Kael didn’t get much sleep since his mom decided to pull him into the Underworld out of nowhere. He yawned, rubbing his eyes.
"Mom... I think I need to get some sleep."
The weight of everything came at him at once—claiming his birthright, stepping into the Underworld, accepting his place in a world that he barely understood. He was exhausted.
Persephone smiled gently, running her fingers through his hair. "Of course, my love. You’ve been through a lot."
Kael sighed. "Yeah... I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired before. Can you send me back? Back to the surface?"
Her smile faltered, just for a second. But he saw it.
"You want to leave so soon?" she asked softly.
He didn’t want to leave the Underworld. After all, he finally found someone that cared about him. He didn’t want to lose that feeling of not feeling alone for once. But he had a life up there—a ridiculous, chaotic life, but still his.
"...I have to," he said. "I will visit whenever I am free. I promise."
Persephone studied him for a long time before sighing. Then, she pulled him into her arms and embraced him tightly, as if she didn’t want to let him leave.
"I’ll hold you to that," she murmured.
Kael closed his eyes, savoring the warmth. The comfort of not being alone.
Then, he had an idea.
Dramatically, he dropped to his knees, placing a hand over his heart like a knight about to swear an oath.
"Mother," he declared, voice full of tragedy. "Before you send me back, I have but one final request."
Persephone raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
He grabbed her hands. "Let me sleep on your lap a little longer."
Kael doubled down. "Please, Mother, I must—no, I need to experience the warmth of a mother’s embrace just once before returning to the cruel, motherless world above."
Persephone covered her mouth, holding back a laugh. "Kael—"
"I must know the comfort of a soft pillow," he continued, voice full of sorrow. "One moment. One precious moment, Mother. Please."
She rolled her eyes but relented, settling back on her throne and patting her lap.
Kael flopped down, curling up with a satisfied sigh.
"Let me tell you—best pillow ever. Soft, cozy, and warm. Like falling into a cloud." For a moment, every bad thing that ever happened just disappeared. For once, he didn’t sleep alone. For once, he didn’t need to feel scared while sleeping.
He nuzzled into her lap, sighing. "This is the best."
Persephone chuckled, running her fingers through his hair. "You are so dramatic."
"Mmmhmm," he mumbled, already half-asleep.
He drifted, the world started to fade around him.
Somewhere in his dream, he was having picnics with his mother, then he gave her a hug. While dreaming, he mumbled, "Her arms were warm. Strong. Protective."
"Why were her arms so muscular?"
He heard a deep, gravelly voice through his dream, which confused him heavily.
"My what now?" A voice came out of nowhere.
Kael hummed, still half-asleep. "Mother, your arms are so strong... so manly..."
He realized that the voice did not belong to Persephone.
"Mother, why did his mother sound like a dude?" he asked while being half-asleep.
He realized something was not right. He realized his head wasn’t resting on a lap anymore. It was resting on something firm. Definitely not soft. More like...
A very solid, very muscular chest.
A chest that definitely did not belong to his mother.
But his entire body told him to move, to run, but he was too exhausted.
Then, he slowly opened his eyes.
And he found himself cuddling with Orion Aetos. He’d been through many bad situations, but this was new. He never knew he sleepwalked.
Kael tried to figure out what was happening.
Why was he in Orion’s bed?
Curled up against him?
His hand was on Orion’s chest. Squeeze.
Slowly, he turned his head and stared into the golden eyes of the very, very unamused heir of Zeus.
Neither one of them moved.
Then, Orion’s voice, low and full of restrained rage:
Kael was half-asleep. His brain was too tired to function. So, he let out the dumbest response.
"No... five more minutes," he mumbled, nuzzling back into Orion’s chest. "Just a little more cuddling."
A muscle in Orion’s jaw twitched.
The Olympian Heirs stormed in, weapons drawn.
"THE PRINCE IS UNDER ATTACK!" Damon Reyes, heir of Ares, roared, already swinging his massive sword.
Elias Vex, heir of Poseidon, raised his spear. "Orion, we’re here to save y—"
They stopped and just stared in shock.
Still cuddled together.
Still in the same bed.
An ungodly silence filled the room.
Selene Ithaca, heir of Athena, stood frozen, mouth slightly open. She was so shocked that her brain stopped functioning.
Aria Solis, heir of Artemis, covered her mouth, shoulders shaking.
Jasper Reed, heir of Dionysus, just grinned. "Oh, this is priceless."
Lucas Marlowe, heir of Demeter, smirked. "Didn’t think you were the cuddly type, Orion."
Lila Sterling, heir of Aphrodite, outright cackled.
Selene collapsed to the floor, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.
Kael blinked up at them, completely normal.
"Oh," he said. "Are we having a sleepover? Awesome. Come join us, ladies."
Orion looked like he wanted to die on the spot.
Damon finally managed to choke out, "So... what’s the occasion? Anniversary? First date?"
Elias nodded. "Yeah, Orion, didn’t take you for the clingy type."
Kael grinned, stretching out on the bed. "You thought you didn’t wanna be my roommate. What happened now, huh?"
Orion threw him off the bed.
Kael hit the floor with a thud.
Selene screamed from laughing too hard.
Damon wiped a tear from his eye. "Man, this is awesome."
Kael groaned, sitting up. "Rude."
Orion, sitting, ran his hand through his messy hair. "Someone. Get. Him. Out."
Kael gasped. "Orion! You’re hurting my feelings! After all we’ve been through?"
Lila smirked. "So... you two a thing now?"
Kael grinned. "Not yet. But I have hope."
Orion slammed his head against the nearest wall.
Lucas wiped his eyes, still breathless. "I—I have so many questions."
Aria wiped a tear from her eye. "You guys are my new favorite people."
Kael turned to the others. "You guys wanna get breakfast?"
Elias threw an arm around him. "Absolutely."
Damon nodded. "I need to hear every detail."
Lila smirked. "I’ll make pancakes."
And just like that, Kael walked out of Orion’s room, leaving behind an angry and traumatized heir of Zeus.
Orion let out a loud noise that might have been a scream.
And then, chaos erupted.