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The newcomer, probably an Ares's child, sticks to Soonyoung like glue for the first few days.
"Why is there a newbie following you around? You left early at his first campfire night." Jihoon asked when the Terpsichore's child spontaneously decides to sit in the Apollo table, a bemused look in his eyes. "And he is looking at you even now, from the Athena's."
Oh. That's true, Kim Mingyu is taking not so secret glances at them that the other demigod beside him - Wonwoo, Soonyoung recognized - seems kinda weirded out.
"I thought he was a child of Ares." Jihoon stared with a "You've just proved my point" look. Soonyoung pouts at that. "Hey, I am not Mnemosyne. I can't always remember whose child is that, when I don't know the guy himself!"
And Kim Mingyu is so tall and all! He looks like the type to fight well with his strength, so Soonyoung just assumed.
But a good brain is attractive too, huh.
"Anyway, I kinda had to guide him to the campfire, I guess? I sneaked out in the middle of the celebration." He takes a bite of his meal, a bit messy if Jihoon's grunt is anything to go by. "Like, he mistakenly got into my cabin instead. He saw me practicing one of my dance routines."
In fact, it's not that he doesn't know anything about Mingyu. Soonyoung knows his name and age. They've talked a bit, even just for a few minutes, and he learned that the boy is a year younger than him. Dionysus, ever the god that he is, kind of abandoned him to find the way himself. Soonyoung even showed him where the arena is, it was on the way there after all.
"Kim Mingyu's cute." Soonyoung said, remembering their little conversation.
Like a puppy. The clueless boy looked around with such curiousity, truly a newcomer to this- weird world of demigods. Everytime Soonyoung said something, anything at all, Mingyu paid his utmost attention, like he's hearing a prophecy or something. The child of Terpsichore must have been the first person to hold an actual conversation with him at camp.
When they walked across the lava wall, the boy seemed so terrified, Soonyoung thought he was gonna faint.
See? Cute.
"Ew, you sound like those Aphrodite's kids!" The redhead considers throwing his bread at Jihoon, but then decided to stuff it in his own mouth instead.
Soonyoung huffs. "Well, I don't mind if he actually approach me. He can be a great companion, might not be a bully like you, Hoonie."
____
"Hey, wanna spar?"
"Wha-"
Mingyu looks suprised, seeing Soonyoung so close. The child of Terpsichore is secretly proud of himself.
"I might not look like it, but I'm pretty good." He grins, handling the other a sword. It must be sudden, or just Mingyu being clumsy, because the wooden weapon falls to the floor. "And you can learn something, newbie."
The Athena's kid is still new to this, and there are moments his eyes lost focus, unsure how to dodge and strike. But he lasts longer than Soonyoung thought. A descendant of the War God after all, he is a natural in using weapons. He can't wait for Mingyu's improvement.
With Soonyoung though, fighting is like dancing. Swords and shields are only his props, body movement is what matters. It is what he's got from his mother, one of her "gifts" that he's grateful for.
Watching the enemies dancing uncontrollably to his entertainment is also a great present. Though Jihoon would argue that children of Terpsichore are just weirdos.
As if the Apollo's kids are any better. A requirement in being demigods is weirdness. Must have come in the family.
A swing of his sword, and Mingyu's own is thrown across the arena. Rather gracefully, he'd say. The younger boy sits down, catching his breath. He seems fine, a bit embarrassed, so Soonyoung quickly assures him that he did great.
"How... How did you do that?" Mingyu asked in awe. They settle down on the ground, Soonyoung can almost imagine the wagging tail behind the child of Athena. Cute.
"Cool, right?" He laughs when the younger boy nodded earnestly. "It's practice. We must always be ready you know."
Their orange Camp Half-blood shirts are wet with sweat. Soonyoung stares a little. Mingyu suits this look.
"Now, mind tell me why you were following me around?"
The puppy turns red at that.
It's been a few days from their first meeting, anyway. Soonyoung doesn't mind at all, even feeling fond of the boy. It's just that he doesn't understand why Mingyu's not tried to talk to him.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry!" He is flustered, alright. "I just... You are the first person to have helped me in this camp, and you are really nice, so... I just want to be friends."
Right. When they part ways the other day, he did said that if the younger demigod needed anything, he could come to the Muses cabin. They can be friends.
"And, um, I really love your dance that day... I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to see it, but it was beautiful." Mingyu added, his hands fidgeting like crazy. "You must have spent a lot of time on it."
Soonyoung feels a little shy at that.
It's not like he hasn't heard these words before. His mother is the Muse of Dancing, of course he is good at it. The kids at school used to praise him, before some of them started to cast him out for being dyslexic, and because his dances are kind of "girly". Whatever that means.
The point is, Soonyoung knows he's good. Jihoon and Seungcheol - the one and only child of Zeus at camp, his older friend - watch his routines, and they always say they are perfect.
But it's always nice to have others recognise his talent and more importantly, his effort.
"Thanks! It really means a lot." Grinning widely, Soonyoung watches as the other boy let out a relieved sign. "And you should have said that sooner, we could have been the bestest of friends!"
He abruptly stands up, pulling Mingyu with him. They are going to get closer, at least in this summer at camp.
Soonyoung's sure of it.
______
"How did you and, erm, the Apollo's child hyung get closer? Just asking."
Soonyoung figured out that Kim Mingyu is clingy. Like, really clingy, to the point that after just a short time, skinships are already normal between them.
Even right now, when they are sitting on Soonyoung's bed in the Muses cabin, the younger boy is hugging him loosely.
("Nope, I'm not stepping into the Athena cabin. You guys have so many books and maps and- and intellectual stuffs! I hate it."
Soonyoung ignored the pout on Mingyu's face intirely. Wonwoo invited him there once, and he just spent all their time reading or playing games. Nerds.
"We're going to my cabin, and that's final. It's less crowded there, anyway.")
"Oh, Jihoon?" Soonyoung asked, looking up from his choreo notebook. "We got to the camp at roughly the same time."
"Yeah?" The child of Athena peeked from behind his back, urging him to continue.
"He insulted me at first." Soonyoung giggles when he feels Mingyu gasping lightly. "Like, how could I be a Terpsichore's kid if all I did the first few days was asking Dionysus about his leopard printed things."
Soonyoung actually has been obsessed with tigers since he was small, and leopards are kinda similar, right? So imagine meeting the god with the largest collection of leopard printed shirts ever.
Fun times.
"Anyway, we went to a quest together after." He stopped to write down some of his inspiration, then continued. "Danger pulls people closer, I guess."
"But a quest is usually consists of three demigods? Who was the other one?"
"Seungcheol-hyung. The Zeus's kid, you must know him right?" Mingyu nods. Everyone knows him, he is the undefeatable king of Capture the Flag after all. "We have to find a cursed diamond or something."
"Then Jihoon and I figured that we have a lot in common. Arts related parents and all."
Mingyu hummed. He seems to be thinking about something, before asking:
"Will I ever get to be on a quest?"
Soonyoung turns around, which slightly startled the other boy.
"It's for the best that you don't." He answered truthfully, thinking about the monsters and those life or death situations the three of them risked for a diamond. Of the Gods, not even theirs.
"Being a demigod is already dangerous in itself. Quests can kill you." The older boy bites his lips.
"The gods may think they've 'blessed' us or something, but they don't actually care. If we failed, they would just send another bunch of demigods to finish the job, not caring if their children are alive or not."
Mingyu must have understood, because he stays silent.
Most demigods spent their childhood with a lone parent raising them. It is difficult, some even be ridiculed for not having both parents by their side, bonus the ADHD and dyslexia. Monsters are always after them, and sometimes, their powers get out of control and hurt others.
Their godly parents probably don't even remember their names.
Soonyoung's father has told him stories about the woman who's brought him into this life, about how she danced so gracefully along with the music he made. She never appeared, all Soonyoung knows about her are some short sentences in books and those dreamy fairy tales of his father's. He doesn't know about Mingyu's family, though it must be similar.
Whatever.
"What I'm trying to say is, I want you to be safe, you know?"
Mingyu smiles at that, wrapping his larger hands around him tightly. Clingy, but Soonyoung likes it.
A bit too much, if he might say so himself.
_________
"I'm doomed!" Soonyoung rests his head on the pillow, groaning through the sound of SHINee's Dream girl in the background.
"I'm the worst friend ever!" Jihoon stops playing his guitar for a second, signing loudly. He ignores that.
"Kim Mingyu's so cute!" Joshua looks up from his bracelet-making task, and they finally decided to look at him.
"You are lucky you have the power to boost inspiration, or I'd have thrown you out already!" Soonyoung sticks his tongue out at the child of Apollo's remark, to the amusement of the older demigods in the room.
Joshua moves so that he is closer to where the redhead's lying, while Jeonghan puts an arm around his shoulder. "So all of this drama over a boy huh?"
Seungcheol is busy training some newcomers, while Jun and Wonwoo going to gods know where. So it's just them hanging out for now.
"I've heard enough about Kim Mingyu for the past few days, ever since this idiot realized his feelings." Jihoon muttered under his breath, the guitar completely casted aside. "Feel free to take my place."
"Hey!" He didn't talk that much, alright? Maybe a few times. After their sparring sessions, or the campfire. Not that much at all.
"Ooh, tell me, tell me. Soonyoungie, are you in love?" Jeonghan smirks, and Soonyoung knows he is blushing. The hand around his shoulder does not help.
"You seem even more interested than Joshua-hyung. And he is a child of Aphrodite, mind you." Probably because they're boyfriends. They've influenced each other too much.
Or Joshua just doesn't like gossiping as much as his siblings and his boyfriend.
"Why don't you go for it?" The Aphrodite cabin's counsellor asked in his gentle voice.
"I mean, from what I know, you guys already use nicknames."
Scratch that. All the Aphrodite's kids love gossips.
"It's not that easy, ugh." Soonyoung groans. "We've only talked for two months!"
"But you think he's good for you." Joshua said, infuriatingly right. "I say you should try."
Maybe. However, they are demigods. Their life is hard, and who knows when will his loved ones leave him. It would be so cruel.
And they are still kids, too. Young and curious, the feelings might not be serious after all.
"You're right. You guys are kids, Soonyoungie, and demigod teenagers at that." Jeonghan cut off what his boyfriend was about to say, earning him a glare and an elbow at his side. "So it is exactly why you should try, because you don't have much time."
Maybe. Soonyoung closes his eyes, feeling a hand ruffling his dyed hair.
But it is still hard.
_______
Turns out, it is kinda easy.
All it took was a Capture the Flag game, with them being on different teams. Soonyoung's role was to sneak to where the other team placed their red flag, while the Ares's children being distractions in the frontline.
Mingyu found him.
"You lose to me just, what, a month ago, and how are you planning to stop me?" The dancer grinned, his eyes never left Mingyu's. They just stared at each other like that, making teasing remarks playfully.
"I can, and I will catch you, hyung." He seemed determined, different from the clueless boy in their first sparring match. "I have a secret card up my sleeve."
"I wonder what that is." The smirk on Soonyoung's face only grew wider, seeing his favourite Gyu being so confident.
Then, he sprinted towards to the flag.
Mingyu couldn't quite catch up to him in term of speed just yet, he knew that, and sadly had to use it against the boy.
It took a total of thirty seconds of the younger chasing after him before he yelled out loud something, in the forest. In the middle of the game.
"I like you a lot, Soonyoungie-hyung!"
What.
Before he knew it, he was tackled to the ground, with Mingyu's arms around him.
He's out.
"... You're such a cheater!" Still in shock, Soonyoung yelled, not caring if it was directly right beside Mingyu's ear. The little cheater deserved it.
"So?" The child of Athena mimicked his smirk earlier, like the jerk he was. "I wonder if that works too."
Soonyoung hated him so much. But his cheeks were hot, his heart was beating too fast that Mingyu could definitely feel it. Clingy, but he liked it.
Oops, the other kids had to go on without him then. Great demigods they were, they could handle it.
(See? Easy.)