Chapter the Eleventh
Theresa sighed as they walked through the portal and entered the gods' domain. She had a feeling it would seem like an eternity before they walked back out, to live their lives freely once more. She glanced up at Archie and again wondered what Fate had in store for them. If they would both come out of this alive and whole. She hid a smile and turned away as Archie yawned widely, scratching the back of his head. It was late; they had stayed at the beach an hour or more after leaving their graduation dance. Athena had told them their belongings would be moved while they were at the dance, so they hadn't stopped at the brownstone. Theresa felt a momentary pang of longing wash over her. She shook her head, and looped her arm through Archie's, leaning her head tiredly against his shoulder as they walked.
Neil and Atlanta followed behind them, the blond carrying the redhead after she had claimed that the shoes he had picked had 'destroyed her feet irrevocably for the foreseeable future'. Neil had just sighed dramatically and knelt, warning her not to damage his hair as she grinned and clambered onto his back. Neil yawned widely and shifted her weight. Atlanta glanced up at Jay sleepily as he led the way.
"So…where are we supposed to go now?" she questioned, chin digging into Neil's shoulder. She ignored his complaints as Jay turned down another hall, glancing back at the rest of his team.
"We'll go ask Hera. I'm sure we'll all have designated areas to stay in, close to our mentors," he shrugged and paused to briefly knock on the door to Hera's aviary before entering. The goddess greeted them with a small smile as she petted one of her peacocks.
"Welcome home children," she stood and walked toward them. "I trust you had a wonderful evening."
"We did, thank you Hera," Jay smiled, biting back a yawn. It had been a long day and he was starting to feel it. He shifted on his feet and tried not to slouch. "We were just wondering where we would be staying tonight."
"Of course. You must all be exhausted," Hera nodded and started towards the door. "Come. I will show you to each of your quarters so you may get some rest. Tomorrow will undoubtedly be draining."
Odie exchanged a glance with Herry and sighed, trailing behind the rest of the team as they followed the goddess through the halls. Odie frowned slightly, vaguely imagining all sorts of horrible things to be done to him in training with Ares. His shoulders fell, head hanging down. Would it be possible to just sleep through tomorrow? Herry gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, feeling sorry for his little buddy. He himself was looking forward to whatever the gods wanted to throw their way, but that didn't mean he expected everyone else to feel the same way. They paused finally near Hermes' work area. Hera gestured to a simple wooden door.
"Odie, these are your quarters," Hera smiled softly as the young boy staggered gratefully through his door, mumbling a goodnight to his friends. They returned it and staggered wearily onward. Their next stop was Aphrodite's nest.
"Oh thank goodness!" Neil exclaimed as he saw a smaller version of Aphrodite's golden door and hurried toward it. "My arms are killing me!"
"Hey!" Atlanta perked up slightly at the insult. "Watch it, or I'll make your head hurt worse."
Hera gave them a bemused look before continuing on down the hall. Theresa glanced up at Archie and shared an eye roll with him, Herry grinning as Jay shook his head.
"You know, I'm already looking forward to tomorrow morning," Herry chuckled. Jay gave him a lopsided grin as they paused outside Hercules' office.
"Me too, if only because it means we make it through tonight without those two doing anything crazy," he agreed. He looked over at Theresa and Archie and gave them a weary smile as Herry opened their door. "Good night you guys. Hopefully we'll see you tomorrow."
"Goodnight Jay, Herry. Sleep tight," Theresa beamed at the two boys as Archie raised his hand half-heartedly. He turned to Hera and half sighed, half yawned.
"So I'm guessing we're staying near Persephone?" he asked, tugging Theresa down the hall.
"That's right. She felt it would be more prudent to have you closer to her, even though she does not spend her nights here. She comes back by dawn and leaves after dusk, so should you need her for anything during that time, do not hesitate to ask, Theresa. And should anything occur during the night while she is with Hades, please come to me immediately," Hera told them sternly, holding Theresa's gaze as they stopped outside the solarium. The redhead nodded, tightening her grip on Archie.
"Of course Hera. I'll come right away if anything happens. Or Archie will, if I can't," she smiled tightly. "Goodnight then."
The wife of Zeus bid them a good night and left, leaving the pair alone in the darkened hall. Archie studied the double doors in front of him as if they held the answers to the universe. All he gathered from them was that they were unfortunately patterned with an engraving of roses and vines, and that he would die before letting the others see it. Theresa tugged on his arm and opened one of the doors.
"Come on then. Let's see what it's like before we faint from exhaustion," she teased. He smiled and let her boss him about, closing the door behind them.
The first thing he noticed about his new rooms was the faintly lingering scent of lavender. He breathed in deeply, letting the soothing scent wash over him as Theresa moved away. He opened his eyes, not quite remembering when they had closed, and glanced about the place. They were standing in a sitting room: two low couches lay in front of a fireplace. A table rested between the two, fresh fruit placed in a basket atop it. Warm coloured tapestries depicting their ancestors decorated the walls in a sumptuous but not overpowering manner. Archie's books covered one wall of the room, while his and Theresa's weapons were arranged on the opposite wall. There were two doorways, one off to the left, the other straight ahead.
Theresa wandered toward the far doorway, peeking through. She let out a small cry as she found a tiny kitchenette, complete with a little bistro table and chairs. It reminded her of the backyard patio back at the brownstone, making her smile fondly. She heard Archie in the other room, opening to the door to what must have led to their bedrooms. She gave the table one last smile before turning to join him.
"Uh, Theresa?" he called to her. "You might wanna come see this."
"Why? What's wrong?" she asked, walking through the other door to stand beside him. She blinked at the room before looking up at him. She saw his eye twitch when he looked down at her, his arms waving towards the room.
"There's only one bed. One! This has to be some sick joke that Persephone's pulling. I told you, she wants to kill me! Now she'll just have an excuse!" Archie raved as Theresa sighed and pulled his arms down, forcing him to look at her.
"Archie. Pull it together for crying out loud. Yes, there is only one bed, but look at the size of it! It's like two king beds put together; we could fit the entire team on it and still have enough room for all of us to roll around," she stated calmly, trying not to roll her eyes. "And no, I seriously doubt this was Persephone's doing. This feels a lot more like Aphrodite to me."
And indeed, there was one gigantic bed standing in the middle of the room, draped in expensive looking bedding, covered in a mound of feather pillows. The room reeked of wealth and indulgence: hints of gold glinted everywhere along with deep, rich violet brocades on the furniture that was evened out by a lighter lilac shade on the walls. Two patterned dressing panels stood on either side of the bed, a gold one for Theresa and a silver one for Archie. Another door to the right led through to the bathroom, Theresa supposed. She sighed and walked behind her dressing panel, finding an enormous mahogany wardrobe there. She grabbed out her nightgown and stalked back out to the bathroom, too tired to investigate any further. Archie still stood in the doorway, looking like he was about to foam at the mouth.
"Archie?" Theresa ventured wearily. He shook his head and crossed his arms stubbornly.
"No way! I don't care how big the damn bed is, it's just not right. I can't share a bed with you! Do you know how-how-inappropriate that is?" he scowled, cheeks flushing bright red. His partner blinked in shock, her mouth hanging open slightly. She shook her head, eyes closing momentarily as she stalked into the bathroom.
"Honestly Archie, shouldn't I be the one commenting on that? Personally I don't really care. The bed is big enough for us to roll over twice and still not touch. Plus if you did try anything, I'd break you," she shrugged and opened her eyes, gasping in further amazement. "Oh! Oh Archie, come here! Look at this bathroom!"
He stood sulkily in the door a moment longer, stubbornly not wanting to move until she agreed with him. But he could hear her little cries of wonder over in the stupid bathroom, curiosity gnawing at him until finally he threw his hands up and joined her. He raised an eyebrow.
"Huh," was his intelligent comment on the splendour of their personal lavatory. Theresa rolled her eyes good naturedly as he took it in. A large double sink area complete with granite vanity stood to their left, a huge mirror reflecting his stunned visage. A small water closet stood with the door closed to his right. Beyond these stood a huge shower with multiple shower heads, and a sunken bathing pool. Theresa giddily danced over to the pool, kneeling to let her hand dip into the water.
"Oo, it's so warm! Look at the stream coming off it! This is like having our own personal hot spring, right here in our bathroom. Do you how good this will feel after a long day of training with Ares?" she laughed, glancing up at her partner, eyes sparkling. Archie grinned down at her, rubbing his hands together.
"Now that's one body of water I might not mind sitting in," he agreed, stifling another yawn. "But seriously Terri, the bed-"
"Oh Archie, stop being a prude. I told you I don't care," Theresa stood, turning her back to him. She glanced over her shoulder mischievously. She reached up to her shoulders and started slipping her dress off slowly. "Besides, you should be more concerned with the fact that I want to shower, and you're still in here."
"Gah!" Archie hastily covered his eyes as he scrambled out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. He panted harshly, hearing Theresa laugh wickedly behind him. Damn woman! And not one single word out of you, you….whatever you are! Conscience? Ha! Not likely. Not a very good one anyways. Archie huffed and shook his head, stalking away from the washroom to the other side of the giant bed, behind his dressing panel. He jerkily began undressing, a scowl marring his face as he changed into a pair of pyjama pants, taking the time to neatly hang his suit away as he tried to calm down. Taking a deep breath, he walked back out from behind his panel. The shower ran quietly in the background as he faced off with the bed. The momentary bane of his existence.
I'm not a prude. I just don't think it's right for there to only be one bed for a girl and a guy. Who aren't involved….like that. Or, for a Theresa and an Archie, who aren't involved. At all. For that matter, we shouldn't even really be in the same room together! I mean, a guy needs his privacy! Especially first thing in the morning right? I swear, if I could cut you out of my brain, I would. But, yeah. This could get…awkward. And embarrassing…so very, very embarrassing. Why, oh why did Aphrodite design the rooms? What were the gods thinking? Has Persephone seen this? No, of course not, if she had there would be two separate bedrooms, duh Arch.
"Honestly Archie, are you still hung up on the bed? Staring at it like that isn't going to make it magically morph into two beds you know."
Archie jumped and bit back a startled yelp as Theresa swept into the room, clambering onto her side of the bed. He had been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he hadn't heard the shower shut off. She smiled sunnily up at him and patted the bed beside her.
"C'mon Arch. It's late, I'm tired and I want to sleep before getting my ass kicked in training. I promise not to take advantage of you in your sleep," she teased sweetly, crawling beneath the blankets. Archie scoffed and jerked back the blankets on his side. Hers didn't even twitch, the bed was so large. He settled in beneath them, glaring across the bed at her.
"You better not," he closed his eyes tiredly as she giggled softly. He heard her clap, and slit one eye open. It was pitch black in the room. "Hmph. Clapper lights. Wow, yeah, must have been Aphrodite that designed this room, 'cause that's cheesy."
"I like it. Much handier then getting up," Theresa mumbled and rolled over to face him. She sighed and snuggled into the blankets. "Night Arch."
"G'night Terri. No dreams please."
She mumbled something inaudible and Archie smiled before he drifted off into dreamland.
Archie sighed and rolled over sleepily, squinting as a beam of sunlight fell across his face. He opened his eyes blearily and was greeted by the sight of Theresa sleeping across the bed from him.
Oh ya. Forgot about that. Where's that sunlight coming from? I didn't see any windows last night…
Archie grumbled a bit and rolled onto his back, and got blasted full in the face by obnoxious sunlight as it streamed down into the room from the skylight windows twenty feet above them. He scowled and rolled onto his stomach, facing Theresa again. She was still sleeping peacefully, seemingly unbothered by the sun hitting her in the face. Archie felt himself relax again and smiled gently at the way the sunlight turned her hair into fire, the red strands burning their way across the pillows. One of her hands was tucked into a fist beneath her chin and the other lay loosely across the bed, reaching towards him. Her lips were parted slightly and he could hear the steady breaths she took. He took the opportunity to admire her pretty features. The curves of her body as the blankets clung to her. How small her hands seemed…
His stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly in protest.
Damn it. So hungry. I wonder what time it is…and when we were supposed to get up. I hope we aren't late for anything. Though I'm sure Ares would have been in here, bellowing at us to get our lazy asses out of bed if we were. I should probably wake Theresa up anyways, so we can eat and find out what exactly we're supposed to be doing around here.
Archie sighed and scooted across the bed until he was close enough to reach her. He grabbed her shoulder and gently shook her.
"Terri. Time to wake up. C'mon Theresa, up," he shook her again as she grumbled and scrunched her face. He snorted as she pouted and tried to roll away. "Oh no you don't. C'mon, we need to get up and find out what's going on."
Theresa sighed as Archie continued shaking her, slowly opening her eyes to glare up at him. He grinned cheerfully down at her. She raised one leg and planted her foot against his chest, shoving him away. He just laughed and clambered out of the giant bed.
"Well good morning sunshine. I'm gonna go make us some breakfast, and if you aren't out there in five minutes, I'm coming back and dragging you out of here," he smirked as she flashed a rude gesture his way, and left to investigate the kitchenette. Theresa groaned as she flung back the blankets and dragged herself out of bed, stumbling after Archie. She could hear pots banging as she yawned and stretched lazily, going to slump down on one of the chairs. She idly watched him as he cracked eggs into a pot and turned to search the fridge again.
He's still only wearing pyjama pants. Not that I'm complaining about the view. I wonder if he normally sleeps like that? Or maybe in nothing at all…Hmmm…Oh dear, I think he just asked me something.
"Hmm?" Theresa tore her eyes from his chest to meet his eyes, and gave him a sleepy smile. "You say something?"
"Yeah. You want orange juice?" Archie raised an eyebrow at her as she nodded, pouring her a glass. "You always this comatose in the morning?"
"It was a late night last night," Theresa grumbled defensively into her glass. "Now shaddup and gimme food."
Archie laughed and brought their breakfast over to the little table. They sat in companionable silence as they ate, neither one quite used to not having five other people at the table with them. Their eyes caught a few times between glances at each other, and they both flushed, feeling oddly shy and maybe a little awkward at the realization that they would have a lot of time to spend together from then on. Archie sighed and sat back, watching as Theresa cleared their plates, setting them in the sink to be washed.
"Sooo…" he cleared his throat, looking away as she gave him a mocking smile over her shoulder. "I guess we should see if Persephone is here. I guess if she's not we could go find Ares, or something."
"Sure. I wonder how well Neil and Atlanta got along last night. I think they may have been too tired to fight too much," Theresa mused as she stood at the sink, hands immersed in soapy water. She smiled as she remembered Neil giving Atlanta a piggy back ride down the halls. Archie stood and stretched, leaving the kitchen to get dressed.
"Somehow I doubt that. Though, they don't really fight so much as, bicker like little children. Now us, we fight. Them? Most of the time they sound like two five year olds," he snorted. Theresa shook her head with a smile and quickly finished up with the dishes. They dressed quickly behind their personal screens, and awkwardly shared the bathroom as they washed up before leaving their rooms to find Persephone.
They found her readily enough, watering roses in her solarium. Agreeing to keep silent on the matter of a single bed when she asked how they liked the rooms, they both just smiled and said they were fine. Persephone raised an eyebrow and gave them a look that said she didn't fully believe them, but let the matter drop. She told them that Ares had them for the full day today, just so he could explain his portion of their new routine and do some testing on them. She would have them for the full day tomorrow, and then afterwards their time would be divided between the two.
Theresa sighed as they walked down the hall towards the gym. She had really been hoping to spend more time with Persephone, as her main concern at the moment was of a psychic nature and therefore in need of guidance. She didn't really think a workout was going to help her any. She glanced up at Archie and scowled. Undoubtedly, he felt the exact opposite about the situation. She wasn't really sure why he thought Persephone was bent on killing him. He hadn't really done anything to warrant that suspicion… Theresa shrugged. Well if it makes him behave, might as well let him believe that. I know Persephone is scary enough, even when she's being sweet. Sometimes, more so when she's being nice. Like she's laying in wait to be evil. She shuddered and followed slowly after Archie into the gym, noticing Ares laying out a few choice weapons. She sighed.
"Hey Ares! What are we doing today?" Archie asked excitedly as he caught sight of the swords and war axes being laid out. He gleefully rubbed his hands together as Ares smirked down at him.
"Today I'm going to test your proficiency with a variety of weapons, as well as hand to hand combat. Then we'll see where your weaknesses lie and try to balance them out between the two of you," Ares grinned, sharing the boy's excitement. He may not be completely comfortable with Theresa's powers, but he knew she could deliver a good fight, and that Archie could easily match her. And he got to train the two of them into perfect Cronus killing machines. It was a good day for Ares. "Alright! Warm up first! Then weapons combat!"
Theresa groaned and headed over to a mat to do stretches, Archie following enthusiastically.
"Today's gonna be a good day, I can feel!" Archie grinned over at his partner. She shot him a look of pure disdain, and he pouted. "Aw come on Terri, be a little bit excited, won't ya?"
"And why, exactly, would I be excited about spending a whole day in full out combat mode? Already I miss our bed and that beautiful, steaming hot spring," she sighed. Archie glared at her, scowling as he shot a quick glance toward Ares.
"Will you stop calling it 'our' bed? Do you know how wrong that sounds? Geez," he demanded. She stuck her tongue out, earning an eye roll from him. He scoffed. "Oh real mature Theresa."
Theresa stuck her nose in the air and waltzed away from him, toward the weapons. She hefted an axe in her hands, testing its weight.
"You want to talk about maturity? How about maturely dealing with our sleeping arrangements? Which are purely innocent, contrary to whatever your dirty mind is thinking of," Theresa swung the axe around lightly, giving him a dirty look. He flushed red and stomped over to her.
"Listen here woman," he growled. Theresa raised her eyebrows. Woman? She poked him in the chest with the axe. Archie huffed and pushed the offending axe away.
"No, you listen here Archie. We are partners. We are supposed to trust each other, right?" she gave him a harsh, stern look. He gave a curt nod in agreement. Her eyes softened slightly and she leaned toward him. "So then trust me when I say you're making a big deal out of this. Look, when you really think about it, this set up is probably best for us. We don't know when, or even if, those dreams will stop. And if I need help but can't get it myself, then you'll be there for me. You'll know immediately if something is wrong, and you'll be able to help me. I know it might not be the most comfortable situation in the world, but neither was living in the brownstone together for the first little while. We'll get used to it."
Archie took a deep breath and slowly released it, eyes closing. Theresa raised some very good points. He did need to be close to her in case she needed him. And being able to adjust to any situation had kept them alive more than once. He opened his eyes, looking down at her.
"You raise a very good point. But. I don't think it's immature to be a little….put out by our sleeping arrangements. I mean, what are the others going to think of it, huh?" he challenged, grabbing a sword similar to Jay's xiphos for himself. Theresa shrugged and watched him eye the sword critically.
"I don't particularly care. Why do we even need to tell them anyways? It's not like we have to advertise our living arrangements for everyone," she sighed, wondering if they could get through the day without harming each other. She was seriously beginning to doubt it. She shrugged inwardly and took a swipe at him with the axe.
"Because, if you keep calling it 'ours', they're gonna-Hey!" Archie yelped and jumped aside as she swiped at him. Theresa smirked and followed after him, forcing him to dodge again. He scowled and stopped, switching to the offensive as he pushed back against her advances. "If you think you're gonna distract me by attacking me with a sharp, pointy weapon, you've got another thing coming!"
Ares watched in delight as they danced across the gymnasium floor, weapons flashing and taunts goading each other on. They were in fine fighting form today, apparently. He sighed as he relished the sound of steel clanging on steel, faint memories of a more bloodthirsty time flirting at the edge of his mind. Shaking his head, he regretfully pushed those thoughts away and focussed on the teens, eyeing them critically.
"Archie! Keep your shoulder up! Don't let her get under your guard! And Theresa! Make your recovery faster! I don't want to see your back exposed to him for even a second!"
Theresa groaned as she lifted her burning arms for another block. Really, was Ares going to give them any mercy in the days to come? Does Ares even know the word mercy? Somehow seriously doubt it, and Archie's no better! Guhraarghh! Panting for breath, she skipped back a few steps and dropped her axe. Spinning, she sprinted to the weapons table and snatched a few throwing daggers on her way past. Glancing behind her, she noticed Archie had dropped his sword and was following her swiftly, grabbing a simple whipcord from the table. He gave her a smirk as he got closer.
Damn stupid look on his face. Hate this, hate this, hate this. Eep!
Archie struggled not to laugh as he almost caught her with the whip. She dodge at the last second, and somehow he knew it had been uncanny instinct that saved her hide. She shot him a glare and fired off one of her daggers at him. He moved swiftly to the side, the sharp blade whizzing past him to bury itself in one of the marble columns. Archie felt the corner of his eye twitch.
That's…crazy! Is she channelling Herry or something? Better check for freaky glowing eyes before going any further Arch.
Archie let his pace slow as he slipped behind another column, intent on catching his breath and assessing the situation. He could still vividly remember the crater Theresa had put in the floor last time they fought. He had no desire for her to do that to his face instead. Letting his head fall back, he forced his breathing to slow, listening for any sound of his partner moving around the large room.
Theresa had also taken to hiding beneath a column, breathing heavily as she bent over her knees. She had forgotten just how fast Archie was, so much more used to thinking of Atlanta as the speed demon in their group. But apparently immunity, a wonky ankle and an aversion to water weren't the only things Archie inherited from Achilles. Gasping in a few more lungful of air, she cautiously poked her head out and glanced around the gym. Narrowing her eyes when she didn't see him, she cautiously crept out, and let her eyes fall half-closed.
Oh Aarchiiiie…where are you hiding? I can feel you; you're close…
A rustling to his left was the only warning he got; he ducked and spun away from the column, where another small dagger was now lodged. A small piece of his shirt pinned underneath it. Theresa scowled as he moved away. She had hoped to pin him by the shirt there, but apparently she wasn't that lucky. She darted away quickly, heading back to the table as she was now weapon less. And Archie still had that damn whip of his. Grinning as he saw her direction, Archie cut to the left, hoping to get ahead of her. Sweat beaded on Theresa's brow as she ran full tilt, one eye on her partner. Ten feet away. She could make it.
Seven feet.
Three feet.
One foot. She could just reach out…
"Uff!" she cried as she was suddenly stopped short. A quick jerk and she was flat on her back, whipcord wrapped about her waist. She huffed and blew a sweaty strand of hair out of her face. Clinking steel tapped up beside her head and she glanced up. Archie smirked down at her, one hand loosely holding the handle of the whip. Theresa scowled up at him and smacked away the hand he offered her, pushing herself up stubbornly. They both glanced back at Ares when he let out a gruff bark of laughter and clapped his hands together.
"Excellent! Most excellent. Theresa, that was impressive work with the daggers. Your aim and strength is good. We just need to work on your speed and stamina more. Archie, perfect harmony with the weapons, as usual. Though I have a feeling you're little witch may show you a thing or two in hand to hand combat," Ares smirked as the smug grin on Archie's face fell, the boy casting an apprehensive look at the redhead. He remembered all too well what else happened besides the crater that day. Theresa simply smirked condescendingly at him. "Take a break!"
They both sat on a nearby bench, heavily gasping for breath as they drank deeply from their water bottles. Archie glanced over at his partner.
"So, uh, please don't sack me again?" he asked with a tentative grin. Theresa laughed and shook her head.
"I won't, I promise. I felt so bad after I did that," she sighed and leaned back, swiping her forehead with the back of her arm. "Phew! You sure are fast Archie!"
"Yeah, well," he shrugged modestly. He nudged her shoulder. "What about you? Burying daggers in marble columns, eh? How'd that happen?"
Theresa frowned as she glanced at said daggers, still buried in said columns.
"Not sure myself. I didn't feel any different when I was throwing them…" she mused. Shrugging as Ares called for them to move to the mats for their hand to hand portion of combat, she put it out of her mind. Taking a deep breath, she sank into a readied stance, feet apart. Sending a smirk over to Archie as he stood across from her, loosely mimicking her posture. He held his fists up, close to his chin, looking more ready for a boxing match than anything.
"So, uh, you're a black belt right?" he gave her an anticipatory grin, tight around the edges. Her smirk widened.
"That's right. Second degree black belt in Taekwondo," Theresa answered calmly, shifting her weight ever so slightly. Archie whistled appreciatively, making her flush. "It's not that great. There's still seven more degrees after that."
"Wow. Never knew that. Still impressive though. Now, you gonna show me some fancy moves, or what?" Archie grinned and came at her. His attack was lightning fast, but Theresa was faster. Before he could blink Archie found himself flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling. He could hear Ares laughing in the background as Theresa leaned over him, grinning.
"Sorry Arch. But against a beginner like you? Fancy moves would just be a waste," she giggled at his gob smacked look. He stared up at her a moment longer before a grin slowly spread across his face and he leaped up again.
"You laid me out in like, two seconds flat! Oh, you've GOT to show me how Terri," Archie laughed harshly, ready for round two. Theresa shrugged and sank back down again.
"Alright. If you're sure," she raised an eyebrow at him.
"Oh yeah. Definitely," he gave her a feral grin, which she readily answered.
"You asked for it," she gleefully warned. He bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet, watching her carefully as he waited for her to strike. He could feel the adrenaline starting to course through his body, the excitement of learning a new style of fighting more than making up for any embarrassment he might have felt at getting taken down so quickly and efficiently just moments ago.
"Bring it on."
So she did.
Archie groaned as he gingerly sat on the benches, feeling thoroughly thrashed and bruised all over. Theresa gave him a sheepish grin as she passed him a bottle of water.
"I did warn you. But you never listen. You stubborn man," she sighed. He shrugged and grinned at her.
"Nah. I had a lot of fun, despite the bruising that will no doubt occur from being slammed into the floor however many times," Archie insisted. Theresa shook her head hopelessly.
"Well, maybe next time, you'll at least let me teach you how to fall properly. Instead of insisting that 'this time you won't fall'," she snorted as Ares approached them, a thoughtful look on his face. He eyed them speculatively, running a hand over his moustache.
"Not bad. For mortal children, that is. Yes, not bad at all. Plenty to work with yet…" he muttered. Theresa and Archie exchanged tired glances and shrugged at each other as Ares continued muttering to himself. Their muscles ached and they fervently hoped to be done for the day. Ares had definitely pushed them, sussing out their strengths and weaknesses. Every little flaw that needed correcting, areas to improve upon. And they had pushed each other in turn, teaching each other new tricks.
"Alright, I'm done with you. For now. There's a dining hall set aside for you seven to use, just down the hall. I would imagine the rest of your team have been there for some time now. Hmph. Some gods are just too soft," Ares grimaced down at them. "Get out of here! I'll see you the morning after tomorrow."
Trying to contain their glee, they quickly left the gym. Glancing at each other in the hall they burst out laughing, leaning against each other for support.
"Come on, let's shower and then find the others," Theresa grinned up at her partner. Archie smirked down at her, pulling away.
"Sounds good. Race ya!" he shouted and took off to their rooms. Theresa yelped and ran after him in disbelief.
"How can you run after that hell we went through?"
"I'll do anything for the lure of a hot shower!"
"Not fair! Haven't you heard of ladies first, Archie?"
"You're no lady Theresa!"
"Screw you! I'm gonna drown you in that pool!"
Their shouts echoed down the hall as they tiredly scrambled to be first home and thus, first in the coveted shower.
Theresa stuck her nose in the air as Archie held the dining hall door open for her.
"Thought I wasn't a lady," she sniffed haughtily.
"Nope. But you are royalty," he grinned down at her. She glanced at him quizzically. "Drama Queen."
She rolled her eyes and stomped away, flopping down next to an equally annoyed Atlanta. They shared aggravated looks as Archie flopped down on Theresa's other side. Neil sat beside Atlanta at the low, round table. Giant pillows served as chairs and the table was laden with food. Theresa nudged Atlanta.
"So? As bad as you thought?" Theresa grinned. Atlanta gave her a dark glower.
"Worse. You know, I don't know who's worse: Neil or Aphrodite. She gave us one bed. One! I know she's the goddess of love and all, but come on! And it was round! How cheesy is that? I made Neil sleep on the couch," Atlanta huffed, taking a large gulp of juice to wash down her tirade. Neil pouted beside her.
"I still don't see why you got the bed. You were practically hanging off the edge this morning anyways. Waste of a perfectly good bed. While I had to sleep on that tiny little divan," Neil muttered. Theresa bit her lip to keep from laughing.
"Huh. Aphrodite must have done our room. We've only got one bed too," Archie wondered distractedly as he piled his plate with food.
"Really? Well at least I wasn't the only one who had to suffer with a horrible sleeping surface," Neil brightened. Archie smirked up at him.
"No, you were the only one. We were quite cozy together in our non-round bed," he said nonchalantly. Theresa elbowed him in the ribs, noticing the stricken look on Jay's face.
"Honestly Archie, could you say that in a worse way?" Theresa rolled her eyes, scowling at him. She didn't know why she had the irrational urge to take that look off Jay's face, but she did. And Archie's smug grin was getting annoying. He enjoyed riling Jay and Neil up far too much. " 'Our bed' as you say, is large enough for the whole team to sleep in, with room to spare."
"Exactly. So we were both cozy, together, in our giant bed. Geez Theresa, no need to be snippy," Archie grumbled, rubbing his side. She had very pointy elbows. He glanced over at Herry and Jay, grinning widely. "Please don't tell me you two are sharing a bed. Even Aphrodite has to have her limits."
"Of course not. That would just be…weird," Jay shot him a glare as Herry inched discretely away from him. Atlanta spluttered as she choked on her juice. She slammed down the glass and glared at her Leader.
"What? So, what, it's normal for Neil and I to share a bed? Or Theresa and Archie? I think it'd be a helluva lot more normal for two boys to share a bed!" she cried indignantly. Picking up her fork, she waved it menacingly. "All I know is that there better be two beds when we go home tonight, or there's gonna be hell to pay."
"Damn right. Because no way am I sleeping on a divan two nights in a row," Neil sniffed. "Though Aphrodite does love playing matchmaker, that is just horribly unsubtle and my beauty sleep is far more important. As if it's not bad enough with all this stress, I mean the last thing I need is a break-out. Unlike the rest of you, I have a career to go back to after this is all over…"
They let Neil ramble on about his beauty needs, too tired to do much else but listen with half an ear. Jay stabbed his fork viciously into his food, glowering down at it. Sneaking a quick glance at Theresa and Archie, he saw her frowning at her partner. A smirk tugged at his lips for a moment before it fell again
So they shared a giant bed last night. So what? Theresa doesn't look too thrilled, even if Archie needs to have that damn smug grin wiped off his face…It doesn't mean anything. Aphrodite can fix it tonight. He just wants to make me jealous, which we can't afford. Besides I can't afford to focus just on Theresa, no matter how much I might want to…Damn it…
Theresa for her part, was tiredly wondering why Archie seemed to be trying to deliberately provoke their Leader. It was stupid and pointless.
It's not like he would even really care, in that way at least. He probably just doesn't want our team dynamics thrown off even more than they already are. I think it's pretty obvious he doesn't care what I do in my personal life. And why is Archie starting a pissing contest anyways? He doesn't even approve of…well the idea of me and Jay, so why he should want to inspire jealousy in Jay is beyond me. And why the hell do I even care?
She glared at Archie again for good measure. He glanced at her and gave her a wounded look. Theresa rolled her eyes and lay back against her cushion. Jay cleared his throat.
"So, what's everyone's schedule like?" he tried to ask casually, genuinely curious as to what his team was up to. Archie flopped back on his cushion, stretching his arms over his head.
"Well, Ares kicked our asses today, and Persephone's gonna wipe our brains tomorrow. After that, I'm not sure," he answered, glancing at his partner.
"I'm not sure either, though I'm sure we'll be switching between the two. Guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out," Theresa shrugged.
"That's what Neil and I are doing," Atlanta piped up. "We spend a full day with Artemis, and then switch to Aphrodite the next day. We were with Aphrodite today."
"Hey, we're doing the same too!" Herry grinned excitedly. "We were with Hera today, and we've got Hercules tomorrow. So maybe we'll be able to train together?"
"Oo, maybe! That'd be cool!" Atlanta bounced excitedly on her cushion. She turned to Odie. "What about you Odie? Don't tell me Hermes is keeping you cooped up with him all the time."
"Not all the time," Odie grinned. "I'm spending some time with Hephaestus too. And I'm sure I'm gonna be forced into spending time in the gym with all of you guys."
"Aw, it won't be that bad Odie," Theresa smiled encouragingly. Archie snorted beside her, earning himself another glare from the redhead. He raised an eyebrow at her.
"What? 'It won't be that bad'? Come on Theresa, Ares is gonna eat him alive if he gets his hands on him. We barely made it through the gauntlet," he pointed out. Giving Odie a sympathetic look, he shook his head. "Sorry man, but I'm not sure you'd survive it."
"G-gauntlet?" Odie gulped. He laughed nervously. "He's joking, right Theresa? He means gauntlet in a metaphorical sense, right?"
"Oh, how I wish he did," Theresa grumbled, rolling her eyes. "Unfortunately, it was quite literal, in every sense."
"You guys got a gauntlet? Wow, jealous!" Atlanta exclaimed. "I wonder if Ares would let us run it?"
"Are you insane?" Neil squawked, looking at his partner like she'd grown another head. She blinked up at him. "Why would you want to do something like that?"
"Uh, cuz it'd be fun. Duh?" she said dryly. Turning to Archie she began grilling him for details, ignoring the disbelieving look Neil was giving her.
"You have a weird idea of fun," he muttered, shuddering at the thought of being dragged through whatever hellish course Ares had designed. Theresa grinned at him.
"They both do Neil. It's just something we have to live with. Besides, while they're avoiding death for fun, we can do normal fun stuff. Like facials," she winked. Neil sat up excitedly, a devilish gleam suddenly springing up in his blue eyes.
"Ooo. You're right. Of course. Yes. Why didn't I think of that?" Neil muttered to himself, the evil grin of his face growing. Theresa had a feeling he wasn't talking about the two of them doing facials. "Hehe. If I'm gonna be forced through psychotic gauntlets tomorrow, then Lanta will suffer just the same. Maybe a seaweed wrap to start with…"
Theresa blinked and shook her head. Terrifying visions of the horrors those two would put each other through were dancing through her mind, and she was starting to freak herself out just a little bit. With a sigh, she stood and stretched languidly. Really, she should be more worried about what Persephone was going to put her and Archie through tomorrow.
"Well, like Archie said, Ares kicked our asses. I'm gonna head off to bed," she yawned. Archie glanced up at her, smothering an answering yawn, and stood with a groan, cracking his back.
"Yeeahh, probably a good idea. Need to be alert tomorrow. I still don't trust Persephone not to flay me alive if I fall asleep on her," he grimaced. Theresa rolled her eyes and laid a hand on his back, pushing him towards the door.
"Honestly Archie…" she sighed and glanced back at her other friends. "Good night guys."
The walk back to their rooms was silent, as Archie imagined various horrific scenarios with Persephone, and Theresa struggled not to smack him. Just because she couldn't read his mind (yet), didn't mean she couldn't read the looks on his face. She rolled her eyes again as they trudged tiredly into their bedroom.
Damn, forgot about that stupid bed. Oh well, we can ask Aphrodite to fix it tomorrow. Now it's time for a soak in that hot spring!
"I'm gonna take a bath. Want to join me?" she asked innocently, wandering into the bathroom. She heard Archie making choking noises behind her. Smirking quickly, Theresa glanced back at him, blinking her eyes cutely. "You know, I'm surprised you let it slip about us sharing a bed, considering how embarrassed you were earlier."
"Theresa! You can't just…ask me to share a bath with you, and expect me not to react!" he cried, face flushing uncomfortably. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he deflated slightly. "And yeah…I like annoying Jay…and Neil. Whatever."
"Yeah, I got that," Theresa sighed, moving further into the washroom. "Come on Archie, it's not like it's a real bath. Haven't you ever been to a hot spring? You wear a towel. Besides, I want to relax and talk to you, and I prefer to do both at once. And I know that you're just as sore as I am. Probably worse, considering how much I threw you around."
Archie scoffed as she slipped behind a changing screen, quickly peeling off her clothes. Letting them drop, she wrapped a lightweight towel tightly around her body and stepped out. Archie still hovered in the doorway, looking torn as Theresa sank down into the hot spring, sighing blissfully as the hot water enveloped her.
"Promise not to let me drown in there?" Archie finally said, giving her a wary grin. She beamed back at him and splashed the water gently.
"I promise Archie. Now get your butt in here," she laughed. He let out a shaky breath and quickly changed. Eyeing the water distastefully, he dipped one foot in cautiously. Theresa held her breath, watching him intently, and reached out a hand to him. He took no shame in grabbing it and holding on for dear life. Willing the panic bubbling in his chest to subside, Archie slowly sat down, letting the warm water surround his body. Theresa squeezed his hand and let her head drop against his shoulder with a sigh, eyes falling closed.
Taking a deep breath, Archie tried to relax. Ignoring the fact that he was immersed in a pool of water, he concentrated instead on the heat soothing his aching muscles, and the feel of Theresa against him, their hands tightly intertwined. Clearing his throat, he glanced at her.
"So, uh. You wanted to talk?" he asked quietly, only a small tremor in his voice giving away his lingering anxiety. Theresa smiled happily, keeping her eyes closed as emotion swelled in her chest at the fact that he was so willing to trust her in this moment.
"Mm-hmm," she murmured, deciding to forget what happened earlier at dinner. "Are you nervous about tomorrow? I mean, seriously. Not, haha, Persephone is going to kill me, nervous. But actually…anxious, maybe?"
"Hm, maybe. Hadn't really thought about it. And, hey, Persephone killing me is a real threat, thank you very much," Archie lied nonchalantly, playing nervously with her fingers. Truthfully, he was a little worried about what tomorrow would bring. Had been worried about what every tomorrow would bring ever since they shared that first dream. He worried about how much deeper they were going to get before this was all over… about how much they were both going to change…if this really would ever be over…
"Liar," Theresa smiled wryly, eyes opening. She knew how worried he was; it was the same worry she carried with her everyday. She was just better at hiding it. But…she had an eerie feeling that soon she wouldn't be able to hide much of anything from him. A shiver went down her spine, the tingling sensation of premonition that she had never quite got used to. She tilted her head up, catching his gaze. He raised an eyebrow and sighed.
"Yeah, okay. You got me. I'm worried about you though. Everything's been happening so fast…What if Persephone pushes you too hard?" he let his gaze wander the planes of her face, seeking to suddenly memorize every single detail, every nuance that made her Theresa. A tingle ran down his spine as she smiled softly, her eyes shimmering like the water.
"Don't worry about that. I'm sure she won't push me any harder than Ares would. Maybe less, even," Theresa laughed, making Archie shake his head in frustration. "I think it's you who's going to need pushing in that area. Ever meditated before?"
"Uh, no. Can't say that I have," Archie muttered dubiously.
"Well then, you're gonna be in for a real treat tomorrow. It's not as easy as you think it is, and that's how I start off every session with Persephone," Theresa smirked.
"Oh goodie. Sounds fun," Archie scowled. Lifting his free hand out of the water, he showed it to her like a child with a new discovery. "I'm pruning, can we go to bed now?"
Theresa could only bury her head in his shoulder and laugh.
A/N: OMG! It's an update! So, I tried to do NaNoWriMo this year, and so far I have failed spectacularly. But it did get me in the writing mindset, enough to finally finish typing this chapter up. So I guess it wasn't a total fail XD. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I know it's been a LOOONG time since I updated. But this chapter ended up being twice as long as any other chapter, so hopefully that makes up for it? Just a little bit? Comments please and thank you!