Work Text:
“We ran out of milk at home.”
Penelope looks up from the aisle and stares at her husband, who’s looking back at her. Her other hand holds the shopping cart still with most of the things they need at home, save for the things that they still need to get. Telemachus is seated in the small seat near the handle and he’s looking up at the two of them and watching their interaction.
The shop lights hum overhead, along with the chatter of others in the aisle and the action in the shop as a whole, and Penelope raises her eyebrows in confusion, “Are you sure? Could’ve sworn we had some left.”
”Yeah, well,” He laughs, like he’s a guilty child confessing for his crimes. “I might’ve drank it all for breakfast, remember?”
Penelope smiles at him and rolls her eyes playfully, and then looks down at her list which is held in between her thumb and other fingers, which currently holds the shopping cart still. She takes her hands off of it and examines the list, “Oh! Yes, I remember. I wrote it down right here.”
Odysseus smiles for himself and takes Telemachus from off of his seat and perches him on his shoulders. Penelope wishes she had her phone in hand so she could snap a picture of the two of them, but her phone is hidden deep in her hand bag, under the shopping items. She goes to reach for it still, and she tells Odysseus to stay right where he is.
“Penny,” He says, in her search through the labyrinth that is her bag, “I look terrible. If I see you send this to Helen or to Clymmie, or anyone-“
She looks up at him. He’s wearing a long sleeved sweater and some joggers, his hair is curling around his forehead and yet he looks stunning as he is. Penelope finally finds her phone and fetches it into her hands, going into the photo app and clicking a photo of the two of them, of Odysseus looking gorgeous and their son looking absolutely excited.
She smiles at her two boys in the photo and then she feels a pair of lips at her temple and a hand on her shoulder, “We’ll be back, love. Don’t go too far.”
”Alright.” She says, absentmindedly because she turns back to look at the canned peas and wonders if she should get another brand because the one she got tasted awful the last time she had made stew. Helen uses a particular brand that’s cheaper but tastes wonders, or so she says, and she wonders if she should trust her word or put herself into the ring and try another brand altogether.
She is deciding this when she feels a presence beside her and she wonders how Odysseus and Telemachus had came back so quickly, until he greets her and she looks up to see somebody that isn’t her husband and son, no, somebody that she would rather forget.
“Antinous.” She speaks and he smiles above her. She grips onto the shopping cart with both hands and stares back at him, stares daggers, for now she is older and can understand just how awful he was to her when they were younger.
”Penelope,” He smiles, like the bastard he is. “See you haven’t changed much.”
Antinous was a strange man and one that Penelope would never understand. He used to stalk her when she had started her first job in the city, and would try to make himself noticeable and ask Penelope out all the time, to which she always made up some fake excuses as to why she couldn’t go.
A couple of months later she meets Odysseus, and he still continues to stalk her. He somehow finds her phone number and floods her messages and phones her all the time, and threatens Penelope that if she won’t, he will come in a group of friends and they’ll take turns having away with her. She never for a second believed any of his blabberings and when she eventually told Odysseus, whom she had began dating at the time, he was absolutely livid.
Long story short, Atinous had to go to the hospital for the next week and his gang of friends disbanded into rodents onto the street, and it was the last that Penelope had ever seen of him until now.
At the time, she scolded Odysseus for his actions and almost hated him for them, but they were done souly for her well being and he decided to forgive him, if only for now. Then it became a thing of the past and they carried upon their lives as if it didn’t even exist.
”Could say the same for yourself,” She says, and she looks at him whole and sees somebody who she would rather not speak to. He’s only grown a bit taller and maybe a bit fatter, and his hair is shorter than it was. “Is everything alright with you? Family?”
”All is good,” Antinous smiles and she remembers that smile and knows that even ten years later he hasn’t changed one bit. He grins with all of his teeth and his cockiness comes off of him like smoke to a flame. “You know, I was rather surprised to see you here. I just moved into the state a couple of weeks ago.”
The news is unpleasant.
”A shame,” She pushes her cart forward so maybe he would take the hint, but he doesn’t and he follows her suit. “You know, I thought ten years could change somebody and yet you still persist on being the most annoying person I’ve ever met. What do you want?”
”Sheesh, you’re so hostile! Lighten up a little, I’m not gonna kill you!” He raises his voice and makes the heads of other people in the aisle turn and Penelope knows he’s doing this purposefully just to get the attention of others and she hates it, she hates him. And for once, she is happy that Odysseus broke his nose, but if she were the one to have done it, she would have done a lot worse. The other people of the aisle spare a glance and turn away, or turn their children away, and they go on with their lives.
”What do you want, Antinous?” She asks again. “I’ll call security.”
”Relax, babe-“ He says, and snakes a hand around her shoulders.
”Do not call me that.”
She puts some of her strength into her voice which makes him take his hand away from her and other looks to attract to them, and Penelope hates it and wishes that he’d only leave her alone.
She pushes her cart forward, “Gods, you’re so angry. You on your period or something?”
Penelope has decided to ignore him.
”You are, aren’t you?”
Where the hell is the milk aisle?”
”Hah, you’re so pissed for no reason. I thought you’d be glad to see me.”
Penelope actually laughs, “You? You stalk me and then I should be glad to see you?”
”Stalk is a strong word,” He loops the arm back around her shoulders “Come on, Penelope-“
”Penny? Is everything-“
Odysseus stops speaking when he sees Antinous. He’s right infront of her and he’s staring at Antinous, who’s staring at him with some wicked sort of madness in his eye. And then his gaze goes from Odysseus to Telemachus and then stays there and doesn’t waver and Penelope pushes the cart forward and escapes his grip yet again and takes the milk from her husband’s hands.
“Thank you.” She smiles at him which he does not return for he isn’t looking at her, and she puts the bottle back in the cart. She kisses his cheek and smiles at Telemachus, who’s staring at Antinous.
There is a realisation that happens and she watches it happen within his eyes, cold and dark as they are, as he stares at Telemachus and then moves his eyes to Odysseus, and finally lands on Penelope, putting everything together and then he makes the connection in his head.
And then he laughs and it is the strangest, meanest sound that Penelope has ever heard in her life. He laughs with his full chest and claps his hand over it to try and stop himself, as if Penelope’s family is worth the laughter of a single man who cannot even hope to achieve even this aspect of life.
“Odysseus! Wasn’t expecting to see you here! You two still together?”
”Married, actually.”
”And a kid! Damn, you guys work fast,” He walks over to Odysseus who looks about ready to jump the man infront of him, and Penelope can see it in his eyes, watch him calculate every movement and every step and everything yet that she doesn’t know how to name and if she doesn’t do something right now they’re all going to get kicked out. “So what’s his name?”
”Telemachus.” Her boy says from where he’s sitting above his head, and Odysseus tightens his hold on his knee.
Penelope takes Odysseus wrist in her own and squeezes it, bringing him back to himself, “Let’s go.”
“You’re going? Hah, so quickly? I haven’t seen you in a good ten years-“
”Yeah, for good reason!” Odysseus says back and Penelope tugs at him again. “Tell me, has that nose healed?”
As a matter of fact, Penelope notices a scar on the bridge of his nose that she knows wasn’t there before. Odysseus knows how to speak like a weapon, twisting it around and using the english language as a flexible agenda, tricking and pointing and stabbing.
And it’s not the first time she’s had to stop a fight, anyways.
“Odysseus, enough,” She says and tugs him away before Antinous has the chance to say something back to him, and they walk all the way to the cash registers to leave this place. There are still a few missing things that are absent from the list but she can’t bother going around to find them after all of this. She really just wants to lie down, is all.
“Who does he think he is?” Odysseus rants. “What did he say to you?”
”Nothing.”
”That’s rich.”
”Odysseus.”
”What?”
”Stop this, now. You’re going to get us banned from the store.”
”I don’t care, next time I see him, I’ll show him what’s coming.”
”Could you quiet down?”
”Daddy,” Telemachus babbles from above his head and Penelope notices he has two handfuls of Odyssseus hair in his closed fists, “Who was that man?”
”Ah, baby, please don’t tug Daddy’s hair.”
“Sorry.” He lets go.
“That man,” Odysseus starts. “Is a bad man. If you ever see him again, you come and tell me straight away.”
“Okay,” Telemachus flattens his cheek on his head, “He looked scary.”
“No, little one, there isn’t anything scary about him. He’s a bad man and you can’t ever let him speak to you, okay?” Odysseus turns to her, who’s still got a firm grip on his wrist. “Did you see that nerve?”
”I know. Foul creature.”
Odysseus hugs her from behind, which stops her from walking herself. She turns and he pushes her to his chest and hugs her whole, “You know if he said anything to you I would show him another broken nose, right?”
Penelope laughs at this and because it is true it becomes even funnier, “Yes, I know. But you must remember that I’ll be the one to get to him first if he ever does anything to me, or to you.”
”Did you see how he was looking at Telemachus?”
”Me?” He asks and Penelope hugs him tighter for a moment before letting go and purring two firm hands on the shopping cart. Odysseus grins up at him and he squeals in childish fancy.
She smiles at the two of them and then pushes the cart forward, “Yes, I saw.”
Odysseus follows next to her, “I’m gonna kill him.”
“If you do, who will help me unload the shopping cart?”
”I will!” Telemachus offers and her heart melts for him.
“Thank you, baby, you’re so kind.”
And she decides that maybe she would let Odysseus clock in another punch or perhaps she will do it for herself this time to see how it feels. But she knows that he will feel better for himself if he does it with his own hands, and Penelope will tug him away from this fight because she doesn’t want Telemachus to see his father with a broken nose and black eye.
And so, she marches over to the cash register and tries to forget.