Chapter Text
"What can I get you?"
"The usual, please."
"One Metrios coming right up!"
Athena nodded, paying the amount needed for the coffee, before heading over to the bookstore half of the cafe.
It was a place she found herself often going to after it had first been built. Little Tree Books & Coffee was somewhere she would go when she needed some peace and quiet, some time away from Olympus. It was a relatively peaceful little corner in the busy city of Athens, and there was nothing more appealing than to sit tucked away from the world with a cup of coffee, and a book to read.
Over the years, Athena found herself coming here more and more. It had been centuries since her time with Odysseus, Perseus, and so many other heroes she helped guide. So many stories of her battles, of the other gods, and all of the heroes. She loved laughing at the translations, some of them being completely wrong, or being mixed up with the Roman equivalent of the gods.
She ran her hands over the books, eyeing each of them to see if any caught her interest, humming to herself. She's read basically every book in the little shop, but every now and then, something new would come up. She spotted something she liked, and took it off the shelf, skimming through the blurb before deciding she'd take it with her to read. She heard her name being called, signaling that her order was completed.
A simple medium sweet coffee, just as she liked it. Not too overwhelmingly sweet, but not stupidly bitter either. She didn't understand how mortals could enjoy the taste of bitter coffee. She thanked the barista behind the counter, taking the cup in her hands. Not that she would even get a sip in.
"I'm late!" A voice sounded behind her, and before she knew it, something crashed into her sending it, the coffee, and herself straight to the floor. A slight burning sensation spread throughout her chest, and she knew her shirt was stained with the coffee she just ordered.
Why must mortals be so unaware of their surroundings? Athena groaned in annoyance, sitting up off the floor, a slight pounding in her head from the fall.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you alright?"
That voice... it almost sounded like...
Looking up, she saw... Her. At least, it looked like her. The same pale blonde hair, the same sea green eyes, the same face shape, the same voice. Even the tips of her ears seemed slightly pointed. She was wearing a white sweater, slightly stained with the coffee, and yellowish-green shorts, dawning a pair of sandals.
Athena couldn't help but stare at the woman in front of her, who was offering her hand to help her up. The woman stared back, almost studying her, seemingly confused. Athena felt her heart pounding rapidly in her chest the longer she gawked at her, mouth slightly agape.
It... It couldn't be...
"... Hello?"
"Er... Sorry. I'm okay." Athena shook her head, taking the woman's hand.
Maybe she hit her head harder than expected.
"Oh, you've got coffee on your shirt! I'm so sorry!" The woman grabbed a bunch of napkins, trying to dab at the coffee stain on Athena's shirt.
"No no, it's quite alright." Athena took her hands, stopping her, "It's just a shirt, I can-"
"Here, you stay here, I'll make you another cup!" The woman ran back behind the counter, immediately working on another cup. Some of the baristas snickered in the back, others looking horrified that someone could even fathom knocking over one of their most loyal customers. She could only guess the lady worked there if they were allowing her back there. "What was the order?"
"Metrios..." Athena mumbled dazedly, still staring at the girl as she flashed her a smile, working on the order she had just lost. She was using some napkins to fix the stain on her shirt, but there was no washing that out of a white shirt.
No, this couldn't be a mistake. She's no stranger to reincarnation, she's seen it in the books, and she's seen it happen a few times during her years of life. But this? Seeing her again? Was this woman even aware of who she was? How could she look so human and yet still have nymph-like traits? Was it really her sweet Pallas? Had she truly returned from the dead? Born again to have a second chance at life? And damn it, why was her heart still beating so damn fast?
"Here you go! Another, non-shirt non-floor Metrios!" Her voice cut into her racing thoughts, and for a moment, she really believed it was her standing there. They sounded so similar...
"... Thank you." Athena took it from her, taking a small sip from the cup. The book she had picked out was still on the floor, long forgotten as they stared at each other again.
"Do I know you from somewhere?" The girl asked suddenly, "You seem... Oddly familiar to me. Like, were we ever childhood friends?"
"Not that I'm aware of." Athena lied, trying to keep her voice cool and steady, but there was a slight tremble to it. This... This has to be her. There's no way it wasn't her.
"Oh. Well, we can be friends, right? I'm sure we'll look back to this little... Coffee incident and think 'wow, crazy how we met like that' right?" She giggled at her little joke; the same laugh as her too. She stuck her hand out, "I'm Paisley!"
Paisley... So close to Pallas, and yet just slightly off.
Athena shook her hand, offering a small, if not awkward, smile back.
"Nice to meet you... Paisley."
"My coworkers told me you come here a lot? I only started recently, so it's good to get to know a regular!"
"Ah, yes. I do come here very often." Athena found herself tensing up the longer she compared the two, taking large sips of her coffee to hint that she didn't want to talk. She couldn't risk Paisley finding anything out. If this was who she thought she was, if this truly was Pallas, daughter of Triton, then clearly she didn't remember who she was. And yet, something in her, a deep sense of hope was telling her this really was her. Just... Not exactly the same as before.
Paisley didn't seem to catch on to Athena's hesitancy, rambling about how much she enjoyed the quietness of the cafe in such a busy and bustling city. Gods, she even had her mannerisms: using her hands to talk, brushing her hair behind her ears, intense eye contact.
After a while, Athena had to cut the conversation short, noticing the other baristas still giggling, some glaring at Paisley for not doing her job.
"You know there's a line forming, right?" She used her empty cup to gesture at the small line growing, watching Paisley's eyes widen in shock.
"Crap! I didn't even realize! Ugh, and I've just been here rambling on and on to you!" She took the empty cup, rushing around to complete another order, while Athena slowly packed her bag, finally getting her book off the floor. There was so much she needed to process, so much more reading to be done, and by the gods her heart needed to stop giving her false hope.
On her way out, Paisley suddenly called out to her.
"Wait! I never caught your name!"
Athena stopped by the entrance, contemplating if Paisley should even know her name or not. She turned back around to meet her eyes, those beautiful sea green eyes she had fallen in love with so many centuries ago. She smiled, as genuine a smile she could muster in her moment of confusion, and even fear.
"Athena. My name is Athena."