#diomedes and penelope are one of the most wholesome ships in this fandom

[thhouseofblack]

penelope knows of his reputation, diomedes knows that.

she knows that he has been raised as a weapon, that is what he has been taught to do since he was a child, that he has so much blood and death on his hands, that he has destroyed, destroyed and only destroyed.

(something he never knew bothered him until odysseus joked about it at Troy, until he met penelope after the war and felt the fear of staining her with the blood on his hands)

she knows and yet she answers his letters, with the same heartfelt affection as always, she knows and yet her eyes gaze at him with concern and adoration everytime he visits the shores of Ithaca, she knows and yet she has prepared the dishes he enjoys the most for every feast (he had not even mentioned it to her, which means she noticed, that she pays attention to his likes and dislikes).

diomedes comes to the easy conclusion that she doesn't know.

for if she did, then she would not be treating him as she does now, she would not be letting him close to her precious son, she would not share with him her soft smiles that he knows are reserved for only the ones she cares about.

so he lets her know.

he can lie to anyone else in the world without care or guilt, but keeping something from her feels akin to blasphemy.

she looks up at him, her eyes like stone as he repeats again and again that his hands are coated in the lifeblood of thousands, that he knows of nothing but destruction.

and when he goes to his chambers (not his– the guest chambers that he has been given) he packs his things, not even bothering to call for a servant. he knows what will happen on the morrow, she will throw him out. why ever would she want someone like him close to her or her son.

she has him summoned in the morning, and when he goes to her, he is ready for him and his men to be thrown out of ithaca.

penelope does not do that.

instead, she brings him to her weaving chambers and makes him sit before the loom.

"These hands have only destroyed because that is all they've been taught to do. Much like destruction, creation too is a skill that can be learnt. These hands that have destroyed can create just as well. I will show you. "