Apollo put his hand on top of the computer to hold it steady, testing the connections in the back to make sure everything was set up properly. When he was satisfied that everything was ready to go, he pressed the power button and stood up, watching the monitor as it lit up with the start up screen.
Ever since he'd moved to Khura'in, he felt like there was never enough time to get everything done. There was so much to do and so little time to do it all, the days seemed to go by too quickly, leaving him feeling like he'd accomplished nothing at the end of the day. Now that the bulk of the organization was done, all the paperwork was filed and the office was in running order, he found himself with less distractions than he had before. Now, instead of the time going by too quickly, the days seemed to drag by. At first, he thought the lack of tasks to distract him from his personal thoughts was the reason for this. But it was more likely that the anticipation of Athena coming was the real reason that time suddenly seemed to be going by slower than he would have liked. After all, time slowed when you were looking forward to something and, despite the slew of emotions he wasn't sure how to sift through at the moment, he was looking forward to her arrival more than anything.
A loud banging sound on the other side of the room turned his attention away from the computer screen. He saw Datz by the front door, loudly and repeatedly pushing the door against the door stopper he must have just finished installing. He then slammed the door shut, turning to Apollo with a big grin and a thumbs up. "All fixed!"
"Great," Apollo said flatly, still feeling a little too tired to deal with all the unnecessary noise. "Now stop doing that or you're just gonna break it again."
Datz approached the desk with a wide grin. "What? I had to test it to make sure it was working."
"Uh-huh," Apollo said as he glanced at the computer screen to check if it had started yet. 'One test would have been enough. Ten is a little over the top.'
"So, what should I do next?"
Apollo gave Datz his full attention when he saw the computer was still starting up. "The door to the back room hasn't been installed yet." On one hand, Apollo was glad that Datz would ask before he performed certain tasks, proving that he at least slightly respected the fact that Apollo was his boss. On the other hand, he wasn't sure why he was having such a hard time getting his friend to understand that part of his job as a handyman was to find these tasks by himself and decide on his own what should be done next.
"You got it!" Datz said as Apollo sat down in the chair in front of the computer. Before he could start typing in the info the computer was currently asking for, Datz spoke again. "Oh! Before I forget…" Apollo swiveled the chair around to look at his friend. "Am I still getting that room up and going?"
Apollo stared blankly, suddenly feeling like the cogs in his head were starting to slow, like his mind was trying to stop him from thinking about it so he wouldn't have to answer. "Uuuhhh…" was all he managed to say.
"You said you talked to her, right? What did she say when you offered her a room?"
He had spoken to her, multiple times in fact. After their first conversation that week, the first one on one conversation they'd had in almost two months, he didn't think they'd sufficiently covered all of the topics that should be discussed before she got here, so he called her every day after that to make sure they didn't forget anything. Even though this was the true reason he contacted her again, he couldn't deny that he was using it as more of an excuse to just talk to her again. Each time they talked, he felt more relaxed than he had in a long time. It didn't seem to matter that they'd had no personal contact in two months; they easily fell right back into their old routine, talking and joking like they used to. She would tease him and make him feel worn out with her antics, but at the end of it all, he was smiling and feeling better for it. She had a way of raising his spirits that no one else was capable of.
During those calls, one of the things they talked about was where she would be staying. She lamented that she'd been apartment hunting and was having no luck, mostly for the same reasons he'd already predicted. As the time drew closer for her arrival and she still couldn't find anywhere that was within her limitations, he knew offering her to stay at the office with him couldn't wait anymore. But every time he tried to tell her, he couldn't form the words. Because he was still too afraid. If she was having this much trouble, then it greatly increased her chances of accepting his offer. And even though he'd sorted through as much of his personal feelings as he could, coming to terms with her arrival as much as he could, he still wasn't sure if having her as a roommate was something his heart, or his sanity, could handle.
So instead, he told her not to worry because he'd already found a place for her to stay. But he didn't want her to give up her search; even if he offered her the room, he knew she might just refuse if she didn't want to stay with him. So he was honest with her, telling her that she should keep looking because, even though he'd secured somewhere for her, she might not like it. He didn't want her to come all the way here, expecting to stay in the place he mentioned, only to find out it was in the office and have her refuse, leaving her with nowhere to go. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel trapped. If she stayed at the office, he wanted it to be because she wanted to, not because she had to. True that, because apartment hunting wasn't going well, it was looking more and more like she might not have a choice after all. But there was only so much he could do about that. All he could really do was assure her that she would have somewhere to stay, even if she was unable to find somewhere herself. So he just told her to think of it as a back-up plan, assuring her she would have somewhere to stay if she couldn't find one herself.
The only detail he left out was that the place he was talking about was his pseudo office apartment.
Apollo suddenly felt heat rising in his face, the cogs in his head beginning to turn again when he realized that avoiding the subject was no longer an option. He hadn't set up the room yet because he was waiting to see if her luck in apartment hunting would change. But it hadn't. And with her arrival being tomorrow, he'd already waited long enough to prepare it on the now higher than ever chance that she might need it. He opened his mouth to say something, but his voice caught in his throat and came out as a quiet squeak, his heart thundering loudly in his ears. Why was this so hard? It wasn't a big deal. They would just be roommates. He would be doing her a favor by letting her stay here, seeing as she was having no luck finding a place on her own. But no matter how much he told this to himself, he couldn't stop feeling like accepting the idea would turn his world upside down.
The more Datz watched Apollo as he waited for an answer, the more Apollo's nerves were bending under the pressure. He tried to speak again but the words came out as a squeak as his vocal chords refused to work with him, a bead of sweat forming on his brow. Why was he having such a hard time answering? Datz didn't have the first clue that Apollo had feelings for Athena, nor did he know that Apollo was even hesitating to invite her here. And yet, Apollo felt that admitting that he'd had multiple chances to invite her to live at the office and had been unable to do it every time was no different than admitting he was in love with her. After all, he shouldn't be having any trouble in the first place since they were best friends. And now with him sitting here, his face surely beet red and his ability to speak vanishing, what other reason could Datz possibly come up with?
"Yo! AJ! What's the word, bud?"
And then, just like that, Apollo's nerves snapped. He found his voice again, but it came out as his Chords of Steel. "I DIDN'T TELL HER!"
Datz took a step back and stared at Apollo with wide eyed, open mouthed shock. Apollo was too busy taking a deep breath and trying to level his nerves to question if Datz's reaction was from his sudden outburst or from the words he'd said. "What!? But she's gonna be here tomorrow!"
Apollo continued to take in steady breaths, his heart rate slowing down as he regained his composure. It wasn't until now that he realized how much pressure all of this had been putting on his nerves. When he felt like he wasn't ready to ask Athena to stay, he put it on the back burner, just like he did with everything else that was too hard to think about until it absolutely couldn't wait anymore. And now he was learning that keeping such intense worries bottled up for so long wasn't a good idea; his sudden outburst was proof of that. He thought back to when he spoke with Athena and how she'd given him some advice on how to remain calm and keep a level head whenever he was feeling stressed. 'She was right; I need to do more breathing exercises.'
"Uuhh… sorry about that," Apollo apologized sheepishly as Datz continued to stare at him in wide eyed shock. This was ridiculous. If Apollo was having this hard of a time handling just the idea of Athena being here, how would he react if she was actually here? No matter how much he tried to assure himself that it would be no different than sharing an apartment with a friend, he couldn't convince himself that he would be able to completely keep his personal feelings put away. He'd already promised himself that he would give no hint to his feelings for her; remaining nothing more than best friends was the best for both of them, in more ways than one. But how difficult would it be to not reveal something, even accidentally, if they were living together?
At the end of the day, none of that mattered. What did matter was that she was picking up her entire life to come and work with him. And, after she'd made such a selfless gesture, could he really say she was the woman he loved more than anything if he wouldn't offer her all he could in return?
Though he'd regained his composure, he didn't want to think any harder on it than he already had. He'd made up his mind, and all he needed to do now was wait for her to do the same. He turned back to the computer, starting to enter the information the computer was asking for. "Set up the room anyway. Just in case. I'll help you with it when I'm done here."
Datz was only quiet for a moment before he seemed to get over his initial surprise. Apollo saw him raise his thumbs out of the corner of his eye. "On it, AJ!" His retreating footsteps followed, and Apollo was left to finish his task.
And as he slowly typed in Athena's name as the computer's user, her arrival felt more real than it ever had.
"All set!" Athena called, running down the busy airport hall. She waved to get their attention, and Mr. Wright and Trucy turned to greet her as she approached. She stopped in front of them and smiled brightly. "My bags are checked in and I'm ready to go!"
"Great," Mr. Wright said, looking at his watch. "I was a little worried we might be late." He put his hand in his pocket and grinned. "But we made good time."
"Yep! They'll be calling for boarding any minute now." Athena was still having a hard time believing that this was all actually happening. It was just a few days ago that time felt so slow, dragging by while she tried to come to terms with Apollo's departure. Now, in the last week, she suddenly had so much to do and so much to prepare for with her own departure that time sped by, making her feel like there wasn't enough time to prepare for it all. The fact that she had yet to secure a place to live before she even left was the biggest example of this. She even considered postponing the trip, unsure if moving before she had a place to stay was a good idea. But she dropped the idea almost as soon as she thought of it. Not only did she not want to wait, there were too many reasons that she couldn't wait. Apollo needed help right now, and she wasn't going to keep him waiting. She opted to stay at a hotel in the meantime, having already booked one a few days ago when apartment hunting wasn't going well. She rationalized that finding a place was difficult when she wasn't even in the country. As long as she was here, she could only depend on the info she found online and check with places over the phone. If she was actually there, she could physically look around, maybe finding somewhere that wasn't posted online. In addition to all that, Apollo had mentioned a back-up plan if she really wasn't able to find a place. He was concerned that she might have some hang-ups about it, but she was willing to at least take a look. After all, if Apollo was the one who suggested it, she was sure it would be just fine. And since a place to stay was her final hang up, she had nothing stopping her from being ready to leave.
"First Polly, now you…" Athena looked to Trucy, who'd put her hand on her chest and was looking away with a downtrodden look. "It's going to be so quiet at the office without you two…"
Athena felt for Trucy. Ever since Athena had announced that she would be leaving for Khura'in, Trucy had been a little down. She went about her day with a little less pep than she usually did, and Athena felt a little guilty. It felt nice knowing that she had people in her life that cared for her enough to miss her when she was gone, but she still felt guilty that she was causing any negative feelings at all, no matter how good the reason.
"Aww, cheer up!" Athena said, giving her a reassuring smile. "It won't be that bad! As soon as things settle down, we'll come for a visit!" She didn't want her departure to be left on a sour note, so she hoped that was enough to assure her friend that this wasn't goodbye.
Trucy was quiet for another moment before the sentiment seemed to cheer her up. She looked at Athena with a smile, not quite as brightly as what was considered normal for her, but it was still a smile. "I guess you're right. I'll just have to look forward to it." She suddenly became excited and her face brightened, like she'd just remembered something important. "Don't forget to give Polly my gift! Oh, and don't forget the pictures!"
"I won't," Athena assured her. "I'll take them as soon as I get there and I'll send them to you right away!"
The overhead announcement called for Athena's flight to start boarding, giving them the cue to start finishing their goodbyes. Trucy gave Athena a sudden hug, and Athena returned it with a chuckle. After they parted, Athena turned to Mr. Wright, who was smiling at her proudly.
"We're gonna miss having you around, Athena." His eyes softened. "But we'll support you all the way. You'll do just fine."
Athena felt her face suddenly heating up with tears. Mr. Wright had done so much for her, and it was no exaggeration to say that his support was one of the main reasons she was here in the first place. It was mostly thanks to him that she'd managed to move on from her past and grow into the lawyer she was now. For that, she would be forever grateful to him. And she wanted to leave this part of their lives on a high note, so she pushed the tears away and gave him a warm smile. "Thanks, boss. That means a lot."
"Make sure to call us when you get there so we know you arrived safely!" Trucy said, her usual smile seeming to return. She turned to her dad and tipped her hat, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Until then, we can practice that new trick. Right Daddy?"
Mr. Wright suddenly appeared exhausted. "Seriously, Athena. We're really gonna miss you."
Athena laughed and wished him luck, and they waved her off as she boarded the plane. Before Athena knew it, the plane was in the air and on its way to her new life. In spite of all the things ahead of her, in spite of all the emotions swirling through her, she felt more excited than anything else. It was like she was taking on a brand new challenge, and she was more ready than ever to face it head on.
Apollo stood in the airport waiting lobby, his focused eyes staring toward the plane's unloading area. The tension in his muscles was making his body feel stiff, and he put his hands in his pockets to hide his sweaty palms. Anyone who looked at his face right now would probably think he'd just seen a ghost. That, or they might think he was in some kind of pain, what with the way his eyes were bugging out. His heart was racing, and the longer he stared at the unloading area in anticipation of seeing Athena walk out, the more trouble he was having keeping his nerves under control.
'I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine…' He started saying the mantra in his head as soon as they left for the airport to pick up Athena and had been repeating it without pause all the way up until now. It succeeded in occupying his mind from running with thoughts that he had no way of organizing or handling right now, but it did nothing to calm his nerves.
"Hey AJ, look! There's people coming off the plane!" Datz said as he pointed at the line of people that were now filing out of the hall.
Even though today was the day of Athena's arrival, he still considered keeping the office open, even if it was just for the morning. But he decided against it almost right away when he realized that it was best to put all of his focus and effort into helping her settle in. That, and he wasn't sure if his nerves could handle Athena's arrival and a meeting with a client at the same time. Because of this, he'd chosen to dress casually today, wearing jeans and a t-shirt instead of his snappy red suit. And now that he was carefully watching each person as they filed off the plane, his eyes waiting in anticipation to catch sight of Athena, he couldn't have been more grateful that he'd chosen a maroon t-shirt that would hide the redness that was surely coloring his face right now.
And that was when he saw her, walking out of the line of people and into the hall. She was dressed casually as well, wearing a blue t-shirt and blue jeans, her eyes scanning the crowd as she searched for him. He wasn't sure why, but seeing her choose to arrive casually like that put him slightly at ease, like it was a sign that she was comfortable in being there.
And when her searching eyes found him in the crowd and she waved his way with a bright smile on her face, his knees became so weak that it was a wonder he was still standing.
Athena walked briskly along the hall after she left the plane, wishing the people in front of her would move a little faster. She wasn't feeling impatient, but sitting still for so many hours had left her with a lot of bottled up energy and she was desperate for a way to release it. She knew running through the airport hall wasn't just a bad idea, it was probably against the rules. Instead of wishing the line would move faster, she tried to be thankful that it was keeping her from getting in trouble after she'd just barely set foot into the country. Not only would she surely embarrass herself when the airport staff tried to contain her, but it would surely stress Apollo out to see that she'd already managed to get herself in trouble before she even met with him.
Being full of energy wasn't the only reason she was resisting the urge to move faster; her desire to finally see Apollo was also why she was having a hard time containing herself. She'd had so much time to sort through her feelings on the plane and prepare for everything she would face when she arrived that most of her fears and concerns didn't feel as heavy as they had before. They fell to the back of her mind, not forgotten, but under control. Now, the only thing moving her forward was how much she wanted to see him.
When she finally reached the airport lobby and was free to move around without anyone blocking her path, she immediately started scanning the crowd in search of Apollo. The place was fairly crowded, and she thought she might have to depend on his bright red suit in order to pick him out of the crowd.
And then she felt silly for even thinking she would ever need anything so obvious to recognize him as soon as her eyes landed on him. Though he was standing a distance away and was wearing something much more casual than his red suit, she instantly recognized his face among the crowd.
Her breath caught in her throat and a spike of emotion rose in her chest, her face heating up with tears. She instantly pushed them away; no matter how happy she was to finally see him after all the time they'd been apart, no matter how strong the wave of emotion that washed over her, she promised herself that she wouldn't cry. No matter how joyous the tears would have been, she wanted to greet him with nothing but a smile on her face.
"Hey Apollo! Over here!" she shouted as she jogged forward, raising her hand high in the air and waving at him. Her first instinct was to tackle him into a hug. Not only did she desperately want to hug him to confirm that he was really here after she'd missed him so much, but she would do anything to see the shocked, priceless look it would surely put on his face. And, based on the way his bugged out eyes were currently staring at her like a deer caught in headlights as she approached, he must have been expecting her to do just that. But she resisted the urge, no matter how hard it was. She'd pushed most of her worries away, but she had to remember that the situation was slightly different than it was before. They weren't just coworkers anymore; he was her boss. No matter how difficult it was, she figured it was best to draw some lines in order to show him that she respected that fact. She wouldn't stop any of her other behaviors, still believing that going back to the way things were before was the best way to be there for him and keep his spirits up. But, until she got a better grasp of the new office routine, she figured it would be best to show at least a little professionalism and at least resist the urge to hug him.
"Hi!" she said as she stopped in front of him, giving him her best and brightest smile. "I hope you weren't waiting long."
"Uuhh… no, not really," Apollo said, still looking like a deer caught in headlights. She smiled even wider, feeling giddy to know that her antics still had such an effect on him. She'd only just arrived and she was already having the time of her life.
"Hey! There she is!" Athena looked to the man standing next to Apollo. He was looking at her with a big smile, both of his hands in the air with thumbs raised. "Good to see you got here safely."
"Thanks! It's good to see you too, Datz. How've you been?" Though she remembered meeting him the last time she was here, she barely spoke to him enough to really know anything about him at all. The only reason she didn't question his presence here was because Apollo had filled her in on how things were currently going. Needing a job being one of the reasons among others, Apollo had hired him as a handyman for the office. He kept things up and running and occasionally made trips to the courthouse to pick up documents when Apollo was too busy to do it himself. She'd also learned that the office had been repurposed into a pseudo-apartment where the two of them were roommates, meaning she would probably see him on a regular basis. And based on his cheery greeting, she predicted that they'd get along just fine.
"Great! Been keeping nice and busy at the office. Right, AJ?" Instead of answering, Apollo continued to watch Athena with a bugged out expression, acting as if he hadn't even heard the question at all.
Seeing him react like this, seeing that he still behaved the same way he always had, Athena found herself feeling relieved. A small part of her worried that, after so much had happened to him, after so much responsibility had been dropped in his lap, the burden of it all might change him somehow. But now, seeing him like this, still so rattled by her antics and looking just as awkward and unsure as he always had, she couldn't have been happier to see that her worries were for nothing. Even after all was said and done, he was still the same old Apollo.
And that increased her need to tease him tenfold.
Suddenly feeling mischievous, she placed her hands on her hips and gave him a cheeky grin. "What's the matter? So happy to see me that the cat got your tongue?" He remained quiet, and she was almost sure she saw him blush. She didn't realize how much she missed teasing him until now.
"Come on, AJ!" Datz said, giving his friend a firm pat on the back. Apollo was so startled by it that he stumbled forward. "Answer the little lady!" It must have broken him out of whatever cloud he was lost in, because he suddenly stood up straight and looked at Athena. "Uh, yeah- I mean no… I mean-" He clenched his jaw, then suddenly blurted out, "You brought luggage, right? Let's go get it."
She was only surprised by his question for a moment before she chalked it up to him not being sure what else to say with how rattled she was making him. 'Maybe I should give him a little break,' Athena thought, doubting she'd actually be able to hold back. "Yep! I'm ready when you are!"
"Great. This way." He turned around stiffly and walked in the opposite direction. Athena followed behind him with a pep in her step, feeling lighter than she had in a while.
When they got to the luggage claim area, Athena retrieved her bags and prepared to carry them out of the airport. For a while she worried that she wouldn't be able to decide which of her belongings were the most important and end up bringing too much. She was proud that she managed to fit everything she needed into just three bags. She set the two big suitcases onto the floor near her and started slinging her large backpack over her shoulders.
"What are you waiting for, AJ? Help the little lady with her bags."
"That's okay, Datz. I got it just fine." She looked at Apollo, who just stood there looking like he was lost and had no idea what he was doing. When he looked her in the eye, she gave him a mischievous grin. "They're probably too heavy for him to handle anyway." She knew she was probably teasing him too much; no matter how much he'd become accustomed to her antics and how much he'd come to expect all of this from her, he usually received a break in between. Now he was receiving a condensed version of it since she hadn't stopped messing with him since she first set foot into the room. She couldn't help herself; not only had she missed this more than anything, but not being able to hug him was leaving her feeling a little unfulfilled. She wasn't used to holding herself back, and her nature made her feel like she had to put it in tenfold to make up for it.
Datz suddenly busted out laughing, pointing at Apollo with tears of laughter in his eyes. "Ha ha ha! You hear that AJ? She just called you a wimp!"
The bugged out expression on Apollo's face finally disappeared. He narrowed his eyes at Athena, a line forming along his brow as he glowered at her, like he saw her challenge and was ready to prove her wrong. "I'm sure I can handle it just as well as you can," he said as he reached for the bags. He grabbed one handle in each hand, pulling them toward himself as he lifted them up. He stumbled slightly and his eyes bugged out again as he looked down, like he'd been unprepared for how heavy they would actually be. "W-what's in these bags?"
"My stuff. What else?"
Apollo looked at her incredulously, but wasn't given a chance to respond when Datz started talking over him. "Now that that's settled, let's hit the road! To the office!"
"Yeah!" Athena said, raising her hand high in the air. A sudden, forgotten worry crossed her mind, and she hesitated. "Through the front door, right?"
Apollo raised an eyebrow at her, confused by her question. "Huh?"
"Not the sewer," Athena said, remembering that her last trip to the office required a trip through the sewers because the doors to the run down office were boarded up. "The front door. Right?"
A look of understanding appeared on Apollo's face as he seemed to realize what she was talking about. "Oh, that. Yeah, through the front door."
Relieved by the answer, Athena quickly lowered her hand down onto Apollo's shoulder, the sudden contact making him jump. "Great!" She turned him around by the shoulder, placing her hands on his back and giving him a little push forward. "Lead the way, boss!"
She'd never addressed him by any special title before. They'd always been casual in the entire time they'd known each other, especially after they grew to be best friends. But she wanted to show him that, no matter how much she planned to treat him the same as she always had before, she hadn't forgotten that he was now her boss. Even if she only used the title this one time, it was just her way of telling him that she was aware that he was in charge. That was part of the reason, anyway; what she really wanted was to see the look it would surely put on his face. And she certainly wasn't disappointed.
Apollo stumbled for a moment before he caught his balance. When he did, he turned his head, and the look on his face was priceless. His eyebrows were raised and his eyes were as wide as an owl's as he stared at her like she'd gone crazy. "… Boss?" he asked, like he couldn't believe what he heard. Though Athena knew that he wouldn't react this strongly to the title again, knowing that it rattled him made her decide to use it on occasion, just to see what other ways he would react to it. Instead of answering him, she gave him another little push, and they all headed out of the airport.
They hailed a cab and sat together in the back seat, chatting away as they rode to the office. It was mostly Datz and Athena sharing a conversation, Apollo sitting quietly between them. Athena was pretty certain that his silence was because he was still pouting over how much grief she'd given him. She felt a little bad, but this was the happiest she'd felt in a long time. And since she didn't know Datz all that well, it gave her a chance to chat with him and get better acquainted. She figured, at the very least, it would keep her attention away from Apollo, giving him the break that she knew she owed him by now.
And being able to sit right next to him confirmed that he was really here; that she was really here. It wasn't the same as a hug, but just being near him was enough to assure her that this was all real.
Chapter Song – 'Sunshine!' - Beartooth
