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Athena was tiptoeing around Olympus. Why was she sneaking about her own home? Because she was in her child-like form and didn’t want to interact with anyone aside from her intended target: Ares. Though she preferred to be alone in this state, Athena occasionally sought out the company of her siblings. Athena was also sneaking because, in addition to avoiding being seen, she was specifically trying to avoid the king and queen. She knew they had seen her in her child state, but they had never interacted with her, and she didn’t want to risk an adverse reaction.
The halls of Olympus weren’t deserted but still clear enough to navigate without being seen. No one of importance noticed her, and soon she was standing outside the door to Ares’ domain. Using her wings to boost herself up, Athena grabbed the handle. Ares was certain to shout at her for not knocking, but that was a risk she was willing to take. She peeked around the slowly opening door.
“Ares?” She called to the room. When there was no answer, she stepped in and pushed the heavy door closed behind her. “Ares? Are you in here?” Again, there was no answer, but she could hear voices nearby. One of them was distinctly Ares. Athena followed the voices, moving as quietly as possible in hopes of spooking Ares with her entrance. She hid when the voices were less than a room away, stifling her laughter in her hands. Athena peered out from her hiding spot to assess the placement of her target; her plan, however, never came to fruition. The voice she had been following did, in fact, belong to Ares, but the other voice- the one she had neglected to place- belonged to one of the beings she had been trying to avoid.
The god queen Hera sat across from Ares at a small table. Her hands were folded in her lap as she listened to Ares regale her with a story about a battle he’d presided over, likely one hijacked from Athena. Athena was frozen, her feet refusing to move no matter how hard she begged them to. She could only watch as the queen realized she was being watched and turned to look at her.
“Hello, child,” Hera said pleasantly, cutting off Ares, who also turned.
“Athena!” he cried, “I told you to knock before you come in here!” His voice broke Athena’s reverie, and she tiptoed into view.
“Sorry,” she said in a small voice, cautiously approaching the pair, “I didn’t mean to interrupt your… tea party?” Upon getting closer, she could see the small table had a spread of food and dishes upon it.
“No! Just lunch.” Ares quickly corrected, Hera tittered. With the ice broken, Athena felt marginally braver until the queen spoke again.
“Would you like to join us?”
Athena stiffened, “Oh, no, your majesty, I don’t want to be a bother.”
“Nonsense, come.” The queen waved the small goddess over.
“Mother, no,” Ares started, but was promptly cut off.
“Oh, hush, there’s plenty. Come.”
Athena approached the goddess slowly; there were only two chairs at the table, and she did not want to upend someone. She needn’t have worried, however, because as soon as she was close enough, Hera lifted Athena with ease and placed her in her lap. For the third time since entering Ares’ domain, Athena froze. Here she was, the goddess of wisdom and strategy, the size of a child, sitting in the lap of her step-mother- the queen of the gods- while her younger brother sat across from her at a table that was most definitely set up for a tea party. She was the only one who saw anything strange about the moment as Hera simply began fixing up another plate of food. Ares rolled his eyes over being interrupted, but his exasperation was short-lived, and he launched back into his story.
“Where was I? Right, the tide was turning.”
Hera had one hand around Athena’s middle, with the other she poured nectar from a pitcher into a chalice and slid it, along with the food, to be more in front of Athena. The food rivaled Athena’s anxiety; particularly a delectable-looking piece of cake. She glanced around quickly to ensure no one was going to stop her before snatching up a fork and taking a bite. The cake was as delicious as expected, and she ate with what was likely too much gusto for polite company. She had to lift the chalice with both hands, and despite being careful, nectar still dribbled down her chin. She wiped her face with her hands and instantly cringed because that was also not something she should be doing in polite company. Ares smirked, she glared at him, and quickly cleaned her hands on a napkin.
Athena kept eating- with less force than before- and allowing Ares to babble; she’d bicker with him later when she was feeling more herself. For the moment, she leaned against the queen. Hera nibbled her food singlehandedly as if this were the most natural position in the world. It was… nice, Athena realized, despite how wrong it felt at the beginning; she hadn’t been held in a long time. She knew in the back of her mind this was unlikely to become a regular occurrence, but it was too good to pass up. With a quiet, happy hum, Athena- holding her chalice with two hands- leaned back against the queen to enjoy the afternoon.