Title: The Breakup
Character(s): Pandora/Atë/Zeus/Athena
Further Reference(s): Ares/Eris
Pantheon: Greek
Rating: PG
Summary: Pandora tries to break up with Atë.



"You can't do this to me," Atë said, looking completely miserable. Tears were streaming down her face, and she was holding tightly onto Pandora's arms, almost to her shoulders.

"I'm not doing anything to you," Pandora said calmly. "You, however, are hurting me."

"What about the way that you're hurting me?" Atë asked, her voice taking on a slightly hysterical edge.

"This has nothing to do with you. I need to do this, for me."

"How can you say that? It has everything to do with me."

"No. No, it doesn't."

"Of course, it does. I love you, and you just want to leave, like we meant nothing to each other."

"We did mean something, but it's over now."

"No! It's not over! It's not over until I say it is."

Atë's hands grew even tighter around Pandora's arms, as she started shaking her. Pandora tried to raise her arms enough to push at Atë, trying to make her stop. She started pushing and pulling struggling just to get away. But none of it worked. It only seemed to cause her more, and didn’t really get her anywhere.

"Let me go, Atë! You're hurting me."

"You aren't going to leave me. You're either with me, or you aren't with anyone."

"i will be with whoever I want, and what I want now, is to be away from you."

Pandora's face still showed her hear, bu there was also something else. Something almost serene. It was almost as if she had come to some sort of decision, as if she were truly tired of the way she was being treated, and was going to have no more of it.

"You will never be loved again," Atë said, "not the way I love you."

"I am quite sure that I can find someone who actually does love me, and doesn't want to try to control me."

"this isn't me trying to control you."

"really? Then, what is it? It can't possibly be that you actually care. If you did, you wouldn't want me to be miserable."

"But you're not miserable. You've been happy. I've seen it."

"No, you've seen what you wanted to see, because you were happy. How I feel is of little concern to you."

"That's not true," Atë said, bringing a hand up and petting Pandora's hair. "You're all that matters to me."

"If that were true, you'd let me go."

"Please!" Atë exclaimed. "Don't give me that, 'if you really love something you let it go.' If it's really love, you fight for it."

"But that only works if it goes both ways. If it's only one way, then, fighting is the wrong thing to do."

"You're wrong."

"No, I'm not. Fighting for us to stay together will only make us both unhappy, because we will continue to be living a lie."

"How can it possibly be a lie, when I feel it?"

"You're the only one. But you soon won't be."

"What are you talking about?" Atë asked, becoming suddenly suspicious.

"I've told Ares about my plan to leave," Pandora said, throwing her head back and straightening her back.

"Please," Atë snorted. "My mother's lover? Is he supposed to frighten me?"

"Maybe not," Pandora shrugged, "but perhaps Zeus and Athena will. They both know as well."

"You've told them, too?" Atë said, truly becoming nervous this time.

She backed away from Pandora, bringing a hand up to her face. She moved jerkily, her eyes became unfocused. What was she going to do? If Pandora had really spoken to them, they would take her side, no matter what lies she had told them. They still thought that Pandora was completely as innocent as she appeared, and Atë ... well, they would never believe anything that she said.

Atë began to pace, trying to think of what she could do. There had to be a positive solution to this mess, she just wasn't seeing it.

"They know. They know how you've been treating me, and they will come for me, if you don't let me go."

Then, Pandora began to chuckle to herself. And that's when Atë had enough. She swirled toward Pandora, her arms moving away from her body.

But anything she would've said was cut short, when she felt one of her hands hit something, and there was a clatter on the floor. her head snapped toward the sound, and her heart sank. It was Pandora's box, the box she had been given by the gods, and the lid was opened a crack.

Atë rushed to it, picking it up and closing the lid securely.

"You," Pandora said, her voice dangerous. "You did that on purpose."

"No," Atë said, "I didn't. It was an accident, Pan. I swear."

"I wanted to leave, so you wanted to get back at me."

"No, that's not it at all. You have to believe me."

"I do believe you. You said you wouldn't let me leave, and now, you've opened my box."

"It was an accident, Pan," Atë said, her voice barely a whisper.

"I don't believe you," Pandora said firmly, coldly. "You should leave. Now. Before Zeus gets here. He is not going to be happy."

Without knowing what else to do, Atë fled.

When she was gone, Pandora went to her box, toying with the lid. Nothing had seemed to happened when the lid had been opened, and Pandora wondered if there had even been anything inside of it. Surely, if there was anything, it would have already escaped.

She pulled up, gently, on the lid.

"What exactly do you think you're doing?" a firm and angrily male voice said.

The lid clattered shut, and Pandora turned sharply toward Zeus and Athena.

"Zeus," Pandora said pleasantly. "Athena. How can I help you?"

They had come at the most inconvenient time. What exactly was she going to tell them now?