Chapter Text
Was it a gift she had been born with? A blessing, or a curse? Athena longed for the answer. It was unique only to her, the ability to hear the emotions of others around her. It was what made her… interesting.
Athena was a rather lonely child. She had missed so much school as a result of her overwhelming ability that she hadn’t been able to properly bond with her classmates. She managed to make one friend however, Juniper Woods. A rather sickly girl, who also missed quite a lot of school due to her health. When they could be together, they grew very close. Still, they were apart more than they were together, and that made her lonely.
It wasn’t like she didn’t receive any attention. Aside from a few people, most of the space center staff would take a minute to talk to her if they saw her. She also had some relationship with the two robots her mother and her partner Aura had built together, Ponco and Clonco. That was about it though, aside from one person.
Metis Cykes, her mother.
For the first few years of her life, Metis hadn’t been very active in caring for Athena. In fact, she’d often neglected her young daughter. She’d leave her unattended for hours, more interested in her research and work than her baby, and made no effort at all to bond with her. She had pretended to those that she was struggling with Postpartum Depression as well as a recent escape from an abusive relationship with Athena’s father as excuses for it all.
That changed when she learned of Athena’s ability. The ability to hear emotions was entirely unheard of to her. It took Metis’ scientific interest, and she began to devote time to study her daughter and experiment on her to learn the limits of her power.
Athena hated the experiments. There were times they terrified her beyond reason, times they made her angry or sad, or more often than not, times where they caused physical pain. That was why she avoided her mother’s lab like the plague. She wasn’t fond of the robotics lab next door either for the same reason. She also hated the headphones Metis made her wear. They were heavy and hurt her head. The gentle buzzing sound they made was annoying at first, even if she did eventually get used to it as the day went on.
Things changed when she turned eight years old. Her eighth birthday brought someone into her life who would become very important to her.
Athena was outside the robotics lab door. Her mother had asked her to come, saying it was important. She knew better than to refuse, however. It always seemed to be worse when she did. She forced herself to open the door and go inside, where she was greeted by her mother, Aura and a very tall teenage boy.
“Athena.” Metis greeted her, walking over to her and standing behind her with her hands on her shoulders. Athena looked up at her. “This is Simon. He’s miss Aura’s brother and my student. Simon, this is my daughter, Athena.” Athena couldn’t help but be a little intimidated by Simon. He was very tall, especially compared to how little she was, and was dressed all in black. He walked over and knelt down to be nearer her height when he spoke to her.
“Hi Athena. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Simon held out his hand to her, giving her a friendly smile. She could detect a small amount of happiness in his voice, and nothing that would cause her concern. She was still a little nervous, but she shook his hand. “Your headphones are really cool.” Simon gave her a compliment, hoping it would make her relax a little.
“Really?” Her hands went to her headphones as she asked. She was pretty insecure about them because of how big and heavy they were, and how she was the only person in the world to need a pair like that.
“Athena, why don’t you show Simon around for a little while?” Metis interrupted, gently squeezing her daughter’s shoulders. Athena seemed to flinch just a little when she did, although Simon thought he could’ve just imagined it.
“Okay mommy.” Athena grabbed Simon’s hand, leading him out of the robotics lab. He followed, having to bend over a little just so she could reach his hand. Once the door closed, Aura let out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you for taking Simon under your wing. He really appreciates it, I’m sure.” Aura told Metis, rubbing the back of her neck a little. She was desperate for Metis’ affection and attention, and she’d do anything for that. Metis laughed softly and gently planted a kiss on Aura’s cheek.
“Of course. Anything for my partner.” She then walked out of the room. To Aura, she was like an angel floating out of the room. She was completely obsessed with her. Smitten was an understatement.
That night, as Aura was shutting everything down, she could hear an unfamiliar noise coming from next door. It sounded like crying. She shut things down faster, practically running to the psychology lab next door. Inside was Metis, sitting at her desk crying softly to herself.
“Metis, what’s wrong?” Aura asked, coming in and closing the door most of the way behind her. She was very worried. Metis wasn’t one to show strong emotions, let alone cry like this. Metis turned to her, wiping her cheek with the back of her wrist.
“I’m not sure what started it, but I started to worry about what would happen to Athena if anything bad happened to me.” Metis told her. She glanced down at the papers scattered across her usually tidy desk before carrying on. “Her father was very abusive to me, and I fear what he would do to Athena if he got his hands on her. Especially with her hearing… he won’t understand, and I’m terrified he’ll do something to hurt her that way too… I can’t even sleep at night sometimes worrying about it.” Metis confessed further, more tears rolling down her cheeks. Aura wasn’t the best at comforting people, but she reached over and hugged Metis. She hated seeing her lover in so much distress more than anything. Metis hugged her back gently, still looking Aura in her eyes. “Aura… would you become Athena’s guardian if anything happened to me and I could no longer care for her? I would trust nobody more than you to keep my daughter safe. She means the world to me, and I’d sleep so much easier knowing she’ll be safe should the worst happen.” Aura was taken aback, freezing slightly. That was a huge ask, one she couldn’t have ever imagined. Metis let go of her, resting her hands on her shoulders instead.
“I’ll do it.” She didn’t think for long. Seeing Metis so distraught was breaking her heart. She’d do anything to make her smile again, even make such a huge commitment. She was certain she’d never have to go through with it anyway.
“I’ll arrange the paperwork in the morning. I cannot thank you enough Aura.” Metis told her, leaning in and planting a gentle kiss on her lips. Aura was sure she was blushing super hard. Metis’ kisses were Aura’s drug, she was addicted to the high of it. The door opened, which ruined their moment for Aura.
“Mommy, can you read me a bedtime story please?” It was Athena, dressed in her favourite yellow pyjamas holding a storybook in her arms. Aura could just about make out the fairytale the storybook told. Rapunzel, one of Athena’s favourites as Metis had told her. Metis went over to her and picked her up, smiling softly.
“Come on then. Say goodnight to miss Aura first.” Metis told her, turning so Athena could see Aura. Her voice was gentle and motherly, in a way that would cause Athena the least amount of distress. Aura looked over, keeping a neutral face. The blush had quickly vanished as Metis’ focus had been taken away from her.
“Goodnight miss Aura. I hope you have sweet dreams.” Athena said to her innocently, waving goodnight before clinging on to Metis. She looked sleepy as she snuggled up to her mother. Aura nodded her head once, giving Athena a small wave of her own.
“Goodnight little princess.” Aura said to her. Metis left the room, carrying Athena with her. Once she had left, it dawned on her what she’d just agreed to. If anything happened, if she lost the most important person in her world, she’d have responsibility over Athena. She hadn’t wanted children, and would be solely responsible for a child with special needs because of her hearing. She couldn’t back out. She wouldn’t back out even if she wanted to. Metis was depending on her, and she’d sooner die than let Metis down. “It’ll be fine… everything will be fine Aura…” she told herself, walking out of Metis’ lab and closing the door.
Metis carried Athena to her bedroom in their living quarters, setting her down on the bed. The room was pretty small, but decorated perfectly for little Athena. Her walls were yellow and had several drawing she and Juniper had done stuck to the wall where Athena could reach. Her bed had yellow covers and several stuffed animals she’d had been given over her life lined up against the wall. She got under the covers as Metis closed the curtains, holding the book she’d been carrying out to Metis.
“Mommy, can you read to me?” Athena asked innocently. Metis took the book from her, setting it back on the disorganised bookshelf where it belonged. Athena just watched, a little confused.
“At eight years old, you should be able to read to yourself by now. It’s too late for a bedtime story now anyway. Settle down and go to sleep.” Metis told her rather bluntly. When the two were alone, she seemed to change in a way Athena didn’t like. She wasn’t the caring mother she was around other people, she was distant and sometimes even cold. She walked out of the room, turning off the light and closing the door. Athena laid down and stared sadly at the door. She just wanted to do normal things with her mother, things like bedtime stories and going to explore the forest like Junie’s grandmother did with her. Just anything outside her lab.
Two young boys infiltrated the space center from the museum out of curiosity. Clay Terran, who aspired to be an astronaut one day, and his close friend Apollo Justice. Clay had done this a couple of times, and was even on good terms with another astronaut Solomon Starbuck as a result of frequent encounters, but this was Apollo’s first time. As they were wandering through a corridor, a small child approached. Specifically, Athena. She stopped when she saw Apollo and Clay, looking up at the two anxiously.
“Uh, hello.” Clay said awkwardly to her. He knew of her from Solomon, but they hadn’t crossed paths until now. He knew her hearing was sensitive, but didn’t know the extent of it, and tried to keep his voice down to not upset her as he greeted her.
“Hello!” Apollo said rather loudly. He hadn’t meant to be so loud, that’s just how he spoke. Athena’s hands darted to her headphones, taking a small step back. These strange boys were too loud, she didn’t like it. Not to mention stranger danger. Metis had drilled it into her that strangers were dangerous and that she was to keep her distance and definitely not go anywhere with them. “It’s okay! Don’t worry!” Apollo was starting to panic when he saw the slightly scared look on Athena’s face. His voice was only getting louder as he panicked, which only stressed Athena out more. Clay put his hand on Apollo’s shoulder, shaking his head.
“You’re a little loud Apollo. That might be what’s scaring her.” Clay told him, his voice quieter. Apollo went quiet as Clay knelt down to Athena’s level and spoke to her in a slightly quieter voice than usual. “I’m Clay, and that’s Apollo. He can’t help being a little loud sometimes. Can you tell us your name?” Athena lowered her arms a little, staring right at him. She heard the concern in his voice, and although hesitant she decided to answer his question.
“A-Athena.” She introduced herself shyly. Clay nodded his head slowly. Apollo knelt down beside him too, noticing Athena seemed a little less on edge. He figured that he was intimidating her slightly with his voice and also possibly his height. He at thirteen was much taller than her at eight.
“It’s nice to meet you, Athena. Have you seen mr. Starbuck around?” Apollo asked, doing his best to keep his voice at a level that wouldn’t frighten Athena. She was silent in thought for a moment before pointing down the corridor where she’d come from.
“He’s in boarding lounge one.” She didn’t look at Clay or Apollo as she told them. She was chewing on her thumb when she turned back to them. She was still wary of them, since they were strangers in the main space center, but she wasn’t scared. If they had wanted to do something to her, they would’ve done so by now. Besides, one of them knew Solomon.
“Thank you Athena. We’ll see you around.” Clay stood up, pulling Apollo up with him. He waved goodbye as he walked past. Athena continued down the corridor as she had been planning. More new people who would become very important in the young girl’s life.