When the sound of the waves crashing against the shore weren't enough to soothe his weary soul and tune out the voices coming from the cabins, he tried to distract himself in another way.
From his pocket he pulled out a small object, one of his favorite gifts that he'd ever received and simply let himself feel the weight of it in his palm. With shaky fingers he traced every line on the smooth surface shifting from metal to glass, the small vibration it emitted was a reaction to his touch. Not having a better explanation for its purpose other than being a mini lantern, he lovingly referred to it as his firefly and always carried it around with him.
It reacted to his voice and touch only, so it was a quite unique invention.
Just like his creator
The one whose voice he couldn't get out of his head, the reason why he was sitting alone in the dark by the shore trying to ease the longing that was his constant companion since the moment he realized what he felt.
A few gentle touches over the smooth golden surface and the small elliptical object sprang to life glowing in the dark more beautifully than the moon in the sky.
A small sun for the only black haired kid of Apollo.
Was written on the note next to the gift for his birthday and even though it wasn't signed he knew who it was from.
Tony Stark
The one and only person who was still a mystery to him despite them being good friends for a few years and the one he was drawn to like a moth to a flame.
His voice was the one he heard coming from the cabins, his laughter following him everywhere even when he wanted to avoid it, especially when he wanted to do that. It was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time, but at least he was happy.
If only it would last
Stephen could deal with the longing and the itch under his skin to hold, protect, heal and above all else love as long as Tony was happy, but it never lasted.
He was shining as brightly as if he was one of Apollo's kids, his mind fascinating, his smile as warm as the setting sun, his eyes more expressive than anyone else's. All of that and so much more was what drew Stephen to him and kept him by his side.
And as expected he attracted trouble everywhere he went, most of the times ending up injured while Stephen's heart ached whenever he had to take care of his wounds. The physical injuries were relatively easy for someone who had the gift of healing such as Stephen who was most likely the best amongst all of Apollo's kids, the other, invisible injuries were hard to notice and even harder to mend.
Not while he's around
His mind not so helpfully added, as jealousy burned inside of him for a couple of moments until it faded as fast as it came.
There was no point in thinking about Tony's boyfriend, the one who didn't appreciate him enough, he might be a good enough guy but their relationship was rocky at best. They fought more often than it was normal at least according to Stephen, but when there was a mission to save a lost demigod or fight off something nasty their parents let loose they worked like a well oiled machine.
Stephen had no choice than to watch from the sidelines and hope that they wouldn't end up arguing with Tony's heart broken as a result, while he did his best to prove that the only thing he inherited from his father was his powers, not his personality traits.
Being Hephaestus' son wasn't easy for Tony because there was a lot to strive for, but his brilliance made him well loved amongst the other demigods, which included Ares' kids.
If he could just see that they are not compatible.
But who he was kidding, he knew firsthand that love was blind and that there was very little he could do about it. So, he learned to be content with being his friend and he did his best to not take advantage of the trust he had been given.
Sometimes he allowed for a hug to last longer, cared for Tony in every small way he could while cherishing every little thing about him, even the ones that annoyed him. Especially those, since they were proof enough that he accepted both the good and bad sides of Tony's personality.
His eyes stung with unshed tears as he looked without seeing, his ears picking up Tony's smooth voice amongst the others despite him being supposedly far enough not to hear them. He was singing, his voice carried on the breeze, words of a song Stephen actually recognized.
Great, another thing that won't let me sleep
Having had enough of moping, he gently turned off the lantern, got up and started walking towards his cabin, biting his lips in a foolish attempt to distract himself from the singing.
And because he was lucky he had to stumble upon someone, upon those he wanted to see the least at the moment.
“Hey...” he couldn't resist the pull, so he met the curious gaze of Tony Stark who was standing next to his boyfriend.
“Tony.” gave him a small smile unable to keep under control his treacherous lips, but when his gaze fell on the other guy's face he simply gave him a polite nod.
“Rogers.”
“Strange.” was the equally polite reply, before Tony rolled his eyes at their formality, it was common knowledge that Stephen wasn't too friendly, kinda guy, he mostly kept to himself and a close group of people, so his reaction was completely normal.
“Wanna join the party ?” Tony suggested, pointing at the cabin behind him.
Of course it's Hermes' s
“Thanks but I....” he started only for Tony to continue,
“You have to go.” he sounded as if he was slightly disappointed and despite his better judgement Stephen's heart skipped a beat at the thought.
“It's been a long day...you know how it is. Lots of work due to your exceptional battle strategies captain Rogers.” he didn't bother to hide the dislike in his voice.
At least Rogers had the decency to appear as if he felt guilty about his mistake on the training simulation that ended up worse than expected. Or it might have been the low light that gave him that look.
When he opened his mouth to reply, Tony barged in,
“Stephen is tired, you're tired, we are all tired, let's leave it at that.” then he pointed his sharp eyes at Stephen, taking notice of more things than he should have been allowed to, but Stephen was tired so his guard was down.
“How about I come to help while you take some rest ? I already know my way around and I'm certain that the other guys are almost completely healed.” the offer was genuine as everything that was when Tony was offering something.
Too kind for this world
“I don't think they will appreciate being bored to death with your tech talk.” he said and kept his smile on so Tony would know that he was joking.
“Ass” he huffed before he added,
“Fine, you just remember there will be a day when you'll be begging for my presence and help.” he joked.
I already do
“When that day comes, I'll make sure my speech to be as heartbreaking as possible.” that pulled out a delighted chuckle out of Tony.
“It's a deal then...take some rest Stephen, alright...” he mumbled.
“Will do. Have a good night...both of you.” he almost forgot about Rogers who was watching them with a semi-bored look.
“Goodnight.”
“You too.” and he quickly turned around to leave when he noticed how Rogers were trying to pull Tony inside of the cabin.
He didn't remember how he found his cabin, let alone how he ended up standing in front of his bed staring into nothing.
When the lantern in his hand vibrated and came back to life, he realized where he was and let out a tired sigh. Then he placed the lantern on the bedside table and prepared himself to bed in the dark, his thoughts far away.
He fell asleep, lulled by the memory of Tony's singing while one of the lantern's settings painted thousand stars on the ceiling.
Everyone needs their own night sky
That was two weeks ago, which felt like a lifetime ago now that Stephen was sitting by Tony's bed, watching over him as he waited for him to wake up. The device that he built into his chest, the one that helped him survive his first and quite violent attack was softly glowing, which meant that it was working, yet it didn't ease Stephen's worried mind.
He wished he could do more to heal Tony's wounds, but there was only so much he could do, when it came to the physical wounds, for the rest, well he hoped being there for Tony would be helpful.
Rogers and Tony had a big fight, then they were attacked, something happened that no one knew about, but everyone saw how Tony walked through the camp's barrier, limping, hand pressed over his heart as he struggled to stay upright.
There was no sign of Rogers, all was left was Tony's heartbroken expression before he fainted in Stephen's arms.
Bastards, leaving him alone
It didn't matter as long as Tony was alright, but by the way he acted and looked the following two weeks after the incident, there was no sign that he was going to be fine any time soon.
Stephen ached to soothe his pain, to wipe out that haunted look on Tony's face, to give him comfort in any way he can, but it wasn't easy. If he could he would take part of his heart and give it to him, if only to see him smile.
There were rumors going around in the camp, but Stephen ignored them, if he had to know the story he prefered to hear it from his friend, so he kept his mouth shut.
Until one day he had to speak, while still hiding what he really felt.
Tony had a nightmare, he had them almost every night judging by the lack of sleep he got, yet he continued doing what he did best, fixing things and building things.
One night after not being able to sleep, Stephen wandered the camp trying to resist the urge to check up on Tony when he stumbled upon him.
He was sitting at Stephen's favorite place by the lake' shore, his body trembling at the slightly chilly breeze when he saw him.
“Tony...are you alright ? Are you in pain?” he rushed to ask, words spilling out of his mouth without a second thought.
“No...I'm not alright.” came the quiet reply, his voice shaky as he avoided to look at him.
“Tony...look at me...please... tell me is there something I can do ?” he was begging, overwhelmed by Tony's pain, his heart torn to pieces, but he couldn't simply stay silent.
“My mother is dead..” then he turned around so he could face him.
Stephen stared in shock at the tears in Tony's eyes, his fingers itching to reach out and wipe them away.
“Tony...” he whispered.
It seemed that was the push he needed to say,
“Can you...would you mind giving me a hug...”
Not even allowing his doubts to stop him, Stephen rushed forwards to wrap his arms around him and pull him in. To his surprise Tony held onto him as if he was his lifeline, melting into his arms as his tears were falling on Stephen's shirt.
When he realized that he wasn't going to be pushed away anytime soon, Stephen gently shifted their positions so the both of them could be comfortable and held on.
“It's alright...I'm here...you're not alone..” he kept whispering those words over and over, not even aware of how much emotion he was showing. Nothing mattered at the moment except for Tony's wellbeing.
He kept on whispering, gently rocking them back and forth until Tony fell asleep in his arms. Then he carefully carried him to Apollo's cabin where he knew it would be almost completely empty. He hoped that Tony wouldn't mind it and was ready to come up with a good reason if he got called out for it.
After tucking him in, he allowed himself a small slip in his control, he gently brushed the hair out of Tony's forehead, letting out some of his healing powers to give him a more pleasant rest and with a soft,
“you'll never be alone, I'll always be with you.” he walked out of the room, made himself comfortable by the door and settled down to wait.
To be there if he was needed.