ELYSIAN, the riordanverse

22

A TRADE

Malcolm was not having it.

He liked pranks and had even participated in the Stoll's annual prank war... But this was a step too far.

How dare those two idiots hide the blueprints for the renovation of the Athena Cabin somewhere?

He'd searched the whole camp, he'd gone into the Aphrodite Cabin... That was a mess. He'd even gone into the Ares Cabin, only to be this close to getting speared.

The boy shuddered at the memory and sat down on his bed, racking his brain at where the idiotic duo could've hidden the blueprints.

He sighed and got up, he had no choice but to just ask the two. They'd probably laugh and say something like, 'Malcolm, you expect us to just give away our secrets?' And then smirk and run off.

The grey-eyed boy walked over to the Hermes Cabin, waving to his fellow campers as they made their way to their classes. He knocked on the door of the cabin which might have been even more horrific to enter than the Aphrodite or Ares Cabins... Why?

Well, first of... There was a high chance, no scratch that, a very high chance, that:

a) Slime. Simple as that, SLIME.

b) You could get ambushed by the crazy kids known as children of Hermes

c) There could be a slight possibility of being one of their next pranking victims. Oh, who was he kidding? He would definitely end up being their next victim.

d) Something worse than the above could happen.

As you can see, not a place Malcolm would usually venture into unless absolutely necessary. But, retrieving blueprints? That was an important reason.

The demigod sighed again as the door swung open by none other than one of the half of the prankster duo himself, Connor Stoll.

Malcolm sighed again, he was doing that a lot today. 'Connor, can I have the blueprints, please?'

The boy seemed to think about it for a minute and then smiled widely, shaking his head. 'Nope, nope, nope.'

The blond smiled, even though it was forced and then grimaced. 'Connor, please. Mom's going to kill me if I don't get the cabin renovated.'

'Well...' Connor said, smirking that stupid little smirk of his. 'Maybe we could do a little... trade of sorts.'

Malcolm groaned, this was not going to go well. 'Alright, what sort of trade?'

'It's simple, really. A kiss for your precious blueprints?'

The son of Athena's interest piqued at this, 'A kiss, you say?'

The blue-eyed boy hummed in reply. 'Just a kiss.'

Malcolm had no clue where Connor was going with this because from what he knew, Connor wasn't interested in boys. But, a kiss wasn't a big deal.

It wasn't a big deal for one, pretty big reason. Malcolm Pace was gay.

He was closeted, yes. But, he was planning on coming out. All the campers had taken quite well to Will and Nico, and Leslie, who was gender-fluid.

So, Malcolm figured one kiss wouldn't hurt. He'd kissed other boys, so whatever, really. He just needed to get his blueprints back.

But... Malcolm thought again. Why was Connor Stoll of all people asking for a kiss from him? And since when did Connor like boys?

Connor didn't have a clue as to why he'd just asked Malcolm to kiss him.

He was interested in boys, yeah. And girls, too. Anyone really, but Malcolm? The dude was cute, yes, with his blond hair and eyes like liquid silver and they were friends... But Malcom?

Connor shook his head and just kept his cool, leaning against the doorframe, smirking.

'Ok,' Malcom said. 'A kiss, then.'

Connor smiled, 'Meet me near Zeus's fist at noon, no one goes anywhere near there... so, we'll be alone.' The boy then winked almost flirtatiously and walked back inside the Hermes Cabin, leaving a somewhat flustered and confused son of Athena standing outside.

***

Malcolm leaned against a tree as he waited for a certain brunette to arrive. He watched as Connor entered the forest, running over to him.

His bright orange shirt hung loosely on his shoulders, blue eyes gleaming in the sunlight. The son of Athena smiled as Connor approached him.

Now, Malcolm got an even closer look at him. He didn't really get why people made sharp jawlines such a big deal, Connor's wasn't that sharp or chiseled at all, but the boy didn't really mind.

His curly brown hair sat atop his head, unable to be tamed like every other day. 'You're late.'

Connor smiled sheepishly, 'Sorry, Travis wouldn't let me go. He was curious as to why I wanted to come out here, hope I didn't keep-'

Malcolm cupped his cheeks, leaning closer so their noses touched. His fingers slowly caressed the other boy's cheek, 'No, I wasn't waiting that long,' His voice came out breathless, husky, even.

'Oh, ok.' Connor's cheeks were dusted a light pink now, he'd never been in such close proximity with someone. His hands found their way to Malcolm's neck, and he pulled the boy closer. 'Wanna seal that trade, now?' He whispered as the grey-eyed boy nodded. 

Malcom closed the distance between them, tilting his head and gave Connor a soft peck on the lips. He pulled back just as Connor leaned in again, the prankster boy stopped as he realized that Malcom's lips weren't on his anymore.

'Can I have those blueprints now?'

The brunette simply shook his head and pulled Malcom's shirt, making their lips meet again. This kiss, this one wasn't as short as their first. This one was so much more crazy and though their teeth clinked together a few times and their noses didn't exactly fit together, this one was so much better than the first.

Connor broke apart now and smiled softly, his hands going to the back pocket of his khaki shorts. He pulled out a bundle of papers and grinned, handing them to Malcolm. The blond was breathless as he took the papers in hand. He caught his breath as Connor scratched the back of his neck and said, 'Hey, Malcolm?'

'Yeah?'

'If I steal more of your things... Would you kiss me to get them back?'

Malcolm smiled and chuckled, nodding his head. 'Yeah, yeah... I would kiss you.'

The blue-eyed boy nodded as the son of Athena looked at his watch and sighed, 'I have to go, Connor. But, um...' Malcolm trailed off, stepping closer to the boy again. He left a soft peck on Connor's lips and ran off.

The Stoll simply smiled as he watched the son of Athena disappear into the greenery. He chuckled, and leaned against a tree, his fingers twirling around a ballpoint pen. Malcolm's ballpoint pen, one he'd taken from the boy's back pocket.

Connor smiled again, he was going to get another kiss from that boy.

***

#stace #malcolmpace #connorstoll

That's all I have to say. Also, spread the hashtag you guys! #stace should be a ship, like seriously... These two are cute!