Antinous was ranting again.You could hear him from across the courtyard, pacing back and forth like a lion in a too small cage, flinging dramatic hand gestures in the direction of the other suitors.

“He’s smug. He’s self righteous. He walks around like he owns Ithaca but his daddy isn’t even home!”

You leaned against a marble column, arms folded, listening to the familiar tirade with a bored expression. Telemachus, seated beside you on the steps with an apple in hand, leaned over and whispered, “That’s what… the third time today?”

“Fourth,” you said. “I’m counting.”

Telemachus snickered around a bite of apple, and your eyes narrowed playfully. “You know,” you said, thoughtfully watching your brother continue his ranting, “I think it’s time I do something terrible.”

Telemachus raised an eyebrow, amused. “Like?”

You turned fully to him with a mischievous grin, reached up, and tugged him down by the collar of his tunic. Then you kissed him—slow, deliberate, right there in the open.

Antinous’s voice cut off like a snapped lyre string.There was silence. You pulled away with a satisfied smile and patted Telemachus’s chest.

Telemachus blinked, dazed for a second, then slowly smirked. Before Antinous’s voice beamed again.

“YOU—WHAT IN HADES’S NAME DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING?!”