Wow. Point one for subtlety.
Aphrodite laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. I was getting impatient, but then she finally spoke.
"Seriously, do you want me to break them up? They're such a cute couple!"
"Yes…."
"All right! I'll just want some payment. Up front, of course."
I sighed. "What do you want, exactly?"
She cackled. "I'm getting tired of Ares. I mean, he was okay, but he lost to a swordfight with a half-blood! I mean, how dumb is that! I need you to help me ditch him."
"There's a catch, right?" Whenever Aphrodite wanted to ditch someone, there was a catch.
"Yes, you're right! Make sure Ares doesn't find out that you're helping me. Other than that, it's fine.
"Yeah, whatever." I walked off.
Great. Now I needed a new plan. It would be easy to hide myself from Ares, as he was a MAJOR idiot. If I made Aphrodite's plan more effective, who knows? She might make an even better plan for me. I would have thought of a plan myself, but I had little experience in these affairs. I was a maiden goddess, after all.
I was walking, and I felt something go thwack into my back. Strangely enough, it didn't hurt at all. I reached for my back and pulled out the projectile. What I saw made me tremble in fury.
It was a heart tipped arrow. Trademark of Eros, a.k.a. Cupid.
I ran into Hephaestus. Just what I needed.
"Hephaestus?" I addressed him.
"You need something?" he answered, fire flickering in his beard. He looked strangely…handsome.
Ok, I was kidding about the handsome part. But he did know how to make stuff, which was a talent I appreciated.
I must have been staring at him, because he asked, "What exactly are you staring at?"
It's a good thing goddesses don't blush, unlike mortals, who have no control of blood rushing to their faces. I was close to doing so, closer than I ever have since…. ever.
"Aphrodite told me that she wanted to ditch Ares. Are you interested in helping?"
"Yes, of course. But why'd you help her? I thought you hated each other."
I told him what I planned to do. His face remained expressionless. "Be careful, Athena. Aphrodite is cunning in these matters, even if she isn't in others." At that, he walked away.
Just then, I heard a terrible roar somewhere on Olympus. It was Ares. It was fairly obvious what happened. Aphrodite was sure good at ditching people…
Hephaestus' POVAh, finally. My wife was rid of that cheat, Ares. As for what Athena's original intentions, they will be easily satisfied. Athena was staring at me. She almost looked…moony-eyed. Weird. Maybe I can make her plan a little harder than it should be.
I grinned to myself. This was going to be fun. Aphrodite and Athena were trying to split them up. I was going to bring them back together. The other Olympians would be in ignorance, and stay in ignorance.
And now, to work.