#but Thena glares at them like A MAN ALMOST DIED

[softquietsteadylove]

Thenamesh. Tomb Raider. AU. Please.

Gil did his best to swim to the surface but it wasn't easy. The tunnel he had followed let out to a rather violent section of the river. He had chosen this slightly riskier path entirely because he had thought it might give him a head start on Thena.

Did Thena make it out okay?

He had bigger problems to worry about, like surviving this river.

He fought to the surface, gasping in what air he could before he was tossed aside again. Okay, so choosing the tunnel section close to the rapids was not his wisest decision. He was trying to think like his more reckless and impulsive colleague!

Colleague probably wasn't the right word for what they had. A frenemyship...a rivalry...some tension that he knew he felt, but was quite sure Thena was oblivious to. Not that it mattered now that he was drowning.

"Gil!"

He was hallucinating now. Much closer to drowning than he thought--great. He hit a rock under the water, its speed overpowering all the muscles he had worked so hard for. His air left him in one gulp.

He wasn't sure if it was a hallucination or not when he saw Thena in front of him. His eyes were barely open when she swam down to him. The river was calmer further from the surface. She swam right up to him, pressing her lips to his, pushing air from her lungs into his.

He must be dying, he thought.

Thena's hands gripped the straps of his bag, urging up back into the momentum of the river. He knew she was plenty strong herself. She would have to be, to be called 'Tomb Raider' by those in their profession, freelance or otherwise.

Thena gasped loudly as she surfaced first, then forcing his head up as well. "Breathe, you bastard!"

He didn't know how necessary the name calling was. But he did take in a breath--a real breath of air. So, he wasn't hallucinating, and he wasn't dead. He was surprised.

"Come on," she growled, still fighting against the current to keep him afloat. "Just keep breathing."

He tried his best, although he was waterlogged, to put it lightly. He felt her sharp talons of fingers creep around his pockets, finally pulling at the zipper of his bag, "hey!"

Thena grunted as she finally disposed of the counterweight he had in his side pocket, expressly for the purpose of switching out certain artifacts, potentially surrounded by traps. "Not a world of difference, but a stone is a stone."

He wasn't sure if that was a crack about how heavy he was or if she really was talking about the rock he was planning on switching out.

They did eventually make it to the side of the river. Thena grabbed onto the riverbank first, fingers dug into the grass and holding onto the strap of his bag for dear life. "Come on."

Gil groaned, dragging himself up out of the water after her. He did feel heavier after his impromptu river ride, he had to admit. He coughed up some water, although he was pretty sure he could hear Thena doing the same. "Thanks."

She remained facing away from him, also fighting to catch her breath. He had underestimated just how strong she was, apparently, given her ability to drag him to shore with those thin little arms. "Imbecile."

"Okay," he huffed, turning over to sit on his butt and lean back on his palms to gasp in the rest of his air. "I'll send you a card, I guess."

"What were you thinking?!"

Gil stared at her as she grasped the front of his soaking wet shirt, shaking him. Her voice was raw and warbled from the shouting and the almost drowning. But it was more than that; she had tears in her eyes.

She shook him again, looking terribly upset (angry and otherwise). "Why didn't you follow me?"

"I-I-" he shook his head, still stunned.

She grabbed his shirt with both hands now, pulling him closer so she could really shout in his face. "Why didn't you follow me?!--down my tunnel! It leads further downstream, at a lower altitude!"

She seemed awfully upset with him for...almost dying? Gil let her grab and shake him all she wanted though. Whatever helped her get it out (and not start punching him). "I didn't know. This was the way I came in."

"You could have died, Gil," she asserted, since apparently it bared repeating. She never called him Gil.

"I-" he blinked, sitting up more properly and gently reaching up to her hands. He tried to pry them away from him gently, and she let go as soon as he touched her. But her hands were so small, and so soft, and now they were so cold, too. He held them in his, "I'm sorry, Thena."

She didn't have a clever response to him holding her hands and wholeheartedly apologising. He still wasn't sure why he was apologising for almost dying on her, but what the Lady wanted, the Lady got.

Thena sighed, her hair now hanging around her cheeks limply after their little log ride. "I thought I was the reckless of the two of us."

The two of them made quite a pair, he thought. He chuckled, looking up at her in her hunched position up on her knees. His hand drifted, and he almost wondered what it was doing. He pushed back some of her loose strands escaping her braid, tucking them behind her ear again. "Guess I had to beat you to it, just this once."

Fuck, she was beautiful. If only her very existence didn't interfere with every job he had ever taken.

Thena looked him over, determining if he really was fit to travel or if he was having one last surge before croaking right in front of her. But she must have been satisfied, because she rocked back on her heels before standing. "Just this once, Gilgamesh."

He mourned how she called him Gil.

"Are you able to walk?" she asked more genuinely, more firmly, and more like her usual self. She glanced at him over her shoulder (with as little effort as possible). "Or should I come back for you."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he insisted, even as he let out a loud groan to get on his feet again. "Maybe if I tell them I almost died trying to get that stupid idol they'll still pay me for my trouble."

"You did technically find it," she shrugged as they began trudging back to the main basecamp around the remains of the city. "I would vouch that your finder's fee still applies."

He smiled, tired as it was. Her shoulders sat lower than before, and she had never looked more delicate to him. But he dared to nudge her shoulder with his elbow, "thanks for saving me."

She declined to respond to that.

If she wanted to walk in silence then so be it. But he had to wonder, "where's the idol."

"Bottom of the river."

Fuck.

"It was made of gold, Gilgamesh, I could not possibly have swam with that on my person."

She abandoned it...for him? He looked at her curiously, but apparently his eyes burning a hole in the side of her head was low down on her priority list.

"Which means my finder's fee also applies."

Ah, that was more like the Thena he knew. He chuckled, soaking up the sun, both for the warmth and in hopes it would help dry out his clothing. It was stuck to him like a second skin. He would worry about Thena, but her raiding outfits tended to stick to her like a second skin already.

Not that he had noticed.

"I can always go back for it."

He laughed more fully, even though his lungs still ached a little. She elbowed him for it this time, and damn her elbows were pointier than his. But he let it slide, given how she did forsake a great treasure to save him. "No racing this time."

"It was never a race," she rolled her eyes at him. "And if it were, I had beaten you anyway."

Ah, Thena never changed. And he kind of didn't want her to.

[killerqueen-18]

Chapter One| Bullshit

2009

“ATHENA GILBERT! You better be up when I get up there! Don’t make me get the water bucket!”

The teenage girl shoots up in her bed. Her hair is sticking every which way. The shaggy black dog jumps off the bed alamed by the yelling in the usually quiet home. “You wouldn’t!” Athena yells back to the woman.

“Watch me!”

The girl pauses as if testing the woman, then she hears her Aunt Jenna in the hallway bathroom filling up a bucket. Athena jumps out of bed and runs to her own bathroom. “I’m up!”

Athena washed up, and put on some mascara and chapstick. She looks at herself in the mirror and sighs at her tired reflection. “You got this, ‘Thea. It wouldn't be the first time people ask 'Are you okay?', 'How's your family?'. All the stupid questions, and you will not snap." Athena says, to herself.

"And now I'm talking to myself... Great, I'm turning into Elena." The girl says groaning, walking back to her room. Athena looks at her dog who was laying on the bed. “Lucky asshole. I want to sleep.”

The girl grumbles to her dog about being lazy, but she goes ignored as the dog huffs at her. Athena looked through her closet and found what she wanted to wear for the day. She puts on a yellow top, black and yellow plaid pants, black heeled boots, and she tossed her black jean jacket over the top. Athena left her hair in his natural waves then moved onto jewelry. She placed it on a watch and silver rings and necklaces, then grabbed her black bag on her way out her room.

"Your first day of school, and I'm totally unprepared... Lunch money?"

Athena hears Jenna say as she makes her way down the stairs to the kitchen. "Thank you." Athena says, grabbing the money in which the woman held up -  giving one of the two twenties with her brother.

"Thank you." Jeremy says, smirking at Athena. She knows he'll either buy drugs or food, most likely the first one. But she let him grieve his own way just as she did. "Shut up." She says, pushing the boy away when he kissed her cheek. The girl then then walked to the back door to let the dog out.

"Anything else? A number two pencil? What am I missing?" Jenna says, mostly to herself. Athena and Jeremy down there coffee they’ve stolen from their sister. "Don't you have a big presentation today?" Elena says, attempting to pour her third cup of coffee.

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at.... Now. Crap." Jenna says, looking down at her watch. "Then go. We'll be fine." Elena says, letting Jenna run out the door. It was silent in the home for a moment and they all enjoyed the calm before the storm, until the eldest sister spoke up while Athena filled her dog’s water and food bowl.

"You okay?" Elena asks, looking at the youngest Gilbert. "Don't start." Jeremy says in annoyance, walking out the house with a slam of the door.

Athena sighs, and goes to the door and yells to the black dog. “Sirius! Breakfast!”

The dog runs into the home happily and runs to his food bowl. Elena watches her sister wash her hands, and speak up as the girl grabs a hand towel. "’Thea?"

The green eyed girl grabs her house keys from the counter, patting Sirius’ head on her way past. "Nope, sorry not sorry, but you're my sister not my councillor."

"Bonnie-" Elena starts.

"Care’s picking me up!" Athena yells, walking out the door to her best friend who was waiting. “See you at school!”

"How-" Caroline starts, as her best friend gets in the car. "Finish that sentence and i'll rip your tongue out." Athena says pointing, and glaring at the blonde girl.

"Alright." Caroline says, throwing her arms up starts then backs out of the driveway. "Just... Crying and talking about it isn't going to bring them back, Care." Athena says, after a few minutes in silence.

"Okay, I'll stop but it might make you feel better?" Caroline says, as she pulls into the parking lot. "Wanna make me feel better?. . . Help me feel alive." Athena says, with a double meaning. They climb out of the car and meet behind the car.

"Come on, Care. You can go ask how Elena is doing." Athena says, as they walk towards the school. "Yeah and maybe she won't bite my head off." Caroline says, playfully glaring at her best friend.

"Sorry, not sorry." Athena says shrugging, making them both laugh. "Hey, I have to go talk to Katy. She wanted to talk about the bonfire." Caroline says, looking around for said girl.

"I don't like Katy." Athena says, disgusted. "I know."

"Fine. Go away. Cheat on me with... Katy. Just know I gave you the best sixteen years of my life!" Athena yells dramatically after Caroline, as the blonde walks away. "I don't know her!"

"First day of school and already embarrassed Caroline in the first hour... Check." The girl says, walking through the doors happily. "God, can't people mind their own goddamn business." She says, seeing the looks she was getting. She then runs into someone much to her dismay.

"Seriously? Can't even walk the goddamn halls without someone irritating me." Athena says, to herself. "Sorry.” The stranger mumbles, as he steadies himself and the girl.

“It’s whatever.” Athena says, adjusting her bag on her shoulder, then looks up at the boy. The girl looks at the boy who had sunglasses on his face. She tilted her head at the boy curiously having never seen the boy before. “Who are you?”

“Uh, I'm Stefan Salvatore." The boy says, putting his hand out.

"New?" Athena says, raising an eyebrow. Only to get a nod from the boy making her sigh knowing she should act nice, so she puts on a  bright smile. "I'm Athena Gilbert."

"Like the-" Stefan starts. "Yup. Goddess of war, half-sister of Apollo and Artemis, and the daughter of Zeus and Metis." Athena says, almost annoyed.

"Right." Stefan says, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. "You know it's pretty stupid to wear sunglasses indoors. Has anyone ever told you that? It's like you're trying to draw attention to yourself with the whole dramatic 'I'm too cool for school' bullshit." She says seriously, stunning the boy. The girl seemed to be proud of herself and nods at the boy.

"I'm walking away now… Bye." Athena says, walking away spotting her sister with Bonnie at her locker. The green eyed girl sighs, and walks up to the two. "Hey Bon-Bon."

The two girl’s stop talking and watch as the green eyed girl goes through her locker. Elena was hoping one of their shared friends would get the girl to talk about her feelings, but she failed to get Caroline to talk to the girl about the crash. It wasn’t that Caroline didn’t care about Athena, the blonde just knew how the girl’s brain worked.

Bonnie kept shaking her head and Elena - who was motioning for Bennett to speak to Athena for her - but she sighed, giving into the eldest Gilbert’s request. "Hey, ‘Thena. How-"

"Are you really going to waste your breath? My answer is always the same." Athena says, rolling her eyes. She shuts her locker and smiles at the Bennett girl. “I’ll talk when I’m ready. Just… let me be for now.”

"Right." Bonnie says smiling, she’s missed the blunt comments from the Gilbert girl. The three walk side by side towards the direction of their first class. "Hold up. Who's this?" The Bennett girl stops in front of the office.

"All I see is back." Elena says, with a tilt of her head. Both Gilbert’s hum looking at the boy in the office. "It's a hot back." Bonnie excuses.

"New kid. I just talked to him and I already forgot his name." Athena says, with a hum. It was only eight in the morning - ten minutes before class started - and the girl was already bored out of her mind. "I'm sensing Seattle, and he plays the guitar." Bonnie trails off, ignoring the girl’s comment.

"You're gonna run this psychic thing into the ground, huh?" Elena says, smiling. "Psychic?" Athena says laughing, looking at the girl.

"Pretty much." Bonnie says, shrugging her shoulders jokingly.

"Jeremy, good batch, man."

Athena hears a boy say from down the hall, then she sees Jeremy walk to the bathroom. She doesn’t think too much about it and ignores it but her older sister - by a few months - can’t seem to let the boy slide away.

"I'll be right back." Elena says, then storms off into the boy's bathroom. "Elena! Seriously!" Athena says with a groan, as she follows after her sister.

The girl bumps into a boy as he storms out of the bathroom, she sidesteps the boy and continues her way into the boys bathroom after Elena. Athena walks past the wall and sees Elena standing behind Jeremy who was at the sink.

"Great. It's the first day of school, and you're stoned." Elena says, grabbing the boy's shoulder and turns him to her as she checks his eyes. "Elena, chill out." Athena tries.

"No, I'm not." Jeremy says, scoffing as his eldest sister. "Where is it? Is it on you?" Elena starts to check the boy, and patting down his sweater.

"Stop. Chill yourself, all right?" Jeremy says, pushing his sisters hands away from him. "Chill myself? What is that, stoner talk? Dude, you are so cool." Elena snaps.

"Elena stop!" Athena says, stepping in between them. She hated when her sister became hypocritical. Athena and Jeremy knew the girl continued to sit in the cemetery alone, while they stayed in the rooms. "I don't have anything. Are you crazy?" Jeremy says, looking down at the middle sibling. Sadly, she was the shortest of the three, but she held her own.

"You haven't seen crazy, Jeremy. I gave you a summer pass. But I am done watching you destroy yourself. No, you know what? Go ahead, keep it up." Elena shouts looking past her sister. "Elena enough! You're our sister not our mother... She died in that goddamn car crash!" Athena snaps, pushing her sister away from them.

It becomes tense between the three as they look at a temperamental Athena. The girl always had anger issues, but she had her father that helped her get that side of her under control. Whether it was boxing classes, art, meditation, and everything under the sun, all of it went out the window when her father died. He was the main reason way the girl didn’t lash out, and now that he was gone… the girl became unpredictable.

"Athena-" Elena says, trying to put her hand on the girl’s shoulder but Athena flinches away. "Walk away, Elena, before you make me angry." Athena snaps, glaring at the girl.

Elena looks between Jeremy and Athena, and sees the glares directed towards her making her sigh. She nods, and walks out the bathroom without another word. Athena lets out a breath she didn’t know what was holding and leans against the sink as if to bring herself back down to earth.

"I'm sorry." Jeremy says, softly. He watches as the girl’s shoulder raises and falls as she breathes but he gets a weak shrug in response. "We've all got our own coping mechanisms. No one can tell you when to get over something."

The five minute bell rings making the girl stand up straight, and turn to her brother. "Look I got to get to Tanner's but uh… Please just get to class… For me?"

"Sure." Jeremy says, kissing his sister's head.