𝐂œ𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬é𝐬 [Percy Jackson]

7

Hadrian loved to talk, but he had been rendered speechless many times before. His first girlfriend had broken up with him and asked out a guy in front of him only two minutes apart (She died in the battle of manhattan so that was fine). Then there was the time a boy kissed him for the first time and Hadrian couldn't form words for a whole two minutes.

But this? This definitely took the cake.

Eros? Like Cupid?

A thousand thoughts rushed through his head, a thousand instances that made complete sense now. He had always wondered why he could change his hair color, why everyone seemed to fall under a spell when he talked, why he was so good at archery.

But then his thoughts turned into- nope, nuh uh, no way.

Who the fuck even knew about Eros? Some D list god probably, that was so uncool. Aphrodite would have been way cooler, at least she was one of the twelve olympians.

No one spoke for a really long time. Then Hadrian opened his mouth.

"Eros? You mean Harry motherfucking styles plays a guy with the same name as my dad? How the heck am I supposed to read any y/n stories about his emerald orbs now?"

"Eros" said Jason, completely ignoring Hadrian, "Cupid... the god of love"

"Lust and desire" Hadrian corrected without a second thought. What was going on with him? Two minutes ago he didn't know who his godly parent was and now he had a wikipedia knowledge about his dad? Also how fucking awkward was it that his dad was literally the Greek god of sex? "I'm gonna drown myself"

"Camp Halfblood hasn't had a child of Eros in decades" Chiron seemed to be mostly talking to himself.

Great so not only was he unique and different, he was also incredibly alone.

"The last time one of your brethren came to camp, we had just gotten to know about the great prophecy"

"Er-"

"Last year there was a whole battle against the Titan of time- Kronos" Annabeth explained quickly. Hadrian pretended he hadn't been an active part of the war.

"Oh"

"So this must be a good sign" Leo clapped his hands, "Hera told us red hair, plus we have to gather a few demigods to go to Camp Jupiter and now his dad claims him. He's obviously one of us- the seven demigods of the prophecy"

"Leo" Jason said calmly, but his voice had a bit of a warning to it. "The plan was Annabeth, you and I"

"And me!" Drew spoke up, "I told you, I'm great for negotiations"

Hadrian hadn't paid close attention to her, but the closer she walked, the more beautiful she looked (thank the gods he wasn't a child of Aphrodite cause that would be incest to find your half sibling hot... but then again Eros was a child of Aphrodite did that mean.. Sometimes its best to not pay attention to your godly side of the family)

Godly DNA doesn't matter. Hadrian told himself.

Drew was certainly beautiful. Her features were eastern asian, she somehow managed to make a bright orange camp Halfblood t-shirt look glamorous. She had the effortless charm of Aphrodite. Hadrian guessed she only had to say the word and she could get any boy or girl she wanted.

However hot she may be, Hadrian knew he had to be the one. He had to join the quest. Besides, Gaea literally talked to him. He was one of the seven and he had to do it... for her.

It was too painful to think about them. But he forced himself to remember. He thought of the way the light hit her brown eyes, their wavy hair, their dark skin that seemed to glow like gold during golden hour. He remembered a flash of unnaturally dyed red hair disappearing as the bridge collapsed during the war. He had searched for hours, given up on whatever battle they had signed up for. Kronos could fight Percy himself. All Hadrian cared about was her.

He never managed to find a body.

His ribs were constricting like someone was squeezing him under a hydraulic press. "No"

"What?" Drew was smiling slightly, looking deep into Jason's eyes. The poor blond had become completely hypnotized, unable to move. Charmspeak and children of Aphrodite had that effect on people. It reminded Hadrian of an empousa he'd encountered once. It was not a fun comparison. Drew's smile wavered as she looked at Hadrian. Two could play the game.

"I said no. I'm one of the seven" He spoke with confidence he didn't have, "I'm going on the quest to Jupiter or whatever"

"Camp Jupiter" Leo spoke up, he was practically making heart eyes at Drew.

"Yes, camp Jupiter" Hadrian raised his chin and looked at her defiantly, "I didn't know I'd been charmspeaking for so long, but you're not the only one who would be useful on this quest"

Generally, demigods don't volunteer themselves for certain death. But there was a mad look in his eyes. He was a desperate man for the person he loved the most and damn it if he was going to let some pretty girl stand in the way of what he wanted.

"He's incompetent" Drew sputtered, "You just heard him, he didn't even know he was using charmspeak, he'll be useless"

How fucking thick did these demigods have to be to believe her? Her charmspeak wrapped over all of them, turning them compliant. 

Drew was gazing back into Jason's eyes, trying to convince him. Jason looked like he was going to agree. But Hadrian walked across the room in two steps and put a hand on his shoulder to turn him away from Drew.

Every single other conversation in the room had come to a standstill. All eyes were on him. He already knew Chiron was convinced he was one of the seven, now all that was left was to convince Jason.

"Jason" He said in a low voice. The same French accent he used when he wanted to get anything.

"Mmmh?"

Jason's shoulder was warm under Hadrian's hand. This was much easier to control- getting what he wanted through touch. His voice was always unpredictable, sometimes it didn't work the way he wanted.

Maybe that was the difference between children of Eros and Children of Aphrodite. One used charmspeak and the other used charm touch.

"I'm the guy you need, trust me" Hadrian spoke. They were dangerously close. Jason was taller than him, but only by four inches or so, he was definitely around six feet, maybe even taller. From up close, Hadrian could see a scar on his upper lip. He could see the freckles spanning across his pale skin, the light blush that coated his cheek. Jason's bright blue eyes were mesmerizing, making Hadrian wish he had some other color eyes since his own brown eyes always seemed so boring. 

He wasn't sure what the others in the room thought, but gods the tension was palpable.

"I'm the guy for the job"

"You're the guy for the job" Jason repeated.

"How's that for not knowing how to charmspeak?" 

Hadrian was used to being pretty open about his sexuality, but he didn't want others to think he was flirting. Especially since he was using Jason to get what he wanted. It made him feel dirty somehow, like he was just another filthy monster manipulating others.

So he retracted his hand from Jason's shoulder and took two steps back, almost bumping into Annabeth with how fast he was walking backwards.

Hadrian cleared his throat and looked at the others, waiting for someone to argue. There was only one reason he was doing this and he would give his best for her.

"Any objections?" He called.

No one spoke.

"It's settled then" Said Annabeth, even though she looked skeptical about trusting Hadrian, she was itching to ask more questions, Hadrian could tell. But she didn't mention it, "Jason, Leo, Hadrian, Coach Hedge and I will go with the Argo II to Camp Jupiter"