Chapter Text
It was a perfect evening on Themyscira. A light breeze swept off the ocean and whipped through the open stone walls of the ancient palace. Even on the hottest summer days, the sea’s night air could be relied upon to cool every corner of the Amazonian island.
As Diana made her way along the columned corridor of the royal residence, she thought back to her time in the sub-Saharan during an archaeological dig to recover pottery from the Iron Age. She could still feel the brutal afternoon heat and the unforgiving nights that would leave her sweat-drenched. Even a daughter of the gods is not immune to the sun’s rays.
Her memory of man’s world is interrupted by the sound of a young boy’s laughter carrying through a large wooden door and echoing down the hall. He was supposed to be asleep by the time she arrived home. Nevertheless, she feels a smile creep across her face.
This is paradise.
She opens the door to find her son, a boy of three with shaggy brown hair and blue eyes, being whirled around the room like an airplane by his father.
“I thought you were supposed to be asleep,” she playfully protests.
“But I’m a fighter plane, mother!” her son explains through another round of giggles.
“Yeah -- he’s a fighter plane, mom!” Her husband catches her eyes with a wink as he dives the boy down with an enormous whoosh . “We just got to take out one more German tank so we can win the war, and then it’s bedtime.”
“Well, I guess I cannot let you go to bed if you have not won the war. You are an Amazon.” She sits on the bed and watches as they act out the final moments of battle.
She knew Steve Trevor would make a good father, even though she had nothing to compare him to. His sense of duty, morality, and patience were traits that she knew could be relied upon. One thing that continued to surprise her, though, was his silliness and imagination. These were new and exciting layers she’d discovered in the complicated man she’d fallen in love with.
Steve held their son high on his shoulder, “Okay this is your final chance -- hit 'em’ with the rockets!”
“POW, POW, POW!”
“BOOOSHHH!” Steve flung the boy through the air before gently placing him down on the bed next to Diana. “Good job, soldier,” he commended as he tucked his son in.
“Did you see, mother?”
She smiled proudly and brushed his tousled hair to the side. “You did very well. Very brave. But now it is time to rest. You cannot return to battle without a good night’s sleep.” Diana leaned down and placed a light kiss on his forehead. “Goodnight, my son. I love you.”
“Sweet dreams, part’ner,” Steve pulled the blankets up high so he was properly nestled in and met Diana’s gaze. Now was a time for grownups.
As they shut the door behind them, the former military captain slinked an arm firmly around the waist of the island princess and pulled her close. Together they walked down the long hallway of the palace; every step illuminated by the pale moonlight and warm fire emitting from large torches.
Leaning in to nuzzle his neck she let out a deep and exhausted breath. It had been a long afternoon, and she was grateful to finally have a moment to decompress.
“How did the council meeting go?”
“It was good. Very productive.”
“Uh-huh…” He nodded but was not quite convinced. “You don’t sound like it went all that well.”
She straightened up a little more; not wanting to seem like she was complaining. “We were able to finalize the final events. It should be the most challenging Asteria Games on record. It will be a glorious tournament…”
“But…” he pushed.
“But…” she waited until they were in the privacy of their own bedroom to make her true feelings known. Slumping down onto her bed she let out yet another exasperated sigh, “I don’t want to be on the game council, I want to be in the games.”
“There it is,” He plopped down next to her. He could have seen this one coming from a mile away.
Propping herself up on her forearm she faced him, “When I was a child it was my dream to enter the Asteria Games and win. So when I was barely an adolescent, Antiope convinced my mother to let me participate in the final pentathlon. It’s the most rigorous event that only the greatest Amazonians have won. And I came close to winning, too, but at the last moment Antiope had me disqualified because I took a shortcut.”
Steve couldn’t believe his ears. Diana Prince, the defender of truth and justice, had once tried to scam her way into winning. “You cheated?!”
“I cheated,” She admitted. “And so as punishment I was banned from ever competing in the games.” The disappointment that her childhood dream would go unfulfilled was evident.
“Wait… so you’re telling me that because you cheated as a kid, you were banned for life ? Sounds a little extreme, I mean, all kids cheat at some point.”
Diana shook her head, “Aphrodite’s law does not make exceptions for children.”
Steve shrugged, amused with the rigidness of the Amazonian world. “Well, I guess don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.” He watched an ashamed look wash over her face and tried to be more comforting, “Hey, everyone here knows you're the greatest warrior the Amazons have ever seen. You don’t need a game to prove it -- you’ve done it.”
A smile curled to her lips and she moved in to rest her head on his chest. It was a long day, but coming home to this made her feel overwhelmed with gratitude.
Pulling her close and tucking her head underneath his chin, he couldn’t help but tease her just a little more, “You know… maybe I should enter.”
“You cannot enter, you are not an Amazon,” She tells him matter of fact.
“But I’m an honorary Amazon, right? Doesn’t that mean I should get to compete, too?”
She sits up and stares directly into his eyes as if he’s suddenly grown a second head, “Steve, to have any chance at winning the Asteria Games you must have years of acrobatic and gymnastic training -- not to mention the swimming, archery, and equestrian elements required...”
“What? I’m in good shape. You could train me! I think I've got a shot.”
<
Diana shakes her head and dismisses his silliness, “You could not win.”
“Okay, little Miss. Cheater, what do you get if you win?”
“Honor and eternal glory.”
“... that’s it? You don’t get, like, a trophy or some sort of prize?”
She settles herself back down next to him, convinced now that he has been joking with her. “Winning is the greatest prize. Our culture doesn’t need material items to reinforce the value of achievement.”
“Well…” he mutters as he scoots his body down and meets here face-to-face. “I may not be good enough for the Amazon Games --”
“Asteria Games,” she playfully corrects.
“Right -- the Asteria Games,” he confirms, but then lowers his voice. He looks at her with a smoldering intensity. “...but there are things I’m still very good at.”
She raises an eyebrow, and his smile confirms her suspicion. “Yes,” her voice suddenly a husky whisper. “There are things that you are very… very good at.”
He pulls her in close for a deep and hungry kiss, as his hands begin to re-explore a body he’s spent years learning. For her part, Diana cannot get enough. The heat. The sensation. The need. Her senses are overwhelmed by him.
And then it disappears.
Diana’s eyes open to find the warmth of home gone. The man she loved vanished.
She’s in a typical modern apartment surrounded by moving boxes and blank white walls. Grey light pears through the window and in the distance sirens wail.
It’s 3:32 AM in Washington DC and she hasn’t seen Steve Trevor or Themyscira in nearly a century.