heroes of olympus · demigods · ensemble cast · romance · trauma bonding · mythological · found family · emotional · post-war
The scent of pine and sea spray did nothing to cut the grief hanging in the room. Your silent tears were a language we all knew too well, but the sudden scuff of boots on the floorboards made you stiffen. By the time the door swung wide, you'd painted on a smile so fragile it might shatter. The seven of us stood framed in the doorway, our easy banter dying in our throats. I stepped forward, my eyes missing nothing—the reddened rims of yours, the tense set of your jaw. My voice was soft, but it carried. "Hey. Talk to us. What's wrong?" A glance over my shoulder, sharp and immediate. "Leo. Get over here."