.....
"Yes. I think it's the only way to defeat Zeus."
Hephaestus gave her a nod of understanding, he didn't need a power boost right now but knowing ways to gain strength is never a bad thing Zeus isn't the only threat in this world there are threats far more powerful than him, that's why he wants to create EA a weapon that can protect him and his family, although he'll have to talk to a few Primordials before he could he even get started.
"Your advice is very much appreciated Demeter, I thank you. You're welcome to stay for tea if you want"
"No, I won't be. Staying long, so please excuse me, it was nice seeing you Hecate"
Demeter stood up and left.
"Well that was quite interesting, although I'll have to leave too"
Hecate spoke as she stood up, she had gotten what she wanted as such there was no need stay any longer it. Was time to go back to her work.
"Don't forget that blood wasn't for free"
"Yes, yes I know"
She waved at him in dismissal before telling porting herself away.
"Athena, I'm sure you're interested in the whole becoming a personification thing, right?"
By her attentiveness during the whole conversation earlier it was easy to see, however he wondered if it was healthy for to be so fixated with Zeus or perhaps he could never understand considering that unlike her he doesn't know the love of a mother, he decided to let her be.
"Yes I'm interested but unfortunately right now I can't access my power"
…
It was a few years before the Gigantomachy and Hephaestus was in his home that he built himself after he saw that he was unsuited for living among humans. A young goddess showed up in his home and called him hideous, something he was already aware of but being called that wasn't pleasant, he shut the door on her hoping she would leave but she wouldn't, she kept knocking at his door to the point he couldn't ignore until he event opened to hear what she wanted.
It was your typical request of her wanting a sword, she was very persistent and it was somewhat annoying, plus he already didn't like her but if it meant being left alone he would comply as such he forged her the weapon she wanted so that she could live him alone
Athena Swung the new sword she was given up and down and executed some techniques as she did, she was testing it out feeling it weight and her suited it was for her and she felt it was perfect.
"This is amazing"
She said in elation whilst still swinging the sword in various directions. The. Sword fit perfectly and was light weight and felt like paper, not only that but it's size was suited to her height and arm length as well, she doesn't recall him asking questions about such thing but he managed to make a sword that perfectly suited her.
"great, you can leave me alone now, your welcome"
Hephaestus curtly said befell standing up from his seat and turning to enter his home, he had made himself a masked to hid his face this way he won't have to hear her call him hideous fir the second time.
"I actually need more than one weapon from you, so this isn't the last time we'll see each other."
"No I've made you one weapon and that's, I'm not making you anything so just leave"
"I'll pay handsomely for it"
"no, I don't need or want your money"
All he wanted was to be left alone but this young goddess wouldn't, Hephaestus entered his house and slammed his door shut leaving Athena bewildered by his lack of willingness go cooperate however she wasn't going to give up, she just found a great blacksmith and she wasn't about to just leave so instead she thought about a way to have him indebted to her as such she would need information on him.
"I'm sure the humans that live close would know him, after all his face is unforgettable"
If she recalled correctly this island was known as Lemnos and should have inhabitants, asking around should help he get the info she needs plus she felt a bit of divine presence from him so there's a possibility he might be one of her father's spawns, however that can't be the case since all of them shouldn't have any divine presence since Zeus made sure not to share any divinity with any offspring he had outside of Olympus.
...…
"what do you mean you can't access your power?"
"I don't know it feels like my connection to war has been disrupted"
Hephaestus was initially confused by her statement however it quickly dawned on him and everything became clear, when he arrived to save her, Zeus had his arm deep in her stomach its possible his at fault for whatever happened to her and made her unable to use her power. He quickly told her what happened.
"I see, sorry I won't be able to help with your sparring now"
"that's fine, I'll figure something out"
Well it wasn't like he need to train anyway hex was just being careful and trying to prevent himself from underestimated Zeus but that doesn't matter, he has plenty of weapons to handle Zeus.
"So what are you going to do now Athena?"
Aphrodite asked, considering that she lived in the royal palace before and now she became a traitor to Olympus she has nowhere to go and the worse of all she basically lost her power she might as well be humans, well not exactly but she's gotten extremely weak now.
"I don't know"
"why don't you rest for a bit and maybe try to get your power back, you can use the room you were in to do that"
He offered although he had no idea how Aphrodite would feel about the matter of Athena living with them but this was an abrupt thing he hadn't considered she had nowhere to go when he saved her.
"Yeah I'll take you up on that"
Athena wasn't one to turn down help, especially so if she herself is aware of her own situation, there was no point in rejection his offer plus she wanted be close to him at least and maybe find a way to repay him for the saving her against Zeus.
With Athena leaving for the bed chambers, Aphrodite and Hephaestus were the only ones left in the living room.
"Now then where were we?"
"are you not mad about Athena staying here?"
"Why should I be? besides once you defeat Zeus she can go back to Olympus so it's fine"
She said with a smile on her face, maybe it's wrong of her to not believe that Hephaestus might win he's her husband and she's supposed to support him and have faith in him but she just couldn't, the words she just said weren't words she herself believed.
'stop it, Hephaestus will win, he defeated and killed Ares so he'll be able to do the same with Zeus'
She tried to convince herself, their relationship was a short one barely even a couple of months old as such she cannot be blamed for her lack of faith in Hephaestus after all she doesn't know his skills, she has only seem him fight Ares, someone that was much weaker than Zeus and Athena who was among the strongest in Olympus also Lost to Zeus, the odds were stacked against Hephaestus.
"Hephaestus"
She leaned onto his shoulder and had her arms around his torso feeling his body heat, Hephaestus did the same and had his arm on her shoulder pulling her close before moving it up to her hair and running his fingers through it. He enjoyed how silky smooth it was and perhaps touching her hair might just be a habit or maybe he has a hair fetish.
"hmm?"
"What's your favourite colour? I personally like pink and gold"
Hephaestus expressed a bit of surprise as he quirked his brow, her question was rather unexpected but he answered nonetheless.
"well I'd say red, gold and maybe black"
"is black a colour?"
She questioned before answering her own question.
"black would be the absence of colour so its not necessary a colour"
She said, thinking about it a bit more it does seem true that black isn't colour without light all that is left is darkness but Hephaestus didn't want and wasn't to about to accept that.
"What are you talking about, black is a colour, the only thing that isn't a colour is something that is transparent, if black wasn't a colour you wouldn't see it like something transparent"
"I suppose that makes sense when you put it like that but why are red, gold and black your favourite colours"
She felt the need to counter him but decided to let it be, as it would lead the conversation down a rather argumentative path and she wasn't in the mood
"I like red because I like the colour of my hair, it's the same with gold as it's the same colour as my eyes and black is the better looking colour than all colours"
"isn't that a bit infantile?"
Though she asked that she found his reasoning for liking black to be quite cute and it was the same as her too, she like pink because it was the first colour she saw when she saw her own reflection in the water and it was the colour of her hair.
"can I not like things the way I like them"
"you can, I'm in no position to Judge you, your reasoning is a bit cute too"
Hephaestus scratched his cheek feeling a bit embarrassed of being called cute, there was a bit of an awkward silence that lingered for a few seconds before Aphrodite spoke again.
"Hephaestus"
"Are you going to ask me about my favourite food this time around?"
"Well no but I could ask you that if you like"
The matter of food wasn't really an issue, gods don't necessarily need to eat and only eat out of luxury or boredom but never out of hunger or craving.
"Well the food I want doesn't exist yet but regardless I don't have a favourite so it's pointless "
As someone with memories from a past life, specifically memories of the 21st century there is a variety of food he'd like but he never thought any of it as his favourite, for him at least there is no favourite food there's just food.
"it's not pointless, I now know that you don't have a favourite that's something about you that I know now"
The atmosphere between them was quite comfortable to the point where Hephaestus used his free hand to lift her face forcing her to look at him.
"can you win?"
She had an expression of deep worry on her face as she asked and Hephaestus was able to clearly understand what she meant.
"Of course"
"Are you sure?"
For her it wasn't really a Matter of winning, as long as she is able to live her life with him then everything is fine, unfortunately asking If he can survive wouldn't give her certainty, by saying he'll win he at least guarantees surviving.
"Absolutely"
"can you win without getting hurt?"
That was an odd question to ask, to fight means to get hurt and receiving injuries as such the answer to her question would be no, however He a bit differently. He was feeling a but confident as such he gave her a non answer.
"define what you mean by not getting hurt"
"can you win without Zeus even touching you"
"to say yes would be too arrogant so I'll try not to get hurt"
Even with all his weapons, the Zanpaktou, Rhitta, Mjolnir and Excalibur it is still far too arrogant and self centred to believe that he could defeat Zeus without so much as a scratch, it's Zeus were talking about here, with the scythe and thunderbolt it would be near impossible to win against him without receiving some injuries.
"That's all I asked"
'maybe I should get stronger so he can protect me and I protect him'
She thought to herself, this was the first time she had ever considered being someone who would fight but she didn't like it when Hephaestus lost a tooth when Ares punched him not only that but she could hardly do anything when they fought.
.....
A/N: SURPRISE CHAPTER!!!!! LOL