#all the kids of apollo having night lights so the cabin is literally NEVER dark

[mo0nagedaydr3am]

LMAO WILL AND NICO HAVING A SLEEPOVER EXCEPT WHEN ITS ACTUALLY TIME TO SLEEP WILL IS LIKE YOU DONT HAVE A NIGHT LIGHT?!?! AND NICO IS LIKE NO??? AND WILL RUNS ALL THE WAY TO THE APOLLO CABIN JUST TO GET HIS NIGHT LIGHT BECAUSE HES SO USED TO HAVING IT AND NOW HE CANT SLEEP WITH OUT IT AHJHGJHGSI 😭😭

[pjo-whore]

Percy Jackson At Hogwarts

Chapter 1: Wizards Are What Now?

Look, Percy never wanted to be half-blood.

Being a half-blood – the child of a mortal human and a god – was dangerous. It was scary. Most of the time, on top of having neglectful parents and a dysfunctional and incestuous family that wanted you dead for petty reasons, it got you killed in other painful, nasty ways.

There wasn’t a day that went by where Percy didn’t feel envious of the kids who didn’t have to deal with the mythological world.

Percy Jackson was seventeen years old. Until a month ago, he was fighting a war against a Greek primoradial, the Earth Mother incarnate, Gaea – also known as his great grandmother. Before that, he fought in a war against his grandfather, Kronos, Greek Titan of Time, who wanted to overthrow the Olympian gods and take over the world and the Empire State Building. Somewhere in between he also found time to spend a month in literal Greek hell, Tartarus, who also happened to be his great grandfather, and who also tried to murder him on sight.

Was Percy a troubled kid?

Yeah. You could say that.

And right now, he was still trying to clean up the mess from the Second Giant War.

Now that there wasn’t a war looming overhead, the gods’ recent exploits were coming to light, and new demigods were popping up everywhere, everyday. The number of demigods skyrocketed now that they were actively searching and not waiting for them to stumble into Camp on their own.

But that also meant there were new kids to train, more demigods for the gods to claim, and less time to recoup from the recent war.

Less than a month had passed since Gaea’s defeat.

The days were filled with helping each other get back on their feet, rebuilding the camps, and trying to keep the fragile peace in order.

There was still a lot to sort out, and the gods weren’t as hands-on as most would like. There was conflict building up. News spread about how the gods helped the seven demigods of the prophecy fight the giants, because a giant couldn’t be killed by a mortal alone, and this made many jealous and angry. The gods could pop in for a single battle when it was their own ass on the line, but not when a group of their own literal kids needed to rebuild their home that was dedicated to the gods?

Besides Chiron and Dionysus, the only god to physically stay at Camp Half-Blood following the battle against Gaea due to his punishment from Zeus, there were no other adults. The oldest demigods were barely twenty. Despite age, most, if not all, the demigods looked to the prophecy demigods for guidance and leadership.

Annabeth, Jason, Percy, Piper, and Nico.

The brunt of the responsibility fell on the daughter of Athena, and the son of Poseidon. They led their Camp through the Second Titan War, and now they were survivors of another war.

Things weren’t easy for a long time.

The Camp was completely ravaged.

During Gaea’s seize of the Greek demigod Camp, the cabins were burned by the monsters and toppled by Gaea’s massive earthquakes. Not even the Big House – the staple of Camp Half-Blood, the oldest building on the lot – survived the attack.

Camp Jupiter didn’t fare any better, but their buildings had been more structurally sound, thicker and built of material that didn’t burn and crumble. Enough buildings were still standing well enough to inhabit.

Everything had to be rebuilt for Camp Half-Blood.

Nobody could be sent home – to their mortal homes, with mortal parents, and a mortal life, mortal being the slang for “normal” among the mythological world – despite the new lack of residency at Camp Half-Blood. Kids needed to heal. There were nightmares and PTSD. Trauma and concussions. People to be counted, bodies missing, some so mauled they were impossible to identify. Several bodies were unearthed from the ground, sucked in by Gaea’s attack and suffocated beneath the dirt.

Shrouds were made for those who could be identified, the unknown buried in unmarked graves to be remembered. Those who were missing were given honorary shrouds, unknowing if they were in one of the unmarked graves. The Romans were unable to do their traditional funeral rituals, transporting the bodies all the way to Camp Jupiter, and were burned in shrouds alongside the Greeks.

Mortal parents simply couldn’t help.

They couldn’t fathom their children being in a war.

There were fears that demigods would be taken away from Camp Half-Blood by their mortal parents, horrified at what their kids were put through. Chiron especially worried about demigods who would be kept from Camp by parents, forcing them to live alone without any mythological world support, to defend against monsters on their own, without any magic or special weapons.

So, among the remaining able-bodied demigods, Greeks alongside Romans worked together to erect the new Big House. Tents from the Romans’ siege on Camp Half-Blood were gifted to the Greeks to provide residency until the new cabins were built, while the Romans started to march back home.

During all the chaos, Percy didn’t have any time to sit down and process all that happened.

The whole Camp looked up to him as a leader, but Percy didn’t feel very strong or wise.

He only felt bitter.

There were some who walked by and whispered “lucky” and “prophecy.”

Some who stopped talking as soon as he walked into the room.

Those who acted like he wasn’t even human, just some untouchable hero; but they ostracized him.

Percy was aware that he was one of the so-called “lucky” campers; lucky being compared, because at least he walked away with all his limbs intact.

It didn’t feel like he was lucky.

He wasn’t unscathed. He bore many scars, visible and not. His time in Tartarus was an impossible nightmare on bad nights, and a shadow on good days.

Percy was learning that he had triggers.

He was learning Annabeth did, too.

Neither liked using elevators.

Annabeth’s expression went tight when Percy used his powers around her. She turned away, sometimes completely leaving the area.

She got antsy in the dark, a childhood fear resurfaced.

There were other little things; at night when she had nightmares she would toss and turn in bed, sweating through her clothes and sheets, despite the breeze being cold. Sometimes Annabeth would completely avoid Percy, acting snappish, always coming back and apologizing in the end, and they would hold each other like they were hanging over the chasm again.

Annabeth refused to talk about what she saw in her nightmares, and Percy never pushed. He was one of the only people who could understand what she was going through.

Sometimes all they could do was sit and try to drown out the memories of The Pit.

Percy’s triggers were different.

He developed a deep-seated hatred for empousai. The moment he saw one, his body started to shake with adrenaline and nerves, fire flashing before his eyes.

Percy could no longer look at the stars without feeling a deep loss, tears pricking at his eyes.

He prayed to his father, Poseidon, more often, as if trying to re-establish his connection to the sea, to re-establish his connection to the Overworld, as if that could cleanse him of what happened in The Pit. As if he could wash away the touch of The Pit.

Percy’s nightmares were always blurry and violent. He wouldn’t snap awake like others. He didn’t startle or jerk upright. He didn’t make a single noise. He would wake silently, and lay there in bed, eyes open and unseeing, that shattered glass feeling he always dreaded at the bottom of his stomach. After he could never go back to sleep, and he would get up and sit on the tile in his cabin for hours and look in the mirror and wait for the image to change. He would wait for it to reflect what he feared, though it never did.

*

“Okay, so, how big is the situation? Is it like, ‘Aphrodite lost her hairbrush again’ big? Or is it ‘Gaea has risen again’ big?”

Annabeth frowned. “I don’t know. All Chiron said was that a god needed our help – and I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the sound of that.” She chewed her bottom lip in thought as they headed toward the Big House. They had been asked to attend a private meeting with Chiron, outside of the camp counselor meeting. “He sounded serious, too. Whichever god it is must be an asshole to seek help so soon after the war.”

She wasn’t wrong, Percy thought.

Jason was appointed Pontifex Maximus in Camp Jupiter, and as such he was responsible of advising the praetors, ruling over the Camp Jupiter counsel, and overseeing the work and prayers to the minor gods. His promise to Kymopoleia to bring worship and awareness for all minor gods became his fulltime job, and it was ruled that most gods must go through Jason to request help from either demigod camp.

A god asking for help directly after a full-scale war? Using Chiron as their connection? It was a hit below the belt, and it made Percy frustrated.

A few demigods raised their heads in greeting as Percy and Annabeth passed by the arts and crafts center. Conner and Travis Stoll, who were trying to build bombs with bits and pieces from the forge, took one look at Percy, then at Annabeth, and wiggled their brows suggestively. Percy unsubtly stuck them the bird, and they started to laugh their assess off.

The Big House was smaller now, after being rebuilt.

What could be scavenged from the attic was saved, but most of it was lost. Magical artifacts and ancient texts were burned and crushed. Now the Big House served mostly as the infirmary, aside from the drop-by medicinal tent near the Apollo cabin, where more medical supplies were. The Apollo and Hephaestus cabins had been the first to be rebuilt because they gave needed services.

Aside from the infirmary, the Big House had a commons area for meetings, and housed a kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

Checking in the commons area, Chiron was in his wheelchair. Nico was sitting at the beloved ping pong table, which had somehow survived the siege on Camp, and Thalia was sitting backwards on a chair by the new counselor table, which no one ever used.

Percy sat next to Nico and twirled the ping pong paddle between his hands, Annabeth taking her usual seat during counsel meetings.

Chiron looked tense.

“Now, I know that only a month has passed since the end of the Second Giant War, but –”

The air practically sparked with the collective tension that built.

“– a new quest has been issued.”

Annabeth leaned forward in her seat, interested. “Chiron, you can’t have an official quest without a prophecy. And the last time I checked; the Oracle of Delphi wasn’t working right now.”

“Well, it’s a good thing this isn’t a quest from the Greek pantheon, then.”

Percy cocked a brow and shared a look with Annabeth.

“The Roman pantheon doesn’t have an oracle, and their last augur exploded himself, so –”

“It’s a friend of Lady Hecate, the Triple Goddess.”

Dead silence.

“The Triple Goddess?” Percy parroted. “I don’t follow.”

“The Triple Goddess is of the Old Religion, once practiced in Europe hundreds of years ago by the druids and magic users in general. It belonged to Albion, a land of five kingdoms, before it split into the United Kingdom and Ireland.”

“What does that have to do with us?” Nico said.

“All those years ago, in the middle ages, after the golden age of the Greek pantheon, the Old Religion became very popular in Albion. Magic was something that anyone could practice even if they weren’t born with the innate talent, with the proper training. Through the ages, though, the religion declined, and the New Religion rose and became the staple. While the Old Religion relied on the magic of the land, sea, and sky; the New Religion relied on your inner magical core, and so not everyone could do this new magic.”

Chiron shifted in his wheelchair and pulled out a small stack of photos, but when he tossed them onto the ping pong table, the demigods saw that they held moving pictures.

In one photo, it showed a person standing over a boiling cauldron, on the wooden table beside them, old parchment with a quill that moved by itself, writing on the paper. The picture moved slightly, the character stirring the cauldron. Then the animated picture reset and repeated.

In another photo, two persons stood facing each other, holding purposefully shaped wooden sticks, pointing them at each other. Bright lights exploded from the tips of the sticks, and their robes and hair swayed with strong winds.

In the last photo, a person was wearing a uniform of sorts, with a helmet and pads on their knees and elbows. They held an old broomstick between their knees, and metal hinges held on the back close to the bristles, like a hitch for the feet. In the picture, the person grabbed onto the end of the broomstick and shot into the air, like magic. It gave image to the stereotype of witches flying on brooms in the night.

“The Old Religion died out because the land lost its magic. Only select spots held magical creatures and natural magic. Magic was only preserved through the New Religion, and those who practiced the New Religion became witches and wizards. The lot of them went into hiding and created their own society – the wizarding world.”

“In today’s day and age, magic is passed down through genetics. And sometimes, those with magic cores can be born to those with no magic at all. The population of magic users stays stable, and there is balance in the world of magic …” Chiron winced. “Mostly.”

“But these people have lost contact with the Triple Goddess. They no longer worship or prayer to her. They rely solely on their own magic, not what comes naturally from the land, like in the Old Religion. And recently, war has passed for them. The Second Wizarding War ended four months ago. And this has severely depleted their resources and magic. There is a school for the magic users, used as the stronghold during the war, and now the wizarding world’s hero is returning to finish his studies.”

“His moniker is ‘The Boy Who Lived,’ and he’s called Harry Potter. But he was only a child – is only a child. He and his peers are children who have been used to fight a war that they shouldn’t have had to fight.” Chiron looked very grim.

Percy bitterly sank back in his seat.

“We were kids, too.”

Chiron sighed. “This war has thrown the balance of magic out of whack. The natural magic has been depleted for too long, and there are those who are actively tipping the balance to sabotage the magic for their own gain. It’s suspected that the dark forces from the war – Death Eaters – are still operating in the shadows. It is because of this that the Triple Goddess has called upon you as heroes to help restore the wizarding world and save magic.”

“You would only be obligated to attend the school of Hogwarts until you uncovered the source of oppression over magic, so the Death Eaters can be caught and restrained. If you choose to accept, of course.”

Percy eyed him sharply. “You say that as if we have a choice.”

Chiron pursed his lips. “Despite what you think, yes, you do.”

“But this is from a whole other pantheon,” Nico said. “A group of magical people who don’t even believe in the goddess who brought about their magic. Why do we have to fix this?”

More silence.

Chiron looked down on them unapologetically.

Percy shifted uncomfortably, looking over at Annabeth. Chiron seriously expected them to just up and leave Camp for this quest. Barely a month had passed since their own war, and they were getting by as they were. Percy didn’t believe Camp Half-Blood could afford to lose any support or cabin counselors, even for a short period of time.

“So, let me get this straight,” Percy said. “Basically – if I just ignore the little prologue, you gave there – you want us to go to this magical school, on orders of a goddess that’s almost faded, stalk a kid, and watch out for people who like to try to rob the world of magic – magic, which they use themselves.”

Chiron looked pained. “No, I don’t believe they’re purposefully robbing the world of magic.”

“Oh, well that clears everything up.” Percy threw his hands in the air.

“Regardless, you understand what’s being asked. This is a quest, technically coming from Hecate, as a favour for the Triple Goddess. It’s valid as a hero’s quest. It was decided it would be best that you go undercover as transfer students and secretly watch over Harry Potter, the target for most Death Eaters. Your goal is to prevent trouble before it gets serious, though I doubt that will be hard, as trouble always manages to find you –”

“Wait, hold on,” Percy said, still hung-up on the quest. “How are we supposed to fit in at a school for the magically gifted? None of us are wizards.”

“Oh, that is something that can easily be fixed,” Chiron said, dismissing the problem.

“Excuse me?!” Thalia said.

“Hecate considered this quest from the Triple Goddess for a long time before coming to me.”

Percy rolled his eyes. Out of everyone in the room, he had the least faith in the gods. They never gave him anything to have faith in.

Annabeth narrowed her eyes at the camp director. “And how exactly does Hecate plan on ‘fixing’ the problem? I don’t see any obvious solutions. We’re demigods, not wizards.”

Chiron shifted awkwardly. “She has not shared that with me. I have only gotten the request that you undertake this quest for the Old Religion, and that she will visit to prepare you.”

Percy felt like grinding his teeth. “Oh, so she just expected us to accept the quest. She never considered us refusing? Why can’t the wizards fix their own problem?” Chiron said nothing. “Camp is still in shambles – we don’t even have all the cabins rebuilt yet! We can’t leave, not now. There’s still too much work to do here, and too many new demigods to watch over and protect. And have you even considered that maybe we don’t want to go on this quest? That maybe we want a break? My entire childhood was prophecy after prophecy, quest after quest, serving the gods. We’re under no obligation to do this. You can tell Hecate that she can stick her magic wands up –”

He didn’t get the chance to finish because Annabeth had already taken a ping pong paddle and smashed a ping pong ball in his direction, the mutual action used to keep order in camp counselor meetings.

“BALL!” Annabeth yelled, slamming her paddle across the table.

Percy scowled and took his seat again.

“Now, Percy,” she said sweetly, leaning over the table. “Where did you say Hecate could put those wands?”

“Nowhere,” he muttered.

Annabeth acquiesced and put the paddle down.

“Where is this school anyway?” Nico asked. He frowned. “And Hogwarts? What kind of name is that?”

“It resides in Scotland, its exact location unknown and hidden by powerful magic. Outside of the school, which is an ancient and famous monument for the wizarding world, there are other magical establishments. One place you will be required to visit is Diagon Alley, a wizarding market. That’s where you’ll collect your resources for going undercover at school.”

“Again, you’re saying all this like we’ve agreed to go,” Percy mumbled.

He was ignored. Thalia raised her hand, her features etched with confusion. “Okay, I hate to be the one to say it – but how are we supposed to blend in with wizards and witches? We can’t use magic, and we know nothing about their world.”

Chiron admitted he didn’t know how Hecate would find ways around the problems. “She has informed me that, only once the quest is accepted, will she come and discuss the details. In fact, she should be arriving any moment –”

What happened next could not have been anymore dramatic.

There was a blinding flash of light – the glow filling the entire room – and it forced the demigods to cover their eyes lest they go blind from laying eyes upon a god’s true form.

All eyes landed on the goddess, technically titaness.

Hecate appeared as a tall, thin woman. Her dark brown hair was tied up in a kekryphalos, the shining coil twisting and adorned with intricate gems and metals. Loose strands of hair framed her sickly pale face, which held sharp chartreuse yellow eyes. She wore a dark chiton robe that draped over her thin figure, and it seemed to ripple like a heat hallucination, like ink spilling off to the ground.

At her feet, she was accompanied by a black Labrador retriever and a polecat.

The demigods all stood as one and politely bowed, as was common for all gods. Percy glared up through his bow as he followed reluctantly.

“Rise, my young heroes.” The goddess’ voice was smooth and rich. She sounded monotone. “You have done more than enough to prove your worth to me, and for that, I know that I can trust you. I have called you four here on special request from the Triple Goddess, who has observed your acts of heroics. She believes you can save the wizarding world, her beloved kin, and magics.”

“You will use the ways of the Old Religion to learn magics and go undercover. As demigods, you already have magical cores. They just need to be trained; refined.”

Percy scowled.

“And will the oh-so-gracious Triple Goddess be visiting us herself?”

Annabeth shot him a scathing look.

“Percy!” She hissed.

Hecate eyed Percy again, as if reappraising him. “No,” she said, after a tense silence. “You will be sent to get your wands from one who still practices the Old Religion and can pair you with an appropriate wand. Your cover stories are fabricated and with the wandmaker. The Triple Goddess does not appear without dire need.”

“Her entire world being in trouble seems pretty dire to me,” Percy muttered under his breath.

Annabeth elbowed him harshly.

Hecate narrowed her eyes.

“This,” she said, pulling a laminated piece of paper out of thin air, “is called a portkey. It is an enchanted item; when touched by the intended people, or random persons, it can magically teleport you to a predetermined location.”

She held it out to demigods.

On it, in fancy letters, it read: Littletree Farms, Dorchester, Boston, Massachusetts.

“Touch this, all at once, and you will have accepted the quest.”

Chiron gave them an encouraging nod. The demigods all shared exchanged looks.

“Our responsibilities …” Thalia started, subconsciously reaching up to grab at her lieutenant circlet, from the Hunters of Artemis.

“Will be forgiven for the time while on quest,” Hecate assured. “The Triple Goddess does not ask favours lightly. This has the potential to spill into the real world; to affect our pantheon. The Old Religion is younger than the Greek pantheon, but its reach goes far and wide. The Triple Goddess is powerful; no harm will befall your precious little Camp while you are away.”

Nico hesitated, but was the first to reach for the paper. “If this is really that important … why ask for us specifically? A larger group, organized and planned, could do better.”

“The Triple Goddess has observed you, and believes you are the right heroes to help save magic.”

“But right now? This instant? Can’t we have time?”

“You will come back to your little Camp before you leave for Europe.”

Annabeth pursed her lips, then also reached for it. “Okay.”

Percy looked at her, askance. “Okay? Just like that?”

Annabeth shrugged. “A quest is a quest, and someone needs help. We are in peace right now and have no threats. I don’t see why not.”

“Fine,” Percy said, tone short. He looked over at the laminated paper. “So, this will take us where? What’s in Boston that could be so magical?”

“A wand wood farm,” Hecate said, smiling thinly. “And your quest starts now.”

Percy’s eyes snapped to the paper, where Hecate had pushed it into their collective hands unwillingly. Then the world began to spin, and there was a sharp tug in his gut, yanking him out of time and space.

*

[fbfh]

glowing - leo x reader

genre: fluffy mutual pining w quick (cute) resolution

word count: 1.6k

au: none??

pairing: Leo x Daughter of Apollo

requested: hell ye!! hope you enjoy it xo 

warnings: none?? yr half sibs n nico are all protective over you but nothing unhealthy lol

summary: You and Leo have been crushing on each other and cockblocked by your siblings for too long, so you decide to take matters into your own hands. 

reccomended songs: sunshine - atlas, musetta’s waltz - moonstruck soundtrack

a/n: not super edited but what’s new lol  i just forgot how to spell edit for a hot second lmao

requests r open babes xo

Between your siblings being ready to maul someone with arrows (and bad music) at a moment’s notice, and Nico - honorary brother and the Apollo cabin’s unofficial bodyguard, dating is… tricky. Even your uncoordinated eight year old half brother Kevin has offered to bang on a guitar and scream, making everyone’s ears bleed. A few weeks ago, an Ares kid made your little sister Sophie cry, and Nico found out. The entire Ares cabin spent two weeks getting all the skeletons out of their closets. Literally. More human bones would appear every time they cleared some out, rattling unsettlingly. People generally don’t mess with you, or other Apollo kids, which you usually don’t mind. You wouldn’t even give it a second thought.

But you did give it a second thought. And a third. And a fourth. And several others. All of them centered around Leo Valdez. You’ve been admiring him from afar for weeks. You didn’t know why his friends were so hard on him at times. You got the vibe that if he started dating someone, his friends would give him the ‘hurt them and we’ll kill you’ speech instead of the other way around. 

At first simply observing was cathartic, seeing him fix swords and laugh with his friends, but as time went on, it just became frustrating. You just want something to happen, you want to make him as happy as he makes you. The most frustrating part was that there had been so many missed opportunities. There was the time two weeks ago when you were flirting after picking up your harp bow from getting a few touch ups, the time after that you two lost track of time and watched the sunset on the docks, and just days ago when you stayed up late talking in Bunker 9 when neither of you could sleep. 

Every single time, one of your siblings either scared him off or dragged you away before you could leave. Most recently, it was Will and Nico. You could swear Nico was muttering to Will, something along the lines of “what is it with that guy and going after my little sisters?”  This wasn’t surprising, since they got together, the whole cabin has made Nico feel really welcome, resulting in him treating you all like sibling-figures. 

You shake your head, trying to focus on the sparring practice that starts in a few minutes. Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter are arranging the first inter-camp capture the flag match, and everyone’s really excited. And training like crazy. If it goes well, it might happen as frequently as once a month, but you have to get through this one, first. Most of the extra time at camp has been spent practicing sparring, battle strategy, and other tactics. Campers were encouraged to watch other fights closely, try to spot defensive weaknesses, and study technique. Right now, Leo and Jason are demonstrating some method of something or other. You’re watching Leo fight, and you’re just… awestruck. You don't even know what to do with yourself. He's agile and light on his feet, and he moves almost like a cat. His muscles flex as he strikes, and your heart lurches. It looks like he's losing. All of a sudden he smirks, and shoots out a blast of flame, sending Jason stumbling back. Campers applaud at the successful win, and he jokingly bows. 

"Thank you, thank you… I'm amazing, I know-" Jason shoves him jokingly, and clears his throat for the crowd's attention, while Leo gets a glass of water. 

"Okay guys, pair up to practice sparring. Don't be afraid to spar with someone new, the more fighting styles you know the better…" you turn towards the water cooler.  Watching him now, you could swear he's all god. He has a gold halo in the late afternoon sunshine, and a drop of water trickles down his face onto his neck. You make a small strangled noise and know this has gone far enough. You need to do something about this crush before it kills you. You walk over to him, and before you can chicken out, ask, “Hey Leo, want to spar?” He almost chokes on his water. He agrees, seeming pleasantly surprised that you asked him. You pull out your harp bow and he pulls out a large, flat hammer. 

‘Good for offense and defense,’ you think, ‘he’s smarter than he looks…’ 

You start off slowly, getting a feel for each other, and your fighting styles. You spar for hours, and end up tied for wins and losing track of time. He gets you off balance with a fancy move, and next thing you know, there’s a nail gun at your neck. 

“I win,” he pants, smirking. Your cheeks flush.

“Can you- show me how to do that?” you say, catching your breath. He agrees, and walks behind you, hands on yours. He shows you how to shift your weight, causing your opponent to lose theirs. His right hand moves to your thigh, readjusting your alignment. 

“...Keeping your center of gravity low,” he breathes, his lips dangerously close to your ear, “so you won’t fall.” Neither of you move away yet. You turn your face towards his, eyes on the ground.

“Can you… show me again…” you breathe. A smile twitches at his lips. He leans in, and-

“Apollo cabin, inspection time!” You jump away from each other.

“All Apollo campers back to cabin seven asap!” you flinch at your brother’s voice, which you know is directed at you. You sigh, turn towards him, and yell back, “I’m coming, just finishing this sparring match!” You see him retreat and turn back to Leo. Before he knows it, you have him pinned to the ground. 

“Gotcha,” you say with a smirk of your own. You lean further down, and whisper, “Meet me at the docks at midnight.” You pull away, and jog off toward your cabin, leaving Leo flustered and excited. 

Later that night when you finally reach the docks, Leo’s already there. “Hi,” he says when he sees you, “I know I’m a little bit early I just… got nervous…” You giggle and reassure him.

“I just hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long,” 

“Don’t worry,” he replies, “it was worth the wait.” You blush. He looks around, and you realize he’s nervous.

“Don’t worry about the cleaning harpies,” you comfort him, “I left them some muddy armor to distract them, we should be good for a while,” you both laugh a little, and you realize he’s staring at you. You look at him inquisitively, a smile playing at your lips and a blush creeping up your cheeks.

“What?”

"You're glowing," he breathes the words softly, amazed by your presence. You look down at your arms, and blush. Your cheeks turn a soft, fluorescent shade of rose. Bioluminescence was a very rare, pretty useless power that some children of Apollo could have. It did, however, allow you to act as a nightlight for your cabin, which everyone (older kids included) enjoyed. No one in your cabin did well in the dark, so everyone slept a little better since you'd been claimed. 

“You are glowing, right? It’s not just me?” he asks, half joking. 

“Yeah, no,” you confirm, snapping out of your thoughts, “that’s a… thing that happens sometimes. It’s saved me a lot of bruised shins in the middle of the night.” As you both laugh, you decide enough is enough. 

“So, I’m taking the fact that you showed up here at all a good sign,” you say, knowing you have to start somewhere, “I don’t really know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it.” Your adrenaline is racing. Your limbs are tingly, and your heart is beating so fast. You know you have his full attention, which makes all of that worse. It’s now or never, you remind yourself, and I’m choosing now.

“I have a huge crush on you.” Visible surprise and excitement is all over his face and body language, and an involuntary smile starts on his mouth. You continue, partially aware that you’re nervous rambling at this point.

“I was hoping you might say it first, but my siblings and Nico are so intimidating and I was like forget that, I’m seizing the day, and…”

“And?” he asks, in a breathless smile.

“And… do you-”

“I like you too. A lot - just ask my friends, I never shut up about you-” You can’t hold back a giggle as you place your hands on his face and pull him in for a kiss. He’s stunned for a second before he kisses you back, gently resting his hands on your arms. You smile into the kiss, which makes him smile, and-

“What the hell, Valdez?!” 

You jump, pulling apart from him. 

“Will! What are you-” before you can finish the thought, darkness pools at his feet and suddenly Nico is standing in front of him. He greets Will with a mushy pet name and leans in to kiss him, but Will stops him before he can and clears his throat. 

“Wha-” Nico turns his head, “...oh…” 

You laugh in disbelief. Mr. High And Mighty was here for the exact same reason you were. You smile fades as you realize that even though you have dirt on him, he still has dirt on you. 

“You know,” you say, reaching for Leo’s hand, “I don’t know if I saw you here, or what…” 

Will wraps an arm around Nico, and starts in the opposite direction. “Funny, I don’t remember seeing you either,” he shrugs.

“Right,” you reply. 

“Right.”

You both drag your respective boyfriends in opposite, more private directions. Suffice it to say, there was a lot more kissing that night - and no more interruptions.

[sides-of-demigods]

Emile and Remy

EMILE PICANI (20)

Oracle of Delphi

The Oracle of Delphi is a mortal with the sight that Apollo blessed with the gift of prophecy, specifically making them the vessel of the spirit of Delphi.

I know, I know, plenty of problems with that, but we'll get to those later I swear, just wanna get through the basic stuff.

Emile is influenced by the spirit of Delphi, giving him visions and occasionally possessing him to provide prophecies.

The visions can happen in dreams or when awake and are not always helpful. Sometimes they're full-on visions, but often they're symbolic or just short flashes or don't make sense with no context.

So, you know how in the PJO books, Rachel Dare painted her visions? Emile writes them.

And not in an "Oh this is what happened" like he's taking notes, he writes them like a story to get down every detail possible.

As for prophecies, well there's a risk that every time he's asked a question the spirit of Delphi will take control and give an entire freaking prophecy, but usually she only does that when the person actually needs a prophecy.

Sometimes it will come completely unprompted though, he'll just go into Prophecy Mode for like no reason and confuse everyone.

He doesn't do a lot of fighting and prefers to talk his way through things, but he does have a dagger that Roman and Logan helped teach him to use just in case.

Emile has dirty blonde hair, so dark that sometimes it can pass as a really light brown.

His eyes are bright blue, but when he's having a vision or giving a prophecy they'll glow an eerie sickly green color.

As for height, he's just taller than Patton, but comfortable at 5'9" (175 cm).

Besides, his boyfriend is way taller, and he actually quite enjoys the height difference.

Since he doesn't actually train with everyone, he isn't as well built, but he can hold his own.

Sort of.

Now for the question I'm sure you're asking: "Hey, Sara, why the fuck is Emile the Oracle of Delphi. She's supposed to be a woman. Is your head broken?"

Well here's the thing...he was.

That's right y'all, Emile Picani is transgender.

He became the Oracle of Delphi and arrived at camp around 4 years ago when he was sixteen.

It wasn't until a year later that he realized shit...he was a boy.

Cue internal freakout for a MULTITUDE of reasons.

He knew that only a woman was supposed to be the Oracle of Delphi, and without the spirit of Delphi he was just a random mortal who for some reason could see through the mist.

He wouldn't be able to stay at Camp.

He didn't want to do that!

He had friends, and he just loved Camp.

He and Remy had just said "I love you" a few months ago, and he'd already made arrangements with Chiron to take up permanent residence once he graduated high school.

Should he just deal with it? Should he really just risk all that just because he felt a little dysphoric everytime someone called him Amelia?

Thankfully Remy noticed something was up and the two talked all through the night about what to do, names, and things like that.

Technically Remy was supposed to go back to his cabin, but Chiron let him stay.

The next day, during announcements at dinner, Emile went up and announced that he was a boy and that he'd be going by Emile now.

Almost the entire camp cheered.

Remy announced that anyone who had a problem with it would have to deal with him.

Suddenly everyone was clapping.

Apollo showed up a few days later to sort everything out.

Apparently, you were the Oracle of Delphi until death, so Emile got to stay at Camp and everything was perfect.

Back to his powers for a second.

His powers have an effect on his body.

When having a vision, Emile will stop whatever he's doing or saying and just stand there, his eyes glowing.

Afterward, he'd feel lightheaded, dizzy, and dazed, which was where Remy came in.

Usually Emile would stumble a bit and Remy would be there to catch him every single time without fail. He'd take the shorter boy somewhere to sit down for a minute while he recovered and Emile would write down what he saw.

As for prophecies, those were worse.

Emile wouldn't be able to stand so Remy would grab one of the stools they keep at key places around camp just for this purpose and situate him on it.

Emile would seize up and speak in a voice that wasn't his. Green smoke would seem to appear from nowhere and his eyes would glow.

Immediately afterward he'd completely pass out sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for hours.

Remy would immediately scoop him up and carry him to his room in the Big House and stay with him until he woke up.

Fun Fact: Emile is a permanent resident of Camp with a room in the Big House ever since he graduated high school. He is taking online classes for a Degree in Psychology in his free time

REMY DORMIR (19)

Son of Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty

Remy has very very basic charmspeak. He can do very basic commands and can really only give people a push.

But however, he is really good with illusions. Not magic in general like the Hecate kids, just illusions and especially glamors.

In his words, the Mist is his bitch.

Remy actually has two signature weapons, because why not? He never adhered to tradition before so why start now?

The first is a stave/staff that the now Head Counselor of Hecate Camden Foote made for him. Not only does it help him focus his spells and control it more but it gives him an extra reserve to draw from other than himself.

His second is a spear but with the way he uses it it's basically a pointy bo staff.

Literally the only reason it has a spearhead is because you can’t kill monsters with a stick.

The staff is made of aspen wood with a black and silver grip, and the top resembles branches with a bright white light in the middle when Remy is using it.

The spear however is ebony with the usual celestial bronze spearhead and a simple black leather grip. Other than that, it’s not really anything special or extravagant.

Remy is a tall boi, he’s the same height as Logan, which means he’s six feet (182 cm)

His hair is jet black, like “holy crap how is it possible for hair to be that dark” black.

His eyes are gray but somehow they aren’t dull and instead intriguing

Emile is so lucky because his boyfriend is hot as hell

Okay moving on before I forget that I’m a lesbian today

Remy is one of those kids who literally had no idea he was a demigod but once he found out everything in his life suddenly made so much sense.

Like, for instance, the fact that girls were always all over him and people always seemed to want to hang out with him even though they had never met before.

He came to camp for his first summer at 11 years old, so about 8 years ago and the same year Thomas came to camp.

Since then he’s been coming every summer and switched to year-round literally like the second he graduated High School at 17.

No literally, like he changed out of his cap and gown and then drove to camp.

Then all of a sudden he was living there.

As for his family…

His family was stupid rich, and he still had full access to the money as long as he didn't do anything stupid.

He and his dad weren’t estranged and they definitely cared about each other but they just weren’t that close, and Remy was even more distant from his stepdad.

No mortal siblings or friends, but Remy didn’t really need them either.

He and Emile met for the first time when Remy was on a quest. It wasn’t anything major, in fact, it was just him and Thomas hunting down a rogue monster.

The two cornered the thing in an alley and managed to kill it but not before Emile witnessed the whole thing.

And it wasn’t the boys beating up a homeless dude or something, like the Mist should have made Emile see, but he saw everything, from the monster to Remy’s staff.

Remy managed to calm the freaked out mortal and explained the situation as best he could.

The two kept in touch and when it was announced that a search would begin for a new host for the Oracle Remy knew exactly who to call.

The rest was history.

The weird thing for Remy was that he found himself with a crush on Emile, or Amelia at the time, which was beyond confusing because he could have sworn he was gay. But who knew, maybe he was homoflexible.

What he did know was that he REALLY liked Emile. He confessed this soon after Emile took on the spirit of the Oracle and the two started dating

Remy is scary.

When you meet him or talk to him he seems so laid-back and cool and friendly.

But anyone who’s ever seen him fight can tell you that he is NOT someone you should mess with.

The way he moves and fights and even does magic is so fluid and quick it seems effortless.

It’s not just physical though.

Maybe it’s because he’s a child of Aphrodite or maybe it’s just the way he is, but if he wanted to he could easily verbally eviscerate someone.

He has this uncanny ability to be able to tell what your flaws and insecurities and exactly how to exploit them.

And not to mention that he os like the DEFINITION of protective.

Basically everyone is low-key scared of him and they should be.

Fun fact: Thanks to Remy literally always having Starbucks with him, there’s a rumor around camp hat Children of Aphrodite have the ability to summon Starbucks at any time. This obviously isn’t true but none of the Aphrodite kids are denying it. Honestly, half the time the Starbucks isn’t even real, it’s an illusion.

[hyungswons-blog]

demigod!hyungwon

percy jackson and the olympians au ft. monsta x

hyungwon, son of athena

so you’ve actually been in camp for a long time

probably one of the longest campers tbh and you’re one of those camp counsellors so you know everyone but you don’t know everyone

when you meet hyungwon for the third time, all your mind keeps repeating is “pretentious asshole pretentious asshole pretenti—” because he’s a son of athena and always wears those round lensless glasses while using big words

and then you realize the book he’s reading is upside down

you snort and walk past him because you’ve gotta smuggle some alcohol into camp

honestly how are you a camp counsellor

but you’re a child of dionysus so it’s no surprise you’re out here making preps for a party that’s not authorized

anyways everyone is invited

but hyungwon wants a personal invitation

except he doesn’t want to say it personally

he’s been dropping hints for like a week but you’re always busy with your duties and even when you’re not, you’re always hanging around your best friend changkyun and pulling pranks on the whole camp

lmao son of hermes and child of dionysus as bffs? a recipe for disaster tbh

anyways x2

hyungwon’s like “hey piggy”

and you’re like “excuse me???”

and then he imitates your snort as if you didn’t do it on purpose???

so you just

“does reading upside down help the dyslexia?” and walk away while smirking

fast forward a couple days to the party and bless apollo kids for offering to host the party in their cabin bc it’s soundproof

so it’s past curfew and the cool kids™ all sneak out of their cabins to hit up the apollo cabin filled with vodka and bright lights and beer pong and loud music

and while you’re sneaking out you run into hyungwon

actually he’s waiting outside your cabin which is weird

and he’s like “where are you going”

and you’re like “the party”

and he’s like “what party?” with this smug smile and you forget that you didn’t invite him (athena kids frown upon the idea of parties) but word was spreading within the campers anyways

you sigh “dionysus and apollo kids are throwing a party”

“chiron is gonna love this”

he pretends to march towards the big house but you grab his wrist and pull him back

“do NOT tell him”

“why?”

“yOu KnOw WhY!!!” because you’ll probably have to do dishes for the next year as the host and clean the stables

hyungwon taps his chin and you really wanna hit him with a bottle of booze that you SHOULD BE downing right now if it weren’t for his interruption

and just when he opens his mouth you hear the flapping of wings

“curfew harpy” you hiss

so you pull him into the dionysus cabin and shut the door because if the harpies catch you out after curfew they’ll literally attack before ratting you out to chiron

this was probably a bad move though because it’s dark and empty and you’ve pressed hyungwon against the door

your ear is pressed to the door listening for any signs of the harpy figuring you out

and hyungwon’s just ,,, staring down at you because even in the dark you’re so beautiful and you’re so close to him and he’s been focusing on you so much, trying to get you to invite him to the party, that he hasn’t noticed how he’s noticed the little things about you

like how you smile when another team wins in capture the flag because you just like the fun of it all

and how you get really happy when you drink root beer at dinner because it’s the closest to alcohol you can get without being punished

and how you smell like fresh grapes on a summer morning on the farm

and oh god he likes you

but you barely notice him

how did this happen he was literally just trying to infiltrate this party to see what fun the athena kids get left out of

“i think it’s safe” you say, relieved, and finally step back from him “okay, if i let you come, will you promise not to tell chiron?”

so that’s how he ends up being the only kid of athena at the party

and it’s actually wild because hyungwon is,, a lot more fun than you imagined

he sucks at beer pong so he quickly becomes intoxicated and that’s when he really lets loose

like literally, his limbs are everywhere while he dances and he’s really,,, clingy

like you’re playing never have i ever and he’s leaning on you trying to steal your shots

it gets to the point where you give him a few shots of water to sober him down

and you end up having to carry him out of the cabin before dawn because everyone wants a little more time of freedom but hyungwon is,, literally a passed out limp noodle

you take him to your cabin and let him use your bed because it’s closer than the athena cabin (plus if they knew he was drunk, someone was bound to spill the beans to chiron)

as a child of dionysus it takes a little more to get you drunk, but you hadn’t even become tipsy because you had to babysit hyungwon

clearly he was a newbie to the party scene

anyways besides the apollo kids, dionysus kids knew best how to nurse a hangover so you sat beside the bed with advil and a glass of water (plus ginger, you guys have a stash in the bathroom for these exact situations)

he wakes up a few hours later, just in time for breakfast

he’s like,,, really cute when tired,, hair all dishevelled,, face a little puffy,, he looks like an overgrown baby

and he’s totally lost

“hey champ, how ya feelin?”

he looks around and is like “where am i?”

“dionysus cabin. you had a wild night, kid”

he takes the medicine gratefully and downs the water and he’s struggling to get to his feet so you offer him your support

but halfway to breakfast you force him to walk on his own bc you don’t want chiron to get suspicious right

but ok this one is a surprise

he sits at the dionysus table NEXT TO YOU (which is totally against the rules btw and every athena kid is staring because he’s breaking the rules AND he wasn’t in the cabin in the morning AND he’s sitting with you???? super suspicious)

you just give him a “what the fuck are you doing” look but he doesn’t care because

“why can’t i remember what happened last night?”

you spit out your juice

“that’s called a hangover, sweetie” you whisper

“yeah but,,,” he's panicking like what if he told you about his newly discovered crush on you or woRsE?!?

anyways now he’s watching you all day to see any signs of odd behaviour that could give away ,,, that,,, but also because you’re cute and everything you do is cute

you totally notice it

so you whisper in his ear while he helps you in mythology class

“there’s another party tonight.”

there’s not really

he shows up at the “party cabin” only to find that you’re the only one there and instead of alcohol you have root beer (because you are NOT taking care of drunk hyungwon again)

anyways he’s like “what i thought there was a party”

you snort and you’re like “why were you staring at me all day?”

and this smartass just crosses his arms with faux confidence like “well if you noticed that, then you’d have to have been staring at ME all day”

you both take a step closer to each other

“touché”

“,,,”

he’s totally staring at your lips

and you’re staring at his

holy shit they’re luscious and they look soft and what the shit what the shit what the shit what was your plan again??,

“why’d you call me here, piggy?” he asks cockily

“you’re so stupid”

“no wtf my mom is the goddess of wisdom”

“then why haven’t u kissed me yet nerd?”

you both smile and then he’s cupping your cheeks and his lips move languidly against yours

but wait

“did you just call me piggy?”

“you called me stupid”

“touché”

n then he kisses you again

[willandlyra]

when i rise i see you falling

a couple of anons have requested something with will being the insecure one, or a bit of a mess, in the relationship. so: 

in which will is sad, and neither of them really know what to do but they’ll try.

::

Will’s main problem is – well, actually, that’s a part of it. Will doesn’t know what his problem is.

He knows Nico likes him. He knows it because he knows how Nico is when he doesn’t like someone. And this isn’t that. He knows Nico likes him because he doesn’t shadow travel midway through a conversation just to piss Will off, because he knows that the whole ‘fading out of existence thing’ still gives him the shakes.

He knows that Nico likes him because they sit together at the campfire and Will teases Nico, and his face glows hot and pale scarlet underneath the light of the burning. He knows it because their fingers brush together and Nico’s eyes widen like little moons, and he knows it because Nico fakes inexplicable, uncontrollable zombie epidemics so as to sit with the Apollo table at meal times.

And, you know, there was the whole thing where Will asked Nico out in the most awkward way possible, and the two of them tend to hole up in Nico’s cabin or behind a tree or lie down in the tall grass (Will’s pick, not Nico’s. Nico claims to have had enough experience with Demeter’s overgrowth, whatever that means) and make out until their lips are sore and their eyes are bright.

Yeah, that too.

But there’s this other thing.

There’s this horrible thing inside of him that crawls out at inconvenient moments. When he can’t sleep or when Nico’s stuck in the underworld with his father, and he hasn’t had a chance to talk for a while. When Percy Jackson makes a joke and Nico laughs and like, not a big deal, but also.

Percy Jackson saved the world a couple of times and jumped into Tartarus after his girlfriend, and how do you compete with that?

So it sneaks up in the night, this little black feeling, like bed bugs or stupid monsters. Not big enough to do anything huge, like cut open the skin and scar, but enough to leave a sore spot.

::

Starts sort of like this:

So Nico and Jason will spend hours duelling, just for the fun of it, with swords and their weird ass powers, and campers will literally fill out to watch, placing bets on which Son of the Big Three is gonna win this one.

Piper joins in, putting her bets on Jason – sometimes, like a supportive girlfriend – or Nico if she’s feeling like that’s her lucky call. Hey, she goes where the money is, much to Jason’s indignation.

But then Piper also had a part in the whole saving the world thing. Piper hasn’t sat on the side lines helplessly, unable to save a single soul when your friends are saving everything around you.

These thoughts aren’t fun, and they make Will feel a little queasy, guilty for even letting himself think of them. He shuts his eyes tight for a moment and when he opens them he catches Nico looking at him from where he’s in the midst of dodging Jason’s attacks.

Will plasters on a big smile, cheers him on. Places a bet.

After the duel, Nico ignores everything else and makes headway straight for Will, who may or may not be hastily trying to make an exit. Because he’s got that feeling again.

Nico is sweaty and his hair is tangled, and he’s breathing a little more heavily than usual, shoulders shuddering with the weight of extra breath.

“Grace, you lost me the last of my drachmas!” Leo screams from afar. “How could you do this to me!”

Nico raises an eyebrow and smiles a little.

“Giving into the temptation of gambling, and at such a young age too,” he says. “So sad.”

It’s a Will-type comment, one meant to make him laugh, and it makes him realise that Nico doesn’t really know what to say because he knows something’s up.

A few years ago people were weary of the death kid who glowered from the other end of the room, and now he’s reading feelings from across ocean spaces.

“Yeah,” Will attempts. “I’m getting a little worried – I’m pretty sure Drew Tanaka is going to end up with his cabin at some point, with the way this is getting. Time to tell Chiron?”

“Oh, Mr D already knows,” Nico says. “Totally approves, of course. Says it reminds him of his ventures to Vegas. I don’t even wanna know.”

“Not sure I do either.”

Nico laughs, and then pauses, and then reaches out and grasps Will’s hands squeezing his fingers lightly now that all but the last few dregs of campers are left in the area.

“Is everything okay?” he asks.

Will smiles and says, “you worry too much.”

::

Nico isn’t perfect, and Will knows this better than anyone.

With glory comes a whole bunch of other things. Dark matter and memories that don’t belong in any living person’s skull. Dreams of dying and thinning away on only pomegranate seeds, feeling yourself slide away into shadows.

There’s a haunted look in Nico’s eyes, sometimes, and the same ghost mask is thinly veiled over the faces of the Seven, and Will wouldn’t trade that for anything.

But people died trying to do the things they did, to save the world and fight off the monsters, to stop the bed bugs biting, gnawing at the ankles of the youngest campers there. So when Will bandages up the broken wrist of an Ares camper, or dries the hot wet tears of a little girl in his own cabin, when they thank him in small, tinny voices, Will can’t help but shudder.

Because they shouldn’t be thanking him.

They aren’t thanking the right person.

::

It comes out of nowhere sometimes, a little like things that go bump in the night.

Each and every demigod at this camp has some sort of scars attached to their skin. And some of these are more obvious than others. Will spends so much time patching people up in the infirmary, not only physically, after duelling incidents or general illnesses that come and go, but soothing his patients when they wake with night terrors.

Like clinging to tidbits of light to stop someone from fading out of existence.

Will’s the head medic. The rest of his cabin look up to him like some kind of icon, in awe of his healing powers, his focus on a patient and the way he keeps it together. But that’s a whole other problem. They don’t realise that just like the rest of them, he’s damaged goods.

Nico looks at him the same way.

Says in awe, reaches up with soft bony fingers to drag a light touch across Will’s cheeks. He breathes things like, ‘you’re amazing’ when he’s healed someone, and the colour has gone from his skin. In awe, like he doesn’t understand how Will has these fingers that are perfect for fixing things up.

If Nico called himself damaged goods, then Will would hit the roof and he’d come down with a smart ass answer and a scowl, listing reasons why that’s not true, why Nico kicks ass, why that’s the dumbest thing he could ever ever say. Wait til his eyes are closed in thought, because Nico can’t always pull all the self hatred out of him, no matter what Will says.

Gently kisses the thin skin of his lids.

Says, “you’re fine, Death Boy.”

And yet – when it’s his own face he’s looking at and his own heart he’s stabbing at with rusted arrow ends, none of that comes to mind.

And there’s just this Nothing in front of him – this big white blank space. And so in spite of all the love he feels off the backs of his family and his friends, and the boy that kisses him before he goes to bed, it reads with just a few little words that hurt like bee stings: you’re not worth it.

Not worth it, not worth them, not worth him.

::

It’s not always this bad.

It comes and goes like coughs and headaches. Sometimes he falls asleep and it’s gone by morning. But sometimes it sticks in the back of his brain, thick and black and ugly. Sometimes he can’t stop thinking about it and he can’t sleep at night and he thinks dark thoughts like:

Not worth it. Not worth him.

After all, he lives in a camp full of heroes and if he isn’t one of them, what does that make him?

Nico picks up on his silence, a few days after a particularly bad spell has been leaving him in all these different kinds of blue. They’re at the campfire, and people are singing some dumb songs, taking the piss out of quests and destiny and the joke life of each and every demigod. About dead beat parents.

Merriment and red cheeks, but there’s something really heavy holding down Will’s heart.

“Are you okay?” he whispers. His hand reaches out and takes Will’s, threading their fingers together. Nico’s hands are always cold but it feels kind of good against the heat of the flames.

“Yeah,” Will tells him.

Flashes a bright light smile, but of course, Nico doesn’t buy it.

“I’ve been worried about you. These past few days, something has been off. I can tell.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Nico sighs.

“Whatever, Will. If you don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. But you don’t always need to be the Camp Medic, you know? Or the big brother, or the head of the Apollo cabin. It’s okay if you’re not sometimes. That’s – it’s fine.”

Nico’s cheeks are a little aglow, and Will is touched. He knows that Nico doesn’t find these kind of things easy. That words plucked from the bottom of the heart are as easily accessible as flowers blooming in Tartarus.

But he’s trying and Will’s tired because he’s just not really sure if he’s worth those words, or that smile, or the hands soft and warm and holding his own.

::

His little siblings love him because he can patch up wounds in a flash and he’ll make them laugh, poke their noses and muss up their hair. His older siblings laugh with him, and he teases them about other campers who their cheeks go red around, and makes sure they get enough sleep.

But they’d love Michael more, if he was here. If they could hear the jokes that Lee used to make.

And this is a primary difference between the heroes of Camp Half-Blood and Will: they don’t always save the people that they love. In fact, very often, they lose them. But they at least get a chance.

Will’s brothers died and he never even knew they needed him.

::

Will has had bad days before.

When he’s not wanted to get out of bed but he does anyway because he has to. And he snaps and snipes until Kayla demands he take a break from working the infirmary.

He’s curled up with Nico and fallen asleep on thick duvet covers. Especially warm because Nico is almost perpetually cold except to Will, who often thinks he feels like he’s the warmest person in the world.

But he doesn’t often have bad days like this. And it’s obvious, because neither of them know how to deal. Nico wants to help, yet doesn’t know how – doesn’t know whether to reach out and touch or keep his distance, and Will can’t tell him either way because his head is swimming and he doesn’t know what he wants.

He just wants this sadness to stop – the third bad day this week. Or, bad night, because it’s in the midst of the night when his voice cracks and the words spill out, the things inside of his head trailing like weird slime and leaving stains. And Will hates this, the kind of vulnerability that shows.

He's usually so okay – made of stone and built not to break. Each and every demigod has this sometimes, when something inside snaps and subsequently, everything crumbles. Will is particularly good at ignoring these waves. At least, usually, not now.

Mouth down-turned into a small frown, and Nico scratches at his head.

“But I don’t understand,” he’s saying. “You shouldn’t – you shouldn’t feel that way. You’re not – you’re worth more than that, Will.”

Will makes a small sound.

“You’re worth everything, and you don’t need to go on – on stupid, dangerous quests to do that. Not going on a quest doesn’t mean you’re not a hero.”

“Pretty sure it does, di Angelo,” Will says, with a little bit of humour in his voice, but it sounds kind of empty. Like fish in the underworld.

Nico shakes his head. “Look, no, listen to me. It sounds – gods, it sounds so lame – but like. If anyone is gonna be a hero here, it’s you. You patch up the Stolls like, every day. And put up with the Hermes cabin and work overtime after Capture the Flag. I don’t even want to know how many times you’ve healed Leo and Jason and Percy after duelling. Especially Leo – him and his stupid fire tricks – but like. See what I mean. Or where I’m going, at least?”

“Yeah,” Will does. He gives Nico a slight smile. “It’s sweet.”

“No, it’s not. It’s true.”

“I don’t know…”

“Well I do,” Nico huffs a little impatiently this time. “You don’t know your own worth. Well, I do, and so does Kayla, and so does Austin. And it’s a lot, so this sadness you’re subjecting yourself to – it’s bullshit. I get it. Really, I do, but…”

“Nico,” Will says gently. “I appreciate what you’re saying. But I don’t think you can make this go away.”

Nico looks at him.

Nods, slowly.

“Okay,” he says. “I guess I can’t. But I can stick out with you, right?”

“What do you mean?” Will asks, and despite himself he’s got a little smile forming on his lips at the determined look in Nico’s eyes. Light, fiery – like very much living things.

“I’m just gonna stay here – as long as you’re cool with that – until this shit gets out of your head. And if you want me to say stuff and like, tell you over and over that you’re the coolest person I’ve ever met, I will. So… yeah.”

“We’re in your cabin,” Will reminds him.

Nico blushes. “And you’re lucky I like you. No one else is allowed to spend so much time in here.”

Will lets out a little laugh, a bit wet, like there are tears caught in the back of his throat.

“I’m lucky you like me,” Will says. “I’m lucky I have you.”

He lets himself fall against Nico, lets his head fall against his lap as Nico’s hands reach out, his fingers running through the crown of blonde curls. And it feels good, nice, soft. Safe. Nico bends down a little, presses a cautious kiss on his temple.

This is unfamiliar territory. But they’re learning.

And the black stuff around Will’s heart is starting to thin out like ice on a warm morning, on a sunny day, though it might take a while longer to thaw entirely.

They fall asleep near like that, half snoozing and falling onto each other, wrapped up in one another and exchanging sleepy kisses, and Nico whispers, when he’s not so sure Will is still listening, is still even awake, “you’re really, really, really worth it.”

::

In the morning they wake before the sun has fully risen, dregs of pale light streaming into the cabin.

Nico’s already holding Will’s hand.

“You were as cheesy as me last night,” Will tells Nico, and there’s a little smile on his face when his cheeks pinken.

“Yeah, well,” Nico mutters. “You bring out the worst in me.”

“I kinda like it.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And Nico?”

Nico looks at him, raises his eyebrows expectantly. “Mm?”

“Thank you.”

::

Will still doesn’t know what his problem is, or why he gets so sad sometimes, or why the shadows seem to whisper around him that he’s not good enough, and he’ll never be a hero, and he’s not worth it.

But the good thing about having a boyfriend with weird, cool, underworldy powers?

He’s very good at chasing those shadows away.

//

note: lame and random, but i’m really unsure about this one, just bc i wrote it whilst a bit of a Mess and the structure is a little weird. im not sure whether i like it enough to put it into my canonverse series on ao3 so please let me know if you think i should or shouldnt do that.