a/n: Before we get into this, I know it's rushed and that everything happens way too fast and timeskips abound in the story. But I'm really struggling to finish it now, so I apologize....I still hope you guys find it worth your time! Thank you for waiting so long :)

Chapter Four

“Rise, Suho.”

Suho stumbled to his feet and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. “My lord.”

“It’s been a while.”

Suho folded his lips together. “It’s been several years.”

“Have you missed this place?”

Suho gazed around him; from their place by a window in Hades’ palace, he could see bursts of fire lighting up the landscape, the lost souls wandering the Fields of Asphodel and the long line of souls waiting to enter the Underworld. “…I can’t say I have.” He caught a glimpse of blue and knew that Elysium was there, tucked into a quiet corner of the Underworld.

“You haven’t? You wound me. You assured me that you were enjoying your stay here several years ago.”

Suho gulped and turned back to face the god. “I-I did, my lord. But sometimes, s-sunshine will outdo even the greatest glories of the Underworld.”

Hades snorted.  “I’m sure my wife would agree with you.”

“My lord, why have you brought me here?”

Hades gaze darkened, and Suho began to back away from his fiery eyes.

“I’ve waited for this moment for so long,” Hades murmured. “To have you at my mercy, here in my palace.”

Suho could feel the blood draining out of his face. “D-do I have any say in this?”

Hades laughed at him, and Suho had his answer. “What do you think?”

Suho felt tears forming in the corner of his eyes as his mind ran through plans of escape only to discard them all within milliseconds. “N-no…?”

“That’s right.” Hades smirked with satisfaction, and before Suho quite realized what was happening, he was trapped within the Olympian’s arms. “Did you like the form I held for you in the forest? If so, I can change back to that…”

“No,” Suho forced out between his frozen lips; his body wasn’t responding to what he wanted, from exhaustion for running so far and so long, and from panic. “No, please don’t.”

“As you wish.” Hades shrugged, as if it were no big deal to him. “Either way, you’re mine now.”

Suho forced his arms to lock so that he wouldn’t do anything rash that would anger the god. “My lord? You don’t think I could rest for a little bit? I’m so tired…”

Hades gaze softened, and Suho let out a small sigh of relief when Hades released him from his embrace. “Of course, my dear.” He snapped his fingers, and the door opened to the hallway. “Your room is the first on the right. Rest well.”

Suho walked calmly into the hall and began walking towards his room, only to take off and begin running in another direction, praying that he could find his way out before he was caught.

Suho stumbled out of the palace grounds and began jogging away. His legs were screaming at him to stop moving; they weren’t used to this much heavy running in such a short span of time. He could barely breathe, but he kept stumbling forward—Hades wasn’t going to take him like this, not when he was down and beaten, he was going to try and use every chance to escape that he could…

Suddenly, a figure appeared directly in front of him, and Suho stumbled to a stop, clutching at a stitch in his side and glaring at the figure for all he was worth.

“Did you think you could escape in such a deplorable condition?” Hades gazed at him pityingly, and Suho grit his teeth as his pride reared within his chest and tossed its head. “How far did you think you could make it? You would’ve collapsed even before reaching the gates.” He stretched out a hand. “Come here, Suho.”

Suho shook his head and stumbled backwards.

Hades shook his head and walked forward. “Ah, my stubborn little one…do you know how alluring you are like this?”

Tears of pain streamed down Suho’s face as his legs finally gave out beneath him and he fell backwards on to the ground. “Ugh…”

“So helpless,” Hades murmured softly as he knelt by his side and traced his face. “So beautiful…”

Suho had two options. He could stay here, at the mercy of Hades. Or, he could return to his father’s palace and face his father’s judgment instead.

Suho had a feeling that Poseidon didn’t want anything to do with his body, or with his mind. He already knew which option he would pick.

He lifted his hand to the chain on his neck and found the pearl pendant. He ripped it off of the chain even as Hades stared down at him condescendingly. “And how do you plan on crushing that pearl, little one? You can barely move your limbs.”

Suho stared at him unblinkingly and then popped the pearl into his mouth. He raised a mocking eyebrow at Hades as he bit down as hard as he could, and felt the pearl disintegrate into dust in his mouth.

A pale white shell enveloped his immobile body even as he glared at Hades with all the force he could muster.

“I will never be your anything. Never again,” he hissed, even as the pearl rose out of Hades’ lair and began to carry him back to its original home: the sea.

XXX

Suho opened his eyes to the sight of blurry darkness around him. An air bubble surrounded his head, and as he sat up, an electrical eel lazily swam past the foot of his bed.

He was lying in a canopy made of kelp strands, anchored to the floor of a small sea cavern. More green plants waved in the water currents from the side of the cave, and precious pearls and other gems glinted shyly from the walls.

A beautiful young woman was floating at the side of his bed, and even though it was dark and they were under water, Suho could tell that she’d been crying.

“Mother.”

“Suho!”

Mother and son fell into a tearful embrace.

“How’ve you been? Has Poseidon been treating you well?”

“I’ve been well, Suho. I’m more worried about you though.”

Suho smiled wryly.

“What happened?”

Suho sighed wearily. “I was stupid and lost my head, that’s what happened. I…managed to run all the way out of the Camp Half-Blood boundaries.”

His mother nodded in understanding and held up a hand to stop him. “I can guess what happened from there.”

“I got here before anything too terrible occurred.” Suho shivered within his mother’s warm embrace; even in the deep sea, far away from Hades’ realm, he didn’t feel safe.

“I’m glad. I knew that you would need that pearl.”

Suho nodded quietly. “Mother, I—“

He was interrupted by the arrival of a third presence into the chamber. “Suho.”

Suho flinched, and then withdrew from his mother’s arms. He bowed low, and held his position. “My lord.”

“Get up, Suho.”

Suho straightened up, but kept his eyes lowered to the ground.

“Has he always been like this?” Poseidon asked in exasperation.

Suho’s mother smiled ruefully. “It’s my fault. I raised him to be wary of everything.”

Suho didn’t lift his gaze from the ground as his mother continued speaking. “Besides, what can you expect? He was nearly by Lord Hades just now…please, Poseidon, give the boy a break.”

Suho flinched when he felt a gentle touch to his shoulder. Was I wrong to come here? But no, anything would’ve been better than the Underworld…Suho raised his eyes to find his father gazing at him with a gentle expression.

“Suho, everything will be alright. We’ll take care of you until you’re ready to return to land.”

“Y-you will?”

Poseidon smiled at him, and his mother came over and pulled him into a hug. “We will.”

XXX

Kris felt as if he was going insane. Ever since that fateful night seven months ago, no one had seen hide nor hair of Suho. No one knew where he was. No one knew what had become of him; not even his own brothers could say where he might be.

Kris could only blame himself. He’d been the one to chase Suho out of camp by refusing to accept the fact that Suho wouldn’t take him. He was one the to blame for all of this…

He’d remained at camp. He’d taken over several of Suho’s classes now, and he continued teaching Ancient Greek to the younger kids. It wasn’t the same without Suho, though; he could see it in the kids’ eyes whenever they looked up at him standing in front of the room. Suho’s presence at the camp had been that of a caring older brother, and even though they were plenty of caring older half-siblings to be found in the camp, no one could quite bring everyone together in the same way that Suho could.

Kris had appealed to Chiron within the first week of Suho’s absence.

“He’s never been gone this long before.”

Chiron sent him a shrewd look and put down the bowl of herbs he was grinding. “Suho knows what he’s doing.”

“What if he’s in danger? Or worse?”

“Kris…no one knows where he is. No one knows what’s happened to him. Either way, I’m sure he’ll make his way back here once he heals.”

“…I guess.”

“Did he finally tell you why he can never leave this place?”

“He did.”

“Then you’ll understand that when he runs away, it’s because he loves us, not because he wants us to be worried. He’s frightened that if we get too close, we’ll get hurt.”

Kris hung his head in shame. He knew that, and he understood, but he’d still pushed Suho to his limits. “I know.”

“Did something happen between you two? Is that why you look so guilty?”

“Yes.” Kris’s shoulders slumped. “Teacher…I’m scared that I’ve pushed him away for good.”

“Suho likes to think he has excellent self-control. And he does, in many areas. However, when it comes to his heart…he’ll come back here, someday. It may not be for a while, but something tells me that Suho could never stay away from you forever, Kris,” Chiron said kindly.

Kris looked up, emotions flickering across his face. “Chiron…”

They were interrupted by the arrival of Baekhyun and Chanyeol. Chanyeol was breathing harshly and leaning heavily on Baekhyun’s arm. Blood was running down his legs and Chiron was instantly on his feet.

“Baekhyun, put him on that bed over there.” Chiron turned back to Kris and gave him a look to tell him that he hadn’t disregarded their conversation. “Think over what I said, alright?”

Kris nodded blankly and left the Main House, his head lost in the clouds.

Now, here he was, patiently waiting for Suho to return. Luhan had come by camp last month, and had offered him a place to stay. Should he go? But what if Suho came back? What to do…

Suho, Suho, Suho. Everything came back to him—Kris felt his heart ache at the thought of Suho’s angelic smile and glowing skin. He missed him so badly.

“Suho…just come home.”

“But I am home.”

Kris yelped and then whirled around. To his utter amazement, a short figure with glowing pale skin and red hair stood a few feet away from him.

“Suho?”

Suho smiled at him, and Kris felt his heart twist; there was a soft shadow of pain and sorrow that dimmed the angelic light of his smile. “Who else could I be?” He held his arms open, and Kris walked forward and pulled the younger boy into a harsh embrace.

“Suho…”

“Mmm.” Suho pressed his nose into Kris’s collarbones.

Finally, Kris drew back and looked down at his love. “Where’ve you been for the past seven months?”

That shadow passed over Suho’s face, and Kris felt his worry rise. “It’s a long story. I’ll tell it to you later, alright?” Suho leaned his head against Kris’s chest again, not wanting to let go.

“It is not alright! What happened to ‘it’s too dangerous for us to be together’?” Kris frowned and gently pushed Suho away. “I thought that you couldn’t accept us.”

“That was then. This is now.” Suho refused to allow Kris to push him away, and instead hugged him tightly. “Now, everything is different.”

“Will you at least tell me what happened?”

“Impatient.” Suho frowned and relaxed his grip on Kris and stepped back. “Fine.” He took a deep breath and tried to collect his thoughts, nervousness fluttering in his chest as he tried to stand tall beneath Kris’s stern gaze. “Well…after that night, when you confessed, I ran away. I ran so far, I managed to run far away enough from Camp Half-Blood that Hades could come find me without interference from Chiron or Dionysus. He tricked me into approaching him and then carried me off to the Underworld. Down in the Underworld, I used my mother’s necklace to escape to my father’s realm. My father agreed to take care of me until the time came to send me away, and so I stayed in my father’s palace for three months.

During that time I was reunited with my mother. We spent a lot of time together, and I came to realize several things about myself. It was a good time.” Suho smiled slightly as he recalled all of the the healing he’d received from his mother’s advice, and of the peaceful time he’d spent under the surface of the sea. “However, eventually I had to return to the surface. Even though my father offered to turn me into an immortal and stay beneath the sea, safe from the world forever, I turned him down. I understood that there were things waiting for me on land; things I needed to face and accept. However, the problem of how I would return to land came up, for the moment I left the sea, Hades would come for me again.

In the end, he gave me a special blessing, and then sent me back up to the surface. As long as I remained on water, I would have his protection, and Hades wouldn’t be able to touch me. Then, he sent me on a quest to visit the Fates, and to determine what my future holds for me. I went on a three month voyage to Greece, where I visited the island of the Fates.

The Fates…were frightening. The voyage was difficult, as their island is well-protected. When I finally set foot in the place, I was struck by visions of everything that could happen to me, and of thousands of different paths that my life could take, all depending on a single choice. At last, after torturing me and nearly driving me mad with the visions, the Fates appeared and gave me a red thread.” Suho paused, and then coughed into his hand. “Are you familiar with the Plato’s concept of soulmates?”

Kris shrugged. “Tell me about it.”

“According to Plato, the human soul was literally separated in half by Zeus, who feared the power of a complete soul. So basically, somewhere out there, a person exists who is literally the other half of your soul…or your soul mate.” Suho cleared his throat again before continuing, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “They told me that I must use the red thread to find my other half; if I found that person correctly, then the curse that Hades had set on me would be broken. If I chose incorrectly, then I was doomed to spending the rest of my life in the Underworld, doomed to an eternity as a toy of the immortals.

They vanished, and sent a horde of monsters to chase me off of their island and back to my boat before I could ask them any questions. So, I was left out on the open sea with nothing but a red thread to help me on new quest.”

“If it took you three months to get to Greece, then how did you return here in one month?”

Suho blinked, surprised at his story being interrupted. “What?”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Kris said defensively. “It should’ve taken you three months to get home…”

“Ah.” Suho smiled wryly as Kris’s nature as a son of Athena kicked in; of course Kris would want to account for all of the time. “I’m getting to that. Just hold on. Now, as I was saying…I only had the red thread to lead me to this mysterious person. I was terrified that I would choose wrong; I was terrified that my soul mate was someone from a different country that I had never met in my life. And how was I even supposed to use the string in the first place?

Then, I noticed something strange. Even though the wind was blowing one way, the string was fluttering in a different direction, as if it were being pushed by an invisible window. I changed my course to align with the string and hoped that I was doing the right thing.

It didn’t take me long to realize where I was headed; the string was leading me in the direction of Camp Half-Blood. I thought about the people I valued here, and then I knew what my answer was.” Suho reached into his pocket and brought out a red thread; Kris dimly realized Suho’s fingers were shaking, even as the drumming of his heartbeat drowned out the rest of the thoughts whirring in his mind.

“Suho…”

“Kris.” Suho gave him a gentle look and Kris felt his knees go weak.

“This…this can’t be right. Soul mates? I’m not…” Kris trailed off uncertainly. “I don’t think this is the right choice.”

“Why isn’t it the right choice?” Suho stepped forward so that he and Kris were toe to toe. “Don’t you know me the best out of any person? Even when we were in the early stages of friendship, I felt as if you’d known me my entire life. It was easy and natural to be with you; I could always anticipate your reaction and your thoughts to any event, and we were so empathetic to each other that we would also feel each other’s pain as if it were our own. I feel like I know you so deeply, so intimately, that sometimes I have trouble knowing the difference from where I stop, and where you begin in my heart.”

Kris looked down at Suho. He knew that what the younger boy was saying was true; they were inseparable, from their very cores. They knew each other like the back of their own hands. When they were apart it felt like hell, and when they were together, it felt like they were a single unit that worked with completely harmony within itself.

And yet…

“I don’t want to be the reason why your curse isn’t broken.”

Suho blinked, and Kris realized that there were tears running down the beautiful boy’s face. He reached out and gently wiped them away with his thumb as Suho’s mouth trembled.

“Don’t you think I’m scared too?” Suho’s voice wobbled, and Kris’s eyes softened. “This is my fate we’re talking about here.” Suho’s voice dropped to a mere whisper as he lowered his head and stared down at their feet. “Kris, please.” Why are you so scared that we’re meant to be? Wasn’t that what you said that you wanted, when I left?

Suho felt Kris’s warm fingers gently hooking under his chin and tilting his face back up. There was a pair of dry lips pressing against his, and then Kris’s comforting warmth was gone as Kris gently held him away at arms’ length. “Alright.”

“Alright?”

Kris nodded shakily. “Do whatever you have to do. If you’re so determined…just do it now.”

Suho clenched his fingers around the peace of red string for a second before uncurling his fingers. He gently straightened out the red thread and laid it out across his palm. “Kris, tie this around my pinkie.”

Kris complied, and then Suho reached out and wrapped the other end of the thread around Kris’s ring finger. He hesitated to tie the knot, and Kris reached out and pulled him closer. “You can do it, Suho. Be brave. Make your choice. You’ve already made up your mind, right?”

Suho nodded softly, and then began tying the red thread around Kris’s finger. He grabbed Kris’s other hand, and they squeezed each other’s fingers tightly as Suho finished off the knot and tugged the end of the string to tighten it.

A burst of golden light exploded from the red thread, and Suho cried out as thread suddenly heated up until he felt as if it were burning his skin. He was vaguely aware of Kris holding him tightly while swearing under his breath, until the golden light and the thread vanished, and all that was left of the incident were matching circular burns on Suho’s pinkie and Kris’s ring finger on their right hands.

“Well? Did it work?”

Tears of pain blurred Suho’s vision, and he clutched at his hand. “It hurts…”

Kris winced and gently took Suho’s hand in his, blowing on the charred skin. “I know.”

“D-does yours hurt?”

“No.”

Suddenly, the circle of charred skin vanished, and Suho was left with a bright red scar going around his finger. He looked at Kris’s hand, and saw an identical scar on his ring finger.

“…Do you think it worked?” Kris’s mouth twisted in worry as he stared down at the matching burns on their hands.

Suho shrugged. “I don’t feel any different.”

The moment was broken when Chiron came thundering through the trees. He stopped short at the sight of Suho standing at Kris’s side. “Suho! You’re back!”

“I am.” Suho smiled shakily and bowed to his teacher. “I’m sorry for staying away for so long.”

“It’s fine.” Chiron looked Suho over as he straightened up, his eyes lingering on Suho’s burnt pinkie. “Have you been well?”

“I’ve been alright.”

Chiron folded his arms. “I’ll assume that the burst of power radiating from this area came from you, then?”

“Burst of power?”

“I felt a huge burst of immortal power a few moments ago. What happened?”

By now, several campers had arrived on the scene. Suho glanced at them anxiously.

“It’s a story better told in private, I think,” Kris said quickly. “Please, Teacher.”

Chiron nodded and gestured for the two boys to follow him as he turned away and began walking to the main house. By now, the entire camp had gathered around and were calling out greetings to Suho. Suho fell over on his side when Kai and Sehun came rushing in and tackled him to the ground, laughing and crying at the same time.

Suho gently pushed them away and followed after Chiron. “I’ll speak to you soon. Just wait a few hours more, and then I’ll be there,” he promised them. “Alright? What is seven months to a few hours?”

Kris could see that Kai and Sehun weren’t happy with Suho’s request, but complied anyways, falling back into the crowd and gently herding away the flock of camp members who wanted to greet Suho again.

Kris put his hand on the small of Suho’s back as they walked up to the Main House. Hopefully, they would be able to clear things up with the help of Chiron’s immense experience and magical expertise.

a/n: Phew! I know, a lot happened. And if you were wondering why Kris suddenly got nervous, its because he's really young and he was a little scared at the thought of committing the rest of his life to Suho. But obviously,  he mans up to the task, ahaha! Anyways, one more chapter to go for this story. Ugh, I'm really sorry about theh poor quality of this chapter :( :(

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope all of my readers have a lovely Christmas with their families :)  Thanks for reading, and comment, upvote and subscribe if you're enjoying this story so far! I hope the next update will be soon, but we'll see. Again, merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! And also, if you're looking for some exo feels, go on youtube and look up their performances at their smtown week concerts :)