#annabeth is never a private in the beginning though

[valewritessss]

When I die, somebody better print some percabeth pirate au fics and throw them in there with me

[storybookstr4nge]

will solace get behind me right now you are a young child and u had the right to be weary of the underworld especially being who u are. ur allowed to make mistakes and be an accidental asshole because we all make mistakes and are accidental assholes, as long as u acknowledge where u went wrong and begin to make an effort to change, which! Will! did! Actively!!!!! he is always caring and understanding and Nico so obviously feels so comfortable around Will in a way he has not ever been shown to feel with anybody else..... will is a silly nerd boy with crazy powers. and Nico fell for that for a reason!!!!!

idk I guess it just rubs me the wrong way that other ships in the riordanverse get such different treatment.... like when annabeth displays prejudice to Percy for being a son of Poseidon because of their parents rivalries its understood because she's a child who's been brought up with this mindset, but when its Will and Nico they're held to such impossible standards of being consistently perfect..... even though they literally are like the healthiest and most realistically displayed teenage couple the riordanverse has ever had.... I just wonder (know) why this divide exists and I am upset with the sheer amount of un-nuanced takes regarding Will and Nico and this book.... like what do u guys want!!! you want queer ships to be treated the same as straight ships, and then we get mark oshiro doing that, and giving us a wonderfully flawed and wonderfully soft and sweet dynamic, and its scrutinized on every imaginable level for critiques that would never come to another pair :(

not liking tsats is okay! I don't want to force people into liking a book just because I adored it! but when all the criticisms I see of tsats are very clearly things that could be said about all the other books..... it doesn't track and is rather uncomfortable to listen to

tldr will solace I love u so dearly and I hope will and Nico get to go on their cute private lil picnic very soon

[rosesradio]

The floorboards creaked here, a sole cabin along a secluded mile of sand and dark rocks.

Many years ago his mother had said, half a joke, that they had their own private stretch of beach. She must have been hoping that he clutched his childhood naivety like a vice, the same way he grasped her shirt with clammy hands as she carried him gently to bed when he fell asleep on the couch as a kid.

She must have been hoping that he had the same naivety to believe that he would live up to his namesake.

Perseus.

Perhaps she was the naive one.

Percy's heart broke off in two directions in his chest; one section sank down to his stomach, expanding, feeding into his nausea. The other snaked up to his throat, stopping stubornly and thudding there, preventing him from swallowing. Pondering a release to fix things.

The taste of failure was familiar to Percy. It was the sight of red ink all over a homework assignment he'd stayed up late to work on. It was sitting alone at lunch, staring at a solitary plate of food he grew too upset to eat.

It was having the world thrust upon his shoulders, and having it slip before he could begin to plant his feet.

Plant his feet.

That was what Luke taught him. Block and parry and plant his feet, as if a twelve year old could have much foundation against monsters from Tartarus.

Tartarus.

The word was foreign to Percy. He hadn't even made it to the Underworld.

The deadline had passed. The deadline mattered.

The war of the gods had begun.

But it was okay, Luke told him through Iris Message. Percy had been the one to reach out. It was somehow okay when Grover was lost in the Lotus. It was somehow okay when Annabeth had been taken by serpents that worked for her mother, Athena. It was okay that Percy was the only one left, hiding out as war raged in the skies above.

As long as they met in the Montauk cabin, Luke said. Percy had told him all about it, including where it was. Chiron had put Camp on lockdown, though demigods were moving about anyway, migrating like short-lived animals to their final resting place.

The floorboards creaked here, a sole cabin along a secluded mile of sand and dark rocks.

Percy admitted that he was embarassed at the sight of the place, all dingy walls and cold, sand-strewn floors. He had a tendancy to admit many embarassing things around Luke, and the son of Hermes never failed to be understanding.

Luke said that he was simply relieved that this place hadn't been destroyed in battle yet. That, and he had been homeless for a sizeable portion of his life, so this place was like the Ritz.

That made Percy shut up.

Lightning crackled down from the heavens as if it were something with structure, something alive. An eerie light was cast around the room from it. The cabin had lost power before they reached it, so the light of battle was all they had.

The sea churned in retaliation, in retribution as Luke explained everything. The lightning bolt had been a ploy—go on, Perce, check your bag.

The war was meant to happen. He was meant to fail.

Hot tears welled in Percy's eyes at that. There had been a time, somewhere in the middle of all of this, that Percy thought he was actually getting the hang of all of this.

Part of him wanted to kill Luke with his bare hands. Part of him wanted to beg for answers on how to fix everything.

But Percy knew nothing. He knew nothing of the intentions of others, of the intricacies of the gods.

Luke explained that this was a ploy to bring them down, to have them destoy each other.

But they couldn't do it alone.

Something strange had happened to Luke in California. After his failed quest, he had encountered a force like no other. This force was also tired of complacency. This force could tip the scales in the war, in their world, just the same as Percy could.

This force was in the room with them.

The electricity finally managed to flicker to life as if by magic. A nearby lamp began to vibrate with such intensity and light, it suddenly exploded.

Percy's heart jumped in his chest.

"Sorry," a new voice spoke. Out of the shadows stepped a boy of perhaps eleven, a year younger than Percy. With his close-cropped blond hair and bright blue eyes, he almost looked like Luke's younger brother. Only where Luke's scar was down his cheek, this boy's was on his upper lip.

Upon his forearm was a tattoo. Of all things, this was what gave Percy a cold chill. SPQR, inked in black, followed by nine tally lines.

It was something that belonged engraved in a prison cell wall in a movie Percy was too young to watch. It was not something that belonged inked into a middle schooler's skin.

"I really am trying to hone it in," the boy continued. "But when you're only used as a toy for the gods, sometimes they leave you to collect dust for a while."

He smiled in a way that seemed friendly, though something about it unsettled Percy. It was the smile of a politician. It was the grimace of a wolf denied a rabbit.

"I'm Jason," the boy said, offering a hand. "Jason Grace."

[kookie-doughs]

Y/N L/N AND THE HALFBLOODS

Percy Jackson X Reader

-Y/N L/N met Percy Jackson and everything is now ruined.

Chapter 22: Then It Ended

As soon as we came, Annabeth ang Grover tackled me. We were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated us as if we'd won some reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, we wore laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in our honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where we got to burn the burial shrouds our cabins had made for us in our absence.

Annabeth's shroud was so beautiful—gray silk with embroidered owls— Percy told her it seemed a shame not to bury her in it. She punched him and told him to shut up. Percy being the son of Poseidon, he didn't have any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make his shroud. They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.

As I was still unclaimed, Hermes cabin had made me one. (Just... IDK go crazy with your shroud IG) It was fun to burn. As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, Percy and I was surrounded by my Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past." The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told me they'd never forgive us for disgracing their dad. That was okay with me. Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. "Yes, yes, so the little brats didn't get themselves killed and now they'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday...." Going back to the cabin I finally had time to talk to Luke. Who just expressed his relief of me being fine, and how he was scared when Annabeth told everyone about me. No wonder everyone was so shocked seeing me come back with Percy. On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors. As Annabeth, Percy and I were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell us good-bye. He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost high-school age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his rasta cap all the time to pass as human. "I'm off," he said. "I just came to say ... well, you know." I tried to feel happy for him. After all, it wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. I'd only known Grover a year, yet he was my oldest friend. Annabeth and I gave him a hug. She told him to keep his fake feet on. I asked him where he was going to search first. "Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan ..." "We understand," Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?" "Yeah." "And you remembered your reed pipes?" "Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat." But he didn't really sound annoyed. He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway. "Well," he said, "wish me luck." He gave Annabeth and I another hug. He clapped Percy on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes. Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, George Washington (who, by the way, was a son of Athena) crossing the Delaware. "Hey, Grover," Percy called. He turned at the edge of the woods. "Wherever you're going—I hope they make good enchiladas." Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him. "We'll see him again," Annabeth said. July passed. I spent my daysplanning out strategies with Luke for capture-the-flag and making alliances with the other cabins to keep the banner out of Ares's hands. I got to the top of the climbing wall for the first time without getting scorched by lava. From time to time, Percy and I would walk past the Big House, he'd glance up at the attic windows, and think about the Oracle.

I tried to convince him that its prophecy had come to completion. "You shall go west, and face the god who has turned." "Been there, done that—even though the traitor god had turned out to be Ares rather than Hades." "You shall find what was stolen, and see it safe returned." "Check. One master bolt delivered. One helm of darkness back on Hades." "You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend." Percy recited. "Ares had pretended to be our friend, then betrayed us. That must be what the Oracle meant.... Or maybe Nereid?"

"And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end." He sighed. "I had failed to save my mom and lost you..."

"So why are you still uneasy?" The last night of the summer session came all too quickly. The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads. Percy and I got our own leather necklace, and when I saw the bead for my first summer. The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.

"This is so beautiful..." I smiled to Percy. "The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!" The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause. I'm not sure I'd ever felt as happy or sad as I did at that moment. I'd finally found a family, people who cared about me and thought I'd done something right. And in the morning, most of them would be leaving for the year. * * * The next morning, Luke called me. He gave me a paper, telling me to fill it out, and asked me to meet him as soon as I could. I knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong: Dear (WRONG NAME) , If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit. Have a nice day! Mr. D (Dionysus) Camp Director, Olympian Council #12 That's another thing about ADHD. Deadlines just aren't real to me until I'm staring one in the face. Summer was over, and I still don't know what to do. I had no where to go to. The only option I had was Percy's or maybe Hades was not joking about inviting me back to the Underworld. Sighing I decided to just meet Luke before filling it for second opinions. The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases and makeup kits over the hill, where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport. I was walking around looking for Luke. I jumped when I felt someone tap me from behind. I instinctively unsheathed my knife and turned only to see Luke with his hands raised.

"Whoa! Calm down just me." He laughed.

"Kinda weird seeing someone laugh at a knife pointed at them." I smirked sheathing my knife.

"I only laugh since its you." He smiled and ruffled my hair. "Are you done with everything?"

"Not really. I don't know whether to leave or not yet. That's why I came. Help me?" I asked him.

He turned to me and to the forest. "How about you hear me out about something... important and private... then decide?" He gestured towards the forest.

"Not planning on killing me are you?" I squinted at him.

He gasped. "Not you. Never. I would never hurt you."

I let him lead me to a shrouded area of the forest.

"How serious is this thing that you can't let anyone see? I am blindly trusting you here Luke." I laughed nervously. But when he didn't reply I felt something was off. "Luke, okay this isn't cool. How deep into the forest do we have to go?"

"Y/N remember when you said... You want to be the person I trust...? How you promised to help me?"

"Luke?" He took my hand and pulled me sharply. I winced at how hard he pulled me. "That hurts! Let me go!"

He snapped back and let go of my wrist. "I-I'm sorry... Y/N..."

As much as I knew I had to leave, I couldn't I was worried about him. I reluctantly placed a hand on his shoulder. "What's happening?"

"I did it..." I said and sat on the ground. "I swear I didn't mean to get you hurt. But, I confess to everything. I  stole bolt and helm, I summoned the hound, I gave Percy the cursed shoes... And just now, I tried to kill Percy Jackson." He looked at me with empty eyes.

I shot up and looked at him in emotions I couldn't put in words. "W-Wh---" I wanted to leave and check on Percy. But once again, seeing him right now... I need to stay with him. "Why are you telling me this...?"

"Join me... please?" his voice was weak. He sounded vulnerable. "Let's serve my Lord together..."

"L-Luke... no. I-I can't do that!" I took his shoulder, "Y-You should stay with me instead. How about that, huh? L-Let's explain to Chiron and the others... come on please. I could help you!"

Nothing was working.

"Come with me..." He muttered.

"Luke, I won't join you. You have to change your mind. You can't do this."

"I can't change my mind."

"I can help you with that? How about you go with me huh? I could spend all my time doing this and that. Please, just change your mind."

He didn't reply for a while until he whispered, "Promise me."

"Promise you what?"

"You'll stay with me."

"What? Luke I wo--"

"You won't join... Just...don't stay here for the year... and stay with me."

"I-If I stay with you... what would that mean?"

"Yo-You... might change my mind."

"I'll go." I replied with no hesitation. "I'll leave camp for the year. And I'll find my parent to prove to you that Gods and Goddess aren't all bad. We'll find my parent together."

"I do my lord's bidding--"

"You can still do it. If you want to. But whatever happens... stays only between us. I'll stay with you until I change your mind. And I'll bring you back to camp."

"I would never do anything to ruin your trust in me." He knelt down. It was kinda awkward but hey... "I need you."

Worry not hero. We shall stay.

"Please..."

We'll meet again. Wait for us, we shall join you soon. Now leave.

I had no idea what happened since when I came to Luke was gone and there was no sign of him anywhere. How were we going to st---

We will meet him once we leave. Now go as our hero needs us.

I suddenly remembered Percy's state that Luke had told me about. So I ran. I ran to the Big House

***

Percy finally opened his eyes. He was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, his right hand bandaged like a club. Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth and I sat next to Percy, I was holding his nectar glass and she was dabbing a washcloth on his forehead.

"Here we are again," Percy said. "You idiot," Annabeth said, "You were green and turning gray when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing..." "Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit." He was sitting near the foot of the bed in human form. His lower half was magically compacted into the wheelchair, his upper half dressed in a coat and tie. He smiled, but his face looked weary and pale, the way it did when he'd been up all night grading Latin papers. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Like my insides have been frozen, then microwaved." "Apt, considering that was pit scorpion venom. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened." Between sips of nectar, he told them the story.

I bit my lip trying to keep what happened between Luke and I private. It was a risky move that would not be approved by anyone after all. The room was quiet for a long time. "I can't believe that Luke..." Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad. "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him.... He was never the same after his quest."

Percy was looking at me as if checking what was my reaction to his story. "This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured. "I will go at once." "Luke is out there right now," Percy said. "I have to go after him." Chiron shook his head. "No, Percy. The gods—" "Won't even talk about Kronos," Percy snapped. "Zeus declared the matter closed!" "Percy, I know this is hard. But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready." "Chiron... your prophecy from the Oracle... it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? Y/N? And Annabeth?" Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place—" "You've been ordered not to talk to me about it, haven't you?" His eyes were sympathetic, but sad. "You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you..." Thunder boomed overhead, rattling the windows. "All right!" Chiron shouted. "Fine!" He sighed in frustration. "The gods have their reasons, Percy. Knowing too much of your future is never a good thing." "We can't just sit back and do nothing," He said. "We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come." "Assuming I live that long." Chiron put his hand on Percy's ankle. "You'll have to trust me, Percy. You will live. But first you must decide your path for the coming year. I cannot tell you the right choice...." I got the feeling that he had a very definite opinion, and it was taking all his willpower not to advise me. "But you must decide whether to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, or return to the mortal world for seventh grade and be a summer camper. Think on that. When I get back from Olympus, you must tell me your decision." "I'll be back as soon as I can," Chiron promised. "Argus will watch over you." He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear... whenever you're ready, they're here." "Who's here?" Percy asked. Nobody answered. Chiron rolled himself out of the room. I heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time. Annabeth studied the floor. "What's wrong?" Percy asked her. "Nothing. I ... just took your advice about something. You ... um ... need anything?" "Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside." "Percy, that isn't a good idea." Percy slid his legs out of bed. Annabeth and I caught him before he could crumple to the floor.

I said, "I told you ..." "I'm fine," He insisted.

He managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on me. Argus followed us outside, but he kept his distance. By the time we reached the porch, his face was beaded with sweat. But we had managed to make it all the way to the railing. It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun. "What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked us. "I don't know." Percy replied. "I got the feeling Chiron wanted me to stay year-round, to put in more individual training time, but I'm not sure that's what I want. I also don't want to leave you both with Clarisse only." Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy." He stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?" She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted—two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver. "I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided... we'd give it another try." "That took guts." She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least ... not without sending me an Iris-message? Both of you?" Percy managed a smile. "I won't go looking for trouble. I usually don't have to."

"You already know my plans."

"When I get back next summer," she said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?" "Sounds like a plan worthy of Athena."

She held out her hand. Percy shook it. She gave me a hug. "Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told Percy. "Keep your eyes open."

"You too, Wise Girl."

Then turned to me, "Good luck on your own quest Droopy."

"Of course Peabody." We watched her walk up the hill and join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world. "I made my decision." Percy said. "What's yours?"

"I'll be leaving camp... I'm going to look for my parent..." He looked at me in shock. "I'll be back next summer," I promised him. "I'll survive until then."

"Alone?"

I smiled at him.

"Don't you want to stay with us? Mom said---"

"I want to find my parent. I need to. I'll be fine Percy."

I helped Percy to his cabin so he could pack and went to mine. To my surprise I see a middle-aged man with an athletic figure slim and fit with salt-and-pepper hair, and a very familiar sly grin. He had bags at his foot.

"Delivery for Y/N L/N."

"Uhm..."

"Hermes." He said.

I froze and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Personally packed. As a thank you for what you're about to do." He smiled softly and handed me the bags.

"H-Huh...?"

"For helping Luke."

"I..."

Don't forget her mail!

Ooh! And tell her to bring us snacks next time we meet since it'll be often now!

No it wouldn't be often! She'll be with Luke!

"Both of you keep quiet." Pulling out a mail he handed it to me. "Luke... prayed to me telling me about your plan. He asked me to help you. I don't know what or why he did it. But I know he'll change thanks to you. So do guide him."

"Sorry you lost me at the talking air..." I blinked.

Hermes laughed and showed a caduceus. "It's just George and Martha."

"Hi?"

Hello!

Hi

"I just wanted to let you know. No god or goddess could see you. No matter how hard they tried. So your secrets.. are really secrets. Good luck on your travel."

Next time we meet you should have snacks.

Then he vanished.

Staring at the letter on my hand, I was stunned seeing it was from... my mom and dad.

Sweetie,

You've made quite a friend here.

-Mom and Dad.

I immediately knew where to look. I hurriedly took my bags not bothering to check the contents. I ran to Percy's cabin and helped him out so we could leave.

Percy got a cab and looked at me worriedly.

"I'll write you. Stay safe Arthur Curry." I ruffled his hair and watched him go.

I didn't know where to go so I just went to the first secluded area I saw.

"You have more stuffs than when you arrived." I heard someone behind me.

"You prayed to your dad. I hope he knows how to pack." I sighed turning to him. Turning around I barely made out Luke from the few days I last saw him. "You okay?"

"Do you know where to look first?"

Call upon our hound.

I whistled, I don't know why. But when I did, D/N came out of the blue. Luke looked at me and my dear dog, who was probably bigger than the hound he'd summon back then. "How do feel about L.A?" I said riding on D/N and making space behind me for Luke.

~~~END OF BOOK 1~~~

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END OF BOOK ONE!!! THANK YOU FOR READING YLATHB I HOPE YOU ENJOY!! I'LL PUBLISH BOOK 2 WHEN I'M DONE OR EVEN AT LEAST HAVE WRITTEN 5 CHAPTERS OF THE BOOK 2 ;))

I HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME!!!

Taglist?

@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @the-natureofme @booknerd-3000 @katara720 @ynfics

[forevfangirlwrites]

Okay so either a teacher AU, secret relationship AU, more actress Annabeth, or cheerleader Annabeth? I love all of your writing so really anything is amazing

Betting is not encouraged at Jupiter High but that doesn’t stop half the students from forming a pool.

“They hate each other,” Katie asserts, rolling her eyes at the Stolls’ nonsense.

“Or, and hear me out,” Travis holds up his hands, “they’re actually flirting with each other.”

“Who flirts by being mean? That’s ridiculous.”

Travis, looking taken aback by her outburst, rubs the back of his neck meekly. “Some people do…”

Katie rolls her eyes again and turns back to the math homework incidentally assigned by the subject of conversation.

Ms. Chase was one of the hardest teachers at the school, but damned if everyone that entered didn’t walk out with a comprehensive understanding of mathematics.

Silena Beauguard, a senior, who had hated every moment of the class the year before, now sang praises of Ms. Chase and just how easy Calc was now. The girl had even decided to get a math minor.

Katie’s not quite at that level yet, but there’s no time to dwell on it as the bell rings.  

“I’m telling ya, you should get in on this,” Connor says. “Will bet twenty that they don’t actually hate each other but aren’t flirting either.”

“What kind of bet is that?”

Connor shrugs. “Don’t know, but it’s easy money.”

Shaking her head, she looks around in search of the other Stoll. Travis is lagging behind, suspiciously quiet, which usually means he’s planning some obnoxious prank on her.

“Travis, hurry up, we’re going to be late,” she urges against her better judgement.

Surprisingly though, he complies, and they make it to history with time to spare.

Mr. Jackson is the kind of teacher that encourages dressing up for a mock historical debate. But his energy is a bit contagious and makes the topics bearable.

He’s got a wide smile on his face today as he starts writing on the board, just as the second bell rings.

“Today,” he turns to address the class. “We’re going to be covering—“

A knock on the door interrupts him and everyone turns their attention to the front of the class.

Despite not getting along, the two teachers often interact with each other. Because standing at the door is none other than Ms. Chase.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she begins in a tone that doesn’t sound like she’s that sorry. “But Ka—”

She interrupts herself as her eyes land on the green letters on the board. “Are you talking about Hamilton? The musical?”

Mr. Jackson, keeping a very neutral face, responds, “Yes. There’s a lot to be learned from it.”

“Are you sure it’s not an excuse to just listen to a musical?”

The conversation is wholly civil with no undercurrent of anything in particular, but the whole class is watching in raptured silence.

“What brings you here Ms. Chase?” Mr. Jackson asks instead of replying.

“Katie.” Ms. Chase turns to the class. “You forgot your homework on the lunch table, I saw it when I was walking by.”

She takes two steps into the classroom as Katie, ears burning red, hastens to meet her. “And given that it’s for my class, I thought I’d return it,” Ms. Chase continues.

Katie mumbles a thank you as she accepts the paper, and hurries back to her seat, not wanting more eyes on her.

“How nice of you, Ms. Chase.” Mr. Jackson says. It’s a complete sentence but it feels like there’s things left unsaid as she turns back to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

“I’ll let you get on with your class,” is all she says before stepping back out of the room. Mr. Jackson turns back to the board as Connor whispers to Travis.

“Dude, did you see? He was totally looking at her when she handed Katie her homework.”

Katie rolls her eyes. Of course, this bet business comes up again.

“But did you hear they way they were talking to each other,” Miranda whispers from behind her, evidently hearing the conversation. “They hate each other.”

Before Katie can shush all of them, Mr. Jackson turns back to the class.

“Anything I’m missing over there?”

Stifling a groan, she shakes her head.  “Actually, Mr. Jackson,” Connor speaks up, immediately overriding her answer.

“We were wondering if you’ve ever seen Hamilton?”

Thankfully, Mr. Jackson is also the kind of teacher to cut some slack, because he responds.

“Yeah, we saw it last year and it’s an incredible stage performance.”

“We?” Connor asks again, in an all too innocent voice.

Any other teacher and he would have been reprimanded but Mr. Jackson looks too caught off guard by the question to even say anything.

“Yes…me and my…girlfriend.”

She will never forget the moment that the whole class collectively lost their shit.

A silent shift, but the bulged eyes say everything, and even Mr. Jackson looks uneasy at the way they are staring at him.

“Right, so let’s get back on track. Hamilton…”

And despite her best intentions to try to pay attention to what he’s saying, the note passing between the Stolls get the better of her as the betting pool started to crumble.

-.-

“Maybe she doesn’t know he has a girlfriend and that’s why she’s flirting?”

Travis nods thoughtfully. “But then why would he flirt back?”

“Guys, lets face it, they don’t like each other.” And with that she turns back to her locker, her final words on the matter.

“Don’t know about that Katie Kat,” Travis says, still contemplating how to interpret this news. He’s not the only one, the entire class burst into conversation as soon as the bell had rang and PE next period made it all too easy to continue talking.

“I agree,” Connor adds with a smirk. “You’re pretty bad at figuring out when people like each other.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She turns angrily towards Connor, only to find him cackling. Travis remains, once again, suspiciously quiet. And once again, before she can think further on what that means, the bell rings.

Walking into math has never been so…charged before today. The entire class is buzzing when Ms. Chase claps for attention.

“Alright class, we’re going to pick up where we left off on—”

But it’s difficult for anyone to pay attention and even Ms. Chase stops in the middle of a formula to address the obvious tension.

“What’s going on with you all today?”

Suddenly the whole class is silent. Her sharp grey eyes scan the class before landing on Travis and Connor.

“Well boys, you always know what’s going on.” She waits for an answer.

“Well,” Travis starts (after a lot of nudging from Connor). “We found out that Mr. Jackson has a girlfriend.”

The surprise is evident on her face. It’s rare to see Ms. Chase look taken aback, but she composes herself quickly enough.

“Good for him, why does that matter to all of you? A teacher’s personal life is allowed to be private.”

One day Connor will stop himself from speaking without a filter. Today is, clearly, not that day.

“Have you met her?”

Ms. Chase is exactly the kind of teacher that would never let anything like this stand but by some miracle of the gods, she’s not only taken back for a second time, it’s enough for her to not actually reprimand him.

“I..uh..yes, I have, not that it should matter to you.” Her composure, however, is lost on the entire class that, for the second time in that day, collectively loses their shit.

“Quiet!” Ms. Chase is still commanding enough to get everyone to shut up though.

“What’s she like?” Some girl in the back asks.

“She’s fine, now that’s not the point of—”

A loud knock at the open door has everyone’s attention.

And of course, of all the teachers, Mr. Jackson is standing there with his arms crossed.

“She’s great actually,” he says loudly.

For the first time, Ms. Chase actually rolls her eyes at the words.

“It doesn’t matter, that should not be a topic of discussion.”

Mr. Jackson nods. “You’re right. But for the record, she’s great.”  And with that he’s walking away again.

Ms. Chase actually rubs her face, letting out a huge sigh. She mutters something that Katie can’t make out.

“Okay, that’s enough, we’re getting through this formula now.”

She doesn’t know how they get through the class.

-.-

“Maybe—”

Katie cuts him off before he can say another word.

“Connor, please do not deposit another theory, I’ve heard like fifteen today.”

“Can you blame me? This is big news!”

She can’t, honestly. Despite her best efforts, she can’t stop thinking about it either. “No, I don’t blame you. I just can’t right now. Plus, I have a theory of my own I need to test.”

She shuts her locker and turns to her right. “Travis? Can I talk to you for a second?”

School’s out and most of the students have left, she’s only staying behind for Art Club and Travis and Connor usually chill with her for a bit before driving off. It’s been a long day, but she thinks she’s figured out at least one thing from all this chaos.

Connor immediately peaces out, walking down the hall as Travis looks nervously at her.

“What’s up?”

“Is there anything you want to tell me?”

She can see a hint of red flushing is face. “I don’t—”

“I’m SO sorry to interrupt but you guys NEED to see this NOW!” Connor’s whisper yelling and beckoning them towards a classroom door.

Without even looking at her Travis immediately jogs to his brother, Katie following behind, shaking her head.

The door is only open a little bit, but it’s enough to hear what’s going on.

“I can’t let you shit talk my girlfriend!” Mr. Jackson’s voice is clearly recognizable.

“I didn’t shit talk and it was so not the time to bring that up.” Ms. Chase’s clear voice is also obvious.

“Okay maybe I shouldn’t have said that, but I can’t let anyone say something bad about MY girlfriend.”

“I didn’t even say anything bad!”

“You said fine, FINE. Are you kidding me? That’s—”

“I think I should be allowed to say whatever I want.”

Katie looks over at Travis and Connor, both of whom are staring with wide eyes at the whole exchange. There’s no way she just said that.

“No.” Mr. Jackson’s voice sounds like a pout.

Ms. Chase sighs. “You’re so stubborn.”

“I have to be to date a goddess.”

There’s a small chuckle at the words. “You’re actually ridiculous.” Ms. Chase sounds unbelievably fond.

“Yeah,” he agrees. “But you still love me so I’m not gonna change.”

They can hear the smile in her voice when she responds. “I would never change you.”

“Even when I disrupt your class?”

There’s a beat of silence. “You’re lucky I love you.”

There’s another chuckle followed by more silence and Connor nods back in the direction of the hallway. They immediately run all the way down to her locker.

“NO FREAKING WAY!” Connor is leaning against the lockers as Katie automatically starts opening hers even though there’s nothing she needs to get from there.

“You can’t tell anyone.”

Connor looks at her. “What? Are you crazy?”

“Look, they clearly want to keep it private. We shouldn’t spill.”

Connor makes a face. “I mean it, Connor.”

“Ugh! Fine!” He turns towards Travis. “If you weren’t my brother, I would have kicked you for choosing someone with morals.”

And with that, he walks towards the doors.

It’s the last bit of confirmation she needs. She turns back to Travis who’s still nervously teetering close to her.

“So? Figure out if there’s anything you want to ask me yet?”

Travis makes a face. “You’re making fun of me!”

Smiling, she steps closer to him. “No, I’m not. I’m not mean to people I like.”

The sparkle in his eyes at her words makes her heart soar and she think she gets why Ms. Chase puts up with Mr. Jackson. It’s easy when the other person makes your heart flutter like that.

A/N: Hello! Thanks for the prompts! Another person also requested a teacher AU so I combined that request with yours and added some secret relationship in there! Told from an outside perspective but I hope you liked this! 

[i-am-a-reader-fear-me]

A Percabeth AU where they keep their relationship secret in fear of what their parents might think. (Warning: this goes over both PJO and HoO so it's very long):

The beginning of TLT goes as it should but after Percy is claimed, Annabeth is suddenly meaner and colder.

He remembers the Poseidon/Athena rivalry but doesn't see why they have to hate each other bcuz of their parents.

But Annabeth doesnt relent.

They still go on the quest together bcuz "you are so going to fail without a daughter of Athena."

But they still argue a lot and give poor Grover a satyr migraine.

When they have that bonding moment on the truck, Percy thinks maybe they're sorta friends, but Annabeth proves that wrong later by calling him a "Seaweed Brain" bcuz he's so stupid.

Percy fires back with "Wise Girl" but Annabeth seems to take that as more of a compliment than an insult.

(He doesn't stop calling her that tho)

After Luke betrays Percy, Annabeth's the one that found him after the dryads and she drags him to the infirmary but completely denies caring about him afterwards.

By SoM, Percy is so done with this and goes over to her asking if they could be friends.

Annabeth, who actually would like to be his friend, agrees with reluctancy, saying, "We have to keep it a secret though, or who knows what our parents might do."

Percy agrees.

Grover knows they're friends now cuz of the empathy link, but doesn't say anything.

In TTC, when Annabeth falls off the cliff, he blames himself more than ever, bcuz if they hadn't been fake arguing she might not have been distracted and fallen.

Thalia blames him even more too, and he has to keep his cover and can't tell her he knows it's all his fault.

Nico asks if Annabeth is Percy's girlfriend.

He says no, but he has a funny feeling in his heart.

He goes to the attic to ask the Oracle about Annabeth.

It doesn't answer.

When he thinks Artemis is about to ask Annabeth to join the Hunters, he knows he has to tell her something, even if it meant blowing their cover.

He breathes a sigh of relief when Artemis asks Thalia, and Annabeth is waiting for him to talk with narrowed eyes as if trying to figure out what he wants to say.

He chokes. (~Like doesn't say his feelings, not actually choke lol~)

In BotL, they are totally going out on a secret unofficial movie date but ofc the fiasco with Kelli at Goode happens.

Annabeth gets really jealous when Rachel appears. (Especially since Rachel has more opportunity to go out with Percy bcuz Annabeth and Percy have to pretend to hate each other.)

Percy, ofc, does not realize why in Hades she's acting like she really hates him even though they're in private.

At camp, they're playing Capture the Flag when they stumble on an entrance to the Labyrinth.

They go down to hide from monsters and end up stuck.

It's so dark Annabeth grabs his hand to keep from being separating. (~this is canon, they were holding hands I checked~)

When they find their way back out, it appears almost an hour had gone by when they were sure they were down for a couple minutes.

The campers were searching for the two of them and are immediately suspicious when they find the two alone. Together.

But they forget about that when Clarisse comes and asks about the "hole" they fell into and Annabeth suggests they continue talking in private.

It is then that Annabeth, Percy, Grover, and Tyson go on their quest.

When Annabeth and Percy reach Mount St. Helens they are quickly found out.

Percy tells Annabeth to escape saying he has a plan. (He really doesn't)

She kisses him. (~whaaaaaaaat~)

When she leaves, Percy apparently decides to cause a volcano to erupt. (~ya he doez~)

He lands on Ogygia, while Annabeth, thinking he is dead, goes back to camp, alone.

When she returns, they ask where Percy, Grover, and Tyson are but she refuses to say anything.

They realize what happened.

They have a burning of the shroud ceremony where she doesn't say anything, sitting, her face emotionless, but her heart in turmoil as she listens to Chiron.

That's when Percy crashes the funeral.

Annabeth is outraged.

She pretends it's because "THE WHOLE QUEST IS BEING HELD UP BECAUSE OF YOU! AND WHAT WERE YOU DOING, ENJOYING A VACATION AT PARADISE ISLAND?!?!"

It's really because she was head over heels with worry and grief (while he's off with sOmE imMorTal gOdDeSs) but she can't let anyone know that.

She is certainly not happy when Rachel joins their quest.

(Percy still doesn't get it.)

Before TLO, they are playing Capture the Flag, and the two are on opposite sides. (~in The Demigod Files, the story they find Festus for the first time in~)

Annabeth and Silena capture Percy and Beckendorf and the boys suffer an utter loss. (Were the myrmekes part of the plan? They'll never know.)

Beckendorf and Silena totally know they like each other no matter how much Percy and Annabeth fake it and try to get one of them to ask each other to the Independence Day firework show.

Annabeth does end up asking Percy and they watch the fireworks secretly next to the woods so no one sees them.

They hold hands or something else just as cute idk.

In TLO, when the Battle of Manhattan starts, everyone is surprised when Annabeth let's Percy take the lead.

When she takes the blade for Percy she says it was bcuz "I didn't know it was him!"

"So you would take a blade for anyone if it wasn't Percy?"

"...yes."

But by this time everyone secretly ships Percabeth so no one questions it.

After the war, Percy gives up immortality mostly for her but only those two know it. (And maybe Grover).

Annabeth asks him to meet her in the woods and when he does, she brings him a lumpy blue-colored cake which Tyson helped make. (Bcuz of course Tyson knows that they're secretly friends but Grover told him not to tell anyone).

They kiss, duh.

But then a monster comes out from the woods and they don't want to fight it after they just had a war so they run.

They end up by the lake and Percy pulls Annabeth in to get away from the monster.

Cue best underwater kiss ever.

They date in secret for two months but Percy's mom knows.

When Percy goes missing, Annabeth freaks.

She searches for him everywhere and if anyone asks why she's searching so hard for someone she doesn't even like, she just replies, "He probably just disappeared bcuz it's his turn to do the camp chores and I will not let him slack off," or "Who else am I supposed to use for target practice???"

(None of the campers who'd been in the Titan war buy it.)

In SoN, the only thing Percy remembers is Annabeth, but for some reason, he has this instinct to not tell anyone about her so he doesn't.

In MoA she still judo flips him and acts all mad (which she is) but he still laughs it off and says all sarcastic, "Oh, did the smartass daughter of Athena miss me?"

But he missed her too.

When they go to eat lunch Annabeth and Percy excuse themselves to "go to the bathroom" but they really snuck off to have their own private reunion.

"I missed you so much, Seaweed Brain. Don't ever disappear like that again."

"I'm sorry, Wise Girl. I missed you too."

*kissing*

Later, when Annabeth and Percy sneak off to the Pegasi stables on the Argo II and sleep next to each other.

Frank finds them.

They swear they didn't do anything and threaten Frank into silence.

He can never look at them the same way again though.

When Annabeth has to get the Athena Parthenos, Percy paces the deck of the Argo but says he's not worried about a daughter of Athena.

When she finally gets the statue, he goes down to meet her but she trips and falls into the Pit.

He catches her, but now he's hanging on a ledge.

"Percy, let me go. You can't pull us both up." She whispers, knowing they're too low for the others to hear.

"We're staying together. You're not getting away from me. Never again." He whispers back.

"As long as we're together."

At least in Tartarus, they don't have to pretend they don't absolutely, utterly love each other.

In Blood of Olympus, Percy, Annabeth, and Piper are walking underground to the monster's base in the Parthenon when they see a trident mark in the ground.

Annabeth says it's the place where Poseidon struck the ground.

At this point, Percy turns to Piper and asks, "Can you keep a secret?"

Piper nods.

That's when Percy kisses Annabeth.

When he pulls away, he says, "This is where the rivalry ends….for us, at least."

Piper acts surprised but on the inside she is rAGING bcuz now Leo owes her ten bucks but she can't tell him.

After the Giant war they consider telling their friends, but they're not sure…

Idk how to end this just keep going

Sort of a bonus:

The Hephaestus and Athena cabins worked together to make everyone monster-proof phones (which also correct their dyslexia) and Annabeth and Percy use them all the time to text each other and no one knows.

Jason asks Percy to come to a cafe with some of the others, and Annabeth and Percy are texting the whole time.

Their convo goes something like this:

'hey Annabeth, me, Jason, Frank and some of the others r going to that cafe on 31st street'

'*Jason, Frank, some of the others and I' 'Really? Piper, Hazel, and I are going there too. They mentioned Jason, Frank, and Leo might be there, but not you.'

'weird, they didn't say anything about u either' 'hey wait a sec, Jason's texting on some gc called Operation Get Them Together' 'the other guys' phones r ringing everytime he sends something…'

'What? Operation Get Them Together???'

'yeah'

'....'

'what'

'Oh no.'

'what??? Annabeth????'

'They're trying to set us up.'

'wdym set us up'

'I MEAN, they're TRYING to get us TO GET TOGETHER'

'huh?'

'THEY WANT US TO GO OUT PERCY! YOU KNOW, TO BE A COUPLE???'

'ok okkk u don't have to yell'

'🤦‍♀️'

'so what do we do'

'I think we should go along with it.'

'wait hold on, Jason's asking me who im texting'

'Wait, tell him it's your girlfriend. Just to screw with them.'

'haha yes ur a genius'

'I know.'

Percy tells Jason that he is texting his girlfriend, to which Jason replies by "What?!" and frantically starts typing on the group chat to tell everyone that 'YOU GUYS PERCY SAYS HE HAS A GF ABORT MISSION ABORT MISSION!!!'

To which Piper is the first to reply, saying, 'Nah, trust me, keep going with it'

At this point, they reach the cafe, and the boys and girls meet up at a table.

Annabeth, immediately going into acting mode, says, "What is he doing here?"

Percy fires back with a scowl and says, "You didn't tell me she was going to be here. I'm leaving."

Jason stops him tho

Percy and Annabeth sit down at the table, but everyone is still standing.

Piper and Hazel say they have to go to the bathroom and leave.

Jason and Leo say they're going to go order (even tho it's a sit down with a menu and order type of cafe???)

Everyone seems to have some kind of excuse to leave until Percy and Annabeth are left alone.

The two pull out their phones again.

'Seriously? This is their plan? Say we're all going out to eat and then leave the two of us alone?'

'ig' 'what do we do now'

'I don't know.' They're probably spying on us…'

'um is that Reyna, Hazel, and Calypso in the bushes with mud and green war paint on their faces?'

Reyna, Hazel, and Calypso were indeed hiding in the bushes (with binoculars) with mud and green war paint on their faces.

'Wtf?? How'd they do that so fast???' 'And is that Leo and Piper holding newspapers with eyeholes cut through???'

'lol yea...then that eagle flying above us is prolly Frank'

'Jason is hiding in the clouds to your six.'

'where r Nico and Will?'

'I think that's them making out in the bushes.'

'lmaoo im so gonna tease them for that' 'so what do we do now Wise Girl'

'...' 'Follow my lead.'

'k'

Annabeth puts away her phone and stands up.

Percy follows her lead.

She says, "We know you guys are there, just come out. It's not going to work. And we see you too, Nico and Will."

The other demigods come out of their hiding spots (the two who had been called out looking especially sheepish).

"Why not?" Piper says, knowing perfectly well why not.

Percy looks between Annabeth and Piper, and seems to come to a decision.

"Because," he says and goes over to Annabeth and kisses her, "we're already together."

The responses were very diverse.

"What?!"

"I knew it!"

"Leo! My ten bucks. Now."

"Yeah, I walked in on them sleeping together…"

"So we did all this for nothing???"

"Wait, did you say sleeping together?"

They arguing stops as two flashes of light almost blind everyone and two gods appear.

Poseidon and Athena.

For several seconds, the two gods just stare at Percy and Annabeth (who are now holding hands just bcuz)

Then, finally, after what seemed and EXCRUCIATINGLY long time, Poseidon turns to Athena and says:

"I was right, you were wrong, I was RIGHT, you were WRONG, I WAS RIGHT, YOU WERE WRONG, YOU OWE ME FIFTY DRACHMAS BIRD BRAIN"

This was not the reaction the demigods was expecting if you couldn't tell

Athena just scowls and makes a pouch filled with drachmas appear, and throws it at Poseidon.

Poseidon catches it, bringing out what appears to be a phone and starts calling someone.

Athena goes over to Percy and Annabeth.

She looks mad, and Annabeth tries to let go of Percy's hand, panicking, trying to think of a lie, but Percy doesn't let go.

"My daughter is the smartest and best of my children, and as much as I don't approve of this, if she chose you, sea-spawn, she must have a good reason. But if you step one foot out of line, I will have you punished, understood?"

Athena addresses this to Percy, who nods fearfully.

"Good."

Suddenly there are a bunch more flashes of light as more gods appear bcuz apparently, Poseidon wanted everyone to see that he was right and Athena was wrong.

Ofc chaos ensues.

But Percy and Annabeth are still holding hands and look at each other and feel overwhelmingly happy for the first time in a long time because now they don't have to keep their relationship a secret anymore.

THE END~

WTF HAVE I WRITTEN.

[flightfoot]

Analyzing Reyna’s romance (or rather, lack thereof) arc and her feelings towards it throughout the series

Recently, Rick published a tweet about Reyna’s orientation, stating “Personally, I see her as romantic asexual and have written her arc with that in mind. (hence the prophecy in HoO) It’s been a struggle for her to figure that out, as she explains in Tyrant’s Tomb. But as always, interpret the text as you wish.”

After reading Tyrant’s Tomb, I figured she was somewhere around ace or aro, so it was cool to see it confirmed that he wrote her with that in mind! Especially since I’m ace myself, and we don’t get a ton of representation. It was just really neat.

In light of that, I wanted to lay out and analyze her arc as it relates to her orientation, to who she’s attracted (or moreso, not attracted) to, starting from her first appearance and continuing through to Tyrant’s Tomb.

Starting all the way from “Son of Neptune”, there’s hints and conversations about Reyna’s love life woven in, with Percy noticing how Reyna reacts to Jason being mentioned.

Reyna grimaced. Percy got the feeling this guy Jason might’ve been more to her than just a colleague. (SON 41)

 Percy doesn’t know much of anything about Jason or Reyna or the culture in Camp Jupiter, so he doesn’t have much of a bias towards thinking they’re a couple because of those factors. For Percy to still pick up on Reyna being especially close to Jason is a pretty good indicator that that wasn’t just other people reading into it, seeing what they expect to see from Reyna - something which DOES happen a lot, and that Reyna goes into in Tyrant’s Tomb.

Jason… Percy couldn’t go very far in this camp without hearing that name.

“The way you talk about him…” Percy said. “Were you two a couple?”

Reyna’s eyes bored into him – like the eyes of a hungry wolf. Percy had seen enough hungry wolves to know.

“We might have been,” Reyna said, “given time. Praetors work closely together. It’s common for them to become romantically involved. But Jason was only praetor for a few months before he disappeared. Ever since then, Octavian has been pestering me, agitating for new elections. I’ve resisted. I’ve resisted. I need a new partner in power – but I prefer someone like Jason. A warrior, not a schemer.”

She waited. Percy realized she was sending him a silent invitation.

His mouth went dry. “Oh… you mean… oh.”

“I believe the gods sent you to help me,” Reyna said. “I don’t understand where you come from, any more than I understood it four years ago. But I think your arrival is some form of repayment. You destroyed my home once. Now you’ve been sent to save my home. I don’t hold a grudge against you for the past, Percy. My sister hates you still, it’s true, but Fate brought me here to Camp Jupiter. I’ve done well. All I ask is that you work with me for the future. I intend to save this camp. (SON 181)

 Initially when she’s introduced, and in the early books especially, Reyna gives off this extremely dangerous vibe, with Percy especially being nervous about her. Her initial proposition here seems very opportunistic at first, with the emphasis being on the power that comes from being her partner first and foremost, and any more romantic (or otherwise) partnership being implied as an add-on. It isn’t really clear whether she has any actual feelings for him or not.

“The point is, Percy, you are the real power on this quest. You are a seasoned veteran. I’ve seen what you can do. A son of Neptune wouldn’t be my first choice, but if you return successfully from this mission, the legion might be saved. The praetorship will be yours for the taking. Together, you and I could expand the power of Rome. We could raise an army and find the Doors of Death, crush Gaea’s forces once and for all. You would find me a very helpful… friend.”

She said that word like it could have several meanings, and he could pick which one.

Percy’s feet started tapping on the floor, anxious to run. “Reyna… I’m honored, and all. Seriously. But I’ve got a girlfriend. And I don’t want power, or a praetorship.”

Percy was afraid he’d made her mad. Instead she just raised her eyebrows.

“A man who turns down power?” she said. “That’s not very Roman of you. Just think about it. In four days, I have to make a choice. If we are to fight off an invasion, we must have two strong praetors. I’d prefer you, but if you fail on your quest, or don’t come back, or refuse my offer… Well, I’ll work with Octavian. I mean to save this camp, Percy Jackson. Things are worse than you realize.” (SON 182-183)

 Reyna’s giving off a “together we can rule” kind of vibe, though for benevolent purposes. And the emphasis on him not being her first choice necessarily but preferring him to other options, along with the casual way she talks about him possibly failing his quest or not making it back compounds the perception that this isn’t really about Percy personally, and not about any attraction she may or may not have towards him, but just what he can offer as far as strengthening the camp goes.

He could tell the audience was over. Reyna was having trouble holding herself together, keeping up the image of the confident commander. She needed some time by herself.

But at the door of the principia, Percy couldn’t resist turning. “How did we destroy your home – that spa where you lived?”

The metal greyhounds growled. Reyna snapped her fingers to silence them.

“You destroyed the power of our mistress,” she said. “You freed some prisoners who took revenge on all of us who lived on the island. My sister and I… well, we survived. It was difficult. But in the long run, I think we are better off away from that place.”

“Still, I’m sorry,” Percy said. “If I hurt you, I’m sorry.”

Reyna gazed at him for a long time, as if trying to translate his words. “An apology? Not very Roman at all, Percy Jackson. You’d make an interesting praetor. I hope you’ll think about my offer.” (SON 184-185)

 The bit about Reyna having trouble holding herself together and keeping up this image shows a crack in her earlier portrayal, that maybe she isn’t quite as... impassive I think? As she appears while making her ‘offer’ to Percy. It does make me wonder though, how much of this portrayal of her during this scene was a deliberately planned part of her character arc since the beginning, and how much was Rick writing this in the early stages and slowly figuring out her character along the way. In later scenes, especially in later books, it seemed like less of a purely pragmatic offer, and more of one with at least some twinges of actual desire behind it, albeit only twinges (not like she knows Percy that well anyway).

She glanced up at the warship. Her expression turned a little wistful. “You say Jason is aboard… I hope that’s true. I’ve missed him.” (SON 512)

 Even here, though, at the end of SON, the stalwart commander image she tries to project softens a little, and her closeness with Jason, her desire to see him again, is emphasized. Platonic or romantic, she definitely cares for him.

“Enough,” Reyna snapped. “Annabeth is what she says. She’s here in peace. Besides…” She gave Annabeth a look of grudging respect. “Percy has spoken highly of you.”

The undertones in Reyna’s voice took Annabeth a moment to decipher. Percy looked down, suddenly interested in his cheeseburger.

Annabeth’s face felt hot. Oh gods… Reyna had tried to make a move on Percy. That explained the tinge of bitterness, maybe even envy in her words. Percy had turned her down for Annabeth. (MOA 24)

 Here’s where there starts being some pretty strong implications that Reyna did actually care about Percy more personally, her romantic offer was for more than just convenience sake. Especially with the ‘maybe even envy’ part. The bitterness could just as easily be from just the rejection, but the envy implies she actively wants what Annabeth has.

“Uh, Reyna,” Jason said. “if you don’t mind, I’d like to show Piper around before the senate meeting. She’s never seen New Rome.”

Reyna’s expression hardened.

Annabeth wondered how Jason could be so dense. Was it possible he really didn’t understand how much Reyna liked him? It was obvious enough to Annabeth. Asking to show his new girlfriend around Reyna’s city was rubbing salt in a wound.

“Of course,” Reyna said coldly.

Percy took Annabeth’s hand. “Yeah, me too, I’d like to show Annabeth-“

“No,” Reyna snapped.

Percy knit his eyebrows. “Sorry?”

“I’d like a few words with Annabeth,” Reyna said. “Alone. If you don’t mind, my fellow praetor.”

Her tone made it clear she wasn’t really asking permission.

The chill spread down Annabeth’s back. She wondered what Reyna was up to. Maybe the praetor didn’t like the idea of two guys who had rejected her giving their girlfriends tours of her city. Or maybe there was something she wanted to say in private. Either way, Annabeth was reluctant to be alone and unarmed with the Roman leader. (MOA 32)

 Reyna did have some things she wanted to go over with Annabeth privately, but with the emphasis on Annabeth being able to tell how much Reyna likes Jason, her reacting coldly to him asking to take Piper around the city, along with the way she snapped at Percy for asking to take Annabeth around instead of stating her refusal more calmly, her reactions strongly suggest that she IS hurting from seeing both Percy and Jason with their girlfriends, that she does have feelings for them somewhat, and is trying to suppress it.

“Long story,” Reyna said. “But I remember you well. You were brave. I’d never seen anyone refuse Circe’s hospitality, much less outwit her. It’s no wonder Percy cares for you.”

Her voice was wistful. Annabeth thought it might be safer not to respond. (MOA 37-38)

 I didn’t pull quotations emphasizing this specifically, but Reyna’s loneliness and the strain she’s under as a commander, especially having been the lone praetor for so long, is putting her under a lot of stress. I think at least part of the reason for her hints of envy towards Annabeth and coldness about Jason having a girlfriend, is derived from her not really having had the sort of support that Percy and Jason currently have, that intimacy, that ability to drop the walls and image she’s built up in order to lead and to protect herself.

“I wanted to hear it from you,” Reyna said.

Annabeth turned. “Hear what from me?”

“The truth,” Reyna said. “Convince me I’m not making a mistake by trusting you. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about Camp Half-Blood. Your friend Piper has sorcery in her words. I spent enough time with Circe to know charmspeak when I hear it. I can’t trust what she says. And Jason… well, he has changed. He seems distant, no longer quite Roman.”

The hurt in her voice was as sharp as broken glass. Annabeth wondered if she had sounded that way, all the months she’d been searching for Percy. At least she’d found her boyfriend. Reyna had no one. She was responsible for running an entire camp all by herself. Annabeth could sense that Reyna wanted Jason to love her. But he had disappeared, only to come back with a new girlfriend. Meanwhile, Percy had risen to praetor, but he had rebuffed Reyna too. Now Annabeth had come to take him away. Reyna would be left alone again, shouldering a job meant for two people.

When Annabeth had arrived at Camp Jupiter, she’d been prepared to negotiate with Reyna or even fight her if needed. She hadn’t been prepared to feel sorry for her.

She kept that feeling hidden. Reyna didn’t strike her as someone who would appreciate pity. (MOA 38-39)

 The loneliness is really apparent here, and very explicit. I don’t think it’s even really about ‘romantic love’, as far as the whole thing with Jason goes, exactly, but... being that high level of priority. Having someone there for you closely. I think she at least thinks that a romantic relationship with Jason, or even Percy, may provide that. And that’s something most people need, regardless of orientation. 

“You see?” Reyna said bitterly. “The spear is thrown. Our people are at war.”

“Not if I succeed,” Annabeth said.

Reyna’s expression looked the same as it had at Camp Jupiter when she realized Jason had found another girl. The praetor was too alone, too bitter and betrayed to believe anything could go right for her ever again. Annabeth waited for her to attack. (MOA 253)

 Between this sudden attack out of nowhere, Jason disappearing and returning with having bonded with these new people, especially Piper, and having ‘changed’ as she said, no longer having anyone around she’s close to... well. She’s just managing as best she can.

In the center of the line stood Reyna, her metal dogs Aurum and Argentum at her side. Upon seeing her, Jason felt an incredible pang of guilt. He’d let her believe they had a future together. He had never been in love with her, and he hadn’t led her on exactly… but he also hadn’t shut her down.

He’d disappeared, leaving her to run the camp on her own. (Okay, that hadn’t exactly been Jason’s idea, but still…) Then he had returned to Camp Jupiter with his new girlfriend Piper and a whole bunch of Greek friends in a warship. They’d fired on the Forum and run away, leaving Reyna with a war on her hands. (HOH 247)

 I couldn’t find much about Reyna’s relationships with others in HOH since she’s barely in the book. From the looks of things, he’d at least believed that Reyna wanted to be with him actively long-term, something which jives pretty well with previous passages concerning Reyna’s relationship with Jason. Makes me curious how exactly they interacted in the past, what went down between them.

Also more emphasis on Reyna being stressed and on her own. That seems to be pretty heavily associated with anything talking about her love life.

So far in the ancient lands, she’d only seen one place on her wish list: Diocletian’s Palace in Split, and even that visit had hardly gone the way she’d imagined. Reyna used to dream about going there with Jason to admire their favorite emperor’s home. She pictured romantic walks with him through the old city, sunset picnics on the parapets. (BOO 75)

 And then comes Blood of Olympus, where we actually get to see Reyna’s perspective, her thoughts, instead of having to infer them from other characters’ perceptions of her. The daydreaming about going on trips with him and explicitly ‘romantic’ walks and picnics seems like she genuinely desired that to some extent. Though I do notice those are pretty cliche desires, so that may also feed into the part of her arc with feeling pressured to perform a certain way, to ‘be’ a certain way, and believing that this is how to find happiness.

She found Thalia’s eyes distracting: electric blue, intense, and alert, so much like Jason’s. (BOO 221)

 Just wanted to note this bit, since she’s paying special attention to Thalia here, especially her eyes. Though I’m iffy about this representing attraction to Reyna, since Thalia’s eyes are often commented on (at least in their heads) and a major factor in paying attention to them seems to have to do with them being like Jason’s, which could account for the focus.

The giant’s eyes clicked and dilated. Red laser dots floated across Reyna’s breastplate. “Ah, the young praetor. I admit, I’ve been curious. Before I slay you, perhaps you’ll enlighten me. Why would a child of Rome go to such lengths to help the Greeks? You have forfeited your rank, abandoned your legion, made yourself an outlaw – and for what? Jason Grace scorned you. Percy Jackson refused you. Haven’t you been… what’s the word… dumped enough?”

Reyna’s ears buzzed. She recalled Aphrodite’s warning, two years ago in Charleston: You will not find love where you wish or where you hope. No demigod shall heal your heart.

She forced herself to meet the giant’s gaze. “I don’t define myself by the boys who may or may not like me.” (BOO 238)

 It just occurred to me that I really have no clue how Orion knows about Reyna’s love life. Like I know Python can provide some intel, but was that detail REALLY that important? 

Anyway, this statement by Reyna, “I don’t define myself by the boys who may or may not like me.”, is an important step in how she relates to romance in general, and in her portrayal in the series, particularly in the Tyrant’s Tomb. Before this a lot of emphasis was placed on her being rejected by Percy and Jason, and of at least somewhat wanting to be with them in some capacity, or at least believing that she did. After this she seems more at peace with herself and less focused on past or present pursuit of relationships for herself.

“Once in Charleston, Venus told me something. She said: You will not find love where you wish or where you hope. No demigod shall heal your heart. I- I have struggled with that for…” Her words broke. (BOO 492)

 Near the end of BOO, she finally talks to someone about this. A lot of people know, but... well, with the emphasis on how alone she is, how she has to keep up appearances, it doesn’t seem like she’s really gotten a chance to break down and talk to someone. I’m glad she got to do it with Piper. And this proclamation, this prophecy, the seeming hopelessness of it that appears to re-emphasize her being alone, along with implying that she’s broken in some way with the reference to her needing to be ‘healed’... I can only imagine how it would torment her.

Reyna rolled her eyes. “If I had a denarius for every time I got that question… Aside from the fact that Thalia is in the Hunters, and thus sworn to celibacy… why does a strong friendship always have to progress to romance? Thalia’s an excellent friend. Why would I risk messing that up?” (TTT 228)

 By TTT she’s had a lot more time to come to terms with her thoughts and feelings about relationships and romance, plus she’s not alone anymore, though the situation is still dire and stressful. While during HOO her being without support and having to manage everything by herself was interwoven with the narrative about her feelings towards Jason and Percy and her lack of romantic relationships, that’s not present here. In fact, it’s the opposite, with her having a strong friendship and having no desire to turn it into something romantic. It seems like those concepts became unbundled, with her having strong support and friendship unrelated to any romance.

Reyna broke a dry branch off a shrub and flicked it into the underbrush. “I went on that quest with Jason, what, two years ago? Venus took one look at me and decided… I don’t know. I was broken. I needed romantic healing. Whatever. I wasn’t back at camp a full day before the whispering started. Nobody would admit that they knew, but they knew. The looks I got: Oh, poor Reyna. The innocent suggestions I got about who I should date.”

She didn’t sound angry. It was more like weighed down and weary. I remembered Frank Zhang’s concern about how long Reyna had shouldered the burdens of leadership, how he wished he could do more to relieve her. Apparently, a lot of legionnaires wanted to help Reyna. Not all of that had been welcome or useful.

“The thing is,” she continued, “I’m not broken.”

“Of course not.” (TTT 233)

 This conception about “being broken” is something aces tend to end up feeling, at least without knowing more about asexuality. I didn’t get it as much since I wasn’t surrounded with as much emphasis on dating and sex as a lot of other people are, so I started figuring out maybe I was different from most other people only awhile after having run across the term; I just figured it was normal to have this attraction thing start up sometime later, like late teens or so, and that I didn’t exactly know what people were talking about anyway so maybe I just didn’t recognize it. By the time I figured out that I probably wasn’t going to develop this “sexual attraction” thing anytime soon I already knew about different sexualities and was able to research the topic to see what best description best fit my own experience. So I’m glad Rick touched on Reyna’s discomfort here. With some of the earlier passages I think she may have come to view herself the same way other people were viewing her, as needing a romantic partner to help her, but now she’s realized that was never really necessary for her; she doesn’t need that in her life.

After this, the whole scene with Lester awkwardly asking Reyna out occurs, and she figures out how ridiculous all this stress over who she should be with is, that it’s not something she needs to force herself to do, to dedicate all this time and energy too.

“My whole life, I’ve been living with other people’s expectations of what I’m supposed to be. Be this. Be that. You know?”

[…]

“But the whole time I’ve been a leader here,” she forged on, “I was looking for a partner. Praetors often partner up. In power. But also romantically, I mean. I thought Jason. Then for a hot minute, Percy Jackson. Gods help me, I even considered Octavian.” She shuddered. “Everybody was always trying to ship me with somebody. Thalia. Jason. Gwen. Even Frank. Oh, you’d be perfect together! That’s who you need! But I was never really sure if I wanted that, or if I just felt like I was supposed to want it. People, well-meaning, would be like, Oh, you poor thing. You deserve somebody in your life. Date him. Date her. Date whoever. Find your soulmate.”

She looked to me to see if I was following. Her words came out hot and fast, as if she’d been holding them in for a long time. “And that meeting with Venus. That really messed me up. No demigod will heal your heart. What was that supposed to mean? Then finally, you came along.”

“Do we have to review that part again? I am quite embarrassed enough.”

“But you showed me. When you proposed dating…”

She took a deep breath, her body shaking with silent giggles. “Oh, gods. I saw how ridiculous I’d been. How ridiculous the whole situation was. That’s what healed my heart – being able to laugh at myself again, at my stupid ideas about destiny. That allowed me to break free – just like Frank broke free of his firewood. I don’t need another person to heal my heart. I don’t need a partner… at least, not until and unless I’m ready on my own terms. I don’t need to be force-shipped with anyone or wear anyone else’s label. For the first time in a long time, I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. So thank you.” (TTT 405-406)

I understand her confusion here about whether she herself wanted to be with someone, or whether she felt like she should enough that she forced some facsimile of those feelings onto herself. I suspect that there were at least twinges of genuine romantic feelings concerning Jason at least -  a lot of the focus around romance is in regards to him, and some of her reactions regarding him appeared to be more instinctual to me, like her reaction to him suggesting showing Piper around the city. Now how strong those feelings really were and whether they’d sync up well with a romantic relationship, I’m not sure. Just because you can imagine a relationship being one way, actually experiencing it you may find it’s not for you, that conceptually it’s appealing but not when actually trying to have one.

She doesn’t seem entirely sure of her own feelings as far as dating someone goes either, but she’s letting go of the idea, of the feeling that she needs to figure it out now. She can just... be. 

When I was first trying to figure out what the heck my orientation was, I fretted about it for a bit, trying to analyze my own feelings and compulsions. I thought demisexual or asexual, and as for my romantic orientation... bi perhaps?

Eventually I just... stopped worrying over it. At least all that much. Pretty sure I’m ace, but romantic orientation I’m still unsure of, though I’m currently leaning aro. And even in my twenties, I’m not totally clear on it. And I don’t have to be. Neither does Reyna. If she ends up with feelings for someone, of whatever gender, that’s fine. If she doesn’t, that’s fine too. Maybe she’ll end up changing what she thinks of herself, what she believes her orientation is as she has more experiences. Or maybe she won’t. It’s good either way.

Joining the Hunters decoupled the themes of loneliness, of isolation from HOO with the idea of romantic relationships even more thoroughly. She has that sort of camaraderie with them. She doesn’t need to be strong for them, to be the high leader. She has that support, along with not needing to be responsible for so many people’s welfare and morale anymore, all without any romantic pressure. She can just chill. There’s a reason she regards it as a vacation. And seriously, good for her!

Side note: based on the focus Reyna has on male characters as possibly being viable partners while not seeming to consider any female characters in the same light, even listing Jason, Percy, and Octavian (though I kinda doubt that was romantic) as ones she considered, but listing Thalia, Jason, Gwen, and Frank as people she was shipped with, I suspect that she’s hetero-leaning. It’s hardly conclusive evidence though, headcanon what you like.

[booksbookssomemoviesandbooks]

Book Recs

Hello! so for my first post, I'll recommend some books, so y'all can have a closer look at some fandoms I'll post about! enjoy!!

1.  

Harry Potter By J.K. Rowling is definitely an interesting, well-written series! there are 7 books however, and the books get bigger as the series progresses. It's sometimes difficult to know the exact order, so I'll list it below:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Although the movies are great, they don't include all the amazing details, as with all movies. A short summary:

Harry Potter, a young boy who’s being constantly abused by his uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia, gets a peculiar letter from the magical school of Hogwarts, where he spends most of his time, becoming his home.

Quotes:

“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." ― Albus Dumbledore

“You’re just as sane as I am" - Luna Lovegood

“Mischief managed" - Fred and George Weasley

It is Important to know that j*r is a huge transphobe, along with other things, and is currently being erased by the fandom itself.

2.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, along with the other series by Rick Riordan, is a definite must-read. With each book, you can really notice the character developments and a lot more! There is loads of representation in this one, with lgbtqia+ characters, black characters, Muslim characters and more. It's very action-packed and addicting, sucking you into the magnificent world of Half-Bloods and Demigods within the first page. The first series consists of 5 books, in the following order:

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

Percy Jackson and the Battle of The Labyrinth

Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

THE MOVIES ARE TRASH SO I DEFINITELY DO NOT RECOMMEND WATCHING THEM BEFORE READING THE BOOKS!!! There were many changes and the movies aren't nearly as good as the books. A short summary:

Percy Jackson, a 12 year-old who lives with his mother, Sally, and step-father, Gabe, attends the private boarding school Yancy Academy. While on a school trip, his teacher, Mrs. Dodds, turns into a fury and attacks him. This, in turn, triggers a series of other problems and adventures.

Quotes:

“If my life is going to mean anything, I have to live it myself.” - Percy Jackson

“With great power, comes great need to nap. Wake me up later." - Nico Di Angelo

“Even strength has to bow down to wisdom sometimes." - Annabeth Chase

3.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is one of my most recommended series! With everything it deals with, from the Capitol to the districts to the champions, the books are amazing! 

Order:

The Hunger Games

Catching Fire

Mockingjay

Starring the movies is the amazing Jennifer Lawrence, but with all books, the movies have slight differences, although I definitely recommend watching them when you're done with the books.

A Short Summary:

In what was once North America, the Capitol of Panem maintains its hold on its 12 districts by forcing them each to select a boy and a girl, called Tributes, to compete in a nationally televised event called the Hunger Games. Every citizen must watch as the youths fight to the death until only one remains. District 12 Tribute Katniss Everdeen has little to rely on, other than her hunting skills and sharp instincts, in an arena where she must weigh survival against love.

(FILM SYNOPSIS)

Quotes:

"May the odds be ever in your favor." - Effie Trinket

"Fire is catching, and if we burn, you burn with us!" - Katniss Everdeen

“Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.” - President Snow

4.

Divergent is another book with a huge fandom, and rightfully so. This book is amazing, and you honestly can't live without having read it!

Order:

Divergent

Insurgent

Allegiant 

Surprisingly, I haven't watched the movies yet, but I hear that they aren’t that bad, so you should give them a go!

Summary:

In a world run by fictional classes known as factions, children who reach the age of 16 begin to choose which factions they wish to call home for the rest of their lives. Each faction comes with its own ups and downs, so it's definitely a hard choice, especially for someone as unique as Beatrice.

Quotes:

“Becoming fearless isn't the point. That's impossible. It's learning how to control your fear, and how to be free from it“ - Four

“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” - Dauntless Motto

"We are not the same. But we are, somehow, one." - Tris

5. 

You might have heard of this series, and it's really addictive, trust me! The Mortal Instruments is one of the most astonishing books I've ever read, and it's most definitely my go-to when recommending a book series!

Order:

City of Bones

City of Ashes

City of Glass

City of Fallen Angels

City of Lost Souls

City of Heavenly Fire

Again, (I know this is rather disappointing) I haven't watched the movies, but do check them out!

Summary:

Clary Fray's search for her missing mother leads her into an alternate New York called Downworld, filled with mysterious faeries, hard-partying warlocks, not-what-they-seem vampires, an army of werewolves, and the demons who want to destroy it all.

via: https://shadowhunters.com/shadowhunters-novels/the-mortal-instruments/#:~:text=Clary%20Fray's%20search%20for%20her,want%20to%20destroy%20it%20all.

Quotes:

“Heroes aren't always the ones who win. They're the ones who lose, sometimes. But they keep fighting, they keep coming back. They don't give up. That's what makes them heroes.” - Clary Fairchild

“If I cannot move Heaven, I will raise Hell.” - Sebastion Morgenstern

“The descent into Hell is easy.” - Motto of the Nephilim

6.

Gay. What more needs to be said?

SADLY, there isn't a movie yet, but I think they're working on one, or sure though

Summary:

Set in a world in which a female Democrat from Texas wins the presidency in 2016, Red, White & Royal Blue chronicles the illicit romance between the president's son, Georgetown senior Alex Claremont-Diaz (Dad is a Mexican-American senator), and Prince Henry of Wales, his childhood nemesis.

Via: https://www.wsj.com/articles/red-white-royal-blue-book-summer-beach-read-11565285001#:~:text=Set%20in%20a%20world%20in,of%20Wales%2C%20his%20childhood%20nemesis.

Also, classic enemies-friends-lovers arc and honestly it's amazing

Quotes:

“As your mother, I can appreciate that maybe this isn’t your fault, but as the president, all I want is to have the CIA fake your death and ride the dead-kid sympathy into a second term.” - Ellen Claremont 

" 'that’s because you can’t hear all the menacing gobbling.' 'Yes, famously the most sinister of all animal sounds, the gobble.' " - Harry and Alex

"History, huh? Bet we could make some." - Alex

7.

I’m sure you've heard at least a little bit about this book. While not nearly as famous as ones mentioned above, it's still just as good, of not better. I'd say this book is one of my favorites, to be honest. It speaks about a lot of topics people usually find disturbing, and it makes me so happy that it's there, it's written, it's amazing. PTSD, coming out issues, abusive relationships and more, this book is truly awesome.

TRIGGER WARNING 

Summary:

A young boy named Charlie usually dissociates, and pushes other people away. He’s afraid of beginning high school, until he meets two other students who show him how bizarre and amazing the world is.

Quotes:

“And in that moment, I swear we were infinite” - Charlie

“We accept the love we think we deserve” - Mr. Anderson

“You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love" - Sam

8. 

This book is honestly pro-feminist and I think that's much more than enough

Summary:

Kaur explores the true impact of sexual abuse and harassment, as well as the difficulties of immigrating, being a female, and depression.

It's also a poem

TRIGGER WARNING

Quotes:

“what is stronger

than the human heart

which shatters over and over

and still lives”

“you do not just wake up and become the butterfly 

- growth is a process”

“on the last day of love

my heart cracked inside my body"

9.

This book isn't very well-known, which really sucks because I really love how it speaks about the consequences of WWII from the German point of view. And about the Germans who did not believe in Hitler's ways. It's also based on a real story, and it's so cool

Summary: 

A nurse working in a nursing home meets a peculiar old lady who decides to tell her her story when she meets the nurse's younger son, Karl, who reminded her of her brother. Lizzie (the old lady) speaks about life in Dresden before the war, and even after it. She also tells them the story about the strange, magnificent elephant in her garden.

Quotes:

“That was the only way of keeping our hopes alive, by looking beyond all we were seeing around us, and the shadow of disaster that hung over us.” - 

“I think I have always had a strong sense of justice, of fair play, of what is right and what is wrong.” - 

“Our home should be an oasis of peace and harmony for us in a troubled world.” - Lizzie (Quoting Papi)

10.

This book is pro-blm and it's ahead of its time (by like 2 years but still). 

Summary:

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. via: https://socialjusticebooks.org/the-hate-u-give/#:~:text=Sixteen%2Dyear%2Dold%20Starr%20Carter,hands%20of%20a%20police%20officer.

Quotes:

“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.” - Lisa

“Daddy once told me there’s a rage passed down to every black man from his ancestors, born the moment they couldn’t stop the slave masters from hurting their families. Daddy also said there’s nothing more dangerous than when that rage is activated.” - Starr

“Everybody wants to talk about how Khalil died,” I say. “But this isn’t about how Khalil died. It’s about the fact that he lived. His life mattered. Khalil lived!” I look at the cops again. “You hear me? Khalil lived!” - Starr

[newathens]

If you want to, maybe 28 from the dialogue prompts for Triton and Percy? I enjoyed that glimpse of the sibling rivalry in the ‘Annabeth saves Percy’ drabble

context: this takes place nearly twenty years down the line; i got self-indulgent, apologies

twenty-eight was also completed in another scenario

Midday sun pierced through Atlantic, shimmering down to them in golden rays. The patch of ocean floor they occupied was vacant, save for them and some rocks. And of course, the gigantic white chariot that was split in two.

Halved, practically unfixable.

“I don’t see the big deal, she has a bunch of these,” Percy said.

“This is my mother’s mother-of-pearl chariot,” Triton stressed, as if he was supposed to understand the importance. “She paid five million drachma for this!”

“How much?” Percy paused. “The game room, the chariots, the private islands and all your beachfront properties—”

“We’re not that bad.”

“Dad’s trident collection—”

“Zeus is worse—”

“Seems like you have a problem,” Percy finished and smirked. Triton glared at him and he glared back. “It’s just a stupid chariot.”

Triton sighed, a tired sound, and rubbed at his eyes. “I’m never going to here the end of this.”

“You’re not? She doesn’t even like me!” Before the pair could begin to argue, a third voice piped up from inside the chariot. Higher-pitched, more melodic. One that caused a lull in the waves up above.

“Now you see,” the voice said. “This is why we can’t nice things.” Estelle appeared as she stood, a coral crown nestled in her hair. She gestured toward them, “You two are why we can’t have nice things. You start fighting and things go from bad to worse and then we all get in trouble.”

Triton pointed a finger at her, “Get that thing off.”

“Why? This is like her tenth favorite crown, nothing special.”

“Because she—how do you know that?” Triton asked. Estelle looked to her brother for help, but he looked just as puzzled.

“Sorry,” she shrugged. “She likes me.”

“Wow,” Percy started.

“Oh shut up—”

“Years of academy training wasted!”

Triton was unamused, “You know how I feel about Disney.”

The trio would have continued to bicker, had it not been for the sudden shift in current. A few feet away, water gathered in a cyclone and released a moment later, to reveal a sea king.

Poseidon blanched when he noticed the chariot, “Why?”

Estelle raised her hands up, “I didn’t do it!”

“How?”

“Them,” she pointed to the men that now had their eyes trained down. “Everything was going fine. We avoided the sea monsters, slipped past the sea serpent, and broke the chains off of it. But it was a trap!”

“Obviously,” Triton muttered.

“It was Keto and she was mad that Triton hadn’t called her back and then Percy was like ‘gods, you’re dating Keto? she tried to kill me’ and then Triton was like ‘why do you think I like her?’ and then they started arguing which caused the sea serpent to wake up. Meanwhile, I’m standing there freaking out watching this serpent churn up all this gross green dust and they’re still fighting and Keto was perched on her little throne of bones down there, smiling and all that, so I threw a jar of Greek fire at her.

Which made her pissed so the serpent charged on command and the two bozos finally snapped out of it, but the serpent was already on top of us and Triton tried to conjure the currents but the dust burned his eyes and we had to dodge the monster and it kinda bit down on the chariot and snapped it in half.” She let out a big huff, “Super sorry.”

Patiently, the three siblings waited for their father’s reaction.

“Estelle,” Poseidon started. “You have done nothing wrong. At all. Ever.” Both brothers chorused a round of complaints, promptly silenced by the god’s raised hand. “But these two—”

“It was his fault—”

“Dating the woman who tried to kill me, come on Dad, are you kidding? He can have any naiad he wants and he has to—”

“Always swooping in with his gleaming golden sword like he’s the fucking pinnacle of heroism—”

“I think it’s time you take one of his tails away as punishment for being such a dic—”

“Quiet!” The sound echoed across the ocean floor, causing every creature within a twenty-mile radius to scatter. Poseidon looked again at the broken chariot and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Amphitrite does have many others.”

“This one’s her favorite though,” Estelle whispered and patted it lovingly.

“It is,” Poseidon admitted and tilted his head in thought, “A week cleaning Hudson and East?”

“I’m not doing that,” Triton said.

“If I don’t force you to do it your mother will,” Poseidon said, then raised his brows at Estelle. “Yikes.”

The girl laughed and Poseidon smiled at her.

“Keep the crown, Estelle.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes,” the god said and dispersed back into the ocean without another word.

“Awww, your second spoil of war,” Percy sing-songed. She stuck her tongue out at him

“Aren’t you a little old to be teasing? Papa?” At the word, Percy grimaced and doubled over.

“Shit! I have to watch Tyler tonight.”

“You have cleaning duty.”

“Babysit?”

“Sure,” Estelle shrugged. “More money in the bank.”

Triton was silent. His face had shifted into the brooding expression that all trio children had inherited. He shook his head, “I don’t know how it came to this.”

“Irresponsibility,” Estelle said matter-of-factly. “See ya later, losers!” She shot off towards the surface, crown in hand. The chariot vanished in a flurry of sea bubbles. Far off, a sea goddess chuckled softly.

“Hey,” Percy yelled. “I’m your ride home, remember!”

.

notes: hey anonymous, thanks for this request, it means a lot to me. if you were desiring more of a ‘hatred’ vibe between percy and triton, i could try writing something for that as well. i enjoy their dynamic and it’s fun to play around with

but just in case, i thought i’d link my secrets fic, which already has a hatred vibe going between the two of them. you do not have to read it, but i had a feeling you’d be interested. 

thank you for reading.

[phykios]

the marble king, part 5 [read on ao3] [rated m for Adult thoughts]

“We sail East,” she said, indicating their direction on the crude map she had drawn in the dirt of Piraeus Harbor, “following the path of the Argo as it sailed towards Colchis. Once we have passed through the straits of the Bosphorus , then we shall turn North, hugging the western edge of the Pontos Axeinos as we travel to Olbia.”

Percy frowned, squinting, leaning in closer in his crouch so as to see better. “Olbia? I have never heard of that place before.”

“Few have,” she said. “It has been abandoned near on a thousand years, which will make it the ideal place for us to rest a while once we have arrived. From there on, we will travel upriver on the Danapris , for roughly three days' time, until we come upon the rapids.”

He started. “Rapids?”

“Yes, Perseus, rapids,” she said, rolling her eyes. “You know, the portions of the river which are suddenly much faster than the parts surrounding it?”

“I do know what rapids are,” he snapped. Moreover, he knew how dangerous rapids could be, both within the river and without it. “You never mentioned that we would have to navigate through rapids.”

“What, are you so worried that your powers will fail you so far from the sea?”

“Of course not,” he scoffed. Oceans were, certainly, more his forte, but he could more than handle a mere river. “I simply would have liked to know beforehand that I must sail through rapids.”

“I am telling you beforehand.”

He scowled. “How many?”

“Seven.”

“Seven?!”

“And you will not have to sail through them; we will portage our ship around them, as the Varangians did.”

He stared, perturbed. That was her foolproof plan? To carry their boat from one end of the river to another? “You do know that will put us in considerable danger, yes? What is to stop us from being attacked by some wandering barbarian?”

Her lips twisting, he could sense that he had won a point in their little repartee, much to her frustration and chagrin. “As I have said,” she spoke through gritted teeth, as though he were an imbecile, “the river road has long since fallen out of use. We will just have to pray that we are lucky.”

Raising his eyes to the heavens, Percy was starting to wonder if Annabeth was not, as she claimed, truly a daughter of Athena. “We will have to be more than lucky,” he said. “You know that your route will take us straight through the heart of Ottoman territory.”

If they followed her plan, then as they sailed the Bosphorus, they would have to travel right past Constantinople and the Golden Horn--not only that, they would have to travel unseen and undetected, for Prosphorion was surely littered with Ottoman ships and soldiers. For all their talents and strengths, should they be spotted by an enemy sailor, the two of them simply could not hold back an entire navy.

“Then we will rest at Sigeion the day before,” she determined, drawing a short, thin line in the sand, “and proceed after sunset. Once we have traversed the straits, we can keep to deeper waters until we pass the mouth of the Istros .”

The Istros was quite far along up the coast, a fact with which, he knew, she was well acquainted. Did she expect him to be able to create fire on their vessel so that they could cook fish, in order to avoid making camp on unfriendly land? “This is insane,” said Percy. “Your plan is--lunacy, Annabeth.”

When she raised her head to look at him, his breath nearly caught in his throat.

He had, as of late, come to the unfortunate realization that the woman who traveled with him was quite lovely. More than lovely, in fact; she had always been rather pretty, but in the short time they had been together, he was beginning to truly understand just how beautiful she really was. In fact, though he would be loath to admit it out loud, for even though the gods had vanished, he knew all too well what the consequences of such a brash action would be, he would go so far as to say that she was, perhaps, even more beautiful than any of the sea nymphs whom he had romanced in the past.

The sea nymphs all tended to favor his own coloring, with deeply tanned skin and glossy black hair. Annabeth, by contrast, had long, blonde locks, which, even dirty as they were, shone gold in the sunlight, neatly woven and pinned up to the back of her head, stunning in its simplicity. Surrounding her face, little gilded wisps of hair would escape her braid in the oppressive humidity, tightly coiled. Her skin was smooth, her mouth a comely shape, her neck long and graceful as a swan, and he knew firsthand just how strong she was. Those slate grey eyes peered at him, ringed with long, soft lashes, such a strange counterpoint to the hardened desperation which shone from them, wrinkling her forehead.

“I know of no better way to Svealand,” said she, the breath almost barely leaving her body. “If we were to travel over land, we would still encounter the Ottomans, or the Latins, or the Franks, or whatever trouble the Fates would see fit to send our way. This way, on the Danapris, is the fastest, safest road I can imagine; well worn but out of fashion, we can follow the river all the way to the Northernmost seas, and then make our way to my father’s home. And,” she blushed, and Percy was once again transfixed by her visage as roses, red and soft, blossomed on her cheeks, winding their way down her neck. He swallowed. “I thought--I mean, with your skills at navigation, I assumed--”

She did this for him, he realized then. She had selected a route which she thought would not only remove as many obstacles from their path as one could possibly account for, but would also grant him some measure of comfort and power in this strange land and even stranger time. The dissolution of their rivalry, the end to their parents’ legendary feud, she had taken it to her heart.

He blushed in turn, his pulse racing. “Right,” he said, his tongue dumb in his mouth. “Yes. Of course. I can… yes.”

It was no longer a simple question of whether or not he could, but rather a question of how skillfully he would. Annabeth was counting on him to see her safely home, and he would be damned if he let her down now.

Though, he did have one additional concern. “Will our ship be able to sail upon the river?”

As one, they both looked towards the little monoxylon which bobbed in the harbor. The little ship, which Percy had privately taken to calling the Empress , was as crude as crude could possibly be, given that they had crafted it in a matter of days, helped along by some of their divine talents. It was, in all honesty, barely more than a dugout canoe, with a very primitive sail and rudder attached, but between the two of them, it had been solidly made. She was a sturdy ship, and fast, though that was, perhaps, more a function of Percy’s skill as a sailor than any testament to their combined aptitude for mathematics.

All water gave him strength, but no water sustained him more than that of the sea, which was at once his birthright and the source of his power, so despite any perceived bravado on his part that he may or may not have displayed, the thought of sailing so far upriver was… unsettling. He never liked to be far from the sea if he could help it.

“I don’t see why not,” she said, shrugging, seemingly unconcerned, though not well enough, as he had become so attuned to her body that he could see the tense line of her shoulders. “The Norsemen would sail their longboats back and forth with all of their crews and cargo; ours should be considerably less trouble, no?”

Well, she was not wrong. “Very well,” said Percy, standing up from his crouch, reaching for the sky as he stretched. With a satisfying pop of his spine, he sighed, dropping back onto the balls of his feet, looking down at Annabeth, who stared up at him, her cheeks still flushed. “Shall we proceed?”

Standing as well, with a swipe of her foot, she erased her map. “We shall.”

And thus, they were off.

***

With the wind at their backs, Percy was able to shave roughly a day’s time off of their return journey to Sigeion, though, as they did not have an estimated time of arrival, he supposed, in the grand scheme of things, it did not matter much. The only tangible outcome at this time was that it put them in the path of the Ottomans that much sooner.

As before, the sea was uncomfortably empty. Not still, for the water was ever flowing, the waves ever undulating, nor entirely devoid of life, for there was still fish a plenty to be found and eaten, but empty in the sense that some vital or integral component was missing from the whole. The winds and the waves were still there, but they felt incomplete, almost, the colors not quite as potent, the salty tang not quite as strong. It was as though he were left alone in someone else’s home after they had stepped out for a moment, a strange glimpse into a world in which he did not truly belong. All around him, the sea birds stood watch, gazing on him with cold, sightless eyes, watching impassionate as he passed beneath their gaze, heading ever eastwards.

With little fanfare, they passed over the spot where poor Helle had lost her life, as Annabeth was entirely embroiled with her weaving. He had not liked to watch her sulk, so withdrawn after they had departed from Athens, that he had given her something of a silly task to keep her occupied, and asked her to make them some more rope. Rope was never a thing to have too much of out at sea, and it gave her something to do with her hands. If he was being honest with himself as well, he would admit to enjoying watching her face as she wove, her furrowed brow, her pink tongue poking through her lips.

Making camp once again at Sigeion, Annabeth laid herself down for a nap in the shade of a tree near the shore, extracting a promise from him that he would allow her to take the night watch as they sailed that evening, for Percy had, by his own admission, been running himself somewhat ragged these past few days. The sea gave him power, yes, but he was not as infinite as he claimed, and even he required rest from time to time. However, as they cast off from shore that night, he found himself loath to wake her as she slipped into a deep sleep, for once not tossing and turning from the horrors that plagued her dreams, her face slack with exhaustion.

It was merely one more night. He would persevere.

And, perhaps, he thought she might not wish to see Constantinople like this.

Even in the dark, the broken walls were lit up with torches, the towers raised with poles of black horsehair, flying alongside red flags adorned with yellow crescent moons. It must have been time for evening prayers, for the singer’s voice carried past the walls of the city and over the still waters, hauntingly beautiful as always. How strange, he thought, that he could not find it in himself to hate this sound, even though the men who sang it had taken his city for their own.

It was well into the dawn when at last, Annabeth awoke, her eyes slowly fluttering open. “Good morning, your majesty,” he could not help but jest from his position at the rudder, injecting as much humor into his tone as he could.

“Percy,” she mumbled, sleepily indignant, as she rubbed her face. “You promised you would let me take the night watch.”

“I did,” he agreed, thinking quickly, for he did not want to show his hand, “but we caught an excellent wind last night, and I did not want to miss it. I swear to you, as soon as we sail into the Pontos Axeinos , I shall relinquish command and take my rest.”

“See to it that you do.” She yawned, stretching her arms over her head. “Where are we?”

“We are coming up on the end of the straits,” said Percy, adjusting the length of a rope. “If this wind continues, we should pass through to the sea within the hour.”

“Excellent.” Making her way from the other end of their ship, she came up beside him, leaning over the edge to peer at the water as it rushed beneath them. She adjusted remarkably well, he thought, for someone who was not used to sailing; on a vessel this small, people were prone to all manner of seasickness. “How fast can this thing sail, do you reckon?”

He frowned. “I am not certain,” he said. “Why?”

“We will need to make all possible haste if we are to survive the Symplegades ,” she said, with an unconcerned air.

“The Symplegades ?” he asked.

She fixed him with a strange look, but one with which he was intimately familiar; it was the look that she gave him whenever he had done something she found particularly foolish. “The clashing rocks?” she said, as though that offered clarity.

He did not recall such a thing, and he shook his head.

“Honestly, phykios , how is it that you were able to slay the Titan king, and yet you still somehow lack the most basic knowledge of our history?”

“Because I know that you will tell me of it,” he quipped.

Her face twisting, she turned away, reaching for her unfinished project. “Then allow me to enlighten you; the Symplegades are the rocks through which Jason and his Argonauts sailed on their journey to the court of King Aeetes.”

“And why, if I may ask, do we need to make all possible haste?”

“The rocks strike one another whenever a ship passes between them. The boats are either crushed between the stones, or they are smashed upon the beaches when they are caught in the monstrous waves.”

“How wonderful.” Now that she had said it, of course, he did start to recall the particulars of that story. “Jason escaped unscathed, did he not?”

“He sent forth a dove in his place to measure the speed at which they must sail, and then he matched it.”

“Excellent. And you have a dove, I suppose, tucked away in your skirts for this very purpose?”

She glared, harrumphing, her lips turned in a frown as she diverted her attention back to her ropes. “Legend holds that the rocks were permanently frozen after Jason made his escape, but you know as well as I how these things come round again. Monsters never truly die, and as the cycle must always continue, surely these perils will as well.”

Peering over the edge of their boat, it did not look as though the water were any more or less dangerous than at the other end of the passage, held in the grip of the Ottoman navy. Nor did he hear any odd sounds, no noises which were not the gentle susurrations of the waves, or the cries of seabirds, or the billowing of their sail. If there were enormous, thundering rocks at the mouth of the Bosphorus, he could see no evidence of it.

Before very much longer, the coasts surrounding them began to widen, edging away from their craft as the land gave way to the mouth of the Pontus Axeinos . Annabeth lifted her head from her weaving, making her way to the bow of their boat. “Here,” she said, “we shall soon be upon the rocks.”

She gave no order for him to speed up or slow their pace, so onwards they continued, steady, serene.

“Any moment now,” she murmured. “Any moment.”

Percy tensed, preparing himself, Annabeth’s strong rope twisted in his grasp.

“Be ready!” she called back to him, all her attention focused ahead.

“On your mark,” he replied. Whatever their animosities, at this time he would happily defer to her command.

They sailed onwards.

They met no resistance.

Confused, Annabeth looked back, glancing behind them. Percy looked as well--they were well past the mouth of the straits, heading unimpeded in the open waters.

“Shall I turn North?” he asked.

“I…” Disturbed, nearly pale despite the warm dawn light, she looked back and forth, from bow to stern, searching for a solution which simply did not present itself. “Yes,” she said, after a moment. “North.”

“Very good.” And he pulled the rudder, changing their course.

“I don’t understand,” she said. “Where were the rocks?”

“Well,” Percy said, slowly, unwilling to upset her further, “you did say that the rocks were stopped. Perhaps they never came back to life.”

She fixed him with a look he could not bear to see on her face; bewildered and hurt, desperate and angry, a mosaic of sorrow and confusion crossed her lovely features. “Have you ever known a monster to stay dead?” she asked. “Any one at all? Pasiphae’s son returned to fight for the titans. The Furies chased you across the peninsula, even after death. Why should the Symplegades be any different?”

With nothing but a thought, he commanded the vessel to sail itself for some time, for he was very tired, and he had been promised a rest. “I do not know,” he said, settling down on the least lumpy pile of their supplies for a morning nap. “My father’s court deserted, your mother’s temple neglected--who is to say that the monsters have not abandoned us as well?”

Hearing no answer, he closed his eyes, letting the motion of the waves rock him to sleep. As he drifted off, he thought he heard the strangest sound--a mighty boom , like the crack of thunder, though he could not sense any storm on the horizon. Perhaps, however, he was merely imagining things.

***

Percy had never traveled so far North in his entire life, and he did not enjoy it. The air seemed colder, almost, and harsher, the sun beating down on them, and yet providing no warmth nor comfort. Even the stars at night were strange, for while he saw the constellations of his youth-- Chelae , the claws of the scorpion, Cynosura , the dog’s tail, and, of course, the Huntress herself--but he could not see them as clearly as he once had. As the words on a paper scroll or a wax tablet, the stars would rearrange themselves before his very eyes, forming shapes he could not identify, until his vision swam and his heart would ache too deeply to continue looking.

All that, and the ever-present threat of the Ottomans, of course.

Yet Annabeth was right, as she often was; once they passed the mouth of the Istros, the Ottoman presence noticeably dropped, until, after an entire week had gone by without a single hint of another ship in the horizon, Percy had to admit that they were well and truly out of that particular danger, though he could not even begin to imagine what might lie ahead.

It was many days until they reached the ancient settlement of Olbia. He had tried to keep count, but the days slipped through his fingers like sand, leaving him adrift in the sea of time. Perhaps it had been months since the fall of Constantinople, or merely days. He could no longer tell.

That night, once again, they made camp in the long shadows of an abandoned city. Their fire flickered against a squat stone wall built into the side of a hill, its vaults and ceilings long since destroyed. Percy took one corner, and Annabeth the other, sharing their meal of bread and fish. They had been sailing for so long, even he was beginning to feel it, his muscles so sore and aching that he almost could no longer feel them. When he glanced at Annabeth, she looked very much the same, staring into the heart of the flames with an almost empty, vacant gaze, the flickering lights reflecting dully off her golden hair. She was exhausted. They both were.

“Some water?” he asked.

She shook her head, so minutely that were it not for the flames, he would not have thought she moved at all.

Several days earlier, they had put to port in a town along the coast, a little seaside trading post with a white castle resting on top of the nearby cliff, a town which Annabeth had thought was called Mavrokastron or Moncastro or something similar to that. Having not heard Italian in several weeks, it had been something of a shock to the system to hear it spoken this far from Constantinople, though he was pleased to see that his rudimentary language skill had not yet been forgotten, as he was able to purchase a few more supplies for the road ahead. Being the son of a very famous fisherman, Percy could very easily be relied upon to provide the two of them with meat should they require it; things like bread and cheese were somewhat more difficult to procure on their own when constantly on the move. Acting on a whim, he had, with his leftover funds, purchased some dried fruit as well, something to save for a particularly hard day. Looking at Annabeth now, it seemed her hard day was well upon her.

“Here.” He passed her the food parcel, laying it at her feet. “Help yourself to some figs.”

She did not pick it up. Were it not for the fact that he could very clearly see her breathe, see her blinking, she may as well have been a statue, propped up against the wall.

Percy looked down to the shore, where he had tied the Empress to a nearby tree. She bobbed sweetly against the gentle tide, her sail fluttering in the nighttime breeze. “I think,” he said, carefully, for he knew from past experience that suggesting things contrary to Annabeth’s grand plan could result in disaster, “that we should take one more day here.”

No response.

“Just one, mind you. I could do a few more repairs on our ship, catch some more fish--and I can almost certainly promise you that we will need more rope.”

Still, she said nothing.

“Very well,” said Percy. “I shall take your silence as assent, and shall begin work on the morrow.”

“Fine,” said Annabeth, her voice barely more than a puff of wind.

“Oh, so she does speak! And here I thought that you were so repulsed by my very presence that you could not bear to engage me in conversation.”

“I am not ignoring you,” she said, “I am merely tired.”

He snorted. “Indeed. You must be exhausted after all that sailing you did.”

At any other time, Annabeth would have seized upon the chance to trade barbs with him, unable to resist the siren song of taking her mortal enemy to task. But not tonight, it seemed.

“What is it?” he asked.

An Annabeth who would not rise to his bait was a disturbing sight, indeed. He would rather have a traveling companion who would not cease in her berating, her irritation with him, her constant, acerbic comments towards his parentage and his intelligence, than this corpse who sat before the fire.

“I thought…” she murmured.

“Thought what?”

With a sigh, she tipped her head back against the wall, watching the smoke rise. “I truly hoped she would be in Athens.”

“Your mother?”

She nodded. “I--I think I knew, deep in my heart, but I did not want to believe it. When you told me of your father’s empty halls, I had this… sinking feeling, in my chest, this feeling that something was wrong.” Bringing her hand to that offensive spot, she closed her eyes. “I did not realize what it was until we had passed through the clashing rocks unharmed.”

“Realize what?”

“That you were right, Percy. The gods, the monsters; they have all of them abandoned us.”

She had admitted that he was right; once upon a time, he would have thought there could be no greater reward, but now he would have given much for her to take it back. “You do not think it to be a coincidence?”

“I do not see how it could be otherwise,” she sighed, folding her legs beneath her. “I cannot remember the last time I went so long without encountering a monster of some manner or another. The two of us, together? It should, in theory, present an irresistible target. Do you not remember our first quest together?”

Despite the myriad and multitude of terrors that they had encountered as children, thrown together by a cruel twist of fate, time had transformed a few of the horrors into fond memories. “How could I forget? We had barely left the borders of camp before the Kindly Ones descended upon us.”

Perhaps it was a trick of the firelight, but he thought he saw her lips quirk up in a smile. “And we destroyed that poor man’s wagon.”

“Smashed it to bits,” he confirmed. “The first of many.”

Annabeth, almost reluctantly, chuckled. “We have shared many an adventure, haven’t we?”

“And once again, we find ourselves on another epic quest.”

“But it is not merely another quest,” she said, her face once again sad and drawn. “There is no hero’s reward waiting for us at the end this time.”

He raised his water skin at her, in toast. “Here’s to your safe delivery, then, as that is all the reward that I shall require.”

“Well,” she said, reaching for the parcel of food at her feet, “my father is not without money. Should he still live, I am certain he would be happy to provide you with some measure of compensation.”

“Wonderful. Perhaps by the end of our journey, I will divine what to do with it.”

She hummed, thoughtful as she nibbled on a bit of dried fig. “What will you do,” she asked, “after we reach Svealand?”

Laying out his sleeping roll, he shrugged. “Become a sailor, I suppose,” he said, “if I cannot find Chiron and his students. Or perhaps I shall make my way to Aachen after all; Iason and Reyna promised me I would always have a place with the Legion.”

“You and your precious Legion,” she scoffed, though there was something darker underlying her tone, something cruel, and hateful.

“What you have against the Legion, I shall never understand,” he said, resting his head on the grass. “They are a good people; what’s more, they are our friends and allies.”

“The Legion were the ones who stole the Parthenos ,” she said, bitter as sour fruit. “Just one of the many, many insults they have levied against my mother over the years.”

“Those men have long since passed,” said Percy. “Whatever your feelings towards them, the Legion of today is a far, far cry from the men and women of Troia .”

Her brow furrowed, she shook her head, incredulous. “They stole you , Percy.”

“They did not steal me, they found me,” he corrected. “Were it not for them, I would have died a thousand times over.”

“And as thanks, you begged them to brand you as a slave, I am sure.”

In truth, he had not had much of a choice in that matter. It all had happened so quickly; one moment, he had fended off an invasion of giants, and in the next, their augur had grabbed a hold of his arm, and the mark had appeared in a flash of light and pain, indelible proof of his service to Rome. In time, he had come to accept it as part of him, and to ignore it as such. “This is just their way, no more or less strange than our yearly talismans,” he said, though he had a feeling such a weak argument would do very little to convince her.

“It is not the same,” she insisted. “A necklace can be removed. You are marked for life, and as a romanus .” And at that hateful word, she spat into the dirt.

“There is much worse that I could be than a soldier of Rome, Annabeth,” he said, quietly, for that was what he was still, was he not? Though he no longer fought with the Legion, he had spent his last years as a soldier for another relic of the once great empire.

She tilted her head, almost curious, were it not for the mocking gleam he could detect in her eye. “What would they offer you to betray the Hellenes , hm?” Folding her hands in her lap, she leaned forward, a cruel smile stretching across her pretty face. “A province to govern? A seat in the Imperial Senate? Or perhaps a pretty Roman bride, awaiting you in your villa in Aachen? On your return from Svealand, will you find Reyna at your hearth, or any other Roman lady?”

It was not an unfamiliar accusation. Similar taunts had been levied at him before, by his less understanding comrades at camp. “No,” he said, dully, “I am not interested in a Roman bride--nor is a Roman bride interested in me.”

Her brows shot up. “Now that,” she said, “I cannot believe. You mean to tell me that you spent so many months among the Legion, and yet not one girl thought to snap you up as a husband?”

As a child of the elder gods, Percy was set apart from his peers in a few small, but rather distinct ways. There were certain powers he possessed, certain tricks and charms that he could utilize, and certain statuses that he would not claim that he did not enjoy, from time to time. Unfortunate as it was, for womenfolk, they often found themselves in the unenviable position of having to secure for themselves a good man for a husband, one who could provide status and comfort both, and all the women Percy knew were very, very clever. They knew what to seek in a partner, and they tended not to be shy about their intentions. More than once had Percy been approached by one of his fellow campers, who thought that she might cultivate quite a match for herself, as surely a son of Poseidon and a hero of Olympus should make for an excellent husband. Alas, once they had discovered that he had little more to offer than a mortal fisherman could, they elected not to pursue him further.

On the whole, he did not mind it terribly. He did not speak of it often, but he had always wished to follow in his mother’s footsteps, and marry for love, rather than for politics or protection. Had he been married to a woman he did not care for in that manner, he predicted that he would be a poor husband indeed. It would not be fair to either of them, he thought, unless he was as truly devoted to her as she was to him.

“I was no more a choice for a woman of the Legion than I would have been for a woman from the agoge ,” he said finally, after some time. “And there is none that I have known, either.” He smiled, indulging in a memory.

She raised an eyebrow. “You have never lain with a woman?” she asked, voice dripping with ill-concealed contempt.

“No mortal woman, no.” For he had had the good fortune to romance a nymph or two, a goddess here or there. There had been Calypso, on the island of Ogygia; Thetis, in the court of his father’s palace; a nereid or two with particularly pretty smiles and delicate wrists. The immortal women he had known did not require much of anything from him beyond his time and his affection, which he was more than pleased to provide… and occasionally his tongue, as well.

“But a mortal man?” asked Annabeth, well and truly curious now.

He froze.

Percy was not ashamed of much in his life, and he was most assuredly not ashamed of the time he had spent with Iason. He had been a good man, handsome and strong, and he had found Percy equally as beguiling as Percy did him. Theirs had been more than a mere soldiers’ romance, and he held no shame in his heart at the things that they had done to each other. Yet for some reason, he did not wish to divulge this information to Annabeth. It was not, he knew, because he thought she might shame him for his choice of sexual partner; at the agoge it was quite common to hear of a man lying with another man, or a woman with a woman. As their ancestors had done, mighty names such as Achilles, or Sappho, or even the gods themselves, so too did the half-divine children of the Hellenes not always limit themselves to the opposite sex.

No, he did not wish to share his name, because he did not want to hear her heap further scorn on his Roman allies.

“Yes,” he said. “I have.” And that was all the information he shared.

“I see,” said Annabeth, coloring lightly. “You are one of those sorts of heroes, then.”

He started, something hot bristling in his stomach. “How do you mean?”

“Like Achilles and Patroclus,” she said. “Or Alexander and Hephaestion.”

Who would feel shame, to be included among such vaulted company? Certainly not Percy. “And if I am?” he asked, raising his head. “Would that present a problem for you?”

If it did, perhaps she would get her wish, and would leave her to travel alone after all.

“Don’t be foolish,” she said, with a withering glare. “Of course not. I simply… did not realize.” She was flushing again, visible even against the dim firelight. Annabeth, he had noticed, tended to blush with the whole of her, her body curling in on itself, crossing her arms and looking away from him. “I--find it difficult to believe, is all.”

“What?”

“That you did not pursue a relationship with Rachael.”

Confused, he sat up, frowning. “You know she is obliged to be a maiden, yes?”

“I meant before then.” Beneath long lashes, she glanced at him for a single, sweet moment. “I know you two were close before she became Apollo’s priestess.”

They had been, the summer of the great prophecy. Struggling beneath a burden to rival that of Atlas, Percy had sought some measure of escape from the camp and from his destiny, an escape which Rachael had provided to him. She had granted him a dream and a fantasy, a small sliver of hope in a time when all those around him had been sure that he would perish come summer’s end. Even Annabeth would sometimes look at him as though she were preparing to weave his funeral shroud once more.

That summer, things had been very strange between the two of them, Percy and Annabeth. She had been struggling, he knew, to come to terms with the deep betrayals that Lukas had committed, and she had not been as kind to Percy as, perhaps, she had meant to be. He had forgiven her for it, of course--he in turn had not always comported himself so properly--for they had both borne their respective weights, and had not always supported each other as friends and allies should. More simply put, Rachael had been there for him, when she had not.

“No,” he said. “We had considered it, but…”

But Rachael had been cleverer than he, and had eventually turned him away, with a knowing grin, bidding him instead to seek out someone else.

Someone whom he had known since he was a boy. Someone who had weathered all sorts of storms by his side. Someone who had defied her mother and declared her allegiance to him, should the gods ever force their children to fight against one another. Someone who even Rachael could see that he had long admired.

Lying back down, raising his eyes to the stars, he said, “I did not feel for her as she did for me,” a simple summation for a complex time, and one which he prayed she would understand, and then leave it be. “And so we remained friends.”

And, well, he had thought, after the war, after the funeral games for those who had fallen in battle, once peace and serenity had returned to their borders… he had wondered. Perhaps he had even hoped.

Unfortunately, not four months later, he had gotten entangled with the Legion. By the time he made his way back to Chiron and the Hellenes , it appeared that Annabeth had grown to hate him even more strongly than she had when they had been children. For her, the Latins were an even more hateful enemy than the children of Poseidon; one could, apparently, be overcome, but both together? Unthinkable, in her eyes. And so these two, thrown together by circumstance, had been pulled apart, until the distance between them was so great, he had been sure that Annabeth had been lost to him forever, and had thus let her go.

Then, of course, the Fates had seen fit to bring them together again--though, for what purpose, he could not possibly imagine.

For a few minutes, there was silence between them, no sound save for the crackling of the fire, and the quiet movement of the waves.

Then, Annabeth said, “Hm.”

Percy turned his head towards her. “What?”

“Nothing, nothing.” With efficiency, she spread out the remains of their fire, so that it would burn itself out while they slept, and set about unrolling her own bedroll. “I was merely thinking that I would have won the pot, is all.”

Oh, he did not think he liked at all what she was implying. “The pot?”

She stilled, her bedroll unfurled halfway. “I’ve said too much.”

Unfortunately, she did not need to say much else. “The Stolls, I presume?”

Annabeth smiled at him, though it reminded him more of a pained grimace.

Rolling his eyes, he flopped back down.

“It was a very eventful summer,” she said. “You cannot blame them for attempting to lift our spirits with a little harmless fun.”

“Need I remind you that everyone was under the impression I would not survive the war?”

“And yet, here you remain.” A little ungracefully, she stretched out next to him, giving a great, massive yawn, and he turned towards her. “A gift for which the men of the Legion were very grateful, no doubt.”

His eyes widened. “How did you--”

She glanced at him with familiar contempt. “If you had lain with someone from the agoge ,” she said, as though she spoke to a simpleton, “everyone would have heard about it before breakfast the next morning.”

Ah, the children of Athena. Impeccable logic, as always.

“Very well,” said Percy, his cheeks heating up. “Since I have divulged such personal secrets, it is only fair that I am privy to some in return, no?”

Snorting, she turned over on her side, away from him. “I agreed to no such terms.”

“Come now, Annabeth,” he whined. “That’s not very sporting.”

In truth, he had spent many years wondering what sort of man had caught her fancy, after the likes of Lukas, whose appeal Percy understood all too well. He’d spent too many years in her orbit to not want to know what kind of a person could win her heart. Now that they had reestablished their acquaintanceship, would anyone blame him for mere curiosity?

“Give me a secret worth sharing, then.”

The moon, bright and beautiful, hung low in the sky. By the light of the fading fire, her hair shone like copper, her shawl settling around the curve of her shoulder, her hip, fabric folds like the stars of a constellation whose shape he had only just discovered. For one single, delirious second, he thought--he considered telling her the truth, a truth so deep and powerful, yet unknown to him until this very moment. The truth, that his youthful admiration had become his first love. The truth, that though it had faded alongside their friendship, it had never truly gone away. The truth that now, in this moment, as he lay next to her on their bed of grass and earth, it blazed with more passion than anything else he had ever known.

He swallowed.

“If you had asked me to, I would have followed you to the Morea,” he said, “and supported your claim to the throne.”

After a second, she rolled over to look at him. Her eyes were dark and piercing in the moonlight, her gaze enchanting and unreadable.

“Is that sufficient?”

He may as well have just come out and told her that he loved her. It felt like he was admitting the same thing.

Her mouth twisted, not quite a smile. “And they all claimed that you were no strategist,” she said.

That was… not the reaction he had expected from her. “How do you mean?”

“Ingratiating yourself to your future empress; very clever indeed, Perseus.”

“I am being sincere,” he said.

“And I do not doubt it. You would have pursued an action that you know would have resulted in a great reward, had we succeeded.”

Frowning, he lay down on his back, closing his eyes. “That is not why I would have done it.”

The silence stretched between them, long and empty. She must have fallen asleep, he thought. He could open his eyes and see for himself, but he stubbornly kept them shut. For whatever reason, he could not disturb the fragile space between them, every hard won inch, he knew, so easily shattered by a misspoken word or an imprecise countenance.

So softly, he thought he might have imagined it, he heard her say, “Clarice.”

Slowly, he turned to look at her.

She lay on her back as well, her gaze pointed squarely at the stars. The fire had nearly burnt out, but her skin and hair still shone in the moonlight.

“I beg your pardon?” he asked.

“The first person I had relations with was with Clarice.”

He blinked. “Clarice.”

“Yes.”

“The daughter of Ares.”

“The very same.”

Of all the revelations he thought she might share, he had not been expecting that one. “You know I have to ask.”

The corner of her lips quirked up in a smile. “She was stronger, but I was faster. Her hands, however--very big.”

Percy had seen Annabeth throw men twice her size across the arena. He had seen Clarice shatter shields with her magic spear. The thought of the two of them, together, in that manner, was…

He shifted, attempting to find a new and more comfortable position for his hips. “Athena and Ares,” he murmured, half in a daze. “Who would have thought?”

“And not just her--Yekaterina as well.”

“Really.”

“Mmhmm.” He could not see in the dim light, but he thought she might have been blushing again.

He chuckled to himself, smiling. As she knew him of old, he knew her, and he knew that she was not one to divulge such details so lightly. Despite his pride and his self-assurance, it was always a deep, deep comfort to know that there was someone else who enjoyed the company of men and women both. To think, despite all their differences, how similar they were in their fundamentals still.

“Thank you,” he said. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.”

And without much further ado, he turned over, and he went to sleep.

Immediately, he knew he was dreaming.

No longer in the shadow of the ancient stone wall, now he lay upon rich velvet rugs and brilliantly ornate pillows, woven with thread of gold and silver, the fabrics dyed deep blues and purples. All around him was the scent of saffron, mint, and honey. And the woman next to him… the woman next to him…

On the top of her golden head rests an equally golden crown, studded with precious gems of red and blue and green--the tiara of the Basileia , he knows it to be. She smiles at him with her silver eyes, her ruby lips and pearly teeth, lifting a delicate hand to him. Just below her ears, from which dangle a pair of lustrous, jeweled earrings, her hair comes down in two long, thick, even plaits, over her shoulders and her breasts, which Percy now realizes are bare. He and the mighty Roman Empress Ana Zabeta, for that is surely who she is, lay side by side, she entirely unclothed save for the crown on her head.

“My love,” she murmurs, trailing her fingers up his arm, “why do you hide yourself from me? Do you regret this time we have together?”

“No, my lady,” he finds himself replying, not in control of his actions in this fantasy. “Of course not.”

“Then come closer, phykios , and kiss me.”

And he would not refuse an order like that.

Her lips taste of wine and honey, her skin is smooth as marble. Acting on an instinct he did not know he possessed, he brings his hands to her small breasts, rolling a nipple under his thumb, and is rewarded with her ardent sigh, a deep, throaty moan which vibrates into his own mouth. Braver now, he crawls on top of her, and knows he has done the right thing by the smile which presses itself to his chin. Then he is the one who is kissing her neck, and he travels further down, a road map of her body, kissing every inch of her he can reach.

“Yes,” she whines, so sweetly, the further down he goes. He kisses the skin at her hips, squeezing the soft flesh of her ass, and she moans again, sweeter than any music. “Yes, Percy,” she cries as he brings his mouth above her center, pressing his nose into the beautiful golden curls there, and breathing deep. “Percy,” she groans, “Percy, Percy--”

“Mm?” He muttered, his face mashed into the dirt.

“Percy.”

He blinked, the cold sunlight streaming directly into his eyes, disorienting. “Wuh…”

“Wake up.”

Raising his head a little, he was greeted by the Annabeth more familiar to him, who was busy starting up their campfire, her curls thrown wildly by the morning wind. “You said that you wished to make repairs to the boat this morning, did you not?” she asked.

“Ahm--yes, I--let me just…” It came to his attention, suddenly, that he was quite erect, his cock pressing into his bedroll, and he was liable to try to make love to this cloth if he were left alone with his thoughts for a minute longer. “Let me… relieve myself. Yes.”

She grunted, entirely absorbed in her task. Thank the gods for the gift of half-blood focus, he thought.

With an odd sort of waddle, he made his way over to a small group of trees. When he was certain she could neither see nor hear him, he freed himself from his trousers, working quickly to bring himself to completion, among the sounds of morning birds, the scrape of his fingers on tree bark, his choked, bitten off groans as he fought for his silence.

It did not take him very long.

[solange-lol]

Crazier Than You - Ch. 1/?

Chapter Title: Overture 

Words: 1385

[chapter 1 | chapter two | chapter three | chapter four (coming soon)]

Read on Ao3

Audition day for the spring musical. Meaning, about twenty high school kids were running laps around the auditorium

“Brunner is ruthless,” Lou Ellen snorted from her spot next to Will Solace. “As if the warm-up dance isn’t already enough, he has a warm-up for the warm-up.”

Will laughed, and a few of the kids passing glared at them, which only made Will happier. This was one of his favorite things to do: watch the poor theatre kids suffer while he sits in the back row with a container of Pringles to share with Lou.

(Not saying that tech crew isn’t hard. It’s actually kind of hell, especially this year for Will. Say what you want, but being the stage manager isn’t as fun as it looks. Honestly, he’d rather be going through whatever these kids are doing. The grass is always greener or whatever.)

“I think Apollo is to blame actually. And this is only the beginning. Just wait until he makes them do push-ups.”

Lou Ellen rolled her eyes, but the hint of a smile was still on her face. “The poor freshman. Serves them right though, they’re going to be breaking all my props in a month or so. Did you know they’re asking for light up hula hoops? Those things are over $100 at least, which means I’m definitely going to be paying for batteries again.”

Will nodded solemnly. “At least they’re doing a good show this year. The Addams Family is a personal favorite of mine, plus it’s just pushing school limits. What do you think, Heathers next?”

“As if!” Lou Ellen cackled in her seat, causing more students to turn their heads and give her the stink eye. Before she could say anything else, something (more specifically, someone) caught Will’s eye.

“Lou, who is that?” Will asked almost softly, pointing towards the person in question. He was short, around a usual freshman height, but he looked like he might be a junior or a senior. Or maybe not, since Will doesn’t think he’s seen him around before.

“Oh him?” Will nodded. “Will, that’s Nico di Angelo. He was here for his freshman year when we were sophomores, remember? He transferred schools for a year, I guess he’s back now though because he’s in my studio class.”

Will did remember very vaguely. The first year of high school is rough for everyone, but nobody had it as bad as he did. Nico’s sister had gotten into an accident and died a month into school, and apparently, he learned he had a stepsister that was born a year or so after his mom had died who was going to their local prep school. It surprised him to hear that that’s where Nico was transferring considering his history, but he seemed to be doing well now. It also explained how he seemed to know all the kids from the private school. (The school was too small to have their own theatre program, so they have to send all their kids over to the public school in their district instead.)

Will took another chip. His eyes were still fixed on Nico. “Huh.”

Lou Ellen studied his face. “You think he’s cute.” She concluded after a second.

“I do not!” Will nearly screeched, already about to jump from his chair if needed. (He was also slightly mad at himself for being so readable. Can you blame him? Nico was wearing an oversized crew neck with a cartoon ghost, and it looked adorable.)

She just laughed. “Woah, calm down. I never said you had to marry the guy, it was just an observation.”

Will sat back down, pouting. Before he could go full you don’t know me and cross his arms at her, the two of them were shushed as auditions began. They went as they always did, no different from the fall show except for the added music and way too many freshman girls that could not hit that high note so please stop trying. He wasn’t surprised to see Nico grouped together with the other kids auditioning for Pugsley. No doubt he could land that role, he was the perfect size for it (and most likely act the part as well)

However, when Will watched Nico’s actual audition, he couldn’t believe he was trying out for such a smaller role. Okay, sure it’s s a lead, but damn, that boy could sing well enough to land something bigger.

“He’s really good,” Lou Ellen said, somehow reading his thoughts. Or maybe just because it wasn’t hard to see that this kid had talent. “Do you think they’d give him Gomez?”

“I’ll bet you five bucks they give him Lucas.”

Lou Ellen raised her eyebrows. “Alright, if you’re confident,” she said, holding up her hands in surrender. “It’s a deal.”

They went back to watching the auditions until a few seconds later when Lou Ellen leaned over again. “Oh, and one more thing,” she started with an innocent style on her face. As innocent as Lou gets, that is.

Will side-squinted at her. “What do you want?”

Her smile widened but she looked more Cheshire Cat than Disney princess. “I’m expecting my name to be next to Assistant Stage Manager on that playbill, Mr. Solace.”

That $5 was handed to Will begrudgingly by Lou Ellen once the cast list came out two days later. However, the conversation was almost entirely forgotten when Will reminded her that she was going to be spending a lot of time with him as assistant stage manager. (Really there was no doubt he was going to choose her. But hey, he doesn't have much control over his own life. It’s the little things, really.)

After that, anything about Nico or anything else about the show slips Will’s mind. Tech crew was on the same day as vocal rehearsal for the show, so unless they went into the lobby at the same time, Will really didn’t see them at all. It wasn’t until a month and a half or so leading up to the show that Will realized he needed to figure out lightning cues for Thalia before they started running with sets.

He went to their rehearsal that Monday just to know what to expect. As it turned out, lighting cues didn’t take nearly as long as he was expecting, and rehearsal wasn’t going wrap up for another hour. Which, it wouldn’t be a problem if Will hadn’t gotten a ride from Lou Ellen to the school and was now getting a ride home from Annabeth, who was in the show.

Logically, because he had an hour to kill, Will should start on his homework. Which is exactly why he didn’t do that. Instead, he made himself busy backstage constructing the idea that’s been brewing in the back of his head since the beginning of the year. As he screwed another screw in place, he was surprised to see Nico walking up to him.

“What are you doing?” he asked, squinting at the Italian. (Curse him for leaving his glasses in his backpack. He wouldn’t be surprised if he accidentally screwed his finger to the piece of wood along with the nail.)

Nico snorted. “I should be asking you that, I think,” he said, glancing at Will, who realized in that moment how insane he must look. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground in the dark, a half-made box in his hand. He was most defiantly covered in sawdust, and oh God, his hair was probably a mess too.

“I’m making a snack box.”

“A snack box?”

“Yeah,” Will laughed pathetically, knowing how dumb he probably looked. “It was partly Lou Ellen’s idea, but she said if I got a box she would bring snacks and we could keep all of them back here.”

To Will’s surprise, Nico laughed, though not in a mean way. More of an actual, genuine laugh. “That’s amazing,” he said once he calmed down enough to speak. “You have to let me in on it.”

Will couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. “Deal, as long as you help us paint it.”

A small smile found its way onto Nico’s face as well. “A small price to pay for a good reward,” he said, shaking Will’s outstretched hand.

And hey, maybe this year’s musical wouldn’t be so bad.

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[cameronspecial]

Sent From A Goddess (Ch.2)

Pairing: Demigod! Tom Holland x Demigod! Reader

Summary: (Y/N) (Y/L/N) is the daughter of Poisedon, and for twelve years she was all alone. Growing up at camp without any family and watching people she is closed to come in and out of her life has caused her to close up. So she made a rule, the only people she is allowed to be truly close to is her brother, his family, Chiron, Tyson, Annabeth, and Grover. When Tom in his brothers come around, will he be able to break that rule?  

Word Count: 2 005

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Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | 

Tom and his brothers had been at Camp Half-Blood for a week now and it was safe to say that they were enjoying themselves. Tom was relatively good when it came to sword fighting, however, he was not the greatest at archery which was ironic because he was the son of Apollo. During the whole week, they have been here, Tom has not once heard her laugh or seen her smile. What happened to her for her to be like this? He wants to see her happy and he wants to help her. He nor any of his brothers could get her to laugh or talk about herself, and that made him even more curious.

(Y/N) sat on the beach with her sketchbook and pencil in hand. Everyone else was training, so all she could hear were the soothing waves and the distant sound of swords clashing together. She mindlessly sketches what was on her mind like usual and this time it was one of her many imaginations of what her mom looked like. Throughout her many sketchbooks pictures of what she thought her mom looks like are scattered all throughout them. She had done everything she can to find her mother, but she never found anything in her 16 years of life. She wants to know who she is other than the daughter of Poseidon. “Why won’t you tell me who she is?” she whispers to no one in particular. Percy stood on the path that leads down to the beach watching at his little sister. Even though they were born the same day in the same year, he always saw her as his baby sister because he was twelve years later. He didn’t like to see his sister likes this and the fact that anything he does doesn’t help makes it worse. He walks towards (Y/N) to keep her company.

She sensed her brother coming near her and closes her sketchbook. “How did you imagine her this time?” he asks softly. He sits down next to her and wraps his arm around her shoulder. She opens up the sketchbook to show her brother. He smiles at the drawing of the beautiful woman that looks like (Y/N). “I decide to make her look more like me this time,” she tells him. “Well, like all of your drawing it looks amazing,” he praises. All she can do is nod and close the sketchbook again. Percy sighs, “You know you can talk to me about anything right?” He knows that she has closed herself off ever since Luke died and it was killing him that he couldn’t make her feel better. She whispers I know before getting up and walking off. Percy sees that she left her sketchbook and takes a look at some of her drawings. They were all so sad. He felt like he could feel her grieving. Annabeth walks up to Percy and sits with him. “Did she blow you off again?” Annabeth questions. She knew how much this was hurting Percy because she felt the same way. She couldn’t help her best friend feel better and that bothered both of them. “I know how you feel. I tried talking to her this morning at breakfast and she wouldn’t. She wouldn’t tell me how she felt. Percy, she’s getting worse by the day and I am worried. Who knows how she is feeling or what she is thinking?” Annabeth worries. “I know, but I promise Wise Girl that I am doing everything I can to help her and I will continue too until she is better,” Percy vouched, Annabeth started crying and all he could do was bring her face into the crook of his neck.

(Y/N) watches in horror as Percy hands over the knife to Luke. She watches as the person she used to trust and still love plunges the knife into himself. She tries to run towards him to stop him, but Percy holds her back. Luke lies on the ground slowly bleeding out, but instead of dying as he did in real life, his body changes to look like Kronos. Everyone else disappears so that it’s just her and Kronos in the darkness. He stands up and walks towards her. She felt absolutely powerless. She couldn’t move her feet; she was frozen in fear. “You’re a nobody. You couldn’t save them and you won’t be able to save the rest. Not Percy, Not Annabeth, Not Grover,” Kronos continues to list the people she loved and the people that she has lost. Then it kept getting worse. Darian appears in front of Kronos. He begged and pleaded to be let free. Kronos just laughs and a sword appears in his hand. He raises it ready to plunge it into Darian’s heart and all she can do is scream and watch.  

Before the sword plunges into his heart, (Y/N)’s eyes flutter open and her screams could be heard throughout the cabin. Percy is standing over her bed, shaking her awake. “You’re okay. You’re okay,” he promises as he holds her close to his chest. Once she calms down, she told Percy thank you and that he should head to bed. She makes sure he is asleep before putting her hair in a ponytail and putting her shoes on. She opens the door quietly and sneaks out. She passes the archery range as she makes her way to the climbing wall. She notices that a mop of brown hair was at the range where he was not supposed to be. She recognizes him as Thomas Holland, one of the newest campers, and decides to watch. She leans against the tree and observes. He draws back the string with the arrow and then let's go. The arrow doesn’t fly through the air as it would normally, the arrow drops to the floor which was funny because he is the son of Apollo. She doesn’t know what overcame her, but she starts giggling for the first time in months.  Tom’s head snaps in the direction that he heard the giggling come from. He smiles when he sees that it was (Y/N); he finally gets to see that beautiful smile of hers.

She immediately stops when she sees that he was staring at her. “You know for a child of Apollo you are pretty shit with a bow and arrow,” she claims with her face turning back to its serious expression. Tom laughs and looks at her, “Yeah, well it’s not liked I asked to be his son and these things are harder then they look.” (Y/N) just shakes her head and taps her ring two times to change it into a bow and arrow. She walks up to the target, draws back the string with the arrow, and lets it go. It flies through the air and hits the bullseye of the target. She draws back another arrow and it splits the first arrow. She does the same thing two more times then looks at Tom with you were saying written on her face. “It’s not as hard as you think,” she brags with a wicked smile before turning the bow back into a ring. “Teach me,” he says in awe. He had never seen anyone that good, not even Will. (Y/N) just shakes her head as she walks away, “I am sorry, but I don’t teach anymore.” That was the first thing that she ever told him about herself and that made him hope. Hope that maybe he can get her to smile again.

She got to the rock wall when and gets ready to climb. “You’re really going to climb that thing in the middle of the night with no one around. Doesn’t seem very safe,” Tom comments as he watches her get closer to the wall. The girl scoffs and begins climbing the wall, “I have been climbing these walls ever since I was little, and I think I will be fine.” If Tom keeps this going, then he can finally learn more about her. “Well, I just want to make sure you are safe,” he admits out loud. He wouldn’t tell anyone just yet, but he may have developed a tiny crush on the mysterious girl. “I don’t need you to protect me. I am pretty sure you're supposed to be in your cabin, so why don’t you go back,” she claims, by now she was half-way up the wall which amazed Tom. “Yeah, well maybe I’ll keep you some company and try the wall myself,” Tom announces as he starts climbing the wall. She looks down at him, she wouldn’t admit it, but she definitely felt a bit of concern towards him. “I don’t care what you do or about you.” Tom ignores her, knowing that it was not true, and continues to copies what she is doing.

(Y/N) was standing at the top of the climbing wall, watching Tom climb up towards her. He tried to remember what holds she used to get up, but his memory failed him and he wasn’t fast enough to get up. The lava started slowly pouring when he was so close to the top; what was worse was that his hand couldn’t hold on anymore and he let go. (Y/N) was quick to grab onto his wrists and pull him up beside her. “That’s why you use the rope and harness, you dimwit,” she scolds, she pressing the button to stop the lava and starting to descend the wall. “Umm, how am I supposed to get down?” he croaks. He did not think this through. (Y/N) shakes her head and belays the harness up to him. “Put that on!” she shouts to him. Tom nods his head and does as he is told. Once he gets it on, she starts bringing him down slowly. He had to admit that he was a little afraid, but he trusted her. “My knight in shining armour,” Tom gushes with his hands over his heart. “Shut it, Holland. Now, get back to your cabin before I call the harpies to eat you up,” she growls before she storms off to her cabin.

Percy’s head darts toward the sound of his sister coming through the door. He lets out a sigh of relief, “Thank the gods you are okay. You know I worry when you are not in bed. What happened to you? Your closes are burnt to a crisp.” (Y/N) mumbles that she is okay and continues to collect a change of clothes for her. She walks into the private bathroom Chiron built for her cabin. She turns on the faucet of the bathtub and watches the water drain into it. Once it was full, (Y/N) starts to strip off the burnt clothes and examines herself in the mirror. Through the mirror, she could see the scar that was approximately 15 cm. It started from the top of her right shoulder and goes in towards her shoulder blade. The incident may have happened 7 years ago, but the scar still remains as a reminder for what happened.

The young female sinks herself into the tub and watches the water swish around in the tub. The music plays in the background whilst she is deep in thought. Why did Tom insist on trying to get to know her? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone like everyone else? Whatever he is doing, she does not like it. He may be handsome and cause other girls heart to flutter, but he didn’t have that effect on her. If the children of Aphrodite could know what she was thinking, they would say that she was crazy. They would say that his good looks, muscles, and delightful singing voice is perfect boyfriend material. (Y/N) on the other hand, thought that his consistent trying to get to know her was quite annoying. Plus, she would need to know more about him if she were to ever fall head over heels for him, she would need to learn more about him first.

*Tell me what you thought about the chapter here*

Next Chapter Comes Out November the 2nd

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[buoyantsaturn]

To Go Home (1/?)

summary: “Let me guess what your lion needs: someone temperamental and difficult. Unstable. Relies solely on bad instincts. A real pain in the ass.” He glanced toward the Alteans with a raised eyebrow, waiting for one of them to correct him.

Piper cleared her throat, a sign of discomfort in the situation, and said, “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Sure, so I guess the Blue Lion will just accept anybody as its pilot, right?” Nico growled, hands closing into fists at his sides. “It’s obviously not very picky about who it lets in the pilot’s seat.”

“Still chose me over you!” Percy reminded him, stepping forward to get in Nico’s face.

word count: 14,441

read it on ao3

“Altea may not survive this war,” the King told Will in private as the medic attempted to get the King into a healing pod. “And neither will my daughter if she continues to act the way she has been these past months.”

“Your Majesty, please,” Will begged, not for the first time, though definitely for the last - not that he was aware of that quite yet. “You need to heal as quickly as possible and return to the battle, the Alteans need you!”

“Listen to me, my boy,” the King said, resting against the side of the pod but keeping a strong hand on Will’s shoulder. “I will do all that I can to win this war, but you must do your own part, do you understand? Take my daughter, keep her in the castleship. If you must, you take her to the far side of the universe, keep her safe in any way you can. Can you do that for me, Willow?”

Will hesitated for only a second. “Yes, Your Majesty. Of course.”

“Good,” the King said finally, letting his grip relax. “Altea’s forces have weakened, and the paladins of Voltron have already hidden their Lions on planets the Galra may never find. The fate of Altea’s legacy rests on your shoulders, Willow. Do whatever you believe is necessary to save the universe from the Galran Empire. I hope that you do not let me down.” The King released Will’s shoulder, falling back into the pod completely, and Will sealed it shut.

Will ran from the chamber, out into the burning fields of Altea. Almost immediately, he spotted the Princess, hacking away at Galra soldiers with a knife that didn’t seem to be causing much damage. Will, already hurrying forward, picked up speed when he saw the Princess take a significant hit. He took the knife from her hand, easily taking down the three soldiers now surrounding them.

He turned back to the Princess, pulling her to her feet and returning her knife. “Are you alright to walk? We need to get out of here.”

“I’m fine,” she told him, staggering away a few steps. “I’m not going anywhere, we have to fight.”

“You’re going to die if you keep fighting, Piper!” Will shouted in her face. “If you don’t come with me now I will have no choice but to force you.”

“I’m the Princess, Will, you can’t tell me what to do!” She took another step toward her next fight, but Will grabbed her around the waist, lifting her off the ground and starting toward the castleship at the edge of the field. “Put me down, you can’t do this!”

“I don’t have a choice, Piper,” Will yelled as he lifted Piper over his shoulder. “We have to leave Altea, there’s no other choice.”

Piper began struggling harder against Will’s grip, kicking her legs furiously and punching at his lower back. “No! No, I won’t leave, you can’t make me! I have to keep fighting, for my people, for my father! Take me to see my father!”

“I can’t do that, he’s in a pod,” Will told her. “We don’t have the time to waste. We’re taking the castleship and we’re going to find a safe planet to dock at, and-- We may never see Altea again. But this is our only option, so stop struggling.”

By now, Piper was screaming and crying, fighting against Will harder than ever, but he could feel her strength diminishing as they entered the castleship. He went straight for the healing pods, throwing the still screaming Piper inside one and apologizing as he sealed the pod. He ran to the control room, setting the ship’s course for a distant planet across the universe, and finally let himself relax when he felt the ship lift off the ground.

However, relaxing allowed Will to finally notice a sharp pain in his abdomen, and when he looked down, he saw blood soaking through the front of his shirt. He rushed back to the healing pods, vision blurring as he set up another pod, unable to see that he had set the pods at their slowest setting before he climbed in, and the pod sealed around him.

Leo Valdez hadn’t moved from his computer in almost forty-eight full hours, too worried over the threat of being kicked out of the Garrison at the end of the school year to do much other than panic. While his mother had been employed by the Garrison, Leo’s housing and tuition had been covered fully by the school, but only a week after his mother’s disappearance, Leo received a letter that his enrollment would be terminated without proper funding. He could only hope that a change in his grades and behavior would convince the Garrison to offer him a new scholarship. Otherwise, he might end up living on the streets.

His friends could hardly handle it anymore, seeing him in this constant anxious state - it was making them just as anxious about their own status at the Garrison, even though Frank’s tuition had been covered by his mother’s life insurance and Percy had started working as a teacher’s assistant at the beginning of the last school year.

Frank and Percy had insisted that Leo deserved a break, so one night Percy decided to borrow his boss’s keys, swinging them around his finger as he entered Frank and Leo’s shared dorm room. “Who wants to party it up on the roof? I hear there’s a meteor shower tonight!”

“Studying,” Leo said simply, hunching over closer to his laptop.

“You’re allowed to take a break, Leo,” Frank reminded him, but regretted it as soon as Leo’s gaze snapped up to him.

“What part of if I don’t get a scholarship, they’ll kick me out, do you not understand?” he shouted across the room. “I’m sorry I don’t have a guaranteed spot in this place like you guys do, I’m sorry I have to work to stay here, but I need to do this. I’m not going to be second person in our class to get kicked out, so just let me study, okay?” Leo paused, glancing between Percy and Frank, angry expression melting away when he saw the shock on his friends’ faces. “Shit, guys, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that. I’m just stressed, you know? Please, just-- You gotta let me work.”

“We will let you work, dude,” Percy told him. “Come up to the roof with us, you can even bring your laptop. Some fresh air will do you good, I promise.”

“You won’t bother me while we’re up there?” Leo asked skeptically.

“Not as long as you stay up there with us,” Frank assured him. “We’ll be up there for an hour, tops. I’m sure your computer has a good enough charge to handle that.”

“So are we good?” Percy asked. “Let’s go, before we get caught!”

“If you get me in trouble when I’m in the middle of a huge good behavior streak,” Leo started, “I’ll kill you.”

“Relax, we’ll be fine!”

They stopped by Percy’s room so that he could pick up his telescope before they went up to the roof. Leo, of course, had his computer with him and refused to so much as glance up at the sky when he still had so much work to finish.

Percy set up his telescope closer to the edge of the roof, grumbling to himself every so often as he twisted the knobs along the side of the scope to adjust the focus. “You know something that I’m still a little pissed about?” Percy asked, loud enough that his friends could hear him.

“Jason went to Kerberos and you didn’t,” Leo and Frank said simultaneously, Frank with a roll of his eyes as he laid back to stare up at the sky.

“Alright, I get it, I complain about it a lot,” Percy muttered. “It’s still not fair, though! They offered me that position first, and gave it away to Jason all because I said I needed a day to think about it! Like, sorry I wanted to ask Annabeth for her thoughts before I launch into space.”

“It’s been a year, Percy,” Frank complained. “Let it go and be happy you’re still alive.” He winced when he heard Leo suddenly cease typing. “Sorry, Leo, you know I didn’t mean--”

“Save it, it’s fine,” Leo said quickly. “I’m over it, okay?”

“Dude, you can’t just be over it,” Percy told him, attention still focused mostly on his telescope.

“Yeah, if Percy can’t get over the Kerberos mission, then I’d be amazed if anyone could get over anything,” Frank joked.

“Trust me, guys, I’m pretty over it,” Leo assured them.

“It’s okay if you’re not,” Frank continued. “When my mom died--”

“Woah, guys!” Percy cried, keeping himself close to the eyepiece. “Something just entered the atmosphere and I don’t think that’s a space rock.” He hurried to shift the telescope to follow the movements of the foreign object as it fell closer to the Earth’s surface. “That’s definitely not a space rock, it’s… It looks like some sort of ship!”

“Seriously?” Leo exclaimed, setting his laptop aside and jumping to his feet. “Dude, move over, let me see!” He tried to shove Percy out of the way, but the older boy wouldn’t budge. “Dude, c’mon! What if that’s my mom in there?”

Percy pulled back from the scope for just long enough to meet Leo’s eyes before turning back to the ship - something small enough to be an escape pod, most likely. “It doesn’t look like a Garrison-issued ship, Leo, I’m sorry.”

Frank leaned over the edge of the building, eyes traveling away from the plummeting spacecraft and heading toward a fast-moving speck on the ground - a motorbike of some kind speeding in the direction of the spacecraft. “Hey, do you guys see that?” he asked, pointing down, and Percy finally moved away from the telescope; Leo was quick to take his place.

“We gotta go check that thing out,” Leo cried, scrambling away to collect his laptop and the rest of the work he’d brought to the roof with him.

“Wait, Leo, hang on,” Frank started, still leaning over the edge of the roof in hopes to identify the biker below them.

Percy jumped back to the telescope, frantically adjusting the focus and finding the motorbike before shouting, “Holy shit!”

Nico had disappeared from the Garrison in the middle of the night, the same day that each member of the Kerberos mission had been declared dead. He had received a phone call from his family’s lawyer that day as well, informing him that his older sister had died in an accident and that his father was too busy to call Nico himself. Nico could barely hold himself back from a panic attack - not only had he just lost the closest thing to family he had at the Garrison with the announcement of Jason’s death, but now Bianca?

Nico would admit, he hadn’t thought through any of the things he did next. He’d packed a bag and snuck out of his dorm after lights-out. He’d ran to the garage underneath the Garrison dorms, hotwiring one of the hoverbikes that Garrison engineers had designed, and got the hell out of there.

At first, the rushing wind and feeling of freedom after suffocating in that school for so long was the most calming, liberating thing Nico had experienced in years. However, just as the Garrison disappeared from the horizon, Nico had felt his chest tightening, throat closing, and suddenly he couldn’t get enough air - hardly any at all. He got dizzy, lost his balance, and tumbled off the side of the hoverbike, skidding across the sand until he rolled to a stop near the edge of a cliff.

He had managed to calm himself down before he hyperventilated. He picked himself up off the ground, scrambling back from the cliff’s edge, and had spotted a tiny wooden shack less than fifty feet from where he stood. He gathered up the hoverbike and pushed it toward the shack - a better place to hide for the night than the open desert, and, unknown to him at the time, the place he would hide for the next year.

Nico had never intended to stay for very long - no longer than that first night, and he would be gone by sunrise to some other place where no one could ever find him - but he couldn’t make himself leave. He’d woken up on an old, dusty mattress in that abandoned shack with a ringing in his ears that he couldn’t get rid of and a strange feeling that he couldn’t shake.

He got comfortable in that shack, finding the nearest source of water in a day and teaching himself how to hunt and cook desert animals within the first week. He used the last of his phone’s battery to text Hazel, telling her not to worry about him because he was fine, he just couldn’t stay at the Garrison any longer. Don’t let anyone know that you heard from me, okay? I’m sorry.

He ignored every response he received, refused to even consider opening the messages he’d gotten from Frank and Leo and Percy, and soon enough his phone’s battery had died; he didn’t have to think about those messages anymore. He had better things to do, a desert to explore, and an unsettling feeling that he needed to investigate.

“Holy shit, that’s Nico!” Percy cried.

“Are you sure?” Frank asked. “How can you be sure?”

“Because that’s him!” Percy exclaimed. “I’d recognize that little emo guy anywhere, okay? Just trust me, we gotta go after him!”

“Then what are you waiting for?” Leo ran for the fire escape across the roof, hopping down a few steps before calling out, “Let’s go!”

Frank and Percy ran after him, abandoning Percy’s telescope near the edge of the roof. “What’s with the sudden change of attitude?” Frank called after him.

“Yeah, what happened to--” Percy pitched his voice higher, speaking in a nasally voice when he said, “Don’t get me in trouble or I’ll kill you, huh?”

“Who needs good behaviour when that could be my mom in that pod,” Leo told them jumping onto the ground from the last step of the fire escape. “Hurry up, guys!”

“Not our fault you got a head start,” Frank complained, struggling to catch his breath as he hit the ground, but Leo was still running at top speed toward the crash site of the pod. Already, he could see Garrison rovers speeding out there, setting up a perimeter around the pod.

“Hey, Leo,” Percy shouted, catching up to Frank easily, “not to burst your bubble, but how do you plan to get past all of them without getting caught?”

Leo slid to a stop at the top of a hill, staring down at the line of Garrison rovers surrounding the crashed pod, visibly deflating. “I didn’t think of that,” he said quietly when Percy and Frank ran to his side.

“We’ll need some kind of distraction,” Percy suggestion, setting a hand on Leo’s shoulder. “See anything around here we can use?”

“I could remotely disable any security tech they might be using,” Leo thought aloud, already reaching for his laptop in his backpack.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” Frank said, pointing out past the pod, just as a series of minor explosions went off, and Garrison rovers started to reroute in that direction. “I’d have to guess that now is our best chance to get down there.”

“Hell yeah, let’s go!” Leo exclaimed, and slid down the slope of the hill.

The ringing in Nico’s ears had stopped suddenly two days ago. He’d gotten so used to it that the silence around him was deafening, so he’d started making more noise than usual just to feel like he wouldn’t go insane from the quiet.

Over the last year, he’d filled an entire wall of his shack with research and maps, strings that connected information and possible conclusions scribbled into margins that were usually crossed out. He was starting to feel like he’d reached a dead end one night when the ringing in his ears returned with a vengeance, so piercing that Nico was knocked off his feet. He pressed his palms to his ears, hoping to stifle the sound but to no avail.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the ringing stopped again. Nico pulled his hands from his head hesitantly, expecting lines of blood to have dripped onto his palms, but his skin was clean. He paused, waiting for the ringing to return, but stood when it didn’t. He went toward the window, trying to make out any sound to prove that his hearing hadn’t gone away completely, and he heard a soft whistle from above him.

Nico looked up. It appeared as though a ball of fire was soaring across the sky, but when Nico grabbed a pair of binoculars, he quickly realized that it was a crashing ship - not Garrison issued, and not anything he’d seen from other space programs on Earth. He knew aliens were real!

He tossed the binoculars aside and ran out the door, hopping on his hoverbike and speeding off in the direction of the falling ship.

The crash was deafening, the sound like a building collapsing in an earthquake, and Nico was nearly knocked off his bike at the sudden gust of hot air it caused.

Jason Grace had no recollection of...anything, really. He didn’t recognize the building he was in or the gurney he was currently strapped to. None of the people running around him seemed familiar, though they all seemed to know him.

A light was shined into his eyes. A needle pressed under his skin. He screamed for release but the sounds around him became muffled and garbled as his vision started to blur and blacken around the edges. His screams ceased abruptly as his body was forced to relax.

Nico was amazed at how quickly the Garrison could pitch a tent, especially one with such high security and stocked so full with medical equipment. The explosions he’d set off had only distracted a little more than half of the Garrison officers working around the tent, though most of the rest were pretty easy to sneak past. A few had needed to be knocked out a dragged to the side so that Nico could continue on without getting caught.

Once he found the central room in the elaborate tent-maze, he was able to incapacitate the few workers inside with ease as none of them made much of an effort to fight back. It was when he turned toward Jason, unconscious and strapped to a table in the middle of the room, that he ran across a significant, very unexpected problem. He froze at the sight of Percy Jackson.

Percy hadn’t seemed to notice him, focusing more on trying to wake Jason from his drug-induced sleep, so Nico gave himself half a second to relax.

He moved forward, pushing Percy out of the way and immediately starting to untie the straps at Jason’s wrists. He sat Jason up when he noticed the older man starting to wake, and saw that Percy had undone the straps around Jason’s ankles.

Nico grabbed Jason by the shoulders, shaking him to get his attention. “Jason, look at me. Can you hear me? Jason!”

Percy came up behind him, hitting Jason lightly on the cheek a few times. “Jason, man, are you okay?”

“I can handle this,” Nico snapped, and turned his attention back toward Jason. “Jason, you gotta trust me, we have to get out of here, okay? Can you stand?”

Jason groaned, obviously struggling to stay upright. “Who are you?” he asked groggily. “Where am I?”

Percy jumped back into Jason’s line of sight. “Dude! You remember me, right? I’m Percy, you’re at the Garrison, you--”

“Would you get out of here?” Nico shouted, shoving Percy away. “Jason, come on, you have to trust me, we have to go. I can explain everything I can later but we need to leave now.”

“Why should he leave?” Percy asked, shoving Nico back. “The Garrison can help, Nico, or did you forget that when you ran away?”

“I don’t have time for this,” Nico hissed, and pulled at Jason’s arm until he was swaying on his feet. “Come on, Jason, it’s not too far. We just have to be quick.”

They managed two steps before Jason slumped over, nearly knocking Nico off his feet, until Percy swept in and slung one of Jason’s arms over his shoulder. The three of them shuffled to the door just as it was opened from the other side, Frank poking his head into the room.

“Uh, the coast is no longer clear,” he told them. “We need to get out of here right now.”

For the first time that Nico could recall, he noticed Leo last. He may not have even noticed him if not for the fact that he stopped directly in front of Jason and started spitting out questions about where he’d been and how he’d survived and where Leo’s mom was. Nico shoved him out of the way before continuing back the way he’d come.

“We don’t have time for any of this,” he told them. “We’re leaving, follow me.”

Jason had slept on the mattress in Nico’s shack until morning, while Nico spent the entire night dodging questions from Percy, Frank, and Leo. Percy had just uncovered the bulletin boards on Nico’s wall and started pestering him about them just as Jason had started to show signs of waking.

Nico was happy to avoid every question the other three sent his way in favor of explaining things to Jason - things like how long he’d been gone, a brief explanation of the mission he’d been on and of the Garrison in general. He mentioned who he was, how they’d met, how they’d been very close friends while they were both at the Garrison.

Percy had tried cutting in to remind Jason of some rivalry that Percy claimed they had, though even Leo had rolled his eyes when the topic was brought up. Frank had tried to help Nico in explaining a few of the details that Nico hadn’t been getting quite right, but Nico simply talked over him. Leo had tried asking Jason about his mom, though that only seemed to confuse Jason more, and after Nico had snapped at Leo a few times, he finally relented and sat quietly.

“You really remember none of this?” Nico asked quietly, looking as though he might be starting to give up.

Jason shook his head, bringing his hands up to scrub at his face. “I’m sorry, I don’t. Maybe we should just take a break for a few minutes. I think I could use some fresh air.”

He rose from his seat on the edge of the mattress and made his way out the door. Nico didn’t move, feeling something like panic starting to well up inside him. He thought he’d finally gotten Jason back, the man who had been like a brother to him during his time at the Garrison, but he’d been wrong. Jason was back in person, sure, but the man Nico had known had been left somewhere deep in space.

Nico had almost let himself forget that there were other people in his home, but then Frank said, “Nico, do you think you could explain this to me?” He was pointing at something on one of the bulletin boards.

Nico curled in on himself, uncomfortable with having so many people in his personal space. He couldn’t help but think of how crazy he must look to these people he used to know, living in a toolshed in the middle of the desert, conspiracy theories pinned to every available space on the walls. He knew those boards like the back of his hand by now, and didn’t even have to move from where he sat across the room to know what Frank was pointing at.

“When I left the Garrison,” he started off slowly, “I took some of their equipment with me. I was hoping it might help me find Jason, but I think I might’ve found something else instead.”

“Something like what?” Percy asked, but Nico ignored him. Instead, he watched as Frank examined some of his work, afraid of what might come out of his mouth next.

“Where did you get these numbers?” Frank asked, pointing at one of the oldest sheets of paper on the board.

“I don’t remember,” Nico told him honestly. “That was one of the first things I found when I got out here.”

“They look a little bit like coordinates, almost,” Frank said, hesitating for a moment and seeming like he might be doing calculations of some kind in his head. “It’s not too far from here, actually. We could go check it out, if you want. We can see what it is you might’ve found.”

“It’s probably nothing,” Nico said. “Those numbers are from a year ago, they probably don’t mean anything anymore. It’s stupid, so just leave it alone.”

“Looks like a whole bunch of stupid nothing to me,” Percy commented, and Nico made sure to point his glare at the wall where no one could see.

Frank, however, knew Nico too well, even after a year apart.

“Percy, Leo, why don’t you guys step outside for a minute?” Frank suggested. “Make sure Jason’s okay, take him some water or something. Just don’t bother him too much.”

“Yes, mom,” Percy said with a roll of his eyes, wincing after a second and apologizing when he remembered that moms were a very sensitive subject for every other person in that room. He walked out of the shack without another word while Leo grabbed a cup to fill with the water from the outside well before he followed Percy out the door.

Frank waited until the door was shut behind them before dropping onto the mattress next to Nico. “We didn’t mean to invade your space,” Frank said, “so I’m sorry for that, but you know that the Garrison probably wouldn’t let us back in after, you know, last night.”

“Yeah, and I of all people should know that,” Nico muttered bitterly, turning away and crossing his arms.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Frank told him. “I don’t blame you for running away. After Bianca - uh, Hazel told me - and then Jason disappearing, I get why you didn’t want to stay. I don’t think I would have wanted to, either. It’s just-- You could’ve told us. We could’ve tried to help you, somehow. You kind of freaked us all out when you just disappeared in the middle of the night, and we were all so worried. Hazel, especially. I don’t mean to guilt trip you here, but do you know how hard that was on her? To lose a sister and a brother in twenty-four hours?”

“I told her I was okay,” Nico said quietly. “I made sure she didn’t tell anyone that she’d heard from me because I didn’t want anyone to come looking. I’m sorry, I guess I just didn’t know who I could trust at the time.”

“I get it,” Frank said, dropping a comforting hand on Nico’s shoulder. “You don’t have to apologize, but I want you to know that you can trust me, okay? Maybe not Leo and Percy, none of us really expect you to get along with Percy, but you can trustme.”

“Alright,” Nico responded with a sigh. “Thanks, Frank. I-- Yeah, I know I can trust you.”

“Great, I’m glad you think so,” Frank said with a smile, shaking Nico’s shoulder a little bit before he stood up and stepped toward Nico’s bulletin boards. “Now, about those numbers on your board. Actually, you know what? Can you explain as much of this to me as you can? I think I might be able to help you figure this out.”

It only took about half an hour before Frank decided that their best course of action would be to see where Nico’s coordinates would lead them. Luckily, they would only have to go a few miles away from Nico’s shack. Unluckily, Frank had told the others that they were about to head out for a few hours - Nico had been planning on running off without saying anything - and the others decided to tag along with them.

The five of them traveled across the desert until the flat, sandy ground turned to rocks and hills, and they found themselves at the mouth of a cave. They wandered around inside, Nico and Jason lingering closer to the entrance and the sunlight while the others turned on the flashlights on their phones to investigate.

“I told you there wouldn’t be anything here, okay?” Nico said, tugging on the straps of his backpack - the always-packed bag of clothes and other essentials he carried with him whenever he left the shack. “This is stupid, we should just leave.”

“After walking all that way?” Leo questioned. “Hell, no! We just got here!”

“There has to be something for us to find here, Nico,” Frank reminded him. “We’ll look around for a little while longer, but if we don’t find anything, then we can leave.”

“Hey, do you think this is anything?” Percy asked, staring at the cave wall, his nose practically pressed to the stone. “There’s engravings in the wall, or something. Must be really old, they’re super hard to see.” He reached up, attempting to brush the layers of dust from over the carvings in the stone.

Suddenly, the walls began to glow a faint blue light. Nico’s ears began to ring as he watched the lights take the shapes of the carvings - something like lions mid-leap and tiny figures bowing before them.

Leo and Frank rushed over to Percy to get a closer look at the carvings, though Nico and Jason hung back. “What does it say?” Leo asked.

“How should I know?” Percy asked. “I can’t read wall carvings.”

Jason’s hand landed on Nico’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go check it out.”

The two stepped closer until all five of them were crowded around the glowing carvings, practically shoving at each other to try to get a better look, until they heard a cracking sound, like rocks shifting.

“Uh, what was that?” Frank asked, glancing toward the cave’s entrance to make sure they weren’t about to be trapped inside.

“Sounds like something’s shifting,” Jason said, taking a step backward. “We should--”

Nico spun around just in time to watch Jason fall through the floor of the cave. “Jason!” he called out, stepping toward the edge of the hole his friend had fallen through, only to fall through himself when the rocks crumbled out from under his feet.

Nico barely noticed the other three landing near him, too distracted by the the nearly blinding blue light radiating from a giant orb across the large cavern and the increased ringing in his ears. “What the hell is that?” Nico breathed. “Is that what brought me here?” He scrambled to his feet, ignoring the questioning voices around him as he approached the orb, the light becoming more tolerable the closer he got. He stopped only feet away from the orb, now almost completely transparent, revealing a blue lion towering over him, frozen like a statue, but something inside of Nico had him thinking that this lion was much more than a statue - something more alive.

He raised his hand, resting his palm flat against the glowing barrier, though nothing seemed to change. “Why would you bring me here?” he asked quietly. “What do you want from me?”

Nico let his hand slip away just as Percy stepped up beside him. “Dude, this thing looks sick!” He reached up and pressed a hand against the barrier, and they all watched it dissolve at his touch, the light fading from the cavern, leaving only a faint yellow glow from the lion’s eyes.

“Guess it likes me better,” Percy said to Nico with a smirk.

“Whatever,” Nico huffed, crossing his arms.

Leo shoved past Nico on his way toward the lion, calling out for Percy to follow him. As Percy moved closer, the lion crouched down with its mouth open, allowing them to climb inside.

“Holy shit,” Frank muttered, pausing beside Nico.

Jason came up to Nico’s other side, dropping his hand onto Nico’s shoulder again. “Come on, we should supervise before they break something.”

They made their way inside, finding Percy and Leo inside some kind of control room, Leo examining the dashboard and its hundreds of controls, and Percy sitting in the pilot’s seat. When he saw Jason step into the room, Percy called out, “Suck it, Jason! I got a way cooler ship that you did!”

Jason glanced down at Nico. “I don’t understand what he’s talking about.”

“Ignore him,” Nico told him. “Nothing that comes out of his mouth is ever important.”

“You’re both just jealous of my super cool new ship,” Percy shot back, leaning forward and starting to press buttons and flip switches on the dashboard.

“Quit touching things before you break something,” Nico snapped at him. “We shouldn’t even be in here.”

Percy made a pfft noise. “C’mon, man, I’m not hurting anything! This thing probably doesn’t even work anymore.” He continued flipping a few switches until the ship roared to life - in more ways than one. The ship’s engine powered up, causing the ship to shift, and they realized that the lion must’ve returned to its standing position. As soon as every light on the dashboard was glowing, the lion roared, the sound reverberating throughout the cockpit.

“Percy, what the hell did you do?” Nico shouted, peering over the other’s shoulder to stare out of the windshield. The lion’s head appeared to be glancing back and forth, examining the cave, before tilting up to stare at the ceiling.

“Whatever you’re doing,” Frank started, holding tightly to the arm of Percy’s chair, “make it stop!”

“I’m not doing anything, dude!” Percy exclaimed excitedly. “This thing’s moving all on its own!”

“Well, get it to stop!” Jason told him, reaching forward and attempting to find the off-switch.

Percy slapped his hand away. “Cut it out, man, you got your ship, this one’s mine!”

“You sure you know what you’re doing, Perce?” Leo asked.

“Yeah, obviously, just give me a minute!” Percy leaned forward, hitting the controls over and over again, but the ship never stopped. “Nothing’s working, I don’t get it!”

“Try harder!” Nico shouted in his ear.

Percy twisted around in his seat, glaring back at Nico. “What do you think I’m--” He fell back into his seat as the lion shifted once more. Everyone braced at the sudden movement, watching through the windshield as the ship launched upwards, colliding with the rock ceiling and busting through.

“This thing’s, like, indestructible!” Leo said, peering over the dashboard and spotting blue sky instead of a rocky cave. “Uh, Percy, you wanna try to land this thing? We’re getting a little high.”

“I’m trying, nothing’s working,” Percy told him. He gave up hitting individual buttons and instead hit the side of his fist against the controls. “Oh, shit!” he yelled as the ship picked up speed, shooting into the sky, faster than any of them had ever flown in a real ship or a simulator.

“Turn this thing around!” Jason demanded, bracing himself on the back of Percy’s chair with one hand, his other grabbing hold of Nico’s backpack, pulling the younger boy closer to keep him upright.

Between the ringing in his ears, Nico could vaguely hear somebody shout, “We’re in space! No ship has ever been able to reach space this fast!” but Nico couldn’t even manage to open his eyes.

He would’ve fallen over when they landed if not for Jason keeping him standing. He opened his eyes, finding himself nearly blinded by the brightness of the blue sky beyond the ship’s windshield. The ringing in his ears had mostly subsided, fading away to a more manageable level, though it still distracted him enough that he didn’t notice Leo shouting something and running for the exit, Frank hurrying after him.

Jason shook Nico’s shoulder to gain his attention. “Nico, are you alright?”

“Huh?” Nico mumbled, glancing up at the blond. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Percy rose from his seat, stretching his arms over his head as he turned to face them. “I knew you were gay, Neeks, but I didn’t think you were gay for Jason.”

Nico’s hands tightened into fists, his glare following Percy as he left the cockpit.

“Don’t let him get to you,” Jason told him calmly, patting him on the shoulder.

“Yeah, whatever,” Nico huffed, crossing his arms. “Where the hell is the exit to this thing?”

The lion landed at the base of a tall staircase, leading up to a shining white castle, practically glowing in the light. The five of them exited the lion, making their way up the stairs only to stop at the sight of the massive front door.

Percy stepped ahead of everyone, hand raised and palm out, and pressed his hand flat against the door. When nothing happened, Percy said, “I don’t get it, it worked with the lion.”

Nico was midway through rolling his eyes when the lion behind them let out a rumbling roar, and the door before them creaked open.

“Uh, this all seems like a really terrible idea,” Frank pointed out, but Leo and Percy were already running inside and the rest had no choice but to follow.

The lights turned on as they stepped inside, illuminating a room larger than the cavern in which they’d found the lion. From where they stood, three different, dark hallways were visible, though as they spread out throughout the room, a singular hallway lit up, as if pointing them in the right direction.

“Everyone, this way,” Jason announced before heading into the hall, expecting the rest to follow. The lights continued to lead them through the castle until they reached a circular room, perfectly empty except for two cylinders standing in the center of the room.

Leo pushed past Jason, running up to a thin podium that seemed to be some kind of control center. He hit a few buttons, ran his fingers across a touch screen, but he turned back to the group after only a few seconds. “I can’t read any of this, I don’t know what it is or how any of these controls work.”

Jason stepped up beside him, glancing only momentarily at the control center before walking toward the cylinders. He stopped in front of one and wiped away the layer of frost coating the surface, only to find the glass beneath disintegrating at his touch.

The surface of the pod dissipated, revealing a woman wearing what looked like battle armor with long, dark hair pulled back and out of her face. She looked perfectly human, aside from the pink marks highlighting her cheekbones.

The woman started to lean forward, swaying toward Jason until she fell out of the pod and into Jason’s arms, seeming to be fully unconscious.

“Nico,” Jason said carefully, nodding toward the second pod.

Nico’s head jerked in response. He dropped his backpack by the control center and rushed toward the second pod as Jason slowly lowered the woman to the ground. Nico swiped a hand across the surface of the pod, watching as the glass disappeared and a blond man became visible on the inside. He swayed forward and Nico braced himself to catch the man, though he was completely knocked off his feet when the blond landed on top of him.

Nico smacked his head against the ground, though the blond’s head, of course, was cushioned by Nico’s chest. He seemed to wake up immediately, probably startled by the impact considering the woman was still asleep in Jason’s arms, and pushed himself up until he was hovering over Nico.

The air had been knocked out of Nico’s lungs when the blond knocked him over, but even now, staring up into sparkling blue eyes, he found he still couldn’t catch a breath. He heard someone speak - Percy, it sounded like, and knowing him it was some kind of joke about Nico’s sexuality - though Nico couldn’t hear a thing. Even the ringing in his ears had vanished completely, leaving the silence deafening.

Nico had enough time to notice that the blond was cold to the touch - freezing, really, even his breath puffing against Nico’s cheeks was cold - before the blond was pulled off of him and slammed onto the ground nearby.

Nico sat up and scrambled back as the dark haired woman connected her fist with the blond’s jaw. “How could you, Will?” she screamed in his face. “How dare you force me into that pod! We are in the middle of a war, I could have you executed for this!”

“Woah, uh, hey there,” Leo interrupted, drawing the attention of both aliens. “Uh, sorry, but could you guys maybe explain what’s going on here?”

“What he means to say,” Jason clarifies, “is that we found a giant blue robot lion that flew us to this planet. We don’t know why or how we’re here, or where here is exactly.”

The woman froze, fist poised in the air for another blow to the blond man’s face, but she stopped herself. She stood, brushed off her clothes, and cleared her throat before speaking. “I am Princess Piper of the planet Altea. This is my castle. And this is Will, my--” She shot him a dirty look at he got to his feet beside her. “Acquaintance.”

“Altea?” Leo repeated, slipping his backpack off his shoulders and reaching inside for his computer. “No, no, I don’t think so. I don’t think that’s possible. I’ve never seen a planet by that name in the Garrison’s database, and there’s no way we’ve traveled outside of the Garrison’s viewing range in such a short amount of time.” He flipped open the lid of his laptop, already powered up and opened to Leo’s downloaded version of the Garrison’s database.

“Garrison, is that the name of your planet?” Piper asked, staring at Leo’s laptop like she’d never seen anything like it - which, to be fair, she probably hadn’t.

“No, it’s our school,” Frank answered. “We come from the planet Earth.”

“I’ve never heard of this Earth,” Piper told them. “All of you, come with me. I would like to see where in the universe your Earth is.”

She turned on her heel and walked out of the room, Will close behind, leaving the rest no choice but to follow.

They found themselves in what must be the equivalent to the ship’s bridge. From first glance, Nico didn’t see any way of controlling the ship, only a series of chairs spaced out throughout the room, all pointing out toward the blue sky. He figured, though, as he watched Will and Piper restore power to the ship, that this space may very well have be used as the control center.

The five humans gathered in a semi-circle around the central command area - a raised circle in the floor that happened to be the only illuminated part of the room. Will turned to them after a few moments of tapping on hologram-like touch screens, and held out a hand. “We will need to do a quick scan of the lifeforce that one of you possess so that we can locate the largest source of it in the universe.”

He made eye contact with Nico, seeming like he was holding his hand out specifically to him, but Percy slapped in hand down into Will’s before Nico could even blink. “Dude, awesome, scan me!”

Will sighed, but brought Percy a step closer, telling him to hold his hand against a certain part of one of the screens, then announcing when he could move away. It only takes a second before the screen starts to flash a few unrecognizable symbols, most likely claiming to have found a match.

Will tapped the screen a few more times and the windows pointing out to blue skies began to tint until no light could come through, and instead, a constellation map was projected into the room.

“Currently, we are here, on planet Arus,” Will told everyone, zooming in momentarily on a singular planet that had a similar outward appearance to Earth. Then, Will started to sweep his hands across the map, like he was pulling the stars themselves around the room. “Your Earth is all the way over here,” he continued, stretching out some of the words as he went.

Percy looked a little bit like he’d been punched in the stomach, but mostly like he’d just been told that his dog had died. Frank’s face held a similar expression, though not quite as severe. “You’re kidding,” he breathed.

Leo’s reaction was more calculating, like he was trying to figure out the exact distance between their two planets and how fast they must’ve traveled to have gotten between them. Jason, however, actually voiced those thoughts.

“What was that ship that we came here in? That lion?” he asked. “What is it made from that could possibly travel that far that fast without breaking apart at the force?”

“That was one of the five Lions of Voltron,” Piper began. “They are made from the strongest materials in the universe. Clearly, seeing as the Blue Lion has brought you here, the five of you have been chosen to pilot the lions and become the Paladins of Voltron.”

“But what does that mean?” Frank asked. “How do we choose our lions?”

“You do not choose your lion,” Piper explained, “your lion chooses you.”

“Okay, sure, a giant spaceship chooses you to be its pilot,” Leo said, clearly doubtful of the princess’s explanation. “But howdoes it choose us?”

“You must let it,” Piper snapped, annoyed at the constant interruptions. “The Black Lion needs a pilot who is a born leader, who is always in control. Someone whose men will follow his word without hesitation.” Her eyes scanned them, stopping on Jason and staying there. “You, what is your name?”

“Jason Grace, Your Highness,” he answered.

“Jason Grace,” Piper repeated, “you will pilot the Black Lion.”

“The Green Lion’s pilot is inquisitive,” Will jumped in. “An intellect, daring, the most technologically apt.”

“Oh, man, that’s gotta be me,” Leo exclaimed. “Right? I’m the Green Pilot?”

“Green Paladin,” Piper corrected. “And yes, you seem the most suitable to pilot the Green Lion. The Yellow Paladin is caring and kind, a pilot who puts the needs of others above his own.”

“Frank,” Percy said immediately, and before the Alteans could either confirm or deny, Nico snapped, “Oh, like you know everything.”

“More than you,” Percy shot back. “Let me guess what your lion needs: someone temperamental and difficult. Unstable. Relies solely on bad instincts. A real pain in the ass.” He glanced toward the Alteans with a raised eyebrow, waiting for one of them to correct him.

Piper cleared her throat, a sign of discomfort in the situation, and said, “Well, you’re not wrong.”

“Sure, so I guess the Blue Lion will just accept anybody as its pilot, right?” Nico growled, hands closing into fists at his sides. “It’s obviously not very picky about who it lets in the pilot’s seat.”

“Still chose me over you!” Percy reminded him, stepping forward to get in Nico’s face.

“Both of you, cut it out,” Jason shouted, pulling the two away from each other.

“As I was saying,” Piper continued once the Red and Blue Paladins had stopped arguing, “Once you bond with your lions, you will be able to unlock its abilities and form Voltron.”

“Where are the lions?” Frank asked. “If the Blue Lion was on Earth, then where are the rest?”

Piper frowned, glancing around at the constellations still projected around them. “It will take some time for me to locate the others. For now, Will can show you around the castle, give you some food and a place to sleep.”

“Of course,” Will said, and turned to the Paladins. “Follow me to the soldier’s quarters.” He led them down a different hallway, explaining how the castle had been built by his grandfather while Voltron was still in a developmental stage. They passed by the dining room, Will explaining that they would loop back around to eat before continuing on down a few more halls. “Here are your rooms,” he said, stopping at the end of a long hallway lined with closed doors. “There are many more, but these should be the easiest for you to find again. Feel free to claim any room in this hall as your own.”

Will stepped up to the nearest door, holding his hand out to a sensor on the wall nearby. As he did so, the door slid open, revealing a plain room with a single bed and a desk pushed up against the wall - not dissimilar to the single dorms at the Garrison. “These sensors will allow you to access your room, once you’ve chosen it. You will also be able to set a code to lock the door, should you wish, but know that the Princess and I have override codes for emergencies.”

The humans slowly made their ways forward, almost hesitant to claim their own rooms. Nico’s room was the furthest down the hall, one room between his and Frank’s with no one directly across the hall. He cautiously stepped to the center room, glancing around at the bare, steel-gray walls and the dark sheets covering the mattress.

“You can leave your bag here,” Will told him, suddenly appearing in the doorway, leaning slightly against the wall, almost as if he were trying too hard to seem relaxed. “We’ll be heading back to the kitchen now, but you’re free to come back here to your belongings after you eat. They’ll be safe here.”

Nico hesitated, reluctant to leave his bag behind. After everything that had happened in approximately the last twenty hours, there was no way that he could be sure that he would return to this room. Finally, after a noticeable amount of consideration, Nico carefully set his bag on top of the desk that sat against one wall.

When he turned back to Will, he seemed significantly more uncomfortable than he had been before. “I can, uh, help you set a code on your door, if you’d like?” he offered, straightening up and away from the wall.

Nico shook his head. “No, you’re right. It’ll be safe here. Let’s go.”

Will gestured out into the hall like he was saying, after you, and followed Nico out of the room, leaving the door to slide shut behind them. The rest of the paladins were already back at the front of the hallway waiting for them, and Will led the way back toward the dining room.

Just as Will directed the paladins to take a seat at the table, Piper’s voice crackled to life overhead: “Paladins, return to the bridge, I’ve located the Lions.”

“Okay, never mind,” Will said, and gestured for the others to follow him back out of the dining room. They were back in the control room in less than a minute due to Will’s fast pace, and inside, the map of constellations was still projected throughout the room.

“I’ve devised a plan,” Piper told him, eyes trained on the stars, not even bothering to look back at the paladins. “The Yellow Lion is located here, on Planet Praetro. The Yellow and Blue Paladins will take the Blue Lion to retrieve it.”

“Frank,” Percy said, pointing to the Yellow Paladin, and then pointed to himself and said, “Percy.”

“Right, of course,” Piper said, still not looking in their direction. “The planet doesn’t seem to be inhabited, but keep your guard up anyway. I’ve sent the coordinates to the Blue Lion, so it should be ready for departure now.

“The Green Lion is on Planet Sparz,” Piper said, moving on. “Jason, you and the Green Paladin will take one of the transport pods to Sparz to collect the Green Lion.”

“Sure, you know his name but not any of ours,” Leo said with a roll of his eyes. “My name’s Leo, by the way. Should be pretty easy to remember, considering it means ‘lion’.”

“What about the Black and Red Lions?” Jason prompted.

“The Black Lion has been held inside the castle for safekeeping,” Will told him. “The only way to access it will be to bring the other four Lions to the castle.”

“The Red Lion is not currently accessible,” Piper told them. “My understanding is that it is being held on an enemy battleship. We won’t be able to collect it until we have the other three Lions because it’s too dangerous to go after it yourself. Red Paladin, you will wait here on the ship until the others return.”

“It’s Nico,” he told her, and didn’t notice as Will, off to the side, breathed the name to himself to get a feeling for it.

“I will need to open a wormhole for the Blue Lion to travel through,” Piper continued. “Will, show the paladins to the armory and prepare them to depart.”

They each dressed in armor corresponding to the color of their Lions, and once they were dressed, Will went around to each of them and handed them something that looked almost like a car’s steering wheel, also matching the colors of their Lions.

“These are your bayards,” Will explained. “They are your own personal weapons that will mold to your strengths. Concentrate on activating them.”

Percy held his bayard out and shut his eyes tight, only opening them once he felt the weight of the object in his hand change, the balance shifting as the weapon elongated. The weapon in his hand now appeared as a blue and white blade, fat and short, only about two feet long and double-edged - ideal for hacking away at enemies. “Sick,” Percy said, and swung the blade around for a moment before turning toward the other paladins.

Nico went next, though he kept his eyes open as his bayard transformed into a much longer blade than Percy’s, thinner, red and white, one edge sharper than the other - a full three-foot-long sword. He made no flashy display before focusing his attention on Frank beside him.

Frank held his bayard out in front of him, arm stretched out fully as both ends of his bayard stretched out into a curved shape, a thin string of light connecting the two ends - a white and yellow bow that almost appeared golden. Frank plucked the string with a single finger, and a few sparks seemed to fly off the string. He pulled the string back fully, an arrow of golden light appearing as he did so, and when he released his hold, the arrow flew across the room, burning a hole straight through the door.

Leo didn’t wait for everyone’s attention, concentrating on his bayard and watching as the edge over his fingers began to glow green, the light sharpening into a point.

“Aw, yours is so tiny,” Percy teased, and Leo reached out to prod him with the pointed edge of his bayard, sending a shock into Percy’s body. “Shit!”

Once Leo had stopped laughing, the four paladins all turned toward Jason, who was empty handed.

“Unfortunately, Jason,” Will said, “your bayard was lost with your former paladin. We may be able to find you a...less practicalweapon somewhere on the ship, but there is always the possibility that your bayard could be found eventually.”

Jason nodded. “Let’s see how reclaiming the Green Lion goes, then I’ll talk weapons.”

Leo whoop ed, pumping his fists into the air, and the glowing edge of his bayard shot upwards, latching onto the ceiling like a grappling hook. “Sweet, let’s go!” he shouted, before his bayard yanked him off the ground.

The paladins went their separate ways, launching off into space to retrieve the other Lions, though Nico didn’t know what to do with himself. Will seemed to notice, however, and offered, “If you’d like, I can help you learn how to use your bayard. We can head up to the training deck to practice while we’re waiting for the others to return.”

Nico flexed his fingers on the handle of his deactivated bayard. “Uh, yeah, sure. Sounds good.”

He followed Will down the hall and into an elevator, watching as they traveled up about three floors until the door opened and they walked out into a short hallway. The only doorway in the hall led to a giant room, octagonal shaped with boundary lines on the floor and a few racks of practice weapons along the back walls.

Will left Nico at the center of the room as he ran toward the racks and pulled out a simple staff about as tall as he was. As he returned to Nico, he spun the staff around skillfully, though it was obvious that he was taking a moment to get reacquainted with the movement.

“I’ll warn you, I’ve had a lot of practice,” Will told him with an excited smile. “I’ll try to remember to go easy on you, but no promises.”

“I can take it,” Nico responded, activating his bayard and grabbing the handle with both hands. Before he knew it, his feet were swept out from underneath him, and he flopped down on his back.

He stared in shock at the ceiling before Will stepped over him, holding out a hand. “Sorry,” he said, holding back a laugh, “I couldn’t help myself. You’re going to need to pay more attention than that.”

Nico huffed and took Will’s hand, hopping back onto his feet. “Alright, let’s go again.” He readied his stance, and just as he went to strike, Will hit him in the side, knocking him off balance, and then loosened the bayard from his grip. He pushed Nico back with a single sharp hit in the center of his chest with the end of his staff, and as Nico fell back once more, his bayard flew out of his grip.

“Again,” Nico said, launching forward as soon as the bayard was back in his hand, stabbing at Will’s leg, but he was swept to the side, shoved face-down onto the floor of the deck. He rolled over onto his back just as Will held out another hand, smiling down at Nico. He should’ve been angry, would have if Will were anyone else, but Nico knew there was no malice in his expression. Will wasn’t enjoying watching Nico fail, he was just enjoying the fight itself.

“Try again?” Will offered, and pulled Nico to his feet once more.

Nico quickly learned how to defend his weakest points, gradually lasting longer in each round. Still, he found himself slammed face-first into the ground three times, his sword knocked out of his hands five times, and pinned to the ground with the air knocked out of his lungs twice - though he wasn’t sure if that was from the impact or the look in Will’s eyes as he took him out.

“I’m sorry,” Will said, removing the knee he had planted in the center of Nico’s chest. “I keep forgetting to go easy on you.”

“‘s fine,” Nico wheezed, and when Will held out a hand, Nico almost couldn’t lift his arm to be pulled back up to his feet.

“Are you sure? I think it’s time to take a rest,” Will told him with a soft chuckle.

“No, let’s go again, I can do this,” Nico insisted. Will pulled Nico up and he managed to stand on his own for approximately two seconds before his legs seemed to give out and he fell forward into Will’s chest. He saw spots swimming in his vision, suddenly unsure of which way was up.

“Nope, you don’t look very good,” Will told him. “Let’s get you back to your room before you fall unconscious.”

He wrapped an arm around Nico’s waist, half dragging him out of the room and back into the elevator. Nico tried to pay attention to which buttons Will had pushed to get the elevator to move, but either he’d hit his head a few too many times or the symbols on the buttons were indecipherable squiggles - actually, probably both.

When the elevator doors opened, they staggered down the hall to the room that Nico had claimed as his own, and Will helped Nico to sit on the edge of the bed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so rough with you,” Will said, and Nico felt his face heat up at the words. Suddenly, Will was leaning in close and holding Nico’s cheeks in his hands. “Your face just got really red, are you alright?”

“Uh, yeah,” Nico replied. “That’s just the, uh, the blood rushing to my head.”

Will’s eyes grew wide. “Do you mean that you’re...bleeding internally? Are you sure you’re alright? We should go to the med bay--”

“No, no! I’m not bleeding internally!” Nico said quickly. “It’s just-- I’m blushing, okay? I’m fine.”

The tension drained out of Will’s shoulders, though his expression showed confusion. “We have some medicine here in the castle that will help you to regain your strength in case the other paladins return soon. Perhaps it will cure this blushing as well. Stay here, I’ll go get it.”

“You can’t just cure it,” Nico tried to tell him, but Will was already out of the room by the time he finished speaking.

He sighed and leaned forward to try to figure out how to remove his boots and shin guards. He was sure there was a better way to remove the shin guards then to just slide them off over his feet, but he couldn’t figure it out. He tossed the discarded bits of armor into the corner before laying back and sticking one leg into the air at a time to remove the thigh guards.

He managed to remove every piece of armor aside from the chest plate by the time Will returned. Will seemed to notice him struggling and quickly unclipped a few clasps on either side of the piece, and Nico was able to lift the armor off over his head easily.

As soon as the last piece of armor joined the rest on the floor, Will handed Nico what looked like a shot glass containing a very green substance.

“What is it?” Nico asked cautiously.

“Medicine,” Will answered. “You should feel the effects almost immediately after drinking it. You’ll feel refreshed and be ready to fight again in minutes.”

Nico sighed and held the glass close to his lips. He met Will’s eyes for a second before glancing toward his bag, still sitting on the desk where he’d left in. He nodded his head toward it and said, “Could you grab that for me?” before knocking the drink back. It had the same texture as jello that was starting to liquify, and tasted so foul that Nico almost gagged. He forced the shot glass back into Will’s hand before he pointed at his bag and said, “My bag, please?”

“Oh! Of course,” Will answered. He spun around to grab the bag, replacing it with the glass, and by the time he turned back around, Nico had pulled the shirt of his black thermal suit off over his head.

“Thanks,” he said when Will held out the bag, and set it on the bed next to him. He opened up the bag and dug around inside as he said, “That medicine was gross, by the way.” Nico pulled a black, oversized, hooded pullover out of his bag and put it on. “I think I am starting to feel better already, though.” He glanced up at Will who looked to be frozen in place, staring at Nico.

Nico frowned. “Your little blue marks are glowing,” he said, pointing at his own cheekbone.

“It’s nothing!” Will said quickly, slightly too loud, and averted his eyes. “You should rest, so I’ll be leaving. I’ll come back to get you when the other paladins return. Um. Rest well.” He stepped toward the door before spinning around and swiping the shot glass off Nico’s desk, and practically ran out of the room.

Will went straight to the bridge where he knew Piper would still be monitoring the other paladins’ progress.

“What’s gotten into you?” she asked, barely taking her eyes off the map for a second to look at him.

“I don’t think these paladins have any shame,” he said, somewhat out of breath. “The Red Paladin, he--”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Spit it out, Willow.”

“He undressed! Right there in front of me!” Will told her, reaching up and rubbing at the marks on his cheeks. “He acted like it was nothing unusual, and continued on with our conversation, and now I can’t get my marks to stop burning!”

Piper stifled a laugh, though the look on her face gave her away.

“Don’t laugh at me, this is serious!”

“So you’re infatuated with him , Will, it’s not that serious,” Piper told him.

“I’m not infatuated!”

Nico had trained his body to sleep for only a few hours at a time, because it was dangerous to live alone in the middle of the desert with no security except for the knife he kept on him at all times. So when he woke up, it was easy for him to assume that he’d been asleep somewhere between three and four hours, because he hadn’t slept for longer than a few hours in months.

He took a pair of gray skinny jeans out of his bag and slipped them on before he left his room. He wandered around the halls for a little while before he finally managed to find his way back to the bridge, where he found Will and Piper staring at the projected maps and talking quietly to each other.

He was about to make himself known when suddenly, Frank’s face appeared over a section of the map, surrounded by a faint yellow glow. “We’ve retrieved the Yellow Lion. Percy and I are on our way back now.”

“Wonderful, we’ll see you soon,” Piper responded, and Frank’s face flashed away, like an old TV turning off.

Nico stepped into the room, opening his mouth to speak, when his stomach growled loudly, revealing his position to the Alteans. “Um. Sorry. Is there anything I can eat before the others get back?”

“Of course,” Will answered, and hopped up out of his seat. He ignored the look that Piper shot him as he walked past, and led Nico back to the dining room. He gestured for Nico to sit at the table as he continued past and into the kitchen, preparing Nico a plate of food.

When he set the plate of pale green goo in front of Nico, the human scrunched up his nose. “What’s up with you guys and weird gooey green stuff?”

Will smiled as he sat down across from Nico, though he didn’t have any food to eat himself. “I promise, this tastes much better than the medicine I gave you.”

Nico raised an eyebrow at Will, like you wanna bet? But he picked up his spork and scooped up a tiny portion of goo, stuffing it in his mouth quickly to get it over with.

“Well?” Will asked.

“It’s weird,” Nico answered. “Like eating whipped cream if whipped cream wasn’t sweet.”

Will propped his head up on one hand. “I don’t know what that is,” he said, smile growing slightly.

Nico popped another spork-full of flavorless goo into his mouth, giving himself a moment to think before he spoke. “It’s white, and I guess a little thinner than this stuff. It’s pretty sweet. We usually use it as a topping on desserts.” Nico ate another bite. “Actually, it might be more like jello, because of the texture.”

“I don’t know what that is, either,” Will told him, smile still growing steadily.

“It’s like,” Nico paused, stabbing at his plate of goo a few times. “It looks like this, except a little more transparent. And sometimes it’s red or blue or another color. Some people eat it as a snack, but some eat it as dessert because it’s super sweet and full of sugar.”

“It sounds like your planet is full of sweet things,” Will said smoothly.

Nico looked up at him and froze with his spork halfway up to his mouth. Will was looking at him so softly, those little blue marks on his cheeks glowing once more. Nico felt his cheeks heat up as he stared back down at his plate, stuffing another bite into his mouth.

“There’s more than just sweets,” Nico said, and glanced up to see Will’s lips parting to respond, but a different voice was heard suddenly: “The Blue and Yellow Lions have returned to the castle, and I have received a message from Jason that the Green Lion is on its way as well.”

“I should, uh, probably go put my armor back on, right?” Nico asked, and then ate a few more quick bites before standing up from his seat. He lifted up his plate and said, “Uh, what should I--”

“I’ll take care of it,” Will told him, rising up and taking the dish from his hands. “You go get ready.”

The five paladins all gathered together so that Piper could give them direction. “I’ve gathered that the Red Lion is located on an enemy ship, which means that it will most likely be heavily guarded by Galra soldiers. You will be targeted as soon as you are in range of their ship, so you must be incredibly careful when approaching it. Jason will be staying in the castle with myself and Will. Nico, you will go with Percy in the Blue Lion, and the Yellow and Green Lions will provide you with cover.”

“How am I supposed to find the Red Lion once I’m inside?” Nico asked.

“I’ll be directing you,” Will answered. “Once you’re inside, I should be able to get a layout of the ship, so I can direct you to the most likely place that the Red Lion will be kept.”

“Is everyone clear on what is to be done?” Piper asked.

“No,” Leo said, “but I’m sure we’ll figure it out as we go.”

“That doesn’t sound as reassuring as you think it did,” Frank told him.

“Alright, everyone,” Jason interrupted. “You heard the princess, get to your Lions.”

“Yes, sir,” Percy said with a mocking salute. He spun around and marched off toward the hangers where the lions were kept, the other three paladins gradually following behind.

Nico made sure to seem as though he was following closely behind Percy, but as soon as he was sure that Jason and Piper couldn’t see them, he ditched Percy and snuck into the Yellow Lion’s hanger with Frank.

“Uh, aren’t you supposed to be with Percy?” Frank asked as he dropped into the pilot’s seat, and Nico braced himself for takeoff by grabbing onto the back of Frank’s chair.

“Why, are you going to turn this lion around?” Nico joked, though the look on his face made Frank unsure of whether or not he was actually serious.

“Of course not, we don’t have the time for that,” Frank said, and the lion launched out of the hangar.

The other lions were waiting for them outside of the castle. Percy’s face appeared on the dashboard screen. “Hey, uh, Nico’s not with me,” he said, glancing around the cockpit of the Blue Lion to see if Nico was possibly hiding from him.

“He’s with me,” Frank responded. “Let’s get going so we can get the Red Lion.”

Almost simultaneously, the three lions shot into the sky and out of the planet’s atmosphere.

“How did you get Yellow to respond to you?” Nico asked suddenly.

“What do you mean?” Frank said. “It just happened.”

“What if the Red Lion doesn’t respond to me? What if I’m not its paladin and going all this way will have been for nothing? I’m putting us all in danger for nothing.”

“Okay, well, it’s not for nothing,” Frank told him. “And the Red Lion will respond, because it has to, got it? Just do everything you can to make it happen. When Percy and I went to go get Yellow, we were ambushed, and I basically had to tuck-and-roll out of the Blue Lion and book it for where the Yellow Lion had been hidden.

“I found him in this cave, kinda like how we found Blue, and I was running full speed down this tunnel, just shouting, ‘Open up! Open up!’ And Yellow responded. I didn’t do anything, it was all him.”

“‘Him’?” Nico repeated. “You gendered your lion?”

“It just, I dunno, feels right,” Frank answered. “I think we’re getting close to the target. Amazing how fast these things can fly, right?”

Percy and Leo provided cover as Frank flew close to the enemy ship. Yellow blasted a hole in the side of the craft and Frank maneuvered him until Yellow’s snout had pushed into the ship so that Nico could climb out through the mouth.

The hallway inside the ship was empty, but Nico drew his bayard anyway in preparation for a fight.

“Nico, are you inside the ship?” Will’s voice crackled into Nico’s helmet.

“Yeah, which way do I go?” he asked, staring down one end of the hallway and then the other.

“Just start moving, I haven’t gotten a clear signal yet,” Will told him. “I’ll let you know which way to go when I figure it out.”

“Got it,” Nico responded, and started down the hall to his right. He could hear Will speaking to himself, sometimes clear, sometimes riddled with static. He continued forward, taking a left down another hall when the opportunity came. “Anything?” he asked after a short while.

“Maybe,” Will said. “Take the next right.”

Nico glanced around the corner at the next intersection of hallways, and jumped back almost immediately, pressing his back against the wall. “No can do. There’s about ten sentries standing around.”

“Fight through them,” Will told him. “It’s the right way.”

“You just said maybe!” Nico hissed.

“Trust me!” Will demanded, and Nico wanted to argue, but knew he shouldn’t.

“Fine,” he ground out through his teeth. He peeked around the corner again before taking a deep breath and running full speed down the hall toward the sentries.

He almost faltered when he saw the guns pointed at him, but managed to continue forward, dodging blasts and slicing through enemies as he passed. The remaining soldiers started running after him, but Nico was faster and took a few turns down upcoming hallways to throw them off his trail.

“Will?” he panted, back pressed into another wall. “Which way now?”

No response. A bit of static. Silence.

“Will?” Nico tried again, but to no avail. “Damn it!”

He took a few more deep breaths. He tightened his grip on his sword, holding up the blade for examination when he noticed that it was still perfectly clean. He’d sliced a few limbs off of some of those sentries, and did a lot more damage for there to not even be any trace of blood on the weapon. Maybe Galra didn’t have blood.

He noticed something caught near the handle of his bayard - thin, like a cable, with frayed wires along the edges.

“They’re robots,” Nico decided. “I can kill robots, easy. I’m not really killing anything if they’re just robots.”

He glanced around the corner before making his way back the way he came. So many sentries in one place but nowhere else on the ship had to be guarding something, even if it wasn’t what Nico was looking for. Sprinting down the hall, he fought off a few more sentries before slipping in through the door they were guarding, slamming it shut behind him and allowing himself a few seconds to breathe.

Towering above him - though still slightly smaller than the Blue and Yellow Lions - sat Red, unmoving, a softly glowing force field surrounding it.

Nico stepped toward the lion and raised his hand to press his palm against the force field, just like Percy had done with the Blue Lion, though the force field remained. Nico pounded his fist against the barrier, demanding, “Come on, open up!”

He could hear the sentries’ blasters firing against the door.

“We don’t have time for this!” Nico pleaded. “Please? Is that what you want to hear? Open up, please!”

The forcefield dissolved, and the lion’s head tilted down to examine Nico before it crouched down, mouth open, so that Nico could run inside.

He dropped into the pilot’s seat, Red’s dashboard screens slowly coming to life around him. He could see the locations of each of the other lions as they fought of Galra ships, as well as a video feed of each of the other paladins. As Nico set his hands on the control and Red started to move, another screen came to life on the dashboard displaying Will’s smiling face.

“The Red Lion has been retrieved!” Will exclaimed, and Nico could hear the other paladins cheering through his helmet.

“Great work,” Piper said, though Nico couldn’t see her on his dashboard. “Now, everyone return to the castle as soon as possible.”

“Will do, Princess,” Leo said, and Nico watched through his lion’s eyes as the Green Lion barrel-rolled out of the line of fire and retreated. The other three lions followed after, and soon the few Galra cruisers still tailing them turned back. In a matter of minutes, the four lions touched down on Arus, just outside of the castle.

Not long after, they watched as a purple streak shot out of the center of the castle, and soon the Black Lion was towering over them.

“Dude, Jason, your lion is huge!” Leo exclaimed. “That’s no fair, Green’s like, the size of one of Black’s legs!”

“The Green and Red Lions function as Voltron’s arms, meaning that they don’t need to be as large as the Blue, Yellow, or Black Lions,” Will explained over the comms.

“Congratulations, Paladins, you’re one step closer to forming Voltron,” Piper told them. “Everyone return to the castle to get some rest. We will start your training tomorrow morning.”

After changing out of the Paladin armor, the five humans each ate a plate of alien food goo before Piper insisted that they all head to their rooms for the night. Four of the Paladins rose from their chairs and left the dining room, while Nico lingered behind, cleaning up the plates left by the others.

“Did you need something, Nico?” Will asked as he took the stack of plates from Nico’s hands.

“Um, yeah,” he said, shoving his hands into the pocket of his sweatshirt so that he could try to ignore the tingling tips of his fingers where Will’s hands had brushed his. “I was hoping I could get some more training in while everyone else is sleeping.”

“Oh, sure!” Will said. “But I have a few other things that I need to do before morning. I could show you how to set up the Gladiator, though.”

“The Gladiator?” Nico repeated.

“It’s a training robot,” Will explained. “You can set it to different skill levels, which is probably a good choice for late-night training. You can take it easy so that you’re not exhausted in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay, that sounds...good,” Nico said, hoping that his mild disappointment that Will wouldn’t be training with him didn’t show clearly on his face.

Will led him back to the training deck and called into the empty room, “Activate training simulator.” He glanced over to see that Nico had already activated his bayard, so he continued, “Training level one, begin.”

A robot dropped from the ceiling wielding a metal staff like the one Will had used, and charged at Nico as soon as its feet touched the ground.

Will stayed behind to watch as Nico took down the Gladiator with little difficulty, and when Nico turned to him with a wide smile, Will couldn’t help but return it.

“Looks like you’ve got yourself handled,” Will said. “To activate the Gladiator, just call out a level and say begin. I don’t recommend skipping levels. And make sure you get some rest soon, alright?”

“Yeah, okay,” he answered. “Thanks, Will.” Nico turned back to see the Gladiator fall through a hole in the floor of the training deck. “Training level two, begin!”

Will moved toward the doorway, but found himself distracted by Nico’s training. He knew he had work to do, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Nico for the duration of the second training level. However, hearing Nico call out for the third level to begin drew Will out of his trance, and he managed to pull himself away.

Nico had been so focused on fighting that he hadn’t seen Will watching him, and had continued on until the end of the fifth level before he found himself too exhausted to go on. He surprised himself with how long he had been able to fight without losing his focus, and figured it may have been the focus that kept him fighting as long as he had. If he made it all the way through the first five training levels, there was no logical explanation for why Will had been able to beat him so easily unless he was distracted, right? But that had to mean that Will was the distraction--

He was too tired to think about this. He was too tired to remember the way back to his room, and he was too tired to even try to find his way. He eyed the Gladiator waiting for instruction, and when he remembered that the robot wouldn’t attack without a command, he deactivated his bayard and moved toward the wall furthest from the Gladiator.

Nico laid down, back pressed against the wall, and curled up around his bayard, incredibly grateful for his ability to fall asleep literally anywhere.

The paladins were rowdy at breakfast, all excited to start their training and get to forming Voltron. There was something that didn’t seem quite right to Will, however; something was missing.

Piper entered the room, and for a second Will thought that she had filled the empty space he’d imagined, but he quickly realized he was wrong when Piper said, “Good morning, Paladins, are you ready to start-- Where is the Red Paladin?”

Leo leaned forward and back, looking around the others to see that Nico wasn’t sitting anywhere at the table. “Oh yeah, where is he?”

“I’ll go find him,” Will said, probably too quickly if the look that Piper was giving him was anything to go by. “So you can start directing them, and they won’t miss anything,” he explained. “I’ll return as soon as possible.”

He left the room, waiting until he was a little ways down the hall before he rubbed his palms over the marks on his cheeks, hoping to stop the burning that he felt there.

Will made his way down to Nico’s room, knocking on the door a few times before opening it and seeing that it was empty. He checked the bathrooms on that floor and the floor above, but Nico wasn’t in either of those places either. He was starting to get worried when he remembered that he’d shown Nico to the training deck the night before - he couldn’t still be training, could he?

He hopped into the elevator and went up to the training deck, seeing from the hallway that the lights were still on inside. Will stepped through the door and saw the Gladiator activated in the center of the room, though it wasn’t making any move to attack, so he called out for the computer to deactivate it. He didn’t see Nico until he spun around in a circle and found him lying on the ground against the wall, curled around his bayard, unmoving.

Will felt his heart stop for a second before he ran toward the paladin, eyes scanning him for injuries and placing a hand on his shoulder once he was close enough. Nico flinched at the touch, waking up in an instant and activating his bayard out to the sword’s full length, nearly stabbing Will through the chest as he did so.

“Will?” Nico said, voice rough from sleep, dropping his bayard which deactivated as soon as it hit the ground. “Shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to, I swear!”

“It’s alright,” Will told him, though Nico could see nothing but concern in his eyes as he sat up until they were nearly eye-level with each other. “I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m-- I mean, I’m a little tired, but, yeah,” Nico told him. “Um. How long was I asleep?”

“I’m not sure,” Will said. “If I had to guess, I would say at least six vargas.”

Nico frowned in confusion, rubbing the sleep out of one of his eyes as he said, “I don’t know what that is.”

“About twice as long as your last sleep cycle,” Will explained. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good. I’m just, uh, not really used to sleeping that much, I guess.”

Will frowned like he wasn’t quite satisfied with that answer, but stood up and held out a hand to Nico after a few seconds. “Come with me to the dining room to get something to eat. Everyone else is there already.”

“Okay, sure.” Nico took his hand.

Things were quiet on their walk back to the dining room, which allowed Nico to hear Piper from a little ways down the hall: “Once the Red Paladin arrives, you will head to your Lions and practice forming Voltron. This will require great concentration and a strong bond with your fellow Paladins.” As soon as she noticed Nico standing in the doorway, Piper clapped her hands together and said, “Alright, Paladins, to your Lions!”

buy me a coffee | more about solangelo week

[gatesofember]

Meadows of the Sea: Chapter 2

PJO Arranged Marriage/Royalty AU Part 7

Rating: M | Pairing: Percabeth, Jiper, Solangelo

Prev | Next | AU directory | Read it on AO3 (Recommended) | Arranged Marriage AU Masterpage

Summary: Prince Percy couldn’t be happier. After years of waiting, he is finally marrying the friend and lover he has been betrothed to since childhood. Prince Nico invites his fiancé to accompany him to the wedding, where he can’t help but dream about his own pending marriage. Prince Jason, who has been unable to secure a new engagement after Reyna’s rejection, may finally find the right woman to make his empress.

Nico and Will had arrived in Neptune a day before the wedding began.  They hadn’t gotten much of a chance to explore the city on their own yet; Percy had taken the time to meet with Nico for a while and then Jason had accompanied them for the remainder of the afternoon.  Nico had been obviously displeased about it, but Will hadn’t minded.  Will thought Jason was easy to get along with.  Besides, he knew that he would have plenty of time alone with his fiancé later on.

Will had never been with Nico for so long before.  Other times they’d met, it had been for a few days at a time, a week at most.  This time, however, they would be together for over a month—from the time Nico arrived in Phoebus, during their journey to Neptune, through Percy and Annabeth’s wedding festivities, until they went back to Pluto and Will left to continue his schooling in Venadica.  

It had taken a day to travel by carriage to the Dianan coast.  Reyna had been in the carriage with them while Hedge was seated on the outside with Mellie, supposedly acting as Nico’s guard.  Mellie was accompanying Will as a chaperone after a suspiciously sudden change of plans made Chiron unable to leave Diana.

Reyna’s presence in the carriage left Nico and Will with a pleasant excuse to sit beside each other instead of opposite.  However, it also made Will too nervous to enjoy their time together.  He’d always been a bit intimidated by Reyna, but her rage following their disappearance in Delphi had terrified him.  He had been careful to act like the perfect gentleman ever since.

Nico had not been so concerned.  He had touched Will’s hand, then held it, then linked their fingers, which left Will’s mind occupied with uninvited images of holding and kissing him.  He tried to subtly and politely communicate his discomfort, but Nico hadn’t appeared to have gotten the message.  Reyna finally scolded them when Nico started to inch a bit closer, so then Nico had behaved for a little while.  Soon after, however, he reached out and put his hand on Will’s and the cycle repeated itself.  The third time Reyna intervened, she banned all unnecessary physical contact.

Naturally, that didn’t completely stop Nico.  Will was beginning to understand that Nico did not enjoy being told what to do.  He was somewhat glad for it, even if it did get Will in trouble now and then.

After reaching the Dianan coast, they’d gone the rest of the way by sea.  Will had seen the Juvian coast and he had been on the water before, but sailing to Neptune was an entirely different experience.  The Prata Pontonia had grown more beautiful the closer to Neptune they got, and Will fell more in love every second he spent with Nico.  He suspected that the voyage from Diana to Neptune was not one that he would forget.

Will had entertained Nico with stories about his friend Leo’s silly ideas about using steam to propel boats through the water.  They’d tried—and failed—to steal a few secret kisses when they thought no one was looking.  They’d met clandestinely on the deck late in the evening, only to be caught by Reyna and Hedge.  There had been a long lecture about their behavior before they were sent off to their private rooms onboard the ship, but when Nico smiled at him during breakfast the next morning, Will nearly forgot that it had even happened.

Nico was falling in love with him.  He could hear it in Nico’s voice and he could feel it every time Nico reached out to touch him.  When Nico looked at him, he gazed with an intensity like Will consumed his whole mind.  Nico’s expressions had been so blunted at the beginning of their engagement, but Nico had begun to show Will so many new faces.  There were gentle smiles like the ones he wore when talking about his sister, shy blushes that Will had never expected to see from the Prince, and serious, passionate faces that made Will feel like he was melting.

And Will was falling in love, too.  He always had admired Nico, but something about the realization that his feelings were reciprocated made the entire thing so much more real.  Could it be that Nico saw something in Will that was just as amazing as what Will saw in Nico?  What did Will look like to Nico’s eyes?  Did Will have the same effect on Nico’s heart that Nico did on his?  Was it possible that Will occupied Nico’s mind even half as often as Nico occupied his?  These were terrifying and alien ideas.  Will still hadn’t quite been able to grasp that it was true: he was important—just as important as Nico.

I am in love and I am loved, Will had been telling himself every day since Nico had asked Will to kiss him.   I am in love and I am loved.

They had arrived in Neptune the night before the wedding celebrations began and Reyna sent them both to their rooms, allowing them no time to explore the city.  On the morning of the first day of the wedding, they met for a meal but separated to prepare for the evening’s masked ball.  Mellie helped Will get ready, but she seemed very distracted by concerns about her own appearance, constantly checking her hair and the gathers on her skirts.  Will suspected it had to do with Nico’s guard.

It was early in the evening when Will left with Mellie to meet Nico before the ball.  Will was glad that he had time to compose himself while waiting for Nico to emerge from his quarters.  He couldn’t stop looking at his coat for imaginary wrinkles or touching his hair, which Mellie had relentlessly managed to tackle into something somewhat tamed.  Mellie had told him to stop.  Will had responded to good-naturedly tease her about how she was similarly concerned with smoothing out her skirts.

Will hadn’t grown used to the mask on his face quite yet.  Although Apollo had offered to have a new one made when Will learned that there would be a masked ball on the first day of the wedding, Will had asked if he could use an old one that belonged to Lee instead.  He’d seen Lee wear it when he was still courting Lou Ellen and remembered being in awe of the golden sun emblem of the Dianan house that was on the forehead.  Lee, having noticed how much Will loved the mask, had promised to pass it down to him.  Lee’s nose was smaller than Will’s, however, so the mask didn’t lay quite right.

Will was still running his hands over his coat when the door opened and he immediately snapped his arms to his sides.  “Your Highness,” he greeted with a bow, and then he looked up.  Nico was wearing green, just like he had on the night they first met.  His coat was lined in black and silver and his mask was green like his coat, with a vaguely reptilian texture that made him look terrifying—but still handsome.

Nico looked at him in silence.  His expression was indiscernible and unnerving behind his mask.  “Your Highness?” Will asked.

Nico cleared his throat.  “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear black,” he said.

“Oh,” Will said, glancing down at his own coat.  “No, I don’t usually.  But it is a masked ball.  There’s no better time to pretend not to be yourself.”

Nico was quiet for a second, and Will hated that he couldn’t read Nico’s expression.  “Yes,” Nico said, his lips finally smiling.  “It has been a very long time since I have been to one.”

“Then I’m delighted to escort you,” Will said, offering his arm.  Reyna hadn’t lifted the ban on unnecessary physical contact, but touching arms to escort each other was permitted.  He glanced at Reyna and Hedge nervously to make sure he hadn’t done anything wrong.  Hedge was too busy ogling at Mellie, who looked very pretty in her pale dress and mask, but Reyna seemed to be on high alert.  She was also masked, but still wore the Sorority’s silver gown and looked as intimidating as ever.  Despite Nico’s assurances that Reyna approved of him, Will always felt like he wasn’t meeting her expectations.

Reyna nodded to him, which Will took to mean that he had permission to continue, so he led Nico out of the guest wing.  “You look stunning,” Will said, realizing that he’d forgotten to compliment Nico earlier.  Hopefully, his absent mindedness hadn’t made him seem like a neglectful escort.

Nico was quiet for a moment and Will wondered if Nico had heard him.  Then Nico cleared his throat and said, “Well, you...you look very...good.”

“Thank you,” Will said, deciding not to question Nico’s strange tone.  He did wonder, though—was it because Will had complimented him?  Will always felt flustered when Nico complimented him.  Or perhaps Nico really meant what he’d said; he thought Will looked nice.

Will was glad that his mask would cover most of his blush.  He still hadn’t quite grown used to the idea that Nico actually loved him and he hadn’t considered that Nico might find him attractive.  Will knew that he wasn’t especially handsome, but it didn’t bother him much.  His older brothers were the most attractive ones in the family, so Will wasn’t used to people commenting on his appearance; he was more often praised for his kindness.  It was embarrassing and almost uncomfortable to think that Nico might consider him handsome.  But he was also flattered, even if he did feel a bit confused.

“I don’t think Hedge will be a problem tonight,” Nico said in a low voice.

Will looked over his shoulder to see Hedge and Mellie whispering and blushing.  It seemed that Hedge would be too occupied to pay them much attention.

“So we only have to worry about losing Reyna,” Nico continued.

Will couldn’t decide whether to sigh or laugh.  “Your Highness, I am trying to make a good impression on Lady Reyna—”

“Oh, don’t worry about that.  I’ve told you, Reyna knows I’m the troublesome one.  I have years of practice sneaking.”

“I don’t her to be upset with you, either.”

“I can deal with it.  Anyway, I think she’ll be more lenient tonight because of the masks.”

Will wondered if Nico was thinking about kissing him again.  He hoped so.  The first time they’d kissed, Will had been so overcome with a desire to wrap his arms around Nico and hold him that he’d almost given in.  He had been careful not to overstep any boundaries, however; he hadn’t been absolutely sure what Nico wanted and he’d feared that he’d only ruin it.

The corridors were lined with guests outfitted in gorgeous costumes and the hall was already crowded when they entered.  Will gawked at the blue and gold walls, the massive windows overlooking the sea, and the painted ceiling depicting Pontus and his children, but Nico hurried him along.  “We’ll lose them in the crowd, just as we did the last time,” Nico was saying.

Will sighed, but followed him anyway.  “And I do recall warning you last time that it was a bad idea to hide from the chaperones.”

“Yes, and you were wrong.  It was a brilliant idea last time and it is brilliant this time.  Didn’t you enjoy being alone in Delphi?”

Will blushed.  “Of course I did,” he replied quietly.  He knew that those secret first kisses would always be among his favorite memories.

Nico glanced over his shoulder again before leading Will to the chocolate fountain.  Will reminded himself that he would have to mention it to Leo; he had never heard of filling a fountain with chocolate rather than water before.  Percy was known for being rather extravagant when it came to celebrations.  Although it had only just begun, Will suspected that Prince Percy’s wedding would be remembered for years to come.

Will left Nico for a moment to get cups of chocolate for Nico and himself.  “I love Neptunian chocolate,” Will said as he offered Nico his drink.  “In Diana, we import cocoa from Venus.”

“My mother grows cocoa, but even with our conservatories, Plutonian chocolate isn’t quite as good as Neptunian,” Nico replied.  “Our weather isn’t right for it.”

“Unfortunately, no,” Will said.  He’d had Plutonian chocolate in Venadica.  “Nothing is ever quite as good when grown outside of its native range.”

“Cocoa is not native to Neptune,” Nico corrected.  “The climate may be good for it, but cocoa comes from islands south of Aegyptia.”

“Does it?” Will asked.  He really did need to pay better attention in his trade and economics lessons.

“Neptune merely made chocolate famous in the Romanus Terris,” Nico said.  “Neptunians have a habit of claiming things that are not theirs.  For another, Neptune is famous for its masked balls, but Pluto is where they originated.”  The corner of Nico’s mouth quirked up, but his eyes remained unreadable behind his mask.  Once again, Will felt a bit intimidated by the reptilian features obscuring Nico’s expression.  But it was still Nico, whom Will had grown to not only admire but love.  It was still Nico, whom Will had kissed in a hedge maze while smoke from fireworks cooled in the dark sky.  It was still Nico, only wrapped back up in the mystery that had absorbed him before Will had grown to know him.

“Of course, masked balls are rare in Pluto now,” Nico continued, walking off towards the side of the hall like he was unaware of exactly how much he captivated Will.  “I have not attended one since....”

Nico hesitated.  Will thought he understood: Nico had not attended a masked ball since he was a child, since Pluto’s wealth was depleted, since the Scarlet Delirium ravaged his kingdom.

“Bianca and I used to play games when we donned our masks,” Nico went on after taking a sip of chocolate from his cup.  “We would pretend to be legendary heroes or farmers or miners or even animals.”

Will couldn’t think of a response before Nico turned to look at him.  His dark eyes were still beautiful and frightening and made Will stop in his tracks.  Nico took a step closer to Will, so close that Will almost moved back.  “I don’t see Reyna anymore,” Nico said.

The sudden switch in conversation confused Will for a moment.  “Reyna...?” he asked, glancing around and realizing that Nico had led him to a less crowded corner of the room, where one wall was lined with windows and the other was paneled with gold.

“It has been a while since we managed to be alone,” Nico continued.

“Less than a week,” Will pointed out nervously as Nico stepped even closer—so close that they were only separated by the cups of chocolate they held in front of themselves.  “And we aren’t really alone right now, so perhaps—”

“We are alone enough,” Nico said.  “With masks, we can pretend.”

“Pretend...?” Will asked, looking over his shoulder again.  He was almost relieved to spot a blond head in the crowd.  Most of the guests had dark Neptunian hair, so Will did not have much trouble recognizing Jupiter’s prince.  “I think that might be Prince Jason,” Will commented as he glanced back at Nico.  “Would you like to—”

Nico’s lips set in a firm line.  “No.”

“I really don’t understand why you dislike him so much,” Will said.  After Nico had left the Expo that summer, Jason had extended a few invitations to dine with him, Thalia, and Annabeth.  He had even gone to Will’s exhibit with Annabeth one morning and seemed genuinely interested in Will’s project.  Will thought that Jason seemed very likable, but Nico disagreed whenever Will expressed that.  Eventually, Nico had explained his discomfort with the fact that Jason had courted Reyna, but had admitted he knew his fear that they might resume their engagement was groundless.

“I don’t dislike him,” Nico replied in a bitter voice.  “He’s very difficult to dislike.  Did I tell you that he wrote to me a few times over the past several months?”  He said it like he was scandalized by Jason’s insolence and resentful that Jason was so agreeable.

“His Imperial Highness seems like a very kind young man,” Will said, suppressing a smile.  He found that Nico’s stubbornness could be quite endearing, even though it did sometimes confuse him.

Nico pursed his lips.  “I’d much rather spend the evening with you,” he said, then his lips softened and he smiled up at Will.

Will had to wonder if Nico had only said that because he knew that it would silence any further arguments.  Will hadn’t bothered to keep his admiration of Nico secret and Nico was clearly cunning enough to take advantage of that, as demonstrated by his tendency to cause trouble for his chaperone and guard.  But Will also knew that even if Nico was taking advantage of Will’s feelings, he hadn’t lied.  He did want to spend the evening with Will.  And how could Will argue against that?

“Stop thinking about everyone else,” Nico said, setting his cup down on the ledge of the window beside them.  “Are you trying to escape from me?  Do you not want to be alone with me?”

Will was fairly certain that Nico was taunting him.  Nico may not have had Will’s education, but he was intelligent and cunning.  He must have known exactly what he was doing to Will.

“Of course I want to be alone with you,” Will said.  “I only...I’m...I’m a bit nervous.”

“Why would you be nervous?”

“I don’t think I’m allowed—”

“Don’t think about what is allowed.”  Nico’s hands slid over Will’s and brought Will’s cup to his lips.  Will flushed when Nico took a long sip of chocolate, his dark eyes fixed on Will unblinkingly.

“Your Hi—” Will started.

Nico put his finger against Will’s lips to silence him.  “Don’t call me that now.  That’s the fun of masks, isn’t it?  I’m not Prince Nico.  You’re not Lord William.”

Will swallowed nervously as Nico’s finger slid back away, tugging gently at his lower lip.  His eyes darted around, looking for either Reyna or Hedge and fearing their disapproval, but then Nico stepped even closer and Will’s worries disappeared.  After all, it was a masked ball.  If they were not the Prince and his fiancé, what did they need chaperones for?

“Who shall we be?” Will asked.

“You are a healer in a small town in Ceres,” Nico answered.  “I am a local hunter.  We have known each other all our lives and we’ve been friends since childhood.”

“Are we engaged?” Will asked in a whisper.

“Not yet.”

“Will we be engaged soon?”

Nico grinned.  “That depends on how the game plays out.  Are you prepared to woo me?”

“I’ll certainly try,” Will said, but he didn’t know how.  Why had Nico wanted to kiss him in Delphi?  What had Will done to make Nico start to love him?

“You must,” Nico said.  “I’ve nearly given up on you.  You’ve barely spoken to me this past year.  We were so close when we were young, but then we suddenly grew apart.  I hardly see you anymore; we only meet occasionally if we’re both in the square or I find an excuse to visit your clinic.  What happened?”

Will wet his lips nervously.  It wasn’t easy to be creative with Nico standing so close or with Nico’s bottomless eyes staring at him from behind a terrifying, reptilian mask.  He thought back to times when he had played make believe with his siblings or his friends as a child.  He remembered how just a few weeks ago Kayla had suddenly handed him a doll and demanded he play with her.  He imagined the night that he had met Nico as a child, recalling how immediately he had been captivated by the other boy.  Even the next morning, he hadn’t been sure if it had really happened or if he had made the whole incident up.  For years after that, Nico had been a character in every childish fantasy Will made up.  Will had been imagining silly stories of a life with Nico since he was only six years old, but had never expected that Nico would make up those stories, too.

“I suppose I was afraid,” Will said slowly.  “I admired you even as a child, but you became so beautiful and strong as the years went by.  I thought you had outgrown me, so I let us go our separate ways.”

Nico shook his head.  “I didn’t want that.”

“Then what do you want me to do now?”

Nico didn’t answer immediately.  He plucked Will’s cup from his fingers and set it beside his on the window ledge to be collected by the servants.  “Ask me to dance,” Nico finally said.  His fingers touched Will’s wrist and slipped down to hold Will’s hand.  “We used to dance together as children, but we haven’t in so long.  You didn’t even dance with me last Chronalia.”

It took Will a second to realize that Nico wasn’t talking about dancing as children in Aether’s Square at his aunt’s inauguration; he was still talking about their made-up life in Ceres.  

“I was too nervous,” Will said, slowly starting to understand Nico’s game.  “I loved dancing with you when we were children.  We would dance together every time we heard music and sometimes when there was no music at all.  But last Chronalia, I...I thought I would only burden you.”

“You made me feel so lonely.  I thought you had tired of me.”

“Never, Your Highness.”

Nico put his finger against Will’s lips again.  “You mustn’t call me that tonight, remember?”

“What shall I call you?” Will asked, his lips brushing against the pad of Nico’s finger.  Without thinking, he took Nico’s hand but kept it close to his mouth.  He barely was able to stop himself from kissing it.

Nico’s lips smiled, his eyes still dark and unreadable.  “You will call me ‘dearest,’ and I will call you ‘treasure,’” he answered.

“‘Dearest,’” Will repeated.  His thumb brushed over Nico’s hand.  “My dearest.”

“My treasure,” Nico answered, then he pulled their hands away from Will’s mouth and towards his own to kiss Will’s knuckles.  “Pretend we are celebrating my cousin’s wedding in the town square.  Tell me you want to dance with me.”

“Of course I do,” Will said.  His mind felt fuzzy as Nico kissed his hand again.  “Will you come share a dance with me, dearest?”

Will didn’t know what to make of the smile Nico gave him.  Was it sweet and kind?  Was it teasing?  The mask made it impossible to tell.  “I would love to,” Nico said, tugging on Will’s hand to lead him to the center of the hall, where a group was preparing for an allemande.

Will lost count of how many dances they shared.  He was blinded by the gleam of lights reflected on gemstones, by the dizzying whirl of skirts, and by the masks obscuring the faces of each dancer that passed him.  Will lost Nico to another partner for a while, but it didn’t take long to find him again.  Even when masked, there was a quality about Nico’s presence that had always drawn Will to him.  Will had felt it even as a child, when he had been in awe of the strange, brave, and talented prince Artemis had introduced him to.  He had felt it again when they met ten years later and Nico had grown into a handsome, mysterious young man who Will did not understand, but desperately wanted to know.  Whatever games they might play, something as mundane as a mask couldn’t disguise Nico’s distinct aura.

Will wanted to reach behind Nico and untie the ribbon holding his mask in place.  He wanted to see Nico’s face and read his expressions.  But when Will found those words tumbling past his lips, Nico shook his head.  “Not tonight,” he said.  “For now, let us have our game.  After all, my treasure, it is the last night that we will see each other for a while; I am going on a hunt and I won’t return for at least a week.  You have told me that you admire me, but you must promise that you won’t forget me while I’m away.”

Will shook his head.  “Forget you?  How could I ever forget you?  I’ll think of you every day, my dearest.  I won’t be able to sleep until you return.”

“And so after my cousin’s wedding, I left on my hunt,” Nico said, tangling his fingers in Will’s.  “But I couldn’t stop thinking about you.  I wanted to see you again.”

“You came home early,” Will said.  “You were attacked by a wolf while hunting and your wounds forced you to stay in my clinic for three days.”

“And then I decided to stay forever.”

Nico’s smile became gentle and Will could almost believe he saw love in Nico’s eyes.  Will didn’t think, he didn’t plan, and he didn’t even recognize that he ought to restrain himself.  In one moment, his lips had found Nico’s and Will was kissing him for the first time since Delphi.

He came to his senses quickly and drew back, stammering his apologies.  “I should have asked, I—”

But then his lips were on Nico’s again, except Nico had initiated.

“Kiss me again,” Nico said.  “And then again.  And again.  Kiss me and dance with me until the night ends and we must stop pretending.  Kiss me like nothing else matters, like you have wanted to forever, like it’s our wedding and you have been waiting for this day your whole life.”

*   *   *

It seemed that the Fates had bestowed upon Jason the curse of terrible luck with women.  It wasn’t just women in the sense of suitors, but all the women in his life.  He always seemed to be left behind or let down.

Firstly, there was his birth mother, a courtesan of Emperor Zeus who had never cared for her children very much.  Jason had been so young when Beryl died that he couldn’t even remember her enough to hate her, but he still thought it was odd that he had absolutely no memories of interacting with his mother whatsoever.  Hera told Jason enough about what a nasty woman she’d been before getting herself killed, and while Jason usually would doubt his stepmother’s account, the fact that Thalia had verified it made Hera’s story seem much more credible.  It was hard to tell which of the two detested his mother more.

But Thalia, like Beryl, left him behind.  Although Jason did not blame her, Thalia was the hardest to lose.  She had always been his one reliable ally in Olympus, but when she left, she had dropped all the responsibilities of being heir to the empire on him.  When they were children, she had shared her fantasies about running away late at night when she and Jason were alone, but Jason had never realized how serious she’d been.  Of course Thalia had offered to take Jason with her to Venadica, but Jason hadn’t had a choice.  If Jason didn’t take her place as heir, there was no telling what kind of upheaval the battle for succession would cause.  It was Jason’s duty to stay, carrying the responsibilities that two older sisters had denied—first Athena, then Thalia.

Athena had never been much of a sister to begin with, so he couldn’t accuse her of ‘leaving’ him.  She was emotionally distant and generally disinterested in Jason, only bothering to approach him when she needed to discuss some sort of duty.  Even then, she usually sent Annabeth in her place.  Annabeth had always been more of a sister than Athena and had acted as his one remaining ally after Thalia joined the Sorority, but even Annabeth was leaving him.  Jason would return to Jupiter not only fiancée-less, but adviser-less, as well.  Judging by Jason’s record, he doubted he’d be any more successful at finding a new adviser than he had been at finding a new fiancée.

And that brought him to Reyna.  He had not loved her in a romantic sense—although he believed that he would have come to in time—but Jason had cared deeply for Reyna.  She had been perfect.  She was intelligent, reliable, persistent, and strong, and Jason had found her to be empathetic underneath her tough façade.  They had always gotten along well.  Jason had felt safe knowing that she would be both his wife and adviser; he knew he could trust her.  But Reyna had sought a different path in the end.

So now that Annabeth, his final ally, was leaving, Jason felt alone.  When he returned to Olympus, the only person who cared enough to speak to him would be Hera, but Hera wasn’t any more of a mother than Beryl—except for the fact that she actually interacted with Jason.  She was manipulative and calculating, resentful towards Zeus, and only interested in Jason to use him.  Jason wasn’t ignorant of her manipulative intentions, but there was very little he could do to resist.

“I’m letting you see your sister,” Hera had told him before he left for Neptune with Annabeth.  “It’s the second time I’ve allowed it this year.  You ought to be grateful.”

As though she controlled every decision made in Olympus.

Maybe she did.

Jason had fought to stay calm.  It was the only way to deal with Hera.  “Yes, Mother,” he’d said evenly.  He had no choice but to tell her what she wanted to hear.

He truly was glad to see Thalia.  It was always a bit awkward between them for a little while every time they met.  Jason knew that Thalia felt terrible for leaving him behind and although she’d had every right to choose the Sorority over the Empire, Jason might have held the smallest of grudges.  He would never tell that to Thalia, however.  She felt guilty enough already.

But yes, Jason was glad to see Thalia.  He knew that even from afar, she remained his constant ally.  “I may have become a sister to all, but you will always be my favorite brother,” she had told him after joining the Sorority.  Despite the tiny twinge of resentment he still felt, Jason knew that Thalia hadn’t truly abandoned him.  He trusted her more than anyone.

Thalia had only just arrived in Neptune the day before, while Jason was attempting to make friends with Nico.  Jason had been in Neptune for about a month, having made the journey from Olympus to Salacia with Annabeth long before the wedding.  Earlier, Jason and Thalia had been in the city together, but neither of them had seen the wedding couple all day.  It was to be expected, as Percy and Annabeth would have been busy with their prayers, but Thalia was quite irate that she had barely seen either of them since her arrival.  And now, Percy and Annabeth were nowhere to be seen.  Jason wouldn’t have been surprised if they’d already found an opportunity to sneak away from the party and were spending the evening alone together.  They could be sneaky when they wanted to.

Jason glanced at Thalia.  She was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, but her posture softened when she noticed him watching her.  “I can’t believe the two of them,” Thalia said.  “Their own party, and they can’t be found.”

“Perhaps they’re just very well-masked,” Jason suggested.

Jason knew Thalia well enough to imagine the expression behind her mask.  Really, Jason? it would have said.  Do you really believe that?

“We both know they’ve run off somewhere to cause one last scandal before they’re married,” Thalia said, but she sounded amused.  “But anyway, tell me more news from Olympus.  How has the bitch been treating you?”

“Thalia,” Jason scolded.

“What?  There’s no reason to paint it over and make it pretty.”

Jason sighed.  “I’m trying to remain polite.  She’s the Empress, whether we like it or not.”

“Brother dear, I find it hard to believe that anyone likes it.  Besides, she’s not my Empress.  I serve no one but Artemis and the Protogenoi.  So tell me, is everything alright?”

Jason made a vague sound in weak affirmation.

“Jason,” Thalia said in a warning tone.

“I won’t complain,” Jason said.  “It is what it is, Thalia.  Hera will always be Hera, and I can’t expect anything else from her.”

“It’s perfectly reasonable to expect her to be a decent human rather than a reptile,” Thalia scowled.  “You know that you’d have the Sorority’s protection if—”

“No,” Jason interrupted.  “My answer hasn’t changed.  You know I can’t do that.”

“And there’s your obnoxious sense of duty again,” Thalia sighed.  “Your answer may always be the same, but I’ll never take back the invitation.  You are welcome in Venadica.  Olympus doesn’t deserve you, Jason.  You shouldn’t have to put up with that snake.”

“This has nothing to do with what anyone deserves, Thalia.”

Thalia sighed tiredly.  “Let’s not fight over this again.  It’s rare for us to see each other.”

Jason nodded in agreement.  He admired how independent and adventurous Thalia was, but he was not destined to be like her.  Although part of him wished he could run away from Olympus and forsake the throne like his sister had, he knew he could not.  Jason and Thalia had argued about it in the past, but his place was Jupiter.

“Any progress on finding a fiancée?” Thalia asked.  She held her hands up in surrender when Jason narrowed his eyes at her.  “I’m only making conversation.”

“No progress whatsoever,” Jason said stiffly.

“I’d send you a few suitors, but most of the women I know are sorors,” Thalia said.

Jason snorted in amusement.  “I appreciate the offer, but I think our family has caused enough scandals.”

“I’m sure they can afford a few more.”

“I am not going to have affairs with sorors, Thalia.”

“No, but you should let yourself have a bit of fun,” Thalia replied.

Jason sighed.  If there was anything he feared more than falling in love, it was that someone would fall in love with him.  Jason didn’t think he’d be able to bear the pain of heartbreak, but it would be far worse the other way around.  He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he hurt someone that way.

That was part of the reason he’d been so unsuccessful in finding a new suitor.  It was also because Reyna had been so ideal that everyone else paled by comparison, but more than that, Jason was terrified that he would only end up hurting someone.  Nullified engagements were messy, scandalous affairs; if he ended up making an unwise decision, Jason feared that he’d go through that again.  He certainly didn’t want to put someone else through it, either.

And then, if he did end up married to someone, that was hardly a happy ending.  What if something went wrong in their marriage?  What if he couldn’t make his wife happy?  What if he only made her life miserable?  How could anyone have a happy life in Olympus?

“I’d rather spend the evening with my sister,” Jason said.  

“How sweet of you,” Thalia said in a mocking tone, but Jason knew she was being genuine.  “But really, you ought to take advantage of the mask.  Hera isn’t even here!  No one will be throwing power-hungry women at you tonight, so you have an opportunity to actually enjoy yourself.  That’s all I’m suggesting, Jason.  I’m not asking you to find a wife.”

It almost would have been easier if she had asked him to find a wife.  Jason did not excel at ‘enjoying himself.’

“Thalia—”

“Oh, look over there,” Thalia said in a staged voice.  “Another soror.  I ought to greet her.”

“Thalia!”

“Enjoy your evening, brother,” Thalia said without listening to him, and then she disappeared into the crowd.

Jason sighed.  Yes, he considered Thalia to be his strongest ally, but they often had very different ideas about how his allies could help him.

Enjoy his evening?  Not likely.  Thalia had abandoned him, Percy and Annabeth were nowhere to be found, and Nico wouldn’t spend time with Jason unless he was forced to.  He could try to find Reyna—he’d always enjoyed her friendship—but he got the feeling that would be a bad idea.  Reyna was probably busy playing chaperone for the Pluton Prince, anyway, and he was fairly certain Nico would hate Jason even more if he attempted to speak to her.

Which left Jason alone as usual.  Thalia thought it was good for him to exercise his independence (and perhaps she was right), but she didn’t realize that what Jason really wanted was to take advantage of what limited time they had together.  Jason might as well get used to it, however.  Now that Annabeth was leaving to get married, he’d find himself even more alone than before.

But perhaps it was for the best.  Because neither Annabeth nor Percy were going to inherit significant land or power, they could have decided to live in either Jupiter or Neptune.  It was only natural that they chose Salacia over Olympus; Jason would have done the same.  Between Zeus’ hubris, Hera’s selfishness, and the rest of the court drama, no one could have a good life there.  Jason wouldn’t ask anyone he cared about to live in the imperial palace.

So as much as Jason yearned for Thalia and Reyna and Annabeth to come back to him, he knew it was better that they stayed away.  And as much as Jason yearned for a friend and ally to keep him from feeling so alone, Jason couldn’t allow himself to bring anyone into his life.  Jason was alone, and alone he should remain.

Of course, he would need to marry.  He was beginning to think that he ought to give in to one of the suitors that Hera kept throwing at him.  After all, might be better if Jason didn’t love his wife; it would save him the pain of knowing that he had ruined someone’s life by bringing them to Olympus.  Jason doubted that any of the Empress’ picks would be much different from Hera herself.

Sighing to himself again, Jason turned to leave the hall, thinking that maybe he ought to spend the evening on the balcony.  Neptunian nights were pleasantly cool and Jason might even be able to snag a book to read under the moonlight.  That seemed like the best way for him to enjoy himself.

“No partner?” asked a voice.  “What a coincidence, neither have I.  Would you like a plantain chip?”

Jason turned to the woman’s voice in surprise.  His first impression was that she was very pretty, and probably Neptunian.  She had the characteristic coloring of the people of Neptune—of course, that might not mean anything, as the upper classes often married foreigners.  Her gown and pearls were enough evidence of her wealth and high birth.  But the young woman also had the accent of the islanders, although Jason couldn’t discern exactly which part.  His untrained ear had never quite been able to pick up the subtle differences in Neptunian dialects.

“Have we met?” Jason asked.

“Not that I’m aware of,” said the woman.  When Jason didn’t take the fried plantain, she shrugged and munched on the chip, as if to say, ‘suit yourself.’  Jason tried to suppress an amused smile.  Pretty, humble, and even-tempered, it seemed.  A nice combination.

Jason scolded himself for the thought.  He wasn’t there to look for a wife.  He was celebrating the wedding of his friends.

“Well, we did run into each other earlier this evening,” the young woman continued when she finished her chip.  “Quite literally.  You complimented my gown.  Personally, I hate this gown, but I was flattered nonetheless.”

“Oh, right,” Jason said.  “By the chocolate fountain?”

“That’s it.  I hope I didn’t embarrass myself so much that I’ve lost the opportunity to ask you for a dance?”

“Oh,” Jason said in surprise.  “I...um...” He glanced around for Thalia, hoping that she’d come to his rescue, but she was nowhere to be seen.  Although he was used to having women thrown at him at every opportunity, Jason was terrible at rejecting their advances and found himself tangled in awkward situations more often than he’d like to admit.  Thalia sometimes fought off the worst of them. That was, if she was present and not too busy coaching his independence.

“Unless you already have a partner,” the young woman continued.  “I saw that you were speaking to someone before.”

Jason got the sense that she was offering him an opportunity to politely refuse her.  True, he had been with Thalia earlier, but Thalia dressed as a soror even while masked.  It would have been obvious to anyone that they were not partners.

“I’d be honored to dance with you,” Jason said.  “May I have your name?”

“No,” she said, the corner of her mouth quirking up like she was amused by the question.  “What would be the purpose of a mask if I told you my name?”

She had a point, but Jason was disappointed.  He had to remind himself that she’d only asked for a dance; she hadn’t offered her hand in marriage.  It wasn’t fair of him to expect more—especially not at a masked ball, which was meant to be a night of hedonistic disregard for duty.

“But perhaps I’ll tell you later in the evening, depending on how good a dancer you are,” said the young woman.  She grinned playfully and tapped him with her elbow before taking his arm and leading him to the center of the hall for a dance.  

Looking more closely, Jason was beginning to see that she must not have a completely Neptunian ancestry.  Her hair was long and beautiful but slightly lighter than typical Neptunian hair—dark brown rather than black.  Her eyes were not Neptunian either, although he couldn’t begin to guess where they might have come from.  Perhaps it was because of her mask, but every time she moved, the light seemed to reflect different colors in her eyes.

She was a wonderful dancer.  It was obvious that she had received excellent lessons from a capable instructor, which was further proof of her eligibility to be a suitor.  “You dance beautifully,” Jason said as she passed him, trying to keep himself from thinking about marriage for at least one evening.

“As do you,” said the young woman.  “Dancing is one of the least exhausting part of a ball.  Almost makes it worth how tightly they tied this awful stay.”

Jason was so surprised that his laugh came out as a snort.  “Well, you look beautiful,” he tried to console.

“I’d still look beautiful in a softer bodice.  I’d probably feel less restricted after making my rounds through the snacks, as well.  Have you tried the coconut shrimp yet?  It’s amazing.”

“I haven’t had a chance to try anything but the chocolate,” Jason admitted.

“Fantastic!  I’ll show you all the wonderful food, and you’ll get me a cup of chocolate.  My mother wouldn’t let me have any.”

“Your mother wouldn’t allow chocolate?” Jason asked.

“It’s the most barbaric form of torture, I know,” the woman sighed.  “She thinks I’ll ruin my gown.”

Jason laughed as the music came to an end.  “How very cruel,” he agreed as he bowed to her to finish their dance.  “The chocolate is worth a ruined gown.”

The woman smiled at him.  “I’m glad you agree, monsieur.  Seeing as we’re both here unaccompanied, would you like to be my partner for the evening?”

Jason hesitated and glanced around for Thalia, but didn’t see her.  She was probably watching him from hiding, applauding herself for leaving him to manage on his own.  But the young woman he had met seemed to be of a high enough status for the court to approve of, so—

Jason stopped that thought there and reminded himself that he wasn’t supposed to worry about marriage that night.  He was supposed to enjoy himself.  The young woman was pleasant company, and that was why he would accept her offer.

“I would be honored to accompany you,” Jason said.  “Will you give me your name at the end of the evening?”

She grinned at him mischievously.  “We shall see,” she replied.  “Come, I must show you the shrimp.”

The young woman took his arm and led him away from the assembling dancers, telling him that as much as she enjoyed dancing, the most important part of any ball was the food.  She found the shrimp first, then grabbed a few more plantain chips.  She fed Jason crab cakes and told him that they were good, but she preferred king crab to blue crab.  Jason told her that blue crab was Prince Percy’s favorite, and she laughed and commented on Percy’s odd appreciation of blue food.  Either Percy’s strange preference was well-known in Neptune or she knew Percy personally, which might be further evidence of her high status.

Of course, Jason was getting ahead of himself again.  They had barely met.  They weren’t courting.  He didn’t even know her name.  She may not be seriously interested in him.

Jason shook his head and forced the thought away just as the young woman was returning with an oyster and eating another fried plantain.  “Here,” she said, pressing the oyster’s shell against his lower lip.  “Try this.”

Jason obeyed.  “It’s amazing,” he said.

“Where I come from, we are known for our oyster dishes,” she told him.

Jason tried to remember which areas of Neptune specialized in oysters, but he couldn’t recall.  To someone from Jupiter, it seemed that all of Neptune specialized in oysters.  “Are you from Jafilius?” he asked.

“No, no, the oysters here aren’t nearly as good as they are in my home,” she said, then she grabbed a few more plantain chips before pointing to the chocolate fountain and requesting a cup.

Jason wondered if he’d ever meet her again after that night.  Would it all be over in the morning?  Would he ever even know her name?

And how would she react after learning his identity?  What if she decided she didn’t want him?  Or worse, what if that became the only reason she sought him out again?

He couldn’t help but feel like he was toying with her feelings.  Jason was looking for a wife.  And not just any wife—as heir to the throne, he was very restricted when it came to searching for suitors.  If it turned out that she wasn’t from a birth high enough for the imperial court to approve of, Jason would have to leave her.

But once again, Jason was assuming too much.  She might not be looking for a husband.  Perhaps Jason’s expectations were not the same as hers.  For all Jason knew, she could already be engaged—even married.  Besides, no one went to a masked ball to seek out a potential spouse.

Masked balls were the sort of events where scandals began and where hearts were broken.  It wasn’t uncommon for the first night of wedding celebrations to be masked; they were meant to be nights without inhibitions, to revel in the freedom of being unwed and anonymous before the bonds of marriage tied one to responsibility.  For Annabeth and Percy, it was an excuse for them to have their fun together without the threat of repercussions, not a night of unrestricted lust.  But for Jason, it was too reminiscent of his father’s adulterous habits.

Jason wasn’t looking for a brief affair; he had decided that long ago.  He’d seen enough evidence of the consequences that went along with lust and infidelity.  Affairs, he had learned, only ended with chaos and tragedy.  If Hera’s rage had taught him anything, it was that hearts were fragile and he must never even look at anyone but his wife.

Jason’s resolution had never wavered before.  Even when he’d been engaged to Reyna, he had never allowed himself to think of anyone else.  No, they had never been romantically involved, but he’d been arduously loyal to her.  He had sworn that he would never hurt her the way Zeus had hurt Hera.  Jason had cared for her and it had broken his heart when she left.  He’d never blamed her for it, however; Reyna had the freedom to make her own choices and he would not hold that against her.  Losing her had only solidified his resolution to be the perfect husband.  He never wanted to make anyone to go through the pain he had when Reyna left him.

But would it really be so wrong for Jason to allow himself to enjoy an evening with a strange, exciting, beautiful young woman?  He hadn’t made her any promises.  He hadn’t even made himself promises.  So why did he feel as if he was doing something wrong?

Because he knew that if he ended up with a wife like Hera, she would hunt the mystery lady down and drown her life in misery.  She would want do the same to Reyna, but Reyna had the protection of the Sorority.

Jason tried to stop himself again.  It was just one evening.  He wasn’t having an affair; he was talking to a dance partner.

The young woman celebrated when Jason retrieved a cup of chocolate for her.  “I have been waiting all evening for this,” she said before taking a sip, then she sighed happily.

Jason smiled, but his thoughts wouldn’t stop.  He heard himself clear his throat, then he said,  “I know this isn’t an appropriate topic for a masked event, but if I may not have your name, will you at least tell me if you are...if...is there anyone...?”

She finished taking a long drink before she answered.  “I am unmarried,” she said.  “I have no serious suitors at this time.  But I am looking.”

“And if you don’t mind my asking, what sort of marriage are you looking for?” Jason asked.  Depending on birth order, number of siblings, and the needs of her family, she may not be eligible to marry him.

“I am not the eldest,” she said.  “I have enough siblings to have the freedom to choose what sort of marriage I’d like.  And you?”

“I’m...um...I’m the eldest,” Jason said.  He wasn’t the eldest, but his older sisters had both pulled out of the succession, so it was simpler to claim that he was.  “I will inherit and take a wife.”

Another happy sip of chocolate.  “And am I to assume that you have yet to find a wife?”

“Yes, I’m...I’m looking.  I apologize, I know that a masked ball isn’t the place to play suitors and I don’t mean to assume—”

The young woman put a plantain chip in Jason’s mouth to make him stop talking.  “Then for tonight, we’ll have our fun.  If it goes well, we will play suitors tomorrow.  Are we in agreement?”

Jason chewed the chip and swallowed it.  It was the first one he’d had all evening; the young woman had ended up eating all the ones she’d picked up.  He suddenly understood why she hadn’t shared.  “I...yes.  But I don’t...if it doesn’t work out....”

“I’m not about to get my heart broken by a man I’ve just met,” she said.  “I can handle rejection.  There are no promises between us, and no expectations past tonight.  Just for this evening, forget everything else.”

Jason didn’t know how.  Thalia loved to remind him that he was too much of a worrier, but none of her advice had made it easier for him to stop.  And very little scared him more than marriage.

But then the young woman tilted her head back to empty her cup of chocolate and ended up spilling it on her dress.  She and Jason laughed so hard that he finally managed to forget.

After trying and failing to fix her gown with Jason’s handkerchief, the young woman dragged Jason back to the center of the hall to dance again.  Jason couldn’t recall the last time he had laughed so much.  Had dancing ever been so enjoyable?  Had Neptunian cuisine ever tasted so good?

The worries had stopped, but Jason couldn’t help wondering about the identity of his mysterious partner.  She was from somewhere in the Neptunian isles.  Somewhere known for oysters and pearls.  Surely he knew enough about Neptunian trade to figure out where she was from.  He thought her accent was slightly different from Percy’s, so it was unlikely that she was from the islands around Jafilius.  Perhaps she was from one of the more southern isles, then?

Oysters.  Pearls.  South.

He suddenly recalled Hera bragging about a new gown that was being tailored for her.  She’d claimed that she intended to wear it to the Neptunian royal wedding, but Jason was certain that she had never really meant to attend.  She despised Annabeth and her opinion of Percy wasn’t much higher, so it had most likely been an excuse to get an expensive new gown.  It was vibrant turquoise, accented with peafowl feathers imported from Bacchus and Venusian pearls....

Venusian pearls.  It was the island of Venus that was most known for its pearl trade.  Could his mystery lady be from Venus?

Jason wasn’t brave enough to ask.  They danced and ate and danced again, and Jason’s partner spilled chocolate on her gown a few more times.  He invited the young woman onto the balcony and loaned her his coat, and they stayed there talking and laughing until Jason noticed her eyes drooping shut.

“Perhaps we’ve stayed out too late,” Jason suggested, as much as he wanted to stay even longer.

“Definitely,” the young woman said.  “I don’t think I’ll wake up until noon tomorrow.”

“Then is this goodnight?” Jason asked.

“Perhaps,” she replied.  “But only if I may meet you again tomorrow.”

“I would like to,” Jason said.  “You haven’t told me your name.”

She looked up at him with a mischievous smile, like she knew something he didn’t.  “Find me again tomorrow evening and I will introduce you to Piper of Venus,” she said.

“Piper of Venus,” Jason repeated.  So he had been correct; she was from Venus.  “And I’m....” he stopped himself before continuing.  Would she even believe him if he told her he was the Crown Prince of Jupiter?  Would it frighten her away?  Would it change the way she acted towards him?

“I know who you are, Your Highness,” Piper said before Jason could worry himself more.  Her smile faltered a bit.  “Even a mask can’t stop gossip, especially not for someone of your position.”

“Oh,” Jason whispered, unsure how he ought to feel about that.  She’d known all along?  Had that been why she sought him out to begin with?

“I would have approached you regardless, and I wouldn’t have spent the entire evening with you if I didn’t enjoy your company,” Piper said, as though she’d heard his thoughts.  Her mischievous smile was now gone, replaced by one that looked more serious and perhaps even apologetic.  “But I won’t lie to you; I knew.  I would like to meet you again tomorrow evening, Your Highness.  No masks.  Face-to-face.  But I won’t seek you out again; it’s only fair that I leave the choice to you.  If you would like to meet, then ask for Piper of Venus.”

Before Jason could collect his thoughts enough to reply, Piper returned Jason’s coat and kissed the back of his hand, then she left him alone on the balcony.

*   *   *

Nico was not pleased when Reyna interrupted him while he was busy kissing his fiancé.  They had spent the evening dancing and kissing and making up ridiculous stories about planning their pretend wedding in Ceres.  Hedge had been busy with Mellie and Nico thought he had spotted Reyna conversing with Thalia, but Reyna had eventually found them again to say that it was time for the evening to end.  She had brought Percy with her, as he had apparently been looking for Nico to invite him to the ritual bathing ceremony that was to take place on the second day of the wedding.  Usually, only brothers or other close male kin attended a groom’s ritual bathing ceremony, so Nico was scandalized by the invitation.  He had barely spoken to Percy since arriving in Neptune.  Before that, he hadn’t met Percy since they were children.  He had tried to turn Percy down, but a glare from Reyna was enough to remind him that a rejection would seem rude.

“I’d be honored, Your Highness,” Nico grumbled.

“Oh, don’t call me that,” Percy said.  “People only call me ‘Your Highness’ if they’re upset with me.”

Percy started to ramble enthusiastically about the palace’s baths.  Nico had heard that Neptunians bathed together in large pools, but he’d assumed that it was only a malicious rumor.  He hoped that Percy did not expect Nico to join him in the baths.  That was a line Nico refused to cross.

After Percy left to deliver the same invitation to Jason, Reyna ordered Nico to stay put so she could get Hedge to take Nico back to his bedchamber while she tried to locate Jules-Albert.  “Lord William can escort me to my guest chambers instead,” Nico said, tightening his grip on Will’s arm.  He didn’t want to part with Will just yet.  He wanted a moment alone with Will.  He didn’t want to let go of Will.

Reyna looked at Nico disapprovingly and Nico blinked at her with the best pleading expression he could muster.  Please, Reyna, he thought.  Just this one time, allow me this much.

As strict as Reyna was, Nico knew that she had a soft spot for him.  If he looked at her with a pitiful enough expression, she sometimes gave in.  Reyna couldn’t always resist wanting to see Nico happy.  “I will send Jules-Albert to ready you for bed shortly,” Reyna said in a stiff voice.  “You will have only a few moments to say goodnight.”

Nico let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her thankfully.

Will bowed his head politely.  “I will behave appropriately, Lady Reyna; you need not worry about that.”

“I trust you, Lord William,” Reyna replied tiredly.  “You are not the one causing me concern.”

Nico tugged Will closer and led him away from Reyna, happily resting his head on Will’s shoulder.  “I enjoyed this evening,” he said.  “My treasure.”

“As did I, my dearest,” Will answered.

Nico tilted his head up, expecting a kiss, but Will did nothing.  Sighing, he supposed that Will had taken his promise to Reyna a bit too seriously.  He tried to lure Will into kissing him a few more times, but Will didn’t appear to realize Nico’s intentions.  Nico wondered if it would always be that way or if Will would eventually start to understand.

“Well, Your Highness,” Will said when they reached Nico’s door.  “This is where we part.”

Nico didn’t want to let go of Will’s arm.  He wanted to stand close to Will.  He wanted Will to kiss him.  He wanted Will to touch him, even if it was only to brush his hand against Nico’s.

Nico reached behind his head and untied his mask, then he looked up at Will and untied his, too.  Like Nico, Will had black makeup smeared over his eyes to hide them even more behind his mask.  The makeup did nothing to hide his eyes, however.  It only made them brighter and more blue.

Kiss me, Nico thought, as though Will would be able to hear him if he wished hard enough.  He wanted Will to kiss him suddenly and passionately just like he had earlier that evening, when they were pretending to be people they weren’t.  But even when Nico removed their masks, Will did nothing but stare at him.  Will wouldn’t kiss him again—not unless Nico gave clear permission.

Nico returned Will’s mask and clasped his hands together behind his back to keep himself from reaching out.  “Yes.  Um.  Sleep well, Lord William.”

“I wish you the same.”

“And I suppose I’ll meet you after the ceremony in the morning?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Nico reluctantly put his hand on the door to his room.  “Goodnight,” he said.

“Goodnight, Your Highness.”

Nico forced himself to look away and face his door.  Will started to leave.  Don’t look up, Nico told himself, squeezing his eyes shut.  Don’t ask him to come back.  Don’t—

Nico looked back up.  “Will?” he called.

Will turned, his blue eyes as bright as ever, shining against the black makeup.  “Yes, Your Highness?”

Nico knew he should make an excuse and go to bed.  He was making himself look like a fool.  He needed to stop.  He—

Nico’s feet were already carrying him away.  He stopped in front of Will and put his hands on Will’s arms, then leaned up and quickly kissed him.  Will looked shocked when Nico pulled back.  “Right,” Nico stammered.  He felt like his heart was going to burst and he knew his face was flushing, but there was nothing he could do about that.  He stepped back, folded his hands together behind his back, and said, “Well, goodnight, then.”

Nico turned away and fled to his room, only leaving the door open long enough for Asterion to follow him in.  He did not look back at Will again out of fear that he’d do something foolish, like invite Will into his bedchamber and ask him to stay—

Nico leaned against the closed door and hid his face in his hands, his mask dangling from the ribbon around his fingers.  He did want Will there with him.  What would it be like to share a bed with Will?  Would Will hold him while they slept?  Would Will kiss him in the morning?

Nico bit back the impulse to curse as he remembered the black silk that Will had worn that evening.  It had been in such stark contrast to his bright, warm skin and golden hair.  Will’s clothes had looked like ink every time he moved, with an almost liquid sheen that had Nico imagining the clothes melting off and....

What would their wedding night be like?  How would Will touch him?  Would Will blush when Nico kissed him?  Would he call Nico pretty names like he did in his letters?  Would he...?

Nico whimpered in embarrassment, sliding down the door until he sat on the floor with his knees against his chest.  He was disgusting, thinking about things like that.  Nico would wait until his own wedding.  They would marry in a year, and then they could....

Nico shook his head, stood back up, and composed himself, then he waited for Jules-Albert to come ready him for bed.  Nico’s unbanished thoughts kept returning, however, and he dismissed Jules-Albert after being undressed only halfway.  Nico had suffered enough mortification for one night; he didn’t need anyone discovering what sorts of effects his thoughts were having on him.

Nico finished dressing for bed on his own, then he took a sip of his sleeping medicine and climbed into his bed, where Asterion was already lying down.  He didn’t take the sleeping medicine nearly as often as he had a few years before, but he knew that if he did not take it that night, his racing heart would keep him up with thoughts of his fiancé until morning.  As he curled up under his blankets, he could not help but imagine Will being there with him.  Will would be warm, similar to the way Asterion was when he cuddled next to Nico, but Will would put his arms on Nico and make him feel loved and secure.  Nico imagined Will holding him—and he could be happy with just that much, with just Will’s arms around him and his arms around Will.

Nico reached out to hug Asterion instead, burrowing his face in his dog’s coarse fur to hide his sudden giggle.  “I’m very fortunate, aren’t I, Asterion?” he said, pulling back to rub his side.  He avoided the scar on Asterion’s hip; it had healed nicely, but Asterion still flinched if Nico pet him too close to the old wound.  

“I know you like him, too,” Nico said.  “He gives me reasons to be happy.  He has a very pretty smile, don’t you think?”

Asterion responded by sloppily licking Nico’s cheek.

“Oh, you’re disgusting,” Nico said, but he wiped his face dry and pecked the top of Asterion’s head affectionately.  Asterion rolled onto his back.  “Don’t worry, you can still sleep with me after I’m married,” Nico said, rubbing Asterion’s belly.  “He’ll have his own room, after all, and if he comes to stay the night with me, then...well, it’ll be a bit crowded, but I don’t think he’ll mind.”  Nico yawned and stretched out on the bed, smiling sleepily.  “I think I will like being married to him.  I will like it very much.”

Next

[forevfangirlwrites]

I love your how to handle fame series and I totally get if you’re six of writing for this AU but if you aren’t I’d love one with them making the relationship official like Annabeth telling Percy he can post a picture of them for the first time or her telling him she wants to make it official and post on social media and Percy just being happy to tell the world that she’s his and vice versa

CONTINUATION OF: PART 9

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 , Part 7,  Part 8

If Percy ever decides to pick up the memoir business again, the entire thing could be about the past two days, which have downright been the weirdest, most surreal days of his whole life.

On second thought, maybe he wouldn’t be able to write it because he’s spent all weekend trying to compartmentalize it and it still feels like a blur.

Like one really long day.

And you’d think, given the magnitude of the events that had occurred, he’d remember it better.

CHB had been the first to report the news, courtesy of that lady shoving a mic in his face, but the interview had really sealed the deal. Zoe Nightshade is acclaimed for reporting facts not fiction in the celeb news world, so going on her show to talk about it had been the best way to get the right version of the story out there.

All he remembers about the set are the hot lights, the white couch (that he was immediately worried about ruining) and Annabeth by his side, holding his hand.

Overall, it had been good. The entire thing had been premeditated by Annabeth, who had started off the interview explaining how they wanted to go public on their own terms instead of someone else leaking it, but that they still wished to keep their personal lives private.

Percy had also kept to his premeditated script, saying he’s a barista from New York, and shifting the dialogue (as Annabeth called it) to their meeting.

After the interview Annabeth had given him a big hug and told him it was a success.

But then…..oh then, came The Notifications™.

As if he didn’t already spend too much time on his phone, he’s been glued to it all weekend.

“It’s going to be rough,” Annabeth had said with the same worried face that she had when the talk about going public had come up a month ago.

And Percy knows, right, he’s been in the service industry and knows how people can be jerks. He knows there’s going to be backlash.

Maybe that’s why Annabeth had rented a beach house far down the coast and been by his side constantly the past two days.

He glances over at her, leaning back on her comfy wicker chair with her feet propped, reading a book. As if she can tell he’s looking at her, she puts down her book and turns to face him.

“What’s up?’

Her long legs look golden in the sunlight filtering through the light curtains and she’s practically glowing with the beach air wafting through the open window.

Long story short, she looks beautiful.

Focusing his brain from the detour it took to admire her, he shakes his head.

“Nothing…just wondering how I got here.”

She picks up her cup of tea from the table beside her. “What do you mean?”

Leaning back against the headboard of the bed, he stares at the high planked ceiling.

“I don’t know…just everything. I mean for one, I’ve never seen so many pictures of myself…even my mom’s albums would have a tough time competing…actually, they might still win now that I think about it.”

Annabeth chuckles at that. And while it’s true his mom has an absurd amount of pictures, him and Annabeth have been plastered a fair amount on various articles and social media. He’d kept his Instagram private, but his Twitter hadn’t stopped blowing up.

“And I’ve never had this many people talk or…speculate about me.” He drops his gaze from the ceiling to once again land on her. “Like, it’s the most hate I’ve ever gotten…”

The inevitable comments on him being a gold digger, though expected, had been hard to see. It stung a little to think people thought he was anything other than hopelessly in love with his girlfriend.

But no one had been more pissed than Annabeth and it had taken kisses from him to distract her.

He sees the same anger and worry start to flare up now, her eyebrows already creasing together, and rushes to complete his thought.

“But it’s also the most support I’d gotten.”

Luckily, an overwhelming majority of Annabeth’s fans had been super supportive of them. One picture in particular, one of them standing at the red carpet staring into each other’s eyes, had gone viral and “Percabeth” (as people were dubbing them) had been number one on trending for a whole day.

So many people not only calling them cute, but also describing him as hot. Percy had almost laughed out loud when he’d first read comments gushing about how attractive he was. (Take that, Nancy Bobofit, who called him ugly in middle school.)

“It’s just really crazy I guess, I never expected this from my life.”

He really should write a memoir. Other people need to know how almost comically absurd his life is now. (It would start with riding the subway to school every day.)

Annabeth sits up in her chair, still wearing the frown from earlier.

“Do you regret it?”

She asks calmly enough, but he can see the worry behind her eyes and the fear creep into her tone. He slides off the bed and walks to her, sitting on the footstool she’d been propping her feet on a second ago.

“Not at all.”

Reaching for her hand, he raises it to her lips, keeping eye contact. She needs to know that he’d take it all if it means he gets to be with her.

The day after the interview, Annabeth had told him to pick out a picture of them to post on her Instagram. And though it had immediately become her most liked picture, it wasn’t just fan service. The smile on her face when she posted it had made Percy’s heart melt even more.

Because the truth is, despite everything, it feels so good to call her his in front of the whole world.

Annabeth smiles, pulling their intertwined hands close to her and resting her cheek against them.

“Good.”

His phone vibrates and he can’t help but look over. Annabeth smiles, amusedly. “Who is it?”

He reaches for the device, unlocking it with a swipe. “My mom.”

“What’s she saying?”

He smiles as he reads the text. “That her friends are blowing up about this.”

Annabeth chuckles. “Don’t worry, it’ll blow over soon.”

Almost automatically, he opens up Twitter. It’s become a bad habit over the past two days.  “Well, we have been trending for a while…”

His sentence veers off as he checks the trending tab. Number one this morning had been a kpop star whose birthday was today and “Percabeth” had been second.

But now number one was…Jogan Paul, who had apparently been caught in some money laundering scheme and become the center of all public outrage. Number two was still the kpop star and number three was #ultranatural.

“Percabeth” was nowhere to be found.

“You’re right…we’re not trending anymore, some other guy, Jogan did a—”

“Money laundering scheme?” Annabeth finishes and he looks up from his phone to see her smile over her tea.

“Yeah…everyone’s talking about him….and then it’s a k—”

“Kpop idol? Yeah, it’s P-Dawn’s birthday,” Annabeth finishes again.

Percy stares at her.

Annabeth, after posting the Instagram photo, hadn’t checked her phone almost all weekend, letting him look at everything going on.

So how could she know all this? He’s pretty sure she hasn’t checked her phone in hours, instead working her way though her book.

“Yeah…” he continues, still confused. “So we’re not trending anymore. This Jogan guy really messed stuff up…”

Annabeth shrugs, still smiling. “That’s how it goes, people move on from things quickly.”

He nods. He knows this. And personally he’s glad that they’re not the main topic of conversation now. It feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He puts down his phone with a smile.

“Yeah, it’s fortunate that this guy messed up, really took the eyes off of us.”

Of course, not all the eyes. Annabeth’s fans will still talk about it, but now the media has something juicer to report on.

“Yeah, fortunate,” Annabeth repeats, lifting her cup again to take a sip, but she can’t hide her smile.

Something about this feels…

“Did you know about this?”

Annabeth just takes a sip of her tea.

Peering over the cup, she replies sweetly, “Did you know the season finale of Ultranatural is on tonight?”

And that’s all the answer he needs.

(So he naturally responds by picking her up and tossing her in bed, letting her laughs bounce off the high ceilings as he wraps her in a hug, thinking that there needs to be a whole chapter in his memoir about just how smart his girlfriend is.)

A/N: As I said in the beginning, this is the continuation to the last chapter in the how to handle fame series. Thank you for sending in the prompt! It’s been a popular one and I had a whole storyline for it (though I did include the insta pic :)

When I came up with this plotline I just couldn’t get the idea out of my head that Annabeth would totally mastermind the entire thing and make sure that their relationship didn’t get too much heat.

Plus, let’s be real, news moves fast, and their relationship, while a big thing, isn’t the only thing going on the world for people to talk about. And stories that spark outrage blow up more than two people dating, so I tried to keep this as realistic as I could.

Part of the reason it’s taken so long for this is because I truly wasn’t sure the best way to tackle this whole thing while still staying true to reality as best I could. So when I thought of the Annabeth planning out this whole thing I thought it was fun and cute and went for it. I mean this entire series has taken off in a way I had truly never imagined.

A lot of people had requested the whole going public thing and how it would play out, so I really hope you guys liked this! (And thank you anon for sending in the prompt I used to post this :)

(Also a lot of references to things that have happened semi-recently so lmk if you’ve figured them out, not that they’re that hard lol)

[blackjacktheboss]

Maskless

So here is a fic that nobody asked for but I’ve been wanting to write for months on end. Huge thanks to my wife, my love, my whole world aka @ananbeth for being such an awesome beta. Could not have finished this without you, my guy. 

All of the section headers are quotes from this poem by Miles Hodges 

i. The coolest kid in the room actually doesn’t have any friends

The campfire isn’t as comforting as it once was. Percy watches the flames, focuses on their flicker and the crackle of the wood as the voices of young campers swirl around him. It doesn’t feel like it used to, he thinks. The hum of Camp doesn’t settle over him like a warm blanket anymore, and the sight of familiar faces doesn’t make him feel connected to the life he’s living. Now when he looks around, instead of people he sees shrouds; he thinks of the eulogies that will be given over their funeral pyres. It’s a feeling that has sunk into him over the years, the way a skipped rock finally sinks to the bottom of a lake. That feeling now rests in the pit of his stomach, a hollowness at the very center of him. Some days it feels small, more like a pebble stuck in his shoe than anything. He can carry on normally for the most part but at some point, it makes its presence known. Other days, it is a boulder resting on top of him like the sky rests on Atlas’ shoulders. It consumes his very existence, his muscles burn with the weight and it occupies his every thought. It is a part of him that he wishes he could drown.

Staying disconnected isn’t as hard as he once found it to be. He breaks bread with these kids, shares laughs and a tale or two about his glory days, but nothing ever seems to reach his heart. He feels like a child restricted to the shallow end of the pool as he watches everyone else plunge into deeper waters. Inevitably, his fatal flaw enters his head and Athena’s words echo in his thoughts: “To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world”. But what happens to all that loyalty, he wonders, when there’s no one to give it to.

ii. Cheek safety pinned to the edge by a pile of regrets

Charles. Silena. Michael. Leo. Connor. Travis. Frank. Grover. Clarisse. When Percy awakes in Cabin 3, he recites the names of friends he has lost. At first a prayer, it has now become his penance. Charles. Silena. Michael. Leo. Connor. Travis. Frank. Grover. Clarisse.

Charles, gone too soon.

Silena, a traitor who fought for redemption.

Michael, a war hero.

Leo, a martyr.

Connor, whose feet were not fast enough.

Travis, who sought revenge.

Frank, a fire that burned out too quickly.

Grover, lost to the wild.

And now Clarisse. A warrior until the very end.

As Percy goes down the list in his head, he is acutely aware of the regrets each friend took with them. Regrets of not being fast enough, strong enough, present enough. Enough. Percy laughs darkly. He can’t remember the last time that word meant anything to him. Perhaps it was the last time he let his mother hold him, really hold him, and it had been years since then. It had been a night when his loneliness became too much to bare on his own, so he’d retreated to the only place he could. Sally had held him as sobs wracked his body, running her fingers through his hair. He can still feel her heartbeat against his cheek if he’s still enough. She had never wanted anything from him, never demanded his heroism or expected him to be better than he was. When he was around her, she accepted him for who and what he was. That night when she held him, she let him be a puddle of a boy, who wanted nothing more than to evaporate and disappear. He was always enough for her. No matter what. Enough as a son, as a hero, as a man. She held him solid that night, and he fell asleep feeling whole. He longed for that night.

Or maybe the last time he had felt like enough had been the last time he sat on the porch of the Big House with Grover and Annabeth, reminiscing about their first quest together.

Feeling whole now felt like a false memory to Percy, the type where you’re not sure if you actually remember or you’ve just seen so many pictures and heard so many stories that your brain fills in the gaps for itself.

The list runs through his head again: Charles. Silena. Michael. Leo. Connor. Travis. Frank. Grover. Clarisse. We were just kids, he reflects. But the Gods and the Fates have no time for children, only heroes. Heroes who claw and fight their way to victory, all for the glory of Olympus. But once we stop doing that, we’re all disposable, he contemplates. Hell, we’re disposable either way.

Ω

Percy sits at the table for Cabin 3, eating silently as he continues to recite the list in his head. Charles. Silena. Michael. Leo. Connor. Travis. Frank. Grover. Clarisse. Charles. Silena. Michael. Leo. Connor. Travis. Frank. Grover. Clarisse. Charles. Silena. Michael. Leo. Conn-

His list is interrupted by the feeling of a tap on his hand. Percy looks up to see bright grey eyes looking at him and his heart speeds up.

“Good morning, Mr. Jackson.”

“Good morning…?”

“Letha. I took your sword fighting class last summer.”

“Right. Letha. How can I help you?”

“I was wondering if you would give me private sword fighting lessons. I’ve decided that the sword will be my weapon and after taking your class I’m sure you’re the most qualified to teach me. I think two-a-days will be most effective for my learning style, but I promise to be flexible with how we spread those out. Though I do ask you keep in mind that I have other classes I’m taking. I want to be the most well-rounded hero I can be.”

Percy considers the girl in front of him, surely no older than 13. Her hair is a dirtier blonde than children from Cabin 6 usually have, but her eyes are so bright they almost look silver instead of grey. They are clear and innocent, not yet tinted with the burden of being a hero, but have a flare of aggressiveness that will serve her well if she’s trained properly. She is sure of herself, like any child of Athena, and she projects a confidence that takes Percy back to when he was twelve years old. She sits up straight with her shoulders back and looks him directly in the eyes.

Charles. Silena. Michael. Heroes are disposable.

“So, Mr. Jackson-”

Leo. Connor. Travis. A grey funeral shroud.

“-what do you say?”

Frank. Grover. Clarisse. Regret.

Percy takes a deep breath, sitting up straight to match her posture as he reaches a hand across the table towards her. Charles. Silena. Michael. Leo. Connor. Travis. Frank. Grover. Clarisse. In his mind, Percy stares down his pile of regrets.

If he can help one demigod make it, maybe that will be enough.

As Letha takes his hand and shakes it, Percy smiles. “You’ve got a deal.”

iii. I wonder, how do you trust a man whose eyes can go from green to gone in a single night?

Percy stands shirtless in front of his bathroom mirror, watching water trail down the sides of his face and drip off of his chin. He considers himself, a man lost in the curves of his own soul, and wonders what it will take for the real him to return. If it’s even possible at all. If there is even a real him that remains or if it’s simply a figment of his imagination. He is shaken from this reflection by loud banging on the door of Cabin 3. When he opens it, a satyr with panicked eyes rushes forward and grabs his arm.

“We have an incoming party and they’ve got company! We need you!”

Percy quickly turns back into the cabin, grabbing a shirt and pulling it over his head as he begins his jog to Half-Blood Hill.

He stands at the crest of that old, familiar hill with Riptide in pen form twirling between his fingers. Ghosts of a childhood lost run past him, leaving whispers of Annabeth’s laugh and his hope for a happy future. To his left, Peleus sits at attention sniffing at the air while curled protectively around the Golden Fleece. Chiron appears to Percy’s right, with two older campers accompanying him.

“How many monsters?”

Chiron releases a deep sigh riddled with concern, “The last report the satyrs could send out said at least three, maybe more by now.”

“Do we know whose kids we’re dealing with?”

“All suspected but a daughter of Hecate, a son of Hephaestus, and a child of Aphrodite.”

“How the hell did they all end up traveling together?”

“All from affluent families, all ended up at the same boarding school. They tried splitting up but I’m afraid they were… they were herded back together.”

“So this is a hunting party.”

“It would seem that way, yes.”

Percy rolls his eyes, “You know, I’m really sick of the The Fates’ shit.” The sky rumbles and Percy waves it away with his free hand. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

One of the campers, a son of Demeter, steps up to Percy. “So what’s our plan?”

“The plan is simple. Monsters on me,” he says, stepping up to the boundary, “While you two make sure those kids and satyrs make it back across this line. Clear?”

The other camper, a daughter of Apollo, looks at Percy skeptically, “How can you be so sure the monsters will go after you when they’ll have five other demigods to choose from?”

Dark shadows appear on the horizon of the trail and Peleus growls from deep in his throat.

Percy looks at the camper, his green eyes shifting into something else entirely as he begins to slowly walk backwards down the hill, his arms stretched out. “What monster wouldn’t want a chance at the son of Poseidon?”

Ω

Growing up, Percy never thought of himself as a fighter. It wasn’t something he chose, but something that had always happened to him. Life as a demigod made fighting a necessity; a survival tactic that he happened to master. Now, as he stumbles back across the Camp border bloody and bruised, the feeling of fighting is one he instantly misses.

When he fights, he is not Percy Jackson: ex-boyfriend, terrible son, horrible brother, old friend who doesn’t keep in touch. When he fights, he is simply Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon. As much as it is a title that burdens him, it is one he knows how to bare. It is his heaven and hell, his penance, his salvation, his legacy. The weight of Riptide in his hand, a monster at his throat, is the only time Percy feels in control of his fate. As he slices, stabs, dodges, and dives, he feels the burn of the ichor that runs through his veins. He becomes someone powerful, a version of himself that the world can’t touch or hurt. As long as he’s fighting, nothing else matters. But as long as he’s fighting... nothing else matters. This duality haunts him, as the thrill of battle is all that he craves but that craving is what keeps him from moving on. At some point, he became a fighter and no one ever bothered to teach him how to stop. But then again, heroes aren’t supposed to stop fighting, he realizes. They’re supposed to die.

In the throes of battle, a hero does not have to think of all the ways he is failing or how many people he has let down. Fighting, when done correctly, consumes a hero and distracts them from everything they are and everything they aren’t. That is the feeling that Percy chases; the place where who he is and who he could be collide to create nothingness. It’s easier, most of the time, to be a hero rather than to be a person.

He lays on the grass staring up at stars that tell stories like his and mentally checks off all the types of monsters he has killed. I’ve got a few more to go, he thinks as a wicked smile spreads across his face. I just gotta chase ‘em down. And fight.

iv. Check his mask, he wears it well

The list of people who recognize the cracks in Percy’s mask has grown small over the years. Distance, both emotional and physical, has robbed Jason of the ability. Piper is annoyingly perceptive, which is why Percy keeps their interactions short. Sally’s voice has become more concerned during their weekly phone calls but she isn’t yet desperate enough to really push him to admit to anything being wrong. Chiron can see through the mask but always makes the conscious decision to let Percy keep it on. Percy doesn’t think either of them could handle what might happen if he loses it.

Most of the time, he is happy to have it. It allows him to be social at times, visiting New Rome for a weekend or meeting his family for a day in Montauk. The mask comforts him, giving him permission to pretend not to be as broken as he feels. He can assume the persona of a Percy who  made it through everything unscathed. He can pretend to be a man better than the one he is. When he has his mask on, he can pretend to be in control. He wishes he didn’t so desperately desire to be in control. But he does. He feels stunted and polluted, as if he is undrinkable, toxic, deadly. So every morning, rather than dive into the depths he is sure are filled with nothing but debris, he keeps his head just above the surface. He slips his mask on, and presents the front of a pure and untainted mountain stream. People can look at him like he is something fresh and undiscovered, somehow clean despite the virulent environment that surrounds him.

Then there are days when the mask grates against his skin. It irritates him, makes him feel confined, and it takes everything in him not to scream in frustration. Those are the days he wishes Annabeth were around to rip his mask off of him. She had always had that effect on him, even when they were twelve years old and complete strangers. And she was never shy about it either, not that there was anything Annabeth Chase was ever really shy about. She would tear his mask off and wave it in front of him, but it never seemed like taunting.

No, rather she held it up like a mirror, waiting for him to take in his reflection and see what it was he was hiding behind. For most of his life, his mask had been made up of hope. Hope for his father to come home, for friends, for getting through a school year without attracting any attention, for his best friend to fall in love with him, for a future that went past age 17. This hope is what kept him going for so long. That hope was a reminder of why he was fighting so hard. That hope grounded him in who he was as a hero and as a person.

Thinking on it now as he lies in bed avoiding the start of another day, he’s not sure what his mask is made of. Memories maybe, he muses. Memories glued together by nostalgia….and maybe a little hope. He finally rises, fitting his mask to his face as he opens his cabin door.

“Good morning, Percy! How are you today?” A satyr asks.

Percy adjusts his mask, and considers what kind of hero and person he wants to be today. Smiling warmly, he answers back. “Morning! I’m great, thanks. How are you?”

v. But sometimes he comes home and he’s lonely

The floor creaks beneath his feet as he enters his apartment, chased inside by the rising sun. He peels his jacket off and throws it onto the couch, thinking he should probably just put it up now but it’s fine, he’ll do it later. There are no pictures on the walls of his apartment, no decorations or knick-knacks on the shelves to make it look like a home. The only clue that it is a space in which someone lives is the cereal bowl in the sink and a single seashell magnet that clings to his refrigerator. Percy drags himself down the hallway to the bathroom, where he reaches into the medicine cabinet and pulls out a small bottle of dark green pills. The label is simple, white with a red caduceus on the front. They had been a gift from the Hermes cabin, sleeping pills that block nightmares but only if used sparingly. Take them too often and a demigod could get so backlogged with nightmares that they never really wake up from them. Percy pops two into his mouth and swallows hard before brushing his teeth and heading to his bedroom. He sheds the rest of his clothes and climbs into bed, tired in every way imaginable.

Ω

Percy awakens slowly, his eyes taking their time to adjust to the sensation of being open. It is nighttime again and darkness has crept in around him. He turns his head and spots his little blue fish night light, a remnant of his childhood innocence that has stuck with him through the years. Looking at it gives him something to focus on, a happy epicenter to coax his mind out of its sleepy haze. Before long though, the reality of his life encroaches on the happy space that the night light provides and suddenly it’s as if there were no light in his life at all. He turns back to look up at the ceiling, his fingers interlocked across his stomach. They begin to tap nervously as thoughts race through his head until he can’t contain them anymore. Idle hands and all that, he thinks, as he reaches over to his nightstand to pick up his phone. He slides his finger across the screen until he opens a new message.

To: Leave Her Alone

I miss you. Can we grab a drink?

He hits send without a second thought, wanting to allow himself this fleeting moment of reaching out to someone (even if he had promised himself he would stop reaching out to this particular someone). Almost immediately he sees three dots appear, and without realizing it he begins to hold his breath.

The bar near my place in 20.

vi. Sometimes he does things because he knows that tomorrow he will choose to forget them

It is 4 am and he watches Annabeth sleep, softly running his fingers across her bare back as it rises and falls. They’ve been like this for a few years now. Too in love to completely let go, but too broken to really try and make it fit again. Percy wishes he wasn’t such a coward about it, but he doesn’t know what’s worse: this back and forth game they play or trying and losing her for good. Her back rises and falls again, in time with Percy’s own breath. What if she doesn’t understand, he thinks. Or what if she does and it’s still not enough?

So tonight, like every other night their loneliness has chased them back to each other, he will creep through the dark of her apartment to put his clothes back on before leaving without saying goodbye. As he walks home, he will keep Riptide in his hand as he hopes for a monster to challenge him. No monster will show and he will call the Fates cowards under his breath. He will crawl back into his own empty bed, silently praying the smell of her doesn’t fade too quickly from his clothes, before drifting off to a nightmare-filled sleep. When he wakes in the morning, he will delete the text he sent her in an attempt to reclaim the alone that he has so carefully cultivated. He will then make himself breakfast while pretending to read the paper. He will call his mother and decline talking to his sister, but will tell his mom to give her a kiss for him. After taking a shower, he will head back to Camp Half-Blood and spend the day training kids in the hopes that they don’t die too quickly. That night, he will stay late in the training arena, hacking away at air in an attempt to make himself feel alive. He will go to bed after three glasses of whiskey, a bottle of which he keeps stashed in his bunk. The whiskey will help him forget that the night before he was not alone, but rather in the bed of the only woman he has ever loved.

He will choose to forget that it was his decision to leave.

When morning comes, he will choose to forget why he bothered saving the world so many times.