||Koi No Yokan|| Park Seonghwa

||Chapter 45||

Author's note: I'm updating from my phone bc my computer crashed on me mid writing so forgive me if the quality isn't the same. Nevertheless, enjoy!

Going back to his old cave felt surreal.

The first thing he did was make sure that his poppies were in good shape, watering those who needed it and getting rid of the eventual weeds. Now that his small garden seemed somewhat healthy, he proceeded with tidying up the place: it had been a while since someone had even thought of cleaning the shelves and the various potions scattered on the floor.

Philotes was to bring him the rest of his belongings later that day, as per his request: he couldn’t let her enter that place without it being spotless, or he would’ve never heard the end of it.
For the first time in a while, he felt at peace. Apollo’s gift was still snug around his neck, more like a reminder of his kindness than to keep him alive: he couldn’t bring himself to take it off.
He changed the bedsheets, burning the ones that were still stained with his blood and replacing them with fresh ones that Philotes had gifted him. They felt heavenly on his skin, soothing whatever ache in his joints from moving around the cave.

Sure, it was less quiet than in his mother’s palace, but he liked it all the same: the small animals wandering around the entrance, the sound of the wind whistling through the walls, the fire crackling at the very end of the cave… a familiar symphony, one that he didn’t realize he had missed a lot.

He had just begun to drift into dreamland as his duty required when he saw an unfamiliar light dart past the entrance of the cave.
It couldn’t be Hermes, he thought: when he traveled, he was so fast not even the guardians of Hades could catch him.
His curiosity got the best of him as he peeked outside: there he was, the God of Love himself, supposedly heading towards Nyx’s castle.

Oh, how he wished he hadn’t looked: the moment he thought of heading back inside and pretend nothing had happened, Eros had turned around and at that point, there was nowhere to hide. 
He came down to stand before him who wanted nothing more than go back inside his cave and forget it all, and he would’ve done it if he hadn’t witnessed him starting to cry. 

"Hypnos"

"Eros"

A single tear ran down his perfectly sculpted face, and still, he could not bring himself to feel pity for him. 

“I thought-” 

“I came back. It was due time I left the palace” he cut him off. 

“So, you’re better now?” 

He bit the inside of his cheeks and nodded, forcing himself to smile even just a little. 

And to be honest, he should’ve expected it. He had known Eros ever since he was born, before he was banned from Olympus, and he knew just how goddamn affectionate he was with everyone. That was his nature, that was his very purpose. Then, why did his heart skip two beats when he trapped him in a suffocating hug? But most importantly, why did he hug him back?
 
“I’m sorry for making you go through this” Eros said, voice trembling. 
Hypnos froze, breaking the hug to look him in the eyes. 

“You didn’t make me do anything” he declared “Why did you come down here?” 

He observed the way he involuntarily flinched, his hands closing in fists at his sides. 

“I…uh, I was hoping your mother might let me have an audience with Eris. Lots of things happened while you were gone…”

“I know, Philotes told me. But why now?”