"everything alright in there?"

"mmh." donghyuck replied, turning around only to find mark leaning against the door frame of the bathroom.

it was the end of the day, and the sun had already set.

the seven boys were about to go to sleep, each of them in a different room – because there were enough cabins for each of them to sleep in three different ones during the night.

"are you sure you'll be okay on your own?" mark asked.

donghyuck leaned over the sink, spitting the toothpaste out before rinsing his mouth. "i used to live alone, you know?"

"yeah, but not in the same context." mark shrugged.

donghyuck rolled his eyes playfully, turning around to face mark. "i can sleep on my own, don't worry. i'd like to be a bit on my own right now, you know? chenle has been glued to me all day... because of some little snitch who took my bow and shot him."

"it was to protect you!" mark argued immediately, making donghyuck laugh out loud.

"sure." he smiled. "but you deprived me of any type of privacy for two hours straight."

"come on... two hours isn't that long..." mark argued. "what is important is that he left you alone now."

"i guess."

donghyuck walked past mark, entering the bedroom he had chosen for the night and opening the covers to slip inside.

"so, you're sleeping on your own?" mark asked again as donghyuck slipped his first foot under the covers.

"are you asking this question again and again because you want to sleep with me?" donghyuck asked, one of his brows raised as he tried reading mark's feelings – but failed to do so, as usual.

mark caught himself almost letting out the word 'yes' at donghyuck's question, but hades' son tried his best to keep control over his body.

god, he would love to sleep next to donghyuck. he had basically developed feelings for him, and he couldn't ignore them anymore.

"n-no..." he stammered, making donghyuck chuckle.

"then i guess i'm sleeping on my own." donghyuck replied. "but i'm sure you'll take the room next to mine?"

mark nodded immediately.

he had threatened the other boys to have the cabin next to donghyuck's, but the forbidden child didn't need to know that.

"so, you won't be too far." donghyuck smiled brightly.

"i won't." mark smiled back, walking towards the door. "don't hesitate to come to my room if you have any problem. or just... if you want to."

"okay." donghyuck nodded as he switched the lights off inside the cabin, the only light remaining being the corridor's light where mark stood.

"good night, then." mark told, not moving an inch.

"good night." donghyuck replied, placing his head over the pillow.

mark stood in the corridor for a few seconds, looking at donghyuck's figure visible because he still hadn't closed the door.

just when he realised that he was being awkward and weird, mark slowly closed the door.

however, he was stopped by donghyuck's voice.

"wait!"

mark pushed the door open again, passing his head through the opening.

"what is it?" he asked, looking worriedly at the boy who had stood up from the bed.

donghyuck quickly made his way towards mark, standing next to him and dropping a quick kiss on his cheek before flashing him a smile that could have the whole room lit-up.

"sleep well." he added before jogging back to the bed.

needless to say, mark stayed another minutes, just staring at donghyuck's figure inside his bed while his heat beat erratically.

Ω

the powerful demigod was woken up by the noise caused by the door of his cabin opening and then closing.

at first, he didn't pay it much mind, thinking that it could be the air outside making the different doors open and close on their own, but he understood that he was wrong when he left a small hand poking his shoulder.

"i can't sleep..."

jisung's eyes shot-opened at the voice that made his heart beat so fast.

"c-chenle?" he asked for comfirmation. "what are you doing here?"

"i can't sleep..."

"have you tried counting dolphins?" jisung reached for the lamp on the bedside table, switching it on to look at chenle better.

the chinese male was pouting, his hair sticking in every direction on top of his head, making him look even cuter than he usually was.

"i can't..."

"why can't you?" jisung raised a brow, patting the space next to him on the bed to help his best friend.

chenle took small steps towards the bed, taking a sit next to jisung. "the waves are making me sick... i can't concentrate on the dolphins or forget about the movements of the boat..."

jisung hummed.

as poseidon's son, he was never sick on boats, but he knew that some people could be.

chenle was surely part of those people.

"why didn't you go to donghyuck?" jisung asked, knowing that chenle had been quite obsessed with donghyuck these past days.

"why would i have gone to donghyuck?" chenle raised a brow in confusion.

'because you like him' he immediately thought, but stopped himself from saying it out loud.

he was quite salty of those feelings that chenle had developed on the tanned male.

he wasn't mad at the tanned male; the poor boy didn't ask to become the forbidden child and get everybody's attention because of his visuals.

he was mad at himself for letting chenle go.

but he couldn't say that out loud to hermes' son.

"because apollo is the god of diseases and healing. donghyuck could have made your sickness disappear in a mere touch." jisung told.

chenle shrugged, lying down on the bed next to jisung as he stared at the ceiling to try to ease his stomach who wasn't feeling so well.

he couldn't help but think about donghyuck's words again.

donghyuck was the son of aphrodite. he knew about feelings.

and he had said that chenle didn't like him, but that he liked someone else.

someone close to him, someone who liked him as well, someone who would keep him safe...

but who could that be?

chenle was a very friendly and out-going person. the one he liked could be anyone and everyone.

maybe jisung would have an idea?

"do you know who i like?" chenle asked out of the blue, gulping down the lump that was forming in his throat, and making him even more sick.

"do i know who you like?" jisung repeated, a brow raised as he looked at chenle.

however, hermes' son didn't even make eye-contact with him. he was too busy fixing the ceiling – surely to concentrate and not empty his stomach on the bed.

"yeah."

jisung blinked for a few seconds, trying to understand why chenle would be asking this question.

was it to hurt him? because, if so, it did hurt him.

"i don't know... donghyuck?" jisung asked, lying down next to chenle and staring at the ceiling as well.

"it's not him. he told me i liked someone else." chenle replied nonchalantly.

"he... what?!" jisung sat up on the bed, making the bed move suddenly, and making chenle even more sick than he already was.

"jisung, be careful... i don't feel well..."

"sorry." jisung apologised immediately, calming down and concentrating on the sea outside to flatten it as much as possible for chenle not to be sick.

"i thought i liked him, but he knows who i like. and he said it's not him." chenle explained.

"who is it then?"

"he doesn't want to tell me..." chenle sighed, turning around in the bed to face jisung. "he said he was closer than i imagined. and that he had already been liking me for a long time... but i don't see who it could be..."

jisung turned around as well, facing chenle and looking deeply into his eyes.

how could chenle be so blind and not see that jisung was actually head-over-heels for him?

jisung was completely obvious.

"you'll find him someday." jisung told.

chenle nodded slowly, a yawn escaping his rosy lips. "i hope so..." he mumbled tiredly.

jisung scooted a bit closer to chenle, holding his hand out to reach for the switch of the lamp to turn it off. as soon as this was done, jisung lied back down again, not getting further from chenle.

"you'll help me find him...?" chenle asked, unconsciously approaching jisung in his tired state and resting his head against his chest.

jisung gulped, hoping that chenle couldn't hear his fast-beating heart.

poseidon's son passed his arm under chenle's head – the limb acting like a pillow for the older boy – and wrapped his other arm around the chinese's waist.

"i promise i'll help you." jisung nodded, these words aching as they were pronounced.

"thanks, jisung. i don't know what i would do without you..." chenle mumbled before dozing off to sleep.

jisung smiled, admiring the beauty on chenle's face in the dim lighting provided by the moon visible through the porthole.

"i like you so much, chenle... i have for a long time... i really hope you could realise that... but even if you don't, just know that i'll always be there to take care of you..."

Ω

renjun walked towards the cabins slowly after spending a good hour admiring the moon from the top deck of the boat.

he had been discussing with his owl, sofia, and just enjoying some alone time, far from problems and stress.

he valued those moments, and this little relaxation session had almost been like those hours he spent in his special place in the half-blood camp.

but now, it was starting to get late, and renjun needed to go to bed.

the boy would have headed right back to his room after leaving the top deck, but he noticed jaemin's shirt hanging on the barrier around the jacuzzi – he had taken it off to get in the warm water with renjun, and surely forgotten about it.

considering him and jaemin were warming up these days, renjun decided to bring the shirt back to its rightful owner – after a long debate between wearing the shirt to sleep or giving it to jaemin.

maybe they could get even closer? and who knows, become more than friends? he had always wondered what dating jaemin would be like.

so, here was renjun, walking across the corridors of the luxury boat to get to jaemin's cabin, the shirt in his tiny hands.

renjun reached the door quickly, noticing that it wasn't closed properly.

he could hear some noise inside, but still, he decided to knock to make his presence known.

however, jaemin didn't answer, which had renjun slightly concerned.

a few ideas crossed athena's son's mind, but let's be honest, none of them were close to what was really happening on the other side of the door.

yeah, renjun could never expect to find jaemin and jeno with their lips glued together, their hands all over each other, and their clothes in the process of going off.

definitely not.