Work Text:
Jaehyun has fought two wars, countless battles between monsters, humans and gods alike and highschool. If he has survived all of that, he could survive anything.
Anything except three days of radio silence from his boyfriend.
“Why don’t you just go talk to him?” Johnny says exasperatedly. He releases an arrow and it hits the target with a thack!, landing right at the edge of the bullseye.
Jaehyun breathes in and exhales, firing his arrow to the center of the small red circle. “I know Doyoung. He would come to me when he’s ready to talk.”
“Then why are you whining to me,” Johnny grumbles, grabbing another arrow to launch. “I love romance but I’m sick of listening to your poems about his hands.”
“Our arguments never last this long,” Jaehyun says, ignoring the last remark and then frowns. “It’s never been this serious either.”
He chews on his lips, twisting the hem of his slightly faded Camp Half-Blood shirt while his thoughts race a mile a minute, tangled and messy. It’s times like these where Jaehyun wishes he could just easily say what’s on his mind like his father, Apollo.
Finally, Jaehyun confesses.“I’m just worried he might break up with me.”
Johnny lowers his bow down to scoff and raises his eyebrows in surprise. “You and Doyoung? That’s like saying Percy and Annabeth are going to break-up. It’s never going to happen, you guys are a done deal.”
“You don’t know how bad our fight was, Johnny. It was horrible.”
Johnny clasps his hand on Jaehyun’s shoulder. “All the more reason for you to go and talk to him.”
Jaehyun knows that he should have taken Johnny’s advice. After all, the older is a child of Aphrodite so he must be well-versed in relationships. But Jaehyun is a coward. He knows that once he goes up to Doyoung, he will come back a single, lonely man. Jaehyun will live the rest of his life all by himself with his pegasus, Peaches, writing depressing, heartbroken songs about his first and last love. The future is looking rather bleak.
To make up for his Doyoung-less days, he spends more time helping around the camp with repairs. The final battle against Gaea and her cronies, the Siege of Camp Half-Blood, had taken quite a toll on the camp. Cabins were destroyed, the dining pavilion was scorched and the Big House was missing a large chunk of its ceiling. However, the damage to the camp could never compare to the emotional pain the campers were feeling.
So many friends and family members were lost that day. People they have known for years, gone by cruel and brutal deaths. It isn’t fair, but that’s the life of a demigod. Nothing is ever fair.
Renjun, a son of Iris, runs up to him while Jaehyun is handing a drill to a cyclops rebuilding his cabin’s wall. He reports that Donghyuck hasn’t shown up to any activities today and that no one else has seen the boy. Like a good friend, he’s worried.
Jaehyun ruffles the younger’s hair. “Thank you for telling me, Renjun. I’ll go find him.” He waves goodbye to the cyclops who didn’t really need his help anyways, and leaves to search for his brother. It’s not a hard task. Donghyuck always goes to the same place when he wants to be by himself and it is Jaehyun’s luck that he knows exactly where it is.
He reaches the end of the beach where the soft sand becomes rocks. Jaehyun finds Donghyuck sitting with his knees pulled into his chest, silently staring at the crashing blue waves. He sits down beside him and together they watch the water go up and down the shore.
Breaking the silence, Jaehyun asks softly, “Are you okay, Donghyuck?”
The boy doesn’t reply right away. It’s quiet for a few minutes until he hears a whispered, “No.”
“Do you wanna talk about it?”
Jaehyun watches Donghyuck’s throat bob up and down. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Donghyuck’s eyes glisten and Jaehyun adds on, “But it might make you feel better if you do.”
The boy’s fluffy brown hair bounces up and down from his staggering nod. It’s silent again, the crash of the waves the only sound between them, until Donghyuck croakes out, “I just miss them. When I’m in bed, I look next to me and expect to see Jisung there but…” He trails off and blinks rapidly, tucking his face between his arms.
Jaehyun swallows. It had been hard learning that one of their youngest siblings had died. It is even harder knowing that someone as young as Donghyuck is already experiencing this pain.
Jaehyun takes a few moments to compose his thoughts. “I miss them too, all of them. There doesn’t go a day where I don’t think of Jisung randomly dancing everywhere or waking up to Xiaojun singing High School Musical loudly at 3AM.”
“He would have made the perfect Gabriella,” Donghyuck says sadly.
“But I don’t think they would want us to mourn forever. They would want us to keep moving, just like the ocean. No matter what it encounters, no matter how life treats it, the ocean will move smoothly again and again.”
Donghyuck snorts, a light giggle escaping from his lips. “You sound like dad.”
Jaehyun rolls his eyes and smiles at the younger’s brightening mood. “Yeah, but at least it sounded good.” They cringe at the thought of their father’s rather terrible metaphors and laugh at how similar their reaction was.
“Now, we just have to try and live our lives to the fullest and spend it with our loved ones as much as possible. For them,” Jaehyun finishes. He gives himself a mental pat on the back for cheering up his brother.
Donghyuck twists his face at his words and points at him accusingly. “Then why have you and Doyoung been avoiding each other for days now?”
Jaehyun gasps, “You know about that?”
“I could hear you singing “When I Was Your Man” in the saddest way possible from across the cabin for three days straight. Plus you guys are always with each other.” Donghyuck crosses his arms and frowns. “You can’t just say to spend my life with my loved ones and then don’t talk to your boyfriend. You’re being a hypocrite.”
“Well, it’s different.” Jaehyun says defensively.
“How?”
“It just is!” It’s really not, he’s just a coward.
“Fine. How about this, if you don’t talk to Doyoung right now, then I’m going to mourn forever,” Donghyuck declares.
Jaehyun knows exactly what his little brother is doing and sighs in defeat, “You’re evil, Hyuckie.”
The boy shrugs and looks back to the ocean, the water reflecting back onto his eyes. “Everyone needs a little push sometimes.”
Finding his boyfriend is easier said than done. Being a child of Athena, Doyoung is smarter than most and he has used that to his own advantage. Jaehyun has looked through almost the entire camp but not one person could tell him where Doyoung is. Perhaps he has threatened everyone to not share his whereabouts; it sounds like something his boyfriend would do.
There is only one person who could possibly know where Doyoung is and he is just behind these doors. Cabin 20, one of the more recently built cabins, is made of stones inscripted with glowing magical spells. It is rumored to turn everyone within a 800 mile radius into trees if a stone ever happened to fall.
This knowledge does nothing to ease Jaehyun’s worries. With a nervous breath, he steps forward and knocks.
“Jaehyun? What are you doing here?” Kun asks in surprise. The total number of times Jaehyun has gone to Hecate’s cabin can be counted with one hand.
“Um, is Taeyong inside?”
“Yeah, he’s upstairs. Do you wanna come in?” Kun politely offers, opening the door wider. Jaehyun stiffly nods and steps inside.
Today, the living area is magically changed into a gym. Equipment is scattered everywhere surrounding Yukhei, son of Ares, and Yuta, Hermes’ child, who are in a very intense match of arm-wrestling while Shotaro and Sungchan watch from the sidelines cheering them on. He nods to them as he walks to the back of the room where a narrow staircase is.
With each step he takes, Jaehyun can hear his heart speed up. It’s not that he and Taeyong are on bad terms or anything like that, but he is Doyoung’s best and oldest friend which means he’s extra protective over him.
Once he reaches the top, he easily spots the older one laying on his bed using one of the enchanted phones, specifically tailored for demigods, to listen to music. Soft piano keys fill the room while pastel pink petals, controlled by Taeyong, dance in the air.
“So you’re finally here, huh.” Taeyong continues making the petals sway, not once looking in Jaehyun’s direction.
“Yes,” Jaehyun responds and waits for Taeyong to say anything else. He doesn’t. “Do you know where Doyoung is?”
“I do.”
“Can you tell me where he is?”
“Why should I?”
“I need to talk to him.”
Taeyong suddenly sits up, the petals falling to the floor. “So he can cry again?” His face is stony; the usually cheerful, amicable boy is pissed off. “You and I both know that Doyoung rarely cries.”
Jaehyun breaks eye contact, looking off to the side. That night, seeing the person who hates to show weakness cry because of him had felt like a heavy boulder was placed on his chest, only sinking deeper and deeper inside with each passing second.
“Please Taeyong, just tell me where he is.”
Taeyong studies Jaehyun, his eyes changing colors with each thought that runs through his mind. After what feels like hours, he eventually sighs and his eyes settle into a deep shade of blue. “Fine.”
Jaehyun perks up and grins, “Really? Thank yo—”
“I like you, Jaehyun. You’re a good friend and you treat Doyoung well, so I know both of you will get through this.” He gets up and despite being several inches shorter than Jaehyun, it almost seems like he’s looming over him. The room gets colder and the magical energy crackles around them. Taeyong’s eyes glow a fiery red. “However, if you hurt Doyoung again, I won’t be as nice.”
Ever since the Battle of Labyrinth, the campers have strayed far away from Zeus’ Fist. Once a popular spot for Capture the Flag, it is said to be cursed after Kampê was killed and no one had been crazy enough to stay and find out if it was true or not.
Until now.
Jaehyun finds him sitting on the very top of the rocks, swinging his feet, eyes closed as he bathes in the sunlight. Wearing the usual orange t-shirt and jeans, he looks beautiful as always.
“Doyoung,” Jaehyun calls.
Doyoung looks down, not appearing the slightest bit surprised at seeing his boyfriend. He doesn’t make an effort to move from his spot, resignation clear in his body language. Jaehyun takes that as a sign to climb, huffing his way up until he sits next to the other.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I missed you.”
Doyoung snorts. “It’s only been like three days.”
“Three terribly long days,” Jaehyun pouts and Doyoung merely hums in response.
An awkward silence grows between them. Should he bring up their last conversation? Or maybe start with something more neutral? The weather? No, the weather is always bright and sunny here. What about—
“I’m sorry.” Jaehyun blinks in surprise. Not once has he ever heard Doyoung utter those words, he has always been far too prideful to say it. Instead, kisses and cuddles are his usual methods.
“I’m sorry for how I acted last time. I shouldn’t have yelled and then avoided you for days, however,” he purses his lips. “I still do stand by what I said.”
Memories of that night flood into Jaehyun’s mind. The two of them slipping away from the campfire dinner to take a walk on the beach. It had been a nice night, the ocean breeze blowing gently on their faces while the moonlight guided their way. It was nice until Doyoung had brought up their future, casually, as if they were already on the same page.
They weren’t.
And Jaehyun loves Doyoung, he really does, but he won’t go down without a fight. “You want us to move all the way to Camp Jupiter?” He says, still in disbelief.
“It’s safer for us, Jaehyun,” Doyoung argues.
“Camp Half-Blood was supposed to be the safest place for us and look what happened,” Jaehyun counters. “This is finally our chance at a normal life together.”
“You saw New Rome, Jaehyun. They were able to live long enough to be parents, even grandparents. We wouldn’t have that same luxury, it’ll just be us against the world.”
“It’s possible though,” Jaehyun says, frustration spilling into his voice. “Plenty of demigods have lived long lives, why are you so sure it won’t be us?”
“Plenty more demigods have died out there too,” Doyoung points out.
Jaehyun closes his eyes, brows furrowing. “I’ve been spending years outside the camp with my mom and I’m fine, right? There’s so much we could see and experience, Doyoung. We’ll never be able to—”
“You don’t understand, Jaehyun!”
Jaehyun turns to find Doyoung clenching his fists, eyes brimming with tears and ready to run.
The deja-vu hits him hard. Their last conversation was much more intense, the days apart cooling their anger a bit, but this was exactly how it last played out, Doyoung yelling at him with shiny eyes, freezing then running away while Jaehyun stood in shock, letting him go.
Not this time.
He grabs the older’s hand, tugging Doyoung closer to him. “Then make me understand. Please, stop running and tell me what’s going through your mind.”
Doyoung’s stormy gray eyes search into his own and Jaehyun sees the emotions flicker on his face, going from guilt, to sadness and finally pain. “Please, Doyoung.”
Doyoung doesn’t say anything at first, teary eyes sweeping over Jaehyun’s face as if he is memorizing every single little detail. Then, voice wavering, he chokes out, “I can’t lose you, Jaehyun.”
“You won’t,” Jaehyun says immediately.
“I couldn’t save my dad—”
“You were just a kid.”
“My brothers. My sisters. My friends.” Doyoung grabs Jaehyun’s other hand and holds it to his chest, right over his heart. “I can’t risk losing you too, Jaehyun.” He slumps, shoulders sagging. “I can’t.”
Doyoung is strong, he is confident and fierce, but right now Jaehyun’s heart breaks at how vulnerable he looks.
“Doyoung,” he strokes the back of his hands with his thumbs. “We can’t run away and hide in fear for the rest of our lives, sometimes we have to take the chance.”
“And if that chance kills us?”
“I’ll fight Hades myself to let us out.”
His boyfriend looks down and in a small voice he asks, “Are you not scared?”
“I am,” he admits, squeezing the older’s hands. “I’m terrified of losing you, Doyoung.”
Jaehyun pauses.
“But even if the odds are against us, life is about taking chances and that small possibility of being out there in the world, happy with you, is a chance I’ll take.”
“Jaehyun,” Doyoung breathes.
“Look, we don’t have to make a decision right now. We have time.” Jaehyun slips his hands out of Doyoung’s grasp, sliding up his arms to cup his face. “Whether we live in Camp Jupiter or not, whether we take that chance or not, I’ll be fine with it as long as we decide together.”
Doyoung flinches at the last word and wraps his arms around Jaehyun’s waist, murmuring into his neck, voice filled with guilt, “I’m sorry, Jae.” He doesn’t say anything else, but this time Jaehyun doesn’t need him to.
Jaehyun gives a soft kiss to his temple. “Don’t be. I know what you were trying to do now and all I ask for you is to not bottle it up next time; tell me what goes on in that beautiful, wrinkly brain of yours.”
Jaehyun can’t see Doyoung’s face but he knows that his boyfriend rolled his eyes at that last comment. He does, however, feel the weak chuckle from him and he smiles victoriously.
They stand together like that, holding one another; the stress and tension that he has had for the past three days melts easily and he can feel Doyoung’s body relax in his arms. In the distance, bronze clashing against bronze and campers’ chatter can be heard but here, in their little bubble, it feels like the world has stopped.
Finally, Jaehyun pecks his temple once more and pulls away.
“So we’re good now? Still boyfriends?”
“Our first serious fight is not going to be the end of us. It did the opposite, really.” Doyoung smiles, small but genuine, as he continues, “But yeah, we’re good.”
“Perfect, because I would love to have some makeup kisses now. Preferably not here, though, it’s giving me weird vibes,” Jaehyun wrinkles his nose. “Wanna go to the strawberry fields?”
Doyoung laughs brightly, breaking out his signature gummy smile. “Sure.” He immediately leaps and scales down Zeus’ Fist, cackling at Jaehyun’s sputters of surprise. “You’ll have to beat me there, though!”
“You’re cheating!” Jaehyun cries out as he follows his boyfriend down, laughing at how Doyoung glares at each rock he stumbles on.
Their conversation is far from over. It will take many long discussions before they reach a final decision. After all, there’s no changing the fact that being a demigod is dangerous. Monsters could be hidden at any corner, ready to pounce, but as Jaehyun watches Doyoung do a little happy dance once he reaches the bottom and feels his heart grow warmer, he knows that whatever happens, it will be worth it.