Sophia

We stayed close to the fire, watching the massive deer stamping and huffing on the other side. After a few moments though, something strange happened. The deer tensed up as the gash in its flank quickly began to heal, then it just ran off. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding when suddenly my spear just came flying out of the woods, landing beside our fire.

Was that… laughter?

Artemis. It had to be.

“I’d thank you for watching over us, but since you’re obviously the one who sent that deer to fuck with us, I’d be lying!”

Chloe looked at me sharply.

“Sophie!”

“Well it’s true! Call it what you want, a test or a challenge or whatever, she sent that thing to attack us!”

“I- I don’t know about that, Sophia.”

“Meaning?”

“Well, think about it. If it really meant to hurt us, it wouldn’t have circled around us like that. Every time it veered off course, it wasn’t because we’d hurt it, it just turned on its own… My arrow didn’t even hit it. I hit its antlers and it turned away. I think it really was a test, and I don’t think we were ever in real danger…”

“I still don’t like gods fucking with me like that.”

“That was… pretty scary, yeah…”

She was shaking. Oh gods. I’d been so focused on how pissed I was that I hadn’t even noticed. Quickly, I wrapped my arms around her, looking up into her eyes as I gently rubbed her back.

“Yeah, it was… We made it though. You were quick, and clever, and you kept us both safe… You did good.”

With a gentle tug, I guided her to the ground beside the fire, and we held each other there for several long minutes, both of us taking comfort in the other’s presence. I’d never say it out loud, but to be honest, I’d been scared too.

Once she’d calmed down somewhat, I went about building the fire back up and cooking some food. It was good, shockingly good, even. I guess it’s pretty hard to mess up what’s essentially just boiled greens, but I was feeling pretty pleased with myself either way. When we both had finished our meals, Chloe cleaned our dishes as well as she could before sitting beside me. On impulse, I threw my arm over her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“Um…” she ummed.

“It’s ok if you don’t, I just- I want to make sure you’re doing ok is all. I don’t think being accosted by a deer the size of a car is how either of us expected today to go.”

“Accosted..? That’s a pretty specific word.”

“Well, you seem pretty adamant that ‘attacked’ would be an inaccurate description, but clearly it was trying to mess with us somehow. Accosted just felt like it fit.”

She let out a single, short laugh.

“Heh, that’s fair enough…”

Silence fell after that, lasting just long enough to start edging towards awkward.

“I do, by the way. I want to talk about it, I just… don’t know how.”

“We-”

“I mean, I’m like 80% sure that we were never in any real danger there, and I know that, but there’s also the tiniest chance that I’m wrong and we really did almost die and it’s just gonna come back and finish us when we go to sleep.”

“I mean-”

“And even if I am right, that was still a massive, potentially fire breathing, deer that could have killed us in two seconds flat if it wanted to. I mean, if that was a test, then what are we gonna do when we meet something that actually wants us dead?”

“Chloe…”

She was spiraling.

“So what if we weren’t really in danger there, that was terrifying! If I can’t even handle that, what hope do I have of keeping up with the goddess of the hunt?!? How could I ever be her companion? How could I ever even keep up with you?!?”

“Chloe!”

In one swift motion, I twisted, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking straight into her eyes. Her self deprecating rant caught in her throat, and she made a little “eep” sound instead. I stared into her eyes for one second, then another, before finally, I found the words I’d been looking for.

“Chloe… We can do this. You can do this. You are good enough. You were right that it wouldn’t disturb our offerings, so trust that you’re right about this too. It didn’t mean to hurt us, and it won’t be coming back.”

“But-”

“No. Trust yourself, and trust me. It won’t come back, and even if it does, I’ll protect you, I promise.”

“You can’t know that, you can’t promise that!”

“I can and I will.” I paused for a moment. “Let me prove it to you…”

She was frozen. Entirely unmoving except for the rapid rise and fall of her chest as she looked into my eyes.

“I swear, from now until death, I will do all I can to protect you from anyone who would do you harm… and may Artemis herself stri-”

“Sophie!”

She cut me off, her eyes wide with worry. Panic etched into her features.

“Don’t finish that sentence! I trust you, you’ve proven enough, but please don’t make that promise!”

I pushed it too far. I should’ve realized. Swearing an oath like that is serious business, and the gods would definitely follow through with punishment if I failed, even by accident. Reel it back Sophie, just reel it back.

“Ok. You’re right. I’m sorry. How about a different promise then, with some lower stakes? Any ideas?”

…

…

…

Chloe seemed lost in thought for a few moments, biting her lip as she considered. Her eyes flicked away from mine as her cheeks began to flush red. It was then that I realized the position I’d placed us in. In order to grab her shoulders, I’d rolled in her direction, and it was just now dawning on me that I had straddled her lap, and was still doing so now. To make matters worse, I didn’t really want to change that. Chloe looked so fuckin’ cute right now, and I just wanted to lean forward and-

“M-m- maybe w-we could- um… do you- uh, do you want to maybe go out together some time..?”

What?

“W-we could s-s-swear to that… if you want.”

Chloe

Oh gods. I really said that, didn’t I?

My face felt like it was on fire, my mouth was dry, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. What was I thinking?!? There’s no way someone as incredible as Sophia would say yes to someone like me! Her mouth was hanging open slightly, and she wasn’t meeting my eyes. I’d made her uncomfortable, hadn’t I?

“Okay. I swear.”

Error 404: Chloe not found.

“Uhh… like, as a date..?

“I mean, if that’s what you were suggesting, yeah.”

“But- I mean- seriously? Y-you’re a lesbian, right? You’re sure you’re ok with… me?”

She leaned forwards, and I could feel her breath tickling my nose.

“News flash: so are you, you adorable dumbass. I’m going to say this slowly and clearly, and I want you to listen, ok?”

I nodded.

“I told you before, I see you as a woman. I will always see you as a woman. Not only that, I think you’re cute, you’re pretty, you’re beautiful and hot and you make me smile whenever I think about you. I would like to go on a date with you, Chloe. Coffee or a picnic or a movie or something. I want to cuddle you, Chloe. I want to kiss you.”

She somehow managed to lean even closer, one of her hands shifting to cup the back of my neck. Her eyes flicked down to my lips for just a moment, and I found mine doing the same. Her lips parted, and she asked me a question.

“May I?”

I nodded.

“I want to hear you say it.”

My heart was thundering, I felt almost dizzy with want, her body was pressed up against mine and I could hardly think, and somehow she wanted me to speak? My voice came out in a whisper.

“I-I want… I want you to kiss me.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“Please.”

She had this smug grin on as she leaned back, further away. She licked her lips, and made a show of thinking things over, her hand on my shoulder holding me firmly in place as she did. 

“Okay.”

And then her lips were crashing into mine, full of hunger and need. Her arms wrapped around me tight, and the whole world faded into the background. For just one moment, there were no monsters, no gods, no trials or challenges or tests, there was just Sophia. Then, just as quickly, she pulled away. Leaning back once again. She smiled as I bucked and squirmed, struggling to lean forward to meet her. Her iron grip still holding me firmly in place. Then she frowned for a moment as a thought crossed her mind.

“Are you ok with this?”

“Wha-?” I said, panting.

“The uh, the teasing, that is. I want to make sure you’re enjoying yourself.”

Was I?

The kiss, obviously was great, and I definitely wanted more, but this? I thought about it seriously for a moment. I really wanted to kiss her again, and I didn’t want her to pull away like that, but at the same time, the fact that she could so easily overpower me, and the joy she seemed to take out of doing it was…

Ahem.

“I think I am…”

Now the grin was back.

“Say it.”

“I l-like it when you tease me like that…”

“And?”

“A-and… and I like you being in control. I l-like being um, being powerless.”

“Good girl.”

She leaned in, and the world faded once again.

This was going to be a long night.