Chapter Text
The summer starts off like any other: with Jisung screaming as he falls down the lava rock climbing wall. The only difference is, he takes someone else out along the way this time. They fall onto the ground together, a mess of limbs and scrapes.
Jisung laughs in-between a groan of pain. “Shit. Sorry about that.”
He pulls himself up his feet, swatting at his camp shirt. The edge of it is singed from the lava. He frowns, annoyed.
Shaking himself out of it, he looks down towards the other camper. He holds out his hand, and says, “You’re new, aren’t you? I just came in this morning, so we haven’t had a chance to meet.”
The boy blinks, like he’s still in a daze. Jisung doesn’t know when he arrived at camp, but it feels too soon for him to be scaling the lava rock climbing wall.
“Um. Yeah. I’m Felix,” he responds, smiling awkwardly.
“Oh!” Jisung reaches forward to pat out a few lingering flames near Felix’s t-shirt sleeve, and notices the freckles lining his cheeks. “Just a bit of smoke. No worries.”
Jisung feels woozy. Maybe it’s the smoke inhalation. Maybe it’s the insanely cute camper in front of him. There’s literally no way to tell—Jisung is always high-strung and running on the last throes of an energy drink or coffee. At this point, it could just be the three shot espresso he drank earlier.
“Oh yeah, no big deal,” Felix says nervously. “I am clearly very experienced with lava, if you couldn’t tell.” He manages a smile again, but it’s a real one this time—it makes Jisung feel distinctly warm.
Jisung decides to match it with one of his own, slinging an arm around Felix’s shoulder and setting off far, far away from the lava wall. “Can’t you tell I’m an expert? I can teach you, if you want.”
Felix laughs at that, no longer appearing nervous or unsteady. Jisung’s heart flip-flops a bit, and he has enough time to think, uh-oh.
—
“Psst.” Jisung flicks his pencil at Changbin, who scowls. “Were you here when Felix showed up?”
Changbin narrows his eyes. “You do realize we’re in the middle of our Monsters 101 class, right? Like, there’s a whole lecture going on. I’m taking notes.”
“I am literally begging you to stop calling it Monsters 101,” Jisung pleads, trying to keep his voice at a whisper. He technically doesn’t need to be learning about monsters, but he likes pestering Changbin. “You’re so embarrassing.”
From the front of the room: “I’m sorry, were you perhaps volunteering to be on stable-duty tonight? Maybe you want to clean the dishes after dinner?”
Changbin snickers. Jisung immediately sits back up in his seat, glancing back to the rest of the room to find everyone’s eyes on him.
“No, ma’am. Not at all,” he says confidently, flashing his award-winning smile. “My bad.”
—
Jisung blinks, and the illusion melts.
“You’ve gotten really good at this,” Changbin remarks.
Minho shrugs, taking a seat next to him—hands folded behind his head, eyes on Changbin. “It’s easy once you figure out what people want to see.”
Jisung sighs dramatically. “I wanna see the cute new camper,” he says woefully.
“You don’t need me to manipulate the Mist for that…” Minho reminds him. He says it slowly, like Jisung’s stupid. “He’s literally in the Hermes cabin as we speak.”
Jisung flops onto his back, the grass cool to the touch underneath him. The sky is a clear blue as always, with the sun watching over them safely.
“Yeah, but I don’t have the guts to show up knocking on the Hermes cabin. I’d probably leave with a bruised ego and a newfound phobia,” Jisung laments. He can see fluffy white clouds crowding around the camp’s borders, like they’re stopped by an invisible barrier. (They are, but Jisung is astounded by it each time he comes back to camp).
“From getting rejected or from falling for another prank?” Changbin snickers. Even Minho laughs this time, nudging Changbin from where they’re sitting next to each other.
Jisung sits up to glare at them. “Laugh all you want—don’t think I haven’t noticed you guys avoiding the place like the rest of the camp.”
“I have no business with the Hermes cabin,” Minho says stoically, and Changbin repeats the sentiment. “Although, I did trick Hyunjin—back when he wasn’t claimed—into—” Minho giggles, gesturing with his hands.
Jisung raises an eyebrow, and even Changbin looks mildly intrigued.
“Oh no,” comes from behind them. Hyunjin has a funny way of showing up at the perfect moment, such as right now. He comes to a stop in front of Minho, pointing his finger accusingly at him. “You swore you wouldn’t tell anyone.”
“Not on the River Styx,” Minho taunts, sticking his tongue out.
Hyunjin doesn’t have much of a reaction to that. He pushes his hair back with his hand, flopping down next to Jisung. “Don’t make me get it out of you. I have my ways.”
Minho sighs. “How cute. You think you can scare me.”
“I’ve been training,” Hyunjin warns. “Ask Jisung.”
Jisung coughs, avoiding both Minho and Hyunjin’s gazes, pretending to not know anything.
Hyunjin knocks into his shoulder, muttering, “Asshole,” under his breath.
Jisung grins. “I’m just messing with you. He keeps showing up during the school year for tips. Thinks I know everything just because Poseidon gave me a few powers.”
“You invited me to come!” Hyunjin protests. “You literally showed off the entire time, and you’re not even the one who swims competitively.”
Jisung clutches a hand to his chest in exaggerated mock-horror. “I took you under my wing,” he says, pretending to get all choked up, “and this is how you repay me?
“I am begging literally anyone in the nearby vicinity to shut him up,” Changbin deadpans. “He will not shut up until someone knocks him around a good bit.”
Minho starts swinging his arm, and Jisung can’t tell if he’s pretending to warm up for a punch or if he’s dead serious.
He scrambles to his feet, threatening, “I’ll set loose the Hermes kids on you!” A burst of water explodes from the ground a split second later, thoroughly drenching both Minho and Changbin, who, in Jisung’s defense, was only a victim because he sticks to Minho’s side like freakin’ velcro.
Jisung smiles sheepishly.
“Truce?” he tries, figuring he might as well give it a shot. Chiron will raise hell on him if he causes any more chaos on his first day back, but he thinks it’s a little too late to de-escalate the situation.
—
Granted, it’s not the first time Jisung has gotten stuck with cleaning the stables as a punishment. He really wishes it was, but he does tend to cause more trouble than he bargains for. They even dumped him with another camper this time to make sure he doesn’t use any of his powers to hurry the job along.
Jisung frowns. The stables smell wonderful, as per usual, but the other camper is nowhere to be seen.
He calls out, “Hello?”
Silence. Jisung grins, reaching over for the hose connected to the wall over by his side. He figures they have no way of determining whether he cheated or not if the other camper didn’t see him. Besides, they should’ve gotten rid of the hose if they didn’t want him to use it; if anything, it’s their fault.
All it takes is a second of concentration before the hose magically turns into a pressure washer, all thanks to Poseidon. Jisung reminds himself to sacrifice more of his food at dinner tonight; maybe even thank Hades or Zeus for choosing to rule the sky and Underworld instead of the ocean. As a result, he ends up overestimating just how forceful the water needs to be, which leads to a panicked half-second of him cutting off the tug in his gut before he completely ruins the place.
He blinks water out of his eyes, and finds the other camper standing across from him. Absolutely drenched.
“Oh, gods.” Jisung tries not to laugh when he realizes who’s standing there. (Golden eyes, golden smile). He really does. “Is this how we’re gonna keep meeting?”
He wants to say he can’t believe they stuck the rookie camper with cleaning the stables, but he’d be lying. No one likes stable duty, so everyone’s always bargaining with each other to get it dumped onto someone else.
Felix, surprisingly enough, smiles. “I was, uh, getting supplies.” He glances to his left, where the ground is perfectly clean. In his hands are gloves and some sort of scraper. Jisung holds back a shudder.
“Yeah. About that,” Jisung says sheepishly. “You ever cheat the system?”
—
“So drenching people is just your hobby now?” Changbin asks, raising an eyebrow.
Jisung flashes his award-winning smile in response. “Any and all complaints will be forwarded to Poseidon. Burn him a message at the altar, if you’d like. I’ll make sure he gets it.”
Felix glances between the two of them, smiling sheepishly. They’d given up on sitting at their individual cabin tables for dinner ages ago. “Ah, I didn’t really mind...we finished a lot faster thanks to him, anyways.”
“Did anyone notice?” Minho questions. “One time, I manipulated the Mist into showing the senior counselors clean stables and never heard the end of it. I cleaned dishes for a month because of that.”
Hyunjin stares at him, unblinking for a count of three. As if on cue, they all burst into laughter.
“Did you seriously think that would work?” Jisung wheezes. “That they wouldn’t notice?”
Even Felix is laughing, his cheeks rosy under the light of the dining pavilion and eyes equally warm.
Minho hmph’s, sulking a bit. “It’s not my fault Chan can see better through the Mist than other people. You know him. Stickler and whatnot.”
As if on cue, Chan ruffles Minho’s hair as he’s walking by. “Could’ve sworn I heard my name over here! Nothing but good things, I’m sure.”
Changbin snickers, gesturing towards Minho. “Minho’s talking about the time you caught him manipulating the Mist when he was on stable duty.”
Chan nods thoughtfully. “Gotta say someone almost topped that today. They thought we wouldn’t notice that they used the hose as a pressure washer.”
So maybe it wasn’t Jisung’s best idea.
Chan stares pointedly at Jisung. “It’s literally in pieces from the force of water that was exerted on it. How did you not notice?”
Minho’s eyes glint as he looks at Jisung. Hyunjin, ever an angel, keeps a poker face for his sake, muttering, “Pressure washer? First time I’m hearing anything about that.” Felix clears his throat and stares at the food on his plate, pushing it around. Changbin opens his mouth as if he’s about to snitch, but Minho cuts him off.
“Did you seriously think that would work?” Minho mocks, like he was born just for this specific moment.
Chan smiles reassuringly. “Don’t worry though—I’ll find you other things to do!”
“Ah, that’s okay,” Jisung waves him off. “I think I’ll pass.”
Chan’s smile wavers. “Sorry, man. I would totally let you off the hook if I could. It was actually kinda funny now that I think about it, but then everyone would ask for favors and the stables would never be cleaned.”
“No worries,” Jisung sighs dramatically. “Just slap me with kitchen duty for a month. I’ll live. Hopefully. I’m not as young as I used to be, you know. I have the joints of a 75 year old.”
Chan rolls his eyes, but he’s grinning. “Yeah, yeah. Tell me about it.”
—
Felix jogs after him when he’s walking back to his cabin after the campfire. Jisung slows down, smiling back at him. He feels chilly, even though the weather is perfectly normal. He thinks it might be the temperature difference—going from the warmth of the fire to the night air.
“What’s up?” Jisung says as a way of greeting, pretending as if they didn’t see each other mere minutes ago.
Felix swallows anxiously, tugging on Jisung’s shirt sleeve to get him to slow down a bit. Jisung complies immediately. “Um. How come I didn’t get in trouble? With Chan?”
“Oh.” Jisung tries to think about it, but he’s finding it difficult to concentrate with Felix looking at him so intently. “Maybe he felt bad because they stuck you with stable duty even though you’re like, a baby duckling still learning the ropes around here.”
“But I thought he couldn’t give out favors?” Felix sounds confused.
Jisung shrugs, wondering why Felix is taking issue with this. “Not sure. It’s not like you’re the one who cheated exactly.”
“Oh. I see,” Felix says, sounding dejected. “Have fun cleaning dishes, I guess?”
“No worries,” Jisung responds calmly. They’ve come to the porch of his cabin, and he leans against the doorway frame, smiling at Felix. “You’ll make it up to me, right?”
—
Jisung finds Hyunjin in the strawberry fields the next day. He’s crouched over a row of plants, cupping a hand around some leaves. There’s a basket of freshly-picked strawberries next to him, around halfway full. Jisung knows better than to reach for one of them. Hyunjin would twist his arm behind his back faster than he could even eat a strawberry.
“Hey,” Jisung greets instead. He tries not to eye the strawberries—he really wants one. “Want me to test how long you can hold your breath underwater for?”
Hyunjin looks up at him questioningly. “You do realize competitive swimming isn’t just about how long I can hold my breath for, right?”
“It helps, doesn’t it?” Jisung asks, grinning. “Besides, it’s hot. Let’s go swimming with the others.
Also, he’s hiding from Chan. For now.
Jisung’s already making his way to the docks when Hyunjin calls out, “Make sure you invite Felix too!”
His step stutters for only a second, but it’s long enough for Hyunjin to notice.
—
“But if you think about it, demigods are basically just benders,” Jisung muses. The rest of his friends sit in a circle on the dock around him, drenched to the bone. Except for him, of course.
Hyunjin offers Seungmin a strawberry. Turns out he was picking them for the other campers, so Jisung did end up having some.
“Ignore him,” Changbin says to Felix. “They put The Last Airbender on Netflix recently. We’ve had this discussion multiple times already.”
Felix ah’s quietly.
“Hyunjin is basically an Earthbender,” Jisung supplies, to which Hyunjin says, a bit exasperated: “I literally grow and manipulate plants. That is nothing like an Earthbender.”
“Dude, you might as well be Toph.” He pops a strawberry in his mouth, smiling. “I’m like Katara, of course. Gods, I’d kick ass at waterbending.”
“Absolutely not,” Changbin deadpans. “Katara held that group together. Does that sound even remotely like you?”
“If anything,” Felix interjects, looking between the both of them cautiously, “you’re more like Korra. Unhinged.”
Changbin gapes at Felix for a count of three, before grinning. “Man, welcome to the club. We make fun of Jisung for a living. I think you’ll fit in perfectly.”
Felix laughs in that way of his—unrestrained and golden. “That’s okay. I think you make fun of him enough for the both of us.”
Jisung stares knowingly at Changbin, like he’s saying I told you so.
“Where do the rest of us fit in?” Minho interrupts, glancing over at Jisung. “Since you’re already going.”
“I’m glad you asked,” Jisung says happily, clapping his hands together.
Hyunjin flops down onto his back, peering up at the sky with a groan. “Please stop enabling him.”
Jisung stares at him, unblinking. Minho coughs awkwardly, and the only other sound that can be heard is the waves hitting the dock.
“Okay, okay,” Hyunjin finally relents, giving in to the silence. He holds his hands up defensively. “I’m Toph. Who’s Aang?”
Silence. They all stare at Jisung, waiting for an answer.
“I guess it really depends on which one of us is most likely to become a monk,” Jisung says thoughtfully, already having a person in mind.
As if in sync, everyone (except Felix) turns to look at Seungmin, who’s in the middle of eating his lunch.
He raises an eyebrow at them, setting his food back down carefully. “Gods, you can’t be serious.”
Jisung shrugs, gesturing to the rest of their friends. “It was a unanimous decision.”
Felix clears his throat, reminding them that he’s still fairly new and doesn’t know them well enough to participate. Except for Jisung, of course.
“Besides, you’re Athena’s kid. They’d probably be the ones most likely to master all four elements anyways,” Jisung supplies. “The rest of us would have to stick to one element.
“Then I guess that means you can’t be Korra,” Seungmin comments drily.
Felix laughs, a little too quickly. “Doesn’t she lose her bending at one point? That’s something that would definitely happen to Jisung.”
“Hey!” Jisung protests. “How can you say that?”
Changbin nudges Felix playfully. “We still have a spot available at the club, if you want it.”
“The first day we met, you fell off the lava wall! And also took me with you!” Felix counters hotly, but he’s smiling. Gods. Jisung thinks he’s beautiful. “If that isn’t chaotic, I don’t know what is.”
“You knocked the rookie off the lava wall?” Minho asks, exasperated.
“Okay, well, hey—hey! To be fair…” Jisung starts, but gives up halfway through. “Yeah. Yeah. It’s true. Did I mention I was knocked off too?”
Changbin snickers. “By gravity, yeah. Not by another camper.”
“It’s because I was in Zeus’ terrority,” Jisung mourns woefully. “I guess he’s still peeved about Poseidon breaking his oath. Multiple times. Not my fault he holds grudges.”
“Can you please stop name-dropping powerful gods that resent your existence because you’re a reminder that his brother couldn’t keep an oath?” Hyunjin pleads, sitting up to look at him. “I keep waiting for lightning to strike you whenever you mention him.
Jisung blinks, staring at Hyunjin pointedly. “If it hasn’t happened yet…”
“How have you even survived this long?” Changbin asks through a mouthful of strawberry. “The last Poseidon kid got a Minotaur sent after him the day he showed up to camp.”
Jisung rolls his eyes. “I’m indestructible, duh.”
“I would rather suffer through Eternal Damnation than live to see you dipped in the River Styx,” Changbin comments. Happily, of course. He grins.
Jisung waves him off. “You love me. Also, can we assign Felix potential godly parents? Whoever wins gets bragging rights.”
Felix raises an eyebrow. “You don’t know anything about me. I could be some sort of descendant, and you wouldn’t even realize until later.”
“If you were a descendant or a legacy, you probably would’ve ended up at Camp Jupiter somehow. They have like, generations of demigods living there,” Seungmin explains. Minho mhm’s in agreement.
Felix nods thoughtfully. “I think that was in the documentary. There was a lot of information to process and absorb.”
“Yeah?” Seungmin grins. “The Athena kids updated it recently. I wasn’t sure if Chiron had started showing it yet or not.”
“Ah. Cool.” Felix smiles crookedly. “I gotta say, I wasn’t expecting everything to be explained like that, but it actually really helped.”
“See?” Jisung nudges his shoulder a bit, trying to make him feel comfortable. “Camp is a good thing.”
Felix clears his throat a bit, ducking his head.
“Can we go back to Felix’s godly parent?” Hyunjin questions abruptly.
“It’s my father,” Felix sighs. “My mother met him on a hike or something. I don’t know. I never really cared about the stories she would tell me.”
“Ooh...maybe it’s someone involved with nature?” Jisung suggests.
A pause. “...Dionysus?”
“Hyunjin, you have never said anything worse than you just did right now,” Changbin retorts immediately, taking the words right out of Jisung’s mouth.
Hyunjin looks shocked, his mouth falling open in surprise. “Gods! He’s not my favorite person in the world, either, but you reacted so strongly to that…”
Changbin shrugs nonchalantly. “Did I ever tell you about the quest I went on?”
“Yes, yes, yes,” Jisung interjects, cutting him off before he even has a chance to start. “You got mouthy and Dionysus temporarily turned you into a dolphin hybrid to teach you a lesson in respect. Please spare us the details.”
Minho snickers at the reminder of the story Changbin has told about a million times, trying to hide his smile with his hand when Changbin glares at him.
“Oh. Cool. I take it that that’s normal around here?” Felix questions. His eyes keep shifting back and forth, dazed and unfocused.
“Kinda,” Hyunjin answers. “Some quests go a lot smoother. Don’t go around telling the God of Wine where he can shove it, and you’ll be just fine.”
Felix blinks. “You told a god to shove it?”
“I told him to shove his stupid wi—” Changbin begins, but he’s cut off by Jisung, who says: “We have got to talk about your attitude problem. Also, I’m putting my bets on Apollo.”
Felix frowns. “Isn’t he the one who pulls the sun across the sky? She did say it was a sunny day when they met.”
“That’s Helios, but Apollo is the God of Sun and Light. And healing. And poetry. Archery, too. It’s kind of a long list, actually,” Seungmin supplies helpfully. “He’s pretty important.”
“Any talent with a bow and arrow?” Jisung asks. “There’s archery training if you haven’t given it a try yet. Technically, everyone should do it because you never know when you might end up with a weapon that isn’t your usual one, but I suck at it.”
Minho leans across Changbin to pat Felix on the shoulder. “Come with me later today. I can teach you.”
Felix nods, smiling. “Thank you! I tried combat training but it didn’t go too well, so I’ve been avoiding archery.”
“You’re in good hands with Minho,” Hyunjin reassures. “He once shot a square of ambrosia off of Jisung’s head. Scared the living daylights out of him.”
Felix glances over at Jisung, curious. “Why is it always you?”
—
Okay, maybe Jisung is a bit shameless. Maybe he’s already head-over-heels for the new camper. Minho greets him knowingly, a bit of a smile on his face.
“I thought Felix wanted to learn archery, not you?” he questions, a teasing lilt to his voice. He lets go, and the arrow flies directly into the bulls-eye target.
“I’m still peeved that Apollo isn’t your dad,” Jisung says, trying to change the subject. He lowers his voice for what he says next. “Not even the Apollo kids are as good as you.”
Minho’s eyebrows crease together as he aims for the target once more. “My dad is mortal…and present in my life, thank you very much.”
“Well, Apollo’s missing out,” Jisung sighs.
“Talking about how sucky the Apollo kids are again?” Jeongin asks from behind him, thumping him on the back as a way of greeting. “Let me remind you what happened the last time you stepped onto the archery training grounds.”
“Not fair!” Jisung protests, turning around to look at Jeongin. Behind him, the twang of a bow sounds, followed by the thump of an arrow meeting its target. “I was just talking about how awesome Minho is at archery.”
Jeongin grins. “We’ve been practicing, you know. He has competition now.”
“He might have even more, if Felix really is Apollo’s kid,” Jisung supplies quickly, eager to change the topic. He does not need to be reminded of the disastrous summer of 2018 today.
Jeongin looks at him quizzically, bow slung over his shoulder. It’s not unusual to find the Apollo kids here, practicing.
“You really think so?” he asks. “No one else seems to think that. Some people said Aphrodite, but I’m guessing his godly parent isn’t his mother?”
“That, my good friend,” Jisung begins dramatically, slinging an arm around Jeongin’s shoulders, “means that you are all clueless. I know what I’m talking about.”
Aphrodite, Jisung thinks to himself. It makes sense, given his freckles and easygoing smile—the kind that has the ability to make anyone feel comfortable. He remembers people saying the same thing about Hyunjin, too, and the surprise they felt when Changbin was claimed as Aphrodite’s kid instead.
Jeongin’s response is cut off by a commotion building up in the background. Even Minho stops aiming to turn back.
“Holy Hephaestus,” is all he says.
Jeongin raises an eyebrow at Jisung. “You couldn’t have been more wrong. Like, literally. Your guess was on the other side of the spectrum of godly parents.”
Jisung looks back to find a crowd of campers surrounding someone—he’s guessing Felix—so he cranes his neck, trying to see what symbol is floating above his head.
“A skull is a bit morbid, even for Hades. Don’t you think?” Minho comments lazily. “I hope this means we’re still on for archery.”
—
Jisung bursts through the crowd, trying to meet Felix’s eyes.
“Okay, okay, you’ve all seen it—don’t you have toilets to scrub or something?” he says to the crowd, annoyed. They treat it like a spectacle, even though Felix is staring at the symbol with an air of indifference. He swats the skull once, curious, only for his hand to pass straight through it.
And then he laughs. The crowd disperses immediately, muttering and whispering amongst themselves.
“Did you know?” Jisung asks. It doesn’t take a genius to put it together—he’s seen more than his fair share of reactions to being claimed, and heard stories of the more crazier ones.
Felix shrugs. The skull is already fading, ready to wink out of existence. “I had an idea, but I take it that being a son of Hades isn’t exactly popular around here so I kept it to myself. Better that than weirding people out.”
Whatever Jisung was going to say next is cut off by Minho approaching the two of them, grinning.
“Son of Hades, huh?” is all he says. “You kinda threw us for a loop there.”
“My bad,” Felix apologizes, but he’s smiling. “I kinda already knew.”
Minho nods like he understands. “Yeah. With some demigods, it’s easy to figure out. I guess controlling the dead and whatnot is one of those cases.”
“I don’t think I’ve gotten to that level yet,” Felix laughs. “I’ve had cracks in the ground open up and bones break through grass, but only involuntarily. I don’t remember consciously doing it.”
Minho whistles lowly. “Next time we play capture-the-flag, I want you on my team.”
—
Chan catches up to him eventually, slinging an arm around his shoulders in the middle of a combat training session.
“Remember when I said I would find something else for you to do?” he asks cheerfully, a grin on his face.
Jisung tries to squirm out of his grasp, insisting, “No, not at all. In fact, I don’t even remember seeing you since I showed up for the summer. Do I know you?”
“How does toilet duty sound?” Chan questions, completely ignoring everything Jisung just said. “The stables are still clean, so my options are very limited.”
“It does not sound very pleasant,” Jisung says truthfully. “I would rather fall off the lava wall again.”
Chan laughs at that, tilting his head back. “Yeah, I heard about that. There’s never a boring day at camp as long as you’re around, huh?”
—
“Hi,” Felix blurts out, a bit too loudly in the quiet of the night. “Remember when you told me to make it up to you?”
Jisung rubs at his eyes, trying to erase the blurriness fogging his vision. He isn’t sure what time it is, but he’s pretty sure he’s still half-asleep, swaying on his feet and stifling a yawn.
“The Harpies are going to kill us,” Jisung mumbles through a yawn, “slowly and painfully.”
“Since when are you scared of the consequences of your actions?” Felix teases, keeping his voice at a whisper.
The sky is still dark, but blurring into streaks of purple amongst the gray.
“That is a very good point,” Jisung concedes, suddenly feeling wide awake. “What did you have in mind?”
—
Watching the sun set and watching it rise are very different, Jisung learns.
They manage to stay under the radar of the Harpies as the sun brings color to the fading night sky, sitting at the edge of the docks. The water ripples softly below their feet, calm and everlasting.
Felix sits by his side, painted golden by the first rays of sunlight. Even his eyelashes look as if they have been dipped in gold.
“How long have you been coming here?” he asks, keeping his eyes focused on the sunrise.
Jisung looks away from Felix, not wanting to come off as weird for staring at him. He reaches for the necklace around his neck instinctively, running his fingers across the beads.
“Since I turned 16,” Jisung answers. “So about 4 years.”
“Why do you only stay for the summer?” Felix continues. He tips his head back briefly, glancing up at the slowly brightening sky. A few seconds later, he’s staring intently at Jisung again, his eyes darker without the sunlight to brighten them.
Jisung shrugs. “Too stuffy. I’m not good with rules. I can take care of myself throughout the school year, but I come back in the summer mostly to see my friends.”
“I thought the mortal world was dangerous for children of the big three,” Felix says quietly. He hugs his knees to his chest, tucking his chin against the crook of his elbows.
“Yeah, well, Poseidon should’ve thought about that before he fell in love with my mother,” Jisung answers lazily. “In my family, no one gets left behind. I can’t stay year-round and leave my family all alone.”
Felix hums softly in response. “Gods,” is all he says in response, a hint of bitterness in his voice.
“Gods,” Jisung agrees.
—
Of course Jisung doesn’t get teamed up with Felix for capture-the-flag. It’s like the Fates made his entire existence one big, fat cosmic joke. He hates playing against the Athena kids to begin with—they’re just as competitive as the Ares’ kids. He can’t imagine what they’re going to be like tonight with Felix on their side.
He sighs forlornly. Minho shoots him a quizzical look, bow and arrow strapped to his back. “Why are you acting like we already lost?”
“Have you ever won against the Athena kids?” Jisung grumbles. “They’re stupid smart.”
“Smart enough to not realize what they’re seeing is an illusion?” Minho asks, cocking his head to the side with a smile.
“Smart enough,” Jisung confirms woefully. “We’re dead meat.”
Jeongin flicks him against the forehead. “Can you please be quiet?” To Minho: “He’s just upset that he and Felix were separated.”
Changbin looks over at him, half-annoyed, half-exasperated. “You really like him that much?”
Jisung flushes under the last bits of sunlight filtering through the forest. He shifts on his feet, armor jostling with his movement.
“No,” he says forcefully, scowling. “Don’t do your Aphrodite thing on me.”
Changbin rolls his eyes. “It’s not a thing; I was just asking.”
Minho shushes both of them, and Jisung hears rustling off in the distance. They’d been left behind by the Ares kids to guard the flag, which is Jisung’s least favorite thing to do. It makes him feel restless, sitting around and waiting for the other team to come after their flag.
After a few seconds, the rustling stops, and they all simultaneously relax with a sigh of relief.
“We should be more like the Romans,” Jisung comments thoughtfully. “Building trenches and traps everywhere we go.”
“It’s the Ares cabin,” Changbin scowls. “For kids of the war god, they don’t care much about war tactics or anything that could help them.”
“At least Hyunjin went with them,” Jisung points out. “He might be able to keep them in line. Maybe capture some campers by manipulating some plants.
Changbin doesn’t say anything in response to that, so Jisung focuses his attention elsewhere.
Jisung notices Minho turning towards Jeongin, making a climbing gesture. He points at the tree behind Jeongin, and then taps the arrow strapped to his back, spreading his hands apart as if mimicking an explo—
Oh. Jisung understands. Jeongin must put two and two together a split second later, because he starts scaling the tree, lithe as a cat. Jisung is almost jealous—the lava wall training clearly worked out in his favor.
Minho follows suit, that way they are perched in two trees opposite one another, arrows drawn and waiting for the Red team to appear. He and Changbin spread out to cover the portions Minho and Jeongin were originally in charge of, making sure they’re within 10 yards of the flag behind them.
“At least we’re not up against the Hunters,” Jisung says half-heartedly, trying to lift up their spirits.
Changbin groans. “Please don’t remind me of my single most humiliating defeat.”
“We all need to be humbled sometimes,” Jisung counters, grinning.
They fall silent after that, pacing back and forth as they wait for one of the Athena kids to breach enemy lines and make a mad dash for the flag.
Every so often, Jisung glances up at Minho and Jeongin to make sure they’re okay. They both have their bows drawn, ready to go at a moment's notice.
Changbin hisses, “They’re coming,” through his teeth, and Jisung snaps out of it, drawing his sword.
To no one’s surprise, Seungmin bursts through the trees, having made it past their defense. He doesn’t look surprised to see them, but he cocks his head to the side.
“Why are there only two of you?” he asks. A few seconds later, Felix appears, nodding his head in greeting.
Changbin smiles. “Two is enough,” he says.
“Wanna finish this?” Felix asks Seungmin, a bit too cheerful.
Something shifts after that moment—Jisung isn’t sure what, but he can feel it in his bones. He and Changbin fight side by side, dodging and jabbing with their swords. Seungmin is too smart for them; he twists and turns out of reach every time, pushing them closer and closer to the flag.
Jisung finds himself wondering what in the world Minho and Jeongin are still hiding for, but he can’t reveal their positions by calling out to them, so he grits his teeth and keeps quiet.
And then the Earth starts rumbling. Jisung immediately looks over at Felix, who had managed to pick up a Stygian iron sword sometime before they started capture-the-flag.
Felix smiles at him, as if to say, I wonder what that could be?
The ground erupts with bones a half-second later. Jisung scrambles away, trying to hack at them with his sword, but it’s useless. There’s too many. Both he and Changbin are soon buried under a pile of them, and it’s like the bones are being pulled towards the ground by the force of Tartarus itself.
Felix has the gall to appear apologetic. He crouches next to Jisung, and says, “I’ll let you win next time.”
Seungmin dismisses his comment with a wave of his hand. “Speak for yourself. The Athena kids have a competitive streak. Losing is against the rules.”
He treks past Jisung, towards the flag. He hefts it into his hands, turning back to Felix.
“Ready?” Seungmin asks. Felix nods, about to leave, and Jisung realizes why everything feels so different.
The illusion melts right as the victory horn goes off by the border separating the East and West forest, Minho jumping down from the tree quietly and carefully. Jeongin follows a split second later, grinning.
Jisung helps Changbin to his feet once he realizes the illusion is gone, feeling stupid happy. Changbin looks the least disoriented, as if he had known all along what was going to happen. It wouldn’t surprise Jisung—no one knows Minho better than Changbin.
Seungmin’s jaw drops when he notices Minho and Jeongin, and even Felix is mildly confused. The flag is where it’s been this entire time, having not moved even an inch. Jisung is still a bit disoriented from the illusion itself, but he tries his best to shake it off.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself next time,” Jisung says, clapping Felix on the back as he walks by.
“They won faster than I thought they would,” Minho comments before Felix can say anything. “I thought me and Jeongin were gonna have to break out our flash bang arrows.”
“Is now a good time to admit that I only had regular arrows?” Jeongin asks sheepishly. Jisung can’t help but laugh a little.
Changbin catches up to them a split second later, squeezing Minho’s arm gently to let him know he’s there. “You did good.”
Jisung can hear Seungmin and Felix walking behind them, and he turns to meet their eyes. Felix is grinning, having gotten over his initial confusion.
“That was really cool,” he says excitedly when he notices Jisung staring. “How did you do it?”
“Minho’s really good at manipulating the Mist,” Jisung explains, falling into step with Felix. Seungmin speeds up, probably so he can catch up with the rest of the Athena cabin and tell them how Minho royally screwed him and Felix over.
Felix nods like he understands, a curious look on his face.
“He shows people what they want to see, doesn’t he?” Felix guesses.
Jisung nods, noticing that his heart is beating just a little too fast right now. Maybe Changbin was right earlier.
—
Jisung sinks to the bottom of the lake with ease. He’s forgotten how hectic camp can be—new arrivals, training, quests to finish, prophecies to interpret—and how everything and everyone is constantly buzzing, never resting or stopping.
It’s too early in the summer for his social battery to be this depleted, but he supposes it’s fair considering how much excitement they’ve had recently.
He lands at the bottom of the lake with a muted thump , crossing his legs together and closing his eyes. The fish circle around him, curious, but harmless. He projects his thoughts out to them: I am a friend.
Even though he can’t see them, Jisung can sense them flitting about, circling around him and poking at his arms. He relaxes despite the flurry of activity, listening to the sounds of the water and nothing else. It’s too easy to lose himself in the water—sometimes he just wants to swim down and simply disappear. But that’s the selfish part of him speaking. The other part of him can’t bear to part with his friends and family.
A lot of the monsters he’s fought tell him the same thing. That he could run to his father’s palace and never have to worry about anything again, like they’re taunting him. Like they know the thought has crossed his mind.
But Jisung knows where he belongs—with his friends at Camp Half-Blood, with his mom and the rest of his family. There’s no running away from that, no matter how many times his enemies taunt him, unrelenting.
He doesn’t know how long he’s underwater for, but when he emerges, he’s surprised to find the sun setting. He starts swimming over towards the dock, only to find Felix sitting at the edge of it, swinging his legs over the water.
“Hey,” he says casually. “Have fun?”
Jisung blinks, dazed from seeing him so unexpectedly.
“Changbin said you were probably here, so I figured I would wait,” Felix explains. He smiles, holding out his hand for Jisung to take. Jisung accepts immediately, letting himself be pulled up. He’s too close to Felix, who smells like strawberries and lemon, but he doesn’t mind.
Felix scoots over to make room for him, leaning against the wooden column at the edge of the pier and facing Jisung.
“I didn’t realize how late it had gotten,” Jisung admits sheepishly, raising a hand to rub the back of his neck. “I thought maybe an hour passed at the most.”
Felix nods, tucking his knees to his chest. “No worries. Changbin left some food for you in your cabin.”
“...Voluntarily?” Jisung asks, disbelieving. He usually prefers to show affection towards Jisung through the form of bickering.
Felix shrugs. “I asked him to.”
“Oh.” Jisung blinks. His heart flip-flops once Felix’s response sinks in. “You did?”
“I didn’t wanna intrude, so I figured since you’ve known Changbin longer…” Felix starts, looking a bit hesitant. He glances down at his shoes briefly, before meeting Jisung’s eyes once more.
Jisung waves off his concern. “Don’t worry about it. I’m thankful you even thought of me.”
“Yeah?” Felix smiles, tilting his head to the side.
Jisung nods. “Thanks for checking in on me. I appreciate it.”
“It was mostly out of selfishness,” Felix admits. “It was weird not having you around even though I just barely got here.”
The sky is a pretty mix of pink and fading blue, reminding Jisung of cotton candy skies. He thinks it’s funny that Felix soaks in sunlight and radiates warmth, that he looks more like a son of Apollo than a son of Hades.
Jisung’s only ever been to California once, and it was for a joint training exercise with Camp Jupiter, but he thinks Felix would fit in perfectly with the honey hills and the way everything appears golden at sunset, no matter the color.
“If it makes you feel better,” Jisung begins, touching the toe of his sneaker to Felix’s, “I have my selfish moments too. It’s not just you.”
Felix smiles at him—warm and full of light. Jisung’s heart flip-flops again.
—
“I think you should be banned from the canoe race,” Changbin says, his arms crossed as he stands on the shore of the lake. The other campers surrounding him echo their sentiment, agreeing with Changbin.
Jisung shoves his shoulder in response. “No fair. Then Hyunjin shouldn’t be allowed to play capture-the-flag because it’s set in the forest.”
“Please leave me out of this,” Hyunjin calls out, carrying the canoe past them with the help of Seungmin. They’ve all split into teams of two for the race, leaving Jisung with Felix. Not that he’s complaining, of course.
Felix stands by the shore, ankle deep in the water. He’s waiting for Jisung, who thinks it’s ridiculously unfair that the other campers want to complain about his powers. There’s no way the Athena cabin’s competitive streak has magically faded, which means they’ll do anything to make sure he doesn’t win.
“Everything is fair game,” Minho adds, much to Changbin’s dismay. “The naiads are there to make it harder on us, right? So it’ll be an even playing field.”
Changbin sighs. “I know, I know. You won’t let him win, right? I don’t wanna be humbled after winning capture-the-flag.”
Minho laughs. Jisung misses what he says in response, making his way over to Felix with the paddles for the canoe.
“Have you ever done this before?” Jisung questions, thinking he maybe should’ve covered his bases before he partnered up with Felix.
Felix nods quickly, reaching out to take one of the paddles from Jisung’s outstretched hand. “Can’t say I was any good at it though.”
“Perfect,” Jisung responds, smiling crookedly. “No one can say I won because I’m Poseidon’s kid if you suck.”
Felix scratches his head with his free hand. “Um, you’re welcome, I think?”
“No worries,” Jisung continues, pushing the canoe further into the water. “We’ll be fine. You can get in; I’ll hold the canoe until they signal the start of the race.”
Felix hesitates. “Are you sure you’ll get in quickly?”
Jisung nods hurriedly, gesturing for Felixto get in. After a few seconds, Felix obeys, climbing up into the canoe.
Jisung glances to the left and right, noticing that almost everybody else is ready. It’s only a matter of time before the race starts. It’s not like the prize is anything special, but he likes participating in the event anyways. Something about feeling safer when he’s out on the water, he guesses.
He’s so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost misses the horn sounding. Felix is already clutching the paddle in his hands, ready to go, when Jisung gives them one last push and jumps inside. Less than ten seconds later, he’s all settled.
Next to him, Changbin calls out, “You’re dead meat!” in that nice, polite way of his. The Ares team flips over their canoe half a second later, speeding off towards the obstacle course.
Jisung sighs, knowing what he has to do next. “They aren’t giving me much of a choice, are they?”
As soon as he finishes his sentence, a whirlpool opens up in front of the Ares canoe, spinning them out of control.
“Better luck next time!” Jisung says cheerfully as they row past. Even Felix can’t hold back his laughter.
Behind him, he can hear the sounds of Changbin cursing and swearing off canoeing for the rest of his life.
Jisung pays him no mind as they reach the obstacle course, letting the ocean current guide them. Felix appears determined, consistently rowing despite Jisung telling him to relax.
“I think the Athena kids are catching up,” Felix admits, sounding a bit out of breath.
“No worries,” Jisung says breezily, “A hippocampus should do the trick.”
“Hippocampus?” Felix repeats, sounding a bit bewildered.
Behind them: “A hippocampus, Jisung? I call foul!”
“No fouls in a canoe race!” Jisung calls back, grinning. There’s a loud splash and groan from behind them. Felix pauses long enough to look back at him with a smile.
As the obstacle course grows increasingly complicated, Jisung notices something tugging at the canoe. Immediately, he realizes it’s the naiads, trying to hinder their progress. A quick glance over his shoulder confirms that the other campers are struggling, too. Only Minho and Changbin are currently making progress, despite the bump they faced early on in the race.
Seungmin and Hyunjin are right on their tails, with no hippocampus in sight. Seungmin has his I am going to destroy anyone who gets in my way game face on, making the day just like a regular Wednesday. Hyunjin, on the other hand, waves to them.
“Isn’t this fun?” he calls out, smiling lazily.
Jisung frowns, the attitude switch not slipping past him. Not even a half-second later, he senses something approaching from the water. He instantly rules out any life forms, not sensing a consciousness.
“Watch out,” Jisung warns. “Something’s coming.”
A split second later, seaweed bursts out of the water, surrounding the both of them. Felix balks at the sight, the paddle in his hands floundering.
Jisung rolls his eyes once he realizes what’s surrounding them. “Oh, now you wanna be an Earthbender?”
“No fouls in a canoe race, right?” Hyunjin taunts, smiling as he and Seungmin pull up next to them.
Felix pales. “Can you please get the seaweed away from me? It’s kinda freaking me out.”
Jisung summons a wave to wash it away, and even Hyunjin’s abilities are unable to keep the seaweed afloat. Felix relaxes, gripping the paddle in his hands once again. Hyunjin and Minho have taken off already, some feet ahead of them, but Jisung wills the water to carry them along.
It’s too easy to catch up. Jisung’s in his home court, after all, and Felix is messing with the other teams by summoning the skeletons of dead fish to the surface of the water. The finish line is in sight by now, and adrenaline starts flooding through Jisung’s body. It would absolutely suck if they were to lose at the last second, so he wills the canoe to flow smoothly with the current, slowly but surely building up speed.
Somewhere off to his side, he can hear the sounds of Minho and Changbin getting closer. Conveniently enough, a wave dunks them into the water a few seconds later.
Felix doesn’t say anything, but Jisung catches the way his shoulders shake slightly from laughter. It’s hard to miss. Even now, Felix appears golden under the sunlight, like he’s a star amongst them.
Jisung shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. They’re almost to the finish line when he hears something whistling, followed by the thump of something against the canoe. He realizes it’s one of Minho’s arrows a second too late.
And then they start sinking.
—
Later: “I let you win, okay? As a son of Poseidon, I was feeling generous.”
“Oh, so that’s why the Ares team was hacking up seawater after getting sucked into a whirlpool,” Minho says, hitting his forehead like he’s just made the grandest discovery all of a sudden. “It all makes sense now.”
“And the hippocampus?” Seungmin questions, popping a french fry into his mouth. The dining pavilion is noisy, as always, filled with campers chattering and laughing. “They were part of your generosity?”
“Of course,” Jisung confirms. “Anyways, I won’t be going so easy on you next time.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Minho dismissed him with the wave of his hand, “Whatever you say.”
Jisung grins despite himself, happy to be at camp and sitting with his friends for dinner. It’s strangely invigorating, spending his days with them. The addition of Felix to their group doesn’t hurt either, but the butterflies that erupt in his stomach whenever Felix so much as looks at him do.
The topic of conversation changes not too soon after, leaving Felix smiling at him under the lights of the dining pavilion and a storm of butterflies raging in his stomach.
—
It really only gets worse from there. One thing leads to another, and Felix is somehow convinced he’s a prodigy when it comes to sword fighting. It takes a bit of coaxing, but Felix ends up extracting a promise from Jisung to help him train. Which brings them here, on the combat grounds.
To begin with, it’s hot. Felix still doesn’t know how to hold his sword properly, and Jisung doesn’t know how many more times he has to show him before he grasps the concept.
“No, no, like this,” Jisung shakes his head, hefting his sword up once more to showcase his grip.
Something must click in Felix’s head then, because his eyes go wide. “Oh, I get it now!” He adjusts his grip, and then holds it up for Jisung to see. Surprisingly enough, he’s finally figured it out.
“See?” Jisung’s smiling despite himself. “You’re a natural.”
“Liar,” Felix says softly. “We’ve been stuck on this for ages. I know I’m not the greatest.”
Jisung shrugs. “You don’t need to be with your powers. You control the dead.”
“And if I end up in a situation similar to Korra?” Felix questions. It’s a bit strange, the both of them holding their weapons and not fighting. “Some giant or sorceress takes away my powers?”
“I doubt you’d ever end up in a situation like that,” Jisung confesses. Then, before he can overthink it, he says, “You’re too smart.”
Felix rolls his eyes. “Yeah, okay. What’s next for me to learn?”
“You sure you’re ready?” Jisung cocks his head to the side, smiling.
—
It goes a little like this: Felix never gives up. Not once. They spar until dusk, and trudge into the dining pavilion for dinner, where Changbin cracks jokes at their expense and Hyunjin throws them ice packs he got from the Apollo kids. Minho makes an off-hand comment about how he can’t believe Felix got Jisung to train him, but Jisung is too tired to say anything.
Chan stops by to commend him for being noticeably less troublesome one night, smiling at all of them. Jisung waves him off.
“As soon as Felix masters sword fighting, I’ll be back to my old tricks,” he warns, stifling a yawn halfway through.
Chan disappears with a trace of a laugh, leaving them to enjoy each other’s company. Felix is more quiet than usual, and Jisung finds himself leaning across the table to murmur, “Are you okay?”
Felix jerks back a bit, as if surprised by how close Jisung is to him. He nods a second later, a pink flush spreading across his cheeks.
“Just tired,” he admits, “I didn’t realize how hard fighting was.”
Jisung shrugs, leaning back and away from Felix. His face feels hot—maybe from burning food at the altar? “It’s a good skill to have, though. It’ll come in handy if you aren’t planning on staying at camp year-round.”
“Oh,” Felix says, blinking in surprise. “Are you allowed to do that?”
Jisung nods. “It’s recommended for demigods in general since the mortal world is dangerous, but even more so for kids of the Big 3. I only stay for the summer, but there are people who stay year round.”
Felix doesn’t say anything in response to that, seemingly digesting the information. Whatever response he had planned is interrupted by Hyunjin’s story of the time he fell for one of the Hermes campers pranks.
As if by mutual agreement, they both tune in to listen, their earlier conversation forgotten.
—
Jisung faces the lava wall with his friends, hands on his hips. He can hear the other campers whispering, but he chooses to ignore them. He looks up at the top, squinting like it’s too high for him to see the end of it.
“This is going to be disastrous,” Minho comments, a bit too calmly.
Changbin folds his arms across his chest. “Maybe he should wear a harness.”
“He’d probably fall out of it,” Felix admits sheepishly, earning a quiet snicker from Changbin and a playful nudge from Minho. Seungmin is off in the strawberry fields with Hyunjin, trying to figure out what’s been eating the plants lately. The entire Demeter cabin couldn’t figure it out, so they asked the Athena kids for help.
“I am literally standing right here,” Jisung reminds them. He pauses briefly. “It can’t possibly be any worse than last time, right?”
Felix looks at him nervously. “I don’t know…I think my ribs are still bruised from the fall I took.”
He places a hand on his side, pretending to wince from the contact. Changbin nods as if he believes him, playing along with the joke.
“I am going to climb this without any issue,” Jisung declares. The campers around them all groan collectively, and Jisung watches as they all scale back down the wall, leaving it empty just for him.
Jisung grins, stepping forward. He takes one last look back at his friends, and says, “It can’t be any worse than last time, right?”
—
Jisung wakes up disoriented. His vision is disturbingly foggy, and no amount of blinking is clearing it up. Stubborn, he keeps doing it until he hears someone ask, “You okay?” in a soft, careful voice.
His heart buzzes to life. He would recognize Felix’s voice anywhere.
“‘M fine,” Jisung mumbles, “What happened?”
His memory is hazy at best, but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out his attempt at conquering the lava wall went about as well as expected.
“Um, you slipped,” Felix explains slowly, “And fell. They think you’re concussed, but they didn’t wanna give you any—what’s it called—ambrosia? Yeah, ambrosia. And nectar. Until you woke up.”
He sounds a bit uneasy, knee bouncing anxiously and his face pale. Jisung’s about to ask what’s up with him when Felix blurts out, “Don’t do that again. Climb the lava wall, I mean. You’re a genius with a sword; you don’t need to know how to rock climb.”
Jisung blinks, equal parts confused and touched by Felix’s sentiment.
“Okay,” is all he simply says, leaning back into the comfort of the bed. His head is throbbing a little, most likely from the fall, and he still feels somewhat groggy.
Felix clears his throat. “I’m gonna, uh, find someone to get you the ambrosia and nectar.”
And then he’s gone, leaving Jisung all by himself in the infirmary. He thinks his fall might’ve been worse than he remembers, judging by Felix’s concern. It’s a strange feeling, to know that Felix cares so much.
Soon enough, everyone is crowding around his bed. He’s fed a square of ambrosia and some nectar, and then the rest of his friends are all coming and going.
Felix hovers, quiet but attentive. Changbin calls him an idiot, but changes course to pat his head gently and tell him to get better so they can get back to their normal routine. Minho is even more gentle, squeezing his hand and smiling warmly at him.
Seungmin starts lecturing the second he spots Jisung, going on and on about all the bones he could’ve broken and how he could have broken a rib and punctured his heart and how he’s a goddamn idiot, but that he’s really happy that it wasn’t any worse than it actually was.
Jisung blinks once the spiel comes to an end. “I love you too, man.”
Seungmin hmph’s. “You’re really lucky that you’re okay, otherwise I would’ve single handedly gone down to the Underworld to forcibly put your sou—”
“Oh my god?” Hyunjin sounds bewildered, but he’s half-laughing already. “I think he gets it, Seungmin.”
Seungmin cracks a smile at that, and so does Felix, a ray of light in the dreary, dull infirmary room. Jisung’s heart is in shambles from the sight of him, leaning against the back wall with his golden hair and smattering of freckles. He looks absolutely perfect—Jisung is a goner. He just had to start crushing on Felix, of all people.
He shakes his head, trying to focus back onto his friends.
“I’m sleepy,” he murmurs. Part of him feels bad for trying to get rid of them, but his eyelids are dropping against his will and all he wants is the quiet hum of camp activities in the background while he tries to take a nap. They all get up immediately, wishing him well and promising to come visit in the morning.
Felix lingers by the foot of his bed, like he’s unsure of what to say or do.
“Stay?” Jisung asks quietly. There’s no more room for embarrassment. The ambrosia made him feel warm and content, like he’s back home with his mother.
Felix blinks, surprised by his request, but he nods a few seconds later, dragging a chair to the side of Jisung’s bed.
Jisung holds out his hand, in search of comfort and Felix is a needle pointing directly at him. Felix accepts it, his hand warm against Jisung’s cold skin.
“Do you need a blanket?” Felix asks.
Jisung shakes his head, too sleepy to keep a conversation going. His eyes start closing involuntarily, and no amount of fighting is able to keep them open. He drifts off soon enough, holding onto Felix’s hand.
—
Jisung wakes with a start, realizing that he isn’t in his cabin. He blinks the sleep out of his eyes, confused. It takes a few seconds, but the memories trickle back into his mind like water, reminding him that he’s in the infirmary.
Felix is still by his side, head hanging low. It takes Jisung a moment to realize he’s fast asleep, and his eyes widen once he does. The first thing he does is reach for the spare blanket on top of himself, only to realize one of his hands is currently preoccupied.
Jisung blinks, remembering the ambrosia-induced decision to ask Felix to hold his hand, and holds back a groan. It’s embarrassing, really. He can’t believe Felix didn’t let go as soon as he fell asleep. With a sigh, he throws the blanket towards Felix one-handedly, trying to be as careful as possible. He adjusts it so that it drapes across Felix evenly, and is relieved when he doesn’t wake up.
Jisung shifts uneasily, trying to decide whether or not to let go of Felix’s hand on the off-chance that he wakes up and thinks Jisung is weird for holding it all night.
Before he can decide, Felix stirs. Jisung sucks in a breath, hoping he doesn’t wake up.
Spoiler: Felix wakes up, blinking sleepily and immediately searching for Jisung. When his eyes land on him, already awake, Felix smiles.
“Hi,” he greets.
“I can’t believe the Apollo kids let you stay,” Jisung says stupidly. He has worms for a brain and can’t stop staring at Felix. Or thinking about how cute he is in the morning.
Jisung blinks, trying to snap out of it.
“I guess they felt bad,” Felix responds nonchalantly. “I didn’t wanna leave you all alone, so they eventually gave up on trying to convince me otherwise.”
He pauses, before adding: “Of course, it helps to have a friend in the Apollo cabin. Jeongin may or may not have helped out a bit.”
Felix traces the bumps of Jisung’s knuckles with his thumb when Jisung doesn’t say anything, humming softly. Jisung freezes, remembering they’re still holding hands, but before either of them can say anything, the door to the infirmary bursts open.
“Good morning!” Hyunjin greets cheerfully, and it takes all of one second before they hone in on their joined hands. Even Changbin cracks a smile at the sight.
Jisung thinks now would be a good time to disappear. He can feel his face growing hotter and hotter by the second, but Felix appears casual still, smiling and saying good morning in return.
They all crowd around Jisung once more, apparently choosing not to comment on it.
Instead, Minho says, “Wanna play Uno? Jeongin traded for it with one of the other campers.”
Jisung grins, sitting up excitedly. He has to let go of Felix’s hand, much to his disappointment, but at least it means that Seungmin will stop staring at him like he sprouted a second head.
Felix leans back in his chair casually, and says, “Count me in. Anyone want some breakfast?”
Butterflies gnaw at Jisung’s hunger. He really should stop staring, otherwise Seungmin might just actually say something.
Changbin grumbles something about him never winning at Uno, and Jisung quickly requests a list of breakfast foods from Felix before his friends descend into chaos. Felix leaves with the promise to come back soon (and kick ass at Uno) and Jisung’s heart flip-flops as he looks back with a smile. He’s gone half a second later.
One by one, they all start talking to fill the dreary silence of the infirmary, their voices overlapping and the sound of laughter intermittently cutting in. Outside, the camp slowly comes to life, in tandem with the sun rising above Long Island. He can smell food coming from the dining pavilion, and hear the sounds of late campers rushing to breakfast.
Jisung smiles. He feels content—happy, even.