With a gasp, Ariadne pushed Dionysus away. She stumbled back and almost fell, her eyes filling with tears. ‘I…’
‘Come, take a moment…’
‘I am sorry, I just…’
‘Take a moment.’ He reached out his arms. She fell into them as he softly pulled her to the ground.
‘Sorry…’
‘Why are you apologising?’
‘I mean… I said… you…’ she sobbed. As he pulled her closer, she tried to take a deep breath. ‘I do want to kiss you,’ she muttered, ‘But I can’t. It feels wrong and weird and I can’t stop thinking about…’ Ariadne covered her face with her hands. ‘He even ruins my life now,’ she said, choking on tears. ‘He doesn’t even let me love someone else.’
‘You do love me, though. You just can’t show it physically, even when you want to.’
‘It’s been almost a year. Who even-’ she tried to push back a new wave of tears. ‘I-’
Dionysus stroked her back. ‘Give yourself time. All the time you need.’
She bit her lip. ‘Why do you even put up with all of this? With me? With not even being able to kiss me without having to mop my tears afterwards?’
Dionysus didn’t immediately reply. When he did, his tone was soft: ‘Because I can wait. It’s okay.’
‘But it isn’t…’
‘It is. After what you went through, nothing has to happen until you are comfortable. Damn anyone who says otherwise.’
Ariadne could see the worry and sadness in his eyes. All she could do was hug him back, hoping it would give him the same comfort he always gave her.
‘Don’t mind me now.’
‘You need comfort, too.’
‘Not as badly as you.’
She shook her head. ‘Don’t ever say that. I want to be there for you as much as you are for me. Otherwise this won’t work, you said it yourself.’
‘I love you, Ariadne.’ As he laid his head on her shoulder, she realised it was true, and that that feeling was worth far more than a tiny kiss could ever be.
A/N: The other things I am working on (Athena & Hephaestus, Phaedra, ice skating AU) are coming along, don’t worry
Me in the first version: ‘Her tears filling with eyes’ (cursed).
For clarification: I think the ‘Otherwise this won’t work, you said it yourself’ references Dionysus telling her that he needed to put in as much effort as she did (Which was very much not the case with Theseus). Here, she throws it right back at him (Affectionately).
