Work Text:
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Bee--
Athena slams her hand down on her alarm before immediately burrowing back under layers of blankets.
Ugh. She really doesn’t want to get up. A single glance out the window tells her that though it’s not raining, the sky is dark with clouds, making everything seem quiet and sleepy. Boldly, she sticks out one foot in an attempt to climb out of bed, but the chilly air makes her recoil back into the warm safety that is ‘the perfect spot’.
She groans out loud. Today is her day off! She doesn’t want to brave the weather.
However, today is also Friday. She goes running with Apollo on Fridays, and she’s supposed to meet him in...phone check...forty-three minutes.
She can’t stand him up.
So, she takes a deep breath and shoves herself up to face the world.
Two strong yet gentle arms wrap around her waist, followed quickly by a warm forehead pressing between her shoulder blades.
She giggles out of surprise. “S-Simon?”
He snorts in acknowledgement but says nothing.
Barely keeping the fondness from her voice, she says, “I have to go running.”
Another huff. “No.”
This time she really does laugh. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”
His grip squeezes a little tighter. “Athena...it’s much too early and the winds are much too bitter for fate to steal you away from me…”
She twists to stare at him. The longer he’s been out of prison, the more she’s discovered the little soft spots buried within him; even Simon appreciates hugs every so often. But this? What he just said is straightforward Blackquill-lingo for “I’m cold. Stay here and cuddle with me.”
Everything within her tells her to comply because she wants nothing more right now than to fall back into his embrace and sleep until noon.
But…
“It’s Friday”, she replies helplessly.
Simon makes a sound against her back that, if he were anyone else, would be a whine. “Justice-dono can wait…”
She nudges him gently. “Oh? I suppose you can stop time as well?”
He doesn’t dignify the taunt with a response, but his chin moves to rest in the crook of her shoulder.
“Si-moooon ”, Athena sings. “I’ve gotta go!”
A low hum reverbates from his chest. She hears his heart deflate in resignation, and then he lets go.
She shivers involuntarily at the loss of her walking heater. Almost immediately, she’s struck with the urge to hurl nutrition aside and play hooky. A day without a morning run never hurt anyone.
No! Stay strong, Athena.
By some miracle, Athena changes into her running clothes without freezing to death. Before she takes off towards the living room for a quick breakfast, she shoots one last look at her sleeping boyfriend. Her heart both swells and breaks at what she sees.
The oh-so-fearsome Twisted Samurai is lying on his side, covered almost completely by fluffy pink fabric and he looks so, so innocent. The only thing visible is a snarl of dark hair, shot through with white. If she listens closely, she can hear his steady breaths. She doesn’t have to listen closely at all to hear his heart panging with loneliness.
Athena gulps, and then her expression steels.
She has a responsibility to uphold.
She grabs her phone and sends a quick message to Apollo.
simon doesnt want me 2 leave. mind skipping this week?
It’s not a lie! She just kind of...completely left out the part where she decided she didn’t want her to leave either. Luckily, it doesn’t take long for a reply.
Skip what
She stifles a laugh. There’s no way he forgot!
...Actually, they’ve both been working to their limits, and probably well past them. If she had trouble getting up, she can’t imagine what her slower co-worker must be dealing with.
Her phone buzzes again.
Wait today’s Friday
Whoops
Athena snorts and sends back, np!! we can b lazy today
Cool, is all he responds with, short and sweet. She has the overwhelming idea that he’s probably already rolled back over and gone back to sleep.
Still smiling, Athena drops her phone on the nightstand before going to change back into her favorite pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt. As soon as she can, she returns to the foot of the bed, where Simon has taken the liberty of draping himself over the entire span of the mattress.
Ever so gently, she nudges his shoulder. “Stop hogging the bed.”
Dark eyes flutter open. “You’ve returned from your run already?”
She shrugs. “Apollo was too tired to go today.” Again, not a lie, just leaving out a sizable chunk of the truth. However, when she hears his suspicion, she admits, “And I didn’t really wanna go anyway. It’s too cold.” And you're way too cute to leave all alone.
He hums, apparently satisfied, and then he pushes himself over to leave her some space.
She’s barely touched the sheets when he sweeps her against his chest and sighs contentedly. Just like that, all the discord in his soul is gone like dew in the morning sun. The morning chill leaves her too, so that all she can sense is warm, warm, warm. For such a big, scary guy, Simon is a ridiculously good hugger.
“You’re clingy this morning”, she teases as his heart reverbrates with gladness.
He presses his face into her hair. “I do not hear you complaining.”
She snuggles further into him, smiling. “I’m not. Just an observation.”
He replies with only a heavy breath, but she reads it loud and clear: He’s already dozing back off.
Letting herself sink entirely into the softness of the situation, Athena shuts her eyes.
I doubt anyone's ever seen you like this. No one other than me.
She's sure that she's right; after all, it's taken him almost this long to bare his weaknesses even to her. The thought warms her.
If skipping a run meant she’d get to see Simon so unguarded and relaxed, she’d happily become old and lazy any day.