Steve checked each of the children, satisfied that they were still occupied, before heading back out into the living room. Athena as sitting there, and for some reason Steve decided it was best to try and talk to her. Maybe he could figure out what was going on if he talked to her.
"Hey there," he said, sitting on the seat next to Athena. The teenage girl turned and smiled at Steve, and he returned it, unaware as his lip thickened as he did.
"Hi. Thanks again for dealing with the others. I just didn't know how to deal with them. I know I'm the oldest, the responsible one, but they're just so wild sometimes."
"It's quite alright," Steve said, the words coming out of his mouth automatically. "Someday you'll get it, and I'm sure you'll be just as good as raising a family as me. Better, even."
Athena nodded appreciatively, when something else seemed to occur to the girl. "Oh, right! Sorry to spring this on you, but can I borrow your car?"
"My car? What for?"
"There's a dance at school tonight, and I was hoping..."
"Alright, alright, you can go. But put something else on before you do. Your clothes look like they're part of a disaster zone."
"Of course. Alright, thanks mom!" Athena said, standing and giving Steve a peck on the cheek.
As the teenage girl headed off, two thoughts crossed Steve's mind that troubled him. The first was the fact Athena had just called him 'Mom', naturally, and the second was the sneaking suspicion that he himself had somewhere to be tonight...
