A Second Life

30. I Get Outed By Some Thestrals

Ares

I woke up with a cushion of pulsating warmth pressed up against me. I felt soft skin under my hands, and I smiled. I cracked open my eyes, seeing Aphrodite next to me. Somehow, we'd fallen asleep on the sofa, but the sun hadn't started rising. It was November, so that made sense.

My hand was resting on the small part of her waist that was bare, her shirt rising up only a few centimetres. I removed my hand, gently pulling her shirt down and lifting the blanket over her. With a gaze, the fire in front of us flickered to life, pushing back the clinging cold and frigidness in the air.

Her head was resting in my lap as I leant against the back of the sofa. I was happy immortality came with perks, because I would've been sore from sleeping in this position the whole night.

Behind me, I heard footsteps. I knew I might've been wrong, but I recognised them as Apollo's.

I slightly turned my head, putting my fingers to my lips, signing to him to quieten down. He didn't make much noise, but sat down on the floor next to the fire, opposite the sofa and facing us.

"What happened?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Why are you awake?" I asked back.

"God of the Sun. What happened?"

I looked down at her, choosing my next words carefully. Without thinking, I used my hand to move her hair away from her eyes, tucking it lightly behind her ears.

"A lot." It wasn't a lie.

He raised his eyebrows, unimpressed. "Mind elaborating?"

"We talked. We cleared the air."

He smiled, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "That's not all, is it?"

I felt heat rise into my cheeks, finding it strikingly remarkable how mortal I felt. "No, it's not." I answered back honestly. There was no sense in lying to the God of Truth.

"You really like her, don't you?"

"I always have."

The shock that flickered over his face was reflected on mine. I hadn't even thought before saying that. I don't think I ever realised it either. At least, not before now.

"It was about time you two realised." Apollo said, chuckling quietly, letting his gaze drop to the sleeping Aphrodite.

"What do you mean?"

"Zeus only married her off because he was scared that you two would have a love marriage. Aph wasn't just a Goddess - she's the daughter of a primordial. He feared her power. And you're the God of War. I'm not sure if you realised, but you're pretty intimidating."

My throat felt parched as I swallowed. "But... why?"

"Because his marriage was loveless. Because you two could overthrow him if you wanted to. Because he's Zeus. There's a lot of reasons. I think even Hephaestus knew they wouldn't work out. Its why they decided to make their marriage void all those centuries ago. They cared for each other, but it was never love."

Apollo ran a hand through his hair casually, pushing back the orange-black mix.

"Did you know, all this time?" I asked, watching him carefully as he tensed up slightly.