#viperiidae

it’s been at least half a decade since this stupid-wild boy king with eyes too bright and hair too dark said, hey this is kinda’ stupid and went against the gods. everyone’s a little better this time around, though—but there’s no easy forgetting, 

because something still burns every time he makes eye-contact with apollo. apollo who would have given up divinity for love; apollo who had betrayed him for the same reason. “would you have done it differently?” vane asks him one morning, sheets lazily draped over his shoulders. 

apollo smiles, gently. “if i had the choice, i’d have tried to end it quicker,” and he spills out of the same bed to search for his jeans. the two of them are learning each other again, slowly, and they’ve got all the time in the world. 

alistair devon brann, sitting on the floor of the boy-king’s skyship with the boy-king’s son in his lap, chides them for this. “before you know it, your son’s going to be cussing and chasing down twinks—” artemis, next to him, slaps his shoulder as vane spits his drink out, laughing.

the four of them are often seen in each other’s company, if only for the reason that someone always has to be the responsible friend among them. it also goes to show that, in spite of everything, it’s extremely hard for them to be responsible around each other when they all have a propensity for troublemaking. even alistair will agree to bad ideas when artemis is the one telling him wouldn’t it be funny to hunt dragons? at 3AM. apollo, later, treats their wounds with an exasperated sigh. 

who said “I love you” first?

They’ve both known it for a long time; because their quick smiles are growing longer and they’re no longer trying to hide the way their stares linger on each other when it’s morning and the sunlight over the city line’s illuminating their figures. In the end, it might be Lacroix who falls first, but it’s really Rhys who vocalizes this, makes it something material that they can actually hold on to this time. 

who would have the other’s picture as their phone background?

Rhys, definitely. The amount of selfies that she has including him is incredible; she’s sentimental enough to have one as her phone background. Lacroix definitely teases her about this, but it makes her feel better when he’s gone on a business trip and she’s left staring at her phone for lengthy hours of time. 

who leaves notes written in fog on the bathroom mirror?

Rhys, again. She’ll walk in when he’s taking a hot shower and doodle a heart on the corner of the mirror while she’s brushing her teeth. Alternatively, it’s, “don’t forget it’s your turn to take out the trash” with a very endearing epithet. 

who buys the other cheesy gifts?

On special occasions, they’ll try to out-do each other with gifts; sometimes that ends up in the dining table being piled with cards and chocolates and a dozen things with ‘I love you’ scribbled on every one of them. It’s more or less a contest to see who can get the other flustered first (Rhys loses more often than not).   

who initiated the first kiss?

You’d think it’d be Rhys, but it’s not, and then you’d think it’d be carefully calculated given as it’s coming from Lacroix but it’s not and it’s this one moment in time where he’s swept away by his own emotions. (honestly? my favorite thing is if this is a ‘now or never’ kiss— catch me with that good shit where they’re just about to face the Big Bad in the storming rain).   

who kisses the other awake in the morning?

Absolutely Lacroix, since he usually wakes up before Rhys. She shouldn’t rely on him as an alarm clock, but it’s nice, especially when the sunlight’s streaming through the blinds.  

who starts tickle fights?