Chapter Text
-First Meeting
5 year old Poseidon hid behind Hades’s leg as he conversed with the school teacher, which gave him some time to observe the classroom shenanigans that were going on behind them. His usual slightly annoyed face scrunched up in displeasure as he watched them run around with paint on their hands trying to chase each other and smear it onto one another. Some were just sat on the floor and talking, which he also didn't like because the floor to him was disgusting. Others seemed to be working on some arts and craft project, including one dark brown haired boy, who wiped his forehead with the back of arm due to his hands having large amounts of newspaper glued to them.
Poseidon focused on him with a concentrated frown, and a few seconds later, their eyes met. Poseidon kept his steady look, not backing down from the boy who looked in surprise at him before flashing a very huge grin, waving energetically to him. Poseidon ‘hmphed’ at this, though he slightly cowered behind Hades leg with a weird feeling in his stomach. How dare he act so casual towards him?
-Let’s play?
His first day there he ignored the kids, not even bothering to make eye contact with either of them except for his cousin Hermes, as he focused on his important project of building a small building out of popsicle sticks. Hermes handed them to him with half his attention on the project, and the other half on a black haired boy who was currently chasing Kojiro around. He would have liked to join in, but Poseidon had asked to help him build something, and he couldn't leave his cousin alone on his second day here.
Kojiro glanced at their direction by chance, and slowly came to a walk before stopping altogether. Loki noticed this as he turned around with a huge grin before looking at him curiously, and then jogged back to him. He lightly smacked the boy's shoulder to get his attention.
“Hey come one, you gotta catch me!” Loki exclaimed to him, looking at him with a brow raised as he watched Kojiro point a finger up at them. He followed the direction and saw Hermes look at him with a surprised look, before quickly looking away to Poseidon. He scratched his head before turning his attention back to Kojiro “So? What about them?”
“How come Hermes isn't playing?” Kojiro asked as he watched the black haired boy pass sticks to Poseidon who glued them almost perfectly together. Normally he’d play with him and Loki (and others if they wanted to join), but for some reason he wasn’t with them. Loki just waved a hand dismissively at this.
“Ah, he said he’s gotta play with his cousin instead. He asked him to join but he didn’t wanna play, so I guess Hermes is out for now.” Loki said with a shrug. As much as he wanted to play with Hermes, he guessed Kojiro would be the next best thing. Said boy looked with curiosity at the blonde for a few seconds, before making his way over. Loki looked at him pouting slightly. “Hey! Where you going?!” Kojiro held up a finger with a small smile before jogging his way over to the two.
“Hey guys, you wanna play tag?” He asked the two as he neared, Hermes looking back at him. He glanced at Poseidon, almost hopefully, wondering if the blonde would change his mind, though they both noticed that he merely ignored Kojiro's question as he kept to his project. Looks like that was a no. Hermes sighed internally as he turned his attention back to Kojiro.
“E-erm, no thank you Kojiro” He softly spoke, well mannered for a boy his age. Kojrios smile never left his face as he carried on.
“Ah that's fine. Do you guys want any help?” Poseidon flashed his eyes to the boy before focusing his project again with ‘hmph’. Though he had been here for only 2 days, he saw what the boy had done with his work. He was not impressed. He answered before Hermes could accept.
“Get lost worm” Kojiro blinked at his response while Hermes gave him an unsure look before looking away. He wished his cousin wasn’t so mean. He turned back to Kojiro in surprise when he heard him start to laugh at the insult, and not in a condescending way. He genuinely thought it was funny being called a worm. He imagined himself slithering across the ground and the image just made him laugh.
“Hahaha, that's funny.” Kojiro grinned at the two, before Loki's loud voice caused the two to look in his direction, seeing the boy standing there with hands on his hips.
“Hey! You comin’?!” Loki asked impatiently, looking at the three with a disapproving look. He wasn't here to talk, he was here to run away from someone chasing him! Kojiro turned back to the two with a small smile.
“Maybe next time, after you finish your art project!” Kojiro said as he started walking away with a wave to the two. Hermes waved back politely, while Poseidon still glued the sticks together, ignoring him once more. Hopefully the worm would think twice before deciding to approach him again.
-I’ll help
Day after day Hermes once again shook his head at Kojiro sadly, politely declining the offer to play tag one more with him and Loki as he continued working with Poseidon to build a house out of sticks, while Poseidon narrowed his eyes at Kojiro when no one was looking, wondering why he was so determined to making him play with him. Kojiro watched with fascination at the project, it was impressive for a 5 year old, so who knows how long it would take before they would finish. They should have a break.
Loki once more shouted at him to hurry up, Jack and Heracles also waiting, though a lot more patiently, to resume the game of tag.
“I gotta head back. That’s too bad you didn't wanna join in Hermes, Loki was looking forward to it” Kojiro said as he turned his body sideways to start walking away. He saw Hermes turn back to him with wide eyes, mouth parted as he looked in slight shock.
“M-me? H-he wanted t-to play with me?” Hermes asked, forgetting his previous job of handing Poseidon the sticks as he fumbled to his feet. Kojiro nodded his head to confirm this, pointing to Loki who was growing more and more impatient by the second.
‘Yeah, go ask him if you want” Kojiro offered, watching as Hermes’s face lightened up before sprinting to Loki. Kojiro watched them for a few seconds before turning his attention back to Poseidon, squatting down as he watched him work. He was really good at building.
“How’d you get so good?” Kojiro asked as he watched him squash two ends of the sticks together, before placing it with some others, which turned out to be a garden fence of sorts. Poseidon didn’t say anything as he continued his job, determined not to let some uncultured ruffian stop him. He placed his hand next to him to grab some more sticks, before patting the spot in small circles, turning his head to find that there were none left.
He turned his head back round to see Kojiro holding some out in his small fist, a friendly smile on his face as he motioned for the blonde to take them. Poseidon kept his frown as he stared at him for a few seconds, before huffing quietly and taking the sticks, engrossing himself in his work once more. As he took another stick, he accidentally brushed his fingers against Kojiros, pulling his hand back instinctively. Kojiro noticed this, so he picked one from his clenched fist and passed that to him, and then another, and another, one by one.
-New Friend
“Who’s it for?” Kojiro asked curiously as he helped Poseidon gently carry his finished piece to the exit. School would be finished in a few minutes, so they didn’t have to rush to get there. The past few days he had been helping Poseidon, which really consisted of him passing the sticks to home. But he didn’t mind, he had finished his painting of him and his big sister Hrist ages ago, so he figured he’d give a hand.
Though the blonde rarely said words to anyone, he found that speaking a few at a time to Kojiro pleased him, as the brown haired boy seemed eager to speak highly of him. At first Poseidon hated it, but after a day of this, he grew to like it, though he didn’t let it show on his face or with his tone.
“My big brother” Poseidon said, watching as Kojiro raised his eyebrows towards him, a look of shock on his face as he looked at Poseidon with his mouth agape. Poseidon averted his eyes, he could feel the weird stomach pain again.
“You have a big brother?!” Kojiro asked excitedly, still careful with the mini house in his hands. “That’s so cool! I've always wanted a big brother!” Before Poseidon could brush off the compliment with slightly reddish cheeks, Hrist arrived, smiling brightly at Kojiro who returned it. The two placed the project at the table, before Kojiro pointed at his sister who stood near the entrance, waiting for the teacher to dismiss the class. “That’s my big sister there! Do you wanna meet her?” Kojrio turned his grin to Poseidon, who glanced at his house with hesitation.
He didn’t want to leave it unattended in case some fool smashed into it, but as he turned back to Kojiro, his warm eyes inviting Poseidon to join him, he couldn't resist. Shyly, but still with a frown, he nodded his head. Almost instantly Kojrio grabbed his head, Poseidon frowning more with blushed cheeks, as he felt himself being dragged by the boy who bounded over to Hrist, stopping and nodding to the teacher who warned him not to rush and trip, before reaching his sister.
“Hrist look! This is my new friend, Poseidon!” Kojiro proudly announced, the grin not leaving his face. Hrist smiled at him, though unknown to the two, it looked a bit more strained, as she glanced outside to the entrance. Poseidon kept his eyes on the ground, his head lowered as he was too shy to say anything, his free hand gripping his trousers. “Do you wanna see what he built Hrist? It’s a really cool house!” Kojiro shouted as he took a step back, though stopped when Hrist leaned forward slightly with a hand out, stopping just short of him.
“Maybe another time Kojiro. We, should really be heading home” Hrsit said, trying to keep a smile on her face. Kojiro blinked before nodding his head at her, releasing Poseidon's hand as Hrist passed him his backpack. He turned to Poseidon, who still kept his hand by his side in a position as if he was still holding Kojiro's.
“I’ll see you tomorrow Po!” Kojiro waved at him as held Hrists hand, speed walking to catch up to Hrsits pace, before fully turning around. Poseidon scrunched his nose in thought.
‘Po?’
-MY Friend
Poseidon ran as fast as his little legs could take him, swiping Kojiro's hand in his as he dragged him to the entrance. Kojiro said nothing as he allowed himself to be dragged, his friends watching curiously at the two. Now that the day was over and Hades had arrived, he had decided to ask Poseidon how he was liking the school after his first week, and if he had made any friends. Naturally, he had to show him Kojiro.
“This is Kojiro. He’s my friend” Poseidon declared, pulling the boy closer to him as he stared up at Hades. Hades blinked in slight surprise, not expecting Poseidon to run away from him and bring his friend back with him. Or even expect him to make friends so quickly. He knew how anti-social his little brother was.
“Hello” Kojiro waved at him, before touching his own ear with the same hand after “I like the things on your ear” Hades smiled at him, glad that Poseidon had someone he could talk to at school. Kojiro seemed polite enough.
“Thank you Kojiro. I like your scarf” Hades said as he bent over slightly and rested a hand on his knee, pointing at Kojiro's bright red scarf laced with flower patterns on it. Before Kojiro could tell Poseidon's big brother how soft it was, he was distracted by the black nail polish on Hades's fingernails, pointing to his finger with his small hand in amazement.
“Your fingers look really nice Poseidon's big brother” Kojiro had never seen that colour on someone before. He had seen his sister paint her nails, mainly purple, but never pure black. Hades' smile grew slightly as he uncurled his fingers and showed Kojiro the rest of them, allowing him to grab his hand with his child-sized ones as he examined them with interest.
Out of nowhere, Poseidon stepped forward and snatched Hades’s hand down, Kojiro letting go in surprise as they both turned their attention to him, the blonde frowning, almost annoyed at Hades, as he repeated himself once more.
“I said he’s MY friend”
-Married
“What does that mean miss?” Jack asked, never hearing the work before in his entire 6 year old life, the other kids also tilting their heads in confusion at the word.
“Oh, married? It’s, hmmmm. Well, it’s when you marry someone because you love them very much!”
“What do you do when you're married?” Loki asked, his head still tilted as he paused in his drawing of Hermes. The teacher froze as she quickly thought of some age appropriate answers to that.
“W-well, you, er. You hug them, spend time with them, live with them, kiss them-“ Loud ‘ews’ we’re chorused from most of the kids, not including Kojiro, Poseidon, Hermes, etc, while the teacher tried backtracking on her words.
“But why would they do that?” Kojiro asked, while still chuckling at the ’kiss each other part.’
“B-because you love each other!” The teacher quickly explained, wishing to end the conversation as quickly as possible. “And you’ll spent together forever! L-let’s break for recess!” Cheers were heard from the kids as they dropped what they were doing and headed out to play.
Poseidon glanced at Kojiro as the boy slipped out of his chair and made his way to him, before looking to the side with a thoughtful look in his face.
‘Together forever’ Poseidon’s eyes met Kojiros once more.
That didn’t sound too bad.
-Gifts
Poseidon glared at Jack as the brit gave Kojiro a paper flower, smiling at the Japanese boy who beamed brightly at him. Though the kids didn’t really understand what the point of Valentine’s Day was, they were excited to make and receive gifts from each other.
The blonde pouted angrily as Kojiro gave one back and hugged him quickly, before mimicking the action with Heracles. He hadn’t gotten anything from Kojiro, though he hadn’t given anything to him either.
He stomped his way over, quickly grappling Kojiro's shoulder and pulled him away from everyone, ignoring others who tried to personally hand him any gifts. He didn’t want anyone, not from them anyways.
“Ow! H-hey Po! What’re you doing?” Kojiro asked as he juggled the gifts in his arms while being dragged by the pouty blue eyed boy. The arm was still hurting from days ago, not that it would heal quickly since his dad kept bringing his friends around and they would get angry at him for some reason.
“Shut up” Poseidon murmured, his bottom lip quivering as he thought of ways to rectify this little ‘problem’.
Koji was his and his alone.
-What’s this?
“Close your eyes Po!” Kojiro said excitedly, hiding his late gift behind his back as he turned left and right to stop Poseidon from peeking at it. His side was hurting from the bruises he had received a few days ago, his small body gathering more and more, along with a cut near his chest. He kept the smile on his face though, as he was happy when he came to school. When he saw Poseidon. Poseidon huffed as he crossed his arms and glared at Kojiro, though there was no malice to it.
“Kojiro hurry up or else I’m gunna take it!” Poseidon threatened, making Kojiro smile at him. He knew he would probably do that, but it was still funny to hear.
“You gotta close your eyes first!” Kojiro persuaded, smiling as Poseidon sighed and complied. Hopefully this wouldn’t take long. “Okay, you can open them now” Poseidon did as he was told with narrowed eyes, though quickly changed to a raised brow as he saw what seemed to be a popsicle stick broken in places to form a small circle shape. He looked at it blankly.
“What the heck is that?”
“It’s a ring!” Kojiro answered with a grin, motioning for Poseidon to take it. Poseidon turned his eyes to him.
“What’s it for?” He hesitantly reached for it, running his finger along the ragged edges before pressing it down slightly in Kojiro's palm.
“So I can marry you!”
-Marriage
“W-wait, Poseidon. Can you say that again for me?” Hades asked with a smile as he held his phone towards the two boys holding hands, Poseidon with a shy, annoyed expression on his face, and Kojiro with a smile on his. It had shocked him when he first heard it, though it also sent happiness into his heart as he heard Positions declaration. He had never heard or seen his brother this passionate about something. This had to be recorded and saved for future memories.
Poseidon grumbled as he felt his anger rise, pouting slightly as nervously played with his trousers with his free hand. He didn’t understand why his brother had his phone out like that, but whatever.
“I-I said me and Kojiro are getting married!” He yelled, before lowering his head down once more, glaring at his brother who stifled his laughs.
“When are you getting married?” Hades tried his best to hide his laughter, squeezing his lips together in an effort to silence himself, a massive smile on his face. This was so adorable.
“The teacher said we can get married when we’re 18” Kojiro answered for him, ignoring the pain in his back as it throbbed harder.
“Oh wow. So, in 12 years you’re going to marry each other?” Hades asked, Poseidon nodding his head furiously to let it known this would happen.
“What’s this about getting married?” The three turned their heads to Hrist who had arrived, a bit later than usual. Kojiro gave a huge smile to her, and she softly returned it back. Hades made no comment on her almost raspy voice, maybe she had a cold. Winter was the perfect weather to get one. It was smart of her to wear a huge scarf around her neck.
“Apparently Poseidon and Kojiro are going to get married when they turn 18” Hades explained as he smiled at her, glancing at her scarf before looking at her face, Hrist quickly raising a hand near her neck. He couldn't help but think he noticed something white around her neck and under he scarf.
“Is that so?” Hrist asked as she neared, standing next to Hades as she watched the two with a gentle smile. She internally winced as Poseidon suddenly wrapped his arms around Kojiro, the boy grimacing in pain and with a small displeased sound, though he didn’t say anything else. She quickly walked forward as she turned her head to Hades.
“I-im sorry Hades, we should be heading back home” Hades noticed her facial expression change, though he didn’t see Kojiro’s expression worsen. He stayed silent on the matter, closing his phone and smiling at her. It wasn’t his business.
-Phone
Hades gave Poseidon an old smartphone to use, the blonde excitedly snatching it and gently marvelling at it. Well, he mainly gave it so he could keep track of his location, having done the same thing to Adamas, and soon to Zeus when he was older.
He showed Poseidon some features on it, knowing he would catch on quick, and after a few days, he asked Poseidon if he liked it. Poseidon quickly nodded his head, climbing up onto the sofa next to Hades and began showing him some of the things on it.
The calender app had some days marked on it, Hades smiling widely at the ‘Make Kojiro a flower’ one, the notes app had quite a few notes on it, seeing ‘chores’, ‘to do list’, and, surprise surprise, a ‘Kojiro’ one. He watched with a smile as Poseidon showed him the stuff he watched on Youtube, the games he played, and other various things his 6 year old brother had been doing.
When he asked if he took any pictures, he noticed the hesitance in him, his body freezing for few seconds, before he locked his phone and answered no. Hades didn’t push the subject, instead telling him to wash up as dinner was nearly ready. Poseidon handed him his phone so he could charge it on the kitchen counter, and while he was plating up the food, he secretly peeked into the photos app, glad his little brother hadn't password protected his phone.
And un-shockingly enough, most of the pictures consisted of him and Kojiro, some selfies, some someone else would have taken, as well as videos of the two. He quickly locked the phone as he heard someone rush downstairs.
Every few days, he’d copy the photos and videos onto his own phone for memories, and when he had the chance, he’d show Hrist if she had the time, the woman smiling warmly at them, before he’d share them to her phone.
-Family
Poseidon and Kojiro held hands as they coloured in their drawings, Kojiro sticking his tongue out in concentration as he haphazardly did his forest all in green. He winced as Poseidon lightly smacked his arm, turning his head to him
“Pass me that red” Kojiro did as he was told, smiling as he did so and peeked at the boy's drawing. He raised his brows at it.
Poseidon kept his usual frown on his face as he inspected the bandage on Kojiro's cheek, the brunette watching him curiously as Poseidon stayed close to his face.
“How’d you fall again?” Poseidon asked calmly, his blue eyes staring into his brown ones, his hand holding onto Kojiro’s protectively. Kojiro thought about the rehearsed answers.
“M-me and Hrist were playing and she pushed me accidentally,” Kojiro replied with a small smile, proud that he remembered what to say. He smiled nervously at Poseidon who continued staring at him, probably waiting for him to say more, but nothing came to mind, so he changed the subject.
“Whatcha drawing Po?” Kojiro asked curiously, his tired eyes glancing at the ring they made for Poseidon to match the one he made before, before looking at Poseidon's face.
“It’s me and my family” Poseidon murmured, carefully colouring the scarf on the boy's body. It would be easier to do with two hands since he could hold the paper with the other, but he preferred holding Kojiro's hand instead.
“Who’s that?” Kojiro asked as he dropped his pencil and pointed to a figure on the paper. There were five people currently drawn there with a pup, all holding hands, with a crudely drawn picture of a house and sun in the background.
“It’s my big brother, Adamas, and that's my liyylr brother, Zeus, and that's our dog, Cerberus” Poseidon explained. He watched as Kojiro's face morphed into confusion, pursuing his lips.
“Cerebus?” Kojiro mispronounced, interested in the unusual name. He hadn’t heard of it before. Poseidon nodded his head, eyes still on the bandaged area.
“Hades chose it. We got him yesterday” Poseidon finished his colouring, looking at Kojiro once more who had slight dark circles under his eyes.
“That’s so cool!” Kojiro said, eyes on the small dog as he leant over more to look at it. “I've always wanted a pet, but my dad says we can’t get one” Kojiro muttered sadly, sniffing as he remembered the last time he asked his dad for one. He wouldn't do that again. Poseidon studied his face, squeezing the boy's hand slightly. He didn’t like seeing Kojiro sad, it made his chest feel weird. He looked down at his drawing again, fcosuing the the Kojiro he drew.
“I’ll tell Hades to bring him tomorrow”
-Puppy Love
Kojro laughed as hugged the pup who constantly licked his face, its tail wagging as Kojiro gave frantic rubs on his body, enjoying the feeling of Cerberus' soft fur. It did hurt his hidden bruises when Cerburus tried climbing on him but he ignored it, ecstatic that he was playing with the dog in the first place.
Hades saw no harm in Poseidon's request to bring the dog after school, at first hesitant since he didn’t know if Kojiro would be allergic to them. But it seems to be fine, his hand gripping the pups leash with one hand and recording them with the other, as he watched the two play. He glanced at Poseidon who watched from the side next to him, his hand gripping Hades’s trousers.
“Why don’t you go play with them?” Hades asked, Poseidon looking up to him with his usual face, before turning back to Kojiro. Hades saw the way Poseidon's face softened as he watched the two, and after a few seconds he made his way slowly to them.
Poseidon neared the two, and for a few seconds he just watched them, before going to the side of Kojiro’s sitting body and kneeling next to him. He kept his eyes on him as he tentatively grasped his scarf in his hands, playing with the soft fabric.
He liked Kojiro's smile, it made his chest and tummy feel weird but in a good way.
After a few minutes, Hades walked closer to them, bending over slightly as he stroked the pups head. He had spotted Hrist from the corner of his eyes and knew it was time for Kojiro to go, gently guiding the pup of Kojiro whose smile never left his face as he clambered to his feet. He reached out a hand to Posedon who took it instantly and helped the blonde up, their hands lingering with each other as they walked over to their bags.
Hades greeted Hrist with a smile, the purple haired woman returning it back. Hades couldn't help but notice the bruising on her face, the makeup not covering it altogether. Before he could speak up Kojiro and Poseidon ran up to them, still holding hands as they said their goodbyes for the day. Once more Kojiro winced as Poseidon hugged him, though that didn't stop him from hugging him back. Hades had seen that.
As the Greek brothers said their goodbyes to the two, Hades looked at Poseidon who had once more grabbed his trousers, the blonde fidgeting nervously as he thought about what to say for a few seconds. Hades waited patiently.
“...C-can you bring Cerberus here tomorrow Hades?”
-I’ll see you later?
For the next few weeks, Hades had brought the pup with him and recorded the interactions between him and Kojiro and Poseidon. Poseidon stayed close to the brunette as he threw the ball for Cerburus to catch, the dog quickly running to it and biting it, though it still didn’t understand that he had to bring it back to them. Kojiro excitedly ran up to him with Poseidon's hand in his grip, ignoring the pain once more.
Hades was sceptical of the injury Kojiro had, not realising he had many more around his body, along with cuts, though he wasn’t sure how to bring it up to the boy. He had tried to ask Hrist about hers indirectly, though she would steer the conversation away from the subject and after a few minutes, saying they needed to head home.
He offered the two to come around their house, so they could get to know each other better, though he also wanted to offer his help to them as well. Something was going on with them. Although Hrist wanted to, she knew she couldn’t. They were late home so many times already, she didn’t want to think what Kojiro would go through if they took the offer and came home later than usual.
Hades finally built up the courage to outright ask what was going on with them, still recording the two boys and Cerberus, the other kids gone by now, while he kept an eye out for Hrist. He hadn't noticed the look of horror on Kojiro's face as a man walked up the the entrance, quickly letting go of Poseidon's hand as he tried to control his lip from quivering in fear.
He ran to his backpack, hoisting it on his body as Poseidon followed closely, also missing the look of horror on Kojiro's face as he asked where he was going. Hades noticed the man the same time Poseidon did, nearing the two as he dropped his hands by his side and sped walked to them.
“I’m sorry, can I help you?” Hades asked, voice strong as he tried not to back down from the man's menacing presence, putting his body in front of the kids. Poseidon glared at the man, quickly grabbing Kojiro's hand. Who the heck was this fool?
“I’m here to get my son” He answered, his voice deep as he kept his stoic, intimidating look on Kojiro who had his head low, eyes to the ground, his face morphing into a terrified frown.
“Your son?” Hades asked with a raised brow, an unamused look on his face. What kind of father looked at their son with that look? He glanced back at Kojiro, seeing the boy with his head still down but watering eyes on the so-called ‘father’, gently pulling his hand out of Poseidons.
“W-where’s Hrist, daddy?” Kojiro asked meekly, declining Poseidon's attempts of keeping a hold of his hand as he slowly made his way around Hades, who narrowed his eyes at the change in Kojiro.
“Come on” The man ignored his question as he motioned for Kojrio to follow him, turning and walking away from everyone. Kojiro quickly did what he was told, running to his side and reaching up for his hand only to back away in terror as the man retracted his hand and glared down at him. Kojiro readjusted the straps on his shoulder as he ignored the fear in his heart, turning back to Poseidon with watery eyes and sad smile as he waved to him.
-Not good
Poseidon huffed as he crossed his arms and stood underneath a tree, glaring at anyone who tried to come near him. Kojiro hadn’t come in today, which was the cause of his sour mood, and for his work being sloppy in the morning.
He narrowed his eyes as he thought of the man from yesterday. Just when he had shown up, Kojiro hadn’t come in? Parents had to make sure kids came into school, or else they’d get told off (that’s what Hades told him anyways), so Kojiro's dad wasn't being a very good parent. The teachers had noticed the change in Poseidon, unable to cheer the boy up who eventually just ignored them and kept thinking about Kojiro.
-Where is he?
“Miss, where’s Kojiro?” Loki asked as he once again spotted the empty seat next to a fuming Poseidon. This was the fourth day that he was absent, and the boy was starting to miss him. He didn’t have another good tag partner. Poseidon watched as the teachers face became slightly solemn, sighing quietly as she started handing out paper.
“I’m, I’m not sure Loki. Please take your seat” A small ‘ch’ came from Loki as he did what he was told, placing himself next to Hermes who smiled at him. Poseidon frowned harder, staring at the piece of paper that was placed in front of him, with the teacher mentioning that if he didn’t do this task, he’d call his brother into school and he’d miss recess.
Poseidon didn’t lift a finger.
-Found you
Hades sighed as he finally gave up on his side of the argument with the teacher, realising that she wouldn't tell him Hrists and Kojiro's address. Initially, he was called up because of Poseidon not participating in class earlier today, though he quickly changed the subject after half assedly telling Poseidon to do his work, inquiring the whereabouts of Kojiro and his sister.
After 10 minutes of getting nowhere, he gave up, only to spot a small pile of letters on her desk. Coincidentally, it had Hrists name on it, and though he couldn't see what the lines underneath said, he figured it had her address on it. He casually glanced around the room, still seeing Poseidon with an angry look and crossed arms sitting on a chair, staring at the table, before turning his attention back to the teacher.
His arm ‘accident’ knocked over her cup of water on the side as he reached over to shake her hand, feigning shock as he apologised for his actions and righted the now empty glass. The teacher reassured him it was fine as she hurriedly went into her desk drawer and pulled out some tissue, going to the side where the water had spilt and started cleaning the mess of the top of the desk, then the side of it, and then the floor.
During this time, Hades swiped the letter.
-Come out?
After 10 minutes of trying, Hades sighed as he stood back from the door, hands on his hips as he waited for any sign of life from within the house, though quickly stopped and reached forward and grabbed Position's smaller body when the blonde started pounding the door with his fists, loud angry sounds spewing from his mouth.
“Posiedon!” Hades hissed, watching at the blonde turned his head angrily to him, though he could see tears forming in his eyes as he bottom lip stuck out and shook. Hades tried using his finger to wipe his eyes dry, only for Poseidon to smack his hands away and bury his head in his neck, sniffs coming from him as his body shook slightly. He sighed heavily, putting a hand to Poseidon's hair and stroking the wavy locks, before glancing at the house once more.
-Goodbye
Hades checked his phone once more, somehow even more panicked than a few seconds ago, as he held Adamas in his arm, racing past people as the dot on his phone screen hadn’t moved. He cursed under his breath as he panted heavily, regretting not dropping Adamas at home with Zeus and the babysitter as he hurried to Poseidon's location.
Normally he’d pick Adamas up from school, drop him off home, and then go to Poseidon school to pick him up. Today out of all days, he decided against this, and decided to take his younger brother with him.
Only, when they were making their way to Poseidon's school, he had received a call from the teacher, informing him with slight panic that Poseidon had snuck out somehow. Hades immediately checked Poseidon location using his phone, picking up the resisting Adamas since it would be quicker than him trailing behind, and started sprinting to that location.
After a few minutes, his whole body sore as his lungs gasped for air, he started hearing loud wailing. Though he didn't want to, he had no choice but to slow down to a jog, nearing the sound and the blip on the map. He had realised what street they were on, having visited it last week with Poseidon. The sounds of sobbing got louder, before they reached the outside of the house where he was.
He placed Adamas on the ground outside the small garden walls, telling the boy to wait there, before turning around and heading to Poseidon, Adamas narrowed his eyes slightly, a frown on his face, as he watched his little brother. He took out his phone and started recording the whole ordeal, unbeknownst to Hades and Poseidon.
Poseidon loudly sobbed as he sat on the doorstep outside the house, tears streaming out his eyes constantly, snot running from his nose with some spit coming out from his mouth on his chin, from where had briefly started coughing from crying too much. He hadn’t stopped, not even when he noticed Hades starting walking up to him from the entrance of the garden. Instead, he shakily got to his feet, still loudly wailing as he once more banged on the front door to Kojiro's house with limited energy, crying for him to come out already.
Hades' heart broke at the sound of him bawling, having never heard him do so before in all his life. And now, at the age of six, he was crying his heart out for his best friend. He glanced at the woman that was stood outside her own garden in the house next door, nodding his head back to her. He continued making his way to Poseidon, reaching his hands out to small child who didn’t even acknowledge him as he continued to cry for Kojiro, reaching a hand out in front as Hades picked him up.
The man glanced to the side on the floor, seeing Poseidon’s phone smashed, seemingly from Poseidon chucking it on the floor during his tantrum. He held him in his arm as he bent down to pick it up, wincing as Poseidon's loud wails were right next to his ear as the blonde buried his face into his jacket.
“He, chucked his phone when I told him they probably won't, come back” The woman suddenly spoke out, Hades looking at her with a confused expression, trying to drown out his brothers crying for the conversation.
“They’re not coming back?” Hades asked as he pocketed the remains of the broken phone in his jacket, readjusting the bawling Poseidon in his arms. She shook her head with a saddened expression. “How do you know?” He watched as she glanced around the street before, leaving forward, over the wall, Hades taking a step closer to listen as she spoke a bit more quieter.
“I saw her load her car with bags, like bags of clothes and things. And then she ran out carrying Kojiro and got in the car and left. I tried asking what was going on, but then I saw her face, all beaten up. Her, brothers too…” She spoke, eyes lowered to the ground as she trailed off. Poseidon still cried, not hearing the conversation over his own shrilled crying. Hades swallowed a lump in his throat, eyes wide as he now understood what had been happening all this time. The woman picked at her nails, feeling ashamed that she hadn't been able to help or even offer help to her neighbour, blinking away tears as she remembered the looks on their faces that day. Her heart ached thinking about it.
“I, I think they ran away from their dad…because he…he was, abusing them”.