#adam copeland fanfic

[officialchristiancagebbgirlblog]

Can I have prompts 15, 34, and 69 with early 2000's Edge plss where she is scared to be in love with them because of trust issues but sweet smut unfolds as they let the feelings out between them?

15: “I’m so scared…of you”

34: “shh it’s okay, I’m here now”

69: having your first time in bed with each other

Tag: @judgementdaysunshine

Word count: 2058

Warnings: mild swearing

Fic type: fluff and smut

Link to masterlist

Reader will be a wrestler, 2001. Will use Adam’s name. Feels silly saying Edge in this context. Christian will just be called Christian as using his real name doesn’t feel right for fics!

Being at large events was always difficult for you. Even if you did know most of the people there. You were still relatively new, only having been there for about three years about the same time as your friends, Adam and Christian. The three of you didn’t go in together. You had met them on your first day actually and hit it off with them immediately. They always had your back both within matches, and backstage. Being quiet made you an easy target for certain wrestlers to pick on you; they’d pull pranks (sometimes cruel ones) on you, be rough with you in the ring. It wasn’t the best time to be a wrestler but you weren’t about to quit. Plus, the two boys would back you up and protect you as much as possible, alongside two other friends, Jeff and Matt Hardy.

The event in question was an after party, following a successful episode of Smackdown. You hung around Adam and Christian who were talking with Kurt Angle and a few others, sticking closely to Adam’s side, while they chatted with other wrestlers. It wasn’t something you admitted to anyone just yet, but you had found yourself with feelings for Adam. There was something about how protective he was over you that just made your heart swoon and your body feel so…safe? Was that the feeling? It was hard to come to terms with how you felt. So many times had you been let down or betrayed by your previous partner that you didn’t know if you could go through with another relationship again. He had broken you in more ways than you’d let on to anyone. The idea of dedicating yourself to someone or letting someone into your heart terrified you.

“We should probably get going!” Adam nudged you, hoping you’d agree. He was enjoying the socialisation but in reality, he felt more comfortable in the idea of heading back to the hotel room you two shared. Saving as much money as possible was at the top of both of your lists so you had agreed to share with him. Tonight would be your first night alone with him, and a big part of you was scared. You nodded, agreeing that it was time.

“I’m going to stay a bit longer,” Christian said, giving you both a quick hug, “but I’ll see you guys later on!”

Exchanging goodbyes with the group, you both headed out to the car park to get a taxi back. Adam left the keys with Christian so he could drive back.

“I think…I might just shower and then sleep when we get back.” You told Adam in the car, sitting a seat away from him in the back, leaving the middle seat free.

“Oh. I was thinking we could watch a film but…yeah sure, if you’re tired, do what you like!” He replied, smiling weakly.

It was a strange response, you had thought. A part of you thought that maybe he was hoping for something more but you didn’t want to jump to conclusions. The rest of the ride was quiet, relaxed. Watching him from the corner of your eye, you made a mental note of the outline of his face from the side. There was no denying that he was gorgeous. With the way his long hair framed his face, the little point at the end of his nose. And his body! His arms were strong yet soft to the touch, very welcoming. Perhaps that’s why she always felt so safe? It definitely was his kindness that helped too. You didn’t realise that you had turned your head to get a better look at him, staring with a sparkle in your eyes. He turned to look at you with a smile and pink cheeks, winking slightly. You quickly looked away in embarrassment of being caught staring, hearing him chuckle at your reaction.

After arriving at the hotel, you both made your way up to the room and you rushed in the bathroom to get to the shower to wash away the naughty thoughts that began to cloud your mind. You got undressed with haste and stood under the warm running water, trying to clear your mind. It was getting harder to hide your feelings and anxiety built up in your chest over that fact. You were terrified of a repeat of last time. Deep down you knew he was different but still. What if he secretly was a terrible man? What if he was secretly just as horrible but was fantastic at hiding it? The thought was too horrible to imagine so you tried to ignore it, washing your body and your hair, imagining you were scrubbing that idea away.

Not spending long in there, you dried off and climbed into clothes that you had left folded in there before you left, ready for your evening shower. You looked into the mirror and took a deep breath, calming yourself so Adam wouldn’t ask any questions. You left the bathroom and made your way over to the desk where your hairdryer was ready for you. Except it wasn’t just that there waiting. Adam stood, holding your brush and motioning for you to sit down.

“I know you’re tired but I can…do this for you if you like?” He smiled sheepishly.

Returning the smile, you sat down in front of him. As he began you felt your cheeks and your body become warm with appreciation, the naughty thoughts coming back. He was so concentrated on making sure your hair was fully dry and brushed that he didn’t even notice you staring this time. After about 15 to 20 minutes, he shut the dryer off, just pulling the brush gently through your smooth and shiny hair.

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked, finally looking up at the mirror to make eye contact with you. Adam noticed the nervous look that suddenly crossed your face, and he took a second to squeeze your shoulder to assure you that it was okay. Swallowing hard, you nodded.

“Um…are we just…friends? Or is there something else that you want to try?” He asked, his voice quiet and soft. You felt your throat run dry as the words settled in your brain. He decided to continue on with something that probably shouldn’t have shocked you all that much but it still did regardless.

“Because I don’t know about you but…I definitely have. Feelings. For you.”

You didn’t know what to say. Well, you did, but you were scared of saying it. Your silence scared Adam as he stood there still looking at you, waiting for you to just say something. Anything.

It felt like an eternity before you opened your mouth to speak to him.

“Adam…I’m not going to lie to you because I appreciate you and…what you do for me.” You started with a deep breath. It wasn’t fair to lie to him on how you felt nor was it fair to not tell him why you were afraid of it.

“I’m so scared…of you-“

“Of me? Why?” He interrupted, the shock breaking his heart in two.

“Let me finish, please.” You begged.

He became silent, placing both hands on your shoulders, letting he brush fall to the floor with a dull thud.

“It’s not…really you. It’s the idea of you, and liking you. I want to let you in but I’m scared of what will happen if I do. The last person I let into my heart treated me terribly. I know you’re not that guy but I don’t know if I can let myself trust someone again. I am so terrified that…it will happen again.”

You felt the tears well up in your eyes, sliding down your cheeks rapidly. Just admitting why you were afraid of love somehow felt worse than keeping it secret. It was the shame of talking about it out loud, and now crying about it. Let alone someone who had just admitted they had feelings for you!

You felt his arms wrap around your shoulders and his cheek rest on the crown of your head, Adam gently whispering ‘shhh’.

“I’m sorry,” you choked out, “I-I know I’m a mess right now and this isn’t what you want to see and I’m sorry I-“

“Shh it’s okay, I’m here now.” He muttered, rocking you side to side.

“I don’t know exactly what happened before in your last relationship,” he gently pulled on your arm to turn you around on the chair to face him, “but I am not him, okay? I need you to understand that. I can love you so much more. In the way you deserve. You just need to let me in to do that.”

He cupped your face, wiping tears away with his thumbs. You both stayed there, gazing into each other's eyes for god knows how long before you both leant towards each other to share a kiss. When your lips met in the middle, your body rushed with tingles as the familiar sensation came back. You hadn’t realised how much you missed kissing!

It wasn’t long before you were standing up in his arms as he led you to the bed, lips still interlocked as you both removed each other's clothes. You both mumbled sweet nothings into each other's soft lips as he pulled your legs apart, aligning himself with your wet and ready entrance.

“Are you ready, baby girl?” He asked, stopping to look at you. You nodded, throwing your arms around his neck as he slowly slid in, keeping his eyes on your face the entire time.

“Tell me if it hurts or if it’s too much. We can stop if you need it.” He reassured, kissing your cheek once he was all the way in. Adam stayed unmoving for a moment to allow you to get used to the feeling of him inside you, not wanting you to be in pain. After signalling to him that it was okay, he began to thrust, being slow and gentle. He buried his face in your neck as the pleasure and your warmth took over his body.

“Faster, please!” You called out to him, gripping his shoulders as the feeling of pleasure overtook your body. Adam picked up the pace while still not hitting too hard, groaning against your skin.

“You’re so gorgeous,” He muttered, littering your skin with small wet kisses as his hands caressed your soft body, “God, I’m so glad I told you…how I feel.”

Just hearing him speak those words sent your heart flying. You had completely forgotten what it felt like to be praised in this way. And to have it from Adam just made it that much sweeter. Already you felt yourself getting close to the finish line, him following behind closely. Wrapping your legs around his waist, you moaned out his name as you drew closer and closer.

“Let it out for me, baby.” He whispered, his lips just barely ghosting the skin of your ear. You gasped as your orgasm hit, Adam holding on to you tight as he continued on with whispering encouraging words of love to you while you rode it out. As you came down, he muttered a quick ‘oh fuck’ before pulling out, cumming on your stomach with a grunt. After finishing, he leant down to give you another kiss before getting up to grab tissues to clean you up.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to…you know…do it inside of you.” He smiled sheepishly, his body pink from the afterglow of sex. You smiled and told him that it was okay, you didn’t mind too much. Once he got you cleaned up, he crawled into the bed next to you and pulled you in for a cuddle.

“I meant what I said earlier, you know.” He said, turned your head to look at him. It had finally set in that Adam just wanted to love you in every way possible. It was still hard to believe that you could be loved that way after before, but you were willing to let him try. Smiling wider, you both shared another kiss, already becoming obsessed with the way you both tasted.

“Let’s give it a try. See where it goes. I…I think I’m ready for you to show me what it’s like to be appreciated again.”

[midwestmade29]

Trust 🩷

Thanks @judgementdaysunshine for sending in your request! Your prompts were helpful and I loved your idea. I hope you like it 🖤

Word count: 2,365 Divider by: @saradika-graphics GIF credit: @r-truth Original Request:

Can I have young Adam Copeland x Fem reader where he stays and takes care of her after being jumped and it leads to fluffy smut with friends to lovers? along with the prompts

"Can I trust you?" + "You mean the world to me" + "I want you"

Disclaimers: Cursing, black eye, concussion, cuts/abrasions, bruised ribs, unprotected sex. Read at your own discretion.

I wrote this story about a younger Adam Copeland, but he's in AEW instead. I don't know much about his time in WWE, so I wrote what I'm familiar with. Sorry if it's confusing 😅

Your relationship with Adam goes through some changes after you get attacked...

The House of Black had it out for you, especially the TBS champion Julia Hart. Every week on Dynamite she made her intentions and feelings known to you and the rest of the world that she does not like you and would love nothing more than to take you down. She thinks you are weak and hates the things you stand for such as kindness and goodness. Your light shined brighter than her darkness and she was bound and determined to put it out. Something inside of you kept you calm and unafraid of Julia and the rest of the House of Black members. There was no way their empty threats and harsh words were going to get the better of you!

One of your coworkers you just started being friendly with reached out to you after Dynamite was off the air. He appeared genuinely concerned about you. “I heard what Julia said about you tonight and I just wanted to check on you. Are you okay?” Adam’s kindness was refreshing, especially after the things Julia said to you earlier. He was incredibly handsome, which made your stomach do a flip when your eyes met his. His long blonde hair, 6’5 body frame, and his bright smile made you forget how to speak momentarily. “Oh! Yes, I-I’m fine, Adam! I appreciate you checking on me, but It’s going to take a lot more than Julia to scare me. I stopped being afraid of the dark a long time ago,” you joked. The sound of Adam’s laughter made you smile, and from that moment on you made it a goal to hear it as often as possible.

Time marched on, only bringing you and Adam closer. There was hardly a time where the two of you weren’t together. Your personalities complimented each other well, but there was something stronger that made both of you gravitate towards one another. The way he looked at you, cared for you, and his protectiveness over you was something that you weren’t accustomed to in your past relationships. Something about him made you want to trust him and believe everything he had to say and that scared you. You were afraid that you were getting in too deep with him, so you tried your best to keep him at arm’s length even when your heart begged you not to. The dreams you were having about Adam lately were anything but friendly. They were downright dirty! A couple nights you woke up panting with dewy skin from the sexy things he did to you, only leaving you longing for your dreams to be reality. Was it possible that you were falling for your closest friend?

Late one night, you were leaning up against Adam’s rental car while you waited on him to finish up inside the arena. He needed to gather his things and change into street clothes before he could join you and drive the both of you back to the hotel. He was hesitant to let you go outside on your own, but you insisted that you would be fine. While you were lost in scrolling through your phone, someone walked up behind you and attacked you! You didn’t have any time to fight back as their blows to your body just kept coming. There was no way you could scream or cry out for help since the wind had been knocked out of you when your attacker kicked you in the stomach and ribcage.  Any of your exposed skin continuously brushed up against the rough pavement, giving you scrapes and abrasions all over. You could already tell your eye was starting to swell just moments after being struck by a fist. The attacker never spoke or made a sound, so there was no way you could identify their figure that was covered in all black clothing. With one final punch, you felt yourself falling in and out of consciousness. Your body was limp as you laid on the ground silently wishing the pain radiating through you would go away. You were unaware of how much time had passed when you heard muffled footsteps and curses getting closer and closer to where you were. “Shit, Y/N! Open your eyes for me baby, come on! Please be okay! You have to be okay!” a familiar voice cried out. “My beautiful Y/N, stay with me,”

When you finally came to, you found yourself back inside the arena in what appeared to be the medical room. You heard Adam speaking softly to someone else nearby, explaining where and how he found you. “I walked up to the car, and she was lying on the ground next to it. There wasn’t anyone else around by the time I got to her, so who knows for sure who did this! In my panic I scooped her up and carried her to you. Y/N is going to be okay, right Doc?” Your voice was nearly inaudible when you called out for Adam, but he still heard it and rushed to your side. “Y/N! Oh, thank God! I was so worried about you sweetheart. You’re safe now, I’m not going to let anything else happen to you! I’ve got Doc Sampson here with us and he’s going to take a look at you,” he explained on the brink of tears. The grip he had on your hand was firm, but it brought you great comfort knowing he was there with you.

Two weeks had gone by since you were jumped, that night still replays in your mind frequently. Doc Sampson had diagnosed you with bruised ribs and a concussion, along with several cuts and a black eye. Adam insisted that you come stay with him while you recovered since the doctor didn’t want you being alone until you were medically cleared. Tony Kahn granted you as much time off as you needed to recover, and he even launched an internal investigation to find your attacker! Considering how Julia was always vocal about her hatred towards you, her previous words and actions put her in the hot seat. Even if she wasn’t the one who laid hands on you, she had to play some kind of role in your attack.

Early one morning, you woke up abruptly after having a nightmare. You tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall back asleep afterwards. You threw in the towel on getting anymore sleep so you made your way to the couch in the living room. You sat in the early morning silence, going over the recent events trying to piece the puzzle of your attack together. Your mind started to drift into darker places, and you began questioning everything and everyone you’ve ever known. Why would someone do this to you? What could you have done that was so bad to deserve this kind of pain? How could you trust anyone after all this?

You were rounding the corner of the hallway on your way to the bathroom when Adam suddenly appeared in front of you, causing you to jump in surprise! “Whoa, hey! It’s me! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought I heard a noise, so I wanted to investigate. What are you doing up so early?” he said softly. When he saw the tears welling up in your eyes, he took you in his arms and embraced you tightly. “What’s wrong? Why the tears sweetheart?” Adam murmured against your hair. Your head rested on his chest, his scent floating around your nose giving you a momentary gift of peace that allowed you to speak, “I-I don’t even know anymore Adam! I thought I was brave, that goodness always wins, but now I’m not so sure. My attack has me questioning everything! I don’t know what to believe anymore,”

While running his hand up and down your back trying to soothe you, Adam asked you to elaborate, “What exactly are you questioning, Y/N?” “The choices I’ve made in life. If I’m strong or if I’m weak. Who I can trust! Can I trust you, Adam?” your words came out rushed and fragile. When you pulled your face away, the pained look Adam had on his face made you feel worse. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You’ve done so much for me with my recovery, and you’ve always been there for me long before I was attacked. I’m such a mess,” “Look, Y/N. You mean the world to me, you always have. Of course, you can trust me, I will always protect you and do my best to help ease your worries. As long as you’re breathing, standing here with me, nothing else matters,” Adam’s hands were cradling your face, his thumbs wiping away the stray tears that fell from his sweet words. The vulnerability in his eyes made you melt into his touch, and it reminded you that Adam is one of the good ones. When he felt your body relax, he suggested you lay down with him in his bed and you agreed. He took you by your hand and led you into his room and helped you get situated.

He propped himself up on his elbow, his head resting in his hand while the other ran gently up and down your arm. You reached over with your hand and brushed Adam’s cheek with the backs of your fingers, his stubble scratchy underneath them. You moved your fingers down his jawline to his neck, the feeling of his beating heart seemed to quicken as you traced along his collarbone. You ran your fingers through his chest hair which caused goosebumps to form on his skin and you couldn’t help but notice how well his body was responding to your touch. Your worry and anxiety seemed to suddenly dissipate, your body now consumed with want and need. You were craving Adam now more than ever before. It was as if he was reading your mind when he grabbed hold of your wrist, bringing it to his lips and planting soft kisses there. He kissed each pad of your fingertips, the tenderness of his simple act caused heat to spread through your entire body and rest in between your legs. “Adam…” you whispered. “I want you. Kiss me. Make me forget about everything, please,” There was a sudden hesitancy in Adam’s movements and expressions as he moved closer to you, making you wonder if your desire got the better of you in your recent plea. “Did I say something wrong?” you asked sheepishly.

“No, not at all. I’ve wanted you in this way for a long time Y/N. I don’t want you to force yourself, I know you’re still in pain. Are you sure you want to do this? What if we take our relationship to this next level and it messes everything up between us? What if-” You silenced Adam’s concerns when you pressed your finger against his lips, reassuring him with one last sentiment, “Don’t think, just feel. I need this, I need you,”

In one fluid motion, Adam was hovering above you, making quick work of removing your clothes. You winced when you sat up to help him take off your shirt, but smiled to let him know you were okay. “If any of this becomes too much for you, please tell me Y/N. I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered against your lips. Your bare chest brushed up against his when he closed the gap between your lips, your nipples quickly puckering at the soft friction. You began to tug and pull at Adam’s shorts and underwear, trying to remove them simultaneously. He shimmied out of them and tossed them to the floor, your panties joining them moments later.

Adam positioned himself in between your legs, the tip of his hard length lightly pressing up against your entrance. The anticipation was killing you, so you tried wrapping your legs around him and push him into you, but he resisted. “Easy there beautiful,” he chuckled. “I want to savor this moment; I want to savor you. After you were attacked, I blamed myself for it since I let you go outside by yourself that night. You’re everything to me Y/N and I never want to lose you,”

You ran your thumb over Adam’s bottom lip, taking a moment to soak it all in before you kissed him sweetly. “That night was not your fault Adam. I’m so thankful you found me and got me the help I needed. You’re never going to lose me. I hate to tell you, but you’re stuck with me now,” you smiled before kissing him once again.

With a gentle push, Adam eased himself inside of you, making sure to take his time so your walls could stretch around him. The sudden fullness you felt made you gasp. With each push, pull and rock of his hips, it brought you closer and closer to your release. The two of you were completely love drunk off each other, consumed by the feeling of your mind, body and souls connecting. Every sound Adam made excited you that much more, the sight of him completely losing himself in you was one you won’t forget. No one had ever been this gentle with you before, taking their time to please and satisfy your needs. 

“You’re so beautiful, Y/N,” Adam murmured against the shell of your ear. “My beautiful girl,”

Your breathy pants and moans filled the bedroom, intertwining with Adam’s as both of you tumbled over the edge. “Yes! A-Adam! Oh Adam!” you cried out as the waves of your pleasure threatened to drown you. Your body quivered beneath him as the pressure deep inside of you finally released. Adam came inside of you after his last few thrusts, his length pulsating against your walls while he filled you with everything he had. His breathing was unsteady as he came back down to earth.

 When you untangled yourselves from each other, sleep threatened to overtake you. Your mind and body were at ease now and you’d never felt more sated. Adam is your safe place, your best friend. You can’t imagine anyone else by your side.

[bullet-clubs-bitch]

How do you think Christian Cage would react to someone dissing his wife y/n in a promo?

Lover

What happens when the rivalry between Christian Cage and Adam Copeland goes too far and causes Adam to say some controversial unscripted things about Y/n and the Patriarchy

word count: 1K+

Main Masterlist Christian Cage Masterlist

I currently sat in my private locker room with Killswitch, Nick Wayne, my wife Y/n and our baby girl Madaline. The five of us sat in a comfortable silence as we watched Collison on the tv in the locker room. Looking around the room I felt a fuzzy feeling in my chest, I was surrounded by my beautiful dysfunctional family. The people I loved most. I was distracted from my thoughts when I heard Y/n and Nick start to boo at the screen. I looked to find my former best friend turned arch rival Adam Copeland on the screen. Copeland had been on my ass for months, ever since he arrived in AEW he wouldn't leave me or my family alone. I was on my last straw with him, what else could he want from me. I already beat him TWICE, for god sakes he put my son through a flaming table! He has no right to be demanding another title shot, he is undeserving. 

I watched as Adam walked to the ring microphone in hand, what the hell did he want now. 

“I am sick and tired of Christian Cage and the Patrarchy, all they do is cheat. If it wasn’t for Y/n and her tricks I would be standing here as your TNT Champion. Speaking of Y/n I don’t think you know this but in real life her and Christian Cage are married. Yeah, let that sink in for a moment. I guess Christian Cage really does have a thing for fatherless wrestlers, bonus points if they are way younger than he is.” 

I could feel my blood boiling as I heard the words fall from Adams mouth. I looked to Y/n and she was in shock like the rest of us. “I mean she is 20 years younger than him! But hey who am I to judge, if I was Christian Cage I would do the same thing. I mean have you seen her, damn. Christian you better watch out because once I take your title I’m going to take your controversally young wife. Which by the way you only married because you knocked her up, nice job having a newborn at 50” 

At this point I was livid, I wanted to kill Adam Copeland, how dare he talk about my family like that. For someone who gets so mad when someone brings up his family it’s ironic how he has no problem talking about other peoples relationships. 

“While I’m at it did you know the the age gap between Nick Wayne and Y/n is significantly lower than her’s with Christian, Gross. Y/n if a filty who-” Just then his mike was cut

That was the final straw, I stormed out of my private locker room and ran to the stage. I was going to make him pay. I knew this was probably a trap but I didn’t care, my adrenaline was pumping. I jumped on top of Adam and beat the bloody hell out of him for real. He tried to cover himself from my blows but they did nothing. I was able to get a good amount of shots in before security pulled me off of him. “I’m going to fucking kill you! What the fuck is your problem huh!” I yelled to Adam as security held us apart. The audience was shocked, they could tell that this wasn’t a work, for god sakes they cut off his mike before he did any more damage. My adrenaline was still pumping and I knew I coudn’t let Adam have the last word, especially after he disrespected my wife. I managed to steal a microphone that thankfully worked. 

“What the hell is your problem. You disgust me, how dare you speak of my wife and family like that. I think you are jealous of me. You have a boring marriage that has no love, you are married to an old hag who can’t even sleep in the same bed as you. Can’t you accept that I am just better than you, I have a better life, a better wife, I am the TNT champion god dammit. Just acceppt it and move on, and speaking of cheating just go home and beg your wife to forgive you for cheating on her AGAIN. Now I’ll admit that I am an asshole but I would never so something like that to the woman I love. Oh and I dare you to talk about Y/n again, next time I will make sure to kill you” 

With that I left, security escorted me backstage and out of the building. I didn’t even care of the consequences I could possibly face, I was proud of defending my family. On my way out I saw all the wrestlers backstage comforting Y/n who was understandably very upset. It warmed my heart to see.

***

A day has passed since the incident with Adam Copeland and myself on Collision. Like I assumed everyone was talking about it. Considering in this rivalry I am the bad guy Y/n and myself had received nothing but support during the whole situation. People were turning on Adam for his actions, being disgusted with what he said. AEW made the decision to give Copeland a four week suspension along with making him put out an public apology. The following is a total BS apology from Adam Copeland;  

*I would like to sincerely apologise to Y/n, Christian Cage, AEW and the fans for my actions on Saturday. What I said was truly uncalled for. I apologise to everyone who was offended with my words. I take full responsibility for my actions and will continue to work on being a better person. - Rater R Superstar Adam Copeland* 

What a total jerk. 

“I’m sorry you had to go through that” I told Y/n as the two of us lied in bed, mutaly deciding we would spend the day rotting in bed after what happened not even 24hrs ago. “It’s not your fault, you didn’t know he was going to say that” She told me reassuringly “I know but what he said was fucked up. I love you so much, like so so much. I would do anything for you Y/n” I told her as I began to place delicate kisses on her neck. “What are you doing?” Y/n said playfully 

“Showing you how much I love you” 

[sydsaint]

Father Copeland you are so special to me <3

Summary: After watching reader fight for her life in a street fight against Julia Hart, Adam wrestles with his shameful feelings for her.

Your heart pounds in your ears as you and Julia trade blows in the ring. Each hit collides with your body like a semi plowing through a car at full-speed. But you push on. Warm streams of blood ooze down your face from the cut above your eye and impairs your vision. But you were past seeing red before Julia managed to cut you open.

'Win!' You scream in your mind. 'You have to push through it! You have to win!' Your thoughts scream in your head as you swing your elbow towards Julia's face.

Your elbow collides with Julia's nose and the cartilage crunches inward from the force. Julia lets out a houl that would send a shiver down any normal person's spine. But it only motivates you further. Like a shark smelling blood in the water. You reign down another punch to Julia's face, hitting her square in her nose that it surely broken by now. You can barely see from the blood starting to crustify over your entire face, but you don't care. You've got little miss, 'princess of darkness' dead to rights now.

One more good hit to Julia's face and Aubrey is yanking you off of her. You can barely hear the bell ring over the roar of the crowd. You fall to your knee's, chest heaving as you struggle to catch your breath. It's over. You did it. You beat Julia Hart for the TBS championship.

"And new, TBS Champion! YN LN!" Justin Roberts anounces your name and it's like music to your ears.

You work up the strenngth to rise to your feet and begin clawing at your face in order to remove some of the dried blood from it. You pick up the faint sound of footsteps approaching you as your vision begins to clear and you find your mentor waiting to present you with your hard-earned championship.

Adam Copeland.

"Congradulations, kid. That was one hell of a fight." Adam steps toward you with a proud smile. He hands the TBS championship over to you and raises your free hand high into the air. "Now come on. Let's get you cleaned up backstage. You should see yourself. Look's like something straight out of a horror movie." He chuckles lightheartedly.

"I feel like I just survived one." You match his laugh, despite the burn in your lungs.

Adam parts the ring ropes for you and helps you down off the apron. The two of you head up the ramp as the crowd all chants your name. You hold your head high as you head backstage. Adam directs you back to the locker room, and as soon as you're through the dour your knees begin to buckle.

"Shit!" Adam spots you falter as he's shutting the door behind him. He lurches forward and just manages to catch you before your legs give out. "YN! Are you alright?" Adam questions you as he helps hold you up.

"Yeah yeah." You nod, even though every possible inch of your body burns right now. "I just need to sit down." You assure him.

Adam nods and helps you over to a seat. You fall down into a chair with an exhausted sigh, clutching your new belt to your chest.

Adam towers over you with a worried look on his face. It's been four brutal months of watching you and Julia try and kill one another both in and out of the ring. And truth be told, Adam has hated every second of it. Copeland took you under his wing the same week he signed to AEW after watching you punch Christian square in the nose for trying to hit on you. He's been helping train you up since you're barely 22 and new to the wrestling business. Or at least that's what he tells himself anyway.

"I'm gonna go grab something to wash your face with." Adam clears his throat after a minute. "You rest. I'll be right back."

You nod, too exhausted to have any sort of protest or comment to make. You set your new belt down on your lap and admire the way it shines under the florecent locker room lights. You did it. It's your championship. You're a champion.

"Okay, I hope it's not too hot." Adam comes back with a damp cloth a few minutes later and leans down next to you.

"I can clean my own face, Adam" You protest when Copeland moves to do the job for you.

Adam shakes his head, not taking no for an answer. "You just went nearly an hour in a brutal street fight against a psychotic cult lady." He reminds you. "Let me do this for you. You deserve to rest up after all that."

"Fine." You huff.

With your protests silenced, Adam begins washing away the frankly alarming ammount of blood caked all over your face and neck. He tenatively washes away all the crusted muck that he can before he steps away from you. '

"There we go." Adam smiles to himself. "There's that sweet face again." He muses to himself. "How rested up are you feeling? Because now that it's not covered in an inch of dried sweat and blood. Well, you definetly need to go get that cut looked at before the night is over."

"Is it that bad?" You reply and reach a hand up to touch the wound.

Your fingers brush up against the cut and a stinging sensation flares up. You wince and nod to yourself, having answered your own question.

"Here, I'll walk you down there." Adam offers you a supportive arm to lean on.

"Thanks, Adam." You smile at him but stand up on your own. "But I'm a big girl, dad." You tease him playfully. "I can make it there by myself." You assure Copeland.

Adam nods, a twinge of guilt in his eyes.

'dad'

That term hits Copeland right in the chest as he watches you rise to your feet on your own. He's your mentor. Teacher. Nothing more. Copeland should be feeling proud of you right now. And he is, or rather, does. But pride isn't the only thing that he's feeling right now. Shame is another feeling welling up inside of him. Shame, because of the horrible thoughts that crossed his mind not half an hour ago while watching you dismantle Julia like some sort of feral gremlin. His feral gremlin. His woman. That's what you should be.

His. His and only his.

By the time Adam is done battling with his inner demons that are screaming at him to claim you as his, you are already gone from the locker room.

"Fucking hell." Adam mumbles to himself and plops down into a chair. "What the hell is the matter with me? She's young enough to be my daughter for christ sake!" He rubs a hand over his face.

"Who's young enough to be your daughter?" You come through the door and Copeland freezes up like a deer in headlights.

"YN!" Adam jumps out of his chair in surprise, a mortified look on his face. "That was fast!" He comments, chuckling nervously.

You nod and shut the door behind you. "Yeah. They gave me a couple of staples and then sent me on my way." You point to your head. "Anyway. Who's this young mystery girl you're so bent up about?" You ask him. "Anyone I know?"

"What?" Adam chokes. "I...umm...you..you heard that?" He stutters shamefully.

"Yep." You nod. "Well, some of it anyway." You clarify and set your chin your hand. "So. Who's the very lucky lady that you're pining after, Cope?" You ask him again.

Adam clears his throat and attempts to silently calm himself down. "It's no one." He insists. "Really. Nothing to worry about."

"Is that so?" You quirk a brow at your mentor. "Well then. That's boring." You frown.

Adam shrugs and settles back down into his seat. You seem to be satisfied with his half-assed answer. So Adam has no reason to be freaking out anymore. Right.

After a while of you and Adam chatting, you decide to spring a juicy piece of information in your mentor.

"You know, I ran into Ricky on the way back from the trainers room." You catch Adam's attention. "And he was telling me about a certain TNT champion that he saw making heart eyes at the tv monitors while my match with Julia was on." Your gaze flits to Copeland so you can gauge his reaction. "Well, heart eyes wasn't exactly what he said. But you catch my drift." You add with a sly smile.

"Oh?" Adam replies, and you watch him swallow thickly.

You nod and scoot closer to him with a grin. "So either you've got a serious crush on Julia that he need to discuss. Or, you've been keeping something from me, Adam." You confront him.

"Shit." Adam curses and shakes his head. "I'm sorry, YN." He sighs. "I...I never mean't for anything like this to happen. God, I'm so fucking ashamed of myself."

"Ashamed?" You reply. "Why is that?" You ask Adam. "Adam, what's the big deal that you've got a thing for me? I don't mind." You assure him.

Adam's eyes widen in surprise at your statement. "What? You don't?" He asks you. "How? YN, I'm more than twice your age! I...I could be your dad."

"You could certainly be my daddy, yes." You giggle with a teasing wink. "Adam, come on. You can relax. No one is going to care that you're twice my age, I can promise you that." You assure him.

"I...what the hell?" Adam shakes his head in disbeleif. "You really mean that? So....so, that means you feel the same then?" He asks you.

You nod and rise out of your seat. "I've had a crush on you for a criminally long time, Adam. Well, Christian was technically my first wrestling crush. But he doesn't need to know that." You add with a laugh. "So. Are you going to stop giving yourself a corinary and kiss me or not?" You tease him.

Adam manages to work up enough courage to reach forward and grab your arm. He yanks you down into his chair with one swift movement before crashing his lips to yours in a heated kiss that he's been dreaming about for months now. And it's even better than what he's been shamelessly picturing in his mind.

[white-wolf-buckaroo]

Chapter 3: We Visit the Garden Gnome Emporium

Third chapter of my daughter of Ares fic! Back at age 12 here. I got a bit carried away with this... this episode of the show was actually really good so I wanted to make it justice. Hope you enjoy!

Word count: 12300 ish words (oops)

Warnings: none I can think of <3

Fic masterlist here!

Emily threw her dagger against a panel of wood, angry. She retrieved it, walked back to where she had been sitting, and threw it again. Annabeth sat beside her on a fallen tree trunk, watching her let out her anger with the knife.

“You can’t be mad at me forever” she told Emily, arms crossed over her chest “I already told you that I’m sorry. And I told Chiron that you had nothing to do with it”

“He still thinks that I helped you shove Percy in the lake. And that I let Clarisse almost kill him” she huffed, picking up her dagger again. She traced the Greek letters engraved in the metal with her fingers, trying to calm down “And I would have if you hadn’t stopped me!”

“He survived, that’s what matters. And thanks to all of what happened, he has been claimed. It’s a win-win situation, if you ask me”

“I don’t see where there is the win for me. Chiron has never been mad at me… well, except that one time I accidentally started a fire inside my cabin, but that was on accident! Now he probably thinks that I’m bullying Percy or something, and that I’m becoming just like Clarisse”

“He doesn’t think that”

“If he doesn’t why did he ask us last night to meet him first thing in the morning in the big house” Emily put the dagger back in its stealth, frowning “He’s going to make us clean the stables for a week or… clean the kitchens for the rest of the summer!”

“Chiron’s not going to do that”

“How do you know? He did punish the Stolls once making them repaint the whole outside of the Hephaestus cabin”

“After they covered it in bright pink paint at the beginning of the summer, that’s an important detail”

Emily was about to reply, but the door to the big house opened, revealing Chiron and Mr. D; they both walked out to the porch, Mr. D looking pretty displeased at having to be awake this early. He had a diet coke in his hand, taking regular sips from it so to not fall asleep.

“Annabeth, Emily” Chiron trot over to them, both girls standing up out of respect “Thank you for coming”

“Let’s make this quick, I want to go back to sleep” complained Mr. D, taking off his sunglasses. He sighted, signalling at the two kids “Annie bell, Ellie, did you two push the water boy into the lake?”

“I did it” spoke Annabeth, taking the lead before her friend could; she knew that Emily wasn’t pleased at her or her actions, but she would definitely take the blame on her as well if she let her, so that Annabeth wouldn’t be punished that much “Emily wanted to stop me, she has nothing to do with it”

“But me not stopping her makes me just as guilty” Annabeth looked at Emily sideways, doing a face of ‘what are you doing!’, although she couldn’t hold her back anymore “We’re both deeply sorry”

“It was me who did it, though”

“True, but I let you do it”

“It’s cute, your loyalty to one another” Mr. D took a sip from his diet coke, chuckling to himself “I guess as camp director I’m the one who has to set out the terms of your punishment… but you know what? What you did was hilarious. Do it again. That’s your punishment. Aye, let’s go back to bed”

“I’m afraid we still have other matters at hand, Mr. D” Chiron looked down at him, the god sighting again “The rest of the selected heroes will arrive soon to the pavilion. We have to go meet them”

“I hate this place… gods, I need a drink” mumbled Mr. D, shaking his head. He really only wanted to go back to bed “Just another terrible day at camp half-blood”

He walked away heading to the pavilion, leaving Annabeth and Emily alone with the centaur.

The fact that Mr. D had decided to not punish them was a relief, true, but who they were really scared of disappointing was Chiron: he had been practically raising them since they started living at camp, and the prospect of letting him down seemed terrible.

“What other heroes?” Annabeth frowned “What is happening, Chiron?”

“It’s about our newest camper, Percy. He’s inside the big house now… in the attic”

“He went to see the Oracle?” Emily piped up, her eyes widening “He’s going on a quest!”

No one ever left to go on a quest before visiting the Oracle and hearing what she had to say about it – a quest wasn’t a quest if she didn’t say so. Emily had never seen the old lady, but she had heard things from her about Luke, who had been on his own quest not so long ago: her form looked kind of like an old Halloween decoration, creepy and dusty, but her spirit residing inside was as wise as in ancient days.

“It’s happening, isn’t it?” both Emily and Chiron could sense Annabeth’s hope radiating off of her; she was convinced that this was going to be her chance “This is the quest you promised me”

“Percy will have to choose two fellow demigods to accompany him on his journey. If the fates think that this is your destiny, he will choose you” Chiron put a hand on her shoulder, smiling fondly at the girl “And I’m glad to say that if it’s the case, you are more than ready to embark on a journey like that. I know my opinion as camps’ activities director doesn’t count much… but I’m proud of you, dear Annabeth”

“Thank you, Chiron. It matters, really”

“Now go, girls. Mr. D will surely already be at the pavilion. Wait there for me an Percy to arrive, and we’ll start the selection ceremony”

“Wait, both of us?” confused, Emily raised her eyes up to meet Chiron’s “Me too?”

“You are one of camp’s most formidable warriors, Emily. Of course. I’ve selected the best of the best, and you couldn’t be missed among that group”

“But I haven’t been alone outside of camp in years. I wouldn’t know how to get anywhere, or move around, or help, or…”

“Those are fears you shouldn’t face until the right moment, Emily, not beforehand. If Percy chooses you to go with him, I’m sure you will be an excellent companion”

“You sure?” the centaur nodded “Thanks, Chiron” he had a soothing aura around him that always helped to calm her insecurities. He was the best “Hold on… Percy’s quest, what is it even about?”

“I’m afraid to tell you that… troubling times are ahead. Zeus’ master bolt has been stolen. If it isn’t returned before the summer solstice, in one week, there will be war”

“But what does Percy have to do with that?”

“Well, for starters, he is a forbidden child. Considering who his father is, and that he has been claimed just now, when the tension between Poseidon and Zeus is growing more and more every passing day… The suspicions about who is the thief fall all upon him”

“I thought he has only just found out that he is a half-blood. He can’t be the thief, it’s ridiculous”

“Until proven otherwise, he is the most probable candidate. That’s why he has to go retrieve the bolt, and return it to its rightful owner”

“But who could have the bolt? Who would be interested in a war?”

“Well, both our parents are the deities of war” Annabeth grimaced, shrugging “Although… If I had to pick between Ares and Athena, I think it would most probably be Ares. No offense”

“None taken. I… I don’t know, like… who knows what he’s up to” Emily huffed, playing with a rock on the floor tossing it around with her foot “And why a war between Zeus and Poseidon? I get it, they aren’t the best of friends… but they have other siblings who could have stolen the bolt”

“Hades” muttered Annabeth “He’s always been put behind his other siblings, and he’d be stronger than Zeus and Poseidon if he had the bolt”

“That’s true” Chiron seemed stressed, but he was good at not showing it. Emily and Annabeth were better at seeing the signs, because they had known him for half of their lives now “Percy will have to head to Los Angeles and enter the underworld to get the master bolt back, before the lord of the dead starts a war”

“I’m sure some gods would like it if he failed to do so” Emily made a face, huffing.

“The Gods may have their flaws, child, but also their virtues. They are powerful beings who have been around for ages, yes, but every living being that roams earth never stops learning, including them. All of us can fail, do wrong, but also learn valuable lessons, and become stronger thanks to it” now he put a hand on her shoulder, reassuringly “And you, my dear Emily, have your father’s strength and resilience. Not because you were born with it, but because you’ve fought hard all your life, just like him. Never forget that although our steps can falter, the journey does not end there”

The selection ceremony started soon after.

All selected demigods for Percy to choose stood in the pavilion. Apart from Annabeth and Emily, there was also Luke, his brother Chris, Clarisse, and other half-bloods known in camp for being the strongest or smartest fighters.

Clarisse stood on Emily’s left side, and on Annabeth’s right, between the girls; when Chiron announced that two demigods had to be chosen to join Percy on the quest, Emily wished that if Annabeth was truly chosen in the end, she wouldn’t have to deal with her sister.

She doubted she’d have to, though. Percy didn’t like Clarisse. She had been nothing but mean to him, so it was pretty obvious that she’d stay in camp. Percy would probably choose Luke as well – they had mingled well over the past few days.

“Time is short” warned Chiron to Percy, turning then to the rest of the Demigods “I have selected our most compelling half-blood candidates, from which you will choose two to join you on this quest, and ensure that we succeed-“

“Annabeth”

Percy made his first choice even before Chiron could end his speech, or even start presenting each of the candidates; customarily one waits to at least hear a name or two before choosing, but not Percy.

“This thing, Zeus’s master bolt… we need to get it back, right?” the centaur nodded to Percy’s words ”And it’s gonna be hard to get, right?”

“Extraordinarily”

“And if the mission required someone to push me down a flight of stairs for it to succeed… you’d want someone who won’t hesitate when they do it”

Emily looked over at her friend, eyebrow raised; the whole ‘shoving Percy into the water’ incident had left a mark on the boy.

“Then it’s set” Chiron looked over at the daughter of Athena, announcing the final resolution “The first quest-mate shall be Annabeth Chase”

Her dream had come true.

What they didn’t expect, was Percy’s second choice.

Before Chiron could introduce him to the other candidates, he interrupted him again:

“I’m only going on this quest if Grover can come too”

The centaur looked baffled, alongside Mr. D, who stood to his left.

“Satyrs don’t go on quests, Johnson” said the god of wine, looking at the boy “You’re supposed to choose two demigods, not one demigod and a satyr”

“He’s been my protector for the last months, so I want him to come with me” he insisted, firm in his decision “I’m not going if he’s staying”

Mr. D looked at Chiron, and after a few seconds the centaur turned back to Percy, grimacing:

“Percy, a quest is undertaken by demigods. Satyrs are loyal creatures, and I understand your reasoning, but we would be much more comfortable if you chose two demigods to join you instead of just one”

“But I’m not only choosing Annabeth” he replied, looking then at the girl from the Ares cabin who had defended him every time since meeting each other “I choose Emily as well”

Everyone’s gaze turned to her, making Emily feel a bit uncomfortable, but she brushed those feelings away quickly, standing proud on her spot while Chiron announced her as the second quest-mate.

They allowed Grover to come as well in the end. Percy wanted someone he could completely trust, and both Annabeth and Emily could comprehend the boy – in this crazy world he had been thrown in, Grover was the only one somewhat ‘familiar’ to Percy. Both girls were also thrilled to be going together on the quest, so they understood why Percy wanted his own friend to go on the quest with him as well. He trusted the satyr.

Besides, Grover would definitely pack the best snacks.

The rest of the day went by in a haze, preparing for the upcoming trip. Emily filled her backpack with her essentials (some spare clothes, weapons… the usual), and she even went over to the Hermes cabin to ask Luke to take care of her beloved Teddy bear while she was out of camp.

“Are you sure you want to leave it here?” the bear was more of a relic from the first years Emily had spent at camp, from a time where she was younger, but she couldn’t give it away. It was the last thing she had left from her mom, after all “You know how my siblings can get”

“I also know you won’t let anyone do anything to it… and I don’t feel comfortable leaving it in my cabin without me there to protect it from Clarisse”

“Fair enough”

Emily also met up with Grover and Annabeth during the afternoon, to plan how they would start their journey – they wanted to include Percy in the planning as well, but he was somewhere in the woods doing some last minute sword-fighting training with Luke.

“So, who will take the lead?”

“We could vote” suggested Emily “Who votes for Percy?”

“It’s not like I don’t want him to lead” Grover bit his lip nervously after raising his hand on impulse, but then pulling it back down “You guys are more experienced than him”

“I agree”

“Then we girls lead” added Annabeth, looking at Emily for confirmation “Together”

“I’m surprised you’re sharing the team captain title with me, Annie”

“Let’s say you’re my second in command”

“See? There it is. I knew it”

The next morning, right before leaving for the quest, Emily and Annabeth met up in front of the big house, where Percy and Grover would also join them to get one final talk to Chiron before leaving. However, before any of the boys showed up, Luke made his way towards them, smiling fondly.

“You didn’t think you were leaving without saying goodbye properly, weren’t you?”

He engulfed both of them in a bear hug, taking time for each of his girls; they were the closest thing to real siblings they had. Sure, each of them had a bunch of brothers and sisters in their cabins… but their bond was stronger.

“You both take care of each other out there, you hear me?” he had a hand on one of Emily’s shoulder’s the other on one of Annabeth’s, looking alternatively between their faces “You are the strongest girls I know. You can do this”

“We’ll miss you” pouted Emily.

“I’ll miss you too” he ruffled her hair softly, and gave her another side hug.

“I wish you could come with us”

“Me too, Annabeth” Luke grimaced sadly at the girl, but he pinched then one of her cheeks, trying to get her to smile again “But I’m glad that you will at least have each other. I know you will be fine”

After one last hug to each of them, Luke went back to his cabin, and soon after both Percy and Grover appeared with their backpacks, ready to go.

Percy had received a visit from Luke before leaving as well, to say goodbye, and to give him a last farewell gift: a pair of flying shoes Luke had originally received from his dad. They came to life after saying the word ‘Maia’, growing feather wings from the strings of the sneakers – they resembled Hermes’ own flying shoes, able to lift up whoever was wearing them.

Saying goodbye to Mr. D was easy, not so much to Chiron, but the worst was definitely saying goodbye to Thalia.

Annabeth had it the hardest: Emily let her stand by the tree the time she needed, telling both Percy and Grover that they still had to wait for a moment until the girl was ready. Grover immediately understood, but Percy… not so much.

“She’s really gonna miss that tree, huh?”

“When Annabeth first arrived here with Thalia and Luke, they were being chased by monsters” explained Grover “Agents of Hades. Sisters. Furies”

“Mrs. Dotts?”

“Who is Mrs. Dotts?” Emily didn’t know who they were talking about.

“She was our Algebra teacher at Yancy school. Yes, that was Alecto. Back then… Thalia turned back to fight to buy her friends some time. Her Satyr protector tried to stop her but she wouldn’t listen. So, at the last moment… Zeus intervened to save her life, and changed her form”

Emily remembered that day clearly. It had been a terrible night, filled with insecurities and uncertainness because of what had happened to Thalia.

“The most powerful being in the universe’ best idea to safe his daughter’s life… was to turn her into a tree?”

“She was the bravest demigod I ever knew” Annabeth had walked back to them, catching the last bits of their talk “She fought valiantly to safe us all”

“And she met a hero’s fate” added Emily, solemnly.

“She met a pinecone’s fate”

He had not just said that.

“Dude…” muttered the Ares’ girl, eyes growing big “Chill”

“Forbidden children are always in danger, even the strongest ones. Even Thalia” it was obvious that Annabeth felt personally victimized by Percy’s comment, and let’s be honest, she had all the right to do so “And you are not Thalia. Do exactly as I say, and maybe you survive this. Are we clear?”

She didn’t give him any time to answer, as she turned her back to Percy and started walking past the limit of the pine tree.

“You should probably apologize sometime about that comment of Thalia’s tree” Emily patted Percy’s shoulder, awkwardly “I… uh… I’ll go with her”

Emily caught up with Annabeth, as the boys lingered behind a few more seconds:

“Does she think she is in charge?” Percy referred to Annabeth, frowning.

“Technically, they both are. Who did you think would be?”

“I guess I assumed we’d do a show of hands or something… you know, democracy”

Hero’s quests are world-defining events. They have made and broken empires, altered the course of human civilization, changed the balance of power on Olympus… it’s a sacred thing, and to be charged with one is to be in conversation with the gods themselves.

It wasn’t like burning offerings, or praying to them. The gods handed out the missions for them to complete, because they were the only ones able to do so. It as an honour, and a privilege.

Although after being sat in an old uncomfortable bus for half an hour in the backseats right beside the toilet (the worst seats ever), and a huge guy using the restroom for most of that time, Percy thought that there was no way that scared smelled as bad like that.

“We’re soldiers on a mission. It’s not a vacation”

“Thank you for clearing that up”

After leaving camp, the three demigods, plus the satyr, had made their way to New York city to grab a bus that would take them through the country. Chiron had given them their bus tickets, albeit Percy hadn’t expected this kind of ride if the matter was so important.

“If this is so important, why didn’t Chiron spring for plane tickets? Or good smelling seats at least? This seems kind of… low priority, doesn’t it?”

“The smell hides us from the monsters” explained Emily. She was seated with Annabeth, in the window seat, while Grover was by Percy “It makes it more difficult to track us”

“And it isn’t just the monsters who are gonna be trying to stop us” Grover thought someone would have told Percy this, but apparently not “You’re a forbidden child. Zeus might decide to take a shot at you himself. The sky is his domain”

“We’d basically be serving you up on a silver platter to try to travel through it”

“That would’ve been a good piece of advice someone could have mentioned before leaving camp… but yeah, no one did” Percy sighted. He stayed silent for a few seconds, while his eyebrows slowly furrowed “If me travelling through the country is so dangerous because I’m a forbidden child, why did they sent me in the first place?”

“To exonerate you. Everyone thinks you stole the master bolt, so the best way for you to prove Zeus otherwise, is to return the bolt to him yourself”

“That sounds like a lame excuse to me” he huffed, grimacing “You both are much more skilled than me” it was true; both Annabeth and Emily were far more trained than Percy “It would’ve been just as good if you guys went to L.A. to get the bolt and then back to New York to return it. You could even take a plane if I wasn’t there to go faster”

“I may not be a forbidden child like you, but I don’t think Zeus is all that fond of me either” replied Emily “He doesn’t like Ares’ children. I’m by far not Zeus’ favourite grandchild, so I also wouldn’t be safe in the sky. Annabeth would have a shot, though, only because her mom is Zeus’ favourite kid”

“I still wouldn’t risk it” commented the girl, looking out the window.

“Let’s just say Zeus won’t get a ‘world’s best grandpa’ or ‘best uncle’ mug anytime soon”

The bus made it out of New York and stopped in New Jersey at a tank station; most of the passengers stood up to go stretch their legs, buy goodies or use the bathroom, leaving Percy, Annabeth, Emily and Grover sitting in the backseats.

“I’m gonna go get us some snacks” announced Annabeth, unbuckling her seatbelt. Percy wanted to tag along, but the told him no “You’ll stay right there”

“But it smells terrible back here. You’re not the only one who wants to escape this”

“Remember, the monsters won’t smell you here” Emily raised up from her seat as well, joining Annabeth “That’s where we want you”

“I wanna vote” Percy looked at Grover for support “Who thinks that we should all go get to breathe fresh air and buy our own snacks?”

“There’s no voting”

“Chips and sodas okay for you guys?”

“I don’t think you should just get to decide we don’t vote” Percy ignored Emily’s question, going back at Annabeth.

“I’m sorry to hear that”

“Okay… Then I wanna vote on whether you get to decide we don’t vote”

“Grover, please, can you help your…” but Grover interrupted Annabeth before she could finish her demand, clapping slowly “… friend?”

“I really don’t wanna be a tiebreaker” said the satyr, still clapping “I have a better idea”

“Oh, gods, please not this” muttered Emily, but it was too late. Grover started to sing:

“Oh, golly, the road’s gettin’ bumpy ‘cause I got me some friends who just can’t along! Oh, dear! When the team’s gettin’ grumpy the trick to gettin’ through it is singin’ this song-“

Percy cut him off before he could go any further.

“Dude, what are you doing?” he shook his head, trying to make Grover take the hint that he should stop.

“It’s the consensus song. Verse two encourages us to say nice things about each other! You get a few rounds in and you’d be amazed at how disagreements just kind of… fade away”

Emily looked at him unimpressed, slowly shaking her head as well; in all of her years in camp she had grown to love many things there, but the consensus song? Maybe it was her rebellious, aggressive Ares side, but she hated that song. If someone sang it to her at camp to try to solve a disagreement, she would end up punching said someone in the face before they could even start the second verse.

For once, even Annabeth and Percy agreed, looking at Grover just as unimpressed as Emily did. An uncomfortable silence fell upon them.

“Chips and sodas okay then?”

The boys muttered ‘yes please and ‘whatever’, and with that both Annabeth and Emily exited the bus. Emily heard Percy muttering defeated that the voting system was broken, and she almost laughed.

The store at the tank station was huge, or at least, that’s what Emily thought when they entered it. She hadn’t been in any kind of store in years, and she didn’t really remember much of how they were when she was little. Now, at twelve years old, she marvelled at the different aisles, and especially, the candy section.

“Which one do you think Percy and Grover will like the most?”

“Would it be too obvious if we got Percy blue candy?” Emily grabbed some blue chewing gum, showing it to Annabeth “You know… for Poseidon”

“I got it” Annabeth rolled her eyes, but there was a little smile on her face “Do you thing the blue ones taste different than the orange ones?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t had candy since I was six, except that one time the Stolls brought some at the beginning of the summer, and it was yucky”

It was a tough choice to make. Both of them hadn’t tried most of the candies and chocolates they saw in that aisle, and if they had, they didn’t really remember what they were like or what they tasted like like.

“We can grab blue candy for Percy... Green ones for Grover, and red ones for you” Annabeth handed Emily some reddish gummy bears, and the girl thanked her “And some white ones for me. Then we can share and try them all”

Did they end up leaving that aisle with their hands full of too many sweets? Absolutely. Did they think it was too much, or that they could have grabbed less? No, not really. Chiron probably wouldn’t have let them get so much candy, but the wasn’t there to lecture them.

They also grabbed the chips and sodas, of course – it was what they had went to grab originally anyways. The cashier looked them up and down, staring wide eyed at the mountain of candy, chips, chocolates and sodas they left on the counter.

“Oh, Annie, I want a slushie”

“You aren’t five years old, you don’t need one”

“You don’t buy slushies because you need them” she looked at her friend making a face that represented the word ‘duh’ “Hey, you grabbed those chocolate-marshmallow bars even though I didn’t want to. Let me have my own treat”

She did get a slushie, a red one which supposedly tasted like strawberries; having been living at a strawberry farm for six years, Emily could tell that this was definitely not what strawberries tasted like. But it was full of sugar, so she was drank it anyways.

While Annabeth was paying, a woman walked behind the girls, and both of them tensed up.

Just as monsters could sense demigods, trained half-bloods learned to recognize the aura of a monster. Not literally, of course, but Emily and Annabeth had strong intuitive feelings, and even though it could not look like it, they were extremely aware of their surroundings. They knew that if they weren’t, they would be much easier to kill.

The mysterious woman stopped in front of a shelve to their right, and their suspicions grew stronger when she slowly turned her face to them, smirking.

It’s true that monsters are most likely to sense a more powerful demigod, like forbidden children, but it isn’t power exactly, that draws them. It’s more complicated than that. It’s kind of like how bees smell one’s fear: what a monster senses depends on the monster. Some sense inadequacy, the need for glory, shame… if a demigod has to confront one, the monster will attack wherever their armor is the weakest. Nothing will stop them, not even death.

Emily walked a few steps behind Annabeth, slushie in hand; if things got tough, she could easily access her bracelet and use her throwing knife; whereas she was completely visible, Annabeth had her Yankees hat on, hiding in plain sight. The bus was starting to get packed again with all of the passengers making their way back, and as Emily passed by the front row seats, she got that feeling of uneasiness again – especially when she walked by a woman holding a newspaper.

The key to not get surprised by a monster, was to spot them first.

“If you guys were better at your job, we might not have noticed you here so easily”

The woman folded her newspaper together upon hearing Emily’s words, holding a serious look on her face. The girl was still taking sips of her slushie, eyes focused on the woman.

“If Thalia were better at hers there might not be a family of squirrels making her their home”

“That’s a low blow, even for a monster”

“Is that why Hades sent you here?” Annabeth’s voice joined the conversation after hearing Thalia’s name, although she was still wearing her hat. The woman, the monster, couldn’t see her, alas she didn’t know where she was, even if she could sense her “To gloat over a job you almost did right once?”

“How things have changed… You’re not the frightened little girl I came for all those years ago” she looked back at Emily, expression unreadable “And you don’t seem so tough as I had expected at all”

“Don’t kid yourself. I wasn’t that frightened”

“And I can still kick your ass back to the underworld if you decide to make the wrong move”

The monster chuckled, amused.

“Maybe so, maybe so… Either way, now it would seem that you’re both exactly what they say you are. The pride of Athena’s offspring, and Ares’ most treasured child. Perhaps the most formidable demigods children alive”

“You won’t get to us by trying to manipulate us using our parents” Emily scoffed, definitely not buying it – and also not letting her face show how she had felt after the woman said that she was known as Ares’ most treasured kid “What do you want? If you were here to kill us you would already have tried”

“I’m here to collect your friend” she looked back through the gap between the seats, to where Percy sat unaware of what was happening.

“Collect him? For what?”

 “Oh, I don’t question orders. ‘Bring him in, quick and quiet’. That is what I was told” she turned back to Emily, as she couldn’t see Annabeth, but her next message was for the both of them “Lure him off this bus where I can take him quietly away from so many eyes, and your quest goes on unimpeded an unburdened. You and I know he isn’t gonna be of any help to you, and maybe even a hindrance”

“We’re not going to do that” said Emily, firmly.

“Are you not?” the woman raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl’s side and then back to her “Where did your invisible friend go then?”

Emily tried to feel Annabeth by her side, but the hallway seemed empty. There was no body heat beside her like a few seconds ago, and she frankly couldn’t tell where the girl had went.

“Some children must learn the hard way” muttered the woman, sighting “It was a pleasure to meet you, daughter of Ares”

The monster began to transform before her eyes, her clothes and hair mutating into her true form: her once grey updo turned red and feathery, and her black coat along her red shirt grew feathers as well, covering her whole body up until her hands, where there were now long and sharp claws. Out of her bag two wings emerged, like big bat wings, hitting the top of the bus as they unfolded fully.

It was a fury. And where was one, there were always other two.

They had to leave now.

“Percy!” Emily shrieked, starting to get away from the creature “Run!”

In order to get the fury to back off, Emily threw her slushie at her, still full of ice and red liquid, hitting her in the face.

Both Percy and Grover perked up from their seats, and upon seeing what had made Emily scream, they both shot up, aiming for the emergency window behind them to try and open it. When they finally succeeded, the glass fell off of the bus shattering against the ground, and a security alarm went off. The driver ordered through the megaphone that everyone should exit the bus, and everyone started to stand up, slowing down Emily, but also the fury that was making her way to her.

“Emily let’s go!”

She turned to Percy, still looking for Annabeth – where was she?! She couldn’t have really considered the fury’s proposition, couldn’t she? No, her friend wasn’t like that. Emily would never accept, and neither would Annabeth… right?

A shriek coming from outside pierced through the air. Flying in the direction of the bus was another fury – she flew straight through the open window, almost hitting Percy and Grover, causing them fall to the ground.

“Hey!”

Annabeth appeared out of nowhere, and she threw a knife at the monster, who screeched when the metal hit her in the chest. The fury vanished, transformed into dust, and the knife fell on the ground.

“We’re done here, let’s go!”

She grabbed Emily’s arm, yanking her to the open window. Leaving their bags and the snacks behind, all four of them climbed out of the bus – Percy had grabbed the box with Luke’s shoes before leaving, though, and he was now holding it against his chest while they ran. The fury on the bus had been stopped temporarily by all the passengers that were making their way out of the vehicle to the front exit, and the other one who had attacked them was gone.

However, there weren’t just two furies – they were three sisters.

The third one attacked when they were all outside, screeching above them. She flew downward in Percy’s direction with her arms stretched out, terrible claws aiming for his face. He didn’t have enough time to react, turning around to see her almost catching him, when a throwing knife hit her in the middle of the back between her wings.

Emily had been the last one to climb out of the bus, so she had been behind Percy when the third fury had tried to snatch him. He had already started running, so he was a few meters away (alas, the fury wasn’t close as well), so she grabbed her bracelet, and it transformed into her magical weapon. She threw the knife hitting the monster right where she aimed to, and the next thing that happened was that the fury crumbled to dust.

“Come on!” she screamed, picking up her weapon, back to running again “We have to go!”

Ears pumping with the beats of their rushing hearts, they ran to the woods, hiding from the monster left behind. They didn’t stop until they were far enough to not see the tank station, or any building at all, deep inside the forest.

They had no food, or water. Their bags, left behind. They had nothing, except Luke’s shoes, and what they already had on or carried with them.

“This sucks” mumbled Emily, trying to regain her breathe.

As they were now at a ‘safe distance’ they stopped running and switched to walking, trying to recompose themselves but still keep going.

“Somewhere up ahead this turns into a Satyr path” Grover looked far ahead, as if trying to see it.

“What’s a Satyr path?”

There was so much that Percy didn’t know… it was starting to become concerning.

“It’s a road through the wilderness. Satyr explorers use them. Harder to track us”

“That’s… great” Percy still seemed uncertain “But if we stay in the wilderness, how are we gonna find a phone?”

“Why do you want a phone?”

“So we can call camp” it was pretty obvious to him “T-to get help. You know… because we’re lost?”

“We don’t need help. We’re fine” replied Annabeth.

“We’re still alive” added Emily, shrugging “That’s what matters”

“But we haven’t even gotten to Trenton! And we’re wandering through a forest. I didn’t even know they had forests in New Jersey, but we’ve found one!”

“It’s literally called ‘The Garden State’” Emily looked back at him, frowning “What did you expect?”

“I don’t know, but… I would say we’re the opposite of fine”

“We were sent on a quest by the Oracle… by the gods” said Annabeth “What’d you think, it would be easy? It’s supposed to be hard. That’s why only certain people are chosen. If we call camp, we’re basically saying it was a mistake to choose us”

“I’m… completely comfortable with that” Emily knew that Percy’s comment would only make Annabeth more mad. As her best friend, she knew that under that tough leader exterior, was the girl who had dreamed to go on a quest for years. Calling camp, was telling Chiron wrong, and with that, he would be disappointed in them. They couldn’t let that happen “Everyone makes mistakes”

“Why are you so afraid of who you are?”

Annabeth stopped walking, and she turned to Percy, scowling.

“What?”

Grover and Emily looked at each other, quickly picking up the tension rising between their friends.

“You know what’s interesting about this particular satyr path?”

“What so interesting about it, Grover?” Emily’s voice sounded nervous, because she was. If they started fighting again, it would only slow them down.

“It’s actually the one my Uncle Ferdinand took when he set out on his own quest”

“That’s such a cool fact, Grover!”

But Percy and Annabeth ignored them completely:

“What was that supposed to mean, ‘afraid of who I am’? I’m not afraid”

“Yes, you are. You aren’t just a kid. “Just a kid” doesn’t do what you did to Clarisse back at camp. “Just a kid” doesn’t have Hades sending top lieutenants to retrieve them. You know, you are part of something so much bigger than we can understand right now. We have to move forward, whether you like it or not. Whether you want to or not”

“If you don’t want to call camp, fine. Then, at least… let’s call your mom”

“Excuse me?”

If they thought things were gonna get rough, now they definitely were.

“Athena? Your mother. I’d call my father, but we aren’t exactly on speaking terms, because of the lifelong neglect, you know. Or we could call Emily’s dad. You both seem close to your parents. Why don’t we ask them for help?”

“Grover, will you explain to your friend that he needs to pull himself together?” Annabeth was tense. Very much so. Emily knew that she wouldn’t be able to collect herself much longer.

Percy looked at Annabeth, studying her face… and then he realized something.

“You can’t ask her, can you?” he had hit a button. He could see it “When was the last time she talked to you?”

“Grover” Annabeth insisted, but the satyr couldn’t stop him.

“I don’t know why you keep pulling him into this” Percy stood closer to Grover “He’s on my side, just as Emily’s on yours”

“What makes you think that?”

“Because he’s my protector, it’s his job, and she’s your best friend!”

“He was my protector first!”

“First?” he muttered, confused “… What do you mean, ‘first’?”

They both looked at Grover, who looked at Emily, out of words, and then back to their two friends:

“It’s very exciting… getting to walk in Uncle Ferdinand’s footsteps” he completely avoided the confrontation. Typical for satyrs “Next best thing to getting to talk to him again”

There was a frown on Percy’s forehead… he looked at the ground, thinking, and then he spoke up again:

“Thalia, Luke, and Annabeth had a satyr Protector” his eyes locked on Grover, almost accusatively “That was you” Grover couldn’t hold his gaze, which was enough conformation “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Do you guys smell that?”

That was not the answer they had expected. Grover seemed absent, starting to look around, sniffling. Emily did too, although she didn’t have the senses of a satyr – if he had caught the scent of a monster, they would need to be ready.

It wasn’t a monster what he had smelt, though.

���Grover, I’m not kidding-“

“No, neither am I. Just shush…” he continued to sniffle, concentrated “Hamburgers”

“What?”

He took the lead, walking ahead following the satyr path. He was still using his heightened sense of smell to find the way, and Percy, Annabeth and Emily could only follow him.

“Grover, what are you doing?” asked Annabeth, confused.

“Somebody’s making hamburgers, in the middle of nowhere, on a satyr path. Whoever it is… they’re from our world”

They reached a clearing, only it wasn’t a clearing, but a road. It led to a building surrounded by dozens of statues. It wasn’t gnomes or frogs, though, as in other gardens with statues – these were monsters made out of stone.

“Oh, come on”

Emily frowned at Annabeth’s comment, but then she saw the huge sign on a pole that said ‘Aunty Em’s Gnome Emporium”.

Dear gods this was bad.

“What is it?” asked Percy.

“Aunty ‘Em’ has a garden full of petrified stone folks. Yeah… this is someone from our world, all right. Anyone wanna guess what ‘Em’ is short for?”

Her nervousness was justified – no daughter of Athena would want to be in the presence of that specific monster. There wasn’t time to play guess, though. Before they could leave and run for their lives (again), a fury landed a few feet behind them: it was the only surviving one of the three sisters, Alecto.

Percy handed the box with shoes over to Grover, taking out a pen from his pocket. Emily saw it transform into a huge celestial bronze sword, the same one she had seen him fighting with before, once he took the tap off. She also unsheathed her own weapon, this time her dagger, just as Annabeth did with hers.

“You should have accepted my offer when you had the chance” said the fury, staring at the two girls.

“Offer? What offer?”

Percy looked at both Annabeth and Emily, but they didn’t move their eyes from Alecto, watching her every move.

“Not today, friends” the voice of another woman joined them. It came from the house, now behind them, and upon hearing it, the fury immediately looked away, covering herself with the help of her arms and her wings “Not on my doorstep”

Footsteps approached the group slowly, and while Percy looked behind him to locate the mysterious woman, Annabeth, Grover and Emily quickly looked away as well, closing their eyes just to be sure. He did too when he realized, although not completely understanding what was happening.

“If you have something to resolve, why not come inside and I’ll help?” she kept on talking, now closer to them “Alecto! Will you be joining us?” the fury only closed her eyes tighter, turning her head even more, as if the sole sight of the woman’s eyes could harm her “No… well I wouldn’t think you would” She turned her attention back to the children, who also weren’t looking at her “She won’t bother you as long as you’re with me. But it isn’t as though she’ll leave either, not if it means reporting that she failed to retrieve the son of Poseidon”

“How do you-“ said boy squinted his eyes open, too intrigued to refrain his impulses.

“Percy, no!” whispered Emily, grabbing his arm.

“A forbidden child has been claimed, how long did you think that secret would keep?” the woman’s voice was calm, almost soothing, but Emily knew that it was only a trick to lure them to her, to confuse them, and trap them “It’s a pleasure to meet you, son of Poseidon…” their skin crawled, and fear embarked them as she spoke “I’m Medusa”

Oh no this was definitely bad.

“Percy don’t!” warned Annabeth “She’s a monster”

“We all choose who we make our monsters” commented Medusa “But right now, that one ahead of you wants to tear you limb from limb, whereas I am offering you lunch. The choice is yours”

They heard how she walked away, and soon after the door to the house opening and closing again. They were safe, sort of, for now.

“I think we can trust her” blurted Percy, suddenly. A chorus of ‘what?’, ‘dude!’ and ‘no!’ were heard as a response, but he stood firm to his opinion “I can’t explain it, I just… My mom used to tell me her story. And the point was always that she isn’t what people think. And I definitely trust my mom”

Emily remembered her own mother, and the almost vanished feeling after so long of trusting someone blindly as much as she did with her. It made her sad, but she could also understand Percy better.

“I’m going in” he said, serious “You guys do what you want”

He took the first step, and after looking at the house and back at the fury, Grover followed him.

“What are you-“

“Annie, we should go with them”

“Are you crazy? You know I can’t go in there! She’ll kill me!”

“And if we stay out here, that fury will eat us!” she glanced at the monster, who only huffed at her comment “Come on, trust Percy for once. I’m doing it”

“You’re trusting him more than me?”

“I’m not saying that” she replied “I just don’t want to die, and right now, we have more chances to live going inside than staying here. We won’t let anything happen to you. I promise”

Medusa’s house was decorated in an old fashioned way, in a style from a few decades ago. There was a huge dining room, with a big table set for many people to eat. There were plenty of sweets, desserts and other sugary dishes, and it looked almost as if they had entered the candy house of the bad witch from Hansel and Gretel’s tale.

“Thanks for coming” said Percy, after they joined him and Grover inside.

“This isn’t the same for me as it is for you” Annabeth felt nervous, and it was showing. Emily grabbed her hand in hopes of comforting her, but it was rather difficult, especially when Medusa came out of the kitchen to the dining room again.

“You’re concerned I would hold a grudge against you simply because you are a daughter of Athena?” she sounded almost hurt, not offended, but genuinely concerned about Annabeth’s thought on her. Emily had to remind herself that she couldn’t trust what Medusa tried to pretend to be, but what her gut told her about who and how the monster was “You shouldn’t be. We’re not our parents, after all. And you and I might have more in common than you think”

None of them were looking at her, too petrified of catching a glance of her eyes even under the veil of her cream coloured hat. She was wearing a matching dress, that looked like it was from a different decade, like the rest of the house.

“Please, sit and eat” she insisted, signalling to the table.

The boys sat down, but Annabeth didn’t dare to move, and Emily remained loyally by her side.

“So if you’re not a monster what are you then?”

“A survivor”

“You must be a little more than that” Percy served himself some food, and Grover was already munching on something “There’s a Fury out there that seems terrified of you”

“Because she knows what I think of her” Medusa sat down on a stool by another table, crossing her legs elegantly “I don’t like bullies. When one shows up on my doorstep, they end up spending a lot more time there than they planned for… I know you can understand me. None of you like bullies. Isn’t that right, Emily?”

“How do you know my name?” she blurted out the question impulsively before she could refrain her tongue. Thinking before talking wasn’t a skill she had mastered yet.

“A demigod child like you draws attention easily. Not many of you are brought to camp half-blood by their godly parents themselves, let alone if said parent is the God of War. He isn’t particularly known for taking care of his offsprings… not like he cared for you”

“You know nothing about my dad”

“Maybe not, but I’ve been around for some time now… and I’ve heard many stories about your father. He has a reputation he seems to be very proud of” she smiled softly at the child “I’m sure you want to make him proud, don’t you?”

“Of course” she answered, firmly.

“And has he ever shown that sentiment to you? For any of your achievements? For you going on this quest?”

Emily remained quiet, her jaw tense and her eyes on anything but the woman before her.

“He’s… busy” she mumbled.

“I’m sure he is… You know, I’ve had a few experiences myself regarding the gods… and I’ve even had the pleasure to receive a gift from them, which is a privilege not many of their adepts have had” she smiled sweetly, almost humanly “The gift the gods gave me is that I cannot be bullied anymore”

“What my mother did to you wasn’t a gift” replied Annabeth, with her arms now crossed “It was a curse”

“You are loyal to your mother”

“Yes”

“You stand by her?”

“Always” Annabeth shrugged, as if it was obvious.

“You love her?”

“Of course I do!”

“And so did I” Medusa’s tone was nostalgic, still sweet, but also with a hint of sadness “Do you know the story of how I came to be this way?”

“I do!”

All of them looked at Grover, who had answered between bites to his food. He looked up from his plate when he noticed how everyone had turned quiet, blushing slightly.

“Do you?”

“Do I?” he answered back, uncertain.

The bell inside a clock started tolling as Medusa told her tale:

“Athena was everything to me… I worshiped her. I prayed to her. I made offerings… She never answered. Not even an omen to suggest she appreciated my love… I wasn’t like you, sweetheart. I was you”

Medusa’s worship to the gods and the demigod’s worship to them were terrifyingly similar. What made them different from her, a monster? Fact is, she wasn’t a monster in the past. She became one… because of the same gods she adored.

“I would have worshipped her that way for a lifetime… in silence” she continued, her tone still somber “But then one day, another god came, and he broke that silence” she turned her head to Percy, smiling again “Your father. The Sea God told me that he loved me. I felt as though he saw me in a way I had never felt seen before… But then Athena declared that I had embarrassed her and I needed to be punished. Not him. Me”

Her voice, full of sadness, narrated how Athena had decided that Medusa should never be seen again by anyone who would live to tell the tale.

“That isn’t what happened” Annabeth fought back, although she already knew Medusa’s story, and also that what the woman had told them was exactly what had happened. The loyalty to her mom, though, made her retort “My mother is just. Always”

“The gods want you to believe that. That they are infallible. But they only want what all bullies want: they want us to blame ourselves for their own shortcomings”

“That is not what happened. And you are a liar”

Percy, Grover and Emily looked at Annabeth in disbelief, not giving credit to her words: how could she so blatantly talk back to a monster nonetheless, if they didn’t have any way of escaping after releasing her wrath? What was she thinking? The consequences would be horrible! Deadly!

Medusa’s red lips tensed up, just like the rest of her body. Emily watched her discretely, scared of looking too much but also scared of watching too little, and saw her look back to the kitchen, shaking her head.

“Something’s… burning” she sighted, standing up. Her indifference to Annabeth’s words was just as horrid as if she had screamed and lashed out on them “Would you give me a hand in the kitchen, Percy? I think lunch is ready”

The boy looked at his friends, who were all shaking their heads ‘no’, but after Annabeth’s outburst, Percy wasn’t in the mood to listening to her, so he stood up, and followed the woman inside the kitchen.

“Grover” Annabeth called him, stopping her mid bite” Get ready to run”

“What was that what you just did?!” Emily forcefully turned Annabeth to her grabbing her shoulder, signalling frantically to the door that led to the kitchen “Are you really that keen on dying young?!”

“She was insulting my mother” she defended herself, angry.

“And she could also have turned us into stone!” Emily’s heart raced nervously “First the fury, now this…”

“What about the fury?”

“On the bus. Alecto’s offer. You considered it”

“What if I did?” she shrugged, looking away from Emily. She was ashamed of that she had really thought of accepting the fury’s proposition.

“You aren’t like this!” Emily shot back, frustrated “Stop letting your insecurities get to you! I know you want to complete this quest at all costs, but we have to trust each other! And that includes not selling your quest-mates to the first monster that offers to take them away just because they get a bit on your nerves!”

“But I didn’t, right?” Annabeth huffed “I’m sorry, okay?”

“Just… don’t do stuff like that again. And I’m not only referring to almost giving Percy away to Alecto, but also talking back to a monster who could literally kill us with only looking at us”

“Okay, okay…” she sighted, grimacing “I’m sorry, Emi”

“Apologies accepted” Emily hugged her friend, but a cough from Grover made them separate “What is it?”

“Percy’s been in there for too long, hasn’t he?”

They all looked to the kitchen entrance warily, and right a second after they heard small footsteps making their way towards their direction, and the squeak of the door’s hinges as it started to open. All three of them looked to the ground, stealing glances to the door, seeing a hand ever so slowly perking out… and then they recognized Percy’s green flannel shirt, and they let out a sigh of relief.

“We have to leave, like now” he said, whispering so that Medusa wouldn’t hear him. He grabbed the box that held Luke’s shoes, which he had left on the dining table, and he made his way to the entrance when Emily’s hushed voice stopped him.

“Alecto is still outside, we’re trapped!”

There was another option though: the door that led to the basement. Annabeth had located it after entering the house, already forming an escape plan in case things got tough (which was to be expected). They could hide there, and look for another exit – maybe a window, or another door. Anything was better than waiting there for their deaths.

“Grover, grab those shoes and leave the box, carrying things will only slow us down” Annabeth instructed, and the boy did just as she said. She led the way to the basement, and they made their way down the stairs quickly, away from Medusa.

In the dark, they waited – it wouldn’t be possible to hide forever, but they had at least gained a little time.

“Put the shoes on” Emily suggested to Grover “Come on, I’ll tie the laces tight so they don’t fall off”

“You know the word to activate them?” the satyr nodded, groaning when Emily pulled the cords too tight. She mumbled ‘sorry’, before Annabeth shushed them “Quiet… she’s upstairs”

They could all hear her. Medusa’s steps resonated over them as she walked around the dining room, surely looking for them. A sense of dread invaded the heroes when they heard how the monster’s steps approached the entrance to the basement, and how she opened the door – it creaked like the ones in horror movies, creepy, horrifying.

As Medusa started to make her way downstairs, fire erupted along the staircase, travelling all the way down to them, and following ahead. It lighted the basement, revealing the cream coloured stone walls, and a terrifying sculpture that made Percy scream when he saw it.

It was the statue of a woman, captured mid-scream, fear in her features. She wasn’t the only one, though: the fire began to lit up dozens, if not hundreds of torches, illuminating an enormous ancient cavern full of Medusa’s victims.

Not wasting any time, they ran. Away from the monster, ahead into the cave.

“There’s four of us and only one of her” said Grover, panting “If we split up she can’t be watching us all at once”

“I don’t think it’d be that simple”

“It could be” he insisted, stopping them; they were standing behind some huge wooden transport boxes, partially hiding for now “Here’s the plan: I’ll get in the air, I’ll draw her attention. As soon as you hear me say “Maia” you guys start to-“ he hadn’t thought it through, obviously, because once he said the magic word, the shoes listened and grew feathers, starting to fly. In a matter of two seconds, Grover was high up in the air, flying far into the darkness above them “Oh boy! Okay! Um- off! Down!”

None of it worked. And he was gone.

“Great” muttered Emily, looking at where Grover had disappeared to “We’re screwed!”

“We’re in need of a new plan, but not screwed” they kind of were, though.

They didn’t have time to think of one, though, as Medusa’s voice reached their ears. They ducked as fast as they could, listening how she moved forward to their position:

“We are not our parents, until we choose to be. And you three, have chosen” her footsteps echoed against the walls, her feet dragging against the dust on the ground “A daughter of a self-righteous mother, who chose self-righteousness for herself” Annabeth squinted her eyes, trying to find an escape, finding none “A daughter of a selfish man who lives herself out to please him, pushing herself to limits only for his approval” Emily crawled behind a wooden box, trying to be as quiet as possible “And you…” Percy sat on the ground, legs bend to his chest, listening to the monster “You could have shown your father what it means to stand up for someone you love. You could have chosen to save your mother instead of doing your father’s bidding… If none of you will help teach these lessons, then perhaps you should be the lessons”

Medusa’s voice wasn’t sweet and caring as it had sounded before, no. Now it was cold, still smooth, but also carrying a sizzle typical from… snakes. It gave them chills, especially with her now being this close.

“When I ship your statues to Olympus… maybe that will get my point across even better”

They had to move fast, or they’d be dead in seconds. Annabeth nudged Emily’s leg, and when she got her attention she signalled to her invisibility cap. The girl nodded, and she watched her friend disappear before her eyes.

Emily turned to where Percy was, but he was starting at the opposite site to hers. She threw a little rock at him, hitting him on the leg silently, and he looked over – she mimicked Annabeth putting on her invisibility cap, and him taking out his magic pen-sword keeping while keeping his eyes closed, all of that quickly before Medusa reached their position.

Percy nodded, obviously nervous, and she watched him close his eyes like she had instructed, reaching for his pen. The soft golden glow of the weapon grazed his scared features, but he held the sword tightly, firmly, brave as he was.

“Stand up” commanded Medusa, walking straight to Percy. The glow of the celestial bronze had also given away his position, revealing himself to the monster “Let’s have a look at you”

Gathering all the courage he could master in that second, Percy shot back to his feet, whimpering and trembling in fear, feeling Medusa right by his side. She started to caress his cheek and his hair gently, terrifyingly close to him, when a cry above them startled her.

It was Grover! The flying shoes… they were still flying, and he was still not controlling them.

“I didn’t really think this through!”

He blindly dive-bombed into a wooden box, shattering it completely, practically at Medusa’s feet. A rock hit her from behind then before Grover could accidentally catch her eyes, followed by others coming from the darkness, and Emily ducked before Medusa could spot her, having distracted her enough though: Annabeth took off her hat, standing by Percy’s side, and she put in on Medusa’s head, making her invisible!

“Now!”

Without thinking, Percy raised his sword up to where he knew the monster’s neck was, and he sliced through it completely, decapitating her. The head, still invisible, fell off the body, making a ‘thump’ noise as it hit the ground. It rolled a few feet away, leaving a mark on the gravel… and then it stopped, and it was all over.

“Are you okay?”

Percy didn’t answer. Instead he walked forward slowly, moving his foot around… until he hit Medusa’s head. He scoffed in disgust, and picked it up, while at the same time Emily helped Grover to get back up – he was still a bit foggy from his fall, but he would be fine.

“Aw, man” complained the son of Poseidon, groaning.

“That’s gross” muttered Emily; Percy had the head in his hands, still invisible “Wait, guys… We can use the head to get rid of the fury”

“Kill the monster using the head of a gorgon?”

“Well, you wouldn’t be the first Perseus to do so” said Annabeth “Come on, I’ll go with you”

While Emily remained by Grover’s side, helping him recover, both Annabeth and Percy made their way up to the dining room again, which seemed oddly human and quiet now having been under the house in the huge cavern full of statues.

“You want me to take it from here?”

“Non, no. I got it”

Percy and Annabeth stood in front of the entrance, looking for Alecto – as expected, she was still outside, waiting for them to come out if they managed to escape Medusa.

“Just make sure it’s pointing in the right direction before you take my hat off”

“Good tip” he nodded, and she muttered ‘okay’ in response. Percy looked at the door then, and back to the girl, signalling it to her with a shake of his head “My hands are kinda full with the head so…”

“Of course, sorry”

Annabeth opened the door for him, and taking a deep breath in, Percy walked outside. Annabeth watched him as he slowly approached the fury, who spread her wings now that it was evident that Medusa wasn’t around.

Alecto screeched flying up in the air, claws reaching out for Percy, when the boy took the Yankees cap off of the gorgon’s head, raising it up high into the air. The fury had no time to close her eyes or to escape, and with just a glance, she turned into stone; her statue fell to the ground, breaking into pieces as it hit the asphalt.

Percy stared at the petrified monster’s face, putting the hat quickly back on Medusa’s head. Breathing heavily he turned back to Annabeth, and smiled softly.

While they took care of the fury, downstairs, in the cavern, Emily had managed to fetch some water for Grover, and he was feeling much better now.

“This place is huge” the satyr said, looking around “And the ceiling too. I didn’t even reach it”

“This whole place is probably enchanted” she bit her lip, feeling curious, turning back to Grover “Do you want to explore a bit?”

“It can be dangerous”

“Yeah, and fun” she giggled, starting to wander around “Come on! The gorgon’s gone, let’s look at this place”

There were thousands of statues scattered around the cavern, may of them humans, but also mythical creatures, and even other monsters – although it seemed as if Medusa had kept the most terrifying looking ones outside in her yard. They found a table packed with papers, ink, pens and packing material, and a register book for orders; it seemed like Medusa had even been making money out of her condition.

Emily regretted a bit dragging Grover with her around the cave when she found him looking at the statue of a satyr. Percy and Annabeth descended the stairs back to the basement then, and they found them at the same spot, Grover still looking at the statue.

“Uncle Ferdinand” he muttered.

Oh, no.

“Grover, I’m so sorry” Emily put a hand on his shoulder, eyes looking sad.

“This is as far as he got on his quest… We aren’t even to Trenton” he sighted, defeated “But look at him” Grover chuckled softly, even smiling a bit “He’s not like the others, he… he doesn’t look afraid”

Emily squeezed his shoulder, and he smiled in her way. Clearing his throat, Grover asked Percy and Annabeth if they had gotten rid of Alecto using Medusa’s head, and they confirmed it.

“Uh, we probably should get going. It’ll be dark soon”

“But what are we gonna do with the head?” asked Percy “I just took down a Fury with it, and I wasn’t even trying. We can’t just leave it for someone to find”

“You want to take the head with us?”

“No, no. Leave the hat on, and bury it here, in the basement. That ought to keep it safe”

Both Grover and Emily looked at Annabeth in concern, but after looking at the ground for a few seconds, she just nodded, accepting.

“But your hat…”

“It’s alright, Emily” she shrugged, looking back at Percy then “Now, can we talk about the bigger issue here?”

“What bigger issue?”

“Medusa telling you ‘You could have saved your mother’? Like you had discussed it already?”

“Wait, Percy, is your mom still alive?” Emily thought she had died the night the minotaur attacked, this didn’t make sense.

“She’s with Hades. I appreciate your concern, but-“

“Guys, just please…” Grover interrupted them, shaking his head “Stop”

“Oh, I’m concerned” followed Annabeth, ignoring Grover’s ask “What are you actually doing on this quest? And why did I have to hear about this from Medusa?”

“Okay, while we’re at it” shot back, Percy “Alecto saying ‘You should have accepted my offer’? What’s that about do you think?” he accused not only Annabeth, but also Emily “And why did we have to hear it from the Fury?”

“Enough!”

All three demigods looked at the satyr, who really had had enough of their bickering.

“The hat was a gift from her mother. It’s the only thing she’s ever possessed that connects them. That ought to matter to you” he told Percy, solemnly “And Emily never even thought about accepting Alecto’s offer”

“Okay, but how are we gonna make sure this thing is safe?” Percy held the invisible head up, frowning

“I don’t know yet! And you” he turned to Annabeth, who seemed surprise to get a lecture from him, but she would have to go through it anyways “His mom’s alive. Can you imagine how confusing that must be for him? Feeling like he may have to choose between the fate of the world and the fate of the only person who’s ever cared about him?”

“Why are you talking like this?” asked Annabeth, voice small.

“Because all day Emily and I have been trying to keep this quest on track without upsetting either of you! But maybe… Maybe things need to get a little upsetting before they move forward”

“Grover’s right” added Emily, arms now crossed “You guys can’t keep fighting all day. We’re a team! We need to get along to complete this quest!”

“Annabeth asked you a question back in the woods and you never really answered” Grover looked at Percy again, who’s features had turned hard at his words “What are you so afraid of?”

“I don’t know”

“I think you do. You’ve been fighting with us all day-“

“Because the Oracle said one of you would betray me, okay?” silence fell upon them at the revelation “She said… ‘You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, and you shall fail to save what matters most in the end’. That’s the rest of what she said to me. And that’s because I chose Annabeth… because I couldn’t imagine we’d ever be friends. I chose Emily, because she is loyal to Annabeth, and I never thought she would choose my side before hers, so we would also never become friends. And I chose you” he looked into Grover’s eyes with intensity “Because I thought if I can count on anyone to be on my side, no matter what, it was you. And now, I’m feeling so… alone! I don’t know what to think or who to trust. I’m just… a kid”

The silence felt heavy after his words. Hearing what Percy thought of them, his real reasons to choose them to accompany him on this quest… it was a tough bone.

“I didn’t mean it that way”

“It’s okay” commented Emily, almost shyly “I… I’m loyal to Annabeth, yes, but I also stand to what’s right for me. And I trust you, Percy. I’d never betray you”

“Alecto offered to help our quest if we gave you up to her” explained Annabeth.

“What did you say?” asked Percy, curious.

“We killed her sisters”

“Medusa… she offered to help me save my mom if I turned on the three of you”

“And what’d you say?”

“Well… I cut off her head”

They chuckled, feeling the tension dissolving and the air getting lighter.

“None of you chose to be demigods” said Grover “We didn’t choose this quest. But we can decide that as long as the four of us are together, none of us are gonna be alone. And if we can’t do that, we might as well just head back to camp right now”

“I’m not doing that” replied Emily instantly “Not until completing this quest. I can’t go back and have Clarisse mocking me all day” she complained “Please guys, don’t let that happen”

“We won’t” assured Percy, smiling at her “I think I’ve got a better idea for what to do with the head”

He guided them to Medusa’s work table, and he began looking over her register book:

“Hermes express!” he exclaimed “Medusa ship’s these things all over. Some of it even goes to Olympus”

“Percy” began Annabeth, wariness in her voice “You can’t ship Medusa’s head to Olympus!”

“Why not?”

“Because the gods won’t like it”

“At all. Like, ‘at all’ at all”

“Guys, that’s what you do with dangerous stuff. Like batteries, you just send’em back where they came from”

“This is a bad idea. They will see this as impertinent”

“I am impertinent” he replied smugly, starting to put the invisible head inside a carton box, while Annabeth muttered ‘but we’re not!’. He ignored her “Look, Medusa tried to derail our quest. She’s got serious beef with your mom” he pointed to Annabeth “When you look at it that way, this seems kinda like tribute or something, doesn’t it?”

“That’s taken like from really far, Percy”

“Yeah, but… this way, at least-“ he reached inside the box, grabbing the Yankees hat while quickly closing the package “This way, part of your mom is still with us”

He handed the hat over the table back to Annabeth, and after considering it, she accepted it back, thanking him.

“Here, let me help” Emily walked around the table, and aided Percy with the tape to secure the flaps of the box.

“This isn’t exactly what I meant by choosing each other” said Grover nervously “There are actual dangers involved here that cannot be…”

He didn’t finish his sentence though, as Percy interrupted him by starting to clap his hands in a rhythm they recognized a few seconds into the melody.

“You’re gonna sing the song, aren’t you?”

Not this again, thought Emily.

“Oh golly, the road’s getting’ bumpy-“

“Whatever”

“Please stop”

“Consensus!” Percy sang, not remembering the lyrics but making it up.

“Let’s make a pack, please” Emily perked up, having finished closing the box “Never come back to Aunty Em’s Garden Gnome Emporium… and never sing that song ever again”

A chorus’ of ‘deal’ resonated inside the cavern, and soon after they were all giggling and chuckling. The quest could go on.

----

Taglist: @strawberryys-stuff @ladysybilchronicles @kyuupidwrites @nhloversblog @beansficreblogs @priyajoyyy @zeeader @lightsgore @gengen64

[edgerated]

Private Business

Pairing: Dwight x Female Reader

Distribution: Dropping the kids off at school and having a little free time 😏

After dropping the kids off at school, Dwight couldn't help but look at her and smile. Walking back to the car towards her as he things in his mind began to race.

"Mind if I make the first move?" He whispered, his voice covering you in goosebumps. he stooped his shoulders and dipped his head.

the atmosphere was suddenly thick with lust. This was meant to be a normal day. Even Dwight was surprised as to what he had felt in the air.

Lust.

His face lingered inches from yours, and the churning depths of his eyes sucking you in. Our bodies were so close, a sigh would press us together. Fear of being close to the school and getting caught rippled over your skin.

Sexual desire followed right on it's heels, coiling tight in your gut in a wicked anticipation of more to come.

Dwight sucked in a sharp breath, and it hitched in his throat. Your eyes slid to his lips, and suddenly wanted to know what this was and where it was going. Lately, your body had been craving the attention and now it seemed it was what you were getting and wished for.

It felt so wrong but so right as you craved it for so long. So you just let it play out.

Pressing his lips finally on yours. Feeling the power he had now rubbing up against you like fur. Like someone you never recognized before.

The kiss was intense, and you become wet and ready almost right away. Dwight pushed the lenght of his body against yours, and the thick ridge in his pants betrayed that his lust for you was serious as you felt for him.

You wanted him. Ached for him. You didn't know what this was or why it was happening all of a sudden, but you couldn't say no. You didn't want to say no. You were both in front of the school, out in the open by the car in the parking lot. It was the only thing that stopped you from tearing his clothes off his body to reveal that muscular body of his.

Dwight must have been thinking the same thing. He took you by the arm, his large hand wrapping around your wrist, and moved you towards the police station which wasn't but a block away. Forgetting in the heat of the moment you had a car to drive you both there faster.

Suddenly you made your way into the police station, through the lobby, down the corridor, into an office that was empty and apparently locked. But within seconds Dwight took his keys out to unlock the door and made his way inside with you.

"This is the police station," You stated, glancing around the room for cameras. You tried to mention how ironic this was, but your voice was breathy, and Dwight didn't wait for you to make petty remarks. He kissed you again, hard. Your back hit the wall behind you. He covered you with his body, his hard erection pinned against your body, and you moaned into his mouth. You haven't had sex in so long you had forgotten what he tasted like. Sinking his body lower, pressing into you, trapping you between his legs and hips.

Dwight's hands sailed to your throat, so large, you were sure he could take your head off. But for all that strength that surged through him and the brute force that I knew he was capble of, the hand on your throat was demanding but gentle.

You breathed hard, your lips mashing together.

With one hand, Dwight cupped one breast. Massaging it, and you could taste the arousal between the two of you on your tongue.

"Sexy as fuck." He fiddled around your body and explored it. "You want this as much as I do?" He asked.

"Yes." You replied. "More than anything." You wanted this man like he was a God. Looking at him with demanding eyes.

Dwight began to undo your pants, moving them down as if you had been doing this for the millionth time. Stepping out of them, leaving you shoes on. Clothes were unnecessary hurdle, and before you knew it, you were naked from the waist down.

Reaching for his pants and undoing them to reach in and grip his cock, Dwight moaned through his lips.

Good god you had forgotten how big he truly was. And it was dripping wet.

Dwight leaned down, and you thought he was going to kiss you again, but he grabs you behind the tights and lifted you. It cost no effort at all to hold you up and carry you over to the empty desk. He lowered your ass, one arm moving to your back, lowering you in slow motion as if you were delicate. Nudging open your knees as he kneeled before you, finding your sex with his mouth.

Gasping as your head began to spin. Dwight was like a drug, dragging you into a sexual need you haven't had in a long time. The ache at your core was fire that threatened to consume you, and Dwight was to quench you.

"You're mesmerizing and so beautiful," he murmured, glancing up at you, his face buried between your legs. He felt like heaven.

As he licked you insistently, you moaned loudly. You knew others could possibly hear you but you didn't care.

He had full control, and the passion in his eyes blocked out the world around you. He claimed you, and you surrendered completely.

When he started pushing his tongue into you, you couldn't help but cry out and forget about the morning that they had. Getting lost in the arousal, the way he spread your thighs, and one hand reaching to squeeze a breast. His breathing rasped in and out of his chest, his smooth voice coming in small groans.

Tilting your head back, heat burning through your body, nipples taut. You need this. You needed him. All of him, had to feel him inside of you. Each stroke brought you closer and the Earth felt like it had stopped moving in the moment. It didn't take long before Dwight pushed you towards the edge of orgasm. Heat filled up in your body like it was filled with water about to spill out in seconds. Your body felt like liquid, and you were at the mercy of his tongue.

He licked harder and pumped his fingers faster into you, the rhythmic beat reverberating through you. Moans turned into cries of pleasure. Losing all control, and the orgasm shattered you. Dwight pressed his mouth up against your sex, holding, ceasing his movements while your body contracted, shivers racing over your body. Groaning so loud, writhing beneath him and his touch.

Felt like you were floating on euphoria, the power curled around Dwight's, connecting, twisting, merging in a way you didn't understand. But it buzzed though you, sparks of energy dancing between your bodies, back and forth.

"Fuck," Dwight breathed.

You haven't had this in so long. You began to orgasm. Easing as your body began to calm. Trembling slowly as he pulled you to your wobbled legs. Zipping his pants back up quickly as he heard people outside the door. His lips glistening as he emerged, and he licked them clean. You were so ready to go again.

"You didn't finish," You say, hoarsely.

"Not here. Will finish when home. Promise." He smirk softly with a wink.

You couldn't be me more unhappy. The orgasm had been pure ecstasy, it still echoed through your body, and you wanted so much more. So why would he just tease you like that. "Let me at least pleasure you? Please?" You pleaded.

"You already have. But you should go before someone finds us in here." Dwight said, straightening his shirt. He scrubbed his face, as if coming to his senses. He had no clue what had come over him.

"Don't-" You say, but before you could finish the sentence, he had opened the door and left.

Your head spinning with everything you had felt with the orgasm and the power he left you to drink. Getting dressed as you then tried to leave without being seen.

"Well, fuck."

[1-800-sinister]

Played

(Christian Cage x Fem!Reader)

Warnings: Angst very much angst, You are adams best friend, fighting, cussing, shayna wayne

You and Adam have been friends for a few years now. When he left the WWE, you went with him. Christian noticed you when you would hang out backstage while waiting for Adam. He had to get to Adam, so he knew the only way would be through you. 

So Christian came up with a plan that his group only knew about. He planned to make you fall for him, play with your heart, get you to distract Adam at their match, and keep his title. 

His plan went into effect. Christian flirted with you. You didn't return the flirts at first, but he was so nice and caring to you, so you flirted back. He eventually asked you out on a date, which you accepted. He would spoil you here and there with gifts. 

But the worst thing about his plan was that Christian began to fall for you as time went on, but he knew he had to keep his plan going. He hoped you would forgive him in the end, but time would tell.

Christian and Adam's match came up. You would be ringside to make sure Shayna didn't try anything. You were watching the fight. Christian looked really hurt. The truth was, he wasn't, he was faking it. You watched Adam go to hit Christian again. You got in the ring, stopping him. He looked at you confused. "Adam, he's had enough. Just pin him." 

Christian took the distraction and hit Adam with the title. Shayna had slid toward him while Nick distracted the ref. You looked at Christian in shock. You watched as Christian pinned Adam for the win. You heard Shayna laughing and mocking you. "You really thought he could love you." 

Christian looked at you with a sorry look as the ref raised his hand up. You were checking on Adam. "Adam, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I'm sorry." Adam pushed you away. "Just get away from me." 

You felt like you could cry now. You were backstage, sitting on a crate. You heard footsteps, hoping it was Adam. You looked up, seeing Christian. "He will forgive you, you know." Christian spoke up. You laughed. "Get the fuck away from me." 

"Look, I'm sorry," Christian sighed. "But I had to keep my title." You stood up and said, "So your title was more important?" You looked him in the eyes, and he didn't answer, "I truly loved you, you know." You sighed Christian looked down. "I know." You shook your head. "Just stay away from me." You walked away. 

Christian heard footsteps. He turned, seeing Shayna. He sighed, "You love her?" She asked him, and he nodded "yeah." 

[magicalbuttertarts]

AEW Masterlist

This has not proofread. Please enjoy though.

Warnings: Some swearing. Descriptive sexual acts. Creampies. Unprotected sex, p in v. Oral (m & f receiving). Mentions of reader being attacked by ex-boyfriend, but nothing descriptive.

From my previous account plentyoffandoms.

Part 2 requested an anonymous. Hope you like it.

WC 1794

©️ magicalbuttertarts 2024: do not repost or translate my work. This is the only place I post my work.

William Jason "Jay" - Christian Cage

Part 1 can be found here

No third part.

CHRISTIAN CAGE'S POV

I was standing in her washroom, trimming my beard when I heard the sound of her headboard smacking against the wall.

I smiled, and shook my head as I listened to her moan Adam's name as he got his morning fuck in. Ever since that night, months ago, the three of us have been together.

At first, she said this should be a one-time thing, and Adam and I agreed, not wanting to push her away, but the three of us just couldn't stay away from each other.

Like when I couldn't find Adam, and I found the two of them fucking in the washroom, or when he found her sucking me off in my truck.

In the end, we agreed that we would be together. We each still have our place, and we take turns spending time at each place.

She has date nights with one of us, and sometimes both of us. But we have kept this to ourselves. Not wanting or needing the judgemental eyes of our community and co-workers on us, but mostly her.

We know that Adam and I would get praised for both landing the same woman, but she would be treated like shit, and well neither one of us could have that.

I leaned against the doorframe to her bedroom and watched the two of them, palming myself through my work slacks.

She was on her hands and knees, facing towards me, with Adam behind her. She reached out to me, moaning, "Please." And how could I ever say no to that?

I unzipped my pants as I walked towards her, grabbing the back of her head, bringing her mouth down to take me down her throat.

◆

A few nights later, Adam and I were at my place, just having a guys night. We were watching the hockey game, groaning at the fact that the Leafs were once again losing.

I was so convinced that they were actually going to win this game, that I put wager on it. "Pay up, Jay." Adam laughed at me, holding his hand out. I slapped his hand away.

"You mark my word Adam, they are going to win."

"Are you watching the same game as me, right? I am a big Leaf fan, but come on. They are not going to win this one. Now pay up."

"I will not pay anything until the final buzzer."

Adam kept running his mouth, and I had to step away and get something from my kitchen when he came running into the kitchen, putting on his leather jacket.

"We gotta go."

"Why? What's going on?" I grabbed my jacket and keys.

He quickly explained to me what was going on, and all I saw was red as I drove us to her place.

"So let me get this straight. She called from her closet, hiding." I said, trying to wrap my head around this.

"Said through tears that her ex is there. He climbed in through the window, and she didn't realise he was there until he was behind her."

"He is a dead man."

"Jay, you know we can not commit murder." Adam was looking at his phone, and as I looked at him out of the corner of my eye, I saw his expression change. I could see the anger come over his face.

"Faster."

"What happened?" I started to speed up.

"He found her."

◆

I know I went above the speed limit, but we had to get to her. We got out of my truck, and Adam was faster than me. He already had the door open by the time I was behind him.

"Orangeville PD." We both called out. I closed the door behind me.

My head swung to the left when I heard her call out our names, which sounded like it was coming from her bedroom.

I kicked her door in, and I could see the two of them struggling, which stopped when they heard the door getting kicked open.

"What the," the asshole of an ex didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before he was pulled off of her by Adam.

I was already calling the station as I went to comfort her, not knowing how if she wanted me or Adam to touch her right now.

But she wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my chest as I told the station what was going on.

I hung up the phone and wrapped my arms around her, letting her cry as we waited for the cops to show up. I looked at Adam, and he was looking at her, and I.

◆

Once everything was done, I looked at Adam and her. He was comforting her now, running his fingers through her hair and rubbing her back.

"Can I stay with one of you?" She asked.

"Of course, love, like you even had to ask. Let's pack you a bag." I said.

It didn't take long with the three of us to pack and squeeze into my truck.

"She can stay at my place tonight." Adam offered, and I agreed. Knowing he has the bigger bed that can fit all three of us.

◆

ADAM COPELAND'S POV

She decided to take a few days off, and Jay and I did as well. Wanting to be near her. We wanted her to know that we would be there for her.

She never strayed too far from us. Always with one of us, and that suited us just fine. We were going at her own pace, and we thought that was the right idea.

That was until she spoke up during her favourite meal that I just finished cooking for her.

"Why haven't you touched me?"

I almost choked on my mashed potatoes when she said that.

"What do you mean, baby? We are always touching you." Jay said as I took a sip of my drink.

"I mean sexually. It's like you two won't touch me."

I put my hand on her thigh as she sighed. "We just didn't want to push you, love. We were giving you the space we felt like you needed."

"Well, what I need is to have you two take me. I want to think of your hands on me. Not his."

"Now?" Jay asked as he wiped the corner of his mouth with his serviette.

"Please." That was all she needed to say before I lifted her into my arms and the three of us walked towards the bedroom.

◆

My lips were attached to her clit as I fingered her, brining her closer and closer to what I believe is the fourth orgasm of the night for her.

Jay had her against his chest, playing with her tits and kissing and biting her neck.

He bit down on that one spot that always makes her squeal, and she did. It sounded like music to my ears. I puller my mouth away from her pussy, but kept fingering her.

"Is this what you needed, baby?"

"Yes, Adam." She moaned.

"You think you got one more in you before we fuck you?" Jay asked her, trailing his nose up and down her neck. She shook her head no.

"Oh, I think you do, baby. One more on my mouth and fingers and then we will fuck you. Show you who you belong to."

My mouth was barely back on her pussy and she was squeezing my head with her thighs as her pussy tightened around my fingers, as she soaked my face for the last time.

She was breathing hard as she slumped against Jay's chest. This last orgasm taking it out on her. I removed my fingers and my mouth from her pussy.

I fisted my cock as I lined myself up with her pussy, and pushed in slowly. Savouring the feeling of being inside her once again. Her own eyes fluttered as I bottomed out.

I pulled my hips back and slowly entered her once more. Her head flung back, and her eyes now closed.

"Open your eyes baby and watch him fuck you." I gripped her chin and she opened her eyes and looked down to watch me disappear over and over again, until my pace was brutal.

I wanted to finish in her but not her pussy. I pulled out, must to her disappointment, but Jay lifted her just enough to sink her onto his cock as he fucked up into her.

I got off the bed and fisted my cock as I stood next to the bed. She opened her mouth just as I groaned out her name, my cum hitting her cheek just before she wrapped her lips around the tip and started to suck.

I forced her to take more of me, and I groaned once I felt her throat swallow my cum.

She kept sucking until I pulled back, looking down at her. Her mouth was still hanging open as Jay fucked her through her orgasm. My cum was still on her face, which I cleaned up with my thumb.

I placed my thumb on her bottom lip, and she closed it around my thumb and sucked it clean.

I pulled back and watched from the side as Jay flipped her onto her back, and fucked her into the mattress. Her legs over his shoulders as he brutally fucked her.

"Who do you belong to?"

"Adam and Jay." She cried out her answer to Jay's question

"That's right, darling, and no one will take you from us." I said as I sat down in my chair in the corner of the room.

She cried out Jay's name one last time before he too stilled as he came. Filling her pussy so much it started to leak out onto the mattress.

"Fuck." Jay loudly said, stunned at the fact that he was still cumming.

I stood up just as he pulled out of her. The two of us watching his jizz leak out of her.

"Thank you." She quietly said, breaking me from my daydream of her sticking her fingers in her pussy and sucking her fingers clean.

"Mmm, I don't think the memory of his hands is gone." I said, my hand wrapped around my half-hard cock.

"I need a few minutes, but I agree with you, Adam."

She held her arms open at me, and I took the spot between her thighs that Jay just vacated.

I wrapped her leg around my waist once more and leaned down to kiss her, tasting myself on her lips.

"We always got you, baby girl." I said as I ground my pelvis against her, feeling myself getting harder and harder.

"Always." Jay said from the side.

Tag list: @lghockey @nicoleveno14 @legit9thlunaticwarrior @madhatterbri @hooks-martin @wwenhlimagines @melissahausen @faerieofthenightcourt @tahiri-veyla @crowleysqueenofhell

[laugh-your-hart-out]

Just Admit It

Fandom - WWE/WWF

Paring - Lee!Edge X Ler!Christian

(This is short, sorry lol)

Loud laughter filled the hotel room as Christian playfully pinned his best friend to the ground and tickled him everywhere he could reach. “Come on, Edge..just admit you love it!” Christian teased as he scribbled his fingers wildly over the fellow vampire’s sides.

Edge had always been super ticklish and both Gangrel and Christian always took advantage of it. However, the fellow vamp didn’t really seem to mind the constant tickle attacks from his buddies. Edge actually enjoyed being tickled but nobody knew that fact except for the other Brood members.

Yahahaha!! Christiahahahan!!” Edge cackled as the blonde haired vamp’s hands moved to his stomach. He wriggled and tried to pry off Christian’s hands but he had a good grip on him.

“Tickle tiiickleee~” Cage whispered, his fingers reaching the taller’s neck. “AHAHAHA!! Christian nohohoho!!” He cried, scrunching his eyes shut in laughter. He shook his head back and forth as Christian’s hands switched from spot to spot, earning loud squeals and yelps from the fellow vampire. “Plehehehease!!”

“All you gotta do is admit you love this and I’ll stop! It’s that simple, Edgey..” Cage replied. He removed himself from Edge’s upper body and proceeded to plonk himself on top of the vamp’s ankles. Adam’s eyes went wide as he realized what was coming.

“W-wait!! Christian, don’t- AAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!” The vampire interrupted himself with a loud scream of laughter as he felt Christian’s fingers scribbling up and down his hyper sensitive feet. “OOHOHOHOHAHAHA NOHOHOHO NOT THERE!! PLEASE NOT THAHAHAHA~!!”

The fellow Brood member chuckled hearing his buddy’s loud, wild laughter. He continued for a few more minutes, enjoying the hilarious sounds that erupted from Edge. “OKAY OKAHAHAHAY!! I LOVE IT, I LOHOHOHOVE IT!!” the vampire managed to get out through his intense cackles. Christian smiled and got up, finally letting Edge get a break.

Edge lay there on the floor, panting and trying to catch his breath. After getting himself together, he sat up with a huge grin glued to his face. “That was awesome, Christian..” he admitted, making the other smile proudly.

“I knew you enjoyed it, Edgey. You always love it when me and Gangrel tickle you” the vampire teased, earning a playful slap on the arm from Edge. The fact was true though. Edge could never turn down a good tickling session.

[whydontyousaeso]

Hi again! I was wondering if you can write me a story. It’s Edge x Reader and reader gets into a very bad situation (up to you to decide what said situation is!) and he almost loses her and he has to save her. I’m an absolute sucker for Edge and angsty stories that end well lol. Tysm!

“Hold on”

Edge x fem reader

Type- Angst to fluff

Warnings- close encounter with death, choking, mentions of head injuries, hospital talk, threats

A/n- im back 🤭 but fr i hope this is what you wanted angst wise! After this I’ll go and post tattooed in your brain when final changes are made. But for now enjoy this! And if you guys would like some more edge content lmk and I’ll get a tag list started for him :3

“Oh my god! They’re stopping the match! I think y/n is seriously injured!”

You were.

You were extremely injured.

Your vision was going in and out, you could feel the blood dripping down your body.

It was bad.

Very bad.

Why wasn’t anyone stopping them?

You had been fighting Paige, you and her had a feud going on for a couple of weeks.

She had enough of you and was ready to put you away.

You thought she was joking.

Your head was busted open extremely bad, and there were cuts all over your body.

“I’m fucking done with you! I don’t want to see your dumbass face again! Not even at your own funeral!”

She grabbed you by the throat and started choking you, all the strength leaving your body.

You didn’t hear his music hit, you just saw Paige look over at the ramp and laugh.

You barely saw that though.

You were loosing air quickly, it wasn’t gonna be long before you were out.

Or dead.

She let go of you and rolled out of the ring, leaving you to gasp for breath while fading in and out.

“Y/n? Holy shit where’s the medics?”

It was edge.

Your boyfriend.

He pulled you close to him and yelled at the others around him.

You weren’t able to get enough air anyways.

As your vision blacked out you felt your boyfriend’s grip tighten.

“Y/n? Please hold on”

The ref’s bustled around edge, signaling the need for medical attention.

He was red in the face with dark red blood on his body.

Nothing like this had happened before.

No one had been this hurt before.

No one actually had to intent to kill someone before.

Everything around them was stained red.

Edge sat there, breathing heavy as he kept his lovers bleeding body close to him.

He was loosing his shit.

He kept yelling, even as medical staff surrounded him.

He didn’t want to give her up, he was too scared

Eventually they convinced him, allowing him to stay next to her at all times.

And he did,

He didn’t let go of her hand once.

Even as they tried to wipe off the blood he didn’t let her go

Even as they wheeled her into the ambulance and drove her away.

The only time they were able to peel him away was when they arrived and had to take you back.

Only then he was left in the waiting room with blood stained clothes and a racing mind.

Fuck Paige.

“Edge?”

He turned around to see Paul behind him with a duffle bag.

“Go change, I want to talk”

“I don’t need it”

“Like hell you do, go change. I’m not leaving until she’s back.”

You woke up to bright led lights and extreme pain in your entire body.

It felt like you couldn’t move.

You groaned and started to panic, you had no clue what happened.

“Shhh it’s okay it’s okay, I’m here darling”

You felt rough hands around your cheek, seeing your long haired boyfriend come into your vision.

“Don’t panic, I’m right here I promise”

Your lip quivered, tears flooding your vision .

“It hurts”

“I know it does, but it’s gonna be okay”

You tried to move again, failing miserably.

“Don’t move dear, the doctors don’t want you to.”

He wiped away your tears and kissed your forehead.

“I’m scared”

He grabbed your hand, holding it gently.

“It’s okay, it’ll be over soon I promise”

You tried your best to nod, your head raging at you as you did.

You just wanted to go home.

“What happened with her?”

He looked up at you.

“There’s some things happening, she’s probably gonna be released”

You smiled faintly.

It was horrible.

She was borderline insane

But that was behind you.

“How long am I here?”

He shrugged, kissing your hand.

“They don’t know, depends on your recovery. But you shouldn’t be talking, they don’t want your throat fucking up more.”

You forgot about that

You could only imagine the bruising there would be on your neck.

He seemed to notice your upset look on your face and smiled.

“Don’t worry, it’ll go away eventually”

You looked and gave him a small smile again.

Throughout the recovery process he didn’t leave your side.

With every test, every check up.

He was there.

You kind of felt bad, he was doing so much for you.

But he didn’t care how much he had to sacrifice.

You sat on your bed dressed, waiting for him to get back from the paper work

After a week you were finally able to go home.

The doctors said your recovery time was insane, considering the extent of your injuries.

“You ready?”

You smiled and turned towards him, standing up as he walked over.

He rested his hands on your hips, kissing your lips and smiling into the kiss.

“I’m proud of you, you know?”

You just chuckled.

“You did all the work silly!”

He shook his head and held onto your hand, grabbing his bag and leading you out of the hospital.

“I would do it again and again just for you.”

[officialchristiancagebbgirlblog]

Can I have prompts 33 “Come here, baby” + 40 “If it ever gets bad again, can you promise you’ll tell me? I don’t want you to go through this alone” with Edge plss? I need some fluff of him helping with anxiety and depression

Tag: @judgementdaysunshine

Fic type: angst/fluff

Warnings: mention of medications and suicidal thoughts

Word count: 858

Link to masterlist

Sorry this has taken so long to come out, had a bit of writers block recently but I think I’m coming back around. Happy reading 🩵

“I’m still a few hours away, baby, but I’ll be as quick as I can to come home!” Was the last thing Adam had said to you before he hit the road again. He had recently suffered a minor injury while working so he had to come back home to recover and rest. Thankfully, he wasn’t too badly hurt, only suffering a sprained ankle. However since it wasn’t severe, at best he may only get a few weeks to recover.

At this point, he had been away from home for about two months and you were desperately missing him. More than you had anticipated. Since you had a part time job you couldn’t travel with him so you were stuck in your shared home. Alone.

Being alone was a massive fear of yours. Less so for the idea that something could happen with another person, and more so the idea that your thoughts might spiral out of control. The medication you would normally get was out of stock and you had been going without for about three weeks. Although you weren’t explicitly dependent on them and you could still function without, you found that taking the pills silenced certain…thoughts. And without them? They were running rampant. You had tried everything to distract yourself: walking, baking, having a shower, having a hot drink, or whatever else your therapist would suggest. But nothing truly helped. Besides the medication.

So you had been laying in bed for the last few days. No showering. No eating. No drinking. All you had the strength to do was get up to use the loo, and wallow in your own negative mind. It felt like you were glued to the bed half the time. You knew you had to get up and clean yourself and the room but you just couldn’t find the strength. All you could think about was those dark thoughts. Those scenarios. Those…solutions.

For the first time in days, you felt tears roll effortlessly out your eyes, down your cheeks. It was exhausting having to deal with depression and anxiety. You so badly wanted to fix the problem but you just couldn’t bring yourself to do that or anything for that matter. From somewhere in the house, you heard rustling. It was like the sound of bags being moved around, zippers being opened, but you couldn’t pinpoint the exact noise. Though when the TV turned on, you figured Adam must’ve finally arrived home. Secretly, you were dreading this moment that was fast approaching. You didn’t want him to see you like this. He was aware that you suffered from mental health issues but not to this extremity. And as the door slowly opened, you held your breath, hoping you’d wake up from a horrible dream again.

But unfortunately, you were wide awake. Adam walked into the room with a big smile, excited to finally see you again! But when he saw the state you were in, it dropped completely. He was completely speechless, heart shattered at the sight. Adam tip-toed over to you to properly look at you.

“Oh, come here baby.” He whispered, effortlessly lifting you from the bed into his arms. You were numb. Physically and emotionally. All you could do now was rest your aching head on his shoulder as he moved you into the bathroom, running you a hot bath. Once ready he undressed you, and helped you in the water.

“Stay here,” he smiled, kissing your forehead, “get nice and comfortable while I clean the bedroom, okay?”

His voice was so soothing, helping to melt away the numbness in your body. Laying back, you closed your eyes as the hot water stung your skin. It was a nice sensation. After days of nothing but a dirty bed, laying in something that hurt was a nice change. 15 minutes later, he came back in to help get you clean, scrubbing away at your body and hair. The feeling was amazing and you found yourself to slowly come around, just slightly though. It wasn’t until you were both laid in a clean bed that you started to feel more comfortable.

“I…I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you that this was happening.” You admitted weakly, begging for the dark waves to disappear from your body. “I didn’t want you to worry about-“

“If it ever gets bad again, can you promise me you’ll tell me? I don’t want you to go through this alone.” He interrupted. His voice was desperate, breaking in the middle of his sentence. Looking at him, you could see tears well up in his eyes. You knew that as terrible it was for you, you were used to the effects of your mental health. For him, he didn’t see it as often. Certainly not the ugly side where you don’t clean yourself or eat for as long as you had done in his absence. Since you refused to ever make a promise you couldn’t keep, you told him you’d do your best. That was enough for him and he pecked you on the nose, pulling you in for a closer cuddle, terrified of ever losing you.

[midwestmade29]

Here For You ❤️

What a sweet request 🥺 I loved it! Thanks for sending it in. I hope you like how I used the prompts 🖤 Word Count: 746 Divider by: @saradika-graphics *GIF is not mine

Original Request from @judgementdaysunshine: Can I have Adam Copeland x Fem reader with the prompts “I’ll always be here for you, no matter what” + “You’re one of the best people I know”

Disclaimers: None! 100% fluff 🙂

When you're going through a rough patch, Adam Copeland is there to help you through it...

Lately you’ve been down on your luck, most days it feels as if nothing goes right. There was one incident in particular that you felt set things in motion though. During Dynamite a couple weeks ago, you had a title match against the TBS champion Julia Hart. Everything was going well until the last few minutes when you slipped on something in the ring, causing you to stumble and mess up the move you were trying to land on Julia. In the end, both of you ended up getting hurt. Julia suffered a shoulder injury, and you sprained your ankle.

 While slipping wasn’t your fault, there were several fans and even a few coworkers that blamed you for everything. The number of hateful comments and posts you were tagged in on social media took a toll on your psyche, really hurting your self-esteem and mental health. You already felt terrible about the injuries you and Julia both sustained, but the added hate you were receiving made it that much worse.

You were still traveling with AEW, even with your ankle in a boot and walking with crutches. You saw the way some of the people backstage looked at you making it clear that they were still skeptical or upset about the incident. You had turned off notifications for all your social media accounts and stopped checking it as often as you used to. One night during Dynamite, you were standing off to the side backstage watching on a monitor when you heard a familiar voice call out to you, “There’s my girl!” If it weren’t for Adam, the last couple of weeks would’ve been so much worse than they already were. While you were falling apart, he was there for you every step of the way. He was your protector and confidant, the giver of the best bear hugs. The weight of the world didn’t feel as heavy when you turned slowly and took in the sight of his bright smile, releasing a sigh of relief when he wrapped you in his arms. “I’m glad I found you, I’ve been looking everywhere. How are you?” Adam spoke softly with his cheek resting on the top of your head. You nuzzled in closer to him, enjoying the safety his arms provided from the world around you. “I’m fine, just glad you’re here now,” you replied timidly. Adam pulled back a little, not letting you go completely before he called you on your bluff, “That’s not very convincing. What’s wrong?” You tried reassuring Adam that you really were fine, but he knew better. He probably knows you better than you know yourself! He invited you back to his locker room so the two of you could talk more, and you happily agreed after getting a dirty look from a production team member.

Adam closed the door behind him before taking a seat next to you on the couch. “So, what’s up? And don’t say nothing because you know I won’t let that slide,” he prompted. You took a deep breath and began explaining everything you had been feeling recently. “I just can’t believe anyone would think I would hurt Julia on purpose! That’s not my style or how I do things. It’s like no matter what I do or what I say, no one believes it. I talked to Julia about everything and she’s not even mad at me. It was an accident, but it feels like I’m guilty until I can prove that I’m innocent, you know?” Adam sat back and listened to everything you had to say, not interrupting you once or acting uninterested as you carried on. He knew that letting all your thoughts and emotions out would be therapeutic, so he didn’t want to say anything until you were finished. “The people who really matter know it was an accident Y/N. It’s easier said than done, but you just gotta ignore the hate. It’ll all blow over eventually and things will get back to normal. You’re one of the best people I know! You’d never hurt anyone on purpose,” Adam spoke gently. Your conversation continued for a while longer, and by the end of it you felt so much better. You thanked Adam for listening to you and for his advice, earning a warm smile from him in return. Before the two of you left the locker room, he reminded you of one last thing, “I’ll always be here for you, no matter what…”

[haha-mania]

Unusual Spot

Fandom - WWE/WWF

Pairing - Lee!Gangrel x Ler!Edge

Warnings: This contains tickle content! If this type of thing isn’t your cup of tea, then please continue to scroll! No need for hate.

“So Gangy, is it really true?” Edge asked the fellow vampire, a smirk beginning to form on his face. Gangrel didn’t respond, just avoided eye contact. This just made Edge smile even wider. He moved closer to the speechless vamp, reaching an arm towards him.

Adam grabbed onto his fellow member’s wrist with a gentle grip and held it up, chuckling to himself. Gangrel’s eyes widened a bit, realizing what was about to happen. “So..Christian told me about your “secret spot” you know…and I just wanna test it out a bit!” Edge said, grinning at the other vampire.

Edge brought Gangrel’s hand closer and held up a single finger, teasingly wiggling it in front of the blue eyed vamp’s face. “I wonder what will happen if I just…” and with that, Adam lightly traced his finger over Gangrel’s open palm.

Gangrel let out a faint yelp and quickly covered his face in embarrassment. “N-no, Adam don’t do thahahat!” he giggled, his voice muffled behind his other free hand. Edge smiled, continuing to tickle the palm of his fellow vampire friend. “So it IS true! I didn’t know you had ticklish palms, Gangy! what an unusual spot..”

“Ahaha! Q-quit the ticklihihing!” The curly haired vamp begged, his face turning redder by the second. “Adam come on, cut it ou-EEAHHAHAHA!!” Gangrel cut himself off with a loud burst of laughter as he suddenly felt all five of Edge’s fingers tickle his sensitive palm. He tried to pull away but Adam wouldn’t let him go.

“Heheh..this is really fun..you’re so ticklish!” Edge teased, his fingers now scribbling all over the bottom of the poor vampire’s hand. “Ohoho plehehease Adam!! It tihihickles so bahahad!!” Gangrel cried out, his shoulders shaking with laughter.

“Alright, Gangy..I’m done now” The ler chuckled, loosening his grip on his friend’s hand. Gangrel uncovered his face, revealing his red face and teary eyes. “I hate you, Adam…” the blue eyed vampire said with sarcasm. Edge just rolled his eyes, giving Gangrel a pat on the shoulder. “Yeah right..you know you can’t stay mad at me.”

He was right though, Gangrel could never stay mad at his buddy. Although he didn’t want to admit he had secretly enjoyed the tickling he had just received.

[sydsaint]

My fav AEW dilf <3

Summary: Adam has trouble coming to terms with his attraction to the reader due to age gap of the pair.

It's still relatively early in the morning when the sound of rustling wakes you up from a wonderful dream. You let out a yawn and rub the sleep from your eyes as you prop yourself up into a sitting position.

"Adam?" You yawn and peer out into the dim-lit hotel room you're staying in.

"Crap, sorry, YN," Adam grumbles from his bed across the room. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

You squint your eyes toward the other side of the room where Adam is busy digging through his bag for something. "What are you doing up so early?" You ask him in a sleepy tone as you hold back another yawn.

"I woke up and couldn't seem to fall back asleep," Adam explains, still digging through his bags. "So I was going to head down to the gym for an early workout. But it seems that I can't find my gym clothes in the dark." He chuckles to himself. "I must sound like such an old man, huh kid?"

You drag yourself out of bed and switch on the lamp on the nightstand. "Well, I'm awake now. So you can switch on the light." You offer with a small laugh. "And you aren't that old yet, Adam." You assure him. "Shit, my eyesight is as bad as yours when I don't have my contacts or glasses on." You squint and feel for your glasses sitting on the nightstand.

You slip the wide-frame glasses on your nose and your vision clears up. Adam now has his lamp on as well and is digging through his bag with ease now. "Still can't find them?" You walk over to him when it seems that Adam hasn't made any progress. "Here, let me look."

Adam steps out of the way when you trot over to him with still-sleepy eyes. He'd forgotten that you'd slept in nothing but your underwear and a t-shirt that he loaned you last night since you forgot to pack something to sleep in. Adam's gaze transfixes on the way his shirt hangs off your body, your bare legs practically screaming in his face as you bed over to look through his bad.

'No, Adam. She's too young for you, perv.' He tells himself as he stares at you. He's more than twice your age and old enough to be your father. But fuck do you look so damn good right now.

"Here they are!" You finally manage to retrieve Adam's usual workout attire from the bottom of his bag. "Here you go, Adam. I'm going to shower and grab some breakfast. But we can catch up later when you're back from the gym." You hand him his clothes before you walk over to the bathroom door.

Adam nods and watches your hips sway under his t-shirt all the way to the bathroom door. "Fuck." He mumbles to himself under his breath.

"Oh! Here's your shirt back, Adam. Thanks for letting me borrow it." The door cracks back open and Adam catches a small glimpse of your bare skin as his shirt comes flying at him and the door closes again.

"No problem," Adam shouts back as he catches his shirt.

Adam stares at the shirt in his hands for a moment. It's not even near his nose, and yet he can smell your perfume wafting off of it. He grumbles to himself and tosses the shirt in his bag. Now he's the one that needs a cold shower. It's a good thing that the gym has ones for the patrons to use.

Later in the morning Adam comes back from the gym and heads up to the hotel room. When he gets inside he finds the bathroom door wide open and you standing in front of the mirror doing your makeup. His jaw damn near unhinges when he gets a glimpse of your outfit.

A pair of jean booty shorts hug your ass for dear life as you lean over the sink to see the mirror closer. You've got on a black halter top, boobs threatening to spill out the front of the shirt because you're leaning so far over the sink. And then there's the fishnet tights covering your legs and hugging your thighs in a way that should be illegal.

"I'm back from the gym," Adam announces himself to the room after swallowing a bucket of saliva.

"Hmm? Oh, hey, Adam." You set down your mascara wand and return to a straight upright position. "How was the gym?" You ask him nonchalantly.

Adam walks over to his bags and distracts himself by looking for a change of clothes. "It was fine." He shrugs. "Did you get breakfast yet?" He asks you.

"Yeah, I ordered some room service." You answer him and finish up your makeup. "What about you? We've still got some time before that meet and greet with Darby, Sting, Christian, and Nick, later."

Adam finds himself a clean shirt and pants and prays that you aren't leaning over the bathroom counter again when he looks back at you. And thankfully for him, you aren't.

"I grabbed something on the way back from the gym," Adam answers your question with a relieved sigh. "You look nice." He can't help but comment.

"Thanks!" You grin innocently. "You can change in here now. I'm just going to clean up my suitcase and grab my shoes and bag. Then we can head out to the venue." You step out of the bathroom.

Adam nods and shuts the bathroom door behind him.

The ride to the venue is mostly silent. You and Adam arrive a bit early and head inside to get situated at your booth for the day. Adam runs into Christian and chats with him for a while. Meanwhile, you chat with Darby and Nick on the other side of the booth.

"Holy shit, is that YN?" Christian comments when he spots you over Adam's shoulder.

"Yeah," Adam mumbles to himself.

Christian blinks a few times at you before he turns back to his best friend. "Adam, buddy. You want to switch travel partners with me?" He jokes with Adam.

"Shut up." Adam scoffs, but Christian easily notices the flustered look on his friend's face.

"Oh, you are so looking to bang her aren't you?" Christian laughs. "I mean. I don't blame you one bit. But still." He chuckles and claps Adam on the shoulder.

Adam swats Christian's hand away and shakes his head. "She's young enough to be my daughter." He protests.

"Young girls are the most fun." Christian fires back. "Trust me on that one, buddy." He grins. "Come on, Adam. How long have you and Beth been split? Almost a year, right? When was the last time you got laid?" He asks Adam.

"Christian!" Adam glares at his friend.

Christian rolls his eyes playfully and shrugs. "Hey, all I'm saying is if you don't make a move soon, Adam. Then someone else is bound to." He points across the booth.

Adam turns around and spots Ricky Starks now talking with you and Darby. Starks is also getting ready for a meet and greet. And the current tag champ is standing closer to you than Adam would like.

"Don't take the guy's head off, man." Christian laughs when Adam's face warps into one of hate and jealousy. "YN ain't your, remember, Adam?" He teases Copeland. "Not yet anyway." He mumbles that last part to himself as Adam stomps off.

Adam marches over to you and Ricky chatting. As he grows closer he picks up on Ricky blatantly flirting with you like there is no tomorrow. And it pisses him off.

"Ricky! I didn't know you'd be here." Adam stops when he's looming right behind you.

"Hmm, oh! Hey, Adam." You jump a bit when you hear Copeland's voice, but turn around and greet him with a smile. "Ricky's working a booth on the other side of the venue. He just swung by to say hello to me and Darby." You explain.

Adam looks over your shoulder at Ricky and Starks takes an instinctive step back when he sees the look on Adam's face.

"Yeah...I'll catch you later, sugar." Ricky quickly tucks tail and retreats back to his booth.

"Bye, Ricky." You wave at Starks with a smile, unaware of Adam giving Starks the death glare from behind you.

The venue is set to open soon so you take a seat with Adam and get ready for a day of taking photos and signing things.

As the day drags on you can't help but notice Adam mean-mugging every dude that lingers a bit too long when they ask for photos or autographs. Normally you'd just choc it up to his overprotective dad instincts kicking in since he's got two daughters. But there's something about the way he always looks at you after whatever man he scared off is gone. Like the way, an alpha protects his girl from other potential suitors stalking around her.

At the end of the day, the venue is closing up and you wait around to see if Ricky is going to ask you to dinner. You spot Starks heading your way and smile at him. But Ricky only makes it about halfway across the room before you watch him stop cold in his tracks and turn right back around. Confused, you turn behind you and find Adam standing a few feet away.

"Hey, Adam?" You walk over to Copeland, unable to keep this behavior to yourself anymore. "Can I ask you something?" You ask him.

"Sure, YN." Adam nods.

You bite your lip, unsure how to phrase your question. "I sort of notice that you spent all day shooing away some of my more handy and stalky fans." You explain. "Which, thanks. But, I guess I just have to ask. Was that like your fatherly instincts kicking in?" You ask Adam. "Or was it something else? Because I don't know if it's because I've always had a huge crush on you. But It kind of seemed like to me like you were keeping guys away, like Ricky, because you want me all to yourself." You explain in a nervous ramble. "And if it wasn't that? Well, I'm sorry that I even brou-"

Your nervous ramble is cut off when suddenly Adam cups your face in his hands and crashes his lips to yours.

"You've been driving me fucking crazy from the moment we met," Adam whispers against your lips.

"S-mm-sorry." You whisper back between desperate kisses.

Your hands cling to Adam's jacket as he kisses you. Your head spins uncontrollably as Adam presses his body into yours. You had a dream just like this once. And if it is another dream, then you don't ever want to wake up.

You and Adam both finally come up for air but remain smushed against one another as you both pant. "Thank Christian for me please." You giggle.

"Christian? For what?" Adam replies breathlessly.

"For encouraging you to take a chance with me." You reply. "I know Cage has been eyeing me up like a dog. But he never made a move, which confused me. But now I know why." You explain.

Across the room, Christian spots you and Adam and smiles to himself. "YOU'RE WELCOME!" He shouts from across the room.

[white-wolf-buckaroo]

Chapter 5: I Plunge to my Death

This episode is what I call the 'turning point' of the show where Percy really discovers what he's capable of, and also the end of the first half of the first season! Can't believe we're already here. Hope you enjoy it!

Word count: 7500 ish

Warnings: Does the Chimera count?

Fic masterlist here!

The soothing rattle of the train put Emily to sleep almost instantly when they went to bed. She was exhausted, even if it had only been the first days of their quest.

They were back on track now, on their way to Los Angeles still in time for the solstice. They would complete the quest, and avoid a war between the gods. Yep, everything would be great.

Except her sleep that night: she was still shaken up from their visit to Aunty Em’s place, not as much because of fighting multiple monsters the same day (she was more than prepared for that), but because of their conversation with Medusa. Emily knew that not all monsters were brainless or soulless creatures, but having an actual talk with someone as the gorgon, who had been around for ages, and had different opinions than the ones Emily was used to hearing, had certainly been an experience.

Medusa’s words resonated in her head during her sleep: The gods want you to believe that they are infallible. But they only want what all bullies want: they want us to blame ourselves for their own shortcomings.

Emily hadn’t seen her father in years. Well, except in the official ceremonies like the winter solstice, when they visited Olympus. But she hadn’t spoken to him in years. Still, she thought of him every day when making her offerings, even though she knew he probably didn’t think of her maybe more than once a month, if he ever did. He was the one who had left, after all. He didn’t want anything else to do with her anymore.

It killed her not to know the reasoning behind his actions. What seemed more logical to her, is that it had been her fault. That’s why she trained to be better, and better and better every single day. Not to make him see he was wrong for abandoning her… but to demonstrate that she was worthy of his love.

She woke up earlier than expected, heart racing after her overthinking thought didn’t let her be even during her sleep – it was still dark outside. Above them was a pitch black sky, from what she could see from her place on the floor (after the flying shoes incident they had let Grover take one of the bunkbeds, and both Percy and Emily had lost against Annabeth on rock, paper, scissors, so the both of them were on mattresses on the floor). There were also stars shining above them, almost flying by with the train’s fast pace.

It was a relief that, wherever she would go, she could always look up to the sky and find the same stars she stared at every night at camp.

She realized then that Percy and Annabeth were awake too, because they were talking. Maybe she had woken up because of them; she could, and would, definitely blame them.

“… I gotta say, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me”

“What doesn’t make sense to you?”

“The way you guys all talk” answered Percy “The way the gods want us to think… Gotta burn an offering to get a parent’s attention. Gotta beat up on Clarisse just to get my father to admit he’s my father. It isn’t supposed to work that way” he sighed, defeated “People who are close to you aren’t supposed to treat you that way”

The thing is, the gods weren’t close to their children. Demigods wanted them to be, sure, but they just… weren’t. That’s the sad truth behind it, and the reason why things worked like they did in their world.

Emily listened to Annabeth telling Percy how she ran away when she was seven, a story she had heard many times, years ago for the first time. Emily knew that Annabeth missed her father, but that her insecurities wouldn’t let her give in to his pleadings to come back to him.

If Emily still had her mother, she would leave camp half-blood to be with her in a heartbeat.

“It isn’t the gods who think that way” replied Annabeth, to Percy’s previous comment “It’s everybody. But at least with the gods you know the rules: show them respect and they’ll be in your corner no matter what”

“The gods didn’t help us when we were at Medusa’s, though”

“Gods can’t interfere”

Both Percy and Annabeth looked over at Emily when she talked, surprised that she was awake.

“What do you mean?” asked Percy.

“This is a quest. We have to get this done by ourselves. If we can’t deal with small problems like a monster getting in our way… well, then we shouldn’t be on a mission in the first place”

“A monster doesn’t seem like a small problem to me but okay, whatever you say” Percy shrugged “But still, we are kids. They are our parents. Dads and Moms are supposed to protect their children”

“The gods do… in their own way” Emily was staring at the ceiling, rather than at Percy, engrossed in her mind “Athena gifted Annabeth her invisibility cap. Your father transmitted to you the ability to heal when you are in contact with water. They care for you guys”

Percy took in her words, noticing she hadn’t mentioned herself nor her dad. He didn’t know what her relationship to Ares was like, but he did remember Medusa saying that the god had cared for his child, in past tense, but not in present tense. He did know how her relationship to Clarisse was, and some others of the Ares cabin from what he had seen at camp. He liked Emily because she wasn’t as brute as them, but he also knew that there was a lot about her he didn’t know yet – she was still a daughter of the God of War.

He wanted to ask her more about it, but he didn’t know how to be tactful. So he just blatantly did:

“What about your dad? Ares?”

“What about him?” she didn’t sound very keen on talking about that topic.

“Has he gotten you anything like Annabeth’s mom for her?”

“Yeah, he did. Some weapons, like my throwing knife. It’s been… years, though, since he’s gifted me anything. The last thing… was his ring. I guess that was his goodbye” she grasped at it with her fingers over her chest, biting her lip; it was attached to her camp necklace, ever since the day she had received it from him. She didn’t want to dwell in her feelings too much, so she quickly forced herself to recover “He also got me some emotional traumas, like for the most of us. The usual for the God of War”

Above them, on the upper mattress of the bunk, Grover groaned while he woke up, totally displeased to do so.

“You awake?” asked Percy.

“I am now, thanks”

“You okay?”

“He’s super grouchy when he doesn’t get enough sleep”

Grover mimicked Annabeth doing a high pitched voice, groaning again.

“Wow” replied Percy, unimpressed. That was a side of Grover he hadn’t seen yet.

“You’ve never been on the road with him before” said Annabeth “A little different than a froofy boarding school, isn’t it?”

“Who’s froofy? You’re froofy!” complained Grover, words slurred with sleep “… What’s froofy?”

“I think you need to eat, Grover” suggested Emily, holding back a smile. She shouldn’t be amused by his torture… but she kind of was enjoying this too much.

Grover did eat a lot at breakfast; at dawn, after they couldn’t sleep anymore, they had all gotten dressed and had made it out of their wagon. The train didn’t have a five star meal restaurant, but some apple juice, bread, fruit and cookies, which was more than enough for three demigods and a satyr – well, maybe not so much for Grover, but he got all the grapes in exchange for the sausages he didn’t want.

“Seems like Apollo is driving around fast today” mumbled Emily, watching how the sky outside the train was quickly turning lighter colours, with the sun almost up in the sky “If he decided to make the sun rise later than it should… we’d have more time to complete our quest, right? ‘Cause of the solstice”

“In two days we will reach Los Angeles, there is still plenty of time before our deadline to reach the Underworld”

“Can I ask a dumb question?”

Annabeth, Emily and Grover all looked at Percy with an eyebrow raised, unsure about what he was about to say.

“It’s like you need me to make fun of you” commented Annabeth, across from him. She was sitting with Grover, whereas Emily was with Percy.

“Annie, be nice”

“Shoot” added Grover, to Percy.

“I’ve never been to Los Angeles before. I’m guessing neither of you have been to Los Angeles as well… So, how will we have any idea where we’re going?”

“No idea” answered Grover. Great “But that’s like step thirty-seven, and we’re still on step four. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there”

Emily knew by Percy’s face that he still wasn’t convinced.

“Follow-up stupid question” ah, there it was.

“Dude” muttered Annabeth.

“The Oracle… it said ‘And you shall fail to save what matters most in the end’. Back in Jersey I told you the Oracle said this quest would fail. And no one’s mentioned it since. Seems like… something we ought to be taking a little more seriously, don’t you think?”

“Don’t think too much about what the Oracle said” Emily bit her lip, thoughtful “She’s super wise and stuff, but her premonitions are also super tricky. They’re more like… guidelines, but not something to be followed by step by step. Relax about it”

“Sounds easier said than done” Percy huffed, turning to look outside of the window… when he saw something that caught his eye “Hey… are those…?”

“Centaurs”

A family of four, riding through the field on the right side of the train. Wild, and free.

“No one even knows they’re there”

“Chiron taught us that there used to be herds of them, everywhere” explained Emily, watching the family of centaurs move into the distance “Now… not so many”

“What happened to them?”

“Humans” mumbled the satyr, bitterly “A few thousand years ago… the God of the Wild, Pan, disappeared. And ever since, without Pan to protect the natural world, humans have been trying really hard to chip away at it”

“The bravest satyrs volunteer to become Searchers” added Annabeth “To try to find Pan. None have ever returned”

“Your uncle… the one we found at Medusa’s, Ferdinand” Percy quickly connected the dots, for once “He was a Searcher?”

Grover nodded, sadly. Annabeth and Emily looked at him with pity, like Percy.

“The Oracle didn’t say the quest would fail” Annabeth wasn’t done with that conversation yet, apparently “ ‘Fail to save what matters most’ could mean a lot of things. It’s what Emily said: this is how prophecies work. That’s how fate works. It could mean a lot of things. The harder you work to understand, the harder it gets to understand. Sometimes you’ve just gotta’ let it come to you when it’s ready”

And then, they were interrupted:

“Excuse me” they looked up, seeing one of the train’s security guards next to them “Can I see your tickets, please?”

“Why?” asked Emily, defensive, as Annabeth took them out of her backpack and handed them to the security guard. He didn’t answer her, though.

“You’re in cabin 17B?” he asked this time, and they nodded “You’re gonna have to come with me”

“Excuse me?” Emily knew she had a problem with holding her tongue, but she was working on it. Most times “We’ve done nothing wrong”

“Please, follow me”

Annabeth shot her friend a look that screamed ‘shut up’, and they all obeyed the man, following him back to the wagon were the cabins were. There was a loud noise of wind whooshing, that they didn’t recall hearing before when they left to get breakfast. When the security guard stopped at their cabin, they noticed the door was open, they understood where all of the wind was coming from: their window was shattered, there was glass everywhere, the beds they had made were now undone, and all their stuff was upside down. Emily’s eyes also caught a mark near the ceiling, above the now demolished window in the wooden panel: four equidistant lines, four claw marks.

“You wanna explain?”

As much as they defended themselves to the officer, he didn’t listen to them. On top of that, he even had a witness who apparently said she had hear the window smash followed by children’s voices. Both Emily and Annabeth looked at the woman the officer was pointing at: she was talking to another security guard, giving her statement on what she had heard. Percy complained behind them to the officer, while they assessed the woman: she was tall, lean, well dressed. Her face was pretty thin, her jawline and her cheekbones prominent.

Emily thought she looked like the typical suburban mom who got into other people’s business. Then again, she hadn’t been outside camp in a very long time, so she didn’t really know where that thought came from.

“Are we under arrest?”

The officer didn’t like Annabeth’s tone. He liked it even less when she repeated the question.

Now they were under arrest.

They held them back at the breakfast wagon, the four of them sitting at the same table as before again. Emily glanced at the ‘witness’ who was still giving her statement, now to the officer that had arrested them, while the other security guard watched them.

“So… We’re just killing time until we find out that guy’s like a werewolf or something, right?”

Grover, Emily and Annabeth glanced at the security officer talking to the witness, who looked back at them at the same time, and then they turned back to Percy.

“Doesn’t seem like a werewolf to me”

“More like a grouchy man with a superiority complex” mumbled Emily.

“Emi, not helpful” scolded Annabeth.

“Come on, look at us. Look at me!” she made what she called ‘a cute face’; she was a cute kid so it wasn’t that hard “Who could ever think I could harm anyone? Or shatter a window like that?”

“You definitely are capable of that. Not saying you would” answered Grover, immediately correcting himself “But you can”

“Well, that’s my perfect cover”

“We’re losing focus” reprimanded Annabeth “But I’m with you, he doesn’t seem like a monster”

“Then what’s going on here then? Why would anyone tear our room apart?”

“Maybe they were looking for something” suggested, Grover, looking at Percy.

“But we don’t have anything”

“The people who think you stole Zeus’s master bolt might disagree”

“But it’s like Percy said, we don’t have it”

“Exactly. They’re not gonna find something we don’t have”

“We need to get out of this before we get delayed”

Annabeth was interrupted, this time by the woman who claimed had heard them shatter the window and put their room upside down. The witness tapped her on the shoulder, acting concerned, and asked them if she could sit across from them. She even got the security guard who was watching them to walk away, saying she thought she was making them nervous.

Emily thought the woman had no right to seem this nice when she was acting so suspiciously.

She had a bag with her, with a pet inside. It was closed, but the thing was trembling so much it made the whole bag shiver; it made Emily kinda nervous.

“You poor dears must be scared” the woman told them, smiling oh too warmly “Your parents aren’t here, aren’t they? You poor things… But don’t worry. I’m a mom. I know what it’s like” she shushed her pet, tapping the bag lightly before turning back to the three demigods and the satyr again “I want you to know… I don’t actually think that you made that mess back there. I just wanted a moment alone with you. There are some things I need you to understand-“

“You have something on your jacket” Grover interrupted her, signalling to her right shoulder. All of them looked at that spot, seeing small pieces of something shiny “It looks like… glass” the woman’s smile was becoming more unsettling every passing second “No one smashed out the windows from inside our cabin. Someone smashed them in, from the outside”

The pet inside the woman’s bag began grunting, whimpering for her, and she turned back to it, kneeling before the back talking to the animal:

“Yes sweetheart, I know, I know… You’re impatient” the animal sniffed again “Oh… But we’re almost there” she stood up then again, turning to the heroes “This isn’t your fault” her tone had switched to a much more serious one, less sweet “But sadly, you’re going to have to bear the burden of your parents’ mistakes today”

“Listen, lady” said Percy, next to Emily on their bench “I don’t know who you are, but I think I know what you are”

A pain in the ass, though Emily.

“We’ve run across a few monsters like you and we’ve sent them all packing”

“Monsters like me?” the woman scoffed “Well… Of course they’re like me. They were my children”

It all made sense then.

Well, to all except Percy. But Annabeth, Emily and Grover knew then who they had standing before them:

“The Mother of Monsters” mumbled Grover, afraid.

“Echidna”

The pet, or more like the monster, inside the woman’s bag, began growling again, harsher this time. Its mother shushed it, but they felt like it wouldn’t stay calm much longer.

“Monster is such an odd word” Echidna sounded like the typical teacher who tried to lecture her students about something “Considering my grandmother is your great-grandmother” she said to Percy, looking then at the girls “And your great-great grandmother. This has always been a family story” she shrugged “But… to my eye, the demigod is the more dangerous creature. Disruptive. Violent. If I exist for anything… It is to stand in the way of monsters, like you”

The four of them were starting to feel something unsettling in their stomachs when the monster growled again.

“My little one here… She’s just a pup now, bless her heart” explained the Mother of Monsters “Today… you will be her prey” she looked at them expectantly, excited “Are you afraid yet?” they were, but they wouldn’t show it “Oh, it’s alright. Fear is natural. It’s also essential to the hunt. Your fear, your doubt, your confusion…” the monster growled louder as she chuckled “I needed you to understand what was happening, so that she could track the scent. So she could… learn, and grow, because… that’s what a good mother does for her children. Not that you would know”

The monster stilled, but the bag’s zip began opening from the inside.

Emily felt a nervous feeling growing inside her stomach, and her heartbeat picking up. This wasn’t good.

They heard one final growl, and the bag opened.

“You should run now”

A giant claw leapt out of the bag right at them. Emily ducked immediately, her senses sharpened from years of training, but Percy wasn’t that fast, and so when Emily was out of the way the claw went straight into his left shoulder.

The claw itself was attached to a long tail that backtracked once it had stabbed one of them, and before it could attack again Annabeth jumped right on it, dagger in hand; with all the force she could muster she stabbed the monster’s tail with her weapon, hopefully hurting it enough to slow it down in its hunt for them.

“Go!” she screamed to them.

Emily, Grover and Percy ran to the nearest exit, Annabeth following swiftly behind them. The security guards yelled for them to stay put, while Echidna tended to her hurt child. The heroes ran as fast as they could to the next wagons.

The train was slowly stopping; they had only made it to St. Louis.

Annabeth stayed a few steps behind to block one of the doors, although they knew it wasn’t to much use; only by its tail, they knew that the monster that was chasing them was huge. At least the door would hold back the security guards.

“Percy!” Grover tore a stinger out of his left shoulder, where the monster had gotten to him.

“What is that?” asked the blonde, nervous.

“What kind of monsters have stingers?” asked now Emily, frantic.

“I don’t know, I mean… nothing good probably”

Percy felt okay, at least for now. He didn’t really feel any pain, but maybe it was because he was so full of adrenaline and fear for the monster chasing them. Something huge rattled the wagons behind them; it was getting close.

“We gotta move!”

The train stopped right on time for them to jump off to the rails. They put a few meters between them and the train, and then they looked back, trying to locate the monster. It was nowhere in sight.

“Why isn’t it chasing us?”

“Echidna said whatever she was hiding in that carrier, it’s young” explained Annabeth.

“What do you mean by that?” Percy didn’t understand.

“It’s still a pup, so it will stay close to it’s mother. She’ll tell the monster where to go, teaching it to hunt. In this case, hunt us”

“We aren’t gonna be able to outrun them for very long”

The began to move outside of the train station, trying to put distance between them and the Mother of Monsters and her child.

“We don’t need to” refuted Annabeth “We just need a safe place to hole up”

“And prepare ourselves to fight” added Emily.

“Some safe place. Okay…” Percy was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he had been stabbed by a monster with an hopefully not poisonous stinger, although if he paid attention to the wound, he could feel it starting to get itchy. He hoped the feeling was only in his head “Any ideas where we might find one of those? Any of you ever been to St. Louis?”

“I know a place” answered Annabeth; her and Emily were walking between the two boys as they made their way through an ally “A sanctuary, dedicated to Athena, built by one of her demigod children a long time ago”

“There is an Athenian temple hidden somewhere in the middle of downtown St. Louis?” wondered Grover, incredulous.

“Yes… Except it’s not all that hidden”

They ran as fast as they could trying at the same time to not draw too much attention to them. Emily trusted her friend blindly, but she hoped they wouldn’t take too long to get to her Athenian temple.

Annabeth led them to a huge square, right below the arch of St. Louis:

“This is the temple?”

“A monument to Athena” she nodded “It’s six-hundred and thirty feet wide, six-hundred and thirty feet tall, both to within an inch. It’s got no internal support! Each side is balanced perfectly against the other. The arch is held up by symmetry. It’s held up by math! It’s…-“

“A safe place for us?” interrupted Emily. She knew how Annabeth could get when it came to architecture.

“It is” she confirmed, as they made their way in “Another cool fact is that it’s also earthquake proved, so Poseidon can’t ruin it”

“Nice” mumbled the god’s son.

They made their way through a group of kids who were visiting the monument, blending in. Emily glared at them when they stared at them passing through, hand on her dagger in case someone turned out to be a monster waiting to attack them; if they were regular mortals, the mist would make sure they didn’t see or get hurt by the blade anyways.

They stopped in front of an exhibition about hunting in the past, where there was a skull of a buffalo next to an old shotgun. Grover became upset seeing it, sad look on his face while Annabeth tried to remind him of the true meaning of the temple, who it was really for, not what the humans tried to make it about.

“I’m gonna go look for new train tickets” Grover looked at a picture on a wall where there was a picture of two huntsmen shooting down a buffalo, and Emily could see the sorrow in his eyes from where she was standing behind Annabeth, next to Percy “Just because we’re prey doesn’t mean we gotta be helpless”

He left then to the ticket stand, leaving the three demigods alone.

“He doesn’t like it… when people mess with animals” Percy tried to defend his behaviour, knowing that Grover didn’t mean to sound harsh. He was only upset.

“Yeah… We know” sighed Annabeth; Emily noticed that see seemed upset now too, but not with Grover. Probably more with herself “I shouldn’t have snapped at him… I just… I know”

Percy sighed too, looking at the two girls a bit uncomfortably. Until that moment, Grover had always been there to have someone to talk to or lean on to; he hadn’t been alone with the other two demigods yet. He had to try to break the ice somehow, because he was getting extremely uncomfortable with the silence.

“So… this is your mom’s place?” he asked Annabeth “Wonder if she’s around” Emily was about to tell him it didn’t work like that, but then he did the worst impression of a posh woman she had ever heard “Be right down! Just going to the potty!”

Emily let out a laugh and Annabeth smiled. Percy seemed more at ease then.

“Nice”

“I have a gift” he shrugged. He certainly did “I guess you were right, by the way. We needed a safe place and… you mom had one waiting. Pretty lucky we happened to be in the right city for it”

“Luck or fate?”

There was a heavy feeling on all of their shoulders, which was actually the usual for demigods; were their lived truly theirs, or was everything already written and thought through? Was destiny really real, fate and everything, or did they have some free range? Being children of gods wasn’t easy.

“I know you think it’s all just in my head” Annabeth began walking around, trying to distract herself, and the other two followed “That… That I tell myself my mother cares because it’s easier that way”

“I didn’t say that”

“Me neither”

“I know you haven’t” Annabeth looked to the ground, now feeling insecure, sharing her thoughts and feelings “But… I know it’s probably like that. What you really think”

“Look, I’ve only been a demigod since… last Saturday” truly, Percy was extremely new to their world “You shouldn’t listen to me. And Emily here, she’s your best friend. I mean I don’t know you guys that much but you seem pretty tight, aren’t you? I couldn’t imagine you thinking stuff like that about the other”

Annabeth knew so, under the doubts that had gotten to her, she did. Emily smiled at her reassuringly.

“You know… this is my mother’s place. But a temple, is a temple” she looked around, and then back at her friends “Maybe you could say hi to your dads while we’re here”

Percy shook his head, just as Emily, both of them rejecting the idea.

“He wouldn’t like it if I prayed to him in an Athenian temple” said Emily, still shaking her head totally dismissing the idea of doing it “And… I wouldn’t even know what to say”

That was a lie. Kind of. She had a few things she definitely wanted to tell him, preferably yell at him, but she also knew she probably would end up dead after undergoing his wrath. So she chose to better shut her mouth.

“I know” Annabeth held her friends hand, squeezing it softly. She turned to Percy then “What about you?”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea”

“What could it hurt?” insisted, the daughter of Athena.

“Your thing with your mom… I get it. It’s different. It works for you. But my father… I don’t want anything from him. He’s had his chances” he seemed defeated, although he pretended to be okay with it. Emily could see through it, and Annabeth probably too, but Emily felt his words deeper in her being; she knew what it was like to have a father who never showed up. At least Annabeth got signs of recognition from Athena from time to time… but Percy and Emily? Nothing “Honestly, you guys have done more for me in the past few days than my father has done in my entire life. And if I have to stick with someone, I…”

“Careful” warned Annabeth, face serious “I think you were about to call us friends” she smiled at him, and he smiled back “Somewhere around here the Oracle is laughing at us, but you know… Wow! Percy!”

Both girls caught him in surprise when the boy fell forward all of a sudden, pace pale and sweaty. They sat him on the ground, Emily checking him over right as Grover rushed back to them having seen Percy fall.

“What happened?!”

“I think… I think those stinger things…”

“Were poisonous?” guessed Emily, seeing him struggle to form words. She was kneeling beside him, and he nodded weakly, his blue glossy eyes glancing into her own amber ones.

“I have an idea” Annabeth rushed Grover and Emily, telling them to help her get Percy back up “Come, help me!”

And that’s how a few moments later everybody outside walking around the square in front of the Getaway arch, could see three kids sitting inside the fountain splashing a fourth one with the water, completely drenching him.

The water had healed him back at camp, so it should help with the poison too. At least, they hoped so. Percy didn’t look good. He was pale, even more than when he first collapsed, he had bags under his bloodshot eyes, he was starting to get a fever, and he was breathing heavily while he was still sweating. The water was helping him get some forces back, but he was still sick. Too sick.

“I think… I think it’s working” he muttered, getting water splashed straight into his mouth. Annabeth looked at him worried, just as Grover and Emily. He tried to stand up, but he slipped right back onto his butt, gasping “… Or not”

“Maybe it needs to be naturally running water for Poseidon to be able to heal him” wondered Annabeth out loud, thoughts racing in her mind at speed limit.

“Should we throw him in the river?”

“No!”

“Yes!”

Before they could make up their minds, the frantic horn of a car in the distance distracted them, followed by a loud crash. They perked up to the street, and saw a car being thrown and flipped in the air. People screamed when the car crashed, the windows shattering adding to the noise, and the heroes knew exactly what it meant.

“We need to get back inside. Now!”

“No, no, we need to keep trying to heal him” insisted Grover, splashing more water on Percy.

“This isn’t working, and she’s coming!”

“We can’t fight Echidna and her monster, not like this” said Emily, helping Annabeth to get Percy back up “We can find more water inside in a bathroom, from a sink or something”

“Please don’t dunk my head in a toilet” muttered Percy, but he was ignored.

“Will that be enough?”

“It’ll have to be. Come on!”

They looked back to the street once again, and a shiver ran up all of their spines: there was Echidna, making her way towards them walking slowly. They could see her creepy smile, once sweet, and it gave them chills even from a distance.

“Okay, look” Annabeth’s voice revealed how nervous she was, even if she was trying to hide it “We’ll take Percy inside, and we’ll go to the temple’s altar, all the way up”

“What’s that gonna do to us?” Grover didn’t understand what she meant.

“We’re gonna get to the altar, and we’re going to ask my mom for help”

Her friends looked at her in disbelief, recalling the moment she had told them they couldn’t ask for help, because heroes were supposed to overcome their troubles on their own when they were on a quest.

“I thought we didn’t ask for help” said Percy, still sitting in the fountain, completely drenched.

Annabeth didn’t answer. She resumed her attempt to pick him up, and with Emily’s and Grover’s help they managed, walking him to the entrance of the monument as fast as they could. She stopped then, looking back at the Mother of Monsters, frowning.

“Annabeth we have to go!” urged Emily.

“Didn’t you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

She had heard something. Whispers carried by the wind. Her friends hadn’t.

“Nothing. Come on!”

There were still school groups and regular visitors in the exhibition of the monument, all of them turning to look at them when they practically carried Percy inside towards one of the elevators. They had to make their way up to the very top before it was too late.

“She spoke to you didn’t she?” muttered Percy towards Annabeth, once they had made it inside an elevator. The four of them were alone, sitting in a circle around each other waiting for the doors to close. He was panting heavily, too tired to actually be talking that fast, but the adrenaline he had was still helping out for a bit “Alecto did that with me back in the museum in New York. When she first shew herself to me as a monster. What did she say?”

Annabeth didn’t answer. Emily followed her line of sight seeing a look of surprise and fear in her features, and outside, standing by a railing, they saw Echidna, followed by the terrifying shadow of a monster with horns.

“What is she doing here?!”

“She wasn’t supposed to be able to enter this place!”

“Was that the Chimera?”

Again, they all turned to Annabeth, except Grover, who kept on rambling about the Chimera and wondering out loud how the monster had even gotten inside the temple.

Really, how was that possible?

“Annabeth?”

Her look was set on the floor, features now tense and sorrow at the same time. It took Percy and Emily a few attempts to get her attention back to them:

“What did Echidna say to you?”

Annabeth sighed, and then she rose her chin up, her expression getting harder now.

“She said my impertinence wounded my mother’s pride. And that that will be my doom”

“Impertinence? What kind of-“

Percy realized what she meant mid-phrase. So did Emily.

“Medusa’s head”

“I embarrassed my mother” stated the girl.

“But I’m the one who sent it to Olympus!” replied Percy.

“And I helped” added Emily.

“And I signed the note!” Percy couldn’t see how this was fair. It wasn’t.

“And I went along with it” Annabeth shut both of her. She also saw how this was totally wrong, but she was trying to keep her head cool “It embarrassed her. Now, she’s angry”

Athena wanted to punish the ones responsible for getting on her pride, and she didn’t seem to care that she was putting her own daughter in danger to do that. If was Echidna told Annabeth was true, then Athena actually wanted to punish her too, for something she hadn’t done, only allowed. So much to modern parenting.

“Guys… What are we gonna do?” Grover hadn’t spoken since he had seen the Chimera (hopefully not the actual Chimera, but any other monster wouldn’t be any better, to be honest). Now he looked terrified, glancing at the numbers above the elevator doors signalling that they were close to reaching the end of the ride.

“She isn’t gonna help us when we get to the top to save Percy” replied Annabeth, referring to her mother.

“No! I meant, what are we gonna do about Echidna and Chimera?”

“We don’t really know if it’s the Chimera” mumbled Emily, nervously “She’s the Mother of Monsters, she has other children. Maybe it’s the Nemean Lion”

“The Nemean Lion is actually Echidna’s grandchild. The Chimera is the Nemean Lion’s mother”

“And still, would that be any better?!”

Emily glanced at Grover and shook her head.

“No, I guess not”

“They’re gonna be right behind us” insisted the satyr.

They reached the top too fast for their liking. The elevator bell dinged, and the doors opened revealing the final staircase that would lead them to the observatory platform at the highest point of the arch.

“We’re not gonna have much time” spoke up Annabeth, walking out the first after making sure there was no monster waiting for them. Emily and Grover walked behind her, helping a groaning Percy “They’ll be up here any minute. And if my mother isn’t going to protect us, then we’ll just have to fight it out up here”

The platform at the top of the arch had a curvy floor and small windows on the also curvy walls to look outside and appreciate the views from up there. It was also packed with people, chatting amongst themselves unaware of the imminent danger they would be facing any other second.

They had to get all the mortals out of there; there was only so much the mist could hide from them. A fight against the Mother of Monsters and her pup wouldn’t be easy to camouflage.  Annabeth thought fast, and pulled the fire alarm next to the entrance. It got an immediate response from everybody, and an automated voice spoke from the ceiling alerting the visitors to leave.

“You guys follow them down” Annabeth turned back to them, hurrying them towards the group of people who were lining up to leave.

“What?”

“Are you mental?”

“We’re not splitting up!”

“Guys, come on!” Annabeth rushed them, pulling on Grover’s arm to get him to move, but on the other side of Percy, who was held up by Emily and the satyr, she refused to move “Emily, move”

“You’re crazy if you think we’re leaving you here” she couldn’t believe Annabeth was asking that of her “I’m not going anywhere without you!”

“We’re all getting out of here” added Percy. He was starting to look like a corpse; the poison was spreading faster “Together”

“We won’t make it!” the daughter of Athena kept on pushing them towards the exit as she kept talking “The Chimera is the demigod killer. Someone has to stay back to slow her down and buy everyone some time”

Gotta say, she did have guts for a twelve year old.

“Then I’m staying with you” insisted Emily, once they had reached the door where all the mortals were leaving.

“You have to go with them, to protect them” replied her friend, signalling to the two boys. This wasn’t any easier on her; she was willing to sacrifice herself for them, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t terrified of the thought of dying, and leaving everyone she loved behind “You’re the best fighter I know. You’ll be able to keep them safe, and complete the quest” she hugged Emily when the girl moved forward to embrace her, but she had to push her back before they’d start crying. They were running out of time “Now help Percy down the stairs, and get to the river. And then don’t stop… Not until you get to Hades. Not till you have the bolt, do you hear me?”

Emily was starting to feel nauseous. Her best friend was sacrificing herself to get them more time to complete the quest. To avoid the war. To get them out of there alive.

“Annie no…” she mumbles, but Annabeth shushed her. All the training they had gone through couldn’t have prepared them emotionally for a moment like this, but they were both warriors. As much as it hurt, they knew it was the right thing to do.

There was noise on the other end of the platform. Something heavy was walking up the staircase they had just been on a few minutes ago.

“Okay, go!”

“Wait!”

Percy stopped her from sealing the door, looking into her eyes. He reached to his pocket, letting go of Emily, and he took out a pen. His magical pen.

He took off the cap, and then pen turned into his sword, Riptide. He flipped it over, blade hanging towards the floor, and he reached his arm out towards Annabeth handing her the sword.

“Take this” he urged “Please”

Annabeth set her gaze on the sword, then back to him, and she nodded.

But when her hand reached for the handle, Percy let go of Grover as well, and taking advantage of the ongoing motion and the element of surprise, he switched places with Annabeth having her stand between Emily and Grover, who were too stunned to react. Percy looked back at them for a second before closing the door to the platform, effectively locking them out.

Instantly they began to bang the door with their palms and fists, calling out for him desperately. He was sick, weak from the poison spreading through his system. He was in no condition to fight.

He knew that as well.

“Percy no!” screamed Annabeth “Don’t do this! They’ll kill you!”

“Poseidon’s never helped me before” he said. They heard his voice through the door, as he was leaning against it for support. He was panting, weakness taking over him “He wasn’t gonna start now”

“Percy!”

“Percy no!”

“I would’ve never made it to Hades” he added, in a defeated voice. They could barely hear him anymore “But you can… And now you will”

A roar distracted him, making him glance back to the entrance of the platform. Fear took over him, but also adrenaline. Mostly fear, to be fair.

Grover, Annabeth and Emily heard the roar too, and they glanced at the door as if they could see the platform behind it, imagining Percy facing the monster and Echidna. It was his final hour, and there was nothing they could do help him.

Once the monster killed Percy, they could go on with their quest; they wanted him because everybody thought he was the lightning thief. His friends knew he wasn’t, though.

Because that’s what they were, the four of them: friends.

“No, no, no, no, no, no”

Grover tried opening the door again, but it was to no use. They all stepped back when they heard a loud roar, and something heavy hitting the floor and rolling around.

“Please, no” muttered Emily, hearing the monster roar again. This time, the roar was followed by a horrifying shriek, and even from there they could sense the heat of the fire being thrown at Percy.

There was no doubt now: he was fighting the Chimera.

Then they heard the sound of metal shrieking, and then suddenly the roaring of wind, just as back in the train. Another roar from the monster was followed by a scream, Percy’s scream.

Then there was silence.

The monster stopped growling, there was no other sound from Percy… just the wind whooshing, and some metal creaks here and there. As if by magic, they managed to open the door; the danger had passed, and the lock gave away.

“Percy!”

They rushed to the platform, but the three heroes stopped when they saw a huge hole in the middle of the floor; that was what had made that horrible metallic sound a few seconds ago.

Echidna and the Chimera were gone. But so was Percy.

“Percy?”

He didn’t answer. Emily looked around the platform, but he was nowhere in sight. Annabeth and Grover looked for him too, hoping to see him hanging by one of the metal bars of that hole, but he wasn’t there.

“Is he…?”

“He can’t” stated Annabeth “He can’t have…”

But she couldn’t know. Had the Chimera really killed Percy?

“Guys” muttered Grover; he was on the verge of a breakdown. He couldn’t have lost his best friend “Look”

He pointed over to the other side of the platform, at the other end of the huge hole; there, on the floor, was Riptide. Its blade was stained with blood, so that meant Percy had hurt the monster.

Suddenly, the sword vanished; a second ago it was there, and now it was not.

“Where did it go?”

“It’s magical” Annabeth stared at the spot where the sword had been, barely blinking “It returns to it’s owner when it gets lost. It went back to Percy”

“So he could still be alive!” Emily felt like she could breath again a bit better.

“We have to go find him”

“But the other door is still unlocked” pointed out, Grover “And he didn’t walk past us”

That left only one other way out. The three of them glanced to the hole in the floor in front of them, massive, big, and with a six hundred thirty feet fall underneath it. If he had fallen from the arch…

“The monster’s gone” Annabeth was trying to keep her cool, but she was terrified of the possibility that Percy could have… she didn’t even want to think of it “Let’s get out of here and find Percy. He has to be down there… somewhere. He has to be alive”

They prayed to the gods he was.

----

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[gargrizzled]

Blood Brothers: A Brood Origin Story

Or as I also like to put it - Vampire with the Moral Backbone of a Chocolate Eclair Forcibly Adopts Two Wayward Canadian Bimbos

11/11/23: Chapter 6 is officially up!