"rise and shine beautiful boy!"

a familiar voice woke donghyuck up from his peaceful sleep, making him groan and place his head under the pillow to block the light from the sun.

"come on, big baby!" jeno said, pulling the sheets away from donghyuck, making the boy squirm and whine.

"jenoooo..."

"you need to get ready. we have a training this morning."

donghyuck pouted, pushing the pillow off his head and opening his arms, a silent way to tell jeno he wanted him to carry him.

jeno sighed and picked the tired boy up, allowing donghyuck to cuddle in the crook of his neck and wrap his legs around his waist.

it was frequent for donghyuck to act like this towards jeno. both boys weren't bothered by their excessive skin ship and doubtable actions. it was their way to show that they truly cared for each other.

"where are your clothes?" jeno asked, looking around.

"bathroom..."

jeno walked to the bathroom, sitting his best friend on the sink as he picked his clothes that were folded on a cupboard.

"here you are. get ready, i'll tidy your bed, and then we'll go have breakfast." jeno said, patting the boy's head before leaving donghyuck alone so that he could change.

donghyuck got out of the bathroom after a few minutes, just when jeno had finished tidying the room – donghyuck was known to be a messy kid, beautiful, but messy.

"are you trying to impress someone dressed like this?" jeno asked with a chuckle.

donghyuck was wearing tight and black ripped jeans that highlighted his curves nicely and a bright yellow cropped sweatshirt that could surely show his tummy if he raised his hand.

"i'm the son of aphrodite. i should act like it." he said proudly, looking at himself in one of the length mirrors. "plus, the clothes i have here are only clothes to show myself off. i don't know who chose them, but they liked provocation."

"surely your mother." jeno told.

"oh, well... she has a nice taste."

"if you say so. don't show off too much. i don't want to beat people for doing inappropriate things when they'll see you." jeno added, walking out of the house, donghyuck on his heels.

"i'll be careful. thank you for being here for me." he said, planting a kiss on his best friend's cheek before linking their arms together, making zeus' son smile.

Ω

"morning mark."

the called boy didn't bother to lift his head and greet the male back.

"what a warm welcome." the boy muttered, sitting in front of mark with a bowl of cereals.

"we sleep in the same place, hendery. we saw each other today already." mark replied, playing with his food.

"and? i'm your brother, you could still greet me."

"half-brother." mark corrected him. "hades never hooks twice with the same woman."

hendery rolled his eyes at his brother's words.

mark wasn't for the family stuff and bubbly behaviour, just like any of hades' other progenitures.

hendery was quite the exception actually, but that's because he had two wonderful boyfriends that made him happy. yangyang, the son of artemis, and xiaojun, the son of hephaestus.

"anyway, hades' blood still runs in our veins. so, we're brothers." hendery said, a bit too happily to mark's liking.

"how can you be hades' son? you sound like the son of some weak chick. not the powerful god of the underworld." mark told.

"let me remember i am as powerful as you." hennery growled, his dark aura growing bigger each second, catching the attention of some nymphs that were having breakfast a few tables away.

"yeah, great." mark replied, totally unphased by the sudden change of atmosphere.

hendery sighed, knowing perfectly that mark was a moody and stubborn brat.

"you know, finding someone could help you."

"i don't need help." mark spoke quickly. "mavros! come here!" he yelled, calling his dog.

"i know, but it could take your mind away from... whatever you're thinking about." hendery continued, looking at mark petting his black dog.

"i already have you, and it's perfectly enough." mark said, still looking at his pet.

"i am your brother. a brother and a lover are different things."

mark stopped petting his dog to stare at his half-brother.

"you want me to find a lover?"

"since i have yangyang and xiaojun, everything feels better for me. you could find someone for you."hendery suggested.

mark rolled his eyes. "we already had this conversation hendery. no one fits my taste here." he said, looking back at his dog.

hendery shrugged, taking a sip of nectar while looking at the other tables.

all the demigods were happily mixing with each other, laughing and talking.

the half-blood camp was like a big family, everybody knew each other.

the only problem were hades' sons – well, more mark than hendery, but still. they had been reluctantly accepted here because they had no other place to stay. and that's why they were a bit excluded from the others. not that mark minded though. and hendery had managed to get closer to yangyang and xiaojun to the point he became their boyfriends; so, things worked better for him.

however, hendery noticed two boys eating at a table, far away from the crowd of demigods.

he recognised the boys. one was zeus' youngest son, and the other was the newbie, aphrodite and appolo's son. the forbidden child.

"mark."

"what?"

"look behind you." hendery told, making mark turn around. "at the very last table. can you see the boy wearing the yellow sweater?"

mark furrowed his brows. "next to zeus' son?"

"yes."

mark turned around, facing his empty plate again.

"what's with him?" he asked.

"you can't tell me he doesn't fit your criteria. he fits everybody's criteria." hendery smirked.

"i don't know him." mark told, uninterested.

"he's the new one. the forbidden child."

mark abruptly turned around again, focusing on the said male.

"he's the forbidden child?" he asked, making hendery laugh.

"i thought you weren't interested?"

mark snorted. "i am not."

"then why- "

"it feels just weird. having him here puts us all in danger." he told.

hendery shrugged. "we know how to fight, and we're on our grounds there. if someone attacks, the whole camp will team up to defend him."

mark chuckled. "let's wait for dad to disown you after hearing what you just said."

"we're not on hades' side when we are in this camp. leeteuk explained it clearly."

"i know. but dad has been rejected by the gods. and now, we have to protect their children..."

"we willingly accepted that." hendery said.

"yeah. living here is better than being alone on the streets anyway." mark rolled his eyes.

"so?"

"so, what?" mark raised a brow.

"is the forbidden child fitting your criteria?" hendery smirked.

mark turned around again, peaking at the glowing boy that was eating peacefully with jeno.

"i'll need to see him from a bit closer to tell you." mark told, making his half-brother smile in victory.

at least, he hadn't completely rejected his offer.

he was willing to think about it.