The Condo of Risk De Lorme

The morning came too quickly for Risk. He nuzzled into a head of beautiful blonde hair falling out of its braid, and looped his arms around Lena closely. A happy sound rolled out of his chest. She felt so warm and comfortable. In fact, sleeping next to Lena had been one of the best nights of sleep he'd gotten in a while. He checked the alarm clock next to his bed and groaned. It was well passed the time he should have gotten up to head out fishing with Dorian and Cash, and he still needed to dress. He reluctantly left Lena there in his bed and moved into his bathroom to dress and wash up. He decided against a shower for now, since he would be going fishing and smelling like sweat and fish for a while. He decided on some plain and somewhat tattered old jeans, his hiking boots, and a loose-fitting t-shirt. He looked at Lena sleeping there in the bed and smiled slightly. He had promised her a day of lavish pampering. He moved out of the room and closed the door lightly behind himself and once he reached the kitchen, he set to work. By the time he left, there was a stack of warm pancakes on the table with bacon and eggs, warm coffee in the coffee maker, and a note for Lena on the table with his platinum credit card beside it. He exited the apartment and headed for his car, gave it a happy rev of the engine, and headed out of the parking garage and towards boto cash's apartment.

The happy rev of the engine was enough of a sound to stir Lena from her sleep, as she groaned softly and rolled over. Slowly she opened her eyes and blinked when she realised she was alone. "Risk?" She called sleepily before sitting up and stretching. "I guess he's already left.." She said to herself as she slipped from the bed and padded lightly across the room to the hallway and down into the kitchen. A bright smile spread across her lips when she caught sight of the breakfast he had cooked before she hurried to pour herself some coffee and seat herself to eat the delicious meal Risk had prepared. Lena read over his note as she ate and smiled even more at his words. Once she was done eating she cleared away her dishes and headed to get dressed only pausing to grab her phone so she could send a quick text. Breakfast was delicious thank you. Getting ready to go out. Hope you have fun today! Lena. She dressed casually today, in blue jeans and a yellow woollen jumper along with red flat shoes. Finally she grabbed her bag along with Risk's credit card and headed for the door, heading out towards BotO Streets of Athens Harbor.

---

"Please make yourselves at home. Risks gone fishing with friends so he won't be home for a while so we've got the place to ourselves." Lena explained as she unlocked the door to the condo and stepped inside ahead of Ate and Teos. "Now can I get you something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Something cold perhaps?"

"Water is fine for me, thank you." Teos said as he carefully placed Ate's bags neatly on the dining table, at least for the moment. "Thank you for having us in your home." Come to think of it, he wondered how successful Risk was being at prying the mourning god-of-lust-to-be off his unsuspecting friend and actually getting to that fishing trip.

"Well it's not really my home, it's Risks, but I don't think he'd mind me having guests." Lena replied as she moved into the kitchen once Ate had requested tea.

"You and Risk must be good friends then." Atë said playfully as she moved to sit down.

Lena laughed a little bashfully as she returned carrying Teos's water which she offered to him with a smile. "You could say that.."

Teos muttered a quiet thank you as he accepted the glass and took a seat next to Ate. "Perhaps you would prefer a different word?" Teos asked, though his own tone had become almost as playful as Ate's. "Εραστές, perhaps?" he offered, looking toward Ate with a slight raise of an eyebrow, as if to ask what she thought."

Ate grinned and gave a nod of agreement. "No!" Lena suddenly protested making her blink and turn in surprise. "We haven't done anything.. We like each other and.. And we shared a bed but I asked him to wait." She continued with a blush.

"Wait.. You understood what Teos just said?" Ate asked curiously making Lena nod. 

"Yes..I've always been good with languages.. I uh.. I just pick them up. I find its great for helping me stay in touch with people no matter where they are."

Ate listened then looked at Teos with a smile. "A master of languages, great for communication wouldn't you say?"

Teos hummed thoughtfully, once again addressing toward Ate, but he wasn't exactly shutting Lena out of his musings. "Do you suppose she's really learning them? Or is it more of a natural translator? It hears, and then her brain makes sense of it... rather than creating a catalog of words and sentence structures, maybe she really understands." He leaned forward to rest his free arm's elbow on the table, chin propped on his fist. "Ο Ερμής, η πεμπτουσία 'ξέρω-το-όλα'."

Lena had busied herself fetching tea for Ate and only returned as Teos was speaking out again. She tilted her head with a smile as she set Ates cup down then looked at Teos."It's not very nice to call someone a know it all." She joked making Ate grin. She had a feeling Teos was indeed correct. She turned to look at Teos as Lena moved to grab some snacks. "This is incredible..this woman has the natural abilities to translate languages and gain access to anything she wants..what is she going to be able to do once we help her realise her full potential?!" She whispered excitedly.

"I'm more excited to know what she'll be able to do when she decides to see for herself what her full potential is," Teos answered back quietly. "When she explores her own potential. She'll be able to do things you and I can't even imagine." He added a bit louder as Lena joined them again, "Just because it isn't nice doesn't mean it's not true. Many truths are not nice."

"I suppose that's true. I just try to not focus on the things that aren't nice about people. Everyone has good traits, even the know it all." Lena smiled at Teos as she wrapped her hands round her own mug of tea. "But I guess it doesn't really matter, Hermes isn't real." She chuckled lightly then took a small sip as Ate smirked into her drink.

"I'm surprised to hear someone as educated as yourself say that," Teos admitted before taking a sip of his water as he sat back in his chair once more. "Tell me, Lena. You like learning so much, why do you take it for granted that Greek gods don't exist? Have you really considered it?"

"Well I suppose I haven't. I suppose there's a possibility for everything. Just as there hasn't been any evidence that they did exist, there hasn't been any to say they didn't." Lena relied thoughtfully. "Wouldn't it be so fascinating if someone proved that they did exist? But surely it's an impossibility, how do you prove something like that?"

"So you're saying, if someone, say... we, could prove the Greek gods existed, you would believe us?" Teos asked for confirmation, then looked toward Ate. "That doesn't sound so hard, does it?"

"Not at all. So should we do it?" Atë asked slowly with a light smirk as Lena raised an eyebrow.

"You're saying you can prove Greek gods existed?" She asked in an amused tone, obviously thinking they were joking.

"Well we can certainly make it very hard to argue they don't," Teos confirmed and reached over to take Ate's free hand, lifting it to his lips. "Will you show her? I love watching you work."

"I'd love to." Ate grinned then looked at Lena who was watching her curiously. "Alright..let me think how I could do this?" Ate mused before she suddenly made a grab for the television remote. She switched it on and began to flick quickly through the channels until she came to a live feed of an art auction. A large ornate painting was being displayed on the screen as a commentator spoke of its value. "Ok..see the painting Lena.." Lena nodded with an amused smile. "Wouldn't it be a shame if something were to happen to it..something like.." She paused to pick up a magazine which she suddenly ripped in half at the exact time a large rip suddenly tore down through the painting. Lena blinked at the TV screen then back at Ate.

"How did you know.." She started but Ate was quickly on her feet and grabbing Lena's hand and pulling her to the window that overlooked the parking lot. Outside a car was slowly passing by. "And a one and two and a BANG!" Ate exclaimed dramatically at the same time the car's engine let out a loud bang and began to pour smoke.

Lena stared at the car for a few moments before slowly looking at Ate. "How..how did you do that?" She whispered.

"You wanted proof that Greek gods existed? Well here's your proof..you're looking at one. Ate..goddess of mischief and ruin at your service!" Ate introduced herself with an unnatural flash of her eyes.

Lena seemed to stop moving, her eyes fixed on Ate for an uncomfortably long time before she finally took a deep breath. "This is..this is so COOL!" She suddenly grinned and clapped her hands together. She suddenly spun to look at Teos. "Are you a god?" She asked, her voice full of awe.

Teos shrugged nonchalantly, but he was still smiling at Ate's antics. "Only half I'm afraid. I don't hold a candle to magnificent woman next to you." He pointed to Lena. "You're pretty impressive yourself, Daughter of Hermes, but we know you can do even better."

"Daughter of Hermes? Me?" Lena repeated with wide eyes and Ate gave a nod. "What does that mean?"

"It means my sweet Lena that you are a descendant of the messenger god Hermes, master of communication and thievery." Ate responded as she moved back to sit next to Teos, crossed one leg over the other as she delicately picked up her tea.

"Descendant..me..of a god?" Lena whispered in disbelief before looking at Teos and Ate. "But why? And why didn't I know?"

"None of you know, not even the gods know- Or at least not most of them. It's a safety precaution, it has been for many, many generations, but the time has come for you, and the other descendants, to know where you come from, and where you will be going. So you see," Teos finished over the rim of his glass. "You're pretty cool yourself." He chuckled and took a sip before setting his glass down so he could answer any more of Lena's questions.

Lena quickly moved to sit back down as she faced Teos and Ate. "You said there were others? And what do you mean where I'm going? Do I get special powers? Am I going to be like a superhero?" She spoke quickly as her expression grew more and more excited making Ate giggle.

"A super hero?" Teos repeated, his nose wrinkling a little. "Lena, it's much better than being a 'super hero'. You already have your abilities, you just have to work them, expand them, explore the potential. You'll see you're much more incredible than you know. And yes, there are others, several, many of which will be at the party tonight but only you, Dorian, Jade, Luke, and Haidee know just yet."

"Wow..this is exciting." Lena breathed before focusing on Teos again. "So how do I explore the potential of my abilities? I mean how do I know where to start?" She asked curiously.

I knew she'd be excited. I love her enthusiasm. Ate thought with a small smile as she sipped at her tea but suddenly blinked when Lena jumped slightly.

"S-sorry.." She chuckled after a moment and looked at the pair in embarrassment. "My head went a little fuzzy there..like a radio that only picks up static and you can only make out a single word here or there. It's stopped now. So as I was saying..how do I know where to start?"

Teos chuckled. "Lena," he explained gently. "It sounds like you are already trying to do it. You should be able to hear the voices of all the gods if you try. A messenger should be able to hear the call, and the message, any time they are needed."

"I think your openness and eagerness to accept this has worked in your favour Lena. Your abilities are happily revealing themselves to you.." Ate added with a grin.

"So I'm going to hear voices? Of Gods.." Lena said slowly.

"And the descendants too I'd imagine.." Ate replied before glancing at Teos. "And she'll most likely be able to communicate back, don't you think?"

He nodded in confirmation. "You can try with us if you want. We're not messenger gods so I can't tell you what it will be like, or how much or little you'll hear, or even in what way you'll make sense of it. That seems to be unique to the person."

"You want me to try and communicate with you?" Lena sounded unsure.

"Yes without actually speaking.." Ate instructed as she set her cup of tea aside. "Try to say something to Teos.."

Lena bit her lip then gave a small nod as she turned her eyes on the male. She began to concentrate hard, her face scrunching up as her hands balled into fists.

"Ok relax a little, you're going to end up hurting yourself." Ate joked with a chuckle. "Just think of what you want to achieve. Let it come naturally.."

Lena took a deep breath as she tried to relax. She heard the strange kind of static in her ears for a few seconds as she thought to herself. I have a mark on my ankle that everyone thinks looks like wings.. She bit her lip then watched Teos expectantly, wondering if he had heard any of that.

It was distant and he missed a few words, but Teos hummed thoughfully and tilted his head a little. "You have wings on your ankles?" he tried, thought about it, then tried again. "Mark, marks on your ankles." To be truthful he felt a little violated having someone in his head but he tried not to comment on that. Instead, he smiled. "That was very good. Try again. Don't try to force it to me, just talk to me. I'm not going to try to block you or something, there's no resistance to fight."

"Ok.." Lena breathed as Ate watched on curiously.

"Maybe you should try and reply to her.." She whispered to him as Lena took a breath as she tried hard to relax.

I never imagined my life could be this interesting. It's so exciting. She couldn't help but smile slightly at the thought before she took a small sip of tea and waited.

"This is barely the beginning, you'll come to do such wondrous things," Teos replied, forgoing his own drink for the moment though he was smiling. He had never had someone listen to his thoughts either after all. He closed his eyes, trying to quiet the million things always running through his head and for the moment focus on Lena. "Can you see images?" he tried, recalling the scene of Ate first arriving in Athen's Harbor and enjoying her sundae. She looked a little different in his mind than she did in person, almost glowing among the fuzzy scene around her, the sight of her when he first received the vision had taken his breath away in awe and love, as well as clenching his heart with concern at what she would be doing here in the first place. He still felt an affectionate ache of his heart when he saw her in his mind, felt a quickened fluttering any time she was next to him.

"You love her." Lena smiled brightly after a moment as she tilted her head and looked at Teos. "I could feel it! I could see it!" She added as Ate raised an eyebrow before looking at Teos.

"Who is she talking about?" She asked suspiciously.

Teos did not answer Ate's question, rather he simply smiled. "I do," he said honestly, the words soft but truthful, but then came back to the subject. "That's truly incredible, it's good to know your abilities aren't just limited to words. I will be eager to see what else you come to be able to do."

"Me too! But..can we take a little break? My head's a little sore now." Lena chuckled as she massaged the side of her head.

"Of course, of course," Teos assured her, waving a hand as if setting the subject of her using them aside. The first time he had used his ability to See he'd been laid out for weeks in agony. He was glad they could take things slower with Lena and the others. "Ate," he changed the subject as he picked up his water for a sip. "Weren't you going to lend Lena something for tonight's party?"

Before Ate could reply, and just after Lena's request for a break in practice, there was an audible ping from her phone. A message from Risk sat waiting for her. How is your morning going so far? Hopefully better than mine... Cash isn't home and now I must wait for him before we can go fishing.

Lena quickly picked up her phone and read the text. "It's Risk." She said with a bright smile. She suddenly paused and looked up at Ate and Teos. "I can tell him about this, right? I don't want any secrets from him.."

"I would prefer if you didn't but it's up to you," Teos replied. "It is your ancestry, I can not stop you from telling anyone, but Risk will find out soon enough when we talk to him."

"When you talk to him?" Lena repeated looking confused for a moment before her eyes suddenly widened. "He's a descendant too?! So..so I'll be able to hear and see his thoughts like yours?" Her cheeks suddenly reddened at this thought. "I think I'll wait to tell him." She said after a moment before she quickly typed in a reply to Risk. Good morning! Everything's great here. Made some new friends. They helped me pick out some new shoes for the party. That's too bad about Cash. Hopefully you'll be out fishing soon. See you later! She sent it with a small kissing face emoji then quickly set her phone aside. "So..who's he descended from then?"

"Every descendant has the right to be the first to know that," Teos chastised.

"Oh right, yeah that makes sense. You'll talk to him soon though..I'm not good at keeping secrets..I just let things slip without meaning too.." Lena replied. "And I'm not usually good at giving news the right way. He'll probably be totally confused if I tell him.."

"Would you like to try talking to him this evening?" Teos asked as he held out a hand to Ate. "Now that we have Lena on our side it will be much easier to convince him. I'd hate for her to have to try to keep this from him, given how much time they spend together."

Ate nodded in agreement as she took Teos's hand. "It'll be hard for him to not believe us once he sees what she can do." She smirked lightly then looked at Lena. "Have a rummage through those bags, find something you like." She told her then returned her attention back to Teos. "What's next on todays to do list?"

"Anything you like until Dorian steals you away," he replied easily and lifted her hand to press a soft kiss to the back. "And the party of course. We can spend more time with Lena, if she'll have us-" he added the last part by directing it partially toward Lena. There were a great number of things he would like to do but he wasn't an animal. He had impeccable restraint. The other things he'd like to do involved being alone. "Unless you'd like me to go so you can enjoy some.. 'girl time'?"

Ate waved him off as Lena smiled at them then moved to look through the bags of shopping. "Oh I just thought you'd want some time alone with me.." Ate sighed dramatically, I mean Dorian has gone fishing and the party isn't until much later and I'm sure Lena would like some time to herself, we did just drop some pretty big news onto her. But I guess you'd rather be in someone else's company.."

Teo's hold on her hand tightened only a fraction to gain her attention as if he didn't already have it. "There is no person on Olympus or earth who's company I prefer," he told her sincerely. "I only fear you will grow bored of me. My desires for us together hold no interest to you." She had made that pretty clear before. "So I'm happy to do whatever you wish, but I'm not so arrogant to think you would want me around all the time. Or..." He smirked. "Do you want to keep me around only to adore you? What goddess wouldn't be pleased by adoration."

"Well that aside, it pains me to think you would assume I wouldn't want you around all the time. Remember you're the only one who knows my deepest secrets dearest Teos." Ate whispered as she looked at him before she placed a finger under his chin. "I told you, you're the one I love most. I wasn't teasing." She smirked and tilted her head.

"It is a great honor, my goddess," Teos told her softly, chin tilting up slightly at her touch. "And as I told you, I will never leave you." His free hand came up to cradle her head, fingers laced in her hair. His face tilted almost imperceptibly before he came back to himself and simply smiled, resting his forehead against hers. "Did you find something, Lena?" he asked at a normal volume, directing the words to their companion.

"There's a few things I like.." Lena started before she was suddenly interrupted by Ate.

"Go try them on."

Lena blinked then straightened up, clutching the clothes to her chest. "OK.. I'll be right back." She smiled then scurried off to her room.

"My dearest Teos.." Ate started as she brushed her fingers through Teos's hair. "Will you ever have the courage to do exactly what it is you want to?" She asked with a Playful smile.

"No." The answer was firmer than he possibly intended it but once it was out Teos felt he didn't regret it. She had his utmost devotion but the returned attentions of a goddess was a little too much. He continued quieter, "I am not so presumptuous to think I have that right." She was a goddess, he was a half breed. Half the man she deserved. She would only use the truth to tease him anyway. As he said in the shop, she would derive more pleasure from his trouble than to be his beloved. He smiled and bumped his nose with hers. "Perhaps once I take my place, if you have not tired of me by then, I will show you love you have never known."

"And why must I wait so long?" Ate replied a little more sharply as her playful smile quickly faded. She shifted away from him and pulled her hand from his before standing up and heading for the kitchen, reappearing moments later with a large tub of strawberry ice cream. She set it down on the table with a thud then slid into a chair, picking the one furthest from Teos.

"Well what do you think?" Lena asked as she stepped from her room wearing a white strapless summer dress. "This could be nice on a boat party."

Consoling himself by acknowledging that his heart had not physically been ripped out of his chest, Teos turned his attention Lena as she returned. "You're a vision of sunshine," he complimented with a kind smile. "Do you think you will wear your hair down with it?" He couldn't shake the part of him that said Ate wanted to manipulate him, but the larger part was starting to scream that he should at least try. Perhaps he should. His life could be short. Wasn't it better to at least try? Was he really too prideful that he feared ridicule?

"Well I always wear my hair down so I thought maybe about pinning it up.." Lena replied as she smiled at Teos before glancing at Ate who seemed unnaturally quiet as she glared down into the ice cream tub. "I.. Uh.. Could wear a nice necklace or something with it." Lena continued awkwardly after she'd decided not to trouble the goddess.

"That sounds nice. Do you have any you could try now?"

"Oh yeah, just give me a second." Lena replied before she turned and hurried back to her room as Ate scooped out a large spoonful of ice cream and popped it into her mouth.

The instant she was out of sight, a dismissive wave of Teos' hand slowed her almost to a stop so he could have more time with Ate. Of course, Lena wouldn't perceive anything differently. He pushed his chair back and came around the table, risking great pain by grabbing Ate's spoon, tugging it out of her grasp and stuck it in the ice cream before he turned on her, looking down toward her with a serious expression. "You are so impatient! You don't wait for anything! It makes me worried you won't value it any more than you do..." He struggled for a half moment then gestured to the ice cream. "Sweets! I'm not chocolate Ate, I'm not here to give you pleasure for two minutes until you move on to the next thing. If we survive the war, we will live for eternity and I can not presume you would want me around that long. If I gave in, it would be acknowledging I'm going to die because I couldn't go on forever knowing my goddess wanted nothing more to do with me. You have my devotion, isn't that enough for you? Why do you need to see me break?"

Ate slowly turned her gaze up to look at Teos, fury evident in her eyes. "You call me impatient?" She said in a slow dangerous tone before she pushed back the chair and stood up. "Do I have to remind you how long I've been banished to this world. How long I've been alone. I have been very patient Teos. No matter how much I craved love and lust like all the other gods I ignored it, I mean how many of my descendants do you know about? And you know why? Because there isn't any. I wanted to wait to meet someone who I felt deserved me and who I could actually love.. I thought of you as my equal and then you go and speak of me as if I have no heart. That I will break you, or not want you around or have anything to do with you. Your devotion means nothing when you say such things. You're just like everyone else, painting me as the villain. Thinking I am simply doing this for my enjoyment." She huffed heavily then took a step back. "Think whatever you like. Go ahead and believe I will be the one to break you. Ate has no heart so what does she know about pain." She shook her head. "I'm done waiting."

Jaw set, Teos let her words run through his head twice before he dared speak. He restrained himself, she became frustrated. He spoke is mind, he angered her. It was very irritating. Finally, his body relaxed. "Then take it." Who was he to deny a goddess. Some day, gods he hoped some day he would be a god, he would be worthy of her. He had to have faith in that. It made breaking easier, to agree some day he would be her equal she apparently thought of him as. Deserved her as she apparently thought he did. "We're both too defensive... You want it, you're done waiting. Take it." He took a step and easily closed the distance between them, reaching up to hold her head with both hands. "If you truly want me, you have me. All you have to do is take it, ok? I won't make you wait any longer."

Lena's phone gave another buzz on the table. It was another message from Risk, which lit up briefly across the face of her phone's screen. I'm glad you're having a fun day. I cannot wait to see you later tonight, no matter what you're wearing. Tell your new friends hello for me. He finished it off with a heart emoji of his own, and the screen went black moments later.

Ate watched Teos with narrowed eyes as if expecting him to suddenly announce he was kidding. But the longer they stood there in silence, the more she realised that he wasn't. "So.." She started as she looked up at him and took a small step so she was even closer to him, allowing her arm to drape comfortably round his neck. "You will be happy if I make a move right now? You won't accuse me later of only doing what I want.."

Teos released her only long enough to settle his arms around her waist instead, pulling their bodies flush against each other. "I can honestly say that wouldn't only be what you want, so I can't accuse you of that without it being a lie," he admitted. Let her make a joke. Let her laugh and tease him, say she was only joking and make fun of him. He didn't care. If she did, she was only being herself. He couldn't be disappointed with that. Love did not need to be requited, after all. He was to be a god, he could be worthy. He could. "You said I talk too much." Before he could talk himself out of it , he closed the distance to kiss her. It felt like millennia rushed past him and time stood still simultaneously. It felt like dams breaking and he was for a moment overwhelmed by what he was doing. What if he had ruined everything? All he wanted to do was love her and if she regretted pushing him this far, or it was a joke to her, he couldn't be with her at all. And that was ridiculous. Let her tease him forever. It was easier to stay away than it was to try. He could love her no matter the outcome. He would love her. Nothing could stop him from feeling that way, not even her.

Ate listened to Teos in a bemused sort of way. He definitely spoke to much. When he suddenly fell silent and had closed the gap between them, she grinned at him then leaned towards him, firmly pressing her lips to his. She allowed the kiss to linger for several long moments before she broke it, her grin still remaining. "Well well..all those years of waiting was definitely worth it. That was..incredibly satisfactory."

"Well I'm glad I'm satisfactory," Teos replied succinctly, but he smiled and reluctantly removed one of his hands to wipe a thumb at the smear of lipstick she left on his lips. Then something seemed to occur to him. "I shouldn't leave her like that too long-" He rolled his free hand to release Lena to the normal flow of time before resting his forehead against Ate's. "Do you still want the ice cream?" he asked, his tone indicating he was offering to put it away not that he was asking if she was still mad.

"Oh no. I'm feeling much better now." Ate replied with a playful grin. "I think I've found a new remedy to sooth my temper." She winked at him then looked over as Lena emerged from her room, completely unaware of what had just happened.

"I have these pieces of jewellery and.." Lena stopped and gave an embarrassed smile when she saw how close Ate and Teos were standing. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Teos assured her as he detached himself somewhat reluctantly from his goddess and tended to the ice cream Ate had opted to abandon. "I believe you received a text while you were gone," he added and pointed toward her phone before he took the frozen dessert back to the kitchen area, set it back in the freezer, washed the spoon and put it away as well before he returned to his seat. He had also acquired a paper towel while in the kitchen and was carefully removing Ate's lipstick. This was the second time today, albeit in a much more pleasurable place this time. "We should really do this again when you're not wearing war paint," he teased.

"I think it looks good on you." Ate smirked at Teos before she moved to Lena who was holding a selection of necklaces in both hands. She picked out one for her to wear then watched as she put it on. "Perfect. Risk won't be able to keep his eyes off of you." She finished with a grin.

"I believe she already has that affect on him," Teos pointed out, but he was smiling at the ladies all the same. His paper was coming back clean so he set it aside next to his glass and picked up a cracker from the snacks Lena had brought, placidly enjoying the small snack as he let Ate finish with her assistance. "Women are awe inspiring," he commented thoughtfully. "Fine art, passionately created, like breathtaking paintings. My kind are but humble, simple frames-" He held out his free hand to motion to, as well as offer it to, Ate. "It is our greatest honor to be seen with you. And I am certain Risk will think similarly when he sees you, Lena."

"I hope so." Lena replied with a smile as Ate moved to join Teos. She grabbed for her phone and quickly read the new message, smiling lightly at Risks words. "Risk says hello." She told the pair as she looked back at them after a moment. "I can't wait for you to meet him."

Teos grinned once he had Ate's hand and tugged her onto his lap, quickly trapping her with his arms so her back rested against his chest and he settled his chin on her shoulder, breathing in the smell of the warm skin of her neck. "We're very excited to meet him as well." His fingertips slid over the soft skin of Ate's forearm down to her hand where he laced their fingers together, his palm to the back of her hand, lifted them, and used both their hands to wave at Lena. "Hello Risk," he added in reply. He turned to bury his smile against the spot behind Ate's ear. "Our family is growing..." he murmured happily.

Ate smiled as she relaxed back against Teos. "Very soon we've have a full set of descendants and we can start preparing them for their future." She whispered back as Lena chuckled at their behaviour before she turned and headed back to her room to get changed. "The gods have been unusually quiet today. I hope they're not up to anything. I'm not in the mood to fight today."

"I have not heard anything, but I also stopped asking long ago. Their answer to 'are we in danger' has long since been 'yes'," Teos replied, his tone somewhat unhappy but thoughtful. "There's something here in Athen's Harbor, something we need to deal with, but I haven't figured out what it is yet."

"That sounds intriguing. What has led you to believe such things?" Atë asked curiously as she turned her head slightly so she could look at Teos.

"I know something of the gods was to blame for the fire at Luke's, but I don't know what it is. I know it's still here in Athen's Harbor but I don't know where. I do not know if it was sent or it is just bad luck that it stumbled here, though I'm inclined to believe the former." He sighed quietly, half lidded bright green eyes staring at nothing. "I know we can kill it, but I don't know what it is." He repeated the end because it always came back to that for him. The list was too long to ask about everything.

"I'm sure if there's anything to worry about we'll know soon enough. Though if you believe there to be something lurking around Lukes Farm is it really a good idea to let him continue to work there whilst we wait to deal with it?" Ate asked softly.

"I felt it was better to have a place where he and Haidee could bond in peace than disrupt their lives any further than we are already. I have no proof it is a danger to them out there at this time and we can be there almost instantly if there is a problem. I think they are fine." He smiled and turned a bit to kiss her cheek. "Give them more credit. They can defend themselves, if out of nothing more than panic and we're going to help them with that."

"I believe Haidee would be able to defend herself but Luke.. I don't mean to sound rude but he controls plants Teos. It's not exactly something to fear is it?" Atë replied with a small shrug as she studied her hands in his.

"Hey, amorphophallus titanum is something to be greatly feared," Teos informed her indignantly, but then chuckled. "And perhaps you are right. Perhaps I should have said he can defend her, or at the very least he will try very hard to do so. I may not fear his leaves, but I would be alert if he came at me with a scythe." He paused, then gave a bark of laughter. "How amusing, they share the same iconic item. I wonder if it will be their weapons to call, a matching set. Truly the Fates smile on their union if that happens."

Ate smiled at his words. "Are all of our descendants destined to fall in love with each other?" She answered playfully just as Lena reappeared from her room and smiled at the pair. "Can I get you anything?" She asked them politely.

"I'm fine, thank you," Teos replied politely and gave Ate a little squeeze before loosening enough to let her know she could get up if she wanted. She wasn't much the type to sit still. "I think there's an odd number," he added to Ate as a side note while mentally trying to count them. Though, he didn't know the sexual orientation of all of them. "I suppose if there's a set of three at the end..."

Ate had been about to stand when Teos's last words caught her attention. She turned to look at him with a raise of an eyebrow. "What exactly are you suggesting, a set of three?" She asked as Lena gathered up their previous dishes and moved to clean them up.

"You mused if the descendants were destined to fall in love with each other," Teos explained, his tone still thoughtful. "If there's an odd number, they couldn't pair up, so we may wind up with a 'love triangle' or set of three at the end, unless there are multiple who suffer unrequited love, then I suppose the number wouldn't matter..." He hummed and settled back in the chair, idly rubbing Ate's back. "I hope it wouldn't come to that."

"Yeah, heartbreak isn't something we want to be dealing with on top of everything else that is sure to come our way." Ate replied with a nod before sighing and slumping back against Teos. "I'm starting to feel a little bored Teos. Find me entertainment.." She said as she looked at him with a pout.

"Ah, well who am I do deny an order from my goddess?" Teos asked soothingly and offered her a little smile. "What activities do you enjoy the most?" The question was a little more sincere. She might be famous for the more drastic things, but that didn't mean they were her favorite things. His green eyes shifted to land in Lena's direction. "Would you like to spend more time with us, Lena? We've really enjoyed getting to know you so far."

"I would love that. I would just be waiting around here until the party later." Lena replied with a smile as Ate looked thoughtful at Teos's question. What did she enjoy the most? No one had ever asked her that before. They were probably all too scared, afraid of what her answer might be. She slowly stood up as she continued to think. She finally looked at Teos and gave a small pout. "I don't know." She said in an almost moody voice. "What should I enjoy?"

"I don't know about should, but I would guess you like things like practical jokes, parties, fast cars..." Teos trailed off, his mind sifting through past and present to options she might like. "We could go swimming, or maybe horseback riding. Spar..."

Ate had seemed to ponder each suggestion he gave until he said spar. "You would actually challenge me to a sparring match?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "A full blooded goddess against.. What are you anyway?" She tilted her head before she suddenly fell back in his lap. "I know what I want to do.. I want you to tell me your story." She said to him curiously.

Teos' arms once again encircled her, seemingly unperturbed by her constant need to be moving. Chaos didn't sit still, after all. "My story is short," he said rather flatly. "And I do not think you would find it all that interesting. Besides-" He grinned. "It would give away what I have already asked of you that you have not done: 'who do you think I am?' Should I add 'what do you think I am?' to that question?"

"Well.." Ate started as Lena watched on curiously. "I don't believe you are a full blooded god like me because I would remember you, right? But you seem much more powerful than the present day descendants, so you're not one of them." She spoke casually as she began to play with his hair, styling it this way and that."Am I right so far?"

"So far," Teos confirmed verbally rather than nodding which would disrupt her ministrations in his hair. "Has this become a game of twenty questions? Animal, larger than a bread box..." he half teased.

Ate frowned at him before her hands dropped from his hair and she looked at him with a heavy frown. "You think it's funny how I try to work things out? What's so wrong with me asking questions?" She huffed heavily then shook her head moodily. "I'm bored of this game."

"I have thought of no part of you as 'funny'," Teos explained with a gentle smile. "If you don't want to play, I can not make you. If you demand it of me, I will tell you who I am, but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy being the center of a goddess' curiosity." He took her hand and pressed a soft kiss to the back. "I apologize for being selfish. If you still wish for the story, I will tell you."

Ate seemed to think for a moment then finally looked back at Teos. "Tell me the story, no matter how small it is, I want to know." She told him.

Teos smiled at her again, perhaps a bit sad now, but nodded, and spoke to Lena. "Please sit, you can listen too." Only when she had did he take a breath, organize his thoughts, and begin:

"I once lived in one of the most beautiful cities in all of Greece. The sun always felt warm on my face, the stones hot beneath my sandals. I remember the smells of fresh breads and the shouts from stalls peddling fruits and nuts as my mother held my hand, leading me through the streets. I had.. this blanket, so soft under my hands that I lay beneath every night my mother wove herself. She told me it had every star in the sky on it, every thread one of fate or destiny, and I had never doubted her." The ache was muted now, not like the angry blades cutting through his chest it had once been. It now was nothing more than dull coals, caught between dying and alive, encasing his heart. "We praised the gods in the temple every week, like clockwork. It helped me keep time and count the seasons passing. I was not old enough yet to understand counting years but my mother told me I was six of them. I could hear children laughing in the streets, sometimes my brothers and sisters would run off to join them, but not me. I stayed with my mother and listened. I listened to everything. Horse hooves, cart wheels, the occasional cry of an animal down the winding alleys." The warmth died out as his memory shifted, leaving nothing but shattered ice holding shards in place. It was hard just to keep his heart beating. "And I listened to the fire crackling, the splintering wood and crumbling stone. The air was hot and thick, I heard coughing, my own and others', and crying. I didn't understand- but my confusion meant nothing when I finally heard something else. Screaming. Not screams of delight, but loud, desperate, hoarse screams that tried, again and again, to be louder, trying to make someone hear them. They screamed for help, for mercy. I don't know who they spoke to, I couldn't find anything. I staggered my way from the ruins of my home, unable to touch anything- trying twice had left my hands blistered and raw- my feet were caked with ash as it stuck to my bloody soles and my face from hot tears. I was in pain and I couldn't find my mother. I could not see the way and I did not know the way. I remember... there was a draft.. from before me-" He reached out his hand as if to touch the memory of it. "As if opening the door to the winter chill. I remember... my father's voice telling me it was alright. He whispered, 'Come now, this way. Hurry.' And I did not know him but I nodded. Behind me was pain and screams and I wanted it to stop. Before me the cool air eased the pain somewhat and there were no screams that way. I went with him and just as the cool air had appeared before me, the heat behind me was closed off, everything was suddenly so quiet. I distantly recall... I was asking for my mother- My hands and feet tingled but I paid no mind. I wanted my mother. I asked for her again and again. It was many days before I stopped crying, or perhaps it was merely hours but to a small child it feels so much longer, but I did not eat, nor sleep. I merely cried and when my sobs subsided, only then did my father explain my family, my city, was gone, and he mourned with me, for he loved my mother, and he loved me..." His hand had lowered and lay palm up across Ate's lap but he paid it no mind, his unfocused eyes had lowered as he recalled his earliest memories in the dark void that he had always thought he was in, but it was infinitely more acute after the city burned. "I spent so many lifetimes since then, learning about the truth of the gods, of my family-" He lifted his eyes to look more directly toward Lena and offered her a small but fond smile. "Of all of you. I was so happy to know.. that I was not alone. That I had not lost all of my family. I learned of our... situation... and what must be done... I learned of weapons- to call upon my own- to fight, even to See. I learned to converse with the Fates and I watched my family grow for more years than I can count. Generation after generation, it became a intricately woven web, until.. your generation." His smile brightened even more. "So many of you, the time finally arriving when I could meet all of you. I couldn't do anything then, but I can now, and I will do everything I can to make sure that you are all safe and happy. I promise you, with everything I am. My story, all that I am, is for all of you."

Ate had listened intently, her hand lightly taking hold of Teos's when he placed it upon her lap. As he finished, she just sat and watched him silently for a few moments before she turned her gaze to his face."Who is your father?" She asked curiously making Lena nod, showing she was also interested in the answer.

Her words brought his attention back to the goddess in his lap, almost as if he hadn't quite understood what she said, then his smile was back, a mixture of sadness and pride. "I am Teos Steinico, son of Miah.. and Chronos, god of time."

Ate blinked at his words then suddenly jumped to her feet and moved to her coat, rummaging in the pockets until she pulled out her notebook. "You are a direct descendant of Chronos? I don't have any record of you..I have no records of any descendants from him.." She said as she flicked quickly through its pages. It was obvious in her tone that she was feeling some kind of distress at not knowing this. Her records were incomplete and she didn't like that.

"You wouldn't, beyond Zeus, Poseidon, Hera..." Teos confirmed, remaining in his chair while she sorted out her emotions and came to understand what he had already understood when he first learned she was Ate, daughter of Zeus. "I am from when the gods had many. My father explained that what I heard the day he took me in was their war to keep their thrones finding its way to my city. They razed it to ensure that they kept what they had no right to keep. My father is old, older than any of them, he is ready to step aside and embrace the long sleep, and I will assume the title when this has all ended, assuming I live of course."

"You will live!" Ate snapped back as she slammed her book down on the table. "The only person who is allowed to finish you is me, understood? So as long as you don't anger me, you'll see the end. Now to put that to the test.." She moved back to him and stopped just in front of him, arms folded tightly across her chest as Lena watched on a little nervously now."It sounds like you've been around for quite some time, learning of our family.. So you must have known about me, known that I was alone down here. Why didn't you come find me?!"

"I wasn't allowed." The words were old. He'd said them to himself a million times. "Being here I'm in as much danger as any of the descendants, the only difference is I can defend myself. Seek out the ostracized daughter of the king of gods? I might as well have walked around with a lightning rod three hundred miles tall. Ate, my life has been chaos since I was six years old, I already thought you had a personal interest in making my life hell. To be honest, for some time I thought you did this to me, though I asked the Fates a thousand times 'why me?'. I saw you here in Athens Harbor, I thought you were here to finish me off- I was so worried. I had just started, I'd had so little time with all of them, and here a goddess had already found us. I blamed myself, I thought my being here had somehow lit a beacon on their whereabouts, but not only were you not here for me, you didn't even know who I was. I thought it would be my first fight, I wondered if I was ready, but it wasn't, you weren't, and now I see I was so very wrong-" He reached out and, whether she liked it or not, took her hand and held it with both of his. "My life has been chaotic, but not because you were smiting me... but because you were the goddess I was meant to praise. Nothing has been right since I was a child, when those gods my family praised turned on them, but not you, you weren't among them. In that chaos my father found me. Through this chaos I got my family back. My peaceful life was left in ruin and it was chaos that has, every time, in the end, left me with something to love and cherish. You have, and will always have, my devotion for that. It was you, your influence, your domain that has, miraculously, always put my life back together. Ate, I will never be as wild as you are, but I will not doubt your wisdom. I am sorry I could not come for you sooner, but I am here now, and I am not going to leave unless you kill me."

Ate listened to him, angrily at first, but slowly it dissolved into a small pout before she sighed and she dropped down to sit next to him, allowing him to keep his grip on her hand. "I doubt I ever will unless you really anger me. I've gotten too used to your presence." She grumbled without looking at him. "So what abilities do you have exactly? Or are you going to make me try and guess that too.."

Well he would have liked to. "I control time," he answered instead. "Speed things up or slow them down. I see the past and the future. I can speak with the Fates. I can pull weapons from the sands of time but my own is by far the easiest, I don't usually bother with anything else."

"That's pretty impressive.." Ate remarked as she continued to act like a stubborn child but after a moment she couldn't hold it as she turned to look at Teos once more. "You can slow things down? Can you imagine the fun you and I could have? We could cause the most amazing trouble!" She told him making Lena blink before chuckling lightly.

"I don't think as you do, so I'm afraid I can't," Teos replied with a chuckle of his own. "It's not really meant for 'fun' anyway..." Although he wasn't interested in playing around with his abilities (he'd gotten that out of his system very early on) he wasn't protesting very hard. When Ate got to thinking of mischief her aura crackled under his touch like electricity, tingling up his arms. It was a little intoxicating, but he supposed to some extent that was her ability: to convince others to be impulsive.

"Well I'm sure sooner or later I can convince you to have some fun with it." Ate grinned as she poked Teos's chest. "But I suppose we should get back to work. I wonder how our wonderful descendants are doing? Don't suppose you have the ability to check in on them? Make sure they're not causing any trouble?" She asked playfully.

"I do," Teos answered her again, this time adding a nod. He put aside the double entendre and flicked through the stories in his head, counting the descendants he could remember without thinking too hard. "Cash and Risk are with Dorian on his boat. Tilly is home at the moment. Luke is... shopping?" He raised a confused eyebrow at that but continued. "Haidee is sleeping at home. Jace, Emily and Sabastion are at the hospital-" He paused, then frowned deeply. "Jade and Adela are there as well, and so is Archer. He's not conscious."

"Wait, what? What do you mean?" Ate asked with a furrowed Brow before she shook her head and stood up quickly. "We need to go there immediately. Check it out, make sure it's not serious." She said as she moved to gather her jacket.

"Everything is fine now," Teos assured her, but he was standing as well to gather Ate's bags. "I'll let Jade explain. Lena?" he turned his attention to her and offered a smile that he hoped would aleviate any concerns his comment was about to cause. "Would you like to come with us? Jade knows about everything, it might be nice to have another comrade."

"Sure." Lena replied before she motioned to the bags in Teos's hands. "You can leave those here and pick them up later if you like. It won't be fun having to carry those all the way to the hospital." She said as Ate stood impatiently now by the door, waiting for the pair to join her so they could leave.

Teos chuckled and shook his head, carrying the bags with him. "These are feather light, comparatively," he joked, referencing something they didn't know yet. He made sure Lena was following with them as he joined Ate and left the condo. "And we're not going to the hospital, we're going to boto Jade's House. I'm hoping she'll still be there when we arrive."

"Well then let's hurry. I want to know whats happening and I want to know now!" Ate huffed impatiently before she took off with a quick stride, heading for boto Jade's House as Lena hurried along, trying her best to keep up.

---

"Just hold on for two seconds!" Lena called as she jumped from his car and up
into the condo before dashing around to grab up her shopping bags, not wanting Risk to see anything just yet. Once they were quickly hidden away she moved to the front door and smiled out at Risk. "Well don't stand out there all day.." She joked.

"But it's such a beautiful day!" Risk quipped in return, smiling as he approached her. He pushed the lock button on his car key fob and heard it honk twice, then tucked the keys away. He moved into the apartment after her and kissed her head as he passed her, then sighed. "It's always nice coming home." He removed his suit jacket and draped it over the back of a stool, then turned to look at her. "Are we showering separately?" He raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a grin. Terrible joke ^{in poor taste}, she probably thinks I'm a pervert ^{only after one thing, but I'm not}

Lena blinked at his question before she got a sudden burst of his thoughts again and had to quickly cover her mouth to stifle a laugh. He's adorable.. She thought as she watched him. "Is there enough time to do it separately?" She asked in a serious tone before she suddenly grinned. "I suppose it's best that way..I wouldn't want to distract you.." She joked then slipped off her jacket and set it aside before kicking off her shoes. "You want first use?" She asked over her shoulder.

Distraction... ^{She's a distraction no matter where she is} "No, you can go first. I'm sure you'll need the hot water more than I will." Risk said and then coughed awkwardly at the end before turning away and heading into his room. He was trying to hide his blush; the one that had crept over his face as he'd watched her remove her jacket and shoes, and begin to think about her removing other clothing items. "Just let me know when you're out so I can hop in."

Lena's eyes widened as she caught flashes of Risk's final thoughts and she had to quickly hurry to the bathroom so he wouldn't see the fiery blush that had erupted over her face if he decided to reemerge from his room. She showered quickly then wrapped herself in a towel and crept from the bathroom to Risk's room to find him. "Risk? The showers free.."

The sound of Risk's shower was already running in his bedroom. It seemed he hadn't minded taking a shower even though hers had been running. He hadn't heard her call to him. Try not to move things too quickly this time... We all know how that ended the last few times... Lena is... She's different ^{She's so beautiful... kind...} Just breathe. Everything is okay.

Lena at first heard the water running in the shower before Risk's faint voice filled her head, the words were broken but she could still make out what he was saying. Her cheeks once again flushed red. How could this man who seemed to ooze confidence seem to be so worried about losing her. He has nothing to worry about.. She thought then stepped towards his bathroom and stopped in the doorway where she leaned against the frame. "So I was thinking.." She started out as she tried to look everywhere but the shower. "I'm going to turn down the Blakewoods' offer of being their assistant.. I'm very happy with my current boss."

Risk almost jumped out of his skin in the shower. He blinked at her through the frosted glass door of his shower and blushed. "What?" he asked, then it seemed to register. "Oh! That's great! Great! I'm happy to hear that!" he called over the water.

"I don't believe they'd make me smile the way you do..and I doubt they can kiss as good as you either." Lena added playfully as she relaxed slightly with a smile. "So everything is OK..you can breathe. I'm not going anywhere." She added, copying the words she had heard from his thoughts.

Risk's eyes widened at her words and he blinked a few times before he shut off the water of his shower and opened the door. He quickly grabbed for his towel and wrapped it around his waist, then moved to her and pulled her into a hug. "Thank gods." he laughed, not caring if he got her a bit wet. She was still wrapped in her own towel, anyway. He seemed to realize the awkward situation a second later and let her go, stepping back quickly. "Sorry... Uh... sorry." he laughed with a blush.

Lena didn't answer but simply stepped forward and wrapped her arms round him as she hugged herself to his chest. "Stop apologizing." She finally said in a soft voice. "I'm not so shy as to protest a hug and a kiss. In fact, I quite like them." She lifted her head so she could smile at him. "Affection is allowed in a budding romance if I remember correctly.." She finished playfully.

"Romance, huh..?" Risk asked, but he relaxed and looped his arms back around her in response. He smiled. "I just didn't want to overstep any boundaries... We are practically naked, after all." He hugged her flush against him and leaned down, lips close enough to hers to tickle her with his breath. "but if you don't mind..."

"Is romance too strong a word to use? Have I overstepped the boundaries?" Lena asked with a smile before she closed the gap between their lips, capturing his in a light kiss.

Risk didn't resist. He happily met her kiss with his own, his arms tightening around her body briefly. She felt so warm, so little and so... Good.... He breathed a happy sigh against her skin and a hand wandered up into her wet, blonde hair while the other ventured bravely lower on her backside.

Lena had never once allowed herself to do something like this after such a short time of knowing a guy but she couldn't help it. It was like she was drawn to Risk, like a moth to a flame. She couldn't resist him. Her arm slid up and around his neck and it seemed their kiss would never end but finally she pulled back and gave a dazed smile. "Wow.."

"I concur," Risk whispered with an equally hypnotized smile. He kissed her again, but kept this one short and sweet, and released her from his arms. "We shouldn't get too distracted... We don't want to be late to our own party." He held her hands lightly and looked down at her fingers. "Go get dressed. Before I try to take advantage of your current state."

"Isn't it fashionable to be late?" Lena asked with a grin before she leaned up and pecked another kiss on his lips. "We'll continue this later." She whispered then turned and headed from the bathroom to get ready, playfully letting her towel slip as she disappeared through the door and headed to the spare room where she had stored her things.

Holy Gods, the things I want to do with her... Risk thought with a heavy breath through pursed lips. He leaned there against his shower for a moment, just breathing and getting certain bodily reactions under control. When he was sure he had everything back under control, he moved into his bedroom and began to dress into a cleaner suit for the party.

After some time, the door to the spare room cracked open slightly and Lena peered out. "Are you ready?" She called out to Risk not wanting to emerge until she had his attention.

"Just about!" Risk called. He appeared from his bedroom, dressed in finely pressed black slacks, with black suspenders, and a white button down shirt, the sleeves rolled up casually to his elbows. The first two buttons of his shirt were undone, though whether that was intentional remained to be seen. His chocolatey brown hair was combed back and to the side, and he smelled like fresh cologne. His black dress shoes were shined to perfection. He was in the midst of fixing his silver watch to his wrist when he came out of his room, and then nodded once he was done. "Alright, I'm ready." He glanced at where she was peeking out of her bedroom door and smiled. "Shall I cover my eyes and roll the drums?"

"Yes cover your eyes." Lena chuckled then waited patiently for him to do so. Finally she stepped out and stopped in front of him. "You can look." She said with a smile. She stood in a simple light flowing white grecian style dress with splits up each thigh. Her blonde hair was loosely curled and then pinned up with simple but elegant make up. Long gold earrings hung down from her ears and on her feet were gold strapped high heels. Finally to finish the look she was no longer wearing her large framed glasses but instead had opted for contact lenses. She smiled nervously at Risk as she waited for his response.

Risk had covered his eyes with one hand when she'd told him to. As she moved to step in front of him, as he could tell from the clack of her heels on his floor, he made a rolling "drum" sound with his tongue against the roof of his mouth. When she told him he could look, he finished the drumroll with a smiling "Tss!" and removed his hand. His smile melted into a look of awe, and his hand remained hovering slightly above his head from where he'd pulled it away from his eyes. He blinked a couple of times, looked her over from head to toe, and breathed out an honest whisper of, "Wow..." He then realized his hand was still hovering and he dropped it slowly, only to motion at her with it gently. "You look..." he struggled a moment and blushed, "there are no words..." He smiled and reached out, taking her hand and lifting it lightly in a lead to spin her about, watching her skirt flair like linen made of clouds. "My dear Lena, you are stunning!"

Lena let out a small laugh as he spun her. "You don't look so bad yourself." She told him once he had stopped. "So should we get back to the boat, finish up the preparations for the party?" She asked as she kept her hand gripped in his.

"We should," Risk agreed, but something in his tone suggested it could wait. He stepped closer to her and slid a hand around her waist, the other lifting her hand to his chest. He leaned down and kissed her lightly, hugging her to his body. When it broke, he breathed, "My dear Lena, you overwhelm me."

"I should wear nice dresses more often." Lena chuckled as she placed her hands lightly against his chest. "You look very handsome Mr De Lorme. I'm sure to make a few girls jealous by having you as my date. We are allowed to show that we're there together right? I don't have to pretend to only be your assistant?"

Risk smiled at her. "We can do whatever we please. We're not on the clock tonight." he whispered. "How else will I show the other men present that you're off the table?" he asked, then lowered his voice with a furrow of his brow in a mock seriousness, "Unless you'd rather I dealt them more subtle, under-the-table threats?"

"You'd do that for me?" Lena asked playfully as she traced a finger along Risks cheek. "I don't think it will be necessary. I'm all yours and I'll make sure all the other men know that. Though it would be impolite for me to decline any dance requests.."

"By all means, dance with whomever you please. But I will warn you, I can be a jealous man..." Risk admitted with a blush and a small smile. "It has been one of my biggest faults... mentioned by my first three wives..." he mumbled, and his smile faltered visibly. "I hope that doesn't scare you."

"Not at all. I'll just have to keep you under control, stop you from getting jealous." Lena replied with a smile. "There is nothing to be jealous about. You can trust me."

His smile returned, relieved, and he nodded. "I do trust you." He kissed her again, the motion a bit more hungry than before. He tightened his grip on her briefly, and then let her go. "C'mon... let's go to the marina. Before I decide to keep you here to myself for the rest of the evening." He moved to get his overnight bag and shook it at her. "Did you pack some clothes for tomorrow?"

"Oh yeah, just let me grab my bag." Lena told him then finally moved back from him and headed back into her room to grab her bag. She re-emerged a few seconds later with a small bag in her hand. "Ready." She said with a smile.

Risk took her bag from her politely and with that unfailing smile, and carried the bags out to the car with her behind him. He loaded them into the back seat, opened the door for her, and once comfortable in the driver's seat, started the car and headed out of the parking area back towards boto the marina. "I think we're going to have a lot of fun tonight."

---

Once she had reached the condo, Lena pulled into a free parking space then slowly climbed out of the car waiting for Tilly to join her.

With little hesitation, Tilly pulled into the empty parking space closest to Lena and stepped out, looking to Lena for any further instruction.

Lena smiled at her then motioned for her to follow her. "This way." She said politely as she walked then carefully unlocked the front door. "So tell me Tilly, what sort of things do you like to wear? This party isn't that formal, just a nice dress or whatever you like will do." She explained as she held the door open for the other woman.

Following Lena to the door, Tilly paused to look down at her current outfit; jeans and paint-stained shirt under her worn, sturdy jacket. Her entire closet basically looked like that give or take a fleece hoodie and some tank tops. "Something plain."

"OK, I should have a few things for you to choose from." Lena replied once she had closed the door then motioned again for Tilly to follow her to her room. Once there she rummaged through her bags and produced a few plain dresses of different colours and set them on the bed for Tilly to look at. After retrieving a few skirts and matching tops and adding them to a pile she turned to Tilly and smiled. "Go ahead, take a look and see if there's anything you like."

With barely a glance to Lena, Tilly started looking through the assorted clothes; examining the cuts, mentally calculating the length, feeling the fabric. After briefly scowling at some articles (Too short...^{So many prints...}) and hovering over others (Too colorful...^{Too ornate...}Too many people...^{How many people?}), Tilly held up one dress in front of her and turned towards Lena with a blank expression as though expecting approval or permission. It was a simple deep purple boat-neck dress that did not even cinch at the waist but had floral-shaped cut-outs on the sleeves that fell elbow-length and where the skirt ended right above the knees. It's almost like paper snowflakes...^{It looks comfortable...}Not too bright...^{It's perfect...}

Lena had to control her laughter as she caught snippets of what Tilly was thinking. It didn't bother her what she was saying about her clothes. She knew her fashion sense was a little out of the ordinary. When Tilly finally turned to show her the dress, Lena's smile widened and she nodded. "It's perfect and it's super comfortable, trust me!" She said repeating the words that had went through Tilly's mind.

Tilly nodded her approval and slung the dress over the crook of her elbow before re-establishing eye-contact with Lena and ever-so-slightly raising an eyebrow at the younger woman, expecting her to either leave the room or lead the scarred woman somewhere to change.

"I'll just wait out here." Lena spoke up as she stepped towards the door. She didn't need to be able to read thoughts to know that that was what Tilly was wanting. She stepped from the room and closed the door, allowing the other woman privacy to change.

Once the door was closed, Tilly quickly undressed and put on the garment. When she had finger-combed her hair back in front of her scar, put her sneakers back on, and folded the clothes she came in over her arm, she opened the door once more and stepped out.

"You look great!" Lena smiled genuinely at Tilly. "Are you happy to wear your sneakers or do you want to look at shoes? And do you want me to help with a little hairstyling and makeup? I'm actually quite good at it."

Tilly's toes curled in her sneakers as she contemplated the offer in silence. They're very old...^{They're very comfortable...}I haven't worn heels since high school...^{I don't want to wear them ever again...}Some styling might keep my hair in place...^{If she helps, she'd have to see it...}She'll stare...^{They always stare...}

Lena listened to her broken thoughts and had to quickly stop herself frowning in concern. There was obviously something Tilly didn't want her to see. "It's completely your decision. I can help you if you like or you're welcome to use my things if you'd rather do it yourself." She managed a smile before taking another breath. "Tilly..I can sense your apprehension about this event but I just want you to know it'll be OK. I'll be there if you need anyone..I'd really like us to be friends. I'm a really good friend actually.." She joked with a chuckle. "No one can keep a secret like me..so if there's anything you ever want to tell me..or show me, you can be certain I will never tell anyone."

Considering her experience with hairstyling and make-up...well, Tilly was quite certain that she would only embarrass herself by trying. She did have an old can of hairspray at home. After one use she decided that it was quite uncomfortable (whether it was too strong or she used too much, she was not sure...). It does make for a passable finishing spray on some of her projects, though. Regardless. She had already gone to the trouble of going to a stranger's house and putting on a dress: "...My hair..._please..."

"You want my help?" Lena asked softly, just wanting to confirm that Tilly was 100% OK with it.

Tilly huffed out a breath and gave a firm nod, simultaneously refusing to repeat herself verbally and refusing to back out.

"OK great." Lena replied with a smile then moved to grab up some hair products before she motioned for Tilly to follow her. She set the things on the table then pulled out a chair for Tilly, motioning for her to sit. "So what would you like?"

Without allowing herself any hesitation, Tilly followed Lena and sat down in the offered chair. At Lena's question, a hand automatically came up as though to comb her hair in front of her face again, but paused before making contact. "...The same. Better, but the same." She dropped her hand, feeling a little uncertain already, but not letting her face show it.

"OK, well how about we have this section down at the front that you want but pin the rest of it up at the back?" Lena asked as she turned to pick up a brush. "I have some nice pins that would look great in your hair."

Tilly visibly relaxed at Lena's acknowledgement of her preference, her shoulders lowering and her back straightening. "Fine," she replied with a nod, stifling her curiosity over the hairpins.

"OK just relax, you're going to look great." Lena smiled as she carefully began to brush Tillys hair, making sure to keep the part separate over her face. As she worked she caught a glimpse of scarred skin on her face but she didn't react. This must be what Tilly was worried about."Your hair is so beautiful, you must take really good care of it." She said with a smile at Tilly.

For a moment, while Lena was working on Tilly's right side, the scarred woman's eyes took a cold, challenging glint, as though daring her to react. When the younger instead complimented her hair, Tilly blinked in confusion.

"I mean it's so shiny and soft, you have to tell me what you use on it." Lena continued as she began to carefully pin up Tilly's hair. "So do you know much about Risk's other clients or his employers the Blakewoods? I'm worried I'm going to mess up round them.."

"Conditioner and shampoo." Tilly replied automatically before scowling to herself for a few moments and then clarifying: "In that order." While the Blakewood twins' return was news to Tilly, she did not find it interesting enough to waste much thought on. "Don't be. They're all your neighbors, now." If they don't like you, that's their problem.

Lena smiled at Tilly's thought. To some it would be a comment made by a friend. "You're right. Everyone's so friendly round here.. I doubt I should have any trouble. So how long have you lived round here?" She asked in a friendly tone as she finished pinning up Tilly's hair. She wanted to keep up the friendly conversation in the hopes of gaining more confidence from the other woman.

Tilly would have held her head a bit higher at Lena's easy acceptance of her "advice" if her hair was not still being arranged. "Sixteen years." She considered leaving Athens Harbor after high school. And again after she finished training and became a certified welder. For some reason, it did not feel right to leave...she supposed it might have been the prospect of starting over and building business connections elsewhere.

"Wow.. So you know this place pretty well then." Lena answered playfully as she turned to pick up the hair clip she had previously spoke about then showed it to Tilly. It was quite an ornate piece, in a dull antique gold with delicate deep purple flowers adorning it and finished off with a few small diamonds here and there. "Everyone just thinks I love bright and bold things but my other love is vintage.." Lena explained with a chuckle. "This is 1920s I believe and I think it's going to look incredible in your hair." She finished with a smile before moving to slide it into place, finishing her work on Tilly's hair.

At the sight of the nearly-antique ornament, Tilly's eyes widened and her expression slackened ever-so-slightly in awe. Her thoughts were much less discrete in her interest and the "voice" of them spoke with clear reverence: Comb-style prongs...^{The gold is smooth...}Well-constructed...^{Very well-maintained...}No visible tarnishing...^{What is that purple?}Is that cameo or celluloid?^{It's beautiful...}I should make something like this.

"You should!" Lena said excitedly then sudden caught herself and blushed in embarrassment. "Y-you should think about making things like this. You work with metal, right? I bet you could make some beautiful pieces. People would go crazy for them." She continued quickly, hoping she had covered up he outburst at hearing Tilly's last thought.

Lena's abrupt exclamation set every one of Tilly's nerves on edge. She sat tense and still as the younger woman explained, taking a few moments to process the sheer loudness of what just happened before melting into a somewhat more human posture. Still a little stiff, but resembling movable flesh rather than frozen cast metal. "I do...and I will."

"Well then.. I want to be your first customer." Lena answered with a smile. "Now come take a look!" She motioned for Tilly to follow her to a mirror so she could get a look at her hair.

Tilly mentally took note of Lena's desire, but did not visibly or audibly acknowledge it before stepping to the mirror to turn and tilt her head in different directions to see how visible the right side of her face was at different angles. Once satisfied, she faced Lena and eyed the younger woman's expression with the same calculative intensity she did the bench they first met at. "Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Lena smiled at Tilly then moved to grab up her bag. "Well I guess with that finished we should head back to the marina. Could I get a ride with you? I think I'll just leave Risks car here, we're staying on the yacht tonight and we can just walk home in the morning.."

"Yes," Tilly answered the question with a minute nod of the head before rummaging through her jacket pockets for her keys and starting out the door with her clothes still slung over her arm.

"Thank you!" Lena said gratefully as she hurried after her, pausing only to make sure the door to the condo was locked. When satisfied it was secure, she turned and headed after Tilly, ready to head back to the marina.

Upon reaching the Cadillac, Tilly tossed her clothes into the back seat and sat in the driver's, turning the ignition but waiting for Lena to climb in before actually driving.








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