aphroditea

        Aphrodite’s eyes were on her phone as she walked towards the mostly glass building down the road from her apartment, thumb moving over various characters as she messaged with the women she did not know was, in fact, her daughter. They were making plans to do a sip and paint but were also gossiping about their love lives, Aph messaging her about Heph’s apple shaped candle holder. She’d wanted to talk to him about meeting but it was like the pair of them had been avoiding it. On Aph’s part because she didn’t think someone who had met her that way would really see her as someone who deserved a fuller investment of time.

          Keeping her head down and focused on the messages she was sending, of course. meant she wasn’t paying any attention to her surroundings as she approached the gym. Apple scent heavy on her warm lightly sunkissed skin with a gentle glow washed over the man she collided with. “Sorry, texting and walking is -” she began, slipping the phone into the side of her tights before catching sight of him. Her whole face seemed to light up, brilliant eyes widened and the corners of her perfectly pink lips pulled into full and blushing cheeks.

          “Henry,” she said, hand now free immediately placing itself on him, without the notion of boundaries coming to her head the way they normally would have - people paying for her was private and it was on them to decide if they wanted people to know how, or even if, they knew her. “I can’t believe it’s you.”

(text): i could not tell if he had tattoos, i was working a party and he was dressed in all black. kind of intimidating in a way of… meeting a celebrity but not flashy they just had power to them kind of thing.

(text): you are killing me with this tale! you two just need to meet at a cafe, a place to really talk.

(text): yes totally! had me at plans but sweets are a bonus. do you like wine? i know a guy and he has the best stuff. 

(text): that sounds sketchy but i promise it’s not!!

(text): omg i will definitely send one (attachment)

[TEXT]: i understand thinking so highly of yourself is a great thing. but to make it about yourself whenever you’re talking about anybody else every time? you are important, but therein lies the fine line between reasonable and pretentious. [TEXT]: i’m explaining everything i mean and i’m certainly not trying to insult you or your way of life. just know that your actions have consequences too. do you really not ever think about anybody else besides yourself?

(text): right right! aaron.

(text): you know i actually met an aaron recently, didn’t really seem like the type you were talking about, i don’t know if it’d be the same guy. hmm

(text): i think ‘good’ can vary depending on the side you are standing on, also if you’ve met twice i say it’s fate they’ll definitely be a third time!

Adonis can only pout, picturing the child laughing at him in mockery. “It’s all about pride,” he reasons though he knows it really is more about wounded ego if anything. “He won’t know someone’s helping me out. Plus I’m pretty sure he’ll have someone on his side, too. Kid looks like he still needs help putting pants on.” The grumbling may have pushed on a more childish tone, but Adonis is still grumpy about the whole thing.

“I’m sure the victory will be more on seeing his smug face cry.” He doesn’t mean it – or at least he doesn’t mean it in its entirety. Adonis is just feeling put out. “They call it their vacation home,” he explains. “I don’t understand why mor– people need more than one home. Why bother getting one when you’re just going to use another?” 

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        Aph laughed, she shouldn’t have but she did at his assessment of the child, not quite sure how old they were, maybe it was a reasonable age to need help putting on pants but it amused her regardless. “Okay, you’ve won me over, I will help so long as you are not too smug if he cries,” she offered, taking a look at the pumpkins they had in front of themselves. “What kind of thing were you thinking, super scary or something super artsy?”

poppy   shook   her   head   slightly,   giving   her   an   embarrassed   smile.   ❛   please,   tea,   don’t   make   me   blush.   if   we   start   this   up   now,   i’ll   spend   all   day   telling   you   how   gorgeous   you   are.   ❜   were   you   REALLY   close   friends   if   you   did   not   flirt   at   least   a   little   ?      she   did   not   think   so.   besides,   tea   made   it   incredibly   easy   ;   she   was   absolutely   stunning.   

she   giggled   at   the   teasing,   nose   crinkling   as   she   did.   ❛   i   can   be   the   sugar   and   you   can   be   the   spice,   ❜   she   offered   up   as   a   joking   compromise.   it   DID   sound   a   bit   as   if   they   were   in   a   band   or   building   a   brand,   but   it   worked   rather   well.   ❛   there   might   be   someone   who   i   had   a   little   thing   with   just   the   other   day,   ❜   she   admitted   after   a   moment.   ❛   but   i   don’t   think   it’s   going   to   turn   into   anything   serious.   what   about   you,   though   ?   any   new   athletes   in   your   life   ?   ❜  

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           “You’re literally describing the perfect day to me,” Aphrodite responded with a light laugh, allowing the complimentary aspect fo the conversation to fall away and instead focusing on Poppy’s scrunched nose and answer to her question. “Oh really? Tell, what did they look like? What did they say?” she begged to know, excited by the mere prospect of blossoming affections.

The toxicity of whatever relationship she and Aphrodite go through is what draws Eris in over and over again. Surely once Ares finds out, she’s probably in for a hell of a ride but that’s future-her problems. Besides, once everything’s back to normal – and she will make damn sure that everything will go back to normal – it could be something to laugh at. For now, it’s something that keeps her bed warm at night or when they’re fighting, something that gets her blood pressure up there. It’s exhilarating and maybe that’s why mortals used to fawn all over the goddess. Beauty by its physical form is what catches them but the hook – that’s what Eris misses when there’s no one there to argue with in all hours of the night. 

“Well. You know me. I like trouble,” she counters, eyeing the bottle like it’s the gateway to what fun the night could bring. The smile she throws at the other is purely innocent – for now. “Behave,” Eris repeats, the irony of the word tasting sweet on her tongue. “Only good girls can behave. Are you saying you’re a good girl?” Her head tilts with the question as if her curiosity hasn’t already been answered with nights shared together. “My place then,” she nods. At least she’ll make an evening out of it.

As Aphrodite passes her, Eris doesn’t hide the way her eyes follow the goddess. Her focus shifts towards the cashier and knowing the looks they throw at them, she can only wonder what goes on in that mind – and so she voices it. “Are you looking for a three way,” Eris asks the employee. “I’m only down if she’s down but I don’t think we can all share the bottle.”

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         Aphrodite swallowed at Eris’ counter, evident in the way her cheeks pulled in for a moment and her lips became tight. The innocent smile not enough to reduce the impact of her statement. Trouble was certainly more fun than behaving and passing the woman was challenging with that thought in mind, double as Eris’ eyes were on her. “I can be a good girl,” Tea responded but she honestly wasn’t sure how true that was. Even internally the monologue running through her mind of behaving was being replaced with Eris’ desire for chaos, the idea she liked trouble, and Tea liked it too. Trouble was so much more fun.

            Placing the bottle down on the counter her eyes lifted to the woman standing there, the employee eyeing them still as Eris spoke, taunting them a little by simply knowing the likelihood of what was in their mind. It was taunting Aphrodite too, even as the woman became obviously flustered, trying to respond to Eris but getting nothing out.  She was sure that Eris’ was enjoying the cashiers response, but even more so the byproduct of her intentions in taunting Tea. Maybe that’s why it was so fun, Tea was so easy to influence.

            “No, I wasn’t - that’s 85.74€,” the woman behind the wooden counter stated, red cheeked and avoiding either woman’s gaze. Bella leaned forward however, sweet and gently rounded breasts pushing together to create a distinct amount of cleavage as she did, eyes trying to seek out the cashiers. “Miss -,” the cashier said, eyes moving from Bella and back to Eris. “I was not thinking about that.”            

    “hopefully one day,” he whispered. “but until then, here we are. in a terrible world of things we don’t like,” egon sighed, smiling to himself as he got up and grabbed a few more blankets for both of them. it was something he loved about having his own place; all of the comfortable things he let himself have. 

     “hey, let me try and cheer you up,” he smiled at her, reaching out for her hand to give it a small squeeze. egon could see her mind running with all the possibilities, squeezing her hand again. “stop thinking so much, i can hear it from here. you’ll find him again, if you’re meant to. and that’s what matters right?”

         “I like you,” she countered while he got extra blankets for the pair of them. “You’re like my favourite person,” Aphrodite offered, brows furrowing when she said it, a guilt in her chest at the words like she shouldn’t have said them and yet she couldn’t logically think of anyone else that she could attribute them to. Rolling over in the new blankets and attempting to crush the feeling, her head against Demis dur.

[TEXT]: i’m sorry you’re confused [TEXT]: that’s a bit presumptuous of you isn’t it? not to mention pretentious dear aphrodite [TEXT]: you’re not troubling me [TEXT]: right now, i’m afraid there’s not much you can do except just…raise your standards a bit.

poppy   watched   the   technician   work   with   satisfaction,   relaxing   in   her   seat.   sometimes   she   needed   a   good   day   off,   and   a   good   nail   day   with   her   girl   was   perfect   for   that.   she   hummed   as   she   considered   her   answer,   tilting   her   head.   ❛   gym’s   definitely   fair.   i   was   talking   to   this   girl   the   other   day   –   big   soft   jock   energy,   the   CUTEST   thing   i’ve   ever   seen.   ❜   she   smiled,   almost   rueful.   ❛   i   gotta   go   with   C,   though.   i   think   i   need   a   little   light   in   a   partner,   you   know   ?   well,   i’m   cheery   enough   for   two,   but   someone   who   can   make   me   smile   would   be   good.   ❜   she   had   never   been   very   lucky   in   love,   yet   she   still   had   high   hopes   for   the   future.  

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          Tea seemed to melt at the mention of a girl with soft jock energy. “She couldn’t possibly be as cute as you,” she responded regardless of the mental image in her mind. In no universe would Aphrodite be capable of not flirting with her friends and Persephone was stunning. Now and in all universes the woman had been known for her stunning appearance, no doubt enhanced by her personality.

hermes stretched himself out, humming like a cat. it felt good, familiar to be with aphrodite again. her words though caught him a bit off guard. sitting up from the floor, he frowned at her. “what did you see?” he asked gently, reaching out for her hand to squeeze it gently. “what did you hear?”

“hey, no skin off my back. though might have taken some of that with your nails,” he chuckled, squeezing her hand again. her praise went straight to his ego, his smile widening as he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “well thank you. if only someone would be so willing to pay me for the services.”

         Aphrodite frowned a little at his question, trying to recall. “Must have been some dumb documentary on the TV about some of the ruins, that or that awful Brad Pitt movie Troy,” she laughed a little but the laugh was off because it didn’t quite feel right to blame it on the television but also she couldn’t work out what else it would have been.

thehephaestus​:

“I would want to make sure that you want it. More than anything else. Tease you to the point where you need it.” He smirked slightly, his voice slightly deeper than normal as his hand started trailing back down his abdomen again. He watched making sure she was still keeping up with him.

He was feeling much bolder and more confident than usual. Perhaps the situation and how easily she was following his instructions was helping. But he found himself speaking again. “You know I picture this when I’m alone? How smooth your skin would feel. How the goosebumps would stick out. How sweet youd taste.” His hand stopped at his waist band and he played with the hem. “I like to imagine what I could do to make you moan my name.”

        For a moment her head rolled back and her eyes closed, the thought of him taunting her causing her to need a moment. There had been so many times where she had wondered what he might be like, what he might enjoy, worried in some moments the reason he was so hesitant was because he wanted something she didn’t offer - which was so few things really. So hearing what he actually wanted, what he liked, was heavenly.

       “I do need it,” she whispered, forcing her eyes to open so she could watch him, needing a moment to catch up, her hand leaving her hardened nipple and rolling down her core. Aph refocused her eyes on him, on his fingers moving down the tones muscles of his form as he spoke. He really was teasing her to the point where she needed it, his fingers simply playing with the hem of his pants meaning she could only do the same, jeans giving her nothing but a tremendous desire to remove them.

        Aphrodite placed the heated espresso down next to her, pen between two fingers, while her opposing hand remained in the grasp of the woman working on her nails. The false almond shape now added to them made her already soft and elegant fingers appear more slender and delicate. “Okay, so the next question is, ‘what quality matters most to you? A, That they live at the gym, B, That they’ve got a fat wallet, C, That they know how to make you laugh, D, That they have a degree’,” Tea read from the magazine on her lap, doing the quiz for both herself and Poppy who was next to the young woman having her own nails done by a secondary nail tech.

            “I hate that it’s always like rude if you say body or money, like ‘oh, I only care if they make me laugh.’ Some people aren’t fucking funny.” There was another pause as she assessed her own decision on the matter. “I’m totally saying gym, I can watch TV if I want to laugh and you don’t have to like be bulking, I am down for some yoga vibes. How about you, P?”

(text): hi! it’s okay don’t worry, and really?!

(text): see i’m telling you i know how to read a tale and yours wasn’t over at that first meeting. did you get a name this time?

(text):ohh that would have been really smart! although ‘bad guy’ makes me think he could be a wanna be, like who says that other than guys who have seen way too many movies?

thehephaestus​:

He watched her curiously as he walked from his living room into his bedroom. His didn’t have a stand or anything for his phone but he managed to prop it up against his alarm clock as he sat down down on the bed so more of himself was visible. Henry was okay with words if he had time to think about them or write them down. But in situations like this he felt much more comfortable with actions then words.

He licked his lips before he pulled his tshirt off, revealing his muscular, toned upper body. He lifted one hand up as he made eye contact again. “Let me show you instead of telling you. Use your hand, but pretend it’s mine.” He stared her down as he placed his hand just above his waist band on his lower abdomen, then slowly started trailing it up. He traced up and over his abs before grabbing at one of his pecs. Squeezing before teasing around the nipple. “I’d start like this. Try to make sure, every nerve catches on fire.”

        Tea’s eyes lingered as he removed his shirt, sucking in her lower lip to observe the toning to his body. It wasn’t abnormal for good looking men to pay for interactions, usually they weren’t as kind as Ben was, they tended to mostly be busy, they paid because they had thirty minutes between a meeting in Tokyo and another call conference in their home city of Athens. Henry seemed like he had more times on his hands than that.

         Of course, his following actions surprised her a little, listening to him regardless. Her high waisted jeans got in the way a little, her fingers starting on denim rather than on her core the way his own did. Quietly she followed up though, eventually feeling her own skin, tracing up with her eyes focused on his hand, grabbing her own breast for a moment, more there than he had, nipple between fingers, before she drew her palm away and started to circle her nipple once more. It was working, she could feel the nerves he spoke of running up from her gentle touch to her neck, imagining him toying with her.

carefully reaching out to aphrodite, he took her hand. “i don’t see you as being stagnant. not at all, tea. you’re… you’re doing something. living a life i could only wish for. i would love to be able to go out and have fun sometimes but i’m scared i’ll hurt someone instead,” he sighed. “even if your line of work can be dangerous, you’re still doing something,” he whispered, squeezing her hand gently. 

“oh i highly doubt they could forget you. i never could,” egon smiled gently, looking over at one of the people he trusted most in this world. “i know tonight was not a good night. but that doesn’t mean tomorrow can’t be better. who is to say you haven’t met the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with tonight. maybe you should try and find the guy that helped you. maybe that’s why you met him.”

          He was right, as evidenced by that evening, that her work had danger to it, and yet it wasn’t any of her clients who had posed a danger so far as a disgusting man on the street. “One day the right medicine and the right doctor or even just the right motivation will hit you and you’ll feel like you can, but for now, you’re taking care of yourself, that’s what’s important,” she insisted as she laid down in the bed, drawing blankets up around herself.