Sunrise in the Darkness

by ShiroiOkami777

With the rebellion over and defense attorneys being accepted in court once again, Apollo opens his own office in Khura'in to help bring the country to a brighter future. With all the responsibilities he must face, he chooses to put away his personal feelings in order to carry it all. Once Athena arrives, he realizes he never would have been able to do it without her. Justicykes

12. Refreshing Breeze

Apollo stifled a yawn as he opened his dresser drawer, grabbing the first t-shirt he saw and pulled it over his head. He was keeping the office closed today, just as he did every Sunday, so there was no need for him to wear his suit. Even though he would still be doing work around the office, there would be no meeting with clients so, just as he did every Sunday, he chose to dress casually. He closed the dresser drawer and ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath as he tried to push the last bit of sleep away.

Whenever the office was closed, the option to sleep in was there if he really wanted it. But he always decided against it, feeling it would be wrong to stay in bed when he knew Athena was already out there at her desk, working before he was even awake. She'd been here for two months and, every single day without fail, he walked out of his room every morning and into the office to see that she was already hard at work at her desk. She got up at an early hour he didn't even want to know about to go for a jog and would already be at her desk working before he'd even woken up. No matter how much he thought about it, he could never figure out where she got the energy to do it all.

He couldn't believe how much had changed since she got here. Even though he already knew that having her here with him was what he needed more than anything else, he had no idea just how much it would improve everything around him. It wasn't just improving his everyday life and putting him more at ease than he had been since he left, but his responsibilities suddenly didn't feel like a burden anymore. Before, he felt like he was being suffocated under the pressure of everything ahead of him. But, now that she was here with him, she took some of that burden and made him feel like he could breathe again.

Because of that, their work had became so steady and manageable that, for the first time since she got here, they didn't have a case they needed to work on. They were set to appear in court tomorrow, but they'd already prepared their defense the night before. So, for the first time, the only work he could think of for them today was entering case files into the computers. But, even though that was something that needed to be completed eventually, it wasn't at all a priority. They mostly just worked on it when they had a little extra time before other more important tasks, like if they had a little time before they needed to leave for a trial.

Whenever the office was closed on Sundays, it was never for a break; it was so they could catch up on their tasks without worrying about meeting with a client. But now, on a Sunday where the office was closed and they had no real work ahead of them… he saw no reason they couldn't use this opportunity to take the day off.

It had been so long since he took any time off that it almost felt strange to think about it. The workload had been so heavy since he first got here that taking time off wasn't even an option he could consider, no matter how much he wanted to. After all of these months of being buried under work that felt like it would never end, he couldn't believe that he'd reached a point where he could finally take a break. Honestly, his life revolved around working at the office for so long now that he had no idea what he would do with his free time.

But, more than wanting to take the time off himself, he wanted to give Athena a chance to have a break. Since the moment she got here, she worked every minute of every day with him, and not once did she complain. She never tried to do something else or get out of her tasks for any reason. She did her work without showing any signs that it was bothering her at all. What he wanted, more than anything else, was to give her the break that she'd deserved this whole time.

Besides, even if he was still having a little bit of difficulty being comfortable with it, he was her boss. Even if she wanted to take time off, he knew she would never even try without his permission. She'd already made it clear that, even though nothing was different at all between them on a personal level, she very much respected that he was in charge. She wouldn't take any time off unless he told her to.

So, for her sake as well as his own, he decided to do just that.

After he left his room and shut the door behind him, he saw the same thing he did every morning. Athena was already behind her desk, hard at work entering case files into the computer. By this point, most of the case files that had been entered into the network were thanks to her. She always got a few done in the morning while she waited for him to get up, and it was the main reason they didn't have to make it a priority. But he didn't want her to worry about that now. There was nothing he could do to stop her from working before he got up, but now he was ready to tell her she didn't need to worry about that today.

He walked over to her desk and came to a stop when he reached it, standing across from her right in front of the desk. She heard his approach and turned her attention away from her work to give him a bright smile. She was dressed casually as well, just as she was every Sunday. "Good morning, sleepyhead!"

By now, he was used to her greeting him like that in the morning. At first, it made him feel nervous because it was a reminder that they were sleeping under the same roof together. Now, he was just comforted to know that she was happy at the start of the day. "Morning," he offered back, giving her a small smile. By this point, they'd established a bit of a routine. After they greeted each other, he would go about whatever he needed to do in the morning before he joined her, and she would just work on entering cases into the system while she waited for him. But this time, he just stood there, trying to figure out how he should bring up the subject of a day off.

"Whatcha need, boss?" Athena asked him. He blinked and looked at her, seeing that she was still watching him with a bright smile. He must have been staring off into space without realizing it when he was trying to figure out what to say.

"Uh…" he started, trying to figure out the best way to bring it up. It shouldn't be a difficult thing to say. But he was still getting used to being in charge and didn't always know the best way to say things that should be simple. "You… don't need to worry about that today."

Her smile faded and she looked at him with a confused frown, like she wasn't sure what he meant. "What do you mean?"

"Uh… I mean…" There was no reason for her to be confused by this, so he knew he was making this more complicated than it needed to be. So he decided to stop second guessing himself so much and just say it straight out. "Why don't we just take the day off today?"

Athena raised her eyebrows, seeming surprised by what he said. "What?"

"Well… uh…" Apollo started, suddenly feeling nervous. He really needed to work on his confidence as her boss if something as simple as this was making him anxious. "We're caught up on everything right now, aren't we?" He paused, seeing that her expression hadn't changed. "I don't see why we should be at our desks when there's really nothing important for us to do."

Athena was quiet for a moment, her surprised expression slowly fading until she was just looking at him with an unsure stare. "Are you sure?"

"Well… can you think of anything important that needs to be done today?"

Athena suddenly turned her eyes away for a few moments, looking like she was thinking about it. Then, her unsure expression disappeared and she looked back at him with a smile. "Nope, I guess not!"

"Great," Apollo said, feeling relieved. For some reason, he'd expected her to try and get out of it, especially when she looked so unsure after he brought it up. But, just as he already knew before, she respected that he was in charge and would stop working if he told her to. "So… you don't need to worry about the files today."

"Sure thing, boss!" she said, giving him a wide grin as she closed the folder in front of her. Then, she suddenly narrowed her eyes and looked at him with a mischievous smile. "Actually…" she said as she leaned forward slightly, placing her elbow on her desk and resting her chin in her hand. "You're not my boss for today, are you?"

Apollo raised his eyebrows, her reaction surprising him a bit. Since he'd given her the day off, that was technically true. But he wasn't sure why she was suddenly looking like the idea was amusing to her. "Uh… right."

"So, that means I don't need to listen to anything you tell me," she said, still smiling at him. "I don't need your permission to do whatever I want. Right?"

Apollo's eyes widened as he got a sudden sinking feeling in his chest. Though he was used to most of her antics by now, he could rarely predict what she was planning on doing when she suddenly got ideas in her head. He had no idea why she was looking so amused and he couldn't even imagine what she was thinking right now. But, with the way she was confirming that he wasn't her boss right now and he couldn't stop her from doing anything she wanted, he suddenly felt less like he'd given her a day off and more like he'd just let the tiger out of her cage.

His eyes widened even more and he clenched his jaw nervously. "...R...Right."

"So… that means…" She paused. Then, without taking her eyes off of him, she used her free hand to open the folder in front off her. "I can keep working if I want to. Right?"

Of all the things she could have said, that certainly never would have crossed his mind. He just stared at her with wide eyes, having no idea what to do. On one hand, he gave her the day off so she wouldn't have to work. But, on the other hand, she was right when she said that he couldn't tell her what to do. So, if working was what she really wanted, there was nothing he could do to stop her. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again. He'd somehow managed to put himself in a confusing position where he had authority but, at the same time, was powerless to use it.

As he watched her, having no idea what to do, he saw her expression suddenly start to change. Her smirk slowly turned into a smile, and she let out a small chuckle through her nose. Then, she suddenly sat up straight, closing her eyes as she busted out laughing.

He just stared at her with wide, confused eyes. She leaned back in her chair and wrapped her arms around herself, like she was laughing so hard that it was painful. And, as he stood there watching her laugh harder than he'd seen her laugh in a while, it suddenly dawned on him; she'd been messing with him. He knew her long enough by now that he should have suspected that right away. But, for reasons that he could never figure out no matter how long he knew her, he still could never seem to predict it and fell for it again. No matter how obvious it should have been to him by now, she always managed to find a way to get past his expectations and catch him off guard.

Now that he knew she had just been teasing him the whole time, his confused look disappeared and he glowered at her with tired, narrowed eyes. "Very funny," he said, not even sure that she heard him with how loud she was laughing.

She leaned forward and folded her arms on the desk, watching him with an amused smile as her laughter started to fade. "You should have seen the look on your face!" she said between chuckles.

Sometimes, he actually did wonder how he appeared to her when she was teasing him like this. He knew he had a tendency to be a little more jumpy and nervous than what was considered normal, and that must have caused him to be more expressive than he realized. At least, that would explain why she always found it so amusing every time she got a reaction out of him.

"Okay, okay…" she said after she stopped laughing. She closed the folder and looked at him with a bright, amused smile. "I promise I won't work today." She got out of her chair and picked up the folder, walking around the desk towards him. She stopped in front of him, then raised her free hand and patted the top of his head. "So don't worry your little head about it." She let her hand rest on the top of his head and leaned over slightly to look into his face, still smiling at him. "Okay?"

He just kept watching her with narrowed eyes, mentally kicking himself for letting her trick him again. "Sure."

Seeming satisfied, she moved her hand away from him and walked towards the file cabinets. He turned and watched her as she put the folder back into one of the drawers. She turned to look at him after she closed the drawer, putting her hands on her hips and giving him a bright smile. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Huh?" He was still a little frustrated with himself for letting her so easily trick him again, so the obvious meaning in her words didn't occur to him right away.

"We have the whole day free, right?" she started, still smiling at him. "What do you want to do first?"

He blinked, his frustration suddenly disappearing when he realized what she meant. When he first thought about the idea of taking the day off, he automatically assumed that they would be spending it together. Ever since they'd grown close enough to spend time together outside of work, it was almost guaranteed that they would spend at least part of their days off together. Because of that, he just assumed in the back of his mind that they would be doing the same thing today. Then he realized it was wrong for him to be so presumptuous. This was her first day off in months, so she might have things she wanted to do by herself. If she wanted to spend her time off on her own, she had every right to do that. But, now that she was asking him what he wanted to do, it confirmed that she also wanted them to spend the day together. Knowing that she was also assuming they would be together today made him feel more relieved than he expected.

The only problem now was, he had no idea how to answer her question. He'd been wanting to take a break for so long and yet, now that he finally had the free time he wanted, he had no idea what he was going to do with it.

"Uh…" he started, having no idea what to say. Because he knew his life would revolve around work when he moved here, he didn't really bring much for entertainment. It wasn't a problem before since he ended up being right when he assumed he would have no need or time for entertainment. But, now that he did, he suddenly realized that he didn't really have anything for them to do.

"Is there maybe something you wanna do around town?" Athena asked, not seeming bothered by his lack of an answer.

Since he'd tried not to bring too much with him when he moved, he didn't bring much more for entertainment than a few books he could read. He was so sure that he would have no time for anything but work that he didn't even have a movie that they could watch. So, with nothing to do in the office, going around town was really the only option. But the problem was, even though he'd been in Khura'in for a while now, he wasn't quite as familiar with the town as he should have been. He knew his way around town enough to get to the things he really needed, like the courthouse or the grocery store but, other than that, he had no idea what else the town had to offer.

"Uh… I don't know," he started. He straightened up as he looked at her, suddenly feeling a little guilty that he was being less than helpful. "I… really have no idea what there is to do around here."

"Okay, then why don't we go find out?" Athena said, not seeming at all bothered. "We can go wander around the area for a while until we find something."

"...Wander around?"

"Yeah!" Athena said, her expression unchanging. "Unless you can think of a better way to find something to do."

He didn't even really need to think about it to know that she was right. With neither of them knowing what was available around town, the best way to find something would be to go and look around for themselves. "...No, I guess not."

"Then let's get to it!" Athena said, raising her hand in the air like she couldn't be more excited. She lowered her hand back to her hip and watched him with a bright smile. "Make sure you put on some shorts when you're getting ready!"

Apollo couldn't help but look at her with a confused frown. "Shorts?"

"Yep! It's way too warm out right now to go jogging in anything more than that!"

He raised his eyebrows, feeling surprised by what she said. "...Jogging?"

"Yeah! How else are we gonna get around town?"

He just stared at her, not sure what to say. When she mentioned wandering around town, he thought she meant a walk. He didn't understand why they had to jog when walking would work just fine. "Uh… can't we just walk?"

"We could..." she started. "… But that's no fun!" She just kept watching him with a bright smile. "Besides, I always go for a second jog on my days off."

His eyes suddenly bugged out and he stared at her. "...What?"

"Yeah!" Athena said, not seeming bothered by his reaction. "So, let's get to it!"

Every time Apollo thought Athena couldn't surprise him more than she already did, she kept finding more ways to prove him wrong. Whenever he had a day off, the first thing he did was sleep in. If he would have thought of taking the day off last night instead of this morning after he got up, he would have slept in this morning for sure. Even with how aware he was that Athena seemed to have no limit to her energy, he still couldn't figure out how she could go for two jogs in one day.

"Uh…" Apollo started, not sure how to respond. While he agreed that wandering around town was the best way for them to find something to do, he already knew from experience that jogging was probably not the best way for him to do it. Back when they both still worked at the agency, not long after they started spending time together outside of work, Athena suggested that they go jogging together. Since he wasn't much for exercise outside of the walks they took together, he tried to come up with a reason to get out of it. She insisted that he should at least give it a try because he would have more energy if he was in better physical shape. Since he'd always known exercise as something that made him tired, he didn't really believe that. But, since he'd resisted the walks at first as well and now it was one of his favorite parts of spending time with her, he decided to give it a try. Then, he ended up so sore and tired afterwards that he never wanted to do it again. She kept telling him that it would be less tiring the more he got used to it, but he just insisted that it wasn't for him. He didn't have the same energy and motivation that she did, and he knew that, even if he did get used to it eventually, he would never be able to keep up with her pace. So, she seemed to relent and didn't bring it up again. Until now.

"Okay, how about this?" Athena started, her expression unchanging. "What if I just go by myself, then come back here after I find something for us to do? That way, you won't have to jog. How's that?"

On one hand, Apollo knew he would feel guilty if he just stayed here while she went off to find something for them on her own. On the other hand, he gave her the day off so she could do whatever she wanted. If she had her mind set on a second jog, he didn't want to be the reason she couldn't do it. "Well…" he started, still feeling hesitant. "...Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

"Yep!" she said, still smiling brightly. "As soon as I figure out a new route to use, I'll be heading out!"

Apollo couldn't help but be confused by what she said. "New route?"

"Yeah!" Athena said like it was obvious. "I go through the park all the time, so I already know there's nothing there. I'll never find anything unless I go somewhere else!"

"Well… uh…" Apollo started. A possible problem with this idea suddenly started occurring to him, but he decided to make sure he didn't misunderstand before he started assuming anything. "Which way do you think you're gonna go?"

"I don't know," Athena said, watching him with a bright smile. "I'll just have to go somewhere I've never been before! It wouldn't be a new route if I knew where I was going, would it?"

Apollo just stared at her as he realized the possible problem he was thinking about was now an actual problem. The only routes she was familiar with were the park and the way to and from the courthouse. Since he couldn't recall seeing anything notable on their usual route to the courthouse, he knew she was right when she said she needed to go somewhere new to find something for them to do. But the problem was, there was no way he could let her do that by herself. In the entire time that he knew her, Apollo was constantly amazed by all of the things Athena could do. She was so capable of handling seemingly anything that came her way that there were times that Apollo believed there was nothing she couldn't do. But, no matter how capable she was, she had weaknesses, just like everyone else. And the one that was at the forefront of his mind right now was the fact that she had no sense of direction at all. Letting her go off by herself on a new route she'd never seen before would all but guarantee that he would spend his first day off in months wandering around town worrying while he tried to find her.

But, as she stood there smiling at him like she had no idea what was wrong with what she just said, he started to wonder why she even suggested that she do this by herself in the first place. It wasn't like Athena wasn't aware that she had no sense of direction; she was well aware that she got lost easily, and disliked that part of herself so much that she often became angry and embarrassed whenever she got lost. Because of that, Apollo couldn't figure out why she suggested the idea of going by herself in the first place.

"Why…" Apollo started, still thinking he might be missing something. "...would you wanna go by yourself?"

"Because you don't wanna go, silly!" Athena said like it was obvious. "This way, I can go and you don't have to! What's wrong with that?"

"Yeah, but…" Apollo said, not sure why he had to point out something so obvious. "...you'll get lost."

"No I won't!" she said, her bright smile unchanging. "I'll be just fine!"

And then it suddenly hit him. Something clicked in his head, and everything she said up to this point suddenly made sense.

This whole time, she'd been trying to trick him into going jogging with her.

It wasn't the first time she'd done something like this, so he didn't know why it took him so long to recognize it until now. But, even if he had managed to catch it sooner, it wouldn't have mattered. He could call her out right now and say he knew what she was trying to do and that he wasn't going to fall for it. But he knew her well enough by now that it wouldn't be enough to stop her. That would only succeed in getting her to stop trying to use words to get him to agree. She could still easily leave by herself, which would cause his worry over her getting lost to overpower his dislike for exercise, which would ultimately cause him to follow after her. And she knew that. Someone who didn't know her might think she wouldn't go that far, that she was bluffing and wouldn't actually leave; but he knew she would. Because when Athena played a game, she always played to win.

Maybe he should feel irritated that she'd successfully put him between a rock and a hard place. Maybe he could let her leave and allow her to get lost, leaving her to find her way back on her own, even if it was just to show her that he could be just as stubborn as she was. Someone who didn't know her might react that way in this situation since they didn't understand why she did things like this. But that wasn't something he would ever consider as an option. Because he knew her. It might seem like she was using his worry for her against him in order to get what she wanted. But she wasn't. At the end of the day, all she was doing was trying to get him to take better care of himself. And he could never fault her for that.

Before he met her, exercise was something he actively tried to avoid. Now, walking with her was one of the things he looked forward to more than anything. And it never would have happened if she hadn't given him the push he needed to give it a try in the first place. Sometimes he wanted to try new things, but he was always reluctant. She knew this about him, and she was never afraid to encourage him to at least give those things a try. And he was never worried that she would try and push him too far; if he was truly against something, she would never try to make him do it against his will. If he were to ask her to back off right now, she would do it right away and would drop the whole thing. Her goal was never to make him do things he didn't want to do; she only wanted to encourage him to try things that he was otherwise too afraid to attempt. But he didn't feel that strongly about this, and never did. He was just feeling a little discouraged because the jogging had gone so poorly last time. He didn't blame her for wanting him to give it another try; he gave up too quickly after the first time. He still didn't think jogging was for him, but he saw no reason he couldn't give it another shot. Either way, they would be spending time together, which was what they both wanted.

But that still didn't mean he had to be happy that she tricked him in order to get him to do it.

He narrowed his eyes at her, letting out a sigh as he realized there was no good reason for him to try and get out of it now. She was just smiling at him, trying to act like she had no idea what she was doing. But they both knew what she was trying to do. And, after all was said and done, he saw no real reason to say no.

"Fine… I'll go with you."

"Great!" Athena said, flashing him a wide smile. Without saying anything else, she walked towards her room and opened the door, turning to look at him as she stood in the doorway. "I'll meet you out there when you're ready!" She smiled and waved at him while she closed the door.

Apollo just narrowed his eyes at her closed door. Even though he knew this was just her way of encouraging him to do something he was reluctant to try, there was still no denying that she was quite happy with herself for once again successfully pulling him in with her well crafted mind games.

Seeing no reason to delay, Apollo went to his room to get ready. He found a pair of dark gray, knee length shorts and put those on, followed by a pair of tennis shoes he only wore when he wasn't working. Since the maroon t-shirt he was already wearing would work just fine, he decided he was as ready as he would ever be and went to meet with Athena.

He wasn't at all surprised to see that she was ready before he was, already standing at the front door waiting for him. She was wearing well fitted, knee length gray shorts and a gray tank top, both with yellow stripes along the sides, as well as a pair of gray tennis shoes with yellow accents. Unlike the regular clothes he'd thrown together, she was clearly wearing something meant for exercising.

"Come on, slowpoke!" she said, watching him with a wide smile. "Time's a wastin'!"

He narrowed his eyes at her, knowing he would soon be proving just what a slowpoke he really was. "Sure," he said, then followed her out the door.

After Apollo decided on a direction for them to go, Athena promised him they would take it easy since he wasn't used to this kind of exercise. Once they felt they were ready, they went on their way.

They started off side by side, Athena giving Apollo tips and encouragement as they went along their way. It wasn't long before Apollo started feeling the exhaustion setting in, but he didn't want to give up too quickly this time. He just accepted that he wouldn't do very well since he wasn't used to exertion like this and would just do what he could to get through it until they found something to do.

But that mindset only worked for so long before his body wouldn't work with him anymore. He had no idea how long they had been going but, after a while, he suddenly started to slow. Instead of jogging side by side, Athena ended up ahead of him. She turned around and jogged backwards, calling encouragement to him as he fell behind. But it wasn't enough; once his body decided that it had reached its limit, his feet started to drag until he came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk.

He leaned over, holding himself up by placing his hands on his knees. He stared at the sidewalk at his feet with bugged out eyes, taking big, sharp breaths through his mouth as he tried to catch his breath. He didn't care if he was only this exhausted because he wasn't used to it; if this was all it took to make him feel like he was going to pass out, he didn't think he was capable of doing it enough to get used to it even if he wanted to.

"Come on, Apollo!" Athena called to him. He heard her footsteps as she approached him and stopped in front of him. He saw in the corner of his vision as she bent down to look him in the face, feeling her hand as she gently pat him on the back. "You can't give up yet! We just started!"

Though he admittedly had no idea how long they'd been going, he was sure that his idea of 'just started' was much different than hers.

"I… thought…" he started between heavy breaths, still staring at the sidewalk as he continued to try and catch his breath. "...you...said… we were… gonna… take it… easy…"

"We are taking it easy!" Athena said, resting her hand on his back. "We've been taking it easy the whole time!"

"WHAT!?" Apollo suddenly yelled, lifting his head to look her in the face. He hadn't meant to use his Chords of Steel, but he was so surprised to hear that this was considered 'taking it easy' that he couldn't help it.

And he also couldn't have been more grateful that his face was already red from the jogging. If it wasn't, he would have had no excuse for the deep blush that colored his face when he saw how close her face was to his.

She just raised her eyebrows at him, surprised by his sudden loudness. She seemed to get over it quickly, suddenly smiling at him while she gently patted his back. "Whoa, take it easy there, Apollo. You'll never catch your breath if you use it all up yelling like that."

If his heart rate wasn't too high before, it certainly was now. Knowing he would never recover if he kept watching her be that close to him, he turned his eyes back to the sidewalk, trying to catch his breath for two reasons now instead of just one.

"Okay, okay..." he heard her say as she patted him on the back again. "We can take a break." He felt as she moved her hand away from his back and hooked her arm around his. "Come on. There's a bench over here." She gently pulled on his arm, coaxing him to move forward. He stood up straight and let her lead him to the bench that wasn't that far away. She released her grip on him when they reached it and he sat down, gratefully leaning back as he slowly began to finally catch his breath.

Apollo knew Athena did this on a daily basis, so he shouldn't have been surprised to see that she didn't need a break. And yet, he still couldn't believe that she didn't appear to be tired at all. She was just standing there in front of him, her hands on her hips as she watched him with a bright smile. She looked completely fine, as if she hadn't just been jogging at all. He couldn't even tell if she'd broken a sweat, which made him thoroughly embarrassed by how damp the collar of his shirt was right now.

"How do you do this every day?" Apollo asked. He was still feeling worn out and was nowhere near ready to get up just yet, but at least he'd finally caught his breath. "This is impossible."

"It just feels that way because you're not used to it," Athena said, smiling brightly at him. "If you keep at it, it will feel like it's too easy before you know it!"

"Well…" Apollo started, not sure how much he believed that. "How long did it take you to get used to it?" He didn't realize how ridiculous the question was until he said it out loud. For Athena, who never ran out of energy no matter what she did, she probably didn't need to get used to it at all.

She looked away thoughtfully for a few moments, then looked back at him with a bright smile. "I don't remember."

Apollo narrowed his eyes at her, suddenly feeling even more tired. If she couldn't remember how long it took her to get past the difficult beginnings of exercise, that all but told him that she didn't have much difficulty with it at all. He didn't fault her at all for being better at it than him. It just made him realize that trying to compare his aptitude to hers was like trying to compare fire and water. Instead, he would just settle with knowing she clearly had a knack for it that he would never have.

Feeling like he was getting some of his energy back, he straightened up a bit. "Well, I don't think I could ever get used to it," he said as he rubbed his fingers along the top of his head. "I don't think I would have the time for it anyway." He wasn't sure if that was true or if he was just making an excuse because he was embarrassed that he got so tired when they were taking it easy. Either way, he wasn't feeling too eager to try again after this.

"Yeah, making time for it is probably the hardest part," Athena said. When he turned his attention to her, he saw that she was watching him with a thoughtful, encouraging smile. "But…" Then, she smiled brightly. "That's why you just have to make time for it!"

"...Huh?"

"Yeah!" she said, her expression unchanging. "Why do you think I get up so early to jog? I don't have time during the day, so I get up early to make time for it." She paused for a moment. "And, if there's some reason I can't go in the morning… I stay up late and go jogging at night!"

Apollo's eyes widened and he just stared at her. He knew exercise was important to her, but he still had no idea she was that motivated. But, what she said made him realize; if she got up early every day to jog, then stayed up late every night to work with him or go on a jog she might have missed, how much sleep did she get? He knew she got up early, but he had no idea what time. But if it was early enough for her to jog and then start working before he even got up, it had to be earlier than he originally thought. No matter how much energy she seemed to have, there was no way she could do all of that without getting worn out if she was awake all the time. "Then when would you sleep?"

"In between, obviously!"

'In between what?' Apollo thought. He already knew she was up early and that she stayed up late, but he never really thought about whether or not that meant she was getting enough rest. She always seemed so full of limitless energy and was always so ready and raring to go that he never thought of her as someone who seemed like they weren't getting enough sleep.

Then, it suddenly occurred to him. She had done it for as long as he knew her but, because he had yet to see her do it ever since she got here two months ago, he'd temporarily forgotten about it. It wasn't a common occurrence but, back when they still worked at the agency, there were a few times where he found her dozing off, sometimes at her desk and sometimes even on the office couch. He always assumed it was because she was bored when there wasn't a lot of work to do. But, now that he was really considering how much sleep she got in between everything else she was doing, he wondered if maybe boredom wasn't the reason. No matter how much energy she had, she was sure to be tired if she was reducing her sleep to get up early and stay up late all the time. At least, that made sense to him.

"Oh, that makes sense," he said, feeling like he'd just made a revelation that he should have seen a long time ago.

"Yep!"

Apollo blinked and looked at her. "Huh?"

Athena's smile faded and she looked at him with a confused frown. "'Huh' what?"

He suddenly realized that he'd been so lost in his thoughts that he forgot what he was responding to. She had no idea what he'd been thinking, so she must have been thinking he was talking about something else. Not wanting to cause a misunderstanding, he decided to explain it to her. "Well… that would explain it right?"

"Explain what?" she asked, looking even more confused.

"Uh… well…" he started, suddenly feeling a little awkward. It would feel a little strange to suddenly bring up her dozing habit, but he wouldn't be able to explain what he was talking about unless he did. "If you're…. always up early and staying up late… that would explain why you doze off sometimes." He cleared his throat, worried that he might be embarrassing her. Normally, he didn't need to worry about that; Athena wasn't the shy type, so it was rare for her to ever be embarrassed by anything. But when it came to her faults, like her tendency to get lost, she was a lot harder on herself than was necessary and would usually get embarrassed whenever she had to face them. Though he knew that she didn't feel as strongly about her tendency to doze off as she did over some of the other things she did, she still got a little frustrated with herself whenever she was caught falling asleep in the office. "...Right?"

At first, she just continued to watch him with a confused frown. Then, her expression slowly smoothed out, then she turned her eyes away, looking at some spot off to the side as she suddenly seemed to be deep in thought about something. As he watched her, a frown slowly started to appear on her brow, like whatever she was thinking about was starting to upset her.

Then, as if nothing was bothering her at all, she suddenly turned her attention back to him with a bright smile. "Yeah! That makes sense!"

He wasn't sure what to make of her reaction. It was easy to just assume that he had indeed embarrassed her, but that wasn't what it looked like to him. She didn't seem angry or irritated, which was usually how she acted when she was embarrassed. She looked more like it made her think about something that she didn't want to think about. He felt guilty that what he said had made her feel that way, but he thought it might be better if he didn't ask. If just thinking about it was upsetting to her, he didn't want to make it worse by trying to get her to talk about it. He thought it was best if he left it at that and let her bring it up herself if she wanted to talk about it. Since she seemed like she'd gotten over it anyway, he didn't think there was any reason for him to be concerned.

At least, that was how he would have felt about it if his bracelet hadn't reacted to what she said.

Normally, he wasn't bothered by it very much at all when his bracelet reacted to her. It didn't happen very often and, even when it did, it was usually over superficial things that didn't matter all that much. Normally, it happened when she was denying something she was too embarrassed to admit, like that she was late because she got lost, or when she tried to claim she wasn't in pain when she clearly was. Since she was never being truly dishonest with him, it never really bothered him. It was never anything more than white lies she used to try and get out of admitting something she didn't want to talk about. And since that could easily be what she was doing right now, he knew he shouldn't be worried about it.

But there was something about the way she reacted this time that was making him more concerned than he usually was. His bracelet specifically reacted when she said 'Yeah,' but not when she said 'That makes sense.' That meant that, while she agreed that it made sense that she dozed off sometimes because she wasn't getting enough sleep, she also knew that it was incorrect and there was actually another reason. And whatever reason that was made her unhappy enough that she felt the need to lie about it so she didn't have to talk about it.

His first instinct was to ask her about it, but then he realized it might be better if he just left it alone for now. He didn't want to just act like he didn't notice that there was something wrong, but since she'd already made it clear that she didn't want to talk about it, he knew he had no right to push her. The way she reacted like it was upsetting her meant that whatever it was wasn't superficial. He could only recall one other time since they'd known each other that she reacted like this. And it ended up being because she wasn't ready to talk about some personal things from her past that were hard for her to think about. And he would never be able to forget how, even when she clearly still wasn't ready to talk about those things, she ended up being put under circumstances that forced her to against her will. And it ended up putting her through one of the worst times of her life. Because of that, he vowed never to push her into anything that she wasn't ready for in order to not let her go through so much pain ever again.

He knew he was probably worrying too much and whatever this was could easily not be a big deal, but he didn't think it was worth the risk right now. This was their first day off in months and he didn't want to bring her down by pressuring her into talking about something that could very well be a big deal. Instead, he would respect her privacy and leave it alone for now. If she wanted to talk about it, she would bring it up on her own, so he would wait until she did. After all, that was exactly what she did for him in the past few months; even though she made sure to remind him that she was there whenever he needed her, she never once tried to push him to talk about it before he was ready. It was something he would be forever grateful to her for, and he couldn't claim that she was more important to him than anyone else in the world if he couldn't give her the same courtesy in return.

"Uh…" he started, just watching her as she continued to smile at him as if nothing was wrong. "...Yeah." Though he was still a bit concerned, he pushed it into the back of his mind so they could just continue enjoying their day without any distractions.

He stood up from his seat, wobbling slightly as the weakness in his legs made it hard to stand upright. Once he felt like he was steady, he looked at her, seeing that she was still watching him with a bright smile. "I… think I'm ready to go now."

"Great!"

"But…" he said, lifting his hand to stop her before she could do anything. "...Is it… okay if we just walk now?" He didn't want them to stop looking around for something to do, but he didn't think he could handle any more jogging right now.

"Sure thing!" Athena said, not looking bothered by the suggestion at all. Then, she suddenly darted around to get behind him. Right as he started to look over his shoulder to see what she was doing, he felt her place her hands on his back, then she gave him a firm push forward to get him moving. His eyes widened and he stumbled into a walk as her push made him take a few quick steps forward. "Let's go, slowpoke!"

She only pushed him along for a few feet before she let go and rushed to walk next to him. Now walking side by side, they continued their search, quickly falling into casual conversation as they looked around for an activity worth spending the remainder of their first day off. As they walked, they ended up finding that the town had a lot more options for entertainment than they were expecting. There was no shortage of activities available and they saw quite a few unique stores that seemed worth checking out. But, at the end of it all, what ultimately caught both of their attention more than anything else was a movie rental store. One of the subjects that had come up during their casual conversations was how long it had been since either of them had seen a movie. When they both still worked at the agency, they had a number of ways they spent time together outside of work. But one of the ones they enjoyed the most was watching movies. In particular, bad monster movies. They both agreed that they would check out the other entertainment options around town eventually but, for now, what they both wanted more than anything else was to spend today enjoying some poorly made monster movies.

It took them no time to find what they were looking for once they went inside. They were happy to see that there was no shortage of available movies for them to select, insuring that there would be more to choose from when they came back again in the future. Normally when they rented movies, they chose one or two, depending on how much free time they had available to watch them. Since they agreed that watching movies was how they wanted to spend their day today, they decided to get a few so they wouldn't run out of options after they got home. After selecting a few of the worst looking ones, they rented them out and headed for the office.

Once they got back to the office and changed out of their workout clothes and into casual jeans and t-shirts, they started settling in for a day of watching bad monster movies. Since they planned on being there for a while, they laid out a few snacks and drinks onto the coffee table between them, each of them sitting on their own separate couch opposite of each other. After they agreed which one of the movies they wanted to watch first, they sat back and started enjoying the first day off they'd had together in what felt like a long time.

And as the day went on, Apollo came to realize just how much spending a day with Athena really meant to him. Ever since they became friends, spending time with Athena became a comfortable part of his life that he looked forward to more than anything else. Whether their plans were big and exciting or casual and unimportant, being with her quickly became more important to him than anything else in the world. She made him feel content in a way no one else had ever been capable of, and spending time with her became an escape from his problems that he didn't know he needed. Even on days where there was nothing bothering him at all and he was feeling more content than he ever had, being with her was still the one thing he needed to get through the day.

When they first settled in to watch the first movie, they'd both started off sitting up straight, sitting back comfortably and leaning against the arms of the couches. Then, as the casual day went on, they were having such a good time that the sitting quickly turned into lounging. Apollo was half slouching, half sitting against the arm of the couch, one of his arms behind his head and his other arm laying across his waist. He moved both of his legs up onto the couch, one of his knees bent upwards and the other leg stretched down to the other end of the couch. Athena was still sitting up but was also leaning back, one of her elbows leaning against the arm of the couch, the fingers of both of her hands intertwined and laying comfortably on her waist. Her legs were propped up on her couch as well, both stretched out to the other end with her ankles crossed, one of her feet moving slightly back and forth.

"There's no way the snake cost more than the alligator," Athena said. Once they were nearing the end of movie four, they were well into their guessing game. Ever since the very first monster movie they ever watched together, trying to guess how much the movie production company spent making the monster models was the highlight of every one they watched. It never mattered that they had no way of knowing who was closer in their guess in the end; just discussing what they thought the expense was and why was more fun than Apollo ever thought it could be. And with every one they watched, Athena seemed to come up with stranger reasons for her guesses, ones that never would have crossed his mind.

"Yeah, I think it did," Apollo said. Their attentions were both still on the movie, watching as a giant red snake and an over-sized green alligator fought each other. By now, they'd seen so many of these models that they were used to seeing just how low the quality could be. And yet, the models in this movie were particularly bad, even more so than what they were used to seeing. It looked less like two giant animals fighting it out and more like a close up of children's toys being thrown around in a puddle of water. "And it's not an alligator, it's a crocodile."

"No it isn't," Athena said, still watching the movie. "The title of the movie says alligator. So, it's an alligator."

"Well… I guess they made a mistake when they were coming up with the title."

"And what makes you think that?"

He knew what the monster was supposed to be really didn't matter, especially since it was just a movie. But, ever since he learned the difference between alligators and crocodiles during his first visit to a zoo, it was something that kind of stuck with him. He wasn't sure why, since it hadn't really meant anything to him at the time. But later, when he saw how often people mixed the two animals up, he suddenly felt the need to point it out and correct them if they got it wrong. He knew it was an easy thing to mistake, considering how similar the two animals looked; even the company that made the movie they were watching right now had gotten it wrong. Though that really didn't mean much. The quality of the movie so far was proving that little effort, if any, was put into research. Regardless, he'd managed to pick up a habit of correcting the mix-up whenever he saw it. "Well... alligators have round noses and crocodiles have thin noses. The monster has a thin nose, so… it's a crocodile."

"Okay, Mr. Zoologist. But the snake still didn't cost more than the alligator."

"Why not?" he asked, ignoring the fact that she was still stubbornly calling it an alligator.

"Because mixed paint costs more."

That was enough to get Apollo to move his attention away from the movie. He turned his head to look at Athena, a confused frown creasing his brow. "Huh?"

She turned her head to look at him as well. "Mixed paint," she said, watching him with a smile. "They had to pay for two colors to make the green paint for the alligator, and they only had to pay for one to make the red snake. So, the alligator cost more to make."

Apollo just stared at her, having no idea how he was supposed to respond to that. Every time they played their guessing game, Athena always seemed to come up with some new way to support her guess. They always felt like they came out of nowhere, and they were always things that he never would have thought of himself. And yet, even though her ideas never seemed like they made a lot of sense, she always had some explanation for it.

"Uh…" he started, just continuing to stare at her. She just watched him with a bright smile, like she didn't think there was anything strange about what she said at all. "Well… in that case… the snake still cost more."

"And why's that?"

"Because… it's bigger." He paused, seeing that her expression hadn't changed. "If it's a bigger model, then it would take more paint to cover the whole thing. So… the paint for the snake still would have cost more than the paint for the crocodile."

"Not if they only bought one bucket of paint for each model."

He just continued to stare at her, having no idea what she was talking about. "...Huh?"

"Think about it," she started. She turned her whole body towards him, lounging on the couch on her side now, still sitting up while leaning her arm against the arm of the couch. She smiled at him, looking like she was excited to settle in and give him her explanation. "These movies are low budget, right? So, they probably just get a 'one size fits all' bucket of paint for each model. That would mean that each monster gets one bucket of paint, no matter how big it is. But, if they want a mixed color, they have to get two buckets for one model. So, that would mean that they needed two for the green alligator and only one for the red snake. That would mean that they had to spend twice as much on the alligator, making it cost more than the snake."

As Athena sat back, looking like she couldn't be more confident in her words, Apollo just stared at her like he couldn't be more confused. Yet again, she managed to come up with some reason to back up her guess that never would have even crossed his mind. And yet, no matter how nonsensical her explanation was, he couldn't deny that it actually had some surprisingly logical sense to back it up. No matter how many times they played this game, no matter how many times she came up with reasons that felt like they came out of nowhere, he could never deny the possibility that she could very well be right. Even though he was used to her doing this by now, he could still never even begin to guess where in the world her ideas came from. So, just like he did every time, he just stared at her, watching her smile at him as he tried and failed to figure out what was going on inside her head.

"Uh…" was all he could manage to say. He had no real counterargument for what she said. That, or he was just still so focused on trying to figure out how she came up with the idea in the first place that he wasn't even trying to think of a way to counter her idea. He turned his eyes back to the movie for a moment, like he was hoping he would see something that could help him think of something to say.

"Whoa! Did you see that!?"

He looked back at Athena when he heard her speak. He saw that she had sat up out of her lounging position, her feet on the floor as she leaned towards the TV, staring at the movie with wide eyed surprise.

"W-What?" Apollo asked, looking back at the movie. Whatever happened must have been a big deal if she reacted like that. But when he looked, he didn't see anything that would be cause for her to get so excited.

"The alligator's leg fell off!"

Apollo's eyes widened. "It did?"

"Yeah!" Athena said, sounding excited. "Rewind it!"

Apollo moved his hand from behind his head and sat up a little straighter as he grabbed the remote from the spot on his couch next to him. He rewound the movie back a little ways before he started playing it again. They both kept their attention on the screen so they wouldn't miss it.

Then, just as Athena said, one of the crocodile's back legs fell off near the end of the fight scene. Something like that shouldn't have been strange; it was pretty standard for a movie involving more than one monster to result in the two fighting creatures to tear pieces off of each other. But the reason for Athena's strong reaction was because it was clearly not intended to happen. Rather than the leg being removed by the snake, it just kind of fell off, like it was broken and just hanging on by a few screws that came loose. Then, in the very next scene, it was back in place, implying that it had been fixed in between scenes because the leg falling off wasn't intentional.

Apollo just stared at the screen with wide eyes for a moment, then turned his attention to Athena. He saw that she was also watching him with the same surprised look. By now, they'd lost count of how many of these movies they'd seen. And, thanks to the low budget of each one, this was not the first time they'd seen a mistake that wasn't cut out during editing. But this was definitely the first time they saw one of the monster models fall apart on screen.

Athena let out a sigh, placing her elbow on her leg and resting her chin in her hand. Her surprised look smoothed out and she just watched him with a narrow eyed, dejected look, like she was suddenly feeling bummed. "You win," Athena started, sounding just as bummed as she looked. "The snake cost more than the crocodile."

Knowing how much Athena hated to lose, Apollo understood why she was feeling so bummed out. Not only was it rare for her to lose, but it could sometimes be difficult to get her to admit it when she did. She usually tried to fight it and come up with reasons that there was still a chance she could win instead of just giving in. This time, she must have believed that there was no point in even trying since they'd both plainly seen proof that she was wrong. Because it was so rare for her to admit that she lost to him, he should have been happy. But, instead of being happy that she was willing to admit that he won their guessing game this time, he was more happy that she started admitting that the alligator was really a crocodile.

"Yeah… I guess," was all Apollo could think to say. In all honesty, who really won wasn't something that they could ever definitively prove. Even if they could, it never mattered that much to him. Because of how competitive Athena was, she'd always cared more about who won than he did. That was just one of the ways she had fun when they watched movies together, and that was fine with him. He cared more about the conversations they had along the way than anything else. At the end of it all, they both had fun, and that was all that mattered.

The credits started to roll shortly after that, and Apollo turned to see Athena raise her arms above her head in a big stretch. She fell back onto the couch and let out a sigh, sitting back comfortably as she turned her attention to him and gave him a bright smile. "Worst one?"

During the movie, they both noticed how low quality it was, even more so than what they were used to seeing. It was so bad that, about halfway through, they started a discussion of whether or not it was the worst one they'd ever seen. Though neither of them could think of one that was worse, they agreed to wait until the end to make their final decision. And, after seeing one of the monsters fall apart on screen, it was clear that neither of them were going to disagree.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, I think so too." She moved forward on the couch and leaned down towards the floor. "It's gonna be hard to beat that one…" she said as she sifted through the plastic bag at her feet. After a moment, she pulled a plastic movie case from the bag. She straightened back up before she leaned one forearm against her leg and leaned forward, holding the movie in her other hand as she watched him with a smile. "But we can always hope that this one is worse."

"Yeah," Apollo started as he began to sit up. He put his feet on the floor and leaned his forearms on his legs, watching her as she kept smiling at him. "But… you wanna take a break for dinner first?" Because they'd been on the couch watching movies all day, they hadn't had anything more than the snacks they'd put on the coffee table at the beginning of the marathon. That was fine throughout the day, but now he was feeling like he needed something more substantial than that.

"Sure," Athena said, placing the movie down on the coffee table. She sat up straight and gave him a bright grin. "It's your turn, Mr. Chef!"

"Sure," Apollo said as he stood up. He didn't know what he was going to make, having made no real plans for the day, so he needed to get started now if he was going to have it ready within a reasonable amount of time.

And then, he realized there was no reason for him to make anything at all if he didn't want to. Not only was this their first day off in months, but they were having such a good time lounging around watching movies that they planned on doing it for the rest of the evening. Instead of taking up the time it would require to prepare something, he saw no reason they couldn't save time and just get takeout.

"You know…" he started as Athena continued to watch him. "… it would save time if we just ordered in."

"Okay," Athena started, her expression unchanging. "If you wanna weasel your way out of your turn to cook, that's fine with me."

Apollo blinked, looking at her with surprise. "W-What?"

Almost immediately, she started laughing. His surprise quickly faded and he narrowed his eyes at her, mentally kicking himself when he realized that she was only joking and he'd just let her get a reaction out of him again. That was the third time just today that she'd managed to trick him. He couldn't be sure, considering that Athena teased him all the time, but he was pretty sure that was a new record.

After they agreed on what they were going to order, Apollo stood next to the couch and made the call. He could have sat back down, but sitting on the couch all day was making him feel a little stiff, so he decided to stand for a while. Athena started clearing the coffee table of the mess they made throughout the day while he was on the phone, and everything in the living room was clean by the time he was done placing the order.

After he hung up the phone, he ran his hand through his hair as he let out a small yawn. He knew he shouldn't be feeling groggy, considering that he'd done nothing but lounge around all day. But staring at the TV screen for so long made his eyes feel tired, so he figured it would be a good idea if he went to find something else to focus on for a while.

When he turned around, he saw that Athena was on the other side of the room. He thought she was on her way back since she seemed to be done clearing away the table. But instead, he was surprised to see that she was over by the corner of the office near the kitchen, sweeping the office floor with the broom she held in her hands.

"What are you doing?"

Athena stopped what she was doing to look at him. "It's my turn to clean today!" she said, standing there with the broom in her hand while she smiled at him. "I just thought I'd get it done while we were waiting."

"Yeah, but…" Apollo started. When he came up with the idea of a day off, it wasn't just so they didn't have to work; he wanted them to have a day where they could relax and not have to worry about any responsibilities at all. Doing chore related tasks on days off was normal but, since this was the first real break they'd had in months, he saw no reason they couldn't just skip stuff like that for today. And he especially didn't want her to feel like she had to do her share of the responsibilities after he'd just gotten out of doing his. "You... don't need to worry about that today, do you?"

"Well…" Athena started, moving the broom to her side and putting her other hand on her hip, still smiling at him. "I gotta do something while we wait. So, why not this?"

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it again. He needed to remember that this was her day off, which meant she had every right to do whatever she wanted, no matter what it entailed. If cleaning was what she wanted to do, he had no right to stop her.

"O… Okay," he said, knowing there was nothing he could do about it. Seeming satisfied, Athena went back to what she was doing. As Apollo stood there and watched her, he started feeling guilty. He knew he shouldn't feel that way, but he couldn't help it. It felt wrong to just stand there and watch her take care of her half of the responsibilities after he'd so easily gotten out of doing his. He couldn't stop her from doing her share if that was what she wanted, but there was also no way he was just going to stand there and do nothing.

He headed for the other side of the office and opened the utility room door. Maybe he couldn't stop her, but he also saw no reason he couldn't help her. After he went inside, he grabbed a long handled feather duster, then left the room and shut the door behind him.

As he walked around her desk to start in the corner by the front window, he stopped when he suddenly heard Athena speaking to him. "What are you doing?"

When he turned to look at her, he saw that she'd stopped what she was doing, standing there and watching him with a confused frown.

"I just… thought I'd help you," he said. He was sure she was going to tell him not to worry about it. But his mind was made up, so he planned on being insistent about it if he needed to be.

She paused for a moment, then smiled at him. "Oh, don't worry about it. I got it just fine."

Still believing that it would feel wrong to let her do this by herself on her day off, he decided not to give in. "Well… I want to."

He wasn't sure why, but her smile faded and she just stood there, watching him with an unsure stare. He didn't think his offer was a big deal, so he wasn't sure why it looked like it was bothering her. He could only guess that she didn't want him taking on a responsibility that she believed was hers. Maybe she even picked up an emotion in his voice that he wasn't aware of. Either way, he hoped she wouldn't make a big deal out of it and just let him help her.

It didn't take her long to get passed whatever she was thinking, because she suddenly smiled at him like nothing had been bothering her at all. "Okay!" Then, she went back to her task without saying anything else. Glad that had been settled so quickly, Apollo started using the duster to clean the edges near the ceiling. For the next few minutes, they worked together to clean the office in silence.

Once Apollo had worked his way around the office, he was almost done when he reached the corner next to the utility room. The retractable handle of the duster started to slip, making it hard to reach all the way up to the ceiling, so he took a moment to extend it back out before he continued his task.

"Would you like me to get the stepladder for you?"

Apollo stopped what he was doing when he heard Athena speak. He brought the duster down and turned around to see that she had stopped what she was doing to watch him. She was standing a little ways away from him with the broom upright in front of her, folding her arms over the top of the handle and resting her chin on her arms, looking at him with narrowed eyes and a mischievous smile.

He was ready for it this time. He knew she was just trying to get a reaction out of him again, and he wasn't going to let her do it this time. He was still kicking himself for letting her so easily trick him so many times today, so he was determined not to let her break her record. So, he turned to face her, narrowing his eyes right back at her to show her that he wasn't going to let her get to him this time. "No thanks. I got it just fine."

"You sure?" she asked. Her smile grew wider, and she seemed completely unfazed by the look he was giving her. "You look like you're having a little trouble reaching all the way up there."

Now he was even more determined not to let her get to him. It had been so long since she tried to rattle him with a joke about his height that he was actually surprised she was doing it at all. She must have noticed when he had a hard time reaching the ceiling after the duster handle slipped and wasn't able to help herself. But he'd long since accepted that he wasn't the tallest guy around, and comments about his height didn't really get to him anymore. He still had to endure some teasing about it every now and then since some people seemed to enjoy pointing it out, but it didn't really bother him as much as it used to. But he was especially not going to let Athena get to him over something like that, especially when she had so many others ways to rattle him already.

"I'm…" he started, slowly raising his hand to point at her. His plan was to show confidence, just to prove to her that she couldn't get to him that easily. But, with the way she was watching him, her expression showing that she wasn't at all affected by his actions, he hesitated. She'd always had a confidence that he couldn't match, and he suddenly felt silly for trying to compete with her in the first place. His eyes widened slightly and, instead of looking confident, he was pretty sure he looked afraid. "...technically taller than you."

He knew how ridiculous the words were before they even left his mouth. It didn't matter that it was technically true, and that he actually was taller than her. The difference in their heights was so small that it was barely noticeable. Even when the two of them were standing right next to each other, he was sure most people still didn't even see it. But he wasn't going to let that stop him from using it as an advantage. Out of all the countless strengths she had over him, their height difference was one of the few that he had over her. Even if it was barely noticeable, he was going to use it to his advantage whenever he had the chance.

Her mischievous grin grew wider. "Prove it."

He blinked and stared at her, surprised by what she said. "Huh?"

"You've been insisting that you're taller than me for a long time..." Athena started. She grabbed the broom in one hand and walked over to him, coming to a stop to stand right in front of him. She placed the bristle end of the broom on the floor next to her and held it upright at her side, watching him with a mischievous smile. "...But you've never had any proof that it's actually true."

He just stared at her, not sure what he was supposed to say. It never really occurred to him before but, now that he was thinking about it, he realized that was technically true. He'd only ever said that he was taller, but never really showed any proof. But he never thought proving it was necessary. Though most people probably barely noticed their height difference, the two of them were certainly aware of it, and had been for a long time. Even if that somehow wasn't enough, she had seen his personal ID before, which had his height listed on it, just like everyone else's. He never thought he needed more than that to prove that he was taller than her.

"Well, my ID says I'm taller, so…"

"Nope, not good enough."

He looked at her with a confused frown. "Why not?"

"Because I wanna see it for myself." Suddenly, she moved the broom forward, placing it so that it was standing upright directly next to him. "We can use this as a measuring stick."

He turned his eyes to look at the broom, then looked back at her. She just stood there, watching him with a bright smile, like she didn't think what she just said was strange at all. Someone who didn't know her would probably think she was joking. But he knew her. No matter how ridiculous her suggestion seemed, he knew that she couldn't be more serious.

"You're gonna use a broom to see if I'm as tall as I say I am?"

"No, silly!" she said, still smiling at him. "The broom isn't tall enough for that." She pointed at the duster in his hand. "We're gonna use the duster too!"

He just stared at her, having no idea what she was talking about. "...Huh?"

Without saying anything, she wrapped her fingers around his wrist and raised his arm, turning it slightly so that the duster was upright. She stacked it on top of the broom handle so they were end to end, effectively making them extensions of each other. "There!" she said as she let go of his arm.

He turned his wide, confused eyes over to the broom and duster, then back to her. He'd long since accepted that he would rarely ever understand what was going on inside her head when she did things like this. And yet, he still couldn't help but try and make sense of why she was doing this at all. No matter how nonsensical her actions seemed to be, she always had a reason for them. But, no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't even begin to guess what she was trying to do this time.

"… Can't we... just use a measuring tape?" At this point, he wasn't even sure if measuring their heights was really her goal in the first place. But whether or not it was didn't really matter. He didn't think it was necessary to measure their heights at all but, if they were going to do it, he figured they might as well use a method that would actually be accurate.

"Okay!" she said, not looking at all bothered by the suggestion. "Where is it?"

He hesitated. "Uh…" In all honesty, he suggested a measuring tape because it made sense. And yet, he wasn't sure if they even had one. "I… don't know."

"Awww, come on!" Athena started, moving the broom back in front of her. As she continued to smile at him like she didn't think what she was doing was strange at all, she started using the end of the broom handle to gently and repeatedly poke at his chest. "Don't say we should use a different tool if you don't even know where it is!"

He narrowed his eyes at her as she continued to poke his chest. Maybe the action should have irritated him, but it didn't. She was trying to get a reaction out of him, just as she had been the entire time, and he was still determined not to give in. After how many times she'd gotten to him today, he was determined to show her that he could be just as stubborn as she was.

Without looking away from her, he lowered the handle of the duster he was holding down to his chest, effectively blocking her from poking him with the broom. "I can look for it."

When the broom handle met the handle of the duster, Athena suddenly stopped. Then, her bright smile turned into a mischievous one and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Is that a challenge?"

Apollo paused, then looked at her with a confused frown. "Huh?"

Suddenly, she took a step back, grabbing at each end of the broom handle with her hands. She tilted it sideways and held it up in front of her, like a weapon that was being used as a shield. "You crossed weapons, so now we have to fight!"

He just stared at her with wide, confused eyes.

"Come on!" she said, tapping the side of his chest with the broom handle. "You started the fight, so now you have to finish it!"

He narrowed his eyes and just stood there, watching her as she looked at him with a playful smile. She must have noticed that he was resisting her efforts, so now she was trying harder to get him to give in. But now, instead of just trying to get a reaction out of him, she was trying to provoke him into playing one of their silly games. Apollo had never been one to join in on silly games like this; not only was he never really interested, but he never saw the point to them in the first place. He normally just walked away, not really seeing the appeal to joining in even if he wanted to.

But, once Athena started being the one to try and pull him in, it went from something he had no interest in to something he couldn't resist no matter how hard he tried. It wasn't just her persistence that made it impossible not to give in; even when she wasn't being as persistent as she was now, he always ended up giving in at the end. She had a way of drawing him in that no one else did, and he could never resist no matter how hard he tried. He would eventually give in every time, then he would end up having such a good time that he wondered why he resisted in the first place.

And yet, he didn't want it to be that way this time. Just once, he wanted to prove that he had just as much conviction as she did. After how many times she got to him today, he wanted to prove that, no matter how good she was at pulling him in, he was capable of resisting her any time he wanted.

But as he stood there, doing his best to stubbornly refuse to give in, he knew it wasn't going to happen. Not with the way she was standing there in front of him, watching him with a playful smirk that was inviting him in. Maybe someday he would figure out how to resist her, but there was no way that day was today.

His reason for resisting suddenly not mattering anymore, he returned her playful smirk with one of his own. "Fine." He suddenly flicked the end of the duster handle towards her, hoping he could get a surprise shot in to get back at her for how many times she poked him. Unsurprisingly, she was prepared for it, and moved the broom over to successfully block it. Her smile widened as she watched him, no doubt feeling quite happy with herself that she managed to pull him in again. "But I didn't start it… you did."

"Oh..." Athena started as she pushed the broom forward. In order to block it, Apollo grabbed the handle of the duster on either end with each of his hands, the same way Athena was holding the broom, then held it up like a weapon being used as a shield. "… Is that why I have one point and you have zero?" she said as the handles of the cleaning tools clacked together.

"That point doesn't count," Apollo said as he pulled the handle away then pushed it towards her side. She moved the broom to block it, and the sound of the handles clacking together echoed in the otherwise quiet office. "You got that hit before the fight even started."

"Hey..." Athena started. She let go of the handle end of the broom and swung it towards his shoulder. "...It isn't my fault you're not fast enough to react in time!"

As if to prove her point, Apollo wasn't fast enough to block her hit, and the handle of the broom thumped against his shoulder.

"Ha!" Athena exclaimed as she went back to holding the broom like a shield. Her smile widened and she looked at him with a determination that said she couldn't be more ready to keep going. "Now the score is two to zero!"

"No it isn't!" Apollo said. He swung the handle of the duster towards her arm, but she blocked it easily. "That first point doesn't count cause it happened before the fight started!"

And as they continued on, they quickly became so absorbed in their game that they were lost to anything else around them. They moved all around the office, swinging the handles at each other and blocking hits, both trying as hard as they could to find an opening and get an advantage over the other. They ducked and circled around each other, trying to taunt the other into messing up with their back and forth speech. And not once during the entire game did they ever take their eyes off each other. They both continued to watch the other, their playful and determined smiles showing that neither of them could be having more fun if they tried.

"You're gonna stay stuck on that, aren't you?"

"It was cheating! So yeah, I am!"

"It doesn't matter anyway!"

"Why not?"

"Even without that point, I'm still winning!"

"Not for long!"

"That's big talk for someone with a score of zero!"

"I'll get a hit in, just you wait!"

"Still waiting!"

As Apollo spun around and prepared to take a swing towards Athena's arm, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned his eyes away from her just long enough to see what it was.

And he stopped in his tracks when he saw Datz standing by the front door, watching them with wide eyes and a confused look on his face.

Apollo froze, his eyes widening as the heat began to rise in his face. This was the first time Datz had ever seen the two of them acting this way, so Apollo could only imagine what Datz was thinking right now. Apollo knew he shouldn't be feeling so panicked by this. Not only was Datz well aware that Apollo and Athena were best friends, but he also knew that Athena was the type to start something like this, so he really shouldn't find their behavior strange at all. And yet, Apollo was panicking anyway. Ever since he first realized the possibility of Datz noticing that Apollo had feelings for Athena, he was constantly worried that something he did or said would make it obvious. And now, with him walking in on them playing some silly game after they'd been alone together in the office all day, he could only imagine what Datz was thinking. Maybe he was overthinking the whole thing and none of this was a cause for alarm. It was possible that Datz just saw them as two friends having fun together, and the surprised look on his face was just because he hadn't been expecting it. But the idea that his old friend was starting to clue in that Apollo saw Athena as more than a friend was nothing short of terrifying.

Apollo was pulled out of his sudden panic when he felt a thump against his shoulder. "That's three!" he heard Athena say. When he turned his eyes back to look at her, he saw that she was still watching him with a playful smirk, still holding the broom like she was ready to keep going. Since her back was to the front door at the moment, she had no idea they were being watched. He just continued to stand there, having no idea what he should do.

"Come on, Apollo!" she said, thumping him on the shoulder again. "Don't let your guard down!" She must have noticed the look on his face, since her smile suddenly faded and she stood up straight, watching him with a confused frown. "What?"

Apollo glanced over her shoulder to look at Datz for a moment, then looked back at her, not sure what to say. She must have noticed his behavior, because her frown deepened and she turned around halfway to see what he was looking at.

"Oh! Hi Datz!" Athena said, turning the rest of the way around. She stood next to Apollo while holding the broom upright at her side, smiling brightly. While Apollo was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do with himself, Athena didn't look like she was embarrassed at all.

Datz was still watching them with wide, confused eyes. "So…" he started, lifting his hand to point at them. "...Whatcha guys doin'?"

"Cleaning!" Athena said without missing a beat, continuing to smile as if nothing was going on at all. Apollo already knew that Athena wasn't embarrassed by things like this, but he was having such a hard time controlling his racing heart that he couldn't understand how this wasn't bothering her at all.

Datz just stood there, continuing to stare at them like he had no idea what he was looking at. "Do you guys… always clean like that?"

Apollo's eyes widened and his heart started thundering in his ears. He just stood there, silently trying to come up with an answer to the question that wouldn't make things seem any more awkward than they already were. Ever since Athena had agreed to live here, he'd been constantly afraid of the idea that Athena would learn of his feelings for her by accident. But so far, his fears had been unfounded and everything was going just fine. Other than a few things that they needed to work out in the beginning, nothing was going on any differently between them than it ever had. But, if Datz somehow managed to figure it out, Apollo doubted that Datz would be able to stay quiet about it. And, no matter how much Apollo thought about it, he couldn't think of any worse way for Athena to find out how he felt about her than to have Datz suddenly blurt it out right now.

Before he could come up with anything to say, he suddenly felt something touch the side of his face. When he turned his eyes towards it to see what it was, he saw that Athena was using the broom handle to poke the side of his face. She was just standing there, still watching Datz with a bright smile like nothing was wrong at all. "Only when Apollo starts it."

Apollo's eyes widened and he turned to look at her. "What?" he started. Athena moved the broom away from him and turned to look at him, still smiling like nothing was wrong. "I didn't start it! You did!"

"No, I'm pretty sure you started it this time," she said, not looking at all bothered by his reaction.

"No I didn't! You did!"

"Okay," Athena started, still smiling brightly at him. "How about this?" She moved the broom forward and gently poked the end of his nose. "You started it…" She moved the broom back to her side. "...so I'll finish it!"

Apollo just stared at her. '...What kind of compromise is that?'

"Oh, and…" Athena started, her bright smile turning into a mischievous one. "… since I won…" she leaned towards him. "… you have to clean the bathroom."

Apollo blinked, then raised his eyebrows in surprise. "What?" He couldn't even begin to imagine where she found the logic in that one.

"Yeah!" Athena said, going back to smiling brightly. "You said you wanted to help, so what's the problem? Besides…" She narrowed her eyes and smirked, moving the broom forward and gently poking his chest. "...I wouldn't want to rob you of your forte."

The surprised look on Apollo's face disappeared and he glowered at her. Back when they still worked at the agency, everyone there generally shared in the responsibilities of keeping the office clean. But, for some reason he was never able to figure out, Apollo was always the one who was stuck cleaning the bathroom. It somehow went from everyone's chore to just his alone, and was for the majority of the time he worked there. That thankfully ended when he moved here to his own office, but he was still not surprised that Athena felt the need to tease him about it.

"Very funny," he said, his expression unchanging. "And I never agreed to anything like that." He knew she was most likely teasing him and wasn't actually suggesting that he clean the bathroom, but he planned to stand his ground just in case she was serious.

"Fair enough," Athena said, not looking at all bothered by the suggestion. She moved the broom forward and let go of it after she leaned it against his shoulder. "Then you finish up out here and I'll clean the bathroom." She put her hands on her hips and smiled brightly at him. "Deal?"

"...Sure." If she'd given in that easily, Apollo knew he was right when he assumed she wasn't serious. And since helping her clean had been his idea in the first place, he saw no reason he couldn't finish what they were doing out here.

"Great!" Athena said. She turned and headed for the bathroom, turning to look at him as she stood in the doorway. "Be right back!" she said, then closed the door.

"Don't sweat it, AJ!" Because Apollo had been so distracted by what Athena was saying, he'd momentarily forgotten that Datz was in the room. The sudden sound of Datz's voice startled Apollo, his eyes widening as he turned around to face him. The movement caused the broom to start slipping, so he quickly grabbed it to keep it from falling to the floor.

Datz approached him, stopping to stand in front of him. He smiled at him as he gave him a double thumbs up. "I know it wasn't you!"

Apollo just blinked, not sure what Datz was talking about. "...Huh?"

"I don't know what you guys were doing…" Datz started, running his hand along his chin as if he were thinking. "But whatever it was…" He put his hand on his hip and gave Apollo a wide grin. "It looked like fun! And since there's no way you would start something that fun…" he raised both if his thumbs. "I know she started it for sure!"

Apollo's shoulders drooped slightly as he looked at Datz with tired, narrowed eyes. 'So sorry I'm not the pinnacle of fun…' Honestly, the insinuation didn't bother him. It had always been obvious that, out of the two of them, Athena was clearly the fun one. He just didn't always like having people so blatantly tell him to his face that he was a stick in the mud. But, rather than be bothered by something that didn't really matter, he decided to just be grateful that Datz didn't seem to think of their game as anything more than two friends having fun together. At the very least, it spared him from worrying about it for now.

"Thanks," Apollo said, not sure what else to say.

"Anyway…" Datz started as Apollo adjusted the cleaning tools he was holding. "I just thought I'd get some grub before I checked around for anything that needs to be fixed."

"We ordered takeout for tonight," Apollo said as he headed over to his desk. "It should be here soon if you want it."

"Sounds great!" Datz said. "I guess I'll relax for a while before I get back to work."

Apollo set the duster on his desk and headed for the corner of the office by the kitchen entryway to finish sweeping up the pile that Athena started. "We're gonna watch a monster movie if you want to join us," Apollo said as he started sweeping up the pile to get it ready for the dustpan. As far as Apollo was made aware, Datz enjoyed just about any movie that had action in it. Even if he didn't, Apollo saw no reason he couldn't at least tell Datz he was welcome to watch with them if he wanted to.

"Oh really?" Datz started. "That sounds like fun!" He gave Apollo a thumbs up, looking excited by the idea. Then, he suddenly stopped, running a hand along his chin like he was thinking. Then, after a moment, he put his hand on his hip and smiled. "Actually, I just remembered I have something I need to do." He raised his thumb. "So thanks but, I think I'll pass."

Apollo stopped what he was doing to look at Datz with a confused frown. Whether Datz wanted to join them or not was up to him, and Apollo was fine with it either way. But suddenly changing his mind after he looked so excited about it made Apollo a little suspicious. "Are you sure?"

"Yup!" Datz said, raising both thumbs and giving Apollo a wide smile. "You two just enjoy yourselves and I'll see you later!"

Apollo's frown deepened as he watched Datz suspiciously. Maybe he was overthinking it, but he could only come up with one reason why Datz would suddenly feel the need to change his mind about watching his favorite movie genre after he'd looked so excited about it. 'What did you break now?'

Apollo wasn't able to elaborate any further when the food arrived at the door. After he brought it in and everyone was done with their tasks, they all got their share and Apollo and Athena went to sit in the living room. Even though Datz said he would be busy for the evening, Apollo assumed he would at least sit down to dinner with them. When he didn't, it raised Apollo's suspicions even more. It wasn't strange for Datz to have his meals by himself, especially because his schedule was so much different than Apollo and Athena's. But he still normally joined them on the few occasions they all happened to be in the office together at the same time. What was even stranger was that Datz didn't go to his room, but rather he left the office altogether. If Datz was so eager to leave that he felt the need to bring his meal with him, Apollo was all but certain that he was desperately trying to fix something before someone found it. Apollo had already decided to stop caring about Datz breaking things since he never noticed anything important missing. But, ever since they cleaned out the shed, a lot of Apollo's belongings had been moved out of his room and into the shed. He doubted Datz would touch anything that didn't belong to him, but there was still a very real possibility that the thing Datz was trying to fix was something that belonged to Apollo. Just to be sure, Apollo made a mental note to check on his stuff in the shed the next time he had the chance.

After Datz had left and Apollo and Athena were settled in to the living room with their dinner, Athena picked up the movie she'd set down on the coffee table earlier. "Okay, Mr. Zoologist…" she started. She stretched out her arm over the coffee table to hold the movie case closer to him so he could see it better, using one of her fingers to point at the disc inside. "Is that a beaver? Or some special species that just looks like a beaver?"

Apollo narrowed his eyes at her, watching her as she gave him a bright smile. He knew she was just teasing him, but he still had no idea why she got such a kick out of coming up with new things to call him. When he looked at the disc art, he saw a poorly rendered beaver with four arms, looking like it was about to bite the camera.

"Yeah," Apollo said, turning to look back at her. "It's the 'cheaply made monster model' species of beaver."

"I don't know," Athena said, bringing her arm back so she could look at the disc herself. She turned it back towards him as she looked at him with a bright smile. "If it has four arms, that would make it expensive, wouldn't it?"

"Not if all the arms fall off." Apollo didn't care about winning the guessing game as much as Athena did. But, since the monster falling apart on camera during the last movie had caused one of the very rare times that Athena admitted defeat, he knew he wouldn't be forgetting about it anytime soon.

After a moment of silence, Athena's smile suddenly faded and she raised her eyebrows, watching him like she was surprised. Apollo wasn't sure what caused her sudden reaction, so he just watched her, a confused frown creasing his brow as he tried to figure out what she was thinking.

Then, just as quickly, she suddenly started laughing. It wasn't in the same way she had laughed earlier, when she was so amused by the reaction she got out of him after she successfully teased him. By now, he'd seen her laugh like that enough times that he could tell if there was another reason for it. Right now, he could tell that being amused by a reaction she got out of him wasn't the reason for her laughter. Instead, she was just genuinely amused by what he said and found it funny enough that it made her laugh.

And all he could do was watch her, unable to stop the blush that slowly colored his face. Because he wasn't always one to joke around very much, it wasn't often that he was able to make her laugh like this. Normally, even if he didn't always understand her methods, it was usually her that made him laugh and smile. He couldn't even begin to count how many times she'd raised his spirits when he was down, how many times she made a bad day seem like it wasn't so bad after all, and how many times she'd made him smile during times that he didn't feel like he had any reason to smile at all. It never mattered what was bothering him or how down he was feeling; even during times where he felt like nothing could make him feel better, she always managed to prove him wrong when she put a smile on his face. Even on days where nothing was bothering him at all and there was no need for her to try and make him feel better for any reason, just having her there with him still made him feel content in a way that he didn't know he needed until she had him smiling again.

It didn't matter that it hadn't been his intention to say anything funny or that he hadn't been trying to make her laugh. Knowing that he was the reason that she was feeling this happy... it meant everything to him. Knowing that he could be the reason she smiled, knowing he could be the one to make her laugh like this... he never knew how much it meant to him until just now.

Her laughter faded after a few moments and she leaned forward, watching him with a bright smile. "Why don't we find out?"

Then, after that, they spent the rest of the evening continuing their marathon. Maybe doing the same thing all day should have eventually gotten dull and made them try to find something else to do. But, no matter how late they stayed up, no matter how many of the poorly made movies they watched, they never had any less fun than they had when they started. Just spending time together was enough to make anything they did feel exciting, and they never needed more than that to have fun with whatever they had planned. It never mattered if their plans were big and exciting or small and unimportant, it never mattered if they had a list of things to do or they did the same thing all day. No matter what they did or how much time they spent on it, as long as they were spending it together, they always had a good time.

---

Chapter Songs:

'Good Time' – Owl City and Carly Rae Jepsen

'Nothing But Love' – Trading Yesterday

'There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back' – Boyce Avenue