Athollo One-Shots and Headcanons

Morning loneliness

The thing the wisdom goddess awoke to was one of those annoying, beeping alarm clocks that mortals use. And, in her somewhat conscious state, Athena wondered why she even had one of those in the first place, yet why she hadn't asked Hephaestus to change the alarm noise to something less annoying and more pleasurable. A classical, calming song, like one of the great Antonio Vivaldi's Four Seasons songs, she might prefer. Then, it hit her: she didn't have a digital, mortal alarm clock. Athena was sleeping in her new husband Apollo's bedroom with him, in the sun god's palace, while their new combined palace was being built. She made a mental note to ask (or shout at him, either worked) him to get rid of it and throw it into the junkyard. Or she could throw it out herself.

Sleep deprived, she grumbled and turned over, her back turned to the side the alarm clock was on. "Apollo, why did you turn on your alarm? We're still on our honeymoon..."

Athena heard footsteps and felt the sun god's warm flesh of his lips kiss hers. "Sorry, Athena. I have to go raise the sun. Be back in a few minutes."

The goddess' eyes fluttered open, and she blinked her beautiful, stormy grey eyes to get her sight in focus, and he squinted and looked at her shirtless, muscled, eight-packed husband Apollo. "What time is it...?"

The sun god laughed a beautiful, deep, golden laugh that she had once found annoying but now loved. "Before sunrise, of course. What did you think?" The sudden harsh glare that he received from Athena was so scary he had to stop joking around.

"Five twenty-something in the morning." Apollo stammered, in fear of his life (well, I mean. Being an immortal god, Apollo could never technically die, but that woman was terrifying when she wanted to be). Athena nodded and dropped her evil-eyed war goddess glare. She nodded gently, dropping the glare, mumbled a soft 'thank you', 'you get scared too easily' and a 'make sure you don't crash the sun into China' for good measure, and dug her face back into the pillow, instantly falling asleep.

Closing his eyes for a moment and concentrating, a flash of not-so-bright (because he was concerned that Athena might wake up again, and that she would go on an angry rampage and throw dictionaries with sharp paper edges at him) light appeared around Apollo, and when it cleared, he was in his regular day clothes- sunglasses on top of his head, light caramel khaki shorts with white, chrome yellow Nike shoes and a simple white t-shirt. Apollo slipped behind his, now him and Athena's bedroom and shut the door gently.

When he was in the kitchen, he quickly grabbed the keys to his chariot and opened the fridge, and took a square of ambrosia- good food to get his ichor rushing with adrenaline. He closed the fridge and shoved the square into his mouth.

Apollo silently ran out of his palace, and when he was at his backyard- bless their hearts- his fiery horses were already attached to his sun chariot, and the garage door was open. He really loved those horses. How they got ready, Apollo might never know. But he loved them anyway. He walked up to them and pat one of their heads, running his hand through the horse's fiery coat, but it didn't harm him. "Oh, my gods, you're all fabulous. How about a snack before we leave?"

Thank you, Lord Apollo! Snacks sound good, yes! The horse he was stroking said eagerly, snorting and nodding his head.

Yes! Snacks! Snacks! The one next to him started chanting.

Snacks! Snacks! Snacks! Snacks! All of the horses were now chanting. Apollo laughed. "Guys, calm down. I'll get snacks." He walked over to an aqua blue tin bucket in the corner of the stable, which was filled to the brim with sugar cubes. Apollo grabbed the bucket by its handle and took a sugar cube out and fed it to the nearest fiery horse. Then the other, and then the other. And the last one. He put the bucket back and got into his chariot, and grabbed the reins. He snapped the reins like he usually did (it didn't hurt the horses. And, besides, they were used to it), and the horses whinnied and trotted out of the stable, and galloped into the air.

Apollo glanced behind the chariot and saw that there was no sun attached to the two long, celestial bronze chains. But that was normal. He had to collect the sun from the daytime sky in Brazil, and drive it to the other side of Earth. The Southern Hemisphere. As usual, he heard his sister Artemis driving her own moon chariot behind him, with the golden deer pulling it. "Hello, brother!" She called out. "How's Athena?"

"She's fine! Still asleep, I imagine!" Apollo shouted back. "How are your Huntresses?"

"They are fine!" Artemis relied, also shouting. "Look, we're at Brazil!"

Apollo nodded and stopped like he usually did. He grabbed the two celestial bronze chains at the back of his chariot and pulled them all the way to where the sun was, and hooked the sun onto the two chains. He ran and got back in the chariot, like he usually did. He snapped the reins again. The horses again whinnied and galloped into the now night sky, for Artemis had put the moon in the sun's place.

"Goodbye, brother! See you back on Olympus!" Artemis shouted, waving before driving her chariot and steering it in the opposite direction, back to Olympus. Apollo pulled the sun to the Southern Hemisphere.

Back on Olympus, Athena whimpered in her sleep and groped the sheets for her husband.

For, in her dreams, she had seen a man draped in a black cloak, his face covered by the hood. He was taunting her. Athena was confused at why she was scared. She was never scared by the taunting of stupid mortals and gods who didn't know what they were talking about. But this man in black seemed very confident that he knew what he was talking about.

Athena continued to grip the sheets, trying to look for Apollo, but she couldn't find him. She was panicking, she was scared and making assumptions that the man in black had kidnapped her dear Apollo.

She woke up, gasping for air, breathing unsteadily. Athena darted her eyes around the room quickly. There was no husband to be found. Athena then remembered that Apollo was indeed not here; he had to leave early to raise the sun.

Stupid, stupid Athena, the wisdom goddess scolded herself, biting her lip. She was annoyed now. Getting yourself so worked up over nothing.

Athena's facial expressions softened, and she sighed wistfully. "I miss him..." she whispered to no one in particular.

This was just a routine she had to get used to. For the wisdom goddess would never have a strong, firm man to hide behind, from the only one person she was scared of; a man in a black cloak, a simple figure in her nightmares.