Chapter Text
It was 10pm on a quiet summer night and Artemis was on her way back home from fishing. She’d been at the beach at the peek of dawn with her equipment. She had started with clearing and resetting her crab pots, keeping everything alive for selling and keeping any rubbish for recycling. She had managed to catch a decent amount of octopi, pufferfish, and assorted ocean fish, and had sold them to Willy before his shop closed for the day. After that she’d simply sat on the dock alone with her thoughts and appreciated the ocean at night - the dark waves softly crashing against the shore washing up shells and seaweed, the crabs scuttling across the sand, the seagulls settling down for the night, the occasional big fish jumping out of the water slowly enough to allow Artemis a glimpse but quick enough to not offer anything more.
She’d almost let herself fall asleep right there on the dock, the sound of waves rocking her to sleep, the night sky twinkling with stars above her. She’d decided against it and managed to get up and begin the walk back home.
After crossing over the bridge connecting the town to the beach, Artemis noticed a soft glow coming from the graveyard. Curiosity winning over as usual, she made her way over. She reached the graveyard and was pleasantly surprised with the presence of a very sweaty Abigail sitting alone in front of one of the headstones with a sword and lamp on either side of her. Abigail laughed softly, clearly able to see the question on the other’s face as she said,
“I guess you’re wondering what I’m doing in the graveyard at this hour.”
Artemis nodded. She couldn’t help but notice the way Abigail’s clothes hugged her body, highlighting every curve. The drops of sweat rolling down her neck certainly weren’t helping.
“Well, I’m here because it’s the best place in town to find some privacy.”
Okay. Artemis guessed that made sense. It didn’t explain the sword though. Or the sweat. No one in town could be considered dangerous - everyone (with a few exceptions) was incredibly nice - and there were rarely visitors, let alone robbers or criminals.
Abigail paused for a moment and looked around.
“And I’m all sweaty because I’ve been practicing my swordsmanship.” She finished.
Ah. There it was. Artemis’ confusion was mostly gone, though she was curious as to why Abigail was learning how to wield a sword in the first place. Sure, Artemis used her own sword all the time - it was quite dangerous in the mines - but Abigail wasn’t planning on exploring the caves, was she?
Abigail must have seen her bewildered expression and taken it as mocking disbelief.
“Hey! What... you think I’m too weak to swing a blade?” She demanded, suddenly angry but there was hurt buried in her voice.
Artemis stared at her, alarmed. That was most definitely not what she had been thinking. If she was being honest she had mainly been imagining Abigail using a sword to fight monsters, hair tied back, sweat dripping from her muscled arms, mouth letting out soft grunts and pants. Honestly the thought was more hot than it should have been.
“Sorry. I guess I’m getting a little defensive.” Abigail apologized, seeing Artemis’ face.
“You see, I want to explore the mountain caves...”
Huh.
“But I know it’s too dangerous to go there unarmed.” She explained.
Artemis’ mind spared no expense to remind her of her earlier imaginings quite explicitly. She pushed those thoughts aside for later and walked closer to Abigail.
Abigail perked up. “You’ve used a sword before, haven’t you?” She questioned.
Artemis thought carefully about how to respond. Yes she used her sword quite regularly, but she never actively sought out fights.
“Yes, but only in self defence.” She answered truthfully.
“Sure. I don’t want to kill anything either. I just want to do some exploring without risking my neck. I’ve lived in the valley my whole life, but I’ve never really done anything memorable. I want to go on an adventure!”
Artemis could understand that completely. After all, exploring the caves was truly something else and certainly something memorable. It was exciting and mysterious and a little scary and it was so fulfilling to find rare gems and materials and it was just so much ✨fun✨.
Abigail turned to look at the grave behind her when suddenly they both heard a voice pierce the silence.
“Abigail?!” It was Pierre.
Abigail jumped and whipped around in alarm.
“Dad?” She exclaimed, horror and annoyance filling her face.
Pierre walked out from the bush he’d been behind (for some reason?) and stepped into the light. He looked angry.
“I’ve been looking all over for you!”, he yelled, “Your mother wants you to come home and help with dinner!”
Artemis vaguely wondered why they were having dinner so late.
He looked around and finally asked the obvious question.
“What are you doing in the graveyard, anyway? This is no place for a young lady!”
Oh boy. That was not the right thing to say.
Abigail practically growled and if it weren’t for the situation they were in, that would have ✨done✨ things to Artemis.
“Mind your own business! You think I should be at home cooking dinner because I’m a girl, don’t you?!” Abigail snapped at her dad, clearly pissed.
She took a deep breath and calmed down a bit.
“You’re really stuck in the past, Dad...” She said, less angry and tone hinting that she was disappointed. And who wouldn’t be? Her dad was supposed to love and support her and instead he was putting tasks on her that were expected of women decades ago and ergo very sexist and old fashioned.
Pierre practically reeled and it looked like he was about to respond but Abigail interrupted.
“Let’s get out of here, Artemis.” She said firmly, still annoyed.
She stormed off and just as she was about to be out of sight she turned back to look at Artemis.
“Well, are you coming or not?” She asked not unkindly, refusing to look at her dad.
Artemis turned to look at Pierre then back at Abigail. She mentally went through her options before following her purple haired friend.
Abigail led the way and they heard a distant “Come back!” come from Pierre, but they were already well away.
It was dark without the lamp so Artemis trusted Abigail to lead them. It’s not like she knew where they were going anyway. All of a sudden, Artemis could no longer see Abigail and she tried not to panic. It was probably close to 10:30, it was dark, and she didn’t know where she was. Also she could hear Pierre looking for them and it sounded like he was getting closer. Before she could properly start panicking however, Artemis was sharply pulled into a bush by a familiar hand.
“Okay, my dad won’t find us here...”
Artemis was relieved by Abigail’s grip but was also unsteady among the branches and leaves of the bush they were in. In the rush of getting pulled into a bush in the dark she hadn’t managed to get a stable footing and couldn’t help falling on top of Abigail.
Artemis rushed to apologize and let out a nervous laugh, all too aware of how close they were. Abigail just chuckled softly. In the faint moonlight and gaps in the leaves, Artemis could make out the smile gracing her lips.
Abigail sighed, the smile leaving her features - much to Artemis’ dismay. “Can you believe my parents were ever young? They don’t understand my perspective at all.”
A brief pause and another sigh.
“I know, I know... they grew up in a different era, with different values. It still ticks me off sometimes, okay?”
She paused again.
“Well, thanks for hearing me out Artemis .”
“It’s okay. I’m always here for you and I’ll always listen.” Artemis responded earnestly.
“Thank you,” Abigail said again, giving Artemis a beautiful and completely genuine smile, “I really appreciate that. Um, now could you help me untangle my hair from this bush.”
Again reminded of the position they were in, Artemis blushed, thankful for the darkness so that Abigail couldn’t see her flushed face.