#a) waiting patiently for nico fist bump

[jonasiegenthaler]

pit@njd | 19.03.24

[toasttt11]

your simon

March 25, 2024

Octavia woke up to the sound of familiar sound of rain, she shifted slightly feeling Louie in a little ball laying againt Octavia’s side. Octavia fondly smiled having less alone with having her Louie with her everyday.

Octavia checked her phone seeing it was already past 10:00 am as she didn’t have a morning practice today and her team was given an rest day before the Devils game tomorrow, she knew she did have to get up and start her day as she can finally see her twin after two months and Jack as she’s picking them up after their practice to spend the day and night with them.

Octavia started sitting up and felt her puppy stir slightly, Octavia got up and headed to the bathroom doing her morning routine before heading back into her bedroom and slipping on her slippers and Quinn’s hoodie, she could she Louie wide awake starting towards her as she came out to the bathroom.

“Hi Lou.” Octavia cooed softly giving her child lots of pets and straches, “Do you need to go outside?” Louie barked once making Octavia laugh as she picked him up.

Octavia walked out of her bedroom and down the hallway to her art room. The Art room has a covered balcony and Octavia turned it into a little run for Louie as most mornings in Toronto is raining or snowing and Louie gets cold to fast to try and make him go to the bathroom in the snow.

Octavia set him down on the fake grass, and let him do his business as she stepped inside the art room leaving the door open until Louie was done. She heard a small little bark and looked over seeing Louie patiently sitting at the door waiting to come, “Come in love.” Louie quickly trotted over to her nudging his head at her legs making her smile and pick him up.

They headed down to the hall into the kitchen, she turned her coffee machine on and started brewing her coffee. Octavia scooped dog food setting it into Louie’s bowl making sure the other was filled with water, she set him down letting him have breakfast.

Octavia happily took her first sip of her coffee before dreading to make breakfast but knew she couldn’t just have coffee for breakfast, she quickly make a simple piece of toast and sat on her couch enjoying her piece of toast and coffee before feeling little paws and looked down seeing Louie done with his breakfast and waiting to be picked up, Octavia picked him up and could tell he was cold, Louie quickly dove into the front pocket of her hoodie his whole body easily fitting in the pocket and warming up quickly.

Octavia scrolled her phone drinking her coffee for a while as Louie contently warmed up in her pocket.

Octavia may of ended up sitting there for an hour before reluctantly getting up, Louie still laying in her pocket. She set her mug in the sink before heading back into her bedroom, she quickly changed into grey sweatpants, a white hoodie, and slipped on her black high top converses

She picked Louie up and brought him to her bed laying him down and covering him up completely with the comforter, “I’ll be back soon.” She pressed a kiss to his fluffy head and walked out of her room grabbing her keys and wallet putting it into her pocket, she grabbed her leather jacket that was hanging on the hook by the door putting it on before locking her apartment door and heading out of the building into the parking garage and getting into the car.

She drove the short distance to the Maple Leafs Arena and parking in the garage, she got out of her car and walked through the halls saying her hellos to a lot of the staff as she walked in. Octavia saw the Devils weren’t on the ice meaning they were done with practice and getting cleaned up in the lcoker room.

Octavia only waited a few minutes before Nico and Jack walked out, Jack smiled at this sister walking over to her pulling her into a hug, “Hi Moony.” Jack smiled pulling back from his sister.

“Hi Rowdy.” Octavia smiled slightly nodding at brother, looking at Nico and giving him a fist bump, a lot of the Devils players were alreadly walking out by the time Luke came out.

Luke smiled wildly at the sight is his twin sister, they quickly hugged each other tightly, both relaxing into the hug, “Hey Win.” Luke pressed a kiss to the side of her head.

“Hi Lucky.” Octavia smiled in the hug holding her twin tightly. They pulled away from the hug reluctantly, and turned to Jack ready to start leaving when a voice called Octavia’s name.

“Octavia?” Simon accent rang out in the hallway when he called out her name, knowing that shade of blonde hair anyway, especially because he knows she’s part of the Maple Leafs.

Octavia quickly turned around at the sound of the accent, “Simon.” Octavia breathed out with a smile forming on her face, she quickly walked over to him as he gently pulled her into a hug, “Hi.” Octavia whispered having knowing she would see him this weekend but didn’t know when.

“Hi.” Simon smiled back as they pulled out of the hug, “It’s been a while.” Simon crookedly grin at the girl he’s had a crush on for years now.

“It has.” Octavia smiled softly, something that she doesn’t do often.

Luke raised an eyebrow at his twin and his teammate trying to figure out how they know evan other, “How do you know each other?” Luke questioned.

Octavia turned her head looking at her twin like he is stupid, “Really?” She gave him a certain a look making his eyes widen looking towards Simon.

“Wait my teammate Simon, is that Simon!” Luke realized looking at his sister.

“He was my friend first.” Octavia sassed back to her twin. Jack and Nico shared a look, having an idea something is between Simon and Octavia.

“That Simon?” Simon mischievously smiled at her, Octavia fondly rolled her eyes feeling her cheeks warm, she pushed him gently with her arm, “Shush you.” Luke smiled at his sister seeing her with the person she hasn’t stop talking about the last four years.

“Wait how do you meet each other?” Jack crossed his arms playing his protective big brother making Octavia roll her eyes at him.

“We played against each other a few years ago in WJC.” Simon explained not telling them how he truthfully met Octavia, Octavia smiled slighty enjoying he kept it to them.

“Alright Louie is waiting for us.” Octavia reminded her brothers, ignoring the red on her cheeks and the pounding of her heart as she stood next to Simon.

“Lou Dog! What are we waiting for.” Jack cheered excitedly always loving that little sausage dog.

“See you on the ice tomorrow?” Simon softly asked her, Octavia nodded with a little smile before starting walking away with her brothers.

“Do not say a word.” Octavia hissed at her two brothers as they started walking away.

“Wait but how didn’t i know that your Simon is my teammate!” Luke whispered over to his twin, trying to figure out how he never knew.

“I thought you knew!” Octavia exclaimed back, “I didn’t know that you didn’t.”

“That’s explains a lot.” Luke slowly nodded thinking about when Simon asked about Octavia and he was confused how Simon knew her.

“Your Simon?” Jack teasingly smirked at his baby sister enjoying all of this.

“No.” Octavia blunted replied rolling her eyes at Jack.

Jack just smirked seeing the slight red on her cheeks and was enjoying his sister actually having something that he could tease her about.

[ladylooch]

Career day at school when lucie and lio are young

The tenderness of this… 😩

“Nico! Timo! Nico! Timo!” The cheers of 30+ elementary school kids has Nico and Timo chuckling at the front of the room. Lio is sitting cross legged right at the front of the class, staring dreamily at his dad next to his uncle. He is the coolest kid in school right now and he loves the attention. Lucie sits silently next to him and flicks at his leg. 

“This is dumb.” She grumbles to him in Swiss German so their classmates don’t know. 

“No?” He questions in response.

“Yeah, I don’t wanna share my dad.” 

Lucie is really bothered by the attention her dad gets, even out in public. It’s a constant source of irritation for her and she usually cries in frustration after fan interactions. She already has to share her dad so much, why does she have to do it in school now? She didn’t even tell her dad about this stupid day. Nico found out about career day from Timo and insisted it would be double the fun if he came with. So here Lucie is, sitting in the front row with Lio who is so excited about the attention she could puke. 

“How much money do you make?” A kid shouts out at Nico who raises his eyebrows in surprise.

“Enough to buy you all pizza.” He jokes pointing to where the pies are being brought in to the back of the classroom. His eyes drift down to Lucie, smile faltering a bit at her obvious contempt. 

“Okay, one more question, then lunch!” The teacher calls out. Lucie picks at the pink fingernail polish on her nails. 

“You gonna ask it?” Lio whispers to her.

“No.” She shakes her head, eyes lowered. Why did she tell Lio about her plan? This is the worst.

“Hey Luc, do you have a question for me?” Nico asks. Her cheeks burn. Did he hear her whisper to Lio on the way to school this morning? The class falls quiet, eyes pinned to Lucie as she shakes her head no at her dad. Nico waits patiently for her, glancing at Lio when he gives her a nudge.

“What is your favorite part of home games?” Lio asks for her when it becomes clear that Lucie won’t do it. Timo smiles at his son, loving his courage and protectiveness.

“My favorite part of home games is seeing my daughters at warm ups. Lucie and I have a fun tradition of sharing fist bumps through the camera hole. I would be really sad if I didn’t get to spend those few seconds with her before games. It makes me play better. She was kind enough to make me a bracelet that I can wear when I’m on the road so she is always with me.” Lucie has fat tears in her eyes, struggling to keep her lip from wobbling as they fall to the carpet between her ankles. 

“Okay! That’s all. Say thank you to Nico and Timo!” The class screams a collective, energetic thank you. “And thank you Lucie and Lio for sharing your fathers with us.” Another thank you that has Lucie rubbing at her eyes with her little fingers.

Nico comes to his daughter, crouching down by her on one knee. He reaches out, rubbing at her back in encouragement. She lifts her head, wrapping her tiny arms around his big shoulders and burrowing into him. 

All the other kids run around the room- looking for toys or pizza or rushing to uncle Timo for an autographed picture. But only Lucie gets Nico for a whole two minutes straight of hugs. Nico holds her the entire time he signs shirts and jerseys and pictures, never letting his baby go so she knows he is really only here for her.

[missfay49]

Just Listen

Summary: The fam-ILY gets together for a Christmas celebration.  

Warnings: Logan and Virgil get in a fight but they make up, obligatory interaction with relatives, alcohol, food, Christmas, cursing, countdown, mention of past injury, struggling with recent hearing loss

Word Count: ~3000 

Oldest to Youngest: Logan/Remus/Roman/Janus/Virgil/Patton/Alec

Other Characters: Aunt Patty and Uncle Mitch, Aunt Mel and Uncle Jim, Titi, Grandma Sanders, Grandpa Sanders, Maman, Nico Flores

DD:HH:MM:SS - Days : Hours : Minutes : Seconds

AO3

Once upon a time, there were seven cousins born of four siblings.  The oldest sister and her husband had twins and named them Roman and Remus.  The second oldest sister and her partners had a child and named him Alec.  The youngest sister had one child and named him Patton.  And their brother, the youngest of them all, had three children named Logan, Janus, and Virgil.  

00:16:02:32 until Christmas Day, 7:58 AM

Logan, the oldest cousin, was leaning against the kitchen counter holding a fresh cup of coffee in one hand and rubbing his right temple with the other.  He blinked against the early morning sun of Christmas Eve streaming in.  

“You’re up early!”

Logan jumped at the movement to his right and found his aunt looking at him. 

“Good morning, Aunt Mel.  I made coffee.”

“Bless ya, kid,” she said, turning toward the machine.  When she came back around to grab the sugar, he was gone.

00:13:25:17 until Christmas Day, 10:35 AM

“Who took the last piece of bacon?!”  

Roman froze in his spot on the floor in front of the T.V.  If he were just very, very still, maybe-

“J’accuse!”  Remus shouted from the kitchen door over the sounds of chatter and clinking kitchenware.  Roman spun around to see Remus pointing at him menacingly.

“You already had some!”  Roman yelled back, pulling his plate close.  Remus, not breaking eye contact even once, methodically kicked off his flip flops and set his plate gently on top of a bookshelf.  He crouched a little and rolled his shoulders.

“Remus, no, my juice, Remus!  NOOO-”

00:13:23:03 until Christmas Day, 10:37 AM

From his cozy spot beneath the sheets in the spare bedroom, Virgil heard a scream and a thump.  And then several more thumps.  He blinked and stretched, smooshing his face into the pillow.  For one precious moment, he imagined he could go back to sleep but the dream was pierced by Aunt Patty’s shrill voice scolding someone down the hall.  

He shoved himself up on his elbows and sent a hostile glare at the general brightness of the room.  Things quieted down but it was too late - he was up.  He stretched for several more minutes before finally straightening his clothes and stumbling out to follow the smell of breakfast.

00:12:40:54 until Christmas Day, 11:20 AM

Virgil shuffled past the subdued twins in the living room and into the kitchen, stopping at the door as his brain tried to process what was happening.  His younger cousin, Patton, was furtively opening and closing all the cabinets, searching each and every one.  Apparently he found what he was looking for, because he started chuckling to himself and reached behind some cups to pull out a huge plastic bag of cookies.  He opened it and spun around on his socks, walking headlong into Virgil.

“Ah!”  Patton nearly dropped the bag, and a couple cookies fell out onto the floor.  Virgil laughed as they picked them up together.

“Whatcha doing, Pat?”

Patton waved him close, whispering.  

“My mom keeps hiding the cookies.  She said if I keep eating ‘em she’s gonna have to make more for tomorrow.  That sounds like a win-win to me!”  He took the floor cookie from Virgil and pocketed it.  They took turns peering into the dining room where the older folks were talking.

“You do you, cuz.”  They bumped fists and Virgil scooped some cold leftover eggs onto a paper plate to take with him to the living room.  Remus shoved past him coming back into the kitchen.  

Whatever Remus had planned to do in here was lost when he spotted Pat.

“Oo!  Cookies!”

00:11:22:49 until Christmas Day, 12:38 PM

“What exactly are we watching, Roman?” asked Patton, popping a couple Tums into his mouth and flopping down into a recliner.  Roman was still planted in the middle of the living room floor, but now Virgil was keeping him company, fast asleep on the couch with an empty plate in his lap.  Roman didn’t look away from the screen.

“A Christmas Prince.  It’s about a journalist that falls in love with the prince of a whole Christmas-themed country!  And the bad guy’s not too bad lookin’ either.”  Roman squeezed a pillow to his chest.

“Oh, right, I thought it looked familiar!  Did you watch Jenny Nicholson’s breakdown of it?”

“Who?”

Patton smiled at the look of wonder on Roman’s face as he followed the characters on screen.  At the silence, Roman turned around to look at him, distracted but curious.  Patton waved him off.  

“Never mind.”  Better not to spoil it.

00:07:12:24 until Christmas Day, 16:47 PM

“Dinner tiiime!”  Aunt Patty peeked into the living room.  “It’s all ready, you guys hungry?”

“Yisss!”  Patton launched himself out of the recliner with Virgil following slowly behind.  Roman tore his eyes away from the current Hallmark movie with great effort, checking his phone messages.

Aunt Mel was in the kitchen with their little cousin Alec.  Just as they passed through he let up a screech, making them all jump.  Roman’s phone went flying.

“AAAAA DON’T WANNA WASH I’M STILL PLAYING!”

“AH, sweet Jesus,” Roman clutched his chest dramatically as the rest started laughing.

“Alright, keep it together, ya hooligans,” Aunt Mel teased them.  “Alec, I’ve had too much wine today for you to be screaming at the water.  You told me yesterday you love playing with the water-”

Auntie continued to help Alec wash his hands and the cousins tumbled into the dining room where Logan and the grandparents were already gathering.  Logan braced at the incoming chaos.  

“What happened to you?”  He asked them.

“Didn’t you hear Alec screaming?”  Virgil deadpanned.

“Oh,” Logan straightened his glasses.  “Yes, that.”

The rest of the family came up from the basement talking heatedly about the Saints and the Vikings.  Who was winning or losing at that particular moment was unclear, but dinner would proceed regardless. 

00:04:47:19 until Christmas Day, 19:13 PM

“Defuse!”  Remus slammed a card down onto the table.  “Whew, that was close.  I almost exploded in a fiery, kitten-y death!”

“Boom!” Alec cheered.  Nearly the whole family was gathered around the kitchen-table-turned-game-table, even the grandparents and great grandma, Maman.  Aunt Patty and Uncle Mitch were downstairs watching the end of the football game, and Titi was just a few feet away putting a new batch of sugar cookies in the oven.  She shot a good-natured stare at Patton.  

“Sorry, mooom,” “Sorry, Titiii” he and Remus chorused.  “Patton tricked me!”

“Hey!”

“That’s okay, you two can help me decorate these later as punishment.  Remus,” Titi pointed to the person beside him. “Help Maman with her turn, remember?”

“Oh, yeah!”  Remus leaned over the centenarian.  “You got any actions, Maman?”

“Quel est ce dessin?”  She held her cards up to him and pointed.

“That’s a cat dressed as a taco, Maman.  C’est un mème.”

While the game continued around the table, Virgil watched Logan discreetly.  Sitting to his left, something was wrong with his oldest brother.  He wasn’t sure what yet, but it was definitely… something.

“Nope!”  Logan put a card down over Uncle Jim’s attack.  Aunt Mel went next, then she helped Alec with his turn, and then, there it was; Logan’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.  His eyes flitted back and forth between the players and the cards.  He stared at their faces, but not quite at eye level.  Patton’s, Roman’s, Grandma’s turns all passed the same - he was concentrating so hard.  Why?

“Virgil?”  Grandpa nudged him out of his speculation.  “It’s your turn.”

Logan was staring at him expectantly.  

“Oh.”  Virgil glanced at two mismatched cats and drew.  An exploding kitten.  He was dead.  “You’re turn, Lo.”

Logan spent a second longer waiting to see if Virgil was done, and then played his own cards.  As they both watched Remus go next, Virgil leaned in closer.

“What is up with you?”  He whispered.  Logan didn’t take his eyes off Remus’ cards.

“Hey!”  He kept whispering, jabbing Logan in the ribs.

“Ow!”  Logan yelped, then lowering his voice.  “What?”

“I asked you a question, don’t act like you can’t hear me.”  

Logan squinted at him, then his face shifted.  He looked stricken.  

“I’m playing “See The Future”,” someone said.  “Hand me the deck.”

00:04:22:44 until Christmas Day, 19:38 PM

VIRGE: what happened?

A new round had started and Virgil hoped that switching to text would let them continue their argu- debate without distracting the rest of the family.

BIG BRO: Nothing

VIRGE: bullshit

Logan ignored his phone, watching the game progress counter-clockwise this time.  Virgil did not accept this strategy.

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

VIRGE: !

BIG BRO: Stop

VIRGE: tell the truth.  

BIG BRO: (Seen)

They paused to take their turns, and when Virgil picked his phone back up, Logan was already typing.  He tried to be patient, but the energy was clear in the way his foot tapped the ground.

BIG BRO: It seems my hearing has not entirely recovered since that explosion during chem lab a couple months ago.  I’ve got tinnitus in my right ear.  It is quite difficult to pick up sounds over the ringing when they’re coming from that direction.  

BIG BRO: Or sometimes from any direction.  So, I’m concentrating a little more.  That’s all.  

Virgil glanced between the texts and Logan several times, Logan staring with seemingly great intent at his cards.  

VIRGE: THATS ALL?

BIG BRO: Calm down, it’s not a big deal.

VIRGE: have you been to a doctor?

Logan stopped to play another “Nope” card.  Virgil was ready to scream at the delay.  The chatter at the table seemed louder to him now and much, much different.

BIG BRO: Yes.  And I’ve done plenty of my own research.  There’s not much to be done unless I want to get surgery or start wearing hearing aids.

VIRGE: so wear hearing aids until you decide about the surgery

BIG BRO: They’re expensive, Virgil.

VIRGE: dads insrance must cover some of it and ive got some extra money

BIG BRO: No.  Thank you.  That money’s yours.  You worked hard for it.  

VIRGE: your e taking it

BIG BRO: That’s not the problem.

VIRGE: then what is.?

BIG BRO: (Seen)

VIRGE: why won’t you make it easier on yourself?  you know none of us will care if you wear one.  the explosion wasn’t even your fault, it was that other kid

Virgil sent the text and looked at Logan, waiting.  Remus was nearly finished with his turn; Logan was next.  The turns passed, but Logan didn’t pick his phone back up from the table.

VIRGE: why

Logan glanced at the text preview when it came up on the screen, still not moving.

VIRGE: i know you can see this

VIRGE: why

VIRGE: why

VIRGE: why

“Because!”  Logan shouted, slapping his cards down.  Everyone fell into a stunned quiet.

“Are you guys cheating?  Mom says cheating is wrong.”  Alec’s voice broke the silence a second later.  Virgil stuck his tongue out at him.

“I assure you we are not cheating,” Logan smiled at Alec.  “Virgil’s just being a pest.”

The game resumed, Patton taking an absurd amount of actions before drawing another Beard Cat card.  Was it even legal to have that many cards?

Virgil leaned back in his chair, tired from the stress.  His phone buzzed.

BIG BRO: This is my last semester.  I’ll get one after graduation.

00:00:41:12 until Christmas Day, 23:19 PM

Roman carried two mugs of coffee into the living room as back-to-back commercials for 24 Hours of A Christmas Story played on the T.V.  He handed one to Virgil and got back under the throw blanket.

“Thanks.”

“Whatcha doing?”  Roman peered at Virgil’s laptop.  There were at least a dozen tabs open.  The current screen showed some kind of fancy earpods.  

“Just killin’ time.”  Virgil opened yet another tab.

“Yeah, it’s a bummer Janus picked a college so far away.  But the train’s due in a few minutes!  Then it’ll be officially Christmas.”  

“I mean, he still has to, like, get here from the station.” 

“Whatever,” shrugged Roman.  He flipped through the channels.  All commercials.  He settled back on the Hallmark channel, laying down and closing his eyes while they waited for the latest must-have-product ads to end.

“Remember when we played dress up together?”  Roman mused.  “Mom taped all those toilet paper rolls together so we could have swords and we all fought over the two paper crowns from Burger King?  Do they still make those?”

“I have no idea,” Virgil laughed.  “That was so long ago, how do you even remember that?”

“Because I was a fabulous ruler!  The kingdom prospered unendingly under my leadership!”  Roman flung his free arm wide, not bothering to open his eyes.  “It was glorious!”

“All you did was declare free love-”

“An important doctrine!”  Roman jabbed at the air once before letting his arm flop back down and graze the carpet.  “All Janus did was universally pardon thieves and liars, was that so much better?”

“Well, I was playing a thief.  Maybe I’m biased.”

“You would…” Roman muttered.  He didn’t finish the thought.

“Roman?”

 A little snort was the only response.  Roman was fast asleep, coffee untouched and the remote resting by his head.

00:00:00:03 until Christmas Day, 23:59 PM

00:00:00:02...

00:00:00:01...

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house

Virgil was stirring; he snuck like a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,

in hopes that his brother soon would be there.

Christmas Day, 01:23 AM

“Wake up!” 

Roman gasped.  Someone was shoving him into the couch cushions.

“He’s here!”  Virgil bounced on his shoulder again, almost knocking the laptop to the ground.  

“Okay!  Jeez, I’m up.  I’m up!”

Virgil was already gone, shoving his boots on while a taxi drove away outside leaving two figures in the darkness with their bags.  By the time Roman was on his feet, Janus was shouldering through the door with a backpack and giant suitcase, a cute boy following just behind. 

“What is up, king?”  Roman and Janus clasped hands and half hugged.  “Who’s this?”

“Oh, you know.”  Janus shrugged off the bag.  “This is my boyfriend.  Nico, this is my cousin, Roman.”

Nico stifled a yawn and waved.  “Pleasure to meet you, Roman!”  Virgil came in setting down two more bags and nudged Janus.

“I thought we all agreed not to bring dates again after what happened last-”

“Oh, sweetheart, you must be exhausted!”  Roman interrupted as he picked up one of the bags.  “I’ll show you where you’re sleeping.”  

“Thank you so much, our stuff took forever to load off the train.”  Nico started to follow him.  

“Hands to yourself, Ro,” Janus hissed after them.  “I like this one.”  

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Roman grinned, disappearing around the corner into the hallway.  Nico hesitated.

“What…?”  

Janus waved him off.  “I’ll tell you later.”  When they were both out of sight, he turned to Virgil.  

“It looks like half the county’s parked in our front yard.  Is dad up?”

“He didn’t stay.”  Virgil shrugged.  “He got into a fight with Titi last night and left after an hour.”

“I see…” Janus sighed, looking down the hall for a moment.  “Can’t break tradition now, can we?”  He smiled up at his little brother.  “Did you get taller?”

Virgil answered by way of a bear-hug, squeezing the breath out of him.

“I missed you, too, Virge.” 

Christmas Day, morning-ish

“Merci, Maman!  Thank you!”  Everyone spoke over each other, unwrapping the sweaters she had made for each of them.  

“Yellow was very, uh, popular this year, no?”  She teased them.  “I hope that you like them.”

“Mine does not have yellow, it’s gold.”  Roman corrected everyone.  Aunt Patty scolded him.  Janus laughed.  

“Don’t complain, Roman, yellow is just the superior color,” said Janus, wrestling his own sweater on.

“Yours is more black than yellow!”  Roman pointed out.  Janus’ head popped up through the collar.

“Did I say yellow?  I meant ‘black’.  Black is the superior color.”

“Black’s not even a color,” Roman called after Janus shimmying away to grab a cookie with Nico in the kitchen.  He came back a second later.

“Why does this cookie look like it’s frosted with vomit?”  Janus held one up, looking affronted.

“Don’t suppress my creativity!”  Remus shouted from under the tree.

Christmas Day, sometime, who cares anymore?

Logan stood in the hallway, reading an email from Virgil, sent at three that morning.  It was lists of hearing aids, their pros and cons, and prices.  And another email from Janus a few minutes ago with links on how to get disability funding.  That would explain Virgil’s note at the end...

I love you.  Please don’t be mad.  I told Janus.

He rubbed a hand over his face and chuckled.  Had he really thought he was going to keep this a secret for even a day around those two?  He pocketed the phone for now and walked through the house.  

There was Patton and Roman watching a girl in a beret talk on youtube.  Roman had a horrified look on his face.  Janus was in the kitchen teaching Alec how to play chess, and not going easy on the kid at all.  Logan peeked downstairs.  There were Virgil and Remus and Nico, playing charades with the aunties.  Remus was making some obscene gesture that had Aunt Mel on the floor laughing and spilling her wine, and Aunt Patty was yelling at both of them.

Logan wandered to the couch and plopped down.  It’s a Wonderful Life, was playing on the television.  Logan hummed along with the closed captioning as the characters celebrated saving George Bailey from false charges.  The vibrations in his chest felt right.

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

For days of auld lang syne

~

The End.

@sanderssidesgiftxchange @kieraelieson

[ilu-writes]

Hidden Moments

Days and Nights (Solangelo)

Rating: G | Warnings: None

AO3 | FF.net

Prev | x | Next

It’s not the easiest thing in the world for Will and Nico to keep their relationship under wraps, so they’ve resort to sneaking around in an attempt to hide it. 

In theory, both Will and Nico knew they were going to have to stop sneaking around at some point. The camp wasn’t that big, and people already had their suspicions about the whole situation. The entirety of the Apollo cabin were just waiting for them to slip up and reveal themselves.

In practice, the sneaking around made the whole relationship feel almost safer, like they could somehow use that to protect it from everything that happened in the real world.

And honestly, sometimes a little escapism was exactly what they both needed.

That didn’t make coordinating their ‘meet-ups’ any easier.

Nico kept his head down as he ducked around the back of the infirmary, as if that would stop anyone seeing him. Thankfully, the only people nearby were too entranced in their volleyball game to pay attention to him trying to sneak past.

The back of the Big House itself was empty as always, which Nico didn’t find at all surprising as he waded through the weeds. Between the waist-high, untamed plants and the wall of trees that lined it, the area was about as fun to climb through as trying to have a feast with a hoard of skeletons.

Which was to say, not fun at all.

Still, he tried not to get too frustrated as he awkwardly untangled his leg from yet another weed. It was a convenient passage way to the infirmaries little-used back door, which meant he could slip into one of the back rooms without anybody seeing him. And right now, that was all he really cared about.

The door swung open just as he reached it, and a pair of tanned, freckly hands practically hurled him into the room to give him a hug.

“Hi,” he mumbled trying to keep his stomach from fluttering. For some reason, hugs felt different than just kissing – softer, somehow, more intimate.

Will pulled away and gave him a quick once over, taking in the bits of leaf and plants that were now stuck to his boyfriend as Nico closed the door behind him. “Sorry,” he said sheepishly, picking one of the leaves off him. “I’m probably not going to be able to get away from the infirmary at all today-“

“Don’t worry about it.” Nico stepped forward and pressed his lips quickly to the other boy’s. “I figured as much.”

“I hate summer,” Will sighed softly, tugging him even closer so they were basically nose to nose.

“No, you don’t,” snorted Nico.

“No, I don’t,” agreed Will, laughing softly. They were closer enough that he could feel Nico’s breath on his lips. “But I do hate not being able to see you often.”

“It sucks,” agreed Nico, reaching up to rest his hand on the other boys chest. “So instead of talking about it, why don’t we make use of what little time we do have? How long do you have?”

“Probably ten, fifteen minutes, tops.” Will shrugged apologetically. It wasn’t as long as either of them would like, but it’d work.

“Better than nothing,” Nico said aloud, pushing himself onto his toes a little so he could brush their lips together briefly. “Thank the gods for pointless back doors, I guess.”

“Technically, it’s not pointless,” Will mumbled, keeping his voice soft. “We use it to-”

“Don’t tell me,” interrupted Nico quickly. He was pretty sure he knew exactly what they used that door for, and he didn’t want to think about it right now. Instead, he curled his hand into a fist, his fingers tangled in the other boys shirt, and slammed their lips together. Thankfully, Will conceded immediately, melting into the kiss and sliding his own arms around the other boys waist.

After a second, Nico moved his hands up to tangle it in Will’s hair, tugging at the strands as he pressed their bodies even closer together. Will responded immediately, hands tightening on Nico’s back, stumbling forward so that they bumped into the wall.

Nico let out a soft bubble of laughter as the medic mumbled a soft apology into the kiss, not bothering to respond. Kissing Will always made him feel hot inside, like he’d downed a bowl of hot soup, and even now his stomach fluttered at the contact.

He was just about to reluctantly break for air when he heard a voice calling out for Will in the hallway, and he froze for a second before pulling away. Will had an equally surprised-and-kind-of-unsure expression on his face, and he tilted his head slightly towards the door.

A second later, the voice called out again.

Will cursed internally, quickly pushing himself away from the wall and trying to straighten up his clothes. “Cupboard,” he hissed at Nico, who looked like a deer caught in headlights, and a second later the son of Hades sank into the shadow of the wall.

Technically, Will had meant walk to the cupboard, but he supposed that worked. He was still trying to tame his hair when the door clicked open and he spun around to face Austin, who looked confused.

“Will?”

“Hey,” said Will, trying to act calm. “What’s up?”

“I… was looking for you,” his brother explained uncertainly, glancing curiously around the room. “What are you doing here?”

Lie, lie, lie. “I was… looking for extra sheets.” He said, cringing internally. “I figured we might have some in here.”

It was a bad lie. Austin raised his eyebrow, as if he couldn’t believe that was the best excuse he could come up with. “Sheets.” He repeated, slowly, and Will wished the floor would swallow him whole.

“Yeah. You know. In case we… run out.”

“Right.” Austin’s face remained completely unconvinced. Will couldn’t blame him.

Alright, new lie. Or… new half truth?

He sighed as if he’d been caught in the act, letting his shoulders slump as the tension left his body. “Fine. I wasn’t looking for sheets,” he conceded, and Austin tilted his head and widened his eyes in faux surprise.

“You weren’t? But I was so convinced!” A smile tugged at his lips, and he rolled his eyes. “What were you doing in here, then? On your… own?”

His voice lifted up a little at last part as if he was expecting Will to correct him about it, but Will pretended he didn’t notice, keeping his deflated stance. “I was hiding,” he admitted, as if was something he really didn’t want to talk to about. Austin, true to form, just seemed to get more curious about it.

“Hiding?” He repeated, his interest piqued, and Will let out another breath.

“It’s just- it’s been a really busy day- week, really. And I figured, y’know, while there was a lull in patients… I could sneak off and just take a quick breather.” He folded his arms. “I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t need me for a bit – I’m sorry. I know it was kind of dumb-“

“No, no,” Austin held up his hands, his expression softening a little. All of Will’s siblings acknowledged how much he worked, especially since it was the main reason they didn’t have to. “I get it, you’ve been working yourself to the bone this week. I was just confused that you disappeared-“

“Yeah, sorry.” Will scratched the back of his neck nervously. “I, uh, probably should’ve mentioned it, I know, I just-“

“Wanted some alone time. That’s totally fine.” Austin backed up a little towards the door. “I’m sorry I interrupted-“

“Oh, it’s not-“

“Hey, you’re allowed some alone time. If anyone deserves it, it’s you.” He reached the door frame and cracked a smile. “Just, y’know, come out when you… feel better. We haven’t got a lot of patients right now anyway.”

“Okay,” Will smiled sheepishly. “I will. And, Austin- thanks.”

“Don’t worry about it. You deserve the break.” Austin assured him, reaching for the door. Will tried to keep his semi-guilty expression on his face until it shut properly.

Technically, he wasn’t faking it, he did feel guilty for sneaking away from his duties without telling anyone.

Not that guilty, because, y’know. He got to kiss Nico.

But a little guilty.

Speaking of- he made his way over to the closet and opened it smoothly, barely managing to hold a laugh in at the sight. A disgruntled-looking Nico was balancing awkwardly on the boxes of medical supplies, squished uncomfortably in the tight space. He scowled when he saw Will’s face.

“Don’t think I don’t see the irony of this,” he muttered, trying to his legs around so they could touch the ground.

“Of what? You hiding?” Will’s mouth twitched. “I have no idea what you’re referring to.”

Nico rolled his eyes but accepted the proffered hand to pull himself out. “You should have bigger closets.”

“Sorry, we forgot to factor hiding demigods into the design plans,” said Will drily, not letting go of his hand. “Besides, it worked.”

“I probably could’ve just hid outside.”

“Too risky.”

“How?”

This time, Will let himself grin, tugging his boyfriend closer. “Hey. I got Austin to leave, right?”

“Yeah, by lying,” hummed Nico, raising an eyebrow.

“It was a half-truth.”

“Isn’t Apollo the god of full truths?”

“Whatever.” Will dropped his hands to hook his fingers in Nico’s belt loops, tugging him even closer. “The point is, we can continue what we started.”

“Hm. Until you need to leave again,” pointed out Nico, leaning against him.

“I still brought us some time,” muttered Will, tilting the other boys chin up and kissing him softly. “I intend to take full advantage of it.”

“That I can get behind.”

[dotshiiki]

more of the GA AU

You know what sucks? Being sick while on holiday. But this AU must thrive on cold meds or something. So the blatant rip-off of Grey's Anatomy continues … For something that started out as a shapeless piece of I don't even know what, this is actually starting to have some semblance of a plot.

Have some more intern!Annabeth x patient!Percy. And bonus Leo, Nico, Thalia, Rachel, Octavian, and Travis Stoll to join the cast now!

Half the dialogue and narrative is ripped from Grey's, though I kinda picked and chose from a variety of episodes this time.

(Still no title. I have no idea what to call this.)

Parts I and II [here] and [here].

Surgery is like a dance: a precise, carefully-choreographed dance where every member of the team moves in perfect synchrony. It's the first time Annabeth has been part of the steps, and it's breathtaking.

She forgets that it's Dr Castellan leading; she forgets that she's an intern fresh from med school; she even almost forgets that it's Percy on the table (one glance at his unconscious face reminds her of it—tubed and under anaesthesia, he still manages to look like an innocent sleeping child. He might even be drooling a little, good heavens).

Sure, she's practised on cadavers and observed and imagined what it'd be like to stand over the operating table, but nothing really prepared her for this moment.

The moment she steps forward and takes the scalpel from the surgical nurse, this is more than just a game. All those reasons she should quit—the stress, the competition, the crazy hours and long, seven-year slog ahead of her—fly out of her head. It's just her and the body open on the table—this beautiful man who doesn't stand a chance without them—and they get to save his life. She gets to save his life.

Who needs drugs when you have this sort of high?

She could quit. But here's the thing. She's fallen in love with surgery.

Piper's waiting for her when she comes out of the OR, still riding the high of the surgery. She's sitting in one of the plastic chairs that line the walls.

'Hey.'

Annabeth takes a seat next to her. 'Hey.'

'Good surgery.'

'Yeah.'

Piper takes a deep breath, and for a moment, Annabeth's scared she's going to do that thing where she spills her feelings, and Annabeth will have to explain herself, and then there'll be a long discussion that inevitably involves the complicated relationship with Luke/Dr Castellan, which she really doesn't want to get into.

But Piper surprises her. 'Look, we're not gonna do that thing where you say something, and I say something, and somebody cries, and there's a moment—'

Annabeth's breath escapes her in a throaty laugh. 'God, no. I mean, unless you—'

'Nah.' Piper cocks her head to the side. 'Can't believe you can burst an aneurysm surfing. Kinda makes me think twice about it.'

'You surf?'

'You got a problem with that?'

Annabeth holds her hands up. 'No. Surfing's cool. Surfers are cool.' Although cool is too inadequate a word to describe Percy Jackson, not after she's heard him talk—funny, and kind, and so incredibly sweet, maybe—

'Damn straight we are. You should try it some time. Nothing like riding a good wave. And the dudes out there are hot.'

'Oh?' Annabeth keeps her tone carefully neutral.

'Oh come on, don't tell me you didn't notice. I know you're sleeping with McHottie, but it doesn't mean you can't look.'

'I'm not sleeping with Mc—Castellan,' Annabeth mutters. Piper raises her eyebrows. 'Not any more. That's gotta stop.'

'Okay.' They're silent for a moment. Then Piper says, 'So, surfer dude. Kinda hot, if you like the bad boy type.'

'He's not the bad boy type,' Annabeth says automatically.

'No?'

'No.' She thinks of his eyes, serious and so deep when he told her she deserved better. In that moment, she could almost believe that she deserved more than a screwed up relationship with a guy closer to her mom's age than hers, who keeps her around for the off-hour booty calls and the hero worship she flatters him with (because why would anyone else get involved in the mess that is Annabeth Chase's life?)

'Oh my god, you like him.'

She immediately wipes off the goofy smile that's spread across her face without her noticing. 'No I don't!'

'You so do. I know that look.'

'No I don't.'

'Uh huh.'

'He's a patient.'

'For now.'

'Shut up.'

Piper laughs and gets up, stretching. 'You should get some sleep. You look like crap.'

'I look better than you,' Annabeth throws back.

'Not possible.' Piper's still laughing as she walks away.

+++

She leaves Percy Jackson till the last on her evening rounds. He's finally coming up off the anaesthesia and he smiles groggily at her as she does her post-op checks.

'Everything's checking out,' she tells him. 'Looks like you're gonna be just fine.'

'You fixed me?'

'We fixed you.' She pats his hand. 'You'll be out on your surfboard again in no time.'

His fingers curl around hers, give a little squeeze, and let go. 'That's good. Though I think I lost my shot at Nationals this year.'

'There's always the next.'

'Mmm.' Percy closes his eyes momentarily. 'You were in my surgery after all?'

'I was.'

'Good. I'm glad you didn't let Dr Douchebag ruin your chance for you.'

There's something in his stare that makes her heart skip a beat. In spite of her best intentions, she finds herself leaning closer, as if those Carribean-green eyes have their own gravitational field tugging her in.

It's probably a good thing Percy's mom and Callie show up then, this time with a short, spiky-haired dude in tow, because Annabeth isn't sure what might have happened otherwise. She jerks away and starts scribbling quickly on Percy's chart as he tears his eyes away from her to greet them.

'Leo, buddy!'

'Up top!' says Leo, holding out his hand for a high-five. They go into some complicated fist-bump routine that Callie rolls her eyes fondly at. Annabeth forces a smile on her face and nods politely to all of them before she leaves the room.

Nurse Hazel is deep in an argument with another intern when Annabeth goes to return her charts, so she leans over the nurses' station to file them away herself, listening absently to the argument as she does.

'Are you sure that's the right diagnosis?'

'Well, I don't know, I'm only an intern. Here's an idea, why don't you go spend four years in med school and let me know if it's the right diagnosis. She's short of breath, she's got fever, she's post-op. Start the antibiotics.'

Annabeth isn't sure who this intern is—his name's Stoll, she thinks? There are way too many guys in the intern programme to keep track of them all—but he's definitely an idiot. Annabeth didn't need Dr Ramírez-Arellano's warning to know that you keep the nurses happy, period. From the look on Hazel's face, the next explosive diarrhoea case is going to have Dr Stoll's name on it.

Well, better him than her.

Stoll chucks his chart at Hazel, who takes it and marches away, muttering under her breath about arrogant interns and incompetent doctors.

Silena Beauregard, Annabeth's fellow intern, is charting behind the counter. Stoll leans over it and flashes a grin at her.

'God, I hate nurses. I'm Travis Stoll. I'm with La Rue. Who're you with?'

Silena has obviously been following Stoll's argument with Hazel. 'She may not have pneumonia, you know. She could be splinting, or have a PE.' She delivers this admonishment with a toss of her pretty ponytail. Annabeth isn't really sure what to think of Silena yet. She's blonde, too, but unlike Annabeth, Silena has the kind of statuesque figure you'd expect to see on a supermodel runway, not wandering about a hospital in scrubs. Case in point: they're both well into a twenty-hour shift, but the tiredness that makes Annabeth look like a wreck actually hangs attractively from Silena's curvy frame.

Stoll has clearly noticed this, too, from the way his eyebrows shoot up. But he's evidently one of the race of egotistical male doctors, because he says, 'Like I said, I hate nurses.'

Silena glares at him like he's a disgusting glob of bodily fluid that has landed on her shoes. She slams her chart shut and flounces off without another word.

Stoll whistles under his breath. He sees Annabeth watching, and winks. 'She's hot. She seeing anybody?'

Annabeth gives him a withering look, but there's not time to deliver a scathing comeback. Her pager has just gone off.

+++

Piper must have just started a new shift—she has that fresh, put-together look that disintegrates within an hour of being in the hospital (less if you're working in the pit). She and Will Solace are following the gurney rolling into the ER from the ambulance bay. It's one of several; half a dozen burly women in biker jackets are being wheeled in simultaneously, all in various states of injury.

'I don't know what happened!' one yells.

'I heard a crash, checked my rearview,' snarls another.

'Half the club is eating asphalt, banging around like tenpins.'

Annabeth rolls up her sleeves. She's only got two hours of her shift left, but if there's any chance she can get in on a surgery …

It's not like she's in a rush to go home, anyway.

'Donor cycle crash?' she asks.

'Bowling for bikers,' Piper says.

Dr Ramírez-Arellano directs them into the nearest exam room. 'What've we got?'

'Nico di Angelo, 24,' says the paramedic. 'Multiple contusions, pelvis stabilised in transport. Alert before we pushed five of morphine. For a left arm degloving injury.'

Will winces at the state of the crushed bones in di Angelo's hand. 'He must have been thrown out of his car!'

'He was on one of the bikes.'

'Seriously, this guy?' Aside from the fact that the rest of the bikers are all women, their patient is thin and wiry, with a face that looks a lot younger than his twenty-four years. Hell, he barely looks like he's out of high school.

'I know, right?' The paramedic shrugs and leaves di Angelo in their hands.

Dr Ramírez-Arellano makes a quick decision. 'Okay, trauma one, and page ortho. Two of you, stay with him.'

Five hands go up immediately. Dr Ramírez-Arellano purses her lips for a second. 'McLean and Solace.'

Piper and Will exchange high fives through their eyes and disappear into the exam room.

'What about us?' Silena says.

Dr Ramírez-Arellano checks her pager and groans. 'Page from—hey, what do you think you're doing?'

The abrupt question is directed at a spiky-haired whirlwind of a woman, who is limping down the ER floor, flanked by two cronies, both wearing the same thick leather jacket and biker jeans. She's a lot skinnier than the other women, with lean, ropy muscles, but from the way she's issuing her orders, there's no question that she's in charge.

'You two make the rounds.' Biker Chick clutches at a bloody wound in her side. 'I want status reports on all the injured. And find out what happened out there.'

'Oh no, you two aren't going anywhere except the waiting room.' Dr Ramírez-Arellano steps in front of the bikers. 'And you, ma'am, need to let us have a look at that injury.'

'Don't call me "ma'am,"' snaps Biker Chick. 'And you don't want to get in the way of club business. You screw with one of us, and we will all screw with you.'

Dr Ramírez-Arellano doesn't flinch. Annabeth is impressed. Her attending must have nerves of steel.

'Look around.' She points at the beds full of injured bikers. 'You want your girls taken care of? That's all my guys are trying to do. And that wound needs attention. So I'll make a deal with you. I'll let these ladies conduct their investigation, as long as they do not bother any of my patients. And you will settle down and let Dr Zhang here take care of you.'

Biker Chick scowls, but evidently finds this an acceptable compromise, because she lets Frank help her to a bed.

'What's your name, ma—um, you prefer sir?' he stammers when Biker Chick shoots him another death glare.

Annabeth hears her laugh harshly as Dr Ramírez-Arellano pulls the curtains shut on them.

'Call me Thalia,' she says.

Dr Ramírez-Arellano purses her lips and checks her pager again. 'You two—' she nods to Annabeth and Silena, 'get up to the neuro floor. Psych's just sent down a patient, they're paging for a consult.'

'Psych?' Annabeth barely bites back her groan. 'Dr Ramírez-Arellano, I was hoping I could scrub in on—'

Her resident's dark eyes flash dangerously. 'Every intern wants to scrub in. That's not your job. Do you know what your job is? Keeping the labs delivered. Keeping the code team staffed. And making sure the damned pages are answered so I can do my job.'

She flings back the curtain on Frank and Thalia and starts to harangue Thalia, who's resisting Frank's attempt to palpate her abdomen, into sitting still.  

Silena sighs. 'Come on.'

The consult turns out to be for a freckled redhead with frizzy curls that fan out in a halo around her head. Silena scans her X-rays—all clean—while Annabeth runs through the chart.

'She belongs in psych,' Silena complains to the psychiatrist. He's skinny and blond, with an upturned nose like there's a perpetual bad smell under it. His name tag reads A. Octavian. 'What are you doing turfing her here?'

Octavian shrugs. 'She's my gift to you. Had a seizure this morning, and another an hour ago.'

'What are you talking about?' Annabeth points to the chart. 'Says right here, "She talks to dead people, her family had her committed." That's psych, not neuro.'

'Well, I don't know what correspondence school you attended, but they obviously didn't teach you not to jump to conclusions,' Octavian sniffs.

Silena's face reddens. 'Why, you—'

'Sorry, ladies.' Octavian's tone clearly says he isn't at all. 'We can't take her back until she's cleared.'

'So you're dumping her on us.'

'She thinks her seizures are visions.' Octavian wrinkles his nose.

'Hello,' says their patient. 'They're not seizures. I'm psychic.'

Annabeth and Silena exchange a look.

'Sure you are,' Silena says. 'And I'm Heidi Klum.'

'You could've been,' their patient says solemnly. 'Why'd you give it up?'

Silena makes an impatient noise in the back of her throat. 'Don't you start. I get enough of that shit from the guys.'

Octavian takes this chance to walk away. 'Hey!' Annabeth calls after him, but he's already halfway down the hall, leaving them to their psych(ic) case. Annabeth sighs and checks the chart again.

'Miss Dare. We're gonna start our workup now.'

The redhead shudders. 'Rachel, please. And it's a waste of time. I'm telling you—'

'Humour us,' Silena says. 'Can you grip my fingers, please?'

Rachel stares blankly at them. Her eyes shift out of focus, turning inwards. Annabeth nudges Silena.

'Miss Dare? Are you okay?'

'Someone …' Rachel whispers.

'Someone what?'

'Someone's gonna check out.'

Silena groans. 'Oh man, she is nuts.'

'I'm dizzy, not deaf,' Rachel snaps. 'And I'm telling you, someone on the fourth floor is gonna die.'

At that moment, a code blue comes blaring over the PA system. Rachel raises her eyebrows at them as the code team charges past on their way to the fourth floor.

'ICU's on the fourth floor,' Silena says crossly. 'People are always dying there.'

Rachel shrugs. 'Believe me or not. I'm just saying, I know things.'

'We're gonna get a CT anyway,' Annabeth says.

+++

'Look.' Annabeth points to the scans. 'Spikes in the temporal lobe. It is seizures. Epilepsy.'

'Huh, so neuro after all,' Silena says. 'I'll page—'

'You think I'm epileptic?' Rachel crosses her arms. 'No—that's wrong.'

Annabeth shows Rachel the scans. 'That's your brain activity. See these spikes here? That's abnormal activity—consistent with epilepsy. Not visions. We should get an MRI, get a better look at what's going on in your brain.'

'There's no way …' Rachel trails off. Her eyes close.

'Is she having another seizure?' Silena asks.

'Rachel? Miss Dare?' Annabeth waves her hand in front of their patient's eyes. 'Can you see me? Can you hear me?'

Rachel's eyes snap open. Her fingers close around Annabeth's wrist. 'When your dad left,' she says, 'it wasn't because he didn't love you.'

Annabeth steps back, stunned.

'I told you I know things,' Rachel says simply.

Silena rolls her eyes. 'You keep telling yourself that.' She steers Annabeth out of the room. 'You okay?'

'Yeah. She just—' Annabeth shakes her head, as if that will clear it of Rachel's words. He didn't love you.

'Did your dad die, or—?'

'No. He didn't.' Annabeth rubs her hands up and down her arms. Is it just her, or is the thermostat in the hallway malfunctioning?'

Silena gives her a sympathetic smile. 'Look, I know the type,' she says, jerking her head towards the room where Rachel is now gesturing to an invisible audience. 'These people just want everybody to think they're a sideshow. They're really good at reading people, telling them what they want to hear—I can handle the case, if you want.'

'You sure?'

'Yeah. Your shift's almost over anyway, isn't it? I'll take her to MRI.'

Annabeth lets her. She'd fight harder for it, but chances are, if the scans turn up anything, it'll be Dr Castellan's case.

There's less than ten minutes left to her shift. She could go straight to the locker room and change out, go home. That's what any sane person would do. She doesn't need to run a last check on any of her patients. They're already settled in for the night.

Her feet carry her to the post-op floor anyway.

She expects him to be sleeping—it's nearly midnight, after all, and his visitors are long gone—so it makes her jump when he speaks up.

'God, they really keep your noses to the grindstone around here, don't they? Do you ever get to clock out?'

'Actually, my shift ends in five minutes.'

'Ah, and I'm your final hurdle before freedom.'

Percy grins when she cracks a smile. 'I knew it,' he says.

'Knew what?'

'You can't leave without saying goodbye to me.'

'I'm just doing my job.'

'Uh huh.'

He has his arm around a round, black-and-white object—a panda pillow pet that his friends or his mom must have brought for him. 'Well, I can't think of a better way to end the day than by saying good night to someone cute.'

Annabeth raises her chart to hide her face. 'You flatter yourself, Mr Jackson.'

Percy blanches. 'Seriously, you gotta call me Percy. Mr Jackson makes me feel like I'm fifty. Anyway, who said I was talking about me? I meant I get to say goodnight to a cute girl.'

'You say that to all the girls, or just the ones that have to put up with you?'

'Only the ones who are hot doctors?'

Her face is definitely flaming now. 'You obviously haven't seen Dr Beauregard.'

'The supermodel chick?' he asks.

There's a sharp stab in her chest that feels somewhat like the one that hit her the first time she laid eyes on Percy's not-girlfriend Callie. Of course he's noticed Silena. Who doesn't notice Silena?

When she doesn't reply, he continues, 'All of you come in during rounds, you know. It's like this whole entourage. But the five of you are interns, right? You and your friend Piper, and Dr Beauregard, Dr Solace, and Dr Zhang.'

Annabeth stares at him, her embarrassment giving way to surprise. 'You know all our names?'

'Shouldn't I?'

'Well, most people don't bother. I mean, we're just interns. Dr Castellan and Dr Ramírez-Arellano are the ones in charge.'

'That's dumb,' Percy says with a frown. 'You're all my doctors. Hell, doctor or not, you're all people. You deserve for me to remember your names.'

People. She thinks of the doctors who refuse to learn their interns' names—or their patients', for that matter.

'My mom would say "personal feelings cloud the medicine."' If you want to be one of the greats, you have to learn to detach yourself, Annabeth. Yeah, that's the great Dr Athena Chase all over. Sometimes Annabeth wonders if her mother is so distant because she's a surgeon, or if she became a surgeon because she was already so detached. 'A lot of surgeons don't bother learning their patients' names. They just see them as case files.'

'But not you. You don't believe that.'

She slings her stethoscope over her shoulders and rests her hands on its ends. 'How do you know?'

'Well, for starters, I don't think I'm just a case file to you.'

I'm not going to blush. I'm not going to blush. 'And what makes you say that?'

'Because your shift ended five minutes ago now, and you're still here.'

And when Percy Jackson gives her that roguish, lopsided grin, Annabeth loses her battle against blushing.