ARISTOS ACHAION // Awesamdude X Reader

24

It was silent for a while - just you and Sam and the sky, separately together. The moon hung in the sky above your head, almost fully round and casting silvery light down on the both of you. The stars kept it company in the sky, arranging themselves into patterns and shapes. You recognized a few of the constellations - you had fallen asleep under the same sky for so long when you had been living on the streets.

It felt sort of like coming home.

"Do you know any of the constellations?" Sam asked, breaking the silence.

"A few." You responded.

"Which one is your favorite?"

"It's hard to choose." You responded truthfully. "There are so many - I take it your favorite is Amartia?"

Sam shrugged. "It kind of has to be, yeah?" He said, pointing to the collection of stars that made up the god of the underworld. "I'm quite fond of Vryo too though." His finger moved slightly, pointing to a different cluster of light, this time the representation of the god of nature, and Amartia's companion.

"Naturally." You said.

Sam turned to look at you. "You never gave an answer."

You gazed back up at the sky, finding the connections between the stars of the shapes you knew. There was Nkri, the god of justice and head of the pantheon, his constellation in the near center of the sky, vaguely in the shape of unbalanced scales. Nearby was Logios, a long thin cluster of stars in the shape of a scroll, representing how they wrote the story of the universe and controlled the strings of fate. It was strange to think that even this very moment Logios had crafted.

Not too far from them was Man'nko, the god of sleep. You supposed that wouldn't have been a bad choice - sleep had always treated you well. Of course, you couldn't go wrong with Frontida either - the eternal caregiver. And then there was always Nychta, the moon (and the god of revelery). Your mind passed over Floga (the sun) for a moment, but no - that had been Prosperine's patron. There were still more though - Anoitos the fool and Sofos the wise and Aeras of the wind and Petra for the earth...

"I suppose Nkri." You said, settling on the head of the pantheon.

Sam blinked at you. "Even though you've suffered a great injustice?"

You shrugged. It was better to believe that justice was coming instead of focusing on the wrongs that had been done to you. If you were being honest, you weren't too fond of any of the gods at the moment - not with how the city was falling apart.

Sam's question left unanswered, silence fell over you again. A breeze shuffled past you, tousling your hair lightly. You could feel yourself relaxing a bit, now that you were out of the stifling walls of the underground prison - or at least, as much as you could be. Like this, it was easy to pretend that none of the disconnect was there, that things were still as they had been before you had killed Prosperine.

You were loathe to bring it up, but you had to say something. It was killing you otherwise.

"Sam?"

He hummed, his eyes flicking down from the sky to meet with yours for a moment.

"I'm sorry." You said. "For getting upset with you - I shouldn't have. It was selfish of me, and I wasn't really thinking - it was just after the fight and I was pumped up on adrenaline and it just sounded like-"

"I know what it sounded like." Sam said, cutting you off gently. "It was a bit insensitive of me, but-"

"You don't have to apologize for it again." You interjected. "You already have-"

You were interrupted when Sam shifted, placing one of his hands that had been keeping him propped up in the sand over yours. You quieted at the touch, the rough callouses of his hand sliding over yours until he flipped your hand so that it was palm up, lacing your fingers together and squeezing.

"But," Sam continued, the deep quality of his voice completely making you forget about what you had been trying to say. "Against my better judgement, I really do care." He paused. "If you died in the arena, I would be... upset. And no one has ever beaten Ceres." He squeezed your hand again, almost as if he was testing that you were still alive.

It hit you then - all the lingering looks, the leniency, the special treatment, the way he'd been so worried about you fighting Ceres. You had been a fool not to see it before, but you had been preoccupied with the gravity of the situation you were in - prison was not the place you would have expected something like this.

You couldn't say you were particularly... upset, though.

Not when Sam had been nothing but kind to you. Not when he had taught you how to wield your spear and given you a list of all Prosperine's weak points. Not when he had carried you from the very sands you were sitting on now after you had killed Diana. Not when he had gone against his protocols and let you get away from the dining hall and watching Ceres rip a man in half.

The unwarranted kindness you had seen from him (not to mention those broad shoulders and striking green eyes) made this... whatever it was... seem not so bad.

You squeezed Sam's hand back, and watched as a proud flush settled high on his face. It was strange, to see him a tad flustered when he was usually so stoic and serious - ever the warden. "You seem surprised."

"I thought that maybe, you wouldn't..." He said, trailing off lightly. "We're not supposed to, after all."

"Why wouldn't I?" You asked. "After everything you've done for me? Not to mention..." Your other hand inched forward, running up the side of Sam's arm slowly, trailing your fingers across the skin until you reached the fabric of his sleeve.

Sam shivered under the touch, and leaned down to connect his lips with yours. He kissed just how you'd expected him to - strong but pliant - and it made your head spin. What made your heart jump though, was how he squeezed your hand again as he brought your conjoined hands to his chest.