Look guys! The next chapter is up so quickly! Yay for me! Now that the self-congratulations are over, enjoy!
There was a rapid fire knocking on Lucy's door. Knowing the irritating knock could only belong to one person, she smiled.
"Yes?"
A muffled shout came through the door. "Open up, Luce!"
She walked slowly to the door, weaving around piles of stuff and opened it. The girl who burst in was tall with messy blond hair and wide brown eyes.
"How could you not tell me about your new boyfriend?"
"What?"
"You know what I'm talking about," she exclaimed as she plopped down on the sofa. She immediately began fiddling with the miniature sculptures Lucy had left on the coffee table. "Your new guy. How long've you had him? Where'd you meet? Is he gorgeous? I bet he is."
Lucy was utterly confused. How did Jen know about Hermes?
"How did you find out?"
"Are you kidding? Marley's been raving about it for forever! She won't shut up."
Lucy blushed. "I-"
"Don't even try to deny it," interrupted Jen. "I want to know everything."
"Like what?"
"Like how did you meet him? What does he do? How old is he? Have you..." She trailed off suggestively, waggling her eyebrows.
Lucy suppressed the disgusted shiver. Jen didn't know about why she left home; she never told anyone except Hermes.
"No, we've never...done anything like that. I met him in the park. I was sitting on a bench and he just...came up and started talking to me. He insisted on buying me lunch," she said, making a face.
Jen laughed. "I'm surprised you actually agreed. You normally shoot guys down like a World War II pilot."
Lucy grimaced again. "Want something to eat?"
"Yes!" Jen looked excited; she knew Lucy made delicious food.
Lucy stood and walked out of the room.
"But don't think you're getting out of telling me everything!"
Lucy waved dismissively, which caused Jen to laugh. But she stopped short and gasped when she walked into the kitchen.
"Hermes!"
The god was in her kitchen, leaning casually against the sink with a huge grin.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered urgently.
"Visiting. Do you really shoot guys down 'like a World War II pilot?'" He seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.
"Do you really want to know?" She put her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
After a second, she shook her head smiling and walked to the fridge.
"What do you want, Jen?"
"Ooh, can you make those little cookie thingies?"
Hermes looked at her curiously. "I didn't know you made 'little cookie thingies?'"
She pointed at him. "You: stop quoting Jen. Sure, Jen," she raised her voice, answering her friend. "You don't know I can cook because you always insist on cooking for me," she explained to Hermes. "I'm actually not a bad chef."
She laid out the ingredients, pulling bowls and spoons.
"Grab me the vanilla, will you? Third cabinet on the left."
He handed her the small bottle.
"So what does he do?" Jen shouted from the living room. She never bothered to come into the kitchen, because if she did, Lucy usually enlisted her to bake.
She shot Hermes a look. "Uh, he works for UPS, I think."
"Like, he delivers boxes?" Jen sounded confused, which caused Hermes to laugh silently and Lucy to swat him with the spatula.
"No, I think he's an office guy. In management or something."
"Hm. How old is he?"
Lucy glanced at Hermes pleadingly. He held up two fingers on one hand and four on the other.
"Twenty-four." She looked at him questioningly, to which he gave a 'later' gesture.
"Ooh, an older guy?"
She glared at Hermes' expression of delight. "Two years is not that much, Jen."
"Still. Two years! Hm." Jen's murmur made Lucy beat the eggs and sugar murderously, studiously ignoring Hermes' fit of laughter.
"Any other questions you want to interrogate me with?"
"How long ago did you meet?"
"Three months."
"And you seriously haven't-"
"No," she said firmly. Hermes sobered at her expression.
As she passed him on her way to the fridge, he caught her arm and pulled her into his embrace.
"Lucy," he whispered into her hair.
"Jen is in the other room," she reminded him after a moment.
"I can hear her," he said, but he reluctantly released her.
She gave him a long look, full of some kind of emotion, before turning back to her cookie dough.
"Can I have some cookie dough, Luce?"
"Sure," she said automatically. Then she realized that Hermes was standing right next to her. She turned to him with a comically panicked look. He smiled amusedly and kissed her head before disappearing.
Lucy managed to assemble her astonished expression before Jen pranced into the kitchen.
"Thanks Luce!" she exclaimed delightedly, licking her spoonful of cookie dough.
"No problem," she said absently.
"So," Jen said, her mouth full of dough, "how much do ya like him?"
She paused suspiciously, not entirely sure Hermes wasn't somehow behind this loaded question.
"Enough to still be with him," she answered, purposely vague. She imagined Hermes' frustrated expression and smiled.
"Hm. This is really yummy. Can we just eat the dough instead?"
Lucy gave her an exasperated expression, handed her another scoop of dough and put a cookie sheet in the oven.
"Is that really all you want to know?"
"I want to meet him."
Lucy faced her, arms crossed. "Why?"
Jen gave her friend a serious look. "I'm not stupid. I know you left your family because of a guy. I just want to make sure he's okay. I want to make sure you're okay."
Lucy turned to the cookie sheet. "Believe it or not, Mom, I can take care of myself."
"Please, Lucy? Please, please?"
"Maybe." She was hesitant to agree; firstly, she didn't know if it was actually allowed, secondly, she wasn't sure she wanted to.
Jen took that as a success, grinning triumphantly.
The beep of the timer interrupted whatever she was going to say, and Lucy pulled the cookies out.
"Ooh-"
"They're too hot yet," Lucy intervened, keeping the cookies out of her impatient friend's reach.
"Fine," she pouted. "He must be something special."
The comment surprised Lucy, and she dropped the sheet of cookies.
"Um, I couldn't say," she said casually. "Why?"
"I dunno. It's just...this is the first guy I've seen you go out with since I met you. He's got to be different."
"I guess." She hid her face from Jen as she cleaned up the cookies.
"You really like him."
Jen's unusually insightful comments were beginning to unnerve her.
"Do you want to bring the cookies home?"
"Seriously? Yes!" Jen's insightfulness disappeared as she was distracted by the cookies.
Lucy shoveled the cookies into a plastic bag and into her friend's hands.
"Lucy, you are an angel. Thank you so much!" Jen completely forgot about her original mission as she fell out of Lucy's apartment with her arms full of cookies.
Lucy slumped to the floor, looking up at the ceiling. Fielding her friend's questions was so hard.
"I'm sorry."
She jumped as Hermes materialized next to her.
"You need to give me some kind of warning if you intend to keep doing that."
"This is what I meant. When I said I didn't want to involve you in all this."
"I didn't know it would be so hard." She hated to admit the weakness because she knew it would just hurt him.
"It's easier when you don't have any mortal friends to lie too," he said melancholily.
When he registered her expression, he immediately regretted saying that.
"I'm so sorry, Luce, I didn't mean-"
She interrupted him with a fierce hug. He was shocked, a rare emotion to the god of cleverness, but one he was beginning to associate with this mortal girl.
"I'm sorry." Her breathy voice surprised him again.
"Why are you sorry?"
She looked up at him, not completely releasing him.
"You must be lonely."
The simple words sent a shock through him.
"I...I'm not. I have you."
She looked down, a pink flush spreading over her cheeks.
"Lucy-" He was interrupted by a cookie being shoved into his mouth. He looked at her in shock, biting into the surprisingly delicious treat.
"Don't, okay? Stop saying those things. I can't...I just can't deal with that. Don't make me seem like some...angel or something." Frowning, she stood and began to wash the dishes.
He pulled himself up, still chewing the cookie. "These are really good."
She smiled, relieved that he'd dropped the subject. "I told you. You never let me cook."
She brushed a piece of hair off her face, leaving a smear of bubbles from the sink. Without thinking, he leaned down and wiped it off. They stayed, frozen, so close to each other. He tried desperately to remind himself why he shouldn't do this. But her flushed face and wide green eyes were drawing him in like a siren's voice. Just one kiss couldn't be so bad, right? He was so close to breaking.
And then her eyes flickered down, the contact breaking. He blinked hard and pulled away, taking the soapy dish from her hand.
She was good at hiding her disappointment now, the only sign being the slight downturn of her lips as she scrubbed another bowl. She didn't understand; it had been three months. Jen had thought they'd progressed far beyond this point, and while Lucy wasn't ready for that, she did think she was ready for this. But he kept avoiding it.
"What have you been up to?" she asked, distracting both of them from what had just happened.
"There was a disturbance in China that I had to see to."
She turned to him. "The earthquake? That was you?"
"Well, not me. It was Poseidon. Earthquakes are his territory. He was angry about the new sea-powered turbines they were making."
"So he sent them an earthquake?"
"Yes. That tends to be what they do."
"Hm." She returned to the sink. Hermes grabbed the sponge from her, forcing her to face him.
"Why?"
"I just...never mind. I'm glad you're back." She distracted him with a sweet smile and stole the sponge back.
"You're learning," he admired jokingly.
"Well, when you hang out with the god of thieves, you pick up some things."
They finished the dishes and he followed her into the living room. He fell back onto the couch and she perched next to him. He produced a few cookies that he'd stolen from the kitchen and began munching on them. She rolled her eyes and laughed.
"You could have just asked."
"Maybe. But the look on your face is so much better."
She shook her head exasperatedly and pulled a sketchbook onto her lap. She curled up on the sofa, facing him.
"What are you doing?"
"Homework. Don't move."
"Somehow I'm scared."
She laughed delightedly. "You? Scared? How can a little girl like me scare a great big god like you?"
He shook his head ruefully. "You have no idea."
Still chuckling, she drew a few lines in the book.
"I don't believe it."
"No, you don't. That's your problem, isn't it? You don't want to believe that you're so important to anyone. You don't want to be noticed. That's why you hate when I say anything good about you."
She looked down at his accusations, refusing to meet his intense gaze.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I do." He pulled her sketchbook and pencil out of her hands, placing on the table. He took her hands and forced her to look into his eyes.
"Lucy, you need to accept this. I-" He stopped himself from saying 'love,' "really like you. I want to do these things for you. But you need to trust me. I won't leave you."
She pulled her hands out of his. "Maybe you won't. But it makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to owe you anything. I already owe you so much."
"You don't understand! You don't owe me anything! I...I owe you. Everything."
Her brow twisted in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
He flopped back on the sofa, looking at the ceiling. "I never wanted anything before you. I thought I had everything. But...I didn't. I didn't have you."
He turned to look at her. She held her sketchbook again, clutching the pencil so hard he was amazed it hadn't broken yet.
"Lucy. I know...I'm sorry I haven't...done things like a normal guy, but...there are reasons that you don't understand. I just...I wish I could explain it, but..."
"Explain it then." Her voice was faint.
He looked down, ashamed at his weakness. "I can't. I'm sorry."
What could he say? That he couldn't trust himself to take care of her? To not take advantage of her? He disgusted himself.
Sensing his inner turmoil, she put down the book and pulled closer to him, encircling him as if her slender arms could protect him. She rested her cheek on his head, secretly glad to be the one comforting him for once.
With his head against her chest, his whole being buzzed with alertness. He could hear her heart, her breath. He closed his eyes, savoring the self-forbidden intimacy.
She let go of him briefly to reach for something that she placed on his lap. He opened his eyes to see her sketchbook. He sat up, opening the book gently. She moved to sit closer to him, still holding him, now resting her chin on his shoulder.
The pages were detailed drawing of sculptures. He jolted as he realized that the book was filled with sketches of Greek and Roman statues. Him and his family. And the last few pages were of him, him smiling, him laughing, him serious. The last page, the one she must have just been working on, was his face. He looked sad, his eyes full of ancient grief, his lips curved downward. The amount of detail was amazing; he couldn't stop staring at it. He looked at her in astonishment.
"You...you drew these?"
She nodded. "I told you, I have homework."
"But this..." he gestured to the pages "This is amazing."
"This is what you looked like," she pointed to the last page. "Just now. Why? What are you thinking? What's going on in your mind that causes that?"
He looked down, closing the book and putting it back on the table. He turned suddenly, pulling her so she was sitting on his lap. He buried his face in her neck and wrapped his arms around her back, the extent of the physical contact he would allow himself. It still shocked her, stiffening for a moment before relaxing.
"You do. You're the only thing that makes me like that."
She pushed away and glared at him. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? That I'm the reason you look like you're about to die?"
He shrugged. "You wanted to know."
She pushed him in annoyance, twisting so her back was to him. She rested her head against his shoulder.
"You didn't really mean that, did you?" Her voice was quiet and tentative. "Is it really my fault?"
"I meant...I've never felt such intense emotions. Before you. I've never been...like that. But I've never been this happy either. So I'd take this over not knowing you any day."
She remained silent.
"Lucy?"
"Yeah?"
Not knowing what he was going to say, he kissed her hair softly. She held her breath, closing her eyes and appreciating the rare contact.
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"You."
His cell phone ring caused them both to jump. She slid off his lap awkwardly and he put the phone to his ear.
"Yes?" His voice held a hint of annoyance that made Lucy smile.
He grimaced. "Fine. Yes. I'll be right there."
He closed the phone and sighed regretfully.
"You have to go." It wasn't a question, nor did it ask for an answer.
"Yes. But I'll be back as soon as I can."
She nodded silently. They stood and went to the door. Lucy hugged him unexpectedly, her face buried in his chest.
"Come back soon."
"Always."
He kissed her cheek quickly and left. He didn't see her shocked expression, he didn't see her touch her cheek lightly. He didn't see her soft smile, the smile of one loved by a god.
Well? I've ended happily for multiple chapters now, so if I were you, I'd expect something different next time.
Also, I haven't finished the next chapter yet, so I can't guarantee when you'll get it.