Work Text:
The rays from the sun seeped their way through Athena’s blinds, forcing her to wake up. Her eyes fluttered open like the wings of a delicate butterfly as she adjusted to the light. Although the sun kissed her skin with a comforting warmth that sent away any early morning shivers, she couldn’t particularly say she felt “good.”
No, far from it actually. Her nose was running, snot had dripped onto her pale yellow pillow case next to her pool of drool, a disgusting sight in her opinion. Her head felt like someone had just finished pounding it with a wooden mallet. Her forehead, temple, and the back of her head all ached to the point that she could barely keep her eyes open.
What a pleasant way to start her morning.
“Ugh,” Athena ran her fingers through her messy and unkempt hair, her bangs were trying to leave the Earth’s atmosphere via flight and the rest of it was poking up everywhere. “Great, just great.” She grumbled under her breath and flopped back down onto her bed, wishing she could just close her eyes and go back to sleep..
But she couldn’t. She had a trial today and she was in charge. Apollo was there to help her as well, so she couldn’t leave him hanging like that.
..
Or could she?
“I’m sure he’ll be fine…” Athena rolled over and hugged a small bunny plushie, she’d had the thing for years, and it showed. The wear and tear was quite noticeable, but that was her favourite part of the bunny.
She smooshed her face into it before moving her head away as to not get any yucky germs on such a prized possession, and as she was about to will herself back to sleep, she had a realisation that threw her out of bed.
“Simon’s prosecuting today!” Athena knew if she didn’t show up that one, he’d probably get “worried,” whatever that looked like, and two, she wouldn’t be able to prove to him that she WAS an amazing lawyer.
“Even if my head is killing me and my nose is dripping, I have to prove to Simon that not even a little cold can stop me!”
That alone was enough to get her motivated to get ready for the day, despite her body protesting her efforts. It seemed like the weather was as well, as within an hour the weather made a turn for the worse when she stepped outside the apartment.
“Geez, it looks lik- ACHOO,” she reached into her pocket and pulled out a tissue to blow her nose dramatically, it felt never ending to her. When she finished blowing her nose, she went back into the house and disposed of the tissue before washing her hands. She was obsessed with staying clean.
“If I’m going to be sneezing like this all day, I need to be prepared.”
Athena went through her cupboards and drawers to gather items for the long day ahead of her, compiling a little bag to bring.
“Tissues, water bottle, make up, hand sanitiser, wipes, a scarf if I get cold, maybe I should bring a blanket-“ Her eyes drifted to the analog clock on her wall mid-ramble, realising she had to run to make it on time.
Curse her blindness to time.
She was out the door in half a second, sprinting as if she had been running a gruelling marathon for the last 3 days!
Usually she would make it to the courthouse in 20 minutes just by running, however, she found herself tiring out quickly and needing to take breaks…
Except for the fact she WOULDN’T take breaks.
“*huff, *huff,* I-I’m f-Fine! This is… all… *huff* part of… *huff* becoming a good.. lawyer..!”
Perhaps the sickness had affected her critical thinking, because the yellow-dressed lawyer kept running, compromising the state of her body and wellbeing all to make sure she made it on time.
___
“Wow, uh, Athena.. you look terrible.” Apollo looked down at the huffing woman who seemed to be resembling a certain childhood story regarding 3 pigs, he shook his head.
“Are you.. alright?” He crouched down a little to be at face level with her as she was hunched over trying to catch her breath. She shot her head up and gave him a reassuring grin before punching her hand to her palm.
“I’m fine!”
“You’ve got snot dripping down your nose.”
“Eek!” Athena blocked the sight of her leaking nose with her hand as she dug in her bag to find the tissues she had packed. She hoped she had gotten everything, but due to her sickness and usual forgetfulness, she had probably left something vital behind.
Apollo watched Athena blow her nose for what felt like a lifetime, by the time she finished he could feel his first “old-man wrinkle” etch into his face.
“Let’s- Leeeetssss… ahhh… ahhhhhh!”
“ACHOO!” The sound of her sneeze roared throughout the courtroom, a sneeze that rivalled Apollo’s Chords of Steel. He was even covering his ears.
“Geez! You have the loudest sneeze ever!”
“Oh, shut up!” She blew her nose before tucking the tissue away in her pocket for the time being as there weren’t any spare bins around, and sanitised her hands. “I sneeze normally, and like a fair lady thank you very much!”
“Sure you do, I’m pretty sure my ear drums are still ringing.”
“Okay, well, says YOU Mr Chords of Steel! How do you think I feel everyday? I’m constantly hearing things!”
“Like what? The voices in your head? Is that why you do dumb shit all the time?”
“Hey!” Athena’s face morphed into a scowl, as she clenched her fist in absolute rage. She stopped scowling soon after, though, due to the fact it was actually making her headache worse.
Speaking of her headache, it was making it hard for her to have her eyes open. All the bright lights and stimuli around her was even more overwhelming than usual, so to counteract the blinding lights, she had them half-lidded. However…
“Athena did… I don’t want to sound rude but, you didn’t.. ingest anything.. did you?”
Athena snapped her head towards Apollo, her vision a bit blurry, “are you insinuating something?!”
“I’m over here.” Athena had been staring at a large pot plant in the corner somehow, she didn’t even know how she was able to mix up a plant with someone as red as her co-counsel.
“Are you insinuating something?!”
“No, well, kind of..?” Apollo sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before becoming a bit more serious, yet still keeping his lightheartedness as he posed his next question,
“It just looks like you’re.. uh, on something?”
“How dare you! I would never! Im… ACHOO!” Apollo could’ve sworn he felt a gust of wind nearly sweep him off his feet, how were her sneezes that powerful?!
“UGH! I’m getting REALLY sick of this!”
“Pun intended?”
Athena shot Apollo a glare before reaching into her bag to fish out another tissue. That last sneeze had somehow worsened her headache, and now she wished she’d stayed home.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You should go back home and get some rest, you know. I can handle things-“
“No! I’ve got this!” Athena aggressively shoved the tissue into her bag, she fixed Apollo with a determined glare.
“I have to prove myself! I can’t let some silly little sickness stop me from-“
“Athena, you shouldn’t jeopardise your health like this. Come on, just go home.”
Athena huffed, she pushed past Apollo and made her way into the courtroom, having heard the Bailiff call for the defense’s presence. The red-vested lawyer sighed, he was very worried for her. He’d just have to keep a close eye on her.
___
“The defense may cross examine the witness now.”
…
“Um, Ms. Cykes?”
“H-huh?!” Athena snapped out of her half asleep state. When she realised where she was and what was happening, she lackadaisically threw her hand on her hips and tried to remain composed and confident, despite looking like she was recovering from a hangover.
“Your honour is ready! I mean, the defense is ready, your honour!”
“…Ms. Cykes, are you feeling well?”
Athena cleared her throat, willing her headache to go away, “I’m fine, your honour!”
“Are you sure? You’re um…”
“Cykes-dono.” Athena looked over at the prosecutors bench, uh oh. She could see Simon tapping his head with his index finger as he wore a smug smirk, she was about to get verbally humiliated wasn’t she?
“You’re all over the place, much like your appearance,” he gestured to his nose, to which Athena dabbed her finger just above her upper lip, she felt a grimace creep up on her face. Just great.
“Ugh.” Athena quickly ducked under the defense’s bench to wipe her nose, Apollo just stood to the side reeling in from the second hand embarrassment he was feeling.
“I’m ready!” Athena sprung up and slammed her arm on the table, trying to convince the others in the court and herself that she was, in fact, as ready as she said she was.
But much to her dismay, it looked like Simon had something else to say.
“Were you in a rush this morning, Cykes-dono? It seems you’ve forgotten about a very important companion of yours.” He smirked again, oh how she wanted to wipe that grin off his face.
“What do you mean? I’ve got Apollo-“ she finally looked down and realised just who’d she forgotten. Athena slumped over, “I forgot WIDGET?!”
“M-Ms. Cykes..! You’ve forgotten your little robot friend?!”
“Ah, I’m.. very sorry your honour.”
“Can this trial get any worse?” Apollo pressed a finger to his forehead, hoping that he was pressing some imaginary button that would make him turn invisible, the embarrassment was getting too much.
“Ms. Cykes, I don’t think you are prepared to lead the defense team-“
“Objection!” Athena threw her arm out, pointing right at the judge. “I’m perfectly capable, your honour! The defense is ready to proceed with the cross-examination!”
“Maybe the defense should examine herself first before leaving the house?” Even the witness was throwing her some quips as they gestured to her hair.
It had become incredibly messy when she booked it for the courtroom just 30 minutes prior, she patted her hair down in embarrassment. “Ahem, nevermind that. Let’s proceed!”
“Athena, maybe you should just let me-“
“No, Apollo! I’ve got this!” Athena frowned at Apollo’s incessant suggestions of letting him take over, she was sick of making other people take over her cases. She needed to do this on her own. She caught Simon staring at her before turning his attention to the documents in front of him, he was probably preparing how he was going to shoot down her ideas later on. She didn’t care; she’d just have to make sure her ideas later was so full-proof that it could withstand all the shots he fired!
“Alright, if the defense is ready to proceed..” The Judge permitted the cross-examine under Athena’s guidance, despite not being too keen to. As Athena pressed the witness for details, she could feel her headache increasing in pressure. It felt like SHE was the one being pressed and not the witness. She was also making silly mistakes, or struggling to comprehend what the witness was saying. She could’ve sworn she saw Simon whisper to Taka before sending him off, but maybe it was just her imagination playing tricks on her.
“Like I’ve said for the.. hm, let’s see, seventh time? I was not at the scene of the crime when the murder happened.” The witness was getting agitated, and so was Athena’s headache.
“Ugh,” she held her head, “so stupid.”
“Athena-“
“Shh! I’m thinking!” Actually, she was wincing in pain. Apollo just took over the cross examination as she was winced in even more pain due to a small rectangular box dropping onto her head, she rubbed her head with a harder intensity.
“Ow.” She glanced up to see Taka flying back to his doting owner, who rewarded his companion with lots of neck scratches. Maybe she wasn’t hallucinating Taka flying out of the courtroom then. That was the evidence she needed to convince herself that she wasn’t going insane.
Athena examined the little gift she had so kindly received from Taka, she was going to give Simon a piece of her mind later for making Taka drop it on her head.
That was until she saw what the rectangular box was, medicine. She thought it was pointless, as she had brought her own, until one search through her bag proved that she had actually forgotten her medicine at home, somehow.
On second thought, maybe I won’t chew Simon out… I’ll let it slide..
Athena looked over at Simon, he had a scowl on his face, but it was a “worried scowl” more than anything else. Unfortunately, Athena was unable to pick up on this fact, and thought he was just mad at her. She poked her tongue out at him in retaliation.
She quickly slipped 2 pills into her mouth and downed it with water, she felt like a new person. Rejuvenated and ready to rock the courtroom!
“Your honour, this piece of evidence proves the contradiction in the witnesses testimony!”
“…”
“…”
“…sigh” Simon shook his head, not even acknowledging her as he devoted his attention to Taka instead.
“Athena… you presented your attorney’s badge..”
“What?” Athena looked down and sure enough there she was, showing off her attorneys badge as if she was flaunting it for all to see. She’d sworn she’d picked up the pendant instead.
In her confused and dazed state, she’d gotten the two mixed up. She blamed it on her sickness for making her make dumb decisions, and as she was thinking about her sickness, she could feel herself become unusually lethargic.
“Ugh..” she suddenly slumped over on the defense’s bench, her elbows were keeping her from tumbling over.
“A-Athena?!” Apollo anxiously checked up on her, she didn’t look too good.
“I think that shout took away my energy or something..”
“Athena, that’s it! You’re going to rest!” Apollo’s Chords of Steel overpowered Athena’s previous Sneeze of Steel, and it finally seemed like she got the memo.
“….Yeah..” Her common sense came back for that moment, as she was led out by a Bailiff to the defendants lounge. Athena practically collapsed on the couch, she didn’t remember too much after that point.
Because she’d actually passed out.
___
Soft. That was the best way to describe what her head was currently laying on. She could feel something stroke her forehead in a lazy yet relaxing manner, it was actually easing her pounding headache.
It also brought back some memories from her childhood. Though they sometimes hurt to think about, this one gave her a warmth that rivalled the warmth of the sun on a hot summer day.
Talking. It was muffled. She could definitely hear voices though. Not the ones that Apollo joked were in her head, though.
Athena’s eyes began to flutter open, just like they had that morning. Her surroundings began to un blur and she could see what was there, well, who was there.
“Thena! You’re awake.”
Ah, that soft voice, she knew who it was instantly.
“Junie..”
Juniper smiled as her fingers stopped their ministrations, they rested on top of her forehead, feeling her temperature.
“You’re burning up, why aren’t you at home resting?”
Athena was too out of it to respond immediately, it took her a couple of seconds to finally formulate a response, and in those couple of seconds she was just looking at her childhood friend with a dumb smile across her face.
“Heh, my bad.” Athena finally realised what was going on. She was in the defendants lobby with Juniper, that much was obvious. Her head was resting on the young girl’s lap, and she had been massaging her head. It seemed to be later in the day, due to the heavy downpour of rain that definitely wasn’t there when she was awake. The person she was briefly chatting with had seemingly disappeared.
“What are you doing here, Junie?”
“Ah, well..” Juniper looked away, blushing a little.
“Obviously I came here to support you, but I also wanted to see.. uh, Apollo..”
Athena looked confused at first, before her expression morphed into an amused one, and she laughed. Juniper smiled sheepishly before reaching into her bag and pulling out a lemon.
“It’s a good thing I brought these, citrus fruits help with sickness, you know? My granny told me that.”
“And sunflowers?” Juniper smiled and nodded,
“And sunflowers.”
The two of them laughed before Athena yawned, she was positively exhausted. She shuffled a little bit before getting herself comfortable on Juniper’s lap, Juniper didn’t mind and instead went back to rubbing Athena’s forehead.
Athena shivered, it seemed like the bone-chilling rainy air had found its way into the defendants lobby. She moved closer to Juniper to get some type of warmth, Juniper smiled. Luckily for Athena, she ended up falling asleep very quickly, meaning she didn’t have to suffer in the cold for long.
Apollo emerged from the courtroom clutching another victory to his chest. He spotted Juniper and Athena, Juniper blushed slightly.
“H-Hi, Apollo..” He came over and smiled gleefully, sitting next to Juniper.
“Hey!” His eyes wandered over to the sleeping Athena, who was drooling a bit. Juniper didn’t seem to mind, she was probably used to it by now.
“How is she?” His smile faltered as he took in the state of Athena, she really didn’t look too good.
“She woke up a couple minutes ago, but she fell back asleep.”
“I see.” He kept his eyes on Athena, she was out like a light. He could even hear her snoring.
“Are you going to look after her? I’d be more than happy to do so if you needed me to.”
“Oh, no, don’t worry. Mr. Simon said he’d look after her.”
“Y-You mean, Prosecutor B-Blackquill??” Apollo shuddered, he was still deathly terrified of that man. Juniper nodded with a soft smile painting her face.
“W-well, not to be rude or anything but… he doesn’t seem to be the most.. ahem, caring…? Of people..?”
Apollo rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile, Juniper just laughed which caught him off guard.
“Oh, you couldn’t be any more wrong. Mr. Simon is very, very sweet.” Apollo had a dumbfounded expression on his face, he couldn’t help but doubt her words.
Simon Blackquill? Being “sweet?” There was no way.
“Well, I guess I should get going now. I promised Trucy that I’d be her magic assistant and she might use me for her next trick if I’m late.”
Apollo got up from his seat, “I’m glad she’ll be in.. uh.. good hands.”
Juniper nodded, “don’t worry, she’ll be taken good care of.”
“Good, good. Well, alright, see ya.” Apollo waved and walked out the courtroom doors, just in time for another certain individual to finally make their appearance.
“Oh, Mr. Simon.” Juniper looked up and saw the samurai prosecutor, still looking as menacing as ever, approaching the two of them. He didn’t carry his usual air of being “intimidating,” and instead had this caring aura to him.
“Hello, Juniper.”
Juniper smiled at him, “it’s good to see you again.”
Simon softly smiled as well, nodding his head in agreement.
“It’s good to see you too.” Simon’s gaze drifted down to the “sleeping beauty” that was Athena Cykes.
“How is she?”
“She woke up a couple minutes ago, she’s okay but her forehead is really hot..” Juniper moved her hand away from Athena’s forehead so that Simon could gauge her temperature.
“Hmph.” He retracted his hand and studied Athena’s state, she had goosebumps.
Simon took off the long, black coat he wore everyday and draped it over her. Immediately, Athena seemed to clutch onto the cloak in her sleep and snuggle in, trying to warm up quicker. Juniper let out a soft, quiet laugh as Simon stepped away to lean against the slightly frosted window, watching the rain pour. The two unanimously decided to wait for Athena to wake up, deciding that sleep was best for her right now.
They didn’t have to wait that long, because 10 minutes later Athena was stirring.
Athena, through her half-closed, disoriented eyes, looked around at her surroundings once again. She was still comfortably in Juniper’s arms, but there was someone standing by the window who was staring at her..
Athena yawned and sat up, making her headache swing back in full force. She grimaced and her hand flew to her forehead.
“Oh, are you alright, Thena?” Juniper pulled her arms back when Athena sat up, and placed her her hand on the girl’s shoulder when she saw her grimace.
“I’m fine.. just my headache, heh.”
“Not only are you stubborn when it comes to receiving help, but it seems like your body is too.” Simon walked over, Athena noticed his cloak was missing and looked down to see it draped across her lap.
“Medicine has always been iffy with me, that’s why you have to use that one type we used when I was younger.”
“I did, did you think I’d forget?”
“Oh.” He was right, he had gotten her the medicine that had always helped her when she was younger. Alas, it seemed to be ineffective for her current state.
“We’re heading home, can you stand?”
“‘Of course I can.” Athena got up from Juniper’s lap still holding the cloak close to her body, it was covering everything up to her neck. The girl with the braids was slightly disappointed by Athena getting up, but her expression was unseen by the others.
“Good, let’s get going then. You’ve made us wait long enough.” Simon turned around and made his way to the front of the courthouse, Juniper stayed by Athena’s side and walked with her, worried she’d pass out from simply walking.
Simon took out a hot-pink umbrella with floral designs painted onto the fabric, Athena looked mind-boggled.
“You sure you grabbed the right one, Simon?” Juniper hid a smile, not wanting to accidentally offend him. Simon turned to face Athena and nodded,
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Athena smirked, she covered her face with her hand as Simon raised his eyebrow and shot her a look.
“What? A man like me can appreciate other colours of the rainbow, I just so happen to like this one.” Athena was about to start laughing, but was caught off guard when Simon suddenly pawned the umbrella off to Juniper to hold.
“I assume you didn’t bring your umbrella today due to your usual scatterbrained-ness, so you can have mine.” Simon smirked at Athena, glad to get back at her. Athena frowned.
“What about you?”
“I was in prison for 7 years, rain won’t hurt me.”
“You’ll get sick.”
“Well, that makes two of us then.” Simon dismissed her advances of trying to get him to take his umbrella back and began walking, Athena started to run after Simon to protest, which caused Juniper to have to exert some energy to keep the umbrella over the two of them.
“Athena, you’re making Juniper chase after you.” Simon gestured to Juniper, who was lightly panting from a small jog. Juniper tried to placate the situation by shaking her head, “No, no, I’m.. fine.” Athena looked guilty.
“I’m so sorry Junie! I won’t run again.” She stepped closer to Juniper, and the three of them began their journey to Athena’s home.
It was a hazy afternoon, the misty fog was covering most of the surrounding area, making things in front of them not be visible until they were just a few steps ahead. The rain showed no sign of letting up and instead became heavier by the second.
The sound of the droplets plopping on the slippery concrete, mixed with the occasional chest-heavy sneezes from Athena would be what the three of them would hear for the entire journey.
Athena was seriously regretting running. Even though she had only ran for a few, short seconds, she could feel the same lethargy that made her pass out dangle over her head, teasing the possibility of her fainting again. She kept the dark cloak close to her body, trying to keep warm. Juniper had taken in the scent of one of her sunflowers, feeling much more rejuvenated. She was tempted to take off her cardigan to give to Athena, but she was stopped by Simon, who was completely drenched in the rain.
“Don’t do that, you are more prone to sickness than she is, your health is important too.”
Juniper nodded as Athena stared at Simon, plotting. Simon felt a blanket-like feeling get thrown on his shoulder.
“I’m fine. I don’t need your cloak, you need it more.” Athena looked at him with determination, she wasn’t about to let him self-sacrifice AGAIN. He saw a flicker of annoyance cross his eyes, before her vision suddenly went black.
“Ack!”
“Good for you, I don’t care. You’re wearing it.” Simon had chucked his cloak back over her, crossing his arms and continuing to walk in the rain. Athena got pissed, but only because she was incredibly worried for Simon. She knew how overbearingly protective he could get over her, and though she was endeared and thankful for it, she also hated it at the same time.
Simon felt something get thrown into his head, his vision turning yellow. He pulled off Athena’s jacket to see her smiling gleefully.
“What’s this supposed to do? It’s tiny compared to me.”
“Hold it over your head!” She did a thumbs up. Simon sighed and resigned himself to using Athena’s yellow jacket as a replacement umbrella.
The trio finally made it back to Athena’s apartment, and Athena had gotten worse. That running really did a number on Athena’s already weakened body, and she was barely holding on. Juniper had noticed something was off and was holding onto her now with a very tight grip.
They didn’t even need to unlock the apartment door because Athena hadn’t locked it in the first place, it wasn’t even closed. Due to her race to get to the trial, she had forgotten to lock the door and had left it half open.
“Oh, goodie. Let’s hope none of your possessions have been stolen, shall we?”
“Quiet, Simon.” Athena stumbled into the bitingly freezing apartment, she was silently cursing herself for not shutting her apartment door.
“Thena..?”
“Ugh..” Athena held her head, losing her balance a little.
And down she went.
“Ah!” Juniper had been holding onto her, so luckily she hadn’t fallen over and gotten herself hurt, but the unexpected weight made Juniper lose her footing a little and she tripped over. “
Eek!” Juniper fell backwards, but was caught by Simon, who helped the two of them back.
“Down again? Blimey.” Simon sighed as Juniper thanked Simon. He moved to her bathroom to grab a towel and dry off, leaving his boots by the door as to not dirty her floors, however, he knew she probably wouldn’t even care.
“Mr. Simon?”
“Yes?”
“Could you take Athena to her room for me, please? I’d like to make her a soup to help with her sickness. My granny taught me a recipe that always helps me when I’m feeling especially ill.”
Simon looked down, however, instead of seeing the ponytailed, sick lawyer who was sleeping peacefully in Juniper’s arms, he instead saw the shy little girl who was his mentor’s daughter. Someone he swore to protect with his very life.
“Hmph, I suppose so.” He took Athena into his arms - holding her securely as Juniper disappeared into the small kitchen to begin preparing. Simon took extra care as he made his way into her room, being gentle with every motion. He opened the door to her room expecting to see her childhood bedroom, but was met with the sight of a room of a young woman instead.
Actually, he was dumbfounded when he walked in. Instead of seeing a hint of maturity in her room, he just saw figurines, posters, and other merchandise of her favourite characters from various anime’s. The main colour scheme was yellow, but it wasn’t a blistering, blinding yellow - it was a soft yellow that was easy on the eyes.
His shoulders relaxed instinctively, he didn’t even realise that they had been tense all day. The sight of a somewhat childish room managed to ease a deep worry he’d harboured since he’d seen her for the first time in 7 years, the worry that Athena had grown up too quickly and not experienced her childhood.
She’d sacrificed it to save him, she sacrificed her dreams for him. He wasn’t expecting her to do that, and it wasn’t what he wanted.
Simon laid Athena down on her tiny bed that looked it was squished onto the wall. Her bed had all sorts of plushies, especially a particular stuffed bunny, he smiled when he saw that.
Simon pulled a nearby chair to the side of her bed and sat down, he was twice the size of it so he had to manoeuvre himself uncomfortably to fit in it.
He stayed next to her as she snored, her body raising up with every breath she took before sinking down with her exhales.
___
“You’re definitely burning up.” Athena could still feel the sensation of her mother’s chilled hand propped against her magma-hot forehead, providing a small sense of relief from the volcanic spewing of molten-hot lava happening in her head.
“That means we won’t be able to do an experiment today, hm..” Her mother brought her hand up to her chin, stroking it lightly as her eyes darted downwards. Athena sighed, a bit grumpy.
“Why do you only care about experiments, what about me..?” The majority of that sentence was mumbled - meaning her mother didn’t hear the whole thing, she thought it was for the best. She didn’t want to get into another argument with her mother again.
“I’ll be back, Athena. If you need something just ask Ponco.” She rubbed her daughters forehead before tracing her finger down to her cheek, cupping it lightly and pressing a kiss to it. Athena softly smiled, watching her mother leave the room through her half-shut eyes that were closing due to the raging headache. It was pretty painful.
Because Athena never left the space station, getting sick was practically foreign to her. However, when she did get sick, she would really go down. It was hard to find medicine that actually helped her recover, and this was the case for her now.
The young girl rolled over to her side, clutching the fluffy, dusty pink blanket up to her neck and closing her eyes, trying to go to sleep. The young girl reflected on her life before getting sick, wishing she could go back.
“I’d rather go to school with all that noise instead of this…”
She reached the stage in a sickness where one begins to compare less than favourable aspects of their life with their current condition now.
She knew, of course, that she would definitely not rather go to school with all that noise, but common sense was non-existent at this point, it was too busy drowning under the molten lava that was her headache.
There was a knock at her door, she stirred from her half-awake state and glanced at the slither of light peeking in from the door being slowly opened. She saw a head poke in. Short fluffy hair and an angular jaw? She knew who it was.
“Mmm, S-Simon..?”
“Ah, Athena. Did I awake you?” Simon, the young prosecutor who was studying under her mother, ducked into her room - closing the door with such care as to not make any unnecessary noises.
Athena shook her head as Simon took a seat on the edge of the bed.
“How are you feeling?”
“Bad.” Simon laughed at her blunt answer, Athena looked confused and slightly hurt.
“Why are you laughing? I said I felt bad, that’s not good.”
“No, I’m laughing at your blunt response. I’m very sorry to hear you’re not feeling well.”
Athena huffed, still not understanding it very well but just accepting it. She was too sick to really care.
She groaned as her headache grew particularly worse, perhaps it was her slightly irked demeanour that had irritated her headache. She buried her head in the blankets, hoping it could ease the headache. It did not.
Athena glanced up at the man sitting at the end of her bed, a thought popped into her mind.
“Simon..?”
“Yes?” He responded quite briskly, wanting to be of help.
“Can you rub my forehead? That’s what Mom always does..”
Simon went quiet before nodding his head.
“Okay.”
He scooted closer to her and placed his hand on top of her forehead. He nearly pulled it back out of instinct due to how hot her head was, but he kept his hand there and gently used his thumb to rub her forehead. He didn’t think it would help much, but Athena relaxed and closed her eyes. She was asleep in a minute which caught Simon off guard.
Her soft snores, the sound of her breathing, they reassured him that she was alright. He kept his hand on Athena’s hand, looking at the tiny girl laying in the bed with the pink fluffy blanket and white metallic bed frame.
Simon had no idea how much time had passed, but it had to have been a while based on the door opening and the sound of his mentor’s voice cutting in.
“I knew you’d be in here.”
Her voice startled him, he looked up and saw Metis approach him with a soft look on her face.
“She enjoys your presence a lot, you know.” She sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at her little girl, asleep and safe.
“Athena doesn’t know anything about her father, nor did she ever meet him. So she’s always lacked that father-figure in her life.” Her hand moved to Athena’s cheek, stroking it lightly with her thumb.
“You’re kind of like that for her.” Metis paused, before realising the implications of her words, she tried to fix her wording.
“Because- uh, not like that! You’re..- I- I think that raising children is best with a community rather than just two parents, so you, as well as Mr Starbuck and Mr Cosmos, are like.. her fathers.. but.. not.”
She was an awkward one, she struggled with communication and often messed up with her words. Simon knew what she meant and that she meant good, so he laughed.
“I understand, don’t worry.” He went quiet for a moment, looking down at Athena’s sleeping form.
“I’d be more than happy to fulfil that role, not as a father, don’t worry.” Simon bit his lip, wondering if he should continue with his jest, he eventually folded, “I know you’d prefer Aura as her father rather than I, If you catch my drift.” He smirked and could practically see Metis’ slight blush that dusted her cheeks without even looking at her.
“I promise to always protect her.”
“…Thank you, Simon.” Metis brushed a strand of hair that had fallen on Athena’s face and tucked it behind the young girl’s ear.
“Earlier, she mumbled something. I don’t think she knew that I heard it, though.”
“What did she say? If I may inquire?” Simon turned his attention to Metis, who had a solemn expression on her face.
“I mentioned how we wouldn’t be able to do the scheduled experiment, the one to help create those noise-cancelling headphones for her. Apparently I shouldn’t have, because Athena became upset and said something like,”
“Why do you care about experiments and not about me?”
Metis pulled her hand away from Athena, placing it on her lap as she looked down.
“I.. I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. I want to help her with this problem so much, but she doesn’t understand that. She thinks I'm using her for my own benefit.”
“I hate seeing her suffer like this.” Metis looked back up at Simon, who had an understanding expression on his face.
“I understand. Perhaps when she is older she’ll finally understand.” Simon stopped stroking Athena’s forehead for a brief moment, focussing on the heartfelt conversation instead.
“Yes, perhaps.” The two were quiet until a noise from outside Athena’s room was heard. It was Aura calling out to Metis, who was smiling at the sound of the woman’s voice.
“Thank you, Simon.”
“It is no problem, Cykes-sensei.” He bowed his head as she left the room, he raised his head when he heard a grumpy and quiet “Simon” come from the direction of Athena’s bed.
The sickly girl had woken up when Simon stopped rubbing her head, she was not impressed.
“Oh, apologies Athena.”
“Mhm.” She inched closer to him, he smiled and placed his hand back on Athena’s head, going back to massaging it. She knocked out like a light again.
____
It was just like all those years again, but still very different. Athena was completely different now, the same with Simon. Her mother was no longer, and Aura was currently in prison.
Instead of grumpily groaning when her headache kept pounding as a child, she was grumpily swearing to herself.
“…..fucking headache…” Athena rolled around, facing in the direction of Simon.
“Language.”
“…Ssshhhh-shut up… Simon…” Athena hugged the bunny plushie close to her chest. She was still swearing like a sailor. It’s a good thing she didn’t kiss her mother with that mouth anymore.
“….Did.. Apollo win..?” Athena slightly raised her head to make eye contact with Simon, who nodded.
“He did, yes.”
“Hah. Sucker.”
“You’re the one that left half way through, he won not you.”
“But without me and my investigation, he wouldn’t have been able to do it now would he? Therefore, I-“ she interrupted herself by holding her head in pain.
“Are you alright?” Simon looked down, quite concerned for her health.
“Ow… Simon, can you tone it down?”
He was about to argue and say that he was practically whispering, but realised what she meant. His voice must’ve been filled with so much worry, that it overwhelmed her ears.
“I can’t even control that.”
“I know, I’m just blaming you because I can.” Athena sighed and pulled the blanket back up.
“Did you get a towel?”
“No.”
Athena rose out of bed, before she was forcibly tucked into bed again by Simon.
“You’ll pass out again. Stop doing that.”
“I’m not a child, Simon! Stop treating me like one!”
“Then stop acting like one.”
“I’m not! You’re the one acting like a mother hen right now!”
“Hmph.” Simon crossed his arms and returned to his uncomfortable position on the white, wooden chair. He wasn’t done with this conversation.
“Why would you show up to the trial if you knew you were sick?”
Athena rolled over so her back was facing him, she clearly didn’t want to admit her reasoning. He didn’t push for it.
..
“I just wanted you to see me as a capable lawyer, and not some little girl you have to keep saving.” Athena slightly shifted so that she could look at Simon, but so that her back was facing him. His eyes widened for a moment, but they returned to normal as he gave his response.
“Then show me you can be one.”
Athena huffed and fully turned around. Her annoyance was enough to fuel to give her the energy to sit up in bed.
“You don’t get it! Stop with that, why can’t you just be like how you were before, like caring and understanding?!”
A bit of a blow, but it wasn’t going to be enough to hurt Simon.
“Prison, Athena. People change.”
“I know that, but..” she must’ve had some realisation that her words were becoming a bit hurtful, so she toned it down.
“I just wanted to make you not have to worry about me anymore..”
“…” Simon sighed, he was quite upset at her. Not because she was annoying him, but because the young woman he cared so deeply about was pushing her body’s limit just to prove herself to him. He didn’t want that at all.
He questioned if it was his fault, wondering if his approaches of tough love was making her push herself too hard. But, he had changed too drastically. The person he was 7 years ago was no longer, and he couldn’t go back.
Athena was insecure, always doubting herself constantly seeking reassurance from him to make sure she was enough, he hated it. He wanted her to trust in herself, but she didn’t. His tough approaches were always out of love and care for her - wanting to get her to rely on herself. But perhaps it had backfired?
..
Of course it hadn’t. It made her stronger. Athena was strong, she wasn’t a weak girl, far from it actually. He once took her to an arcade (for her birthday, he didn’t understand why she picked an arcade but he didn’t question it), and she wanted to do that one punching machine where it measures your strength. Simon managed to get a high score, and Athena managed to break the machine entirely.
Was he somewhat terrified yet ecstatic at her insane physical strength? Yes, but she was also mentally strong as well. Many times she’s thanked him for being hard on her because it helped her push through her doubts to get to the truth, so maybe it.. wasn’t entirely his fault.
..
Simon realised he had been quiet for too long, Athena was probably starting to become a little upset that he was potentially ignoring her whilst confiding to him about a personal matter.
“I never intended for you to do that.” Simon uncrossed his arms, his body language becoming more open as he placed his hands on his knees.
“I don’t want you worrying about me, and I certainly don’t want you endangering your health trying to prove yourself. You’re.. more than enough.”
Athena blinked - slightly starstruck, until she suddenly started breaking down in tears. They weren’t tears of frustration or sadness - no, they were tears of happiness and relief.
“W-What are you crying for..?!” He leaned forward to look at her tear-stricken face better, but Athena started laughing. She wiped her tears with her arms as she smiled.
“S-Sorry, sorry. I was crying because you sounded so sincere before. I was worried that the old, caring you had been lost forever but-“
She chuckled as she finished wiping her tears away, “he’s still there.”
Simon was dumbfounded as he watched Athena compose herself. She took a deep breath and looked back up at him.
“And I started to laugh, because no matter how hard you try to sound aloof and indifferent, you’ll never be able to hide your true emotions in your voice.”
Right, her sensitive hearing.
“…Ow.” Athena clutched her head, feeling the pain spike back in again. The short crying session must’ve worsened her headache from the pressure. She laid back down and closed her eyes, quietly suffering while also making her suffering be known by cursing under her breath.
“fucking dumb headache, this is so-“
She stopped when she felt something. A warm sensation ontop of her forehead, that was somehow mixing an ease of comfort with her pain, cancelling it out. It reminded her of how her mother used to stroke her forehead when she was younger.
It reminded her of how Simon used to do the same when she was younger.
She smiled to herself. Even though he wasn’t the same man he was 7 years ago, it wasn’t like he was completely different. It was just that it was buried underneath a tough and intimidating persona, but his kindness was still there, ever present in his own way.
Athena closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the heavy pour of the rain outside, the way it made contact with her roof and the concrete outside, the way the trees outside shook vigorously as the wind coursed through the individual leaves. The relaxing scene eventually made Athena fall victim to a much needed slumber, however it was poor timing because shortly after succumbing to sleep - Juniper walked in with her warm bowl of soup she worked so very hard on.
“Is she asleep?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, I’ll just leave this here then.” Juniper placed the white ceramic bowl containing a soup concocted of many different fruits and vegetables on her nightstand, next to her electric alarm clock that read ‘4:32PM’ on it. She took a seat on the edge of Athena’s bed and conversed lightly with Simon, but for the most part stayed quiet and watched Athena sleep.
“Um, Mr. Simon?”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t you worried you might get sick?”
“Hmph. I was in prison for 7 years, a silly little cold will do nothing to me.”
“I see.”
The two remained quiet. Even though they’d known each other for a long while, their relationship wasn’t as close as it was with Athena. Not to mention, Simon had prosecuted Juniper and accused her of murdering her one teacher, so to say that the atmosphere was slightly awkward was an understatement. Thankfully for them but unlucky for Athena, she just couldn’t seem to stay asleep for long, most likely getting kept awake by her runny nose or headache, and she ended up waking up again. However, it provided the two of them with a distraction from the awkward tension, and gave them someone to fuss over.
Simon was quite confident that he would be fine, so he was acting quite carelessly when it came to his own health. Athena warned him that he might get sick off of her, but he once again brought up how he was in prison for 7 years and would be fine.
He, in fact, would not be fine.
___
“Pfft! Whats this? I thought you said you’d be fine!”
“Cease your annoying jesting, it’s making my headache worse.”
A sick Simon laid on his bed, looking positively awful. He had taken the sickness worse than Athena, who bounced back after 2 days. Had it been in his control, he wouldn’t have told her about his sickness at all. However, he needed someone to look after his precious hawk, Taka, and he had about 2 people who he deemed close. Athena and Aura. Aura was currently incarcerated, so he had to call Athena.
He should’ve known that as soon as he said he was sick, that she would’ve come running into the house with boxes of medicine and necessities.
“Now that Taka’s taken care of-“
“You can leave. Yes, that would be best.”
“Stop trying to shut me out! And that’s NOT what I was going to say!” Athena sat on the end of his double bed, legs crossed and facing him with a grin on her face. That was never a good sign.
“Now that Taka’s taken care of, I can talk about the FNAF lore.”
Simon’s face dropped. It could’ve been because his headache increased, but it was most likely due to the bomb Athena had dropped on him. He vaguely remembered her talking to him about it when she was a child, he was shocked it was still going.
“You missed a lot in prison, but don’t worry, there’s a lot to go over! New games, new books, and even 2 movies!”
“…Oh goodie, I can’t wait.” He sighed and accepted his defeat.
“I’ll do a recap from the very beginning, in order. So, in the 1970’s-“
Simon wished this sickness would take his soul right then and there, but he resigned himself to his fate.
At least he was alive to be tortured by her incessant ramblings of some indie game she obsessed over.
At least he could be there for her, like he had been when she was younger.