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phykios · 3 years

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Five Times Percy Jackson Cheated At School (And One Time Someone Cheated Him) [read on ao3]

thank you as always to @darkmagyk for inspo and beta-ing 💙💙💙 and thank you to @arosnowflake for the homer idea!

Percy squints at the paper prompt again, tilting his head, as if the new angle will extract some hidden information. It doesn’t change. The font is the special dyslexia-friendly one used by most departments at NRU, so he isn’t misreading it, either.

Your final will be an 8-10pp (TNR, 12pt, double-spaced) research paper expanding on one of the topics discussed in our class so far, or an alternate idea of your choosing, to be submitted in writing by May 7 with footnotes and bibliography. By 10am on the Wednesday before the Thursday class you will submit online a 750-word essay (word count does not include footnotes) on the research thread you have pursued that week (no written assignments due Week 6 or Week 12).

Percy might hate college.

“Your neck bothering you again?” Annabeth asks, coming up behind him, her hands already on his shoulders. She’s sweaty, dressed in workout clothes, having just come back in from a jog.

“My neck is fine,” he says. “Just preemptively freaking out over my Roman history final.”

He tilts his head back over the top of his chair, staring into the upside down, prettily frowning face of his girlfriend, and it does nothing to improve his mood.

“How bad is it?”

“Eight to ten pages,” Percy says, “not including footnotes.”

“Ouch.”

“And,” he grimaces, “it’s a topic of our choosing.”

Her mouth twists in sympathy. “Sucks.”

“Yep.”

“Anything I can do to help?” She squeezes his shoulders lightly, an open invitation.

He shakes his head, stretching his arms back to grab her waist. “Promise not to break up with me when you catch me crying at 4AM over it.”

“Promise.” And she seals it with a kiss, bending down to reach him. “Dad wants to know if you’re free on the 16th.”

“The 16th?” He wracks his brain. He’s pretty sure it doesn’t conflict with sailing, or Greek Club, or the monthly intra-pantheon relations council meeting that Chiron and Clarisse both guilted him into joining. “Pretty sure. Why?”

“Dinner--Charlotte’s out of town that weekend.”

“Sounds good.”

“Great, I’ll let him know. Now,” and she grins, “are you going to stare at that computer all day, or do you want to come and take a shower with me?”

Percy slams the computer shut.

He doesn’t think about his paper topic for a while after that.

***

To his great dismay, Percy gets to her dad’s house first on the 16th. Drama in writing group 🙄 she texts him as he gets to the door, be there asap.

Great. Alone in the house with his girlfriend’s dad. Taking a deep breath, he knocks on the door.

Not a minute later, Dr. Chase opens it. Last time they went to visit, Percy and Annabeth had ended up waiting outside for almost a quarter of an hour. “Oh, Percy,” he says, fumbling his flight helmet off his head. “Goodness, I thought I’d lost track of time again. Come in, come in.”

“Thanks,” Percy says, stepping inside and shedding his jacket. “Annabeth’s running late, but she said she’d be here soon.”

He frowns, looking so much like Annabeth that it throws Percy for several loops. “Well, that’s alright,” he says. “I’m sure we can entertain ourselves well enough until she gets here.”

“Yeah,” Percy chuckles, uneasy.

Several seconds pass.

“Oh!” starts Dr. Chase. “Right, yes. Come in. Would you like something to drink?”

Spoiler alert: it doesn’t get much better.

A few minutes of staggered conversation later, it becomes eminently clear why they need Annabeth between them. It’s not the awkward small talk that doesn’t go anywhere (“How’s school going for you?” “It’s okay.” “Good, that’s good to hear.”) or the fact that Dr. Chase doesn’t really grasp how to relate to younger kids (“Have you heard of this website called ‘Vine’?”), but more that it’s just painfully obvious that the two of them don’t really know where they stand with each other.

Now, he knows that Frederick Chase doesn’t hate him. Objectively, he’s aware of the fact that, if it weren’t for him, Annabeth never would have reconnected with her father in the first place, and he kind of owes him for that. Also, Percy knows that he’s a pretty chill guy--a little scatterbrained, but chill.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to make a good impression, though. Or that Dr. Chase thinks that Percy is smart enough for his daughter. Because, like, Percy isn’t smart enough for Annabeth--that much is obvious. Dr. Chase was courted by Athena. Percy barely made it out of high school calculus.

“Would you…” Dr. Chase hedges, plucking off his glasses and giving them a quick wipe with his shirtsleeve. “Would you like to see some of my current research?”

“Uh… sure. I’d love to.”

At the very least, hopefully Dr. Chase will talk enough for the both of them, eating up time until Annabeth gets here.

A new spring in his step, Dr. Chase leads Percy to his study, where he’s got a setup worthy of Cabin Six: on his desk is a massive map of the Mediterranean, littered with miniatures of tanks, planes, and ships. Ringing the room are wall-hangings, depicting different types of planes, half of their structure in x-rays like people in an anatomy textbook, sandwiching the giant viking sword which hangs directly behind his chair. Every inch of floor space is occupied with a pile of books, some serving as additional desk space for mugs, notepads, spare toy soldiers, and, in one case, what looks like the leftovers of a handful of celestial bronze spearheads, melted down into shiny, useless nuggets.

“You know I primarily study aviation,” Dr. Chase is saying, tidying up as he walks around the room, “but my colleagues and I are collaborating on an interdisciplinary re-evaluation of the entire North African theatre in World War II. It’s fascinating stuff; until very recently, they used to call it the ‘war without hate,’ given the lack of partisan roundups and, ah, ethnic clashes that you see in Europe--absolute garbage, of course. As if there weren’t civilians caught up in the fighting, too!” He chuckles, pleased at his own joke. Percy forces a laugh out of himself. “Anyway, with my prior experience studying the invasion of Sicily, I was brought on to assist in piecing the timeline together, working backwards from 1943.”

“Cool,” says Percy, filling the natural gap of conversation.

“Extremely! Operation Husky was a terrific endeavor of airborne, amphibious, and land-based combat.”

Percy nods. Amphibious? “Uh-huh.”

“Though, I must admit, I am having a little trouble retracing some of the ships.” Peering over his map, he leans down, fiddling with one of the ships. “You see this one here? The Palmer?”

Stepping up to the desk, Percy crouches down so the little toy ship is at eye level.

“Well, based on official records, the Palmer was supposed to have arrived at the rendezvous point at the same time as all the other ships, but ended up delayed by two days, and I can’t… quite…” He moves the ship again, frowning. “Figure out… why…”

“Where were they sailing through?” Percy asks.

Dr. Chase points to the map. “From Alexandria to Malta.”

“They probably just hit a bad couple of currents,” Percy says, standing up.

Tilting his head, Dr. Chase peers at him. “How do you mean?”

“If you’re going through the Cretan Passage, you’re going to hit all kinds of West-East currents which will push you backwards.” Snatching up a pencil from a nearby book stack, Percy lightly sketches on top of the map, tracing along the North African coast. “There are tons of overlapping currents in this area that push boats around in circles, especially around Sicily. That’s one of the reasons why so many historians figure that Homer was referring to the Strait of Messina when Odysseus goes through Scylla and Charybdis, here.” And he circles the strait, with a confident flourish.

When he pulls back, Dr. Chase is staring at him.

Percy blinks. “Um… sorry I drew on your map.”

“You--I have been trying to figure that out for weeks.”

He coughs, shrugging his shoulders. “Sorry.”

But Dr. Chase just laughs. “You can make it up to me by helping me with these next.” Clearing crumbs off of southern France, he bends over, pencil in hand. “So, say you were trying to get from Marseilles to Tunis…”

Forty-five minutes later, still embroiled in battle recreations of the Mediterranean theatre, they don’t hear Annabeth letting herself in with her key, not even registering her presence until Dr. Chase, grasping for a notebook, spots her leaning against the doorway. “Don’t stop on my account.”

“Oh, Annabeth, dear! I’m sorry,” says Dr. Chase, going over to give her a hug. “We didn’t hear you come in.”

“I can see that,” she says. “What are you guys doing?”

“Percy here has been assisting me with naval movements,” he says, proudly.

Lacing her fingers with his, Annabeth steps over to Percy, studying their battle map. “Really?”

“Oh yes, he’s been phenomenally helpful.”

She kisses his cheek, pleased. “Look at you, Mr. ‘Phenomenally Helpful.’”

“It was pretty fun,” he admits, warm all over.

“I’d bet. Although, I guess this means we should probably order in for dinner…?”

Rubbing at the back of his neck, Dr. Chase smiles. “Yes, I suppose we should. Does pizza sound all right to you two?”

“Let me take care of it,” she says, slipping from Percy’s side. “You guys looked like you were in the middle of something. Extra olives, dad?”

“Don’t forget--”

“And anchovies, Percy, I know.” She rolls her eyes, taking out her phone.

Rather than the three of them move into the kitchen, Annabeth ends up bringing the pizza in with her, because of course she has opinions she’d like to share about the Allies’ naval movements.

“You know, Percy,” says Dr. Chase, “I must say, you have a real knack for this kind of thing. Have you thought about what you might major in yet?”

Ah, the million drachmae question. “Not yet,” he says, fiddling with a pencil. “I figured I’d get through my gen eds first and then see which one I hated the least.”

“I think you should consider majoring in history.”

Percy’s head snaps up. “History?”

“Specifically maritime history, I suppose. Your predisposition to sailing and ocean currents would be a huge asset to your research.”

“But--wouldn’t history have, like, a metric ton of required reading? I’m not really sure that’s my area.” He has a daughter with dyslexia and ADHD; surely he’d understand Percy’s hesitation.

But he just shakes his head. “Graduate programs these days are very favorable towards interdisciplinary methodology, I sincerely doubt you’d have to barricade yourself in the library. And recently there’s been a significant push to make the field more accessible to students with disabilities, including things like digitization, screen reading for people with vision impairments, and even restructuring programs all together so that students no longer have to memorize the Encyclopedia Britannica in order to pass their general exams.”

“That’s really nice of you to say, Dr. Chase,” Percy says, “But history class isn’t like talking over naval movements with you.” He thought back to the paper that had lowkey been haunting his dreams. “Like, in my classical history survey, I can’t just… talk about currents and battle plans. I have to come up with a topic on my own, and then write about that.”

“Surely something involving Roman naval movements would be well within your skill set. You have a second sense about these things,” he chuckles, “clearly.”

Percy glances towards Annabeth, hoping she’ll back him up, but she looks thoughtful. Considering. Like she’s actually thinking about her dad’s proposal. “I can’t just choose something in naval history.”

“Why not?”

“Because… it's too easy?”

If it was anything like his afternoon with Dr. Chase, it might even be fun. And school isn’t supposed to be fun.

He repeats that thought to Annabeth as they drive home. “School isn’t supposed to be fun.”

“No,” Annabeth agrees, “but I don’t know… I like my intro art history class way better than anything we ever did in high school because I actually care about it. Maybe if you write about stuff you’re good at, like my dad suggested, you’ll like it more.”

The idea follows him all the way to bed, where he’s still mulling it over at 2 in the morning. Before he can chicken out, he grabs his phone, shooting off a quick email to his professor with his potential paper topic, then rolls over, eventually falling asleep.

By morning, he has a response.

Sounds good! Looking forward to it.

***

With shaking hands, Percy calls his mom. “Yes?”

“Hey mom.”

“Percy?” He hears her perk up, almost visualizing her sitting up in her chair. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

Mom instincts. They can always tell when something is different. His heart throbs in his chest. “Nothing’s wrong,” he says, smiling stretching across his face. “It’s just--I got my paper back.”

Percy had ended up writing his paper about the Roman navy movements in the Battle of the Aegates in 241 BC. It was probably the most fun he’s ever had on a school assignment, or at least the most fun he’d ever had writing a paper.

“And?” She sounds expectant, hopeful. His mom has always had such faith in him, even with thirteen years of schooling to prove her otherwise.

He looks back at his email, just to make sure he’s reading it right. “I got an A.”

She gasps. He can hear the scrape of the chair as she stands up. “Percy, that’s wonderful!”

“Thank you.”

“An A!”

He smiles into his fist, inordinately pleased. “Thank you.”

“Oh, sweetheart, I am so happy for you!”

“Thanks, mom.”

“I’m so proud of you, Percy.” Her voice is soft now, like twilights on the beach with blue marshmallows. “I know how hard you’ve worked for this. You should be very proud, too.”

“I am.” And he is, weirdly enough. “I just can’t believe it.”

“I can.” His mom must be grinning, her eyes sparkling. “I always knew you could do it.”

“Sally?” He hears in the background, muffled. “Is that Percy?”

“Paul, Percy got an A on his Roman history paper!”

A second voice crowds its way in, equally excited. “An A? That’s great, kiddo! Congratulations.”

Why can’t he stop smiling? “Thanks.”

“I bet that feels pretty good, doesn’t it?”

“It does.”

“Well, it is very well-deserved,” says Paul. “That was some great work you did. I could tell how passionate you were about your topic just from your first sentence.”

“Thank you.” Maybe he should be worried about all this praise going to his head, but damn, is it nice. “Listen, I have to go get started on dinner, but I just wanted to give you a call.”

“Of course,” says his mom. “I want to hear from you more, okay? Tell me more good news! Like when are you and Annabeth going to--”

“I’m working on it, okay?” says Percy, smiling even more broadly. “I’ll keep you posted, promise.”

She laughs, tinny and happy. “You’d better. Congratulations again, sweetheart.”

“Thanks mom. Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

And he hangs up, puts his phone down on the table, tilts his head back, and sighs, full, happy, a release.

Maybe college won’t be so bad after all.

“You don’t have to do this,” Frank says, hushed. “All you have to do is walk away.”

Five Greek Fire bombs, cloudy yellow, are lined up on the table in front of him, neatly laid out in front of five twenties. From the side, Frank stares him down, surrounded by an army of morbidly curious Romans. Someone turned off the music and turned on the lights a while ago, stopping the party in its tracks, every eye on Percy and his opponent. Figures, his first college party all year and he causes a scene.

Percy grips the edge of the table. “He insulted the Mets,” he says for the millionth time. “I can’t let that shit stand.”

Frank sighs. “Annabeth?” he asks, hoping to stop this nonsense.

Turning to his side, Percy sees his girlfriend, two drinks in, her cheeks lightly flushed, but solid as she stands beside him, supporting him. Her eyes are hard, fierce, the warrior gaze of Athena all but leaping out of her. “Do it,” she says.

William, the sour-faced Roman legacy of Juventus, scowls. “A hundred bucks on the table. Sixty seconds. No throwing them back up.”

“Deal.”

“Frank,” Annabeth calls. “Start the clock.”

He sighs. “You guys are idiots.”

“Frank!”

“Okay, okay.” He holds out his phone, thumb primed, hovering over the screen. “On your marks, in three… two… one…”

He hits zero, and Percy grabs a shot glass. Squeezing his eyes shut, he brings it to his lips, and throws it back.

It’s… not what he expected.

The tequila is awful--no getting around that. Even to Percy’s untrained taste buds, having really only ever had some of Gabe’s sour beer (under duress) and some of the Demeter cabin’s strawberry wine (on his eighteenth birthday, a celebration for actually getting to graduate high school), he can tell it’s cheap, rank, unrefined shit, like he’s drinking straight toilet cleaner. But the garum, the weird Roman condiment that the shot is mixed with, the one that Percy had never heard of before, it’s… it almost tastes like the fish sauce that comes with the pork and rice noodles from the Vietnamese place down the corner of his mom’s apartment, only less… fishy? Yeah. Less fishy.

It’s a weird taste. It’s not bad, by any means, it just--straight up, it just tastes like saltwater. Like the sea.

And, well. Percy can handle the sea.

He looks at William, and grins. “You are so fucked.”

The assembled Romans cheer, spectators at a gladiator show, as Percy knocks back the rest of the Greek Fire bombs, one after another, clearing them all in under thirty seconds. Annabeth swipes up the cash, shrieking as she throws her arms around Percy. William wanders off, red-faced and glaring, as whoever turned the music off before flips it back on, the night, and the party, saved.

Silly Percy. He should have known what was coming next.

Thirty minutes later, he is well and truly wasted.

“You’re, like, really pretty,” he shouts at Annabeth over the loud music.

She snorts, grinning at him. “Thanks.”

“Seriously,” he slurs, tipping forward on his feet. “You could be a model.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Remember when we were fourteen,” he yells, bracing himself against the wall, “and you got kidnapped by that monster?” Slightly soberer but still a little flushed, she bites her lip, nodding. “Well, I followed the rescue party--I told you that, that I snuck out of camp to follow the rescue party? Right?”

“You did.”

He takes a sip of water, running his tongue around the inside of his mouth. Feels goofy as fuck. “We got hijacked by Aphrodite halfway through, and when I saw her, I thought--I thought, ‘Holy shit, she looks a little like Annabeth.’”

Her brows shoot up, smile pulling at her lips. “Really?”

He nods. “Totally! But you’re way, way p--”

Still smiling, she silences him with a kiss, the lingering taste of hard cider on her tongue. “I appreciate it,” she murmurs, grinning, “but you probably shouldn’t say that out loud.”

“Gross.”

From out of nowhere, like he always does, the weasley little shit, Nico di Angelo is suddenly in their space, looking surly and emo as ever, red solo cup in his left hand. “Nico!” Percy crows, grabbing for him and missing. “How’s my favorite cousin?!”

Ducking his wildly swinging limbs, Nico grimaces in the way that Percy has to come to recognize as his attempt at a smile. “Better’n you,” he says, a little wobbly. “What’s up with him?” he directs towards Annabeth.

“Greek Fire bombs. Five.”

“You’re a psychopath.”

“What!” Percy pouts. “He insulted the Mets.”

“Aren’t you s’posed to be, like…” Nico snaps his fingers, words momentarily escaping him. “A--representation… person? For the Greeks?”

Percy waves his hand, hitting the wall. “Fuck that. The Greeks can handle themselves. The Mets are sacred!”

“Are you with anyone?” Annabeth asks, momentarily taking up Percy’s usual role of concerned parent friend while he is drunk off his ass. Theoi, he loves this girl so much.

Nico shakes his head. “No, but Will and I are staying with--”

A thought suddenly blooms in Percy’s tequila-soaked brain. “Nico!” He shouts.

“What?” he hisses, glaring.

Percy pushes himself off of the wall, outstretched arms managing to box Nico in, falling on his shoulders and trapping him. He’s still a short, skinny little shit, the fuck, when are his Big Three genes going to kick in? “I need to talk to you about the thing.”

“The what?”

“The thing! The--the,” then he leans in, scream-whispering over the pounding bassline. “The thing.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“You know, it’s…” Percy licks his lips, language escaping him for a hot second. “Round. Metal. Jewelry thing.”

A beat, then Nico’s eyes widen. “Oh, that thing.”

“Yes, that thing!” Pulling back, he pulls Nico towards him, slinging an arm over his shoulders in a half-headlock. Annabeth watches, bemused, lips pursed as she tries not to smile. “I need to borrow Nico for a sec,” he says, words spilling out of him. “Back soon. Later. Soon.”

Her eyes crinkle, grey sparkling. She’s so fucking pretty. “Drink your water.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Then together, like some three-legged beast, the two boys lurch away deeper into the party, Nico leading them towards the kitchen. “Where’re you taking me?” Percy slurs. “‘M I being kidnapped again?”

“If I’m helping you plan out this stupid proposal,” he grumbles, pouring himself more vodka, “then I need to be less sober.”

***

Some mistakes may have been made.

“Where’s Annabeth?” Percy mumbles, looking back towards the house. The party is still raging, someone’s muffled Spotify playlist making a real racket, the greatest hits of ABBA still bouncing around his skull.

“Simp.” Nico, swaying a little, tries to stand up from his kneeling position, only to fall heavily back down on his knees. “She’s right where you left her.”

Discussing Percy's proposal plan had led to more drinking. More drinking had led to the two of them discussing their shared preference for blondes. (“Malcolm is pretty cute,” Nico admitted, flushing, and Percy almost screamed, “Isn’t he?! Sometimes I think about Annabeth with short hair looking like Malcolm and I almost start crying because she’d be so cute!”) Which then led to even more drinking. Which then led to general bitching about their lives, about Percy's hard-ass classics professor Dr. Bauer who he actually really liked but just pushed him so hard and expected so much of him, and Nico's half-brother Zagreus who was causing some family drama by picking fights with Hades all the time and also hooking up with both Thanatos AND the fury Megaera, which, ew, which then led to Percy inhaling his drink, nearly choking to death on unspecified college punch, Nico laughing at him all the while, as he had the most incredible idea.

"Nico!" He shouted, crushing the red solo cup. "Can you resurrect Homer for me?"

Nico gaped, staring. "What."

"Seriously! I need to ask him something for my paper."

"Percy." Nico gazed at him, all the power of the Ghost King boring into his soul, deep and haunting. Percy stifled a burp. "You're a fucking genius."

Which is how they found themselves around a shallow hole they had dug in the backyard, a large bottle of Pepsi originally intended as a mixer pilfered from the kitchen along with two slices of pepperoni pizza dumped on the grass beside them.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this," he says, uneasy even through his drunken haze.

"It was your idea!"

"I don't have good ideas."

“Fuck you, I’m doing it.” With all the force of a tiny, angry kitten, he snatches up the Pepsi bottle, wrestling with the twist cap for a good ten seconds. “I wanna give that bitch a piece of my mind for making me cry in school.”

Percy looks at him sideways. “Hector killing Patroclus got you, too?”

He snorts. “Fuck no. Achilles didn’t pay his dues to the dead.”

“Seriously?”

The cap pops off, and Nico tips the bottle over, dumping flat, lukewarm soda into the shallow hole. “It’s the ultimate dishonor!”

Freak. Percy would die for the kid.

“Let the dead taste again,” Nico mutters. “Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember.”

“You’re so weird.”

“Says the guy who’s related to both horses and water.”

“I’m not related to water, I just control it.”

The dirt turns black, dead soil mixed with sticky sugar water. Nico drops in the pizza, and begins to chant, that same ancient Greek that Percy heard in a dream once, talking of death and memories and returning from the grave or whatever. It’s still creepy as shit.

Despite the warm California night, the air thickens with chilly fog. Silence, impenetrable, surrounds them, blocking out the noises of the party. From the earth, blueish, vaguely person-shaped figures begin to form, like thunderous clouds before a storm. “Which one is Homer?” he asks, hushed.

“Shh!” Nico hisses.

Like little wells of gravity, the fog begins to coalesce. On one of them, Percy can almost make out, like, fingers. “Um, Mr. Homer? Sir?”

The figure doesn’t say anything. It lowers its mouth, drinking the soda out of the dirt. When it raises its head, Percy can see it more clearly, curly hair and milky white eyes and a straight nose. It--he?--seems a little more solid than your average run-of-the-mill ghost.

Nico frowns, eyes closed, concentrating. “What’s your name?” he mumbles.

That mouth opens, soundlessly, jaw working on nothing.

“Speak.”

It--there’s a sound, like hissing, only it’s not coming from the mouth, Percy thinks. It sounds like it’s coming from the earth. “Nico?” he asks. “You good?”

The ghost opens its mouth again, moaning, raising its hands. Weakly, unsteadily, it stumbles forward on feeble legs, tripping over the shallow hole in the dirt.

“Nico?” he asks again, a little more forcefully. “What’s going on, dude?”

Nico blinks, slowly, mouth hanging open a little. “Uh.”

The… thing… raises itself up on its hands? He guesses, and knees, crawling its way over towards them.

Now, Percy may be drunk off his ass, but he has seen enough movies to know exactly what the fuck is up.

Moving with a speed he didn’t quite think was possible right about now, he grabs Nico’s wrist, and pulls him up, dragging him along as he lurches towards the house. “Percy…” Nico moans, stumbling over a rock. “I think I fucked up.”

“You think?” Percy wrenches the door open, tossing Nico inside, before following in after, throwing himself against the door.

Nico groans, throwing his arms over his face. “Dio santo, my head.”

“Forget your head,” he says, “did we just raise a Homer zombie?!”

Panting, Nico stares up at him, sprawled on the floor of the house. “Oops.”

Percy thunks his head against the door. He does not have nearly enough mental capacity to deal with this right now.

But, he thinks ruefully, at least it’s just one. Even drunk, he’s pretty sure he can handle one zombie.

Nico’s eyes widen.

Percy stares. “What.”

“I didn’t stop the ritual.”

His stomach goes cold.

Turning around slowly, he pulls aside the little curtain on the window. “What?” Nico asks. “What do you see?”

Percy can’t speak, mouth dry.

Slithering up behind, Nico peers over his shoulder. “That’s… not great.”

“Nico,” Percy says, eyeing the horde which slowly shambles closer, half-decayed bodies in togas bumping into each other, almost identical to the drunk college students inside, as the song changes, once again, to ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).’ “Please go get Frank and Annabeth.”

The following Monday, an announcement is sent out to the entire campus: Per new department guidelines, students may not utilize the ambassador of Pluto to interview the dead for academic purposes.

Percy attempts to flatten his hair. He readjusts his shirt. He almost wipes his sweaty palms on his pants, before he realizes what he’s doing, and clenches them instead, nails digging into his palms. He turns to Annabeth. “Do I look okay?”

“Ooh, ‘Mapping Funerary Monuments in the Periphery of Imperial Rome.’”

“Annabeth.”

She looks up from her brochure. “Relax, seaweed brain, you look fine. You look better than most people here.”

“That’s because I bring down the average age of presenters by about thirty years,” he hisses, eyes darting about at the milling mass of attendees, all packed into the hotel ballroom.

Dr. Bauer had alternately convinced/pressured/guilttripped him into attending this year’s annual conference for the Society of Classical Studies to talk about the research he’d been doing with her. This year, the conference was held in San Francisco, so at the very least Percy didn’t have to spend five hours stressing about his poster presentation while simultaneously up in the air. But now that he’s here, in the ballroom, surrounded by strangers who know way more about this subject than he does, who are actually smart and probably never nearly flunked out of school or got kicked out or--

“Hey.” Annabeth takes his hand. “I know that look. You deserve to be here just as much as any of them.”

“Do I? I feel like any moment someone is going to come over and throw me out for trespassing.” He vaguely recalls something similar happening to him as a kid after he had ducked into the lobby of a semi-nice hotel to dodge what he had thought, at the time, was just a weird stalker, but had later realized had only had one eye. In any case, the hotel security guard had practically picked him up by the scruff of his neck, tossing him back out into the street.

“That’s just your imposter syndrome talking,” she reassures him. “No one is going to throw you out.”

He sure as shit hopes so. It would be a shame to have done all this work for nothing.

Glancing back at his poster, Percy can’t help but feel… good. Accomplished. Proud. About a school assignment, of all things.

His poster traces the development of the prow from the Greek penteconter, to the Roman liburna, and finally to the Byzantine dromon, looking at artistic depictions in history. Percy had picked the topic himself, spending hours in the library reading, writing, and hand-drawing cross-sections of the ships on the poster board when the images he had gotten from the Cambridge University library had been too small. It had been grueling, frustrating work, but fun, too. And not nearly as much reading as he had feared.

Dr. Chase proofread it for him. Dr. Bauer signed off on it. And Annabeth had taken one look at it, smiled, then kissed his cheek.

That was the best compliment he had gotten.

Though now he’s kind of torn between showing it off and hiding it away before one of these attendees figures out that he doesn’t belong.

He rocks back and forth and his feet, pursing his lips, randomly clicking his tongue. Annabeth nudges him. “Your ADHD is showing.”

That’s when, finally, one of the attendees steps up to his poster. He certainly has the look of a professor, in a black cable knit sweater with grey, curly hair and a receding hairline, thin, rimless glasses perched on his nose. He squints at Percy’s poster, rubbing his chin with one hand. “Interesting,” he murmurs, in a thick German accent. “Very interesting. This is yours?”

“Um.” He glances at Annabeth, who is frowning at the brochure, silently sounding out words that she can’t read. “Yep. All mine.”

“Very interesting.” He leans in closer, tilting his head. “So you agree with Pryor and Jeffreys about the skeleton-first construction, then?”

Percy blinks. Pryor and Jeffreys had written The Age of the Dromon, arguing that the ram, which had been a key feature of Roman liburnians, had gone away in ancient ship construction because of developments in how they built the hull. Right. “Yes,” he says. “The skeleton-first construction is a lot stronger than the, um,” shit, what was the name for this, Leo had only told him about a million times--oh! “Mortise-and-tenon!” He nearly shrieks. “The mortise-and-tenon method. It, um, it wears out a lot more quickly than the frame, so… yeah.” He clears his throat.

He nods. “Very interesting.”

Percy stares. Can this guy say anything else?

“This is very well done, young man.”

Oh. “Thank you,” he says.

“Who are you working with?”

“Um, June Bauer?” He winces at the accidental question.

He frowns. “I’m not familiar with her work. Where does she teach?”

What a loaded question. “Uh… New Rome University.”

“I’m sorry?”

“It’s--she used to teach at Northwestern, if that helps. Um, retired,” Percy says.

The frown stays, but at least he doesn’t ask any more questions. “Hmm. Well, this is excellent research, nonetheless. I look forward to reading your dissertation.” Then, distracted by something else, he wanders off, chin still attached to his hand.

“Who was that?” Annabeth asks.

Percy shrugs. “Beats me. Also, what’s a dissertation?”

“It’s like a senior thesis, but, like, five hundred pages long.”

Five hundred?! “Fuck me.”

“Maybe later,” Annabeth smirks. “It looks like you’ve got company.”

Sure enough, a smallish group of four people are approaching, led by Dr. Chase, making a beeline straight for them. “Here we are,” Dr. Chase says, gesturing. “This is the project I was telling you about. Percy, would you mind going over your poster for us?”

“No problem, Dr. C,” says Percy, smiling his least-grimace-y smile.

As one, the adults all turn to look at him, faces politely blank, expectant.

Percy swallows. “So,” he begins, “um, this research is about the development of ship construction in the Roman empire…”

He trips up on some of the words, and at one point, he sees Dr. Chase squint in the way that usually means that Percy is speaking too fast, but all in all, he doesn’t totally fall flat on his face. His audience looks engaged, nodding along as Percy moves from point to point, and no one accuses him of being a giant fraud, which is pretty nice.

At one point, Percy turns to the poster to indicate a specific point on his ship diagrams. When he turns back, his audience has suddenly multiplied, four people turning into a whole goddamn crowd. Each person gives him their undivided attention almost unblinking.

His mouth goes dry. “Um…”

Dr. Chase, bless him, saves his ass once again. “Would mind starting again from the beginning, Percy?” he asks, a little bemused himself at the amount of people that had suddenly appeared.

Silence stretches on for a moment, the muffled noise of the rest of the conference like a dull roar in his ear.

Annabeth, behind him, coughs.

“S-sure. No problem.”

Swallowing, he closes his eyes, breathing in through his nose. Why, oh why did he let Dr. Bauer talk him into doing this again?

He pictures the tides of Long Island Sound, gentle and rocking, unhurried and unbothered, tries to match his breathing to them. When he opens his eyes, unfortunately, the crowd hasn’t disappeared. Everyone is still staring at him.

But Annabeth stands next to her dad, flashing him a big smile and two huge thumbs up.

Percy relaxes. He’s got this.

“Okay,” he says. “So, about the middle of the first millennium CE, ship construction went through a couple of major developments…”

This time goes much, much more smoothly. He’s not sure what it is--though it’s probably Annabeth, her face fixed in a gentle smile as she watches him speak. Gods, what did he do in a past life to deserve someone as amazing as his girlfriend?

That’s the only reason he can do this. Hell, that’s the only reason he even thought to do this. If he didn’t have Annabeth there, encouraging him, cheering him on, he never would have had the confidence to put himself out there like this. She’s there to pick him up when he doubts himself, there to listen when he can’t explain himself, there to give him feedback when he needs to practice.

She makes him feel so strong. She makes him feel like he can take on the world--or at the very least, that he can impress a handful of academics.

And they certainly seem impressed with his talk so far.

“Excuse me,” says a nasally, pinched looking older British guy, face lined as though he lived his life in a state of perpetual squinting. “I find your conclusions to be suspect--wouldn’t the frame method be more susceptible to breaking than the mortise-and-tenon?”

Well, most of them, anyway.

Percy shakes his head. “You’d think, but no. If you look at the study by Steffy, you’ll see that the three-finned ram from the Athlit wreck was designed specifically to break the mortise-and-tenon hull by causing the planks to flex, so that they’d dislodge the joinerys right next to them. A blow like that can cause the wood to split right down the middle.” A blow like that had sunk Sherman Yang’s ship when they tested it out on the lake at camp last summer, the naiads practically hurling him out of the water so quickly Percy didn’t even have to dive in to save him.

“How were you able to do these strength tests?” asks another listener, an older woman with a thick Hungarian accent.

“Hands-on battle simulations,” Percy replies, easily. “We took our models and tested them in as accurate a simulation as we could make.”

“And how big were these models?”

Percy holds his hands apart, a vague, entirely inaccurate estimate. “About thirty meters, give or take.”

Her eyes widen. “How on earth did you get your hands on such a large ship?”

Percy freezes. “Uh.”

Oh, shit.

He had forgotten--most people didn’t have dads who could summon shipwrecks from the bottom of the sea, dropping them off at Camp Half-Blood with nothing but a sand dollar and one or two exhausted, pissed off hippocampi who had had to drag them all the way there.

“Um,” he stammers, licking his lips, thinking fast--c’mon, Percy, think! “I…” He swallows, panicking. “I… b… built one.”

In the corner of his eye, Annabeth facepalms.

Simultaneously, every mouth in the crowd drops--in shock, outrage, and even excitement. “You built one?!” the woman yelps.

Oops. “I had help,” Percy says, quickly.

Annabeth adds a second hand to her facepalm.

“Where?” The first man asks, his bushy brows flying above the rim of his glasses.

“At my… summer camp…”

Dr. Chase sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I mean,” Percy chuckles, shrugging his shoulders, trying not to sweat too obviously, “it was either that or lanyards, am I right?”

Dr. Chase, thank Athena, raises his hand, ready to step in. “What Percy means to say, I believe,” he says, attempting to draw their attention, “is that--”

“That’s amazing!” says another woman, probably a grad student attendee based on the fact that she’s wearing jeans. “Do you have pictures?”

Oh this is not good. “Um, not--not on me, but--”

“I do.” Annabeth takes out her phone, holding it up to the person next to her.

Percy blinks. “You do?” He doesn’t remember her taking any pictures.

She shoots him a look, two parts exasperated and one part “shut up and let me handle this,” with just a dash of fondness in the mix. Pointedly, she looks at him, eyebrows raised, indicating that he should continue.

Oh. She’s using Mist. And he needs to keep their attention on him so that they buy it. “Right,” he says, clearing his throat. “Any more questions?”

His audience placated for now, passing around Annabeth’s phone, he manages to finish up his presentation. After fielding a few more questions, people start to peel off, distracted by other posters and presenters in the ballroom. When everyone has finally wandered away, Dr. Chase comes up and pats Percy’s shoulder awkwardly. “Nice work,” he says, and he seems like he means it. “A little touch-and-go there for a while, hm?”

“A little.”

He chuckles. “Still, you should be proud. I don’t know how many undergraduates would be able to handle that kind of pressure.”

“I mean,” Percy says, shrugging a shoulder, “it’s about on par with leading an army. Maybe a little less.” Honestly, maybe even a little more stressful. If a monster had decided to attack the convention center and interrupt his presentation, he probably would have been relieved.

He’d been worried for a moment that he’d undone all those years of work in making Annabeth’s dad like him. And that he’d be charged with some sort of academic fraud, for the whole “I have a boat” thing without proof. Thank the gods for Annabeth, as always.

She’s looking at him now through narrowed eyes. She at least can’t be surprised--that was far from the dumbest thing she’s ever seen him do. At least his “I spent most of my time at magic greek mythology summer camp” covers are normally better than hers. As someone who spent his formative years in the real world, he’s usually pretty good at keeping the demigod thing under wraps.

“Come on,” she says, grabbing his hand. She pulls him off, through the dispersing crowd, lacing their fingers together, sweet and intimate, out of the hall and then down another one, and through a smaller corridor. Bringing them up to a little door, with a shake of her wrist, she pulls out her Estruscan keyring bracelet. About several of the keys have found themselves used in various misadventures, vanishing once their purpose is fulfilled, but her favorite key is still there. And, just like a clever child of Hermes, it can pick just about any lock.

Inside is just an empty room, a little staging area surrounded by tiered desks going up, no more or less remarkable than any of the other conference rooms they’d visited before.

“What--?” His question is cut off by Annabeth’s mouth on his.

Surprising, but definitely not unwelcome.

It's a while before they separate again. “You’re so good at this,” she tells him, unbuttoning his shirt.

He runs his hands along the lines of her flanks. “I’ve had a lot of practice,” he grins. He’d practice kissing her all day long if he could.

She smiles, shaking her head. “No, not this,” though she does lean in for another kiss, pulling at his lower lip with her teeth. “I know you’re good at this.” They break away, Percy pulling her shirt over her head, Annabeth shucking off his. “But history. Presenting.” She runs a finger over his chest, kissing his cheek, headed towards the sensitive spot on his jaw. “Gods, you’re so smart.”

Something about the praise vibrates through his chest. She doesn’t sound surprised, or anything, just--turned on.

“You had all those crusty academics eating out of your hand. Just, so impressed by you, knowing you know way more than they do about naval history. When you were explaining the--” Her compliment is cut off with a moan, as he leans down and starts sucking on her throat. Her blouse has a high neck, so he feels no guilt for using his teeth.

“Watching you today, gods.” Her breath is labored as his fingers play at the waistline of her skirt. “And then thinking of you defending your dissertation.” He bites at her jugular, and she lets out a long, deep moan.

“I don’t know what that means.” Do academics fight each other? Like, with weapons? He’s pretty sure he can take most of the people he met today.

“It means you get to show off how smart you are,” Annabeth says, grasping his shoulders, pulling him in for another kiss. “I was born the day my dad defended his. Gods, it's going to be amazing to watch you go.” She yanks his belt out of his pants, tossing it to the floor.

They miss the panel on recent translation efforts. But Percy can’t say he minds one bit.

And when Annabeth presents him with a positive pregnancy test two months later, Percy definitely knows he made the right decision.

He almost doesn’t realize he’s having a dream-vision at first.

It has been literal years since he’s had a demigod dream. Hell, it’s been a long while since he’s had a dream, period--being a new dad to a one-and-a-half-year-old saps too much of his energy to even think about dreaming. Once Junie is put to bed, when he’s out, he is fucking out, and he does not have the brainpower to spare to manifest any messed up subconscious fears.

Which is why when he blinks open his eyes, taking in the too-bright colors of the Parthenon and the gleaming shine of the bronze statues which are somehow all looking at him--also, you know, how the Parthenon is complete, standing as it did thousands of years ago, and not crumbled into ruins--he knows, immediately, he is being contacted by a god.

And only one god in particular would bring him to Athens.

Without even checking, he heaves himself up off the ground, folding into a kneel. “My lady Athena,” he says, “can I ask for what quest you’ve brought me here?”

“Impertinent as ever, Percy Jackson,” rumbles the goddess, but Percy doesn’t think he can sense any ill will towards him. He hopes, anyway. “Perhaps I have summoned you here for a social visit.”

“Perhaps,” he says, choosing his next words as carefully as possible. “But I assume you have too much to worry about to randomly check up on your daughter’s boyfriend.”

He lifts his head, catching her expression--stoic as always, but maybe with just the barest hint of a smile. “You assume correctly. You have become, contrary to my initial expectations, very wise in the time that I have known you.”

“Thank you.” He knows better than to do anything but accept the compliment for what it is.

“I have observed your work as a scholar in recent years, and I must say that I am surprised, yet pleased, that you have chosen to pursue such a path. I had not thought you to be suited for a world of old men and dusty papers.”

He grits his teeth. Don’t rise to the bait, don’t rise to the bait, don’t rise to the bait--

“I understand, as well, that though you and my daughter have,” and here her careful composition cracks, just the slightest, the tiny lift of her lips falling, “made a child together.”

Percy swallows. He figured, you know, in the abstract, that Athena would know about Junie, but hearing her say it out loud is… well, he’s just glad that Dr. Chase has always liked him. “Yes, my lady.”

“It is customary in your time to marry prior to childbirth, is it not?”

“It is.” Oh, fuck, is she going to smite him for that? “I--that is to say, we, Annabeth and I, we, um, we definitely want to get married, but, Annabeth kind of…”

He trails off. He can’t tell Athena, goddess of war, that his daughter pissed off the queen of heaven! And if he does, he definitely can’t imply that it was because she was being too stubborn!

“I know well of my daughter’s history with my father’s wife,” Athena says, smoothly. “I come to you now with an offer of peace.”

Percy straightens his back. Peace?

Raising one graceful arm, Athena turns, indicating the structure behind her. “Look upon my temple,” she intones. The white marble shines even more powerfully against the blue and red paint, intricate scenes and figures ringing the top of the columns. “In the time of Pericles, it was built to commemorate the victory of Hellas over the armies of Xerxes the Great. It was to be the shining beacon of our world, a triumph of our power and influence over the race of men.”

The race of men might have had something to say about that, he thinks to himself.

“But it was not to be,” Athena says, mournfully. “As our influence waned, so too did our temple, until its might was all but forgotten.”

Before his eyes, the paint fades away, ceilings and columns collapsing, the destruction of the Parthenon playing out in front of him.

“Some two hundred years ago,” she says, her voice taking on a darker, more dangerous tone, “a grave insult was paid to the ruins of my ancient sanctuary.” Like curtains falling on a stage, darkness swallowed up the structure, swift and impenetrable. “Many treasures were taken from my temple, stolen, by foolish, greedy men, spirited away far to the north, where they have languished in unworthy hands.”

He narrows his eyes. She can’t possibly be talking about--

Athena turns back to him, her eyes blazing, somehow twice as tall. “Retrieve my treasures,” she commands, war personified, “return the prizes of Athens to their rightful place, and I shall give you my support against my father’s wife.”

“You…” Percy leans back on his haunches, staring dumbfounded up at the goddess. “You don’t happen to mean the Parthenon Marbles, do you?”

“Yes.”

“The ones in the British Museum.”

“The same,” she says, imperious as ever.

Fantastic. “Welp,” Percy says, slapping his thighs, scrambling up. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to decline. Nice seeing you, by the way. I’ll tell Annabeth you stopped by.”

Her sharp gazes pierces him, full of fury. “You dare to refuse my support?”

He snorts. “When it means trying to get the UK to give the marbles back, absolutely. Do you know how stubborn they are about this?”

Lightning flashes behind her, nearly blinding him. “You will regret this,” Athena says, dark and foreboding. “You may have your father’s goodwill, but the queen of Olympus is clever and cunning, her displeasure swift and merciless.”

But Percy still shakes his head. “When Annabeth and I get married,” and it’s definitely a ‘when,’ it’s just a matter of when precisely, like after Junie can sleep through the night maybe, “I’d rather take my chances with Hera than try and untangle that particular can of olives.”

A growl, and a snap of her fingers, and Athena disappears.

With a start, Percy wakes up. Junie had gotten her chubby little hands around his nose, and had decided to pull.

“Ow, ow, Junie, hey,” he squawks, attempting to dislodge her grip from his face. “Hey, I’m awake, it’s okay.”

She laughs, illegally adorable, her grey eyes sparkling, squeezing harder.

“Okay, okay,” he laughs along with her. “You got my nose, you win.”

As if she were waiting for him to admit defeat, she lets go, clapping her pudgy toddler hands together.

“That’s right,” he picks her up, raising her above his head. “Barely sixteen months old and you already know how to take me down, don’t you? Just like your mommy.”

She smiles, waving her little fists.

Gods he loves this little monster.

Junie really is the best parts of both of them. She’s got her daddy’s hair but her mommy’s brain, quick and sharp and painfully adorable. She’s already learning to read Greek, Annabeth sitting her in her lap and sounding out vowels together, Annabeth taking her finger and tracing it over the letter shapes. This kid absorbs information like a sponge, which Percy can only assume is the natural conclusion of taking a son of Poseidon and a daughter of Athena and mixing their DNA together.

Thinking about his dream, he frowns. “What do you think, Junie,” he asks his toddler. “Should I take her up on her offer?”

The baby says nothing.

“I mean,” he tilts his head, “Greece has been trying to get the marbles back for two hundred years. UNESCO has top lawyers on this. What does Athena think I can do?”

Junie blinks at him.

“On the other hand, I do really love your mom,” he admits, “and I really want to marry her. You’d like that, right? To have your parents be married?”

There’s no way she can understand what he’s saying, but she moves her head like she’s nodding. Or maybe she does understand. She is Annabeth’s daughter after all.

Percy sighs. Dammit.

Time for a new project, he guesses.

***

Several months, a college graduation, and one relocation to Boston later, Percy growls, hurling his pencil at the wall. Mother fucker. Fuck the British Museum, fuck his tiny laptop screen, and fuck the Italian prick who decided to have the least ADHD-friendly handwriting of all time.

Why the hell is he doing this again? Like, seriously. Why in all of Hades is he, an inexperienced, snot-nosed, first year master’s student deciding to tackle the return of the fucking Parthenon marbles of all things. Like, what is wrong with him?

Roughly scrubbing his fingers through his hair, Percy stands up. He has to go for a walk, clear his head, or he might actually explode.

Then he catches a glimpse of the photo pinned to the fridge.

Percy’s mom had taken it, a candid of Percy and Annabeth and Junie on a sunny day in Central Park. There, in perfect 1080p, Junie is laughing, at what he can’t even remember, her pudgy fists yanking on Percy’s hair, while her mother and the love of his life does nothing to extricate Percy from her grip, her face screwed up so hard she had tears in her eyes.

Percy had talked a lot of shit to the goddess of war’s face, but truth be told… Hera still terrifies him a little. Which, he assumes, was her goal all along, but it would be nice to marry Annabeth without fear of something going terribly wrong--or, gods forbid, something happening to Junie. That simply was not a risk he was willing to take. Percy is content to spend the rest of his days as Annabeth’s life-partner and roommate, if it means that the queen of the heavens won’t have a reason to take out her issues on his children.

Even if the engagement ring in the back of the pantry is gathering dust.

Sunlight, wan but warm, falls in from the window, landing perfectly on his pile of open books. “I know, I know,” he growls, speaking to the air, rubbing his face so it doesn’t get stuck in a permanent glare. “I just--I just need a few minutes, okay? Let me go down the block and get a coffee or something. Two minutes, Lady Athena.”

The light fades. Percy takes that as an acquiescence, angrily scribbling a note. He’s not sure when Annabeth and Junie will be back, but even angry as he is, he doesn’t want to worry them.

Snatching up his jacket, he slams the door shut, stomping out of his apartment building and down the streets of Boston. He must be accidentally doing his wolf stare, because people are practically flinging themselves out of his path as he hurtles down the sidewalk. Literally--some girl is walking her husky, and the poor dog actually whimpers, cowering as Percy rounds the corner.

Coming to a stop, Percy slaps his hands over his face, drawing in a deep, shuddering breath.

He might be in over his head a little.

Sighing, he looks to his right. He’s standing outside of a Starbucks.

Percy doesn’t drink coffee, Annabeth does. And he knows exactly how much of a coffee snob his girlfriend is. Starbucks? Overpriced, overrated, over-sweetened garbage.

He pushes the door open, sliding up to the counter. “I’ll take a… iced mocha, I guess,” he says. “Large.”

“No problem,” chirps the barista. “I’ll have that out for you in a minute.”

“Thanks,” he mumbles.

One thing Starbucks does have going for it, though, are really good napkins for doodling.

Slumping down in his uncomfortable metal chair, elbows resting on the hard, faux-wood table, Percy takes out his pen, and doodles aimlessly on the brown napkins. No, not that pen. Just because it can write doesn’t mean that Percy wants to risk slicing his face open every time he has a stray idea. Completely out of the blue, Annabeth had gotten him a nice set of pens, and ever since then, Percy always keeps one on him. Now, if he could just remember to use the little notebook she had gotten him, too.

Percy is not an artist by any stretch of the imagination. He doesn’t have an image in mind, just lets his pen move, drawing endless chains of triangles and stars, nebulous shapes which form themselves into Greek letters. After he catches himself writing γλαυκῶπις for the eighth time in a row, he sighs, dropping his pen, and picks up the cup, taking a sip.

Yuck. At least the chocolate outweighs the coffee taste a little.

Gods, and their cups are always, like, drenched from condensation--not that Percy can feel it, but there’s practically a whole other drink on the outside of the plastic, dripping all over Percy’s pile of doodle napkins. That must be why they give out so many.

Grumbling, he mops up the mess, ink smudged into a blue-brown slurry.

He stops.

He squints at one of his doodles.

Not that anyone else could tell, but Percy had apparently been trying to recreate the signature of Ottoman sultan Selim III, the guy who had supposedly authorized the Earl of Elgin to take the Parthenon Marbles. Percy had been staring at copies of his signature all damn day, trying to tell if it had been forged or copied, but classical Arabic was just so far beyond anything he could even begin to wrap his head around. It was gorgeous work, but even looking at it made Percy’s eyes swim.

This particular doodle is not his best attempt. It looks nothing like the signature. It’s smudged, blotchy, but in a way that’s… weirdly familiar.

Snatching the napkin up, Percy bolts from the Starbucks, leaving his mocha behind.

Taking the steps of his apartment building two at a time, he bursts into his kitchen. His set up is exactly how he left it, books spread out all over the table, laptop shut and laid askew, the dry, half-eaten remains of his morning muffin on a plate on top of his encyclopedia of illuminated manuscripts--except for one book, the one on Ottoman history of the nineteenth century. It’s been opened, its pages facing the door, in the exact opposite direction of all the other books.

“Hello?” he calls into the apartment. “Anyone home?”

No response.

Percy approaches the table.

From the pages, Selim III stares at him, his portrait rendered in black and white, sitting just above a figure of his signature, his tughra.

Percy picks up the book, squinting.

The signature is crisp, clean, a work of art all by itself.

He looks at his napkin drawing. Blurry and smudged.

Opening his laptop, he pulls up the scans of the documents in the British museum, zooms in on the letter’s seal.

Blurry and smudged.

Percy stares.

It… can’t be that simple, can it?

In a daze, he fires an email off to his new grad advisor. Hopefully he won’t mind Percy sticking his nose in where he doesn’t belong. Hey Dr. T--was looking at the Parthenon marbles docs in the BM (don’t ask) and I noticed this weird smudge on the tughra. Lazy scribe, maybe?

And he closes his computer.

Later that night, while he puts Junie to bed, he gets a response. not sure. sent it to a colleague for a closer look.

He can’t even be bothered to really think about it though, not with Junie looking up at him with Annabeth’s eyes, and asking for another book. “Alright, kiddo,” he acquiesces, settling in beside her. All her story books are in ancient Greek, and at age two, she’s starting to recognize the letters. “Which one are you thinking?”

“Daw-fins, daddy,” she says, smiling.

“Dolphins, eh? Getting Mr. D on your side early, I see. As smart as mommy.” He leans down and kisses her forehead before he starts to read her the story of the sailors and their sudden dolphin madness.

***

“Huh,” Percy says to himself a few weeks later, as he and Annabeth are chilling on the couch, watching some Netflix.

His advisor has forwarded him an article from the BBC (New evidence suggests Elgin documents to be forgeries) with an accompanying note: Amazing catch!

“What is it?” Annabeth asks, nudging him with her elbow--a feat, since she also has an armful of a squirmy Junie to deal with.

“Update in the Parthenon marbles thing.”

That gets her attention. Anything Parthenon-related does. “Really?”

He shows her his phone.

Her eyes go wide as saucers. “Damn.”

“Yep.” He doesn’t realize he’s smiling until he feels his lips pulling at the sides of his mouth.

“My mom is probably your biggest fan right now.”

He starts. “What did you say?”

Turning back to the TV, she still manages to cast him a weird look. “I said, my mom will probably love you for this.”

A beat, then Percy practically somersaults over the couch, darting into the kitchen. Wrenching open the pantry door, he shoves his hand behind their collection of flours, fingers grasping for--

“If you’re looking for any more sacrificial cookies,” Annabeth calls after him, “we burned them all when Junie got a cold.”

“Remind me to make some more,” says Percy, pulling out his prize. It’s a little dusty, streaks of flour clinging to the blue velvet. “I have a feeling we’ll need them.”

“Oh yeah?” She chuckles. “What, did Olympus put in a special order?”

Percy slides back down next to her, ring hidden in his closed fist. “Can I have the baby for a sec?”

Eyes fixed to the screen, Annabeth passes her over. Junie’s hands automatically reach for his nose, ready to grab, but Percy places the ring in her grasp instead, kissing her forehead. “Hey, babe?” he asks Annabeth, handing her back. “I think our daughter has something for you.”

Annabeth takes her without a second glance.

Then she does take a second glance.

Ring closed in her pudgy toddler fist, Junie holds it out to her.

Annabeth gapes.

“So,” Percy says, wrapping an arm around her shoulder, “quick confession: I wasn’t just working on the marbles for fun.”

Annabeth just stares. Junie babbles.

“Your mom told me that if I helped get the marbles back, she’d back us against Hera if we ever got married. So…” He trails off, waiting for her response. As close as he is, he can see the tears start to well up in her eyes--a good sign. “Shall we?” he prompts.

“Oh thank all the gods.” Annabeth is crying, because she's Annabeth. And because she's Annabeth, she also wastes no time in transferring Junie to her other side, and holding out her hand so Percy can slide the ring on her finger. “I was so worried I'd have to have Chase on my Masters’ diploma, too.”

Percy is making sauce when his phone lights up. He hits speaker. “Hey.”

“Hey man,” comes the tinny voice of Magnus. “Sorry I missed your call earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Percy says, “I figured you were dying or something.”

Magnus’ eye roll is almost palpable. “Very funny. What’s up?”

Bringing the spoon to his lips, he blows on it, taking a taste, before reaching for the salt. Needs way more. “Do you happen to have any Varangian guards in Hotel Valhalla?”

“Varangian guards? Uh, maybe. Probably. Why?”

“I’m doing a thing on the attempted reconquest of Sicily,” he says, lowering the heat a little to a simmer, “and I’m having some trouble piecing together the Battle of Montemaggiore. Know anyone who was in it?”

Magnus hums. “I’ll ask around. Anyone in particular you’re looking for?”

Rifling through their little spice cabinet, he makes a mental note to get a new thing of hot sauce, tipping the rest of it into the pot. “If you have anyone who fought under Harald Hardrada, that would be great.”

“Hardrada? I’m pretty sure he lives on the fifth floor.”

Percy nearly drops the bottle. “No shit?”

“Big dude, long mustache, writes poetry?”

“Yes!” He picks up the phone, grinning from ear to ear. “Do you think I could come up and talk to him sometime?”

“Sure, but I thought you were doing something on Homer’s identity?”

He groans. “Backburnered for now until she stops driving me crazy.” No matter how many times Percy tells her, he can’t just drop the “Homer was actually an Egyptian woman” bomb without some serious evidence backing that up. And forgery is not one of his strong suits. Hence the need for a different topic for the time being.

“Has everyone ever told you your life is weird?”

“No, why do you ask?”

His phone suddenly vibrates, shocking him so badly he nearly drops it into the saucepan. Almost home, texts the love of his life, a shot of serotonin directly into his bloodstream. V hungry

“Sorry, Magnus, but I gotta run. Thanks for your help.”

“No problem. Say hi to my cousin for me.”

“Can do.”

“And make sure you pick a date soon! Sam needs to know so she can schedule her flight home.”

“Soon as I can.” You know, when his brain isn’t melting from grading undergrad papers. And making sure Annabeth and Junie are fed. And that Annabeth doesn’t lose herself in graduate school. And finding Junie a new preschool after she destroyed a classroom last month because of a monster. His toddler is a badass. But he’s a little worried she’s gonna follow Mommy and Daddy’s example as far as school goes.

Sometimes, he thinks that their wedding just won’t ever happen. With Athena on board, he figured it would happen sooner or later, but time just… keeps getting away from them. Which isn’t the end of the world. A lifetime at Annabeth’s side is all he really needs, Mrs. Jackson or no. But he’s seen the silver fabric she weaved for her wedding dress. It would be a shame for all that hard work to go to waste.

And, yeah, he wants to see his little Junie dancing down the aisle flinging seaweed before her mother. He wants his mom to cry a little and he wants all his friends to be there to celebrate with them. Is that so much to ask?

Speaking of his two favorite girls--”We’re home!” Annabeth calls from the hallway. “Junie, go say hi to daddy!”

Her bare feet slapping against the floor, his daughter comes toddling in, making a beeline for him. “Hey, kiddo,” Percy says, scooping her up. “How’s my best girl?”

“She’s just fine, thanks,” Annabeth says, setting her work bag down on the table. “Tell me I don’t have to wait for dinner--Margie kept me for the entirety of my lunch break, and I am starving.”

“Just gotta make a salad and we should be good to go.” But he makes no move to finish chopping vegetables, entirely too enraptured with the way Junie smiles when Percy sticks his tongue out at her. “Let me guess,” he says. “Does my best girl want some olives?”

“Peas,” Junie says.

“Oh, you want peas instead?”

She giggles, waving her arms. “Elaia, daddy!”

“Fine,” and he kisses her nose. “Extra olives for you.”

“Chip off the old block,” Annabeth says.

Handing her back to her mother, Percy sighs. “When am I going to get a kid who likes anchovies?”

“I’m doing my best here, okay?”

***

Hardrada is… not what he expected.

“Reputation isn’t that bad.” Hardrada is saying. “The production isn’t what it should be, but lots of her lyrics are still on point.”

“The production ruins it,” Percy insists. “And as a follow up to 1989? It's just bad.”

“And what about Lover?”

“What about Lover?”

“You can’t argue with the genius of that one.”

“It is terribly inconsistent,” Percy shoots back. “Yeah, ‘The Archer’ and ‘Daylight’ and ‘Miss Americana’ are sublime, but ‘ME!’? Come on!”

“Are you one of those people who thinks she peaked at Red?”

“Red is a bop from start to finish,” Percy fires back. “But she definitely peaked at folklore.”

“Thinking she peaked at folklore is just pedestrian when ‘tis the damn season’ exists!” Hardrada yells, drawing his axe, which is then promptly flung over Percy’s head.

As the only mortal in a room full of armed, excitable, undead Taylor Swift stans, Percy beats a hasty exit, Magnus and Jason covering him as he flees, because they’re just so thoughtful like that. Percy’s pretty sure he saw Magnus take an arrow to the knee, going down in a heap, before he shuts the door to the hotel, finding himself in a Forever 21.

Looking over his notes later as he gets back to his apartment in the North End, he frowns. They had spent… approximately twenty minutes talking about Sicily before getting solidly off track. Who knew an eleventh century viking would have such intense feelings about pop music?

And now he’s singing “seven” to himself as he unlocks the apartment door, because it's a good song, and because it made him think of Annabeth. And he always wants to think of Annabeth.

“Hey, babe,” he calls into the apartment, toeing off his shoes. “I’m back!”

He gets no response.

Percy looks up, confused. “Annabeth?”

“In the bathroom,” he hears, faintly.

“Everything okay?”

“Yep! Totally fine!” she says, unconvincingly.

“Alright,” he calls back. “Let me know if you need something.”

Moving Junie’s toys out of the way, he drops down onto the couch, grabbing his laptop. Hopefully he can make some sort of sense of the… notes… that he got from Hardrada. Though he’s probably going to have to trek out to Beacon Hill again, which, while not really out of his way, does mean he has to hike a bit from the Park Street station through the Commons, which makes him super sweaty and out of breath. It’s just embarrassing, walking into a hotel full of the greatest warriors of Valhalla, and Percy can barely handle a hill.

However, he’s not so out of practice that he can’t sense Annabeth coming up behind him. “You good?”

“What do you think about getting married by the end of the month?��

“Sure,” he says, pecking at his computer. Damn autocorrect ruining all the Norse names. He keeps forgetting to download the right language package he needs. “But I thought you wanted to wait until after you turned in your portfolio?”

“Well… I might not be able to fit in my dress if we wait much longer.”

That gets his attention.

Percy turns around, slowly. Annabeth is grinning, holding a thin little piece of plastic with a circle on the end. She wiggles it.

“Is that…?”

“Yep.”

“Oh.”

Her smile falls. “Are you mad?”

“What? No!” Percy slides his computer off his lap, twisting around to face her, up on his knees. “No, no, not at all. I’m not mad.” She slings her arms around his neck, pregnancy test warm against his skin. “I just…”

Eyes warm, she looks into his, unafraid. “What is it?”

“It’s…” It’s silly, is what it is. But this is Annabeth. If he can’t tell her, who can he tell? “I just feel bad that I’ve gotten you pregnant twice before getting married.”

“Well, at least I’m not nineteen this time,” she says, raising an eyebrow. “But maybe we wouldn’t have this problem if you weren’t such a horndog.”

Percy snorts. “Me? What about you, Annabeth ‘3 AM anal before my first lecture’ Chase.”

“Jackson,” she corrects.

“Huh?”

“It’s Annabeth ‘3 AM anal before your first lecture’ Jackson.”

Grinning, he presses his mouth to hers. After all this time, she still smells like lemons, her lips soft and warm. “Not yet it’s not.”

“Then let’s make it happen.”

And, well, Percy can’t think of a better plan.

Jamie hisses. “Fuuuuuck,” she whispers, the sound dropping like a stone in the dead lecture hall. “Goddamn shit fuck ass.”

And the worst part is, she’d actually spent a lot of time preparing for her Latin midterm. She’d made flashcards, she’d drilled noun endings, she’d even slept with the textbook under her pillow for fuck’s sake.

Typical--the moment she sits down to take the test, it all goes out the window.

“Legistne carmen longum de Troiano,” she reads under her breath, as though saying it out loud will unlock some hidden secrets of the cosmos.

Nope. Nothing. The multiple choices remain as inscrutable as ever.

“Psst.”

Jamie looks up.

There’s a four year old staring at her.

“Hi,” Jamie says.

“Hi,” says the four year old. Junie, her name is, she thinks.

Mr. Jackson, Jamie’s Latin TA, will bring his kids to class with him sometimes--his wife works full time, and Jamie guesses that they can’t afford a babysitter. She’s a cute kid, quiet, usually sitting in the corner of the lecture hall, drawing or even knitting, sometimes with her little sister playing with toy ships next to her.

Now, she’s still staring at her. “What’s up?” Jamie asks.

“Bello,” says Junie.

Jamie blinks. “Sorry?”

“Legistne carmen longum de bello Troiano.”

She squints down at her test sheet, attempting to visualize her flash cards. That’s… “Bello” is the right answer.

The fuck? The fucking four year old can speak Latin? “Thanks,” she whispers.

Junie beams at her.

Darting her eyes to the front of the lecture hall, Jamie spies her professor, Buck, completely conked out at his desk, his chest rising and falling with his snores. Percy is nowhere to be seen, his laptop open at his chair. “What’s the next one?” Jamie turns her paper so that Junie can see better.

“Pluto Proserpinam infelicem cepit,” she announces, perfectly accented.

Jamie points to the one after that.

“Rex qui pontem fecit erat Ancus Martius.”

“Awesome.”

The door to the lecture hall opens. Jamie whips around in her seat, startled, and sees her TA, walking down the steps. From the corner of her eye, Junie disappears, booking it to her dad, who scoops her up without missing a beat. “Hey kiddo,” he murmurs, smiling crookedly. “Were you bothering my students?” Then he glances at Jamie. “Sorry about that--hope she wasn’t too annoying.”

But Jamie shakes her head. “It’s fine.” Dammit.

Still smiling, Percy makes his way back down to his seat. Junie grins at her over his shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around her dad’s neck.

At the beginning of the semester, Professor Buck had droned on and on about Mr. Jackson, about how he was one of the best up-and-coming classics scholars in the world, how he could have had his pick of PhD programs, and how NYU was lucky to have him. He got first pick of assistantships this semester, apparently, but had volunteered to teach Latin 1001, and they should all be grateful, because he had done some beautiful new translation of Virgil for his Master’s thesis, and they were all going to learn a lot from him.

Turning back to her exam, Jamie snorts. Of course a guy like that would have a kid who could speak perfect Latin.

She really should have just stuck with German instead.

#my fic #pjo #percabeth #the rivalry ends here #perseannabeth #darkmagyk #percy should be a classics major and here's why #the percy major for the stem hating author #also i feel like i have to say:#1) classics conferences are not like that #2) if only it were that easy to get the bm to return looted antiquities 🙄#pjo fic #percabeth fic #percy jackson

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chironshorseass · 3 years

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part 1 read on ao3

“So you’re telling me that you haven’t Iris Messaged Annabeth in a month?”

“She was with her cousin, Ma.”

His mother stopped the car right next to Goode—the high school he would (hopefully) be attending in August.

She turned to look at him, that motherly stern look that always came up when she knew he wasn’t telling her everything.

“What?”

She shrugged. “Whatever you say. But physically, you haven’t seen her since last January! I’m just worried that—”

“We emailed each other, though—”

“Yes, but it’s not the same.” At Percy’s roll of the eyes, she held her hands up in surrender. “All I’m saying is to…see if there’s anything wrong. I have a feeling she didn’t want to IM you for some other reason. And I know you, Perce. You have the same feeling as I do.”

He did, but that wasn’t the point. So he kissed his mom on the cheek and stepped out of the car.

“Good luck on your date! And with, um, school!”

He threw her a thumbs up and shouldered his backpack.

Too bad that luck wasn’t on his side that day.

She saw him before he saw her.

He’s grown, was the first thing that came to Annabeth’s mind.

His clothing peppered in burn holes, the smoke wafting further back, and the pretty girl chasing him was registered later.

She saw him before he saw her, and so Percy bumped into her in the alleyway. Her hands went to his shoulders, steadying him.

“Whoah!” she said, laughing. “Watch where you’re going, Seaweed Brain!”

Maybe he thought he’d be late for our date. That’s why he’s in such a hurry.

It didn’t matter. Because he was here, and he was just a bit taller than her—his hair was longer than she remembered, but his green eyes were the same, beautiful color, and...

Then she caught his panicked look. Then she caught the girl behind him and the smoke and his burnt clothing.

“What happened?”

Before he could reply, the redhead called out, “Percy! Wait up!”

Her flip-flops echoed across the relatively quiet street, interrupting Annabeth’s thought process.

“And who‘s she?”

Percy turned to the other girl and waited until she arrived next to them. He glanced at Annabeth, wincing. “It’s uh…it’s a long story.”

“You promised to explain,” the girl insisted, breathless. “About the monsters and the gods and everything.”

“Wait,” Annabeth said. “She’s a demigod?”

“No.”

At the same time, the girl tilted her head and said, “So you’re one of them, too, huh?”

Annabeth felt her mouth fall open in disbelief. She met Percy’s eyes. “You told some mortal about us?”

“My name’s Rachel.”

And my name’s I-don’t-give-a-fuck.

“She can see through the mist,” is all he said.

She shook her head. Out of everything that could happen today…and this was what Fate had decided on.

“Come on.” She tugged on Percy’s arm. “We’re leaving before whatever attacked you comes back.”

He followed her, but not without gazing back at Rachel as though he wanted to stay with her. As though it were easier than being with Annabeth. There was something bubbling in her stomach at that, something that boiled her insides.

“Wait!” Rachel shouted. “You promised to explain!”

She sprinted toward them and took out a sharpie marker she’d sprung out from thin air. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Rachel grasped Percy’s arm and began writing something that looked like numbers.

She wasn’t rolling her eyes anymore.

“My phone number,” Rachel explained. Then she winked at him. “Whenever you can, call me.”

“What was all that about?” Annabeth said. She’d already stormed ahead, taking the lead.

He tried to explain. He’d gone to Goode’s orientation tour, just like she knew he would. There, he’d been attacked by empousa cheerleaders, and thanks to Rachel’s Sight, he’d survived.

“I’d be dead if it weren’t for her,” he said, eyeing his marked arm. “I have to repay her in some way.”

“So now you have her phone number,” she said lightly.

“Uh…yeah.”

“She’s really cute.”

Percy stopped in his tracks. She stopped as well and looked back, realizing that he was staring at her exasperatedly.

“Aw, come on, Annabeth. You and I are literally dating, and I just saw her today—well, except for last year—”

“You’ve met her before?”

He scratched his head, shifting from one foot to the other. “I, uh…yeah. Last year at Hoover Dam.”

Right. When he was looking for me.

She kept walking again.

“Are you seriously upset because of her?” He tried to grab her hand, but she pulled away. “‘Beth, I never—”

“Anyway, I don’t think we can go on our date anymore.” Her tone was scathing, like sharp, twisted knives. But she didn’t care. The gods hated her, apparently, because she and Percy could never be a normal teenage couple.

“Oh, so now you can get all angry with me when we couldn’t even call properly because of your cousin? Not even a single call?”

“That empousai said that the camp would go up in flames, we need to—”

“Don’t change the subject.” He ran up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, making her halt. The few baby fat he’d still preserved back in winter was gone, replaced with the hints of someone older; with a harshness akin to his father, the Sea God. “How much time did you actually spend with your cousin? Honestly. He couldn’t have been with you all the time, and I tried to be nice and understanding, but did you really—”

“If what that empousa warned you about is true, then we need to head to camp. Right now.”

She left before he could talk about anything else involving her pathetic lies. Left before he could see her blinking back tears. She ran directly into Argus’ van, and once Percy had closed the door, she told the bodyguard to drive directly to camp. No detours.

They didn’t talk on the way there. She stared out the window, watching the passing farms and the cotton sky.

Her first meeting with Percy after months apart and it couldn’t have gone better.

The thing is: Annabeth had changed her mind about camp. In her plans, she’d stay in San Francisco for longer than usual, just to be as far away from Camp Half-Blood as possible. Then, she’d go to New York City, and her and Percy would be taken to camp by Argus.

But plans changed.

Her mother had come, weeks before Annabeth would leave as initially intended. For some strange reason, she’d knocked on her door like Luke all those months ago.

A spluttering Frederick had answered this time. Annabeth trailed behind him, cautious for anything.

Cautious for anything didn’t mean she’d thought Athena would ever consider stopping by.

“Mom?” she’d said, eyes wide.

After greetings were made, Athena had insisted she go to camp immediately. “They are counting on you to be there, Annabeth. You must go. Before it’s too late.”

Annabeth recalled what she’d told Luke:

“People are counting on you—on me”

But hearing it from her mother, seeing her so insistent—enough so that she’d come, personally, to her porch steps—made Annabeth reconsider.

Anyway, this was Athena. Her mother. Who was she to displease her?

So she buried all her worries about Luke and Percy and followed her; in the blink of an eye, she’d arrived at camp, Athena nowhere to be seen. Annabeth hadn’t even had the chance to ask her about why she’d decided to help, out of the blue.

But Athena was right; camp needed her. Apparently, Clarisse’s top-secret quest from last winter had to do with venturing into the Labyrinth. She and Chiron had rescued Chris Rodriguez, an ex-camper who was scouting it in the hopes of finding an entrance to camp for Luke’s army. He’d fallen victim to madness in those dark, underground walls. No one knew why—only that he needed help.

Not only that, but throughout those few weeks, she’d felt as if her mother’s face was implanted in her mind like a brand; she swore she saw those grey eyes everywhere. While she got familiar with Quintus and Mrs. O’Leary. While planning with Clarisse and Chiron. While hanging out with Silena. While scouring the forest with Grover and his new girlfriend, Juniper—searching for an entrance to the Labyrinth.

It got to the point where she lit a match and watched as dozens of olives burst into flames, in the hopes that Athena would respond.

“What do you want from me?”

“Please answer.”

“What do you know that we don’t?”

Everything.

That’s what she’d say, probably. But Annabeth would never know, because Athena never answered. She nearly burned down cabin seven because of this. In her frustration, she scooped up the remaining olives, stomped across camp, and threw them into the sea.

“Thanks for everything,” she muttered, watching the waves greedily drag the olives away.

She didn’t feel eyes burning into her neck after that, but coming back with Percy restarted the process all over again.

An owl was perched on Thalia’s tree. She ignored it, only for it to come back while her and Percy both sat to hear what the Council of Cloven Elders had to say about Grover’s search for Pan.

“Mom. What do you want?”

“Lovely way of greeting your visiting mother, I see.”

Annabeth sighed.

After reasurances to Grover that, ‘Everything will be alright. Don’t worry. I know you’ll find Pan before the Council’s deadline,’ she’d taken to the trees. To where that grey owl was perched.

The owl disappeared, however. Replaced by the goddess of wisdom. So now both mother and daughter stood, a few feet apart, while everyone else gathered on the other side. No one noticed the secret meeting.

“You prayed to me,” Athena said. “Of course I would answer. Even if you did throw the offerings away.”

To where Annabeth threw them away was left unsaid; Athena knew. She knew, and she’d likely come because of it.

Annabeth shrugged.

“You’re angry with me,” Athena observed. “Anger must be controlled, or else unwise decisions happen. Like throwing a prized possession into the sea.”

“Well, Mother,” Annabeth said, jaw tense. “You haven’t exactly been clear about why you’re following me around. Or about why you wanted me to go to camp early in the first place.”

Athena was rarely quick to anger. She calculated everything, patient and firm, just like now.

“Knowing the intentions of the divine can either be a blessing or a curse.”

“But you’re about to tell me something. About to answer me. Am I cursed, then?”

Athena cocked her head, considering.

“No,” she finally said.

There was a glint in her eyes, something that told Annabeth that she was holding back.

“Well, then...I am asking again: why are you here?”

“Because I foresee that you shall lead a quest.”

A pause. Her comment was precise, abrupt as a frigid wind. Annabeth felt herself gaping like a fish. Quickly, she clamped her mouth shut. That was all she wanted, wasn’t it? To lead a quest? But then why did she feel such a profound sense of dread?

“I came to warn you. It won’t be easy.”

She restrained the urge to roll her eyes. “Quests aren’t meant to be easy.”

“Never stray from the plan,” Athena said, ignoring her comment. Her eyes were grey as granite, face hard as marble. “I know that you can…manage your hubris, but this time, it’ll be the ultimate trial for what you can or can’t do. If you can yield or not. You and Perseus both. Hubris can be controlled, but if control itself is the problem...that is very dire, indeed.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I may have made a mistake in assuming Perseus’ fatal flaw. Maybe not. In any case...you must be careful.”

“You assumed what his fatal flaw is?”

Athena regarded her carefully, like one does when studying an ancient scroll. “You can ask him about it. Since you two are...close.”

She said close as if it was a foregin word on her tongue, something she wanted to get rid of.

Of course she knew.

“About that, I don’t care what you—”

“I give you the benefit of the doubt,” Athena said, an eyebrow raised. “My children are known to make wise, rational decisions. I can only hope that you won’t become an exception to that rule. I do not approve, but it is your life. Your choice.”

Annabeth’s mouth felt like sand. Choices. She’d begun to hate them, now.

“What’s Percy’s fatal flaw?”

“Even to me, it’s uncertain.”

“But you have some idea.”

“As do you, my daughter.”

“I thought knowledge is power.”

“Yes. Knowledge is power. But how do you know that the knowledge you possess is true? How do you know if it’s not? Fate, however, is already decided; all we can do is prepare for the worst.”

“What’s going to happen, then?” Annabeth felt like she was barely able to grasp for something to hold on to, waiting— begging —for the ground to steady itself. “What will happen to Luke? What’s my role in all of this?”

Athena only shook her head. “Knowing something and having the wits to use it are two separate things.” Then she turned around, her time at camp over as well as her vague and unreliable warnings. “I must go. Good luck, Annabeth, on your quest.”

“A quest no one has even mentioned —”

“And watch for Percy Jackson.”

She vanished into the canopy, morphing into that same, grey owl. A single feather fell from the sky and settled quietly into the ground next to Annabeth’s sneakers. It mocked her, that feather. She kicked it away, then thought better of it and rubbed it into the dirt with her heel, destroying every single trace.

Your choice.

Neither her nor Percy mentioned their earlier fight. It became a discarded page, ripped off and torn into pieces like an old math textbook. It gave her space to breathe, to start over. A part of her knew that it wasn’t right, and that eventually, they’d have to talk about it—but that was eventually. This was now.

During the “now,” she filled Percy in on the Labyrinth.

(The Labyrinth will be the quest your mom mentioned. It can’t be about anything else)

He listened to everything she had to say and stayed even while Clarisse was there, too.

(Probably because they’re friends. They just hate to admit it.)

They ignored the catcalls and the teasing. She expected it, anyway.

(“So the rumors are true,” Malcolm said, wiggling his eyebrows and making her roll her eyes. “You and Percy are a thing, now.”

“Uh…yeah.”

“And you never thought to tell me? Like, I’m not surprised or anything, but—hey! Don’t hit me! Okay, fine, everyone knew since you two held hands and made gooey eyes at each other and stuff last January—stop hitting me!”)

Later, her and Percy sat together by the warmth of the campfire, roasting s’mores. She enjoyed laying her head on his shoulder and kissing his cheek. She laughed at his horrible singing and held his hand later that night, swinging their arms up and down as they walked toward cabin three.

Joking around and taking comfort in the sound of the crickets, Annabeth understood what it was like to love someone. It was a different kind of love than that of Luke. She watched him smile wide, watched the way his eyes crinkled as she rolled her eyes about Clarisse and Silena. That’s when it crossed her mind: their friendship hadn’t changed. Not really.

Even though they hadn’t seen each other for six months or so, and even though their newest step to their relationship had started weeks before that, their esense stayed the same. He was still Percy and she was still Annabeth. And that would never change.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Percy said, squeezing her hand.

“Oh, um. Just...thinking.”

“Well duh.”

“Shut up.”

He grinned at her, even as she shoved him off.

“No but seriously,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

She sighed. Her meeting with Athena had slipped into her mind like passing sticky notes and secret messages. “I want to talk about fatal flaws.”

She felt his hand tense. “What about them?”

“Just, I dunno, like...do you know yours?”

He was looking straight ahead when he said, “Your, uh, mom told me. Is personal loyalty even considered a flaw?”

“That’s what she said? That your fatal flaw is personal loyalty?”

He shrugged. “Guess so.”

So it’s true. She thinks she’s wrong.

“I mean, personal loyalty is considered a flaw, but...do you think it could be something else? Maybe?”

They locked eyes. The faraway hearth lit up his face, sharpening his features.

“Do you think it’s something else?”

“I don’t know.”

Another lie. Or was it? Could personal loyalty be his fatal flaw or could it be something else? Was Athena right? Was she wrong?

Percy raised his eyebrows. “You know something. You have that planning face look.”

“I don’t have a—”

“Uh, yeah you do. But whatever. It’s not like you know what my fatal flaw is.”

“I’m...yeah. I was just wondering since, well, I know about mine. And we’re so close to the Great Prophecy, and if you don’t know by now what your fatal flaw is, well—”

“It’s good that I know, then,” he cut in. “Good that I know my fatal flaw by now.” His eyes flicked to her. “Right?”

“Yeah. Right. Good.”

Nothing else was said after that. He stopped by the porch steps of cabin three and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes, comforted like she had throughout the singalong. Comforted by Percy.

Until he closed his door and left her in the dark.

The next day, Quintus’ strange game involving scorpions and ribbons began with her being paired up with Percy. It was just their luck that they’d stumbled into the Labyrinth, of all places .

“So we’re stuck here.”

“Yep,” Percy confirmed.

“You’re not helping.”

“I’m only here for moral support. You’re the brains of the relationship.”

“Am not,” she grumbled. “You’re smart; stop pretending you aren’t.”

It was no use, anyway. She couldn’t find the mark of Daedalus in the darkness. They took a break from searching and calling for help to sit down, bunching up against a wall and leaning against the other.

“I never apologized.”

Percy’s voice in the hollow chambers nearly made her jump. She lifted her chin and tucked it into his collarbone.

“For what?” she said.

“The Rachel thing.”

“To be fair, I’d nearly forgotten.”

“Exactly. So I just…want to clear the air before it comes up again. And to say sorry for doubting you about your cousin.”

She shut her eyes tight. The truth was coming like undigested food; she was ready to spill it all out. But she swallowed the words instead—hating herself and loving this beautiful, selfless boy all at the same time. Round and round. Round and round it went.

“I’m sorry, too.”

“What are you sorry for? You were right to be angry with me. Like, all this time apart and suddenly a girl writes down her phone number on my arm , and then we can’t even have a normal date because I seem to mess that up, too.”

You’re perfect, she wanted to say. You’re perfect and I’m the one who messed everything up. Not you.

“We both reacted in stupid ways,” she said instead. “And anyway, I should’ve found the time to IM with you.”

He kissed the top of her head and mumbled into her hair, “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“Yeah. I know.”

He pulled away from her. She could feel his gaze but couldn’t see him clearly. “Something’s bothering you, Annabeth. What’s wrong? What’s actually wrong?”

She pursed her lips.

“What if…what if we don’t make it?”

Her voice came out barely above a whisper, but in the drifting silence, it sounded like ringing bells, there for everyone to hear.

( “What if you don’t make it?” She could never dare to say that out loud, however. )

She felt Percy lace his fingers through hers. “We’ll be together. That’s something I know for sure.”

They chose silence after that. Annabeth rested her head against his shoulder once more, listening to the constant creaking and shifting of the Labyrinth.

“Hey,” Percy murmured.

She glanced at him. “Hmm?”

Suddenly, she was aware of his hand resting on her arm, of his breath warm against her cheek. She froze, just for a second.

“Can I kiss you?”

Now that she thought about it, they’d never kissed properly—just a quick peck here and there. She nearly laughed at how nervous Percy sounded, at how this was just like last winter as they asked permission for a simple kiss like the awkward teenagers that they were.

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He tucked a stray curl behind her ear and leaned in. He didn’t need to look far, not even in the darkness; she was already inches apart, closing her eyes and feeling their breaths slip by.

When their lips met, she decided that surrender tasted sweet and pure, something she’d willingly do over and over again. He kissed her and nothing else mattered, not Time or the dark or choices.

He was the first to pull away.

“We’ve, um, we’ve been in here for too long,” he said. “Let’s keep trying to find a way out.”

It wasn’t long until they did.

By the time they’d managed to slip out of the Labyrinth, hours had passed. Night had fallen like autumn leaves, though she swore that they’d been in the maze for thirty minutes at most.

By the time the campers and Chiron found them, she already knew that a quest would have to be made.

Just like her mother had promised, she was chosen to lead.

From what the oracle told her, she wished she could hide in her cabin and never come out. She wished that all of this was a dream and that absolutely nothing would happen—to anyone.

“The child of Athena’s final stand,” she’d said, repeating nearly all of her prophecy once Chiron asked her about it.

She paused and didn’t say the last line. The worst line. That line had cut to her bones. A rusted knife against her throat.

“And lose a love worse than death.”

She gazed at Percy. Innocent green eyes gazed right back at her, unwavering. What a terrible person she was, that she’d lead him to this fate because she couldn’t leave without him. How weak.

“Will you come?” she breathed.

He agreed without a second thought.

He found her in her cabin. They were alone, for once. And when he asked her what was wrong, when he looked at her like that, she couldn’t take it anymore. She surged to him, wrapping her arms around him tightly and secure, so he could never go away.

She breathed in his scent, feeling tears already trickling into his shirt.

“Hey, it’s—it’s okay. We’ll survive.”

“But what if we don’t?”

His hands drifted up to her back, steadying her.

She lifted her eyes, pulling away slightly, if only to see him clearly. A varying amount of emotions crossed his face. Concern, fear, love. Until he settled on concern and flicked away her stray tears with the pad of his thumb ever so gently. His eyebrows were pinched together.

“I just…” she said, looking away. “I just don’t want anything happening to yo—to any of you.”

“I’ll be here,” he said softly, cupping her cheek and moving it in his direction so that she could understand. “We’ll be okay.”

She wished she could believe that. Wished she could believe it with the same amount of heart that she poured into the kiss that followed. Her hands tugged at his hair, lips moving along with his like they never had before. They were warm and sure, his lips. But they could easily turn blue and cold, as easily as a flame could cease to exist. So she kissed him with everything she had so that his lips would stay warm like this, forever—passed her oxygen to him until there was nothing left to give.

Annabeth also chose Grover and Tyson to join her quest. With two more people, the quest team turned up as four instead of three; a feeling told her that she needed them all.

But three is a sacred number. Not four. This is why Zoë and Bianca passed on.

Three, not four.

And lose a love to worse than—

She strolled past the moving walls, the footfalls of the rest echoing behind her. Until she stopped. They were in a lavish room with a muraled painting of the gods, but that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the two doorways, the two paths.

“So?” Grover asked. “Which one do we uh…which one do we pick?”

Before she could answer, a man formed—or rather, a man with two faces. They stood in between the pathways, leering at her.

“Yes, Annabeth,” said one face.

“Which one do you pick?” said the other.

She kept mulling it over, what Hera had said. They’d encountered Janus, the god of doorways and beginnings and endings. And choices.

“Choose,” they’d said.

Instantly, images had painted themselves in her mind. In one, she was looking for Daedalus alongside Percy and Grover and Tyson. In the other, she was looking for Luke. “He can be saved,” her imaginary self muttered as she trudged through the Labyrinth alone, on the brink of madness. “If I save him, there will be no more death.”

But then more flashed through her mind. Choose one pathway, and she’d lose Percy, and soon after that, she’d lose Grover and Tyson. Choose the other, and she’d lose Luke instead.

“Choose.”

Everything had come to a pause when Hera arrived. She wanted to help them, apparently—only that that wasn’t true. Gods didn’t help. They only left you confused and disoriented, spinning around with no control.

She hadn’t helped, not that it surprised her.

None of them had any clue how to navigate the Labyrinth, only that supposedly Percy knew the answer. And also that they had to search for Hephaestus if they wanted to find Daedalus.

As a parting gift, she’d said, “I delayed Janus’ visit, but be careful, Annabeth. Your choice will come soon enough.”

“Let’s rest here,” Percy said, sensing her waning steps.

Despite her exhaustion, she insisted on taking first watch. She had to think. Pray. Slowly, everyone else fell into a slumber, but her mind was wide awake, gazing at Percy’s motionless form.

Prophecies had double meanings, didn’t they?

Her world was turned upside-down once she heard the explosion, once she went airborne for a few seconds only to hit her shoulder on a jagged rock. Immediately, she felt the sharp sting of pain. She clutched her shoulder, biting her lip. Her hand came back slick with blood.

“You chose this,” the two-faced god taunted her.

Then she heard a strangled scream. Percy’s scream. She inhaled sharply and scrambled to stand up, ignoring the scuttling spider that was getting farther and farther away and the stabbing pain traveling from her shoulder to the rest of her body.

“Percy!”

She ran in the direction from which she’d come from. Too late. Searing heat slapped her in the face before she understood what was happening. Another explosion came, and this time, she wasn’t so lucky.

Her body stumbled back, rocks caving in on her.

The sky. This is like the sky—

And everything went dark.

The darkness formed into a memory:

“No! I can’t leave you!”

“I’ve got a plan—promise!” he insisted. “You follow that metal spider to Hephaestus' lair, tell him about what’s going on.”

“But you’ll be killed!”

This was the choice; leave him or stay. Stay or leave.

“I’ll be fine,” he said. From the look in his eyes, Annabeth knew that she couldn’t convince him. He was decided. “Besides, we’ve got no choice.”

Yes, they did have a choice.

No.

Yes.

She kissed him instead. A quick kiss, a promise.

“Come back to me,” she said, fighting back tears. She pulled on her Yankees cap and left, then ran.

Her sobs escaped from her rib cage by then, finally free.

She woke to that memory and nothing else, head pounding like drums. The spider was long gone, and she stumbled around, drunk with grief. It was a miracle she found Hephaestus at all.

Hephaestus, thank the gods, understood her unintelligible blabbering. He took pity on her, perhaps, because he healed her physical wounds and dropped her off at camp. Never mind that Grover and Tyson were gone, on their own path looking for Pan. Never mind that Percy…

She broke down crying for the thousandth time that day when Chiron asked her what had happened. Why she’d staggered into camp all alone. Her heart, her entire being, spilled to the floor like water from an overfilled cup.

“Four went in and one came back. Only Annabeth came back,” the campers whispered among themselves. She saw their faces, saw their horror at realizing that Percy was likely dead, Grover and Tyson gone as well without much of a trace.

It drove her to hide. She stayed in bed for the next three days, not daring to close her eyes in the fear of what she may find there.

She thought that she’d run out of tears long ago, but they came anyway. She clamped her mouth shut so as not to alert any of her siblings who were asleep.

Your choice.

For the first time in the past two days, her eyes fluttered closed. She didn’t dream of anything at all.

Clarisse came barging into cabin seven the next morning.

“Come on, Princess,” she said, staring down at her. “You’ve gotta eat.”

Malcolm stood behind her, likely the one who had told Clarisse to come in the first place, since Annabeth hadn’t listened to any of her siblings about eating.

She tried to protest, to fight. But Clarisse was strong and had a purpose; Annabeth had nothing at all. So she sat in the dining pavilion, taking her time with her breakfast and ignoring everyone’s eyes on her.

Clarisse sat next to her, making sure she finished her food.

“Slowly, okay?” she said, then murmured, “Gods, when was the last time you ate something?”

“Shut the fuck up,” Annabeth snapped.

A few minutes passed in relative silence before Silena came to their table, offering solace.

“Hey, girlie,” she said. “How are you?”

Annabeth didn’t respond. Silena softly laid a hand on her shoulder, then decided better of it and pulled her in for a hug.

“You know it’s not your fault, right?” she said gently.

But it was.

Annabeth chose to leave him.

It took everything in her not to break down in Silena’s arms. Annabeth gave her a weak smile once she proposed to do something to pass the time. Like weaving, something she knew Annabeth enjoyed, being Athena’s daughter and all that.

So they did. Silena was good at it—good at making beautiful things. In the arts and crafts station, they spent most of the afternoon knitting and sewing as well, with Clarisse begrudgingly accompanying them.

She felt herself forget, her hands the only thing working. Not her mind. Not her subconscious or her guilt or her worry and fear.

It lasted only a moment. Because then she saw what she’d been working on for the past hour. Subconsciously, Annabeth had created a shroud. A beautiful one at that, with different hues of blue and green—just like his eyes. Just like the sea.

As if sensing her distress, the two girls looked up from what they were doing.

Clarisse said, “Is something wro—”

She didn’t need to say the rest, because Annabeth found her legs already moving, racing out the door.

“Let her,” she heard Silena say. “Give her space.”

She didn’t look back, sprinting to the one place where she knew Percy’s presence still thrived. Where she could be reminded that he would come back, just like he promised.

“I’ll be here.”

Cabin three didn’t look like much. Granted, she could barely focus on anything but her breathing—which was rapidly increasing its pace—but even so, she was reminded of how simple yet welcoming cabin three was in comparison to Zeus’.

It smelled like him. Like walking down the beach on a sunny day. Everything was as it always had been—clothes splayed haphazardly on the ground, bed unmade, stray papers adorning his nightstand.

She crumpled to her knees on the worn wooden planks. A great sob escaped her, and she covered her face with shaking hands

“He’s gone, Poseidon,” she cried. “He’s gone, and—and I’m so sorry.”

That night, she threw up everything she’d eaten.

“It is time,” Chiron said, his eyes dim with pity.

He preferred demigods dead, it seemed, than to try and look for them. She’d begged. Pleaded. Fallen to her knees until they bled. But it was no use; her teacher was convinced he was dead, and by the time the second week passed without Percy showing up, he was declared as such.

“He’s powerful,” Clarisse had told her. “I trust your instincts. He’s not dead. Can’t be, or else I’d have to beat him up.”

She helped Annabeth try to talk Chiron out of the funeral but to no avail.

And he wasn’t. Annabeth knew, in her heart, that Percy wasn’t dead. Barely anyone believed her, however. She didn’t blame them; no one knew about the last line of the prophecy for her quest.

But a pestering voice reminded her of something else: Percy was not, by any means, her only loved one. That voice sounded eerily like Janus.

What if it’s Luke?

He was nothing to her, now. She swore that he wasn’t.

What if Percy is dead?

That’s when Silena squeezed her shoulder, repeating what Chiron had told her the day prior.

“It’s time.”

Everyone who had gathered by the Amphitheatre waited for her to give out her statement, grim-faced. Chiron stood at the center of it all, the shroud she’d made at the arts and crafts cabin in his hands.

She hated that shroud with all her being, but she took it anyway once she stepped the last of the stairs. The fire next to her kissed her cheeks like the warmth of the sun. But inside, all she felt was cold. His body hadn’t been found…yet the shroud that she clutched in her hands would burn with Percy’s life.

“He…” Her eyes drifted to the shimmering cloth. How could she ever describe Percy Jackson? How could she ever put him into words? “He was kind,” she began. Her voice was unrecognizable, even to her. “He was probably the bravest friend I’ve ever had, and…”

And then she saw him, grinning like an idiot behind everyone else.

“Bravest friend you ever had?” was the first thing he said, after their bone-crushing hug.

She wiped her tears away and laughed. For the moment, she didn’t care that he hadn't answered her frantic questions.

“Where have you been?”

“What happened?”

He was here and he was alive. Her arms still clung to his neck; she wasn’t sure she’d ever manage to fully let go.

“You’re my friend above everything else, Seaweed Brain. And yeah, I guess you’re pretty brave.”

A question formed at the tip of her tongue—the one asking once more about what had happened in that explosion, where he’d been all this time; she knew that Percy could tell.

He was about to say something when Chiron interrupted them.

“My boy,” he said, mainly addressing Percy. “We need to talk.”

Percy’s demeanor changed like the shock of icy water to the face.

“Uh, yeah.” Something passed through his eyes; he glanced at her, then at their teacher. “I know how to navigate Labyrinth.”

Her relief became a ghost of the past once he explained himself. He told them the plan for the next part of the quest—for finding Grover and Tyson and finally Daedalus—but all she could hear was her ears ringing.

“I was marooned on an island.”

“I uh…I stayed there for some time, healing from the explosion.”

She was almost certain about where he’d been. And then he’d mentioned his plan to find Rachel, the pretty redhead who wrote her phone number on his arm. Supposedly, she could help them.

“A clear-sighted mortal,” Chiron had said. “Clever, indeed.”

Only it wasn’t. It was her quest. Her choice. Not his.

Annabeth stood from her chair. The screeching noise made Percy wince. “I can’t believe you! You’re asking me to go to that mortal for help?”

Chiron’s eyes were soft when he said, “Annabeth, calm down—”

“No, I’m not calming down, because Percy here wants—”

“It’s the only way,” Percy said, hands wrung together.

“Ohh don’t tell me what’s ‘the only way’ and what isn’t when you could’ve easily come back sooner.”

Percy opened his mouth, but she talked over him.

“You think I’m stupid? You think I’m dumb?”

“No, ‘Beth, I—”

“You were with that goddess,” she said, her voice taking a hard edge. “Calypso, isn’t it? Was she nice company for you? Did you have a good time while I sat here, waiting for you, as my life spiraled out of control because one of the most important people in my life was gone?”

Percy stammered, “‘Beth, please…just—just let me explain.”

She laughed bitterly, shaking her head. “You’re not denying it, either. That’s why you didn’t recount the entire story of your fun little vacation in a beautiful island with a beautiful goddess who was probably all over yo—”

He stood up then, leaning over the table, face inches apart from hers. “Don’t act so high and mighty with me when I know you lied to me about your cousin.”

“Percy, this isn’t even about—”

“No, no. You’re hearing me out. Okay? Hey, stop. Look me in the eyes. Nothing happened between us. Okay, nothing. She liked me, yes, but that is literally her curse! I knew you’d react that way because I’m realizing that you don’t fucking trust me!”

“What? Percy, I trust you with my life—”

“Then how come you never told me what was bothering you?”

“Because I don’t know what was bothering me!”

“Oh, that’s rich, coming from you! You know exactly what bothers you. But guess what? You won’t tell me! So like, don’t even dare accuse me of not revealing where I was when you do the exact same thing, ‘Beth!”

Annabeth felt like falling, but this time, she found no branch to hold onto and crashed to the ground, bleeding out and breathless.

Meanwhile, Percy kept talking, throwing javelins her way. “When you didn’t want to communicate via IM last semester, I agreed because I wanted to give you space to whatever the fuck was going on with you—and something is still going on, but you won’t tell me—and like, all that time while I was with her on that island, I wanted to go!

“I wanted to be with you! Shit, I don’t even know what I’d do without you, but I couldn’t fucking leave because that place is cursed! And when I did, it’s because she’d…she’d fallen in love with me! But I…but all I wanted was you!”

Silence fell over them with the remnants of Percy’s hard breathing. She blinked a few times, telling herself that she would not cry.

Chiron saved her before that could happen. “Now, children. Settle down. Percy. Give Annabeth some space to think about this.”

He obliged, much to her relief.

“This time, it’ll be the ultimate trial for what you can or can’t do. If you can yield or not.”

It all came down to that, to her mother’s words. She understood what they meant, now.

With just enough drachmas in her bag and a bluster assuring her that she would not fail, she grabbed Percy by the hand and crossed the camp border. Argus was waiting down below.

#pjo fic #percabeth #percabeth fic #pjo au #the battle of the labyrinth #look mom i can write #omg me updating?? so soon?? unheard of

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annabethy · 3 years

Text

under the mistletoe, watching the fire glow day 18: presents

Character A and Character B save Christmas,, percabeth

Percy has never felt as much horror as he does right now. He’s staring at the back of his closet, in complete terror, his heart dropping to the floor. He can’t breathe or hear or see because there’s supposed to be ten presents and he counts nine.

There was a doll missing. An expensive, eating, talking doll that was all his daughter wanted in life. He swears that he had gotten his daughter the present she wanted most, except apparently, he didn’t because it’s not there.

He tries to think about what to do, but the reality of the situation is he really can’t do anything. He’s pretty sure every four-year-old girl on this planet wanted the doll he thought he had sitting in the closet for Christmas. There’s approximately zero chance he’s going to be able to get his hands on it only five days before Christmas, so. He’s screwed.

Percy thinks he has to at least try anyways. He’d nearly ruined Christmas last year because he hadn’t known how to wrap presents, and his neighbor had to help him at three in the morning, which was embarrassing to say the least. He’s determined to not fail that badly this year, and that’s exactly why he’s standing back outside that same neighbor’s door after dropping his daughter off at school.

“I need help,” is the first thing he says when the door swings open.

“Good morning to you too,” Annabeth says.

“I messed up,” he breathes, but he steps forwards to plant a quick kiss on her lips. “I need your help. Desperately.”

“What did you do?”

“You know that doll that my kid’s been talking about for months?”

“The one I have sitting in the back of my car for mine, I’m sure.”

He pauses. “You have one?!”

“You don’t?”

He whines, “I thought I did but turns out I completely forgot to get it.”

She laughs in his face.

“This isn’t funny. This is a Christmas crisis.”

“Yeah. You fucked up.”

“You’re my girlfriend. Aren’t you supposed to help me?”

“Five days before Christmas?” She snorts. “Good luck.”

Percy runs his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “Our girls are at school, so I need you to go shopping with me.”

“What good am I going to be for a doll that you’re going to have to murder someone to get your hands on it?” “Well, you tend to murder people with your eyes. It used to be scary, but now it’s useful.”

“Your master plan is to unleash me in a store so I can commit homicide over a toy?”

“I don’t care what you do as long as we get that doll, so come on.” He waves his keys in her face. “Get in the car.”

She gives him a humored look and opens her door wider. “Come in. I’m going to need a minute.”

Annabeth actually ends up needing twenty minutes, something he helpfully reminds her of as she’s getting dressed. His rush definitely doesn’t stop him from enjoying the view, but the shirt that she throws at his face does.

By the time they’re finally out of the house, they are on a mission. Annabeth’s sitting in the passenger seat of the car, and as Percy rightfully predicted, she is out for blood. Her phone is in her hand as she switches from app to app in search of anyone who has the toy.

Percy’s hand grips the steering wheel tightly. Driving in New York in December is not something he’s ever enjoyed doing with the way people drive like animals, but Christmas is in the line, and he too has turned into an animal.

“Any luck?” he asks hopefully, drifting down the highway.

“A store an hour away says they have it in stock,” she says. “Only one left, so drive fast.”

“Make that twenty minutes,” he says, and then he’s stepping on the gas. It’s a lot of switching in and out of lanes because people don’t understand that he has places to be. Every two seconds, Annabeth screaming out a status update, which has startled him enough to almost crash at least twice.

“It’s still in stock!”

“Yes, thank you babe, because I was sure that it had been sold within the last thirty seconds.”

Annabeth mutters something under his breath, but there’s a faint smile on his face. Despite being as stressed as he is that he’s failed as a father for the second year in a row, he surely loves spending time with her like this. She’s such a cutthroat person, and it warms his heart.

“Oh, someone bought it.”

Percy groans. “Of course they did.”

“Keep driving this way. There’s a store thirty minutes ahead that might have it.” Another beat passes. “Never mind.”

“She’s going to hate me,” he says.

“Probably. Even I know it’s the one thing she wanted more than anything.”

“Way to rub it in.”

“I do it because I love you.”

He feels pretty upset, but the words raise his mood instantly. If his daughter disowns him, at least he has the love of his life to help him through it. “I love you too, even though you like to tease me.” “Just keeping you on your toes.” She shifts in the seat and points further down the road. “Take this exit. We’re going to do this old fashioned.”

He listens. “Old fashioned?”

She grins. “We’re going to a toy store.”

The second they walk in, Percy feels like sneezing. It’s a bit dustier than he would like, and the lightest isn’t the best, but there aren’t many people there, so he thinks he at least has a chance of finding the toy. Annabeth slides her hand into his as they stroll around, and he pulls her closer into his side. He tries to keep his eyes looking for the toy, but he quickly learns that it wasn’t going to help. The toys here didn’t seem to be the most up-to-date, but he doesn’t say anything. He’s come to terms that that toy is just not happening. He’ll probably end up compensating for it with an overload of different toys, so he uses this time instead to enjoy time alone with Annabeth. They’re usually with their kids whenever they’re together, and their girls have quickly become best friends (much to his delight — he thinks he might want to marry Annabeth), so it’s nice to be alone outside of the house.

Not that he minds being inside the house alone either, if you know what he means. He thinks there should be a healthy balance.

“Are you okay?” she asks softly, bumping his shoulder. He shrugs. “Just disappointed. She was so excited for it.”

“Let’s go try another place then,” she says, turning in his arms. He instinctively wraps his arms around her waist, placing a kiss on the top of her head.

“Let’s just go home and snuggle instead,” he says. “I don’t think we’re going to be finding that toy anytime soon.”

“I don’t mind snuggles,” she tells him, smiling. “But let’s try one more place, yeah? Or we can get something to eat?”

It’s not until she mentions food that he realizes how hungry he really is. He doesn’t remember eating at all that day, too in a rush in the morning, and the afternoon being no different. He kisses her softly again. “Let’s go on a Christmas lunch date.”

That Christmas lunch date ends up being in the front seats of his car, but he’s not picky. They’re in the parking lot of wawa, Annabeth with mac n cheese in her hands, and Percy with a cheeseburger. As she eats, Percy keeps his eyes on her. Everything she does is so cute, including eating, and he doesn’t know if it’s normal to feel this way about someone. Her cheeks are still hinted pink from when they’d been outside ten minutes prior, and she’s still wearing a knitted hat. She looks so warm that he desperately wants to pull her onto his lap and just hold her.

“What are you looking at?” she asks, spoon hovering in front of her mouth.

Percy smiles at her fondly. “You.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you,” he says. “And you’re so pretty all the time.”

“All the time?”

“All the time,” he confirms, setting his food aside so he can lean towards her, nuzzling his face in her neck. He kisses the soft skin twice. “When you wake up, and when you fall asleep, you’re always so perfect.”

“You watch me sleep?” she teases.

“Sometimes,” he admits. “You don’t stay over every night. Otherwise, I would cuddle you to sleep every day.”

“Sounds dreamy.”

“It would be.” He pulls his head off of her so he can look her in the eyes. Overwhelming love stares back at him, and for a moment, he cannot think of anything except her. She’s so beautiful and perfect, and it’s taken him this long to find her. She’s there for him, and she loves his daughter, and he loves hers. She drops everything to go on a run to save Christmas with him, and he’s in love with her.

He wants to fall asleep to her and wake up to her. Not just sometimes, but every night and every morning. He wants to wake up on Christmas morning to their kids bouncing on their bed to wake their parents up, to share a look with her that screams ‘tired but in love’ with each other and the life they’ve created.

“Move in with me,” he blurts out.

Annabeth laughs. “What?”

“I’m serious,” he says, sitting up straighter. “Let’s move in together. I love you, and I want to spend the rest of our lives together, and… I want to marry you someday.”

She blinks, and he feels panic take over for a second before she smiles again, teeth sparkling and white. “Percy… are you being serious?” He laughs. “I am.”

“You want to move in with me?”

“I do.”

Annabeth stares at him for a second, unmoving, before she’s rushing forwards, pressing her lips to his. He responds enthusiastically, his heart fluttering, having him feel lightheaded in the best way possible. “Let’s move in together,” she mutters against him, and Percy can’t stop smiling. Teeth clash, but he can’t find it in him to quell the grin.

He’s pretty sure people are walking by outside the car wondering why they’re practically making out in the car, but they stay like that anyways until they can no longer breathe.

“I love you,” he says. “Thank you for trying to help me save Christmas.”

“Help you save Christmas?”

“Mission objective failed. There’s going to be no doll under that tree.”

“Okay, so…” Annabeth’s tongue presses out slightly between her lips as she bites down to smother a smile. “What if I told you that I actually have two of them?”

“I’m sorry. You what?”

“I had a feeling you might forget, so I just got two of them.”

“Oh my god.”

“I know I’m a god.”

“I can’t believe you let me drive around the city for hours for no reason!”

“It wasn’t for no reason! I wanted to spend time with you!”

“We could have spent time together doing something more romantic than panicked Christmas shopping!”

“I didn’t want to do something else,” she says. “This was perfect. More realistic.”

“You’re a little tease, you know that?”

She pokes his cheek, and he nips lightly at her finger. “Yeah, but you still want to move in with me anyways.”

“Now that you’re going to give me the present that saves Christmas? How could I not?”

She leans across the center console so she can kiss him properly. “You could always just marry me instead.”

“The thing is I’m actually considering it,” he says playfully, though he’s telling the truth. “I could get down on one knee right now.”

She grins and kisses him again. “Next Christmas,” she says, sounding a lot like a promise. He doesn’t mind waiting until next Christmas. He has everything he needs right here in front of him. “Next Christmas, I’m going to make you my wife.”

Annabeth’s fingers run through his hair and pull him in closer. “I’ll be waiting,” she says, and Percy just knows they’re going to live an amazing life together.

The person he fell in love with is the person that helped him save Christmas, and he doesn’t mind one bit.

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #pjo #percabeth #percy jackson and the olympians #my writing

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perseusjackson-jasongrace · 3 years

Text

Snowy Favours

i wrote this for one of my favourite humans in the entire world! @queen-of-demons-and-hell i just kind of forgot to post it on here oops

masterlist; my links

[image has alt text]

She smells coffee. And then pancakes, and then freshly squeezed orange juice. And suddenly she's three days into a Indonesian island holiday and there's sun streaming through her windows and the sheets draped over her bared skin are cool and if she opens her eyes she'll be met with ruffling lace curtains and the sight of the ocean just over the deck.

Annabeth Chase wakes up to silence. To darkness. To New York plunged into winter as if Khione had taken her rage out on the city over night. Snow covers the concrete buildings, already turning sloppy and muddied with the trek of never ending people. She is nowhere near Indonesia, nor in a villa overlooking blue waters. She is in her grungy apartment in her more-mattress-than-bed bed and the single window in her bedroom looks out onto the brick of the building next to her. In short its just another Monday morning.

The disappointment that floods through her is breathtaking. She feels her life swallow her up, wrapping around her lungs and squeezing as if it had taken lessons from a python. Her fingers curl around the duvet pulled over her as she stares at the wall, at the pictures littering it. She takes a deep breath, another, another. Slowly the python loosens, her heart returns to it's normal rhythm.

Glancing at the small pink clock on her bedside table she almost groans as she sees the time. Three minutes till her alarm rings. Not enough to dive back into bed but enough to consider it anyway. She forces herself to get up, feeling the cool of the wood under her feet and traipses to the bathroom where she is met with tile, the sudden cold pulls a hiss from her.

With a zombied look in her eyes she goes about her morning routine: pee, teeth, shower, change, scrounge around in empty cupboards for something at least half edible, scarf another energy bar when nothing better makes itself known, and then finally pack her bag and make her way out. She can do it with her eyes closed by now, sometimes she even does.

Still as she steps into the biting air that comes with snow her body wakes up considerably. With a curse that middles Greek and English, she twists her scarf tighter around her neck and pulls her beanie over her ears. She decides she can spare a moment to go to her favourite coffee shop this morning just to throw down a hot drink that hopefully scorches her insides.

With a determined step she sets off to the subway, earbuds shoved into her ears blaring "do re mi" by blackbear. A violent song for this early in the morning but one she mumbles along to all the same.

The coffee shop, as she so lovingly calls it, is more like a caravan sized hole wedged between two skyscrapers. It fits maybe five people comfortably, ten if you're looking to be smothered. But the coffee is beyond magical and they have the most decadent blueberry muffins she's ever had the pleasure to eat. Besides her best friend works here and really if anyone can turn her from bruised-eyed zombie to semi-human it's Percy Jackson.

The door creaks as she steps through, announcing her presence. She's too busy basking in the warmth of the little hovel to worry about the greeting thrown her way.

"Gods it's cold out there." She sucks in a breath, feeling her lungs defrost.

"Yes," Percy grins, "I suppose someone pissed off Khione again."

She rolls her eyes, as her body collapses against the black marble counter. "Khione gets pissed off about everything that's hardly an excuse to give us all frostbite."

"I suggest you take that up with her, because I cannot see any of us coming out alive after that conversation."

"Just give me a coffee you menace," She scrunches her nose in distaste, but cannot keep the playfulness out of her voice.

"Want a blueb?" He shakes a paper bag, something thumping inside. "On the house." The accompanying wink sets her cold skin on fire.

Her eyes narrow as she surveys him. His unruly black curls are kept back by three butterfly shaped clips, bright pink and probably Estelle's, and his skin browner— like dark roast coffee— from the weekend his family had taken in Spain three weeks before glows softly under the warm yellow light hanging above then. The black polo neck he wears under his "Holed Up" company t-shirt, makes his eyes look darker than normal. His jeans, faded blue, stand stark against the rest of his outfit. Even like this, in work appropriate clothes, he looks beautiful. Looks like the beginning of spring, and the happily ever after of stories, and the change of tides.

"What are you planning?" His look of incredulity almost makes her laugh.

"Why would you think I'm up to anything?"

"I've known you since we were twelve Jackson," She scoffs, as if his question is ridiculous in itself. "I know every face, every expression, every movement of your body. I know when you're up to something." She finishes off with a glare for good measure.

His green eyes are bright as he studies her, emotions warring across his face. To spill or not to spill. He pushes her coffee across the counter and she looks at him expectantly as she grabs the cup with both hands. Her numb fingers instantly start to sting with the sudden change in temperature.

"Fine." He sighs, looking at her through his lashes as if maybe be could get away with not telling her. She raises a brow. He curses under his breath and flops down on a chair hidden behind the counter.

"I need your help with something—"

Yes, of course, is on the tip of her tongue. She would do it. No hesitation. There's not much, not anything, she wouldn't do for him.

"But before you say no or worse get mad you have to hear me out." He finishes quickly. And then his eyes are big and pleading and she doesn't know if she wants to turn away or lean in closer, study that captivating green like it's the newest find in her paleontology class.

Instead she clears her throat, "What is it Percy?"

"I need you to be my fake girlfriend." He says it in one breath.

She almost asks him to repeat in case she hadn't heard right. But she knows she did. She knows she couldn't have heard anything else

He swallows. She blinks. He drops his head to his hands, a sigh already on his lips. She opens her mouth, snaps it shut.

"Okay I know it's...odd," He starts, "But I kind of got roped into going to a mixer with some people from my class and this one guy asked if we could go together but I don't really like him so I said no." Percy was rambling but she was too speechless to stop him. "But then he looked really hurt and I felt really bad so I kind of said I already had a partner which made him look less hurt but then Piper, the girl hosting the mixer, over heard me and said I should bring my partner along, since a few of them were bringing their partners, and you know I couldn't exactly back out of the lie after that so I said I would and well..." He gestures between them. "Then this happened."

Annabeth takes a sip of her coffee. And another, she downs almost half the cup before she has the ability to talk. "Why don't you just say your partner is sick on the day?"

It's her first question and instantly she wants to take it back. Because the flinch Percy tries to hide is enough to have her scrambling for a way to take back the words. Because it's not that she won't be Percy's (fake) partner, or even that she doesn't want to.

It's more that she doesnt know if she'll be able to draw the line between fake gestures and her very real feelings. Having a crush on someone for the better part of eight years tends to tug at her emotional side in a way that overules her logical one. Yes she can be Percy's fake girlfriend. No her heart won't believe the lopsided grin he gives her when he makes a bad joke will be 'just for show'. Yes she can hold hands with him and meet his friends. No she can't help the jump in her stomach as she sees the interlaced fingers.

"You don't have to." He says quietly. "I'll think of something." He waves it off, a small smile already finding its way onto his face. She knows, even without careful study, that it doesn't quite reach his eyes. She has to fix this.

"No." It comes out in a snap of rushed regret. "I will, I want to."

He looks at her, gaze wide, hesitant. "You do?"

She nods and then, as if the gesture isn't good enough stumbles through her words. "Yes, I want to." Her smile is shy, but the beam she's rewarded with nearly knocks her off her feet. "I think it'll be fun."

He scoffs at her, waving a hand. "Everything we do is fun. We're Percy and Annabeth."

And he says it's like there's no other way their names could be said. Like if someone says his hers must follow. Like if someone says hers his cannot possibly be far behind. He says it like they belong.

Her heart does a giddy sort of flip that spreads warmth through her chest and in her stomach, better than the coffee ever could.

"Okay Percy Jackson." She holds out her hand, to shake on. "Let's pretend to be madly in love."

With a wink, that causes her brain to explode, he takes her hand in his and turns it over before placing a delicate kiss on her knuckles.

She becomes the air itself. And as she floats to lectures she decides maybe it's not just another Monday. Maybe she did wake up in a paradise of sorts. Maybe life isn't so dull. She laughs to herself.

It can never be dull if Percy is there. It never has.

#percabeth #pjjg fanfic #percy jackson #annabeth chase #percy #jackson #annabeth #chase

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waynewifey · 3 years

Text

Fading away. —

Pairing: Jason Grace x Roman!DaughterofPluto!Reader

Sumary: after moths of over working, a colapse makes you get into a coma and reflect on your feelings.

Warnings: coma, angst, Pluto as a caring dad, fluff at the end.

Words: +-3k.

A/N: This is my first Percy Jackson Franchise fanfiction, so take it easy on me. This is also my biggest and favourite one. I hope you like this! My requests are always open.

(Y/N) (L/N) had a good reason to hate Jason Grace. How could she not? Jason was so annoying, self centred, selfish, stubborn and worse of all? He dated Piper McLean. Piper was great, (Y/N) knew that and they seemed happy together. But, still, he chose Piper, not (Y/N), his girlfriend back at Camp Jupiter, who he totally forgot about. How come Percy remembered Annabeth but Jason wouldn't remember (Y/N)? And when he recovered his memory, he chose Piper. But she also loved him still, and seeing him hurt like a bullet going straight through her heart. She decided to spend a year at Half-Blood Camp to stay with her half-brother Nico Di Angelo when Gaea were defeated. She thought she could manage to see him almost every day, but she couldn't. So she started doing anything to get her mind occupied. Going on meaningless quests, travelling to New York randomly, volunteering for literally any service in the camp and barely sleeping — because sleeping meant dreams.

"It doesn't have to be like that, (Y/N)." Her brother gave her another shot of Nectar. The sunlight that entered Hades' cabin was leaving slowly as they talked, (Y/N) leaned on her bed watching her fingertips become solid again.

"I'll learn how to do it right and I promise I won't push myself too much, but I can't stop practicing." She avoided eye contact with Nico, feeling ashamed of herself. After all, she was supposed to be the one taking care of him, since she was older. She came back from a "quest" for her father, that was staying a weekend on the Underworld. She started using Shadow Travel to get there. The problem? She had no idea how hard it was, and she almost died every time. He sighted.

"I'm not talking about Shadow Travel. You should talk to Jason and sort this out. You're almost killing yourself everyday doing the craziest stuff just to keep your mind off him. He already broke up with Piper, what's stopping you now? I'm your brother and it pains me to see you suffering, I won't just sit and watch while you literally desapear." He got up and walked to the door. The (h/c) girl forced a smile so he believed she was fine. Nico left the cabin.

After hours reflecting and thinking, she heard the trumpets that announced the convocation to a game of Capture the Flag. Since she was feeling better, she changed her clothes and walked outside. The teams were: cabins 1, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 18, 21, 23, 27, 28, 29 vs. cabins 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 20, 24, 25, 26. They started the game. (Y/N) had to protect the boundary with a kid from Hipnos' cabin while a group attacked the opponent's flag and another protected their territory and their flag. Everything was going as planned, she hadn't seen anyone yet. Out of the sudden, she saw a blond guy running in their direction with a sword. Oh hell no, Jason Grace wouldn't attack her like that. But he did.

"What the hell?!" She screamed, reacting to the blade flying in her direction. Her teammate was asleep. She defended herself with her own sword and counterattacked. He invested against her leg, trying to make her fall. Her instincts took place, she jumped, attacked again and they started a meaningless battle. Jason looked the same as always. He was almost the same Jason that used to take her on cute dates in New Rome. But he fought like a greek. And that was when it hit her, he changed. The mixture of love and hate made her loose her senses for a bit, giving Jason the lead. He focused on her leg but hesitated to hit it, giving her time to get back on the fight. She knocked him to the floor, her foot on his chest and her blade on his neck, when she heard footsteps approaching quickly. Of course. It was a trap. She turned around and saw a son of Hebe holding her team's flag running, followed by two daughters of Hephaestus. She grabbed a knife from her belt and threw it to his leg, hitting exactly where she wanted. She then grabbed Jason's blade and Shadow Travelled. For a moment everything was fine, while she drowned into darkness, but then she couldn't get out. She saw her father's face mixed in the dark. He raised his hand and touched her face, than she was back at the forest. Realising not even a second had gone through, she attacked the — injured — boy and the two gigantic girls at the same time. She wasn't really expecting to defeat them, just trying to win some time so, hopefully, someone would come help her. The boy dropped the flag and got a small sword. The two girls had hammers... oh. The three of them attacked at the same time and she protected herself with Jason's sword, which flew away. She was out of hopes when a figure appeared beside her and started fighting them.

"What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to help me, we're enemies, remember?" She said, fighting Hebe's son.

"I guess you're welcome then." Jason replied smiling, fighting the hammers-girls. (Y/N) sighted in annoyance. Seconds later, her teammates came running from the enemies' territory with a flag and the three-people group surrendered. Everyone started screaming and celebrating. (Y/N)'s head hurt with the noise and she looked to her brother, feeling numb.

"Hey, can we talk?" Jason said, getting in front of her with a big smile. He was proud of himself for helping her? Of course he was. He was going to take all the credit for her team's win. The anger rose inside of her burning everything. She furrowed her eyebrows and with the last energy that remained in her body, she tried to Shadow Travel for the perhaps hundredth time that day.

She fell into the darkness while feeling her body desapear quickly. Her heart was very accelerated but then it stopped. She saw herself at the barks of Lete's river. I'm dead., she thought. The desperation started taking over. She remembered the face of all her friends. Her siblings, Hazel and Nico. Her mother. Her best friend Reyna. Camp Jupiter. New Rome. The Lar Vitellius. Lares? Lares! Maybe she could go back as a ghost! She would at least see her friends again.

"Didn't expect to see you this soon." A voice said with humor. She turned around, as always enlighten by her father's presence. But his face was sad. Not the everyday-sad-Pluto, but the my-daughter-just-died-sad-Pluto.

"Am I d-... dead?" The anxiety forbid her from crying in front of her father. The one she never knew and once she did, she didn't want to disappoint him.

"Yes and no. You see, my darling, there are things more powerful then death. Right now, your physical being is exhausted from travelling through darkness and light — which I told you not to, but we'll talk about this later, you have a decision to make. You're body is surrendering to Death out of hopelessness. But your soul, on the other hand, still fights for the heart beating in your chest. And your conscious, the controller of both body and soul, has to decide which one of them you'll support right now. As Lord of the Death that's all I can say to you. But as your father, I would like to say that we have a room for you in the castle, if you'd like that. And also, I feel obligated to show you what is happening on Earth." When he finished his words, an image formed in the air, sort of an Iris message, but no one saw them. (Y/N) saw herself laying on the grass, surrounded by some campers, Nico and Jason.

She was watching them from above. Jason put two fingers on her neck, trying to feel her pulse. She — the one in the Underworld — gasped as the blond boy whispered 'nothing'. She glanced at her father, who had a pained expression as he stared at Nico freaking out. Her brother had his hands on her chest and was murmuring something in greek. Then, he opened his eyes, filled with tears of desperation, and glanced at Jason, who didn't look any better. She wanted to scream and go back to up there, but her voice wouldn't come out of her throat.

"Half of her is already gone." Nico struggled to say. Everyone around gasped. "I can't Shadow Travel with her, it- it would k-kill the other half..."

"Let's take her to the Infirmary. Everything's gonna be fine. She'll be okay." Will Solace had appeared in the crowd and kneed down to take (Y/N) in the arms, being helped by the other two. As they walked, (Y/N) held herself in her arms, sobbing. She didn't want to die, not like that. The image faded away and Pluto hugged her. He never did that before. She left out all her emotions through the cry. Her father caressed her back and gently kissed the top of her head.

"Now you see, my child, what those on Earth are going through. You have a family up there. And if you'd ask me, Jason Grace is a good person, even being a son of my brother. You have a choice, so make it wisely." Pluto said, not backing away from the hug. She nodded and he immediately knew what her choice was. "You know I'd love to have you here with me, but I'd love even more to see you happy. Don't be reckless. And listen to your brother. You don't have to worry to come see me, I'll make sure to visit you during your recovery." As he said that, a white door appeared out of nowhere. "Here's your carpool." The girl started to walk to the door, when she heard Pluto say: "(Y/N) I lo-... Good luck." She smiled to him and went through into the door. It felt like eons in the nothingness. She felt so much pain all over her body. Then she gained conscience. She didn't knew how long it had passed. She also couldn't open her eyes or say anything, but she knew she was laying down something comfortable, a bed, perhaps. But she could hear perfectly well.

"... and I'm so sorry you had to die for me to gain the courage to say this. Please come back to us... Come back to me. Nico barely leaves this room and nor do I, Will had to force him to go eat. It's not the same without you, (Y/N/N), it really isn't." Jason's words gave her the urge to cry, but she couldn't. It was like her body had shutdown completely. She felt his warm hands on her cold ones and after that, a door was opened. Footsteps. Only one person. Jason didn't move. Someone sat down next to them.

"Dad- I mean, Hades said she will be okay." It was Nico's voice. He sounded extremely tired.

"Didn't he say that last month?" Grace was annoyed, but he didn't stop holding her hand.

"I know, I wish I could do more... I'm... I'm sorry Jason." The blond sighted.

"I should be the one to be saying that. I know there's nothing else to do. I'm sorry for putting the blame on you. It's just- if we've talked before, nothing of this would have happened. If only I was brave enough..." (Y/N) felt weak and her consciousness was back at nothing again. When she heard something again, it looked like a lot of time had passed by, but she wasn't sure at all. Jason's voice was happy as he told her his plans to the future.

"I realised you would like to work with me training the legion. You're obviously skilled and the payment is quite good. And I've heard they are planning to build a village here as well, but I don't know if you-..." Every time she tried to stay conscious, she felt weaker. 'Rest', her father's voice said inside of her head, so she let herself.

Some time...? A long time...? She didn't knew. But the next time she heard, she was way stronger. She waited until then, so she could stay longer and try to understand her emotions. She heard almost an entire day. Her friends entered and left cabin 13 — she found out that she was there. Some of them talked "to" her, some just sat there in silence. When alone, Nico talked a lot about Will Solace. (Y/N) smiled mentally. Then Jason entered. She could already recognise the sound he made walking. He sat beside her bed and held her hand, as usual.

"Hello, princess. You look better." She reunited all the strength she had storage and sent it all to her right hand. She softly squeezed Jason's hand, for a small portion of second, trying to say 'hi'. She felt exhausted. He gasped.

"She just squeezed my hand!" He screamed, laughing. Nico jumped out of his bed, laughing as well. They both stared at her, waiting for more. "You're there, right? I knew you were! It's been long months, but you're getting better. Don't work too hard. We'll see each other soon, don't worry." He kissed her forehead. After that, it was easy for her to let go and dive into her sleep again.

She was slowly getting better. She noticed her comas were smaller now, and she got stronger every time. She started communicating by squeezing people's hand. One time for 'yes' and two times for 'no'. But it still was exhausting. She met with her father a couple times through dreams, but it never lasted long. She was sick of it. She wanted to jump out of the bed and run through all the camp. She was alone with Jason, as he talked about the last time he went to Camp Jupiter, telling every change. She slowly forced herself to open her eyes. It wasn't for too long, just enough for her to see the big smile he had while talking, her favourite blond hair and how he gesticulated while speaking. By that time, her feelings were completely lined. She declined her childishness and stubbornness to accept the fact that she obviously loved him. Her lips were able to form a small smile. He hadn't noticed her yet. I can do this, she thought.

"J." She whispered for the first time in five months. Her eyes were already closed again. He gasped.

"Did you just say J? That's me! I'm here, i'm right here, love. Can you hear me?" She squeezed his hand one time. Yes. He chortled. "You're so strong. I miss you so much." He started softly crying. She squeezed his hand two times. No. Don't cry, she wanted to say. "Alright, 's fine, 's fine. Gods, you're coming back. I bet Aphrodite is watching us closely." He chuckled but suddenly stopped. "I forgot we haven't talked about that yet, i'm sorry. I don't wanna be intrusive, you know. It's just, by what Nico has told me, well, you still liked me." She squeezed two times. "That's... that's great, love. But don't worry about that just yet. You should take some rest now, my love."

Five days. She had woken up every single one of them, but only listening. No squeezes, no talking, no looking. Just storing strength. She knew she was close to fully waking up. She was already able to keep track of the days. It was a Sunday, the day she received the most visits. It should be morning, because she only heard Nico's snorting. She slowly opened her eyes. The same place. Different clothes. She wondered who had changed them. Perhaps Will did. She systematically moved her arms, pushing herself to sit. Her back was laying at wall. She took a deep breath. It was going fine. She wanted to wake Nico up, but she decided to wait to see if she would be able to actually stay awake. About an hour later, Nico woke up by himself. He yawned and turned to her bed. She looked at him with a big smile. He jumped out of bed.

"Holy shit, (Y/N)! You're up! How- Wait! I need to- Wait! Don't fall asleep, I'll be right back!" She blinked slowly to sign 'ok'. He was back moments running later with a bunch of teenagers in pyjamas. They all froze at the door, staring at her. Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Percy, Jason and even Piper. Hazel was the first one to wake up from the trance. She ran to her sister and hugged (Y/N).

"Ouch." She managed to say, reacting to the tight hug that made her head hurt.

"Right, sorry! I forgot. Wait, you speak!" Hazel answered and laughed. All of the others joined in, amazed by her friend, and started talking, telling everything she had missed. (Y/N) couldn't speed properly, only a few words like 'hi', 'ow', 'miss' and 'food'. Later that day, Will came to check on her. He said everything looked just fine, but that she should rest.

"Hey." Zeus' son said, once they were alone.

"Hi."

"Gods, it's so good to finally hear you again. I've talked to myself for a long time." They giggled softly. (Y/N) wasn't showing any signs of it, but that day had been extremely tiring. Her entire body hurt but she couldn't give up just yet.

"I... heard." She whispered. "A bit." Her eyes tried to close but she opened them wide, fighting her own nature. Jason noticed that.

"Hey, no need to over do it.” He brushed her cheek with his thumb.

"Sleep... here." She begged, placing her hand beside her. He froze for a moment, embarrassed. And then, with a rubor across his face, he sat on the bed beside her. She laid her head on his chest and quickly fell asleep.

“Go to sleep, love. We have all the time in the world.”

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #fluff imagine #percy jackson imagines #percy jackson fanfiction #jason grace #jason grace x reader #jasonissocutehelp #nico di angelo #nico di angelo x reader #daughter of hades #pls send requests

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biclarisselarue · 4 years

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They’ve been falling for three days now. At least, Annabeth thinks it’s been three days. Her fingers are at the numb part of the vicious cycle that is clinging desperately around the piece of Percy’s shirt clasped between her hands. Percy, who is currently dozing fitfully with his head tucked into her neck, has his own hands curled loosely around her waist. She doesn’t want to think about what would happen if they got separated, spiraling off away from each other in the dark, so she presses him closer, entwines her fingers together tighter, and breathes in his scent.

It no longer feels like they’re falling. Hasn’t felt like that since the second hour of free fall. It feels like they’re suspended, nothing around them but air and each other, and it could almost be romantic—if it weren’t for that same air rushing past her ears, so loud everything’s gone quiet. Her lips form the words, “I love you,” but she can’t tell if the reason she can’t hear herself is because the sound is ripped away too fast or if she doesn’t actually make the sounds. Annabeth hasn’t heard Percy say anything in the time since he let go of the ledge, but that doesn’t really prove much in the way of either theories. Maybe he has nothing to say to her. She shakes her head, a tiny, aborted motion that stops as soon as Percy stirs against her, and forces herself to not think like that.

“I love you.” Still no sound. Even memories of Percy saying it to her are silent. She can see his smile, the dock they’re standing on, her dagger in his hand, but she can’t hear him.

Did he ever really say it? Again, she shakes her head slightly, this time digging her nails into her palm. No, that’s the weight of this place, this tunnel, dragging her thoughts down just as surely as her body. If not for the familiarity of Percy in her arms, the small smiles she can sometimes feel against her skin, the occasional press of dry lips to her cheek, Annabeth doesn’t know what she’d be thinking at this point.

She can’t feel the sturdy weight of her legs anymore. Logically, she knows that it’s just the feeling of weightlessness, not the actual loss of limb, but it’s still terrifying. If she didn’t have her legs, she would only slow Percy down, and that’s not allowed. Not here. He wouldn’t leave her⁠—she has to take a moment to push away the small thought that maybe he would, revenge for dragging him down with her—he wouldn’t leave her, so she has to be ready to take care of him, just as he’ll take care of her.

The tangles in her hair will be hell to get out. It’s a trivial, silly thing to think as they plummet to their probable deaths, and Annabeth’s mouth curves upward just slightly. Maybe she’ll shave it all off once they’re through this. If they get through this, the realistic part of her mind whispers, and her fingers tighten around themselves once more. Percy would— she doesn’t know how Percy would react. Probably well. Hopefully well. If he even still wants to be with her, if they even make it out. After all, she’s the reason he’s been falling for three days now, on his way to literal hell, all because he had the rotten luck of having a good heart and loving the wrong girl.

She shakes her head to get rid of those thoughts, knowing that they’re accomplishing nothing but making Tartarus’ job easier for him, and Percy takes that moment to wake up. The kiss pressed to the underside of her jaw is light, gentle, everything the void around them isn’t. Tears would probably have arose unbidden if they had not already all been forced out by the rush of air around them.

Percy maneuvers them carefully so his arms are looped around her waist, hands clasped tightly at the small of her back. Her head falls against his chest gratefully, and she closes her eyes.

“I love you,” she says and can almost imagine how it would sound.

#i can't even imagine what falling for seven days would be like so uh here's my best guess #i don't think i've seen anyone explore this part or how they stayed holding on or how they slept or if they talked so um yeah these are my #thoughts on it #percy jackson #annabeth chase #percabeth #hoh #hoo #pjo #my ramblings #tartarus

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gracedpersassonality · 3 years

Text

The Best Present - A Little Christmas Story

I wish we were kissing under mistletoe

The stars on the sky just can't match your glow

Now I can't wait 'til you're by my side

We'll be warm by the fire all night, oh

I wanna hold you while the bells are all ringing

Want you to be here while the angel's singing

Days are perfect when I got you near

My only wish is you here

Christmas Without You - Ava Max

The snow was slowly falling in big white flakes to the ground and covered everything with a beautiful thick coat. The streets were empty and everything was peaceful silent. Percy was shivering from the cold and pulled his scarf a bit tighter. He was running late as usual. Leo invited all of them for Christmas eve to his home like he did every year. He loved the tradition. And the food. And the decorations. And the fact that mostly everyone of their friends was able to come. It was far too seldom that all of them saw each other.

Percy went a bit faster which wasn't easy because the floor was icy and slippery and he was carrying his Secret Santa present for Annabeth in both hands and balanced the blue homemade chocolate chip cookies from his mother on top of it.

He almost made it safe to Leo's front door. Almost. On the path to the house was ice under the snow and Percy slipped, pressing the gift and the cookies to his chest, trying to catch himself. "Woah! Watch out!" Jason shouted before he grabbed him in the last second and made him standing still again. "Gotcha" he chuckled.

"Oh gods thank you. You saved me and the cookies." Percy said breathless.

"For the sake of the cookies look where you're going the next time." Jason joked.

"Yes... You're right. The next time I just fly to the door. No big deal." Percy replied sarcastically looking into Jason's bright blue eyes. They sparkled in the Christmas lights and reflected all the different colours. Percy can't help it and a goofy grin spread over his face which Jason mirrored. The snowflakes has covered Jason's blond hair, which made it look white and his cheeks where light red from the cold. This was one of these moments Percy got totally lost. He just want to take a picture and framed it that's how beautiful Jason looks in these light.

He was shaking his head to clear his mind, he was getting creepy again. He really had fallen for Jason in the last year. There were these moments when they looked at each other a second too long or when they touched accidentally. But it never happend more than this. They never cross the line that would end their friendship. Percy still waited for the perfect moment to confess his love. He was to afraid that he just interpreted too much in their interactions. Maybe Jason was just too dense to get the hints Percy dropped time by time. Maybe Percy was just wishing that Jason always seemed to making excuses to touch him or be in his near.

Jason cleared his throat. "Maybe we should go inside."

It took it's time till Percy realised what Jason said. " Yeah I guess so." But both didn't move. They still locked their eyes, smiling like idiots and no one want to look away first. It hit him like a sudden and blinding realization and it dawned to him. This moment seemed to be perfect. "Uhm, Jason? I have to tell you something." Suddenly he was getting really nervous. What if Jason didn't feel the same? Would he believe him? What if he even laugh at him? What if Percy was about to destroy their friendship right now? Maybe he should wait with it after the party. Then he wouldn't ruin it by make it awkward at least. He felt like a coward. He just was searching for excuses.

"What now? Say what's on your mind." Jason face turned serious.

He got an urgent feeling of throwing up. "It's freaking cold and I'm freezing. Let's go inside. Why doesn't the cold bother you too?" He said laughing. Hopefully Jason didn't hear that it was forced. Yep, he definitely was a coward.

They knocked at the with ornaments decorated door and Hazel opened it. The smell of pine, cinnamon and hot chocolate filled the cold evening air and Christmas songs are played in the background. "Ah there you are, we're finally complete. You two are late. What happened?"

"Nothing" Percy said a little bit too fast as he entered the house, hoping that everyone attributed his red face to the change from the cold outside to the warm inside.

"Percy's just being clumsy not more", Jason laughed and entered the house as well.

Both took off their thick coats and scarfs and hang them on the wardrobe. "Nice sweater Percy" Jason teased him.

"I can only give that back." Two years ago Jason had Percy as his secret santa and he got the ugliest sweater Percy could found. It was baby blue with lighting bolts on it which actually can blink. The next year Percy got his payback. Jason bought him a green sweater with tiny waves on it. There were also a button which caused an awful sung christmas song when it was pressed. Percy secretly loved it.

Hazel led them to living room. They were welcomed by 'Merry Christmas Everyone' that was blasted by Leo's sound system. Percy couldn't stop to be surprised how much efford Leo put in the decorations every year. And he tops himself year by year. There was a huge christmas tree with every kind of decoration you could put on. The whole room had it's own christmas themed light installation and Percy really become worried that all of this would end in a short circuit.

The whole crew was spread out in the room. Frank, Reyna and Piper were sitting on the couch chatting and eating from the with sweets filled plates in front of them. Leo and Annabeth standing in the corner bowed over some cables and it seems like he was explaining how he managed the power distribution. Grover, Will and Rachel were standing in front of the music system singing along. Only Thalia wasn't there. She was on the other side of the country and didn't make it this year.

Jason and Percy put their presents under the tree while Hazel took the cookies and put them in the kitchen. As she came back she shoved Nico in the room with the words "You can't stay in there forever." "But there I don't have to deal with all these happy people." He mumbled, but everyone knows that Nico secretly was enjoying the Christmas Partys.

"I'm going to grab us some hot chocolate" Jason declared and vanished in the kitchen. He came back with two steaming cups. Percy has joined their friends on the couch and so did Jason. As he recognized that there were only blue marshmallows in his cup, a smile stole on his face again. He was always smiling when Jason was around.

And so the time passed away with a lot of laughter, crooked sung songs and many happy faces. Even Nico smiled from time to time and everyone was filled with love for their friends.

After everyone had handed over the presents, Percy just leaned back and enjoyed the scene which was chaotic as usual. Annabeth already has started to read in one of the books Percy got her, while Leo was leaning over her shoulder and pointed at something in the book. His socks he got from Grover were flashing like a Christmas tree. Frank with his new purple sweater from Reyna was about to put a necklace around Hazel's neck. Jason gave Nico a new necklace as well and Rachel got a new sketchbook set from Piper and was about to draw her sitting under the Christmas tree. She was reading the voucher she got from Will and Reyna got a new pair of dog leashes and collars from Annabeth. Will was presenting his new shirt from Hazel which fits the one Nico was wearing. Rachel's gift for Grover was a new pair of shoes she has customized. Leo tried to get Thalia home for Christmas but it wasn't possible so he organized a video call for Jason as a compromise solution. And Percy has to keep himself from starring at Jason who was laughing with his sister. Little tears of joy in the corner of his eyes. He himself received new gloves and a matching scarf from Nico.

He was so happy that he can count so many people as his friends. No they were more than friends. This was his second family. And he knew that everyone was feeling the same.

After some time has passed, Jason ended the call and looked a bit sad for a moment, but quickly recovered. His sister was the only one left from his family and it was the first time he was supposed to be alone on Christmas and new year. Percy leaned over to Jason and whispered: "Don't tell anyone but remember me to give you your Christmas gift when we are leaving." Maybe it was against the rules of Secret Santa but he couldn't stop himself to get Jason a present as well.

"That's not fair! I haven't a present for you." He whispered back.

"Nah it's fine. It didn't cost anything so it's totally okay"

"So you made it by yourself? Now I want to know what it is."

"You will see." Percy made his troublemaker smile and looked into Jason prying eyes.

"Hey you two lovebirds, " Reyna interrupted their eye contact with a snap and both turned their heads towards her, "I've asked if you want to play charade with us but you seem to be busy."

"No no. I would love to play! What about you Jase?"

"I'm in!"

Laughter filled the house and in the end nobody knew who won.

It was late. Very very late. Well past midnight. Maybe Percy fall asleep once or twice, he wasn't really sure by himself. "Maybe I should go home soon", he declared with a yawn, his head resting on Jason's shoulder.

"Yeah me too." Jason shifted a bit, so he can look in Percy's tired eyes. "I drive you home. It's cold and dark outside and I don't accept a 'No'."

Percy knew he didn't have a chance to deny. Jason could be very stubborn when it come to situations like this. So he didn't resist and as a bonus he has time to give Jason his gift. After a lot of hugs they were driving to Percy's.

"So the present I was talking about... You still alone on Christmas?" Percy asked softly.

"Yeah but it doesn't matter I'm fine, just having myself a little Merry Christmas you know" Everybody would believe him but not Percy. Jason's voice was a tiny bit rougher than normal.

He could feel his heart nervously beating in his chest. "You can stay with us. I asked mom already and she said she would be very happy if you would join us."

"No I can't." Percy felt his heart stutter. He planned this since he knew that Thalia wouldn't make it. Nobody should be alone. Especially not Jason.

"Why not?"

"It's your family and I don't have any presents. I can't crash Christmas without presents."

Percy let out a released laugh. "That's what you are worried about? Well than you can come with me. I bought too many gifts anyways. We just change the tags. And for me it's really enough when you celebrate with us. How about that?"

A defeated smile stole on Jason's face. "Only if I can give you your money back."

"Alright. If you want to drive home first, you need to pack your things, you can stay at my home. It's already late and so you can't oversleep. " in the joy of Jason saying Yes he invited him spontaneously but regretted it right after saying it. He didn't want to overdo it so hopefully it wasn't a big deal for Jason.

"Unlike you I never oversleep but I would love to stay at your's"

Percy looked with a wide smile outside the car window. This was one was on it's best way to be the best Christmas ever.

As they were finally parking by Percy's mom it's started to snow again. Luckily they didn't have to drive anymore. His house wasn't decorated like Leo's but at least there were Christmas lights and one look at Jason was enough to be reminded of earlier this day. His eyes, it were always his eyes that made Percy fall in love with him a little more. And the way he was smiling at this moment brightened his heart. “You know this is one of the best presents I ever could get? I thought I would be lonely on Christmas." There were tears in his eyes and without thinking Percy hugged him.

"Nobody deserves to be alone if they doesn't want to. And I am so happy you are here with me."

"Thank you." Jason voice cracked and he cleard his throat. Percy let go and before he could start a second try to confess his love he pulled out his key awkwardly and said: "You don't have to thank me. But I'm freezing, let's get inside." At which point in his life he turned in this little coward? The problem was Jason was way too important for him and he didn't want to lose him.

"I guess my family already fall asleep, so we have to be silent." Percy whispered as he opened the door. They entered the house and walked as quiet as possible through the hallway till Jason suddenly stopped.

"You okay?" Percy turned around an looked at him. He seemed to be a bit nervous. Maybe he was afraid what his family could say.

After not answering his question Percy tried to calm Jason. "Hey, you don't have to be afraid or something. My family knows that you are coming with me. And especially Estelle is glad to see you."

"Yeah I know, that's not the problem."

"Then what is it?" Percy started to getting nervous too. What if Jason didn't want to be here and was just too polite to deny and now he regretted it? But Jason seemed so happy to be here a few seconds ago. So what was making him so nervous?

"Look up." He didn't suspect this reply at all and look at the ceiling in confusion.

A mistletoe. There was a mistletoe above him and while Percy still was wondering why it was there, because his mom never hung up one, Jason take a step towards Percy. Percy slowly look back to Jason. He could feel his heart beating in his chest. Jason was starring on his lips. He couldn´t breathe. He couldn´t think. With a glance in his eyes Jason made sure if Percy was okay with this and finally overcome the last few centimeters. Cross the line of their friendship.

And then he kissed him.

Once, twice and then a third time. They couldn´t stop and soon it happend that Jsaon was pressing Percy against the wall. It taste like Christmas and chocolate and it felt like finally coming home.

They only broke away from each other to catch a breath. Jason leaned his forehead against Percy's, while their hearts were racing, both with a big smile on their face and a little bit of disbelive in their eyes. Like this was a wonderful dream. "Merry Christmas, Percy." Jason whispered.

Percy was way too overwhelmed to reply but one glance was enough to know this wasn't just a kiss under the mistletoe. This kiss was the certainty that his feelings wasn't one-sided. This kiss was all he ever wanted. And this kiss was the best present he ever could get for Christmas.

#jercy #percy and jason #jason and percy #jason grace #percy jackson #and yes I still don't know how to use the tags correctly 😂#There is a chance that I wrote the first 1000 words in the end of May and yes I listen to Christmas music in the summer and I'm proud of it

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iloveannabeth · 3 years

Text

You’re on, Seaweed Brain.

Percy stood hunched over, hands resting on his knees and panting like Mrs. O’Leary. The summer sun beat down on his skin, making his orange camp t-shirt cling to him with sweat. He stood up, heaved a sigh and mentally prepared himself for another round.

It was about a month before Percy’s sixteenth birthday and all the campers had been working harder than ever before, getting ready for whatever Kronos was going to send their way. Percy himself has been training more than anybody. He’d just spent the better part of an hour hacking practice dummies to pieces with Riptide. With the weight of the world on his shoulders, (not literally this time) he had to be ready. If that meant killing one dummy after another, so be it.

Just as he was about to start swinging again, he felt someone come up behind him. He turned around and came face to face with Annabeth.

His breath caught in his throat and he had to work to keep his facial expressions under control. Annabeth was clad in a sports bra and shorts, clearly suffering from the heat just like him. Her face and chest were flushed and, surprisingly, her hair was down, laying in messy curls around her shoulders. She looked spectacular.

“Hey, Percy,” she smiled at him. “Working hard?” He missed the way her eyes were glued to where his shirt stuck to him for a moment, before looking back up.

“Uh, hi. Y-yeah, I am,” he managed to squeak out after a moment.

His relationship with Annabeth this summer had been...rocky. For the most part it was great. They seemed closer than ever, brainstorming attack plans, sparring, even relaxing at the beach together in those calm moments that were so rare these days. Percy was getting bolder too, flirting with Annabeth when he saw an opportunity. He was pretty sure she never noticed and he didn’t know if that was good or bad if he’s being honest. It took Percy a while to admit it, but yeah, he liked her. A lot. So why wouldn’t he want Annabeth to know he was flirting with her? Well that’s complicated.

More often than not, the nice moments they shared were disrupted with an argument and ended with Annabeth storming off. It was always the worst when Percy told her he would be leaving for the weekend. She would go silent for a few minutes, then purposefully start a fight both of them knew was bullshit, just so she had an excuse to leave. She wouldn’t speak to him for days after he returned. Eventually, Percy stopped telling Annabeth he was leaving. He would simply come back and they’d pretend like nothing happened.

A part of him hoped she was acting this way out of jealousy. The more rational part of him thought that she was acting this way because he was a selfish, lazy asshole. So, maybe Annabeth knowing he was flirting wouldn’t be the greatest thing.

Still, Percy hated fighting with her more than anything. Most of the time, he didn’t even know what they were fighting about. He yearned for a time there would only be good moments.

So, he was determined not to mess up this time. Hopefully she wouldn’t catch him staring because he had a feeling that wouldn’t end well.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” She asked with a raised eyebrow and an annoyed look on her face.

Fuck.

“O-oh, uh, nothing. I was just wondering why your hair’s down, is all,” Percy spluttered out. Smooth.

“My hair tie broke,” Annabeth grumbled. “I guess now you’ll actually have a chance at beating me, with my hair flying around my face,” she smirked. She looked pointedly at the sword in his hand.

Percy realized she was asking to spar with him. No way was he going to be able to focus with her looking like that. She’d be able to beat him no matter what state her hair was in, but she didn’t need to know that.

“Please, your vision doesn’t need to be impaired for me to beat you. I’d win no matter what,” Percy gloated and matched her smirk. Fake it ‘till you make it, right?

Annabeth laughed and yep, Percy was a goner. She looked him up and down and said, “Oh you’re so on Seaweed Brain.”

Percy tried not to blush at that and failed miserably. He looked down and got into position.

As soon as he locked eyes with Annabeth, they were off.

Through the years, Annabeth and Percy had trained together time and time again to the point where they had practically memorized the other’s fighting style, which only made them that much more evenly matched. The chances of winning were more or less equal.

The two demigods circled each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Suddenly, Percy sprung forward and slashed Riptide through the air, narrowly missing Annabeth’s waist as she side-stepped.

Percy kept advancing, going on offense. He jabbed and Annabeth blocked, never letting him get a hit in. Percy faked to the left and hit Annabeth’s shoulder with the hilt of his blade. Annabeth gasped and stumbled slighting but before Percy could take advantage, Annabeth came back at him twice as hard. She wielded her dagger like a madman, stabbing here, and slashing there. However, Percy was just as effective on defence. He ducked just in time and saw a couple strands of his hair fall to the floor.

“Oh, so you’re giving me a free haircut as well as trying to kill me, huh?” Percy asked breathlessly during a lull in the fight.

“I mean, why not, Gods know you need one,” Annabeth replied with a cheeky grin.

“Come on, don’t lie, you love my hair. But you’re going to pay for that.”

“Oh, yeah?” Annabeth’s cheeks were tinted pink. Interesting. Maybe she did realize he was flirting.

“Yeah.”

Percy lunged.

Annabeth expected percy to make a direct assault, so she was unprepared for when he rolled through her legs and jumped up behind her.

Percy slashed at her neck while she was turning around. Percy watched in horror as Riptide travelled through the air towards Annabeth. He tried to stop it, but the momentum wouldn’t give in. Before Annabeth had time to parry, the blade made contact with her skin.

Annabeth cried out in pain and the hand not holding her dagger went to cover the area Percy had struck. Her hand came away bloody. Percy felt like he was going to throw up.

“Holy shit, Annabeth, I’m so sorry, are you okay—“

Next thing Percy knew, Annabeth had judo flipped him and he was laying on his back, with the point of Annabeth’s knife pressing against his jugular.

He looked up and realized he had only given Annabeth a small nick. Then he realized...some other things. Annabeth stared down at him with a satisfied smirk adorning her features and her knees bracketed his hips, leaving her weight rested on his lower abdomen. Her golden hair tumbled down around her face and tickled Percy’s ears.

If being thrown to the ground hadn’t knocked the wind out of him, that certainly did.

“I win, Seaweed Brain,” annabeth proclaimed softly. She lowered her weapon.

Percy’s brain was too busy short-circuiting to formulate a response. He just stared at the ethereal sight above him.

“Percy? Are you okay?” Annabeth had started to look concerned.

Thankfully, his mouth had finally figured out how to work again so he said, “you’re beautiful.”

What the fuck. No. Okay, clearly, his mouth needed a bit more time.

“Um, i mean, y-yeah. Sorry, I’m all good. Nice one.” Percy would like to die now. He was sure his face had never been a deeper shade of crimson. Stupid mouth.

Now, Annabeth was the speechless one. Her face held a blush that rivalled Percy’s. She tried to appear exasperated, but Percy could see a pleased, if somewhat embarrassed, smile shining through. She was radiant.

Before this train wreck could get any worse, Percy changed the subject.

“How’s your neck?” Percy inquired. He reached up and gently brushed his fingers over her cut. Percy scowled. Even if it was inconsequential, he was still mad at himself for hurting Annabeth.

He heard her breath hitch as he ran his hand down her neck.

“I’m fine, I promise.”

Percy didn’t know why she was whispering but it felt appropriate. Her eyes found his before glancing down at their bodies. She seemed to realize, for the first time, that she was straddling him, if her eyes widening comically was any indication. She looked back to Percy’s face and the air around them turned heavy and thick like molasses. Neither of them moved for a long time. Just as Annabeth sucked in a breath and started to lean down, they heard a wolf whistle and looked up to find the culprit.

“Well, isn’t this a compromising position,” Clarisse noted with an amused voice. “I thought this was the training arena, not one of your cabins.” She was clearly trying very hard not to laugh.

Percy and Annabeth stared at each other in shock before springing apart like the other was on fire, stammering out excuses.

“We were just sparring and then Percy—“

“Annabeth beat me so she—“

“Save it you two,” Clarisse said. “I’m just playing.” Though the look on her face said she clearly didn’t believe a word. “Now get out, I want to beat up some dummies.”

With that, Percy and Annabeth packed up their stuff and walked out. They continued on in a charged silence for a few minutes before Percy couldn’t take it anymore.

“Hey, Annabeth, we were just sparring, don’t listen to Clarisse. It’s no biggie, don’t let her make things awkward between us.”

Percy didn’t mean any of it. It was definitely a ‘biggie’. A very big ‘biggie’.

Now, feel free to call Percy delusional here, but he was sure that Annabeth was about to kiss him before Clarisse interrupted. He had half a mind to go punch Clarisse in the face for that, but he had more desperate matters at hand. He needed this to stay a good moment, so he hoped downplaying it would make Annabeth feel better.

A dejected look crossed her face and she answered, “right. No biggie.” She gave him a fake smile and kept walking towards her cabin.

Shit. Maybe downplaying it was not the right strategy, Percy thought. He started grasping at straws.

“Winner gets to dunk the loser in the lake fully clothed?” He suggested with hope in his eyes. “I promise to let myself get wet this time,” he smiled.

He had a feeling Annabeth missed the good moments too because, luckily, she accepted his lousy excuse for a peace offering. She gave him a real smile and said, “you’re on Seaweed Brain. Race you to the lake!”

Percy stood there for a second, just watching Annabeth run off. His chest filled with a sensation he wasn’t ready to identify quite yet.

Annabeth turned around to see him still standing there. “Hurry up, slowpoke!” She called out.

Percy couldn’t stop smiling if he tried. Oh, yeah, he thought. This was definitely a good moment.

~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-

Clarisse was walking back from the arena when she saw Percy and Annabeth together in the lake. Percy resurfaced with water in his mouth and spit it in Annabeth’s face playfully. She shrieked and jumped on Percy, shoving his head back underwater. They ended up with Percy holding onto Annabeth’s waist and her hands on his shoulders. They were grinning like fools and their eyes were sparkling.

Clarisse couldn’t remember the last time she had seen either of them that happy. Idiots, she thought.

“Hey Clarisse,” Silena said, walking up to her friend. “What are you looking at?”

“That.”

Silena’s gaze followed Clarisse’s line of sight and she saw the two lovesick demigods.

“Oh my Gods, that’s too cute even for them,” Silena deadpanned.

“When do you think they’re going to pull their heads out of their asses and realize they’re in love with each other?” Clarisse asked.

“I have no idea, but it better be soon. They’re driving everyone crazy.”

“You got that right.”

The girls set off, leaving Annabeth and Percy to smile at each other under the setting sun.

#percy jackson #annabeth chase #percy jackson and the olympians #percabeth fanfic #percabeth #percy and annabeth #pjo #fanfiction

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annab-nana · 4 years

Text

About Damn Time - Colby Brock

At Playlist, both y/n and Colby are busy meeting their fans and doing several different events, but the fans keeping bugging Colby about him still not having asked y/n out yet.

Warnings: some curse words

Word Count: 2.4k+

--------------------------------------------------

"Omg y/n! Hi! I can't believe I'm finally meeting you!" A fourteen-year-old blonde girl with big green eyes beamed at me as she almost ran to me and fell into my open arms.

"I can't believe I'm meeting you! It is so much more exciting to meet you, I promise. What's your name, love?" I ask her as I hold onto her as tightly as she is doing to me. I will never get over this feeling of meeting all these people who support me. They have no idea the impact they have on my life.

"Annabeth, but most people call me AB," she gushed as we pulled away from the embrace.

"Well AB, I am so happy I got the pleasure to meet you," I say as I hold onto her hand. She smiles at me before pulling out a beautiful yellow gift bag with white sparkly tissue paper coming out the top.

"This is for you!" she exclaimed as she handed me the gift.

"Oh my goodness, you didn't have to get me anything. They won't let me open it here because of time, but I'll send you a video of me opening it because I'm sure you wanted to see me do that. What's your Instagram?" I tell her.

"I wrote it on the letter in the bag," she informed me, and I nodded.

"Smart thinking. I like that. Okay, now it's picture time." I say with a wink. We turn to the camera and take a few pictures. We take a normal one, just standing next to each other. Then one where I kissed her cheek and one where she kissed mine. Then we took one where we hugged each other really tight and had huge smiles on our faces. Lastly, we took one where she got on my back, like a piggyback ride, and we made silly faces. I sat her back down and we hugged each other goodbye.

"Don't forget to send me those pictures later!" I shouted at her as she walked away.

"I won't!" She screamed back as she waved. I waved back as another teenage girl walked up with her younger brother with her.

"Hey!" I shout, restarting the routine and meeting more people.

...

"Bye Mason!" I shout to the last person I met at my meet and greet as he walks away. We wave at each other before I turn around to Lillie, my manager.

"Drink some water. We will get all of the gifts and things together and drop them off at your hotel room. But you need to hurry. Your Q&A panel with Sam, Colby, and Jake starts in five minutes and is on the opposite side of the building." She informs me as she hands me a cold water bottle and my eyes widen at the last bit of information.

"I have to be across this huge place in five minutes?" I worry. This building is enormous and there is absolutely no way I can make it there in time.

"You'll make it if you head over there now," Lillie reassures me, noticing who anxious I got. She nods her head in the direction for me to start heading in and pats me on the back, signaling me to go. I started walking to the panel, but I knew I wasn't going to make it if I walked, so I ran.

"Y/n! Where are you going?" I heard a familiar voice ask me. I turn around to see my tall, curly brown-headed friend that I met through TikTok.

"Hey Merrick! I'm in a hurry so if you want to talk, you're going to have to run with me." I tell him as I catch my breath for a quick minute.

"I have a better idea," he tells me as he turns around and squats down, "hop on." I laugh as I do as he said, climbing onto his back. As soon as he stood all the way up, I felt like I was really far away from the ground. Merrick is a lot taller than Colby and Colby is the tallest person I've ever piggybacked on. He has to be a little over half a foot taller than Colby.

"Where to?" He asked, turning his neck to see my face.

"Conference room 1017, please." I chirped and he nodded before taking off. His long legs and army background definitely moved way faster than I ever could. My arms tightened around his neck to hold me steady and he gripped onto my thighs better to ensure I wouldn't fall. I giggled the whole way there until we finally arrived at my destination.

"Thanks, Merrick! I owe you one," I say as I give him a quick friendly kiss on the cheek and slide off his back.

"No problem. We need to catch up later when you aren't busy running around this place." We chuckle and I hug him quickly before walking in. I head to the back where the boys are.

"There she is!" Jake says as he and the others walk up to me.

"Sorry guys. My meet and greet went on longer than expected and then I was going to have to run all the way over here, but Merrick came and saved the day." I explain. The three of them nod understandingly as some guy tells us it's time to head out there.

"Come on guys," Sam says as he leads the way. We walk onto the stage as the crowd of fans scream. The four of us wave at everyone as we make our way to the table where Levi, a Playlist worker, sits with four empty seats beside him. We each take our seat before saying hey and beginning with the questions.

"From @golbrockjakeyscherer: Y/n, since you weren't in the first trap house, what are you most and least excited about in moving to the second one?" Levi reads from the question card before looking at me. The boys have cheeky little grins on their faces, ready to hear my answer. I giggle before speaking.

"Umm... I'm most excited about living with my best friends and all the memories and fun times we will have and I'm least excited about the fact that the boys are going to lose the prank war. Am I right?" I answer, receiving chuckles from everyone and some rolled eyes from the guys next to me.

"Someone is mighty confident," Sam comments.

"Sure am. You guys are going down," I add. Colby lets out a scoff and rolls his eyes once more causing me to laugh, making him smile.

Levi goes around asking each of the guys a question and then it is my turn again.

"From @ynandthetrapbois: Since you are a skilled TikTok dancer, which one of the guys do you think is the best dancer on TikTok?" He asked me before looking up at me from the question card.

"Well, I'm not going to say Corey because he isn't here and is a better dancer than any of us but..." I drag out as my gaze shifts between the three beside me. "Sam is out. Sorry buddy," I say, and he frowns and pouts.

"But between Jake and Colby, I'm going to have to say the best is Jake. Sorry Colbs," I tell him as I pat his back. Jake has a childish grin on his face, happy with his victory.

The questions go around to all the boys until it is back to me.

"From @taralicious: Y/n, have you ever kissed Colby?" Levi smirks a little after reading that one.

"Uh yes I have but you all saw that. It was for a video. The one Colby pranks Sam and Corey saying he finally got a girlfriend but that's the only time I kissed him." I say.

"What about that night we were really drunk?" Colby whispers to me, forgetting the microphone is right in front of him. I smack him on the leg before responding.

"They asked if I had ever kissed you. You made that move, not me." I tell him which causes him to blush hard and the fans notice it, giggling at his adorable embarrassment. I join in on the laughter as well.

I watch as Levi reads the next question for Jake and he begins answering it. As he speaks, I notice Sam nudge Colby, nodding his head in the direction of the crowd. Colby's ocean blue eyes follow that direction and he smiles, his cheeks tinting red again. I allow my eyes to go where his were to see what the two were snickering about and notice a few fans with signs. Once I read them, I realize what the boys are giggling about. One read, "What are you waiting for?" Another said, "Just ask her out already." The last one had, "Y/n + Colby," written on it. My reaction was similar to Colby's, a smile and slight blush.

After Jake's question, Sam gets asked about our next series and then it was Colby's turn.

"From @babybrock: Colby, why haven't you asked y/n out yet?" Levi smiles hugely after that one. The girls holding those signs in the back scream, "yeah!" That blush that has been repeatedly showing up on Colby's cheeks revealed itself again as did his cheeky grin.

"Umm, I don't know why. I just haven't. But don't worry, I will someday. Someday soon hopefully," Colby softly speaks into the microphone in front of him. The audience coos at his words and I blush and smile.

We finish up our Q&A and separate to do our different events. I walk along the halls before hearing that same voice from earlier.

"So, you've downgraded to just regular walking now?" Merrick says from behind me. I smile as I turn around.

"Yeah, I'm not in as much of a hurry as I was last time. Thanks for that by the way. There was no possibility of me making it there without you and your long-ass legs," I chuckle as he smiles and nods.

"No problem. Are you going to any of the parties later tonight?" He questioned. I shrugged in response.

"I might. I know Tara wants to go and she will probably drag me into it. But honestly, as much as I love Playlist, it is tiring me out." I fill him in.

"I feel that. It can be very exhausting, but I love every minute of it." He told me and I nod in agreement. Before we could talk any longer, my phone starts buzzing in my hand. Lillie's calling me.

"I'll talk to you later, okay?" I assure him and he nods. We wave at each other before I answer the phone.

"Hey, Lillie!" I chirped into the phone.

"Hey y/n, so the other panel that you were supposed to be a part of got canceled so you are free for the rest of the day." She informed me.

"Okay, thanks!" I tell her before we hang up. Well now that I have some free time, I think I'm going to head up to my room and start filming me opening those gifts for the people that brought them. So that exactly what I did.

...

"Awwwww AB! I love this. You didn't tell me you were artistic," I gush as I admire the gorgeous artwork. She had made this amazing watercolor painting of her and me.

"This is definitely going up in my room when I get home. You should think about going into art. You have some promising skills here, Annabeth," I say to my phone camera that I had propped up on the tv stand of the hotel room. I sat the artwork to the side as I pulled more wonderful things out of the bag. It's crazy to me how well my followers know me. As I open a small box, I hear someone knock at my door.

"One second AB, I'll be right back," I whisper to my phone as I walk to the door. Getting on my tiptoes, I peek through the peephole to see who it was. Mr. Cole Robert Brock. I swing the door and let him in.

"Hey, I wanted to talk to you about something that was discussed earlier," Colby informs me as he scratches the back of his head nervously. The act made nervousness and anxiety flow through my body, scared about what was about to happen.

"Okay," my voice sounded shaky to me, but he didn't seem to notice. We sat down on separate beds, facing each other.

"So, you know how the fans really want us to be together? You know as in a couple?" His voice sounded shaky and nervous as well. I nodded my head and felt a small bit of hope. Was he about to finally do it and ask me out?

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to get together for them? It wouldn't be anything real. Just for social media." As soon as the words fell from his beautifully parted lips, my heart fell and shattered. Its pieces were at ground level with my feet.

"I'm sorry Colbs. I can't do that," I tell him as I keep my gaze focused on the ground. Colby is not the type of guy who would ask me to do that, but I guess he isn't the type of guy I thought he was.

"Good because I was kidding. I want to be with you because I like you, y/n. So, will you be with me?" He snickers as he speaks and a huge smile spreads across my face.

"Of course, I'll be with you, Colbs," I say as he stands up, pulling me up to him and swinging around with me in his arms as giggles escape my lips. He sat me down back on the ground and stared into my eyes as he pushed some stray hairs behind my ear.

"I'm taking you out tonight, okay?" he questioned me, and I nodded as he headed for the door before leaving so we could each get ready. As I turned around, I noticed I was still filming.

"Oh my goodness, AB, I forgot I was filming," I say as I sat down where I previously was. I chuckle at my own stupidity as I continue with the video and finish opening her gift to me.

"Well AB, you are going to get a very interesting video," I say as I wink at the camera before ending the recording. As soon as I finish, I get a Twitter notification from Colby.

Colby @ColbyBrock i finally did it guys

A giggle escapes my lips as my fingers type away to reply to the tweet.

Y/n @y/n Replying to @ColbyBrock about damn time

#colby #Sam and Colby #colby brock #cole robert brock #cute colby #cute colby brock #colby brock imagine #fanfic #colby brock fanfic #colby brock fanfiction #colby brock x reader #y/n #tara yummy #Corey Scherer #sam golbach #jake webber #merrick beaumont #TRAPHOUSE #xplr

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jasiper · 4 years

Text

adore you

fine line series 3/12

you don’t have to say you love me

you don’t have to say nothing

you don’t have to say you’re mine

If Piper could go back in time, crash the wedding reception, grab her past self by the nape of her neck and drag herself out of the venue to give herself a good kick in the ass, she would.

Okay, maybe she wouldn’t crash her best friend’s wedding purely for the sake of not having sex, but in retrospect, she was being dumb. Completely and utterly idiotic. When it came to Jason, she seemed to lack the proper amount of brain cells to think Piper, maybe it’s a good idea not to sleep with your best friend again!

But it happened, time travel didn’t exist, so while she’s spending more time with Jason than ever, she’s also unable to fight the inkling that maybe after all this time, she is still in love with him, even after years of being apart.

How can she do this to herself? She spent years alone, maintaining a comfortable (yes, comfortable even though sometimes it was hard) distance between her and Jason. Sometimes there was a lapse of judgment, a night where the tensions got too high and they found themselves beneath the sheets, limbs intertwined and lips pressed to each other’s skin. They always manage to brush it off—an awkward laugh, averted eye contact, the walk of shame. It doesn’t stay awkward for long because by the next day, they’re texting and chatting like usual. It’s fine. It always ends up fine. Piper can still mash down her feelings and pretend it’s all okay.

Ever since Annabeth and Percy’s wedding, it isn’t just a one-time thing. It’s part of her daily routine. Wake up, coffee, work, dinner, she sees Jason, repeat. Maybe deciding on doing her last year of med school in San Francisco wasn’t her brightest idea, given that now she’s less than thirty minutes away from Jason at all times, but it’s too late to backtrack. She’s here now and he’s very obviously apart of her daily life, just as she’s apart of his.

It’s like their souls are intertwined. The Fates were probably having a field day with this. They tangled their strings of yarn together, tied several knots into them just for fun before seeing how well they can thrive. Even with the breakup, the several near-death experiences, Piper is sure their lives are even more connected. If she wanted to leave—which of course she doesn’t—she doesn’t think she’d have the ability to. It’s like there’s a bungee cord attached to them; if one ventures too far, the cord will restrict and pull them back together.

The wedding slip-up is a result of the cord being pulled too far. They spent too much time apart and when they were pulled back together, it lasted longer than it should have.

So now Piper is completely and utterly wrapped around Jason’s finger. She can’t even deny it at this point. So much for being just friends. The years of running away from her feelings finally caught up to her.

How can she not still have feelings for him? He’s her best friend, her shoulder to cry on, the person she trusts the most in the world.

Plus, he’s stupid pretty. Stupid pretty.

She’s never been fooled—it’s not like he was ever unattractive. He’s always been unfairly attractive. He’s just grown into himself now. His hair, which used to be cut short (Roman military style), has grown out, infuriatingly perfect. It’s hard to not run her fingers through it and pull him close and kiss him.

After sneaking away from the wedding reception a few months back, she finds herself doing that often. When they’re alone and they’ve run out of things to talk about, she tangles her fingers in his hair as she puts her lips to his, losing herself in the taste of his mouth.

It’s almost too easy to pretend that he’s hers when her tongue is in his mouth. She can delude herself for the time being—no one else is making him moan and flush and cause his eyelids to flutter. As much as she’s wrapped around his finger, she’s got him wrapped around hers, too. It’s the endless cycle of their relationship. Maybe if they weren’t so broken, they can take the final jump and say fuck it, let’s just try to date again.

But they’ve stared death in the eyes and they’ve figured out years ago that just because they’re broken, their pieces don’t necessarily fit into each other. They’re not a puzzle waiting to be finished. They’re broken glass, just random unfixable shards that have spent years trying to be reassembled.

That doesn’t stop Piper from hoping and praying to any god that is willing to listen to somehow bring them back together.

She’s selfish. She just wants him for herself.

But Jason Grace isn’t one to be owned. He’s the son of the king of the gods, pontifex, warrior through and through. He’s caused armies to fall, kingdoms to crumble. He wants domestic life—marriage, kids, a house with a big backyard. Even then, she can’t imagine her to be the one to be his wife in a suburban area. Their time has passed.

It still doesn’t stop her from wanting him to be hers. She doesn’t like sharing.

Right now, staring at his freckled back as he sleeps, playing connect the dots with the sunspots, she wants to be the only one to ever see him like this. Messy hair, skin pink against the white sheets, his back rising and falling with each breath. Who wouldn’t want this angel of a man to be theirs and only theirs?

For now, she’s the only one to be lucky to be in such a vulnerable position like this with him. That causes an almost painful, empty hollow feeling in her chest. This won’t be forever. This is just a temporary fix, a little fun before he goes off and settles down with a less broken person, someone who hasn’t flirted with death and almost paid the price for it. He’s worthy of someone who won’t scream in her sleep and push him away when things get hard.

Still. She doesn’t need him to love her. She just really wants him to.

The early morning sunlight is creeping through his blinds, turning his hair gold. Usually, he’s the one who wakes up around this time while she sleeps, but he’s had a long week. His breathing is slow, steady, clearly still asleep. She closes her eyes, listening to the sound of his heart against her cheek as she presses herself closer to his back, her arm hanging loosely off his torso. Maybe their broken pieces don’t fit perfectly, but for just a moment, she can pretend.

Several minutes pass and Jason’s breathing picks up, a clear indication that he’s waking up. Piper keeps her eyes closed, not daring to move, feigning sleep. She doesn’t want him to know she’s been awake this entire time.

With a low groan, Jason shifts in her arms, the sheets bunched up around them as he turns over. Her eyes remain shut as she feels his chest where his back once was, almost dropping the façade when she feels his hand cup her cheek. It isn’t until he presses his lips to her forehead is when she decides to ‘wake up’—her eyelids flutter and she forces a yawn as she gives an appropriate stretch.

Pretending to be asleep, she decides, is totally worth it. His cheeks are flushed a delicious shade of pink, a stark contrast to his sky blue eyes. She wants to lean forward and kiss every freckle on his cheekbone, but that feels a little less platonic than she feels comfortable with despite the fact he just kissed her forehead.

“Did I wake you?” Jason asks, voice wonderfully husky and heavy with sleepiness.

“Mhm, it’s okay.” Piper settles her hand on a shoulder, a place she deems as safe. “How’d you sleep?”

“Well,” he admits. “I needed that. Work this week was so tiring.”

There are still dark circles under his eyes. Piper runs her thumb just below his left eye and she says, “You seemed tired. We can go back to sleep if you want.”

Jason shakes his head and leans into her touch. She tries to ignore how her heart is beating in her throat when he murmurs, “No, you’re probably hungry. What host am I if I don’t make you breakfast?”

Piper almost wants to point out they’re hardly ever considered guests in each other’s apartments anymore—this is a routine event that occurs multiple times a week, but the thought of Jason cooking her breakfast makes her cheeks go warm. “Breakfast sounds nice.”

“Mhm.” Jason nods and sits up. Piper has to force herself to look away as the sheets fall and hang loosely around his hips. “Breakfast and maybe a shower after that?”

A shower sounds nicer than she wants to admit. She nods and slowly sits up, holding the sheets to her chest. “Can you make pancakes?” she asks hopefully.

He smiles and nods. “Of course,” he answers. He pushes away the sheets and Piper averts her eyes. She’s acting like she hasn’t seen him naked before because she knows if she looks, she’ll do something stupid, like blurt out her feelings for him, which is the last thing they need on such an uneventful morning. “Okay, I’ll start breakfast after I brush my teeth.” As if it’s the most casual thing in the world, he ruffles her hair before shuffling out of the bedroom in just his boxers.

Maybe there’s a part of her that does need his love, as pathetic as that sounds. A daughter of love who can’t even find the love for herself, someone who needs to love of another. It sounds so selfish; she’s already broken his heart once, he doesn’t need her to do it again.

Although now, she’s sure she wouldn’t break his heart again. She isn’t as hurt as she was when she was sixteen. She’s long accepted the demigod life and she wants to do it with him.

Not that she’d ever say it. She bites back her feelings, again, settling for being the best friend who occasionally gets sex. It’s more than she deserves out of him, anyway.

It takes another few minutes of self-deprecating for Piper to haul herself out of bed. It’s hard to leave because Jason’s sheets are so soft, but she makes her way to the bathroom, grabs the toothbrush he keeps for her, and brushes her teeth. She tries to forget about the way Jason kissed her last night, how he kissed her forehead just this morning.

Is it so bad to want to be loved? Is it so awful to crave that? Maybe not, but this is her best friend, her first love. She wants to be adored but right now… Piper has to settle for this—the sex and nothing else. She can survive without the I love you and claiming each other as their own.

With a dramatic sigh, Piper forces Jason’s discarded shirt from the previous night on her body, choosing to put on panties and not her leggings as she makes her way to the kitchen, which smells heavenly of pancakes. By the time she slides into the stool at the counter, Jason’s sliding over a plate of pancakes, complimented with the perfect amount of syrup (he knows how much she likes) and strawberries and scrambled eggs. Her mouth waters and she digs right in.

“Hungry?” Jason teases, looking infuriatingly like a domestic husband cooking his wife breakfast after a long week of work.

What I would give to be the wife he’s cooking breakfast for.

Piper almost chokes on her pancakes at the thought. “Um, yeah. You wore me out,” she reminds him, having to force back a smile as his face turns a wonderful shade of red. “Are you telling me you’re not hungry from last night?”

Jason leaves over the other side of the counter, biting into his own stack of pancakes. “Starving,” he corrects as he chews. “Pancakes were a good idea, Pipes.”

She has to bite back her snarky remark, instead shoving her face full of strawberries. Making fun of him this morning isn’t on her agenda. At least not yet.

Staring is also not on her agenda, but it’s hard to do so when Jason’s hair is golden in the midmorning sun, freckles like constellations on his pale skin, lips so pink she wonders if they taste like bubblegum. (She’s kissed him enough to confirm his lips somehow taste better than bubblegum.) She wonders how sweet the kiss will taste as he eats his own breakfast. Will they taste like the coffee he drinks, or syrup, or the strawberries?

Maybe looking at him and focusing on his physical features will help her get her mind off the fact that her feelings are eating her insides away. So she continues to stare.

It isn’t until after Jason finishes his breakfast that he realizes she’s staring. “What? Is there something on my face?” he asks, instinctively reaching up to touch his cheek.

Piper shakes her head, pushing aside her empty plate as she props her elbows up on the counter. “Nope. I’m just…” She struggles for the right innuendo, hoping he’ll catch on, but knowing he’s too dense to do so. “I’m still hungry.”

“Oh.” Jason blinks. “I could make you more pancakes if you want. Don’t even worry about it.”

“No, Jason.” Piper leans even further over the counter. “I’m not hungry for food.”

It takes Jason a few moments to realize what she’s getting at. He flushes crimson, the color reaching to the tips of his ears. “Oh. Oh.” He laughs breathily and he reaches across the counter to twine his fingers in her hair. “Really? After last night?”

“Especially after last night.” Piper bites down on her bottom lip. She was right—being horny is easier than grappling the feelings that threaten to bubble over the surface. She can’t ruin the friendship purely because she’s still hopelessly head over heels for him years after their breakup. “Are you…”

Jason doesn’t answer. His lips do the talking instead as he closes the distance between them to give her an eager kiss. She’s right, his lips do taste like a sweet mixture of maple syrup and fresh strawberries.

“I said I was starving earlier, didn’t I?” Jason murmurs as he pulls away. He pushes himself away from the counter, holding out a hand to her. “Come on. We can shower after this.”

His hand is extended towards her and she wishes this was a different situation. She wishes he was asking for her love instead, asking her to be his. Asking her to adore him.

But he’s not. He doesn’t have those feelings anymore. All she’s capable of doing is pining and cursing her past mistakes because now she’s stuck in this zone, only able to kiss him but unable to love him the way she wants to.

This is all she can get, so she grabs his hand to at least feel like she’s adored. Even if it’s only for a little bit. Even if it’s only for a moment.

#i said: fuck it objectify jason #piper: feelings r too hard lemme just talk abt how hot he is #me too sis #i forgot about this series for over a month so it's about time i brought her back #enjoy!#fine line series #jasiper #jasiperverse #my aesthetic #my writing #mine

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bobasheebaby · 4 years

Text

Mama - Cordonian Ruby chapter 7

Pairing: Ruby Rys x Beau Larkin; Jo Ellen Larkin (OC)

Word count: 1,023

Warnings: just a little angst and fluff

Summary: Ruby and Beau talk to Mama Jo.

A/N: picks up the same day, a little after Beau proposes.

A/N2: sorry this chapter is short guys, nexts weeks will be longer. Want a little get to know you for Ruby and Beau this weekend?

A/N3: A major thanks @sirbeepsalot for all your graping, prereading, editing, and telling me when to let go. I love you boo! Thank you to my snippet reader @loveellamae who screamed appropriately.

Series warnings: character death, blood, surgical procedures done by non medical personnel, may go NSFW in the future. May contain gun violence, knife violence, threats, not sure how dark this will go. By requesting to be tagged you acknowledge you are at least 18 years of age.

Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist.

Disclaimer: I own Ruby, Galen, Lovett, and Beau, I’m borrowing Bastien and Olivia from PB.

Beau slipped his hand in hers, lacing their fingers together, pulling her from her daze. “You ready?”

“For your mom to hate me? Never.”

“She could never hate you RuRu.”

She rolled her sapphire eyes in annoyance, though she was unable to keep the smile from her lips. “You know that’s not fair!”

“Maybe, but I need to use whatever I have,” he leaned forward pressing a kiss to her forehead, “how else do I stand a chance against a queen?”

The smile slipped from her lips. “This was a bad idea, everybody is gonna hate me.”

“Ruby,” his voice and eyes soft and full of love, “I promise they won’t hate you. If anyone is about to be hated it’s me.”

“How do you figure?”

“AnnaBeth is gonna be so mad that I’m gonna have a title.”

She fought to keep the laughter bubbling in her from spilling out. “Stop making me smile all the time.”

“Why would I want to do that and miss out on the beautiful sight.”

“You are such a cheeseball!”

“But I’m your cheeseball.”

Ruby shook her head. How could I have ever doubted him for a minute? “Okay,” she sighed, as much as she wanted to hide in the truck for eternity she knew she needed to face her fears or she’d never be able to serve her people as queen. “Let’s get this over with.”

- - -

Jo Ellen placed her wooden spoon next to the stove and turned as she heard the back door swing open. Her eyes narrowed, though the weight in her chest lightened. “Beau Larkin, care to tell me why you rushed out of here like a bat out of hell?! You left in such a hurry you forgot the ri—” she trailed off, her voice softening and turning to confusion as her eyes landed on Ruby. “Ruby!” Her eyes darted between Beau’s sweetheart and her son. “I thought you two were having dinner with the Johnson’s.”

Beau gave a half shrug and scratched the back of his neck. “Uh — where’s dad?”

“Oh no Beau Larkin, you are not going to get out of explaining to me why you gave me a near heart attack!” She pointed towards the kitchen table, “sit and explain.”

“Mama Jo, maybe it would be best if we waited for Papa Lou.” Ruby said, her stomach so tangled and twisted in knots she wasn’t sure she could explain to Beau’s parents twice how she was taking him away.

“Lou is helping Pop, now tell me what I want to know.”

Ruby chewed her lip, eyes welling once more with tears as she sank into the closest chair. “Beau rushed out because of me. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare anyone.”

Jo Ellen felt her heart sink with worry as she slowly lowered herself into a chair. ��Ruby dear, what’s wrong?”

“Ruby’s parents gave her a letter from her biological parents, she was worried about my reaction.”

Jo Ellen looked at him inquisitively, unsure what could upset her son’s girlfriend so deeply. “Okay.”

“I’m a queen.” Ruby blurted, quickly covering her mouth with her hands.

Beau softly rubbed circles along her back. “She means that her parents were royalty and killed in order to seize the crown. Ruby was worried about my reaction, she plans … we plan to hopefully take it back. Her parents said it would take at least a month to plan before we could leave so I don’t know exactly how …”

“I’m sorry Mama Jo.”

“She’s worried you’re going to hate her because she’s putting me in danger.”

Jo Ellen gave Ruby’s hand a comforting pat. “Now I know both of you well enough to know that this one,” she nodded towards her son, “isn’t innocent in this.”

“Thanks mom … but yea I told her I couldn’t live worrying about her and screwed up all my plans and proposed.”

“Beau Larkin, you did not propose without a ring!”

“Ruby was so worried that I’d hate her, I couldn’t wait.

Mom, I’ve never seen her so broken. I wasn’t sure how else I could make her understand just how much I love her.

It’s a little unorthodox but not unheard of and I did get her parents' blessing.”

“Wait … is that why Papa kept saying it would all work out?”

Beau smiled squeezing her hand, “I think he knew that nothing could stop me from asking you, not even a title.”

“Well I guess we have a wedding to plan.” Jo Ellen chuckled at her son and future daughter-in-law’s stunned faces. “I understand why you both need to do this, and I’m proud, even if I’m also scared out of my mind that something will happen to you.

While I support your decision, I cannot and will not accept my only son getting married without his momma.” She stood, pulling a black velvet box from her apron pocket, “I’m going to go call your Nan … tell her to send your father home,” she placed the small box in front of her son. “You forgot this.

Ruby, I’m so excited that I will get to call you my daughter.”

“Thanks Mama Jo.”

Beau pulled Ruby into his side, kissing the top of her head, “see? Nothing to worry about.”

“Did we really just agree to a wedding in a month?”

“Do you want to go against her?”

“No … it just seems so fast, but not soon enough.”

“I know what you mean … I was, am ready to spend my life with you, but everything is happening so fast.” He lovingly brushed her hair back from her face, “I won’t lie, I’m worried about what will happen, but I also believe in you.”

He picked up the ring box, “Ruby I love you so much and know that we can face any obstacle that may come our way,” he opened the box revealing a white gold band with delicate Celtic knots on either side of a modest ruby, “together.”

“It’s perfect,” Ruby whispered as he carefully slipped the ring on her finger. “And you’re right, together we can accomplish anything.”

Feedback fuels me, please like, comment reblog or send an ask. Feel free to scream, I promise I can take it.

Masterlist can be found in my bio.

@speedyoperarascalparty @liamxs-world @annekebbphotography @itsstillnotwhatyouthink @ao719 @blackwidow2721 @stopforamoment @akrenich @gardeningourmet @daniv2278 @bella-ca @gibbles82 @choiceslife @blackcoffee85 @sirbeepsalot @mrskamilxh @dcbbw @alicars @desireepow-1986 @mfackenthal @bhavf @indiacater @drakesensworld @kingliam2019 @walkerswhiskeygirl @ladyangel70 @jovialyouthmusic @edgiestwinter @rainbowsinthestorm @janezillow @sleepwalkingelite @texaskitten30 @traeumerinwitzhelden @bbrandy2002 @jared2612 @blackcatkita @darley1101 @innerpostmentality @lolablackwrites @endlessflame @fullbeaumonty @hhiggs @itsalliepg @smalltalk88 @littlegreenmoo @mynameiskaylabella @bobbersb @imma-winchester-addict @cordonianroyalty @loveellamae @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @katedrakeohd @forthebrokenheartedthings @super-secret-fandom-blog @burnsoslow @queenjilian @bebepac @malvolari-take-my-soul @hopefulmoonobject @queen-arabella-of-cordonia

#ruby rys #trh au #trh au fanfic #the royal heir au #the royal heir#mama #cordonian ruby #mama: cordonian ruby #CoRu #chapter seven #angst #long post #maleficent writes

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chironshorseass · 3 years

Note

idk if you’re still taking prompts but 7 angst for percabeth after BoTL but before tlo, thank you so much!!

idk what this is, but hopefully, it’s not too horrible bc I can’t bring myself to read it again lol.

“You should’ve said that yesterday.”

tw: blood

read on ao3

Plans don’t always go well. Annabeth should know; she’s a daughter of Athena. But one holds on to hope like it’s the last thing they have, even when accidents happen.

It was a frequent thing nowadays, for demigods to leave on missions as a desperate attempt to thwart off the titan forces. Annabeth understood the risks.

Percy did too, but he’d insisted that it was fine, that he needed to go.

He’d left with some Hephaestus and Hermes kids, intending to raid one of Kronos’ troops that had camped close to New York.

They hadn’t counted on the empousai, though. And because of this, most of the boys—including Percy—had nearly died.

But what else was new?

The thing was that...he didn't have to go. But he and Beckendorf had grown closer over the past year, so nothing could stop him from tagging along with the son of Hephaestus and the rest of the group. Maybe because he also felt bad that he’d missed out on most of the missions; he’d been absent for so long, lost in the streets of New York City.

Whatever the stupid reason was, he’d refused to listen to Annabeth, disappearing into the horizon with Blackjack and the rest of the pegasi.

He’ll survive, she’d told herself. If he really was the child of the prophecy, then…

This mission wouldn’t be the last thing he did. Or his last day on Earth. That title would likely belong to his birthday.

Gods, he’s going to die anyway.

But for now, he wouldn’t, at least not according to what she’d heard.

Thanatos would bide his time, hooded and standing at the doors between life and death, not yet ready to welcome Percy with his chilled breath.

Soon, but not today.

Still, it wasn’t like she’d been worried sick and then nearly threw up her lunch once the crew had arrived, a few yards away from the infirmary, bloodstained and battle-torn.

By all the extra load on the pegasi that she could make out from the distance, she supposed that at least they’d been successful.

Percy, however, was leaking blood down his neck, furtively trying to clamp it down with a bandana.

Soon, but not today.

He leaned against Beckendorf, his eyes baring clouds, fogged and lost. The son of Hephaestus helped him off of Blackjack, but still, he would’ve crumpled to the ground had it not been for Annabeth running to him like a madwoman. The grass crunched behind her; the others were right on her heels.

“What happened?” she cried, grabbing hold of Percy’s shoulders as his head slumped against her chest. She staggered back from his sudden weight, then righted herself.

“Hey, ‘Beth,” Percy said weakly, the words jumbling together against his lips and her shirt.

She looked at Beckendorf helplessly.

“Empousai,” he gasped, then made a hissing sound, pressing a hand to his back. It came back crimson red.

“You’re hurt!” she said as if it weren’t obvious.

Other demigods, Apollo kids mostly, rushed past her with medical supplies. But Will stopped next to them, breathing hard. He handed out ambrosia to Beckendorf and Annabeth’s waiting hands.

His eyes blazed, focused on something past her head. He waved frantically at someone, signaling them to come, and quickly. She whirled around and caught sight of Chiron trotting toward them.

“I’ll be back,” he breathed, giving them a nod as though they’d argued with him against it. He retreated a few steps, legs reacting to sudden howls of pain that echoed further back. “Just, just wait here. I’ll just…”

He dashed away, lost in the mass of pegasi and bodies that moved in all directions, shouting. In the chaos, Will was their only help at organizing it all—but she’d still tasted bile in her throat, not quite used to the way he ignored Percy and his mortal wound to the neck.

In a swift, mastered movement, Annabeth had made him chew on the Ambrosia. She’d been about to say something else—some words of encouragement—when a blur of curly brown hair nearly tripped her and Percy over. She readjusted him in her arms; Percy mumbled something incomprehensible, making her heart tighten.

“Charlie!” Silena called, flinging herself into Beckendorf’s arms.

He grunted in response but smiled through his obvious pain.

“Hey, baby,” he said.

She kissed him, but only for a second because Beckendorf had already pulled away faster than her sudden arrival.

Silena scrunched up her eyebrows. “What’s wrong?”

His concerned gaze leached into Percy, whom Annabeth could barely hold now.

Has he always been this heavy?

She followed her boyfriend’s line of vision and saw her friend standing in front of her for the first time. Her face morphed into shock, eyes widening. In a flash, Silena was there, hauling one of Percy’s arms over her shoulder. He was no longer conscious.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, the words tumbling into the pool that was now Annabeth’s fevered heart. “I didn’t...”

Annabeth could only shake her head. She had to get Percy some actual help. She pressed the cloth harder into his neck. It had to be the fucking neck.

“Will!” she shouted, voice hoarse. “Chiron!”

Panting, Beckendorf closed the distance, limping over to Annabeth. “I’m going to help the others. We weren’t so lucky on our mission, and...” He glanced somewhere past them. “Chiron’s coming our way. We have to—”

Silena inhaled sharply. “You’re bleeding, too? Why didn’t—”

“No time, ‘Lena.”

In an instant, Chiron was there, extending his arms out.

“Give him to me.” His voice was firm and urgent.

After all, the neck was a highly vulnerable place. A slit to the throat could end someone’s life in a matter of seconds. Percy was a demigod, and likely the cut hadn’t been too deep, or else he’d be dead by now. But still, she didn't know how much longer he could hold up.

Already she’d felt the tell-tale warmth of blood trickling into her skin, already she’d envisioned the life draining out of him. The sand of an hourglass raining, spilling down to the bottom.

;

They’d told her that he’d lost too much blood, that the claw wound had just barely hit an artery. But above all else, he was lucky. He’d survive.

She’d been there, hands washed clean from the rusted blood, sitting on his bedside in the infirmary and watching him sleep while her mind was wide awake. Will came and went, wrapping bandages and giving him fresh doses of ambrosia; Chiron did, too—as if none of this was his fault and he could pretend to care for injured demigods.

But she stayed. Stayed and watched.

Annabeth had forgotten how long she’d been there, staring at the blank walls, eyes unfocused. Will had poked his head inside for the final time and insisted for her to get some sleep; it was late. She’d shaken her head and refused.

Her eyes closed for a second, though it must’ve been longer than that, because, when she opened them again, golden light had already streamed through the window. It cast delicate shadows across the room. In her daze, she hadn’t realized that someone was calling her name, light as a butterfly.

Percy.

“Annabeth,” he repeated.

She blinked the sleep away to find a pair of green eyes watching her.

Though his hair was twisted and knotted, and his complexion was a worrying shade lighter, Annabeth thought that she’d never seen a more inviting sight.

“You asshole!” she gasped, lunging forwards with desperate fingers, hugging Percy tighter than she’d ever had in her life.

After a while, his head dropped back to the pillow to get a better look at her.

“Hey.” He grinned lazily.

There was a sweet wonder to his face—like he couldn’t believe she was here, waiting for him to wake up.

But her mind flashed to when his heartbeat had weakened, when scarlet red covered her shaking hands and she’d seen him slump into Chiron as their teacher dropped him here, in the infirmary.

“D’you have any idea how fucking worried I was?”

His brows knit in confusion. “What do you…” A hand flew to his neck, to his bandages. “Oh. That.”

“Yeah.” Her voice felt like rough sandpaper. “That.”

Percy winced. “Okay, okay. I can explain; that demon came out of nowhere, right? And I slashed and shit, but she still got me, and—”

“You could’ve died, Percy. You get that?”

“I know, I know! But I didn’t!”

She took a rattling breath and looked away. She suddenly felt faint; her lungs didn’t seem to gather enough oxygen. Everything was too overwhelming, too big and small all at the same time.

She was dimly aware of Percy saying something. Then, she felt the warmth of her hand in his. It helped bring her back, but barely.

“Hey. Hey, look at me, Annabeth. Look at me.” Reluctantly, she did as he said. “Breathe with me. C'mon—in two three four, out two three four...”

Annabeth didn’t know how long they stayed that way, anchored to the surety of Percy’s grip on her hand and breathing along to his rhythm, until she’d found a way back to her bearings.

“You’re okay. I’m okay,” he said, repeatedly.

She nodded.

“Talk to me.”

Here he was, the boy who had nearly died, consoling the girl who’d watched the whole thing.

She nodded again, and this time, she closed her eyes, taking in some of this new peace of mind Percy had offered.

He was safe, and they were alright.

Finally, she exhaled.

“How’re you feeling?” She bit her lip, remembering something, and then muttered, “Sorry. Didn’t really ask you that first.”

“S’okay.” Now that she noticed him, truly noticed him, she could tell how tired he was. “I’m fine. Just feel like mush.”

“Your neck doesn’t hurt? Will gave you some morphine.”

“Yeah, no. Everything’s kinda numb, I guess. Doesn’t hurt or anything.”

“You lost a lot of blood.”

“Hmm. Probably why I feel like mush.”

She felt a lump forming in her throat. Not for the first time that day.

“It wasn’t—Gods, Perce,” she murmured, not meeting his eyes. “If you’d only seen it…”

“I know. I should’ve listened to you.”

“You should’ve said that yesterday.”

Annabeth didn’t realize that she was crying until Percy softly flicked his thumb across her cheek. He reluctantly moved it down to her lips, swiping at the tears that had already pooled there.

It wasn’t really something she planned to do, and in any other case would’ve embarrassed her, but she found herself resting her forehead against his. Maybe to steady herself. Maybe to feel his presence more, a spare hand combing through his locks.

She wasn’t so sure.

But still, she let herself close her eyes, enjoying this moment of quiet. Percy did too, sighing softly, rubbing her back idly.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, when they separated. “M’here.”

Her breath caught in her throat, just by how tender his touch had been, taking care of her when he was the injured one. How close they were at that moment. How her tears tasted like that time she’d kissed him, all salt and sweat and fervor.

Now, she was able to see the little flecks of blue in his irises, drink in all of his details like she was dying of thirst. They were so close that she was able to feel exactly when his breath hitched like hers had done just milliseconds before, how it smelled like medicine and chocolate cookies all in one.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said, not taking his gaze from her. “I didn’t listen to you.”

At least he acknowledged it. Again.

“No. You didn’t.”

His thumb still lingered on her face, a ray of sunlight that she greedily took only for herself, leaning into him. It ghosted around her skin, that trailing touch of his. And despite its warmth, it sent shivers down her spine.

His eyes never left hers. Roving, feeling down to her very soul.

He’d always been the one to break her walls, destroy the dam she’d carefully built for as long as she could remember. Poseidon wasn’t his father for nothing.

And as he grasped a stray curl that fell across her left eye, tucking it ever so gently behind her ear, she felt that water roaring all over her mind. The flood happened too fast, consuming every last restraint and denial that crossed its path.

Annabeth didn’t catch it until she risked a glance to his lips.

Gods, he’s so close. Too close.

In the blink of an eye, she was leaning in, intoxicated by everything about him. Percy caught the back of her jaw with his hand, guiding her closer.

Their breaths mingled together.

Her lips parted. Closer…

“Hey, how’s—oh shit, sorry!”

She repelled from him, electrified, and whipped her head to the screeching of the curtain rod.

Cheeks flushed, Will yanked at the curtains, closing them once again.

“Wait!” Annabeth glanced at Percy, whose eyes were wide. “Will, this isn’t—”

The latter hollered from the other side, “I can come later! To, um, change bandages! Be good!”

So close.

She wanted to slap herself.

No.

This wasn’t right. For a second, she’d forgotten what was at stake. Let herself be swept away.

Have you ever considered that he’s going to die?

He’ll leave you just like everyone else.

This was dangerous, letting herself taste what wasn’t meant to be.

“I—I’m sorry,” she gasped, standing up, an unknown force pushing her back.

Percy blinked, slower than usual. Probably from all the ambrosia and nectar and mortal medicine.

“Annabeth—”

He reached for her, but she was already backing away into the wall, stumbling over her wooden chair.

“No, I shouldn’t have…” She felt herself blush. “I don’t know, I...I should go.”

She scrambled towards the curtains, ignoring Percy’s expression awashed in hurt and shock.

Brushing past his bedside, he grabbed her arm.

“Please,” he begged, voice barely above a whisper. “Please stay.”

Blinking away her tears, Annabeth forced herself to look at him.

If I stay, you’ll leave me first.

But she didn’t say that, only shook her head and watched as those beautiful eyes of his creased around the corners with anguish. A part of her died a little at witnessing this. His was a heart worn on a sleeve that would soon fade away. She pulled her arm away, burned from his grip.

“‘Beth—”

“I’m sorry.” She swallowed, already tugging the curtain aside. “I’ll call Will.”

And she left him there in his injury, allowing it to be.

He didn’t deserve this, she knew. Not when she could enjoy the last moments with him, admitting what was in the open air between them. But they’d be one step into their ruined fate if that ever happened. If she didn’t stop.

Because she was like Tantalus, that lone fruit forever out of her reach.

He didn’t deserve this, but she didn’t deserve to have him, either.

#percabeth #percabeth fic #pjo fic #pjo #anon #pjo fanfiction #tw blood #Percy Jackson and the Olympians #percy jackson #annabeth chase #ahhh idk do I like it #or do i not #angst #look mom i can write

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fallfromthaliagrace · 4 years

Text

sprained ankle and kisses - Percabeth AU

(I never thought I would write a AU of Percy Jackson but here we are! I hope everyone is safe and are sane during these weird times, hopefully it will get better. This originally was suppose to be a mini-series with six chapter but I decided I work better with one shots. I going to try to write an one-shot everyday tho each one shot is like 3000+ words but I have a lot of one-shot planned! Maybe I be able to write and post everyday when school cancelled?)

word counts: 3000+

warning: just a little bit of swearing ;)

Annabeth had called Percy late at night because of a problem that occurred. Annabeth didn’t want to call her dad who was working and she didn’t want to call her step-mother. So, instead, she had called Percy at eight pm… on a school night.

Annabeth went night-jogging because she had been doing her homework all day and went to get some fresh air to clear her head and get away from her family. And maybe or not, accidentally tripped and twisted her ankle. So there she was, sitting on the sidewalk at the park nearby by her best friend's (and crush) house.

Her ankle felt like it was on fire, and maybe it was from the glaring sun. Maybe. Annabeth couldn’t move her leg and felt entirely humiliated by the fact, she was sitting on the ground with her tank top and leggings, and looking like an idiot.

Annabeth was worrying that Percy had forgotten about her and how completely left her stranded. The sun was setting and Annabeth was getting anxious and closed her eyes for a couple of minutes, trying calming herself down. Annabeth took in the fresh air before exhaling it.

Annabeth could hear someone walking near her. Annabeth shook that thought, but that movement was coming toward her. Annabeth opened her eyes and looked up. She saw the troublemaker yet charming smile, the wild jet-black hair, the glinting sea-green eyes of Percy Jackson.

“Need any help? Wise girl?” Smirked Percy as he offered Annabeth a hand.

“Yes actually, my ankles hurt…” Annabeth said as the aching feeling of her ankle burst through her body.

The humor and sarcasm in his ocean eyes left, replaced with worried and concerned. Percy bent down and examined Annabeth’s ankles before biting his lips.

“It must hurt badly?” Whispered Percy, as Annabeth moaned in pain.

“Yeah, I think I might strain it, ouch.” Said Annabeth

“Wait, don’t move.” Said Percy as he picked Annabeth.

Annabeth widened at the sudden movement of Percy picking her up. It was weird, but it seems so right. Annabeth in Percy’s arms. Annabeth was now in bridal style in Percy’s arms. Annabeth’s arms were flailing around and without thinking, Annabeth wrapped her arms around Percy’s neck. Percy blushed and carried her to his apartment.

“You’re cute when you’re worried,” Annabeth whispered to Percy in the setting glow of the sun.

Percy chuckled and wiggled his eyebrows, “Annabeth Chase, You think I’m cute?”

Annabeth playfully slapped him in the chest before groaning from the shift in her position. Percy, who was slowly jogging to get Annabeth to his apartment complex faster, slowed down and apologized.

“No, you’re fine.” Muttered Annabeth, “I’m kinda getting achy from this position though.”

“Well don’t worry, we’re here.” Percy said softly, “Do you think you can handle standing up, we need to walk up the stairs”

“What about the elevator?” Suggested Annabeth as she unwrapped herself from Percy

“It’s been down for weeks, no one hasn’t been able to repair it yet.” Grumbled Percy, “I’m sorry-”

“It’s alright,” Annabeth said as Percy gently placed her down, “It’s alright if I, uh, lean on to you?”

Percy nodded. Annabeth unclasped her arms around Percy’s neck and the two entered the complex. There was barely anyone in the lobby beside the receptionist who didn’t even look up as they walked in. Percy and Annabeth walked up the stairs well more like... Annabeth was limping up the stairs with the support of Percy, some people were staring at them. Annabeth would usually be glaring back at them but this time, she was in too much pain to complain.

They finally reach Percy’s apartment, (curse on Sally for choosing such a high level of the apartment.) Percy gently put Annabeth down on the black and white couch and quickly went to the fridge to grab a packet of ice. Annabeth laid down on the couch as Percy placed the ice packet on the swelling ankle.

Annabeth whimpered from the contact of her swollen ankle and relaxed as the coldness of the ice spread out her leg.

“I think I actually strain it, no joke.” Annabeth sighed as she examined her throbbing ankle.

“You should rest, Annabeth.” Suggested Percy, “The ankle needs to heal.”

“But we need to finish the project,” Annabeth protested, “It’s due tomorrow.”

Annabeth and Percy were teamed up for a Social Studies project about Greek mythology and they had got Hera. Personally, Annabeth thinks that Hera is just overall a horrible and boring goddess and she wished that they had gotten Athena or Artemis.

“Don’t worry about that, you should worry about your sprained ankle.” Said Percy,

as he covered Annabeth with a blanket.

Annabeth shoved the blanket off her and said, “ The project…-”

“Chase,” Said Percy sternly, “I promise you when you wake up tomorrow morning the project will be done.”

“You promise?” Whispered Annabeth, as she lowers her head on the pillow that Percy gave her.

“I promise,” Percy said softly, “If it isn’t finished by tomorrow, I give you permission to drag me down the bottom of Hudson River.”

Annabeth laughed and closed her eyes, “Goodnight, Seaweed Brain.”

Though Annabeth had closed her eyes, she could feel Percy smiled and closed the lights.

“Goodnight, Wise girl.”

Sally had woken Annabeth at noon before she left for work. Percy had not woken her up for school and decided it was best if she stayed home for the day. Percy had alerted Sally about Annabeth’s stay and wrote Annabeth a rushed note before he left.

Dear Annabeth,

Please don’t be mad at me for not waking you up for school but I thought better of it when I saw how peacefully you look and how much better your swollen ankle looks. And don’t worry, I have finished the project and I presumed that you would like for me to ask your teachers for the homework. (Though, I don’t know why you would want homework when you missed school already.)

Love, Percy

P.S. I hope you feel better and I left you some clothes :)

Annabeth’s heart fluttered at the note that Percy had written for her. She rolled around and a thought popped in her, Why does this smell like Percy…! Annabeth jolted up and looked around her surroundings… her eyes widen at the location of where she had slept in Percy's bed. Annabeth fanatically jumped up, forgetting about her ankle. Annabeth whined at her mistaken movement and leaned against the wall. Annabeth didn’t know why her being in Percy’s bed caused such anxiety as she has been in Percy’s bed multiple times. It’s Annabeth’s (romantic) feelings for Percy. Percy.

Annabeth ran a finger through her hair when her phone rang. Annabeth, who was maybe, just a little bit, was hoping that Percy was calling but instead it was her dad. Her dad was picking her up at one clock to go to the doctors’ to check out her ankle. Annabeth was trying to reassure him that it was fine (Annabeth had hoped to see Percy when he came home) but her dad thought otherwise. After a few minutes of (fail) convincing, Annabeth finally agreed.

“Okay dad, I’ll see you at one.” Said Annabeth as she put her phone on speaker mode, “No it’s not necessary, I can walk, okay, I love you.”

Annabeth carefully hopped off Percy’s bed and stretched her arms and legs. Annabeth didn’t lie when she said that her ankle was better and she felt ten times better. Though Annabeth smelled from her jog yesterday and she didn’t get to shower yesterday. Annabeth looked at the clothes that Percy had picked out for her; a blue hoodie and her leggings.

Annabeth grabbed them and took them to the bathroom. The shower took fifteen minutes leaving her about twenty minutes to spare before her dad picked her up. Annabeth tugged on the hoodie, (it smell like the ocean: Percy,) and put on her leggings and left Percy's bedroom. Annabeth walks to the living room, where she could see her jacket from her late jog (that she so now regrets) lying on the couch. Annabeth sat on the couch watching On My block on Netflix when her phone started beeping. Annabeth took her phone out of her hoodie pocket and checked the messages, all from Percy. Annabeth smiled at the message Percy sent.

Seaweed Brain: Hey, u wake?

Wise Girl: Yep, I feel much better

Seaweed Brain: Good :)

Wise Girl: How is Math class?

Seaweed Brain: Good, though it would be great if you were here ;)

Wise Girl: lol, how was the presentation?

Seaweed Brain: We got 10/10 on it :))

Wise Girl: Thank Athena, We have spent all night doing it

Seaweed Brain: I can’t wait for actual sleep, I’m so done with social studies

Wise Girl: hm lol, I’m getting some cookies, blue cookies ;)

Seaweed Brain: Annabeth!

Wise Girl: Just kidding, besides I need to get ready for the doctor

Seaweed Brain: Doctor? Are you okay?

Wise Girl: Yeah, but my dad making me go to be sure

Seaweed Brain: Oh okay, what time?

Wise Girl: Now, my dad is here to pick me up

Seaweed Brain: Make sure to lock the doors

Wise Girl: I did :)

Annabeth grabbed her jacket and put it on before locking the doors. Annabeth walked down the stairs happily and in the lobby, her dad was waiting for her. Annabeth hugged her dad and they both left the complex. Annabeth was in her dad’s car texting Percy.

Wise Girl: Isn’t it six-period right now?

Seaweed Brain: Yeah, currently in science. I’m so bored

Wise Girl: Ugh, I want to be school right now

Seaweed Brain: You know, anyone is missing school wouldn’t be thinking about classes right now

Wise Girl: Speaking of, have you got my math homework from Mr.D?

Seaweed Brain: No...

Wise Girl: Why?

Seaweed Brain: Look, Mr.D is scary

Wise Girl: Aw, it’s fine then

Seaweed Brain: You there yet?

Wise Girl: Almost. Percy??

Seaweed Brain: Yes?

Wise Girl: Aren’t you in class right now?

Seaweed Brain: Uh, yes

Wise Girl is texting…

Wise Girl: Percy!! Get your ass off the phone and focus on the lesson

Seaweed Brain: Why? When I focused better talking to you ;)

Annabeth chuckled and could feel blushed from Percy’s flirtatious yet not very flirtatious text. Annabeth looked up from her phone to look at the moving surrounding and glanced at her dad who was singing the song track of Roman Holiday. Annabeth smiled before looking down at her phone that rings a loud beep!

Seaweed Brain: Annabeth?

Wise Girl: Yeah? Sorry! got distracted

Seaweed Brain: it’s okay

Seaweed Brain: Shoot, I need to go

Seaweed Brain: I love you bye

I love you. Annabeth bit her lips as her dad told her that they were here. Annabeth nodded and put her phone in “her” hoodie pocket. Annabeth’s heart was racing from what Percy had texted. I love you. What if it's like a matey I love you instead? Annabeth really needs to sort out her life problems.

Annabeth hopped off the car like she didn’t have a supposed sprained ankle but as she jumped, her ankle felt like it was on fire. Annabeth silently cursed before smiling through her pain.

“You okay, Darling?” Asked Fredrick who looked concerned, “You don’t look good.”

“‘I’m okay,” Annabeth tried to say without trying to imply that she was in pain

Frederick nodded but didn’t look convinced. They both entered the hospital and waited for their turn. Annabeth was looking through Pinterest when the nurse called out her name, Annabeth shoved her phone into her jacket pocket and got up to follow the nurse, her dad followed behind her.

In the doctor’s office, the doctor, Doctor Apollo, checked her ankle and told her it was sprained. Annabeth fought back her groan, she didn’t want to be on crutches for the next two weeks.

“Don’t worry, it’s only going to be for a short amount of time.” Reassured Dr. Apollo as he patched Annabeth’s ankle up.

“Oh, also, can we have a doctor note for her gym class?” Asked Fredrick

“Yeah, of course” Replied Dr.Apollo, “Now Annabeth, while on crutches, you can’t run or do anything related to sports, you must rest and let your ankle heal.”

Annabeth nodded, before getting on her crutches. Annabeth stood up and slowly but surely got walking.

After a couple of minutes of getting used to the crutches and listening to her dad talked out his concern and Dr.Apollo reassured him that everything will be fine. Annabeth was getting discharged and was able to leave the doctor’s office.

Annabeth walked out of the hospital to the sun shining on her, Annabeth took in the fresh air and looked behind to see her dad.

“‘Hey Dad? Can we go to school?” Asked Annabeth

“Why? To get your homework?” Replied Fredrick as he jiggled the car keys

Annabeth nodded, but she knew that real reason was to see Percy and that sarcastic troublemaker smile.

Fredrick nodded and said, “Okay kiddo school ends in an hour, let’s get something to eat in while time.”

“Okay, how about Panda Express?” Suggested Annabeth

“Yes! C'mon, get in the car” Said Fredrick excitedly, “I haven’t had Panda Express since November or was it September?.”

Annabeth chuckled and put her hands in her jacket pocket where she found her headphones. She plugs her headphones and listens to her Spotify playlist on her phone.

They arrived at Panda Express and ordered some Chinese food and ate by the window. They were discussed about Fredrick’s newest models of Warcraft ships. Annabeth was so impressed with her dad’s brilliant mind, no wonder why her mom, who (apparently, (Annabeth never met her)) had a strategic mind, had fallen for him. Annabeth never talked about her mom, her biological mom, because it was always a sore subject for her dad. But Annabeth knew that she was wise, quick-witted, and disciplined and that Annabeth had inherited her traits too.

Fredrick had finished eating and was ready for Annabeth to finish. Annabeth scarfed down her last bit of Chinese food and threw away the box. Annabeth dusted off the crumbs and got up and walked out of the restaurant with her dad.

Annabeth stopped walking and pulled up her hoodie to cover the sunlight that was blinding her. Annabeth sighed at the fact of how difficult it was going to be. Annabeth and Fredrick made it to the car and it was two in the afternoon, fifteen minutes from school ending.

Annabeth clicked through her phone. She scrolled through Instagram and Twitter, looking at her classmates’ pictures. Annabeth clicked out of it and clicked on the messages. Annabeth smiled at the icon and his name on her phone.

Wise Girl: Hey Perc, I’m going to school to pick up my stuff

Seaweed Brain: Oh, I’m was planning to drop it off by your house

Wise Girl: No, it’s fine :)

Seaweed Brain: Can’t wait to see you. The school has been boring without you

Wise Girl: Lol, I doubt that. You cause trouble without meaning to

Seaweed Brain: What can I say? I don’t go looking for trouble. Trouble usually finds me

Wise Girl: It’s that from a quote from a book or something?

Seaweed Brain: Maybe? I don’t know, I don’t read books

Wise Girl: You do read books, you know with me?

Seaweed Brain: Yeah, but I only read books with you

Annabeth smiled sheepishly at her phone screen. And looked up to see her dad pulling into the school's parking lots.

Wise Girl: We’re here, and also I’m on crutches

Seaweed Brain: :( so it was sprained?

Wise Girl: It didn’t even hurt this morning, eh whatever

Seaweed Brain: Aw, feel better. Thank god, the class is almost over :)

Wise Girl: You got my stuff?

Seaweed Brain: Everyone but Mr. D

Wise Girl: Aw, it’s fine I’ll get it myself later

Seaweed Brain: Sorry :(

Wise Girl: It’s fine, don’t worry

Wise Girl: Alrighty, I’m going out of the car

Seaweed Brain: Meet me by the front?

Wise Girl: Yeah, sure

Seaweed Brain: Cya

Annabeth told her dad she would be back and left the car. She walked towards her school and stood outside the school. She saw a couple of her friends sitting out on the lawn, Piper, and Jason.

“Annabeth” Shrieked Piper as she saw Annabeth’s circumstances and ran over to her

“Hey Piper,” Said Annabeth as she smiled sheepishly at her

“You okay? Percy told us all about it” Said Piper, concern in her voice

“I promise I’m fine, Pips,” Said Annabeth

“Hey Annabeth, you good?” Said Jason as he ran over to where Annabeth and Piper were standing

“‘Are you here to collect your schoolwork?” Asked Piper as she fidgeted her bracelet, “I bet you know that Percy has it.”

“Yeah, I know” Said Annabeth as she shielding her eyes from the sun

“Hey ladies,” Said a voice behind them, “ And gentleman”

“Leo,” Said Piper and Annabeth at the same time, and simpered at each other

“Hey- Annabeth, you okay? You look like you're burning and it’s usually me who is burning and sweating.”

“Um-”

“It’s not even hot, it’s warm.” Said Jason, his eyebrows furrowed together, “the wind is helping cool down with temperature.”

“Okay, weather boy.” Chuckled Leo who received a slap on the shoulder from Piper

Annabeth laughed, “Actually, I think I know why I’m burning and sweating”

“You’re wearing a jacket and hoodie in sixty-six degrees weather, I wondered why you’re burning up.” Said Piper as she rolled her eyes

Annabeth chuckled, “Can, uh, someone help me?”

“Ah, of course.” Said her friends at the same time, (kinda) forgetting she was on crutches

“Let’s move to the bench,” Suggested Jason, the others nodded in unison

As they were moving to the bench nearby, the bell rang signaling that school was over. While they walked they saw many friends of theirs, Reyna, Nico, Will, etc. Some of their friends, Hazel and Frank, joined them as they got to the bench.

“Hey, have you seen Percy?” Asked Annabeth as she realized Percy was the only one missing from their groups

Hazel brushed her hair behind her ears and blushed, “I saw him talking to Mr.D”

Annabeth’s gaze softly and she shook her head, “Aw, he shouldn’t have”

“Honestly Annabeth, I think the boy has fallen head over heels for you and you too.” Said Piper, a matter of factly.

“Piper, you aren’t going to stop your matchmaking with Percy and Annabeth?” Said Leo

“That’s my job, Leo,” Said Piper as she playfully shoved Leo, “Besides look!”

Piper had pointed to her back of her hoodie, curious, everyone looked at where Piper pointed. No one gasped or looked surprised, instead, they all smiled at each other like they knew it would happen soon.

“What is it?” Asked Annabeth, as she tried to look behind her back

“You wearing Percy’s hoodie,” Said Piper, “It says Jackson, with eighteen”

Annabeth blushed, “I know, that I’m wearing his hoodie”

“Hey guys, sorry for being late,” Said a voice that Annabeth had been in love with, “I had to get something from Mr.D.”

Percy jumped over the bench and sat next to Annabeth, warily of her crutches.

Everyone looked at Percy and looked at each other, they looked like they were silently communicating about something. Annabeth looked weirdly at all friends and back at Percy.

“Here, this is all your papers but they aren’t due till tomorrow.” Said Percy as he wrapped his arms around Annabeth.

Annabeth hoped she wasn’t blushing because this was making her blush. Annabeth gratefully accepted the papers and asked everyone how their day went.

Leo took out a note with lunch detentions on it and said, “Bad, tomorrow I have lunch detention though I don’t know why even I got it.”

Everyone laughed and talked about their day.

“Hey, does everyone want to go back to my house and watch a movie?” Percy asked

Hazel coughed and said, “I’m sorry but I need to get going to my horse training.”

“Oh okay-” Said Frank before getting elbowed by Hazel, “Oh-oh, my grandma wants me home to help her with, um, dinner, yes! dinner.”

“Oh-alright?” Said Annabeth skeptically at Frank, even Percy looked confused.

Piper facepalm and quickly put her hands before her back before saying, “Jason and I are going on a date.”

Jason smiled sheepishly, “Yep, we’re going to the beach.”

Piper, Jason, Hazel, and Frank looked at Leo and Piper who was nearest to him, nudged him. Leo’s eyes widened and looked back at Annabeth and Percy. Leo coughed and stood straight up.

“Speaking of going somewhere, I promise my mom to help with the machine shop, it is quite busy there.” Said Leo

“Well, look like all of us have plans,” Said Hazel sheepishly, “Sorry Percy, but you can hang out with Annabeth!”

Percy nodded like he understood and said, “It’s fine besides I got something for me and Annabeth to do.

“Okay then! Bye!” Said Piper, “Let’s go everybody!”

Everyone said their goodbyes and left. Annabeth swears that before Piper left, she had winked at her.

“So,” Said Percy as he looked at her, “Can I take you to somewhere where I think you would like it?”

“Of course, but with my broken leg…” Trailed off Annabeth

“Oh, it’s fine,” Said Percy, you could hear the disappointment in his voice.

Annabeth felt so bad, she could feel her heartbreak. Annabeth reached out and hugged Percy, inhaling his beach-like scent. Beep! Ringed her phone and that’s where Annabeth realized that Percy and she could still go to wherever he went to go.

“Wait, I have an idea,” Said Annabeth as she texted her dad if he could take them.

Annabeth squealed in excitement when her dad replied, with a yes. Annabeth told Percy and his sea-green eyes glinted with happiness and joy that Annabeth almost kissed him. But she didn’t.

Her dad pulled up in the car nearby them and Percy and Annabeth gathered their stuff and walked over there. Percy had requested for them to be dropped off close by but not to close by and her dad did so. Her dad told them he would pick them up by six and for them not to do anything… Annabeth and Percy blushed hard as they closed the door.

Percy then covered her eyes, to which Annabeth groaned but Percy told her it was the best. Percy led her through a crowd then uncovered his hand, to her surprise, it was a museum full of replicas of ancient architecture of Greeks and Roman.

Annabeth was happy and grateful for Percy that she wanted to kiss him.

And she did.

#percabeth #percy jackson #percy jackson au #percabeth au #nico di angelo #will solace #hazel levesque #frank zhang #jason grace #piper mclean #leo valdez #percy and annabeth #annabeth chase #annabeth pjo #renya #oneshot #best friends to lovers #i hope this is good

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perseusjackson-jasongrace · 3 years

Text

Kingdom Collisions XIV

Masterlist for other parts, more jercy, crackships and bad ideas

writing fic=more description=(hopefully) improve writing

no prewritten chapters=sporadic updates=as surprised as you about what happens

Tell me your thoughts, I'm insecure about this chapter. Also sorry for the long ass wait I haven’t felt in the writing mood but hopefully I'm back.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

Crown Prince Jason’s dream starts as all his dreams do. Him sitting on a cloud looking over a burning meadow. He feels himself wince as if his body already knows its going to be hurt and then he is pulled under, under, under and suddenly the dream is a memory. One he had forgotten about, one he wishes he'll live through for the rest of his life.

"Prince," A soft, warm voice calls. "Are you in here?"

There is a moment of quiet, the crackling of the fire and the turn of the page the only interruptions.

"I'm here." The reply is gentle, and sweet, and full of the brightest days.

Jason blinks, looks through long blonde lashes. "Hello my Ardor"

Leo sinks into the couch, grabbing his hand with the need to be close and comfortable and together. "What are you doing here so late?"

"I had some things to research before tomorrow meeting with FreedomtoFeed."

The Captain of the Guards raises an eyebrow and gives a pointed look to the raunchy cover of the novel he has clasped in his hands. "That looks very appropriate for a feeding-the-people initiative."

He blushes crimson and shuts the book with a huff of embarrassment. "I finished the research."

Leo pulls them together until their foreheads bump gently, "I'm only teasing. But you should go to sleep."

"Will you join me?"

The fingers dancing at the nape of his neck still, and smoldering brown eyes catch his. "Of course."

They release twin breathes and move impossible closer, until lips brush against skin and oxygen is sparse.

"You are so beautiful," The Prince whispers, kissing his jaw. His cheek. Nose. Throat.

"Please kiss me." Leo is shaking with anticipation, arousal.

And who is Jason to refuse such a precious request? He brushes his lips gently across his Ardor's and groans at the softness he finds. Pillows, and peaches, and sweetness that only intensifies when it deepens. Their tongues dance, explore each other languidly. Like time is nothing but a suggestion. His fingers brush silken warm cheeks and dance across Leo's skin until they're resting on his thighs.

Jason is breathless when he breaks away, "You are—" His words are cut off as the Guard pulls their faces together.

"No talking now my Prince. Tonight we only feel."

Jason feels himself frown, as the memory becomes hazy, disjointed. This wasn't how it happened.

‘Together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.” Leo gasps, his head falling on the Prince's shoulder. "Jase, I can't—" He's cut off by a cry.

And suddenly all his beautiful brown skin is turning to ash under Jason's hands. He tries to grab on to anything, any part of Leo, but the more he holds the more ash comes away.

"Ardor?" He cries. This isn't how it happens. This isn't the way it goes. He can't go like this. They can't leave each other. He just got him back.

He can't, he can't, he can't, he c—

Prince Jason Grace wakes up with a scream, blunt finger nails tearing into his chest as he attempts to rid himself of the nightmare. And when his eyes adjust to the world he only knows darkness and despair. The love of his life is still dead and he is still far away from his dear kingdom. Actually he has no idea where he is at all. That thought is the final pick in the ice and suddenly his body is wracking with sobs. His life is a complete fucking mess. And he doesn't want to do this anymore. Every event piles onto his chest like boulders until he can't breathe, until he is hyperventilating.

Far from home; Leo is dead; kidnapped; tortured; his husband is—

Wait where is his husband? The thought shocks him out of his panic so fast he's reeling as he sits up. The cold floor underneath his fingers ground him to the present and he pushes off the concrete onto shaky legs. He feels so weird, like his body is not his own, like he's been forcibly removed from it and shoved into a whole new one and now he has to learn how to be human all over again. He feels like he's died. Slowly he stumbles around until he hits a wall and then plastering his right hand to it he walks. Or more like drags himself along, nails scraping against the brick and a bare shoulder scratching against the roughness.

His eyes are useless for anything further than his feet and he sees no evidence of light. But the room, or what he's beginning to suspect is a hallway, continues so he to keeps going. Someone will fill in all the blanks in his memory but first he has to find his husband. There is a deep chasm in his chest and he has the ugly feeling it will only start filling when he sees those green eyes and floppy curls. It almost disgusts him how much he needs to see the Prince of Mare. It's like his body, his heart, has forgotten about Leo entirely. He feels sick to his stomach at the thought so he banishes everything but the need to get out of here. Suddenly he hits a wall, hard enough that he knows there’ll be a bruise tomorrow. With a silent prayer to gods he didn't care to believe in, he turns his body and keeps walking. Right hand still on the wall.

There is nothing and no-one. He feels likes he's in the inside of a black hole. There is not even the faint sounds of outside. It is just his dragging feet and his cracking nails and the ringing in his ear from the sheer lack of sound.

He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will get out of here. He will—

There's a scraping sound. Someone gives a sharp inhale. A pinprick stings his neck. He is never getting out of here.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

Prince Jason clutches his rolling stomach, and without warning throws up the little contents that may have been in there. Before he even opens his eyes he knows whatever he will see cannot be good. Even behind his eyelids it is unnaturally bright and he can hear hushed whispers coming from somewhere. They sound angry. He will get the brunt of it.

"Well well well," A rapsy voice echoes around him.

He forces his eyes open and blinks back the harsh neon lighting to see Annabeth Chase, his previous kidnapper, and Grover Underwood.

"It's such a pity you don't remember me." She pouts unhappily, but there is nothing but viciousness in her grey eyes.

He wonders what he should remember.

"How do you feel Jason?"

"Like I died. Like I want to get out of here. Like I need to see my husband." He spits at the man leaning against the wall so casually.

"All in due time. But while we have you here I think we could use you."

"Why should I help either of you?" He curls his lip, anger making his vision blur, "You," He points a disgusted finger at the blonde girl, "Kidnapped me and Percy and then proceeded to torture us." She giggles and he wants to bury that sound six feet underground. "And you," He looks to Grover, the advisor to Mare and Percy's friend. He looks every bit the enemy. "I don't trust you one bit. Not if you can have her in your presence so calmly."

"I'm not looking for your trust Prince," The man, the being, scoffs. "I just need your cooperation. Otherwise Annabeth here has permission to get as creative as possible."

Grover tilts his head to her, a silent conversation passing between them, and then he leaves without so much as a glance to him.

"I'll never tell you anything." He growls at her.

She grins, pretty white teeth gleaming in the horrible light. "Let me tell you a story Prince Jason Grace, about the day you lost your sister."

"My who?"

She gives a secret smile and begins.

Twenty seven years ago a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes was born to The King and Queen of Mare. She was a sweet little girl with pigtails and a sharp mind and she kept her parents on their toes every second. One day this little girl's mom came to tell her that she would soon be getting a little sibling to play with and care for. The little girl was undeniably excited, or as excited as you can be when you're three years old and get told you're getting a small person just like you. Needless to say a little boy with blonde hair the exact same shade as hers, and blue eyes as bright as the summer skies was born. While she had eyes the exact shade of her mother’s he had their father’s eyes. And it was dangerous, but nobody knew that then. The little girl loved him immediately and with all her heart. They spent every moment together. Growing up and learning and loving each other as if it was the only natural thing to do. But when the little girl turned eighteen she received some horrible news. Her mother had died. Her brave beautiful mother who gave her kisses and taught her chess and spent hours reading to them. Understandably the family was devasted and they took it very hard. The girl— not so little anymore, grief will do that to a person— was angry and broken and unwilling to listen to the world that had so unfairly taken from her. So she rebelled against their father and lost their mother. And in her quest to feel something she engaged in nefarious, sinful, delightful activities. It was there that she met the love of her life. The Crown Princess of Hekima. Reyna. They got married within a year and have been together ever since. But the girl found out something about her mother's death and she was so furious as she rightfully should be that she renounced her title and vowed to bring down the very thing that killed her beloved mother.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

“You are terrible at telling stories.”

Annabeth smiles like a lion ready to pounce. "Figured out who the little girl is?"

"You." He heaves, chest constricting as he takes her in.

"And her little brother?"

"How come I don't remember you?"

"When we kidnapped you we put a serum in that would make you forget certain aspects of your life." She shrugs as if she's discussing the weather.

"And you feel no remorse for hurting your brother?" He spits at her feet.

Her grey eyes flash like steel and she gets into his face. "I have no family."

"Why tell me at all? Why not just let me be ignorant?"

That makes her smile- no, bare her teeth. "Because unlike me Jason Grace you would do anything for the people you love, for the people you think you owe. No matter the cost."

"I'm not telling you anything." His voice is hard. Like the concrete he is pressed into. Like thunder.

"Nah uh," She grins at him, "I'm your sister remember. You wouldn't deny your sister the information she wants."

"Try me."

It must be a sibling thing because a challenge enters both their eyes and it shines bright enough to dull the horrid neon lighting in the room.

"How do we kill Crown Prince Perseus Jackson?"

He blinks at her. Blinks again. And then he starts laughing. Knee slapping, stomach aching, wheezing kind of laughter. He can't breathe. He can't even see because his eyes are so filled with tears.

"I'm serious." She grinds out.

"How the fuck should I know? We don't discuss ways to kill each other," He rolls his eyes, muttering "Even if we do think about it."

"You must know. You have to know. It is woven into your DNA. You meet each other in every lifetime and die. You have seen it for centuries."

His fading laughter vanishes completely as he whips his head up to look at her. "What?"

"You and Perseus. You guys are immortal deities who appear whenever the world needs to be remade.” Her voice is impatient as if he should know this. As if she’s explaining it to an incompetent child. “You as the healer and him as the destroyer. But people and beings alike have been killing you for centuries because your presence means they will cease to exist. You have watched each other die multiple times. You have revived each other multiple times too."

"So you're saying we're soulmates?" He can hardly believe what he's hearing. It sounds like the biggest load of bullshit he's ever heard.

"No. You're more than that. You aren't just two halves that fit to make a whole. You aren't even two wholes that fit to make a pair. You are each other. You do not exist without him. He does not exist without you. You are not bound by souls or hearts or whatever us humans believe is the epitome of love. You are bound by life."

"I don't believe you." He rolls his eyes. This is garbage. This is nonsense. This is not real.

"I don't really have time to argue with you about it. Just tell me what I need to know and you will be spared."

"Why should I?" He's not even considering it. He would never betray his husband like that. Would never put the Prince in such volatile danger.

"Because if you don't," She gives another of her terrifying grins, "The kingdom you know and love will crumble to nothing."

"You're lying."

"It's already started Jason." She cackles, "The more time you spend with Perseus the more he will bleed into you and you into him. There are already cracks in the castle. Do you really want to risk it?"

His heart is pounding but she is wrong. Isn't she? "I don't believe you." He says again.

"Oh Jase," She gives him a pitying look and he wants to rip her eyes out and toss them in a lake to watch the fish. "The Castle of Caelum is falling to the ground. Your Prince's blood spilled on mom's roses and they crumbled to dust. There are splinters in the stone. They will become chasms. Either you help us or you risk your precious kingdom turning to debris right before you."

"And what's in it for me?"

"You'll be spared from the slaughter of the monarchs."

"And my husband?"

"He will die. This is non negotiable. One of you must, to stop you from fulfilling your fates. We have someone with him right now."

Wrong answer. But he bows his head and pretends to mull it over. Inside his thoughts are whirring like a new machine and plan after plan formulates in his mind.

"Okay Annabeth Chase, my sister," He smiles soft and sweet. She returns it in triumph. "I will join your rebellion. I will tell you how to kill my husband."

And as she picks him up from the floor and removes the invisible ties keeping him pinned to the concrete he allows himself a secret smile of his own. It hints at the malice, the destruction, to come. They made the biggest mistake of their lives when they took him away from the Prince. They will pay.

I'm coming for you Percy.

So Crown Prince Jason Grace loops his arm through his sister's and makes friends with his enemy.

together or not at all. find him. find him. find him.

------------------------------------------------------------------

I don’t really know how I feel about this part. Feels a bit all over the place but at least we’re getting some clarification which is cool. Also are Annabeth and the rebels the good guys or bad guys for wanting to save the world from Jase and Perc? *raises eyebrow curiously*

Tags (if you want to be added to/ taken off the tag list just let me know, all my channels of communication are open):

@nishlicious-01

@queen-of-demons-and-hell

@leydiangelo

@sparkythunderstorm

@makos-bi-awakening

@aalikun

#Kingdom Collisions #Part 14 #Jercy royalty AU #Royalty jercy AU #Jercy #Percy Jackson #Jason grace #Percy #Jackson #Jason #Grace #PJJG fanfic #PJSSG fanfic #Baby fanfic #Baby fanfic series

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