31 - ARACHNE
The Supreme spilled the beans.
And Athena’s reaction was unconsciousness. Which was just fantastic. Zet also nearly collapsed from the force of their laughter before I rifted her back to mine.
She hadn’t been to my place yet. I was using the need for privacy as a front, but the reality was that her reaction to my web was daunting. It was why we were currently in the living room; the introduction to my space would come after we unpacked the amoroso development.
However, after earlier’s shift, then the soulmate reveal, I figured the odds were in our favor. Karma had even assured Blossom was away, off in the woods for her quarterly jaunt.
It was actually quite nice having Athena’s head in my lap. Our roles were typically reversed. Because she’s such a creep. The thought brought a grin to my lips.
That was until she woke and yanked my head to hers for a sweltering kiss. One which I shoved her out off the couch and onto the floor over.
“I think a conversation is due,” I started in explanation.
Athena tilted her head back and laughed. “Why? You’re mine, fate made it so. What’s there to talk about? We should be celebrating. Scissoring at the very least.”
“This isn’t a joke,” I exclaimed, grabbing a cushion to toss at her.
However, as that pillow bounced off her scarred nose and I prepared for retaliation; she froze, taking in our surroundings with her gaze saucered. “This is an apartment?”
I nodded, biting into my lower lip, not even having considered how our humble abode was anything but humble. Or normal. Although the wall of windows showcased an uninterrupted view of Idyll’s rooftops and Soul Mountain, it was the only indication that we were in a building.
“How the fuck…?” Athena breathed.
“Blossom wanted it to feel as though we lived in the woods,” I explained.
“It took a long while to grow everything to this point, but…” I trailed off, unsure of where I was going.
Her reaction was tilting me off-balance as her golden eyes darted from the corner where there was a pond large enough to swim in, to the high ceilings where thick ferns and vines dangled.
At least you got out of that awkward dinner.
“This is far cooler than my place,” Athena eventually said, breaking our unsettled quiet. “Why didn’t you show it to me sooner, little spider?”
Shrugging, I replied, “Blossom’s typically here and my web perturbs most.”
“I’m not most.” Athena’s wings twitched as she took the seat beside mine. “We’re soulmates, Arachne.”
I felt my face heat as my core tightened. It was difficult to keep from lunging for her. We had an eternity for that, though.
She smirked as though she was reading me for filth; despite my desperately clinging to a nonplus expression. There was no stopping the way my heart sped as she licked her lips. “Will you play switch for me finally?”
I gaped. It wasn’t what I anticipated coming from her mouth, which was why I blurted, “You haven’t seen my web yet.”
That concern over whether this might go horribly wrong resurfaced.
Karma and fate had fucked with me plenty in the past. Athena and I also weren’t perfect, but the pitfalls were what made this relationship thrive. Neither of us wanted flawless, we just wanted each other.
It was then I realized just how much I was already in love.
That confirmation quashed the uncertainty.
Now you just have to be the one to speak it first to hold it over her.
Athena was rubbing her hands together, grinning from ear-to-ear as she said, “Well, lead the way then.”
A plan formed as I grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to my room.