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Part 7 of Silent Wars - Greek Mythology Modern AU
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Published:
2025-08-12
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2025-11-18
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Silent Wars- "With her headphones in just to block out the noise"

Summary:

After a while of dating, Ares is of the opinion his girlfriend and sister should finally meet.
He could have planned this a little better.

or: Ares, your sister is autistic don't surprise her with having to people.

or: How Athena and Aphrodite met and how their relationship evolved

------
This is part of my ever-expanding Modern Human AU. Honestly you can start wherever, some context is in the notes :)

Notes:

AU Notes:
In this modern human AU, Athena (20), Ares (18) and Hephaestus (7 going on 8) are the three children of Zeus that live with him and Hera. Athena is still the daughter of Metis, who died in a car accident when she was five years old, she has been living with her father since.
After a not-so-fun time in boarding school, Athena has graduated and started preparing for law school, double majoring in Legal Studies and History in a different town. After he graduated, Ares moved over to the same town and they got an apartment together. The siblings have always been really attuned to each other and consider each other their best friend.
It's currently February and Ares and Aphrodite have been seeing each other since early December.

Chapter 1

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Aphrodite hadn't pushed on seeing Ares' apartment. Naturally, she was painfully curious, but she guessed he'd invite her eventually.

Now, walking out of the abandoned warehouse that they had spent the last two hours taking pictures for one of Aphrodite's college assignments (No, she had of course not had any particular motive to use her boyfriend as a model for photos taken with the good camera she had rented), they felt frozen solid and hungry. February was way less cold where Aphrodite had grown up.

Ares offered her his scarf, she had neglected to bring her own because it only got in the way with the camera.

"Thanks, babe," she said, sliding her cold fingers between his. "We gotta get to the car, I'm about 1% warmth away from becoming an icicle and that camera needs to be returned tomorrow, so that's not an option."

Ares nodded.

"Well, I also don't want you frozen, I like you much better this way, so let's save you from that fate."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"You wanna grab food?" he asked. "I- We could go to my place if you want, it's not that far away, and you could probably meet Athena since it's Saturday."

Aphrodite lit up.

"Ohh, I would love to! Gotta finally meet the myth and legend."

He chuckled.

"Suppose yeah. She's probably halfway into a paper and will be absolutely thrilled her idiot brother wants to interrupt her with trivial life things. Never stop being grateful I escaped college and don't have to deal with any of those assignments."

"Well, I don't want to waste her time," Aphrodite said, slightly shy. "If it's better another time..."

He shook his head. 

"Nah, it never really ends for her, and the next big thing are exams, so good luck finding a non-stressed moment then. Better she meets you now and knows you'll be around. Also she'll be going home on her own next weekend, so maybe that'd be a cool opportunity..." He grinned, cheeks flushing not from the cold this time. "- for you to stay over for the first time if you want, have some alone time, but I want to introduce you two first, because it's Ath's place, too."

Aphrodite nodded.

"Of course. I'm really excited to meet her." She smiled, but there was some insecurity in it. "I hope she likes me."

"She will," Ares said. "She mightn't show it much, she's not super loud with that kind of thing, but don't worry about it."

They had reached the car which saved her from wording an answer that she didn't really know yet.

Something along the lines of: I know your sister is incredibly important to you, and I want to be able to share this important part of your life, but from everything you told me she sounds intense and very academic, and I'm scared we'll have stupid prejudices between us because high school probably taught her to be wary of people who dress like me, just like Dina still doesn't like me, even though you would think living in the same apartment, she would figure out my head isn't just pink cotton. 

The car ride was short, and Aphrodite improved her anxiety by singing along to the radio. Ares helped, too, albeit unwittingly, by singing along as well. 

The house Ares and Athena lived in was a sandy brick building with four floors and a small parking area in front.

"Ours is on the back left," Ares said as she strained to find anything identifying on the windows she could see. "You can't see it from here."

She followed him to the door and he unlocked it, leading her to the staircase. 

"It's probably not that tidy right now," Ares said easily. "Didn't plan that far ahead."

"You know my place, what makes you think I'd mind?"

He grinned.

"Alright, alright, let me be a little nervous."

Aphrodite pulled him close to plant a kiss on his cheek. 

"You're always allowed, because it's absolutely adorable."

They had reached the second floor, and Ares headed straight for the door right opposite of it. Aphrodite spotted the sign, written in a small, neat hand, definitely not his. There were owls on the welcome mat.

Ares unlocked the door, then awkwardly waved her inside. 

"There we are."

Aphrodite stepped inside, immediately spotting a large, worn couch in the living room, and a bunch of photos on the walls. 

"Fun," she commented, trying to take everything in at once.

Ares laughed, toeing off his shoes and taking off his coat. 

"Put your jacket whereever. We don't use more hooks than this."

He stepped further inside, taking a dart from a bowl on a low commode. 

"One sec, I have to finally break the losing streak."

She watched, amused and confused in equal measure, how he aimed and threw the dart, then stepped closer to inspect his result. He counted the rows from the center, then cussed. 

"Still a tie. I really didn't wanna have bathroom duty this week."

Aphrodite took off her shoes, clearly looking confused.

"Oh, did I never mention?" he asked. "Ath and I have this competition, when you come past, you can try to beat the other dart, and if you do, you get to give a chore to the other for the week. Bullseye resetting, of course, but Ath threw this stupid five-rows-away dart two weeks ago and I have not once managed to beat it, but I've tied four times." 

Aphrodite smiled.
"That's such a fun idea." Pity my roommate isn't fun.

He smiled, then stilled to listen for noise.

"Thena? You up?"

A small moment of silence, then the sound of a chair being pushed back down the narrow hallway. The door opened.

"It's 3 pm, Ares, what else would I-" The girl broke off, her eyes settling on Aphrodite. 

She was wearing a too-large plaid shirt that clearly didn't belong to her, over a black sweatshirt and pants. Her brown hair was tied back into a messy knot or ponytail, it was a bit hard to tell.

Now she awkwardly wiped her hands on her pants, taking a few steps toward them.

She looked a lot like Ares, Aphrodite thought, the same brown curls, the same assortment of birthmarks speckling her skin. Her eyes were light, though, steel grey. 

"Hi," Athena said, voice soft and deliberate. "I didn't know we'd have guests."

"Yeah, sorry bout that, that was a spontaneous idea," Ares said. "Thought it'd be nice if you two met. Thena, this is Aphrodite, Dite, this is Athena."

Athena extended her hand.

"Hi. Nice to meet you."

Aphrodite took her hand, smiling brightly.

"Nice to meet you, too. Ares told me so much about you."

Athena hummed.

"Glad he found someone to air his grievances with me to."

"Hey, I don't speak badly about you," Ares protested. "Not more than sibling code allows."

Athena raised her eyebrows slightly, then turned back to Aphrodite.

"Sorry, the place is a bit of a mess, and I didn't- I would have prepared if I'd known you were coming. Would you like something to drink, though?"

"I'd love tea if you have some," Aphrodite said. "And don't worry, this is definitely not messy. I'm incredibly chaotic and I really try, but it never stays tidy for long."

Athena smiled evenly, though it didn't seem to quite reach her eyes.

"Well, then make yourself comfortable, I'll take care of the tea. Herbal?"

"Yes, thanks," Aphrodite said, looking around the apartment. Much of the furniture had clearly already been in here, that, or they had bought a ridiculous amount of matching furniture. The couch was second-hand though, and she guessed so were the dining table and chairs.

Ares turned up the heating and then took a look into the fridge.

"Thought I'd make some food," he said to his sister. "You wanna join?"

Athena looked at him, and he could tell immediately that she really didn't want to but was gauging if it had been a request. He flashed her the classic puppy-dog eyes. She forced a smile.

"I'll join you for eating? Or do you need help cooking?"

"Nah, no need. I know you're busy."

Athena smiled apologetically at Aphrodite.

"Unfortunately. My prof spontaneously decided to make the minimum page count 2 pages more, so I have to restructure."

Aphrodite grimaced. "Eugh, I hate when they do that. It's so disrespectful to the students."

Athena nodded with a half-shrug, then poured tea into a pot and placed it on the couch table with a pair of mugs.

"There you go. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks." Aphrodite smiled at her, but Athena was looking at the tea. 
A silver pendant dangled from a necklace, almost round but irregular, with a small branch engraved into it. Aphrodite assumed it was an heirloom or something, judging from the multitude of indents in the metal.

"I'll join you later," the girl murmured before disappearing into her room.

Aphrodite smiled at her boyfriend awkwardly.
Ares gave her a thumbs-up.

 

In her room, Athena leaned her back against the door, willing her heart to slow down.

Gods, you can't just leave like that, what's wrong with you? You were supposed to make smalltalk with her, like a normal person. Something Ares doesn't have to ashamed of.

But dinner is already gonna be bad enough.

She ran her fingers through her tangled brown hair, feeling every knot like a separate testament of how bad of an impression she had to have made.

Why hadn't Ares warned her?

Despite herself, she felt anger welling up. She felt betrayed. He knew she hated being surprised, that she hated being confronted with visitors, and it would have been as easy as sending her a text five minutes early. 

She sat down on her chair, pulling up her legs, fingers playing with her olive branch necklace with the usual mix of comfort and shame as the traced the indents.

Her younger self stared at the necklace in frightened disbelief as she pulled it out of her mouth. Where it had been for the past 30 minutes as she had been working on a puzzle, absentmindedly chewing on the soft silver.
Mom's gonna hate me.
Her fingers trembled as she took the necklace off, pushing it into her pocket where it couldn't be seen that she had destroyed her Mom's gift, and she didn't even know why.

If anyone had asked, she wouldn't have been able to explain how it made her feel, knowing that eventually she had gone to her Mom, sobbing and shaking because she had been so scared and ashamed, and that she hadn't gotten in trouble, that Mom had believed her that she hadn't known it would break and that she had been so immersed in her puzzle that she hadn't even noticed.

"And even if you had broken it on purpose, I wouldn't be happy, of course, but I would still love you just as much. There's no object in this entire world you could break that would change that."

She was grateful, of course, but it still felt like she had never properly made up for this.

Why am I thinking about this right now?

She pressed her knuckles against her tired eyes, breathing out a little harder than usual.

Right. She had already failed the social part of this because she should have stayed and made small talk, so at least now she should be working on her paper.

She stared at her document for a long time, then opened a new tab in her browser and typed "Conversation topics brother's girlfriend"

 

Athena emerged from her room after Ares had texted her dinner was ready, her hair newly brushed and in a different sweater, her necklace now tucked in. It felt too vulnerable to wear out right now.

"I love how you decorated the place," Aphrodite said brightly. "All the pictures, Ares said you took care of that."

Athena tried a practised mild smile like she saw her mom use when talking to an acquaintance or worker. 

"I just thought I'd be nice to have some memories", she said, leaning against the fridge. Aphrodite was sitting in one of Ares' sweaters on one of their dining chairs. Much like at home, they never used the dining table, they ate on the couch, but clearly, Ares wanted to make a good impression. He was just filling plates on the counter.

"Thanks for cooking," Athena said softly. Her fingers bunched the cuffs of her sweater.

"Just something simple and warm," Ares said. "Not leaving the house was a good choice, Ath, it's frigid."

"I suppose the paper saved me, then," Athena replied, internally cringing at her attempt at humor. She didn't say that she knew it was cold because she had gone out for groceries earlier. Because she had assumed she could work the rest of the day.

"What kind of paper are you writing?" Aphrodite asked. "Or do you wanna ignore its existence before you go back to it?"

Athena shook her head, made eye-contact for an appropriate amount of seconds, made another attempt at smiling.

"No, it's fine. European History and Culture 2, and my topic is a discussion on why ancient culture and architecture were revived several times throughout history. Like, how the Renaissance and Classicism came to be, culturally." 

Aphrodite nodded.

"I see, that sounds super interesting... which I suppose everyone says until they have to write an essay about it." She laughed, pearly and real. "I have a history module next semester, just history of design though. Might reencounter some of your points. One of my profs is obsessed with Rococo."

"That seems likely then," Athena replied evenly, biting back an explanation on how Baroque and Rococo had actually facilitated the return to more classical architecture in a similar way to how trends were alternating today.

The nerdy sister archetype was all cool and quirky in a teen movie until you actually had to listen to them rambling for twenty minutes, and she had no intention of embarrassing her brother. 

Ares brought the food over to the table and she sat down with them obediently. It had three chairs, technically a fourth that they never got out of the storage closet. It had never been quite big enough for three people.

Athena reminded herself to eat properly and not tuck her legs under right away, show you are civilized first, we'll see how safe she is.

The chicken and rice was simple, but good. She wished she could have just eaten it in her room in peace. 

She asked Aphrodite something about her course of studies, she chuckled half-heartedly at a tease from Ares, and she didn't make a mess out of her food. Not that she usually tended to, but she didn't want to give off a wrong impression.

"You know," Aphrodite said brightly. "I just turned into my aunt for a second. She always asks me 'Dite, dearie, what do you want to do when you're done studying?' or something like that, because people can never imagine graphic design could make you any money. So I am not going to ask you what branch of legal you want to do after law school, because I am not yet over 45, I don't get to ask these questions yet."

Athena wasn't sure what kind of reaction was expected of her, so she settled on a placid smile again.

"People ask me that all the time, too, mainly if my goal is being on the Supreme Court. Which it isn't. I want to be a little realistic about my future and not chase impossible dreams."

Plus, imagine me of all people, me who has to think twice about what words to use when ordering food, making decisions like that. I'll already lie awake at night about a ruling I made about a parking ticket.

"That makes sense," Aphrodite said. "The chances are so low it might be wiser to aim for something more achievable. Just find something that makes you feel like you're doing something important even if it's small, that's what my grandma always says." She laughed. "Such a country-girl, quoting my nana, aren't I? But she is right, I think."

Athena nodded.

"Yeah, totally agree, if you find meaning in what you do, you'll be happy, or content at least."

The conversation circled a little again, and Athena got up to make a second round of tea to at least have something to do with her hands.

"You wanna watch a movie before you head home?" Ares asked.

"Oh yeah, gladly." Aphrodite smiled as they got up to clear the table. "Athena, are you in the market for judging historical dramas for accuracy? Since you probably have a bunch of knowledge on it?"

Athena half-turned, shoulders stiff.

Yes, was the simple and honest answer.

"I don't like ruining movies for people," she said deliberately. "I get that for historical dramas and the like, the point isn't really to be accurate but to look aesthetically pleasing for a modern audience."

"Oh no, that wasn't negative," Aphrodite said. "I run around commenting on restaurants' graphic design literally all the time, it's fun. I think I'd have a great time watching you talk about why the architecture or costuming is a mess, I'll still find it fun to watch."

Athena smiled noncommittally. 

"Not today if you're busy," Aphrodite added quickly. "Just in general. If I don't get a sisterly house-ban."

"Of course not," Athena said with a forced laugh. "I'm just really worried about getting my paper done, is all."

"Yes, totally. I get that, I'm so relieved I got the photos for my assignment done today, I was so stressed before. Don't feel forced to join us, but obviously you're welcome, is what I meant."

"Thanks," Athena replied. "That's sweet. I'll clean up a bit and then squeeze some work in, don't let me disturb you."

"Thanks, Ath," Ares said as she wiped down the counters. "I'll clean the fridge in exchange, 'kay?"

"Don't mention it," she murmured. "I'm already standing."

She was relieved when they settled into comfortable chatting about what movie of their list to watch.
Finishing up, she lingered a little awkwardly for a moment.

"Uh, I'll disappear again then," she said with a forced chuckle. "It was nice meeting you, Aphrodite."

The other girl offered a bright, genuine smile, getting up without closing the distance fully.

"Thanks for having me. It was super nice meeting you too, hope we get to chat more soon. Good luck with your paper."

"Thanks. See you around," Athena replied, and then finally escaped down the hall and to the safety of her room.

 

The credits snaked over the screen and Aphrodite stretched, reluctantly moving from the comfortable spot in Ares' arm.

"I should really get going before I fall asleep," she said.

Ares yawned, then nodded.

"Yup, back into the cold we go."

"Should I say goodbye to Athena again?" Aphrodite asked, eyes drawn to the closed door.

Ares shook his head.

"No, no, best to leave her be. She'll be focused, and she's kinda particular about whom she wants in her room. Nothing personal, she just doesn't know you well enough yet."

Aphrodite nodded. 
"Okay, I see. Just don't wanna be rude."

He smiled.

"Don't worry about it, Thena won't think you are."

Aphrodite wasn't too sure, but she didn't argue, instead putting on her shoes and coat. 
Ares typed a message, then followed.

Aphrodite took a last look into the apartment for now, nailing down her first impression. A home. A little strange, a little particular, but definitely a home. Maybe a home because of that.

She followed Ares down the stairs and into the car, sliding into the passenger seat.

Ares' car was decidedly less beat-up than hers, and it had the wonderful luxury of functional heating. She withstood the urge to curl up in the seat, knowing it was dangerous. Ares had mentioned a while back that it made him nervous when she sat like that.

'I've been told way too many times how much likely that makes injuries, at some point, one picks up on that.'

"I like your apartment," she said after a while. "It feels cozy."

He smiled.

"I hoped you would. It feels... I don't know, it's not been ours for long, but it's home either way, you know?"

She nodded, feeling a little choked up.
She was trying so hard to make her apartment home, but sharing it with Dina just made that hard, moreso that, much like on the farm she had grown up on, that her own room was a safe haven in a place that didn't really want her. Not how she was, anyway. 

She didn't say out loud that she was scared that his apartment would be like that, too.

"I like Athena," she said instead. "She seems like such an interesting person, I hope I'll get to know her more." She swallowed, looked down at her hands. "I don't think she liked me very much, though."

Ares shook his head.

"What? No, don't worry. She's always quiet like that. She didn't even leave the apartment, she does that when I have friends over sometimes. She just doesn't know you yet, so she's cautious, she always observes people first."

Aphrodite swallowed hard. "You sure?"

He smiled crookedly.

"I know my sister, she just needs time to get used to you. And a good night's sleep, but she always needs that. Uni is a mess, y'know?"

Aphrodite nodded, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Okay. Hope so."

Ares reached out briefly to touch her arm.

"Don't worry about it, Dite. It's all good."

 

When Ares returned to the apartment, it was about two hours later, Aphrodite and he had gotten caught up talking and forgotten the time.

Nothing had changed in the living room, suggesting Athena hadn't left her room even after he'd texted her he'd drive Aphrodite home.

He shrugged off his coat, then went over to her door.

"Thena? I'm home."

He thought he heard movement, but got no reply. 
Cautiously, he opened the door.

Athena sat in her desk-chair, slumped forward in a familiar pose, her head resting on her folded arms on the desk.

"Thena?" Ares asked more quietly.

She moved, then blinked.

"Hmm?"

"That would be your subhuman lack of sleep catching up with you," he said with a half-smile. "Call it for tonight, Ath."

She grumbled something indistinct, but uncurled herself and shuffled toward the bathroom. 

Ares really wanted to ask her about Aphrodite, but he decided it could wait until tomorrow when she wasn't two seconds from keeling over from exhaustion. 

He would have helped tidying up the study hell, but Athena's desk was off-limits if you wanted to keep your hands attached to your arms.

Instead, he put the snacks away from the living room, got distracted by some messages and when he looked up, Athena's door was already closed again.
Being dead-tired usually made her even less sociable, even with him.

He texted her Goodnight, not really expecting an answer, and went to his own room to pass the time until he would go to bed, too.

He didn't notice, when he went to brush his teeth, that a faint sliver of light still came from under Athena's door.

 

Athena took her time getting ready in the morning. Getting ready meaning leaving the room after finishing her paper over the course of two hours and doing citations until her body demanded coffee.

She didn't feel good about acting like she had fallen asleep, but she hadn't had the capacity to have any kind of confrontation last night, and a strategic lie was just easier sometimes.

The annoyance hadn't abated, though.

There were few hard and fast rules in their home, but there were unspoken ones, and one of them was that before he brought over guests, he told her. She didn't think it was too much to ask, since it didn't require more than a text, she never complained about him having anyone over or asked him not to. And naturally he wanted to invite his girlfriend over, she had been surprised he hadn't already, but she felt disregarded anyway.

Maybe she was being unreasonable, playing into some kind of jealous sister archetype and she should just let it go.

Athena tied her hair into a bun and stepped out into the hallway, half-expecting a stranger to be in her space still.
She closed her door a little harder than necessary. 

"Thena?" Ares' voice came from the kitchen. She rounded the corner to see him make eggs and bacon.

"Morning," she murmured. She'd just leave it. Maybe mention he could call ahead next time.

"Hey." He smiled. "You looked super dead yesterday, did you sleep?"

At like, three. Why?

"Guess I overshot the sleep deficit a bit," she replied with a shrug.

"For someone so smart, you are really bad at learning healthy sleep habits," he teased.

"It's not my fault Raymond hates students," she said.

"True." He plated breakfast and brought it over to the couchtable. 

She sank down beside him, taking her plate.

"Thanks."

"No biggie." He grinned. "Okay, I waited long enough. What do you think of Aph?"

Athena swallowed down her anger.

"She seems nice," she offered. "I get why you like her."

Ares gave her a puppy-look.

"That's all I get? C'mon, Thea, I need an in-depth sisterly assessment."

She breathed out through her nose.

"Ares, I was too busy being stressed out to form an opinion. Why did you not say you'd bring her over?"

His face fell.

"I- Look, it was more of a spontaneous thought..."

"You know I hate surprises. Even two minutes would have been better than just calling me out of my room looking like I crawled out from a fight with the dust bunnies without any warning."

She put down her plate, purposefully gently.

Ares looked crestfallen.

"I'm sorry, Ath, I- I didn't think it'd be a big deal, I just really wanted you to meet her."

She hated how even being angry, the apology almost made her fold.

"I would have liked to meet her in proper clothes and with a general idea of what I could say. You could have had a better first impression."

"I didn't want a good first impression," he said. "You don't have to do curated smalltalk with her, you can just be you. She's in a relationship with your weird brother, she's used to it."

Athena swallowed hard.

"I'm not like you," she replied sharply. "I can't let loose when I meet someone, you know that. And you know I don't like changes in plans, I wish you'd just told me ahead, that's all."

"You would have found an excuse to disappear-"

"Not when I know it's important to you?" Her voice wavered. "Of course I would have met her if you asked me to. Gods, I would do smalltalk with your friends if you wanted me to, you're my brother and I want to make you happy. You don't have to go behind my back for that."

She hadn't raised her voice, she almost never did, but the edge in it was audible.

Ares sighed, then looked down.

"You're right. You're right, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I didn't think that far. I shouldn't have tried to... trick you like that. I'm gonna text ahead next time."

Athena wrapped her arms around herself. She felt bad for making him sad over such a small thing.

"Thanks," she murmured. "It's not... it's not a big deal, I just... I know it meant a lot to you and I get so awkward when I'm not prepared. I didn't want her to think your sister is weird that soon."

Ares looked up, frowning.

"Ath, she knows you're weird. You think I'm lying to her about what you're like? Dite is weird, too; she took advanced biology as an elective, and she's a theater kid. When I said Heph builds robots, she asked me if he used Raspberry Pi for that and I had to google what it meant. I told you that, didn't I?"

He had. She had filed it away as a peculiar detail about Aphrodite that didn't fit the girl's 'cheerleader aesthetic'.
She could tell, of course, that Aphrodite wasn't dressing like the ex-cheerleaders usually did, it was more than pink for them, it was the uniform, Instagram grown-up-but-not-quite aesthetic that immediately signaled danger to people like her who still remembered the sharp words when the cheer uniforms were still being worn. 

She didn't explain that part to Ares who she knew didn't know much about the subtle language she and the other girls had been forced to learn to survive or be torn apart.

She didn't tell him that she had braced for more danger.

"Yeah, you did. I know. I never said she- I'm not good with meeting people, you know that. Guess I was a bit nervous, is all."

He offered a crooked smile.

"You really didn't have to, Thena. She said she liked you, and that she hopes you'll like her, too. I think you two would really get along once you know each other better."

Athena didn't say that people very rarely cared to spend more time with her once they knew her, she didn't think she could handle some meaningless reassurance about that right now. 

"I think we'll get along alright," she said instead, meaning 'coexist' and not even fully believing that. "I think she's really sweet and she cares for you a lot, and that's all that matters."

Maybe that wasn't quite all that mattered to her in that moment, but she didn't allow that thought to surface or leave her mouth.

Instead, she boxed her brother's shoulder, smiled at him crookedly when he grinned, and resumed her breakfast.

Notes:

ares. ares my boy.
i love him a lot but this was not his best moment lol

Also since there's currently a massive gap between this and the next snippet, I wanna talk a little about Aph and Thena.
The kinda sad but also really intriguing part about their relationship is that they do genuinely like each other. Athena isn't lying when she says that to Ares, she picks out positives she did notice, she just omits the "I don't feel safe around her yet", "I was bullied by people who had her confidence and charm." "I just got used to having a safe space here with you and now everything is changing", "You'll inevitably redirect your affection to her and I already feel lonely", which she already feels or will be feeling.
Bc my girl cannot communicate to save her life.
Meanwhile Aph is very perceptive and she can tell that Athena is in essence just heavily masking so that's why she feels like something is off.
agh poor babies they have a lot to work out :)

hope you like it, do let me know :3
xx

Chapter 2

Notes:

Unsurprisingly, I had more ideas

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Aphrodite dreaded coming home sometimes, and specifically on Tuesdays. Dina had an awkward shift which she hated on Tuesday, and she came home about half an hour before Aphrodite, usually in a pretty rotten mood.

Not wanting to deal with her roommate making her feel very acutely that she despised everything she thought Aphrodite stood for, Aphrodite usually opted for a late library afternoon and came home later when Dina would at least be civil with her.

She would have done so today as well, but she had forgotten her laptop at home, and she really needed to finish the art deco themed product poster they needed to hand in on Thursday – she had underestimated how hard vector-drawing a woman standing in a massive shell would be, but it had seemed like a good idea to promote a shampoo at the time.

She unlocked the door, sighing internally.

Dina had her music on and was cooking. Aphrodite quickly waved into the kitchen.

“Hi.”

The other girl looked up, forced a smile.
“Hi. You need the kitchen?”

Aphrodite shook her head, waving a bag from the bakery.
“I have a project yelling for me,” she said in a lighthearted tone and disappeared into her room.

She kept her own style out of the community spaces, since Dina had not-so-subtly dropped she hated pink in all shades and the whole "instagram aesthetic" was "shallow and fake". Never directly directed at Aphrodite and her style, but not trying to hide it either.

Inside her own room, though, Aphrodite had created a space she liked. Light wood, flowy light pink curtains, a big bed with a floral metal frame, big pillows and a plush comforter. It might look like Instagram, but Aphrodite had dreamed of a place like this room before she had known what that app even was. 
Maybe a little more tidy than this one.

She haphazardly dropped her bag on the ground, her bakery sandwich on the desk beside her laptop, and herself onto the bed with a sigh.

Gods, I wish I had been there when Dina had her apartment tour, so she could have seen me and dipped.

She managed not to lie on the bed for a terribly long time, mostly because her phone buzzed and she was hoping for a message from Ares.

She had hoped correctly.

Hey babe ❤️. Wanna come over to my place after my training is over tmrw?

She stared at the screen for a moment.
She did want that. She wanted to get out of here where her very presence felt like a nuisance, and she wanted to spend time with him.

Unfortunately, the place he was inviting her to was not usually one to make her extremely welcome either. Not because of Ares, he acted like everything that belonged to him was also hers, and he didn't even get anxious here where she felt like even having him here would provoke Dina.

No, not Ares. 

It didn't feel fair to call it Athena's fault. Aphrodite knew that.

Ares' sister was polite, always, no hidden jabs like Dina, no attempts to subtly push her out of her space, on the contrary, she was usually the one to ask whether Aphrodite was staying for dinner, or if she and Ares had plans for the weekend.

It wasn't even that it felt like Athena didn't want Aphrodite there, more like she didn't want herself there when Aphrodite was. Making space on the couch without being asked to, or sitting on the very edge, waiting till Aphrodite had taken seconds at dinner, showering late after they were already done in the bathroom so she "wouldn't be in the way".

She meant to make space for Aphrodite to be nice, the girl knew that. She just didn't know how to explain that she didn't want to have a space carved out for her like a concession and feel like she was pushing someone else out of it, she wanted to snugly curl into a space and just belong there, for once.

The worst part was that she liked Athena. Even just from what Ares told her, she knew that there was a genuinely fun and gentle person there that she just didn't get to meet because Athena had too much of a shell.

When Ares had mentioned that Athena had raged about an Anne of Green Gables adaptation for having a completely off tone and some silly changes that made no sense, Aphrodite had taken the opportunity to strike up conversation about the book series, which she had also read.
"Have you read the entire series? What's your favorite book?" she had asked, cutting up an apple into slices.

Athena bit her lip.
"I like the first one best." she said. "Not that I think the other's are bad, but it's my favorite."

"The first one is really good," Aphrodite agreed. "My favorite is probably Book Three, all that mutual pining was very guilty pleasure for me. In real life it would be an absolute mess, of course, but I was so rooting for them."

She put the plate of apple slices on the table, pushing it within Athena's reach.

It looked like Athena wanted to comment, and Aphrodite could guess what, since Ares had mentioned she had said something along the lines of "how did they add MORE misunderstandings, it's not like these two already can't talk to save their lives..." so she could imagine Athena hadn't liked the third book very much.
She didn't, though, just smiled that half-smile that barely lifted the corners of her mouth, and said:

"They definitely ended up being very cute. I liked the letters in the fourth book that they wrote each other."

And that had been that. Cautious, placid, and unengaged. 
Athena was never rude, or even acting uninterested, but she was acting like she was traversing an obstacle course and any slip-up would cost her the conversation, and that included giving Aphrodite anything real.

Aphrodite wondered whether she had done something to warrant this, but she genuinely couldn't think of anything.

And being tolerated like this, clinically, by the book, felt as if she had nothing to grab hold of to maybe make Athena actually like her, no qualm to fix or misunderstanding to overcome. She felt like Athena did get her, and had decided not to engage.

And she hated the thought that it would always be like this.

She swallowed hard, eyes stinging, then typed back:
Sure, looking forward to it :)

She put the phone down on her desk, sighed, and opened her laptop to finally get somewhere with her poster.

 

The next day was a little warmer, and Aphrodite appreciated not seeing her breath as she got out of her car in front of the apartment building. Ares, having "met" her on the street here, parked and got out of his car.

He reached out and she stepped into his arms and kissed him.

"Hey," she murmured. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. How are you?"

"Can't complain. You?"

"Same here. I got salmon and yogurt from the store, we can make Stuffed Salmon for dinner, I tried that out a few weeks ago, it's really good."

"Oh, it sounds like it." She offered to take the bag, but he carried it himself. 

They entered the cool foyer of the house and climbed the stairs.

"I actually need an afternoon snack before dinner," Ares said. 

"Well." Aphrodite grinned mischievously.
"Luckily I brought chocolate chip cookies."

He leaned over to kiss her again.
"My savior."

He unlocked the door to the apartment.
"Hey, Ath."

Athena waved from the couch where she was sitting in front of her laptop, but for once, it was not work.

"Ares just came home," she said to the screen. "He'll say hi in a minute, he'll have to change first. Can you run the numbers by me again?"

Aphrodite saw that she had headphones in, and she guessed she was on a videocall. Ares was getting out of his shoes and jacket, and she lingered back just a little, watching Athena write something down.

"Hm," she said. "Okay, Heph, I think the friction is the problem, if you try to reconstruct it with some barrier pieces-" She paused to listen. "-yeah, I know. That's the only idea I have, though."

She leaned back, and a smile, a real, honest smile, lit up her face.
"Alright, alright, you try the weight thing first, and if it works the way you said, I'll buy you a brownie with ice cream from Delphos', deal?"

Aphrodite didn't have to hear the response to know it was enthusiastic.

Athena's voice was so different, she thought, slightly more rough and definitely more expressive, as if she was literally polishing it usually.

"Do I get one, too?" Ares asked, before throwing a dart at the board and pumping his first in triumph
"Hell yeah, eat this, Ath! How about Heph and me get a brownie for me beating your dart?"

Athena raised her eyebrows.
"Well, I'd rather buy you treats than have bathroom duties, so deal. Heph, you can pick something else as a reward if your weights work, your brother won you a brownie." She grinned at Ares. "Heph says thank you, you're the coolest brother ever. Also yes, bug, you can have peanut butter m&ms."

Her eyes found Aphrodite, widening ever so slightly in surprise.

"Hi, I didn't even see you," she said easily, and Aphrodite felt it sounded more natural than Athena had ever spoken to her.

She waved with a smile.
"Hi, nice to see you, too."

Athena smiled, a little more restrained again, and turned back to the screen.

"Yeah, that's Ares' girlfriend," she said, and Aphrodite was a little ashamed to admit that she was listening very carefully for Athena's tone, as if there would be a code in the word 'girlfriend' that revealed what the other girl really thought.

She didn't hear anything of the sort. 

"Do you still have homework today?" Athena asked. A pause as the boy answered. "... and did Mom say you had to finish it before calling me?"

She raised her eyebrows in exaggerated exasperation.

"Now you made me your co-conspirator."

Aphrodite hung up her jacket and went to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water so it wouldn't be suspicious she was lingering.

Ares had gone to his room to change into something more comfortable after work.

Athena laughed softly.
"My bad. It means when you have a plan and you pull someone else into it so now they're also guilty because they know about the plan."

Ares came out of his room in sweats and smiled at Aphrodite before sliding onto the couch next to his sister.
Athena bowed forward to change the sound to speaker.

"Hi Ares!" came a boyish voice from the monitor.

Aphrodite watched her boyfriend's face soften.

"Hey, Heph-o, what's up?"

"I'm Thena's 'spiritor!" Hephaestus replied happily and Aphrodite huffed out a soft laugh, pressing her hand to her mouth. Athena - stoic, no-nonsense Athena - actually snorted.

"Yeah, that's right," she said warmly. "You're there for the good spirit."

"Did you save people today, 'Res?" the boy asked.

"At least two dozen," Ares replied, grinning. "And what's cooking over there?"

"Thena's helping me with the robot I'm making, and I'm gonna prove I'm the best engineer cos my method's gonna work!"

Ares grinned.
"Sure it will. I'm betting on you for sure."

Athena gave a mock betrayed gasp.
"How dare you."

Aphrodite smiled wistfully as the siblings laughed. The ache was familiar, the sadness of always having been alone at home, of not having anyone who knew you like this and who shared the same homelife and history with you. She sipped from her water.

"'Kay, Heph," Athena said. "Now go do your homework before Mom finds out about our anti-homework-conspiring. And so you can go back to your robot soon, I'm really excited to see if the weights work or not."

She was good at this, Aphrodite thought. She could guess that Hephaestus would be more willing to do his homework if that meant he could impress his sister with his project sooner.

"Okay... But I'll call you again when I'm done, yeah?"

Athena smiled with a tenderness that made Aphrodite's chest feel tight.

This is what it's like if you're someone she cares about. This is what she's really like.

"Yes, of course, bug. You call me right away. We love you."

"I love you, too!" Hephaestus said. "See you later."

"See you later," Ares and Athena replied in unison, and Athena leaned forward to end the call and shut her laptop.

Aphrodite stepped over and sat down on the mismatched armchair, legs pulled up.

"Hey," she said quietly toward Athena again.

The mask slipped into place, a little more subtly, but there. She hated that.

Why don't you feel safe around me? What is wrong with how I am that you can't-

She cut off the thought. Athena didn't owe her this. They hadn't known each other for long and it wasn't her fault that Aphrodite's only way of loving was jumping all in immediately as soon as she decided she liked someone.
Few people were like that.
Aphrodite wished she wasn't like that either sometimes.

Athena smiled placidly at her greeting.
"Hi. How are you?"

"Fine," Aphrodite said easily. "Finished the poster I had to make yesterday, so I won't even have to pull a panicked late night today."

"That's great," Athena said. "What kind of poster?"

"A product advertisement in Art Deco style."

A flash of real in Athena's eyes. Genuine interest.

"Oh, Art Deco is a pretty unique style, I like it a lot. A lot of work with small details, though, I imagine."

Aphrodite nodded.
"It was, but it was worth it. I'm pretty happy with it." Her fingers tapped against her phone. "I have a picture here if you want to see."

Athena nodded.
"Of course," she said, reaching out her hand.
Aphrodite handed her the phone. She already had had the picture open to show Ares.

He was the one who whistled first, impressed.

"Dite, that's gorgeous. Should be in an art gallery."

She felt her cheeks flush with heat at the compliment.

Athena zoomed into the picture, grey eyes shrewd and focused.

"It's beautiful," she said then. "The little bit of shadow next to the lines has a cool effect, almost like stained glass, and I like the texture you added as well. Not that I have much of an idea about art," she added, almost embarrassed. "but it looks very nice."

Aphrodite beamed, not pointing out that Athena obviously did know a little about art with what aspects she had pointed out.
"Thank you," she said earnestly. "I'm happy you like it."

Athena smiled thinly and gave back the phone.

Aphrodite took it and pulled out the cookies she had brought.

"I guess I'm all about letting you judge my skills today," she said with slightly awkward smile. "I made cookies."

Ares was already digging in as she finished her sentence. Athena looked up as if gauging whether she was supposed to, and gingerly took a cookie when Aphrodite nudged the box toward her a little.

"That was your little brother on the call, right?" 

She was addressing Athena, and the other girl nodded, nibbling at the cookie.

"How old is he again, seven?" Aphrodite asked. "That sounded... well, not like seven-year-old stuff."

"Well, he takes after his sister as far as being a genius is concerned," Ares commented with a laugh. Athena flushed, eyes fixed on her pants; jeans today, like every time after the first time Aphrodite had seen her. She guessed that the other girl was dressing up specifically for her.

"He is interested in engineering," Athena said softly. "And he is pretty good at it, far beyond his age, I saw worse-constructed stuff win middle-school science fairs." Quiet pride snuck into her voice at the words.

"And you're the resident lab partner?" Aphrodite asked, lightly teasing.

Athena shrugged, but she smiled.

"Yeah. I do the math. I'm not that great at physics myself, not like he is, but I can pull a quick equation and that helps sometimes."

Aphrodite smiled brightly.
"That's sweet. It has to be nice for him to have someone helping him out and who encourages his hobbies."

Ares lightly boxed his sister's shoulder.
"If Thea could lift him and spin him around like me, he'd definitely have a favorite sibling."

Athena huffed.
"Don't be ridiculous, you're his favorite guinea pig to test the robots."

"Hey!"

She grinned, a proper, real smirk, and Aphrodite thought that maybe things would be okay with them after all.

Notes:

argh your honor i love them
Aphrodite just needs more screentime I love her

It's like Aph, sweetie, Athena is just masking because she doesn't know you well enough and you're her favorite person's gf give her like more than a month and a half XD
Also Dina wtf how can you not like Aph she's the sweetest??

next chapter, the girls bonding :)