Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

If a couple of you are wondering what I'll do or accept(I guess?), I'll write 'em down for you.

I'll do the following:
-fluff
-lemon(depends on what though)
-lime
-any ship(no preference)

Request and I'll answer to 'em. I will need a concept if u pick one, not really detailed but at least something so I can get the idea. Hope you guys have a lovely rest of your day.

Chapter Text

(No one's POV)

Cal kept walking, reading the book he had in his hand. 

As far as who his godparent was, he hasn't been able to find out anything past what happened some time ago.

Cal, including Nad, Xylo, Ricarro, Davis, and Lychee, went to Niflheim to become a hero, as Lychee and Davis kept saying.
The others kept telling him he should go with to test his theory on having time powers, and also his mother instinct kicked in. So Cal agreed.

In the middle of the road stood a rowdy and a stressed demigod, but he kept walking, not realizing they stood in his way. 

"Cal!" Screamed Ricarro, making Cal look up from his book. He smiled at Ricarro, who was running up to him.

"Hi Ricarro, Hi Xylo," he responded, folding the top of his page and closing it. He put it on his left side and looked at Xylo, who looked a bit stressed.

"Hello, Cal. What were you reading?" Xylo asked, still seeming stressed but a bit more relaxed. Cal looked him up and down, smiling softly at him. 

Cal was going to answer when Ricarro began reading out loud, "Egyptian Gods and their powers. Are you still figuring out who your godparent is?" Ricarro asked, receiving a nod from Cal. 

"I still haven't been able to pinpoint who I'm the son of. I have a couple in mind, but still not certain," Cal responded, slightly smiling. Xylo and Ricarro nodded.

"So, what might the two of you be doing?" Cal asked, earning a sour look from Xylo and a bright smile from Ricarro. Both reactions were ones he hadn't expected. 

Cal was going to ask Xylo if something was wrong, but Ricarro's energy was something he couldn't exactly ignore. He decided to ignore his concern for Xylo and pay attention to Ricarro, who was now jumping in place.

"Yes, Ricarro?" Cal said, smiling at how energetic Ricarro was. Ricarro smiled and opened his mouth, ready to talk. But the next words that came out of his mouth were not something both Cal and Xylo expected.

"I wanna know how to dress in normal clothes!" Ricarro said, making Xylo look at him in shock and Cal nods slightly. 

Cal kind of expected Ricarro to one day ask about how to dress. What he didn't expect was that he was going to ask him. Cal sort of expected him to ask Xylo or Kay since they act more like their parents, unlike him.

Ricarro looked at Cal, waiting for an answer. Xylo was also looking at Cal, although he seemed to be lost in thought instead. Cal took that look in for a second, sighing afterward. 

"Ricarro, you do know you could ask Kay or Xylo for that, right? You don't exactly have to come to me for that," Cal said, making Ricarro pout.

"I know but mom is busy with camp stuff and Xydad is also busy," Ricarro said, looking at Xylo who was still lost in thought. 

Cal looked at Xylo, seeing Xylo regain recognition and making a confused look. Cal smiled softly, shaking his head. 

"What?" Xylo asked, making Cal chuckle. Ricarro did an "I told you so" look to Cal. Cal nodded knowingly.

"Ricarro, think you could go ask Davis for help?" Cal asked. Ricarro tilted his head slightly, a bit confused about the question.

"I would like to talk to Xylo if that's okay with you," Cal said, looking at Xylo for an answer. Xylo just stared at him and after a while, he nodded slightly. 

Ricarro was going to go against it but it seemed like an idea came to mind, which made him nod.

"I can ask Big Bro for help! Maybe Middle Bro too, and we could have a Bros day!" Ricarro said, jumping in place. Cal chuckled at this statement and Xylo offered a smile. 

Ricarro then said his goodbyes to both of them and ran off, going to the Greek area to look for Lychee. Cal sighed, knowing he'll owe something to Lychee afterward. 

Xylo turned to Cal and asked, "You wanted to talk to me, Cal?" Cal turned around and nodded.

"I did, if you aren't that busy, of course," Cal said, smiling awkwardly. Cal wasn't one to take someone's time away when they had to do something important. Xylo shook his head, sighing softly.

"I'm not that busy, Cal. We can talk," Xylo said, smiling at him softly. Cal smiled back and nodded. 

"Let's talk somewhere more private," Cal stated, looking at the pyramid. Xylo nodded and they both headed to the Egyptian area.

•

(Cal's POV)

I sat on the edge of my bed. Xylo sat beside me, having a sour face. We sat there, both not saying a word although we both wanted to talk. I sighed, knowing we wouldn't do anything at all if one of us didn't speak. 

"Is something the matter, Xylo?" I asked, facing him. He still didn't say a word but his sour face did turn into a calmed expression. 

"Just, stuff happening," Xylo responded, looking at the door. I stared at him before my mind wondered off. 

Xylo has been having a couple of issues, some of them involving the children of Anubis: Inpu and Magnus. I knew about what happened to Magnus since Xylo mentioned it before. The only thing that I didn't know was that it was starting to become an issue. A big one, from the way Xylo's been acting. 

I blinked, regaining my consciousness. Xylo seemed to have realized I lost myself in thought since he was now looking at me. I smiled softly, him returning the same smile. 

"You want to talk about what that stuff might be?" I asked, his smile faltering a little but still there. He looked away for a second, perhaps contemplating if he should talk about it or not. He looked back at me and smiled at me, nodding.

"So, what has been bugging your mind lately?" I asked, softly. He chuckled, dryly, at the question. 

"I think you know what's been bugging my mind more than anyone, Cal," he said, frowning slightly. I sighed, hating the way he was at the moment. 

"Perhaps, but I would like for you to tell me, Xy. I'm not going to interrogate you about what's on your mind," I said, frowning at him. He sighed and nodded, understanding what I meant.

Xylo began explaning, "Magnus has been acting different, from what Inpu has said. I've noticed the changes but never questioned it. That was until a couple of days ago, something caught my attention. I mentioned it to Inpu, he didn't seem to have noticed it until I mentioned it." He sighed, a frown across his face. I hummed, thinking on what he just mentioned. 

"Has that been the only thing that's been bugging you?" I asked, him shaking his head. 

"A lot of things have been bugging me. Most of it I've been ignoring, but some of it, I can't," Xylo responded, dryly. I looked at him, a sad look spread across my face. 

"Do you want to talk about those things? Maybe talking could help," I said, smiling at him, reassuringly. He looked at me and smiled back, but it disappeared as soon as it appeard. 

"I don't know if I should talk about it," Xylo said.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, earning a shrug of the shoulders from him. 

"Don't know. Feel like it'll change a lot of things, I guess," he said, shrugging again. I stared at him, frowning sadly. 

He smiled at me and said, "It's fine though, Cal. Really. I've dealt with things like this, it's normal for me." I still stared at him, my frown not faltering. He sighed, understanding that I wasn't going to back down. 

"Cal, you can keep a secret, right?" Xylo asked, earning a nod from me. 

He sighed before saying, "One of the things I haven't gotten out of my mind since I got here was what happened in the underworld." He looked at me. I nodded, reassuring him to continue. 

"You know the story of how Ricarro and I met, I'm guessing?" he asked. I chuckled and nodded.

"Ricarro told me on how you two met. The fact that he jumped in a portal and landed in the underworld, metting you and his... brother, greg?" I said, uncertain of my answer. 

"Yup, his brother greg. You got that right," Xylo said, chuckling and nodding. I smiled. 

"Well, yeah, he met you and his brother, and then you fought in this arena, where it determined whether or not you could leave. Ricarro was put in a box by Hades, from what Ricarro said, and then afterwards, once you won the fight, you two were able to leave and came to camp," I said, smiling at him. Xylo nodded, agreeing with what I just said. 

"So, Ricarro didn't say anything else?" he asked, making a nervous expression. I shook my head and he sighed of relief. I stared at him, silently asking why. 

"Something happened in the arena," he said, frowning. 

I looked at the floor, letting my mind roam off while listening to him.

"I might've killed... someone..." Xylo said, biting his lower lip. I hummed, having a blank expression.

Xylo turned to me, nervousness plastered on his face. He just stared at me while I thought of a response. 

I kind of knew this since Ricarro mentioned it before but I couldn't exactly tell him that. I sighed, knowing I'll have to give him an answer. I turned to look at Xylo, who seemed had a guilty expression. 

"Did you know the person you killed?" I asked. I tried to make eye contact with him but Xylo looked the other way. He bit his lip, and nodded.

"Was he a close friend of yours?" I asked again, earning a nod from him.

"Do you regret doing it?" I asked, in a whisper. He stared at the floor, unresponsive. 

After a few seconds, he nodded slowly. I understood why he was acting the way he was. He lost a close friend, even though he didn't mean to. I stared at Xylo, sighing after a while. 

"What do you think my opinion is on it?" I asked. He shrugged, still staring at the floor.

"Probably a negative one," he said, barely a whisper. I shook my head, frowning slightly.

"Xylo, can you look at me?" I asked. He looked at me, making eye contact. I smiled reassuringly at him. 

"Xylo, my opinion of you hasn't changed. You're still the amazing, caring, and pretty awesome son of Hades, and Xydad. Nothing can change that and even if you did do that, even if you killed a person, you feel guilt, meaning you didn't want to do it. That explains a lot about you, you know," I said, smiling at him. Xylo stared at me, surprised. I looked away, breaking eye contact and biting my lip. 

"You think that?" he asked, hopefulness in his voice. I nodded, looking his way.

"I don't think that, Xylo, I know that," I said, smiling softly. Xylo smiled back, relief plastered on his face. 

"I was a bit scared. Scared that you would push away and call me things," Xylo said, looking at the ceiling. I chuckled at that, leaning slightly on him.

"Well, it's gonna take a lot to make me do all of those things. Not only that, but Ricarro would've questioned us and I don't think we want to explain, do we?" I asked, earning a chuckle from Xylo. 

"You're right on that. And even if we did explain any of this to him, he would've tried to make us friends again, knowing him," Xylo said, knowingly, and smiled. I chuckled at his statement and nodded.

"He would most definitely try to make us friends again. He is one for friendships and stuff," I smiled. Xylo nodded and leaned on me. 

We both sat there, just enjoying the silence. With the conversations we had, Xylo seemed to have relaxed which was good. He was tense before so him being relax is nice. 

I smiled at that thought, closing my eyes. I kept my eyes closed until I felt something prod my hand. I opened my eyes and saw Xylo playing with my hand. He seemed focus, tracing the inside of my palm. I didn't say a word. I couldn't say a word. So I sat there. Staring at Xylo's hand paying with mine. The thought of that made my face burn a little. I sat up quickly, not realizing it spooked Xylo. He looked at me confused while I was frowning. 

"Cal, everything okay?" Xylo asked, making me nod. 

I looked away, not being able to look at his face. I inhaled and exhaled, slowly, trying to calm me down. After a few seconds, I was able to. I looked at Xylo and gave him an apologetic smile. 

"I'm okay, Xylo. Just..." I trailed off, looking away. He seemed to have understood, nodding slowly.

"Did your powers react?" he asked, nervousness in his voice. I nodded and he sighed. 

"Want me to leave?" he asked again. I stared at the wall and than faced him, making eye contact. I nodded slowly, having a sad look on my face. 

"Alright then, I'll leave you to be alone," he said, standing up. 

"If you need anything, let me or anyone here know," he said, giving me a smile. I returned him the smile and nodded. 

He began walking to the door and opened it. He stood there for at least a second then turned and waved goodbye. I waved back, still giving him a smile. He returned it and nodded. Xylo turned around and walked out, closing the door behind him. I sat there, staring at the door. I sighed, laying down on the bed. I stared at the ceiling, a frown becoming evident on my face. 

I knew exactly what I had felt. I've felt it before. It wasn't anything new. What was new though was the way it felt. The feeling. Or I guess as others call it: love. I knew it was that although no actual signs were shown. The only two things that made me realize it was my heart rate and the blush that spread across my face. 

I shook my head, feeling the heat on my face still there. I sat up, got out of bed and walked to my desk. I grabbed my water bottle, seeing it was almost empty. I drank the last bit of water and began walking to the door. I decided that after refilling the water bottle, I should take a walk. Maybe that'll help me getting a hold of these feelings...