CHAN

Soonyoung is perched at the bow of their little canoe, posing with one foot propped up like he’s commanding a keelless fleet into the idyllic fray of the canoeing lake. Seokmin is excitedly taking pictures while Chan sits as far back as possible, gripping the stern seat with both hands.

“Guys, I don’t think this is how you’re supposed to ride in a canoe—”

“Shut up, he looks glamorous,” Seokmin waves him off, leaning forward to get that perfect angle. “All he’s missing is, like, a bunch of sparkles around his hair, but we can easily add that in with some filters.”

Soonyoung beams. “Hear that, Chan? I’m glamorous!”

“Yes, that’s been established, but the center of balance is starting to go really off-center really fAAAsST—”

SPLASH!

 

“You need to stop falling into the lake,” Jeonghan sighs as he expertly digs out a set of dry clothes for Chan. With all the time he spends hounding his self-proclaimed “baby” into Athena’s cabin, Chan wonders if Jeonghan knows it better than his own.

“It’s not like I want to get drenched!” Chan protests as Jeonghan throws a pair of shorts in his face.

“Doesn’t look like it to me,” Jeonghan retorts, ing a suitable T-shirt in Chan’s direction. “Here, it’ll match the pants.”

“Thanks.” Chan takes the shirt. He towels off his hair before changing out of his sopping outfit.

Some of his less hurried siblings glance at the puddles of lakewater pooling under his bunk bed with either sympathy or interest from a purely scientific standpoint. Jeonghan leans patiently against his bedpost as Chan gets dressed.

“Do you think Vernon saw?”

“Oh, Chan, my child,” Jeonghan tuts like a sad mother hen, giving a slow shake of his head. The grin that tugs at the corner of his mouth, however, tells a completely different story. “There’s no way that Vernon didn’t see.”

 

It’s not the first time that Chan has fallen into the canoeing lake, and to be honest, it probably won’t be the last.

The naiads won’t stop giggling at them for weeks after they’re fished out, but Seokmin’s phone is miraculously still functioning (unlike so many higher-level reasoning functions of his brain, Chan thinks). For the rest of the day, Seokmin walks around with his phone in his hands and a moony expression on his face, his expression surprisingly dreamy for someone who hasn’t changed out of his wet clothes. Chan only finds out why when, at dinner, Seokmin passes his phone around for the entire camp to ogle at the cheesy sparkles that he added around Soonyoung’s face. Soonyoung flashes Chan a proud thumbs-up from the Ares table, and Chan buries his face in his food.

“It’s not so bad,” a familiar voice says behind him. Chan turns around to see Vernon walking by on his way to the Zeus table. Vernon flashes him an awkwardly comforting smile. “At least this time, Soonyoung got some pictures of you, too.”

As Vernon goes to join his brother for dinner, Chan glances from Seokmin, who is making animated faces as he shows his phone off to another Apollo camper, to Soonyoung, who is still beaming at him from across the mess hall. The gears in his head start turning with dread.

“Soonyoung was taking pictures?”

When Chan later finds out that Soonyoung had somehow caught the moment of flailing right before Chan got water up his nose, he chases Soonyoung all the way back into the lake himself. (Soonyoung seems to be under the impression that assuring Chan that “Vernon thought it was adorable! He blushed and everything!” would lessen his righteous fury. Suffice it to say, it does not.)

 

 

 

VERNON

“So,” Seungcheol says, pulling Vernon off the archery field while Chan is distracted shooting ten bullseyes in a row, “Have you asked him out yet?”

“Have I—Have I what?” Vernon asks, looking at Seungcheol with bewildered eyes.

Seungcheol shrugs, his arm still slung around Vernon’s shoulders. “You know, ask him out.”

“I . . .” Vernon hesitates. He fiddles with the strap of his quiver, glancing at the crowd of admirers that has gathered around Chan. “. . . haven’t.”

Seungcheol follows Vernon’s gaze just as Vernon averts it. Chan, who is easily discernible with his bright pink hair peeking out at the center of the crowd, keeps turning his face in their general direction as if looking for someone, smiling and frowning between shots. Seungcheol gives a long, heavy sigh, as if be the love lives of today’s demigod youth in a single exhale.

“Little brother,” he says, clapping Vernon’s shoulder sympathetically, “As someone who has not one but two wonderful loving boyfriends—and yes, yes that does make me qualified to give you unsolicited relationship advice—I can give you one solid piece of wisdom:”

Vernon involuntarily leans closer.

“Just tell the guy already!”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Jeonghan and Joshua,” Vernon fusses, clutching his ringing ears and being secretly glad that Chan’s admirers are loud enough to hide the sound of Seungcheol all but shouting into his ear. He feels a little sorry for Chan, though, seeing the extreme focus on the younger camper’s face as he pulls back another arrow. “They’ve made you dramatic.”

When Vernon looks back, Seungcheol is smiling for a different reason, his face lighting up like the sun. It takes Vernon another moment to realize that he had just given his older brother a compliment. “Thank you,” Seungcheol says, and Vernon can’t bring himself to do anything other than mumble a “You’re welcome,” because really, his sibling is right: he does have two wonderful boyfriends, even if they once rigged a bucket of pegasus poop over the entrance of Zeus’s cabin. (Ironically, or perhaps purposefully, it was Seungcheol who had walked into that particular trap. Vernon will never forget watching a proud-looking Joshua hose his brother down afterward.)

“Honestly?” Seungcheol says, “I’m not trying to make you rush into anything you’re not ready for, but you’ve been making heart-eyes at him for the past five years. That’s something to think about. Now get back there before Chan hits someone with his bow. That crowd is starting to look like a fire hazard.”

Faster than Vernon can say “Why me?”, Seungcheol gives his shoulder a confident squeeze and pushes him back into the fray.

 

When the crowd finally finishes stampeding out of the archery field, Vernon finds Chan pulling fistfuls of arrows out of the target with more force than necessary. Vernon winces on his behalf. “That bad, huh?”

“I’ve heard louder and louder,” Chan shrugs, coolly stuffing the arrows back into his quiver despite the tension in his shoulders, “and their names are Soonyoung and Seokmin.”

“Really? I thought their names were Jeonghan and Joshua.”

“You’re confused,” Chan says. His shoulders gradually loosen. “It’s you and Seungcheol. Have you heard the Zeus table during lunch?”

Vernon cracks a grin. “I would, but you and Seungkwan are already loud enough for the entire pavilion.”

Chan finishes refilling his quiver and turns around to look at Vernon.

“By the way, how did you get everyone to leave so fast?”

Vernon tries to shrug it off, but there’s no hiding the way his grin widens almost deviously. “Apparently, if you put the words ‘Mingyu’ and ‘free makeovers’ in the same sentence, even the hardiest of campers will drop their weapons and run for cabin nine.”

Chan stares at Vernon with something akin to awe. “You do know that Mingyu is going to be mad, right?”

 

On Friday night, when Vernon is placed on the opposite side of the creek as an alarmingly smiley Mingyu in a friendly game of capture the flag, all he can do is give a heavy gulp and ask him to be gentle.

When Vernon wakes up in the infirmary the next morning, Chan is already there to say, “You’re an idiot.”

 

 

 

CHAN

It’s not like Chan is always actively keeping an ear out for whenever Vernon makes a visit to the infirmary. It’s just that when one of your best friends spends almost all of his time helping out there, it’s kind of hard not to hear whenever your “future husband” lands himself in a cot.

“For the last time, it’s not like that,” Chan rolls his eyes.

“One,” Seokmin says, raising a slim finger, “This is not the last time.”

“And two,” Soonyoung says, sitting on the edge of the pier and swinging his feet over the lake, “It’s most definitely ‘like that.’”

“Shouldn’t you be checking on Vernon in the infirmary?”

“You’re the doctor,” Chan points out, utterly unperturbed. He leans his head back and admires the view of the lake. It’s so much prettier when he’s not falling into it headfirst. “Shouldn’t you?”

Seokmin shrugs sheepishly. “We take turns.”

“Didn’t you go there around 8 AM this morning?” Soonyoung asks, craning his head to look at them without losing his spot on the pier. Chan’s mouth falls open in protest, but before he can, Soonyoung all-too-happily explains, “Jeonghan set up a tripwire.”

“That’s a very Jeonghan thing to do,” Chan says under his breath like a swear.

“Hashtag exposed.”

“So?” Soonyoung eagerly continues, his eyes almost sparklier than the surface of the lake. Chan would be more alarmed if he wasn’t so annoyed. He needs to find a way to get back at Jeonghan. “What did you say? Did you confess? Did he confess? I bet it was something really witty and cheesy and adorable, wasn’t it?”

“I called him an idiot and he agreed. And then I ate breakfast like a responsible human.”

Soonyoung’s face freezes, the smile still plastered there, as if they’re on a buffering video call. (Not that that would be allowed in camp, since that kind of communication is usually a surefire way to attract a horde of demigod-eating monsters.) Seokmin worriedly waves his fingers in front of Soonyoung’s face.

When Soonyoung finally moves, it’s to cover his face with his hands and groan, “Chan, just why.”

 

 

 

VERNON

“He cares,” Vernon squeals into his pillow.

Seungkwan steals Vernon’s pillow with a huff, locking it in his own arms. On second thought, Seungkwan briefly releases the pillow to whack Vernon in the side, then holds it securely once more. “Well duh, he cares. You almost landed in the creek! And you weren’t even remotely close to the flag!”

“Chan almost lands in large bodies of water all the time!”

“That’s different,” Seungkwan sighs, but doesn’t argue any further. Vernon looks at him expectantly, and he reluctantly returns the pillow. Seungkwan watches with something unreadable on his face as Vernon dreamily curls up and stares at the ceiling, playing out some disgustingly innocent fantasy that involves Chan, an engagement ring, and a walk along the beach. The part that disappears into Long Island Sound. “You really like him, don’t you?”

“He’s just,” Vernon squeezes the pillow, “so cute? And thoughtful. And . . . it’s like he gets smarter every day. Have you seen the way he aims now? It’s a little terrifying now that I think about it.”

Seungkwan’s mouth turns down in offense. “Are you suggesting that I’m not cute?”

“No!” Vernon laughs, his reverie briefly broken. He smiles at Seungkwan, his best friend in the world. “Chan’s just cute in a different way. Like, a scarily competent way.”

“Even when he gets thrown into the lake?”

“Especially when he gets thrown into the lake.”

“Wow, that’s pretty messed up.”

Seungkwan studies Vernon for a moment longer, lying on Seungcheol’s bed with his chin in his hands. They’re in cabin one less than an hour after Vernon was released from the infirmary. Zeus’s cabin is always so much emptier than Apollo’s, which is probably due to the fact that there is a giant Zeus statue in the middle of the room and the fact that half of its occupants (i.e. Seungcheol) are currently out at lunch with the other campers. Still, it’s not nearly as cold and unwelcoming as it had looked in winter, when Seungcheol was the only inhabitant—Vernon’s sleeping bag is opposite Seungcheol’s bed, but they often take turns switching; Vernon’s stray earbuds and stacks of CDs can be seen littering the edges of the room, and Seungcheol’s piles of clothes have started their slow but steady advance across the marble floor, which looks significantly less dusty than it did when Vernon had first moved in—in many ways, having Vernon to keep him company has made Seungcheol loosen up, but not in a bad way.

“Then you should tell him that,” Seungkwan tells Vernon, meaning it.

Vernon smiles, slow but steady. “I will. You’re a good friend, Seungkwan.”

Seungkwan rolls his eyes, unable to help the fondly exasperated smile on his face as Vernon pulls him in for a side-hug.

“I know, I’m the best. Now go get him before I have to wait another year for you two to finally hook up.”

 

 

 

 

CHAN

Given his history, Chan really shouldn’t have been surprised when a giant wave pops out of the canoeing lake and pulls him into an underwater cocoon. And given the people he hangs out with, it really shouldn’t be that much of a surprise that Joshua is the one behind it.

“Hi,” Joshua waves cheerily, his hair floating around in the water. A few tittering naiads swim by in the background.

Chan sighs. He’s never going to earn their respect at this rate.

“Hi, Josh,” Chan says, resignedly looking away from the naiads. He crosses his legs inside the air bubble that Joshua has made, glad that he’s afforded that comfort at the very least (despite the fact that the lake bottom is more than a little muddy and will be more than a little a pain to wash out of his pants later). Seating arrangements aside, Chan has more pressing concerns. “Why are we talking at the bottom of the lake?”

“Why shouldn’t we be talking at the bottom of the lake?” Joshua says, and really, Chan can’t argue with that. “But if you insist—”

“I’m not insisting.”

“—we’re hiding from my boyfriends,” Joshua finishes, smiling as if Chan hadn’t said a single word. The son of Poseidon looks so much happier when he’s underwater. They are, quite literally, in his element.

And the mud is slowly seeping through Chan’s underwear, so he would rather make this quick.

“What do you want, Joshua?”

“World peace,” Joshua says solemnly. “And fried chicken.”

“I meant it more in the short-term, but those are valid goals.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you,” Joshua gives a long, dramatic sigh that has nothing to do with the mud. “So demanding. Anyway, my boyfriends have been placing bets on you since, like, I don’t know, whenever you guys first came to camp. You know, simple things, like who will confess first, how many books you’ll bring to breakfast tomorrow, whether or not you’ll notice the scorpion that Jeonghan hid under your bed last week—”

“What.”

“—yeah, harmless stuff like that. Anyway,” Joshua continues smoothly, as if he had not just mentioned the presence of a venomous arachnid in Athena’s cabin, “let’s talk about who’s going to confess first between you and Vernon, because Seungcheol and Jeonghan seem pretty convinced that it’s going to be you.”

“What.”

“Well, from what I hear, Seungcheol was originally putting his drachmas on Vernon, but then, like, after a year or two, they figured that you would probably top in the relationship, so now Seungcheol’s all—”

“Can we go back to talking about scorpions?”

“Can you stop interrupting me?” Joshua counters. “This is my monologue here!”

“Then monologue faster!”

“Mingyu is setting off fireworks at the beach tonight,” Joshua says, monologuing faster, “and Minghao mentioned that you were plotting some kind of revenge on Jeonghan? He didn’t say what for, but he’s the son of Nemesis, so he knows his stuff about, like, vengeance. And what I happen to know is that Seungcheol and Jeonghan think that you’re going to be the one asking Vernon to the fireworks, and I just really, really want to see the looks on their faces when they’re proved wrong.”

Chan sits back in the muddy lake bottom, momentarily forgetting about his ruined pants. Joshua sits demurely in front of him as he lets this information sink in. It’s not hard to see what Joshua’s getting at, even without the added eyebrow dance that Joshua is giving him.

“I just have one question,” Chan says eventually. “Other than the scorpion thing.”

“What is it?” Joshua asks, tilting his head and unfurrowing his eyebrows.

Chan starts to glance around to make sure that there are no naiads listening in, but then stops, realizing that he has probably fallen into the lake enough times that nothing is embarrassing to them anymore. He takes a breath, but when his voice comes out smaller than it should, it’s not because of the tiny air bubble protecting him from a huge buttload of water. “What if he says no?”

Joshua’s face softens. “He won’t. For one, I think he’d like to see the look on his brother’s face as much as anyone. And for two, I’ve seen him do some really dumb stuff, but he really likes you, and he won’t turn you down.”

For a second, Chan thinks that he and Joshua are having a really heartfelt bonding moment at the bottom of the canoeing lake.

Then Joshua adds, “But if he does, then I can hook him up with a really terrifying pegasus ride.”

 

 

 

VERNON

“I still can’t believe you fell into the lake on your first day here.”

“That time I had an excuse,” Chan rolls his eyes. Seungkwan had left the two of them on the beach with a knowing smile on his face, and so the two of them had decided to go for a walk. “My hair was literally on fire.”

“Who manages to set their hair on fire in arts and crafts, anyway?” Vernon laughs into the dwindling sea breeze. A few of the stars have already come out overhead.

“Pottery is harder than it looks!”

They go quiet. Chan glances out at the waters of Long Island Sound and lets out a sigh. “I really need to stop falling into the lake.”

“I really need to stop falling for you.”

Chan stares at Vernon with disbelief. Then he starts guffawing.

 

Ten minutes later, Chan is still laughing, and Vernon still hasn’t gotten rid of his blush.

“It’s just—you’re so cheesy—and the timing wasn’t even—that was the dumbest thing—like what movie did you come from—it’s so anticlimactic my—i cAn’T—”

Chan is laughing so hard that he’s actually sitting in the sand now. Up until this point, Vernon had always thought that stuff like this only happened to Seungkwan.

“I pour my heart out to you and this is what happens,” Vernon laments, shaking his head and sitting himself next to Chan as the poor kid catches his breath. “This is why we can’t have nice things.”

“Because you’re a cheeseball.”

“Yes.”

“And an idiot.”

“Yup.”

“And you basically just confessed to me.”

“Yeah, that’s a pretty good explanation of why you’re crying tears of laughter onto the sand,” Vernon agrees. Sadly, he isn’t exaggerating. “Do you want a tissue for that or something?”

“That depends. Do you have a tissue?”

“No.”

“Then no,” Chan says, raising his sleeve to scrub at it before remembering that it’s covered in sand. Vernon sighs and shuffles over to dab at Chan’s laughter tears with his cleaner sleeve. Chan giggles incredulously. “We’re eleven minutes in and we’re already the grossest couple I know.”

“I don’t know,” Vernon says, wrinkling his nose. “Have you seen what Seungcheol, Jeonghan, and Joshua get up to when they’re in the Zeus cabin?”

“Have you seen what Soonyoung and Seokmin get up to when they’re anywhere?”

“I can’t believe those two haven’t started dating yet. They’re almost as bad as Jihoon and Mingyu.”

“That’s who the fireworks are for?”

“Whom,” Vernon corrects. “And yes.”

By now, Chan’s face is totally dry, but Vernon isn’t moving away just yet.

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Chan says, putting on his serious face, “this is the part where you ask me to the fireworks and we rub it in Jeonghan and Seungcheol’s smug faces. Did you know they’ve been betting on us since, like, forever?”

“At this point, I really wouldn’t be surprised,” Vernon grins. As Chan gets to his feet, dusting sand off his pants, Vernon looks up and asks with all the solemnity of a low-budget romcom, “Chan, will you go to the fireworks with me?”

Chan rolls his eyes and pulls Vernon to his feet. “Took you long enough.”