★ kee speaks i dont like this one that much, it doesn't feel like enemies to lovers enough :(( anyw the reader is a daughter of nyx

I grunted as I got up, brushing the grass off my pants. The sun was rising already, and the air was still damp with last night's rain. We had been fighting monsters for the whole journey already, but only now did we encounter cyclopes, in the dead of the night. I hadn't even realized how much time had passed.

Travis, Connor and I were on a quest, and we had finally caught a taxi some time ago. But the taxi crashed and the driver was brought to safety, and we had to continue on our own. Now we were at an abandoned park, with rusty cars and filthy benches.

I picked my bow off the ground just as I heard Travis pull his sword out of a cyclops.

"Travis," I called.

"Yes?"

"I'll—"

"You'll what?" Connor asked.

I scowled, despite how tired I was. "Can you not interrupt?"

"Can you be nicer?"

"Okay, shut up, you two. Connor, get on my shoulders."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure, but I think there's a treehouse over there. I can't stand on anything because it will crack."

"A treehouse? Why would there be a treehouse?" I asked.

Connor rolled his eyes and gestured around. "Do you even see the trees? This would be a perfect place to build one."

"There are barely any houses around. Who would travel this far for a treehouse?"

"Stop," Travis said firmly. "If you two aren't gonna pass out from exhaustion, I will." He stood near a shed and looked up at the sky. The sun had risen annoyingly quickly and was even more frustrating with how weak it showed. The weather here was not good at all. If luck wasn't on our side, it would probably rain again.

"I can shadow travel us there," I said quietly. "It looks pretty far and we've been out for too long. We need to find somewhere to stay."

"L/N's right," Travis said, helping Connor up on his shoulders. "We can't stay here. So is it a treehouse or not?"

"It is," Connor said. "And what if we end up in another country from shadow travelling?"

I nudged his leg as he got off of Travis, making him fall. "I'm not 5 years old, Stoll, I know how to use my powers."

"You don't know how to work with other people properly, though."

I felt a hand shove me and I spun around, scowling. I glared at Connor, gripping my bow and clenching my jaw. A black wisp made its way to his wrist and was slowly wrapping itself around him. I glanced at it and made Connor jump.

"I hate it when you do that," He hissed, storming away to pick up his fallen backpack.

I went to Travis and stayed behind him, watching his brother. "I didn't mean to do that," I murmured.

He shook his head. "I know you didn't. Are you sure you can still go?"

"Yes, of course!" I snapped back, a little offended. But that could be a lie. I'd never know for sure if I never did it. Shadow travelling was hard, and I was trying my best to get used to it. It worked most of the time, but I'd get tired. I hope I had gotten better at it, because I haven't done it in months. And the thing with Connor earlier...it tends to happen when my emotions get out of control. It was no surprise that it happened around him, though. I couldn't stand him.

"I can't stand you," I said, holding his hand and staring him down. Well, technically he was quite literally staring me down, since he was taller. Travis was waiting for us farther into the shed. We had to go now, while there was still pure shadow.

Connor rolled his eyes. "Go on so we can go to the treehouse."

"Ready?"

"Yes."

"Yeah."

Aside from feeling the freezing cold wind on my face and my skin being peeled off, I felt Connor squeezing my hand. Jeez, was he trying to crush my fingers?

A moment later my feet felt stable again and I was standing on wood and not soil.

It was an old treehouse, maybe a fair 15 meters off the ground. Some parts were broken and splintering, but it didn't shake when Connor let go of my hand and went to the edge. At least we knew it was stable. Inside was a crate that looked empty, a study table with a flashlight and a twin-sized bed with a grimy mattress.

My feet were not stable when I took a step forward, out of the shadowy corner of the room.

My body felt heavy and my legs ached. My head felt like it was filled with sand. Just then I asked myself when the last time I got sleep was and remembered I was the one who took watch recently.

I staggered over to the bed and put my face in my hands. "If we have to shadow travel one more time, tell me now before I pass out."

"We don't. Get some sleep, L/N. You too," he pointed at Connor. "I'm taking first watch."

Connor sat on the bed but stayed as far away from me as possible. I got up, hauled my backpack off the floor and pushed the table against a corner. I decided I would sleep there with my backpack as a pillow. It wasn't comfortable, but it was somewhere to rest, and that was good enough.

"We have a problem," Travis said, looking out the window.

"Eat it," I smiled without humor.

Connor crossed his arms and sat cross-legged on the bed. "You're the problem, L/N."

"Then eat me up, motherfucker!"

He groaned. "I hate you and your stupid responses."

"I know you do." As I said that, I followed Travis's gaze and saw the dark clouds outside. I wondered what Zeus was up to. I found it quite...comical that Zeus is afraid of my mom. Well, I was afraid of myself sometimes, and I'm only half god. Nyx was older and stronger, so I understood.

When Travis left, I lay down and tried to go to sleep. Soon, though, it became hard because of the pattering of the rain and frustration took over me. But this was no place to complain. I'd just shut up and close my eyes.

Zeus was pissing me off.

Well, he always did, but if I said that out loud I'd be dead by now.

The rain was getting close to roaring now. I could see Travis on the balcony of the treehouse, he had taken a bent piece of the crate and held it over his head as he scanned the area. Meanwhile water sprayed through the window, dampening my clothes. We couldn't close the windows, because there were no glass panels or anything, just a square hole in the wall.

"L/N," I heard someone whisper. I ignored it the first and second time. "L/N, get over here, you raw peanut." (bye why does that sound like something gordon ramsay would say)

I sat up and asked, "Why?" just to annoy Connor.

He sighed and scooted over to the side of the bed, making space. Reluctantly, I lay down beside him and let out a little sigh too. Was the air that thin?

Connor put a hand under his head, lying down on his side. "I'm not gonna kick you off, don't worry," he chuckled.

"So you're nice now? Too tired to say the usual things?" I avoided his eyes. He didn't answer, and I spoke again. "Yeah, same. I, uhm, I ran out of insults too."

He seemed to be biting back a laugh. "Really? I thought that was impossible."

"Hmph. I guess the sarcasm hasn't left."

He winked. "It never does."

"Oh," I said, trying to cover up my surprise. He was actually being playful and not mean now. Might as well return the favor. "Nice."

"Nice is your only response?"

"Yeah," I joked. I felt...fuzzy inside. And warm. Then a gust of cold wind blew into the room and I shivered.

"Cold?" He asked. "Need a hug?"

I shook my head. "Do you need a hug?"

"After shadow travelling?" He laughed shakily. "Yeah. I don't like the feeling. I need a high-five."

"With a chair?"

"Ow," He said, recoiling. I laughed, a little too hard so that I moved too much and nearly tumbled off the bed.

The next thing I knew, I was closer to him than I was before and we were clutching each other. "Hold on, I got you, princess."

I sat up, grinning. "When was the last time you called me that?"

"Few years ago when I put a frog in your bunk."

I scoffed. "That didn't even scare me."

"Yeah, you were the one that scared it."

"It hopped out the window like it was the last thing it would do after I accidentally did the shadow thing, right?"

"No? It crawled away slowly."

"How do you know? You weren't there."

"I remember seeing it crawl off your bed-"

"Frogs don't normally crawl, Stoll."

"How do you know that?"

"I mean they're usually shown hopping—"

We heard footsteps and Connor pulled me down as Travis sat in the doorway and not on the balcony anymore. He shushed me, grinning.

"You're acting like a kid, Connor," I snickered.

"Oh, so we're on a first name basis now, Y/N?"