HELIOS
He was hesitant about doing this. But, he had to be truthful with her. He had to. Maybe Selene was right. Maybe it would loosen something and give her a little push. So. He made up his mind. He wasn't going to tell her. He was going to keep being just Cyrus. It was just harder and harder. They hadn't even been seeing each other for that long. But. Gods. He needed to come clean. He found out that she was in her bedroom and he took a deep breath and then he was there. In her bedroom, at the foot of her bed. "No. Your bedroom isn't scary. But this might be."
RHODE
Really, honestly, he was the most amazing man she'd ever met. When she told him that she was drawn to him, when she told him that she felt like she'd known him forever, it wasn't just lip service in a new relationship. Her dreams about him were the most wonderful dreams she'd ever had in her entire life and spending time with his sister and her beloved made her feel like something else. But now he was scaring her. These texts. Was he going to break up with her? She was in the middle of composing a very carefully worded response to him about how important conversations should be in person, but if he was going to break up with her, then maybe text was okay. But then she heard his voice and she looked up with a shriek. Paige threw her phone at him on accident and then scrambled back. "How did you get in here?!" Her eyes were wide and her heart was racing.
HELIOS
Helios blinked and stumbled back a bit when the phone smacked him in the chest. He.. he had not been expecting that. At all. He rubbed where the phone had hit him and he bent down, picking it up off the floor and held it out to her. "I.. It's something I'm able to do. I can be anywhere I want, when I want." His head tilted a bit as he thought about what he'd just said. "No, Not anywhere. I have to be somewhat familiar with the place I want to be." And, he'd been to her house before. A couple of times now. "I didn't mean to startle you." Well, no. He knew this would startle her. He'd told her not to be scared, though.
RHODE
Telling someone not to be scared and then just appearing in their bedroom were two ideas that did not go together. Forcing herself to breath slowly, Paige just stared at him. This was unbelievable. She'd heard of beings that could do this, but they were the gods! And the gods did not waste time in her bedroom. Rubbing her eyes, she hesitantly took her phone back from him. "You absolutely meant to startle me or you would have knocked on the door..."
HELIOS
He ran his hand back through his hair, looking a little ashamed and he nodded his head. "No. No, you're right. I just. The things I want to tell you. I guess if I just.. did this. Maybe it would make it easier to believe?" Nevermind it would startle the shit out of her. "I'm sorry that I did startle. I should've thought more about my plan before I just acted." The gods did tend to act before thinking. A lot. He nodded to the foot of the bed. "May I sit?"
RHODE
Her heart was still thudding in her chest, but she moved back a little and made room to make sure he could sit. "Yes. You can." This was all very strange and she wasn't sure what to do. If he'd just showed up at her front door, she would have kissed him and hugged him and been over the moon to see him, but this was... not that at all. "What do you want to tell me? I mean, what on earth can you possibly want to tell me that necessitated showing up like... like this?"
HELIOS
He took a seat at the very foot of her bed, away from her. He was getting a vibe that this was the best place for him to be. He looked down at his hands for a few moments before turning his attention back to her. "My name isn't Cyrus Fletcher." He shifted a little on her bed then held his hand out, palm out, a small, flaming sun appearing in his palm. He looked down at it, then over to her, as the small sun started to float above him. "And there's a reason I'm warm like the sun. Because I am the sun."
RHODE
This all felt a little bit like she was on Catfish or something. Well, maybe not quite like that. She'd never seen anyone just pop anywhere on TV. Unless it was a sci-fi / fantasy show and she was absolutely not in one of those. Nothing like this ever happened to her. She was a waitress. At a diner. Sometimes a celebrity came in and she got to pretend that she didn't know who they were and wait on them like a regular person. That was it. That was all the excitement that happened to her. Ever. When the fire appeared in his hand, she moved even further way. Was he going to set her on fire now?! "I don't - I don't understand."
HELIOS
"I'm Helios." The little sun vanished almost as quickly as it appeared. He watched as it fizzled out, turning his attention back to her. "That Helios." As in the god of the sun. Or, you know, the actual sun. He really just wanted to take her into his arms and hold her, but with how she was pulled so far away from her, he didn't think that it was a good idea. He did reach out to her, though. Kind of. He had his hand resting on top of her bed, palm up.
RHODE
"Helios." She whispered his name when he told her, feeling a giant knot in her stomach. It was like she knew. And when she said his name, it felt so much better than saying Cyrus. Honestly, she felt a little bit like she was going to throw up. "You're Helios." Paige wasn't completely sure she believed him. But he could do things she assumed that someone like Helios could do. And when they hugged, he was warm like the sun. But a lot of people had warm skin. "Um. Okay. I don't... I mean... okay..."
HELIOS
He nodded when she said that he was Helios. He didn't really know what more to say. He pulled his hand back after a moment though, resting it back in his lap. "I am. And. That's why I couldn't... last night. Because you didn't know. And it wasn't right." A god that believed in consent?! Well, you know, with her being who she was, it meant a lot more. He'd slept with mortals in the guise of Cyrus without much thought. She was different, though. He didn't want to try and explain that, though.
RHODE
"You couldn't sleep with me because I didn't know you were the god Helios." She blinked a few times at him and then flat out just stared. That wasn't a real thing. It felt like not a real thing. It was so not a real thing that she actually laughed a little, because this entire was so ridiculous that Paige didn't understand why he was pranking her. Surely he'd walked in through her bedroom door and she hadn't noticed and the fire in his hand was some kind of parlor trick.
HELIOS
His face burned just a little when she said that, and then laughed a little. He told Selene that she'd be repulsed by him. Or something. He wasn't sure what she was thinking, or feeling, right then. But, he felt like an idiot. He sighed a little and shook his head. "I.. I shouldn't have said anything. I can go. I should go." Because he just felt wretched right then. The worst. And this was just a bad bad idea. Why did he do this? Ugh. He stood from the bed and stepped back. "I'm sorry."
RHODE
Paige wanted to tell him that, yes, he very much should leave. He should go and she probably should never see him again, because he was very much a crazy person and she did not have time for crazy people. But when he talked, things felt like they made sense. And when she was around him, things felt so natural. And she really did not want him to leave. Except it was a good idea. Except it was a terrible idea. When he started to back away, Paige stood up and tried to step towards him, but instead, she took two stumbling steps, tripped over her own shoes, and fell backwards, hitting her head on her night stand with a sickening thud as she fell over.
HELIOS
He was just about to leave. Just pop out and go back home. The same way he'd come there. But he'd looked up just in time to see her trip and fall. And he wasn't going to just leave her! What if she really hurt herself?! She was still a mortal after all, and head injuries were serious. He knew enough about first aid to know that. He hurried over and dropped down to his knees at her side. He knew not to really move her, but, he did slide his hand behind her head, pulling it back and freaking as he saw blood. Not a lot. But, even a little was enough for concern. "Rho.. Paige. Paige. I need you to open your eyes, please?" When she didn't? Well, he closed his eyes and pressed his other hand against her forehead and closed his eyes. He hadn't healed in a long time, but maybe it'd work. He felt his fingers warm against her skin.
RHODE
Everything happened so fast. She'd wanted to tell him to stop. She'd wanted to tell him to go. She'd wanted to hug him. She'd wanted to push him away. What she had not wanted to do was fall over her own shoes. And she heard, almost more than felt, the thunk when her skill came into contact with the wooden stand. Falling had been nothing. Her eyes were closed and the world was swimming in a haze and a mix of consciousness and unconsciousness. Somewhere, she thought she heard her name. No. That wasn't her name. But it was. She whimpered a little, then felt the warmth from his hand. Maybe she was dying. Was this how it felt to die? That's great. She'd killed herself by tripping in her own bedroom. As she lay there, she felt things solidify in her mind again. And she remembered waves and islands and sea life that shouldn't exist, but did, and beautiful palaces in the sky and her... husband? Rhode didn't open her eyes right away. What if she did and the things she was remembering were just because she'd smacked her head. What if none of this was real? Or worse, she'd gone insane. "He... Helios..."
HELIOS
He breathed a sigh of relief when she said his name. And he didn't think much of it when she used Helios. He'd just told her that he was the sun god. Maybe she was trying to sort it out in her head? "I'm here Rh...Paige. I'm still here. I need you to open your eyes. Slowly." While he wasn't a god of healing, he could do a little bit. And he knew a great deal about first aid. He'd had to learn for the camp and everything. He knew how to look for a concussion and knew a little about how to treat them.
RHODE
She didn't hurt at all. In fact, she felt a little bit wonderful. Her entire body was warming and the swimming had stopped. But she did listen to him and slowly open her eyes. The light was bright, but it didn't hurt. And when she looked at him, Rhode swore that he was glowing. "Helios." Her heart was racing again, but this was different. Reaching up, she rest her hand on his cheek and felt tears in her eyes. This was real. The things she'd been dreaming about, remembering, it was all real. "You're here. And I'm here."
HELIOS
He closed his eyes when she pressed her hand to his cheek and leaned into the touch. His hand, the one with the blood on it, lifted and covered hers. Gods. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have come here like I did. I shouldn't have said anything." Because, well, he just didn't realize anything yet. He just thought she was... he didn't know. He didn't know at all. But he was glad he had been able to heal her head wound, even though it wasn't bad. "You can just forget everything I said."
RHODE
She now felt tears sliding down her cheeks, but she couldn't stop smiling. Carefully, she sat up and leaned back against her bed, careful not to rest her head on blankets that might get blood on them. She did not want to explain that to her - Paige's?? how did this work?? - parents later. "I don't want to forget it. Why would I want to forget my husband?" She felt so alive. Also she kind of had a headache. But she felt so great.
HELIOS
He sat back onto his heels when she sat up, helping her sit up slowly. "I just. Because it was just inapp....wait.. what?" He blinked as he looked at her. His eyes widened just a little when she said husband. "Rhode??" He lifted his hand and pressed it to her cheek. "Is it really you? You remember?" Did she really smack her head on a nightstand then remember who she was? Was it really that easy? Well, not easy for her head. "Are you alright? I tried to heal you as much as I could."
RHODE
"I remember everything." Rhode threw her arms around his neck, but then whimpered a little when things spun some. "Oh. Even hitting my head." Reaching back, she winced when she saw blood on her hand. "That's... something. But I feel okay. I feel great! I remember you. I remember... so much." Maybe too much. It was coming at her so very quickly. She pressed her face against his chest and held on to him. "Oh, Helios. Is it really, truly you?"
HELIOS
When she latched onto him, he latched right back onto her and just held her oh so close. "It's really me. Gods, Rhode. I knew it was you the first time I walked into the diner. I have been looking for you for so long." So so long. He didn't have the luxury of being able to find where she was in each lifetime. So he searched and hoped. And then he found. And now she remembered and he was just... words couldn't describe how he was feeling. But it was oh so good.
RHODE
Now she was crying very much harder and holding tightly on to him. Maybe she should have been angry that he didn't fight when she did, but then maybe they'd still be lost and never with one another? Leaning back just a little bit, Rhode looked up at him and pressed a kiss to his cheeks and then a firm kiss to his lips. "I'm here now. We're together now. And oh! That means Selene is with Endymion! That is so wonderful! But I'm here and you don't have to look for me anymore because you know how to find me!"
HELIOS
He kissed her back, then again, and just held her so so close. He smiled when she pulled back, kissing her again, and again. He laughed a little, nodding when she said that. "Yes! That is a story in and of itself. But I bet he would like to tell you himself. He's been dying for you to remember you." It was cute how excited Endymion was for Rhode to remember. "I do know how to find you and I will never lose you again. Ever." And he was kissing her again.