Mod Superhero

Chapter 7.53 - Athena 1

Athena and Lock lay in bed, her head on his shoulder, covers tangled between them. Her bed was already longer than most and had been expanded again so that both of them could fit comfortably.

This—whatever this was between them—had become a regular occurrence. What had started as innocent sparring sessions had quickly spiraled into not-so-innocent sparring. They'd run off to Athena's room, like giddy youths. The fervor and rapport they'd honed in training turned to a new release.

Lock's room wasn't exactly safe. They made the mistake of going there once early on, but had been startled by the excited knocking of the children. From then on, Athena's room became their intimate retreat.

Though her bed was still the usual nanite black, the rest of Athena's room looked like it had been carved from ancient stone. All of it was a mix of styles—mostly Greco-Roman and Mayan. Like everything else in the lab, it was a thin veneer. Beneath it, the room was all metal, polymers, and nanites, but Athena could pretend it was real.

Her fingers played idly across Lock's chest. Even in the low light, her bronze skin contrasted with his deep brown and with the nanite black sheets. The nanite therapy had done wonders for his skin, similar to how all the company had done wonders for his mood. Even with his training schedule, it had been weeks since he'd had a breakout of chitin. Occasionally, Lock ran fingers through her hair or traced the curve of her shoulder blade. Mostly he just kept an arm wrapped tightly around her, as if they were still sparring and she might slip out of his grasp.

This was the quiet space between engagements. Sometimes they talked. Sometimes they just laid there in the afterglow. Both were easier than she ever would've expected, and Athena wasn't sure which she preferred.

Lock froze beneath her. His senses were much better than hers, and so Athena didn't catch the patter of the nephews running past until they were right in front of her room. Thankfully, they kept running.

Lock sighed and relaxed. "I'm never gonna be used to that."

"I don't think we can soundproof the room anymore than TINA already has... Well, and be able to get back out again."

The pair shared a smirk as if to say silently, that wouldn't be so bad. But like so many other things, they didn't say it out loud. They didn't need to.

Maybe that was why they'd fallen into this rhythm. Despite their very different backgrounds, they were both supers, both warriors, united for a common cause. Of course, they'd found camaraderie of all sorts. But Athena had found that kind of camaraderie before. She wasn't a stranger to war and strife—circumstances that forced people together and to cling to one another.

But this felt deeper. More intimate.

~

The second time they ran off to her room, they'd both chuckled about how strange they were together. She didn't look like it, but Athena was hundreds of times older than Lock. They both knew it. Lock joked that she'd be better off with an undead sorcerer or a vampire. Athena quipped back that she'd already tried both, and there weren't any more left.

She told him the truth later, when the next quiet moment came. "The dating pool gets thinner the longer you're alive."

"That must be lonely," he replied.

"Sometimes. It's not just age, though—it's the people that interest you."

Lock contemplated that before replying, "I can understand that last part. You must've seen it all."

Athena nodded, but didn't elaborate. Lock didn't pry, nor did he ask the obvious follow-up question. She was grateful for that—

Because at the time, she honestly didn't know what to reply.