Work Text:
The feeling of hot water against her cool, bare skin evoked a little gasp from Artemis, but the further she slipped into the waters of the hot spring the better she felt. Coming to rest just as it reached her collarbones, she closed her eyes and savoured the sensation. Compared to her usual bathing habits it was absolute bliss to be immersed in such warmth, and for a moment it made her question why she did not visit the Crossroads more often; especially given the times in which she now found herself.
“This is perfect.”
Without opening her eyes she could hear the fumbling as Nemesis finally removed the last of her considerable accoutrements, followed by a few footsteps, and then the sound of the other goddess slipping into the water beside her.
“Not too hot, nor too cold. Much better than trying to bathe in a random pond in Erebus.”
Artemis chuckled. Her friend had a point there.
“I need to visit you here more often.”
“Of course, to use the hot spring.”
There was an unmistakable tinge of dejection in Nemesis’ voice.
“I enjoy your company too, Nem.”
The goddess replied with a little grunt, allowing herself to slip a little deeper into the water. Her considerable stature did not lend itself to the most modesty if she simply sat upright, it would seem.
“Really, I do.”
“I suppose that makes one of you.”
With a little sigh Artemis half-turned to face her friend. She knew that tone, and she knew why Nemesis felt so isolated. Not just because of her losses to Chronos, though they weighed heavily upon her. Outside of the Crossroads the goddess of retribution did not enjoy much favour; least of all from those who dwelt upon Olympus. As goddess of the hunt and the wilds she had some idea of what it was like to be an outsider, and she too was one of the Unseen. She reached out slowly, placing a hand upon her friend’s arm beneath the water and eliciting a glance from the goddess.
“What?”
“I wish I had the words to ease some of that pain, Nem.”
The glance turned to a little scowl, but she didn’t withdraw. Merely permitting a little sigh to escape her before she spoke again.
“It’s okay, Artemis. I… I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be, you haven’t done me any wrong.”
Nemesis acknowledged the reassurance with a soft grunt. Her scowl had softened completely, and for a change she looked sorrowful. Artemis was sure that her friend would still blame herself, at least if she was permitted to ruminate on it. A change of mood was needed, and she had to admit that the first thought that came to mind was perhaps elicited by the feeling of her friend’s bicep beneath her fingers.
“You know, we could always do something to take your mind off things. We are in a hot spring, let’s relax.”
Nemesis turned to look at her once more, sorrowful visage now quizzical. She simply shot back a wink, brushing her fingers up and down her friend’s arm just a little bit.
“And here they keep telling me that Artemis of the Hunt has sworn a vow of chastity, that she is immune to Lady Aphrodite’s influence.”
“Ah, well…”
Artemis’ voice could not hide her sheepishness, nor could she maintain an expression to the contrary either.
“…those claims might be a little exaggerated. But I have my reasons.”
“Do you? Because I’m beginning to wonder if you’re not Aphrodite herself, assuming the visage of my friend to get close to me.”
She chuckled at the suggestion, though became a little more soft-spoken and serious as she continued.
“It’s easier to maintain the appearance of chastity than it is to explain to every god, demigod, and mortal man that I’m simply not interested in them.”
“Ah. Yeah…”
“I don’t want a repeat of the Actaeon incident.”
“He got what was coming to him.”
“All the same, better to avoid it altogether, much less something worse. As for Lady Aphrodite, she keeps my secrets. I can promise you that much.”
It was her turn to be a little dour now, thinking on the past, but Artemis let it go as quickly as she could, aided in no small part by her friend shifting to face towards her and picking herself up until the water was no longer preserving her modesty entirely.
“I’m sure she does. But we can’t have you dwelling on bad memories, can we?”
Now adopting the quizzical look herself, Artemis was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a smirk on her friend’s face; quickly followed by the feeling of Nemesis’ hand upon her outer thigh.
“What’s wrong? Do you want me to stop?”
“N-no. Just… not used to you being so forward.”
“Maybe it’s the springs. Feeling more relaxed than usual.”
“Yeah, I can see!”
The hand had run up and down her thigh a few times now, and now it began to trail higher; slowly working its way up Artemis’ abs. The feeling prompted a little gasp from the goddess, and in turn that a little smirk from Nemesis while she shuffled just a bit closer to ease her reach.
“Keep it down. Don’t want anyone to catch wind of us, remember?”
Artemis nodded. Her heart was starting to race, and she could feel her cock quickly starting to harden between her legs from both the sensation of Nemesis’ fingers and anticipation of where they were headed. Sure enough, she felt them circle about the outside of her breast; big, thick hands, lightly calloused from extended time at arms, that easily gripped her mound in full. Artemis closed her eyes, focusing on the sensation as her friend’s fingers dug lightly into her supple flesh and the goddess’ hand began to move in slow, steady circles.
With only the quiet of the Crossroads at night about them, it was easy to focus on the sensation of her breast being massaged. Subtle waves of pleasure pulsed through her chest as Nemesis’ fingers clenched and relaxed over and over, accentuated each time the larger circling motion pushed it up and around. She was doing her best to stay quiet, but it wasn’t easy to avoid making any sound at all while receiving such tender care; certainly not when Nemesis slid her hand through the water to tend the other breast in turn.
“Fuck, I could get used to this…”
“Hush…”
Nemesis’ voice was whisper soft, but to accentuate her point she brought her free hand up out of the water and pressed two fingers against Artemis’ lips. It certainly stopped her from talking, but the shiver it sent down her spine was accompanied by a wordless moan all the same.
“If you can’t stay quiet, I’m going to stop.”
Still whisper quiet, there was a playful tone to her voice that Artemis was neither used to hearing nor prepared for in a moment like this despite their past dalliances. She simply nodded, far too aroused by now to be willing to risk upsetting the moment. Thus they continued, Nemesis taking her time to tend to one breast and then the other. As she switched it up between them so she switched up her technique; at times pressing her index and middle fingers upon Artemis’ nipples and teasing them in firm little swirls, then taking them between index finger and thumb to squeeze and tweak at them. Every little gesture elicited its own feeling of delight, and any time her vocals grew too loud she was reminded to keep quiet with a little pressure from the fingers on her lips to keep things down. So it was when the hand eventually withdrew from both breasts, prompting a little sound of protest from the goddess of the hunt.
“Relax, I’m not done with you yet, Artemis.”
There was a boldness to that promise, and with fingers against her lips she wasn’t really in a position to quip back, but she did let out a sharp breath when she felt Nemesis’ fingers brushing through her pubic hair and almost immediately against her firm shaft. Her friend simply smirked at her while the sensation of that big hand gripping her rather more modest length. She thought she might melt the moment Nemesis began to slowly jerk her hand up and down, a different and far more blunt feeling of pleasure now coursing through her.
“I have to say… you really did feel good when last we fooled around.”
Artemis curled her toes beneath the water, moaning softly in her throat with her friend’s fingers still pressed against her lips. She’d been complimented before, of course, but coming from Nemesis it hit rather unexpectedly, and all the more for being accentuated with the feeling of the goddess’ thumb brushing over her engorged head.
“Perfectly sized. Despite appearances, I’m no size queen.”
Artemis’ heart was pounding, and with resumed stroking she could feel herself really starting to well up quicker than she’d anticipated. With her friend’s carnal taunting echoing in her mind, and the goddess’ hand steadily caressing her cock, she felt like she just wanted to lose herself in the moment entirely. Her cheeks flushed, she started to buck her hips just a little into Nemesis’ hand. The goddess didn’t seem to mind, and even slowed her stroking to make it easier for her. Eyes half-lidded in the heat of the moment, the urge to cum was gnawing at her relentlessly. Just as she thought she might finally push herself over the edge, the hand withdrew.
Her eyes opened wide.
She groaned aloud, only to have Nemesis’ fingers pressed against her lips again before being pulled away.
“Fuck, Nem, what gives? I was so close.”
“I could tell, that’s why I stopped.”
“What?”
“It wouldn’t be very appropriate to have you make a mess like that in the hot spring, now would it?”
Now, with nothing to stop her, Artemis let out a big exasperated groan. Caught between the sudden absence of sensation on her skin, the burning fire of arousal in her body that now wanted Nemesis to go wild on her, and the truth of what Nemesis was saying, frustration immediately set in. This confluence of contradictory feelings was going to drive her mad.
“Well, now that you’ve got me all hot and bothered, how about we… go for a walk in the woods after we’re done bathing? Somewhere that, you know, nobody might hear us?”
There was a fiendish grin on Nemesis' lips now, and Artemis couldn’t help but wonder what she might have unleashed.
“Perhaps, I could be convinced...”