Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Disney, Descendants, or Ginny's AU. I'm just playing in it. Any new OCs are mine.
Mindlink/Telepathy – Italics, no quotation marks
'Thoughts' – Italics, with quotation marks
Quotes from Ginny's series – Bolded
Normal Speech
A lot of this is parallel to help fill in for Choosing Love! Scenes referred to that y'all should recognize :D Also I comb through review for inspiration, so feel free to drop ideas! I may not use them, but things that Ginny likes but doesn't have time or room to fit them in, I can certainly try.
Anyways. Lots of family fluff in this chapter!
Ginnyrules27: Yeah, I imagine Jay would only be semi-concerned. Harry on the other hand would steal one and take it just to make sure it was safe. Which for him, it certainly wouldn't be. I'm glad you think so! I've watched too much to not hopefully be so xD As for Aaron and Darwin…Aaron was originally meant for something else, for a different Disney show, but I've repurposed him for Descendants since I never used him. He'll pop up again with more explanation in the next chapter. Darwin I was kind of inspired by the kids who made fun of Melody in LM2. So likely a son of an unnamed duke or earl.
Danifan3000: Yup! I did some calculations, and since many of the under 15s are 12, the Little Mermaid occurred at Melody's 12 birthday. I made it just before the school year that the VKs arrive in order to keep the timeline from conflicting too much. That's pretty cool that the imps still have those! Reminds me of my dish set…I miss those plates.
OceanBlueSeaEyes: I totally get it! I'm a huge PJO fan, so I knew what you were thinking. I don't want to make a giant cast like Ginny because I'm crazy forgetful. There should be tons of people, since it's a school, so I definitely had to add at least a few more. Mal's hair change isn't in the Choosing series, in this case, it's a bit more subtle with her jacket!
Enjoy! Don't forget to follow and review!
Hadie had fallen into somewhat of a routine. If he had still been on the Isle, his family and friends, particularly Celia, would have scolded him for predictability. It meant possible ambushes. In Auradon, routines couldn't be avoided. Everything had a schedule. Pressure was added by the 'good' standards of the hero culture.
Being late. Bad.
Speaking out of turn. Bad.
Not doing homework. Bad.
Classes were literal clock work. Meals too. Hadie had to make sure he went to bed about the same time every night in order to waken at the same time each morning. He had to regularly take his medicine as instructed. Homework due dates and curfews.
Only the other VKs kept him on his toes. Whereas Hadie would organize time to meet up with his newfound friends, his family would pop up randomly and drag him off. Just last week Jay had forced Hadie to practice with Gil and then face the son of Jafar himself. At least he won one of the two fights. Harry would have never let Hadie live it down if he hadn't managed to beat Gil.
It didn't help that just like on the Isle, Hadie had only a few places he took solitude. His dorm, or the library.
Which, today, was where he ended up dealing with Harry's antics.
The godling had headed straight to the library after classes. He wanted to take the opportunity to reduce his assignments before dinner. A multitude of teachers meant there was an increase to the workload he was normally used to. Now he understood why Mal always seemed so busy. Having to deal with Cotillion planning and whatever those additional lessons on top of school? Hadie wasn't sure how his sister managed.
Weaving through the bookshelves, Hadie found an empty, secluded table to work at. Carefully, he pulled out his laptop and logged in to the student's study portal. With a few clicks he set up an alarm to remind him when dinner time approached. Though Ashaki would probably remind him. She was planning to meet with him to go over one of the English projects.
'Time to get started…let's see…should I start chipping at the largest assignment or quickly do these smaller bits?' Hadie thought as he examined the autofilled calendar. 'I might leave the English outline to the weekend. I'll just work on setup today. It looks like the teachers already break down big projects into steps due each week rather than all at once. Might as well get rid of all the tiny things then. A shorter list is less intimidating.' He decided to start with his least favorite class. Social Studies.
'History is fine and all, but extensive modules for geography is boring. I get knowing the layout of the U.S.A is important for Royal Prep Students considering it'd affect trade agreements, but that's niche requirements. Knowing that China is another continent is hardly important unless someone plans to make it their job. Leave it as general knowledge and let us move on, sheesh.'
He quickly dragged all the title country shapes into the appropriate slots and submitted the assignment.
'By the Gods, that was mind numbing.'
He was about halfway through his weekly homework when Ashaki arrived. Checking his alarm, there was still a little over an hour before dinner.
"Hey, Hadie," greeted Ashaki, settling in the seat across from him.
"Hi Ash," he returned, glancing up briefly as he pulled up their writing guidelines.
"Have you ever done creative writing before?" she asked, prepping her own computer. "Your analysis essay last week was pretty good, but storytelling's a different ballgame."
"No, but I've read just as much fiction as non, so I'm not super worried," said Hadie, "Plus the teach went over the outline and theories. My first probably won't be stellar, but I'll just follow these and take whatever critique for the next time."
"You know, you're so hard to read when it comes to school?" Ashaki giggled, Hadie glancing up at her in confusion. "You take school seriously, but also super laid back about it. It seems like it's almost effortless for you."
"I like to learn," Hadie shrugged. "My parents would be disappointed if I didn't try, but all my effort into it is no fun. Decent grades, better friends is what mom likes to say. The majority of this school is for people's whose futures are predetermined anyways. We help run our families' kingdoms."
"An interesting take. And you're not wrong," Ashaki grinned. "If you're not first in line, some parents allow their kids to go off on their own interests until a certain point where they're expected to at least help."
"Yeah, that's pretty much the standard for the gods. Dad was saying I have to be bestowed a title before I'm officially required to help him. That could be decades away."
"Okay, I'm curious how that even works. The section on the Olympians is so small, but we gotta get on with English a bit more before dinner."
"True, though I couldn't tell you much anyways. Mom won't teach me until she returns to Auradon, and even then, apparently, I can't be officially introduced to the pantheon till I'm 15. What's with these 15 and older rules!"
"Can't tell you, because I have no clue either." Ashaki swung her laptop around. "Okay, first, and possible hardest bit, is creating a character and where you want to go with them. So, let's try to develop that first…"
About half an hour later, they'd eventually managed to create two characters each. Totally without cheating with the use of a random generating prompt.
"I think I'm gonna make Marsh a bounty hunter," said Ashaki, her smile unnerving. "Who hangs out at bars too much in order to get intel."
"What do you know about bars?" asked Hadie, his brow furrowing.
"Evan's dad took us to the Snuggly Duckling last summer. You should come next time!"
Hadie just blinked slowly before turning back to his computer. Sometimes it was best to simply pretend he knew what the Auradonians were saying.
He wrote a note to look it up later.
'Might as well take a break,' he chewed his lip in thought, glancing at his clock. 'Oh, I think the next monthly stipend should've been deposited. Mom said something about auto transfers. Hopefully I have enough and can buy more clothes finally.' Hadie had ended up borrowing some of Evan's clothes, the Coronian being the only other boy that he knew relatively close in size. Having to wash clothes every week really cut into his time. Clicking open a new tab, Hadie opened up .
"I've got plenty of stores to shop from now at least. Instead of digging through this site blindly," Hadie mumbled aloud as he scrolled through Hermes' site. "This frequently shopped by friends feature is useful. Probably for the best. Evan has good economic sense, but you girls have got better a better sense for fashion."
Ashaki merely stuck her tongue out in response.
'Once Dizzy's back, I won't have to worry about that. Though Evie's stuff is too hoity toity for casual wear.'
Social media was impressive in Hadie's opinion, even if he tended to avoid the gossip side of things whereas Ashaki practically lived in them. He just really wanted to be able to text his friends, but the good phones seemed to be more than even the laptops he'd looked at.
'Maybe over the Summer I can ask mom…or save for a year or two. Especially if Mal isn't going to use the Mind link! We need some way to talk if she won't!' He punched in the login for his allowance's account. 'Cool, this month's amount came in. So that's enough to get the list mom helped me make…and I should probably refresh my toiletries basket.'
Hadie couldn't help it. The hot water was just as comforting as his baby blanket that he'd already run through all of the soaps. Much to the dislike of his hair. 'Good thing Melody had some recommendations. I'd prefer something different than her seaweed wrap. Didn't even know conditioner was a thing. But the stuff she uses smells like the rough side of the Docks.'
Finding a matching scent to go with the one the school provided—the wood and citrus combination something he had quickly grown fond of—reminded him of something else.
'Plants…plants…what would be good to start with but easy to hide in the practice room?'
Tilting his head in thought proved to be a good habit. The whizz of a ruler whooshed past his ear.
"Harry." Hadie closed his laptop, his eyes closing in tandem with exasperation at his surrogate brother's audacity. "This. Is a library."
"Eh? So?" Harry wiggled an extra ruler at Hadie before he tossed it onto the table. "Best be prepared no matter the location. If there's an emergency, being quiet isn't important."
"If you're a thief, it can be," Hadie rolled his eyes. "Jay manages. If he can sneak up on me and pinch my ear before I notice, then I have to go spar with him at the gym. Not in the library."
Knowing Harry though…
Hadie moved his hand as Harry slapped the table with the ruler. He winced at the sharp 'crack' that echoed through the silence. Quickly shoving his chair back, Hadie stood and gathered his things into his bag. Stepping to the side to avoid another lunge, Hadie snatched up the other ruler, wincing as another whack of Harry's ruler resounded around their corner.
Ashaki giggled incessantly from her seat.
"You are so not helping Ash."
"Sorry, Hadie, but I'm enjoying this. Have fun?"
Around the corner, they saw Emir peek his head out. "Harry, I didn't think this is what you had in mind when you asked me to lead you where the library was. All just because I mentioned my sister was headed off to study with Hadie?"
"Eh, I forgot where it was even though Jay showed me the first night here. Not like I have a use for the place."
'Sorry kid' Hadie saw Emir mouth as the older prince edged towards Ashaki from out of Harry's view.
"Come, brother," Ashaki teased. "Join me in observing this evening's entertainment."
"Harry," hissed Hadie. "I'll spar, just please, not here."
"En garde!" shouted Harry, his long legs closing the distance between them. Hadie swung his backpack wide in response, knocking the small wannabe sword from Harry's hand. Using the momentum to lug the bag onto his shoulders, Hadie weaved through the bookshelves and towards the exit as quietly as he could.
Of course, Harry had no such qualms.
Heavy footfalls thudded against the wood floors, growing closer, blood thumping in time in Hadie's ears.
'I just need to get out of the library first,' Hadie tried to keep his pace to a speed walk, pretending to not to see the librarian as he headed towards the exit. 'Then I can run hotter than the Phlegethon to at least try to fight back properly.'
"HA! Gotcha!" Harry slid into some shelves, books scattering across the floor as he tried to turn towards his quarry. The table he leapt over gave a loud squeal as it shifted under his weight.
"Why I never," the librarian hissed, quickly coming around from her desk.
"Eep!" Hadie squeaked, dodging Harry's swing again as his shoulders pulled forward to shrink in on himself. "S-sorry Sylvia, I asked him to behave, but he won't leave me alone—"
"Just, out, out, I say!" The bespectacled librarian hissed, shooing them out with the motion of her hands. "I will not have such noise within our studious abode, take your racket outside."
Hadie nodded uncertainly, silently hoping this wasn't a total mark against him.
'Really now! I am absolutely blaming you if I stay in trouble with Mrs. Goof for this, Harry!' Hadie's thoughts grew grumpy as the brothers reached the courtyard.
"Ah, now this is some nice terrain, we could practice maneuvering here," Harry puffed up, proud of his own idea.
"Harry, I love you, but was that your first time in the library? You completely ignored the rules! How are you even doing homework?" Hadie stared at the sky in exasperation. Now that it'd be about a month since they arrived in Auradon, they no longer needed the sunglasses as Autumn was mostly overcast. It was quite nice, being able to see what outside colors were like without hiding everything under a coat of brown or grey.
"Uh, no?" Harry whacked at a bush with his ruler. "Like I said, Jay showed me the way the first night, but what use do I have of a bunch of paperweights? We didn't bother to go in. I'm happy to be in Auradon, but there are more important things than learning this garbage for me."
The pirate paused, lifting his makeshift sword to stare it closely. "That isn't to say it's not important, for you at least. But…I'm just a pirate." He lowered his ruler and turned to stare sadly down at Hadie. "A pirate who can barely read, that is only capable of even basic things thanks to your parents. I'm not just going to laze by, but it's certainly not a priority Hads. Don't worry about me."
"I guess, I just feel you could be so much more if you wanted to, y'know," Hadie frowned, shrugging his backpack off his shoulders and onto the nearby bench. He whipped around and pointed his ruler at Harry. "I guess right now the best thing if you want to be, is my fencing teacher, huh big bro?"
Tossing off his red coat, Harry swept his black curls out of his eyes. "En garde, little brother."
A few days later found Hadie with Uma, watching Estelle for Mal. The wind whipped across the open field, tossing Uma's heavy braids wildly. Hadie pulled his windbreaker tighter against his jaw, the cold biting at his cheeks. They were in the thralls of December, the winter front quickly approaching. Even with his fire powers increasing, he found Auradon to possibly be colder than the Isle. At least when outside, if only because there were less buildings to block the wind.
Which was why he was out alone with Uma. As roommate, cousin and confidante of Mal…If Hadie thought it was cold, why in their dad's name was Mal going around without her jacket?
'Mal's always struggled with the cold more than I did,' Hadie mused as he watched Uma throw another ball out for Estelle to chase. 'She would even sneak in to my room to share my blanket when the nights got too freezing.'
He still wasn't sure what their mom had done to it, but the half-red, half-blue woven linen was always the exact temperature he needed it to be.
"Hey boy," Hadie shook his head free of his thoughts and reached down for the ball that Estelle had dropped at his feet. "Ready?"
The Cerberus yipped and panted, each head swiveling to focus on the tennis ball in Hadie's hand. With a small spin, Estelle dashed a few feet away, ready to give chase at a moment's notice.
"Fetch!" Hadie threw the ball with a might that surprised him. He watched as the ball arced away, giving Estelle a good bit of distance to hunt his prize.
"Think that's your furthest throw yet," Uma said proudly, appearing next to his left. "You're definitely getting stronger."
She glanced at her youngest cousin and smiled softly. "Taller too. Aunt Steph is going to freak, when she sees you again." Uma had to wonder if her cousin would've still had such a growth spurt if he had still been stuck on the Isle.
Hadie hummed noncommittedly, still staring into the distance as Estelle scrambled back with his ball. Only finally speaking after he'd thrown the ball again.
"I wanted to ask, if you're okay with talking about it, but these whole therapy meetings…"
"I quit that already."
"I'm debating on doing that too," he looked down at his shoes. "They…they keep asking about dad…and if mom is…well…not acting of free will."
"I think I get what you mean, don't worry about them," Uma growled. "Definitely drop them. All of these therapists seem to be quacks."
"Yeah…I read a bit online and talked to the school nurse once about how therapy should have gone. Now I plan on talking to Ben next," Hadie huffed. "They're absolutely going about their job wrong. Yes, we didn't really know what was 'bad' versus 'good' and they had to lead us with questions to figure us out, but now they're going in with these predetermined assumptions based on our parents!"
"They need to up the quality for sure. Idiots probably aren't used to dealing with people with real problems. The bitch had the gall to ask me if my dad ever tried to trade me to the other side! Or if I ever asked for anything from my mom, did I have to cut deals there too?"
"Absolute shit," Hadie laughed as Uma shoved him lightly. "You swore first!"
"I'm also captain while you're under 15 still!" grinned Uma, shaking her head, tossing another ball out for Estelle. "But I'll let it slide, I suppose. Gracious being that I am."
"Thanks, Uma," Hadie said dryly. "OOF!"
Their conversation was halted as the heavy Cerberus vaulted into Hadie, slamming him into the ground.
"Estelle!" Uma rolled her eyes, tugging at Estelle's collar till he moved back to sit before the two godlings.
"I miss them," Hadie began with a whisper sitting up to pet Estelle. Uma sat down to pet the one left out head.
"Well of course you do, and I'm sure Mal will take you on one of her visits at some point—"
"Will she though?" Hadie snapped at Uma, interrupting her interruption. "Mom will come back, I'm not worried about that. She promised to take me to the portal sometimes to at least see dad." He shook his head before continuing. "What I was saying was, I miss them, they're missing so much of a huge part of our new lives, but I miss Mal more. They're worried! I'm worried! We discussed this when we first came to Auradon, and I know you asked Mal somewhat, but she still has her link on mute!"
He took a steadying breath, mist billowing about as the hot air met cold. "They're not here, but Mal is. She is, and she isn't. Something is wrong, and she's shut us out!" Pulling his hands from where they'd been buried in his pockets, he waved them around at the frosted dew surrounding them. "It's Winter, and she's taken off her jacket?"
"I know, I've been asking around," said Uma, grimacing. "She talked about indoor heating, which while she's not wrong, the halls are huge with tons of window. The school doesn't keep a lot of heat to begin with. At this rate, I'm going to approach Wonderbreath's daughter."
"Really? You're going to talk to Macaria?" Hadie glanced at Uma in surprise.
"Hey, it's for Mal, even if she doesn't want our help right now. I'd rather talk to lightning bolt's brood than deal with mama's side of the family." Uma glared up at the sky. "I'd reach out to Aunt Steph if I could, but…you know. She's stuck on the Isle and can't do anything, since even she's blocked."
"Yup. All thanks to the idiocy of his cloud brained majesty, and my tetchy, controlling grandmother."
"You're really channeling Uncle Hades there. Isn't your mom making you meet her mom anyways once she's back?"
"Don't remind, please," huffed Hadie. "I'll play nice, but if she even hints at a single negative thing about dad, I won't hold my tongue."
"Ooooh, do keep me updated on how that goes when you get there, you rarely blow your top."
"Heh, anyways, I don't know how much Melody's family would know anyways. As far as I've seen, Mal's interacted with Macaria more than Elle," Hadie laid back on the hard, frozen grass, Estelle crawling forward so as to lay across his heads across the godling's chest. "And to be honest, Mal seems to be interacting less with even her lately. Even Alexandria's sisters asked me if I'd talked to Mal. It's like she has time for no friends, let alone her family."
"Wait, she's not even hanging out with the prissy princesses? I wasn't sure if she was finally giving into the Auradon fancy, prancy brainwashing, but I hadn't imagined that possible now that we were here."
"Either way, we need to get to the bottom of this," Hadie scratched one of Estelle's ears as the canine began to wine.
"We certainly do, mini cuz, we certainly do."
The room seemed to spin as Hadie finally stumbled back into his dorm room. He couldn't understand how Estelle seemed to have more energy than even him as a supposedly boundless energetic youth. After the long day of hanging out with Mal's dog and Uma, Hadie was absolutely exhausted.
'I know I want my own pet, but if I had gotten my own dog by now, I don't know how we'd manage two whirlwinds.'
Knowing neither Harry or Jay would mind, Hadie fell face first on the nearest bed.
'Mal is totally lying. This is going to catch up with her soon,' Hadie thought, recalling how a few minutes ago they briefly met up with his sister to give her back Estelle. Mal had met them within the atrium, wearing a dress that Hadie wasn't sure even their mother would wear.
'Mom's shown us a few photos of her from Olympus, and outside of her Olympian wear, there's still an edge to her outfits that's not totally Olympian or Auradonian.' He rolled over and stared at the wooden beams above, his windbreaker crinkling beneath him. 'I've reluctantly learned a lot about clothes just from Dizzy alone, and now all my female friends here in Auradon are absolutely insane over it…so Mal, why the hell are you wearing a dress, in this weather, without at least a matching jacket if it's not going to be your jacket.'
"Mooooooom!" He couldn't help but physically yell. He wanted to send his frustration out through the link. Only Uma's words held him back.
Mom wouldn't be able to do anything, and they didn't want to worry her.
Whatever Mal was going through, she would have to hold on till their mom came back.
Frustratedly, he stood up, unzipping his jacket it and threw it unceremoniously into his closet. The door behind him opened.
"Dang, Hads, what's got you in a snit?" Jay asked, entering their dorm after a long practice seminar for R.O.A.R. "These doors are solid oak, and I could still hear you with the door closed."
"By the Gods, Jay, you stink!" Hadie recoiled. "Hit the showers at least before you try to have a heart to heart with me."
"True enough," Jay said, heading towards his own closet to grab a fresh change of clothes. "Nah, come here!"
Jay leapt towards Hadie, attempting to put the boy in a headlock.
"NOPE!" Hadie scrambled over to the windowsill, climbing it to pull himself up into his loft. "Shower first, Jay! Honestly, you're stinking this room up worst than Pain when he gets into the canned tuna!"
"Alright, alright," laughed Jay. "I'm going."
Once he heard the click engage on the bathroom door, Hadie clambered back down. With a sigh, he returned to his closet and pulled out his pajamas. He tugged on the grey long-sleeved shirt, admiring the soft material before his eyes widened in mild surprise.
"Huh, it fits now." He hadn't been paying much attention, but it seemed in the last couple of months, the once baggy sweatshirt's cuffs now properly rested at wrist length. "I guess Uma was right, I have grown a bit."
Moving on from his brief distraction, Hadie reveled in the warmth as he pulled on the long johns, the thermal immediately cutting out the frigid feeling from his legs. Pants on, he turned as he heard the main door creak open once more.
"You getting ready for bed already too, Hadie?" Harry yawned as he shut the door behind him. His black curls appeared to have been tossed madly by the wind, shirt and coat wrinkled and covered in dirt.
"Yeah, it's been a long day," Hadie mimicked Harry's yawn. "Where've you been? You're absolutely filthy."
"Meh, went for a run after messing with Jay's R.O.A.R. practice," said Harry, shrugging. "Wrestled a bit with a couple of the guys. Annoyed the groundskeeper since we kicked up some of the fallen leaves he was gathering to toss out."
"Well, at least you don't stink to Olympus on high like Jay did. He's already taken the shower."
"That's okay," Harry yawned again, peeling off his coat and shirt. "I'll just toss my crap into the laundry basket and wait. I ain't that dirty."
"Says you," snickered Hadie. "Just try not to get it on anything. I'd hate for you to be sleeping in unclean sheets."
"Wot? Has Auradon already started turning you into a prissy prince, little Lord?" Harry raised an eyebrow. "We practically swam in garbage over there."
"We might've lived underground, but mom made sure our clothes and bedsheets were clean," Hadie snapped back. "We have the ability to do these things now, no reason not to use them."
"Hey, hey, I'm just teasing," sighed the brunet, taking a seat at his desk chair. "See? Just gonna hang out over here. Easier to clean if I do get it dirty while I wait for my turn."
Harry watched as Hadie aggressively ruffled through his closet drawers, seemingly looking for something.
"What's eating at you?" he finally asked. "Rough day?"
"Uma and I were discussing Mal."
"Ah."
"Yup."
"Any ideas with what's going on or how we can get through to her?" Harry stood as Jay reentered the room from his shower. "Talking about Mal," he added for Jay's benefit.
"You really think something's wrong?" Jay asked as he wrapped his hair in a towel. Whenever Uma came by without Mal, she would rant that there was definitely something off about her co-captain. So he was at least somewhat filled in. "We've all been so busy, I still haven't really noticed anything…of course that's changed now that's she's wearing more dresses and not her jacket."
"Seriously though!" Hadie pouted. "It's one of her favorite things in the world! Her favorite thing every from mom, just like her necklace is from dad. There's no way, for no reason, Mal would take that jacket off if something wasn't wrong!"
"Well, I'm going to take that shower," Harry ran a hand through his hair. "We can only hope it's really just as simple as her being busy for now. Until we can find evidence of more."
With a wave of his hand, Harry called out one last time. "No need to wait up, mates! We're all exhausted tonight and need some shut eye."
"I dunno, tomorrow is free for all of us isn't it? Why don't we take the night to chill together and watch a movie? We don't have to watch it, but just hangout you know?"
"That sounds a fair idea, lemme wash up, but feel free to get whatever started," the door locked with a click as Harry finally went in for his shower.
"Anything you feel like watching, Hadie?" Jay asked as he plugged in his laptop to the wall projector.
Hadie shrugged. "You've been in Auradon longer, I have barely any clue what movies are still."
"Really? Nothing your friends have mentioned?" wondered Jay as he pulled up the school's streaming list. "Granted it has to be in the school servers, but we can look. Otherwise, I've got some recommendations from Lonnie. Spirited Away or something. Everyone says it's good. Adventure with magic and demons, I think?"
"That does sound interesting! As for my friends… I think Qullana and Ky mentioned a movie called Coco," Hadie thought aloud. He'd gotten a lot closer to Ky through Qullana, the son of Kuzco stopping by to remind Herkie at lunch one day that he wasn't to blame for what was ultimately an accident. "I only remember that one out of any movies mentioned because it's got a magic guitar."
"Of course you would," Jay laughed. "I see both options, so why don't we go for that one tonight. Save Spirited Away for next time."
"Sounds good to me," Hadie pulled his shoes back on. "I'm going to run down to the kitchens and get snacks and drinks before curfew hits. Anything you want in particular?"
"I'm good with popcorn and whatever drinks," Jay called after him. "Don't get any caffeine though!"
It was late into the night that Hadie awoke, shivering. He tried to ignore the burning images in his head. Nightmares formed from his stresses lingering on the precipices of his mind. Feeling around in the dark, he became more alert as he realized his blanket wasn't around him. A cloud moved, allowing moonlight to swath the room aglow. Rolling over, Hadie looked over the edge of his loft, spotting his fallen blanket. Grunting, he swung himself over the edge and onto the windowsill, his footsteps soft as he retrieved his favorite source of warmth.
He paused at the ladder, still worn out from the day to want to bother climbing it back up. He began to make his way up. He heard a clink and hissed, shutting his eyes tight as someone turned on a light.
"C'mere Hads," Jay's arm cutting the lamp's light off as he made a beckoning motion. "Just crawl in with me."
Hadie carefully stepped down from his ladder, wrapping his blanket around his shoulders, snatching his pillow from the top. "Thanks, Jay," the godling yawned. The teen shifted over, allowing room for Hadie to snuggle into the larger bed, the loft being only a small mattress compared to the older boys' being queen sized.
"Anytime Hads," came the reply.
"Budge over some more."
Hadie and Jay turned, finding Harry blearily standing from his own bed, pillow and blanket in hand. His eyes might've well been closed still from what Hadie could tell. "What? It'll be like when we were little kids again, piled into the same bed."
Hadie plopped onto the bed and shifted closer to Jay to allow room for Harry. After some adjusting, they all fitted, though three people were pushing it for a queen mattress.
With another click, Jay turned out the light. Hadie fell asleep again almost instantly, feeling safe with his brothers on either side.