Ares And Mia

Chapter 39

A low whistle makes me look up, setting the journal down. Ares's office door pries open. "Come here, darling!" The sound of his voice slams into me like a truck at full speed and I jump to my feet. The wool blanket nearly trips me, but I recover quickly, stumbling slightly. He's here, he's really here.

I throw my arms around him and he laughs, laughs like he always does. Loud, flawless, and extraordinary. "Eros!" He squeezes me tightly, pressing me close to his chest.

He's alive. He's really alive. Whole and healthy, there's not a single ounce of fatigue in his face. He's renewed, rejuvenated. "Distance really makes the heart grow fonder, doesn't it?" I pull back, grinning at him. It feels so real, and yet, I still can't believe it. "How have you been, miss prophecy?"

I pause, before tilting my head to the side. A lot has changed since he's been gone. Eros seems to understand and he looks over at Ares. The god of war regards him with faint curiosity. I turn as well, but when his eyes meet mine, I feel a faint blush grow on my cheeks.

Ares reaches into his back pocket, before pulling out a black leather wallet. Sighing, he pulls out a card, the same shade of obsidian. "Do as you wish." I walk over to him, taking it from his fingers, gazing at the documents on his desk for a quick moment. Greek. I can't even read what he's writing.

I glance at Eros. He tilts his head at Ares. I turn back to look at the god of war. He's still watching me, silver eyes like eternal moons. Some part of me was utterly conscious of the fact that he was observing me like a newfound mystery, the other basked in the attention. I hold out my other hand to him, a soft mischievous smile rising to my face. 

Ares raises his eyebrows before chuckling and pressing his entire wallet into my hand. "He's been here for less than five minutes and you're already being influenced."

"Just doing as I wish—!?" I'm levitating, my toes lifting off the ground as Eros directs his finger toward me. He beckons me forward, my body cutting through the air.

"Let's go before he changes his mind, come on—" I see Ares shake his head before maintaining eye contact with me right until the doors slammed shut.

- - -

"A lot happened." I hold the drink in my hands carefully, two bags balanced on my wrist. Eros had snatched Ares's assets from me, claiming that it was for the greater good, right as we left Olympus. After that, he scoured for snack options across the mall, clamoring for the season's new delights. "Poseidon and Zeus—"

"Blah, blah, blah, I already know about that. But," Eros guides us to a table after winking at a group. I sit, resting the bags on the table. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" I stare at him for a brief second, before blushing a bright red.

He knows!?

"Is—" I stop myself, to which Eros only raises his eyebrows for me to finish my sentence. "Is Ares known for... you know..."

The sunglasses that sat on Eros's face slipped off, clattering against the table. "You kissed Ares?!" I flinched back, his reaction not what I imagined. His violet eyes were wide, body poised in a state of shock. "No fucking way, Ares—the Ares from before—"

"Didn't you already know?" My voice takes upon a shrill tone, matching his own feeling of stupor. Eros draws his hand to his mouth, staring at me with such awe. I rub a hand on the back of my neck, glancing to the side. 

This is beyond embarrassing. 

"Wow. Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow." Wow what? The god of love runs a hand through his hair. "You kissed Ares. I knew you kissed someone, but the god of war?" He goes silent and I fidget with my fingers. Was it a bad thing? A good thing?