#haikyuu greek mythology au

firebird [part 3] || who’s the gay cousin

>>mama, there is only so much i can do // tough for you to witness but it was for me too <<

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pairing : aone takanobu x f!reader

genres : greek mythology au, humor, fluff, angst, coming of age, friends to lovers

style : mixed smau and written au

warnings : nsfw language and swearing, alcohol, futakuchi kenji, bokuto on a road trip, probably references to violence and stuff like that???

a/n: plot twist akaashis the gay cousin

taglist !! : @dwcljh@galagcica@elianetsantana@tomura-heart@deepseavibez@kr33tivity@morpheus-rex@multifandomphenomena@janenks@strawberrymarshallow@haengbokpixie@austriasmariazelle@prettyinblack231@alohablue@r0llingthunderr@katsumi-sumi@sugarsymphonyy@k1rbb1@wow-life-love4@zbops@kamalymaly@heyheyheyhaikyu@bikinibrattoms​@ushitoshi​

firebird [part 2] || we’re gonna be okay, right?

>>  r.i.p to my youth // if you really listen, then this is to you <<

previous||masterlist||playlist ||next

pairing : aone takanobu x f!reader

genres : greek mythology au, humor, fluff, angst, coming of age, friends to lovers

style : mixed smau and written au 

warnings : nsfw language and swearing, alcohol, futakuchi kenji, bokuto on a road trip, probably references to violence and stuff like that???

!! chapter warnings !! : angst, potentially upsetting descriptions of death, child death

a/n: i think ill probably only be posting the text updates of the au for early access mostly bc the written parts take me like 8 hours to write and i am too impatient to wait after that – lmk what you think!! also i was going to do 3rd person writing but i think ive been doing 2nd person for so long on this blog that it felt weird to switch back lmao

taglist !! : @dwcljh@galagcica@elianetsantana@tomura-heart@deepseavibez@kr33tivity@morpheus-rex@multifandomphenomena@janenks@strawberrymarshallow@haengbokpixie@austriasmariazelle@prettyinblack231@alohablue@r0llingthunderr@katsumi-sumi@sugarsymphonyy@k1rbb1@wow-life-love4@zbops@kamalymaly@heyheyheyhaikyu@bikinibrattoms

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“Finally our last year, huh? It’s kind of weird to think about.” You look up at the place you’d called home almost your entire life – The Mt. Olympus School for Demigods – and breathe out a laugh, glancing up at Aone while he walks beside you. He’s already peering down at you – not exactly one for conversation, he’d grown into a habit of just watching other people. It’s disorienting for some, Futakuchi often complaining that having Aone’s eyes on him is overwhelming, but you find it nice. Not to mention that, while a man of few words, he still manages to get his point across. Even now, his eyes are curious, wondering what else is on your mind. 

“I mean – we grew up here. Normal kids, they go to school for eight hours a day or something, and then they go home. They live in cities, towns, places where people they don’t know just exist around them. We… only have this. We spend 10 months out of the year here, and we at the very least know every single face that exists within a 10 mile radius of us. And now it’s almost over. That’s crazy to think about.” You’re rambling now, a habit around Aone simply because you find him easy to talk to. As you make your way up the winding forest path toward the gate that looms in the distance, the school comes even more into view. 

The campus consists of a secure and heavily guarded stretch of endless forest, the buildings scattered in a way that looks meaningless to the untrained eye. But for someone that’s spent almost every day of your childhood in this place, it’s not hard to pick out the paths from the random patches of trees, the strategic placement of the dorms, the common areas for recreation, the training grounds. It’s all there, order hidden in the safety that chaos can sometimes provide. 

The school buildings are the first contact point for anyone who crosses the gate. They’re more of a collection of old houses, really – the kind that are built upon with annexes and walls that don’t match, but they have the kind of intimidating aesthetic that’s expected of any ancient school. Silhouettes of other buildings peek out of the shadows in the background, but it’ll be a bit of a hike before the two of you will get any clear view of the dorms.

When you get close enough to the gate to see who’s guarding it, you find a smile breaking out on your features. 

“Saeko!” The daughter of Ares has already seen you coming, her advanced reconnaissance ability granting her extended vision, so the blonde is already grinning widely once you come into view.

“Well, if it isn’t the Princess of the Underworld herself – and Mister Sunshine, of course.” The name makes you scrunch your nose in disapproval, Aone choosing instead to appear quite confused at his own. 

“That’s usually Koutarou’s name.” Saeko gasps, pointing her weapon jokingly at him.

“He speaks! Who are you, and what have you done with Aone Takanobu?! Pull your hood back immediately and show me your face, imposter!” He frowns and pulls the edge of his sweatshirt hood even further down over his eyes defensively, glancing down at you for help. You just pat his shoulder with a smile.

“Every summer, our friend group deals out a series of ‘Summer Homework’ to be completed by the time school starts again, and Mister Aone here did not complete his assignment to ditch the hood.” The edges of his lips tilt up in the ghost of a smile, his shrug playful as he tugs at the ends of his clothes, the edges of his unnecessarily long sleeves brushing against his fingertips. Saeko smiles at the boy in front of her, shrouded head to toe in cloth. She’d only been granted the chance to see his eyes clearly a handful of times, but she can guess that you and your friends might be more lucky with the introvert.

“So what was your assignment, Miss Y/l/n?” You open your mouth to respond, but the baritone of Aone’s voice cuts you short.

“To donate anything she finds with her financial luck. She also failed.” You gasp, nudging his elbow roughly.

“I did not! I gave that kid on the plane 500 bucks!” He peers knowingly down at you before shaking your bag, which he’d insisted on carrying at the beginning of your trek through the forest.

“The other half of which is still in here–”

“Iasked you if you wanted it!” He huffs once and shakes his head, the kind that sounds like a dismissal to most but is evidently a laugh to you after over ten years of hearing his various communicative sounds. Saeko watches with intrigue, noting that she never once has heard Aone speak this much. She’s about to mention it, but there’s someone hollering behind her inside the gate, the sound getting louder very quickly.

“Y/n! Aone! They’re back, they’re back! We’ve been waiting ages!” Bokuto Koutarou barrels down the forest path toward them, almost running over a couple first-years in the process. They shriek and jump back, and he has to stop to check rather emphatically on them – he is quite large, after all. Akaashi lingers not far behind, but once Bokuto’s done apologizing, the son of Apollo returns to his overzealous welcome, leaving Akaashi to approach them at a much calmer pace. 

He latches onto the two of you easily, Aone’s hand flying up to catch the hood of his shirt before it can fall too far back on impact. Bokuto’s not that much shorter than Aone, so he doesn’t realize sometimes just how tall he is, but you are definitely feeling the effects of his height, his elbow wrapped almost comically around your throat as you struggle to breathe. Poking at his torso until he lets go, you take a couple deep breaths and smile up at the beaming boy. 

“I missed you too, Bo.” Aone nods in agreement, patting Bokuto on the shoulder kindly. “And you, Akaashi.” Keiji smiles gently as he finally gets within earshot of them. His stride is nothing short of majestic as he walks up to them. He and his siblings have been noted to float through the air when they walk, almost like they’re gliding, and as the oldest, Akaashi’s easily caught the most attention. 

The children of Aphrodite – from birth, they garner looks and comments from all around. Charming and sweet as children, they’re the ones with the most admirers and crushes, the ones that get confessed to almost daily. As they grow, the sweet innocence of a childhood crush becomes lethal attraction, and, if careless, ruthless heartbreak. 

In Akaashi Keiji’s case, his beauty can be dangerous to those who haven’t built an immunity to him – his eyes, his smile, his grace. Some would even compare him to a siren, an ethereal presence that hides what he’s truly capable of. His lovely exterior is, as with all children of Aphrodite, completely out of his hands, nothing more than lucky genetics – but damn if he hasn’t learned to use it to his benefit. 

It’s always a bit of a shock to reacquaint yourself with Akaashi’s beauty at the end of every summer, even Aone seeming a bit awestruck, but it’s nothing compared to the feeling one gets seeing him for the first time. At one point in your childhood, you’d all had a huge crush on him, something he likes to remind you of when he’s in a mischievous mood.

He steps up to you, wrapping an arm around you gently while you blink away the fog of attraction that’s always just been a side effect of his abilities. You return the embrace once the feeling’s faded, happy to see him again. He does the same with Aone, looking the two of you over with understanding eyes as you finish readjusting. Bokuto laughs loudly at the scene, even gesturing with a snort over at Saeko, who’s openly gawking up at him. Akaashi smiles and waves at her, prompting her to blush deeply and look away, scanning the forest with immense interest.

“See, this is why I actually spend most of my summers with Akaashi – that way, I don’t have to look as ridiculous as you guys just did!” Akaashi rolls his eyes, nudging Bokuto disapprovingly and nodding back in the direction they’d come from. 

“Kenji’s unpacking – he’s being stubborn because we changed the group chat and said he didn’t want to come with us.” You roll your eyes affectionately, unable to find your best friend as annoying as most probably do.

“Let’s go get the dummy – I want to hang out before the bonfire tonight.” 

–

The dorm system at Mt. Olympus is even more scattered than the campus layout, but it’s really organized once you know who lives where. Every dorm acts as a home for the children of each godly parent, their locations predictably related to the kind of god that parents it. House Poseidon sits on the shoreline of the lake that splits the campus in half and stretches out endlessly into the distance – it’s more of a beach house than anything, with its docks that are perfect for sunbathing and the canoes that make for both great training and great fun. You spot a couple kids in your year setting up a tire swing along the treeline as your group makes it past the school buildings and heads deeper into the forest.

The next dorm in view is House Dionysus, essentially just a glorified frat house. Streamers and signs hang from the balconies, ping pong tables lining the front porch. It’s included in the clearing that’s mostly used for recreation and events. The only difference between this and an actual frat house is the lack of alcohol – it’s distributed strictly to children of Dionysus and only for training. Much like Futakuchi, they tend to have trouble with alcohol tolerance, their bodies burning through it immediately and rendering them virtually incapable of feeling its effects. While it’s not exactly battle training to work on getting drunk, godly abilities are not much different than muscles – they need to be trained in order to grow properly – so there is a supply of alcohol located within the house, but no one outside the house has ever seen it.

You walk up to the porch, peering up at the open window on the fourth floor. Futakuchi’s had the same room ever since first year, conveniently located within rock-throwing distance. You scoop one up off the ground and fling it up at the window, looking back at the boys with wide eyes when it makes contact with something solid. Futakuchi sticks his head out angrily, rubbing at the fresh red spot on his forehead, and scowls when he sees the group.

“Go away, I’m busy!” You laugh, waving for him to join you.

“Come on, dumbass, let’s go chill at mine.” His scowl only holds for another moment, his eyes becoming playful as he disappears back into his room. It doesn’t take him long to exit the house, ruffling the hair of one of his younger sisters affectionately as he goes. He hops off the porch, spreading his arms open when he lands.

“We’re finally 18, bitches!” Practically skipping over to the group, he pulls you into his arms roughly, digging his knuckles into the top of your head once he’s trapped you. “How’s my favorite person turned traitor? Learn anything new this summer, like maybe how to betray people? Is betraying people fun, are you having fun?” His questions are rapidfire, his preferred way of annoying people, but it doesn’t affect you.

“Yes, I had a wonderful time betraying you, and I plan to do it again in the future.” He releases you and claps Aone on the back, pulling the taller boy’s hood down over his eyes playfully. Futakuchi’s fond of causing trouble, but he’d jokingly pulled Aone’s hood off the other way when they were kids, and the boy had been so shaken and upset that Futakuchi still apologizes for it sometimes, several years later.

“I’d say it’s good to see you, but I haven’t been able to see you in years, bud.” Aone’s smile peeks shyly out at him, and Futakuchi knows that’s all he’s getting. “Alright, boys and girl, let’s head on over to Casa Hades – everyone got their phone flashlights on? ‘Cause, as usual, it’s gonna be really fucking hard to see.” You roll your eyes at the quip, knowing he’s not wrong but not willing to admit it.

“I’ll have all you losers know that they recently installed torches outside the house – nice and bright!” Aone huffs out a laugh again, adjusting both of your bags on his shoulders as he follows Bokuto first in the direction of House Apollo. The rest of you trail after, and you reach for your bag.

“I can take my bag back, you really didn’t have to carry it all the way here –hey!” Aone’s moved to avoid you, his hand coming out so he can plant his pointer finger smack in the middle of your forehead, keeping you away. You can see that he’s smiling at your affronted surprise, and you find that you can’t keep your own smile away for too long. Aone’s eyes happen to glance over your shoulder at Akaashi, and when he finds that he’s being pinned with a knowing look and a smirk, he drops his hand and spins around, almost marching after Bokuto stubbornly. You blink and turn to the boys behind you with a confused look, but Akaashi just smiles back with a suspicious amount of innocence in his eyes.

–

House Apollo sits at the top of a cliff overlooking the lake, across the bridge that’s near enough to House Poseidon that it’s used as a hangout spot. It’s the highest point on campus, understandably as close to the sun as possible. The cliff makes for an ideal spot to watch the sun rise and set, and there’s a makeshift archery station just off to the side. It’s one of the furthest points from the training grounds, aside from House Hades, so it makes sense that at some point one of the children of Apollo decided trekking all the way through campus for late-night training was too much.

It’s made with quite a lot of glass, allowing for ample sunlight to stream through into the first floor, which is essentially just an open-air theatre, the far wall completely missing. It opens out onto a massive deck that can be turned into a sizeable viewing space for performances put on by those in House Apollo that are musically and theatrically inclined. 

Bokuto himself, while not one for formal theater, tends to use the space to entertain during parties or just when the younger kids want a bedtime story. He’d also been the star of more than a few plays when they were kids, but he has a lot more fun as an audience member these days. You can always expect to have your Friday night plans randomly cancelled when he texts and demands that everyone come support his younger siblings at their productions. Of course, it’s Aone that has to remind him when there are scheduled performances during any given week, but Bokuto’s enthusiastic enough for the both of them.

Just as Bokuto’s heading up the stairs, something materializes only a few feet away from him, and he jumps violently. The shape takes form, leaving Kageyama Tobio in its wake – or, rather, it leaves a near-perfect replica of Kageyama Tobio in its wake. He’s made entirely of water, the vaguest of blue-green tints staining what is supposed to be his skin. He blinks up at Bokuto, who’s reaching out to touch him with concern. When his finger dips into water instead of a shoulder, Bokuto pulls back, glancing over at you.

“Your new friend scares me.” You smile, moving to hug Kageyama but pausing when you realize it would just be an unpleasant experience for you and your currently dry clothes.

“Kags! I was wondering if you’d gotten here yet.” Kageyama nods, pointing back over his shoulder. 

“I saw you crossing the bridge, but you were too far away to call out to. I wanted to say hi.” The group heads around the side of the house, and when you peer over the edge of the cliff down at House Poseidon, you grin at the real Kageyama Tobio standing at the shoreline, waving calmly up at you. You wave back with much more energy before turning to his doppleganger.

“Well, I’ll give you a real hug when I see you at the bonfire later, yeah? You promised to keep training with me even during school – don’t pretend you don’t know me now that you’re back with your friends, Tobio!” He looks over your friend group, his eyes lingering with awe on Akaashi for a moment longer than the rest, before turning back to you.

“I think you’re the one with the cooler friends, so maybe I should be the one that’s worried.” You tut disapprovingly at him, to which he only sends back a half smile before the projection dissolves, leaving a puddle where he was standing. You look at the group, gesturing to the empty space beside you.

“So that was Kageyama – a good bean, isn’t he?” Futakuchi hums, his eyes narrowed.

“Is he always that serious? Because I’m gonna have to fuck with him if he is.” You scoff, following Bokuto up the stairs.

“Yes, he is, and no, you will not. I will protect him with my life.”

The group moves into the house, and you wave at a few girls in your year when you see them sitting in the center of the room practicing their individual instruments. They wave back at your group, calling out a welcome to Aone as he moves to the stairs. Aside from your immediate friend group, the children of Apollo are the only other people that seem to acknowledge Aone with ease, having grown up with him. The younger ones, of course, always need time to adjust to him when they first get here, but Aone’s more than kind and helpful when they need it, so it’s not as hard as it is with other kids. You’ve even seen some of the quieter ones gravitate toward him during study periods or mealtimes when they’re overwhelmed. It’s endearing, really.

Once you make it to the right floor, Bokuto leads the way into the bedroom he and Aone share, throwing the door open and heading straight for his bed. You stand with Futakuchi and Akaashi in the doorway while Aone sets his bag down at the foot of his bed before removing the few items he’d taken home with him for the summer. The rooms are never changed around once they’re assigned, so it’s not hard to unpack after school holidays. He moves to his dresser and organizes his clothes quietly before storing his bag in the closet on Bokuto’s side of the room. When he’s done, he glances around at them expectantly, no words needed. Bokuto rolls off his bed with a groan, complaining that Aone should have taken longer to unpack so he could rest, and Futakuchi points dramatically back in the direction of the stairs.

“To the Underworld!” 

–

House Hades is buried deep within the forest, so far under the canopy of the trees that the first years are given a guide just to show them where it is and told to travel in pairs just in case they get lost. It seems you’re all just in time for the tour, a group of four boys no taller than your waist and no older than six being led carefully into the forest. You fall in line behind the last child, marching diligently with them. The boys join you, following one at a time as the tour group suddenly more than doubles in size. 

At the front of the line stands a son of Ares, and when he turns to check on them, you find yourself meeting Kuroo Tetsurou’s even gaze. His eyes practically bug out when he sees the five of you behind him, and all he can do is laugh in disbelief and shake his head. The four kids all turn to see what he’s laughing at, yelping at the line of much older students behind them. One of the kids tries to pull the rest out of the way so you can pass, but you just smile and shake your head at him.

“No worries, kiddo, we’re with the group! I know the idea of having a bunch of new siblings is kinda weird since you’re so young, but I’m your sister! These dummies behind me are unrelated and therefore unimportant.” You gesture over your shoulder, and at Bokuto’s shout of protest, the kids all seem to relax, turning to catch up to Kuroo. The son of Ares calls back to you calmly as the visibility in the forest noticeably lessens, the torch in his hand becoming unbearably bright.

“Have a nice summer, Y/n?” You nod, unseen by him. 

“Yep! Went to Hell and back – twice!” He laughs loudly at your response, his smile widening when he looks back and sees that the kids are staring up at you, trying to gauge whether you mean it or not.

“And how’s your dad doing, huh?” 

“I will let you know when I find him – did you know the Underworld’s basically a massive fucking maze?” Kuroo levels you with a warning glance over his shoulder, and you smile awkwardly down at the kids. “Swearing’s bad, kids, don’t do it.” Kuroo sighs heavily at you as he steps into the clearing that holds House Hades, and he moves off to the side to give the first years a better view. Your group files in behind them, staring up at your home.

It’s almost completely dark in the clearing, the little light that breaks through the tree canopy offering almost nothing in the way of assisting your vision. There’s a half-circle of torches lining the edge of the clearing with a couple more in front of the house. You squint uncertainly at the placement of torches so near a treeline, and when you glance up at Kuroo, he’s meeting your eyes with the same uncertainty. He hands the torch in his hand off to you before moving to the circle of light, calling back at you.

“Can you take them inside and show them to the second floor? I’m gonna move these to a spot that’s not… completely stupid.” You smile and usher the kids into the house, sticking the torch just in front of the house and glancing back at your group as you head up the porch. They’re helping Kuroo move the torches further into the clearing and away from the trees, and you can’t help but think that, even though it’s all a bit dramatic and dark, this place really does look a lot like Hell.

After showing the kids up to their room, an appropriately large space with four very small beds lining the walls, you let them know that your room’s just above theirs if they need anything and to always travel in pairs for the first few weeks. You stand in the doorway and get to know them for a few minutes while they claim beds and start to unpack, and it reminds you so much of your own first year that you find yourself becoming fond of them rather quickly. The difference is that it had just been you in your first year, not even a brother to live across the hall from. It hadn’t been hard to adjust, but you can’t say it wasn’t lonely sometimes. It still is, late at night with nothing but the dark to surround you. You remember having to travel with some second years until you’d gotten a handle on the path – after meeting Bokuto, he would bring Aone with him to walk you home at night, not wanting to get lost himself on his way back to House Apollo. You’d been lucky to meet such good friends so early on, so you’re glad that these four kids in front of you at least have each other for the time being.

“You forgot this.” You’re pulled away from your thoughts by the baritone of a very familiar, very quiet voice. Turning, you find Aone by your side, holding your bag out to you. Taking it with a grateful glance, you bid farewell to the first years and head to the stairs, noting the lack of the others. “They’re catching up with Kuroo – I thought maybe you were waiting for your stuff, so I came first.” Looking back, you see that he’s observing you the way he does with everyone around him, and that he must have seen you looking for them.

The two of you head up to the third floor and to the door on the left side of the hallway. There’s another door across the hall, clearly meant to split the year by gender, but since it’s just you, it’s become more of a study/training room exclusive to you and whoever you share it with. Not such a bad setup after all, having two rooms.

You push the door to your room open, frowning at the dust in the air as you set your bag on the bed. You move to open the window, but you see that Aone’s already there, pushing the glass open with his sleeve. You can’t but smile fondly at his back, appreciating him immensely in that moment. You turn to unpack your bag before he can see your face, knowing that it’s just an embarrassing moment waiting to happen. You can hear him pulling your desk chair out to sit, giving you a wide space to do your thing. 

“You can sit on the bed, you know. I don’t have that much stuff.” You don’t expect an answer, since it isn’t really something that needs one, but you’re surprised when he’s suddenly at your side, having crossed quietly over to you. He sits carefully at the edge of the bed, peering into your bag and then looking away quickly when he realizes that you could have personal stuff in there. You snort when you see him sit up straight.

“Relax – I already unpacked all my undies.” You say it cutely just to bother him, his sigh of frustration bringing you satisfaction. Heading to the closet to organize your clothes, you think back to the email from admin and groan quietly. “How do you think the evals are gonna go? I’m worried.” When you look back, he’s frowning up at you. “Are you worried, too?” A nod, and then he looks down at his hands.

“My abilities…” You blink and move to sit next to him.

“What, your heat resistance thing? What could they possibly do, throw you into a burning fire?” You laugh to yourself but stop when you notice that he’s still examining his hands solemnly. “Okay, they’re notgoing to throw you into a burning fire, Aone.” At that he smiles, nodding again.

Looking at him now, you can’t help but feel the way you always seem to feel when Aone steps foot into House Hades. It doesn’t seem to affect Bokuto in any way, but you’d noticed that Aone, if possible, closes in on himself and becomes almost quieter than he already is, like he’s afraid his voice will disturb the quiet of the dark. The inside of the house is, of course, not as dark, but it’s nothing compared to House Apollo, so you often find yourself wondering if he feels himself being muted in a space like this – a space without the sun.

You want to ask him – ask him why he’s always okay with doing study groups here and hanging out here if it ultimately might be affecting him – but you don’t get the chance. The door to your room flies open, revealing the rest of your friends on the other side, and Futakuchi wiggles his eyebrows at the two of you when he sees how close you’re sitting.

“Are we interrupting something?” Bokuto looks back at him in confusion before examining you, his eyes going wide when he gets what Futakuchi’s implying.

“Are you guys secretly dating?! How could you not tell us?!” 

–

A few hours after reassuring Bokuto that you and Aone are not dating and that you’re not keeping secrets from him, you get a message. It doesn’t come in the way you expect, and you can’t say you find it pleasant.

Can I assume you’re all together? 

The entire group jumps, the conversation and general mayhem happening in your room cut short at the intrusion on everyone’s thoughts. You grimace and rub at your temples, never having gotten used to the feeling even after years of knowing Tsukki.

“Why the hell did he ask all of us? He could have just asked you!” Futakuchi complains as he shudders, and Aone nods in agreement. 

We’re in my room – wait, is this thing on? Testing, testing, one, two –

I can hear you just fine. Your mind’s not a microphone.

Okay, well, excuse me for not knowing how your abilities work. What’s up?

I’ll be there in five. It’s about evals.

You groan, not wanting to think about the mandatory evaluations again, and Aone peers up at you from where he’s sitting on the floor, leaning against your bed. Futakuchi lies on the couch against your far wall, Bokuto sprawled out on the floor next to your desk where Akaashi sits. You look at each of them quickly.

“Wait, was it just me in that conversation with Tsukki?” They all nod, Futakuchi yawning.

“I figured you’d handle it, so I stopped thinking thoughts. Even though I wanted to think some pretty choice expletives for scaring me like that.” They all nod again, understanding his sentiment.

“Well, you can just say them to me now.” You all jump at the new voice, and Tsukishima Kei smirks from your bedroom door. Futakuchi sits up and lobs one of your throw pillows at him in annoyance, which he dodges easily. You pat the spot next to you on your bed when he meets your eyes.

“How’d you get here so fast? You said five minutes.” He shakes his head at your offer and points to the middle of the room, planting himself on the floor there.

“I move fast when I have a lot to do – can everyone come over here? I have to explain the evals for this week.” You all join him in a circle, curious about what he has to say. He pulls a stack of folders out of his backpack, sifting through them before tossing one down in front of him and putting the rest back. “Admin put me in charge of letting everyone know their assignments.” Akaashi cringes, offering Tsukki a smile and pretending he doesn’t see when the blond stares for a second.

“They already have you working like that? We just got back…” Tsukki shrugs, opening up the file with a sardonic grin.

“It comes with the territory.” You all nod, aware that House Athena is always at the forefront of any event or mission planning, which, apparently, includes the evals. “So, it’s been decided, in the interest of time and also not wanting to have to create a unique exam for every single student, that evals will be done as group missions. I made sure you guys got grouped together when I was helping out.” Bokuto claps him on the back with a grin.

“Way to go, Tsukki!” Tsukki sighs, shaking his head as he turns the file for you all to see.

“Don’t thank me. When they were working out a mission that could use all of you and your skills, you really got screwed over. It’s easily the worst one.” You lean over to look at the file, and immediately you lean back, turning your head away and shutting your eyes. You hear Aone inhale sharply beside you, but it’s overshadowed by Bokuto and Futakuchi swearing loudly.

There’s a photo inside the file, presumably from an autopsy report. It’s of a little girl, no older than the kids you’d just helped settle in downstairs. She very obviously dead, her skin and hair scorched from what could only be a fire.

“The girl in this photo was kidnapped from a grocery store this summer, and during the police chase, the man that kidnapped her crashed the car. It burst into flames. He died on impact. She, unfortunately, did not.” You hear him shift the papers in the file around, so you figure it’s safe and look back. Everyone seems to deflate as soon as the photo’s gone from view, the air tense and solemn. Tsukki pulls out the instructions for your group, pointing down at them.

“Your job is to find her, bring her back, and revive her. The school medical staff will be on site to take care of her once she’s alive, but she will be in a lotof pain.” Aone shuts his eyes, only imagining the amount of pain she was in, and understanding that he’s about to know very personally just how much that is. “There’s something else.” You all look up at Tsukki, wondering how it can possibly get worse. He pulls another autopsy photo out, this one of what can only be the man that kidnapped her. You grit your teeth and shake your head.

“We’re not bringing him back. No.” Tsukki only looks you over once before setting the photo down in front of you.

“I actually don’t know what this part of the mission is. I was just told to include the photo. Admin said you would know what to do.” There’s more silence, but this time it’s filled with a discomfort that Tsukki doesn’t understand. Slowly, you reach for the photo, but Aone sets his fingers down on it first, almost like he knows you don’t want to do it. Carefully, he slides across the floor, leaving it in front of Akaashi. Keiji takes it, looking it over carefully. Tsukki hisses through his teeth suddenly, having seen what everyone else in the room is thinking.

“You – you can do that?” Akaashi meets his eyes, and this time when Tsukki looks away, it’s more out of intimidation than anything remotely related to Akaashi’s beauty. Keiji only smiles bitterly, mimicking Tsukki’s sardonic tone from earlier.

“It comes with the territory.” 

–

Later – much later, long after the welcome bonfire, which, naturally, had been difficult to enjoy for your group – you’re lying in your bed, staring up at your phone, at the call button on Akaashi’s number. You’d never known what to say to him when it’d come to this, to dealing with an ability that controlled him more than he could control it. The only ability that’s out of your hands is your financial luck, and it’s not exactly a huge problem for you to find money randomly. 

Sighing, you pocket your phone and get out of bed, not even bothering to put on shoes as you head down the stairs and out of the house. The air is still warm, but it nips at your skin occasionally just to remind you that summer really is ending. You pad barefoot down the dirt path, unaffected by the complete and total darkness that exists outside the ring of torches. Years of this – growing up in this – had made you immune to that little tingle in the back of your head, the one that always tells you as a kid that there’s something in the darkness behind you. It had taken some getting used to, but you’ve found that children of Hades always seem to grow up a little faster than the rest. There’s really no other choice once you reach a certain level of familiarity with death.

Once you can see the moon, you know that your destination is not far. It comes into view only a few minutes later, House Apollo towering over you in the moonlight. You head up the stairs, slipping through the door quietly and examining the space. The instruments are all lined up and organized against the wall, the couches and table empty. Light from the moon streams in through the open wall, outlining the silhouette sitting out on the deck, shrouded in clothing. 

You approach quietly, causing Aone to jump slightly when you sit down next to him, letting your legs hang free over the edge of the cliff as you lean your head on the bars of the railing. It’s clearly a safety measure, preventing anyone from falling, but the bars are so far apart that it also makes for a comfortable resting spot, a place to sit and look down at the lake.

You look over at Aone once you’re settled, meeting his curious eyes with a tired smile. 

“You’ve always had a shitty sleep schedule.” He grins at your explanation, one of the real ones that’s hard to come by, and returns his gaze to the water below. It only lasts a second, and then it’s gone as quickly as it had come, his eyes distracted.

“You know… my peace keeping. It doesn’t work if I use it on myself.” It’s seemingly out of the blue, a sentence that requires a lot of prior context to understand, both about Aone’s abilities and about Aone himself, but luckily you have both. You know the feeling of Aone’s peace keeping, the way he can ease anyone’s mind with just a touch, making you forget all about your problems for some time. It’s the ultimate comfort, so the fact that he’s bringing it up means that he must have tried it on himself – and failed, it seems.

You reach out, taking his hand and linking your fingers, setting your joined hands down in your lap. He looks at you in surprise, but you’re only looking down at your hands. Were your hands always this small? Or does it just seem that way right now, when they’re enveloped in his? Have his hands always been this warm? Or are yours just cold? 

Blinking when you realize that you’re getting lost in your thoughts, you send Aone a small grin. 

“It’s not exactly the same thing as peace keeping, but hopefully it’s enough.” He swallows hard, staring down at your joined hands once more before looking back out at the lake. You sit there for a minute, probably thinking about the same thing, the same problem you’ll have to deal with in only a few days. 

“Aone?” He hums without looking at you. “We’re gonna be okay, right?” He turns, searching your face carefully even though you won’t meet his eyes. Finally, he squeezes your hand, and you find yourself glad that, while he’s had the chance to wash away your fears with nothing more than his own will and his palm in yours, he’s choosing not to do it. You would be more worried later if he’d used his ability on you, thinking your task ahead was more than you should have to handle. In the end, it’s his words, always so simple and direct, that comfort you more than anything.

“We’re always okay, aren’t we?”