The Thieves That Stole Their Hearts

by Takara Phoenix

In 2030 there are two orphaned sons of Hermes - Hunter and Hayden, only five years old. They remind Connor of himself and Travis, so he decides to adopt them. Adopting the twins will however change Connor's and Travis' lives forever. It will also change their relationship, because the brothers start seeing each other as more than just brothers. Travis/Connor slash Stollcest

PJatO || Stollcest || PJatO || The Thieves That Stole Their Hearts || PJatO || Stollcest || PJatO

Title: The Thieves That Stole Their Hearts – The Trickster Twins that United Them

Fandom: Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus; post both series

PJatO Disclaimer: All rights reserved to Rick Riordan for he created the awesomeness that is Nico di Angelo. And everything else related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians / Heroes of Olympus. Aside from the Gods, of course. They are all copyright by the old Greeks. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.

Warnings: shounen-ai, incest, h/c, family-fluff, adoption, explicit intercourse, anal, shoujo-ai, hetero

Main Pairing: Stollcest, meaning that, yes, Travis and Connor are in a relationship

Side Pairings: Nico/Percy, Piper/Annabeth, Lou/Miranda, Malcolm/Katie (mentioned)

Percy Jackson Characters: Connor Stoll, Travis Stoll, Perseus Jackson, Nico di Angelo, Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Miranda Gardner, Lou Ellen, Katie Gardner

Own Characters: Hunter Hood (Hermes), Hayden Hood (Hermes), Jackson Tyson di Angelo

Summary: In the year 2030, two new demigods reach New Athens. Twins. Sons of Hermes. So the Demigod Protective Service tries to find a place for the five-years-old boys, because children that age couldn't possibly live together. The Stolls feel reminded of themselves, before they had reached camp all those years ago. But taking the twins in changes their relationship forever.

Basically, this is just because I wanted to write Stollcest, but it's also made to fit into my headcanon-timeline (as can be found on my profile).

The Thieves That Stole Their Hearts

The Trickster Twins that United Them

Connor groaned slightly, trying to massage his aching neck, not that he had much success with this. Massaging himself kind of sucked, so he was grateful when another set of hands took over.

"You look like Mrs. O'Leary ran you over", whispered Travis into his ear, obviously amused.

"I had to cook for Percy, Nico and their bunch of seven loud, hyperactive children. That basically is the same as being run over by Mrs. O'Leary", snorted Connor and cocked one eyebrow.

"True", grinned the older Stoll. "Come on, let's get out of here. It's already late."

Jobs. Regular, mundane jobs. Working, from the morning to the evening. Getting out to go home to their normal, boring apartment. This was not how they had ever pictured their lives to be. Well, most of the time, the two of them hadn't pictured having an adult life at all. Not when they were living on the streets, on their search for a safe haven and not when they were at camp and facing war after war. That there would be peace after the Giant War, no, they had not expected it.

That the Greeks would build their own version of New Rome and actually get a city where they could live lives like normal, regular mortals. On some days, it still felt surreal. But they had lived, Connor and Travis had lived through two wars, together. And now they were living, normal lives like everybody else. Working in normal jobs. They were cooks in the restaurant Katie and her younger sister Miranda had opened up in New Athens. Katie was the boss, busying herself with the formal parts of the restaurant, Miranda was the waitress and Connor and Travis cooked. It was actually fun, cooking. And spending so much time in the restaurant, because many of their old friends frequented it, so they got to see many familiar faces over the day.

"Girls?", called Travis out as the two brothers checked in with the office.

"Mh?", asked Katie, pushing her reading glasses up and looking up from the papers.

"We're calling it a night", announced Connor. "And you should too. Your kids surely want their mommy to tug them in too. And does dear Malcolm even remember what his wife looks like?"

The daughter of Demeter frowned for a moment before heaving a sigh. "You're right. It's just... so much paperwork and I sometimes have a hard time putting the work away. But you're right. Andy gets really pouty when I don't kiss them good night."

Connor smiled a little sadly at that. On the one hand, it was amazing to work at the restaurant and see those who still lived, those who had lived through both wars. But on the other hand, it made them feel... stuck. Everybody moved on. With New Athens, they moved into pretty houses with white fences and swings on the front garden. They settled down, married with children. While Connor and Travis were living in a relatively small apartment together, something that was more of a stop-gape on the way to real life, still living like students who waited for real life to happen.

Neither of the Stolls had ever found someone to settle down with. No, not entirely. Neither of them had ever really looked for someone to settle down with. Sometimes, their friends looked at them with pity in the eyes, but no one ever said anything or tried to set them up with someone. They knew better. They knew that Connor and Travis had trusted once and had gotten their trust broken.

For the longest time, they only had each other. Only Connor and Travis, on the run, together. And then they had reached Camp Half-Blood and found a home. Found a family. Found Luke. He was more than just the head of their cabin, or the oldest son of Hermes. Not just a half-brother. He was the head of their family, they had admired him and trusted him. They had loved their cabin, had viewed them as the family they never had in the mortal world. And then Luke had betrayed them, had turned his back on them. Had left them. And had taken parts, large parts, of their family with him. Chris, Ethan, Alabaster... Well, Chris had returned to their side, but there were dozens of campers, family members, lost forever. Like Luke. Trusting people meant being betrayed, being left alone. The only one they could truly trust was the other. Connor and Travis, they only really had each other. They could only truly rely on each other.

"Hey, girlfriend, what got you so down?", asked Connor as he got into his jacket and saw Miranda sitting in the changing room, staring thoughtful at her phone. "Everything alright with the kids?"

"What? Yeah", nodded Miranda and looked up at the brothers. "It's just... Lou's work."

"What happened?", asked Connor and sat down next to the daughter of Demeter.

"Just two new demigods that arrived three days ago. They're too young to stay in the assisted living arrangements, they need a foster family", answered Miranda, rubbing her face.

"Can't be that hard", shrugged Travis a little disinterested. "Everybody here is a demigod, they all know how hard our lives are. Some nice, married couple surely is going to take them in, right? I mean, how old are they? If they're too young to stay on their own, surely they're still in that 'adorable age' that makes every over-twenty girl coo at them and want to coddle them."

"Your view on women is the reason why you're still single, Travis", deadpanned Miranda. "They're five. And they've already been through five foster families since they arrived here."

"In two days?", asked Connor stunned. "How did they do that?"

"Well, by being mischievous twin sons of Hermes", replied Miranda nonchalantly. "They pull as many pranks as possible until the couples return them to the DPS. Lou and the others are going insane, they have no idea what to do with those two boys."

"Mh", grunted Travis neutrally. "Come on, Con. Time to get home."

"What? Yeah. Okay", nodded Connor, staring confused at his brother. "Night, Randa."

"Night boys", replied Miranda with a short nod.

Connor and Travis didn't exchange a word on their way back to their apartment. Which wasn't all that rare, most of the time, the two brothers didn't even need words to express what they wanted to say. But this silence was different. It upset Connor, because he didn't understand it. There was a brooding cloud around Travis, one he couldn't explain.

"Do you think...", started Travis softly when he unlocked their door.

"Mh?", asked Connor encouragingly.

"The restaurant is closed tomorrow, maybe we should drop by the DPS?", suggested Travis.

"Why would we do that?", asked Connor confused.

"Just... to see if they still haven't settled in a family", shrugged Travis and bit his lip.

A small smile found its way onto Connor's face. "Yeah. I'd like that."

They knew what it felt like to be brothers and to be all alone. They knew how difficult it was to have all that natural mischief locked into their heads. It wasn't their fault that their pulled pranks. Telling them not to would be like telling Leo not to build stuff, or telling Percy not to swim. It was impossible, but other demigods just didn't understand that. They just thought what an annoyance children of Hermes could be. But there was also something else. The fear of being separated. Connor was pretty sure that was the real reason those twins tried to get away from the foster families, together. It had happened to Connor and Travis once, that they had found a foster family. Connor was just a tiny bit calmer than Travis and Connor wanted to settle down, just stay in a family for a while. Travis didn't particularly like the family. One prank, it took one prank that Travis pulled without Connor and the family was ready to send Travis away. They did. Send Travis away. It had been the first and only time that Connor and Travis had been separated and it was the worst time of Connor's life. Because Travis' intuition had been right. The family wasn't good.

If those twins had gone through five families in two days, they had surely already seen their fair share of bad foster families in the mortal world too. The twins had most likely come to the same conclusion as the Stolls in their youth. No foster family at all was better than a bad foster family.

Grabbing his younger brother around the waist, pulling him close to kiss his temple.

"Night, Connie", whispered Travis and entered his bedroom.

Connor looked after his older brother for a second before he went to his own bedroom.

/break\

Connor was just a little nervous when they entered the Demigod Protective Service headquarters. Sometimes, he liked to think of it as a secret organization and Nico di Angelo was like Nick Fury. The Stoll brothers made their way up to the bosses' offices right away. Piper Chase, Lou Ellen and Nico di Angelo. One of them must be around and know something.

When they reached the right floor, they already saw who they were looking for in a glass-walled conference room. Nico, Piper, Lou and Annabeth were loudly discussing something. Nico, Piper and Lou were the founding members of the DPS, but Annabeth, the mayor of New Athens?

"Hey guys, bad time?", asked Travis as they entered.

"What?", asked Annabeth surprised and looked up. "Oh. Hello. More Hermes-children. Great."

"Sorry about that", chuckled Piper. "She's just a little... edgy. Your newest half-siblings caused enough trouble to bring complains to the city hall."

"What can we do for you?", asked Nico, looking mildly annoyed himself. "We're pretty busy here."

"The missus", started Travis, nodding his head into Lou's direction. "Told us you have Hermes-trouble. We came to see for ourselves. Maybe we can be of help?"

"Be our guest", grunted Lou and nodded. "They're in Nico's office. Percy is watching them."

"Yeah. He actually wanted to pick his dear, sweet husband up for lunch, now he's stuck babysitting because two tricksters stole his son", stated the daughter of Athena and shook her golden-curled head. "Sorry, Nico. Your grumpiness is just getting on my nerves."

Travis and Connor exchanged a half-amused glance before leaving the conference room again and entering the office labeled with NICO DI ANGELO. What they found was just adorable. Percy was sitting on the floor, watching with cautious eyes the two young children. Twins, identical twins. Two brunette boys with green eyes. Five years old, Miranda had told them. The two children however didn't mind Percy at all. Their attention was on the youngest di Angelo child. If Connor remembered that correctly, the tiny one was two years old, barely. The chubby-cheeked toddler-version of Percy Jackson was sitting proudly on his father's office chair as though it was a throne.

"Hey, Percy", whispered Connor as he sat down next to the son of Poseidon, cautious not to disturb the three young children. "What are you and your mini-me doing here?"

"The mini-me has a name", grunted Percy defensively. "His name is Jack, so please stop calling him my mini-me. And we're here to pick Jack's daddy up, but Nico has work and then those two there just... they stole my son! I've seen children of Hermes steal a lot of stuff over the years, but I've never seen them steal a baby! Especially not mine!"

"They stole your son?", repeated Travis stunned as he too sat down.

Percy just nodded and pointed at the three children. "They said that 'it' was cute and they wanted to keep it as a pet. I think they've never seen a baby before. They don't understand he's a human too."

"Well, with the level of adorableness mini-Percy has, he sure can be mistaken as a young bunny or kitten", teased Travis with a grin and ruffled Percy's hair. "Just as cute as his mommy."

"Oh god! Oh god, oh god, oh god!", chanted one of the twins suddenly. "We broke it!"

The three adults froze and turned their attention to the children. The twin that had just talked was hiding his brother behind himself, both staring fearfully at the crying toddler on the chair. Percy sighed and stood to cradle his son in his arms, shushing him and kissing his nose.

"We're sorry!", whispered the other twin. "We didn't mean to break it. Now it's leaking... B—But it was so cute. Now it looks strange. We're sorry, please don't hurt us for breaking it."

"It was me!", blurted the other, pushing his brother even more behind himself.

Connor recognized that gesture, had seen Travis do it dozens of times. Taking the blame for his brother, doing everything to protect his brother from possible punishment or pain. The younger Stoll instantly wanted to step in, but Travis held him back, shaking his head silently, trying to convey that Percy got this situation. The son of Poseidon was smiling and kneeling down in front of the twins, holding a not crying toddler close.

"You didn't break him. And stop calling him an it", chuckled Percy in a soft voice. "His name is Jack. He's a baby. Which means he'll grow up to become like you too, just like you will grow up to one day be as tall as me. He's just... earlier than you, so he can't properly speak yet and isn't good at walking just yet. And he needs a lot of sleep. It's time for his nap, that's why he was crying."

"A... baby?", repeated the twin hiding behind his brother curiously, feeling brave enough to step forward and take a closer look at Jack di Angelo. "So it's a boy like us? But it's so tiny. I've never seen something that small. Can we play with him when he's proper like us?"

Percy laughed at that. "Yes, you can play with him when he's proper. But for now, he needs to nap."

Shifting Jack some, Percy stood and looked at the Stolls quizzically. Travis nodded shortly, telling Percy that it was okay to go and that they would take care of the twins. Sighing relieved, Percy left. Once the door closed behind the son of Poseidon, the twins turned their attention to the two remaining demigods. Since they had never seen the Stolls before, they grew suspicious again. The one twin was hiding his brother behind him again, glaring 'dangerously' at the adults.

"You're not taking Hay away from me!", declared the small child.

"Hay?", repeated Connor curiously and sat down on the floor, closer to the twins. "Is that your brother's name? And what is your name, kiddo? I'm Connor and that's my older brother, his name is Travis. Don't worry, we're not here to take anyone away."

"Why should we trust you?!", growled the boy. "You're adults!"

"Do you know what you are? That you're demigods?", asked Travis instead.

He sat down next to Connor so they were on eye-level with the children and less of a threat. The angry child just nodded slowly, holding his brother's hand tightly. The other – Hay – looked scared, but also opener. He didn't look as defensive as his brother.

"We're children of Hermes", whispered Hay – making it sound like 'her-miss'. "They say that's why no one loves us. Because we're thieves and bad. That we play tricks because we're like our father."

"You're not bad", objected Travis sharply. "Being children of Hermes doesn't make you bad."

"But we steal and adults say that's bad", mumbled Hay confused. "When we stayed with that one family, the father said that we're dirty thieves and then he hurt us, because stealing is bad."

"Hay! Shut up!", hissed his brother.

"Stealing is not that bad", grinned Connor softly, showing a turquoise marble he had pick-pocketed from Hay. "Here, I think that's yours. See? You're not the only thieves around. We're sons of Hermes too. We steal too, but we don't do it to hurt people."

Hay gasped and stared at him in awe. Being a son of Hermes, probably no one had ever managed to steal from the child. He also looked reluctant, as though he wasn't sure what would happen if he'd step up to Connor to take the marble back. Smiling a little sadly, Connor placed the marble on the floor and snipped it so it rolled over to the boy. It made Hay smile a little as he took his possession back, grabbing it tightly as though he was afraid it would be stolen again.

"They had no right to hurt you", whispered Travis softly. "And they aren't right with saying that you're bad. Many don't understand us children of Hermes. They just think we're full of... uhm... trouble. But that's not true. And not all trouble is bad."

"When mommy died, they picked us up. But if we have a daddy, why didn't he take us in?", asked Hay with sad, confused eyes. "So it's true that no one loves us. Not even dad. Only Hun loves me."

He looked up at his brother adoringly, who had his arms wrapped around the other. Hun and Hay. They were getting more and more information. Connor hummed as he stole the chocolate from Nico's locked drawer and placed it in front of the twins without anyone noticing.

"Our dad is a god", answered the younger Stoll. "Which means he's very, very busy. And he's living on Olympus. He can't take demigods like us in. That's what New Athens – what this city – is for. It's a safe place for others like us. Other demigods. Children of all the different Greek gods live here."

"Poseidon too? He can talk to fishies, right?", asked Hay wide-eyed.

"Yes, Poseidon too. The nice man that just left, he is a son of Poseidon", nodded Connor. "See, we're... good. We help each other. Those people, they try to help you. To find a place where you can stay. To find a home for you. Somewhere to be safe."

"They want to take Hay away from me!", disagreed Hun stubbornly. "They keep saying that we're too much trouble, that no one can take two children of Hermes! I can hear them! They can just let us go for good, we can go back to New York! We were fine with Abby and the others!"

"Are those your friends?", asked Travis. "From the street? Where did you live, together?"

"In the Central Park", answered Hay softly. "H—How did you know...?"

"Because it's where we were the most happy too, before we came here", replied Connor honestly. "There were no alcoholic foster mothers having a fit because of the pranks we played, no choleric foster fathers who would beat us up for being too mischievous. No foster siblings to be mean to us for invading their homes. No, the street kids were just like us and together we were safe."

Silence befell them for a moment, Connor gave the boys a little time, leaning against Travis' shoulder while watching the twins. Hay was pushing the marble around on the ground, sitting cross-legged next to his brother. He was a little relaxed by now, looked even thoughtful. But Hun, he was still cautious, glaring down at the chocolate Connor had offered them earlier.

"Can you make them let us stay together?", asked Hay softly after a little while. "Y—You said you're brothers too. And you're together. Can you make that we can stay together too?"

"If you want, you can stay with us. We know that you don't want to be separated and we would never do that to you", offered Connor without thinking about it.

"Really?", whispered Hay with hopeful, large eyes.

"Hun! Don't believe them! They're lying!", chided his brother and tugged on his hand.

"Why don't you two talk about this for a moment and we'll wait outside?", asked Travis and stood. "Your brother is right, Hay. You don't have a reason to trust us. But Hun, if you continue what you're doing, you'll drive everyone away. You think you're keeping your brother safe by keeping both of you away from strangers, but... You'll never settle down, never really be happy, if you don't stay somewhere. If you don't give it a chance. I know I can't make you trust me, but... I've once been like you and I know I would have done everything to keep Con save, just like you would do everything to keep Hay safe. And I promise you, whether you believe me or not, that if you stay with us, we'll keep you just as safe as we keep each other safe."

He tugged on Connor's hand until his younger brother followed him out of the office. The two Stolls made their way back to the conference room, where the mood had significantly changed. Defeat laid in the air. Lou, Piper and Annabeth were still busy discussing something, but in lower voices, trying not to wake the baby. Nico seemed rather distracted by his husband on his lap, who was holding the sleeping toddler in his arms while he laid curled together against Nico's chest. The picture was somewhat adorable and saddening at once for Connor.

It had always made him long for family when he saw his friends with their kids, but this right there was what he had really wanted. The way Percy held his youngest child, the love practically radiating off the son of Poseidon as he laid in the arms of the man he loved and held their baby.

"Hey. How are the twins? Calmed down?", asked Percy when he spotted the Stolls.

"They're good. Hun is relatively angry, but Hay... he can be persuaded, I think", answered Connor.

"Hun and Hay? Are those their names?", wanted Percy to know. "I didn't even get them to tell me that. They didn't talk to me at all. Only with each other, in hushed voices."

"It's what they call each other", shrugged Travis.

"Their names are Hunter and Hayden Hood", replied Lou and shoved a file over at Percy.

"No, thanks. I don't want to read it", declined the Sea Prince. "I know why I'm not working here. Hearing all the sad stories of bad childhoods... No, I've had enough of that myself. I'm glad you're helping them, but I think I... I would get too involved."

"You would adopt each and every single one of them", muttered Nico and kissed Percy's head.

"Yeah", sighed Percy with a pout, turning begging eyes on Nico. "We really can't keep them? I mean, they're... they're broken. I want to fix them. I want them to be happy. Please?"

"Percy", started Nico and heaved a sigh. "I love you very much and I love your large heart the most. But we already have seven children, Percy. And even if those two weren't up-to-no-good, mischievous little tricksters, seven children are enough."

"But they deserve a good home", protested Percy with an upset frown. "People said that about me too, that I was up to no good and useless and I... I don't want them to feel that way..."

"That's why we want to take them in", interrupted Connor firmly, gripping his brother's hand.

"You?", asked Annabeth and looked up from the file. "You want to adopt two children? I'm sorry, but do you even understand the responsibility-"

"We understand what they're feeling at the moment and we want the same as Percy. We want them to have a good home and to never feel that way again", declared Travis firmly.

"We can do that. If anyone can deal with two mischievous, thieving and pranking sons of Hermes, it's us", grinned Connor confidently. "We'll manage. We'll manage them. We can do this."

"It's not just about managing them", stated Nico and shook his head. "Do you have any idea how much trouble children are? Having them. When they're sick, when they have school but don't want to go, when they're in love. Your apartment is the epitome of a single apartment. You're not prepared for two small children, not emotionally and not apartment-wise."

"But that's what friends are for", cut Percy in, glaring at Nico, Annabeth, Piper and Lou. "I'm sorry, but none of us got a crash-course on how to be a parent either. Who are you to judge if they're made for this? They have the exact same as all of us did before we became parents. They want it. And for me, that's really all there is right now. They want those children and they want to give them a good home. For everything else, they have us. Friends with kids and experience."

"Thanks, Perce", grinned Connor softly.

"How about you two go and get a little more acquainted with your brothers-turned-sons while I work my magic as fairy godmother?", suggested Percy with a wink.

"He's kind of scary since he's a mother, isn't he?", whispered Connor softly as the Stolls left again.

Travis nodded and grinned slightly. Together, they went back to Nico's room. It had been a test, in a way. Leaving the twins on their own long enough to run. Because there was absolutely no sense in forcing the boys to stay if there was not a speck of hope in the twins that this was a safe place for them. If they were gone, perhaps it would be the best to leave the children alone for a while. They would come back, once they'd realize that this was a safe place.

"Hey, you two", smiled Connor brightly when he found the twins still sitting next to the table.

Hayden turned those large, hopeful eyes on him, chocolate around his mouth. The paper laid crumbled on the ground, all chocolate gone and most of it smeared all over the boy's faces. They hadn't run yet and they had trusted them enough to eat the chocolate. Good, so far.

"We talked to our friends and... you can stay with us, if you want. Together. No one is going to separate the two of you", stated Travis, crossing his arms over his chest. ""And even if you don't want to stay with us, I promise you that I'll make sure that wherever you end up, you'll stay together. The lot of us, we may be thieves, but have you ever heard of the honor among thieves? I promise you, on my thieving honor, I will make sure that you are staying together."

The older Stoll grunted at the impact of a tiny trickster as Hayden ran up to him and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Mister Travis. I know you'll keep your word, you look nice."

There was more than just hope in Hayden's eyes and Travis had a hunch that this boy had learned one thing during his short life so far. How to read and judge people. A survival skill very important to an orphan, especially if they were being handed from family to family. Smiling softly, Travis patted Hayden's head and returned the hug. He did notice the tender expression on Connor's face.

"What do you say? We go and eat a nice, big burger and then we show you your new home?", offered Connor, knowing the boys must have been hungry. "And fries and maybe even a coke?"

"Yes!", exclaimed Hayden and turned the most begging eyes onto his brother. "Please?"

Hunter may still not trust the Stolls, but he was probably as hungry as his twin, so he reluctantly agreed. Even though Connor knew that Katie would be chiding them horribly for taking their new sons to a burger place as the first decent meal in New Athens, Connor also knew that kids loved burgers and for now, they were still in the bribing phase.

/break\

The twins ate one and a half burgers each and more fries than should be humanly possibly. The two boys were sleepy and tired and could barely stand, so Connor and Travis had a hard time transporting the twins to their apartment. What they found inside the apartment was a little, green-eyed surprise. Percy was sitting on their couch, patiently waiting while Connor and Travis maneuvered Hunter and Hayden into Connor's room.

"This will be your room", whispered Connor while the twins crawled into the queen-sized bed. "It's not ideal yet, but we'll get you a kid-sized desk and maybe a bunk-bed, or two beds, whatever you want, tomorrow. For now, you two need to sleep, okay?"

Hayden curled together on the bed and Hunter curled protectively around his brother, both Hoods instantly asleep. Connor smiled down at them, pushing their hair out of their faces to kiss each their foreheads tenderly before the Stolls left the bedroom again.

"What are you doing here, di Angelo?", grunted Travis skeptically as he collapsed on the couch.

As always, Percy preened upon being called 'di Angelo'. Grinning at the two brothers, he gestured toward a large cardboard box. Cocking an eyebrow, Connor pulled it closer to check its content.

"What's all of that?", asked the son of Hermes surprised. "Clothes? Toys? But... your own kids..."

"Well, James may be about your twins' age, but he refuses to wear Thess' old clothes because they're all blue and James only wears black since he adores his dad above all else. No, I don't feel neglected because of that", huffed Percy with the smallest pout. "Anyway, it'll be years before they fit Jack, so I thought it would be a waste and at least for now, it'll be a good fit for the twins, right? You're busy enough as it is and you have a long list of things to buy and fix around here for the kids, so at least clothes don't have to be on top of the list for now. And the toys, well, James and Laura were being adorably noisy when they saw me packing the clothes. When I told them why I was packing, they willingly gave some of their toys away. Thess and Percy did too, even though those two disguised it with how they're already too old and too cool for this stuff anyway by now. They said that not having a mommy and a daddy is hard enough, the boys should at least have nice toys to make this easier for them and more of a home. Also, that is Mister Cuddles, he used to be Thess' favorite teddy. He says maybe the bear can make the twins feel good."

"You know, you really did something right when you raised them", whispered Connor softly.

"I know they're awesome", grinned Percy proudly. "I'm sure yours will be awesome too."

"Mh... Yeah...", mumbled Travis unsure, frowning thoughtful. "I mean... What do we need?"

"Beds, for once", chuckled Connor amused. "They're probably better off sharing my bed for now, what with this being a foreign place and all. Still, maybe bunk beds? And two wardrobes and desks and all in child size of course. Also, the room needs to change into a more child-like room."

"Your... bed...?", asked Percy confused.

"Uhm, yeah?", nodded Connor, cocking an eyebrow. "Where do you think I sleep? On the floor?"

"Uhm... in your bed? Your", answered Percy, by this time waving his fingers between Connor and Travis. "Bed. Like... uhm... your shared bed? I always thought the second bedroom was a guestroom for when someone was once again too drunk to leave your place after your parties."

"We're beyond forty. We don't sleep in bunk-beds anymore", snorted Travis and shook his head.

"I am not beyond forty", huffed Connor with a nasty glare, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Sorry. We're forty-one and thirty-nine", corrected Travis with an eye-roll. "Still no bunk-beds."

"Uhm... yeah, I wasn't thinking about bunk-beds", whispered Percy and blushed embarrassed.

It took the brothers a second to realize what Percy was implying, but once they caught on, they both blushed furiously – even more so than Percy himself – and avoided each other's gaze.

"You think that we...? We're brothers. Why would you think...?", started Travis stunned.

"I've known the two of you for twenty-five years now and not even once have I seen either of you with a boyfriend, or a girlfriend", pointed Percy out. "I mean, sure you two are flirts. You used to flirt with me, with Leo, I think I saw you flirt with Will once before Jake's rage hit you. One-night-stands, after bar-tours and parties and such, but you never went serious. You're inseparable and when you moved in together... I mean, come on. Like you just said, you're both around forty, but instead of finding a nice guy – or girl – to settle down with and have children with, you're living with each other. And now you're even adopting two children. I just... I mean, come on, look at our family tree. It's really not that frowned upon for two brothers to date. Sure, back when we went to camp, that was a little weird, but mostly so because we were raised in the mortal world and it was strange enough to suddenly have a cabin full of siblings in some cases. That doesn't change that technically speaking, we're all family in some way. Nico is, after all, my cousin too. Just because you also share a mortal mother doesn't really change all that much. I've never seen a couple more inseparable than the two of you, so... I always thought... But I'm sorry. I'm sorry for assuming and I'm sorry if I offended you with my assumption. And I think I'll take my leave now before I say any more embarrassing and stupid things. Call if you need help with the twins. Twins are a handful, believe me, I have two sets of them at home. Take care, you two."

With that, Percy left. Sadly, the awkwardness didn't. Travis and Connor explicitly didn't look at each other, just sitting there and not acknowledging each other. At one point, Connor slowly stood up, running his hands over his thighs in a nervous gesture.

""I'll... uhm... I'll take a shower. Yeah. See you later", muttered Connor confused.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll go and... eh... yeah. Wait for you", nodded Travis awkwardly.

Waiting. Wasn't that what he kept telling himself that he was doing? Waiting for the right one to come around. That was why he wasn't settling down, because the right one hadn't come around yet. So he was just waiting. Waiting for the right one to come to him and embrace him.

"What are you doing, Trav?", whispered Connor when he wrapped his arms around Travis' shoulders from behind. "You look brooding. Even worse so than Nico di Angelo."

Travis shuddered when he felt the warmth of his younger brother against his back. He hadn't even realized he had spend that much time sitting on his bed, brooding. But obviously his brother had already finished showering. Kneeling on the bed, right behind Travis, Connor rested his head on his brother's shoulder. It felt good, had always felt good. Like safety. Because Travis only felt safe when he knew that his brother was safe. There was no one more important in Travis' life, not even himself. And no one could ever be more important than Connor.

"Do you think...", started Travis with a frown. "I mean, we never talked about this, but... Once one of us actually does... find someone, we obviously can't keep living together. Is that why we never, I mean, why you never brought anyone home and I never did either. Because bringing someone would mean that someone would invade our life? Is that... What am I going to do with myself once you actually... get married and have a bunch of kids and all?"

"Yeah, let's delay the heavy stuff some, mh?", chuckled Connor and collapsed backward on the bed. "We just adopted two kids. And now you start planning our separate future? Look, no chick or dude is ever going to make me abandon you, Trav. You're my brother. After everything we've been through, no stranger could ever just replace you, idiot. Now can we go to bed, please?"

"You're right. Yes", nodded Travis slowly and stripped down to his boxers. "I'm sorry, I just... Percy thinks we're dating. And you know, if Percy thinks that, then at least Annabeth and Nico are thinking the same, because there is not a thought crossing Percy's mind that is not getting shared with his best friend and his husband and if they'd think he was mistaken, they would have told him otherwise. Though, thinking about it... Do you... Do you think that that's why none of our friends ever tried to set us up with anyone, even though we're friends with a daughter of Aphrodite?"

"Can we please stop talking about this?", sighed Connor as he snuggled into the covers. "Look, we just... we just adopted two small kids and now you're afraid our life will change? If anything, those two are an insurance that our life is going to stay this way for a while, because I want Hayden and Hunter to have a good home, a stable home. Just... please? Sleep? I'm tired."

Nodding slowly, Travis laid down next to his brother, wrapping his arms around the younger Stoll and tugging him close. Connor hummed contently as he cuddled up to his brother.

/break\

The first month actually went smoother than anyone would have expected. In fact, either Piper, Lou or Nico asked at least once a day how it was going. But the Stolls worked it out, somehow. Seeing as the brothers were taking turns anyway at the restaurant – one cooking the lunch-time and the other taking over for evening, then they would switch the next week. This turned out to be perfect with the twins, because one of the Stolls were constantly at home, to make sure the kids were alright. And they were. Both Hoods were very timid and didn't talk a lot, well they talked a lot with each other, but not with anyone else. They spend most of their time together in their room and even though they had gotten bunk-beds, they most of the times still ended up curled together as small as possible in the corner of one of the beds. But so far, they hadn't tried running. Not even once. And for Connor, that meant more than anything. Though he suspected that that was all thanks to Hayden and the way Hayden already adored the Stolls. Hayden wanted this to work, he wanted to find a home and a family. Sure, both were still hoarding food, hiding it in their pockets when they thought the Stolls weren't looking. They still carried their most important possessions close by, in case they hastily had to run. But they hadn't. It was what Connor clung to. They hadn't run yet. They were prepared, if they had to. Yes, but he got that, he understood that they were preparing for the worst-case-scenario. But so far, they hadn't left. And that meant so much to Connor.

It meant much to Connor, but Connor had no idea what it meant to Travis. And that was more troublesome than anything he had ever experienced. It also scared him more than anything before.

Sure, he did his very best to build a good relationship with the twins – they had painted the walls together, in a light turquoise color that leaned more toward blue than green. They got the twins bunk-beds and identical desks with tiny cute lamps. And additional to the toys and clothes they had gotten from Percy, they had also gone on a shopping spree with the kids. Even though the twins didn't want anything, refused to take anything for themselves. Which didn't stop Connor from picking the things he saw the Hoods wanting, even though they denied it. Him and Travis kept bringing food home from work – mostly so that the kids that were used to eating scrapes could finally try all the delicious and various meals. While Hayden was a total sweet tooth, Hunter actually had a good eye for the finer aspects of food, which was a great surprise considering his age. Connor remembered that at that age, he had just wolfed down everything he could grab without even thinking about taste at all. But Hunter was like a tiny gourmet, which was adorable.

So while his relationship with the Hoods improved greatly – even Hunter couldn't resist Connor's story-telling came bedtime – his relationship with Travis was slowly crumbling to pieces. They used to be so close, it was normal that they would walk hand in hand, always restore some kind of body-contact between each other to assure themselves that the other was alright and unharmed. They did occasionally cuddle up, for warmth and such. Hug, give each other a massage when work had drained them too much. And okay, looking back at their interactions made it clear to Connor where Percy was coming from. Still, ever since Percy's visit, Travis literally shied away from him. One time, the older Stoll even jumped when Connor had touched him without a warning. Whenever Connor would seek out his brother, Travis would turn his back on him. The older was trying to bring as much distance between them as possible. Not just in the physical sense, but also emotionally. Travis had shut himself off, was not giving anything away. He even refused to talk to Connor about it when Connor had decided to confront his brother.

"Connor? Are you... Do you have a minute?", asked Miranda in a kind voice.

She was poking her brunette head into the kitchen, frowning worried. Connor took a swift look around, noting how everything was set and done for now. There weren't a lot of customers at the moment in the restaurant and they were all already served. Nodding slowly, he turned toward her.

"What's up, 'Randa?", smiled the son of Hermes, wiping his hands on a towel.

"It's... really none of my business and I tried not to... uhm, well, to get involved and such", stuttered the brunette girl, obviously nervous. "A—And I'm not judging or anything, I just worry, you see-"

"Get to the point before my shift is over, will you?", snorted Connor a little amused.

"Are you and Travis fighting?", blurted Miranda out, staring wide-eyed. "I mean, I know how much a toddler changes things. Lou and I used to get into some minor fights too when Kitty was small, but you and Travis, I'm sure you can get past that. I just... I just want you to know that you don't have to... to let it get to you. The two of you have a stronger relationships than most other couples I know, so I know you'll pull through. You just... have to continue working as a team and-"

"We're not a couple", interrupted Connor mildly annoyed.

That stopped the daughter of Demeter's rambling and made her stare for a moment. "What? I..."

"Yes, yes, you thought that we are a couple. Just like Percy", sighed Connor exhausted.

"Uhm, actually... We all kind of thought...", drawled Miranda, letting the sentence hang while blushing furiously. "This is sort of... awkward. I'm sorry. You two just always..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever", growled Connor defensively. "That's exactly the problem. Because now Travis won't even as much as talk to me. At first, he was just pulling back, but in the last two days... h—he... He isn't even talking to me anymore! It's like he's afraid of me or something!"

He had slowly talked himself into a rage, fisting his hair and cursing below his breath. Miranda stared at him with pity and slowly walked up to him to pull him into a tight hug.

"It's going to be alright", said Miranda soothingly, rubbing Connor's back. "It doesn't matter if the two of you are a couple or not, you're still the best functioning duo I ever met. Just... give him some time to figure everything out, you'll fix your relationship again and return to how it used to be."

"W—What...", murmured Connor, barely audible, muffled by Miranda's hair. "What if I don't want it to go back to the way it used to be...? W—What if I... want more...?"

"What?", asked the daughter of Demeter stunned.

"It's... I... Since Percy told us what you guys are thinking about us, I can't... stop thinking about it", confessed the brunette boy embarrassed. "It was always... natural, the way Trav and I were. We were just... us. We never put a name or label on what we are, but there is also that line we never crossed. Like... kissing or, well, more. And I never thought about it either. It was just... Trav and I, we were us and we were perfect the way things were. But now that I... that I have a label for what we are, I can't stop thinking about what else could be and I... want it..."

"It'll be alright, Connor", whispered Miranda, kissing the top of his head. "I know it will."

"Well, once the two of you are done making out, you could head home to the twins, brother."

Connor froze when he heard the nearly disgusted voice of his brother. There was also the matter of Travis only calling him 'brother'. Not Connor, or Con, not even the occasional and overly affectionate Connie he sometimes used. As though he was clinging to their family-relationship.

"I'm a married woman, so I take offense in such accusations", snarled Miranda with a nasty glare as she walked past Travis, deliberately hip-checking him. "FYI, I was only trying to fix your mess."

"Randa", hissed Connor with a glare of his own before looking at his brother briefly. "It was... nothing. I'll go back to Hun and Hay. At least they talk to me without being condescending."

/break\

Being at home made him happy, because Hunter and Hayden were there. Hayden sat perched at the edge of the couch, intensely staring at the door. Something Connor had noticed after the first week. Hayden would sit there and wait, during that short time between the Stolls' shifts, when they were being watched by their neighbor. Hayden waited. Waited if they would come back. Because Hayden wanted them to come back. Unlocking the door, he smiled at the small brunette.

"Connor! You're back!", smiled Hayden brightly, clinging to Mister Cuddles.

Hunter was sitting next to his brother, decidedly not looking at the door, his arms crossed stubbornly. Still, the boy relaxed a little when Connor entered the apartment. Hunter wasn't ready to admit it yet, but he too wanted to stay there. Connor could see it in his eyes.

"Thanks, Pipes", smiled Connor as he peeked into the kitchen.

Piper waved a hand dismissively as she put the last groceries into the fridge. She was a blessing. Well, all Chases were. One of them – may it be Annabeth, Piper, or their oldest daughter Thea – was always willing to watch over the twins for the half hour it took one Stoll to get to work and send the other home. They also often went groceries shopping for the Stolls. Well, normally only Thea did it because the sixteen-years old was feeling responsible and mature whenever she got to do such adult-things. Also, she was grateful for every minute she could escape her three younger brothers.

"No problem, I remember how overwhelmed me and Annabeth were when we first had Thea", smiled Piper amused. "And you and Travis often saved our behinds with short-notice babysitting."

"How were the twins behaving?", asked Connor as he hung his jacket.

"Little angels full of mischief", grinned the daughter of Aphrodite, looking over at the boys.

"So you two boys were good?", smiled Connor proudly, one hand on each Hood's head.

Hayden looked up at him with those adoring, large eyes, still hugging Mister Cuddles tightly. Hunter was still glaring, but he also leaned up into the touch some. Which only made Connor smile some more and lean down to kiss their foreheads softly.

"Now, I'll take my leave. Mattie is being very pouty whenever he can't play guardian angel to Percy's mini-me. Oh, damn. I'm spending too much time with you", sighed Piper and rubbed her forehead. "Jackson. Not mini-Percy. Anyway, Mattie has developed this obsession that he's Jack's guardian ever since he slayed that 'dangerous' spider that was 'attacking' Jack. You know those tiny versions of Percy with their large, sea-green eyes. Matt was hooked the moment Jack looked up at him as though he was his one, sole hero that just saved his life. They're adorable. But on the downside, Matt gets unbearable whenever he can not be around to protect Jack."

"Huh, damn those junior di Angelos", grunted Connor with a nod. "They're hard to deny. Kind of like their mother. And so much not like their father. Like, at all. Very weird."

"Maybe adorableness is a dominant gene and they all got it from Percy?", suggested Piper.

"Most likely", agreed Connor and hugged her briefly. "Anyway, get back to the wife and kids. Thanks a lot, you're a blessing. I'll just heat up dinner for the twins."

Piper waved shortly and told the twins good-bye before leaving. With one eye out on the twins, Connor took care of food for his sons. The thought made him smile brightly. Somewhere deep down he had already put that dream aside some years ago. But now he had that. Had two very amazing and adorable sons, with that one person he loved more than anyone. If only Travis would...

"What's for dessert?", asked Hayden softly, tugging on Connor's shirt.

The boy was a real sweet tooth. Grinning slightly, Connor sneaked a cookie out of the sweets-hiding-place and handed it to Hayden, who looked at it like a starving man. Licking his lips eagerly, he started nibbling the cookie and leaned against Connor. Something Connor truly valued. The moments when Hayden would feel safe and comfortable enough to snuggle up to Connor.

"Mh!", grunted Hunter demandingly, tugging on Connor's shirt from the other side. "Dinner?!"

"Your favorite, bugger", smiled Connor, ruffling the boy's head. "Spaghetti with a tomato-sauce with bacon and chanterelle, also a side of champignons for Hayden's more sensible taste-buds."

"Is not sensible", disagreed Hayden with a frown. "Just don't like the nasty mushrooms, they look like evil champignons. But I like the bacon. And the spaghetti."

"Then everyone is happy, mh?", offered the older son of Hermes good-natured.

"And dessert?", asked Hunter sharply, knowing that Connor hadn't answered earlier.

"Well, that depends on whether or not you have cleaned your room", countered Connor.

And suddenly he was pulled off the stove and toward his former bedroom. And it was practically sparkling. All the toys – and by now there were a lot of toys, because all friends of the Stolls had taken the twins as the 'next big step' in Connor's and Travis' relationship so they felt the need to shower the kids with presents – were neatly lined up on their respective shelves, as were the books Malcolm and Annabeth had insisted on them buying. Their desks were organized too, their crayons nicely lined up sorted by color and the paper on a stack.

"How did you make Piper clean your room for you?", asked Connor with a deadpan.

"We did not ask auntie Piper to do that!", gasped Hayden wide-eyed. "She just helped!"

"A—Auntie Piper, huh?", repeated Connor with a twinge of pain.

The boys looked at him strangely. Well, he was probably making a weird face, at least to them. Smiling strained, he shook his head and ruffled their hair in a praising manner before returning to the kitchen. The twins were trailing after him like two ducklings. Very adorable ducklings.

"I brought each of you one of Miranda's famous hazelnut-chocolate muffins", replied Connor.

"Yey!", exclaimed Hayden happily, dancing around Connor in excitement.

/break\

Dinner was a calm matter, dessert not so much. Or at least, the time after dinner wasn't. Because Hayden had eaten all three muffins – his own, Hunter's and Connor's – and now he had a stomach-ache. Which in itself would have been easily handled, but it was January and storming, so additional to Hayden's upset stomach, the sky was dark and stormy, with thunder, lightning and with rain hitting the windows hard and loud. And the twins were terrified of storms. Normally, they crawled under the lower bunk and hid themselves there until it was over, but since Hayden wasn't feel well anyway, the situation was more intense now. Intense, as in Connor could hear them cry.

Looking at the clock, he noticed that it was barely past seven in the evening. Biting his lip, he put the book aside and stood to check on them. He always did that, but they kept to themselves. Hunter tried his best to be strong enough for the both of them, to make sure they didn't need anyone. So it was even more concerning to find Hunter to be the one crying. He sat on the lower bed, next to his brother, who was curled together into a tight ball, holding his probably still aching belly.

"Hey, hey. Everything's fine, boys", whispered Connor softly and walked hastily up to the bed.

"Make him alright again", demanded Hunter, sobbing slightly. "I—I don't want Hay in pain a—and it's dark and thundery and scary. Make it go away. I—I need Hay."

"Of course you do", smiled Connor tenderly, hugging both twins.

He knew it. Hunter was being strong, but he could only be strong as long as he had Hayden. He could only be brave during past storms because he had Hayden curled up against him. Right now though, Hayden was a little preoccupied with his stomach. Cradling Hayden in his arms, he stood.

"I'll go and make you another tea to calm your stomach, sweetheart", offered Connor. "Come, Hunter. You two can stay over tonight, mh? I'll keep you safe from the evil storm."

Only for a second did Hunter look reluctant before he jumped off the bed and followed Connor. His fear won out against his skepticism toward the Stolls. While making the tea, Connor sat Hayden down on top of the kitchen-counter, where Hunter soon joined his brother and hugged him.

"Do you want a hot cocoa, Hunter?", asked Connor softly as not to startle him.

"Uhu", nodded Hunter in the most timid and small voice possible.

After a few minutes, he handed Hayden a hot, calming healing-tea (courtesy of the local children of Apollo) and Hunter a feel-good cocoa, with lots of honey and some marshmallows on top. He just hoped that Hunter wouldn't get the same stomach-ache as his brother though.

"How about you finish those drinks in bed?", offered Connor when he saw Hunter jump at a rather loud rumble of thunder. "We can curl together beneath the blanket, mh?"

He took the cups back so the kids could dash off to Travis' bedroom – it seemed as though Hayden was already feeling better again, which was a huge relief. It was Travis' bedroom. Travis' bed, his desk, his paperwork on top of said desk, his closet (even though that was half-occupied by Connor's clothes now too). It wasn't as though the Stolls had found the money or energy to turn Travis' bedroom into their bedroom. Well, it wasn't as though it was their bedroom anymore anyway. Travis downright refused to sleep in the same bed as Connor, heck, sometimes Connor had the feeling that Travis refused to be in the same room as Connor. And it hurt.

"Do you want to hear a story?", asked Connor as he sat down on the large bed, one Hood attaching himself on either side of him and greedily taking their respective drinks. "About a great hero who could talk to fishies and horses and how he saved his mom from the underworld?"

It had all the ingredients. Hunter loved heroes. Hayden loved children of Poseidon (he seemed to really like water and its creatures). And both... well, both had lost their mother for good. A sweet story about a brave boy who got his happy ending, maybe that was what they needed.

/break\

Travis cursed slightly beneath his breath as he looked out of the window while getting changed.

"Good luck getting home without getting soaked", joked Katie from the door.

"Well, we have towels at home", muttered Travis dismissively.

"And I'm sure Connor wouldn't mind making you a nice, hot tea?", asked Katie teasingly.

"Shut up", grunted the son of Hermes defensively.

Much to his annoyance, Katie did not shut up. Instead, the daughter of Demeter sat down right in front of him and glared judgmentally at him. At first, he tried to ignore her. Not very effective.

"Why are you hurting yourself like that, Travis?", asked Katie curiously.

"I have no idea what you're talking about", grunted Travis stubbornly.

"You're treating Connor like crap, which hurts him, which in return hurts you", pointed Katie out.

"I'm not treating him like crap!", defended Travis furiously. "He's the most precious thing in my life, I just... I just try to protect him, okay? It's... It's better for him."

"What are you talking about?", asked the daughter of Demeter surprised.

"He's... He is the most precious thing in my life", whispered Travis with a crestfallen look, collapsing on the bench right next to Katie and hiding his face in his hands. "I can't lose him..."

"Then stop chasing him away, Travis", advised Katie softly, patting his knee.

"I'm just... Just keeping myself away from him", muttered the son of Hermes darkly. "I can't... I can't stop thinking about him and... not in the way I used to. I—I'm afraid that if... if I'm alone with him, that I'll do something that will ruin our relationship forever."

"And what would that be?", poked Katie further.

"Kissing him", admitted Travis in such a hushed voice, Katie barely heard it. "Touching him. In a not brotherly way. Making... Making love to him. Keeping him."

"Oh", nodded the daughter of Demeter stunned.

"Yeah", agreed Travis, looking completely devastated.

"Wow", whispered Katie and shook her head. "And... Have you thought about telling him? I mean, he's... You two, you understand each other. You help each other. You should talk to him."

"It'll ruin everything!", protested Travis darkly and grabbed his jacket, hastily putting it on. "You know, you have no idea. You don't know what it's like. What it has been like for the two of us. For the biggest part of our life, we only had each other. We always supported each other. What is he supposed to do when I confront him? Have my back and support me? Hah. He's going to be disgusted and disappointed and he'll move out, get as far away from me as possible and he'll take the twins with him a—and then I'll have no one. I'll have no one and I'll be alone and I'll lose the one person that's basically been my life. And I can't. I just can't."

Katie looked up at him with tears in the corners of her eyes. Sometimes, like right now, she was stunned into silence by how much those two up-to-no-good tricksters had matured since their childhood. They still pulled pranks and their heads were still full of mischief, but... They had grown. A lot. If someone would have asked her twenty years ago where she'd see herself, she would have never answered that she'd have a business, a restaurant, with her little sister and the Stolls. She would have punched that person probably, especially for suggesting that she was actually friends with the two boys who had tormented her cabin with their pranks for years.

"It'll be alright", reassured Katie as she pulled Travis into the tightest hug possible. "Because he loves you. And even if he may not love you the way... you love him, he still loves you so very much because you're his big brother and he adores you and he will never leave you. But right now, you're hurting him. You're hurting him so badly and we both know that that's not what you want. Don't... Don't make yourself and him miserable. Believe me, it would be better to come clean and face his judgment than making him hate himself like that. Because right now he's thinking that he did something awful to make you avoid him like that. And... think about the kids too. They're new to your home, what are they supposed to think? You two keep avoiding each other. They have enough abandonment issues as it is, they're so afraid to end up in a bad home. If the two of you keep behaving the way you do, it's only a matter of time before they run away to avoid the obvious conclusion that a fight between their foster parents will lead to them being returned like some unwanted presents. They're going to blame themselves and think that because they caused your fight, you will give them away again. Don't do that to them. They're only children."

"You must be an amazing mother. You have that guilt-stuff perfected to an art", pouted Travis.

He knew she was right. The Hoods would at one point notice that something was up and if the parents fight, it were the children who suffered. And it always were the foster kids that just got dumped to reduce the problem. Him and Connor had been at the receiving end of that themselves once before, where they were 'just too much' and 'straining the relationship'. Never would he want them to feel that way, because the Hood were the best damn thing that had ever entered his life. Not counting Connor, because Connor was his life. Those two brats were perfect. They had so much mischief in their little heads and Hunter was a genius when it came to thinking up pranks, considering his young age, while Hayden was amazing at covering up their tracks. They were the perfect legacy for the Stolls. And having them made Connor so very, very happy that it made Travis' heart speed up. It had always been the most important thing to him to make Connor happy. But children, that had been the one wish he couldn't fulfill. Not that they had ever talked about children prior to the Hoods, but they just knew each other too well, always had. It had been easy for Travis to read Connor and see that Connor longed for children, judging by the way he always looked longingly at their friends whenever those held their own children. But now, whenever Connor got to hold Hayden (who was quite affectionate, unlike his brother), he was practically glowing with happiness. Right now, their life could be more perfect than ever before, but Percy di Angelo had to come along and ruin it with his adorable clumsiness when it came to feelings. Of course he had to make Travis aware of what he was really feeling – and honestly, why had that to be the very first time that Percy had been head on right when it came to romantic feelings, now of all times! Now his relationship with Connor was awkward and weird, something it had never been before. Well, maybe it had been slightly so whenever one of them was hooking up with someone, which had always been the reason why they never went serious with someone. Because a boyfriend or girlfriend took too much time away from their time with each other.

"Thanks", whispered Travis into the long, brunette curls. "I—I should go home before they worry."

"Yes, you should. And so should I. Malcolm is going to pout if I leave him alone with Andy and Amy again", smiled Katie amused, kissing his cheek. "You'll be alright. I know it."

/break\

Travis was soaked to the bone by the time he reached their home. The storm was horrible and it had been getting worse since six or so. It was around nine when he entered the apartment. Relatively late, what with his conversation with Katie later than normal, but still not past Connor's bedtime. So it was a little confusing and worrisome that the whole apartment was dark. Normally, Connor would be curled together on the couch, reading a book or watching something on his laptop with the headphones on (since the television was too loud and would wake the twins up). Sometimes, he would also just eat the left overs from the restaurant since he scarcely got to eat while the twins were eating because he was too busy fussing over them. But he would at any rate sit in the living room and wait for Travis. He never went to his bedroom before Travis was home. Not before when they had lived without the twins, not while they had shared a room and not even during Travis' stubborn phase now that he was sleeping on the couch in the living room. Even now Connor normally stayed in the living room until Travis would come and only then he would retreat to the bedroom. So he must have reached that point, Travis supposed. The point where Travis had driven him too far away, so far that Connor didn't even care about Travis anymore, didn't care whether or not Travis came home at all. It saddened Travis immensely, broke his heart even. All little bravery he had gathered on his way here after his conversation with Katie was gone again at that realization. He didn't matter. And worse yet, Katie was right. He would drive Connor to the point where Connor would pack his things and just leave Travis. And take the twins with him.

The twins. He hastily dried himself off in the bathroom, throwing his wet clothes onto the floor for now, too tired to bother with putting them away. Since they kept the 'comfy clothes' in the bathroom anyway for getting comfortable after showering after work, he could right away change into loose jogging pants and a plain turquoise shirt. Once that was done, he turned toward Connor's former bedroom to check up on the twins. Something he always did when he came home after the late shifts, to make sure they were safe and asleep. Seeing as there was a storm outside, he simply had to make sure his sons were alright, since they hated storms. Their mother had died in a car crash during a stormy night, on a slippery road. The twins had been present, stuck in the car during the rest of the storm, together with their mother's dead body. So those two, they had all reason to be scared of storms. Bracing himself for the worst, he opened the bedroom door. Just to find it empty. Both bunks were unused and the twins weren't even hiding beneath the bed as they usually did. Worry started to suffocate Travis at that. Where could they be? Did they run, after all? Had his behavior toward Connor truly led to them running away once more?

If his heart would break any more this night, he would be dieing of it. Frowning upset, he slowly stepped out of the children's bedroom. Unsure what to do, he walked up to his former bedroom. Well, it was still his bedroom but since he had given it up for the sake of Connor having a bed, he now considered it Connor's. It was obvious that Connor didn't want anything to do with him anymore, if he had given up on waiting for him, but the twins were missing, so he had to talk to Connor about this. They had to find the twins, even if it would mean for Travis to walk through all of New Athens in this horrible weather, he would not rest before he had their sons back.

"Connor?", whispered Travis as he opened the door and found the room dark.

So maybe there was still hope. Maybe Connor hadn't waited for him because for once, he had been so tired that he went to bed early. Maybe he hadn't ruined their relationship beyond repair yet.

"Sh! Don't wake him, he's asleep!", replied Hunter in a hushed voice.

Travis blinked a couple of times as he entered the room fully and stepped up to the bed. Connor laid there, sprawled all over the bed, with one Hood tugged under each of his arms. Hayden looked relatively content and very much asleep, with Mister Cuddles squished between him and Connor as the boy laid half on top of the adult. But Hunter was on high alert, staring out of the window as though he could will the storm to stop. Tilting his head, Travis sat down on the bed.

"Hey, Hunter", whispered the oldest son of Hermes with a small smile. "What are you doing here?"

"He said it's okay!", defended Hunter hastily. "T—That we should stay because of the storm and-"

"Sh, I didn't mean it like that, Hunter", murmured Travis and hugged the child. "Of course you can stay. I just... I was worried when I wanted to give you your good-night-kisses and you two weren't in your room. Connor is right, you can stay here whenever you're afraid."

Hunter wrapped his arms around Travis' waist and buried his face in the adult's chest. "Hay fell asleep when he told us a bedtime story and then he fell asleep too, but I didn't want to wake him..."

Hunter was relatively good at distancing himself. So far, he had managed not to call Connor and Travis anything. Not even by their names, most likely because he didn't want to get attached just to be abandoned again. Hugging the boy tighter, Travis kissed the top of Hunter's head.

"You should have", murmured Travis. "Connor wouldn't have minded. He's surely going to feel guilty tomorrow that he fell asleep while you were still scared. Now, how about you sleep too? I promise I'll stay awake and watch over you until the evil storm is gone, sounds good?"

"Yes, please", nodded Hunter with a slight pout.

Laying down on the bed, he pulled Hunter up against his chest. The child was now laying back to back with his twin, while Connor and Travis were laying on their other sides, kind of cocooning them. Hunter was still trembling though, jumping every time thunder rumbled through the sky.

"Does this mean you're not fighting anymore?", asked Hunter after a little while.

"Mh?", grunted Travis confused, running his fingers through Hunter's hair.

"You've been sleeping on the couch", pointed Hunter out. "Mommies and daddies sleep in the same bed. But daddies have to sleep on the couch when they anger the mommies. But you're here now. So does that mean he forgave you for angering him? Is it... Is it alright again...? O—Or... do... we..."

"This has absolutely nothing to do with you", assured Travis softly. "Whatever kind of problems Connor and I are having, they don't affect how we feel about you and Hayden. We adopted the two of you. You're our sons now. You're here to stay. We will not leave you again and we will never let anyone take you away from us. Adults are big and stupid sometimes, but it doesn't mean we love you any less. Because we do. We love you two very much. So don't worry about it, Hunter."

"And do you love him?", asked Hunter innocently, frowning confused.

"More than can be measured", whispered Travis a little sad. "Now stop thinking about it and sleep."

"Okay", nodded Hunter and closed his eyes, yawning sleepily. "But you should tell him. Because it's good to hear that... that there's someone who loves you. I... uhm... Hay likes knowing that you really love him and want to keep him. And I'm sure he... uhm... d... daddy wants to hear it too."

Gulping hard, Travis nodded stiffly. Hunter sounded so insecure and unsure as he mumbled the word, for the very first time since he had moved in with the Stolls. Pulling the boy closer, he kissed his forehead tenderly. This was a big step, the biggest so far. It nearly made him sad that Connor was asleep. Then again, that sap would probably cry out of joy that Hunter called him daddy.

"You're right, Hunter", agreed Travis with a small smile. "You're a clever kid. But now it's time to sleep, mh? No more big thinking, or else you'll turn into a son of Athena."

"Ew! No egghead!", yelped Hunter and giggled slightly before yawning and snuggling back into Travis' embrace. "Okay. Good night... paps... A—And don't forget to tell him, yes?"

A tiny but very proud smile lit up Travis' face at that. So he was paps then? He liked the sound of that. It had a nice ring to it, especially coming from Hunter. That thought kept him awake and happy until the child in his arms finally fell into a peaceful slumber.

/break\

"Connie, come on. It's time to wake up if you want to take a shower before work."

"Mh...", grunted Connor in reply, hiding his face in the crook of Travis' neck.

The older Stoll chuckled softly at that, running his fingers through brunette hair while his other hand rested on Connor's lower back in a half embrace. That was what Connor woke up to and for a moment, he was sure he was still dreaming. But the mischievous grinning face was real.

"Trav...?", asked Connor unsure, sitting up some. "What...?"

"When I came home last night and wanted to kiss the kids good night, they weren't there. I freaked out. Went to you to wake you and tell you that they're gone, but... well, they were with you", replied Travis, his hand weighting heavy on Connor's lower back. "You and Hayden were already deep asleep, but Hunter was still shaking, so I climbed in and held him until he fell asleep."

"I—I fell asleep before him?", groaned Connor ashamed, hiding his face in Travis' chest. "I..."

"Hey, you were tired too, it's not your fault, Connie", whispered Travis softly. "Besides, Hunter had me, okay? I stayed with him and kept him safe. You're not alone in this, they're our sons."

"I felt quite alone in the past weeks", muttered Connor darkly.

But before Travis had a chance to apologize or explain anything, the door got opened widely by a brightly beaming Hayden, leading the way as his brother followed with a tray in his hands. There were eggs and toast and orange juice on the tray. The toast was badly burned, more coal than bread really, with about an inch of butter and even more jam on top.

"Daddy! Papa! We made breakfast!", declared Hayden proudly and jumped into Connor's arms.

Connor's head was reeling. Daddy? Papa? Breakfast? And Travis was in the same bed as him, still. Had he slipped into the twilight zone while sleeping? Because something here was weird. But the very best weird possible, so if this was the twilight zone, he'd love to stay. Travis' arms sneaked around his waist, pulling him up against his brother's chest.

"Hunter called us that last night, when we talked", whispered Travis lowly into Connor's ear. "You know how big that is, coming from Hunter. The two sneaked out this morning early and I heard them whisper. I think they discussed it. I think... I think they now settled for us. As a family."

Hayden was still happily chatting away on how they had made breakfast while Hunter climbed to join them, placing the tray on Connor's lap and sitting down on the Stolls' other side so the Hoods were sitting left and right of the adults, staring up at them demandingly.

"You have to eat!", ordered Hunter, pointing at the food.

"Of course, darling", smiled Connor and ruffled the boy's hair.

The masses of butter on the toast proved to be a blessing because it covered up the taste of coal from beneath. The eggs were only half-way right, the rest was still gooey. But it was the damn best thing Connor had ever eaten in his entire life. Because their sons had made it, for them, to show them that they loved Travis and Connor and wanted to stay, to be a family.

/break\

Things got better from that point on. For the next half week, Travis went back to sleeping in his own bed, together with Connor. And he talked again and finally stopped being grumpy. Hayden and Hunter were as affectionate as never before. So in the end, Connor was the happiest ever.

He hadn't found the time to actually talk to Travis about important things – like his feelings for the older Stoll – but he also didn't want to talk about it. Not now that they were finally back to their old selves and depending on each other. He couldn't risk anything, not with Hunter and Hayden finally trusting them. If he'd screw it up now, he'd not just screw his own life anymore.

This week was his turn with the late shifts and damn was he glad that the restaurant would be closed tomorrow and it was their day off, because the late shifts always drained him so much more than the early ones did. With taking care of the twins from morning till late afternoon and then having to go to work. No, the other way around was better. Because the twins were their most energetic and draining in the early hours, while the evening shift of Hood-sitting was actually very nice, because they wanted to hear stories and went to bed early and such things.

"Honeys, I'm home!", announced Connor as he stumbled through the door.

Before he could even close the door, Travis had taken his coat and shopping bags, smiling at Connor so blindingly. Connor blinked a couple of times and looked after his older brother.

"I drew you a bath. It's still steaming, you should get in before it gets cold."

He wanted to say hello to the Hoods, but the promise of a bath was too tempting. Besides, if the twins were so peacefully playing that Connor couldn't even hear them, then he should use that opportunity for some Connor-time. It was desperately needed after the last month of having two energetic children, a bratty big brother and work, where he barely had five minutes to himself. The moment he closed the bathroom door, he slipped out of his clothes. The bathroom smelt of lavender and there were more bubbles than water in that bathtub. Candles were lit all around the bathroom and his favorite book was laying next to the bathtub. Smiling slightly, he took the book and climbed into the tub, relaxing into the perfectly temperatured water.

For the next half hour, Connor was in a serene state of mind. This was exactly what he needed. Sadly enough, the water slowly went cold so he climbed out again and got dressed. With a small, happy smile did Connor leave the bathroom again. He could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen as he walked through the living room to his former bedroom.

"Hey, boys, I think dinner will be ready soon", chimed Connor as he checked on the boys, though then his grin died down. "Hunter? Hayden? Boys? Where are you? Travis!"

In less than a second, Travis was at his side. "What? What's wrong? Are you hurt?"

"The boys are gone!", exclaimed Connor with rising panic.

"No, they're just over at Miranda's", smiled Travis, resting one hand on Connor's shoulder. "Since Lou took the kids for a weekend away, Miranda said she would take them over night."

"Why would she take them over night?", asked Connor confused. "And where's Lou?"

"Lou is going to introduce their children to the-one-who-shall-not-be-named", smirked Travis knowingly. "Also, I may now owe Miranda a favor for this, so we're probably going to end up watching over Basty and Kitty once Lou returns so they can have some alone time too."

"Why would you do that...?", asked Connor confused, cocking his head.

Travis guided Connor over to a set table with the largest pizza in the middle. "Because you and me need to seriously talk, without the twins butting in. Also, we need some bonding time."

Nodding numbly, Connor sat down. He was actually grateful for the pizza, because they were eating their self-cooked stuff all the time. But even though both of them wanted to talk, neither of them said anything. At least not until the last crumb of pizza was done for.

"Before Lou left, did you...", started Connor unsure.

"Yeah. I told her to tell Alabaster that we miss him", whispered Travis with the smallest smile.

They knew that Lou sometimes sneaked away to secretly meet Alabaster, even though the banished ones were not allowed to interact with the demigods who had been on the good side. Not that the two children of Hecate cared all that much, they had their magic to hide themselves long enough to spend at least a couple of hours every few months with each other. Since the children of Hecate used to live with the Hermes cabin in the old days, Connor and Travis used to have a lot to do with Lou and Alabaster, just as they used to with Ethan.

"It's nice", mused Connor with a far-off look in his eyes. "That Alabaster gets to know his niece and nephew. Him and Lou used to be close, when we were still all at camp, before the... war. I wish Luke would get to... meet his nephews too. He'd love the Hoods."

"Technically speaking, the Hoods are our brothers just as they would have been Luke's."

"Yeah, our sperm-donor of a father created two awesome sons once again and left them. No, they're ours", huffed Connor with a glare. "He abandoned them, we take care of them. They're our sons."

"But... if he hadn't abandoned them, if they had found a nice mortal foster family... they – probably all of them even – would have died. There are enough monsters out there in the mortal world and having two demigods there whose blood would be calling out to them? It wouldn't have worked, not on the long run. And... And the Hoods wouldn't be ours then and we would have never met."

"The fates led Hunter and Hayden to us, to make our life better", nodded Connor thoughtful.

"Exactly", nodded Travis with a broad grin, wrapping one arm around Connor's waist.

Connor blushed slightly as he found himself so close to Travis. "We do have to talk."

"That's what I said earlier", agreed the older Stoll. "About... uhm... things."

"No. No, no, no. Not about things!", grunted Connor angered and shoved Travis off. "About you. You've been a complete jerk and douchebag and y—you hurt me with that! I don't know what I did wrong to deserve that kind of treatment from the one person I could always count on! And then, suddenly from one day to the other, you're back to being nice to me! What is wrong with you?!"

He had ranted, loudly and irritated, finally getting all those things off his chest that had been bothering him during the last weeks. Glaring up at his brother heatedly, he could feel the tears prickling in the corners of his eyes as he recalled just how much it had hurt when Travis had ignored him like that. The older Stoll was looking at him so pained and guilty though.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Connie", sighed Travis. "There is... really nothing else I can say. I love you."

"It's alright", muttered Connor and shook his head. "I love you too, brother."

"No. And that's just it!", groaned Travis annoyed and grabbed Connor's face. "I love you!"

And Travis didn't give his brother any time to react, because before that, he pressed his lips firmly against Connor's. The younger Stoll hummed delighted and hastily slung his arms around his brother's neck before Travis had a chance to pull back again.

"You... You did this because of... your feelings?", asked Connor stunned. "Then that was the worst wooing in the history of wooing, you idiot! H—How could you...?"

"Ouch", grunted Travis as Connor started to repeatedly hit his upper arm. "That's why I organized for the kids to be gone today. So I could... uhm... properly woo you? If that's what you want."

"Oh. The bath. And the dinner. Oh", nodded Connor and blushed brightly. "Uhm... Yeah. Yes."

"Yes?", asked Travis unsure. "Really? I mean, it's... a big step and we probably should focus our energy on our sons at the moment and I was being a real jerk in those past weeks and-"

"Just shut up", snorted Connor and pulled Travis into another kiss. "I said yes."

Grinning broadly, Travis wrapped his arms tightly around Connor's waist. "Bedroom?"

"Aren't you eager?", teased Connor amused. "Then again, we were kind of dating for twenty or so years now. Everybody else realized that. I think after such a long time, we should probably... take the next step. And we should use the opportunity of no kids in the house. And-"

"Just shut up", interrupted Travis amused. "You're thinking too much, maybe it's time to act."

"T—Trav! Put me down!", hissed Connor as his brother lifted him off around the waist.

"Nope. I'm not giving you back again", grinned Travis, his hands resting on top of Connor's ass while the younger Stoll wrapped his legs around Travis' waist. "You and me. Like it was meant to be right from the start. It's always been you and me. And it will always be you and me."

"That sounds... good...", whispered Connor, resting his head on his brother's shoulder.

Once they reached their bedroom, Travis placed his brother on top of the sheets. While laying down, Connor pulled Travis with him so the older Stoll came to rest on top of him. Grinning wickedly up at his brother, Connor started to free both of them of their clothes. It wasn't the first time they saw each other naked. Heck, in the old days they used to regularly go skinny-dipping with Luke, Chris and their other brothers. But this was different, felt different. Giddiness spread through Connor as he shamelessly ogled his brother and licked his lips greedily.

"You look hungry", noted Travis with a smirk. "Should I get you something?"

"Yeah. A bit of this", nodded Connor and slid his hands down Travis' abs. "With a side of that."

And at 'that', he grasped Travis' cock. The older Stoll gasped strangled at that, sitting up so he was kneeling between Connor's legs, which were eagerly spread for him. They locked eyes, both pairs of blue deeply filled with love and tenderness. Leaning down, Travis captured his brother's lips once more. The younger Stoll though had his hands busy with the nightstand on his side of the bed.

"What are you do-", started Travis and stared as his brother pulled out a bottle of lube. "Oh."

"What?", huffed Connor defensively. "You and me both had other partners before. Don't act all stunned that I'm not a blushy virgin. That would actually be kind of sad, considering our age."

"True", nodded Travis with a sheepish grin. "But this, this is... different. This is us, right?"

"Right", confirmed Connor with a smile. "You going to prep me, or...?"

"With pleasure", purred Travis, lubing his fingers up.

"Ah", gasped Connor as the first finger slowly found its way inside of him. "You know, I love you. I... I needed Percy to point it out to me, but... I... I do. You're the most important being in my life."

"Well, not anymore", chuckled Travis amused. "We have our sons now too."

"I like when you say that", whispered Connor with a serene smile. "Our sons."

Travis just returned that smile and added another finger. His movement was cautious and slow, trying his best to loosen Connor up without much pain. The way his brother was moaning beneath him confirmed that this was a success. Soon, the younger one was arching his back, with his nails digging into Travis' shoulders. It was enough to tell Travis that maybe it was time for more.

"You ready, Connie?", asked Travis in a low whisper, licking along Connor's ear.

"Fuck, yes", groaned Connor, looking at Travis with lusty eyes. "Fuck me."

Chuckling in reply, Travis tenderly grabbed his brother's thighs to lift them up and get better access to the nicely prepared, tight hole. Again, he took all the time in the world as he eased his way into the hot tightness. The brothers groaned at the very same moment as Travis was seated as deep inside Connor as possible. They had always been close, but never before that close. Grinning down at Connor, Travis kissed the younger one heatedly, his fingers tugging on Connor's hair.

"I love you, Connie", breathed Travis against his brother's lips. "I love you so much."

"Less talking, more fucking", demanded Connor heatedly.

Laughing at his brother's horniness, Travis started to move, pulling out just enough to draw a whine from his lover. Thrusting back in though earned him the most amazing moan he had ever heard before. Since both sounds were enchanting, Travis was glad that sex was actually a game of in and out. Moan, whine, moan, whine. Pulling out, pushing in. And oh, that sweet feeling of his brother's tightness around his cock. Half the time, their lips were locked and their hands were constantly roaming each other's bodies, tracing any scar and twirling each other's nipples. Tongues and teeth were wandering over their necks. Connor left a dark mark on Travis' shoulder while Travis marked Connor's neck. Travis' fingers slowly traced down Connor's torso until they circled the younger Stoll's cock. Grasping it, he started to determinedly bring his brother closer to his orgasm.

"T—Trav!", moaned Connor as he came into his brother-boyfriend's hand.

Grunting at the sensation of his brother tightening around him, Travis felt his own orgasm approach. Crashing his lips against Connor's in a last, passionate kiss, that hurt just the slightest bit. But the pain in his teeth was easily replaced by the pleasure of coming deep inside his younger brother.

"So... That was good", panted Travis and pulled out of Connor. "Right?"

"That was fantastic", gasped Connor, hastily snuggling up to his brother-turned-lover. "And we idiots missed out on over twenty years of this. Damn. You know what, we have to do this about at least thrice a day now to make up for lost time, you know that, right?"

"I wouldn't call it lost time", murmured Travis, caressing his brother's hair. "No time with you could ever be lost. Sure, we could have had more, but... it was good, what we had."

"Yeah, right...", nodded Connor with a broad smile. "So... We're... a couple now, are we?"

"Yes. We are", grinned Travis, kissing Connor's forehead softly.

"We should probably invite Percy over for thank-you dinner", mused Connor.

"Probably", agreed Travis thoughtful. "Not tomorrow though. Tomorrow we're going to have as much sex as possible until Miranda drops the twins back off. Sounds like a plan?"

"Sex sounds like an amazing plan", nodded Connor and kissed his brother. "First... cuddling?"

"Which also sounds like an amazing plan", grinned Travis, tugging Connor closer. "I love you."

"Love you too, idiot", whispered Connor and closed his eyes.

/break\

That dinner had been a nice idea in theory, but truth be told, being the parents of two young, energetic kids was exhausting. They were happy enough to have a peaceful moment to explore their new relationship, they weren't going to waste a peaceful night by inviting the di Angelos over. For now, their new relationship and their still new family had priority.

Especially since their appointment with the DPS was coming up. It was routine, really. The DPS always checked in with new families, to see how the new parents were coping and if the children were happy and healthy. Nothing problematic. At least until Travis was trying to get the Hoods inside the building. Hayden was clinging to his neck, crying into his shoulders and if not for the fact that Hayden was in Travis' arms, Hunter would have probably already bolted. This way, Hunter was just constantly hitting Travis' legs and demanding his brother back.

"Gimme Hay! If you're going to return us anyway, gimme back my brother so we can go!", screamed Hunter loudly, repeatedly hitting Travis' legs. "Gimme back my brother!"

"So... You look like a totally happy family", commented Nico darkly as the three thieves entered the conference room where Nico, Piper and Lou were already waiting. "Where is your brother?"

"Work. But he's on his way", assured Travis and sat down.

Hayden was still crying and still clinging to him for dear life. Ever since Travis had turned into the direction of the DPS main building, the twins seemed to think that Travis was going to 'return them', like shoes that didn't fit properly or something like that. And even though Travis tried to reassure them, the closer they got to the building, the louder did Hayden cry and Hunter scream.

"What's wrong, boys?", asked Piper softly, putting a little charmspeak into her words.

"He wants to give us away again!", screeched Hunter. "That's why he brought us here! Because he doesn't want us anymore, just like everybody else! He wants to give up on us!"

Travis heaved a sigh and stared over at the three heads of the DPS. He just wished Connor would be there. The younger Stoll always knew how to calm their two rascal sons.

"Okay, how about we wait with the evaluation until Connor arrives?", grunted Lou worried.

"But I have a date with Percy", whined Nico, nearly pouting.

"Well, Percy will have to wait then", snorted Piper and rolled her eyes.

Travis' leg was numb from the number of hits Hunter had already placed on it, so he was highly relieved when the door finally opened and Connor entered, panting slightly from probably running all the way since he was being late. Running his fingers through his hair, he grinned sheepishly.

"Daddy!", gasped Hayden as he saw Connor from where he was looking over Travis' shoulder. "Daddy, please don't give us away again, please, daddy, I wanna stay with you, please!"

"Sweetheart, why are you crying?", asked Connor concerned and hastily stalked up to the other three sons of Hermes, grabbing Hayden's face. "Sh, no one is giving anyone away, Hayden."

"B—But he brought us back here!", yelled Hunter, looking furious as he stared from Travis to Connor. "You got us from here, why else would you bring us back here? You wanna return us!"

"Darling", cooed Connor and knelt down to pick Hunter up. "Don't you remember how I told you about our friends who try to help others who are like us? These three are those friends. Travis didn't bring you here to give you away, he brought you here because our friends want to talk to you. They want to make sure that you two are happy with us, that you want to stay with us."

"Of course we do!", exclaimed Hunter, rubbing the tears off his cheeks.

"Then everything is alright", smiled Connor and kissed Hunter's forehead. "This is all for your own good. They just want to make sure that you're in a safe and good place, they do that with every little child who lost his parent and has to live with foster parents. Isn't that a good thing? That they make sure you are happy? That you're not with bad people like you've been with before?"

"I... I guess...", nodded Hunter unsure. "But you're no bad people."

"We aren't", agreed Connor with a small laugh. "But instead of with us, you could have ended up with bad people and in that case, our friends here would be able to help you. Now, if you're happy with us and if we're no bad people then everything will be fine. You just have to go with auntie Piper and talk to her, tell her what you feel and how you are. And after you're done talking to her, papa and I will go and buy you a large, delicious cake that we'll eat together in front of the telly watching a movie, how does that sound?"

"We just have to talk to auntie Piper?", asked Hayden in a small voice.

"Yeah. That's all", nodded Travis, sighing relieved as the twins had finally stopped crying.

"We can do that", stated Hayden and jumped off Travis' lap. "And then cake? Promise?"

"On my thieving honor", smiled Connor and put Hunter down. "Now, you two be good boys and go with auntie Piper. No pranks! And answer her questions without lies, alright?"

"Alright", nodded the twins obediently.

Piper smiled amused as she took one Hood on each of her hands to lead them out of the room. Lou, Nico and the Stolls remained. Connor heaved a sigh and collapsed on the chair next to his brother, scooting closer so he could rest his head against Travis' shoulder. The older thief wrapped one arm around Connor's waist, caressing his side with his thumb.

"They been crying the whole time?", asked Connor, lifting his head a little.

"Once the building got into view", sighed Travis and kissed the top of his brother's head.

"Not to interrupt, but I really have a date with Percy, so can we get this over with?"

"Right. Sorry", nodded Connor, turning his attention to Lou and Nico.

"Randa told me that the relationship between you two had been... rocky in the past few weeks", started Lou, looking at them serious. "I mean, we just saw how much those two adore you, but it doesn't change that... if the two of you don't get along, you can hardly raise two small children."

"We got past our differences a couple of days ago", replied Travis.

"How so, if I may ask?", questioned Nico with one arched eyebrow.

"Well... your... husband, he made a... suggestion to us and we've been... mulling it over, that was kind of the fight between us. We were both thinking and contemplating the same thing, but we kind of forgot to talk to each other about it", replied Connor awkwardly, blushing a little.

"Percy? What in the world did he suggest?", grunted the son of Hades highly confused.

"That they're dating", replied Percy as he sneaked into the room. "Or should I wait outside?"

Nico looked over at the Stolls curiously, but they just nodded. One friend more or less in the room didn't change a thing about their evaluation. Percy smiled brilliantly as he walked over to his husband and got comfortable on Nico's lap, kissing his Ghost King with a passion.

"While they're busy, let me continue", stated Lou, rolling her eyes at Nico and Percy. "What do you mean Percy suggested that you're dating? I mean, I know what it means. Miranda told me about that little... misunderstanding between all of us and the two of you. But how did that lead to the two of you fighting? I'm kind of stuck at that part, I guess. Care to explain?"

Connor blushed again as he slipped his hand into Travis' while his brother pulled him closer and cupped his cheek tenderly. Percy on Nico's lap turned enough to see the interaction and squeal (in a very manly way), while Lou and Nico looked to equal parts startled and stunned.

"You're together! Together-together!", exclaimed Percy happily.

"Yeah. And it's thanks to you", nodded Travis, looking down at Connor with a tender smile.

"Took you long enough", muttered Lou beneath her breath.

"Okay, so, you were fighting because you were figuring out that you love each other, did I catch that correctly?", snorted Nico and shook his head. "And they call my husband oblivious..."

"We took a lot of time, but we figured it out", shrugged Connor. "And now everything is perfect. I have Travis and we have Hunter and Hayden and we would do everything for them. They're our sons and we love them. We'll always do our best to protect them and make their lives the best possible. We'll teach them and nurture them and play with them and protect them and... everything."

"Well, as far as we know, there hadn't been any... major incident with the twins", commented Lou, looking through the files. "Some minor pranks, but we're talking sons of Hermes here. How are they behaving at home? Are they good boys? Better than before?"

"They're brilliant", smiled Connor. "Made us breakfast the other day. It was horrible, but... they did it for us. I think they tried to say thank you to us for taking them in. A—And that day, they had started to call us dad and papa. They're amazing. Hayden always eats too many sweets, but we're working on that. Though it is hard to deny him with his begging, pleading eyes."

"Tell me about it", muttered Percy and shook his head. "Jack's the same. And so was Donny."

"Still better than Jimmy and Silly, they just take what they want", snorted Nico bothered.

"Hunter does that", nodded Travis annoyed. "But he finally stopping hiding it beneath the bed for the moment they'd bolt and run off. So we're living with it for now."

"Daddy! Paps! Auntie Piper said that we can have cake now!"

Connor and Travis turned enough so each could catch one of their very energetic sons. Hayden snuggled up to Connor, while Hunter managed to sit on Travis' lap with an air of authority and kingship, as though sitting on his papa's lap made him out to be the ruler.

"Can we, or are there any more questions left unanswered?", asked Travis, looking at the three heads of the DPS. "Because as far as I'm concerned, my boyfriend hasn't eaten since lunch, so heading out sounds like a good plan. If you have anything else you want to know, Piper lives literally five minutes from us, so I guess she can drop by then, mh? Because I'd like to take my family out for dinner and a movie now. Which basically means pizza and Disney's Robin Hood."

"Yes!", exclaimed Connor victoriously, earning himself giggles from the twins and strange looks from their four friends. "What? Robin Hood is my favorite movie. A thieving fox, hello? You know foxes are tricksters. He's basically a son of Hermes himself and he's a fox, who sings and steals. What is there not to like? Also. Pizza. Who doesn't like pizza? Stop judging me! I know that Percy makes you watch The Little Mermaid at least once a month, di Angelo!"

"You have no idea how our Friday nights look", grunted Nico and shook his head. "Disney movie after Disney movie. It was a sad day when I first sang along to Part of Your World."

"But we totally nailed the duet of A Whole New World", chimed Percy with a broad grin. "Aladdin is Thess' favorite Disney movie, you know. He's very insistent."

"Like all off-springs of Percy, yes, we know", smirked Piper teasingly.

"The adorable thingy too?", asked Hayden interested.

"What adorable thingy?", grunted Nico confused.

"He's talking about Jack", nodded Percy and waved his husband off. "And yes, the adorable thingy is my son too. But I'd really appreciate it if you'd stop calling him a thingy."

"But it's a cute thingy", added Hunter confused. "When can we have it back?"

"Back?", asked Nico, staring intensely and inquisitively at Percy and the twins.

"Yes!", exclaimed Hayden excitedly. "We stole it! It's ours now! So when do we get it back?"

"Yeah, Connor and I agreed that it's better to keep the twins away from Jack until our boy is older and... less impressionable or, well, breakable", whispered Percy into Nico's ear.

"Yes, I'd appreciate that", nodded the son of Hades, taking a deep breath.

"Or, for the love of it, just scatter. You, take your family out, you, take your husband out. I have a wife to get home to too!", grunted Piper, making shushing notions.

"Yes! I want my cake!", declared Hunter. "Papa, come! I want strawberries! And daddy's hot chocolate! And extra olives and artichoke on the pizza!"

"I've never heard a child demand that on their pizza. Mine always want salami and ham", snorted Percy, staring down at the boys a little weird. "Or pineapple, sometimes."

"What can I say? Our sons are special that way", grinned Connor. "See you around, guys."

"Can I have nice mushrooms and ham?", asked Hayden timidly. "Not the ewie things."

"Of course, sweetheart", smiled Connor, kissing Hayden's cheek. "What kind of cake?"

"Strawberry is fine", nodded Hayden. "But I can have whipped cream, right?"

"You know you can have everything you want, sweetheart", whispered Connor. "Everything."

"Then I wanna sleep in papa's and daddy's bed tonight", declared Hayden wide-eyed.

"What do you say, darling?", asked Connor, reaching one hand out to ruffle Hunter's hair.

"Yes, please", nodded Hunter, sounding relatively small.

After the scare they had earlier about the Stolls abandoning them, Connor understood that they wanted to stay close. Locking eyes with Travis, he checked if his lover approved. The oldest son of Hermes nodded amused as the Stolls carried their sons out of the conference room.

"Oh and di Angelos", called Travis over his shoulder. "This Saturday, dinner at ours. We're cooking. So you better go looking for a babysitter, because we're not cooking for thirteen people."

"As long as you make sure it's going to be blue!", grinned Percy and waved at them.

/break\

Three hours later found the Stolls snuggled together on the couch, Travis laying half behind Connor, his head on the younger Stoll's stomach. Hayden was curled together against Connor's chest while Hunter laid behind Travis' legs, his chin on Travis' knees as he stared at the TV. Empty plates from the pizza and the cake piled up in front of them on the table. Hayden yawned widely as the end credits for Robin Hood rolled over the screen. Lifting his head slightly, Connor looked at the boy.

"Tired, sweetheart?", asked Connor, kissing the boy's cheek as Hayden nodded. "How about you and your brother go and get ready for bed while papa and I clean the table?"

Hunter and Hayden dashed off toward the bathroom. Chuckling slightly, Travis got up and helped his brother, pulling him up against his chest. Connor grunted as he collided with Travis, but instead of complaining, he just sealed Travis' lips with his own, wrapping his arms around his brother's neck. Travis made a humming sound and laid his own arms around the slim waist.

"Ew! You said you'd clean the table, not do kissy-kissy!", complained Hunter loudly.

"Cheeky little brat", huffed Travis and blushed brightly.

Hayden next to his twin giggled loudly. "Papa and daddy love-love-love each other!"

"You two put the plates away while we get ready for bed", grunted Travis with a slight glare.

"Yes, papa", chorused the Hoods obediently.

"But no more kissy-kissy!", added Hunter seriously. "I wanna go to bed!"

"Yes, sir", grinned Connor amused, ruffling Hunter's hair. "Now hush, my little darling."

Hunter puffed his chest out, as he always did when Connor called him a darling. The two boys hastily put the plates away while the adults got changed and brushed their teeth. While getting ready, Travis did sneak a kiss or two in (and also a grope or two). Once they were ready, they walked to their bedroom, where Hunter and Hayden were already obediently sitting and waiting for them. Travis and Connor got into the bed on either side of the twins, curling around them as Connor rested his head on Travis' chest and the Hoods between them, securely sandwiched between their parents. Connor pulled the blanket up over his little family while Travis turned out the light.

"I'm sorry, boys", whispered Travis softly, caressing their light, brown hair. "I didn't mean to scare you today. I promise, promise, promise you that we will never give you away again, but sometimes, we will have to go there so they can talk to you and make sure you're still happy with us. It will never be about us not wanting you, but always about you still wanting us. Okay?"

"Okay, papa", nodded Hayden and leaned up to place a sloppy kiss on Travis' cheek. "But we'll never-ever wanna leave you again, papa, we love you and daddy."

Connor stared tenderly down at them until the twins were deep asleep in their arms. "I love you."

"I love you too, Connie", replied Travis, kissing his lover tenderly. "Always."

"Good", grinned Connor. "Because you're in charge of planning their birthday party next month. You know they want a pirate-themed party. And Hunter has demands concerning the food."

"Of course he has", muttered Travis, kissing Connor again. "Anything for my boys. My family."

~*~ The End ~*~