athena ➢ sherlock's daughter

Chapter 26

Memories, Stress, and Love

Athena had finished her schooling quite quickly, and she knew that Sherlock was quite surprised at just how intelligent she was. So he gave her the afternoon off to do whatever she wanted while he came up with stuff to work on the next day. She decided to go walk around London, which was possibly her favorite activity.

She had just reached a cluster of her favorite stores downtown when she started thinking about Riley- again. That's all she's been doing for days on end.

As she passed a little tea store, she thought about how Riley showed her that place when they were thirteen. And how his cheeks were tinted pink when asked if they were together. At the time, she hadn't thought much of it. But now... She grinned to herself and stepped quietly into the store.

Behind the counter was a girl with pretty auburn hair and freckles. She was smiling genuinely at Athena, which caused her to smile back.

"Hi! Feel free to ask any questions you may have!" the girl said.

Athena smiled and uttered a quiet thank you before browsing the shelves. She only drank a few kinds of tea, purely because she didn't like anything bitter, or fruit flavored tea (let's be honest, it tastes like fruit vomit). So she hummed to herself and picked out a mug and some Earl Grey before checking out.

"Bye!" the girl called. A smile lingered on Athena's lips a little longer than normal and she waved back lightly.

She was nice. Maybe Athena would go back some other day and make friends with her. She could bring Riley too, and they'd have a group that had more than just them two.

She hummed to herself and smiled at a few people she passed. Yeah, a group of friends would be nice. Then she deflated a bit. She was doing it again, platonic friendship lust. She always did that when she saw new people.

She shook her head and continued to wander the streets of London. She didn't really know how far she had walked until she was standing quite close to the London Eye. Riley took her there once. They snuck out late at night while the Perish's were asleep. They didn't ride it, of course, just looked at it and talked. It was the closest she had gotten to it.

That night brought fond memories. Riley had bought her first meal in three days and put some antiseptic on the small cuts on her sides. They danced around the streets and talked about running away together when they were old enough.

They didn't have to now. Life was good for them both, she could tell. His mum got a promotion as manager at the diner she waitressed at, and Riley joined the football team.

And her life changed forever.

Yeah, life was good for them both.

∞

Later, Athena was walking mindlessly, analyzing the people who drifted in and out of the London busyness. Somehow, she was near Bart's, where she knew Sherlock would be around this time. Perhaps she could make him some tea with what she just bought.

She nodded to herself and stepped inside. The receptionist smiled at her. "He's in Molly's lab, dear."

"Thanks, Mrs. Jones," Athena replied as she walked to the elevator. Moments later, she was upstairs and face to face with a concerned Molly Hooper.

"Where is he?" Athena asked. "What's wrong?"

Molly smiled sadly at her. "I know he doesn't tell you much about what goes on during his work, but Moriarty is getting to him. He's behind the farthest counter near the fire exit stairs. Talk to him, will you?"

Athena frowned at hummed a response before slowly approaching the man, who was bouncing a ball on the back of the counter. "Sherlock?"

He glanced at her, startled. "What're you doing here?"

She tried to not let his dull yet harsh tone get to her. "I was downtown. Thought I might visit. Are you alright?"

He stared at her blank-faced for a split second before rolling his eyes. "I'm working on a case."

She knew he was lying. She knew right off the bat, but she bit her lip and nodded before retreating to the hallway and shaking her head at Molly, who was looking at her expectantly. "There's not much I can do. Lately, he's been good about not shutting me out, but now...." She gulped. "I left some tea and a mug on the counter. Make sure he drinks some."

With that, she held her head up a little higher and stepped back onto the busy streets of London.

∞

Later that night, she was in her room, Little Mix blasting from her record player, and was dancing by herself to Mr. Loverboy. She was just trying to distract herself, since earlier that day. Something was off about Sherlock, more than usual. He seemed a bit lackluster.

Athena shook her head and kept bouncing around happily. She did the best she could, and she'd try again tomorrow.

Suddenly, behind her, she heard a loud chuckle. Riley was standing against the doorframe with his arms crossed across his chest. She rolled her eyes, and instead of turning off the music like she would if it were anyone else, she pulled him towards her and forced him to dance with her.

Together, they danced and laughed in her bedroom for a good hour before switching off the record player and sitting on her white rug, smiling at each other.

Yeah, everything was good for them both. And maybe it'd be good for Sherlock soon too.

∞

AN: hello, loves! i hope you liked it! the next chapter is going to be traumatizing, just a forewarning.

three things! here we go.

1. do any of you like little mix? like LOVE little mix? because i do. i have a twitter (get_weirdx) and a tumblr (get-weirdx) dedicated to them, and i want someone to fangirl with.

2. don't forget to check out my poetry book, introspection!

3. i might possibly maybe be working on a teen fiction book, and i'm wondering how many of you would actually read it...