rainbow

athena. 28. social worker. widow. mama. I'd forgot how to daydream. So consumed with the wrong things, but in the dark, I realized this life is short. And deep down, I'm still a child, playful eyes, wide and wild, I can't lose hope, what's left of my heart's still made of gold

[athenamylah-m]

brandocavallo

“Um–” He was trying to think back to his last battery switch, which had been a while ago, so the exact number wasn’t coming to mind. Though, he knew it varied– as anything would. “I think…I paid around 120 for mine. I think, don’t quote me on that.”

“Okay, okay, twist my arm–” A polite smile stretched across his lips, “But just a coffee will do. Nothing more.”

“Eh. Cheaper than what daycare is for a week, so I should be able to handle that. If worse comes to worse, I’m sure someone in my family would know how to put it in so I don’t have to pay for that part.” At least she hoped so. Maybe her in laws. Definitely not her own family, anyway.

“We’re twisting hard,” she smiled as she made the motion, the child mocking her. “Alright. I guess that’s a good deal. I need to get her a snack before she starts her hungry fit.”

[athenamylah-m]

text || athena & holden

Holden: That's good, too. We love them, but we need adult time too.

Holden: 😉 I like that. I'll see you in a little bit. I'll have pizza delivered to your place. What toppings do you want?

Athena: I would think she would have tired herself out, but I think she's an energizer bunny.

Athena: Surprise me. No anchovies, though. That just freaks me out.

[athenamylah-m]

holden-alexander​

Holden nodded in agreement; Julia hadn’t been baptized or gotten her ears pierced, but he wouldn’t have a problem with her having her ears pierced. “Yeah, the piercing in her ears would grow back if she decides she doesn’t want them,” he nodded his head. Holden paused momentarily and gave Athena a soft smile, wondering how affected she was by the new rule of Julia not being able to be around her except at the park. He hoped when they got more serious that Ophelia would loosen her stance on that a bit. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied with a small smirk when she said he was staying with her regardless. 

“I’m sure there’s a lot of things we have to learn about each other, and I look forward to learning more about you,” he mused with a smile. He just laughed at her statement. “What choices?” he asked curiously, a small chuckle leaving his lips. “Mm, that’s because Italian is the best and we have good taste.” 

He squeezed her hand softly and chuckled. “Not proposing, just remember that,” he warned before pulling out the ring because it would certainly seem like that was what he was doing. “I promise. I feel content here with you,” he reassured her when she asked if he was okay. “Just…it’s been a while, and I really like you,” he laughed softly. “I don’t want to mess anything up,” he continued. Listening to her idea of how she could wear it, his face lit up with tenderness for her. It was a great idea, and he gazed at her lovingly as she suggested it. “No, no. It didn’t sound horrible at all. I love the idea,” he said and leaned over as she moved closer and kissed him. He returned the kiss, smiling into it, one hand going to hold her waist and the other brushing her hair softly out of her face. A part of him wanted to take her to a hotel now, love on every inch of her body and show her how he felt about her. But he wanted to continue the date. “Now, let’s finish this amazing potato salad,” he said playfully once they’d pulled away.  

“She seems to like having her ears pierced. She picks out her little earrings and asks me to change them. It’s a way to show her personality, I think and she likes that,” she nodded. Brie was her own fashionista. But Athena liked that about her. Gave her a chance to be herself. The pause between him made the Latina sigh, grabbing the wine to take a longer drink. The whole situation with Julia made Athena feel like she did something wrong. A part of her wanted to meet Julia’s mom to see how they get along, but at the same time it was probably safer they didn’t talk. Lord knows what Athena would say without realizing it.

When he spoke about learning things, Athena didn’t realize the walls she put up around people. Holden knew a good amount about her, but she didn’t dive deep into anything. She just spoke of the surface. “I have a feeling we will be learning a lot about each other,” she nodded. She was sure he had just as many things that she didn’t know about. The two went through a lot and it was clear that they both had walls up. It was just to bring them down that was the challenge. “I just realized how unromantic I am. I would like to know my life choices because I seem to make everything awkward.

“I know that now,” she smiled at him as she ran a hand through the dark hair. “I hope so,” Athena let her eyes meet his, giving a nod. “I like you, too. Trust me, it’s scary for the both of us.” This was truly the first time she felt like she could be with someone after Luke died. For the past four years, she just didn’t feel like there was anyone she could ever consider and now there was. “Good. It will be easier anyway with how the kids I work with are. I swear they notice the slightest change in me, so seeing new jewelry would really bring up questions.” As she slowly pulled away from him, she couldn’t help the smile as he spoke. “Okay. It better be good. I’m trusting you on this.”

[athenamylah-m]

text || athena & holden

Holden: I'd be happy to. I've missed seeing Brie. Maybe we can have some time with her before she goes to bed, if you're okay with that.

Holden: I could, too. I'll cuddle you really good, baby. 😘 We can watch something or whatever you want.

Athena: Possibly. I'm holding her now in hopes she falls asleep soon. She has been a nut today and has exhausted me.

Athena: Good. Wasn't really giving you a choice anyway.

[athenamylah-m]

text || athena & holden

holden: Hey, baby.

holden: Was wondering if you felt like going out tonight? Or staying in? We could cook or order pizza or something. I'm not on call so it's a pretty good night for it.

Athena: hey love.

Athena: You might have to come over. I don't have a babysitter, but Brie is going to bed soon, so we still have time to ourselves.

Athena: I could use a good cuddling session.

[athenamylah-m]

brandocavallo

Once he heard the engine actually turn on, Brandon gave it a few moments before turning his off; his job was done here. Exiting his truck, he slowly made his way towards the woman, “Sometimes they just crap out, unfortunately. You’ll probably want to bring it to a shop sooner than later, and they might just put a new one in there for you. That’s what I’d do–” If there were specifics to all of this, he was definitely unaware of those. Brandon truly only knew enough to get by; the basics. 

“Oh, no, no–” The offer was very sweet, but Brandon was in no need for any of those things. She was better off just to keep here money saved; especially if she needed that new battery after all. “That’s very kind of you, but really, it was nothing.”

“Are batteries expensive? I guess I should at least invest in that. Then I shouldn’t have to worry too much about it. Man, I need to take some lessons in mechanics,” she scrunched her face. “Wonder if they have classes for simple things like that.” Athena may have to look that up.

“I insist. Please. Let me. It won’t kill you. And I promise we don’t bite.”

[athenamylah-m]

philipvcgel​

“A sarcastic idiot?” The male repeated, brow raised, and continued with a nod of his head, “Some might agree with you.” With a smirk, he extended his hand towards her, “Philip–” He muttered out, awaiting her returned greeting.

“I would have said something different, but there’s a child present,” she moved her eyes back to her daughter who was finally sitting in her car seat. Lowering her dark eyes to his hand, the Latina nodded. “Athena. I guess it’s nice to meet you, Philip,” she smiled as she shook his hand.

[athenamylah-m]

holden-alexander

“I think that’s a good call,” he nodded his head. “I want Julia to make her own choices, too, become her own person. I never really understood why people get young children baptized. It seems like something they can’t understood at that age. Granted I never got baptized at all, but that’s just my two cents on the matter,” he mused with a small smile. “Ah, yeah…” he trailed off, still a bit upset about the issue with Julia not getting to see Athena or see Brie except at the park, but wanting to avoid any conflict. Sometimes he forgot. It just seemed so natural that Athena and Brie should be around Julia, but he understood Ophelia’s point of view as well. “We’ll see,” he agreed with a small smile. He definitely wanted to stay with her tonight, if she’d have him. 

“I think you need to stop them too so you can take your clothes off and get in the deep water with me, but documentaries are pretty interesting,” he said with a small playful look, chuckling. Feeling the breeze against his skin, he agreed, walking toward the shore and sitting down so the waves were just gently lapping at his feet, feeling the sand underneath his toes, just listening to the waves for a few moments. 

“Of course I did,” he smiled. “I can be romantic,” he chuckled, glad to see the smile on her face. “Mmm, let’s hope it’s the bomb then,” he teased, then added, “though it was pretty good when I tried it. So unless something catastrophic has happened to the food while it’s been sitting in the cooler…” he teased, wet his lips slightly, and brought a bite of food to his mouth and swallowed before speaking. “I know how we like Italian food. I wanted to incorporate that somehow,” he explained. Just watching her for a moment, he smiled, taking another sip of his beer. 

Instantly realizing what Athena was thinking, he couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped his lips. In retrospect, such a gift was likely to make her think exactly the way she did. “I’m not proposing to you,” he rushed to assure her, taking a breath to calm himself. It worked, surprisingly, as he felt comfort when looking back to her. “I’m okay.” He opened the box, pulled out the morganite ring, and pressed it into her hand. “Before you can ask if we’re in junior high, yes this is a promise ring, and fuck conventionality,” he teased. He wasn’t trying to make up for anything with his gift, but he wanted to make a point. “There’s no pressure to wear it. I want you to wear it when and if you feel comfortable. One of my ways of showing affection is through gifts, though touch is probably the main one,” he smirked. “If you want commitment, then so do I. I’m all in, Athena. And I’ll spend as much time proving that to you as you need,” he promised her, waiting for her response, when he was also really wanting to kiss her. 

“I was only a few weeks old. Don’t remember it. For all I knew it didn’t happen,” she paused for a moment, furrowing her brows. “Definitely don’t want to do that to Brie. I did get her ears pierced as a baby, but I felt like the pain wouldn’t be as intense and I went through a tattoo artist, so it was clean and such.” Athena always felt the need to defend her choice on that manner. It was something that angered her at times. Forcing a small smile at him remembering, made her give a shrug, rubbing her lips. This definitely made an awkward situation occur. As much as she tried to understand the situation, it still was a little weird to her. But she couldn’t say anything. It wasn’t her choice and it wasn’t in her control. “I meant the location. You’re staying with me regardless.”

“I see where you’re going and you ain’t getting that right now. Also, I am definitely not about getting killed by some ocean animal. Nothing could tempt me to go out there any deeper. Not even close,” she shook her head, staying stubborn. It was her nature.

“I’m not saying you aren’t. I’m just saying it’s really just been sex until now. I didn’t know you could be a romantic,” she smiled softly as she set hair behind her ear. “Someone could have came by and did something when we weren’t looking. You’re clearly the romantic one because here I am thinking of the weirdest possible things. I’m really starting to reconsider a little bit of my choices right now,” she laughed, shaking her head. “We do a lot of Italian, don’t we?” It was something she didn’t really notice much, but now that he said it, he was right. 

Once he said he wasn’t proposing, she gave a sigh of relief. It wasn’t that she wouldn’t want to get engaged again or even married, but she thought maybe some dating should happen before that. “I’m not gonna lie, you scared me for a moment.” A smile formed as he spoke, giving a small nod. She didn’t know if she was ready yet, but she had a small way of showing it off in a more unique way. “You promise you are?” Eyes moved up to meet his, biting her lip. She still was unsure, knowing what happened before. Athena had hope though. And she wasn’t going to lose that. “I have an idea on how I can wear it. I don’t really do rings on my fingers unless well, engaged. But I have a chain and I might do what I did to my rings on a separate chain. A chain to start for us.” She smiled softly, giving a nod. “Not that you’re going to die before me or anything. I just realized how horrible that sounded knowing why Luke’s rings are around my neck.” Suddenly she felt awkward, feeling like she was really just ruining any romantic motion he did. Thinking for a small moment, she moved closer to him, pressing her lips against his, her hands resting on his face. “i’d like that.”

[athenamylah-m]

holden-alexander‌

“I remember putting on dress pants and a dress shirt some Sundays before church and feeling so awkward,” he mused. “My mother would go with me; sometimes my aunt and uncle would join us. They’re not very religious either, but it was a structure thing, I guess, just something that their friends did and they thought I should be exposed to,” he said in thought. “There were good things about it. We’d come home and change clothes and Dad’d have cooked lunch,” he smiled. “I went to church most Sundays for about two or three years of my childhood,” he shrugged. “Could always call me,” he let her know, smiling at her and running a hand along her knee. “My dad was an auto-mechanic, so naturally I’ve learned a thing or two.” Feeling her arms wrap around his waist, he smiled at her, one hand placed on her back softly as the other ran through her hair. “I’ll stay the night with you,” he promised, a gentle smile appearing. “We can grab a hotel room or we can go back to one of our places.”

He watched her move a bit more into the water and swam closer to meet up with her, but still staying back a little, chuckling when she said he’d get her wet. “I like you wet,” he responded suggestively, smirking devilishly. He resisted the urge to splash her, but playfully pretended he was going to. “The water feels good,” he said after he rested back into the deeper water as the sun had finally began to go down. Families began climbing out of the water or heading away from their spot in the sand and leaving.

He pulled himself out of the water and dried himself off with his towel, sitting down on the towel that was laid down on the sand once he was dry and looking up at the moon. “Nice night out,” he said in thought. “You hungry?” he asked, grabbing the picnic food from the cooler, and opening it up. “I made us some pasta salad. I tried it before to make sure it didn’t suck but I had to get creative and think of things that wouldn’t spoil in the warm weather,” he commented with a grin, passing her a paper plate and spooning some food onto both of their plates. Holden was good at cooking, and at throwing food together, something he’d gotten from his father, whereas his mother couldn’t boil water. “There’s still a few snacks left in the bag,” he noted, in case she needed something more. Giving her a soft smile as he took a bite of his food, he grabbed another beer from the cooler and took a drink. 

It felt good to be here with her, and they’d seem to fall back into their natural ways and he didn’t feel any weirdness, and hoped she didn’t either. Taking a deep breath, he looked into her eyes and smiled, feeling warm and comfortable when he looked at her. “Athena, I like you so much,” he said. “More than I’d planned. When I’m with you, I feel…complete?” he chuckled a bit at the possible cliche, but pushed on. “I just need you to know that,” he said. “I—I just—I’m here,” he continued, stumbling a bit, trying to find the right words, but also not wanting to scare her, but momentarily feeling scared himself. “All the way,” he finished. Abandoning his food for a moment, he closed his eyes briefly then opened them, digging into his bag for something. It’d been in the glove box, and he’d grabbed it sneakily just before they left the car. 

“Greek Orthodox is so strict. I broke away as soon as I could. I wanted to do what I wanted, wear what I want, and so on. My mom didn’t go. She wasn’t religious. Just dad,” she shrugged. Granted, she did mainly go to church just to get time with him. That was really the only time he cared to actually be a family. “Luke’s side isn’t that religious either so when we got together, I just didn’t see a point. Brie isn’t even baptized. I figured if she wants to do that, then she can. I’m not going to force it on her.” Granted that made her grandmother gasp, but She wanted Brie to make her own decisions on things and to do something that Brie couldn’t control at her age just didn’t seem right. “I would have if you weren’t on call. And it was your week with Julia,” she spoke softly, giving a nod. Things with that was still on the line. Athena wasn’t about to cross it. It was safer to ask a random person for help than get him in trouble again. “We’ll see what happens.”

“I should have known that was going to happen. I really need to watch what I say. I will end up getting myself in trouble, again,” she pointed at him, a smile forming on her face. “It feels like water. I’m creature free, so I’m content. I think I need to stop all those documentaries telling me about the animals in the ocean. I grew way too paranoid after a while. But the air feels amazing tonight.” The free breeze made her feel relaxed. It was one thing she missed when she lived in Florida. The California breeze.

“Starving,” she smiled as she folded a leg under her, sitting down on the blanket. “You really thought everything through, didn’t you? Every little thing was planned to the right moment,” she looked over at him. It wasn’t that she was shocked, but she wasn’t expecting it. Usually they hung out or did something spur of the moment. It wasn’t a full out planned thing and tonight, it seemed like he made sure that every moment was special in some way. She couldn’t help the smile that stayed on her face in thought, eyes lowering for a small moment. “Oh, I’m saving those snacks for a must needed moment. They are here sitting just in case that pasta salad isn’t the bomb,” she teased, the smile tugging at her lips. Opening the wine, again, Athena took a drink, giving a small nod as he handed her the plate. 

At the mention of her name, the Latina moved her eyes back to him. As he spoke, she couldn’t help the small tilt of her head, watching him fall over words. Watching him get nervous almost made her nervous, not really knowing what to expect. “Um, Are you okay?” She bit her bottom lip as he kept talking, wondering where it was leading. She couldn’t help but pause for a moment as he grabbed a small box, eyes widening. “Don’t you think we should be dating before you,” she pointed to the box, giving a slight confused look. “Are you proposing to me?”

[athenamylah-m]

philipvcgel‌

After the small blurb of her seeing someone, most would have probably put their hands up, and taken a bow back from it. However, this was Philip– it’s not like that fact had made him step back before; that wouldn’t have been on brand. “Ah–” He muttered out, lips pursing as he nodded his head in thought. “Well, I mean– I’m not asking you to see me, or anything. Just asking you to a harmless drink.” H a r m l e s s; that was an interesting word to use. And, of course, the male thought he was just oh-so clever as he added in, “If it helps, we can close our eyes the entire time… No seeing involved.” 

A brow rose at the word harmless, the Latina tilting her head. “Why do I picture you being a sarcastic as-” she paused, her eyes glancing over to her daughter. “A sarcastic idiot.” Close enough to the right word. “Not going to lie, that was clever though.”

[athenamylah-m]

holden-alexander

Holden chuckled. “I liked Sunday school,” he mused. “My dad wasn’t religious, mom wasn’t really either but she held some sort of spiritual beliefs, and they just thought it was good structure for me as a kid so I went for a little bit.” He nodded as he spoke. Holden laughed at the story, turning to her when he said her car broke down. “That’s the worst. What was wrong with it? Battery just needed to be charged?” he guessed. He smirked at her playful nudge and shrugged a shoulder. “It’ll be dark here soon. It sounds appropriate to me, and romantic,” he suggested with a smile. “But somewhere else is okay, too.”

He felt a warmth, a happiness rush through him at her words and leaned in to kiss her, first pressing just a gentle kiss to her lips, then lifting his hand to brush against the side of her face as he continued kissing her for a moment, hand running through her hair. They were in a fairly remote spot, so not many people would see them, but they could if they looked their way, so he pulled away, not wanting to get too PDA on her. “I’d never make you do anything,” he chuckled as he reassured her, getting up to head toward the ocean, her hand in his. Returning the kiss, he reluctantly let go of her hand. “Join me at anytime if you want,” he said, walking backwards deeper into the water, keeping his eyes on her. He went until he couldn’t reach the ocean floor anymore and tread water, facing Athena. “Athena, I’m so glad we did this,” he called out to her, as a wave splashed over him. He ran a hand through his hair as he continued to gaze at her, feeling his heart beat fast against his chest with what he’d called butterflies, but what felt like more than just that. He smiled softly, tipping his head back a bit to get his hair wet and enjoying what remained of the sun beating down on his face. 

“Mm, my dad is Greek Orthodox. We went to church every week when I was a child. Once I got older, I kind of pulled away from going there. It just wasn’t my thing. Nothing bad, I just don’t feel a point in proving to other people that I’m religious and that’s what I feel like a mass is like,” Athena gave a small shrug. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe, but she just thought people went to church to show off their looks or try to act all great and innocent when they really aren’t. “I guess the battery. I had no clue. It just wouldn’t start. I know nothing about cars. Never needed to. So, that was fun,” she scrunched her face, shaking her head. “It wouldn’t have been as bad if it wasn’t for Brie telling me how hungry she was.” A smile formed on her face as he spoke, her arms wrapping around his waist. “Maybe, but I don’t feel like getting sand in parts I don’t want sand in. Plus I kind of wanted you to stay the night with me anyway,” she spoke softly, her eyes moving to meet his.

She couldn’t help but smile as she watched him move back into the water, the Latina bit her bottom lip. She definitely wasn’t expecting this to happen after the small bump they had on the road. A part of her wanted to just pinch herself. “I’m happy we did, too,” she smiled as she slowly moved a little more into the water. She definitely wasn’t going to get farther than her knees, making sure she was still able to see the water beneath her. “You definitely aren’t hugging me now,” she teased, shaking her head. “You’ll get me all wet.”

[athenamylah-m]

marlene-bregman‌

“Yeah, I can see why walking with her wouldn’t be super easy - not to mention all the stuff kids require,” Marlene admitted, glancing at the girl in her arms. “Well, I think you might be the first person who ever has said that to me, so I’m definitely in. Can I help you bring anything in?”

“Yeah, I mean, she likes to carry her things. She thinks she’s all grown up, but she’s a wanderer, so I always have to keep her hand in mine. A car is just easier.” A small smile formed as she felt the child rest her head on her shoulder. “Oh, I should be fine. Thanks. She doesn’t need anything of hers. She’ll be content once there’s food in front of her. She got that from me. One of those great traits of mine.”

[athenamylah-m]

♡ - romantic headcanon

Athena used to love romance. Now, she isn’t really used to anything of the sort. She sometimes thinks she was naive when it came to romance because of how Luke treated her.

[athenamylah-m]

☼

☼ - appearance headcanon

Athena loves her “exotic” look. She feels that her appearance makes an impression on others, whether it’s in the classic style she has or by her looks in general.

[athenamylah-m]

Do you think Holden is the one for you ?

“I don’t know. I won’t know if he is or not until something further happens. Right now, I like to think there’s a possibility he is.”

@holden-alexander

[athenamylah-m]

“ do you regret letting me close ?” - drunk holden

“Never. Although you sure made me wonder if you did.”

[athenamylah-m]

■ - Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon

Athena’s home is a minimalist style where the design is simple and classy. The only room that doesn’t fall in that category is Brie’s which is a mermaid themed room.