mark couldn't believe his eyes.

after all those years, he was finally back in canada.

and after all those years, he was finally facing his mother.

"mom..." mark let out, his hands shaking.

"mark?" the woman asked, her bag of groceries falling on the floor as she ran towards her son.

she didn't waste a second to engulf him in a hug, tears falling from her cheeks as he held mark tightly. mark was in a similar state, salty drops falling from his eyes as he held onto his mother.

"i missed you so much, mark..." she mumbled against her son's neck.

mark's mother let go mark, and looked at him from head to toe.

"you've grown so well..." she chuckled, wiping her tears. "you look so much like your father..."

mark smiled sincerely at his mother.

"what are you doing in vancouver?" she asked after a while.

"oh, yeah." mark stepped aside, revealing the six boys he was with. "mom, these are my... huh... friends."

"hello, boys." she waved at them.

"chenle, jisung, jaemin, jeno, renjun..." he said, pointing at each boy successively. "and... this is donghyuck." he finished.

"nice to meet you all." she smiled. "i'm jane, mark's mother."

the six boys smiled weakly.

"this doesn't tell me why you're here. and why you've been trying to steal my car." she added.

mark rubbed his nape.

"to make it short, we're on a run because donghyuck is in danger. we left the half-blood camp because it was attacked, and we were attacked in tokyo, and then in las vegas, and so we drove there because i wanted to go back to vancouver. and we were searching for a car and a hotel to pass the night before leaving again." mark explained.

"you drove all the way from las vegas to here?!" she repeated.

"yeah... we're on the run, mom. people are trying to kill us..." he told.

"i'll bring you home, don't book an hotel for tonight, we'll find somewhere to make you sleep in the house." mark's mother said.

"mom, we don't want to be a burden..." mark spoke shyly, something none of the boys had seen or heard before.

"are you kidding me?!" she yelled. "my son that i haven't seen for years and his six friends are in danger and looking for a shelter, so i accept to take you in, and you think you are a burden?!"

"well..." mark mumbled.

"climb up in the car, all seven of you. i'm sure you're craving for some good dinner and a good night of sleep."

Ω

after getting back to mark's childhood house, all the boys took a shower and changed into fresh clothes. they ate dinner all together, mark's mother spilling information about how hades was, and how she sees him in mark, and all of them basically talking freely about what happened in the half-blood camp and in the mythological world.

after dinner, the boys all started feeling tired because of their long day inside the car, and so, mark's mother helped them getting the rooms ready for them to sleep peacefully.

"thank you very much, mrs lee." jeno said as mark's mother handed him a pillow.

"come on, call me jane." the woman chuckled. "i hope it will be okay for tonight."

"it will be perfect. thank you very much." renjun replied.

"if the bed is too small fo the three of you, there is still a sofa, but i thought that you would rather have a real bed to sleep on." she explained.

"it's perfect, jane." jaemin smiled. "thank you so much for everything."

mark mother left the guest bedroom that she had lent to jeno, jaemin and renjun, and she headed towards her room.

"do you need anything else, boys?" she asked with a smile.

"i feel bad knowing that you're going to sleep on the sofa because we took your bed... are you sure you don't want to sleep there? we can always take the sofa." chenle spoke.

"no, it's only for one night." she shook her head. "and you've been in a car for one full day, i'm sure you'd appreciate sleeping on a real bed."

jisung and chenle smiled at mark's mother. "thank you so much for everything."

"it's my pleasure." mark's mother smiled back at them. "enjoy your night."

mark's mother walked out of her bedroom, and she was about to head to her son's bedroom, but she stopped herself when she saw mark standing on the porch.

she made her way there slowly, and leant on the fence next to him.

"what are you thinking about, mark?" she asked.

"i missed this place..." mark replied, his eyes looking around the neighbourhood.

"this place missed you too, trust me." mark's mother chuckled.

both stayed silent for a while appreciating the peaceful atmosphere of their neighbourhood.

"where is donghyuck?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"he's sleeping already. he was tired." mark replied simply.

"are you sure he isn't waiting for you to fall asleep?" mark's mother raised a brow.

"he seemed very tired."

"and you seem very in love."

mark jerked his head sideways, meeting his mother's eyes.

"w-what?" he stammered.

"you are like your father, mark. don't think i can't see it." she chuckled, combing mark's raven hair with her fingers.

"i don't like him." mark spoke, looking away.

"you do." his mother assured. "you just don't want to admit it to yourself."

mark didn't answer immediately.

he let out a long sigh, using his hands to hold his face.

"mark, i don't know why you refuse to admit this to yourself when you're this obvious. but you surely have a reason, and i respect that." his mother explained, caressing her son's back. "donghyuck is a rare pearl. not only he was born of a forbidden union, but he is also kind, charming, lovely, beautiful, and so much more. and he is attached to you too. you could have him anytime, and both of you would be a perfect couple."

"i know mom... but it's not that easy..." mark groaned.

"i'm not forcing you to do anything, mark." she continued calmly. "i just want you to realise that you have someone perfect for you who likes you for who you are."

mark lifted his head, leaning against his mother's side. "thank you, mom."

"of course, mark..." she said, side-hugging him. "now, stop worrying about this and just enjoy your time with him. i'm sure he's waiting for you upstairs."

"goodnight mom, thank you for everything." mark told as he walked back inside the house.

"good night mark. i love you."

"i love you too."

mark entered the house, climbing the stairs quickly and opening the door of his bedroom slowly.

he was so giddy to see donghyuck and hold him in his sleep.

his mother was right, donghyuck was a rare pearl, and mark had to make sure that no one would steal him from himself.

but everything wasn't as simple as it seemed...

"mark...?" a small voice called.

"you're not sleeping?" mark asked, closing the door behind his back and walking to the bed.

"i was waiting for you..." donghyuck mumbled.

mark slid under the covers of his bed, getting comfortable as donghyuck clung onto him immediately, his warm body heating mark up.

"your mother is so kind..." donghyuck mumbled, his eyes closed as he placed his head on mark's chest.

mark sighed. "she's an angel..."

"it's weird that she ended up with hades, the demon by excellence..." donghyuck continued. "but they made an amazing child, so i'm not complaining. i'm glad you took more of the angelic side of your mom rather than the evil side of your dad, though..."

mark hummed, allowing his hand to entangle with donghyuck's golden locks.

they had never been this close, but both of them felt like they were drawn to each other by a magical force.

was it donghyuck's power?

neither of them knew it.

but they were sure of one thing: they loved it.

"sleep, donghyuck. you're tired." mark said, his eyes looking at the plain white ceiling.

"mhh... good night..." donghyuck whispered.

"good night, beautiful..." mark replied, dropping a kiss on the boy's temple before closing his eyes as well, and trying to fall asleep.

Ω

jeno's eyes fluttered open because of the sun hitting his face.

as soon as his eyes were fully opened, zeus' son looked at his surroundings, trying to understand where he was. memories were quick to come back. they were in vancouver, in mark's mother's house.

jeno looked at his right where jaemin was supposed to be, but he found the bed empty.

so, the boy turned left, smiling at the sight.

renjun was still sleeping soundly, his whole body clinging to jeno's. renjun's tiny legs were wrapped around jeno's muscular one, his arms were holding tight onto jeno's own arm, and renjun's face was nestled in the crook of jeno's neck.

"he clings onto people when he's sleeping."

jeno turned his head, his eyes meeting jaemin's.

the boy was wearing only a towel that was wrapped low on his hips, and he was drying his wet hair with another smaller towel, all that while talking to jeno – who was also taking the time to admire jaemin's divine body.

"he did that too when we were in the hotel in las vegas." jaemin continued, glancing at renjun.

jeno concentrated on the smaller boy again, smiling as he traced the contour of his face wih his pointer finger. "he's cute, don't you think?" he asked.

"you're cuter." jaemin replied immediately, making jeno flush.

"i'm not cute, i'm hot." jeno defended himself, looking at jaemin. very bad idea, the boy was leaning over him on the bed, making their noses touch.

"correction, you're hot, but you can become the cutest boy ever in a snap of fingers." jaemin whispered, his hot breath fanning over jeno's lips.

jeno coughed. "let me remind you that i am zeus' son." he told, trying to act confidently, but melting on the inside.

"i know, thunderbolt." jaemin chuckled as he backed away, jeno suddenly pouting at the loss of warmth from jaemin's body. "and let me remind you that i have the power over you." he imitated jeno with a smirk.

jeno sighed, biting the inside of his cheek.

how could he forget about this, again?

"yeah, and what are you going to ask me this time?" he questioned with a brow raised.

jaemin looked at him in the eye before his eyes diverted to the body that was clinging onto him. "i'd ask you to stop hanging out with renjun..." jaemin told, looking back into jeno's pained eyes. "...but you two are cute like this, so, i don't mind."

and so, jaemin left the room, leaving a blushing red jeno with a fast-beating heart.