Simon was always glad to see Athena. She could hear it in his voice. She loved how his voice softened almost immediately every time he saw her and the way he smiled at her. She loved listening to his voice. Simon's voice was one of the few that never hurt her ears. It wasn't just that he was quiet and reserved, though it certainly helped. Even before she truly understood why, she felt that she could always trust what he said. Nothing comforted her more quickly than his presence, and no one could so quickly bring a smile to her face.
When her mother spoke, it was in whispers, her voice trained flat. It grated against itself, the quiet monotone was painful to her ears.
She didn't know it was her mother's way of saying she loved her. She didn't know that her mother was trying her best to keep her voice as quiet and calm as possible for her sake, deliberately trying not to aggravate her sensitive ears. All she heard was how much she was forcing herself to be quiet. The way her voice would stall and waver. As a child, the dissonance in her mother's voice, along with the noise-cancelling headphones her mother made her wear, terrified Athena.
Junie was always anxious. She was kind, and quiet, but Athena couldn't help but feel sad by the constant undertone of fear in her voice. She was always worried about something, and that made Athena worry too, not really knowing how to make the other girl feel better. It was nice to hear Juniper talk about the things she liked, flowers, plants, the outdoors in general. Junie's voice was melodic when she wasn't stressed.
When Ponco and her brother, Clonco, spoke, they always sounded the same. There was always a tiny echo, and something that never sounded quite like other voices. But everyone's voice was different. Ponco and Clonco's voices were just different in the same way. They had feelings, just like any other person. She didn't really know what the word "robot" meant or how that made them different. They were nice to her, and she was nice to them.
Aura was the worst. She always sounded... angry. Even when it wasn't angry, her voice would carry annoyance, or impatience, or things Athena neither understood nor wanted to. There was this tenseness in her voice. The ends of her sentences snapped a lot, and even though it was usually a little loud, there was always something that sounded like it wanted to be louder. She sounded less angry when talking to Athena's mom, but when she was, it definitely sounded like she was trying to hide her feelings. Something just sounded wrong.
As she grew up, she would refer to this audible wrongness as discord or noise. The difference between what someone was actually feeling, and how they were trying to seem like they were feeling. And she would never forget the first time she heard it in Simon's voice.
His voice held so much shock and terror in it, yet he was forcing it into an even tone. As he held her close and led her out, she could hear his heart beat above her in a frantic rhythm. Her ears hurt. Everything hurt. She couldn't stop crying.
"Come with me, Athena. We have to leave. Everything will be fine." The first lie she'd ever heard pass his lips.
The pain didn't go away when they brought her to the court. When Simon stood there and confessed to something he didn't commit. How didn't they know? Every part of his voice, every beat of his heart was screaming that he was lying, lying, lying.
Why couldn't anyone else hear? Didn't they care? Simon was innocent! Simon didn't hurt anyone! He was sad and scared, just like her! He wouldn't hurt anyone! He didn't hurt her mom! Let him go!
But they lead him away and held her back, as she cried and screamed, her own voice hurting her ears.
And nobody listened.
The next time she heard his voice, years later, it was a nightmare. The courtroom itself was frightening enough, a hundred pairs of eyes watching her and judging her every move as she stood at the defense's bench. But there was him, standing on the other side, smirking as if he didn't find anything wrong.
As if his voice didn't scratch and grate, full to the point of bursting with discord. As if he wasn't tense and terrified and so, so lost. He kept forcing himself to hide it, but Athena could hear. He was weary and scared and in pain. It hurt.
She wanted to scream, to cry, to shut her ears, to console him, to get him to stop hurting and hurting and hurting... but she didn't. She stood there and let the trial continue, not giving in, even as tears threatened to stain her cheeks.
Even under all that tension, the front he put up, the way he trained his breathing despite the pounding of his heart, it was still Simon. Hearing the same voice she'd love to listen to when she was little, now all twisted and strained as it had become, hurt. And she knew he'd done it all for her. All the pain he faced, everything he kept to himself, the tears he wouldn't admit to crying, it was all for her. And that hurt too.
So she had to do her best. She had to free him. So they could finally both stop hurting.
Athena was always a delight to be around. Simon Blackquill loved her fiercely and unconditionally, like she was a younger, much kinder sister. To him, Metis and Athena were the two most important people in the world.
Athena was always a precocious child, and had an intuitive understanding of people that never ceased to amaze him. She overflowed constantly with pure kindness, and always tried to bring a smile to people's faces. She learned quickly, and seemed to always know what to say to cheer someone up.
She was also immensely shy. All sorts of noises would startle her, and it was no wonder, considering her hearing. Even with the noise-cancelling headset Metis made for her, it seemed almost everything was too loud. Particularly people. Especially people. He never really understood why she would find him comfortable company, of everyone who spoke with her. He wasn't the only one who took care to lower their volumes when she was around, nor was he the only one who cared so deeply about her. How could he be? She was wonderful in every regard.
She deserved to be happy. Protected and nurtured, to be allowed all the opportunities the world had to offer. She was Metis' treasure, he pride, her joy. The light of her world, and soon enough, his too. The was she saw the world, the way she cared for others, her insight. her smile... Simon would do anything to keep them save. Her and her mother.
Anything wasn't enough. When Metis died, his world shattered. The day's events were carved into his memory.
Athena, covered in blood, an oblivious smile on her face. The blade, bloodied.
He knew it wasn't her. Any simpleton would. The problem was that he knew the law wouldn't see it that way. Their little project, the spy they were tracking, wouldn't let himself be caught easily. And as a prosecutor, he was more than familiar with the state of the law. With Athena on the scene, the government calling for it all to be wrapped up quickly, and with no one else to blame, they'd indict her. Without evidence pointing to another culprit, she would be declared guilty. And for the rest of the life, she would be branded as a murderer. A child who killed her own mother.
She didn't deserve that guilt, that shame. She shouldn't have to grow up believing she committed matricide.
His decision was made in an instant. His body practically moved on its own. It was easy to dismantle Ponco. To clean the blade where someone was sure to see him. To stand at the bench with just the right amount of madness in his eyes and declare that he was the killer, and to say no more beyond that. He grinned as he was brought away in chains, trying to ignore Athena's anguished cries.
She'd forget about him. She'd live her life, find new friends. She'd never have her mother back, but she'd not have to suffer a false conviction. She could be safe and happy. That's all they wanted really, him and Metis.
She wasn't supposed to come back for him.
When he first saw her in the courtroom, he was shocked. He had to hold back tears. Athena... She braved the same court that terrified her seven years ago, for what? Did she not know there was no saving him? At the age of 18, a defense attorney... She must have sprinted along the path he walked, learning law and psychology alike... All for his sake. For him. To free him.
She'd grown so much over the past seven years. A strong, confident young woman full of compassion and empathy, but also a deep sorrow. But she was Athena.
And he was terrified. All this time, he'd been ready to face the end. But she was here. And she wouldn't let him go. He was no longer sure of what would happen. He was not ready for what was to come. It had to be left in her hands.
He didn't know how he contained the maelstrom of emotions whirling inside him. He knew Athena could hear every ounce of it and it pained him. He fought her. And she fought back. And she won. Then she fought the Phantom he'd worked so hard to chase down, the one pretending to be his friend, the man by his side.
He could scarcely believe his senses.
The relief when he was finally free was indescribable. Simon's and Athena's both.
Simon never quite sounded the same after that. The seven years had changed them both. But they were healing. Simon's voice began to lose its harshness, and he gradually learned to relax again, to stop hiding behind every word and gesture. To be himself, and to learn that even if that self was somewhere between his harsh facade and an uncertain man struggling to readjust to life with an expectation of living, even if that self was so far removed from the idealistic young man he once was, it was alright.
Though nothing could replace what was lost, but now they had new friends. New lives. A future. Something Simon didn't think he had any more for seven years.
And Athena was there. Like brother and sister, they would face whatever came, hand in hand.