"Okay, be honest," I said, turning around to face Eros.

I bit down on my bottom lip and twirled a strand of hair around my finger, grinning.

He walked over to me, placing his hand on my neck. "You're so beautifully creative."

I smiled up at him, resting my hands on his sides. "You think?"

He leaned down, his face only a few centimeters from mine. "I don't think I've ever seen white mascara run before."

"There's a first time for everything," I whispered, looking up at him.

He sighed, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Beautiful girl."

"I look even prettier on my knees," I softly said, making him grin.

He clenched his jaw, stepping away from me. He pressed his pointer finger over his lips and I knitted my brows together, but understood when Henry barged into my room.

"Coach cancelled practice for today."

"You're kidding?" Eros questionably said, lifting an eyebrow as he gripped his hips.

"Nope," Henry said, falling back on my bed.

"Who gave you permission to get comfortable?" I asked, resting my chin on Eros's shoulder.

"Myself," he said, resting his forearms on his forehead.

"Hey, Henny," Eros said, "you didn't appreciate her makeup. Look at this masterpiece."

Eros turned around to face me, grabbing my face as he stepped to the side. "Look at that."

Henry lifted an eyebrow. "I've never even seen white mascara before."

"I wear it well, don't I?"

He sucked in a breath, sitting upright. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Asshole," I muttered.

He chuckled, standing up. "I'm going to Cordelia's. E, are you leaving?"

"I think I'll stay for a bit," he said, "you know, keep your friendless sister company."

I scoffed and looked over at him, rolling my eyes.

He chuckled and Henry shrugged, opening my door. "It's true."

I bit down on my lip and looked up at Eros, smiling as he checked to make sure Henry was gone.

He closed my door and folded his arms over his chest. "Do you foresee ever telling him?"

I sighed, turning around to look at myself in the mirror. "I'm not very sure."

I watched him walk towards me, my eyes fixated on his every move. His hands fell on my hips and he rested his chin on my shoulder, locking eyes with me through the mirror.

"It's my favorite secret I've ever kept," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my neck.

I tilted my head over, resting my head against his shoulder. "Yeah."

My door flew open and I gasped, pushing him off. "Shit."

"Just me," Mom said, smiling a soft smile.

I leaned my head back, nodding. "Yeah. Thank God."

She smiled at Eros, tilting her head over. "I'm sure your brother would understand."

"That his sister and his best friend are hooking up? Oh, yeah, totally."

I fell down on my bed and she smiled. "Well, I support it."

I smiled and nodded, making her close my door.

Eros sat next to me, making me sit upright and rub his back with my nails. I rested my chin on his shoulder and looked over at him. "What's on your mind?"

He looked over at me. "You. Same thing that always is."

I smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Help me start getting this makeup off, would you?"

He watched as I sunk to the floor, smiling down at me as I settled myself between his legs.

"I'd be honored to."

~*~

I wrapped my lifting straps around the barbell in front of me, inhaling deeply before I lifted what would soon be my new personal record for deadlifts.

"Whoo!" I yelled, chuckling as I dropped the bar after lifting it with ease. My smile faded soon enough, when I realized I was celebrating alone.

I quickly snapped out of it, clearing my throat when I heard the basement door open.

"What's up?" Fran asked.

"Just set a new record," I excitedly said, looking back at her.

She nodded. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," I said, pulling my lifting straps off of my wrists.

"Dinner's ready."

"Tell them I'll be up in a minute," I said, making her walk back upstairs.

I sat down on the mat beneath me, grabbing my medicine ball. I began doing Russian twists, but I was rudely interrupted.

"Hero," Dad said, louder than the music that was playing.

I pressed pause on my phone, starting my second set. "What?"

"Your sister just told you that dinner's ready."

"And I said I'd be up in a minute."

"It's been a minute."

"Hmm," I muttered, letting out a hushed grunt as I finished off my set.

"Come upstairs and eat dinner."

"I have one-"

"Hero, now," he firmly said, making me sigh and stand up.

"We go through this every night," he said, "you have to eat dinner, okay?"

I clenched my jaw, putting my equipment up.

"Hey," Dad said.

"What, Dad?" I asked, standing upright.

"What is the problem?" He softly asked, shaking his head.

"I just really don't have a desire to eat right now," I said, shrugging, "coach asked me to slim down-"

"Coach can kiss my ass," he said, "there's zero fat on your body. You can't train any harder. You can't eat any less. Fucking twizzlers and marshmallows cannot be your diet."

I avoided eye contact with him, resting my hands on my hips. "I'll be upstairs in a minute."

He jogged upstairs and I stood in front of the mirror, trailing my eyes down my body. I raked my hands through my hair and shook my head, running upstairs.

"Hey, sweetheart," Mom greeted, "I made your favorite. Burrito bowls."

I wrapped my arms around her, resting my head on top of hers. She began rubbing my back, making me squeeze my eyes shut.

"What do you want?" She laughed out.

"Just a hug."

I pulled away from her and pressed a kiss to her forehead, opening the fridge. "Thanks for dinner."

She nodded, looking over at me. "You're welcome."

Fran's eyes were locked on me, and when I looked at her, she smiled a soft, warm smile.

"You okay?" She mouthed, resting her chin in her palm.

I nodded and sat at the island, looking down at my food. I bit down on my lip and wrapped my hand around my fork, talking myself out of eating in a million ways before I was interrupted.

"Did I do something wrong?" Mom cautiously asked, "I know it's not chipotle-"

"No," I said, shooting her a soft smile, "everything's perfect."

~*~

I let out a sigh, scanning the paper in front of me one last time before placing it on my desk. I pulled my glasses off of my face and leaned back in my chair, looking over at my office doors.

"Bedtime's quickly approaching," Lena said, smiling at me.

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah. Come sit."

She peeked outside of my office before running inside, closing the doors behind her.

"It's cold," she said, wrapping her sweater around her tighter.

I smiled up at her as she straddled me, pulling her close. She wrapped her arms around my neck and sat wrapped around me, completely content.

Lena had aged beyond gracefully- she'd made sure to keep herself up, and work overtime doing it, at that.

"Hey, guess what?" She said, sitting upright after a few quiet minutes.

"Hmm?" I asked, stroking her thigh with my thumb.

"I went shopping today," she said, smiling.

"Really?" I asked, "do you want to show me what you got?"

She stood up, running over to my couch on the other side of the room. "I just so happened to drop the bags in here."

"Wow, my sharpness is departing the station," I said, "I didn't even notice them."

She pulled out a black dress, holding it up. "See? It buttons all the way up. Quarter sleeves, bodycon yet flowy. Wonderful for design meetings."

I rested my chin in my palm, smiling as she explained the rest of the details of the dress. I wasn't understanding a word she was saying, but I was sure listening and admiring her.

"And then this one," she said, "same one, but in red. Can you believe these were on sale at Anthropologie?"

"No way," I gasped, earning a smile from her.

"And I grabbed some underwear," she said, continuing to dig in the bag.

"Can I see?"

"They're total mom underwear."

She held them up, giggling. "It really hits that I'm nearly fifty when I go underwear shopping."

"Sexiest near-fifty year old I've ever seen."

She giggled and threw the few pairs of underwear in the bag. "That's it."

"I loved it all," I said.

She sat on my leg again, looking over at me. "Are you worried about Hero?"

I let out a sigh, rubbing my jaw. "Yeah, I am."

"I know he's just doing it for football," she said, "but I really can't watch him fall down that bottomless hole."

I chewed on my bottom lip, nodding. "Yeah."

She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek. "I think we need a getaway soon. Just me and you."

"You trust the kids to stay here alone?" I deadpanned, smiling up at her.

She laughed, rubbing her hands down her face. "Who am I kidding."

I shrugged. "Dad said he and Adora would come anytime."

"Well, we might be taking them up on that offer soon," she said, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

She stood up, making her nightgown rise up a bit. I caught a glimpse of her underwear, resting my hands on her hips. "These aren't total mom underwear."

She laughed and looked back at me as I pressed a kiss to her backside.

"They're total laundry day underwear."

I chuckled and slapped her backside. "I'll be up soon, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered, lifting her dress a bit as she walked away, "don't be too long."

~*~

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