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The beach had always been a source of comfort for Telemachus.
It first started soon after the suitors first arrived that the Prince would go down to the shores to seek solace from the chaos of the palace. He found that the cool breeze and the smell of the Sea served to calm him while in states of distress. So, whenever the suitors became more than he could bear at points, he would slip away and be at the ocean mere minutes later. Usually he would just walk along the shoreline or sit on the sand and stare out at the ocean, wondering if/when his father might come back to put an end to this. Other times, if he was regressed, he would sit on the sand and build a sand castle, look for shells, or sometimes even splash around in the shallows of the water. Of course, these instances lessened once Odysseus returned. With the suitors gone and his father returned, Telemachus' main sources of stress were alleviated. But, that didn't mean he stopped going altogether. Nowadays, he went to clear his head or to get some air.
It was nice to have his father around after twenty years of being desperate to see him, but Telemachus wasn't used to it. For the longest time, the young Prince had been used to being alone or just with his mother. Now, his father was there as well and it occasionally overwhelmed him. Even months after Odysseus had returned, Telemachus found himself needing an escape every now and then. Much like today it would seem.
Late in the afternoon, Telemachus made his way to the beach. He'd told his father he just needed some air and that he'd be back in an hour or so. Odysseus was quick to accept this. He knew that sometimes being alone for a time did wonders, so he let Telemachus go with a smile. The trail taht led to the beach was one that Telemachus had walked at least a hundred tines, so he just let muscle memory carry him there. Sometime on the way to the sandy shores, the Prince of Ithaca had regressed to his little headspace. Usually, this would pose a problem since he typically regressed to around 3 and needed a caregiver. But this time, he was comfortably in the headspace of a 6 year old. Definitely young but not young enough to warrant going back home.
As he finally stepped into the sand, he smiled, a giggle escaping him at the sensation of the soft terrain. He glanced around as he made his way closer to the water, pausing when he saw a figure splashing in the shallows. There usually wasn't anyone at this part of the shoreline, which is why he tended to go here instead of somewhere else. Curious but also cautious, he crept closer to the person in the water. They didn't look familiar to him, so who could it be? As he got closer, he took in their appearance. They looked to be maybe a little older than him with long black hair and piercing blue eyes. They were surrounded by a divine aura, but in Telemachus's regressed state, he wasn't able to pick up on that. So, he continued forward without fear, plopping himself in front of the man with a small splash.
"Hi there!" He exclaimed, a grin on his face.
Poseidon flinched back with a small sound of surprise resounding from his throat. The God had been there for some time already, regressed as well and needing somewhere to play while Apollo was busy. He hadn't been paying too much attention when he teleported, so he hadn't realized that he'd popped up on the shores of Ithaca until now. When he saw Telemachus, he figured that Odysseus must be somewhere nearby. Nervously, he glanced around for a moment, settling down when he realized that Odysseus was nowhere to be seen.
Shyly, he looked up at Telemachus and gave a small little wave. "Hi..." He murmured. Since he was a God, he knew that the Prince was regressed as well. The problem was, Poseidon had never been around any other littles while regressed. He didn't know how to interact with him. Thankfully, Telemachus was a more social and energetic little, so he had no problem carrying the conversation. "Wanna play with me? We can make a sand castle!" Poseidon nervously glanced around again. He didn't know how long Apollo was going to be and was getting rather bored so.... "Mhm." He nodded. With that decided, Telemachus took him by the hand and the two headed for the sand. "You can make the towers and I'll start making a moat!" Poseidon gave a small nod at the instructions, starting to dig up some of the wet sand to make the towers and the base of the castle. Meanwhile, Telemachus was doing his best to make the deepest moat possible around it. For the next thirty minutes, the pair worked diligently, as though they were constructing a real palace. Once the main thing was done, Poseidon wanted to add something. "Wan' shells. Make it p'etty..."
Telemachus smiled happily, glad to hear his new friend actually speak for the first time in half an hour. "Let's get some shells then!" Splitting up, the pair searched opposite sides of the shoreline, digging through the sand for shells. They managed to find a few intact ones, but most were either broken or misshapen. Still, that didn't matter to them. Content with their haul, they returned to the sand castle to decorate their project. Once it was complete, they scooched back to look at it. The finished castle wasn't perfect by any means. It was lumpy and a little lopsided with shells scattered all along the walls, but to the two littles, it was a masterpiece. Poseidon smiled widely, getting increasingly more excited when he saw the magnificent sand castle. But unfortunately in his regressed state, he failed to remember that the ocean responded to his heightened emotions. Thus, when a medium sized wave crashed ashore and washed away all their hard work, he was surprised.
The little sat there in shock for a moment processing what just happened, before the waterworks started up. Tears brimmed his eyes and rolled down his cheeks as sobs escaped him. He'd worked so hard on that castle and now it was gone! Telemachus was also sad that the castle was gone, but he mostly felt bad for his new friend and wanted to make him feel better. Shuffling forward, he wrapped his arms around Poseidon, rubbing his back like his daddy did for him when he was upset. "It's ok. We can make another one later if you want. We can make it even better than that one!" This seemed to do the trick since Poseidon's cries started to dissipate into whimpers and sniffles. "P'omise?" He asked Telemachus. The other boy smiled and nodded, interlocking their pinkies. "Pinky promise."
A little ways up on the hill before the beach, Odysseus stood watching. An hour had gone by and Telemachus hadn't returned to the palace, so he'd gone looking for him. He knew his son was likely alright, but after hearing what the suitors had almost attempted, he preferred to be safe than sorry. Initially when he'd spotted him on the beach with Poseidon, he'd been anxious. What if Poseidon was there to kill him? But after observing and seeing that both of them were regressed, he calmed slightly. After all, he doubted that Poseidon would want to do any harm while little. When he'd realized this, he wanted to go down there and keep an eye on them, but quickly came to the conclusion that he couldn't. Poseidon still had a negative reaction to him while little and going down there would send the poor thing into hysterics. Not to mention, he didn't have any wish to be killed by Apollo. So, he resolved to stay up on the hill and watch from afar. That is, until a bright light shone next to him.
Just having finished with his work, Apollo was quick to teleport to wherever Poseidon was. After all, he'd told him that he would come join him once his work was finished. Although, he was curious when he realized that his little one was in Ithaca. Maybe he just didn't realize he'd teleported there? Regardless, he needed to get to him. So, the Sun God teleported himself close to the beach, right next to Odysseus.
"Odysseus." He greeted curtly.
"Lord Apollo."
"Pray tell, why are you up here?" The God asked.
Odysseus simply gestured down at the beach. Apollo raised an eyebrow but glanced down, expecting to only see Poseidon. The God was surprised when he saw Telemachus down there as well. The pair seemed to now be splashing around in the water. Apollo glanced back at Odysseus, "Is he...?" He mumbled to himself, but it seemed that the King could hear him and thus clarified. "Yes, he's regressed as well." He paused a moment before adding, "I figured it would be best for me to stay up here. I think I upset your little one more than enough the last time." He murmured, regret in his tone. Apollo nodded to himself in understanding, "I see. They seem to have taken a liking to each other." Odysseus nodded, a fond smile overtaking his face. "Not surprising. Telemachus has always been really outgoing while little and he's quick to make friends." Apollo chuckled, "Poseidon is the exact opposite. He usually spends most of his time attached to my hip while he's regressed. He's interacted with the other Gods of course, but they're his family. He's never had the opportunity to make a real friend."
Odysseus took this in and thought about how he wanted to proceed. Poseidon had done something horrible to him, but he'd also done something horrible to the God. Maybe this could be the reason he needs to start working through it. If not for himself, then for his son to have a friend. "I'm sure Telemachus would love to be his friend." Apollo glanced over at Odysseus, trying to deduce any possible malice or lies. But he came back with nothing. Odysseus was being genuine. "I'm sure Poseidon would as well." A silent agreement was made. There would be a lot to work through if this was to work. Both Odysseus and Poseidon would need to work through what they did to each other if they wanted to start play dates between the two littles. But for now, this was a start.
"I suppose we should be off. I did promise Poseidon that I would play with him once I finished with my work. We will keep in touch."
With that, Apollo made his way down the hill. When his aura was within reach of Poseidon, the little swiftly turned in his direction, his grin widening. "Dada!" He moved to sit on his knees, making grabby hands to be picked up. His caregiver swiftly obliged, picking him up and settling him on his hip. "Hello my little minnow. I see you made a friend." Poseidon nodded, "Uh huh! Is Tele!" He explained, smiling down at the boy in question. Telemachus smiled, waving up at them. "Hello!"
Apollo chuckled softly, "Hello there." He murmured before turning his attention back to Poseidon, "Are you ready to head home, Guppy? You've had a long day and it's about time for a nap before we play some more." Usually, Poseidon was accepting of when they had to leave places. So Apollo was surprised when he got a swift shake of the head from his little one. "Nooooo! Wanna stay wit' Tele an' p'ay!" He whined, squirming in Apollo's arms. Tears stung his eyes and he pouted, on the brink of a tantrum. Oh Gods, he just finished working, he really didn't want to deal with a tantrum. Desperate to keep Poseidon happy and come to a compromise, Apollo spoke again. "We can come back and play with Telemachus whenever you want, baby. I promise. We can even come back once you wake up, but you need to take a nap, ok Guppy?" Teary eyed, Poseidon Reluctantly nodded. "Mhm."
Apollo kissed his head and rubbed his back, "We'll be back before you know it." Glancing down at Telemachus, Apollo smiled. "We'll be seeing you soon, little one."
In the blink of an eye, the pair were gone, leaving Telemachus alone again. Getting out of the water, the boy smiled. He would have to tell his daddy about his new friend!