I don't own Percy Jackson & the Olympians. And I am getting sick of having to repeat it:P
Also; HOLIDAY! I am freeeeeee. This means I finally can have some fun and dedicate more time to writing and improving my non-existent art skills:D Yes!
Enjoy!
It was a regular day on Olympus. The weather was sunny, the birds were singing, the gardens looked stunning and the gods were bored out of their minds. Like always during meetings where Zeus would go on and on.
Even Athena seemed to have a hard time concentrating on her father's impressively boring speech. Every now and then she would drift off and had to force herself to concentrate on her father's speech again. Seriously she loved her father, but the man had a tendency to repeat everything he said and make speeches therefore very boring. Even for her.
Poseidon was even more bored, but also anxious and stressed. Concentrating was even more difficult than normally and he felt restless. He felt tempted to destroy something, just to get rid of this anxiousness, but he knew he couldn't do that. And it wouldn't make him feel better anyway.
The reason he was anxious, restless and frustrated was because his son had finally discovered what he was and he couldn't do anything about it. Nothing at all.
His son , Percy, had just discovered what exactly he was and
Poseidon was very aware of the danger his son was in. He had been keeping an eye on him, after all. He knew of Percy's discovery, knew of the ride towards camp half-blood, knew about Sally's capture...
He felt even more anxious than before when he thought about that. Regardless of what Percy and others might think, he really had loved Sally. He had loved spending time with her, showing her his world and just talking with her. And he been elated when Percy had been born.
He had felt relaxed and happy when he had held his son in his arms, something he wasn't very familiar with. He had so many things to do, so many issues to solve, that there wasn't much space for rest and peace in his life. But he had felt relaxed and happy at that moment, with his son in his arms and the woman he loved next to him.
Sally Jackson, a truly remarkable woman. Selfless, intelligent, kind, brave and so much more. She was both beautiful on the inside and the outside, something that was very rare. She was special.
With all that made her different, special, she had managed to catch his attention. He hadn't met a woman like her in a thousand years. She truly was something.
And thanks to one of his own crazy relatives, she was trapped while her- their- son was on a crazy quest that would very likely kill him. Poseidon couldn't remember the last time he had felt this anxious, miserable and.. guilty.
After all, they both were in trouble because he had approached Sally. If he hadn't spoken to her, if he had never started seeing her, she wouldn't be involved. She would live a normal, happy life instead of this one. One where her son was in constant danger and she was constantly worried and unable to do anything about it. One where she would feel worried and helpless forever, one where she had to do it all alone.
Even if she wanted to do it on her own, even if she had rejected his help, that didn't mean she should have to do it on her own. But Sally had always been proud and independent and Poseidon knew from experience that even if there was something he could do to help her, she wouldn't accept it. She wanted to solve her problems on her own, even if she only had those problems because she had met him.
I shouldn't have approached her, shouldn't have spoken to her. I ruined her life, ruined all her chances of living a normal, peaceful life. Without me, her life would have been so much better. She wouldn't have to worry about Percy, monsters and insane quests. She would be at home, safe, with her loving husband.
He didn't realize it himself, but he gripped his trident a little tighter. He didn't like the idea of Sally with a husband, didn't like the thought of her with another man.
He hoped she would find happiness and the right man, but a part of him - that was very selfish- wanted her to only love him. Him and nobody else, for eternity. He wanted to be the only man on her mind and in her heart, he just didn't want to share her love. They weren't a couple , but still, he wanted to be the only man she loved.
He felt bad for wanting this, because he knew that such a thing was very selfish and would only make her unhappy. He knew they could never be together, so wanting her to only love him for the rest of her life, was really selfish. Still, he couldn't help but feel that way.
Poseidon was so lost in his thoughts about love, Sally, Percy and the quest that he didn't notice the strange looks he received from one person. One person that noticed the troubled look in his eyes and all the signs of sleepless nights and stressful days.
Most gods were bored out of their minds and staring off into space or doing something else, but one goddess was sharp as ever. Athena hadn't missed how miserable her nemesis looked, how worn out and was quietly studying him, trying to decipher the cause of his present distress.
She was well aware most of the gods were anxious and miserable, thanks to the possibility of another war, but Poseidon even more so. He had dark circles beneath his eyes- which were slightly bloodshed-, his mouth was a grim, thin line and both his expression and his behavior told her that he was tormented by something. She actually felt sorry for him. She could relate to him, for probably the first time in her existence.
She had a vague idea of his feelings after all, since they seemed to have the same issues and worries. The other gods were mainly worried about the possibility of war, but she was not only worried about a possible war, but also about her daughter. Like he was about his son.
No matter what people anticipated, Athena wasn't cold and heartless. She had feelings, had the ability to be compassionate towards those she cared for. And she, like any mother would be, was perturbed now her daughter was in immediate danger.
She didn't like her daughter's chance of surivival and liked the chances of success even less. They were practically non-existent. It made her anxious, even when she appeared composed and calm to the rest of the world.
Both Athena's and poseidon's thoughts - which were similiar for once- were interrupted when a package appeared in the middle of the throne room. Something that never happened.
Zeus stopped speaking( everyone was very relieved), Ares stopped flexing his muscles, Aphrodite stopped staring at herself in a mirror and occasionally swooning over Ares' muscles, Hermes stopped quietly arguing with Martha and George, Artemis and Apollo stopped their quiet conversation ( which obviously was a good thing, if the death glares that Artemis send and the way she gribbed her bow, was any indication) and all the other stopped staring off into space when they saw the package. For the first time since the meeting had started, the gods actually looked interested.
Zeus frowned, not glad he had been interrupted by some package. Especially not at a time like this. He turned towards Hermes, arching one of his eyebrows. Hermes quickly straightened and put his cellphone away.
" Hermes. Why is there a package interrupting this very important meeting?".
" Well, someone obviously send it" Apollo said, grinning and looking proud of himself. He apprently thought it was very funny to say something like that. That or he was even dumber than everyone thought and thought it would be the right response. Not that someone would be that dumb.
Artemis sighed, looking very annoyed, and glared at him. " What are you attempting to clearify brother? Other than that you have no intelligence whatsoever, which is well-known".
" Arty! Don't be mean, will you? And I am very intelligent".
" No, you aren't. You don't even know the definition of intelligent!".
" I so do! It's me! Or Athena! We are both very smart, just ask Athena little sis".
"Stop calling me that! Or Arty or any other ludicrous nickname you have come up the past centuries! My name is Artemis. A-R-T-E-M-I-S".
" Jeez calm down Arty. I was just-".
" Artemis! It's Artemis and I will not calm down, you nitwit!".
Athena sighed and fought the urge to roll her eyes. Those two were centuries old and still behaved like little children every now and then. She could hardly comprehend why Artemis, who normally was a sensible and calm person, turned into a screaming four-year-old whenever she was near her brother. Athena never behaved like that around him and she found him equally annoying.
" Artemis. Please do restrain yourself. We have already enough issues without this immature arguing. Just ignore him".
" He! My awesomness is NOT to be ignored! How can you say that?".
Artemis gave Apollo a look that would have made the bravest of men running, crying for their mother or mercy. A look that would have frozen dragons, a very cold and mean look. The look she reserved for her brother.
Apollo flinched and unconsciously shrunk a little. Even he knew better than to anger Artemis further when she had that look in her eyes. Unless he wanted to fear for his life even when he couldn't die.
Artemis didn't say anything anymore, but leaned back in her throne with a triumphantic look. She glanced at her brother a few times, just to make sure he wouldn't open his mouth again, before relaxing and giving Athena a nod.
Athena mouthed 'thank you' to her before sitting down again and turning towards her father, expecting him to be his bossy self and give orders. He didn't disappoint her.
" I wasn't asking what it was doing here, but why it was sent here Apollo. But seeing as no one would probably be able to answer this question, let's open it. Hermes, you are the expert, do you believe it is safe to open it?".
After a nod of Hermes, Zeus motioned he should open it. Hermes seemed annoyed, but didn't say anything as he slowly walked towards the package. All the other gods followed his process with anticipation and exitment. Even Athena felt a childlike anticipation. What would be in the package? It could be practically anything.
Hermes touched the package and it melted away to reveal what was inside. Hermes stood before it, shielding it with his body, so not everyone could see what it was.
Hermes could see it however and chuckled before - with a slightly disgusted look that he managed to hide- gripped one of the snakes and lifted the head in the air while turning. He proudly showed all the gods what exactly he was holding- the severed head of Medusa.
" Well uncle Poseidon, it seems like your girlfriend came to pay us a visit" he joked, his eyes sparkling with misschief. He obviously thought it was a good joke, an opinion most gods didn't share with him.
Aphrodite looked disgusted, Ares vaguely amused, Hepheastus,
Demeter and Dionysos indifferent, Artemis and Hera annoyed, Apollo both amused and slightly disgusted and Poseidon and Athena had both frozen while Zeus's cheeks turned red and he seemed about to explode. Especially Athena and Poseidon reacted strongly to the head.
Poseidon gripped his trident very tightly, the color in his face slowly disappearing while his eyes lost all drowsiness and sadness. It wasn't clear whether he was mad,surprised or just shocked.
Athena pursed her lips, narrowed her eyes and stared at the head with clear hate and disgust. The disgust wasn't because of the state of the head, but because of the owner's actions. Even after all this time, she still couldn't stand Medusa. No one knew why it still angered her this much - not even Artemis, her best friend-, but Athena snapped every time Medusa was mentioned. Not that it happened often.
" Who send it". Zeus' voice suddenly broke the silence and noticable tension that had appeared. His voice was calm, but his expression and body language were anything but calm. He didn't like this situation. At all.
Hermes shrugged, ignoring Zeus' obvious anger, and put the head down. He wiped his hands on his pants before answering. " I don't know. Does it really matter?".
" Yes! Of course it does, this is obviously offending and mocking the gods". " I am not offended".
"You should be!".
Zeus, after giving Hermes an exasperated look that was pointedly ignored, turned towards Athena. She had barely moved when he started talking and was still staring at the head with hate and dismay. Like she actually was trying to burn it with her eyes.
" Athena. Do you have any idea who the culprit might be?".
Athena, tearing her eyes away from the head after one last, hateful glare, sighed. She couldn't believe all of her relatives were this clueless. Did they really miss something that simple?
" Just look at the delivery slip. I suspect it has a name on it".
Hermes immediately turned and looked at the ground, searching for the delivery slip. He jumped when one of the snakes wrapped itself around his ankle, the slimy, cold skin touching his own.
He ripped his ankle free and gave the head a slight kick, succeeding in distancing it from himself. He finally found the dilivery slip and, after reading it, chuckled again. He only became silent when Zeus sent him a piercing glare.
" I beg your pardon king Zeus" Hermes said in a flat voice, while his face showed his amusement and his eyes sparkled. He didn't mean any of his apology of course.
" I have no idea why you believe this to be funny Hermes, but I don't want to know anyway. Just tell me who did it, so I can punish him or her".
" Well, our dear nephew Perseus Jackson did it, of course" Hermes said cheerfully, ignoring the murderous look that flashed in Zeus' eyes. He seemed oblivious to the sudden tension in the air or he just liked causing mayhem and starting arguments.
Zeus , gritting his teeth and balling his hands into fists, turned towards Poseidon, who was still pale. Poseidon's expression was impenetrable, it was just impossible to decide whether he was angry or amused. Zeus' expression was very easy to read; he was outraged.
" Brother. Care to explain why your son has decided to insult the gods like this?".
" I don't think he meant to insult us. And even if he did, I wouldn't know any of it. I am not supposed to interfere with his life or quest, remember ?".
" Don't speak to me in that tone! And this is certainly an insult".
" I honestly doubt Perseus meant to offend us father. I rather think he meant to show us something. And even if he did intend to offend us, trying to destroy him now isn't favourable. He needs to ends his quest first. ".
Everyone, including Athena herself, was surprised when she spoke. It wasn't surprising that she tried to avoid a fight, but it was surprising that she was defending a son of Poseidon. Especially after a 'prank' like this. Athena, who was not just Poseidon's nemesis but also very proud, would be the least likely candidate to defend Percy. And yet, that was what she just had done.
" Daughter? Since when do you defend my brother's spawn?".
" I am not defending Poseidon's offspring, I am reminding you all of the importance of this quest. A war between two of the big three will be disastrous. And even without that war, we need Perseus to end his quest succesfully. It is likely that your lighting bolt is in the wrong hands. Fighting each other is obtuse, unnecessary and will only change things for the worst. But by all means, destroy the boy once if he survives the quest and poses to be too dangerous".
Poseidon gritted his teeth, the earth actually shaking while he fought to compose himself. You could feel his power coming off him. " We are not going to destroy my son! I won't have it".
" We aren't going to destroy him. Not now, at least. Right, father?".
Zeus, after the slightest hesitation, nodded. He realized Athena was right, like always. Fighting Poseidon wasn't the solution. No matter how much he wanted it to be the solution, so he could just dispose of his annoying brother.
" Right. Still, I don't like this.. prank. Your son better return with my lightning bolt and a very good solution soon , Poseidon, or I will take drastic measures".
" He will".
Zeus motioned to the head. " Oh and get rid of that. I don't want to have it on Olympus".
Poseidon seemed very annoyed and angry, but he hold himself back and nodded. His face became impenetrable once again and the only indication that he was still angry, was the way he gripped his trident and seemed to tremble slightly.
" Very well brother".
Poseidon walked towards the head, picked it up ( while trying to ignore its piercing look) and walked out of the throne room. Zeus followed him with his eyes and only relaxed when he had left.
Zeus turned around, facing the remaining gods, and rubbed his temples before speaking. " I daresee no one will be able to concentrate after this, so the meeting is dismissed. I will speak with you tomorrow".
All the gods groaned when they realized they had another meeting, but got up and started walking out of the door. Protesting wouldn't get them anywhere, they knew from experience.
Athena was one of the last people to leave, after discussing some things with her father. Like the best battle strategies, Perseus Jackson and the situation in general. A lot of time had passed before she could leave.
Without knowing exactly why, a rare occurence for her, she started walking towards Poseidon's mansion. Apart from his palace on the bottom of the sea, he also had a mansion here. He lived on Olympus until his rooms were rebuilt.
For some peculiar reason, she wanted to know how he was faring. Probably she had been placed in a situation similiar to his and suspected he might be the only one to understand her. Which was very peculiar.
She knocked on his door, but didn't receive an answer. Athena hesitated, unsure whether she should just leave or try it again. It wasn't exactly wise or reasonable to do this. She didn't even know why she wanted to see him. Or actually, didn't want to admit why she wanted to see him. She thought it was weak.
After a short debate with herself, she decided to try again. She knocked a few more times, but received no answer. Deciding he simply wouldn't answer, but not willing to surrender, she attempted to push the door open. Maybe he had forgotten to lock the door and she could just go inside.
To her surprise, the door actually opened for her and she walked inside. She didn't have to walk far before she found him, struggling with the head of his former girlfriend.
Just seeing the head reminded Athena of when exactly it had been his girfriend and what had happened that had lead to the end of their relationship.
Athena frowned when she recalled that certain incident. She couldn't remember ever feeling more furious than when she had caught them doing that in her temple. It was offending, revolting and just wrong.
How could he take some pretty girl to her temple to do that ? Didn't he realize she wouldn't stand for such behavior? Didn't he realize how offending it was? And didn't he realize how much he had hurt her?
Athena tried to push the unwelcome thought away, but she couldn't. She had been denying it ever since it had happened, but she had not only felt anger that day. Apart from anger and disgust, she had also just felt pain. And she knew she hadn't been hurt because he had taken Medusa to her temple, but because he had taken anyone to her temple. That he had been doing that with anyone. She just couldn't stand it. She might actually have felt jealous at that moment.
Attempting, fruitlessly, to cease thinking about what had happened and her own confused feelings, Athena inhaled deeply and composed herself before she made him aware of her presence.
" It looks like Perseus doesn't like his stepmother".
Poseidon jumped and turned around, dropping the head, when he suddenly heard her voice. He almost hit her, but realized it was her at the last moment and dropped his arm.
Athena was startled to see how anxious and tense he looked. He never looked like that. He always looked rested and happy, never so gloomy and grim. It didn't suit him, he wasn't Hades after all.
" Athena! What are you doing here?".
Athena arched one eyebrow, attempting to compose herself and show nothing of the worry she suddenly felt. She didn't want him to know she was worried, didn't want him to know she cared enough to be worried.
" I am here to ensure you don't do something foolish. You have to be careful while dealing with that " the last part was said in her coldest voice possible while looking at the offending thing. Even seeing Medusa's head was enough to make her blood boil and her vision become slightly red, but she composed herself. She wouldn't make a fool out of herself by attacking a head.
" Oh. Well, you didn't have to. I am perfectly capable of dealing with it on my own".
" I see. So you have no sudden urges to help your little girlfriend?".
"You are never going to forget that, aren't you? It happened a long time ago Athena and believe me, I feel nothing for her".
" I don't believe you ever did. Or you might have considered how inescapably stupid it was to take your 'date' to my temple".
" Stop it already Athena, I am not in the mood. Besides, it happened eons ago. Can't you just let it go?".
" You never even apologized".
"For what? Having feelings? Because we all know you believe having them is a crime".
" You don't know me Poseidon, so don't behave like you do. Having feelings isn't a crime, but hurting someone else's feelings is low and could almost be considered one".
" For your information, I never intended to hurt her. If I remember correctly, you were the one to turn her into a monster".
" That was completely justified! She shouldn't have been doing those things in my temple and neither should have you. And don't fool yourself Poseidon, you are part of the reason she became that monster".
" Oh really? And why? Because I actually liked her?".
"Liked her? Liked her? Oh please, quit lying already Poseidon. You used her to satisfy your filty needs, you never even came close to liking her".
" STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE THAT! YOU KNOW EVEN LESS ABOUT ME THAN I DO ABOUT YOU, SO STOP SAYING I AM SOME ANIMAL! YOU KNOW NOTHING OF FEELINGS, SINCE YOU SEEM TO HAVE NONE!".
Athena was shocked when Poseidon suddenly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her closer, shaking her while yelling at her. He had never yelled at her like this, she had never seen him this angry towards her. He only argued with her and nevery actually touched her.
She caught raw emotions in his eyes and when he was finally done, he was shaking and seemed exhausted. Athena wasn't shaking, but she did feel like it. She had been shocked when he had reacted like this.
They both didn't say anything for a while; Athena thinking and Poseidon slowly recovering. His hands were still on her shoulders and she was standing closer to him than she ever had before. Their hips almost touched, so close were they. Neither noticed their proximity, too lost in thoughts that were both different and similiar.
Is he right for once? Have I been too fast with my judgement? Is it really fair to judge a person on account of one aberration, a single thing that took place a long time ago? Or is he right and is it unfair, bigoted?
Athena kept repeating that day in her head, attempting to see it from his side instead of her own for the first time. Attempting to discover whether there was truth in his words, whether she acted before thinking it all through.
She didn't think she had been unjust that day, but it might be true that she had been unfair by assuming he was some monster, a womanizer with no intelligence. She didn't know him that well after all.
"You might be right".
"Not might. I am right Athena. You don't know me, so don't judge me like that. Don't assume all those things without having proof of it. It is true that I made a mistake, a grave one, but you can't hold that against me for the rest of my life".
" You are a hypocrite. You have been assuming a great deal of things about me too. And you don't know me any better than I know you".
There was a ghost of a smile on Poseidon's face and he seemed a bit more alive than before. He had always liked arguing or at least disagreeing with her. His smile was the brightest during their discussions.
" True. I am sorry. Can you forgive me?".
Athena was surprised. Poseidon almost never apologized, being a very proud and sometimes arrogant man. And he especially didn't apologize to her.
" You truly are sorry?".
" Well yes. I just realized that , although we have our differences, we should stop fighting. I mean , I understand we won't become best friends or anything, but it is kind of foolish to fight over things that happened ages ago".
" Like you losing the contest over Athens?".
" Exactly. And I still don't understand why! My fountain was an amzing gift, if you ask me".
Athena bit her lip to keep herself from laughing when she saw the look on his face. He was practically pouting and hold more resemblance to a little boy than the powerful sea god. It was strangely endearing.
" Because your gift was futile. It didn't serve any purpose except maybe looking good. Basically, it was a lot like you".
Poseidon grinned, which made Athena feel alarmed. What had she said that made him grin like that? She had just been teasing him, by comparing him to something purposeless. Why on earth would that make him grin like the cheshire cat?
" So you think I look good?".
"What makes you think that?".
" You compared me to my fountain and said it didn't serve a purpose, but looked good".
" You only have the purposeless in common. The fountain obviously looked better than you do".
" Liar. Just admit you find me attractive".
" I don't!".
" You do".
" You are really immature, do you know that? I can't believe I actually was worried about you!".
Poseidon stopped grinning and looked down at her with that familiar impenetrable expression that Athena was starting to hate. She really didn't like it when she couldn't read people. It was a disadvantage.
" You were worried? Why?".
" I don't know! Maybe your stupidity and lack of rationality is contagious".
" Seriously Athena, why ?".
" Because - because I saw how miserable you looked and-". The next part was so soft Poseidon couldn't hear it despite their proximity. Athena felt butterflies in her stomach now she had said it,not realizing he hadn't heard it.
" Say that again".
" What?".
" That last part. You spoke too soft".
" You can't order me to-".
" Say it!".
"Please"Poseidon added as an afterthought. Maybe if he asked it nicely, she would be willing to repeat herself. And she did, after glancing at him.
" I said that I saw how miserable you looked and I was worried, because I realized I care. I don't know why, it is perposterous really, but I care enough about you to become worried when you look so miserable".
" No one else even noticed".
"Maybe I know you better than you believe".
" Perhaps. Do you really care?".
" Poseidon! I already told you, do you really want me to repeat myself?".
" Yes".
" You are insufferable, do you know that?".
" Yes. Say it!".
"Quit giving me orders already, I am not obliged to obbey them anyway".
" Just say it or I will bother you forever".
"Fine! I care. There, are you happy now?".
" Not really. you said it like a robot, you have to say it with more feeling, more honesty".
" I hate you".
"Like that! Except you have to say I care for you instead of I hate you".
You aren't going to leave me alone until I do this , are you?".
"Nope".
" All right. I care . How was that?".
"It wasn't horrible, but-".
" Poseidon!".
" Fine. It was perfect. I care for you too".
" Y-you do?".
" I do. Although I must be insane, seeing how you have treated me all this time".
" You didn't treat me well either!".
" Lies! You started it all, I was a perfect gentleman".
" Says the man who has affairs!".
" Says the woman who turns young, innocent women into monsters!".
" Says the men who is obtuse enough to believe those women are innocent".
"Says the women who isn't innocent herself!".
" How dare you! I am a virgin goddess, you insult to anything alive!".
" I was refering to all the people you killed and hurt, not to your experiences - or rather inexperience- with men. Get your mind out of the gutter Athena".
" I really despise you".
" No, you don't. Do you know you are blushing?".
" I am most certainly not blushing".
" Yes, you are. It is cute actually".
Athena rolled her eyes and gave him a ligth punch, but she felt flattered. He hadn't said cute in the way you say it when you talk about puppies, but cute when you talk about a beautiful dress.
" I am not cute. So stop calling me cute!".
" You're right. You aren't cute". Athena felt strangely disappointed.
" Cute suits puppies, kittens and other things like that. You aren't cute. You are intelligent, vengeful, proud, arrogant and beautiful. You are a lot, but not cute".
Athena was quite red by now and feeling both flattered, excited and annoyed. She couldn't deny the fact she liked hearing his compliments, but she was annoyed she was reacting this strongly. That she liked it too much. She was even blushing!
" Maybe you do know me a little. That, or you want something from me".
" Why would you think such a thing?".
" Because you have just given me a compliment. You never do that".
" Well, I thought we would be friends from now on. And you gave me a compliment as well".
" No one ever mentioned being friends. And I never gave you a compliment".
" You said I was handsome".
" I said your fountain looked good! That is something entirely else".
" You said I looked good too!".
" I didn't!".
" Trying to deny it isn't going to help, I know what you said".
" Keep on dreaming Poseidon. The day I say you are handsome, is the day the world will end".
" I am suddenly looking forward to the end of the world".
" Oh shut up. And weren't you occupied with sending your girlfriend away?".
" She isn't my girlfriend. But yeah, I probably should send it away. It is kind of creepy".
" I thought you liked her?".
" When she isn't a vengeful, snake-haired monster yes".
" So you liked her appearance".
" Her character wasn't that bad either before you turned her into some monster maniac".
" I somehow doubt you knew her that well".
" What is it with you and thinking I don't know women?".
" Seeing the way you treat them, I doubt you know anything about us at all".
" You aren't royal Athena, no need to say we and us".
" I was refering to all women and actually, I'm royal. My father is king, remember?".
" Smart-ass".
" Guilty. Now, shall we send that head away? It provokes me".
" Do you mean we as in you and I or we as in you?".
" Just grasp the head already".
" Aye aye captain".
" That is not funny Poseidon".
"Why are you laughing if it isn't funny?".
" Because you are making a fool out of yourself".
"Well I made you laugh, that has to give me some points right?".
"Mmm. Just quit talking and start working and we will see".
Athena and Poseidon worked together, chatting amicably ( which surprised both of them) while Poseidon hold the head and Athena took a box and held it open.
After some pushing, they managed to fit the head inside and close the box. They also had come to an agreement; they would try to get to know each other and until then, would stop acting like they already knew each other.
Poseidon turned towards Athena with a grateful smile that made her heartbeat accelerate, although she would never admit it did. It would be embarressing.
" Thanks Athena. Do I see you soon?".
" You do, in fact. There is another meeting tomorrow".
" Although I just love being stuck in a room listening to my brother's inane speeches, I didn't mean that. I wanted to know if you wanted to drink tea or something together".
" Drink tea? Since when do you even drink tea?".
" I don't. Not really. I just thought you did".
" I occasionally do drink tea. You know what? I will come by tomorrow and we will drink something together and just talk".
" Great!I am looking forward to it".
He did sound enthusiastic and gave her a smile that made her insides melt, which was even more embarressing than her heartbeat accelerating. Since when did smiles have that effect on her?
Athena gave him a smile before turning and walking towards the door. She didn't come far before Poseidon called her name. She turned to see him looking at her with a strange look.
" Athena?".
" Yes?".
" You know, just so you know. I always thought you were at least a thousand times more beautiful than Medusa. Even the paintings of you in your temple were more beautiful than her".
Athena didn't react. She only gave him a quick smile, before turning and walking away with burning cheeks and a small smile. She didn't want to admit how much she liked hearing that, not even to herself.