Tenuk headed up the stairs towards the upper balcony. It wasn’t used much, mostly just as a nice vantage point, but he liked going there to just be on his own. However, as Tenuk reached the top of the stairs, he realised someone else was already there.
“Oh, sorry Phovos…” Tenuk muttered, stepping back slightly. “I’ll…”
Phovos immediately looked up and turned to Tenuk. She wasn’t wearing her armour, just a pair of shorts and a vest top, as well as bare feet.
“You don’t need to apologise…” Phovos sighed. “In fact, I kinda… wanted to apologise to you.”
“What, why?” Tenuk asked, now slowly approaching Phovos. This was the least threatening that Tenuk had even seen her, yet he was still aware that Phovos could tear Tenuk apart in ten different ways. “Your anger lately has been completely understandable. You’re lonely and don’t know what you want.”
“Doesn’t mean I should take it out on you though… And I definitely, definitely shouldn’t take it out on Elksia. You two aren’t even really the problem anyway.”
Tenuk paused. “Wait, what?”
“It’s not you two I’m really angry at…” Phovos tried to explain. She wasn’t looking at Tenuk, just gazing vaguely into the distance. “Did you know that Kairos has a girlfriend now?”
“Um… That Seimeni person?”
“Yeah, her.”
“I, uh…” Tenuk stuttered. “Not really? I knew that she was a visitor from another universe. Didn’t know that she was dating Kairos. Why does that bother you?”
Phovos grunted, clicking her teeth together in vague annoyance. “Just after you and Elksia got together, I started weighing up my options. Everyone here kinda already has a partner and is happy. I can’t really feasibly leave this base. But I remembered, back before we were made into Kinisis’s servants, Kairos had a thing for me, and I had a thing for me.”
“Let me guess, you got in touch?”
“Yep. I contacted Kairos. He cut me off, said he was seeing someone else, told me to move on and said goodbye.”
Tenuk shrugged, then properly approached Phovos. He would have put an arm around her shoulder, but Tenuk was a little too short for that. Instead, he gently placed his hand against her back.
“I’m sorry that happened. That’s kinda shitty.”
Phovos tutted. “Eh, not really. I didn’t know. He told me. Not in the nicest way, but I get how people in relationships get defensive. After all, one doesn’t want an angry, aggressive, thousand year old warlord bothering them.”
“Now you’re just being harsh about yourself!” Tenuk tutted back. “Sure, Kairos rejected you. Doesn’t matter. You’ll find someone better.”
“Yeah, how?” Phovos shook herself, pushing Tenuk away. “We’re stuck on this floating platform! Out on the very edge of the universe! No one ever comes by and visits!”
“What about our time off?”
Phovos rolled her eyes. “Yeah that’s wonderful. A day off this base every two weeks. And I’m not allowed to bring anyone back here except other deities. All of whom are already taken. Great idea.”
Tenuk shrugged. “What about a pen pal or something? Online dating maybe? You’re definitely not a bad person, you’re definitely not ugly and you’ve certainly got a lot going for you. The problem is accessibility.”
Phovos’s shoulders dropped slightly. Tenuk wasn’t sure whether that was a sign of giving up or her relaxing slightly.
“I… guess you have a point. Plus, I can take online dating more at my own pace…” Phovos paused, then sighed some more. “Why didn’t I ever think of that? It’s so obvious.”
“Sometimes the obvious just escapes you!” Tenuk smiled. “Do you want me to leave you alone? Or…”
Phovos smiled back, just a little. “You can stick around if you want.”
“Cool. It’s always nice up here.”
“Yeah…” Phovos trailed off as she gazed into the distance. “Thanks, Tenuk.”
“Any time, Phovos. Any time…”