#both pierre and dani are children of Hermes

[somethingsomethingwords]

So, this is the third and last part of this. I really loved writing it and sharing it, and I hope y'all like it too. Enjoy 💜

His eyes fly open.

He can't see. All he feels is pain.

He needs to protect. All he sees is red.

He hurts. All he is is gone.

He soon falls again.

When he wakes up, he is not alone.

Something rough and warm is touching his right hand.

He can sense the sun on his skin, so bright its light is basically white.

He feels -not better, per se- but not as bad as before.

When he tries to open his eyes, he finds he can only see the right side of the ceiling.

Ah, so this is it. He takes stock of all the pains he is feeling. The left side of his face is burning, he has for sure some broken ribs, and his right leg is in a cast. Well then, could be worse.

He tries to lift his head, but it requires too much energy he doesn't have.

So he simply shakes his hand.

Suddenly, the pressure on it squeezes back. Soon, a mass of curly blonde hair colours his vision, followed by a face so beloved he almost aches watching it.

"Seb" is all he manages, but for his lover it's enough. He starts crying, then he can feel the same drops raining on his face, and a gentle hand in his hair.

When he stops, Sebastian dries his tears, and just looks at him like he is a miracle. Charles honestly thinks it's the other way around, but he stays silent, old arguments left behind.

Then he remembers the kids. Pierre with the cut on her arm and Dani with the wide smile and fear in their eyes.

He doesn't even have to ask, because Sebastian is already answering.

"Pierre is alright. Lando healed her cut and now she is napping with the other kids. The other one..." and then stops, not looking in his eye, expression sad.

"Dani. They distracted one of the last monsters. It threw them at a wall before I could slay it" he says, and actually feels like dying. Now that he is awake and his body pains are somewhat lessened, it's other things that are truly starting to hurt. Friends lost, children killed, trust betrayed.

He momentarily closes his eye, needing a second of stillness and quietness.

Then he opens it, determined to not stop, not yet.

"Ok. One step at a time. The kids?" he asks.

"All four of them are ok, not one wound. They have been helping around" Seb says, and his heart breaks once again. One more thing to add to the to-do list: make sure the kids are somewhat mentally supported.

"Losses report?" he needs to be focused for this part, cynical. He needs to know who was lost, who is alive and who is hurt.

"Charles, you don't have to..." Seb starts, but the son of Aphrodite doesn't let him finish.

"Somebody has to. We need to know. And I'm just lying down, with no way to really help" he is about to continue, when this time is Seb that stops him.

"No help? Charles, you sacrificed your eye. You saved Pierre. You were ready to die. Now it's your time to rest, and let others handle this"

But Charles has always been stubborn.

"No. My job is not done" then continues, after a deep breath "I know I need to rest, but I can't. The thought of me sleeping while you work is unbearable. So please, let me help"

And Sebastian never learned how to deny him anything. He is not starting now. He just sighs, and starts talking.

"Before the split, we were 279. Then 114 left, leaving us in 165. Right now, in these tents, we are 89, mostly injured but only a few heavily"

That's bad, but he can't change anything. So he starts making a plan.

"Ok. It's like this. We need to search for anyone who is still out there but can't move. And also for those who are too scared to return. We send a group out, at least four elements, so they can split up into groups of two. I don't want anyone alone. Then we..."

"Stop right there. Repeat to me who we are looking for?" he knows damn well, but he wants Charles to say it out loud again, and realize how stupid it is.

"People who can't move and people who are too scared to return" he says, defiant and stubborn.

"No. We are not going to help traitors" he spits out, the only thought already making his blood boil.

"Seb, they are our siblings. We are not going to leave them"

"They betrayed us. They sided with the monsters that killed Dani. That almost killed you. That torn Kimi apart" he can't hold back the tears anymore. All Sebastian can see behind his eyelids is his best friend missing the lower part of his body, left on the streets to die alone and scared.

Charles doesn't say anything, giving them both a moment to grieve. He didn't know the other as well as Sebastian did, but the son of Khione was the first to know about them, even before they got together, and often teamed up with him against Seb, speaking French just to make Charles laugh.

"Seb, believe me, I understand how you feel, and I'm not saying we should just forgive and forget. But we are still family. We are not like the gods, petty and vindictive and resentful. That's how Mattia took power and divided us. We help them, we heal ourselves and then we start rebuilding. It's all we can do" he says, and knows he won, once again, but the deep hurt will remain.

"I don't think I'll ever forgive them"

"And I'm not asking you to. I'm just saying, we all need to do better. To make sure something like this won't happen again. So, are you going to be by my side, philtatos?" he asks, but only because he loves hearing Seb's response.

"Always and forever and beyond"