other characters: taeyong and doyoung as yn’s friends; mark, chenle and taeil as haechan’s friends, jisung
words:14.5k
you’ve never cared much for your dreams. they were always confusing nonsense you forgot in the morning. this until you started to have the same dream again and again and again: a lobby, pleasant elevator music in the background, many golden doors, a handsome young man welcoming you and asking where you wanted to go that night. his name was haechan and apparently you weren’t supposed to know that, let alone fall in love with him.
other characters: taeyong and doyoung as yn’s friends; mark, chenle and taeil as haechan’s friends, jisung
words:14.5k
you’ve never cared much for your dreams. they were always confusing nonsense you forgot in the morning. this until you started to have the same dream again and again and again: a lobby, pleasant elevator music in the background, many golden doors, a handsome young man welcoming you and asking where you wanted to go that night. his name was haechan and apparently you weren’t supposed to know that, let alone fall in love with him.
[ 6:32 pm ] the sun is a bruise in the sky covered by the gray clouds that fan around it. The music flooding in through your headphones has you humming along, words formed on your lips but never spoken. And the thought has you thinking only slightly about a certain boy that you saw in your class today.
Thinking about the class that had you dozing off to sleep except on tuesdays, because he would also be there as a teacher’s assistant. Jeno’s overwhelming love and passion for the subject had you mesmerized if you thought for only five minutes on the topic too. And you promised you tried to be more invested in the words and information that came out of his mouth and not on the way his eyes would get lighter when he got excited about the way a vein drains into another or the wink he would send your way when the rest of your class had fallen half asleep for the second half of the class.
The thoughts keep you warm on the cold spring afternoon, the bruises in the sky blossoming behind you as you make your way back home, cold wind snapping at your face. Your own world, filled with thoughts of classes you couldn’t wait to be done with, melodies that filled your soul and a boy with warm eyes that filled your heart. A world that keeps you distracted until a voice calls out your name for the tenth time (nine of which you had not realized) and you’ve spun around almost crashing into the boy behind - now in front - of you.
He’s painted in hues of orange and gold, dashes of pink in the light that descends from the sun and it’s almost breathtaking until he’s pulling you in arms wrapped around yours in warmth. The varsity jacket, worn out over the year, is soft against your skin and you want to stay trapped in the moment. Arms wrapped around each other, the ends of his hair tickling your cheek. Safe. warm. Comfortable. That’s what it felt like to be in his arms.
The lingering strips of color in the sky threaten to leave, as Jeno breaks away from the hug. Soft smile is ever present on his face as he asks you about your day, if he did a good job teaching and if you needed any help with today’s topic. He’d noticed you weren’t the biggest fan of the topic, something you’d profusely tried to decline to no avail. But his faint smile never left, eyes so warm that if you didn’t think too much about it you would just stare at wondering all of life’s possibilities in regards to Jeno.
A moment, slipping between your fingertips the way water weaves its way through cracks in the road after a rainstorm. Moments between two strangers who aren’t quite strangers anymore, who share gazes they don’t understand. Things that seem so tangible, like the way his lips felt against your forehead, the way his arms felt around your waist and your around his neck, tangling in his outgrown hair.
He’d been wanting to cut it for hockey for a while now, but that resolution had left his mind when you wrapped a finger on a black curl during a stolen moment in the movie theater. And then you’d told him how much you’d loved the light curls that would come when his hair would grow out and jeno had canceled any sort of appointment - one he’d had jaemin make honestly - in regards to hair cutting. And when your phone buzzes in your back pocket an incoming call from your older brother “worlds best brother” - name placed by haechan himself - reality crashes back into you.
The moment shatters, the sky no longer in its beautiful hues and this time the bruised sky dark purple forming over the clouds follow the two of you in your opposite paths back home. Each with a heart reflecting the sky.
info:loosely based on the movie clueless (no ex step siblings lol), enemies to lovers!au
wc: 6.3k
warnings: a guy being an asshole (not jeno)
a/n: i’ve had this written before i even started this blog lol but i finally went back and edited it! also this is a little late but thank you for 400 followers <<3333
You are 7 years old when you decide you hate Lee Jeno. Specifically, at a charity gala where he shoved past you to tackle another boy, resulting in your glass of orange juice spilled all over your new white tulle dress.
Your parents have been friends and more importantly- business associates, with the Lee’s since you can remember; your father owning the investment company the Lee’s family business partnered with. You and Jeno have grown up together at corporate parties, joint summer vacations, and long boring brunches with forced small talk and repetitive classical music.
To you, Jeno would always be that kid that your parents pressured you to get along with, forcing awkward conversation and feigned friendship. But as time passed and you grew up, you began to see less and less of Jeno, which was completely fine by you.
You haven’t really talked to Jeno since you were 15- when at one of the Lee’s annual Christmas parties Jeno bluntly ditched you to play video games in his room. You accepted his non-confrontational gesture of saying “we’re not friends,” and since then spent the dinner parties avoiding Jeno’s gaze and conversation.
Jeno was like you: popular, wealthy, and always had attention wherever he was. He had similar friend circles to you, similarly going to extravagant parties, staying in luxurious vacation homes, and going on spontaneous shopping sprees. Your friends used to beg for you to introduce him to them, shocked you knew “The Lee Jeno”. You always rolled your eyes, “The Lee Jeno” was underwhelming, immature, and annoying.
Jeno was completely not in your life anymore. You- like thousands of other people, kept up with Jeno through his social media of blurry Snapchat stories and thrown together aesthetic Instagram posts. Which is why you don’t understand your father when he happily invites Jeno to intern with him as a financial advisor during Jeno’s month long break from college in between semesters.
Your father even encourages him to stay at your house, reasoning that he’s a college student and shouldn’t have to worry about finding his own housing for the few weeks he was interning- even though you’re both very aware Jeno could afford a luxurious hotel room or apartment. So you feel no sympathy for Jeno and are more annoyed than ever when you find out your return from school will coincide perfectly with Jeno’s arrival.
The more you think about it, the more you’re able to rationalize the idea, reminding yourself it’s not that big of a deal. Your house is big enough and you’re own life was busy enough to avoid his presence. But still, perhaps the more petty and bitter side of you was angry Jeno decided to waltz back into your life and your house.
He’s a selfish little shit who can’t even spare some of his time to spend time with you. His significant other. It’s been a week since you’ve talked to him, and the last time you did, it was an argument over the time he’s spent doing other shit instead of spending time with you.
pairing: son of athena!renjun x daughter of aphrodite!reader
genre: fluff, angst
word count: 6.6k
author’s note: it’s finally here, the first fic in demigods: electric boogaloo! it feels so nostalgic to return to this pairing because i haven’t written them in so long i really hope you guys enjoy it you also might notice that i am including the member’s perspective a lot more than i did in the previous series. i wanted to try something different with the sequels since i rarely ever include perspective shifts in my fics because i find it easier to write with one distinctive voice. please let me know your thoughts <3333
warning(s): depressive behavior
additional: this fic is a sequel. catch up on the original series here!
You’re not sure if it’s because you have been sitting in your bed, wrapped in 3 layers of blankets while shrouded in total darkness for an extended period of time, and your senses have suddenly become heightened because of it, but you recognize who it is by the way he knocks.
It’s Huang Renjun, your wonderful boyfriend and the sole reason why you haven’t completely morphed into one of those single-cell microorganisms that feed on bacteria in the deep, dark trenches of the ocean.
His knocking style is very much like his personality—three raps, short and sweet, but consistent. If Renjun is anything, he is consistent. He’s been consistently in love with you since you met him almost 5 years ago, patiently waiting for you to look his way, and he’s consistent now as he patiently waits for you to allow him to shoulder the weight of your grief alongside you.
Even though some of your other siblings have come by and checked on you, Renjun’s knocking is the only thing that clears your hazy mind for even a moment. You’ve lost all concept of day and night at this point, but even in your stupor, your brain hangs onto every little detail of Renjun.
Does that sound stalkerish? Perhaps.
Are you actually a stalker? Debatable.
“Just a second,” you call out, voice sounding like you have the worst pneumonia of your life. Hurriedly grabbing the cold spoons you’ve been keeping on your nightstand, you place them against your swollen eyes. It’s a depuffing trick that you normally use when you’ve eaten too many salty foods at night, but now they serve as tools to help you hide the fact that you’ve been crying.
After a couple more seconds, you finally say, “Okay, you can come in now.”
The door clicks open and Renjun walks in, holding a tray of food.
“You know, your room is technically going to qualify as a biohazard if you don’t let in some fresh air soon.”
Renjun always tries to crack a joke when he checks in on you, a valiant effort to make you smile. You’re not sure what your expression has been as of late, but you hope you’ve managed to squeeze out something that resembles a smile for him at least once.
With deftness, he navigates through the pitch black of your room and easily makes his way to your bedside, switching on the lamp on your nightstand.
Your corneas feel like they’ve just been lit on fire when he does it, forcing you to squint as your eyes slowly adjust, but you don’t miss the grimace on Renjun’s face when he is finally able to take a good look at you. His stormy gray eyes go over every little detail of your features, and his hand slowly reaches up to cradle your cheek. He gently runs this thumb across the still-swollen bags under your eyes.
He knows you’ve been crying. He always does. After all, you’ve never once been able to fool him when it comes to your heart.
Your eyelids flutter shut as you lean into his hand, wanting his touch to shield you from everything bad in the world.
Renjun, however, furrows his brow and turns his attention to yet another tray of untouched food that he had brought for you on your nightstand.
“You have to eat something, Y/N. Please. Even just a bite,” he whispers softly, taking a seat on the edge of your bed and nudging the new tray of food towards you. “Look, I even took out all the carrots from your curry.”
It isn’t that you’re choosing not to eat. In fact, you’re quite hungry. It’s just that every time you try to put food in your mouth, your insides twist and turn like a taut band being wrung out and it makes you feel sick to your stomach. Whether you’re sick from heartache or betrayal or anger or guilt or a mixture of all of them or something completely different, you’ll never know.
When you don’t react to the curry, Renjun picks up the small bowl of chocolate ice cream from the tray before scooping up a spoonful and attempting to feed you.
“They’re serving your favorite chocolate ice cream too,” he adds, obviously trying to entice you into wanting it by waving it in your face and letting the scent waft over to you.
You can tell how hard Renjun is trying; he always carefully picks out all of your favorites whenever he brings you food, and this time is no different. That’s why you feel so bad every time he has to take back a full tray, and you see his face grow haggard with worry. It upsets you even more that all of this is affecting his well being as well.
So you slowly lean forward, wanting to ease his stress in any way you can, and gingerly take a bite of the ice cream. Perhaps because it’s not a solid food and it quickly melts on your tongue or because Renjun is the one feeding you, but it doesn’t make you feel awful. Rather, the ice cream’s cool temperature and decadent chocolate flavor is a nice reprieve of the constant taste of drainage and bile in your throat.
When you glance back up at Renjun, he looks so relieved that he could cry at any moment. His gray eyes glimmer like crystalline starlight, and he gazes at you with so much love in his eyes. It constantly astounds you that he looks at you the way he does, as if you’re something so precious.
Especially now.
You don’t even want to think about what kind of state your appearance is in, but you’re certain it isn’t anything short of ghastly.
For the past two weeks, you’ve seldom left your bed, only getting up to use the bathroom and doing a bare-bones hygiene routine that keeps you just clean enough so you don’t start to collect grime. You most definitely have not washed your hair during this time, and you can imagine it’s just an oil slick up there.
(Renjun had mentioned a while ago about doing an oil slick painting, so maybe this will serve as inspiration for him.)
You’re wearing one of Renjun’s t-shirts as well, which you’ve lovingly deemed your comfort shirt. It’s a faded spirit tee from his high school days that he normally wears when he’s working with messy art supplies, so it has dried splatters of paint here and there. You don’t mind though; it smells like acrylic paint and Huang Renjun, a mixture that you didn’t realize would be so calming to you.
And like one of those mangled baby blankets that toddlers drag around and scream for when someone tries to take it away to wash it, this t-shirt has metaphorically and literally absorbed all of your pain (snot and tears).
So, in conclusion, you’ve looked better.
But Renjun doesn’t even seem to notice. Rather, he looks at you like you’re at your most beautiful. He always looks at you like that but particularly so now, when you feel the least beautiful, like an exhausted explorer that finally found his treasure at the end of a long journey. No, even more priceless than treasure. He looks at you as if you’re the half-human, half-god incarnate of his very heart and soul—the divine blood that courses through his veins.
You wonder what you did in your past life to deserve someone like him. And you hope in your next life, if you’re lucky, he’ll love you again.
“Do the airplane,” you whisper, a small smile tugging on your lips. You want to tease him, to let him know you’re okay. You’ll always be okay as long as he’s by your side.
He raises an eyebrow, trying to feign skepticism, but you can see how delighted he is that you’re slowly starting to cheer up. “The what?”
“You know, like ‘here comes the airplane…nyooom,’” you explain, waving your arm around and mimicking what parents do when they’re trying to feed their kid.
“How old are you?” He rolls his eyes.
“I just want to see how much I can get away with since you’re being extra nice to me,” you admit sheepishly.
“I’m always nice to you,” he scoffs.
Yes, he is. From the moment you’ve met him. Too nice, if you think about it. You would argue that he could actually be meaner.
And because he is so kind, despite his complaints, Renjun indulges you per usual.
“Here comes the F-16 fighter jet,” he begins, snaking his arm back and forth swiftly as he makes noises that attempt to resemble an engine revving up, but if the engine had popcorn lung.
Right before the spoon reaches your mouth, you catch his wrist and move it aside before leaning forward and giving him a quick peck on the lips.
“I love you,” you say softly after you pull back. You’ve told him many times before, and you could say it until your tongue fell out but it still wouldn’t be enough to encapsulate just how deeply you love him.
Renjun slowly blinks, the spoon threatening to slip from his grasp; every time you tell him you love him, he reacts like he can’t believe you said it. Like this is all a dream that’s too good to be true.
When he finally manages to convince himself that this is real and you, in fact, do love him, he sets everything aside and wraps an arm around your waist as he tries to pull you into his lap so he can kiss you silly. However, you quickly cover your mouth, refusing to make out with him while you’re in this state.
“I’m disgusting right now. In an extremely desperate need of a shower,” you whine, shaking your head.
He doesn’t really seem to care because he perches you on his lap anyways, kissing the back of your hand that’s over your mouth. You wonder if he’s aware of how much your self-control is clinging on for dear life when you feel his soft lips against your hand. He doesn’t push any further though, just opting to rest his forehead against your collarbone and his palms on your thighs as his thumbs rub soothing circles against your skin.
At first, you think he’s doing it to comfort you, but then you realize that he’s actually just fidgeting because there’s something on his mind. Ever the loud thinker, you don’t even need to see Renjun’s face to know that he’s probably got his brows furrowed and his poor lip gnashed between his teeth as he contemplates with that big, Athenian brain of his.
You card your hands through his coarse hair, guiding him away from your chest and tilting his face up towards you so you can look into his lovely gray eyes. Sure enough, they’re clouded with conflict as the gears in his head churn.
“Are you gonna tell me what’s wrong or will I have to seduce it out of you?” you tease.
Renjun doesn’t react to your joke, instead gently lifting you from his lap and setting you beside him on the bed. You search his expression, much more concerned than before, nervously waiting for him to speak. His hands come up to firmly grasp your arms, as if he’s trying to physically hold you together.
“Jaehyun wants to see you.”
And perhaps it’s good that he’s holding you, because you feel your blood run cold as you slump into Renjun’s arms.
Jeong Jaehyun, the child of Aphrodite, resident heartbreaker, your brother, and now—
Traitor.
The reason why the Aphrodite Cabin has basically ceased to function at this point and why you’ve been trapped in this depressive spiral for weeks.
You’re honestly still not 100% clear on what exactly happened because you simply couldn’t bear to listen to it, but you know enough. You know that Jaehyun was the one who stole the Golden Fleece, the magical artifact that protects Camp Half-Blood’s borders. You know that Jaehyun wanted to use the Golden Fleece to resurrect Kronos, King of the Titans and sworn enemy of the Olympians. You know that Jaehyun was the one responsible for the disastrous Capture the Flag game, wherein monsters with enhanced strength (thanks to the stolen Golden Fleece) were unleashed upon the campers and injured almost everyone—leaving you with a broken arm and Renjun having nearly been killed, had his sister, the head counselor of the Athena Cabin, and her boyfriend not saved him.
You know that you can never forgive Jaehyun.
“He’s been asking for you for a while now,” Renjun continues slowly, “but I just…I didn’t want to tell you until you were…better.”
“I have nothing to say to him,” you force out, trying to swallow the lump in your throat.
Renjun doesn’t respond, just wrapping his arms around you and pressing you against his chest, your cheek squished into his shoulder.
“Okay,” he whispers.
The two of you stay like that for a while, relishing in each other’s company as he holds you.
Your mind whirrs as you think about Jaehyun, and all of the memories you’ve had with him flash by—the countless times he’s called you ‘kid,’ the constant teasing, the knuckle sandwiches, the training. If it weren’t for Jaehyun, you might not have even realized your feelings for Renjun.
“You’re so sharp when it comes to other people, but you’re dense as hell when it comes to yourself,” he had said.
He was such a big part of your life, your family, and you owed so much to him. You’re not sure if you can just cut him out like this, not without some sort of closure.
Sighing, you finally say, “But I should, shouldn’t I?”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” Renjun responds.
“But I think I want to,” you begrudgingly admit, leaning back from the hug so you can look at him.
Renjun smiles. “I know.”
“Will you come with me?” you ask, threading your fingers through his.
“I’d go with you to Tartarus if you asked me to,” he answers immediately, brushing your mussed hair aside so he can place a kiss on your forehead.
You wrap your arms around his neck, throwing yourself on him and clinging to him again like a koala. He slightly grunts at the impact, tucking your head right underneath his chin and kissing the crown of your head.
A few seconds pass by before he says, “You could use a shower though.”
You playfully shove him away, rolling your eyes.
“You are so not cute, Huang Renjun.”
A long, long piping hot shower later, you’re armed with another sweater of Renjun’s to serve as your armor and Renjun himself by your side—ready to face Jaehyun once and for all.
Since Camp Half-Blood has no jail or dungeon per se, Jaehyun has been kept under tight supervision in the Hades Cabin, under the watchful eye of the Hades kids while Mr. D and Chiron, the heads of the camp, consult the Olympians on stripping Jaehyun of his powers and expelling him from the camp to live as a normal human.
Your friend Cat, a Hades kid, and her brother, Sicheng, are waiting for you outside as you approach the Hades Cabin. You and Cat became close when you decided she was going to be your next matchmaking project, even setting her up with Jaehyun ironically enough.
(If you were in a joking mood, you would’ve teased that this was not the enemies-to-lovers arc that you had hoped for.)
Ultimately, things didn’t work out and the two of you just bonded over your shared interest in sticking your noses into other people’s love lives.
Cat was actually the one who broke the news to you that Jaehyun was the traitor. In fact, she and Sicheng were on the team of demigods that discovered and captured him in the Sea of Monsters, where he had been hiding out. You were grateful that she told you first, instead of letting you find out through an official announcement via Mr. D and Chiron.
When you see the Hades siblings, you grip Renjun’s hand tighter and unconsciously begin to drag your feet. You wish you could walk up confidently with your head held high, tell Cat that you’re ready to rip Jeong Jaehyun a new one, but your stomach feels like it’s about to rip you a new one.
“Y/N!” Cat waves before rushing over to you and giving you a hug. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I want to hurl,” you answer honestly.
She pats your shoulder sympathetically.
“How are you?” you ask, trying to make small talk so you can delay going inside.
“Miserable,” Cat groans. “I don’t understand why we had to give up our cabin for that loser. I’ve been on nightwatch, so I’ve barely gotten any sleep. But they are letting me stay in the Artemis Cabin for the time being since the Hunters aren’t here, and it’s the most gorgeous cabin ever.”
Since Artemis is a virgin goddess, she has no children. However, she does have a legion of maidens that have sworn loyalty to her, known as Hunters of Artemis. They remain single for their entire lives, rejecting any kind of romantic love, which in turn grants them eternal youth and pseudo-immortality as long as they keep their vows and are not killed in battle. The Artemis Cabin is largely unoccupied during the summer, since the Hunters are traveling most of the time, and no one else is allowed in unless there are special circumstances. Therefore, the interior of the cabin remains a mystery to most of the campers.
If this were any other situation, you’d be pressing Cat for more details, but you’re barely registering her words.
“Where’s your sister?” you continue absentmindedly, looking around.
“She got called into Mr. D and Chiron’s office. I’m not sure why. She’ll tell us when she’s back,” Cat explains breezily, not bothered by your lack of reaction to her other answer.
“I see,” you squeak, “How’s Sicheng?”
“Insufferable.” Cat rolls her eyes. “He got himself a girlfriend and now he doesn’t want to do his job anymore. He’s the biggest fool for Moon, and it was cute at first, but now he keeps trying to ditch me to hang out with her in the Poseidon Cabin.”
“Hey!” Sicheng protests, still within an earshot.
That sufficiently peaks your interest and distracts you from your anxiousness, as you are unable to completely shed your matchmaking ways. You lean forward, eyebrows raised.
“Sicheng got a girlfriend? And I didn’t know about it?” you gasp.
Now that you’re paying attention, you’re not sure how you missed it. As an Aphrodite kid, you can sense it when someone is in love, and Sicheng is exuding it. His aura is so strong that you’re surprised it hasn’t physically manifested itself in the form of a pink cloud that follows him everywhere.
You feel someone squeeze your hand gently. Turning, you see Renjun, who had been quietly waiting for you to finish your conversation. There’s a knowing expression on his face, and you hate that he’s aware of exactly what you’re doing.
“You’re stalling,” he points out.
“Party pooper,” Cat retorts, though she seems to understand too. Winking, she glances towards the Hades Cabin. “If Jeong Jaehyun tries anything, just let me know and I’ll skewer him. Now, go get ‘em, girl.”
You smile at her appreciatively before looking back at Renjun, who is still holding your hand. When you gaze into those cool gray eyes of his, you suddenly feel a lot braver. He gives you a small nod, encouraging you to walk inside.
Taking in a deep breath, you march up the dark stairs of the porch and fearlessly push open the door. Like everything else about the Hades Cabin, the inside is dark, low-lit with torches that are sparsely littered around the room. The entire structure is made of pure obsidian, and there are no windows. Camp Half-Blood doesn’t have a prison, but you imagine the Hades Cabin is pretty similar. It’s a far cry from the bright and pastel Aphrodite Cabin that you’re used to, and you suppose Jaehyun feels the same way.
Speaking of Jaehyun, as much as you don’t want to, he’s sitting in the middle of the room, chained to a chair that appears to be made out of Stygian iron. Stygian iron is a magic metal that is forged from the Underworld and cooled in the River Styx, limiting its wielders to only children of Hades. It’s able to absorb the essence of practically every mythical being, including demigods.
The chains that are binding him emit a faint golden glow, which indicate that it’s Celestial Bronze. Celestial Bronze is what most of the weapons wielded by demigods are made out of. It’s mined in Mount Olympus, and unlike Stygian iron, Celestial Bronze affects mythical creatures physically rather than absorbing their spiritual essence.
Jaehyun himself looks awful as well. His hair is dull and flat against his forehead. There are deep bags underneath his eyes. His face is ashen, cheeks hollowed out. Despite the fact that his body is rippled with muscle, he looks like a skeleton. As if he’s slowly deteriorating. Dying.
It both breaks your heart and terrifies you to see him in this state and being held under such maximum security, making you confront the reality of just how dangerous your brother has become.
Brother.
But he’s not really, not anymore.
“Hey, kid.”
You inhale sharply through your nose, every microfiber of your body screaming at you to turn around and run. Renjun, sensing the spike in your nerves, places a hand on the small of your back—a wordless gesture of comfort, letting you know that he’s right behind you.
“Please don’t call me that,” you respond, trying to hide the quiver in your voice.
“Sorry,” Jaehyun chuckles, a low, sickly rumble that dies inside his chest, “force of habit.”
He drags his eyes away from you and to Renjun, an amused smirk on his lips. “Hey, Renjun.”
Renjun doesn’t respond, just narrowing his eyes. The hand against your back grows firmer.
“Are you Y/N’s chaperone?”
“Why did you want to see me?” you interrupt, moving to shield Renjun from him with your body.
He casually leans back against his chair, comfortable, like he’s in his own living room. Ignoring your question completely, he asks, “How have you been?”
“Peachy,” you lie.
“And the others?” he asks, referring to your siblings. “How are things at the cabin?”
“Wonderful. Nothing but smooth sailing. Barely even noticed you were gone,” you say petulantly.
Jaehyun smiles. “That’s good. I was worried about—”
“Did you call me here to waste my time?” you demand.
“No,” he answers, looking surprisingly genuine. “I wanted to apologize. To my brothers and sisters, but to you especially, Y/N. You were the last person I wanted to hurt.”
If you weren’t so incredulous, you would laugh in his face. “You should’ve thought of that when you nearly massacred the entire camp, when you nearly killedRenjun—”
Your voice cracks when you say his name, tears involuntarily welling up in your eyes.
“I want you to know that everything I did was for my family—”
You bark out a bitter laugh. “Stop. We’re not your family. We stopped being your family when you tried to slaughter us all.”
“I’ll always be your brother.”
Even though this Jaehyun is unrecognizable to you, one look into his eyes and you can tell that he truly believes that. That, in his own delusional way, he does care about you. However, one look into his eyes, and you know that he isn’t your brother. His eyes are void of any humanity, just two vortexes of nothingness.
A shell.
You think about Jaehyun, your brother, and how he smiled. How he laughed. How he joked. How he got frustrated. How he cried. How he lived.
“No,” you say softly, not even noticing that you’re speaking aloud, “you’re not Jaehyun.”
“No,” he whispers after a moment, seemingly coming to the realization himself. “I suppose I’m not. The Jaehyun you knew was weak. He cared, and it’s a weakness that I continue to carry with me.”
You’re not sure what to say to that. Were you supposed to be grateful?
“I came here to say goodbye to my brother, but it looks like he’s already left,” you state flatly, “So, I have nothing else to say to you.”
You turn to Renjun, nodding and allowing him to see the finality in your gaze. He keeps his expression neutral, but you can see how proudly his eyes beam at you.
“Wait,” Jaehyun calls out.
An enormous wave of dread washes over you.
“I want to speak to Renjun too. Alone.”
This is probably bad timing, but Renjun thinks your alarmed face is unreasonably adorable.
You’re staring up at him with wide, watery doe eyes and your expression is a fix of horror and fury as you process what Jaehyun just said. Renjun doesn’t even have time to utter a word before you’re marching straight up to Jaehyun, despite the fact that you were ready to bolt just a few minutes ago, and grabbing him by the collar like a stereotypical thug in a corny 90’s movie.
Again, bad timing, but it’s really cute.
“What kind of mind games are you trying to play?” you hiss, shaking Jaehyun. “You’re insane if you think I’m going to let you—”
“It’s not up to you, is it?” Jaehyun replies smoothly, completely unfazed.
You’ve never been a particularly violent person, but Renjun sees serious consideration of murder flash in your eyes, and he lunges forward to pull you away from Jaehyun in order to keep you from doing something you’ll regret.
He lifts you with one arm, twisting you away and shielding your vision of Jaehyun with his body. And because you’re stubborn and hotheaded (he loves you for it), you try to thrash out of his hold.
“Look at me,” Renjun says sternly, cupping your face with his hands. He waits until your expression is visibly relaxed before continuing, “It’s okay. I’ll speak with him.”
“But—”
“Go outside and chat with Cat. Get the gossip about Sicheng and Moon. I’ll be right out,” he continues gently.
“Renjun, you don’t understand. He’s going to—”
“Use his charmspeak on me,” he finishes your sentence. “I know.”
Charmspeak is an ability that allows the user to compel others to do their bidding with their voice, a power that only Aphrodite children are able to have. However, not all Aphrodite children have this ability, and even the select few that do are able to use it to drastically varying degrees of success. For example, you’re able to use charmspeak if you really put your mind to it, but you rarely do because you don’t like the way it makes you feel. Jeong Jaehyun, on the other hand, is the most powerful user at Camp Half-Blood.
Renjun saw the challenge in Jaehyun’s eyes the moment the two of you walked in.
Maybe he’s stubborn and hotheaded too, but he isn’t going to give Jaehyun the satisfaction of thinking he ran away. Just like you, Renjun is going to face him and his charmspeak head on.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” Renjun says, lacing his fingers through yours before placing a reassuring kiss to your knuckles.
“How can I not,” you mutter, but he can see that you’re relenting. “Please be careful.”
“I always am.”
You give him a pointed look before reluctantly trudging out of the cabin, glancing back at him one more time before shutting the door behind you.
Renjun swears that the air chills by ten degrees when they’re finally alone. The silence hangs heavily in the air as he turns back to Jaehyun.
“Afraid?” Jaehyun quirks an eyebrow.
“I am admittedly afraid of many things, but you are not one of them,” Renjun responds calmly.
He laughs. “Then I suppose you wouldn’t mind answering a few questions. Truthfully, please.”
Ah, there it is.
It feels like a fog is slowly settling over Renjun’s brain, and the sliver of rationality he has left is informing him that he’s becoming under the influence of Jaehyun’s charmspeak. His body starts to grow numb, like he’s floating. His eyes become misty and blurry, and he can’t see the expression on Jaehyun’s face anymore.
“Okay,” Renjun agrees. His voice sounds muffled, as if he’s underwater.
“Great. We’ll start with something easy,” Jaehyun suggests, “When did you fall in love with Y/N?”
He blinks at the unexpected question. Even in his daze, Renjun was bracing for something much more sinister.
“What? Did you think I was going to turn you into my evil minion or something?” Jaehyun laughs again, seemingly reading his mind.
“You can try your damn best,” he shoots back. Jaehyun’s charmspeak isn’t so overpowering that Renjun can’t still respond with his usual quips, and he’s pretty sure Jaehyun is keeping his control loose on purpose.
“Relax, I won’t,” Jaehyun asserts, “I just want to have an honest conversation with you.”
A conversation in which he has to use charmspeak on Renjun in order to pry answers out of him.
“I’ve been in love with her since we met,” Renjun finally responds. He would normally stop there, but he feels compelled to continue. Of course, that would be because of Jaehyun’s handiwork.
“I was enamored from the very start, when she barrelled into the Arts and Craft Center without a care in the world—more stunning than any goddess, with a smile so lovely that it would make any nymph green with jealousy. I had never seen anyone like her. She was like…a prophecy. Like a beautiful, fleeting prophecy that could slip through my fingers at any moment. A prophecy that someone like me could never dream of understanding, even if I spent the rest of my life chasing after it. From the moment I laid eyes on her, half of my soul belonged to her.”
He can’t really make out the expression on Jaehyun’s face, but the latter stays silent. A few moments pass before he speaks again, “What do you like about her?”
Renjun wants to laugh. Where does he even start?
“I don’t think there’s a thing I don’t like about her,” he chuckles. “I like the way her eyes sparkle when she’s up to no good. I like that she has to be in everyone’s business. I like how she has a short fuse and how cartoonishly her face puffs up when she’s mad. I like the way her nose crinkles when she sees carrots in her curry. I like the little skip in her step when she walks. I like how she bounces when she’s trying to contain her excitement. I like when she laughs so hard that she has to hold onto my arm to keep from falling backwards. I like that she loves so deeply, even towards people that don’t deserve it. I like that she lets herself feel things, even though she knows it’ll be painful sometimes. I like that she frustrates me to the point of wanting to scream at the top of Mount Olympus, and I like that only she can do that. I like that when she kisses me, I think about how I want to spend the rest of my life with her.”
Gods, Renjun didn’t realize how much of a sap he is. And of all people, he’s being forced to pour out his deepest, darkest feelings to Jaehyun.
“That sounds like a proposal,” Jaehyun teases. “Are you going to marry her?”
“Only if she wants to get married.”
“Do you have a ring?”
“No, I was…I was going to make it myself out of Adamantine,” Renjun explains, wishing that he wouldn’t. Adamantine, another precious metal that demigods typically use for weapons, is typically described as a mix between silver and diamond. “Since I gave her a painting when we first met, I thought it’d be nice to propose to her with something that I made as well.”
“You must really love her, huh,” Jaehyun states quietly.
“Is that even a question?” Renjun snaps, “I would do anything for her.”
“Hm,” Jaehyun muses, “would you admit that aliens don’t exist for her?”
Out of all the questions he’s asked so far, this is the one that makes Renjun hesitate the most.
“I wouldn’t have to because aliens are real,” Renjun says through gritted teeth.
“If she was being held over a volcano, and you had two options: admit aliens aren’t real or come up with evidence right then and there to save her life, what would you do?”
“Well, does this volcano have internet service or access to files from the Pentagon—”
“Answer the question, Renjun.”
“Yes,” he finally chokes out, “I would admit they didn’t exist. Or I’d just jump into the volcano myself.”
“You would die for her?” Jaehyun asks.
“Of course I would,” Renjun says immediately.
Jaehyun scoffs. “It’s easy to die for someone, so tell me this—”
Suddenly, Renjun feels an overwhelming amount of Jaehyun’s power wash over him. The relaxed hold that was over him before, allowing him to still have some semblance of free thought, has been ripped away. It’s as if the charmspeak has materialized into an invisible force that is physically holding him down, slowly crushing him and only promising to ease up if he answers the next question truthfully.
“Would you destroy the world for her?”
The whole world seems a bit like an exaggeration, but Renjun can feel that Jaehyun means it. The world, everyone he loves, Camp Half-Blood, would he destroy it all for you?
“Yes,” Renjun whispers, the answer slipping out with an ease that unsettles him to his core. An answer that has seemingly always been there. “If she asked me to. I would do it without hesitation.”
There is a long, dragged out silence.
But then, all at once, like he was being dragged out from the bottom of a deep, deep ocean, Renjun’s head clears instantly. The fog that lingered over his mind, the numbness of his body, the cloudiness that obscured his vision all disappear in a matter of seconds.
Renjun has never felt this disoriented, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to recall what just happened—his conversation with Jaehyun already fading from his memory like a Polaroid developing in reverse. All he’s left with are his jumbled emotions and trembling hands.
When he looks at Jaehyun again, he’s astonished at what he sees.
Not a demigod, not a warrior, not a traitor.
Jaehyun, despite being imprisoned and chained, has never looked more human. There’s a light in his eyes that flicker, like the last wisps of a dying candle. He smiles, which makes his lips crack. It’s a haunting sight that Renjun doesn’t think he can ever forget.
An older brother, on his deathbed.
“Please take care of her.”
You throw yourself into Renjun’s arms the moment he stops out of the Hades Cabin. Burying your face into his shoulder, you cling onto him. He delves his hand into your hair, cradling your head against him as he inhales the smell of your shampoo. Your arms tighten around his torso.
“Are you okay?” you ask, voice muffled against his shirt. “He didn’t hurt you, right?”
“No, I’m fine. Are you okay?” He curls a finger underneath your chin and nudges your face upwards to look at him. He can tell by your bloodshot eyes and wobbly lip that you had cried and are currently fighting tears.
“Stop worrying about me,” you sniffle, “I’m asking you. What did he say to you?”
“Not much,” Renjun answers vaguely, “He just told me to take care of you.”
You laugh bitterly. “That’s rich, coming from him.”
Wrapping an arm around your shoulder, he turns you and starts guiding you toward the Dining Pavilion. “Probably his messed up way of acting like a protective older brother or something. Now, come on. I’m hungry.”
“Wha—you can’t just change the subject like that! I want to know exactly what he said to you!” you protest, though your feet subconsciously start walking.
“It truly was nothing,” he reiterates, “He really did just seem concerned about you.”
You start to sulk, and he has to fight to keep a straight face. However, it doesn’t last long because you start to get that twinkle in your eye.
“Sooo, did you, like, profess all the reasons you love me or something to prove that you’re worthy of being my boyfriend?” you ask, waggling your eyebrows.
“If I had anything to profess, then maybe I would’ve,” Renjun teases, rolling his eyes.
You gasp dramatically. “Huang Renjun, you are so not—”
He tugs your body flush against him, giving you the kiss that he had wanted to when the two of you were in your room earlier. He feels you smile against his lips as your arms come up to wrap themselves around his neck. When he pulls away, you give him another quick peck before bumping your nose against his, giggling.
He forgot to add that he loves it when the corners of your eyelids crinkle when you smile at him.
Renjun isn’t really sure if he’s doing the right thing by not telling you about Jaehyun’s last words and the way he looked. He just knows that it’ll shatter your heart in a way that you won’t ever be able to repair, and you’ll carry that guilt with you for the rest of your life. He doesn’t want you to remember Jeong Jaehyun as the fractured man he is, a hollow echo of what he once was.
He wants you to remember all of the happy moments.
So, when you look back, you remember your older brother Jaehyun.
He hopes that you’ll eventually be able to smile when you think of your brother rather than cry.
Renjun can only do that, hope and pray that you have nothing but happiness in your life because you, of all people, deserve that—
and maybe, if he’s lucky, you’ll allow him to dedicate his life to making you as happy as he can.
“Oh my gods!” you gasp, tugging on his arm so hard that his shoulder nearly hits you in the cheek. “Sooyoung’s girlfriend is Sana!”
Renjun blinks. “What?”
“Look over there!” you squeal, whipping out a pair of binoculars out of thin air. The pair that he’s pretty sure he tossed out already.
He glances over, seeing Sooyoung (daughter of Ares) and Sana (daughter of Iris) holding hands as they make their way to the Dining Pavilion as well. Turning back to you, he raises an eyebrow, saying, “You didn’t know?”
“What are you talking about? She said she wanted to keep it a secret back then!” you answer, confused.
“Yeah, but they were kind of obvious about it,” he says slowly, “They’re together allthe time. I thought you noticed.”
“Oh my gods,” you breathe, horrified, “First, I completely miss the whole love triangle situation with Moon and Sicheng. And now, I’m the last one to find out about Sooyoung and Sana. How have I fallen out of the loop so badly that even you know about couples before I do?”
Renjun opens his mouth to retort, but you continue speaking.
“That’s it. I have to get my groove back,” you declare, “It’s time that Camp Half-Blood’s official matchmaker makes her comeback.”
Without even waiting for his answer, you turn on your heel and march back to the Aphrodite Cabin, presumably to start drafting potential couples.
pairing -> spiderman!mark lee x avenger!fem!reader.
summary -> when he gets to know the goblin’s scheme, he sets out on his own to make things right.
genre -> superhero!au, angst, fluff.
featuring -> johnny as tony stark; taeyong as captain america; irene as natasha; doyoung as clint; yuta as bucky; seulgi as wanda; karina as dr. cho; jaehyun as sam.
warnings -> a few curses, injuries.
a/n -> this is from like two years ago and was for the original peter parker w the original avenger characters so it might be a little amateurish lol but yeah here, this is me adding onto the spider!mark agenda!
word count -> 1k+
;
Your phone buzzed, interrupting a sweet, sweet slumber you had struggled to go to in the first place. At first you tried to ignore it dismissing it to be your friends bothering you to come with them to another party. But after multiple rings, you groaned and sat up in bed. it was 2:00 am, somebody better be calling with a good reason.
“Hello?”
“Y/N?”
johnny.
“Uh, hey, johnny” you cleared your throat wondering why he had called at such an odd time.
“Where’s mark?” And that’s when you turn up the light to find the spot next to you empty. The sheets are ruffled and the bed is now cold on his side but his smell lingers.
“johnny,” you answer, a little bit of fear gathering inside you. “He’s not here.”
anxiety begins to bubble up inside you, but you try to remain calm, maybe he couldn’t sleep and was hanging out around the neighbourhood.
“Goddamnit-“
And he cuts the call. You call him again, and again.
But he doesn’t answer, you paranoia begins growing every second.
What happened to mark?
Why was his friend worried about him? and why was he calling you?
What was going on?
Where did he go?
You walk around the room, trying numbers of every avenger that you had. None of them were picking up their phones.
So you decided you won’t wait anymore. You threw on your jacket and grabbed your car keys.
Driving down to the avengers compound, you saw them getting into a huge van. A van that would have been enough to sit an entire school.
You halt your car around the entry and run out of it.
“taeyong,” he turns from getting everybody “where’s mark?”
“Y/N, what are you-“
“Answer my question.”
“We’re going to get him. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
“WHERE IS MARK, TAEYONG?”
“y/n,” johnny interrupts you, “get in the van, we’ll explain.”
You look around inside for a moment. And jumped inside without a second thought even though you knew that not bringing your suit was going to cause some problems for you later.
The door slams shut as the the engine revs up.
“y/n, tell me,” johnny sits beside taeyong, who sits just the opposite of you and puts his hands together and cracks his knuckles “did Peter mention the Green Goblin to you?”
“Yes, of course. He was pretty determined to know it’s identity.”
“Okay, so, he managed to find that guy.”
“Don’t tell me-“
“He went to get him.” taeyong ends. “typical mark,”
“mark, that son of a,” you place your head in your hands, why would he go out there like that? Without any backup? Without you?
“Do you know where he is?”
“We know the whereabouts of the Goblin and we plan to follow that.” seulgi adds which leads you to turn your head to where she sits in the back of the truck.
“What about mark’s tracker?”
“He removed it.”
“What the hell!”
And the minutes that followed were pretty quiet. And you pieced two and two together, why he had insisted on saying “i love you’s” and why he was being all ominous or why his kisses were unusually deep. You didn’t give it a second thought then but now it all made sense.
He was about to do the most stupidest thing he’d ever done.
If,
When,
You found him, you’d slap him. Yes, or maybe even throw some punches at him.
“We’ve entered the area. Everybody get down,” doyoung speaks from his seat at the steering wheel.
“Y/N,” johnny speaks softly and you know what to expect “please wait for us, you don’t have your suit-“
“No.” You say sternly. “I have my powers, with or without the suit and so i’m coming with you.”
taeyong groans as you leap out from the van. you’ve never been one to listen, he shakes his head. you and mark are perfect for each other.
The sight leaves you breathless. The area is covered with smoke and debris. You hit yourself, why didn’t you have the notifications for the news turnt on? Maybe that way you could know how much the damage was.
And you put your foot to the ground precariously, and the rocks under your feet crunch slowly as you make your way around looking in every direction.
Behind you, taeyong, seulgi, yuta, jaehyun and doyoung spread wide, covering the whole area and eliminating all the chances of threat.
Your mind isn’t on anyone killing you, it’s on finding mark, making sure he’s alive and well.
the building or whatever remained of it was completely dusted. even with the time being almost close to 3 am now, a small crowd of neighbours to the place and passerbys had stopped but it seemed like the fight was over so nobody from your side try to stop them from standing there.
The destruction is massive but thankfully is outskirts of the city where there was nothing but forests and just a few towers around. You wonder if it was mark’s doing.
After walking around for a few minutes, taeyong stops.
“I don’t think he’s here.”
seulgi joins him and so does jaehyun, “same.”
While yuta looks to you as you take a turn and keep on walking, your eyes on all four sides.
Lots of debris is piled up in a place just a bit far from where taeyong and the others stood, discussing where the spiderman could be if not here. you hear seulgi discussing the possibility of the goblin taking him hostage.
You stand there for a moment and close your eyes, was he gone?
Would he really leave you like that?
And you hear it. Shallow and shaky breaths, at first you don’t know where the source is, so you look around until you reach the collection of debris.
mark lays there. Eyes closed, barely breathing and covered in bruises.
Your heart nearly drops. And you shout “taeyong, here.”
taeyong takes one look at your face and rushes towards you and over the comm, tells johnny to stop searching the area and reach where they are.
It takes time to remove the stones that are piled up on him. even with th two super soldiers trying hard.
The next few moments pass by in a flash. A blur of melancholy. taeyong picking up mark. The ride to the Avengers compound. The doctor taking a look at him. Standing outside with the team while seulgi rubbed your back and told you that it’ll be alright. And you fall asleep outside mark’s room.
“Y/N,” Dr. Cho jerks you awake. “Y/N, he’s awake, johnny and the others want to question him and told me to inform them first but i think you should take a minute with him first.”
You nod your head in gratitude towards the doctor.
You jump up from your place and straighten out the creases of your shirt. You walk over slowly into the room which smells of sanitizer, clean towels and phenyl.
You catch mark, still laying down, looking at the window at the orange dawn.
“Hey.”
He turns his eyes to meet yours, “i’m sorry, Y/N. i’m really-“
You cut him off with a kiss, explanation later.
After a moment you let go of his lips and pull away your face, “explain, now.”
He tells you about how he paid some of the guys around the city to keep tabs on the Goblin’s news for him. One of them reported that the goblin was up to something. Upon investigating, Peter had found he had installed a time bomb right there in the middle of the city.
So he took it out to a place where it wouldn’t harm anybody.
mark leaves out the part where he saw the green glint of the goblin’s suit from under the debris and he whispered your name, and the address of the apartment you shared, clearly threatening.
“….so that’s it.”
You hummed in response.
“You know, I really thought I lost you. And it was just so so scary.”
“I know, i’m sorry, love.”
“Just don’t do this again.” You bury your head in his chest.
but he knew he had to, he still hadn’t caught the goblin. and he needed to pack his bags too.
