEW!

Much love, Cat

xxxxx

Athena kissed him and felt the heaviness she had been carrying in her heart fall away. It was as if an invisible hand had pulled out all the tension from her body.

He caught her, tightening his arms around her as her body seemed to collapse.

It was clear from the way he held her that no matter how ardently he was kissing her back, their unresolved issues were still at the forefront of his mind. However, currently, she found her mind too foggy and her limbs too heavy to do any thinking, or really much of anything else but this. She wound her arms around his shoulders, clinging to him dreamily.

"Athena," Ares murmured into her jaw. "Athena, listen to me."

She should. She knew that she should but…it was difficult. And closing her eyes and ears to the world as she savored the feel of his lips brushing over her cheek…that was easy.

But then he pulled away.

Athena opened her eyes slowly, sensing the inevitable confrontation as her lids lifted.

Her breathing was uneven though the kiss had been sweet and gentle. He wondered if he had mistaken a sniffle for a slight intake of breath as she took one of his hands in hers and lifted it to her face.

Athena brushed the backs of his fingers along her cheek. "I need this," she said softly. "The best thing to do would have been not to have progressed so quickly but there's nothing for it. There's nothing we can do to change it now."

"Why not?" Ares said, suddenly feeling combative.

She frowned. "What?" she asked, letting his hand fall.

He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. "Why can't we go back? Start slowly and figure out what we want along the way?"

"That isn't how it works," she argued. "We can't just– and then I wouldn't know whether we should…"

It was his turn to look confused.

"You know," she said insistently.

"I don't see why not," he answered, when he realized what she was hinting at.

"But it's not…"

He had a sudden thought. "Did you not…? I mean, was it at all? Did I hurt you or…"

"No!" she said quickly. "It was…" she ducked her head, "it was lovely, wonderful, but…"

He gently placed his hand under her chin to lift her head. "Are we or are we not gods?"

"We are…" she said cautiously.

"Then why are we letting others set the standard for our behavior?" he asked. "I think we're making this too complicated because…what was it you said before? It's something both serious and unfamiliar. So we'll figure it out together. We'll teach each other how to have a mature, adult relationship," he finished.

"It would be the first one in history among our set," she said with a smile.

He kissed her gently. "Who better to lead the way?"

"I feel like I need to be alone now for a while to gather my thoughts…but I don't want you to leave. Isn't that ridiculous?" she said with a hint of her usual charm.

"What if I come back later tonight? We can have dinner and…talk," he offered.

"Just talk?" she asked lightly.

He grinned at her wickedly. "We'll see."

xxxxx

Athena pressed her hand to her mouth as another embarrassingly girlish fit of giggles bubbled up. "You can't be serious," she said.

Ares grinned. "It's been a while since I've heard you laugh like that. And yes, I'm completely serious."

"I can't believe that mortal women would actually deny their husbands their marital rights and then seize control of all of the currency," Athena marveled. "Their lack of control over reproduction and sexuality and lack of funds or a socially-sanctioned means of fending for themselves are a large part of their oppression. To think that they banded together and took power like that…it's impressive."

"It is," he replied. "Needless to say the men were furious but eventually the combination of pressure from the women plus some...clever conflict resolution…on the part of myself and Hermes forced a peace. And then I came back to you," he said softly, taking her hand in his.

"I always seem to forget that you are also the god of civil order," she said.

"Yes, well, I enjoy a good battle as much as the next…" he laughed, "Alright, I enjoy a good battle more than the next person, but for a reason. Training has a purpose. And if someone is fighting for an important cause that they believe strongly in defending then that has it's merit but petty disputes and argument for the sake of argument only distracts from what is important and what we can accomplishment. I would rather have cities at peace and fighting in a proper arena than endless wars." He smiled. "Look at me getting all philosophical. Some meddling mortal writer will probably end up turning the whole thing into a farce anyway."

"But of course," she said, returning his smile. "How else could they deal with our presence and their follies? I am still not completely content with their version of events when it comes to my punishment of Arachne. That girl was nothing but trouble, always…"

He held up a hand. "I know. I've heard you tell it many times," he reminded her.

She rested her chin in her hand.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"How many times I've told you about that," she said. "You're right. We shouldn't let anyone else dictate how we interact with each other. As long as we both understand each other, anyone else's opinion is not my concern."

She could tell from the way his dark eyes gleamed that he was pleased by her words. That and the way he crossed to her side of the dinner table and drew her into his arms. He had a gift for undoing her. The touch of his hands on her skin seemed to immediately sensitize every inch of her body and when he drove his hands roughly through her hair, sending pins and ribbons cascading to the floor, she found herself unraveled.

"I'm sorry," he murmured against her temple, sounding thoroughly unrepentant. "That must have taken a long time to do."

She smiled as he trailed his hand down her back, tightly molding her to his frame. "I'm looking forward to how you plan to apologize," she answered impertinently, recalling their previous comments.

xxxxx

Hope you enjoyed it.

As always, PLEASE REVIEW!

Much love, Cat