(A/N: so sorry for the lack of updates! Have a 3k word chapter to make up for it<3)
<CHAOS' POV>
I went down the stairs, enjoying the havoc I'd caused Struct. I sighed quietly, a smirk on my face as I walked over to the kitchen, hearing murmurs from inside of it. I stepped into the room to see Dove and Forger, both drinking coffee, sat around the table. They quieted down once they saw me.
"Oh, hey, Chaos," Forger greeted casually.
"Hey, Dove, Forger," I greeted back quietly, my tone a bit unsure.
"Is there something wrong?" Dove asked, tilting her head questioningly.
"Uh... no...?" I answered awkwardly.
Dove raised her eyebrows. I went over to the counter and grabbed a mug of coffee, turning away so she didn't see me blush.
"So?" Dove questioned, smirking slightly. "Trouble in paradise? Or the opposite?"
"Nothing," I grumbled, sitting down on the empty chair next to Forger, shooting Dove a slight glare.
"So, the latter," Dove laughed, winking suggestively as she took a sip of coffee.
"Wait, do you mean- Chaos-" Forger choked out, coughing.
"I'm not admitting anything," I replied in irritation, blushing more.
Dove laughed again, wiping tears of laughter. I groaned, taking a long sip from my coffee as I felt my cheeks heat up even more. I heard steps coming from the distance and straightened up as Struct walked in. They glanced at Dove and Forger.
"Oh, hi, guys. I didn't know you were back," Struct said, giving me a questioning glance as they walked over the the counter.
"Oh, we returned last night," Dove responded casually.
Struct dropped the mug they were holding onto the counter, quickly picking it up. They turned to Dove.
"Uh... when?" Struct questioned, a slight blush covering their cheeks.
Dove chuckled slightly.
"Struct, they know," I cut in before she could reply, feeling myself blush as well.
"What- how?" Struct asked quickly, blushing more.
"Dove guessed," I sighed heavily.
"Guessed? How did she guess?" Struct said incredulously.
"Your boyfriend was blushing like a maniac," Dove laughed, "I didn't have to try."
"Chay," Struct groaned.
"Hey, it's not that bad," I said innocently, taking a sip of coffee.
"Not that bad? My siblings knowing we- it's not that bad?" Struct repeated, taking their mug and sitting down next to me.
"I don't get why you're so embarrassed," Dove shrugged. "It's not like what you did is bad or disgusting. It's natural."
"Your mother is Aphrodite," Struct retorted, "Of course you don't think it's weird."
Dove shrugged, fidgeting with her mug.
"You didn't hear us, though, right?" I questioned, blushing badly.
Struct choked on their coffee, coughing and blushing.
"No, don't worry," Dove chuckled, smirking as she drank her coffee.
"So," Forger interrupted loudly. "Where's Eta?"
"Oh, we sent him on a small quest," Struct shrugged.
"To?" Dove asked curiously.
"Camp Half-Blood," I replied simply.
"Oh. Why?" Forger questioned.
"To collect info and stuff of what's going on in Camp and shit. Mostly regarding gods," Struct answered boredly.
"Can we go to Earth sometime?" Dove asked curiously.
"Sure," Struct replied to my surprise.
"Huh?" I said skeptically.
"Somewhere outside America," Struct shrugged. "Just not Greece, or one of the other parthenons. Somewhere god-free. Canada?"
"Alright," Dove agreed excitedly.
Forger gave her a small smile, slipping his hand into hers.
"We should get Eta, too," I suggested quietly.
"I'll go talk to him," Struct said, making me surprised once again.
"Oh...kay," I replied hesitantly.
Struct smiled hesitantly, taking a sip of coffee.
A few hours later, Struct walked into the living room with Eta.
Eta sat down on the couch with a sigh. Struct shot Dove a threatening glare to not say anything before sitting down next to me. They sighed and put their head on my shoulder. I wrapped an arm around them, gently kissing them.
"Alright," Eta said loudly, something protective in his tone, "So, where are we going, and when?"
Struct blushed, glancing up at me before clearing their throat.
"Canada. I guess we can go in a few minutes. Uh, it's eleven a.m. right now," Struct informed us quietly.
"Okay, let's get ready," Eta stood up.
"Wait, we're gonna dress like mortals, right?" Dove asked excitedly. "We've never had to do that before!"
Struct laughed, smiling at Dove's excitement.
"Yeah," they confirmed, chuckling slightly.
Dove squealed happily and ran up the stairs, a laughing Forger following her. Eta went upstairs as well, leaving Struct and I alone.
Struct sighed, the smile falling of their face as soon as the others were out of sight.
"You okay?" I asked quietly, wrapping my arms around them.
"Yeah," Struct replied, obviously lying.
"We can talk later, alright?" I reassured them softly.
"Okay. Sure. Let's go get dressed," Struct said quietly, getting up.
"Alright," I replied casually, getting up as well.
We went to our room - Struct's room - and went through outfits.
"What do mortals wear?" I grumbled, sitting down on the bed strewn with clothes.
"I'm not really on top of fashion trends," Struct said dryly, "but I know somethings you can't go wrong with."
They grabbed some clothes from the bottom of their closet, hidden under their other clothes.
"Can I make an outfit for you?" Struct asked slowly, a small smirk on their face.
"Sure..." I replied cautiously.
Struct grabbed some clothes, going through the small pile on the bed as well. After a few minutes, they showed me the outfit. Black ripped jeans with a white shirt that looked like the merch of a metal band, and a black leather jacket.
"Isn't this what mortals call goth or something?" I questioned skeptically.
"Goth would need more chains and spiky things," Struct rolled their eyes. "This is more like gothic-emo."
"...what's the difference?"
Struct sighed, patting my shoulder.
"You're good to go," they reassured me simply.
"Okay," I shrugged, grabbing the clothes.
Struct looked through their closet for something to wear and hesitantly grabbed something.
"Are you alright?" I asked quietly.
"Y-yeah," Struct replied, glancing at me and smiling slightly.
"Please don't lie," I sighed quietly.
"I'll be fine," Struct waved off. "I was just having second thoughts about the outfit I chose."
"Why?" I asked, looking at the clothes they had picked out to wear.
It was a plain, light blue crop top and beige cargo pants. Overall, it was a really cute outfit.
"It's a great outfit, Struct," I told them honestly.
"...is it too feminine?" Struct asked hesitantly, their voice quiet.
"What?" I asked in surprise.
Struct shrugged.
"First of all, it's society who even made the idea of feminine and masculine. Secondly, it doesn't matter if the outfit is feminine or not. If you want to wear it, you wear it, it's as simple as that. And your outfit choice is really cute," I told him genuinely.
Struct smiled hesitantly and nodded.
"Thank you," they replied quietly.
"You don't need to thank me," I shrugged.
I quietly left the room to get dressed and to give them some privacy.
----------------------------[Fem Chaos - she/her]------------------------------------
Once I was dressed ready, I knocked on Struct's door.
"Come in," Struct called out, their voice muffled.
I quietly stepped into the room. Struct looked at me and my outfit.
"Damn, you look good," they muttered, trying to fix their overgrown hair.
"You look amazing, and your outfit is adorable. Do you need help with your hair?" I asked, walking over to them.
"Uh, thanks. And I'll handle it," Struct shrugged, messing their hair up.
"Are you guys done?!" Eta yelled from downstairs.
"Almost!" Struct shouted back.
"Hurry up!" Eta yelled back.
Struct rolled their eyes and sighed, straightening their outfit.
"Alright, you ready?" Struct asked.
"Yup," I nodded.
We went downstairs to find Eta and Forger waiting in boredom.
"Nice outfit," Eta told Struct.
"Oh. Thank you. You too," Struct replied, smiling genuinely.
I smiled as well. At that moment, Dove rushed down the stairs.
"You're gonna fall," Struct warned her.
"I didn't," Dove replied simply, straightening up.
"Is everyone ready?" I asked.
"Yeah. Let's go."
Struct and I grabbed the others' hands and we flashed out into Toronto, Canada.
"Damn, it's colder than I thought it would be," Eta commented dryly.
"Yeah. It'll be fine," Struct waved off.
And so we started walking through the streets of Canada.
After a while of checking out stores, Struct put their head on my shoulder, wrapping an arm around my waist.
"Tired?" I asked softly.
"A bit," Struct shrugged, gently holding onto me.
I smiled, softly kissing their forehead.
"Oh, can we go into the makeup store?" Dove asked cheerfully, stopping by the store.
"Alright," I shrugged, watching as Dove went in.
Eta and Forger were talking to each other as they waited. I decided to go into the store as well, following Dove. After a few minutes, Struct hesitantly came in as well.
"Oh, hey," I said casually, slightly surprised.
"Hey, uhm..." Struct trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Did you want to buy something as well?" I asked softly, keeping my tone casual.
"...yeah."
"Okay. Come on, Dove knows this stuff better than me," I chuckled, grabbing their hand.
Struct smiled hesitantly, following me.
"Dove!" I called out.
She turned around and walked over to us.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Dove asked curiously.
"So, Struct wanted to get some stuff for themself, and since you know more about makeup, I thought you should handle this," I shrugged.
"Oh, of course!" Dove said enthusiastically, "Come with me!"
Dove grabbed Struct's hand, rushing through the store.
After nearly half an hour, we left the store with bags in our hands.
"What'd you get?" I asked curiously.
"Eyeliner, nail polish, concealer, contour, and some brushes," Struct answered quietly.
"And a sponge blender," Dove added.
"Yeah," Struct shrugged.
"Ooh, nice," I smiled.
Eta let out a breath of relief once he saw us come out of the store.
"Finally," Eta groaned.
Struct laughed, wrapping an arm around my waist. Dove rolled her eyes.
"Have some patience, Eta, or we'll test the stuff we bought on you," Dove threatened, raising her eyebrows.
"No thank you," Eta shuddered.
Dove smiled threateningly and held Forger's hand.
"We should go get food," Forger suggested.
"Sure. Oh, we could get sushi!" Eta suggested enthusiastically.
"Yeah, that's a great idea!" Dove agreed cheerfully.
"Okay, that's actually perfect," I laughed. "Struct, is that fine with you?"
"Alright," Struct shrugged.
We started walking through the streets again, trying to find a sushi restaurant. Once we finally found one, we found a table and sat down. Struct sighed quietly, putting their head on my shoulder.
The others began talking about what they were going to order, so I turned to Struct.
"What're you going to get?" I asked, grabbing a menu.
"I don't know. I've never had sushi before," Struct shrugged.
The table went quiet.
"Seriously?" Dove asked.
"Well, yeah. Sushi is hard to find in an active warzone," Struct replied sarcastically.
"Oh damn, you missed out on a lot," I told him.
"Let's get some of everything," Eta suggested.
"Yeah, no indecisiveness, and Alpha gets to try new food," Forger shrugged.
And so we ordered some of everything. I watched in amusement as Struct tried to hold chopsticks, inevitably failing.
"Do you need help?" I asked, chuckling.
"Yes," Struct groaned.
I laughed and gently grabbed their hand, folding it and positioning it on the chopsticks, then demonstrated it.
"Thanks," they sighed, leaning against me as we waited.
Once the food came, I made them a bunch of suggestions, along with Dove and Eta.
"What do you think?" I asked once we were finished.
"Pretty good. The rolls were better than the ones with fish on top," Struct commented thoughtfully.
"Sashimi?" Dove questioned.
"Yeah, those ones," Struct nodded.
I wrapped an arm around them as we got up and left, the sky already dark. Struct yawned quietly, wrapping their arm around me and leaning against me.
"Should we stay longer?" I questioned the others.
"Yeah," Eta shrugged. "We're having fun, no need to cut it short."
Once the others agreed, I decided not to say anything. We walked around for a while.
"Oh, by the way, why were you with Order yesterday?" I asked Dove curiously.
"She needed help with paperwork, so I thought Forger and I would help her out," Dove shrugged.
"Oh. Yeah," I sighed, remembering the piles of paperwork in my partner's room.
"Can we go to a lunapark?" Eta suddenly asked, turning to me with hope.
"Uh... fine...?" I replied hesitantly.
"Thank you!" Eta yelled happily.
From beside me, Struct snorted and rolled their eyes. I gave a small smile, kissing the top of their head.
I glanced over at everyone to make sure everything was alright. Forger and Dove were holding hands as Eta was talking about something very energetically and enthusiastically.
"I'm glad they're happy," Struct murmured.
I glanced at Struct, my grip on them tightening slightly protectively.
"Aren't you?" I asked softly.
"I am. But it just feels weird. It doesn't feel real," Struct shrugged.
"What d'you mean? Like dissasociation or derealization or something?" I questioned quietly.
"...yeah, I guess," Struct mumbled.
"We'll get over it. We will," I reassured them with determination.
"I hope," they simply sighed, putting their head on my shoulder.
"We're almost there!" Eta shouted happily.
Dove pretended to smack him over the head, making Struct laugh softly.
"I love seeing them so childish," Struct smiled.
"Yeah. But maybe you could be childish too. You're the youngest here, yet you act like the oldest," I said softly.
"I've been mature ever since I've had to be mature. And for me, unfortunately, I've had to be as mature as possible from the second my mother married him. There's nothing we can do. I'm used to being mature and taking responsibility and being competent, you know? If I wasn't, it would have consequences. Either it was abuse or Zeus striking me down. So, I'd rather be wary and protective so others don't have to feel like that," Struct told me softly.
"That doesn't... Struct, you don't have to feel that way anymore. Even if you're a deity now, you were born a demigod. You weren't meant to carry such heavy burdens. But now I'm here, and I want to take over your burdens, because that's what I was meant for. I'm not saying anything bad, like you can't change or anything. I'm saying you should be able to relax and feel childish because you deserve it more than anyone. Now I'm here, and that means you don't have to protect anyone. I will. Order will. Please, don't pressure yourself to do anything, no matter how long you've been doing it and how much you're used to it," I whispered softly.
"I..." Struct trailed off, chuckling and wiping their eyes. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me. It's only the truth," I said gently.
Struct gently kissed me and wrapped an arm around me. They yawned quietly, stumbling slightly.
I held them slightly tighter to balance them.
"Are you sure we shouldn't just go back home?" I frowned.
"Nah, they're having fun. Let them," Struct shrugged tiredly.
"We're here!" Dove announced happily as we approached the entrance of the lunapark.
Struct sighed quietly, slipping their hand into mine. I gave a small smile, a blush spreading across my cheeks. Struct looked at me and laughed tiredly.
"Aww, you're blushing," they teased, gently touching my cheek.
"I'm not," I coughed, turning away as I blushed more.
Struct rolled their eyes, smiling exasperatedly.
"Whatever makes you happy," they chuckled.
"You do," I rolled my eyes, gently squeezing their hand.
Struct smiled. Eta suddenly ran toward us, holding tickets in his hand.
"Alright, here," Eta stuffed a ticket into my hand, then one in Struct's.
He then ran to Dove and Forger, giving them their tickets as well.
Struct rolled their eyes. We their the excited trio, falling behind. I didn't want to rush Struct, especially since they were so exhausted, and yet insisted on continuing.
We had been on four rides before Struct passed out from exhaustion.
Not even hesitating, I caught them and picked them up bridal style.
Eta glanced at Struct in concern.
"Will he be alright?" Eta asked worriedly.
"Yeah, he just pushed himself too much," I reassured him.
"Let's leave, then," Dove insisted.
"You guys can stay, I can get you later," I offered.
"No, no, Alpha needs rest," Forger shrugged.
"Alright," I gave them a small smile.
They held my arm and I flashed us out into the house.
I carefully took Struct upstairs to their room, lying them down on their bed.
"Chay?" Struct mumbled quietly, half-asleep.
"Yeah," I confirmed quietly, "it's me."
I turned to leave, but I felt a hand on my wrist.
"Don't go," Struct murmured. "Please don't go."
Without missing a beat, I nodded.
"Of course, my love," I smiled, "I'll stay."
Struct groggily moved over in his bed, making room for me. I lied down next to him, wrapping my arms around him as we cuddled, our hair a mess.
Slowly, I began to fall asleep, my boyfriend asleep in my arms.