speed of sound || chaos <3

This was the first time that Tiberius Winters had been out of camp with anyone other than Quinn. He felt weird, as if he was betraying her with his own half-brother, but that simply wasn’t the case. Ty knew he needed more of a social life, he knew that being locked up in his cabin listening to mozart, playing chess by himself, and rereading the same shakespeare book over and over again was not considered healthy. So when the opportunity presented itself in the form of a little gay brother by the name of Dylan, Tibs took it gratefully. What they were doing was simple, shopping. The two brothers had very different tastes in almost everything, but Dylan had truly wanted to make it up to Ty for punching him in the nose. It didn’t hurt anymore, but there was a dark purple bruise beginning to show. Even so, the demigod had brought some of his own money because if Dylan bought everything for him he’d feel guilty.

As his brother went to take a shower Ty went to examine his clothes. The white shirt he wore was rumpled up, having slept in it the night before, and so he changed into another white collared shirt. The cabin leader picked a simple stormy grey tie to wear and then decided to put a sweater on on top it all of it. The sweater was a lighter grey, like a beige stone in the dark, and it had darker grey and black tribal markings on the chest area, and a bit by the hem of the shirt. This outfit made Tiberius look slimmer and more tall and graceful, if that was even possible. 

He stood outside of the cabin, waiting for Dylan to emerge. It was a nice day, even if it was a bit cold. Tibs was excited to go shopping with his brother, even if he didn’t show it like he was supposed to. The cabin leader was more like a robot than anything else. When his brother did come out, Tibs smiled. “Ready? Excellent, let’s go.”

As they walked out of camp, Ty actually began to talk, which in itself was a rarity. “You should know that Quinn and I… Well, we do love each other, very much so. Or at least, I think she loves me. She hasn’t exactly said it to my face.” As a child of love and a brother, Tiberius felt as if he could tell Dylan these things and not be judged. “However we are very different, very stubborn people, and it is a miracle in itself that we are even together. She and I, we are like cat and mouse. I don’t imagine us ever stopping.” He looked at Dylan, wondering if he even cared at all. 

Tiberius shook his head. Dylan didn’t know half of the things that he and Quinn had gone through the past year they were together. First there was the good things, like the haircuts and the cabin leader meetings, which Ty counted as dates but he was pretty sure they weren’t. There was also the time he was sick, and Quinn had come to visit him, and that was the day Tibs learned never to let her around a tea kettle, as the results were disastrous. But there were also the bad things, like the night Quinn and Tiberius went to Kronos’ camp, and Tiberius almost died. Then camp the road trip they had taken, and it was very awkward at best. As they walked out of camp the demigod took one last look at the cabins and then left to go to New York.

“No, you don’t understand. Quinn isn’t the type of person to be affectionate. You could consider me the girl in the relationship. She strong, she’s brave, she’s wonderful she… she’s perfect.” Tibs smiled stupidly, blushing again. He couldn’t help it even if he wanted to hide it from his brother. Dylan had expressed his hope to get a boyfriend, and while Tiberius didn’t have any experience with a family member that was homosexual, he was completely open to he idea. He himself was an asexual. Deep down Ty thought that Dylan would be cute with a guy. He was like a puppy, energetic and innocent and just overall fun to be around. And so what if Tiberius was using Dylan to fill the gap he had felt ever since he left Charlotte? At least he cared about his brother, which was more than you could say about most people these days. 

As they snuck out Tiberius kept looking behind him, making sure they weren’t being followed. He was agitated, worried that they would be caught and punished with the utmost severity. However he trusted his brother to do the right thing and not get them caught in the first place. “Yeah, it’s agonizingly cute to have your girlfriend crying over your dead body.” Tiberius said darkly, frowning in distaste at the memory. He had no doubt in his mind that Quinn was going to get revenge for that night, and it had all been in vain for his lesson had not been taught to her. Again Ty shook his head at Dylan’s question. “I have not for fear of rejection. Quinn is… well she’s a difficult person to love, and even if I told her she’d more likely than not laugh in my face.” Then he smiled sadly, because he really wanted to tell Quinn how much he loved her. He wanted to shout it to the pale moon in the dark sky how much admiration he had for the fiery girl who had stolen his metal heart. In the meantime, telling his brother his love for her would suffice. 

Soon they got to the city, and Tibs turned into an excited five year old on the inside. On the outside however, his exterior was calm and cool. “What shall we go to first, brother dear? The bookstore? Or the clothing store?”