Chapter the Twelfth
Atlanta yawned and stretched as she shuffled towards the couch, smirking as she heard Neil grumbling in the kitchen. After their first morning together, it had been decided that cooking was off-limits to Atlanta, courtesy of the grease fire she had started. In her defence, cooking over an open flame was much easier anyways.
Neil had not agreed.
Flopping down on the couch, Atlanta stifled another yawn. Oh well. This way, she got all of her meals made for her. And it turned out that Neil was a pretty good cook. Whether this came from true skill, more inherent good luck, or a combination of the two she wasn't sure. Though she wasn't about to question it. Her rumbling tummy agreed.
Life with Neil so far had been surprisingly... pleasant. She couldn't say it was easy, as they constantly annoyed one an other with their habits, but it was never too much of a challenge. Especially once she had stormed Aphrodite's sanctuary and demanded two separate beds. That issue taken care of, Atlanta had then drawn boundaries between her and Neil: personal and physical. She had told him, in no uncertain terms, exactly what topics were not open for discussion, what side of the room was hers, and to not touch any of her belongings.
Needless to say, Neil had listened for all of about five seconds. And had then proceeded to invade her territory, ask increasingly personal questions and toy with everything she owned.
She had not been pleased.
There was little she could do in retaliation though. As Neil had bluntly stated, the only objects that were sacred and thus off-limits were himself and his mirror. Everything else was replaceable. Should any harm come to his two sacred possessions though, she would pay. Dearly.
Atlanta rolled her eyes as she remembered how he had smirked and given her a wink, amending his decree slightly.
"Well, unless you wanna turn these two beds back into one. Then you can touch me all you;d like."
That had earned him a punch to the arm. Still, all that aside, she found herself happily surprised that life with Neil wasn't quite the chore she had imagined. Especially considering she knew that she herself was not the most easy going person around. Huffing to herself, she struggled up off the couch and wandered into the kitchen.
"Dinner ready yet?" she smirked as she sat at the table. Only Neil could get away with wearing a pink, frilly apron that said Kiss the Cook! and still be masculine in the extreme. He gave her a glance and turned with a flourish, two plates in hand.
"Voila! Once again, I have created an edible masterpiece for you to enjoy, you ungrateful wench," Neil grinned as Atlanta gave him a sour look.
"Ooo, look who's been reading the dictionary. Good for you," she cooed, sarcasm dripping heavily from her lips. Neil pouted at her and turned his nose up with a sniff. He moved to take away her plate.
"You see? You don't deserve it!"
"Hey now! That's mine! Give it back!" Atlanta snatched back her plate with a grin, sticking her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and settled down to eat, a comfortable silence falling over them as Atlanta did likewise. She had to grudgingly admit (to herself) that the food was, once again, mouth wateringly delicious. And knowing Neil and his wicked ways, dessert would be sinfully mind blowing. She sighed happily.
Such were the sacrifices she had to make.
Her eyes narrowed again as she watched Neil eat. She did not, however, appreciate being made to have a 'spa day'. Neil and Aphrodite had been all too gleeful when they announced what their 'training' was going to consist of.
Manicures, mud baths and seaweed wraps. Ugh.
How the hell those would help them defeat Cronus, she wasn't sure. And Atlanta was stubborn enough not to admit just how relaxing it had been. Far too girly for her tastes, at least on a regular basis. But it had been... nice. Neil an Aphrodite's inane chatter had provided a surprisingly welcome distraction from the rest of their training so far.
Aside from spending time with Artemis, they had also been shuffled off to Hercules when he had Herry and Jay, and occasionally, Odie. Which was also nice; it gave them a chance to catch up and spend time with somebody different.
None of them had trained with Theresa and Archie yet.
Neil glanced up at Atlanta as she sat back with a sigh, idly playing with her fork. He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.
"What's up?" he asked. Atlanta pursed her lips and shrugged.
"Just thinking," she muttered. Neil rolled his eyes and stood, clearing away their dirty dishes. With a small huff, he grabbed out the mini German Chocolate cake he had made for dessert and sliced into it, cutting them each a piece.
"Uh-huh. I got that. About what?" he prodded, walking back over to the table, cake in hand. He paused, waggling it enticingly. "You're not getting this until you tell me."
"Aw c'mon," Atlanta whined halfheartedly. Neil just held her plate above her head, eyebrow still raised. She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Fine, whatever. Sit down. Cake please."
Gladly giving over the dessert, he sat, eager for gossip.
"It's been almost two weeks that we've been stuck here, training. And we've only seen Archie and Theresa a handful of times. We've trained with everyone but them!" Atlanta took a bite of cake, savouring the mouthful. Sinfully delicious, just as she expected.
"Annnnd...?" Neil pushed.
"Well... don't you think that's, I dunno, a bit weird?" she wondered, frowning at her partner. He shrugged, picking at his cake, thinking about it. The last time they had seen the two in question, they had been leaving the gym and looked beyond exhausted. Archie's limp had been very noticeable and there was dried blood on Theresa's shirt. He shook his head.
"Honestly Atlanta, this whole situation is a bit weird. And I'm not so sure I would want to train with them. Artemis and Hercules push us pretty hard, but we've never come away from it looking half dead," Neil caught her gaze, his voice serious. Thoughtful. It was enough to put Atlanta on edge.
She slumped back in her seat. He was right. It still caught her off guard, these moments where she saw another side of Neil. The serious side of him; oddly mature for all his childish quirks. And he noticed more than any of them gave him credit for.
"Yeah, but... I dunno, I guess that's why I do want to train with them," she held up a hand at his incredulous gaze, stalling any comments. "It's because I'm worried, Neil. I wish I knew what Ares was doing with them."
Neil remained silent as they both thought about their friends, wondering what was happening to them. Although... Ares isn't the only one who's training them...
But he wouldn't mention that thought to Atlanta. It would only worry her more. And he had found himself becoming oddly solicitous of her feelings in the last few weeks. He thought about her words, an idea forming in his mind.
"Welllll... we could always spy on them," he suggested nonchalantly. Atlanta stared at him.
"Spy on them," she repeated flatly.
"Yup," he nodded agreeably.
"Spy. On the god of war. And a psychic," she stressed.
"Yeessss," he answered slowly. "Your point?"
Atlanta just glared at him, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"Look," Neil began, spreading his hands peacefully. "We're all worried about them. How can they get mad at us for that? Plus, hello, lucky. Think of it as more training, in the art of stealth. Let's see if my luck can get us past them. It'll be a lot more fun that flinging daggers at me while I'm blindfolded and seeing if I can dodge in time."
"Oh, I don't know about that," Atlanta grinned unrepentantly at the memory. Good times. "But you have a valid point. Alright, let's see if the guys want to join us."
"I knew you'd see it my way," Neil winked at her, earning him an eye roll. She waved her fork at him, fighting off a smile.
"Yeah, yeah. But if we get caught, I get to say 'I told you so'."
"Well then. I guess we better not get caught."
"So, let me get this straight. You two," Jay pinched the bridge of his nose and gestured to Atlanta and Neil. "Want all of us, to go and spy on Archie and Theresa. While they're training with Ares."
"Mm yup," Neil studied his nails nonchalantly.
"Pretty much," Atlanta nodded, rocking back on her heels.
The scheming partners had gone to find most of the rest of their team after dinner, locating them in the lounge the gods had set aside for them. They stood now before Jay, trying to convince him that this was good course of action for them to take. Their Leader however was being stubborn. He lowered his arm and gave them a Look.
"You know that we are all a bit... concerned, with those two. But that doesn't mean we can just go and spy on them. They haven't told us what they've been doing, and maybe that's for a reason," Jay raised his voice as Atlanta opened her mouth to argue with him. "We all deserve some privacy Atlanta, and we should be able to trust one another not to invade that privacy."
"But shouldn't our concern for their well-being take precedence over that? I mean, I could respect that trust a lot more if they could at least trust us enough to reassure us that they're okay!" Atlanta cried, hands clenching by her sides as she stared Jay down. He frowned down at her and took a step closer, frustration seeping into his features. She felt Neil shift behind her, a sudden heat at her back telling her that he had moved closer as well. His hands landed gently on her shoulders, rubbing slightly. She snorted and rolled her eyes, but relented and leaned back into him.
"C'mon Jay. You've seen them, half the time they look like the living dead," Neil said, his tone serious and subdued. "They haven't trained with us at all. We have no idea what they're even capable of anymore. How are we supposed to function as a team when two of our members are basically missing?"
Atlanta crossed her arms and bit back a smirk. Jay couldn't very well argue against that point.
Jay frowned at Neil a moment before shaking his head and turning away with a sigh. Herry and Odie exchanged a glance as Atlanta tilted her head up to look at Neil, giving him a conspiratorial grin. They all watched as Jay paced a bit, obviously thinking over their arguments and his own. He gave another rough sigh and ran a hand over his face.
"You raise a good point Neil," he conceded. "But. That doesn't mean we need to spy on them. I'll speak to Hera and see if we can't get her to convince the other gods, Ares included, that we need time to all train together as a team. Okay?"
Atlanta slumped back against Neil, slightly disappointed but unable to find something wrong with this compromise. She nodded and watched as Jay crossed the room to leave. Neil gave her shoulders a squeeze and leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear.
"He's doing what he thinks is right, Lanta. But, that doesn't mean we can't do both," he whispered mischievously. Atlanta shivered, a chill running down her spine as his breath wafted softly over her neck. She grinned and turned, his hands releasing her.
"No. No it doesn't. Tomorrow?" she murmured, grinning up at him. He smirked back down at her and gave her a wink. Tomorrow was one of their days with Aphrodite, making it easier for them to beg off of 'training'. Atlanta turned back to the other boys and went to flop down on a cushion beside Herry.
"So, tell me the truth Herry. How worried about Theresa is Jay?" she asked pointedly. Herry frowned, crossing his massive arms over his chest.
"Did you listen to a word Jay said about privacy?" he wondered. She gave him a stubborn glare. Neil slouched down beside her, stretching out to lay like a large, satisfied cat.
"Oh come on Herry, it's not like it's much of a secret that he cares about her. I mean, he cares about all of us, but you've got to admit, he's always treated Theresa as a bit more special. Even when he tries not to," he tried not to frown, not wanting to deal with wrinkles. Odie snorted from Herry's other side.
"You mean especially when he's trying not to," the younger boy shook his head.
"Exactly! When the gods first told us about this hare brained scheme of theirs, and he said he was worried about how this would effect us? You don't think he was more worried about Theresa, and how being with Archie would affect her? You know he wanted to be the one partnered with her instead of Archie," Atlanta pushed on ruthlessly. Herry shook his head, frustrated.
"Yeah, okay, so it's no secret that maybe Jay likes Theresa more than he thinks he should. And alright, I'll admit, I think he's pretty worried. But he hasn't said anything to me and I also think that he's trying to put her out of his mind," Herry grumbled, stretching his legs out tiredly. "At least, her as a girl, you know? Not her as Theresa, our team mate."
"So you think he doesn't want to do anything because he sees her as a distraction?" Odie contemplated, ignoring the way Atlanta bristled angrily. Once again, he was glad that he wasn't paired off with anyone. Talk about distractions.
"As harsh as that sounds, it makes sense," Neil agreed, directing Atlanta's wrath away from Odie. He raised an eyebrow as she glared down at him, earning a cross huff from the girl. Neil sighed, suddenly tired. Reaching out, he tugged Atlanta down against his chest, smirking as she squawked in protest. Propping himself up on one elbow, he kept his other arm wrapped about her waist, forcing her to stay put and listen to him. "Lannie. You know that it does. Jay is trying to keep it together as the Leader of this team, and the last thing he thinks he needs is to be distracted. So while he might be worried about Theresa, he's not going to push it too far."
"I think he's letting it go too much, though," Atlanta insisted, settling herself more comfortably against her partner. Letting her head fall back against his shoulder, she met Neil's gaze, her eyes softening with concern. "He's going round in circles. Distracted by his worry about being distracted,and he won't see that maybe something is wrong. You were right Neil, how do we function as a team when we're only part of a whole?"
Neil then gave into his urge to frown as he absentmindedly rubbed small circles on Atlanta's stomach with his thumb. He felt her shiver against his body, heard her take a small breath as he watched a flush steal over her cheeks. She dropped his gaze, but he continued to stare at her as his thoughts moved from the rest of their team to his own partner.
Herry sighed quietly as silence stole over the four of them, surreptitiously watching his friends with a sideways gaze. Something else was going on between team members it seemed, though he doubted they even realized it themselves. And while he wouldn't admit it to the rest of them, he knew Jay had noticed the situation with Archie and Theresa. And that he was working hard to not let it effect him completely. Obviously he wouldn't let it go without doing something; he wouldn't be a very responsible Leader if he did. But he had been content to let Ares and Persephone train the two as they saw fit, so long as it didn't exhaust them enough to hamper them in actual battle. Cronus though had been suspiciously quiet as of late, and so they had not seen any battle since the time at the warehouses. That had Jay more on edge than anything happening within the team.
Neil did raise a good point though. They didn't know what exactly the gods were putting the Fighter and Warrior through, and that could make it difficult for them all to fight cohesively. Not to mention, Odie could really benefit from learning some of their techniques specifically. Jay was good with a sword, and Herry could smash his way through anything. Atlanta had her speed and Neil his inherent luck. Theresa and Archie though were best when it came to hand to hand fighting and using a variety of traditional weapons. And the last time Herry had seen them, they had been walking through the courtyard off the lounge, their movements slow and slightly stiff. Theresa had been leaning against Archie as he half supported her, her skin pale in the sunlight. He shook his head, deciding not to mention that bit of information. It would have Atlanta foaming at the mouth.
Catching the movement out of the corner of his eye, Neil tore his gaze away from Atlanta and pulled his arm from around her waist. Moving back he stretched languidly, feeling his back crack as he did. Pushing himself up, he stifled a yawn and held out a hand to Atlanta.
"It's late. We should get some sleep," he said. She grabbed his hand and let him lift her up off the cushions. Slinging an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her towards the door.
"Good night guys," Atlanta called sleepily over his shoulder. Odie shook his head.
"Night," he called, grinning at Herry as they watched the pair wander back to their rooms. He stood next, turning slightly back to Herry before leaving himself.
"You think they still have two beds?"
"They better."
Atlanta yawned as she and Neil wandered back into their rooms, slowly detaching herself from his side. He caught her arm though before she could get very far, turning her back towards him. Sliding his hand beneath her chin, he tilted her face up and watched as her sleepy eyes widened comically. Giving her a flirty smirk, he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Moving to pull away, he stopped as Atlanta grabbed his shirt, holding him close.
"Neil? What-?" she murmured, keeping her eyes on his chest as she flushed uncomfortably. Her stomach dropped and her heart pounded as they stood together, half way through the bedroom door. She shuddered as his hand slid over her cheek to tangle in her hair, pulling her in for a hug.
"I don't know what's happening with our friends. And I don't know what's going to happen to any of us when Cronus finally decides to show his ugly face again. But, I just wanted you to know that... I'm glad we've had this time together," Neil whispered. He smiled self-deprecatingly as he wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight. "It's nice. Having friends. Real friends I mean."
"Oh Neil," Atlanta sighed and sank into him, rubbing her cheek against his chest. As annoying as he sometimes was, she had often wondered if he wasn't a little bit lonely. Giving him a tight squeeze around the waist, she propped her chin against his chest to look up at him. "I'm glad we're friends, too. And to think, we have Cronus to thank for that!"
Neil snorted and released her, moving into the bedroom. She stretched and followed after, a smile on her face.
"Yeah well, don't expect me to rush up to him and give him a big hug to show my gratitude."
"Why not? It might just surprise him enough to let us get him. Think about it Neil. You could save the world with one hug."
"Atlanta?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up."
A/N: I know it's been awhile guys. And I'm reeealllly sorry about that that. *hangs head in shame* I have no excuses. All I can do is offer up this paltry, meager chapter and hope that it appeases some of you. I hope it does, because I managed to crank out this chapter in just a couple of hours yesterday, while I keep on falling hopelessly behind on my NaNo novel. *sigh* Life just ain't fair sometimes. Well my beautiful readers, leave me a review and tell me what you think. Gently though, gently. 3