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Athena knew from the moment that she slept through her alarm that today was going to be a bad day.
After waking up late, she found that she had run out of her favorite hair conditioner. Making herself presentable was difficult enough, but then she spotted a stain on the outfit that she'd planned to wear today, and had to put on something else. Her attempt at making a quick breakfast ended with burned toast and runny eggs - it seemed that Apollo's efforts to teach her how to cook had been in vain, after all.
Because of all this, she was late to the courthouse, and Mr. Wright had to handle the first part of the trial on his own. She apologized profusely to her boss, and there was a small blessing in the fact that he forgave her easily... but the prosecution had other ideas, and gave her endless flak for the rest of the trial. Even though the defense managed to squeeze out a victory, Athena didn't feel like celebrating, and she told the boss that she was going to go for a run to work off her stress.
Considering everything that had happened already, she should have predicted that something would go wrong there. A sudden downpour left her soaked, and as if to add insult to injury, a speeding car turning a corner left her clothes stained with mud and road debris - that made two outfits ruined, and she had to get back to the office before everyone started wondering what had happened to her. In all the craziness, she'd skipped lunch, and her only option now was to swipe some of Apollo's emergency rations; she'd done that before, and he'd always gotten on her case for it, but it was better to get yelled at by him than to starve herself.
Fortunately, after seeing his co-worker in her miserable state, Apollo took pity on her, and withheld his complaints this time. He tried to offer her some more help, but Trucy decided then that she needed someone to help her practice for her next magic show, and so Apollo was dragged off to become a guinea pig. Athena forced herself through the rest of the day, helping Mr. Wright with around-the-office chores and paperwork, and when it was time to close up for the day, she felt more exhausted than she had in a long time.
When she returned to her place, she got quite the surprise. Apollo stood outside the front door, waiting for her with the most awkward expression she'd seen on him; it seemed he'd managed to escape Trucy's clutches, at least for now, and she wanted nothing more than to pull him into a bone-crushing hug and cry on his shoulder until she couldn't keep herself awake anymore. That wasn't an option in her eyes, and so Athena just let her co-worker into her apartment, wondering why he'd decided to come visit her.
...It wasn't like him visiting was anything unusual, but he always made sure to let her know beforehand, and this was a rather bizarre exception. She tried to push it out of her mind as she cleaned up and got changed... and then when she left the bathroom, Apollo stood there, looking a bit flustered as he attempted to form words.
Finally, he managed to speak, and asked her, "Can I... do your laundry for you?"
It was a bit silly, really, but that offer was what finally broke Athena down. She threw herself at Apollo, no longer holding back the urge she'd developed; he reacted faster than she thought he would, putting his arms around her as he tried to soothe her with quiet, gentle whispers. The contrast to his usual loud and brash self just made her cry even more, and she wanted to thank him for his kindness, but the words refused to come out.
She knew on a logical level that she shouldn't have gotten this upset over a series of minor inconveniences, and that everything had turned out fine in the end, but on an emotional level, she couldn't help it. Her bad days were always worse than those of her friends, her feelings running out of control like she was on the witness stand and getting a therapy session through the Mood Matrix - but she'd always taken on that burden alone before, thinking that no one would be able to probe her memories and find the exact moment at which her heart shattered.
With Apollo nearby, his warmth and voice and sympathy bringing her back down to reality, Athena realized her mistake. She could always depend on the people at the Wright Anything Agency, her friends and found family; she didn't have to stay strong all the time, and that was a lesson she should have learned back when Mr. Wright had soothed her through reliving her darkest memories, but her own stubbornness had worked against her. More than anyone, the one who had challenged his trust in her then-
"Athena." He spoke her name in the same kind tone as before, and she heard how his heart ached for her. "...Do you have any ice cream in the freezer? If not, I can go out and pick some up."
...That was the perfect remedy for a bad day, and Athena was glad that Apollo had mentioned it. She let go of him at last, wiped the tears from her eyes, and offered him a smile that was a bit weaker than she had intended - but it didn't matter anymore, as he'd already seen her at her lowest, and there was no point in fighting against her emotions.
"Sure, I have ice cream," she told him, and as an afterthought, she added, "You can have some, too. Just leave most of it for me, alright?"
Apollo laughed then, and the sound of his mirth was like music to Athena's ears. She may not have expected him to barge into her apartment and chase her sorrow away, but she was as far from complaining as she could possibly get.
After eating dessert and dinner in completely the wrong order, Athena felt a lot better than she had before Apollo's unexpected visit. She hadn't turned down his offer of helping her with her laundry, and that gave her one less thing to worry about; she decided that she was going to spend the rest of her evening relaxing, and she pulled up her favorite stress relief stream on Widget as she sat on the couch in her apartment's living area, letting the sounds of nature whisk her away.
The voice of the ocean was something she had come to love over the years. When the hearts of the people around her became overwhelming, she turned to the wind and waves; it was always stronger in person, of course, but she hadn't had the opportunity to go to the beach in quite some time now. Online videos were a nice substitute, and they always helped her on days like this.
Of course, there was another soothing voice to help her tonight. She couldn't fathom why, but Apollo had chosen to stay for a while - her apartment was a bit messy, and she gladly listened to the sound of him tidying up for her in the background. He ran the dishwasher, swept and mopped the kitchen floor, asked if he could run the vacuum cleaner on the carpets... it was too much, really, and she would have declined his aid on any other day, but she just told him that the vacuum cleaner she had was a quieter model and that it wouldn't bother her too much, so he didn't need to worry.
It felt pleasant in a way that Athena couldn't fully explain. Domestic, she supposed, though that didn't seem to be an appropriate term for her current relationship status. It did give her something to look forward to in the future, though, and she wondered if Apollo would accept her returning the favor.
She hadn't been to his apartment that many times, on account of the fact that his cat didn't like her very much. There were always workarounds, though, and-
"Can I sit next to you, Athena?"
Apollo's voice pulled Athena out of her thoughts, and she paused the stream to answer him with a nod. He still sounded unsure of himself, as if this wasn't something he was supposed to be doing; on a technicality, it wasn't, but she didn't plan to chase him out for it. He'd saved her a lot of trouble, after all, and his emotional support had been just what she'd needed.
"You don't even need to ask," she told him with a smile, and the tension left him all at once. When he seated himself, she sidled up to him, laying her head on his shoulder as she started the stream back up.
"...You really like the ocean, huh?" Apollo observed, as he slid an arm around Athena's waist, tugging her close to him. "I remember how you were with that case at Shipshape Aquarium..."
She could still sense the lingering resentment in his heart from then. He'd wanted so badly to help, and had only gotten a few opportunities - in retrospect, it hadn't been fair to him at all, and she wondered if there was a way to make it up to him properly.
Maybe if they ever got a few days off, she'd take him to the beach with her. The real deal was always better than an aquarium, after all.
"Yep, it's my happy place." Athena closed her eyes, savoring the sounds that she loved so much; combined with Apollo's warmth, she forgot all about the day's troubles with ease. "How about you?"
"Mixed feelings." Despite his words, he gave a short laugh. "And I didn't know Widget could stream videos. That thing's pretty handy, huh?"
"He's my faithful assistant, after all," Athena confirmed, and then Widget's voice cut through the sounds of the video. "We're best friends forever!"
Apollo gave another laugh, and then leaned his head against hers. "So, uh... since I'm already here, can I stay the night?" He paused, the awkwardness from before returning in full force. "...I can sleep on the couch."
Athena wondered if she wasn't the only one who'd had a bad day today, and she decided not to decline his request. However, there was one small issue with his words - one she intended to rectify, if it was at all possible.
"You don't have to sleep on the couch," she insisted, and her face heated up. "We've been together for a month now, haven't we?"
The sputtering, embarrassed response she got was a better gift than all of the other things he'd done for her that day.