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Koushi hadn’t meant to do something like that. 

He had only been teasing his step-brother about actually climbing the tree. A friendly jest between siblings that Koushi truly believed was innocent at its core. Kaoru and he were good friends, despite not being raised entirely together, and they enjoyed each other’s company in the backyard often. They’d climbed that tree perhaps a thousand times before, but never past the red tie his father had hung up there when he was younger. Koushi just wanted to see if they were capable of doing it. Kaoru was definitely the better climber from the two of them. 

Koushi hadn’t expected his brother to actually do it, but Kaoru had climbed higher and higher until they couldn’t really see each other through the foliage of their tree. All Koushi could do was stare in panic at the space where his brother had disappeared into the upper canopy, and listen intently to whatever noise was being made for a sign that he was alright. Kaoru hadn’t spoken the whole time he had climbed, getting this neutral, almost empty look on his face after Koushi had cheerily suggested he should try getting to the highest point possible. 

When the branch had snapped, Koushi’s heart felt like it had stopped in his chest. He was terrified the moment the crunch sounded through the backyard, followed closely by the rustles of leaves and twigs where Kaoru fell between the tree’s arms. Koushi had not been fast enough to try and help his brother before Kaoru’s back had connected with the floor with a resounding thud, knocking the wind out of both siblings. 

Their parents had heard the commotion from inside, which was in Koushi’s opinion, simultaneously good and terrible. Good because Kaoru was definitely going to need a hospital, and terrible because everything that ever happened to the brothers usually fell on Koushi’s shoulders as the eldest. 

His father had yelled so much, been so angry. Koushi had never seen him so upset before. Kaoru was wailing in the background, his arm laid next to him, twisted in a way that even Koushi knew was unnatural. His step-mom had rushed to his side, trying to shush and calm her son to the best of her ability. The sounds of everything going on around him were too overwhelming, but his father’s screams had broken through louder than anything else. 

“I should’ve known you’d be just like your mother!” he yelled, face red with anger. “All you do is cause trouble, Koushi! What did I tell you about being careful with your words?” 

It had been a whole conversation once upon a time, but Koushi didn’t even understand why and his father had not supplied him with an answer. They rarely ever spoke about his mother, and now seemed like the worst possible time to mention her. Was she a bad person? Is that what his father meant when he yelled Koushi would be “just like his mother”? 

Was Koushi a bad person? 

With that singular thought stuck to his brain stubbornly, Koushi knew he had to stay away from his family--especially Kaoru, who had been rushed to the hospital with a broken arm and two ribs. Koushi had been left behind when the ambulance had come, and chose that moment to rush to his room and pack away only the essentials to leave. 

Koushi is only 12 when he runs away from home. 

Later, he would think his reaction had been exaggerated and would wish to be back home with his family. That would be before the first monster attacked him. 

His father had definitely failed to mention these types of things when he’d given Koushi that big talk about how dangerous the world was for him, which Koushi thought was absolutely ridiculous. Who just forgot to tell their son there were actual, real monsters who would try to eat him if he so much as stepped out of his picturesque suburban neighborhood? Koushi really would’ve loved to have been more prepared than he had been when the first creature attacked him. 

Koushi managed to get away by whatever divine grace he had left on his side, but he was in a different world of trouble after he had ducked into an unmarked forest path while trying to flee what had attacked him. Despite having lived his entire life in Maine and going on several camping trips with his dad, Koushi wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive all by himself in a forest. It became increasingly clear that he had made a mistake when the second monster attacked him. 

It was just his luck, too, that these creatures, or whatever they were, had better night vision than he did. Koushi had already tripped one too many times with uprooted trees and rocks that he hadn’t been able to distinguish until he had become acquainted with the forest floor after he fell. He was a fast runner, but whatever that thing on his back was, had definitely aced all its physical exams in PE, too. 

Koushi is beginning to worry he might not be able to outrun this creature, panic swelling in his chest as he thinks how sucky it would be to die in a random forest in Maine, when he finally hears it. 

“Duck!” another voice--a human voice--calls from deeper in the forest, to his right, and Koushi doesn’t think twice before diving to the ground at the order. 

Koushi is face down, so he cannot see what happens, but he does hear the battle cry of whoever had come to save him, followed by a quick slash through the air right after. Not before long, he feels something wet and disgusting land on his hair and neck, and Koushi attempts to wriggle further away to whatever that was. 

Koushi holds his breath. The sounds of the fight stutter to a stop, and the creature that had been following him gives a terrified yell before everything hushes under the oppressive silence of the forest. He doesn’t trust himself to stand up without his knees shaking, so Koushi stays where he is, head tucked between his arms and getting to know the forest floor intimately. 

“It’s okay,” the voice calls out behind him again, closer than before, but much softer. “The danger is gone, I promise. I killed the Myrmekes.” 

The what? Koushi has absolutely no idea what’s going on right now. It occurs to him he has not known what’s been happening since Kaoru had climbed the tree on his command. 

“C’mon, I promise I’m friendly,” the voice says again. “My name’s Daichi, what’s yours?” 

Koushi tentatively picks his head up from the ground, turning to the source of the voice that’s so intent on getting to know him. The forest is still too dark to see appropriately, but the stranger is holding a flashlight in his hand, illuminating his face in a strange pattern that makes it difficult to make out any distinct facial features. 

“You should really get up so I can clean that blood off you,” the stranger says, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile on his face. “If anything, you don’t have to trust me, but at least let me help you out with that.” 

His body finally answers him, and Koushi pushes himself up onto his elbows and then his hands. He knows he’s gonna have to clean the cuts and injuries he had sustained during his frantic escape, but that’s the least of his problems right now. Had this stranger said he needed to wipe blood off of him? 

“Hey, there you go, take it easy,” the boy in front of him says again, reaching to steady Koushi by his elbow when he almost tumbles to the ground again. “I think we should head back to my campsite so I can make sure you’re okay. It looks like you need some help.” 

Koushi wonders how bad he looks. He hasn’t even been out in the forest for more than a day. 

He gives a choppy nod, anyways, and takes the hand Daichi (because that was his name) offers to stand up. 

“I’m Koushi,” he says, a beat later. “Koushi Sugawara.” 

The smile Daichi gives him in response is kind, soft around the edges, and it gives Koushi peace of mind for inexplicable reasons. 

“It’s nice to meet you, Koushi.” 

“Yeah,” Koushi says, dazed. “You too, Daichi.” 

// 

Daichi’s campsite turns out to be not too far from where he had been. If Koushi had continued down the original path he’d been walking on, he probably would’ve found it eventually. All things considered, it doesn’t really look like much of a campsite. At least not like any Koushi remembers from the few times he had camped out with his dad. 

“Can I ask you a question?” Koushi speaks up after Daichi has cleaned the blood off his hair and neck, and has moved to help with the cuts and bruises on Koushi’s hands and knees.

Daichi is so focused he doesn’t look up from his task, simply humming his agreement. 

“Well, I have to admit,” Koushi says. “It’s probably more than one question.” 

“Sure,” Daichi smiles, brown eyes still glued to the biggest cut in Koushi’s hands. “Ask away.” 

“What did you say that thing was again?” 

“A myrmeke,” the other boy answers without missing a beat. “Giant ants. I think there’s an anthill close by.”

Koushi nods carefully. “Why was it following me?” 

“Your smell.” 

Koushi thinks he should be offended by that. “Excuse me?” 

“Yeah,” Daichi finally picks his head up from where he had been cleaning out the cut, smiling softly like this was a normal Tuesday for him--maybe it was. “Your demigod smell; monsters just love that.” 

And if that isn’t something completely out of the left-field. “My what ?”

That wipes the soft smile off of Daichi’s face like nothing else. Koushi thinks this boy’s reaction might be a little bit delayed. 

“Wait,” Daichi begins, leaning back a little on his hands. “Do you not know?” 

“Don't know what?” Koushi answers, perhaps a little more hysterical than he should be. “Listen, Daichi, I know we just met, but you’re honestly starting to concern me a little bit.” 

At that, Daichi scoots further away from him, giving Koushi more space. “Sorry--there’s no easy way around this, but I promise I’m not gonna hurt you. And I’m definitely not crazy.” 

“Well, I was just pursued by a giant ant of all things,” Koushi says, more to himself than anyone else. “But honestly I wasn’t expecting my day to turn out this way--what do you mean demigod smell?” 

Daichi makes a face. “I don’t want to have to explain this to you!” 

Because Koushi has a younger brother, he mimics Daichi in tone and face as he answers: “Well someone has to!” 

A sour look crosses Daichi's face. "How did you make it this far without knowing anything?" 

Koushi blows a strand of grey hair away from his forehead. "I didn't make it all that far, if I'm being honest."

"Well, you're alive." Daichi dead pans. "If you've been alone for more than an hour, then that's already a victory." 

"How long have you been alone?" 

Daichi grimaces. "A week, probably. I haven't been able to make it out of the forest since I lost my satyr." 

Koushi blinks a couple of times. Daichi blinks back. 

"I'm gonna need that explanation now." 

//

Koushi cannot sleep that night. 

Daichi is gracious enough to share his tent with him. It's badly built and has little holes at the top, but the skies above are clear enough, so Koushi doesn't worry about rain or anything that could make their night uncomfortable. The wind is a little chilly this deep in the forest (and they'll have to get out of this forest at some point) but Koushi had thankfully packed a thick jacket to keep him warm through the night. 

He was a demigod, godly parent still undisclosed. 

Daichi was one, too, but he knew his father--or at least, knew of him. Daichi hadn't actually met the man before, but he said he did remember a pair of brown eyes, not unlike his own, staring at him from above his crib. Koushi had told him children don't retain memories before three years old, but his new companion had stubbornly confirmed what he saw, and they had left it at that. 

Koushi was still trying to wrap his head around it, which made sleep rather difficult. Somehow, he had a hard time not believing it, but it was still sort of odd to have to swallow all the information Daichi had provided him. He sort of understood why Daichi hadn't wanted to explain it to him, but Koushi was still grateful for the answers. 

Greek gods and mythical creatures. Was being a demigod all that the stories cut it out to be? Koushi sincerely doubted it. 

He wanted to go back home and forget any of this had ever happened. The thought kept him awake for way longer than he’d like to admit, tossing and turning in the bed roll Daichi had told him had belonged to his satyr before they had lost each other after they were attacked by a bear, of all things. The thing smelt vaguely of a barn, but Koushi couldn't find it in him to actually care about it all that much.

He was too busy wondering what being a demigod meant that he hadn’t noticed when Daichi had scooted closer to him until the other boy was curling his pinky finger around his own. 

“I can hear you thinking from all the way over there.” Daichi comments, trying for nonchalance. “I’m sorry I dropped all that on you.” 

“It isn’t really your fault, now is it?” Koushi laughs softly. 

There’s a small pause between them before Suga is talking again. “Who do you think my mom is?” 

Daichi sighs softly. “When it comes to the gods, there are many possibilities. You should be claimed when we make it to camp.” 

Ah, camp. Koushi had not known it had existed until an hour ago, when Daichi had explained everything to him. That’s where Daichi and his satyr had been headed before they had been separated, and it was supposed to be a haven among the chaos of a demigod’s life. Camp Half-Blood had been created and nurtured by their parents to keep their children safe from the dangers of the world. Koushi wondered if they had ugly t-shirts to match, too. 

“Your mother told you a lot about your dad?” is Koushi’s next question, as he shuffles closer to wrap his hand more steadily around Daichi’s. 

“Yeah,” his new friend mumbles, accepting the contact easily, “she talks about him all the time. He taught her how to hotwire a car.” 

Koushi laughs, for the first time since he left his home, and spends the rest of the night being lulled by Daichi’s voice. 

// 

Koushi doesn’t know this forest personally, but he knows how to survive. 

Daichi and he set out the next morning to find a way out of the tall trees. They were both conscious that one more stagnant moment could prove decisive in the fight for life or death that was a demigod’s entire existence. Although Koushi would not consider himself an expert like his father was, he knows enough to keep both himself and Daichi from being mauled by bears, poisoned by berries and/or drowned in unpredictable rivers. 

Daichi, in turn, gives Koushi weapons. 

Holding the dagger Daichi had forged for him feels a bit scary for all of three seconds, before Daichi teaches him how to properly wield it. Being a son of Hephaestus has perks, Koushi thinks, because Daichi is knowledgeable in all things steel, and that apparently includes knowing how to fight with daggers and dagger-adjacent weaponry. Sugawara would deny being a violent man, but knowing he can defend himself from the creatures that apparently want to eat him for breakfast, lunch and dinner certainly gives him a rush of adrenaline that lasts him through two entire days. 

They find a path that leads out of the forest by the third day. Koushi had already sort of lost hope of finding a way out, but Daichi’s blinding positivity and enthusiasm would be enough to keep an entire army on their feet. Sugawara should consider himself lucky to have found a guy like him lurking in a forest in Maine. 

(Maybe, his traitorous little mind supplied, his mother was taking care of him after all.)

“I could make you a bow!” Daichi tells him the morning of their sixth day, when they’ve somehow managed to find their way to a shelter in the nearest city. “I picked up enough wood for it on our way here.” 

Koushi pouts. “Is that why your bag weighs a ton?” 

Daichi, thankfully, looks a bit sheepish at that. “Materials are good to keep at hand.” 

Not when they’re heavy, Koushi thinks, but doesn’t say it. 

They’re sitting in a corner of one of the rooms, curled on their bed rolls so they face each other and keep the world out. The other people are still asleep around them, so they’re trying to be as quiet as possible, but Daichi is possibly the most annoying morning person Koushi has ever met--and he means that lovingly, truthfully. He knows they’re gonna have to set out on their path to Long Island again, if they want to make it to Camp Half-Blood before they get eaten by a stray Chimera (Daichi taught him that one yesterday, he feels very proud that he remembers), but Koushi tries to relish the quiet moments as they come. 

“Why would you make me a bow?” 

Daichi’s grin matches the sun, Koushi thinks absentmindedly. He wonders how it is that he's grown so attached to a boy he met less than a week ago. 

“You seem like a bow type of guy.” Is Daichi’s only explanation. Koushi wonders if it’s another ‘kid of Hephaestus’ thing, or if his friend is just weird. “I think it’d look good in your arms.” 

Koushi giggles, despite the strangeness, before saying: “Fine. Make me a bow.” 

The resulting smile is much brighter than the sun, blazing fire licking at Koushi’s face where Daichi faces him. 

//

They’ve taken to holding hands as they sleep, ever since that first night they had spent together under Daichi’s beat-up tent in the forests of Maine. 

Because they usually have to share a shelter with other people, Koushi knows they’ve received more than a couple of weird looks on their travels, but he doesn’t find it in himself to care. In this new world that Suga had suddenly found himself in, he finds strength and stability in the roughness of Daichi’s fingers curled around his. As long as Daichi was okay with the closeness and the contact, then Sugawara would not attempt to stop, no matter how many weird looks they’d get through the day. 

“When do you think we’ll get there?” Koushi asks, nimble fingers lacing through Daichi’s sturdier ones. “I’m getting tired and my second pair of shoes are about to snap.” 

Daichi chuckles, shuffling closer on his side so he can look at Suga straight on. “We’re not far, I think. We might have trouble once we reach the forest, though. Kazuhito said there were monsters closer to camp, too.” 

Kazuhito Narita, Daichi’s satyr. They hadn’t been able to meet up with him again, even if they had attempted to when they first got out of the forest in Maine. Suga had been leaving notes wherever they stopped, some sort of bread crumb trail just in case the protector was looking for them and hot on their trail. He hadn’t met Narita himself, but Daichi always seemed restless whenever they spoke about him or how they’d separated. 

“I’m sure he’s okay,” Koushi attempts to comfort Daichi, squeezing his friend’s fingers between his own, “he’ll be at camp when we get there, I just know it.” 

“I just wish we hadn’t gotten separated.” Daichi confesses, a frown on his lips. “Maybe he would’ve been able to explain to you everything better. Maybe we’d already be at camp.” 

“It wasn’t your fault.” Suga says, voice serious but not unkind. “It wasn’t his fault either. You were being attacked and you both did what you thought was best. We’ll find him again.” 

In their nearly two weeks of travel, Daichi had very rarely opened up to Suga about his worries and concerns. He had barely talked about the family he had left behind. His mother, whom he loved above everything else, and his four half-siblings he wanted to protect from the dangers his demigod blood brought. Narita had found him in New Mexico, way away from here, and when Koushi had asked how they’d end up in Maine instead of New York, Daichi had only said they’d had to take a detour because of some scary monster Kazuhito hadn’t been willing to risk their lives facing. 

Daichi had left his home willingly, but with a heavy heart. He loved his family, and his family loved him, and although he’d never been lied to about who his real father was, he knew very little of what was waiting for him at camp. Daichi had not run away, nor had he packed poorly for the adventure ahead, and yet it seemed like he was much less adamant than Koushi about making it to camp.

Koushi would be less adamant if he hadn’t almost killed his brother. If his father hadn’t inadvertently made him feel like a monster. 

“You’re making that face again.” Daichi’s voice carries in the space between them, soft as the wind that sweeps in through the window of the shelter they’ve found for the night. “I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t apologize, dummy.” Koushi answers, and shuffles closer because he knows he’s near tears and he doesn’t want Daichi to see him like that. “You don’t even know what I’m thinking about.” 

“I have a few ideas.” His friend answers, but doesn’t push him away when Koushi buries his face in his chest. “We’ll leave them for the morning.” 

When morning comes, neither of them speak about their worries. 

//

“Da-i-chi!” 

The name is stuttered, almost breathless, but high pitched and a bit grating on Koushi’s ears. He’s still half asleep when it comes, but is brought forcefully into awareness when his friend’s name is screamed from across the street they’re currently walking on in the state of New York. The dagger Daichi made for him had broken two days ago in a fight against some creature neither of them could remember the name of, and he was left defenseless against whatever attack was gonna come next. Koushi feels anxiety grip at his ribcage, and he instinctively steps in front of Daichi, who holds his upper arm with more force than he thinks is necessary. 

“Kazuhito?” Comes Daichi’s quiet response, the iron grip he has on Koushi’s arm falling almost limp. “Kazuhito! It’s you!” 

When Koushi finally manages to follow Daichi’s line of sight towards the stumbling figure trying to cross the busy street, he is met with a lanky kid, not much older than he and Daichi must be. He looks as beaten and bruised as Koushi feels, and he limps to their side of the sidewalk with as much conviction as he can manage in his clumsy stumble. Shaved dark hair underneath a beanie, and warm brown eyes that are filling up with tears at an alarming rate, but there’s no sight of the goat legs Daichi had promised were there. 

Before he can react, Kazuhito Narita is but a blur passing by Koushi’s side. He turns frantically at the tell tale sound of Daichi getting tackled to the ground. 

“Daichi! Oh, praise the Gods! You’re alive, you’re alive! I thought I had screwed up! Daichi, Daichi, Daichi!” The satyr yells, voice muffled into Daichi’s chest as they both lay sprawled on the sidewalk. 

Passerbys give them odd looks, but enough space. They must look crazy. 

“Kazuhito, I thought you had--! I didn’t think you’d--!” Daichi tries to say, patting the back of Narita’s head. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” 

When an old man mutters something offensive at Daichi, Suga leaps at them, trying to get them both to their feet. “I hate to break up this reunion, but we might want to move somewhere less public.” 

“Ah, who is this?” Narita says, smiling bright at Suga through his tears. “Another demigod! You found another one, Daichi? To be expected from you!” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Daichi says, pushing himself up off the ground. “Suga’s right though. Introductions for later, let’s move somewhere quieter.”

They find a park a couple of blocks later, but Narita doesn’t stop talking on the way there. Daichi had said Kazuhito wasn’t particularly talkative when they had known each other in New Mexico, but he did say he was prone to nerves, although they hardly ever shone through in difficult situations. It seemed to Suga that Daichi just hadn’t been paying enough attention, because this entire rant was just Kazuhito anxiously info-dumping on them. 

Not that Koushi would blame him. He’d be terrified too if he thought he had lost his one charge. 

“I can’t believe I was able to catch up to you.” Kazuhito says, pulling the beanie off his head as soon as they’re away from people. Suga tries not to choke on the little juice box Narita had given him when he sees the horns. “I kept finding odd notes on my way here while following your scent, but they weren’t on your handwriting so I didn’t know if they were yours, Dai.”

“Ah, Suga had been leaving them!” Daichi smiles towards him. “He thought maybe, if you had a way to find us, you’d pass by the same places we did. I’m sorry I didn’t sign any of them, I didn’t even think about it.” 

Narita shakes his head. “No mind. I still found you in the end. I’m glad I made it to you guys before you went into Camp Half-Blood.” 

Honestly, Koushi is kind of glad, too. He doesn’t know what’s going to be waiting on the other side of Camp Half-Blood, but he knows he’s nervous about it. 

“And you found Suga, too!” Narita says. “I call that some good luck. Tyche must favor you, Suga! How did you stumble upon Daichi?” 

“Ah, well,” Koushi fiddles with his thumbs, suddenly self-conscious. “I ran away from home. Daichi found me in the forest being chased by a giant ant.” 

Kazuhito's face falls just slightly. The satyr leans over to place a steady hand on Koushi’s shoulder, squeezing in what Suga supposes is a comforting gesture. 

“I understand.” Narita says, a soft smile on his lips. “You’re not alone anymore, though, Suga. I hope you know that. When we get to camp, we’ll figure out where your cabin is and your siblings will make you feel right at home.” 

Koushi’s siblings. Koushi’s siblings . 

Suga nods jerkily, leaning into the place where Narita’s hand falls on his shoulder. 

They’ll be okay. 

// 

When they finally make it to camp (after being chased through the forest just outside by a giant fucking thing that Koushi has no way to put a name to), Daichi and Suga are almost immediately pulled apart. 

It’s a flurry of movement, from the moment Kazuhito finally hauls them both into the protective barrier of Camp Half-Blood with the last his satyr legs have to offer. As soon as Koushi is face down on the grass, wheezing after the effort it took to run away from whatever the hell had chased them down, there’s a blinding red light around him that’s very hard to miss. He has two seconds of full panic before, from outside his bright cocoon, comes Narita’s excited wheeze of: “A son of Aphrodite!” 

Aphrodite? Goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite? Suga has many questions about this discovery. 

After he gets blessed with new clothes and a new hairstyle that’s impossible to mess up, Koushi is swept away by a brown haired camper about his age that talks a mile an hour and won’t shut up about how pretty Suga’s silver hair is. The camper introduces himself as his brother, Tooru Oikawa, and then leads him to a cabin where he gives Suga a complete tour of the rest of his family. Everyone welcomes him with open arms and easy smiles, and Koushi finds it all rather overwhelming pretty easily. 

He manages to catch sight of Daichi and Kazuhito only one more time when Oikawa takes him to the Big House (capitalization apparently vital). His travel companions are sitting just across the room from him, but because of where Oikawa has brought them to sit, Koushi cannot talk to them or even make eye contact. Daichi is surrounded by what Suga supposes are his siblings, two boys and one particularly tall girl that keeps ruffling Daichi’s hair whenever he says something. 

At the Big House, Koushi meets Keishin Ukai, son of Aphrodite and head counselor, and his right hand man, a dryad by the name of Ittetsu Takeda. Suga notices the matching wedding bands on their fingers, but doesn’t mention it or ask Oikawa anything about it. The way the counselors talk and interact with each other is enough to tell Koushi what he needs to know. 

He’s taken away again, for whatever reason, but not before he can wave a shy hand towards Daichi and Narita. Daichi offers him the most blinding smile and a thumbs up, and Koushi starts missing being by his side almost immediately. In the flurry of activity and happenings that has been this entire day, Suga is suddenly keenly aware that they have reached their goal and that Daichi has no other reason to stick around Koushi now that he’s met with all his siblings. 

Suga tries to drown out the feelings of insecurity and instability as best he can, but it’s hard to swallow the food and drink he’s offered at the campfire when he can’t even find Daichi in the crowd. They’ve been travelling together for so long that Koushi wonders if he’s suddenly become dependent on Hephaestus’ son to just go on with his daily life. 

“Tell me about yourself, Koushi!” Oikawa demands, just after they’ve given their offerings to their parents. “Were you travelling for a long time?” 

“Oh, um--” Suga swallows the bit of bread he’d bitten into, trying not to choke on it. “Well, Daichi and I--we were travelling together for a little over two weeks. Kazuhito and he had been travelling for much longer, though.” 

“Oh, you were travelling without a satyr?” Oikawa asks next, looking shocked. “I mean, you weren’t with Narita all the time, then?” 

Suga shakes his head. “No, not really. We found him in New York--or rather he found us. Daichi and he had been travelling together before I even came into the picture, but by the time I found Daichi, they had become separated. They had a weird trip.” 

“Ah.” Oikawa’s voice sounds a little sad. “I’m sorry you were alone. Did you not know you were a demigod?” 

Koushi shakes his head. “My dad rarely ever talked about my mom, and I never pressed the issue.” 

“How did you find the son of Hephaestus, then?” 

Koushi sighs. He wishes he didn’t have to explain this all over again. Why couldn’t Daichi just be here with him? 

“So, I may have run away from home…” 

Oikawa frowns, and Koushi feels a sudden need to tell him (his brother ) everything that led him to camp. 

//  

Sleep doesn’t come easy, although Koushi had expected to crash the moment his head hit the pillow. He hasn’t slept in a proper bed in weeks, and yet he can’t seem to stop the thoughts that prance around his head in an unending loop. 

Charmspeak. An ability given to certain children of Aphrodite that allows them to persuade people into doing something. Koushi had apparently been blessed with his mother’s gift, just like Tooru himself was. 

Cursed, was more like it. Suga had not necessarily liked what his power involved. 

Oikawa had attempted to explain that their charmspeak was not an inherently bad thing, but that it could be hard to control and even harder to realize one was doing it if they didn’t have any previous knowledge of their status. Tooru’s mortal mother had told him everything about Aphrodite, and Tooru himself had spoken to his godly mother on more than one occasion, so he hadn’t had any real issues with his charmspeak in the past. Unlike Koushi, Oikawa had only used his powers with intention, and never in a situation that could endanger people’s lives. 

His new brother had offered to teach Koushi how to use his blessing, but Koushi had not wanted to hear anything about it. He was already having a hard time adapting to the idea of being at camp and having this entire new family he had known nothing about until two and a half weeks ago, so Koushi had politely declined the invitation. He didn’t need another thing to be worried about on top of his growing list of concerns. 

He wondered how many times he’d used his charmspeak without meaning to. 

His dad had warned him about it plenty of times, so Koushi could only assume he had been doing it much more than he’d initially thought. Not only had he manipulated his brother Kaoru into climbing really high up that tree, but he had probably also hypnotized other people in his life to do what he ordered and get what he wanted. Did the old ladies that live down the street from him ever give him oranges from their tree because they wanted to? Or had it been because Koushi had explicitly asked to get one while using his charmspeak? 

Why didn’t his dad say something before? Why had he not offered the knowledge that Daichi, Narita and Oikawa had given away so freely? Why was Suga still so in the dark about who he was and where he belonged to?

Koushi’s hands felt cold. 

Outside, the summer night was pleasant, but Suga’s bed seemed empty and too big for him alone. He had gotten so used to curling up next to Daichi, hands twined in the negative space between their bodies, that sleeping alone like this, in a comfortable bed with the soft sounds of his siblings’ breathing around him, seemed odd and uncomfortable. 

As he tiptoes his way outside the Aphrodite cabin, Koushi thinks of how ridiculous it is that he’s sneaking out from his new home. 

It seems much less ridiculous when, from across the embers of the campfire, Suga catches Daichi’s familiar form walking down the steps from the Hephaestus cabin. 

“Can’t sleep?” Daichi asks him, once they’ve met in the middle. “My cabin feels too hot.” 

“Mine’s too cold.” Suga replies, rubbing his hands together in front of him. “The bed’s too soft.” 

“You got used to our tattered bed rolls so fast?” Daichi says, voice teasing. 

Koushi presses his hands to Daichi’s chest and pushes him slightly in retaliation. Daichi catches his fingers between his own hands and--oh gods, this is what Suga had been missing tonight. “Shut up.” 

“Want to sleep by the lake?” Daichi asks, leaning in like they’re sharing the biggest secret known to man. 

“Whoever said you didn’t have any good ideas was wrong.” 

Daichi laughs, pulling Koushi along as he begins walking towards what Koushi supposes is the direction of the lake. “You said so yesterday morning.” 

“Oh, I was right then.” 

“Sure you were.” 

When they make it to the lake, Koushi realizes this might’ve also been one of Daichi’s bad ideas, but when his friend takes off his sweatshirt to create a pillow for the two of them, Suga doesn’t find it in himself to give a damn about it. They lay by the edge of the water, where the waves cannot lap at their feet, and curl on opposite sides so they can face each other. Between them, Daichi holds Suga’s hand in the same way he’d done it the past two weeks. 

Whatever had brought them together, Koushi was eternally grateful to have been chased down by a giant ant into the forest where Daichi had been stuck for a week. His life had shifted viciously, from one hour to the next, and although Koushi suspected it would’ve eventually happened one way or the other, he was glad it had been Daichi that held his hands through it all. 

Daichi was warm, strong, and secure. Two weeks was all it had taken for this boy to worm his way into Koushi’s life and heart. A best friend, through and through, for whom Suga was thankful. They may not have known each other in the same way Kazuhito seemed to know Daichi and Daichi seemed to know Kazuhito, but they knew each other in the way Daichi knew Koushi and Koushi knew Daichi. 

That was enough. 

“Your hair.” Daichi breathes out, softly. “How?” 

Suga huffs, annoyed suddenly at the reminder of his mother’s blessing. “Apparently my mother likes to give us makeovers. I’ve been trying to get it to sit how I want it to sit for hours , but it just keeps going back to this thing .” 

“It looks good.” 

“Of course you’d say that.” Koushi rolls his eyes. “But I don’t like it, and my mom doesn’t seem to be getting the memo.” 

“I don’t think you’re supposed to insult godly gifts.” Daichi snickers. “But then again, you’ve done dumber things.” 

Koushi uses his free hand to punch Daichi’s arm. “Shut up, already.” 

Daichi huffs out a sound between a laugh and a pained groan, and Koushi smiles victorious. “You sure you’re not a son of Ares?” 

They bicker back and forth for over twenty minutes, their voices almost lost in the vastness of the camp and the lake in front of them. By the time Koushi realizes he’s truly getting sleepy, they’ve shuffled closer and closer until their foreheads are pressed together. 

“Hey, Daichi?”

Daichi hums in response, brown eyes opened only halfway as he tries to remain awake. “Yeah, Kou?” 

“We’ll be okay,” Suga asks, voice tiny, “right?” 

Daichi gives Koushi one of those dazzling grins that make Suga feel like the sun has come out while the moon is still in the sky. “As long as we’re together, I promise you we’ll always be alright.” 

Koushi sleeps all through next morning, when they’re kicked awake by a furious looking Oikawa who yells at Suga about how worried he had been when he’d woken up to his empty bed. Koushi is too groggy to form coherent thought, but he holds Daichi’s hand tighter, the promise he’d made just the night before pressed into the palms of their hands for safekeeping. 

They’ll be alright.