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hansolen · 4 months

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one more love song?

pairing ⇾ luke castellan x hades’ daughter reader (gendered stuff isn’t mentioned anywhere in the post so it can be read as gn)

word count ⇾ 3k

summary ⇾ luke is a simp, tries to confess, you guys share earphones and sit near the lake at night. the moon loves you 🫶

author’s note ⇾ so most of this is just happened to be written as luke admiring the reader rather than what i was actually going to go for, but i’m really happy with how it turned out :) hope you enjoy it as well 💌 wrote this all in one setting. when inspo hits.. it hits like a truck 🚛 this one is for my quiet people, and maybe a little self indulgent. guilty as charged your honour. no use of y/n.

you had a thing for luke castellan, and he had a thing for you too. it was no secret to anyone. but none of the other campers understood why you both preferred to dance around each other’s feelings rather than addressing them. even though everyone could feel the immense tension you both carried around whenever you were near each other, no one chose to mention it. it would be like taking a gun and pointing the muzzle right at ones own head — it was a death sentence really, hearing you both deny it. so they all just went along with ignoring it like you both pretended to do.

you were the daughter of hades, the king of the underworld and part of the trinity. that definitely added a little intimidation to your already mysterious aura. luke on the other hand was a possessive guy, even if he didn’t show it. sure, he was extremely confident, and even a little egotistical - yes, but all for the right reasons of course (as per him). but he was possessive nonetheless. that’s why it killed him inside each day that he couldn’t call you his, and himself as yours.

he really didn’t like anyone else approaching you with any unwanted intentions. though, don't get him wrong, he's well aware that you could protect yourself. hell, you could protect the entire camp just by yourself alone, but still — he felt a pang of jealously whenever some apollo’s kid talked with you for too long. or when your discussions with some guy from the hephaestus’ cabin were too long. he knew that you guys were just discussing your plans for some of their inventions and how you could help by designing their ideas into structural sketches. afterall, you were good with sketches, a hobby of yours, those from cabin 9 made sure to utilise to their fullest. even though he knew it all, he still felt some unwanted feelings swirl inside him.

he wanted to confess to you, oh he wanted to do that so badly. but he just didn't know how to.. you didn't seem the kind who’d like the usual route. for the sake of olympus itself - you didn’t even send him any signs, other than meeting back his longing gaze with just as much passion. he knew there had to be something between you two. there’s no way it could be all in his head.

but you — you never tried to make the first move, shit, you didn’t make any moves at all. and luke knows he’s a confident guy, he knows he’s amazing and all that glory speech he gives around to the new comers but oh you. you just make him rethink it all. he doesn’t know how to act around you - he feels so different around you.

as if you put some kind of spell on him that makes him loose this carefully handcrafted personality, his façade. and he's back to being the kid he was - just trying to prove himself somehow in some way. but at least you never abandoned him.. nor did you ever make him feel unwanted. unlike his.. his dad. he doesn’t need to impress you, you’ve made that clear with your actions. but still he - he really wants to.

𓇚

he recalls back when you still pretended to be unclaimed and stayed at the hermes cabin. though later on (like a whole month later) everyone found out that you knew your dad was hades and you shifted to the newly made hades cabin. it happened in such a funny manner where you stated it to the suprised chiron like it was just another fun fact about you. totally not some very critical and important information. camp half-blood having a kid of one of the three and not just any but of hades, who was always so adamant on not sending his kids to camp that the gods had an entire incident regarding it. but here you were.

anyway that’s not the point. he just really liked you and had felt a pull towards you since the beginning. he observed you from afar during your first few weeks at camp. when it was your third week at camp and you had developed the constant habit of staying up every night and sneaking out. he followed, ofcourse he was just being a good head counselor. afterall till you were in the hermes cabin you were someone he had to make sure followed the rules or whatever. he didn’t care for that much, he just wanted to know what you were always up to.

you always hid away by the time he followed you out. he had made sure that this week, this day, he’d finally follow you without you hiding away in the shadows. of course you weren’t dumb either. you could feel another shadow added to the ones you were controlling, and you felt like having a little fun with the castellan boy. so you let him follow you. (and luke found out about that fact weeks later, and safe to say he was annoyed that he wasn’t slick enough. though he got back on you, he showed you just how smooth he could be during sword fighting practice. spoiler: by the end of the match you were under him with a sword pressed on your neck and his smirk making you feel things.)

back to what happened on your third week at camp - as he followed you he realised you were headed towards the lake. oh so this was your favourite spot. he looked at you from afar, you looked breathtaking.

the moonlight shined on your figure sitting by the lake. you were probably listening to some music, since you had your earphones in.

he held his breath, he wanted to carve this scene in his memory forever. you truly looked like a goddess, the serene view and a serene beauty (you). a perfect combination indeed.

after giving himself some pep talk mentally and encouraging himself to actually go to you, he finally did. and oh boy was he glad he did - because that was the start of your friendship, and something more.

he still fondly remembers how you smiled when he finally came and sat beside you.

“finally came out of your hiding spot, castellan?” you said in a light tone. “you knew?” he asked suprised, but not really. “i know everything that goes in the shadows.” you said and smiled while taking off one earphone and handing it out to him. he took it gratefully.

that day you shared an earphone with him and in return took a piece of his heart with you.

that was the beginning of whatever the hell was going on between you and luke castellan. he understood later on what you had meant by the shadows comment when a week later you had casually revealed who your father was and shifted cabins, much to luke’s displeasure.

but you guys remained friends nonetheless and continued to keep each other company on moonlit nights.

𓇚

he still remembers when you first came to camp. you were so eerily quiet. your presence drew him to you like a moth to a flame. your eyes felt like they held galaxies and whenever you met his gaze he felt his heart could explode. though you didn't smile often, but oh god’s when you did grin at some stupid lame joke he made, or when something silly happened, he just found himself falling deeper and deeper in love with you.

though he notices. he notices how you keep your smiles to yourself and put a hand over your mouth whenever you do laugh. the reason? he truly doesn’t understand. because why in the world would you do that? you’re the most gorgeous being to have graced this earth, why would you not let him get addicted to your smiles and the sound of your melodious laughter which is sweet like nectar and has the warmth of ambrosia. as he knew it was a rare sight, he made sure to capture the memory to replay it in his head whenever he misses you.

you're so beautiful to him and your presence is so comforting. the deathly touch your aura carries has makes it all the more breathtaking. oh he's in it bad. he knows it.

𓇚

both your secret meet ups began increasing as weeks went by. you both talked about everything under the sun (or the moon, in your case). and even though you weren’t much of a talker when you were in groups during the day, luke felt glad that atleast when you were with him you spoke your heart out.

you made him feel so much at ease. even with all his responsibilities at camp and his plans.. and everything else that eats up his soul — in moments such as these, he feels like just another teenage boy. not the kid who got abandoned by his parents, not the teenager who had to protect his friends and had to prove something to the gods, not the head counselor and the greatest swordsman to have been in 300 hundred years, but just- just another teenage boy, a boy in love. oh he loved you. so much.

and that's why he decided he was finally going to confess to you tonight. he was going to set up a beautiful moment and hold your hand while looking in your eyes and confess how much he adores you and finally ask you to be his.

he felt a little nervous, which is so unlike him. c’mon, he has fought innumerable monsters and survived so many deathly quests, how is finally telling you what he’s been wanting to since forever making him more nervous than either of those situations? oh the things you do to him..

when he reached there you were already sitting near the lake at your favourite spot. as soon as he came closer, you turned your head towards him with a soft smile and said, “hey you” “hey me” he replied. he doesn’t miss the way you put an automatic smile on his face, as he sits beside you. you both sit in comfortable silence, your bodies making contact from the shoulders. neither of you move away, finding comfort in one another’s presence and touch.

being a demigod was.. anything but a normal experience to say the least. but finding someone who makes you feel.. more closer to the human part of yourself was something not everyone could find. but you both were so glad you did with one another.

as moments passed by, luke felt you lean your head on his shoulder. he relaxed into your touch as he looked down at your face to find your eyes closed. he knew you weren’t sleeping, just resting. he found himself forming a small smile as he looked at you.

then he started, “you know, i wanted to tell you something today.” you hummed in response waiting for him to continue. “i..” he felt his throat dry up. it’s always so easy to talk to you, so why is it that right now he feels unable to form words? your presence is always so calm and serene so why does his heart feel like it’s going a million miles per hour?

“hey.. hey look at me” you said in your calm voice as you softly held his face. he met your eyes, and oh he swears he could just get lost in the galaxy that lays within your eyes. you look at him with you sweet smile and say, “you can tell me anything, you know?” “i know.” his reply is almost immediate. you just smile at that “then go on”.

he closes his eyes to compose himself. he knows that he doesn’t need to pretend with you. but he also wants to tell you everything he feels for you and how you’ve taken all over his body, mind and soul. but he can’t formulate them into words. he just— “i love you too castellan.” “what” “what? you were trying to confess right? i only helped you.” you said smiling softly at him. “i.. well i..” he was dumbfounded. he had thought of so many ways this would probably go and the many ways he could say it but you.. you said it first.

“is that a pout?” you ask with a giggle. he feigns offense, “i do not pout.” “oh that was definitely a pout.” you teased. “it wasn't.” “oh it so was.” he rolls his eyes. “whatever. i just wanted to make it romantic or something i don't know. i mean i even got you a cassette tape with songs i dedicated to you and—” “you dedicated songs to me? and got them in a cassette tape? how even- when did you get the time to get that done? did you go out of camp for-” you said suprise clear in your voice but he interrupted you. “well obviously i dedicate songs to you infact they were so many that i had to choose the best of the best. and how i got the cassette and the player is just part of the trade secrets, darling.” he winked. and you just giggled and kissed him.

luke had imagined kissing you before, but it was never as close to the real deal. he was addicted to say the least. your lips tasted so sweet and felt so soft. for being the kid with the aura of death, you sure brought back life to him.

by now you were on his lap with his arms wrapped around you. you both were just sitting on the grass and taking in each other's presence and feeling peaceful with how close your hearts were.

slowly you took out your earphones from your pocket and gave him one wire. “so, one more love song?”

author's note ⇾ aand that's the end haha. hope you liked it <3 this is my first fic ever like everr and i didn't even think i’d be able to write something that i would actually wanna post, but something in me lit up when i saw my favourite childhood book series was finally getting the adaptation it deserved and then this came out of it <3 would love to know your thoughts on it.

#𓇚 kalopsia #luke castellan #luke castellan x you #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan imagine #percy jackson #🏹 acara writes #luke castellan oneshot #luke castellan x y/n #percy series #percy jackon and the olympians #charlie bushnell #pjo x reader #pjo tv show #pjo series #pjo

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feelingtheaster99 · 4 months

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Okay okay okay, so in THIS EPISODE ALONE we got all these Percabeth moments:

Annabeth has complete faith that Percy is alive

When Percy is proven alive, he starts to apologize, thinking she’s be mad but she interrupts him with a hug that is so nice Grover has to clear his throat to get their attention again

Percy brings up the hug like five minutes later so obviously it’s still on his mind

Percy calls her his friends (side note—how SAD is it that he is unsure whether or not friends hug). She also calls him her friend many times this episode

Percy is shocked Annabeth hasn’t seen a movie and sets to rectify it after the quest

Annabeth calmly Annabeths her way out of Hephaestus’s decoy trap, calming Percy down in the process

They joke about the Tunnel of Love ride but still choose to ride it

Percy saves Annabeth using his water powers

Percabeth and Annabeth argue because they BOTH want to sacrifice their life for the other

The first seaweed brain mention in the show!!!

Percy convinces Annabeth to let him make the sacrifice by appealing to logic and saying she’s better at it than him

Without being prompted, Annabeth promises to save Percy’s mom from Hades and tells him he didn’t even have to ask for her to come back to save him

He GIVES her Riptide and gives a sad little smile when she agrees to come back

Percy SACRIFICES himself for her, AGAIN

As soon as Percy starts to feel the trap effects, Annabeth starts crying and BEGGING him to get up

While Annabeth is freaking out, all he does is REASSURE HER. “It’s okay. I’m okay. I’m okay.” (This BOY I simply CANNOT)

Annabeth disregards the fallen shield and immediately tries to figure out how to rescue him

Annabeth rejects her mom’s potential praise and argues with a GOD (Hephaestus) because she says Percy is simply too GOOD of a person and a friend to leave without, to leave behind (she also has a really cool personal reflection during this moment but that’s another post)

This is a smile thing, but she looks simply SO RELIEVED when Hephaestus frees Percy

We are being BLESSED with Percabeth 😭

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jungkookschin · 2 months

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demigod trials: icarus falls | three

synopsis: you met jungkook at camp half-blood when you were 10 years old. since then, your fates have been infinitely intertwined.

word count: 7k

pairing: son of ares!jungkook x daughter of hephaestus!reader

genre: camp half blood au, percy jackson au, demigod au, childhood friends to lovers, exes to lovers , enemies to lovers, jungkook is sooo in love

warnings: multiple mentions of deaths, dangerous quests, QUESTS TO TARTARUS, violence, killing, monsters, ANGST, this chapter is fluffy tho, nct mark as a son of hephaestus, enhypen jungwon as son of ares, broken friendships

demigod trials masterlist

chapter one | chapter two | chapter three | chapter 3.5 | chapter four

With a gulp, Jennie addresses the assembly through the microphone. “Hades, my father, has lost his reign over the Underworld. The primordial god Tartarus has plunged the Underworld into chaos and is plotting to ascend to the surface, aiming to annihilate both demigods and gods.”

Her gaze shifts towards you and Jungkook. "He has somehow taken control of my body, sending me vivid and disturbing dreams. He's furious and demands a sacrifice – a sacrifice of the demigods who once intruded into Tartarus six years ago. If we don't comply, he threatens to rise to Earth through the surface of Camp Jupiter, annihilating Camp Jupiter completely upon his return."

Every single eye in the room flickers towards you and Jungkook.

At that moment, incomprehensible dread permeates your system. Like a broken cassette player, memories of your little vacation to Tartarus rewind in your head: drinking from the river of fire, the child eating demon Lamia, Damasen the friendly giant, and so much sheer terror you wouldn’t have survived without Jungkook’s protection.

However, the anxiety, the dread- it’s bearable.

Your window of tolerance has extended to Mount Olympus after narrowly escaping the clutches of death multiple times.

“So what?” Jungkook responds, “You gathered the whole assembly here to announce that you’re sacrificing Y/N and I? A heads up would’ve been nice,” His features are hardened, and the glare he sends Mina and Mingyu, the Praetors of the Roman Legion, is terrifying, resembling his father Ares.

“Jungkook,” Mina seethes, “Do you know how many people live here in Camp Jupiter? There are thousands of children, elderly, and innocent people who live on these grounds. We must publicize the threat and ensure that it is taken care of, for the safety of the camp.”

“And how do you think Camp Half-Blood will feel?” Namjoon intervenes, “You think they’re going to be happy that you sacrificed two of their head counselors? I guarantee you. You don’t want to fuck with us.”

Mina narrows her eyes at Namjoon. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s a warning,” Taehyung immediately steps in, rigidly serious aura clouding his eyes, “We’re not letting you touch Y/N or Jungkook. Camp Half-Blood will go to war over this.”

“Okay everyone chill,” Mingyu arbitrates, his booming voice echoing off the walls, “If there’s a way we can resolve this without sacrificing Y/N and Jungkook, we’ll take that way. 1000%. That’s why we’ve gathered: to discuss.”

Eunwoo, son of the Roman god Mars, clears his throat. “My wife is pregnant. We need to do everything we can to negate this threat. Look, I’m not comfortable putting lives on the line so what about evacuation? We can evacuate the entire city and rebuild somewhere else.”

“No,” Jennie cuts in, a tremor running through her body. “He’ll follow us- wherever we go- he’ll ascend to the surface and kill us all.”

Mina tilts her head, “Any other ideas?”

“Oh fuck you,” Rose scoffs, “You’ve lost yourself. Completely. Being Praetor doesn’t mean rejecting all your morals. You called an entire assembly here to announce you were going to kill two of your best friends? You sure Venus is your parent and not Narcissus?” Rose cocks her head to the left, raising her eyebrows in anticipation for Mina’s response.

“You-”

Mina doesn’t get a word in because Jennie’s body falls onto the concrete with a thud. Immediately, her eyes and mouth emit a red glow. The glow rapidly intensifies, transforming into a blazing red glow from her eyes and mouth.

Like a possessed spirit she ascends into the air and to middle of the Senate House. Her mouth begins to move, and Tartarus himself begins speaking through Jennie.

“Demigods, behold," the resounding voice sends shivers down your spine.

"I have at last arisen from my slumber, seizing dominion over the Underworld," an ominous cackle reverberates through the walls. "The offspring of Hades have been severely weakened, now feeble and enfeebled. You are next. Offer the children of Ares and Hephaestus, who dared encroach upon my realm, as sacrifices, and I shall spare your lives, permitting you to become my slaves after I claim dominion over the world. Refuse, and face your demise."

The red glow disappears from Jennie’s face and she plummets back to the ground before Mingyu catches her.

Mina’s features harden. “Jungkook, Y/N! You have the rest of the day to bid goodbye to your families and friends. At midnight, we will personally arrest you to prepare a sacrifice to Tartarus. That is the best we can do for now. Meeting dismissed!” She roars, before marching out the Senate House.

Mingyu shoots you an empathetic look before following Mina’s lead.

Annd to think, you didn’t get one word in before it was decided that you were to be thrown on the altar as a sacrifice.

Immediately proceeding the meeting, you take the portal from Camp Jupiter to Camp Half-Blood.

You, Taehyung, Namjoon, Rose, and Jungkook skirt through the sides of strawberry fields, past the pegasi stables, until you reach the cabins. The sun sets beyond the horizon and the sky is arrayed with hues of purple, orange, and pink.

Your fingers are intertwined with Rose’s, and she is seething in disdain over Mina’s behavior. You’re the one who wields fire manipulation, but you’re a little scared she’ll burst into flames.

“Gods, when did she turn into such a bitch?” Rose seethes, squeezing your hand hard enough for your bones to crack.

“Rosie, it’s okay,” you offer, “I died once. Who cares if I die again, right?”

At that, the three men in front of you stop in their tracks, whirling around to blink at you incredulously.

“Y/N, you’re not funny,” Taehyung frowns.

“I’m not trying to be funny,” you deadpan in return, “Isn’t it true? It’s not like I’m going to the Fields of Punishment. I’ll be in Elysium and we’ll eventually reunite there-“

“Okay,” Jungkook intervenes, “Then kill yourself right now.”

“What-“

“If your life doesn’t matter, then kill yourself right now,” Jungkook repeats, unsheathing his Celestial Bronze knife- the very knife you forged when you were ten- before offering it to you.

You remain still, and Jungkook re-sheathes his knife. “Exactly.” His voice is stern, but delicately infused with the right amount of warmth. “Y/N, there are people who love you. There are people who need you here, so don’t take your life so lightly. Okay?” His features soften and he turns back around, “Now let’s head to the Hades cabin.”

Jungkook surges forward and Rosie has to tug you in his direction to get your feet moving.

She side eyes you, verbal communication not necessary when her eyes tell all, full of pure skepticism. You shake your head, following Jungkook’s lead towards the Hades cabin.

Upon arrival, Namjoon knocks on the door to no avail. The Hades cabin has an eerie and somber appearance, constructed completely from dark stone. Skulls adorn the door frame, and an even larger skull embellishes the cabin above the entrance.

After its initial construction, the cabin’s somber presence sent chills down your spine. Now, everyone seems largely unfazed as Namjoon persistently bangs on the entrance, impervious to its eerie aura.

“Okay, fuck it,” Namjoon grumbles before kicking down the door. You and Rosie yelp, flinching at the thud before entering the cabin.

To your surprise, an eerie emptiness greets you — not a single soul is there.

The cabin’s interior directly mirrors its exterior. It’s characterized by dim lighting, dark décor, and symbols associated with the Underworld.

While the Hades cabin is one of the least populated cabins in Camp Half-Blood, it’s unusual for none of the members to be present.

The five of you conduct a thorough investigation of the cabin, flipping over mattresses, looking under shelves- just to realize that there are no traces of anybody ever living in it. It’s like a ghost cabin.

You repeat the process with the 18+ Hades cabin to no avail. Both cabins are completely inhabited.

Taehyung settles on one of the mattresses and rests his head in his hands. “Fuck guys- these are kids we’re talking about- where did they go?”

As far as you know, there are only six kids in the Hades cabin: two in the 18+ cabin and four in the cabin for minors. Jennie and Soobin are the only adults, whereas Hyein, Ni-ki, Danielle, and Ricky inhabit the cabin for minors.

Tartarus said it himself: “The offspring of Hades have been severely weakened, now feeble and enfeebled”

Where could they possibly be? Without a shred of doubt, you know that there must be a quest: a quest to locate the children of Hades. Jennie’s current state- deteriorating weakness that rendered her unable to stand or exist without exasperating herself- was already a bad sign.

It hurts to think about what may have happened to the others.

The five of you exchange ominous looks before breaking to the Big House to discuss the present situation with Chiron.

“Chiron,” Taehyung cuts in, “Mina and Mingyu didn’t have any qualms about sacrificing Y/N and Jungkook. I think that’s enough to cut ties.”

You shrug, “I don’t know. Mingyu looked like he kinda felt bad.”

All eyes in the room flicker towards you incredulously. “Y/N. This is serious,” Namjoon scolds. “We lost you once and we’re not about to lose you again. Chiron, we must employ every defense mechanism to keep Y/N and Jungkook safe,” he implores.

“What matters more is finding those kids!” Rose interrupts, “How old is Hyein? She’s like 13. It’s our responsibility as older demigods to look out for them. We have to do whatever we can to find them.”

“Even if that means sacrificing Y/N and Jungkook?” Taehyung questions, “We have to find the sweet spot: saving the kids, preserving Camp Jupiter, and keeping Jungkook and Y/N safe,” he enunciates.

“Which is why we need to employ defense mechanisms,” Namjoon argues, “to at least buy us time so we can figure out where the Hades kids are. Then we can spring into action.”

“But that’ll just lead us to war,” you argue, “For the first time in a millenia, the Greeks and Romans have peaceful relations. We can’t do anything to jeopardize that-”

“Yea, well I care about you more,” Taehyung intercedes, “I care about you more than the Romans and more than the Hades kids, so I choose you. Fuck everybody else,” he shrugs, and you meet eyes with Namjoon, turning red at Taehyung’s words.

Greek heroes were known to have fatal flaws: a fundamental imperfection , vulnerability, or moral weakness that, despite the hero’s strength, ultimately contributed to their tragic fate. Jungkook already confessed to you that his fatal flaw is love.

With Taehyung, you already knew. His fatal flaw is his blind loyalty to his friends. He’d watch the world burn if it meant keeping his friends safe.

“While the chivalry is appreciated,” Chiron adds, “It is imperative to do the right thing, objectively. Ask yourself, is it moral to declare war on the Romans? Is it moral to abandon the children of Hades? Is it moral to sacrifice Y/N and Jungkook? Child of Apollo, what do you think? You are of Roman descent and are able to offer a unique perspective.”

All eyes flicker towards Rose, who accepts the challenge. “We can’t declare war on the Romans,” she argues, “Y/N is right. We all know what happens when Greeks and Romans go to war. People will die and the world will probably go up in flames. But that doesn’t mean we can’t trick the Romans,” a mischievous smile creeps onto her face and she bites her lip.

Jungkook speaks up. “I have a plan.”

You tilt your head at Jungkook. His features are hardened- rigidly serious at the prospect of what could be going on.

His brows are furrowed in angry little Nike swooshes and all you wanna do is run your thumb over his brow to ease its arch.

He turns his head to you, his right hand man, and his features soften, like he’s signaling to you that everything will be okay.

WIth a deep breath, he explains the plan definitively. The way he speaks, the way he commands the attention and obedience of everyone in the room makes it seem like you don’t have a choice but to follow this plan.

At that moment, Jungkook’s little brother Jungwon and your little brother Mark step into the Big House.

Within the past year, Jungwon seems to have skyrocketed in height. He looks so big, for lack of a better word- nearly the same stature and height as Jungkook.

Mark grins at you, his cute features beaming with a sense of readiness- to accept any and every challenge. “Hey sis, welcome back. How was Olympus?”

He envelopes you in a hug, and as happy as you are to see your brother, you can’t help but eye him with a hint of skepticism.

Suddenly you connect the dots and your face falls. “No,” you express grimly.

“Yes,” Jungwon cheekily responds, throwing an arm around you.

The kid is lightyears taller than you now, and you hate it.

What Jungkook proposed- you also hate it. It’s the worst plan in the history of the universe and you want to sew his pretty lips shut so he’ll never speak again.

Jungkook’s plan involves offering a sacrifice to Tartarus- and it won’t be either you or Jungkook.

He professes to sacrifice decoys- and at first you’re on board because you’re confident that you can engineer mechanical versions of yourselves- but when Mark and Jungwon make their entrance, the gears in your brain begin churning.

“Does it make sense for us to send our siblings as sacrifices? We ourselves might as well go to Tartarus. What difference does it make?” you argue, frowning deeply and glaring spathas into Jungkook’s face.

When it comes to you, Jungkook’s mind always automatically masks your anger in a dewy haze. All he sees is a pretty girl pouting at him, and he has to choke a smirk back so you don’t actually stab him with a spatha.

Jungwon smirks, “It makes all the difference. We all know that you and my brother are the best duo Camp Half-Blood’s seen. We need you to figure shit out while Mark and I distract Tartarus.”

Your jaw drops. There was no way the sweet, kind, polite Jungwon just cursed in front of Chiron.

You whip your head towards Mark. “I don’t feel comfortable with that,” you state, “I’m not sacrificing my little brother so I can be free. That’s pure cowardice.”

Mark shakes his head.

“It’s not,” he declares, “I wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice myself like this if I wasn’t capable of being a good distraction.”

With that, he fishes for something in his pocket before pulling out a remote. He presses a bright red button, causing mechanical wings to erect from his backpack as Mark starts flying around the Big House.

“See? I’m a pretty good distraction! And I’ve got plenty of tricks up my sleeve!” he grins.

Jungwon points to a flying Mark before shrugging smugly. “So Y/N, what do you think?”

“Guys, this isn’t a fucking joke,” you scold, turning more rigid by the second. “Tartarus.. it’s a horrifying place. And quite frankly, I don’t think either of you are capable of surviving his domain.”

Mark lands on the ground next to Jungwon, expression now shrouded with concern.

“Y/N,” Mark argues, “We’re prepared,” he claims.

“Since you came back from the dead- like Jesus or something- I’ve been studying your journals on Tartarus, and Y/N, we’re prepared. Jungwon is the strongest warrior of our generation- he and I are a good team. We can do it,” he finishes his declaration with a sweet smile, but you still shake your head.

“Y/N, what did you say to me when you first handed me this sword?” Jungwon asks, partially unsheathing Cataclysm. “You said I was the only demigod from my generation you deemed capable of wielding an enchanted weapon- and didn’t I prove myself? I soul linked with my weapon in days and slaughtered so many giants with this baby,” he animatedly offers, patting the scabbard of his sword.

You soften a bit but still shake your head.

“I just- look- I-” you trail off, rubbing your bicep as you shift your gaze apprehensively, “I strongly believe that Jungkook and I only survived Tartarus for a single reason,” you inhale deeply, momentarily shifting your gaze towards Jungkook who is observing you with furrowed brows. You inhale. “Love.”

“If he didn’t love me or if I didn’t love him, I really don’t think we would have made it,” you elaborate, “I mean- Tartarus sucks the soul out of you.”

You redirect your gaze towards Jungkook, whose jaw is clenched whilst he leans against the ping pong table. “Jungkook… what do you think?”

Your declaration is bold, and you can’t help but think you might be crossing the line- but it’s true. Simply being in Tartarus drains one’s celestial energy, and the only reason you and Jungkook survived was because you desperately wanted the other to live.

“You’re right,” he offers, lifting his gaze from the ground. “But that’s the thing: we were the first to do it and now we can share our knowledge with the next generation- so they can do it without love,” he explains, motioning towards Mark and Jungon.

“You and I, we need to figure things out above Tartarus. And we can only do that with love,” he smiles, and it sparks a flint hope within your system. You soften infinitely at his proclamation.

He looks at you with soft eyes, their warmth mirrored in the tender curve of his lips. In that moment, it feels as if the fates have conspired to weave this moment into their tapestries. The outside seems to fade into the background, leaving just the two of you in your own little world.

“Besides,” Taehyung cuts in, “It’s not like these two don’t have a bromance going on, right?” At that, Jungwon and Mark fist bump each other.

Namjoon intervenes, pushing up his glasses. “Y/N, this plan makes sense. Jungwon and Jungkook emit the same energy. So do you and Mark. We can fool Tartarus with this,” he claims.

“I just- I don’t know I feel comfortable with sending my little brothers down there,” you sigh, rubbing your biceps like you can still feel Cheimarrhus’s frigid winds freezing you to the death..

“Oh? Am I a little brother too?” Jungwon teases, pulling you in for a side hug.

“We’ll be alright, sis. We can handle it. Just worry about figuring out how we’re going to kill another primordial god,” Mark offers, tweaking with the little remote in his hands.

Jungwon and Mark are like sunshine, and suddenly you’re warm.

“Okay.. fine,” you acquiesce “But that doesn’t mean that suddenly you look exactly like me,” you point out, “I mean- Jungkook and Jungwon look kinda similar, but Mina will know that it’s clearly not me,” you state, gesturing towards Mark.

Rose smiles, stepping in. Between her palms, specks of magical energy whirl from her fingertips, emitting a celestial pink glow.

So as it turns out, Rose has developed the ability to alter the Mist.

Mist is a magical veil that conceals the true nature of the world from mortal eyes. It is a form of magical manipulation that alters the perception of regular humans, making them see things differently from what they truly are.

A minotaur wreaking havoc downtown? The mortals will see a wild giraffe on the loose.

That’s the power of the Mist- and sometimes, if the wielder is powerful enough, it can coerce gods and demigods into perceiving illusions rather than reality.

And that’s what exactly Rose does. With a snap of her fingers, Mark and Jungwon turn into identical replications of you and Jungkook, perfectly resembling your features, statures, and movements.

The transformation is uncanny, making it nearly impossible to distinguish Mark and Jungwon from you and Jungkook

“Hi?” Mark giggles (mocking you), twirling a strand of hair around his pointer finger.

You blink at your brother Mark, who looks and sounds exactly like you. It’s like looking in a mirror.

Taehyung shakes his head. “No, you gotta do more of a-“ He pouts his lips into a duck face, theatrically tucking a strand of hair behind his hair.

You smack his arm before you hear Jugkook’s voice.

“That’s fucking crazy,” Jungkook murmurs in awe.

Jungwon and Jungkook stand side by side, and it’s like there’s a pair of identical twins standing together.

“Okay, now practice trying to be them,” Rose muses, and after a brief moment of silence, Mark and Jungwon pull out all the acting cards.

“Oh, Jungkook, kiss me!” Mark mocks in a high pitched voice (which wasn’t necessary because he already adopted your voice), facing Jungwon and jumping on him.

“Oh Y/N!” Jungwon mocks back, making his voice obnoxiously deep and baritone. “I still love you! I’m just too emotionally constipated to express my feelings!”

After pretending to make out with each other, Mark (you) pulls himself from Jungwon (Jungkook). He clears his throat.

“And scene.”

“That was perfect!” Rose squeals, clapping her hands as she jumps up and down in excitement.

Jungkook smiles to himself, shaking his head in disbelief while he rubs his palms over his face- but you certainly don’t miss the way his ears turn red.

You feel the same way, unable to control the crimson spreading through your cheeks.

After establishing that Mark and Jungwon would be sacrificed to Tartarus as decoys, you gather everyone at the 18+ Hephaestus cabin for further preparations.

As the cabin doors gracefully slide open, Mark steps inside, greeted by the hum of machinery. The automated system, recognizing him through a full-body scan, seamlessly grants access to the demigod.

The Hephaestus cabin is reminiscent of a palace, where celestial bronze embellishes every architectural detail, providing extra protection against monsters.Each room is the epitome of celestial innovation, featuring amenities catering to yours and Mark’s individual preferences.

The training arena, for example, has a chamber of fire, adjustable at temperatures above 300 degrees.

You sometimes just sit in there and build up your immunity to heat. It’s like your personal sauna.

You and your friends whiz past the lounge/entertainment area, which is equipped with the comfiest red sofa that can morph into a loveseat, lounge chair, or bed.

With a scan of your finger, a 127-inch flat screen TV can unfold from the walls, running entirely on celestial wi-fi.If you or Mark weren’t in the mood to watch TV, the holographic displays can project immersive gaming environments that respond to the player’s movements and actions.

Your robot on wheels, Reginald, whirs past your friends, holding champagne and water on a tray.

Taehyung and Namjoon stare at Reginald in awe, eyes following him as he rolls around and occasionally tidies up the cabin.

“Would you care for a drink?” Reginald asks, to which Jungkook (Jungwon), attempts to grab a glass of champagne.

You swat his hand. “Jungwon! You’re not of age.”

“How’d you know it was me and not Jungkook?” Jungwon questions in return.

You purse your lips, not answering his question. You know Jungkook so well that you can just tell- but some things don’t need to be verbally expressed.

“So when I asked for a pool in my cabin, you bitched about it for weeks-“ Taehyung begins.

Namjoon continues looking around the cabin. “Gods, this is crazy. Leave it to you guys to make your two-person cabin the most luxurious in camp.”

Mark shrugs, “It’s what we deserve after building all your cabins.”

It’s so weird watching Mark talk. He looks and talks exactly like you. A smile graces your lips as you walk past the arcade room, moving on to scan your finger on a fingerprint sensor.

The bookshelf rotates 180 degrees, unveiling an elevator as it completes a full 360-degree turn.

"Come on in, everyone," you invite, pressing the down button on the elevator.

As the elevator descends, the sound of muzak plays through space. Namjoon shoots you a glance that seems to question the necessity of the muzak. You shrug.

The elevator doors part, revealing Bunker 9, a secretive location known only to you and Mark.

Upon entry, dim lighting unveils a colossal workshop adorned with celestial bronze schematics and intricate blueprints. Automated crafting stations hum with activity, surrounded by shelves of rare materials and celestial artifacts.

Holographic displays flicker to life, projecting encrypted messages and strategic maps. The bunker features a secure communication hub, allowing demigods to coordinate covert missions and exchange vital information without detection.

“Welcome to Bunker 9,” Mark muses.

“Gods,” Rose expresses with awe, “Do you guys even need all this space? This place is huge.”

Mark shrugs, “Yea, but here’s where we do all our top secret Hephaestus kid work. We need space.”

From the end of the bunker, a mechanical murmur fills the air.

"Pulchra!" you exclaim joyfully, hurrying over to affectionately nuzzle your forehead against your mechanical dragon. She responds with a comforting purr, clearly missing you during your year on Mount Olympus.

Jungkook joins in, offering the dragon a warm hug as she continues to purr and emit contented mewls. “How’ve you been girl?” Jungkook teases, to which Pulchra mewls affectionately.

Namjoon toys with a gaming controller directly connected to a holographic display of Camp Half-Blood. Mark approaches him from behind.

"This," Mark explains, "controls a simulation for various emergency scenarios. Chimera attacks, minotaur invasions, even war with a god— it replicates the emergency plans we'd need to implement."

As Namjoon maneuvers the controller, the holographic display responds in real-time, projecting dynamic scenarios that demand strategic thinking and swift decision-making. “You guys should have called me down here years ago,” he expresses, “We could have accomplished so much together.”

In the lull that follows, you delve into an industrial cabinet, rummaging for something before retrieving two rings.

Hurrying to join the rest of the crew, you share, "These rings are equipped with sensors— not ordinary ones. They use a new prototype technology Mark and I are working on,” you exchange a somewhat embarrassed glance with Mark before continuing.

“We call it WhisperTech. They'll capture every sound in your vicinity and transmit it to us in text format. The rings use a discreet audio-sensing system that captures and transmits environmental sounds in text form while monitoring physiological indicators such as heart rate and nerve levels. Make sure to keep them on."

You slide the rings onto the fingers of Mark and Jungwon.

“Let’s test it out,” Mark suggests.

On the holographic display in front of you, Mark’s dialogue appears on the screen.

Mark:

Let's try it out.

Biometric Analysis:

Heart Rate: 78 bpm

Mood: Eager

Thoughts: “I’m hungry”

Stress Levels: Low

Location Data:

Current Location: Bunker 9

Longitude: 155.789° E

Latitude: 36.432° N

Environmental Analysis:

Ambient Temperature: 22°C

Oxygen Levels: Normal

Light Intensity: Dim

Activity Insights:

System Status:WhisperSyncRings: Online

Connectivity: Stable

Encryption Level: Secure

Recommendations:

Continue monitoring for real-time data.

Encourage interaction to gauge response.

Await further commands or inquiries.

“Holy Hera,” Jungkook muses, “There’s no way- so this thing can read someone’s mind?”

On cue, the ring catches onto the dialogue and updates in real time

Jungkook: Holy Hera! There's no way—so this thing can read someone's mind!

Mark's Thoughts: I'm hungry

Biometric Analysis:

Heart Rate: 82 bpm

Moods: Intrigued

Thoughts: Curious about the technology

Stress Levels: Moderate

Location Data:

Current Location: Bunker 9

Longitude: 155.789° E

Latitude: 36.432° N

Environmental Analysis:

Ambient Temperature: 22°C

Oxygen Levels: Normal

Light Intensity: Dim

Activity Insights:

Recent Movement: Stationary (within Bunker 9)

System Status:

WhisperSync Rings: Online

Connectivity: Stable

Encryption Level: Secure

Recommendations:

Continue monitoring for real-time data.

Address Mark's hunger to maintain optimal conditions.

Anticipate further inquiries or commands.

Namjoon tilts his head. “I wonder what the location data will read from Tartarus.”

“As long as I’ve programmed it right, it should read Tartarus as the location. I’m not sure about longitude and latitude, though.”

Taehyung reads the screen. “Address Mark’s hunger to maintain optimal conditions- that’s funny,” he laughs, to which you nod.

“See? The rings will be helpful. We’ll know everything that’s going on, and if something happens, we’ll run in after you,” you exclaim.

Jungwon cocks his head, somewhat unsure. “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you guys knowing my thoughts all the time.”

“Yea,” Namjoon concurs, “but what if you guys are in a situation where you can’t speak or talk? We need to know what’s going on somehow.”

“Swear we won’t tell anyone all your little secrets,” Taehyung jokes.

Rose places a comforting hand on Jungwon’s shoulder and you nod your head, “I swear we won’t pry into your personal life. I can design an algorithm to immediately delete all your personal thoughts and keep records of thoughts related to the quest,.”

Jungwon seems more assured. “If it’s for the mission, it’s fine. It’s not like I have any explicit thoughts anyway.”

You meet eyes with Jungwon, and you kinda wish that you didn’t because he seems unreasonably paranoid.

“Y/N, make an extra one for me,” Taehyung asserts, “If I ever get married I’m gonna put one on my wife’s finger to make sure she’s not thinking about any other men.”

Namjoon scoffs amusedly at that, “I’ll be praying for her in advance.”

You pout at Taehyung and give him an oh so platonic pat on the back. “You’ll find her soon.”

Taehyung smiles. “Thanks inferno princess,” he teases, using Jungkook’s nickname for you, “Just make sure you take of your inferno prince for me.”

Jungkook lifts his head and wraps an arm around you, giving you a side squeeze. “Yea inferno princess, take care of me.”

After bidding goodbye to your friends at the portal to Camp Jupiter, Jungkook suggests that you indulge in something you both rarely have time to do: sleep.

The anxiety of sending Mark and Jungwon as your decoys is killing you, and you can’t help but to pace around Bunker 9 while Jungkook blinks at you from the sofa.

“Y/N, it’ll be okay,” he offers but you shake your head in disbelief.

The dim lighting of the bunker shines eerily above you, and you don’t even realize where you’re going until you walk right into an industrial filing cabinet.

“Ow!” you yelp, to which Jungkook sighs.

He gets up from his seat on the couch and wraps his arms around your waist, resting his head in the crook of your neck. “Inferno princess, calm down. Everything will be fine. Just look at the screen,” he offers, pointing to the holographic display project Mark and Jungwon’s thoughts.

Taehyung: I’m thinking of going for a swim after they sacrifice you two.

Mark: Gee, thanks. That’s super comforting

Mark’s thoughts: I need to pee

“See?” Jungkook offers, “There’s nothing wrong. The kid needs to take a piss is all.”

You laugh, your shoulders relaxing a bit as you wrap your palms around Jungkook’s wrists. You stand there for a moment, reveling in the safety of Jungkook’s embrace.

Jungkook is your calm before the storm. He’s always there before you go on a potentially life ending quest , comforting you to reassure you that things will be okay.

“How long has it been since you’ve slept?” he whispers into your ear.

“Don’t know. ‘s been a while,” you mutter.

“Think you need to rest first. A nice long ten hours of rest before we do anything else,” he offers.

You hate the prospect of sleeping while your little brothers plummet into Tartarus because of you, but Jungkook’s right. You’re exhausted.

You wiggle out of his embrace and face him, placing your hands on his shoulders. Your eyes glaze over his face before you impulsively ask him a question. His eyes, nose, mouth- there’s a scar on his left cheek acquired during the two years where you were dead. You never had the chance to ask him what happened.

It’s been six years since your fiery dalliance, and the flame of your affections refuses to be extinguished.

You purse your lips.

“Jungkook, what are we?” you ask, features morphing into confusion as your eyes scan over his face.

He looks taken aback at that revelation. His pretty brown eyes widen, coupled with a slight parting of his lips. He doesn’t say anything so you take the chance to elaborate.

“Why are you wrapping your arms around me? Why are you entertaining our friends’ teasing? Are we- are we back again?”

A fleeting pause ensues- like a suspension in time- before he gathers his thoughts to respond.

“Y/N, you know how I feel about you,” is all he says, and his voice wraps around you like a familiar embrace, offering a comfort that no other sound can match. It's so familiar, and the sweetest things he says to you create a flutter of butterflies in your chest.

Warmth spreads through your veins and you suddenly feel like Icarus- the same Icarus who got high on the intoxication of flying and flew too close to the sun, plummeting to his demise when the sun’s rays melted the glue on his feathers.

Jungkook’s kinda like the sun. Last time you flew too close, you literally died.

Luckily, you’re immune to fire.

Jungkook continues, toying with his lip ring. “I’ve been holding back all this time, y’know. But if we’re going to die, do I really have to hold back? I want to be with you, Y/N.”

You face crumbles into disappointment before you actually laugh at the irony. The fates are cruel. “So is that how our stories go? We only get together when facing impending death?”

Jungkook says nothing.

This time, you’ll take the initiative.

Your features morph into desperation. “Jungkook, if we survive this, marry me. If we get rid of Tartarus for good and everything is okay, marry me. I’m sick of pretending that this isn’t real, like I don’t still love you. I want you, and I want you forever.”

Jungkook says nothing, just presses his lips against yours for a sweet and brief kiss- the first kiss you’ve shared since you were 19.

He withdraws, fingers playing with a bolt he had picked up from a nearby shelf. Then, lowering himself to one knee, he presents you with the bolt. “It’s whatever you want, inferno princess. Marry me.”

He slides the bolt on your ring finger before rising, strong arms around your waist before he kisses you again- for the second time in six years. You snake your arms around his neck, letting him take the lead as you literally have not kissed anyone since kissing Jungkook before you died.

In the trenches of your heart, you hate knowing that Jungkook has been with other people besides you. Nonetheless, you like letting him take the lead so you can be his pliant little inferno princess.

He pulls back a bit, his tattooed hand creeping up to smush your cheeks so your lips pout out. He laughs. “Gods, you’re cute. Now let’s get some rest, baby. We have more gods to kill.”

Finger intertwined and full of unnecessary giggles, Jungkook leads you to none other than the Hypnos cabin.

Hypnos is the god of sleep, a gentle and soothing presence in the realm of Greek mythology.He holds the unique responsibility of overseeing the tranquil moments when both gods and mortals find respite in the embrace of slumber.

Jungkook raps on the door several times, his fingers securely interlaced with yours as you both patiently wait.

No response.

Jungkook knocks again, and you can faintly hear the sounds of the locks turning before a very sleepy Sana opens the door.

Sana is the daughter of Hypnos and the head counselor of the Hypnos cabin. She rubs at her eyes, eyes barely open.

“Hello? Mommy?”

Jungkook purses his lips. “No Sana, it’s me and Y/N.”

At that, she forces one eye open. “Oh! Jungkook and Y/N! Long time no see! How was Olympus?” Though extremely groggy, she gets her words out before sleepily pulling you in for a hug.

You smile and return the hug. “It was great Sana. Is it okay if Jungkook and I come in to get some sleep?”

At that moment, a sudden surge of energy seems to rejuvenate Sana, and she perks up with newfound vitality. “Oh wow! You guys have never asked me to help you sleep! Come right in!”

You walk into the Hypnos cabin, where you’re greeted by two dozen more Hypnos kids dozing off in their beds.

Cabin #15 is often occupied by demigods with the ability to manipulate dreams and induce sleep. It’s a quiet place with dreamy, soothing colors.

The walls are adorned with calming murals depicting various dreamscapes. The beds are comfortable, and there’s a subtle scent of lavender in the air to enhance relaxation.

Sana leads you to a pair of guest beds before rumbling in a mini fridge for Hyponos’ Sleepy Milk. It’s a unique concoction made by the cabin members to help everyone relax and ease into a peaceful sleep.

She throws you and Jungkook baby bottles of milk. “This will put you right to sleep. I’m so happy you two finally came for a visit!”

“Thanks Sana,” Jungkook smiles, before trailing off, rubbing his bicep, “but could we actually share one larger bed?”

Sana beams at that. “Oh absolutely! There’s the couple’s suite down the hall and to the right. Does that finally mean you two are together?-“ Sana cuts herself off, collapsing onto a nearby bed and drifting into a deep sleep the moment her head hits the pillow.

You and Jungkook look at each other, shrugging before going down the hall and to the right where the couples suite resides.

The couples' suite in the Hypnos cabin has a more intimate setting within the tranquil atmosphere. The color scheme includes soft hues like lavender and indigo, creating a soothing and romantic ambiance.

The bed is larger and adorned with dream-themed decor, such as elegant drapes and dreamcatchers. Subtle lighting in the form of fairy lights and dim lamps add to the dreamy atmosphere.

A large, cozy white comforter adorns the bed, and Jungkook pulls it over, throwing his shirt off and at you.

It hits you in the face.

“Aren’t those jeans tight? Just take off your clothes and wear my shirt. It’ll be more comfortable that way,” he suggests, sliding into the bed.

You owlishly blink at Jungkook.

Gods, there’s no way this man is real and that he chose you.

Jungkook is the epitome of a Greek god. The lines of his eight-pack are so clearly defined, and you instinctively turn away, mentally and physically weak.

And Jungkook- the man has the audacity to laugh. “What, inferno princess? Never seen a shirtless man before?” A teasing lip graces his lips.

Your mood does a complete 180, and your features morph into pure petulance and displeasure.

“Just because you’re used to being naked around women doesn’t mean that I am,” you enunciate, pointing your finger in his face before you whirl around, blazing into the restroom.

“Oh c’mon Y/N, it’s not like that,” you hear Jungkook’s unserious voice reverberate through the wooden door.

You know it’s irrational to suddenly care about Jungkook’s activities after asking him to marry you- but peering into the mirror, you realize that your eyes are glossy.

It's not that Jungkook explicitly shared everything he was up to during your time apart; rather, you only became privy to the truth when Taehyung inadvertently spilled the beans during a drunken night.

His hookups, one night stands, friends with benefits- you’re aware of it all.

That evening, you joined in the laughter, feigning nonchalance. But an overwhelming sense of dread seeped into your system whenever the thought of Jungkook with another woman crossed your mind. It’s nearly unfathomable.

You hurriedly wipe your eyes, undressing yourself before sloppily throwing on Jungkook’s shirt.

You swing the door open to find Jungkook propped up on his elbow, lying on his side, patiently awaiting your return to bed. He raises his brows inquisitively at you. “Jealous, inferno princess?”

He’s such an ass.

You scoff at him, casually settling your left knee on the bed. “Jeon Jungkook, you’re a slut,” you seethe through your teeth.

Jungkook shrugs. “I’ve heard worse, now come lay with me, baby.”

Your features harden, and you stoically grab a pillow before placing it in between you and Jungkook.

Your father Hephaestus crafted an actual net to physically catch his wife Aphrodite and her lover in the act. Of course you’re petty enough to pull the makeshift pillow barrier move.

“Oh c’mon Y/N,” Jungkook scoffs in amusement.

You narrow your eyes at him, sliding under the covers and turning on your side with your back facing Jungkook.

Slyly, Jungkook removes the pillow barrier and closes in on you, enveloping you in his arms. He sighs into your hair.

“Since we were ten, you’ve owned me,” he confesses, “every part of me belongs to you. No other woman will ever compare.”

A heaviness settles in your heart. You and Jungkook have endured so much, suffered through so much. Jungkook has done well.

Sensing your body slightly tremble and hearing a sniffle, he tenderly cups your cheeks and gently cranes your head towards him. “Got it?” he confirms,a smile playing on his lips as he notices the tip of your nose turning pink.

You exhale, and he uses his large palms to force a nod out of you. “Got it,” you respond softly, “It’s just- I haven’t been with anybody but you. I guess it makes me insecure knowing how many women you’ve been with.”

Jungkook’s eyes soften, and his eyes become so clear that you can perceive your reflection in his irises. “That’s my fault, baby. I guess I did anything I could to fill the void,” he explains, “But being here with you, our first time- nothing compares.”

You pout, lifting your gaze towards him. “Do you mean it?”

He places a kiss on your nose. “I’ve been in love with you this entire time. Of course I mean it.”

You soften, fluttering your eyes shut as you revel in the feeling of Jungkook peppering kisses all over your face.

“See how natural it is with us?” he continues, “The gods made you for me.”

You pout, throwing your arm around his torso as he pulls you closer. He lets you rest your head on his bicep, and you look into his eyes.

“Is there anything I can do to make you feel more secure with me, baby?” he offers with a kiss to your eyelid.

To Jungkook, it’s like your mind has gone blank, observing the contemplative pause as you search for an answer to his question.

“Hmmm… maybe just tell me you love me from time to time?” you suggest, to which Jungkook bursts into laughter at how adorable he thinks you are.

“Alright, I’ll do that,” he instantly agrees, entertaining your suggestions.

“What’s funny?” you ask, to which Jungkook dismisses it with a nonchalant wave.

He raises the arm that you're resting on, causing your head to gently nestle into the crook of his armpit. “Drink up,” he offers, placing the baby bottle of Hypnos Milk to your lips.

Pliantly, you sip on the bottle and seconds later, you’re out like a light.

That night, you don’t have any unusual dreams, granting you the best fourteen hours of sleep you've ever experienced. When you wake up, a sense of rejuvenation washes over you, but a quick scan of the room reveals that your man is not beside you. Your eyes rapidly dart around the room in search of his presence.

At that moment, Jungkook walks out of the restroom with a toothbrush in his mouth.

His eyes glaze over you, admiring how you look in his shirt, still beautiful with boogers in your eyes. He casually saunters over to you, extending a hand with an invitation card gracefully held between his fingers.

You are invited to our 2000th year anniversary party in Mount Olympus!

A +H

author’s note: aphrodite and hephaestus are a and h

ALSO TJE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE A DRABBLE FOR EITHER jungwon x reader or mark x reader,

and the fourth chapter will be a son of poseidon!taehyung x reader 😌😌 jk and y/n’s story will resume in chapter five when they go to aphrodite and hephaestus’s anniversary party

#jungkook fanfic #jungkook scenarios #bts scenarios #jungkook fluff #jungkook imagines #jungkook x reader #jk fanfic #bts fanfic #jungkook fic #demigod!enhypen #demigod!jungkook #demigod!bts #demigod au #camp half blood au

204 notes · View notes

mythsandheather · 4 months

Note

What I hate the most about LO is that Rachel is making the romance between actual gods backward. Aphrodite and Hephaestus were a couple but Aphrodite found him repulsing so she cheated on him with Ares. Even after that cheating on Hephaestus, Ares, and Aphrodite were the only sane couple in Greek myths. Apollo had his fair share of lovers (if you exclude Daphne) with him being in love with BOTH male and female and how does Rachel do justice to his character? By making him a R*****

The saga of Ares, Aphrodite and Hephaestus is often terribly misunderstood and LO is no exception, except that she weaponises it in her narrative and portrays it arguably at its worst.

The original story of these three is often stripped down to the bare basics along the lines of either “star-crossed lovers and ugly loser dude who got in their way” or “bad slutty woman cheats on poor helpless (but still ugly loser) dude with angry frat bro” and it’s wild. It’s a story, at least how I see it, about love, pain and compromise for what you need for yourself.

Hephaestus is hurt, angry and traumatised by his parents abuse of him, specifically Hera, and so he traps her in his specially made throne. He has a point to make and for the first time in his life, he will not be ignored.

Aphrodite is offered as the prize for freeing Hera, without her consent, and so is also hurt, worried and angry, especially when Hephaestus wins her hand. She is handed off to a man she barely knows, let alone loves, and can’t do anything about it

Ares is both not strong to free his mother, nor able to keep the woman he adores from being handed off to someone else — his own brother, no less, and has to just sit and watch. He is humiliated, he is hurt, he is angry.

The retelling I like the most is from Stephen Fry’s Mythos, where Aphrodite and Ares are already engaged when the throne incident happens, Zeus assuring them that surely since Ares is the strongest, he’ll be the one to free Hera. Even Zeus is humanised. Aphrodite’s hand being offered is him making a rash decision to motivate the other gods out of his desperation to free his wife.

When Hephaestus arrives and frees Hera, it’s not what anyone expected and Hephaestus makes it very clear that he’s not doing this to get the girl, so much as to make it clear he’s a force to be reckoned with.

He had Aphrodite seperate shortly after their marriage and she goes on her way with Ares while Hephaestus goes about his work, now with the respect he wanted for his craftsmanship. Ares, Aphrodite and Hephaestus are all on relatively amicable terms as later stories unfold too, especially compared to the fighting of the other gods.

In some versions, Dionysus intervenes and convinces Hephaestus with some alcohol both to free Hera and not to pursue Aphrodite, and Hephaestus agrees.

Now, you might be looking at all this and thinking “wow, what a nuanced tale and what a mature way everyone ended up handling it! Everyone here is flawed yet you like and relate to all of them! Surely this would make a great adaptation for a ‘feminist retelling’!” You’d be wrong.

Ares is a douchey dudebro who is obsessed with Persephone cuz reasons and exists to say every oversexualised, gross, objectifying thought Rachel herself has while drooling over her self insert but can’t make Hades say cuz he’s supposed to be a gentleman.

Aphrodite is a petty caricature of influencers and Kim Kardashian and her hyper sexualised nature is a bad thing and entirely her own fault when something bad happens to her. She’s also purple. I will never not be mad about Aphrodite not being pink.

She and Ares break up because -insert slut-shaming, not like the other girls logic to defend Persephone- here and she marries Hephaestus.

Hephaestus is set dressing, at best. Every cool attribute he has is stolen and given to Hades and instead of being ugly due to injury or physical deformity and this being a source of how mistreated he is, he’s just…black-coded and with prosthetic legs. If that made you slightly uncomfortable, it should.

Speaking of minorities being taken, chewed up and spat out by Lore Olympus, that brings us to Apollo. Poor, poor Apollo. One of the most beloved and influential of the Theoi, literally unrecognisable and reduced to being the self-insert’s r*pist because, you guessed it, reasons.

Let me add to all the people saying it, because it needs to be repeated; APOLLO DID NOT ASSAULT PERSEPHONE IN THE MYTHS OR ANYWHERE EXCEPT LORE OLYMPUS.

I know it’s probably not intended to be homophobic how Apollo is treated in LO, but fuck it, that’s how it smells to me, so that’s what I call it.

Every character, every relationship, every story serves to boost the Rachel x Mads fapfic Persephone and Hades love story and it’s nasty. How the fuck are you gonna call yourself a folklorist and do this?

#antiloreolympus #lo critical #lore olympus critical #lo criticism #anti lore olympus #lore olympus criticism

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ollieneedstherapy · 10 months

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Greek gods as feelings

Aphrodite: having a secret admirer, when you’re laying down listening to sappy songs because you can

Artemis:running around barefoot as a kid, when you sit down with your cat/dog after a long day

Apollo:learning how to play a new instrument, watching the sun rise with a cup of coffee

Ares: winning the argument that wasn’t really a argument , dancing in your room after dark because no one can stop you

Athena: finally understanding something that never made sense before, cursing at someone who deserved it

Demeter: the fact you are keeping that one (1) plant alive , eating fruit just because it tastes good

Dionysus: laughing so hard your ribs hurt, the warm feeling you get when someone uses the right pronouns

Hades: watching shitty horror movies and yelling at the screen, sitting around a Bon fire a little too late

Hephaestus: going to a museum by yourself right at the crack of dawn, getting your phone to work just by turning it off and on again

Hera: going to the zoo on a first date and eating cotton candy, watching your sibling play in the sprinklers

Hermes: winning bored games that were taking way to seriously, stealing an older siblings jacket for a party

Hestia: finally getting motivation to clean your room, going to a animal shelter to play worth the older animals

Poseidon: listen to waves as you fall asleep even if they’re just on your phone, going to a lake that you’ve never been to before

Zeus: hearing the wind out side your window later at night, driving home after dark on a clear night

#aphrodite deity #artemis deity #apollo deity #athena deity #demeter deity #dionysus deity #hades deity #hephaestus deity #hera deity #hermes deity #hestia deity #poseidon deity #zeus deity #Devotion #headcanons i guess #what am I doing?#poetry

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wisdomssdaughterr · 4 months

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A Demi-God's Loyalty

Requested! | Read more here!

percy jackson & annabeth chase

percy jackson TV series episode 5: the missing scene of percy and annabeth walking back to the diner.

***

Ares’s shield was heavy, but Annabeth held onto it tightly in an attempt to stop her hands from shaking. Her clothes were still damp from her and Percy’s unplanned swim in Hephaestus’s Thrill Ride of Love, or whatever.

The two Half-Bloods hadn’t spoken a word to each other since Percy was freed from his golden statue form and they booked it out of the tunnel with Ares’s shield in hand. Annabeth wasn’t sure what she was supposed to say. A part of her wanted to punch Percy for being so stupid, again.

First, he pushed her down the stairs at the St. Louis Arch to fight the Chimera alone, and then he sat on the golden throne trap so she could retrieve the shield. He could have died twice and he hardly seemed bothered by it. He would have died twice, and what for? Her? No way.

Annabeth had dreamed of a quest forever. She wanted to leave camp and prove that she was a warrior to her mother, Athena. Before Percy’s quest, Annabeth would have done anything to please to Gods and prove that she deserved their praise. Then, the son of Poseidon showed up, and despite their differences, he risked his life to protect her and Gover. Sure, he wanted to complete the quest and prevent a Godly war, but he didn’t fight the Chimera or sit on the throne to please the Gods; Percy did those things because he was good. Percy was also different. He was stupid and reckless, but he was good and different from anyone Annabeth had met before.

On the other hand, because of his infuriating self-sacrifice twice in a row, she wanted to hug him again. Maybe she’d hug him and then punch him, or vice-versa.

“Do you want me to carry it for a while?” Percy asked, breaking the silence.

Annabeth tightened her grip on the shield and shook her head. “I’ve got it.” The thing was nearly the size of her and heavy, but she needed her hands occupied and something to pull at least some of her focus so it wasn’t all on the blonde-haired boy beside her.

Percy didn’t argue. He was still probably in shock from turning into a statute. His clothes were damp as well and his whole body shook slightly. At least he didn’t look as bad as when he was poisoned, but Annabeth was a little concerned that something was wrong.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“I mean, I’m a little hungry but-”

“Percy,” she snapped, tossing him a glare that veiled some of her concern.

He ran a hand through his wet curls, pushing them back from his forehead. “Oh, you mean from the whole turning-into-gold thing?” She nodded and rolled her eyes. “Totally! After falling from the arch, that was nothing.” Percy’s tone was light, and it was clear that he was trying to ease the mood, but it made Annabeth feel worse. She stopped walking in the middle of the empty road and turned to him, with most of her body hidden behind Ares’s shield.

“We’ve gotta get back to Grover-” Percy started, but she cut him off.

“You’re wrong,” she said, simply. “I’m not better at this than you.”

Percy let out a deep sigh, his shoulders slumping with it. “Annabeth-”

“No. You’re wrong. And…” she hesitated, resting the heavy shield against the ground before she looked Percy right in his bright blue eyes. “And as your friend, I’m not gonna let you do something like that again. You’re going to retrieve the Master Bolt from Hades and get your mother back. I’ll make sure of it. No more sacrifices, got it? If we’re doing this, we’re doing it together, all of us.” A passion filled her voice so strong she startled herself -her emotions still ran high from watching Percy nearly be trapped forever as a statute- but she meant every word she said.

Percy looked slightly relieved and slightly surprised at the same time. “So…we are friends?”

Annabeth rolled her eyes again and resumed walking toward the diner. Percy grabbed a hold of her shoulder and forced her to stop. “What I mean is, I don’t care what the Oracle said. I want to be your friend. If you were going to betray me, you would have left me in that ride and taken the shield without a second thought. But you didn’t; you saved me from being some creepy statue for the rest of eternity. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“I didn’t really get you out,” Annabeth confessed, shifting her gaze at the road under their feet. “I told Hephaestus the truth and he undid his trap.”

“The truth about what?”

A small smile tugged on Annabeth’s lips. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you, Seaweed brain.” They began walking again, side by side through the cool night toward the faint glow of the diner in the distance.

“Seaweed brain,” Percy repeated the nickname. “That’s not gonna stick is it?”

“We’ll see.”

They continued to walk, and Annabeth found a new goal to aim for. She didn’t want to beg and grovel for her mother’s affection, not after Athena tried to kill her and her friends inside the arch. Annabeth still respected her mother, there was no way she could shake that childly ache to be noticed by a parent, but her loyalties began to shift. If getting her mother’s praise was impossible, then she’d do something more tangible for a demi-god. Annabeth Chase would follow Percy Jackson. She doubted she’d be able to stop him from doing anything else stupid, but she’d be there to either help him do the stupid thing or get him out of it.

She could almost hear the gods, monsters, giants, titans, and her fellow half-bloods laughing at her. A child of Athena silently pledging her loyalties to a son of Poseidon; it was comical, but Annabeth was dead serious. If Percy was going to shove her down the stairs and sit on a godly trap, then Annabeth was going to be there to fight or fall with him, yell at the gods on his behalf, and fight tooth and nail to make sure they all get back to camp alive. It was a foolish plan, but if there was one thing Annabeth was good at, it was executing a plan to perfection.

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #percabeth #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson x annabeth chase #percy jackson fic #percy jackson fanfiction #pjo series #pjo spoilers #izzy’s library

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strangerwheelerthings · 1 year

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Stranger Things Percy Jackson AU: Who are the Parents

Nancy Wheeler: Daughter of Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Strategy. No explanation needed.

Mike Wheeler: Son of Ares, God of War and Courage. This angry little child is one of the bravest in his acts of loyalty. Still Nancy's brother.

Will Byers: Son of Apollo, God of Art, Music, and Light.

Jonathan Byers: Son of Apollo, God of Music, Truth, and Healing.

Robin Buckley: Daughter of Hermes, God of Travel, Luck, and Languages.

Steve Harrington: Son of Aphrodite, Goddess of Beauty and Love.

El Hopper: Daughter of Hades, God of the Underworld, Death, and Hidden Wealth. A powerful demigod who others tend to ostracize because of the stigma around her Father.

Dustin Henderson: Son of Hephaestus, God of Forge, Craft, and Creation.

Lucas Sinclair: Son of Hermes, Messenger God of Athletes, Luck, and Trade.

Erica Sinclair: Daughter of Hermes, God of Thieves, Trade, and Cunning.

Max Mayfield: Daughter of Ares, God of War and Courage. Not because she likes war, but because she was raised in it.

Eddie Munson: Son of Apollo, God of Music and Poetry.

Joyce Byers is not a demigod, but she caught Apollo's eye with her incredible ability to discern truth and bring light to dark situations.

Jim Hopper is a mortal as well, but he (alongside Joyce) is clear-sighted and is determined to help keep these kids alive.

Karen Wheeler originally caught Athena's eye with her intelligence, so Athena gifted her a child. She caught Ares' eye with her desperate anger at the messed up world and situation she lived in.

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minthe-lover · 1 year

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Polyamory in lore olympus

okay! so you know how I'm a desperate bitch for poly rep... guess I needed to add the word good in front of that cause this shit isn't it.

So one thing that I just need to say.. is I'm confused where the fuck rs is doing her research, cause a polyamorous 'pod' isn't a very common term and has the exact same meaning as polycule. Cause rs has proven to not be one to actually do alot of research, so it feels weird that she used a term like that.

Now another thing is that Poseidon wasn't polyamorous before... I could only really find two thing that point towards that. The first being a joke about him looking a second wife.. which in context is clearly just him using it to edge on hades... and it's never mentioned again.

That and the end of season 2, with the one panel of a bunch of people including Amphitrite hugging Poseidon... I assumed this was just his children. I really don't dislike Poseidon being poly I think it could've been really good rep but rs either did have him being poly since the beginning and just never actually put any thought or time into saying it... or added it after the fact to lampshade and earn more points for being inclusive.

You know what.. it may be the first... but given that we have Persephone saying the identical line as leuce.. and Hades just.. didn't correct her? like come on hades I know your a horny fucker but also Poseidon is now someone whos being actively bigoted against whenever someone saying he's a cheater.. and you don't stand up for him if the person is making you horny? Also it just retroactively makes all the bitching that hades does about his brother cheating gross... cause hades is now basically blaming Poseidon for how OTHER people wrongfully view his poly relationships.

Now something that just really piss me off.. is that this is being confirmed by hades just saying he's poly.. besides one panel of him hugging his partners, we haven't actually seen him being polyamorous. Why was does he still only have one wife, why haven't we seen any of these other partners... and why aren't we learning this from Poseidon himself.

It just... annoys me, am I supposed to applaud at the fact that hades said the word polyamous? We just have Poseidon, Amphitrite and then bunch of nameless and basically faceless people... it just feels so half assed. You just had a wedding scenes.. have Poseidon and his partners be together during that.. have him mention his partners while they did the dumb best man bit. Like have us learn that Poseidon picked hades as his best man over zeus multiple times.. that would be a sort of funny way to learn about it.

Just a little bit more... it wouldn't be that difficult. It really fucking hurt when you have like four separate hetero-normative monogamous relationships that you give so much time and thought into but any level of queer relationship is completely fucking ignored. It's so fucking clear that these are just here to make this comic look more progressive when it just fucking isn't.

Like rs you went out of your way to make Athena and Hestia gay and then just never actually did anything with it... And now Poseidon is the same. You have multiple kinda unnecessary chapters learning about how Aphrodite and Hephaestus got together just so we can have the name drop of Kassandra really... But you don't have at least one chapter actually about either of the queer relationships in this comic.

Also I just think it's important to talk about Zeus with this. I've seen alot of fans say that Zeus is polyamorous because hes a serial cheater.. which is just a wonderful unproblematic stereotype/s. While I don't see as much of that directed at poseiden... he's very much repeatedly labeled as a cheater by the story, so again either rs planned for him to be a poly character and decided it would be... funny? if he was unchallengedly called a cheater repeatedly.. or again Rs retroactively made all the characters that call him a cheater just assholes and also decided it would be best to pick a cheater to be the polyam character.

This really just leaves a bad taste in my mouth, cause polyamorous people have so little representation and most of it is pretty shitty or stereotypical and lore olympus a story so focused on monogamous romances had a great chance to actually make something good... christ one chapter of just Poseiden and his relationship could be enough to make it good. Instead we have a character repeatedly labeled a cheater and then have someone else tell us he's actually poly.

#lo critical #anti lo #anti lore olympus #lore olympus critical

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itsleroyposts · 2 months

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today I woke up with the clear goal to make a rating of Olympus snorers (it will include the 7 male olympians and Hades cause I don’t have much thought about others yet)

so from top to bottom

#1 Poseidon

as I already mentioned he is the loudest snorer over here

in my imagination big men always snore and Poseidon is quite tall and muscular so he is like a bear

the loudest snores come out when he passes out because of tiredness ,,,

like when he sleeps soundly his body relaxes and he doesn’t control any muscles or processes

a few times he snored at the top of his voice and caused several earthquakes :///

Amphitrite was laughing hysterically and teased him when other olympians had been constantly asking what was wrong and why he was so mad???

Poseidon made a pact with Amphitrite to never reveal the real reason

#2 Zeus

the only top he got the second place and not angry about

the main reason Zeus snores is because he is big

like Poseidon his snores are loud and kinda massive

I also like to think that during the Titanomachy he broke his nose and from that time he had some nose issues which he never solved because Hera never complained

Nevertheless Hera still loves to tease him because of loud snoring

She always says that just like kouretes made loud noises to hide baby Zeus the grown man is just hiding something from his wife

Zeus isn’t concerned about his loud snoring so surprisingly he usually laughs when other gods mention that

#3 Hephaestus and Ares

it seems to me that both Ares and Hephaestus snore from time to time

like their snores a medium volume and happen when their are really unconscious

Ares hates himself snoring mostly because Aphrodite can’t sleep in such noise right above her head (she is overreacting saying that Ares’ snores a FUCKING LOUD and poor man believes her)

Hephaestus only snores when he is lying on the back which happens not really often

but he is really ashamed of it because he count that as another “flaw” (Aphrodite was a reason of a such perpective) and still didn’t sorted this issue (both mentally and physically)

#4 Dionysus

it’s pretty obvious but when Dionysus is fucking drunk he snores

but in comparison with Zeus and Poseidon he has these kinda cute little snores and he even drooles

Ariadne sometimes founds it lovely but other time when Dionysus oversteps with vine it looks disgusting (other olympians think so)

Dionysus honestly can’t care less about snoring so he don’t even try to solve this

once he passed out completely wasted but somehow he didn’t snored and his Bacchantes and satyres were terrified

for a moment poor folks thought that he finally reached the edge

#5 Hermes

Hermes practically never snores at least other olympians do think so

but George and Martha (or just his snakes if you are not into pjo) caught him snoring a few times after extremely crazy party

yes he also snores when he is drunk

but he kinda snortes-snores if it make sense to you

so he accidentally snortes-snores once in 10-15 minutes and that makes sleepy Hermes fucking hilarious to others

#6 Apollo

poor boy is totally sure that he never snores

but the muses regularly catch him snoring like a little baby when he passes out after a long musical or poetry session

needless to say as soon as he finds out he is terrified

he desperately tries to solve this problem because he is the god of medicine and perfection (as he insists)

after his total loss and all 5 stages of grief he asks Asclepius for help

100% overdramatic about this

#7 Hades

lucky man who never got this problem

actually never cared about snoring unless Persephone said somethering like “thanks to the fates you are a quiet sleeper”

from now on he is a proud man

always chuckles when both Poseidon and Zeus mention their little issue and claims that he has the most perfect nose out of the family

his younger brothers not really jealous of it but they still like fake complaining

mostly they do that when Hades starts to annoy them like all elder siblings do

#greek gods #greek mythology #pjo #pjoverse #riordanverse #dionysus #apollo #hermes #zeus #poseidon #hades #ares #hephaestus #ancient greek #Greek mythology headcanons #greek gods headcanons

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gojotron · 2 years

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cherry wine

an alternate universe set during greece’s classical period in which diluc is the god of dread and terror, deimos, and the reader is a citizen of athens.

warning(s): strangers to lovers, language, alcohol consumption, spit, talk of children, hurt comfort (reader receiving), breeding mention, virgin reader, body worship (diluc and reader receiving), oral (reader receiving), unprotected sex, accidental cervix fucking, angst

word count: 7k

notes: wrote the first half of this an entire year ago …… spoiler, this does not have a happy ending.

glossary

athenians: citizens of athens

polis: greek word for city-state

agora: lower city of athens that surrounds acropolis

acropolis: a large rock known as the upper city of athens

nymph: spirit of nature

hephaestus: god of fire

panathenaea: annual celebration held for the goddess athena

athena: greek goddess of wisdom and war

elysium: an afterlife of paradise where gods and heroes go when they die

nectar: divine drink of the gods that holds the power to confirm immortality

hades: god of the underworld, or a name for the underworld itself.

Athens, Ancient Greece; 5th century circa 430 BC.

It was in Athens when you met him. He stood out amongst the colorful shops lining the city streets like a blossoming tree nymph in the rustic desert sand. His robes were simple, almost boring when compared to most living in Athens, yet his build held sturdy and strong. He was intimidating, so much so that his presence forced those passing him by to shy away. The setting sun glistened against the sheen of sweat coating his porcelain skin and it brought out the gold in his brown eyes despite the daggers within them. However, there was one point in his features that mirrored the mirth of Athens: his hair. His locks, wild and red like the flames of Hephaestus, were lively and thick, only tamed by the tie that held them together just below the crown of his head.

Truth be told, you couldn’t keep my eyes off of him. From the moment you spotted him from your seated position enjoying a glass of water, your body tensed fully and sweat beaded at your temple despite your spot in the shade. Fear clamped onto your muscles and dread pooled in your stomach, yet your gaze did not falter. You hid my frightened expression behind your cup to admire him further. You felt that if you looked away, even for a fleeting moment, he would vanish into the crowd. So, despite the indescribable feelings his presence seemed to place upon you and everyone else along the street, you continued to watch him.

When his eyes met yours you thought you would fall from your chair. To say the look in his eyes was intense would be an understatement. It was as if infinity was personified into an emotion only he could express. Your heart was pounding, your mind screaming for your body to be set free of the chills of fear rattling through your bones. He paused briefly in the crowd to return your stare, studying you for a brief moment, and before you could realize what was happening he changed his course and made his way toward your table. As he approached, the tension and terror in your muscles and gut faded with each step he took. He was merely inches in front of you now, and yet you felt as if the previous sensations were never upon you, ease replacing what was once apprehension. A new emotion, one most passionate and overwhelming, settled into your senses now that all fear was gone: lust. It made your heartbeat begin to race within the confines of your chest and pooled warmth just below your stomach.

Neither of you spoke for what felt like eons, before he cleared his throat and flicked his gaze to the empty chair positioned across your table. “May I join you?” His quiet voice, deep and cold, met your ears with a juxtaposed delight, and you nodded a bit too quickly for your own liking as you sat your cup down before him. He denied your offer of a drink, opting to watch you take another sip instead. His stare had your thighs pressed together tightly to ease the cry for friction coming from your cunt. You’d just met this man—had yet to even learn his name—yet slowly but surely his eyes, his hair, his voice were melting your resolve and turning you into melted wax within his palms.

His presence was most curious and unexpected as it was obvious he was not native to Athens, but he also did not appear to be native of anywhere else particularly based on his features and the way he dressed. Today was the day of Panathenaea, an annual celebration of Athena for her protection over Athens, headed by her cult of followers and filled with animal sacrifice and competition from the city’s finest athletes. Why would an outsider wish to participate in these rights if not an Athenian themself? It was rare to even find travellers who worshipped Athena as loyally as Athenians did, but nothing about him or his robes signified his allegiance to the goddess.

Finally, your curiosity spurred up enough courage to speak to the mysterious traveller. “What is your name?”

After a moment of thought, he replied, “Diluc.”

How odd of him to pause, you thought, as if in search of his own name…

His husky voice cut through your wandering thoughts. “And your own?”

You spoke your name with a lilted tone; you always found your name beautiful as many told you it was throughout your life, so you were always quick to state it with pride.

He repeated your name back to you, let the syllables savor on his tongue; it sent a shiver down the ridges of your spine. You held your breath in anticipation for his next words, actions, anything if it meant it was coming from this beautiful stranger before you.

“Do you know of a reliable inn nearby? I’m looking for a place to rest my head for the evening.” His eyes not-so-subtly gazed up and down the column of your neck, as if he were wanting you to catch him in the act of doing so. It brought a flush to the flesh of your cheeks and your thighs to flex at the growing heat flaring in between them.

You cleared your throat before speaking. “All inns will be closed tonight I’m afraid. Today is Panathenaea. We will raise offerings to Athena with sacrifices and festivities.” You took a small sip of water, finishing up the rest that resided within the chalice. He left out a quiet sigh of annoyance and a pang of guilt mixed within your rattling, heightened heartbeat. Even though this wasn’t your doing, you felt at fault for the inconvenience to him. Clearing your head of the guilty ponderings you offered a proposition. “But if you are truly in need of shelter, it is no issue for my home to become your own for your stay in the city.”

You watched him mull over the offer in slight apprehension. You had shared only a few words with him but oh how you wanted for him to accept the invitation. Everything about him drew you in unimaginably; you had never before been so captivated by another being in the entirety of your life until him, for reasons you couldn’t possibly explain to anyone, not even yourself.

“If you shall host me, then your kindness is greatly accepted.” You couldn’t help the grin that spread across your face with his words. You were happy for him to accept the hospitality, happy to be able to spend the rest of the evening with the handsome stranger that was Diluc. He didn’t return your smile, but a sparkle appeared from the hidden gold in his irises, so perhaps your excitement was shared.

The games were glorious, the food even moreso. You felt as if the fruit and bread you had consumed that evening alone was enough to satiate a week’s worth of hunger. Diluc, however, did not eat or drink his fill. He simply stood silently by your side, which seemingly deterred any conversation from making its way toward you, let alone between you. He seemed to be on high alert, continuously scanning the crowd, the ground, the skies, in search of something, or someone. You paid no mind at first as it wasn’t any of your business, but as the dusk settled into night and he kept up his search, you grew restless with curiosity.

“What are you so ardently searching for?” He turned to face you for what you thought was the first time that evening. In truth, you were completely oblivious to his lingering glances and wandering gaze, too caught up in the festivities to consider his own lust brewing as your time together drew on. Thus he was quite surprised you had noticed his other antics, and he cleared his throat to swallow any lingering embarrassment before he answered your inquiry.

“To be quite honest, I’m unsure.” He thought he was slick with his lie, but you were more clever than that.

You were now seated among many other groups and pairs around a grand fire that had burned the bodies of offerings to Athena throughout the festival’s day; most in the city were gathered here now for the music being raised to the goddess from around the flame. Some hummed along, others sang outright, but most came to relax after the day’s end. You had kept your gaze upon the performers surrounding the fire for some time now, but you turned your eyes up to his own with his response. You were certain he could see the incredulous look within them paired with the reflection of the crackling, angry hues illuminating the cool night air that surrounded you. “You’re unsure? I don’t buy that.”

He blinked at you, unsure whether to roll his eyes and call you crazy or smirk at how quickly you caught on. He considered himself to have the tongue of a silver fox, but Diluc seemed to be a horrendous liar.

He considered your words before his own spilled forth. “Perhaps you shouldn’t; perhaps I am lying.” Diluc was testing the waters with this statement, both out of his own curiosity for your reactions due to the alcohol you had nursed all evening and because of one other factor: deep down, with enough interest, the god was quite the flirt.

“Perhaps you are. That would be my guess. It’s as if you’ve lost something that is imperative to get back. Athens is quite the paradise, you know; not many are so easily distracted from her beauty.” You reveled in the momentary reaction of surprise that he let slip past his neutral features. You smirked, for you knew you had guessed correctly, almost perfectly. His eyebrows raising slightly, his lips parting in the smallest of gasps, eyes going ever-so-wide with the surprise he was met with. He wasn’t angry that you had found him out, moreso impressed. The truth of the matter was Diluc had overestimated your drunkenness and underestimated your perceptiveness.

He chuckled, an incredulous half smile stealing the surprised blush from his cheeks as he faced the fire now. “Shocking. You’re an impeccable guesser. Have you considered this city’s pressing habit of gambling?” You shared a fit of giggles at his quip. He suddenly leaned closer to your ear as your laughter died down, breath fanning across the soft skin behind your ear. Your face filled with warmth at the proximity, anticipation gripping your lungs with baited breath as you awaited his next words. In a low whisper, he explained, “I am in search of a thief; he stole something of great symbolic importance to my mother, and I have come to your city and your celebration to retrieve it on a rumor that he would be attending. But in truth, I have not the slightest clue what form he has taken to disguise himself as.”

His words took some moments to process as one of his large hands now slipped up and down your thigh soothingly. You couldn’t recall the moment he had placed it there, but as soon as he did your head began swimming with thoughts of him and him alone. His words came secondhand to his touch in that instance. But when you processed them, particularly the wording of his final statement, it was as if all of the breath you were holding manifested itself into the sharpest yet most silent gasp you could muster. It was your turn to be shocked and surprised, for only divine beings could change their shapes. Only divine beings were known for chasing those they did not know, for only the gods and the like could recognize one another by mannerisms and auras alone.

His hand squeezed your thigh and he shushed you quietly at the sound of your gasp, his nose now nuzzled at your temple as he spoke. “I take it you haven’t seen the god Hermes in Athens recently, have you?” One hand flew to his wrist, the other to his forearm in any attempt to touch his skin with your own. He was driving you absolutely mad, goosebumps rising on every exposed part of you from the chilled night air clashing with the heat of the fire you sat so closely to. You had never encountered a god in your life prior to this, but you were absolutely certain that in that very moment, you were speaking with one there and then.

It took every ounce of strength within you to ask him the only question you could muster. “What is your name, Diluc?” An oxymoron of an inquiry, but if he were truly a god, Diluc was not his divine name. It was the one he had thought up when you first met, the one that had you pondering why he must pause before answering such a stupidly simple question. Your grasp upon him grew tighter as you hung upon his every word, eyes closed so that you could fully focus on him and only him. His touch, so soft and rhythmic at the skin now exposed by your robes slipping apart at their slit, his breath, warm and soft upon your cheek and down the column of your neck, and how his low voice rumbled his response directly into your ear.

“Deimos. Son of War and Love.” He was so clever and clear with his words you couldn’t help the faint laugh that escaped you, incredulous, breathy. He was already taking a large risk uttering his own name in a place where other gods could be lurking, but to utter the names of Ares and Aphrodite in Athens, a sacred city of Athena, during the Panathenaea, could have caused greater conflict between the gods than a mere stolen symbol. Of course you knew who he was, who his parents were, and why his identity must be kept a secret here. To speak the name of Aphrodite within Athens would be like asking for a war to ensue. The two goddesses had a longstanding hatred for one another for a plethora of reasons. Athena herself would smite you where you sat if you even dared utter it once. You knew this all for you were raised within the religion, taught from your very conception to show hospitality to any and all on the chance of this moment here and now. Any person or peoples who came to your doorstep could be a god. They could speak with you for a plethora of reasons, for mirth or pleasure or to obtain information or out of pure boredom. The gods did as they pleased, much to the dismay of one another, but within your beliefs provided your human existence and all of its necessities to you. Everything you knew, the air you breathed, belonged to the gods, belonged to Deimos. Diluc, you reminded yourself. He is Diluc to you.

You once more gathered your courage to speak to him, to now move yourself ever closer to him and his touch and his breath and his words. Turning your face toward him, your noses touched side by side. Your eyes were still glued shut, too consumed with nerves and lust to dare open them and face his own. “And why stay with me now? Why not continue your search?” If you were a mere inch closer, your lips would have brushed his own when you spoke.

You felt his chest rumble against your own in another chuckle. “You’ve become too interesting to abandon. I have millenia to search for that rascal; let me now rest with you, if only for the night.” Your eyes opened on their own accord to be met with a gaze so piercing with fascination that it filled your insides with warmth to the very core. His hand had snaked from your thigh with a gentle squeeze at the apex of your hip to rest around the curve of your waist, the other urging your hands up to his face by their wrists. All at once your heartbeat rushed blood into your ears, liquid courage mixing the heat of want within your belly as your trembling fingers stilled against the warmth of his cheeks. Nerves of embarrassment told you that people were going to stare, but nerves of anticipation told you not to care. Let them stare; plenty of other pairs found themselves caught in passion from the music and the flames. You wanted to fall victim to the moon’s call, but the craving for privacy overruled your unfiltered thoughts.

“If you’re ready to return home, I’ve some cherry wine I want you to savor with me, since you wish to humor my hospitality a little longer.” Gulping down your nervousness at last, you relaxed into his warm hands holding your body against his. He rested his forehead against yours as he pondered what he desired more in that moment: to have you here and now under the moon and its stars, or alone with sweetness on his tongue. He chose the latter, despite the rush of his own heart pleading for a kiss. With great dismay, he slowly pulled away to stand and offer you his hand to do the same. The trek back home had never dragged on for so long in all of your life.

“You seem to view Athens as a paradise, but do you hold any desire to leave?” His question was genuine, pushed through soft lips that only spoke after periods spent thinking logically before voicing his delicately created phrases.

You had returned to your home as briskly as you could, presenting your most prized bottle of cherry wine to share over conversation. It had started around the table, hip to hip, knee to knee, whispering as if your voices would let loose to the outside world the secrets you shared with one another, but now rested within your bed, him on his side, hovering over you ever so slightly, and you on your back, gazing up at him as if he were all of Elysium presented before you in the form of a vessel.

You blinked slowly, entranced firstly by his proximity and taking the pause to ponder your response, the alcohol in your system allowing you to fall pray easily to distractions. “Athens is known for its schools and music and art. I was born to a painter, my mother, and a philosopher, my father. I’ve tried my hand at it all—writing, singing, drawing—but none of the options I’m presented with here seem to suit me.” You watched his face closely as you spoke softly to answer his query. His gentle breaths fanned your face, his fiery hair down from its original ponytail to now frame his face and rest down his back and shoulders like a waterfall of flames. His eyes blinked between watching your lips as you spoke and gazing into your own with an intensity not of daggers anymore but of interest and intrigue. Your noses were mere inches apart, his body so close to being pressed against your own as his free hand that wasn’t supporting him up by the elbow cupped your face. How you became this close you couldn’t recall, but as you began to finish answering his question, all you could think of was that you wanted him closer, as close as you possibly could be. “Despite my education, I know nothing of this world because I haven’t lived within it. All I know is Athens, so if I don’t leave, perhaps it is all I will ever know.”

“The world is cruel,” he replied. “I would fear it might break you, but it seems your resolve is too strong. You wouldn’t allow it to touch you.” A faint smile graced his lips and the urge to capture them in a kiss, to bridge the gap between you, was so overwhelming in that moment. Your heart, racing as it always seemed to do when near him, was aching with yearn.

Kiss him. Kiss him you fool. Your eyes only watched his lips. “And what brings you to that conclusion?” Your hands, once resting at the apex of your chest, reached up slowly and shakily to grasp the robes upon his shoulders. You gripped onto the fabric to calm the small tremors caused by your hasty breath and fluttering heart. One hand feathered its way into his bangs, brushing them out of his eyes and behind his ear with the lightest touch you could muster. Touching him felt off-limits, as if you were admiring a sculpture and were instructed not to fiddle with it by its artist. But Diluc was real; his breaths, soft and warm on your face, his chest rising and falling steadily in sync with your own, grounded you in the moment.

“When I first spotted you across the plaza, you were staring back at me without fault. Your intensity outdid everyone else's but my own.” You shared a breathless chuckle at this. He inched his face closer, your hands rested around his neck. You fell into silence as your apprehension of one another slowly melted into courage, and as soon as you began to close your eyes his lips met your own.

You never knew what it was like to kiss another being, but you were certain his kisses were divine when held against all others. He was gentle, at first, as your bodies relaxed into the mattress and his muscular form finally lay flush against your own, the hand cupping your face sliding to the back of your head, caressing your cheekbone lightly during its retreat. He held you as if you were fragile, yet firmly as if you would fall through the floorboards and out of his grasp. His lips tasted of the wine fermented from tart cherries and sweet grapes you had shared earlier; everything about him in that moment became your own personal nectar from the gods.

You kissed him deeper, your arms once looped around his neck now shifting to cup his face within your palms, his jaw resting along your pinkies. His skin against your own was warm and soft and electric, a sensation almost as addicting as his kisses. As you parted for air, breaths panting against one another’s, he rested his forehead against your own. There it was again, that uncontrollable grin spreading across your face, except there was no object to hide it behind this time. And this time, it was paired with kiss-swollen lips and a flushed visage.

His position shifted to hover above you as his forearms rested on either side of your head and his knees pressed flush against your hips. Here your hands roamed his face, his hair, his shoulders, his chest; any and every piece of his skin and hair your hands could reach were yours to explore. He studied your face as you did this, peppering light kisses here and there above your eyebrows, along your nose bridge, slowly down your neck. It was quiet save for your stuttered breathing, peaceful save for the lustful mess he was making of you. You were so lost in his touch and his kisses that his serene voice calling out to you by name could barely pull you from your thoughts that were riddled with him and him alone.

Your eyes met him with full attention as he whispered to you, “What is it you want of me?”

You answered without hesitation, “All that you’re willing to give. You have my full permissions as long as I have yours.”

His lips went back to your own with your words. His kisses were deeper, more fervent as if they were trying to draw you closer than you already were. He was nervous to relax his hips against your own before, but with your outright consent, his body moved more freely now. You had spent the day admiring him, lusting over him, so the friction created by your legs wrapping around his waist and his growing cock pressing against your cunt was greatly welcomed. It left you inhaling sharply against the kisses you shared, gripping at his shoulders as your hips moved in slow rolls against one another’s.

Nothing else mattered more to either of you in this moment. No god or city could keep the magnetism he somehow possessed from drawing you into its charge. He was providing you with sensations you had never felt before, an electricity of warmth shooting throughout your limbs at every press of his hips into your own. Everything was entirely too hot, too much in the best way they possibly could be. You were squirming in his hold in a desperate attempt to slip the robes from your shoulders, to feel the heat that radiated off of him in salt waves in the entirety of their ocean.

Diluc seemed to understand your wants; his robe was already halfway down his shoulders from your wandering hands. He pulled away from the kisses, slowly, languidly, a string of saliva connecting your lips to his causing the heat in your face to deepen at the sight. His large, calloused palms soothed down your arms, dragging your robes along with the caresses. Your chest was now exposed to the open air, nipples pebbled from the cool night air and the arousal his touch brought you.

The look in his eyes as he gazed upon your body was like you were something anew, like your mere existence graced breath into his lungs and granted his heart the ability to beat. Stars sparkled in his pupils and an awestruck sigh escaped him. You knew the gods to be insatiable beings who used their titles to seduce women and men alike, but something Diluc said earlier into your night together struck you now with how he regarded you beneath him.

“Do you have any offspring?” you inquired, twirling one of his long crimson locks that had escaped past the curtain of his shoulders around your index finger.

He smiled softly at your question, somberly almost, before answering with an almost immediate finality. “No. I have had very few interactions with humans.”

You wanted to know what drew him into you. A god showing such interest in you was flattering, but seduction from a deity usually meant the need to produce a legacy. Diluc had been nothing but kind to you, accepting and reciprocating of your advances, but if ulterior motives were at play, you needed to halt the feral beating of your heart and the slick building between your thighs.

Diluc smoothed the wrinkle that had formed between your eyebrows as you pondered his response. He chuckled as you looked slightly startled by the touch, having been too lost in thought to notice how long of a lull in the conversation had emerged.

“What is it?” he encouraged, brushing his hand across your forehead before placing a whisper of a kiss where his thumb once resided.

Your eyes wavered as you considered voicing your concerns. The anxiety of the possibility of all of this being a trick to bed and breed you sloshed in the pit of your stomach, even sent a slight tremble into your hands.

“I can’t seem to fully comprehend you.”

Diluc felt this anxiety, but he had not been the one to cause it. He knew he couldn’t just take it away, because in doing so would only brew it forth again in an overflowing kettle of confusion. Only reassuring words could cool the bubbling nervousness within you.

“I do not wish for children. Not with a mortal, nor with a god.” The frown that tugged the corners of your lips gently downwards disappeared as he began. This made him inhale, albeit shakily, before opening up his own anxieties unto you. “Having a child with a human would be painful. The other parent will die and the child would only serve as a reminder of their existence. It makes that heartache twice as prominent.” You hummed in acknowledgement of his words. “Having a child with a god would only cause more chaos amongst us.” He chuckled at this, and you returned one to him, gracing his ears with an indicator that your anxiety was fading.

“Most gods are disloyal and selfish. They see human life as a nuisance. Very few mourn them when they’re gone.”

“Do you?”

Your question struck him like a blow to the back, one that makes the air hide from your lungs in a manner that takes all too long to find again. Diluc knew himself to be selfish; if he is wronged he will hold onto that hurt until the end of time. But he is not cruel, he does not retaliate out of that selfishness. You somehow felt this truth though he did not utter it into existence.

“No, not often.”

“But you have?” You did not want to admit this, not even to yourself, but you pressed these questions with the implications of your own mortality. If you were so captivating, would Diluc mourn you when you descended down into Hades?

“Yes. I think human life is a gift for gods to mold.” Diluc saw satisfaction within you from these responses. Every word was truth.

This truth reflected now in his pupils, blown wide and round in admiration and lust. The allure of your soft skin made his hands more bold as they palmed your breasts. A soft moan from you followed his touch, for no one had seen you, held you in this manner before. The foreign feelings were welcomed because they were being created by him, and the sight of him alone now washed comfort where dread once resided.

Diluc wished to hear anything and everything he could from you. Paired with his desire to feel all he could, his lips kissed from your lips to your chin and down the column of your throat, trailing his tongue over where your breasts swelled from lying down. One hand continued to palm at your right breast as his lips sealed around your left nipple. You moaned, louder this time, the sensation both strange yet heavenly as he suckled lightly. A flick of his tongue sent your back arching into him, hands scrambling to press him further against you by the back of his neck. His now free hand smoothed up your back, supporting you from between your shoulder blades.

His hands were so large and, despite their millenia of existence with littered scars and calluses to prove this, they were soft and gentle, moving with the beating of his heart sewn into their warmth. You couldn’t help but whine his name as he stopped his ministrations on your left breast, but a breath of a laugh at your displeasure fanned across the goose flesh raised on your skin as he switched to your right breast, free hand sneaking your robes further down your form.

His lips all too soon followed the fabric, kissing down to your naval where he dared soft love bites upon the flesh of your tummy. The sensation of his teeth grazing softly against your skin tickled more than anything, causing soft giggles to mix into your moans. He smiled at this, however small, looking up at you now from the apex in between your thighs.

You met his gaze, admired the wild blush that stretched from his cheeks to the tips of his ears down his kiss-bruised neck and chest. The sight alone made you long to clench your thighs together for any form of friction at your disposal, but his hands now cupped your inner thighs, holding them apart with just enough force to halt the action.

Another subtly frustrated whine met Diluc’s ears as he freed a hand to rid you completely of your garments. “Needy little thing,” he purred as he kissed and licked at your inner thighs, hands massaging and squeezing the flesh as he moved your knees over his shoulders.

Your lip trembled at his quip. “Just…” He blew softly against your folds, causing a shiver to frost up your spine. “Just need you. Please.” And who was this god to deny you? Diluc believed you to be the peak of what humanity could be as he observed you during the night’s outing, how you shared the food and drink you purchased with anyone who asked. How you played along with the children who approached and the stray dogs begging for the kind attention you granted your fellow humans. How you took in his aura meant to deter any unwanted bystanders during his search for the fucker that was Hermes yet couldn’t bring yourself to look away. He would be cruel to deny you now after he’s built you up and holds you fragile in his palms, and Diluc was not a cruel god.

His lips met your clit in a sloppy kiss before his tongue flattened up your folds up to the pulsing bud. Your walls fluttered around nothing, a moan of newfound pleasure harmonizing with the groan Diluc relented at the taste of you swirling on his taste buds. He continued to lick at the slick before sucking softly on your clit, causing your thighs to tremble and clench around his head. His hands, hooked around your thighs, soothed them apart ever so slightly so that the moans you produced would not fall on muffled ears.

His mouth slipped from your clit to his tongue pushing past the lips of your cunny into your warmth, the loss of friction and foreign sensation sending your hips bucking up against his mouth. His hands slipped down to your hips now, grip the slightest bit forceful if only to hold you in place as he pleased you.

“Be still for me. I’ve got you.” Your eyes shined with the conviction behind his words, his touch.

His tongue began lapping in and out of you, coating the corners of his mouth and his chin in your shine. With a return to your clit and a few more forceful sucks and circling on his tongue there, your orgasm washed over you with grace.

Toes curling and eyes fluttered shut at the sensation, relief in its purest form spread from its roots in your stomach throughout your veins in a heat that was just as cool as it was blistering. Diluc softened his actions but still proceeded, helping you ride out your first high from pleasure, until the hands that tangled in his hair pushed at his cheeks with whimpers of the beginnings of overstimulation.

“You did so well for me, darling,” he praised. His voice was slightly gravelled with lust. “How does it feel?”

“Like divinity,” you whispered through labored breathing. A hand now caressed his cheek, and he grasped it within his own to place a kiss upon your palm.

Diluc leaned back up to meet you face to face, robes now discarded as well, allowing you sight of his hard cock pressed along your folds. Desire began to course through you once more as he kissed you with fervor, tasting yourself on his tongue, causing you to moan as his hips collected your growing slick along his shaft.

The anticipation of having him inside of you was outweighing the anxiety of the discomfort that was sure to emerge initially. The way your hands gripped his forearms, his biceps, conveyed to him unspoken pleas. Be gentle. Be kind. Be mine.

Diluc’s hands cupped your face, eyes searching yours for any sliver of dread he could find. “How many lovers have you bewitched, such as myself?” A grin spread across both of your cheeks with his love-soaked words.

“Just one.” His eyebrows raised and lips parted to inquire further, but you cut him off with reassurance. “He beholds me now.” You giggled at his sigh of relief. Diluc cared not for virginity, nor measured purity of heart by such an abstract thing. He just did not think he could take it if he found any other man had abandoned the beauty he now found himself above.

His tip now aligned with your entrance, shining with your slick in the vanilla candelight. “Breathe for me,” he uttered, and with a hand still cradling your face and the other grasping his length, he entered you. You sucked in a harsh breath at the stretch, a painful burn following as he slowly moved toward fitting inside you entirely. You remembered his words, breathing as deep as you could, inhaling the lingering scent of firewood on his skin and wine on his breath. It took some time, some halting his movements from your trembling hand on his chest, some moving again as you uttered his clearance to do so.

When he finally reached the hilt, hips flush against your own, you moaned deeply against one another’s panting mouths. Diluc squeezed his eyes shut at the sensation of your heat in its entirety. “Perfection…” he gasped. “I have never felt such perfection.”

Your eyes took the time to wander while his were closed. The burning sensation of before was fading fast, and you awed at the revelation of your connection, proven by where his pelvis hit snug against your own. Your gaze slowly travelled up his toned stomach where a thin trail of crimson stopped at his naval, then up his scarred and sun-freckled chest to find deep, brown eyes already staring back at you when you returned to them.

You were crying, you realized, silent tears from the initial discomfort, that his thumbs swiped away as soon as they crystallized at your lashes. “Tell me what you need. Is this too much?”

Your hands caressed down his sides then up his back, cradling his chest against your own. “No, no,” you stuttered. “Yes, just…please move.”

His lips pecked your own, quirking a smirk in one corner at the desperation your urgent words conveyed. “As you wish, dove.” The nickname had the butterflies in your tummy fluttering aggressively, desperate to break free of you in search of purchase in Diluc’s ruby hair as a decoration of the effect his mere existence had on you.

He took one of your legs wrapped around his waist and slid it up and over his shoulder, leaving a kiss to your ankle. He pulled back to push back into you almost just as slowly as before, but this time he somehow fit deeper within you. The moan you both released as he began his movement was loud and unfiltered. He was drawn into you again and again, pace picking up quickly but not harshly, your hips jutting to circle in time with his thrusts.

One of your hands went searching for his own and you intertwined your fingers as he lavished you. He brought your hands up to his lips, kissing each of your knuckles between groans and panted breath, admiring the sight below him through it all.

“Diluc, I need you.” There was this ache in your chest that you couldn’t describe. He was right in front of you, as close to you as he possibly could be without merging his being with your own. So what had your eyes pricking with tears and voice cracking at your declaration?

He shushed your sniffles and shifted where his nose brushed against your own. “You have me, darling. Why do you fret?” His hand intertwined with your own pleaded this, grounding you as the pleasure built and built. This ache in your chest spurred the same tautness in your muscles as before, but it didn’t relent into euphoria so quickly this time.

Diluc could feel this, he felt your walls reacting to his words and his touch as his thrusts got sloppy from his own building pleasure. However, a shift in his hips sent a thrust too deep and a high pitched yelp escaped you, a bump to your sensitive cervix causing you to shift up the bed to escape the jolting shot of pain the contact caused. Diluc’s eyes grew wide with your reaction, cursing under his breath before halting his movements entirely. He called your name and tried to exit you, but you kept him where he was with a tight leg around his hips.

“I’m so sorry. Are you alright?” He continued a string of curses and apologies as he smoothed down your hair and gazed at you with worried eyes. You nodded, encouraging him to move again by grinding your hips against his own. The friction the movement provided your clit caused moans to ensue from you once more, allowing Diluc the courage to slowly begin once more. He brought one hand down to your clit, thumb beginning pressured circles that built you up much faster than his languid thrusts alone.

“Diluc, please, I’m almost there, I’m-” A more angled thrust cut off your frantic words as the tip of cock hit a spot within you that had you throwing your head back against the pillows and your eyes crossing, stars dotting your vision as he continued to hit that textured spot repeatedly.

He kissed you hard and deep as he came, head spinning as warmth spread within you as his form shuddered above you. This sensation paired with his thumb circling hearts against your clit sent you reeling, coming undone so intensely it had your vision blurring as loud, cracked moans escaped your raw throat.

Diluc kissed your temple, lips lingering the sweat-sheened skin there as you both caught your breath. You stayed tangled within one another for another moment until he pulled out with a hiss, cock twitching as his cum began dripping out of your puffy, reddened folds.

“I think your mother has cursed you.” He glanced at you with slight confusion as you chuckled at your own words. “She must have; I’ve barely known you yet I am so in love with you it’s causing my heart to break.” You smiled, melancholy and adoring, watching his handsome features shifted from confusion to understanding.

“Perhaps,” he mused along, settling between your legs with a small smile and wrapping his arms around your waist. “Or perhaps she has blessed you with the ability to seduce any man you so choose.”

“Even a god?” you quipped.

“Even so.”

That was not the last time you made love that night, but it would be the final night you were to see him. In the moments you shared, you knew not of this. Mortal optimism coaxed forth daydreams of a life with Diluc, perhaps changing his mind about children and why he did not want them. Mortality was not the only reminder children served; they shared the parent’s memory in their own aspects and existence.No words could convince such a thing of him, however. One night was not enough to ground the god from his lonely eternity.

“Stay with me,” you urged, voice drowsy as sleep called out for you. Diluc said nothing, merely kissed your forehead and nestled into the covers with you in his arms as you dozed off.

As you slept soundly against him, he kissed the top of your head and mumbled a promise to you within your dreamland. “The day you die, I will come find you. I will relieve you of any fear you have of death before you go.” Diluc knew Hades, knew he was a kind man despite their juxtaposition, knew he would take care of you when he could not.

When you awoke the next morning, chilled from the emptiness in your bed, your mind told you it was all a dream, but the empty bottle of cherry wine on your table with two chalices beside it revealed otherwise.

property of gojotron 2022; do not repost my works on this cite or others. do not translate my works.

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