Title: overheard at pantheon
Fandom: pantheon university
Rating: teen
Length: ~2400 words
Author notes: +name for the bingo here, and a new fandom \o/
Content notes: postcanon; one of the unnamed silver does, the cute one with the hella bi haircut that got promoted, i’ve dubbed aura after one of artemis' followers

Hera is drunk.

It’s been ages since she was properly drunk, not since high school. Not since a debate club party, with too many strangers and too much liquor. (The latter far less threatening.) After puking up half of her body weight, Hera made an oath to never drink in excess again.

And perhaps she hasn’t broken it yet, certainly isn’t at the point where someone needs to hold her hair back. Alone in the kitchen with a bottle of wine, she has thirty minutes left to feel sorry for herself. Thirty minutes, and then Aphrodite will be setting up Cupid’s Bow. Athena is gone, took an impromptu vacation to figure herself out, their last skype call had Hera assuring her that she’s fine and Hera’s really gotten too good at faking it.

Head in her hands, she groans. She wants this year to be over, doesn’t know how to do college without Zeus, but isn’t ready for the real world to come crashing in just yet. God, if only she could start over, tell that shivering girl not to take the damn jacket. To be stuck up and clutch her pride just a little longer. Four years of pain, yelling, anger- of being defined by him. There were good parts of course, but not enough. Not like-

“Hera?”

She looks up and sees Ares, not sure if she wants to laugh or cry more. She remembers the first time she met him so very clearly, he was rushing AAO and somehow didn’t know who she was. He was funny and charming, flirtatious and slipped right under her skin. And she remembers thinking maybe it was time for an affair of her own. That never happened- Zeus catching on far too quick- and knowing him now, it’s a good thing. It would have ended far more bloody, more like the second time she tried-

“You’re early.” She says, stands up too quick, blacking out for a split-second.

He puts a take out bag on the table, its delicious scent making her stomach grumble. “I’m surprising Aphrodite with dinner. You’re welcome to join us.”

Standing, she feels more drunk, less sure she isn’t going to end up in a bathroom somewhere regretting this afternoon. Staying means she’ll probably say something stupid, probably sign herself up for Cupid’s Bow before the night is up. “Thanks I’m gonna crash early though.”

He nods and Hera forces a smile, “I hope it goes well, you two are really great together.”

She goes to Athena’s room- her room now- and she should really put up decorations or something. It’s not like she’s crashing on the couch anymore. Saving money to split a room with Zeus feels even sillier now, she doesn’t even know what she wants her own room to be. Fuck, she doesn’t know what she wants to be. A senior in college, she’s supposed to be done with this sophomore level bullshit.

Hera falls into an uneasy sleep, doesn’t remember any of her dreams.

.

She wakes up late, completely missing Sunday easy morning yoga on the quad. A cold shower doesn’t wash the pounding headache away, but it does wake her up fully. She took a day off to feel sorry for herself, and time is of the essence- there won’t be any more wasted moments at Pantheon U.

While Hera does earnestly make the promise to herself, thinking of professors and grad students to talk with more, of activities to fill her days, she doesn’t expect it to work. But it does, and oh so very well.

There’s an accelerated masters program, one year and she could have a teaching license; be discussing and writing women’s studies papers forevermore. Her adviser had mentioned it a few times, but she’d been foolish, thinking there was no way-

It matters not. She has a new purpose, and dinner with Hephaestus and Pandora tonight. She feels bad when she thinks it, even though it’s only a computer program, but she did so prefer the original Pandora she wrote to. (The new Pandora’s only advantage is that she carries Aphrodite’s melodious voice, and that is not something she should be thinking about.)

.

Aphrodite and Ares are rather loud lovers. Even more-so in that they often don’t close their door. And it isn’t that Hera’s being creepy on purpose- but the bathroom is beyond Aphrodite’s doorway and it isn’t as if she isn’t going to shower after running around the block. It certainly isn’t as if she’s been running further, fueled by thoughts of them, or imagining them both joining her in the shower, the water going from warm to hot in a blink or-

Fuck.

She needs to get laid. That must be all it is. It’s the longest she’s ever gone without sex and it’s being flaunted in her face. That better be all it is. Living in close proximity and what-not.

It isn’t personal, not even a little bit.

.

“Could you set up a Cupid’s Bow for me?”

“No!” Aphrodite exclaims with a grin, “Really? Hon, I will get you someone tonight.” She opens up her laptop with a wide grin, typing away. “Preferences?”

“Nice?”

Aphrodite laughs, “Boy, girl, neither, both?”

Hera’s breath catches, the question spilling from her lips before she can stop it, “Since when does it offer threesomes?”

Her eyes sparkle, “I’ll have to speak with my coding army, what an idea. It can’t be set up tonight, but if you have something in mind, I’ll note it for once we’re ready.”

Her cheeks burn, and she desperately pushes away the memory of coming in this morning, Ares and Aphrodite practically having sex on the kitchen counter. She tentatively asked Athena about it, obscurely of course, and the other girl went on about how nice it was that Aphrodite hated pdas.

Hera swallows, “Um that’s fine. A girl please. Someone I don't know if that’s possible.”

Aphrodite cracks her knuckles with a grin, “Be ready for six o’clock, I’ll find a match.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, I’m glad you’re getting back out there.”

Hera smiles, knocks on the table, “Me too.”

.

Aura sits on the bed next to her after introducing herself, and it takes Hera a moment to recognize her. In her defense they haven’t properly met before, and she’s never seen the girl in anything less than modest, and she certainly wasn’t expecting her to be on the app.

“Erm, I don’t mean to be rude- but aren’t you a Silver Doe?”

Aura nods, curls bouncing, “It’s okay. I want to try it, and this way, it’s scientific y’know? Like there’s no romance to complicate things, I can just see if I even like sex.”

“No pressure,” Hera jokes, nudging her knee.

Aura’s eyes go wide, “Oh my- I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay,” Hera cuts her off. “How about we start with a kiss and see how things go?”

Aura nods again, and Hera cups her face gently, leaning in to meet her lips. She tastes like cinnamon chapstick, and she kisses her, hands slowly exploring her neck and back, until Aura is softly moaning.

Hera pulls back, face flushed. “Do you want to take our clothes off or-”

Aura’s already throwing her dress across the room, nimble fingers tugging at Hera’s clothes next as she giggles. “Yes, most definitely yes.”

.

Hera gives Aura one last kiss before the girl bounds off into the night. She nearly sighs going back into the apartment. The sex was delightful, Aura beautiful as her name, and screaming as she came certainly memorable.

But.

Ares and Aphrodite are setting up a monopoly board, and dammit, that familiar pang of want is still there.

“I must be hallucinating,” Ares says, and Aphrodite slaps his arm. “Shut up.”

Hera smiles, pouring herself a glass of water. “You should have seen my face.”

She turns back and Aphrodite is looking too delighted and Ares’ eyes are wide, and she quickly adds on, “When she came. I mean, came in the room, not- I was surprised she was using the Bow!”

Aphrodite snickers, “It’s okay. You both had a good time then?”

Ares offers her the thimble piece, “Wanna play?”

Hera nods, sitting down, “Yeah. She said she probably won’t do it again unless she’s in a relationship, but she found it very… informative.”

Aphrodite whistles, and Hera blushes, grabbing the top hat instead to switch things up. “Thanks again, I know it was a last minute request and all-”

Aphrodite shakes a hand at her, “Don’t even think of it. Really, you did me a favor- I was having trouble finding a match that wouldn’t scare her away.”

Ares snorts, “What happened to it’s a simple algorithm?”

Aphrodite rolls her eyes, “Yeah for simple hookups. Some pairs require more… finesse.”

There’s a knock, and Aphrodite goes to the door to let the next couple in. Hera grabs the bank money, dealing it out.

Ares is giving her an odd look, and Hera must be on some weird sex high, because she says, “What? This isn’t like strip monopoly is it?”

There’s a beat and he laughs, “It wasn’t, but I’m flexible. You still haven’t joined us for a poker game.”

Hera’s cheeks burn, and she’s walked in on too many of their strip poker games not to think of those fast. Really, Aphrodite’s room is only four steps away. There’s even a lock and key if they wanted to get crazy.

Two people go off to the hook-up room, and Aphrodite sits down again, thankfully ending that conversation.

“Winner gets the last scoop of chocolate ice cream?”

“Oh you’re on.”

.

Spring turns to summer, Hera graduates on a cloudy June day- Aphrodite and Ares aren’t seniors thankfully. She has her accelerated summer classes, Aphrodite got a marketing internship, and Ares has taken over playing host to Cupid’s Bow. He pretty much lives with them, and considering he’s the most likely of the three of them to do the dishes, Hera isn’t complaining.

It also means him and Aphrodite are having sex whenever- and wherever- they please; they haven’t started closing doors or keeping it to when they know she’s in class. It’s something she shouldn’t take notice of. They’re just more comfortable with themselves and their sex life, and if Hera’s going to obsess over it she should tell them it bothers her.

Only, she doesn’t want them to feel awkward around her. She certainly doesn’t want to ruin Aphrodite’s newfound sense of romancing her boy in public. No, she’ll just try not to think upon it often. Certainly not when she’s alone in her bed, biting her lip and touching herself.

(How many times had Zeus proposed a threesome and she wasn’t the slightest bit inclined? She pushes the thought away, but it’s already worked, an instant cold shower for her libido.)

.

The three of them celebrate the end of the summer together. Aphrodite’s internship is over, Hera had her last final for the summer courses, and there’s four days left before the regular school year starts. Ares ended up making far more than usual with Cupid’s Bow- perhaps because the threesomes took off, perhaps because it’s harder to find people during the summer, perhaps because Ares started handing out business cards during his runs, or some combination of it all. In the end, the three of them are celebrating with a few fancy bottles of champagne, toasting to horny students.

Hera giggles, “I still can’t believe how much money it makes. This is the best bubbly I’ve ever had.”

“That’s because you’ve had two glasses,” Ares pipes up.

Aphrodite smacks his ass as he goes to grab a new bottle. “Mhmm, you had a good experience. Why didn’t you use it again? We have so many one-time users that say they had fun.”

Hera swallows down a stupid response about pining. “I uh, I prefer love and sex together.”

She cocks her head, “But you didn’t try to date the Doe did you? Who was the threesome you wanted?”

Blood is thudding in her ears, her face must be bright red- and the champagne pops loudly, Ares refilling everyone’s glasses. “You don’t have to answer that,” Ares says.

Aphrodite scoffs, “Like Hera doesn’t know that! I was just… curious.”

“It-it doesn’t matter. They’re um, monogamous now and don’t- I’d mess things up again.”

“Oh honey,” Aphrodite says, taking her hand. “They don’t deserve you.”

“I- what?”

“Zeus and Gany? Please, any couple would be thrilled to add you permanently, much less one night of unbridled-”

“I wasn’t talking about them, oh god no,” Hera says, too drunk to let it go.

“Babe-” Ares starts, but Aphrodite’s hand is tracing hers now, shivers racing down her spine. “Who were you talking about then?”

“You,” she says, slaps a hand over her mouth. “Oh I’m so sorry, I’m-”

Aphrodite kisses the back of her hand, and her fingers fall away limp, Aphrodite grinning. “We’ve talked about it.”

“A lot,” Ares adds.

“Really?”

“Told you no one else would think an open door policy was literally an open door,” Ares mutters, kissing the corner of her mouth.

“Whatever, we’re all here now. Yeah Hera?”

And Hera wets her lips, can’t quite believe this isn’t a dream, “Yeah.”

.

Hera sleeps in extraordinarily late, Ares and Aphrodite both gone. Given her phone says it’s already past noon, she can’t quite blame either of them for leaving her. With a yawn and stretch she gets up, ambling into the kitchen. Her mouth is paper dry, and hydration is an immediate must.

It isn’t until she’s standing in the kitchen, a sip of cool water later, that she realizes she’s only wearing one of Ares’ shirts.

“Morning gorgeous,” Aphrodite says with a wink.

Ares is shuffling a deck of cards, “We were about to start a game of poker, you in?”

And they all know that isn’t all he’s asking, if her mind changed and last night was a one-off. But Hera wants this, wants both of them and whatever complexities it may bring.

She takes a deep breath, “Deal me in.”

“Good,” he says, and Hera sits, the chair cool on her bare thighs.

Aphrodite grins, “Just a shirt babe? This is gonna be a quick game.”

Hera shrugs, “I’ve seen you play.”

“Oh-ho! Tough words from a soon to be naked lady,” she says.

“Now, now,” Hera chides, eyes twinkling. “I’m sure we’ll all be naked soon enough.”