Athena rolled her eyes at that but finally let her smile show as the goddess snapped her fingers, a cutesy bib appearing on Cloelia, not that the godling seemed to notice given how she was eating.
Hestia's cooking did that to people.
...
And, with that, he tucked in as well. He almost groaned at the rich flavors of beef and other stewed vegetables spilled into his mouth. And dipping the warm bread into it just made it a hundred times better. Percy knew that he was a lucky man, with not one but three amazing wives, and he'd do just about anything for them.
But Hestia's cooking was just something else.
His bond with Rhea let him know that she was much in the same boat and both of them could feel Hestia's barely suppressed embarrassment at their compliments, among other things, flowing across the bond. A quick glance showed that Hestia's cheeks had the slightest glow to them, her platinum blood brightening her Mediterranean complexion nicely.
"We'll have to save some of this for Andy," Rhea commented between bites of her bread roll.
"If there's anything left that is," Percy added, only half serious.
"Percy," Hestia murmured, just a little heat in her eyes as she stared him down.
Wolves tended to pick clean everything, so he stared back; a battle of wills silently engaged. Rhea grinned between bites, already knowing who'd cave. Percy did too, but dammit if he wasn't going to give a token resistance. Even Athena was picking up on the byplay, her amber eyes alight with amusement as she looked between the two.
Percy lasted a full minute, a new milestone for him, before finally muttering, "Yes dear."
His defeat was met with a chorus of giggles. Rhea he expected, Hestia too if she was amused enough, and Andy was a no brainer whenever she was present, but what got him was that Athena joined in. He looked at her in mild surprise at the cute sound made, but that just made the goddess stop. A faint blush formed as Athena went back into eating, pointedly not looking at him or the others.
He couldn't help but grin at that, happy to see the goddess opening up more as the days passed. He went back to his own food, feeling lighter than he had in days. All the while Cloelia was chowing down. Honestly, at the rate she was going, Cloelia might be the one to watch out for, not him…
...
He sighed in content as he set the empty bowls and cutlery into the sink and turned on the hot water. Since Rhea and Hestia had cooked, he set himself to be the one cleaning up. Sure, a snap of his fingers would have it all done, but sometimes just taking a moment to do things slow was just better.
A set of hands beside his held a sponge as his helper for the evening applied a liberal amount of soap. He glanced to his side to look at Athena, the goddess having volunteered to help even when he said he was fine doing it alone. She insisted though, so he just let her be.
The clinking of bowls, pots, and such was the only noise they made for a while as Percy glanced back over his shoulder. Rhea was sitting with Cloelia near a small desk moved in here just for the godling, coloring together. Since Percy had his one-on-one time with Cloelia, Rhea was rather keen to do something with her and after encouraging her, Cloelia was quick to pick out her coloring books.
As for Hestia, she was relaxing in a loveseat across the cabin from them, her foot gently scratching at the still unnamed cub laying at her feet. She caught his glance and gave him a small smile, something he returned before turning his attention back to cleaning. It seemed that Athena was of a similar mind, leisurely scrubbing at the few bits of food stuck to one pot.
Percy couldn't help but stare for a moment, never having thought he'd see Athena do something so utterly mundane as the dishes. Well, that, and it wasn't because of some sort of unusual punishment or prank forced on her. Had she ever even done the dishes before? Now he was curious, and his mind kept shifting into imaginations of when or why Athena would do such a thing?
His staring didn't go unnoticed though, as the goddess paused to glance at him.
"… What?" she asked softly. "Is there something on my face?"
"No, there's nothing," Percy was quick to clarify as he returned to the dishes.
He could feel Athena's eyes on him, but she didn't try to push, which he was thankful for. The pair soon fell into the rhythm of work, somehow shifting into a set of Athena actually washing and then him rinsing and drying before putting them away on a rack. It took only a few minutes but soon they had all the dishes done. Using the same towel to dry his own hands, he offered it to Athena next.
Only, said goddess just gave a tiny smile as her hands steamed dry.
"Convenient that," he said with a snort as he set the towel aside.
Athena gave an agreeing hum as she turned to look at everyone else relaxing. Percy did the same, leaning back against the sink and simply taking in the atmosphere. However, after a bit, he felt a gentle poke to his side drawing his attention. Looking at her finger poking him before her face, Percy raised a questioning eyebrow as Athena ducked her head a little.
"Percy … can I speak to you?" Athena asked softly before looking around and adding, "Outside?"
Seeing no reason not to, he nodded and gestured for her to go. He followed after, sharing one look with Hestia and even Rhea, having looked up from her seat with Cloelia. He could feel their curiosity, but they let them be, each returning to what they were doing before. Once outside, Percy took a deep breath and let the relatively cool breeze drift over him.
It had been late afternoon relatively in Hestia's mindscape when Percy and Rhea came in, and now it was decidedly into evening with the night sky and Hestia's rendition of stars overhead. Normally the primordial kept their mindscape in one set time—if a time of day was visible, unlike Andromeda's tower/archive—but for Cloelia, Hestia had been shifting the light to reflect the flowing time.
So, while internally, he knew only an hour or two had passed in real time, it also felt like he'd spent a good chunk of the evening here. 'This is going to throw me off when we step out,' he mused before his attention turned to the silent goddess beside him. Athena looked somewhat nervous; her gaze cloudy as her eyes shifted around on anything but him.
"Athena," he spoke up, making the goddess start a little as she finally focused on him.
"Sorry, it just," she paused as she took a steading breath. "I'm still not very good at this."
"Take your time then," he responded, patiently waiting as the goddess gathered herself.
It took a bit but after a breath, she focused on him.
"… Thank you."
That had him blinking at her. He was about to ask for what, but she continued before he could.
"Thank you for everything, especially for today. For spending the evening with Cloelia like that," she said, her voice soft and sincere as she looked up at him.
He smiled gently in return as he understood. "You're welcome and really, it was the least I could do."
"No," Athena said with a light shake of her head. "You don't get it." Her eyes dimmed in their simmer as her tone got lower, barely a glance being thrown at the cabin behind him. "That's the first time I've seen Cloelia smile like that since …"
She stopped there, a wet shine coming to her eyes as she tried to blink it away. But Percy could tell that wasn't working, and soon, one tear broke out. And where one came, another followed. Athena took a shaky breath as she tried to wipe at them, but they kept coming, her shoulders starting to shake as she held back a choked sob.
Acting out of instinct, he stepped forward and hugged her.
She froze up for a moment, but then the walls came falling as she started to sob in earnest, clutching onto his shirt. He simply held her, one arm around her waist and the other on her back, rubbing comforting circles as he felt the hot tears soak into his shirt as she pressed her face into his chest. He started to hum, a deep, rumbling sound starting from the chest that he knew worked to calm people.
And it seemed to work here just as well as he felt Athena relax further against him, the sobs slowly fading into slight hiccups.
"I'm sorry … I just," she sniffled but he gently shushed her as he tightened his hold.
"Don't apologize," he chided softly, feeling her shift a bit against him as he continued. "… I know what it's like. How much it hurts."
...
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