salt air.

Sebastian had been confident that it was only a matter of time before Jae sought him out again, especially after his … indulgence on Halloween, but he had to admit he hadn’t been expecting breaking and entering, and certainly not at this hour. If Jae had decided to break in about 10 minutes earlier, he might have made it all the way inside while Sebastian was still in the shower. What a pity. “Did knocking fall out of fashion while I wasn’t paying attention?” he asked a little reproachfully, inspecting his door for damage before pulling it shut behind them and running a hand through his wet hair. “I’m flattered you were so eager to see me darling, but if you had given me a little warning I would have been much better prepared for guests.” He turned and enjoyed the sight of Jae standing stiffly in the middle of the room before brushing past him to the kitchen, taking the opportunity to sweep a hand across his shoulders as he went and purposely ignoring his question. “Can I offer you something to drink? I’ve got some reds I’m sure you’ll adore.”

Sebastian looked at him steadily and controlled his first instinct to bristle at the dismissal in Jae’s words. He was out of practice at reading Jae’s face but his body was a different story, and it was clear to him that Jae wasn’t pushing him away, not completely. He wanted to be chased again? That was fine. A good hunter knows when to be patient, and Sebastian was an excellent hunter. “I managed that quite well the first time,” he said quietly, “and I intend to do it again.” Jae started to pull away and Sebastian thought briefly about tightening his grip again and keeping him there, but Jae was already retreating back into professionalism (or as close to it as he could manage) and he knew he had made all the progress he was going to make for now. He adjusted his grip so that his nails dragged ever so slightly across Jae’s skin as he pulled his hand back, but he let him go. There would be other opportunities, and he would take full advantage of all of them as they came. He dropped some bills on the table and stood up, tucking the newspaper he had been reading under his arm. Before he left, he reached out and brushed his fingers through Jae’s hair. “Don’t worry darling,” he said, tucking a strand behind his ear, “I’ll find you.”

You left me. He had. Sebastian had reached a point where he needed to make a choice and he had chosen to prioritize himself the way he always did, the way he always would. He didn’t regret it. He didn’t. But there was something alive in his chest that only stirred and opened its eyes when Jae looked at him, and that thing had suddenly constricted around his lungs like an iron band. The hand that gripped Jae’s wrist tightened for a moment and then relaxed. “I came back,” he said simply. He didn’t look away from Jae’s face as he swayed closer and leaned into him, he was always so much more honest with his body than he was with his mouth. Sebastian was a greedy creature by nature. He wanted everything, all of it. He wanted to shove Jae over this stupid cafe table and fuck him until he cried. He wanted to leave bites and bruises everywhere he could reach, so deep and vivid there would be no way to hide them and Jae would feel them every time he so much as twitched. He wanted to eat Jae alive. He wanted the thing in his chest to go to sleep forever and he wanted it to grow teeth and claws and rip him open from the inside. He wanted Jae to never, never stop looking at him. He wanted to turn around and disappear again before Jae had a chance to turn away from him first. Sebastian closed his eyes against the strength of all of his want and shifted his grip on Jae’s wrist to slide up and cover his hand where it rested on Sebastian’s jaw. “I want this,” he said, opening his eyes again slowly, “I want you.” He smiled a little crookedly. “I missed you, jaybird.”

“Not really,” August says quietly. Theo had been the smart one, not her. She’s just scrambling to learn as much as possible so she can put what little he was able to teach her to some kind of use. “It’s more that I would be completely useless as a Hero, I think.” She remembers how cold it had been, hiding in a patch of shadow, watching him turn, try to run, fall– She blinks and shakes off the memory. Not the time to be wallowing August, you’re supposed to be making a good impression here. She forces a short laugh and says “Guess I’m just not cut out for it,” going for playfully self-deprecating and probably landing somewhere closer to pathetic. Oh well. She follows Cece out the door and makes an effort to pay attention to what she’s saying instead of spacing out again. “Guilty,” she says with a weak smile, “I have a tendency to get caught up in what I’m doing and lose track of time.”

August started a bit when she heard herself being addressed – she had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed the other girl approaching. She turned and pushed an awkward smile onto her face. “That’s me,” she said with a little wave. “And you’re … Lydia, right?” August did remember seeing her around the Tech floor, but they hadn’t had much of a chance to speak since her initial introductions. She seemed nice enough, and it was a little reassuring to see a somewhat familiar face. “To be honest, I didn’t really have a plan when I came in,” August admitted sheepishly. “If you’re looking for a partner I could– well, I’m not sure how useful it would be for you since I’m not very experienced, but if you don’t mind showing me the ropes, maybe we could work together?”

Sebastian watched Jae’s throat work as he swallowed and tried to remember what it tasted like. “I don’t recall agreeing to any such thing,” he said mildly. The particulars of that night had clouded over in his memory some time ago and he really didn’t remember much of what he had said then, but it didn’t matter now. What mattered was that Jae was here, now, and Sebastian wanted him. He watched Jae fidget as he fought to keep his previous icy composure and wondered idly how hard he would make Sebastian work for it this time. He thought it wouldn’t be very hard. After all, it hadn’t taken much coaxing to get Jae to move on from fighting him and Sebastian knew what desire looked like on Jae’s face. He was still so responsive after all this time, and Sebastian hadn’t even touched him yet. A little compliment made him glow like he’d swallowed embers, poor thing, but Sebastian supposed he had grown unaccustomed to praise in his absence. Something else to address later. He was fighting it, but Sebastian could see him softening, thawing slowly under his careful attention. He tipped his head to the side and let his own smile pull into a smirk. “I know you did,” he said, all warm indulgence, “and I rather liked seducing you.” If he had been a different kind of monster, he might have actually purred with satisfaction when Jae finally reached for him just like Sebastian knew he would. Yes, not so hard at all, he thought contentedly. When Jae moved to pull back, Sebastian’s hand shot out and snatched his wrist in a grip that was firm, but not bruising (not yet). He really thought he had been quite patient so far, but he could only be expected to resist so much, surely. He was only a man after all. Well, mostly. Without breaking eye contact, he slowly drew Jae’s hand back to him and lifted it to his mouth. If he really wanted to, Jae could pull out of his grip, but Sebastian didn’t think he would. He let his lips ghost over the thin skin on the inside of Jae’s wrist and said lowly, “I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.”

Bite me, good god, he really had been gone too long if Jae thought he could get away with saying shit like that with no repercussions. Sebastian wanted to shove Jae back into his chair and sink his teeth into the meat of his shoulder until he tasted blood. He clenched his jaw and reminded himself moodily how annoying it would be to deal with all the little demigods whipping themselves into a tizzy over one little mauling and made a note to bring it up later. In private. Instead, he watched Jae’s face while he got his little tirade out of his system and recommitted all the expressions he made to memory. Then, when Jae had stopped spitting at him long enough to begin leafing through his file, Sebastian tried something else. “You thought I would trust anyone else with this?” he asked softly, keeping his face blank but letting just a touch of bitterness color his voice. “I didn’t keep it from you for fun, Jae. Even other anthros only know what they’ve heard and what they can sense for themselves. I don’t talk about it, ever.” He let his eyes flit away for a moment as though he were uncomfortable or steeling himself for something, then he looked back at Jae and said, “I only accepted the invitation in the first place because I knew you would be here.” There. That even had the benefit of being completely true. He didn’t have to fake the reluctant grimace before talking about his abilities either – he truly did not talk about this, ever, but he wasn’t about to run away now after he’d come this far. “I have complete control over everything but the … infatuation.” He paused, considering how to describe it. “It’s like a leaking faucet,” he said finally, “I can adjust the pressure, but I can’t turn it off, not completely.” He studied Jae carefully as he got quieter and cursed that he was out of practice at reading him. Sebastian didn’t like letting anything slip, no matter how small, when he couldn’t be sure of how it would be received or whether it would be used against him. But Jae wasn’t going to let him avoid it and he didn’t really feel like lying about it either. Thinking back to seeing Jae for the first time, wanting him and, incredibly, not being able to have him, Sebastian couldn’t help the small, fond smile that tugged at his lips. “Darling, of course I knew you were different,” he let the shape of the word in his mouth tell Jae what he meant was special and better. “I was out of practice at seducing pretty boys the hard way, and you really made me work for it.” He gave a delicate little shrug. “I just didn’t know why.”

Sebastian pulled back and raised his hands in mock surrender but his smile didn’t fade. The anger was expected – in fact, it was one of the reactions he had hoped for. Other people were so boring, always fawning and flattering and falling over themselves to please him. Jae was different. After all this time, he was still the most interesting person Sebastian ever met. Jae looked at him in ways no one else had before or since, and he was greedy for it. He wanted to keep pushing the buttons that made Jae hiss and spit and swipe at him. He wanted to reach over and grip the back of Jae’s neck to keep him still and remind him who he was talking to. He wanted to card his fingers through the fine hair at Jae’s nape until he finally relaxed his goddamn shoulders. Now really wasn’t the time or place for that, but as his eyes followed the instinctual way Jae had moved to do as he asked, he soothed himself that it likely wouldn’t take very long to settle things back into their proper places. He lowered his hands as Jae took his seat and was debating whether he could get away with laying a proprietary arm across the back of his chair when Jae threw out his accusation. Sebastian stiffened and his warm smile curled into a sneer. “Since you’re such a paragon of honesty and virtue,” he said acidly, “why don’t you remind me how long it took for you to get around to telling me about your own divine parentage, hmm?” He crossed his own arms and gave Jae a baleful look. “I was invited to join your little community, you know,” he sniffed. “Perhaps in your hurry to paint me as some big bad monster, you’ve forgotten that you have some professional obligations in this matter as well?” He reached into his bag with exaggerated slowness and withdrew a slim file of documents containing information about other anthros he had crossed paths with as well a brief description of his own abilities. “It’s important to start any relationship off on the right foot, after all,” he said as he slid the file across the table.

Sebastian heard Jae approaching from where he sat at the little café table, but kept his attention patiently trained on the newspaper in his hands. Let him have the opening move, he thought with indulgence, what does it matter? It was only once Jae had taken his position and announced himself that Sebastian allowed himself to fold the paper and turn to regard him fully for the first time in more than five years. A giddy little laugh almost escaped him, and he chided himself that it was rude to make fun, but he really couldn’t help it. Jae was standing at a rigid attention like a little toy soldier, and it was adorable how hard he was trying to look cool and unaffected. Sebastian, on the other hand, saw no need to hold back his own delight, and tilted his head back to meet Jae’s eyes with a warm smile. “Hey jaybird,” he said simply, the way he had said it hundreds of times before, as though the last time he said it had been only yesterday. “Take a seat, no need to be so stiff.” He patted the seat next to him and let his smile grow a little more teasing. “You of all people should know I won’t bite unless you ask very nicely.”

August lets Cece’s bright chatter wash over her while she grabs her own bag and follows her to the door. “Coffee would be nice, actually,” she says, “I was up late last night looking over some of the research materials in the library, so I could use the boost.”  That’s putting it a little lightly - she always felt more alert at night and there was so much to learn, she hadn’t slept more than a handful of hours. It would be nice to take a break and just let someone else take the lead for a while, especially someone who is clearly so happy to do it.

“I suppose you’re right, “August says quietly. She has heard such reassurances before and they had always felt hollow, but coming from her sister she can almost believe them. She’s almost embarrassed by how desperately she wants to be understood and accepted by these people, to finally be a part of that mythical “everyone.” There had always been a wide, dark chasm that separated her from everyone else in her life, and now that she’s here among others like her, she doesn’t want to be different anymore. She looks at Cynthia and wants to ask her, were you like me? Were other kids afraid of you? Were you afraid of you? But that would give entirely too much away. “What was it like for you, when you first came here?” she asks instead.

Up to this point, August had already found Cece to be among the warmest people she had interacted with so far at Nemean Lion, but at the mention of a welcome tour she lights up so much that it’s almost hard to look directly at her. August didn’t know that someone’s eyes could sparkle like that in real life – maybe it’s another demigod thing? She pushes down the urge to retreat and firmly reminds herself that is a good thing. “A tour sounds great,” she says, hoping her smile doesn’t look too awkward, “I got in a little over a week ago. I know my way from the dorms to the workshop, but I haven’t wandered far beyond that.”

August let her eyes flick to follow the movement of Lillian’s arm before returning to study her face. The invitation was innocuous enough, though it had been phrased a little more like a command, but “curiosity” looked different on Lillian than it had on the warm, open faces of the demigods who had been eager to welcome a new comrade into the fold. Lillian’s eyes had a cool watchfulness in them that she recognized – she saw it in the mirror every night, after all. Ah, I know you, she thought, recalling countless evenings spent sliding unseen through crowds of her father’s business associates, watching every movement, every expression, every conversation, and filing away anything that could be used for her father’s benefit. Bizarrely, August relaxed a little. For as long as she could remember, there had been a kind of night-chill that other people could sense on her if she didn’t work hard to perform friendliness. It had made people uneasy, even frightened them, but she doubted Lillian was someone she could scare away even if she wanted to, which was oddly freeing. “I suppose it’s nice to have something new to talk about,” she said, letting her lips pull into a cold little smile and for once not worrying about whether it reached her eyes properly. “No bother at all, coffee and company would be lovely.”

“Well,” August says carefully, sensing a sore spot and deciding not to press, “I suppose we should just be grateful that you have the time to help us out tomorrow.” August hesitates – she really isn’t good at this sort of thing, but what’s the point of a fresh start if she doesn’t at least make an effort? She takes a steadying breath and gives Cece a tentative smile. “Actually, I’m still too new to be working on anything really important just yet, so I’m not busy with anything right now. Obviously I don’t want to keep you if there’s somewhere else you need to be,” she hurries to add, “but don’t feel like you have to run out on my account.”

August barely resisted making a face at the suggestion. She wasn’t thrilled at the idea of getting  more people involved in her work, but Lillian made a good point, and it wasn’t like she was making progress on her own. “Noted.” She rolled some stiffness out of her shoulders, checked her watch, and winced. “I am overdue for some fresh air, it seems,” she said a bit sheepishly. She had been singularly focused on solving the containment problem, and as she started to pull back, a thought occurred to her – it was a little odd for Lillian to be checking up on her, wasn’t it? They had been polite enough to each other while working, but she didn’t exactly strike August as the nurturing type. She turned to regard Lillian with a slightly raised brow of her own. “Any particular reason for the interest?”

August glanced around the training floor and tried not to look as overwhelmed as she felt. During orientation, Marina had been firm about all demigods reaching a basic level of combat proficiency regardless of their official track, and August knew she was nowhere near where she needed to be to protect herself or anyone else. Running and hiding isn’t going to cut it anymore, she thought grimly. Now, she just needed to figure out where to start ...