Summary |
Theseus struggles with his budding romantic feelings, keenly aware of how messy the relationships he had in life all were.
(While Theseus is pondering his relationship with Dianthus, this is also heavily focused on his relationship with Asterius.)
Originally written for Drabblecember 2022.
TWs | small "blink and you'll miss it" sex joke. Includes references to Theseus' classical myths, the majority of which I have rewritten to be less... "problematic," but please be wary if you look into them on your own.
"Blast this wayward heart of mine- once more it is taunted by Aphrodite’s cruelty! Perhaps she is amused, finding new ways to torture me. I have never been anything more than a plaything to her whimsies! Augh!!”
Within his lavish quarters, an elaborately embroidered pillow made a soft thud against the wall after it was thrown by none other than King Theseus himself. When he found that such an action didn't make him feel better in the slightest, he once again groaned, this time burying his face against the arm of the couch he laid upon.
Curse this schoolboyish crush. Being flustered like this was humiliating. It’d be understandable were he still a spritely young man new to the art of love, but he was an older now, more experienced. He’d already been wed more times than he cared to count. Truthfully, the ceremonies were numerous enough that they long began to blur together in his memories, save for a few notable occasions.
(It was another unspoken cruelty of his, that he had loved so intensely and yet his affections were so fleeting. He sometimes wondered if he should seek out his many wives within the afterlife and offer to make amends. Yet he also felt his presence would be unwelcome, and his uncertainty prevented him from taking any form of action.)
"King." Asterius suddenly snorted- if Theseus had been more alert, he would have heard the heavy lumbering of his footsteps. Why did he always appear at such inopportune times? Theseus hated for Asterius to see him like this, wallowing in his own self pity. The bull only deserved him at his absolute best, after all.
"You are thinking of that half-nymph again."
"Is it truly so obvious?"
"Yes," Asterius was blunt, as always. The voice of reason to Theseus' theatrics. The king didn't know what he would do without him- it was something he preferred not to think about, certainly.
"You should be honest with her, king."
"You're right, as always you are right, my friend! I am merely concerned, considering my, erm… history, as it were."
It was no secret how tumultuous his lovelife had been. The ceremonies he did remember well were often tied in with some of his more unpleasant memories. His first wife who had indirectly led to the death of his second alongside his eldest son. The friend he'd loved deeply upon the surface, who he would have followed anywhere - until that same blind affection led them both to endure the horrors of the underworld itself, and only Theseus was able to return to the surface.
"I've never been capable of holding onto something for long," Theseus eventually sighed.
"You've held on to me." Asterius sat down next to his king- while he hadn't looked up, Theseus could feel the couch sagging with the bull's heavy weight next to him.
"But you're different, Asterius!” It seems Theseus had suddenly become impassioned against, jumping up from his spot upon the couch so he could grab his bull’s hand. “Our souls had been smelted and forged together before we were ever friends! We two complement one another like gold among rubies, like the stars and sky. Even our bodies are perfectly aligned, such as how your c-"
"King."
"That is, erm! What I mean is that I cannot imagine my afterlife with you. I may have had my doubts, once. But I am not afraid of losing you like I have with many others. With you, things are… Different." Theseus squeezed Asterius’ hand, giving him the most confident smile he could muster. It was always only slightly embarrassing to be so openly affectionate in this way, but every word he spoke was sincere.
"Things may be different with her, as well. You are getting nowhere mumbling to yourself." Asterius gave a soft sigh through his nose, and Theseus couldn’t help but to watch how its golden ring swayed ever so slightly with his breath. "Tell her how you feel. Perhaps her feelings are the same. Perhaps, they won’t be. It will not ruin your current friendship, if she rejects you.”
“And if she says yes, there is a chance we may grow even closer.” Theseus mused out loud. “Such as how we have become close, my companion!”
Theseus always felt fortunate that Asterius carried such deep affection towards him, despite how they'd been enemies in life. He loved Asterius, and deeply at that, in a way he never once felt during his many romances upon the surface.
With Dianthus… he did not love her in the exact same way he loved Asterius, but that feeling was still new, as well. In the past, Theseus did not understand idleness. Why heroes would choose to spend their time lazing about, committing themselves to "gentle" hobbies such as weaving or carving as opposed to the thrill of battle.
But with her he began to understand more and more, why some heroes spend their time among the flowers as opposed to within the arena.
Once she’d finished observing herself in her mirror, ensuring all her items were in order, she called out to the king: “Theseus? You can come back in now.”
He would lay his head down on her lap while she was reading a book from some distant land he's never heard of, and she would tell him whatever mildly interesting facts she'd gathered from it… or if it was poorly written she'd complain and entertain the king with her scathing criticism.
Sometimes Asterius would join them and his usually quiet companion would light up while talking about the mythical world of a novel he'd just finished, of beasts beyond anyone's imagination who were not born to be slain but were revered as gods.
As it turned out, it was nice to slow down, every once in a while. To be idle and enjoy one another's company.
"I… I will tell her one day or night what it is that has been weighing on my mind. Regardless of what the future may hold, it will be nice to at least have this off my chest, hmm?"
"It will be." Theseus felt himself being shifted from his position on the couch, and suddenly he was pressed against his dear friend's side, his face buried in the nook of his arm. Theseus grinned and was quick to reach out, to wrap his arms around his dearest friend. He may have made many mistakes in the past, but with Asterius, he truly did something good. And every day (or night) they spent together, Theseus became more and more certain he made the right choice in bringing the bull to Elysium.
… Perhaps in the future, they would spend days like this with Lady Dianthus as well. Only time would tell.