you’re greeted by a girl carrying some fruit in a big box — she seems excited by your sudden appearance . . . [say ‘hi’]
“i’m kiwii, your shopkeep, who’s always ready to help! been in the game for twenty years, and i just ask that all my regular customers follow my rules here :)”
you grab a basket and start to look around as the shopkeep offers some help . . . [ask about the range of produce]
“we’ve got a wide variety of fruits available here for you today! there’s some sweet, some bitter and a mix. additionally, while the seasons change, we may have some items on holiday specials. these are indicated on the barcode descriptions, so please check before you buy ‘em! go ahead and pick your favourites, your basket is never full ;3”
you notice that she is still carrying that box around; it doesn’t look like anything familiar . . . [ask about something new]
“i’ve got something sweet and spicy for when you got your eye on the cute new guy!” > ‘.*• KEEP AN EYE ON YOU •*.’ // unempowered! au david shaw // gn // smau // redacted audio
there was a delivery number on the front window — maybe that service was starting up soon . . . [ask about number of orders]
“oh, you noticed it, huh? i have two orders to prepare right now, but orders are open!”
there’s something you want but it doesn’t seem to be in stock yet; perhaps you should bring it up . . . [ask about submitting an order]
“of course you can submit a request for something! i’ll just hand you the delivery outlines here to look at to make sure i can get it for ya’.”
it seems you’re ready to explore the expanding store at your disposal now . . . [thank the shopkeep and begin your journey]
“i hope you enjoy your time shopping here! please be mindful of all the other customers and help me to maintain a safe and inclusive marketplace. thank you everyone!”
» david likes routine. that’s the only reason he wanted to have lunch with [angel],,,, right,,,,
» despite being the dj and therefore the main centre of attention, lane (sweetheart) finds it easy to slip away from the crowd. this stresses milo out sometimes
» as you can see, word gets around VERY EASY
» tank isn’t one to participate in throwing gossip around, but they just wanted sam’s attention off of their bloody cheek and nose
» milo and tank are close just as david and asher are. no one knew about the bing bong thing until now, because tank promised not to tell anyone. they watched inside out whilst babysitting some of the kids within the pack last year
cw . . . angel does not give up despite david’s attitude, thong mention HEHEHEHE, injury mention (sprained ankle), inappropriate work wear
previous week | event calendar | next week
staff secrets…
» after their break with david, [angel] went back to the bar with the biggest smile on their face and wouldn’t stop giggling. river (babe) never questioned it
» when the security team entered the club, river (babe), lane (sweetheart) and [angel] could NOT stop laughing
» asher said he had one for sam, but then the guy walked into the room wearing the most glittery cowboy get-up that vincent and his lovely found the day before
» for pink night, lane gets sam to put pink lenses over all the lights whilst the bartenders change all the glasses to the pink ones they have stored away
» vincent said he and his partner would both be present for pink night. lane got excited because his partner is an amazing dancer and gets the floor rowdy
cw . . . drinking, innuendos, flirting, david is too hot for people not to notice ykwim
previous week | event calendar | next week
“does it feel busier than usual right now?” river asks over the music. you can barely hear them, but shrug your shoulders nonetheless. “you think it has something to do with the new security?”
“probably,” you reply as you grab the ice shovel, “they got david working the front with sam. they’re definitely drawing in more people than we’re used to.”
you turn around and pour some sparkly purple drinks for the couple in front of you. “here you two are. let me know if i can do anything else for ya’.”
“oh, i can think of something.” one of them giggle behind their hand.
the other rolls their eyes with a smile. “he’s joking. unless you wanna’.”
“you two are quite the pair. i’ll see you back here when you want a refill.” you chuckle as you turn to greet more guests.
lane was currently in the middle of their set with milo up on the balconies pretending to not be staring at his partner. meanwhile, asher was in charge of the main floor where he’s already stopped two fights from breaking out, one of which being between tank, who was also in charge of the floor, and another patron. outside, david was checking licenses, taking away prohibited items, and dodging every question about his relationship status. he was secretly hoping the others would want to switch any time soon.
you spot sam making his way back in and wave a hand for him to see through the flashing lights.
“how’s everything going with the security team?” you inquire as you hand him a water.
“pretty alright. better than i’d ever imagine,” he claims as he drinks from the bottle, “david’s doin’ well out there, despite the fact that one out of five people start flirtin’ with him on the spot. heard some lines that even you wouldn’t think of.”
“oh, i have to hear it.” you say as you begin to move towards the entrance.
but sam catches your arm before you can move too far. “ah, ah, ah. night’s just started, and you are lookin’ busy.” he says as he nods to some customers waiting by the bar. river looks swamped. “you can spend your break gawkin’ at the guy if ya’ want, but for now you’re stayin’ put.”
a frown tugs at your lips as you lower your head. “i hate manager sam.”
“i’m the only way you’re sure to get paid.” he chuckles back as he looks around. you notice that his eyes land on one of the security team members, and he does a double take. “vincent is takin’ care of some stuff in the office, but he’ll come around later to let you know when you can go.”
you nod as you roll your eyes. he begins making his way straight to tank. deciding not to test his patience today, you go back to your work. you'd heard vincent and sam discuss earlier that they'd try a rotation with the security team, and they were still currently on the first one. so far, tank and asher were doing a great job, but you were eagerly waiting for david's turn to be on the floor.
"excuse me?" you heard a small voice behind you. when you turn around, a man with a soft smile and upturned brows is staring back at you. "are you busy?"
"not at all, honey," you reply in an equally as comforting voice once you lean against the counter, "what can i do you for?"
a part of you cringed inside – where the hell did you learn that?
"oh! uh, well..." he mutters out as he looks at all the drinks listed on the menu, "gosh, there's a lot."
you wait a moment before realising he cannot decide, and then set a glass in front of him. "how about i make you something special? you got a favourite fruit or liquor?"
you ended up going back and forth between the customer to curate the perfect drink for him. in the end, he is pleasantly surprised when everything he's mixed together is a delicious drink. he began a tab with you right away, and because you didn't have any clue as to how to charge him, you ended up just putting a martini on his tab.
however, whilst you were helping out with all your customers, you failed to notice the rotation happening. asher was set to guard the front, as it was dying down a little now, and tank was up above on the balcony. this left david and milo to survey the floor. you were busy going to the back to grab some more shot glasses when you were about to bump into the exact man you were waiting for.
you hold the crate of glasses to your chest and hold your position. you blink at the flashing lights illuminating the fitted shirt with the moon symbol on the heart-side.
"david?" you try to call above the noise.
he has to squint in the flashing lights and lean closer to even catch a glimpse of your familiar face. when he realises it's you, he furrows his brows. "how the hell did you know it was me?"
"the size," you retort before you notice his confused expression, "i mean, the size of your shirt. but like specifically this part."
you poke at his chest as you shift the crate of glasses to your hips. david rolls his eyes and lightly taps your hand away.
"what're you doing? y'know it's crowded at the bar, right?" he questions.
"needed more drinking glasses," you reply as you hold up the crate, "making my way back now. you wanna' escort me? or escort me?"
your little laugh makes david stare back at you with a dead serious face. he soon takes the crate from your hands and leads you through the crowd to your work station. you're too busy watching how his muscles move under his shirt, against the lighting, to even hear his questions about how asher and tank did as security inside.
when you're back at the bar, river thanks you for grabbing the glasses before doing a double take between you and david. a smirk lands on their face before you playfully nudge them and get back to work.
"you need anything else?" david asks you as he puts the crates down.
"uh, no, i don't think so," you respond as you begin to unload it, "thanks. maybe those muscles have a better purpose than just to stare at."
david can't help the scoff that leaves his lips, but he quickly covers his mouth to hide the smile. but you just catch it, standing up and knocking a knuckle against his shoulder.
"you're doing great out there, handsome." you comment.
he immediately looks away, clearing his throat, "let me know if you need any more help."
you watch as he goes back to the floor, towards milo who is waving him forward. the shorter man smiles once david looks over his shoulder to you again.
“what’s up with you?” milo chuckles over the noise, “gettin’ cozy with the bartender?”
david rolls his eyes as he looks around the club. he shakes his head with his hands on his hips. “not a chance. sam just told me that [angel] tends to go off every few hours, and to keep an eye on them.”
“oh you’ll be keeping somethin’ on ‘em—”
“enough.”
you watched from the bar as milo playfully nudged david’s shoulder with a wide smile. the taller male then waved him off and made his rounds on the dance floor. river next to you took the glass from your still hands.
“dude, if you’re not gonna’ wipe these then can you cut the lemons?” they sigh with a shake of their head.
“oh, right,” you retort as you turn to the fruit station, “they’re doing pretty good. i saw asher wink at you before he walked into the doorframe.”
river begins to laugh a little as they pour a customer’s drink, “he’s cute. y’know he asked me out for lunch.”
“no way,” you say, glancing to your friend, “that’s awesome! when’s the date?”
river continues to tell you about their plans, with all their excitement in the air as you worked. a part of you is a little jealous, though – with the exception of sam, everyone seemed to be inviting love into their lives. and even though you knew better than to beg for something as important as the feeling of love and acceptance, you couldn’t help yourself.
“[angel],” vincent called from the end of the bar, “you can go on break now. be back in 30.”
you give a thumbs up as you leave river to handle the last few customers on their own. by this time, most people were on the dance floor or sitting about talking with each other, so the bar would be barren for at least an hour. you grabbed your jacket and a sandwich from the break room that was put in the share pile with other food and snacks. making your way to the back door, you push the metal open to be greeted with the night air.
“finally…” you sigh as you stretch your arms over your head. there was a makeshift table and chairs set out in the gated alleyway for you and your peers to rest at. as you took your seat, you look to the sky with your feet up on the round table.
it was cold, but the warmth swarming your face made it easy to relax. the stars above glowed as if entertaining you. a plane’s lights soared above you. the whistling of the wind sung to you as it brushed against your face. you felt the tension leaving your body.
“hey.”
and it all comes rushing back into your body.
you nearly fall off your chair as you hear david behind you. he’s got his puffy jacket wrapped around him and a metal water bottle in his hands.
“shit!” you gasp, “you scared the hell outta’ me. what are you doing here?”
“vincent told ash to go on break, but he heard river was taking it later, so he asked to switch with me,” he states with a tilt of his head, “you on break too?”
you nod your head. “yeah. uh, you can sit there,” you say whilst pulling your legs off the table, “you’re not eating anything?”
“nah, tank forgot to pack something so i gave them mine,” he states once he sits down, “it’s fine, though.”
your brow twitches before you open the wrapped sandwich, pick one up and slide the remaining side to him. “have it. i’ve been snacking on the fruit at the bar.”
“you probably shouldn’t do that,” david claims as he initially shakes his head, “no thank you.”
“c’mon, river made them. they’re pretty good.” you say as you bite into your piece.
he purses his lips before sighing at your exaggerated hum of satisfaction. he picks up the other half and bites into it.
“like it?” you ask.
david continues to eat. he nods his head, and you grin.
his relaxed shoulders under his jacket makes him seem as if he was finally showing what he was like when he wasn’t walled up, on alert. you watched as he ate and leaned back in the chair. the light from the bulb above the door just barely shone upon his face. he looked calm, and he was cute.
“what were you looking at?” he suddenly asks.
“hm?” you snap out of your daze.
“up there.” he looks up just as you were before.
“oh. it just helps me relax, especially when customers are being a bit too, uh… what’s the word?” you try and think of it.
“overbearing?” david offers.
“basically,” you chuckle, “i don’t know, i like my breaks. peace and quiet.” you glance to him, seeing how david sits still and holds onto his bottle. he looks up too. “never had someone else on break with me. or anyone as cute as you, for that matter.”
david immediately looks back to you. he looks as if he tries to say something, but he opts to just drinking from his bottle. you smile.
he was telling you a lot before even speaking. but you couldn’t get much more after that. so you ask him about himself. the rest of your break is spent in the company of david.
staff secrets…
» having sam at the front draws in enough attention, but putting david out there too? river and [angel] racked up hundreds in tips by the pure amount of club-goers
» vincent decided to do some paperwork for the security team whilst sam helped them out there. he sat there for seven minutes straight trying to spell ‘necessary’ because lane (sweetheart) turned off auto correct on his laptop and he doesn’t know how to fix it
» tank took their break alone and sam let them sleep one of the spare rooms they had upstairs for when any of them were too tired to head home after a shift. sam went to wake them to finish their break, but didn’t have the heart to do that, so he allowed them to sleep for another 15 mins
» milo was getting annoyed bc lane (sweetheart) was going on break and forced tank to get up so they could switch. they apologised to lane (sweetheart) before shuffling away
» asher and river (babe) spent their break getting to know each other at the pub across the street, opting for a quick food stop. he found that the bartender was a film fanatic, and made a mental note to watch whatever they suggested
cw . . . drinking, innuendos, flirting, david is too hot for people not to notice ykwim
previous week | event calendar | next week
“does it feel busier than usual right now?” river asks over the music. you can barely hear them, but shrug your shoulders nonetheless. “you think it has something to do with the new security?”
“probably,” you reply as you grab the ice shovel, “they got david working the front with sam. they’re definitely drawing in more people than we’re used to.”
you turn around and pour some sparkly purple drinks for the couple in front of you. “here you two are. let me know if i can do anything else for ya’.”
“oh, i can think of something.” one of them giggle behind their hand.
the other rolls their eyes with a smile. “he’s joking. unless you wanna’.”
“you two are quite the pair. i’ll see you back here when you want a refill.” you chuckle as you turn to greet more guests.
lane was currently in the middle of their set with milo up on the balconies pretending to not be staring at his partner. meanwhile, asher was in charge of the main floor where he’s already stopped two fights from breaking out, one of which being between tank, who was also in charge of the floor, and another patron. outside, david was checking licenses, taking away prohibited items, and dodging every question about his relationship status. he was secretly hoping the others would want to switch any time soon.
you spot sam making his way back in and wave a hand for him to see through the flashing lights.
“how’s everything going with the security team?” you inquire as you hand him a water.
“pretty alright. better than i’d ever imagine,” he claims as he drinks from the bottle, “david’s doin’ well out there, despite the fact that one out of five people start flirtin’ with him on the spot. heard some lines that even you wouldn’t think of.”
“oh, i have to hear it.” you say as you begin to move towards the entrance.
but sam catches your arm before you can move too far. “ah, ah, ah. night’s just started, and you are lookin’ busy.” he says as he nods to some customers waiting by the bar. river looks swamped. “you can spend your break gawkin’ at the guy if ya’ want, but for now you’re stayin’ put.”
a frown tugs at your lips as you lower your head. “i hate manager sam.”
“i’m the only way you’re sure to get paid.” he chuckles back as he looks around. you notice that his eyes land on one of the security team members, and he does a double take. “vincent is takin’ care of some stuff in the office, but he’ll come around later to let you know when you can go.”
you nod as you roll your eyes. he begins making his way straight to tank. deciding not to test his patience today, you go back to your work. you'd heard vincent and sam discuss earlier that they'd try a rotation with the security team, and they were still currently on the first one. so far, tank and asher were doing a great job, but you were eagerly waiting for david's turn to be on the floor.
"excuse me?" you heard a small voice behind you. when you turn around, a man with a soft smile and upturned brows is staring back at you. "are you busy?"
"not at all, honey," you reply in an equally as comforting voice once you lean against the counter, "what can i do you for?"
a part of you cringed inside – where the hell did you learn that?
"oh! uh, well..." he mutters out as he looks at all the drinks listed on the menu, "gosh, there's a lot."
you wait a moment before realising he cannot decide, and then set a glass in front of him. "how about i make you something special? you got a favourite fruit or liquor?"
you ended up going back and forth between the customer to curate the perfect drink for him. in the end, he is pleasantly surprised when everything he's mixed together is a delicious drink. he began a tab with you right away, and because you didn't have any clue as to how to charge him, you ended up just putting a martini on his tab.
however, whilst you were helping out with all your customers, you failed to notice the rotation happening. asher was set to guard the front, as it was dying down a little now, and tank was up above on the balcony. this left david and milo to survey the floor. you were busy going to the back to grab some more shot glasses when you were about to bump into the exact man you were waiting for.
you hold the crate of glasses to your chest and hold your position. you blink at the flashing lights illuminating the fitted shirt with the moon symbol on the heart-side.
"david?" you try to call above the noise.
he has to squint in the flashing lights and lean closer to even catch a glimpse of your familiar face. when he realises it's you, he furrows his brows. "how the hell did you know it was me?"
"the size," you retort before you notice his confused expression, "i mean, the size of your shirt. but like specifically this part."
you poke at his chest as you shift the crate of glasses to your hips. david rolls his eyes and lightly taps your hand away.
"what're you doing? y'know it's crowded at the bar, right?" he questions.
"needed more drinking glasses," you reply as you hold up the crate, "making my way back now. you wanna' escort me? or escort me?"
your little laugh makes david stare back at you with a dead serious face. he soon takes the crate from your hands and leads you through the crowd to your work station. you're too busy watching how his muscles move under his shirt, against the lighting, to even hear his questions about how asher and tank did as security inside.
when you're back at the bar, river thanks you for grabbing the glasses before doing a double take between you and david. a smirk lands on their face before you playfully nudge them and get back to work.
"you need anything else?" david asks you as he puts the crates down.
"uh, no, i don't think so," you respond as you begin to unload it, "thanks. maybe those muscles have a better purpose than just to stare at."
david can't help the scoff that leaves his lips, but he quickly covers his mouth to hide the smile. but you just catch it, standing up and knocking a knuckle against his shoulder.
"you're doing great out there, handsome." you comment.
he immediately looks away, clearing his throat, "let me know if you need any more help."
you watch as he goes back to the floor, towards milo who is waving him forward. the shorter man smiles once david looks over his shoulder to you again.
“what’s up with you?” milo chuckles over the noise, “gettin’ cozy with the bartender?”
david rolls his eyes as he looks around the club. he shakes his head with his hands on his hips. “not a chance. sam just told me that [angel] tends to go off every few hours, and to keep an eye on them.”
“oh you’ll be keeping somethin’ on ‘em—”
“enough.”
you watched from the bar as milo playfully nudged david’s shoulder with a wide smile. the taller male then waved him off and made his rounds on the dance floor. river next to you took the glass from your still hands.
“dude, if you’re not gonna’ wipe these then can you cut the lemons?” they sigh with a shake of their head.
“oh, right,” you retort as you turn to the fruit station, “they’re doing pretty good. i saw asher wink at you before he walked into the doorframe.”
river begins to laugh a little as they pour a customer’s drink, “he’s cute. y’know he asked me out for lunch.”
“no way,” you say, glancing to your friend, “that’s awesome! when’s the date?”
river continues to tell you about their plans, with all their excitement in the air as you worked. a part of you is a little jealous, though – with the exception of sam, everyone seemed to be inviting love into their lives. and even though you knew better than to beg for something as important as the feeling of love and acceptance, you couldn’t help yourself.
“[angel],” vincent called from the end of the bar, “you can go on break now. be back in 30.”
you give a thumbs up as you leave river to handle the last few customers on their own. by this time, most people were on the dance floor or sitting about talking with each other, so the bar would be barren for at least an hour. you grabbed your jacket and a sandwich from the break room that was put in the share pile with other food and snacks. making your way to the back door, you push the metal open to be greeted with the night air.
“finally…” you sigh as you stretch your arms over your head. there was a makeshift table and chairs set out in the gated alleyway for you and your peers to rest at. as you took your seat, you look to the sky with your feet up on the round table.
it was cold, but the warmth swarming your face made it easy to relax. the stars above glowed as if entertaining you. a plane’s lights soared above you. the whistling of the wind sung to you as it brushed against your face. you felt the tension leaving your body.
“hey.”
and it all comes rushing back into your body.
you nearly fall off your chair as you hear david behind you. he’s got his puffy jacket wrapped around him and a metal water bottle in his hands.
“shit!” you gasp, “you scared the hell outta’ me. what are you doing here?”
“vincent told ash to go on break, but he heard river was taking it later, so he asked to switch with me,” he states with a tilt of his head, “you on break too?”
you nod your head. “yeah. uh, you can sit there,” you say whilst pulling your legs off the table, “you’re not eating anything?”
“nah, tank forgot to pack something so i gave them mine,” he states once he sits down, “it’s fine, though.”
your brow twitches before you open the wrapped sandwich, pick one up and slide the remaining side to him. “have it. i’ve been snacking on the fruit at the bar.”
“you probably shouldn’t do that,” david claims as he initially shakes his head, “no thank you.”
“c’mon, river made them. they’re pretty good.” you say as you bite into your piece.
he purses his lips before sighing at your exaggerated hum of satisfaction. he picks up the other half and bites into it.
“like it?” you ask.
david continues to eat. he nods his head, and you grin.
his relaxed shoulders under his jacket makes him seem as if he was finally showing what he was like when he wasn’t walled up, on alert. you watched as he ate and leaned back in the chair. the light from the bulb above the door just barely shone upon his face. he looked calm, and he was cute.
“what were you looking at?” he suddenly asks.
“hm?” you snap out of your daze.
“up there.” he looks up just as you were before.
“oh. it just helps me relax, especially when customers are being a bit too, uh… what’s the word?” you try and think of it.
“overbearing?” david offers.
“basically,” you chuckle, “i don’t know, i like my breaks. peace and quiet.” you glance to him, seeing how david sits still and holds onto his bottle. he looks up too. “never had someone else on break with me. or anyone as cute as you, for that matter.”
david immediately looks back to you. he looks as if he tries to say something, but he opts to just drinking from his bottle. you smile.
he was telling you a lot before even speaking. but you couldn’t get much more after that. so you ask him about himself. the rest of your break is spent in the company of david.
staff secrets…
» having sam at the front draws in enough attention, but putting david out there too? river and [angel] racked up hundreds in tips by the pure amount of club-goers
» vincent decided to do some paperwork for the security team whilst sam helped them out there. he sat there for seven minutes straight trying to spell ‘necessary’ because lane (sweetheart) turned off auto correct on his laptop and he doesn’t know how to fix it
» tank took their break alone and sam let them sleep one of the spare rooms they had upstairs for when any of them were too tired to head home after a shift. sam went to wake them to finish their break, but didn’t have the heart to do that, so he allowed them to sleep for another 15 mins
» milo was getting annoyed bc lane (sweetheart) was going on break and forced tank to get up so they could switch. they apologised to lane (sweetheart) before shuffling away
» asher and river (babe) spent their break getting to know each other at the pub across the street, opting for a quick food stop. he found that the bartender was a film fanatic, and made a mental note to watch whatever they suggested
cw . . . flirting hehehehehe, innuendos, can you tell by my humour that i’m 20
previous week | event calendar | next week
staff secrets…
» nate is a freelance bouncer that everyone at whirlpool dislikes because he’s rude. they know he has to be stern but most times he’s just plain disrespectful to customers
» [angel] hasn’t found any customers cute since david. they think he put a spell on them on something
» asher likes to read [angel]’s posts about david and giggle to himself. he shows david and tries to explain it, hence why david brought it up later
» sometimes david chuckles when he reads the texts [angel] sends him. if anyone sees this, he’ll say he’s just coughing
» david only gave [angel] and sam his number, but he wonders why he even gave it to [angel] at all. weird
» david has no idea how to respond to flirting, but he definitely knows that [angel] is flirting with him
» [angel] stalked david’s twitter the whole day before they texted him
» lane thinks its funny watching one friend group crush on the other friend group not knowing they’re both doing the same thing
» tank’s gotten three texts from a random number saying “hi, this is […] from whirlpool last night” and then just asking them out for a drink or dinner. tank responded “sorry i dont remember you i was super drunk” and then the person said it was fine
» nate is a one-off bouncer that they sometimes hire, but he’s not as nice as sam. many people have complained about nate, but at least he doesnt allow idiots in
you make your way to the aisle that showcases fruits ready to grab and place in your basket for purchase; some of these tags interest you, and there’s some comments beside the price tags too . . . [wander the aisle]
> incl. trever belmont, sypha belnades, adrian ‘alucard’ tepes, carmilla, hector, isaac
‘vampire hunters’ section: 3 available
> “these strong choices are best consumed when you want justice to prevail!”
.*• trever belmont
nothing yet!
.*• sypha belnades
nothing yet!
.*• adrian ‘alucard’ tepes
nothing yet!
.*• richter belmont
nothing yet!
.*• annette
nothing yet!
‘dracula’s associates’ section: 3 available
> “you better hope the tastes of these options don’t leave a sour feeling!”
can you make some headcanons of what hermes (blood of zeus) would be like in a relationship with GN reader pretty please 🙏
take your time, what’s the rush?
cw . . . gn reader, HERMES MY LOVE YOU CARRIED ALLLLLL SEASONS OMGGG, i cant escape matthew mercer 💔😭
has to be one of the busiest gods ever
you thought that maybe the other gods could do their own bidding for a bit to cut some slack off of hermes, but unfortunately you thought wrong
date nights are very spontaneous since his schedule is all over the place
on olympus, he has a hard time getting out of bed as you try to pull him back in
hermes: “my love, i have some work to do.”
you: “you’re leaving? :(“
hermes: “…… would you like to come with me?”
basically, that guy is always out every day, and as much as you’d love to join him, he’s just too fast
he’s a busy god, but he will always find time for you, as little as that time may be
hermes most definitely tries to get his duties done as quick as possible so he can spend his time with you
but he always seems to be late :(
he will make it up to you tho!!! he loves you and he will do whatever he can to make sure you know that!!
loves giving you gifts from whatever jobs he has been working for the day, such as flowers or cool looking stones he had found along the way
the type of guy to find heart-shaped rocks and keep a collection for you
you have a box full of knick knacks that he had given to you over the years, which also has a medallion that he had made for you when he asked you to accept him as yours
he is a kind god to you, and whilst his work is serious, he enjoys the comforting slow moments that the two of you share
when he hears that you have something planned, maybe a small picnic or a a simple night of reading, he can’t help but dote on you for being so sweet
he is in no rush to be up and out of your room, in fact he’d much rather stay indoors all day with you, but when duty calls he must answer
hermes isn’t one to just let you do all the planning, though
on the very special occasion that he has more time off to spend with you, then he would be preparing something for the two of you
he would love to surprise you with a dinner (that hestia definitely didn’t just conjure up for him) one night and watch your face light up
life before hermes might’ve been quiet for you, but once he crashed himself towards you, life has been filled with crazy things
when you were first on olympus, it was in the middle of a fight between ares and apollo and you had to sit and watch as hestia and athena tried to make them stop
he was a bit embarrassed but you assured him that you didn’t mind
he was worried that the life he lived wouldn’t be right for you, that he’d scare you off and you’d go and live the rest of your life without him
but you held his hand and told him that you welcome his hectic life, and you even told him that you were excited to see what lies ahead for you both
he promised you that from then on, he would protect you
he wants nothing more than for you to have a peaceful life
that being said, of course you’d have to face some problems whilst being amongst the gods
one or two times a month, hera and zeus will be arguing and all of olympus will shake
sometimes, ares will annoy his half-siblings to no end
either way something is always happening, and hermes makes sure you are safe (with a good view to watch if you want to witness the drama lol)
whilst he’s away, you keep track of all the things that happen in his absence, like if hephaestus has created something new, or if dionysus has thrown another extravagant party for no reasob
he’s more than happy to hear about it as he relaxes in your arms
your voice soothes him, and how you go into detail makes hermes feel as if he was there himself
he’s often able to read you, like when you’re upset or you’re excited to tell him something
you two rarely fight due to that fact, but there have been a couple times
once was when he was in a fight with enyo, ares’ sister who was just as ferocious, for some unknown reason, and you had spoken up, stood in between them to try and diffuse the situation
whilst it worked, and enyo no longer felt any joy in beating up hermes as ares did, the messenger god was upset with you, saying that you could’ve gotten hurt but you didn’t care as long as he was okay
he would overcome his anger after a bit, but he only asked you to be careful
you admitted that it was a stupid attempt, but it was successful and that’s all that mattered, and you saw his look of relief when you said wouldn’t put yourself literally in harm’s way again
another time, he had attempted to speed through a date with you in order to another job that he had to complete
you had spent a week preparing everything only for it all to be finished up in less than an hour
you went to bed upset that night and hermes collapsed beside you out of pure tiredness, only realising you were angry when you refused to turn over to see him
ended up apologising for the night, promising that you two could redo everything how you planned, whilst holding you and relishing in your warmth like he always wanted to do
you caved and forgave him since, at the end of the day, you know he’d never do that on purpose, but you just needed to have your angry moment done with
but overall, you two have quite the happy relationship
you spend nights with hermes, talking of plans for the both of you and discussing his work for the day
he is more than happy to just listen, he likes to have all of his attention on you
if you’d let him, he’d lay his head on your lap and listen to you read the thousands of scrolls from his library
sometimes he’ll kiss you in between sentences, yearning for the contact after memorising every factor of your gorgeous face
his favourite place to kiss you is your cheek, since he can feel you smile at the contact
additionally, he’ll kiss your knuckles as a sweet greeting
your laughter fuels him for the day, and he rushes home to meet with you again
if you’re not waiting in your shared bedroom, then you’re either in the garden or in his library, making yourself busy
on the rare occasion you aren’t, then he believed that you’d be with one of his siblings, most likely apollo, artemis or hephaestus
you do miss being surrounded by other mortals, but you had to admit the olympians were intruging
a handful of times hermes has found you writing poetry with apollo or learning how to shoot with a bow and arrow with artemis
it warms his heart to know that you get along well with them
he is also incredibly thankful that you always welcome him home with a smile, an embrace and a sweet kiss
you make every day less stressful simply by being there with him
he tries to quietly get out of bed in the mornings so you don’t wake, but he knows you’d kill him for not at least kissing you goodbye
most times you’re awake as he puts on his gear
he lets you watch when he hears you call out to him, and he laughs at your passing comments on his appearance
he calls you ‘my love’ or ‘my darling’ a lot of the times, and you melt every time
he enjoys it when you call him ‘handsome’, ‘lover boy’ or ‘dear’
first time you called him by anything other than his name or title, he couldn’t focus on anything you were saying and instead smothered you in kisses and the tightest of hugs
if you’re ever playfully mad at him, then he’ll use all the sweet pet-names he knows to make you smile and laugh
he’s let you try on his helmet and wear his invisibility cloak a few times now, chuckling when the hat suited specifically for him wouldn’t fit on your head
you like to scare hermes by using the cape every now and then
first time you did, he screamed so loud that everyone thought he was getting attacked and rushed to help, but was met with the sight of you laughing your ass off and hermes with an embarrassed blush over his face
sometimes, he will leave little notes around the bedroom or library for you to find
they’re often little jokes and riddles, but sometimes he’ll pour out a piece of his heart for you to read
you keep these notes in the same box as the trinkets
he’s not one to get easily jealous
if there’s anyone that has tested his patience when it came to your affection, it would be dionysus, who always offers you a glass of his best wine and seems to gravitate towards you during festivities
once, dionysus had gotten close enough to whisper a joke in your ear, and as soon as hermes, who was across the room, had heard your sweet laughter, he raced towards you two and sat directly in the middle
you were happy to see him, now holding his hand tightly, and dionysus was none the wiser to the messenger’s attitude, opting to now whisper to hermes for the rest of the night as the two of you joked about
he knows that dionysus is just being friendly, but to have someone else elicit such a reaction from you rubbed hermes the wrong way
you don’t tend to get jealous very often as you’re close with hermes’ circle of friends and family, however you did get irritated with a loyal mortal follower of hermes
they had been leaving him offerings at his temple for weeks at that point, asking for the grace of their god to be bestowed upon them, reaching out for hermes to take them as a prize
hermes found it delusional, and it fuelled your annoyance knowing you couldn’t do anything about it
your lover eased your mind as he sent messages to the follower, denying his offer and requesting he stay loyal to all gods and goddesses and stay true to his own morals, he did not wish to take them in any way, shape or form
he likes to sleep with his head against your chest as he hugs your waist, enjoying the feeling of your hands in his hair and the sound of your heartbeat
if you’d like to switch spots, he’s more than happy to do so as well
something about the way you look when you sleep on his chest makes his heart melt
since his hair needs to be taken care of before he goes out, hermes allows you to braid it if you want, and teaches you if you want to learnt how to do it
he once spent a whole day doing his work with a neat bow attached to the end of his braid, courtesy of you
you also like to brush his silky hair after he bathes, drying it for him and letting him sit in front of you as you comb it out
often times he will return the favour and comfort you, opting for massages or kisses
he might even steal apollo’s lyre to serenade you, playing it masterfully to your shock as you never knew he was the one who gifted apollo the instrument
the guy just wants you to know that he loves you, and he’s willing to do whatever he can to make every day happy for you
he’d scour the earth for anything you ever wanted, and he’s more than willing to spend eternity in your arms
in which . . . it’s been a few weeks of going back and forth between olympus and the polis where heron and electra residd, and you’ve started to notice a change in your heart.
cw . . . (see first chapter for tags), wanted to make y/n have more personality in this one, conflict with feelings, practice fighting, insecurity, guys i CRAVE ROMANCE FROM THIS FIC and IM THE ONE WRITING IT
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taglist: @fussel9913 @lkukaknka
“heron tells me that eula has been teaching him how to ride horses.”
zeus’ voice echoes in the halls as he approaches your chambers. he’s caught just as before you were going to leave for the day. you freeze in your spot before bowing to the god of all gods. you could feel the blood rushing to your heart
“now why would the daughter from a family who owns an ore trading business do such a thing?” zeus questions as his scratches his chin, “perhaps… she’s become fond of the young man.”
“you are drawn out of your wits, zeus,” you scoff as you clip your hooded cloak around your neck, “it’s a simple thing to pass time. you were the one who tasked me with keeping your son there. why does it matter what ways i decide to do so?”
you walks beside you with a smile on his face. you could wipe it off with the mention that hera stopped you when you first saw heron by zeus’ request, but you decide not to bring it up again. the sunlight shines upon you whilst he waves his hand.
“now you’re making it sound nefarious. i’m simply suggesting that, maybe, the goddess before me has developed a soft spot for him,” he states as he keeps an eye on you, “he’s also mentioned that he’s seen you more times than i have asked you to go. why might that be?”
“if i only go down when you ask me to, it would be far and in between,” you explain with knitted brows, “i should keep my relationship with him strong. only visiting once every few months would not be enough.”
“‘relationship’?” zeus hums.
“enough…”
you whistle for your horse, to which asterope arrives after a long rest. you’re starting to think that after weeks of going to and fro, your horse has already memorised the way to the polis, and with heron practicing with asterope, he’s grown quite attached.
you mount up and pull out a scroll from your bag, finding a list of requests that hermes had given you. it was extensive, but it would take you only half the day at best. you decide to start right away.
but before you can go, zeus speaks up, “what do you have planned after finishing your duties today?”
“i—” you stop yourself before glancing to zeus, who holds a knowing grin, “i… promised heron that i would teach him more today.”
“oh, what a surprise!” zeus sings out as he pats your shoulder, “why would the protector of promises do that if she truly did not care for the mortal?”
“i am going to leave now.” you huff as you lift the reins.
he leaves you be with a boisterous laugh. it itches at your skin and makes you scowl.
"i believe you play a large role in the reason why heron stays put," zeus states, which makes you halt in your position, "he seems to be happier now that you have interfered."
you look at him for only a moment before looking away and whipping the reins to lift off.
whilst in the sky, you think to yourself, wondering why you were promising such things to heron. it was one thing to be doing this for zeus, but spending this time time with the mortal wasn’t for him. you were starting to feel like this was for you.
you lean forward and rest your forehead against your horse. “asterope, you don’t find this confusing?” you ask, only getting a huff in return, “if you could speak, you would order me to get my head out of the clouds. perhaps there’s some truth to what zeus is babbling on about, isn’t there?”
the wind blows against your face, kissing your cheeks as you ponder. you lace your fingers against the mane of your horse and question, “do you like heron? do you think he is a good person as i do?”
asterope only lets out another huff, to which you purse your lips out. “i can still tell when you are giving me attitude, you know?” you retort.
the first thing you were to watch over was the exchange between two major cities in all of ancient greece. it was a marriage pact between the princess and king of neighbouring kingdoms, and the one you were to watch over was the uncle of the bride, who had promised his niece that he wouldn’t stand in between her and her future husband despite not thinking the young king was worthy.
it was the princess who prayed in your temple and asked for your personal attention. hermes was lucky enough to hear the a few days before their wedding and warned you, even though you already had the oneirio send the uncle a message telling him not to interfere.
you watched from the cliff side, hidden by your cloaks, as you watched the two families feast. you wondered what it would be like to partake in such a tradition, to be promised to someone like this princess was. she looked happy with her now husband. love was something you couldn't bare to desire, not after your parents, but it was eventual.
after the ceremony was finished, and the uncle had past every moment he could've taken to interfere, you move down the list of your requests.
one man's promise to be there for his wife while she would be giving birth – you cleared his way from the main city to his home, getting rid of anything that could stop his way. there was a young girl who had prayed to you asking for protection over the straw doll she allowed her friend to borrow who said they wouldn't let anything happen to it. you spent at least 30 minutes making sure no oil or mud got on the toy.
after ticking the last item on your request list, you let out a sigh of relief. the sun was now further into the sky – enough time to get to the polis and keep your word with heron. as you made your way over, you didn't miss how your chest squeezed at the upcoming events. you were you were excited to see him and spend time with him. you were going crazy...
"it's just because i do not spend much time off of olympus for fun," you tell yourself and asterope out loud, "that's it! i'm indulging in this purely because there's nothing else for me to do!"
your horse let out a puff, forceful and almost mocking. you frown.
"you are testing my kindness, you know that? no other steed acts in such a way." you state as you lean your head to the side to get a better look at asterope's eye. he doesn't even look convinced.
once you reach the ground, you once again cast an illusion over yourself and your horse and begin trotting towards heron's home up on the mountain. he had healed over the weeks and was back to his full capacity. you tucked away your invisibility cloak as well as fix your garments around your body, just in time to reach his home.
electra is outside tending to her garden when she spots you. a wide smile places itself on her lips.
"eula, wonderful to see you again," she hums as she wipes her dirty hands on a cloth and sets it aside, "heron is just cleaning himself up; he was trading ore in the polis earlier today and rushed home. i must say, you've got my son flitting about these days."
your feet land on the ground as you bow your head in respect. "i hope you're having a good day, electra. i apologise; i did not know i would be making him do such a thing."
"nonsense, it's good for a young man like heron," electra chuckles, "i'd rather know he is safe with you than somewhere else."
you smile at the polite woman when you hear the door slam open. heron, who might've heard the conversation between you and your mother, stands there with a frantic look on his flushed face. when he sees you, he beams.
"eula!" he cheers as he moves towards you, "i didn't mean to keep you waiting on me. should we go now?"
"it was only for a moment," you reply before turning your attention to electra again, "i will see you when we are finished, electra."
"see you soon." she hums back.
you begin to walk away with heron beside you, reins in your hand.
"would you like to mount asterope? i can go into town to rent that horse again," you offer as you look to him, only to see heron playing with his fingers, "what is it?"
"i... wanted to try riding asterope with you as well, so you don’t have to spend money on renting a horse," he informs you after gathering up his courage, "i would lead, and if i make any mistakes, you would help me. does—is that a good idea?"
the pair of you stop on your tracks as you take in his suggestion. it would put you close in proximity with heron, and you'd be handing over your safety to him. while you weren't all too worried about injuring yourself, being of divine power, you were worried about being so close to him. but you decide to give it a chance.
you hold out the reins to him. "i don't see why it wouldn't be. here."
he glows as he takes the reins from you and mounts onto asterope without your help. once he's settled, he turns to you and holds out a hand to pull you up. the way the light shone behind him made it seem like he was pulsating with divinity himself. he’s radiant today, as if aphrodite had blessed him herself. you could feel your chest pounding at the mere sight of him. you gulp before resting your palm in his and allow him to pull you up.
you settle behind him, moving back to make some space as to not bother him. you clear your throat and hold onto the cloth over asterope.
“ready?” he hums as he glances to you over your shoulder.
“yeah.” you squeak out.
heron lifts the reins an immediately starts on the way to the wide grass area the two of you had usually occupied. it was a hasty start, making you nearly fall off, but you grab onto his shoulders to steady yourself. he mutters out an apology.
for the next five minutes, both of your hands are on his shoulders as you journey down the mountain. you feel utterly embarrassed at your position – allowing a novice horse rider bring you along in an awkward position was something you hoped no one would see. you surely wouldn’t hear the end of it from the god of thieves.
after another dump, you rest your head against the back of his neck and sigh, “just relax, heron. it might be heavier to lead him, but asterope knows what he’s doing.”
you feel him shiver under your touch. “r—right, yeah.”
a chuckle leaves you as you turn your head to be met with the sun shining upon the greatest of sights. the forest nearby had birds flocking about, and from this high up, you could see a pond in the centre. with your sight, each leaf waved towards you.
the mortal world was beautiful. with all the time you’ve spent here, you’ve come to find the nature comforting. winter would be taking affect soon enough, and the falling leaves were a sign of that.
but even whilst the trees were dying, it was still beautiful. you were jealous that humans were able to see this every day.
“e—eula…?” you hear heron mumble out.
“hm?” you say with your cheek against his shoulder whilst you stare at the view.
he doesn’t answer for a second, but ultimately clears his throat, “nothing, nevermind.”
you only realise then that during your haze, you had rung your arms around his waist. it was comfortable, but as soon as you had realised, you pulled away.
“i’m sorry, i—i didn’t realise.” you mutter in a shocked tone.
“no, it’s fine! i… i don’t mind.” he retorts.
you stall yourself for a moment, as if to think properly. but you end up holding him once more anyway. he was so warm, in contrast to the bed you came back to every night. you could hear his racing heartbeat and feel his every breath. it was nice to be so close to someone.
you were falling for some trick, you had to be. in what reality was this suitable for someone like you to be indulging in? perhaps this was another dream of yours, a life you’d never live. but you listen to heron’s questions about his leading, you feel him against you, and you know it’s real.
nobody has let you hold them in such a way. no gods or goddesses dared to do that, whether it be because of your parent, or because you were simply not good enough. the goddess of chariots and oaths, amongst those who control lightning, were the personification of beauty itself, ruled the sea and even represented the greatest wisdom.
what did you have to offer whilst you stood beside them?
you curse yourself out, hoping he couldn’t feel your heart pounding at your ribcage.
“thank you.” you murmur.
heron holds his breath before he replies, “it’s no problem.”
no, this was quite the problem.
he had no clue that you were a goddess, and you feared his reaction when he would eventually find out. zeus would have to tell him that he is his son, and that you were an olympus goddess. he’d know that you’d been lying.
when you made it to the paddock, you allowed heron to try riding about alone. he felt confident enough to now run with asterope, and when he first achieved that without falling off, he cheered so loud that you feared hera would hear. but it made you smile.
he was becoming a natural now. soon, you wouldn’t need to teach him anything. you’d even taught him which whistles command asterope, and he’d successfully used them. you decided to let him roam free about the grassy area, and you sat down and watched him.
he was truly a beautiful person.
after a while, you decided to take a break. you gave asterope his food and water whilst you shared grapes, figs and bread that you had picked up as you passed the polis with heron. he was currently laughing in your face.
“i don’t believe you,” he says between chuckles, “you know how to fight?”
“everyone i know has to know,” you retort with a raised brow, “i am no different. it is helpful to at least be able to defend yourself. why do you not believe me?”
he smiles as he picks a grape. “i have never witnessed such actions from you, not even when that vendor pushed you.” he recalls.
“just because i am able to descalate a situation with my words doesn’t mean that my fists aren’t any better,” you state with a serious tone, but heron only shrugs with a smirk, “you still don’t believe me, do you?”
“i’ll believe it when i see it for myself.” he hums.
you watch as he grins at you and chews on his grape. you hate that his smugness only make him look cuter.
“you know, your ego has grown bigger ever since i told you that you were handsome.” you point out.
heron chuckles again with a fond smile. “maybe i enjoyed the compliment.”
goodness, you felt like a fool. he was entirely intoxicating in how he paraded around only you. his smiles were wider and you had spent longer days in his company. he was taking over your life.
“stand up.” you huff as you bring yourself to your feet.
heron blinks at you. “you cannot be serious.”
“i’ll knock you off your feet before you can even touch me,” you say as you stand a few yards away from him, “give me your best.”
heron stands with a hesitant look, but nevertheless he moves forward. his first swing misses, to his surprise, and then his next is caught by your hand. you watch as he widens his eyes whilst you drag him towards you and hold back from harshly connecting your elbow with his jaw. just a light tap.
as he stumbles back, you place a hand on your hip. “it looks like you’re the one who can’t fight, heron.”
he scoffs with a grin, “you surprised me, is all.”
you raise a brow and motion him forward again. it was true that all people who lived on olympus needed to know how to fight, even if it wasn’t asked of them through their title. ares, the god of war, and aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, both could hold themselves up in battle. additionally, apollo and artemis, god and goddess of the sun and moon respectively, were quick with their arrows and hasty amongst the battlefield. you’ve witnessed all of them on the practice grounds and they were amazing.
when it was time for you to choose your weapon, just as any other god was to do, you’ve gone with a whip. it was the symbol most recognised with chariots and you’d thought it would serve you well. after hephaestus made it especially for you, you spent years perfecting your usage of it. but you knew you’d have to know how to fight with your hands.
he ducks under a punch you’ve thrown, only for you to lift your knee to knock against his shoulder. he hisses at the slight pain as you turn your body and push him away with a striking kick to his stomach.
another time, you’re able to sidestep his attack and grab the back of his clothing. you press your other hand to his chest and trip him to fall to the floor.
he grows annoyed with himself when flick him in the nose as he missed a grapple. he definitely believe you now.
you have heron’s wrist twisted to be against his back, and his chest to the floor. you sigh, “has that old man taught you anything?”
he mumbles against the grass, “elias is a drunkard, what could he possibly have taught me?”
you let go of him and pull his arm up to let him stand. he’s tried about five time to land a hit on you, but each time has been unsuccessful.
“i suppose you’re right,” you huff, “but you’re not too bad. you know a few things.”
you go to release him hand just as heron grips your wrist and trips you over your feet, making you land on your back. you let out a grunt at the sudden action before heron speaks in huffs, “see! i—oh goodness… i know how to… do that.”
staying in your position, you begin to smile. “good one.”
he lets out a whistle as he collapses onto the grass beside you. he rolls onto his back, shoulder touching yours as you stare at the clouds above. you listen to his harboured breathing as it slows to a kind pace. he seems to have calmed down by now.
you glance to the side to see asterope watching the both of you. he stays for a moment before going back to eating. if you could read his thoughts, you believe you’d know what he would have to say. but you’re brought back to yourself once you feel heron’s hand move from his stomach to rest beside yours. it makes you turn your head to him and view his charming smile.
“thank you, eula. you’ve made living here easier for me.” he whispers out above the wind.
“you’re welcome,” you respond with a similar smile, “i… really appreciate your company, heron.”
you feel as his fingers dance over yours to gently hold your hand. your heart begins to race as he moulds his hand against yours. the contact feels like sparks flying about. it’s as if all the sunlight was centred around you now.
because it was.
you knock yourself to your wits when you realise how the sunshine lights upon heron’s face. while it was enamouring, his appearance, you look to the sky to see the clouds parting slightly to make way for the both of you. the sunlight has been bent to your will to cascade among you. panic sets in.
you lift yourself up, waving a hand secretly to vanish the sunlight’s path. as the clouds gather again, you catch a glimpse of one of your carriages above them.
it suddenly reminds you of who you really were. eula, the daughter of an ore seller, a human who knew how to train horses and how to help others, was not a real person. you were y/n, a goddess from olympus. you were not who he believed you to be.
it was too quick for you to detail whose chariot was, but you widened your eyes and begin to stand, pulling heron with you towards your horse.
“i must get you home now.” you say.
“oh, already?” he retorts whilst you put away your belongings, “did you have something to do?”
“yes, my cousins will be returning soon and i must be there to greet them.” you state as you lift yourself up onto asterope’s back. glancing down to heron, you hold out a hand. he hesitates. “i can get us to your home quicker. let’s go.”
he takes your hand after a few seconds and sits behind you on asterope. you hold the reins and whip them a little to set a hasty pace. heron yelps and grabs onto your hips to catch himself. you try not to pay any mind to it, but as he scoots himself closer and wraps his arms around your waist, you let a shiver rush down your spine. and you know that heron noticed as his arms tighten a little around you.
you make quick work of the way to heron’s house, weaving through passing people and cutting along the edges of the road. heron is silent the entire way, much like you are as you were focusing. but once you reach his home, you both leave off asterope’s back and stand in front of the door.
“i apologise for cutting our time short today, heron,” you say with a sincere look on your face, “i prom—ah… next time, we will have more.”
he rubs his arm as he nods his head. you clench your jaw as you take your horses reins.
“i didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” he states as his eyes trace the floor, “i’m sorry. please tell me if i am over stepping any boundaries.”
you have one hand on asterope’s side as you stare blankly at him, lips parted in surprise. his brows are furrowed whilst his fingers play with themselves in front of him. you can see how his eyes refuse to meet yours.
the sound of your sandals against the dirt floor makes heron look up. but as he does, you’ve wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into a warm embrace. your body slides against his to make you envelope his every sense. the citrus smell of your hair and how your fingers brush against the back of his neck makes him dizzy. he nearly loses his footing as you hug him.
“no, please do not think that of yourself. you do not make me uncomfortable in any way, nor are you overstepping. you’ve respected my every wish,” you tell him as you feel his body relax, “you are a gracious man, heron… and it is much more than i could ever deserve of you.”
the sons of zeus that you know are all different. ares was as hot-headed and argumentative as anyone could get, yet showed such vitality in battle that was unmatched. apollo was justifiably prideful of himself, his partners and his good work as a god. hermes was of good nature, always putting the likes of others in front of his own. dionysus, despite always carrying around that bottle of wine, held deep conversations and was entertaining most nights. hephaestus was full of incredible ideas and the means to make them work, which utterly impressed you.
he was the son of someone flawed, but zeus was the god of all gods. he was the one who brought down the titans. he was the one who brought down your father.
you were the daughter of a cruel being. destruction and downfall were written into your blood by the fates. you were nowhere near as tender as heron was.
a sigh leaves you as you begin to pull away, palms resting on his shoulders, but heron’s arms wind around you once more. you’re held in your spot, unable to move. his nose nudges your shoulder.
“who are you to say what you do or do not deserve?” he questions, “isn’t it my kindness that i am giving to you?”
a short exhale emitting from you renders you speechless. you ball up your hands against his skin as he holds you tighter. only after a few more moments does he release you.
“please,” he says to you with knitted brows, “please come and see me again.”
you smile as he hold his hands in yours.
“of course i will.”
he sends you off with a wave of his hand as you begin on your journey home. the sun was beginning to set now, and once you are out of range from the polis, you ascend to the sky with your cloaks on. a smile isn’t able to escape your face as you recall the moments before.
“he wants to see me again,” you hum to asterope, “oh fates, i am so unbelievably infatuated with him. why is he so kind to me?”
you don’t get a response from him.
olympus is bursting with life when you descend upon it. it’s then that you remember that the rural dionysia would be starting from today onwards. whilst it wasn’t the bigger one of dionysus’ festivals, he always enjoyed celebrating himself with a grand party.
asterope’s hooves dance along the marble as you land in front of the other gods, goddesses and divine power alike. you spot zeus nearby with his eyes on you with a knowing smirk, so you bow your head with a tight grin. hera was nowhere to be seen, as expected since she didn’t particularly care for dionysus like his other siblings not of hera’s descent.
“dionysus, i hope your feast has been pleasurable,” you say as you walk towards the god, “am i late to the festivities?”
“oh, y/n, you are funny,” dionysus laughs as he hands you a chalice of wine, “they have only just begun!”
you watch as hermes, apollo and artemis approach you two. consequentially, you whistle for asterope to return to his stable for rest tonight. the twins greet you first before the messenger god.
“y/n, how were your duties today?” hermes questions.
“well. i managed to get through the whole list, thankfully.” you respond.
“oh, so that’s where you were,” artemis hums with a finger on her lip, “i could’ve sworn that i saw you and asterope with a mortal an hour or so ago on my way to draw the night.”
you stop, holding your breath as you hold the cup to your face. “is that so…?”
“y/n with a mortal?” apollo chuckles, “now that is interesting. there is no possible way that it is true, right?”
you sheepishly drink your wine as pick from the grapes on the platter before you. they all watch you expectantly, awaiting your refusal. you clear your throat as you swallow the fruit, “well now, that’s—that’s just utterly… i, um…”
“it is a strange habit you have,” hermes says with a smirk, “you are only able to lie to hera and sometimes even zeus. it is like you couldn’t bear to do so with us.”
“she is attempting to lie!” dionysus gasps as he sits down in the comfortable spot he was originally in. apollo and artemis sit as well as hermes pats your shoulder. “oh, i have never heard of the goddess of oath luxuriating in the likes of a mortal before! you must tell us everything.”
you wave a hand with furrowed brows. “i a—am doing no such thing. i do not… partake in mortals as you do.”
“well, it wouldn’t kill you to,” apollo sighs, earning a jab in the side by his sister, “hey! i am simply suggesting that she allow herself to release her stress in some way or another. is that so bad?”
“if y/n does not wish to do so, then she is entitled to her own ways of relaxing,” artemis states with a shrug, “however… her and that mortal seemed to be very close in proximity.”
“artemis!” you groan as you cover your face.
the group erupts in theories and such of your situation. you sit by listening to them, a bit entertained by the theatrics being thrown about.
but the real reason why you are smiling to yourself is because you can still recall how warm heron’s hands were in your own.
» sam is so tired to playing bouncer. he’d much rather handle emails and all that officework stuff than deal with drunkards
» river has been anxiously awaiting a text from asher. they had no idea what to say to him, and when they saw his text they giggled so much that lane barged into their room thinking they were getting attacked
» vincent LOVES drama. him and lovely talk about the club staff a lot and they have a bet on which bartender is gonna get a partner first. vincent is betting on river and lovely is betting on [angel]
» tank definitely remembers the interaction with sam, but they’re just too embarrassed to admit that. david witnessed the whole thing
» david sat there and tried to understand the texts [angel] sent him. was there really a competition last night that he was unknowingly entered into???
in which . . . zeus has a request for you to fulfil, and you are in no place to deny the sky god. you are brought back to the polis of which you first met his son and come to find that he is truly a kind man.
cw . . . (see first chapter for tags), slight injury, i know nothin about horses
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taglist: @fussel9913
“did you take this chariot with you?” you ask your mother with a confused look, “what happened to the one i made you for your travels?”
you draw your fingers along the winding steel of chariot perse had arrived in last night. it was a standard one that you’d typically give to the servants of atlantis to use, but you remember making one for her yourself. being a oceanid didn’t exactly mean that she needed to be encompassed by water constantly, and when she’d make way to you in olympus, you wanted to make sure that she was in comfort.
“i allowed one of my sisters to use it to visit her son. i will get it back, do not fear.” perse responds as she sits in your stable.
“i could’ve retrieved you myself, mother,” you state with furrowed brows, “i of all gods and goddess shouldn’t allow her own parent to indulge in such discomfort.”
she lets out a short hum of amusement whilst you brush the hair of her horses. you released them from the chariot and allowed them to roam free amongst the paddock. you look over your shoulder to see perse cradling an iris between her fingers. you sit beside her, peeling off your gloves and setting them beside you.
“iris’ were your father’s favourite,” perse says quietly, making you pause, “he would wait for demeter’s spring to gather a bouquet for me, since i didn’t have a flower of my own. he was sweet.”
you stare at her with your lips pressed into a thin line. “my followers leave them at my temple. i am showered with iris’,” you explain, “i believed that bringing some to olympus would motivate me.”
“i do hope they are treating you well here, my dear,” she huffs as she brushes the dirt from your cheek, “if you ever want to return home—”
“my business is here, mother,” you reply with a short smile, “i may not be able to do as much as the others, but i still want to do my best.”
the sad stare in her eyes is not missed. all of her children were spread across the world. it wasn’t uncommon that they would visit, but even so, she felt separated. you had offered her a place at olympus, but she denied.
“when was the last time you saw him? he is not the same titan you speak of.” you scowl.
perse glances at your face of distaste. she sighs as she places a hand over yours. “your father was corrupted by kronos, he was not always that way. when we met, he was gentle and kind, and he… he was excited to meet you.” she claims with a soft tone.
“all you tell me regarding him is how difficult your life was when he wasn’t there, and he chose that for himself,” you state with a pleading voice, “when i saw him, he refused to look at me. and my sister has told me of how much he disliked her. he might’ve been a kind husband, but as a father he was inadequate. why do you still love him?”
your mother runs her fingers over your knuckles. “he was good, long before kronos even thought of betraying his children. him and circe had a complicated relationship… but he loved you all dearly.”
“he abandoned you.” you scoff.
“he did not want a life for you riddled with war,” perse insists, “he may have made a rash decision, and he may have betrayed the sky god, but he had good intentions for you.”
you think that she’s naive, that she cannot see past what her husband has done. but in reality, you know that love seems to blind all. you’ve seen it with zeus, you’ve it with aphrodite, even dionysus himself. you couldn’t fault her for that.
suddenly, you hear the footsteps of the messenger.
“perse, it is good to see you,” hermes says as he comes to a stop, eying you, “y/n, zeus has requested your presence. he says it is important.”
you nod your head and squeeze your mother’s hand. she looks to you with a sad expression on her face. she wishes not to fight with you, she only wants to show you.
“you are welcome to sleep in my chambers while i am gone,” you say as you stand, “when i return, i will bring you home.”
she nods her head as you leave.
you find zeus upon his terrace, staring over the clouds. when you make your presence known, he looks to you with a grin.
“you asked for me?” you say as you bow your head.
“yes. hera is off today, something about the childbirth of a creten princess,” he says as he waves his hand, “however, i cannot leave. i hear that poseidon needs help at the bottom of the sea. therefore, i require your help.”
you knit your brows for a moment as you await his order.
“i need you to visit heron and electra. they are living well off of what you have provided, but again my son grows restless. he begs his mother to leave. you need to go down and convince him otherwise.”
you widen your eyes at the request and step forward, hand in your chest. “why me? can’t apollo or hermes go?”
“hermes is always busy,” zeus states, “and apollo can go… a little off track at times. the two do not know the whereabouts of heron and electra, but you do. furthermore, you’ve interacted with them on your own accord.”
you clench your hands at your sides, ultimately agreeing that he was right. but you still groan, “how can i be sure that he would listen? it has been a few days now since i last saw them.”
zeus purses his lips as he gestures to you. “you’d be surprised. heron has spoken of you quite a handful of times now. he refers to you as ‘the kind lady’, and he hopes to see you again.” he informs you.
“this is not a ploy to get me to do your bidding, is it?” you question.
“of course not,” he chuckles, “why? would such a ploy work?”
you scoff with a shake of your head, “ridiculous… i will do this, but you mustn’t waste my time again. this is your son.”
“oh yes, but he just enjoys the likes of you more than that of i,” he states with a shrug, “it was you who said he was interesting, am i wrong? i am sure that you would be able to convince him to remain where he is.”
he watches as you hold out an expectant hand. he raises a brow at you, to which you reply, “the polis takes coins, and i cannot make them appear out of thin air. it is bad for the economy.”
zeus scoffs with a smirk as he makes a bag of drachma appear in your hands. he waves at you. “you should be the goddess of bargaining.”
you bow your head before whistling for your horse. he arrives in earnest, waiting for you. so you board, grabbing the reins and starting on your way.
it’s midday now, and the polis is as lively as ever. it doesn’t take you long to pinpoint heron under the sun – he is making his way down the mountain. you could intercept by the polis entrance. you cast an illusion over your clothes and over your horse, making all seem ordinary. once you are on the ground, you wait.
perhaps it’s the fact that you’ve never met any mortal sons of the gods and goddesses. you were the only of your kind on olympus, and you’ve heard tales of the others. maybe that’s why you were intrigued with heron. and by the sounds of it, he was intrigued by you.
when you see him in your far sight, you begin to move. you brush your fingers along asterope’s mane. “do not be frightened of zeus’ son. he will not hurt you.”
you feel the sun on your skin as you lead your horse onto the used track. as expected, heron notices you and recognises your figure immediately. he calls out your fake name and runs to catch up with you.
“eula! it is a surprise to see you again,” he claims in a thankful tone, “i—i thought you would be leaving. what are you doing back?”
you prepare yourself mentally before turning your head with a smile to him. “heron, it is good to see you. i’ve decided that this polis is a nice place to stop every once in a while on my trips.” you glance at him, noticing the way his right leg strays. “you… are limping.”
you halt. heron clears his throat as he rubs the back of his neck, “a—ah, well, i had a run in with some townspeople… but i am fine, it’s nearly fully healed. i can walk, i just need to sell this ore.”
when he looks back to you, you’re getting off your horse. he blinks when you whistle for your horse to lay down with his legs tucked beneath his body.
“what… are you doing?” heron mumbles out as he holds the bag of ore at his side.
you turn to him with a raised brow. “what? i can’t be riding horseback whilst you are injured,” you said as if it were obvious, “by the fates, you walk up and down that mountain every day. you need to rest. mount up.”
“what? you want me to ride your horse?” heron gapes at the idea, “but i’ve never once learnt how to control one.”
“oh,” you say, a little embarrassed that you had assumed since you were, in fact, in charge of all chariots and horses, “are you busy? there’s a large paddock nearby this polis. i’d be more than willing to teach you.”
you watch as he stammers over his words whilst you gently take the bag to hold and then take his hand and guide him to sit on the paddled cloth on your horse’s back. you whistle a particular rhythm to signal your horse to stand up. as he does, heron squeezes your hand in surprise.
“easy now, asterope,” you mumble out as you brush the horse’s mane, “do not cause heron any trouble.”
heron’s fingers entangle in asterope’s hair as you take the reins. “i… i have spare time after i sell this bag, if you do as well.”
you smile at him, to which heron stares at . “i will lead my horse and hire another for me. i entrust asterope to keep you safe. is there a stableman in the polis?” you hum out as you walk.
after a much easier time with the ore-seller, heron directs you to where you want to go, and soon you are standing in front of an older man with his arms crossed.
“i am not renting out my horse to that bastard.” the stableman scowls.
you shake your head. “no, it is for me. i will be the only one who will ride the horse,” you state as you hold out four drachma, “only for today.”
he stares at the money before eventually allowing you to choose a steed. you look around before you spot a strong horse whose eyes bore into yours with frustration.
in retaliation, you hold out a gentle hand.
heron watches from a few feet away as you slowly approach the horse and manage to calm it down. you whisper out words and softly brush your fingers against its neck. soon enough, the horse obeys your request and moves forward.
“i haven’t seen one person tame that beast,” the stableman claims loud enough for heron to hear, “who is this lady?”
you take hold of both reins, leading them to the paddock you spoke of. you made sure it was still under the clouds that zeus had put up to hide heron and his mother. once out in the open, you mount your horse slowly and turn to heron.
“hold the reins. asterope is trained by sound, but he knows the basics. do not be afraid of him.” you tell heron as you show him what to do.
for the next hour, heron awkwardly jerks the reins every which way, attempting to get asterope to walk anywhere other than in a straight line. you hadn’t realised how hard it would be for someone to learn at his age, and not when they were little.
at some point, his arms are in the air as he tries to turn left. you trail behind him, trying to stifle a laugh. heron hears you.
“this isn’t as easy and you make it seem!” he informs you through a concentrated stare.
you continue to laugh, “you look like you are calling upon the gods.”
heron drops his arms and watches as you come to ride beside him. the both of you fall into a slow pace.
“if i were praying to the gods, i’d ask them to take me and my mother elsewhere,” he sighs as he looks to his hands, “my mother doesn’t want to leave. the people of the polis are cruel. they assume my mother is bad purely because—…”
he stops himself short and looks away. you could feel embarrassment radiate off him, but you don’t agree.
“i understand your situation of being… different from the population, but you mustn’t give up hope,” you tell him, “your mother is a kind woman. i don’t believe she would put you two in such a situation if it could be helped.”
“what do you mean?” heron asks.
“i only suggest that you be more understanding towards your mother,” you say with a hopeful tone, “i hear that parents often give up the world for their children.”
he stares at you, and how you brush the mane of your horse. “what about your parents?”
a moment passes between the both of you. when you gather your thoughts, you reply, “i don’t speak with my father, and my mother is a hopeless romantic. but i love her dearly. she claims my father tried to help me.”
“do you believe her?” heron questions.
you come to a halt, impressed when he is able to do the same. you get a good look at him after a second. he’s handsome, you think to yourself, with a strong jaw and a muscular body. he mentioned that he knew how to fight, and you’ve noticed he’s a little sheepish when you talk about certain things. but most of all, he is kind. heron truly cares for his mother and is willing to work his body to its limit in order to provide for her. he wants to protect her. his good heart makes yours ache, knowing what danger lies ahead.
“you have no suitress awaiting you?” you question plainly.
“you—you mean a wife?” he stutters out.
“a woman of whom intends to court you, or perhaps you’re a suitor yourself,” you explain to him as you lead him around the paddock again, “i’d imagine at least some ladies amongst this polis have found you good-looking – most ladies, if i should guess.”
he goes quiet for a few seconds before he speaks up, “do you think i am good-looking?”
you freeze, looking away from his face. “i—i…” you stammer, “you’re not exactly… unpleasant to look at. i… i think you have a nice smile.”
that seems to make him happy, because all of a sudden heron is able to move asterope to now be beside you. you spot his soft grin.
“thank you, eula. i think you’re quite pretty yourself.”
you grab the reins and gently yank in order to begin trotting in a quicker pace. heron, shocked by the sudden change, moves to go faster as well.
“well, what about you? do you have any suitors?” heron inquires.
you chuckle with a roll of your eyes, “i have not accepted anyone. one man introduced me, with marriage intended, to his son who believed attending hectic festivities all day was relaxing.” you cringe when you remember the first time you came to olympus and zeus introduced you to dionysus, who immediately offered you wine and told you of his cult. you were unimpressed and it took many years for you to be able to view dionysus as anything other than a drunkard. “sometimes i believe i am too busy to be spending time with another.”
you thumb the reins as you think to yourself. apollo had spoken to you many times about rewarding yourself with a mortal or two to ‘satisfy your needs’, but you never wished to do so. perhaps it was because you were too busy, or maybe it’s that you’ve never felt as if anyone would court you. it was well-known that your father was the titan helios, and anyone with a sense of mind would be cautious if that.
heron’s voice cuts through your thoughts.
“you are spending time with me, though.” he chimes.
you turn to see him with a gentle smile. his eyes stay on yours, unwavering. you let out a short laugh, “i suppose you are right.”
it was wrong to be enjoying the time you were spending with him. you were only there to keep an eye on heron, not to be laughing along with him or having such conversations. but for once, you didn’t feel the need to uphold your reputation. you were simply a traveller here, and heron liked your company.
the two of you spend time in the paddock for hours after that. heron, in all honesty, hasn’t learnt that much at all. you are left baffled by his lack of knowledge when it comes to riding horses. after returning the horse you rented horse to its stable, you glance up to the clouds above – it was going to rain.
“i’ll return you home quickly,” you say as you grab a cloak from your horse’s side bag and hand it to heron, “it’s about to start raining hard.”
little water droplets begin to litter the air as you mount your horse, getting heron to move towards the back end. you take the reins and begin on your way with a quicker pace. heron, surprised, gently grabs onto the back of your robes. once settled, you felt him scoot closer to you as the raindrops suddenly stopped hitting you from above. you glance up to see heron holding the cloak over the both of you.
“i don’t want you getting sick.” he tells you.
“thank you,” you reply, “you’re very kind, heron. i understand why you and your mother are so close – she is also nice. i just wish that things become easier for the pair of you.”
he goes quiet for a moment, as if thinking. but you hear him sigh behind you, "it would be easier if we were to leave this place."
"but your mother doesn't want to leave. she needs you, heron," you state, "you should stay."
he huffs in response, "i suppose you're right."
you continue on your way to his home, where you find electra waiting under the roof of their home. her eyes widen when she sees you.
"eula? what are you—" she pauses when she sees heron poking his head out from over your shoulder, "heron! there you are! by the gods, i've been looking everywhere for you!"
you draw you horse closer, now using the cliff's edge to shield you from the rain. electra approaches you quickly once you do. as you get off your horse, you nod your head to her.
"i apologise, electra," you say before whistling for your horse to lay down, "i ran into your son and i stole him away for the day."
you hold out her hand to help heron stand up from asterope. he smiles at you.
"i was worried... i thought that maybe he was in trouble," she sighs out in relief, "thank you for looking after him."
"i'm not a child." heron grumbles out, embarrassed.
"you have an injured ankle yet you still insist on going out to the polis." electra argues back.
you chuckle as you let go of heron's hand with a bow of your head, "i will leave the both of you now. thank you for today, heron. i wish you a good rest."
you take the reins from your horse. "c'mon now, boy," you mutter out as you go to mount him, but you notice how heron watches you, "what is it?"
he holds out the raincoat you had given him. before you can reach for it, he wraps it around you himself, clipping the ends at your neck with the brooch. you glance at him with raised brows.
"return home safely," he says with a kind smile, "i hope i can see you again."
you sigh out, offering the same grin, "me too."
he watches you mount your horse and begin on your way home. you also hear how electra giggles something out to him, to which heron scoffs at before entering the house. when you reach olympus, zeus is on his balcony. he spots you, and when you give him a nod of reassurance, he nods back.
after apologising to your horse and brushing the droplets of water off of him, you return him to the stable and head to your chambers. but on the way, you pass the queen of the heavens herself.
"i have not seen you all day," hera claims with a tilt of her head, "where have you been?"
you bow a little. "forgive me, hera, i did not know you were looking for me."
"oh, i wasn't," she informs you, "but when i saw your mother and heard that you were currently off doing zeus' bidding, i got curious. so, what did he have the goddess of oath doing?"
hera has never been interested in your business, not that much, until now. you know that with zeus' disappearances throughout the past few years has sparked interested in any other misdeeds. it was only time before she would turn to you. perhaps you should've thought up a lie to cover your tracks.
she didn't like you any better than she liked any children of zeus that were not her own. the titan helios reigned chaos amongst with the other titans, and just because you were not on good terms with him didn't mean that you were stripped of his actions. you found it to be tiresome to try and win over her respect, so you decided to play neutral and play by her rules instead.
you know better than to go behind the back of the wrathful queen of the heavens, you know that yourself.
however, you're quick to think, after years of witnessing lies that people would come up with.
"dionysus has had this strange idea where he believes that panthers would work in the position of winged horses," you say with a short laugh, "i decided to entertain his intentions this one time, however panthers prove to be a challenging lot. i'll see to it, nevertheless."
hera stares at you for a moment longer, as if contemplating the validity of your claim. but you give her a lying grin.
"you forget that i take care of all chariots, regardless of what steeds they choose." you state with a knowing look.
the queen only looks away, waving a hand in your direction and she walks passed you.
"very well, then. proceed with your work." she sighs as she moves along.
a breath of relief escapes you once you're out of her sight. you hurry to your chambers, where your mother is seated at your vanity with scrolls from your shelf. she is reading the myths that some of the mortals below have written about you. she hears you enter and begins to giggle.
"some of these are quite outrageous, my dear. this one says that you were an army general of a small yet revered kingdom under hephaestus' watch, and you were granted divinity by the goddess pistis for your noble heart," she explains with a smile, "which is why you are the goddess of carriages and protector of promises."
"nonsense," you retort with a shake of your head as you peel off your coat to hang to dry, "such tales are made up when the truth is far easier to understand."
"perhaps so." she hums.
you place a hand on her shoulder as you stare at her with a pitiful gaze. "i do not care for helios. if hades come to me and swore on all of the underworld that he was thrown into that abyss, i would not bat an eye," you state in a stern tone, only to see your mother's frown, "but... since you care for him still, then i suppose i will compromise. i will... acknowledge that there is a possibility that he had done what he did to protect me. i do not agree with him nor do i intend to forgive him. but i will say one thing."
perse watches as you give her your best welcoming smile. you hold her hand and speak, "he sounded like a kind husband to you when he was there."
your mother smiles wide before enveloping you in a tight hug. she mumbles against your shoulder, "he was altruistic, my dear."
whilst you didn't entirely believe her, you hug her tightly and wait for her to be ready to leave.
in which . . . you are a being of sight and the daughter of the sun, and therefore are able to see everything under the light – including the times when zeus drifted off to the mortal realm in secrecy.
cw . . . fem reader, helios’ daughter! reader (yes i finished boz and had to rewrite this), heron x reader, reader is discriminated against due to her blood by certain people, reader is a goddess (given divine status), mentions of cheating (its zeus), LOTS OF LORE NGL I DID LOTS OF RESEARCH, possible spoilers, i love a slightly oblivious reader
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you despised your father.
the titan god of the sun, helios, spent his life in tartarus, as far as you were concerned. you had visited once, under the eye of hades himself, to only announce your existence. you were half-mortal, a demigod only thanks to his blood. he barely looked your way until you mentioned the name of his wife and your mother — perse. but even still, he spoke no word to you.
he did not apologise for leaving your mother when she needed him most, nor did he care enough to ask about you even after he was imprisoned. your mother said he knew of the pregnancy, and yet still went on his way to go against the olympians. your mother told you of the hardships; having both her husband and her father go to war and never return took a heavy toll on her. it was the oceanids that kept her company, not the father of her children like she had hoped. you haven’t seen him since.
but he was important. as the original sun god, it was his chariot that brought the light through the darkness of the night sky. it was apollo, son of zeus, that took the name after your father was defeated, and therefore the responsibility of the sun as well. by proxy, his twin sister, artemis was given a similar responsibility of her own – she was to bring about the night.
that only left you.
“by the fates, you are one busy goddess, y/n,” you hear from over your shoulder, “my sister said you were caring for her chariot late into the night, and here you are active even before i am ready to wake the day.”
apollo walks towards you as the torches light his way. he is glowing, as expected, and he offers a kind smile.
“it is my duty to make sure that all chariots and winged horses are up to standard. it is not every day that i am to tend to horses of flames,” you explain as you gently brush the fire, “i will be busy for the rest of the day – persephone will be on her way down to the underworld today, so i must see it that her chariot is in good condition and that she arrives safely under the pledge between demeter and hades, or else either might want to have a word with me.”
apollo nods his head as he takes the reins from your hands. “i see. i thank you for your care,” he hums once he boards the chariot, “goddess of chariots and of oaths, the peace-keeping and all-seeing eye.”
“yes,” you reply whilst you take off your gloves to you stare at your fingers, “the only good thing my father has ever accomplished was leaving his power to me, as useless as i am compared to the rest of you.”
apollo freezes at the mention of the titan.
it was common knowledge that you were of titan descent, something that wasn’t as usual amongst the olympians. when you were introduced to zeus as the daughter of helios by hades, he welcomed you with open arms. his wife, however, was not as kind. likewise, her own children were not accepting towards you at first. it took years to gain their trust, and even now they were only indifferent towards you. it seemed that even by divine decree, you were not the same goddess that others were.
in all honesty, you were alike to apollo the most. with your father’s original title being that of a sun god, you were able to wield the sun similar to him. you’ve seen the olympian gods fight countless times, and apollo’s fire was similar to your own that you could manipulate through the rays of light from above.
you were simply the one for chariots and oaths, like your father was before you. were you really allowed to be amongst the gods here?
apollo shakes his head to you.
“your help is what keeps us moving, y/n. do not belittle your own strengths,” he tells you as he holds onto the chariot, “i must go now. i wish you have an entertaining day – you have not taken a lover, correct?”
you scoff, crossing your arms over your chest, “i do not have the time to go gallivanting as you do. do you forget that i am to survey the lands to assure all promises are upheld? every prayer made to me is a request to oversee their vows.” you glance towards the smirking god. “speaking of which, hyancinthus was promised a chariot ride this afternoon. i hope you do not forget.”
he fakes fear. “or i shall face the wrath of the goddess y/n! oh, how terribly long the lecture will be!” he jokes as he lifts his reins, “steady paces.”
with that, he rides off into the night sky to awaken the sun. as soon as he is out of reach, you turn towards the stables of olympus. before you were to leave, ares requested you check on his horses before he take his trip today. you weren’t very fond of the god of war, but nevertheless you helped.
the sun was beginning to rise now. you listened from your position as other gods and goddesses began to wake and begin their days. as you were pulling ares’ chariot out to the open, you spotted the god of the heavens walking about. you stopped, bowing your head.
“zeus. what are your plans for today?” you ask quietly.
he smiled at you and replied, “nothing planned. perhaps i will pay a visit to my temples.”
you watch as he holds his hands behind his back, staring down at you. he shifts his weight onto his other foot, something you’ve noticed he’s begun doing often now. he smiles tightly in your direction, eyes flickering to the chariot behind you.
“it seems you are busy, so i will not take up your time. we shall speak again later.” he calls as he waves his hands and walks passed you.
something you’re good at as the goddess of sight and keeper of oaths was that of detecting strange behaviour. you knew he was lying; the way he was quick to find an out to the conversation and how he wasn’t able to stand still. why would he lie to you?
you’ve noticed that he’s been seen on mortal grounds more than a few times. when it was brought to your attention by hera, you decided to keep a close eye on the god. but you had yet to find anything suspicious enough to cause a scene amongst the olympians. you hope it stays that way.
regardless of your own suspicion, you decide to continue with your work. after leashing the horses to the chariot, you turn towards the battlegrounds, where you knew hermes was often found doing laps before setting off on his duties for the day.
“hermes!” you shout to the messenger god, “i have a request!”
in a flash, he is in front of you and tipping his helmet off his head. “y/n, what is it that you need?”
“please inform ares that his chariot awaits him. i need to leave olympus for persephone soon.” you tell him as you remove your gloves once more.
“ah, it is always a pleasure to come face to face with him,” he says in distaste, “but i shall do it for you. will you be gone for long? i hear that perse wishes to see you soon. she will be visiting olympus tonight.”
you stand up straight and place your gloves in your satchel. “is that so? my mother will be here?” you hum out with a smile, “that is wonderful news. i will come back as soon as i can. thank you, hermes.”
he nods to you before he is away in a second, presumedly to find ares. it was now time for you to make your way to persephone. you did not require your own chariot for trips such as these, so you relied on your own pegasus to move about. you gently pat his neck as you led him outside.
“come now, asterope, we will depart.” you hum out as you fix the knotted reins.
hephaestus made it especially for your horse, which you named asterope, so that when you pulled the middle rein alone, then from the saddle and the cheek-straps a material would cover him to make him invisible. athena had gifted you, like many others, an invisibility cloak of your own that you regularly used when working amongst the mortals. today was no different.
you began your journey towards persephone’s garden, passing over a few towns on your way. whilst you weren’t as popular as apollo or athena were in terms of temples, you had a few scattered about. people who wished for their promises to be kept dearly were visitors of yours and usually offered flowers such as irises, or even things such as rings or other jewellery. regardless of what it was, it gave you purpose.
it didn’t take long to make sure persephone’s chariot was up to standard, and the travel towards the underworld. she found it comfortable to have you be visible rather than watching her in silence, so you removed the invisibility around both you and your horse.
you’d been on neutral terms with her, becoming more positive ever since demeter found out where she was through you. knowing you saw all that the light touches, demeter demanded to know where her daughter went, and you were forced to tell her where persephone was. it was what sparked the six months with and without her, and under your care you made sure that the agreement was respected.
“you seem especially pleased to be returning to hades today,” you state as you glance towards persephone on her chariot, “may i ask why?”
“six months away from him feels longer than the moments i spend in the underworld,” she explains, “and with the children, i find myself more eager to return home. i hear that they have become quite the hunters.”
“is that so?” you chuckle whilst winds blows against your face, “they are still so young. it is good that you have a relationship with them despite the circumstances.”
she smiles a little. “yes. and what of your father? has he asked for you?”
you scoff with an amused grin, “helios? the only one i am sure would get a word out of him would be my mother, and i refuse to have him see her. that is a luxury i outwardly deny him.”
persephone nods her head. she stares at your side profile, seeing how angered you were just thinking about it.
“i hope that your offerings this half year have been fruitful.” she hums.
“thank you, persephone. and i wish that you and your family enjoy your time together as always.”
once she was safely returned to hades, you took your leave.
during your flight, you watched beneath you how busy the stalls in a certain polis were. if you remembered correctly, this particular area had one of the most widely known ore-sellers there was in his part of greece. he was popular amongst travelling workers and companies that shipped in their materials rather than farm their own. even from so high up, you can spot the man. he was currently… arguing with a younger man, and it was gathering an audience. you sigh to yourself and begin your descent towards the polis.
you keep hidden amongst the thick woods, pulling your cloak off and putting it on top of your saddle. you shift your clothes into something more suitable, indistinguishable amongst a crowd. brushing your hand along asterope’s neck, you whisper, “stay here. i shall call upon you when needed.”
making sure he was completely invisible, you walk towards the entrance of the city, feeling the environment around you as the sun shines upon it. you were able to traverse the ground with ease before you come across the ore-seller.
“i do not do business with the likes of you, scum.” the seller scowls from the centre of the circle.
you squeeze your way through the crowd, careful not to draw attention to yourself. when you are able to see clearly; a younger man, looking to be at around your age, stands before the seller, looking to be of dishevelled appearance. he carries a large bag of ores, like the ones you know that the seller buys.
“this is enough ore to last you business for at least a week. does this not suffice?” he asks in a confused tone.
“i don’t care how much ore you bring me. your filthy hands have touched it and it is unusable now because of it!” the older man yells as he picks up gravel from another barrel beside him and throws it at the poor boy.
you click your tongue and move passed the people ahead of you to interrupt. whilst moving quickly between the people watching, you press your fingers to your chest to make gold plating run around your neck and wrists, as well as coat your sandals. the younger man is wiping the dirt from his chest as you stand in between him and the seller.
“huh? now who are you? another bastard?” he grumbles out as the crowd begins to laugh.
“i was the one who asked this man to help me sell my ores,” you say as you glare at the seller, “i come from miletus, bringing you ore that would draw in the wealthiest of customers, and you reject my offer for the foolish reason that you are not fond of my chosen distributor.”
over your shoulder you can see the younger man. he’s tall, dressed in simple clothes with… piercing blue eyes. you stare at him as he is staring at you.
“you chose this louse to do your bidding? are you out of your mind?” the seller laughs.
“he knows this polis better than i and he offered his help to me whilst others left me disregarded. i do not care for your opinion on him, only on the ore i bring from miletus,” you say as you pick up the large bag from the other man and hold it out to the seller, secretly casting an illusion over the ores to make them more appealing,“i heard that you were the best seller. i give you the best ore. i wish to see my compensation. or shall i take my business elsewhere and leave you with nothing?”
the seller eyes the bag once more, this time with what seems like curiosity. he thinks about it for a moment before dropping the ore back in and taking it.
“well, if he had mentioned your business from the start then i would’ve requested to see you personally. all of this riff-raff could’ve been skipped,” the seller claims as he digs through a drawer and waves his other hand, “this is a hefty bag. how’d a gal like you get these anyway?”
“a family business. one that will be done through my associate from now on – i’d rather not look you in the eyes again,” you scoff as you gesture to the man behind you, “anything he offers you, it is from me. i expect the right payments. understood?”
the seller rolls his eyes at you with a sharp ‘sure’. you know he’s lying and at some point he will just revert back, but you nod your head for now. the crowd begins to disperse.
“i can pay you three tetradrachm for them, seeing as they are in good quality from miletus.” the seller hums as he goes to give you the coins.
“i will take them in drachma,” you say as you hold out your hand, “it is easier to manage.”
with a loud huff, he changes the money and puts it in a pouch to give to you. you turn to the other man, who suddenly stands up straight, and motion for him to follow you. once out of the busy part of the city, he clears his throat but you stop him.
“here,” you say as you turn around and hold out the bag, “12 drachma.”
he takes the bag from you, wide eyed expression. “i—i cannot thank you enough! it is only my mother and i, and she is at home today. she will be so happy when i return,” he excitedly tells you with a giant smile, “who are you? why did you come to my aid?”
you continue to walk out of town as you respond, “you… can call me eula. i only helped because i saw you were in need of assistance. i am sure a handful of people would’ve done the same.”
“i can’t say anyone else would’ve,” he sighs out, “you are truly a goddess amongst man.”
you stare at him for a moment before realising he was only complimenting you.
“right… thank you.” you mumble out as you look behind, feeling a presence. as expected, a few town locals were watching you two with anger, more-so towards the man. “let me walk you home, uh…”
he looks a little surprised and begins to stammer over his words, “m—my name is heron. it’s a pleasure to meet you. well, my home is a bit up that mountain, so it may take a while.”
“it is alright, i do not have to be home til later,” you respond as you shift the sun rays to be towards the people staring, effectively making them turn away, “it is just you and your mother?”
“oh, well, there’s an old man too, but he isn’t really blood related. my father… i don’t know where he is,” he claims, staring at the ground, “but it’s fine. i don’t need him. i’m doing well on my own.”
“i can see that,” you take a moment to study his face and his physique, “do you practice sports? fighting, perhaps?”
as if your sight was poking at his skin, heron rubs a hand over his arms and shivers a little. you furrow your brows, moving your hand to carve warmth towards him – winter had just begun today; perhaps he was feeling it already.
“i know how to fight, yes,” he replies, “i learnt so that i could protect my mother. the townspeople, they aren’t… kind.”
you look to the grass and huff, “i see. that is unfortunate, i am sorry for your hardships.”
he gives you a small smile as the both if you continue on your way.
you were hoping you were overthinking it, that he wasn’t who you thought he was. he was kind, a polite soul, and the wrath that would be unleashed upon him and his mother would be great to survive. you hold out your hand, asking for the bag to inspect it. heron gives it to you without question. you look into the pouch and secretly put in a few more drachma that you kept in your pouch in emergencies. then, you return it to him.
it isn’t much longer until you arrive at his home on a mountain overlooking the polis. you notice a few metals used for smelting ores beside the house, along with logs of wood, ready for the winter. the door opens before you can make it there, and out walks a woman that looked similar to heron.
“mother, i have good news.” you hear heron say to the woman as he embraces her. but your eyes follow a figure that comes from behind the woman.
a shorter man, older, spots you. he looks shocked as he studies your appearance. you look to him too, and notice how his hands go behind his back, and how he leans towards his left. your brows raise for a moment. you were right.
you snap back into the present when heron places a hand on your shoulder.
“this is eula, she was the one who helped me today.” he states.
his mother stares at you in disbelief before bowing her head. “thank you dearly, this helps us so much,” she claims with such warm eyes, “you have a heart of gold, eula.”
you swallow your nerves and bow your head a little too, eyes flickering to the old man. “it is no problem. may… may i ask your names?”
the woman stands up straight and places a hand on her chest. “i am electra, and this is elias. heron is my son.”
“he is a very kind person. i hope that he learns well from you, electra.” you admit you could’ve said the last part with a little less distaste for the god present, but you nevertheless mean it, “i shall not stay long, i have business to attend to. my mother will be visiting me soon.”
the old man blinks a few times before he nods.
“we won’t keep you long. thank you, again.” electra smiles to you.
“may the fates be in your favour.” you reply with a bowed head.
heron steps forward. “will you be in this polis for long? will we meet again?” he questions you.
you respond, holding your hand behind your back, “it all depends on where my business will be. i travel over many cities.”
“i see…” heron hums out, “if i do see you again, let me repay you.”
elias suddenly speaks up, standing in front of you, “i shall accompany you back, eula. i am on my way in your direction.”
you sharpen your gaze towards him the tiniest bit, ultimately accepting his offer. you bid goodbye to the mother and son, turning to leave with elias. neither of you speak a word until you’re deep into the woods and you call upon your horse.
after releasing your illusion over yourself, you glare towards zeus. “this is what you have been doing throughout your spare time? playing house?”
he remains in his disguise, but looks away. “he is my son, and she is a woman of whom i love,” he claims, “i believe… he will become a great figure amongst the gods.”
“‘amongst the gods’?” you repeat in shock, “he is of mortal blood.”
“as are you.”
“his mother is human, mine is an oceanid – that is the difference,” you explain with a huff, “i suppose hera doesn’t know, given the clouds that curtain this polis.”
“she does not, and i intend to keep it that way,” he tells you with a sharp tone, “you will not tell hera. i know that you are capable of keeping secrets, and my affairs are not uncommon amongst us. i broke my oath to hera long ago. this does not need to be spoken of.”
he was right. you telling the queen would not serve you any purpose. zeus’ faithfulness towards her was always lacking, which is why you knew apollo, hermes and many other gods. and the mother and son you just met were kind people. hera would unleash all her power onto them, and it would keep you awake at night knowing it was your fault.
“i will keep your secret, but only because you have regarded me with kindness all throughout knowing me, and your son…” you trail off, looking towards the mountain he remained on, “he is interesting. i want to see what happens.”
“curious, are you? you are more than welcome to speak to him on your own accord.” he offers you with a grin.
“who else knows of them?”
he glances to the ground for a split second. “apollo. he was the first to know. hermes does as well.” he informs you.
you sigh to yourself and lift yourself onto your winged horse. he was trouble, the sky god. but you will honour your promise.
“you didn’t have to give them more money.” he tells you.
“i once witnessed you hunting down rabbits nearby this polis,” you claim, “so i do not see how you could tell me i am not allowed to give them something to live off of.”
“fair point.” he chuckles as you clasp the cloak around your neck. his gaze turns serious for another moment. “i know not to interfere. needn’t worry, goddess of oath.”
his word means nothing. you yourself know first hand how tricky he can be. you’ve witnessed the prejudice that the children of zeus face with their step-mother. the god was a fool to be playing such games.
you stare down at him and pick up the reins. “i hope you stay true to such promises.”
hii can you write about Heron (BOZ) x reader cuddling, or something with fluff please? (reader can be GN)
off the battlegrounds!
in which . . . you watch your lover continue his training under the eye of zeus, and it doesn’t seem to be going very well for him.
or . . . you help heron relax after another day of training.
cw . . . gn reader, heron x reader, reader is a mortal, injuries
“maybe if you had his fight a smaller automation, it would be easier on him. he has just begun training, after all.”
you watch as the large automation towers over heron once more. it raises its spear, aiming towards him before launching it right at his shield. heron is pushed back.
“unfortunately, we cannot do that,” zeus replies to you at your side, “his opponents will most likely be of this size. he gains nothing from limiting his fighting.”
you sigh as you lean against the wall of the stands.
you were brought to olympus by hermes after heron requested your presence. although confused at the beginning, all of it washed away once your eyes laid on him. you were irritated with him – why did he leave without telling you? is this where he’s been for the past day? apollo and hermes watched from a few feet away as the son of zeus stood with his head down as you complained to him.
but after zeus himself explained everything to you, you couldn’t help but agree to stay. heron was facing new challenges, and he wanted you close. his pleasing eyes were enough to make you stay.
after a particular hit from the automation, you wince as heron hits the floor again. his shield clatters and rolls towards your feet. he lifts himself up on wobbly arms, only for his elbows to buckle and for him to face plant once more. the automation stays still.
“could he have a moment?” you ask the sky god.
he thinks about it before nodding his head. “heron, take a break. we will reconvene later.” he calls out to his son.
zeus leaves to speak with hephaestus whilst you pick up the shield and walk towards your lover. you sit down beside him, gently brushing his hair away from his face.
“do you need help returning to our chambers?” you whisper to him.
heron begins to lift himself again until he is sitting in front of you, heavy breaths. “give me a second to breathe.”
you nod your head. reaching forward, you thumb the dirt littering his cheeks and offer a kind smile. he glances back at you, gaze softening, before he turns his head and kisses your palm. he mutters out a quiet ‘thank you’ as he leans into your touch.
“come now, i’ll clean you up.” you say as you help him stand.
with his arm around your shoulders and the shield and sword in your other hand, you both walk towards your room. he holds onto his side, sucking in his breath when it hurt. once there, you help him into the room and shut the doors.
“today is another failure.” heron complains whilst sitting on the bench at the end of your bed.
as you dampen a cloth in the water well in the corner of your room, you shake your head. “the day is not over yet, my love. and you are making progress.” you claim.
he scoffs as he watches you return to his side, “i would hardly say i’m making progress. every day i am defeated.”
you stand before him, gently holding his head to face you. your smile makes him relax. “you are coming closer to your goal and that is all that matters,” you state as the cloth takes away the blood and dirt covering his face, “i think your father is right – your anger drives you. you need to harness that feeling and turn it into strategy to win rather than just power.”
his hands find your hips where he slowly pulls you in closer. “it seems easier said than done. i am hundreds of years away from everyone else. if i am to fight in this war, i need to catch up.” he says to you.
“i understand,” you reply as you press a kiss to the crown of his head, “but anymore injuries to your face and you’ll no longer be my handsome darling.”
“is that all your care about?” he scoffs with a smile.
“no. your training also gives you bigger muscles.” you joke as you squeeze his bicep.
heron rolls his eyes with a chuckle. after you clean his arms, he stands up again. “i should take a bath to properly clean myself,” he tells you before peeking at your face again, “you… are more than welcome to join me.”
a gentle laugh escapes you as you wind your arms around his shoulders. “you forget yourself, heron, and you forget about this,” you hum as your hand glides over the developing bruise on his side, which makes him wince, “go now. i’ll be here when you’re finished.”
he nods his head and leans towards you, placing a kiss on your lips. his hand gently caresses your cheek whilst the other holds onto your back. despite being so heated in battle, he regards you with soft touches and careful kisses. however, after a few more seconds, heron begins to kiss along your cheek and neck, eliciting a laugh from you again.
“heron, do not start!” you say with your hands against his chest, “enough, you—you said you were going to take a bath!”
“let me enjoy you, my love,” he responds with a small chuckle of his own, “it is hard not to look your way when i am training.”
your words are cut off when the door to your bedroom opens from the other side. a yelp leaves you as you hurriedly push the demigod off of you. standing up straight, your eyes lock onto artemis who looks just as surprised.
“oh, my apologies, i thought you were still training,” she says with a short nod, “i just came to leave a bow of mine here for you, heron. i did not mean to disturb.”
“you weren’t disturbing anything.” you reply with a wave of your hand.
“thank you, artemis.” heron says as he walks over and takes the bow.
she smiles at the both of you with a knowing eye before she leaves. you clear your throat as you move towards the well and clean the cloth.
“i will stay here, heron. go ahead.” you hum out.
he shows you a small smile before going off. it doesn’t him long to return, meanwhile you’ve taken the chance to clean his sword and shield. you sit on the balcony, admiring the reflection of the sun on the metal, when you hear the doors open again. heron enters, now clean.
you walk towards him, placing the weapons down by the door, and take his face in your hands. “you look tired.”
“i am,” he replies, “but i should return to training.”
you frown a little before you take his hands in yours and drag him towards the bed. “at least rest a while longer. zeus can allow that.” you say as you gently lay him down.
he relishes in your touch, holding your hand to his chest. your soft gaze makes him smile; even through out all the hardships of his life, you showed him the kindness he could only dream of. you were the sweetest song and the warmth he took refuge in every night.
“i hope he can forgive me.” heron mutters as he tugs you to lay down with him.
“your worry will tire you out further,” you chuckle, letting him bury his face against your chest as you pull the blanket over the both of you, “i do believe you’ll make a great demigod. your strength is far greater than we could ever come to know.”
he winds his arms around your waist, pulling you closer as he sighs, “i question my capability amongst the gods.”
“do not question yourself when so many people believe in you, my love,” you tell him, fingers tangling in his hair, “rest for now.”
he lets out a short hum in agreement. the way your hand rubs against his back makes him relax further. he seems to sink against you, holding you as if there was nothing else in the world. you kiss his forehead once more.
you make your way to the aisle that showcases fruits ready to grab and place in your basket for purchase; some of these tags interest you, and there’s some comments beside the price tags too . . . [wander the aisle]
> incl. half-mortals and olympian gods
‘half-mortals’ section: 2 available
> “despite not being like the others, they still pack a big punch!”
*.• heron
off the battlegrounds! // gn // sweet!
across the sky! // fem // series!
pt2
*.• seraphim
out of stock!
‘olympian gods’ section: 6 available
> “such divine taste is something for those who dare to try it!”
