Work Text:
In another world, they don’t meet in a room tucked away in a women’s shelter in the worst part of town. This time around they’re both on the cusp of becoming teenagers, trying to hide their awkwardness, and they meet in a banquet hall. Krete and Troy have been cautiously agreeing on peace for a year, maybe two. There was no Trojan horse. Maybe people listened to Cassandra. Maybe they were smart enough to check the horse before celebrating their win. Maybe Paris and Helen never met, and Krete and Troy were fighting for different reasons.
They’re both a little softer around the edges. Astyanax is still getting over the death of his father. Ariadne is still hoping for her mother’s approval. On the other side of the room Ari’s father is shaking hands with Nax’s mother. It’s all very official, there are cameras and flags, reporters and attendant. In their corner, with a safe distance between them and the official business, Nax smiles at Ari a little crookedly.
They both know the others name, even if they’ve never met before. Neither one spends a lot of time with other people their age, it’s hard when you are the heir to the throne. They get seated next to each other, a little away from their parents, surrounded by adults who don’t care about them. Tacitly, they start speaking to each other, it’s awkward – how do you talk to a foreign official, when they are your own age? How do you speak to someone your own age, when you spend your life surrounded by adults? Ari wouldn’t call them friends by the end of the night, there both have to much baggage to trust easily, and too much violent history too make it logical.But the next time they are at the same banquet, Ari looks for Nax.
Troy and Krete aren’t friends. They won’t be anytime soon, the wounds are too deep and too fresh to scab over easily. Still, now that the two nations have agreed to a tentative and fragile peace, there are many reasons for them to meet, trade negotiations, fragile alliances, sporting events, and other festivities. Whether in Troy, on Krete, or in whatever other polis both their nations have been invited, Ari and Nax make sure to find each other.
Ariadne of Krete and Astyanax of Troy aren’t friends, they are the heirs to the throne of their respective nations and any sort of friendship would be a political statement their parents aren’t prepared to make. When reporters ask leading questions, citing photos of events, Ari and Nax by each others side, they both know to tell polite fictions, about friendly acquaintance. Ari and Nax though, the teenagers meeting whenever their parents do, those two are friends. In the evenings, when Ari lays in her bed, next to the picture of her and Glaucus, she admits to herself that Nax is her only friend, her closest friend, her best friend.
When Ari and Nax are both 15, Ari admits to her favourite Tacita the thoughts she knows are inappropriate for the heir of Krete. The ones she barely allows in her head. Nax, is growing into his nose and his curls, his shoulders are becoming a little wider, and the crooked smiles he still throws her way, are starting to feel different. She has a crush.
The next time they see each other, someone is standing next to Nax. He’s taller than both of them. Imposing, despite being only a year older than the two of them. Nax introduces him a little breathlessly, “His name is Theseus”, he says. “He’s from Athens, but he’s staying with us for a while”, he smiles at Theseus, and for the first time Ari feels the white burn of jealously. After all, Nax was her friend first. Nax is also her only friend, and she always thought that was mutual, but now he has a new friend. A friend, he could see every day and not just the few times a year, he ends up in the same banquet hall as her. How is she supposed to compete with Theseus, when he gets to see Nax every day?
Then something amazing happens. Ari is invited to spend two weeks in Troy, the summer she turns 17. It’s all very official, their parents want to send a message of mutual trust and good will. A gesture of unity against smaller polis who are getting ideas above their station. Ari doesn’t care. She gets to spend two whole weeks with Nax, away from her mother’s accusations and with few obligations. She wants to hate Theseus for intruding, he doesn’t let her.
He’s sweet to her, offers to show her around, and tells her he knows how confusing it can be, arriving in a new court. When Nax gets too excited about his own ideas, when he forgets to ask about everyone else’s wishes, expects both of them to follow his lead, Theseus holds him back. He reminds Nax that there are three of them, and makes sure Nax listens to Ari. Sometimes, he asks Ari things she didn’t know, she was allowed to have opinions on.
Nax has more responsibilities than either Ari or Theseus. Ari is on an unofficial vacation, only has to attend the photo-ops and interviews that are the official reason for her stay. Theseus seems to have no official responsibilities at all, or at least none Ari becomes aware of. Nax, to his dismay, is on vacation from school, but still on duty for all his usual palace responsibilities, meetings where he is present as the heir, strategy sessions with his mother and grandmother, and on two occasions commitments that aren’t specified any further. Every time and attendant comes to collect him, he turns to Ari and Theseus and rolls his eyes. The first few times, Ari can’t believe her eyes – she would never be allowed to disregard her duties so openly, they are a privilege after all – but no one else seems to take offense. Not the attendants, and not his mother, who only looks at him with love and tells him to quit being dramatic, and Nax goes willingly if grumbling.
Whenever Nax has official duties to attend, Ari spends time with Theseus. At first, she tries to avoid him, but by the third day, she has forgiven him for his friendship with Nax, and thinks they might be becoming friends too. Ari starts seeking him out, whenever she is otherwise unoccupied and they have fun together. He is nothing like Max. Theseus is quieter, steadier. Where Nax gets overexcited and boisterous, Theseus wit is quiet and dry. He’s content to sit side by side reading, and let Ari make decisions. He introduces Ari to video games and proceeds to never let her win. Ari laughs more than she has ever before and starts like she might feel freer here than she ever could on Krete.
On one of her last days, while Nax is stuck in another meeting, Ari and Theseus beg ice cream from the kitchens. Once Theseus has finished his, in big bites – instead of the proper slow rhythm that was trained into Ari – he steals hers. He holds it above his head, where Ari has no chance to reach it, and Ari decides to tackle it. She catches him off-guard and he falls. The ice cream cone lands on the ground, but that is long forgotten, when Theseus launches himself at her in retaliation. She doesn’t win the ensuing fight – Theseus is much taller and knows how to fight – and the sad rest of her ice cream is fully melted on the grass, by the time she laughing declares defeat. But it is while they are wrestling, Theseus laughing loud and with his full-body, that she notices that his shoulders are nicer than Nax’s and so are his curls. And while his smile isn’t as sweetly crooked as Nax’s is, his laugh – free and open – makes her feel the same way.
When she returns to Krete, she tells her tacita that she is in love with Theseus, and the tacita – who had listened to her complains about Theseus stealing her friend before Ari left for Troy – crooks an eyebrow in what might be amusement.
Shortly after her 19th birthday, her father starts to make noises about finding a partner. For a second, she imagines telling him about Nax or Theseus, but she knows he wouldn’t approve of either choice. Instead, she keeps her mouth shut and makes agreeing noises. In her head, she hopes that Theseus would reciprocate, but she doesn’t want to hurt her friendship with either of them, so she stays silent and enjoys their company and attention. Even if it isn’t exactly what she dreams of.
Both Ari and Nax are old enough now, to get send on diplomatic mission on their own. They start seeing each other more often, Theseus a steady presence at Nax’s side. Their friendship changes as they become adults, they are taken seriously now. Have jobs to do, during the banquets. They are no longer able to get away with spending entire evenings wrapped in each other’s confidences. So they make sure to carve out time to spent together afterwards.
They’re in Krete. Ari is 20 and avoiding a handsy diplomat at a party, when she sees them. They are hiding behind a statue of Athena, tightly embracing, mouths pressed together. The sound of shock escapes her, before she can think better of it. It startles them apart, and she can see the redness creep onto Nax’s face, the nervousness in Theseus stance.
“Hey Ari”, Theseus says, and Nax boxes him in the side, then leans into Theseus.
His, “Hey Ari”, sounds almost a little smug, “what are you doing out in the garden?”
Ari rolls her eyes towards skywards, “Avoiding Thebans, who can’t keep their hands to themselves.” She smiles, continues, “Running into friends getting handsy.”
“Hey!”, Nax’s voice is full of laughter, “that was fully consensual.” He sounds bright, and his hand searches for Theseus’, grabbing it softly. Ari feels the last of her hopes dissipating softly into thin air. It hurts a little bit, but these are her friends and both of them are so obviously happy. It soothes the spot in her chest that wanted this for herself. She smiles at them, walks closer and leans against Theseus, slings an arm around Nax, and embraces them both. For a second, she simply basks in the closeness of her friends, then she says, “You owe me a story.” They both smile at her.
“Sneak away to your room?”, Nax offers, then amends after Theseus tugs on his arm, “or do you have to do some more shmoozing first?”
Ari shakes her head, “All done for today.”
Nax smiles becomes even more radiant, he looks at both of them for a long second, and when neither of them reacts moves forward, dragging them along. “Let’s go!”, he tells them, and Ari feels like she did all those years ago – visiting the two of them in Troy, loved.