Chapter Text
The boy's eyes were glistening and the smile had been permanent on his lips as he was staring at him. Him. His gold curly locks were shining under the spring's sun. A pink line started from left cheek, to his nose and right cheek, a result of staying under the sun for long, while having a pale complexion. His blue eyes were fondly watching a white butterfly fly through the tiny dry yellow flowers and big trees around them. If only he knew his friend, even in front of that gorgeous view, had only eyes for him.
" Fucking kiss him already. " Ten said in a bored tone, sitting on a tree's branch nearby. He knew his comments were useless, no mortal could hear him unless he appeared in his human form.
But the human was silly, and madly in love. Ten had been watching them for days now, trying to find a good moment, to push the boys' faces together till they kissed and he could finally find a new soon-to-be-couple.
" Panicked gays are the worst. " He mumbled dramatically as he jumped from the tree, his white wings flapping gracefully and silently to hold his weight, till his feet touched the ground. His opportunity appeared, the moment the blond boy stood up. He had cut a few yellow blossoms, and judging for the ones that decorated his face on top of his ear, his friend would have the same accessories soon. Ten grinned and he softly pushed the standing boy, till he fell on his friend. There was a moment of silence, both of them lost in each other's eyes before their lips were connected.
❀
Ten flew up the sky with a pleased and happy aura. Olympus was like another world, on the sky. Only gods could enter it, either by flying or teleporting and gods could bring demi-gods, if they wished. It was beautiful and peaceful. There would always be a scandal, or a heated argument between gods but since Ten had been born, he was filled with good memories. Maybe the gods were too busy with the mortals' wars.
Ten walked in his house, the pink marble making it stand out. There, he found his brother. " Eros. I see that your couple is now somewhere making out? " His brother said with a playful nod and equally naughty smirk.
"For the last time, Himeros. It's Ten. " He said with a grumble as he sat on the white fluffy chair.
"Mom would be hurt if she hears that. And I'm Taeyong, you ass. " He said and weakly kicked his brother's leg. Those were their 'human' names that they used while interacting with the mortals. Ten sighed.
" Why couldn't my role be like yours, Yong? I'm sick and tired of matching up idiots who can't understand they belong together." Taeyong's, Himeros' role was easier in his eyes. As god of sexual desire, he lived a life full of fun, mischief and sex. He made sure humans accepted and embraced their sexuality, and went as far as laying on the bed of humans he found desirable. Maybe his 'punishment' for his action was that Athena's son, Erichthonius, or Doyoung denied all of his affections. But his brother didn't seem sad about it and kept following Doyoung around to 'annoy' him while in fact, he looked like a lovesick puppy.
Ten had seen how strong his bond with Doyoung was, out of curiosity. It was so hard sometimes, not to tell his brother about it when he was whining about Doyoung. But since Taeyong's head was filled with sex and Doyoung, he hadn't asked Ten about it and maybe Ten liked to watch him suffer-a bit.
" Sex is fun, but love is powerful Ten, you out of all people should know this. Everyone wants love. " Taeyong said in a serious tone and Ten wiggled in his chair.
" But not everyone has it. " He said and stood up, walking to his bedroom and then his balcony before Taeyong realized anything was wrong.
As he sat at the balcony's chair, he looked at the huge valley with dry purple flowers, and the pink hue of the sky, result of the sun setting which made the whole view more romantic. But Ten was sitting alone, no one to stare at because he found them more beautiful than the sunset.
Where is his romantic story?
❀
The first time Ten sees him, so does everyone else.
Ten had just left his house, this time in his black satin outfit, a tiny cropped sleeveless shirt with cords on his back so his white wings would feel comfortable and low baggy pants that reached his calves. (When Taeyong asked why the dark look, Ten answered 'fashion' but Taeyong knew his brother was either moody or was planning to seduce a mortal, something he did when he was.. moody.)
As he was about to jump down the portal, he saw many people gathered around something. Ten normally couldn't care less about the fights and scandals, but this seemed serious so he slowly approached. Pushing through the crowd he saw Demeter crying and hugging a woman and a man to her chest.
Ten couldn't recognize them. They looked so different.
Demeter, being the goddess of harvest, was tanned, close to Ten's natural complexion because of the hours she spent under the sun and her hair was a warm auburn. However, the young woman and man were very pale, nearly dull and their hair while still brown, it appeared black, brown strikes visible only under the sunlight.
Only when the woman sobbed about her daughter and son finally being free did he realize. He gasped, getting on his knees, next to Demeter.
" Persephone? Philomelus? " The adults looked up at him and he couldn't believe those were his childhood friends. Long gone were the lively kids, small, loud and tanned with dark cute freckles on their cheeks and noses.
Ten's heart had ached as a kid when he learned that Persephone and Philomelus were abducted by Hades. But his heart hurt more now, seeing all the life gone from them. But still, there was hope in their eyes.
It took a bit till they realized who he was. Persephone was the first to hug him, crying as she kept mumbling. " Eros.. missed you. " Philomelus' eyes widened when he finally saw his childhood friend, all grown up. Soon, all three of them were in an embrace, their mother watching them with teary eyes and a smile.
Persephone was small in his arms but Philomelus' arms were wrapped around both, a bit too easily. Ten remembered her being shorter than them and Philomelus a bit taller than him, but he didn't expect her would grow up that much.
He didn't even think his friend would get the chance to grow up.
When the first shock passed, Ten stood up, seeing that the crowd was just gossiping, definitely not helping. Ten hissed and shouted.
" Nothing to see here, clear the way." He helped his friends and the mother up, taking them to his house. He knew their own was over the big field Ten's balcony had as a view. They looked tired and shocked, so Ten just wanted them to feel calm.
He guided them to the living room, letting them sit and even lay on the fluffy seats, as Ten quickly brought water and dry nuts, nearly knocking everything in the kitchen with his wings in his hurry.
They stayed in silence as the siblings ate, neither Demeter nor Ten taking their eyes off them. Ten cleared his throat.
" How.. How.. ? " He couldn't find the words. Both of them left the water and nuts. Philomelus just watched him, but Persephone found the strength to speak.
" Maybe even Hades has a heart.. It was awful there. No sun, no life. We tried to escape, many times but failed. When Hades realized that I would never fall for him and that my brother and I were walking dead, he.. let us go. " The pain was crystal in her voice, in her eyes.
" Fifteen years. Of pain and drought. When you gain your powers, we will all work with love and bring the flowers and carpus back. Both us and the mortals suffered. " Demeter said with a weak voice but powerful, hopeful stare.
" Only the dry sea lavenders survived.. I've missed the flowers.. I've missed you.." Ten said, almost shyly.
" We shouldn't bother you, Eros. Don't you have new lovers to unit? " The woman asked with much concern.
Before Ten could speak, Philomelus beat him to it, with a bright smile, in contrast to his pale, exhausted face.
" You make people fall in love?" The soft tone and emotion filled words made Ten blush, unable to talk for few seconds.
" It's not.. I just see the bonds and help them.. get together and confess.. " He mumbled. No one had talked about his role with such.. excitement? amazement? It made Ten feel weird, bashful even.
" I will get back to my responsibilities.. If you all promise to rest here. Drink, eat and sleep. All the rooms are open for you. Even Taeyong's. " Persephone smiled at that.
" Your little brother lives with you? " Ten nod.
" He's in the mortal world now, but you'll see him when he's back. " He said with a smile, knowing how happy he would be to see them. Taeyong was(surprisingly)a shy kid but he adored Persephone because she was very soft with him.
Ten did leave the house, after he made them all promise they would sleep peacefully in the bedrooms.
Truth was, Ten couldn't focus.
The boy was too shy to confess to the loud and confident girl and Ten nearly felt bad for him at how helpless he looked, not even thinking that maybe the girl did like him after all.
He sat at the big garden's marble made bench as the girl danced in front of the boy. Ten should be paying attention, to find the perfect moment for the couple, but instead of that his mind was filled with other thoughts.
He looked at the dry garden. The flowers and trees already felt more alive. Like flora waking up after a rough winter, into a beautiful spring. Demeter's happiness was slowly healing everything.
Ten wondered if they were sleeping peacefully. He also thought about how much his friends had grown up. While Persephone was still tiny, even shorter than him(Ten was used to being teased for his height, even from his little brother who grew taller than him),but her brother, had grew up to be huge.
He just hoped they would find their colorful lively selves again.
❀
When Ten returned the sun was setting. While he usually loved returning to Olympus at that time, now he was annoyed it took him so much time to make the mortals fall into each other arms. He was filled with anticipation as he made his way to his house, using his wings instead of his legs.
When he walked in, he found no one. The bedrooms were empty. Ten panicked. He knew he shouldn't, there wasn't a reason to feel like that, but a tiny part of his mind thought of what he would do if his friends were once again gone.
Walking in his bedroom, he let out a relieved shy as he saw Taeyong and Persephone playing around before the field, close to his window. Ten didn't waste a second, jumping off his balcony and walking to them with a big smile.
It was so familiar and warm, to see them happy while playing together.
" Ten! Persephone and Philomelus found mortal names! " Taeyong said excitedly, as he span around the beautiful girl. She was no longer wearing the black outfit he had first seen her in. Taeyong's doing, for sure. He had a passion for making clothes, most of Ten's closet made by his brother. Her black hair and pale complexion were still there, but the luxurious long silky dress in a lilac hue, with a belt around her tiny waist made her seem beautiful, and more alive than ever.
" I'm Irene. " She said in a soft tone and a matching smile as she did a dramatic bow. Ten could see why her and Taeyong had always been close.
" It sounds amazing. What about Philomelus? " He asked. Taeyong huffed.
" Go ask him. We have many things to catch up. "He said and waved him off. Ten only pretended to pout, because he was quickly off to where he spotted the tall man in the field.
As he walked closer to him he was happily surprised by what he was seeing. Philomelus was touching each dry flower, bringing it back to life. While wearing, few to none clothes. Ten wasn't sure if he gasped at the pretty flowers or the muscular body he was currently ogling. Philomelus turned to him then, with a bright smile. No matter his dark hair and pale skin, his well trained body made him look healthy.
" Ten? How did it go? " But Ten couldn't focus on his question.
" Are those.. my baggy shorts? " He mumbled. Philomelus grinned.
" They are not baggy at all. Trust me. "He said in a playful tone. And his words were more than just true, the fabric stretching on all the areas Ten shouldn't see, no matter how much he wanted to. But a glance wouldn't hurt right? Turns out he was wrong.
" Yeah.. I can see that. " He said with a suddenly dry mouth. Philomelus' grin never left his lips, and if Ten hadn't missed him so much, he would call him out because he was surely amused by his teasing.
" Also, none of your shirts fitted. I even saw some tiny ones.. like the one you're wearing. They don't even cover the stomach. " Philomelus sounded very concerned about his fashion choices. Ten couldn't help but laugh.
" They are crop tops Philomelus. I wear them a lot since they don't let me over heat. Don't they look nice ? " Ten asked with a soft smile.
" They look very nice, on you. And it's Johnny. " Ten was kind of shocked by the compliment, even if he shouldn't. He knew he was attractive, so why did his words affect him?
" ..Hm? What was that ? "He asked as he looked up, confused since he had only focused on the first part of his words.
" My mortal name. It's Johnny. " His friend seemed like an over excited puppy, just because he had came up with a mortal name. It was a weird, but unique name. Ten wasn't sure where he heard that, but in a way, it fitted him. And his adorable reaction didn't let any space for Ten to judge.
" Well, Johnny, what are you planting here ? " He asked happily, taking his eyes off his freind to see the white, purple and pink flowers.
"Orchids." He answered, his voice and stare while looking at said flowers showing his addition for the fragile but gorgeous flora.
"I have many flowers to plant. Keep me company ? " Johnny added, with hopeful eyes, a hand stretched out to Ten. Ten didn't even think about it. The moment his eyes found the honey colored ones, his hand was covered by a bigger one.
"I will always keep you company." He said softly, and Ten no longer could be mad at all the humans who acted silly around their desired and loved ones.
Maybe, he had finally found someone, brighter than the sun, prettier than the pink sky, and warmer than the spring's air to have in his life.