#and we all know she’s fighting annabeth to sit still and let her braid

[poseidons-getting-milk]

one of my favorite things to come out of Leah being Annabeth is the headcannon that Annabeth is always too busy on her ADHD bullshit and she never takes proper care of her curls. In comes Selena, daughter of Aphrodite, with her 12 step hair care routine, who has been wrestling Annabeth down and putting in protective hairstyles for years. Like the braids she has in season one? Selena’s doing.

[barbarianprncess]

“Forget it, you’re a fucking asshole.” and “Nobody’s seen you in days.” that would be inchresting 👀👀

for mari my beloved, 

(aka @chironshorseass ) 

as you know this sort of got away from me. one second i was writing a drabble of angst, the next I'm on the 16th page with no end in sight. so this maybe isn’t what you were expecting but have 5k of post-botl/pre-tlo pining idiot besties who are in love :). 

(also this hasn’t been beta’d and i'm welcome to volunteers i just finished and got so excited i had to post.)

(dear one anon who asked for 'forget it you're a fucking asshole' too, if you're reading this, don't worry yours is coming too i promise)

(final s/o to @posallys for letting me scream about them)

24 hours

read on ao3

enjoy <3

                                                      ...

Percy is fucking exhasted.

He was supposed to be back at camp four days ago. The deal was he’d spend weekdays at camp to plan and train and weekends at home to relax. But, he kept putting it off, opting to keep the weight on his chest that’d been pushing him down since last summer bearable, and not crushing the way it always was at camp. So, when he gets through the barrier, aside from nodding hello to Beckendorph and Silena, he makes a beeline to his cabin. He manages to keep his eyes down until he’s standing at his porch steps- and that when he sees her.

Annabeth is pacing on his balcony. She’s wearing jean shorts and her camp shirt, but instead of her typical ponytail her hair is in two intricate braids that reach her breastbone. She’s muttering to herself and wringing her hands together and for a moment Percy forgets. He forgets the past year and all the arguing and the bitterness and he sees Annabeth is worried about something and he reaches out as if to hold her. To wrap his arms around her and tell her that everything is going to be alright.  

But then he remembers.

He retracts his hands.

He clears his throat and Annabeth startles. Her grey eyes are as intense as ever and he can almost see her defences come up. He hates that it's because of him. Annabeth is the first to break the silence.

“Hey.” Her voice is small but clear. Not yet vulnerable, but gives Percy the sense that it could be soon.

“What’re you doing here?” He isn’t sure he said it out loud until she ducks her head and flushes.

“Nobody’s seen you in days.” It’s not the accusation he expects. It's also not an answer to his question. Just an observation.

“I’m here now.” He says it like it’s an invitation. He then becomes incredibly aware that he's still looking up at her from the bottom of the steps, so he grabs his duffel, bounds up the stairs, and opens his cabin door. He hesitates and meets her eye with another silent question. She answers by stepping inside.

He drops his bag by his bed and turns on the light. The air is charged with unasked questions and unfinished conversations. He can’t stand it. He’s about to attempt small talk when she says something that nearly knocks down where he stands.

“I miss you.” She’s wringing her hands again and she won’t look him in the eye, but takes his silence as confusion.

“That’s what I came here to say, that I miss you.”

Percy isn’t sure what to say. Percy isn’t sure this conversation is really happening, she’s broken so many of the fragile rules they’d been following all year. He’s 98% sure this is a really vivid daydream to cope with…. well everything.

He decides that on the off chance this is real he should play it safe so, he states the obvious.

“I’m here. We’re here, together. We’re together and-” She cuts him off and begins to ramble.

“Strained and awkward and it's like there’s this chasm between us of all these things from last summer. From our kiss, to you dying, and then you not dying, and Rachel, and Luke, and Luke being Not-Luke, and it’s like we can’t have a conversation anymore and that sucks ‘cause..”

She pauses for the first time to look up at him and her eyes are shining.

“You’re kinda my best friend. And I miss you. Everything sucks and I'm tired of fighting. And I really miss you.”

Percy’s too shocked to say anything. It occurs to him that he should respond but he can’t find the words. All the unspoken rules they had in place and Annabeth had just steamrolled right through them. Percy realizes his mistake in staying silent as Annabeth flushes and turns to leave.

“Forget it, you’re a fucking asshole.” And oh no Annabeth had just swallowed her pride (which he knows better than anyone is no easy feat) to say everything he’d wanted to hear and he can’t let her walk away.

“I miss you too.” The words tumble out of him, clunky and a little awkward but earnest. Annabeth stops and faces him, eyes suspicious in the way that breaks his heart a little bit.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

Annabeth exhales and shoots him a tremulous smile he hasn’t seen in forever, and oh he’d forgotten what it did to his chest when she did. Before he does something stupid like tell her he thinks her smile is the best this he’s ever seen, he clears his throat.

“So…. this chasm you said, what do you propose we do about it?”

“24 hours. For 24 hours everything that I listed before is a non-issue. After that we can go back to…..whatever it is we’re doing now. One day, where we’re just two friends spending a day at camp together..”

“Best friends.” He corrects without thinking. She rolls her eyes, and he almost giggles because he’d missed her eyerolls too.

She holds out her hand to shake, all business-like and gods he missed her.

“Best friends. 24 hours.”

He takes her hand. Her shake is firm, her palms are warm, her eyes are bright, and she is beautiful.

“Where do we start?”

...

Apparently it starts with homework.

After he asked where they’d begin, Annabeth had flashed him a wicked grin, damn-near dragged him off the porch, and made a beeline to the Big House. Before last summer, Annabeth had been “tutoring” him. Once a week they’d head down to the Big House and spend hours combing through myths and legends, practicing Ancient Greek, and all things Demigod 101. It probably wasn’t ever that useful considering Percy barely remembered any of it, but Annabeth had always insisted. After last summer they’d non-verbally decided to take a break from it (eachother), and they’d never started back up.

Usually he’d halfheartedly complain that it was pointless and say some form of ‘I know enough to not die and that's good enough for me’ every five minutes, but today he nods dutifully along as Annabeth talks animatedly about Orpheus, and Theseus, and all the other -eus’s. He’ll ask a dumb question that they both know he knows the answer to, but she answers him anyway. He watches the wisps of hair that refused to be tied down, and counts the tiny sunspots across her nose and the way she wrinkles her eyebrow when she forgets a name.

It’s not terrible. It’s kinda the opposite. He’d forgotten that she made studying not terrible.

He’s so screwed.

...

The stables are almost empty when they get there.

After 2 hours of studying, (one hour of studying, one hour of laughing and talking and calling it studying) Annabeth declared it was his turn to pick the activity. Tired of sitting still Percy lands on tending to the pegasi. It was one of his favorite things about camp plus he got to teach Annabeth something for once. Annabeth was comfortable enough around them but she never spent anytime with them that she didn’t have to.

When they entered the barn, Blackjack gave him a look and he blushed remembering all the times he’d come to the stables with Beckendorph to vent about how much he missed Annabeth, (He didn’t even know horses could give looks but here we are) and silently told him it was a long story and to be cool. Annabeth had stopped next to one of the cleaning stations and was looking at him expectantly. He cleared his throat and they got to work. He showed her how to brush them and how to get tangles out of their manes, where to scritch them and where not to scratch them. He showed her how to check their feathers and make sure their wings were healthy and how to get them to be still enough to check.

Annabeth was excellent with them, gentle hands and kind eyes. Whenever she approached one she would look them in the eye and talk to them like the intelligent creatures they were. Each time she got started taking care of a new steed she’d gently reach for the muzzle and say in a soothing voice:

“Hi, my name is Annabeth and I'm going to groom you today. Don’t worry, I'm friends with Percy, and he taught me exactly how to take care of you. If I’m doing something wrong, let him know and he’ll tell me how to fix it. I promise I’ll do my best to make sure you feel like a brand new pegasus.”

Frankly, it was fucking adorable.

Pork-pie had taken a special liking to Annabeth, telepathically asking Percy if she could groom him more often. When he told this to Annabeth she’d beamed and enthusiastically agreed to come down whenever she could. Percy had off-handedly suggested that they take them out for a bit and Annabeth immediately started to release Pork-Pie from his stall.

They flew over camp for what could’ve been minutes or hours. He was lucky that Blackjack could fly himself because Percy couldn’t take his eyes off his flying partner. Her braids held firm, but a few rebellious curls were now whipping with the wind. The atmosphere combined with the speed they were flying, made her cheeks red and splotchy. Her smile is brighter than the sun, and eyes- gods her eyes were going to be the death of him. The sun and her mood (he had this theory that her eyes changed color based on her emotions) had made them almost blue, they are full of laughter, and Percy adores her. And when she directs her sunshine-smile at him, Percy can’t help but smile back.

(He doesn’t stop smiling until they land.)

...

As they're putting their pegusi back in their stalls, Blackjack decides to give him some advice.

“I know I don’t understand all of your fragile human emotions, but I know enough. There’s a lot of bad in this world of ours, and from what you’ve told me about this war business it's only gonna get worse. You gotta make the most of the good.”  He tilts his head over to Annabeth who is cooing at a preening Pork-Pie.

“You and ladyboss, you’re good together. And really nothing else matters.”

He doesn’t have time to even think about a response when Annabeth is walking over from Pork-Pie’s stall, and telling him it's time for a picnic.

...

(“What did Blackjack say to you? You looked kinda flustered when I got you.” Percy almost drops the plate he’s piling with food from the buffet. He’s gotten three pointedly confused looks at the sight of him and Annabeth together and not strangling each other and a thumbs-up from Grover. He and Annabeth are getting their food and then they’ll go sit by the beach.

“Oh,” He clears his throat and goes with the first thing he thinks of. “Blackjack calls you ladyboss.” Good that's good, not technically a lie either.

“Huh. Weird.” Annabeth, seemingly satisfied with this, returns her attention to the grapes she is adding to her plate.)

...

“Where do you go?” Annabeth asks. She’s sitting next to him in the sand brushing crumbs off her fingers. They had been eating and watching the ocean in comfortable silence and Percy furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “Lots of days when you’re at camp for lunch and sometimes dinner you just disappear for hours. And I know you aren’t going home because your stuff is still in your cabin. Where do you go?”

It’s not an accusation, just a question. Percy gets the feeling she doesn’t want to know so she can disturb, she just worries. Percy knows her. He knows she’s always planning for the worst and she needs to be able to get to him if there's an emergency.

(It strikes him that she notices when he disappears and he feels guilty but also just a little hopeful. Because she misses him as much as he misses her.)

He stacks their plates and rests them on the blanket they’d been sharing. Percy stands up and holds out his hand, gesturing for Annabeth to do the same.

“C’mon, I’ll show you.”

...

He tells her to close her eyes. She gives him a skeptical look but obliges and holds out her hands, a silent request for him to guide her. It’s almost easier to take her hands in his without those trademark eyes on him. But it’s not any less intense. As soon as their fingers interlock sparks of electricity lick up his arm. Now that her eyes are closed he can look at her face up close without fear. Her curls had gotten more unruly as the day went on, and the ringlets that framed her face blew lightly in the ocean breeze. He leads her slowly towards the ocean, using his powers to dry any spot she walks on. He sees her brows furrow when she notices how far they’ve walked towards the ocean without their feet getting wet, but she doesn’t say anything. He parts the water for her to walk through, and when the water rises above their heads, he forms an air bubble that moves with them, keeping them dry. When they get to a good spot, squeezes her hand signaling for her to stop with him, but tells her to keep her eyes closed. Then he closes his eyes with her and calls out to the ocean's creatures, making himself a beacon.

Here I am, he thinks. The son of Poseidon.

Come to me.

Minutes pass.

“You can open your eyes now.” He whispers.

She does, and lets out a soft gasp, “Oh, Percy.”

He smiles and looks out at the scene before them. He’d come down here after a particularly bad day and just wanted to sit in silence. It was an accident, calling the creatures to him. Subconsciously, he must have sent a message along that he was feeling alone. And all sorts of sea creatures - from greek monsters and to great white sharks to your average cod had flocked to him. And he didn’t feel so alone. So now, whenever he couldn’t take the human world, he’d come down here and talk to the fish.

This time he’d actually concentrated on getting a message out and they did not disappoint. He couldn’t count all the animals that had heeded his call but it was a sight to behold. He had willed some glowing coral from the deeper ocean to stay in that spot, which created a multicolored tint to everything around them.

Normally they come right up close to him, but this time they were hesitant. And as he listened to the creatures and heard more than a few whispers of Athena and stranger, he’s suddenly reminded that she’s the only person he’s ever done this with. It’s his favorite place, and she is the only other person ever to see it.

“It's okay guys, she’s a friend.” He reassures them. When he looked back at Annabeth, her mouth was still hung open and she was staring out at the scene in front of them in wonder. He smiles at her dazed silence and uses the hand he’s still holding to tug her up to the barrier of the bubble. The first creature willing to accept Annabeth is a baby spotted dolphin. He swims towards the clumsily with eager fins and pokes at the barrier with it’s snout. Annabeth's eyes widen in fear and look up at him and it takes a second to realize she isn’t afraid of the animal, but of their bubble popping.

“Don’t worry, the bubble won’t break unless I break it myself, and it’ll last however long I want it to.” He reassures her. He senses her hesitation so he guides her hand up to meet the snout of the baby dolphin who seems fascinated with Annabeth herself. He reaches his snout and head bumps directly into the spot on the bubble where her palm is placed.

Annabeth lets out a laugh, the kind of laugh that sort of bubbles out of you without warning and it’s the best thing Percy’s ever heard. He watches as the shock fades for her features and she pets the infant creature through the sheen of bubble keeping them dry. The animals begin to warm up to Annabeth as well, and as soon as they figure out she’s not some evil Athena agent sent to destroy the ocean, they join in on the fun. Hundreds of ocean creatures of all sizes begin doing tricks, nuzzling up to the flexible barrier, all vying for Annabeth’s attention. Annabeth herself is happy to oblige. Ever consistent, she introduces herself to each creature she meets. She smiles and laughs and reaches out to all the animals she can. Percy is happy simply to watch her and keep the bubble up but then she turns to him, eyebrow drawn together in concern, pointing to a particularly awnry seahorse, and asks what it's saying.

“He says his name is Frank and that he’s ‘too pregnant for this shit.’”

Annabeth stares blankly.

“His words not mine.” Percy offers hands up in surrender.

Then she snorts and then they’re laughing, they’re laughing harder than they have in years, and it's that kind of hysterical laugh where everything around them makes it more funny, and soon Percy’s clutching his stomach and Annabeth is beet red.  As soon as it subsides enough to get words out Annabeth is shaking his arm saying “Do that one! What's he saying? Oh my gods what even is that? Does that one like me? That ones majestic, what's his name? Oh Percy, look!! Look at that one!”

So he translates and they laugh and he teaches her different species and Annabeth nods along like it’s very important stuff. She pets the baby dolphin through the bubble and listens intently to all the animals telling her stories, even though she can’t understand a word until Percy tells her what they said. And when it’s time to go he sees the tears in her eyes and tells Percy to promise the baby that she’ll visit all the time, even though they both know she can’t.

(Apparently the baby dolphins name is Arnold, and according to his mother, he was so enthralled by Annabeth because when he first saw her he thought she was an angel.)

(Percy thinks he’s not too far off.)

...

(“That was incredible Percy. Thank you so much for sharing that with me.” They had been walking in silence as they made their way back to camp using the bubble, enjoying the afterglow of their adventure.

“Yeah, of course.” She smiles at him and looks ahead.

He’s not sure why he does it but without looking at her he reaches out and ever so carefully, and brushes her fingertips with his.

Her breath hitches, but she doesn’t say anything.

Then suddenly, miraculously, her hand tilts and their fingers are interlocked.

And there's no pretense of guiding her somewhere, they’re just….holding hands.

And it's perfect.)

...

Percy thinks if he’s not in love with her, he’s pretty damn close.

Because this feeling, the one he gets in his chest when he looks at her, is what love feels like.  

...

When they resurface, they’re met with twinkling lights and the last three stragglers singing softly at the campfire. It’s almost time for lights out.

Oh.

Oh no.

Annabeth seems to be coming to the same realization, as she clears her throat and lets go of his hand. He misses her fingers immediately.

“So, I guess we should start heading to bed.” She looks at him, hopeful but he’s stuck. Stuck in the feeling of dread at the idea of waking up tomorrow and not having his best friend. Suddenly the idea of leaving her side is so unbearable he can’t speak.

“Goodnight, Percy.” She’s turning around and backing away when the words lodged in his throat come unstuck.

“8 in the morning.” She turns giving him a ‘what are you on about’ look.

“That when you came and got me at 8 in the morning. We agreed on 24 hours. It's only been 12.”

She smiles slow and wide, “You know you're right, that math checks out.”

“We had very clear terms. We even shook on it.”

“Yes we did.”, she nods gravely. “It’s a binding agreement, we can’t just ignore it.”

“So what do we do?”

She flashes a wicked grin. “You aren’t the only one with a secret spot.”

...

Percy arrives in the Big House 20 minutes after curfew was called, exactly as Annabeth had instructed. He felt her presence before she re-materialized in front of him and in a low conspiratorial whisper tells him to follow her.

They sneak down to the basement and Percy is confused when she keeps walking towards the corner. She lifts up a floorboard and starts climbing down a ladder. She beckons him to join her and when he makes it down the ladder, he can’t help the smile that breaks out. It’s a sort of underground attic, complete with a worn dusty couch, blankets and an old TV.

“I found it my first year at camp by accident. I was down doing chores and one of the broom strings got caught under it. I didn’t have many friends except for….” She lets him fill in the blank rather than say the name out loud. “And when he wanted to be with kids his own age, I’d come here. There's only five movies down here and I memorized them.” She looks down at her shoes. “I know it’s not the sea floor but..”

“Are you kidding? It’s awesome. What are the movies?”

They dig around and end up finding two more that apparently seven-year-old Annabeth did not think worth the time. They watch Die Hard first, (“Oh my Gods I can't believe you haven’t watched Die Hard. This is a travesty. It’s a classic Annabeth.”) then Pulp Fiction, ("I can’t believe it, all the shit you gave me for not seeing Die Hard, and you haven’t Pulp Fiction?? You absolute heathen!") and Clueless. ("What? It has to be full of violence and toxic masculinity to be good? It’s a good movie Percy, shut-up.") Before he knows it, it’s 3:54 am shaking with hysterical silent laugher at Annabeth's impression of Dionysus.

“Oh my gods oh-OH! Do you know what we’ve got to do?”

“Uh-oh, what?”

She grins impishly and a little deliriously. “We’ve gotta go to our spot.”

“Ah, of course. Yes, our spot, totally.” He says in a voice he hopes is neutral, in an effort to gage if she’s serious.  

“Oh my gods.” She gasps, offended.

“What.”  

“I can’t believe this.”

“You can’t believe what?”

“You forgot our spot.”

“I’m sorry Annabeth, until four seconds ago I wasn’t aware we had a spot.”

“Oh my gods. I can not believe this-” He can tell she’s messing with him, and not actually mad.

“Annabeth, just tell me where it is.”

“I simply can not believe this, you absolute heathen-”

“Stop calling me a heathen, and tell me where it is.”

She smiles, “I can show you.”

...

“Oh, of course! This is our spot!”

Annabeth chuckles, “I told you.” They’re standing at the edge of the forest at the tallest of the rock clusters to the far left. It's the one they used to go to after their first quest, the place where Annabeth taught him the constellations. The place where he made his first real friend. Not people he hung out with to avoid getting picked on. Not a searcher who happened to like the demigod he found.  His first real best-friend.

They climbed up easily and lay down looking straight up at the sky. Annabeth points up at the floating memorials, and Percy dutifully recites the legends of how they earned their place in the sky. They're shoulder to shoulder and their fingers graze each other for longer than necessary. And slowly they lull into comfortable silence, arms overlapping, at some point Annabeth's head lands on his shoulder. Percy freezes for a while, staying absolutely still as if she’s a wild creature who could bolt at any moment. But then he relaxes, and she relaxes and he’s pretty sure she’s asleep until she takes in a shaky breath and whispers, “Hey, Percy?”

“Yeah?”

“We’re gonna be okay right?” He can tell she's trying to mask the vulnerability in her voice. And he can’t see all of her face from the angle they’re laying, but her nose is on his collarbone, and her hair is tickling his chin.

He closes his eyes, and he thinks. He thinks about Luke and Rachel and how nothings been the same since Percy blew up that mountain.

He thinks about seeing her for the first time, grey eyes wide hair falling off her shoulders and how even after everything he just went through, he felt safe. He thinks about ‘you drool when you sleep’, and the way she looked at him when he was claimed- awestruck and pitiful at the same time. He thinks about rolled eyes, stamped feet, and frustration always just under the surface. He thinks about silent truces, and letting guards down, and shared oreos in the back of a mobile zoo. He thinks about sweaty palms gripping each other in the Underworld, and shaky hands giving him a good luck camp necklace. He thinks about camp fires, stupid jokes, learning about the stars, and how the just fit.

He thinks about postcards and iris-messages, and how she punched Matt Sloane square on the nose. He thinks about how despite the arguing and the confusion about Tyson, she was always there when she needed him. How she didn’t hesitate to sneak out of camp with one of the first species he ever learned to truly fear, because he asked her to. He thinks about her in a dress and how tongue-tied him in guinea pig form. He thinks about her broken sobs and how she clutched at him in their underwater bubble. He thinks about winning a chariot race, the softest of cheek kisses and how in this world of gods and monsters, she’s the only thing he was really sure about.

He thinks about how she was the first girl he ever danced with, and how light everything felt when she was around. He thinks about how it felt strangely familiar when she fell off that cliff, and how only days later realized that it was the same desperation he had when Hades took his mother. He thinks about how gutted it was when he found out she was thinking about joining the Hunters. He thinks about his visit from Aphrodite and how even though she changed form, her hair smelled like lemons the entire time. He thinks about when he saw her on that cliff it was like the sun came out. How he saw her face and it was smudged with dirt and cuts but she was alive and he could breathe again. He thinks about how his throat closed up when he thought Artemis was going to pick her for the Hunt. He remembers how when they danced on Olympus, for a song she was prettier than Aphrodite.

He thinks about planning a movie date, and how he discovered Annabeth doesn’t get any less pretty when she’s mad at him. How she sat right next to him at dinner and how when she fixed his armour, his neck burned wherever she touched him. He thinks about falling in a whole and holding her hand and how they’d done it before but it felt different that time. He thinks about ping pong table meetings and how he became aware of the fact that he’d follow her anywhere. He thinks about the determination in her when she faced the Sphinx, and how the same fire was in them right before she kissed him. He thinks about how she tasted like smoke and salt, and how for the 3.2 seconds that his lips were hers, the first thing he thought was ‘we fit like this too’. He thought he was going to die but it was okay. It was okay that he was going to die, because he had gotten to kiss her. He thinks about Calypso’s Island, and how he dreamt about her every night. How when he crashed his funeral, she held like she couldn’t bear to let go and how that was fine with him. He thinks about the blur that was the labyrinth, full of unshed tears, words that cut, and how despite all the scream fights and the terror, and the barely contained rage, none of it lessened the fierce protectiveness he feels for her. How despite it all, she's still the best thing that's ever fucking happened to him. He thinks about the last line of her prophecy, and how she thought it was about him.

He loves her.

He’s not sure if he’s in love with her because he’s 15 and he hasn’t exactly had time to date around but he knows that for a fact. Knowing Annabeth, loving Annabeth has made him who he is. She is burned into his DNA. Somehow the 12 year old with princess curls and eyes that cut, crawled under his skin. He knows he’s done the same to her, even though they’re both too stubborn to say it out loud. They could never really leave each other, even if they tried.

So Percy shifts so he can see her face in the pale moonlight, brushes a curl out of her face and says,

“Yeah. It’s us Annabeth. We’re gonna be alright.”

She smiles soft and real because she knows him, so she knows he means it. He’s not sure who reaches out this time, but they're holding hands and staring at the sky in a silence that speaks volumes.

They stay like that until it’s sunrise and they have to sneak into their respective cabins. Looking at stars, fighting sleep, and forgetting about the rest of the world.

______________

(They hold hands all the way back to her cabin.)

(He doesn’t stop smiling the whole way back to his own.)

______________

if your still here hi! thank you for reading. send in prompts from this list, or any sentence starter you want to read. ask box is open for those and if you just wanna say hi :)

[ynscrazylife]

Hey, could I request an Annabeth x Reader? I really like the idea of friends to lovers and think it would be really cute if you did like a "four times they almost kissed and one time they did". Like they have a bunch of small moments where the reader does Annabeth's hair every morning or Annabeth sits in the readers lap, or they cuddle for warmth on a quest one night. But when they kiss its after a battle and they thought they were gonna lose eachother so as soon as the threat is gone they kiss.

I LOVE THIS!

2 Times They Almost Kissed & 1 Time They Did

Summary: Basically the title. Annabeth and Y/N have crushes on each other.

I hope that it’s okay that I did ‘2 Times They Almost Kissed & 1 Time They Did’ instead of ‘4 Times They Almost Kissed & 1 Time They Did’ because it was getting to be a little too long! I can always do a second part if you want.

Permanent Taglist: @stephanieromanoff

Request to be on a Taglist (or multiple) HERE!

Y/G/P - Your Godly Parent

They Almost Kissed - #1

The Camp Counselors were having a meeting in the Big House, and as the meeting bled into the night, they all decided to just have a sleepover with the permission of Chiron. They were in the middle of a meeting break and Annabeth, the counselor of the Athena cabin, and Y/N, the counselor of Y/G/P cabin, were good friends and decided to play a board game in the living room during their break. Annabeth had left to get them some snacks while Y/N set up the game and as the blonde returned, she couldn’t help but smirk when she saw her friend sitting on the floor, leaning against the house, fast asleep.

Annabeth quietly put the snacks aside and turned her attention to Y/N, warmness filling her. Gods. Y/N was so peaceful and adorable and this was probably the cutest thing Annabeth had ever seen. She frowned when she realized that Y/N had most likely fallen asleep because the meeting had gone on too long and tired out, so she made a mental note to wrap up the meeting when their break finished. 

The Demigod carefully took the board game pieces out of Y/N’s limp hands, blushing when their fingers brushed, and put the board game away before gathering Y/N into her arms like she was delicate glass. Once Annabeth had Y/N in her arms, she never wanted to let her go. It felt like heaven, but she stilled when Y/N started to shift in her arms, waking up. 

Annabeth cursed Hera under her breath, upset that Y/N had been woken, and barely kept herself from smiling when Y/N cutely blinked her eyes open and focussed on the blonde. “Beth? What’s goin’ on?” She asked softly, almost slurring her words in her tired state. 

Y/N was the only person allowed to call Annabeth ‘Beth’. The daughter of Athena slowly lowered her friend onto the couch and bent down to place a friendly kiss on Y/N’s forehead. However, Y/N had her eyes closed and didn’t see her so she went to tilt her chin up, pushing her head further into the pillow. Annabeth, seeing that their lips were about to brush, panicked. Even though she wanted to kiss Y/N, she wasn’t sure if Y/N was okay with that, so the usually composed camp counselor stumbled back and decided to just sit on the couch, grabbing Y/N’s legs to rest her feet on her lap.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Y/N bounced into the Athena cabin one Saturday morning, a smile on her face. She and Annabeth had gotten into the routine of Y/N braiding Annabeth’s hair ever since she had done it one after Percy threw water on Annabeth. Y/N was more than happy to be her friend’s (and crush) personal hairstylist. 

“Rise and shine, brain kids!” Y/N greeted cheerfully as she entered, and only got groans in response and someone chucked a pillow at her. 

Y/N picked up the pillow and saw that that someone who had thrown it was a grumpy looking Annabeth. She laughed as she tossed the pillow back. “Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” Y/N teased, sliding onto Annabeth’s bed and sitting behind the blonde who was sitting up.

Annabeth grumbled and leaned against Y/N, still tired, making her laugh. “I can’t do your hair like this,” Y/N pointed out, but could’t deny how much she loved holding Annabeth. 

The daughter of Athena grumbled again, this time saying something Y/N didn’t quite catch, and reluctantly leaned forward. Y/N gently took Annabeth’s hair and brushed her bedhead before beginning to braid it. 

Annabeth was grinning goofily, not even caring about her half-siblings seeing it. Just being in Y/N’s presence made her heart warm and the bright sun shining through the window made it even better, setting it up for a brilliant day. Y/N started talking about something and Annabeth did her best to listen, but her still tired state was battling her. She finally resigned to just taking note of how excited Y/N’s tone was and how she was talking at the speed of light, and Annabeth smiled because she knew if Y/N was talking fast, it meant that she was talking about something she was passionate about. 

After almost ten minutes of carefully braiding (Y/N wanted to make sure it was perfect), she finished and said, “Ta Da!” 

Annabeth reached behind her head and ran a hand along her braid, turning to face her friend. “Thank you, Y/N. It’s gorgeous,” she said. 

Y/N playfully rolled her eyes. “You haven’t even looked in a mirror yet,” she said. 

Annabeth shrugged and smirked. “I don’t have to . . . You know, I should start paying you to do my hair,” she said. 

Y/N hummed, thinking for a moment, and bit her lip nervously. “Well, I have an idea,” she said, blushing. 

Annabeth raised her eyebrow. “Oh?”

“You could kiss me.” 

Annabeth’s eyes widened. Oh my Gods. This was what she wanted! She leaned forward, nervous but excited, to give Y/N a kiss when a pillow hit the two women’s heads, making both blink and sit back, surprised. 

“Oops! That was meant to hit Malcolm!” One of Annabeth’s half-sister’s said.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Holy Hera. Things were not looking good. 

Camp Half-Blood’s oldest Demigods were up against an invasion - some monsters had somehow gotten past the border and this was proving to be a tough battle. Throughout it, Annabeth’s mind had only been on two things: fighting the monsters and Y/N. Just Y/N. For the majority of the battle, Annabeth and Y/N had stayed side by side, but at one point they had lost each other, and ever since Annabeth couldn’t fully concentrate, worried for Y/N. 

It was like she was operating on auto-pilot, desperate to win. Monster after monster after monster. After what felt like forever, they had won, and Annabeth focussed on finding Y/N, running across the camp. 

She let out a big sigh of relief when she saw her alive, but was concerned when she saw the cuts on Y/N, parts of her armor lost, and bruises forming. Before she could run over and ask Y/N if she was alright, Y/N spotted her first and with a big grin, ran her away and practically jumped into Annabeth’s arms. 

Annabeth laughed and caught her, stumbling back before steadying them both. Y/N gave the best hugs. 

The daughter of Y/G/P pulled away, bouncing with adrenaline. “Wow, this battle was tough! I’m so happy we won I could kiss you!” She said, words flying out of her mouth before she knew it and her eyes widened when she realized what she had said. 

Annabeth, however, grinned. “Then do it,” she said. 

Y/N raised her eyebrows before matching the blonde’s grins and leaning forward, kissing Annabeth on the lips. Annabeth gladly kissed back and pulled Y/N close.

[remakethestars]

CABIN 10 — APHRODITE

Headcanons.

❝I want to apologize to all the women I have called pretty before I’ve called them intelligent or brave. I am sorry I made it sound as though something as simple as what you’re born with is the most you have to be proud of when your spirit has crushed mountains. From now on, I will say things like, ‘You are resilient,’ or, ‘You are extraordinary.’ Not because I don’t think you’re pretty. But because you are so much more than that.❞ 

— Rupi Kaur

Headcanon masterlist.

They’re the camp hairdressers. You need a trim? You want it cut? You want it died? You want to shave it all off? Hit ‘em up.

The type of people that will straight-up chop their hair if it doesn't match their outfit. Somehow, it always works out? I'm looking at Micarah Tewers.

They also run a secret ear piercing — or anything else you need to pierce — parlor.

Okay, but consider: children of Aphrodite that grow up to be models.

They can charm speak the photographers into letting them pick their own poses & not make them do seductive ones if they’re not comfortable with them.

Some create clothing lines that represent sustainable fashion & have big names but small carbon footprints.

Some are spies.

Think about it! They know how to switch subtle bits of their personality to fit in with everyone they come across, when & when not to use their charm.

The hide outfits under other outfits & can slip one off in public to reveal the other & lose a tail.

And they'd probably be great at disguise makeup. Add a prosthetic chin, contour their nose differently, pull off their wig, & they're a completely different person.

Plus, their combat training at C.H.B. makes them the perfect agent.

The floor next to their bunk is scattered with fabric cuttings, pins, needles, their sewing machine, serger, & measuring tape.

The number of times someone's gotten a needle or pin in their foot's a tad concerning.

Will absolutely not wear a top with an overstitched collar. Fast fashion is so tacky! Understitch is the way to go, the staple of a quality garment.

Vintage is better. Not because it's in style (that's a plus, though), but because the seams are big enough for you to let out, & it's made to last.

Experts at thrifting. Not just 'cause it's trendy or whatever, but because they're excellent at upcycling & far too many perfectly good clothes go into the land fill each year.

Make stunning dresses out of Good Will table cloths & curtains.

Or stitch two items together into one better whole.

They iron their clothes; they're not animals.

Really good at getting stains out?

Totally in on the corset bustier top trend, but they're using spiral steel boning in place of zip-ties. Because, again, they want things to last & they're not tacky.

Pass each other tips. Like to tuck your top into your tights to avoid the bulge under your skirt.

Some found big-name, organic makeup companies that don't test on animals. They use packaging that can be recycled or that's biodegradable.

Borrow their clothes, sure, whatever, but double-dip in their makeup & die. The bacteria will give them acne. (Or is it the oils? Either way, you'll perish.)

Happy to drop their skincare routine, though.

You need to cover up that tattoo you got from C7? They got you.

Flawless makeup on a budget. Expensive doesn't always mean better.

They're taking you to the pool for a first date? Take a seat, C10 knows just the stuff. They use what Disney Princesses use.

Can guess the right shade of foundation/lipstick for you on the first couple tries.

A lot of them invest in magnetic lashes because glue's a b¡tch.

Reusable makeup wipes.

Rick says C10 kids just sit around the lake & check their reflection, but consider: working out gets them their dream bod. So, yes, they do, in fact, train.

They just do it with intricate braids/hair gel & stylish sportwear.

And if a potential partner finds it unattractive that they’re “too muscly,” they’re no longer a potential partner.

Weapons disguised as jewelry or chapstick/lipstick.

Thalia had a mace canister that turned into a spear, & I gotta say, I.D.K. how she planned to get that through security. Imagine, alternatively, a tube that appears to be full of bright red lipstick when the T.S.A. agent opens it, but actually turns into a spear when opened by a half-blood.

(I have a headcanon that Riptide would just be a pen in the hands of a mortal. Bounced around for years as random objects until Poseidon nabbed it & took it to Chiron — recall that pen you lost?)

A pink, velvet choker that turns into a kopis with a dove embossed in the handle.

Many choose to train in heels. Might as well wear in training what they’ll be wearing when attacked in the street.

They’ve got no time for internalized misogyny. 

“C10′s weak ‘cause they like being pretty!” Good way to lose a kneecap, Annabeth. You’ve grown up in this camp, you knew Selina, & you should know better.

They confront Piper’s misogyny pretty early on after The Lost Hero, but Piper still takes some time to get over her bias toward pink.

Are we not gonna talk about Rick’s fashion choices for Piper throughout the series? “She looks so fashionable.” To whom, Rick? To whom?

You couldn’t’ve done a little internet surfing just to see what was in style? I never leave the house in anything but jeans, Converse, & a graphic t-shirt from Walmart, & even I know she’s dressed like a middle-schooler! Probably because that’s how I dressed in middle-school… That’s not the point.

The point is just because a character likes makeup or fashion or the color pink, doesn’t mean they can’t/won’t fight for their lives & the lives of their friends if/when the time comes. And it doesn’t mean that they’re stupid or judgmental.

I don’t know a lot about makeup. Hades, I don’t even wear makeup — you can’t rub your eyes or scratch your face; it would drive me crazy. I don’t know a lot about fashion either. I don’t understand it, but I can respect it.

❝‘Jesus,’ Sara says as Branley walks past us. ‘Too cold to show off cleavage, so instead she goes for jeans so tight I can see her thong.’ ‘She looks nice,’ I say, and she does. Branley always looks put together in a way that tells me she spends hours in front of a mirror before going outside. And while I don’t understand that, I can respect it.❞

— Alex Craft, Mindy McGinnis’s The Female of the Species

According to The Lost Hero, all children of Aphrodite intuitively speak French. Cool, cool, cool — but consider, all of them also intuitively speak the language of flowers. 

They see a red rose, and they just know it symbolizes love & passion. They see an orange lily, to contrast, & they know it symbolizes hatred. 

There’s a copy of The Language of Flowers in their cabin, and it’s full of annotations, like, So-and-so gave these to so-and-so for Valentines Day! And, So-and-so gave these to so-and-so after their kiss on the Fourth of July; they obviously didn’t do their research! 

They work together with C4 (Demeter) to provide flowers for funerals & the like.

C10 bookshelves also contain a lot of romance novels. 

Beaten up copies of Pride & Prejudice & The Fault in Our Stars with faded highlighter over the beautiful lines & annotations in the margins.

The outside walls are a dusty pink, & the wood’s stained a dark brown that goes surprisingly well with the pink.

Inside, the walls are covered in faded wallpaper.

The southwest wall has a bay window with extra storage in the seat. (There’s not a body in there; they swear.)

(That’s an Arsenic & Old Lace reference, for you youngsters.)

The curtains have one chiffon layer closer to the window & a thicker floral fabric for inside. The thick curtains are replaced based on the season & whether or not someone’s decided to make a romper out of them.

They have a real bell jar with a real rose in front of the window. Legend has it it’s from Aphrodite herself.

Said window is a stained glass image of a dove.

The chaise lounge was probably beautiful when it was brought it, but it’s got fingernail polish & makeup stains on it now. Honestly, someone should really have that thing cleaned.

As you might have noticed, I placed a gif of swans at the top instead of a fancast for Aphrodite. This is because I think, as I believe most Percy Jackson fans do, multiple people should play her. I'd cast Arden Cho, Camila Mendes, Candice Patton, Diane Kruger, & Gal Gadot to start with.

Visit my Aphrodite cabin Pinterest board or my headcanon masterlist.

DISCLAIMER ━━━ I know I got a tad political with this one, but I didn’t & don’t intend to offend anyone. ━━━ These headcanons are what I consider to be canon in my fanfictions. They may be others’s headcanons I’ve subconsciously filed away in my noggin. If one’s yours and you want it removed or credited, please send me your post and let me know.

[chironshorseass]

melted ice cream sandwiches

Thanks, @silenabeth​, for subconsciously adding your presence into this jksdhoisfjs. This one’s for you. Sorry it’s angsty, but oh well.

In which Percy and Annabeth have an argument, Connor Still chops off Annabeth's braid with a sword, and then she and Percy have a talk. It doesn't nearly go as planned, but at least they ate some ice cream sandwiches.

Rated T for language.

Read on ao3

(The Hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap)

A baby is born

Crying out for attention

The memories fade

Like looking through a fogged mirror

Decision to decisions are made

And not bought

But I thought this wouldn't hurt a lot

I guess not

“I’m your friend, of course I care!”

“You shouldn’t be my friend! That way it wouldn’t hurt so much!” Annabeth says.

It had started off as a simple comment, nothing too serious. Something about Annabeth not wanting him to help with reports—but Percy’s beginning to realize that anything can explode into an argument.

“What are you talking about?” he demands. Luckily, they’re near the woods, so at least no demigod can hear them. Not like last time.

“Just—I’m tired of you going away! You can’t have it both ways, Percy. Either you’re not my friend and forget about all this shit, or you stay here and fight him.”

“Why can’t I have it both ways? Last time I checked, I’ve spent enough time at camp to train. And why are you suddenly all gloomy and shit about being friends with me? Do you just...want me to be Luke? Make you feel better? Do you even give a shit about what he did?”

Her face reddens. “Why would any of this be about Luke?”  

“Because that’s all we fight about! You seem to have it in yourself to see him as this amazing hero when he’s the entire opposite of that!” Percy knows that what he’s saying is slightly ridiculous, and that she’s right; this has nothing to do about Luke, but he doesn’t particularly care at the moment. “Because the last prophecy was about him! You ‘lost’ the bastard to Kronos and you want him back, is that it?”

“What? Yes, I want him back—but, no, I—”

“He’s hurt you so much, Annabeth. You seriously care for him? You seriously don’t want to be my friend because you—you hate that I hate him?”

“Yes, I care for him! You didn’t know him when I did—but you mean so much—”

“He wanted to kill you!” Percy grabs her by the shoulders so they’re face to face, so she understands exactly what he’s talking about. “He doesn’t fucking care! Why can’t you see that?”

“All I see,” Annabeth seethes, shoving him off, “is a scared little boy who wants everything to be black and white.”

“You’re one to talk, telling me that I have to either stay in New York or stay at camp. I’m trying to make that work—”

“Work how, exactly? So that everyone here takes on the weight of the war while you go off and act all ‘normal’? Here’s a quick disclaimer: you’re not normal, Percy!”

“Don’t you think I know that? I’m this close to probably dying, so forgive me for wanting to cool off a bit.”

They’re nose to nose now, and Percy can feel Annabeth breathing heavily, nostrils flared.

“Shut up,” she says.

“What?”

“Just, shut up!”  

She storms away before he can say anything else. The early singing of the birds doesn't sound so sweet anymore.

He can see her wipe at her face angrily as she runs to gods know where. He knows that she won’t let him see her cry.

:

He’s in the archery class, trying not to kill anyone, when he hears commotion by the arena.

“No! I’m fine!” a familiar voice keeps insisting—Annabeth.

She stomps past a very concerned-looking Connor. Her hair is pulled into two braids, as it was earlier in the morning. She’d been experimenting with different hairstyles—it probably had something to do with Silena’s influence—but now, Percy realizes that one of her braids is missing. It had been cut off, by the looks of it.

He lowers his bow, walking over to them. Something had happened, and it hadn’t been good.

“I’m so sorry, ‘Beth,” Connor says, this time truly sounding sorry. “I didn’t know that you wouldn’t block me—if there’s any way to repay you—“

She stops her fast-walking and turns towards him. “You’ve done enough.”

“Okay but I—”

“Hey!” Percy calls out as he approaches them. “What happened?” Annabeth suddenly starts walking again.

Connor stares at him sheepishly. “I sort of, um, cut her hair.”

Percy ignores him. “Annabeth? Come on! Don’t walk away—I’m asking you something!”

“And I don’t care to answer.”

“Can I help? In any way?”

“I don’t need your help, either.”

He sprints over to her anyway, grabbing one of her shoulders. “Come on, why—”

She shoulders him off.

Percy hears the steady footsteps of someone right behind them: Connor.

“Annabeth. Please,” he pants, running ahead and facing her. He walks backwards while she walks forward, a mule with a job in mind. “I’m so sorry. But where are we going?”

“‘We?’” she mutters, not looking at either of them. “None of your fucking business, assholes. Now leave me alone!"

Annabeth shoves them out of her path and runs. Runs before either of them can catch up. She’s always been faster than both of them.

What hits him there in the middle of a summer day, staggered with only a son of Hermes as a companion, is the pain he heard in her voice. And Percy has a feeling that it’s more than just her missing braid.

No, he is the cause of that pain—he’s the one to blame. And he feels like dying a little.

:

He sits by the canoe lake, the sun reaching further west because of the time. But even with the sun not directly above him, it still feels like laser beams down his neck.

Silena meets him there. Her camp shirt is tucked into her shorts in a stylish way that very few people can achieve, hair perfectly in place and without even a slight sheen of sweat on her face

Percy doesn’t know how she does it. It’s the middle of July, after all.

She sits down, pulling her legs into her chest and leaning in, watching him.

“Everything okay?” he asks.

She sighs, though it’s barely noticeable. “I came to talk to you. About Annabeth.”

He catches her gaze, but for the first time, Percy can’t tell what she’s thinking.

“She’s fine. If that’s what’s worrying you. Well, not exactly ‘fine,’ but—like, she’s not hurt. Physically.”

“That’s reassuring.”

Silena snorts and follows his eyes towards the swaying trees on the other side of the lake. They look so peaceful there, almost as if they’re dancing. Maybe they are. Maybe they don’t care about wars or drama.

Good for them.

“No,” she muses. “I guess she’s hurting, and not just because I had to cut so much of her pretty hair. Almost made me want to cry. She didn’t say much, but I can always tell when you two had a fight.”

“If you’re here to lecture me—”

“Oh, come on. I may be close to her, but I’m not the type to meddle. I just came here to tell you that you should talk to her.”

“Then you are meddling.”

She laughs. “Okay, maybe I am. And maybe I also talked to her about it. She’s not that mad at you. Mostly sad. It would do you both good if you actually worked things out.”

“Trust me, she hates me at the moment.”

“And trust me, she doesn’t. She wants you to go to her.”

They stare at each other, both gazes challenging, until one of them loses.

Percy breathes out a sigh of defeat. “Fine.”

Girls are so weird, he thinks.

But maybe he says that part aloud, because Silena rolls her eyes. “I heard that.”

“Of course you did.”

She winks at him. “Maybe you should give her an ice cream sandwich. You know, as a truce. I heard that the Hermes cabin stashed some from their last raid.”

“Um, I thought Annabeth wanted to talk to me. Why would we need a truce?”

“Oh, she certainly does. But ice cream never hurt anyone.”

“Fine. Whatever you say.”

“That’s the spirit,” she grins.

:

Percy finds her at the beach, in the part where grass is more common than sand. It’s dry and brittle, yellowed from scarce rain—but next to her it looks like golden thread.

Her hair is cut just above her shoulders, like a bob. He’d never seen her with short hair before, but he thinks that it makes her look older, in a way. Changes from that pretty girl he’d met nearly four years ago to a beautiful young woman. At least that’s what she’s making him feel.

Gods, she’s too good for me.

Percy takes a deep breath and clears his throat. Hopefully this can end well, because just by looking at her makes him nervous.

Annabeth had probably heard him coming, since she doesn’t startle at the sound.

That could be a good sign.

“Mind if I join you?”

She says nothing, but she also doesn’t protest when Percy sits down next to her.

“Uh…” He takes out the ice cream sandwiches that were in his pocket. “Do you, like, want any?”

She nearly smiles. Nearly. And she nods hesitantly, snatching one from his hand.

Good.

He doesn’t care that she still can’t meet his eyes. Or maybe he does care. And maybe he also cares that the space between them feels like the wind holding its breath, how her skin looks so warm, but instead of feeling it, he feels the grass tickling his legs.

“Um, it—you look pretty, that way…” he says, mainly to break the silence, but now he wants to slap himself. “Not that your hair wasn’t pretty before or anything. Well, not your hair, I mean—you were pretty before. Uh, not that you’re not pretty now—”

“It’s okay, Seaweed Brain. I get it. My haircut isn’t that bad.”

He can see her smiling from the corner of his eye. He doesn’t remember the last time she called him by his old nickname, least of all smile. Hopefully he isn’t blushing as much as he thinks.

“Silena helped. Before, it looked like half of my hair had been chopped with a sword—which it had, I guess. I’m still planning my revenge.”

“For Connor?”

Annabeth turns to Percy. “Yes. Connor… ” her gaze falters. She stares longingly out at the ocean, eyes blinking rapidly.

They don’t say much for a while, but rather listen to the song of the birds and the wind and the ocean. The grass between them flutter like butterflies, slight touches against their legs.

Annabeth rips the plastic off the ice cream sandwich and takes a big bite. He slips off the package of his own sandwich as well, but stops to notice how the vanilla melts under her fingers and how it oozes from her mouth and down to her chin. His own hands are covered in the soft feeling of the chocolate cookie, sticky and gross; his sandwich is almost melted in the harsh sunlight. He doesn’t wipe his hands away or feel like eating it anymore, and she doesn’t care to clean her chin up, either.

They’re both a mess.

The vanilla ice cream softens in his mouth, and an explosion of chocolate sweetness ensues after, but not before a big portion of the sandwich falls into his shorts and slips into the dry grass between his legs.

He hates ice cream sandwiches.

Why it was a good idea to share some in Long Island, during the warm days of summer, he has no idea. But the spray of salt that kiss their cheeks alongside the cacophonous roar of the waves make the situation not that horrible. At least in Percy’s opinion. Also Annabeth not mad at him anymore is a plus. Or perhaps she is. Their fight earlier in the day wasn’t exactly pretty.

She finishes her sandwich and licks some of the chocolate off her fingers.

“I just,” she says, taking a deep breath. “I’m tired. Of the same thing. Over and over. It’s not even Connor’s fault. Hell, this time it’s not your fault, either. I’m just...stupid.”

“Hey. Don’t ever say that. You are many things, Annabeth Chase, but stupid isn’t one of them.”

She must feel his heated gaze on her, because she meets his eyes. She quickly wipes away her tears.

“Maybe I wasn’t before. But now, I kind of am. I—I get carried away by you and how you’re never here, and I don’t even think about how close we are to the end, and then I can’t even fight well anymore—so Connor fucking Stoll cuts off one of my braids.

“And then I look weird and I can’t even cut my hair properly, so Silena helps and she looks at me like I’m...like I’m some poor creature! And I’m not! I just want things the way they were with my hair the way it was and with no wars and no prophecies and no shitty feelings and no...no traitors! I don’t care about quests, or glory—I can’t even fucking do that right because you almost died and Luke is now freaking possessed—and I...I want everything back the way it was!” she sobs into her hands, smearing her face with the remaining ice cream and chocolate.

Percy doesn’t know what to do. He wants to hug her, pull her close and tell her it’ll be alright. Kiss the top of her head and reassure her that they’ll make it out alive. But he doesn’t. Or at least, he doesn’t say any of those things.

But he does scoot closer, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and placing her head against the crook of his neck. He lets her weep until there are no tears left, lets her wrap her own arms around his neck. That way, they can hold each other properly.

“I’m sorry,” he says after her breathing has calmed down. Her short hair feels like silk against his hands.

“What are you sorry for? You’re the one that will...who will…” She hiccuped. “Gods, you don’t even know, and, and everything is supposed to be fine anyway!”

“What do I not know? You can tell me, ‘Beth. I’m your best friend.”

She shakes her head, mouth tightly closed, but soon her face contorts into another sob, and her hand comes up to her mouth to cover it. He holds her closer to his chest, not caring about how much ice cream has been smeared in the process.

“No, no,” she cries. “I—I can’t say. It doesn’t matter, anyway.”

After a few minutes, her tears run warm and her breathing relaxes once again. The waves calm to the soothing sounds of water meeting shore. He obviously had a hand in that. But everything stops to a halt, and it comes down to Percy and Annabeth, holding each other. Just like in Siren Bay, only now things aren’t so simple. They know more than they should.

“If anyone should be sorry,” she whispers against his shirt, “it’s me.”

His hand tightens against her shoulders, but he doesn’t protest. It’s no use to try and contradict her right now.

Slowly, her arms loosen their hold on him and she sits down like she was before, but now she’s significantly closer to Percy, hips touching.

Annabeth breathes deeply, staring at her hands. They’re a mess of ice cream and grass; she wipes them away with her shirt. Then, she tries to do the same with her face.

“Here, I uh…brought some napkins.”  He fishes around in his pockets until they come up, offering some to her.

She grabs a handful. “Thanks.”

He looks at her while she works, until finally he says, “None of that is your fault.”

Her hands stop moving. She closes her eyes.

“But it is.” Percy almost doesn’t hear her. Almost lets the roaring winds drown her down, under the waves. A whisper amidst the sound of thunder.

Of course, he does hear.

“Why would all of this crap be your fault?”

“Because I couldn’t convince Luke to stay at camp. I had my chance, and I didn’t take it. Because I almost let you die.”

“First of all, you could never have changed Luke. I know you hate me saying it, but he’d already made his decision. And...well, I made my decision as well.”

“Like how you’ll make your decision to go to New York? During the summer?” Her voice isn’t accusing or angry, but desperate and soft.

“No, I won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yeah I do. I won’t visit New York in a while, if...that’s what you want.”

“Of course it’s what I fucking want!”

He silently cringes at that. Wrong thing to say.

She sniffles the last of her tears and glares at him, eyes red.

“You’ll leave me anyway, sooner or later. Everyone leaves, and—and you’re no exception, Perseus Jackson. You hear me? You are not the exception!” As she says every word, she rips out the grass stems around her; they make popping sounds as the roots come off the ground. Her lips tremble and her eyes shine with fresh tears, but she doesn’t stop.

“Fuck, I don’t care if you go out to that wonderful city of yours with your pretty girlfriend to forget about your problems. That’s great—I wish I could do that. But your problems are very much real, and the people here are counting on you. Has it ever crossed your mind that they miss you? That I miss you? Why is staying here for a bit longer so bad?”

Something in Annabeth’s tone makes Percy feel like he’s stepping on a floor filled with broken glass.

“I—”

“No,” she shakes her head. “I’m sorry. It’s—you’re not the problem. I don’t want to argue anymore. I just want to...spend more time with you.” She takes a rattling breath and looks at him directly in the eye once again. Her face is a wet sheen of tears, despite wiping them off with a napkin earlier. “All I meant to say is that we don't…” her train of thought stops; she stares at her hands. “We don’t have forever. And maybe you don’t think that you’ll leave me, but you don’t know that.”

“No one has forever. Unless you’re a god.”

She laughs bitterly. “That’s my point. If we don’t have forever, then why won’t you stay here? With us? Spend what little we have together.”

“Okay.”

She glances at him, stunned. “Okay? Just like that?”

“Yeah, why not? We’re at a summer camp. I’m supposed to enjoy things. Not leave. I’m...sorry about that.”

“No, I,” she sighs, “I get why you’ve been leaving. But, yeah, it would be nice if you could stay.”

“That’s what I’m planning to do,” he gins, content that for the first time in a while, he’s made Annabeth happy.

“Thanks for the ice cream sandwich, by the way.” She smiles, and some could say that it’s a weak attempt to seem grateful or content, but Percy knows that it’s genuine.

“Yeah. No problem.”

:

That night, Percy lets Sally know that he won’t be coming home in a while. For now, he is home. And Annabeth is his best friend, and so is Grover. And he can count on Beckendorf and Travis and Connor. They’re part of who he is, he realizes. And camp feels like belonging and the warmth of a thousand fires and a thousand starry nights.

But the missions and war preparations begin again.

And they both end up fighting. Nothing Percy says to Annabeth is right. Being without her hurts, but staying hurts even more.

He leaves the next morning.

Maybe after the summer is over, they can confront the feelings they have. Maybe they can fix whatever is broken between them when the war ends, and if they’re ready, be more than just friends. Maybe he’ll never have the courage to tell her that. Or maybe he’ll die. Maybe Kronos will win.

As Percy trudges up Half-Blood Hill, he feels someone watching him. He turns around, and there she is, her arms crossed and golden hair loose; it still hasn’t grown enough for her to put it in a ponytail. He can’t make out the look on Annabeth’s face, but he waves at her awkwardly all the same.

She doesn’t wave back.

When he sees Peleus’ smoke coming from Thalia’s tree, he looks back again. But she’s gone.

He hates ice cream sandwiches, but he hates his life more.

[stoiicist]

character study: reyna ramírez 

—    basics.

▸     is    your    muse    tall    /    short    /    average ?

she’s just under 6′ she’s my tall girl and i love her so fucking much.

▸      are    they    okay    with    their    height ?

totally! i don’t doubt she could be just as intimidating and commanding if she was average height, but having a few extra inches on most people definitely helps. it also gives her some advantages when it comes to fighting, so there’s that.

▸     do    they    spend    a    lot    of    time    on    their    hair     /    grooming ?

reyna is my fav femme lesbian. she’s busy as hell running camp and looking after a hundred and some half-godly teenagers, but she still makes a point to put time into her appearance. she’s super into skincare, to kind of balance out how frequently she wears makeup. she has her daily/nightly routines and is committed to them with the exception of when she’s on quests. reyna is also dedicated to hair care; her hair is almost always pulled back in a braid, but it’s sleek and shiny and she’s very mindful of the products she uses because she wants to keep it healthy. also, reyna with her hair down is an absolute wonder to behold.

▸      does   your   muse   care   about   their   appearance   /   what    others    think ?

she’s in a position of great power; naturally reyna cares about her appearance. she cares immensely because she knows that her appearance is a reflection of the legion as a whole. she knows she has so many people looking to her, expecting so much from her and if she falters for a second, they’ll eat her alive. so in relation to her position as praetor, it’s important that she look and act the part of strong, unshakable leader. it’s important for morale and maintaining authority. she couldn’t care less if people disagree with her/don’t like her ideas/don’t like her/whatever else they make think about her, so long as they listen to her.

—    preferences.

▸     indoors    or    outdoors ?     outdoors. ▸      rain    or    sunshine ?    sunshine. ▸     forest    or    beach ?      beach. ▸      precious    metals    or    gems ?      metals. ▸      flowers    or    perfumes ?     perfumes. ▸     personality    or    appearance ?     both. ▸      being    alone    or    being    in    a    crowd ?     being alone. ▸      order    or    anarchy ?   order. ▸      painful    truths    or    white    lies ?     painful truths. ▸      science    or    magic ?     science. ▸      peace    or    conflict ?     peace, thought it’s a rarity. ▸      night    or    day ?     day. ▸      dusk    or    dawn ?     dawn. ▸      warmth    or    cold ?     warmth. ▸      many   acquaintances    or    a    few    close    friends ?      a few close friends. ▸      reading    or    playing    a    game ?      reading.

—    questionnaire.

▸      what    are    some    of    your    muse’s    bad    habits ?

by far her worst habit is completely shutting down the minute her emotions get too messy to understand. when they can’t be tucked away neatly in a box, it infuriates her to no end so she pushes them away. out of sight, out of mind, you know. and she flings herself into her work as a distraction, which is another bad habit of hers, overworking. it’s leftover from when she was running camp jupiter by herself and had so much on her plate and felt she had no one to really turn to. also i don’t know if this counts as a bad habit, but reyna is competitive as hell and can get a little too into what’s supposed to be friendly competition.

▸      has    your    muse    lost    anyone    close    to    them ?      how    has    it    affected    them ?

for demigods, it’s a fact of life; you’re going to lose people you care about, people who are close to you. reyna has a handful of people she considers “close” and she’s fortunate enough that they’ve all managed to ( sometimes narrowly ) escape death. but she is constantly losing comrades and even worse, reyna often feels directly responsible for the lives lost. she’s the one leading them into the battle. she’s the one calling the shots, choosing tactics and making the big decisions. every death of every solider in the legion falls on her shoulders and it weighs down on her like a ton of fucking bricks. never mind the fact that they are all children. she’s leading children to their deaths and she can barely be considered an adult herself. i think overall, it’s made her into a very self-sacrificing individual. she puts the needs of others far above her own and she’s more than willing to take on dangerous tasks in place of others. but she also recognizes that, as a leader, this is her duty. and she bears it, so others don’t have to.

▸      what    are    some    fond    memories    your    muse    has ?

finding camp jupiter. after passing up the amazons and the chance to stay with her sister, after going through lupa’s trials, even the difficulties to adjusting to life as part of the legion, reyna finds it all to be worth it. the moment she realizes she wants a home more than she wants power or family or control, more than she wants anything else, and finding that home in new rome is one of the happiest moments of her life. being elected praetor is a fond memory, as well; it speaks volumes that she was voted into the position by her peers despite only being part of the legion’s ranks for a few years. despite the circumstances, reyna definitely looks back on her date walk with annabeth around new rome very fondly. maybe it was a bit tenuous, but annabeth basically poured her heart out to reyna who just got to sit and listen to another girl with too much on her shoulders, someone she could really relate to. 

▸     is    it    easy    for    your    muse    to    kill ?

the amount of times reyna in the fucking books is like “we should’ve executed this kid it’s a shame he got away” or “let us execute you it might solve the problem” and just. the fact that she killed her father out of rage because she thinks he killed hylla........... leads me to believe that, yeah, it’s not difficult for her to kill when she sees the killing as just. she doesn’t kill for the sake of killing, without reason. reyna firmly believes in justice and sometimes death is the suitable punishment. maybe it’s harsh or cruel, but it’s also kinda the roman way. and reyna kills monsters without batting an eye, so.

▸      what’s    it    like    when    your    muse    breaks    down ?

it’s all done in private. reyna will keep it together right up to the moment she’s finally alone, and only then does she let it all out. only then does she allow herself a reprieve from that mask she wears so well, allows herself to be weak for just a moment. it’s a lot of fingernails digging crescents into the palms of her hands, hot tears streaming silently down her cheeks, jaw clenched so fucking tight she should be worried about breaking her teeth. hands shaking as she rubs her temples and fingers through her hair. and then there eventually comes a point where the dam breaks and she just starts... fucking sobbing. and she’ll just cry until she’s tired herself out and falls asleep with aurum and argentum curled up next to her. this made me really sad to think about i hate this actually.

▸     is    your    muse    capable    of    trusting    someone    with    their    life ?

to some extent, she has to. she much more used to having people put their trust in her, to being the pillar that everyone else leans on, but everyone has to trust someone. and it definitely takes a while for reyna to trust someone with her life. it takes time, it takes an individual proving that she can trust them. it’s not very easy to earn her trust, even with her dogs there to alert her when the truth is being told, but it’s possible. reyna is just accustomed to the politics of CJ being a den of fucking deceit and she’s felt abandoned by very important people in her life that it really takes a lot for her to trust someone to such a huge extent. 

▸     what’s    your    muse    like    when    they’re    in    love ?

there’s this... change in her disposition, you can tell she’s a lot more content. more relaxed, not so uptight. she’s not running around camp all starry-eyed and silly, but she just seems to be more at ease. getting to show someone the parts of herself that are usually kept hidden, getting to be tender with someone, it elevates reyna to this level of happiness she’s never had before.

she’s a distinguished lesbian, disaster adjacent so she’s still beyond awkward at times especially during those first few weeks. love, like everything else, has a learning curve. but reyna eventually figures it out, finds how love and maintaining a relationship fits into her routine, and she surprises herself with how much of a romantic she really is. there’s a balance to be kept; she’s still praetor with a boatload of responsibilities, but the reality is when reyna is smitten, there’s very little she won’t do for her gf.

tagged by : @sunbruise​ <3 tagging :    anyone who wants to!!!!

[itsshortfurball20]

Percy Jackson, The Avenger

Percy has an encounter with Nick Fury. A year later, he’s being called on to help protect the world… again. He’s not alone in this Avengers Initiative. A genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist; a super soldier; a green scientist; a Norse god; and two secret agents. What could go wrong?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

This chapter has 5,011 words

10 – I Get My Own Action Figure!

The next couple of weeks after the battle were hectic.

Once the dust had settled and the injured were being tended to and the dead counted, questions started popping up. Questions about what exactly had happened. Were those aliens that had attacked? Are they going to come back? Who had saved them? Were they superheroes? Was Thor really a Norse god or just another alien?

Not all of those questions had been answered. SHEILD never made an official statement, but slowly the questions started being answered. Yes, it had been aliens and no, the Chitauri weren’t coming back anytime soon. They had been led by a Norse god called Loki, whose brother, Thor, was in the attack against him, part of a team called the Avengers.

All around the world, people were talking about the Avengers. Some argued against the team, trying to force them to take responsibility for the attack, saying that they were to blame for the damage done to the city. Those people, however, were few and far between.

Most people regarded them as heroes. Citizens being interviewed by local news stations and papers praised the heroes, thanking them for saving their lives. Walking around the city, one could see spray-painted murals, people wearing hoodies and t-shirts with the heroes on them. There were even action figures modeled after the group.

Percy found that the action figures were the coolest part yet. He had already managed to buy a mini-figure of himself, complete with his shield and sword, that he had sitting on his nightstand. Annabeth thought that it was funny. She hadn’t said anything, but Percy knew that she found the whole situation amusing.

He also couldn’t help but marvel at his ‘superhero’ name—Riptide. Apparently, the little boy that he had saved had been interviewed by the New York Post and had told them the story about Percy saving him and his mother from the Chitauri. Well, his mother had told the story. The only thing the little boy could talk about was how cool Percy had looked, with his armor and big sword that he called Riptide.

The media took it up and went with it. Now he was Riptide, the superhero with the mutant ability to manipulate water.

In all honesty, Percy was glad that no one had gotten ahold of the knowledge of the Greek world. When information had started appearing in the news, Percy had IM’d Fury (actually managing to scare the director when he was alone in his office) and had asked to keep his identity, along with the existence of the Greek gods, under wraps.

So far, it seemed to be working nicely. Percy figured that he would head to Camp Half-Blood the next day and inform Chiron about all that had happened. But there was something else that the demigod had to do first.

He stood in a secluded area of Central Park. The whole team had shown up to accompany Thor (and Loki, whose hands were bound, and a muzzle placed on his face) back to Asgard. Thor went around, shaking hands with everyone as he said goodbye. When he reached Percy, the demigod gave Thor a big smile. “Hey man, it was nice meeting you.”

“Honor is mine, Percy,” Thor told him. “Maybe we can fight together again one day.”

The son of Poseidon laughed. “Let’s hope it’s under better circumstances.” Thor nodded and started to move away, but Percy grabbed his arm before he could fully walk away. “Hey, just remember, always family. No matter what.”

“Thank you, Percy.”

Percy watched on as Thor finished the rest of his rounds before heading back to Loki. Bruce and Tony stepped forward, Tony holding out a briefcase. It opened to reveal the Tesseract, dimly glowing blue. Bruce took the Tesseract and placed it in a glass tube before handing it to Thor. The Norse god held one end, giving the other to Loki, who reluctantly took it. He took one last look at the team before turning the handle.

The energy of the Tesseract swept over the two. Percy fixed Loki with one last glare before they were both gone.

Then slowly, one-by-one, the Avengers wandered off. Natasha and Clint riding off together; Steve on his old Harley; and Bruce and Tony getting into one of Tony’s sports cars. Percy headed to Paul’s blue Prius. Hopping into the driver's seat, he started the car and drove away.

Driving through the city, Percy could see the efforts of the citizens as they began to clean up the city. He knew that Tony was going to be in charge of the rebuilding process. The billionaire had already struck a deal with the Department of Damage Control, signing a contract that all post-battle cleanup would be under his control.

Percy passed an empty pedestal, its statue gone and somewhere in the streets of the city. People had noticed the statues running around during the battle (they were hard to miss), but no one seemed to remember the same incident happening almost five years ago—most likely due to the Mist.

The son of Poseidon was glad. It was one less thing for him to worry about. He had enough on his plate at the moment, mainly helping with the clean-up process.

Percy pulled up to the hotel he and Annabeth were staying in. During the battle, the apartment building where Sally and Paul lived had taken a large hit to the wall, deeming it unsafe to live in at the moment. Percy had told his family to stay in Montauk for the time being. Annabeth and he had decided to stay in a hotel for a couple days while Percy finished up his Avengers stuff before heading to Camp Half-Blood.

The demigod entered the hotel room. Annabeth sat on the bed; eyes glued to the TV where a reporter stood on screen. It appeared to be another interview, this time with an older group of men playing chess.

“Superheroes in New York? Give me a—” a man said before Annabeth paused the TV. Percy sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

Annabeth smiled at him. “How’d it go?” She asked.

“Well, Thor and Loki are officially back in Asgard, and the Tesseract is with them.” He leaned back into the pillows, letting out a sigh as he went. “I think that it’ll be a while before we see Thor again. Imagine the family drama going on right now.”

“I can imagine it,” Annabeth teased, laying down beside Percy. “Just look at who our family is. It can’t be too different from ours.”

“Except their father doesn’t eat them, he adopts them. Or, one of them, I guess.”

They laid in silence for a while. Percy played with Annabeth’s hair, trying to braid her blonde hair while she read her book. After a while, Percy gave up and settled for just staring at Annabeth. She looked beautiful—as always—even with the small purple bruise on her chin that she had gained during the battle (something about a bank and a bomb).

“You ready to go back to camp?” Percy asked.

Annabeth set her book down and looked over at him. “Yeah. I wonder how the others will react to you becoming famous.”

“Technically, I’m not the famous one. Riptide is.” Percy gave Annabeth a small smirk before continuing on. “Secondly, it’s not that different from Piper. I mean, her dad’s Tristan McLean and we didn’t bat an eye when she told us.”

“That’s because you didn’t know who Tristan McLean was. And it is different from Piper—it's her dad that’s famous, and at least he isn’t known for having saved the world.”

Percy held up his hands in surrender. “Fine,” he agreed, before slowly lowering his arms again. “They’ll be fine with it, right? I mean, it’s not like I had much of a choice, and if I hadn’t been there, who knows what might’ve—”

“Hey, don’t worry,” Annabeth cut off Percy’s rambling. “I’m sure they’ll understand. Besides, I’m sure they won’t even think it’s that big of a deal. Most demigods don’t worry too much about the mortal world anyway.”

Percy smiled softly. “You’re right, as always. It’s not a big deal.” He said, the last part more for himself, before pushing himself up. “Now come on, let’s get packed.”

\~*~/

“This is a huge deal!” Leo shouted. “I mean, holy Hephaestus, wow.”

Percy shot a glance over at Annabeth. So much for not a big deal, he told himself. Shaking his head, he walked closer to Leo who was pacing around them on the hill, having run up to greet them when they had first arrived. “Leo, it’s really nothing—”

“You met Tony Stark. The Tony Stark, the legendary mechanic!”

Percy scratched the back of his head, not fully understanding Leo’s reason for excitement. “Yeah, l guess.”

“You guess?” Leo threw hands into the air in shock. “Percy, Tony Stark is a genius. His work with nanobots is revolutionary, not to mention the mechanics of the Iron Man suit. Half of the Hephaestus cabin has a poster of him hanging by their bed.”

“What about you?”

“Are you kidding? I already have his Iron Man T-Shirts, Iron Man Hoodie, Iron Man trading cards, Iron Man action figure, and two posters—one from before and after the whole alien-thingy.”

Percy nodded dimly. “Woah, I didn’t know he was such… wait, did you say trading cards?”

Annabeth gently grabbed his arm. “Percy, focus.”

“I am focusing. Focusing on the fact that I somehow missed the fact that I have trading cards with me on them.”

“Percy.”

“But Annabeth…”

“And Leo,” Leo chipped in. “Don’t forget I’m still here.”

The couple turned back towards Leo. “Sorry,” Annabeth apologized.

Leo dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand. “It’s fine. I can’t imagine how weird it must be for you to be famous. That’s gotta feel weird.”

“Honestly, it doesn’t faze me,” Percy shrugged.

“Well if I was you, I’d be hanging out with Tony Stark and comparing notes,” Leo stated. “Maybe we could work on something together!”

Percy noticed a small twinge of smoke start rising from the top of Leo’s hair. He pointed it out to him, smiling as Leo frantically reached his hand up to pat out the small fire. When the fire was out, Percy considered an idea he knew he would probably come to regret, but...

“Hey Leo, if you want, I could introduce you to Tony.”

Leo froze, his eyes growing impossibly wide. “Really?” When Percy nodded, Leo jumped into the air, punching the air. “Oh, gods! This is—thank you, Percy.” The fire reappeared on Leo’s hair, much bigger than before. Leo ran back down the hill, screaming about getting to meet Iron Man.

Next to him, Annabeth laughed. “I think you just made his day.” She commented.

“At least one person’s happy about this situation,” Percy noted as they started making their way down Half-Blood hill. “Let’s hope that everyone else takes it just as well.”

At the bottom of the hill, campers had gathered around, no doubt drawn out by Leo’s shouting. At the front stood Chiron, his tail flicking back and forth in a way Percy had seen it do before whenever the centaur had been agitated. Percy swallowed.

Chiron stared at him with a poker face, and that only made Percy feel even more scared. “Welcome back, you two.” Their mentor greeted. “I think we need to have a talk.”

\~*~/

Chiron ushered them into the Big House, shooing away the curious campers. Once the last camper had wandered off, he led them to the living room. Percy and Annabeth took a seat on the couch while Chiron lowered himself into his wheelchair, the centaur’s lower half disappearing and a set of fake human legs popping out.

“So,” Chiron started once wheeled himself over to the couch. “Drinks?”

Percy and Annabeth shook their heads. “Listen, Chiron…”

The centaur held up his hand, bringing Percy’s word to a stop. “Percy, I’m not mad. Just tell me what happened.”

For the next fifteen minutes, Percy told the entire story, starting from Blackjack getting captured to him and Annabeth sitting on the couch. Chiron listened carefully the entire, only interrupting once or twice to ask a question. Annabeth was the same. She had already heard the first part, but she listened very carefully to his time with the Avengers. When Percy finished, the room was silent except for Seymour the Leopard’s snoring.

Finally, Chiron spoke up. “This may be more serious than I thought.”

“What do you mean?” Percy asked.

“If Loki willingly teamed up with… aliens,” Chiron said, almost as if he was unfamiliar with the word. “Then he must have struck a deal with someone. With the way you described the Chitauri, they don’t seem all that capable of thinking of a plan. So the real question is, who’s their leader?”

“And what could Loki offer them?” Annabeth input. “Think, if Loki struck a deal, it's obvious what he gets. An army.”

“He tried striking a deal with me for Olympus’ armies,” Percy remembered. “He came to me in a dream and said that if I gave him command, then he would make me powerful.”

“Is this the same dream with Rachael’s prophecy?” Chiron asked.

The son of Poseidon nodded. “It is. That’s also part of the reason why we’re here. Something isn’t adding up.”

Chiron’s eyebrow raised. “Like what?”

“The prophecy… it doesn’t feel finished yet. Like there’s more to come. I’m scared, too, because the last time I felt like a prophecy wasn’t finished yet, Luke went and sicced a pit scorpion after me. And then he went and joined the Titans and we all know what that led to—”

“Percy, deep breath.” Chiron broke through Percy’s panicked rambling. “This could be very serious, Percy. You should meet with Rachael as soon as possible. She arrived yesterday. I spoke with her briefly before she headed to her cave, saying how she needed to contact Ella.”

Percy and Annabeth stood up. “Thank you, Chiron,” Percy said, grabbing Annabeth’s hand as they headed for the door.

Chiron smiled. “No problem, my dear boy. Also, before the two of you go,” he called, making Percy and Annabeth turn back to face him. “I’m happy you’re back.”

\~*~/

Percy and Annabeth made their way to Rachael’s cave. Luckily, the campers had returned to their activities after Chiron had shooed them away, so no one stopped them to talk. A few did wave, but quickly turned back to their activities. Percy returned the gesture jovially. He didn’t realize how much he had missed Camp Half-Blood, and he could only smile as lava poured down the rock-climbing wall and the familiar sounds of swords clanging and kids yelling reached his ears. Camp Jupiter was nice, but Camp Half-Blood would always be his first home.

They climbed up the small hill, where Rachael’s cave resided at the top. The thick burgundy curtains that usually were draped closed in the cave’s entrance were drawn to the sides, revealing the mess of throw pillows and bean bags in the cave. Percy and Annabeth shared a look of concern before venturing in.

Rachael’s back was to them. She sat facing her mural wall, which she frequently painted on whenever she was plagued with images from the Oracle. Paint covered her arms and legs, which wasn’t too far from normal. But what wasn’t normal was the slight green glow that emanated from Rachael’s body.

Annabeth took a step closer. She reached her hand out, intending to shake Rachael’s shoulder. “Rachael?” She asked.

Rachael jumped and whirled around, holding out a paintbrush like a sword as the green glow faded away. She lowered it once she saw who it was that was standing behind her. “Hey, guys.” She greeted. “What brings you here?”

“We wanted to talk to you about the prophecy,” Percy told her.

“I thought that might happen. Take a seat,” she gestured to the haphazardly scattered beanbags. Percy picked a purple one while Annabeth took the bright yellow one next to it. Rachael remained standing, pacing around them. Eventually, she settled and sat on the concrete floor. “I talked with Ella,” she started. “She had never heard the prophecy, nor anything that might relate to it.”

“I’ve never actually heard the prophecy,” Annabeth spoke up. “Could one of you repeat it for me?”

Percy looked over at Rachael who nodded at him. He tried to recall the prophecy he had heard. “Um, it comes from… comes from—”

“Oh, let me,” Rachael told him. “It comes from day as dark as night—”

“At least I was on the right track,” Percy muttered. Annabeth shushed him and turned back to Rachael.

“After evil’s rule, the final fight,” Rachael continued. “They’re gone, they’re broke, they come together.” Percy saw Annabeth frown. She opened her mouth as if to speak but closed it after a second. “Charged to protect, earthly tether. Rolling stone, purple reign. All must end in blazing pain.” Rachael finished reciting the prophecy. Noticing Annabeth’s grim expression, Rachael joked, “Cheery, right?”

“Peachy,” Annabeth responded.

“Well,” Percy clapped his hands, drawing the attention of the two women. “Now that we all know the prophecy, some thoughts. Rachael, you said that Ella didn’t have anything?”

“I didn’t say that,” Rachael corrected. “I said she didn’t recognize it. But we did discuss some possible meanings.”

“Did any of those include a meaning for ‘final fight’?”

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Rachael asked, slightly taken back. “I would’ve thought blazing pain—”

“The blazing pain part is over and done with,” Percy dismissed with a wave of his hand. “The nuke,” he explained when he saw Rachael’s blank face.

Her face transformed from confused to scared—face paling at his words. “Nuke?”

“The government wanted to nuke us, but Tony ended up putting it through the portal. All’s fine now. Blazing pain avoided.”

Annabeth nodded slowly. “That…makes sense. But what I don’t get is the final fight part. This is your guys’ first fight together.”

“But it does say ‘must end in blazing pain’,” Rachael interjected. “That’s what worries me. The fates wouldn’t put in the word must unless it was unavoidable.”

“They must have been wrong, Rachael. That part is over with. Even Wise girl agrees.”

Rachael sighed tiredly. “I don’t know. Usually, after the events of the prophecy, the lines become clearer. But they aren’t now. Which may mean…” She trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. But the implication hung in the air.

Percy cleared his throat, breaking the silent tension. “I, for one, think that there’s nothing left. We’ve got to be overthinking this. I mean, Loki’s back on Asgard, and the Chitauri aren’t coming back anytime soon.”

“But I don’t feel that it’s done,” Rachael said, her voice filled with worry. “There are still too many unsolved variables. If I didn’t know better, I’d say this sounds like a Great Prophecy.”

Both Annabeth and Percy sat up straighter at the mention of a Great Prophecy. They shared a glance, remembering what the last two had entailed. Percy looked back over at Rachael; brows furrowed together. “You really think? So soon after?”

“Well, one was given not even a day after the other had been completed,” Rachael recalled. “So yeah. Totally possible.”

That made some sense to Percy, given the last time, but he was sure it was over with already. He frowned as Annabeth grumbled. Looking over at her and her tense posture, he thought the situation over in his head. On one hand, if this really was a Great Prophecy, then they needed to be prepared. They would most likely need to give up college and jobs to prepare for whatever would come. But on the other hand…

The son of Poseidon knew that Annabeth would be disappointed on giving up her goal of becoming an architect to fight. Besides, the whole situation was a huge ‘if’. If the prophecy wasn’t over, if this was a Great Prophecy. Did he really want to jeopardize Annabeth’s happiness for a small, unlikely chance?

“It’s probably nothing to fret over,” Percy said. “I saw we call it a day. It’s about to get late anyway. Didn’t you want to get cleaned up before dinner?” He asked Annabeth, distracting her from the prophecy.

Rachael tried to protest. “I really think that—”

“No, he’s right,” Annabeth said, pushing herself up. “I say that it’s over and done with. That’s two against one.”

“I really think my vote should count twice as I’m the Oracle, but whatever,” Rachael muttered, irritation creeping into her voice. As she stood up, she added, “I’ll keep looking into it, just in case.”

Percy nodded as he and Annabeth started to make their way out of the cave. “Just in case.” The demigod hoped that she wouldn’t find anything. He hoped that he had made the right call.

\~*~/

Percy stood on the beach, starting out at the water. The waves crashed gently at his feet and the breeze blew his hair into his face. He didn’t bother to fix it. Instead, he stood there mulling over his earlier conversation with Annabeth and Rachael.

Even as he denied it, he couldn’t help but muse over the thought of another Great Prophecy. Wasn’t two in his lifetime enough? That by itself already sounded like a stretch. The idea of a third seemed laughable. Did the Fates really hate him that much to put him in the center of another Great Prophecy? What had he ever done to them?

Percy cleared his thoughts, stalling the oncoming headache. He knew that if he continued to stand there and analyze everything too deeply, his head would start pounding. In an attempt to clear his head, he took a couple of deep breaths and focused on his surroundings.

It felt nice for a July evening. In just three days, it would be the fourth, and he knew that the Hephaestus cabin would pull out all the stops, especially when Leo was the one in charge of the firework display. Just thinking about it made Percy excited. It felt as if it had been forever since he had celebrated July 4th at Camp.

He was so deep in his head; he didn’t notice the figure behind him until they spoke. “Nice weather for some fishing, wouldn’t you say?”

The demigod whirled around. Poseidon stood behind him in his usual garb, Hawaiian shirt, Bermuda shorts, sandals, and his lucky Neptune fishing hat. In his hand, he held his trident, waves of power radiating from it. He moved his eyes from the sea to Percy, smiling at him. “Hi, son.”

Percy stared at his father as the god walked closer to the edge of the water, his trident transforming into a fishing rod. Poseidon cast out his line. The line soared impossibly far out (a little godly magic) before plunking into the water. Next to Percy, another fishing rod appeared. Percy grabbed it and cast it out, his line much closer to shore. They stood there for a while, soaking in the peace.

Eventually, Percy turned to Poseidon. “Dad, what are you doing here?”

“Can’t say hi to my son?” Poseidon asked as he checked his line for a tug. When Percy raised his eyebrow at the god, Poseidon shrugged. “Figured I’d see how you’ve been doing,” he admitted. “Especially after your little adventure with that group. The Avengers, right?”

Percy nodded. “That’s what we’re calling it. And… I’m fine.” He dropped his fishing rod and turned to face his dad. “Did you know about the Norse gods? The Chitauri?”

“We’ve known about the Norse since they were first created. Of course, it’s been a while since they’ve come to Earth, but, nevertheless. And with the Chitauri, not specifically. There are whole other worlds out there, Percy. Even I don’t know most of them, or even how many there are.”

“And why did you never bother to share this information with anyone?”

“It was never relevant. Until now, that is.” Poseidon stroked his beard, shifting his eyes away from the sea to his son. “Your uncle is in a sour mood. Apparently, Loki coming to Earth and waging war broke a treaty between Odin and Zeus. But as the Norse are in space and Zeus has no way of getting in contact, there’s nothing he can really do. I don’t care much for politics. I’ll be spending the next couple months in my palace just so I don’t have to listen to his grumbling and pitiful whining.”

Percy smiled a little. Catching Percy’s smile, Poseidon turned his attention back to his line, a twinkle in his eye. All of a sudden, the line became taught. “Oh, think I got something.” With a small flick of the wrist, the fishing rod started wheeling in the prize. Percy could see the start of a gigantic sea serpent-looking monster. Poseidon only grinned at the monster. “This will do nicely. Amphitrite has been nagging me lately about her new diet, wanting to try new things. Hopefully, this will do the trick.”

The demigod figured his father would just disappear, but the god turned back to Percy. “I need you to remember, son, that no matter what happens in the future, I will always be proud of you. The coming times will be difficult, but I know you will prevail. With the reveal of the Norse, mortals will start to pry into other pantheons. The truth will come out at some point or another, I know it. Zeus is too confident that no one will ever discover the truth, but with the re-introduction of Thor… just know that many people might not be happy. Maybe even some of the gods.”

Percy nodded. When he had shown up in New York, in the midst of battle, he had known there was a chance of the demigods being exposed. And even though he had talked to Fury, and even though the media believed he was a mutant, it seemed like that would come true.

Poseidon clapped Percy on the back. “I’m sorry.” Was all he said before dissolving into the sea breeze, his fishing rod and dinner disappearing along with him. On the beach, a small sand dollar rested just where Poseidon had been standing, with Percy standing there alone.

Annabeth found him half an hour later still staring at the sand dollar. With only a glance at his face, she could guess what had happened. “Your dad?”

“Yeah,” Percy confirmed. He bent down to pick up the sand dollar, turning it over in his hands. It looked remarkably similar to the one Poseidon had given to him on his fifteenth birthday. With a sigh, he stood up and pocketed the sand dollar. “He wanted to talk.”

“About what?”

“A lot. But he said he was proud of me.” Percy took Annabeth’s hand and pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her. She melted into the hug. “He also mentioned how the mortals are going to find out about us, sooner or later.”

Annabeth hummed. “When you first told me, I thought that might happen and just prepared myself for the worst.”

“I still think we have a while. People still doubt that Thor really is the same one from mythology.”

“But there are others out there, Percy. Others that might prod or poke just a little too closely and stumble across something they might not like.”

“We’ll deal with it when it comes. Together.” In the distance, the familiar sound of the conch shell blowing could be heard, calling the campers together for dinner. “Come on,” Percy tugged Annabeth towards the Pavilion. “I’m starving.”

Annabeth laughed. “You’re always starving.”

“Which is exactly why we should go eat. Come on, last one there’s a rotten minotaur!” Percy shouted before taking off. Annabeth followed, laughing and yelling as she chased after him.

\~*~/

A couple of days later, the two sat on the beach, staring up at the sky as bright explosions lit up the night sky above them. They watched as some of the usual fireworks were shown (the camp, George Washington crossing the Delaware River, and the more recent but continuous one of Camp Jupiter).

Percy’s face lit up as bright as the sky when he saw the one of the Avengers, all doing a fighting pose as the firework-Chitauri raced towards them on either side. It was exciting to watch as Percy’s firework-self destroyed some of the aliens, the fireworks exploding even brighter when a Chitauri died.

Finally, when the show was done, courtesy of Leo McSchizzle, Bad Boy Supreme, (Or so the fireworks proclaimed), most of the campers trudged to bed. Percy and Annabeth stayed on the beach; the daughter of Athena curled into Percy’s side. Percy’s eyes gazed at the bright stars. Somewhere out there in the vast emptiness of space, were Thor and his brother. The demigod hoped they were starting to patch things up. He really didn’t need Loki coming back to Earth to try and destroy it again the next time he and Thor had a little squabble.

Beside him, Annabeth yawned. Percy shifted his gaze to look down at her. “I think we better get to bed before the patrol harpies catch us. Want me to walk you to your cabin?”

Annabeth nodded tiredly. “Yes please.”

The two slowly stood up, their legs tired and heavy. They walked hand-in-hand together towards the cabins, both slightly leaning on each other. When they reached cabin six, Percy gave Annabeth a goodnight kiss before watching her head into her cabin. After the door closed, Percy trudged to his own cabin, cabin three. He didn’t bother changing into pajamas, barely managing to get his shoes off before he collapsed onto his bed.

Percy fell asleep with a smile on his face, dreaming of him and Annabeth laying under the stars together.

11

[aussie-em]

Well This Can’t Be Good

Camp Half Blood Genderbend Chapter 1

Read on A03

Read on FFnet

In which the demigods of Camp Half Blood have their genders changed. And the Hunters of Artemis. Did I mention they're mad at Dionysus? Remember when everyone was safe and alive and happily living at Camp Half Blood after Heroes of Olympus with Leo and Solangelo? Nope, I don't either.

First

All

Previous

Next

*Annabeth*

Annabeth woke up to the sound of screaming.

She raced out to the Athena Cabin's porch, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach. After a second of searching for the culprit of the screaming, she wasn't surprised to find that the Aphrodite cabin was running around, as fast as their Gucci high heels could take them.

What she was surprised with, though, was that the rest of the camp was running around in the fray.

Annabeth hurried back inside, absentmindedly stepping over one of her brothers who was asleep on the ground and grabbed some of her clothes to change before dealing with this mess. As she closed the door she finally took a look at herself through the mirror.

Wait.

Her hand floated up to where her hair used to be. She scanned over herself in the mirror.

Hades...

She quickly changed and bolted into the main cabin. "Uh... Anyone else feeling different?" She called.

"ANNABETH!" Her youngest brother, Riley, screamed. "I'M A GIRL!"

The ten-year-old most certainly was. His usually short blonde hair was now styled into a bob, and he had a more feminine shape to his frame. She looked over the rest of her siblings, noticing Hannah, Riley's twin, was now male, her long hair gone.

She cursed as Malcolm walked over, looking uncomfortable. "Any ideas?"

He shook his head then paused. He had seemed to come to the same conclusion as she had.

"Dionysus... last night." She groaned.

"He is the Greek god of gender." He nodded.

Annabeth sighed as she ran her hands over her face and pushed the new hair covering her forehead out of her eyes. "C'mon. We gotta tell Chiron."

--

Seconds later, a certain son of Poseidon swung open the door to the Athena cabin the same time she was pulling it open.

"Annabeth." He sighed, slipping his fingers through hers as she pulled him and Malcolm along to find Chiron.

"So... what happened?" He inquired, trusting she would have the answer at hand.

She didn't.

"I- I don't really know." She blinked. "The gods' powers are hard to understand. But think about it; Dionysus is the god of gender."

He whistled lowly. "Last night." He guessed.

"Yyyep." Annabeth pulled a face.

They stopped as Chiron cantred up to them.

"Annabeth?" He guessed.

"Yes. We think our genders have-"

"Changed." Their teacher finished gravely. "I suspected that much."

Percy raised his free hand tentatively, looking around at the panicked state of the camp. "Just wanted to let you know; the Aphrodite cabin is having a full-on panic attack. Drew fainted, but at least she is out for the count. On the other hand, Piper is probably using a bit too much charmspeak."

"Got it." She stressed, then turned back to Chiron. "We were just coming to find you. Counsellor meeting?"

"Yes. Percy, can you run and find Piper? I hate to pull her away from her cabin and their... panicked state, but we'll need her charmspeak to calm down the rest of the camp if Drew is unconscious.  I'm worried that we won't be able to calm everyone down without her. Malcolm, Annabeth; go find the cabin counsellors."

"Already on it. Malcolm; I'll do one to twelve; you get everyone else."

Percy and Malcolm ran off ungracefully to find their respective peers.

Annabeth turned to him and sighed. "And to think we only had nine days until school was back in and no drama."

Chiron chuckled sourly as she ran off to find the remaining eight head counsellors of the Olympian gods.

--

An hour later, the demigod head counsellors of each cabin had communed in the Big House rec room. Ten minutes later, Dionysus had communicated (through his sons, of course, because he wouldn't speak to anyone else) to the demigods the idea that they might have to get used to their new bodies.

Clovis even woke up from his chair in the corner when Nico screeched, "HOW LONG?!"

He was already sulking in a corner, Will rubbing his forehead as he tried to coax his boyfriend out of the shadows.

"Calm. Down. Nico!" Will placed a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder. "It might actually be interesting!"

"And wait until Hazel finds out you're a girl!" Piper finished. Nico and Will glared at her simultaneously as she and Leo laughed. "She might even want to come over and stay a bit."

Nico's hair was even longer than before. Annabeth stifled a laugh at the thought that Piper purely wanted to braid Nico's hair, now that she had more to work with. Even Annabeth rarely escaped that.

Nico just groaned and buried his face in his hands.

Dionysus' son chuckled sourly. "Well, at least we didn't change."

Leo laughed. "What do you mean? You're missing out!" He cackled as he threw his head back and set his mass of curly hair on fire. Annabeth didn't like how this was going. He was definitely enjoying this way too much.

"Well!" Annabeth directed a soft glare at Leo which made him sit up and pat the flames out of his smouldering hair. "I guess we just need to go back to our cabins and..." she blinked. "Well, any questions before that?"

Samantha from Hebe raised her hand and didn't wait before she called out; "Should we change our names? You know, so they're similar but respective genders?"

Annabeth considered this. "No. That would be too confusing. Keep your names."

"Pronouns?" Someone under the table asked.

Annabeth grimaced. She knew this would be difficult to explain. "Well... let people know what pronouns you go by. We can get wrist ties in pink, blue and green, maybe. I know the pink-blue idea is sexist but it'll be the easiest way to silently communicate the pronouns across. If someone uses the wrong ones, just correct them, please."

"How will we get different clothes?"

"I guess we could trade clothes with our siblings, or close friends," Miranda Gardener shrugged, "Or the camp store. How about getting the camp store to give every camper two outfits? That should be enough if everyone else swaps, or you can just wear the clothes you have now."

"Perfect, Miranda," Annabeth nodded. "No more questions?" She inquired, looking around the room. When nobody spoke, she continued, "Well... let's just be grateful that the Hunters left last night. During the night... oh no." She groaned. "Does anyone have a drachma?"

Percy passed her one, and as she was about to throw it into the fountain on the wall, a perfectly timed Iris Message came through from Thalia.

There was almost as much screaming there as there was at camp this morning. Thalia stood in the front of it all, looking almost unchanged.

"Annabeth!? Explain."

--

*Piper*

The Aphrodite Cabin was in shock. Piper needed all of her influence over her siblings and some other panicking campers. Fortunately or not, Drew was still unconscious.

"PIPER!" Dianne screeched, "I have nothing to wear, my hear is completely ruined, and I can't wear makeup, because I AM A BOY!"

Piper sighed and held out her hand in a 'stop' motion.  "Dianne, we all have problems with this. Take a deep breath, exhale, inhale, calm down." She didn't even notice she was using charmspeak until the rest of the cabin seemed to stop and breathe a louder.

"Listen, everyone. No screaming, please. And Lacy, can you write this down for Drew? I really don't want to explain this to her." Piper breathed a long sigh of relief as Lacy, the cabins resident secretary, nodded and grabbed a notepad from the chest at the bottom of her bunk.

"This curse has been given until the next Summer Solstice. That's in about nine months time."

She took a sharp breath, expecting Drew to raise up from the dead, or someone to override her charmspeaking powers. Thankfully, nobody did and Drew remained unconscious.

"Dionysus issued the curse, so there's really no way to reverse it. We're not going to change our names, but you can change your pronouns if you so wish,  and we'll have bracelets or anklets made with your pronouns written on it if you want it. You're getting a free outfit from the camp store, you could swap clothes with your siblings, and you can obviously fund your own shopping antics if you choose to buy more," But knowing her siblings, Piper muttered, "Which you can sell or donate or something at Summer Solstice."

She tried to remember what else Annabeth and Dionysus' son had mentions regarding this situation.

"Oh yeah. Also, because Dionysus is ever so merciful, the mist will change you back to your normal selves outside camp borders, or really when you aren't near any mythological beings. So you won't have to be worried about your school, or parents." Piper grimaced, hoping none of her siblings' parents or their siblings could see through the mist. But Aphrodite wasn't really one for telling her lovers about the whole 'the Greek gods are alive and thriving' thing.

She rolled her eyes, remembering that Annabeth mentioned quietly to her afterwards that the real reason Dionysus had more control over the mist inside the camps barrier and he was pretty powerless in the outside world. She wasn't about to mention this to her siblings though.

"The Hunters of Artemis are going to be especially annoyed, so if they come over in the next three quarters of the year please try not to pick any fights with them. Any more questions?"

Nobody called out, and Lacy scribbled on her notepad for a second more before adding a dot to the end of her sentence and nodded, "Is Artemis male now?"

Piper shook her head. "Dionysus doesn't have that sort of power over another god, especially another one more powerful than he is, and Artemis can always change her form anyway."

Nobody else called out, so Piper took that thankfully as no more questions for her to answer with her limited knowledge of the situation.

"Great. Well, it's time for breakfast. Quickly, get changed and we'll go. We still have the next nine and a half months to survive and to figure this out."

[bookweasleys-blog]

Heroes of Olympus Headcanon

"Inside the Seven, who has the closest relationship with everyone else on Argo 2?"

When asked this question people usually say Hazel because she's really kind, or Percy because he's so easy to be friends with. But actually it's Piper. And no, she didn't use her charm speaking skills to make me say that. But anyways, she has a very special relationship with everyone else inside the Seven.

I think it's pretty natural that we start with her boyfriend, right? Jason and Piper can calm each other down no matter what happens. They both often feel like they aren't good enough or that they are worthless, but when they don't believe in themselves they know they'll always have the other to convince them that they are amazing. They literally believe in each other more than themselves, and their relationship is much more than what it first seems. Piper loves flying and high places so Jason often takes her to sit on the roofs in the evening. They sit up there looking at the sunsets, Jason wrapping his arm around Piper as she rests her head on his shoulder. They stare at each other, both wondering how something so great can be real and what they did to deserve each other. They always have play fights over who's more perfect, Piper rooting for Jason and Jason for her. They love surprising each other because they get to see the other so happy, and that makes them happy. They listen to the other whenever there's something they wanna speak about, whether it's a problem or something they love.

Piper loves to hang out with Leo because he's so easy to be with and he never fails to make her laugh. They share a very similar sense of humor and sometimes Piper even helps Leo with his pranks (mostly only if they are meant for Jason or Percy). Whenever Leo is building something new he always asks about Piper's opinion of how the thing looks, because Piper often knows how to make it look better. Piper teaches Leo French and in return he teaches her Spanish. They always run trough the streets of the Camp half-blood, yelling stuff like "GIRLS RUN THE WORLD". For everyone else it seems like they have known each other forever, they are practically siblings. One time someone asked Piper who her best friend was and without even thinking about it she said Leo, and then he just bursted out of nowhere and yelled: "YOU HEARD THAT GUYS MY BEST FRIEND IS BETTER THAN YOURS!" and Piper just laughed and hugged him.

Piper and Annabeth can spend hours talking: even though they share a lot of things with Percy and Jason, there are some things the guys just won't understand. Annabeth loves to teach Piper about architecture and Piper is always excited to learn about it. In return Piper tells her about the Cherokee culture and the stories she has heard from her dad. They take long walks around different places, talking about everything and suddenly yelling: "Hey, look! That building is probably over a hundred years!" and "Did you know these flowers are often meant as a sign of luck?" They watch romantic movies together (like Titanic and La La Land and Romeo and Juliet etc) even though neither one of them wants to admit that (they are too "nope I don't watch them they are boring"). Annabeth gives Piper fighting lessons, and Piper is trying so hard to succeed. They both admire the other a lot and have learned (and are still learning) many things from the other.

Percy and Piper have the stupidest nicknames for each other and for everyone else as well. They often act childish together while Jason and Annabeth facepalm in the background. They use puns all the time, like "Percy, you should wash your shirt. It's not exactly Mclean" and "What a Percyfect day to kill some monsters, don't you think?". Piper loves Percy's habit to only eat blue food and she has found a way to make her cornucopia shoot out blue food, and knowing how much Percy loves (blue) food you can only imagine how happy he's about that. Percy and Piper become really close, and Percy introduces Piper to Blackjack. They become friends immediately (if you can say so haha). One day Percy's practicing sword fighting when Blackjack flies to the field. It takes a moment for Percy to realise that Piper is sitting on his back and grinning. "You were right. This is Amazhang!" Piper shouted and Percy grinned back. "Be careful, he isn't always as Hazel as he seems!" Percy yelled back.

Say whatever you want, but it was totally Piper who showed Hazel all the Disney movies and other "important stuff she missed while being dead". After they've watched a movie they always sing the songs from it super loudly. That seems strange for a lot of people at first, seeing the usually kinda shy Hazel being suddenly so loud, but soon they get used to it. One time they are singing Let it go and a demigod just looks at the rest of the seven like "Piper and Hazel are at it again?" They just nod and say something like "The usual." They always make each other flower crowns and Piper braids Hazel's hair. One day Hazel aks if she can try to braid Piper's hair. Soon they discover that Hazel is amazing at making braids and Piper is always begging her to braid her hair. Hazel loves Piper because she always explains things Hazel doesn't understand and is very kind to her. Piper has become a big sister to Hazel and as much as Piper loves some of her siblings, Hazel feels more like her sister than her actual sisters do.

Sometimes Frank watches the movies with Piper and Hazel. That leads to them making him turn into whatever animal was important in the movie. That way they start to dress up as characters from the movies and soon the three are re-acting some of the scenes from the movies. Like Frank turns into a raccoon and Piper acts as Pokahontas and starts singing Colours of the wind, while Hazel tries to make the "effects" with her magic skills. Next time there's Frank as a toad and Hazel, dressed up as Tiana, holding him. At first Frank didn't really know how he feels about Piper, but as he spends more time with her he learns that she's actually an incredible person. Piper always gives him advice on like, what to get Hazel for her birthday etc, and Frank helps Piper to find ways to surprise Jason. They both get to see a different side of the other: Piper sees that behind the sweet, kinda awkward boy there's actually a side that loves to have fun, while Frank sees that Piper really isn't your stereotypical child of Aphrodite, and that she's really caring and open for new things.

[tamaramalara13]

Chaos’s Assassin 9

Half an hour after successfully retrieving the information from Rose Song we were all sat around a table in a little coffee/tea shop a couple of streets down from the Agent's house. The tea shop itself was nice; small, with tables lining the windows and a cute little bar by the door. The tea's they sold were even cuter, they were little bubble tea's of different colours and flavours. Not exactly my style, but it would do.

“So, what's the plan?” Piper asked, tugging at the feathers braided into her choppy chestnut hair. There seemed to be some kind of unspoken agreement between the six of us, the two quests were meant to come together. And seeing as the prophecy had mentioned that we would “travel with six” we were pretty sure that we were on the right track.

“I guess we need to find a way to get down to the Whitehouse today.” Annabeth answered, her grey eyes deep in thought.

“We could always get a bus.” Jason contributed, sipping quietly on his strawberry bubble tea. It was an odd choice, but one we all accepted readily.

“The bus station just got shut down,” Hazel said, “apparently there was some robbery in the corner store right next door to it so they shut it down for the investigation.”

“How do you know that?” Leo asked, edging to see what she was looking at in her hands. It was a newspaper, and front page was a photo of the corner store.  

“That may have been us,” Piper said, raising her hand slightly, “does it say if they have any leads?”

“No, luckily none of the witnesses pegged you guys as the robbers, so they have all just got different descriptions for the monster you were fighting. ”

“Lamia.” Piper contributed.

“Nice…” Jason complimented, high fiving Leo across the table.

“Well I wish the detectives good luck with that case,” I said, looking up from my black coffee, “What are you guys doing in Boston anyway?”

I had to ask, it had been on my mind all day.

“Same reason as you.” Annabeth answered with a cold glare in my direction.

“Well, not exactly,” Jason offered with a slightly nicer attitude, “Octavian is from our Camp, so he's our responsibility. It's only natural that we have to go get him before this gets too far.”

“Rose Song called both camps.” Hazel clarified.

“How does she know about us anyway?” Leo asked, his decaffeinated green tea and croissant left untouched (because we all know what happens when he has too much caffeine).

“I think Chiron said something about a younger brother who was a half blood during the Battle of the Labyrinth or something… and with all the ruckus during the Giant War, I would be surprised if she didn't know about the Roman Camp.” Piper piped up.

“There were apparently a lot of unregistered deaths during the Labyrinth’s Battle.” Leo said, nodding matter of factly.

“It was practically slaughter,” Annabeth muttered, the air getting tense. Then, with new vigour, she asked, “How old was he?”

“He died at 15.”

No one spoke for a long time, Annabeth's eyes stared into the distance, and I couldn't help but feel guilty. It was a time when people were disappearing all over the place, many just not returning to camp. People were going on quests without prophecies and deaths were not taken into account. But still, I felt as if I was once again carrying the sky on my shoulders, and this time it was permanent. I had to live with my mistakes, so many deaths, the least I could've done was remember their names… but I didn't. I guess I was just selfish.

“Okay,” Hazel said, having not known about the Camps at the time. The others, apart from Annabeth and I, snapped out of it quickly, “So where do we go from here?”

“We could just hitch a ride,” Jason suggested, “It's not uncommon, a lot of the time there are many tourists that are willing to take a couple of people along. We might be lucky and find someone heading for Washington.”

“I would be surprised if we don't,” Piper said, agreeing with her boyfriend and sipping on her camomile tea, “That's tourist destination number 1.”

“Okay, and how long will it take us to get there? Does anyone know?”

Leo smirked slightly, before saying in a bad robotic voice, “I estimate, around 7 and a half hours.”

“Well it's almost 9 o'clock,” Annabeth said, beginning to put things in her bag, “so if we leave now we could get there before 8, and that would give us time to quickly catch a bite and then kick some ass. Remember, we have to get Omega’s friends out before sunrise tomorrow. So let's do this quick.”

 It had been surprisingly easy to find a family to allow us to crash their little road trip. After we mentioned chipping in on gas money, they were happy to bring us along. Due to this, 2 hours after the discussion at the tea place we were already on our way to Washington in a large black and grey camper van with a family of four. Hazel had very kindly spun the mist so the people that were helping us saw a random person’s face, instead of a shady hood. However, in the end it didn't seem like it was really needed, seeing as I mostly stayed in the back where the ‘living room’ area was. If you'd ever seen ‘We're The Millers’, it was basically that truck.

Piper and Jason stayed upfront, talking to the parents and Hazel and Leo stuck close to the main door, having a conversation with the two teenage kids about the “New Era of Electronics”, whatever that was supposed to be. At first Annabeth stuck with Jason and Piper, but after a while, upfront seemed to be a bit too cramped for her. So she then decided to join me on the couches at the back of the bus, the furthest away from the commotion. I wanted to complain, but honestly, I had missed her so much, I was kind of craving her company…

“So what's your deal?” she asked bluntly, her face betraying her badly hidden curiosity.

“My… deal?” I replied cautiously.

“Yeah, your story. Tell me how you are connected to Chaos.”

I looked at her, it wasn't as if she was giving me puppy dog eyes or anything. It was nothing like that in fact. Her stare was one of a warriors, and she was not backing down. That alone reminded me of the good old days, stuck in trucks similar to the one we were caged in at the moment.

“How about this, I'll tell you what you want to know. In return, you tell me what I want to know.” I said, coming up with a compromise.

“Alright, deal.” she said smirking slightly.

Upon feeling her curiosity, I paused for a second, thinking about how to explain my situation without giving too much away, “You know how there's that one person in the whole wide universe that you would sacrifice everything and everyone for, just to keep them safe. You would even give your life for this person. You know?”

She looked at me for a moment before leaning back slightly and ducking her head to her lap.

“Yeah” she said.

“Well, I almost lost that person. I’m not the kind of person to let someone I love suffer, so, as payment for their safety, I gave up my life and joined Chaos’s Army.”

Sensing the fragility of my confession she chose to move the subject along, “So you were recruited then? For the Army.”

“Yeah, but I had to go through the same procedure as the others.”

“Wait, I don't understand, what  ‘procedure’?” It hit me that she probably thought it was some kind of operation. I couldn't help but released a short, quiet laugh at her shock, before clarifying.

“We spend 385 days training in the school they have there.”

“Okay, then how come you aren't the regular soldier? How come you're a-”

“An assassin?”

“Yeah...”

“I was given the choice after I graduated, either join the army like the other recruits and start from the bottom working my way up, or just become his Assassin. That was about 11,615 years ago.”

“So, you just kill people in cold blood?” As she said that her eyes glazed over with a frozen kind of hatred, one that I knew wasn't caused by my character, but rather by what she assumed were my actions.

“Not really, I do what the Army can't. I take care of the threats to the universe, the army takes care of threats to specific planets that could eventually grow to something more. Like this planet and Octavian. Basically I have smaller, more skillful targets. Assassin is just a title. I mean, I guess in some sense it's accurate… look, the people I kill are killers, they’re criminals in the eyes of Chaos. So I get rid of them.”

“Does that not have an effect on you?” She asked, her eyes turning from icy to troubled, “You’re from earth right? Humans aren’t born killers.”

“No species’s are born killers, but, depending on the circumstances, they can be taught to be, even if that's not what you thought you were doing. Anyway, if by killing these people I’m saving an innocent person's life? Then, It’s worth it.”

She looked at me for a couple more moments, her legs crossed from where she sat on the beige seats across from me. All of a sudden her stone faced expression crumbled and another Annabeth emerged, the Annabeth I was in love with. Then, without any warning, she started to giggle.

“What’s so funny?” I couldn't help but ask, the infectious laughter threatening to spill from myself as well.

“This situation just reminded me of a very similar scene from a couple of years ago, it was on my first ever quest. I had gone with my two bestfriend’s, although I hadn’t known that at the time, to go retrieve a stupid lightning bolt and somehow ended up in the back of a van slightly different from this one (if you count goats and hay stacks as different), driving halfway across the country, filled to the brim with barnyard animals. It stunk. But ironically our friend Grover blended right in. I remember sitting there with Percy and just talking about anything and everything, it was the first time we had really even clicked, you know? Right now, I can't help but miss him.”

Throughout her speech she had subconsciously ended up with a peaceful expression on her normally anxious face. She had been in her own world, I could see that much, but when she was brought back to the terrible, harsh reality that is life, the only thing in the whole universe that I wanted to do, was hug her. Hug her and tell her everything was okay. I would crack a terrible joke, get her to laugh, get her to feel the same peace, the same happiness, she had felt when she told her story.

Reality didn't feel the same anymore. I had left everything, just for it to end, but now she was all alone, suffering, and I was the cause. I didn't really regret leaving, if it meant all was well, then perhaps it was for the best. But what about her? What had she wanted? What had my family wanted? I hadn't even taken that into consideration. What did she think happened? Where did she think I had gone?

[remainingso]

keep running home to you

After that disaster of a wedding, Magnus and Annabeth talk about (not) saving the world and family. 

Or, I have way too many Chase cousins feelings so enjoy. 

The fog is pressing up against the window as if it could actually swallow the entire cafe whole—make it disappear like the tips of faraway buildings. Magnus meets it halfway, tapping at the cold glass with his fingertips. Across from him in the booth, Annabeth is staring out, too, idly stirring her iced mocha with a stick.

She talks first. Annabeth always talks first, even if the force of her question makes the lump of guilt in Magnus’s stomach feel like lead. “It’s about Uncle Randolph, isn’t it?” she asks.

Magnus tears his gaze away from the window. When he turns, he meets Annabeth’s gaze full on. She’s still stirring her drink, the beads of cold condensation running down the side of her glass as the bits of floating ice clink about, but when he falters, she reaches out to grab his hands. Magnus can feel the callouses when she squeezes tight, worn from years of this life.

“How do you do it?” he blurts, instead of answering her question.

It’s been a year. Life before dying and Valhalla, before gods, before it all—it wasn’t exactly easy, but it was simpler. Get out of the cold, get enough food in your stomach, just last long enough to survive another day.

If you messed up, it was on you. You didn’t set a vengeful trickster god loose. You didn’t kick start Ragnarok.

Magnus searches Annabeth’s eyes for answers, but all he can see is the familiar grey. Chase-eyes, not demigod-eyes.

From the way Annabeth holds on tighter to him, she gets it. “I don’t really know, Magnus,” she finally says. There’s a croak in her throat that probably came from whatever crisis she was dealing with in her own pantheon. Magnus watches the weary ways she drags a hand over her face before she takes a sip of the mocha.

“You’re just so…,” Magnus trails off, tilting his head and searching for the right word.

Annabeth raises an eyebrow. “So what?”

“So… well put-together,” Magnus settles on. It’s not quite the right thing to say—Annabeth’s braid is coming out of its tie, little flyaway curls framing her face, and Magnus is starting to think the faint shadows under her eyes are permanent. But. The smile on her face is soft, and small, but he hasn’t seen it waver once since he’s met up with her again after… after. Her jacket is pristine. He knows the bag she’s hauling around has a notebook filled with half a dozen sketches and five rolls of blueprint in various stages of completion stuffed in it.

Despite everything she’d told him about the literal hell her life has been over the past couple years, Annabeth looks content.

She laughs. “Me? Put-together?”

“Like you know you’ll make it through eventually,” Magnus says, “even if you don’t now.”

Annabeth’s steely eyes soften. “You’ll get there,” she says, giving his hands a soft squeeze again.

It’s the gentle reassurance in her voice, that soft confidence he can’t help but believe, that breaks him. Magnus tugs his hands away and covers his face, fingers squeezing tight to try and stem the rush of tears suddenly there, leaking from his stupid eyes.  

Will I? he thinks. The thought slips away from him, whirls around in his head until it feels like it’s full of bursting and all he can think about is the next time he’ll let someone down.

Magnus laughs at how ridiculous he’s being, pressing the palms of his hands harders into his eyes. Spots dance in a haze behind his eyelids.

He hears Annabeth scrape her chair back.

She puts a hand over his hair, brushing over his exposed neck, just next to where Blitz had cut most of it away. She reaches around and pulls his hands back again, wiping away traces of tears with her thumb. Magnus feels ridiculous, but Annabeth is solid and warm and he feels like a kid again when she runs a hand through his hair, so he slowly feels his tense muscles relaxing.

“You will,” she says firmly. Her tone leaves no room for argument, but, then again, Annabeth’s tone never did. “You’re my cousin. Of course you can do it.”

“I couldn’t, though,” he can’t help but blurt out.

Annabeth hooks her ankle back on her chair, pulling it up so she can sit down right there next to him. She drags his right hand between hers and settles back. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Magnus pauses. There’s a thread on his shirt, loose and dangling, even though this is the nicest one he owns. The little blue orphaned thread makes him think of that rug, of that one night melting into its softness.

He clears his throat, wraps his free hand around his cooling mug of coffee. “That’s all there is to it,” he says, frowning. “My friends needed me. I couldn’t do it. Loki’s out there, somewhere, because I messed up. Sam’s not talking to Alex and working herself half to death and I can’t even help either of them. I haven’t even talked to Hearth since we got back. I thought it was supposed to stop, after all the fighting. I thought… I’m supposed to be a healer. And I can’t fix any of this.” The words pour out in a torrent, and Magnus finds himself breathing harshly, tear tracks trailing down his cheeks again. He swipes at them half-heartedly, but his throat still feels too thick.   

“It wasn’t your fault, Magnus.”

“You don’t know that.”

Annabeth scoffs. “I know you, Magnus. You have to stop blaming yourself for things out of your control.”

Magnus tightens his fingers on the cup.

“Hey. Look at me.”

He looks up, tentatively. Annabeth is still smiling reassuringly. “I know what that’s like, you know,” she says. “It’s hard when you’re just a kid and it feels like the entire world’s on your shoulders.”

“I’m only a year younger than you,” Magnus says, making a face.

Annabeth smirks. “Practically an infant.”

Magnus laughs, despite himself. “I suppose I’ve never literally had the world on my shoulders.”

Annabeth’s eyes take on a faraway gleam. She sighs, massaging tiny circles in the palm of his hand. “I didn’t want this to happen to you,” she says, like confessing something. “It’s hard. I’m not denying that. It’s always going to be hard.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Just don’t stop trying,” Annabeth says.

“What?”

Annabeth’s stare is more intense, now. She leans in, close enough that he can see the summer freckles start to edge in over her nose. “I… Sometimes I can be a little harsh. I don’t think we can always save everyone, you know? I don’t think everything can be fixed. But I know you believe it can, and that’s what’ll get you through when it really gets hard, I think.”

Her eyes flicker back out over the rolling fog outside. Her hands are slack around his, but Magnus can feel the soft reassurance they offer him. He knows what she’s talking about, too. It’s easier to give up, sometimes. Easier to look out for yourself, write people off as lost causes.

“I won’t,” he promises.

Annabeth grins. “Good. You make me proud, little cousin.”

They don’t talk about Randolph. Magnus doesn’t think he can talk about Randolph.

Annabeth is family enough, for now. Annabeth has always been family enough.

“I used to wish you were my big sister,” Magnus confesses.

At that, Annabeth laughs. It’s a full laugh, and she reaches out to ruffle his shorn hair with glee. “Are you sure you want that? I’m a very bossy sibling, I’ve been told.”

“You don’t say?” Magnus says drily.

She laughs again, and stands, point to her heavy bag. “Alright then. Hold my stuff, bro. We’re going for a walk.”

Magnus takes her bag, the smile hurting his cheeks from being so bright, so easy, so content.

[bananannabeth]

BITE: Chapter 9

percy jackson / teen wolf crossover i'm so sorry about the ridiculous wait!! i participated in the stydia big bang and that sort of took all of my fic writing energy for a bit. that fic is called colorblind, if you'd like to read it!! thank you for being so patient, and i hope you enjoy the update. 9/? - Stiles

“You couldn’t have this meeting outside?” Melissa said sadly, looking at the wet patches on her couch.

Everyone had gotten to their feet when she’d arrived, Scott and Stiles moving forward to greet her and everyone else hovering awkwardly in the lounge, trying to wring the excess water out of their hair with the towels still draped over their shoulders.

“I’m really sorry, Mom,” Scott said, almost pleading.

Stiles quickly came to his defence, gesturing to the bottom of the doorframe. “We couldn’t talk outside, we needed to be inside the mountain ash barrier.”

Melissa didn’t look comforted. Her gaze flickered over the group, lingering on the demigods - demigods! Actual, real live, half-gods standing in Scott’s house, Stiles could hardly believe it - before settling back on Scott. “What’s happened now? And who are your new friends?”

“Mom, this is Percy, Annabeth, Hazel and Frank,” Scott introduced, pointing to each of them in turn.

Annabeth and Percy smiled, looking about as welcoming and polite as Stiles had ever seen them. Hazel and Frank smiled, too, but they were clearly exhausted and overwhelmed. When Frank raised his hand in a small wave, Melissa frowned.

“What happened to your wrist?” she asked, dropping her bag onto the table and stepping over to him. Stiles could physically see the switch from annoyed mom to concerned nurse.

Frank flinched back, but Hazel and Percy both put a steadying hand on his arms. Scott rushed over, hovering by his mom’s side. “Frank, Mom’s a nurse. She can help.”

“I’m not sure how much she’ll be able to help with this,” Percy said carefully. The look he gave Scott made it clear that he wasn’t sure how much Melissa knew, and he didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. Stiles appreciated the respect.

“Trust me, I can help,” Melissa mused, eyebrows drawn together as she carefully turned Frank’s wrist over in her hands. “How did you get these wounds? It looks like you were chained…” Frank winced, and Melissa’s hands stilled. Her eyes flashed, and then her lips set into a thin line. She looked to Scott. “Tell me everything. Right now.”

Scott chewed his bottom lip. “Well -”

“Well, uh, so, things have… expanded, slightly,” Stiles said, waving a hand at Annabeth, who batted it away. “And there’s some new monsters in town -”

Melissa rolled her eyes, which was not quite the response Stiles had been expecting, but he thought it was fitting anyway. “Of course there are,” she muttered.

“- But these guys have fought them before and won, so everything’s fine, we’ve definitely got a plan and you have absolutely nothing to worry about,” Stiles finished, smiling brightly.

Melissa blinked at him before turning to Scott and asking flatly, “What are we up against?”

“We were just getting to that bit,” Scott said. “Hazel was about to tell us what she’d heard.”

Hazel shuffled her feet slightly against the carpet. “It’s not good,” she said warningly. “We have fought him before - well, not us, exactly, but our friends have - and they didn’t exactly win. They just sort of… survived.”

Allison folded her arms across her chest, pressing the wet towel down her front. “Who is he?”

“Lycaon,” Hazel said grimly.

“The first werewolf?” Stiles and Allison asked in shocked unison.

That was impossible. That couldn’t be true. Lycaon was ancient, he was a myth, he was - an all powerful werewolf, the original Alpha. When Scott had first got the bite, Stiles had done a lot of research. Lycaon had come up a fair bit, and nothing about him was good. Even back when he was a human, he was a nasty guy. It takes a sick sort of person to not only murder their own son but then to feed him to someone, especially to Zeus - Who was apparently real, if Annabeth and Percy were telling the truth?

Which they probably were, Stiles couldn’t see any reason for them to lie, and if they were going to lie this was a weird backstory to go with, pretty unnecessarily complicated. It explained Percy’s ability to manipulate water, and the fact that they were unfazed by Scott and the others transforming, and their weapons, and the way they’d known to take down that monster in the preserve…

But anyway, the point was, Lycaon was a dick, but he was also really dangerous. If he was in Beacon Hills, they were in trouble.

Scott rounded on Derek. “Did you know about this?”

“I had my suspicions,” Derek said quietly. He sounded genuinely remorseful. “I was hoping it wasn’t the case.”

“Are you sure it’s him?” Allison asked Hazel.

Hazel nodded, twisting her hands together in front of herself. “I’m sure. I never saw him, but I heard them talking about him, they called him by name.”

“Who are they?” Annabeth asked. Her expression was one of steely determination, her gaze far away, as though she was already mentally drawing up a plan of attack.

“His followers, his pack,” Hazel explained.

“Didn’t we just defeat an Alpha pack?” Isaac asked. “How could another one come to town so quickly?”

“This isn’t another Alpha pack,” Derek said sourly. “This is the first ever werewolf, the first Alpha. He’s worse than Deucalion. Much worse.”

“You said your friends had faced him before,” Stiles said to Hazel. “How did they survive?”

“Luck,” Percy said immediately. “Reinforcements arrived just in time, the first time, and the second time… well, no other demigod would have been able to get away.”

Stiles clapped his hands together. “So call them! Your friends who’ve fought him before.” Percy opened his mouth to protest, but Stiles barrelled on through. “Yeah, it might not have been the best fight, but at least they’ve met him before. They can tell us what we’re up against.”

“That’s what you meant, back at the loft,” Annabeth said to Derek, “When you said we might need reinforcements.”

Derek nodded. “I was really hoping it wouldn’t come to it, but if Lycaon is really in Beacon Hills, then our two worlds might finally have to meet.”

Percy shook his head. “I don’t want to drag them into this.”

“Perce, he’s trying to get to Camp Jupiter,” Hazel said. “If we don’t stop him here, he’s going to attack them.”

“It’d be better for him to try attacking the camp,” Annabeth said, turning on her heel and breaking away from the group. She started pacing across the lounge, fingers steepled in front of herself. “Their defences are better there, and Lupa would never allow him to pose a real threat.”

“Do you really think so? Camp’s pretty fractured after the war, Annabeth, I don’t know if they could stand another attack,” Hazel said softly.

War? Stiles shared a look with Scott, making a mental note to research that later.

Annabeth wavered. “We can’t face him here, we’re at a disadvantage. We don’t know the surroundings -”

“But we do,” Scott said, eyes flashing red. “We’ll help you. We’ve fought Alphas who thought they were stronger than us before, and we’ve won. We’ll do it again.”

“You don’t understand what you’re up against,” Annabeth protested. “Lycaon is dangerous, really dangerous. And none of this is a coincidence. There are plenty of different directions he could have come from to get to the camp, but he chose this town for a reason. He kept Hazel and Frank alive for a reason. He -”

Percy grabbed Annabeth’s hand, stopping her pacing. He spun her around to face him, holding her gaze. “Annabeth. We’re going to figure this out, just like we’ve figured everything else out. But for now -”

Annabeth’s fingers twitched in his hold. “But -”

“Right now,” Percy said firmly, “Frank and Hazel need ambrosia and rest, and we need to contact Reyna. We’ll talk to her and Chiron and we’ll figure out what to do with their help, okay?”

It took a few seconds before Annabeth nodded stiffly. “Okay.”

Percy went to let go of her hand, but she tightened her hold. He glanced down at their interlocked fingers, a surprised smile lighting up his face, and tugged her over to stand against his side.

Stiles glanced over at Lydia, who had sat back on the couch and was watching the exchange curiously. When she felt him looking she glanced up and met his eye, and Stiles knew that she was as intrigued by everything they didn’t know about these demigods as he was.

“You can stay here for the night,” Melissa said. “As long as you don’t mind sleeping on the couch, or mattresses on the floor.”

“You really don’t have to -” Annabeth started to say.

At the same time, Percy said, “That’d be great, Ms McCall. Thank you.”

Melissa nodded, and that was settled. “Just let me get my first aid kit, I want to put some disinfectant on your wrists before you go to sleep.”

Frank glanced up at Annabeth, as if checking this was okay.

“It can’t hurt,” was all she said.

Everyone started to move, sensing that the conversation had drawn to a close for the night. Isaac drifted towards Allison, the back of his hand brushing hers, and she turned to talk to him in a hushed voice. Scott winced and turned away, following his mom out of the room.

“Uh, Ms McCall,” Percy said, getting everyone’s attention. “Do you have a sink we could borrow?”

With a mirror, a flashlight, the kitchen tap and a coin, Percy and Annabeth had made some sort of mythical Skype call back to the demigod camp: Camp Jupiter, they’d called it. A girl with long, dark hair in a detailed braid and a stern face was talking to them, although it had taken a bit of convincing to get her to talk freely with everyone else around. Scott and Derek were in on the conversation, too, acting as Alpha and liaison, and Melissa was sitting at the kitchen table, tending to Frank and Hazel’s wounds with the care only a registered nurse could provide.

Stiles was leaning against the doorframe, arms folded over his chest, running through all of the information they had. Which wasn’t really all that much, the more he thought about it.

“We need to figure out what can kill him,” Allison said, coming to stand beside Stiles.

He glanced down to see she was holding her empty quiver. She must have lost all of her arrows in the flood.

“Wolfsbane?” Stiles offered. “That almost killed Derek.”

“Maybe Lycaon’s different, though,” Lydia said, coming around Allison’s other side. “All the myths say he can only be harmed by silver.”

“He can’t be hurt with our usual weapons,” Hazel offered from the table. Stiles was surprised that she’d been listening to them; her eyes had been locked on Frank the whole time Melissa had been treating him. “Celestial bronze and imperial gold don’t work against him. Silver arrows have hurt him, in the past.”

“Okay, so we try both silver and wolfsbane, then,” Stiles said.

“I’ll get my dad to help,” Allison offered. “I’ll go home now and start collecting bullets and arrows.”

“I’ll drive you,” Isaac said.

Stiles was glad that Scott was too engrossed in his conversation to see them leave, Isaac’s hand hovering just above the small of Allison’s back. He’d thought that Lydia would want to go with them, but she’d declined, saying that she wanted to get some more information before heading home. Once Allison and Isaac were gone, however, she didn’t move from Stiles’s side.

“Annabeth’s right,” she said, voice low. “This isn’t a coincidence.”

“Definitely not,” Stiles agreed, in the same tone.

“Stiles, Lycaon is the original Alpha. The bestiary says that he has powers other Alphas don’t.”

He tried to hide his alarm. “What do you mean?”

Lydia grabbed his elbow and dragged him around the corner. Once they were out of sight of the others she let him go, but neither of them stepped back, keeping their heads bowed close together.

“The bestiary says that he has control over all other werewolves,” Lydia whispered.

Stiles’s stomach turned to lead. “What? No, that can’t be - Are you sure you translated it correctly?”

Lydia glared at him.

“Okay, sorry, you translated it correctly,” he apologised. “So… so he can control other werewolves? And you think that’s why he came to Beacon Hills, to - what, to recruit more into his pack before attacking the demigods?”

Lydia licked her lips. “Not just more of them… I think he came here for someone specifically.”

Stiles’s eyes widened. He straightened up as her meaning sunk in. “You don’t think…?”

Lydia nodded solemnly. “Scott.”

Stiles swallowed thickly and turned back to peer into the kitchen, where Scott was standing with a straight spine beside Percy, deep in discussion about how to keep their homes safe. “Lycaon wants a True Alpha.”

.

[gaytrojangirls]

Chapter One

Prologue

“Welcome to USC!” a guy said, bouncing over to the huddled group of freshman standing around the court parking lot. Laila was pretty sure he wasn’t a guy at all, but perhaps a human ray of sunshine, or possibly a puppy walking on two legs instead. She exchanged a glance with the blue-eyed, dark skinned girl next to her with coppery hair curled on top, the rest shaved to the base of her skull. The slightly taller, eastern looking girl raised her eyebrows with a smirk before turning back to the human ray of sunshine that Laila assumed was their junior captain.

“That stands for University of Southern California,” the guy clarified, and damn was he too excited for this early in the morning , Laila thought hypocritically. She was bouncing up and down in her converse from her own, unrestrained enthusiasm.

“Named by Robert Widney when he founded it in 1880, making it the oldest private research university in California.” Another girl standing near Laila added quietly. Laila turned to look at taller girl - everyone was taller than Laila fucking Dermott it seemed - and couldn’t help but smile. Her hair was tied back in a loose braid that floated around her silky skin.

They briefly met eyes before Laila caught sight of something that made her look back down at her own skin instead. Curving around the other girl’s neck was elegant black scrawl. She couldn’t quite make out what it said but the implication was obvious: this girl has met her soulmate.

Laila briefly scoured her own arms, wondering if any of her soulmate’s thoughts had appeared there. There was nothing. If Laila’s soulmate was thinking about her, the thought was hidden somewhere else on her body.

“I’m Bryant Wolfe,” an even taller guy said from behind Mr. Grin and Smiles. His smile just as wide and his dark arms were covered in permanently inked words and images in the form of tattoos, but no soulmate scrawl in sight. “And this is Jeremy Knox. We’re going to be showing you all around today so follow us!”

They entered into the building like a flock of lost geese as the two kept talking, keeping up an easy banter as they showed the new freshmen the sights. Eventually, they came to a stop outside the dorm building. Jeremy stood at the head

“I’m excited to have you all on the court this year. I can’t wait to see what we can do together this season once summer practices start this Wednesday..”

“However,” Bryant cut in, “you don’t have to wait that long to get to know each other. We’re having a freshmen meet and greet with the rest of the team tonight and you’re all expected.”

“Joy,” the blue-eyed girl muttered next to Laila, her sarcasm thick.

“Not a fan of parties?” Laila asked as they filed into the dorm building.

“I didn’t come here to party, I came here to play Exy.”

“Letting loose isn’t gonna kill you,” another girl said. The females of the newly recruited Trojans had flocked together it seemed. Laila was surrounded by the four other girls in a sea of testosterone. This one was tall, even taller in the pumps she was wearing, with dark brown, sunkissed skin. Laila eyes betrayed her, obviously following the rather impressive curves of the girl’s body.

Shiiitttt, I’m gay , Laila thought, something like a smirk playing across her lips.

Blue Eyes - Laila really needed to learn their names - rolled her eyes with such force it was almost painful to watch.

“Sue me if I don’t want to spend my college years high and plastered.”

“Okay, break it up, break it up,” an older girl said, coming up from behind. It was obvious she wasn’t a freshmen simply by the way she carried herself and made even more obvious by the Trojans letterman jacket she wore with her name and number on the back. Berker, #7 was written in embroidered red and gold.

Lalia recognized her almost immediately: Diana Berker, #7 Defensive Dealer. Laila knew all of the female Trojans by heart, Diana especially. She took the Exy world by storm when she made starting line up during the season opener her sophomore year. It was a faster rise to starting line than the Exy world had seen in years and, in Laila’s humble opinion, Diana had every right to be on track to take over the captaincy. Laila was gay enough to admit to nursing a not so small crush on the start of her junior year. Diana, along with Vivian Bhat and Beatrice Watson, were pretty much her heroes.  

“I’m going to take you guys to the less male driven side of the dorm and let you get settled,” Berker said, gesturing for the girls to follower her. Glancing back to the moody group she added, “And if you want to listen to some unsolicited advice, I’d suggest spending less time fighting each other and more time figuring out how to get along.”

Blue Eyes stared back defiantly to which the dealer responded with a hard look, “We might not be the foxes, but we are still girls. We’ve got enemies in our own right, you don’t need to go making more. Especially not of each other. So play nice for the next five years, understood?”

As a smile spread across her face, Laila decided she liked Diana even more in person than on the field.

The freshmen girls followed Diana to where the female Trojans’ dorm rooms were clustered. As they walked, Laila’s eyes drifted again to tall girl with the sunkissed skin. God, she was gorgeous.

“Okay, Winger and Montalvo, you’re in room 312. Alvarez, Dermott, and Jones, you’re in 314. Me and the other girls are just down that hall in 322. Take a couple hours to settle in, shower and sort out your shit and what not, me and the girls will be by to pick you up a little after noon for lunch and a campus tour,” Diana said, tossing keys to each of the girls and leaving them with a mock, two finger salute.  

The two other girls, the one with the facts about USC and a shorter blonde who hadn’t spoken yet, headed off to room 312 leaving the breathtakingly gorgeous girl who held a solid four inches over Laila and Blue Eyes standing awkwardly in the hallway.

“Shall we?” Laila said, nodding towards the door to room 314.

--

Laila looked into the full length mirror attached to the back of the door to the dorm room. Her white dress had thin straps looped over her shoulders and a floral print of pink roses, seeing as Laila loved roses. Her wedge heels were white to match the dress, and her lips were painted  bright pink to match as well.

Blue Eyes, whose name was Annabeth-Not-Annie-Don’t-Fucking-Call-Me-That, was curled up on her dorm bed. She wasn't any more thrilled by the prospect of a team party given how it looked like she was planning on sleeping through it. Laila, on the other hand, was practically bouncing with excitement. She turned to the other girl, Sara Alvarez, and grinned.

“Help zip me up?” Laila asked, gesturing to the zipper on the back of her dress.

“Sure, shortie,” Sara replied playfully. The five foot eight Latina relished in the height difference between her and other other girls in a way that sent Laila scrambling for her favorite pair of heels. Even in her wedge sanders, Sara still held two inches on the smaller girl.

However, two inches or not, Sara Alvarez was at perfect kissing height. And if Laila let herself engage in the harmless fantasies, no one needed to know.

Laila wondered if her soulmate would be as pretty as Sara Alvarez. She doubted it.

“You look nice.” Laila told Sara, which was the understatement of the century. Sara looked much more than nice. She was stunning, especially in the little red outfit that made Laila’s breath catch in her throat. Laila suddenly felt childish in her floral dress.

Sara’s eyebrows quirked for half a second before a smile broke on her face. “Thanks, you too.” Her phone lit up in her pocket and she pulled it out. “It’s Naomi.” She announced. “The other girls are ready and waiting for us in the hall.”

Sara glanced over at Annabeth, who was still on her bed, in the same clothes she’d been wearing all day. “You coming, Grumpy the Dwarf?”

Annabeth grumbled something in a language Laila didn’t understand, but then pushed herself into a sitting position, stretched, and climbed out of bed. Laila waited for a moment to see if Annabeth planned on changing or freshening up, but the girl just gestured towards the door with an enthusiastic “let’s get this thing over with,” before picking up her backpack and slinging it over her shoulder.

Naomi, Ms. Fun Facts, and Anya, the near-silent freshman, were waiting in the hallway. Naomi greeted them with a smile, while Anya was busy staring down at her feet. She nervously toyed with the hem of her floral skirt. Naomi was in simple jeans and a white button up, looking the most at peace with being there.

Before they had a chance to exchange niceties, the door down the hall opened and Diana stepped out, closely followed by Beatrice Watson and Vivian Bhat, the other older Trojan girls. Laila had spent half the day with them, but she had to admit she was still more than a little starstruck.  

Beatrice stood taller than even Sara in three inch, baby pink stilettos which paired perfectly with her lacy crop top that fell of her slim shoulders. A soft smile graced her lips as she smiled at the freshmen. Beatrice hadn’t said much earlier, leaving the forceful Diana and Vivian do most of the talking. Not that Vivian had done much talking earlier, but her facial expressions spoke volumes. Hilarious, sarcastic volumes that made Laila want to get to know the striker better.

“God, I’m fucking proud of you,” Vivian muttered to Bea just loud enough for the others to hear. “You picked out almost all of that outfit yourself, I’m going to get you a girlfriend yet.” The striker herself was in a low cut, slim fitting black dress that came to rest mid-thigh.

She surveyed the freshmen with a critical eye and her perfectly manicured eyebrow shot up a few inches when they came to rest on Annie.

“Oh god, the new gremlin is worse than you, Bae.” Annabeth just met the sophomore girl’s eyes with an uncaring shrug and a fierce glare.

“Break it up,” Diana said with a roll of her eyes, “again,” she finished before shouldering past Vivian and corralling the freshmen down the stairs and towards the sidewalk where Beatrice quickly ditched her shoes in favor of walking barefoot in the carefully tended, vibrant grass. When Vivian sent her an exasperated glare, Beatrice just grinned back, clearly enjoying what Laila surmised was friendly teasing.

The march to the party wasn’t a long one; it was held in a rec room a building or two away from the sports players’ dorms. The music of the party was heard before the party itself was seen, Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” blasting through stereos inside the building. Laila immediately perked up a the song, one of her favorites, and wondered who was choosing the music.

Laila’s thoughts were pulled away from the music selection as the fleet of testosterone made their way to the girls. Jeremy lead the pack, and Bryant was corralling the eight or so freshmen from behind. Trailing right behind the older boy was a short, slouching kid who seemed very adamant at staying in Bryant’s shadow. Laila could only make out long, curly brown hair and a pair of wide eyes made even wider by his thick framed glasses before she began taking in the rest of the freshmen.

All of them were insufferably tall, well muscled, and if Laila wasn’t more gay than a double rainbow, she probably would’ve been attracted to them. However, she was, in fact, gay as a double rainbow, so her thoughts roved back to Sara Alvarez. Laila searched for the unfairly tall girl in the crowd of Trojans, only to be jostled into the rec room.

The room itself was a sight to behold. There was red and gold everywhere, on every chair, table, every brick on the wall it seemed. Streamers hung over rafters and were tied to chairs. Once the group was through the door, they dispersed in different directions.

“I thought this was a freshmen meet and greet?” a voice from behind Laila questioned with obvious amusement. Laila turned, nearly tripping over her own heeled shoes, and found the arms of Sara Alvarez steadying her.

“Meet and greet, no freshman qualifier,” Bryant corrected. His shadow from earlier had disappeared so the sophomore was alone. “There wouldn’t be much meeting and greeting if it was just the freshmen, so a few others came over to meet the fresh blood. Now come on, go have fun,” he shooed at them playfully before headed towards another group of freshmen boys to give the same short lecture.

Laila turned away from the retracting form of Bryant and towards the inner workings of the party. There were groups hanging around in different places: Annabeth had slinked off to somewhere Laila couldn’t track, Naomi was over talking to a group of girls in cheer uniforms, and Anya was off hiding - maybe with Annie.

The girls Laila assumed were from the cheer team were easily the most dynamic group from one girl’s sparkling outfit and another’s cotton bright blue hair tied up in playful braids. Laila turned to Sara and smiled. “Wanna get punch?” she said, nodding over to the refreshments table.

“Sure,” Sara agreed, returning Laila’s smile.

Like the rest of the room, the refreshments table was decked in red and gold - team spirit was not in short supply around here. There was a plate of cookies frosted with the USC logo, and Laila was impressed someone had taken the time to make them. She picked up one and took a bite.

“Mmm,” Laila mumbled. She needed to find out who made these cookies, because they were incredibly amazing.

Sara was smirking at her. “So much for a sports diet, huh?”

Laila shrugged. “I’ll start tomorrow.” She held the other half of her cookie out to Sara. “Want a bite?” Sara shook her head, so Laila finished the cookie in one bite.

“You have a little something-” Sara waved her hand in the general direction of Laila’s lips. “Here.” She reached out her hand and ran her finger under Laila’s lip, wiping away cookie crumbs. Laila could’ve sworn Sara took a moment too long to pull her hand away, and the touch left Laila’s lips tingling with the remembered sensation and longing to have it again.

Laila ignored her goosebumps. “Thanks.”

Sara poured two plastic cups with the punch, which was of course red, and held one out to Laila.

“A toast,” Sara announced, after Laila had taken her cup, “To our first night as Class I Exy players.”

“I’ll cheer to that,” Beatrice Watson said, suddenly materializing at their side. “I’m happy to have you two on board. We’ve been needing more girls around here. Di practically bullied the coach into taking y’all on.”

Laila felt her eyebrows shoot up. She hadn’t gotten the impression that Diana was all that fond of them, but then again, maybe it took a while for the older Trojan to be more than just professionally courteous to the new recruits. After all, it had only been a day.

Beatrice looked like she was about to say something else until the sound of a microphone crackling to life drew the crowd’s attention. Standing on top of a makeshift stage at the front of the room was the human ray of sunshine himself, Jeremy Knox, grinning wide enough to light up the entire room.

“What’s going on?” a freshmen piped up as the lights dimmed a little.

“Oh, god, not again,” someone groaned in contrast from behind Sara and Laila. Despite the clear dismay of the older Trojans, Beatrice was smiling dopily. She looked around the crowd, silently laughing, and waved someone over. Vivian sauntered through the crowd, her smile slicing wickedly through her features.

“You’re in for a treat, gremlins,” she drawled, looking at the girls like they were fresh meat in a slaughter house. Laila gulped nervously before turning her attention back to Jeremy.

“It’s karaoke time!” Jeremy practically jumped up and down. Laila got the picture karaoke time was one of Knox’s favorite times. “Karaoke time?” Sara asked in a breathless laugh, turning her cheek to give a questioning look at Beatrice. Beatrice simply smiled back as the beat of Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” began. Jeremy cleared his throat, grinning out at the crowd, and then began to sing.

It was a truly atrocious performance that sent even the most polite freshmen cringing internally - and sometimes externally - but sent most of the older Trojans into either fits of groans or playful laughter. Either way, almost everyone was singing along by the end of the song.

“Oh my god, I love Taylor Swift!” Laila’s voice raised into an excited squeak before continuing to sing along. She heard Alvarez’s laughter from beside her, and Laila felt her stomach turn at the beautiful sound.

Later in the night, sometime after the 15th Taylor Swift song and no where near the end of the party, Jeremy Knox took the stage again. As he walked up, he high fived a grinning Beatrice who had just performed a stunning rendition of Who Says by Selena Gomez.

“Now, let’s have some volunteers from the freshmen,” Jeremy’s smile was wide and playful as he gazed over the crowd. Vivian got a honest-to-god terrifying look on her face that had Laila already forming the word “no” in her mouth.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Beatrice said, boxing Laila in on one side as Vivian took the other. “It’s tradition.”

“It’s horrible, I love it,” Vi said, her eyes gleaming. “Hey, Knox!” she called out, waving to get the striker’s attention. “We’ve got two volunteers right here.”

“No, you don’t,” Laila tried to say but was cut off by Sara grabbing her arm and pulling her towards the front of the room. Her contagious laughter filled the air around the pair but did nothing for the nerves growing in Laila’s stomach.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea.” Laila said quietly, so only Sara could hear her, as Sara dragged her to the stage.

“Don’t worry, Strawberry Shortcake, it’ll be fun,” Sara assured her. Jeremy outstretched a hand to the two of them, giving them each a microphone.

“What song do you two want?” he asked cheerfully. “How about some Taylor Swift?” Jeremy suggested with a knowing look at Laila, able to tell she was more than a little nervous.

“You Belong With Me?” Laila immediately suggested one of her favorite songs, and only then did the realization hit her that she was about to sing a romantic song with a really pretty girl. Not just a really pretty girl, Sara Alvarez ; her new roommate, teammate, and what was beginning to look like her new crush. At least she hadn’t said Love Story.

The lyrics started at the same time Laila began singing. She knew the song by heart and could probably serenade anyone with the song at any given time. Of course, that didn’t make her prepared to serenade an entire room full of people.

Her voice was quiet at first, barely audible over the background track. Sara shot her an encouraging look, and Laila sang just a little louder.

After a few lines, Sara joined in, singing with much more confidence and beauty in her voice than in Laila’s. Sure, Sara’s voice wasn’t superstar quality, but it filled the room and made Laila smile despite the nerves.

Lalia found a boost in her confidence, and by the end of the first chorus, she was singing almost as loudly as Sara. As long as she was looking at Sara, she didn’t even think about the crowd. By the very end of the song, Laila was laughing as the crowd cheered. A few playful wolf whistles could be heard from within the group. Laila was too happy to even give the crowd a second thought.

The pair of girls bounced happily off the stage, back down from the clouds. Beatrice high fived them both, told them how well they did, and left them with Vi.

“See, tradition,” Vi said, her smile cunning and sharp as a knife before she followed after Bea.

Sara turned to Laila. “I told you it would be fun. We make a good team, Shortstack.”

Laila was too far in the clouds to feel insulted by the nickname. Sara was grinning at her and Laila wanted to do nothing more than make that girl smile for the rest of her life.

--

“You belong with meeee,” Laila and Alvarez sang loudly as they entered their dorm at the end of the hallway. Naomi gave Annabeth a bemused-if-pitying look, knowing she’d be stuck with the two, before disappearing into the dorm with Anya. Annabeth grunted an unintelligible question before retreating to the small dorm bathroom.

“Tonight was fun.” Laila said, once her and Sara were alone. “I’m glad we’re roommates.”

Sara smiled back -- god, her smile was beautiful -- and whispered, “Me too.”

As Sara went to go flop into her own bed Laila turned around to change, only to feel her eyes widen in surprise and her breath catch in her throat. Written in beautiful, swirly letters, across her wrist was the word Enchanting.

Laila felt a giggly laugh bubbling up inside of her and held onto the feeling. Someone loved her. Someone loved Laila Dermott. And they were at USC.