The sound of the front door opening startled them enough to get Aphrodite to pull away from her boyfriend and sit up. She was finally relaxed, but that brought her right back to the edge.
"Hades! Dee!"
"You have to be fucking kidding me," she whispers to herself, not even able to get out of her bed before her door swings open. There stands Bruce, carefully eyeballing Ethan when he spots him. "Dad. You're home."
"Yes... why is your door closed when there's a boy in your room?" He asks, acting as if he's ever been a caring father. "Try not to do that--hey, kiddo."
Hades immediately whisks their father into a discussion about his fight today, dragging him away from Aphrodite's room. The second he's out of sight, she throws her face into one of her pillows and lets out a scream. Her father was home for the first time in three weeks, and she wished he would've stayed gone.
Not only did he decide to make an appearance, he also scolds her about who she has in her room? She didn't understand if he was delusional or just trying to convince himself that only speaking to your children a few times a month at most was okay as long as you pretend to care when you come home. It was probably the latter, and it made her sick.
Ethan frowns, pulling the frustrated girl into his arms with a small, "Shh," from his lips. "I'm sorry, Aph. We can go to mine? Or... just get out of here."
"Yeah. Not your fault, y'know?" She huffs, reaching for her shoes. "I hate his guts."
"C'mon, I'm here," he mumbles, grabbing his hoodie. By now, Ethan has helped her more than a few times after her dad shows up out of the blue. He's the only one who knows about it other than Hades, and he's happy to help.
Bruce returning home only ever puts Aphrodite in a horrible mood. Sometimes it's gone the next morning, other times it lasts for a few days, but it's definitely not ever a good thing. Ethan knew she was already upset over something before this, but Bruce coming home was bound to make things so much worse.
Twirling her keys around her finger, they leave her room and get ready to go anywhere else. Bruce is in the living room with Hades, and the discussion makes her stop cold.
"Of course I'm home, Hades. You think I'd miss your sisters birthday? Oh! Dee, come here!"
Ethan tilts his head, his jaw going slack. Aphrodite's birthday? He had to have it wrong, right?
She bites her tongue, foot tapping the ground impatiently. Aphrodite is going to explode if she doesn't get out of the house in the next two minutes.
"Happy birthday, Dee. What do you wanna do for it?"
"I actually have plans with friends already. Why don't you take Hades out for something though? I'm heading out now." Her answer comes out through grit teeth, but it barely phases Bruce. He doesn't spare her another glance as she drags Ethan out the door and toward her car. "Fuck!"
"...it's your birthday?"
"Yeah, it's not a big fucking deal, I didn't want you knowing," she spits, hitting her steering wheel a few times. "God, I hate him! He couldn't just stay away, could he? He had to come home, and he had to tell you it's my birthday, and he had to ruin fucking everything."
Aphrodite lets out a frustrated huff of breath, starting her car and getting away from her house as fast as she can. Her birthday is her least favorite day of the year.
In fact, that's one of the things she keeps secret from her friends too.
They'd asked, they'd pried, they'd bugged her about it for years... but she didn't want them buying her gifts or surprising her. Carla used to know, since they were friends for years, but she can't remember the date. Just the month.
Her birthday was never a good day. They knew the general time-frame it was in, and had forced her to have a few small birthday get-togethers on random weekends hoping they were close, but the day of she kept a secret. It was easier that way.
Upon learning that today was his girlfriends birthday, Ethan immediately felt bad. That was something he should know.
"...why didn't you want me knowing it was you birthday, Aph?" He asks quietly, wringing his hands in his lap. "Does Gray know? Did I--did I do something?" Surely if Grayson knew he would've thought to tell Ethan.
"No, baby, of course not. I just--I fucking hate my birthday. I don't like people knowing about it, or doing anything for me, and every year something bad happens on it. So I don't really tell people my birthday anymore, okay? It really doesn't have to be a big deal. Can we just forget about it? I--I'm gonna take you home and go drive around or something, I gotta be alone and clear my head."
It's apparent that this is what's been bothering her all day.
His heart cracking in his chest, he croaks out, "N-no, Aph. You don't have to be alone. You shouldn't be alone, even if you don't like your birthday."
"Ethan--"
"Aphrodite, please? Let me... just let me get your mind off things."
"Fine. Okay. But if Grayson is home I'm not staying--I don't need that today too," Aphrodite gives in with a heavy sigh. She did miss Grayson, her best friend, but today was not the day to get into everything with him. Maybe this weekend would work, after she cools off from all of this. Letting Ethan in today was hard enough.
Behind her eyes were dark storm clouds, threatening to rain down on everything below. Ethan didn't want to know what that would look like if it were to happen, he didn't want to see it.
But he couldn't help asking, "Why do you hate your birthday so much?"
Aphrodite huffs, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel. It was Ethan--she could talk about it with him. It sure as hell was hard though.
He waits patiently for her to find the words. Ethan struggles with that often enough to understand how she might be feeling, like she's drowning in her own mind.
"It wasn't always bad," Aphrodite mumbles, her eyes distant. "The first year it was was... sometime in middle school. I woke up to my parents fighting, and they fought the entire day before before deciding they were getting a divorce. They'd been fighting a lot, but I don't know, I wasn't expecting it. They told me that night right after cake.
"The birthday after that was when my dad first stopped coming home. He went to work, and then he just didn't come home that night. He left me a happy birthday note on the kitchen table and money to order pizza. He came home the next day, but from then on out he started disappearing more and more," she swallows thickly, refusing to look at Ethan as to avoid having to see the sad eyes she knows he has. It was hard to talk about, but it is what it is. "Started a trend of bad birthdays, I guess. Had a major fight with a friend one year, car accident another, found out I was being cheated on... a bunch of other shit. Now I just like to try and ignore it."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Aphrodite says, clicking her tongue to the roof of her mouth. The car pulls to a stop, and Ethan realizes that they're already at his house. "Not your fault. They're just birthdays anyway, y'know? I'm older. Big deal."
Just because her birthdays have almost always been bad doesn't mean they always will be. Aphrodite might not think it's a big deal, or maybe she's lying, but she made it through another year and Ethan thought that was something worth celebrating. He's sure as hell glad she did, glad for every moment he gets to spend with her.
Aphrodite deserves to have a good birthday. "Let me do something for you?"
"Absolutely not, Ethan. I hate birthday shit."
"B-but I want to," he pouts, truly meaning it. "Doesn't have to be anything big... what if we order your favorite Thai food? 'N then we can just--we can watch your favorite movies or something small, or... go somewhere?"
"You don't even like my favorite Thai place that much."
"S'not about me," Ethan insists, "sweetheart, Aph, something small? Just us."
Aphrodite sighs, glancing at the clock, and then his house. It's still pretty early, Grayson is obviously not home, and Ethan's insistent (rare for him).
She doesn't want pity, or for him to feel obligated to do anything for her. In fact, she's still worried today might get worse--but knowing Ethan, it was unlikely that's why he was asking. He had to really want to do something for her to be trying this hard.
"Okay," Aphrodite nods sharply. "Nothing special. But okay."
Ethan smiles, finally unbuckling to climb out of the car. He'd do more than just keep her company and get her takeout if she'd let him, but this is a start. Next year, maybe.
Once they're inside, he loads up the website to order online and gets all of her favorites, which he's come to memorize. Aphrodite pouts a little bit, feeling bad that he's doing this, but Ethan kisses it away before going to talk to his parents--and convince them to leave for a few hours.
He doesn't come back to her right away though, even after she hears his parents leave. Aphrodite scrolls through her phone and contemplates going off to find him when it feels like he's been gone far too long.
When the doorbell rings with their delivery, Ethan comes jogging back and doesn't let her answer it. "I-I got it, Aph!"
She raises an eyebrow but doesn't protest. He's bouncing on the balls of his feet, thanking the delivery man before turning to her with a smile. "Where were you?"
"Settin' a couple things up. I, uh, grabbed your favorite hoodie of mine? S'in the dryer so it's warm... want it?"
"...well obviously."
Ethan rushes off to get it for her, and smiles after she puts it on. He loves seeing Aphrodite in his clothes.
Love. Again, the word is on the tip of his tongue. He looks at her and sees everything he's ever needed, but he just can't seem to get it past his lips. Instead, he waits more and brings her to the dining room.
The lights are off, but Ethan spent a good 15 minutes lighting candles. Probably far too many candles, spread out across the table and shelves and even a couple on the floor to illuminate the room. He sends her a sheepish grin at her wide eyes and motions for her to sit.
First, she blows out the few candles on the floor just to be safe. Aphrodite breathes, "E, you're so fucking extra. But so fucking cute."
"You like it?"
"Yeah. Thank you, baby." Aphrodite pulls him in for a deep kiss, tugging on his bottom lip when she pulls away. Things seem to be shaping up for her to have the first decent birthday in quite a few years.
They sit across from each other, but he keeps his hand on hers as they dig into their Thai food. A romantic candlelit dinner with delivery was much more fitting for them than anything fancy.
"Happy birthday, Aph," Ethan says quietly, his fingertips tapping against hers. He looks at her with wide, shining eyes that make her stomach flip--they widen more at the sound of the front door shutting in the other room. "Hello?"
"E?"
"You fucking jinxed it," Aphrodite groans. The second Ethan mentioned her birthday, of course Grayson would come home. "I gotta go."
"Aphie," Grayson says, stopping cold. "You've been avoiding me--what's all this?"
"Aph, don't go," Ethan frowns, reaching for her hand. "Or... let me come with you? It's still your birthday."
"It's your birthday?!"
"Ethan!"
"Shit! S-sorry, I--Grayson go away, you're ruining this! You were an ass to Aphrodite and she doesn't--she doesn't wanna talk to you!"
Grayson crosses his arms, blocking the doorway so Aphrodite can't leave. Ethan shocked her with his yelling, but more of her focus is on the younger twin whose own mind is spinning.
He scoffs, "You told Ethan your birthday? We've been friends for four fucking years, Aphrodite, and you've refused to tell me. And you've been avoiding me for like, over a fucking week now, all because of some stupid shit that Carla and Rosa said, not me!"
"Okay, you know what?" She says slowly, standing to her feet. Her finger collides with his chest, pushing him backward. Ethan decides to stay out of it for the time being. "First of all, I didn't tell Ethan. My dad did. I've told you before I don't like my birthday being a big deal and it's not personal, Grayson.
"But second, you're supposed to be my best friend! Sometimes you really don't act like one." Grayson opens his mouth to speak, but she shuts him up. Luckily, because he was going to say something he'd surely regret if she didn't. "You just--sometimes you don't care about fucking anything. You can't take anything seriously, and that's why I don't tell you anything important! You rarely ever wanna hangout when you're not high, so I guess it's lucky you're high all the fucking time these days.
"And the goddamn bridge--Joey could've died, and you didn't care then either. I helped him get down and then you just watched while Carla and fucking Rosa bitched me out because of it! You didn't say anything, you didn't come after me, you just went back to making out with Rosa. And honestly, the fact that you do that at all after she knowingly slept with my last boyfriend really makes me feel like you don't care, Grayson. So fuck you. In just a few months I've gotten closer to your brother than in four years of knowing you, and Ethan's not the easiest person to get to know."
Even though she's yelling, Ethan watches her with a soft smile on his face. He's heard her prepare this rant for the last week, and hoped saying it would help get the weight off of her chest.
Grayson's jaw drops for a brief second before he snaps it shut. "That's not fair at all!"
"Isn't it though, Gray?"
"...fuck. Is it? Am I really--is that--?"
Aphrodite folds her lips over before pursing them, nodding her head slowly. Her voice comes out shaky, "I don't think we were ever really friends, Grayson. We just smoked together."
"C'mon, Aphie... I care about you, you're still my best friend." Grayson means it. Aphrodite knows she was a bit harsh with that last line, but she's too mad to take it back. As he's speaking, his eyes trail behind her to look at Ethan. "This is your fault."
"M-my fault?" Ethan's eyebrows furrow, veins filling with anger and confusion.
Grayson's jaw clenches and he nods, moving Aphrodite out of the way so he can get closer to Ethan. The older twin is getting more annoyed by the second, but the younger is growing angrier.
"Yeah. It's your fucking fault, Ethan. You changed things--you changed her!"
"Grayson, leave him alone!"
"Just get your own fucking friends, Ethan! Quit stealing mine because everyone at school thinks you're a freak!"
Ethan's hands ball up into fists, spitting, "How does anyone stand you?! You... you're--"
His words are cut short by Grayson's fist flying into his face, colliding with his mouth and nose.
"Grayson Bailey Dolan!"
"What the fuck, bro?" Ethan groans in pain and holds his face. "I-I can't--just go away!"
"Fucking pussy."
Aphrodite contemplates yelling at Grayson more, slapping him, but instead she lets him leave and rushes toward her boyfriend who's spitting out blood. His features are angry, but his eyes are upset. They're dark, and stormy like hers were earlier.
Ethan moves his hand to allow her to look at his face, which has a sharp throbbing pain on the entire lower half. Luckily, it's just sore and red instead of bleeding. He's only bleeding in his mouth from biting down on his tongue when Grayson punched him. His face still hurts like hell though, and he kind of regrets not at least shoving Grayson back.
With a heavy sigh, Aphrodite pulls Ethan to the kitchen. He sits quietly with a deep frown as she grabs him some ice and gently holds it to his face.
"Birthday curse," she laughs bitterly, shaking her head. Aphrodite got comfortable, almost thought her birthday could turn out decent, and she shouldn't have. After so many years she should know better. "Sorry, baby."
"No it--s'not your fault, Aph! He's just--Grayson shouldn't have--your birthday isn't over yet."
"E, let it go," Aphrodite snips quietly. "Your lips are all swollen and a little busted."
"I'm okay," he whispers, staring down at the floor. Ethan feels horrible that he forced Aphrodite to do something with him despite her saying she didn't like to. Of course it would turn out like this. "Are you?"
Her mouth opens, but she doesn't say anything right away. Aphrodite isn't sure how she wants to answer--Grayson texts her before she figures it out.
Grayson: happy birthday aphie
Grayson: sorry for all that. i still love you. let's hangout when you're not pissed at me
Aphrodite: i don't even know you anymore
Aphrodite: you're an ass.
Grayson: always have been.
She sucks in a sharp breath, squeezing her eyes shut in anger. When she opens them, Ethan is looking back at her with soft ones.
His gaze shines at her in the kitchen lighting, his bottom lip swollen but also jut out at her. His face is red and splotchy where he was hit, he has deep eye bags, and most notably, he definitely feels bad about what happened. Aphrodite does too.
"I will be," she promises, leaning up and brushing her lips against his, so gently they barely touch. It still gets Ethan flinching from the sudden pressure, the pain on his split bottom lip, but he doesn't pull away. "C'mon. Let's go blow out those candles and then go up to your room for a while. Maybe we can salvage a little bit of our night."
With a tired nod, he pulls the hood of his black sweatshirt up and follows her away. Blowing out the candles takes much less time than lighting all of them. Ethan actually burnt his fingertips a few times while doing so, but he didn't tell Aphrodite. That was the least of their problems tonight.
They're comfortable with their silence, their bodies collapsing into his bed and their limbs tangling. Though it's comforting, it doesn't erase what's happened.
"Are you staying the night?" Ethan mumbles, his voice muffled against her neck.
"If that's okay," Aphrodite hums. Her hands slip up under his hoodie, resting them on the warmth of his abdomen. "I don't think I really want to go home tonight."
"S'okay with me." She can feel the smallest smile grow against her skin and is glad to know he wants her there too.
Aphrodite didn't want to go home, and Ethan was relieved to hear she'd stay. They needed each other equally in that moment.
A/N
grayson is an absolute idiot he's got his own dumb shit he needs to work on
anyway, happy Friday y'all! im updating right before i go to work lmao hopefully today goes by fast <3 love y'all have a good weekendddddd