heyyy @fangirlsleep (?) I just finished your Epic Secret Santa one shot, it's a bit short but I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I haven't listened to the Ithaca Saga. This will probably be the most inaccurate thing in existence. In my mind, it's kind of a different AU of I Can't Help But Wonder
As Telemachus stepped into Ithaca, he couldn't help the feeling of dread that started developing inside him. At his last meeting with Antinous and the other suitors, he had had the worst fight of the year, and ended up with a broken nose. He tried convincing himself he'd be fine. He had his patroness, after all. He'd be fine. He'd be fine.
That's what he told himself as he made his way to the castle. Yet the tightness on his chest told him otherwise. The tension in the air was palpable, so solid you could almost cut through it. Obviously, the suitors were on a ruthless mood today. He was so dead, so dead. He had prepared for the possibility that they had planned to kill him the moment he returned. But it was too real now. Too close. The only thing that gave him some comfort was the light brown owl with piercing gray eyes that made circles around the castle.
The moment he stepped into the castle, he took notice of two things: the tension in the air hadn't lessened, if anything it had gotten worse. And the castle was silent. That's more unexpected than anything. The suitors hadn't been silent since... Never. The suitors have never been silent since they moved almost 10 years ago. He took some wary steps towards the main hall, trying to make sense of the eerie silence while his hands were on his sword. He turned a corner and as he stepped into the next room, he stepped on blood.
Wait... Why would there be blood on the floor? He tried to look at the source - the room, just like the rest of the castle, was frustratingly dark. Maybe it was animal blood? Yes, the suitors must have made a sacrifice to some God. This theory of his was disproven when Telemachus saw Archelaos on the ground, with an arrow lodged in his heart.
Telemachus was more than stunned. How is this possible? Maybe his mother had decided to finally give in and marry the strongest, so the suitors fought for her hand. Gods, he hoped not, since Antinous would win this fight, and if so he'd probably be dead before he could call out to Athena. "It's probably not that" he tried to reason with himself "Mom is too loyal to father to do that." It's the truth, mom has always been more hopeful than he had. And Gods know he had been hoping. Then what?
Telemachus decided that it's pointless wondering, that whatever killed all the suitors is probably a threat to him to. He followed the bodies, hand close to his sword and shooting wary looks all over, as those bodies lead to the main hall. Inside he saw the same thing, bodies all over and the room covered in red blood. Mostly the same thing, as he also saw a figure standing there, holding a sword and his father's arrows. The figure wore a cape, but he could tell it was of a human, considerably shorter than him.
As he approached the figure, it turned back, revealing a man, probably in his late 40s. He had Athena's signature grey eyes - that explained the owl outside, mixed with some red hot fury which would probably make his mentor really disappointed. He'd never admit it, but Telemachus felt kind of frightened, even though the stranger didn't look like he intended to attack him. If anything he felt strangely familiar. Like those people that you remembered their face, without actually remembering why or how. Well, the stranger seemed to recognise him somehow, for his shoulders dropped and he seemed to get a small, hopeful smile.
"Telemachus...?" The stranger wondered out loud. This was getting weird. Really weird. Telemachus didn't have any memory of introducing to this man. But he seemed so happy at the thought, the man wasn't there for trouble. Most likely.
"Yes...?" Telemachus replied wearily. He had never seen someone get so relieved, so instantly, by such simple words. The other man dropped his weapons and reached out to hug Telemachus, making him freeze slightly by the unexpected contact. The man pulled back a little, a wide smile across his face
"My son..." He mumbled. Wait, what? Telemachus was absolutely baffled. Did this man refer to him as son? Looking closer, Telemachus could see a few features similar to his own. He looked like Telemachus expected himself to look when he's older. Much older, but still. Could that really be his father?
"Father?" Telemachus enquired, not getting his hopes up. His father nodded, and Telemachus returned the hug as they embraced each other. His brain was short-circuiting. He didn't even know for how long he'd been hoping, planning what he'd say to his father when he came back. But now that he was actually here, he was utterly speechless.
"I never thought this day would come." His father said a few moments later. Telemachus was glad that father broke the silence. "I never thought that I'd get to meet you. Or your mother, or this land. Oh, I'm so happy to be here."
That wasn't a lot. From the stories Telemachus heard about his father, he knew that he was smart and never shut up. Telemachus assumed that this might as well be a stranger, wanting to take the throne by convincing everyone he is the king. Eh, he'd leave the worrying to mother, she was the one that always did so anyways. He was the hopeful one, looking at the bright side of things.
"I never thought I'd see you again either." He responded "I never thought I'd get to meet you. I heard all of these stories, about how cunning and smart my father was, and I had accepted I'd never talk to him. I was hopeful, like mother, but deep down... I was already mourning." He hated to admit it, but it was the truth. After all of these years, he was mourning a live man.
Father just gave him a sympathetic smile "I never thought I'd get to have such a great son. With those... suitors around here, with all this responsibility... I never thought I'd have such a strong son"
A sense of pride consumed him. Telemachus didn't even want to know what his father must have faced, and there he was, calling him strong. "I never thought I could have such a dedicated father. After all those years, you still came back to us..." He trailed off. It felt impossible.
"I always will" his father answered before he snapped his head towards the door. Soon enough, Telemachus also heard someone coming. Soon enough, his mother showed up, and father's face visibly lit up so much, Telemachus was wondering how tales about how much of a wife-guy his father obviously was hadn't reached Ithaca. When his mother spotted the two of them, Telemachus pulled back completely and exited the room. He really did not want to see that reunion, it'd make this too awkward.
As Telemachus stepped outside of the main hall, looking at all the dead bodies and blood, his mind trailed off. He was sure he should've been worried. After all, all of the tales about the cunning, stealthy Odysseus had one thing in common, and that was the least amount of ruthlessness possible. He wasn't very worried, though. Even if his father had magically turned into a monster of some sorts, he didn't mind if it meant taking out his mother's suitors. He'd leave his mother to do the worrying.
